Reanimator:
I personally don't care for this deck, but it has done decently well at some Nationals Qualifiers around the world. This deck either works like a well-oiled machine (akin to Benzo), or it sits there and picks its nose for ten turns until you Upheaval and kill it. If the deck does not draw multiple Duresses or resolve a well-timed Overmaster, then it cannot get past your wall of counters to pull of the win. My assumption (since I'm not an expert on this deck) is that it tries to go foremost for a hasted (via Anger) Symbiotic Wurm, since anything else would likely just get Blooded away. This doesn't seem like such a bad plan, so your primary goal is to stop them from ever getting the Wurm into play to begin with. A hasted Doomed Necromancer is bad news for this deck - but there are only four of them and you have eight counters even if they play around Force Spike (and often you can unload two Force Spikes on a surprised opponent's spell). The other threat cards include Duress, Last Rites, Stitch Together, Zombify, and Burning Wish (for Overmaster). You obviously don't have a counter for each threat in their deck, but your card drawing should allow you to counter the threats they draw while setting up Upheaval. Also, watch out for them floating Smother mana in response to your Upheaval. In fact, it's probably best to 'Heave right after their big turn (where they force through a reanimation spell by sheer volume and end up tapped out with a 7/7 in play). Petradon could also be bad news for you... But really, if you're letting any reanimation spell resolve, the Wurm is much worse for you than Petradon (since you can simply drop a Swamp, Underground River, or Polluted Delta and kill him with Innocent Blood).
My gut tells me that it's the right call to side in Duress here, but I'm a little uneasy about that decision. Persecute can be golden - knocking away their whole hand as they save up to try and work past your counters. It's likely you'll want to put in Persuasion if you're sideboarding it, since that could potentially just be really really cool. No matter how much it wants to be, this deck isn't Benzo and can't do the same broken stuff that Benzo can on the first and second turn, so save your counters for the game-breaking spells. They'll probably side in two or three Overmaster and probably some more reanimation spells (potentially more discard as well). Just play carefully and play around Duress as best you can.
Test decklist: Pavlos Akritas' winning Regionals decklist
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 4x Duress
+ 1x Compulsion
+ 1x Persecute
+ 1x Deep Analysis
- 4x Smother
- 2x Cunning Wish
- 1x Innocent Blood
Reanimator:
+ 3x Cabal Therapy
+ 1x Guiltfeeder
+ 1x Stitch Together
+ 1x Buried Alive
+ 1x Withered Wretch
+ 1x Haunting Echoes
+ 1x Recoup
- 3x Smother
- 3x Sickening Dreams
- 1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
- 1x Ashen Firebeast
- 1x Phantom Nishoba
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 7-3. Post-sideboard: 11-4. No significant statistical anomalies.
Canu Opposition:
This is actually one of your worst matchups in its original incarnation. Luckily, one would have to be near-suicidal to play Canu's actual build of Opposition at Regionals due to all of the speedy aggressive decks and the two or three Ray of Revelation run by almost every U/G Madness deck. This would be a deck you'd play only if your metagame is close to 50% Psychatog - and even then it might be wiser to run R/G Beats. Despite its lack of support among professional players and serious competitors, Opposition is too attractive a card to not see play at all. This testing was done with Canu's build since that is actually a much worse matchup for Tog than the more creature-oriented constructions.
Their key cards are Duress, Cabal Therapy, Squirrel Nest, Quiet Speculation (for Deep Analysis, Cabal Therapy or Roar of the Wurm), and Opposition itself. Unfortunately, you really have to counter eight cards in their deck and they are going to try and force said cards through with Duress and Cabal Therapy, so it's not as easy as it was against Slide, where they had no disruption and had to rely on running you out of counters. This is one of the matchups where Hibernation really shines as a target for Cunning Wish (breaking the Opposition lock long enough to cast a few crucial spells or perhaps even an Upheaval). Sideboarding options include Duress, Persuasion, Persecute, Ghastly Demise, Boomerang/Chain of Vapor and Hibernation.
Test decklist: Franck Canu's build
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 3x Duress
+ 2x Persuasion
+ 2x Ghastly Demise
- 4x Innocent Blood
- 2x Cunning Wish
- 1x Compulsion
Opposition:
+ 1x Quiet Speculation
+ 1x Cabal Therapy
+ 3x Phantom Centaur
- 1x Roar of the Wurm
- 4x Smother
Note: Opposition can also transition to an aggro-oriented deck during games 2 or 3 by adding 1x Quiet Speculation, 2x Roar of the Wurm, 3x Phantom Centaur and cutting Smothers and Cabal Therapies. This was not used during testing, and I feel the above sideboarding strategy is the strongest available for Canu's deck, but you should still be aware of the possibility of such a switch.
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 2-8. Post-sideboard: 4-11. No significant statistical anomalies.
Graveborn Identity:
This is another bad matchup for you. The combination of discard and cheap, efficient threats spells bad news for the control deck. A Withered Wretch left alone for too long can also put you in a very bad position - nullifying Circular Logics and neutering Psychatogs.
