This list is made in accordance to the www.duelcomander.com website banned list/rules.
Hi, thanks for taking a look at my 1v1 incarnation of Skullbriar! This has become my go-to list for 1v1 matches over the past few months after trying many, many other builds/generals, and it's the one I ended up sticking with. Skullbriar's a little guy that can get a lot bigger fast, with the help of some other well played spells, and this decks' been rocking the boat online and irl for a while now. I really enjoy the list, the interactions, and the versatility, so I hope you have a similar experience. Please, please let me know if there's a card not on here that you believe should be, if you have any questions about my card choices, or if you just want to say hi. Thanks!
There are a few different ways to play Skullbriar that I've seen so far. There's hyper voltron, revolving more around equipment, a ton of removal, and 21 points of general damage. There's disruption-central, centering on hand and land destruction to keep your opponent off their resources long enough to get there with general damage. There's Rampy McRamperson decks that like to go for a fast start with Skully, make opponents burn their removal on him, then close the game with fat, be it Primeval Titan or Griselbrand. There's Hyper-aggro, doing a ton of really efficient creatures, and just hoping to close out the game through combat damage by playing every single 1 mana 2/x creature in existence XD. Then there's this list, which is more along the lines of a balanced aggro/tempo build. It has some of the stronger elements of hand destruction, some of the better removal, and the more efficient creatures that B/G can run while keeping the curve low. Top this off with a smattering of accel, some other stuff answers, card draw and boom! You've got Skullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal.
Why play this version of Skullbriar, the Walking Grave?
You want a versatile deck
You want a deck that can win vs a variety of archetypes
You really, really hate Blue
You love paying life and sacrificing things to achieve your nefarious ends
Did I mention you hate Blue?
You still hate Blue.
Why not to play our ol' Friend Skully here?
You want an interactive general
You want a straightforward, simple deck
You believe knowing what's in your opponents hand is cheating
You like counterspells
You believe that sacrifice and deals with demons are evil
You're a sissy blue mage ^.^
The Hand from Beyond
I've been playing MTG for about 13 years now, since when I was in 6th grade and moved to Columbus, OH. (C-Bus, represent!) There I fell in with a group of guys that I would play Magic with weekly for the next 7 years or so. The first deck I ever played was a mono-green creature simple deck with Giant Growth as a finisher XD.
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecksfor-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
Why 1v1/French Rules?
I love this format, but there are some severely broken plays that can be done if you allow certain accelerants in a 1v1 match. I trust in the RC's vision and good sense to provide a somewhat balanced format for a 1v1 match of EDH. I started playing 1v1 as an alternative to the huge multiplayer games I was used to playing, and my playgroup is slowly embracing it. It's a growing format worldwide as well, and I think people are going to start noticing as tournaments pop up all over the place.
Average CMC: 2.19 Average Monetary Value: $1265.34 Sample Hand/Deckstats Analyzer:here
Alternate List Archetypes
Overall, given what I've had played against me, my own personal style, and the effectiveness of the card pool that I've had time to test, I feel that an aggro/tempo build for Skullbriar is the strongest way to go with these colors, for this type of deck. If you want a little more aggro list, I feel that going into R/G and choosing Radha, Heir to Keld is a better option. If you want a little bit more of a glass cannon/combo-esque list, then Varolz, the Scar-Striped is the way to go. But for a resilient, balanced aggro deck that has a fair amount of tempo/control to be able to combat multiple archetypes, I think this is the list that fits the bill the best. But, if you still want Skullbriar as your general and want to try something different, here are a couple of other options.
This is the B/G land destruction archetype that I've seen a few other people run with Skullbriar. It still allows for a fair amount of aggro with the Ranco, Jitte, and removal suite. Instead of focusing on tempo/aggro however, it focuses on resource denial, mainly the opponents land base.
The reason that I'm not playing this archetype is A: I'm just not really a fan, but more importantly B: it just wasn't as effective against as many archetypes as I wanted it to be, or as the list I'm running now is. It seemed really, really good against some specific decks, mainly 3 color decks or ramp heavy multiple color decks. You could keep them off their color source long enough to get there with general damage. It just didn't seem to work terribly well against the control matchup, or the hyper ramp mono-G matchup. The land destruction is almost exclusively either a 1 for 1, or really expensive. i suppose that a case could be made for upping the ramp count in this and running LD/bigger dudes, but I still don't think it will be as effective as the tempo list I currently run. here's a basic idea of that list though, if anyone wants to give it a go. (No, it's not the most tuned version, yes, it absolutely could stand some tweaking. Just putting here an example of a list to start from ^.^)
I feel this list is a fair amount stronger than the LD list. It has an amazingly efficient creature base and is ridiculously fast, while still having the card draw engines and removal to get there with damage. It still plays the boosts to skully, still plays a smattering of removal/disruption, and then replaces a lot of the 2-for-1 stuff that I'm running in the original list to get there with efficient 1 cmc for 2/x creatures that put a lot more damage on the board a lot faster.
I did test this list fairly extensively, and I found that it just fell short in some of the aggro matchups I was facing, and in the combo matchups. It did do a little better in the control match, however. I decided to sacrifice a little of the control effectiveness to combat the other 2 archetypes, and I've been pretty happy with that decision so far. Much thanks to Gaka for showing me his list, that I built off of.
Deck Evolution
This list started out as an attempt in my local playgroup to move away from the stagnation of our current decklists. We tossed a couple of idea around and one that stuck was the 1v1 idea, a mini-tournament of sorts every 4 weeks or so. This hasn't quite stuck in my playgroup but it got me into the Duel Commander 1v1 scene. I play at my LGS fairly frequently with this list, but most of my testing occurs online on the Cockatrice server.
The list originally was a lot more of a ramp/goodstuff list that had bigger threats like Primeval Titan, Griselbrand, Acidic Slime, Duplicant... Basically all the good B/G/colorless stuff that I would be playing in a rampy multiplayer deck. After testing for a while I realized that that isn't the best way for B/G to use it's card choices. Or, rephrasing a bit here, it's better done by other archetypes/colors, namely mono-G or U/G.
So I started to cut the deck down after having lost to efficient removal and targeted control. Rampy mcramperson decks are all well and good, but with a 1/1 general that's supposed to come out fast it made more sense to revolve that around an aggro strategy and start using B/G to it's more efficient uses, namely removal, hand destruction and efficient creatures.
The list then went into the complete opposite direction and I tried a heavy control/voltron list. I kept losing to game ending threats like Oath of Druids, Jace, the Mind-Sculptor, Griselbrand, Primeval Titan, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn... Horrible things like that. I figured if I could just stick a card draw engine and out remove my opponent then I'd be golden. Unfortunately the secret to magic has gotten out to the masses and everyone runs card draw/advantage in some form. So I found myself playing a U control in B/G, which didn't work so well.
After that the list went through another paradigm switch and I started testing Gaka's Swarm/hyperaggro list a ton. I really liked it, it was a ton of fun to play, and it had some real staying power with the hasty threats, recurrable dudes and undying/scavenge/tutprs and the like. And it started to do better than my previous 2 incarnations against the control matchups which are some of the worst win percentages for this list. Unfortunately it also started to lose more frequently to swarm lists of their own, namely Animar, Soul of Elements, Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, and Ezuri, Renegade Leader. This made me realize that what I wanted was a list that would be competitive against almost every strategy that I came up against. Not necessarily specifically tailored to one or the other, but moderate success against most.
Thus the list as it is today is built. I still kept what I considered to be the best cards to exemplify what the deck can do, like keeping Thoughtsieze but cutting Distress, putting in Hero's Demise but cutting Vampire Hexmage, etc. etc. I feel it's able to play an aggro game if necessary, a control game if required and a tempo game if that's what you need through land/hand destruction and efficient threats with the added bonus of immensely flexible cards that have a ton of synergy between them. It's not the end all be all list, but it's been doing pretty well so far, and I'm above a 50% win percentage as well so I count that as a win
Card Choices
Creatures
Basking Rootwalla - This guy goes hand in hand with Survival of the Fittest and Vengevine I was originally resistant to put this in, but it's been basically a free dude which I hear are good, and an outlet for Survival. It's been pretty solid so far.
Birds of Paradise - Odd as it sounds, the deck does need a little ramp, and a fair amount of fixing. That's where this guy comes in. Also food for Skullclamp or Fleshbag Marauder when you're done with it.
Bloodghast - Easily recurrable beater that is food for all the sac outlets/discard outlets/Skullclamp etc etc. Very, very helpful
Carrion Feeder - Another recent include, this has been solid so far. Insane with a recurrable card like the Bloodghast and Gravecrawler out, really good against Zur when he enchants your creatures, keeps things from getting tucked... Very solid all around.
Creakwood Liege - This guy has been nuts. It not only boosts your dudes as soon as it comes out to allow for ridiculously powerful alpha strikes, it also generates more dudes! O.o This has been an awesome include so far, really really strong card. Probably the single most powerful creature for damage/advantage in the deck.
Dark Confidant - This lists' CMC is 2.21, which is pretty darn decent. That also goes to say that on average you're going to pay 2 life to draw 2 cards a turn with this guy. He can also beat, which is very useful when the starting life total is 30 instead of 40. This is an absolute must in the deck, and if you drop it T3 it's pretty much gg for your opponent if they don't find a kill spell, the card advantage this can generate is really, really good.
Deathrite Shaman - One of the most efficient/versatile BG creatures printed in recent memory, this guy does just about everything. It honestly gets used more for ramp than anything else, if you need to tutor for an answer to a recursion deck the best bet is either Bojuka Bog if you have an open tutor (Demonic Tutor) or Scavenging Ooze if it's a closed tutor (Survival of the Fittest, Green Sun's Zenith etc) But the Shaman still holds it's own. Also, killing people with him is priceless
Dryad Arbor - In the list for 3 reasons: Manlands are good, even little flimsy ones like this. Food for things like Skullclamp, Survival of the Fittest etc. And gives you a 2nd land T1 with Green Sun's Zenith if you need it (Which happens more often than not) Very solid include.
Elves of Deep Shadow - This allows you to keep a 1-2 forest hand and still drop Skullbriar T2, then feed it to something. Mana fixing is an issue in a 2 color deck, oddly enough it's actually easier in 3 colors, so having an off color-producing creature is really good.
Eternal Witness - There are quite a few competitive lists online that don't run this card for a Skullbriar deck. The reason because, as strange as it sounds, this card is pretty slow for the deck. It's meant as a late game card to get an answer back that you desperately need to see, so it's stuck, and it beats/gets eaten, so I've found it to be worth it.
Glissa, the Traitor - There aren't too many artifacts in the deck so her 2nd ability isn't pulled out that much, but 3 for a 3/3 first strike/deathtouch is never bad to see. Here for sheer efficiency, and it makes Uril think twice about swinging.
Gravecrawler - Synergy with Survival, Skully, skullclamp, fleshbag... Recurring engines are huge, and this is one of the best in the deck. It sucks that it can't block, but hey, can't have everything right?
Great Sable Stag - Ah, here we go into the blue hate. Blue/White/x is the biggest percentage of the competitive meta for 1v1 EDH, and this card is one of the many answers to that. If there's no-one in your meta running any Blue or Black than this can be cut, but I highly doubt no-one's playing at least one of those colors. Also, it's a 3/3 for 3, so it's not like it's a dead card.
Lotleth Troll - This has gone in and out before, but it enables the madness stuff, is very efficient, can abuse things like Bloodghast, and at the very least it's a regenerating blocker. Still around.
Lotus Cobra - This isn't just for huge rampy decks! This guy is a recent include that I'm really glad I put in. It's still got a 2/1 body on it, and it allows for some really explosive T3 plays. Replaced [card]Sakura-Tribe Elder, and I'm pretty content with the change. This is immediate mana, where Elder was turn-later mana, which isn't as helpful in an aggro deck.
Master of the Wild Hunt - This is another slightly odd duck that I've found to be absurd. Normally by the time this drops your opponent has burned through most of the early removal, and they kind of know what your deck is: a hyper aggro tempo list. Then this guy drops, and they have to reassess. It's a solid card, gives you repeatable removal, and a ton of dudes at a time in the gamestate that's usually really profitable for this deck. I've been incredibly happy with it.
Mistcutter Hydra - Blue/x is the worst deck to face in competitive 1v1 EDh, so this is in. At the least it's a fireball on legs, at best it's a kill shot. It's been a good include, the haste is really viable.
Phyrexian Revoker - I can't imagine too many 1v1 decks that shouldn't be running this guy. Shuts down anything but lands, and is a beater. I mean, getting planewalkers, infinite combos, Rofellos, and equipment in one guy? O.o
Scavenging Ooze - Here to combat reanimator shenanigans, gain you life and have a big butt. Scavenger ooze saves the day!
Skinrender - 2 for 1'ing opponents wins games, and it has a good body. This has been really helpful, so it's still here. Bland, but effective.
Strangleroot Geist - THe haste is what makes this guy playable, combined with the undying. It's a really good way to keep pressure on your opponents early, and it comes back after a wrath. It's still in testing, but I like it so far.
Sylvan Safekeeper - He's back in. It's a one drop, and mid-late game the lands generally matter nearly as much. It just makes threats that much harder to deal with, so I'm trying it out again. Skully just keeps getting bounced, which is really frustrating, so trying some things to help that happen less.
Thrun, the Last Troll - Blue answer #3 Good body, efficient, gets there when no-one else can.
Ulvenwald Tracker - Repeatable removal is really strong for green, and this guy plus the Master of the Wild Hunt make for excellent pages to the book: "How to Kill your Opponents Creatures 101" Really fun to make your thing with regeneration fight their thing without ^.^
Vengevine - Should have been in from the start. Hasty recurrable 4 body goodness that combos with Survival is really, really good. Pitch Rootwalla, cast for madness, get vengevine, pitch vengevine, get gravecrawler, pitch gravecrawler, get what you actually want, cast gravecrawler, triggers vengevine... boom, 3-4 creatures for 3 mana
Viridian Shaman - 2 for 1's are the name of the game, and this guy works well. There are always artifacts to blow up, so he's hardly ever not good to see.
Artifacts
Chrome Mox - This allows for a T1 Skullbriar, which is absurdly good especially of you're on the play. This prevents your opponent from hitting with a Mana Tithe, Force Spike or Daze. They have to Force of Will it which most blue players are loath to do on a 1/1 general, so this gets the drop on them. Against the non-blue players, most everyone plays green and mana dorks, so this lets you get him to 2/2 P/T to punch through them if they choose to block.
Expedition Map - Nonbasic lands win games. This allows you to get what you need, or get the wasteland to kill what you need. Also fixes you in a pinch. For 1 mana it's been really, really solid.
Lightning Greaves - This is one of those cards that I'm really never unhappy to see. The only thing it sucks with is Rancor and I'm almost always ecstatic to see it, so it's getting another go. I've had some trouble with Skully getting bounced lately, taking all his counters off, so this is here to help combat that.
Skullclamp - The important thing to remember about Skullclamp is that this is one of the better card advantage engines in the deck, and if you can stick it it'll singlehandedly win games for you. That means don't just cast it willy nilly, and equip to random things that you're not going to get anything out of. Make sure you are able to cast it (Meaning not when blue guy has mana up) and that you have enough mana to cast and equip to a dork that doesn't mind sacrificing itself to the greater cause.
Umezawe's Jitte - Arguably the 2nd best equipment ever printed, if this sticks and connects it will win games singlehandedly, so it's in. Probably should have been in from the start
Sorceries
Demonic Tutor - Not banned, for some odd reason. Gets you what you need. Use it wisely.
