Game 3: PrinceOfNeurosis The Voices of Selesnya against Apoptosis AEtherling is Alright

PrinceOfNeurosis on the play and draws: Sunpetal Grove , Gavony Township , Farseek , Rancor , Angel of Serenity , Restoration Angel
not a good draw, but with farseek you can mana fix pretty easy, still since you are playing control I think you want to mulligan to try to get a more aggressive opening hand
2nd time PrinceOfNeurosis draws: 2x Temple Garden , Sunpetal Grove , Gavony Township , Voice of Resurgence , Loxodon Smiter much better as long as you get decent midrange draws, which this deck has a lot of
Apoptosis draws: Cavern of Souls , 2x Clifftop Retreat , Supreme Verdict , Turn / Burn , Ral Zarek , Sphinx's Revelation
ugh would be fine except no blue mana source could be really really bad. Screw it, Ill gamble.

P1: Plays Temple Garden tapped
A1: draws Steam Vents thank god and plays it tapped.

P2: draws Selesnya Charm . Plays sunpetal grove, casts voice of resurgence.
A2: draws Glacial Fortress (so much for mana worries). Plays clifftop retreat. I can burn voice now, but am still facing the elemental, think Ill wait on it

P3: draws a 2nd Gavony Township , plays it. Attacks with voice of resurgence and hits (P20/A18). PrinceOfNeurosis casts loxodon smiter.
A3: draws AEtherling . (ugh wheres Mizzium Mortars ? Apoptosis is going to be in bad shape if he doesnt do something, needs to kill voice now) Apoptosis plays glacial fortress and casts burn from Turn / Burn to kill voice, PrinceOfNeurosis gets an elemental token.

P4: draws Avacyn's Pilgrim and casts it, plays temple garden untapped (P18/A18), attacks with elemental and loxodon smiter, both hit (P18/A11)
A4: draws Hallowed Fountain , plays clifftop retreat, casts Supreme Verdict (phew, Apoptosis thought that would be worse, still getting used to the patience it requires to play control, instinct is to see it/kill it -not good)

P5: draws (Thragtusk ??) no actually its Rancor (damn), plays gavony township, casts Selesnya Charm to get a knight and puts rancor on it
PrinceOfNeurosis wants to keep pressure on, lets see whether a token and gavony township can get it done.
A5: draws Augur of Bolas , plays hallowed fountain tapped, casts Ral Zarek , who in turn lightning bolts (-2) the token knight (L=2)

P6: draws Loxodon Smiter and casts it and Rancor
A6: draws Think Twice , plays cavern of souls (shapeshifter), casts augur of bolas revealing Syncopate , Sulfur Falls , Azorius Charm , puts azorius charm in hand, uses Ral Zarek +1 to tap loxodon smiter and untap hallowed fountain (L=3)

P7: draws Plains and plays it, loxodon smiter attacks Ral Zarek, Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm , sending loxodon smiter to top of library, rancor to hand. End step Apoptosis casts think twice and draws Dissipate
perfect draw for Apoptosis
A7: draws Glacial Fortress and plays it, taps a land for mana, uses Ral Zarek +1 to untap it and tap another (L=4)nah nah no mana burn!

P8: draws Loxodon Smiter and plays it, but Apoptosis responds with Dissipate , exiling the smiter, end step Apoptosis flashbacks think twice to draw hallowed fountain
that might have been game for PrinceOfNeurosis, who really needs to stick a Garruk, Primal Hunter and start pooping beasts!
A8: draws Augur of Bolas , plays hallowed fountain tapped, casts augur of bolas drawing Augur of Bolas , Clifftop Retreat , Think Twice , puts think twice in hand and casts it, draws syncopate. Apoptosis attacks with the augur of bolas played on A6, who hits (P17/A11), Ral Zarek taps gavony township to untap hallowed fountain (L=5)

P9: draws Forest (PrinceOfNeurosis: fucking land screw) and plays it, end step Apoptosis flashback think twice to draw sacred foundry
A9: draws Azorius Charm , plays sacred foundry tapped. Ral Zarek untaps sacred foundry and taps gavony township (L=6) Apoptosis attacks with both augur of bolas (P15/A11).

P10: draws Plains (PrinceOfNeurosis: ugh!) and plays it. End step, Apoptosis casts sphinxs revelation for 6 (P15/A17) and draws: Supreme Verdict , 2x Sulfur Falls , Turn / Burn , Hallowed Fountain , and Restoration Angel
(Apoptosis: and boom goes the dynamite)
A10: draws Mizzium Mortars . plays sulfur falls, casts aetherling. Both augur of bolas attack (P13/A17) Ral Zarek taps gavony township and untaps glacial fortress. (L=7), discards hallowed fountain at end step.

P11: draws Silverblade Paladin and casts it, it sticks. Casts rancor on paladin, it sticks too.
A11: draws Sphinx's Revelation . plays sulfur falls. Ral Zarek s ultimate goes off: two coins come up heads (two extra turns for Apoptosis). Apoptosis makes aetherling unblockable and attacks with it at 8/1 (P5/A17)

A12: draws Desolate Lighthouse and plays it, makes aetherling unblockable and attacks for game as a 5/4.

AEtherling is Alright takes match 2-1. Thoughts: game really turned after supreme verdict, which gains control decks card advantage and makes it really tough for this midrange deck to recover. The mulligan and three land draws midgame when you really needed to be landing threats didnt help either, but they could just have easily been a dead Farseek or Avacyn's Pilgrim draw. But my opening hand was only decent, and I would have been screwed if I hadnt drawn a blue mana source. I think your deck may be stuck between midrange and aggro, and might not be good enough at either -you will need more playtesting to see whether thats actually true. Its hard to say much after only a few games, but you might consider leaning further to one side or the other. I dont like Farseek in this deck, because of Voice of Resurgence (elemental power depends on creatures). I would rather see Gyre Sage as a 2x instead. You do need answers to board wipes (Rootborn Defenses ) and control (e.g. Pithing Needle , Oblivion Ring ) out of the sideboard. You are not going to beat control decks through card advantage: at the end of game Apoptosis had 29 cards left in his library, PrinceOfNeurosis had 45. The Voices of Selesnya needs a different way to beat control game 1, for instance you need a great opening hand of fast aggro and a Rootborn Defenses type opener to maintain board advantage. Anyway, hope this helps.

