MTG Reporter - Clawing Back, Clawing Forth [Edward Eng]
Standard
RW Aggro Version 1 - Edward Eng
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Creatures (12) Spells (25)
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Lands (23) Sideboard |
So what's the answer to the green fatty decks? I chatted with Timothy 'Ty' Thomason and Collin Rountree at Asgard Games on Monday before the Valentine's Day weekend. And Ty said the G(x) Ramp decks usually have a tougher time against flying beats. 'TY'pical. Sensical.
So what's an aggro deck that applies pressure via the skies? I got to work and stumbled across this.
Standard
Jeskai Aggro - Michael Walewski
Ah yes, the forgotten Mantis Rider. I goldfished it a few times and it felt decent, but I wanted to make some quick small changes. I felt it needed a few more non-Raise the Alarm two-drops. Nothing came to mind except Soulfire Grand Master. Unfortunately, SGM is more of a pseudo two-drop. Oh well, let's jam two and see what's up. The mana base is a little clunky too. So I swapped a few lands and came up with this.
Standard
Jeskai Aggro Version 1 - Edward Eng
I goldfished a bit more. And although the deck is labeled Jeskai Aggro, I felt the deck wasn't aggro enough. If you don't draw Seeker, you're not really doing anything proactive until turn three. The deck isn't going 'big' either. So is it trying to play the best tempo game? Is it just trying to be better than Abzan Midrange?
Is that even a path worth going down? Shelved. Back to work and I stumbled across this.
Standard
Temur Aggro - Jeff Hoogland
Going going, back back to Temur Temur. Temur Temur. I saw Frost Walker Temur a little while back, but I was already on the RW Aggro boat at the time. After making the rounds, I'm glad I saw Frosty again. And I liked how Jeff cut Frosty to three and showed Shaman of the Great Hunt some love. It ain't no secret that Shaman is good.
Back to my Temur roots. This is a list I could get behind. It applies pressure in the early turns, can play the tempo game, and finishes things from the clouds. However, I noticed the deck was a little land light. And even though UW Heroic has taken a bit of back seat owing to the rise of RW Aggro and Midrange, I still wanted to shore up the match a bit with my old-school sideboard tech, Winds of Qal Sisma. Here's what I opted for.
Standard
Temur Aggro Version 1 (more like 20) - Edward Eng
This felt better. I tested this at Heroes Collectables on Thursday before the Open and only lost to the mirror. Settled.
Saturday rolls around and it's on.
Round 1 - RW Aggro (W)
Round 2 - Sultai Whip (L)
Round 3 - Abzan Midrange (W)
Round 4 - Jund Ramp (L)
Round 5 - Abzan Aggro (W)
Round 6 - RG Aggro (W)
Round 7 - Mardu Aggro (W)
Round 8 - GB Constellation (W)
Round 9 - GR Ramp (L)
I really Clawed my way back to qualify for Day 2 at 6-3.
Sunday rolls around and it's on again.
Round 10 - Mono Red (W)
Round 11 - RW Aggro (W)
Round 12 - Jeskai Tokens (L)
Round 13 - UW Heroic (L)
Round 14 - GR Aggro (W)
Round 15 - ID
I finished 44th. Good but still not great. Would I play the deck again? Yes. Do I recommend this deck? Yes, but only if it's your play style and you have enough time to practice with it.
Congrats to Robert Berni for clawing down the 2015 SCG Houston Open!
Standard
GR Devotion - Robert Berni
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Creatures (31) Spells (6)
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Lands (23)
10 Forest Sideboard 3 Nylea's Disciple |
I'm not sure if I can make it to the Dallas Open yet. But I hope to see you all there.
Always remember to have fun,
Edward Eng a.k.a. Eddie
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