Post by greystone on May 26, 2013 20:43:35 GMT -5
Nivix Flashback Primer
I. Introduction
Greetings and welcome to My first primer.
I believe a short introduction is in order. I am Greystone (on MTGO and @mastergreystone on Twitter). I've been playing MTG on and off since Revised and MTGO for about the last 2 months.
The first "competitive pauper" deck I built was Hexproof Aura, but when I found Wee-Fiend My focus changed. I instantly fell in love with the concept, and began tinkering with the 'Archtype'. When Nivix Cyclops was released with DGM things got serious.
Which brings us to the 'Archtype'. Below is your 'typical' Cyclops deck:
Lands (16)
8 Island
6 Mountain
2 Evolving Wilds
Creatures (16)
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Wee Dragonauts
Spells (28)
3 Assault Strobe
1 Brainstorm
1 Dispel
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Piracy Charm
3 Ponder
4 Preordain
3 Shadow Rift
3 Apostle’s Blessing
Original Article: mtgostrat.com/2013/04/delverfiend-just-became-a-lot-better/
This has been a very effective build, and its starting to see a lot of popularity. As JustSin stated, in his most recent Anything But article on MTGOAcademy, it is probably just "shiny-new-toy syndrome". But I want to help kill that 'syndrome' and make the deck better, more consistent, and hopefully up it a tier or two.
II. The Problem
The first downside to the deck always has been the same as Aggressive decks like Hexproof and Infect, in that it has a very small creature base. Now that Nivix Cyclops has been added to the mix, we've gone from 12 to 16. The original 12 being Kiln Fiend, Delver of Secrets and the very under-powered Wee Dragonauts.
The second (that I've found anyway) is that the deck is a 'one shot pony'. Much the same as Infect was. You took your shot at the player, throwing most caution to the wind, for that turn 3-4 kill (with infect it was turn 2-3, right?). But a simple Edict, Moments Peace, Boomerang, or any level of removal could stop the deck in it's tracks. Counterspells a plenty, thrown at the right time, can shut the deck down, and you find yourself with an almost empty hand, maybe a creature left on the board, and your opponent now doing as they please to smash your face in.
My alternative solution helps to try and solve both of these problems.
III. The Alternative
Killing the Pony
So, after dabbling a lot with various builds and getting curb stomped by MUC and U-Post decks, I came across a solution that was already built into some of the decks that are out there. And that was FLASHBACK.
This mechanic lends a great amount of power to a deck like this. It adds virtual card advantage, consistency, and redundancy. Every card with flashback in your deck counts as two spells. One in your hand, and one in your graveyard once cast, or countered, or discarded. Two for one card advantage over your opponent is something that can't be ignored.
Let's take a look at a few of My personal favorites.
Target creature is unblockable this turn.
Flashback {U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card is pretty self explanatory. It helps you push damage through blockades, and is pretty cheap to cast. Flashback is cheap too.
Another one:
Target creature gains flying until end of turn.
Flashback {U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Not as definitive as Artful Dodge, but it's evasion, and another trigger for Fiend and Clops. Not to mention another cheap flashback cost.
Next up:
Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This is powerful for {R}, on either Kiln or Cyclops this will punch out +6/+0, which is a stupid good boost. It's flashback is a little higher than what we would like to see for our standard casting, but we will get to that in a bit. In the mean time you can hit your opponent hard for cheap, and afterwards your opponent will have forgotten that this card even existed.
Another inherent advantage of flashback. If your opponent isn't paying attention or is too focused on their own gameplan, then these cards will easily get forgotten in your graveyard.
The next card is on My "not sure" list. It's proven to be useful in a couple of situations, and it's Flashback cost is amazing as a finisher.
Lava Dart deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Flashback—Sacrifice a Mountain. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Like I said, I am mixed on this card so far. It's 1 damage for 1 mana, which isn't the greatest trade off, and a mountain for another damage isn't exactly a great trade off either. But when you combine it with Kiln and Cyclops, that {R} and a Mountain turns into a potential 8 damage, which can be hard to ignore. Again, I am mixed on this card's inclusion.
This next one is primarily a sideboard card, but since it has Flashback, I will include it here.
Damage can't be prevented this turn.
Flashback {R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card's primary purpose is to kill Turbo Fog decks, so it sits in sideboards, but it fits into the deck seamlessly.
Another one that fits into the potential build is...
Draw a card.
Flashback {2}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Card advantage is huge, no matter what format. This card sees play in a number of blue control decks, and provides necessary digging for them. Where this card really shines is when it sits in the graveyard waiting to be used, giving you card advantage. I don't know how well this would fit in the build as it trading one card for another, when that card slot could be filling a more important role.
