VAMPIRES !!

So, after a long break (For my exams, and getting ready for a IT competition), I'm back ! So to make up a little for my long break, I'm going to post decks that were successful in the recent TCGplayer.com WWS Austin. The first deck, or decks I will talk about are the vampire decks.

Let's look at Matthew Sutton's list, who got 9th-16th

Vampires
Main deck

Creatures: 31
4x Bloodghast
4x Bloodthrone Vampire
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Kalastria Highborn
4x Pawn of Ulamog
4x Pulse Tracker
4x Vampire Lacerator
4x Viscera Seer

Spells: 7
3x Blade of the Bloodchief
4x Vendetta

Lands: 22
4x Marsh Flats
14x Swamp
4x Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard: 15
4x Arrogant Bloodlord
3x Dark Tutelage
3x Doom Blade
1x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Skinrender
3x Smother

Here's Nathan Zamore's list, which placed 5th-8th

Vampires
Maindeck

Creatures: 31
4x Bloodghast
4x Bloodthrone Vampire
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Kalastria Highborn
4x Pawn of Ulamog
4x Pulse Tracker
4x Vampire Lacerator
4x Viscera Seer

Spells: 7
3x Blade of the Bloodchief
4x Vendetta

Lands: 22
4x Marsh Flats
14x Swamp
4x Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard: 15
4x Dark Tutelage
1x Disfigure
1x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Marsh Casualties
2x Skinrender
3x Smother

Here's Matt Wehner's list, also placing in 5th-8th place

Br Vampires
Maindeck

Creatures: 22
4x Bloodghast
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Kalastria Highborn
4x Pulse Tracker
2x Vampire Lacerator
4x Viscera Seer

Spells: 14
2x Arc Trail
2x Burst Lightning
2x Dark Tutelage
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Mark of Mutiny
2x Sword of Body and Mind

Lands: 24
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
4x Dragonskull Summit
4x Lavaclaw Reaches
12x Swamp

Sideboard: 15
2x Arc Trail
1x Dark Tutelage
4x Doom Blade
4x Duress
3x Manic Vandal
1x Mark of Mutiny

3 vampire decks in the top 16, and of those 3, 2 are in the top 8 ??  What made these lists so successful ?? Vampires were always considered tier two decks, but recent results prove otherwise. In the recent 5K Standard Open- Boston, Caleb Durward earned himself a 3rd-4th place finish. What's Caleb Durward's list then ? The main deck is EXACTLY THE SAME as Nathan Zamore's and Matthew Sutton's list, and  Caleb Durward's sideboard is the same as Zamore's except that Durward uses Doom Blades, while Zamore uses Marsh Casualties.

Same lists, having success. That can't purely be coincidences. From what I can see, those decks are able to play fast games early in the game, yet they were also able to play amazing midgames. Blade of the Bloodchief seems like an essential piece for these decks, playing it while Bloodthrone Vampire, with Bloodghast (Although any vampire would be fine as they aren't really needed in midgame). Early in the game, Pulse Tracker and Vampire Lacerator are able to cut down the opponent's life total, making it easier for vampires to win in the midgame. The low curve of the deck helps it compete against decks with cards of better quality, and that may be the reason why vampires are able to have this level of success in this event.

For Matt Wehner's list, having almost the same creature package, but splashing red for burn spells proved that going in another direction, vampires are also able to win. Having Lightning Bolt, Arc Trail, Burst Lightning for removal, and Mark of Mutiny to act as a form of Psuedo-removal, clears the way for the vampires to attack. Mark of Mutiny lets you take control of an opposing creature for a turn, make it bigger, and use it to attack your opponent. You need to return it to your opponent at the end step though, and this can be solved by sacrificing it to Viscera Seer. If all else fails, point the burn spells at the face.

Vampires also seem to be able to deal with Valakut decks, Valakut decks takes time to set up, vampires use the early game to bring down their life totals. It seems like Vampires will be a competitor at future events, especially for players that are on a lower budget.

That's all I have for today, hope you enjoyed reading !

Kithkin

So it's extended season again. What decks will be the top deck of this extended season, no one knows. Since Wizards announced extended has turned into double standard, no one has yet to know which deck can actually survive in a new environment. The only deck that survived the rotation was faeries, so it's up to all the innovative deckbuilders out there to create something. The decks out there now, are mostly combo decks Living End, Restore Balance, Hive Mind, Ad Nauseam, and Scapeshift. For control, it's faeries and 5CC . Even faeries have a hard time against these combo decks, even though it still does pretty well.

