2 Willbender
1 Brine Elemental
4 Fathom Seer
3 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
4 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
4 Dimir Signet
2 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Repeal
4 Rewind
1 Careful Consideration
2 Mystical Teachings
2 Spell Snare
4 Desert
15 Island
2 Watery Grave
3 Dreadship Reef
SIDEBOARD:
4 Bottle Gnomes
2 Serrated Arrows
2 Shadow of Doubt
1 Brine Elemental
1 Commandeer
1 Draining Whelk
1 Mystical Teachings
2 Spell Snare
1 Trickbind |
  U/B
Pickles 2006.
Description of deck by Frank Karsten
(quoted):
Perhaps you remember the original Soggy
Pickles deck. The goal of a Pickles deck – and I blame the deck's
creator Brian David-Marshall for coming up with such a stupid name – is
to deprive your opponent of untap steps with Brine Elemental and Vesuvan
Shapeshifter. The original Soggy Pickles version played white for Court
Hussar, as well as Temporal Isolation and Grand Arbiter out of the
sideboard. But the deck didn't actually need the white.
The above deck is the result of someone (Stuart Wright
first, rumor has it) making the connection between a Soggy Pickles deck
and the Mystical Teachings / Teferi engine. The list you see is made by
mikeman29 and fob (Luis Scott-Vargas). Playing Mystical Teachings allows
you to go down to 1 Brine Elemental. It is a weak card in every stage of
the game except when you can combo-win, which makes it the perfect tutor
target. In fact, the current build is much less of a Brine Elemental combo
deck. Rather, it is a blue-black control deck that counters some stuff
then draws two extra cards a turn with Vesuvan Shapeshifter plus Fathom
Seer (the defining combo of the deck now, perhaps), and fetching a Brine
Elemental for the kill is a mere afterthought. So maybe I should start
calling it U/B Morph or U/B Shifter instead. Any suggestions? In the
sideboard we find Bottle Gnomes, which works wonders against Boros Deck
Wins, and a wide array of tutorable one-ofs.
To me, this deck is the most interesting to come out of
the last couple weeks. The original Soggy Pickles deck was fun and
innovative, but not good enough to be competitive. I think that with the
addition of Mystical Teachings and Teferi, the deck got the punch it
needed. If I had to pick a deck for a Standard tournament right now, I
would definitely give U/B Pickles a try. Then again…maybe the Dralnu deck
is a good choice as well, as Saikyo told me he was beating Boros Deck Wins
and U/B Pickles with it. And in case you like beatdown decks, Boros should
be your safe deck choice. |
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