PPTQ Albuquerque Top 8 Standard Decklists for Manaleak Birmingham & Newsletter!
This weekend, an incredible 58 players made the trip to a somewhat sunny Birmingham to play this new Standard format. The Pro Tour in Nashville is still fresh in peoples’ minds as the battle between Cryptbreaker and Aetherworks Marvel continued. In this event, it was Liliana’s horde of zombies that would prove triumphant as both 1st and 2nd place were taken by Black/White variants of the deck (which mostly splash white for sideboard cards and Wayward Servant). Although there were a total of 12 copies of Aetherworks Marvel in the Top 8, they were all taken out by the Zombie hordes.
Taking first place was Archie Owen, who opted to still run Relentless Dead in his version of Zombies. Most players run Binding Mummy as their extra 2-drop (after Wayward Servant), because whilst Relentless Dead is a much more powerful card, Binding Mummy is far easier to cast in a 2-colour deck. That didn’t stop Archie though, who played an extra 2 Swamps in his land base to compensate for the double-black creature and took his build all the way to the top.
Three players made the Top 8 with Aetherworks Marvel as their weapon of choice, including Team Axion member Henry Channing and local hero Robert Whitehouse. Marvel can be a very temperamental deck, as you are essentially trying to win by hitting an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger in your top 6 cards when you play your first copy of Aetherworks Marvel. However the deck has proven itself to be far more resilient than some of the pre-Amonkhet versions, running a lot more control elements and having access to plenty of ways to win the game without using Ulamog.
Rounding out the Top 8 were copies of Blue/Red Control, Black/Green Energy and Blue/White Flash, 3 decks that could not be more different from each other if they tried. Control proves that Torrential Gearhulk is definitely still a force to be reckoned with, whilst Blue/White Flash goes to prove that you can ban all the Reflector Mages you like, but playing a midrange deck without needing to cast anything on your own turn is still a powerful strategy. Black/Green Energy made the Top 8 of the Pro Tour, despite not being on many peoples’ radars having gained virtually nothing from the release of Amonkhet. However, Bone Picker has been the biggest surprise of all. Supposedly only 4 copies were registered in total, out of all of the constructed decks in the Pro Tour and all 4 of them were in the same deck, that made it all the way to Top 4. Bone Picker is essentially a 1-mana 3/2 with flying, which anyone who’s played with Delver of Secrets will know is a pretty good rate to be getting. And all you have to do to get it is to trade off a creature in combat or cast a removal spell, things that your deck is trying to do anyway. This could certainly be the way we see Black/Green decks continue to be built for quite some time.
Without any further ado, here are your Top 8 decklists. There’s also 1 extra deck at the bottom for you to take a look at which plays a few cards that haven’t been seen in Standard for quite some time.
WINNER – Archie Owen, Orzhov Zombies
| Creatures: (22) 4 Crypt Breaker 4 Diregraf Colossus 4 Dread Wanderer 4 Lord of the Accursed 2 Relentless Dead 4 Wayward Servant Spells: (14) 2 Anguished Unmaking 4 Dark Salvation 4 Fatal Push 4 Liliana’s Mastery | Lands: (24) 4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Shambling Vent 4 Plains 12 Swamp Sideboard: (15) 1 Anguished Unmaking 2 Declaration in Stone 1 Dispossess 3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar 1 Liliana, the Last Hope 4 Scrapheap Scrounger 3 Transgress the Mind |
RUNNER UP – Matthew Foulkes, Orzhov Zombies
| Creatures: (22) 2 Binding Mummy 4 Crypt Breaker 4 Diregraf Colossus 4 Dread Wanderer 4 Lord of the Accursed 4 Wayward Servant Spells: (14) 2 Anguished Unmaking 4 Dark Salvation 4 Fatal Push 4 Liliana’s Mastery | Lands: (24) 4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Shambling Vent 6 Plains 10 Swamp Sideboard: (15) 1 Anguished Unmaking 2 Declaration in Stone 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar 3 Scrapheap Scrounger 1 Selfless Spirit 4 Transgress the Mind |
