Quote (MikeR- @ Sep. 28 2003,21:47)I've played phid for awhile, and many variations, I've played the intution/ak engine in phid for quite some time, i think i've tested about every card there is, and one thing just keeps coming up..
there's no reason to play this over hulk =/
once u add aks, ur playing u/r hulk w/o good cards.. thats it.
and hulk broadens ur sbing options, and just gives u better brokeness to deal with the metagame...
I love phid to death, but the smiley demon is just alot better 3 cc creature than that slippery snake.
hopes this helps =/
Well I see what you're saying, but I really don't agree. For the record, I wouldn't play AKs in Urphid.
Firstly, don't compare Phid with Tog, Phid is not a kill card but, rather, Urphid's draw engine. Hulk's draw engine is six cards (more if you count Intuition) vs. Urphid's four, and forces you to cast tons of stuff in the early turns. Now the later isn't bad perse, but when there's a sphere out, or when your mana is being attacked, or when something like a hoard of goblins is pressing you, time to get your draw engine going can run up short. Urphid, on the other hand, only takes one turn to set up, and doubles as a blocker as well. Plus, once you get your Phid going, you can just sit back behind your wall of counters, confident that you'll never run out of answers to your opponent's threats. The Hulk draw engine, on the other hand, is a constant process.
Another thing to consider is that, in the Urphid vs Hulk match-up, Urphid has the clear advantage. It attacks Hulk's most vulnerable aspect, its mana. On the subject of mana, Urphid is also more resiliant to mana denial since its only two colours and does not constantly need to be tapping its lands.
That being said, Urphid and Hulk are VERY different decks. Hulk is obviously much faster compared to Urphid that takes a long time to set itselfup in an advantageous position. But this is not necessarily an advantage if Urphid can successfully stall the early game, which it can very well with mana denial. If Urphid decks are to succeed, then they have to be tough on the mana, because they can't hope to succeed guns flying right out of the gate. Indeed, if this is your aim, then you might as well play Hulk. But if you want to run a slow control deck (remember those from way back?), then Urphid is your best bet.
