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Green Red Ramp Standard Deck Tech

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Spencer goes over his latest list for Green Red Ramp and talks about some of his card choices.

4 World Breaker
4 Druid of the Cowl
1 Ulvenwald Hydra
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
2 Shefet Monitor
3 Oath of Nissa
3 Kozilek’s Return
4 Abrade
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Incendiary Flow
4 Hour of Promise
4 Beneath the Sands
4 Game Trail
3 Sheltered Thicket
1 Ramunap Ruins
4 Hashep Oasis
4 Forest
1 Sanctum of Ugin
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
3 Mountain

SB: 4 Tireless Tracker
SB: 2 Manglehorn
SB: 2 Arborback Stomper
SB: 3 Magma Spray
SB: 2 Nissa, Vital Force
SB: 2 Hour of Devastation

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Limited Time Only 65: Hour of Devastation Uncommon Set Review

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Spencer and Danny give grades to each uncommon in Hour of Devastation during their Uncommon Set Review.

Follow Spencer on Twitter at: @Spencer13H
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What We’d Play: 01/27

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Spencer is continuing to play Temur black in standard and is using Kalitas to improve the Rally matchup. A deck that can be very aggressive while still applying critical disruption to your opponent’s plan. This is a well rounded deck suited for a diverse meta.


3 Den Protector
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Smoldering Marsh
2 Lumbering Falls
2 Forest
2 Murderous Cut
3 Crater’s Claws
2 Sarkhan Unbroken
4 Savage Knuckleblade
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Frontier Bivouac
2 Mountain
1 Island
2 Cinder Glade
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Swamp
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
SB: 1 Virulent Plague
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 2 Self-Inflicted Wound
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 2 Painful Truths
SB: 1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

 

 

Manny brings to us a Modern deck he collaborated with fan of the show Roger Bulmer on.Very much inspired by the traditional G/B rock decks but still playing blue for counter magic and everyone’s favorite prodigy this is a deck that can attack from multiple angles and provide a great deal of interaction against of the full gauntlet of Modern decks.

4 Tarmogoyf
2 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
4 Serum Visions
2 Mana Leak
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Painful Truths
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Damnation
1 Murderous Cut
1 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Twilight Mire
2 Watery Grave
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Overgrown Tomb
2 Swamp
3 Polluted Delta
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Dismember
1 Thragtusk
SB: 1 Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 Spellskite
SB: 1 Painful Truths
SB: 1 Sultai Charm
SB: 2 Fulminator Mage
SB: 1 Damnation
SB: 1 Glen Elendra Archmage
SB: 1 Thrun, the Last Troll
SB: 2 Creeping Corrosion
SB: 1 Thragtusk
SB: 2 Feed the Clan

 

Casey would play a small variation of the Gerry Thompson’s Jeskai Black deck. A deck very well suited to taking on the control role against most decks backed by the exciting power of Chandra, Flamecaller and Monastery Mentor as finishers.

3 Monastery Mentor
2 Soulfire Grand Master
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
2 Chandra, Flamecaller
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Canopy Vista
2 Flooded Strand
2 Mystic Monastery
4 Polluted Delta
1 Prairie Stream
1 Shambling Vent
2 Smoldering Marsh
1 Sunken Hollow
2 Wandering Fumarole
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Crackling Doom
2 Disdainful Stroke
4 Fiery Impulse
2 Murderous Cut
2 Duress
3 Painful Truths
2 Roast
3 Treasure Cruise
1Utter End
SB: 2 Dispel
SB: 3 Negate
SB: 1 Utter End
SB: 1 Linvala, the Preserver
SB: 1 Chandra, Flamecaller
SB: 2 Infinite Obliteration
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Roast

Wizards’ New Proxy Policy

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In case you haven’t heard, Wizards of the Coast has recently changed (or has gotten uppity) about their Policy regarding local shops running Unsanctioned Tournaments allowing Proxies as seen here http://imgur.com/PRTcbPg  when this became known to the general player community Wizards Community Manager Trick Jarret posted this https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/40kdsz/wizards_may_be_cracking_down_on_unsanctioned/cyvzi9d comment on Reddit


While I understand Wizards’ policy on not allowing proxy/counterfeit cards in sanctioned tournaments, threatening the WPN status of stores who allow them in unsanctioned tournaments is against their best interests.


