Welcome to an experimental deck-building process - the "Evolving Precons"!
One day, I was searching through the Building on a Budget forum on the mothership and found articles by Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar. I loved reading his articles. Precons are fun and evolving them are funner. I was anxious to try something of my own, but I didn't have the time. Now that it is winter break, I can sit down and do these precon experiments.
Essentially, what Jay would do is focus on a theme deck and "evolve" it so that it would be good enough to go to FNM and/or have a respectable showing at casual tables. Regrettably, his stance on Building on a Budget ended in one year, but his articles have tremendous influence. Here's one: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/jm141
I love theme decks (now called intro packs for those of you who are new) so when I had the time to evolve one, I pounced at the chance. So, I wrote this up on my documents and I thought I'd share it with you guys. Here we go!
Here are my results - I am using Cockatrice for these matchups. For the record, I am using the precon Eldritch Onslaught. Here's the decklist:
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.0
Land
{13 Island}
{11 Mountain}
Creatures
2 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
3 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Fortress Crab}
2 {Merfolk Mesmerist}
2 {Murder of Crows}
1 {Pitchburn Devils}
1 {Scourge of Geier Reach}
1 {Sturmgeist}
Other Spells
2 {Burning Vengeance}
1 {Cellar Door}
2 {Curse of the Bloody Tome}
2 {Desperate Ravings}
3 {Dream Twist}
1 {Geistflame}
1 {Ghoulcaller's Bell}
2 {Grasp of Phantoms}
1 {Harvest Pyre}
1 {Into the Maw of Hell}
1 {Rolling Templor}
2 {Silent Departure}
2 {Think Twice}
Game 1 - White Weenie
He gets out two {Honor of the Pure} and {Fiend Hunter} quite early. All I have to show up is are two {Deranged Assistant}, one getting exiled and one chumping a {Mirran Crusader}. I also play a minimal {Ghoulcaller's Bell}.
A {Harvest Pyre} helps me out, burning the Crusader, but then {Sun Titan} comes out and brings him back. Being at 4 mana, I do some flashback flourishes but I quickly concede.
0-1
Game 2 - Smallpox
I keep a mill heavy hand. He gets out {Smallpox}, then a {Liliana of the Veil}. I use a {Curse of the Bloody Tome} and decide to focus on milling. Out come the two {Dream Twist}s I have from my graveyard. He casts a {Solemn Simulacrum}, and then decided to focus on {Reassembling Skeleton}s when I'm churning my mill engine. Turns out Liliana isn't very good when your hand is empty (graveyard with flashback spells) and you have no creatures.
It grinds to a slow, "draw-go" game, while Liliana keeps +1ing. I find another Curse and attach it. With my mill engine (milling away his fatties) and his slow plan of attack (attacking with skeletons), he succumbs to my little precon that could.
1-1
Game 3 - Dredge Control
I have an "early game" of {Merfolk Mesmerist} and {Fortress Crab}, while my opponent {Forbidden Alchemy}s and {Think Twice}s. I ping him a bit with my creatures, and then lands two 2/2 {Splinterfright}s. I was able to hold at bay the 'frights for a while until they got big. I try to do a {Sturmgeist}, but it gets {Dismember}ed. I manage to {Harvest Pyre} one of them, but the other one just keeps growing bigger.
Eventually, I mill a critical mass of stall spells ({Silent Departure}, {Grasp of Phantoms}) and just bounce the 'fright over and over again, hoping to find something game-changing (do you think they put Wraths in these precons?) but his 'fright, managed by two {Laboratory Maniac}s, fry my life total. Interesting tidbit: I also cast a {Grasp of Phantoms} from my hand, bouncing a {Boneyard Wurm}. The {Splinterfright}'s mill took it away!
1-2
1-2... I think this is acceptable for a precon, as we have faced some pretty strong decks. However, I think we can dab up it's bad cards. Let me do a little housekeeping..
OUT: 1 {Ghoulcaller's Bell}
I like the Bell. It can mill your opponent while potentially giving you some gas. The only problem with it, however, is that it's too little. It's a horrible topdeck and just does... nothing. That's bad.
OUT: 1 {Cellar Door}
The Door is just trash. I mean, you pay 5 mana to maybe get a minimal 2/2 zombie. That is just flat-out horrible. I've been consistently unimpressed with the Door, as it just eats up too much mana.
OUT: 2 {Fortress Crab}
While it's true that this deck can use some stalling, I don't think it's merited for this slot. I feel like we can just use {Armored Skaab}. The Skabb is one mana cheaper and helps us advance our game plan. This is just a fat wall that your opponent will get over sometime. We can find better uses for this slot.
These are our outtakes for the first round of cutting. What will we be putting in?
IN: 3 {Harvest Pyre}
This card is so good in limited that I feel like it has merits for our deck. True, it has horrid synergy with flashback, but the 'pyre can take out what {Geistflame} can't. Also, we can hit a lot of duds with self-milling, and the Pyre lets us put our lands, creatures, and spells that don't have flashback to good use.
IN: 1 {Deranged Assistant}
We can use a little more of the bad boy. With ramp, mill, and a chump blocker all rolled into one, this isn't {Ghoulcaller's Bell}. I feel like we should max such a powerful utility creature.
