The Deck:
In the weeks leading up to States, I expected the field in Utah to be mainly MBC, Goblins, and Astral Slide, and had been leaning towards a mono-red land destruction deck that did well against those decks. As States drew closer, Affinity and U/W became more popular on the internet and seemed to gain in popularity locally. The mono-red deck I'd been playtesting was too slow to handle Affinity and also didn't have enough threats to punish U/W, even when I was able to destroy their early land drops. I also wasn't excited about Culling Scales being my only answer to a sideboarded Sacred Ground.

Even though I liked the idea of a land destruction deck, I gave up on the mono-red version and didn't really have a deck that I wanted to play for States. Then, the Wednesday before States, Brian David-Marshall posted the following deck on Magicthegathering.com:

Main Deck:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Vine Trellis
4 Ravenous Baloth
4 Molder Slug
2 Krosan Tusker
4 Creeping Mold
4 Plow Under
4 Stone Rain
4 Starstorm
2 Hammer of Bogardan
4 Shivan Oasis
3 Contested Cliffs
7 Forest
6 Mountains
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard:
4 Spreading Algae
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Pyroclasm
3 Flashfires

I immediately liked the deck and felt that it had tons of potential in the current metagame. My testing had shown that land destruction was excellent against MBC and Astral Slide and the addition of green seemed like it would strengthen the deck versus Goblins and Affinity. I was especially excited about Molder Slug and its dual role as a huge blocker against Goblins and as persistent artifact removal against Affinity. The U/W matchup still seemed difficult, but at least this version had some good answers to Sacred Ground.

One thing that surprised me about the decklist was the lack of Troll Ascetic. Though I hadn't playtested with it, the Troll seemed like a great card for the current metagame. Against aggressive decks, it provided an early regenerating body, and against control, it was a difficult-to-kill creature that could provide significant pressure.

Here is the final decklist I came up, with some additional input from friend Jake Johnson:

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Vine Trellis
4 Troll Ascetic
4 Ravenous Baloth
4 Molder Slug
1 Silklash Spider
4 Creeping Mold
4 Plow Under
4 Stone Rain
4 Starstorm
8 Forest
6 Mountain
2 Contested Cliffs
3 Shivan Oasis
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard:
4 Naturalize
2 Silklash Spider
4 Pyroclasm
4 Molten Rain
1 Obliterate

I removed two Krosan Tuskers and two Hammer of Bogardans to make room for four Troll Ascetic. I felt that the Krosan Tusker's cycling ability was overkill in a deck that already had thirty-two mana sources and wasn't really excited about the prospect of a seven-mana beast. I also wasn't too excited about the Hammers of Bogardan because of their heavy red mana commitment and the slowness of their recursion. I also cut one Shivan Oasis to add in a Silklash Spider as an additional blocker against aggro and as an answer to Exalted Angel. Finally, I cut a Contested Cliffs since I'd lowered the number of beasts and replaced it with a forest to help support the addition of the four trolls.

I also made some changes to the sideboard. Naturalize replaced Viridian Shaman. The deck needed extra enchantment removal against U/W and Slide, and I liked the idea of being able to use Naturalize as a second-turn Stone Rain against Affinity. On Jake's suggestion, the Spreading Algae became Molten Rains. They served the same purpose as Spreading Algae against MBC, but they could also be brought in against U/W and other mana-hungry decks. Finally, the three Flashfires became two Silklash Spiders and a Obliterate. The Spiders came in against U/W and White Weenie as an answer to Exalted Angel and also as additional blockers against Goblins when I wanted to side out land destruction. The one Obliterate was there so I could get lucky!

Round One: Charles
Charles is playing a Red/Black Goblin deck with Cabal Slaver and Coercion maindeck and Patriarch's Biddings and Dark Banishings in the sideboard.

Game One: Charles mulligans, and then leads with a Skirk Prospector and a turn 3 Cabal Slaver. I'm able to Starstorm for one and follow it up with a Molder Slug backed by Contested Cliffs. We both get mana flooded, but my Slug takes home the game after I topdeck a Plow Under the turn after being Coercioned.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, +4 Pyroclasm, -4 Birds of Paradise, -4 Plow Under.

I'm afraid of a resolved Bidding, so I add in the Molten Rains and take out the slower Plow Unders.

Game Two: An early Pyroclasm clears the board of goblins and I'm able to destroy all of Charles' land.

1 - 0

Round Two: Jordan
Jordan is playing a W/B deck with Deftblade Elites, Silver Knights, Exalted Angels, and black for Unspeakable Symbol.

Game One: Charles wins the die roll and unmorphs a turn 4 Exalted Angel. I Plow Under multiple times, keeping Jordan from casting additional threats, but never draw an answer to his Exalted Angel.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, +2 Spider, -4 Plow Under, -2 Birds of Paradise.

