Bruised Fish, a chance for a comeback...

[MSR9889]

Bruised Fish
           Created by myself, Matt Ramos, and my friend Steve Capetta (there you go Steve)

Bruised Fish consists of the colors blue and black. Gay Fish/ U/Rfish was a huge sucess. Im trying to reinvent it with my friend Steve. It basically consists of the basis of any standard fish deck, but could black be the evolution necessary? Lets find out...

Lands:

4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
3 Wasteland
1 Stripmine
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Mishras Factory
2 Faerie Conclave
1 Swamp
2 Island

Creatures:

3 Cloud of Faeries
4 Dauthi Warlord
4 Spiketail Hatchling
2 Voidmage Prodigy

Draw/Utility:

2 Null Rod
4 Standstill
4 Curiosity
4 Diabolic Edict
4 Force of Will
2 Daze
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Saphire
1 Timewalk
1 Crucible of Worlds

SideBoard:
3 Stifle
2 Suq'Ata Firewalker (i think this is the right spelling)
2 Nullrod
2 Energy Flux
2 Control Magic
2 BEB
2 Sigil of Sleep

Card Choices

Lands-obviously the Undergrounds are in for Volcanics. We are running 3 basics, since everyone is playing wastes these days. And B2B is incredibly annoying. The one thing we choose not to run, were the Factories. Now these are good in multiples, but we now have the Warlords for attacking and accumulating as a whole. The Conclaves are still there incase they should happen to be out with the Standstill. They also fly and hit/ block for 2 damage. 3 wastes are self explanatory, as is the strip.

Creatures- The deck has the basics of any Fish deck, such as the Hatchling, Voidmage, and the Faeries. Here is how they add up...

Spiketail Hatchling- This guy is annoying. An attackin creature with flying and the ability to sac for a counter. Very handy in the early game for countering what your opponent has just enough mana for.

Cloud of Faeries- Yet another attacking flyer for 2. Not only does it allow you to play a creature turn 2, but you untap 2 lands and play more of them, or others such as the Rod or Standstill. And to make them yet even better, they cycle while the Standstill is in play.

Voidmage Prodigy- A 2/1 for UU. Hardly a problem. And again, a beatstick under the SS, who sacs for a counter also. Not to mention morph, if anyone has ever played him through it.

Dauthi Warlord- This guy is incredible. Who plays shadow in t1? Exactly. More than one of them, and they all do more damage. So he's unblockable and self pumping. He enjoys being curious, and sometimes sleepy(see the SB).

The Tools-

Nullrod- Again, the basics of any fish deck are appearing. A total of 4 of these badboys and 3 Energy Flux. Nuff said...

Ancestral, Standstill, and Curiosity- A MUST HAVE, no matter what. 9 draw cards, all giving you more than 1 card per use. Again, they work around all the creatures in the deck.

Force and Daze- Once more in all fish builds, both can be used for free with a minor setback of 1 card or an Island. Outstanding counter when your playing it, although it doesnt seem like its too much.

Tutors- Aka: Ancestrals 2,3, and 4. 2 of them get anything, while the other gets what you are usually tutoring for, at the cost of 1-2 mana.

Edicts- Can U/R fish kill a darksteel colossus? Can it kill a Platinum Angel with ease? Does it get around things like 5/3, Titan, or Morphling/Phid? Didnt think so. Well our build does, and for this reason we think it to be better than Gay Fish. Destroying a rather large obstacle at instant speed, for only 2 measily mana.

LoMox- Mana excel is in every deck, so naturaly we put it in here.

SideBoard-

As in all the decks i happen to make, the SB may need some work. This deck may be the exception, as it has everything needed to win, as far as i can tell.

Stifle- Mainly for Dragon, but it has other uses that I have used it for, so we run 3.

Firewalker- This is for any opposing fish match-ups, as you can kill all their fishes and they cant kill him. He pings the enemy as to add more damage. He picks off welders and weenies, so it was hard not to run him maindeck. The Voidmages may come out for 2 more of him, and the SB may then be adapted moreso than it is now.

