Mask

[bebe]

As I mentioned, I have pretty retired from the Type 1 scene. However, I did commit to attend one series of tournaments every two months. So I kept one deck. I felt it was time to share the deck with the community but I really do not have the time to respond more than once a week. I will get back to responses when I can.

Last tournament I went undefeated in a fair field - Shockwave, Specialk, Dicemanx and others attended. I played a U/g variant of Mask ( check tournament reports - Toronto - for the deck list) but was not entirely happy despite the excellent result. I found the Dryads were just not adding enough punch. So, I went back to the store ( hairyt's in Toronto) sat down with Leon and produced the following deck :  

Hairy Mask

 mana: 19
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
Island
Mox Emerald
Mox Sapphire
Mox Jet
Sol Ring
Black Lotus
LoA

 spells: 30
4 Force of Will
3 Misdirection
4 Brainstorm
4 Gush
4 Sleight of Hand
2 Cunning Wish
Merchant Scroll
Mystical Tutor
Time Walk
Ancestral Recall
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Berserk
Regrowth
Fastbond

 kill: 11
4 Illusionary Mask
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Psychatog

 sideboard: 15
2 Gilded Drake
2 Annul
2 Naturalize
2 Smother
Crumble
Dominate
BeB
Ebony Charm
Submerge
FoF
Berserk

Now, I will not say I was the first to play the deck but I know I played these Mask decks early on. I was impressed with the resiliancy and the consistency of the deck. I honestly seem to go off on average between turn three and five unless heavily disrupted.
Now, this version is a bit different from the others.

mana -
It looks a bit off. However, with the Mask I need Sol Ring more than another dual. I will not say I have never been manascrewed. Even with U/g my deck crapped out game one against Specialk and i mulliganed to five. But I still almost recovered on time due to the amount of cards I could draw. I do not miss the strip mine at all. I rarely used it as the deck will normally go off so quickly that I was using it for mana.

counters -
I opted to go with just the seven counters main. With the amount of cards I draw I rarely find myself without one in hand. The Wishes can fetch whatever else I need.

spells -
Not much to say here. I dropped Yawg's Will ( yes, I know it sounds crazy) for a Merchant Scroll. The Scroll was just more useful in more games. The other are standard to the Gro archetype. This core of cards is IMHO, one of the best engines i have ever used:
4 Brainstorm
4 Gush
4 Sleight of Hand
Fastbond

The reason we switched to U/g/b was for Vamp, Demonic and Tog. The tutors are far better overall than Scrolls which they replaced.  

creatures -
It took awhile. Psychatog > Dryad. I can win the Tog almost as early as with the Dreads at times. I can also play it under thre Mask if necessary. Sometimes the deck looks more like Hulk than Mask. That works fine for me. I could not believe how much better the deck was with the Tog over the Dryad. This was one of the best reasons for changing to a U/g/b build.

sideboard -
Here is where the deck shines now. Ebony Charm and
Smothers made a big difference against a number of decks -
TnT ( Really, this is not too hard a matchup but Charms help)
Gro-a-Tog ( I need Smothers and Charms for the this)
Mask ( Smothers and Drakes help a lot)
I already had Naturalize, Dominate, Submerge and Berserk in the side in the U/g build and found them quite strong.
The one card I am testing is FoF. At times I find myself in need of an answer and I am thinking it might be useful though as yet I've never pulled it. This might go for an extra Naturalize or an Edict.
BTW, I do not like Steely Resolve enough to use it. Even against multiple StPs, I managed to win last Sunday. They do not help against Balance, Edicts and other non-targeted removal which is as common.  

matchups -
I have so far fared quite well against CONTROL. I was surprised how difficult this deck could be against it. There are too many cards it needs to counter as the deck is quite redundant. It also helps that most people are not quite sure what they are facing the first time.
GRO-A-TOG and HULK are both solid opponents. If Mask resolves early though, I have never lost. I think this is a winnable match but certainly not an automatic win.  
I have a great record against TNT. My guys are bigger then their guys. My deck is quicker than their deck with all the Workshop help they have.
STAX is a headache. I have eight cards in the side to help me and still often lose. I need really good draws to win.
SLIGH decks are tough. I need to get going quickly. But a Mask/Naught is game. If my deck does not crap out early, i will win. But let's be honest - Sligh always can surprise you.
COMBO decks are not too bad. My deck is turn or two slower but I can disrupt their plans for those two turns often enough. So far i have fared well against most combo decks. I think the match up favors Mask overall.
AGGRO should not be hard. I have tested pretty heavily and the match up favors Mask.  

