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Creating A Deck To Beat Red And Green Blue At County Championships

Madog Williams

By Madog Williams
11/12/2002

The thought behind this deck was simple...

First Objective: Beat Sligh. I just didn't want to lose to Red - so after a quick brainstorming session, I figured out what red decks don't like: Protection from red creatures, large creatures, and life gaining.

Second Objective: Beat U/G. It's a common deck that can be built by anyone, as there are no rares required. After the OBC season, I knew that U/G didn't like the W/G matchup due to Glory and it was normally a race to see who got what first: Glory or Wonder.
Third Objective: Be able to contest with mono black control.

Listing - At top for those of you who do not read past the first section and only interested in a list

(Which is the majority of readers - myself included, who don't like rambling on and on ZZZZZZZZ?)

4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Tireless Tribe (anti-Mutilate, anti-red, discard for Glory/Wonder/Arrogant Wurm/Basking Rootwalla)
4 Wild Mongrel (anti-red, discard for Glory/Wonder/Arrogant Wurm/Basking Rootwalla)
4 Living Wish (utility to fetch islands for Wonder, Genesis against control and black, Aven Cloudchaser for enchantments, and so on.
2 Mobilization (Anti-control and black, this can win games by itself - I'll talk about this card in a bit)
3 Anurid Brushhopper (Combos nicely with Ravenous Baloth for life gaining, and it's more discard for madness/incarnations)
3 Arrogant Wurm (fast beatdown; also good vs. White due to trample)
3 Ravenous Baloth (life gaining and a 4/4 for four mana)
3 Wonder (anti U/G and White - these were originally Diverts for Deep Analysis/Aether Burst/Elephant Guide/burn/counters, and so on. They could be Circular Logics)
3 Glory (give protection)
3 Krosan Tusker (uncounterable card advantage, eases the mana base, and further thins the deck; it can be played as creature late game, but it's highly unlikely )
3 Windswept Heath (used to fetch forest most of time, rather than plains - see below)
4 Flooded Shoreline (used to fetch the island - but you need to be careful when using this, are there are only two plains to fetch)
4 Brushland
1 Island
2 Plains
4 Sungrass Prairie
6 Forest

Lands 24/17:
White: 17 accessible turn 1
Green: 17 accessible turn 1
Blue: 5 accessible turn 1 (but it's normally never used turn 1), 12 sources of gaining blue later on

Sideboard:
This still needs work, as always - I need to concentrate on this aspect of deck building in general, as I feel it is a weakness. Again, I also feel that an individual's style of play will dictate what they will incorporate.

1 Aven Cloudchaser (not Cloudchaser Eagle, as the Aven will not tap to attack if Mobilization is on the table (cheers, Fen!). This could possibly be nova cleric depending on the prevalence of the Enchantress deck or Astroglide.
1 Genesis
1 Spellbane Centaur (I prefer the Sylvan Safekeeper for anti-U/G, but it has less utility against other decks)
1 Ravenous Baloth (it's here to be Wished for; this is both life gain and beatdown against red, so effectively it's seven Baloths available for red in the deck)
1 Glory (Again, this is here to be Wishes for, giving us seven of them)
1 Mobilization (Anti-black, this fits more into a beatdown deck rather than a control deck)
1 Slate of Ancestry (See the comment at the end)
3 Disenchant (1 should have been an Elvish Scrapper/Scavenger Folk)
2 Moment's Peace (anti U/G /Red and other creature decks; it should have been Prismatic Strands to free up the mana - and it would have also been useful versus non-combat-related damage like burn and Corrupt)
1 Gigapede (anti control and black)
1 Intrepid Hero (anti-Roar/Arrogant Wurm/random large creatures)
1 Nantuko Tracer (anti-glory/Genesis/wonder)

Other possible sideboard cards:
Access to some counter magic - Circular Logic, Syncopate, Divert.
Circle of Protection: Black, as the deck will have problems with Corrupts directed at you while the removal takes out your creatures. Mobilization does help a little to ease the matchup.
Silklash Spider (can be a one-sided Hurricane)
Worship
Wrath of God/Balancing Act
Oblation
Weathered Wayfarer
Krosan Tusker
Akroma's Vengeance
Exalted Angel/Commander Eesha

Summary: SWOT Analysis To Follow
The deck in general performs well and met the first two objectives: It can be aggressive against control and defensive against red and U/g. I would like to say that meeting a Red deck with this one is actually a pleasure (and nearly a bye if played conservatively). However, the deck only benefits from Wonder after adding blue (purely for the U/G matchup and WW screech), but it may benefit more from adding red for Anger and Contested Cliffs and changing the Shorelines to R/G sac lands.

