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    JonHammack

    @JonHammack

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    Best posts made by JonHammack

    • RE: October 17, 2017 Banned & Restricted announcement

      @bobbyvictory Only requires 7 cards.

      Black Lotus, Mishra's Factory, Fleetwheel Cruiser, Mana Crypt, Phyrexian Metamorph, Mishra's Factory, Mox.

      T1
      Play factory and lotus to cast fleetwheel. Play crypt and mox to metamorph fleetwheel. Attack for 10.

      T2
      Play Factory. Tap crypyt to animate both factories and crew both fleetwheels. Attack for 10.

      Do I get style point for not even needing a Workshop? šŸ˜›

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • DR Shaman or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BUG(R)

      I’ve seen some recent posts about a Deathrite based control deck and there seemed to be some interest in the archetype, so here is a primer (of sorts) for the list I've been running for a while.

      # 4 Color Control
       
      Creatures (11)
      4 Deathrite Shaman
      2 Snapcaster Mage
      2 Baleful Strix
      2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
      1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
      Removal (5)
      1 Ancient Grudge
      1 Abrupt Decay
      1 Fatal Push
      1 Dismember
      1 Engineered Explosives
      Disruption (9)
      1 Thoughtseize
      4 Force of Will
      3 Mental Misstep
      1 Mindbreak Trap
      Card Draw (7)
      3 Painful Truths
      1 Treasure Cruise
      1 Dig Through Time
      1 Brainstorm
      1 Ancestral Recall
      Other (5)
      1 Demonic Tutor
      1 Time Walk
      2 Jace TMS
      1 Dack Fayden
      Mana (23)
      1 Black Lotus
      1 Mox Emerald
      1 Mox Jet
      1 Mox Ruby
      1 Mox Sapphire
      4 Polluted Delta
      2 Scalding Tarn
      1 Verdant Catacombs
      1 Strip Mine
      1 Mana Confluence
      3 Underground Sea
      2 Tropical Island
      1 Volcanic Island
      1 Badlands
      1 Island
      1 Swamp
      Sideboard
      2 Nature's Claim
      1 Ancient Grudge
      2 Flusterstorm 
      4 Grafdigger's Cage
      1 Nihil Spellbomb
      1 Ravenous Trap
      2 Pyroblast
      1 Abrupt Decay
      1 Murderous Cut
      

      General Deck Philosophy

      Ideal games with this deck look to secure mana advantage with Deathrite Shaman, trade 1-for-1 with the opponent, while gaining incremental value with Snapcaster/Baleful Strix, and eventually pulling ahead with Jace/Painful Truths. While this deck does look like a 4 color control deck, it is really a base U/B deck with slight splashes tailored to certain matchups.

      Why should you play this deck?

      It’s not Mentor, Shops, or Outcome!
      But seriously, I really enjoy the deck because it plays out like a hard control deck that has some good disruptive creatures that double as win conditions (Deathrite Shaman/Leovold). Knowing when to change modes with Deathrite Shaman, from a source of mana to a damage source, is one of the most important things to consider with this deck. It will not win games quickly, so if you don’t like to grind, I would give this deck a pass.

      Waste(land) Not, Want Not

      The genesis of the deck was a more creature heavy version of BUG that looked to waste/strip the opponent early and often. Deathrite Shaman made sure that you could still curve out and develop your mana, while denying your opponent theirs. In theory, it was great. In practice, I rarely won games where I mana screwed my opponents.
      Waste/strip vs shops just turns their lands into Black Lotuses and since I’m not winning the game quickly, the one mana I could use from the wasteland is VASTLY more important to us than just speed bumping them for a turn. Half of their deck is mana and most of their lands tap for 2+.

      Vs combo, traditionally there was a higher chance that you waste them out of the game, but that still required 1-2 pieces of disruption to give yourself that opportunity. With the rise of Outcome there are more basics and emphasis on artifact mana, so I don’t feel that wasteland + disruption is a valid strategy. I will note that combo is the worst matchup for this deck (more on that later).

