[20130625] - Jacque's Decks...

[jacque]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If it wasn't for this forums, I don't think I would have ever found a new light to DOTP2013 - new mods, decks, cards, etc. There are two individuals I'd like to thank specifically:

thefiremind - who have been very patient with my long winded questions.
RiiakShiNal - for his invaluable Deck Builder as well as patience with me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONCEPT

My decks are not overly over-powered (I hope), but emphasizes a lot of card draw advantage and speed. Mainly control combo-based, but versatile to certain extent, and offers many (if not one) finishing solutions to the game. I may not use certain mainstream mechanics, and love to experiment with new ones.

All of the decks that I've posted here are my favorites. Each deck compose of 75 cards, and you can just start any match without even bother reducing the deck size down to 60. All decks are "well" thought over (using the selective Cores that I have) and have been intensely tested against:

Garruk (Revenge): For speed and match-up against fatties.
Ajani (Revenge): For tempo and consistency.
Yeva (Revenge): For competency against "control-based" deck.

NOTE: If any of my decks reflect someone else's, my most sincere apologies as I was/am not aware of that. Please inform me...

I would appreciate it much if you could just drop me an honest feedback how my decks worked for you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

In order to use my decks, you would "generally" need all the main core mods from the infamous people on this forum - and of course the expansion pack to DOTP2013 installed.

Custom Cores/Mods:

| Open

DATA_DLC_0999 - kevlahnota
Data_DLC_8192 - RiiakShiNal
Deck_1999_Core - thefiremind
Deck_1138_ST - BlindWillow
DECK_2234_CORE_ST - nivmizzet1
Deck_1000_CoreFixes - thefiremind

Official Cores/Mods:

| Open

Deck_0003_ST
Deck_0006_ST
Deck_0009_ST
Deck_0011_ST
DECK_0013_ST
DECK_0018_CH
DECK_0038_CH
Deck_0063_ST
Deck_0064_ST
Deck_0066_ST
Deck_0069_ST
DECK_0073_ST
DECK_0075_ST
DECK_0076_ST
DECK_0086_ST

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130629 DECKS (2)

Probably my last two decks for DOTP 2013... Got hold of DOTP 2014 and it's rather addictive atm xD...

White Beats v1 - A rather aggressive White deck...
Key Cards: You'll know when you see it... =)

Sudden Death v1 - An experimental deck that revolves around Surestrike Trident and Blightsteel Colossus.
Key Cards: Surestrike Trident & Blightsteel Colossus

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130625 DECKS (1)

That Ain't Gonna Work v2 - A U/B deck made to "handle" weenies... May bear some resemblance to "Look Mom No Hand v1".
Key Cards: Surprise... =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130624 DECKS (4)

Goblin Warfare v1 - Goblins!!!
Key Cards: Pretty straight forward ey?

Look Mom No Hand v1 - Sole aim to cripple your opponent.
Key Cards: Shadowmage Infiltrator, Dimir Cutpurse, Helm of the Ghastlord, Hypnotic Specter & Needle Specter

Bloody Hell v1 - So what you are on 9999 life? I can get you down to -9999 in ONE turn (too bad it stops at 0... sigh).
Key Cards: Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond & any life-gain/damage card ( Sign in Blood / Tendrils of Corruption / Corrupt / Consume Spirit )

Black Beats v1 - Not the usual mono-black beatdown, but this does its job just as good as well.
Key Cards: Find out yourself =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130621 DECKS (1)

Elven Warfare v2 - Elves! Similar to v1, but much faster, more stable *to me*...
Key Cards: Why not you find it out this time? =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130615 DECKS (3)

Don't Touch Me v1 - A Black/Green control deck if you love to see the game ends as if it just started.
Key Cards: Phyrexian Obliterator & Ulvenwald Tracker

Elven Warfare v1 - Elves! But no... It's Druids actually. *I really had no idea why I named it 'Elven'*
Key Cards: Gilt-Leaf Archdruid

