Dies to Removal

Which would be better for reanimator?

Macabre, you can exile is reanimation target in response to his attempt.

Does Dredge have any way to bounce a Leyline of the Void? That would be my go-to GY hate if so. Mulling to it is reasonable if they can't do anything after it hits.

Most dredge decks run [card]Nature's Claim[/card] in the sideboard.

Ok, then probably Tormod's Crypt for raw efficiency.

They can play through that if they slow roll you

Assuming competency mind

Here's what I'm thinking:
[deck]
Creatures:8
4 Goblin Guide
4 Grim Lavamancer

Spells:31
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
4 Skullcrack
4 Rift Bolt
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast

Lands:21
4 Arid Mesa
2 Bloodstained Mire
11 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:15
2 Pyrostatic Pillar
3 Searing Blaze
2 Smash to Smithereens
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Mindbreak Trap
2 Surgical Extraction
[/deck]

That is a very reasonable 75.

Edited to add surgical extraction. I like that tech.

Still an acceptable loadout.

Thanks. Hopefully when I get back to Canada there will be more legacy support.

While I think we can agree that the burn list that top 8'd isn't great, it did top 8. is there any tech we can take from it?

Also, completed my set of mires. Think I might play in a legacy event on Saturday.

After playing in the invitational and open that weekend. I don't think grim lavamancer is where you want to be. RUG delver is a pretty tough matchup, and getting blown out by stifle is crippling. 2 Sulfuric Vortex is pretty good. I like the hellspark elemental plan. SFD is good vs elves, which IMO is a terrible matchup.

I have zero clue as to expected meta.

Things we can take from this weekend's open:

1) Many more fair decks. This is good for us as we beat fair decks easier than unfair ones. Test those matchups extensively.
2) Dredge is on a slow upswing. Get your graveyard hate set up now so it doesn't surprise you.
3) Miracles is going to show up. We need to find a way around that.

As far as what we can take from the top8 deck, I think that some will like Hellspark Elemental. I will still stick with Keldon Marauders as it is more consistent for me. Grim Lavamancer is either amazing or horrible. I would still keep 2 in any deck with fetch lands, however. The pilot was much more aggressive with Pyrostatic Pillar than I would have been but it seems to have worked for him. Just make sure you have an exit strategy before you do so. I was not a fan of the Firedancer since it slows us down but it seems reasonable to test, especially for those who don't want to
run Searing Blaze/Searing Blood. I am intrigued by the YP but I am, again, not convinced it is fast enough. It works in Delver because they can play a slower game with their tempo plays and permission. The Guerrilla Tactics was amusing and I wonder if he managed to hit any of the many BUG players with it.

I think Skullcrack over Flame Rift is a mistake. What is your reasoning there? You have Sulfuric Vortex to take care of Jitte and Batterskull shenanigans and access to Smash postboard. Two mana for three damage just doesn't cut it in Legacy unless it's doing something proactive like killing creatures or artifacts (or can come back for another swing like Hellspark Elemental).

I also don't think four PoP maindeck is optimal because when it's bad, it's VERY bad. It barely has text vs SnT, Elves, High Tide, mirror, UR Delver, and Reanimator.

As for Hellspark Elemental, I kind of like it. Helps hedge against flooding and is good against fair decks but terrible to race with so it depends on what kind of meta you expect.

I believe his reasoning was that it wasn't worth the damage it did to himself. I prefer Flame Rift myself but I can see where he is coming from if it is causing him to lose races. Stopping life loss is of marginally more use than denying regen (Incinerate) or shooting down an angel (Thunderbolt). As far as PoP goes, you are right that it is either amazing or horrible. I think that the upside is much better than the downside (even Elves and UR will play 2 nonbasics) and I cannot think of anything that I would rather have in that slot.

If that's the case I'd run Hellspark Elemental before I ran Skullcrack.

Skullcrack is bad. Searing Blaze is lackluster. Smash to Smithereens is the nuts in an open environment, id run atleast 3.

To each there own. I think Flamerift is the worst card in the deck by a significant margin, and it was bad every time I drew it. It's a huge liability is drawn in multiples. I wonder about Boros Charm... Hellspark in that slot might be ok too.

Stay away from Boros Charm. That would require running duals which opens you up to Wasteland. It also causes PoP to hurt you as well.

Skullcrack has gotten be out of jams, but that's because I was playing against batterskull decks without smash to smithereens.

Thoughts on just main decking searing blaze?

[deck]
Creatures (8)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Grim Lavamancer

Lands (21)
9 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Bloodstained Mire


Spells (30)
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
4 Chain Lightning
4 Searing Blaze
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt

Sideboard
3 Ashen Rider
2 Pyrostatic Pillar
2 Mindbreak Trap
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Ensnaring Bridge
[/deck]

Feedback?