Top 4 – Dylan Summers, Azorius Flash
| Creatures: (20) 4 Archangel Avacyn 4 Rattlechains 4 Selfless Spirit 4 Spell queller 4 Thraben Inspector Planeswalkers: (4) 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Spells: (12) 4 Cast Out 4 Censor 2 Disallow 2 Stasis Snare | Lands: (24) 4 Irrigated Farmland 4 Port Town 3 Prairie Stream 1 Westvale Abbey 6 Island 6 Plains Sideboard: (15) 1 Bruna, the Fading Light 4 Declaration in Stone 2 Dispel 2 Fumigate 2 Gisela, the Broken Blade 2 Fumigate 2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets |
Top 4 – Steven Setterfield, Temur Marvel
| Creatures: (12) 4 Rogue Refiner 4 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger 4 Whirler Virtuoso Planeswalkers: (3) 3 Chandra, Flamecaller Spells: (23) 4 Aetherworks Marvel 4 Attune with Aether 4 Censor 1 Dissenter’s Deliverence 2 Glimmer of Genius 4 Harnessed Lightning 4 Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot | Lands: (22) 4 Aether Hub 4 Botanical Sanctum 1 Game Trail 1 Lumbering Falls 1 Sheltered Thicket 4 Spirebluff Canal 5 Forest 1 Island 1 Mountain Sideboard: (15) 2 Appetite for the Unnatural 1 Confiscation Coup 1 Dispel 4 Negate 2 Sphinx of the Final Word 3 Sweltering Suns 2 Tireless Tracker |
Top 8 – Henry Channing, Temur Marvel
| Creatures: (10) 4 Rogue Refiner 4 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger 2 Whirler Virtuoso Planeswalkers: (2) 2 Chandra, Flamecaller Spells: (26) 4 Aetherworks Marvel 4 Attune with Aether 3 Censor 2 Dissenter’s Deliverence 4 Glimmer of Genius 4 Harnessed Lightning 1 Sweltering Suns 4 Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot | Lands: (22) 4 Aether Hub 4 Botanical Sanctum 2 Lumbering Falls 1 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods 4 Spirebluff Canal 5 Forest 1 Island 1 Mountain Sideboard: (15) 1 Ceremonious Rejection 2 Confiscation Coup 2 Dispel 1 Manglehorn 3 Negate 2 Sweltering Suns 4 Tireless Tracker |
Top 8 – Tommy Hayward, Izzet Control
| Creatures: (4) 4 Torrential Gearhulk Spells: (30) 1 Anticipate 4 Censor 4 Disallow 2 Essence Scatter 4 Glimmer of Genius 4 Harnessed Lightning 4 Magma Spray 3 Negate 2 Pull from Tomorrow 2 Sweltering Suns | Lands: (26) 4 Aether Hub 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Wandering Fumarole 9 Island 5 Mountain Sideboard: (15) 1 Chandra, Flamecaller 1 Dispel 3 Dragonmaster Outcast 1 Essence Scatter 2 Glorybringer 1 Negate 2 Sweltering Suns 3 Thing in the Ice 1 Void Shatter |
Top 8 – Rob Whitehouse, Temur Marvel
| Creatures: (11) 4 Rogue Refiner 1 Torrential Gearhulk 3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger 3 Whirler Virtuoso Planeswalkers: (2) 2 Chandra, Flamecaller Spells: (25) 4 Aetherworks Marvel 4 Attune with Aether 3 Censor 1 Dissenter’s Deliverence 4 Glimmer of Genius 4 Harnessed Lightning 1 Negate 4 Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot | Lands: (22) 4 Aether Hub 2 Botanical Sanctum 1 Game Trail 2 Lumbering Falls 1 Sheltered Thicket 4 Spirebluff Canal 5 Forest 1 Island 2 Mountain Sideboard: (15) 1 Chandra, Flamecaller 2 Confiscation Coup 1 Dispel 2 Manglehorn 3 Negate 2 Radiant Flames 3 Tireless Tracker 1 Torrential Gearhulk |
Top 8 – Jethro Sutherland, Golgari Energy
Our bonus decklist today comes to you from local legend Freddie Barber. Freddie has Top 8ed many of our events and if you’ve come to our events in person, you will probably have met him. Freddie is a big fan of linear aggro strategies and especially Black/Red ones, so he chose to bring a Black/Red Eldrazi deck to our event that he’s been fine tuning for quite some time. Starting out with the triple-threat of Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher, this deck backs up this powerful curve with some of the most potent cards in the format: Scrapheap Scrounger and Unlicensed Disintegration. The mana base is great right now, whilst we don’t have the pain lands that rotated with Magic Origins anymore, we do have Aether Hub and Spire of Industry, both incredible cards that can fix both colours AND your colourless mana at the same time. Overall, I like the look of this deck and if you’re looking for something a little bit different from what you usually see, this might be a good deck for you to try out at your next FNM!
