Now, while today’s blog will be half a deck tech, the Blog itself
will revolve around all aspects of the game including Metagaming, deckbuilding,
Drafting, and more. Furthermore, in an attempt to get with the times, videos
will be posted, sometimes alone or along with an article depending on the
topic. Most of these videos, if not all, will come from the live streams that I
do on Twitch.tv. Considering that I don’t think I’ll have the time to
constantly stream, I might simply do some segments and then recap them in text
form here. With any luck, this might change in the future. Now, on to the subject for today’s
article!
For a week or two now, I’ve been testing a Maze’s End deck that
has surprised me quite a bit. Maze’s End has been on the peripherals (maybe not
even) of competitive play ever since Dragon’s Maze came out. In fact, there were at least a dozen of these decks that gathered 21 points or better in the Block Constructed Pro Tour and got a deck tech with Pro Kenny Oberg (found here).
Having seen that deck tech, a couple of other lists, and the
way the Metagame was shaping up, I felt like it was time to bring out this deck
from the “fringe bin” and give it a go. I scoured the net for viable lists to
draw inspiration from, and found only two worthy of mentioning since both
demonstrate the directions Maze’s End can take. There are two ways you can
build this deck, there’s the “Turbo Fog” build:
Pilot: Joshua Wickenman
Top 4 - MaxPoint Platinum
Top 4 - MaxPoint Platinum
Creatures - 6
2 Saruli Gatekeepers
4 Gatecreeper
Spells - 27
4 Defend the Hearth
4 Druid's Deliverance
4 Fog
4 Riot Control
2 Urban Evolution
3 Divination
3 Detention Sphere
3 Supreme Verdict
2 Saruli Gatekeepers
4 Gatecreeper
Spells - 27
4 Defend the Hearth
4 Druid's Deliverance
4 Fog
4 Riot Control
2 Urban Evolution
3 Divination
3 Detention Sphere
3 Supreme Verdict
Lands - 27
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guildgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
2 Simic Guildgate
2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard -
2 Pithing Needle
1 Saruli Gatekeepers
1 Putrefy
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Crackling Perimeter
2 Negate
2 Golgari Charm
2 Wear/Tear
1 Planar Cleansing
And what can be considered as a Standard update of Öberg’s list:
Pilot: Chris Roy
Top 4 - New Hampshire Standard Event
Creatures - 4
4 Saruli Gatekeepers
Spells - 28
3 Urban Evolution
3 Warleader's Helix
4 Shock
3 Negate
3 Syncopate
4 Mizzium Mortars
3 Far/Away
2 Dreadbore
3 Ratchet Bomb
Lands - 28
2 Island
2 Mountain
2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Simic Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guilgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard -
2 Pithing Needle
4 Centaur Healer
3 Gainsay
3 Wear/Tear
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Crackling Perimeter
Despite the obvious differences, both decks have the same game plan: grind your opponents long enough to win with the Maze's End. For Turbo Fog is, of course, by fogging and playing Supreme Verdicts turn after turn, while the second list will try to one-for-one them by trading spells for creatures and once the Maze's End is searching for lands, each trade becomes two lands a turn and, eventually, victory. In this light, the decks do have the advantages, but one thing Chris Roy's list does better over the Fog list, is that it can actually deal with Planeswalker. Wickenham does have the Detention Spheres that can direct their attention to Planeswalkers if need be, but they aren't always enough. I mean, if you can't kill a 'Walker, no amount of fogging will protect you from a Domri Rade. Once that Rade ultimates, each subsequent creature becomes a threat all by itself--playing Riot Control on just one creature is not very effective, you know.
Same is true when facing an Elspeth, Sun's Champion, she will just clutter the board, then ultimate and every token becomes a 4/4 which are nearly impossible to deal with when you don't have the draw power to constantly have a Fog-effect in your hand. It gets worse if you are facing an Elspeth from a Control deck. You don't really have many spells that they actually want to counter, so they can just keep their Dissolves for your Spheres and protect the Elspeth. Sure you can buy some time with the Verdicts and Fogs, yet if they Ultimate, a well-placed counter on their part is Game Over for you.
