Feldman 05 27 2008

Deep Analysis – Ten Hollywood Decks (Plus a New One), by Rich... http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?
Article=15935
Deep Analysis – Ten Hollywood Decks (Plus a New One)

by Richard Feldman
How ‘bout that Pro Tour: Hollywood? So much to discuss! Let’s get right
into it.
First, two general observations.
Manlands
Every single deck in the Top 8 played 4-8 manlands; even the two tri-color
combo decks managed to squeeze Mutavault into their manabases. The
Tribal decks in particular benefit from the inclusion of Mutavault alongside
another manland, as the Vault expands to 3/3 with the presence of any
tribal lord, so it is almost always worth their while to fit the card into their
lists unless it will create monumental color difficulties for them.
Their ubiquitous presence in the Top 8 decks suggests that manlands are
more important in this format than the amount of press they have been
getting suggests. In formats past, manlands have often been more of a
bonus than anything else; if you could fit Treetop Village into your Green
deck without messing up the manabase, then great! Go for it. Now we have
Shuhei Nakamura and the Pro Tour Champion himself playing straight-up
G/B decks with only eleven lands out of 23-24 that tap for Black, just so
they can squeeze in the maximum compliment of Treetop Villages and
Mutavaults.
At this point the thinking seems to have shifted from “I’ll fit manlands into
my manabase” to “I’ll start with the manlands I want and then make my
colors fit around them.”
Three-Color Red
When the two Reveillark decks that splashed Red appeared in the Top 8, I
was taken aback. It was the first time I’d seen anyone splashing Red as a
third color in this environment in a very long time…which seems strange,
given that even White finds a common splash in otherwise G/B Doran lists.
The bottom line is, Red’s best offerings really just do not function well in a
three-color deck at all. Consider Magus of the Moon, Flame Javelin, and
Skred. Each is a powerful card in its own right, but none functions very
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Deep Analysis – Ten Hollywood Decks (Plus a New One), by Rich... http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=15935
effectively when placed in the context of a three-color manabase; Magus

will manascrew you if you are three colors (unless maybe you’re using
green Sorceries and/or Terramorphic Expanse extensively to search out
basics), Flame Javelin will lose the cost effectiveness that makes it worth
playing, and Skred will not be castable for more than a couple of points of
damage.
If you trim those three superstars off the list, Red’s remaining options for a
three-color (or more) deck are pretty much limited to functioning as a utility
splash - observe Reveillark’s Greater Gargadons and sideboard Pyroclasm
or Quick ‘n’ Toast’s Firespouts and sideboard Detritivore - or as an aggro
base featuring staples like Keldon Marauders, Lash Out, and so on, with the
other two colors coming as additions to an otherwise mono-red beatdown
list.
Next, the Top 8 decks.
Faeries
Faeries
A Standard deck, by Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa
8th place at a Pro Tour tournament in Hollywood, California,
United States on 2008-05-25
As reported at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgevent/pthol08/top8decks
Print this deck!
Maindeck: Sideboard:
Tribal Enchantments
3 Bottle Gnomes
Creatures 4 Bitterblossom
3 Razormane Masticore
4 Mistbind Clique Basic Lands
2 Murderous Redcap
4 Scion Of Oona 3 Damnation
4 Island
4 Thoughtseize
4 Spellstutter
Lands
Sprite 2 Faerie Conclave
Stats:
Average mana: 1.42
4 Mutavault
Average creature mana
Instants 3 River Of Tears
cost: 3.00
4 Secluded Glen
4 Cryptic 2 Sunken Ruins
Average creature power:
Command 2.20
4 Underground River
Average creature
4 Rune Snag toughness: 1.80
Legendary Lands
4 Terror 2 Pendelhaven
Deck Composition:
Basic Lands: 6.67%
Legendary Creatures: 20.00%
Creatures Instants: 20.00%
Lands: 31.67%
3 Vendilion Clique Legendary Creatures:
5.00%
Sorceries Legendary Lands: 3.33%
Sorceries: 6.67%
4 Ancestral Vision Tribal Enchantments: 6.67%
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If you look at what the Top 8 competitors had to say about their Faeries
matchups, even some of those that tuned to beat them admitted they
weren’t doing much better than 50-50. Paulo Vitor, who was with Faeries
himself, confessed that there was not much he could do about the mirror,
and was only sideboarding the very common Thoughtseize - essentially
relegating himself to 50-50 there as well, give or take playskill (which I’m
told is a fairly minimal component of the Faeries mirror).
So, to sum up, the Faeries mirror was 50-50, and a decent chunk of players
got their Faeries matchup to hover around 50-50…one could argue that in
this tournament, Faeries was basically The Rock, sporting near-even
matchups across the board except for the few rare good matchups
(Reveillark, G/W Mana Ramp) they could prey on and the also-rare actively
bad matchup (Red Burn, Stuart Wright’s R/B Tokens deck, and some Doran
and Elves builds). As format-warping as the deck is, if it was really as close
to 50-50 against most decks as reports suggest, it’s no surprise that it didn’t
dominate the Top 8 like many predicted it would.
Elves
G/B Elves
A Standard deck, by Charles Gindy
1st place at a Pro Tour tournament in Hollywood, California,
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Snow Creatures
3 Cloudthresher
Creatures 1 Boreal Druid
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Chameleon Sorceries
2 Shriekmaw
Colossus 2 Slaughter Pact
3 Profane Command
2 Squall Line
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4 Civic Wayfinder 4 Thoughtseize 2 Primal Command

