Five With Flores

Just a quick update to the Junk Mana Ramp deck… Now with Celestial Purge (and Putrid Leech… You know, like everybody else).

Junk Mana Ramp v. 3.0

4 Grim Discovery
4 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
2 Sorin Markov

4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Putrid Leech

4 Lotus Cobra

4 Baneslayer Angel
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Path to Exile

1 Graypelt Refuge
4 Forest
4 Marsh Flats
4 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Verdant Catacombs

sb:
4 Doom Blade
4 Mind Shatter
2 Sorin Markov
4 Celestial Purge
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Just a quick update on this one. I took out Thornling (even though he has been pretty good) for some of the reasons brought up by wobblesthegoose in the comments of How to Play With Marsh Flats. Essentially the deck only needs one Green mana source to operate (though it does need that initial Green)… Except when you consider Thornling. Thornling is very Green mana hungry, but the rest of the deck is pretty Black mana hungry (you actually need three of the four Swamps in play most games), not to mention needing two White sources in play for Baneslayer Angel.

The randomest cards are / were Behemoth Sledge (one-of plus one-of) which actually didn’t do enough in matches where the opponent could Lightning Bolt all your jones (which is ironically often the kind of match where the second copy went in) and Mind Shatter. Mind Shatter remains awesome, but you will often lose game one when you draw it if the opponent is faster than you are. Mind Shatter is more the kind of card that pre-empts a more controlling deck’s Cruel Ultimatum or messes up their ability to hit land drops when they are tapped for a Planeswalker. It’s not unconditionally good despite being unconditional card advantage.

All those came out for Putrid Leech (about as fine a man as you can get for a two-drop Zombie Leech).

The sideboard saw significant changes. Mind Shatter shifted from main to side as a new Game Two four-of (potentially) against more controlling decks, or decks with a significant Cascade component.

The biggest shift–at least in this test version–was moving away from Summoning Trap (which has yet to materialize for me, or even get cast despite my keeping double Summoning Trap hands against Counterspell decks) to Celestial Purge. The inspiration for moving to Celestial Purge came at a loss tonight to Ajani Vengeant. I had just spent a Maelstron Pulse relatively well, but then he had that best of Planeswalkers (one of the Ajanis probably is, anyway)… and whittled at my options over and over. I really need another card to deal with these kinds of permanents, I thought. It turns out that Celestial Purge is a Doom blade of sorts against the Red Decks (gain seven or whatever), and as pointed out by Alfrebaut, is really good Sprouting Thrinax suppression.

So there you have the current test version; it’s actually winning less than the previous ones, but not on account of any of the new cards (or the old ones missing, I think)… So I think it will have more potential to be better.

Have fun playing second turn Lotus Cobra!

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone First U.S. Edition 1st Printing (Bella and I are almost done!)

Just what it sounds like… How to play with Marsh Flats in the Junk Mana Ramp Deck.

What is the Junk Mana Ramp Deck?

1 Behemoth Sledge

4 Grim Discovery
2 Mind Shatter
4 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
2 Sorin Markov

4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Lotus Cobra
1 Thornling

4 Baneslayer Angel
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Path to Exile

1 Graypelt Refuge
4 Forest
4 Marsh Flats
4 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Verdant Catacombs

sb:
1 Behemoth Sledge
4 Doom Blade
2 Mind Shatter
2 Sorin Markov
1 Filigree Fracture
4 Summoning Trap
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

The short story: This deck is excellent.

It doesn’t play Blightning, but other than that, I don’t know what kind of shots you can take against it. It has been playing superbly for me against everything; as much as I hate to admit this, it has a much better batting average than Black Baneslayer.

I guess the shot you can take against it is that this deck is all rares and mythics, making it super cost prohibitive for some players.

The deck plays three different game plans, all extremely potent.

The first is a Lotus Cobra based plan. Basically, you play Lotus Cobra and cross your fingers; if you untap with it, you can usually demolish your opponent. Typical turn three plays include Baneslayer Angel and an initially unimpressive Ob Nixilis, the Fallen. However in concert with one another, multiple Lotus Cobra activations can be truly disgusting. Consider…

• Turn Two: Lotus Cobra
• Turn Three: Marsh Flats (adding W), sacrifice Marsh Flats for Swamp (adding W), Baneslayer Angel.
• Turn Four: Marsh Flats (adding B), sacrifice Marsh Flats for Swamp (adding B), Sorin Markov; put the opponent on 10, attack for 5-7… Unless the opponent has a Planar Cleansing, he is most likely dead to something on the battlefield already… Maybe even just the Cobra.

