Deck Magic the Gathering : HISTORY — The academy worked with time – until time ran out

HISTORY — The academy worked with time – until time ran out

Format : T2 — Standard

Posté le 13/08/2015 par Anastaszor

Mise à jour le 13/08/2015

Visibilité : Non Validé Public

“The academy worked with time – until time ran out” – Tolarian Academy

I . Introduction

Tolarian Academy. It is rare for a card to be released that causes such uproar and change, not only in the rapidly changing Type II environment, but also in the slate set Type I environment. With the release of this card, with it’s almost innocent seeming ability to produce one blue mana for each artifact you control, the environment of Type II ( for the 1998 / 1999 Season ) and the environment of Type I have changed drastically.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Urza’s Saga, there were three lands produced that were restricted in Type I very quickly. First, there was Gaea’s Cradle – which produced one green mana for each creature you had in play. Second, there was Serra’s Sanctum – which produced one white mana for each enchantment you had in play. Both of these cards found homes in several successful decks, both in Type I and Type II.
Tolarian Academy, however, didn’t just find a home in a deck. It found homes in many decks. From it’s namesake deck, Academy and Neo-Academy, to other powerhouses such as Trinity Keeper, the Tolarian Academy is a card that is feared by your opponent when you play it.
Following its release in October of 1998, people immediately began to search for ways to disrupt Academy decks. In Type II, this was slightly harder due to the reduced size of the card pool, Academy was able to flourish as a mono-blue deck (also in part due to the lack of restrictions early on of cards such as Tolarian Academy, Stroke of Genius, Mind Over Matter, Voltaic Key, Windfall, etc., etc. ). In Type I, with its limitless card pool, Academy was almost forced to take shape into a four or five color deck. By doing this, Academy also was given the best of the other colors it used, although this forced a major adaption of the mana base to support five colors.
Tolarian Academy also forced the restriction of several cards in its block – foremost being Frantic Search and Crop Rotation. Both of these cards currently help to fuel Type I Academy and Neo-Academy decks, with their brokenness being almost immeasurable for such relatively “new” cards.
This primer is designed to assist someone new to the Academy deck style, and combo in general, in the style of play for the deck, explanations of why some cards that seem good don’t work ( Why not run Defense Grid in Academy? Why not run Fact or Fiction in Academy? ), and deck building tips for this genre. Academy is obscenely fast in the game, capable of a 1st turn win with consistent 3rd through 5th turn wins. It is also unforgiving, and if you don’t know how to play it, very easy to disrupt.

II. History

In the fall of 1998, a new deck type appeared, in both Type I and Type II tournaments. This deck revolved around a land card to generate massive amounts of mana in order to achieve a one turn kill by either drawing out an opponent’s deck or by using a massive Fireball to wipe out their life. The land involved was Tolarian Academy – an instant high profile card ( comparable in its time to the newer Shadowmage Infiltrator when it was released in Odyssey ).
The Academy brought back speed and combo to what was an aggro dominated Type II field. In Type I, Academy also succeeded in reintroducing successful combo into a control dominated field. The only difference, at the time, between Type I and Type II Academy decks was the colors involved and the restricted list.
While Type II Academy had to make due with a smaller field of 0 and 1 casting cost artifacts to fuel its Academies, Type I Academy decks has access to such powerhouses as the Black Lotus, the Moxen, Mana Crypt, and Sol Ring. Type II Academy decks were able to stay with just blue as their color, while Type I Academy decks had to adapt into four and five color builds, aided by dual lands, City of Brass, Gemstone Mine, and Undiscovered Paradise.
Below is a sample decklist from 1998, a Type II Mono-Blue Academy deck. This decklist was taken from a Type II Neutral Ground tournament report by Jon Gordon ( November 1st, 1998)

4 Mind Over Matter ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
3 Stroke of Genius ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
4 Voltaic Key ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
3 Scroll Racks
2 Mox Diamond ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
4 Lotus Petal ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
4 Mana Vault ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
2 Meditate
4 Power Sink
4 Time Spiral ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
4 Windfall ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
2 Intuition
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Tolarian Academy ( Currently Restricted in Type I )
12 Island
SB:
4 Chill
4 Wasteland
3 Force Spike
2 Capsize
2 Turnabout

