Comments on: Running the Numbers #14

By: What Up!

What Up! — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:38:37 +0000

GW Cloak is my favorite deck. I wonder if it will ever truly show back up in the metagame. Not Angel Stompy but the one that uses more white as a part of its mana base. It would be cool to see it rise to a first place win in a hardcore Classic PDC tornament once again. Of course, there are other powerful adapting decks, but I think it has the tools to possibly put another win on the record.
Also, has pretty much everyone switched there GW Cloak decks to Angel Stompy? I never see it reported about too much. If not, I wonder what new cards people are testing out within the deck.

By: jaknife

jaknife — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:49:41 +0000

Jmason:
not really referring to you deck alone, but in general recently we have seen a greater concentration of Goblinstorm combo (albeit some has been in TPDC as well) show up in tourneys than in the past.

By: JMason

JMason — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:57:00 +0000

I wasn’t innovating. I played my goblin storm list from last August because that is the only classic deck I have.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:07:35 +0000

Thank you for the reply. I totally understand. My biggest thing with the splash is that currently, I do not feel a splash is needed. Rather, the cards being splashed add little to the overall game plan of the deck. Specifically, Evu’s Bg build. The Swarm/Rotwurm suite is nice, but adds inevitability to a deck that already is capable of packing numerous other forms of inevitability (Corrupt, Consume Spirit, Drain Life, Crypt Rats), except it makes the package rely on two cards, rather than one. Cutting this suite would allow the deck to run more redundant main color threats and inevitable win conditions. Granted, if COPs make a comeback, the life loss aspect and Sprout Swarm kill, alongside enchantment removal, makes the deck a strong potential contender. Still, the ability to diversify a mana base is not a clarion call to do so.
-Alex

By: jakinlaw

jakinlaw — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:11:58 +0000

you are the best!

By: jaknife

jaknife — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:26:42 +0000

Alex
let me admit that the holiday also had a bit to do with me not spotlighting this article. Also, this edition was meaty in other places, so I didn’t think it was a big loss to not focus on a particular deck. Sorry if that came across as taking away from the victory, not my intention, it was as important as any other Tourney and I do consider MBC to be a strong player right now.
As far as my feelings towards mixing with Black, to explain..In my opinion splashes can be made right now that improve the build overall while not weakening the deck in general. I’m not really referring to half and half, but touches that don’t prevent the user from still running Corrupt, Crypt Rats & such while giving depth.
dave

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:51:14 +0000

I think you undervalue mono Black and the ability to craft a late game. Sacrificing consistency and potential late game power in the form of Corrupt (at maximum effectiveness) seems to be a trade off that is unnecessary at the present time (if and when Circles of Protection make a comeback, then branching out might be the right play).
You contend that a second color aides in the late game, but I disagree. In the late game, certain decks have issues dealing with Augur of Skulls and Grim Harvest while MBC is simultaneously crafting a Corrupt kill. MUC is one such deck, but from the limited testing I have done shows that MUC vs MBC is winnable for Black, maybe even favorable, but that warrants more testing. The Harvests as well as large late game threats such as Crypt Rats, Twisted Abominations, and Corrupts means that this particular version does have an endgame that needs to be crafted carefully.
Finally, I disagree with your lack of a deck spotlight (albeit this is because I had a winning deck). In a previous week (http://www.pdcmagic.com/articles/running-the-numbers-7.shtml) with a deck that was not one of the big three or a well established archetype, and with a top 4 that can be described as less than indicative of the format, you still highlighted a deck. Now, I understand that this is the holiday season and if that is a contributing factor to you choosing not to highlight a deck, totally understandable. Still, these decks did win their respective tournaments, beating some well established decks along the way. In my opinion, that itself warrants analysis, especially in the case of Bg control.
I do not mean to come off as attacking you, because I do respect the work you do, and know how hard it is to be a writer (there’s always someone wondering why you didn’t do X or Y). I’m just trying to stand up for my victory. Is my deck the best? Probably not, but it did win an event. Even the four seed deck made the top 4.
-Alex

By: LulThyme

LulThyme — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:19:21 +0000

Good article!