WW/u - Taking a closer look

[Woolly Mammoth]

It seems to me that everyone agrees White Weenie needs to splash another color to gain power, and most often this color is Red.

This doesn't make that much sense to me.

In the case of Holy Tommy Gun, Red offers Bolts, Pups, Shamans, Blood Moon, and Blasts, with a few toys like Goblin Trenches sometimes making the cut. Blue offers Back to Basics, which is more powerful than Blood Moon, the best card Red offers. You also get Rootwater Thieves, Serendib Efreet, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and if you want to get cute Alter Reality.    When was the last time someone tried WW/u?

The current popular decks seem to be TnT, Keeper, and then a combination of Suicide, Parfait, and a host of other decks. To win a tournament you have to have game against Keeper and TnT. For White Weenie, aggro has always been a good matchup. TnT is no exception, especially with the Blue splash.

Back to Basics is so much better than Blood Moon in this matchup. Swords to Plowshares are better than Bolts when it comes to shutting down Welders, and Seals of Cleansing/Null Rods are nothing short of amazing. Throw in first strike to tag-team block the fatties, and it's a good matchup. Holy Tommy Gun can Bolt Juggernauts, and doesn't usually play 4 Swords to Plowshares between the maindeck and sideboard. Blood Moon isn't as effective as Back to Basics since TnT likes colorless mana so much. Jackal Pups aren't as good against fatties as they are against control, but Gorilla Shamans are money wherever there are Moxen.

I give the edge to WW/u on this one.

Now we arrive at Keeper -  

Keeper has always been the worst matchup for White Weenie, and is always seen in the Top 8 at tournaments. Keeper is the deck that has single handedly kept White Weenie out of the popularity spectrum. WW/u has more weapons to fight it than Holy Tommy Gun.

Blasts, Blood Moon, and extra Savannah Lions go a long way to helping White Weenie out, but WW/u can take a different approach altogether, ignoring the aggro portion and almost becoming aggro-control. Back to Basics, Rootwater Thieves, Null Rods and Seal of Cleansing provide answers to Kegs, Moats, Abysses (most of WW critters have pro: black anyways), spot removal, and even shut down Lands. Rootwater Thieves are just amazing, but don't count them in your creature count. They aren't aggressive enough to be considered, as all your real creatures should have a power of 2 or greater, and have some great ability (usually combat oriented). That keeps the aggro matchup favorable. Rootwater Thieves instead are more of a 'spot removal' of your opponents Morphlings and spot removal. Turn 1 Rootwater Thieves can steal games, Back to Basics can steal games... maybe not enough to make Keeper a favorite matchup, but enough to make it possible for White Weenie to win again, IMHO.

For reference, this is the decklist I use:

//NAME: white weenie
        1 Strip Mine
        4 Tundra
        8 Plains
        1 Island
        3 Flooded Strand
        1 Mox Sapphire
        1 Black Lotus
        1 Mox Pearl
        1 Mox Diamond
        1 Black Vise
        1 Rootwater Thief
        2 Back to Basics
        1 Null Rod
        3 Seal of Cleansing
        3 Swords to Plowshares
        1 Enlightened Tutor
        4 Land Tax
        1 Scroll Rack
        1 Ancestral Recall
        1 Time Walk
        4 Savannah Lions
        4 Order of Leitbur
        4 White Knight
        4 Soltari Priest
        1 Order of the White Shield
        1 Phyrexian War Beast
        2 Serendib Efreet
SB:  2 Back to Basics
SB:  1 Seal of Cleansing
SB:  1 Aura Fracture
SB:  3 Null Rod
SB:  1 Swords to Plowshares
SB:  2 Powder Keg
SB:  1 Zuran Orb
SB:  3 Rootwater Thief
SB:  1 Order of the White Shield

I'd also like to add that this is my first post as a member of TMD, so please be kind..  

[The Dude]

dude here

4 Savannah Lions
4 Soltari Priest
3 Order of Leitbur
2 Order of the White Shield
3 Serendib Efreet
2 Rootwater Thief

2 Back to Basics
3 Seal of Cleansing
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Land Tax
2 Scroll Rack
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Black Vise

1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Pearl
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Flood Strand
4 Tundra
2 Island
8 Plains

Personally I woud play Holy Tommygun than this pile. Tommy gun did as it promised. It fixed White Weenies inability to get in the last few points of damage before loosing board control. Tommygun also had more interesting tricks, and didn't look as janky like your original version did.

