RG Valakut Titan Ramp
July 20, 2010 | Posted by Dee
I’ve been testing Valakut Titan a lot trying to figure out a solid decklist. I’m still winning at a good rate. My Magic League rating has gone up to 1750 because of the deck.
Sadly, I’ve moved away from the trap version. Trap was just too inconsistent against control. Against control, you really need Valakut so I took out Trap and brought back Expedition Map.
Here’s my current list as well as some commentary on the card choices and the cards I left out.
| Red/Green Valakut Titan Ramp | |||||||||||
Creatures (15) Spells (19) Lands (26) | Sideboard (15) |
| |||||||||
Cards That Made The Cut
My meta is very diverse so the following list is designed to have game against many different decks.
I underrated Siege-Gang Commander but it’s strong against many matchups. I wouldn’t go below 4. It provides chump blockers versus aggro, which gives you time to combo off. It gives control trouble because you have multiple guys to fight Wall of Omens and you get direct damage for their planeswalkers. I think Siege-Gang is better than Avenger of Zendikar. The goblin commander is two mana cheaper so you don’t have to play as much ramp and lands as with Avenger.
Obstinate Baloth is the main deck card that I have the most doubt on. I think another card could be in its place, but I’m not sure what. I have Baloth because it kills Wall of Omens and is good against Jund and Red. Also, it’s passable against Vengevine decks to buy you time. If you have any ideas of a possible replacement for Baloth, please leave a comment. The card is not that great against control and combo.
Like I said before, I cut Summoning Trap and put back Maps because Trap was not that great against control. Versus control, you really want Valakut.
Titans are as good as ever and I would definitely play summoning trap if I could play eight Titans 
The other options for Trap targets are so much worse than Titan that it doesn’t really help to play Trap.
Oracle of Mul Daya was another card I underrated. She has been really good because she makes the deck more explosive. In other words, she makes the combo faster and more consistent. Plus, she combos well with Cultivate and you can use the basic lands you ramp up to for spells like Bolt since those lands don’t enter the battlefield tapped. Oracle is great against Destructive Force decks because she allows you to gain mana advantage in case they cast Force.
By the way, pick up your Oracles before they rise in price. Oracle is already played as a 4-of in Turboland, a tier one deck and Valakut is a great place for her. Two Valakut decks placed 1st and 2nd at a PTQ in Japan this past weekend. Both decks had at least 3 Oracles. Plus, I predict that she will be played in other Titan decks like UGR Destructive Force. Right now Titan players seem to be underrating Oracle, so get her while she’s cheap
[Find a good deal on eBay for Oracle]
Khalni Heart should be a 4-of because it speeds up your combo kill and it works really well with Titan. Plus, it’s cheap so it can be played before your opponent has Mana Leak mana.
Rampant Growth is another spell that shouldn’t be cut because it’s cheap, works well with Valakut, and allows you to ramp up to your big spells.
Cultivate is an all-star. It ramps and provides card advantage to make sure you hit your land drops. I haven’t really missed Harrow.
I brought Lightning Bolt back to give me some edge against decks with Noble Hierarch, Lotus Cobra, or Goblin Guide. Also, Bolt has been passable against planeswalkers and it gives the deck some reach.
The sideboard is still in flux but here are the ones that have worked well for me. Obstinate Baloth is good against Jund and RDW. Pithing Needle has been great against planeswalkers and Tectonic Edge. Flame Slash has been solid against Putrid Leech. Burst Lightning is good against Red Deck Wins. Earthquake has been pretty good against Naya, Dredgevine, and Mythic.
I’m testing the rest of the cards. Back to Nature is my answer to Oblivion Ring, Leyline of Sanctity, and Spreading Seas. Lavaball Trap is there for the mirror and the Destructive Force decks that many good players seem to be playing on Magic-League.
Cards That Didn’t Make The Cut
Bloodbraid and Ruinblaster had to be cut because they are pretty bad against Wall of Omens. Ruinblaster especially got worse because the goblin sucks against Mana Leak too. Bloodbraid is a little better versus Mana Leak but if UW Control has Wall of Omens on the battlefield, they will just counter the cascade spell and block Bloodbraid all day with the Wall.
Ruinblaster is not even that good against Jund if you are on the draw. Plus, even if you destroy a land, Jund can get lucky by drawing lands and recovering. Many Jund decks are playing 27 land, which further negates Ruinblaster’s land destruction ability. If you want to beat Jund, I would rather main deck Obstinate Baloth for Blightning protection, a 4/4 body, and life gain.
I cut Explore because I don’t need as much ramp since I’m not playing Avenger and Trap anymore. With Oracle in the deck, I still want a lot of lands but I don’t need 27 lands. I cut one land and the mana base has been working well so far.
Buy the Cards on eBay
Magic players save money on cards by shopping at eBay. Find great deals on the expensive cards in this deck by clicking the following eBay links.
