Greets everyone!
One year has passed and I am none-the-wiser! It might be argued that I have actually gotten worse as far as Magical prowess goes, but the sad state of Kool, Inc. is not our topic!
Our precious focus is:
Another Month of Testing (Standard Singleton Flavored)
As it’s been stated, Standard Singleton doesn’t have the deepest of card pools. Most archetypes are like the Arena format where you got a Preconstructed Theme Deck and added a handful of cards of your choosing. Basically, this shallowness means that you won’t see much change in this Month’s actual lists- sorry!
Before I divulge all of my secrets, for anyone that missed it, here’s the last month’s content!
Video One: Blue-White-Red Star-Spangled Slaughter
Video Two: Green-White Tokens
Video Three: Blue-White-Black Sphinxter
And we’re off!
MONTH THREE SUMMARY — Red-White-Blue Control, Green-White Token Aggro, & Esper Control
Star-Spangled Slaughter
Click the arrow to download the above deck in .txt formatThe stars aligned (pun intended) for this deck since our last highlighted victory- Snuffleupogus secured a 1st place victory in the January 9, 2010 Weekend Challenge. Congrats!
My experience playing SSS were mixed. The deck felt a lot tighter (probably due to the increased focus on the early game) than Esper, but I missed the plethora of pain bringing (also known as the many wincons of Esper). Beyond that one complaint, I loved creature control that Blue-White-Red has- especially the “modal” function of the Red removal (when I just chuck it at the other player or their Planeswalker).
The deck’s primary problems were (a) noncreature, non-Planeswalker permanents that resolve (but sometimes even the ‘Walkers give you fits), (b) a ton of dead draws against Control mirrors (although you have plenty of removal for threats that you can actually target), (c) awkward mana, and (d) regenerators.
Pre-Sideboard, SSS has little answers to resolved enchantments, artifacts, and Planeswalkers. (You only have Oblivion Ring or Into the Roil into… counter-magic for enchantments and artifacts.) Occasionally, you will just burn out the ‘Walkers, but when you can’t, they are a titanic thorn (usually until you’re dead…) Try to save your counter-magic for these cards as well as annoying CIP effects or creatures like Ranger of Eos and the annoying regenerator types.
Game 1 cards that are bad in the Control mirror aren’t that huge of an issue- only for the fact the other Control deck has the same damn issue! But you can lose if you draw a lot of spot removal and your oppo draws an obscene amount of cards and lays Planeswalker after Planeswalker, all the while sitting with a fist full of spells reading “counter target blah blah blah.” And if push comes to shove, you can always discard useless spells to Blightning or Liliana Vess (b-b-bonus)!
Ugh, now on to a real issue- the mana problem. If a Standard Shard-based deck (Jund) has trouble getting operations up and running, just imagine how a non-Shard three color deck might play out. The primary issue with the mana is a glut of spells requiring two-to-three colored mana. I had a few games where I was missing a vital Blue or Red source to play game-altering spells. Sadly, the deck has too many vital spells that are UU, WW or RR to really attempt minimizing one of the colors (which reminds me of Invasion Block drafting for some reason… back on task now).
I also noticed the regeneration problem in the Esper deck matches, but I’ll focus on it here. A resolved River Boa or Cudgel Troll (or their big bro Thornling) can only be killed by three cards if the Green player is careful. These cards are mostly counter at all costs (unless you have a Mind Control to steal one, a Baneslayer to race one, or the random Obelisk of Alara).
To wrap things up, the Sideboard is now slightly different. I haven’t felt out the exact plans for all matchups, but here is my general grouping for different strategies (but I don’t always bring in every card):
- Aggro with Red- Vedalken Outlander, Intimidation Bolt, Wall of Reverence
- Aggro- Magma Spray, Pitfall Trap, Offering to Asha
- Decks with a decent amount of Black and Red- Swerve, Celestial Purge
- Decks with a decent amount of enchantments and artifacts- Kor Sanctifiers, Solemn Offering
- Control- Luminarch Ascension, Merfolk Looter, Scepter of Insight, Telemin Performance, Bogardan Hellkite
Sideboarding in Standard Singleton is more like tuning your deck than bringing in hate cards. Some of the cards (like the Disenchant effects) can be dead draws, so make sure they you need what you’re bringing in to improve your matchup. Also, it is usually worth switching cards based on if you are playing or drawing first.
Very nice article Mr. Cool. I like the thorough analysis of the sideboard options and the strength and weaknesses of each deck. Will make sure to download them and maybe try my luck in a PE; eventually with additional Worldwake power!
Now that Worldwake spoilers are completed, which cards are you most eager to try in your Green-White token deck?
Okay, my initial thoughts are:
-Elite Vanguard, +Loam Lion; The Loam Lion is just more powerful.
-Wild Nacatl, +Arbor Elf; I like to ramp my mana. I will tweak the mana base to reflect the increased Forest requirement.
-Kor Skyfisher, +Stoneforge Mystic; Flying is wonderful, but Skyfisher is a bad drop on Turn 2. I don’t think that this guy warrants inclusion of equipment beyond Behemoth Sledge- the sledge’s power level is far beyond all other Std equipment cards. I really like this guy for the subtle card advantage.
-World Queller, +Wolfbriar Elemental; The Elemental fits the theme of the deck AND increases in power level over time. He can even be a 4/4 chump for 4 mana if needed. Love the flexibility!
The mana base gains Stirring Wildwood and Tectonic Edge. I think the correct course of action is to remove 2 Plains for the previously mentioned lands. I would like to play one of the new enters tapped common lands, but I don’t think it’s worth slowing down the deck even more. I have also considered dropping Jungle Shrine and/or Seaside Citadel for Panoramas.
For the sideboard, I’m adding Kor Firewalker against Jund, RDW and any other deck sporting Mountains en masse (possibly even Grixis). I am also going to sideboard Marshals Anthem to test it in place of Overrun versus Control. Right now, I am planning on taking out White Knight and Day of Judgment… but this will probably change as I get a better idea on what I should add agains the different popular matchups.