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Pandora
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« on: November 09, 2007, 08:26:23 pm » |
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I figure that posting a Landstill deck on Eternal forums (of all places) would generate more help than from on a regular board solely due the familiarity with TMD readers with the archetype. Granted, the extended cardpool leaves something to be desired, but there is definitely enough to build a functional deck around. I warn you now that I've only had the chance to do minimal playtesting (against the BGw Rock deck that made top 8 in Valencia), but I feel that I may be onto something based on theoretical aspects of the game. Here's my current list, with my thoughts below:
1 Meloku
2 Venser
4 Counterspell
3 Spell Snare
2 Force Spike
3 Stifle
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Standstill
3 Pernicious Deed
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Crime // Punishment
2 Crucible of Worlds (probably only need 1, but what what to put in?)
1 Life from the Loam
3 Vedalken Shackles
3 Faerie Conclave
2 Treetop Village
1 Nantuko Monastery
1 Tolaria West
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Academy Ruins
1 Cephalid Coliseum
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Breeding Pool
2 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
This is largely inspired by Bardo's Mostly Mono-Blue Control, with illegal cards obviously replaced by options that are more suitable for the extended metagame. Probably the biggest loss in the format switch is the original man-land, Mishra's Workshop(pe). Luckily we now have 10th edition and somewhat suitable replacements are on offer, as well as Nantuko Monastery which is a monster.
Stifle/Force Spike/Spell Snare: My one-drops that are meant to help out in the first few turns of the game before I can set up shop. I mostly chose the numbers because the 3's are marginal as 4's and Force Spike can be pretty dead, but if you hit them once they're more likely to play around it for the rest of the game.
Pernicious Deed/Engineered Explosives: My mass removal. I'm a little concerned about the dis-synergy with these and and my other control elements, but it hasn't come up yet as a problem, and I figure that individually these contribute more to my survival than any other single aspect. I may consider going back up to 4 Deeds, but at the moment I feel fine about how things are.
Venser: Probably my least favorite card in this 60, but I feel that it's necessary with Enduring Ideal decks running around. Right now I feel that I'll keep it for the time being, but possibly move him to the sideboard as the PTQ season shapes up and we get a feel for the metagame. As it is, combo is always an under-represented archetype in the ptqs, but better safe than sorry.
The Mana-Base:
This is where I'm the least sure of myself. With 8 'one-drops' I feel that I always want to have access to an untapped source of blue mana at the start of every game, and after that I feel comfortable. Unfortunately, 6 of my lands come into play tapped, with an additional 3 providing colorless mana only. Right now I'm being adamant about the inclusion of Academy Ruins because of my artifact-heavy build, but the other lands not as much. Right now I'm splashing white solely for Crime and the white on Monastery, but is it worth it to mess with the base so I can simply run another land that doesn't provide blue? Also - is Tolaria West something that could described as "a cool thing"? As while I'm goldfishing I'm never happy to see it and I've never drawn in it in a real game, is it worth running? I understand in Legacy as there is access to Tabernacle and Maze of Ith, but here I'd at most use it to tutor up an Academy Ruins or Ghost Quarter against Tron. Lastly is the Conclave/Village breakdown. As a whole I think that Treetop Village is a 'better' card, but it forces me more heavily into green while taking away from my blue count. Is it worth going to a 4/1 split, or is it going to be a non-issue in the long run?
Let me know what you think, and please PLEASE! help me sort out my mana-base. Thanks!
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