Rogue Classic
So how does this lead into Classic? Well I was playing Vroman Oath and was caught completely by surprise with maindecked, turn one Game 1 Sadistic Sacrament. My opponent took Iona, Time Vault, and Yawgmoth’s Will. Brutal! I lost to Dark Confidant and then Tombstalker beatdown.
I knew Sadistic Sacrament was a sideboard option, but didn’t realize that there was an archetype build around it – so I looked this one up and here’s roughly what I found:
Vintage Suicide Black
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Click the arrow to download the above deck in .txt formatSuicide Black with a full playset of maindecked Sadistic Sacrament and Null Rod, hybridized with a Dark Depths/Hexmage combo. Pretty exciting! Now, Null Rod isn’t nearly as important in Classic as it is in Vintage – but it probably will be someday. I’m not sure if this archetype’s time has come yet – but here’s a version that you could try in Classic:
Classic Suicide Black by spg
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Click the arrow to download the above deck in .txt formatThis list is built for speed, looking to resolve something serious on the first turn with a bunch of Lotus Petals and Rituals. Duress, Thoughtseize, and Sacrament disrupt your opponent’s gameplan. Dark Confidant and Nights Whisper refills your hand. Sadistic Sacrament is currently more powerful in the Vintage metagame than it is in Classic, although this will likely change over time. There are some decks in Classic that take a Sacrament very hard… but some in the metagame can shrug it off without an issue – Merfolk, Zoo, Goblins, etc. I’m not saying that this deck is the next hot thing, but it’s a cool one to keep an eye on moving forward!
Not Just the Top 8
Last weekend I joined the Classic PE basically just because I wanted to see it fire. I played Merfolk instead of Oath, thanks to clicking on the wrong deck! I ended up going 3-2 drop, which is really unsatisfying. After dropping from the tournament, I gave a quick replay through every player and compiled a quick list of the deck archetype breakdown. This isn’t an exact science, and is just a quick rundown of my notes… but I thought it might be interesting since it’s a lot easier to get information on Class top 8s than it is to get information on the full field.
Just note that these are not exact, I’m definitely missing subtleties, and I may have been overzealous in my grouping of decks. It’s still a valuable list!
Decks represented in the last Classic PE
Oath 7
Pox/Rock 5
Merfolk 4
Tendrils/Combo 3
Dredge 2
Bant 2
Goblins 1
Zoo 1
Hulk Flash 1
Burn 1
UB Control 1
This isn’t every deck in the event, but it’s a decent representation of the deck breakdown of one PE.
MTGO Hotkeys
Earlier this week I was playing an Oath v Oath mirror match, and doing my slow control thing. I ended up winning, but with only 0:14 left on the clock! If I wasn’t familiar with the Magic Online keyboard shortcuts, then I definitely would have lost.
Here’s a quick refresher:
F2 - The same as clicking OK.
F3 – Removes any auto yields, undoes F4/F6/F8, brings things back to normal.
F4 – Auto yields for the rest of the current turn, as long as the stack is empty.
F6 – Auto yields for the rest of the current turn, even if something goes on the stack.
F7- Auto yields to multiple triggered effects from one source.
F8 – Auto yields for the rest of the game, only when you have no possible actions
F9 – The same as clicking ‘Yes’.
F10 – The same as clicking ‘No’.
The Academy’s own progenitor, Marin Baraba (AKA: Plejades) is actually finishing up what he has tentatively titled: “Cracking the Code.” This will be a compiled list of every important communication code, function, and feature the game has to offer. Check back this Sunday for the article in question!
Focus
I know I’ve talked about this before, but always remember Finkel’s Law: “focus only on what matters.” This is important in Magic, and in life. Think about it!
Until Next Time
I hope you guys enjoyed at least some part of today’s article. Hopefully there’s something in there for every Classic player. Take it easy guys, and thanks for reading!
Steve Gargolinski
spgmtg@gmail.com
twitter.com/spgmtg
I think this is my fav article of yours! Random info bursts: GO!
I agree that Classic is heading towards a worst of both worlds scenario. Classic is allowed to play 4 of too many cards. Legacy won’t allow you play Bazaar of Baghdad, Black Vise, Goblin Recruiter, or Oath of Druids. And Vintage won’t allow you play 4x Brainstorm, 4x Burning Wish, 4x Gifts Ungiven, 4x Lion’s Eye Diamond, 4x Lotus Petal, 4x Mystical Tutor, or 4x Trinisphere. But in Classic all of those cards are totally free! What is it saying about the format that no one is taking advantage of anything except Bazaar or Oath? We have a lot of nearly viable Legacy decks such as Goblins, storm combo, and your reanimator deck, which are 300% more powerful than they should be, but yet they still can’t compete. No one’s playing Land Tax! It’s so sick. Gush is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage, but you can run four in Classic! Minds Desire is free, too. Want to build a Mind’s Desire deck with 1x Mana Crypt, 1x Demonic Tutor, 1x Vampiric Tutor, and four of everything else you should have only 1 copy of? Go nuts! You won’t beat Dredge.
So even though I just complained about it, your Oath deck looks really cool. I love highly modular decks. Besides Oath you’ve got an ‘accidental’ Tinker victory, a copy Balance to tutor for, and 3 land destruction lands + Thoughtseize. Not that is special to your build or anything. Just saying.
I wrote “OK”, “Wait?”, and “Done?” on masking tape and stuck it next to my F2-F4 keys. It’ll help me remember. Thank you mentioning those.
Don’t forget there’s a page 2 everyone!
The deck lists where not formated correctly for the deck editor. It is fixed now!
Steve, you stole my thunder. I have several builds of the sad sac deck on modo and i’ll just say that although sad sac is 100% awesome against oath, it doesn’t cut the mustard in classic yet. Try going down to 2 copies and more targeted discard. The discard and the tutors will help you find it in time.
Looking forward to “Cracking the Code” – I’ve recently come to realize that there is a fair amount I have never explored fully.
It’s def a pretty information rich beam of awesomeness!
whiffy -
I’m looking forward to see what you came up with for the Sadistic Sacrament deck. I just couldn’t make it work out… it just didn’t seem like the deck’s time had come – just too many clunky draws and decks that don’t care so much about Sadistic Sacrament.
Even against Oath a resolved Sacrament isn’t totally game over. Often Oath decks can move up to four total Oath targets after sideboarding… and even if they don’t then it’s not the end. I got hit with Sacrament earlier today from Storm Combo in a 2-man, but won via control with Mana Crypt in play.
Also what do you mean by “more targeted discard”? I’ve got 4x Duress and 4x Thoughtseize in there. Cabal Therapy?