[Primer] PyroRed

[notap123]

All I can say is yes please:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachme ... 1389675749

[Khaospawn]

@Guttler - I noticed in the coverage that you use my favorite Mountain and Shock.

[poppa_f]

All I can say is yes please:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachme ... 1389675749

Limited bomb. Not sure if standard playable, then again I'd have said the same about Selfie legionnaire, which is in my current 75.

[Calamity]

I've got a tourney coming up this saturday where the prize is an FTV20, we play standard and then cut to top 8 for an MMA draft, winner gets the FTV20.

I haven't played standard in awhile since I've been home, is pyrored/Walter White still good? I've heard UW control is picking up steam, and mono U devotion is still popular which sounds pretty bad for this deck. I've got two copies of stormbreath I'm dying to use though, so right now I'm leaning towards a build with them.

[Alex]

All I can say is yes please:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachme ... 1389675749

Limited bomb. Not sure if standard playable, then again I'd have said the same about Selfie legionnaire, which is in my current 75.

Card needs testing. It isn't so bad that it won't get played in Standard, the question will just be if it finds a deck that can play it. Control actually likes this card more than most archetypes, specifically UWR, since it
gives you pressure after a board wipe, but UWR might not surface since the Izzet scryland isn't in BNG.

Of course, Aetherling still exists so maybe that's a moot point too. I'll probably play it in my list, it is better than Tajic.

[LaZerBurn]

I've got a tourney coming up this saturday where the prize is an FTV20, we play standard and then cut to top 8 for an MMA draft, winner gets the FTV20.

I haven't played standard in awhile since I've been home, is pyrored/Walter White still good? I've heard UW control is picking up steam, and mono U devotion is still popular which sounds pretty bad for this deck. I've got two copies of stormbreath I'm dying to use though, so right now I'm leaning towards a build with them.

A lot of us are running Big Boros - check the thread for the latest list but Walter is still good and MDU's Pyrodragons list runs 2 SBD The first Dragons list is in the Primer with vids,
my latest version is here

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

So, aggro just took a huge hit and MBD is now way better against us. It does not look great. Unless they have a killer aggro card in the wings. Going bigger is looking very attractive now.

[poppa_f]

So, aggro just took a huge hit and MBD is now way better against us. It does not look great. Unless they have a killer aggro card in the wings. Going bigger is looking very attractive now.

Yeah I've been thinking the same thing, although another option could be to play Rakdos colours and run thoughtseize as an answer to sweepers. I'm leaning more and more towards Rakdos for Born of the Gods Standard.

Weenie swarm strategy is looking hosed now with red, black and azorius all having good sweepers available and cards like Xathrid Necromancer and Boros Charm both useless against the black sweeper.

[notap123]

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachme ... 1389834005

Pretty legit synergy w/ Chandra's Pheonix. Chump block, kill w/ Searing Blood, then snag your pheonix back.

[Valdarith]

How is Xathrid Necromancer useless to the sweeper? His effect still triggers on death.

[poppa_f]

How is Xathrid Necromancer useless to the sweeper? His effect still triggers on death.

it's -2/-2 until end of turn, so don't all the tokens die too, or is it only creatures on the battlefield when it resolves that are affected?

[Valdarith]

-2/-2 only affects the creatures in play upon resolution.

[poppa_f]

* painfully re-assembles and glues back together the 4 torn up Xathrid Necromancers in the bin *

[Jack]

I brought this to FNM tonight since I only have 2 dragons. In 4 rounds, I played 4 green-based Nykthos midrange decks. 1 g/r monsters, 2 colossal gruul and 1 colossal Golgari (black fo Abrupt Decay, Mogis Marauder and Corpaejack Menace). I was allowed a 15 card SB, but I only needed 6 of them

[soebek]

Hey guys, a few pages ago I mentioned I was taking this list to a PTQ. I went 3-3 in the end, which whilst pretty far from good I'm not unhappy with because it was my first major tournament (only FNMs prior to this).

I made a lot of misplays, I'm sure, but it was a good learning experience. I also didn't have the greatest match-ups, though I don't want to make excuses. I lost my first round against red devotion (G1 he saw four Stormbreaths, G2 I lost to two topdecked Boros Charms!) and from then on literally all I played was monogreen or Gr devotion. Five full rounds of Garruk and Arbor Colossus. All the monoblack, monoblue and esper control lists I was prepared for were at the top tables - on the other side of the room to me!

The night before the tournament I made some changes to the deck based on a gut feeling, but I wish I hadn't now. I took out a land, two Firedrinkers and a Young Pyromancer for 4 Ash Zealots,
but because of my match-ups Ashley just ended up being outclassed on the ground all day and was essentially a dead card in my hand most of the time.

