MTG FNM Report - 5 Colour Dragons

It's been a while since I've done a blog post as I've been quite busy at work, but I've still been playing FNM. I've mostly been running a version of my Temur Dragons deck, but I thought that the new standard was a good time to try my 5 colour dragons again. With the speed of the format slowing down and everyone playing more marginal lists while they feel out the format, I thought I could durdle around a little more without sacrificing my win percentage too much.

Here's the list I ran:

Mainboard

Sideboard

4x Heir of the Wilds 4x Beastcaller Savant 3x Rattleclaw Mystic 2x Shaman of Forgotten Ways 4x Thunderbreak Regent 1x Avaricious Dragon 2x Surrak, the Hunt Caller 4x Whisperwood Elemental 3x Sarkhan Unbroken 1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury 1x Dromoka, the Eternal 1x Dragonlord Ojutai 1x Dragonlord Silumgar 1x Dragonlord Dromoka 1x Dragonlord Kolaghan 1x Dragonlord Atarka 3x Frontier Bivouac 3x Opulent Palace 3x Wooded Foothills 4x Evolving Wilds 2x Lumbering Falls 1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon 1x Cinder Glade 3x Mountain 3x Forest 1x Plains 1x Island 1x Swamp

1x Hangerback Walker 2x Stubborn Denial 1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death 2x Dragonlord's Prerogative 3x Sagu Mauler 3x Crux of Fate 1x Polluted Delta 1x Swamp 1x Island

It's very similar to my previous try at 5 colour dragons, playing all the dragonlords and a ton of ramp. 

Round 1: 2-0 vs RU Thopters

In the first round, I played against a new player with his casual thopters deck. In round 1 I ramped into Surrak followed by three Whisperwoods and in the second I ramped into dragonlords Kolaghan and Dromoka. The mana seemed fine if slow, with the Beastcallers doing a good job fixing. I could have cast a turn 4 Sarkhan in game 2 if I had started with a Rattleclaw instead of a Beastcaller... but with two dragonlords in my hand and no Sarkhan, I think I made the right play. I suppose it worked out either way.

Round 2: 0-2 vs Mono-Red Midrange

Even against the midrange version of the red deck, I was just far too slow. The combination of all my tapped lands and my opponent cleverly burning all my mana-dorks means I never really got going and got run over. Ouch.

Round 3: 2-0 vs RG Midrange

This round was better for me. My opponent was also a new player and I was easily able to play bigger threats sooner than he could. I like the way the deck plays when my opponent doesn't disrupt me or put on too quick a clock.

Round 4: 2-0 vs GW Midrange

The last round saw me paired up against another new player. The first round saw me ramp out a quick Dragonlord Atarka and in the second I beat down with Heir of the Wilds and Flamebreak Regent. 

It was nice to see so many new faces at the tournament... and I felt a little bad crushing them with mythic dragons. Not so bad that I didn't enjoy it though :D I think the deck is mostly fine.. though I either need to come up with a proper sideboard that has a plan against the red decks or just write off those match-ups entirely. 

-Odd

"They come because I call. They stay because I listen." - Flavour Text, Beastcaller Savant

MTG FNM Report - Final Big Standard - Temur Dragons

A couple weeks ago, I took a slightly retooled version of my Temur Dragons deck to Outer Limits in melville to play my last FNM before Theros Block rotated out of standard. Here's the deck I ran:

Mainboard

Sideboard

4x Elvish Mystic 3x Rattleclaw Mystic 1x Hangerback Walker 4x Frost Walker 1x Deathmist Raptor 1x Managorger Hydra 4x Savage Knuckleblade 4x Thunderbreak Regent 2x Surrak, the Hunt Caller 3x Stormbreath Dragon 3x Sarkhan Unbroken 3x Crater's Claws 3x Stubborn Denial 1x Treasure Cruise 4x Temple of Epiphany 2x Temple of Mystery 1x Temple of Abandon 3x Wooded Foothills 3x Shivan Reef 1x Yavimaya Coast 2x Mana Confluence 2x Haven of the Spirit Dragon 4x Forest 1x Mountain

4x Disdainful Stroke 3x Feed the Clan 3x Destructive Revelry 2x Anger of the Gods 2x Wild Slash 1x Treasure Cruise

The deck is very similar to the one I played before, with the sole addition of Stubborn Denial. Last time I saw a lot of spots where it would be great, so I decided to run them mainboard. 

Round 1: 2-0 vs Mardu Midrange

For the second week in a row, I drew the Mardu Midrange deck in round one. I do think it's a good matchup for me, and the result seems to bear me out. Sarkhan was fantastic value, being a 4/4 dragon and eating a Hero's Downfall in game one and worked with a stubborn denial in game two to be two dragons, three cards and a threat post wrath. 

