I Have No Berserk

[honkeyb5]

Just an open question for anybody to answer or make fun of:

I don't own a berserk, what's the best replacement for one (for Tog, or course)?  And i'm poor, so buying one is highly unlikely.

My only thought so far:

Brain Freeze - the idea being you cast a few spells, then wish for this, playing it on yourself to pack your graveyard.

Think.

[RoadTrippin]

Fling actually isn't all that bad if you're playing red and need a budget replacement.

[jpmeyer]

[card]Ensnare[/card].  NOT [card]Fling[/card].  Fling only offers half of what Berserk does and it's your opponent that chooses which half.  Ensnare gives unblockability like Berserk, although it only pumps Tog +3.5/+3.5

[honkeyb5]

Good idea's kids.

By the way, JP, just wanted to tell you that you're the shit.  I've read all of your stuff on starcity.  If i was to have a MTG hero, you'd be it.  And ICT is awesome.

[FORCE-OF-WILL]

IF you are able to get yer tog up to 20 power pretty easy and just need away around the blocker problem, try shadow rift. Its a way to get around tokens blocking you and what not...

U
Instant
Target creature gains shadow until end of turn.
Draw a card.

[jpmeyer]

Damage from Ensnare: 3.5
Damage from Shadow Rift: 2

YOU BE THE JUDGE!

[Eastman]

Could berserk be used here?

Predator's Strike from Mirrodin is probably the easiest to find/cheapest solution.

Ensnare has to be used on your opponents end step and doesn't stop manlands which is SUPER conditional. I'd say Predator's Strike is better 111% of the time since you don't have to discard all your land either.

Did I mention you can find them in your local store's trash can? Yah... draft common.

[FORCE-OF-WILL]

Hey, Im just not a big fan of ensnare.....

I've made many a PTQ 1.x top8's with shadow rift tog.....

Just an idea.....

[Jacob Orlove]

Could berserk be used here?

Predator's Strike from Mirrodin is probably the easiest to find/cheapest solution.

Ensnare has to be used on your opponents end step and doesn't stop manlands which is SUPER conditional. I'd say Predator's Strike is better 111% of the time since you don't have to discard all your land either.

Did I mention you can find them in your local store's trash can? Yah... draft common.

Actually, you can use Ensnare after the declare attackers step. You can even wait for them to activate the manland. It's good.

[Eastman]

well... fooey on you.

I still think strike is more appropriate here because you don't have to pitch your lands and it is pitifully easy to find right now.

[jpmeyer]

[card]Predators Strike[/card] is interesting, but it's no SEXUAL PREDATOR'S STRIKE

[DEA]

if you just want damage ie no blockers on table, why not try trade routes?
bounce 6 lands back for an extra 9 points

[Jacob Orlove]

if you just want damage ie no blockers on table, why not try trade routes?
bounce 6 lands back for an extra 9 points

The whole point is to get extra damage while getting past the blockers, like how Berserk works.

[BrokenNut]

Jacob that doesn't work to wait till after the declare attackers step. Here is what happens:
You declare tog as an attacking creature.
Now you have a choice, either A) Cast Ensnare, or B) Pass priority
A) Cast Ensnare to tap his current creatures, then he activates man land after that resolves and blocks tog.
B) You pass priority, now, he can either activate manland here, and then you cast Ensnare. If he doesn't have anymore manlands you are fine. BUT if he passes priority instead of activating a manland it becomes the declare blockers phase. And now he can declare any other non manland creatures as blocking.

I think Shadowrift is really the best. It definately makes the tog unblockable. True it only gives +1.5 but it isn't that much of a difference. You should be able to kill them with a tog when you are ready to go for the kill.

[honkeyb5]

I think that the "blocked by man-land" scenario is pretty conditional though.  I guess my  solution to that would be (besides eventually splurging for a berserk) to pack both ensnare and shadow-rift in the sideboard, permitted that i have room.  That all depends on the metagame, though, which at this point I have no real input on.  I've only played a couple of people in the last few months, and every one of them was playing a damned workshop deck (smokestack, how I loathe thee).

Currently my sideboard looks like this:

3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Coffin Purge
1 Rack n' ruin
1 Aether Mutation
1 Naturalize
1 Oxidize
1 Smother
1 Lim Dul'z vault
1 Fact or Fiction
---------------------------
1 Shadow Rift/Ensnare

If I was going to drop anything, it would either be Fact or fiction or smother.  The smother's in there for a tog mirror, but REB would take care of that anyway, and Fact or fiction is usually hard to cast off a wish, and even then, it's usually countered.

[jpmeyer]

You're just playing one.  You need your SB to be lean

[type1playa]

if you're running a poor man's tog deck that means you probably don't have the mana drains and other power cards that make this deck so fast and capable to use berserk early on for the win like p9 cards, duels, intuitions and the like.  so your deck seems that maybe you should just go with the ol' upheaval route.

but if you can go off quickly and you do have some power cards, go to work for a day then buy a berserk.  it's only $40.

[xzero]

The Berserk Purchasing Primer
by xzero

1.  Get a minimum wage job.  If you already have a minimum wage job, ignore step one.  If you already have a job that pays more than minimum wage, ignore step one, but move to step 2 faster.

2.  Save 50 dollars.

3.  Go to your local dealer or eBay.

4.  Purchase your VERY OWN WHITE BORDERED BERSERK.

5.  Enjoy as your Psychatog tramples over creatures in very early turns.

[honkeyb5]

if you're running a poor man's tog deck that means you probably don't have the mana drains and other power cards that make this deck so fast and capable to use berserk early on for the win like p9 cards, duels, intuitions and the like.  so your deck seems that maybe you should just go with the ol' upheaval route.

but if you can go off quickly and you do have some power cards, go to work for a day then buy a berserk.  it's only $40.

I have half of the power (pearl, ruby, emerald, timetwister), 37 duals, and the intuitions.  And I have a half decent job (graphic design...if you read my introduce yourself post).  I do lack the mana drains, but most tourneys are 5 proxy anyway, so IMO i'd proxy those and an ancestral or something.  I will eventually buy a berzerk...i just wanted a temporary solution to the problem, so I can play a few games here and there without any proxies.

The Berserk Purchasing Primer
by xzero

1.  Get a minimum wage job.  If you already have a minimum wage job, ignore step one.  If you already have a job that pays more than minimum wage, ignore step one, but move to step 2 faster.

2.  Save 50 dollars.

3.  Go to your local dealer or eBay.

4.  Purchase your VERY OWN WHITE BORDERED BERSERK.

5.  Enjoy as your Psychatog tramples over creatures in very early turns.

Sorry for sounding like such a bitch, but damn, this is a simple discussion.
No need for the sarcasm.

[type1playa]

37 duels!!!  what do you need 37 duels for?  sell em' and get a berserk and them some!  do you run the pearl and ruby in your build?  i hope not.  anyway, if this is just a temporary solution i'd go with um...predator's strike.

[jpmeyer]

Yeah seriously dude a Berserk is worth like 2 duals with a little more thrown in.

[Jacob Orlove]

Yeah seriously dude a Berserk is worth like 2 duals with a little more thrown in.

Even better, it's worth like 3 worthless duals that you'll never use (plateau, scrubland, savannah, badlands).

[DavidHernandez]

I've heard that Berserk is overrated because your creature dies at the end of the turn...

 

For something really cheesy, you could run Sword of the Ages...

Other possibilities are:

Heartwood Shard
Bestial Fury
Run Wild
Seedling Charm
Surge of Strength

However, Preditor's Strike is better than those.

Truthfully, you really need to buckle down and pick up a Berserk.

-Dave.