Still, I wanted to say thanks to everyone in this thread and on this forum for the excellent brewing and the constructive criticism. I've learned a lot just by lurking and I'm quite sure I wouldn't have gone 3-3 on my first PTQ if I hadn't been reading here regularly. As it is, I think my choice of an aggro deck was a poor meta decision and I'd have been better off going bigger with Big Boros or similar. Ah well, there's always next time! My next PTQ isn't until after BNG is out, so the meta has plenty of time to flux.

[rcwraspy]

Tournament Report!

I went to a GPT/$1k tournament yesterday, and brought this list. It's basically 1 SB card and a flip of numbers with Mortars and Skullcrack shy of Guttler's SCG Orlando list.

[deck]
Creatures - 21
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
3 Young Pyromancer
4 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Pyrewild Shaman
1 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells - 14
2 Chained to the Rocks
1 Flames of the Firebrand
3 Shock
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike

Lightning Thighs - 2
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Land - 23
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Mutavault
11 Mountain

Sideboard - 15
2 Chained to the Rocks
2 Skullcrack
3 Mizzium Mortars
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Fanatic of Mogis
1 Rod of Ruin
1 Assemble the Legion
[/deck]

As recently as Friday night the 2x Fanatic in the SB were still 2x Last Breath for some added protection against Master of Waves. But I figured that I'm
comfortable with both YP controlly/tempo-y builds as well as Devotion builds, so being able to board from one to another was too tempting to pass up. I'm very glad I did, too, since it basically won me a match.

This was a GPT for Montreal but also a $1k tournament. Prize support was as follows:
1st place: $400 and byes for GP Montreal
2nd place: $200
3rd and 4th: $100 each
5th through 8th: $50 each

Places 1 through 16 all got GP DC playmats.

There were 39 players, making it 6 rounds and then a cut to top 8.

ROUND 1. 2-0 win vs. Boros Aggro (base white) played by Rick.

Game 1: I'm on the play and keep. He mulls to 6.
Chandra was the MVP of this game. Once she came down, she just ticked up. His deck had all the white-based 1-drops, and her +1 was a minefield. Soldier of the Pantheon, Dryad Militant, Boros Elite, etc. He also played Imposing Sovereign and Banisher Priest. Flames of the Firebrand also did work, and Ashley is beautiful. He played a couple
of Reckoners that I had to Lightning Strike, but since I was on the control plan against him the only targets were me or redirect to Chandra. Once I cleared the board, I went beatdown.

SB: -4 Satyr, -2YP$, +4 Reckoner, +2 Chained

Game 2: Both keep our 7.
With Reckoners of my own and 4 Chained for his Reckoners and Fiendslayer Paladins, this was a cake-walk. Controlled the board with burn, turned the corner and got there.

1-0 in matches, 2-0 in games.

ROUND 2. 2-0 win vs. Naya Aggro (base red) played by Rex

Rex is a good friend of mine and we traveled to the tourney together. We were both ushers at each others weddings. We hate when we get paired against each other. Someone has to win, though. Rex takes pride in playing his own takes on decks. It's a strong goldfish deck, but a little inconsistent. It runs a red-base for the one-drops, Ash Zealot and burn, runs green to take advantage of Domri and Ghor-Clan, and has white primarily for Boros Charm main and
Chained side. His favorite play is to bloodrush Rampager on an attacker and then Boros Charm for either double-strike or indestructible if they try to remove in response to bloodrush. He had a bad day and when we drove back from the tournament he said "well, my lesson for the day is that if I want to do well I need to net-deck."

I know his deck very well, and he knows mine fairly well, though I made some changes for this tournament.

Game 1: Rex on the play. I keep, he mulls to 6.
I know I'm on the control plan against his deck, and I play accordingly. This game had an interesting line of play decision. He had a clear board other than Domri, and I had 5 mana with Magma Jet and Phoenix in hand. Domri was at 4 loyalty. I Magma Jetted his face, then swung the bird into Domri. Previous turn he had revealed Reckoner with Domri but couldn't cast it. I pass, he plays Reckoner, and pit fights Reckoner with
the Phoenix, exactly what I wanted. Domri was off the board, and I used Lightning Strike on Reckoner with an empty board. I turned the corner, became the beatdown, won. The 2 damage to the face from Magma Jet was pivotal since when I won he was 1 land away (conveniently his next turn's top deck) from blowing me out with GCR.

SB: -4 Satyr, -2 Chandra (I board her out against decks with burn and trample and creatures larger than X/1 but small enough to deal with); +4 Reckoner, +2 Chained to the Rocks

Game 2: I keep, Rex mullls to 5.
Not many notes here. He died when I was at 15. I beat down with Ashleys while removing what little he put on the board.

