I took a bite of the forbidden apple......

[Killer Joe]

....and I am ashamed
I took a NET.Dec (MBC's All Blue Rising Waters Deck) and am going to play it at this saturdays PTQ in Pittsburgh. I beg for everyone's understanding, I tried to put together a rogue deck (Counter-Burn in MBC and yeah, it sucked horribly). I would appreciate some remarks about how it's okay to do this sometimes, okay? If not, then tell me why I should play Rogue (at least one that is better than Counter-Burn). My personal philosophy won't allow me to play a deck with anything black in it, which happens to be one of the few other choices I have. I'll never get a hold of Blinding Angels by Sat. and I have ALL of the cards needed for Rising Waters. So what can I do and still be competetive?

Shamefully yours YELLOWjacket.

 

[Gizmo]

Net decks exist for a reason - they are there to play with when you want to do well in a tournament. Net decks are better than rogue decks, that is why they are net decks. Rogue decks exist to be played if you don`t particularly care about qualifying for a PT and want to have fun, or for if you think have spotted a hole in the metagame.

If you want to do well you shoudn`t feel guilty for using a deck that is proven and tested. Do you drive a Ford or something you built in your back yard? You drive the Ford of course, because you don`t want bits to drop off as soon as you hit the Freeway.

Personally I`ll be going rogue when my PTQ comes round because I don`t care about PTs - I`ve been to enough premier events to know I don`t really enjoy them so I`m not bothered about qualifying. Oh, and I think I`ve spotted a hole in the metagame as well.

Time Walk Blue (Indentured Remix)
by David Sutcliffe

3 Cloud Sprite
4 Cloudskate
4 Spiketail Hatchling
4 Ribbon Snake
4 Indentured Djinn
3 Troublesome Spirit

4 Seal Of Removal
4 Withdraw
4 Tangle Wire
4 Parallax Wave

2 Rath`s Edge
20 Island

SB
2 Hoodwink
3 Submerge
3 Waterfront Bouncer
3 Misdirection
4 Counterspell

 

[DÛke]

Try Rhystic Blue.
It's my favorite kind of deck, build around rhystic cards from Prophecy. Nobody will be prepared for a Rhystic Dulge in play

 

[arhar]

Gizmo - are you sure it's a Wave not a Tide?


Anyway, Yellowjacket, I totally agree with Giz that net decks exist for grabbing them for a tournament. Since just last weekend I did exactly that - took a Rising Waters deck to a PTQ (first time), and although I scrubbed out horribly, I can give you few advices.


First of all, everyone's prepared for Waters deck since it's a deck to beat.

Troublesome Spirits are THE ENEMY if they get played against you, and REALLY GOOD if you play them yourself. Play 4 maindeck, and don't worry about the drawback - you have Thwart, Foil and Daze, right?

Always counter:

Story Circle
Haunted Crossroads
Wave
Tide
Blastoderm
Troublesome Spirit
Jeweled Spirit
Cho-Manno's Blessing - blue )))



Good luck!

 

[The Magic Jackal]

Counter burn is no good? I have to disagree. I was hanging out w/ this one guy at the philly ptq who was playing white rebels. He wasn't doing too well (didn't have 4 waves and he started playing w/ his counterburn deck inbetween rounds. Well he was smashing most people left and right. The only deck that gave it trouble that I saw was rising waters because it always won the counter battle. Anyway, I'll try to remember the deck list

8 draw
4 brainstorm
4 acc knowledge


10 Burn
4 seals (postive)
2-4 cave ins (might have been 4)
4 Thunderclap (better than rhystic lightning, It kills everything that you need to worry about: legend spell shapers, silt crawler, chimeric idol, thrashing wumpi,etc. Blasto is the only thing that survives)

12 counters
4 counterspells
4 thwart
4 foil
maybe a couple of rethink or daze

4 avatar of fury (postive)
2 barganing table (awesome in here)

about 24 land
seems like 8 mountain, 15 islands, 1 rath's edge would work well


This is pretty close to what he was playing I think. I think the sideboard has some dominates and hoodwinks in there(story circle) as well as some flowstone armor for thermal glider. Good Luck with watever you decide to play.