So it seems that combo decks will reign in this new format. Even the strongest control decks have trouble against them. Control doesn't seem like the best option now, and we can always play the combo decks, and have 50/50 chance against other similar combo decks. The problem is how to deal with the combo decks. Hive Mind, Ad Nauseam are slower combo decks, while Scapeshift, Living End and Restore balance are faster decks. So I thought, why not play Kithkin ?

Creatures : 27
3x Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile
4x Goldmeadow Stalwart
4x Knight of Meadowgrain
4x Thoughtweft Trio
4x Kinsbaile Borderguard
4x Wizened Cenn
2x Reveillark
2x Stoneforge Mystic

Non-creature spells: 11
3x Spectral Procession
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Basilisk Collar
3x Honor of the Pure

Lands: 22
2x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
3x Rustic Clachan
2x Windbrisk Heights
15x Plains

Sideboard:15
4x Disenchant
4x Kitchen Finks
3x Mana Tithe
4x Tectonic Edge

Kinsbaile Borderguard keeps your board full of chump blockers against Living End, and lets you gain creature advantages against Restore Balance. In the sideboard, we have tectonice edges against scapeshift, to deal with valakut, Disenchant to deal with Hive mind and Ad nauseam. Mana Tithe is there against combo decks that tap out for their enchantments (Primary win condition). Kitchen finks is just good, and against Living End and Restore Balance, it's better. Against Faeries, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile is amazing. Against creature decks like the mirror, or maybe some form of Zoo, equiping Brigid with Basilisk Collar gives us an amazing advantage. Also, having Collar with Thoughtweft Trio is just too good. It can win a battle against 5 other creatures and live. Oblivion Ring deals with enchantments, and planeswalkers.

Against 5CC, again, Kinsbaile Borderguard is amazing (Personally, I think it is one of the best cards in the present environment). Even if they resolve Cruel Ultimatum, you still get a bunch of tokens. After getting the kithkin tokens, evoke Reveillark, and get it back. That is really a big blow against 5CC players, since you are the aggro deck. They would probably have to draw an answer to Kinsbaile Borderguard through Cruel Ultimatum, or Path to Exile the Borderguard before playing Ultimatum. This is also where Mana Tithe shine, as Cruel Ultimatum cost 7 mana, and they still have to deal with threats.

I definitely think Kithkin is a competitive deck in the present environment. Unless the pros have hidden  tech that simply kills everything, I think Kithkin would probably win some games against the decks we know presently.

Dream Halls

So I was wondering how can I use Conflux (The card, not the set) while looking through my friend's binder. Then I spotted a card I knew would work. Dream Halls. So I decided to build a deck around Conflux and Dream Halls

Creatures: 8
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch

Non-creature Spells: 30
3x Call to Mind
4x Conflux
4x Cruel Ultimatum
4x Dream Halls
3x Enlightened Tutor
3x Force of Will
2x Grapeshot
4x Lotus Petal
1x Time Stretch
2x Time Warp

Lands: 22
4x Flooded Grove
6x Forest
2x Mystic Gate
4x Reflecting Pool
3x Vivid Creek
3x Vivid Grove

Basically, this deck uses Dream Halls to play Cruel Ultimatum. Since Cruel Ultimatum draws you cards,  more spells can be played, and Call to Mind can get back spells. If all else fails, use Grapeshot after playing ridiculous numbers of spells.

Instant discard

I've been toying with the idea of an instant speed discard deck for a long time, after I first saw Leyline of Anticipation. The idea of discarding at instant speed, to me, is amazing. Just imagine. Opponent draws, instant speed Mind Sludge. So here's my list

Creatures: 4
4x Liliana's Specter

Non-creature spells: 34
3x Liliana Vess
3x Jace Beleren
4x Mind Rot
3x Mind Sludge
4x Liliana's Caress
4x Into the Roil
3x Duress
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Aether Tradewinds
4x Leyline of Anticipation

Lands: 22
4x Drowned Catacomb
7x Island
9x Swamp
2x Terramorphic Expanse

Sideboard: 15
4x Deprive
4x Leyline of the Void
4x Mana Leak
3x Sphinx of Jwar Isle

So this deck obviously relies on Leyline of Anticipation. The fun factor of this instant speed discard is just too much to pass up.

