UG-Aggro Control

[Tabris]

So I´ve updated my deck and was playing it the last two seasons. Since the Grand Prix is coming next week I would like to get some feedback from you guys.
As I wrote before the deck is mainly constructed to fight against aggro decks. But I´ve made some cuts (faeries, expensive counterspells) to have a decent
matchup vs. control. Early beatdown with counterbackup is the plan. I dont have much late-game shenanigans or synergies (genesis, life from the loam, etc.)

But maybe you could give some advice. I think the win percentage of this archetype is 55%-60%, which is good but maybe you have some suggestions to make this deck even better.

Here is the list:


// Lands
    1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
    1 [ZEN] Verdant Catacombs
    1 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
    1 [EVE] Flooded Grove
    1 [A] Tropical Island
    1 [FNM] Treetop Village
    1 [ON] Flooded Strand
    1 [DK] Maze of Ith
    1 [AN] Library of Alexandria
    13 [UNH] Island
    1 [ON] Polluted Delta
    9 [UNH] Forest
    1 [TE] Wasteland
    1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
    1 [DIS] Breeding Pool

// Creatures
    1 [RAV] Birds of Paradise
    1 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
    1 [TSP] Scryb Ranger (discusable but this little guy helped me in many games, can untap + fix mana)
    1 [MI] Wall of Roots
    1 [ROE] Beastbreaker of Bala Ged (was trying it in the last two weeks, seems good enough. I ve cutted wild mongrel for it)
    1 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
    1 [OD] Werebear (not sure about this guy, he was decent in some games but my lack for aggressive creatures makes him not the best choice)
    1 [FNM] Wall of Blossoms
    1 [ROE] Coralhelm Commander (I am impressed and think he is the best card from RoE for my deck)
    1 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
    1 [FD] Eternal Witness
    1 [10E] Troll Ascetic
    1 [ON] Ravenous Baloth (I think he is still good enough even w/o damage on the stack bc he got a good body and give some life vs very fast decks)
    1 [ARB] Lorescale Coatl (I just want to cut him bc he need some time but I ve got some games in which he was the win for me)
    1 [DIS] Trygon Predator
    1 [WWK] Calcite Snapper (Mhh rly not sure about him, also a creature vs aggro but is also good vs control bc of his shroud abilty, but cant enchant or equip)
    1 [MOR] Vendilion Clique
    1 [LRW] Pestermite
    1 [FD] Trinket Mage
    1 [V09] Serendib Efreet
    1 [ARE] Man-o'-War
    1 [JU] Phantom Centaur (he is awesome vs aggro and monoR but bit expensive)
    1 [P3] Lu Xun, Scholar General
    1 [FUT] Venser, Shaper Savant
    1 [LRW] Sower of Temptation
    1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder
    1 [EVE] Glen Elendra Archmage
    1 [LRW] Mulldrifter

// Spells
    1 [TSP] Ancestral Vision
    1 [SH] Mox Diamond
    1 [FD] Engineered Explosives
    1 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
    1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
    1 [FNM] Rancor
    1 [SC] Stifle
    1 [DIS] Spell Snare
    1 [FD] Condescend
    1 [A] Regrowth
    1 [SH] Mana Leak
    1 [ZEN] Into the Roil
    1 [NE] Daze
    1 [RAV] Remand
    1 [UL] Miscalculation
    1 [ROE] Deprive
    1 [LG] Mana Drain
    1 [MM] Counterspell
    1 [BOK] Threads of Disloyalty
    1 [CHK] Kodama's Reach
    1 [TSP] Krosan Grip
    1 [OD] Call of the Herd
    1 [US] Back to Basics
    1 [RAV] Compulsive Research
    1 [TSB] Psionic Blast
    1 [DS] Sword of Light and Shadow
    1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
    1 [MR] Crystal Shard
    1 [FD] Vedalken Shackles
    1 [FD] Grafted Wargear
    1 [LRW] Cryptic Command
    1 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
    1 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
    1 Control Magic
    1 [FNM] Fact or Fiction
    1 [CHK] Gifts Ungiven
    1 [UD] Treachery
    1 [AL] Force of Will
    1 [MM] Gush


This cards I am considering to put in:

Teferi (vs control decks)
Brainstorm (Coatl Giant Growth )
Repeal (frostbringer, tanglewire, token removal)
Misdircetion (good vs removal or counter war)
Bribery (vs reanimator, hypergenesis, etc.)
Life from the loam (just bc of Wasteland, I ve cutted the cylce lands bc of back to basics)
Mishras Factory (Treetop Village is good but to get only colourless mana is bad also dosent work good with B2B)
Crop Rotation (search man-lands, LoA, Maze)
Jace Beleren (constant card draw but dont know what to cut)