So, our first modified decklist is this:
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.1
Land
13 {Island}
11 {Mountain}
Creatures
2 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
4 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Merfolk Mesmerist}
2 {Murder of Crows}
1 {Pitchburn Devils}
1 {Scourge of Geier Reach}
1 {Sturmgeist}
Other Spells
2 {Burning Vengeance}
2 {Curse of the Bloody Tome}
2 {Desperate Ravings}
3 {Dream Twist}
1 {Geistflame}
2 {Grasp of Phantoms}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
1 {Into the Maw of Hell}
1 {Rolling Templor}
2 {Silent Departure}
2 {Think Twice}[/DECK]
I'll playtest some more this week and let you know the results. Which cards do you feel are junkers? Which cards do you think I'm overlooking? Speak up!
C'mon, no comments? :(
Quote from: Prophylaxis on December 28, 2011, 12:22:20 AM
C'mon, no comments? :(
I'm still reading it. 😉 Excellent work. We'll be posting weekly articles around here in no time! ðŸ'
Welcome to another new article of "Evolving Precons"! Today, we'll play with the new 1.1 deck and see how it rolls.
I play a couple of games to see how the new changes work.
Game 4 - Infestation Zombies
I think he was mana-screwed this game. He only drew three lands before the game ended. I started out with a {Dream Twist} to mill myself three, snagging a {Think Twice} in the grave. He plays his second {swamp} and does nothing. I flashback the {Think Twice} at the end step, then proceed to play land. He then reaches his third land drop and casts his {Cemetery Reaper}.
I then play my fifth land and find a {Murder of Crows}, an absolute bomb in this deck. He exiles one of my milled creatures with the Reaper and then makes a 3/3 zombie token. When it's my turn, I {Silent Departure} the token and {Harvest Pyre} the Reaper. I just keep swingin' with the Crows, and before long my opponent concedes.
1-0 (2-2)
Game 5 - Mono Black Control
Looks like I'm playing against lots of black decks now. I get out an early {Deranged Assistant}, while my opponent gets a more scarier {Liliana of the Veil}. I play + flashback a {Think Twice}, aided with the Assistant, but it gets on the chopping block with Lily's -2. My opponent then gets out a {Phyrexian Obliterator}, while I do a cool trick - {Grasp of Phantoms} it and then {Dream Twist} my opponent.
My opponent, to no avail, topdecks an {Isolated Chapel}, and then he flashes back a {Unburial Rites}, getting back his Obliterator. For my record, I get a {Sturmgeist}, while falling prey to Liliana's -2. It is now imprinted on a {Mimic Vat}. Sad face. I then bounce the Obliterator using a flashbacked {Silent Departure}, but my opponent just replays it and passes. Knowing that I have no more ways to deal with the Obliterator, I play a {Harvest Pyre} and kill the Obliterator, sacrificing four Mountains and one Island.
I find another Pyre, wishing that I didn't sacrifice all of my Mountains, while my opponent makes me discard that with {Distress}. He then bashes me with the {Phyrexian Obliterator}, and that's all I wrote.
1-1 (2-3)
Game 6 - UWR Control
My opponent goes off with a very slow start, with a slew of tapped lands and a {Traveler's Amulet}. I kick off the party with a {Merfolk Mesmerist}, and I bash with it. I can't find land, so I {Desperate Ravings} for more. It then turns out to be a massive {Desperate Ravings} war. My mesmerist gets killed by a {Snapcaster Mage} flashing back a copy of our red draw spell. I just sit and we both play draw-go. I stick a {Curse of the Bloody Tome} on my opponent, and then he casts a scary {Frost Titan}.
Luckily, I have two {Silent Departure}s I have been sandbagging for this very purpose, and then I bounce the Titan with them until I cast a {Charmbreaker Devil}s. I thought I had stabilized, but then my opponent cast a {Dismember}, killing the Devils and then attacking with the Titan, locking down a lone {Deranged Assistant} I had previously played. He then gets into killing mode with {Gideon Jura}. I cast my two {Murder of Crows}, but he {Oblivion Ring}s them all and beats down with Gideon.
1-2 (2-4)
Well well well... We could use a little more improving on this deck. I mean, 2-4 is pretty bad. I think we can do better than this. Off to the deck doctor.
OUT: 1 {Pitchburn Devils}
Even though I've only drew it once over six games, I'm not a fan of the Devils. First of all, this deck isn't really equipped to optimize with death triggers, and we can do better with a 3/3 for five mana. This card slows down our deck and isn't really helping.
OUT: 2 {Silent Departure}
Even though the Departure is great in limited, it's not so great here. First of all, this just stalls the opponent. Notice how I was using these against big creatures in Games 5 and 6 - in the end, I still lost.
With {Grasp of Phantoms}, you make the opponent lose their draw as well as cool {Dream Twist} interactions. But the Departure just stalls - it's not there to bounce when you're charging ahead for the win, because this deck has so few creatures.
OUT: 2 {Merfolk Mesmerist}
The thing is, these are just way too small to help. They get run over by bigger creatures, and the mill is only marginally useful. There's a much better milling creature than these.