Supremacy v2 - A Blue/Green/White control deck. A deck for you if you love seeing your creatures grow bigger and bigger and much bigger!
Key Cards: Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite & Triskelion

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20130613 DECKS (3)

Die Already v1 - A Black/Green control deck that belittles your opponent's creatures (if there are still any in play that is).
Key Cards: Curse of Death's Hold, Skinrender & Massacre Wurm

Legionnaire v4 - You love a HORDE of BIG creatures (9999/9999)? This deck's for you.
Key Cards: Master Biomancer, Master of the Wild Hunt, Vigor, Hero of Bladehold & Knight Exemplar

Didn't See That Coming v2 - A Blue/Green control deck that offers many winning solutions.
Key Cards: Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Roil Elemental, Rampaging Baloths, Avenger of Zendikar, Living Tsunami, Hedron Crab & Grazing Gladeheart

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE:
- Do not cast Birds of Paradise if Master Biomancer is in play... It'll crash the game somehow =(
- And YES, those 1/1 and tokens you have are meant to die to Skullclamp... My idea of card draw advantage... 1 colorless mana, 2 cards... not bad ey

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FINAL WORDS

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did... =)

Jacque

[BloodReyvyn]

Looks like there are a few reasons Birds of Paradise may conflict with Master Biomancer...

My guess at a glance would be this (From B.o.P.):

Code: Select all

  <TRIGGERED_ABILITY internal="1" filter_zone="ZONE_IN_PLAY">
    <TRIGGER value="STATE_BASED_EFFECTS">
    local characteristics = Object():GetCurrentCharacteristics()
    local ability_check = characteristics:Characteristic_Get( CHARACTERISTIC_CANT_USE_ACTIVATED_ABILITIES )
    if ability_check ~= 0 then
   characteristics:Characteristic_Set( CHARACTERISTIC_CANT_USE_ACTIVATED_ABILITIES, 0 )
   return true
    end
    return false
    </TRIGGER>
  </TRIGGERED_ABILITY>


or since they are both set to pre-trigger, possibly are "fighting" for priority with this:

Code: Select all

  <TRIGGERED_ABILITY auto_skip="1" pre_trigger="1" filter_zone="ZONE_IN_PLAY" active_zone="ZONE_TRANSITION">
    <TRIGGER value="ZONECHANGE_TRANSITION" simple_qualifier="self" to_zone="ZONE_IN_PLAY" />
    <RESOLUTION_TIME_ACTION>
    EffectController():ChooseColour( "CARD_QUERY_CHOOSE_COLOUR", 1 )
    </RESOLUTION_TIME_ACTION>
    <RESOLUTION_TIME_ACTION>
    ObjectDC():Set_Int( 0, GetChosenColour() )
    </RESOLUTION_TIME_ACTION>
  </TRIGGERED_ABILITY>


Just a guess though. Anyways, congrats on your first release, I will try them out since I have plenty of time over the next couple days.

[jacque]

Looks like there are a few reasons Birds of Paradise may conflict with Master Biomancer...

My guess at a glance would be this (From B.o.P.):

or since they are both set to pre-trigger, possibly are "fighting" for priority with this:

Just a guess though. Anyways, congrats on your first release, I will try them out since I have plenty of time over the next couple days.

Aaa thanks for pointing it out... Hmmm I'm not a coder per se, I just had a selection of 3 BoPs to use, and I chose the one from 1138 as it allowed me to choose the mana I wanna produce, compared to thefiremind's LAM version... so yea... I dunno how to fix it xD hehehe Thanks tho...

Do gimme feedback how the deck runs for ya...

[jacque]

20130615 Added new decks (3):

- Don't Touch Me v1
- Elven Warfare v1
- Supremacy v2

Enjoy!!!

[jacque]

20130621 Added new decks (1):

- Elven Warfare v2

Enjoy!!!

[jacque]

20130624 Added new decks (4):

- Goblin Warfare v1
- Look Mom No Hand v1
- Bloody Hell v1
- Black Beats v1

I would appreciate it much if you could just drop me an honest feedback how my decks worked for you.

