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Editor: Staff - 19th June 2006
Ravnica/Peasant Deck Challenge Results
The results are in for the Ravnica/Guildpact Peasant Deck Challenge. I'll begin by saying there would have been some entries up for consideration if they had followed the rules… a couple of decks that were really good had between 6 and 9 uncommons, while the limit is 5. I imagine one of the Golgari decks in particular would have been very strong with a single card change. So what did Guildpact add to the format? A lot apparently! All of the finalists were essentially color pairs from Guildpact. I had to ponder the entries long and hard to come to this conclusion. There were decks that were from Ravnica or 3 color hybrids as well but in the end we ended up with a Gruul deck, an Izzet deck and 3 Orzhov decks; one ‘pure', one with a blue splash, and one with a green splash. Generally I tried to aim for different decks, but there was no denying that the Orzhov builds were simply powerful decks. Some of the choices were really hard; a few of the similar decks I compared side-by-side for up to half an hour before I could decide. If your deck didn't make it, it may have only missed out by a whisker. Some of you may remember in the original article I mentioned a card I thought I would see in the competition. It didn't appear, although I think I may have overestimated it's usefulness. That card was Order of the Stars. Some of the decks, particularly with their multi-coloured creatures and spells, would have a hard time dealing with it, or at least slow down some decks considerably. Another card I thought I might see was Selesnya Spider Saggitars which could block most flyers and sometimes even two weenies at once without dying, but they didn't turn up either. So on to the finalists and their entries. I'll give a few comments on each deck as I go. Darkur_Fox 7 Plains 4 Mourning Thrull 4 Pillory of the Sleepless Sideboard 4 Vedalken Dismisser Here we have Orzhov splashing Blue. As one would expect, plenty of creature control. In comparison to the other two Orzhov decks in the finalists, I question the lack of Blind Hunter; that said, when it comes to creatures I don't think there was one creature that appeared in all 3 decks. Blue is splashed mainly for Stratozeppelid, to give some flying superiority, and also opens up options in the sideboard. Jeremy Khoo (archangel_raine21) Izzet Bouncy? 12 Island 4 Steamcore Weird 3 Galvanic Arc Sideboard 4 Rain of Embers I liked the look of this deck. It had plenty of synergy amongst its cards, and while it appeared slow to start, would bury it's opponent under repeated bounce and card advantage. I looked forward to Vedalken Dismisser/Mark of Eviction locks and other Mark shenanigans. Craig Chapman (Fat Basturd) 8 Plains 4 Shrieking Grotesque 3 Faith's Fetters Sideboard 3 Cremate The ‘pure' Orzhov build. The Orzhov decks all pack the usual creature control, and this deck backs it up with Castigate for extra control. This deck is interesting in that it only has 4 uncommons, not 5. I think I would have fixed this problem by swapping out a Basilica with a Orzhova, Church of Deals , or perhaps fit in an additional Agent of Masks. I felt this was a strong component in the deck; in a stall situation it would still bleed the opponent, exactly the way Orzhov wants. Joe Tobin (aytakk2) Ultraviolence 12 Forest 3 Farseek Sideboard 2 Sundering Vitae Joe's Deck aimed to get creatures in play and smash face. I was a bit dubious about Sparkmage Apprentice, both as a bloodthirst enabler (essentially adding :r: :1: to the casting cost of a bloodthirst creature) or as a creature control element. I thought this may have been better as a one drop to help support Scab-Clan Mauler. Joe's choice of uncommon can be very powerful. Savage Twister is the Wrath of God of Ravnica Block Peasant Magic. It can clear out the board if your opponent has smaller creatures than you, or if they simply outnumber you. Bwenndy Hong (soltarimonk) 2 Forest 4 Mourning Thrull 4 Faiths Fetters Sideboard 4 Leave No Trace This Orzhov deck splashes Green for one card; Golgari Rotwurm (and to potentially enhance Mortipede in the sideboard). I think this choice is an important one. It acts as a sacrifice effect for Blind Hunter shenanigans as well as neutralising the effects of Faith's Fetters or Pillory of the Sleepless. And it's a double-pronged win condition to boot! This deck is also interesting in that none of it's uncommons are in the main deck. So on to the matchups. As a reminder, each deck plays each other deck. Each matchup consists of 6 games; 3 pre-sideboard and 3 post-sideboard. Each game win earns a deck 3 points, a loss 0 points, and a draw 1 point. The deck with the highest points at the end of all the matches is the winner, and the second highest will be the runner up. 8 boosters will go to the winner, and 4 boosters to the runner up. I will be going over each matchup, generally