 

[theorgg]

If you beleive that the deck you're going to be running is the best out there for the metagame, go ahead.

But If you think the metagame would be right for somthing else, such as substituting the azamate drakes for Indentured Djinns(a good manuver, imho) or somthing similar.

Also, Gizmo's deck looks good enough to eat with a knife and fork, so you might consider it.

Also--If you think you'll encounter alot of green/somthing or monogreen and blue waters or skyline, take a look at
http://www.thedojo.com/t001/ptq.000725jbo.shtml
.
this is the deck I took to a PTQ and won every game vs the above decks. granted, the rouge decks that I encountered didn't allow me to do very well, but it was a good metagame choice(though the luck of the pairings wasn't there ).

Exceptions: the wumpi should come out due to them loosing me every game they came out. I'd recommend spidersilk armor or an enchantment washer like tranquility or the 5-life acc one.

The concept? Thrive makes everything better.
your 3/1 when blocked wolverine becomes a 4/2 wall and drake killer. the worms become unpingable.
the downside? w/o maindeck enchantment removal cho's blessing 'll kill it. same for the "all gain protection" card.

If you don't have Megatherum, replace with another Living Terrain. the "all gain protection" will "kill" this creature, you have been warned.
increse the dryads to four and kill the razorback. the elders, if you don't have 'em could be replaced by the 'backs. dryads#1, Elders#2, razorbacks#3. NO SNAPPERS!!

The Dual nature is a bit too expensive, so take it out for another Fat Bastard(blastoderm)

Good Luck,

 

[Zadok001]

Hey, I'm running around with Secret Force in my deckbox. Netdecks can be really neat... Especially when they're Wakefield net decks.

If you DO want to go rouge, though, what Giz has there is some good (I would play Parallax Tide over Parallax Wave, though, personal preference towards cards I can cast. J/K, Giz, don't crucify me!).

Whatever you do, Yellowjacket, be careful. Waters is the most hated deck in MBC. People have 12 cards of their sideboards devoted to you, it's not cool. But you'll do fine. Write us a report, will ya'?

"Best of luck, may you survive the Swiss!"

 

[Duel]

I'm sorry to go against the tide, but unless it's interesting, a netdeck typically is not worth playing. Of course, this may be why I don't win games....

 

[Almindhra]

Black is great you wimp...How about this...For one week, Yellowjacket, you cannot touch or look at, or even think about! a green or white card...Ok?...Seriously...You will never become a great magic player like me until you get into the good cards...Ok?...

Now, I don't think its shameful if you use some net decks...Although, I did have some trouble with Bargain, it was fun in a sense to kill Sean on turn 2, or maybe it was 3...So go have fun, and actually win this time because it wasn't a deck you created...

hahahahahaha

 

[Gamalon]

The biggest hole in the MBC metagame, I found, was in a Green/Black deck posted on the one of the numerous websites. It runs 35 mana sources (if you count Sky Claim, and Trellis), Thrashing Wumpus, the spider, blasty, and woe's... along with 3-4 jolreal and 4 forced march (don't use rit's... use 4 skulls), some massacre, some rev. silence. SB use the Boggy and Slavers and you should be set.

I know the deck isn't a surprise to anyone... it's been out there for a while... but usually can think it's way out of any situation.

And it even has green in it... so Yellowjacket can rejoice.

 

[Duel]

Does that sound like a star system to anyone else? Sig Gamalon? Anyways...

That deck is iffy. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's a little slow for my taste in green/black. Excellent rogue deck, though. It is efficient, and I know of very few people who play it.

 

[Spiderman]

You are banished from the Garden of Eden...

Ahem, anyway, I agree with most others here (except Duel, it looks like) that net decks are there because they are proven winners and rogue decks that win enough eventually gain the status of net decks.