Duress - This is a way to see what your opponents are playing, rip a decent card out, and play around their threats. I hate getting Duress'd T1, therefore I assume my opponents hate it too. I've actually had someone burn a Force of Will on this before
Green Sun's Zenith - This would be infinitely better if it got any creature, but it's still really strong. More often than not I'm getting that Dryad Arbor T1, but late game it can break out a stalemate with Thrun, the Last Troll or a Master of the Wild hunt. Remember it can get dual colored guys too, so if you need Glissa or Deathrite this gets them!
Hymn to Tourach - This card breaks games. Amazing T2, and almost even better when they only have 2 cards in hand. No black deck should leave home without it.
Maelstrom Pulse - Removal is king in this format, and getting any permanent is huge. This absolutely is a must have for any B/G deck.
Profane Command - This has been in and out a couple of times, but I think it's earned it's spot. Almost always for the kill, then recur pair, but fear is valid, and can offer a killshot out of nowhere if they stabilize @ 2 or something awful like that.
Sinkhole - I've run into horrible lands that eat my face too many times to count, so I decided to give this a shot. It's definitely been worth it. Late games answer to Gaea's Cradle, Maze of Ith or manlands, early game gets your opponent off a mana source. It's been really good.
Toxic Deluge[/CARD - This is there for the Rafiq/momir/Radha matchups, and any odd swarm/token deck you come up against. Obviously don't cast when you're getting hit harder than they are Replacing Infest
Enchantments
Bitterblossom - This card is absurd, and just recently got unbanned. I find it mostly feeds me chump blockers, but it's the utter stones if you manage to get this with a Skullclamp out.
Curse of Predation - With the release of Commander 2013 they came out with this little gem. I've had this in another deck and it's been really, really solid so I'm testing it here. Counters seem good for Skully ^.^
Dark Tutelage - Dark Confidant #2, slightly more expensive and harder to kill.
Phyrexian Arena - Card draw wins games, and there are few things in black that do it better. Try to make sure it's going to stick, obviously don't drop it with a Qasali Pridemage staring you down.
Rancor - Makes Skully faster, and fatter! No, seriously, this card is really really good. Giving him trample is super effective, and bigger is always better, right?
Survival of the Fittest - Another one of those cards that can't be touted enough. This card just singlehandedly wins games, much in the vein of Skullclamp, but better. Recurring tutors are game breakers, and this is one of the best in the format.
Sylvan Library - Can't have Sensei's Divining Top, so this is the next on the list. Fixes you, lets you draw if you really need to, costs 2... Pretty good is the word on the street.
Instants
Abrupt Decay - Blue answer #4, and everything else answer for that matter. Everyone's got something 3 or less to kill in this format, and this guy gets the job done.
Ad Nauseam - This card has been... well... nuts. It's about on the level of Survival of the Fittest in power level. Really. It's basically 5 mana to have 5-6 Dark Confidant effects on the board at the same time. I've never drawn less than 4 cards with this, and it's generally more along the lines of 6-10 cards for about 9-12 life. It's completely absurd, and singlehandedly will win you the game. Just don't use against a stupid fast red deck midgame, you're likely to get your face eaten XD. Haven't lost a game where this went off yet.
Dismember - Spot removal is really helpful in this game, and this does it better than most, especially since you don't have to pay the full cost if you're not able. Really good against Zur
Filigree Fracture - I found myself really missing this when it was cut. This deck doesn't run that many ways to deal with enchantments (Kgrip and Pulse, really) so a 3rd source was sorely needed, and I really like the way this one played out.
Putrefy - Versatility is really helpful, so this is a Go for the Throat plus a Naturalize! erm, one or the other, I suppose. Still, really sticks it to the opposition.
Sudden Death - Blue hate #5! Really, really good against Zur.
Victim of Night - Replacing Smother. the BB isn't that hard to get, and it's less conditional. Been happy with the change.
Planeswalkers
Liliana of the Veil - Blue hate #9! Ok, maybe it's just everything hate, but Blue players really don't like discarding their cards. Gets around hexproof, gives a madness outlet, only costs 3 ... This card's really really good
Garruk Relentless - Still in testing, but I've liked it a lot. Has a massive amount of utility, and if it flips and sticks ... O.o Getting to Survival every turn without a survival is absurdly good.
The reason to run all of these is to get the fixing that the deck desperately needs. These can all fetch either Bayou or Overgrown Tomb, and they're really helpful. Also food for the Deathrite Shaman.
Commander There are quite a few B/G generals to pick from, all of whom do a lot of really powerful, interactive things. Come to think of it, Skully's probably one of the most un-interactive, simple guys of the lot. He's also one of the only ones that's pure aggro. Almost everything else has a build-around ability, and that I didn't want. Let's go through the list of some other choices to see why Skullbriar got the slot.
Varolz, the Scar Striped - This one's easy. Varolz is a reanimator/dredge/combo-esque deck. I didn't want to play reanimator/dredge/combo-esque. Don't get me wrong, this guy is absurdly powerful, and a really strong shell. A lot of people have been finding this as the go-to choice if they want to play B/G. It just felt a little too combo to me, it seemed that if you didn't just kill them outright with Varolz then it was game over for you, which was frustrating. It's stupid fast though, and fun to play. Just not my style I guess, so I skipped past.
Glissa, the Traitor - Also a really strong choice. 1 more mana for something a lot more deadly, at least initially. This could go in the list as a possibility, but then I'd be tempted to build around her other ability and that I didn't want. Plus, 2 turns slower is 2 turns not swinging, so it hasn't quite made the cut. I tried her out in a land destruction control list, and she worked a lot better there. For aggro/midrange she's just a bit too slow for my taste.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - And here we get into B/G big stuff. This guy's a lot of fun, also in the reanimator family, but I feel it's a lot stronger in multiplayer. Also, 4 cmc is higher than I wanted to go for my general, I am an aggro player after all. If you want to play B/G rampy goodstuff.dec, however, this guy is absolutely the stones. ^.^
So now that leaves ol' Skully: A 2 drop hasty Zombie Elemental that gets bigger.This is really the only true aggro option in B/G without going the combo-route of Varolz. Choosing Skullbriar was pretty simple, it was more of an ah-ha! moment than anything, I just found myself thinking of what would fit the theme of an aggro/tempo deck the best, and this guy fits that slot just about to a T. The counters staying in is a lot more important in 1v1 because of the tuck rules, so he's made the cut and proved himself over and over. If they come up with a slightly more efficient 1-2 cmc B/G legend that is predominately aggro I'll try it out, but so far this one seems to fit the bill.
Deck Strengths/Weaknesses
There isn't a perfect 1v1 EDH deck, at least so far. Different decks have different strengths, and different weaknesses. My style of building is more centered around flexibility and answers with the general as a wincon(but not the only one!), and that's where this list came from, but it's not perfect. Even with the amount of games I've played, the amount of cards I've changed and the amount of time invested in this whole thing this list still gets blown out pretty regularly by other lists/archetypes. Thankfully I've finally gotten around a %50 win statistic, roughly, but it will eternally be being tweaked. That just goes to say that this is not the end all be all deck, so here's what it's good at, and what it's not so good at.
Strengths - I think the single biggest strength of this deck is it's flexibility. You can play aggro, tempo, or control with a fair amount of ease. The tutors that are available allow you to tailor what you want the deck to be doing at any point in the game state, while most of the non-tutor cards themselves are dual purpose, able to fill 1-2 jobs at a time. This makes for a deck that can compete against an incredibly wide range of archetypes, and be moderately successful against most, if not all of them.
Weaknesses - The flexibility of this deck also lends itself to not being as focused as it could be as a single archetype, so it's also a little bit of a liability. It can somewhat effectviely combat Control, Aggro, and Combo, but it's not super amazing at combating all of them. Therefore if you're facing a deck that's constructed to be more focused on a single idea it's going to have more ways of achieving their end than you have answers. It's not often, but there are decks that can completely blow this out of the water.
Archetype Strengths Hyper-Aggro - This incarnation of B/G Skullbriar is a pretty strong list vs a straight aggro build. Anything aggro/voltron is usually a list that wants to come out really, really fast and thus burns a bunch of resources to try to get your lifetotal down to 0 really quickly. This makes for an explosive early/early-mid game. It also makes for a complete lack of late game. Here, Skullbriar really shines by taking advantage of the multiple 2 for 1's and tutorable answers to keep your opponent off their victory long enough for you to out-resource them. At the mid to late-game usually they're down to 1-2 cards in hands and maybe 1 threat on board, and you have a hand full of answers and a skullbriar to start swinging with. (Uril, the Mistalker, Rafiq of the Many, Radha, Heir to Keld etc)
Midrange Aggro/Tempo - This is a similar build to the Skullbriar list, so this is all about play skill. Most of these lists are running some type of G/W/x or G/x, and have access to really solid removal, really solid beats, and a fair amount of ld. If played right it's a good match up, and you can beat it with earlier pressure from Skullbriar and good play decisions about what/when to drop CA engines, where to burn removal, such and so forth. These can be a tough match, but it's definitely winnable. (Doran, the Siege Tower, Jenara, Asura of War)
Random Junk - Anything not T1, or really really established and tested usually falls short to this list. The first game might go to your opponent just from a lack of knowledge about how the deck works, but after that the flexibility of the deck really shines in being able to effectively combat multiple archetypes. It's pretty consistent against just about any list that's not an already established archetype.
Archetype Weaknesses
General-Generated Permanent Advantage - Decks that have a consistent way of putting a multiple card permanent engine on the field are really tough for this deck to beat. Honestly I think those decks are pretty hard for everyone else to beat too, hence them being all the Tier 1 decks, but here it is. It's a tough match because Skullbriar is limited by what you can draw, whereas those decks all have a general that pumps out CA all on it's own. SOmetimes you can race them, they tend to have to pay a fair amount for their engine, but it's usually a losing proposition. (Zur the Enchanter, Maelstrom Wanderer, Prosh, Skyraider of Kher)
Tempo/Control - These list have a really good way of keeping card advantage while denying you resources, while also putting pressure on. It's a hard deck to beat because it tends to do all 3 of those things very effectively. It can be raced, and usually those decks play U which there are a ton of answers in the list for. IT's still a tough matchup, and that's the other half of the T1 decks that are taking first in a lot of the EDH tournaments around. (Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Geist of St. Traft, Sygg, River Cutthroat)
Strategy
I'll outline some of the basic strategies of the deck here, but please bear in mind that this is an incredibly versatile list. It packs a ton of answers to different stuff, and has several different elements in it to allow it to compete against a wide range of archetypes. Therefore one broad, overarching strategy isn't really feasible, the way you play totally depends on the deck you're up against. The 3 main avenues you can go down with this list are Aggro, Control, and Tempo. Some of this depends on your opening hand, and a whole lot depends on what general you're facing.
Aggro
If you're going Aggro, then the goal is dropping Skully as soon as possible, and just burning your removal on the threats as they drop to allow him to close enough times to finish the job. If you're going against someone playing a decent amount of spot removal Skully will probably die enough to be too expensive to cast, so you need to keep the pressure on other beaters to finish the job. Here is where you need to be using your tutors on answers to the threats they're dropping as well as threats of your own. Use the hand disruption to pick out their removal pieces, use your removal to pick off their blockers and go balls to the wall. Here is where an early Dark Confidant or Phyrexian Arena can absolutely just win you the game.
The problem with this strategy is steam. Sooner or later you're going to run out of cards, and your opponent is going to land a threat. It's very rare that I completely kill someone off just going balls to the wall. This deck can play aggro, sure, but it excels at tempo. Controlling the board state to an extent that's favorable enough for the creatures to finish the job. Agressive mulliganing can make a difference here. You need to keep the pressure up, while still having 1-2 answers in hand, 1-2 threats and a card draw card. That would be the ideal. If possible keep dropping Skullbriar instead of your other threats as long as it's feasible, to generate virtual card advantage. Usually pure aggro doesn't win through general damage, it wins through 30 points to the face so CA is going to be vital here.
This strategy can go well, and win if you got the Confidant or Arena to stick. If not, then it's how smartly you played your cards, how good your hand was, and what your opponent had. The types of decks this strategy is good against are the midrange Jenara/Karador/Jhoira/Maelstrom Wanderer decks. It's not a perfect strategy, obviously, but played right it can win the game for you.
Control
This deck can very easily play control as well as aggro. This strategy involves sitting back on your threats, only dropping enough creatures to block.stem the tide of damage, and winning through smart plays/card advantage. Here you'll actually be using Skullbriar as a blocker more often than not, and winning the game through Planeswalker tokens, Master of the Wild Hunt tokens, or a recursion engine abuse and either Bitterblossom faeries or Lotleth Troll abuse. This is the situation where things like Grave Pact, Ulvenwald Tracker and Garruk Relentless really shine.
Save your big removal spells for gamebreaking stuff like Umezawe's Jitte, Swords, token generators, things of that nature. Usually the list can pump out enough blockers/tokens to stem the tide to allow you to set up a decent board position and abuse some of the repeatable effects you have access to. Sit back on your cards, let your creatures do the work, and try to hold the kill spells for huge threats where possible.
The main decks that this strategy are going to work against are Rafiq of the Many, Uril, the Miststalker, Doran, the Siege Tower aggro, and Radha, Heir to Keld. These are all hyperfast aggro/voltron builds and usually run out of steam pretty quickly. If you can keep them down to 1 threat at a time on board while having more cards in hand than they do, you've won. A lot of these games will end with you stabilizing very low, sometimes even >5 life. That's normal, just hope they don't have a kill spell for you in red.
Tempo
It seems there are a lot of definitions online about what tempo actually means for this game. I'll give you my definition: (not necessarily right, just what it means for this deck) Tempo for this list is advancing your boardstate through some form(s) of steady pressure while simultaneously denying your opponent their version of pressure/advantage. Tempo is incredibly hard to master, partly because it involves exacting resource allotment and usage, while also requiring a fair amount of knowledge about what your opponent is going to play next. This is what makes an EDH round more closely resemble a chess game, and one misplay can literally cost you the match.
Unfortunately, this is also the strategy employed to take out 2 of the harder archetypes in the format: Combo and pure Control. GAAIV/Geist of St. Traft control, Sharuum the Hegemon/Scion of the Ur Dragon combo, these are examples of the decks that you are going to want to establish a tempo strategy with. And that goes into 2 separate strategies themselves! With the control decks, your tempo is based on their cards in hand. Do you bait the Counterspell with a Phyrexian Arena, knowing that you can also drop a Skullclamp? Do you attack into open mana with the knowledge they're going to bounce your dude? Do you pull the Path to Exile or the Mana Leak with your Duress? These are all decisions that you have to make based on what you have in hand, your board state, and what you know their deck is capable of.
Then against the combo decks: Your tempo comes through in putting enough pressure on them early that they have to burn resources to answer your threats, while also setting up your boardstate to be able to handle the combo when it goes off. An aggro deck is going to lose vs a combo deck, unless you have the answer in hand or available for when they go off. And preferably you want them to not know you have it available in hand, so that they burn their combo, lose it, and are left with squat.
Mulligans
As a general rule I've found that it's a really bad idea to mulligan with this deck, if it can at all be helped. Obviously this isn't always an ideal world and sometimes it's necessary, but it's generally better to keep cards in hand that you don't quite have the resources in hand to play then to try to mull into a better curve. Obviously this also depends on the deck you're facing. The most important thing is making sure that you always have 2 lands, and that you have at least one of each of a B/G source in hand. T1 or 2 Skully is pretty vital in almost every matchup so that needs to be the priority. After that the lands generally come as needed, so you should try to keep cards in hand if you can.
- This is a terrible hand. You don't have a black source, you're only playable threat is T4, and 2/3 lands CIPT. If you're playing vs control you'd probably mull the Arbor, master, grasp, and damnation to try to get something better. If not playing vs control mull everything but a forest, you won't need to pressure of the rootwalla that early.
While this doesn't have a T1 accel, and it also doesn't have a straight creature removal in hand I would probably keep this. If you don't draw a land in 2 turns you still have the Tribe Elder to get you there, Jitte allows for some early pressure/control, and Skullbriar is castable T2. This is a decent hand.