Oh shit, I just realized a big screw up: "P8: draws Loxodon Smiter and plays it, but Apoptosis responds with Dissipate , exiling the smiter, end step Apoptosis flashbacks think twice to draw hallowed fountain" Loxodon Smiter can not be countered. Sorry about that PrinceOfNeurosis!

The loxodon would have resolved P8 and have attacked P9 killing an augur of bolas, then on P10 bounced again by the A9 azorius charm drawn, P10 end step A would have sphinx's rev for 3 and not gotten the resto angel or hallowed fountain, but would turn / burn the loxodon on A10, setting aetherling back a turn. Ral Zarek's ultimate would have been pushed back 3 turns. So would have PrinceOfNeurosis pulled it out? Doubt it, but possible.

Some updates. I've been testing the matchup against Jund using Al Jundy by whaletaint666. Even after I sideboard and leaving his main alone the matchup isn't good, better then before but not good. Without sideboarding I went 1-2 and was crippled by Liliana of the Veil in both loses. Basically, if Liliana lands, I'm screwed. After sideboarding, the matchup was a little more favorable, but didn't sideboard in the obvious things for him like Slaughter Games and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed .

All around suggestions would be welcome (not just for this particular matchup).

i appreciate this man +1

Honestly, I would bump up your Terminus numbers in mainboard to two, drop two Supreme Verdict because miracling Terminus on your opponent's turn after a Think Twice is fantastic. You really want Warleader's Helix . It can make an 8 point life swing and is exceptional for nuking planeswalkers. I keep 2x Jace, Memory Adept mainboard as a secondary win condition, it has made my life easier and gives me a strong way out if I'm slow to draw AEtherling , it also provides an extra draw, handy. I dropped my augurs because they really didn't do much for me in either esper or american flash, except put my aetherlings or jace on the bottom of my library. You may also consider Counterflux in the side against mirrors.

I eventually conceded to going Rest in Peace in my sideboard, I'll side out my snaps for them because they get hosed by it, but if it shuts down my opponent's deck entirely, it's well worth it.

Big hint: Council of the Absolute is boss against all rough matchups, including mirrors.

I like the build overall. It has about everything one would need to win, but one spell I would like to see somewhere in the 75 is Warleader's Helix . It's a really good card that I have played in every one of my UWR control decks. I'm not really sure what I would cut for it, though.

It also seems like you would have a rough time against Bant Hexproof. You may want to find a way to get Celestial Flare or Glaring Spotlight in the sideboard.

Thanks fluffybunnypants and Jimhawk for the suggestions. I had Warleader's Helix in the very first version of this deck and it got poo-poo'd. I'm putting it back in at 2x to see how it plays over Mizzium Mortars .

Right now I'm going with Purify the Grave over Rest in Peace . The latter hoses my Snapcaster Mage and with so many instants and sorceries, I don't want to ever mess with my own ability to recast. Plus Rest in Peace would come in against reanimator and Junk rites, which run Abrupt Decay . I'd rather just be able to kill the card itself.

Council of the Absolute is something I had in my original sideboard that Owlus didn't like. To me, it's an answer to Slaughter Games and Rakdos's Return as they are the two things Jund or Rakdos will pack that destroys me. As I see it there are three possible answers: 1. Council of the Absolute My problem with it is that it's going to have a big target on it and is easiest of the three to remove, 2. Nevermore does essentially the same thing and there is less enchantment hate out there. 3. Witchbane Orb . This is what I like right now, because having hexproof provides an answer to both spells (they both target), prevents black discard from a variety of sources (e.g. Liliana of the Veil , Sin Collector , etc.) and covers a range of possibilities that I couldn't possible cover by just naming one card. Yes, the other two options allows one to be proactive to cripple an opponent's deck. I'm choosing a more defensive option right now.

Counterflux was in my sideboard, and might deserve to go back in there. But I just don't see a lot of control matchups at my LGS. Mostly they are midrange builds like Jund, Junk Rites, or aggro. One good player runs an esper deck. I could go 2x on Counterflux and swap out 2x Detention Sphere , but I think the latter is much more versatile against a range of threats, while the former is very specific. Athough if Chandra, Pyromaster takes off, maybe Counterflux would be the only answer to her ultimate?

Celestial Flare is interesting. I don't have any yet. But that might have a place in there.

Also right now I don't have Pillar of Flame in there, which might need to go in to deal with Voice of Resurgence . But I'm trying to run the deck without it. Playtesting has had mixed results.

Lastly, I've put together another American deck today that takes AEtherling in a different direction: AEtherling's Barnyard Stomp. It's a bit more on the aggressive side...

Thanks again!

lelandgiovanni The Jedi Council of Vizkopa versus ApoptosisAEtherling is Alright

lelandgiovanni on the play draws: Ratchet Bomb , Fiendslayer Paladin , godless shrine, isolated chapel, 2x Angelic Accord , Brave the Elements
Apoptosis draws: 2x clifftop retreat, hallowed fountain, Terminus , 2x steam vents, Warleader's Helix ugh thats a lot of lands

L1: plays godless shrine tapped.
A1: draws Restoration Angel , plays hallowed fountain tapped.

L2: draws godless shrine, and plays isolated chapel, casts ratchet bomb
A2: draws sphinxs revelation, plays steam vents tapped

L3: draws cavern of souls and plays it (human), casts fiendslayer paladin, puts a counter on ratchet bomb
A3: draws turn / burn. crap, I dont think I can Turn / Burn the paladin, that stinks, plays steam vents tapped.

L4: draws Obzedat, Ghost Council , plays godless shrine tapped. Fiendslayer paladin attacks and hits (L22/A18) at this point its unclear whether Ratchet Bomb deserves more charges or not, what CMC permanent are you going for? Im going to say 4 CMC because of Ral Zarek and the new Chandra, puts a counter on ratchet bomb
A4: draws glacial fortress and plays it.

L5 draws Blood Baron of Vizkopa . Attacks with Fiendslayer paladin. In response, Apoptosis casts restoration angel to block. lelandgiovanni casts Brave the Elements and names white (L24/A18). A charge counter goes onto ratchet bomb (charges = 3)
A5: draws clifftop retreat and plays it. attacks with restoration angel and hits (L21/A18)

L6: draws clifftop retreat and plays it. Puts a charge counter on ratchet bomb (4). Casts Obzedat, Ghost Council (L23/A16). In response Apoptosis casts Turn / Burn to kill Obzedat ok, maybe it was a mistake for lelandgiovanni to not save Brave the Elements and cast Obzedat with 6 mana, but I took a more aggressive route. As lelandgiovanni, Im thinking against a control deck I want to put pressure on and not let this go too long. lelandgiovanni attacks with paladin and hits (L25/A14).
A6: draws sphinxs revelation, plays clifftop retreat. Attacks with restoration angel and hits (L22/A14).

