Not bad!
This week I decided to try again. It wasn't certain that we would be able to play, so the store gave out the prize packs in advance again. Again, not bad!
But we did eventually get 7 people. so we played 3 rounds. I added my two Doom Whisperers to my deck and didn't really make any other changes since I originally built the deck before rotation. Here's the Traxos-Lich deck.
Black-White Traxos-Lich
Briefly, the concept is to pack a bunch of utility "historic" spells and discard around Traxos, Scourge of Kroog and Phylactery Lich, with the plan of getting rid of any relevant removal from the opponent's hand and then going over the top with a big threat and On Serra's Wings.
The deck looked better before Assassin's Trophy was printed and Golgari became popular, because with Kaladesh (with lots of targets for artifact removal) and Amonkhet (with Abrade) blocks rotating out it looked like it might be safe to play artifacts again.
Regardless, the "pre-boarded" nature of the deck (playing odd cards that look like they belong in a sideboard rather than more general cards) gives it a unique angle and can surprise opponents.
So how did it do?
Round 1 vs. Mono Blue Djinn
This was a fairly typical Curious Obsession deck - similar to one that placed second at a recent Grand Prix. Game 1 I Duressed the Curious Obsession and was able to hang in until he tapped out before playing Doom Whisperer with On Serra's Wings to take over the game. My sideboard plan was to take out the 2 Sorcerous Spyglasses, Sentinel Totem, and a Voltaic Servant and bring in 2 Ixalan's Binding, Vraska's Contempt, and Cast Down. Game 2 I got stuck on 1 land after mulligan, and my Fountain of Renewal and Duress weren't enough to save me. Game 3 was pretty even -- he got some hits in with Curious Obsession, and I got 2 Freebooters on board. I was holding back a Doom Whisperer, and he eventually tapped out. I think he forgot about his Siren Stormtamer, and he made some questionable timing decisions with his Dream Eater and a Dive Down, but I felt like I was in good shape regardless. I knew about the Dream Eater (which is not a usual card in this deck) from very early in the game, and that gave me a good advantage as he got closer to 6 lands. Win, 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Golgari
This seemed like a pretty normal Golgari build, although it was a little more in the self-mill plan than usual and I saw an odd Reassembling Skeleton in the graveyard. Game 1 he had the right removal at the right time and a ton of creatures, and he built an overwhelming board. Game 2 I sideboarded in Cast Down, 1 Ixalan's Binding, Vraska's Contempt, The Eldest Reborn, and Shalai in place of 4 Duress and 1 Lich and we played a very fun and long game. He was in control at points, but we traded off removal and for a few turns my Voltaic Servant beat on him with On Serra's Wings. I flipped two Treasure Maps and drew cards with all the treasures, but in the end it wasn't enough, and his ability to remove enchantments with Trophy and his planeswalkers really got me. Loss, 0-2.
Round 3 vs. Mono Red Runaway Steam-Kin
The deck was a pure aggro burn Steam-Kin build, and it was fast. I saw a ton of Viashino Pyromancers between the two games. In Game 1 I kept a hand with Phyrexian Scriptures, but he was too fast and I conceded without showing him anything other than Duress. I sided out 4 Duress and 2 Spyglass and brought in the cheapest removal I could. In Game 2, I was just 1 turn too slow to get a Doom Whisperer attacking with On Serra's Wings to turn the tide. In hindsight I possibly should have brought in the Knights of Malice just to make it harder for him to attack without spending burn spells on creatures. This is one matchup where Voltaic Servant actually has good stats, but he killed the one I played. Loss, 0-2.
So I finished 1-2 in matches and 2-5 in games, which is not great, but I liked the Mono Blue matchup and I felt like I was close to having the right mix for Mono Red. With the right opening cards (Fountain of Renewal, Phylactery Lich, and Fungal Infection after sideboarding) I think I could have played a better game against Red -- maybe I needed to mulligan more aggressively. Golgari seems hard. Sentinel Totem was great in those games, and Scriptures would have been great if he didn't keep killing it before Act II and III.
Anyhow, it was fun to play some Standard again. It's always great seeing people try to figure out how to beat a deck with cards they never see in Constructed. I think Voltaic Servant is generally bad, but I can't get away from it. I keep hoping they print more good artifacts with tap abilities to use it on, because it seems like a necessary evil alongside Traxos. On the other hand, Treasure Map feels great every single time.
Thanks for reading!
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