RG Beatz in Standard; Two 1st Place FNMs and yet...

[Norm4eva]

Probably nothing original here but I'll post my list anyway.

4 Kird Ape
4 Skargan Pit Skulk
4 Scab Clan Mauler
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Burning Tree Shaman
3 Rumbling Slum

4 Rift Bolt
2 Assault//Battery
4 Sudden Shock
2 Call of the Herd
4 Moldervine Cloak
2 Stonewood Invocation

4 Stomping Ground
9 Mountain
8 Forest

SB:
4 Krosan Grip
2 Sulfur Elemental
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Giant Solifuge
2 Boom//Bust
3 Blood Moon

You know how that shit works.  Burn mans, turn mans sideways, burn/Stonewood FTW.  I do have a few weirdos in the deck though and for the most part their place is debatable:

Assault//Battery: For a while I was rocking Volcanic Hammer but it was pointed out to me that Volcanic Hammer is mostly ass.  Not sure if I'm sold on that notion, but when given cause to reconsider I determined that a 1-mana burn spell would probably be a pretty good idea.  I also determined during my short run in Extended that things with pro-red are really bad for this deck.  So I decided to raise the green threat density while also giving myself that 1cc burn spell.  As a two-of, Assault//Battery hasn't really let me down, but it remains a bit of a question mark for me.
Skarrgan Pit-Skulk: this man has proven himself to me in a big way.  He's got detractors, but I look at him as a fair replacement for items like Isamaru, or Jungle Lion.  This deck's finest starts have always included turn 1 Ape, turn 2 drop 4-power on the board somehow. In concert with Kird Ape I do have 8 2-power men with 1cc.  As Pit-Skulk puts on Moldervine Pants or gets hit with Stonewood Invocation, his capacity for harshness is beyond catagory - whether or not he's even Bloodthirsty.
Rumbling Slum: I've had a few people suggest to me that this man should be Solifuge, but I don't buy it.  That's not to say that Solifuge isn't a strong sideboard card, because it truly is, but Solifuge in an aggro environment has way less sex appeal than the Slum.  In a deck with 8 Bloodthirsty guys and 10 burn spells Slum's ability is also relevant to the deck's plan without ever turning sideways.

Now I'll fess up, my sideboard is puke.  Crypt is a throwaway, I don't know if any deck in the format even cares about their GY, with the possible exception of that Magnivore deck, but that seems like shitty tech to me.  Sulfur Elemental kills small Boros guys but he doesn't exactly inspire fear in Calciderm.  Solifuge and Blood Moon are obv tech.  Boom//Bust should probably just be Stone Rain or Avalance Riders, I'm leaning towards Stone Rain simply because it's easy on the manas.  Riders has some appeal but I keep thinking about what happens every time I see an Avalance Rider played against me; I wait till they pay the Echo, then I Sudden Shock it.  Nice Time Walk, ass.

So yeah, um, here's my main questions:
- Is there a better alternative than Ass//Bat?  Counting CotH it's sort of creatures 24 and 25, which I like, but it just feels assy to draw it, like I'm missing something obvious that could run in its stead.  At the same time I'm tempted to 3/3 split between it and Rift Bolt... gah
- Sulfur Elemental seems like really shitty tech against Boros.  Seems like it would just make Paladin en-Vec kill more of my guys and make Calciderm retarded big.  So to make it awesome, I'd have to run like four right?  Do I really want to dedicate that many slots to Sulfur Elemental?  I don't know if I need a really dedicated Boros board just because I did build the main with Boros sort of in mind as a real threat.
Any other suggestion you all might have would be appreciated.  The deck's already done well locally, netting me a pair of FNM Gerrard's Verdicts, but much like The Dude I'm looking for a rug to really bring the room together.  What is it?

[Roxas]

No Silhana Ledgewalker? I play Izzetron a lot, and whenever I lose to G/x aggro decks, it is almost always at the hands of Ledgewalker + Cloak (+ Stonewood), and it flies over most blockers aggro decks can muster.

Lacking at least three copies of Char seems wrong too.

Any reason you aren't running Karplusan Forests?