L7: draws clifftop retreat and plays it. As lelandgiovanni do I blow the bomb or save it? I think Im winning and when I have board presence and life, there is no need, rather force Apoptosis to not play 4 CMC permanents or face a 4 CMC wrath Casts Blood Baron of Vizkopa , it sticks. Attacks with fiendslayer paladin (L24/A12). End step Apoptosis casts Sphinx's Revelation for 3 (L24/A15), drawing syncopate, think twice, and ral zarek.
A7: draws dissipate. plays clifftop retreat. Attacks with restoration angel and hits (L21/A15). Casts Terminus . As lelandgiovanni Im now cursing

L8: draws plains and casts angelic accord might as well get it out there while Apoptosis cant counter, of course now the ratchet bomb is a problem for me too, but as lelandgiovanni I need to get pressure back on the board and keep the pseudo wrath option open.
A8: draws warleaders helix.

at this point in the game, it might just have turned. Apoptosis holds two Warleader's Helix , Sphinx's Revelation , Dissipate , Syncopate , Think Twice , and Ral Zarek . If it were not for the charged Ratchet Bomb sitting at 4, I would cast Ral Zarek . lelandgiovanni holds Angelic Accord in hand and has one in play. lelandgiovanni has not seen a counterspell yet, only Terminus , Turn / Burn , and Sphinx's Revelation . each player has 7 lands

L9: draws sacred foundry and plays it tapped. End step Apoptosis casts Think Twice drawing Supreme Verdict , Apoptosis flashbacks Think Twice to draw cavern of souls
A9: draws glacial fortress. and plays it. At 8 cards Apoptosis casts Warleader's Helix at lelandgiovanni (L17/A19)

L10: draws madcap skills.
A10: draws augur of bolas looking for AEtherling , would be pissed if I cast Augur of Bolas only to put AEtherling at the bottom of library Against his better judgment, casts Augur of Bolas selecting Think Twice and sending hallowed fountain and ral zarek to the bottom of the library. phew, plays cavern of souls (shapeshifter).

L11: draws archangel of thune. cant remember whether there is another cavern of souls in this deck and am really regretting naming human, but will not walk into a counterspell. Ill only risk it if there is pressure from Apoptosis to do so. end step Apoptosis casts think twice drawing syncopate, flashback think twice to draw sphinxs revelation
A11: draws think twice and casts it drawing cavern of souls, which he plays (wizard). Attacks with Augur of bolas (L16/A19). I think Ill cast Ral Zarek and force the issue with Ratchet Bomb , Ill still have Dissipate mana open Apoptosis casts Ral Zarek and it sticks. lelandgiovanni blows up the bomb to kill Ral Zarek and Angelic Accord in play.

not sure about priority here. Ral Zarek has to resolve before the bomb can be activated, which would put priority back with Apoptosis, who should be able to activate Rals -2. In response this would allow lelandgiovanni to blow the bomb, but since the ability has already gone on the stack it would resolve. 15 years ago, the bomb would be allowed to go off at instant speed before Ral Zareks ability could be used (akin to a sorcery) and poor Ral would die right after landing. Thats how I will play it, but a rule clarification would be appreciated

L12: draws isolated chapel and plays it, end step Apoptosis flashback think twice drawing clifftop retreat
A12: draws terminus (Miracle!! just kidding.) plays clifftop retreat. attacks with augur of bolas (L15/A19). casts Warleader's Helix at lelandgiovanni (L11/A23). As Apoptosis: picking away, but its time to Sphinx's Revelation into AEtherling , on one hand it would be nice not to show AEtherling game 1, but on the other hand I want to finish it. Unless there is a big threat dropped.

L13: draws ratchet bomb and casts it, it sticks. As Apoptosis I didnt counter the bomb because I already decided on Sphinx's Revelation . As lelandgiovanni: I havent seen a single counterspell 13 turns in and one half of the way through Apoptosis library. Ive been patient, but it hasnt paid off. The Ratchet Bomb wasnt countered. If this becomes a race, lelandgiovanni is in trouble of dropping too low in life. lelandgiovanni will wait one more turn. End of turn Apoptosis casts Sphinx's Revelation for 4 (L11/A27) drawing: 2x sacred foundry, sulfur falls, restoration angel. lelandgiovanni puts a charge on the bomb (1).
A13: draws AEtherling and casts it, puts sulfur falls into play. attacks with Augur of Bolas and hits (L10/A23). Discards 2x sacred foundry and terminus

L14: draws sacred foundry and plays it. casts archangel of thune, which runs into dissipate. Puts a charge counter on the bomb (2)
A14: draws dissipate. Makes AEtherling unblockable (no resto flash tricks). Attacks with Augur and Aetherling, pumped to 8/1. (L1/A23).

L15: draws godless shrine and concedes.

Thoughts: lelandgiovanni library at 41, Apoptosis at 26. Its hard to win with that difference. Next 5 cards for lelandgiovanni were: godless shrine, pillar of flame, warleaders helix, blind obedience, and blood baron of vizkopa. I think The Jedi Council of Vizkopa is light on creatures. the combo was almost there to give lelandgiovanni the game T6/7, but after Terminus as lelandgiovanni I kept wishing for a creature to play. There just wasnt enough to allow lelandgiovanni to recover and reestablish pressure.

If there were a game 2, I would see lelandgiovanni siding in rakdos return and 2x Sire Of Insanity . Im surprised lelandgiovanni doesnt have Slaughter Games in the sideboard. If any go off that could be devastating to Apoptosis. Apoptosis has 2x Witchbane Orb just for any matchup against B/R. That would probably be my only change.

