IsoBurn
Here's the list:
4 x Lightning_Bolt
4 x Incinerate
4 x Kindle
4 x Flame_Burst
4 x Guerrilla_Tactics
4 x Pyrite_Spellbomb
4 x Fireblast
1 x Chain_Lightning
1 x Fire/Ice (*** UNCOMMON ***)
4 x Mogg_Fanatic
4 x Isochron_Scepter (*** UNCOMMON ***)
4 x Mishra's_Factory
18 x Mountain
Sideboard:
4 x Sparksmith
4 x Vulshok_Sorcerer
4 x Shattering_Pulse
3 x Pyroblast
The most important thing to remember with this deck is that it is not an aggro deck. It is generally creature control. Against opponents without creatures to control, it's aggro. Against creautures, you want to lock up the board with Isochron Scepter and a burn spell. The only time to go to the dome (against creature based decks) is during your opponent's endstep if he has no creatures in play, or if his life total is very low and you can burn him out.
Game 2, many opponents will be bringing in artifact removal. It's very important to only lay a Scepter when you can immediately use it (so you don't hit with a 2 for 1). It's best to not imprint Flame Burst or Kindle after boarding against an opponent who might have artifact removal. While Isochron Scepter is important to your strategy in game 1 and unreliable in game 2, you're still well off because of Sparksmith and Vulshok Sorcerer. Several decks roll over to either of these creatures. It's even reasonable to remove the Scepters for these creatures against decks with plenty of artifact destruction but no creature control.
Maindeck Pyrite Spellbombs and Mishra's Factories are a big problem for White Weenie. Maindeck Guerrilla Tactics is highly annoying to MBC. Mogg Fanatic is occasionally amazing, but usually just solid. It's best because it powers up Sparksmith.
I would suggest that 4 artifact removal spells are reasonable (although I welcome discussion of alternatives): Overload, Shattering Pulse, Goblin Tinkerer, and Goblin Vandal.
The two Goblins are worth considering mostly beacause of Sparksmith. Sparksmith is decent against Affinity, but becomes amazing with one other goblin. The Goblin Tinkerer is particularly good even without Sparksmith against Affinity, destroying all their lands then perhaps a more expensive artifact. The Vandal is okay, but I imagine you're unlikely to attack unmolested.
The reason I'm reluctant to use a Goblin for artifact removal is mostly because of the mirror. Both Goblins need to recover from summoning sickness before they can be used, and burn is unlikely to give you that option.
Overload is great against Isochron Scepters, Cranial Platings, and Skullclamps, but worse than Shattering Pulse against larger artifacts, and useless against the largest artifact creatures with affinity for artifacts or for basic lands. It's really the presence of Isochron Scepter in the deck that pushes me to Shattering Pulse, since you ideally are spending 2 mana each turn for either spell and would prefer no restrictions.
I certainly have decks that win against IsoBurn, but it sits at the top of my standings, and it's the first deck (and the only, for unsuccessful decks) I test against with any new design. I encourage you to test against it as well.
Cheers,
Chris
4 x Lightning_Bolt
4 x Incinerate
4 x Kindle
4 x Flame_Burst
4 x Guerrilla_Tactics
4 x Pyrite_Spellbomb
4 x Fireblast
1 x Chain_Lightning
1 x Fire/Ice (*** UNCOMMON ***)
4 x Mogg_Fanatic
4 x Isochron_Scepter (*** UNCOMMON ***)
4 x Mishra's_Factory
18 x Mountain
Sideboard:
4 x Sparksmith
4 x Vulshok_Sorcerer
4 x Shattering_Pulse
3 x Pyroblast
The most important thing to remember with this deck is that it is not an aggro deck. It is generally creature control. Against opponents without creatures to control, it's aggro. Against creautures, you want to lock up the board with Isochron Scepter and a burn spell. The only time to go to the dome (against creature based decks) is during your opponent's endstep if he has no creatures in play, or if his life total is very low and you can burn him out.