I want to do my best to stop a turn 4 Exalted Angel, and am also unsure why Jordan is playing black, so I bring in all four Molten Rains.

Game Two: Charles plays a second-turn Silver Knight and even though I'm able to blow up all his plains, I don't draw a creature that can block the knight till I'm at two life. Finally, I draw a Ravenous Baloth with Contested Cliff backup and next turn draw a Silklash Spider. Since Charles is light on land, my Ravenous Baloth and Spider control the board and I win.

Game Three: An early Exalted Angel gives me problems again. The turn before the Angel will kill me, I sacrifice a Wooded Foothills to search out a forest and then my opponent cuts my deck. I ask him to knock on it for luck, and he does - and I topdeck a Starstorm! I follow the Starstorm up with a Silklash Spider and then a Ravenous Baloth and a Molder Slug. I get surprised by a Wrath of God that I hadn't seen in games one or two, but still draw enough creatures to give me the game.

2 - 0

Round Three: Tyler
Tyler is playing an aggressive version of Monoblack with Consume Spirits, Dark Banishing, and Dross Harvester.

Game One: I keep a"one-forest, two-mountain" opening hand with two Creeping Molds, a Ravenous Baloth, and a Molder Slug. Tyler plays a turn 3 Dross Harvester while I still haven't drawn a second forest. Turn 5, I knock my deck and draw the second forest and am able to drop multiple Molder Slugs, which hold off the Dross Harvester and also eat two Vault of Whispers. The damage Tyler has taken from Dross Harvester and the loss of two of his mana sources let me turn the game around and win.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, -4 Vine Trellis.

Game Two: I get a first-turn Birds of Paradise, followed by second- and third-turn land destruction and fourth-turn Molder Slug. Tyler stalls on land drops and is too far behind at this point. The Molder Slug and a freshly-drawn Troll Ascetic win the game.

3 - 0

Round Four: Drew
Drew is playing U/W control.

Game One: I keep a suspect hand with a Birds of Paradise and multiple creatures, but no land destruction. I fail to draw any land kill and quickly die to an Exalted Angel. The high point of this game is when Drew Mana Leak's my Ascetic Troll when I have three mana open and he has a Wrath Of God in his hand.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, +3 Naturalize, +2 Silklash Spider, +1 Obliterate, -4 Vine Trellis, -4 Molder Slug, -2 Starstorm

Game Two: I play a third-turn Molten Rain, and Drew doesn't have the Mana Leak and that's pretty much game over. I play another two land destruction spells, followed by a Troll Ascetic and a Plow Under, and Drew scoops.

Game Three: Drew doesn't draw a single Counterspell. So I win, right? Nope; I fail to draw a single land destruction spell and lose to three Eternal Dragons while all my threats get held off by a Story Circle. Once again, I kept a creature heavy draw that I probably should've mulliganed.

3 - 1

Round Five: Nick
Nick is playing affinity with Lightning Greaves and Lodestone Myrs, along with the usual suspects.

Game One: Nick gets a slow start, just playing out islands and swamps and a few Spellbombs. I get stuck on three land, but am able to bait out two Mana Leaks with Troll Ascetics - and when I finally draw my fourth and fifth land, I'm able to Creeping Mold, then drop a Molder Slug and Plow Under for the win.

Sideboard:
+4 Naturalize , -4 Plow Under

In retrospect, I probably should've sided out four Vine Trellises for four Molten Rains as well, but I liked the fact that the Trellis provided early acceleration and a quick blocker for Frogmite.

Game Two: Nick missed a land drop on turn 3 and I was able to destroy a land on my third turn. I don't draw any additional land destruction but was able to play a Molder Slug on turn 5 with Nick still on two land. It got Terrored. I then laid a Silklash Spider and it got Terrored.

Over the next few turns, I was able to make a Troll and a Ravenous Baloth but drew land after land after that. Meanwhile, Nick started to draw land as well and was able to recover nicely. The board gets to the point where Nick is at two life with a Broodstar, Frogmite, and three Lodestone Myr out, while I have out a Birds, a Vine Trellis, and a Troll Ascetic with no cards in my hand.

On my turn I drew and passed the turn back. On his turn, Nick attacked with a Broodstar, which I blocked with a Birds of Paradise, and a Lodestone Myr, which I blocked with my Troll Ascetic. Nick pumped the Lodestone Myr to an 8/8 - and before damage went on the stack, I tap my Bird and my Vine Trellis to Shield my troll and played my topdecked Starstorm for five, leaving three mana open to pay for the Mana Leak that I thought was in Nick's hand. The Starstorm kills Nick's Frogmite, and forces him to tap both his remaining Lodestone Myr and the artifacts he has in play to keep them alive.

