I thought about posting this in casual, but I really do want to come up with an optimized Modern decklist and not just a bunch of ideas about stuff I could put in the deck, so here I am.
My LGS is running a series of Modern tournaments which each have a set of additional deckbuilding restrictions beyond the regular Modern requirements. They tend to be kind of silly (like the December tournament required 4 big red "fatties" and at least 12 elves), but next month's is particularly restrictive: each deck must run at least 12 auras with enchant creature.
So obviously enchant creatures can be either removal or else used on your own creatures, so my first thought was that this'd be a format that's really heavy on creature hate a laPacifism, and that people would generally run creature-light decks. But then I thought between cards like thevariousenchantresses, and stuff like Aura Gnarlid and Kitsune Mystic, it'll probably be possible to build a pretty good G/W aggro deck that punishes people playing offensive auras.
So anyway, I was wondering if anyone who knows the Modern cardpool better than I do can offer some advice? Is this a strategy worth pursuing, or is it going to be too easy to hate? What Modern staples should I be using, and what obscure cards will I need to watch out for/be good to catch people off guard with?
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
EDIT: thought of something better
Twin
-8 anything
+8 enchant creatures
SECOND EDIT: "original" idea: Uril (lol Commander) + other hexproof stuff (Thrun, Troll Ascetic). Enemy enchant creatures ain't got anything on hexproof.
THIRD EDIT: Does your deck need to have 12 enchant creatures after sideboarding? Because if it didn't I'd play gimped Twin G1 and SB to full-power Twin G2&3. The other way I'd try to work around the rules is to put 8 enchant creatures in the SB (4 Twin main) and play with a 7-card sideboard.
Yeah, as I said, that was my first thought as well. But I think it's a little more complicated than that, because there are cards in the format that can hate you out if all you do is run a bunch of removal auras. Also, the meta is likely to be full of people who only go that far, and I'd like to build a deck that BEATS that deck.
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
(This is almost card-for-card the list that my friend has been running with great success at our local shop. He doesn't run Temporal Isolation, but I think that is the best Pacifism effect in modern for 2 mana.)
EDIT: If you think your meta is going to have a lot of decks that swapped removal for removal auras, this deck should work wonders as the only flash removal aura I can think of is Temporal Isolation, and that doesn't affect the combo at all.
I'd go with some sort of Hexproof Bant deck. Geist, Stalker, Troll et are all legal.
You can go with a Conscription package or more of a typical build. You could run things that give creatures abilities too so they aren't just sitting on the sidelines if you want to maximize exalted.
Honestly I think this sounds fun.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
I'd go with some sort of Hexproof Bant deck. Geist, Stalker, Troll et are all legal.
You can go with a Conscription package or more of a typical build. You could run things that give creatures abilities too so they aren't just sitting on the sidelines if you want to maximize exalted.
Honestly I think this sounds fun.
Absolutely this, people are going to be throwing around mind controls and pacifisms, so you want to metagame it where the format gives you the advantage. Ray of Revelation might even be worth mainboarding 2-3 of since you are in the right colors and you know that everyone will have at least 12 enchantments.
Edit: Lol, deluge of "play Bant!" posts all at once.
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I support WotC's goal of shaping Modern in favor of diversity.
I ran a thought experiment on my blog Modern in a Nuclear Wasteland
of an extreme case of banning 20 more cards to make sure they get everything, then scaling back where appropriate. WotC seems to be on a slowly build up approach. Both ways probably reach similar end points.
The post Gatecrash metagame is proving to be closer to the endpoint than I estimated, so its very possible that few (if any) more cards need to be banned.
I like the Bant lists, but I have to say I REALLY love the Tallowisp toolbox idea. Is it worth going Esper colors for Nameless Inversion and Sickening Shoal, along with Geist of St Traft and Arcanum Wings, or is that too greedy?
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
Going out and taking the best enchant creatures out there and making a deck is simply wrong.
You have to take advantage of the meta and crush everyone. This is exactly what I would play.
GW for the LuLz
3x Mesa Enchantress
4x Verduran Enchantress
4x Sigil of the Nayan Gods
4x Quiet Disrepair
4x Savage Hunger
4x Aura of Silence
4x Seal of Primordium
3x Elspeth Knight Errant
4x Path to Exile
2x Austere Command
4x Stirring Wildwood
4x Treetop Village
16x Fetches and Basics and Stuffs.
While everyone is playing at least 12 Aura effects. I will be playing 8 that can cycle and 8 that can disenchant. Overrun your opponent with man lands and enchantress effects. Austere Command is there to wrath creatures but can also wrath enchantments if someone plays Open the Vaults.
While everyone is playing at least 12 Aura effects. I will be playing 8 that can cycle and 8 that can disenchant. Overrun your opponent with man lands and enchantress effects. Austere Command is there to wrath creatures but can also wrath enchantments if someone plays Open the Vaults.
this deck seems like you just durdle around a lot instead of actually doing anything. People are going to have to play a lot of enchantments, but playing just a bunch of cycling effects for the sake of cycling and no real threats except enchantment hate seems pretty loose. You still have to actually win the game.
