States ideas...

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

Post your states ideas here. This metagame is going to be extremely weird at states and since many of use won't have to compete with one another lets toss our best ideas around.

I personally still think Magnivore is a house, and I am a huge fan of Wipe Away for control mirrors in the deck. Not sure what else would go in the deck. What are your thoughts on Reanimator right now? Or how about Solar Flare?

[Roxas]

Reanimator might be an option, though I'd be afraid to play it for very long with Leylline of the Void, Tormod's Crypt, and Withered Wretch now available. As I said in the other thread, I'm tossing around U/W control. This is what it looks like right now:

4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Hallowed Fountain
8 Island
7 Plains
2 Azorius Signet

1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
2 Sacred Mesa

4 Court Hussar
3 Compulsive Research (might become Think Twice or Careful Consideration)
3 Wrath of God
3 Repeal
2 Faith's Fetters
4 Condemn
4 Rune Snag
2 Mana Leak
3 Cancel
4 Whispers of the Muse

I'm still not too sure about the Faith's Fetters, but I wanted to have some sort of life gain against the R/B decks. Maybe I should just splash red for Helices? I suppose the Firmane Control route is an option too. Not sure. My sideboard will almost certainly include 4 Teferi 4 Ancestral for control mirrors, and maybe Sacred Ground to help against Vore.

There's also the list Osyp posted in his SCG article, but I don't like it because it doesn't have enough board control and loses to anything that gets in under the counter wall (Kird Ape) or doesn't care about counters (Demonfire).

[Apollyon]

I think that Vore is a really bad deck. Especially with Tormod's Crypt in the format. You already suffer from a huge consistency issue (you'll just lose games and matches because they got their land drops), and removal of your win condition isn't going to help matters much.

[freakish777]

Take the Counter-Mizzet deck from PT Honolulu that placed 22nd or whatever it was.  Take out stuff that's rotated out.  Add Whispers of the Muse.

Should look something like:

//Mana
4 Steam Vents
8 Snow Covered Mountain
12 Snow Covered Island

//Win
3 Niv-Mizzet
1 Giant Solifuge

//Counterspell the hell out of everything
4 Remand
4 Rune Sang
4 Rewind
3 Counterbalance
2 Cancel

//Kill Stuff
4 Electrolyze

//Find Stuff
3 Telling Time (good interaction with Counterbalance, obviously if Top were legal...)
3 Compulsive Research/Ancestral Vision (haven't tested Vision)
4 Whisper of the Muse

//SB
4 Pyroclasm
3 Bloodmoon
3 Scrying Sheets (?  should be decent with Counterbalance and in the control mirror for un-counterable card draw)
2 Boomerang
2 Repeal
1 Confiscate

[Hi-Val]

Roxas, do you think blue is still strong enough to do the 3-win-condition plan? I'm coming off reading Flores' article today on mtg.com. I'm thinking about how blue worked in the last block with its ridiculous fliers. Maybe UW Control just turbos into a huge threat like Akroma instead of controlling the game. I don't know, I'm just musing.

I tested an RG Skred/LD deck with Riders and it was really saddeningly slow because it had no real draw outside of Viper. So that's out. I was really excited that maybe Angry Hermit would be a playable archetype again!

[Roxas]

Hmmm, the Mizzet control list is interesting, especially since it's possible to add Ophidian Eye for an immediate combo win. Not really sold on Counterbalance without Bob + Top though.

Hi-Val: Yeah, I miss Keiga But, I think the 3-win plan can still work, since I can also put on some light beats with Court Hussars before dropping Sacred Mesa. I think Akroma's too slow for a "turbo Akroma" plan to really be viable, since it'd never, ever get through a counter wall.

[LordHomerCat]

I will almost certainly play something with Enduring Renewal.  I made up a quick first-try list on MWS and it seems like a solid start, and some friends of mine said they were also working on a list so I should get ahold of that in a week or so.  First thoughts:

4 Gemstone Mine
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple Garden
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Azorious Chancery
4 Yavimaya Coast


4 Wild Cantor
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Court Hussar
1 Harmonic Sliver / Indrik Stomphowler

4 Enduring Renewal
4 Compulsive Research
4 Remand
4 Wrath of God
4 Grapeshot
3 Wipe Away
2 Congregation at Dawn



The goal is, of course, to resolve renewal with 2 mana open (or 1 and a cantor on board), then cast and sac Wild Cantor a hundred times and then grapeshot.  This is just a first shot, but theres almost a whole month in which to test it and get it right.  I have to say, I'm pretty excited to play Combo in standard again that isn't Heartbeat.