Through listening to numerous podcasts, reading various articles and keeping abreast of Twitter, I’ve heard of many shops that happen to host unsanctioned legacy or vintage tournaments where they allow players to use up to between 6-12 proxy cards in their deck, this is between 10 to 20 percent of the main deck. The reasons these shops allow the proxy cards is several.  Firstly these stores would not have enough players to fire an event without allowing proxy cards.  Secondly as these decks are very expensive, it allows those players who are acquiring their deck one card at a time to play with them when they are almost complete and often they leave the most expensive cards till last which take them the longest to afford.  Thirdly it allows players to alter their decks and test changes without having to make a large (and sometimes unfruitful) purchase first.  Lastly these tournaments are a great way to get players to invest in these expensive singles that local shops make profits off of buying and selling.

Now one might argue that this is unfair to those who have spent the money to buy their entire decks, and that is true, but what is more unfair is to spend $2000 or more on a Legacy deck ten times that for a Vintage deck and have no one to play against. Eternal format players will almost universally chose to playing against someone using a few proxies if it means they get to play the game they love if the other options is the deck sits collecting dust. 


Now I’m close friends with a couple of shop owners and have heard interviews of several others, and one common thing is that they don’t just go running tournaments (of any game system) just because.  They only begin to run them when players suggest to them to do so. Game stores are nothing if not supply to meet a demand and what Wizards is doing is trying to command stores not to meet that demand. If the store felt it could get more people by just hosting another Standard/Modern/Limited tournament, I’m sure they would just do that instead.


What I don’t understand is why Wizards doesn’t seem to see why these tournaments are good for them.  When stores run tournaments they almost always collect some sort of entry fee and give out some sort of prize. That prize is either going to come in the form of New Magic product or sometimes store credit, but usually Wizards is profiting from this and the local store is always profiting from this.  When game stores that sell Magic product stay open it is good for Magic.  When people come in to the store and see other people playing magic (even more so in a tournament setting) it is an opportunity for them to learn more about the game and a chance for the players or store owner to get a new player playing the game. Game research has shown that the best way to get people to play is to sit them down and teach them to play.  You could hand them free product and it will sit unopened in their closet if they aren’t taught to play.  Magic is sold in big box retailers like Target and Walmart but they product doesn’t move nearly the way it does at local game stores. This is because game stores offer discounts on product (even if it is only covering the tax) and provide players with a place to play and meet up.  So Wizards needs to be supportive of things that actively profit game stores.

Now we need to be careful here.  If stores are too lax with proxy policy then people won’t be buying Magic product, but this shouldn’t be a problem, here’s why.  First, the stores themselves still need to make a profit, if the stores aren’t selling cards they aren’t going to profit and therefore stay open.  Secondly players want promos that FNMs and Prereleases offer and that can only come from sanctioned tournaments.

Speaking of sanctioned tournaments Helene Bergeot tweeted today they they are looking a ways to support all formats, the problem with this is that Wizards support is just a few Legacy GPs a year and Eternal Weekend.  Allowing stores to run unsanctioned tourneys with a few proxy cards and say only having them be cards on the reserve list would go a long way to support the formats.  When people have 80-90% of a deck and a big tournament like a GP or SCG classic the players are going to be much more likely to finish their deck so that they can go play in the big tournament that they have been able to practice for.  Wizards says they are supporting these eternal formats, but if they follow through with this then when someone decides to cash out of Legacy/Vintage they will be less people waiting to buy those cards off of them.

-Matt

Note from Constructed Criticism: While we may not agree with all things said by Matt we always want to be available for members of the Constructed Criticism community to voice their opinions. Thanks for reading!

The Subtleties of Green (Raptor Decks)

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Last year in magic their was a deck called GR Dragons that took a few events by storm. The deck was a Green Red aggressive deck that looked something like this.