In that Type II Mono-Blue build from 1998, there were present many different cards that were restricted in Type I. While this did succeed in making in making the Academy deck obscenely fast and abusive, the fact that it was only a single color cut down on its versitility.
Very little has changed between the Type I decks used in 1998 and the Type I decks used now, in 2003. Few cards are deemed fast enough to be set into Academy, with its short range goal of 1st and 2nd turn mana advantage, to its final goal of a 3rd, 4th, or 5th turn victory from a Stroke of Genius or Kaervek’s Torch, depending on the goal of any particular Academy deck being to draw their opponent out of cards or do direct damage to him.
The Academy deck used in Type I is full of restricted cards, and designed for a streamlined road to victory. Ideally, an Academy deck should be able to play out it’s entire complement of artifacts to fuel the Tolarian, which is tapped and untapped with Mind Over Matter to generate a massive amount of blue mana to fuel the Stroke of Genius. Other versions use Capsize and Candelabra of Tawnos to generate “infinite” mana.

III. The Deck

This is the Academy deck I run currently. It is very similar to the Academy decks used five years ago in Type I, but it’s differences are subtle and hotly argued at times. After the listing, I will explain why certain cards are used and why others are not used.


Artifacts ( 18 )

1 Black Lotus
2 Candelabra of Tawnos
1 Grim Monolith
4 Helm of Awakening
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Memory Jar
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

Spells ( 32 )
2 Abeyance
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Braingeyser
1 Crop Rotation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fastbond
4 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search
4 Impulse
1 Lingering Mirage
4 Meditate
1 Mind Over Matter
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Windfall

Lands ( 11 )
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Undiscovered Paradise
Sideboard ( 15 )
1 Abeyance
1 Balance
1 Ebony Charm
1 Mind Twist
4 Phyrexian Negator
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Seal of Cleansing
1 Shattering Pulse
2 Willbender


Cards Used

Helm of Awakening / Grim Monolith : Some people argue that you should use either four Helms of Awakening, or three Helms and the Grim Monolith. Both cards essentially serve the same purpose in this deck – acceleration. One group of people believe that running four Helms of Awakening will assist your opponent too much, and by replacing one with a Grim Monolith you can still have roughly the same acceleration for yourself and minimize the advantage you give your opponent. The other group argues that by using four Helms, you increase your chances of going off sooner, and as such that itself minimizes the advantage given to your opponent. I use both four Helms and the Grim Monolith to maximize my own acceleration, and it has never backfired on me by giving my opponent his own boost enough to beat me. Another reason I run four is for consistency. By running four, I draw one earlier and cast one earlier to begin the chain that ends up with me winning.

Candelabra of Tawnos / Capsize : I do not use the Capsize that many people use to go infinite, although I still include the two Candelabras of Tawnos. I do this to allow me to untap my Tolarian twice a turn should I have trouble finding Mind Over Matter. This allows me the mana to either dig for the Mind Over Matter through any of the numerous dig or draw spells in the deck, or to fuel a “small” Braingeyser on myself to hopefully draw out the Mind Over Matter.

Force of Will : Why not use Mana Drain in the place of Force of Will? The reason I do not use Mana Drain is that the colorless mana boost provided by the Mana Drain is unnessecary. In addition, the deck operates in one turn, and ideally I’d be holding all four of my counterspells when I cast the Stroke of Genius, just in case the Abeyance was countered and I need to ensure my victory. The pitch counter ability is what is key with this card, as I can counter a spell on my first turn ( often pitching an Impulse or a Meditate ). The mana boost is unneeded after I win, and it seems to me ( and several other Academy players who run Force of Will instead of Mana Drain or Counterspell ) that Force of Will is the optimal counterspell for this deck.

