[Deck] Save the Platz

[beder]

Hi,

(sorry for my english not perfect, this is a message from France)

I have the feeling that the Chicago last tournament has created lots of reflexion about magic and more specially the importance of creature in metagame.
From the time I started Magic - ~1994 - until now,  I have always loved having cards on board, cards to tap in order to deal damage (in my first keeper build - 1995 - my 2 favourites cards weren't mana drain and couterspell, but moat and serra angel together, ok, bad example, none of them may be tapped .
So i am very pleased to see creatures "back in the game".
This was for the introduction, just to point out the fact that it is nice trying to build efficent deck with creatures inside.

To build this deck, I decided to try to answer three questions :
- what are the most efficent creature available?
- how to create synergy between creatures?
- how to prevent the deck from being defenceless against combo deck and having to rely on racing?

I had quite a huge thought about color.
The only one that was obvious is black, because it answers question 1 and 3.
Then, I choosed blue, to increase the disruption package and gain access to the mvps recall and timewalk.
Then I choosed green, because green has very strong and efficent creatures.

And finally, I choosed artifact, because Platinium Angel is incredible.

Here is the build I came with, this is definitely and aggro-control deck :

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////:

// Mana
    2 Island
    4 Polluted Delta
    4 Underground Sea
    2 Flooded Strand
    3 Tropical Island
    1 Swamp
    1 Bayou

    5 Moxes
    1 Black lotus

// Creatures
    4 Dark Confidant
    4 Tarmogoyf

    3 Voidmage Prodigy   
    3 Sylvan Safekeeper

    1 Platinum Angel
   
// Blue package
    1 Time Walk
    1 Ancestral Recall
    4 Brainstorm
    1 Tinker

// Disruption
    4 Force of Will
    3 Duress
    2 Thoughtseize

// Search
    1 Demonic Tutor
    1 Mystical Tutor
    1 Vampiric Tutor

// Utility
    1 Echoing Truth
    2 Engeenered Explosives

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Few comments about the cards and synergy:

The disruption Package is pretty consistant :
-   4 Fow + 5 duress effects in early-mid game, voidmage prodigy in mid-late game
-   sylvan safekeeper is also part of the disruption package : with creature becoming more and more popular, creature removal will also be. This little guy is pretty efficient when it comes to protect one of your other all-stars : countering a smother, a sword, a bounce or even the duplicant’s ability … Moreover, he is a wizard and can feed his teamate prodigy.

The win conditions :
-   platinium
-   tarmogoyf
I really love the capacity to change your role, from aggro control to pure control. To be honest, I prefer the platinium win condition. If you succeed in putting a sylvan safekeeper or even a voidmage in play during the first turns, then tinker really becomes a “game over if resolved”.

The utility package:
I still have to realize some testings when it comes to this package. One important point: it has to contain at least 1 or 2 artifact because of tinker. I am thinking about replacing engeenered with sensei’s… Any opinion?

I don’t detail the match up because I didn’t test this build sufficiently. I will add that as soon as testing will be sufficient.

[rkmancer]

The Platinum deck from Chicago contain full set of Pact of Negation as protection. .
Lose the game when you can't lose is pretty interesting I think. .

Also without mana drain, tolarian, and any stone such sol ring and mana crypt. .
you 'll have some problem to hard cast the platz besides of tinker way. .

What do you think about it??

[Everrid1234]

I like this idea!
Its just a deck like UBG Fish with the modification +3 Sylvan + Platinum Angel + Tinker.
If you can't go for Platinum then you can just beat and disrupt.

I think if there is a fish-like deck where it makes sense to put in the Sylvans, its this. You have Confi, Goyfs, Platinum which are all really strong and worth it to be saved.
And since you play Platinum you don't have to worry this much about the Confidant damage since when you lost much there is a high possibility that you already got the Tinker.

But on the downside the deck focuses a bit on the Platinum tactic and so it doesn't contain the hate a fish deck does. It lacks Chalice/Null Rod vs fast combo, Dazes for additional countering, Stifles, Meddling Mages, Kataki. Having Platinum on the hand is not very unprobable (when you cast the Tinker i would say you are normally in around turn 3-5 and so have drawn up to 12 cards. Hope for Brainstorm...
So I say this deck looks of course nice on paper, but the testing games will provide more info. Thing i could imagine: Sitting with Tinker there and no Mox available (ok, more unprobable). Search for Tinker but no Sylvan in range. The lack of help against Shop decks. The lack of help against fast combo going off while you search the Tinker. Opposing Welders. The fear of bounce, Tyrant-Oath etc.

What you should definitely try is if the Voidmages are worth it. If you have the time to wait for 5 mana open and then cast Tinker with Voidmage-backup, its very cool. But I don't think it's a reliable protection because you have to wait for too long. If you want to keep Voidmage in the deck i suggets adding Sol Ring to be able to cast Tinker AND protect it the same turn.
Maybe add Regrowth to get a discarded Tinker back on hand.
Add a Duress. Maybe add a Smother/Darkblast to get rid of Meddling on Tinker/ Welder/ Confi.
Add Imperial Seal if you feel that you don't get Tinker fast enough.

If you don't like my ideas (the suggestions tend to make the deck more combo-style), think about:
-Shadowmage Infiltrator (maybe SB vs control)
-what you do against strong shop decks (maybe add Energy Flux to the SB)
-Life from the Loam
-Strip Effects



My suggestion would be:

// Mana
    1 Island
    4 Polluted Delta
    3 Underground Sea
    2 Flooded Strand
    3 Tropical Island
    1 Bayou
    5 Moxes
    1 Black lotus
    2 Wasteland
    1 Strip Mine

// Creatures
    4 Dark Confidant
    4 Tarmogoyf
    3 Sylvan Safekeeper

    1 Platinum Angel
   
// Blue package
    1 Time Walk
    1 Ancestral Recall
    4 Brainstorm
    1 Tinker

// Disruption
    4 Force of Will
    4 Duress
    1 Thougtseize

// Search
    1 Demonic Tutor
    1 Mystical Tutor
    1 Vampiric Tutor
    1 Imperial Seal
    1 Regrowth
    1 Senseis Divining Top

// Utility
    1 Echoing Truth
    1 Smother
    1 Engineered Explosives

[beder]

Hi,

Your proposal are interesting but there is one constraint that makes your proposal difficult to apply : the blue card quantity, to support fow : in my current build, it is already quite low, 15 blue card.
In your proposal, it is really low 8. It is not sufficent to support fow. So the disruption package has to been re think.

On some other points, I agree with you :

- voidmage is a card I am really thinking about. Right now I am not sure if it is a win-more condition, meaning that if I succeed in playing it and being in situation of using it - to protect platz, tarmo or preventing my opponent to play a bomb - then it means that I even wouldn't have needed it. Voidmage withouth aether is perhpas to difficult to use...
Ideas right now :
- replace it with counterbalance
   + : it is blue and it participates in locking opponent or disrupting him
   - : it is not a creature so it reduces the value of sylvan
- replace it with another "very strong but fragile blue creature" :
   + : it would be blue - fow - and have sinergy with sylvan
   - : I can't find it right now

- Sensei should be pretty strong, especially if I choose the counterbalance option. Even if I don't choose the counterbalance option, I think it should deserve at least a spot

- Imperial seal : as you say, this strongly increase the "combo side" of this build. And I think one real strength of this build, is that it can really assume both role : combo or aggro. So I am not really sure...

- One more duress : sure, I would love it. But in that case, I think I would prefer going with "One more thougtseize and one animate dead". With such a metagame, i think it can be a very nice silver bullet.

I think over all those questions and will come back with another proposal...