However, I would make sure that you know the Rising Waters deck inside and out. It looks like arhar gave a list of things to counter. If you can, at least play aginst other decks you think you'll come up against so you know (or at least have an inkling) of what to do. Practice, practice, practice.

Good luck!

 

[rkoelsch]

I don't have the cards to play them most of the time. I think if you practice with a deck and know how it works it will do well fo you. But you should not force your play style. I see waters as a control deck if you have a beatdown style it will be hard for you to play. I think it is especially important in this format because the matches are sometimes so long you run into time constraints. That is when your play style will show.

 

[TomB]

They are there to be played when you want to win, huh?

Hmmm.

I always thought they were there to be playtested against, myself. I've never played one in a tourney (though that's probably also because I usually don't have the cards) and I've done OK. I think the key here is that you need to be totally comfortable with the deck you're playing, and have answers to your vulnerabilities in your sideboard. If you've got those things covered you should do well, whether you made the deck up yourself or you are using someone else's design.

A little luck never hurts either. Good luck Yellowjacket!

 

[Gizmo]

Hmm. I think I probably DID mean Parallax Tide. The problem is that both Tides and Waves are seas things, so I subconsciously associate them with blue spells. Doh!

TomB, sounds to me like you build good rogue decks, then. To reuse my car analogy, if you`re a really good mechanic then you WOULDN`T drive a Ford P.O.S., but the V12 monster you lovingly crafted into being. Of course that doesn`t mean bits aren`t going to drop off.

 

[Cateran Overlord]

(Doesn't need to say anything to Gizmo and the rest, but forgives Yellowjacket anyway)

 

[Istanbul]

It's all about WHEN you want to use the deck.

In a tournament, I'll use my blue Control deck. Nasty little construct. Very irritating to play against. (It's MINE, not copied, but still.) High likelihood of winning.

When I'm NOT in a tournament, I won't play control or burn. Why? Simple. In a tournament, I'm playing to win. Money is on the line, and for a kollij stoodint like me, that's crucial. If I'm NOT in a tournament, I'm playing for fun, and the decks I use in a tournament aren't fun.

There are two guys locally who play casually; one plays Pebbles, and one plays High Tide. Now, THEY suck.

 

[Killer Joe]

I submitted an article (tourny report) on this topic, but here's the short of it:
I played Rising Waters at the PTQ Chicago in Pittsburgh.
Round 1 vs Counter-Rebel
Game 1: win
Game 2: win
Game Record: 2-0-0
Match Record:1-0-0
Round 2 vs Snuff-O-Derm
Game 1: lose
Game 2: lose
Game Record: 2-2-0
Match Record:1-1-0
Round 3 vs White Control
Game 1: win
Game 2: lose
Game 3: draw (out of time)
Game Record: 3-3-1
Match Record:1-1-1
Round 4 vs White/Red Control
Game 1: win
Game 2: draw (out of time)
Game Record: 4-3-2
Match Record:2-1-1
Round 5 vs Blue/White Cowardice
Game 1: win
Game 2: win
Game Record: 6-3-2
Match Record:3-1-1
Round 6 vs Classic Rebel
Game 1: lose
Game 2: lose
Game Record: 6-5-2
Match Record:3-2-1
I Scrub-Out!
I don't play round 7
I placed 43rd. out of 123 with 10 points.
Deck list:
Rising Waters
4x Eye of Ramos
4x Chimeric Idol
4x Rising Waters
4x Waterfront Bouncer
4x Stinging Barrier
4x Ribbon Snake
4x Thwart
2x Daze
1x Foil
4x Gush
1x Trade Routes
2x Seal of Removal
22x Island
1x Dust Bowl
Sideboard withheld due to stupidity (it did not include Bribery's-DOH!)
At times this deck acted like a 'beatdown' deck and other times like a classic 'lock-down' deck. I'm glad I didn't take my MBC Counter-Burn deck.

 

[arhar]

GOOD JOB MAN!!!!
43rd place is very good!!

 

[theorgg]

you did better than ME!

you BATHTUB!

but not much... and it WAS a netdeck...[me]tries to take some solace in those facts[/me]