Abeyance : The only time Abeyance is cast is right before you go off. Some people argue the use of Orim’s Chant, but that card is suboptimal in this deck and will be explained why later in the primer.

Impulse : Simply one of the best dig spells available. I have, before, in one turn dug through the top sixteen cards of my library using Impulse after Impulse after Impulse after Impulse to get what I was looking for. At the same time, I have never heard any arguments against Impulse and have never heard of any better cards suggested.

Lingering Mirage / Strip Mine : These two cards are present only to deal with opposing Tolarian Academies. Strip Mine is used over Wasteland due to its ability to also target basic lands, just in case you decide to mess with a mono-color player a touch before you win the game.

Fastbond / City of Brass : Academy is a rather masochistic deck. I have, before, brought myself down to five or less life between Fastbond and the four Cities of Brass. But the mana advantage provided by Fastbond and the ability to supply any color of City of Brass far outweigh the disadvantages of the two cards – although against Sligh, a different strategy is in order since it’s not a good idea to bring yourself within two Lightning Bolts of loss against a red deck with as much burn as Sligh runs.

Memory Jar / Tinker : Tinker is present only to bring the Memory Jar in early game ( 1st or 2nd turn ). Beyond the 1st or 2nd turn, Tinker is worthless as the Memory Jar only costs 1 to cast once the four Helms are in play. Memory Jar is also the only artifact “Draw-7” spell, and it doesn’t require you to discard your initial hand like Wheel of Fortune does, although it does require you to discard your hand at the end of your turn and return your initial hand – although this is any automatic seven-point Mind Twist against your opponent at the end of your turn.

Meditate : Many decks use only three of this, due to the loss of a turn upon their resolution. I still use four and will continue to use four because they are a win or lose card. If you can Meditate into what you’re looking four, that’s outstanding. But if you Meditate into a dead end and have nothing else to allow you to draw more cards, or a Time Walk to negate Meditate’s turn loss, then the game is almost over. I run four simply for the consistency that only having four can provide – the ability to draw one when I need it.

Phyrexian Negator : Added to the sideboard to give Academy a secondary win against Control decks. While it may be difficult to cast the Stroke of Genius or the Braingeyser for the win, the inclusion of four Phyrexian Negators gives a secondary win condition that puts the Control player on a four turn clock to find an answer.

Shattering Pulse : A recurring threat to artifact based decks such as TnT and Mask, this card is a must for any sideboard attached to a deck that expects to see TnT or Mask in a tournament, or is going into an unknown metagame.

Ebony Charm : With the recent rise of the Dragon decks ( Animate Dead / Worldgorger Dragon ), Ebony Charm has been a staple in many sideboards where Dragon decks are common. While this card is merely situational for your sideboard ( such as Shattering Pulse is ), it is a must if you’re traveling into an unknown metagame.

Willbender : A new uncommon from Legions, this card is already being underrated. With it’s Morph casting of 3, and then 1U to flip it over, it is viewed as being too expensive for anything beyond Mask to run. However, with Academy’s ability to generate mana obscenely fast, the deck is perfectly capable of playing it 1st turn, and flipping it 2nd turn. It’s flipping effect is an improved Misdirection, with it’s ability to even change the target of abilities. Very good card to include in your sideboard if you expect to see game breaking targeted effects, such as in the mirror match or against Trinity Keeper.

Cards Not Used

Defense Grid : It has been argued before that it is better to take a proactive defense with Defense Grid vice a reactive defense with Force of Will. Running Defense Grid is useless when you’re running Helms of Awakening, which make casting spells cheaper. You’d need to have atleast two Defense Grids in play at any given time to counteract your four Helms of Awakening and still do their intended job of making spells on opponent’s turns more expensive by 3 – which is only 2 by the time the four Helms do their job.

Orim’s Chant : Also known as the white Time Walk. Why wouldn’t someone want to run more than one Time Walk in a deck? In the case of Academy, that is easy to answer. Despite being cheaper than Abeyance, Orim’s Chant is not a cantrip – which is Abeyance’s reason for being in the deck over Orim’s Chant. The ability to allow you to draw a card after resolution of the spell is key, as it replaces the cast spell with a new spell, so you never suffer from any card disadvantage by casting Abeyance.

