Best Ways to Beat Weenie Decks for GB?

[TheWhiteDragon]

I have a GB critter deck and have had trouble facing weenie horde decks (merfolk, white trash).  They just get a big army fast and can overpower or outrace my tarms and friends.  Any advice on a good hoser that can be used in a BG deck to kill a swarm of said critters?

Right now I can only think of EE and ratchet bomb.  Damnation kills all my critters too, so that's no good.  EE and ratchet also kill my tarms and bobs though...so are there other options?

Edited title for capitalization - Prospero

[MrGlantz]

Toxic Deluge will kill most little dudes while leaving your big ones like Goyf fine.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Generally speaking, you switch from control to combo to beat aggro. What about Dark Depths or Helm-Line?

[Chubby Rain]

Massacre and Pernicious Deed are also options, as is Dread of Night. Liliana complemented by other creature removal and blockers is quite troublesome. Splashing for red is also a pretty strong play as it gives you access to Lightning Bolt and Pyroblast post board. White would give you Swords and Path. All of these suggestions depend on your list though.

P.S. This guy is a personal favorite (Brian Kelly turned me on to him).

[Samoht]

Abrupt Decay is pretty good.

[Smmenen]

Green/Black is probably the best color combination for what you are trying to achieve.  As mentioned, Abrupt Decay and Toxic Deluge immediately come to mind, but I wouldn't entirely rule out cards like Pernicious Deed or The Abyss either. 

[serracollector]

Crypt rats is another decent option forgotten by many.

[Will]

Engineered Plague is good at throwing a wrench in Merfolk's plans. Depending on what you/they are playing it could be good against Mono White as well.

[orgcandman]

I hear magus of the tabernacle is pretty hawt.

[xouman]

why nobody suggests royal assassin? reusable, one sided, and has swag XD

[boggyb]

Just assemble Bounty Hunter + Bounty Hunter, bro. You're all set.

[forests failed you]

Find an angle to attack them from that gives you an edge...

Cheap / efficient removal to help race:

Gut Shot
Dark Blast
Doomblade
Disfigure
Dismember
Abrupt Decay

Recurring sources of removal / card advantage to win a war of attrition:

Ulvenwald Tracker
Plaguebearer
Liliana of the Veil
Garruk Relentless
Life from the Loam
Courser of Kruphix

Sweepers that can be spun to your advantage, aka kills there's but not yours (decimate their board in one big splashy play):

Engineered Plague
Toxic Deluge
Pernicious Deed
Engineered Explosives
Ratchet Bomb

2 for 1s

Eternal Witness
Slay / Execute
Solemn Simulacrum

Creatures that outclass and go over the top of their creatures

Thrun, the Last Troll
Tarmogoyf
Ophidiomancer

Add a combo to go over the top

Natural Order + Progenitus
Helm + Leyline
Dark Depths + Hexmage

Equipment

Sword of Light and Shadow
Sword of Fire and Ice
Umezawa's Jitte!!!!!!!

[JPoJohnson]

A little surprised that Golgari Charm hasn't been suggested yet. Perhaps more Legacy playable than vintage, but it has some solid uses in this format I would say as well.

[Varal]

It might depends on the aggro deck but -1/-1 might not be enough to wipe the board against decks such as Merfolk because of the abundance of Lords. They often have 2 or 3 boosting creatures. I don't think Engineered Plague and Golgari Charm is sufficient against Merfolk. Dark Blast can be awesome against their Phantasmal Image. Umezawa's Jitte is usually awesome in creatures mirror.

[JPoJohnson]

I'd never thought of referring to Merfolk as a 'weenie' deck.

[Samoht]

I recently played Golgari Charm as an out to TNN at the MVP Invitational. Card performed well.

[forests failed you]

Golgari Charm seems like a great one. 

[ben_berry]

I'd never thought of referring to Merfolk as a 'weenie' deck.

It usually doesn't work out very well if you start out with a 5 merfolk opener. From the recieving end abrupt decays and STP are enough if you don't play island.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Right now, my main cards have been marsh casualties and night of souls betrayal.  My deck runs bobs, tarms, birds of paradise, and big butt critters.  It's also a Modern deck, but the theory behind "kill weenies" is basically the same.  Certain cards like massacre I can't use, obviously, but I thought it best to open up the topic on a more format global level (esp being a vintage thread).  Some suggestions have been excellent.  Tarms and obliterators tend to be my trump card vs critters (I run 3 liliana and 2 SoFI, 4 decay main as well), but there are games where I don't draw the obliterators or where by the time I hit 4 mana I'm facing 5x 4/4 merfolk or a swarm of affinity beaters with cranial plating or elvish decks with about 4 mana dorks, garruks, etc.  Sometimes I just need to reset the board and then my obliterators & co can annihalate on the battlefield at that point.  I didn't like losing my bobs and birds to my own sweepers (especially when it couldn't hit man lands)and equally disliked blowing up a bob and a tarm to take out 3 lord of atlantis for example...but seemed low on good options.  I would THINK 4 tarm, 4 obliterator (which usually land by turn 3 if not 4), 3 liliana, 4 decay, 2 sofi would do the trick...but alas they do not.  I am typically dropping my 3rd land and already facing a handless opponent with 4+ dudes (and often flying or pumped) while having just a bird, bob, and maybe a tarm in play.

SB additions so far, I think an EE is all I can try vs merfolk.  Golgari Charm is good, but the same effect for the same cost as marsh casualties (which is one-sided and for 3 extra can do -2/-2).  Deluge seems a good card that can grow as needed depending on the opponent's board.

[hashswag]

Are you not running power? I think trying to speed your deck up (ie making it do more powerful 'stuff') will yield better returns than tinkering with sideboard choices at this point.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Are you not running power? I think trying to speed your deck up (ie making it do more powerful 'stuff') will yield better returns than tinkering with sideboard choices at this point.

Like I said, in my case it is a Modern deck.  But I opened up the topic to general discussion.

[hashswag]

OH! Sorry, my bad. Misread and thought it was a modern deck you were porting to vintage! Sorry if I offended you!

[TheWhiteDragon]

No offense taken.  As awesome as the deck is in modern, I don't think obliterators could contend with turn 1 shop, mox, golem or turn 1 island, crypt, tinker, BSC.

[serracollector]

Wouldnt maelstrom pulse be a great addition to abrupt decay as an answer or even putrefy? i play a bg standard deck running four decay four putrefy and four heroes demise and its been doing find versus the white or boros dude decks. wish i had pulse. you can also try whip of erebus for some life gain or gift of orzhov as evasion and life gain. i use one whip and three gifts in my standard deck. works well to make a comeback after an early beating from lil dudes.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Maelstrom pulse is okay, but only if the threats are of the same name (though image copies the name too, right?) Lord, Master, Silvergil, and Mutivault isn't an uncommon turn 4 board (and on the draw, I'm only at 3 lands) and that's a crapload of damage swinging in.  Especially if they got 2 of those guys off a vial (maybe if they got cursecatcher instead of silvergil as their 1 drop, they even counter pulse.

I actually found a GREAT card to beat weenies in general, but merfolk can sometimes be too fast for turn 5.  If I can make turn 5 (or 4 with a BoP), I can own them with the right 2 card combo.