Ghost Dad's Circus Stampede

Standard* mrbloo1848

SCORE: 71 | 64 COMMENTS | 19532 VIEWS | IN 32 FOLDERS Top 8: 05/10

Playtest #11 —March 13, 2013

Played against a list similar to Craig Wescoe's Boros Champions list which is basically a boros humans list that runs the usual early game plan of Champion of the Parish and Precinct Captain along with the usual Humans shell staple like Silverblade Paladin, Knight of Glory, Boros Reckoner, etc. and transitions very well into mid- and late-game by playing Gideon, Champion of Justice and Ajani, Caller of the Pride which is capable of doing massive damage if left unchecked.

We just kept playing without sideboards (he didn't have one with him) for a few hours or so, letting the loser of previous game play first. The matchup was relatively even with me having a slight advantage. As long as I am able to get into turns 5-6 without being completely swarmed (thanks to removals and the 3-4 drops), I could usually just go over the top of their curve and take the game over from there. Lingering Souls does a very good job at stalling the early game and taking the punishments from Gideon and everyone else(though Gideon loves the tokens as it gives him huge amount of counters off of +1). Loxodon Smiter is able to take a lot of punishment with his 4 toughness, being able to trade with a paired Silverblade Paladin or his partner (as long as the Champion has 2 or less counters) and breaking the bond. The 3 Abrupt Decay was absolutely perfect against this kind of aggro matchup, having multiple targets to choose from (sometimes I run into a Faith's Shield, but I usually watch their open mana before I cast it and even then it's a 1-for-1). Selesnya Charm worked great against a zero'd Gideon, Champion of Justice or as a combat trick to bait the weenies into hoping to trade with one of my creatures. Garruk Relentless  ^Flip also worked great as a removal and basically a decoy, since they'd have to kill him before my next turn unless they want me to tutor up my finisher (in most cases, Angel of Serenity). Obzedat, Ghost Council was also a star in this matchup as he nicely survives Gideon, Champion of Justice's ultimate (opponent blew Gideon up twice that night) and at least gives me some wiggle room if not killing Gideon outright. Staff of Nin and Garruk, Primal Hunter gave me the card draw I need to keep drawing into more removals or finishers (just for game 1 though, I usually would side at least one of him out against aggro since he's slow).

This was a very productive playtest as it demonstrated that the new changes made this list a bit more resilient against all but the fastest aggro (like Naya Blitz or RDW) and is able to go over the top of midrange lists while remaining a threat against control.