0 Mana Lightning Bolt

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted anything (i think this is how I have started for the past 3 posts), but fear not for I have been messing around with some landfall shenanegry that is actually incredibly fun! I have talked from time to time about my Valakut Ramp deck, and how it eventually became the Eldrazi Green deck. However, Eldrazi green doesn't take much to get wrecked and so is therefore lame. Valakut, on the other hand, is not only fun, but it packs a punch! Control can't beat it, and if they do, they have to feel bad because all they do is counter Cultivates and Explores, which are easily replaced. Landfalls and triggers can't be responded to either, so often the Control deck just stits there and cries =D. 3 Times over the course of Mark's and my 10 hour playing extravaganza (8pm - 6am if you really wanted to know) I won off of a single Khalni Heart Expedition trigger while having 3 Valakuts in play. 3 Valakuts X 2 Mountains X 3 damage per trigger = 18 damage strait to the face (the last 2 damage was typically from fetchlands). Talk about having a good time ;)

We wound up not testing a whole lot of Valakut, but the deck simply owns. A month or so ago, I read a sweet article on ChannelFireball called "Riding the Wave" which talked about making a GB deck that combo-ed out with a huge Genesis Wave hopefully hitting an Ob Nixilis the Fallen and all lands. then your opponent would take an insane amount of damage and you would be left with a 12/12 or 15/15 behemoth than laughs at Kozelik and Ulamog. I thought the deck was sick, so I immediatly acquired a set of Genesis Wave, 3 Ob Nixilis, 20 Joraga Treespeakers (I really wanted a ton of them! I'm down to 9 not being used), 3 Lotus Cobras, and a pair of Gaea's Revenge. Then I put all the cards in a pile... and didn't look at them for 3-4 weeks. Last night though, I decided this was going to happen, so I built the deck with a splash of blue for Dispels to protect my Wave. I figured because I was in blue I could also add Jace TMS and Preordain, so that's what I did. I realized the deck was very fragile in the same way MG Eldrazi Ramp was: if the cards didn't come exactly like I wanted them to, I flopped. I didn't make any changes that night, because we only played half a dozen games, but here's some things I'm thinking of:

-Cut a Genesis Wave for an Ob Nixilis (was 4 Gen Wave, now 3. Was 3 Ob Nix, now 4)
This will make Genesis Wave better by being more likely to hit Ob Nixilis. Also, getting Genesis Wave in your opening hand is awkward (or 2 like what happened to me), while hard casting Ob Nixilis is still pretty sweet because I can play normal lands (or even fetches for twice the fiesta!)
-Have Avenger of Zendikar and Gaea's Revenge in the deck with another of each in the board
This deck struggles against control. If they know how your deck works, they can hold back a Negate or Flashfreeze and stop the Wave before everyone next to you is watching the Ortiz at bat instead of you screaming and jumping. Gaea's Revenge is a complete Champ against control, and against UB, Avenger is solid to because they probably won't have brought in the Consume the Meek (it only hits Cobra + Treespeaker)
-Cut Dispel for 2 Doom Blade and a Summoning Trap
This one I am less confident about, but it makes sense theoretically. If I have Dispel to protect Wave vs control, and board out Wave vs control, then I just wasted space. Besides, the mana is good enough to get more in black besides Ob Nixilis. Summoning Trap can be sick! Imagine getting T2 Cobra countered, then hitting Ob Nixilis or even (drum roll please...) GAEA'S REVENGE!!! "Attack you for eight!" "Play my third land... concede"
-Obstinate Baloth and Overgrown Battlement for the Board
Mono Red matchup? Miserable... Vampires? Even worse... GW Quest? Yeah, that's bad too, but there is a small glimmer of hope... (we did playtest that last one) These 2 cards will help stop those aggressors and help me get ahead, especially when I'm not worried about counterspells (which is always really nice)

So what is this deck good against? I said it's bad against control and aggro, so I really don't know what it is good against.... Ramp? You know what? WHO CARES!?!?!?! This deck is SO MUCH FUN to play i'm getting giddy thinking about it as I type. What? You want to see the decklist? Ok... fine...

4x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
3x Joraga Treespeaker
3x Lotus Cobra
3x Oracle of Mul Daya
4x Primeval Titan
1x Gaea's Revenge
1x Avenger of Zendikar

3x Genesis Wave
2x Doom Blade
1x Summoning Trap
3x Preordain
3x Explore

3x Jace TMS

8x Forest
2x Swamp
2x Island

1x Terramorphic Expanse
3x Verdant Catacombs
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Drowned Catacomb

Board:
1x Gaea's Revenge
1x Avenger of Zendikar
4x Obstinate Baloth
4x Overgrown Battlement

5x Other stuff

Until next time, never let someone know up front you're trying to skrew them over (especially in a trade)