Magic the Gathering Arena

[Scruffy]

necessary changes to my deck: -1 chupacabra, -1 llanowar scout, +2 vicious offerings

 

[Jason Liang]

Version 9 Singleton

1 Spire of Industry (AER) 184
12 Island (RIX) 193
1 Sai, Master Thopterist (M19) 69
1 Paradoxical Outcome (KLD) 60
1 Inventors' Fair (KLD) 247
1 Negate (AER) 40
1 Cogworker's Puzzleknot (KLD) 201
1 Whir of Invention (AER) 49
1 Navigator's Compass (DAR) 225
1 Pacification Array (AER) 168
1 Reverse Engineer (AER) 42
1 Ornithopter (AER) 167
1 Renegade Map (AER) 173
1 Inspiring Statuary (AER) 160
1 Prophetic Prism (KLD) 229
1 Baral's Expertise (AER) 29
1 Foundry Inspector (KLD) 215
1 Metamorphic Alteration (M19) 60
1 Mountain (RIX) 195
1 Banefire (M19) 130
1 Swamp (RIX) 194
1 Plains (RIX) 192
1 Aetherflux Reservoir (KLD) 192
1 Karn, Scion of Urza (DAR) 1
1 Metalwork Colossus (KLD) 222
1 Mox Amber (DAR) 224
1 Zhalfirin Void (DAR) 249
1 Hostage Taker (XLN) 223
1 Sorcerous Spyglass (XLN) 248
1 Transmogrifying Wand (M19) 247
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (DAR) 207
1 Essence Scatter (M19) 54
1 Glint-Nest Crane (KLD) 50
1 Exclusion Mage (M19) 55
1 Metallic Rebuke (AER) 39
1 Trophy Mage (AER) 48
1 Metalspinner's Puzzleknot (KLD) 221
1 Fireforger's Puzzleknot (KLD) 213
1 Traveler's Amulet (HOU) 167
1 Aether Hub (KLD) 242
1 Drowned Catacomb (XLN) 253
1 Glacial Fortress (XLN) 255
1 Spirebluff Canal (KLD) 249
1 Chromium, the Mutable (M19) 214
1 Torrential Gearhulk (KLD) 67
1 Anticipate (M19) 44
1 Opt (DAR) 60
1 Secrets of the Golden City (RIX) 52
1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide (DAR) 199

I guess I'm ride and die with these cards now. Not sure how often I'll be getting the combo off with only 1 Paradoxical Outcome but I believe in the individual power of the pieces (Inspiring Statuary, Reservoir, Paradoxical Outcome, Baral's Expertise). Will probably tweak it a little, try to make room for Eldest Reborn and perhaps Mirari's Conjecture.

 

[Scruffy]

I can easily get 7 wins with my singleton deck:

1 Champion of Wits (HOU) 31
1 Disallow (AER) 31
1 Torrential Gearhulk (KLD) 67
1 Pull from Tomorrow (AKH) 65
1 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner (AER) 62
1 Bontu the Glorified (AKH) 82
1 Twilight Prophet (RIX) 88
1 Vraska's Contempt (XLN) 129
1 Noxious Gearhulk (KLD) 96
1 The Scarab God (HOU) 145
1 Karn, Scion of Urza (DAR) 1
1 Treasure Map (XLN) 250
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury (KLD) 84
1 Hostage Taker (XLN) 223
1 Tezzeret, Master of Metal (AER) 190
1 Heart of Kiran (AER) 153
1 Blink of an Eye (DAR) 46
1 Essence Scatter (AKH) 52
1 Negate (RIX) 44
1 Cancel (AKH) 44
1 Hornswoggle (RIX) 39
1 Supreme Will (HOU) 49
1 Wizard's Retort (DAR) 75
1 Vizier of Many Faces (AKH) 74
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide (RIX) 45
1 Fatal Push (AER) 57
1 Cast Down (DAR) 81
1 Dire Fleet Poisoner (RIX) 68
1 Oathsworn Vampire (RIX) 80
1 Walk the Plank (XLN) 130
1 Doomfall (HOU) 62
1 Never /// Return (AKH) 212
1 The Eldest Reborn (DAR) 90
1 Bontu's Monument (AKH) 225
1 Ravenous Chupacabra (RIX) 82
1 Liliana, Death's Majesty (AKH) 97

*****

10 Swamp (RIX) 194
9 Island (RIX) 193
1 Arch of Orazca (RIX) 185
1 Scavenger Grounds (HOU) 182
1 Field of Ruin (XLN) 254
1 Fetid Pools (AKH) 243
1 Drowned Catacomb (XLN) 253

 

[Jason Liang]

So I'm reasonably happy with 3 of my 4 decks (Green Red stompy, Paradoxical Outcome, Muldrotha - my UR Riddleform/ Enigma Drake needs a lot of tweaking). Getting a little bored, would like to try Pirates. Anyone have any experience with Pirates? Problem is Pirates are ridiculously rare-intensive and I would have to switch to Rivals of Ixalan packs. Are Pirates actually any good and worth the rare cards investment? Also I worry that it's a headache deck to play and I already have one of those.