Deck History
I started getting interested in the 1v1 scene after having played EDH for about 5 years or so. My local playgroup was getting pretty stagnant, so we all got together to brainstorm some ideas to help fix it. 1v1 was mentioned, so I did a little research and began my foray into French competitive deckbuilding.
This list originally started out as just B/G goodstuff and evolved from there. Most of the card choices that have been made are direct correlations from input on these forums, and the hundreds of matches I've played IRL and online. It went from goodstuff to heavy control to midrange control to it's current incarnation of tempo/aggro. I've also tried an LD version and a swarm version pretty extensively. This is the list that I felt best matches up to the widest variety of other archetypes, and that's what I was looking for.
I love this list, I love playing it, it's just a ton of fun. I'm pretty fiercely competitive and hate to lose, so this list will continue to be tuned to the point that it's as good as I can make it. I've been really happy with it so far
Following some advice with the Rootwalla and Vengevine. Vengevine shoulda been in the whole time, Rootwalla is still testing. Hasn't been bad so far. Jitte shoulda been in from the start, Pendelhaven just makes sense. Profane Command is a really solid 2 for 1 that I'm rarely unhappy to see. Hexmage got a cut because of the Her's Downfall addition, Vines just didn't do too much. Scryb Ranger always wanted to be something else, and Sylvan Safekeeper just wasn't doing much of anything. I've played probably 500 matches now with the deck. Still not happy with it, but it's been doing decently well against a few of the other archetypes.
Alright, nother round of testing. Pernicious Deed is awesome, but just a little on the slow side, hence the axe. Grave Pact's the same feel, amazing card, and really wins in the longer games, but ... just not quite making it when I need it to. Innocent Blood I hate to cut, but I needed the slot. Diabolic Intent is slow, and ruins my tempo early/midgame. Chainer's Edict's the same idea as innocent, might cut the Assassin for it back, though, we'll see how Guul Draz plays out. Big Game Hunter wasn't ever useful, so he's out, and Lightning Greaves was useful, I just need more power up front and that wasn't doing it.
I've been seeing quite a few Momir Vig, Simic Visionary decks popping up lately, and the list already had trouble with swarm decks, so infest's in. Expedition Map should be in already, I've been having consistent mana issues, and it's also really, really good against the Iname matchup. Creakwood Liege's been an absolute house, glad he's in, he'll go the long haul with this list. Gravecrawler probably shouldn't have been cut, it's back in. Guul Draz Assassin I'm testing, it's just nice to be able to pick off utility dudes. I'm basically considering it Ulvenwald Tracker#2. It's slow to start off though, but it's a one drop which I don't have many of, and it lets me go control early if I feel the match warrants it. Mistcutter Hydra is pretty handy, even against non-U decks. The haste makes it viable, it's basically a Fireball on legs. And I keep getting totally screwed on lands, so another Forest goes in.
So far I've actually been getting some decent results. I decided to go more creature heavy and I think that's working out pretty well. There's just sooo many cards that I can put in this list that I just don't have the slots for, so I'll be testing extensively and posting results here soon.
Guul Draz was cute, and awesome when it worked, just a little slow. Although, it's about the same speed as Ulvenwald Tracker, and that's still in... I might need to take a look at that. Cabal Coffers was a dead draw 99% of the time, it's out. More removal is always nice, and some people like to play horrible things against me like Emrakul or Ulamog, so the edict is back in. Testing Graveborn Muse again, I hear card draw is good.
Graveborn, Creakwood, mistcutter and Infest have all been really, really solid and I think they'll probably stay in for some time to come.
Inkmoth was taken out a while ago, just didn't get the numbers to quite add up right so that's now fixed. Went down one land, with the cut of Coffers my land seems to have stabilized. The City has been fixing really well, and I'm finally happy with the mana base, it seems to be working out really well. Graveborn was just one of those "never happy to see" cards, it's been back and forth a few times but I think its out for good this time. Praetor's Grasp is there for the combo matchups, it's still in testing. Will post on results later, but I keep getting stomped by some of the combo decks out there so I'd like a response. Also it's really strong against Maelstrom Wanderer, they usually play only a few threats so getting one out and playing it is one less they have to cascade into.
Happy with last nights changes, feels good to have the Edict back in.
City of Brass has been doing pretty well, and I'm happy with how Praetor's Grasp has been working out, so the earlier changes seem to be coming along pretty well.
Smother was just a little too conditional a lot of the time, so replacing it with Victim of Night seems to make a bit more sense. The Nature's Claim was really nice, but the lifegain actually became relevant a couple of games, and I really needed another LD spell. Between the Viridian Shaman, Putrefy, Filigree Fracture, Krosan Grip, and Maelstrom Pulse I hope I'm covered enough to deal with art/ench, and it wasn't a vital piece all the time, so it's out. Testing Sinkhole, I hate getting it played against me so I figure my opponents are in the same place. I'm just worried it'll be a dead draw late game. I just got hosed by a Maze of Ith[/card} however and Phyrexian Revoker doesn't get lands. I only run the one Wasteland and I'm really leery about running Tectonic Edge because this deck is incredibly color intensive. Testing, testing, it's all in the testing.
Was playing a Doran, the Siege Tower deck earlier and got completely shut down both games because of Ad Nauseam. After looking at it, my average cmc is 2.15 so it doesn't seem like a bad include. It's also instant, and uncounterable with Boseju. Testing it out, but the land base has been doing really really well so going to try cutting one for that card. We'll see how it plays out.
So, last weeks' change has been a complete house. I have yet to lose a game where I landed Ad Nauseam. It basically reads "Pay 5 mana, 5 life, draw 7-10 cards at the end of your opponents turn" It's been absurdly good. Even if you hit 3-3 drops in a row it's still totally worth it, it filters you out of land pockets, ... It's just so, so good.
Replacing the Sakura Tribe-Elder for the Lotus Cobra basically allows for a little bit of a faster start, a little less consistency, but more mana available overall for the most part. I've been happy with that change. The 35 lands seems to be working *Crosses fingers* so hopefully that trend will continue. Filigree Fracture, while great and almost always useful was cut for more bodies, which I felt the deck lacked. Hence the Sylvan Safekeeper, it's still in testing but having Skully be untargetable was really, really nice. And Lightning Greaves is back in, it's just one of those cards that I'm never unhappy to see, and that I'm always kind of wishing I had.
Been getting more consistent wins against Maelstrom and Zur lately, and gotten to see a ton of other decks. Match list is still going strong. Iname still hurts really bad, hoping I can squeak out a win there, but overall really happy with the deck.
I really really like both the edict and the grasp, but they were both a little too situational. The Grasp was really good, just slow, and I think going against combo I have enough answers with the hand destruction/art/ench hate to get the job done faster then they can go off (hopefully >.<) The edict was good, but it was more often than not a "throwaway" spell, mainly used for getting a dork off the field. It's good against Oath decks that get an Emrakul, but the Fleshbag is more easily tutored and recurrable, so it's going to have to hold the fort there.
I just really missed the fracture, and only 2 ways of dealing with enchantments wasn't enough (kgrip and pulse) the cantrip effect also comes into play almost as often as it doesn't, so I'm happy to have it back in. The geist is there to add a little more punch to the aggro side of things, I just wanted a little more speed and that guy does the trick nicely, especially seeing as he comes back to life. It's still testing, but I think it'll stay in.
Same cmc, Deluge's a little easier to cast, and it's infinitely more flexible. I think this'll be a welcome change. Changes I made last time are really holding strong, I'm incredible happy with the list so far.
I am playing an aggro list, and with the pringint of Toxic Deluge I think I can stand to lose the 'nation. the Curse is still in testing, but I think it'll go pretty well.
This is an interesting list to play against. It's basic idea is to drop a ton of little dudes that do little things as they come into play, and let that build animar huge so that it can either get an eldrazi off or a Palinchron infinite combo. I found that if you keep each end every one of the early drops off the board with good spot removal, the deck kind of falls apart. It also starves for colored mana so the ld in here is also really strong. It's a fast list though, with a ton of utility, and if Animar sticks it's hard to deal with him being all prot-black :/ need to keep other dudes off the board so that you can Fleshbag Marauder it. Umezawe's Jitte is absurd in this matchup as well, completely hoses the entire deck if it sticks. Lifeloss isn't a big deal here, it's kind of an all or nothing deck most of the time. If they get more dudes out than you drop the Damnation or Infest
This deck is almost like a Zur deck in the idea that if the general sticks it's pretty much gg on the spot, so she's the #1 kill on sight target. Sudden Death is a complete house in this game. As long as Azami doesn't stick you can just out race the deck, at that point it's just a less than optimal mono-U deck. I don't know exactly what the combo is, I beat it too fast to actually see.
This is a pretty good list. It's basically nonbasicland/dec, they play a ton of specialty lands that all do horrible things, so it's pretty hard to interact with. Burning Azusa is generally a good idea, they usually have 4 lands in hand when they drop here, so if you let her stick she can sometimes put 4 extra lands in in 2 turns, it's something to be wary of. Tutor target is Survival of the Fittest, they usually can't keep up if you survival up the Dark Confidant. Primary LD targets are Maze of Ith, Eye of Ugin and Gaea's Cradle, these are all really scary things. Mainly the Eye though, but if they drop the maze early you'll need to burn a tutor to get past it. All in all not terribly bad, but most of the games I've played so far against this list have been close. Also played against an Oath of Druids/LD variant, which is the loss. Oath T2 both games against my deck is pretty good :/
- This is basically all the B/G removal ever printed, a ton of blue draw/counter, and then Oath of Druids with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Runescarred Demon, Griselbrand, and Primeval Titan. It was a tough match. If Skully can drop consistent threats with a card advantage engine this match wouldn't be too bad, the 2 games I just played I got hosed pretty badly on mana :/ Try to have a ench removal to take out the oath, and just race. Great Sable Stag is pretty good, but the list also plays a bunch of mass removal, so try not to overextend.
- After a ton more playtesting against this list it seems that Derevi's gotten a little easier to beat. A lot of people are running a semi-heavy control build with things like Rising Waters and Static Orb that can be abused with Derevi really easily, then just playing aggro/control, using Derevi as an infinite blocker and dropping a sword here or there. It does play a fair amount of mana dorks, but if you can get a card engine to stick it usually wins the game. It's a strong deck, but it can be done, just gotta pay attention to the untapped mana and make sure that you don't swing into a flashed in Derevi. Big kill targets are swords, Rising Waters, and Edric, Spymaster of Trest
- This is another good solid deck. I've found that most Doran players like to play a bunch of creatures that do well with his abilities, so if you can keep him off the table it helps a ton. Also, it always drops Doran T2 unless you rip the mana dork out T1 with an Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtsieze. Expect a ton of hand destruction, removal, and Sinkhole to be thrown your way, these colors have access to the best removal suite in the game. Killing Doran repeatedly is really the key here, if you can keep him off the board your creatures can outclass his pretty easily.
- This list was really scary, and I loved playing against it. It was basically all the removal B could possible run, some really solid stax effects, and maybe 10 creatures that were super efficient or removal. It was basically a race to see who got their suicide on faster, Erebos eats life like nobody's business. Obviously a lot of hand destruction, but not that many dudes. Master of the Wild Hunt/Creakwood Liege are both really strong here if the stick. Won G2 off of Ad Nauseam, that card is bonkers! o.o
- This is hands down the fastest list I've seen so far. It has a few win cons, all based off of getting to a million mana and doing awful things to your face, be it going infinite with Staff of Domination, tutoring/casting Craterhoof Behemoth with a billion elves in play, or just casting Ezuri and trampling over all your guys. The big targets are Gaea's Cradle, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, the Staff of Domination, and any elf that bounces elves back to hand. That guy makes your spot removal basically worthless. If you can keep the elves out of play with a ton of removal Skully can usually get there, but it's ridiculously fast with a ton of tutors so it's not easy. Infest and Damnation are allstars here.
- This deck is also absurdly hard to beat because it can pressure you so early, and so hard. At least with the other 2 U/W/x control decks they take a long time to kill you, giving you that much more time to find an out. Not this guy. This is all about suiting up and swinging, with a massive amount of countermagic to back it up. Fleshbag Marauder is going to be really solid here if you can land him. Just remember! the Geist itself doesn't have flying, just the angel, so it can be blocked
- This is a tough matchup, there's a reason this one of the best decks in the format. One of the things I had to learn was that mana in this becomes incredibly important. You basically need to be able to drop 2 threats a turn to your opponent dropping 1 counterspell a turn. That means a land drop every turn, or as close as possible to it. They usually only play 2-3 creatures in the entire deck, so don't save the kill spells! As soon as a creature drops, kill it as soon as possible, especially if it's the general. Expect a ton of your stuff to get countered, and expect to be really frustrated. This deck is really hard to beat. Thrun, the Last Troll is an allstar here, along with Ulvenwald Tracker. Planeswalkers can also win you the game, and the Phyrexian Revoker usually names Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- This is a surprisingly hard deck to beat. It basically ramps ramps ramps removes removes removes it's way into dropping Griselbrand, draws 7 cards, then beats you to death. It doesn't really play that many other creatures, just a ton of removal, every ramp/artifact ramp it can, hand destruction, and Griselbrand. You basically want to get it to 7 life or less before the demon hits so they can't draw the 7 cards. Lightning Greaves is really good here, and the fact that Skullbriar is black helps as well. If Griselbrand hits and sticks it's game over, so burn the artifact removal on the mana rocks and just keep swinging.
- This is an odd list, and unique in the idea that you never know what you're going to be facing. So far I've played against 3 archetypes all running HoN, Hyperaggro/swarm, Control/goodstuff, and Reanimator. I lost to the swarm deck, won vs the goodstuff deck, and went 1-1 against the reanimator list. It's just an odd general to play against because for the 1st and sometimes 2nd game you really have no idea what to go for tutor-wise. Control/goodstuff you want a CA engine like Phyrexian Arena, reanimator you want Scavenging Ooze/Bojuka Bog, and swarm you want Infest/Damnation.
- This is an odd deck, and one that is really, really hard to beat. Their strategy is just ramp/remove threats until they can drop Iname, then hit you with a Recurring Nightmare, Patriarch's Bidding, or Living Death effect to abuse their graveyard. Be prepared to get Duress'd/Thoughtsieze'd a bajillion times so try to keep the answers in your deck as long as possible. If you can, get the Bojuka Bog in hand right before they drop Iname so you can just wipe their GY and neuter the entire deck on your turn after it's dropped. It'll still do a lot of damage with the Krovikan Horror, but at least you stand a chance then. Obviously Scavenging Ooze is your 2nd best bet here.
- This is an annoying list to play against, but definitely beatable. A lot of the list revolves around sitting Jenara down and countering/deflecting any removal/huge threats you drop while using any extra mana at eot to make her bigger, and eventually smash you in the face for a ton of huge flying general damage. Card advantage engines will win this match for her, so [card Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/card] is a huge threat, along with anything else drawing them cards. If they don't drop an eengine, however, it's not too bad of a match.
- This was Kwizneks Jenara enchantress list, and it was a tough match. It just had so many answers to multiple permanents it was dumb, and the card advantage is sick too. Obviously things like Argothian Enchantress, Oath of Druids and Enchantress' Presence are huge targets, but it also plays Parallax Wave which tokens really don't like, along with Detention Sphere... It's tough to beat. Only beats are Sun Titan and Emrakul lol. Just try to race, card advantage helps as always. race race race...