      Vs mentor, it was a fine move to waste early and often, pre gush restriction. Now, mentor plays more mana sources, so that game plan rarely bears any fruit.
      Since I wasn’t running 5 colorless lands anymore, I could splash red for a little diversity in shop hate and add Pyroblast to the board.

      A Few Notes on Card Choices

      Tasigur vs Gurmag Angler

      This comes down to how much Eldrazi you see in your meta vs mentor/blue decks. The zombie fish is much better against both forms of Eldrazi since it eats almost everything and trades cleanly with a Reality Smasher. It has the added benefit of not being Legendary and getting bounced by Karakas out of White Eldrazi.

      The Shotgun Approach to Removal

      The goal of the deck is to see a lot of extra cards via Truths/Jace-ing in the late game, so I prefer a wider array of options. The 2 Snapcasters also reduce the need to draw multiples of one particular removal spell.

      How does this deck match up against the meta?

      While it may be a point of contention to only mention the ā€˜big 3’, that’s what I am primarily going to consider for this section.

      Vs Shops
      This deck has a favorable matchup against shops, strictly on the back of being able to ignore 4 of shops 9 spheres. Deathrite Shaman and a larger than normal creature count mean I can develop my board/mana in the face of a thorn. 2 main deck basics also provide extra insurance that I can cast my more expensive spells. Main deck Dack and Grudge also help, though Dack’s effectiveness has been waning. It’s worth noting a fun ā€˜trick’ with painful truths and Sphere/Thorn (akin to engineered explosives): since they require you to overpay, you can actually cast it for 4 or 5 colors (depending on the # of spheres in play). I’ve cast it quite a few times for 4 vs shops and it’s pretty fantastic!

      Vs Mentor
      This deck executes its game plan fairly well against mentor. The entire match revolves around their namesake card. The cheap creatures in this deck allow us to pressure the mentor player to potentially force them into a situation where they have to deploy mentor early (i.e. without enough protection or ability to chain spells/monks) or they spend their turns interacting with our board and not developing their hand. It’s a very attrition based matchup, but Leovold and Painful Truths help.

      Vs Outcome
      I will admit that combo is not my favorite matchup to play since the deck is fairly limited in disruption game 1. Leovold is the saving grace since he can win the game on the spot if the PO player has no MD way to remove him. It gets better post board, but I would be lying if I said I was confident in the game 1 matchup. Another interesting interaction: on the off chance you get stormed out with a Leovold in play, you can let the storm trigger go on the stack, resolve, and then put a Leovold trigger on the stack for each storm copy. This means that all of your ā€˜draw a card’ triggers will resolve before any of the storm copies, so you only need to find a Flusterstorm/Mindbreak Trap within the top X cards of your deck (where X = the # of storm copies on the stack). Leovold already makes you somewhat Duress-proof, since you always draw a card, but this allows your counters to ā€˜hide out’ in your deck and is an added layer of protection against hand disruption.

      Mulligans and Developing the Game Plan

      The ideal start for this deck is turn 1 Deathrite, but in lieu of that, I’m looking for cheap interaction and a fast Leovold/Jace. Since Painful Truths is a big part of the deck, I don’t mind using Snapcasters early, most commonly to flashback a misstep on practically anything. An early Deathrite Shaman followed up by a disruptive ambush viper provides significant pressure. Early turns should be spent developing mana and trading cards back and forth, until you pull ahead via Truths or Jace. While a vast majority of the time you will use Jace’s ā€˜brainstorm’ ability, this deck does a decent job of using all parts of the buffalo that is the big blue planeswalker. I’ve bounced my fair share of creatures and fatesealed for a few turns when the game was locked up with an active Deathrite Shaman and an attacking creature (very few cards in my opponent’s deck mattered).

      Sideboard Guide

      Mentor
      +1 Abrupt Decay
      +2 Pyroblast
      -1 Ancient Grudge
      -1 Dismember
      -1 Mindbreak Trap

      Nothing too crazy here, just upgrading some card slots. This matchup revolves entirely around them resolving mentor. While it may seem silly to bring in Pyroblast (an anti blue card) to fight a white card, we are just trying to support our Forces in the fight over Mentor. Some versions of Mentor also run Jace and Dack.