[Norm4eva]

Aside from not actually owning any Chars, I've got concerns about adding another 3-drop to a deck already sporting 4 Cloaks, 2 BTS, and 2 CotH - and 21 land.  IMO, Char looks a lot like Solifuge in terms of 'what not to bring to an aggro environment'.  I already know that I turn Dralnu into salsa, I'm not worried about control decks.  I'm already pretty much guaranteed to hit myself in the face for 2 when I play a Stomping Ground, and if I do go out and get Karplusan Forests that'll be even more pain built into the manabase.  Part of being able to play the aggro control game is being able to take your lumps and I don't think that it's optimal to assume that I'll deal myself 5 points of damage during a 'good match'.
Isn't Silhana Ledgewalker a little tiny?  I know it has a home in MGA but doesn't it sort of suck ass next to guys with actual p/t?

[Vegeta2711]

Isn't Silhana Ledgewalker a little tiny?  I know it has a home in MGA but doesn't it sort of suck ass next to guys with actual p/t?

It's basically the main reason green aggro wins ever. It's also the main reason why all control decks are basically forced to run Wraths and such. If you run a set of Moldervine Cloak or Blanchwood Armor it's worth having, at least until they reprint Troll Ascetic. If you run no pump outside of Stonewood Invocation, then there's a valid argument to be made against them.

[Norm4eva]

No I know right, MGA, woo go tiny man with the untargetability.  I just don't know what I'd cut.  Like.... I could cut Elves I guess but then my Slums probably turn into Chars, don't they
I guess what I'm mostly looking for is sideboard commentary.  What am I not representing that I should be?

[kirdape3]

I'd just look at Ide's list from the Top 8 of Kyoto.

[Norm4eva]

Yeah I saw that decklist.  I wonder if the triple mulligan in game 1 came out of running shit like Skarrg and Pendelhaven.  I used to throw away hands that would have been excellent if it weren't for Skarrg the Rage Pits.  Then again this deck does seem to mull pretty frequently..
Japanese decklists confuse the shit out of me. :/

[silvernail]

Japanesse lists contain random 1 ofs that occassionally happen to be useful, due to their standard method of building said deck lists. They dont have the same methods we do, so this leads to them testing all kinds of odd cards and keeping a few as one ofs to help in odd situations.

[Norm4eva]

Yeah I can't say that I'm a fan of that approach.
I'm kind of about to leave well enough alone with this one.  I have Kird Apes, men and burn and I'm looking for secret tech for some reason.  Kird Ape is the tech.  He goes to the FASE, punches your GLASSES.  If I decide to pick up Karp Forests then the deck will be complete and I can die happy(ish).  Unless there's some glaring hole in the sideboard I think I'm good.

[Anusien]

How good is Burning Tree Shaman?  Seems like activated abilities are at an all-time low; I'd actually looking at maining Sulfur Elemental just because it could really help you out against a lot of Javalineers, Savannah Lions, and miscellaneous junk from Boros.

The singleton Pendelhaven over a Forest is basically free percentage points, and I really think you want it since you have a possible 16 1/1s or more.

I was finding that I liked Seal of Fire a lot more than Assault, especially because it makes your Bloodthirst guys so much better.



But yeah, without sufficient reason to deviate (which you don't seem to have), I'd question why you're not running Ide's list.  The stuff that you're armchair theorizing, he went and tested.

Some of his burn numbers are very curious to me; I'd be very interested to know how he arrived at 4 Char, 2 Stonewood Invocation, 3 Seal, 3 Rift Bolt.  But the fact that he speaks so highly of Seal in his top 8 profile and then runs the burn package he does suggests that he's strongly tuned it.  After all, you don't end up with a beatdown deck full of 2s and 3s without testing and tuning.

[Norm4eva]

Well the Pendlehaven guffaw was my bad, I thought it tapped for  not  .  I'm not just armchairing most of this stuff though, I still stand behind not running Skargg the Bad Pits.  I have tried it, and what small effect it has had was not worth the extra mulligans.  I already talked about why I'm not a fan of Char or maindeck Solifuge.
Burning Tree Shaman has never disappointed me, if for no other reason than it has consistently required a 2-for-1 on behalf of opponents to deal with.  Even when its ability is not relevant it's still a 3/4 for 3; if it's not imperative to have it, it's also very easy to side out.