Good luck which ever way you choose to go, white weenie is a fun deck.

[Matt The Great]

Holy Pikula! (cough cough)

[PsychoCid]

All that needs to be said here is that having a HIGHER curve, a lack of real anti-blue cards, and using mana severance (no pun intended) tricks that shut down your OWN mana (b2b/null rod) is NOT what will help you against blue-based control.

Blood Moon is a lot stronger vs. Keeper than b2b is, just not against decks that can use the red mana, like TnT.

Also, you failed to incorporate ANY Undiscovered Paradises, completely ignoring the fact that they work well with Land Tax, Back to Basics, and Masticore (the last of which you don't even have).\n\n

[Hanzalot]

I think Meddling Mage should be in if you're going W/u. Seems to me that that's one of the strongest critters you gain. Also psionic blast at least SB'ed could be nice...

Of course U/w is better than W/u then you'd go more controllish and perhaps even try the new voidmage prodigy - I toyed around with it for a short while and it's quite ok...

--Hanzalot

[Zherbus]

Whew, where to start.

Quote In the case of Holy Tommy Gun, Red offers Bolts, Pups, Shamans, Blood Moon, and Blasts, with a few toys like Goblin Trenches sometimes making the cut. Blue offers Back to Basics, which is more powerful than Blood Moon, the best card Red offers. You also get Rootwater Thieves, Serendib Efreet, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and if you want to get cute Alter Reality.    When was the last time someone tried WW/u?

People try it all the time. The power blue lures them into that trap quite often. Rootwater thieves are nice but die to easily without pitch counters to protect them before they hit. Serendibs arent even used in Zoo anymore since flying isnt generally a factor in todays metagame. Alter reality is good, but it works better against decks you already do well against - mono-colored aggro.

Quote The current popular decks seem to be TnT, Keeper, and then a combination of Suicide, Parfait, and a host of other decks. To win a tournament you have to have game against Keeper and TnT. For White Weenie, aggro has always been a good matchup. TnT is no exception, especially with the Blue splash.

Well yeah, TnT will lose to you. Suicide is a cute speed bump and Keeper will always be a hassle.

Quote Back to Basics is so much better than Blood Moon in this matchup. Swords to Plowshares are better than Bolts when it comes to shutting down Welders, and Seals of Cleansing/Null Rods are nothing short of amazing. Throw in first strike to tag-team block the fatties, and it's a good matchup. Holy Tommy Gun can Bolt Juggernauts, and doesn't usually play 4 Swords to Plowshares between the maindeck and sideboard. Blood Moon isn't as effective as Back to Basics since TnT likes colorless mana so much. Jackal Pups aren't as good against fatties as they are against control, but Gorilla Shamans are money wherever there are Moxen.

Back to Basics lets Keeper use its mana at least once, and Bloodmoon just turns it off mostly. HTG goes for Bolts since it can draw into them against control and shorten the clock. You NEED to shorten the clock against control since WW is slow and all they need is time to recover.

I wouldnt use Bloodmoon against TnT anyways. I would just kill all its creatures, block with first strikers, and call it a day.

Quote Turn 1 Rootwater Thieves can steal games, Back to Basics can steal games... maybe not enough to make Keeper a favorite matchup, but enough to make it possible for White Weenie to win again, IMHO.

Getting the Tax/Rack working against Keeper can win as can Bloodmoon. Also, a pro black creature can typically go a long way. However, the problem that WW has, that using blue wont fix, is that its too slow to apply the kind of pressure aggro needs.

On your list:

Why Null Rod maindeck over a second Rack?

Why no Undiscovered Paradise? My guess is that you dont ride on the engine as much as HTG.

Meddling Mage is either really good or just poopy depending on the situation.

[dragon172]

You're deck runs to many 1x cards for WW. Try to smooth it out a bit to add some consistency. I agree with Zherbus about the second Scroll Rack over the Null Rod. Maybe add a couple Land Tax for Tax/Rack to keep the pressure on your opponent. I dunno, just a thought.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Ahh... responses.

Firstly it's nice to see Zherbus replying, he's the one guy I really wanted to reply, and of course Bastian should be around eventually.  

