I am just going to c/p the description I put on YouTube (’cause mise):
Mind Sludge – It has been called the only reason to play Counterspells in the current Standard environment (there are actually two reasons… the other one is in our deck).
I am playing basic Swamp this weekend because of the “I have must-counter sorceries in my deck” factor. This is a pretty surprising couple of games with my current favorite Standard deck, Grixis Hits:
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
2 Malakir Bloodwitch2 Divination
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Spreading Seas4 Blightning
2 Countersquall
4 Cruel Ultimatum
4 Sedraxis Specter
1 Terminate4 Lightning Bolt
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Dragonskull Summit
2 Drowned Catacomb
4 Island
4 Lavaclaw Reaches
2 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Swampsb:
2 Duress
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
1 Sorin Markov
4 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Countersquall
3 Terminate
Enjoy!
LOVE
MIKE
16 comments ↓
Thank you so much for posting this, Mike! I was considering running Grixis, but concerned about how it would hold up in my heavy vampire local metagame. Definitely set my mind at ease, especially after reading Chapin’s article on SCG today basically dismissing it as not being as good as UW.
One quick question for you: Have you felt it necessary to run Earthquake in the board? Obviously not so great with the Gatekeeper, but it does give you access to a sweeper if necessary.
Not so much dismantling mind sludge as it is dealing with it. Love the list though, Jace+Gatekeeper is a little silly if they don’t have an answer (although the gatekeeper in his hand would have been very nice, and him running two creatures straight into the mini-combo didn’t help either), perhaps he should have waited on playing creatures while you had that out.
Treasure Hunt is card I really like, but it may not be better than divination for what you are using it for (strictly a 2 for 1). It also probably isn’t worth giving your opponent information about your hand.
Otherwise, love the list. And I do like the video without any music, and if you could explain some of the card choices a little more in depth that would be useful (nothing as long as your last few posts about countersquall or forked bolt).
I would like to run this deck, but my budget won’t permit Jace, the Mind Sculptor just yet. What’s a reasonable alternative, given that I’m playing in relatively small-pond events like FNM?
My inclination would be to run Into the Roil for the bounce and card-draw potential.
You said you only board in one Sorin because tthat’s all you have. If you had more, what would the numbers look like?
I was really excited to run this deck, and it is fun and powerful! Then I played the mirror and had my non basics slaughtered with ruin blasters. I noticed you haven’t put anything in the SB to deal with them. I even had at least 4 lands in one game destroyed, killing any chances of cruel, gatekeeper or jace. How do you plan on beating the mirror?
Dear god, shave a Cruel Ultimatum.
How to Dismantle a Mind Sludge…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield – Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
In reference to GerryT above, maybe the Flores deckchange special? (Remove an expensive spell (cruel), add a land)?
Played a bunch of games of this on Magic Online. Very solid, especially after some tuning. -1 CU, +1 Swamp (or other Black land) is a must. Drawing double Cruel sucks, and tripple black for Gatekeeper is critical in any beatdown matchups.
I played this list at a PTQ this past weekend going 5-2 loosing only to RDW
Maindeck:
3 Jace the Mind Sculptor
3 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Doomblade
4 Stagger Shock
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Blightning
4 Sedraxis Specter
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Spreading Seas
4 Crumbling Necropolis
4 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Drowned Catacomb
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Swamp
3 Island
3 Mountain
Sideboard:
4 Duress
4 Negate
4 Consuming Vapors
3 Thought Hemorrhage
Now while i agree completely that Countersquall is better then Negate, the Matchups where i want to bring it in for usually have Spreading Seas and i didn’t want to be screwed from casting Countersquall if a Spreading Seas wrecked my Black mana.
So is Gatekeeper really sick? haven’t tested it entirely.
i was wondering, since you think spreading seas is one of the best cards in standard why are you running 4 islands when this deck seems to be so susceptible to that card. I am taking this deck to Denver this weekend for regionals and i was wondering if you could explain sideboarding for me more specifically what to sideboard in and out against specific matches such as u/w tap out and other decks
I really enjoyed your previous Sorin Grixis Deck, but found myself floundering against UW control, Do you think this list is stronger? or maybe a hybrid of the two lists keeping the Sorins in Main?
[…] See Mike Flores’ Grixis list in action: http://fivewithflores.com/2010/05/how-to-dismantle-a-mind-sludge/ […]
What are the Nighthawks sided in against?
[…] See Mike Flores’ Grixis list in action: http://fivewithflores.com/2010/05/how-to-dismantle-a-mind-sludge/ […]
[…] about their experiences playing in the Philadelphia Open 6. See Mike Flores’ Grixis list in action: http://fivewithflores.com/2010/05/how-to-dismantle-a-mind-sludge/ Check out Jon Medina’s Pack-to-Power project over on ManaNation: […]
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