So this deck strategy is to discard your opponent's hand so they can't play stuff (since they have nothing to play), and if they play stuff, you can bounce stuff, and make them discard it.

Then we can slowly build up counters on our planeswalkers, and go for ultimate. If that fails, there is always Liliana's Caress.

RDW

One of the cheaper options in standard today is Red Deck Wins. It's too fast for many decks when it gets a decent hand, and it's easy to play. Here's a standard list

Creatures: 22
4x Goblin Guide
4x Hellspark Elemental
4x Ball Lightning
3x Kiln Fiend
3x Plated Geopede
2x Goblin Bushwhacker
2x Kargan Dragonlord

Non-creature spells: 17
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Burst Lightning
4x Searing Blaze
4x Staggershock
2x Devastating Summons

Lands: 21
4x Arid Mesa
2x Scalding Tarn
15x Mountain

Well, as you can see, it has lots of burn spells, and creatures that attacks fast, for loads of damage. This traditional build runs out of gas fast, and if you don't kill your opponent by then, you're probably going to lose. A certain number of cards are also rotating soon, when Scars of Mirrodin is legal, so I've decided to try and overcome it's weakness, and make it legal after Scars of Mirrodin. So here's my list.

Creatures: 23
4x Chandra's Spitfire
4x Kiln Fiend
4x Arc Runner
4x Goblin Guide
4x Plated Geopede
3x Cunning Sparkmage

Non-creature spells: 17
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Burst Lightning
2x Staggershock
4x Raid Bombardment
3x Fling
2x Adventuring Gear

Lands: 20
3x Arid Mesa
3x Scalding Tarn
14x Mountain

So this build sacrifices a little speed, to last longer. Although this isn't the normal strategy for RDW, it makes this deck a little better as even if it runs out of gas, there is still something to do. Just look at Raid Bombardment and Chandra's Spitfire.

Even if your hand runs out, you're still able to deal lots of damage, considering that many creatures in this deck has low power. This deck also has a landfall package, therefore the small creatures can actually turn into very heavy hitters.

Make no mistake though, even though the deck has been changed somewhat, it is still capable to finishing off your opponent quickly, as it still has many burn spells, and the creatures still attack early. So why not try RDW today ?

Boros

So, the top deck for China Nationals is the long forgotten (Ok, just a few months) Boros. So, here's the list piloted by the champion. Lu Chao.

Creatures: 19
1x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Goblin Guide
2x Kor Skyfisher
4x Plated Geopede
2x Ranger of Eos
4x Steppe Lynx
2x Stoneforge Mystic

Non-creature Spells: 17
2x Ajani Vengeant
3x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Adventuring Gear
1x Basilisk Collar
2x Burst Lightning
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile

Lands: 24
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
5x Mountain
6x Plains
4x Scalding Tarn
1x Terramorphic Expanse


Sideboard: 15
3x Cunning Sparkmage
4x Kor Firewalker
3x Luminarch Ascension
3x Manabarbs
2x Oblivion Ring


So why was it so successful ?? Let's look at Liu Zhuo Ran's list, who was in the top 8 of the same event.

Creatures: 21
1x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Gobline Guide
4x Hell's Thunder
4x Plated Geopede
4x Ranger of Eos
4x Steppe Lynx

Non-creature Spells: 15
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3x Earthquake
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Oblivion Ring
3x Staggershock

Lands: 24
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
7x Mountain
5x Plains
4x Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:15
3x Celestial Purge
1x Earthquake
4x Kor Firewalker
3x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
3x Manabarbs
1x Oblivion Ring


So what made Lu Chao's deck more successful than Liu Zhuo Ran's, when both players went against Zhan Zhiyang's Runeflare Trap deck ? Of course, when comparing decks, we have to take into account the player's skill level. Well, considering that both player's were good enough to enter the top 8, their skill level would be around the same. So what's different ? From what I can see, Lu Chao's build has good early game, just like Liu Zhuo Ran's with removal/burn spells, and cheap creatures that hit for large amounts of damage. While Liu Zhuo Ran did run 3 Oblivion Rings and 2 Elspeth, that's about it for Liu Zhuo Ran's deck, to deal with mid-game threats. Sure, Earthquakes could deal with creature decks, but it was practically useless against Runeflare Trap. While Lu Chao's choices were better suited against Runflare Trap as it has Ajani Vengeant to lock down lands, and more it has a stoneforge equipment package, which would greatly increase the value of his creatures in the mid-game.