Null Rod is just a leftover from my irrational fear of Kegs/Masticore, which aren't as prevalent as they once were since TnT altered the metagame a tad. I have since removed them to make room for the extra Scroll Rack. I myself have never won a game because of Tax/Rack against Keeper, the engine just never seems to work for me without getting countered or otherwise destroyed. I'll trust your opinion however. Zherbus you're also correct in saying the I don't ride the engine as much as WW/r does, but I'm gonna try to change that, and hopefully speed up the deck as a result.

Psionic Blast - total brain fart. It should definitely be in there and it also makes Merchant Scroll worthy of the deck, to fetch either a Psi Blast or Ancestral. I really like this addition and I even won a game against Paragon Keeper last night because I was able to Psi Blast twice.

Back to Tax/Rack - Undiscovered Paradise wasn't an oversight, I just didn't Rack a lot. Since I'm making the commitment to Tax/Rack stronger, I am now playing a Paradise.

I still don't like Meddling Mage.. but since I'm trying to be faster I've dropped the 3 cc creatures in favor of Pikula, although they could just as easily be Pump Knights (which I may end up doing). I've also had extremely good results with Rootwater Thieves.

If only it were possible to play WW/r/u...  

Updated list, for now.

//NAME: white weenie
        1 Strip Mine
        4 Tundra
        7 Plains
        1 Island
        2 Flooded Strand
        1 Undiscovered Paradise
        1 Black Lotus
        1 Mox Sapphire
        1 Mox Pearl
        1 Mox Diamond
        1 Rootwater Thief
        2 Psionic Blast
        1 Merchant Scroll
        3 Swords to Plowshares
        3 Seal of Cleansing
        1 Black Vise
        4 Land Tax
        2 Scroll Rack
        1 Time Walk
        1 Ancestral Recall
        1 Enlightened Tutor
        3 Meddling Mage
        1 Order of the White Shield
        4 Savannah Lions
        4 Soltari Priest
        4 White Knight
        4 Order of Leitbur
SB:  2 Powder Keg
SB:  1 Zuran Orb
SB:  1 Psionic Blast
SB:  3 Null Rod
SB:  3 Back to Basics
SB:  1 Aura Fracture
SB:  1 Seal of Cleansing
SB:  2 Rootwater Thief
SB:  1 Swords to Plowshares

[Cyrus]

What's up with the one odd Order? I'd replace it with the Meddling Mage, it'll just make your deck more consistant and disruptive, which is what ww really needs.

I'd also think of Empyrial Armor if you're running tax/rack. I know creature enchantments aren't that good, but they are awesome with tax.

Take Soltari Monk into consideration as well, as it seems sligh will just eat you alive.

And I'd think of running 4 warbeasts as well, as they'd help round out a nice mana curve. Just my thoughts on the deck.

[Oldschool]

Paladin en-Vec would be good against TNT, Sui and Sligh and is immune to Abyss. Even though he is 3cc

True Believer would hurt Academy if you can get it out fast enough.

I'd try to find room for 4 Psi Blasts and up to 3 Rootwater theives. Psi Blasts are never dead cards.

[Zherbus]

Quote (Oldschool @ Nov. 27 2002,20:23)Paladin en-Vec would be good against TNT, Sui and Sligh and is immune to Abyss. Even though he is 3cc

Phyrexian Warbeast is good against all those and doesnt die to Fire and hits for 3.

[Oldschool]

Paladin en-Vec does not die from fire. It's pro red and black and is first strike. Warbeast dies to Juggernaught and Sui-Cheese. 2 Paladins will kill a Jug and Sui-Cheese and live.

[Zherbus]

Yeah thats my bad on the fire.

The downfall to a Warbeast works well with Land Tax. Neither TnT or Suicide are an issue for WW, its Keeper.

[Oldschool]

point taken on the the Warbeast/Tax tech. Playing against keeper really sucks because apart from Moat/Abyss, there is really not much you can do about Balance abuse.

[Zherbus]

Which is why WW isn't generally playable. In HTG, red gives you 2 big guns against it, Bloodmoon and Shaman. Not to mention REB's and more 2/1's to actually apply pressure.

[Rpgraccoon]

Quote (Woolly Mammoth @ Nov. 27 2002,16:35)If only it were possible to play WW/r/u...  

There is a way to play that I believe its called Star Spageled Banner. There is an older version in the primer by Bastion. However it has problem with Mana consistency.