2-0 in matches, 4-0 in games

ROUND 3: 2-1 win against G/W Flash/Tokens played by Chris.

I had seen what he was on and I thought this would be a bad matchup for my deck. Not sure why, probably just because I think Advent of the Wurm is dirty. It's not a bad matchup though.

Game 1: I'm on
the play and we both keep.
He beat me down fairly well here. Boon Satyr did some good work for him. Didn't take good notes of this game, I think I was tilting a bit. I do know Rootborn Defenses got the better of me when I tried to Magma Jet something.

SB: -4 Satyr, -2 YP$, -2 Chandra; +4 Reckoner, +2 Fanatic of Mogis, +2 Chained to the Rocks

Game 2: Both keep, I choose to play
He died with me at 20 life. I was on the board control plan. Unfortunately at one point that meant chaining a Call of the Conclave 3/3 token to the Rocks, but you do what you have to do to win. At the end I had 2 Reckoners on board and had just used Magma Jet leaving Fanatic on top with him at 7 life. Reveal after the pass, he scooped, on to game 3.

SB: No change

Game 3: I keep, he mulls to 6
The one game where Pyrewild Shaman got into the action. There were 2 noteworthy plays in 1 combat step in this game. We were both at 8 and I attacked with an unleashed Cackler and an Ashley into a
clear board but plenty of mana, and he made a 2/2 knight token with Selesnya Charm. After the token resolved but before he could declare it as a blocker I Shocked it. Then before damage I bloodrushed Pyrewild onto Ashley to bring him to 1. He was dead on board after he couldn't get more than 1 thing on board in his turn.

3-0 in matches, 6-1 in games

ROUND 4: 2-0 win against G/W Aggro played by Adam. Less token based than the previous match.

Game 1: I'm on the play and we both keep.
This was a very grindy game but I won it on the back of 2x Phoenix being value town. Lots of blocks and then recursion. Flames of the Firebrand also showed up well, netting me a 2-for-1 against a Banisher Priest and an X/1 (forget what it was). There was a play where he attacked with advent of the wurm token and I was at 8 life. My only untapped creature was a YP$. I used Magma Jet on the Wurm token, got a 1/1 elemental, and double
blocked, killing his token, my token, my YP$ and taking 3 damage to put me at 5. He was at 14 at this point, but our deck shines when controlling the board then turning the corner, and that's just what I did. I could have killed him sooner than I did but he kept holding cards in hand with mana up so I was playing around cards that he just wasn't holding. I was at 5 life and afraid of an advent token.

SB: -4 Satyr, -2 Chandra, -2 YP$; +4 Reckoner, +2 Chained, +2 Fanatic

Game 2: Both keep, Adam on the play.
Another grindy game, and another one where I could have won sooner than I had but was playing around cards he just wasn't holding. After the win he revealed his hand - 2 basic forests. He had flooded out after a long back-and-forth where we both annihilated the other's board states. I won with Mutavaults.

4-0 in mathces, 8-1 in games.

ROUND 5: Intentional Draw against Mono-Blue Devotion played by Robert.

We were the only 2 4-0 players in a 6-round event and
knew we could both ID twice and make top 8. We ID'ed, but played for fun. He won in 3. I didn't take notes, but we all know this is a rough matchup when they get the cards they need. I do know that in game 2, that I won, I chained Thassa to a rock and it felt good. I saw Rod of Ruin in my opener for game 2 but never cast it and it wasn't necessary.

ROUND 6: Intentional Draw against G/W aggro played by Q (name I've never seen before starting in Qz and had like a D, a couple L's, and other letters)

He was 4-1 and I was 4-0-1. If we both draw we make top 8. DPaine88 was at 3-2 and if he won and my opponent lost, there was a slim chance that DPaine could make top 8 instead of this guy. I feel bad about this. This was the first time that standings, rankings, breakers, points, etc. have ever really mattered for me and I didn't know how to read them. I was afraid of getting knocked out of top 8 if I lost, but know now that wasn't mathematically possible. I do well at
FNMs, game days, etc., and come in 1st at those often enough, but they don't cut to top 8 usually. And while I've done fairly well at other GPTs, SCG Opens, $5ks, and PTQs, I've never been on the cusp of a top 8 for one of those larger events before. I've only been going to larger-than-FNM tournaments since April 2013. I was also tired and felt drained, and didn't really want to play. I asked a judge what would happen if I lost and he refused to answer me. I asked Q (my opponent) what he lost to and when. He had lost to the only other undefeated guy, the mono-blue player I ID'ed with in round 5, and he lost to him in either round 3 or 4 (I forget which). DPaine lost to 2 different players (not me and not mono blue, I believe), and DPaine's losses would have happened in earlier rounds than this guy's losses had we played and I won. So even though I really should have played it out to give DPaine a fighting chance on breakers, I think this guy would have beaten him out for the spot even if I
won the match. I feel badly about it though, and if in that situation again I'll definitely play it out.

