Cheerios, The Next Evolution?

Greetings again everyone.  Like Travis posted before me, it has gotten a little bit dusty in here.  I am guilty like the rest when it comes to this, but life is something that cannot always be set aside for the glory of my keyboard.  As for me, I have been working on what I feel to be the next evolution for the deck we have come to love as Cheerios.  I know I have come to advocate the use of Monastery Mentor and Myth Realized on different occasions, so this is going to sound like blasphemy.  I have completely gone away from Mentor and Myth.  Let me repeat this statement again.  I have completely gone away from Mentor and Myth.

Go ahead.  Say what you need to here.  I know I've just gone against everything I've said, but it is how it is.

We good?  Ok.

So, if we have gone away from Myth and Mentor, what are we doing?  Well, I know what I am doing.  I am going all Grapeshot, all day.  Draw cards, cast Grapeshot.  To facilitate this, I have incorporated the Veldalken Archmage.  Yes, he is basically a 4 mana Paladin for this deck, but with the current evolution of the meta we can't rest our hope in a single enchantment that we can barely protect.  Sure, its size does a good deal to protect it from burn, but there is a plethora of removal spells ready to bring it down and there is only one card that is capable of protecting us as long as we need it.  That brings us to addition number 2: Silence.

4 Kite Shield
4 Accorder's Shield
3 Bone Saw
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Spidersilk Net

4 Mox Opal
4 Retract
2 Noxious Revival

4 Veldalken Archmage
4 Puresteel Paladin

1 Grapeshot
1 Echoing Truth

4 Muddle the Mixture
3 Silence

3 Plains
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
4 Seachrome Coast


So, I went back to Muddle the Mixture.  After meeting Eoin (serenechaos) in Charlotte, he loved the fact that the Muddle version I piloted in states was very consistent, and it re-affirmed my believe that consistency is what we need for this list.

Some things to note.  Archmage is not a may effect.  This means if you are going off with him, be mindful of how many spells you need to cast to get there.  Killing yourself is not the best thing ever.  This does, however, open us up the possibility of really winning with Lab Maniac for reals, which I am now testing as an out to Infinite Lifegain strats like soul sisters and some Collected Company variants.  Also, Mox Opal does draw a card with Archmage.  It helps, haha.

With this version, I will still go for it on turn 2 or 3 if the cards permit.  However, I also now have the luxury of waiting until my opponent either taps out, or just gets blown out by the mainboard silence.  Mainboard Silence catches storm with their pants down, has some game against Reanimator and Through the Breach builds (I'll cast Desperate Ritual, respond with Silence lol), and even stops you from losing the Hive Mind.  Check this out: Opponent has Hive Mind active and casts Summoner's Pact.  Hive Mind triggers. which you respond to with Silence.  Hive Mind triggers, and if no one does anything, your opponent now casts Silence, which means you cannot cast anything else from Hive Mind.  Lolz.  Also, if they cast Summer Bloom and make a million mana, if you respond to the last bounce trigger with a Silence they have a pool of mana and can't actually spend it on Titans or anything.

Most of our matchups do remain the same, save Burn.  Burn just beats the bloody jesus out of us game one, and there isn't much we can do about it.  The rest of our matchups, in my eyes, come down to patience.  You will draw cards naturally, and there are now 12 cards that basically end the game if you have them, with Muddle doubling as the rofl counter.

I have been happy with the new list so far.  There are some numbers that I am still working on, namely how many Archmages I want in the main, how many Silences, how many Noxious Revivals.  However, I have never been upset about drawing the Archmage.  Yes, he costs 4.  Yes, that's more than the Mentor.  However, If you cast Archmage, you typically win the game on the spot, as opposed to making an army and hoping that you don't just die.

Beyond my changes, I am curious as to the versions of this list that other folks are playing.  Do we favor the Muddle w/Mentor versions?  Myth Realized version?  Do we enjoy the Russian Roulette Spoils of the Vault versions?  either way, the end game is the same.  We all want the opponent dead.  And me, most of all, want them dead without having the pass the turn.

Thank you all so much for continuing to check out this blog.  If there is anyone happier to see this blog get noticed, it is our originator Travis.

And btw guys. I know he made a list regarding Hardened Scales.  Please make one with Allies.  It is super fun.  :)

Breakfast of Champions