- This is a pure combo esque-list. It's counter counter counter draw draw draw until you're out of answers/threats, then dropping Kaho to get a Mystical Tutor, tutor up Polymorph @ next upkeep and polymorph Kaho into an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. As long as you can keep the pressure on and keep Kaho from ever sticking, it's a decent match up. If the tutor goes off though it's gg, so make sure Kaho dies each and every time. Emrakul is obviously the only other creature in the deck. It plays a fair amount of mana rocks to get there faster, so artifact removal is nice, just make sure to save one in case they land a Vedalken Shackles or Tezzeret, the Seeker into a shackles :/ Also be prepared for Bribery
- This list has gotten a little easier to beat after playing against it a million times, but it's still a heavy hitter >.<. It plays mostly ramp spells, not permanents, so you can't really burn the resources and usually gets a wanderer off T5-6 :/ I would have to say save the removal for the threats that Wanderer drops, unless they're playing artifact accel. If they are, burn that as much as possible to try to race. It's just tough because it usually cascades into more ramp, so if you kill it it just comes back again, and again, and again O.o it's hard to make it too expensive to cast. It doesn't really play that much disruption though, so if you can rip the ramp out of hand with Duress type stuff then it helps. Definitely balls-to-the-wall aggro though, they're won't be much in the way early game so you need all the damage you can muster.
- This guy I've seen a couple of times. Acardus has a great thread detailing what he's doing with the zoo variant of this deck. The 2 matches I lost to were both Oath of Druids lists with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Planeswalkers as the wincon. If you can come out fast enough it's beatable but Marath is an amazing piece of utility that's kind of hard to get around, especially seeing how it keeps getting bigger. Try to keep it off the board, make sure to save an ench removal for the Oath, and try to save Maelstrom Pulse for PW's whenever possible.
- This list has been getting really popular lately, or at least I keep running into it for some odd reason O__O. The goal is to drop a million one drops, get a T2-3 Momir, then tutor up a Painter's Servant. Once the Servant drops naming blue, each creature they cast is a tutor+draw, and it's basically game over. They'll then drop a million more dudes in that turn, and finish off with a Tidespout Tyrant and bounce all your permanents. So. The goal here is to never let Momir stick, or if he does, make sure you have a kill spell for the Servant. The lists that I've been seeing haven't played any counterspells, it's basically a pure combo list. Kill Momir! As long as he doesn't stick your creautres will outlclass theirs and you can win an aggro battle. Just remember, some lists are playing some Eldrazi and/or Craterhoof Behemoth, so try to be prepared for that.
- This was a hard deck to beat. It plays a bunch of b/r removal, and Olivia herself pings all the little dudes making them obsolete, and her bigger which is really frustrating. If you draw creature removal it's not too hard to beat, and Sylvan Safekeeper completely shuts it down. Just try to drop basics, they're playing the Blood Moon variants.
- This is a really hard deck to beat, mainly because of the lifegain. You have to really overextend, and then you get hit with a million and a half wrath effects to punish you for overextending >.< It's balls to the walls aggro against this deck, just go all out and try to depend on your card draw/recursion to carry the last few points. Voltron 21 general damage can also work here, the deck doesn't really run that many blockers, and if you get a shroud effect they have a tough time dealing with it. The combo is either Doomsday/Labratory Maniac or Rest in Peace/Helm of Obedience, so if any of the Maniac, Rest, or Helm hit the battlefield kill it immediately.
- This was Tiger_Tanaka's list online, and it's a good list. It's control/ramp into a Power Artifact on a Grim Monolith or Basalt Monolith. It's pretty slow, but it's hard to beat because it can go off literally any second, and he's got hand destruction to try to rip the Krosan Grip out of hand. Just try to race, it doesn't actually play as much removal/counterspells as I expected.
- This is an annoyingly good list to play against >.< It basically ramps/controls it's way into dropping Zegaana, draws 3-5 cards depending on what's on the board at that time, then controls/ramps/tutors it's way into a Craterhoof Behemoth. It's got a ton of counterspells so expect to have a million thrown your way, and it's prettty fast. Keeping every creature off the board is pretty vital, so Damnation/Infest are going to be solid. Make sure to try to kill the thing with highest power in response to zegaana to limit the card draw.
- This... is an auto loss. I can't really put it any other way, unfortunately. I won't go into it, it'll make me sound like a whiner, but trust and believe that you can't beat Prosh with this deck. I honestly believe you can't beat Prosh with anything other than a dedicated combo deck that consistently goes off T4, but that's just me. If you don't believe me, play against it and you'll see what I mean.
- This is a really fun deck to play against. It's basically balls to the walls aggro against this guy. He's going to try to burn your dudes and drop tokens to melt your face, you're going to try to race his damage. It's a lot of fun. Just watch out for Myr Incubator! it oneshots you, don't let it go off. Kill off the mana accel, get Skully huge and smash face to victory. DO NOT drop any of the Dark Confidant effects, or lose any life to Sylvan Library unless you absolutely have to. Life is incredibly important here, it'll usually get you to within 4 points left or so, so it's pretty vital to shore it up when you can. Card draw isn't as essential here, the 2 for 1 creatures plus smaller board sweeps usually do the trick. Umezawe's Jitte is amazing in this matchup
- This deck is absurdly, stupidly fast, You're going to want to play a heavy control game here and get to the late game with at least 6-7 life if possible. It runs out of steam really quickly, but it's absurdly aggressive and fast. As sad as it sounds, you usually don't want to drop the Dark Tutelage, you can't afford the life. Dark Confidant can be used as a blocker if you get too low, but you really need to shore up the bleeding as quickly as possible. Kill Radha! A lot of the deck centers around her abilities, so if you can keep her off the table it helps. Also, expect a lot of land destruction to be played, along with Blood Moon, so try to keep some basics in hand if possible.
- This is usually a pretty easy list to beat if theiy're going hyper voltron, If it's more of a midrange list it's a little bit more difficult, but that's pretty rare, usually that's a Jenara, Asura of War build. It's pretty easy to go the distance with Skullbriar here and play a semi-control game, just make sure to kill rafiq every time he hits to keep the life loss to a minimum. Hexproof is nasty so make sure to get rid of that if you can as well. Sudden Death and Krosan Grip are awesome in this match up, they do usually run a little control backup. Burn the Abrupt Decay on Swords and rip mana dorks with Thoughtseize cards early, unless there's something else really vital to get rid of (Like swords). It's usually a pretty easy matchup.
- This deck is pure combo, plain and simple. Basically they want to drop Scion, put a Worldgorger Dragon in the GY, then Animate Dead it for infinite mana, turn Scion into a Shivan Hellkite and ping you to death. It can go off as soon as T4. You want Phrexian Revoker naming Scion if he hasn't already used his ability, or Shivan Hellkite if Worldgorger's already in the GY. GY hate is really strong here, so try to have a way to deal with the Worldgorger when it hits the GY. Also, he can kill you with turning Scion into a Moltensteel Dragon, giving in +6/+6, then turning it into Skythirix, the Blight Dragon to kill you with infect. Burn your kill spells on Scion, dig for your GY hate, and put pressure on a little at a time. It's more important to answer the combo than it is to go aggro.
- This has been a pretty easy match up once I know what to look for. The deck usually combos off with either the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo, or the Leyline of the Void/Helm of Obedience combo, then plays a ton of removal/sweepers/counters to try to get there. As long as you save your ench/art hate for the combo pieces it's usually pretty easy to win, and LD/hand destruction work really well. All in all a fairly easy list to beat so far, but I'm sure I'll get blown out one of these times ^.^
- This is a funny deck. Basically tries to abuse the Shadowborn Apostle wording with things that do well with a massive amount of one drops. Obviously kill Skullclamp, and keep the general off the field. Other than that it's a pretty easy match, they can come out kind of fast with some black accel, but they usually take a couple turns to get going. Just keep them off that 6th apostle, and keep swinging, it's a pretty easy matchup. Umezawe's Jitte usually makes them auto-fold
I've played against 2 of the mirror matches so far, and it's usually not too hard to beat. Knowing what to expect makes it a lot easier, and this is a little more of a mid-late game list so it tends to do pretty well against a hyper aggro/swarm list. Also, Skinrender counters stay on Skullbriar, so if you can hit it with 2 +1/+1 counters on it, they can never cast him again Again, usually a pretty easy match, they almost always go hyper aggro. Just sustain until late game, keep skullbriar blocked with chumps until you can get a later game Survival of the Fittest/Phyrexian Arena/Master of the Wild Hunt engine going, and it's usually gg.
- I've played against this a couple of times. It's pretty much pure tempo centering around Sygg's ability to draw a bunch of cards off of damage. It plays the super efficient beaters in U/B, and a bunch of unblockable stuff with a fair amount of counter backup/removal. It's a hard match, especially if they go fist and get Sygg down before you can get Skully down. You need to keep Sygg off the table as much as possible, and just try to burn all your removal on any card draw engines they might drop. They have a lot in those colors :/ (Jace, the Mind-Sculptor, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Dark Confidant, Phyrexian Arena, Dark Tutelage, etc etc) Just make sure Sygg doesn't stick if possible so they don't have a ton of card draw. Take the beats if you have to, eventually your creatures will outclass theirs. Beware the Vedalken Shackles! It's a nightmare at times
- This used to be a harder matchup. With the printing of Mistcutter Hydra plus the already anti-blue package this deck currently runs this match isn't nearly as bad. It's about 55/45 if you don't land a CA engine. If you land Dark Confidant/Phyrexian Arena/Dark Tutelage/Skullclamp it's pretty much gg for this guy, he just can't keep up. Just try to bait the counterspells with threats so that you can get a CA engine off, or tutor for theDark Confidant.
- This has been a pretty easy list to beat so far, I assume because it's too new to actually be tuned enough for competitive play. I've gone up against mono-u control goodstuff.dec, and Merfolk.dec with this list. The merfolk list is actually harder to beat, it's all the lords and best merfolk, a ton of counters, Aether Vial, and thassa to make them unblockable and to filter the deck. It can usually be 1 for 1'd though, and if you get a CA engine to land it's usually gg for them. Mistcutter Hydra is also priceless against these guys, it's hilarious to see their faces when this hits. Just burn removal on the utility guys, don't worry too much about the lords. Skully can race the damage. There's exactly dick that can be done to thassa though, so once she hits she's gonna stick, don't let it get to you too bad. I guess if she's a creature and you can Skinrender into a Sudden Death XD, or hit a Dismember
- This would normally go under a junk deck but this guy was pretty good, I barely squeaked out a win both games. Basic control deck with a fair mix of counterspells, draw and removal. I didn't see any other creatures other than the general so that makes most spot removal basically worthless. A lot of artifact ramp though, and coupled with an Upheaval it can get kinda nasty. Just keep putting the pressure on and try to get there with Skully to keep the virtual CA up.
- Normally Skully does really well vs voltron, but the regenerating/hexproof Thrun makes this a little bit more difficult, and he hits like a truck :/ It's basically an aggro race, and if you get a card draw engine to stick it's usually gg. If not, however, this is a really tough matchup. Tons of answers, huge beats, and a hexproof/regenerating general that gets huge. Also watch out for Primeval Titan, that card eats face Try to race, and answer the voltron stuff with your control, don't worry about saving things like Putrefy for the creatures, the deck doesn't play that many bodies.
- This isn't really an actual list yet (that I've seen so far at least), I've played against a couple of people with this guy and it hasn't been that impressive, but I've been seeing it more over the last few days so I figured I'd post it. Not too much to say here, usually our creatures are just better and our removal is better, so it's a pretty easy win. Save the kill spells for draw engines. Tymaret likes to come back a lot and mess with you, but it's not too effective so I generally just ignore him. I don't think this will last, I feel Lyzolda, the Blood Witch or Olivia Voldaren's a much better general for R/B, but here it is.
- This is a semi-combo list that revolves around getting a Death's Shadow or Phyrexian Dreadnaught in the GY, then putting a million counters on either Varolz or an infect dude. It's a pretty scary list in that it can go off as soon as T3, so make sure to kill Varolz as soon as he hits and leave plenty of chumblockers. This can go either way, it's a solid list.
- This is a pretty good list. It's pretty similar to Talrand, Sky Summoner for the most part, but with the 3/1 flying general can get pretty aggressive at times. Bribery is a favorite here, so watch out for it, it really hurts. Usually as long as you can get 2-3 decent creatures to stick it's gg for them, or any of the pure anti-u stuff, but if not it's a tough matchup. CA engines just win, obv.
- The list I've played against so far hasn't been that tuned, it was a little bit of ramp with a bunch of big dudes. It's usually only dropping 1 threat a turn, and they didn't start coming down til T4 at the earliest so it's been a pretty easy match so far. Hand destruction works really well in this matchup.
- This is a hard deck to beat, there's no question. The basic idea behind defeating Zur is if he sticks, you lose. Plain and simple. Lightning Greaves/Swiftfoot Boots are a huge threat here, so either kill them first if you don't have a creature kill spell in hand, or make sure you have a kill spell ready when Zur drops. If you can keep Zur off the table the match is relatively easy. If he sticks more than 1 turn it's almost impossible to overcome the lost card advantage. Don't worry about loss of life here, it's not important, go ahead and drop the Dark Tutelage/Dark Confidant as soon as humanly possible while being confidant it'll stick (Heh, confidant. Get it? Hehehe). Bait the counterspells with creature threats so that your kill spells/draw spells have a better chance of getting through. Sudden Death/Dismember are your best friends in this match up. If you can make Zur too expensive to cast then this is a walk in the park. Otherwise expect to auto-lose.
i don't have any tournament matches for my list, but i've been playing 1-1 skullbriar for a while now. check out the list in my blog.
also check out khymera's varolz list. the creature suite is largely different, but alot of the removal/support cards work well with skulbriar and it has more of a tournament scene display.
also emether's doran list has alot of creatures that are efficient beaters that we can use here.
i don't have any tournament matches for my list, but i've been playing 1-1 skullbriar for a while now. check out the list in my blog.
also check out khymera's varolz list. the creature suite is largely different, but alot of the removal/support cards work well with skulbriar and it has more of a tournament scene display.
also emether's doran list has alot of creatures that are efficient beaters that we can use here.
I think Basking Rootwalla is missing from your build. Works great with survival and liliana
I ended up cutting the rootwalla because while it is awesome with the discard stuff, in the end it was more often than not a 1/1 vanilla body that didn't end up doing anything. I replaced it with the Big Game Hunter and I've been pretty happy with the switch.
I'm slightly bad at this game, even at my best moments^.^. Rootwalla has been a solid include. I wish there was something just a little stronger, but it's been holding it's own
On the other hand, there's a report from Gaka's list that makes Rootwala really efficient in the competitive scene even it's just a vanilla.
Despite appearances, Basking Rootwalla is a ridiculously strong creature.
Either it costs nothing, and you get a free critter and possibly a Vengevine, or it costs one, giving you a turn one that can potentially end the game. Turning it into a 3/3 every turn is a very tasty clock on top of skullbriar.
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Tantarus: It didn't make the gaka greifer level, so it should be fine
Despite appearances, Basking Rootwalla is a ridiculously strong creature.
Either it costs nothing, and you get a free critter and possibly a Vengevine, or it costs one, giving you a turn one that can potentially end the game. Turning it into a 3/3 every turn is a very tasty clock on top of skullbriar.
Thanks for taking a look, and for the advice, for sure
I had the Rootwalla in for a while, about 2 weeks. That's about 50 games online, which I think is a decent amount of testing. I just always found myself wishing it was something else whenever I saw it. If I was playing a hyperaggro list I think it would have a slot, but in the games that I've played so far I think that a hyperaggro list doesn't hold it's own against as many different archetypes as there are out there. With the list as is I have a decent matchup against almost everything I face (Still trying to get Maelstrom Wanderer figured out) (Rootwalla's officially in >.<)
The thing I'm trying to go for in my list is the ability to play different types of strategy, I guess. Aggro vs the midrange, control vs aggro, and tempo vs combo/control. I can absolutely go for a hyperaggro list and just have balls to the walls threats, but by doing so I lose a fair amount of my utility and the deck falls apart against a dedicated control deck or combo deck, and the other aggro decks (Rafiq/Uril) are just faster, so I lose to them as well. That was the original list that I had, and it just didn't seem to work so well.