TOP 8

The judge came over to us and had us write on a piece of paper "yes" or "no." "Yes" meant "Yes, I want to split the top 8 prize money," and "no" meant "no, I don't want to split, I want to play it out instead." I didn't care, but it was clear the other 7 players wanted to split so I wrote "yes." I was also the 3rd seed and the mono-blue player the 2nd seed, so had 1-3 seeds made it into the semi-finals, I would have played him there and that's a really bad matchup for our deck. Assuming I won in the quarterfinals, the $125 for splitting is better than the $100 for coming in 3rd or 4th.

Top 8 consisted of:
Me
G/W aggro (round 6 opponent)
Mono-blue Devotion (round 5 opponent and 2nd seed)
R/W Devotion
B/W Devotion
2x Mono-Black Devotion (one of whom was 1st seed at 5-1-0 whose loss
came early so couldn't draw in)
X (don't know what the last deck was)

We split the money evenly at 8x $125 and 6 of them played it out for planeswalker points and to determine who got the GP Montreal byes. Since I didn't care about those, I left. I'll probably be listed as 7th or 8th because of that, but whatever.

I feel fortunate that I faced really good matchups all day and was able to draw into the top 8. I also learned that G/W is not a bad matchup for us, because:
a. There are only a card or two that present real challenges for our deck, and they have to draw them
b. Like Z has always said, they're very inconsistent - especially that mana base. All the G/W players were complaining about it, and one (Adam, round 4) called Temple Garden the best card in the deck

DPaine said my deck will be up on TCGPlayer at some point. It'll be fun to see my name up there. I gave deck creation credit to MDU, although I think that list may actually belong to Lazer or Purp. MDU was just the first
name I could think of when registering - sorry.

[kwejibo]

Hi everyone. I’ve been lurking for a while so I thought I’d share a quick report from my local PTQ yesterday in Toronto. There were 341 people with 9 rounds. I finished 7-2 (12th place).

[deck]
Creatures - 20
3 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
3 Young Pyromancer
4 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells - 15
1 Mizzium Mortars
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Shock
3 Chained to the Rocks

Planeswalkers - 2
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Lands - 23
11 Mountain
3 Mutavault
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Boros Guildgate

Sideboard
3 Boros Reckoner
3 Mizzium Mortars
3 Last Breath
1 Chained to the Rocks
4 Skullcrack
1 Glare of Heresy
[/deck]


Round 1: UW Control
W 2-0
G1: I got some quick pressure in before he cast verdict. Mutavault and phoenix did the rest.
G2: He happily played a T3 paladin, which got promptly chained. By the time he got a [card]
detention sphere[/card] for it, it was too late.

SB: +4 Skullcrack, +1 Glare
-1 Mortars, -3 YP, -1 Shock

1-0

Round 2: Wb Aggro
W 2-1
G1: He got stuck on 2 lands.
G2: Kept a Mountain and Mutavault hand with some burn and draw nothing but white cards, zealots, and phoenixes.
G3: Very close. Glare on his spear lets me stabilizing at 1 life. Dragon finishes him.

SB: +1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1 Chain, +3 Reckoners, +3 LB
- 3 FDS, -4 RC, -3 YP, -1 Chandra

2-0

Round 3: Mono Black
W 2-0
The was over in 15 minutes, which was great because it was lunch time.
G1: Overran him with more creatures than he could handle.
G2: Kept a hand of Foundry, Mountain, 3 CttR, 2 Skullcrack. He Thoughtseized T1 and reluctantly took a chain. I drew into a few creatures, and chained a specter and demon. He eventually get some creatures on board, but I burn him out after SCing him in response to a Cure.

SB: +1 CttR, +4 SC, +1 Mortars
-2 Dragon, -3 Shock, -1 Jet

3-0

Round 4: GW (against a good
player I know so I remembered this match in better detail)
W 2-1
G1: I really had no chance this game. Not enough removal to stop his army with multiple Voices.
G2: Keep a 2 land, 5 removal hand. I had more removal than he had creatures. Phoenix and Dragon take it.
G3: Close game. Didn’t get my Chains or LB early enough to deal with 2 voices on board. Reckoner and 2 Zealots hold him back for a bit. He tries to cast Unflinching Courage on one of his Voices, so I strike it in response but he charms it to save it. So now he has a voice with a courage and 2 tokens. I get a dragon on board at 10 life and leave him back to block. 2 turns later he casts a hydra for 6 and swings with team, including 2 6/6 tokens. I let the 2 voices through for 6, block the rest. Monstrous dragon block hydra, reckoner trades with a token. He has 1 token and 2 voices left. I have 1 Zealot and 1 dragon. Top deck Chain on the voice with courage, and dragon does the rest.

