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Switch to Forum Live View Splinterfright Dredge still viable??
1 year ago  ::  May 16, 2012 - 3:45AM #1
mtg_guru
Date Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 221
Hi all been looking into building a Splinterfright dredge deck but I cannot see any cards in AVR that would help the deck outside of Rotcrown Ghoul and Natural End . Here is my current list, please be aware I don't have the money to invest in Hinterland Harbor and Woodland Cemetery .

Lands

9 Forest
2 Swamp
4 Island
4 Shimmering Grotto

Creatures

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Deranged Assistant
4 Boneyard Wurm
4 Armored Skaab
4 Splinterfright
4 Kessig Cagebreakers

Spells

4 Dream Twist
4 Mulch
3 Gnaw to the Bone
1 Sever the Bloodline
3 Spider Spawning
2 Unburial Rites

Sideboard

3 Undead Alchemist
3 Blasphemous Act
1 Mountain
3 Natural End
1 Creeping Renaissance
1 Gnaw to the Bone
2 Sheltering Word
1 Sever the Bloodline

Please note this deck is only for FNM and is not designed to be the next Pro tour deck.
Help, advice, suggestions needed.

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1 year ago  ::  May 16, 2012 - 6:34AM #2
MisterDubs
Date Joined: Mar 7, 2011
Posts: 555
Your right, self-mill didn't really get any love from AVR. Which I think is a shame as it's my favourite deck to play in Block. I see you've got Sheltering Word in your sideboard, which I think is a good replacement for Ranger's Guile , but other than that there's not much to add from AVR. I'm thinking about maybe running the new land Alchemist's Refuge , since there's not a whole load of instant speed removal you can cast your creatures on your opponents end step and then swing with them on your turn.  However if you haven't got the Dual lands your mana base might be a bit shaky.

I run the deck in rather than and main deck Blasphemous Act but thats due to the ubiquitous nature of aggro decks I play against. So if they're not too prevalent in your meta maybe stick with the .

As far your deck contents go I have a few suggestions, first of all you need more lands, 19 isn't enough, even really fast aggro decks run more then that, I know you run mana accelerators but you still need more, I'd say a minimum of 22 lands. Also seeing as you are tri-colour, with no dual lands, you need to put in Evolving Wilds to help fix your mana.

24 creatures is a good number in this sort of deck as you need to be able to reliably get alot of them into your yard, so I wouldn't run any less, but I would change some around. First off I don't think Avacyn's Pilgrim is that amazing in this deck, I used to run him in my build, but just found I didn't need him. For me he didn't fix my mana as I had no mana requirements and I found the the ramp wasn't that useful. You can't use him to get Splinterfright out on turn 2 as you'll have no creatures in the yard and he'll just die. The best creature to get out early would be Kessig Cagebreakers so they are useful there, but I don't think they are that important, however alot of list I see run them so maybe I'm missing something, if I am someone please let me know. Now what to replace them with? The first thing noticed when looking at your creature base was no Ghoultree s, I love this card, it's at the other end of your curve but often in the late game he'll cost you the same as an Avacyn's Pilgrim lol, and in the mid-game he can reliably cost 4-mana. One of the thing's I like to do with him is cast Artful Dodge on him and swing for the win. One other creature I'd like to suggest is Dawntreader Elk , he fixes your mana, and seeing as you are not running the duals, mana fixing is very important to you, he also ramps up a little and he puts himself in the yard to power up your other creatures. He's definately worth considering. There's one more creature I sometimes run, however I'm not necessarily recommending him, it's just he has 2 of my favourite abilities, is Ambush Viper . He's not the best, but as these decks generally lack removal he is good at snagging an unsuspecting Champion of the Parish or Stromkirk Noble early on. So he's removal on a stick and he happily puts himself in the yard, maybe consider some for the sideboard.

Now onto the spells, I think a must have in selfmill is Trackers Instinct , it helps to mill you and find a creature you're looking for, so I'd definately include some of these. I'd probably swap them out for Unburial Rites because A) I'd be taking the Pilgrims out so I wouldn't have access to mana and B) the idea of the deck is that it wants as many creatures in the yard as possible, you don't want to be taking them back out. Yeah it's nice to get Cagebreakers or a Spliterfright back once in a while but overall it's not worth it. Spider Spawning can be good but it's vulnerable to Sever the Bloodline and Curse of Death's Hold and othe mass removal, so if alot of people are playing these cards in your meta maybe you should consider them for the Board.