The Third Objective needs work - enough said. I lost in the finals to MBC 2-1. Damn you, Corrupt!!

I would like one more Brushhopper vs. Wrath decks and black, with the contenders for the drop being Rootwalla, Mobilization, and Wonder - Wonder mostly thanks to the fact that this deck only has twelve sources of fetching an island.

There are no real surprises in the deck, as it is an amalgamation of W/G and U/G with only the addition of Ravenous Baloth, Krosan Tusker, and the sack lands to an otherwise known listing of the above decks.

I can not do a comprehensive SWOT analysis, as I did not test vs. Wake, Control Black, W/G or W - this is purely a speculative analysis, apart from Sligh and U/G.

Strengths:

  • Excellent vs. red and U/G field
  • Can be either aggressive or defensive depending on style of play and match situation
  • Consistent due to Wishes and no reliance on one specific card

Weaknesses

  • Slower than a conventional W/G deck
  • Trample can be problematic - namely, Arrogant Wurm with Elephant Guide on it.
  • Black Control - If this deck becomes dominant, I suggest running the red variant.
  • Control in general, as it is slower - but it does have some resilience due to madness cards/Mobilization/Brushhopper/Genesis. Again, run the red variant if becomes dominant.

Opportunities

  • None, really - this is based two known archetypes from OBC, so it will not be a surprise.
  • Red can be added to change it into a more aggressive deck, with Anger and Contested Cliffs.
  • Could have a swamp to fetch with Tusker or Wish for Oversold Cemetery (this is food for thought; there's probably a deck type out there more dedicated to this)

Threats

  • Lava Dart can be a problem early on vs. the tribes if red has gone first
  • W/G is generally more aggressive - this has lifegaining and Wonder
  • Creature combo decks hurt this, as it has no way to remove creatures (like Enchantress, Doomed Necromancer, Balthor, the Defiler)
  • Mutilate /Wrath Of God - Only the Brushhopper and Mobilization survives

Card Analysis

I will only do an analysis of cards not normally in a W/G or U/G build.

Mobilization
There is a lot of debate about this card - I personally like it, as it is both defensive and offensive. The tokens can be protected by Glory and don't tap to attack, or they can fly over the top with Wonder in the graveyard. Mobilization fits better into an aggressive deck like this one or White Weenie. Let the debate rage.

Ravenous Baloth
This wins the Red matchup - remember that there is one in the side board to Wish for. Also remember that the Brushhopper is a Beast which can be sacced to the Ravenous Baloth for life - and yes, it is also a 4/4 for 4 mana.

Krosan Tusker
This is not a creature card; it is uncounterable card advantage. It is always good, especially where it is available early on to fix any mana requirements - fetch island for Wonder and gain a card, and it combos with Genesis for the late game against control.

Sac lands- Windswept Heath and Flooded Shoreline
All I can say is that I like having dual lands back that also thin your deck. The life loss is negligible and means that I will be drawing more quality cards rather than land late game - but I'll still enough for the Mobilization. Three-colour decks are not dead!

Sideboard Cards

Gigapede
An excellent card vs. control (and it also goes well with Anger)

Slate of Ancestry
I'm sure there is a deck that will fully utilize this card - but this deck is not it. Anyway, it frees up a slot in the board.

Again, comments welcomed - well done to Tomi Walamies taking W/U to a good result at the worlds and Martin from Swansea winning a PTQ in Birmingham (but he should have taken the cash).

Can some one do the math on the probability theory when incorporating sac lands?


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