- Primeval Titan
- Oracle of Mul Daya
- Obstinate Baloth
- Siege-Gang Commander
- Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
- Pithing Needle
- Earthquake
- Lavaball Trap
46 Responses to “RG Valakut Titan Ramp”
-
Subscription Options
-
Popular MTG Cards on eBay
-
Categories
I’ve also been testing out 2 Baloths in the Mainboard, and it’s true that they are thoroughly unimpressive vs Control, okay vs midrange and awesome against aggro. However, that’s a price I am willing to pay if it means I can boost my worst matchup (red burn, especially with Bushwacker combo, it’s a nightmare). On the other hand, I’m also looking for something that would fit better.
As for the sideboard, I suggest 3 Cunning Sparkmages. They are great in a lot of matchups, and nearly an auto-win vs polymorph. On the play even more insane. Flame Slashes seem rather narrow to me. They can kill Leeches and the Bloodbraid Elf after taking 3. I dunno. I think 4 Baloths are quite sufficient for that matchup. Then again, I’m also still playing Ruinblasters.
I’ve also still got the Ricochet Traps in the Board. I think they are amazing! But I might try out Back to Nature as well. Sounds okay in theory.
I like your idea to cut both Bloodbraid and Ruinblaster. Maybe it’s really worth it. Bloodbraid is very random in our list, after all, since he can do 3 different things: Ramp, Bolt, or Expedition Map. Hm. I’ll give the Oracle a shot, but I’ll stick to the 6 removal (2 burst lightnings) mainboard. I never regret having it, not even vs control.
Yours, Peter
I spent all night playing with the list that won the jap ptq and came to a few conclusions.
1. 28 land is just too many, even if you are on the explore+oracle plan.
2. Harrow is still very very good… Running it allows you the opportunity to get the rare turn 4 kill, and it almost guarantees you will win the turn after casting titan(even if they deal with him.
3. The deck needs lightning bolt.
Here’s where I was at by the end of the night.’i think this list is pretty
Solid, still working on the sideboard though.
4 lightning bolt
3 explore
4 rampant growth
4 khalni heart expedition
4 harrow
4 cultivate
4 siege-gang commander
4 primeval Titan
3 avenger of zendikar
4 terramorphic expanse
2 evolving wilds
4 forest
4 valakut
12′mountain
Sideboard
4 obstinate baloth
3 cunning sparkmage
3 pithing needle
3 all is dust
2 destructive force
I’m not 100% on running the explores. I’d like to fit the baloths maindeck possibly to help us survive til the lategame, not sure how to do that yet. I’m glad we can use this site as a valakut think tank, I’m sure we can come up with an optimal build if we keep working at it.
Sorry that post was somewhat choppy, I’m posting this from my iPhone. I agree with cutting the bloodbraid and ruinblaster, especially if running harrow. I’m trying destructive force in the sideboard, because I think it’s the best answer to the mirror match, but I’m open to other ideas. I also prefer all is dust over back to nature, because it makes Dealing with planeswalkers a lot easier.
woah, I think Destructive Force sucks. I usually lose more to it than my opponent when my opponents cast it, so why would I want to cast it? The only thing that survives is Titan, and if you untap with Titan in play you are winning anyway… Also, it usually kills your Valakut-strategy. Force is bad.
Can anyone tell me why Avenger of Zendikar is supposed to be so good? Whenever I play him he gets killed before I can get more than one counter on each of my plants. I can’t see how he wins you games. Try to convince me, Justin.
By the way, you are playing 19 ramp spells. Isn’t that too much??
As an afterthought, I think I’ll try out the version that is very combo-orientated (the one that won the Japanese PTQ). His sideboard is weird, but this version might be the way to go! (However, I’m still advocating 6 instant removal
)
I was considering destructive force against the mirror match, as it’s probably the worst card that a valakut player can see. I really want to have something for the mirror, as I believe people have caught on and the mirror will be fairly common in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately(and fortunately) there’s really nothing that hoses the deck otherwise.
Avenger is good because he buys you time against decks like naya. Buying several turns off of one card will undoubtedly win you the game. He’s also an alternate win condition if your valakuts all get turned into islands or whatnot. I’ve always thought he was pretty good.
I am starting to lean towards the 6-7 burn spell package again also. I really dislike explore, but i felt it was worth trying out. My list above is based on the jap list that won, I just made room for bolts. 28 lands is too many, I think 26 is probably the correct number. I’m also thinking we might want Chandra in our boards again.
Thought you’d all be interested in seeing the Top 8 from the Japanese PTQ Amsterdam Kanazawa…1st and 2nd!
http://www.mananation.com/japanese-ptq-amsterdam-top-8-kanazawa/
Seeing the lists, that is. Damn my itchy submit finger.
Hello
As I said in other entrance, my valakut doesn´t have 4 titans (At the moment I have 2 =D) but I will give my opinion of the deck.
I play with 4 lightning, 2 burst and 1 flame slash and vs green decks I hope to have minimun one of these card in my starting hand because usually a green deck (I am talking about the green chinese deck, naya, eldrazi elves, bant so on) because usually a green deck with birds, hierachs, cobras and 2 or even 1 land in the first hand is keep and if you have the chance to kill the aceleration you will be in advantage.