The sideboard looks o.k but I wouldn't bother with the lone Mountain and the Blasphemous Act s, in a self-mill deck it's all to easy to mill that lone mountain and then you've got an uncastable card sitting in your hand/deck, which is not what you want. Like I said before if you feel like you need the sweeper consider maindecking it and swapping to and dropping the . 1 last thing, you've got Natural End in the board to deal with pesky artifacts and enchantments, which is good but I'd replace it with Bramblecrush as that also deals with Planeswalkers and annoying lands.
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1 year ago  ::  May 17, 2012 - 1:49AM #3
mtg_guru
Date Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 221
@MisterDubs: Thank you for your many, many views and suggestions and I like some of them, I would of liked to of seen your decklist so I can see how a UG/r version looks.

The problem with my build is that tournament scene has only recently started in my area, and I am basing my "reads" off talking to the players in my meta, from those "reads" I predict that the meta will be mostly aggro. I highly antcipate B/R vampires, U/B Zombies, W/R Boros, I also am calling a U/G soulbond deck. But like I said this is all based on "reads" from talking to players, so I cannot be 100% certain that my "predictions" of what the local meta will be like will be accurate, this is one of the reasons I have stuck to UG/b, so that if my reads are correct my sideboard will allow me to play the meta afterwards.

I am not 100% convinced that Alchemist's Refuge is worth a card, I usethe card in my EDH deck, but only included it as I had no space for Leyline of Antcipation , I will test with Alchemist's Refuge   as a one of, in the placement of one Shimmering Grotto .
 
I know that the lack of dual's is hindering my deck but am trying my best to stretch my cash flow a little further so I can run Hinterland Harbor , Woodland Cemetery and Sulfur Falls .


I personally don't like Ghoultree as it doesn't have evasion and is just a big body, this is why I prefer Kessig Cagebreakers as it helps swarm the opponent with tokens, it acts like having a second Spider Spawning , talking of  Spider Spawning I think it needs to stay as helps us against the slew of evasion creatures that came in during Avacyn Restored.

I like Tracker's Instinct as it seems slightly better than Mulch , although if we add Tracker's Instinct I think we need to consider main decking Laboratory Maniac as a alt win condition.
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1 year ago  ::  May 17, 2012 - 5:55AM #4
MisterDubs
Date Joined: Mar 7, 2011
Posts: 555
Your welcome, the decklist I run on MTGO is:


creatures
1 x Ambush Viper
3 x Boneyard Wurm
2 x Dawntreader Elk
3 x Deranged Assistant
4 x Armored Skaab
4 x Splinterfright
3 x Kessig Cagebreakers
3 x Ghoultree

planeswalkers
1 x Garruk Relentless

spells
2 x Artful Dodge
2 x DreamTwist
3 x Mulch
3 x Tracker's Instinct
2 x Gnaw to the Bone
2 x Blasphemous Act

lands
4 x Hinterland Harbor
3 x Sulphur Falls
4 x Evolving Wilds
2 x Shimmering Grotto
1 x Kessig Wolf Run
5 x Forest
2 x Island
1 x Mountain

Sideboard
2 x BlasphemousAct
3 x Ranger's Guile
2 x Gnaw to the Bone
1 x Artful Dodge
2 x Bramblecrush
1 x Garruk Relentless
1 x Kessig Cagebreakers
2 x Ambush Vipers
1 x Creeping Renaissance



This is Pre-Avacyn Restored. The small creature base is constantly getting shifted around but thats the basic build I run. The is only a splash for the Blasphemous Act s and the Kessig Wolf Run . If you are anticipating running into alot of aggro decks I definately recommend running a build. It's up to you, but having access to a sweeper can really make a big difference and keep you alive long enough to cast your fatties and take over the game. Also your Gnaw to the Bone s are going to be invaluable against the aggro decks so definately board in the extra 1 in game 2 against those decks.

I understand the dislike of Ghoultree due to the lack of evasion and the ease of him just being chumped, however giving him evasion in the form of Artful Dodge or Kessig Wolf Run can really help end a game. But if you don't feel like including those cards maybe leave him out.