      Oath
      +4 Grafdigger’s Cage
      +1 Abrupt Decay
      -1 Ancient Grudge
      -1 Dismember
      -1 Fatal Push
      -2 Baleful Strix

      Sadly, this is a creature based control deck, so Oath can be problematic. In game 2, I would still run out a turn 1 Deathrite 99% of the time since I have to have some way to win and if I’m sandbagging it, why is it even in the deck? Strix and non-Decay removal are pretty underwhelming here so they are easy to cut for cages. Interesting note, both Forbidden Orchard and Oath of Druids target you, so if you have a Leovold in play, don’t forget to draw your card! Granted, if they are Oathing, it probably won’t matter, but if you have a Cage and a Leovold in play, the Oath still targets! Could easily see swapping a Snapcaster for a Strix since Cage shuts him off, but the fact that he is a surprise 2 power attacker is usually enough to get the nod.

      Paradoxical Outcome Storm
      +2 Pyroblast
      +2 Flusterstorm
      +1 Nihil Spellbomb
      -2 Baleful Strix
      -1 Dismember
      -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
      -1 Fatal Push

      Removal is pretty poor here, as well as Strix. I cut one Jace since I want to make room for more cheap interaction, but could see cutting the Grudge instead. This is a game 2/3 change I might make depending on my opponent. If their play pattern is to run out their artifacts early, I like keeping grudge to potentially double stone rain them. If they are hoarding them until the pivotal turn when they cast outcome, I’d rather have the Jace. The Spellbomb might seem weird, but it is Yawg Will insurance as well as a cheap cycler since the deck isn’t really loaded for combo bear.

      Workshops
      +1 Ancient Grudge
      +2 Nature’s Claim
      +1 Murderous Cut
      +1 Abrupt Decay
      -3 Mental Misstep
      -1 Mindbreak Trap
      -1 Thoughtseize

      Pretty straightforward plan: board in all of the hate/doomblades. I will rarely ever Force a Thorn since it doesn’t slow down my creatures. Forcing a Sphere is contextual, based on my hand and play/draw. If a Deathrite Shaman is already in play, I’ll just pass on it. For the most part, goal is to stay in the game on the back of creatures, 1-for-1 them, and re-load with Truths/Jace.

      Eldrazi
      +1 Abrupt Decay
      +1 Murderous Cut
      +1 Nature’s Claim
      -3 Mental Misstep

      This is the one matchup where I wish I had another ā€˜doom blade’ in the board as well as the only reason I have Dismember main over the 2nd Decay (I really wanted a MD way to kill a Reality Smasher). Misstep is pretty bad, so I bring in a Nature’s Claim since it can actually do something. Matchup plays out similarly to Shops. The white versions can be a little scarier since Heretic Cathar can really slow the deck down, but doesn’t really change the plan of ā€œdoom blade everything and draw a bunch of cardsā€.

      Dredge
      +4 Grafdigger’s Cage
      +1 Nihil Spellbomb
      +1 Ravenous Trap
      -1 Mindbreak Trap
      -1 Ancient Grudge
      -1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
      -1 Thoughtseize
      -1 Snapcaster Mage
      -1 Fatal Push

      Just trimming numbers here to fit in the hate cards. There is a fair debate between keeping Snapcaster over the Dismember, but I want access to 2 cards that can let me kill my own creatures to remove bridges. The other side of that coin is that Snapcaster can be a surprise blocker and basically do the same thing, but dying in combat still lets the dredge player stack the triggers such that they get zombies.

