[Deck Discussion] EBA

[Kerz]

EBA falls under the same category as Trinistax right now: it seems to have vast undiscovered power, with little discussion happening about it.

As of late, EBA has cought on a bit, with a second place finish at The Mana Drain Open, and 5th in Hadley. It still isn't getting the recognition it deserves as one of the top Aggro-Control decks in the format.

I havn't tested the deck a ton, but I belive it has a lot of potential- a great counterbase, good threats (EXALTED ANGEL!!!!11!!!one11), and a lot of availible utility.

I'd like to take a few minutes to break down WHY I belive this deck has great potential:

Counter/Distuption - Availible choices

Force of Will
Doesn't need any real explanation, these can be used to control the game or protect your stuff when you're swinging in for the win.

Mana Drain
Another no-brainer, this is used for great tempo, even moreso than Keeper because of the Aggro element.

Duress
An amazing aggro-control card. Only one black mana, you can set up your key spells with this, or make sure that your beats are going to push all the way through. These can go from a 3-4 of in the deck, but I prefer 4 for a consistant 1st turn drop.

Stifle
Im not sure of Stifle's merit in this deck, because of the lack of commitment to land disruption, and space issues.

Draw - Availible Choices

Ophidian
This is a debatable inclusion, it is definitely slow, but a very good card to drain into or play early with Moxen. Even though it doesn't beat, it is another pretty large threat for your opponent to deal with.

Fact or Fiction
With its rather large casting cost in relation to the deck's small mana curve, it is another card that may not be included. I think it is worth playing, its another bomb that's casting cost won't prohibit you much, as long as your playing a reasonable amoung of mana.

Ancestral Recall
JPMeyer once said something to the effect of "If I had a nickel for every 'Ancestral Recall' - Durf! it draws three cards!' in threads/primers, i would be a fuckng MILLIONAIRE. In other words, its probably not needed to state the inclusion of it."

Brainstorm
A great mana smoother, and the high amount of fetches in the deck add to its potency. It lets you dig for your answers or threats that much faster, while being a good Duress hoser.

Future Sight
This is played in some more controlling versions, but I feel it is way to clunky, especially when running on a smaller mana curve.

Answers - Availible options

Swords to Plowshares
The best way to clear a path for your dudes, along with keeping you alive long enough to play said dudes. I think 2 or 3 is probably the right number, but they are cuttable according to your metagame.

Vindicate
This card has always been debatable, it is at sorcery speed, but killing any permanent is a great way to round out your removal/answer base. It is cuttable, but I think its a pretty cool singleton.

Damping Matrix
This card is such a bomb in the current enviornment, it seems like almost a possible inclusion in the deck, as long as you play in a decent metagame where it can function to its complete ability. Im not sure if it can fit though.

Balance
This is debatable, actually, because it will normally hurt your hand and your board.. and not be advantagous often enough. It is better in a pure (or close to pure) control deck.

Threat Base - Availible Options

Meddling Mage
This is a great disruption card that also is a small threat (it can add up quickly). It is one of the backbone cards of the deck, enabling awesome 1st turn Duress 2nd turn Meddling Mage plays.

Exalted Angel
This card is the nut. It singlehandedly owns aggro, while being a huge threat against control. It is also a pretty big card against Tog, seeing they only have 1 way to remove it (deed) and the lifegain/beats can really add up, combined with your counterspells/duress.

Decree of Justice
This card brings the deck towards more control, but I think that you need to choose the 'aggro' version of EBA or the 'control' version. You play this in the control version, and in the aggro version, you play...

Phyrexian Negator
A pretty good threat early, played in more aggressive versions.

Tutoring

Demonic Tutor
Yep.

Mystical Tutor
See Above.

Cunning Wish
I'm not sure on this card yet, you probably have all the answers you need maindeck, and it seems a little clunky for this Aggro Control deck.

Other cards I didn't go over were Time Walk, Yawgmoth's Will, and Mind Twist. If you need explaination, try reading their text again.

Next step- Working out a decklist

Here is the version that got second at Waterbury:

1 Time Walk
3 Ophidian
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Brainstorm
4 Mana Drain
4 Meddling Mage
4 Force of Will
1 Mystical Tutor
3 Phyrexian Negator
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Swords to Plowshares
3 Duress
2 Vindicate
2 Exalted Angel
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall

3 Underground Sea
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
4 Tundra
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
2 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Plains
1 City of Brass
1 Black Lotus

SB:
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Exalted Angel
1 Moat
1 Disenchant
1 Serenity
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Energy Flux
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Stifle
1 Ebony Charm
3 Damping Matrix

And Here's the version that was piloted to 5th at Hadley:

1x Fact or Fiction
1x Mox Pearl
1x Ancestral Recall
3x Underground Sea
4x Tundra
2x Damping Matrix
2x Stifle
2x Exalted Angel
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
4x Flooded Strand
3x Swords to Plowshares
1x Library of Alexandria
2x Cunning Wish
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Sol Ring
4x Meddling Mage
4x Island
1x Mystical Tutor
4x Impulse
2x Decree of Justice
1x Balance
2x Plains
1x Mind Twist
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Black Lotus
1x Future Sight
SB:
1x Blue Elemental Blast
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Disenchant
1x Coffin Purge
3x Tormod's Crypt
3x Plaguebearer
2x Serenity
3x Chains of Mephistopheles



Here is the list I worked out to begin working with with all you TMD folk:

//Counters/Disruption
4 Duress
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will

//Answers
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Vindicate

//Threats
4 Meddling Mage
2 Exalted Angel
2 Decree of Justice

//Draw
4 Brainstorm
3 Ophidian
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall

//Tutoring
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor

//Other
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will

//Land/Mana
4 Underground Sea
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
4 Tundra
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Black Lotus

Sideboard
This is where i'm totally not sure of anything at all.. I know Damping Matrix will probably be an inclusion.. but not sure of much else. Probably some artifact and graveyard hate.