For AEtherling is Alright I forgot that I recently reduced AEtherling from 3 to 2. Still seemed to run ok.

almalongs We broke black guys.... versus Apoptosis AEtherling is Alright

almalong on the play draws: 6 swamps, mulligans, and is allowed to draw 7 new cards, draws: 5 swamps... Apoptosis hits the shuffle button 4x and restarts...
almalong draws: 3 swamps and 4x Shadowborn Apostle
Apoptosis draws: steam vents, sulfur falls, clifftop retreat, Augur of Bolas , Ral Zarek , Restoration Angel , and AEtherling

AL1: plays swamp casts apostle
AP1: draws glacial fortress, plays steam vents tapped.

AL2: draws apostle, plays swamp, casts 2 apostles, attacks with 1st apostle from T1 (AL20/AP19)
AP2: draws Warleader's Helix plays clifftop retreat, casts Augur of Bolas revealing Azorius Charm and putting syncopate and a 2nd azorius charm to the bottom of the library really would have liked all of them

AL3: draws apostle, plays swamp, casts 3x Shadowborn Apostle Charged up for the demon
AP3: draws hallowed fountain, plays glacial fortress

AL4: draws and plays swamp. Activates Shadowborn Apostle all six go to the graveyard, almalong puts Griselbrand into play. almalong pays 7 life (AL13/AP19) to draw: 4x swamp, 2x Blood Artist , and Shadowborn Apostle . Casts Blood artist and shadowborn apostle.
AP4: draws dissipate. Plays sulfur fall.

AL5: draws swamp wft land!, plays swamp, casts blood artist, it sticks. Attacks with Griselbrand , in response Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm to send Griselbrand to the top of the library. In response almalong activated Griselbrand to draw 7 cards: Reaper from the Abyss , Blood Artist , 2x apostle, swamp, Xathrid Necromancer , and Sign in Blood (AL6/AP19), Azorius Charm resolves. almalong casts Blood Artist and apostle.

In the case of almalong, Im thinking that Im stuck with 4 damn swamps and want to push board presence, but going to 6 life is risky. I dont know whether the real almalong would have played it this way, but at this point has not seen any burn spells. Post-game note: in hindsight this proves to not work out. I could have just played swamps to hardcast, Griselbrand in a few turns, but with Apoptosis having counterspells, there is no guarantee that Griselbrand would have gotten out. I was pushing for card advantage as almalong.

As Apoptosis, Im thinking 1. better draw a wrath soon and 2. sideboard in 4x Detention Sphere

almalong discards 2 swamps to getto 7 cards.
AP5: draws Sphinx's Revelation , plays hallowed fountain tapped.Apoptosis is thinking whether he can just burn almalong directly with Ral Zarek and Warleader's Helix . Its not the way the deck normally plays, but it is a solution. Apoptosis Casts Ral Zarek , who deal almalong 3 to the face (L=2) (AL3/AP19)

AL6: draws Griselbrand , plays swamp. almalong attacks Ral Zarek with 2 Shadowborn Apostle , no blocks. Ral Zarek looks in confusion at Apoptosis and dies. Sensing that defeat might be around the corner, almalong casts Sign in Blood to draw two cards : 2x apostle (AL1/AP19). Casts Xathrid Necromancer and apostle.
AP6: draws clifftop retreat. Casts Warleader's Helix at almalong for the win.

Thoughts: I dont know whether the 2nd card draw with Griselbrand was the wrong play. At end game almalong had gone through half his library. Vault of the Archangel would help a lot. At the time I felt comfortable using Griselbrand draw a second time, and thats knowing the deck Im up against. In the playtests Ive done with AEtherling is Alright Ive never won through burn, always through control: card draw, wraths, and aetherling. But Warleader's Helix is a new addition suggested by Jimhawk, which shined here. For AEtherling is Alright I would definitely sideboard 4x Detention Sphere and probably Boros Reckoner . I feel like We broke black guys.... is a fun casual deck, that still needs something to improve consistency. Dont get me wrong, its a really cool idea and almalong is developing it nicely, but developing a sideboard to complement the overall design is needed to take it to the next level. Liliana of the Veil should be in there at 2-4x, which would give my deck absolute fits. Splashing red for Rakdos's Return and Slaughter Games out of the sideboard would help too.

Guys, we broke black... is actually half of a 2hg team, the other half being mono white, this wasnt the original intention, and I should probably put that in the summary, but the deck really doesn't run well 1v1 and if I were to run it 1v1 I'd put in Door of Destinies name human, but I dont' know what other changes I should do for it, but yea thanks for the run through, and I probably would have let brand top deck, and tried to hard cast him later as I already had a lot of land

Game 1 of the Reworked lelandgiovannis The Jedi Council of Vizkopa versus Apoptosis AEtherling is Alright

Apoptosis on the play and draws: clifftop retreat, sulfur falls, hallowed fountain, sacred foundry, Warleader's Helix , Azorius Charm , and Terminus looks good
lelandgiovanni draws: 2x isolated chapel, godless shrine, clifftop retreat, cavern of souls, and 2x Warleader's Helix . hmm, ok

A1: plays hallowed fountain tapped
L1: draws Archangel of Thune , plays godless shrine tapped

A2: draws sulfur falls and plays it
L2: draws sacred foundry and plays it tapped

A3: draws Snapcaster Mage , plays sacred foundry tapped
L3: draws isolated chapel and plays it
the game of land, go

A4: draws Ral Zarek , plays sulfur falls, and casts Ral Zarek, who taps godless shrine and untaps hallowed fountain (L=5)
L4: draws Blood Baron of Vizkopa , plays clifftop retreat, casts Warleader's Helix at Ral Zarek (L=1), (A20/L24)

A5: draws Rewind , plays clifftop retreat and taps it for 1 mana, activates Ral Zarek to untap it and taps Apoptosiss Sacred Foundry (L=2)
L5: draws Rakdos Keyrune , plays cavern of souls (angel), casts Archangel of Thune . Apoptosis casts Warleader's Helix at Archangel of Thune (A24/L24)

A6: draws hallowed fountain and plays it tapped, activates Ral Zarek +1 to untap hallowed fountain and Apoptosis clifftop retreat.
L6: draws second Blood Baron of Vizkopa . plays isolated chapel and casts blood baron of vizkopa. In response Apoptosis casts Rewind .

