Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[xRECKONERx]

Nylea is by far the worst... I'd say Thassa & Erebos are the best.

[Natirasha]

Been messing with Theros on the 'cock lately. I know that Cockatrice isn't known for it's high skill level, but I've actually played a lot of solid decks the last few days. Been messing with UB control.

4 Temple of Deceit
4 Watery Grave
3 Opportunity
1 Read the Bones
4 Omenspeaker
2 Doom Blade
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Dissolve
2 Syncopate
2 Far // Away
8 Island
6 Swamp
1 Warped Physique
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
4 Desecration Demon
2 Mutavault
3 Inspiration
1 Dimir Guildgate
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
SB: 4 Thoughtseize
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 1 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 1 Dispel
SB: 1 Swan Song
SB: 2 Underworld Connections
SB: 2 Jace, Memory Adept
SB: 2 Sensory Deprivation

It's still rough, but working out pretty good. After ~3 days of testing, I've won, well...more than I thought I would. The deck started much more Blue-centric running Thassa as a finisher, but as time went by it just wasn't working--Thassa demands a board presence, which hurts your ability to answer threats. And for god's sake, I had to run

Claustrophobia

.

Omenspeaker is, as I expected, really good--you don't draw the card, sure, but she also just lets you keep some reeaalllly lose hands, which is something Augur never did. Inspiration was, well, sad, but I tried many variations of draw spells--Pilfered Plans, Divination, Read the bones and even Quicken showed up at times--but Inspiration(sadly) ended up being the one that played the best--turns 3 & 4 are the most important and tapping out for anything worse that wasn't Jace/Ashiok/DDemon/Underworld Connections just wasn't cutting it. The one-of Read the Bones is there for exceptional circumstances, it's served me well and I'm fine with it for the most part. Ashiok is really strong and gamebreaking in the control matchups--sitting there being a drownyard, demanding an answer. In the aggro deck, s/he's decidedly 'not completely terrible'. At it's worst, it's a fog that mills 3(which is bad). In the best scenario, I stole my opponent's Reckoner, played DDemon and locked them out of the game that way.

I removed Aetherling because it was too...win condition-y. In the matches where I would want Aetherling, I was was winning game one because Ashiok and post-board, I was winning via having cards like Hero's Downfall for Jace, MA. DDemon at least demands an answer when it comes down.

The sideboard is mostly tweaked towards control decks, to make sure I completely stomp those matchups. Thoughtseize is not in the main because shocking myself vs the various aggro decks was dumb and didn't feel like a particularly strong play, but as decks skewed toward midrange it becomes much much better. The counter package I'm still tweaking, Swan Song was acceptable since the deck has no problem with dealing with a 2/2, but I think Dispel was better in most scenarios(it's at it's worst vs UW). I might try a 1-1 split of Negate/Gainsay though. Underworld Connections is just obviously good. Jace, MA is more redundancy with Ashiok in terms of winning, I was thinking about Psychic Spiral though over the second copy--that card makes for some ridiculous blowouts. The Sensory Deprivations I just tried out last night and they are terrible as expected. I wish there was some tragic slip analogue in this format. I'd accept fucking disfigure. Viper's Kiss might work in that slot, I guess. Or just throw in two Doom Blade(probably Warped Physique actually) and call it a day.

On the whole, this deck is obviously completely sick vs the Revelation-style control decks. As you slide down the scale toward Midrange, it keeps up being pretty good. The aggro matchup varies between the deck, but the red decks are the worst, ESPECIALLY if they're the BTE/Ghor-Clan version. I'm happy with the performance at the moment and will continue tweaking as I see fit.

[Gammagooey]

yeah pretty sure nylea's the worst god

dunno how good erebos is given that you have to pay 2 life and the mana every time you want to draw a card with him so there's a hard limit on the amount of use you can get out of him unless you have lifelink creatures/sphinx's too

purph and thassa are both awesome and then Heliod isn't really good but he's tolerable and making clerics can help defend against dudes without trample until you draw something that can actually win you the game

[Gammagooey]

also i just realized that all my chained to the rocks i was proxying in the boros deck i was playtesting last night count towards heliod's devotion

he was a creature for like 3-4 turns without me even realizing it

[Thestatusquo]

I would suggest you cut ashiok for a card that actually does something.

[xRECKONERx]

RG is going to be nuts. I want to pull a Kibler and bring a deck to standard week one that is meant to shit on the RG decks.

[xRECKONERx]

Hm... what about newGarruk? I think he'll drop

[chamber]

Hm... what about newGarruk? I think he'll drop

The old garruk shell is basically all rotated, and although hes extremely powerful hes equally narrow, I doubt he finds another home soon, but he may at some point while in standard.

[bv310]

So this is what I'm looking at right now:

4 Omenspeaker
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Tidebinder Mage
4 Master of Waves
4 Frostburn Weird
3 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Nightveil Specter

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

2 Cyclonic Rift
4 Syncopate
2 Mizzium Mortars

4 Steam Vents
4 Izzet Guildgate
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Mountain
9 Island

SB: 4 Counterflux
SB: 2 Mizzium Mortars
SB: 3 Voyage's End
SB: 2 Prognostic Sphinx

Thoughts? Notable omissions?

[chamber]

Purphoros looks so out of place in that list to me.

Have you tested at all? I'd worry that you can't tidebinder on turn 2 to curve in to thessa because there wont be a guy to lock down.

[Natirasha]

Jace does as well, it should probably be Steam Augury. I'm not sure what the red does for you besides Mortars in the list. Counterflux, I guess, but you're going to lose to the Verdict decks anyway due to being a dude swarm deck.

[chamber]

Jace doesn't look out of place at all to me?

[bv310]

Purphoros looks so out of place in that list to me.