Why play this over Tainted Mask? I find the Togs are a better secondary win condition than Tainted Mask sports and my play style suits countering more than disruption.

Is this a top deck? I think that it is very difficult deck to play against. In a wide meta it becomes a very viable choice.\n\n

[ScaldMonger]

You are amazing. I have been playing an almost identitical deck for over a month now. My list is as follows


Combo (11)
4 Phyrexian Dreadnaught
4 Illusionary Mask
3 Quirion Dryad

Search (3)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

Draw (11)
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Gush
3 Slight of Hand
3 Brainstorm

Utility/Broken (6)
1 Fastbond
1 Regrowth
1 Cunning Wish
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Berserk
1 Timewalk

Counters (8)
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
3 Counterspell

Mana Sources (21)
7 Solomoxen
5 Fetch
3 Underground Sea
4 Tropical Island
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria

Sideboard (15)
3 Duress
2 Smother
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Misdirection
3 Naturalize
2 Masticore
3 Blue Elemental Blast

Have you seen me play this deck by any chance, becuase it's really weird that we would have such similar lists. I haven't posted the deck becuase I've been saving it for NG, but I haven't been able to go for the last 4 weeks. Very very weird.
In anycase, I too have been playing Mask for awhile, and after playing the regular Tainted Mask, I realized that the deck would be soooo much better with a GAT build. So, I took my GAT, removed uneeded stuff, added in what you see in my list. I choose to play Dryads instead of Tog, cause after playing with both at the same time, and individually, I almost always just went with growing a Dryad. Not sure why, but thats just the way it always ended up. I too have found this deck ridiculously good against CONTROL.  It's first test was against Samite Healer's Keeper deck...I don't think it lost a game out of like 10.
It's next set of test were against LAS. Again, the deck went crazy combo and won. Stompy lost, Sui lost, never played it against STAX. Only real loss was to R/G beatz. I account this to the amount of games we played, and the fact that I can't possibly win them all, even though he did sometimes go crazy and I just couldn't go off.
I do believe this deck can easily walkthrough most of the T1 scene right now, but like I said,  it hasn't seen real play yet.

[Akuma (gio)]

I tested this type of deck a long time ago, someone posted something about a deck called "Super Mask", which was basically what you guys are playing. This type of deck is good by virtue of the power of the cards that are being used. The Gro engine is solid, attach anything efficient to it and you're off.

My only gripe with it is that after quite a bit of playtesting, using a standard GAT build just seemed more efficient. You reduce the number of dead cards in the deck. The Masks and the Dreadnoughts are usually a$$ on their own. Sure, the Masks will make your guys uncounterable, but that's provided you get one. I don't even want to count how many times I have ended up with a hand full of Dreadnoughts and no Mask while playing the Mask/Nought combo in its many different incarnations (damn card should have cycling!!).

Using this build does improve the matchup against control somewhat because if you go Mask/Nought early and control doesn't have a counter or can't out counter you, that's game. But overall, I don't see this as an improvement over GAT, just as a good variation that can also win games with the element of suprise.

[bebe]

Quote
My only gripe with it is that after quite a bit of playtesting, using a standard GAT build just seemed more efficient. You reduce the number of dead cards in the deck. The Masks and the Dreadnoughts are usually a$$ on their own. Sure, the Masks will make your guys uncounterable, but that's provided you get one. I don't even want to count how many times I have ended up with a hand full of Dreadnoughts and no Mask while playing the Mask/Nought combo in its many different incarnations (damn card should have cycling!!).

