I don't know about any other Jund players, but whenever I saw Shardless BUG or Deathblade, I more or less saw it as a bye. I don't think I've lost a best of three against either deck in a tournament. I'm pretty sure we're heavily favored against both decks. Yes BUG has some CA, but we have recurring removal for all of their creatures other than Tarmogoyf (i.e. they all die to Punishing Fire) and for Goyf we just use an Abrupt Decay. On the flip side they do not have a lot of removal for our creatures and have a weak manabase that is easily beaten with a Wasteland or two.
The only differences in my deck is I run 0 Lightning Bolt and instead run two copies of Sylvan Library and a Maelstrom Pulse. I also found killing their turn 1 Deathrite Shaman is pretty good. The hands they keep seem to be very reliant on that turn 1 DRS. Same with Deathblade.
Hello, what do you think adding Waste Not in the 75? Sounds pretty good, but what do you think, it would improve Jund or it would be another card that would not help at all?
I don't know about any other Jund players, but whenever I saw Shardless BUG or Deathblade, I more or less saw it as a bye. I don't think I've lost a best of three against either deck in a tournament. I'm pretty sure we're heavily favored against both decks. Yes BUG has some CA, but we have recurring removal for all of their creatures other than Tarmogoyf (i.e. they all die to Punishing Fire) and for Goyf we just use an Abrupt Decay. On the flip side they do not have a lot of removal for our creatures and have a weak manabase that is easily beaten with a Wasteland or two.
The only differences in my deck is I run 0 Lightning Bolt and instead run two copies of Sylvan Library and a Maelstrom Pulse. I also found killing their turn 1 Deathrite Shaman is pretty good. The hands they keep seem to be very reliant on that turn 1 DRS. Same with Deathblade.
That's what I always thought. But then I'd still lose games against Deathblade. And then I picked up Deathblade, and so far, have beaten Jund every time I've faced it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
That's what I always thought. But then I'd still lose games against Deathblade. And then I picked up Deathblade, and so far, have beaten Jund every time I've faced it.
Do you believe Deathblade is currently better positioned than Jund?
I dont know. Dont we have Punishing Fire? - cuz this can kill almost everything. As I see Deathblade deck lists, I dont see anything Jund doesn't have answer for.
Do you believe Deathblade is currently better positioned than Jund?
Yes. With Jund, I felt favored against Delver, Miracles and the other fair midrange decks, yet the results never matched that feeling, and I felt like I was at a relatively significant disadvantage against most of the rest of the field, both pre and post board. With Deathblade, I feel favored against all the Delver decks, as well as the midrange decks, and the results have matched that feeling. Against combo, I feel like a slight underdog pre-board (depends on which part of your deck you draw), but a heavy favorite post-board.
Having played both decks extensively, I feel like Deathblade is just a better deck trying to do the same thing. True-Name + Jitte is just as good against creature decks as Punishing Fire + Grove. Thoughtseize plus counter magic is better against combo than extra discard spells. And Brainstorm is just an absurdly powerful card. Gerard Fabiano played a R/B midrange brew of his own creation at SCG Providence and after a 1-3 start, commented that he would never play a deck in Legacy that doesn't start with 4 Brainstorm again, and I think I'm on that train as well.
I dont know. Dont we have Punishing Fire? - cuz this can kill almost everything. As I see Deathblade deck lists, I dont see anything Jund doesn't have answer for.
As I've said, on paper, Jund has the advantage, but when it plays out, Deathblade's ability to fight you on every axis - hand disruption, counter magic, difficult to answer threats, and card selection and advantage - goes a very long way. I think that a good Deathblade player will be favored.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
Not a bad time for Jund over the weekend. My buddy and I finished 8th and 22nd at SCG in Kansas City. For those watching coverage I was the one who played BUG in round 5 and he was the one who played fish in round 8.
Part of Jund's issues are the unfortunately colors (Red isn't conducive for anti-combo sideboarding), but the part that can be fixed is probably BBE. I get that she's a card, she eats jaces, she generates mild CA, and causes backbreaking plays on occasion, but a 4-CMC mediocre card as a way to play 3 or less CMC cards that may or may not have an impact (indeed, roughly 25% of your cascades are discard that is no longer relevant to the game) and I can't help but feel there much be a 4 CMC (or less) permanent that has a bigger impact.