A7: draws Sphinx's Revelation , activates Ral Zarek to tap isolated chapel and untap lelandgiovannis cavern of souls (L=4)
L7: draws Unburial Rites . Casts Warleader's Helix at Ral Zarek . In response, Apoptosis casts Snapcaster Mage , targeting Rewind , plays isolated chapel

A8: draws Sphinx's Revelation , attacks with snapcaster mage, who hits (A24/L22), activates Ral Zarek to untap snapcaster mage and tap lelandgiovanni cavern of souls (L=5)
L8: draws Warleader's Helix As lelandgiovanni: Apoptosis has 4 cards in hand and ral Zarek is up to 5. I want to get something out that can attack Ral at least once before I take a shot at him with the helix. What I dont want to do is cast rites into a dissipate/syncopate. Ill assume that Apoptosis doesnt hold it based on the fact that he used snapcaster to get back rewind last turn. To wait until after Apoptosis casts a Sphinxs revelation is to lose, therefore: lelandgiovanni casts Unburial Rites targeting Archangel of Thune , it sticks. End step Apoptosis casts Sphinx's Revelation for 3 drawing: Ral Zarek, think twice, and azorius charm. As Apoptosis maybe I should start burning him with Ral and not go after the ultimate. It might be different if I had AEtherling in play.(A27/L22).

A9: draws glacial fortress and plays it. Attacks with Snapcaster Mage , no blocks b/c loaded Ral Zarek is waiting to kill after a block (A27/L20) Apoptosis activates Ral Zarek to tap Archangel of Thune and untap Snapcaster Mage (L=6).
L9: draws Pillar of Flame casts Rakdos Keyrune , it sticks. Casts unburial rites flashback targeting Blood Baron of Vizkopa , in response Apoptosis casts Think Twice draws Snapcaster Mage , bloodbaron sticks. lelandgiovanni attacks Ral Zarek with Archangel of Thune , who hits (A27/L23, L=3) angel and vampire get +1/+1. As Apoptosis once the baron hit, Im thinking Terminus , also thinking Ral is going to start throwing Lightning Bolt End step Apoptosis flashback Think Twice drawing Restoration Angel .

A10 draws hallowed fountain, attacks with Snapcaster Mage , who hits Ral Zarek could kill Baron after damage and lelandgiovanni is tapped out, so no keyrune activation is possible (A27/L21) Apoptosis casts Terminus . Apoptosis activates Ral Zareks -2 to hit lelandgiovanni for 3 (A27/L18, L=1). Plays hallowed fountain untapped (A25/L18).
L10: draws Obzedat, Ghost Council . Activates Rakdos Keyrune and attacks Ral Zarek , who dies. Casts Obzedat who sticks. (A25/L20), end step exile Obzedat.

A11: draws sulfur falls and plays it. Casts Ral Zarek , activates -2 to do 3 damage to lelandgiovanni (A25/L17, L=2)
L11: draws clifftop retreat and plays it, bot of which happen after obzedat returns (A23/L19). Casts Pillar of Flame at Ral Zarek , who dies. As lelandgiovanni, I want Blood Baron of Vizkopa to come in as a 10/10 ideally, but Im on the wrong side of the curve. Im four turns before ghost council and helix gets me over 30, which is forever at this point. I need to apply pressure lelandgiovanni casts Blood Baron of Vizkopa , it sticks. Activates Rakdos Keyrune and attacks. In response Apoptosis casts Restoration Angel for the block, keyrune dies. Ghost council exiles itself.

A12: draws cavern of souls and plays it (shapeshifter). Attacks with Restoration Angel (A23/L16).
L12: ghost council comes back (A21/L18) and draws Angelic Accord , and casts it. In response Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm to draw a card Apoptosis: praying for a counterspell. Really wanted to sphinxs rev at EoT, but need to go after that accord, its a bad threat Apoptosis draws Terminus and casts it for its miracle cost, sending Obzedat, Ghost Council , Blood Baron of Vizkopa and his own Restoration Angel to the bottom of the library. and thats why its a miracle!, might be the turning point of the game Angelic Accord sticks. End of turn Apoptosis casts Sphinx's Revelation for 4 (A25/L18) drawing: 2x Augur of Bolas , Warleader's Helix , and Sphinx's Revelation . Apoptosis: crap, half way through my library and no AEtherling , last thing I want to do is put it at the bottom of my libraru by putting Augur of Bolas into play too soon

A13: draws Supreme Verdict
L13: draws sacred foundry and plays it tapped. lelandgiovanni is holding just Warleader's Helix . End step Apoptosis casts Sphinx's Revelation for 7 (A32/L18) drawing: Think Twice , hallowed fountain, cavern of souls, steam vents, clifftop retreat, AEtherling , and Dissipate Apoptosis: there it is!

A14: draws Azorius Charm . Plays clifftop retreat. Casts AEtherling . Casts Augur of Bolas reveals Azorius Charm and puts sulfur falls and clifftop retreat to bottom of library. End step Apoptosis discards: hallowed fountain, steam vents, cavern of souls, augur of bolas, and think twice to get to 7 cards. Apoptosis holds 3x Azorius Charm , Snapcaster Mage , Warleader's Helix , Supreme Verdict , and Dissipate . At beginning of end step, before Angelic Accord trigger, lelandgiovanni casts Warleader's Helix at Apoptosis (A28/L22) and lelandgiovanni gets an angel token
L14 topdecks dragonskull summit and plays it, attacks with the angel and hits (A24/L22)

A15: draws dissipate. Attacsk with aetherling as an 8/1 and augur of bolas, casts Azorius Charm to give creatures lifelink, both hit (A33/L13)
L15: draws Blind Obedience and casts it, but it runs into Dissipate . lelandgiovanni attacks with the angel, in response Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm to exile the token.

A16: draws glacial fortress and plays it, attacks with pumped AEtherling (8/1) and Augur of Bolas (A33/L4). Apoptosis casts Warleader's Helix for the win. (A37/L0).

Thoughts on game 1. Epic. Game went back and forth and there were times where I felt each deck was in control. This updated version of The Jedi Council of Vizkopa is much better. It will be interesting to see how the matchup fairs after sideboarding. Ill make those decisions and run Game 2 soon. Also: The Jedi Council of Vizkopa library was around 40, AEtherling is Alright was to 22. Its very hard to beat control when outdrawn that badly. Sideboarding discard should help the jedi with that.

lelandgiovanni, if you like: just based on what you saw here(i.e. not my decklist); would you like to tell me your sideboard selections? I will make mine based on the same. Otherwise I can choose for you.. Please let me know.