OUT: 1 {Sturmgeist}
What? I'm cutting a rare already? Yes, yes I am. The problem with the {Sturmgeist} is that it's too fragile and favors hoarding cards in hand, while this deck just wants to cast those spells. When I get a good time to cast {Sturmgeist}, he is just too fragile to matter or dies quickly. We can do a bit better in this deck.
In addition, here are some cards that I have been thinking of cutting, mostly because they don't contribute to the deck. I haven't played most of these cards yet (and some I'm on the fence), so keep that feedback coming.
{Scourge of Geier Reach}
{Into the Maw of Hell}
{Murder of Crows}
{Geistflame}
So, what are we adding in?
IN: 3 {Devil's Play}
Yes, I know it's a rare. The thing is, it's dirt cheap - $1.00 you might find at your Friendly Local Game Store. The bigger thing is that it is more burn, and it's very good. This deck can get some mana-flooding going, and you want spouts like these. Also, this can be a good finisher, something that we need.
IN: 2 {Armored Skaab}
The funny thing is that I haven't drew a Skaab in these three games. The Skaabs provide flashbackable gas, as well as having a decent wall to hide your stuff behind it. It's very efficient.
IN: 1 {Burning Vengeance}
I don't want this to be a "classical" BV deck, but the enchantment is quite good. We can cast lots of flashback spells, and Burning Vengance nips on all the little guys.
So, what have we gained? Here's the decklist -
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.2
Land
13 {Island}
11 {Mountain}
Creatures
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
4 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Murder of Crows}
1 {Scourge of Geier Reach}
Other Spells
3 {Burning Vengeance}
2 {Curse of the Bloody Tome}
2 {Desperate Ravings}
3 {Dream Twist}
1 {Geistflame}
2 {Grasp of Phantoms}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
1 {Into the Maw of Hell}
1 {Rolling Templor}
2 {Think Twice}
3 {Devil's Play}
What do you think? Feedback and comments are always welcome.
Great article! I hope others aren't intimidated by what seems like a lot of text. It's really not, thought. Give it a read people! ðŸ"£
Not bad, not bad at all.
Thanks for stickying this. I'm planning to make this weekly after procrastinating for so long. I need suggestions! Suggestions fill the article with more provoking pieces of info.
Very nice! Keep 'em comin!
One thing - how do you do a poll? I might do a DA precon once Dark Ascension comes out.
Only Mods can chuck a poll up I think ... but we'll see what happens.
Love it bit how long does it take for you to write that ???
Quote from: Queezle on January 07, 2012, 10:13:24 PM
Love it bit how long does it take for you to write that ???
It takes around an hour to play the games. Usually I can get it done in 2 hours.
New one coming tonight if I don't get lazy ;)
I got lazy. However, I have some strings of bad match reports. I am willing to playtest any of you guys' decks against Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.3. Anyone want to take a chance?
Quote from: Prophylaxis on January 10, 2012, 12:33:00 AM
I got lazy. However, I have some strings of bad match reports. I am willing to playtest any of you guys' decks against Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.3. Anyone want to take a chance?
Yeah ill post a deck Im standard. It will be red black but i dont have a name yet.
K got a name Burnin Inferno
Hello and welcome to another article of “Evolving Preconsâ€! I’ll conjure up another bunch of games.
Game 7 - Countermayors
My opponent starts off things with a {Mayor of Avabruck}, while I have a {Deranged Assistant}. My opponent passes, flipping his Mayor. I play an {Armored Skaab}, while my opponent then gets a very scary {Sword of Body and Mind}. I play a {Burning Vengeance}, while my opponent churns out {Garruk Relentless} and puts a wolf token onto the battlefield.
I eventually kill the mayor with a double activation of the {Burning Vengeance}, but his Garruk and his sword take his toll on me, with my two {Armored Skaab}s. He eventually mills me out.
0-1 (2-5) (C’mon, let this deck win for once!)
Game 8 - Tezzeret Extractor
I play my signature turn 2 {Deranged Assistant}, while my opponent tries a {Porcelain Legionnaire}. It gets {Harvest Pyre}’d using the milled card with my assistant, and I feel like my deck can win for once.
He {Gut Shot}s my Assistant, and I try a {Armored Skaab}. It gets {Dismember}ed (god, I hate that card). I draw what seems and endless pocket of land, while my opponent is mana-screwed. He finally draws a land, then plays {Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas}. He +1s, revealing a {Pristine Talisman}.
I do a {Murder of Crows}, while my opponent does something nifty - he uses the -1 ability on the Nexus, making him a 5/5 flying artifact creature with infect. Luckily, I have the {Harvest Pyre} to burn it to a crisp. He then uses {Phyrexian Metamorph} to copy my crows, but on my turn I {Grasp of Phantoms} it, then kill Tezzeret with my crows.
I have hope, but then he plays a {Rage Extractor}, then uses all of his {Phyrexian Metamorph}s to copy the extractors. I go from 20 to 12 to 0. He pulled out a win the last second.
0-2 (2-6) (Do you guys think that I’m playing against too-tough competition?)
