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The new deck to beat is the one that won Worlds, Iyanaga's Ramp.
| Wolf Run Ramp A Standard deck, by Junya Iyanaga 1st place at a Worlds tournament in San Francisco, California, United States on 2011-11-20 | ||
Artifacts 4 Sphere of the Suns Artifact Creatures 4 Solemn Simulacrum Creatures 1 Birds of Paradise 4 Inferno Titan 4 Primeval Titan |
Instants 4 Galvanic Blast 1 Shock Legendary Creatures 1 Thrun, the Last Troll Sorceries 2 Devil's Play 2 Green Sun's Zenith 4 Rampant Growth 3 Slagstorm Basic Lands 5 Forest 6 Mountain Lands 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Inkmoth Nexus 3 Kessig Wolf Run 4 Rootbound Crag | 2 Sword of Feast and Famine 2 Tree of Redemption 1 Viridian Corrupter 2 Ancient Grudge 4 Autumn's Veil 1 Beast Within 2 Thrun, the Last Troll 1 Slagstorm |
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| Download this deck in Apprentice format! |
Download this deck in Magic Online Text format! | |
This is different from typical Wolf Run Ramp, as it is very focused on its needs. Random Zenith targets are not present, and a precise amount of removal and sideboard slots are allotted to beat aggro decks, while having just enough bombs to try to get over counterspells. The list looks really solid, and I look forward to seeing if it is as good as it looks on paper.
Round 1 against Mono Red
Round 2 against Puresteel Paladin
Round 3 against Wolf Run Ramp
Round 4 against Wolf Run Ramp
BONUS
Round 5 against U/W Control
In conclusion, I believe the problem of Traitorous Blood should be addressed, maybe Tumble Magnet or Spellskite could help there. Perhaps playing less like an idiot would help in my match earlier, but I prefer my ramp decks to be foolproof. Two Autumn's Veils could also become Garruk, Primal Hunters or Koth of the Hammer, as drawing multiples seems horrid. The mirror match could also use some hot tech, but I am not certain what you could really do there. Valakut used to run Act of Treason, as Mountains would take out the Primeval you took. There is but no such luck here, as the Titan you give back will certainly kill you, so another option needs to be considered.
To beat this deck, a shell involving counterspells and Snapcasters should be considered. Midnight Haunting would have been awesome, and something that makes my Thruns bad like Phantasmal Image or Liliana would also be good. If that sounds like a U/B Control deck, you'd be right. No idea how I would beat that one; Autumn's Veil is not good enough at stopping Liliana, as the discard means you can't wait for another land, and the sacrifice is not affected.
No one can fight the tide forever.
DarkestMage