-2 Pillar of Flame -2 Fiendslayer Paladin -2 Ratchet Bomb -1 Dreadbore

+2 Slaughter Games +2 Pithing Needle +2 Sire Of Insanity +1 Rakdos's Return

lelandgiovanni I started game 2 before I saw your sideboard selections, but as you will see I chose very similarly.

Game 2 of the Reworked lelandgiovannis The Jedi Council of Vizkopa versus Apoptosis AEtherling is Alright

lelandgiovanni sideboards: +2 Pithing Needle , +1 rakdos return, +2 Sire Of Insanity , +2 Slaughter Games , -2 Dreadbore , -2 Pillar of Flame , -3 Brave the Elements . This gives lelandgiovanni a lot of weapons. Most sorcery based removal seems unnecessary for this matchup.

Apoptosis sideboards: +2 Witchbane Orb , +3 Boros Reckoner , +2 Jace, Memory Adept -1 Rewind , -3 Think Twice , -3 Augur of Bolas . If I play against Red/Black, I always assume discard and Slaughter Games are coming. Witchbane Orb is my current solution for targeted discard and Slaughter Games , since I actually only own 2, thats all that are in my sideboard. Boros Reckoner is added because my deck will need some way to get damage through in the event that AEtherling gets hosed. Ive added Jace, Memory Adept as an alternative way to get card draw and an alternative win condition. I am not putting in Purify the Grave because in game one it didnt seem like Unburial Rites was a major theme and honestly, I dont know what else I would board out. Ive never played around with sideboard in actual playtesting and am interested to see whether it works.

lelandgiovanni on the play draws: dragonskull summit, pithing needle, dreadbore, rakdoss return, 2x blood baron vizkopa, and slaughter games.
One land = no way to play, but having Pithing Needle in the opening hand almost makes it playable as it will neutralize AEtherling turn 2. Extremely risky. Will take the mulligan
lelandgiovanni mulligans and draws: 2x sacred foundry, blind obedience, sire of insanity, unburial rites, and rakdos keyrune. not ideal, but going to 5 would be worse
Apoptosis draws: hallowed fountain, sulfur falls, azorius charm, dissipate, snapcaster mage, aetherling, and restoration angel

L1: plays sacred foundry tapped.
A1: draws supreme verdict, plays hallowed fountain tapped.

L2: draws fiendslayer paladin, plays sacred foundry untapped (L18/A20), casts Blind Obedience
A2: draws glacial fortress, plays sulfur falls.

L3: draws godless shrine, plays it uptapped (L16/A20), casts Fiendslayer Paladin
A3: draws steam vents and plays glacial fortress

L4: draws clifftop retreat and plays it. casts Rakdos keyrune and extorts (L17/A19). Attacks with paladin, in response Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm to put it on top of lelandgiovanni library.
A4: draws Terminus , plays steam vents untapped (L17/A17) I cant catch the keyrune with the angel like I did game one, but I want to flash her in anyway for a blocker at the end of turn

L5: draws fiendslayer paladin and casts it. and extorts (L18/A16), it sticks This is the hard discipline that is control, I could dissipate now but I have to assume that the bigger threat is coming, its like a boxer keeping his guard up despite getting hit to the body, drop your guard and pow! Regardless, as Apoptosis Im conflicted..At end of turn Apoptosis casts Restoration Angel
A5: draws Boros Reckoner

L6: draws angelic accord and casts it, with extort (L19/A15) As Apoptosis: too dangerous to let resolve and I dont have an answer other then counterspells In response Apoptosis casts Dissipate . lelandgiovanni plays plains.
A6: draws Snapcaster Mage , damn, was counting on a land, to fuel Snapcaster Mage into Dissipate , that might be game. Casts Boros Reckoner . Attacks with restoration angel (L16/A15).

L7: draws Ratchet Bomb , casts Sire Of Insanity , end step both players discards their hands As Apoptosis: what did I just tell you back in L5? Keep your guard up! And now you just took it to the face. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!
A7: draws steam vents and plays it tapped.

L8: draws Angelic Accord and casts it with extort (L17/A14). As Apoptosis: thats just salt in the wound
A8: draws sacred foundry and plays it tapped

L9: draws cavern of souls and plays it (angel)
A9: draws steam vents and plays it tapped.

L10: draws clifftop retreat and plays it.
A10: draws hallowed fountain and plays it tapped.

L11: draws fiendslayer paladin and casts it with extort (L18/A13)
A11: draws Ral Zarek and casts it, Activates -2 ability to kill a paladin (L=2)

L12: draws Rakdos Keyrune and casts it with extort (L19/A12)
A12: draws Warleader's Helix and casts it targeting Sire Of Insanity (L19/A16) In response, lelandgiovanni flashback Unburial Rites targeting Sire Of Insanity . Apoptosis activates Ral Zareks +1 (L=3).

L13: draws Blood Baron of Vizkopa and casts it with extort (L20/A15)
A13: draws Witchbane Orb and casts it not helpful right now Activates Ral Zarek -2 to kill paladin (L=1)

L14 draws: Warleader's Helix and casts it to kill the Restoration Angel , with extort (L25/A14). end step gets an angel
A14: draws clifftop retreat and plays it. activates Ral zarek +1 (L=2)

L15: draws blind obedience and casts it with extort (L26/A13). Attacks with the angel token, sire of insanity, blood baron of vizkopa, and both keyrunes. Apoptosis blocks Sire Of Insanity with Boros Reckoner and still takes lethal damage from the unblocked.

Thoughts. That discard is motherfucker, no doubt about it and since Sire Of Insanity doesnt target, Witchbane Orb did nothing. As Apoptosis I definitely regret some sideboard choices and made a critical misplay, but hats off to lelandgiovannis deck. As Apoptosis it seems like I have to play perfectly or nearly so to win. Will think about sideboard overnight and play game 3 tomorrow. Big questions remain: side out the snapcasters and sphinxs revelation for purify the grave and detention sphere? Probably. I cant count on counterspells so I need detention sphere to maintan board presence. Its clear I have a lot to learn still.

Put it assemble the legion as a way to keep board presence and add pressure? Maybe. I tried this against a Junk rites deck and it didnt work as I sat with no cards and liliana of the veils ultimate went off.

Anyway, this is why I chose lelandgiovanni deck in the first place, its not for game 1, its to find a solution to win game 2 when Sire Of Insanity , Slaughter Games , Rakdos's Return , and Pithing Needle all hit. Clearly, Boros Reckoner kept me in the game much longer then I would have otherwise, but I still dont have a winning solution and need to figure it out.