Cunning Wish : A new powerhouse that has already found a home in Keeper, with a sideboard designed almost solely of instants to abuse the card. It has been proposed to use Cunning Wish in Academy to achieve a similar effect, but has been dismissed due to the casting cost. 2U is too much to pay beyond the casting cost of whatever spell you fetched with it. Even with the Helms in play, Cunning Wish doesn’t perform well enough to earn a slot in Academy.

Fact or Fiction : A draw spell so powerful that it was restricted in Type I rather quickly. One of the most broken cards in recent history in Type I, it was central to the rise of Mono-Blue before its restriction. Once again, the casting cost is what prevents it from seeing play. Beyond that, the fact that you allow your opponent to choose what you get to keep makes the card unreliable and unplayable in Academy.


Yawgmoth’s Will : Another broken card that cannot find a home in Academy, just like Fact or Fiction. The reason for not running Yawgmoth’s Will go beyond the lack of synergy with Timetwister and Time Spiral. It goes into the timing behind Will. If you’re casting Yawgmoth’s Will to recur spells or lands directly from your graveyard, then you’re obviously in the late game. Academy is an early game deck, claiming the majority ( about 90% ) of it’s victories within the first five turns. This means that unless you’re playing in a VERY Control heavy environment, drawing Will is a dead draw the majority of the time, especially against Combo and Aggro. And what good is a dead card? Especially a card that could easily have been a Meditate or Impulse if that is what you had replaced with Yawgmoth’s Will due to Will’s “superior” abilities and “I win” record. Basically, if you’re casting Yawgmoth’s Will, then you’ve royally messed up your match and are now hanging on by your fingertips attempting to win a losing battle. Yawgmoth’s Will just doesn’t belong in Academy.

Academy is not an easy deck to build from the ground up. Beyond that, Academy decks all feature what is essentially the same core set of cards. The only true differences between Academy decks are whether they generate “infinite” mana or use Mind Over Matter for their mana generation, or whether they use Stroke of Genius or Kaervek’s Torch for the victory.
Below is included another decklist, that uses the “infinite” mana strategy. Although I cannot provide deck building tips per say, I can supply several different decklists to illustrate how little Academy decks vary beyond strategy and kill conditions.


Neo-Academy
Artifacts ( 17 )
1 Black Lotus
2 Candelabra of Tawnos
1 Grim Monolith
3 Helm of Awakening
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Memory Jar
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

Spells ( 33 )
2 Abeyance
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Braingeyser
1 Capsize
1 Crop Rotation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fastbond
4 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search
4 Impulse
1 Lingering Mirage
4 Meditate
1 Mind Over Matter
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Windfall

Lands ( 11 )
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Undiscovered Paradise

Sideboard ( 15 )
1 Abeyance
1 Balance
1 Ebony Charm
1 Mind Twist
4 Phyrexian Negator
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Seal of Cleansing
1 Shattering Pulse
2 Willbender

Below is included a Twister.dec deck, which is very similar to Academy and deserves mention in this primer. As mentioned earlier in this primer, Kaervek’s Torch is sometimes used as a win condition, and it is included in this deck, which placed 2nd in Dulmen, Germany. Incidentally, Germany is where many variant decks have surfaced ( such as Trinity Keeper ) and caught on before crossing into the states. There are rumors of a transformational sideboard that changes Academy into a Twister deck, but I have not confirmed those rumors or seen this transformational sideboard. The deck itself was made by Carl Devos, a Belgian who is currently residing in Brussels.


