What should I cut for Thoughtseize
Deck Help forum
Posted on March 1, 2014, 11:37 p.m. by abenz419
ok so I was able to get ahold of a playset of Thoughtseize and I want to add them to my deck for tomorrow's gameday at my LGS. I need help figuring out what to cut. I know for sure I'm gonna take out the 2x Boon Satyr but the other two slots are up in the air. The deck has really taken off ever since I've tweaked it and made my early game more efficient. Mainboarding the Abrupt Decay and having 2x Ultimate Price has really made the deck get off to better starts and adding the charms to go with Putrefy has really given me an answer for pretty much anything my opponent can throw at me without having a completely dead card (in most matchups). I want to keep that same utility but still be able to make those last couple of cuts for those final 2x Thoughtseize . I'm considering some combination of Ultimate Price , Golgari Charm , and Putrefy . I think taking out one charm and one putrefy keeps my early game efficient and still provides me with the removal and utility I have now. Or I could cut a charm and a ultimate price to keep the hard removal without and restrictions that also hits other various artifacts like god weapons. Or I could cut both charms in order to keep the removal so I have all of the hard removal including enough to keep my early plays effective, but I lose a lot of the utility the charm gives me by being able to hit all kinds of enchantments (i.e. d-sphere, weapons, chained to the rocks) or the help the -1/-1 gives against aggro, or even just regenerating my creature in a crucial spot. I found myself bringing in the charms out of the sideboard a lot which is why I ended up mainboarding two which is why I'm torn about cutting both of them. What do you guys think? Any ideas, and why?
A Tapped Out Collaberation Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 6 | 6 COMMENTS | 398 VIEWSjaggthemiller says... #3
i wold cut Boon Satyr and Arbor Colossus but thats just me, because you have Polukranos, World Eater
March 2, 2014 12:11 a.m.
jaggthemiller says... #4
i also agree with Slycne ..Scavenging Ooze eats the graveyard and Dreg Mangler kinda disagrees with it...and id take out Golgari Charm to sideboard it and make 4 of Desecration Demon Underworld Connections Abrupt Decay or Putrefy ...thats my opinions
March 2, 2014 12:16 a.m.
I do appreciate all of this help and it's one reason I love this community because everyone is willing to help, but I don't think the deck needs a major overhaul so i'm really just looking for help with this subtle change involving the Thoughtseize because I want to improve the deck without completely changing what the deck does or changing how it functions right before I go to game day. I've been playing it for a little over two months now at FNM and after the most recent tweaks have placed regularly at FNM for the last month (going 4-1 each week). I understand the concern with Arbor Colossus but for as long as I've been playing this deck I haven't had a problem casting him (at least not one that's been noticeable). The mana in the deck is split pretty evenly and with the caryatids I rarely am starved for either color. Aside from the demons the only thing I have to deal with flyers is removal and the demons aren't the greatest blockers. The colossus is another threat that needs to be answered right away and also helps deal with something that can be a problem. I tried cutting them before because of the same fear and tested the deck without them and I just personally feel from experience that the deck is much better with them than it is without them despite the possible problems it posseses in casting. The idea of cutting a Scavenging Ooze isn't too bad though. The problems your all concerned about rarely happen when playing because it's easy to play around. They draw fire from lots of removal and after drawing a second ooze early on you can trade off in a block, this typically creates more food and less answers for the second ooze, and if you just play according to the situation you can scavenge the mangler when you can avoid removal and sneak in extra damage if you have the mana and if you don't have the mana then you just eat it like normal and don't care it's not a problem especially since your typically eating your opponents creatures first anyways. I like the idea of getting rid of one ooze though, I don't think cutting to three will hurt much and it'll help me keep some of that utility that I want from my other spells. So it's gonna be 2x Boon Satyr , 1x Scavenging Ooze , and what else? Should I cut one charm? Like I said, I basically was bringing them in during every matchup which is why I started mainboarding it. Hitting Detention Sphere and Chained to the Rocks are big pluses and so is being able to get a 2 for 1 with the -1/-1 in an aggro matchup. I feel like I haven't run into aggro as much lately but it's always gonna be around so with Abrupt Decay being able to hit a lot of the same enchantments that the charm needs to hit, cutting one charm still leaves me 3x mainboard answers to those enchantment threats with the utility of hitting a creature early on as well, do you think cutting the charm for the 4th Thoughtseize makes sense without taking away from how smoothly the deck currently runs?
March 2, 2014 12:55 a.m.
Maybe the 3rd Putrefy can go? There's very few standard worthy artifacts, save the god weapons, and you can already hit those with other spells. So Putrefy ends up being a worse Hero's Downfall or a slower 2 CMC kill spell.
Going down to 1 Golgari Charm MB isn't bad either. When it's good it's good, and it does have some wide utility, but there are cases when none of those modes are relevant and it's a dead draw.
March 2, 2014 1:14 a.m.
I'm really leaning towards one of those two choices, Slycne. Right now the deck works really well because of how easily it can answer just about anything. I'm reluctant to cut a Putrefy because as is I have 6 hard counters with no restrictions between Putrefy and Hero's Downfall which is big. There isn't a ton of artifacts going around and I do have other things that answer the god weapons, but part of the reason I'm always able to deal with them is because Putrefy and Golgari Charm both hit them, and Abrupt Decay hits a few of them as well. So I'm not reliant on drawing one specific card I have multiple options available to me and each one of those has other utility and can be used for something else if the situation arises. I think when it comes down to it though, the charm might be the best cut. Even when the first two modes are completely irrelevant because they have no small creatures and no enchantments then I can still use the third mode to protect something from some spot removal or even chump block a large attack and regen everyone so I can attack my opponent next turn when his defenses are down. With that being said though, I think the best way to keep the deck running smoothly and functioning like it does now is to keep Putrefy and cut one Golgari Charm . Thanks a lot everyone I appreciate the help and being able to bounce thoughts and ideas off of you guys.
Slycne says... #2
The Arbor Colossus would be a strong cut. On 14 green sources plus Sylvan Caryatid you're still dreadfully low on green to support GGG. You actually want to be at something like 22 sources to hit it on time. The deck would be more consistent without them.
Scavenging Ooze can also be trimmed. The first one is really good, and everyone after that is generally pretty bad. They just fight for each other to eat up the graveyard. 3 is the max I would ever consider running, and 2 is probably best.
March 2, 2014 12:06 a.m.