explaining how the games went and which cards were most important for the matchup, rather than focusing too much on individual games. After the first 3 games, we swapped decks and then sideboarded. I will admit that I forgot to record all of the sideboard changes that were made. Some of the Orzhov vs. Orzhov games I have given little details on; most of these matchups played out similarly. I found these matchups the most interesting and I'll discuss them at the end. Orzhov Pure vs. Izzet Bouncy I begin the first game with Orzhov. I had 4 removal spells in my opening hand and John got land screwed; any creatures he eventually cast got killed while my guys ran him over. The second game John was able to keep bouncing Steamcore Weird to keep my guys in line. He also killed Blind Hunter, and then bounced the creature I haunted to neutralise it's double dipping. John eventually wins this game. In the 3 rd game, John mulligans to 5. He manages to get a Mark of Eviction on a Steamcore Weird. I answer with Faith's Fetters on said creature, gain 4 life, then get it back during his upkeep. Faith's Fetters kills Mark of Eviction control. With most of his options suboptimal (bouncing Blind Hunters isn't really on the agenda either) John ends up losing this game. Now in control of the Izzet deck, I sideboard as follows: -3 Vedalken Dismisser, +3 Convolute John sideboards for Orzhov: -4 Ostiary Thrull, +1 Last Gasp, +1 Disembowel, +2 Leave No Trace The sideboarding doesn't change the games too much. The convolutes occasionally stop Faith's Fetters or Pillory of the Sleepless from wrecking the plan. Conversely, the extra kill from Orzhov stops any combos the Izzet deck might attempt to get going. John wins game 4 with Orzhov, I win game 5, and John wins game 6. Orzhov Pure : 4 game wins, 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 2 game wins, 6 points Subtotal Orzhov Pure : 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 6 points Gruul : 0 points Orzhov Green : 0 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points
Gruul vs. Izzet I begin with the Izzet deck. The first game is close, but goes to Gruul. Game 2 goes to Izzet, despite 2 Savage Twisters. The third also goes to Izzet on the back of a couple of Snapping Drakes the Gruul can't deal with with. Izzet – No sideboarding Gruul - +4 Galvanic Arc, +2 Pyromatics, -4 Sparkmage Apprentice, -2 Mossdog I figure that Gruul really want to kill off the creatures Izzet puts out so they can't bounce them in combo fashion. This plan pays off, and Gruul goes on to win all 3 games after sideboard, always burning out creatures, letting it's own creatures go through and bloodthirst up the others. Gruul : 4 game wins, 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 2 game wins, 6 points Subtotal Orzhov Pure : 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 12 points Gruul : 12 points Orzhov Green : 0 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points
Orzhov Green vs. Gruul Gruul gets off to a good start, sealing the first two games. Orzhov is able to keep control the creatures and takes out the 3 rd . I take control of the Gruul deck, and sideboard: -3 Scab-Clan Mauler -4 Sparkmage Apprentice -1 Ghor-Clan Savage +3 Tin Street Hooligan +4 Galvanic Arc +1 Primeval Light I don't recall the sideboarding John did on the the Orzhov deck, but I do recall believing the Gruul deck should have had the upper hand after sideboarding. Unfortunately, it doesn't pan out, with Orzhov winning game 4, Gruul winning Game 5, and Orzhov taking out game 6, evening out the games. I come to the conclusion that if it doesn't draw Savage Twister, Gruul is often an underpowered beats deck. Primeval Light however, is golden in the Orzhov matchup, but with one copy it can't be relied upon. Gruul : 3 game wins; 9 points Orzhov : 3 game wins; 9 points Subtotal Gruul : 21 points Orzhov Pure : 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 12 points Orzhov Green : 9 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points
Izzet Bouncy vs. Orzhov Green I start with Izzet, and I'm not too confident about this matchup, given the results of the game vs. Pure Orzhov. The first game goes to Orzhov. The second game begins slowly, with us both being short on lands. I eventually get the upper hand, getting some synergy rolling and take out the game. The 3 rd Izzet gets steamrolled by Orzhov. I take control of the Orzhov deck and sideboard -2 Golgari Rotwurm, -1 Stinkweed Imp, +2 Absolver Thrull, +1 Disembowel. My theory is with a low land count I don't want to have to recast Golgari Rotwurms if they get bounced, and the Thrulls can take out Mark of Eviction. Everything goes to plan, and Orzhov snatches up the 3 games without much trouble. I did have an interesting situation while I was playing Izzet. I controlled: In play : 3 Islands , 4 Mountains, Vedalken Dismisser Hand : Peel From Reality, Mark of Eviction, Galvanic Arc, Steamcore Weird. John in play : Golgari Rotwurm, Forest , 2 Swamp, 2 Signets, 5 cards in hand; all mana sources tapped. It was my first main phase. What is the best play (perhaps have a think before you continue reading)? Here were the options I considered; wait for John to attack and play Peel From Reality on the Wurm and Dismisser (potentially playing Steamcore Weird as well); play Steamcore Weird and cast Mark of Eviction on it or the Dismisser; play Galvanic Arc and Mark of Eviction on the Dismisser. I eventually go with the last option, and cast the enchantments on the Dismisser, prepared to take the 5 from the Rotwurm before I get the combo running. Naturally John topdecks Last Gasp. Nevertheless, was it still the right play? I think so, but it is interesting to get other people's opinions. Izzet : 1 game win; 3 points Orzhov Green : 5 game wins; 15 points Subtotal Orzhov Green : 24 points Gruul : 21 points Izzet Bouncy : 15 points Orzhov Pure : 12 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points
Orzhov Green vs. Orzhov Pure I begin playing Orzhov Pure. I take out the first 2 games, and John takes out the 3 rd . I take control of the Green build and sideboard -2 Stinkweed Imp, +2 Absolver Thrull. John wins game 4 with the Orzhov Pure build, and I go on to win games 5 or 6. Orzhov Pure : 3 game wins; 9 points Orzhov Green : 3 game wins; 9 points Subtotal Orzhov Green : 33 points Gruul : 21 points Orzhov Pure : 21 points Izzet Bouncy : 15 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points
Orzhov vs. Gruul Have no notes or sideboard details for this game; Gruul takes out Game 1 and 3, while Orzhov takes Game 2. After sideboarding, it switches in Orzhov's favour, who win 2 games to Gruul's 1. Orzhov : 3 game wins; 9 points Gruul : 3 game wins; 9 points Subtotal Orzhov Green : 33 points Gruul : 30 points Orzhov Pure : 30 points Izzet Bouncy : 15 points Orzhov Blue : 0 points Orzhov Blue vs. Bouncy Another Orzhov deck for Izzet to contend with, so not looking hopeful. My notes for this matchup are sparse. Orzhov won the first 2 games, and Izzet the 3 rd , then the 4 th after sideboarding. Game 5 had Izzet mulligan down to a no-land 4 card hand and drew no land for 5 turns, and Orzhov predictably wins, and Orzhov follows up with another win in game 6. Orzhov : 4 game wins; 12 points Izzet Bouncy : 2 game wins; 6 points Subtotal Orzhov Green : 33 points Gruul : 30 points Orzhov Pure : 30 points Izzet Bouncy : 21 points Orzhov Blue : 12 points
Orzhov wins the first game on the back of a bad mulligan from Gruul. Gruul bounces back to take game 2, and drives the screws when Orzhov can't find a black source in the third game. After sideboarding, Gruul takes out game 4, Orzhov game 5, and Orzhov took out game 6. Orzhov Blue : 3 game wins; 9 points Gruul : 3 game wins; 9 points Subtotal Gruul : 39 points Orzhov Green : 33 points Orzhov Pure : 30 points Izzet Bouncy : 21 points Orzhov Blue : 21 points
Both John and I anticipated that the Green build would have the advantage, simply because of it's ability to break symmetry with Golgari Rotwurm. The prediction came through, and the Green build steamrolled, losing only 1 game, and that game was by a whisker. When I say steamrolled, the games did go long, but the Green build was always one beat ahead. Orzhov Green : 5 game wins; 15 points Orzhov Blue : 1 game win; 3 points Subtotal Orzhov Green : 48 points Gruul : 39 points Orzhov Pure : 30 points Orzhov Blue : 24 points Izzet Bouncy : 21 points
Orzhov Pure vs. Orzhov Blue I began playing the Pure Orzhov build. I quickly took out the first game. The second game went long, each of us answering each others cards one for one. Eventually John draws 5 lands in a row, giving me the chance to get ahead and he can't recover. The third game follows suit, despite being me being slapped about by a Stratozeppelid a few times. We swap decks, and I sideboard -3 Orzhov Euthanist, -3 Mourning Thrull, +3 Convolute, +3 Compulsive Research for the Blue deck. I mulligan a no land hand into a 6 card hand with one bounce land. I am on the draw. I agonise for a while before dubiously keeping the hand. It takes a few turns to draw a basic land. On the back of having a hand full of spells, I crawl back into the game. John continues to build his land base, and despite his early development, I win by having access to more business. I go on to win game 5, and John takes out game 6. Orzhov Pure : 4 game wins; 12 points Orzhov Blue : 2 game wins; 6 points Orzhov Green : 48 points Orzhov Pure : 42 points Gruul : 39 points Orzhov Blue : 30 points Izzet Bouncy : 21 points
