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| "I come bearing cysts! Get it? ...Hello? Is this thing on?" |
Main Deck:
4 x Birds of Paradise
4 x Ichorclaw Myr
4 x Blight Mamba
4 x Cystbearer
3 x Putrefax
4 x Groundswell
4 x Vines of Vastwood
4 x Assault Strobe
4 x Lightning Bolt
3 x Livewire Lash
4 x Rootbound Crag
4 x Copperline Gorge
14 x Forest
Sideboard:
4 x Pyroclasm
4 x Plummet
4 x Naturalize
3 x Combust
I still have yet to test this deck myself, though I hope to this Friday. It will all depend on whether I can get my hands on two more Vines of Vastwood, which, in theory, should happen. I'm not going to play it short any Vines, however, so if I can't, I'll be tapping in my Myr deck of DOOM (which is probably a better deck, but I'm more eager to try this one).
I'm pretty much winging the sideboard. Yay other forms of removal? Pyroclasm is for dealing with other weenie decks. According to Ankiseth, who actually has been playtesting a version of this deck (some of his results are towards the end of the thread), it's good against Red Deck Wins (RDW).
At first, I wasn't enthusiastic about including Cystbearer. He costs more than Necropede, he has no effect upon entering the graveyard, he tells lame jokes... but being 2/3 with infect is pretty good. For one thing, it can survive one of those sideboarded Pyroclasms. For another, it can still get out by turn three if combined with Birds of Paradise.
And for thirdsies, it can do game-winning damage if unblocked at instant speed without any Assault Strobes. It would still take two cards, but two Groundswells, two Vines of Vastwood, or a combination of the two could still have it dealing 10 poison counters (assuming one pulls off landfall). Either of those with an Assault Strobe also works, so that's five ways an unblocked Cystbearer can end the game with two spells pumping it.
Odds are good that it won't be that simple, but while Cystbearer is less likely to pull of an early win, it's got better odds of finishing a game the deck fails to end as quickly as it wants, which will probably be most of them. Let's face it: the turn three win is an ideal scenario that won't happen most games even if there are lots of ways to do it.
Thoughts?
I'm a little uncertain on the 'clasms. I mean, most of your guys are tiny. It kills all your permanent guys except the cystbearers. So yeah, I'd definitely test those before running them, since they could be a huge blow out for you as much as your opponent.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Vines shouldn't be at all hard to get. They're common, if your card store has single commons, getting them should be easy.
Looks like a cool deck. I don't play the Meta-game at all, just building whatever deck looks cool at the time (usually not Standard, because I use old cards), so I can't actually comment. I did play an infect deck in the prerelease (because I got a Skithiryx and my friends forced me to play the deck my cards could support), as did many others, and it did seem to make for very fast games. Also, RG is my favourite colour combo, so yay!
ReplyDeleteI had a long philosophical/physical rant in response to your twitter comment, but I decided not to clutter up your MTG blog. Also, it was poorly argued. ^^; (I'm danwizard208 on twitter).
I think that Cystbearer is a good fit for the deck, although I also think the sideboard could use a bit more variety in solutions-- Go for about 6-7 cards total, with the most copies of permanents and fewer copies for instants / sorceries. Find out what your local people tend to play, and just sideboard solutions for that.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think I would've pulled out the putrefaxen rather than the necropedes. Then again, putrefax are pretty much your best hope of winning a game that drags on, so this is probably better. The cystbearers are definitely a good show though.
ReplyDeleteOne thought is that grafted exoskeleton would now be a nice thing to throw on the birds, if it was still around. Maybe you could cut out the putrefaxes and some land to throw in the exoskeletons and necropedes? I don't know.
Looks like a fun deck. Haven't really played much Scars yet.
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting. I just got done playing a blue/black infect deck earlier at FNM. Unblockability is sexyawesome with infect, and I would go so far as to suggest panic spellbombs. They aren't quite distortion strikes, but you can force your pump-tastic infect creature through a bit easier. Also, card draw is always fun.
ReplyDeleteNaturalizes should definitely become nature's claims, since giving them 4 life does not matter to you at all.
I also suggest perhaps some sort of proliferate in the sideboard, as it gives you something to fall back on if they stall out/kill your creatures. Maybe in place of pyroclasms....since they seem kinda lame once they kill all of your creatures too, or even main deck for a lash or something. Might be fun to use with Garruk..... :)
Ok, so I tested this deck a lot and I have a few things to say.
ReplyDelete1) The clasms are great against decks like RDW, r/w, elves and mono-white quest. In those instances, you have to plan on not overcommitting and/or using Cysts or pump prior to clasming, but it usually wrecks board in your favor as this deck is about winning immediately anyway and you get enough mana to pump and clasm.
2) The lash is AMAZING. Not only does it remove blockers and add power, but some times it's direct counters to your opponents head. It smashes face in more ways than I can imagine.
3) Control is an issue for this deck, but more so u/b or Valukat than w/u (although Venser is a pain). Valukat is like an auto loss with the amount of removal they can toss in. I couldn't win a game pre or post board as a good player can take out most of your threats early and often while u/b can use Sorin or some of the other big black creatures to wipe out your army and the black removal slows you down. Maybe Asceticism? It allows your targets, regenerates against things like Judgment and nulls opposing spot removal.
4) Don't be afraid to win the conventional way. Three times, I had my Infecters killed off and won by pumping and double-striking a BoP instead. It takes more doing, but between Lash, Groundswell, Assault and Vines, it can be done and if they're taking out the Infecters, you can have plenty of pump to use to finish them off with a lowly bird.