Althoug I play 7 removals I cant have always 1 in my first 7 cards so I think 4 is insufficient.
In addition, if your opponent cast a baneslayer angel and you dont have the siege gang comander on the battlefield, you need at least 2 removal in your hand, otherwise, you will have to spend a mountain, KHE, or harrow to kill the baneslayer, or a creture like it, and I prefer to spend the mountains to kill the oponent if I able.
I dont like combust because its useful only vs baneslayer, relicary knight and a few more creatures and valakut sideboard is complicated to make. However I like forked bolt to make 2 x 1 vs some decks (what I said before about the oponent aceleration) I´m going to try instead of burst, but the kicker it very good.
In my opinion Back to nature must has place on the sideboard. Before m11 I had 3 naturalize in the sideboard vs spreading and eldrazi monument, but the white leyline is a problem and with 3 or 4 naturalize you cant destroy both, spreading and leyline however back to nature can do it (and oblivion or journeys to nowhere and luminach ascension)
Again, my valakut does not have the titans yet so I dont know if 4 removals are enough and back to nature is good
Good luck with the testing
@ Peter and Justin
Thanks for your comments. It’s good to see how others are faring with different versions of the deck.
I agree about D-Force not being very good. It’s way too situational imo and seems like a win-more card. If they have Titan before you and have more ramp, then D-Force doesn’t help at all and becomes a wasted card.
I think our best mirror strategy that doesn’t cost us a bunch of slots (like 4 Ruinblaster, 4 Slime) is Lavaball Trap. Plus, Khalni Heart and Titan produce so many lands that even the 8 landkill sb doesn’t even work. At least Lavaball Trap can undo a Khalni Heart and Titan while color screwing them or destroying two Valakuts. Plus, Lavaball can be brought in versus slow control decks and other ramp/Titan decks like D-Force.
@ Peter
Actually, after some thought and basing this on my list in the blog post, I think Bloodbraid Elf vs Obstinate Baloth is close for spots in the main deck. The reason I like Baloth is because it gives you more room in the sideboard, which is a pretty good benefit in a diverse meta game for a combo deck like Valakut.
Cunning Sparkmages are solid. I’ve been having more success with Earthquake but then again I haven’t played against Polymorph. I have played against Mass Polymorph but it was a pretty janky deck with a bunch of Eldrazi tokens. Earthquake seems equal to Sparkmage in that matchup, although I probably won’t see it again in a long time lol. Plus, I’d rather have Burst in sb for RDW and Noble Hierarch decks but you already have 2 Bursts in main so that’s probably a moot point.
Flame Slashes are kind of narrow but it’s still extra removal for Noble Hierarch decks.
Yeah, I haven’t really missed Ruinblaster at all. Bloodbraid sometimes but like I said above, I like Baloth because it frees up sideboard space.
If you have time, try Oracle. It’s been one of the best cards. I dunno, maybe I’m getting lucky with the top of my library
Avenger of Zendikar is great against other creature decks but I don’t really like it in a world of Mana Leak, Day of Judgment, and Martial Coup. But if you want to go with the heavy ramp version like the Japanese 1st place PTQ, imo your best creatures are Titan, Siege-Gang, and Avenger. You may be able to substitute Rampaging Baloths for some or all the Avengers if you have a lot of D-Force in your meta.
@ Justin
I haven’t had problems with 11 Mountain so I think -1 Mountain +1 Evolving Wilds could work to increase the green mana count to avoid some mulligans. But then again, I haven’t played with Harrow post-M11.
The list looks solid other than the D-Forces. I’m think the Jap style version is good in meta games without a lot of RDW and UW control but I like my version against control because you really need Map in my experience to beat control. But I could be wrong, maybe Avenger is good enough to take away Map’s slots even against control. But Harrow is still a liability versus Leak.
One thing, it does seem to have a lot of ramp. Maybe -1 Harrow +1 Avenger or Map.
I will try All is Dust. It seems better than Back to Nature in that list and probably even in my list even though I don’t have as much ramp. Overloading UW Control with must counter spells seems like a good idea
@ Beau
Thanks for the link!
@ Alvaro
I’m not sure what advice I can give you since I’ve only played with Titans post-M11 but removal could be the way to go. Good luck!
1 thing more, for the mirror, I use lavaball trap and Demolish, simply and effective. and I will test in elixir of inmortality. 3 mana = 5 lifes + shuffle. good enough?
@ Alvaro
I think 2-3 Lavaball Trap is enough. Ruinblaster is better than Demolish if you want more landkill imo because it is solid in other matchups and leaves a 2/1 body.
I think Obstinate Baloth is better than Elixir. Gladehart is probably better too than the artifact but I could be wrong, I haven’t tested Elixir.