Game 9 - Mono-Green Elves
My opponent gets a scary-fast start with T1 {Forest}, {Llanowar Elves}, T2 {Llanowar Elves}, {Signal Pest}, T4 attack (putting me down to 16), but I stabilize with an {Armored Skaab}. I soon destroy his forces with a {Burning Vengeance}, soon casting a flashback spell to kill one of his creatures.
I cast {Think Twice} and {Into the Maw of Hell}, while my opponent tries a {Dungrove Elder}. The burn soon ravages my opponents’ forces...
...Yet still, he continues playing with his 1 land and easily to-dispatch creatures. He can get away with it, too: I’m just doing parlor tricks with flashback. However, soon, I get out {Murder of Crows}, and his wee ground forces look bad compared to my flock. I keep attacking until I topdeck a satisfying {Devil’s Play} to the face.
1-2 (3-6)
Yessir, this thing needs improving. Let’s make it a lean, mean, U/R machine. No more 1-2s!
Let’s check out the original decklist for a bit...
Eldritch Onslaught 1.2
Land
13 {Island}
11 {Mountain}
Creatures
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
4 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Murder of Crows}
1 {Scourge of Geier Reach}
Other Spells
3 {Burning Vengeance}
2 {Curse of the Bloody Tome}
2 {Desperate Ravings}
3 {Dream Twist}
1 {Geistflame}
2 {Grasp of Phantoms}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
1 {Into the Maw of Hell}
1 {Rolling Temblor}
2 {Think Twice}
3 {Devil's Play}
Let me shift some gears a bit.
OUT: 1 {Scourge of Geier Reach}
It’s not bad, but it’s just expensive. I have only drew it once (Game 9), and I discarded it for the max hand size rule. Basically, we can run better fatties than this.
OUT: 1 {Into the Maw of Hell}
It’s just expensive and doesn’t fit within our theme. Land destruction is not needed in this deck, and we have enough burn already. I’ve been on a crackdown on “expensive spellsâ€, since then it increased our mana curve. Cut.
OUT: 2 {Grasp of Phantoms}
Yes, I know that it has done some sick things for me. However, I just feel like it should be kept in the sideboard at best, for dealing with high-toughness threats. The problem with Grasp is that it’s so slow, and it only delays a creature momentarily.
OUT: 2 {Curse of the Bloody Tome}
So what happened with this mill engine? Four words: Our deck got better. I tightened up the burn and mana issues with the deck, and the mill suite on your opponent should be all but forgotten.
OUT: 1 {Geistflame}
This is something that I might put back in. I haven’t gotten the chance to use it that much yet and I want to play with some other cards first. I believe that the ‘flame will most likely end up back in this deck or in the sideboard. It just needs to be more consistent - needs to be a 4-of to be useful.
OUT: 1 {Think Twice}
I just feel like {Desperate Ravings} is the much more better draw spell. Being able to draw two, then flashback is very powerful. I will keep a miser’s copy in the deck, but don’t be surprised if I happen to drop this altogether.
Now that I’ve cut some hanging on the thread-cards, let me unveil some new changes:
IN: 1 {Burning Vengeance}
The Vengeance is something that we need as a 4-of. It’s just too strong - see when it wrecked Elves? It also gets better as you draw more of them.
IN: 2 {Desperate Ravings}
The Ravings is very powerful. I feel like they should be a 4-of since they provide so much gas for the deck.
IN: 1 {Dream Twist}
The Twist is very good in this deck. It gets us more flashback gas for the Vengeance and lets you also flashback this. I have never been sad drawing this - it’s basically a draw spell.
IN: 2 {Rolling Temblor}
The only cards in this deck that die to the Temblor are the Assistants, and those were designed to die anyways. The Temblor is another card that I want to see more in action.
IN: 1 {Runechanter’s Pike}
Another rare? The Pike is something that can be very good with all of our instants and sorceries lying there in the graveyard. In addition, the Pike can make any of our creatures legitimate threats, and it’s pretty cheap too.
IN: 1 {Mountain}
I feel like this deck should have more land. It’s very mana-hungry with the flashback spells and all of our important spells being near the three-drop spot. Simply put, this is an aggro-control deck; those decks need 25 land.
Now let’s run it through..
Eldritch Onslaught v.1.3
Land
13 {Island}
12 {Mountain}
Creatures
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
4 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Murder of Crows}
Other Spells
4 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
1 {Think Twice}
3 {Devil's Play}
1 {Runechanter’s Pike}
As always, hit me up on the comments if you have any suggestions or feedback. Next week, I will be playtesting this deck against some Standard decks featured on the Standard forum, so please check in with a deck you’d like to see played. I have one slot open - the early bird takes the cake!
Play me with burnin inferno
Please
I expected my puresteel to be on here ah that's alright though, it looks like its coming along well, my friend runs a deck just like this only he gives the option of milling the opponent or burning them
Next game report will feature those decks. Don't lose hope!
Quote from: Prophylaxis on January 14, 2012, 11:33:46 AM
Next game report will feature those decks. Don't lose hope!
Ima confident.
I will do this tomorrow.