My Troll regenerated and was removed from combat, and the rest of my creatures died. Nick didn't play an additional blocker and the next turn my Troll ran over for the final two points of damage. Afterwards, Nick showed me the Mana Leak in his hand.

4 - 1

Round Six: Jay
Jay is playing the Green/Red control deck Ben Rubin posted on Brainburst.

Game One: Neither of us draw much land destruction, but I'm able to outcreature Jay and sneak in damage with my beasts. At one point Jay Rampant Growths for a third mountain and I'm afraid he has the one Form of the Dragon in the deck - but he uses it to cast a Rorix instead. I'm so far ahead in the life race that the Rorix doesn't threaten me and I eventually Starstorm while regenerating multiple Trolls for the win.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, +2 Silklash Spider, -4 Birds of Paradise, -2 Plow Under

Game Two: Jay misses a third-turn land drop, and I destroy or Plow Under every land he makes for the rest of the game.

5 - 1

Round Seven: Josh Clingo
Josh is playing an aggressive Goblin build with Blistering Firecats.

We intentional draw and play for fun. I win 2-1 when I draw multiple Baloths and Molder Slugs.

Sideboard:
+4 Pyroclasm, +2 Spider, -4 Birds of Paradise, -2 Plow Under.

5 - 1 - 1

Quarterfinals: Jon Tan - Monoblack Control
Jon is playing monoblack control with maindeck Graveborn Muses for additional card drawing.

Game One: I win the die roll and have a good opening hand with two forest, two Creeping Molds, two Plow Unders, and a Stone Rain. Turn 3, I don't draw a land but draw a Vine Trellis instead. I miss a land drop on turn 4 as well, but draw a Birds to Paradise and am still on track to begin destroying land and possibly Plow Undering the next turn.

But on his turn 4, Jon plays a Barter in Blood and my winning board position goes away and I'm left with it two forests. I draw a forest the next turn, but still can't cast anything - and the next turn, Jon Mind Sludges me for five. I go through the motions, but the game is over at that point.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, -4 Vine Trellis.

Game Two: I play a first-turn Birds of Paradise and destroy Jon's first two land drops, but he keeps drawing land. I follow up my land destruction with two Troll Ascetics while Jon makes a Graveborn Muse and a Phyrexian Arena. I draw Creeping Mold for the Arena, and my Trolls go all the way as Jon fails to draw an Infest or a Barter in Blood.

Game Three: My opening hand is a forest, two mountains, two Molten Rain, a Stone Rain, and a Creeping Mold. I draw a Birds of Paradise and my hand goes from good to great. I'm able to destroy every land Jon plays for the rest of the game starting on turn 2, and a Troll Ascetic goes all the way.

Semifinals: Richard Cook - W/B
Richard is playing B/W control with maindeck Coercion, and Persecutes.

Game One: I win the die roll and we both lay lands and do nothing else for the first four turns. Turn 5, I cast a Plow Under. Turn 6, I cast a Plow Under and a Birds of Paradise. Turn 7, I cast a Plow Under and a Troll Ascetic. Richard concedes.

Sideboard:
+4 Molten Rain, +3 Naturalize, +2 Spider, +1 Obliterate, -4 Birds of Paradise, -4 Vine Trellis, -2 Molder Slug.

Richard's deck is super slow and can't do anything till turn 4, so I feel fine with siding out my Birds of Paradise and my Vine Trellis's.

Game Two: Richard plays two Exalted Angels. I play two Silklash Spiders. Richard plays two Terrors. I lose.

Game Three: This is one of the best games I play all day, and it goes back and forth a lot. From my notes I can't say exactly what happened over the course of the game, but I do know that Richard plays three Sacred Grounds, and I'm able to destroy them all while keeping enough pressure and land destruction going on that Richard can't recur and cast an Eternal Dragon.

At the end of the game, Richard gets beat down to three while I have a Troll Ascetic on the board. He has an Oblivion Stone in play, then says,"I think that's game" and shows me his hand of two Persecutes. I go to shake his hand - but then he realizes that he can activate Stone to stay alive another turn, and he says,"Let's play it out."

I attack and he Stones to make me regenerate my Troll and live another turn. He draws then says go - and when I attack, he cycles a Decree of Justice to make three soldiers one of which chump blocks my troll. At this point, I have an Obliterate and a Plow Under in my hand, and Richard has two Persecutes and a mystery card that he drew off cycling his Decree.

I do some quick math and then cast Obliterate.

We go into a topdeck war and I'm able to draw a third land and cast a Troll I drew before Richard gets a fourth land to Wrath it away and I win the game.