Nullrod and Energy Flux- Already explained above, they pown artifact decks in general. Any Workshop deck has come across multiples of these and knows how much damage they actually do, so we have 6 total.

Control Magic and the Sigil- These are for creature removal and control. I enjoy playing with a welder every now and then. Angels are amazingly helpful in your possetion. Take a Colossus and beat them down after they Tinker him in. Awsome choice, as is the Sigil. He bounces, and on a Firewalker is impecably good vs. Dragon and big artifact creature type decks and such. You get the point.

This sums up everything in the deck. So as with my last post of an innovated decklist, I am still looking for suggestions on the SB. And as with any other article, leave a post or PM me with feedback and questions.

I just edited the deck according to some suggestions. Thanks again.

[Outlaw]

Just off the top of my head, I can see a little problem.  Fish builds would thrive off null rod preying off powered decks, with Lotus Petal and Black Lotus you now have artifacts in the yard.  Welder enjoys swapping Null Rods for Lotus petals, swapping out those 2 would be my suggestion as of right now.  Do some testing and post some results for us, it seems quite interesting, edicts dont discrimiate, they hate everyone equally.

[cophos]

Warlord is pretty bad. Even Dauthi Horror would be better, cause you don't need two two deal good damage. ( But better just play the usual fish
creatures more often. ( Why only 3 Hatchlings, and stuff ? )
Edicts are good against Tubbies. But you won't win games only with them.
The Tutors are pretty expensive ( Demonic ) or too bad ( Vampiric ). ( The mysticla too. )
The problem with black: it doesn't really improve any matchup's. Black has good cards against Control ( or Combo ),but these are the easier matchups anyway.

Sorry, but this deck is just worse than fish, worse than worse than fish , gay, or my English. ( No Comments needed here ... )
You just loose alot ... ( REB, Oxidize / Naturalize, Mancers and Fire / Ice )

[luke_twigger]

Hi

Interesting deck.

I'd play Dauthi Horror over Dauthi Warlord. If you ever get 3 Warlords out at once you're either winning anyway or over-extending horribly straight into mass removal.

Do 10 creatures provide enough Curiosity targets?

Also, do 10 "Islands" provide enough Daze targets?

Luke

[Hi-Val]

Have you considered Mesmeric Fiend? It's a nice house in a deck like Fish, and it fits the theme. You've got to abuse the mana-denial of fish as much as you can, too. This means more Spikes and probably a Crucible for waste recursion.

And finally, on the topic of shadow creatures, remember that Fish doesn't run creatures for their P/T, it runs them for their utility. Hence why Fiend might be better than any shadow creature.

[Astro]

Only two man-lands?  How do you expect to abuse Standstill?

Cutting unecessary junk like tutors would give you more room for more hatchlings and faeries.  Fish doesn't need tutors.  It does a fine job of just drawing cards such as more threats and lots of counters.  There really aren't any particular bombs in which to search for anyway.

Mesmeric Fiend is a decent idea.  If only he had flying.  I think I still like Dauthi horror more.  

Another idea, sounds gay, but Unholy Strength is pretty nice on flyers and shadow dudes.  It appears would end the game much quicker.

[Jacob Orlove]

Moved to newbie.

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

Unholy strength is a terrible idea.

As for the deck, it needs more creatures.  The threat density is vastly diluted and the tutoring and extra acceleration are completely unecessary.  Up the spiketail and cloud count to 4.

Also as was mentioned, Dauthi Horrer is better than Warlord.

Mishra's factories are really good.  I would  never drop below 4 in any fish deck.  Conclaves are actually very weak, however, even though they have synergy with standstill CIPT and wastelandable simply sucks in a tempo deck.  I would cut conclaves before factories any day.

Although edict allows you to deal with fatties effectively, is is dead weight against any combo but dragon, and won't compensate for the loss of grim lavamancer against welder decks.  And, if edict is the whole reason to play black (dauthi craetures certainly not spectacular and tutoring sucks), why not just play white for STP, which is far more efficient?  Targeted and RFG are also both huge bonuses.

