Pojo's Magic The Gathering news, tips, strategies and more! | |||||
|
|||||
Pojo's MTG
120x90 Ad Space
|
BMoor's Magic The
Gathering
Deck Garage Well, my deck isn't that original. I have a U/B control-combo deck with the sole goal of pulling off the Aether Snap/Dark Depths combo. My deck does two things: stall as long as it can and quickly draw through the deck to assemble the two combo pieces.
The metagame features a lot of aggro, eh? Maybe it just seems that way because your deck is awfully slow. Any deck relying on Dark Depths is bound to be slow. AEther Snap will speed it up a good deal, but you've still got the issue that on one turn, you're going to be playing a land that doesn't even tap for mana. And AEther Snap is a five-mana sorcery, so you can't even play it on your opponent's turn to surprise him with. Plus, you've got a 61-card deck, so you've reduced your odds of even drawing the combo. The first thing we'll do is remove the 61st card, Leonin Bladetrap.
The Bladetrap is not only an incredibly expensive Pyroclasm, it's also a symptom of what's wrong with this deck-- you're too worried about stopping your opponent's creatures and not worried enough about winning yourself. It's a common mistake among newer players to "turtle up" and stop any incoming damage at the expense of dealing any yourself, so take out Psychic Membrane, the Kaijin, and the Steel Wall. In their place go four Will-o'-the-Wisp, a much more effective blocker, and a few Kami of the Crescent Moon. The Kami, while a good blocker, is most crucial for helping you draw extra cards.
That's the key to a good combo deck-- lots of card drawing and tutor effects to get the combo pieces out quickly. Sift is on the right track, but replace it with Diabolic Tutor. After all, why draw three cards when you only need one, if it's the right one? Serum Visions can stay-- it's a powerful cantrip/deck manipulation spell for only one mana-- great as a first-turn play.
What isn't as strong is Condescend. Yes, it has Scry, but it's just not a worthwhile counter spell. You'd be better off with Rune Snag, Mana Leak, or Remand. Echoing Truth is a bit iffy as well unless you play against a lot of token decks; otherwise try repeatable bounce like Temporal Adept or Crystal Shard. Finally, despite the fact that Dark Banishing will work just fine here, you may want to try a few Brainspoil simply because it can transmute for AEther Snap, and the faster you get to Snap your Marit Lage into play, the better.
Finally, for that B/U land you wanted, your best bet is probably Dimir Aquaduct. You've got very few cards that need to hit play on Turn Two, so the downsides aren't that bad, and since each Aquaduct provides two mana, your 24 mana-producing lands will play more like 28-- alowing you to drop a Swamp or Island as you see fit for more of the cards I've suggested.
Most experts have pretty much declared Dark Depths to be useless in a tournament, but everyone has to admit the idea of Marit Lage erupting forth from the ice to smite your enemies is priceless. Get yourself a nice lead minature or something to use as a token, and good luck!
~BMoor
|
||||
Copyright© 1998-2007 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site. |