[Oldschool]

3 colors would make WW pump knights way too janky. Im pretty muched convinced on the HTG deck idea over W/U. Blue really doesnt have much to offer WW against already bad match ups such as keeper. Against TNT, Slight and Sui you're already kicking ass with the White part of the deck.

Anyone do well with HTG in tournaments? ok ok i'll do a search heh. Just wondering if it's had any real world success.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Zherbus himself admits that HTG doesn't have a great matchup with Keeper, so I'm trying to go a different rout. If I can remove Morphling-Morphling-spot removal with a lucky Thief, maybe lock them down with B2B (although the point is taken that Blood Moon is indeed better vs. Keeper), maybe get Tax/Rack going, or just get a lucky Psionic Blast for the win... I'm doing things differently from HTG. Just trying.  

Notes on the deck - I've gone up to 4 Psionic Blast, it's only been Misdirected once and that really sucked, but other than that it usually does resolve. It's another 4 cards that kill TnT fat, bringing the main deck total to 10 cards not counting first strikers. More importantly it's 4 damage to the dome if it's not countered, and more than once I've stalled out against Keeper to Blast them out in response to Morphling. I love it.

Zherbus, what are your thoughts on Meddling Mage vs. Rootwater Thief? The Mage is better equipped to protect himself and your other creatures by naming Balance or delaying the dreaded Morphling if you've really got pressure going. The Thief is capable of removing the threats altogether, but needs time to do it. Time is tough to get without counterspells of your own. What do you think is better for the ultimate dream (beating Keeper)?

[Zherbus]

I dont think its so much Morphling thats the problem, you can just charge through will a pump knight and first strike it to death. As a Keeper player, 9/10 times a Meddling mage hits, I sort of shrug and kill it with a spell they havent named. Of course, I have done the same thing with Rootwater Thief, but I would be more apt to counter them as they would be a near immediate threat.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Thief it is..

New decklist to attempt to keep the discussion going. The HTG thread seems to have stolen a few posters!  

//NAME: mr. toad's wild ride
        1 Strip Mine
        4 Tundra
        7 Plains
        1 Island
        1 Undiscovered Paradise
        2 Flooded Strand
        1 Black Lotus
        1 Mox Sapphire
        1 Mox Pearl
        1 Mox Diamond
        3 Seal of Cleansing
        3 Swords to Plowshares
        1 Black Vise
        4 Psionic Blast
        1 Time Walk
        1 Ancestral Recall
        4 Land Tax
        2 Scroll Rack
        1 Enlightened Tutor
        1 Phyrexian War Beast
        2 Order of the White Shield
        1 Rootwater Thief
        4 Soltari Priest
        4 Order of Leitbur
        4 White Knight
        4 Savannah Lions
SB:  1 Aura Fracture
SB:  1 Seal of Cleansing
SB:  3 Null Rod
SB:  3 Back to Basics
SB:  1 Swords to Plowshares
SB:  2 Powder Keg
SB:  1 Zuran Orb
SB:  3 Rootwater Thief

I noticed that with the Psi Blasts I'm now playing a boatload of removal, and I love it. 10 main deck ways to kill Su-Chi/Juggernaut. 6 ways to kill a Dreadnaught. Don't even get me started on what I can do to Negators.

This deck seems to do so well against everything but Academy and Keeper - the two decks I want Blood Moon for. This puts me at a loss. All the work I've done I've found something that does so well, yet still only goes about 30% against the really good Keeper players. Against people unfamiliar with Keeper I tend to break even with, but that's no accomplishment. As for Academy, a lucky Rootwater Thief in one game and a fizzle in the other gives me the match win, so anything is possible. Just this darned Keeper... Which brings me to this - Dust Bowl? Wastelands? Mishra's Factories? Will anything help against Keeper short of Blood Moon and Blasts?

[Rpgraccoon]

Dustbowl or Wasteland may be a good idea standered WW no splash uses Wasteland. However, Dustbowl kill multiple lands.

Have you thought about using Cunning Wish?

[Woolly Mammoth]

Dust Bowl might be a good idea, but it's slow so I'd have to replace an already slow card with it, and it's not worth losing a Psionic Blast or a War Beast for a Dust Bowl. I can't take out the Black Vise for the Bowl because I'd be altering the amount of cards that are good early, not to mention aggressive. I want as many cards as possible that effect life totals, but some amount of removal and drawing abilities are needed. Dust Bowl just isn't good enough.