      Conclusion

      I won't delude you (or myself) in claiming that this deck is the next big thing or that is crushes everything in the meta, but its a solid deck that utilizes one of the best unrestricted draw engines: Painful Truths. Like any control deck, a heavy dose of metagame tailoring is necessary for success but part of the fun is constantly tinkering with numbers and card slots.

      posted in BUG
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: [Article] Information Cascades in Magic

      @desolutionist damn, you are still salty about getting stomped by belcher? Shit happens, you got vintaged. Its a Hazard of playing the format.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Evolving New Player: On meta changes

      I can relate to your plight because I'm not a fan of either Mentor or Shops. I think the key to 'getting through it' is to take solid personal inventory RE what is important to you about playing Vintage and align it with the reality we are in. Which is more important to you, winning or playing something you like/having fun? That's not to say you can't do both, but there is a decent amount of data to suggest if winning is your key focus, some form of Mentor or Shops should be your deck choice. If you prefer to go against the grain or have a particular pet deck, play that instead, but do so with the knowledge that you are handicapping yourself on potential win percentage. Even this approach can be taken in 2 distinct ways:

      1. Bury your head in the sand and play what you love and don't worry about your mentor/shops matchup šŸ™‚ Grixis Vault-Key is my all time favorite vintage deck, and I love to play it, but I would effectively be doing this by sleeving it up
      2. Play something not mentor/shops, but make sure your deck has some form of plan against the 2 and try to give thema a run for their money! (again, understanding 'that plan' is likely a weaker option than just playing one of those decks). I've been working on a Deathrite Shaman 4CC list that is firmly tier 2, but I enjoy playing it and it doesn't completely fold to those 2 decks, so I've stayed happy tinkering away with the list. Would I like to win more? Absolutely, but not at the cost of playing Mentor or Shops since neither of those decks appeal to me.

      A lot of time is spent on TMD arguing about the meta and B&R changes. Not a lot of time is spent saying "Well, this is the world we live it. Lets make the most out of it by maximizing what is important to us individually". This is not to say that meta/B&R discussions aren't important, but they have a time and a place. Its ok to want changes to be made to Vintage, or to have the belief that something is 'wrong' with Vintage, but that facet of Vintage (which is only a small part) doesn't have to completely consume your focus and warp your feelings about it.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Handshakegate

      Regardless of reason, no one has the right to anyone else's body. Ever. Win or lose, you are allowed to offer a handshake but expecting it in return is an entitled position. The reason behind your opponent refusing to shake does not matter. They don't want to touch you, and you have to respect that.

      posted in Off-Topic
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • Charity Vintage Tournament in Downtown OKC

      Please join us in Oklahoma City for a Vintage gathering. All proceeds will go to Infant Crisis Services. Details below. If you have any questions, please let me know.

      Format: Vintage Constructed, 100% playtest cards allowed
      Structure: Swiss +1
      Prizes: All prizes will be donated (not required for entry) and distributed based on final standings. This is not meant to be a 'high EV' event, rather a gathering of people that enjoy vintage, good food and/or beer, and like to help out a good cause.
      Entry: $20 (cash only please). All entries will be donated to Infant Crisis Services (https://www.infantcrisis.org/).
      Where: Social Capital (features 120 draft beers, a full wine and cocktail list, street tacos, salads, charcuterie, and house-made ice cream)
      517 S. Hudson Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73109
      https://www.socialcapitalokc.com/
      When: Sunday, January 19th. Bar opens at 11a, tournament to start at noon.

      Event will allow 100% playtest cards, we only request that they be legible. Decklists are not required/will not be collected. Lets play some vintage and support a great local charity!

      posted in Vintage Tournaments
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: October 17, 2017 Banned & Restricted announcement

      @bobbyvictory you don’t get to ask for a t2 kill, using commonly played shop cards, and then talk it down as ā€˜rare’. You put your money where your mouth was and asked for a t2 kill in an attempt to solidify a flawed point. You asked, I put up. Not it’s time to shut up.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: October 17, 2017 Banned & Restricted announcement

      @bobbyvictory you know whats AIDS? The actual disease. You know whats not? Anything else. Try using another term to describe your feelings for Mental Misstep's presence in the format.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Starting up a local tournament scene - need help

      A prize for best finishing non-proxy deck feels like a 'rich get richer' scenario if you are trying to grow a community. Reduced entry for no proxies and/or prizes for highest unpowered finish seem more in line with what you are trying to do.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: To Wasteland, or not to Wasteland...

