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Decks to Beat
RG Materialism

RG Materialism is an aggro/control deck, built to break open the red rare Materialism. To accomplish this, the deck features tons of utility creatures that use counters as a resource, plus some very saucy instant and sorcerys, namely a lot of burn and Flowerbloom Season.
(I don't currently have images for all cards, so please see what each card does either on Apprentice or in the spoiler.)

R/G Materialism
Verdict Block Constructed deck 		Download
this deck
for Apprentice
Main Deck (60 cards) Sideboard
7 Mountain
7 Forest
4 Arborized Peak
18 land

4 Goblin Firehandler
4 Windsearch Druid
4 Gardenwatch Elf
4 Retritherion
2 Ophine Archer
18 creatures 		4 Materialism
4 Pyric Tempest
3 Rockthrow
3 Sparkling Blast
3 Woodstick Weaponry
3 Lavaspit Season
4 Flowerbloom Season
24 other spells 		2 Ophine Archer
4 Mongoose Herdleader
4 Elvish Naturalist
3 Spirit of Commitment
2 Flaring Gaze
15 sideboard cards

How the deck works

First of all, to play this deck, stock up on counters. On apprentice, I reccommend that you use the "Create card" feature to physically create +1/+1 counters. For example, if you play an Elvish Naturalist, go to the "Action" menu and chose "Create Card". There, create a card called "+1/+1 counter", and place it on your Naturalist as though it were an enchant creature. Since the elf comes into play with two +1/+1 counters, simply use the "Add counters" feature on your "+1/+1 counter" card and set it to 2 counters. When the elf leaves play, simply remove the "+1/+1 counter" card from the game. This may look complicated on paper, but is really simple in the program. For the other types of counters, you can either do the same or add the counters directly on the card using the "Add counters" feature.

On to functionality. This deck is loads of fun to play, and is really powerful, being one of the three Tier-1 decks in the block this far. Your goal is to lay creatures, draw cards with your Windsearch Druids, use burn and Pyric Tempest to remove threats, and then go off with a Materialism and a load of counter-based cards. Once there, you'll just retrieve your burn spells with Materialism and kill your opponent.

Tips

There are quite a few crazy things you can do with this baby, but the following is my favorite. If you play Woodstick Weaponry in its instant form and have a Flowerbloom Season in your hand and a Materialism out, you can keep retrieving the Season every single turn (most times, more than once per turn) and end up with some badass insects.

Also, you may note that the deck only has 18 lands, but has four Flowerbloom Seasons and three Lavaspit Seasons, which makes up for a total 25 lands. Don't be afraid to play the seasons as lands in the early game, because you'll need them to get to a point where you're mana plentiful. And besides, you can always sacrifice them later on to a Rockthrow, only to get them back with Materialism.

Matchups

UW Trove - This match should go on for quite some time, and it's always tough for both sides. Your best approach here is to be aggressive, and get Materialism into play as soon as you can. Once you effectively start recurring cards, there's little your opponent can do. For the second game, he'll probably bring in powerful enchantment removal in the form of Cloudfighter Celestral, as well as Thought Shortage to get rid of your Materialisms before you get going. You should side in Mongoose Herdleader, which will totally nullify his Represses and countermagic. Also, bring the two remaining Ophine Archers, because he has plenty of flyers, and the four Elvish Naturalists, because this deck relies completely on enchantments. Both decks have powerful sideboard answers to each other, wich will make up for a even tougher post-sideboard match for both sides.

White Weenie - The card that can bring you the most problems here is Golden Pegasus, and that's the main reason you have two Ophine Archers maindeck. Also, you should watch out for Angelic Blessing, which makes his creatures very tough to remove. You should try your best to survive his early rush with burn and Pyric Tempest. Once you control the game, there's little he can do. All in all, you have the advantage in this matchup. For the second game, it's really important that you bring in the remaining Ophine Archers, because he runs tons of flyers. If you find Angelic Blessing to be a problem, don't be afraid to bring Elvish Naturalists as well.

BR Aggro - This is an annoying match. Mainly, game 1 will see each player casting tons of removal, until both of you enter topdeck mode. His Melanotic Poltergeists and Coffin Vermins will refuse to go away, and should give you some trouble, but most of the times you can deal with them. You should aim all of your removal at his guys, and only then think of beginning the Materialism madness. All in all, you should end up winning this one, because your tricks will eventually overwhelm him. Once you both enter topdeck mode, you should really hope for a Materialism, because that will most often than not mean game over. Post sideboard, he will come much more aggressive, packing direct damage and Melanotic Poltergeist's best friend: Undeads' Uproar. You should watch out for this one, especially if he also brings in a pair of Greed Elementals to fetch with the Uproar's alternate form. The game will be much tougher, and you've got to play beatdown more than ever. Just find those Materialisms and get them going as quick as you can. You should bring in Spirit of Commitment for this match, and also Flaring Gaze if you manage to find room for it.

RG Beats - This is a game you can win, but it will depend on how the game goes. You have recursive removal (via Materialism) to deal with their threats, but if they manage to pull an uber-aggressive hand, you will probably be beaten down. Once again, you have a slight advantage, but it can get out of hand. Woodcall Titan is a monstrosity here, and your best bet will be to save four removal spells once the first one comes into play. Remember to save your Pyric Tempests for their Eager Trolls, because the Trolls are pretty tough to remove otherwise (note how Pyric Tempest's alternate form keeps them from regenerating). All in all, RG Beats isn't a very consistent deck, and it's clearly inferior to RG Materialism when it comes to facing the metagame. Hold on in the beginning, because you will probably pull a win in the end.



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