I don't like that searing blaze is sometimes dead, but I think you're hurting vs creatureless decks anyway, right?

It is hard to fault you for main decking Blaze if the trend toward fair, creature-based decks continues.

It is currently dead against:
Sneak and Show (Only usable as a finisher after they go off)
ANT/TES (Generally faster than us)
Reanimator (Again, only usable after they go off)
Miracles (A rough fight no matter what we do)
High Tide
Lands

They featured a few of those decks this weekend but they showed a lot more Delver.

I think 21 lands is too many. I ran 20 at invi/open and was getting flooded more than i got screwed... I only got screwed when I kept a one lander.

I am down to 18 myself but you need more if you are running fetch/Lavamancer. 20 is probably correct, maybe 19.

I was told that the math was run on it and 21 was correct for playing vortex on three. Psully played 21, so I think it's probably correct.

Chance of making your first three land drops.
18 land - 54.7%
19 land - 59.3%
20 land - 63.8%
21 land - 68.0%
22 land - 71.9%
23 land - 75.5%

Select your risk accordingly. I kept lowering my land count to correspond with the amount of flood I was getting.

I spoke a lot with Psully before the invitational about the deck. He dislikes grim and searing blaze, essentially telling me to abandon that plan. They are cards that do nothing for your combo matchup, which is auto lose for you. I was 4-4 in legacy part of Invi playing against 6 combo decks and 2 fair decks. I then went 6-3 in the open playing a lot of fair decks and losing twice to RUG delver. Grim lavamancer maybe won me 1 match (against merfolk).

Blak said it best, Grim is either VERY good, or very bad. D&T and Merfolk are the only decks I think id want Grim for. The unearth from hellspark seems hella good. 3 vortex is good, but there a lot of matchups you dont want to play it, and when you get two in your hand its terrible.

I understand. I did the same until a trusted friend and legacy specialist told me not to. I have a hard time refusing the advice of people who I acknowledge are better than me at something.

I spoke a lot with Psully before the invitational about the deck. He dislikes grim and searing blaze, essentially telling me to abandon that plan. They are cards that do nothing for your combo matchup, which is auto lose for you. I was 4-4 in legacy part of Invi playing against 6 combo decks and 2 fair decks. I then went 6-3 in the open playing a lot of fair decks and losing twice to RUG delver. Grim lavamancer maybe won me 1 match (against merfolk).

Blak said it best, Grim is either VERY good, or very bad. D&T and Merfolk are the only decks I think id want Grim for. The unearth from hellspark seems hella good. 3 vortex is good, but there a lot of matchups you dont want to play it, and when you get two in your hand its terrible.

What did you
play at the invi? What would you change?

list from the open for reference:

[deck= Joey Lively: 6th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 4/13/2014]
Creatures (11)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Hellspark Elemental
2 Young Pyromancer
1 Satyr Firedancer

Lands (19)
17 Mountain
2 Barbarian Ring

Spells (30)
2 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
4 Chain Lightning
4 Flame Rift
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt

Sideboard (15)
3 Ashen Rider
2 Pyrostatic Pillar
1 Guerrilla Tactics
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Smash to Smithereens
3 Surgical Extraction
[/deck]

I think I went:

[deck]3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lava spike
4 Price of Progress
4 Flame Rift
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
4 Rift Bolt
2 Searing Blaze

8 Mountains
12 Fetches

SB
3 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Pyroblast
3 Pyrostatic Pillar
3 Smash to Smithereens
2 Surgical Extraction[/deck]

and then for the open I went:

[deck]
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lava spike
4 Price of Progress
4 Flame Rift
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
4 Rift Bolt
1 Ensnaring Bridge

12 Mountains
8 Fetches

SB
3 Ashen Rider
2 Pyroblast
3 Smash to Smithereens
3 Pyrostratic Pillar
1 Farie Macabre
2 Surgical Extraction[/deck]
I cant remember exactly my numbers but it was something like that.

Flame Rift is also VERY crucial in beating leyline of sanctity. I was able to win 3 out of 4 games where leyline was dropped against me. Also helps beat chalice of the void on 1 until you get a smash to smithereeen

To me, the SCG list looks bad.

YP$ (same as what others said, this is more like a combo deck and less like a grindy aggro deck like delver)
Satyr Firedancer (seems too slow)
Barbarian Ring (Are we that desperate?)
Guerilla Tactics (seems too narrow)

Flame Rift is also VERY crucial in beating leyline of sanctity. I was able to win 3 out of 4 games where leyline was dropped against me. Also helps beat chalice of the void on 1 until you get a smash to smithereeen

Really? can you elaborate?

SFD is a concession to elves im sure. You pretty much lose to elves on the draw. YP$ seems very good against GOYF. Barbarian Ring is another burn spell.

Helspark Elemental is very good vs miracles.