      I like aggressively wasting in both scenarios for the reasons you lined out (low land count decks/potential tempo gain). In #1, you still lose that game even if you don't waste, so I like the chance to mise a win. Ballista makes playing naked mentors much riskier now against shops, so holding the waste to cast one without a probe seems like a less likely path to victory than just wastelanding them and hoping they are mana screwed (since they lead with a tomb and not a workshop). In #2: Academy is the high value waste target, but sitting on one try wait for it rarely works since they can just play it the turn they need the mana.

      This all comes from the bias of a person that plays decks that tend to reward aggressive wastelanding (BUG DRS decks).

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      JonHammack
      JonHammack

    Latest posts made by JonHammack

    • Charity Vintage Tournament in Downtown OKC

      Please join us in Oklahoma City for a Vintage gathering. All proceeds will go to Infant Crisis Services. Details below. If you have any questions, please let me know.

      Format: Vintage Constructed, 100% playtest cards allowed
      Structure: Swiss +1
      Prizes: All prizes will be donated (not required for entry) and distributed based on final standings. This is not meant to be a 'high EV' event, rather a gathering of people that enjoy vintage, good food and/or beer, and like to help out a good cause.
      Entry: $20 (cash only please). All entries will be donated to Infant Crisis Services (https://www.infantcrisis.org/).
      Where: Social Capital (features 120 draft beers, a full wine and cocktail list, street tacos, salads, charcuterie, and house-made ice cream)
      517 S. Hudson Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73109
      https://www.socialcapitalokc.com/
      When: Sunday, January 19th. Bar opens at 11a, tournament to start at noon.

      Event will allow 100% playtest cards, we only request that they be legible. Decklists are not required/will not be collected. Lets play some vintage and support a great local charity!

      posted in Vintage Tournaments
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: [Article] Information Cascades in Magic

      @desolutionist damn, you are still salty about getting stomped by belcher? Shit happens, you got vintaged. Its a Hazard of playing the format.

      posted in Vintage Strategy
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: So where does paper Vintage still exist?

      We had 19 in Edmond, OK at Storm Brew Games this weekend (was very surprised by the turnout, to be honest). Plans are to schedule events every other month.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: So where does paper Vintage still exist?

      Madness Comics and Games in Denton, TX has proxu vintage about every quarter (usually the week after set release). They also ran 4 EW vintage trials last season.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: San Antonio, TX Vintage: Who's interested?

      Making the trek from OK would be rough. We make the round trip to Denton for Vintage in a day, but an 8hr drive one way would require 2 days of travel. Not opposed to that, but the draw would have to be fairly large (50+ people, high entry mostly paid out in prizes) to warrant the extra day of travel and a hotel room.

      posted in Vintage Tournaments
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Game Layout rules

      @fsecco FWIW, this appears to be modern, and GY order does not matter in that format.

      posted in Rules QnA
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Starting up a local tournament scene - need help

      A prize for best finishing non-proxy deck feels like a 'rich get richer' scenario if you are trying to grow a community. Reduced entry for no proxies and/or prizes for highest unpowered finish seem more in line with what you are trying to do.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Handshakegate

      @neo_altoid absolutely! there are lots of ways to acknowledge a good game w/o physical contact.

      posted in Off-Topic
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: Handshakegate

      Regardless of reason, no one has the right to anyone else's body. Ever. Win or lose, you are allowed to offer a handshake but expecting it in return is an entitled position. The reason behind your opponent refusing to shake does not matter. They don't want to touch you, and you have to respect that.

      posted in Off-Topic
      JonHammack
      JonHammack
    • RE: February 12, 2018 Banned and Restricted Announcement

      @vaughnbros I think the deck is perfectly fine as it. Could it be made more powerful? Sure. Does it need to be pushed? No.

      posted in Vintage Community
      JonHammack
      JonHammack