Your sideboard options are fairly limited, since Ghastly Demises won't work here on anything but morphs and Callous Oppressors will likely fall to Smother and Chainer's Edict (unless they side these out, in which case you should definitely side them in). Persuasion seems to be your best bet, and I would suggest the inclusion of Persecute. Chainer's Edicts and Zombie Infestations would also be good sideboard cards against this archetype, though they would have to replace other cards that are all-around stronger against other archetypes. Force Spike, Smother, and Innocent Blood are golden in this match-up, as they are against most aggressive strategies. Multiple Duresses followed up with a Withered Wretch or Nantuko Shade can end the game very quickly, but hopefully you'll be able to stop Duress (or at least give them a hard choice) and counter or kill their early threats. Run them out of gas and you'll be able to take some time to set up your hand again.
Test decklist:
4x Duress
4x Smother
4x Nantuko Shade
4x Withered Wretch
4x Wretched Anurid
4x Bane of the Living
3x Graveborn Muse
3x Chainer's Edict
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Shambling Swarm
21x Swamp
3x Cabal Coffers
Sideboard:
4x Persecute
4x Engineered Plague
2x Visara the Dreadful
2x Haunting Echoes
1x Cabal Therapy
1x Chainer's Edict
1x Shambling Swarm
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 3x Duress
+ 2x Persuasion
- 3x Compulsion
- 2x Cunning Wish
Graveborn Identity:
+ 4x Persecute
+ 2x Haunting Echoes
+ 1x Cabal Therapy
- 4x Chainer's Edict
- 2x Smother
- 1x Shambling Swarm
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 2-8. Post-sideboard: 3-12. No significant statistical anomalies.
U/G Threshold:
Again, this is the deck Mike Flores' proposed on The Sideboard.com, not Ken Ho's Master's variant on U/G Madness. This is not such a good match-up for you unless you can Force Spike or Innocent Blood their early creatures. This often isn't a terrible problem for you, however. Their creatures start off fairly small, but grow quickly. Luckily, few U/G Threshold builds use the infinitely-annoying Basking Rootwalla, so you don't have to worry quite as much about those first-turn Careful Studies. Almost every creature they run can be Smothered (except Nimble Mongoose and the two they don't normally cast: Wonder and Genesis) and Breakthrough, while often card disadvantage, is not always a good thing to let resolve - especially when they are low on cards. Compulsion is terrible early in this matchup, costing you a turn and allowing them to throw more creatures at you. Late in the match, it can be a true gem - turning your extra lands into counters or removal and digging you deeper into your deck to find that Upheaval.
Keep track of what they return with Genesis so you'll know what to counter. Try to hold back a Force Spike or Circular Logic to counter any rogue Nimble Mongeese after an Upheaval. Giving them that one extra turn could potentially put them back in the game - and that's not something you want to happen. Potential sideboard cards are Ghastly Demise, Callous Oppressor, Persuasion, and Hibernation.
Test decklist:
4x Nimble Mongoose
4x Wild Mongrel
4x Werebear
4x Wonder
4x Seton's Scout
4x Roar of the Wurm
4x Breakthrough
4x Mental Note
4x Careful Study
2x Genesis
4x Windswept Heath
4x Flooded Strand
7x Island
6x Forest
1x City of Brass
Sideboard:
4x Compost
3x Ray of Revelation
2x Turbulent Dreams
2x Worship
2x Krosan Reclamation
1x Upheaval
1x Plains
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 2x Callous Oppressor
+ 2x Ghastly Demise
- 3x Compulsion
- 1x Circular Logic
U/G Threshold:
+ 4x Compost
+ 1x Upheaval
- 4x Wonder
- 1x Breakthrough
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 5-5. Post-sideboard: 9-7. No significant statistical anomalies.
Punisher:
Honestly, the only way this deck wins is to overwhelm Psychatog by resolving multiple Battle Screeches. Normally, Tog can kill enough creatures to reach critical mass and Upheaval (or just play a lethal Tog) for the win. Glorious Anthem makes each creature a true threat, so it's not a waste to counter it. This deck has no true disruption and generally no counterspells; this is certainly no CounterRebel deck. A quick Opposition lock can be bad for you, but it's easier to break out of than those of Squirrel Opposition since they have no enchantment-based source of creatures other than Mobilization (and who plays that?). Your sideboard options include Callous Oppressor, Persuasion, Ghastly Demise, Chainer's Edict, and Duress (if you really want to stop that Opposition). Their options are mostly limited to weak counter effects (Envelop) and card advantage spells like Quiet Speculation.
Test decklist:
4x Whipcorder
4x Deftblade Elite
4x Spurnmage Advocate
4x Glorious Anthem
4x Battle Screech
4x Exalted Angel
4x Longbow Archer
4x Opposition
3x Deep Analysis
2x Quiet Speculation
1x Prismatic Strands
4x Flooded Strand
4x Adarkar Wastes
2x Island
12x Plains
Sideboard:
3x Wrath of God
1x Quiet Speculation
1x Deep Analysis
1x Prismatic Strands
4x White Knight
3x Disenchant
2x Worship
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 2x Callous Oppressor
+ 2x Ghastly Demise
- 2x Cunning Wish
- 1x Compulsion
- 1x Circular Logic
Punisher:
+ 4x White Knight
+ 1x Quiet Speculation
+ 1x Deep Analysis
- 4x Spurnmage Advocate
- 1x Prismatic Strands
- 1x Battle Screech
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 7-3. Post-sideboard: 10-5. Statistical anomalies: Punisher suffered from color screw (blue) twice (both post-sideboard) and from mana flood once (pre-sideboard).
