Why is it so bad?
Deck Help forum
Posted on July 28, 2013, 5:04 p.m. by SpaderAce
I have a grixis deck RUB Grixis Control and I thought if I had Snapcaster Mage it would be really good. So I went to a tournament and borrowed 2 of the Mage and still did really bad. What's wrong with the deck? I don't think it's the lands, I'm still working on that, but for now I've never had problems with slow mana. So what's the issue with my deck if I added Snapcaster Mage ?
It's a control deck. Lots of control decks have only 2 creatures, plus Snapcaster Mage
July 28, 2013 5:45 p.m.
amishrambo says... #5
I think its because a lack of consistent cards it seems you got a lot of 1 and 2's of in it take all your best removal and counters up to 4 and ditch the rest
July 28, 2013 6:10 p.m.
The Doctor says... #6
You're still going to have a hard time with only two creatures. Look at BANT control, for example, has many creatures.
July 28, 2013 6:27 p.m.
I too run grixis control and from just glancing at your deck your problem stems from lack of win cons. I would suggest adding a couple Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and seeing how that works for you.
July 28, 2013 6:50 p.m.
Also my grixis deck can be found here Simply Grixis Lockdown.
July 28, 2013 7:14 p.m.
This is my Grixis deck: Zandl's Grixis-ish (2nd/38 @ FNM!)
I had a significantly moderate level of success with it at my local FNM. The thing about cards in Grixis colors is that it's really easy to use too many that, though good (don't get me wrong), are Sorcery-speed (Barter in Blood , Dreadbore , Blasphemous Act ).
Really, Grixis is the very last deck in which you'd want to tap out for on your turn (unless you're casting Jace turn-4 onto a very manageable board). Keeping your opponent off of any creatures is key to winning with Grixis, as you don't have any relevant ways to gain back life lost without White or Green. I've found that relying on my Fuse cards to get me 2-for-1 interactions is how you get ahead on card advantage, not by drawing cards (even with Think Twice , we can't pretend to replace Sphinx's Revelation with anything in these colors).
Lastly, it looks like your deck needs better lands. Work on your land-base; it will make the biggest difference out of any.
July 28, 2013 7:36 p.m.
Oh, and you need to splash a fourth color (Green or White) for Enchantment-hate. Without that, you can't interact with Enchantments at all (save for bouncing them with Disperse /Cyclonic Rift , and that's still pretty awful). Wear / Tear does the trick for me and can be reused with Snapcaster Mage , but it might make your land-base fairly expensive.
July 28, 2013 7:37 p.m.
Honestly, the big problem with grixis control right now is it relies almost entirely on 1 for 1s. It has some of the best removal and counters available, but very few cards that can sweep the board or get it out of jams. This becomes further problematic with the quality and resilience of creatures on the rise. When it draws the perfect combinations of cards, and you correctly make all the right decisions, it can work fine, but it lacks some of the big cards that can dig it out of a bind like Sphinx's Revelation .
If you're still committed to colors, try and squeeze in some more cards with 2 for 1, or more, potential, like the fuse cards or even consider putting Olivia Voldaren back in the main. You won't have big cards to save you, but you can still irk out wins with smart play.
July 28, 2013 8:36 p.m.
So basically I need to be more consistent and revert to my old way if having Nicol bolas and Olivia in the main. What removals do most of you think are the best that I should have 4 of?
July 29, 2013 2:01 a.m.
The Doctor says... #13
Friend of mine has this Grixis build going on. It's won FNM first place for about the past three weeks in a row now.
July 29, 2013 2:42 a.m.
I did change it a bit taking in mind what you guys have said. I also figured since without Tragic Slip for aristocrats i should use Mutilate as a turn 4 wipe since I would have shocks that count as swamps. Take a look at the changes i've made. And i do want to keep at least 1 Ral Zarek in the main and would hope to also have Master of Cruelties . What should i take out in order to have room?
July 29, 2013 2:53 a.m.
Also should I use Vampire Nighthawk instead of the Rakdos Keyrune ?
July 29, 2013 3:18 a.m.
The Doctor says... #16
No, Keyrune is league's better in control due to it being both a mana-get, no color restriction, and it has first strike.
July 29, 2013 3:36 a.m.
Alright, it's just some grixis decks use it and it does have the life gain and can kill anything becaus of deathtouch. But it was just and idea. What do you think of what I changed so far?
July 29, 2013 3:41 a.m.
The Doctor says... #18
Pretty Solid. I personally think you should still have Ral in there somewhere.
July 29, 2013 4:08 a.m.
Gat0rman15 says... #20
Maybe try adding like 3 Augur of Bolas so help dig through the deck.
July 29, 2013 6:21 a.m.
Not really. Jace, Architect of Thought generates some pretty significant card advantage and can hold back an entire board of weenies. Ral Zarek nets you zero cards and usually just winds up being a 4-mana Fog + Lightning Bolt .
There's a reason Jace is in a ton of placing decks and Ral is in none.
July 29, 2013 3:27 p.m.
I prefer the Lightning Bolt on a stick better than the card advantage, I don't have much problem with that. And I own Ral Zarek . Of what's in the deck now, what should be replaced with what?
The Doctor says... #2
Because you only have two creatures.
July 28, 2013 5:42 p.m.