Also don't take Mulch out, if you're going to add Tracker's Instinct (which I think you should) add it as an addition to Mulch not a replacement. I've never really thought of adding Laboratory Maniac , I have lost a few games where I have milled my entire deck, so maybe it's a possible inclusion, however I wouldn't main deck him, 1 or 2 in the sideboard might be okay, and bring him in on the games that go the distance because it's unlikely most will, especially aggro match ups they tend to be over pretty quick.

Well good luck with the deck and let me know how you got on.
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1 year ago  ::  May 17, 2012 - 3:22PM #5
mtg_guru
Date Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 221
@ Mister Dubs: Thank you for the list, looks cool although I still am not sold on Ghoultree .

Updated decklist

5 Forest
4 Woodland Cemetery (borrowed from friend)
2 Island
4 Hinterland Harbor (borrowed from a friend)
3 Shimmering Grotto
1 Alchemist's Refuge (testing)

Creatures

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Deranged Assistant
4 Boneyard Wurm
4 Armored Skaab
4 Splinterfright
3 Kessig Cagebreakers
1 Laboratory Maniac

Spells

4 Tracker's Instinct
4 Mulch
3 Gnaw to the Bone
1 Sever the Bloodline
3 Spider Spawning
2 Unburial Rites

Sideboard

3 Undead Alchemist
3 Blasphemous Act
1 Sulfur Falls (just traded for it)
3 Bramblecrush
1 Creeping Renaissance
1 Gnaw to the Bone
2 Sheltering Word
1 Sever the Bloodline

Some notes:

I have noiticed that alot of the time against aggro I side out -4 Avacyn's Pilgrim , -2 Unburial Rites I sideboard in +3 Blasphemous Act , +1 Sulfur Falls , +1  Gnaw to the Bone , +1 Sever the Bloodline , I like having Blasphemous Act in the sideboard as it catches our opponents off guard, as they are not expecting a mass removal spell post board from a deck that is U/G/b, I still am not 100% sure on Alchemist's Refuge as it does "technically" increase our first spells CMC by 2 and in block I am not 100% sure that is a good thing although I could be well off.
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1 year ago  ::  May 22, 2012 - 8:15AM #6
Falcon_Uk
Date Joined: Jun 15, 2007
Posts: 4,233
I really like Thought Scour in the deck as a one mana cantrip that mills you for 2 as well.  

I have ditched my Unburial Rites so that I just run two colours and a splash rather than two splashes and that has really helped the mana base.  It has also meant that I dropped the Pilgrims as I was not overly impressed by them.  Evolving Wilds is also good as it thins your deck and means you can get whatever colour you are looking for.  You should then run a single swamp that you can then find from the Wilds.

So I would suggest the following changes:

-4 Pilgrim
-2 Unburial Rights
-3 Shimmering Grotto
-1 Alchemist's Refuge (I don't think it works here and is too gimmiky)

+4 Evolving Wilds
+1 Swamp
+1 Island
+1 Forest
+2 Thought Scour
+1 Memory's Journey (replaces Unburial Rites and can be used to get back whatever you need to your library)

Just my thoughts.
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1 year ago  ::  May 22, 2012 - 11:54PM #7
mtg_guru
Date Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 221

May 22, 2012 -- 8:15AM, Falcon_Uk wrote:

I really like Thought Scour in the deck as a one mana cantrip that mills you for 2 as well.  

I have ditched my Unburial Rites so that I just run two colours and a splash rather than two splashes and that has really helped the mana base.  It has also meant that I dropped the Pilgrims as I was not overly impressed by them.  Evolving Wilds is also good as it thins your deck and means you can get whatever colour you are looking for.  You should then run a single swamp that you can then find from the Wilds.

So I would suggest the following changes:

-4 Pilgrim
-2 Unburial Rights
-3 Shimmering Grotto
-1 Alchemist's Refuge (I don't think it works here and is too gimmiky)

+4 Evolving Wilds
+1 Swamp
+1 Island
+1 Forest
+2 Thought Scour
+1 Memory's Journey (replaces Unburial Rites and can be used to get back whatever you need to your library)

Just my thoughts.




I am guessing that you aren't looking to play Blasphemous Act in your sideboard then, as removing Shimmering Grotto means we have no way to cast it with playing Sulfur Falls in the sideboard as well.

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