This is just a thought because I haven’t had time to test out any versions of this deck since M11 (2 of my 3 cars have had major problems in the last 2 weeks that I had to fix). I would try dropping 2 baloths and 1 seige-gang from the main for 3 avengers. And then drop 2 of something from the board to add those 2 baloths in. In most matchups I don’t really see the baloth as a must counter or remove card for opponents (like titan, avenger, and commander are). Especially if they bring in wall of denial post board. I think the extra bodies from the avenger would be much more advantageous, but again I’m just speculating without having a chance to sleeve it up yet.
@ Michael
I don’t have enough ramp to support 3 Avengers and I would lose some edge versus RDW and Jund. Plus, Avenger is not really a must counter because UW has Day of Judgment.
To all:
This site seems to be a secret valakut lover site to brainstorm logical and serious ideas. Justin your high rating and tournament success is an insperation to all of us.
I would like to get some feedback on my list, its MD is towards Jund without any huge fall backs from other decks I might face.
4 Primeval Titan
4 obstinate Baloth
4 overgrown embattlements
2 Oracle of Mul Daya
2 avenger of zendikar
2 summoning trap
4 cultivate
2 harrow
1 explore
2 Expedition Map
4 lightning bolt
2 burst lightning
1 Comet Storm
11 mtn
4 forest
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 terramorphic expanse
3 evolving wilds
SB (still testing)
4 autumn veil (Jund removal and counterspells)
3 combust (slayer and sovereigns)
3 All is dust (walkers)
3 pithing needle (tectonic edge mainly)
2 prophet prism (forest haters)
4&3 mul daya seemed too much and I didnt like having the opportunity to land drop from the library without a val out. She is best with an avenger or titan in play. Course she is good for ramping and forces removal to clear a way for titan.
I trying 11 mtns after realizing 7-8 mtns arent needed to win, just drawing titan is
7 burns spells i think would be sufficient.
Again this MD is for Jund, RDW and other aggro builds for I got 8 big butts T2-4. If the dont kill the embattlement it can become rediculous.
Because I have 4 embattlements I dont have rampant growth or explore (minus one to play around land hate). They can get killed so that a bummer but again thats more removal that is not available for the titan.
I plan on taking this to my 2nd PTQ this weekend and will be rocking it every wednesday and Friday at my local shop for another year. I play in all major events local to me.
Thanks for positive critism.
I wanted to add that I ran a less refinded list against a standard Jund list with mads and such with no sideboarding and out of 30 games this deck won 17.
Many of them rode on the back of titan and avenger to no surprise, although a T3 blightning with 2 baloth in hand also wins games.
Is Khalni heart expedition even necessary now? Im not seeing it in this deck anymore.
I think KHE is still a must! without it, casting titan will not win you the game. only with harrow or KHE will get you the lands that you needed to win the game.
@ Redirus91
I don’t really like the Battlements unless you have a lot of Jund and RDW in your meta, like 40% or more. They have no synergy with Valakut and Avenger. I’d rather have Rampant Growth. KHE is a must because it has synergy with Valakut and Primeval Titan. Plus, it helps you reach 6-7 mana and speeds up your combo kill. I would play KHE before Harrow and Explore.
I don’t think you have enough Trap targets. I would add another Avenger or a Siege-Gang in main deck. Probably cut Burst.
Ricochet Trap is better than Autumn’s Veil because you don’t want to have to get 3 Forest to protect Titan. You rather have the Forest be a Mountain to turn on Valakut.
Yeah, 11 Mountains has been working for me.
I like Back to Nature over Prophetic Prism but it seems you have a lot of hate for blue control. I would cut some of them for Earthquake or Cunning Sparkmage.
Well i guess ill follow everybody else and come over here. ive been playing this deck 3 weeks after zendikar became legal, starting rouge and finishing off of Justin’s list. now i developed a list that so far imo is pretty solid. here is the list…
4 Primeval Titan
3 Obsidian Fireheart
3 Cyclops Gladiator
2 Oracle of Mul-Daya
4 Rampant Growth
2 Explore
2 Harrow
2 Cultivate
2 Prophetic Prism
2 Expedition Map
2 All is Dust
2 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Valakut,the Molton Pinnacle
4 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Evolving Wilds
3 Forest
12 Mountain
has a good G1 against U/W,mythic,and jund from testing(but the sad part is after modding Justin’s original list i have yet to lose to jund.) the problem lies within the sideboard here it is…
4 Obsanate Baloth
3 Pithing Needle
2 Lavaball Trap
2 Ricochet Trap
1 All is Dust
… beside having problems siding things out cause of odd numbers, i still have 3 spots in the SB that i have no clue what i could/would/should be.
so what suggestions could you give on this list of mine and whats a good card for my SB.
Well everyone was right about the ramp package being the best route to win. So this deck is more comboish and it works better that way. I played 10 matches vs. RDW with this list and went 8-2* I was surprised!