4 Imperious Basic Lands Stats:
Perfect 3 Forest Average mana: 1.38
4 Llanowar Elves 2 Swamp Average creature mana
cost: 2.37
4 Tarmogoyf Lands Average creature power:
4 Wren's Run 4 Gilt-leaf Palace 1.87
Vanquisher 4 Llanowar Wastes Average creature
4 Mutavault toughness: 1.87
4 Treetop Village
Instants Deck Composition:
4 Terror Legendary Lands Basic Lands: 8.33%
1 Pendelhaven Creatures: 38.33%
1 Urborg, Tomb Of Instants: 6.67%
Planeswalkers Yawgmoth Lands: 26.67%
2 Garruk Legendary Lands: 3.33%
Planeswalkers: 3.33%
Wildspeaker Snow Creatures: 1.67%
Sorceries: 11.67%

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G/B Elves
A Standard deck, by Shuuhei Nakamura
3rd place at a Pro Tour tournament in Hollywood, California,
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Tribal Instants
4 Shriekmaw
Creatures 3 Nameless Inversion
2 Terror
3 Civic Wayfinder Basic Lands
2 Incremental Blight
4 Imperious 3 Primal Command
3 Forest
4 Bitterblossom
Perfect 2 Swamp
4 Llanowar Elves Lands
Stats:
4 Tarmogoyf Average mana: 1.28
4 Gilt-leaf Palace
4 Wren's Run 4 Llanowar Wastes
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Vanquisher 4 Mutavault cost: 2.04

4 Treetop Village Average creature power:
1.52
Planeswalkers Legendary Lands Average creature
4 Garruk 2 Pendelhaven toughness: 1.52
1 Urborg, Tomb Of
Wildspeaker Yawgmoth Deck Composition:
Basic Lands: 8.33%
Snow Creatures Creatures: 31.67%
Lands: 26.67%
2 Boreal Druid Legendary Lands: 5.00%
Planeswalkers: 6.67%
Sorceries Snow Creatures: 3.33%
Sorceries: 13.33%
4 Profane Tribal Instants: 5.00%
Command
4 Thoughtseize

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Gindy and Nakamura’s lists are only a few cards off; Gindy cut a
Pendelhaven, two Garruks, a Profane Command, and a Boreal Druid to
make room for three maindeck Chameleon Colossus and a fourth Civic
Wayfinder. Gindy also chose Terror over Nameless Inversion, and went up
to 4 copies from Nakamura’s 3. In other words, the only major change
between the two decks was trimming some numbers here and there to
make room for Chameleon Colossus in the main.
Their sideboards, however, are night and day. Nakamura’s board, handed
to him by Tomoharu Saito, has no dedicated Faerie killers. No Firespouts,
no Hurricanes, no Squall Lines, just 100% cards that could come in against
a variety of decks. Gindy’s, on the other hand, loads up on lifegain with 4
Kitchen Finks and 2 Primal Command.
Having not yet taken either list for a spin, I’m hard-pressed to judge which
sideboard will better equip those of us who are competing after the PT, but
it’s interesting to note that two different maindecks in the Top 8, one from a
U.S. player and one from a Japanese player, managed to differ only by
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Chameleon Colossus, the choice between Terror and Nameless Inversion,