The last and probably the most critical card that inspired moving the deck in this direction.
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card is the engine behind the deck. This card helps you tailor your hand better than most cards out there, Now I know that I am going to get flack for saying that I like this card better than Ponder, or Preordain, but I do. This card fultills three distinctive roles in the deck. First is card draw, and tailoring your hand to suit your needs. Drawing two cards off of one mana is a huge boost, especially early on in the game. Say first turn.
But it does have it's inherent downside, and that' the discard component, or is it? Remember, that this deck is based around flashback and having useful cards such as Artful Dodge or Defy Gravity in the graveyard is no different from the existing in your hand. Now, you won't always be able to ditch flashback cards, but depending upon how many you are running, there is a good chance that you will be able to get at least one, if not two in your graveyard. And this, this card can more oft than not be a pure two card advantage. Not to mention it has flashback as well and can function as another card in the graveyard.
So let's break this down in a theorhetical, yet all too common in playtesting, scenario:
Going first, first turn you decide to keep an opening hand of 7 cards, with Faithless Looting, a Mountain, and an Artful Dodge.
You play the Mountain and Faithless looting, drawing into a Nivix Cyclops and a Defy gravity.
You decide to ditch the Artful Dodge and Defy Gravity. Your cards in hand count is currently?
8! Three cards with flashback in your graveyard and five in your hand. Eight cards 'in hand', mountain in play. Not bad eh?
Summary of the dead pony
So, with all of those cards with flashback in your discard you have a theorhetical handsize of, a lot. Every spell with flashback in your deck counts as two spells, which gives you inherent defense against counterspells and discard from MBC. I can`t tell you the number of times I`ve been playing against a Blue variant deck and I am going in for the kill and I get countered leaving Me dead in the water. Even with being able to bait out counterspells, or playing Gitaxian Probe to scout their hand first and finding the counter just waiting there, it is a disheartening feeling. But with Flashback abilities, such as Artful Dodge and Lava Dart I am not too worried about seeing those counters and being delayed a turn. Because that`s exactly all it is. Being delayed a turn. I`m not being forced into a topdeck position where I have to hope that I can draw into something good, like ponder, in order to dig and reset the `killshot`. Plus, as I said a couple of times already, unless your opponent is being meticulous and watching your every move, they probably wont`t be paying `that much`attention to your graveyard, and this giving you a major advantage on them if they don`t.
I remember a significant match against an affinity player where I was setting up for a second killshot, the first having been foiled. I looked at My hand, with it`s whole 4 cards in hand. Not a single one would have set Me up for being able to get the killshot in on him, given that he was at 20 life still. It was then that I looked at My own graveyard and realized that I had 5 spells with Flashback in there. Cards from last turn. I politely stated in chat that I had realized that I had 9 cards in My hand. Confused My opponent asked how, and so I explained before throwing a killshot at him. He applauded me and gave a good game. I think that was a defining moment when I realized the potential of this build.
But there is one severe draw back to a couple of these cards with flashback. Faithless Looting and Reckless Charge are both rather expensive in a deck like this which is trying to capitalize on getting the most out of our spells with the least amount of mana. This is where My other alteration to the deck comes into play.
Bring a friend or two.
Now, the one I will be throwing at you is one that I`ve tested in the deck and it has made things very interesting, and worked to a great degree. He`s not that big, barely a bear, but his ability more tham makes up for it. And that would be...
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Now, on the surface he doesn't look like he would be very good in this deck. I mean, Artful Dodge, Lightning Bolt, Gitaxian Probe, Ponder, Preordain, almost every card that you would find in a standard Cyclops deck won't be affected by it. Hell, most of the cards that I would run such as Reckless Charge and Faithless Looting aren't initially affected by it. Note I said initially. His ability works on cards in the graveyard, and thus reduces flashback costs. Cutting back those costs make playing him reasonable. And even if he can't affect your immediate game, you have a bear that can trade or maybe even have an affect on the mid to late game. I am a big fan of trying to find more ways to avoid removal and I feel that adding more creatures helps. Oh, and he makes Apostles Blessing only cost 2 life.
The other creature that I've been toying adding into the mix is:
{U/R}: Frostburn Weird gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Now, I like this guy as a 2 drop. The fact that its mana costs is flexible, and it has a fat butt, is fantastic on it's own. And that it can 'pump' to acommadate posing a threat for lesser creatures is amazing. I'd even be willing to spend that extra {U} on an Artful Dodge or Defy Gravity to fly this baby in for 4 damage early to mid game, leaving the Flashback for a later played Nivix Cyclops.
