Dealing with Smuggler's Copter
Standard Deck Help forum
Posted on Oct. 3, 2016, 12:12 p.m. by clayperce
So, with 32 copies of Smuggler's Copter in the Top 8 of SCG Open Indianapolis last weekend, I'm thinking about mainboarding some Artifact hate or maybe Flyer hate.
Edit: I'm not that concerned with Smuggler's Copter itself. I'm more wondering if the likely prevalence of the card + the other Artifacts and Flyers likely to see play = we've reached a tipping point where Artifact hate or maybe Flyer hate belongs on the mainboard?
Thoughts?
I'm asking for my deck of course, but it probably applies to all of us :-)
Thanks much!
Delta-117,
Oh, I know. Or Clip Wings or various blockers (e.g., Weaver of Lightning) or Ruinous Gremlin or a ton of other options.
I'm just wondering if they belong on the mainboard rather than in the sideboard.
October 3, 2016 12:26 p.m.
I would in fact try both. Have maybe 2 in the mainboard depending on your deck, and the additional in the sideboard. Cards like Clip Wings, Fragmentize, etc that can be used for other threats will do fine in the mainboard.
October 3, 2016 12:30 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #5
find something to be an instant speed removal over Incendiary Flow.
October 3, 2016 12:32 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #6
Holy crap I didn't expect vehicles to be such a thing. Appetite for the Unnatural seems like the best option if you are going green. Natural State is good and all but it can't hit Fleetwheel Cruiser or Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. Plus the life gain is relevant against aggro.
October 3, 2016 12:36 p.m.
Forget my Fragmentize suggestion, I hadn't realized what deck you were talking about as the link didn't work at first.
Based on asasinater13's suggestion, you could give Galvanic Bombardment a try.
There's always Lightning Axe and Fiery Temper to consider for this too.
October 3, 2016 12:37 p.m.
Delta-117, asasinater13, and Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor
Yeah, some on the main and the rest in the side may be the plan. I did that last season with Flyerhate, where it seems like every match was against either an Angel, a Demon, a Spirit, a Vamp, or a Gryff's Boon'd human. I just wasn't expecting to see non-stop Smuggler's Copters!
I like Root Out just a little better (in this deck) than Appetite for the Unnatural for the Heavy artifacts. It just seems to want the Draw more than the Lifegain.
I'm not so sure about Galvanic Bombardment. The Instant speed is great of course, but Copters seem to attack and block as a 4/4 way more often than as a 3/3, due to all the Artifact and Vehicle Lords (Chief of the Foundry, Veteran Motorist, etc) in those builds, and that makes the first two kind of meh. Plus, I HATE to lose the ability to Burn players and Planeswalkers :-(
Lightning Axe though, maybe ... hmmm ...
I REALLY appreciate all your suggestions ... they've given me plenty to think about and test!
Delta-117,
No worries on Fragmentize; it's great for anyone running White and I knew what you meant. I recommended Tears of Valakut on a Golgari deck the other day! :-D
October 3, 2016 1:05 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #9
instant speed is much better than sorcery speed on Root Out vs Appetite for the Unnatural.
with Galvanic Bombardment you'll be able to keep them out of creatures to be crewing their vehicles with.
October 3, 2016 1:10 p.m.
asasinater13,
That's what I thought too, since Instant > Sorcery is certainly true in general. But in testing it's pretty much a wash in my deck, mostly because keeping up is just oppressive.
Depending on the Toughness of your creature, I think Kozilek's Return is generally a much better tool for killing Crew members.
Thanks again though!
October 3, 2016 1:45 p.m.
DarksteelBadger says... #11
@clayperce: The first week of almost all Standard environments should not be considered the new meta. Usually Aggro is a very favorable deck to play at the beginning of Standard while people are figuring out what to do, but tends to decline in prevalence after the Pro Tour. Smuggler's Copter slots very well in Aggro, but not so much in more controling builds. I agree that Smuggler's Copter is a fantastic card, but warping your deck because of a single card thats frequency of play is yet to be determined seems unreasonable. However, looking into Galvanic Bombardment for instant speed removal may be worth it if vehicles do become a major archetype.