My first inclinations would be Huntmaster of the Fells, Sarkhan the Mad (card draw, turn DRS into a 5/5 flyer, or similar), or maybe even Murderous Redcap. For experimentation I'd probably swap 3 BBE for one each of the above and see if they're any good, but I have to imagine BBE is part of the problem. She doesn't offer free wins other than via cards that you already run that offer free wins. I also think Loam in her place makes sense.
As a grindy deck you want the best late game you can get; I feel like the community can probably find a better CA engine than just BBE.
All three of the cards that you mentioned seem significantly worse than a hasty 3/2 that casts any of the other powerful spells in your deck along with it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
Huntmaster is successfully used in some Maverick or Nic Fit builds, so I think he's worth testing. My point is not the immediate impact of BBE (which she has) but rather that over the course of a game her impact diminishes quickly. A walker or Huntmaster continue to provide value or possibly larger immediate impact depending on the scenario.
I'm not suggesting random cards, I'm suggesting that one card seems weak and supporting it with reasoning. It'd make more sense if you either argued against the actual point (BBE is mediocre and lacks the CA that other cards could provide) by saying "She's not the worst card in the deck, Blah is." or some such.
I sincerely think that Garruk Relentless or Huntmaster do the same thing (if not more) and you know when they're in their had what they'll do. Bloodbraid's random card is a coinflip on usefulness depending on the stage of the game and her value is dependent on that coinflip. Shardless always hits gold by the deck's design either because every card in there is pretty good to hit, or because you'll brainstorm Goyf to the top and then cast. BBE hits a lot of straight up garbage.
Garruk/Huntmaster should help deal with problematic MUs while providing not only some form of CA immediately but *lasting* impact. We're comparing cards that see equal legacy play or so that provide CA, but instead of randomness (the bane of deckbuilders) we're looking at easily measurable abilities and impact. BBE is a Bolt that does something random. Garruk is a bolt or a wolf, but then keeps doing it.
All I'm saying is that reliability and lasting impact make more sense than a shot in the dark at a topdeck in a deck that has *no* topdeck manipulation (luck-sacking a 1-of Library before your BBE doesn't count.)
Garruk Relentless (or any other minion producer) is pretty dang good against miracles. I'll admit that she seems OK for a beater, but I feel like she's still the weak slot in the deck and that something should exist that is better. My thinking on Huntmaster is that if other Pfire decks have used him and come back telling of their success, maybe he fits here. Neither of these seem bad against BUG, but maybe they're worse.
I'm just spitballing here; when I see the deck ebb and flow out of the top spots I have to wonder if just a small improvement (such as finding a replacement for the card with the most variance) would be enough.
Changing of topic, I have a question about mana base, usually Jund used to use Verdant Catacombs and Bloodstained Mire as main fetchlands, but recently I noticed that Jund users change Bloodstained Mire for Marsh Flats. So, is there pros an cons in that change? Marsh Flats fits better in our deck?
Changing of topic, I have a question about mana base, usually Jund used to use Verdant Catacombs and Bloodstained Mire as main fetchlands, but recently I noticed that Jund users change Bloodstained Mire for Marsh Flats. So, is there pros an cons in that change? Marsh Flats fits better in our deck?
There's no difference. You need 4 Verdant Catacombs because they can fetch every land in your deck. Usually, Punishing Jund plays 9 or 10 fetchlands... of the remaining 6, 3 have to be Wooded Foothills, since they fetch all duals and basic Forest, and the other 3 just have to be any black fetchland, as they can fetch Bayou and Badlands, plus the basic Swamp. If you're running non-Punishing Jund and playing Taigas, then you should play Mires, since it can fetch Taiga and the swamp, but if you're only running black duals, than any black fetch can be used.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
* What about changing Maelstrom Pulse for a Sylvan Library?
