We’re back to the ladder. I ended up taking yesterday off, and trying out a few rounds of the Standard Metagame Challenge with Gruul Fury. I did well, but I think it’s time to set the deck aside and try out a new one: Temur Lukka! The deck is built with the standard Temur adventure package, but instead of winning with Goldspan Dragon or Alrund’s Epiphany, the plan is to play Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast and use his -2 on one of our many 3 CMC creatures. This will exile the creature, and replace it with a creature of higher CMC for our library. The trick is that the only creature with a CMC greater than 3 in the deck is Koma, Cosmos Serpent, so Lukka’s -2 ability will always grab the best creature in Standard for us! I think the combo is pretty neat in theory, but let’s see how it actually works on the ladder.
Match 1: 2-0 vs Green Stompy. Since this is my first time playing the deck, I’m pretty much keeping any hand that’s playable. Game 1 I kept a hand of Brazen Borrower, Llanowar Visionary, and The Akroan War, plus lands. I was slightly confused as to why this deck is playing copies of Visionary rather than Kazandu Mammoth, but this game immediately showed me why when I drew a Lukka and ramped into a T4 Koma. Game 2 I did the exact same thing, and even though my opponent managed to knock me down to 1 HP, once the Koma was on the field the game was over. A very strong start for this deck, with a 9 minute 2-0!
Match 2: 2-1 vs Dimir Rogues. Game 1 I won with a T5 Lukka. I sideboarded out Lukka after that, because both the milling and the fact that they’re playing counterspells make the combo less appealing. Game 2 I played double Visionary and ramped up to 7 to hardcast Koma, but they just played Heartless Act to kill it before I could make another Serpent. I tried to pivot into the Innkeeper plan, but I was already low on deck size and milled out before I got anywhere. I sideboarded in Scavenging Ooze before game 3, because I’m following a sideboard guide and didn’t notice that Ooze was in my sideboard until that moment. I have no idea why the sideboard guide doesn’t want Ooze in for this matchup. Game 3 I played a bunch of Adventure creatures and eeked across the finish line with 2 damage from Klothys, God of Destiny and a Stomp. Feeling good!
Match 3: 2-1 vs Temur Turns. Game 1 I got stuck at 3 lands for two turns, but it wasn’t a huge problem because this deck has so many 3 CMC creatures. I eventually got to 5 lands and played an Akroan War, stealing their Goldspan Dragon, and then exiled it with Lukka to grab a Koma. I only sided in an extra Akroan War, but maybe I should’ve also sided in the 3 copies of Mystical Dispute since I saw the Dragon which means Epiphany is a threat. Game 2 I kept a hand of just Borrower and Fire Prophecy, which was probably a mistake. I ended up casting 3 copies of Prismari Command, and I actually drew into a Lukka, but I could never get Lukka and a creature to stick at the same time before it was too late. I almost managed to hold on, with Koma tapped down two Dragons two turns in a row, but they finished me off with an Epiphany. Game 3 I got a crazy hand with lots of Adventure creatures and an Innkeeper, and just kinda ran them over before they left the ground.
I only had time for three matches tonight — I actually played a fourth, but while we were going to game 3 MTGA just… froze. After waiting for a few minutes, I restarted my client, and it was like the match never happened. Oh well. The deck performed well, much better than my first few games of Gruul Fury, so I’m confident that I’ll at least be able to get to Mythic with it. Top 1200 is another story, though. Not unreachable at this point, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge. Looking at the data for the last time I got close, it took 37 games to get from % Mythic to # Mythic. I may have to spend less time on these posts and just focus on grinding if I want to make it. Wish me luck!