I could try the Rootwalla again, I just don't know what I'd cut for it. It seems that I'd be losing wither a vital piece of utility or ramp to put it back in. Is there a card that you see specifically that you think the Rootwalla would be a better fit for the deck? lawl.
i love the little madness dude. Of course I tend to draw/search for survival of the fittest alot.
discard basking rootwalla, madness into play and find vengevine. discard vengevine and find gravecrawler. discard gravecrawler and find some creature i need at the moment. cast gravecrawler (assuming skullbriar was in play). vengeveine trigger. instant board again that rebuilds itself to a wrath pretty easily.
i love the little madness dude. Of course I tend to draw/search for survival of the fittest alot.
discard basking rootwalla, madness into play and find vengevine. discard vengevine and find gravecrawler. discard gravecrawler and find some creature i need at the moment. cast gravecrawler (assuming skullbriar was in play). vengeveine trigger. instant board again that rebuilds itself to a wrath pretty easily.
That is nice, for sure. I have yet to see that many wraths in 1v1, but I did put the rootwalla back in after a fair amount of testing. It works pretty well with the Survival. It's just that with Survival sticking I basically win on the spot, so the Rootwalla's not as necessary. Still testing, it's in as of right now.
I'm looking at your match ups and they all seem bad. What are some good match ups?
Umm.... It's really solid against voltron/hyperaggro lists. Rafiq/Uril/Radha are all a decent matchup because you can play a really strong control game and just eat them on card advantage. They'll hit really hard at first, but with the removal that the deck packs you can sit back and pick off their threats 1 by 1 with your 2 for 1's until they're out of cards, then win through resources. It's a pretty good matchup, from what I've seen.
Sorry it took me so long to get back on here, I've been testing a million different archetypes lately trying to get something to stick. Going to update matches here in a bit. Thanks for the replies!
Going to start posting match results vs specific generals, and tracking total wins/losses for this list. Currently testing a few cards, will update changes tonight.
Alright, so I have a question for the general community here: Should I run the Dark depths package in this thing? It seems really really strong, and an awesome alternate win con is always really helpful, just don't know if it's worth the cuts. Cards I would need to add:
The Hexmage serves triple purpose, efficient creature, combos with the depths, kills planeswalkers, and is tutorable through Survival. I've gotten the mana issues mostly taken care of, but I think Life could help get past those certain rough spots.
I've already got the Expedition Map and the Demonic Tutor to help me find a piece if I get one in hand, so that helps even it out.
Do y'all think thi sis something that should be added, and if so what should I cut for it?
From experience - no. If you draw depths in the first few turns, it's a dead card. Later, you should either have an engine going or they should be dead.
It takes up slots and doesn't do anything useful to help you out.
..Not to mention bounce.
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Tantarus: It didn't make the gaka greifer level, so it should be fine
Kinda gonna summarize some of my thoughts on the deck here thus far.
I don't think this is quite a T1 build, especially with these new generals coming out (Severe problems with Prosh, Oloro and Derevi) I do believe, however, that this is a competitive Tier 1.5 deck with a lot of versatility to combat a ton of archetypes. That means that this is a list you could take to a local tournament and do pretty darn well with, probably top 4-8 depending on how big it is and how experienced you are with the deck.
A couple of notes on why I went more of a midrange build: The hyperaggro list that Gaka sent me and that I tested pretty extensively was a really solid list that was a ton of fun to play, and did better than my list against most of the u/x control matchups. That being said, Iname, Momir Vig, Animar, and Ezuri are all swarm decks that are all in T1 and are faster than Skullbriar could ever hope to be. The hyperaggro list has some real staying power with the recurring creatures like Bloodghast, Gravecrawler, Nether Traitor and the cheap general, so that list can go the distance in a lot of matchups. Against more of a midrange list that has plenty of sweepers and bigger creatures I found it falling short, however, and in the swarm matchup I found it just got stomped flat by lists that are just designed to be faster.
So, this took more of a midrange turn, hence the Damnation and Infest. If that isn't the style that you're looking for, or if you believe Skullbriar was made to be a balls-to-the-wall aggro deck than you should take a look at Gaka's thread here. It's a really solid list, and a lot of fun to play.
Another note: I don't necessarily think that this is the end-all be-all Skullbriar list out there. I've played hundreds of matches with this list and I feel it does really, really well, but I'm certainly not perfect. There's a lot of ways to run this build. I feel that this is the best example of a tempo-oriented midrange/aggro list that can be done with this general, and in these colors for that matter, so if you want that type of list in BG this is the place to be.
I had the hunter in for a little while, and it worked some of the time so I'm glad you're getting some use out of it. And yeah, the Skylasher is a great card.
Oh, Vendilion Clique. I can understand why people don't like playing against that deck, it's ... annoying, to say the least
Thanks again, glad you liked it! Let me know if there's anything else you think should absolutely be in the list.
Alright, now that I've got the list and some of the main other archetypes firured out I've been pretty happy again with how this deck has been performing. Zur/Arbiter/Geist/Iname are still all pretty tough matchups, winnable, but tough, but thankfully I've got over a 50% matchup against almost the entirety of the rest of the field which is about where I'd like to be.
Probably going to replace the Infest with the new Toxic Deluge out of Commander 2013, but other than that this seems pretty solid. I am almost tempted by the 2 curses as well. I mean, counters stay on Skullbriar, they only cost 3 and free dudes is pretty good. They'll usually have an inpact as soon as they hit, too, at least I'll get 1 trigger out of them in almost all cases. I just don't know if it would be worth a cut for them. They might get tested, we'll see.
Thanks for the input so far guys, and for the advice on the rootwalla vengevine and the like. I'm hoping to get the paper version finally finished (Still need most fetches, Bayou, Thoughtsieze among some other pricey stuff, but got confidant at least >.<) and take this to a tournament somewhere near, but we'll see what happens.
The list as is is pretty solid, and the win/loss ratio is current as of today, with archetype writeups or just about all of them.
Also been getting consistent wins against Maelstrom Wanderer and Derevi, Empyrial Tactician which makes me soo happy. Now on to see if I can get maybe a 50% vs the Big 3 (Zur/GAAIV/Geist)
(P.S. Evergreen, much love, didn't mean to discount your Iname list I just really hate that Blue/x is at all the top slots is all >.<)
Unfrtunately no. If this was a multiplayer list I'd be paying it, along with Curse of Predation but in a 1v1 list both cards are just 1 turn too slow. Skullbriar T1 is amazing, and pretty vital at the latest T2, Opal Palace makes it T2 at the best, but most often T3 which doesn't work.
The biggest problem with the card is that it's colorless for almost all purposes. You can't have it in your opener with a mana dork and expect to do well.
Secondly, increasing your general's effective cmc by 1 for one or so counters isn't going to help you win games. If anything it'll neuter the plays you can make.
It's not very good for skullbriar, even if it's seemingly made for it.
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Tantarus: It didn't make the gaka greifer level, so it should be fine
I have been playtesting Skullbriar for the past couple days in my group's meta. I have not lost a 1v1 match yet. (2-0 Hanna, 6-0 Zirilan, 2-0 Asusa) I think the biggest difference in our decks is the lack of swords in your deck. I love having different options for protection with the 3 swords, (L&S, F&I, F&F). I also never sleeve up an EDH deck without a copy of Sensei's. Also I think Vampiric Tutor deserves a spot, with the change based on meta. I have a relatively creature-light meta, so I would pull victim of the night. Another MVP has been Graveborn Muse. I am at 26 creatures including the general, and it seems pretty solid.
**edit -- I forgot to mention Mox Diamond and Chrome Mox. Playing the zomb on T1, you know how good that is.
Hi, thanks for taking a look at my 1v1 incarnation of Skullbriar! This has become my go-to list for 1v1 matches over the past few months after trying many, many other builds/generals, and it's the one I ended up sticking with. Skullbriar's a little guy that can get a lot bigger fast, with the help of some other well played spells, and this decks' been rocking the boat online and irl for a while now. I really enjoy the list, the interactions, and the versatility, so I hope you have a similar experience. Please, please let me know if there's a card not on here that you believe should be, if you have any questions about my card choices, or if you just want to say hi. Thanks!
There are a few different ways to play Skullbriar that I've seen so far. There's hyper voltron, revolving more around equipment, a ton of removal, and 21 points of general damage. There's disruption-central, centering on hand and land destruction to keep your opponent off their resources long enough to get there with general damage. There's Rampy McRamperson decks that like to go for a fast start with Skully, make opponents burn their removal on him, then close the game with fat, be it Primeval Titan or Griselbrand. There's Hyper-aggro, doing a ton of really efficient creatures, and just hoping to close out the game through combat damage by playing every single 1 mana 2/x creature in existence XD. Then there's this list, which is more along the lines of a balanced aggro/tempo build. It has some of the stronger elements of hand destruction, some of the better removal, and the more efficient creatures that B/G can run while keeping the curve low. Top this off with a smattering of accel, some other stuff answers, card draw and boom! You've got Skullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal.
Why play this version of Skullbriar, the Walking Grave?
Why not to play our ol' Friend Skully here?
The Hand from Beyond
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecks for-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
Why 1v1/French Rules?
I love this format, but there are some severely broken plays that can be done if you allow certain accelerants in a 1v1 match. I trust in the RC's vision and good sense to provide a somewhat balanced format for a 1v1 match of EDH. I started playing 1v1 as an alternative to the huge multiplayer games I was used to playing, and my playgroup is slowly embracing it. It's a growing format worldwide as well, and I think people are going to start noticing as tournaments pop up all over the place.
1 Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
CMC=0 (3)
1 Chrome Mox
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Lotus Petal
CMC=1 (16)
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Duress
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Expedition Map
1 Gravecrawler
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Rancor
1 Skullclamp
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Thoughtseize
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
CMC=2 (21)
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Bitterblossom
1 Bloodghast
1 Dark Confidant
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Go for the Throat
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Nether Traitor
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Profane Command
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sinkhole
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Victim of Night
1 Curse of Predation
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Dismember
1 Eternal Witness
1 Filigree Fracture
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Krosan Grip
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Putrefy
1 Sudden Death
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Viridian Shaman
CMC=4 (6)
1 Creakwood Liege
1 Garruk Relentless
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Skinrender
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Vengevine
CMC=5 (1)
1 Ad Nauseam
Land (35)
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
6 Forest
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mutavault
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pendelhaven
1 Polluted Delta
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
6 Swamp
1 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Creatures (29)
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloodghast
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Creakwood Liege
1 Dark Confidant
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Gravecrawler
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Nether Traitor
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Skinrender
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Vengevine
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Chrome Mox
1 Expedition Map
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Lotus Petal
1 Skullclamp
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Sorceries (10)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Duress
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Profane Command
1 Sinkhole
1 Thoughtseize
1 Toxic Deluge
Enchantments (7)
1 Bitterblossom
1 Curse of Predation
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Rancor
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
Instants (10)
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Dismember
1 Filigree Fracture
1 Go for the Throat
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Sudden Death
1 Victim of Night
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Garruk Relentless
Land (35)
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
6 Forest
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mutavault
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pendelhaven
1 Polluted Delta
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
6 Swamp
1 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Woodland Cemetery
Average CMC: 2.19 Average Monetary Value: $1265.34 Sample Hand/Deckstats Analyzer: here
Alternate List Archetypes
Overall, given what I've had played against me, my own personal style, and the effectiveness of the card pool that I've had time to test, I feel that an aggro/tempo build for Skullbriar is the strongest way to go with these colors, for this type of deck. If you want a little more aggro list, I feel that going into R/G and choosing Radha, Heir to Keld is a better option. If you want a little bit more of a glass cannon/combo-esque list, then Varolz, the Scar-Striped is the way to go. But for a resilient, balanced aggro deck that has a fair amount of tempo/control to be able to combat multiple archetypes, I think this is the list that fits the bill the best. But, if you still want Skullbriar as your general and want to try something different, here are a couple of other options.
Land Destruction
1 Lotus Petal
1 Skullclamp
1 Chrome Mox
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Expedition Map
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Dark Confidant
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Bloodghast
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Skinrender
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Vengevine
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Devoted Druid
1 Acidic Slime
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Rancor
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Bitterblossom
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Sudden Death
1 Dismember
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Crop Rotation
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damnation
1 Thoughtseize
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Duress
1 Sinkhole
1 Ice Storm
1 Winter's Grasp
1 Creeping Mold
1 Icequake
1 Rain of Tears
1 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
1 Befoul
1 Despoil
1 Stream of Acid
1 Rancid Earth
1 Choking Sands
1 Drain the Well
1 Reap and Sow
1 Thermokarst
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Chainer's Edict
6 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Treetop Village
1 Mutavault
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Twilight Mire
1 Bayou
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
1 Pendelhaven
1 Wasteland
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Llanowar Wastes
This is the B/G land destruction archetype that I've seen a few other people run with Skullbriar. It still allows for a fair amount of aggro with the Ranco, Jitte, and removal suite. Instead of focusing on tempo/aggro however, it focuses on resource denial, mainly the opponents land base.
The reason that I'm not playing this archetype is A: I'm just not really a fan, but more importantly B: it just wasn't as effective against as many archetypes as I wanted it to be, or as the list I'm running now is. It seemed really, really good against some specific decks, mainly 3 color decks or ramp heavy multiple color decks. You could keep them off their color source long enough to get there with general damage. It just didn't seem to work terribly well against the control matchup, or the hyper ramp mono-G matchup. The land destruction is almost exclusively either a 1 for 1, or really expensive. i suppose that a case could be made for upping the ramp count in this and running LD/bigger dudes, but I still don't think it will be as effective as the tempo list I currently run. here's a basic idea of that list though, if anyone wants to give it a go. (No, it's not the most tuned version, yes, it absolutely could stand some tweaking. Just putting here an example of a list to start from ^.^)
Hyperaggro/Swarm
1 Chrome Mox
1 Mox Diamond
1 Skullclamp
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Blood Scrivener
1 Bloodghast
1 Carnophage
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Creakwood Liege
1 Dark Confidant
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Diregraf Ghoul
1 Dreg Mangler
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Glissa, the Traitor
1 Gravecrawler
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Mesmeric Fiend
1 Oona's Prowler
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Putrid Leech
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Skyshroud Elite
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Vengevine
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bitterblossom
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Rancor
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
1 Entomb
1 Go for the Throat
1 Putrefy
1 Victim of Night
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Duress
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Night's Whisper
1 Thoughtseize
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
5 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pendelhaven
1 Polluted Delta
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
5 Swamp
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Woodland Cemetery
I feel this list is a fair amount stronger than the LD list. It has an amazingly efficient creature base and is ridiculously fast, while still having the card draw engines and removal to get there with damage. It still plays the boosts to skully, still plays a smattering of removal/disruption, and then replaces a lot of the 2-for-1 stuff that I'm running in the original list to get there with efficient 1 cmc for 2/x creatures that put a lot more damage on the board a lot faster.
I did test this list fairly extensively, and I found that it just fell short in some of the aggro matchups I was facing, and in the combo matchups. It did do a little better in the control match, however. I decided to sacrifice a little of the control effectiveness to combat the other 2 archetypes, and I've been pretty happy with that decision so far. Much thanks to Gaka for showing me his list, that I built off of.
Deck Evolution
This list started out as an attempt in my local playgroup to move away from the stagnation of our current decklists. We tossed a couple of idea around and one that stuck was the 1v1 idea, a mini-tournament of sorts every 4 weeks or so. This hasn't quite stuck in my playgroup but it got me into the Duel Commander 1v1 scene. I play at my LGS fairly frequently with this list, but most of my testing occurs online on the Cockatrice server.