So thank you in advance for your suggestions

[malz77]

i would play all your consired cards!

cut:
werebear
lu xun (1/3 for 4 mana... not in this format!)
grafted wargear (wrong deck for this card)
both levelers (you will always waste a turn to level them up)
calcite snapper
threads of disloyalty
both swords

[Tabris]

Werebear and Lu Xun are both discussable. Crafted Wargear is a good card bc all the small dudes are getting stronger also the utility creatures (witness, venser, man o war, etc.) besides, it combo´s with vedalken shackles.

The levelers are such great bc of their flexibility. The Commander dont need my full mana (assuming he is played on turn 2) I just can lvl him for 1 and the turn after again (3/3 flying is enough) the 2/2 bear need just one activation bc 4/4 is much for this deck and in the mid game i can spend useless mana. Bc of this flexibililty I appreciate those two.

snapper...as I wrote he have his ups and downs. Maybe I´ll cut him for misdirection.
Threads...dont believe I can cut these. I expect much aggro decks on the GP especially Boros and WW have good targets for.

BOTH? Maybe SoLS but I cant see how a aggro deck like mine could pass SoFI.

anyway thx for the advice.

[Tiggupiru]

I would not cut the beastbreakers (haven't tested the guy, but seems good), and would probably not drop the commander assuming you are constantly able to play him on turn 2. In this deck he is outclassed very quickly and if you need to dance around your lands, it's not helping.

I also like Threads of Disloyalty as a card, but I am unsure how good it is in a green deck. Dudes with CMC 2 should not pose a problem with the big green creatures you have. I'd cut this.

SoFI is way too good to be cut, SoLS probably should get the axe.

The cards I'd cut:

Threads of Disloyalty - As discussed above.
Werebear - Base stats are horrible and probably hits puberty too late to be any help.
Lu Xun - Love the card, but Jace is better. Comes down turn earlier and draws immediately.
Grafted Wargear - I'd rather play creatures with bigger base stats than this. Also a possible 2 for 1 if your opponent has removal for this.
Rancor - it's nice to be able to hit harder with utility creatures, but completely unnecessary. Is better as a defensive card, but it requires specific situation in order to be actually relevant.
Deprive - I know this card is way better than I originally though, but I still wouldn't play it over Memory Lapse.
Kodama's Reach - Gives card advantage and accelerates, but you don't need to be accelerated to five mana. Acceleration is at it's best on the second turn and becomes very bad in turn three. If you are playing Loam, you could theoretically try Realms Uncharted here, but that doesn't seem that good of an idea either. Might be worth a test game or two though.


I'd add:


Meloku - Big bad finisher.
Teferi - Badder (is that a word?) finisher against control.
Great Sable Stag - Blue based control loves him, good stats keep him decent against everyone else.
Chameleon Colossus - The little ant-eater that could.
Brainstorm - You are light on shuffle effects, but this is still a good card.
Repeal - Mana intensive, but enables some nice tricks.
Jace Beleren - Who doesn't love card draw?

[PuTe]

hey,
i would cut:
-crystal shard: (played it myself and i guess there are better things...)

-wall of blossoms: ( i know the wall is good but maybe u should play the mongrel again, in your aggrodeck, to get the early pressure you were talking about.)

-the snapper: (I'm not sure either. If it works against Control you should give it a try imo.)

-Lu Xun: (Bad imo...There are better cards, like ohran viper. I prefer looter-il-kor, which makes a great job with lorescale, equipments, or just to create quality.)

-Threads: i agree with tiggupiru.

-deprive: same..also with kodama's reach, rancor and werebear

-pestermite : does it perform well? i don't like it

-if the centaur and the levelers rock, keep them. i never tried them. colossus could be exchanged with the centaur.



i would play:

-maybe life from the loam (+ cycle lands then or even + intuition and misdirection)-think of lorescale

-the looter! also good with loam

-repeal (love it- very fexible, nice instant-spell)

-memory lapse (not the worst counter in order to get tempo for your aggroplan)

-brainstorm (its still a nice card, even better with loam- you see loam promises many synergies)

-maybe spikeweaver (also good with persist. i'm sure you know that)

-ohran viper (matter of taste)

-if your relic is enough it's fine, otherwise add at least a 2nd hate (maybe loaming shaman).

-mongrel (exspecially with loam    )


best regards, pute

[Tabris]

Thank you all.