(*=rdw list with only 1 EQ and 3 Quen.Fire MD. Played by myself, solitare)
3 Avenger of zendikar
4 Primeval Titan
4 Siegegang commander
4 Obstinate Baloth
4 Harrow
3 Cultivate
4 Rampant Growth
4 Khalni heart expedition
2 Expedition Map
1 explore
11 Mtn
6 Forest
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Terramorphic expanse
3 Evolving wilds
I was thinking of +2 Summon trap (bonus vs. Control) for -1 harrow and -1 cultivate.
me happy
@ Elph
I think the deck needs Khalni Heart Expedition (KHE). In my testing, KHE is one of the best cards in the deck because it combos so well with Titan.
For sb, you have a couple options for the last 3 spots. Right off the top of my head, I think Avenger of Zendikar and/or Pyroclasm is worth a shot.
@ Redirus91
Yeah, I think the heavy ramp package is the way to go. Thanks for the list. Looks solid. I’m not sold on Trap main deck though. I think it’s better in the sb because you want all the ramp in game one unless your meta is full of control decks. For game two vs control, you don’t mind cutting ramp for Trap because the games are slower and you’ll have time to make your land drops to cast your expensive spells.
@ Dee:
My reasoning is thus far is that the deck has good matchups against aggro (only played RDW and Jund thus far) but not so much versus control because of their disruption on our lands, counterspells and plainswalkers.
2 trap MD will help in that G1 matchup and taking out a harrow and cultivate doesn’t slow down the ramp game that much. I dont want to hold back on harrow out of fear of counters. Tonight will be the first time testing this build so ill make notes everytime I draw a ST whether or not I wished it were a cult or harrow.
@ Redirus91
Sounds like a good plan
Please report back on how the testing went. Thanks!
So, I just played my list in the San Antonio ptq. Went 7-1-1 to make top 8 and lost first rd of the top 8 to jund and a few thought hemorrhage. That card is pretty bad for us.
Here’s the 75 I played:
4 lightning bolt
3 burst lightning
4 rampant growth
4 khalni heart expedition
4 cultivate
4 harrow
4 siege-gang commander
4 primeval Titan
3 avenger of Zendikar
4 valakut
4 terramorphic expanse
2 evolving wilds
12 mountain
4 forest
Sb
4 obstinate baloth
4 pithing needle
2 all is dust
3 back to nature
2 Chandra nalaar
I’ll be writing a tournament report and a new primer for valakut within the next couple of weeks on mtgfanatic.com
I like your list, Justin – a lot! Great job you did on the PTQ. Not much we can do vs Thought Hermorrhage, although I wouldn’t have expected it, personally, to appear in sideboards.
As a sidenote, Valakut has just won Australian Nationals. Damnit. There goes our rogue-ness. Get your Titans now, I think now they might even rise in price even more!
Justin, congrats!
Please leave a link here to your article when it gets published.
Way to make us proud Justin. But man….how many times did you mull due to the lack of sources to get green?
At my PTQ I mulled 5-6 times out of 22 games.
my list here
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=5619925&postcount=92
I went 5-3 losing to R/bDW(barely..) U.w control (owned) and Naya shaman (kept bad hands)
I honestly think 10 green sources is enough. In my old versions I was only running 3 forest, 4 terramorphic and 2 panorama. I mulliganed three times throughout the day, but only twice due to not having a green source. I think the deck is resilient enough to win through a mulligan, especially since Jund is on the decline. The mulls only really hurt when you can be certain to get blightning’d on turn 3. I’m a pretty rigorous shuffler though, and I’m sure it helps to eliminate some of my mulls, especially with this deck.
I’ll link to my tourney report once it gets posted, but just so you know, I beat Planeswalkers, Eldrazi Ramp, Pyromancer’s Ascension Combo, Naya, U/W control, Junk(with heavy discard), and U/W control again. My two losses were to Jund with Thought Hemorrhages, and to flooding in game three vs U/W control.
Sick, well is corbett says so it must be true
I current have 13 and am hard pressed for 14. I believe ill leave it and shuffle better and just mull more…..
Sunday I played a PTQ in Amsterdam. There were 52 participants. After the first 6 rounds I went 5-0-1 (ID’d last match) going into the quarterfinals as the number 1.
I played the following Matches:
1) Grixis 2-0
2) Destructive Force 2-0
3) Jund 2-0
4) Esper Control 2-0
5) Fauna Naya 2-0
6) ID
In the Quarterfinals I had to play again against the same player as in the fourth round. He played Esper Control. In
both games I didn’t have a great draw, and my opponent
had pretty good draws. Esper Charm is pretty bad, since there aren’t a lot of cards you’re willing to discard. He Esper Charmed me two times in the second game, which was enough. Furthermore I made some big mistakes in the game.
In playtesting I always seem to win when casting Primeval Titan twice or attack once with it. Nevertheless I couldn’t cast it consistent enough. That’s why I used 3 Summoning Traps in the main-deck. It ensures I get to the Titans at a consistent basis. Furthermore I added some Undo Giants. They’re an another rampspell, but they also can block some creatures like Bloodbraid Elves and Sprouting Thrinaxes.