The list originally was a lot more of a ramp/goodstuff list that had bigger threats like Primeval Titan, Griselbrand, Acidic Slime, Duplicant... Basically all the good B/G/colorless stuff that I would be playing in a rampy multiplayer deck. After testing for a while I realized that that isn't the best way for B/G to use it's card choices. Or, rephrasing a bit here, it's better done by other archetypes/colors, namely mono-G or U/G.
So I started to cut the deck down after having lost to efficient removal and targeted control. Rampy mcramperson decks are all well and good, but with a 1/1 general that's supposed to come out fast it made more sense to revolve that around an aggro strategy and start using B/G to it's more efficient uses, namely removal, hand destruction and efficient creatures.
The list then went into the complete opposite direction and I tried a heavy control/voltron list. I kept losing to game ending threats like Oath of Druids, Jace, the Mind-Sculptor, Griselbrand, Primeval Titan, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn... Horrible things like that. I figured if I could just stick a card draw engine and out remove my opponent then I'd be golden. Unfortunately the secret to magic has gotten out to the masses and everyone runs card draw/advantage in some form. So I found myself playing a U control in B/G, which didn't work so well.
After that the list went through another paradigm switch and I started testing Gaka's Swarm/hyperaggro list a ton. I really liked it, it was a ton of fun to play, and it had some real staying power with the hasty threats, recurrable dudes and undying/scavenge/tutprs and the like. And it started to do better than my previous 2 incarnations against the control matchups which are some of the worst win percentages for this list. Unfortunately it also started to lose more frequently to swarm lists of their own, namely Animar, Soul of Elements, Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, and Ezuri, Renegade Leader. This made me realize that what I wanted was a list that would be competitive against almost every strategy that I came up against. Not necessarily specifically tailored to one or the other, but moderate success against most.
Thus the list as it is today is built. I still kept what I considered to be the best cards to exemplify what the deck can do, like keeping Thoughtsieze but cutting Distress, putting in Hero's Demise but cutting Vampire Hexmage, etc. etc. I feel it's able to play an aggro game if necessary, a control game if required and a tempo game if that's what you need through land/hand destruction and efficient threats with the added bonus of immensely flexible cards that have a ton of synergy between them. It's not the end all be all list, but it's been doing pretty well so far, and I'm above a 50% win percentage as well so I count that as a win
Card Choices
Basking Rootwalla - This guy goes hand in hand with Survival of the Fittest and Vengevine I was originally resistant to put this in, but it's been basically a free dude which I hear are good, and an outlet for Survival. It's been pretty solid so far.
Birds of Paradise - Odd as it sounds, the deck does need a little ramp, and a fair amount of fixing. That's where this guy comes in. Also food for Skullclamp or Fleshbag Marauder when you're done with it.
Bloodghast - Easily recurrable beater that is food for all the sac outlets/discard outlets/Skullclamp etc etc. Very, very helpful
Carrion Feeder - Another recent include, this has been solid so far. Insane with a recurrable card like the Bloodghast and Gravecrawler out, really good against Zur when he enchants your creatures, keeps things from getting tucked... Very solid all around.
Creakwood Liege - This guy has been nuts. It not only boosts your dudes as soon as it comes out to allow for ridiculously powerful alpha strikes, it also generates more dudes! O.o This has been an awesome include so far, really really strong card. Probably the single most powerful creature for damage/advantage in the deck.
Dark Confidant - This lists' CMC is 2.21, which is pretty darn decent. That also goes to say that on average you're going to pay 2 life to draw 2 cards a turn with this guy. He can also beat, which is very useful when the starting life total is 30 instead of 40. This is an absolute must in the deck, and if you drop it T3 it's pretty much gg for your opponent if they don't find a kill spell, the card advantage this can generate is really, really good.
Deathrite Shaman - One of the most efficient/versatile BG creatures printed in recent memory, this guy does just about everything. It honestly gets used more for ramp than anything else, if you need to tutor for an answer to a recursion deck the best bet is either Bojuka Bog if you have an open tutor (Demonic Tutor) or Scavenging Ooze if it's a closed tutor (Survival of the Fittest, Green Sun's Zenith etc) But the Shaman still holds it's own. Also, killing people with him is priceless
Dryad Arbor - In the list for 3 reasons: Manlands are good, even little flimsy ones like this. Food for things like Skullclamp, Survival of the Fittest etc. And gives you a 2nd land T1 with Green Sun's Zenith if you need it (Which happens more often than not) Very solid include.
Elves of Deep Shadow - This allows you to keep a 1-2 forest hand and still drop Skullbriar T2, then feed it to something. Mana fixing is an issue in a 2 color deck, oddly enough it's actually easier in 3 colors, so having an off color-producing creature is really good.
Eternal Witness - There are quite a few competitive lists online that don't run this card for a Skullbriar deck. The reason because, as strange as it sounds, this card is pretty slow for the deck. It's meant as a late game card to get an answer back that you desperately need to see, so it's stuck, and it beats/gets eaten, so I've found it to be worth it.
Fauna Shaman - Survival of the Fittest embodied. Not nearly as good, but still absolutely worth running.
Fleshbag Marauder - Edicts are really helpful against the Uril, the Mistalker or Rafiq of the Many decks that can clutter the meta. Not to mention Zur the Enchanter! This guy is tutorable through Survival as well as the open tutors, which is essential in a lot of instances.
Glissa, the Traitor - There aren't too many artifacts in the deck so her 2nd ability isn't pulled out that much, but 3 for a 3/3 first strike/deathtouch is never bad to see. Here for sheer efficiency, and it makes Uril think twice about swinging.
Gravecrawler - Synergy with Survival, Skully, skullclamp, fleshbag... Recurring engines are huge, and this is one of the best in the deck. It sucks that it can't block, but hey, can't have everything right?
Great Sable Stag - Ah, here we go into the blue hate. Blue/White/x is the biggest percentage of the competitive meta for 1v1 EDH, and this card is one of the many answers to that. If there's no-one in your meta running any Blue or Black than this can be cut, but I highly doubt no-one's playing at least one of those colors. Also, it's a 3/3 for 3, so it's not like it's a dead card.
Lotleth Troll - This has gone in and out before, but it enables the madness stuff, is very efficient, can abuse things like Bloodghast, and at the very least it's a regenerating blocker. Still around.
Lotus Cobra - This isn't just for huge rampy decks! This guy is a recent include that I'm really glad I put in. It's still got a 2/1 body on it, and it allows for some really explosive T3 plays. Replaced [card]Sakura-Tribe Elder, and I'm pretty content with the change. This is immediate mana, where Elder was turn-later mana, which isn't as helpful in an aggro deck.
Master of the Wild Hunt - This is another slightly odd duck that I've found to be absurd. Normally by the time this drops your opponent has burned through most of the early removal, and they kind of know what your deck is: a hyper aggro tempo list. Then this guy drops, and they have to reassess. It's a solid card, gives you repeatable removal, and a ton of dudes at a time in the gamestate that's usually really profitable for this deck. I've been incredibly happy with it.
Mistcutter Hydra - Blue/x is the worst deck to face in competitive 1v1 EDh, so this is in. At the least it's a fireball on legs, at best it's a kill shot. It's been a good include, the haste is really viable.
Nether Traitor - Basically Bloodghast #2
Phyrexian Revoker - I can't imagine too many 1v1 decks that shouldn't be running this guy. Shuts down anything but lands, and is a beater. I mean, getting planewalkers, infinite combos, Rofellos, and equipment in one guy? O.o
Scavenging Ooze - Here to combat reanimator shenanigans, gain you life and have a big butt. Scavenger ooze saves the day!
Skinrender - 2 for 1'ing opponents wins games, and it has a good body. This has been really helpful, so it's still here. Bland, but effective.
Strangleroot Geist - THe haste is what makes this guy playable, combined with the undying. It's a really good way to keep pressure on your opponents early, and it comes back after a wrath. It's still in testing, but I like it so far.
Sylvan Safekeeper - He's back in. It's a one drop, and mid-late game the lands generally matter nearly as much. It just makes threats that much harder to deal with, so I'm trying it out again. Skully just keeps getting bounced, which is really frustrating, so trying some things to help that happen less.
Thrun, the Last Troll - Blue answer #3 Good body, efficient, gets there when no-one else can.
Ulvenwald Tracker - Repeatable removal is really strong for green, and this guy plus the Master of the Wild Hunt make for excellent pages to the book: "How to Kill your Opponents Creatures 101" Really fun to make your thing with regeneration fight their thing without ^.^
Vengevine - Should have been in from the start. Hasty recurrable 4 body goodness that combos with Survival is really, really good. Pitch Rootwalla, cast for madness, get vengevine, pitch vengevine, get gravecrawler, pitch gravecrawler, get what you actually want, cast gravecrawler, triggers vengevine... boom, 3-4 creatures for 3 mana
Viridian Shaman - 2 for 1's are the name of the game, and this guy works well. There are always artifacts to blow up, so he's hardly ever not good to see.
Artifacts
Chrome Mox - This allows for a T1 Skullbriar, which is absurdly good especially of you're on the play. This prevents your opponent from hitting with a Mana Tithe, Force Spike or Daze. They have to Force of Will it which most blue players are loath to do on a 1/1 general, so this gets the drop on them. Against the non-blue players, most everyone plays green and mana dorks, so this lets you get him to 2/2 P/T to punch through them if they choose to block.
Expedition Map - Nonbasic lands win games. This allows you to get what you need, or get the wasteland to kill what you need. Also fixes you in a pinch. For 1 mana it's been really, really solid.
Lightning Greaves - This is one of those cards that I'm really never unhappy to see. The only thing it sucks with is Rancor and I'm almost always ecstatic to see it, so it's getting another go. I've had some trouble with Skully getting bounced lately, taking all his counters off, so this is here to help combat that.
Lotus Petal - See Chrome Mox
Skullclamp - The important thing to remember about Skullclamp is that this is one of the better card advantage engines in the deck, and if you can stick it it'll singlehandedly win games for you. That means don't just cast it willy nilly, and equip to random things that you're not going to get anything out of. Make sure you are able to cast it (Meaning not when blue guy has mana up) and that you have enough mana to cast and equip to a dork that doesn't mind sacrificing itself to the greater cause.
Umezawe's Jitte - Arguably the 2nd best equipment ever printed, if this sticks and connects it will win games singlehandedly, so it's in. Probably should have been in from the start
Sorceries
Demonic Tutor - Not banned, for some odd reason. Gets you what you need. Use it wisely.
Duress - This is a way to see what your opponents are playing, rip a decent card out, and play around their threats. I hate getting Duress'd T1, therefore I assume my opponents hate it too. I've actually had someone burn a Force of Will on this before
Green Sun's Zenith - This would be infinitely better if it got any creature, but it's still really strong. More often than not I'm getting that Dryad Arbor T1, but late game it can break out a stalemate with Thrun, the Last Troll or a Master of the Wild hunt. Remember it can get dual colored guys too, so if you need Glissa or Deathrite this gets them!
Hymn to Tourach - This card breaks games. Amazing T2, and almost even better when they only have 2 cards in hand. No black deck should leave home without it.
Inquisition of Kozilek - Duress #2, slightly different restrictions
Maelstrom Pulse - Removal is king in this format, and getting any permanent is huge. This absolutely is a must have for any B/G deck.
Profane Command - This has been in and out a couple of times, but I think it's earned it's spot. Almost always for the kill, then recur pair, but fear is valid, and can offer a killshot out of nowhere if they stabilize @ 2 or something awful like that.
Sinkhole - I've run into horrible lands that eat my face too many times to count, so I decided to give this a shot. It's definitely been worth it. Late games answer to Gaea's Cradle, Maze of Ith or manlands, early game gets your opponent off a mana source. It's been really good.
Thoughtseize - Duress #3, minus restrictions!
Toxic Deluge[/CARD - This is there for the Rafiq/momir/Radha matchups, and any odd swarm/token deck you come up against. Obviously don't cast when you're getting hit harder than they are Replacing Infest
Enchantments
Bitterblossom - This card is absurd, and just recently got unbanned. I find it mostly feeds me chump blockers, but it's the utter stones if you manage to get this with a Skullclamp out.
Curse of Predation - With the release of Commander 2013 they came out with this little gem. I've had this in another deck and it's been really, really solid so I'm testing it here. Counters seem good for Skully ^.^
Dark Tutelage - Dark Confidant #2, slightly more expensive and harder to kill.
Phyrexian Arena - Card draw wins games, and there are few things in black that do it better. Try to make sure it's going to stick, obviously don't drop it with a Qasali Pridemage staring you down.
Rancor - Makes Skully faster, and fatter! No, seriously, this card is really really good. Giving him trample is super effective, and bigger is always better, right?
Survival of the Fittest - Another one of those cards that can't be touted enough. This card just singlehandedly wins games, much in the vein of Skullclamp, but better. Recurring tutors are game breakers, and this is one of the best in the format.
Sylvan Library - Can't have Sensei's Divining Top, so this is the next on the list. Fixes you, lets you draw if you really need to, costs 2... Pretty good is the word on the street.
Instants
Abrupt Decay - Blue answer #4, and everything else answer for that matter. Everyone's got something 3 or less to kill in this format, and this guy gets the job done.
Ad Nauseam - This card has been... well... nuts. It's about on the level of Survival of the Fittest in power level. Really. It's basically 5 mana to have 5-6 Dark Confidant effects on the board at the same time. I've never drawn less than 4 cards with this, and it's generally more along the lines of 6-10 cards for about 9-12 life. It's completely absurd, and singlehandedly will win you the game. Just don't use against a stupid fast red deck midgame, you're likely to get your face eaten XD. Haven't lost a game where this went off yet.
Dismember - Spot removal is really helpful in this game, and this does it better than most, especially since you don't have to pay the full cost if you're not able. Really good against Zur
Filigree Fracture - I found myself really missing this when it was cut. This deck doesn't run that many ways to deal with enchantments (Kgrip and Pulse, really) so a 3rd source was sorely needed, and I really like the way this one played out.
Go for the Throat - See Dismember, minus the alternate payment
Hero's Downfall - Out of Theros, this is a really flexible instant speed kill shot. Glad they printed it, definitely worth playing.
Krosan Grip - Blue hate #6! Pretty much speaks for itself, I think. If not, see Filigree Fracture
Putrefy - Versatility is really helpful, so this is a Go for the Throat plus a Naturalize! erm, one or the other, I suppose. Still, really sticks it to the opposition.
Sudden Death - Blue hate #5! Really, really good against Zur.
Victim of Night - Replacing Smother. the BB isn't that hard to get, and it's less conditional. Been happy with the change.
Planeswalkers
Liliana of the Veil - Blue hate #9! Ok, maybe it's just everything hate, but Blue players really don't like discarding their cards. Gets around hexproof, gives a madness outlet, only costs 3 ... This card's really really good
Garruk Relentless - Still in testing, but I've liked it a lot. Has a massive amount of utility, and if it flips and sticks ... O.o Getting to Survival every turn without a survival is absurdly good.
Lands
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers - Giving Skully extra power is nice.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse - Making Skully unblockable is also really nice
Bojuka Bog - Gets rid of GY shenanigans. Best tutorable target for Iname, Death as One decks
Wasteland - Deals with problem lands, also gets someone off a color if you really need it
-Blue hate #10 and 11! Make sure to choose "Zombie" for the Cavern, unless you absolutely have to use it to drop a dork T1
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Kind of fixes you, useful.
Mana fixing, obviously. Also 2 targets for the fetches.
-Manlands!
Pendelhaven - Little dudes get bigger
The reason to run all of these is to get the fixing that the deck desperately needs. These can all fetch either Bayou or Overgrown Tomb, and they're really helpful. Also food for the Deathrite Shaman.