Enjoy!!!

[gorem2k]

I'm playing your Goblin Warfare v1.

As I said before: every time I play a good deck, the AI almost always starts with an incredible hand and no matter how many mulligans I do, I get mana screwed (20 lands in your deck is perfect for Goblins). That's why I now prefer to code cards rather than playing against AI. I get frustrated easily

There's no way to simulate a REAL magic game on a computer.

So all in all, you've got a well-balanced deck; the AI knows it and makes it very frustrating. maybe I'm too sensible?

[jacque]

Probably that was the reason to why I blamed it on the shuffling of the decks... The splitting way that I used I notice it helps with the consistency of the decks.

Other than that I also realized that, if you started off having bad draws, just go with it... subsequent games are better... I don't know why but it is weird.

AI utilizes the "Bias" thingie which I have a feeling that it helps them to get those consistent draws. I am sure that you have also noticed that AI drops, for any decks, are very predictable, and they have different pattern sets. Yes they cheat xD (so I believe).

Nonetheless, it is an irony still to me to think having 1/3 of any deck made ever, being lands - in my case, 75 card deck, 23-24 lands, and I can still get land screwed on quite a regular basis. That is also the reason why I abused a lot of card draw advantage to try to cope this of what we seem to identify as "a problem".

So yea... I hope it'll be a fun experience for you using the decks I made against NON-"cheating-AI-that-cannot-seem-to-figure-out-how-to-play-magic-the-correct-way"... xD

Frustrated... been there xD

At the moment: Testing "White Beats v1"... on paper, it is definitely MUCH faster and more consistent than Black Beats v1... but... not quite atm against Garruk... *damn cheater* hehehe

Thanks for testing mi deck =)

[lzy23]

Hi Jacque, I played "Look Mom, No Hand" with commentary on YT.

watch?v=Dly-CzsJL0s

You'll have to insert the YT link in front, sorry about that. The forum doesn't allow me to insert out-of-forum links.

Personally, I didn't find much ways to end the game (unless I'm missing something), but the only bomb I see in the deck is Batterskull. Perhaps a Consuming Aberration or a Mortivore might be useful for late game. Right now the deck has too many ways of getting the opponent to discard, but not much ways to actually win the game.

Adding in 1/2 Liliana's Caress might put pressure on the opponent with that much amount of discard, but I think it might get a bit OP with too many copies.

Also, Transmute for the Dimir Infiltrator isn't working for me, or at least it's not working how the card says it should work. Not sure if it's a conflict with an existing mod or something else. Maybe you'd like to take a look at it.

It's a nice deck though, thanks for it

[jacque]

Hi Jacque, I played "Look Mom, No Hand" with commentary on YT.

watch?v=Dly-CzsJL0s

You'll have to insert the YT link in front, sorry about that. The forum doesn't allow me to insert out-of-forum links.

Personally, I didn't find much ways to end the game (unless I'm missing something), but the only bomb I see in the deck is Batterskull. Perhaps a Consuming Aberration or a Mortivore might be useful for late game. Right now the deck has too many ways of getting the opponent to discard, but not much ways to actually win the game.

Adding in 1/2 Liliana's Caress might put pressure on the opponent with that much amount of discard, but I think it might get a bit OP with too many copies.

Also, Transmute for the Dimir Infiltrator isn't working for me, or at least it's not working how the card says it should work. Not sure if it's a conflict with an existing mod or something else. Maybe you'd like to take a look at it.