Furthermore, Wickenham's list has no real way to recoup any loss of life or way to interact with Stormbreath Dragon. I mean, there's nothing stopping a burn player from dropping you to 6 and drawing any combination of Warleader's Helix, Lightning Strikes, and Shocks to finish you off. Similarly, the Mono Black Devotion deck can just peel a Gray Merchant of Asphodel and drain the remaining points of life. Roy's deck, on the other hand, is packing Helixes (or is it Helixi?) and a full playset of Saruli Gatekeepers. Yes, Wickenham plays two, but drawing them reliably is not a realistic proposition. You will have games where the Saruli never show up, leaving you dead to any kind of topdeck from your opponents. The third Gatekeepers in his sideboard is definitely a step in the right direction. Additionally, Roy has actual removal for creatures in Far/Away, Mizzium Mortars, Dreabores, Ratchet Bombs, a playset of Centaur Healers in the sideboard and six to nine counterspells between the Maindeck and the Sideboard. Thus, Roy's list is pretty much prepared to handle whatever comes his way. Unfortunately, this deck suffers from the lack of draw spells, which Wickenham did well, as he picked up three Divinations to go along with his Evolutions.
Regardless, both have their uses depending on the Metagame at hand. Wickenham is great for when you expect a field full of Aggro decks and not much else; Roy's list, though, is what you will want to pick up if your Metagame is varied. So, taking a page out of the UW Control Handbook, and Roy's deck, I created this list:
Maze's End
Cards - 61
Creatures - 2
2 Saruli Gatekeepers
Spells - 30
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Dreadbore
1 Syncopate
1 Negate
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Quicken
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Devour Flesh
1 Far/Away
2 Last Breath
2 Shock
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Counterflux
3 Detention Sphere
3 Supreme Verdict
4 Divination
Lands - 28
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Simi Guildgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard
1 Last Breath
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Blind Obedience
1 Counterflux
1 Crackling Perimeter
1 Saruli Gatekeepers
1 Pithing Needle
1 Centaur Healer
1 Wear/Tear
1 Far/Away
2 Gainsay
3 Slaughter Games
This is by no means perfect, but it has worked extremely well. I've done quite a bit of tweaking and still feel like the numbers are a little off, and not because there's a billion 1-ofs. Each 1-of has a reason for being and they all work very well together to provide you with such stalling power, enough to break out the Maze's End and win with it. Since this first article has gone long enough, I'll return next week with a full deck breakdown. For now, what little changes I would make, would be to shave off a Slaughter Games for something else. What that is, I'm not sure yet. Although Slaughter Games is fine in most match ups, where it really shines is in the recent UW Control decks that are incredibly threat-light, and against them we already pack three Counterfluxes after 'Board, two Pithing Needles, three Detention Spheres, Wear/Tear, Gainsays, AND the Slaughter Games. This is sufficient to cripple any UW deck. If we go down to two Slaughter Games, then I would give Fade into Antiquity a try in the Sideboard. Apparently, these are very good for dealing with the Gods, since Fade actually exiles them.
Anyway, more on that next week when I bring you the full deck breakdown! Til' next time!
Always affectionately,
Chris
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guildgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
2 Simic Guildgate
2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard -
2 Pithing Needle
1 Saruli Gatekeepers
1 Putrefy
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Crackling Perimeter
2 Negate
2 Golgari Charm
2 Wear/Tear
1 Planar Cleansing
And what can be considered as a Standard update of Öberg’s list:
Pilot: Chris Roy
Top 4 - New Hampshire Standard Event
Creatures - 4
4 Saruli Gatekeepers
Spells - 283 Urban Evolution
3 Warleader's Helix
4 Shock
3 Negate
3 Syncopate
4 Mizzium Mortars
3 Far/Away
2 Dreadbore
3 Ratchet Bomb
Lands - 28
2 Island
2 Mountain
2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Simic Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guilgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard -
2 Pithing Needle
4 Centaur Healer
3 Gainsay
3 Wear/Tear
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Crackling Perimeter
Despite the obvious differences, both decks have the same game plan: grind your opponents long enough to win with the Maze's End. For Turbo Fog is, of course, by fogging and playing Supreme Verdicts turn after turn, while the second list will try to one-for-one them by trading spells for creatures and once the Maze's End is searching for lands, each trade becomes two lands a turn and, eventually, victory. In this light, the decks do have the advantages, but one thing Chris Roy's list does better over the Fog list, is that it can actually deal with Planeswalker. Wickenham does have the Detention Spheres that can direct their attention to Planeswalkers if need be, but they aren't always enough. I mean, if you can't kill a 'Walker, no amount of fogging will protect you from a Domri Rade. Once that Rade ultimates, each subsequent creature becomes a threat all by itself--playing Riot Control on just one creature is not very effective, you know.