Advice would be appreciated.

Detention Sphere s for sure... Can't snag the Barons and tough to get Ghostdad but almost everything else could be answered.

Game 3 of the Reworked lelandgiovannis The Jedi Council of Vizkopa versus Apoptosis AEtherling is Alright

lelandgiovanni keeps the game two sideboard changes lelandgiovanni had a lot of weapons and controlled game 2 solidly.

Apoptosis keeps game 2 sideboard swap of: +2 Witchbane Orb , +3 Boros Reckoner , +2 Jace, Memory Adept -1 Rewind , -3 Think Twice , -3 Augur of Bolas and makes the following additional changes: +4 Detention Sphere , +2 Assemble the Legion , +2 Purify the Grave , -3 Snapcaster Mage , -2 Sphinx's Revelation , -1 Supreme Verdict Yes, thats a full 15 card sideboard swap, and with all Snapcaster Mage and only 1 Sphinx's Revelation left. The game plan is maximum presence on the battlefield and hold little back in the hand.

I feel like I want to keep the 2x Warleader's Helix and 2x Syncopate in the main and go to 62 cards, which I can do with the new rule changes. Yes, I know the logic of dilution and keeping your best 60, but I feel like this is the lineup I want more. If I were to go to 60 I would cut one of each. Lets see how it goes.

Also was thinking I might want to have 1x Slayers' Stronghold in the deck to give it more punch

Apoptosis on the play draws: sacred foundry, glacial fortress, cavern of souls, sulfur falls, hallowed fountain, Detention Sphere , and Jace, Memory Adept a lot of lands, but better then no lands and I have a lot of 3-5 CMC draws so good to have that land out before the discard hits
lelandgiovanni draws: cavern of souls, 2x sacred foundry, Doom Blade , 2x Warleader's Helix , Archangel of Thune no black mana source, but Apoptosis didnt have big early threat aggro creatures, unless you count Boros Reckoner , we can play this

A1: plays hallowed fountain tapped
L1: draws Ratchet Bomb , plays sacred foundry tapped

A2: draws Turn / Burn , plays sacred foundry tapped
L2: draws isolated chapel, plays isolated chapel, casts Ratchet Bomb and puts a counter on it this is actually good against tokens with 0 counters, but I have to assume that lelandgiovanni doesnt know that Assemble the Legion came in through the sideboard, based on game 2 as lelandgiovanni Im thinking either 3 CMC for Boros Reckoner or 4 CMC for Ral Zarek , probably the former since one was able to stall game 2 a long time

A3: draws a second Jace, Memory Adept , plays sulfur falls
L3: draws sacred foundry and plays it tapped. Pus a charge counter on Ratchet Bomb (2).

A4: draws hallowed fountain and plays it tapped.
L4: draws Dreadbore , plays sacred foundry tapped, puts a counter on Ratchet Bomb a lot like game 2, land go, land, go, etc. The calm before the storm!

A5: draws Syncopate Interesting, before the draw I was thinking Jace all the way, but now I can counter a threat. As Apoptosis Im thinking that its Sire Of Insanity at T6 that scares me the most, so I can cast now without fear of that, but after that I need to be careful. I want Jace on the board Apoptosis plays glacial fortress, casts Jace, Memory Adept and activates +1 (L=5) Apoptosis draws steam vents lelandgiovanni puts godless shrine into the graveyard Honestly, I really havent used Jace much. Without Purify the Grave in hand, Im afraid to mill him into Unburial Rites and I dont want to mill myself to look for Purify the Grave , so +1 for card draw is my choice until I draw Purify the Grave
L5: draws Fiendslayer Paladin , plays cavern of souls (angel), casts Dreadbore to kill jace, casts fiendslayer paladin.

A6: draws Terminus and casts it for the miracle cost sending Fiendslayer Paladin to the bottom of lelandgiovanni library cant get rid of him with either Turn / Burn or Warleader's Helix Apoptosis plays cavern of souls (shapeshifter), casts Jace, Memory Adept if Sire Of Insanity were to hit next turn, Jace will give me draw power that I want badly, I have enough land out to cast just about anything Apoptosis activates Jace +1 to draw Detention Sphere , lelandgiovanni puts Dreadbore into the graveyard from library
L6: draws Pithing Needle and casts it (naming aetherling), casts Warleader's Helix at Jace, Memory Adept (A20/L24, L=1)

A7 draws Assemble the Legion , activates jace +1 (L=2) drawing azorius charm, lelandgiovanni puts clifftop retreat into the graveyard. Plays steam vents untapped (A18/L24), casts Detention Sphere to exile the Ratchet Bomb . As Apoptosis, I need to get rid of the Ratchet Bomb before casting Assemble the Legion . If I get hit with discard and lose my Detention Sphere Im screwed. This way I can still Syncopate a big threat, and get my Assemble the Legion out safe next turn.
L7: draws Terminus . As lelandgiovanni, with Apoptosis having counterspell mana open its safer to put out the angel and attack jace through the air.lelandgiovanni casts Archangel of Thune using mana from cavern of souls (Cannot be countered).

A8: draws Assemble the Legion . activates jace to draw Azorius Charm , casts Assemble the Legion Two Assemble the Legion is going to put lelandgiovanni on a clock
L8: draws Blind Obedience , attacks jace with Archangel of Thune , in response Apoptosis casts Azorius Charm to put angel on top of library.As lelandgiovanni: must kill Jace otherwise, bye bye angel, and I want her to help with the life race that the Assemble the Legion now has me in, casts Warleader's Helix at Jace, Memory Adept to kill him (A18/L28)

A9: Legion gets a counter (1) and puts 1 soldier into play, draws sulfur falls and plays it. Attacks with the soldier and hits (A18/L27). Casts 2nd Assemble the Legion .
L9: draws Archangel of Thune and casts it

A10: legions get counters (2, 1) and 3 soldiers come into play (4 total). Draws Restoration Angel . Casts Turn / Burn to kill Archangel of Thune . Attacks with 4 soldiers (A18/L23).
L10: draws plains and plays it. As lelandgiovanni: in a bad spot. But if I Terminus now, there will still be 5, think I need to wait 1 more turn and take out 9, at least if I cast Blind Obedience it will slow down Assemble the Legion by having soldiers come in tapped lelandgiovanni casts Blind Obedience

A11: legions get counters (3, 2), 5 soldier tokens come in tapped, draws azorius charm. Attacks with 4 soldiers (A18/L19), casts Detention Sphere targeting Blind Obedience
L11: draws Angelic Accord , casts Terminus . End step Apoptosis casts Restoration Angel .