Wish I could play Pirates in paper magic. Tap a mountain for ARRRR! and drop a Daring Buccaneer.

Top deck Thud for the win. Not exactly high level Magic play but feels good man. I've yet to Thud Ghalta at anyone.

 

[spectre]

I've played a bunch of pirate flavors since I've gotten into the beta - BR aggro and UB flying pirates before Amnkhpkthp.

The BR was pretty much red aggro with a bunch of tribal synergies, filled with whatever sword point diplomacies and fell flagships I randomly got.
It was all right when it curved out, but very straightforward. I had a bunch of neckbreakers, but in the end it worked better when the curve stopped at cmc 3.

A lot of the cards could be used in mono red, which was a plus. I used makeshift munitions as a sac outlet vs. removal, but also for for treasures from Lannery Storm, a bunch of hijacks and Captivating Crew.
All in all, it felt pretty interactive, but again, I didn't want to invest in it heavily.

I can drop you the lists, but they're not terribly hard to figure out. They used to be quite all right in the 'GR dinosaurs everywhere' meta.

UB flyers was my favorite deck before the wipe. It was pretty much everything with Flying and Pirate, with a bunch of black spot removal, Lookout's Dispersal and Favorable Winds. I invested quite heavily into it (most of the stuff was pre-Dominaria),
but the performance quickly became disappointing. Although the core still proved to be useful, because it transitioned quite well into the aggressive mono U flyers - I only needed to get the UUU djinns.

I don't have a lot of experience with the full blown RUB. It doesn't feel like it offers a lot for all the bother with the mana base as Becket Brass feels very win more. One could probably exploit various comes into play abilities with Siren's Ruse, but you can do that with chupacabras and by staying UB.

 

[v1rus]

When is god darn open beta going to start

Really wanna play this, but i feel discouraged by the imminent wipe.

 

[Jason Liang]

When is god darn open beta going to start

Really wanna play this, but i feel discouraged by the imminent wipe.

The speculation is that the wipe will be after set rotation (Guilds of Ravnica, the Christmas set, start of October), so not for a month or two yet.

The client still has several large issues like servers unsynching and other errors which cause dropped matches, so they are a few months away in terms of software development as well.

I'm pretty much waiting for the wipe too, although experimenting with new decks keeps me interested, especially decks that I wont be able to play post-rotation, might as well have funn with them now.

Field of Fire.

 

[Scruffy]

So, I'm loving the Muldrotha deck, but games take forever. My post-rotation grind ignorant deck, which wins or loses in 3 minutes, will be:

4 Fanatical Firebrand (RIX) 101
3 Skirk Prospector (DAR) 144
2 Rigging Runner (XLN) 157
2 Goblin Trailblazer (RIX) 105
4 Goblin Instigator (M19) 142
4 Goblin Chainwhirler (DAR) 129
4 Goblin Warchief (DAR) 130
1 Squee, the Immortal (DAR) 146
3 Volley Veteran (M19) 168
2 Goblin Trashmaster (M19) 144
2 Siege-Gang Commander (DAR) 143
1 Goblin Barrage (DAR) 128
3 Lightning Strike (M19) 152
3 The Flame of Keld (DAR) 123
*****
22 Mountain (RIX) 195

I might remove a Siege-Gang and add a Trailblazer

 

[you know what time it is]

> 2018

No friendlist, No chat, No vault, No nothing but sure as shit they are going to wipe everything. Expected nothing less from WotC.

 

[da_rays]

Having loads of fun with a mono blue deck right now
Anyone have tweaking suggestion?