Well, the Brainstorms are there for a reason. I can't recall ( after both extensive play testing and tournament experience ) how seldom I ran into a problem of being unable to find the combo pieces. I have tutors and search. Mask is very useful on its own as I often will hide a Dreads mana cost under the Mask and always play my Togs under the Mask when able. Please elaborate how Tainted Mask is better in this regard.

Quote
Using this build does improve the matchup against control somewhat because if you go Mask/Nought early and control doesn't have a counter or can't out counter you, that's game. But overall, I don't see this as an improvement over GAT, just as a good variation that can also win games with the element of suprise.

Quite apart from the element of surprise, you do recognize that a 12/12 trampler is far better than a Dryad. This deck must be played as a COMBO deck. I never want to reach a mid-game. That was my main reason for beginning to play this deck. I had a few problems playing u/g but this version really feels like the combo deck it is.

Which brings me to ...

Quote
I choose to play Dryads instead of Tog, cause after playing with both at the same time, and individually, I almost always just went with growing a Dryad.

Psychatogs are secondary method of comboing out. Apart from being great early blockers, this deck fills the yard quickly while retaining a good sized hand. I wonder about your tests with Dryads. I think I managed one kill with them mid-game. The togs can go off by turn five or six. Many cards help them out. Fetches ( why I run six), Gushes, Lotus, Cantrips, etc. Ramping up to ten is fairly easy ( remember Berserk) - ramping a Dryad to ten is tough.  

As to the deck list provided as an alternative -
I would feel a bit naked with just one C. Wish.
I see no good reason not to use Vamp tutor.
MisDs have proven better than hard counters ( free is good here)
If I added more counters it would be two mana drains for one Sleight and one Merchant Scroll. However, i tap out more often than not so I thoink two are maximum.
Seven solomoxen are okay but the five I use have proved sufficient. I really want business spells and the deck requires very little mana. Also one or two Islands vs. Moons can be critical.
I've already explained why I think tog an essential piece over Dryad.

BTW, I posted the super mask list. While good it was far from optimum at the time. I mentioned that I would play with it to get it to conform to the best possible rendition. This is as close to what I feel is optimum as I can build. I avoided this forum until I had the tournament and testing results I was looking for.  I was prepared for  ' why not play GAT'. GAT is a great deck, but my 12/12 trampler likes GAT. This is less of am aggro-control deck and much more of a combo deck.  

I see two possible changes depending on meta -
+ 2 mana drain - 1 Sleight  -1 Scroll
The sideboard can be changed. There are a number of possibilities here. I did test Chill, Magus of the Unseen, Steely Resolve, more BeBs, and Edicts. Now Stifle becomes another viable side card.  

And I am still quitting completely by September.

[dicemanX]

Paul, I second what Akuma is saying. GAT is just more consistent, because its not relying on a two card combo. Yes, your build is more "comboish", but it therefore is inherently less consistent. You will get your fair share of fast wins, but likewise you will get cases where you're holding Naughts without getting a Mask in play, or losing your Naughts to a spell thats not supposed to be creature removal - Naturalize (which is really annoying). GAT may not have such fast wins, but does it really matter if it takes 3 turns instead of 1 to win with a Dryad instead of a 12/12 trampler? Probably not very often.

One thing I liked about your build (U/G) from the Sunday tournament was the more solid mana base. It even gives you the option of running B2B if you want, or more strip effects. I'd think that if you want to add black, then GAT is the way to go. Otherwise, U/G looked quite solid for running the Masknaught combo.

With respect to Steely Resolve, that card is primarily used to contend with Mazes of Ith above anything else, as well as those decks that bring in lots of blasts that can take out your togs. The big problem with Maze is that it can control TWO togs at a time if used correctly. If the field only sported STPs as anti-tog creature elimination, then I'd agree that the Resolves would not be as effective.  Also, Resolves can handle very annoying tech cards (some you even listed yourself) such as:  Bouncers, Gilded Drakes, Plaguebearers, Royal Assassins etc.