As for Cunning Wish.. care to elaborate? I don't see it 'thinning' out my deck, I see it being a more flexible Psionic Blast that messes up my sideboard and costs twice as much.

Anything else I'm forgetting?

[Redman]

I find it interesting that nobody metioned Standstill, even though that was one of the cards (along with Meddling Mage) that made me play a WW/u deck for a while.

There are a few things in your decklist I don't agree with.

1 Black Vise, 1 War Beast, 1 Thief, 2 Order I dont' think is the way to go. In an aggro deck, most cards worth playing are worth playing in 3s or 4s. Beast can be good, but what about Serendib? The main problem with him is that he'll hurt more in the Sligh matchup, which isn't always that great for you. Your other issue is that with 4 Psi Blasts already, you don't want too many more 3cc spells, becasue Mana Drain begins to loom as a larger threat.

How much W mana do you you usually have available? Is 6 Pump Knights your ideal number?

I do not think that Black Vise belongs here.

Meddling Mage can be strong in the right situation. If you are planning on playing mostly known decks, it's great, if you play against random decks, it can suck. I might try it if the mana can support it.

Crystalline Sliver is even a possiblity, and debatably better than Galina's Knight against Sligh, as it can't be Scrolled.

Does anyone think Armageddon is worth anything anymore? If timed right, it can really help against control. In one of my older versions, Orim's Chant was there to help it through though.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Due to Mana Drain, Winter Orb seems much more viable than Armageddon, although I may be wrong. Armageddon itself is just a tad too expensive for my tastes.

Meddling Mage isn't as good as Rootwater Thief in the matchups I'm scared about, and the maindeck Thief used to be Back to Basics just to Tutor for against Keeper, but I found it didn't work as well as a lone Thief. If nothing else the Thief still pings for 1 where B2B doesn't. I'm not worried about Sligh right now, I never see it and if they aren't playing scrubby Sligh with 4 Fanatics and Ball Lightnings I still should win that matchup.

I love Pump Knights. They attack through almost anything, block TnT's fat, they wreck Suicide Black, dodge Abyss, and still beat down better than any 2 cc creature I can play.. usually I have 3 White mana when I want to attack with one, and I get the 4th soon after. 4 damage a turn from 1 creature is a lot for this deck, and I think I like have 6 Pump Knights. The numbers you pulled out about inconsistency - the 2 extra Orders are actually copies of the 4 I've already got, so 6 is very consistent. The War Beast is a 5th Psionic Blast - expensive non-white source of damage. The Rootwater Thief I already explained as being a single hate card, and it is strong when it stays in play. As for the Vise, think of the Black Vise as the 5th Savannah Lion. Maybe it doesn't belong, but sometimes it's just so good. In testing, most of the time Black Vise was bad only because I didn't draw it during the game!  

Phyrexian War Beast.. could be changed for a Cursed Scroll, and I may still do that. Mana Drain hurts, and I used to run 2 Serendib Efreets and a War Beast, so that Enlightened Tutor could at least fetch a semi-fattie creature. I took out the Serendibs for more Psionic Blasts since the Blasts tend to get the damage through much better.

Standstill... it could work, but by itself it's not a threat. I'd either run 4 or 0, and right now I'm at zero. What would you take out to put them in? I don't think it's the case of Standstill not being a good card, but it's bad in a few matchups and not good enough in the others, IMHO.

[Redman]

My feeling about Enlightened Tutor is mixed, if it really works well I'd keep it, but I tend to be wary of any card-disadvantage tutors in an deck meant to be agressive.

Standstill I actually would not play 4 of, there are times when it really stinks to draw one. I'd play 3.

Circumventing the argument of whether a Warbeast constitutes a 5th Psi Blast, do you really even want a 5th one? I'm almost thinking you don't want a 4th.
 
Scroll probably wouldn't work so well with Tax, otherwise it can be a good choice. Goes better in a WW/r though, as you'll have a smaller hand.

If Thief is as good as you say, why not pull Black Vise and the lone Warbeast for two Thieves? What about leaving all the Thieves in the SB and adding 3 Standstill over the MD Vise, Beast, and Thief?

Winter Orb works well with Tax, not so well with Scroll Rack and Pump Knights. (And neither does Armageddon, now that I think about it.)