Some thoughts about your suggestions:

Werebear: he have to go. I was unsure, played him for a long time but most of the time I dont want him on the table.

Crystal Shard: I´ve cutted it so many times from my deck it can be a gamebreaker (man-o-war, venser, witness, holding enemy creatures) but it can also be a very dead card on the board. a friend of mine was advising to put it in my deck again. The last games I´ve played with it was just awesome. Maybe its a mistake but I will keep it.

Wall of blossom: I cant cut these. The pressure is important, but this creature is a solid cantrip. It works well vs aggro and control, since its so flexible. It hold the pressure and is also ok vs control since its a cantrip.

Snapper: I will cut him.

Lu Xun: mhh maybe jace is better. The good thing about him is the possibilty to make some pressure with equipments, rancor since he is unblockable. But I will put jace 1.0 in. (btw. I ve cutted the viper for Lu Xun)

Threads: Especialy vs aggro decks it important to put bigger dudes + a removal (UG lacks removal) on the table. If i can steal their Lavamancer, Figure, Student, Mother, etc. I just get a huge adavantage. Still not sure maybe u are right.

Deprive: I was suprised, that both of you think Memory lapse is better maybe I will replace him.

Pestermite: I know on the paper he dosent look well. But he is a bomb. I can remeber so many situations which he was the key to my victory. (btw. for these guys are the equipments/rancor, eot creature next turn equip-->boom).

I´ve played Colossus and just replaced him for the centaur. Most of the time, my deck cant provide 4 mana in the combat phase (counter backup etc.). My decission was influenced by the fact that many aggro decks and RDW where on the road. I will keep him. (he comboes also with wargear, swords)

Kodamas Reach: OMG WHat a good idea to replace it with realms. I am such a idiot...its so much better, since its instant and is able to find my important lands. Maybe I consider Lftl.


Well I will think about your ideads.

thanks.

[malz77]

Lu Xun: mhh maybe jace is better. The good thing about him is the possibilty to make some pressure with equipments, rancor since he is unblockable. But I will put jace 1.0 in. (btw. I ve cutted the viper for Lu Xun)

another suggestion is Cold-Eyed Selkie. Draws even more cards with rancor and equipments and is mostly unblockable

[Nastaboi]

I like Snapper but won't haunt you if you decide to leave it out. Do keep the level-uppers. Looter-il-Kor is fine, Teferi is good. Try Spellstutter sprite. Mox Diamond is awful, Chrome Mox is good.

[Tabris]

Actually the Sprite is still in the real-life version of this deck.

I want to cut her for the Looter. Sometimes its just a dead card and I want cards which provide a constant result.

[W0lf]

definitely cut sword of light and shadow if you really want to add anything.
The sword is the weakest Card in your deck

[Tabris]

So I got the 6th place (I am not sure if I am rly 6th, but I think since I was 3rd after swiss) with this deck and was very satisfied.

Here is my list from the GP thanks for all your help.

Funny thing, I ve lost the match in overtime vs. a similar UG-Build (the guy told me he saw my list) but with much more "big spells" like Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Masticore, Future Sight. So my deck is meant to be a fast deck I was rly satisfied by the LvL up guys, also with crystal shard. Maybe I will cut the threads for a Master of the Wildhunt to reduce the lack of removal in this deck. I am also considering a Great Sable stack for the control Matchups. To put repeal in was a good decission also the looter. I was cutting the Mulldrifter (sad bc he is a key creature for the shards) right before the Grand Prix and put bribery in, bc I thought it would be a good answer to the oath/hypergen/reanimator decks I was expecting. Its also good vs aggro decks, bc it simply finds their best creature (â,¬-Slayer-Angel in Zoo etc.) and I dont regret that choice.

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
   1 [TE] Wasteland
   1 [DIS] Breeding Pool
   1 [FNM] Treetop Village
   1 [A] Tropical Island
   1 [EVE] Flooded Grove
   1 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
   1 [DK] Maze of Ith
   1 [AN] Library of Alexandria
   1 [M10] Gargoyle Castle
   1 [ON] Tranquil Thicket
   8 [UNH] Forest
   1 [FUT] Tolaria West
   1 [10E] Yavimaya Coast
   1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
   1 [ON] Lonely Sandbar
   12 [UNH] Island
   1 [AQ] Mishra's Factory (4)

