March 2011
12 posts
Hey I saw your Glissa deck and I think Spine of Ish Sah would make a great fit with the piston sledge combo (though it does work better with throne of geth/lux cannon). Looks fun though.
Hey man, thanks for the suggestion. I might try it out, but I just don’t think I have the ability to abuse the Spine enough to justify it. Even in an ideal setting with birds and steady land drops I could get it out about turn 6 and then I’d be tapping out every other turn for it. I see how it could be cool, I just don’t think I could efficiently work it into this build. Thanks for the idea, though, and I will keep it in mind.
GlissaWin
Here’s my latest list I’ve been working on.
Testing shows it doing alright. Still needs a lot of work. Any suggestions?
Just proxied up a new list of my own ...
Won’t post a deck list yet because I don’t want Gabe expecting anything, but it does involve some of these
and none of these
Well, with no clue on the date of the next tournament ...
It’s time to start brewing a new list. I know the cards I want to play, just to try and make it work.
An Unfortunate Game Day Report
Well, I’m gonna get right down to the rounds since you can all see the list in my last post.
Round 1 VS Valakut
Game 1 Went pretty well. Countered his early ramp and then dropped a Grave Titan. He resolved an Avenger of Zendikar after that, but Black Sun’s Zenith and Go For The Throat cleared the path for G tits and Creeping Tar Pits provided beat down back up.
Game 2 He got off fast with ramp and burned me out. Not a lot too it.
Game 3 I went off with plenty of disruption and counter magic. Eventually I got stuck at 4 land with Cancel, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and a couple other cards in hand. I knew he had only a Primeval Titan and Khalni Heart Expedition in hand, but decided to play Jace to dig for more land which allowed him to resolve Primeval. I never found the land I needed. Now I know I should have just held off to Cancel his Primeval, but I made a mistake. This cost me the game and did bring me down a bit.
Round 2 VS White Weenie Metalcraft?
This was against some kid who looked 12 at best and had been playing for a month. His uncle had brought him and his deck was the Into the Breach deck modded to Mono-White. I 2-0’d him rather quickly without a lot of detail here. Afterwords I noticed he was playing White Sun’s Zenith so I gave him my foil copy of it to not discourage him too much. Gotta keep it fun for the kids, right?
Round 3 VS MonoWhite Artifacts
While this deck was played well, I can’t help but feel bitter about this round. I lost 0-2, but never made it past 4-5 lands in games that lasted 8+ turns.
Round 4 VS Cheap Kuldotha Red
Game 1 he came out fast and swung hard. Not much detail here.
Game 2 Black Sun’s Zenith for 1 was played a couple times. This paired with spot removal and Spell Pierces for his Rebirths locked it up for me.
Game 3 Pretty identical to Game 3.
So, overall I didn’t too well at all because of obvious misplays on my part, and of course usual fate smite, haha. Regardless, I had a good time with friends and managed to finally find a good use for Venser’s Journal!
Game Day Tomorrow ... and the deck
Well, here is the list as it stands.
Now, let’s go over the choices.
Removal:
2 Black Sun’s Zenith
When everything needs to go. This has proven more useful than Consume the Meek with the ability to come down Turn 3 against numerous aggro decks and is useful to help shuffle with Jace out.
3 Disfigure
This used to be sideboard material, but with the amount of tiny aggressive creatures, it has become good maindeck material. This kills most Elves, Vamps, Goblins, and also kills Cobras, Mystics, and Oracle.
2 Go for the Throat
The better Doom Blade. Yes, there are a lot of artifacts running around, but those are easier to handle than Vamps and Grave Titans.
Disruption and Counter Magic
2 Cancel
For when you just need to say NO.
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
IoK Vs Duress. Both are great spells, but this just grabs most of threats you need to get rid of before your counters and removal come online. I don’t know how many times I’ve survived due to stripping away a key or aggressive card from an opponents opening hand.
4 Mana Leak
I’m playing a blue control deck. Does this need any further explanation?
2 Spreading Seas
This card is not as good as it used to be, but it is still good. Against Vamps it’s a Stone Rain that cantrips. Against other decks it can often slow them down enough to gain some ground, or at the very least dig for a different answer. Against a player with bad draws it can turn the game into goldfishing.
Utility
1 Blue Sun’s Zenith
This one I’ve been going back and fourth on. When I get it and it’s good, it’s good. Top decking this late game during a control matchup can mean going from an emptied hand to a full one. It can also mean shuffling away unwanted cards from a Brainstorm. Thing is I find myself not wanting more often. This might become 1 Doom Blade.
4 Preordain
The ability to dig and filter the top of the deck is always nice, especially for 1 mana.
2 Jace Beleren
Definitely pales in comparison to his Alter Ego, but he helps dig, act as a meat shield, and also is a sorcery that reads “1UU: Destroy Target Jace, the Mind Sculptor”.
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Best blue card for a while. Fateseal, Brainstorm, Boomerang, and a finisher all in one? And I can use them more than once? Yes please? I would like 4, but don’t have the last right now.
Finishers
1 Frost Titan
Well, he’s not amazing, but he does lock down opposing Titans (or any big finisher for that matter) and can shut down a color screwed opponent.
1 Wurmcoil Engine
The life gain is nice against an aggressive opponent, and he is safe from Go For The Throat.
2 Grave Titan
The big papa. A huge beater that is hard to kill and floods the field with every turn he lives. Only 2 of him since I needed variety for the current Meta, but still the best finisher in Standard IMO.
Land
4 Creeping Tar Pit
A dual land that can kill. Yes, I HAVE killed opponents with Tar Pits.
4 Darkslick Shores
Turn 1 Preordain/Inquisition is always nice.
4 Drowned Catacomb
Another dual
1 Evolving Wilds
Will come out for Marsh Flats probably. But it grabs a basic and shuffles.
4 Island
Hooray for Basics!
1 Mystifying Maze
This has been nice late game before, but I’ll probably switch it out for a Island fetching land if I can borrow one.
3 Swamp
More basics!
4 Tectonic Edge
I hate Man Lands. And Valakuts. And duals. Yeah
Sideboard
3 Duress
For when IoK isn’t good or just not good enough.
3 Flashfreeze
Replaces leak against decks that are red or green
2 Memoricide
C-c-c-c-combo Breaker!
1 Mindbreak Trap
I haven’t seen many Summoning Traps running around, but it can’t hurt to be prepared.
2 Ratchet Bomb
Kuldotha Red is a seriously threat, and this definitely helps there.
1 Massacre Wurm
Usually comes in against aggro decks in place of Frost Titan. This thing can sweep a field and end the game just by coming down.
2 Spell Pierce
Extra ammo for control matchups.
1 Spreading Seas
There for Valakut and maybe Vamps. Probably not on that last one, though.
Well, that’s the deck. I’ve been testing and researching a lot lately, and I feel pretty confident with this list. So, wish me luck and expect a report soon.
