Playing Around with Morphs and PPTQ Orange Report
My first pick of my first draft ever was Secret Plans
No kidding. When I first read about morph during my research about drafting for beginner, I was so into the morph mechanic. The idea that you can uphold information while still presenting a threat to your opponent is so awesome to me. Most importantly, it reminds me what I love about Yugioh when I first played it.
So when Patrick Chapin made a statement that he was preparing a morph deck to play on Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir and said it can takeover the tournament, I immediately took interest. Here is the list I made based on Chapin’s list:
Unlike the Abzan Megamorph or Bant Megamorph that’s running rampant today, this deck is not just some established deck that puts a full playset of Deathmist Raptor and Den Protector into the mix. This is really a deck that fully exploits morph ability by gaining bonus in terms of card advantage (with Secret Plans), mana discount (Obscuring AEther), and mana fixing plus additional pump (Trail of Mystery).
The deck played a very fast tempo game by being able to put 3 vanilla 2/2 on turn 3 then start flip-flopping creatures to gain bonus. Every Megamorph Cycle from DTK is guaranteed +1 and Stratus Dancer can 2 for 1 your opponents. Add it with Secret Plans and you can get 3 for 1 just by flipping a morph.
However, things get exciting as the game goes long since your morph will be getting cheaper and cheaper as you draw more Obscuring AEther, up to the point that you can play the morph for free. At this point, you can even cast a Rattleclaw Mystic for free (if you have 2 Obscuring AEther ) or even netting mana (if you have 3 Obscuring AEther). Combine it with Secret Plans, then you can draw card for free.
When you get the right card, this deck is going to be a super fast deck able to overwhelm any opponent by drawing 15+ cards and putting 10+ permanents onto the field. But when you don’t get the right hand, the deck can play as a super grindy deck with the help of Deathmist + DenPro combination.
The control matchup with this deck is very favorable as most of your creature still give values even if being destroyed, or you can even wreck them by flipping Stratus Dancer. The deck is also resilient to mass removal as morph don’t have name which means Bile Blight can only kill one of them and even if you get Drown in Sorrowed or Crux of Fate, Obscuring AEther can turn into creature and continue the aggresion. I have won some game where the opponent wiped up my field, leaving my 2 Obscuring AEther, with only 4 life less.
However, the decklist I posted above is not perfect since there are a lot of card that supposed to be there but I can’t use because of availability issues. For instance, the deck should have 4x Yavimaya Coast and 1x Shivan Reef but I honestly don’t want to buy an M15 single since it will rotate soon and I failed to find someone who want to lend it to me. Next is the sideboard, you see that it’s a mess. There is really no place for Reality Shift in the current standard, it only cause trouble. The card should have been Plummet or another Encase in Ice to fight R/G Dragons and I should have Hornet Nest to fight Red Aggro.
So far, I have only tested the deck on a PPTQ in Orange which gave me my first Top 8 in a Standard Tournament. Total participant of the tournament was 19 and the matchup went like this:
2-1 vs B/W Warriors
0-2 vs Bant Megamorph
1-2 vs Esper Control
2-0 vs Sultai Whip
2-0 vs U/B Control
Top 8
0-2 vs Temur Devotion (Wira Kirros)
Against B/W Warrior, the matchup was in my favor, except in game 2 where he curved out while I went mana screw. Against Sultai Whip, most of his creatures had only 4 power and I managed to flip-flop the Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor with a Trail of Mystery on my side, making the DenPro an unblockable 5/4. Against U/B Control, all of his spell were easily countered by Stratus Dancer and Negate from the sideboard.
The first lost in the tournament came from Bant Megamorph matchup. The early game went crazy in my favor, by flipping Ire Shaman and Stratus Dancer to counter his Dromoka Command, making me able to drop his life as low as 6. However, things started to change once he resolved Mastery of the Unseen and start gaining life. Then, it goes out of control when he manifested a Dragonlord Ojutai. With no removal in the main, I lost just like that.
On the second game, things went like in the first game with me playing aggresively and dropping his life down to 6 yet again. However, things were different since I have prepared a face down Ainok Survivalist to destroy his Mastery if it is ever resolve and 2 Negates in my hand to counter his Command. But I realized I was making a wrong decision when he played the Mastery, followed up by morphing a creature which I responded by flipping the Ainok to target Mastery, only to be responded by his other morph.