7 - 1 - 1

Finals: Cole Thomas - Accelerated Goblins
Cole is playing goblins with Great Furnaces and Chrome Moxes to fuel Shrapnel Blasts.

Game One: Cole keeps a slow draw, and a first-turn Birds of Paradise lets me play a second turn Troll Ascetic, third-turn Creeping Mold, and a fourth-turn Molder Slug that eats Cole's Great Furnace and forces him to Shrapnel Blast me with a Chrome Mox rather than lose it to the Slug. Cole gets stuck on two land, and when I play a Ravenous Baloth he concedes.

Sideboard:
+4 Pyroclasm, +4 Naturalize, -4 Birds of Paradise, -4 Stone Rain

Game Two: I keep a very iffy hand that I probably should've mulliganed: Two mountains, Pyroclasm, two Creeping Molds, a Ravenous Baloth, and a Molder Slug. I draw a Starstorm, two forests, and a Contested Cliffs off the top and am able to Pyroclasm, then Starstorm to kill Cole's early rush and win the game and the State Championships with my beasts.

8 - 1 - 1

Matchups:
To be honest, I haven't playtested this deck much beyond my playing it at States, and probably won't play it much more as there's not much reason for me to practice Standard. But for anyone interested in running this deck at FNM or a Standard tournament, here are my thoughts on the deck and its matchups.

Overall, I think the deck is a really strong contender in the current metagame and huge props go out to Brian David-Marshall for the initial list. One of the biggest challenges heading into States was finding a deck that was able to beat the control elements of MBC while still being able to handle the most aggressive deck in the format: Goblins. This deck has a good matchup against both and also has a good game plan against Affinity, which should be a popular choice in the coming year.

White-based decks seem to be the worst match ups. White Weenie and MWC control both seem like they would be difficult because of their resilient manabases and difficult-to-kill creatures (Silver Knight, Dawn Elemental, Exalted Angel, and Eternal Dragon). Though these matchups both seem winnable if you draw enough land destruction (Flashfires might need to return to the board if these decks become popular), or can stabilize early enough to start using Contested Cliffs or Silklash Spiders.

White-based control decks, such as B/W or U/W are the toughest matchups. Both decks play strong mana bases backed by Eternal Dragon, and can use their discard or counterspells to stop your land destruction and have both have enough removal to deal with your creature base. Both decks also have access to Sacred Ground out of the board, making the matchup even more difficult. The best bet is probably to try and overload them with land destruction and hope to stunt their early mana development, then kill them quickly while they're still mana light. Trolls are especially strong in these matchups, as they can provide a quick clock and are difficult to remove - especially if you can keep your opponent from getting double white for Wing Shards of Wrath of God.

The one big weakness of my version of the deck is Exalted Angel. While I think taking out the Krosan Tuskers and Hammers of Bogardan for Troll Ascetics was a good choice (the Trolls were amazing for me all day long), the removal of both weakens the deck against Exalted Angel. Hammer can kill a face-down angel or combine with a Beast and Contested Cliffs to kill an Angel, while a Krosan Tusker with a Contested Cliffs in play can also knock an Angel from the sky. Silklash Spider was my attempt to answer this weakness. While the Spider seems very good against White Weenie and MWC, they aren't really that exciting versus B/W, which just Terrors them, or against U/W, which can just counter or Wrath them. Hammer should probably return to the deck, and Wing Shards might be a possibility in the board.

I didn't get a chance to play against Kibler Zombies, but I also think that it will be a difficult matchup. The deck seems especially resilient to land destruction, with Chrome Moxes accelerating out Phyrexian Arenas and Graveborn Muses - and it also has a large amount of removal for R/G's bigger creatures. This matchup probably comes down to whether or not they get out their card drawing, and how much land destruction you draw in the early going.

As far as the mirror match goes, I think you just side in your Molten Rains and hope for the best. I know it's not much of a game plan, but it will probably do the trick by giving you a edge in the amount of early land destruction you can cast. If you both bring in Molten Rains, then your best plan is to just draw better.

So there's a brief primer on the deck's matchups. Please remember that I haven't done much testing, and that most of what I've written if based on one tournament and conjecture - so take everything with a grain of salt and do some playtesting yourself. If I were going to start working on the deck today, I'd try to find a way to fit two Hammers back in the maindeck by removing the Silklash Spider and something else. I'd try not to remove a Molder Slug or the Troll Ascetic, as both were amazing for me all day.

I'd also fine-tune the sideboard. I think that four Pyroclasms, four Naturalize, and four Molten Rain are a given - but that the other three sideboard slots can easily be tailored to your local metagame.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at gamermonkey00@hotmail.com.