It's a nice deck though, thanks for it

First off, thanks for trying the deck... As for any of the decks that I've made, it will definitely take more than a few runs to get the "feel" of it... *so I believe*

"Look Mom No Hand v1" is a UB control deck, that focuses mainly on a discard concept in early game, but as you move on to mid or late game, you'd end it with creatures rush... Let's look at the deck list:

2x - Batterskull - This card can stand alone, or you can attach it to any other creatures. Purposely slot it in to "balance" your own hit points as well... When you start to take control of the board, you should be at 5-8 HP.
3x - Black Sun’s Zenith - Mass removal especially for early game, pesky 1/1s and 2/2s. This can be used to clear the board as well before you throw out Doppelganger.
3x - Damnation - Ditto as above, but intended for late game.
3x - Dimir Cutpurse - This card honestly is underused in the deck. Damage doesn't go through really, unless you had a "reset" done and it's you have a Helm slapped on it. Another reason this is there besides for its color is to keep your opponent's hand to as little as possible.
3x - Dimir Doppelganger - Copy any creature you want in any graveyard. Another solution after a mass-D.
4x - Dimir Infiltrator - Early game card advantage and discard mechanic with Helm on it. It's a good blocker as well, 1/3 for only 2. Transmute for Tourach or Zenith.
4x - Evolving Wilds - To thin down your deck, and to find that U mana that you might be lacking at times.
4x - Helm of the Ghastlord - To slap it ONLY on any of the multi-colored creatures, especially Infiltrator (discards 1, draws 2) and Cutpurse.
4x - Hymn to Tourach - Early game discard.
4x - Hypnotic Specter - Mid game discard.
2x - Infiltration Lens - Card draw advantage intended for Hypnotic Specters and Dimir Cutpurse. You'll pressure your opponent to block which allows you to stay on the curve with the card draw advantage. It is OK to get the Specters and Cutpurse killed.
2x - Needle Specter - Wither with a Batterskull is mean. Attacking with it now with Vigilance and Lifelink topped with Wither makes it worse.
2x - Rite of Replication - An immediate solution to fliers or even fatties that your opponent have. Or, try using it on a creature that Doppel just copied, or even on Skinrender - -15/-15 on a selected target.
4x - Shadowmage Infiltrator - Early card draw advantage. You definitely draw 2 cards a turn now. Just as good a blocker as Dimir Infiltrator.
4x - Undermine - Sit on it in early game and just wait patiently for your opponent to cast something beyond what you can handle.
4x - Skinrender - Theoretically, 4 for a 6/6, why not? Kills almost any creature as it enters the game, block enough 1/1s or 2/2s until you start to take control of the board.

There you go, a very versatile deck.

Reason why I didn't use Mortivore is because you'll need 9 mana to make it effective; 4 for Damnation, 4 to cast, 1 spare Regen. With that 9 mana, I could have spent it on other solutions. Also you'd be slower by 1 turn at least (1 land drop), because you'd always have to have a B mana free to protect it. It's too small a solution in the early game, too late in late game.

As for Consuming Aberration, you'll need to have 7 mana spent for that one ability to be effective - deck mill. Assuming that you'd be casing it after mass-D, making it 11 mana, assuming that you Tourach after it, or you have a Dimir Infiltrator in hand. 18 damage over 6 sources (Skinrender + Rites + 5 creatures with 3 -1/-1 counters) is better than 20 damage from one source (Aberration) - You'll definitely get at least half the damage through with multiple sources, compared to one, without trample. Also, Aberration is not in the Cores I am using...

Transmute works fine to me though - make sure you have all the Cores that I've listed.

Video: Look Mom No Hands v1

Thanks for testing and giving me a feedback on the deck again... appreciate it =)

[Shadowcran]

Just downloaded the decks and wanted to say thanks.

I always play each new deck I download vs Krenko's Goblins in Revenge Mode as it's a real challenge. Most decks, the complicated 3 color or more ones, get owned by the goblins with usually no damage done to their total. Yours did well due to having enough removal, something a lot of the modded decks lack.

I play MTG Tactics as well and vs Goblins, there's many ways to beat them. Paladin en-vecs and Freewind Falcons for white, Phantom Scoundrel(created by Tactics a 2/3 prored blue rogue creature)Black's removal in that can wreck a goblin deck big time. Disfigures, Grasp of Darkness, Eradicate(very good on those recurring ones), Weakness, Doom Blade, and a few others. But so far, most decks are lucky to do 50% vs the goblin decks in DoTp. The developers overdid this deck in comparison with the other core decks imo.