SB: +1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1
Chain, +3 Reckoners, +3 LB
-3 FDS, -4 RC, -2 YP, -2 Chandra

4-0

Round 5: Esper Aggro
L 0-2
G1: Almost had him, but Ghost Dad let him stabilize.
G2: Got destroyed by Ghost Dad.

SB: +1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1 Chain, +3 Reckoners
-3 FDS, -4 RC, -1 YP

4-1

Round 6: Mono Black
W 2-0
Another very quick match. No real notes for this other than I ended the games with 18 and 17 life.

SB: +1 CttR, +4 SC, +1 Mortars
-2 Dragon, -3 Shock, -1 Jet

5-1

Round 7: Mono Black
L 0-2
My first ever loss against mono B with this deck. He is a local (former) Pro player who I’ve known for 10+ years. He played this match perfectly, and I really didn’t have a chance.
G1: 2 Demons (only had 1 chain) + Gary for 6.
G2: He goes on the Pack Rat offensive. I deal with them, but have to use my chains which lets him play his demon.

SB: +1 CttR, +4 SC, +1 Mortars
-2 Dragon, -3 Shock, -1 Jet

5-2

Round 8: GW
W 2-1
This match was similar to round 4, with easier game 3.
G1:
This deck is very hard to beat pre board.
G2 & G3: He only hits me 1 time in G1(eot wurm, which got chained on my turn), and only 2 hits with a Soldier of the Pantheon G3. My removal > his creatures. Simple as that.

SB: +1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1 Chain, +3 Reckoners, +3 LB
-3 FDS, -4 RC, -2 YP, -2 Chandra

6-2

Round 9: Gw (another local former pro)
W 2-0
I assumed based on what I saw G1 that this was the same deck at the previous round, but it wasn’t so I SBed incorrectly. This was green with a white splash.
G1: He doesn’t do much, I win with 18 life.
G2: This was a bit closer. He gets me down to 4 before I stabilize.

SB: +1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1 Chain, +3 Reckoners, +3 LB
-3 FDS, -4 RC, -2 YP, -2 Chandra
BUT should have been:
+1 Glare, +3 Mortars, +1 Chain, +3 Reckoners
-3 FDS, -4 RC, -1 YP

7-2

So 7-2 was good enough for 12th place and 1.5 boxes of BotG (rainchecked).

Some notes:
Did not face a single mono blue deck.
The GW matchup is
very good post board with all the removal.
Mono black piloted by a good player is a much harder match.
The only change I would make is -1 LB, +1 Glare in the board.

[Mr. Metronome]

What do you think of the 4 Skullcrack? I currently have 2 Boros Charm sideboard that have been middling in how good they are. Glare seems awesome with how good RW has been doing.

[magicdownunder]

SkullCrack is strong vs Control and Bx Devotion usually representing 5+ damage (which is huge) while Boros Charm has more value in other MUs, its meta dependent...

[Helios]

Skullcrack is really good right now, imo.

[Mr. Metronome]

I'm leery to have 4 sideboard slots devoted to a card that mostly comes in for favourable matchups. It is pretty clutch against those decks, though...

[Helios]

What matchups are you bringing Boros Charm in for that are unfavorable?

[magicdownunder]

Skullcrack is really good right now, imo.

hmmm... I don't know, I'll admit it hose Bx Devotion which is the "deck to beat" this season - but vs Control is SC really better then Boros Charm? We can hit Rev sometimes but Control players at the top200 rarely make those mistake.

I like SC but I won't say its the be all and ends all, esp. when we can just drop assemble vs Bx.

What matchups are you bringing Boros Charm in for that are unfavorable?

Bg Devotion (protecting chains), Esper Aggro (damage over the top), Rw Devotion (sweepers and LD), Control (kills
walkers protects from sweepers) and Bx Devotion (though I'll admit SC is better here).

[Helios]

I guess it is a meta call, those are good reasons - my current meta is Mono B, GR Monsters, Esper. Red devo. And the Esper players here don't qualify as top 200, methinks, plenty of Skulls have been Cracked. and many frowns have been had when Grey Merchant unexpectedly doesn't gain life.

[rcwraspy]

going to make some SB changes.

