Manalessish-Ichorid "E.K.M."

[Smmenen]

I'm thinking of dropping Phanta for Fields just because it seems like a Field could do anything Phanta could do (besides be fodder) and faster. Early, when losing a Bazaar hurts the most, Field can grab it. Phanta forces the alternative route, which is much slower.

Smmenen...any comments on my board?

4 Bayou
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Pithing Needle
4 Emerald Charm
1 Ancient Grudge

Against Stax I can side in Needle, the lands, and the Grudge so I can play around Bridge, while still maintaining a way to get rid of Leyline without causing my opponet to combo out or cast it.

Your board looks fundamentally ok so long as you have a land maindeck and a Lotus.   

[EKM_Ichorid]

I'm thinking of dropping Phanta for Fields just because it seems like a Field could do anything Phanta could do (besides be fodder) and faster. Early, when losing a Bazaar hurts the most, Field can grab it. Phanta forces the alternative route, which is much slower.

Smmenen...any comments on my board?

4 Bayou
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Pithing Needle
4 Emerald Charm
1 Ancient Grudge

Against Stax I can side in Needle, the lands, and the Grudge so I can play around Bridge, while still maintaining a way to get rid of Leyline without causing my opponet to combo out or cast it.

Your board looks fundamentally ok so long as you have a land maindeck and a Lotus.   

Land as in a G producing land?

[EKM_Ichorid]

Here's what I am testing:

Maindeck:
Land///9
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
2 Mishra's Factory
2 Petrified Field
1 Strip Mine

Creatures///25
3 Shambling Shell
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Golgari Thug
4 Ichorid
4 Nether Shadow
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Sutured Ghoul
2 Sundering Titan

Disruption///16
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Unmask

Combo///8
2 Dragon Breath
2 Dread Return
4 Serum Powder

Sideboard:
4 Bayou
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Pithing Needle
4 Emerald Charm
1 Ancient Grudge

I may drop Strip for Lotus just because often times Stip is useless, and as it's restricted it's not consistant enough to show effectiveness in testing.

[Smmenen]

What is "Shambling Swarm"? 

Keep the Strip Mine in the deck. 

[EKM_Ichorid]

What is "Shambling Swarm"? 

Keep the Strip Mine in the deck. 

Oops, meant Shell.

[mox apricot]

How did you harcast Gigapede?   

I think whatever merits Gigapede has, they are sadly outweighed by the fact that Phata. is black and gigapede is not. 

well... between the factories bazaars and petrified fields... a rift stone discarded can do some crazy things it was one of those things you'd figure you'll never do... but then there sitting there at 3 mith a maze of ith  and your ichorids and nether shadows are rfg except for 2 somewhere in the last 5 cards. you suddenly think... "this is a fuNny game... i have 5 lands out...FIVE?!" ...  then spend all day questioning your land count


as for the black thing... that very  good, but the deck was built with having enough to do what it does in mind... extra's don't hurt, persay... but the discard hurts the amount of disruption your playing imencely... ichorid does not typicly play spells that were not in it's opening hand, that make it a rarely replenishable resorce, just seems like there are better ways to manage it in regaurds to the re dredging the troll and maintaing what little disruption possabilities you have. often i find my self holding on to pithing needle waiting to dredge out a therapy and riftstone portal next turn, at that point the phanta does little for mechanic.i think phanta is great for something like a pure manaless ichorid (that thinwas totaly happy with jaclk for no hand at all.. in fact prefered it), but it just can't beat the hate often enough in current meta.

[srancour]

The deck I have been playing is:

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Petrified Field
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Strip Mine
1 Black Lotus
4 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
3 Shambling Shell
4 Ichorid
4 Nether Shadow
2 Sutured Ghoul
1 Sundering Titan
4 Unmask
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Serum Powder
2 Dragon's Breath
2 Dread Return
4 Cabal Therapy

Now my sideboard has been a mixed bag considering that I only own certain cards.  I do like the Underground Seas with Chain of Vapor as an option for bounce.  I have been considering either Tropical Island or Bayou as another option because the decks I've played against tend to hate alot with Hide/Seek, Extract, Jester's Cap, Extirpate.  If you can't cast Dread Return, you either have to recur Ichorid, Nether Shadow beats with Mishra's Factory.  Especially if you get hit with a Tormod's Crypt, Leyline or Planar Void.  I think the ability to cast Golgari Grave Troll is definitely an option i've been trying to work around.  After playing the deck against a variety of high and low caliber decks, when you are up the creek and your options are limited without Dread Return, than casting the Troll might be the best option.  I've seen some other decks with Riftstone Portal and I might test that as well.

Other than that, I have been playing the deck with a consistent turn 3-4 win.  After some solid Unmasks and Cabal Therapies.  The metagame though is a mixed bag with lots of random scrub decks, but some viable decks such as Gifts, Stax, Storm decks, Rock, Tog, R/G Beats, and scrub mill decks with Leylines (ugh).

The sideboard I've been using is Pithing Needles, Underground Seas, Chain of Vapor, Leyline of the Void, Krosan Cloudscraper, Urborg (Planar Chaos land), Tormod's Crypt.

This past weekend, I went 6-1 in the single rounds and then went 2-0, 2-0, and 1-2 in the playoffs (lost to Gifts).  Should of won, by Cabal Therapying his hand of anything of use and then he savagely topdecked Tinker into Tormods' Crypt.  Which took any win conditions away.  Oh well, that's magic.  Within the tournament, I was able to see the vunerability and versatility of the deck when your are in a pickle.  Losing Dread Return isn't the end, if you can recur enough Ichorid's and Shadows, but the one thing I was hoping for was the possibility to cast a Grave Troll if needed and that was lacking.  Besides the sideboard options I have given, are there any other suggestions.  I don't not want to tinker with the main deck, I believe it is quite solid.