Fat Scales, MonoBrown and Killer Panda
Hello everyone. I’m away on holiday (yet again), but I took the time to write the article before, so that I won’t inconvenience Alex or any of you with the delay. This fortnight I’ll be bringing my promised showdown between the two uber-fatties of our time, present to you the results of an FNM riding an artifact deck in anticipation of Scars of Mirrodin and also cover an ingenious homebrew deck with huge potential. Let’s hit it.
Well, it’s time for the showdown I’ve promised you all. Two articles ago I talked about fatties, those iconic cards that get Timmy players all tingly. I was discussing that there are two formidable fatties in Standard, namely Progenitus and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. If you stare at these two cards long enough, you’ll notice that they are fundamentally different: the former being all colors, with few keywords; the latter is colorless, with many keywords; and so on. But which one is the fattest fatty? It’s that time again. Enter the CULLING SCALES!!!
++++ protection from everything (this is so awesome, I can’t even emphasize it enough; let’s break it down, shall we:)
+ all Damage dealt to it is prevented (so a suicidal Bloodfire Dwarf with a Basilisk Collar on it won’t kill it, and it can safely block any kind of threat)
+ can’t be Enchanted or equipped (sucks to be you, Zur the Enchanter)
+ can’t be Blocked (yes, that pretty much exempts the need for trample)
+ can’t be Targeted be spells or abilities (even Visara, the Dreadful bows down before this guy)
+/- is all colors (it’s a plus since you can put it into play with Dramatic Entrance, it’s a minus since you null it by, say, Circle of Protection: Blue)
- it is shuffled into your library instead of going to your graveyard (though this is good in a Polymorph deck, it basically means you can’t reanimate it)
- demanding mana cost (no comments here)
- can’t deal with the board (it’s the same problem Iona, Shield of Emeria has: even if you’re guaranteed to win in 2 turns, if your opponent already has a hoard of elves on the table, you’re pretty much dead)
+ colorless (this makes it immune to Story Circle and Iona, Shield of Emeria, this also means that you can cast it with Urzatron, Temple of the False God, Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin)
+ uber-haste (if you hard-cast the guy, you have an extra turn to bash your opponent’s face, without them being able to respond… IF you can hard-cast the guy)
+ can’t be countered (this is probably the strongest ability this guy has over the other candidate, indeed, Progenitus is all too weak against Essence Scatter)
+ annihilator 6 (this pretty much makes it a board sweeper, in certain aspects; suddenly that hoard of elves doesn’t look as menacing)
+/- shuffle your entire graveyard into your library when this goes into your graveyard (this is a plus, since it utterly kills milling decks, and it gives you the possiblity to reanimate it at instant speed with Betrayal of Flesh or Makeshift Mannequin, but it is also a minus, since it becomes vulnerable to Ravenous Trap and Relic of Progenitus)
- huge converted mana cost
- can be targeted by abilities from any source (which means that a measly Blinding Mage can keep this guy on the bench; as well as a Jace, the Mind Sculptor ruining a Polymorph deck by bouncing it into one’s hand)
- can be damaged (I once had to block a 32/32 Chameleon Colossus to survive, and my proud Eldrazi god died)
And the winner is: …no one, i guess.
It depends a lot on your local meta-game. If you have a lot of creatures with potentially dangerous targeted abilities, then Progenitus is probably a better choice. If you’re playing a control deck and 15 mana becomes a routine in the long-run, I suggest you side in an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. It really comes down to one’s own tastes. That being said, my personal favourite is still the Legendary Hydra Avatar.
Now, let’s talk about my last FNM experience. Inspired by Perry’s article and my eagerness for the upcoming set, I piloted an artifact deck at last week’s FNM. I removed the large Eldrazi spells as well as most of the accelerators (Dreamstone Hedron and Voltaic Key) and opted for a more streamlined, artifact creature centred creation, to make better use of Steel Overseer. I won’t give you a decklist, because the outcome was horrible. I went 2-2-0, with one of those wins being a bye. I was totally disappointed. My concoction was a mid-range deck, and I believe a ramp variant, like that of Perry’s, or a very aggressive Esper breed, using Esper Stormblade, Sanctum Gargoyle and other efficient creatures are better alternatives. I got KO’d by a GW Overrun deck, much like the ones I used to play around with in my older articles, except this one ran white to make use of Conqueror’s Pledge and Transcendent Master: a very nice idea I hadn’t thought of. I managed to kick the ass of a UW Control deck, which was very satisfying, especially after laying down 2 Lodestone Golems. The last match I lost was against a homebrew WB Control deck, piloted by Marius. I was astonished by the effectiveness of this deck. It seemed extremely versatile and I think that it can make a stand in more professional meta-games. I give you, Killer Panda:
Killer Panda, by Marius Burzo
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I think this deck is superb. I’ve always thought that white and black were the most powerful colors in Standard (before M11), but I never managed to put all the pieces together. I’ve only seen it in action once, and I was completely dominating the game, got him down to 3 life, then he played Sign in Blood, went down to 1, and from there he got up again, bashing my face relentlessly. It’s a deck which completely dominates UW Control and RDW. I know Marius hasn’t gotten around to playing against Naya or D-Force, but from the looks of it, it’s a strong candidate.
If you’re interested, I’ll have a talk with Marius and give you some specific deck-techs, as well as some match breakdowns, perhaps. Also, if you have any ideas on improving the deck, feel free to leave comments, and I’ll be sure to pass them on to Marius. Hope you liked this article. All your comments and suggestions are welcome. Until next time, don’t forget to put a little Standard in the Mix!
Tags: artifact, eldrazi, emrakul, progenitus, standard, Standard in the Mix
RT @DeckConstruct: [New From DC] Standard in the Mix: Fat Scales, MonoBrown and Killer Panda – http://www.deckconstruct.com/articles/st… #mtg
+ can’t be countered (this is probably the strongest ability this guy has over the other candidate, indeed, Progenitus is all too weak against Essence Scatter)
This statement is wrong. Progenitus cannot be the target of anything including Essence scatter.
Actually the protection from everything only kicks in once Progenitus hits the board. While on the stack he is simply a creature spell that can be countered and responded to, meanwhile Emrakul can’t be countered though which is an effect that is active while it is on the stack.
Perry is right. The best example of this is Blurred Mongoose, which has both “can’t be countered” and “shroud”. If shroud would permit it to not be targeted while on the stack, the “can’t be countered” ability would be redundant, and WotC are very much against redundancy.