Moving from:
[deck]
2 Chained to the Rocks
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Skullcrack
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Fanatic of Mogis
1 Rod of Ruin
1 Assemble the Legion
[/deck]

to:

[deck]
2 Chained to the Rocks
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Last Breath
2 Glare of Heresy
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Fanatic of Mogis
1 Assemble the Legion
[/deck]

Rod of Ruin is a nice little trick against Master of Waves and all, but with all the black around Master isn't a huge percent of my local meta any longer. And Last Breath deals with him also. So instead of having 5 answers to Master (4x Chained, 1x Rod) I now have 6 (4x Chained, 2x LB). And of course Last Breath works for so many other cards as well. These took SKullcrack's slot because I realized that they can also exile a Gray Merchant. I'm ok with him getting the life swing off one Gray Merchant. It's when they Whip it back that puts the game out of reach.
Last Breath renders that moot.

Both Last Breath and Glare also answer Voice, Glare answers D-Sphere and Elspeth, and GW, B/w, and UW/x are looking like large parts of the meta around here. Glare can also answer an opposing Boros Reckoner or Chained to the Rocks.

In theory I'm changing the board for more versatility. We'll see how it works out.

[LaZerBurn]

An extra SBD and an extra Mountain for 2 Fanatic is worth testing too - SBD is great at making up the 4 life from LB

[rcwraspy]

An extra SBD and an extra Mountain for 2 Fanatic is worth testing too - SBD is great at making up the 4 life from LB

That's a good idea. Which do you think is best against specific matchups?

Against mono-black and control I pretty much stay the same, though an extra Stormbreath would come in against UW since once it resolves they're hard pressed to remove it.

Against aggro I bring in more removal and the Reckoners. If there are more slots to fill I'll bring in the Fanatics to race.

Is the Stormbreath plan better against mono blue? I don't bring in Reckoners there so no Fanatics either, and I suppose the answer would be yes.

The Fanatic plan really put me ahead in a couple of recent matches against G/W aggro.

What are your
thoughts on the 2 (2x Fanatic or 1x Mountain, 1x Stormbreath) plans based on specific matchups?

Thanks!

P.S. - one of the things I really liked about Fanatic is that I played an aggro deck early in the Theros season that curved out at Fanatic, and I like being able to board from and to plans that I know well.

[Purp]

I don't think you need Assemble, it plays the same role as YP$. Id cut assemble and a reckoner for 2 skullcracks or boros charms... then cut FoM for Mountain + SBD

[Helios]

Assemble = Free Wins v. Mono Black. I really can't recommend it enough.

[rcwraspy]

don't think i'm comfortable cutting a Reckoner. In the matchups I want him for, I feel that I need to either curve well anyway or see Reckoner, but if my 7 is neither of those I really have to consider a mulligan. And multiples aren't bad.

I used to have Boros Charm in. Heck, I used to have it MB in my list. But I really think it's dropped in importance - significantly. We can play around and through a verdict easily enough, and the deck is full of reach anyway. It does protect our Chained to the Rocks, but I don't think I'd bring it in against the matchups that blow up our Chains.

Assemble might be a good card to cut anyway. It's really there for 1 matchup, and it's a favorable matchup already.

EDIT: Just saw Helios's reply - I agree it's basically a free win, but is it necessary? Aren't we usually favored in that matchup anyway?

[Purp]

Assemble = Free Wins v. Mono Black. I really can't recommend it enough.

Mono Black should already be a free win with PyroDragons...

What matchups do you want reckoner in? Ones where you have a shitload of removal as well. Your weakest matchup is UW and Mono U... Charm is good

[rcwraspy]

Assemble = Free Wins v. Mono Black. I really can't recommend it enough.

Mono Black should already be a free win with PyroDragons...

What matchups do you want reckoner in? Ones where you have a shitload of removal as well. Your weakest matchup is UW and Mono U... Charm is good

I want Reckoner against any creature-dense decks. I NEED Reckoner against those that are larger than mine. And for some of those, it also means their creatures are larger than a lot of our removal. G/r monsters for example. We only have 4x Chained, so having 8 cards that hose them is much better,
and Reckoner is great in many other matchups and fine in multiples. I'll try 3, but when I need him I REALLY need him.

Is the consensus that UW is a bad matchup? I've always found it favorable.

[Helios]

Mono Black should already be a free win with PyroDragons...

Well, um, I guess I'm clearly bad at Magic because it isn't. Assemble's card text v. mono B: "Does your opponent have Thoughtseize? No? You win the game."

[Purp]

What diff is assemble actually making? I get that it beats Mono Black most of the time. Look at the results of this deck... You don't need a SB card taking up a spot for a matchup you should already be winning. How often are you getting to 5 lands anyway.

Not trying to imply you're bad at magic, but i think the results prove that if you need Assemble, you might be playing the matchup incorrectly.