Have you played a few games against Sligh? Ironically it can be a real tough matchup for WW if you don't prepare properly.\n\n

[Woolly Mammoth]

Update. If you've got questions on card choices I'd be happy to explain/debate, but I've got a few term papers to get to. I just don't want the discussion to dry out..  

//NAME: mr. toad's wild ride
        1 Strip Mine
        4 Tundra
        7 Plains
        1 Island
        1 Undiscovered Paradise
        2 Flooded Strand
        1 Black Lotus
        1 Mox Sapphire
        1 Mox Pearl
        1 Mox Diamond
        3 Seal of Cleansing
        3 Swords to Plowshares
        1 Ancestral Recall
        4 Land Tax
        2 Scroll Rack
        1 Time Walk
        4 Psionic Blast
        4 Meddling Mage
        1 Rootwater Thief
        4 Soltari Priest
        4 Order of Leitbur
        4 White Knight
        4 Savannah Lions
        1 Order of the White Shield
SB:  3 Null Rod
SB:  1 Seal of Cleansing
SB:  3 Rootwater Thief
SB:  4 Back to Basics
SB:  1 Swords to Plowshares
SB:  1 Zuran Orb
SB:  2 Powder Keg

I fixed some inconsistencies, added more threats and more 'disruption' if you can even call it that.  

[Woolly Mammoth]

I'm starting to doubt the necessity of Tax/Rack in this deck.

In HTG I see it necessary because of the cheaper burn spells, and I agree that Tax/Rack is good there. But in my experience it just hasn't worked out well. Keeper never lets a Scroll Rack resolve, leaving me just Taxing. Aggro doesn't let me Tax usually by playing 1-2 lands, and with my expensive burn I can't effectively use Tax/Rack against them unless I draw into my 1 sideboarded Zuran Orb. By itself Tax/Rack actually does no damage, and it seems to add to some inconsistencies.

I'm currently testing out 3 Cursed Scrolls over 1 Land Tax and the 2 Scroll Racks, and so far I really like it. Colorless damage that is a good first turn play against Keeper, reusable creature removal against aggro, it's worked out quite well. It does suck against combo, but so did Tax/Rack so it's not much of a loss.

Zherbus, do you agree with the removal of Tax/Rack for WW/u?

[psyduck]

For your reference, this is my slight variant of ABM, originally conceived almost two years ago, posted on TMD at its incarnation (9 months ago?) by NaChlv.

This variant was developed roughly around the same time NaChlv's first post went up. Let me remind you that NaChlv originally had a WW/u build that later "transcended" if you will into ABM, his conclusion, as is mine, is that a WW/u build will eventually turn into ABM:

Psyduck ABM (January 2002)

4 Land Tax
4 Scroll Rack

4 Meddling Mage
2 Devout Witness
2 Mystic Enforcer

4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
3 Back To Basics

1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Balance
1 Regrowth

1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Diamond
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus

1 Powder Keg
1 Zuran Orb
1 Swords To Plowshares

2 City Of Brass
2 Gemstone Mine
3 Undiscovered Paradise

4 Island
6 Plains

SB:
3 Seal Of Cleansing
1 Powder Keg
3 Fire/Ice
2 Misdirection
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Back To Basics
3 Swords To Plowshares

I've had a nearly flawless online ratio for whatever that is worth, and I've also had two games where I mulled two three cards and still won. (Logs for anyone who is interested).

One of the games where I mulled to three cards, I won without ever playing a single land. Yes, it wasn't a concnession either, I had double Mystic Enforcer's and a B2B and some other things on the table, including tax/rack.

This is a really "hyper" efficient deck and recommend taking a second look into this or the original ABM build.

Let me just point out some "vital" interactions that commonly
occur, but first let me state that almost always, within 3 turns of tax rack on the table, the game is over.

Meddling Mage *always* names mana drain against opening underground sea/tropical island (1st game). Meddling mage either draws the counter, nullify's the counter, or forces out the painful early FoW, making easy headway for tax/rack/b2b.

Mystic Enforcer Flys over Moat, isn't stopped by the Abyss, and puts a large dent on MonoBlack, blocks Morphling, and of course, can swing for 6.

Devout Witness+Meddling Mage can pretty much eradicate the early TNT game on the spot, the Devout Witness alone is a wrecking ball on Enchantress/TNT/and especially Parfait when combined with Med Mage for STP.

