Undefeated tonight with Mono Green Infect

I played 7 matches tonight on Magic Workstation and went undefeated. 3 matches against Caw-Blade decks (all U/W version, no Darkblades), one match against a Venser type deck,2 matches against Tempered Steel decks and one match against a Green Elves deck. Read more after the jump.

Alright, so here's what we're working with, it is the same deck that I was playing earlier this week:

Deck
Land - 22 4 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Verdant Catacombs 10 Forest Creatures - 12 4 Glistener Elf 4 Ichorclaw Myr 4 Necropede Pump - 12 4 Groundswell 4 Vines of Vastwood 4 Mutagenic Growth	Dig - 5 2 Ancient Stirrings 3 Tezzeret's Gambit Removal - 3 3 Beast Within Equipment - 6 2 Livewire Lash 4 Adventuring Gear	Sideboard: 3 Spellskite 4 Apostle's Blessing 4 Nature's Claim 4 Viridian Corrupter

We are using the same strategy that green decks have been using forever. Make creatures, protect them if you can, smash face.

The nice thing about this deck is the consistency. People are always claiming that these infect pump decks are terribly inconsistent, this one doesn't have that problem. Occasionally you will run up against someone who manages to have answers for everything you play, but guess what, that happens with every deck.

Speaking of consistent, we are using 6 equipment. The Adventuring Gear are there as a 4 of because you want them early. Any hand with a couple land, a Glistener Elf and an Adventuring Gear is typically a hand worth keeping. The Livewire Lashes are there for late game finishers, and occasionally, explosive early game wins. When your opponent smugly drops a Giddeon and passes the turn back to you, all it takes is a Livewire on a creature and a couple instants in your hand. I've won that way more than once, Caw-Blade players seem to think they're invincible behind Giddeon.




Inkmoth is also an integral piece of the deck. Many times I'll be able to sneak an Inkmoth through their blockers late game and pump him up enough to win.

Now, let's briefly talk about the problems.

Red decks are very tough wins, especially once they figure out what your game is. They will be bolting your creatures left and right, and if they're smart, they'll be leaving critters behind to block as well. Sideboard tech against Red decks is Spellskite and Apostle's Blessing. Spellskite let's anything survive a Lightning Bolt, Apostle's Blessing makes your own creatures untargetable and unblockable. You'll still have a hard time winning though, you've been warned.

Black controls decks are equally tough. They combine lots of instant speed creature removal and they can quickly take over the battlefield. Mono-Black decks are the easier variety, again, you have Apostle's Blessing and Spellskite. Black/Blue control decks are rough. They can typically counter any kinds of combat tricks you play, and they are perfectly willing to sit back and wait until turn 10 before playing anything of their own against you. It's very tough to get a threat to stick in this situation. Inkmoth will typically be your best hope.

Outside of those 2 archetypes you've got fairly easy sailing. One of the best features of this deck is that it will typically stomp any rogue deck types you come across. I would say it has as good of a win percentage against rogue decks as Valakut has, and that is saying a lot.

One final note, a big part of making this deck win is experience. Knowing what's in the deck, what to do in certain situations, what you're most likely to draw, things like that. It isn't something that I can teach you, you really need to get intimate with this deck to have it do well for you, otherwise it's going to be an inconsistent explosive deck.

Now, how about some matches?

My most recent match was against Elves, so here it is:
Match 1: Mono Green Elves
Game 1:

My opponent rolls a 3 to my 6, and I choose to play first. I keep my initial 7 which included an Adventuring Gear and Necropede along with a couple land. I play a Forest, and put down Adventuring Gear, passing the turn. Elves plays a Forest, and taps it for Llanowar Elves. I untap and draw, then play a second Forest, putting Necropede onto the field. My opponent untaps and thinks for a moment, then taps out for a Sword of Feast and Famine. I untap and draw a Forest (never have a fetch land when I need it) and equip Adventuring Gear to the Necropede. I play my Forest, a Groundswell and Mutagenic Growth, and swing in for 9.

My opponent untaps and draws and plays a Forest. He equips the Sword onto his Elf and comes at me, taking me to 17 and forcing me to discard a Glistener Elf. He untaps all his lands and passes the turn. He's sitting with 3 lands untapped, so he either has Beast Within or some kind of Artifact removal. I untap and draw, and then attack with the Pede. My Necropede suddenly becomes a 3/3 Beast. I move to my second main and play an Ichorclaw Myr, and move the equipment onto it.

My opponent untaps and then taps out for a Acidic Slime, killing my Myr. I draw, play another Myr, and put Adventuring Gear back onto it. Elves plays a Forest, and Explores. He plays another Forest, and puts a Brittle Effigy into the battlefield (Artifact, Tap Sacrifice pay 4 colorless, Exile target creature). He attacks with his Sworded Elf and I block with my Myr. I draw and pass. He untaps, plays a Thrun and attacks with his Elf and Slime. I tap 3 and Beast Within the sword as it's coming at me, killing the Elf off as well and take the 2 from the Slime. I draw a Tezzeret's Gambit and cast it for the win.

This is one of those strange situations where you really don't know what to sideboard. He's not running many Artifacts, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to side in all the removal. I decide to side in 2 Viridian Corrupters to maybe hit a Sword or one of those Effigys for the 2 Livewire Lashes, and then swap the Vines of Vastwood for Apostle's Blessings.

Game 2:
Elves chooses to play first and we both keep our initial 7. He starts the same as game 1, Forest and Elf. I draw, play a Forest and my own infected Elf, I've got 2 Mutagenic Growths and a Groundswell, if he doesn't block he's pretty close to screwed all over again. He untaps, plays a Forest and a Brittle Effigy, and passes, leaving his Elf to block. I draw and play an Inkmoth and then move to combat. I swing in with my Elf, and he blocks with his. I throw a Mutagenic Growth on my own to keep it alive, paying with life. I play an Ichorclaw and pass the turn.

My opponent untaps, plays a Forest and passes, leaving 3 land untapped. I play a Misty Rainforest, activate my Inkmoth, and attack with all 3 critters. I play another free Mutagenic Growth on my Elf, trying to find out what he's holding to keep my back. He plays a Naturalize, targeting my Inkmoth, and I respond by grabbing a Forest with the Rainforest, and Groundswelling my Myr taking him to 8 counters. He plays a Forest, and passes the turn, he can exile a creature with the mana he has up now. I draw another Groundswell and attack with both critters. He exiles my Elf, and in response I Groundswell the Myr for game.


The way that I play this deck seems somewhat contradictory. I play very patiently, if my opponent doesn't want to play the Doomblade in his hand, that's fine. I'm not going to Groundswell a guy to find out if he's holding it or not. However, once you're holding a Vines or Blessing, that's when you want to try and convince them to play the removal that they have.

An interesting scenario happened earlier, I was playing against a Mono Black Infect deck, I lost the first round, and sided in my Apostle's Blessings and Spellskites. At one point during game 3 he summoned a Phyrexian Crusader. I attacked with my whole team, an Inkmoth and 2 Ichorclaws. He blocks an Ichorclaw with the Crusader, and I respond with Apostle's Blessing. He tells me that I should have done it before blockers so that I could have gotten by, I tell him that I wasn't trying to get by and that his Crusader is now dead. He had just Inquisition of Kozilek'd me a turn ago, and knew it was in my hand, but he didn't even consider that I was trying to kill his guy off instead of sneaking past.

Just one more way you can play the cards to your advantage. Thanks for reading.