|
| |
 Another Monster Mash looms on the not-so-distant horizon. After a week or so of playtesting, an interesting field is forming up. There are some classics that seem to work, and some archetypes that need to finally be put to rest. The color balance has shifted quite a bit since the days of “Peacekeeper-Tim.” The reason for this is the expanded toolbox each color has. With so many different cards that have similar effects - i.e. Nekrataal, Faceless Butcher, and Skin Thinner, decks can now be much more focused than was possible in the past.
Let’s start with…
Elven Tinker - Quick sketch from memory
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Fyndhorn Elves
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Priest of Titania
4 Rofellos
4 Deranged Hermit
4 Llanowar Sentinel
4 Masticore
4 Elvish Champion
2 Skyshroud Poacher
22 Forest
This deck is a deceptively reliable aggressive deck. Capable of pulling off a third turn board of four 2/3’s, a Masticore with plenty of mana to kill off an opposing army, or a veritable mob of squirrels - and no, I don’t mean the card Squirrel Mob.
The thing about this deck is, often enough, it’ll just pump out one threat after another unless you can staunch the flow of green mana early. Nicknamed “Tinker” because of it’s explosive nature, similar to the artifact deck, this concoction of uber-efficient elves is so good because of the broad range of cards that simply compliment its strategy. There are three very different win methods, cutely named:
Sentinel Smash
Masticore Massacre
Champion Charge
In Monster Mash, this deck can be a real bitch with which to deal.
Another aggressive deck Archetype would be…
Goblin Sligh
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Sparksmith
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Mogg Flunkies
4 Goblin Grappler
4 Flametongue Kavu
4 Ball Lightning
4 Masticore
3 Ghitu Slinger
2 Goblin Digging Team
1 Clickslither
Again, just a quick sketch, but still it provides a deadly basic lineup of hyper lil’ gobbies ready to gnaw at your opponents life total. With hard hitters like Piledriver and Ball Lightning, combined with the best creature elimination around, via Sparksmith and Flametongue, Goblin Sligh is no matchup to snuff at. With this deck, it wasn’t until recently that true power could be realized. Sparksmith, Flametongue, and Piledriver are all new cards that shape the format.
The reason, I’ve demonstrated these decks is because they alone show the change in the format. Slower control decks simply must be better than they used to be. At one time, Tradewind Rider could have easily been one of the best cards in Monster Mash. However, today’s creatures can either deal with it too easily or race any attempt to get a soft lock going. Spike Weaver was a successful answer to a broad range of deck. Now, life is short for the Spike.
The key to any format is the ability to apply pressure, whilst having the correct answers to anything that could be thrown at you. In Monster Mash, there is only one type of threat - creatures. Therefore, the colors that can muster the best card advantage and have the best creature removal are the best. Citing a few examples, here is how I’d rank the colors.
5. White : Sorry, white, it’s not my fault. Weenies suck, cause they’re outclassed. However, the Rebel chain is an okay way to go, just not a terrific one.
4. Blue : Creatures were never supposed to be blue’s thing. Tempo creatures like Man-o’-War help, as does Merfolk Looter and Tradewind Rider. But there is no way for blue to truly gain a permanent advantage quickly enough to matter.
3. Black : Black has the most permanent powerful creature removal. However, it’s not a great splash color, as all of the good removal cards have BB in their casting cost. For that reason, it gets ranked just below the second color.
2. Red : Red possesses a lot of creature removal. And creature removal in this format usually means card advantage too. Flametongue is probably on the top 5 creature list. However, compared to the number one color, the card advantage is just a little less powerful.
1. Green : Finally, green gets to be best at what it does - creatures. Mana ramping is excellent, Yavimaya
Elder and Krosan Tusker help flesh out your color base. However, the real reason Green gets to stand high on the throne now is because of its trump card - Genesis.
With the power to gain card advantage, threat advantage, board advantage, create infinite loops with echo creatures and the spikes, and in general win games, Genesis is probably a bigger threat than anything else, barring Masticore, which would be a tyrant harder to shake from its format than Saddam from Iraq.
In all, here are some tips to help you out in the Monster Mash format:
* Try to use a color combination that compliments each other. U/R allows red to make up for blues lack of removal, while blue gives red some manipulation or tempo.
* The sideboard is NOT useless. Now there are so many different creatures, there’s no excuse to ignore the board. Anything from Meddling Mage to Ascendant Evincar are possible choices.
* Make sure you have a way out of a creatures stall. Whether that be Elvish Champion, Wonder in the ‘yard, or even Filth, you need alternatives to getting everything you have blocked.
* Make sure your deck is targeted. You can’t do everything. If you’re aggressive, don’t mess with slower cards like Flowstone Overseer or Phyrexian Plaguelord.
* Just because a card is good in other formats, doesn’t make it ok in Monster Mash. Examples: Jackal Pup, Phyrexian Negator.
* Give yourself routes to card advantage. Genesis, Flametongue, hell, even the Wirewood Savage/Cavern Harpy combo isn’t THAT terrible (although GBU isn’t exactly a reliable color combo).
* Finally, if you have it, play Masticore. No questions asked. If not, be sure to have an answer, or you’ll regret it.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Eric while we were playing a few friendly games.
Eric, having made a mistake which I pointed out, remarked, “Don’t let
me do stuff like that,” and he took the play back and chose a much better option.
-Adam Whitlatch-
awhitlatch@hotmail.com
|
