Running the Numbers #2 |
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 Writers Note: I'm going to be doing this for the Saturday Classic event and TPDC. If I happen to talk about your deck and you want to clarify something about how it works or its classification, you can email me at davebarone@aol.com and explain. Also, if you want your deck to be discussed then you have to post it in the event thread (note: this doesn't guarantee I'm going to) I can't really talk about a deck if I don't know what's in it. Ok, with that out of the way I suppose I'll get started. Tournament Overview: Event - Classic PDC, 7.01 The first Classic event of Season 7 started off very nicely on Saturday with 16 participants fighting their way through five difficult rounds of action. It will be interesting to see if the longer event has any effect on the decks that emerge victorious week to week this season in Classic as a string of lucky wins will be very difficult to maintain over such an event. In total 13 different archetypes were represented on Saturday. The field was made up of a larger number of aggressive decks than anything else, but in the end, most were left out in the cold. The decks break down into: Control - 3: MUC, MUTC, 3DB (3 Decks in a blender) Aggro - 8: Mono Red Burn & Creatures, RG Beats (3), Angel Stompy, Affinity, GW Cloak, RB Husk Midrange (aggro control) - 3: Orzhov Blink, Deep Dog, Rock & Millions Combo - 1: Tidewater Minion Combo Very few control decks here is unexpected as it is not typical for Classic. I would expect it to change, but we will see. if not, prep your MBC decks for some fun. Top 4 (top 8) Analysis MUC & Angel Stompy (Cloak variant) in the top again. I think this is something to get used to until folks start building to stop them. The other two decks in the top 4 were Orzhov Blink and 3DB. As for my deck, I think it needs a bit of work, but overall I am happy with how it performed. I just have to shore up a couple of specific problem holes. I feel the blinks may be more tricky than necessary at this point, and I also have to address the issue of my removal package. Too often I am not having the card I want when I need it. It has always been an issue for Black I feel but I think I can fix it within the structure of this deck. I feel Orzhov Blink does have potential this season. From the outside, it has all the tools to handle the current big 3 with proper tuning such as dropping the curve to get under MUC's counters ala White Weenie, using its life gain versus Burn range and Disenchant tools vs Cloak. Hmm, perhaps I should make some adjustments. For each event, I will try to show a different list for reference. This week we have one that has been around for some time. Sideboard The notable element I find about this deck are the subtle changes that are made over time as the field adjusts as well. The additions of Dream Stalker, the gradual reduction of Ninjas, the selective tutor targets and how they change all show how you can't take a deck for face value and assume it is always the same stock list. Either playing with it or against it, you always need to adjust and to pay attention to adjustments if you intend to win. The Field Analysis The rest of the field was full of aggro decks for the most part. Notably, RG beats appeared in three builds but had a tough day. I don't think the time is really right for RG. Given the current defensive options available the tools just aren't there for it to break through. Compared to Burn Range, its attack is a turn (maybe 2) slower and its creatures aren't evasive enough to make a difference. Last season's Thresher did show some promise with its ability to swing between attack and control equally well and it may be the better option for fans of the RG color combo this season. RB Husk made another blip. It is a deck that I think many people may tinker with. It does have a lot of options and is a nice aggro alternative. Finally, Affinity also was present and did well, but just missed the final cut. Season Tracking & Head to Heads This section will be held for now while I track the results for a few weeks. It’s a little too early for meaningful data to be formulated yet. (Note: I am not counting byes or drop victories in the wins and losses) Innovations, Changes, New Decks I was surprised we didn’t see more Lorwyn this week in the tourney, but I suppose it may be a bit too soon after the release date yet. As far as the top 4 went I think I was the only person to use any. For my addition I used Eyeblight's Ending. It was okay I suppose, but not as good as I wanted and I think I will remove it. I warn others planning to use it, Angel Stompy has Elves in it that you will have to kill and being that you may be seeing it I don't know that it is the best choice for removal. The GW Cloak list featured Auramancers to recapture lost Cloaks. This is something different, but I'm not sure its needed. For the top decks, they were fairly stock lists so hopefully we will soon see some innovation in what people do to try to defeat them. Final Thoughts I would saw the first event of Season 7 was a fine success. Some lag got in the way and we thought wee would crash at times, but we held on straight through. There was a lot of Aggro in week 1 though no Burn Range. I'm not sure what to make of that. As usual Cloak and MUC are strong decks. I still wait for people to prep for them. Some metagaming needs to be done. Hope you enjoyed reading. Jaknife/Dave |
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Season Seven has begun in Classic with a newer, bigger Saturday Event. Five Rounds is alot of matches to slog through for any deck. Look inside to see who is atop the Metagame for week 1.
1 Echoing Truth