** Is it enough 3 Wasteland or is it better 4 for a major land disruption?
*** Is it worth it? What to use instead Engineered Plague (Scavenging Ooze and Umezawa's Jitte? I know its about meta
**** Against what do you use it?
* What about changing Maelstrom Pulse for a Sylvan Library?
** Is it enough 3 Wasteland or is it better 4 for a major land disruption?
*** Is it worth it? What to use instead Engineered Plague (Scavenging Ooze and Umezawa's Jitte? I know its about meta
**** Against what do you use it?
Your list is pretty solid, but as you noted, the major missing component (imo) is Sylvan Library. I personally would take out the two Lightning Bolts for two Sylvan Libraries (not even one, but two). Sylvan is such a hosue against so many decks and I've won with it singlehandedly (ancestral recall is good). I find 4 Abrupt Decay and 4 Punishing Fire is almost always enough removal and if you face Tribal decks where you need more removal, you have the SB components. As for Maelstrom Pulse, I run it as a one-of since it's a catch all that destroys most annoying permanents (that aren't creatures).
As for Wasteland, I personally run 4 copies and haven't had any major issues and I usually take out one fetch for it, which disagrees slightly with what ThoughtXRiot. However, he has good points as well. Like many things, it depends on your meta. If you expect a lot of decks where Wasteland is good, play 4.
Lastly, I play an Ooze and Life from the Loam. The latter of which is amazing with 4 Wasteland. It might be heresy, but I've found Jitte to be underwhelming lately. I find it's a "win more" card when you side it in.
I'm still playing around with my deck. However my local meta has changed around a bit, there has been an influx of D&T/Affinity players and they are quite good with their decks.
D&T is supposed to be one of Jund's better matchups but I have such a hard time with it. I've even had more success beating D&T with Reanimator due to the MB shroud creature. I was looking for some feedback on changes I could make.
Right now since the meta is on the fair side (But I don't want to make my combo matchups any worse as it already is) I thought about
Switching Loam to SB and Jitte MB
Switching Engineered Plague to Dread of Night I haven't dealt with goblins and elves for a while anyway
I'm very hesitant to cut Lightning bolt to make room for a fourth Abrupt Decay and Punishing Fire.
I'm still playing around with my deck. However my local meta has changed around a bit, there has been an influx of D&T/Affinity players and they are quite good with their decks.
D&T is supposed to be one of Jund's better matchups but I have such a hard time with it. I've even had more success beating D&T with Reanimator due to the MB shroud creature. I was looking for some feedback on changes I could make.
Switching Loam to SB and Jitte MB
Switching Engineered Plague to Dread of Night I haven't dealt with goblins and elves for a while anyway
I'm very hesitant to cut Lightning bolt to make room for a fourth Abrupt Decay and Punishing Fire.
First off, Jund isn't that favored against DnT. I'd say it's very close to a coin flip. If they resolve an early Mother of Runes that you can't deal with immediately, they can blow you out of the water. At the same time, Punishing Fire is the very card that makes this match-up more favorable (i.e. recurrable removal) so increasing the count to 4 will help you immensely. Almost every creature in their deck dies to Punishing Fire so being able to continually play it every turn is imperative. Furthermore, it also deals with a resolved Mother of Runes since you can just cast it twice (once on their turn, once again on yours) and her protection won't matter. This, among other reasons, is why I run 4 Punishing Fire and 0 Lightning Bolt. I changed that at least two years ago and haven't regretted it once.
As for Engineered Plague vs. Dread of Night, I think that's being a bit too narrow. If you're seeing DnT ALL the time, then I can see why, but I don't like having such narrow cards in my SB when another card (Engineered Plague or Golgari Charm) does a similar job and isn't as narrow.
First off, Jund isn't that favored against DnT. I'd say it's very close to a coin flip. If they resolve an early Mother of Runes that you can't deal with immediately, they can blow you out of the water. At the same time, Punishing Fire is the very card that makes this match-up more favorable (i.e. recurrable removal) so increasing the count to 4 will help you immensely. Almost every creature in their deck dies to Punishing Fire so being able to continually play it every turn is imperative. Furthermore, it also deals with a resolved Mother of Runes since you can just cast it twice (once on their turn, once again on yours) and her protection won't matter. This, among other reasons, is why I run 4 Punishing Fire and 0 Lightning Bolt. I changed that at least two years ago and haven't regretted it once.