This isn't just true for Boros against Runeflare Trap, but it also applies against many control decks in today's metagame. Liu Zhou Ran's build would probably have to have 2 landfall triggers, 2 burn spells, or 1 of each happening in the same turn to kill a Wall of Omens, and early drop for  control decks.

Lu Chao also has Kor Skyfisher's, a very strong card in Boros, which Liu Zhuo Ran didn't run. Kor Skyfishers lets you return lands for more landfall action( It's "drawback"), and it's a 2/3 Flier for 2 mana. While Liu Zhuo Ran did choose to run his own flier, Hell's Thunder, even though it would deal more damage fast, it only hits twice, while Kor Skyfisher can be pumped by landfall when it's equipped with an Adventuring Gear, and it actually sticks around. 

Also, probably because of the equipment package, Lu Chao chose to have Cunning Sparkmage in the sideboard, which is amazing against more aggro match-ups, as Sparkmage + Collar = instant creature kill, a very well-known combo.

So why not try Boros for the next FNM you go to ? It certainly is refreshing to see an aggro deck doing so well in tournament.

Depthstill

It's been awhile since Dark Depths rotated to Legacy/Vintage. So I began thinking. Since Dark Depths worked so well in Extended, it should be decent enough in Legacy right ? So after searching for a few more unique Dark Depths list, I realized many lists don't just rely on the Dark Depths + Vampire Hexmage Combo like the original build, instead, many deckbuilders incorporated the combo into other combo decks, like Thopter Foundry, and Scapeshift. Since I decided to build a Legacy deck, the card choices in Legacy, and the amount of different combo decks, opened up many possibilities. I realized that I don't really have to play combo, I could play combo/control. So I came up with this

Creatures: 4
4x Vampire Hexmage

Non-creature spells: 32
4x Brainstorm
4x Counterspell
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Leak
4x Shred Memory
4x Pernicious Deed
4x Standstill
4x Into the North

Lands: 24
3x Bayou
3x Creeping Tarpit
4x Dark Depths
3x Tolaria West
3x Underground Sea
4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Verdant Catacombs

Yup, I've merged Dark Depths with Landstill. Classic Landstill Strategy is to cast standstill, so your opponent will try not to cast spells if possible, because the traditional build will be chock full of counterspells. Since your opponent would try not to kill stuff if possible, since it triggers Standstill, the manlands are free to attack. What Depthstill has done is that, instead of manlands, I have decided to use the Dark Depths combo.

Fun right ? The deck has loads of counterspells too, and you don't have to worry about not finding Standstill when this deck plays Shred Memory. Basically, Shred Memory says Discard, and get Standstill, Vampire Hexmage or an awesome counterspell.

Like the classic builds of Landstill, it does have Pernicious Deed to clear the board. Since the Marit Lage token from Dark Depths is indestructible, you can clear the way for it to attack for the win.

Fauna Jund Monument

When M11 came out, and I saw Grave Titan and Mitotic Slime, I knew I wanted to make a deck that abused these cards with Eldrazi Monument. With a playset of Vengevines and Bloodbraid Elves collecting dust somewhere, I knew I had to use them too. So this is the deck I came up with.

Creatures: 28
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Bloodbraid Elf
4x Fauna Shaman
2x Grave Titan
4x Mitotic Slime
3x Siege-Gang Commander
4x Sprouting Thrinax
4x Vengevine

Non-creature Spells: 8
3x Eldrazi Monument
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Sarkhan the Mad

Lands: 24
3x Dragonskull Summit
2x Raging Ravine
3x Rootbound Crag
3x Savage Lands
5x Forest
5x Swamp
3x Mountain.