[Valdarith]

There's nothing wrong with siding in a card that says "I win" in an already favorable matchup if you have the sideboard space. I sided Assemble in against GW and if I hadn't had it I probably would have lost!

Basically, if you have room for a card that a deck literally cannot beat when it resolves, it's worth a look.

[Helios]

We've always had 2 flex slots in the SB, and I choose to use those to get free wins, because G2 against mono B is boring anyway. I don't need Assemble. What I do need is time to go get a snack, something to drink, use the restroom, etc. So I like to get free wins game 2, relax, etc. so that I can play better in the matchups that need it.

[LaZerBurn]

An extra SBD and an extra Mountain for 2 Fanatic is worth testing too - SBD is great at making up the 4 life from LB

That's a good idea. Which do you think is best against specific matchups?

Against mono-black and control I pretty much stay the same, though an extra Stormbreath would come in against UW since once it resolves they're hard pressed to remove it.

Against aggro I bring in more removal and the Reckoners. If there are more slots to fill I'll bring in the Fanatics to race.

Is the Stormbreath plan better against mono blue? I don't bring in Reckoners there so no Fanatics
either, and I suppose the answer would be yes.

The Fanatic plan really put me ahead in a couple of recent matches against G/W aggro.

What are your thoughts on the 2 (2x Fanatic or 1x Mountain, 1x Stormbreath) plans based on specific matchups?

Thanks!

P.S. - one of the things I really liked about Fanatic is that I played an aggro deck early in the Theros season that curved out at Fanatic, and I like being able to board from and to plans that I know well.

Yes to everything you said SBD out Vs MonoB. In Vs MonoU as the SBD is what makes LB playable. I'd bring in SBD against the mid range decks - GW, GR, GDevo.

I personally prefer SBD to Fanatic in every match up but if you're happier with Fanatic as you're used to curving into him and playing the lines that make him great that's a great reason to run him I
just though I'd mention the SBD Mountain option as you were tweaking the deck and bringing in LB over Rod for the MonoU match up

[rcwraspy]

SBD to recover from LB's drawback does seem very important, especially since neither Reckoner nor Fanatic are coming in against monoU so I'm not recovering through Fanatic's reach.

Will give further thought and testing. Thanks!

[Shivan Token]

Greetings, collegues, I'm a humble red apprentice from Italy and after a lot of lurkin' and brewin' I finally played at a PTQ yesterday. Probably I will not be able to attend to other PTQs so I decided it should be right to register in and offer my insights, I also wanted to say Hello! to everyone and give my thanks to the sharp minds who helped in my deck-brewing: Zem, Valdarith, MDU, Purp, Lazerburn, and so on, I'm sure I'm missing someone.

Long story short, this is the deck that I registered:

Bora Zephyr and Sirocco

---

[deck]4 Young Pyromancer
3 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Spellheart Chimera
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Hammer of Purphoros
3 Izzet Charm
3 Steam Augury
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
4 Boros Charm
4 Turn / Burn
1 Gods Willing
2 Rapid Hybridization
1 Essence Scatter

12 shocklands
4 Temple of triumph
4 mountain
3 island

Sideboard
3 Skullcrack
2 Anger of the
gods
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Assemble the Legion
1 Wear / Tear
2 Essence Scatter
1 Essence Backleash
1 Renounce the guilds
1 Glare of heresy
[/deck]

I've finished the PTQs 6-3 sadly, ending on 28th place out of 269 players. I was gunning for Black devotion control variants \ Esper midrange \ Control decks, but... well, let's do a