As for Engineered Plague vs. Dread of Night, I think that's being a bit too narrow. If you're seeing DnT ALL the time, then I can see why, but I don't like having such narrow cards in my SB when another card (Engineered Plague or Golgari Charm) does a similar job and isn't as narrow.
Thanks for input. D&T has been a thorn on my side ever since returning to Magic last year, it's more common than Blade variants for me. I sometimes joke with my friends that I'll see Thalia and Mom more than Brainstorm (which some days is true). I'll playtest a boltless version when MTGO is fixed, Punishing Fire and/or Groves are bugged atm.
FWIW, I routinely destroyed D&T while I was playing Jund. It's probably the deck I most hoped to see every time I sat down for a match. And I wasn't playing Lightning Bolts.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
EPlague seems mildly awkward since you cut off Dark Confidant, and Charm can have a similar problem (but you can at least play around it easier.) Plague has the issue that it will routinely miss some dudes. I'd play Virtue's Ruin or Massacre if you want well defined hate; and it'll help against Junk as well. I'd play Charm if you want help in random MUs including Elves.
That said, Eplague is quite good at killing Elves and things, but it's noticeably slow (they can T2 something in sometimes, and if they went first T3 is a common time to go off) and missing DRS can be a problem if they just NO-Thar or some such.
I'd probably Charm, but I should point out that Sudden Demise should be good here. One sided, hits random decks, hits as big as you want (to help with the angels or equipped guys) and it leaves your board alone. Scalable Electrickery isn't bad. They can Mom a guy to get around it but you can still get an easy 3-for-1 and open them up to future removal. It's neat that it only costs 1 for the Bob trigger as well.
With all of that, I wouldn't worry about Brimaz, people who try them realize crusader is better; people who don't try him know crusader is better in the first place. D&T with crusader is fine for Jund if they draw OK, but the fact it'll kill you in 2-3 turns (with equips) poses a big clock.
The only differences in my deck is I run 0 Lightning Bolt and instead run two copies of Sylvan Library and a Maelstrom Pulse. I also found killing their turn 1 Deathrite Shaman is pretty good. The hands they keep seem to be very reliant on that turn 1 DRS. Same with Deathblade.
My Trade Thread
Current Decks:
Legacy:
GWR Punishing Maverick
UW Miracles
UR Sneak and Show
GWB Enchantress
Jund, Affinity & Grixis Delver
Legacy:
Jund & Affinity
That's what I always thought. But then I'd still lose games against Deathblade. And then I picked up Deathblade, and so far, have beaten Jund every time I've faced it.
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
twitter
Do you believe Deathblade is currently better positioned than Jund?
Yes. With Jund, I felt favored against Delver, Miracles and the other fair midrange decks, yet the results never matched that feeling, and I felt like I was at a relatively significant disadvantage against most of the rest of the field, both pre and post board. With Deathblade, I feel favored against all the Delver decks, as well as the midrange decks, and the results have matched that feeling. Against combo, I feel like a slight underdog pre-board (depends on which part of your deck you draw), but a heavy favorite post-board.
Having played both decks extensively, I feel like Deathblade is just a better deck trying to do the same thing. True-Name + Jitte is just as good against creature decks as Punishing Fire + Grove. Thoughtseize plus counter magic is better against combo than extra discard spells. And Brainstorm is just an absurdly powerful card. Gerard Fabiano played a R/B midrange brew of his own creation at SCG Providence and after a 1-3 start, commented that he would never play a deck in Legacy that doesn't start with 4 Brainstorm again, and I think I'm on that train as well.
As I've said, on paper, Jund has the advantage, but when it plays out, Deathblade's ability to fight you on every axis - hand disruption, counter magic, difficult to answer threats, and card selection and advantage - goes a very long way. I think that a good Deathblade player will be favored.
