GU aggro

Fanboy · Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 424

GU was very popular at the start of 10th edition in t2 but quickly died once tournaments show cased other decks. I've also noticed that people are trying to use MGA more often...i've always disliked the deck do to its lack of answers...so I decided to reinvent it with answers and i wound up just splashing blue for counter/bounce with legs to give me a tempo win. I had to sacrifice the later and bigger spells and i chose to stick with the often hard to stop pumped up troll and ledgewalker.

I'm getting mixed reviews of this is either extreme n00b tech or wow the deck plays great. Very recently did i main board the Serrated arrows, so its still being tested...but the theory is it really gets SBed in versus a lot of decks and i figured with the bounce creatures i could constantly revitalize its counters.

So give me your input.

[size =18]GU AGGRO[/size]

Creatures - 24
4 - Birds of Paradise
4 - Troll Ascetic
4 - Silhana Ledgewalker
4 - Riftwing Cloudskate
3 - Venser, Shaper Savant
3 - Mystic Snake
2 - Llanowar Elves

Spells - 13
4 - Remand
3 - Moldervine Cloak
3 - Loxodon Warhammer
3 - Serrated Arrows

Lands - 23
6 - Island
5 - Forest
4 - Breeding Pool
4 - Yavimaya Coast
3 - Treetop Village
1 - Urza's Factory

SIDEBOARD
4 - Spike Feeder
4 - Dodecapod
4 - Tormod's Crypt
3 - Voidslime

well input?

Vedrfolner · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 1443

I really dislike the Mystic Snakes. After testing them in a similar deck, I found that keeping four mana untapped seriously slowed down the deck. Most of the time it sat in my hand unused until its impact on the game was unimpressive at best. The deck improved greatly when I took them out for 4 Delays instead. When I did that, the deck basically played as a MGA with 8 timewalks - a strategy which I discovered was efficient in many circumstances, but less useful in others.

The deck's strength is that Ledgewalker/Troll w/Warhammer just goes ahead and straightforward wins games. Its weakness is that in some matchups it doesn't.

In your deck, it is unlikely that bouncing the Mystic Snakes for another use will ever occur often enough for that being an argument for running it.

And run the 4th Warhammer. It is too good vs aggro not to maximize your chances of getting one - and if they destroy it, you still have a decent chance of drawing the second.

BTW, here is the deck I ran at the Norwegian Nationals, going 4-2 (lost vs Angelfire maindecking Warhammer, and Aussie Storm. Won vs BR Gargadon, RW burn, RG Gargadon Gruul and some other burn-based aggro deck I can't remember):

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Llanowar Elves
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
4 Troll Ascetic
3 Call of the Herd
3 Ohran Viper
4 Moldervine Cloak
2 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Remand
4 Delay
2 Psionic Blast

3 Treetop Village
9 Forest
4 Island
4 Breeding Pool (p.s couldn't get hold of them!)
2 Yavimaya Coast
1 Pendelhaven

SB:
4 Pongify
3 Krosan Grip
2 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Stonewood Invocation
1 Ohran Viper
2 Razormane Masticore

TaoMatShan · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 44

Mystic snake is a strong card. If holding 4 mana open isn't working during your game, play it eot. The only player this card ever slows down is your opponent.

Fanboy · Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 424

I've run the debate with myself as well, sometimes snakes just sit in hand...other times they're insanely powerful game winners. However thats why I've reduced the count to 3.

The nice thing about this deck how ever...is you usually establish a beat (troll or silhana) and then the next turn when you have 4 mana...hopefully 3rd turn...you keep the untapped and keep swinging with your more than likely superior board). Now a beautiful card in this scenario is Venser, making great use out of your untap and still causing something to go your way. The main key to this deck is to stall your opponent out till you hit 6-7 mana any way so you can drop and equip a lox hammer. If a person is really goning to be holding back in fear of a snake you can also do silhana/riftwing and hold for a remand in early stages. It's very easy to work with snakes...AND if theyre gonna hold out...theyre allowing you more time for your suspended riftwings to come down. Point is snakes really put your opponent into a tough spot as the deck is all about tempo and it's usually better to risk getting countered by a snake than to sit and wait.

I love hammer and would definitely give it the mvp of the deck, but having 4 puts me at too much risk of not drawing enough creatures...a vital part of the loxodons success. 6 pumps (3 moldervine/3 hammer) is a good balance and seems to work out fine for me.

Fanboy · Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 424

Been testing the deck and it went on an amazing win streak, and just now its beginning to show me bad match ups.

Probably the only match ups i fear for this deck are:

MGA: its a little bit quicker than me and pro blue scryb ranger and silhana + combat tricks can just barely get under me ftw.

UWG blink/omnichord: i start destroying it early and mid game...but at some point they always manage to hold onto 2 life and fight back. Them wishing for a teferi's moat is usually what gets me (omnichord).