Commander
There are quite a few B/G generals to pick from, all of whom do a lot of really powerful, interactive things. Come to think of it, Skully's probably one of the most un-interactive, simple guys of the lot. He's also one of the only ones that's pure aggro. Almost everything else has a build-around ability, and that I didn't want. Let's go through the list of some other choices to see why Skullbriar got the slot.
Varolz, the Scar Striped - This one's easy. Varolz is a reanimator/dredge/combo-esque deck. I didn't want to play reanimator/dredge/combo-esque. Don't get me wrong, this guy is absurdly powerful, and a really strong shell. A lot of people have been finding this as the go-to choice if they want to play B/G. It just felt a little too combo to me, it seemed that if you didn't just kill them outright with Varolz then it was game over for you, which was frustrating. It's stupid fast though, and fun to play. Just not my style I guess, so I skipped past.
Glissa, the Traitor - Also a really strong choice. 1 more mana for something a lot more deadly, at least initially. This could go in the list as a possibility, but then I'd be tempted to build around her other ability and that I didn't want. Plus, 2 turns slower is 2 turns not swinging, so it hasn't quite made the cut. I tried her out in a land destruction control list, and she worked a lot better there. For aggro/midrange she's just a bit too slow for my taste.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - And here we get into B/G big stuff. This guy's a lot of fun, also in the reanimator family, but I feel it's a lot stronger in multiplayer. Also, 4 cmc is higher than I wanted to go for my general, I am an aggro player after all. If you want to play B/G rampy goodstuff.dec, however, this guy is absolutely the stones. ^.^
So now that leaves ol' Skully: A 2 drop hasty Zombie Elemental that gets bigger.This is really the only true aggro option in B/G without going the combo-route of Varolz. Choosing Skullbriar was pretty simple, it was more of an ah-ha! moment than anything, I just found myself thinking of what would fit the theme of an aggro/tempo deck the best, and this guy fits that slot just about to a T. The counters staying in is a lot more important in 1v1 because of the tuck rules, so he's made the cut and proved himself over and over. If they come up with a slightly more efficient 1-2 cmc B/G legend that is predominately aggro I'll try it out, but so far this one seems to fit the bill.
Deck Strengths/Weaknesses
There isn't a perfect 1v1 EDH deck, at least so far. Different decks have different strengths, and different weaknesses. My style of building is more centered around flexibility and answers with the general as a wincon(but not the only one!), and that's where this list came from, but it's not perfect. Even with the amount of games I've played, the amount of cards I've changed and the amount of time invested in this whole thing this list still gets blown out pretty regularly by other lists/archetypes. Thankfully I've finally gotten around a %50 win statistic, roughly, but it will eternally be being tweaked. That just goes to say that this is not the end all be all deck, so here's what it's good at, and what it's not so good at.
Strengths - I think the single biggest strength of this deck is it's flexibility. You can play aggro, tempo, or control with a fair amount of ease. The tutors that are available allow you to tailor what you want the deck to be doing at any point in the game state, while most of the non-tutor cards themselves are dual purpose, able to fill 1-2 jobs at a time. This makes for a deck that can compete against an incredibly wide range of archetypes, and be moderately successful against most, if not all of them.
Weaknesses - The flexibility of this deck also lends itself to not being as focused as it could be as a single archetype, so it's also a little bit of a liability. It can somewhat effectviely combat Control, Aggro, and Combo, but it's not super amazing at combating all of them. Therefore if you're facing a deck that's constructed to be more focused on a single idea it's going to have more ways of achieving their end than you have answers. It's not often, but there are decks that can completely blow this out of the water.
Archetype Strengths
Hyper-Aggro - This incarnation of B/G Skullbriar is a pretty strong list vs a straight aggro build. Anything aggro/voltron is usually a list that wants to come out really, really fast and thus burns a bunch of resources to try to get your lifetotal down to 0 really quickly. This makes for an explosive early/early-mid game. It also makes for a complete lack of late game. Here, Skullbriar really shines by taking advantage of the multiple 2 for 1's and tutorable answers to keep your opponent off their victory long enough for you to out-resource them. At the mid to late-game usually they're down to 1-2 cards in hands and maybe 1 threat on board, and you have a hand full of answers and a skullbriar to start swinging with. (Uril, the Mistalker, Rafiq of the Many, Radha, Heir to Keld etc)
Mono-U - Blue is the single most played color that I've seen in Duel commander, so this deck packs a fair amount of hate for it. Nothing specific to blue that won's also be useful elsewhere, but between Mistcutter Hydra, Thrun, the Last Troll, Krosan Grip, Great Sable Stag, Sudden Death, Cavern of Souls, Boseiju, Who Shelters All, Abrupt Decay, Filigree Fracture, and Savage Summoning mono-U tends to fall short. (Vendilion Clique, Kaho, Minamo Historian, Talrand, Sky Summoner etc)
Midrange Aggro/Tempo - This is a similar build to the Skullbriar list, so this is all about play skill. Most of these lists are running some type of G/W/x or G/x, and have access to really solid removal, really solid beats, and a fair amount of ld. If played right it's a good match up, and you can beat it with earlier pressure from Skullbriar and good play decisions about what/when to drop CA engines, where to burn removal, such and so forth. These can be a tough match, but it's definitely winnable. (Doran, the Siege Tower, Jenara, Asura of War)
Random Junk - Anything not T1, or really really established and tested usually falls short to this list. The first game might go to your opponent just from a lack of knowledge about how the deck works, but after that the flexibility of the deck really shines in being able to effectively combat multiple archetypes. It's pretty consistent against just about any list that's not an already established archetype.
Archetype Weaknesses
General-Generated Permanent Advantage - Decks that have a consistent way of putting a multiple card permanent engine on the field are really tough for this deck to beat. Honestly I think those decks are pretty hard for everyone else to beat too, hence them being all the Tier 1 decks, but here it is. It's a tough match because Skullbriar is limited by what you can draw, whereas those decks all have a general that pumps out CA all on it's own. SOmetimes you can race them, they tend to have to pay a fair amount for their engine, but it's usually a losing proposition. (Zur the Enchanter, Maelstrom Wanderer, Prosh, Skyraider of Kher)
Tempo/Control - These list have a really good way of keeping card advantage while denying you resources, while also putting pressure on. It's a hard deck to beat because it tends to do all 3 of those things very effectively. It can be raced, and usually those decks play U which there are a ton of answers in the list for. IT's still a tough matchup, and that's the other half of the T1 decks that are taking first in a lot of the EDH tournaments around. (Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Geist of St. Traft, Sygg, River Cutthroat)
Strategy
I'll outline some of the basic strategies of the deck here, but please bear in mind that this is an incredibly versatile list. It packs a ton of answers to different stuff, and has several different elements in it to allow it to compete against a wide range of archetypes. Therefore one broad, overarching strategy isn't really feasible, the way you play totally depends on the deck you're up against. The 3 main avenues you can go down with this list are Aggro, Control, and Tempo. Some of this depends on your opening hand, and a whole lot depends on what general you're facing.
Aggro
If you're going Aggro, then the goal is dropping Skully as soon as possible, and just burning your removal on the threats as they drop to allow him to close enough times to finish the job. If you're going against someone playing a decent amount of spot removal Skully will probably die enough to be too expensive to cast, so you need to keep the pressure on other beaters to finish the job. Here is where you need to be using your tutors on answers to the threats they're dropping as well as threats of your own. Use the hand disruption to pick out their removal pieces, use your removal to pick off their blockers and go balls to the wall. Here is where an early Dark Confidant or Phyrexian Arena can absolutely just win you the game.
The problem with this strategy is steam. Sooner or later you're going to run out of cards, and your opponent is going to land a threat. It's very rare that I completely kill someone off just going balls to the wall. This deck can play aggro, sure, but it excels at tempo. Controlling the board state to an extent that's favorable enough for the creatures to finish the job. Agressive mulliganing can make a difference here. You need to keep the pressure up, while still having 1-2 answers in hand, 1-2 threats and a card draw card. That would be the ideal. If possible keep dropping Skullbriar instead of your other threats as long as it's feasible, to generate virtual card advantage. Usually pure aggro doesn't win through general damage, it wins through 30 points to the face so CA is going to be vital here.
This strategy can go well, and win if you got the Confidant or Arena to stick. If not, then it's how smartly you played your cards, how good your hand was, and what your opponent had. The types of decks this strategy is good against are the midrange Jenara/Karador/Jhoira/Maelstrom Wanderer decks. It's not a perfect strategy, obviously, but played right it can win the game for you.
Control
This deck can very easily play control as well as aggro. This strategy involves sitting back on your threats, only dropping enough creatures to block.stem the tide of damage, and winning through smart plays/card advantage. Here you'll actually be using Skullbriar as a blocker more often than not, and winning the game through Planeswalker tokens, Master of the Wild Hunt tokens, or a recursion engine abuse and either Bitterblossom faeries or Lotleth Troll abuse. This is the situation where things like Grave Pact, Ulvenwald Tracker and Garruk Relentless really shine.
Save your big removal spells for gamebreaking stuff like Umezawe's Jitte, Swords, token generators, things of that nature. Usually the list can pump out enough blockers/tokens to stem the tide to allow you to set up a decent board position and abuse some of the repeatable effects you have access to. Sit back on your cards, let your creatures do the work, and try to hold the kill spells for huge threats where possible.
The main decks that this strategy are going to work against are Rafiq of the Many, Uril, the Miststalker, Doran, the Siege Tower aggro, and Radha, Heir to Keld. These are all hyperfast aggro/voltron builds and usually run out of steam pretty quickly. If you can keep them down to 1 threat at a time on board while having more cards in hand than they do, you've won. A lot of these games will end with you stabilizing very low, sometimes even >5 life. That's normal, just hope they don't have a kill spell for you in red.
Tempo
It seems there are a lot of definitions online about what tempo actually means for this game. I'll give you my definition: (not necessarily right, just what it means for this deck) Tempo for this list is advancing your boardstate through some form(s) of steady pressure while simultaneously denying your opponent their version of pressure/advantage. Tempo is incredibly hard to master, partly because it involves exacting resource allotment and usage, while also requiring a fair amount of knowledge about what your opponent is going to play next. This is what makes an EDH round more closely resemble a chess game, and one misplay can literally cost you the match.
Unfortunately, this is also the strategy employed to take out 2 of the harder archetypes in the format: Combo and pure Control. GAAIV/Geist of St. Traft control, Sharuum the Hegemon/Scion of the Ur Dragon combo, these are examples of the decks that you are going to want to establish a tempo strategy with. And that goes into 2 separate strategies themselves! With the control decks, your tempo is based on their cards in hand. Do you bait the Counterspell with a Phyrexian Arena, knowing that you can also drop a Skullclamp? Do you attack into open mana with the knowledge they're going to bounce your dude? Do you pull the Path to Exile or the Mana Leak with your Duress? These are all decisions that you have to make based on what you have in hand, your board state, and what you know their deck is capable of.
Then against the combo decks: Your tempo comes through in putting enough pressure on them early that they have to burn resources to answer your threats, while also setting up your boardstate to be able to handle the combo when it goes off. An aggro deck is going to lose vs a combo deck, unless you have the answer in hand or available for when they go off. And preferably you want them to not know you have it available in hand, so that they burn their combo, lose it, and are left with squat.
Mulligans
As a general rule I've found that it's a really bad idea to mulligan with this deck, if it can at all be helped. Obviously this isn't always an ideal world and sometimes it's necessary, but it's generally better to keep cards in hand that you don't quite have the resources in hand to play then to try to mull into a better curve. Obviously this also depends on the deck you're facing. The most important thing is making sure that you always have 2 lands, and that you have at least one of each of a B/G source in hand. T1 or 2 Skully is pretty vital in almost every matchup so that needs to be the priority. After that the lands generally come as needed, so you should try to keep cards in hand if you can.
-Examples-
- This gives you a little accel, Skullbriar T2, a card draw engine, some removal, and an excellent curve. This is about as good as it gets.
Bad hand -
- This is a terrible hand. You don't have a black source, you're only playable threat is T4, and 2/3 lands CIPT. If you're playing vs control you'd probably mull the Arbor, master, grasp, and damnation to try to get something better. If not playing vs control mull everything but a forest, you won't need to pressure of the rootwalla that early.
Keepable hand -
While this doesn't have a T1 accel, and it also doesn't have a straight creature removal in hand I would probably keep this. If you don't draw a land in 2 turns you still have the Tribe Elder to get you there, Jitte allows for some early pressure/control, and Skullbriar is castable T2. This is a decent hand.
Deck History
I started getting interested in the 1v1 scene after having played EDH for about 5 years or so. My local playgroup was getting pretty stagnant, so we all got together to brainstorm some ideas to help fix it. 1v1 was mentioned, so I did a little research and began my foray into French competitive deckbuilding.
This list originally started out as just B/G goodstuff and evolved from there. Most of the card choices that have been made are direct correlations from input on these forums, and the hundreds of matches I've played IRL and online. It went from goodstuff to heavy control to midrange control to it's current incarnation of tempo/aggro. I've also tried an LD version and a swarm version pretty extensively. This is the list that I felt best matches up to the widest variety of other archetypes, and that's what I was looking for.
I love this list, I love playing it, it's just a ton of fun. I'm pretty fiercely competitive and hate to lose, so this list will continue to be tuned to the point that it's as good as I can make it. I've been really happy with it so far
Changelog:
-1
+1
Following some advice with the Rootwalla and Vengevine. Vengevine shoulda been in the whole time, Rootwalla is still testing. Hasn't been bad so far. Jitte shoulda been in from the start, Pendelhaven just makes sense. Profane Command is a really solid 2 for 1 that I'm rarely unhappy to see. Hexmage got a cut because of the Her's Downfall addition, Vines just didn't do too much. Scryb Ranger always wanted to be something else, and Sylvan Safekeeper just wasn't doing much of anything. I've played probably 500 matches now with the deck. Still not happy with it, but it's been doing decently well against a few of the other archetypes.
10/2/2013
-1
+1
Alright, nother round of testing. Pernicious Deed is awesome, but just a little on the slow side, hence the axe. Grave Pact's the same feel, amazing card, and really wins in the longer games, but ... just not quite making it when I need it to. Innocent Blood I hate to cut, but I needed the slot. Diabolic Intent is slow, and ruins my tempo early/midgame. Chainer's Edict's the same idea as innocent, might cut the Assassin for it back, though, we'll see how Guul Draz plays out. Big Game Hunter wasn't ever useful, so he's out, and Lightning Greaves was useful, I just need more power up front and that wasn't doing it.
I've been seeing quite a few Momir Vig, Simic Visionary decks popping up lately, and the list already had trouble with swarm decks, so infest's in. Expedition Map should be in already, I've been having consistent mana issues, and it's also really, really good against the Iname matchup. Creakwood Liege's been an absolute house, glad he's in, he'll go the long haul with this list. Gravecrawler probably shouldn't have been cut, it's back in. Guul Draz Assassin I'm testing, it's just nice to be able to pick off utility dudes. I'm basically considering it Ulvenwald Tracker#2. It's slow to start off though, but it's a one drop which I don't have many of, and it lets me go control early if I feel the match warrants it. Mistcutter Hydra is pretty handy, even against non-U decks. The haste makes it viable, it's basically a Fireball on legs. And I keep getting totally screwed on lands, so another Forest goes in.
So far I've actually been getting some decent results. I decided to go more creature heavy and I think that's working out pretty well. There's just sooo many cards that I can put in this list that I just don't have the slots for, so I'll be testing extensively and posting results here soon.
10/3/2013
-1
+1
Guul Draz was cute, and awesome when it worked, just a little slow. Although, it's about the same speed as Ulvenwald Tracker, and that's still in... I might need to take a look at that. Cabal Coffers was a dead draw 99% of the time, it's out. More removal is always nice, and some people like to play horrible things against me like Emrakul or Ulamog, so the edict is back in. Testing Graveborn Muse again, I hear card draw is good.