U/W Opposition:
This is Jose Emmanuel Argao's deck, which boasted a 48-52 record against Psychatog in his testing. This somehow didn't seem quite right to me, so I decided to run my own testing against it and it fell rather short of the near 50% that Jose produced. This deck isn't bad. It's actually a variation on Punisher that attempts to play the control game instead of the beatdown game. This is probably a poor call, in my opinion, but the Windborn Muse the deck is partially constructed around seems to necessitate a more controllish style. This deck would probably be a lot stronger with some more efficient creatures like Whipcorder and some Battle Screeches in place of junk like Mobilization, Worship, and Complicate. In fact, I'd probably suggest to Jose (and others testing this deck) that they head back to the original Punisher build and try to work Windborn Muse into that rather than try to give a U/W Opposition deck a workable counter base. If nothing else, it seems like this deck is just begging to run Memory Lapse and some card drawing.
In the end, the deck didn't perform as badly as I was worried it would, but it didn't truly shine either. The problem was that none of his creatures were true threats. Windborn Muse has the highest power and she only swings for 2. She's also the only one that can't be Smothered. A few morph creatures like Exalted Angel might also keep the Psychatog player guessing (since Wall of Deceit dies to Smother whether it's morphed or not).
The games basically played out like this: Tog would counter Opposition, Static Orb and Mobilization at his leisure, Smother Looters, let Walls and Muses live, and set up the Upheaval kill with Cunning Wish for Mana Short. I couldn't find anything from Jose himself about how he sideboards against Tog, but he does say that he wants to force down an early Mobilization - so I assume he sides in 1x Mobilization and most of the extra counters found in his sideboard. I don't really like this strategy, in general, since you're hoping to out-control the control deck (and you also have so many cards you'd like to side out: Worship, Force Spike, Wall of Deceit and potentially some Static Orbs and Complicates).
I'd suggest to Jose and others looking to play this deck that they utilize a transformational sideboard to allow for the old switcheroo. 4x Exalted Angel, 4x Whipcorder and 4x White Knight would be an excellent way to throw Tog off his game. I'd also recommend dropping the inferior Complicates and Force Spikes (you're a mid-game control deck; you shouldn't care about a first-turn Birds of Paradise or Lavamancer) for more creatures or even the Memory Lapses that he has in the sideboard. You basically want to side in your Duresses to stop the real threats of Opposition, Static Orb, and Mobilization. You can also simply strip him of a counter in order to ensure his permanents won't resolve. His only true source of card advantage is Merfolk Looter, so he dies - obviously. In order to kill the Looter reliably, you'll want to leave at least six of your creature-kill spells in. I decided, though it felt somehow wrong, to take out a Compulsion in this matchup since Deep Analysis and Concentrate provide real card advantage, which is something he has no access to. Eventually you should out-draw and out-counter him no matter how many counterspells he actually has in his deck. Here's the most recent decklist I've seen from Jose...
Test decklist:
Creatures:
4 Merfolk Looter
4 Wall of Deceit
4 Windborn Muse
Spells:
4 Counterspell
4 Force Spike
2 Complicate
3 Mobilization
3 Worship
4 Static Orb
4 Opposition
Land:
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Flooded Strand
6 Plains
10 Island
Sideboard:
4 Memory Lapse
2 Complicate
1 Worship
1 Mobilization
4 Disenchant
3 Hibernation
My sideboarding strategy:
Psychatog:
+ 4x Duress
- 1x Compulsion
- 2x Innocent Blood
- 1x Force Spike
U/W Opposition:
+ 4x Memory Lapse
+ 1x Mobilization
- 3x Worship
- 2x Force Spike
Testing results:
Pre-sideboard: 9-1. Post-sideboard: 12-3. No significant statistical anomalies.
Well, that about does it ladies and gents. My hands are tired, and this Knutson fellow and his strange ideas about playtesting have led to a very lengthy article. I apologize to the dear Ferrett and sincerely hope there is some program that will link all those decklists to the appropriate links in the Star City card shop. (There isn't - The Ferrett, getting over a terrible, yet thankfully quick, cold)
Hopefully, this has been informative and helpful to you. If you have any questions, accusations or sideboarding tips feel free to email me at novacaine_for_the_soul@hotmail.com. If you have been getting different testing results in your games and would like to discuss how to play Psychatog in certain matchups to maximize your chances of winning, then I would also enjoy discussing that with you. I had intended to include a brief section on how to play control decks against the various basic archetypes, including rules for mulligans and how to pull yourself out of sticky situations - but dang it, I'm really tired and if you've read this far, you probably are, too.
Sincerely,
J. Blevins
* - Don't blame me; blame Ted Knutson. The man was right, though, so you've got to give him some credit.
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