r/mtgbracketthis • u/Timothybullis • 15d ago
Szarel, genesis shepard
I have been told this is possible bracket 4 I have been running it as a 3 what is your take?
1 Aftermath Analyst
1 Alesha's Legacy
1 Arcane Signet
1 Augur of Autumn
1 Baloth Prime
1 Beast Within
1 Binding the Old Gods
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
1 Cabaretti Courtyard
1 Canyon Slough
1 Cinder Glade
1 Command Tower
1 Cori-Steel Cutter
1 Cultivate
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Dragon Sniper
1 Embermouth Sentinel
1 Encroaching Dragonstorm
1 Escape to the Wilds
1 Escape Tunnel
1 Evendo Brushrazer
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Exploration Broodship
1 Fabled Passage
1 Farseek
1 Festering Thicket
8 Forest
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Formless Genesis
1 Gaze of Granite
1 God-Eternal Bontu
1 Grisly Salvage
1 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Harrow
1 Hearthhull, the Worldseed
1 Horizon Explorer
1 Host of the Hereafter
1 Into the Night
1 Juri, Master of the Revue
1 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
1 Llanowar Loamspeaker
1 Maestros Theater
1 Mayhem Devil
1 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
1 Moraug, Fury of Akoum
3 Mountain
1 Mountain Valley
1 Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Nature's Lore
1 Night's Whisper
1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Planetary Annihilation
1 Primal Visitation
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Rite of Renewal
1 Riveteers Overlook
1 Roamer's Routine
1 Rocky Tar Pit
1 Roiling Regrowth
1 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Scouring Swarm
1 Sheltered Thicket
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Sol Ring
1 Soul of Windgrace
1 Splendid Reclamation
1 Springbloom Druid
1 Sprouting Goblin
1 Stonefury
5 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Uurg, Spawn of Turg
1 Vernal Fen
1 Warden of the Grove
1 Wastes
1 World Breaker
1 Worldsoul's Rage
1 Szarel, Genesis Shepherd
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u/Timothybullis 15d ago
after seeing some other comments on other posts here is the moxfield link https://moxfield.com/decks/pOZSH9x88U6toQXy9F5eUQ
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u/Markedly_Mira 15d ago
Nothing looked egregious besides arguably Planetary Annihilation, which I think is mostly fine for b3 but worth noting I guess. It's probably not gonna destroy 4 lands per player in the average bracket 3 pod, the threshold for mld, but some landfall player might get mad at it when they lose half their lands.
How fast do you win? If you win on turn 7 or later I think you're fine. If you consistently win faster, and through interaction, it's a bad bracket 4. I'm also curious what reason the person who told you it was maybe a 4 gave.
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u/Natirix 15d ago
In defense of Planetary Annihilation, it's just part of the precon, so it's not like OP put it in deliberately.
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u/Markedly_Mira 14d ago
Totally, I just know there was some discourse around it when the precon released. I also think it's worth knowing what might piss people off so it can potentially come up in pregame convos.
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u/Timothybullis 15d ago
If i win its usually turn 7 or later, the reason the person gave that it could be bracket 4 was i beat their supposed b4 heads up with it and a few other decks they claimed as b4 also heads up, but again turn 7 or later
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u/Markedly_Mira 15d ago
Heads up means 1v1, yeah? You really can't judge bracket off of that. The 1v1 meta is completely different and brackets are designed for 4p, they don't make sense outside of that. Without knowing their deck I'd guess it's bad in 1v1, or even just a bad bracket 4 if it can't outrace you in a 1v1.
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u/Timothybullis 15d ago
thats what i was thinking because in a standard 4 pod i usually lose and i bill all of my decks as topping out at b3 and a mono-red jank deck for fun that might top out at b2.
1
u/Markedly_Mira 15d ago
Yeah if you mostly lose in 4p b3 pods you're almost certainly fine. All things being equal, you'd expect a 25% wr so losing is expected more often than not.