I know, many of you will be lamenting that it's Jund, again. Unlike the traditional build of Jund, this isn't packed with removal (Note the lack of instants...or sorcery). Like traditional Jund, this is all about card advantage. As you can see, many of the cards produce tokens, which works very well with Eldrazi Monument. This is resilient against most control decks because Day of Judgments won't wipe everything off the battlefield, even without Eldrazi Monument out. The problem this deck has though, is, like many builds of Jund, RDW. This deck has too many 4-5 drops, and the early drops are prone to removal. So that's something that has to be worked on in the sideboard.

Sideboard: 15
4x Putrid Leech
4x Leyline of Vitality
4x Terminate
3x Obstinate Baloth

So how does the sideboard deal with RDW ?? Well, Putrid Leech could soak up removal, and Leyline of Vitality would gain back the life loss in the first few turns (Provided that they don't get a God Draw and kill you in 2-3 turns) since the deck is packed with tokens. I know, not the best match-up, but still winnable .

Against U/W/r control, or U/W  control, this deck has a slightly favorable match-up, purely because those decks normally use Day of Judgment to reset the board when they have their planeswalkers out, to win the game through locking you down with Jace the Mind Sculptor's fateseal, slowly building up to it's ultimate, or bashing with Gideon Jura, Elsepth's tokens, and of course, Baneslayer angels. Well, those strategies won't work well against this deck because of all the Vengevines, Sprouting Thrinaxes and Mitotic Slime. Day of Judgment ? No problem, I get lots of tokens, and during my turn, I'll just bloodbraid elf, cascade into a creature and proceed to get my Vengvine back, bashing you for lots of damage. Not to mention, this deck has Eldrazi Monument. Well, those control decks do have counterspells (a light suite, but still a number of counterspells nonetheless), so you will probably need to play around them.

The absolute worst match-up for this deck is Next-level Mythic Conscription. The consistent 3-6 turns Eldrazi Conscripted Birds of Paradise is probably the worst problem for this deck. After sideboarding in Terminates, it should be a problem that can be handled, but again, if you don't draw terminates when they start bashing you, you're going to lose.

Training Grounds combo in extended/legacy

Hello everyone, welcome to my first post on Planeswalkers Guide. Today, I am going to talk about an extremely effective and cheap combo deck that can (and probably should) be played in extended or legacy.

As many of you will already know, extended been shrunk to just twice of standard, so this is the time for many innovative deckbuilders to come out with new decks that previously wouldn't stand against the older decks. The deck I will be talking about today, was an idea I threw out to my playgroup, and after forming it, the deck performed excellently. So here is the decklist.

Creatures: 21
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Joraga Treespeaker
3x Elvish Archdruid
2x Stoneforge Mystic
4x Wake Thrasher

Non-creature Spells: 17
2x Idyllic Tutor
3x Training Ground
2x Helix Pinnacle
4x Umbral Mantle
3x Broken Ambitions
3x Mana Leak

Lands: 22
2x Sunpetal Grove
1x Glacial Fortress
3x Flooded Grove
2x Mystic Gate
3x Misty Rainforest
2x Arid Mesa
4x Forest
3x Island
2x Plains

Basically, this deck's goal is to get out a mana dork, equip it with Umbral Mantle, have Training Grounds out, and pump it infinitely. Since Umbral Mantle gives the ability to the creature, the cost of 3 colorless mana, turns to just 1 ! If you equip it to a leveled Joraga Treespeaker, or an Elvish Archdruid with lots of elves on the battlefield, you basically get infinite mana (Which goes well with broken ambitions), and the untapping also pumps your Wake Thrasher. Not too shabby right ? Did I mention a possible 3rd turn kill ?

In Legacy, there's a possibility of a 2nd turn kill (well, except when your opponent has Force of Will...). Here's the decklist for Legacy Training Grounds combo (lol, can someone help me think of a better name ? )

Creatures: 21
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Joraga Treespeaker
2x Elvish Archdruid
3x Stoneforge Mystic
4x Wake Thrasher

Non-creature Spells: 19
4x Chrome Mox
3x Force of Will
2x Broken Ambitions
2x Idyllic Tutor
3x Training Grounds
1x Helix Pinnacle
4x Umbral Mantle

Lands: 20
2x Savannah
2x Tundra
2x Tropical Island
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Flooded Strand
6x Forest

If you think the manabase is too expensive, it's fine to change it as it doesn't really affect the deck much.

If any of you have any great ideas for extended (or any format at all), please do share it with me ! I may even post it in the next post !