and a few number adjustments here and there. In a format as wide-open as
this one, that is a very strong endorsement for those lists as the
near-optimal core of what Elf decks should be based around going forward.
Reveillark
Reveillark
A Standard deck, by Yong Han Choo
Print this deck!
Snow Artifacts
2 Aven Riftwatcher
Artifacts 4 Coldsteel Heart
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Mind Stone Sorceries
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Wispmare
2 Wrath Of God
2 Teferi's Moat
Creatures 2 Wheel Of Sun And Moon
Basic Snow Lands
2 Aven Riftwatcher 4 Snow-covered Island
3 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
2 Body Double 2 Teferi, Mage Of Zhalfir
1 Snow-covered Plains
2 Greater Stats:
Lands
Gargadon 4 Battlefield Forge
Average mana: 2.30
4 Mulldrifter Average creature mana
2 Faerie Conclave
cost: 5.00
4 Reveillark 4 Mutavault
4 Mystic Gate
4 Sower Of 2 Reflecting Pool
2.90
Average creature
Temptation 2 Vivid Creek
toughness: 2.60

Artifacts: 3.28%
2 Careful Basic Snow Lands: 8.20%
Consideration Creatures: 29.51%
2 Momentary Blink Instants: 16.39%
Lands: 29.51%
2 Pact Of Negation Legendary Creatures:
4 Rune Snag 3.28%
Snow Artifacts: 6.56%
Sorceries: 3.28%
Legendary
Creatures
2 Venser, Shaper
Savant
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Reveillark
A Standard deck, by Makihito Mihara
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Snow Artifacts
2 Aven Riftwatcher
Artifacts 3 Coldsteel Heart
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Mind Stone Basic Snow Lands
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Wispmare
5 Snow-covered Island
2 Teferi's Moat
Creatures 3 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
Lands
3 Body Double 1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Teferi, Mage Of Zhalfir
3 Bonded Fetch 1 Pyroclasm
4 Battlefield Forge 2 Wrath Of God
3 Greater 2 Faerie Conclave
4 Mutavault
Gargadon 4 Mystic Gate
Stats:
4 Mulldrifter Average mana: 2.37
1 Reflecting Pool
4 Reveillark 2 Vivid Creek
cost: 5.13
4 Sower Of Average creature power:
2.73
Temptation Average creature
toughness: 2.56
Instants
Deck Composition:
2 Momentary Blink Artifacts: 5.00%
2 Pact Of Negation Basic Snow Lands: 8.33%
4 Rune Snag Creatures: 35.00%
Instants: 13.33%
Lands: 30.00%
Legendary Legendary Creatures:
Creatures 3.33%
Snow Artifacts: 5.00%
2 Venser, Shaper
Savant
7 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM

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Reveillark’s appearance in the Top 8 reminds me of PT: Honolulu, where

Owling Mine secured two Top 8 berths by consistently (and perhaps
miraculously) avoiding the ubiquitous Zoo and R/G beatdown decks at that
tournament, while happily beating up on just about everything else. Mihara
and Choo did the same at this tournament, bravely sleeving up a deck that
lost to Faeries, the 800-pound gorilla of the format, but which beat pretty
much everything else. With Faeries representing 27% of day one and 21%
of day two, each player was fortunate to pair against only three Faeries
decks across the entire sixteen rounds (not too far off from the expected
four encounters) and lost no matches to anything else - mana screw
included - enabling them to waltz into the Top 8 with only those three losses
under their belts.
Does that mean it’s a safe choice going forward? It depends on the
tournament. For something like Regionals, where you really need that X-1-1
record across 7-10 rounds to make Top 8, it’s a seriously risky choice. You
need to get paired against only one Faeries player and lose no other
matches to mana screw or other unfortunate turns of fate, and those are
dangerous odds. At something shorter, like Friday Night Magic, you can
probably predict ahead of time how many Faeries players there will be - and
if there are only one or two of them, suddenly your odds of dodging that
bullet don’t look so bad.
I won’t dwell on this deck much longer, though, as I can guarantee that
Peebles, our resident Reveillark expert, will have plenty more to say on the
subject.
G/R Mana Ramp
R/G Snow
A Standard deck, by Marijn Lybaert
8 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM

