1 Reply by Watcheswhenup

(10 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Thanks for all of the help thus far. I've made a few changes based on the feedback. They are summarized below.

Mainboard
+2 Hero's Downfall, -2 Doom Blade
+2 Read the Bones, -1 Omenspeaker, -1 Essence Scatter

Sideboard
+2 Doom Blade, -2 Hero's Downfall
+3 Jace, Architect of Thought

The Hero's Downfall/Doom Blade bit was simply a mainboard/sideboard trade. The deck retains access to four of each card. Read the Bones was/is tough. I don't really want to drop to playing only one of any given card. So, that really only left Dissolve, Essence Scatter, Far // Away, and Omenspeaker as trim options. Of those options, Omenspeaker and Essence Scatter seemed the best places to trim for room to include Read the Bones. Though, the early body can help against aggro. So, I don't know. Finally, Jace AoT was added to sideboard rather than mainboard because I really like Ashiok so far, and he can't coexist with Jace MA. Both Jaces can draw cards, but only Jace MA furthers one of this deck's win conditions. Jace AoT dampens aggro, so he seems a good sideboard there. His card drawing could be a boon in the control mirror as well. So, he'd probably come in there too.

Edit 1: For what it's worth, I'm not particularly attached to Dimir Charm. It's okay but underwhelming in my book. Considering cutting the Dimir Charms for one more Read the Bones and a fourth Omenspeaker.

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2 Reply by Watcheswhenup

(10 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Thanks for the insight! I'm going to give Read the Bones a try over Inspiration. I've really enjoyed the Scry mechanic thus far after all. So, maybe Sorcery speed won't be so bad. Now, I just have to figure out what to cut to squeeze in a little extra card-draw.

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3 Reply by Watcheswhenup

(10 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Indeed. My current thoughts are as follows:

1) I chose to mainboard Doom Blade x4 over Hero's Downfall because it requires me to hold less mana open, and I can kill stuff one turn sooner if needed. I don't know how popular black will be as a color in general, but if it proves common, then Hero's Downfall will move to the mainboard and Doom Blade or Ultimate Price to the sideboard.

2) Planeswalkers are a bit of a concern to me, but I'm hoping my counterspells will be enough for most match-ups.

1+2a) Both points being said, I'll try swapping 2 Doom Blades for 2 Hero's Downfalls in the mainboard. My only concerns are slowing down the deck's removal and mana bottlenecks. Also, I'm a little uneasy with a double-black requirement so early, since the deck is slanted heavily toward blue.

3) I definitely would like a bit more drawing in the deck, but I'm not sure what to cut for it. I'm not really feeling Read the Bones (Scry 2 is nice, but 2 life and Sorcery speed are not), but I like Inspiration (thanks for that one, didn't know about this card). As an aside, Jace actually spends most of his time drawing me cards as opposed to milling with his +0 ability. I generally don't mill with him unless I'm comfortable with what's in my hand (translated: I have a kill or counterspell to deal with my opponent's next threat).

4) My only real answer to fast aggro decks is AEtherize. I mainboard 2 as a "just in case" but have 2 more in the sideboard in the event I find I am facing an aggro deck. It seems my best option for now without tri-coloring the deck for Supreme Verdict. I'm really hoping Damnation shows up in one of the block's remaining sets.

My overall strategy right now is to run a somewhat generalized version of the deck then sideboard to taste based on what the first game tells me about my opponent. For instance, in a creature-light, control mirror, the Essence Scatters and AEtherizes come out for Negate and Thoughtseize. The Doom Blades would likely be swapped for Hero's Downfalls as well. For an aggro deck, the Syncopates would likely come out for the additional 2 AEtherizes. Hope this gives a bit more insight into my thoughts and strategies. As always, thanks a ton for all of your help! smile I know I'm still green as sin, so I truly appreciate it.

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4 Reply by Watcheswhenup

(10 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Good morning! As suggested, I decided to wait until after Theros was spoiled to revisit this thread. Now that it has been, I've retooled the deck based on the extremely constructive criticism I was afforded. Thanks a ton everyone. It's amazing how different, yet more effective things are (based on Cockatrice play). Now, I'm just looking to fine-tune things in preparation for starting Standard. Without further ado, my revised deck.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/theros-d … llcontrol/

As always, thanks for any help in advance. Oh, and special mention goes to Elpablo whose advice has proven invaluable thus far. smile

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5 Topic by Watcheswhenup

(10 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Good evening everyone! I'm new to paper magic, having just picked the game up in the last week after a few months of playing Duels of the Planeswalkers. Anyway, I'm looking to build a Dimir mill/control deck that will be Standard legal after the Innistrad block rotates out. I know Theros will be around then, but I'm just trying to get the skeleton going, as I plan to check out FNM standard after the rotation. I'll be doing FNM Draft until then. What I've come up after a hefty dose of research online is below. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

http://deckbox.org/sets/431890

P.S., any good, cheap targeted removal that works on black creatures? Doom Blade is cheap, but I'm worried about the popularity of black because it's solid and popular in the DoTP games.

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