I removed the Expeditions. I found them terrible topdecks, but I could be wrong in not playing them. I removed the harrows as well since they’re terrible when they get mana leaked.
Anyway here is my list:
Valakut Titans
4 Primeval Titan
4 Rampant Growth
4 Explore
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Cultivate
3 Avenger of Zendikar
3 Ondu Giant
3 Oracle of Mul Daya
3 Summoning Trap
12 Mountain
6 Forest
3 Evolving Wilds
3 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard
3 Forked Bolt
2 Pithing Needle
2 Banefire
3 All is Dust
1 Relic of Progenitus
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
@ Arjan
Congrats on the high finish!
Thanks for the quick report. Glad to see that Summoning Trap was effective for you. The 2nd place deck at Canadian Nationals also played Trap. He had two copies main deck.
@ Dee
Thank you! I wish I looked at this forum earlier. I see some nice ideas. I really could’ve used the Richochet Trap against the Esper Charm! That would’ve been a 1-for-3 card!
After reading Justin’s report I am thinking about putting two KHE’s in the main deck again. I still think 4 is too much though.
Unfortunely it will take a couple of weeks to the next standard-tournament. The PTQ-cycle has ended, but I will try to improve the SB the coming week.
I was thinking about Acidic Slime in the SB. In combination with Goblin Ruinblaster you can really disrupt all those 3-color mana-bases of Grixis, Esper and Jund. Furthermore Acidic Slime is semi-creature removal.
I was thinking about something like this:
4 x Acidic Slime
4 x Goblin Ruinblaster
3 x Forked Bolt
2 x Pithing Needle
2 x Richochet Trap
PTQ report:
http://www.mtgfanatic.com/Articles/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=105790
The new Valakut primer should be up by the end of the week.
@ Justin
Thanks! I will pass on the link to MTG Salvation Forums.
@ Arjan
Yeah, Ricochet Trap can be pretty awesome in the right situations. I like using it on Time Warp hehe.
I would test the full set of KHE if you haven’t already. In my experience, it is one of the best cards because it works so well with Titan. I think it’s better than Explore.
I tried a similar sideboard. It didn’t really work well for me, although I did not have a lot of Grixis, Esper and Jund in my metagame when I tried it. Instead, I had a lot of Valakut decks. I thought 4 Slime and 4 Ruinblaster would be great against other Valakut Titan decks but they often just recover from the landkill with KHE and Titan since those cards fetch 2 lands.
Anyways, please keep us updated on your progress. I like to know how different cards are working for other Valakut players. Thanks!
Guys consider Sarkhan Vol for SB VS mirror and polymorph.
He rocks!
@ Redirus91
Yeah, I saw that on the forums. Great card
Okay today I played my second tournament with the Valakut Deck. It was a WPN Championship Qualifier with only 16 players. I made some minor adjustments to the Main Deck, and revised my Sideboard as well.
After Dee’s advice I put the KHE’s back in, although not more than three. I took one Oracle, one Explore and one Summoning Trap out. I must admit that they worked pretty good, although I wouldn’t want to play 4 per se.
This tournament seemed to me a somewhat more casual environment than last week so I thought I should expect more RDW-decks. I only had two Baloths, so I added two Pelakka Wurms. Personally I think RDW is pretty dead right now, with all the Baloths and War Monks, but today I wanted to be prepared for players not actively following the Metagame, and playing less expensive decks like U/W.
Furthermore I added two Back to Natures. A good way to get rid of those pesky Spreading Seas and white Leylines. Also after reading Corbett’s report I thought I should have an answer for the Pyromancer Ascension-deck. The deck was also highlighted in Building with Budget on Daily MTG last week. I removed the Goblin Ruinblasters. I still like the Ruinblasters, but a lot of 3-color decks play 26/27 land, making them less profitable. Killing manlands is nice though.
The biggest addition is the Ricochet Trap. They’re pretty good in this U/W-control heavy Meta. Most people will know this already, but with Ricochet Trap you can’t counter the counter. You can however appoint Ricochet Trap as the new target for their counter. That way it works like a counter. Furtermore it’s good to know you can’t bend a Cruel Ultimatum. Cruel says target opponent, and so bending wouldn’t be legal, since he isn’t target opponent. It works on a Thought Hemmorrhage though!
Valakut Titans
4 Primeval Titan
4 Rampant Growth
3 Khalni Heart Expedition
3 Explore
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Cultivate
3 Avenger of Zendikar
3 Ondu Giant
2 Oracle of Mul Daya
2 Summoning Trap
12 Mountain
6 Forest
3 Evolving Wilds
3 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard
3 Forked Bolt
2 Pithing Needle
1 All is Dust
2 Pelakka Wurm
2 Obstinate Baloth
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Back to Nature
After today I would change my sideboard as follow:
3 Forked Bolt
2 Pithing Needle
2 All is Dust
3 Obstinate Baloth ( I am still in doubt, they’re primairly there as an answer to aggro-decks. Maybe overgrown Battlements would be better? What do you think?)
