Handling Caw-Blade

~
Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Today we look at some of the better decks we have seen in our local Magic the Gathering metagame and provide some food for thought about developing answers. Essentially, with the exception of some junk and rogue decks, the local metagame has really only four deck archetypes - Caw-Blade, Boros, Valakut and Vampires.


As it appears that Caw-Blade is the one in the driver's seat in most games at our kitchen table as well as Friday Night Magic, we will concentrate on this particular build and developing answers for it. This build also has seen prominence in top 8 decks in most turnaments since hitting the scene. Essentially, players can expect your average Caw-Blade build to have most of the following cards in it which would hit the game table . . .

CREATURES (8) : 4 Squadron Hawk, 4 Stoneforge Mystic

PLANESWALKERS (7) : 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor, 3 Gideon Jura

ARTIFACTS (2) : 1 Sword of Feast and Famine, 1 Sylvok Lifestaff

INSTANTS (9) : 4 Spell Pierce, 3 Mana Leak, 1 Deprive, 1 Stoic Rebuttal

SORCERIES (8) : 4 Preordain, 4 Day of Judgment

LANDS (26) : 4 Celestial Colonnade, 4 Glacial Fortress, 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Tectonic Edge, 1 Scalding Tarn, 5 Island, 4 Plains

~
We've played quite a few matches with a modified Caw-Blade build and on most occasions have had the important play go off with Stoneforge Mystic hitting the table and sticking, finding Sword of Feast and Famine (or Sword of Body and Mind), equipping within one turn and then beating face.

When the wheels did fall off and things got FedEx'd to hell in a handbasket, several cards of note were played by the opponent as shown below :


Inquisition of Kozilek : It really sucks to be forced to discard your singleton equipment so strongly consider this cheap cmc card and shut down their game before it even gets off the ground.

Tumble Magnet : Can be used as soon as it resolves and this artifact can be rather useful in tapping down fatties including an equipped Squadron Hawk for the next three turns allowing you breathing room to develop and answer.

Divine Offering : This instant as well as several others (Crush, Naturalize, Nature's Claim, Shatter, etc.) provide excellent assurances that the equipped creature will not have that game-winning equipment.

Ratchet Bomb : Or perhaps his bigger brother Lux Cannon can put issues straight again and eliminate the equipment or equipped creature.

Cunning Sparkmage : We have not seen much of this card being played lately but having a Basilisk Collar on this will still rock.

Black Sun's Zenith : Is definitely worth mentioning and a good answer to pile -1/-1 counters on their threats - just remember that this will hit your creatures as well.

Creeping Tar Pit : This unblockable man-land is a decent response to Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Gideon Jura.

There are of course a great number of other cards to think of BEFORE any search and equip takes place. Lightning Bolt, Disfigure and similar cards can tuck the Mystic into the graveyard before next turn's activation. An early Phyrexian Revoker (or latter game Linvala, Keeper of Silence) can also shut down the strategy as well. If you are playing a deck with blue, then there are also plenty of answers to counter spells. Personally, we like Steel Sabotage as it will also work very well against Tezzeret decks.

As always, drop us a line in the comments thingy below and provide feedback and suggestions.
~

Lastly, just a note that we have confirmation of the decklists for the new Knights vs. Dragons duel decks in today's Magic Arcana.

Check out the ultra-styl'n Ultra Pro Magic the Gathering Knights vs. Dragons Duel Deck Box from MTG Mint Card to hold all that cardboard goodness - you get 1 full colour duel deck box, 2 full colour deck boxes, 2 full colour dividers, and a Write-on Strip
~

Friday Potpurri

~
Happy Friday MTG peeps,

In today's post, we'll cover a lot of ground, so keep up. We have two new Magic the Gathering Wallpapers from cards from the next 'Action' set, some notes on the new Caw-Go / Caw-Blade tech from Magic Weekend Paris, and some tips about collectible card storage . . . Let's go -

First up - Yummy MTG desktop Wallpaper to pimp up your laptop or mobile device . .

Melira, Sylvok Outcast Wallpaper
Illustrated by Korean / Australian artist Mr. Min Yum

iPhone
1024x768
1280x1024
1600x1200

"What irony. All my life, my purity of flesh has been scorned as weakness. To be driven from my home, bereft of family, denied everything for the circumstance of my birth – and now I am looked to as a beacon against the dark? Forget strength - I do not know if I have the will to be what is asked. But be it I must, for there is now no alternative." – Melira

Next up -

Phyrexian Metamorph Wallpaper
Illustrated by Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss

iPhone
1024x768
1280x1024
1600x1200

"The perfect form is that which performs its function perfectly. But to achieve true perfection, one's form must be able to adapt and evolve to accommodate new purposes. Furthermore, the adaptation must not be random; it must be designed, with logic and reason being the most important influences." – excerpt from The Great Synthesis of Jin-Gitaxias

~

Righto - next - a look at what the Pro's took to Paris last weekend. As we here at MTG Realm subscribe to Casual Magic with a focus on fun (winning is always nice), we do not usually take note of what is 'hot' but this case we are very interested as the Pro decks did look like fun builds and could easily fit in a budget deck (after the removal of big daddy Jace).

Let's talk about the birds - - Squadron Hawk was everywhere. Six of the Top 8 decks at Paris played 4 maindeck copies, and a seventh played a full playset in the sideboard. We were lucky to pick up the Mystic way back when it was considered jank (we payed $5.50 for a deckset). Thanks to the attention in Paris, one could expect to pay about $92 for the same deckset) - for this reason we would consider the build still budget-friendly.


Anywhoos - Stoneforge Mystic is the other piece of the “Squadron Hawk package.” Stoneforge Mystic has seen cross-format play and has been the staple of White Aggro, but this weekend has shown it to be a force in Blue-based Control strategies as well. The threat of an unending stream of 1/1 flyers, boosted by mostly by Sword of Body and Mind or Sword of Feast and Famine, is just too powerful to ignore.

Here is the winning decklist of Ben Stark from PT Paris . . .
Lands (26) : 1 Arid Mesa, 4 Celestial Colonnade, 4 Glacial Fortress, 5 Island, 4 Plains, 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (8) : 4 Squadron Hawk. 4 Stoneforge Mystic
Sorceries (8) : 4 Day of Judgment, 4 Preordain
Planeswalkers (7) : 3 Gideon Jura, 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instants (9) : 3 Mana Leak, 1 Deprive, 4 Spell Pierce, 1 Stoic Rebuttal
Artifacts (2) : 1 Sword of Feast and Famine, 1 Sylvok Lifestaff
Sideboard (15) : 2 Baneslayer Angel, 2 Divine Offering, 1 Negate, 2 Flashfreeze, 4 Oust, 3 Ratchet Bomb, 1 Sword of Body and Mind

~
And finally - as promised - a tip for your collectible card storage.

You may very well know that the internet was built to share cat photos - and as everyday is Caturday, we think it apropos to share with you this image . . .

Yep - cat in a box - and you are wondering where your foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor may have gone. This feline certainly knows. TIP - keep your cards out of reach of the kitteh if thats possible. The upside however may be playing against an opponent with a cat allergy - you know which way that game will go.

~
Finally -
As the standard format is in a state of flux and a great number of things can happen with all the new Mirrodin Besieged cards out in player's hands, we suggest you swing on over to MTG Mint Card and check out their nice Deck Central page to stay on top of the latest decks in development.
~