We have a winner! So our winner is Bwenndy Hong, who has earned himself 8 packs! Craig Chapman is our runner up, earning himself 4 packs. Thanks go to Scott and Paul for providing these prizes. Orzhov in the Mirror The way we played the Orzhov decks against each other evolved as we learned why they were winning. There was one card which was nearly always the catalyst for winning the game. That card was Pillory of the Sleepless. I had just finished reading Scott Johns article on tempo (a highly recommended read) and the knowledge gleaned from it changed the way I viewed these matchups. The Pillory neutralised your opponents beat, while putting you a small beat ahead. While that beat was small, maintaining that small lead over several turns adds up to a lot. The biggest evolution I made in the Orzhov vs. Orzhov matchup was to not play anything. The player who played the first creature was often at a disadvantage. If the first creature you played became enchanted by Pillory, you had no choice but to do something or you would eventually lose the game; remove the enchantment, or keep playing threats and hope the opponent would run out of ways to deal with them. I would often wait until I had sufficient mana to cast the right threats. This differed with each build. The Green build had 2 cards to assist in this matchup; Golgari Rotwurm and Dimir Houseguard. These two cards let you cancel out Faith's Fetters lifegain and remove Pillory of the Sleepless, taking out it's advantage. I would often hold back Blind Hunters until I could cast it and one of the sacrifice outlets in the same turn, as the Hunter was often the target of Faith's Fetters and Pillory. The Pure Orzhov build had the Dimir House Guard to help cancel out the opponents enchantments. Agent of Masks could also help break some of the symmetry in stall situations. For example, I recall one game where I had cast the Agent who quickly became enchanted by Pillory of the Sleepless. While the Pillory cancelled out my life gain, I was still bleeding John every turn (later forcing him to use Last Gasp to get rid of it). Ostiary Thrull could still affect the board under a Pillory, which was a bonus against Golgari Rotwurm with no other answers in hand. Castigate was also useful, most often removing Pillory, or sometimes a sacrifice outlet. Dimir House Guard had the most utility in this deck given that it could Transmute for Keening Banshee, Faith's Fetters and Blind Hunter, all of which occurred during our games depending on the situation. In contrast, after playing all the matchups, the Blue build highlights how important those sacrifice outlets are. Once the Blue build committed something to the board, there was no way to get rid of it; if a Pillory hit, it was there to stay unless you used Mortify to get rid of it. I don't recall a single situation where the Euthanist was anything more than a Gray Ogre, and it got sided out every match; especially against other Orzhov decks where the attack phase was scarce! Vedalken Dismisser usually replaced it, where it could set your opponent back, or put one of your own neutralised creatures (especially against Pillory) on top of your deck and ensure you had a threat next turn. Mortify was useful on several occasions for removing a Faith's Fetters from a Stratozeppelid and swinging in. However, it was really the lack of being able to deal with Pillory which was this decks downfall in the Orzhov matchups. The Future of the Peasant Deck Challenge Based on the feedback from the Ravnica Peasant Deck Challenge, a change was made to this Challenge. Each deck played each other 6 times; 3 times before sideboarding, and 3 times after sideboarding. This change was to smooth out mulligan and mana screw issues evident in the first challenge, and to show more evidence that sideboarding had an effect on the games. I think this change has proven valuable (as evidenced in the Gruul vs. Izzet matchup). Unfortunately, there is a downside. To complete the challenge, I have to play 60 games (6 games each of 10 unique matchups). Some of the matchups took up to 2 hours each to play, and I often only get 3-4 hours per week of playing time (I managed to squeeze in some extra time for this challenge). While I have enjoyed the games, sometimes all I wanted to do was break out some kooky casual deck or do some Winston Drafting or play some Sealed. The length the games were taking was hindering my chance to do that with regularity. While I am reluctant to give up the Peasant Deck Challenges (especially Dissension, as it will complete the Block's worth of Peasant Deck Challenges), I know I would personally have more fun if I played other casual formats. I apologise for letting down those looking forward to the next challenge, but I will not be continuing with this Challenge series at this point in time. It would be great if someone else would like to take up the Challenge and carry it forward, perhaps someone who has more play time than me. If someone chooses to take on this Challenge, feel free to PM me if you would like any advice. I would also like to thank all the members that participated in the Challenges. I look forward to being able to enter someone elses Peasant Deck Challenge! Michael Howell Bacchus on Forums [ Email the Author | Discuss this Article ]
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