I haven't been able to test a whole lot with him, but I like how he works in theory.
IV. The Staples
Now, I can`t just fill the deck with Flashback and additional Creatures, can I? I could, but I'd be an idiot not to include the staples of the deck. There are some cards that just can't be argued against. The first of which is...
({UP} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.)
Look at target player's hand.
Draw a card.
This card is amazing in being able to dig, gathering information, and it costs one blue mana, or nothing. Can't complain, can't leave it out.
Another is...
({WP} can be paid with either {W} or 2 life.)
Target artifact or creature you control gains protection from artifacts or from the color of your choice until end of turn.
This card, like Gitaxian Probe, does so many things in the deck that it can't be included. Protecting your creature, or giving it 'unblockable' for the turn, it's just good. And the fact that it's mana cost doesn't hinder the deck in any way is also a benefit. Remember as well, this card is 'free' when Goblin Electromancer is in play.
And lastly...
Target creature gains double strike until end of turn. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.)
One shot kill. Done.
V. The Deck as I Run It (No Sideboard)
And so, below is the deck as I've constructed it so far. Post Frostburn Weird addition.
4x Kiln Fiend
4x Goblin Electromancer
3x Frostburn Weird
4x Nivix Cyclops
4x Assault Strobe
2x Gitaxian Probe
3x Apostle's Blessing
3x Artful Dodge
3x Reckless Charge
2x Defy Gravity
2x Lava Dart
3x Faithless Looting
9x Mountain
6x Island
4x Izzet Guildgate
So, we've upped our creature count to 19, giving us a bit more board presence. Our spell count is at 22 (+13 if you include flashback), and 19 lands. My hope is that this will provide a bit more of a mid game challenge, provide some consistency to the build, and kill the "one Trick Pony".
I. Introduction
Greetings and welcome to My first primer.
I believe a short introduction is in order. I am Greystone (on MTGO and @mastergreystone on Twitter). I've been playing MTG on and off since Revised and MTGO for about the last 2 months.
The first "competitive pauper" deck I built was Hexproof Aura, but when I found Wee-Fiend My focus changed. I instantly fell in love with the concept, and began tinkering with the 'Archtype'. When Nivix Cyclops was released with DGM things got serious.
Which brings us to the 'Archtype'. Below is your 'typical' Cyclops deck:
Dan said:
Lands (16)
8 Island
6 Mountain
2 Evolving Wilds
Creatures (16)
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Wee Dragonauts
Spells (28)
3 Assault Strobe
1 Brainstorm
1 Dispel
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Piracy Charm
3 Ponder
4 Preordain
3 Shadow Rift
3 Apostle’s Blessing
Original Article: mtgostrat.com/2013/04/delverfiend-just-became-a-lot-better/
This has been a very effective build, and its starting to see a lot of popularity. As JustSin stated, in his most recent Anything But article on MTGOAcademy, it is probably just "shiny-new-toy syndrome". But I want to help kill that 'syndrome' and make the deck better, more consistent, and hopefully up it a tier or two.
II. The Problem
The first downside to the deck always has been the same as Aggressive decks like Hexproof and Infect, in that it has a very small creature base. Now that Nivix Cyclops has been added to the mix, we've gone from 12 to 16. The original 12 being Kiln Fiend, Delver of Secrets and the very under-powered Wee Dragonauts.
The second (that I've found anyway) is that the deck is a 'one shot pony'. Much the same as Infect was. You took your shot at the player, throwing most caution to the wind, for that turn 3-4 kill (with infect it was turn 2-3, right?). But a simple Edict, Moments Peace, Boomerang, or any level of removal could stop the deck in it's tracks. Counterspells a plenty, thrown at the right time, can shut the deck down, and you find yourself with an almost empty hand, maybe a creature left on the board, and your opponent now doing as they please to smash your face in.
My alternative solution helps to try and solve both of these problems.
III. The Alternative
Killing the Pony
So, after dabbling a lot with various builds and getting curb stomped by MUC and U-Post decks, I came across a solution that was already built into some of the decks that are out there. And that was FLASHBACK.
This mechanic lends a great amount of power to a deck like this. It adds virtual card advantage, consistency, and redundancy. Every card with flashback in your deck counts as two spells. One in your hand, and one in your graveyard once cast, or countered, or discarded. Two for one card advantage over your opponent is something that can't be ignored.
Let's take a look at a few of My personal favorites.
