Hey folks. So, welcome to my first blog in hopefully what will be a long series of blogs. I’m going to rush right into it and break down a few decks and post what I feel are fairly strong versions of those decks.
Mono-Black Rogue
18x Swamp
4x Mutavault
3x Bitterblossom
4x Thoughtseize
4x Noggin Whack
4x Morsel Theft
2x Marsh Flitter
4x Oona’s Blackguard
2x Nightshade Stinger
4x Frogtosser Banneret
4x Oona’s Prowler
3x Earwig Squad
4x Prickly Boggart
Sideboard will vary depending on your local meta game. Favorable cards include Extirpate, Tendrils of corruption, nameless inversion, an extra Bitterblossom, and whatever else you think will work for your meta game. Cloak and Daggers is another consideration.
First off, this is an agro deck. This version, being my favorite, focuses on dropping a first turn creature such as Prickly Boggart or a Nightshade Stinger. If you don’t have either, a thought seize will work as well. It will set you back 2 life on the first turn, but this will be made up by taking out their threats before they get a chance to play them. Make sure you write down important cards in their hand and note possible strategies they might use. You can slow agro decks down by taking out a very important one or two turn drop, or hinder a control deck by seizing a Wrath of God or Damnation or other important control card.
After you drop the Boggart, Stinger, or Thoughtseize, the next turn is about dropping your first creature or prowling a Noggin Whack or Morsel Theft. Meaning either way, you have generated tons of card advantage second turn. Either they’re down 4 life, or 2-3 cards. And you have possibly 2 creatures on the board. After that, it’s the normal drop creatures and disrupt they’re hand/deck. Against combo/control you have 3 main deck Earwig Squad to remove key cards from they’re deck as well as laying down a very large 5/3 beat. Possibly a 6/4 beat if you had an Oona’s Blackguard out.
Oona’s Prowler is an amazing card in this deck. Being a rogue, she is made bigger with Blackguard, meaning they will have to discard two cards to not take any damage from her. Banneret is here to enable 2-3 prowls in the same turn. If you’ve never prowled both Noggin Whack and Earwig Squad in the same turn, it’s a beautiful thing. Morsel Theft also appears in this deck. It makes up for life loss due to Thoughtseize and/or Bitterblossom, knocks them down 3 health, and it replaces itself with another card. All for usually 2 mana.
Why not four copies of Bitterblossom? Because this is an agro deck. And you don’t normally need more than 1 out at a time. I know, that contradicts itself slightly. Look at it this way, against agro decks, those Faeries become blockers every turn, against control they become another win condition. Hence why an extra Bitterblossom can go in your sideboard. You wont be attacking with any of those tokens until at least 4th turn. Which means if you played it your second turn, you just slowed your own tempo down at least a turn. Second turn is best saved for dropping Blackguard, Prowler, Banneret, or prowling in Noggin Whack or Morsel Theft. And third turn is up in the air from there, so unless you have an Earwig Squad to prowl in, third turn is a great time to play a Bitterblossom.
In a perfect game, this deck enables 5th and 6th turn wins using combos of Boggart, Prowler, Blackguard and Morsel Theft. But as we all know, nothing in Magic works perfectly, so you can aim for 7th and 8th turn kills.
Here is another Deck:
U/W Reveillark
8x Islands
10x Plains
1x Adarkar Wastes
3x Nimbus Maze
1x Calciform Pools
2x Desert
4x Wrath of God
3x Momentary Blink
3x Pollen Lullaby
3x Riftwing Cloudskate
1x Merrow Witsniper
4x Mirror Entity
3x Mulldrifter
4x Reveillark
4x Body Double
2x Venser, Shaper Savant
4x Bonded Fetch
Sideboard again will vary. Some choice cards include Pull from Eternity, Condemn, Teferi, Crovax, Teferi’s Moat, Aven Riftwatcher, and plenty of others. Maindecking Condemn is perfectly fine and you will see that most people do just that. I unfortunately , don’t have any, so I work with what I’ve got. I am still able to consistently beat plenty of agro decks without it. It’s all in how you time your Wrath of Gods, Pollen Lullaby’s.