Twister.dec
By Carl Devos ( Dulmen, Germany )

Artifacts ( 11 )
1 Black Lotus
1 Horn of Greed
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Scroll Rack
1 Sol Ring
1 Zuran Orb

Creatures ( 1 )
1 Gorilla Shaman

Spells ( 26 )
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Braingeyser
1 City of Solitude
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fastbond
4 Force of Will
1 Holistic Wisdom
1 Kaervek's Torch
1 Mana Flare
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Regrowth
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Trade Routes
1 Windfall
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Lands ( 22 )
4 City of Brass
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Undiscovered Paradise
3 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland

Sideboard ( 15 )
1 Balance
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 City of Solitude
1 Kill Switch
1 Mind Twist
4 Phyrexian Negator
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Seal of Cleansing

Below is another German deck list, this time for a Blue and Black build of Neo-Academy. In addition to using Mind Over Matter to generate mana, this deck also uses the Power Artifact / Grim Monolith combo for infinite mana generation instead of Candelabra of Tawnos / Capsize combo. This deck also utilizes Transmute as a “tutor” spell for artifacts.


Artifacts ( 19 )
1 Black Lotus
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
2 Magma Mine
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
3 Shield Sphere
2 Spellbook
1 Zuran Orb

Spells ( 32 )
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Braingeyser
2 Brainstorm
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
4 Force of Will
2 Impulse
3 Lim Dul's Vault
1 Mechant Scroll
1 Mind over Matter
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Power Artifact
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
3 Transmute
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Lands ( 11 )
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Underground River
4 Underground Sea

Sideboard ( 15 )
3 Cursed Totem
3 Chill
3 Hydroblast
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Teferi's Response


V. Match Ups

A. Control

1. Keeper / Five Color Control
Keeper is a tough match up for any deck, with its versatility and ability to find an answer for any situatuion and turn the game around in its favor. When you’re sitting across from Keeper, your best bet is to not give Keeper a chance to establish itself. Many of the silver bullets in his deck are dead cards, such as The Abyss, Swords to Plowshares, and Diabolic Edict. The cards to be wary of are Gorilla Shaman, Mind Twist, and Misdirection. Expect to see Shattering Pulse, Powder Keg, and Red Elemental Blast sideboarded in against you.
+1 Abeyance
+1 Mind Twist
+2 Willbender
-1 Impulse
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Meditate
-1 Strip Mine

2. Parfait
Parfait is a very slow deck to establish itself, and should be a relatively easy match up. The biggest concern against Parfait will be either Ivory Mask or Solitary Confinement. Aura of Silence will hinder you greatly, if it gets into play. Again, since you don’t run any creatures maindecked, some of his cards will be dead – in this case, the four Swords to Plowshares and the one or two Wrath of Gods that are usually maindecked in Parfait. The cards to be wary of are Ivory Mask (or Solitary Confinement ), and Aura of Silence. Expect to see another Ivory Mask sideboarded in against you, and probably Powder Kegs and Abolishes.
+2 Seal of Cleansing
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

3. Mono-Blue
Mono-Blue is another challenge for any deck, no matter what type of Mono-Blue you find yourself against. Your strategy will be relatively the same. Your opponent will be running massive amounts of counter magic, and will believe himself in a good position. Pre-sideboarding, this will be a very difficult win if you can’t manage to take him down on the 3rd turn, since each Draw-7 you use to fuel your deck will only replenish his counters. Expect to see Back to Basics and Powder Keg sideboarded in.
+1 Abeyance
+2 Red Elemental Blast
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine ( if they aren’t running a Tolarian Academy of their own )
-1 Impulse ( -2 Impulses if they are running a Tolarian Academy of their own )

B. Combo

1. Trinity Keeper
Trinity Keeper is a new deck that has only recently surfaced in the States. 1st game, it will run very similar to a standard Keeper deck, with the exception of the added Power Artifact / Grim Monolith combo. Use a very similar strategy as you did against Keeper. 2nd game, bring one of the sideboarded Willbenders into play as soon as possible and always, ALWAYS, maintain 1U available to Morph it. Once the Trinity Keeper play goes into combo, be prepared to use Willbender to deflect a massive Stroke of Genius or Braingeyser. Expect to see both Oath of Druids and Krosan Reclamation sideboarded in for him to achieve combo in games two and three.
+2 Willbender
-1 Impulse
-1 Meditate