Graveborn, Creakwood, mistcutter and Infest have all been really, really solid and I think they'll probably stay in for some time to come.
10/4/2013
-1
- Forest
- Inkmoth Nexus
- Graveborn Muse
+1Inkmoth was taken out a while ago, just didn't get the numbers to quite add up right so that's now fixed. Went down one land, with the cut of Coffers my land seems to have stabilized. The City has been fixing really well, and I'm finally happy with the mana base, it seems to be working out really well. Graveborn was just one of those "never happy to see" cards, it's been back and forth a few times but I think its out for good this time. Praetor's Grasp is there for the combo matchups, it's still in testing. Will post on results later, but I keep getting stomped by some of the combo decks out there so I'd like a response. Also it's really strong against Maelstrom Wanderer, they usually play only a few threats so getting one out and playing it is one less they have to cascade into.
Happy with last nights changes, feels good to have the Edict back in.
10/6/2013
-1
+1
City of Brass has been doing pretty well, and I'm happy with how Praetor's Grasp has been working out, so the earlier changes seem to be coming along pretty well.
Smother was just a little too conditional a lot of the time, so replacing it with Victim of Night seems to make a bit more sense. The Nature's Claim was really nice, but the lifegain actually became relevant a couple of games, and I really needed another LD spell. Between the Viridian Shaman, Putrefy, Filigree Fracture, Krosan Grip, and Maelstrom Pulse I hope I'm covered enough to deal with art/ench, and it wasn't a vital piece all the time, so it's out. Testing Sinkhole, I hate getting it played against me so I figure my opponents are in the same place. I'm just worried it'll be a dead draw late game. I just got hosed by a Maze of Ith[/card} however and Phyrexian Revoker doesn't get lands. I only run the one Wasteland and I'm really leery about running Tectonic Edge because this deck is incredibly color intensive. Testing, testing, it's all in the testing.
10/7/2013
-1
Forest
+1
Ad Nauseam
Was playing a Doran, the Siege Tower deck earlier and got completely shut down both games because of Ad Nauseam. After looking at it, my average cmc is 2.15 so it doesn't seem like a bad include. It's also instant, and uncounterable with Boseju. Testing it out, but the land base has been doing really really well so going to try cutting one for that card. We'll see how it plays out.
10/12/13
-1
+1
So, last weeks' change has been a complete house. I have yet to lose a game where I landed Ad Nauseam. It basically reads "Pay 5 mana, 5 life, draw 7-10 cards at the end of your opponents turn" It's been absurdly good. Even if you hit 3-3 drops in a row it's still totally worth it, it filters you out of land pockets, ... It's just so, so good.
Replacing the Sakura Tribe-Elder for the Lotus Cobra basically allows for a little bit of a faster start, a little less consistency, but more mana available overall for the most part. I've been happy with that change. The 35 lands seems to be working *Crosses fingers* so hopefully that trend will continue. Filigree Fracture, while great and almost always useful was cut for more bodies, which I felt the deck lacked. Hence the Sylvan Safekeeper, it's still in testing but having Skully be untargetable was really, really nice. And Lightning Greaves is back in, it's just one of those cards that I'm never unhappy to see, and that I'm always kind of wishing I had.
Been getting more consistent wins against Maelstrom and Zur lately, and gotten to see a ton of other decks. Match list is still going strong. Iname still hurts really bad, hoping I can squeak out a win there, but overall really happy with the deck.
10/23/2013
+1
-1
I really really like both the edict and the grasp, but they were both a little too situational. The Grasp was really good, just slow, and I think going against combo I have enough answers with the hand destruction/art/ench hate to get the job done faster then they can go off (hopefully >.<) The edict was good, but it was more often than not a "throwaway" spell, mainly used for getting a dork off the field. It's good against Oath decks that get an Emrakul, but the Fleshbag is more easily tutored and recurrable, so it's going to have to hold the fort there.
I just really missed the fracture, and only 2 ways of dealing with enchantments wasn't enough (kgrip and pulse) the cantrip effect also comes into play almost as often as it doesn't, so I'm happy to have it back in. The geist is there to add a little more punch to the aggro side of things, I just wanted a little more speed and that guy does the trick nicely, especially seeing as he comes back to life. It's still testing, but I think it'll stay in.
11/1/2013
+1
Toxic Deluge
-1
Infest
Same cmc, Deluge's a little easier to cast, and it's infinitely more flexible. I think this'll be a welcome change. Changes I made last time are really holding strong, I'm incredible happy with the list so far.
11/11/2013
+1
Curse of Predation
-1
Damnation
I am playing an aggro list, and with the pringint of Toxic Deluge I think I can stand to lose the 'nation. the Curse is still in testing, but I think it'll go pretty well.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics
[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
List record: W=76 L=67
54.5% win ratio
(random junk wins not included)
Animar, Soul of Elements (Combo/Aggro) Current match record: 3-0
Azami, Lady of Scrolls (Combo/control) Current match record: 1-0
Azusa, Lost but Seeking (Tempo/Big Green) Current match record: 2-1
Damia, Sage of Stone (Control/Oath of Druids) Current match record: 0-1
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (Midrange) Current Match Record: 5-5
Doran, the Siege Tower (Midrange Aggro/Tempo) Current match record: 3-4
Erebos, God of the Dead (Control/Stax) Current match record: 1-0
Ezuri, Renegade Leader (Hyper Ramp/Aggro/Combo) Current match record: 1-1
Geist of St. Traft (Tempo/Control) Current match record: 1-3
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV (Control) Current match record: 1-6
Griselbrand (Control) Current match record: 5-1
Horde of Notions (Anything) Current match record 2-2
Iname, Death Aspect (Combo/Control) Current match record: 0-4
Jenara, Asura of War (Midrange Control) Current match record 1-0
Jenara, Asura of War (Enchantress/Oath of Druids/Control) Current match record: 1-0
Kaho, Minamo Historian (And Kami of the Crescent Moon variant) (Control/Combo) Current match record: 3-1
Maelstrom Wanderer (Ramp/goodstuff) Current match record: 6-7
Marath, Will of the Wild (Oath of Druids Planeswalker control/Zoo) Current match record 0-2
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary (Swarm/Elfball Combo) Current match record: 1-2
Olivia Voldaren (Control/Aggro) Current match record: 0-1
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic (Combo/Control) Current match record: 1-1
Oona, Queen of the Fae (Control/Combo) - Current match record: 1-0
Prime Speaker Zegaana (Ramp/U/G goodstuff) Current match record: 0-1
Prosh, Skyraider of Kher (Ramp/aggro/combo) Current match record: 0-6
Purphoros, God of the Forge (Goblin/Aggro/Burn) Current match record: 9-5
Radha, Heir to Keld (Aggro) Current match record: 3-4
Rafiq of the Many (Voltron) Current match record: 5-0
Scion of the Ur Dragon (Combo) Current match record: 0-2
Sharuum, the Hegemon (Combo) Current match record 2-0
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker (Shadowborn Apostle demon aggro/control) Current match record: 2-0
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave (Hyper-Aggro/Swarm) Current match record: 2-0
Sygg, River Cutthroat (Control/Tempo) Current match record: 2-3
Talrand, Sky Summoner (Control) Current match record: 2-0
Thassa, God of the Sea (Control/Merfolk Tempo) Current match record: 2-0
Thraximunder (Control) Current match record: 1-0
Thrun, the Last Troll (Voltron/Control) Current match record: 0-1
Tymaret, the Murder King (Tempo) Current match record: 3-0
Varolz, the Scar-Striped (Disruption/Combo) Current match record: 1-0
Vendilion Clique (Control) Current match record 2-4
Yeva, Nature's Herald (Ramp/big green) Current match record: 1-0
Zur, the Enchanter (Control) Current match record: 2-4
Random Junk (Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Zo-Zu the Punisher, a poorly built Radha, Heir to Keld,The Mimeoplasm, Ruhan of the Fomori, Intet, the Dreamer,Thraximunder, Godo, Bandit Warlord, and Karn, Silver Golem so far) - 9-0
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[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
also check out khymera's varolz list. the creature suite is largely different, but alot of the removal/support cards work well with skulbriar and it has more of a tournament scene display.
also emether's doran list has alot of creatures that are efficient beaters that we can use here.
My Blog - contains my decklists
Uril, The Miststalker
Frankie Peanuts - needs to move to multiplayer.
I think Basking Rootwalla is missing from your build. Works great with survival and liliana
Sexy Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios
EDH
G Isao
Thanks for the reply. I'll check them out.
I ended up cutting the rootwalla because while it is awesome with the discard stuff, in the end it was more often than not a 1/1 vanilla body that didn't end up doing anything. I replaced it with the Big Game Hunter and I've been pretty happy with the switch.I'm slightly bad at this game, even at my best moments^.^. Rootwalla has been a solid include. I wish there was something just a little stronger, but it's been holding it's own
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics
[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Despite appearances, Basking Rootwalla is a ridiculously strong creature.
Either it costs nothing, and you get a free critter and possibly a Vengevine, or it costs one, giving you a turn one that can potentially end the game. Turning it into a 3/3 every turn is a very tasty clock on top of skullbriar.
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
Thanks for taking a look, and for the advice, for sure
I had the Rootwalla in for a while, about 2 weeks. That's about 50 games online, which I think is a decent amount of testing. I just always found myself wishing it was something else whenever I saw it. If I was playing a hyperaggro list I think it would have a slot, but in the games that I've played so far I think that a hyperaggro list doesn't hold it's own against as many different archetypes as there are out there. With the list as is I have a decent matchup against almost everything I face (Still trying to get Maelstrom Wanderer figured out)(Rootwalla's officially in >.<)The thing I'm trying to go for in my list is the ability to play different types of strategy, I guess. Aggro vs the midrange, control vs aggro, and tempo vs combo/control. I can absolutely go for a hyperaggro list and just have balls to the walls threats, but by doing so I lose a fair amount of my utility and the deck falls apart against a dedicated control deck or combo deck, and the other aggro decks (Rafiq/Uril) are just faster, so I lose to them as well. That was the original list that I had, and it just didn't seem to work so well.
I could try the Rootwalla again, I just don't know what I'd cut for it. It seems that I'd be losing wither a vital piece of utility or ramp to put it back in. Is there a card that you see specifically that you think the Rootwalla would be a better fit for the deck?lawl.Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics
[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
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BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
discard basking rootwalla, madness into play and find vengevine. discard vengevine and find gravecrawler. discard gravecrawler and find some creature i need at the moment. cast gravecrawler (assuming skullbriar was in play). vengeveine trigger. instant board again that rebuilds itself to a wrath pretty easily.
My Blog - contains my decklists
Uril, The Miststalker
Frankie Peanuts - needs to move to multiplayer.
Sexy Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios
EDH
G Isao
That is nice, for sure. I have yet to see that many wraths in 1v1, but I did put the rootwalla back in after a fair amount of testing. It works pretty well with the Survival. It's just that with Survival sticking I basically win on the spot, so the Rootwalla's not as necessary. Still testing, it's in as of right now.
Put back in, it shouldn't have been cut to begin with. My fault
Umm.... It's really solid against voltron/hyperaggro lists. Rafiq/Uril/Radha are all a decent matchup because you can play a really strong control game and just eat them on card advantage. They'll hit really hard at first, but with the removal that the deck packs you can sit back and pick off their threats 1 by 1 with your 2 for 1's until they're out of cards, then win through resources. It's a pretty good matchup, from what I've seen.
Sorry it took me so long to get back on here, I've been testing a million different archetypes lately trying to get something to stick. Going to update matches here in a bit. Thanks for the replies!
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and maybe
The Hexmage serves triple purpose, efficient creature, combos with the depths, kills planeswalkers, and is tutorable through Survival. I've gotten the mana issues mostly taken care of, but I think Life could help get past those certain rough spots.
I've already got the Expedition Map and the Demonic Tutor to help me find a piece if I get one in hand, so that helps even it out.
Do y'all think thi sis something that should be added, and if so what should I cut for it?
Thanks for the help.
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It takes up slots and doesn't do anything useful to help you out.
..Not to mention bounce.
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
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BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
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I don't think this is quite a T1 build, especially with these new generals coming out (Severe problems with Prosh, Oloro and Derevi) I do believe, however, that this is a competitive Tier 1.5 deck with a lot of versatility to combat a ton of archetypes. That means that this is a list you could take to a local tournament and do pretty darn well with, probably top 4-8 depending on how big it is and how experienced you are with the deck.
A couple of notes on why I went more of a midrange build: The hyperaggro list that Gaka sent me and that I tested pretty extensively was a really solid list that was a ton of fun to play, and did better than my list against most of the u/x control matchups. That being said, Iname, Momir Vig, Animar, and Ezuri are all swarm decks that are all in T1 and are faster than Skullbriar could ever hope to be. The hyperaggro list has some real staying power with the recurring creatures like Bloodghast, Gravecrawler, Nether Traitor and the cheap general, so that list can go the distance in a lot of matchups. Against more of a midrange list that has plenty of sweepers and bigger creatures I found it falling short, however, and in the swarm matchup I found it just got stomped flat by lists that are just designed to be faster.
So, this took more of a midrange turn, hence the Damnation and Infest. If that isn't the style that you're looking for, or if you believe Skullbriar was made to be a balls-to-the-wall aggro deck than you should take a look at Gaka's thread here. It's a really solid list, and a lot of fun to play.
Another note: I don't necessarily think that this is the end-all be-all Skullbriar list out there. I've played hundreds of matches with this list and I feel it does really, really well, but I'm certainly not perfect. There's a lot of ways to run this build. I feel that this is the best example of a tempo-oriented midrange/aggro list that can be done with this general, and in these colors for that matter, so if you want that type of list in BG this is the place to be.
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I had the hunter in for a little while, and it worked some of the time so I'm glad you're getting some use out of it. And yeah, the Skylasher is a great card.
Oh, Vendilion Clique. I can understand why people don't like playing against that deck, it's ... annoying, to say the least
Thanks again, glad you liked it! Let me know if there's anything else you think should absolutely be in the list.
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Probably going to replace the Infest with the new Toxic Deluge out of Commander 2013, but other than that this seems pretty solid. I am almost tempted by the 2 curses as well. I mean, counters stay on Skullbriar, they only cost 3 and free dudes is pretty good. They'll usually have an inpact as soon as they hit, too, at least I'll get 1 trigger out of them in almost all cases. I just don't know if it would be worth a cut for them. They might get tested, we'll see.
Thanks for the input so far guys, and for the advice on the rootwalla vengevine and the like. I'm hoping to get the paper version finally finished (Still need most fetches, Bayou, Thoughtsieze among some other pricey stuff, but got confidant at least >.<) and take this to a tournament somewhere near, but we'll see what happens.
The list as is is pretty solid, and the win/loss ratio is current as of today, with archetype writeups or just about all of them.
Thanks again.
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Also been getting consistent wins against Maelstrom Wanderer and Derevi, Empyrial Tactician which makes me soo happy. Now on to see if I can get maybe a 50% vs the Big 3 (Zur/GAAIV/Geist)
(P.S. Evergreen, much love, didn't mean to discount your Iname list I just really hate that Blue/x is at all the top slots is all >.<)
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Thanks for the thought though!
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The biggest problem with the card is that it's colorless for almost all purposes. You can't have it in your opener with a mana dork and expect to do well.
Secondly, increasing your general's effective cmc by 1 for one or so counters isn't going to help you win games. If anything it'll neuter the plays you can make.
It's not very good for skullbriar, even if it's seemingly made for it.
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
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[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
**edit -- I forgot to mention Mox Diamond and Chrome Mox. Playing the zomb on T1, you know how good that is.