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
twitter
My first inclinations would be Huntmaster of the Fells, Sarkhan the Mad (card draw, turn DRS into a 5/5 flyer, or similar), or maybe even Murderous Redcap. For experimentation I'd probably swap 3 BBE for one each of the above and see if they're any good, but I have to imagine BBE is part of the problem. She doesn't offer free wins other than via cards that you already run that offer free wins. I also think Loam in her place makes sense.
As a grindy deck you want the best late game you can get; I feel like the community can probably find a better CA engine than just BBE.
Look, Fetch, Draw, Look
Draw
Fetch
Look
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
twitter
I'm not suggesting random cards, I'm suggesting that one card seems weak and supporting it with reasoning. It'd make more sense if you either argued against the actual point (BBE is mediocre and lacks the CA that other cards could provide) by saying "She's not the worst card in the deck, Blah is." or some such.
I sincerely think that Garruk Relentless or Huntmaster do the same thing (if not more) and you know when they're in their had what they'll do. Bloodbraid's random card is a coinflip on usefulness depending on the stage of the game and her value is dependent on that coinflip. Shardless always hits gold by the deck's design either because every card in there is pretty good to hit, or because you'll brainstorm Goyf to the top and then cast. BBE hits a lot of straight up garbage.
Garruk/Huntmaster should help deal with problematic MUs while providing not only some form of CA immediately but *lasting* impact. We're comparing cards that see equal legacy play or so that provide CA, but instead of randomness (the bane of deckbuilders) we're looking at easily measurable abilities and impact. BBE is a Bolt that does something random. Garruk is a bolt or a wolf, but then keeps doing it.
All I'm saying is that reliability and lasting impact make more sense than a shot in the dark at a topdeck in a deck that has *no* topdeck manipulation (luck-sacking a 1-of Library before your BBE doesn't count.)
Look, Fetch, Draw, Look
Draw
Fetch
Look
I'm just spitballing here; when I see the deck ebb and flow out of the top spots I have to wonder if just a small improvement (such as finding a replacement for the card with the most variance) would be enough.
Look, Fetch, Draw, Look
Draw
Fetch
Look
There's no difference. You need 4 Verdant Catacombs because they can fetch every land in your deck. Usually, Punishing Jund plays 9 or 10 fetchlands... of the remaining 6, 3 have to be Wooded Foothills, since they fetch all duals and basic Forest, and the other 3 just have to be any black fetchland, as they can fetch Bayou and Badlands, plus the basic Swamp. If you're running non-Punishing Jund and playing Taigas, then you should play Mires, since it can fetch Taiga and the swamp, but if you're only running black duals, than any black fetch can be used.
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
twitter
The next Sunday I'm going to a Legacy's Tournament, so I have doubts about the main and sideboard. (I'm going to play Punishing Jund)
Main:
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman
3x Bloodbraid Elf
4x Abrupt Decay
3x Hymn to Tourach
4x Punishing Fire
2x Lightning Bolt
4x Thoughtseize
4x Liliana of the Veil
1x Maelstrom Pulse*
3x Wasteland**
2x Bayou
3x Badlands
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Grove of the Burnwillows
2x Swamp
1x Forest
Sideboard:
1x Golgari Charm
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Engineered Plague***
2x Surgical Extraction****
3x Duress
3x Red Elemental Blast
* What about changing Maelstrom Pulse for a Sylvan Library?
** Is it enough 3 Wasteland or is it better 4 for a major land disruption?
*** Is it worth it? What to use instead Engineered Plague (Scavenging Ooze and Umezawa's Jitte? I know its about meta
**** Against what do you use it?
Your list is pretty solid, but as you noted, the major missing component (imo) is Sylvan Library. I personally would take out the two Lightning Bolts for two Sylvan Libraries (not even one, but two). Sylvan is such a hosue against so many decks and I've won with it singlehandedly (ancestral recall is good). I find 4 Abrupt Decay and 4 Punishing Fire is almost always enough removal and if you face Tribal decks where you need more removal, you have the SB components. As for Maelstrom Pulse, I run it as a one-of since it's a catch all that destroys most annoying permanents (that aren't creatures).
