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RUG Snow Painter

RUG Snow Painter
Written by:
  • Max Gilmore

📅 December 02, 2020

⏱️2 min read

When a friend tells you they're 43-7 with a deck, it's probably best to pay attention.

Stefan Schütz (a.k.a. MentalMisstep) took a little break from Magic, but he's back with a vengeance! He's been deep in the workshop brewing up some wild Painter's Servant / Grindstone decks, including a hilarious (and surprisingly powerful) Minotaur Painter brew (link here). The list we're talking about today is a bit more serious.

If you remember back to the Modern days of yore, the best Splinter Twin decks didn't dedicate themselves to the combo. Instead, they played this very reasonable fair midrange game plan, and forced their opponent to play suboptimally by threatening the combo at all times.

The thesis for Stefan's RUG Snow Painter list is very similar. You present the very powerful "Snow" gameplan of Ice-Fang Coatl and Oko, Thief of Crowns, throw in Painter's Servant with a pile of Pyroblasts, and threaten to win the game on the spot with a Grindstone activation.

The opponent has to respect your fair midrange gameplan while balancing not losing to the combo, while your plans even synergize with each other! Oko is great at Elking pesky Painter hate-pieces like Collector Ouphe or Pithing Needle, while Painter's Servant presents a bunch of 1-mana split cards of Counterspell/Vindicate, propping up the fair game plan.

The downside? These sort of hybrid combo decks are classically hard to play, as you also have to weigh and balance your two game plans in both play and sideboarding. In the interest of learning, I gave it a shot and launched this deck into a Legacy League! Decklist and video below:

Decklist:

Creatures Spells Lands Sideboard
4 \[Ice\-Fang Coatl\] 4 \[Brainstorm\] 3 \[Misty Rainforest\] 1 \[Blue Elemental Blast\]
4 \[Painter's Servant\] 4 \[Ponder\] 2 \[Prismatic Vista\] 1 \[Hydroblast\]
1 \[Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath\] 2 \[Lightning Bolt\] 4 \[Scalding Tarn\] 1 \[Mind Harness\]
4 \[Pyroblast\] 1 \[Wooded Foothills\] 1 \[Snapcaster Mage\]
2 \[Red Elemental Blast\] 3 \[Snow\-Covered Island\] 1 \[Engineered Explosives\]
2 \[Veil of Summer\] 1 \[Snow\-Covered Mountain\] 2 \[Soul\-Guide Lantern\]
3 \[Grindstone\] 1 \[Snow\-Covered Forest\] 2 \[Pithing Needle\]
4 \[Arcum's Astrolabe\] 1 \[Tropical Island\] 1 \[Ravenous Trap\]
2 \[Oko, Thief of Crowns\] 2 \[Volcanic Island\] 2 \[Abrade\]
4 \[Force of Will\] 1 \[Veil of Summer\]
2 \[Force of Negation\] 2 \[Izzet Staticaster\]

Video:

  • Tags:
  • Legacy
  • League
  • Painter
  • RUG
  • Snow
  • Video
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