Implacable
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« Reply #32 on: December 15, 2006, 05:37:06 pm » |
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Because I haven't tested the BRW deck yet, I don't real feel qualified to comment on it so much. However, I have played the Zoo deck a few dozen times now, and have played many decks like it in the past, so I'll try to go over it a bit. The key thing to understand about Zoo is that it, regardless of format, plays three things: dudes, disruption, and damage (suck on that alliteration!). While damage is generally a pretty easy slot to fill, because most people agree on what the best damage spells in each format are, the selection of dudes and disruption is what separates the good from the bad. The following includes most of the playable cards in each category in Vintage:
Dudes:
Savannah Lions: Savannah Lions in the quintessential Zoo dude. He's fast, has two power, and only requires a single colored source to play. Unfortunately, unlike other Zoo one-drops, he only has 1 toughness, making him vulnerable to the common creature hate that is Darkblast. Furthermore, he requires a white to play, which is commonly the least-used color in a normal RGW build.
Isamaru, Hound of Konda: This guy is obviously better than Savannah Lions, but is slightly inferior to Elite and Ape. He can and should be fit in as a 1-of in most builds, making his legendary 'drawback' a non-problem.
Skyshroud Elite and Kird Ape: These guys are the bread and butter of any RGW Zoo offense. They're 2/3s for 1 mana sans-drawback, which is bar-none the most efficient deal in the history of the game. They should be run as four-ofs without exception.
Jotun Grunt: The only bad thing that can be said about this guy is that he costs two mana, which makes him a high-end dude in the Zoo curve indeed. The upside is this; he's basically two of your one-drop guys glued together (quasi-card advantage is the only kind that RGW gets), and he shouldn't ever die in your upkeep if your game goes as Zoo wants it to (in other words, if your game is <5 turns).
Grim Lavamancer: This guy is excellent, but his activation cost is actually a major strain on the Zoo mana-base. However, he does get rid of a plethora of obnoxious creatures, from Welder to Confidant, and he flat-out wins any Fish mirror. It should be noted that his ability lacks synergy with that of Grunt.
Jungle Lions: While strictly inferior to Lions, Elite, Isamaru, and Ape, the one upside of this dude is that he can be played with a green mana, which leaves your white open for Chants, or the casting of Grunts.
Kataki, War's Wage: He's played in every U/W Fish deck worth its salt, but in a deck based off 2-power one drops and absurdly fat two-drops, this guy is strictly supbar. If I'm tapping out on turn 2, I want a 4/4, 2 2/2s, or a Rod, period.
Disruption:
Root Maze: Argue if you want; this is the best disruption card ever printed in its color, and if you can play it, it's the best ever. Root Maze shuts down control so hard it's not even funny, and it gives you 2 turns minimum against combo. If you're on the play with a mana accelerant, it's also Time Walks 1-4.
Orim's Chant: An excellent card, but not one that necessitates a main-deck slot. In my view of Zoo, the deck is designed to only play threats, and Orim's Chant simply doesn't cut the mustard as a main-deck threat. Your biggest problem against most decks in the first game is simply preventing them from making one broken play (Tinker -> Colossus, for example), and not a series of broken plays; if they're doing that, you messed up. When used as a Time Walk, Orim's Chant isn't that good, because I'd rather be using that mana to just finish them with burn or find a way to play another disruption piece. In the board, however, it's a good turn 1 threat against combo.
Chalice of the Void: Chalice is absolutely better than Null Rod in Zoo, because it takes 0 mana; therefore, it is the best artifact disruption piece in the deck. Chalice adds redundancy, which is important because you want to be able to drop Disruption + Dude or Disruption + Disruption on Turn 1 to stop any planned shenanigans.
Null Rod: While I really dislike that it costs two mana, there just doesn't seem to be an option when it comes to running this. You need disruption, and against most Type 1 decks, Rod is much more consistant disruption than Chant or Pyrostatic Pillar. It's a house against Slaver, and you may want to play some in the board for that matchup, where Trike is a real pain to deal with.
Pyrostatic Pillar: This guy wrecks combo in combination with other disruption, and is also very good against Fish, where dropping it on turn 2/3 will result in ~6-8 easy damage. However, it's not always optimal in all matchups (namely, Shops), so I'm still unsure on whether it should be main or side.
Finally, a note on damage: As long as you're running at least 10 total artifacts, Shrapnel Blast > Fireblast by a mile. Sacrificing your lands is absolutely unnacceptable in a deck that only runs ~10 real ones.
With all of the above advice in mind, here's my newly tested build of T1 RGW Zoo.dec
4 Kird Ape
4 Skyshroud Elite
3 Grim Lavamancer
3 Jotun Grunt
2 Jungle Lion
2 Savannah Lions
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Root Maze
2 Null Rod
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Shrapnel Blast
4 LoMoxen
4 Wasteland
2 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Plateau
2 Savannah
2 Taiga
2 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Plains
1 Strip Mine
4 Tin-Street Hooligan (This guy is gold against Stax, and he's even good at taking out any equipment Fish boards in)
3 Orim's Chant
3 Pyrostatic Pillar
2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Seal of Cleansing
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