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Sorceries
1 Cloudthresher
Artifact Creatures 2 Edge Of Autumn
1 Faerie Macabre
4 Firespout
1 Grim Poppet 4 Harmonize
4 Magus Of The Moon
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Into The North
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
Creatures 2 Primal Command
2 Pyroclasm
4 Chameleon Basic Snow Lands
Colossus Stats:
10 Snow-covered Forest
Average mana: 1.92
3 Cloudthresher 1 Snow-covered
Mountain
4 Kitchen Finks cost: 3.81
4 Wall Of Roots Average creature power:
Lands
3.31
4 Grove Of The
Average creature
Burnwillows
Instants 4 Treetop Village
toughness: 4.31
4 Skred Deck Composition:
Snow Lands
Artifact Creatures: 1.67%
2 Highland Weald
Basic Snow Lands: 18.33%
3 Mouth Of Ronom
Creatures: 25.00%
Instants: 6.67%
Lands: 13.33%
Snow Lands: 8.33%
Sorceries: 26.67%

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Marvin the Bear has quietly added another Pro Tour Top 8 notch to his belt,
and has done so with a very interesting take on G/R Mana Ramp archetype.
Tarmogoyf sits on the bench to make room for extra maindeck removal;
Marijn’s only maindeck ways to damage the opponent are 4 Chameleon
Colossus, 3 Cloudthresher, 4 Kitchen Finks, 4 Treetop Village, and the lone
Grim Poppet. Given the small quantity of actual finishers, can you blame
him for choosing the Terror-proof Chameleon Colossus or the hardy
Kitchen Finks as finishers before the vanilla power-and-toughness Goyf?
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The real standout part of Marijn’s list is that it is one of the few
non-beatdown decks that has found a way to beat Faeries without including
cards that are dangerously sub-par in other matchups. Sure, he’s
maindecking seven Wrath effects for the Fae (though it’s worth noting that
only Skred and a hardcast Cloudthresher can handle a Mistbind Clique), but
in a deck where the only thing that is consistently harmed by Firespout is
Kitchen Finks, and hardcasting Cloudthresher is not only a reality, but a
commonplace occurrence… it’s really not sacrificing all that much to
achieve a positive Faeries matchup.
Finding a way to incorporate anti-Faeries cards that remain productive in

other matchups seems to be the key to playing anything other than
beatdown in this format, and only Marijn and Manuel Bucher (the originator
of the Quick ‘n’ Toast deck that Guillaume Wafo-Tapa crushed Day 1 with)
seem to have succeeded in achieving the right mix.
Merfolk
Merfolk
A Standard deck, by Jan Ruess
2nd place at a Pro Tour tournament in Hollywood, California,
Print this deck!
Sorceries
2 Serrated Arrows
Creatures 2 Ancestral Vision
4 Burrenton Forge-tender
4 Cursecatcher Tribal Instants
2 Reveillark
4 Lord Of Atlantis 1 Sower Of Temptation
3 Sage's Dousing
1 Cryptic Command
4 Merrow Reejerey 2 Unsummon
Basic Snow Lands
4 Silvergill Adept 11 Snow-covered Island
3 Sunlance
3 Sower Of
Stats:
Temptation Lands
Average mana: 1.42
4 Adarkar Wastes
3 Stonybrook 1 Faerie Conclave
Banneret cost: 2.28
4 Mutavault
2 Tideshaper 4 Wanderwine Hub
1.67
Mystic Average creature
toughness: 1.53

3 Cryptic Basic Snow Lands: 18.33%
Creatures: 40.00%
Command Instants: 5.00%
Lands: 21.67%
Legendary Legendary Creatures:
6.67%
Creatures Sorceries: 3.33%
2 Sygg, River Tribal Instants: 5.00%
Guide
2 Venser, Shaper
Savant
10 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM

