Ok, I need to apologize, I missed a week there. College has started again and I got a bit swamped with work, but I’m back on schedule now. Last time we left with this deck.
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Solitary Fiends 1.4 |
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| 8 Island 16 Swamp 24 lands 4 Alchemist’s Apprentice 15 creatures |
2 Doom Blade 3 Duress 3 Essence Harvest 2 Frost Breath 2 Homicidal Seclusion 2 Into the Void 2 Predator’s Gambit 1 Ring of Xathrid 2 Swiftfoot Boots 2 Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells |
I think I can safely make a few changes right now, before we start a few more games.
Out:
2 Frost Breath: This card can really help when you’re trying to race your opponent, but I think I would rather remove 1 creature for good then buy me some time. I am going to miss it though.
2 Into the Void: This card is actually worse then Frost Breath in my opinion. Often it only removes the creature for 1 turn instead of 2. And if it has a “enter the battlefield” ability it even works against me. Out it goes.
In:
2 Go for the Throat: I want some more hard removal and the best way to do this is with a 2/2 split between Doom Blade and Go to the Throat. Go for the Throat is more expensive then Doom Blade in tickets, but seeing as I have barely reached the 12 ticket mark, I think I can spare the tickets.
1 Predator’s Gambit: I really like this card on my Loners. It improves their power and with both flying and intimidate that makes it one really hard target to block. I have seen several games where I wanted this on my creature and didn’t have it. That’s always a great reason to add more of a card.
1 Homicidal Seclusion: This has been great for winning with a lone creature and I just want more of it. I might be going overboard with 3, but I feel good about this choice.
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Solitary Fiends 1.5 |
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| 8 Island 16 Swamp 24 lands 4 Alchemist’s Apprentice 15 creatures |
2 Doom Blade 3 Duress 3 Essence Harvest 2 Go for the Throat 3 Homicidal Seclusion 3 Predator’s Gambit 1 Ring of Xathrid 2 Swiftfoot Boots 2 Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells |
I know my deck is now very heavily black, but I’m keeping the current lands mix, because I am afraid to not draw Islands when I need them. Now lets see how this works, because I think we’re close to the finished product.
Game 26 G Aggro
I drop a Ring of Xathrid, Demonic Taskmaster and Predator’s Gambit. He drops a Llanowar Elves and uses Increasing Savagery and Wild Defiance to beat some serious damage. But my Taskmaster is faster, especially as I drop a Alchemist’s Apprentice to chump and by a turn.
W:L 11:15
Game 27 G/W Humans
She drops a Champion of the Parish and follows it up with Mirran Crusader. I drop a Fettergeist to trade with the Crusader so my Demonic Taskmaster can go nuts. My opponent however just keeps dropping more and more humans. I Go for the Throat the Champion of the Parish, but a Champion of Lambholt keeps beating. Even Homicidal Seclusion can’t save me from that horde.
W:L 11:16
Game 28 B/U Zombie
He mulligans all the way down to 4 cards. I drop a Duress on the first turn to find that he’s only got lands. Thus, I drop my Demonic Taskmaster and start beating. He plays Ponder and Divination back to back to get back in the race. I drop another Duress and see a Call to the Grave and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. The Call is out and I keep back a Go for the Throat for Grimgrin. It drops, but I wait for another creature, as he can’t attack without a sacrifice. When he drops a Phyrexian Crusader and sacrifices it, I just Go for the Throat Grimgrin and this draws a concede.
W:L 12:16
Game 29 W/U Control
I mulligan down to 6 into a rather crappy hand. I have good draws though and have all parts for a great rush, but I know my opponent has Mana Leaks at the ready. I try to bait one out with Doom Blade, be she doesn’t go for it. After a bit I manage to get down a Fettergeist, but it get’s Vapor Snagged. All this time my opponent gets down more and more Restoration Angels. I drop the Fettergeist again when my opponent empties her hand and I see I can race back next turn. A topdecked Vapor Snag ruins this for me though and the trio of Angels beats me down to zero.
