To ramp or not to ramp?
Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 11, 2013, 8:17 p.m. by capriom85
PSB 2.0 is the deck in question. Is it necessary in the current meta to have that T1 mana dork for a midrange deck or not? I feel like the Elvish Mystic in here would be better off as some combination of Syncopate , Rapid Hybridization , and Rootborn Defenses to compliment the lack of non-creature answers I feel I have. With things like Naya Blitz gone, I don't think that the meta is fast enough to warrant T1 mana dork, T2 farseek, into a T3 Thragtusk just to stabilize mentality anymore.
Yes, RG Devo needs the dorks...they only play huge creatures and need to get them out FAST. But I have 2 drops...8 of them. Also, what will that T1 dork really get me? A T2 Loxodon Smiter is just as good as a Fleecemane Lion in most agro matches. As Spootyone I believe recently states...a T4 Advent of the Wurm is still pretty awesome compared to T3 in most cases, too. Later in a game...the dorks do nothing because I am in no need of the ramping any longer and, to be honest, the only 1/1 for 1cmc that is doing anything on the offensive right now is Legion Loyalist .
Is short...the 1 drop rampers right now suck (at least we had a green 1 drop that prodced W mana last meta), and I feel the 2 drop sylcan-caryatid comes out too late. What does that TO community think?
Spootyone, I know what you are saying about the Sylvan Caryatid and mana fixing in 3 color build that has a triple W 7 drop. Honestly...all Angel of Serenity is there to do is open the gates to a finish. She will most likely come out in agro matches to make way for Centaur Healer which can hose a lot of the agro out there now. I am worried, however, because I have been coming up short in the triple W when needed department. I added some a plains in place of an Island and Forest. Man, do I miss that perfect mana! I'd hate to have to make this a GW build simply because I lose all card draw. I think the real question here is do I want to waste T2 on the Caryatid with no 1 drops or do I want to paly a Voice or Lion? This seems more like a play Caryatid or not issue than should I ramp or not. Some games, with all the control and midrange out now, can come down to if the 3 damage that the Lion could have inflicted T3 when I played a Caryatid instead.
Spootyone says... #2
Well, you know that after recent events I'm going to agree with you haha.
I think it depends on the deck. With G/W, the idea seems silly. I love Sylvan Caryatid . I bought a playset as soon as they were released. But all my potential 4-drops are already above the curve. Getting them out one turn early doesn't stop anything more than it would on turn four in most cases. And it sure as hell doesn't stop them from getting hit by Doom Blade or Hero's Downfall . I tried out a few 5-drops in my deck including Archangel of Thune , Scion of Vitu-Ghazi and I even tried out Armada Wurm . Scion came the closest to being good since it always came out as three creatures that could potentially be 10 total power or more on board, but I didn't need that because I could just play a 2 drop 3/3 into turn 3 4/4 into turn 4 5/5 (with additional plus-sides). And I wouldn't be left with a 0/3 defender after they killed or traded with two of them.
Now let's take a look at your deck. You have 4 drops, 6 drops, even 7 drops! In a normal game, this would never happen without dorks or some other form of ramp. Yet, you do have control elements. You have Detention Sphere , Azorius Charm and the powerful Sphinx's Revelation to disrupt opposing tempo and recover during the midgame. So wouldn't the ramp still be unnecessary? I think so. It would at least be top-deck worthy in the form of more removal or additional restorative cards like Jace, Architect of Thought and his -2 ability.
But the last thing I want to mention is 3-color decks and Sylvan Caryatid . We don't have perfect mana like we used to. And sometimes, this becomes a real problem in 3-color decks -- especially control ones who need to be playing spells to keep from being run over. Sylvan Caryatid works as ramp AND mana fixing. And this I find to be a huge positive effect. Add to that the ability to deter a bit of aggro (albeit poorly in my experience) and the card seems solid. But only as a 3-of I'd say.
And as you've mentioned, some decks need the ramp. Green devotion and Gruul devotion need to get out their 7 drops turn 4. Or their 4-5 drops turn 3. Dorks also work well in that weird golgari deck that uses Nemesis of Mortals , Nighthowler and Shadowborn Demon with grave shenanigans since they lose a lot of land to cards like Commune with the Gods as well as potentially Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord .
December 11, 2013 9:06 p.m.