Report

---

Round 1 against UWr control : 2-0, he's too slow to stabilize and I take over. Game 2 Skullcrack on time for his first sphynx stop him in his tracks.
Round 2 against Naya (???) Red devotion, 1-2. The match that I won was on the back of pyromancer madness and little elementals overtaking the board. Game 3 was a disaster. I've clearly sided wrong this one. I've bring out 2 boros charms, 1 izzet charm, 1 Magma Jet, 1 Gods Willing for 2 Essence Scatter, 1 Essence Backleash, 1 Renounce the Guilds, 1 Wear tear. Boy it's hard to play without Reckoners. I die with a wear \ tear and a bident in hand watching
down a board of BTE \ Reckoner \ SBD on turn, like, 4. I haven't sided Verdicts in this MU because I can't really count on them being active on time, mana-wise, but I should have tried.
Round 3 0-2 against Selesnya aggro bring down my hopes for taking down the thing. I've had to mulligan on the play with only one land; and I suspect I've sided wrong this one too. He sided against me a Fade of antiquity (WTF?!) so my Legion couldn't Assemble. I suspect him was blindly lucky. In fact he proceed to lose a lot in the same tourney. Hell, let's stay and see how the decks works, even if the competition is a bit on the relaxed side when you are x-2.
Round 4 Esper Humans, 2-1 victory. He was playing quite tight but failed to read the board when he attacked with an Obzy into my lone Golem token - and my three untapped lands which promptly generated another Golem. I actually thinked hard this block, because I wasn't sure he had removal in hand to 2-1 or not. He chuckled when he
lost Obzy, and that was game, more or less.
Round 5 Mono Black, 2-1 victory, I was gunning for this MU and overrun him with double pyromancer on one game and double phoenix another.
Round 6 RW devotion, 2-0 victory, that was EPIC. Game 1 I'm a 4 life points, he's a 14 at the end of his turn; I have an Hammer on the board (after countering his with Izzet Charm). EOT Magma Jet, he goes to 12, take back phoenix, untap my six lands, play phoenix + chimera 10/3, gg. Game 2 i take a defensive stance first turns countering \ reacting, then tap out on T5 to play ATL, and he play ATL. At this point we basically stopped playing magic and started playing risiko, with our soldiers watching each other. He tried to trap me with a Burning Earth which ended to make more damage to him than to me. I'm able to burn him down when he go tapout with his Nikthos for ultra-pumping his two Frostburn weirds which managed to pass thru the Soldiers Legion.
Round 7 against Esper humans against a very pro player,
EPIC this one too, 2-1. Very grindy, we trade threats and removal for a lot of time, once in topdeck mode I got the upper hand because I got the hammer for digging my way out of the mana flood while my opponent drowns in lands. We go to time, and I'm able to swing for victory on my last additional turn with double phoenix and two golems.
Round 8 against Bant Flash against a clever opponent, EPIC this one too. 2-1. Our decks are somewhat similar: we like to play EOT, we both employ Rapid Hybridization, we both "could" play counterspells. Pyromancer went on defensive duties by churning out chump-blockers. I've got a bit lucky maybe on this one too, when "surprise surprise" my opponent starts to deploy Master of Waves in multiples. Once I've had to Rapid Hybridizate his two Master of Waves at his EOT, for untapping and playing Anger of the Gods. Another time I've had to Verdict. Golem tokens are REALLY good to stop Master of waves pro red evasion. Was a tough one, ended on
jumping on top I believe thanks to CA (sweepers + Steam augury. How can I describe the feeling of having 7 cards in hand in the mid game...). Most rewarding risk was once i topdecked Izzet charm after Steam Augury with two lands in hand and a Pyromancer in play; draw 2, discard 2, (+1 elemental), found two pieces of burn, discard lands, dish them out on opposing creeps(+ 2 elementals). (I've had to do all of this on my turn because he was almost tapped out, and it's awkward to let bant flash to untap) I'm pretty confident that I can say this deck CAN compete on high levels because of his "innate" mana flood insurance. Discussion welcomed.
Round 9 against JUND (WTF??) kind guy that I sometimes see at my LGS. We are both very tilted at this point and after seeing that we can't make top 8 we play for fun. I've lost 0-2, because I played blindly my phoenix on turn 3 --- only to have her exiled with anger of the gods (!!!) - that was
his only out to phoenix, because i would have started to draw like crazy with Bident the next turns. Sigh. If only I haven't scried awat that chimera... Game 2 he simply Rakdos return twice me and won with his third Stormbreath Dragon after i turn\burned and essencescattered the firts 2. Still manage to bring him to 2. Sigh.

Long story short, I believe this is one of the most difficult deck to pilot correctly in this standard, but is also a legitimate contender for his ability to change pace between a boros ultra-burn and a more resilient gameplan, and I found it very very fun. A lot of decisions to make, and the most intriguing aspect for me is the necessity to think in advance about a lot of variables, and make the correct choice between building board position \ defending or enter stormburning mode. Sometimes is iffy when you are trying to close a race and topdeck an Hammer of Purpy or another long-term investment, but eh, that's game, and in theory i also have izzet charm
for these situations. It's the price you have to pay when you want to have two strategies in the same deck, I suppose.

I should refine the sideboard plans, but i've got a lot of exams going in the university and if I can't go to PTQs I see no reason to scratch my brain.

Hope this wall of text could be useful to somebody out there at least how much I've found useful this forum!

edit: please correct my english if necessary

[Valdarith]

I was only able to skim through the post, mainly breezing over your list, and I like that you are testing Bident with YP$, Phoenix, and Chimera. That thought occured to me as well. I only wish UR was getting the scryland.

The white in your deck seems like a waste to me. I'd rather go straight UR for more consistent mana as well as Mutavault.