W:L 12:17
Game 30 W/B/R/G Humans
This deck had a lot of different strategies built in. It had a reanimation theme with Angel of Glory’s Rise and Unburial Rites. There was a Human theme in there with Mayor of Avabruck and a Werewolf theme as well. I get off to a good start and get a Demonic Taskmaster down on turn 3 and start beating. 1 eventually dies to a Nightfall Predator, but another just takes it’s place. I equip it with a Ring of Xathrid so it can’t die to that again. My opponent does manage to hard cast a Angel of Glory’s Rise, but by that time I’m still at 20 and the humans can’t possible do that much damage in 2 turns.
W:L 13:17
It’s going better and better. I’m not winning all games, but most of the time the deck has a clear plan and sticks to it. I think I’m nearly done with this deck, as I can’t see a lot of points for improvement. I do want to plug a few gaps in the deck.
Out:
3 Fume Spitter: Though there’s nothing wrong with this fellow, the deck really doesn’t need him that much. Even if he comes down, it’s only for a short time. At least Alchemist’s Apprentice gets me a new card, this is just very small removal.
1 Crypt Creeper: This goes double for Crypt Creeper. It’s power/toughness is good, but the effect is minimal (though great against flashback), but I either need to play more or drop this loner (see what I did there). I want to try a different card out, so it has to make room for now.
1 Essence Harvest: This is still a great card to win a race or turn one around, but I think I need other cards more then this one. Two seems just fine, so I don’t feel bad about removing one.
In:
3 Negate: Playing blue means having access to counter magic and I think I could use some help in that department. Negate stops plainswalkers and pesky removal spells to name a few.
2 Mutilate: The deck is currently running no rares and has been doing so for quite some time. I checked the bots and could get a pair of Mutilates for a little over 2,6 tickets. As the deck is at a cost of 12 tickets at most (all the cards separate, from bots, is around 2,2 tickets, but I’m counting on people having bought the Intro Pack at the store) I feel justified in adding them. It will really help with match ups where I am getting swarmed by smaller creatures.
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Solitary Fiends 1.6 |
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| 8 Island 16 Swamp 24 lands 4 Alchemist’s Apprentice 11 creatures |
2 Doom Blade
3 Duress 21 other spells |
I’m now only running 11 creatures and I hope that’s enough, but I guess there is only 1 way to find out.
Game 31 B/W M13
This deck seemed to only use M13 cards. That’s not to say this game was easy. I got of to a shaky start with a 6 cards hand and not loners. He used Mind Rot and Ravenous Rats to make that worse. I get beaten to single digits, but an Alchemist’s Apprentice with Homicidal Seclusion keeps me in the game. Just when it all seems over I sacrifice the Apprentice to give me one last shot and I draw a Fettergeist. This allows me to slowly beat myself back to health, despite the two Battleflight eagles, one with Dark Favor on it. He drops some more flyers and Dark Favors, but I know when to attack and when to hold back to keep myself in the game. In the end another Homicidal Seclusion and a Ring of Xathrid gives my Fettergeist enough of an advantage to win the game.
W:L 14:17
Game 32 B/U Trading Post
I keep a hand with no creature but with all the other cards for a quick start. I manage draw and get down a Fettergeist on Turn 4, but my opponent is well on her way by then. She has played a great number of pieces to lock me away. Contagion Engine seems to have me pinned, but I manage to bring her down to 7. Tumble Magnet stops me from sealing the deal and I get infected by Inkmoth Nexus and the Engine does the rest.
W:L 14:18
Game 33 U/B Good Stuff
This deck was filled with very powerful cards. Luckily I manage to get out a Duress and take out Liliana of the Dark Realms and start beating with Demonic Taskmaster. With the second Duress I take out Staff of Nin, leaving Karn Liberated in his hand, as I think it won’t hit the table on time. I was wrong. He accelerates with Pristine Talisman and Karn completely blows me out of the water. That was a clear misplay from me and I take full blame for this loss.
