MTGO Testing Lessons and Metallica

“I jumped up, fired my pistols, and I shot him with both barrels.”

In the early days of pistols, this had a distinct meaning. It meant that if you were lucky enough to carry two pistols, you most likely did not fire both of them at the same time for a few reasons.

First reason: The accuracy of the early pistol in that day and age was horrible. Anything outside of 10 feet from an opponent, your chances of hitting the target you were aiming for drop exponentially. Usually the first shot was to force your opponent into a bad position where you could get on top of them and use the second pistol to fire the final blow.

Second reason: Gunpowder and peripherals for firing a pistol were expensive. Firing both pistols at once and hitting your opponent twice was a waste of resources. The size of the shell in the early pistols dwarfs modern day projectiles. A hit from an early pistol shell would mean death, or at least a lot of pain. Today we go for quantity not size.

Third reason: The element of surprise can turn the tide in even the bleakest battles. Fire once, hide, let your opponent think you are loading, and you have created a spider trap for the fly.

Therefore, what I learned from deck testing on MTGO with a curses deck is a new level of patience.

Here is the deck list.

Auras

3x Curse of Misfortunes

3x Curse of Death’s Hold

2x Curse of Oblivion

4x Curse of Thirst

1x Curse of Exhaustion

(13)

Spells

4x Day of Judgment

3x Black Sun’s Zenith

2x Choking Fumes

3x Tragic Slip

3x Lingering Souls

4x Despise

(19)-(32)

Creatures

3x Solemn Simulacrum

(3)-(35)

Artifacts

2x Ratchet Bomb

(2)-(37)

Lands

8x Plains

9x Swamps

4x Isolated Chapel

2x Ghost Town

(23)-(60)

Sideboard

2x Curse of Oblivion

1x Curse of Death’s Hold

2x Curse of Exhaustion

2x Ratchet Bomb

4x Nihil Spellbomb

4x Revoke Existence

(15)

First reason: It is a combo deck and it is based on getting your opponent in enough of a disadvantage early that you can, overwhelm them with enchantments late game that lock them out of creatures and/or resources.

Second reason: All but one of the curses in white and black are 5 converted mana. The choice to extend the resources needed and keep a backup plan takes almost impeccable timing. That timing is different against different opponents. With a green rush deck(Pod or Ramp), I need to wait till the coast is clear, as opposed to UB zombies which can explode in an instant, but tends to ramp out damage with only a few creatures (Geralf’s Messenger) that are semi-manageable. Countermagic is also an issue. Although Death’s Hold is the only multiple black, it is expensive to get them out and working around Mana Leak and Dissipate is difficult, but not impossible at the rate they are run in the current environment.

Third reason:  Death’s Hold is almost a staple in the UB and BW decks at this point. It is expensive, but running one or two does not hurt the curve for them and it is an extreme advantage late game. Death’s Hold is a card that I usually hold until I get the one via the Misfortunes. In fact, I hold most of the curses until I can “fetch” one with the Misfortunes to double the Thirst fun. Enchantment removal and O-Rings do hurt the deck, but with multiple of each out, I can still accomplish my objective a little slower.

The environment is riddled with slowly elevating creatures or fast, pinging threats that this deck fares well with considering the all mass removal it contains. Early in testing, I would slam down as Oblivion followed by a Thirst so I could deal some damage with the Thirst only to find myself dead the next turn. I have since learned that sometimes holding for a turn or two or dropping the Death’s Hold first is the key. It is slow, but as long as I choose when to use the barrels, it works much smoother.

As a side note, one match in particular came down to the last few cards in the third game. My opponent was playing URG with graveyard dump, some Runechanter Pikes, Beast Within, and a Swiftfoot Boots or two. I waited until almost lethal to play AND use the Nihil Spellbomb. Usually I just drop it early when I have the mana and use it whenever. What I learned from this particular long experience is that sometimes the use of all your mana and resources each turn may not be the best plan.

Enjoy!