[Mon, Goblin Chief]

I know Alessandro Ciuchi played a decklist very similar to yours to a t8 finish in Dülmen. His decklist doesn't contain any kill-options besides Dreadnought, though, which I didn't like.
I also tested against a deck, played by a fellow Berlin player, that looked a lot like yours. He had Dryads instead of Togs, but I can see the logic behind your choice. Both of them had not Mana Drains/Counterspells as additional Disruption but Duress. I think this might really be the better option, as this deck really is more combo than GAT. Did you test Duress yourself? And if yes, what where your results with it?

From my experiences (playing Keeper and Shining against this deck) bebe is absolutely right, the Dreads have a definitive advantage over Dryads, as they are a lot faster in presenting a thread. E.g. my opponent managed to kill me, playing Shining, the turn before I could go off, because his Dread was a real thread the turn after he played it, not two turns later.

I, too, wouldn't say that this deck is more consistent than GAT. But uncounterable creatures that are big faster can give it an edge against control (and combo-control especially) and GAT itself. This is quite important, as combo-control and GAT make up a relevant part of the metagame right now, at least in Dülmen. And after what I read, this seems to be true in the US, too (Hulk anyone?).  

The only thing I definitly can't understand, though, is cutting Yawgmoth's Will. It's interaction with the Grow-engine wins so many games on it's own, even ones that looked like already lost, that I personally think it's the best card GAT gained over regular Gro when splashing black. And as you have the whole engine in here, Will is a must include, IMHO. I mean, you DO reach the midgame sometimes, as you wouldn't ever loose otherwise, right? And that's when Will wins you games.
All these observations are from the other side of the table, though, so take them as an outsiders look.

[bebe]

Well, adding two Duress is a definate possibility. I have to say that I reached midgame only once after two tournaments and extensive testing - but I think your reasoning is sound. I might just add Will back. I do lose. I lose fast to aggro or combo in testing but not often. Those games are decided quickly.

The U/g build was very good. Dicemanx saw it in action and that might have skewed his opinion of it. It never lost but one game and that due to mana screw. However, this is just better. We tested it thoroughly and it plain outperforms the other version. I might stick a mana short in the side to deal with Mazes but I have never been victim of one yet.  

It is a consistent deck. I don't see GAT as having a major advantage there. GAT needs to set up first and then win over three to five turns. I win in two to three turns. This is a significant advantage against many decks.

Mons has it right. The deck plays combo keeper, control and GAT very well. I do not get my fair share of fast wins - ninety percent of my games are won or lost before turn eight.

The discussion wou;ld do better focusing on the advantage/disadvantage of this build over Tainted Mask.

[ScaldMonger]

I tried running Duress maindeck, but they got cut in the beggining for lack of room. I run the maindeck counterspells for the simple reason that there shouldn't be a mid-late game, BUT if there is I don't want to be relying on Mis-D to take care of the real problems. My version I feel has a much better mid-late game if need be. Like you all said, it's a combo deck and can win just like one on turn 2, but if it comes down to it, and I need an alternative plan, the Dryads I think are better. Tog just sucks up too many resources to keep alive late game (assuming your playing a Yawg Will).

[MoreFling]

although I probably shouldn't say this here, Gro-Mask is not exactly "new tech". Here, we used it as a conversion sideboard when we first played GAT, and moreover, the deck has been succesfull in online magic leagues until people (finally!) realised GAT is just much better.

Now, it's still a good and fun deck to play, but it's inherently weaker, because Mask is more vulnerable than Tog is, and you have less room for cantrips and whatnot.

Basicly, I would advise Venguer Masquee as superior for using Mask (and instead of with grow, combining it with FEB).

[Gabethebabe]

Yesterday I played 3 games with Vengeur Masquée vs GAT and lost 2-1. The games were pretty even and exciting.

My opponent was running lotsa answers to Dreadnoughts (Naturalize, Swords (! UGWB GAT !), Smother) and with him constantly drawing cards and cycling through his deck, found a solution quite often in time.