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Jan Ruess’s Merfolk list has some of the most surprising choices in the
entire Top 8. Two Ancestral Vision? Three Cryptic Command? Sage’s
Dousing before Rune Snag? Only one Faerie Conclave? Two Unsummon in
the board?
Given that comes-into-play tapped lands do not seem to hurt Merfolk any
more than they do Faeries, and that cutting three Islands would still leave
Ruess with a massive sixteen turn 1 Blue sources, the only explanation I
can come up with for the lack of Conclaves in his list is a fear of Magus of
the Moon. While I understand that Merfolk is probably the format’s most
ill-equipped deck to deal with that card, given how many times I watched
Ruess sit with six lands out and nothing to do with them, I have to wonder if
he was right to fear it as much as he apparently did.
As with Reveillark, I’m going to leave the dirty details on this deck to the
writer who actually has firsthand experience with the archetype - Kyle
Sanchez.
Doran
Doran the Explorer

A Standard deck, by Nico Bohny
Print this deck!
Tribal Instants
1 Murderous Redcap
Creatures 3 Nameless Inversion
1 Shriekmaw
4 Birds Of Lands
3 Wispmare
Paradise 3 Oblivion Ring
1 Brushland
3 Mind Shatter
4 Gilt-leaf Palace
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3 Chameleon 1 Horizon Canopy 2 Primal Command

3 Llanowar Wastes 2 Bitterblossom
Colossus 4 Murmuring Bosk
4 Kitchen Finks 2 Reflecting Pool Stats:
2 Llanowar Elves 4 Treetop Village Average mana: 1.20
2 Wooded Bastion Average creature mana
3 Riftsweeper cost: 2.33
4 Tarmogoyf Legendary Lands Average creature power:
1 Pendelhaven 1.33
1 Urborg, Tomb Of Average creature
Instants Yawgmoth toughness: 2.16
3 Slaughter Pact
Deck Composition:
Creatures: 33.33%
Legendary Instants: 5.00%
Creatures Lands: 35.00%
4 Doran, The Legendary Creatures:
6.67%
Siege Tower Legendary Lands: 3.33%
Sorceries: 11.67%
Tribal Instants: 5.00%
Sorceries
3 Profane
Command
4 Thoughtseize

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Having worked on a Doran deck for the past couple of weeks, I have an
informed basis for comparison when I examine Nico Bohny’s Top 8 list.
Though our builds share the expected 4 Doran, 4 Tarmogoyf, 4 Kitchen
Finks, at least 4 turn 1 mana guys (he went with 4 Birds and 2 Elves instead
of 4 Elves as I did), and at least 2 Thoughtseize, our builds diverge pretty
quickly after that.
While I went with Terror and Oblivion Ring, Bohny played Nameless
Inversion and Slaughter Pact as his two-mana and three-mana removal
spells, respectively. He maindecked Chameleon Colossus (primarily to help
beat other Green decks and for Murmuring Bosk, I would expect) and
Riftsweeper (for Faeries), while I went with Bitterblossom and Ronom
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Unicorn.
Zac Hill and some others were testing my Doran list for the PT, and
reported that it became pretty clear that the critical card in the matchup was
not Bitterblossom, but rather Ancestral Vision. If Faeries didn’t resolve an
Ancestral, Zac said, it was about 70-30 in Doran’s favor. Given that the
combo deck of Hollywood turned out to be Gargadon-fueled Reveillark, not
Seismic Assault-fueled Swans, I’d say Riftsweeper over Ronom Unicorn
was not only the superior choice for Hollywood, it will continue to be the
right one going forward.
Besides the additional Thoughtseizes, which are likely fine (I reflexively

limited myself to two copies out of respect for the Red decks, but I never got
to testing the Red matchup before the PT), the other big differences
between our builds are Chameleon Colossus over Bitterblossom and
Profane Command instead of Mana Tithe.
One of the things Zac commented on in testing was that once people knew
about Mana Tithe, they would essentially never walk into it (past turn 1,
when it is basically unavoidable) - and as it became very difficult for the
deck’s manabase to be constantly keeping White open, the card quickly
turned from a blowout into a burden. Given that, I can see making the cut.
The replacement of Profane Command makes a lot more sense, given how
the metagame shook out, than I would have thought. The downsides of
Command are that it is slow and prone to being countered, and not very
good at killing large creatures when you’re only packing 23 lands and some
mana Elves. This makes it suboptimal against Faeries (Cryptic Command
on Profane Command is a huge beating) and both the G/W and G/R flavors
of mana ramp, at least in comparison to the sleek tempo-generator Mana
Tithe. On the other hand, against aggro and in the midrange beatdown
mirror (which was everywhere, what with all the red burn, G/B Elves, and
Doran decks running around at the PT), it is one of the biggest elbow-drops
in the format.
Choosing Chameleon Colossus over the tougher-to-counter Bitterblossom