Game 2, many opponents will be bringing in artifact removal. It's very important to only lay a Scepter when you can immediately use it (so you don't hit with a 2 for 1). It's best to not imprint Flame Burst or Kindle after boarding against an opponent who might have artifact removal. While Isochron Scepter is important to your strategy in game 1 and unreliable in game 2, you're still well off because of Sparksmith and Vulshok Sorcerer. Several decks roll over to either of these creatures. It's even reasonable to remove the Scepters for these creatures against decks with plenty of artifact destruction but no creature control.
Maindeck Pyrite Spellbombs and Mishra's Factories are a big problem for White Weenie. Maindeck Guerrilla Tactics is highly annoying to MBC. Mogg Fanatic is occasionally amazing, but usually just solid. It's best because it powers up Sparksmith.
I would suggest that 4 artifact removal spells are reasonable (although I welcome discussion of alternatives): Overload, Shattering Pulse, Goblin Tinkerer, and Goblin Vandal.
The two Goblins are worth considering mostly beacause of Sparksmith. Sparksmith is decent against Affinity, but becomes amazing with one other goblin. The Goblin Tinkerer is particularly good even without Sparksmith against Affinity, destroying all their lands then perhaps a more expensive artifact. The Vandal is okay, but I imagine you're unlikely to attack unmolested.
The reason I'm reluctant to use a Goblin for artifact removal is mostly because of the mirror. Both Goblins need to recover from summoning sickness before they can be used, and burn is unlikely to give you that option.
Overload is great against Isochron Scepters, Cranial Platings, and Skullclamps, but worse than Shattering Pulse against larger artifacts, and useless against the largest artifact creatures with affinity for artifacts or for basic lands. It's really the presence of Isochron Scepter in the deck that pushes me to Shattering Pulse, since you ideally are spending 2 mana each turn for either spell and would prefer no restrictions.
I certainly have decks that win against IsoBurn, but it sits at the top of my standings, and it's the first deck (and the only, for unsuccessful decks) I test against with any new design. I encourage you to test against it as well.
Cheers,
Chris
posted by Chris Morling | 5:58 PM
5 Comments:
Awesome build of IsoBurn. I had previously tested with a sub-optimal build with four main-decked Chain Lightnings - The 'chains aren't that great a card for this deck. Anyway, I'm curious: Has IsoBurn won any big PEZ tournaments, like GenCon?
I've noticed that you regard IsoBurn as the strongest PEZ deck. However, does it offer any answers to other, more common, PEZ builds? I mean no disrespect, but considering the meta-game at most tournaments, which revolves around red-hate and goblin decks, does IsoBurn really stand a chance? (I ask this question, because I do not know)
Red-Hate White Weenie (with main-decked Disenchants), for instance, seems to be nearly an auto-loss for it. Standard Bearer with Cho-Manno's Blessing zapped onto it, seems to be a complete game-ender.
Goblin Sligh, with Ringleaders, a Recruiter, and Matrons to fetch them - in theory - should generate such an enormous card advantage in favor of Goblins that Isochron'ed burn becomes irrelevant. Furthermore, as a sideboard option, Sligh has access to Goblin Caves, which pushes the average 2 toughness goblin beyond burn range.
Furthermore, what options does it have for fat-green (specifically, Blastoderm)?
All things considered, the big questions is: Does IsoBurn have any answers for these common decks/strategies?
In order from bad matchups to good:
Blastoderm is a problem. By itself, it's 15 damage. Mogg Fanatics help, representing a 6 point swing in life, but 2 Blastoderms can only be beat with racing. Perhaps the strongest strategy I've found has been a deck with all green creatures with 4 or more toughness: Acridian, Simian Grunts, Bull Elephant, Endangered Armodon, and Blastoderm. It pretty much forces IsoBurn to race, which it's okay at, but not great.