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Back to Nature
Short Tourney Report:
First Match: Mirror Match! (first time)
First game my opponent starts. We both curve out nicely, but he keeps ahead because of his start. He crushes me with 17 plants on steroids. Second game we both take a mulligan. I get to activate my KHE in turn 4 and run over him with my plants this time. Third game he doesn’t get any rampspells in his opener (I guess he should’ve mulliganed). I win this one easy.
1-0 (2-1)
Second Match: Pyromancer Ascension
Aaah, nice to see getting the Meta right! First game he gets his Ascension online very fast and had three lightning bolts to finish the job. I board the B2Natures in, All is Dust and the Ricochet Traps. Would be nice to use it against Time Warp!
He uses spreading seas on Valakut, and plays the Ascension. I cast All is Dust. After that I cast Primeval Titan. He can’t counter so the Primeval Titan can finish the job. In the third game I don’t get to see the ascension. I get to play the Avenger and play a Terramorphic for the win.
2-0 4-2
Third Game: Naya Allies
*Sigh* These are the more difficult match-ups you don’t expect in a Meta full of U/W. On the other hand I expected to play against some Tier 2 decks. Unfortunately I only play one All is Dust in the SB. First game he plays Druid followed by the Bloodbraid, cascading in a Freeblade. I play a Ondu Giant, and hold a Lightning Bolt. He plays another Bloodbraid. I can’t recover. I board two forked Bolts, one All is Dust and two Obstinate Baloths. I get to ramp superfast, I just don’t get any creatures. No Titans, no Avengers, no giants, no summoning traps and no All is Dust. This feels bitter. I could’ve easily won this second game.
2-1 (4-4)
Fourth Match: Fauna Naya
I played this deck at the PTQ. The Avenger is very strong in this match-up. You get so many blockers (or attackers) this deck just can’t handle. With Lightning Bolt and Forked Bolt you’ll have enough to keep this deck from being too fast.
First game I make a horrific fault. Just plain awful.
I used my active Valakuts to put my opponent to 10. Instead I should’ve killed my opponents Baneslayer. Really dumb. In the next turn he plays Elspeth to let the Knight of the Reliquary fly and kill me off with the knight and the Baneslayer. Lack of concentration after that dissapointing loss in the last round. In the next game I get to bolt his early creatures, and win easily. Third game he starts with two CIPT-lands. I keep on ramping. He plays Manabarbs. I play summoning Trap. No Avenger or Titan there. I play Ondu Giant to get my Valakut active. Opponent plays Baneslayer. I draw Primeval Titan (hitting myself with another 6 damage), killing the Baneslayer. 
He plays path to exile on my Titan. I fetch a mountain doing 6 damage. In my turn I play rampant growth and an another mountain for the win.
3-1 (6-5)
My opponent in the third round gets to play against U/W-control in the finals. He loses, but the other player rather wins the boosters and so he scoops in exchange for the boosters. Too bad, I really would’ve liked to play that event in Amsterdam. I take place 4. My composite results with the deck are 8(w)-2(l)-1(d). That’s still pretty good.
I will do some testing against the U/W-control of Wafo-Tapa and see if it will hold. It think I like this matchup better than Grixis with Thought Hemmorrhage and Blightning.
Thank you for reading!
Lightning bolts as we can agree are amazing, but i found subbing them for banefire works even better…most of the time you have extra mana floating…and since it cant be countered if its stronger than five i find it very verisitile in my list…..turn 5 u/w control pop banefire to blow his baneslayer and use valakut to trash any remandiers…..or if you need it you can use it to push you over the top to get that turn kill…. so in my mind i would use banefire over lightning bolt any day……next forked bolt……i swapped forked bolt for comet storm…
my list ultimately looked like this
4x Primeval Titan
3x Avenger of Zendikar
4x Seige Gang Commander
4x Oracle of Muldaya
4x Khalni Heart Expedition
4x Cultivate
3x Harrow
3x Expodition Map
4x Banefire
3x Cometstorm
Lands
11xMountain
4x Valakut the Molten Pinnacle
4x Forest
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Aridmessa
I certainly wouldn’t use Banefires over Lightning Bolts. The main difference is that Banefire is more mana-intensive and it’s a sorcery. Casting it, will cost you a whole turn.
This deck has problems dealing with fast aggro-decks. The bolts are there to deal with early threats like Fauna Shaman, Bloodbraid elf or Ball Lightning. You must have a fast answer to threats like this. In my testing I had problems with fast aggro-decks. That’s why I also put the Ondu Giants in.To have some blockers. Against Bloodbraid and Sprouting thrinaxes the Ondu Giants are great, and they can’t be single bolted.