W:L 14:19
Game 34 B/W/U/G Something
This deck had a lot of colors and seemed to use the good parts of them all. Open with Duress and remove a Pacifism from my opponents hand and I get down an Demonic Taskmaster early on. Once I play Homicidal Seclusion, the Taskmaster gets Murdered. I get beaten up quite a bit, but play a second Homicidal Seclusion and later get a Fettergeist with Essence Harvest down, but this comeback get’s foiled by another Pacifism. I don’t draw an out for that and get beaten into the ground slowly.
W:L 14:20
Game 35 U Delver
I get down only a Swiftfoot Boots as I’m stuck at 3 mana with no Islands and all Blue cards. Short defeat.
W:L 14:21
Well that was a wash. I lost all five games back there and I think I know why. Time to fix this deck some more and hopefully start winning again.
Out:
2 Essence Harvest: The biggest problem with Essence Harvest, the one I have ignored because I liked it, is that it doesn’t do anything by itself. It needs a creature on the board and otherwise it doesn’t do squat. Time for it to leave.
1 Ring of Xathrid: The +1/+1 counters on my black creatures is cool once in a while, but after getting beaten by Pacifism, I realized that the equip is in here to protect my creatures from spells, not other creatures. The boots do this way better then the ring.
In:
1 Swiftfoot Boots: That’s why I’m upping my Boots count to 3. Hopefully I will have one most of the time so those pesky removal spells don’t ruin my plan.
2 Vampire Nighthawk: In many of my games, I have lost because I don’t have a creature on the board. I have been thinking about adding the Nighthawk to the party for a while, but I think it will serve it’s purpose well. Its power might not be that high, but it has its own lifelink build in, which should help me with the race.
Let’s hope this gets me back to winning before I rap this version of the deck up.
Game 36 R Goblin
I get of to decent start with Alchemists Apprentice, but my opponent starts beating with a few goblins, some of them enchanted. I take some hits and then use the Alchemist to chump block and get down a Demonic Taskmaster the next turn. When I try to equip a Swiftfoot Boots however, it gets hit by Searing Spear. Had I not played a Negate the turn before, that could have been prevented. I get out another Taskmaster, but it drops in to late to be of any difference.
W:L 14:22
Game 37 R Control
I never get down a creature for more then a turn. Had I waited until I had enough mana I could have covered my creature with a Negate, but I wanted to play the deck to fast. Sometimes caution really is the better part of valor.
W:L 14:23
Game 38 B Control
I get out a good opening with a Duress and see that my opponent has only one swamp. I therefore leave the Mutilate and Duress to discard her Sign in Blood, so it will take her longer to get to her later cards. I get a Demonic Taskmaster down, but it get’s destroyed when I try to equip it with a Swiftfoot Boots. The second one sticks though and I manage to put two Predator’s Gambit on it so I can ride it to victory before my opponent gets enough mana.
W:L 15:23
Game 39 W/B Mimic Vat
I mulligan to 6, but end up with a hand without a Loner. I do get down a Demonic Taskmaster though, but it get’s hit by a Go for the Throat. I then have to wait for another loner to show up, but my opponent pounds me to the ground with Demonic Taskmaster tokens she creates with her Mimic Vat.
W:L 15:24
Game 40 W Artifact
I get down a quick Demonic Taskmaster, but my opponent uses Palladium Myr to get out a really early Batterskull. We trade damage for a turn and then Spellskite comes down. Then a Phyraxian Metalmorph means another Batterskull. I have Homicidal Seclusion down by now, but I’m still 1 power behind my opponent. I try to attack, but Dispatch removes that threat for my opponent. Once Sword of War and Peace drops it’s curtains for me.
W:L 15:25
Ok, let’s all be honest: That deck wasn’t really good. The fact that I had only one creature that got destroyed all the time and almost no way of keeping it safe was what ended me. But maybe if I had gone the control route back in week 2, maybe the deck would have been better. Well, lets find out. Next week I’m returning to the build right before I went the Aggro way and change it towards a Control deck. Hope to see you then.
Vedalken Treehouse 