Hello everyone, my name is Marco and I've been playing Magic: The Gathering for many years. I had slowed down a bit recently, but my friends' threats forced me to pick up the cards again, not just on MTGO! For once, I decided to play a TIER deck, and not wanting to do Boros or UB mirrors, I opted for Belcher. Thanks to a dear friend who lent it to me, I had the opportunity to participate in the Four Seasons, an amazing tournament with 336 players. I didn't have high expectations, but the deck, a bit of luck, and some good decisions led me to the top 8, finishing fifth with a 7-0-2 record.
The Deck: Why Belcher?
Belcher is an extremely linear, solid deck, and I rarely opened horrible hands. Its strength is that the combo only needs one card! For those who don't know, by paying 3 mana, you activate Belcher, revealing cards from your deck until you reveal a land (since we have no lands, we reveal the entire deck, dealing at least 30+ damage!). Cards like Whir of Invention allow us to activate Belcher on turn four! The various counters and 2-drop spells allow us to survive until this happens or to control the board and combo safely!
My list was pretty standard:
Tameshi Belcher
- 4 × Fallaji Archaeologist
- 4 × Hydroelectric Specimen
- 4 × Tameshi, Reality Architect
- 4 × Thundertrap Trainer
- 4 × Disrupting Shoal
- 4 × Flare of Denial
- 4 × Jwari Disruption
- 4 × Sink into Stupor
- 4 × Whir of Invention
- 3 × Spell Snare
- 2 × Beyeen Veil
- 2 × Waterlogged Teachings
- 1 × Commandeer
- 4 × Sea Gate Restoration
- 4 × Suppression Ray
- 4 × Goblin Charbelcher
- 4 × Lotus Bloom
- 3 × Unable to Scream
- 2 × Consign to Memory
- 2 × Harbinger of the Seas
- 2 × Pact of Negation
- 1 × Commandeer
- 1 × Force of Negation
- 1 × Mystical Dispute
- 1 × Portable Hole
- 1 × The Stone Brain
- 1 × Tormod's Crypt
4 copies of everything, except for a single Commandeer and 3 Spell Snare which I chose to maindeck as it wrecks a lot of decks! I decided not to include some popular choices, like Pact of Negation, because it often ends up being more of a dead card than a true solution.
The sideboard includes options against very aggressive decks (Boros) and against combo decks like Mirror Match or Eldrazi Tron. In my opinion, the deck is really strong, especially in a format like this, where the element of surprise and speed matter a lot.
The Tournament: Round by Round
Round 1: Boros Aggro
I start against a very nice opponent. Spell Snare proved to be fundamental in slowing down their aggressive plan, breaking their curve and allowing me to combo safely.
G1: I win on turn four despite them playing The One Ring on turn two!
G2: Despite their sideboard choices against me (Orim's Chant, Thraben Charm), I manage to close out on turn five with Tameshi, Reality Architect and the classic combo.
Round 2: Broodscale Combobelcher retro frame
My opponent was playing an interesting deck but not very well-practiced, as they confessed they had just picked it up!
G1: I combo easily.
G2: On turn three, I resolve a tuna (presumably Blood Moon) and manage to close out before the situation becomes too complicated.
Round 3: Merfolk
This is a tough match-up, but I manage to take it home thanks to an opponent's error.
G1: They draw several Lord of Atlantis and close out quickly.
G2: I exploit an incorrect attack of theirs (Unable to Scream on a lord; they had another on board and chose not to attack with their 1/3 lord). I survive at 1 life and close out immediately after.
G3: I cast Tameshi, Reality Architect as bait, which he will NOT fall for, and he'll lose to too much mana despite having 2 active Counters!
Round 4: Blue Affinity
A tense match against a deck that already has maindeck answers and even counters!
G1: I manage to slow them down with Disrupting Shoal on a turn one Emry, Lurker of the Loch and combo on turn four.
G2: I lose to a board of huge constructs (like three 12/12s!)
G3: The key card is Tameshi, Reality Architect, which allows me to take control of the situation and close out.
Round 5: Eldrazi Tron (streaming on Twitch!)
This is a decidedly favorable match-up for me.
G1 and G2: I close out both games in a few turns thanks to the deck's speed and my opponent's difficulty in countering my plays. (Commandeer MVP!)
Round 6: Zoo
Honestly, I'm not sure what this match-up is like for us!
G1: I win with a lucky topdeck.
G2: I manage to combo safely thanks to a solid hand and their lack of resources.
Round 7: Goryo's Vengeance
A match-up I'm not too happy to face, but I don't feel particularly worried!
G1: I mulligan to 5, he combos on turn three protected by a thoughtseize that takes my only counter, and I die!
G2: The deck rewards me, and I combo on turn four!
G3: I draw a Spell Snare and a Mystical Dispute that allow me to combo comfortably on turn 6!
Conclusions and Advice
I am very satisfied with the result and believe the deck has proven to be competitive in this meta. Some final thoughts:
Pros of the deck: It's fast, linear, and has answers to most of the current TIER decks, and I didn't find it too complex to pilot! And I said "At the end of your turn, I'd like to make a Chord of Calling for zero, untap, combo!" many times on turn three.
Cons of the deck: We do have some bad match-ups, none of them super impossible or unmanageable. Many decks now also have tricky maindeck answers (e.g., Pithing Needle from Saga, Karn, the Great Creator, Cavern of Souls, Tishana's Tidebinder).
MVP cards: Tameshi, Reality Architect, which often made the difference both as a defensive resource and as an accelerator for the combo. Maindeck Spell Snare was obviously a revelation and a great help!
If you're interested in trying Belcher, I recommend playing it a lot, especially against mirrors and more complex match-ups.
In the sideboard, I will definitely add the second Commandeer, reluctantly considering removing the Pact of Negation! The key to the deck is knowing when to be aggressive and when to wait for the right moment to combo.
Thank you all for reading, and a special thanks to the organizers of the Four Seasons for an impeccable event. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! For a Sideboard Guide, I recommend messaging SanPop on Twitter and getting his guide because it's amazing!
See you next time, Marco.