I generally dislike playing Maelstrom Pulse main deck (in Black Baneslayer I like to play it in the sideboard against attack oriented decks or Howling Mines), but it has been pretty good in this deck; without Red mana access, this deck needs something, and Maelstrom Pulse is the best candidate.

The second major plan is operating as a high quality creature deck; you can play Ob Nixilis on the third turn with Lotus Cobra, but that is often dangerous (unless you have a backup Ob Nixilis or the opponent has only shown Green or White mana); in this deck Ob Nixilis can just kill the opponent if you untap with it. There are eight Marsh Flats and Verdant Catacombs, and if you have Knight of the Reliquary on the battlefield, they are probably just dead if you have a removal spell (or maybe you don’t even need one).

You have solid resource management capabilities in the Junk Mana Ramp deck due to Grim Discovery, which is simply one of the best cards in Zendikar (considering the fact that Marsh Flats is a Ball Lightning in this deck).

The advantage Junk Mana Ramp has over the updated Jund Mana Ramp is that instead of going to six mana for Broodmate Dragon and Rampaging Baloths, this deck has the best fives; eight of them. It’s not like I need to sell you on Baneslayer Angel.

But the card that is something special in this deck is Knight of the Reliquary. I noticed in the Pro Tour Austin Coverage how popular Knight of the Reliquary was in Ben’s and Brian’s Zoo deck, Ikeda’s Zoo deck, lots of Zoo decks… Probably it is good enough for Standard!

I found it excellent.

One of the important things I learned about playing with Knight of the Reliquary is how to properly manage my Marsh Flats. Maybe this is old hat to you but it took me a couple of games to realize that I should be getting Marsh Flats instead of basic Plains when using the Knight’s special ability… Just +1/+1 and possibly important Landfall triggers.

When Knight of the Reliquary and Lotus Cobra link arms, it is a mana and power (and power level) explosion!

The last plan, which is a plan you will most often execute against Vampires and control decks, is Planeswalker lock, specifically winning with Sorin Markov. If you haven’t played with Sorin yet… Do it. This is a card I started to take more seriously after seeing @conley81’s Pro Tour Austin deck. Sorin is just unbeatable in some games; for instance Vampires has a huge number of 2/2 creatures where Sorin is just a progressive The Abyss that can only be breached by a small number of cards in the Vampires deck (typically Malakir Bloodwitch and sometimes Vampire Nocturnus). But unless they have previously emptied you with a big Mind Sludge, you can just out-quality the Vampires on the board with Ob Nixilis, Baneslayer Angel, or your many removal cards. Vampires is one of the best matchups for this deck, though it’s hard to point at any one single reason… Basically you are faster, your cards are better, and if you get Sorin in play, they are in a lot of trouble.

Even against some Red/x decks Sorin gives you a lot of space. Sorin kills every Bloodbraid Elf they can play while generating a profit; this leaves you room to spend your cards or set up your blocks anywhere else: all good.

Here is a rundown of the last five matches I played with Marsh Flats, Knight of the Reliquary, and Lotus Cobra tonight:

Three-color Vampires
I lost Game One to a Malakir Bloodwitch off the top; I had a Behemoth Sledge but no man, and a Path to Exile. He had no cards… but I had only three life. It’s not like I would have unconditionally won on any other play, but it would have been a heck of a lot better than dead on board.

For the second game I sided out Mind Shatter for the other two copies of Sorin Markov; the second game I locked him with Sorin and he conceded fairly quickly out of frustration.

Game Three I got a turn three Baneslayer Angel; he got three copies of Vampire Nocturnus but couldn’t really attack me; I had a 6/6 Knight of the Reliquary and removal, etc.

G/R Valakut
This was a cool deck I have played against several times this week. Basically it’s Rampant Growths and so on, setting up super Valakut + Mountains action with Harrow… all that. I don’t know if he played Warp World, but he did play Bogardan Hellkite (and in a previous match a Valakut opponent ran out a Warp World which left me with three Baneslayer Angels and him with nothing good). Anyway…

Game One I went Knight of the Reliquary into Baneslayer Angel; Lotus Cobra (with Knight in play) to a Mind Shatter for six or seven. He packed.

Game Two he got double Oracle of Mul Daya and Needled me for Knight of the Reliquary. I had a Knight, but also two Maelstrom Pulses… Goodbye Pithing Needle and Oracles both. I eventually set up for a Baneslayer Angel on only six life; if he ripped a Mountain he could have killed me with double Valakut, but he ripped, ironically, a Hellkite.