This is a very fun combo/control deck featuring the Reveillark/ Body Double combo. This version runs the combo in high priority. Hoping to combo out as early as 6th turn finishing them off with Merrow Witsniper. You can also replace him with a single Mogg Fanatic, or run both, just in case one of them is on the bottom of your deck. First game should focus on the combo, getting set up and ready to go off as early as you can. 2nd and if need be 3rd game, you are focusing much less on going off with the combo. Dropping a few of the pieces for the combo, for cards from your sideboard. If this deck is popular in your area, you can expect people to have graveyard hate such as Tormod’s Crypt, Extirpate, and or a new MVP, Ofalsnout.
It is then that you switch mostly away from the combo, and go more for the Blink aspect of this deck. Adding in more control elements in the form of Condemn, Teferi’s Moat, and extra Pollen Lullaby, and possibly a 3rd or even 4th Venser. This deck switches very easily from combo/control to agro/control, swinging late game with fliers that are beefed up by Mirror Entity.
Against agro you have your usual cards such as Wrath of God and Desert. You can also suspend an early Cloudskate and bounch with Venser to gain some momentum back. You can afford to take a bit of damage in the early game, but if they get through with a few more creatures than you are comfortable with, you have Pollen Lullaby to prevent all combat damage, and possibly keep their creatures tapped for an extra turn AND potentially setting up your next draw to favor you more by putting that unneeded land or extra Body Double or whatnot on the bottom of your deck. This deck, anyway you look at it does NOT need the combo to win, though first game it should work, after that, it’s up to you to play it safe, or go for the combo again.
Last deck, I promise:
B/R Meta- Control
7x Swamp
5x Mountain
3x Mutavault
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Auntie’s Hovel
1x Sulfurous Springs
4x Graven Cairns
3x Liliana Vess
4x Damnation
2x Makeshift Mannequin
2x Profane Command
3x Tendrils of Corruption
4x Rift Bolt
3x Sulfurous Blast
3x Void
3x Serrated Arrows
4x Korlash
4x Shriekmaw
1x Razormane Masticore
I have not fleshed out the sideboard yet. Though it will include Extirpate, Nameless Inversion, Sudden Spoiling, Bitterblossom, Phyrexian totem and others.
This deck can be a ton of fun to play. You have 8 board clearers in the form of Damnation and Sulfurous Blast. You have tons of normal creature kill cards in the form of Serrated Arrows, Rift Bolt, Tendrils of Corruption, Profane Command, and Shriekmaw. Serrated Arrows is truly a current Meta-game MVP. Easily pinging off most rogues, faeries, elves, merfolk, and goblins no matter what your mana situation is. The mana base is a bit shakey, but as stated earlier, I’m working with what I have. Void is another card that is amazing in this deck. More often than not, you will find yourself calling either 2 or 3, as those are the 2 most common converted mana costs in todays meta-game.
Razormane Masticore is a terrific one of in this deck, he can kill most creatures out there today at the drawback of having to discard a card. Not only that but he is a huge 5/5 first strike beat you can play without worrying about what colors of mana you have on the board. Korlash, Shriekmaw, and Mutavault are your finishers. You can wear them down to get them within Profane Command range, or just use them to finish your opponent off. Mannequin recurs your evoked Shriekmaws or your killed Masticore, or Korlash. And obviously Liliana Finds things in your deck or makes them discard. She can also recur all creatures in all graveyards for a stunning finish.
Until next time, in which I’ll probably be taking a look at R/G Obsidian Warrior, This is your Magic Sanatorium blogger signing off.
--Matthew
Tags: Magic Decks Metagame Tech Fun Casual Tournament
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Magic: the Gathering
