I hope everyone in Leeds is well, i was certainly excited by the 14? man strong turn out despite being out of term time in a predominately student based group on Wednesday, so who knows how many Team Leeds will be getting come September.
I am, as the title suggests, going to slog out some Standard constructed (ill just write T2 from now on as just writing these words makes me want to vomit), mostly in a bid to try and and get a better result than my last two PTQ's (consecutive 0-2 drop...olous, yay!)
Im pretty torn between 2 decks, a ubr faeries list, and combo elves. I am leaning towards fae because i love me some faeries and i hate combo so much, as i always feel like your just hoping your deck doesnt crap out every round.
I would imagine the simultaneous articles from LSV and MOJ on starcity and channelfireball will have every man and his dog playing the baneslayer deck this weekend, and i think faeries will beat it more consistently than elves will, i think. I would like to play the deck too, but when i played it i found myself pretty tight for mana, particularly if my knight of the white orchid got countered.
Here's the faeries list i would play, possibly with some minor adjustments.
4 x mistbind clique
4 x spellstutter sprite
4 x scion of oona
2 x vendilion clique
4 x bitterblossom
4 x broken ambitions
4 x cryptic command
2 x jace beleren
2 x firespout
4 x lightning bolt
1 x doom blade
2 x cascade bluffs
3 x crumbling necropolis
4 x island
4 x mutavault
2 x reflecting pool
4 x secluded glen
1 x swamp
2 x sunken ruins
3 x vivid creek
S/B
4 x anathemancer
2 x firespout
2 x banefire
1 x jace beleren
3 x thought hemorrhage
3 x deathmark
Im sure i will have tinkered with the list before next weekend, or more likely abandoned it altogether, but i will hopefully be bringing this to Leeds for this weeks standard event to see how it does.
See you all soon.
Until then,
Jim
As always, feel free to comment on this article, or on anything related or unrelated to magic whatsoever. If you would like to contribute to the TLM blog, please email any ideas, pictures, articles or anything else to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk
fae is the weakest it's ever been right now, with the emergence of merfolk and a new and improved 5cc, but is still a strong deck.
ReplyDeleteinteresting to see your final decklist on friday
Actually, with a red splash Fae is one of the strongest decks in the field still. Fae with a red splash's only bad matchup seems to be UB Fae or the mirror if you're not tuned properly. Btw Jim, run 4 Vivid Creek and 4 Vivid Marsh (I'd lose the Necropoli and at least 1 Reflecting Pool). You get free wins when your opp sees t1 vivid and doesn't expect t2 bitterblossom.
ReplyDeleteI'd take out 3 necropoli, 1 pool and 1 mutavault for the vivids. Also, I don't like Vendilion Clique that much atm (tried it, would have rather had something else) so I'd put the 3rd Jace and a 2nd Doom Blade in the main perhaps. I'd expect to face all the Baneslayer Angels in England there so I do like your boarded Deathmarks. Remember that when sideboarding you need as many cards coming out as you have coming in and that'd easier to do if you're taking a 3-of and a 4-of out for a 3-of and 2 2-ofs, for example, rather than always having to take out random 1's.
ReplyDeletethe splash red is fine but as you pointed out Rob it loses to UB fae, and woe betide anyone who plays UBr fae against kithkin, with at least 1 burrenton forge tender in the main and 3 more in the side, UBr fae will have real problems. I don't deny that fae is still strong, i just think it's not as good as merfolk or 5cc (5cc in particluar bores me to tears, which is why i'm not particularly enjoying standard right now)
ReplyDeletekithkin, is just really not that bad a matchup frankly, but cheers for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteYeah Rob i played a slightly different version for wnm but i agree vivids are just better than the necropolis'.
Also, my sideboard was a little different as i decided i wanted to include sower of temptations which i think are pretty good against baneslayer, and i changed the doom blade for shriekmaw.
Also, 26th land or no, wednesday made me think yes.