As for Wasteland, I personally run 4 copies and haven't had any major issues and I usually take out one fetch for it, which disagrees slightly with what ThoughtXRiot. However, he has good points as well. Like many things, it depends on your meta. If you expect a lot of decks where Wasteland is good, play 4.
Lastly, I play an Ooze and Life from the Loam. The latter of which is amazing with 4 Wasteland. It might be heresy, but I've found Jitte to be underwhelming lately. I find it's a "win more" card when you side it in.
My Trade Thread
Current Decks:
Legacy:
GWR Punishing Maverick
UW Miracles
UR Sneak and Show
GWB Enchantress
D&T is supposed to be one of Jund's better matchups but I have such a hard time with it. I've even had more success beating D&T with Reanimator due to the MB shroud creature. I was looking for some feedback on changes I could make.
My current decklist is based on a blind meta:
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Bayou
1 Forest
3 Badlands
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Swamp
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Punishing Fire
3 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtseize
3 Wasteland
1 Sylvan Library
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Life from the Loam
1 Pernicious Deed
2 Pyroblast
1 Golgari Charm
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Engineered Plague
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Chains of Mephistopheles
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Duress
Right now since the meta is on the fair side (But I don't want to make my combo matchups any worse as it already is) I thought about
Switching Loam to SB and Jitte MB
Switching Engineered Plague to Dread of Night I haven't dealt with goblins and elves for a while anyway
I'm very hesitant to cut Lightning bolt to make room for a fourth Abrupt Decay and Punishing Fire.
R/W Devotion
Mono-R Devotion
Legacy
Burn
Punishing Jund
First off, Jund isn't that favored against DnT. I'd say it's very close to a coin flip. If they resolve an early Mother of Runes that you can't deal with immediately, they can blow you out of the water. At the same time, Punishing Fire is the very card that makes this match-up more favorable (i.e. recurrable removal) so increasing the count to 4 will help you immensely. Almost every creature in their deck dies to Punishing Fire so being able to continually play it every turn is imperative. Furthermore, it also deals with a resolved Mother of Runes since you can just cast it twice (once on their turn, once again on yours) and her protection won't matter. This, among other reasons, is why I run 4 Punishing Fire and 0 Lightning Bolt. I changed that at least two years ago and haven't regretted it once.
As for Engineered Plague vs. Dread of Night, I think that's being a bit too narrow. If you're seeing DnT ALL the time, then I can see why, but I don't like having such narrow cards in my SB when another card (Engineered Plague or Golgari Charm) does a similar job and isn't as narrow.
My Trade Thread
Current Decks:
Legacy:
GWR Punishing Maverick
UW Miracles
UR Sneak and Show
GWB Enchantress
Thanks for input. D&T has been a thorn on my side ever since returning to Magic last year, it's more common than Blade variants for me. I sometimes joke with my friends that I'll see Thalia and Mom more than Brainstorm (which some days is true). I'll playtest a boltless version when MTGO is fixed, Punishing Fire and/or Groves are bugged atm.
R/W Devotion
Mono-R Devotion
Legacy
Burn
Punishing Jund
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
twitter
That said, Eplague is quite good at killing Elves and things, but it's noticeably slow (they can T2 something in sometimes, and if they went first T3 is a common time to go off) and missing DRS can be a problem if they just NO-Thar or some such.
I'd probably Charm, but I should point out that Sudden Demise should be good here. One sided, hits random decks, hits as big as you want (to help with the angels or equipped guys) and it leaves your board alone. Scalable Electrickery isn't bad. They can Mom a guy to get around it but you can still get an easy 3-for-1 and open them up to future removal. It's neat that it only costs 1 for the Bob trigger as well.
With all of that, I wouldn't worry about Brimaz, people who try them realize crusader is better; people who don't try him know crusader is better in the first place. D&T with crusader is fine for Jund if they draw OK, but the fact it'll kill you in 2-3 turns (with equips) poses a big clock.
Look, Fetch, Draw, Look
Draw
Fetch
Look