White Weenie is very draw dependent. The maindeck Pyrite Spellbombs mean that pro-red creatures aren't an autowin for White Weenie, and Mishra's Factory means that CoP: Red or even Charm School are far from game over. After sideboarding, the tims are a big problem for White Weenie, since they pretty much necessitate drawing pro-red creatures. IsoBurn also has the option of racing.
The builds of Goblins I've tested against were very different, with Skullclamp for card advantage and without the Goblin Caves. Based on the testing vs. ElfClamp (and Wirewood Herald in particular), I'd guess that the Ringleaders and Matrons aren't very effective. They're slow enough that they give plenty of time to IsoBurn to draw its own card advantage engine. The Goblin Caves are likely to be very effective in conjunction with Goblins with 2 (or more) toughness.
If I were going to a tournament where everyone was going to be playing White Weenie and Goblin decks, I'd be quite comfortable playing IsoBurn. I'd play ProsTides if I knew that the Goblin decks weren't running Red Elemental Blasts. Coffer King would also be a solid choice, I think, in that metagame.
If I knew everyone was playing White Weenie, Goblins, or big green creatures (not just ElfClamp with Blastoderm at the top of the curve, but a deck really committed to some serious big green creatures), I'd probably play Tides and hope to avoid Red Elemental Blasts.
The build of Sligh I'm referring to is both aggro and combo. It basically tries to get Goblin Caves on the table against burn/big creatures, so that it can get its combo off. It tutors for, or draws, Recruiter, and then drops Warchief, Ringleader, Flunkies, Flunkies, Flunkies, Ringleader.
On turn four to five, it is a knock-out blow, and is practically fire-proof. However, Sligh decks using Caves are pretty draw dependent; it's probably too inconsistent to get off before it gets singed by IsoBurn. Though, I would guess that victory would be determined by whoever gets their key card out first.
Of key importance is that it can tutor for 4-toughness Tinkerers.
Wirewood Herald, in my opinion, is a different beast than Goblin Matron. Most importantly, Warchiefs, Recruiters and Ringleaders are all tutorable creatures that help create immediately-playable card advantage. Wirewood Herald can only fetch Multani's Acolyte - and that's hardly a substitute. The ElfClamp decks you've played are bound to be far less consistent in getting their card advantage engine out.
Don't get me wrong, IsoBurn - especially in regard to your well-designed build - is a tough, tough machine. But I suspect that it doesn't win as consistently as your results might have indicated, pre-board and especially post-board.
I've done extensive (two-fisted) testing against Mr. Chapman's build of CofferKings (with my own SB), and post-board match ups swing the balance entirely in CofferKing's favor.
Not to say that IsoBurn loses on a regular basis to CofferKings, White Weenie or Sligh - I'm quite the fallible person, and my testing could have been tainted by something. However, I'm having trouble seeing that IsoBurn is the deck to beat.
I don't think I was clear enough on the White Weenie matchup. I'll try to clarify: White Weenie has access to stuff that completely shuts down red burn. Coalition Honor Guard or Standard Bearer with any sort of damage shield (like Cho-Manno's Blessing, Inviolability), ProRed creatures combined with CoPs/Charm School, SB'ed disenchants - these are all things that many WW decks pack main-board. The color-hating against WW gets ridiculous post-board.
What's your sideboard with CofferKing? I don't know what either deck can board (beyond Guerrilla Tactics, which I'm maindecking in IsoBurn, and Drain Life/Consume Spirit, which I'm maindecking in CofferKing), and CofferKing vs. IsoBurn seems like a pretty key matchup.
Mr. Chapman's sideboard is pretty well constructed:
2 Corrupt
4 Innocent Blood
3 Stench of Decay
4 Terror
2 Serrated Arrows
Mine looks like this:
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Spinning Darkness
2 Corrupt
1 Pestilence
It is hardly an optimized SB - but it performs extremely well against IB (I will side in Spinning Darkness, Duress, both Corrupts and Hymn to Tourach). The most noteworthy card is Spinning Darkness, which hits even pumped up factories for life gain/removal. It usually goes online about the same time the Factories are starting to become a problem.
Post a Comment
<< Home