Sorry for getting lazy; I have these games all written to my hard drive. I will probably update this sometime in this week.
Welcome to yet another edition of Evolving Precons! This week is quite special - I’ve taken some decks from the Standard forum and tested them against our humble Eldritch Onslaught. I have done this for two reasons. One, it’s a chance to see your deck in action, and two, these decks might be more prevalent at your local FNM. Lets go!
Game 10 - Queezle’s Burnin’ Inferno
I get ouched by a {Chancellor of the Dross}. My opponent then gets out a {Furnace Scamp}, while I find a {Deranged Assistant}. He attacks, and I block in order not to get dinged to 14 life. He then plays a {Fiery Hellhound}, I play an {Armored Skaab}. He then tries a {Parasitic Implant} on my Skaab.
He gets a Myr token, then goes aggro, attacking with all of his creatures. I block the Hellhound with my Skaab, then he gets out a bloodthirsted {Stormblood Berserker}. He then swings again on his next turn, but I kill the Hellhound with a {Runechanter’s Pike} drew the turn before. My life total is at 12, then plays an {Iron Myr}, guaranteeing a {Chancellor of the Dross} play if I don’t kill the Myr.
Luckily, I get a {Rolling Temblor} and 2-for-1 his creatures, leaving only behind the Berserker. He then gets out a scary {Tower of Calamities}, but luckily he is only at 6 mana. He then almost catches me with a {Fireball} to the face, leaving me at a 1.
My Devils catch up, though. I play a {Harvest Pyre}, killing the Berserker, then flashback two {Dream Twists} from my graveyard. My Devils are now at an impressive 16/4, and I swing for lethal.
1-0 (4-6)
Game 11 - Validan’s Bluesteel
Since I have lots of early spells, I reluctantly keep a one-land hand. My opponent gets off to a lightning-fast start with three artifacts on turn two ({Silver-Inlaid Dagger}, {Flayer Husk}, {Sylvok Lifestaff{). I burn out the Germ, while my opponent casts a {Puresteel Paladin} and equips everything, making the Paladin a 5/3 creature that gains you three life when he dies. He then gets out a {Sword of Body and Mind} and proceeds to do lots of damage, make a token, and mills me. Luckily, he walks right into my trap when I {Harvest Pyre} the Paladin.
I soon then “stabilizeâ€, {Rolling Temblor}ing the token, while my we trade answers. He then finds another Paladin and equips everything to his 1/1 spirit, then passes (Editor’s Note: I have found that I made a play error here, not noticing the protection from blue. Sorry!) (he doesn’t want to trade his token for a {Murder of Crows} I had cast before). I mill myself a bit, then find a {Runechanter’s Pike} and cast it. He knows that if I get the Pike on my Crows then I would have effectively won, so we trade (him getting 3 life and me looting). I can’t do anything about the Paladin now (the most damage I could do was 4 to the Paladin), so he bashes me until I’m at 1. I can finally burn out the Paladin now, but the token finishes me off.
1-1 (4-7)
Game 12 - Spirited Away’s Innistrad Spirited Away
Once again, I keep a one-land hand that has all sorts of yummy things, like {Runechanter’s Pike}. However, I fail to draw land and my opponent gets in on the aggro.
Eventually, I draw land and stabilize with an {Armored Skaab} and the Assistant. My opponent still has that intimidate {Spectral Rider}, though. He keeps bashing (aided by his {Curiosity}) and counters my Pike. He then casts a 5/5 {Geist-Honored Monk}, while I try to dig for a {Mountain} with a {Desperate Ravings}. I find one and {Harvest Pyre} the Monk away. However, he then trys an {Adaptive Automaton}, sinking in. I am now at 2 life. I pay three mana for a {Devil’s Play}, but my opponent counters it. I am lost.
1-2 (4-8)
I’m actually quite a bit disappointed right now. I was expecting for it to take 2-1. Maybe it’s just because I made too many play mistakes (kept 1-land hands), but I have a couple of changes in mind.
Eldritch Onslaught v.1.3
Land
13 {Island}
12 {Mountain}
Creatures
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
4 {Deranged Assistant}
2 {Murder of Crows}
Other Spells
4 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
1 {Think Twice}
3 {Devil's Play}
1 {Runechanter’s Pike}
OUT: 2 {Murder of Crows}
Why remove the Crows? They are our only good wincon and are extremely resilient. The looting can be helpful too. The problem with the Crows is that they are weak compared to other 5 or 6 drops. I bet that we can find better win cons than this.
OUT: 1 {Think Twice}
The Ravings is just a better draw spell. Sorry, TT, but you were outclassed. I knew that I should have Thought Twice though in the last game, but hindsight is 20/20.
OUT: 1 {Devil’s Play}
The Play is just a bit too mana-intensive for my tastes. It’s fine at killing players, but {Harvest Pyre} is just so much better when killing creatures. I would rather use this space for something else.
OUT: 4 {Deranged Assistant}
What? I’m removing something I added? The problem with is Assistant is that it’s just too slow for my tastes. Sure, it mills and gets out mana, but the problem with that is that I find that I don’t need the mana anymore or the mill becomes marginal. I have a much better 1/1 in mind.