Edit: Oh ya, that manabase is probably garbage as well.

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

I played U/W control at regionals. Do you think Govern The Guildess is still an ok idea for sb? Or its basically bleh now. How is the million dollar deck? Is it neat and full of cute creatures or does it blow since there is no Duress+Cabal Therapy?

Any Urzatron ideas floating around?

[freakish777]

Hmmm, the Mizzet control list is interesting, especially since it's possible to add Ophidian Eye for an immediate combo win.

BWAH!!!  I completely missed that Ophidian Eye was damage and not combat damage!  Ok, so I'm now 100% sure I should have played blue at the pre-release (I had 2 Ophidian Eyes, and ran Jaya, who would have been absolutely ridiculous with Eye on her).


EDIT:


How about:

//Mana (24)
4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
6 Mountain
10 Island

//Win (8)
4 Niv-Mizzet
4 Ophidian Eye

//Counterspell the hell out of everything (16)
4 Remand
4 Rune Sang
4 Rewind
4 Cancel

//Kill Stuff (4)
4 Electrolyze

//Find Stuff (8)
4 Compulsive Research/Ancestral Vision (haven't tested Vision)
4 Whisper of the Muse


//SB
3 Blood Moon
4 Pyroclasm
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Wipe Away (?)

[Dxfiler]

HI MY NAME IS DAVID.  I LIVE IN THE VERY COMPETITIVE STATE KNOWN AS RHODE ISLAND.  I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T SHARE MY DECK, BECAUSE YOU WILL ALL B THERE GUNNING 4 ME.  I THINK WE'LL HAVE MAYBE 300 PEOPLE.

HERE'Z MY LIST, IMA WIN STATES WITH IT:

GR BEATZ
// Lands
    6  Mountain
    7  Forest
    4  Karplusan Forest
    4  Stomping Ground

// Creatures
    4  Llanowar Elves
    4  Kird Ape
    3 Magus of the CURSED scroll.  LOLOL.
    4  Scab-Clan Mauler
    4  Burning-Tree Shaman
    4  Giant Solifuge
    4  Dryad Sophisticate

// Spells
    4  Char
    4  Call of the Herd
    4  Assault/Battery
   

// Sideboard
UNDECIDED AT THIS TIME.  IT WILL HAVE A COMBINATION OF CREATURES AND SPELLS.

WIZARDS APPEARS TO WANT ME TO WIN STATES THIS YEAR.  I WILL OBLIGE THEM.  WAIT! IVE NEVER WON RI STATES BEFORE.  IM SO BAD. LOLOL.

- !!!!DAVE FEINSTEIN!!!

[Jacob Orlove]

Oh man, RI states is smaller than the average FNM. Didn't Brassman win it one year?

[Anusien]

Yeah, last year with Gifts.

Edit: Here's where I'm at with RGW.  It seems so ridiculous since it's just a collection of every good card in the colors:

// Lands
    4 Stomping Ground
    4 Temple Garden
    4 Sacred Foundry
    1 Gemstone Mine
    6 Mountain
    2 Forest

// Creatures
    4 Magus of the Scroll
    4 Watchwolf
    4 Scab-Clan Mauler
    3 Burning-Tree Shaman
    2 Giant Solifuge
    2 Loxodon Hierarch
    4 Kird Ape

// Spells
    4 Char
    4 Lightning Helix
    4 Seal of Fire
    4 Call of the Herd

Seal of Fire gets the nod over Assault//Battery since it enables some insane turn 2 Mauler plays.
The mana is obviously ridiculously awful since you occasionally get the no-red source hand.  Gemstone Mine is awful but seems better marginally than Pillar of the Paruns, so it gets the nod.  I've tried to minimize the 4s because I only have 21 lands; it's probably a good idea to go up to 22 lands or make Gemstone Mine a Boros Garrison or Gruul Turf or something.  It just seems like that would get in the way of being aggressive.

By the way, Sacred Mesa is definitely going to be the breakout card of States.  It's immune to almost every single form of removal that is currently played.

Also, I totally think the Vore core deck is solid.  So many strategies are just kold to Wildfire, and you know how insane Wheel would be?  Bounce all their lands, dump your hand, and get a free refill.  7 cards for you, 0 cards for them.  What about Hunted Dragon as a finisher?

[freakish777]

HERE'Z MY LIST, IMA WIN STATES WITH IT:

Shoot, that list has me so scared I may not even show up to States out here on the West Coast!

In all reality, I may actually not show up, there's a KMFDM concert the same night that I'm thinking about going to.


EDIT:  It's the night before, still though...

[Klep]

Split the U/W discussion into a new thread.

-Klep