*Creatures*
Siren Stormtamer x 4
Warkite marauder x 4
Spellweaver Eternal x 4
Tempest Djinn x 4
Merfolk trickster x 3
Dreamcaller Siren x 2

*Spells*
Spell pierce x 3
Wizard's retort x 4
Curious obessession x 4
Cartouche of knowledge x 3
Favorable winds x 4

*Lands*
Island x 20
Memorial to genius x 2

 

[Scruffy]

> 2018

No friendlist, No chat, No vault, No nothing but sure as shit they are going to wipe everything. Expected nothing less from WotC.

p. sure there will be no chat, only controlled emoticons, so no one's feelings get hurt. The vault is kinda still there, isn't it? Friendlist should be a future feature, it has already been confirmed, there's just no date for it

Anyone have tweaking suggestion?

sorry, i despise blue in every form, can't help there

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

It looks like all you guys play digital? I haven't convinced myself of that yet. Psychologically I can't get around not owning "my" cards, and have too much attachment to the kitchen table experience. I played 2-headed giant with pre-made decks on Xbox once at a friends house. It was fine, I guess. We rallied from certain defeat a few times, but I can't say it held up to the conventional experience. I guess with adult life though, it's probably digital play or very infrequent games.

 

[Scruffy]

The last physical cards I bought were from tenth edition. I live in a different country now, so meeting with friends is not really an option, but even back in the old country adult life got a bit in the way. With MODO I could draft any time I wanted to, and Arena now allows me to do that for "free", so I'm definitely happy digital is an option.

 

[Jason Liang]

Having loads of fun with a mono blue deck right now
Anyone have tweaking suggestion?

*Creatures*
Siren Stormtamer x 4
Warkite marauder x 4
Spellweaver Eternal x 4
Tempest Djinn x 4
Merfolk trickster x 3
Dreamcaller Siren x 2

*Spells*
Spell pierce x 3
Wizard's retort x 4
Curious obessession x 4
Cartouche of knowledge x 3
Favorable winds x 4

*Lands*
Island x 20
Memorial to genius x 2

I don't really think Tempest Djinn is worth staying mono-blue. I've had many games where the opponent conceded immediately after I Dinsintegrated their Djinn. Blue splashing any other second color is so strong right now. Flying is good, as is Warkite Marauder, so I would keep those themes.

I would remove Spellweaver Eternal since it doesn't fly. I would also remove Siren Stormtamer, since it seems to be one of those "looks good on paper, does nothing in practice" cards. I haven't seen it do anything in games I've played.

On a structural level, your deck is aggro, not aggro control, so you should replace the counterspells.

For Warkite Marauder, I would add some direct damage like Ballista or Sorcerer's Wand to turn her ability into permanent removal.

I've thought of playing a similar deck, but u/r or u/r/w for Champion of Flame. T2 Champion of Flame + T3 Curiosity/ Cartouche is pretty nice, no? White would be for Sram.

Obviously the other u/x decks are top of the current environment. u/b (Scarab God), u/w (Teferi), u/g (Merfolk).

Some generic suggestions would be Exclusion Mage, Chart a Course, Blink of an Eye, Riddleform and Glyph Keeper. Glyph Keeper is insanely strong and underrated, I think the best blue mid-range option (and I would definitely replace Dreamcaller Siren with them). Riddleform is a great beater and your enchantments activate it.

 

[da_rays]

Thanks for the good tips bro , yeah its mostly Aggro not control , and siren stormtamer can be very surprising , from duress to settle the wreckage , you can counter them for 1 . had a lot of succes with it , yeah I think most wizards are gonna get out , fill in with flying pirates , and get some lookout dispersal. and for an aggro deck , Tempest djinn can be a solid threat for 3. Its a 3/4 flyers for 3, but playing mono kinda restrict your spell list a bit. Balista and thw wand are great idea. gonna try thoses out tonight at the FNM , with some chart a course , a few blink andyeah glyph keeper is going in. And for that champion , already got a UR dek with him. fuckign awesome with curiosity and yeah cartouche are just awesome too.

 

[Jason Liang]

Nice, I never noticed that Settle the Wreckage targeted the player.

 

[da_rays]

well tried it out tonight VS real peoples and Glyph keeper was pretty meh , dreamcaller was more interesting , often played for the kill or very close.

23 islands

4 x Warkite marauder
3 x Dreamcaller Siren
4 x Siren stormtamer
4 x Storm Fleet Aeralist
4 x Tempest Djinn

4 x Lookout Dispersal
4 x Curious Obsession
4 x Favorable Winds
3 x Deep Freeze ( might switch for Spell pierce or essence scatter
3 x Chart a Course

Overall , it seem pretty solid . And fun to play

Yeah first time you get your Settle countered by that loosy siren for 1 mana , you kinda remember it for life haha

 

[Scruffy]

Having loads of fun with a mono blue deck right now
Anyone have tweaking suggestion?