OUT: 2 {Island}
I’ve found that I have been mana-screwed for Mountains the past couple games, so I feel compelled to kill some Islands. Don’t worry, I have some replacements.
Now that we’ve cut the chaff, what else do we have?
IN: 4 {Delver of Secrets}
You guys knew it was coming. The Delver is simply just dominating entire formats right now. It’s killing. It should be in our deck. We have so many instants and sorceries that this should have been an auto-include from the start.
IN: 1 {Shimmering Grotto}
I am currently using the Grotto instead of {Sulfur Falls}. If you have copies of the land, then I urge you to use them. They are very good in this deck. For the Grotto, I’m using this to flashback...
IN: 2 {Ancient Grudge}
Yup. The Grudges are very, very good in this deck, I believe. One, it’s flashback. Two, it kills artifacts, which we really need. The flashback cost is cheap, but the mana is out of our range. We can fix that by adding the Grotto to the deck.
IN: 1 {Mountain}
Less color-screw.
IN: 2 {Runechanter’s Pike}
You guys know that I get excited for the Pike. I do. The Pike is a godsend in the deck for pumping our creatures and putting them into kill range. Very, very strong.
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.4
Land
11 {Island}
13 {Mountain}
1 {Shimmering Grotto}
Creatures
4 {Delver of Secrets}
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
Other Spells
4 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
2 {Ancient Grudge}
2 {Devil's Play}
3 {Runechanter’s Pike}
See you guys next week! On the topic of Dark Ascension, I will possibly be revisiting the deck. I will construct a new poll - what Dark Ascension intro pack do you want me to tinker with? Leave your comments!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Good stuff!
Quote from: BlackJester on January 27, 2012, 11:19:15 PM
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Good stuff!
The next matchup essay is going to be the last for this deck. I'm going onto a different one as soon as I'm finished with this one.
Vote in the Poll!
Yeah looks great I like the way you're improving things methodically
Quote from: Validan on January 28, 2012, 12:14:49 AM
Yeah looks great I like the way you're improving things methodically
No problem. Sorry about the play mistake though in your deck. I just felt
really clever when I {Harvest Pyre}'d your Paladin from the milled cards. :D
One question, How are you playing against user made decks?
Quote from: AdventBlood on January 29, 2012, 01:23:04 AM
One question, How are you playing against user made decks?
Yes, I am.
I like how much this deck has evolved! Here is my build:
3 {dragonskull summit}
3 {drowned catacomb}
4 {sulfur falls}
2 {shimmering grotto}
7 {island}
7 {mountain}
1 {inferno Titan}
2 {snapcaster Mage}
2 {merfolk looter}
4 {burning vengeance}
4 {think twice}
4 {mana leak}
4 {desperate ravings}
4 {forbidden alchemy}
2 {devil's play}
3 {dissipate}
2 {giestflame}
2 {rolling tremblor}
Sideboard:
2 giestflame
2 rolling tremblor
2 negate
2 devil's play
2 flashfreeze
1 dissipate
2 inferno Titan
2 frost Titan
This deck wrecks GW humans, illusions, all the blade variants, delver aggro, control variants, etc.
What is cokatrice?
Quote from: Appleguru56 on January 29, 2012, 02:58:27 PM
I like how much this deck has evolved! Here is my build:
3 {dragonskull summit}
3 {drowned catacomb}
4 {sulfur falls}
2 {shimmering grotto}
7 {island}
7 {mountain}
1 {inferno Titan}
2 {snapcaster Mage}
2 {merfolk looter}
4 {burning vengeance}
4 {think twice}
4 {mana leak}
4 {desperate ravings}
4 {forbidden alchemy}
2 {devil's play}
3 {dissipate}
2 {giestflame}
2 {rolling tremblor}
Sideboard:
2 giestflame
2 rolling tremblor
2 negate
2 devil's play
2 flashfreeze
1 dissipate
2 inferno Titan
2 frost Titan
This deck wrecks GW humans, illusions, all the blade variants, delver aggro, control variants, etc.
Want me to playtest it? It'll probably get wrecked, but Cockatrice is meant to playtest decks.
Quote from: Queezle on January 29, 2012, 05:10:23 PM
What is cokatrice?
A playtest program. I use it to playtest the decks.
Can it only be downloaded on a computer?
Quote from: Greg54js on January 29, 2012, 08:56:01 PM
Can it only be downloaded on a computer?
http://cockatrice.de/
Yes, only on a computer. As long as you know what you're doing (use this guide http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=1115 for help) and are willing to make stuff up/fudge things, it's a very powerful playtester that's simpler than most other things.
Oh yeah, you can play other people on there too. I once drafted Innistrad using a draft simulator and built the decks on Cockatrice. Great times.
Should be done with this tomorrow. I'm conflicting between finishing this and playing Starcraft II.
Here is the long-awaited conclusion to this deck!
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.4
Land
11 {Island}
13 {Mountain}
1 {Shimmering Grotto}
Creatures
4 {Delver of Secrets}
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
Other Spells
4 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
2 {Ancient Grudge}
2 {Devil's Play}
3 {Runechanter’s Pike}
See you guys next week! On the topic of Dark Ascension, I will possibly be revisiting the deck. I will construct a new poll - what Dark Ascension intro pack do you want me to tinker with? Leave your comments!