Artful said:
Artful Dodge {U}, InstantTarget creature is unblockable this turn.
Flashback {U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card is pretty self explanatory. It helps you push damage through blockades, and is pretty cheap to cast. Flashback is cheap too.
Another one:
Defy said:
Defy Gravity {U}, InstantTarget creature gains flying until end of turn.
Flashback {U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Not as definitive as Artful Dodge, but it's evasion, and another trigger for Fiend and Clops. Not to mention another cheap flashback cost.
Next up:
Reckless said:
Reckless Charge {R}, InstantTarget creature gets +3/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This is powerful for {R}, on either Kiln or Cyclops this will punch out +6/+0, which is a stupid good boost. It's flashback is a little higher than what we would like to see for our standard casting, but we will get to that in a bit. In the mean time you can hit your opponent hard for cheap, and afterwards your opponent will have forgotten that this card even existed.
Another inherent advantage of flashback. If your opponent isn't paying attention or is too focused on their own gameplan, then these cards will easily get forgotten in your graveyard.
The next card is on My "not sure" list. It's proven to be useful in a couple of situations, and it's Flashback cost is amazing as a finisher.
Lava said:
Lava Dart {R}, InstantLava Dart deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Flashback—Sacrifice a Mountain. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Like I said, I am mixed on this card so far. It's 1 damage for 1 mana, which isn't the greatest trade off, and a mountain for another damage isn't exactly a great trade off either. But when you combine it with Kiln and Cyclops, that {R} and a Mountain turns into a potential 8 damage, which can be hard to ignore. Again, I am mixed on this card's inclusion.
This next one is primarily a sideboard card, but since it has Flashback, I will include it here.
Faring said:
Faring Pain {R}, InstantDamage can't be prevented this turn.
Flashback {R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card's primary purpose is to kill Turbo Fog decks, so it sits in sideboards, but it fits into the deck seamlessly.
Another one that fits into the potential build is...
Think said:
Think Twice 1{U}, InstantDraw a card.
Flashback {2}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Card advantage is huge, no matter what format. This card sees play in a number of blue control decks, and provides necessary digging for them. Where this card really shines is when it sits in the graveyard waiting to be used, giving you card advantage. I don't know how well this would fit in the build as it trading one card for another, when that card slot could be filling a more important role.
The last and probably the most critical card that inspired moving the deck in this direction.
Faithless said:
Faithless Looting {R}, InsantDraw two cards, then discard two cards.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
This card is the engine behind the deck. This card helps you tailor your hand better than most cards out there, Now I know that I am going to get flack for saying that I like this card better than Ponder, or Preordain, but I do. This card fultills three distinctive roles in the deck. First is card draw, and tailoring your hand to suit your needs. Drawing two cards off of one mana is a huge boost, especially early on in the game. Say first turn.
But it does have it's inherent downside, and that' the discard component, or is it? Remember, that this deck is based around flashback and having useful cards such as Artful Dodge or Defy Gravity in the graveyard is no different from the existing in your hand. Now, you won't always be able to ditch flashback cards, but depending upon how many you are running, there is a good chance that you will be able to get at least one, if not two in your graveyard. And this, this card can more oft than not be a pure two card advantage. Not to mention it has flashback as well and can function as another card in the graveyard.
So let's break this down in a theorhetical, yet all too common in playtesting, scenario:
Going first, first turn you decide to keep an opening hand of 7 cards, with Faithless Looting, a Mountain, and an Artful Dodge.
You play the Mountain and Faithless looting, drawing into a Nivix Cyclops and a Defy gravity.
You decide to ditch the Artful Dodge and Defy Gravity. Your cards in hand count is currently?
8! Three cards with flashback in your graveyard and five in your hand. Eight cards 'in hand', mountain in play. Not bad eh?
Summary of the dead pony
So, with all of those cards with flashback in your discard you have a theorhetical handsize of, a lot. Every spell with flashback in your deck counts as two spells, which gives you inherent defense against counterspells and discard from MBC. I can`t tell you the number of times I`ve been playing against a Blue variant deck and I am going in for the kill and I get countered leaving Me dead in the water. Even with being able to bait out counterspells, or playing Gitaxian Probe to scout their hand first and finding the counter just waiting there, it is a disheartening feeling. But with Flashback abilities, such as Artful Dodge and Lava Dart I am not too worried about seeing those counters and being delayed a turn. Because that`s exactly all it is. Being delayed a turn. I`m not being forced into a topdeck position where I have to hope that I can draw into something good, like ponder, in order to dig and reset the `killshot`. Plus, as I said a couple of times already, unless your opponent is being meticulous and watching your every move, they probably wont`t be paying `that much`attention to your graveyard, and this giving you a major advantage on them if they don`t.