I was thinking about writing a "primer" on ABM, but for now I'll be content wtih this. A big issue with my primer is how I believe that no other deck is more suited for Force of Will than this one, with the exception of pre-restrict 4 FOF BSB (Britney Spears Blue), essentially each card is a metagame backbreaker, and the FOW compliments this idea perfectly, since the tap out for the "backbreaking" occurs 1st - 3rd turn, drawing many concessions that early. The main idea is that *you always tap out while playing ABM* turns 1-5, with each card being a metagame backbreaker, hence the FOW's are perfect, you never hold back mana. Aggro Control in a nutshell.

[Zherbus]

Quote Zherbus, do you agree with the removal of Tax/Rack for WW/u?

Yes, thats what Bastian did when he made 'Smurfs' back on BD, if I remember correctly. Your spells are more costly to use Land Tax as well. He used Null Rods over Scrolls, though.

Quote The Smurfs 2.2; Pedro Godinho aka Bastian
3 Order of Leitbur
3 Order of the White Shield
4 Meddling Mage
4 Savannah Lions
4 Soltari Priest
3 Serendib Efreet

1 Balance
4 Seal of Cleansing
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Standstill
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Tithe
4 Null Rod

1 Black Lotus
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Tundra
1 Strip Mine
1 Undiscovered Paradise
6 Plains

Sideboard:
4 Erase
3 Powder Keg
3 Serenity
3 Story Circle
1 Timetwister
1 Black Vise

I just want to add that 3 colors becomes 100% doable with tithes. His version listed above would obviously have fetchlands over painlands. I will never like Serendib's in this deck, no matter what anyone says. Flying is generally a shit ability in T1.

One of the key strengths is the use of Standstill, however in his version I would most definetly use Mother of Runes. Its a one-drop that will work better than the two-drops combined with standstill. I would probably even run Mishra's Factories as well.

Also, 4 Swords should exist in this, but between the SB and Maindeck. I bet (since this deck IS pre-JU) that Cunning Wish could be made nicely in here. Probably work in some nice things like Teferi's Response (for the factories), the other STPs, Blue Elemental Blast, a disenchant type instant or two, a FoF, whatever...

In a quick brainstorm my list would look like this:

Creatures (22)
4 Order of the White Shield
4 Meddling Mage
4 Savannah Lions
4 Mother Of Runes
2 Soltari Monk
4 Mishra's Factory

Stuff (21)
1 Balance
4 Seal of Cleansing
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Cunning Wish
3 Standstill
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Tithe
3 Null Rod

Mana (17)
1 Black Lotus
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tundra
1 Strip Mine
1 Undiscovered Paradise
6 Plains

SB:
3 Story Circle
1 Fact of Fiction
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Teferi's Response
1 Misdirection
1 Mana Leak
3 Disenchant
3 Blue Elemental Blast

[Woolly Mammoth]

Psyduck - interesting, but I disagree. WW/u will only turn into ABM if you slip too far into aggro-control, and then the full switch takes place when you splash for power cards and cut the creature count. I'll take the principles into consideration however, and have strongly considered playing Devout Witness even before your post.  

Zherbus - Hmm.. I had a version with 4 Tithes and 4 Flooded Strands I'd been toying with, only I splashed for 3 Price of Progress too. I know, a deck with almost no basics playing PoP sounds silly, but it's only there for Keeper. Think of it as a big Psionic Blast, where instead of 4 damage to your opponent and 2 to you, it's 10 to your opponent and 6 to you. When you're the aggro deck, do you really mind? I'd also finally have Blasts and Meddling Mages to force it through. I'll post the WW/r/u decklist in the morning, I'm too tired to go rooting through apprentice now.

I also don't think Null Rod is important enough to main deck anymore.. BBS isn't that prominent, so I'm comfortable with it in the sideboard.

BTW - I completely agree with you on the Serendib Efreet thing, in fact I don't even run War Beasts. Psionic Blasts take the place of those creatures, and I never have regretted it. I like Standstill, but I believe I'm playing more land than you and I still struggle to get enough occasionally, are 17 sources (plus Factories) really enough? I'd still play other creatures over Mother of Runes even taking Standstill into consideration. In addition to Lotus I play 3 Moxes (Pearl, Sapphire, Diamond) so it's not all that rare that I have a first turn creature... besides, Factories are great defenders, and that's all Mothers are good for is defending.

Story Circle?!?