[rmn]

Details aside (like the Lotus problem and the Tutor problem), I have trouble seeing why you are using black in the first place.  I mean, Dauthi Warlord is clearly not as good as Grim Lavamancer or Flying Men; Edict is nowhere near as useful as Fire/Ice or maindeck Stifle; and the tutors are too slow.

If I were to add black, it would be for two things:

1. Duress.  Because sometimes Force is just not enough.

2. HATRED.  Just one, along with a Vampric, a Demonic, and maybe a Mystical that can also fetch silver bullets like... um... help me out here...

Planar Void is a possible sideboard card.  Some previous black fish lists I've seen have included Serendib Efreet, which is also better than Dauthi Warlord.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and with Serendibs and Hatred you get to run goodies like Mana Crypt, Sol Ring and a black Mox.

[Joblin Velder]

Running Mana Crypt and  Sol Ring seems like a really bad idea. Fish relies a lot on Null rod. When I play, I hate drawing into a mox when I have rod on the board. I wouldn't be happy having 4 dead cards as opposed to 2.

[MSR9889]

WOW!!!, this is great feedback. Thanks to all of you out there, and keep them coming.

A lot of things were mentioned, some that I hadn't even thought about.
The Warlord vs the Horror. Trust me on this one. 2 Warlors =2 Horrors or slayers. 3 Warlords= 4.5 Horrors/Slayers. Through extensive testing, I have found the Warlords to be quite a bit better.
For things i hadnt thought about, the Petal and the Real Lotus. I had never even realized that these could be welded out for the Rod. Very good call on that. I will definetly change that.
Also, the moer i think about it, the better the factories seem to be. I may take out the Conclaves, so leave ffedback about this also.
The tutors are moreso for obtimizing draw. I have been playing around with them, and may take out the demonic due to it being a 2 mana sorcery. Look for the edited version of the deck, as i will aply these comments into the deck list.

Thanks again you guys.

[Ender]

I would take out the mystical and the vamp tutor cause its card disadvantage and fish is the definition of card quantity instead of quality. duress wouldn't be a bad idea because of the lack of 1cc spells.

I have a question as well. This might sound stupid but has anyone thought of putting will in? With the ability to play every cloud faerie in your graveyard for free, it might not set up the the amount of "brokenness" in other decks but might give a huge tempo boost.

[Outlaw]

I would take out the mystical and the vamp tutor cause its card disadvantage and fish is the definition of card quantity instead of quality. duress wouldn't be a bad idea because of the lack of 1cc spells.

I have a question as well. This might sound stupid but has anyone thought of putting will in? With the ability to play every cloud faerie in your graveyard for free, it might not set up the the amount of "brokenness" in other decks but might give a huge tempo boost.

You have to realize in order to play Will effectively you need to manage 5 mana or so, 2B for the will, then you gotta get the mana for the faeries.  That is way to mana intensive for a fish deck, they generally never get past 3-4 active mana sources because of the strip effects they run.

[Jacob Orlove]

Cloud of Faeries won't untap lands if you play it from the graveyard.

Cloud of Faeries
1U
Creature -- Faerie
1/1
Flying
When Cloud of Faeries comes into play, if you played it from your hand, untap up to two lands.
Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

The Warlord vs the Horror. Trust me on this one. 2 Warlors =2 Horrors or slayers. 3 Warlords= 4.5 Horrors/Slayers. Through extensive testing, I have found the Warlords to be quite a bit better.

How are you so consistently getting 3 Warlords out? Even if you often see two shadow guys, Horrors are better, since you will draw just one shadow guy, and statistically, you should be drawing just one more often than two and three and four combined.