The Mastery is indeed destroyed, but he still gained the life. After that, things went on his favor by him casting Surrak, backed up with megamorphed Stratus Dancer which blocked my Aerial attacks and I just lost like that. When the game was finished, Wildan told me that I should have Negated the Mastery, not letting it resolve and I felt like the stupidest person on earth for just realizing that unlike Dancer, Negate can counter an Enchantment. In short, the matchup was OK and I can have a more favorable position if only I made the right play.
The second lost came from Esper Control and it was mostly caused by me not having Yavimaya Coast. The first game when easily in my favor as my opponent struggle to keep up with the tempo of my morph after a turn 1 Obscuring AEther play which ended up by him casting a Crux of Fate only to beaten down by an Obscuring AEther in the next turn. The second game, trouble came as I draw 2 Negate, 1 Disdainful Stroke, 1 Rattleclaw, and 3 Forests. To the surprise of noone, the Rattleclaw was destroyed and I was short of Blue sources. One of those 3 Forests should have been a Yavimaya Coast (which I didn’t have on the D-Day since I can’t find a copy) and I won’t lose just because of a mana screw.
The third game went horrible after a supposedly good game just because of a simple mistake. I had a Kiora face up on the field backed up with Negate and Disdainful Stroke where my opponent only has 3 mana. I should have just +1 my Kiora and ultimate it three turns later, protecting her from Downfall with my 2 counter spell. Instead I -1 the Kiora and draw a card. That was one mistake.
The one-of Sagu Mauler is being removed because you are already good against control and midrange and the Hexproof Trampler is going to be too late to fight Red Aggro and can't reach the Dragons in the sky. Secret Plans is reduced to only 2, because having 1 is usually already enough and if you have 3 Secret Plans you usually already winning.
No kidding. When I first read about morph during my research about drafting for beginner, I was so into the morph mechanic. The idea that you can uphold information while still presenting a threat to your opponent is so awesome to me. Most importantly, it reminds me what I love about Yugioh when I first played it.
So when Patrick Chapin made a statement that he was preparing a morph deck to play on Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir and said it can takeover the tournament, I immediately took interest. Here is the list I made based on Chapin’s list:
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Creature (26)
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Den Protector
4x Stratus Dancer
4x Ire Shaman
4x Den Protector
1x Ainok Survivalist
1x Sagu Mauler
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Land (22)
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Swiftwater Cliffs
3x Frontier Bivouac
9x Forest
3x Island
2x Mountain
|
|
Spell (12)
4x Obscuring AEther
4x Secret Plans
2x Trail of Mystery
2x Commune with the Gods
|
Sideboard (15)
1x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2x Disdainful Stroke
2x Negate
2x Windstorm
1x Ainok Survivalist
1x Encase in Ice
2x Reality Shift
1x Roast
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The deck played a very fast tempo game by being able to put 3 vanilla 2/2 on turn 3 then start flip-flopping creatures to gain bonus. Every Megamorph Cycle from DTK is guaranteed +1 and Stratus Dancer can 2 for 1 your opponents. Add it with Secret Plans and you can get 3 for 1 just by flipping a morph.
However, things get exciting as the game goes long since your morph will be getting cheaper and cheaper as you draw more Obscuring AEther, up to the point that you can play the morph for free. At this point, you can even cast a Rattleclaw Mystic for free (if you have 2 Obscuring AEther ) or even netting mana (if you have 3 Obscuring AEther). Combine it with Secret Plans, then you can draw card for free.
When you get the right card, this deck is going to be a super fast deck able to overwhelm any opponent by drawing 15+ cards and putting 10+ permanents onto the field. But when you don’t get the right hand, the deck can play as a super grindy deck with the help of Deathmist + DenPro combination.
The control matchup with this deck is very favorable as most of your creature still give values even if being destroyed, or you can even wreck them by flipping Stratus Dancer. The deck is also resilient to mass removal as morph don’t have name which means Bile Blight can only kill one of them and even if you get Drown in Sorrowed or Crux of Fate, Obscuring AEther can turn into creature and continue the aggresion. I have won some game where the opponent wiped up my field, leaving my 2 Obscuring AEther, with only 4 life less.
However, the decklist I posted above is not perfect since there are a lot of card that supposed to be there but I can’t use because of availability issues. For instance, the deck should have 4x Yavimaya Coast and 1x Shivan Reef but I honestly don’t want to buy an M15 single since it will rotate soon and I failed to find someone who want to lend it to me. Next is the sideboard, you see that it’s a mess. There is really no place for Reality Shift in the current standard, it only cause trouble. The card should have been Plummet or another Encase in Ice to fight R/G Dragons and I should have Hornet Nest to fight Red Aggro.