I remember a significant match against an affinity player where I was setting up for a second killshot, the first having been foiled. I looked at My hand, with it`s whole 4 cards in hand. Not a single one would have set Me up for being able to get the killshot in on him, given that he was at 20 life still. It was then that I looked at My own graveyard and realized that I had 5 spells with Flashback in there. Cards from last turn. I politely stated in chat that I had realized that I had 9 cards in My hand. Confused My opponent asked how, and so I explained before throwing a killshot at him. He applauded me and gave a good game. I think that was a defining moment when I realized the potential of this build.
But there is one severe draw back to a couple of these cards with flashback. Faithless Looting and Reckless Charge are both rather expensive in a deck like this which is trying to capitalize on getting the most out of our spells with the least amount of mana. This is where My other alteration to the deck comes into play.
Bring a friend or two.
Now, the one I will be throwing at you is one that I`ve tested in the deck and it has made things very interesting, and worked to a great degree. He`s not that big, barely a bear, but his ability more tham makes up for it. And that would be...
Goblin said:
Goblin Electromancer {U}{R}, 2/2 CreatureInstant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Now, on the surface he doesn't look like he would be very good in this deck. I mean, Artful Dodge, Lightning Bolt, Gitaxian Probe, Ponder, Preordain, almost every card that you would find in a standard Cyclops deck won't be affected by it. Hell, most of the cards that I would run such as Reckless Charge and Faithless Looting aren't initially affected by it. Note I said initially. His ability works on cards in the graveyard, and thus reduces flashback costs. Cutting back those costs make playing him reasonable. And even if he can't affect your immediate game, you have a bear that can trade or maybe even have an affect on the mid to late game. I am a big fan of trying to find more ways to avoid removal and I feel that adding more creatures helps. Oh, and he makes Apostles Blessing only cost 2 life.
The other creature that I've been toying adding into the mix is:
Frostburn said:
Frostburn Weird {U/R}{U/R}, 1/4 Creature{U/R}: Frostburn Weird gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Now, I like this guy as a 2 drop. The fact that its mana costs is flexible, and it has a fat butt, is fantastic on it's own. And that it can 'pump' to acommadate posing a threat for lesser creatures is amazing. I'd even be willing to spend that extra {U} on an Artful Dodge or Defy Gravity to fly this baby in for 4 damage early to mid game, leaving the Flashback for a later played Nivix Cyclops.
I haven't been able to test a whole lot with him, but I like how he works in theory.
IV. The Staples
Now, I can`t just fill the deck with Flashback and additional Creatures, can I? I could, but I'd be an idiot not to include the staples of the deck. There are some cards that just can't be argued against. The first of which is...
Gitaxian said:
Gitaxian Probe {UP}(1), Instant({UP} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.)
Look at target player's hand.
Draw a card.
This card is amazing in being able to dig, gathering information, and it costs one blue mana, or nothing. Can't complain, can't leave it out.
Another is...
Apostle's said:
Apostle's Blessing (1){UP}, Instant({WP} can be paid with either {W} or 2 life.)
Target artifact or creature you control gains protection from artifacts or from the color of your choice until end of turn.
This card, like Gitaxian Probe, does so many things in the deck that it can't be included. Protecting your creature, or giving it 'unblockable' for the turn, it's just good. And the fact that it's mana cost doesn't hinder the deck in any way is also a benefit. Remember as well, this card is 'free' when Goblin Electromancer is in play.
And lastly...
Assaut said:
Assault Stribe {R}, InstantTarget creature gains double strike until end of turn. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.)
One shot kill. Done.
V. The Deck as I Run It (No Sideboard)
And so, below is the deck as I've constructed it so far. Post Frostburn Weird addition.
deck said:
4x Delver of Secrets4x Kiln Fiend
4x Goblin Electromancer
3x Frostburn Weird
4x Nivix Cyclops
4x Assault Strobe
2x Gitaxian Probe
3x Apostle's Blessing
3x Artful Dodge
3x Reckless Charge
2x Defy Gravity
2x Lava Dart
3x Faithless Looting
9x Mountain
6x Island
4x Izzet Guildgate
So, we've upped our creature count to 19, giving us a bit more board presence. Our spell count is at 22 (+13 if you include flashback), and 19 lands. My hope is that this will provide a bit more of a mid game challenge, provide some consistency to the build, and kill the "one Trick Pony".