Welcome to the last stretch of “Evolving Precons - Eldritch Onslaughtâ€! This week, I’m going to make a host of improvements - new Dark Ascension cards, sideboard, all that stuff. So, without ado, let’s go into the final set of games! I apologize for the delay.
Game 13 - Incubusgeek’s Liquid Destruction
I find this game to be one of the most depressing I have ever played.
The action starts early - I get out a {Delver of Secrets}, while my opponent finds a {Mycosynth Wellspring}, then brings out his signature card, {Liquimetal Coating}. He burns my Delver.
I get out a {Burning Vengeance}, but he then destroys it with help from his Coating. He then burns me with double {Galvanic Blast}s, putting me down to 12. I then destroy his Coating with an {Ancient Grudge} of my own. However, he finds another {Liquimetal Coating} and starts blowing up my lands.
I seem to be lost until I find my {Shimmering Grotto} and flashback the Grudge, killing the Coating. He is then mana-flooded, while I go on the offensive with a transformed Delver. He then finds a very scary {Kuldotha Phoenix}, then nips at my life total, me going to 8. I then try a gambit with the {Runechanter’s Pike} - I play it but don’t equip as I don’t have the mana. I go down to 4. I then equip the Pike - making my transformed Delver a very scary 11/2 flying. I burn out the Phoenix with a {Devil’s Play}, and I swing at my opponent for him to go to 4 also. He then pulls out a lifesaver - {Buried Ruin}, {Ichor Wellspring}, {Phyrexia’s Core} for him to go to a {Oxidda Scrapmelter}, killing my Delver with a Coating he had cast before. I cast a {Burning Vengeance}, hoping to burn him out next turn, but he then draws a {Buried Ruin} and the same thing happens all over again. This time, it’s an {Ancient Grudge}, that kills the Pike, then the Vengeance.
I then burn the Scrapmelter with a {Devil’s Play}, but he keeps drawing {Buried Ruin}s. Eventually, he hits the gold mine and shows me a {Galvanic Blast}. So close!
0-1 (4-9)
Game 14 - Kingkrank’s Sorin Vamp
I get out an early {Burning Vengeance}, which is important to ward off Vampires. My opponent gets out his {Bloodline Keeper}, which is also his first-turn play. He attacks with it, putting me down to 17. I then play my fourth land, then flashback two {Dream Twist}s, killing the Keeper.
He then vomits out three cards from his hand, two {Stromkirk Noble}s and a {Stromkirk Captain}. I then luck out and draw a {Rolling Temblor}, {Plague Wind}ing my opponent’s board. I keep pinging my opponent with the Skaab and shoot a couple burn spells at him, and he just durdles and does nothing, knowing that if he gets out anything he’ll be instantly burnt.
I equip my {Runechanter’s Pike} to the Skaab and rip my opponent apart. That’s basically it. Note to self: {Burning Vengeance} + cheap flashback spell = doom for aggro.
1-1 (5-9)
Game 15 - Macleod’s Blue/black Zombies
This game was a sad one. He got out right with a {Gravecrawler}, {Diregraf Ghoul}, and {Diregraf Captain}. I play an {Armored Skaab} and get color-screwed. That’s basically it.
1-2 (5-10)
...and that concludes the rest of the game reports. I’m actually disappointed by the 5-10 score. It just got 1-2s every week. This made me seriously reconsider the effectiveness of a budget deck in today’s day and time. I believe that the deck is competitive and got hurt by bad matchups, but I still feel that it might work.
Oh well, on to the aftermath!
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.4
Land
11 {Island}
13 {Mountain}
1 {Shimmering Grotto}
Creatures
4 {Delver of Secrets}
4 {Armored Skaab}
1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
Other Spells
4 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
2 {Ancient Grudge}
2 {Devil's Play}
3 {Runechanter’s Pike}
Now that Dark Ascension is out, I can reap the benefits of the new set as well as Innistrad. Great!
OUT: 1 {Burning Vengeance}
I said that this deck doesn’t really rely on the Vengance, and it doesn’t. I cringe every time I mill away a Vengeance, and the Vengeance doesn’t really do anything when it hits the board, which is huge. I always find myself casting another spell rather than Burning Vengeance.
OUT: 2 {Devil’s Play}
I’ve found that I’ve been finding small weenie decks a lot more prevalent than big creature decks, and the Play doesn’t really help there. I’ve never really used it to burn down an opponent, and the flashback cost is way too insurmountable.
OUT: 2 {Island}
Can you believe that there are only 3 blue spells in the entire deck? I can’t. Red is becoming a very large part of the deck. I think that we need to trim the amount of Islands for that reason.
OUT: 1 {Runechanter's Pike}
The Pike is good, but I don't want to mill it away or let it get destroyed by artifact hate. Also, we only have ten creatures.
Let’s see what we can do here to spice the deck up:
IN: 3 {Faithless Looting}
Seven draw spells is a lot, but this deck thrives on card advantage with flashback and draw. Faithless Looting is a neat way to “keep the spells you want, ditch the flashback spellsâ€. Plus, you can even flashback it. It is extremely powerful and exactly what we want.