is a potential hit to the Faeries matchup, but helps solve some of the deck’s
mana problems by teaming up with Nameless Inversion and Doran to allow
you to reasonably max out on Murmuring Bosks without expecting them to
come into play tapped all the time. It is also quite a boost to the Elves
matchup, where Bitterblossom will give you some dorks, but Colossus will
demand constant chumping. Its superior applications against combo are
self-evident; one of these two threats takes forever to do any damage at all,
and the other swings for eight the turn after you play it.
Moving on, let’s take a look at some of the interesting decks that finished
outside the Top 8.
B/R Tokens
Wow, is Shadow Guildmage good right now. If you watch the interview with
Stuart Wright, he mentions that one of the steps he took in tuning his deck
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to have the edge on Faeries was adding Shadow Guildmage to take down
their pingers. As an added bonus, the guy tears apart all manner of mana
elves, Birds of Paradise, and Merfolk, which will likely start to dot the
Standard environment in much the same proportions as they did the Top 8
of Hollywood. Ever since I saw Stu’s deck, I have been trying to figure out if
there is any way I can profitably incorporate Shadow Guildmage into some
deck of my own.
Besides the dubious honor of being the format’s best Kher Keep-abusing
deck, Tokens holds the not-at-all dubious honor of being arguably the
second-best Bitterblossom-abusing deck. Sure, he’s not pumping those
tokens with Scion of Oona, championing Mistbind Clique, or turning
Spellstutter Sprite into an improved Counterspell, but every 1/1 Stu’s
Bitterblossom cranks out brings him one step closer to a Greater Gargadon,
yields two extra points of direct damage via Furystoke Giant, and pumps
Nantuko Husk +2/+2.
Stu’s manabase is a noteworthy departure from the norm - he plays zero

manlands and zero comes-into-play-tapped lands (unless you count
Auntie’s Hovel, but given the ten Goblins in his deck, that should usually be
fine). At fifteen Red and fifteen Black sources, there is a case to be made
for taking the G/B Elves approach to this manabase and cutting four
Swamps and four Mountains to fit Ghitu Encampments and Mutavaults, but
then again, Stu’s mana curve is higher than that of the Elves deck and he
doesn’t have the mana Elves and Civic Wayfinders helping him out; it’s
possible that he declined to include manlands simply because testing
showed he simply never had the mana to activate them.
In any event, the deck looks very solid. It plays the format’s most powerful
hoser in Magus of the Moon alongside Bitterblossom, perhaps the most
powerful overall card in the format when properly abused - and Stu’s deck
abuses it in spades. I’m not sure what knocked him down to 33rd instead of
the Top 8 finish I’m sure he was aiming for (or Matt “Cheeks” Hansen to
21st with the same deck - though those two finishes alone should be
endorsement enough that the deck is a real contender), but hopefully a
tournament report will shed some light on that.
Quick ‘n’ Toast
With enough bizarre card choices to melt Jim Roy’s brain and a manabase
forged of solid greed, this Manuel Bucher creation is the first true control
deck to succeed in this format.
Part bare-bones Mannequin deck (Mulldrifter, Cloudthresher, and Kitchen

