Pattern Rector [Canadian Highlander]

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
This is the fifth Canadian Highlander deck I've put together so far, but on the second one I'm posting in the decks forum because one abandoned the day after I built it and two were "netdecked."

TappedOut link.


Decklist (version 1.0)

1x Abyssal Gatekeeper
1x Academy Rector
1x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
1x Archangel of Thune
1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Bloodthrone Vampire
1x Body Snatcher
1x Boonweaver Giant
1x Caller of the Claw
1x Carrion Feeder
1x Deathrite Shaman
1x Elves of Deep Shadow
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Fiend Hunter
1x Fleshbag Marauder
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Gaddock Teeg
1x Karmic Guide
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Maggot Carrier
1x Nantuko Husk
1x Noble Hierarch
1x Phyrexian Delver
1x Phyrexian Ghoul
1x Protean Hulk
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Restoration Angel
1x Reveillark
1x Saffi Eriksdotter
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Shriekmaw
1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1x Sun Titan
1x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Veteran Explorer
1x Viscera Seer
1x Voice of Resurgence
1x Wall of Roots
1x Arid Mesa
1x Bayou
1x Bazaar of Baghdad
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Brushland
1x Canopy Vista
1x Caves of Koilos
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Fetid Heath
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Flooded Strand
3x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Godless Shrine
1x Horizon Canopy
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Llanowar Wastes
1x Marsh Flats
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Phyrexian Tower
2x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Sandsteppe Citadel
1x Savannah
1x Scrubland
2x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
1x Thran Quarry
1x Twilight Mire
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Wasteland
1x Windswept Heath
1x Cabal Therapy
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Duress
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Thoughtseize
1x Vindicate
1x Animate Dead
1x Evolutionary Leap
1x Pattern of Rebirth
1x Pernicious Deed
1x Recurring Nightmare
1x Survival of the Fittest
1x Sylvan Library
1x Worldly Tutor
1x Liliana, the Last Hope

Point cards are Demonic Tutor, Protean Hulk, Survival of the Fittest, and Worldly Tutor. This is all still completely untested. So it's a very, very rough draft. As I've indicated on TappedOut, I took apart Gitrog County Municipal Lake Dredge Appraisal to build this. Anyway, we'll see how it goes...
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Got to test it yesterday. I lost every single game, although a few of them were against a UR Burn deck that was a pretty bad matchup anyway. But yeah, this deck failed miserably last night.

While I do think I spot some areas I want to improve, the main problem was that I drew garbage hands every game (think I played a total of about 8 games). Stuff like mulliganing a no-land 7 into an awkward 6 with two lands, no green mana sources, a mana dork, and some 3-drops and 4- drops, then proceeding to draw green cards for the rest of the game. One of the games ran long and I might have won except I hit a pocket of 6 lands in a row (my opponent, playing a control-combo deck and unable to get his combo, beat me to death with small creatures while I helplessly topdecked land after land). So yeah, I need better data than that. I'm sure the list needs some adjustment, but it's not that bad.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I really still need more substantial testing, but here's my first update...

-1 Maggot Carrier
-1 Nantuko Husk
-1 Archangel of Thune
-1 Caller of the Claw
-1 Thran Quarry
+1 Murderous Redcap
+1 Cartel Aristocrat
+1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
+1 Razorverge Thicket
+1 Woodland Cemetery

Mostly, these changes are because I went out and bought some cards I'd been thinking of putting in the deck, but didn't initially own. Murderous Redcap is far more useful as a kill condition than Maggot Carrier, and Cartel Aristocrat is preferable to a three-drop sac outlet. Against my better judgment, I'm bumping the land count up by one, for now.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Copied from my update at TappedOut...

Frustratingly, but also somewhat amusingly, my deck has yet to actually win a single game. I do put part of that down to luck, but I think I already see two major points I want to correct. Firstly, Pattern Rector is a hybrid deck and should be able to win by either comboing off or by taking over the board through attrition and value. Secondly, this deck definitely had too many lands. I may have gotten a bit aggressive on cutting lands, but 39 was bad. I suspect that the right answer is 35 or 36, and I'm taking the under, for now.

Changes...

-1 Fleshbag Marauder
-1 Abyssal Gatekeeper
-1 Phyrexian Delver
-1 Cabal Therapy
-1 Twilight Mire
-1 Fetid Heath
-1 Razorverge Thicket
-1 Flagstones of Trokair
+1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
+1 Swords to Plowshares
+1 Siege Rhino
+1 Thrun, the Last Troll
+1 Archangel of Thune
+1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
+1 Garruck, Apex Predator
+1 Arena Rector

So yeah, eight card substitutions is a big deal. Battlebond gave us Arena Rector and so I've added two big planeswalkers to form a second Rector package. I am still contemplating the ideal toolboxes to squeeze into this deck with both Rectors, and it's a tough call. I might substantially change the composition of either the enchantments or the planeswalkers, or both.

I've also thrown in more creatures that can actually attack and block. The primary goal is a combo win, but I want to have enough threats that traditional creature combat is a plausible backup. Archangel of Thune is back in, and I'm hopeful for the other new inclusions.

The Fleshbag Marauder + Abyssal Gatekeeper trick is something of a signature of mine, and was one of my favorite plays in my old Commander deck, which evolved into this deck. I'm sad to cut it, but think it's the right call. The other cards are fine, but weren't as strong as I hope their replacements turn out.