Round 2: 2-0 vs BW Aggro

In the second round, my creatures were just bigger than my opponents. Sarkhan was massive value and having stubborn denial for the removal spells meant that I was just too much for an aggressive deck to overcome.

Round 3: 2-0 vs Esper Control

The third round saw me paired up against a non-dragons version of the Esper control deck. Sarkhan was great again, but the man (or monkey) of the match was definitely the Knuckleblade. The ability for it to bounce to blank removal was in full play, and that combined with Stubborn Denial meant I could keep my guys alive long enough to punch through the control deck.

Round 4: 2-0 vs RB Dragons

In the last round, I played a very tight RB Dragons deck. It actually played out a little strangely as I landed a Knuckle-Monkey and sat behind the activation and counter spells until I could smash through for the win. The threat of activation on the monkey means he can attack through just about anything and lets me race against a deck that doesn't play as many creatures as I do. 

So I went 4-0 for the week and didn't drop a single game on the way to the win. I was perfectly happy with how the deck worked and was also quite pleased with my play. I couldn't have asked for a better send-off for the big standard environment and I had a great time.

This deck stays mostly intact after rotation, though the loss of the Elvish Mystics and Stormbreath Dragons are certainly going to be problematic. We'll have to see what I come up with for the next FNM.

-Odd

"The Temur have no patience for subtlety." -Stubborn Denial, flavour text

MTG FNM Report - TeMore Dragons

A couple weeks ago, I took a slightly retooled version of my previous Temur Dragons list to FNM at Outerlimits in Melville. Here's what I brought to the table:

Mainboard

Sideboard

4x Elvish Mystic 3x Rattleclaw Mystic 1x Hangerback Walker 4x Frost Walker 1x Deathmist Raptor 1x Yasova Dragonclaw 1x Managorger Hydra 1x Boon Satyr 4x Savage Knuckleblade 4x Thunderbreak Regent 2x Surrak, the Hunt Caller 3x Stormbreath Dragon 3x Sarkhan Unbroken 4x Crater's Claws 1x Treasure Cruise 4x Temple of Epiphany 2x Temple of Mystery 1x Temple of Abandon 3x Wooded Foothills 3x Shivan Reef 1x Yavimaya Coast 2x Mana Confluence 2x Haven of the Spirit Dragon 4x Forest 1x Mountain

4x Disdainful Stroke 3x Feed the Clan 3x Destructive Revelry 2x Anger of the Gods 2x Wild Slash 1x Treasure Cruise

This time I took out the four Goblin Rabblemasters that I played previously and replaced them with four different three drops to get a feel for which I would prefer to play. 

Round 1: 2-0 vs Mardu Midrange
The first game was a super tight race, but Surrak put me ahead for the win. In game two my opponent got stuck on three lands for a few turns and I managed to draw enough guys to play through his removal and finish him off before he could really get going. I played Yesova once, and while she traded I never got to activate her ability. I also decided that in this matchup, Stubborn Denial would have been much more useful than Disdainful Stroke.



Round 2: 1-2 vs Abzan Rally the Ancestors Combo
In the second round, I played down against a really sweet combo deck using Rally the Ancestors. I must admit, I had no idea what was going on and he crushed me game one.

The deck works by using Rally the Ancestors to return a bunch of cheap creatures including Mogis Marauder and Nantuko Hust to attack for massive damage all at once.

I threw the match with a really bad misplay in game three where I had him chump blocking on the ground and tapped out to play Sarkhan. I should have left mana open to counter the Rally that destroyed me on the next turn. Oh well... we live and learn.

Round 3: 2-1 vs Abzan Evolutionary Leap
It seemed to be my night for playing Abzan combo decks. This round I was matched up against a deck using Evolutionay Leap to sacrifice a bunch of cheap value creatures like Black Cat and Sulti Emissary, cycling through the deck to a succession of Flashbag Marauders and  Siege Rhinos.

I managed to win in the air  thanks at least partially to Sarkhan who seemed like great value. Disdainful Stroke was also good, but again, I think Stubborn Denial would have been better.

Deathmist Raptor saw the board a few times, and was quite underwhelming.




Round 4 - 2-1 vs Mono-White Aggro
The last round saw me playing up against the only undefeated player and a Mono-White Aggro deck. He ran over me in game one,but Feed the Clan was spectacular in games two and three, giving me the time to stabalise and beat him with dragons in the air. I sideboarded out Frostwalkers, but I'm not sure if I should have left them in to trade early. Maybe Surrak could come out when I'm not trying to race on the ground instead.

All told, I went 3-1 on the evening and I think I came second. I had lots of fun with my deck and saw some cool brews from my opponents. None of the new three drops really stood out to me, but that just means they need more testing. I do think that next time I'm going to try some Stubborn Denials either in the mainboard or the sideboard.

-Odd
"You are beneath contempt. Your lineage will be forgotten." Disdainful Stroke, flavour text