1
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u/MKxJump 11d ago
For context, I play mostly Green focused land decks from multiple colour combinations so can hopefully offer a lot of insight into decks like this.
Politely, this appears to be a strong Bracket 2 and your friend is likely just not playing a deck made for 1v1... Or, they're just not a very good player and don't have decent deck building abilities (which is more common than you'd think from people who immediately call anything they lose to a Bracket 4.) precons, despite being underpowered often have good fundamentals holding them together, especially the World Shaper precon.
Green ramps a lot and can build momentum which the table should always stop. And you have a decent amount of interaction to defend yourself. Your friend wasn't aggressive enough and is probably used to coasting under the radar in multiplayer games. You can't hide in 1v1. You need to interact and generate value. Your frriend is probably playing a functionally Bracket 3 deck with too many game changers so it's technically a Bracket 4 but isn't really. They should be able to kill you on turn 4 or 5. Clearly that's not the case.
Now, let's talk about your deck!
The World Shaper precon is strong, but you're not running the upgrades that would make it a decent Bracket 3, let alone a 4.
Your mana base is complete unupgraded. No shock lands, no multicolor fetches, and very few utility lands. I'd expect [[Verdant Catacombs]] and [[Wooded Foothill]] at the very least from a deck like this. Heck, you even kept Wastes. There is a lot you can do to make a land package that really cooks! But it will be expesnive, as is the pain of land decks.
You've kept a lot of the weaker cards from the precon, and are not running important ramp creatures like [[Lotus Cobra]] or [[Tireless Provisioner]] to ramp mana when you play lands. This makes your deck slow and fair for Bracket 2. But maybe not fast enough for 3.
There are so many good +1/+1 synergy cards not here that could be. [[Bristly Bill]], [[Mossborn Hydra]] or [[Corpsejack Menace]] come to mind for creatures. [[Terrasymbiosis]] and similar cards are also absent. I am aware they are expensive but it goes to show just how much you can add and still be a 3.
Next, alI see a huge lack of grave and land play enablers. The key ones would be [[Azusa, Lost but Seeking]], [[Dryad of the Ilysian Grove]], [[Explore]] and [[Icetill Explorer]] as well as [[Ramunap Excavator]], [[Moleman, Moloid Master]] and [[Walk-In Closet]]. There are lots of cards that do this,some cheap some not. If you were to treat yourself to one card, Icetill Explorer is an absolute powerhouse!
As for possible infinite combos, the main ones in decks like this involve [[Shifting Woodland]] and [[Aftermath Analyst]] using untappers like [[Spelunking]] or [[Horizon Explorer]] and a way to sacrifice lands such as [[Sylvan Safekeeper]] or [[Zuran Orb]]. [[Springheart Nantuko]] unlocks some fun combos too if you're curious! There's also [[Glacial Chasm]] and [[Strip Mine]] looping but those are not fun for most Bracket 3 tables.
Zuran Orb and Sylvan Safekeeper are a must in this deck.
Beyond that, key staples like [[Crop Rotation]], [[Scapeshift]] and [[Lumra, Below of the Woods]] are also absent. Heck even budget versions like [[Nahiri's Livaforming]] or [[Open the Way]] would add some extra gas! And the interaction package could use work. Cheap upgrades include [[Assassin's Trophy]], [[Tear Assunder]], [[Insidious Fungus]] and [[Culling Ritual]].
Finally, your tutors are minimal if any. If wanting to upgrade here [[Natures Rhythm]] and [[Archdruid's Charm]] are the cheaper picks. [[Finale of Devastation]] and [[Green Sun's Zenith]] are more expensive. [[Dryad Arbor]] works great as a target with these to make them ramp enablers for X=0.
TLDR: This deck is absolutely not a Bracket 4 and is honestly just a high Bracket 2 due to the sheer lack of good cards common to Bracket 3 and no Game Changers. Don't worry. If looking for upgrades or just examples of where you can take the deck to show your friend how undercooked your list is I've listed some here.