So far, I have only tested the deck on a PPTQ in Orange which gave me my first Top 8 in a Standard Tournament. Total participant of the tournament was 19 and the matchup went like this:
2-1 vs B/W Warriors
0-2 vs Bant Megamorph
1-2 vs Esper Control
2-0 vs Sultai Whip
2-0 vs U/B Control
Top 8
0-2 vs Temur Devotion (Wira Kirros)
Against B/W Warrior, the matchup was in my favor, except in game 2 where he curved out while I went mana screw. Against Sultai Whip, most of his creatures had only 4 power and I managed to flip-flop the Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor with a Trail of Mystery on my side, making the DenPro an unblockable 5/4. Against U/B Control, all of his spell were easily countered by Stratus Dancer and Negate from the sideboard.
The first lost in the tournament came from Bant Megamorph matchup. The early game went crazy in my favor, by flipping Ire Shaman and Stratus Dancer to counter his Dromoka Command, making me able to drop his life as low as 6. However, things started to change once he resolved Mastery of the Unseen and start gaining life. Then, it goes out of control when he manifested a Dragonlord Ojutai. With no removal in the main, I lost just like that.
On the second game, things went like in the first game with me playing aggresively and dropping his life down to 6 yet again. However, things were different since I have prepared a face down Ainok Survivalist to destroy his Mastery if it is ever resolve and 2 Negates in my hand to counter his Command. But I realized I was making a wrong decision when he played the Mastery, followed up by morphing a creature which I responded by flipping the Ainok to target Mastery, only to be responded by his other morph.
The Mastery is indeed destroyed, but he still gained the life. After that, things went on his favor by him casting Surrak, backed up with megamorphed Stratus Dancer which blocked my Aerial attacks and I just lost like that. When the game was finished, Wildan told me that I should have Negated the Mastery, not letting it resolve and I felt like the stupidest person on earth for just realizing that unlike Dancer, Negate can counter an Enchantment. In short, the matchup was OK and I can have a more favorable position if only I made the right play.
The second lost came from Esper Control and it was mostly caused by me not having Yavimaya Coast. The first game when easily in my favor as my opponent struggle to keep up with the tempo of my morph after a turn 1 Obscuring AEther play which ended up by him casting a Crux of Fate only to beaten down by an Obscuring AEther in the next turn. The second game, trouble came as I draw 2 Negate, 1 Disdainful Stroke, 1 Rattleclaw, and 3 Forests. To the surprise of noone, the Rattleclaw was destroyed and I was short of Blue sources. One of those 3 Forests should have been a Yavimaya Coast (which I didn’t have on the D-Day since I can’t find a copy) and I won’t lose just because of a mana screw.
The third game went horrible after a supposedly good game just because of a simple mistake. I had a Kiora face up on the field backed up with Negate and Disdainful Stroke where my opponent only has 3 mana. I should have just +1 my Kiora and ultimate it three turns later, protecting her from Downfall with my 2 counter spell. Instead I -1 the Kiora and draw a card. That was one mistake.
But the dumbest thing came in turn 5 when he casted Dragonlord Ojutai. Normal people will play the Disdainful Stroke without thinking, but I think deeper and I reached a conclusion that it’d be better if I just let it resolve, making it harmless with Kiora’s +1 ability, and safe the Disdainful Stroke for Dragonlord Silumgar which will steal my Kiora. Once again, I felt like the stupidest person on earth when I realized that Ojutai has Hexproof if untapped. I should’ve known that, but I chose to forgot. Good lord. Things are going horrible after that.
Last loss came in Top 8 when I had to fight against Wira who used Temur Devotion deck. It turns out that Devotion deck is the bane of this deck. Most of my creatures were 3/2 and most of them can’t fly. Removal main? No. Able to block biggies? No. F**ked up when facing Dragonlord Atarka on turn 5? Yes. That summarize my whole matchup with Wira. This deck is just not suited to fight a devotion deck who can play big creatures as early as turn 5.
My conclusion so far is that the deck is really good against control and grindy midrange matchup. I haven’t played against the red decks in the tournament (which is good since I didn’t have the best sideboard for the matchup), so I can’t say much. I liked Trail of Mystery more than I thought I would since it makes all of my creature a faster clock and its mana fixing ability is not to be underestimated. Commune with the Gods is dissapointing, though, because I’d rather play a mana creature or morph on turn 2 rather than filling up my graveyard and in the late game I usually already winning or fallen behind which in either case, won’t be helped at all by the Commune.