A12: legions get counters (4, 3), 7 soldier tokens come into play. Draws Supreme Verdict . Attacks with 7 soldiers and Restoration Angel , casts Azorius Charm to give creatures lifelink (A28/L9).
L12: draws dragonskull summit and concedes.

Thoughts. Wow, did Assemble the Legion do it for Apoptosis. What a difference between the 3 games. Each game was very different, both in how they played and how they won. Obviously, not drawing discard hurt lelandgiovanni, but he didnt draw the 6th land until T10 by which point the damage was done. I honestly dont know what would happen if I replayed this matchup with this sideboard usage 5 more times. I still dont know whether my AEtherling deck can survive a discard bomb, like Sire Of Insanity or a Rakdos's Return for 4. But it is encouraging to know that I didnt get blown out game 3. One possility to improve lelandgiovannis matchup would be to sideboard Oblivion Ring as a way to deal with non-creature threats, like enchantments. I would suggest 2x Oblivion Ring , and remove 2x Imposing Sovereign . 2x Illness in the Ranks would have been great answer for Assemble the Legion type decks, but its a real question on whether you automatically sideboard for it against an American control deck where you havent seen it game 1 or 2? I almost prefer having 2x more Oblivion Ring (to 4x) over illness, because the ring has broad applicability that deals with a wider range of threats, while illness is much more specific. Unfortunately, o-ring is rotating out, which means that white without blue is more limited to things like Solemn Offering to deal with artifacts/enchantments. Maybe after rotation, lelandgiovanni could add 2x Ratchet Bomb to the sideboard. I think as lelandgiovanni if you face a control blue/white deck like mine game one, you have to expect that permanents that stay on the battlefield is a main shift that B/W can use to survive game 2 discard when Slaughter Games and Sire Of Insanity (etc) come into play. Having 4x Oblivion Ring s to side in is a good answer to that.

Hey! +1 for the write ups and for the deck!! Just pieced an aetherling deck together myself!! These go up to 11.... Let me know if you have any suggestions!

I forgot to give you a +1 so here you go AEtherling is alriht after all.

I would 100% consider Rest in Peace , i know your graveyard is important, but flashback is going out of standard, so it won't be as important,

also consider some control cards like Silence good card, cheap and good in almost all circumstances, against control you force them to counter that or you know you have a counter free turn, agrro you delay from playing anything early game i.e turn 2 or 3, and everything else just gives you a turn of your opponent not casting anything (i tend to only cast it in opponents upkeep, unless i really don't wan't something countered)

Pyroshade thanks for the suggestion with Rest in Peace . I'm leaning that way. My original thinking was Purify the Grave would work as effectively and still let me tap into my own graveyard. But with things like Blood Artist and other triggers that occur upon dying, I think that strategy might be off and that for those matchups I'm going to sideboard out all of the snapcaster and think twice anyway. So... That means Rest in Peace is the better choice. That just leaves the question of whether it's at 2x or 3x, and if the latter what do I take out for the 3rd one?

I would learn towards saying 2, as once you have one another won't change anything, however it is dependent on, if you side board them in how much will you need to draw them? if you think they're a must have card once sided in, then I would say 3 otherwise 2, I think it's dependent on your meta

if you've got some free time, feel free to take a deck that is similar but with a different twist

Cull The Herd

F*** Ok this is op

@RiViN159 how is it op doesnt look like it's won anything lol.

why dont u drop somethings and try to get 4 of certain cards doesnt really seem like u get much for consistent draws and u probably cant count on anything. your mana cost is really high also, i had tons of hands where i couldnt play a card before turn 4.

Did you have specific reasons why you dropped the Ral Zarek ? I play American Control and he allows me to get a lot of stuff out a turn early. (Turn 5 AEtherling ) He also helps get rid of pesky things like Tamiyo, Young Pyromancer and Thragtusk . And, if Aetherling is out when you get his ultimate, you've just about won the game right there. Why not run 2 Jace and 2 Ral? That way you'd be even and could even get two planeswalkers out at the same time.

Thanks for the suggestion Umbreomancer. I like Ral Zarek and there were times he won me games, but I moved him out for several reasons.

1. There has been a Bant hexproof craze at my LGS and too often Ral Zarek couldn't target the threats on the board that I needed to remove.

2. A friend at my LGS who runs a lot of control decks suggested I test out Jace, Architect of Thought . I really like Jace's -2 for card advantage, and his +1 can be very handy in some situations. I just picked up my first two JAoT and am testing him out to see whether I like him better then Ral. Jury is still out.

3. The American control decks at Worlds (e.g. Ben Starks) were running JAoT and not Ral. I figured they knew something I didn't.

4. I thought Ral Zarek would be a big help against enemy planeswalkers, but he hasn't helped as well as I hoped. For instance, Liliana of the Veil lands, gets a +1 to 4 and is out of reach and both Jace's are beyond a one turn kill. Warleader's Helix does a better job here.

Don't get me wrong, Ral Zarek has won me a few games and provided 2 for 1 in games that let me hang on longer even though I didn't win. And after rotation, where Searing Spear is gone and three damage removal is harder to find, he may make it back into the deck on that alone.

I don' think I would ever drop AEtherling turn 5. I always want at least one open mana so I can exile him to avoid any removal. In fact I'm nervous if I don't have at least two blue to blink him twice if need be. But you have an excellent point that with this deck reconfigured, there is a case to be made that Ral's+1 would be useful, especially with 25 lands. I just mainboarded Rolling Temblor to deal with Geist of Saint Traft and other hexproof over Searing Spear , so losing instant speed might make having the extra mana useful. Honestly though, I don't know what I would take out at the 4 drop to get him in there as the deck is configured. After rotation, he could fill the spot Restoration Angel fills, but for this deck to be effective after the rotation, there has to be some sort of playable red wrath to synergize with Boros Reckoner (the way Blasphemous Act and Rolling Temblor do right now), otherwise I'm not sure I see it.

Anyway, that's my ramblings for now. In short, Bant hexproof is the main reason. If you have suggestions for how to work Ral Zarek into the deck, please let me know. Thanks for the suggestion.