Pox deck

nye · Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

This is my actually pox deck, but i dude if play "smallpox" or "pox" or the both. "bitterblossom" and "cursed scroll" have very sinergy with two pox. And "nihilith" and "tombstalker" are great finishers. Any ideas o critiques?

This is my Pox version:

16 Swamps
4 Wastelands

4 Nihilith
1 Nether Spirit
3 Tombstalker

4 Duress
4 Hymn to tourach
4 Sinkhole
4 Smallpox / Pox
4 Dark ritual
4 Bitterblossom
3 Diabolic edict
1 Smother
3 Cursed scroll
1 Phyrexian totem / The Abyss

SB:

- 4 Cabal therapy
- 4 Extirpate
- 3 Contagion
- 4 Enginered plague

Thx to all!

R3wind · Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 880

I really think that you don't want Tombstalker or Nil. I would go for Plagued Rusalka, Jette, Bob, and Phyrexian Negator. Also 16 land seems a bit low. 18 seems a lot better as you will need to hit two or three on turn three.

Scroll is fine here as you need ways to deal with small guys.

Your discard spells need some work.

- 4 Hymm (I know it's the best discard spell ever)

+ 3 Cabal Therapy
+ 1 Mind Twist

Both of the cards are better in the control matchups. I feel that that Smallpox is ok if you are going to be dumping a fattie and getting it back. I would drop it as most of the time you will not snag anything of value. You are also going to need lots of draw for the control matches like Landstill. A green splash would also help a great deal. Tarmogoyf and Krosan Grip are very good in the format.

I would run beaters that look like this

4 Plagued Rusalka
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Conifdant
3 Phyrexian Negator
3 Eturnal Witness
2 Uktabi Orangatan (spelling?)

4 Duress
4 Bitterblossom
4 Smother
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Jette

6 dual lands
6 Swamp
4 Forest
3 Wasteland
3 Fetchlands

You will want Lightining Bolt in the sidboard if you see Magus of the Moon in your meta. Also basic lands will help. You also have Krosan Grip to deal with Blood Moon. I am not really sure how you would sideboard for differant matches that are in your local meta.

For the sideboard
3 Oflsnout
3 Extirpate
3 Krosan Grip
3 Engen Plague
3 Pithing Needle

ZW · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 136

I have no idea why you would take out hymm. Mind Twist isn't going to do much with little lands. Also rewind, lightning bolt in the sideboard is border line ridiculous, just for Magus of the Moon. You have 10 basic lands too, no need to waste slots on a card that is only good against one card that isn't highly played and has no use when they don't play it as you don't have red sources. Additionally, the Offalsnouts SB are terrible. I would almost always rather have coffin purge or a 4th extirpate, or better yet, some copies of Tormod's Crypt and Leyline of the Void. I recently used Bitterblossom to great sucess in a 1.5 faerie deck, however, that was because I had cards such as Scion of Oona and Spellstutter Sprite. I'm not sure about it here.
Anyway, here's my list:

21 Lands
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Bayou
4 Scrublands
5 Swamp

13 Creatures
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
3 Doran
2 Jotun Grunt

26 Spells
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtseize
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Gerrard's Verdict
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Pernicious Deed
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Unmask
2 Vindicate
1 Duress

Side:
4 Leyline of the Void-Dredge, Loam, Threshold.
4 Oxidize-Painter, Belcher.
4 Engineered Plague-Goblins, a very poor matchup for this deck.
3 Pithing Needle-Painter, Survival, Belcher

Control matchups such as land still should be relatively easy.

Spyx · Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 834

ZW · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 136

Are you referring to my deck? I think my deck is much more playable in the meta today, and Land destruction is awful in 1.5.

R3wind · Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 880

Have you tried Offalsnout vs Dredge? Leyline can be Chain of Vapored. Tormod's Crypt can be Pithing Needled. Offalsnout gives you another one mana card to stop a turn 2 dredge combo.

Offalsnout evokes in and dies removing Bridge(s) and the Flame-Kin Zealot. I would can that's pretty good. I am not sure if you thought about it like that or not.

BG Rock>POX

I never said that my list was good. I kinda suck at 1.5 as I skipped about 2.5 years. I do know that pox decks can't, get there in real life. GB Rock decks can. I do read results from around the net. The big issue is graveyard based combo decks like Dredge.

Spyx · Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 834

If landdesturction is viable or not depends on your metagame. We all know treshold likes to run as few as 17-18 lands, often keeping 1 land brainstorm hands.
A dedicated landdestruction deck like pox punishes this, as they will never have enough counters for all the ld you throw at them.

Imagine them going land > nimble mongoose into your ritual > thoughseize your FoW > Smallpox
You do need to have plenty of lands yourself so play 24 at least.

Ofcourse pox sucks hard vs dredge, but thats why you should dedicate most of your board towards that MU.

ZW your deck looks solid, but I think he wants to play pox, and not aggro/control.

Black_Dog · Joined: 29 Sep 2006 Posts: 165

I play B/W Pox IRL and Pox first off Pox is not a Land D deck. Its a complete resource destruction deck. Hand, Mana Base, Creature, Life and if you build or board for it, Graveyard.

B/W is a more viable option for Pox over the green splash IMO.

Pox is my favorite 1.5 deck has it has no bad match ups and Pox's success is soley upon the deck specifics and pilot.

Pox is a slow deck so creatures like Epocrasite are solid.

Also my fav wild card to play in Pox (and an underrated card) is Reanimate which in a Goyf/Rock world is golden.

I'd say get 4 sinkholes but its a high Euro set for 4.

The trick with Pox vs Dredge is too stall and wreck them. Ghostly Prisons or if you do run Green use Elephant Grass. Those on top of Extirpates, Leylines and Tormods.

Actually I'd bank on Prisons over Plague's simply b/c the can effect more of a creature base and consume a players mana base while they fish for 2CC to attack rather than drop spells, which gives you more time to destroy whatever mana base they have with Sinkhole, Vindicate, Smallpox and Pox or if you care to try it, Desolation.

Anyway. I <3 Pox and have had a better success rate with it than other decks and like its ruthless style of play one must have to pilot it proper.