Have you tested at all? I'd worry that you can't tidebinder on turn 2 to curve in to thessa because there wont be a guy to lock down.

Tidebinder doesn't need a target on ETB. It's still a waste, but usually I'd rather be curving Frostburn into Thassa, or Nightveil in to Thassa anyway. Purphoros is more for the laughs than anything, but just dicking about with this, he's been surprisingly good. It does feel a little win-more at times, but stapling a Shock to every creature in the deck is really good for closing out games late. Jace counts for Devotion. That's his biggest advantage over Augury or Ral Zarek. They wrath with Thassa/Jace in play, my Master still counts 4 U for Elemental tokens.

My other ideas have been splashing Green for Master Biomancer/Zegana/Plasm Capture/Zameck Guildmage/the UG Temple, or White for Sphinx's Revelation/Azorius Charm/Detention Sphere. I'm leaning on the G, just to be different, and because I really like Zameck/Biomancer with Master of Waves against spot removal.

Possible UG list:

4 Omenspeaker
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
4 Master Biomancer
4 Master of Waves
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Nightveil Specter
3 Zameck Guildmage

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

2 Cyclonic Rift
4 Syncopate

3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
9 Island
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple of Mystery
3 Forest

SB: 3 Voyage's End
SB: 2 Prognostic Sphinx
SB: 3 Tidebinder Mage
SB: 3 Simic Charm
SB: 2 Prime Speaker Zegana

[PeregrineV]

Went 2-2 with Black/White on Friday, and 3-1 (2-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0) with Red/Green on Sunday.

I want to make a new standard deck, so will be back with lists for critique.

[Fate]

I'm pretty sure you can't play nightveil spectre with that mana base, bv

[Fate]

you'd have to make the forests overgrown tombs at the least, and -1 shrine +1` tomb

[Fate]

Glad someone who's done some actual TESTING with the card sees Ashiok's worth

[Fate]

I would suggest you cut ashiok for a card that actually does something.

like have you literally played a single game with her?

[bv310]

you'd have to make the forests overgrown tombs at the least, and -1 shrine +1 tomb

The mana base for Nightveil has never had a problem in my testing. Overgrown's likely not a bad choice, but I don't see it being necessary, and I'd prefer not having more shocklands than are necessary. I actually cut a Forest for an Island earlier today, and that seemed to help a fair bit.

[Fate]

its literally just math, not opinion. Your cast on curve rate with 6 sources that can't cast Nightveil specter isn't good. (don't have exact percentages in front of me). Or shuold I say, with only 17 sources TO cast him on curve its very unlikely

I played Boros reckoner long enough to know anecdote wise as well.

[Natirasha]

Nah, I acually have added a third Ashiok to the board because s/he's so good. I think part of it is the underdevelopedness of the meta, but that -X is so key. -Xing for a Champion of the Pantheon or BTE can be strong. And, as the decks get midrangey-er and controly-er she just gets better--I never thought I'd see the day where I stole an opponent's Erebos, Activated Devotion with a DDemon+Underworld Connections, then beat his face in with it.

The deck does have some problems, though. Like, I cannot actually beat Heliod if it gets through the counter wall(which it can, because turn 4 is typically either a DDemon or Jace). Token swarms are hard if I don't hit Jace--and even then, the token generators in this format are either 2/1s(Master of Waves/Heliod), Young Pyromancer-esque(win with Porphyros), or have built-in pumps(Elspeth). To that end, I've put a Illness In the Ranks post board. I am not happy about it, and I cry every day that Curse of Death's Hold is gone, but Ratchet Bomb just deal well with the generator swarms.

Enchantments in general are a sore spot in this deck--I have the one Swan Song still which I find acceptable, but this is a deck that thrives on 1-for-1s and I can't be creating 2/2 swans very often.

Spoiler: Latest List

4 Temple of Deceit
4 Watery Grave
3 Opportunity
1 Read the Bones
4 Omenspeaker
2 Doom Blade
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Dissolve
2 Syncopate
2 Far // Away
10 Island
6 Swamp
1 Warped Physique
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Desecration Demon
2 Inspiration
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Psychic Spiral
1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 3 Thoughtseize
SB: 1 Negate
SB: 1 Dispel
SB: 1 Swan Song
SB: 2 Underworld Connections
SB: 1 Jace, Memory Adept
SB: 2 Warped Physique
SB: 1 Gainsay
SB: 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
SB: 1 Illness in the Ranks
SB: 1 Desecration Demon

This is the latest list. I moved the Ratchet Bomb main, but I cut a DDemon for a Psychic Spiral--this was on recommendation from a friend. I haven't actually drawn it yet, but the theory makes sense--it's like a one-shot mill 20 in the late game. I have a feeling it'd be better off as the DDemon, though. Thoughtseize has continued to be underwhelming--I understand I am saying this while at the same time complaining about losing to Heliod, but Thoughtseizes hurt a lot in this deck. I cut a Jace because I felt like he is becoming less necessary with Ashiok around. Underworld Connections is pretty sick, as usual. I cut an Inspiration wholesale because I kept boarding it out vs decks for better sideboard stuff. I think 2 is ultimately the correct number anyways. In any case, I'm going to keep tweaking the list--I love it, grindy decks like this are so fun.

[Fate]

MB psychic spiral, now THATS a bit questionable

[Fate]

yeah I'd keep it as DD and keep the list pure and keep repping Ashiok against the haters

[xRECKONERx]

Can Blood Baron be targeted by Whip of Erebos while it's in the GY since it has pro-black? It can, right? The ability is static therefore it only applies while it's a permanent, right?

[Sudo_Nym]

Yep. Pro black only counts on the field. Which means it does have funny interactions with Animate Dead.