Four-color Control
Game One I shipped to Sunpetal Grove + Grim Discovery. Yes, that is a mulligan to two. I won’t say I almost won, but I was somewhat competitive. I steeled myself and elected not to concede; instead I recorded all of his cards for the next game. They were…

• Naya Panorama
• Rupture Spire
• Rupture Spire
• Rupture Spire
• Arcane Sanctum
• Lightning Bolt (my fifth turn Knight of the Reliquary)
• Plains (from Naya Panorama)
• Arcane Sanctum
• Esper Charm (taking my Ob Nixilis, the Fallen and Lotus Cobra)
• Offering to Asha (my second Knight of the Reliquary)
• Esper Charm (Baneslayer Angel and Plains)
• Crumbling Necropolis
• Liliana Vess
• Esper Charm
• Arcane Sanctum
• Ajani Vengeant

I conceded the turn he was going to go ultimate on Liliana Vess after making me dump my hand.

Game Two I played a turn three Ob Nixilis; this was a screwup because he had a Lightning Bolt (could have played Baneslayer instead). I followed up with Knight of the Reliquary, then screwed up on an Offering to Asha (I didn’t see that with my Lotus Cobra down, I could generate just enough Lotus mana to pay for the Offering).

Anyway I stalled on three lands forever.

On the last turn I actually drew the card I needed to win on the spot (Verdant Catacombs for a long ball Ob Nixilis with Knight of the Reliquary in play) but he spent his fourth Esper Charm on my grip.

This was frustrating to lose due to the ship to two, but moreso Game Two; I think I won this close one if I either played Baneslayer Angel over Ob Nixilis on turn three or if I figured out to pay for the Offering.

Vampires
Game One went long, with me controlling a huge Ob Nixilis and finding the Thornling. Thornling went north with Elspeth’s help, forcing a block from Vampire Nighthawk (I didn’t want to put Ob Nixilis in that position due to Deathtouch); Thornling went both hasty and indestructable to win that exchange.

I lost the second with no Green. It would have / should have been an easy one.

Game Three I actually ran a savagely poor mis-click. I tapped my only Swamp to play Lotus Cobra and lost it main phase to a removal spell with Grim Discovery in my hand. The game was close but I ultimately got there with Sorin Lockdown.

Naya
I haven’t played this loose in a while; after winning the first I accidentally discarded my second turn Plains instead of putting it on the battlefield. I played out but it was not good enough.

I redeemed myself in the third though. He stalled for Red for some turns, which gave me time to develop.

Overall: 4-1

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reading: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America

So I finally caved and added Rupture Spire to my Cascade deck.

Here’s the quickie-quick on how to play Rupture Spire in a deck like this…

1. Typically you want to play a comes-into-play-tapped land on the first turn; you know, Seaside Citadel… something like that.
2. You run out your Rupture Spire and pay.
3. You hammer the opponent with whatever kind of three you drew, after playing a regular land.

See?

It’s that easy!

The down side on Rupture Spire is that it can potentially force more mulligans; for example you have a two-lander and they are both Rupture Spires; any other two-land opener combination and you can at least think about keeping (like if you have Arcane Sanctum and Savage Lands and two Esper Charms you will probably keep)… But with double Rupture Spire, that is a zero option (Remember Finkel’s Second Law).

The other annoying thing about Rupture Spire is when it is your fourth or fifth land and you are already rolling on spells. Like a lot of the time you will go comes-into-play-tapped land, comes-into-play-tapped land, comes-into-play-tapped land, Forest: Bloodbraid Elf… then you can go another Bloodbraid Elf or Captured Sunlight plus another comes-into-play-tapped land; however if your fifth land is Rupture
Spire [especially off the top] then you stall on four. This might not be the end of the world (you are already hammering them with awesome Cascade spells), but you might actually consider pointing Esper Charm at yourself in this spot–this is another somewhat common spot where Rupture Spire can slow you down.

So anyway, here is the updated deck list:

Black Baneslayer version Three Point Whatever:

4 Bituminous Blast
4 Blightning
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Captured Sunlight
4 Deny Reality
4 Enlisted Wurm
4 Esper Charm

4 Baneslayer Angel

2 Arcane Sanctum
1 Arid Mesa
4 Crumbling Necropolis
4 Exotic Orchard
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Rupture Spire
4 Savage Lands
2 Seaside Citadel
1 Swamp

sb:
3 Ajani Vengeant
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Rhox War Monk
4 Lightning Bolt

Two things about this deck list…

1. I just pulled four lands out for four Rupture Spires while half-asleep… Not a lot of huge science here, but the Spires have been contributing (I made @RidiculousHat’s eyes bleed).
2. The sideboard is transformative. You are no longer a “mono Cascade” deck sideboarded. You transform into a “regular” (but aggression-hostile alternate deck. The attitude sideboarded is more like a “classic” Standard deck (or like the Borderland Ranger deck of old)… Cascade for value rather than full-on ultimatum.
3. These changes were largely thanks to my Tweeps @RidiculousHat and @amistod… Thanks Tweeps!