Overall, EBA is a very synergistic deck that dodges most hate. It is underplayed, and I want to change that. Also, props to our old TMD members Billtheduck and Mezzir for inventing this peice! <3.


Well, tell me what you think.

Aaron Kerzner

[Ric_Flair]

I have been playtesting Sword of Fire and Ice in this deck.  It has been working well.  Ophidian is just sometimes not sturdy enough.

[MuzzonoAmi]

While I haven't played the deck, I do think that Ophidian seems to slow for an aggressive deck, much the same way that Decree of Justice does.

[Kerz]

The Sword is an interesting choice, but I fear that there won't be enough targets for them. If you DO get them going, it will be really game swinging (more than an ophidian on ANY creature, including a 1/1 soldier). How many are you testing, and how often do you find the "sword, but no guy" situation happening? By the way, God help us when Sword of Fire and Ice meets Exalted Angel.

@ Muzzono: Well, the deck isn't aggro by any means, I mean.. exalted itself is kinda slow. If you don't like this style, you can play Phyrexian Negator, but I prefer a more controlling deck.

[jpmeyer]

Any deck with Exalted Angel is just begging for 5 Moxes and Mana Crypt.  Like losing 3 life every other turn matters when you're gaining 4 a turn.

[Kerz]

Running the full SoLoMoxen seems like a pretty good idea, especially with Exalted and Ophidian. Wouldn't it mean cutting valuble colored sources, though? This deck is pretty mana-intensive with 3 colors.. wanting an early Meddling Mage, Duress, and also WW for exalted.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Why the Decrees over more Angels? Simply uncounterability? I think it'd be nice to have the Angels to sit in total domination over aggro.

Ophidian, every time I've tried to play it in anything has failed to be fast enough. It's difficult to find a window to safely cast it in, and it's not large enough or evasive enough to actually make it past any sort of defense. Basically I just can't stand them and would find another draw engine if at all possible. :)

[Kerz]

Decree is another finisher. Don't forget, Angel is Swords-able. Decree gives you another dimention against control, and also isn't terrible against aggro, while it is no Exalted in that area.

Phids may be too weak. They are pretty solid with 3 StP's and 1 Vindicate to clear the way against aggro, and control not wanting to waste its removal on them. They could be replaced with... Skeletal Scrying? Future Sight? Accumulated Knowledge? AK might be good with the Aggro Control theme, because of the very low casting cost and instant speed. Skeletal and Sight seem to go along with purer control decks. With 4 Duress, the AK mirror would be fun.

After I get some more opinions and testing results, I can post an updated decklist.

[MuzzonoAmi]

I never ment to say that this was an aggro deck by any means. I was saying that they seem slow for aggro-control - a conclusion that it seems you've reached. As for what to replace them with, Sword could be alright, as could Shadowmage Infilatrator if your problems with him haven't been extremely severe. I like AK as a wish target against Hulk, but I think that with Togs running rampant you're asking for trouble relying on it as your draw engine. I've always liked Impulse in control decks, but I think you're looking for a more 'pure' for of card drawing (that is, advantage over quality)  so perhaps the Sword is worth testing.

[Gabethebabe]

This weekend I will be running EBA in a mox-tourney here in Barcelona. We are seeing a LOT of combo here and I think they will not like 4 Drain, 4 FoW, 4 Duress, 4 Meddling Mage and 4 strips maindeck

This is the list I cooked up at home after some vigorous netdecking all over the place. It has 0 previous playtesting. Sorry, some people actually have a life
My first test will be the first match on Saturday.

Creatures (8)
4 Meddling Mage
4 Exalted Angel

Spells (27)
2 Swords to Plowshares

4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
2 Stifle
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk

4 Duress
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mind Twist

1 Recoil

Mana (25)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

4 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 City of Brass
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria

SB
2 Damping Matrix
2 BEB
2 Phyrexian Negator
2 Energy Flux
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sacred Ground
2 Coffin Purge
1 Moat
1 CoP:Red (Sphere of law??)

The list looks fairly standard. The most eye-catching things will be the 2 Stifle maindeck (a lot of combo in my meta, as I said) and Recoil over Vindicate. Recoil has three very big advantages over Vindicate: it is pitchable, it is instant and it only requires one off-color mana. IMO this compensates for the fact that the effect of Vindicate will normally be better (Vindicate means the permanent doesn´t come back).

However, sometimes Recoil > Vindicate (e.g. vs a token, a Darksteel Colossus, a River Boa or an Academy Rector) and there are always possibilities with Recoil and a vicious Duress or Mage after it.

I really would like to include the 5th Strip. but I don´t know what to cut.

Feel free to like my list, puke all over the place or pee in your pants.

EDIT: Well, I split for 1st in the tourney. €120, not bad.
At the end I played the list -1 Stifle, -1 Library, -1 Recoil and +1 Disenchant +1 Damping Matrix and +1 Wasteland. In the SB I played Sphere of Law (amazing!) and not CoP, +1 Negator, +1 Disenchant +1 Stifle -1 Coffin Purge, -1 Sacred Ground, -1 Damping Matrix.

I wrote a friggin tourney report, but when I said "Submit" my browser froze and I didn´t want to type it all over again.

I hated the Mana Crypt all day. Theoretically it should be good, but in this particular tourney it was ass.
5th strip > Library of Alexandria. LoA does not belong in EBA. You want to play Duresses and Mages and Angels, you are an aggro deck.

Why edit this post and not make a new one? Well, because this thread is fucking dead as a rat and if you read this, means you clicked because you were interested in EBA not because it was the top post. Well done.

Angels are really good.