You asked for suggestions? I'd love a U/B antired/anti goblin deck. However, don't go to any trouble, ok?

Edit: Oh, and in Tactics our Mutilate isn't all that good and we don't have infest. The game isn't all that bad although it seems the company, SOE, has abandoned it at the current time. I say this in case you want to try it out. In repayment for all your decks you made I'll give you some gp and whatever extra cards I have lying around. I'm the wealthiest player(gp wise) in that game. HasimerFenring is the name I use on it.

[jacque]

Just downloaded the decks and wanted to say thanks.

I always play each new deck I download vs Krenko's Goblins in Revenge Mode as it's a real challenge. Most decks, the complicated 3 color or more ones, get owned by the goblins with usually no damage done to their total. Yours did well due to having enough removal, something a lot of the modded decks lack.

I play MTG Tactics as well and vs Goblins, there's many ways to beat them. Paladin en-vecs and Freewind Falcons for white, Phantom Scoundrel(created by Tactics a 2/3 prored blue rogue creature)Black's removal in that can wreck a goblin deck big time. Disfigures, Grasp of Darkness, Eradicate(very good on those recurring ones), Weakness, Doom Blade, and a few others. But so far, most decks are lucky to do 50% vs the goblin decks in DoTp. The developers overdid this deck in comparison with the other core decks imo.

You asked for suggestions? I'd love a U/B antired/anti goblin deck. However, don't go to any trouble, ok?

Edit: Oh, and in Tactics our Mutilate isn't all that good and we don't have infest. The game isn't all that bad although it seems the company, SOE, has abandoned it at the current time. I say this in case you want to try it out. In repayment for all your decks you made I'll give you some gp and whatever extra cards I have lying around. I'm the wealthiest player(gp wise) in that game. HasimerFenring is the name I use on it.

Heya... Thanks for your comment regarding the decks that I've made... mind telling me which in particular, so that I know that those decks' tempo are quite stable.

I've noticed that you've longed for a U/B deck that anti red/goblin... I personally don't like making decks that antis a particular build or color... but I've taken note of it and came out with this deck, which I think may meet what you have been looking for: That Ain't Gonna Work v2... please check the 1st post.

Play tested it against Krenko (Revenge), out of 4 matches, won 4... Maybe I just got lucky lol... Try it, and please let me know what you think. I am quite limited to a certain set of cards because I'm rather picky on the Cores that I use, as there are quite a number out there even though they offered more cards in general, but lacking artwork - which sucks. So I disregarded them entirely. Pretty contented with the current Cores atm.

Regarding Tactics, I'll give you a holla when I finally decide to play it. I have two more decks to build and I'm actually quite confused at the moment... So yea...

Have fun... =)

[jacque]

20130625 Added new decks (1):

- That Ain't Gonna Work v2

I would appreciate it much if you could just drop me an honest feedback how my decks worked for you.

Enjoy!!!

[Shadowcran]

Thank you very much for the timely response. I truly appreciate it. I'm disabled and homebound but can still play video games a ton(some would say I'm blessed in this,lol) and I have the time to do all the testing I want. With that in mind I tested the deck you made.

I played 5 with it and lost every one. This makes me wonder.....

That the game curves harder the more you play vs certain decks. I'm no technical guy(or I'd make decks myself) but the pattern is obvious to me.

When I play vs the Goblin deck, it often has symptoms of "cheating". Yeah, it's as if the computerized AI is cheating. For example: If there's only one card in it's deck that could possibly save it's butt, it'll draw it. I once had it down to 5hp, with me having 2 creatures on field vs his 1 token, and I had 39hp. It proceeded to draw: Goblin Ringleader/Arms Dealer/Chieftain. Arms dealer took out both my creatures on that turn. Voracious dragon next turn along with anothe Ringleader. 3 turns later of similar "miracle" draws, and I'm dead. This isn't an isolated incident but actually pretty common for miracles.