Creatures (30)
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Heir of the Wilds
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Thunderbreak Regent
4 Boon Satyr
3 Surrak, the Hunt Caller

Lands (23)
6 Forest
6 Mountain
2 Mana Confluence
1 Rugged Highlands
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills

Spells (7)
2 Draconic Roar
4 Crater’s Claws
1 Roast

Sideboard
3 Hornet Nest
3 Destructive Revelry
3 Wild Slash
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Roast

Immediately I was surrounded by people asking me what I thought of the deck and very shortly after that they were asking why I wasn’t playing the deck. Calling this a “Spencer Deck”

The answer to these questions are quite simple. I don’t like this style of deck. Lets take a look at decks that I personally have advocated and had success with and see the subtle differences in my style of green decks.

Lets start with one of my favorites. This is a deck from RTR standard that made me a little bit of money on the SCG and Utah Open circuits, and the deck that I top 4’d the first RPTQ with.

Gruuls Gone Wild by Spencer Howland

Creatures 27
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Voyaging Satyr
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Polukranos, the World Eater
3 Courser of Kruphix
2 Xenagos, God of Revels

Spells 2
2 Clan Defiance

Planeswalkers 8
3 Domri Rade
3 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2 Xenagos, the Reveler

Lands 23
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Stomping Grounds
4 Temple of Abandon
3 Mountain
8 Forest

Sideboard
3 Nylea’s Disciple
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Gruul Charm
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
3 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Destructive Revelry

RUG Midrange by Spencer Howland

Creatures 17
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Icefall Regent
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Savage Knuckleblade
2 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Sylvan Caryatid

Planeswalkers 5
3 Sarkhan Unbroken
2 Xenagos, the Reveler

Spells 14
2 Anticipate
3 Crater’s Claws
2 Dig Through Time
2 Lightning Strike
2 Roast
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Twin Bolt

Lands 24
3 Temple of Abandon
2 Forest
4 Frontier Bivouac
1 Island
2 Mountain
3 Shivan Reef
1 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Mystery
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Yavimaya Coast

1 Destructive Revelry
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Magma Spray
2 Negate
1 Outpost Siege
3 Seismic Rupture
2 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Xenagos, the Reveler

Looking at these decks you might be thinking how similar they look to the GR Dragons deck. You play some mana guys to ramp into big guys and win. But that isn’t really the identity of these decks. The GR Dragons deck will win only by ramping into a threat and having their guys be a little bigger. This is only part of the reason I like these other decks but it is missing the key piece.

Card advantage is one of my favorite things in magic. And why wouldn’t it be I like to win and you can win a lot of games if you have more cards than your opponents. The problem is in Green you don’t always get the most awesome card draw. You often have to create your card advantage without those draw spells. Cards like Vengvine and Bloodbraid Elf do this in very powerful ways.

In this standard we have seen Deathmist Raptor and Den Protector join forces from week one to create that card advantage you so desperately need from your green decks.

With that being said. GW Megamorph is boring. You need sweet decks to keep you going in this standard format so I have brewed and tested a few decks to see how they play out and I found some decks that I think you could have fun with at your FNM PPTQ level and even some that I think are actually good enough to win your next RPTQ.

Lets start with an old favorite that I played a few matches with and have really enjoyed in my time.

Jund Raptor

4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
2 Kolaghan’s Command
3 Crater’s Claws
1 Ultimate Price
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Murderous Cut
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Roast
2 Catacomb Sifter
2 Despise
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Cinder Glade
2 Smoldering Marsh
1 Swamp
3 Forest
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Mountain
2 Blighted Fen
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Jungle Hollow
1 Evolving Wilds
3 Woodland Wanderer
SB: 2 Outpost Siege
SB: 2 Whisperwood Elemental
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 4 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Read the Bones
SB: 1 Plummet
SB: 2 Fiery Impulse

I really enjoyed what I saw from this deck. It played out just like you want an aggressive mindrange deck to play out. It can easily pivot between control and aggro depending on what you are facing and just like the GW Megamorph deck can really grind out the control decks. Except I think that the shell of Morphs in this deck is actually better in the metagame than the typical Den Protector/Raptor/1 of Slayer that we see form so many GW decks.