// Creatures
   1 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
   1 [RAV] Birds of Paradise
   1 [MI] Wall of Roots
   1 [FNM] Wild Mongrel
   1 [TSP] Scryb Ranger
   1 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
   1 [ROE] Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
   1 [FNM] Wall of Blossoms
   1 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
   1 [ROE] Coralhelm Commander
   1 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
   1 [10E] Troll Ascetic
   1 [FD] Eternal Witness
   1 [DIS] Trygon Predator
   1 [MOR] Vendilion Clique
   1 [ARE] Man-o'-War
   1 [V09] Serendib Efreet
   1 [FD] Trinket Mage
   1 [LRW] Pestermite
   1 [ON] Ravenous Baloth
   1 [JU] Phantom Centaur
   1 [FUT] Venser, Shaper Savant
   1 [LRW] Sower of Temptation
   1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder
   1 [EVE] Glen Elendra Archmage

// Spells
   1 [TSP] Ancestral Vision
   1 [FD] Engineered Explosives
   1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
   1 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
   1 [FNM] Rancor
   1 [DIS] Spell Snare
   1 [SC] Stifle
   1 [GP] Repeal
   1 [FD] Condescend
   1 [A] Regrowth
   1 [RAV] Life from the Loam
   1 [MI] Memory Lapse
   1 [UL] Miscalculation
   1 [NE] Daze
   1 [SH] Mana Leak
   1 [ZEN] Into the Roil
   1 [RAV] Remand
   1 [LG] Mana Drain
   1 [MM] Counterspell
   1 [BOK] Threads of Disloyalty
   1 [LRW] Jace Beleren
   1 [OD] Call of the Herd
   1 [ROE] Realms Uncharted
   1 [TSP] Krosan Grip
   1 [TSB] Psionic Blast
   1 [US] Back to Basics
   1 [RAV] Compulsive Research
   1 [FD] Grafted Wargear
   1 [FD] Vedalken Shackles
   1 [MR] Crystal Shard
   1 [DS] Sword of Light and Shadow
   1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
   1 [LRW] Cryptic Command
   1 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
   1 Control Magic
   1 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
   1 [FNM] Fact or Fiction
   1 [CHK] Gifts Ungiven
   1 [AL] Force of Will
   1 [UD] Treachery
   1 [MM] Bribery
   1 [MM] Gush

[GoblinPiledriver]

First of all congratulation to your success.
But I had to ask a few questions.

Against which decks do you had played against?
Do you had really 102 cards in deck?
How efficent are Gush, Realms Uncharted ,Sword od Light and Shadow and Threads of Disloayity?

And finally would be more looter a good choice?(I read that this deck should be quick, but I think of the high flexibility of such cards)

[Tabris]

my opponents in swiss:

1. RGW-Zoo win
2. BWG-DoranAggro win
3. G/w-Elves loss
4. 5c-Staxx win
5. BG-Aggro win
6. UGB-DarkBant win
7. UGW-Bant (Malz77)win
8. Draw

Quarterfinals:

UG-ControlAggro (since the deck is more control I switched the order) loss (due overtime)

I had 102 cards, since I was not able  cut 2 cards from the list. I do know why I shouldnt do this but...yeah I am stubborn.

-Gush is the nuts. I use it rly often to speed me up bc usually I dont have more then 5 lands in play and use the alternate casting costs to get my land drop.
-Realms was very very good. My deck is hungry for instants which provide card advantage (every deck does, but you know what I mean) especially with Lftl.
-The sword was very important. It won me two games. I expected a lot of aggro decks.
-Threads was good in this tournament but I´am considering to cut it for the Master of the Wild Hunt. Again good card vs, boros, naya, ww, elves but horrible vs control. I will cut it.

More looter would be great. But dont know what to cut.

[malz77]

I really enjoyed our game, although I lost and you made top 8. The games were very tight and enthralling. I think the UG is superior in the UWG matchup.

Some cards I'm not sure about:
Gargoyle Castle (I have no experience with this land and none of my opponets activated it)
Pestermite - wasn't that impressing against me, maybe against other decks
Compulsive Research - I would prefer Telling Time or Brainstorm... although you are playing LftL
Crystal Shard - how good was it?

[Tabris]

I enjoyed also the games.

Gargoyle Castle is suprisingly good. I ve played it since the release of m10. With Lftl its even better.

Pestermite is an amazing card in this deck. I cant describe how many games it influenced in my favor. Tapping the blocker and attack with a equipment, tapping a maze for the last dmg. Taping the mana EoT to get the counter etc. etc.

Compuslive is good. I dont like brainstorm and telling time. My deck needs the cards and I can easily discard the lands here since this isnt a pure control deck.

Crystal Shard just won me my 1st game in Top8. And in other games it was very important. Just think about the synergies in my deck and also the capability to bounce enemy creatures. I highly recommended for this deck.