Title: From Improbable to Probable: A PTQ Deck Analysis
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Blog Entry: PTQ’s are going on and all I’ve been hearing about is Kithkin, Merfolk, Faeries and G/W. Oh there has been some talk about Quick n’ Toast and all but it just doesn’t seem to be able to get past the aggro in the field. Even though G/W is really strong against specific decks weaknesses, the deck just can’t handle other match ups, such as Kithkin. Quick n’ Toast can be a hard match up depending on what build you see. Most importantly though G/W struggles with its draw ability and poor starts at times. With this information I scrapped the entire idea of playing G/W at any of the PTQ’s this year. Instead I came up something that was deemed improbable by most deck critics. Five Color Control By: Charles Overy 3 Cloudthresher 3 Kitchen Finks 4 Mulldrifter 1 Oona, Queen of the Fae 1 Puppeteer Clique 4 Shriekmaw 3 Sower of Temptation 3 Vendillion Clique 4 Firespout 2 Makeshift Mannequin 1 Mind Spring 4 Oblivion Rings 3 Primal Command 1 Fire-lit Thicket 2 Forest 3 Island 1 Mystic Gate 4 Reflecting Pool 1 Secluded Glenn 1 Sunken Ruin 1 Vivid Crag 4 Vivid Creeks 4 Vivid Grove 2 Vivid Marsh 1 Wooded Bastion Sideboard 1 Cloudthresher 3 Crib Swap 1 Grim Poppet 1 Makeshift Mannequin 2 Mind Shatter 3 Pollen Lullaby 4 Wispmare The first thing people say about this deck is: “There are no counters in the deck? How can that be?” It can be because the only good counter in the field is Cryptic Command. Merfolk decks have been running with Sages Dousing but still it is a soft counter and that allows you to play around their counters anyway. The cool thing about this deck is that it is changeable to whatever you personally like. Take my friend for example; he is running the same style of deck but with Thoughtsieze added to it. He is only running three O-Rings and no Sower of Temptation. Instead he has sideboarded them for specific matches. However, I like the Sowers main decked because everyone still loves to play huge fatties like Cloudthresher and Chameleon Colossus. Faeries Faeries is the first match up that I want talk about. This match up seems tough on paper but in fact it really isn’t. I once mulliganed down to four cards just to get into a Vendillion Clique. This should say something to you. Whoever lands a Vendillion Clique first usually has the better odds in the game. Even though the Faeries match is still a match up that you have to play around counters, you have more control spells that allows you to play around their counters. In the ten games I ran for the playtesting, the control cards are key. This made me want to add more can trips but that idea ended up clogging the deck, so you will just have to tough through the hard spots and eventually draw into a control card. Interesting enough though, I found that my friends build runs Mirrorweave as a two copy of. That card is really good at controlling Mistbind Clique attacks and weighs the match up into your favor. In my list I have the O-Rings and Crib Swap to take care of said nemesis. It should be obvious that you are the slower player because of the eleven come into play tapped lands. With Spellstutter as a hard counter in the early game you have to use your O-Rings and Shriekmaws wisely in this match up. Basically what I’m saying is that, just because you may have them in hand doesn’t mean that you should play them out right away. Over extending in this matchup is not the same as over extending in the Kithkin match up. With their two and three drops comes a very good ability that can change the game at anytime, so overplaying to remove a creature from the board is not as misleading as it is against the faeries deck. The simple fact about this is that the faeries player is usually a very patient player who knows the deck very well so he may not be playing a beat stick every single turn. When he does play a beat stick it is time for you play your best control spells. During playtesting my opponent mostly worked behind his Bitterblossom and Cryptic Commands. This is why it important to get a Vendillion Clique out before he can. By taking one of the four Cryptic Commands, you have allowed yourself a free attack and a free spell to play essentially. This becomes key as you push this match up into the mid range and late games where you will be the most comfortable in the match. This is how I sideboarded against faeries: -3 Kitchen Finks -3 Sower of Temptation +1 Cloudthresher +2 Mind Shatter +3 Pollen Lullaby Sideboarding out the Sowers is necessary for the other cards that you have to have in this match up. By doing so then you eventually put the pressure on the faeries to finish. Kithkin This match can really suck if you do not get into a Firespout quick enough. Even though your running a lot of single removal spells your opponent can start playing two or three spells as soon as he hits three or four mana. This is why I stated above that over extending in this match up isn’t going to kill you like it would in the faeries match up. Taking away a one or two drop saves you about five to seven life. However you still have to pick the correct creatures to remove. Wizened Cenn is a pain that can win the game for you opponent on their fourth turn. Evoking Shriekmaw should target this guy every time he lands. Another thing about this match up is that you have to know what is in the Kithkin deck. In other words know what they are going to play on the first turn through the fourth. Remember this is a control deck so you are playing off of what they do until you can stabilize and run the board with your creatures. Knowing what they will more than likely play can tell what kind of hand they have and you will be able to react more appropriately. This is how sideboarded against Kithkin: -3 Cloudthresher -1 Puppeteer Clique -2 Sower of Temptation +3 Crib Swap +3 Pollen Lullaby This sideboarding technique is awesome in this match up. 70% of your deck costs more to play out, therefore you should have a Pollen Lullaby give you an additional turn or two to either set up or clear the board with a Firespout. G/W I hate the fact that everyone calls this the “Little Kids”. I mean really how tacky can everyone be? This match up is all about making sure that they absolutely do not keep a creature in play that is enchanted by Shield of the Oversoul. You must save your Oblivion Rings for this purpose in the first game. Gaddock Teeg is an early pain in the ass that will prevent you from resolving your win conditions. Either Oblivion Ring this guy or use Crib Swap out of the sideboard to do so. If you control these two conditions in this match up you will win…I guarantee it! I sideboard like this against G/W: -3 Cloudthresher -3 Kitchen Finks -1 Mind Spring +3 Crib Swap +4 Wispmare You really do not need your own Cloudthreshers in this match up. With running Sower of Temptation and Puppeteer Clique you can have theirs pretty much anytime you need to win the game and there is no better way to beat someone than with his own beat sticks. Wispmare is huge here because it takes the pressure of having to use your Oblivion Rings to control Shield of the Oversoul. Well that’s all I have for now so I hoped you enjoyed my first ever PTQ writing. Thanks for reading, Charles
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