October 3, 2016 4:35 p.m.
DarksteelBadger says... #13
@Mortem: Harnessed Lightning would be great for his/her energy themed deck!
October 3, 2016 4:50 p.m.
DarksteelBadger,
Yeah, SaffronOlive has an interesting article on exactly that over at MTGgoldfish.
I agree there's no need for me to over-react. But I personally went from thinking of Copter as "just another Vehicle" to "something I'm probably going to see on any given evening, at least early in the season", so I need to react at least a little :-)
Mortem and DarksteelBadger,
I know. I'm already running Harnessed Lightning as a 4-of, and it's a great card. I recommend it for any deck that can run Red, whether Energy-themed or not.
Thanks much to you both!
October 3, 2016 7:34 p.m.
Wabbbit,
Ha ha, yeah, that thought had occurred to me too (way before the tournament this weekend). But I'd need to add a bunch more Creatures (one-drops, probably), which would totally change the deck :-(
But that's a great plan for most decks!
October 3, 2016 11:50 p.m.
Brofessor_X says... #18
I feel this is a little premature. Smuggler's Copter is an amazing card, that turns any 1/1 Token or sloppy 1/1 Creature into a 3/3 flying, drawing machine. However; it's easily dealt with, as is any other creature.
Cheap removal and Control makes this card useless. I've faced numerous decks already with mine, and Grasp of Darkness, Murder, Declaration in Stone, Fragmentize, Unsubstantiate and Compelling Deterrence all make it much harder to be effective with Smuggler's Copter.
Artifact removal, and anything that removes creatures can be used to spell nightmare for this card. Every deck should, at the very least, be sideboarding something to deal with Artifacts now that Kaladesh released.
October 4, 2016 1:10 p.m. Edited.
Brofessor_X,
I totally agree with you on "Every deck should, at the very least, be sideboarding something to deal with Artifacts" ... I was more looking for opinions whether we've hit that tipping point where we should mainboard.
By the way, while Declaration in Stone works against Crew members, it doesn't work on Copter itself.
October 4, 2016 2:33 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #21
in the mardu control deck I'm building I'm like 90% sure I'm mainboarding 2 Ruinous Gremlin. destroys copters, and if that's ever not relevant I can also hit miscellaneous clues or just chump block something to save myself some life. I wouldn't run artifact removal that isn't versatile mainboard. but the gremlins that I can just use as a chump blocker if need be I think are fine to include.
October 4, 2016 6:39 p.m.
I find that skywhalers shot as well as immolating glare have been good answers to copter as well other vehicles
October 5, 2016 11:59 a.m.
asasinater13,
Just wanted to let you know: You convinced me on Appetite for the Unnatural. I've been watching Root Out very closely in playtesting, and I noticed two times where Appetite would have been much better ... I could have killed a vehicle after my opponent tapped to Crew, and it would have made all the difference. The cards are still really close in my deck, but I'm going to start the season with Appetite.
So thanks!
October 5, 2016 1:07 p.m.
Y'all may have already seen this, but in case not, here's SaffronOlive's take: Brewer's Minute: Beating the Looter Scooter, from over at MTGGoldfish.
Thanks again Bovine073, for pointing this out to me!
October 7, 2016 7:29 p.m. Edited.
Lastdaysgunslinger says... #25
You really just have to break away from netdecking and add things to handle it or just play red. Red is able to deal with any of the vehicles in the set. People arent realizing how strong red is in standard right now.
October 9, 2016 1:32 p.m.
Lastdaysgunslinger,
Not sure who you were speaking to, but if it's me you really should have checked my decks first. (1) I almost always play red and (2) I've never netdecked in my life. :-)
October 9, 2016 1:47 p.m. Edited.
This is the main reason I have Vampire Envoy in my Aetherflux Reservoir deck. Serves about the same purpose as Weaver of Lightning for those of us playing black instead of red.
_Delta_ says... #2
Fragmentize, and Natural State will work.
October 3, 2016 12:14 p.m.