One game I lost after topdecking a Mask, playing it (no counter) and putting 2 Dreadnought into play. Only one was allowed to attack and only once.  

The only game I won was due to turn 3 Tradewind Rider controlling the board (helped by a BoP and a hardcast Squee  )

I don´t have the cards for Gro-a-Nought but Masquée plays pretty well. I´m using Carl´s list but have 3 Tradewinds maindeck (Gilded Drake and Nantuko Vigilante were axed)

[bebe]

Quote
Now, I will not say I was the first to play the deck but I know I played these Mask decks early on. I was impressed with the resiliancy and the consistency of the deck.

I have been toying with Mask builds for some time. I do not claim it is 'new tech' but rather ignored tech. I recall posting the first - yes the first Fish decks on BD and only Rakso at the time thought them viable. It did not deter me. I also played STAX very early and like Psyduck was ignored ( however, Psyduck did come up with the best innovations ).

I do not want to play GAT - not that it isn't a good deck. I just beat it more often than not with this deck and fare better against combo-keeper as well. I've seen the Dulmen build. It had no Togs or Dryads. Like Tainted Mask, the deck needs additional threats. Tog is a great finisher in this build.
And people also turned to GAT because it is cheaper to build in real life. This deck needs all the power and Masks. Online they play everything and everything is a fad for awhile.  

@ Scandalmonger - we will agree to disagree over Togs/Dryads. Last night I cut a few cards for maindeck two Duress and one Yawg's. We tested about two hours. I like the Will now. And it never really interfered with the Tog action.
I'm not convinced of the Duress but I might keep them a while.

More to the point though -  
Why are you not using four Brainstorm? Certainly they are better overall than Slight. I also do not rely on MisD to take care of problems - I rely on Cunning Wishes, and therefore use two not one. But from turn two to eight the MisDs are golden. I can tap out against control. I would use Voidmages before Counterspells ( I used them in U/g but had to cut them for space in U/g/b. They were great under the Mask.

[pinkfloyd]

I to have been running this deck for a little while now. I like how it runs and it is my play style. I like the togs over the dryads in this build do to the togs abillity to just kill quicker. Here is the build that I have been running latelly:

26 blue
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
4 Gush
4 Brainstorm
3 Opt
4 Force of Will
3 Misdirection
2 Counterspell
2 Cunning Wish

3 black
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawmoths Will

2 green
1 Fastbond
1 Regrowth

2 gold
2 Psychatog

12 artifact
4 Illusionary Mask
4 Phyrexian Dreadnaughts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald

16 land
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Tropical Island
1 Strip Mine
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand

15 s.b.
1 Diabolic Edict
3 Duress
1 Ebony Charm
1 Smother
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Hurkyls Recall
1 Interdict
1 Misdirection
1 Berserk
2 Naturalize
2 Pernicious Deed

[bebe]

Well, since they decided to restrict Gush I have had to revamp the deck a bit.  
 
 Mask

 mana: 21
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Swamp
3 Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
7 SoloMoxen
LoA
 
Counters: 10
4 Force of Will
3 Misdirection
3 Duress

 search: 19
4 Brainstorm
4 AK
2 Intuition
2 Cunning Wish
Mystical Tutor
Merchant Scroll
Time Walk
Ancestral Recall
Demonic Tutor
Timetwister
Yawg's Will

 kill: 10
4 Illusionary Mask
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
2 Rainbow Efreet

sb:
3 B2B
3 Gilded Drake
2 Annul
FoF
Dominate
BeB
2 Smother
Ebony charm
Recoil

I decided to go with the AK/Intuition engine. I have missed the Togs a bit but the deck still is capable of very fast wins and I do not miss the green.  

I could have used Morphlings as my secondary creature but I love the elegance of Rainbows and I find that I can play them from hand pretty fast with the mana acceleration.  

Again, this is not Hulk or GAT. play monoblack if you prefer but this deck is a house of its own.\n\n