2. Academy
The mirror match isn’t really a challenge, it’s more of a race. More or less, both decks will be identical ( there seem to be only superficial differences between Academy decks ). In the 2nd and 3rd games, you’ll want to do whatever is possible to prevent your opponent from going off. Expect to see Red Elemental Blasts sideboarded against you. Also, if he gets his Academy out before you, eliminate it with Strip Mine, or turn it into an Island with Lingering Mirage.
+2 Willbender
-1 Impulse
-1 Meditate

3. Trix
Trix isn’t a major concern against Academy, due to Academy’s ability to a) out race Trix and b) pay the cumulative upkeep of Illusions for several turns to save itself. If the Trix you are facing is of the Donate / Nefarious Lich variety, either prevent the Lich from being Donated or prevent the Recoil from removing the Lich. Expect to see Lobotomy sideboarded in against you.
+2 Seal of Cleansing
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

4. Mask
Mask shouldn’t be too hard, unless your opponent has a god hand. Should a Mask or Dreadnaught reach play, you’re probably on a two turn clock to get rid of the Mask or Dreadnaught. I am not too overly familiar with the standard Mask sideboard, so I can’t tell you what to expect to see sideboarded in against you.
+2 Seal of Cleansing
+1 Shattering Pulse
-1 Impulse
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

5. Dragon
Dragon. The only other combo deck that can win as quickly as Academy can. This match up is a complete race, in all matches. Your only course of action is to either combo before him, or get your Ebony Charm quickly after sideboarding in the 2nd and 3rd games.
+1 Ebony Charm
-1 Lingering Mirage

C. Aggro

1. Suicide Black
Suicide Black will attempt to disrupt you from the start, obviously. Expect to see Hymns, Duresses, and Sinkholes tossed your way from the opening turn. Weather the storm, recover your Timetwister or Time Spiral if it’s discarded to reform your entire library, and then simply win by combo. Expect to see Null Rod sideboarded in against you.
+1 Balance
+1 Mind Twist
+2 Seal of Cleansing
-2 Impulse
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

2. Nether Void
Same as Suicide Black.

3. Stompy
Stompy can be a difficult match up, with it’s ability to drop a 3/3 Rogue Elephant on the first turn, and not let up. One advantage that Academy has over other blue-based decks is that it doesn’t usually run an Islands ( some builds use Underground Sea, which does count as an Island ), so that negates River Boa’s Islandwalk ability. Expect to see Null Rod sideboarded in against you. Winter Orb won’t be a concern due to the maindecked Candelabras of Tawnos.
+1 Balance
+2 Seal of Cleansing
-1 Impulse
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

4. Sligh
Any deck with the ability to do ten points of damage on it’s second turn has to be watched, and proceded around with caution. If he Chain Lightnings, you could – if desired – toss it back at him once, just to give him a taste of his own medicine. Expect to see Price of Progress and Red Elemental Blasts sidebaorded in against you. There aren’t really any sideboarding strategies I can give you for Sligh, although if it is heavy in your area, I’d recommend putting a pair of Circles of Protection : Red in your sideboard and using them.

5. TnT
TnT is fast. There is no other way to describe it. By the time you combo off, the deck could’ve easily done around fifteen points of damage to you. This is a deck you don’t want to play around with. Prevent Survival of the Fittest from entering play at all costs. Expect to see Artifact Mutation, Blood Moon, Elven Lyrist, Red Elemental Blasts, and Scavenger Folk sideboarded in against you.
+2 Seal of Cleansing
+1 Shattering Pulse
-1 Impulse
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

6. Full English Breakfast
Full English Breakfast shouldn’t prove to be too difficult of a match up. Prevent a Survival of the Fittest from coming into play at all costs. As long as that doesn’t come into play, you don’t have to worry about a Shapeshifted Dreadnaught pounding you. Expect to see Dwarven Miner, Gorilla Shaman, and Ubtaki Orangutan sideboarded in against you.
+2 Red Elemental Blast
-1 Lingering Mirage
-1 Strip Mine

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