[Ender]

ahhh.. stupidity answered. thx

[MSR9889]

For those of you who still seem to doubt me on the Warlord vs. the Horror, just think about it. Fish has about 10 draw cards, that all produce more than 1 card, i.e.: Standstill, Curiosity, Ancestral, and LoA. I have never gone a game without getting 2 Warlords into my hand. No one really seems to think they are a big deal, when thy dont realize they cant stop him once hes been enchanted with a Curiosity or Sigil of Sleep. The chances of drawing 2 of him is extremely high. For those of you who have played any version of fish before, you know that you will draw more than 1 of each creature, unless only 1 is in the deck. So again, I rest my case until someone can prove it wrong.
I enjoy argueing, so keep'em coming!!!

[Enigma]

I really dont see how you can justify running the warlord. First of all you didn't have 4 mishra's factories in the deck till someone suggested it to you which makes me think your testing is less extensive then you portrayed. Now for the warlord, just think about it. Say you have warlords evenely shuffled into your deck, you would have to go through 3/4 of your deck to have 3 out and by then you've won. Also all the while your trying to get more warlords, the horror is dealing 1 extra point of damage. THe horrorr is much better, but neither are that great. By running black your getting rid of grim lavamancer the best one drop fish has. At least replace if with another utility creature, like mesmeric fiend.

Also you need to cut the tutors. Fish isn't a deck stocked with huge game swinging effects. The most you'll tutor for is ancestral recall, which is a good target dont get me wrong. The tutors just aren't worth taking up 3 slots. You could add another daze and nullrod which would help your consistency. Durress was mentioned before, which is another option.

Overall though, I would say black is not the best choice. It seems that with black your trying to find way to deal with the same stuff that red can already deal with. I dont really think that black is the way to go to bring back fish. You'll still lose to welder based decks, and workshop aggro and what not.

[MSR9889]

actually, incase you missed this in the post itself, I originally had the Factories in, but cut them for desire of more colored mana. I took out the DT, which you apperently missed, since I think the other 2 tutors are vital, in that they get me literally any card I need in the deck. I put in 3 Factories, since I really want more colored mana. Im considering taking out the conclaves for a 4th factory and another Island. Also, I'm playing in the late game area, in thinking that the game may not just end on 5-10 turns, as Fish as fast as it is, ins't that fast.Cconsidering you can go through 1/2 of your deck in only a few turns with all the extensive draw, getting 2-3 Warlords is very easy. And also, they are in for more power and being unblockable, not for immediate kill, but more to apply pressure and put the opponent on a clock.
Also, you think black is weaker, but i think it is stronger in an environment without FCG, which is dieing down all over the place. other than the UW or UG if it had natralize, black is the only other formatted version of fish that can kill a Colossus or Titan, which are in every workshop deck in todays metagame. It can kill welders on turn 2 before they even go into use, and take out regeneration in green, which is making moe appearences everywhere. It also takes out a Morphling, and even a Phid, which UR fish couldnt handle too well.

[ktabbaa]

does anyone think that something like this could work?

creatures:

4 cloud
4 shadowmage infiltrator
3 nantuko shade
2 mesmeric fiend

utility etc.

4 cabal therapy
4 force of will
4 unmask
2 misdirection
4 brainstorm
3 nullrod
2 crucible of worlds
1 timewalk
1 ancestral
1 demonic tutor
1 mox saphire
1 mox jet

Land:

4 waste
1 strip
4 polluted delta
1 flooded strand
4underground sea
2 island
4 swamp

Sideboard:

1 nullrod
1 crucible
3 stifle
3 powder keg
3 diabolic edict
2 beb
2 hurkyl's recall

probably not...but it seems like it could be pretty cool.

[ktabbaa]

or this?

Creatures:

3 shade
3 infiltrator
4 cloud
4 mesmeric fiend

Spells:

4 standstill
4 force
4 Cabal therapy
2 unmask
2 misdirection
3 null rod
2 crucible
1 ancestral
1 timewalk
1 demonic

land:

4 waste
1 strip
4 polluted delta
1 flooded strand
4 underground sea
3 swamp
1 island
3 mishra's factory
2 fairy conclave

Side:

1 nullrod
1 crucible
1 misdirection
3 stifle
3 diabolic edict
3 BEB
3 hurkyll's recall

eh? eh?

[Jacob Orlove]

Don't post just decklists. Warning