9th Place – Freddie Barber, Rakdos Eldrazi
| Creatures: (22) 4 Matter Reshaper 2 Pia Nalaar 4 Reality Smasher 4 Scrapheap Scrounger 4 Thought-Knot Seer 4 Walking Ballista Planeswalkers: (2) 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance Spells: (11) 1 Cultivator’s Caravan 2 Cut /// Ribbons 4 Heart of Kiran 4 Unlicensed Disintegration | Lands: (25) 4 Aether Hub 1 Blighted Fen 4 Foreboding Ruins 1 Sea Gate Wreckage 4 Smoldering Marsh 4 Spire of Industry 1 Westvale Abbey 2 Mountain 4 Swamp Sideboard: (15) 2 Fatal Push 1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet 2 Magma Spray 1 Ob Nixilis Reignited 2 Olivia, Mobilized for War 1 Release the Gremlins 2 Transgress the Mind 2 Yahenni’s Expertise |
Manaleak.com Newsletter – CommanderCon! 2017 is this weekend!
Hi everyone!
Big Preorders on the way!
We have a few big products on the horizon for you to preorder! Archenemy: Nicol Bolas features 3 purpose built decks fronted by 3 planeswalkers (Gideon Jura, Chandra, Pyromaster and Nissa, Worldwaker) facing off against the evil dragon planeswalker Nicol Bolas! As we prepare to visit Hour of Devastation in July, take on the might of Bolas early in this special edition product! Preorder yours now for just £47.99!
For Commander fans, Commander Anthology brings back 4 of the most popular commander decks from the first 4 years of Commander precon releases, featuring the following:
Heavenly Inferno (Kaalia of the Vast)
Evasive Maneuvers (Derevi, Empyrial Tactician)
Guided By Nature (Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury)
Plunder the Graves (Meren of Clan Nel-Toth)
These are in VERY limited supply, so get yours secured now!
CommanderCon!
This weekend, we are playing host to a full weekend of Commander action which we are calling CommanderCon! We have a wide range of different events on, celebrating the world of Commander! If you have any interest in this format, you won’t want to miss out! This week, we will also be adding a few more events to the schedule to add to what we have already announced. All the information you need can be found at the link below. Trust me, you won’t want to miss out on this!
To preregister or if you are interested in taking part, then simply click “Going” on our Facebook event here: CommanderCon! MTG Weekender at Manaleak.com Birmingham!
Our PPTQ for Albuquerque!
This past weekend, we hosted the next of our PPTQs, this time for the Pro Tour Ixalan season. 58 people turned out, making it the largest so far in the country. If it stays the largest, that will be 2 seasons running that we’ve held that record, so we’ll have to make it a hat trick with the next one in August!
The overall winner was Archie Owen, playing Black/White Zombies, playing his way through a Top 8 full of Zombies, Aetherworks Marvel, Torrential Gearhulks, Bone Pickers and Archangel Avacyns. If you would like to take part in one of our PPTQs, our next one will be held on Sunday 6th August and will be Modern. We have not published the final details just yet, but be sure to keep an eye out for them in the very near future!
Andrew Quinn
