Naya Blitz finally out of the Dragon’s Maze

Yesterday, Rein and I participated in Regran’s ‘Enter the Maze’. It would be our first with the new set, Dragon’s Maze, finally legal (counting off FNM’s). I remember we were asked by Mr. Will ‘Boom’ Dizon to write about how DGM would affect Naya Blitz or if there would be possible additions from the new set, but I think with the 8 rounds yesterday, we now have a clearer and better understanding.

Rein and I both ran Naya Blitz with the exact same build but with the only difference in the number of Boros Reckoner on the sideboard as we were 1 Reckoner short. Hahaha. It’s actually the same list that won me PTQ Theros, a top 8 for GPT Bangkok a week after and a WMCQ top 8 for Rein. We both had a decent finish of 5-3 so I guess it’s safe to say that Naya Blitz is still alive and very much competitive. 

NAYA BLITZ

Main	Sideboard
4 Cavern of Souls	3 Boros Reckoner
4 Stomping Ground	3 Pillar of Flame
4 Sacred Foundry	3 Boros Charm
4 Temple Garden	3 Skullcrack
2 Sunpetal Grove	2 Pacifism
1 Rootbound Crag	1 Bonds of Faith
1 Clifftop Retreat
20 Lands
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Experiment One
4 Boros Elite
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Mayor of Avabruck
4 Frontline Medic
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Ghor Clan Rampager
36 Creatures
4 Searing Spear
4 Instants

The three losses from yesterday were against RDW, GW and Mikko Rodas, who had an undefeated 8-0 after swiss with his UWR.

I’ve listed down some of the challenges of running Naya Blitz with fear of forgetting them before I get to share them as I have a really bad memory.

  

UWR

I’m never really happy whenever UWR would play a timely 3^rd turn Boros Reckoner, either on play or draw. I don't want it keeping me from pushing damage while killing another of my creatures when dealt damage. What I would usually do against Boros Reckoner is use Pacifism or Bonds of Faith but you would understand why this wouldn’t work for UWR as they can easily blink it with a Restoration Angel. I’ve always believed that the gameplay for Naya Blitz is to aggro your opponent in 3 or 4 turns, 5 at the most. So the longer the game takes, the slimmer your chances of winning and that’s exactly what Boros Reckoner does. They also had an addition to their removals, Turn // Burn. Unsummon was also very effective in stalling the game.

This is why I am starting to consider and probably will try Renounce the Guilds against UWR. I honestly would rather have Renounce the Guilds than Searing Spear in hand against UWR. Not only does it work against Boros Reckoner but also Geist of Saint Traft and Blood Baron of Vizkopa for Junk. I would also definitely have Fiend Hunters next time. Sure they might be able to kill it but sometimes, that one last swing without the Reckoner in play is all it takes to win the game. Like I said, the plan is to win in 3 to 5 turns.

I won the first game on the draw, lost the second and lost the third on the play with a 5 card starting hand.

RDW

I played against RDW and lost helplessly in the first two games. The problem with RDW is that they have Stromkirk Noble which I would never be able to block unless I get a Flinthoof Boar or a Searing Spear to kill it with, first striking Ash Zealot, Boros Reckoner and too much removal. First game was pretty quick with a Stromkirk Noble that got out of hand and another creature enchanted by Madcap Skills. For the second game, the 3 Pillar of Flame,  2 Pacifism, 1 Bonds of Faith and 3 Boros Reckoner I boarded in all failed me. A Boros Reckoner was in the defense while the Stromkirk Noble was out doing the damage. Until I was down to 12 and then came a Blasphemous Act which hit me for 13.

I think the 4 Searing Spear,  3 Pillar of Flame  2 Pacifism  1 Bonds of Faith and 3 Boros Reckoner I had in my deck could have handled game 2 but again the challenge lies in Boros Reckoner  You know how they say when you’re playing against aggro you have to play control? Well I think that's just as control as Naya Blitz can get against RDW.

GW

A second turn 4/4 Elephant Soldier is always a problem when playing against GW. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, down came an Unflinching Courage attached to it. Oh and did I mention they have Rancor too? Can you imagine how this life gain is a real nightmare?  Again, I would gladly trade my Searing Spear for a Renounce the Guilds in this case. I put in Pillar of Flame for their dorks just to throw them off their curve. A third turn Loxodon Smiter is always better than a second turn Loxodon Smiter  Haha.  But then you want to be casting your creatures early turns too. Of course you’d want to attach your Unflinching Courage and Rancor to something as big as Loxodon Smiter  Who wouldn’t? Now imagine as he targets his Loxodon Smiter with Unflinching Courage, you respond with Renounce the Guilds. Oh the feeling I would get when I actually get to do that! Haha! But sure, Pacifism should work on Loxodon Smiter too if they don’t have Restoration Angel. Fiend Hunter would be handy too because they don't have removals. 

The 2 games against GW were pretty quick with a Loxodon Smiter enchanted with Rancor and Unflinching Courage.

With the losses in the ‘Enter the Maze’ tourney, you can probably expect me to try Renounce the Guilds (because I think it solves my problem with most of the cards I hate: Boros Reckoner, Loxodon Smiter, Geist of Saint Traft) and definitely Fiend Hunters in my sideboard in the next tourney. We’re also looking at Firefist Striker. Haha! We’ll see how it goes. I guess the only way to find out if they’ll be effective is to test them.

Please read:

We’d love to hear from you too so please feel free to make suggestions with what I have written here. Also note that these opinions are made with no play testing at all(That’s why we are trying to make a serious playgroup that can do regular testing with tier 1 decks. Should you be interested to be part of the playgroup, leave a message) and lack of familiarity with deck builds. It is also limited to an aggro player’s perspective as aggro decks are the only decks I think I can run.

I have taken serious effort in writing this as I am very very lazy so I really hope that you find this helpful. Hahaha!

We decided to start this blog to listen to everyone so we are not limited to our own ideas. Well, pretty much so we can mutually learn. So help out and make this interactive! The idea is to improve the level of the gaming community in general.

We intend to write more substantial stuff (because I wouldn’t really call them articles) from international events. This also I made in preparation for the Pro Tour in October. I would like to better myself in playing Magic: the Gathering, thus 'Road to Theros'.