IN: 1 {Shimmering Grotto}
I was debating whether to include {Evolving Wilds} and one {Forest}, but that seems too clunky in this deck. I like the Grotto. It’s a cool way to splash flashback costs and to fix the mana problems with this deck.
IN: 1 {Charmbreaker Devils}
I still like the Devils. It’s exactly what we want in a flashback deck. They haven’t been showing up a lot since I ragekilled my opponent with them in Game 10.
IN: 1 Mountain
Less color-screw!
I’m comfortable calling this the final version:
Eldritch Onslaught v. 1.5 (final)
Land
9 {Island}
14 {Mountain}
2 {Shimmering Grotto}
Creatures
4 {Delver of Secrets}
4 {Armored Skaab}
2 {Charmbreaker Devils}
Other Spells
3 {Faithless Looting}
3 {Burning Vengeance}
4 {Desperate Ravings}
4 {Dream Twist}
4 {Harvest Pyre}
3 {Rolling Temblor}
2 {Ancient Grudge}
2 {Runechanter’s Pike}
Sideboarding
I admit that I am not an expert on sideboarding. The nature of sideboards means that you must change the sideboard depending on what other decks your opponents are playing. However, I feel like my sideboard will provide a decent jumping off point for you to modify.
IN: 2 {Ancient Grudge}
I wish I had added Ancient Grudge earlier. It would make a real difference in the artifact-laden environment I have been fighting through. Sideboard these in if you’re seeing tons of artifacts.
IN: 4 {Mana Leak}
This came as a last-minute thing: How come you don’t have any countermagic? I can see a place for it in the main but I simply don’t have anything to remove. I could see subbing this in for quick aggro decks if you don’t draw your {Burning Vengeance}.
IN: 3 {Devil’s Play}
Somedays you’ll have to aim a big burn spell in the face. Somedays your opponent will be playing mono-green and get out a huge fatty. You know what to do with those moments.
IN: 3 {Geistflame}
I originally said that Geistflame was going to make main-deck. Well, I haven’t really found that many situations where the ‘flame is always useful, so board them in if you’re facing Illusions or Delver {flashback = kill an Insectile Aberration}
IN: 2 {Secrets of the Dead}
In today’s environment, you want 2 damage more than a cantrip. However, Secrets of the Dead still has it’s uses - for example, against control decks you can often deluge them in a mountain of card advantage. This deck has way too much card advantage, methinks.
IN: 1 {Increasing Confusion}
This card is very versatile. Early game, a casting of this allows you to mill your deck a bit for flashback and {Runechanter’s Pike}. Late game, this can deck your opponent.
Adding Money
{Snapcaster Mage}
This is easily the most high-profile inclusion to the deck. This deck virtually begs for it. In this deck I really wanted for {Harvest Pyre} to have flashback and I was always sad to see them milled. The ‘Mage recurs your most important spells and is an early beatstick.
Dual Lands
Here’s a heads up. In every single “Adding Money†section, I will say dual lands. Why? Because they are relatively cheap (~$3 is a bit too much for this deck, but reasonable) and they do so much for the deck. {Sulfur Falls} and {Rootboung Crag} are the ones you want to track down.
{Slagstorm}
A superior alternative to {Rolling Temblor}. The extra red is iffy but we can make it work.
{Grim Lavamancer}
It’s a Burning Vengeance on steroids. I can see this being very powerful.
{Phantasmal Image}
This is another important card. In this case, this card deals with {Thrun, the Last Troll} and basically makes the deck more versatile.
Alternate Routes
There are many ways to go with this deck if you want to spin it off. Here are some of my favorites.
Grixis Tempo
This is basically the core list splashing black. Key cards include {Olivia Voldaren}, {Go for the Throat}, and {Bump in the Night}
U/R Burn
This deck includes more burn than usual and {Chandra’s Phoenix}.
Mill
This deck basically aims to mill opponents fast with {Increasing Confusion} and {Shriekgeist}. A meh archetype.
Pike Combo
An alternative and highly competitive route is to use {Invisible Stalker}, {Blighted Agent}, and {Inkmoth Nexus} to fuel {Runechanter’s Pike}. Quite strong and this is where I would take the archetype.
Closing Notes
I have to say that this has been quite a fun deck to do. Of course, I took some breaks (which resulted in 2 weeks without an article, sometimes) but I am looking forward to tinkering with Dark Sacrifice.
I was a bit disappointed with the 5-10 result, but the fact that we were against some really powerful cards {Sword of Feast and Famine}, coupled with the fact that the deck hasn’t wore a 0-3 record gives me hopes that this deck can perform decently well. I will be revisiting this deck in the near future (possibly with the release of Avacyn Restored) if this continues to do well.
I was also sad about the feedback. Comment on the deck! Give me some interesting card choices! Your say is valuable to me. I will be posting the final decklist on Standard soon.
Onto a new decklist - Dark Sacrifice. From flashback parlor to human sacrifice.
I enjoy reading this, keep doing it :)