Finks are the spell’s only reasonable targets), part blue control deck (Rune
Snag, Cryptic Command, Careful Consideration, Mulldrifter), and part
anti-Faerie hate suite (Thresher, Firespout, and more in the board), this is
easily the most schizophrenic control deck I have ever seen.
It’s also completely masterful. It packs hate for Faeries, burn decks, and
Magus of the Moon, all in the maindeck. It has enough draw spells to make
a Thoughtseize cry for mercy. It has counters aplenty for Reveillark, and
14 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM
can operate almost entirely on the opponent’s end step if need be; who
needs Teferi when you have Cloudthresher? It does all this on a manabase
of 24 lands, only four of which are painlands. Simply incredible.
Of all the new decks in the tournament, I predict this one will have the
greatest impact on the format. For the first time in a long time, control
players will be able to play control in Standard. Potentially, this could
change everything.
Giants and Kithkin: Where’s the Beef?
If you count Stuart’s B/R Tokens deck as the format’s Goblins offering (a bit
of a stretch), and the Dorans and Murmuring Bosks in the Top 8 as
indicative of the presence of the Treefolk tribe (quite a stretch), then most of
Lorywn’s tribes made their mark on Hollywood. The three that were left in
the dust were Kithkin, Giants, and Elementals. What’s keeping these guys
from competing on the same level as the other tribes?
Perhaps the greatest problem with the Kithkin tribe is its double White
requirements. Wizened Cenn and Knight of Meadowgrain are probably the
two all-around best two-drops in the tribe (Gaddock Teeg is decidedly
matchup-dependent), and they both require double White. This is a problem
because of manlands, Cryptic Command, and Flame Javelin. Running eight
double-White two-drops in a deck alongside Mutavault, Treetop Village,
Faerie Conclave, or Ghitu Encampment will lead to a lot of mulligans (a
two-lander might be fine normally, but Plains, Mutavault, Cenn,
Meadowgrain is a real stinker). Manlands are a real house in this format -
except for the White and Black ones - and playing a deck that demands as
much of a White commitment as Kithkin does means you’re going to have
some serious mana issues if you try to play the ideal eight manlands in
even a two-color list, since you can be sure neither of those manlands is
going to tap for White.
And Giants? What Giants? I guess there are always Countryside Crusher
and Jotun Grunt. Oh, and the unfortunately legendary Brion Stoutarm.
Maybe Thundercloud Shaman or Feudkiller’s Verdict? Stonehewer Giant?
The fundamental problem with the Giant tribe is the same one the Treefolk
tribe suffers: a major drought in playables. (Treefolk sorta-kinda overcomes
this a cheating sort of way due to two very strong playables, Doran and
Murmuring Bosk.) Seriously, Giants, where’s the beef? Most of these guys
are simply far too expensive for Constructed play, and the fragile
Stinkdrinker Daredevil is not enough reason to attempt the Giant Mana
Ramp gambit (no pun intended).
As far as I can tell, the best Giant card in the format is Ancient Ampitheater,
which suggests that the most compelling reason to play Giants like
Countryside Crusher, Jotun Grunt, and Brion Stoutarm is to provide mana
fixing for some Boros deck or perhaps a three-color concoction. As per my
previous discussion on Red’s role in a three-color deck as either an aggro
base or as a utility splash (with the utility splash option pretty much ruled
out by the fact that Crusher costs double Red), it’s looking like the only
15 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM
helpful role Ancient Ampitheater is likely to play is as a color fixer in a

three-color aggro deck or a Boros aggro or midrange deck of some sort.
Blech.
Elementals
Okay, and Elementals? The other, other Jackal Pup tribe? (After
Tattermunge Maniac from Goblins and Goldmeadow Stalwart from Kithkin.)
Honestly, as near as I can tell, the best things Elementals have going for
them is the color mix to play Shadow Guildmage and the only genuinely
affordable Harbinger. At a single Red mana, Flamekin Harbinger actually
compares reasonably well to Worldly Tutor, sacrificing Instant speed for a
free 1/1 body, and branching out to include Nameless Inversions and the
like at the expense of only being able to fetch out Elemental creatures.
Incandescent Soulstoke doesn’t seem like much of a Lord when compared

to the gold standard of Imperious Perfect, though its ability does work quite
nicely with a few of the Elementals - Shriekmaw, Nova Chaser, Dread, and
Sunflare Shaman in particular.
Well, what the heck? Following the design pattern of the G/B Elves deck,
let’s see if I can make an Elementals deck that looks worth pursuing. The
manabase is cake; I definitely want eight manlands and a Pendelhaven or
two, and the rest can be an even mix of Black and Red producers.
Thoughtseize seems an acceptable four-of in this environment, and I’ll want
Shriekmaw instead of Terror as long as I’m summoning creatures like
Smokebraider and Incandescent Soulstoke anyway.
How about…
BR Elementals
Suggested by Richard Feldman on 2008-06-01 as a
potential deck for Standard
As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15935.html
Print this deck!
Basic Lands
1 Ashenmoor Gouger
Creatures 1 Mountain
1 Ashenmoor Liege
4 Swamp
2 Dread 1 Festercreep
4 Flamekin 1 Hostility
Lands
1 Magus Of The Moon
Harbinger 4 Ghitu Encampment 1 Nova Chaser
4 Mutavault
4 Incandescent 4 Primal Beyond
1 Offalsnout
Soulstoke 1 Pyroclast Consul
4 Sulfurous Springs 3 Spitebellows
3 Magus Of The 4 Bitterblossom
Legendary Lands
Moon 2 Pendelhaven
1 Nova Chaser Stats:
Average mana: 1.58
4 Shadow Average creature mana
Guildmage cost: 2.89
4 Shriekmaw Average creature power:
2.42
16 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM
4 Smokebraider Average creature