Here is a rundown of the last, you know, “five with” matches I ran with ye olde Black Baneslayer:

Four-color Control

His deck was mostly esper with Red for like Double Negative (obviously a solid against YT).

I opened up on Esper Charm, which hit; then he sent Double Negative at Bloodbraid Elf.

My next play was Esper Charm, which I used to draw up and hit lands (it hit).

The next move was (another) Bloodbraid Elf, which stuck and drew out two cards with Esper Charm. He saved a Lightning Bolt for the Bloodbraid Elf itself… But he was out.

Baneslayer Angel obviously hit. And hit. And hit. And that was it.

Next one I opened up on Esper Charm, which drew out a Counterspell.

Sick as hell, dawg! Untap, Ajani Vengeant.

I worked him with Ajani for a few turns while emptying his hand. He hit all his land drops and played the Sphinx.

I was “winning” but stuck on four for a while so I couldn’t deploy Baneslayer Angel or Deny Reality, so Ajani died. That said, he was empty, if in command of a 5/5 shroud when I played Baneslayer Angel…
Baneslayer Number One, that is.

More to come (more Baneslayers, that is)… Concession.

On Twitter @amistod has been trying to get me to play Sphinx over Baneslayer Angel; his argument is that if you untap with Sphinx you generally win.

I don’t agree with him in that if you untap with Baneslayer you win about as often, plus you get to play out of stuff like Anathemancer, too.

Jund Aggro

Interesting game… He started on Putrid Leech but stalled.

He pumped for two every turn, but I was all comes-into-play-tapped and wasn’t doing anything past the the Blightnings and Esper Charms… Nothing to fight his Putrid Leech head-on.

Then I got there with Deny Reality and he packed.

Second game he conceded quickly to my discard plan.

I don’t typically sideboard much, if at all for Jund. All my cards are good… It’s a matter of their being super quick more than anything else; I will sometimes bring in 2-4 Lightning Bolts in Game Three if I am on the draw, but not typically on the play.

Four Color Control

Game One was very competitive as he raw drew three Blightnings. That made the game “very interesting” as they say. I got rid of his hand back, and he topdecked Sphinx. I topdecked Baneslayer. Baneslayer won of course.

I thought I was going to bowl him over in the second, but he had Swerve! He turned one of my Blightnings against myself! That certainly un-landslided it. I got back in there but we were both coming off the top. He drew and played Courier Capsule. With great discipline he waited until the end of my turn to fire it (what if I drew Blightning?) … Unfortunately I drew Esper Charm and re-emptied him. That was the beginning of the end.

Esper Control

I had played v. him a couple of times before… But his deck is heavily anti-Jund, so I take a little splash damage on that one (think Sphinx of the Steel Wind).

I don’t know why I am telling you this but you should know…

I won the first game on a common error on his part.

As usual v. control I opened up working him with discard spells. He made Jace Beleren to get out of it, targeting only himself, putting Jace to below three loyalty. That allowed me to kill Jace with Blightning while erasing his hand!

If he had played Jace so both players would draw card instead, the game might have gone differently.

Games two and three he got me with Identity Crisis.

No!

I had marginal lead on the board, but no hand after turn six or so.

In Game Three he was down to two cards when he played the Identity Crisis, so I had an open to rip almost anything and wreck his hand… But I drew a land. He drew four Counsters off the top to protect His Shroud Phinx.

White Weenie

You know… Mono-White Steppe Lynx.

I got Game One with the dramatic personae if you know what I mean.

He bum rushed me in the second… I was all swimming in hobos.

In the third I got a bunch of Rhox War Monks going but screwed up. He had multiple Honor the Pure in play and I got lazy on Lightning Bolt. I could have just killed his Lynx on my turn but instead I gave him the empty-handed open to draw Arid Mesa to demolish me (can’t respond to both triggers). Instead, I was forced to chump with two beautiful Rhox War Monks.

I worked my way back up to the point where it was no longer interesting. I didn’t die, so I got the space to Ultimatum him a bunch… But that one turn was what mattered; I just got mad lucky to Cascade out of it (or maybe it wasn’t lucky, now that I think about it).

Four wins, one loss in this five-match set. I really like this deck (which you probably know).

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reading: Let the Right One In: A Novel