Same is true when facing an Elspeth, Sun's Champion, she will just clutter the board, then ultimate and every token becomes a 4/4 which are nearly impossible to deal with when you don't have the draw power to constantly have a Fog-effect in your hand. It gets worse if you are facing an Elspeth from a Control deck. You don't really have many spells that they actually want to counter, so they can just keep their Dissolves for your Spheres and protect the Elspeth. Sure you can buy some time with the Verdicts and Fogs, yet if they Ultimate, a well-placed counter on their part is Game Over for you.
Furthermore, Wickenham's list has no real way to recoup any loss of life or way to interact with Stormbreath Dragon. I mean, there's nothing stopping a burn player from dropping you to 6 and drawing any combination of Warleader's Helix, Lightning Strikes, and Shocks to finish you off. Similarly, the Mono Black Devotion deck can just peel a Gray Merchant of Asphodel and drain the remaining points of life. Roy's deck, on the other hand, is packing Helixes (or is it Helixi?) and a full playset of Saruli Gatekeepers. Yes, Wickenham plays two, but drawing them reliably is not a realistic proposition. You will have games where the Saruli never show up, leaving you dead to any kind of topdeck from your opponents. The third Gatekeepers in his sideboard is definitely a step in the right direction. Additionally, Roy has actual removal for creatures in Far/Away, Mizzium Mortars, Dreabores, Ratchet Bombs, a playset of Centaur Healers in the sideboard and six to nine counterspells between the Maindeck and the Sideboard. Thus, Roy's list is pretty much prepared to handle whatever comes his way. Unfortunately, this deck suffers from the lack of draw spells, which Wickenham did well, as he picked up three Divinations to go along with his Evolutions.
Regardless, both have their uses depending on the Metagame at hand. Wickenham is great for when you expect a field full of Aggro decks and not much else; Roy's list, though, is what you will want to pick up if your Metagame is varied. So, taking a page out of the UW Control Handbook, and Roy's deck, I created this list:
Maze's End
Cards - 61
Creatures - 2
Spells - 30
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Dreadbore
1 Syncopate
1 Negate
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Quicken
1 Warleader's Helix
1 Devour Flesh
1 Far/Away
2 Last Breath
2 Shock
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Counterflux
3 Detention Sphere
3 Supreme Verdict
4 Divination
Lands - 28
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
2 Orzhov Guildgate
2 Azorius Guildgate
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Rakdos Guildgate2 Gruul Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Simi Guildgate
2 Dimir Guildgate
4 Maze's End
Sideboard
1 Last Breath
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Blind Obedience
1 Counterflux
1 Crackling Perimeter
1 Saruli Gatekeepers
1 Pithing Needle
1 Centaur Healer
1 Wear/Tear
1 Far/Away
2 Gainsay
3 Slaughter Games
This is by no means perfect, but it has worked extremely well. I've done quite a bit of tweaking and still feel like the numbers are a little off, and not because there's a billion 1-ofs. Each 1-of has a reason for being and they all work very well together to provide you with such stalling power, enough to break out the Maze's End and win with it. Since this first article has gone long enough, I'll return next week with a full deck breakdown. For now, what little changes I would make, would be to shave off a Slaughter Games for something else. What that is, I'm not sure yet. Although Slaughter Games is fine in most match ups, where it really shines is in the recent UW Control decks that are incredibly threat-light, and against them we already pack three Counterfluxes after 'Board, two Pithing Needles, three Detention Spheres, Wear/Tear, Gainsays, AND the Slaughter Games. This is sufficient to cripple any UW deck. If we go down to two Slaughter Games, then I would give Fade into Antiquity a try in the Sideboard. Apparently, these are very good for dealing with the Gods, since Fade actually exiles them.
Anyway, more on that next week when I bring you the full deck breakdown! Til' next time!
Always affectionately,
Chris