toughness: 1.78
1 Spitebellows
1 Sunflare Deck Composition:
Shaman Basic Lands: 8.33%
Creatures: 46.67%
Lands: 26.67%
Sorceries Legendary Lands: 3.33%
1 Profane Sorceries: 8.33%
Tribal Instants: 6.67%
Command
4 Thoughtseize
Tribal Instants
4 Nameless
Inversion

Download this
deck in in
deck in
Apprentice format!
format! format!
If you hadn’t guessed, I used the sideboard space as more of a notepad

than anything else; besides the obvious one-of Magus, the remaining
one-ofs are more reminders of speculative maindeck inclusions (“should I
try this guy?”) than actual sideboard inclusions.
So what does this have going for it? Broadly speaking, it is a midrange
beatdown deck with Thoughtseize, Shadow Guildmage, Magus of the
Moon, Flamekin Harbinger, and Smokebraider. Those are all solid cards in
this deck, and maybe the fact that they have a sub-par tribe backing them
up will not be too much of a problem. As Flamekin Bladewhirl, Ashenmoor
Gouger (you really want to run that guy in a 4 Mutavault deck?) and
maaaybe Nova Chaser are the only cards that would lean me towards a
hyper-aggressive Elemental beatdown deck, I’m going to go out on a limb
and say that midrange beats are the way to go for this tribe if they are to
ever succeed.
Smokebraider is really interesting in this list; his mana can be used to cast
literally every spell in the deck except for Shadow Guildmage, Magus of the
17 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM
Moon, Thoughtseize, and the one Profane Command. He can also be used
to pay for any activated ability in the deck except for those of Shadow
Guildmage and the lands. (Technically, if Mutavault is already a creature
this turn and you activate Smokebraider to pay for something that leaves
you with floating mana afterwards, you can activate Mutavault again to
avoid burning.)
Are these factors enough to make the deck a contender? I’m not sure, but
it’s an interesting exercise nonetheless.
That’s it for this week. Next week I’ll take a look at some promising
applications of the Top 8 Tribal formula on some fresh new decklists.
See you then!
Richard Feldman
Team :S
lcd_cow@yahoo.com
18 of 18 5/27/2008 11:32 PM

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Deep Analysis – Ten Hollywood Decks (Plus a New One), by Rich... http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?

Deep Analysis – Ten Hollywood Decks (Plus a New One)

First, two general observations.

effectively when placed in the context of a three-color manabase; Magus

Next, the Top 8 decks.

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4 Civic Wayfinder 4 Thoughtseize 2 Primal Command

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Vanquisher 4 Mutavault cost: 2.04

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Chameleon Colossus, the choice between Terror and Nameless Inversion,

Instants Deck Composition:

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Reveillark’s appearance in the Top 8 reminds me of PT: Honolulu, where

G/R Mana Ramp

United States on 2008-05-25

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Finding a way to incorporate anti-Faeries cards that remain productive in

Instants Deck Composition:

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Doran the Explorer

3 Chameleon 1 Horizon Canopy 2 Primal Command

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Besides the additional Thoughtseizes, which are likely fine (I reflexively

Choosing Chameleon Colossus over the tougher-to-counter Bitterblossom

Stu’s manabase is a noteworthy departure from the norm - he plays zero

Quick ‘n’ Toast

Part bare-bones Mannequin deck (Mulldrifter, Cloudthresher, and Kitchen

Giants and Kithkin: Where’s the Beef?

helpful role Ancient Ampitheater is likely to play is as a color fixer in a

Incandescent Soulstoke doesn’t seem like much of a Lord when compared

4 Smokebraider Average creature

Download this Download this deck

If you hadn’t guessed, I used the sideboard space as more of a notepad

See you then!

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