BUG Raptor

4 Sultai Charm
4 Deathmist Raptor
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Ultimate Price
3 Den Protector
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Murderous Cut
3 Reave Soul
2 Ruinous Path
2 Treasure Cruise
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
4 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
3 Lumbering Falls
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Island
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Canopy Vista
2 Flooded Strand
2 Llanowar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
SB: 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
SB: 1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
SB: 3 Duress
SB: 2 Read the Bones
SB: 4 Jaddi Offshoot
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke

If there is any one thing all magic players as a whole like, it is when our decks have a lot of natural synergies. This deck probably has the most of any deck I am going to be posting. It feels like every card in this deck has a synergy with another in the deck. It feels great when those synergies come together for a thing of beauty.

Some would even say a deck like this is all I want int the world. This deck is card advantage central with a bit of blue to make it even sweeter.

Sultai Charm goes with Tasigur, Raptor, Den Protector and Jace. Jace does the same for the others. Ratttleclaw gets you to your Sidisi early or is a late game morph to get your r|Raptors back. Sidsi puts Raptors and spells into your yard for your Tasigurs and Den Protectors. It is really a thing of beauty when you look at it.

Abzan Raptor

2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
4 Abzan Charm
3 Languish
1 Ultimate Price
2 Dromoka’s Command
3 Hangarback Walker
4 Siege Rhino
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
2 Ruinous Path
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Shambling Vent
2 Canopy Vista
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Caves of Koilos
1 Blighted Fen
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Murderous Cut
SB: 2 Valorous Stance
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 4 Arashin Cleric
SB: 3 Surge of Righteousness
SB: 2 Self-Inflicted Wound
SB: 1 Mastery of the Unseen
SB: 1 Read the Bones

All of these other GW decks playing Raptor are just really missing out not playing Abzan Charm and Siege Rhino. You are favored against other Megamorph decks with this as well as just probably being the most robust Abzan deck against those.

I really don’t know the reason to play the other versions of Abzan over this. Raptor gives you an advantage that Anafenza just doesn’t give you. The list is much more controlling than typical Abzan deck we are seeing now that is very reminiscent of the Alara Jund decks (very aggressive for midrange creating card advantage in interesting ways.) This deck is on my short list for decks I would consider playing at my next Comp REL event.

RUG Raptors

4 Savage Knuckleblade
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Den Protector
2 Sarkhan Unbroken
4 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Crater’s Claws
3 Wild Slash
2 Roast
3 Stubborn Denial
4 Deathmist Raptor
2 Mountain
4 Frontier Bivouac
2 Lumbering Falls
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Cinder Glade
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Shivan Reef
1 Prairie Stream
2 Windswept Heath
3 Forest
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Hangarback Walker
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 2 Whisperwood Elemental
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 2 Outpost Siege
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Fiery Impulse
SB: 2 Encase in Ice

With current record of 26-1-3 with this deck I am absolutely in love with the deck. I don’t know if this deck just fits my play style or if it actually great. The card advantage you get from Ashcloud Phoenix plus Raptor is too much for Abzan to overcome.

Ashcloud might actually just be the key card in the deck. It has been great in every matchup. It is your best blocker against aggro and it flying helps it against both Abzan and Jeskai. Obviously this deck is a nightmare on paper for control decks and that doesn’t really change once you get to the actual game play.

Many games end out of nowhere for your opponent. They will be at a very high life total and you will make attacks and they won’t see the Crater’s Claws coming that will be their downfall. It is hard for them to play around the card because this deck controls the board so well with flying, deathtouch, and just overall large guys.

Another to note with this deck is most of the changes have happened to help you in game one of the aggro matchups. It is very easy for them to get under you if you don’t draw a Phoenix or a Savage Knucklebalde. You need both Nissa and Hangerback to act as fodder for your life total to stay high while you draw into your big guys.

This is the deck I am most likely to play at my next event given my time playing the deck. However I do believe that each of these decks are sweet and if you have the means I recommend trying out the greatness you can get from green decks that you can really only appreciate by playing them.

Creating your own card advantage can give you a feeling of success in itself. Making you feel like you have solved a puzzle to get up that card and grinding that advantage out and watching as your opponent slowly falls behind as you pull ahead from your own discussion making and deck building.

That is all I have for this week. Hope you guys enjoy the decks. Make the green choice everyone. It is good for the enviroment.

Spencer Howland
Owner of and Producer of Constructed Criticism and Limited Time Only
Twitter: @spencer13h
Facebook: Spencer Stephen Howland