I’m considering to splash for white to add Mastery of the Unseen and Hidden Dragonslayer to have a better chance against Devotion deck. However, I don’t really want to cut red since one mana morph Ire Shaman that gains card advantage and can play aggresively is just so good in this deck. Playing 4-Color is not impossible, though, but the mana needs to be worked out a little more and I will really need a Yavimaya Coast this time.
Last loss came in Top 8 when I had to fight against Wira who used Temur Devotion deck. It turns out that Devotion deck is the bane of this deck. Most of my creatures were 3/2 and most of them can’t fly. Removal main? No. Able to block biggies? No. F**ked up when facing Dragonlord Atarka on turn 5? Yes. That summarize my whole matchup with Wira. This deck is just not suited to fight a devotion deck who can play big creatures as early as turn 5.
My conclusion so far is that the deck is really good against control and grindy midrange matchup. I haven’t played against the red decks in the tournament (which is good since I didn’t have the best sideboard for the matchup), so I can’t say much. I liked Trail of Mystery more than I thought I would since it makes all of my creature a faster clock and its mana fixing ability is not to be underestimated. Commune with the Gods is dissapointing, though, because I’d rather play a mana creature or morph on turn 2 rather than filling up my graveyard and in the late game I usually already winning or fallen behind which in either case, won’t be helped at all by the Commune.
I’m considering to splash for white to add Mastery of the Unseen and Hidden Dragonslayer to have a better chance against Devotion deck. However, I don’t really want to cut red since one mana morph Ire Shaman that gains card advantage and can play aggresively is just so good in this deck. Playing 4-Color is not impossible, though, but the mana needs to be worked out a little more and I will really need a Yavimaya Coast this time.
This is the list that I've come up with for 4-Colored Morphs:
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Creature (28)
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Den Protector
4x Stratus Dancer
4x Ire Shaman
4x Den Protector
4x Hidden Dragonslayer
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Land (22)
3x Wooded Foothills
1x Flooded Strand
1x Windswept Heath
1x Mystic Monastery
3x Frontier Bivouac
4x Yavimaya Coast
4x Forest
2x Island
2x Plains
1x Mountain
|
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Spell (10)
4x Obscuring AEther
2x Secret Plans
2x Trail of Mystery
2x Mastery of the Unseen
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Sideboard (15)
1x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2x Disdainful Stroke
2x Negate
2x Windstorm
2x Ainok Survivalist
2x Encase in Ice
2x Plummet
2x Surge of Righteousness
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The one-of Sagu Mauler is being removed because you are already good against control and midrange and the Hexproof Trampler is going to be too late to fight Red Aggro and can't reach the Dragons in the sky. Secret Plans is reduced to only 2, because having 1 is usually already enough and if you have 3 Secret Plans you usually already winning.
Mastery of the Unseen added the survivability of the deck. Before, you can draw any card you want but you will still facing a threat from a burn spell and flier in the next turn if you have too low of a life. The addition of Mastery guarantees that you'll have that next turn after flip-flopping your creature. Hidden Dragonslayer I believe is good since it is one of the uncounterable method to destroy Dragonlord Ojutai, Siege Rhino, and even Dragonlord Atarka.
The manabase looked clunky but it can work. The beauty of morph mechanic is that you can spend colorless mana to put your creatures on the battlefield and then wait for the color you need to activating the creature's ability. This way, I won't need to play Mana Confluence even in a 4-colored deck.
I also have an idea to put Salt Road Ambusher. I loved to think of it as a 4 mana enchantment that permanently pumped your creatures, unlike Trail of Mystery. However, 4 mana is still too much and I will need Trail of Mystery's mana fixing even more in a 4-colored deck.
I also have an idea to put Salt Road Ambusher. I loved to think of it as a 4 mana enchantment that permanently pumped your creatures, unlike Trail of Mystery. However, 4 mana is still too much and I will need Trail of Mystery's mana fixing even more in a 4-colored deck.
In the end, more testing will be absolutely needed and I really love to play with my new toy. What makes it better is that most, if not all, of the card in the deck comes from Khans block which means that I can still play the deck for the next 18 months (or 16? I'm not really sure with the new rotation schedule).
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