I agree however that Banefire is better in the U/W-matchups though. But since you have to make choices, I rather take out the Lightning Bolts and replace them with Ricochet Traps in that match-up. Usually your Valakuts can deal with the Baneslayers, and the Summoning and Ricochet traps will enable you to deal with their counters.
i need some addvice on six SB slots i cant figure out i feel i should be going towards a major tournement(starcity5k) but im stuck on the last 6 spot so here’s the whole list…
Deck
4 Primeval Titan
3 Avenger of Zendikar
3 Seige-gang Commander
2 Inferno Titan
4 Lightning Blot
3 Burst Lightning
4 Rampant Growth
3 Cultivate
2 Harrow
2 Explore 1 Expidition Map
1 Prophetic Prism
2 Summoning Trap
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Evolving Wilds
3 Forest
12 Mountian
Deck
SB
4 Obstanate Baloth
3 Ricochet Trap
2 All is Dust
6 ??????
… oh and b4 yall say anything, with 12 creatures, Summoning trap has rarely wiffed once every 4-5 games i get nothing but its usually an EOT play anyway if i dont have PT in hand. im just saying even if you don’t play the trap, pic up a playset now.
So here is what im trying.
3 Avenger of Zendikar
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Primeval Titan
Spells (23)
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Expedition Map
4 Khalni Heart Expedition
4 Rampant Growth
4 Cultivate
Lands
3 Evolving Wilds
3 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Forest
3 Raging Ravine
12 Mountain
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard (15)
4 Pyroclasm
2 Combust
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Summoning Trap
4 Back to Nature
Here is why i like the bloodbraid, i generally cascade into more ramp which is nice. the back to nature is needed to deal with blue/white control. They tend to have spreading seas, journeys and leylines. I usually just let them all come out until my combo is ready, and then cast back to nature to clean out all the enchantments.
I like the summoning trap and the richochet trap to deal with all the counter spells that blue/white control has.
The pyro are really great against conscription and red deck wins, as i can wipe out 3 or 4 creatures with each.
I would love to fit in the Oracles but i don’t have any and not sure how to fit them in.
@ Arjan
Thanks for a great report. Very informative. Congrats on 4th place! You are doing really well with the deck.
@ Souskue
I agree with Arjan. I like Bolt over Banefire unless your meta is full of blue counterspell decks and very few aggro decks. Bolt is just more flexible.
@ Elph
I think your deck needs more ramp since you have a lot of cards that cost five or more mana. Plus, you’re only playing 26 land. Most of the Valakut decks with a lot of expensive cards play at least 27 land. I would probably cut the Burst Lightnings.
Also, you probably want 4-5 Forest since you are playing Harrow. Also, extra Forests are a hedge against multiple Seas and they speed up your deck slightly because they don’t enter the battlefield tapped.
For last 6 slots, I think 3 Forked Bolt and 3 Back to Nature seems okay. Forked Bolt for Naya and Bant and Back to Nature for Seas, Leyline, and Ascension
Anyways, good luck at the 5K
@ Gabe
Looks solid. I’m guessing the lack of the 4th Titan is due to card availability issues. But yeah, if you’re able to get a 4th Titan, the Map seems like an easy cut.
I think 4 Back to Nature is a lot. Maybe cut one for All is Dust to fight Bant and Naya decks. Pyroclasm is actually not that great against RDW because they have so many haste creatures. I would cut two Pyro for two Burst Lightning or Magma Spray if you want to fight RDW better.
yeah I don’t have a 4th titan or all is dust otherwise i would have them both in. So i added some muldaya and this is what i played with.
Creature(11)
3 Avenger of Zendikar
4 Oracle of Muldaya
3 Primeval Titan
1 Obstinate Baloth
Spells (22)
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Expedition Map
4 Khalni Heart Expedition
4 Rampant Growth
4 Cultivate
4 Explore
Lands (26)
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Terramorphic Expanse
5 Forest
12 Mountain
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard (15)
4 Pyroclasm
2 Combust
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Obstinate Baloth
4 Back to Nature
So i love the pyroclasm for RDW, usually they tend to have a lot of little 2/1 or 2/2 and this will wipe the board. The lightning bolts are good for the instant kills i need.
I see what you mean about the Avengers though, and if i have all is duse most definatly would put those in. I think i will try your suggestion of siege gange commander and i would love to try to fit in pithing needle. I think ill take out the obstinate for the pitching or maybe the combust.
I’ve been theory-crafting this deck since I saw how many top 8s it was making and in doing so I have created this decklist. I’m especially proud of the sideboard as I feel it deals with every major deck type in the competitive meta. Thoughts and comments would be most appreciated.
Lands: 25
12 Mountain
5 Forest
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Creatures: 15
4 Plated Geopede
4 Obstinate Baloth
4 Primeval Titan
3 Avenger of Zendikar
Other Spells: 20
4 Explore
4 Cultivate
4 Khalni Heart Expedition
4 Expedition Map (Would be Rampant Growth if it wasn’t rotating out)
4 Lightning Bolt
Sideboard: 15
3 Combust (Against BSA and control)
3 Terastodon (Against planeswalkers and mirrors)
3 Ricochet Trap (Against control)
3 Momentous Fall (Against RDW)
3 Naturalize (Against enchaments)