Bridge: I call this one a 50/50. I could go on my rant about how luck based Bridge is...but point is its either always 1-2 or 2-1 when i face this deck.

Not sure what i should do to up my deck...One thing i noticed is silhana isnt doing enough and i Feel her slot is available. I almost put in goyf...but i keep going back to my argument on why goyf doesnt belong in this deck, despite how good it is...So im thinking maybe Ohran Viper maybe a good switch...a mana more. But now i can trade blows with blockers that irritate me or gain enough card advantage to win those control match ups.

So any ideas on how to improve those match ups would be nice. Other than that the deck is doing really well for it's rogue self.

Vedrfolner · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 1443

Your sideboard isn't good enough. You need Krosan Grips to take out MGA's warhammers, and GWU's Moat. The Feeders does nothing, Voidslime is just a hard-to-cast Cancel. Keep the Dodecapods.

4 Dodecapod
3 Krosan grip
1 Loxodon Warhammer (GG vs burn decks)
3 Stonewood Invocation (one of your creatures cannot be countered and cannot be vensered or cloudskated)
4 Ana Battlemage? (could be a good and efficient answer to the blink decks/control decks out there - and surprising!)

Edit: You cannot win them all... even with 4 Tormod's Crypt in your sideboard, Bridge decks are still a very hard matchup. I would choose to ignore it. Warhammers are still a hard nut for them to crack anyway. On a troll that survives the imp blocking, they need a very good bridge combo to win vs 6 life a turn and 4+ to the head. Side in Dodecapods (vs Delirium Skeins) and the 4th hammer, and hope for the best.

BeppoBannson · Joined: 17 May 2007 Posts: 47

K, first and foremost whoever says voidslime is a hard to play cancel is a FRICKIN MORON!! I could explain myself but anyone with common sense could read the card and figure it out for themselves without trouble. Second a evac can go a long way against Tarmorack and Dredge especially Dredge when well timed and it allows you snake to counter another spell essentially "cantriping" itself by generating more hand advantage. Same applies for the matchup against MGA.

Vedrfolner · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 1443

so in which situation, exactly, will you swap something in your maindeck for Voidslime where Cancel would not do the same thing?

The only matchup it is relevant, is against UR Storm decks - if those are abundant in your meta, it can be useful... but Trickbind is better.

I know what Voidslime reads - but that is not relevant. What is relevant is what Voidslime does compared to a Cancel, which is easier to cast. The answer is not much more. Especially not in the sideboard.

BeppoBannson · Joined: 17 May 2007 Posts: 47

Voidslime belongs in the main deck, not sideboard, the bonus about voidslime is in triggered abilities, particularly come into play effects. Don't forget sack effects like augers/hierarch that can occasionally change games and all you have to do is pay 1 green instead of a colorless which in this deck you will do neways leaving as much U as you can open for whatever else. Especially in this deck voidslime outclasses cancel in every way.

Vedrfolner · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 1443

but if something comes into play, it can normally also be countered (with Cancel or Voidslime even). Isn't it better to remove the creature than its cip effect?

My point here is that the additional abilities of Voidslime is rarely useful, and if they are, Trickbind is better. If the deck needs more counters in sideboard, Delay or Rune Snag would be far better options, allowing for a Warhammer/Cloak/Troll/Call cast at 5 mana, while having the option of both Remand and Delay/Snag to counter anything threatening the opponent plays.

Fanboy: I suggest you try the deck I posted, so that you can see if you like the deck without Snakes and Vensers. It does the exact same thing as your deck - accelerating out hard-to-deal-with critters early, then remanding and delaying anything opponent plays which is relevant. I have not tried your deck, so I am ofcourse not saying that mine is better or anything... just slightly different.

BeppoBannson · Joined: 17 May 2007 Posts: 47

I agree trickbind>voidslime in regards activated abilities but as a counterspell voidslime clearly outclasses cancel as it almost has a built in trickbind itself. I also agree that for counterspells in sideboard(boarding in against control i assume) then delay is way better as it hard counters a counterspell(amongst other cards) for U1.

magic_king · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 23

Seeing as you are using cards in the Ravnica series, one card that might help since your using Venser, Mystic Snake, and Riftwing cloudskate is Cloudstone Curio.

This card will allow you to keep bouncing your counter and bounce cards back and forth for total control, and this allows you to clear the way for big creatures to deal BIG damage.

Also, Voidslime should definitly be main decked if your using G/U. It's a must. Some people say that it's a harder to play cancel, but if your using G/U you will probably already have a forest or a Breeding Pool in play so it isn't harder, it's just better. Plus it destroys cancel with the ability to counter an activated or triggered ability.

So if you want, add the curio for board control, but I would definitly add 3-4 voidslimes maindecked.