Grixis Help Against Green

Deck Help forum

Posted on March 21, 2014, 11 a.m. by Sloanan

Howdy there, gangsters and gangstettes. So I've got a standard grixis control deck that I've been working on for a while now. Essentially, it's butt-loads of removal with a few big creatures to finish the job. This has consistently done well against most colors and most decks - Mono black, mono blue, boros, mill, Esper, etc.

However, the one color this deck has been consistently weak against is f@ckin' Green. Be it green devotion, red-green Xenagos decks, or even just splash green, it just doesn't do well against the color. They either ramp out too many creatures all at once (too many to do remove in time to avoid big damage) or pull out too many creatures that are either hexproof or just above the damage threshold of any of my mass removals.

My biggest plan is to put some Mizzium Mortars on the sideboard, but I'm definitely open to suggestions. I know that my deck's biggest problem is that I'm not getting any creatures out until at least turn 4 (Which is why I've loaded up the rest of the deck with removals and counters), but when it's running efficiently, that's not a problem. But it never works with green. Would any of you kind peoples have any suggestions for good green-hate cards to put in the sideboard? Anything and everything helps.

Here's the deck for reference:


Black Stars Rise Playtest

Standard Sloanan

SCORE: 4 | 2 COMMENTS | 559 VIEWS

-Logician says... #2

It you're going to the total hate-bear, it's Woodlot Crawler . :)

But in all seriousness...

  1. I don't like Gray Merchant in this deck. You don't develop enough devotion by turn 5 to warrant tapping out for him, considering that you'd have to also have tapped out on turn 4 to even give him some juice. Does that make sense?
  2. Maybe instead of Gray Merchant, consider Pack Rat . It seems like a mono black card, but it can totally be played in control. I'm pretty sure that even a green deck can't keep up with the ridiculous value and power of turn 2 pack rat. You just basically win.
  3. Red/Green monsters will usually only have one or two threats at a time. You basically just need the removal spell for them. Ultimate Price gets rid of most of their juicy creatures... but not Ruric Thar, the Unbowed . Gotta watch out for that guy.
  4. Consider changing Swan Song with Izzet Charm .
  5. Your only source of card advantage are two Jaces. Not sure I like that in a Grixis Deck. Granted, this is sort of midrange and not control, but you still might want to consider some draw power. Inspiration , Opportunity .. both of which are instant speed so you can "Draw, Go" as they say, leaving up mana for removal.
  6. Against Mono Green Devotion specifically, maybe the answer is Essence Scatter . You can play around with the idea of Encroaching Wastes too in order to kill the Nykthos land, but I would imagine that to be a little too slow. Maybe not though, as I haven't tried it. The Izzet Charms that I suggested will keep them off devotion in the form of Burning-Tree Emissary , but I understand that Izzet charm is tough on your mostly black mana curve.
March 21, 2014 12:02 p.m.

DrFunk27 says... #3

I posted on the deck but Ultimate Price shuts down G/R Monsters.

March 21, 2014 12:06 p.m.

GoofyFoot says... #4

I personally thing for a control deck it runs a few too many creatures. and all big ones at that. slim down your creature base, add in more board wipes. stuff like Drown in Sorrow , Mizzium Mortars and even Whelming Wave

March 21, 2014 12:11 p.m.

Sagi007 says... #5

if its devotion suggest a 3th Anger of the Gods the card kills pretty much all devotion stuff.

against R/G Monsters Doom Blade de above mentioned Ultimate Price or maybe Lifebane Zombie ???

maybe Essence Scatter against Xenagos god.

March 21, 2014 12:21 p.m.

Sloanan says... #6

Thanks for the advice, fellers. The general consensus seems to be less creatures, either Ultimate Price or Doom Blade , and some more mass removal. I can roll with that.

Like ya'll are saying, I seem to have a few too many creatures. What would you suggest removing? I can definitely get rid of Gary (although I'm proud to say I once won one match with him swinging for 2 every turn). Even though he's a boss, I'm kinda leaning towards removing AEtherling because it usually takes too long to get him going (You need to essentially have 8 mana to keep him alive until your next turn, as anyone worth their salt will try to remove him before he can get rolling). I might could do without the Sire Of Insanity , but I'm not sure. I originally had him as an alternate wincon, and once he's out my removal spells are basically uncounterable, but he's not quite the beast he was. I'd like to keep Mogis, because with my removal, he should be dealing 2 damage every turn (I barely even want to use him as a creature most of the time). I'd also like to stick with the Master of Cruelties , because like I said, when this deck works, I'm killing off so many guys that he can usually swing unblocked.

Any thoughts?

March 21, 2014 4:41 p.m.

Sloanan says... #8

Bump for an update:

I've taken out a chunk of the creatures and swapped them out for some Doom Blade and Drown in Sorrow . I'd like to throw in a Hypersonic Dragon or two in there to help take out immediate threats (since a good bit of my removal are actually sorceries), but I'm still unsure of what else to remove. I also want to put in some card draw as suggested by -Logician (If I could, I'd put in nothing but Woodlot Crawler !)

I'm also heavily considering Pack Rat , as that can definitely get out of control rather quickly if I get him going early on.

Any other ideas of what to take out for either the rats, the dragon, or the card draw?

March 24, 2014 10 a.m.

Sloanan says... #9

Bumpstacles?

March 25, 2014 11:11 a.m.

Sloanan says... #10

Ok, so here's another bump. I've added in some Rakdos's Return , 2x Pack Rat , 1x Hypersonic Dragon , and a Ral Zarek .

I've updated the deck to include a hypothetical Liliana of the Dark Realms . Sure, it's not necessarily a board-altering PW, but her land fetching could be really useful. As I said, it's just an idea right now, so I'm curious if any of you might have a comment on if it's useful to have in there or not. I playtested it with my brother yesterday and it worked fairly well in a multiplayer game (I likely wouldn't consider it for singles, especially in tournaments, but at least in casual I like the idea of having her).

March 27, 2014 10:35 a.m.

This discussion has been closed