*Creatures*
Siren Stormtamer x 4
Warkite marauder x 4
Spellweaver Eternal x 4
Tempest Djinn x 4
Merfolk trickster x 3
Dreamcaller Siren x 2

*Spells*
Spell pierce x 3
Wizard's retort x 4
Curious obessession x 4
Cartouche of knowledge x 3
Favorable winds x 4

*Lands*
Island x 20
Memorial to genius x 2

found this article
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/how-build/almost-there-mono-blue-tempo-2018-08-24

 

[da_rays]

New version , pirate style , still mono blue


23 islands

3 x Warkite marauder
2 x Dreamcaller Siren
4 x Siren stormtamer
3 x Storm Fleet Aeralist
4 x Tempest Djinn
4 x Merfolk Trickster

4 x Lookout Dispersal
4 x Curious Obsession
3 x Favorable Winds
2 x Chart a Course
4 x Spell pierce

23 Islands

SIdeboard

3 x Negate
3 x Exclusion Mage
3 x Unsommon
3 x Deepfreeze
1 x Chart a course
2 x essence scatters

Here we go , bit more stable VS the current meta now. Stay basically the same vs midrange , switch the warkite for exlusion if your VS anything that got chainwhirler , Negate for control / turbo fog.

I don't really think Tempest Djinn is worth staying mono-blue.

For 3 mana , Flyer with 4 toughness? Yeah , like you said , Dinsintegrated them work nicely , but right now , cut , fight with fire and unliscend desintegration are the only thing killing it , and thoses , like any hard removal , are nicely countered on turn 4 with spell pierce . Most turn 3 Djinn get easily killed, if not , very solid flying threat on turn 3.

 

[Jason Liang]

You are also missing Murder, Cast Down, Walk the Plank, Contempt, and Fatal Push w/ revolt, as well as deathtouch and all the green removal cards like Nature's Way, Dino Stomp and Rabid Bite, and the white removal like Seal Away, Settle and Fumigate...

 

[da_rays]

Yeah , youre right , loads of hard removal. thats why its important to play that deck tempo style , with always a place to respond with spell pierce and lookout dispersal. Else , its pretty much doom for that deck. Having the choice of Trickster / counterspell during a turn gives you a bit of control over the layout of your next turn. Might switch warkite for Nimble obstructionist , that cycling effect is pretty neat for a bunch of effect which are not counterspellable

 

[spectre]

First thing I'd ditch from your list is the Siren. It did an excellent job at the top of the curve before we got the djinn and the meta was all dinosaurs, but very often it just doesn't trigger and dies to popular burn without winds.
Especially if you're running Tricksters, which are quite similar. I'd just let the mana curve drop off at three and
reduce the number of lands to 22. Myself, I prefer 20 lands and 2x Opt, or 21 lands at 61 cards, but I am funny this way.

Speaking of which, Is merfolk trickster actually pulling its weight here? Non-flyers are a tough sell for me in this type of deck. I'd often just have a 1 drop flyer instead just to have evasion for the Curious Obsession.
You probably play it more controlling, whereas I'd rather just go full aggro.

For removal, I like Blink of an Eye. It makes the 2-slot a bit clogged, but it catches almost everything and lets you stay on curve if you ever get to 4 mana.

 

[da_rays]

Well the main go for this deck his having a control over the early board and putting in a threat that stick. And siren his a cheap flyer , who his also a pirate siren wizard ( wtf? haha ) and get to eat that removal destined to the djinn or curious warkite marauder . And yeah , I find trickster awesome here . He can either tap a creature and negate his ability ( Ajani pridemate comes to mind since im seeing a lot of WG cats decks theses days ) or chump block a 1/1 already attacking / trade for a 2 toughness creatures. If trickster survive with an open board from opponement , you slap curious obsession and go for 3 and a card draw. Its all about surprise and putting that 2/2 at the most inapropriate time for your adversary .

 

[spectre]

I meant the Dreamcaller, not the Stormtamers. The Stormtamers are an unquestionable staple.

 

[da_rays]

Ah right , read your post a bit too quickly . Went with your idea , -2 Island -2 Dreamcaller Siren , +2 Opt +1 Favorable winds +1 Storm Fleet Arealist . Feel more fluid
Also changed essence scatters in the sideboard for 2x Wizard retort. Same price most of the time , and counter any spell . Also on the fence for warkite , hes very good , but at 1 toughness ...at the same time , what else is there? Daring saboteur? meh . Departed deck hand? Also very meh , and a no go for obsession. Slither Blade maybe...

Tried with 21 lands + 2 opt . Played 9 games. Felt a lot more fluid and Opt , Chart a course and obsession are doing a great job of refilling your hand.