Second Example: And this is an obvious one. If it plays a Goblin Guide and doesn't attack you(with haste), you will draw a land that turn. Unless you're already in a bad state, it will not attack if you are about to draw a land. It "reads" the next card you will draw.

Any creature that isn't ridiculously op(mana ramped),protected from red, or hexproof/shrouded will get destroyed almost immediately by Gempalm Incinerator or Arms Dealer. What gets me is you can't even counterspell the gempalm and it's a draw AND major killer. If you don't draw both early removal and low mana creature x2 by turn 2, then on turn 3 expect infiltrator to hit you and usually get a free cast of goblin ringleader followed by Siege Gang COmmander on same. This gives them yet more ways to get rid of your creatures almost as soon as they're put down.

Oh, when I test, I discount Mana or spell screws from the equation. I simply restart if this occurs and do not count the loss.

Type of decks that work vs them(well, the ones that do the best)
1) Any Eldrazi with fast ramp(pretty much using cards that would be banned in organized play)So basically it plays like I'm the one cheating. Also works with just about any ramp deck using op creatures.

2) Any deck with sufficient removal. Damnations, Infest, mutilate, Massacre wurm(which you added into your deck you made for me), or the ones that target single creatures. Each deck needs at least 16 cards with removal as only goal to work well.

3) Green decks(green only) with low mana/tough creatures mostly with hexproof such as Dungrove Elder. Prey Upons a must but Beast Within(imo one of the most versatile cards around)is wasted vs gobs.

4) Knight decks featuring at least 4 x one creature with prot from red.

And finally 5) White/other color decks with low mana creatures, lots of ways to deal with gobs(swords to plowshares, Day of Judgement etc.)(Pacifism, defang and like spells are pretty much worthless in this) and also the deck has sufficient low mana draw(If ancestral Recall isn't the best low mana draw ever, I don't know what is) Soldier decks NOT using equipment(which is a shame) can compete sometimes. If you have to use enchantments or equipment vs gobs you're dead before they can have any effect.

Sorry post is so long, but I felt I had to explain. Here's what I got from researching protection from red creatures:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Searc ... e=0&name=+[Protection]+[from]+[Red]||type=+[Protection]+[from]+[Red]||subtype=+[Protection]+[from]+[Red]||text=+[Protection]+[from]+[Red]

Tactics is a game that has gone ignored mostly due to it's terrible advertising. Most players, including myself, find it by accident. I've been playing it since just after it came out. Hey, at least it has Black Lotus and Necropotence, 2 cards banned in card, lol. When I said our mutilate was different, Tactics has it x 3 swamps. With damage as the x only. The only problem card players have with the game is the terrain features which veterans use for concealment/hiding, and the fact players can run away from aggro to gain time.

Contact me at Shadowcran@aol.com if you want. Don't worry about another deck design for the gobs. I'm very close to designing my own and learning how to do the whole process myself.

[jacque]

Oh dear... I find it so weird now... hehehe... I just tested that deck against Chandra (Revenge), won 3 rounds also >.< I'll keep u updated... =)

Update: Another 3 wins against Krenko (Revenge) >.<... I hope it works for you though... =(

Video 01: That Aint Gonna Work v2 01
Video 02: That Aint Gonna Work v2 02


Adding On...
We do have Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Moxes here too =)... You just need to grab the necessary Cores that others made... Those that I have listed dun really have the full set of Moxes, as well as Duals... So yea... a lil of everything =)

Nonetheless, I will continue tweaking the deck, so that it is more stable and consistent (at least)... I've gotten 2 loses from Krenko (Revenge) just now as well... and yes I do agree with you Computer AI cheats... the patterns are pretty obvious: Round 2: Warren Instigator, Round 3: Siege Gang Commander... (AI cycled 2 damage on my Shadowmage Infiltrator and I didn't want him to die so yea, I got what I asked for hehehe)