R
Rakamir
Guest
Osyp Lebedowicz
Astral Slide
Pro Tour Venice - Champion
Pre-Scourge
10 Plains
9 Mountains
4 Forgotten Cave
4 Secluded Steppe
2 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Exalted Angel
2 Jareth, Leonine Titan
2 Daru Sanctifier
4 Lightning Rift
4 Astral Slide
4 Akroma's Blessing
3 Renewed Faith
4 Starstorm
4 Akroma's Vengeance
Sideboard:
4 Avarax
3 Demystify
3 Disciple of Grace
2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Oblation
2 Gempalm Incinerator
I have it on good authority that the board Disciples of Grace should have been Pacifisms. This was pre-Zombies, however, so who knows? White Knights are another possibility.
I still think this is THE deck to beat, along with Goblins and Zombies. In a format where islands are weak, this Aggro-Control deck leaning to the Control side is the closest thing we have to "Control," barring one of you abusing Control White or BW Control, with or without Clerics.
As far as its enemies go:
Stabilizer? Sure, it hurts, but the deck will change to have cycling cards that are better if they need to be hardcast, AND it mains Akroma's Vengeance. And besides, Stabilzer is a sideboard card.
Sulfuric Vortex? Ouch. So Exalteds can't gain life. They can still inflict 4 damage per swing. And "the lovely" Akroma, Angel of Wrath couldn't care less. And the deck sports two Sactifiers and Demystifys side.
So sure, the deck takes a bit of a hit, post Scourge. The question is, do the gains outweigh the losses? Maybe not, but the deck is still strong, and I predict many of the better players to play it. And bad players who shamelessly netdeck Champions' decks without knowing how to play them. Well, what the heck. Thank God for the first three rounds. There can't be good players without bad players.
So, what does the deck gain? Decree of Annihilation? Is that playable? Was Epicenter? What else?
This deck's natural enemy was B/G Patriarch's Bidding decks, and to a certain extent, Beasts. Bidding placed ZERO decks in the top Eight at Venice. Indeed, the only swamps were in the 3-color Vegetation deck. Bidding has been replaced by Zombies as a better version, anyway. Maindeck Biddings if you wish, but I'll side them, because yes, they hurt this deck quite a bit, and are rather useless vs Tribal decks, as you can't always be certain of drawing your Withered Wretches, or having the mana to abuse them if you do, before you die horribly.
Beasts? Beasts is funky. I love the deck. We'll see if it can overcome two certain Warchiefs I'm thinking of. It gains a Warchief, itself. Should be a good fight all around. This Block is extremely balanced; lots of good fights ahead.
IMO as always,
Rakamir
Astral Slide
Pro Tour Venice - Champion
Pre-Scourge
10 Plains
9 Mountains
4 Forgotten Cave
4 Secluded Steppe
2 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Exalted Angel
2 Jareth, Leonine Titan
2 Daru Sanctifier
4 Lightning Rift
4 Astral Slide
4 Akroma's Blessing
3 Renewed Faith
4 Starstorm
4 Akroma's Vengeance
Sideboard:
4 Avarax
3 Demystify
3 Disciple of Grace
2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Oblation
2 Gempalm Incinerator
I have it on good authority that the board Disciples of Grace should have been Pacifisms. This was pre-Zombies, however, so who knows? White Knights are another possibility.
I still think this is THE deck to beat, along with Goblins and Zombies. In a format where islands are weak, this Aggro-Control deck leaning to the Control side is the closest thing we have to "Control," barring one of you abusing Control White or BW Control, with or without Clerics.
As far as its enemies go:
Stabilizer? Sure, it hurts, but the deck will change to have cycling cards that are better if they need to be hardcast, AND it mains Akroma's Vengeance. And besides, Stabilzer is a sideboard card.
Sulfuric Vortex? Ouch. So Exalteds can't gain life. They can still inflict 4 damage per swing. And "the lovely" Akroma, Angel of Wrath couldn't care less. And the deck sports two Sactifiers and Demystifys side.
So sure, the deck takes a bit of a hit, post Scourge. The question is, do the gains outweigh the losses? Maybe not, but the deck is still strong, and I predict many of the better players to play it. And bad players who shamelessly netdeck Champions' decks without knowing how to play them. Well, what the heck. Thank God for the first three rounds. There can't be good players without bad players.
So, what does the deck gain? Decree of Annihilation? Is that playable? Was Epicenter? What else?
This deck's natural enemy was B/G Patriarch's Bidding decks, and to a certain extent, Beasts. Bidding placed ZERO decks in the top Eight at Venice. Indeed, the only swamps were in the 3-color Vegetation deck. Bidding has been replaced by Zombies as a better version, anyway. Maindeck Biddings if you wish, but I'll side them, because yes, they hurt this deck quite a bit, and are rather useless vs Tribal decks, as you can't always be certain of drawing your Withered Wretches, or having the mana to abuse them if you do, before you die horribly.
Beasts? Beasts is funky. I love the deck. We'll see if it can overcome two certain Warchiefs I'm thinking of. It gains a Warchief, itself. Should be a good fight all around. This Block is extremely balanced; lots of good fights ahead.
IMO as always,
Rakamir