I am now adding a Maybeboard.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I'm sure in the long run my idea of using both Rectors in the same deck won't be unique, but traditional Pattern Rector isn't a wildly popular archetype in any format right now and Arena Rector is still quite new. So far, I'm the only one I know of to take this approach, although I assume there are others. Perhaps not in Canadian Highlander, though...

I want to give this deck a unique name, something less generic than "Pattern Rector." But right now I'm kinda stumped. All of the ideas I can think of are probably very bad...

Pattern Rector Rector?
Pattern of Double Rector?
Pattern Rector Doublemint Twins?
Rector Double Trouble?
Get Rect?
Human Sacrifice?
All the Rectors?
The Rectoral College?
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Today, this deck finally broke its losing streak, albeit not in a very convincing fashion. I played against my friend's Grixis Time Vault deck and his Cradlehoof deck, losing 4 out of 5 games. I'm starting to become convinced to keep this deck around long-term as one of my default decks for this format, but I'm going to need to continue refining it. Amusingly, I ran into this situation against Cradlehoof...
tidehollow dilemma.jpg

Second-turn Tidehollow Sculler revealed that my opponent's hand was super-crazy and I was doomed. I ended up taking the Crop Rotation and evoking Shriekmaw to kill Rofellos, then using Vindicate to kill Whisperwood Elemental. Turned a scary, imminently lost game into an actual battle. Unfortunately, I topdecked both Ugin and Garruk back-to-back and fell behind on the board, which enabled my opponent to deploy Primeval Titan.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Woo hoo, I won another game. Against Grixis Time Vault. Again. :rolleyes:

Played a single game of Canadian Highlander after the M19 prerelease yesterday. It got very grindy and I had him down to 3 life, but he was able to get Tasigur and Keranos, to keep me from having attackers to force the final points of damage through. He was able to counter enough of my key spells to keep me from getting more attackers on the board while Tasigur sat back to hold off my Thrun. We kept trading off with our different attempts to break the stalemate, but eventually, blue being blue, my opponent was able to build up more resources while I was stuck in topdeck mode, and once he got JTMS out, I figured I was doomed. He used Jace to keep me off threats to his life total, and on a single turn dropped both Ral Zarek and Batterskull, so he was going to start gaining life on his next turn. But I finally topdecked Murderous Redcap and he was out of countermagic, so I was able to summon it and sacrifice it to Phyrexian Tower for the win.

I want better data from a greater variety of opponents. Against blue-heavy control-combo, I should be running more disruptive creatures with beatdown potential, as I am less likely to score a combo kill. But against that same guy's Cradlehoof deck, I'd prefer to rush for a combo kill.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
It's been a while, but this deck finally used Arena Rector. I think it's pretty good, but as it happened, I didn't trust it enough at the time. Played a bunch of Canadian Highlander last night, with multiple games using all three of my current Canadian Highlander decks. The last game was an epic slug-fest, one of the most intense duels I've had in a long time, between Grixis Time Vault and my "Pattern Rector-Rector" deck. I got a second-turn Survival of the Fittest, but couldn't access a source of black mana, so I was off to a slow start. My opponent took his time establishing control and presented some threats I had to answer. I discarded Arena Rector to Survival of the Fittest for something with more immediate stopping power, which might have been necessary at the time. Later I used Meren of Clan Nel Toth to return Academy Rector to my hand (it had been hit by Thoughtseize), and that was a mistake. I risked playing Academy Rector onto an empty board after Damnation, but my opponent used Ral Zarek and Keranos, God of Storms to keep me from having any other creatures. Then both of us were beaten up (I was at 9 life and he was about the same) and I'd run him out of countermagic, but he had Keranos to control the board and ping my life total, Tainted Pact in hand to find Time Vault, Ral Zarek to go infinite with Time Vault, Trinket Mage, and Sensei's Divining Top. I had a creature in hand, so I could pitch it to Survival and find a sac outlet, but without a second creature, I couldn't attach Pattern of Rebirth to anything and generate an infinite loop. Recurring Nightmare had already been countered, so I couldn't use that either. The line of play I settled on was to pitch Elvish Mystic to find Carrion Feeder, Thoughtseize away Tainted Pact, cast Carrion Feeder and sac Academy Rector to it, use Academy Rector's ability to cheat out Animate Dead, target Arena Rector with Animate Dead, sac Arena Rector to Carrion Feeder, use Arena Rector's ability to cheat out Ugin, sacrifice Carrion Feeder to itself, and finally activate Ugin's -X ability for 5. My opponent got to keep his Sensei's Divining Top, of course, but was facing down an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. On his turn, Jace, the Mind Sculptor came down and started fatesealing me, then on my turn I cast Viscera Seer and used Ugin's +2 on Jace. My opponent still almost had a way to take over the game using Jace to bounce Viscera Seer and animating Wandering Fumarole and making it a 4/1 to attack my Ugin. At that point, Jace would have kept me slowed down enough that I'd almost certainly lose. But I realized that I'd kept Wasteland on the battlefield since very early on in the game (had planned to hit Maze of Ith with it, but I never had quite a good enough board position to warrant that). Wasteland blew up Wandering Fumarole and Ugin won the game from there.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Forgot to mention a while ago I did this card swap due to the Points List change...

-1 Enlightened Tutor
+1 Birthing Pod

Hasn't mattered yet, as I haven't drawn Birthing Pod in a real game since putting it in. Should be good, though.
 
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