EDIT: you also only have 8 enchant creature enchantments, the format requires 12
I like the Bant lists, but I have to say I REALLY love the Tallowisp toolbox idea. Is it worth going Esper colors for Nameless Inversion and Sickening Shoal, along with Geist of St Traft and Arcanum Wings, or is that too greedy?
why not play doom blade/go for the throat/smother and dismember instead? those cards are sweet, but they aren't really as good as other cards in the format.
I think Thrun/Troll Ascetic/other hexproof dudes are really good if people have to use a bunch of enchantments, and I really like at least some green for Goyf and Ray of Revelation
I do agree that my list is bad. I wasn't trying to build a fully tested list but I was putting out the idea of how you can attack the format.
I thought the criteria was Auras but I now see it must be creature auras.
It would be best if you played something like Tarmogoyf and a bunch of enchantment hate. Since goyfs gets really big when these things hit thes the bin.
I think running a bunch of cycle enchantments is the way to go. Sure it might be much of a threat but if you are wrathing the board of enchantments, the opponent has at least 12 dead cards in their deck. While your 12 dead cards can cycle.
why not play doom blade/go for the throat/smother and dismember instead? those cards are sweet, but they aren't really as good as other cards in the format.
Because Nameless Inversion and Geist of St Traft are Spirits, and Sickening Shoal is Arcane (triggering Tallowisp), and because Arcanum Wings lets you put auras into play at instant speed, at a discount. Just hypothetically, you could attack with a Tallowisp enchanted with Wings, discard a card to cast Sickening Shoal and kill something, trigger Tallowisp's ability to search for Angelic Destiny, then put Destiny into play enchanting Tallowisp, for just 2U, with Wings' ability. Or if you're behind on tempo, you can always go search for a Temporal Isolation and kill off two creatures at instant speed by turn 3 without sacrificing card advantage.
It's a good tempo play and a card advantage engine at the same time. At least, it seems that way to me.
EDIT: This is kinda what I'm thinking of going with right now. Any suggestions?
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
I agree some sort of Bant shell would be the best, or actually just UW. Pacifism, Claustrophobia, curiosity, Spectral Flight, Invisible Stalker and kor Spiritdancer. I always liked the potential interaction between Sigil of the Empty Throne and Shimmering Wings to get a bunch of angels. Lost Auramancers can help you find the right enchantment at the right time, although you have to protect them so they die to Vanishing and nothing else. Maybe Thran Golem or Auratog as a finisher (too bad Rancor isn't legal). Oh, and Totem-Guide Hartebeest.
Considering that Arcanum Wings already grants evasion, it seems kind of unnecessary to run cards that have redundant evasion. And they kind both kind of suck when you don't take their evasion into account.
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
You're not using it for the evasion, you're using it to put 10 power onto an unblockable creature for three mana at instant speed. If the creature has infect it's even better.
You're not using it for the evasion, you're using it to put 10 power onto an unblockable creature for three mana at instant speed. If the creature has infect it's even better.
The point is that Arcanum Wings does all that itself. It actually doesn't matter what creature you put it on, because it's 10 power on a (usually) unblockable creature for 3 mana at instant speed no matter what. Why use a card for its unblockability when the only reason you'd want it is for a situation where it already has flying?
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
Flying blockers still exist. You're still looking at Arcanum Wings as a source of evasion. I only see the aura swap ability, because that's the only part of the card that matters.
You use the Invisible Stalker because it's got Hexproof, which means your opponent can't usually kill it in response to the aura swap being used. It's also unblockable, which is a plus.
You use the Blighted Agent because it's got infect, and is unblockable. It's a must-kill card if Aura Swap resolves, and an instant win if they don't deal with it, due to being an 11 power infect creature.
Edit: Regardless of which creature you use this on, 4 Arcanum Wings and 4 Eldrazi Conscription handles 8 of your 12 auras and creates a monster kill condition.
My LGS is running a series of Modern tournaments which each have a set of additional deckbuilding restrictions beyond the regular Modern requirements. They tend to be kind of silly (like the December tournament required 4 big red "fatties" and at least 12 elves), but next month's is particularly restrictive: each deck must run at least 12 auras with enchant creature.
So obviously enchant creatures can be either removal or else used on your own creatures, so my first thought was that this'd be a format that's really heavy on creature hate a la Pacifism, and that people would generally run creature-light decks. But then I thought between cards like the various enchantresses, and stuff like Aura Gnarlid and Kitsune Mystic, it'll probably be possible to build a pretty good G/W aggro deck that punishes people playing offensive auras.
So anyway, I was wondering if anyone who knows the Modern cardpool better than I do can offer some advice? Is this a strategy worth pursuing, or is it going to be too easy to hate? What Modern staples should I be using, and what obscure cards will I need to watch out for/be good to catch people off guard with?
-12 removal
+12 Pacifism/Mind Control-type effects
EDIT: thought of something better
Twin
-8 anything
+8 enchant creatures
SECOND EDIT: "original" idea: Uril (lol Commander) + other hexproof stuff (Thrun, Troll Ascetic). Enemy enchant creatures ain't got anything on hexproof.
THIRD EDIT: Does your deck need to have 12 enchant creatures after sideboarding? Because if it didn't I'd play gimped Twin G1 and SB to full-power Twin G2&3. The other way I'd try to work around the rules is to put 8 enchant creatures in the SB (4 Twin main) and play with a 7-card sideboard.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
I seriously think taking the best list you have to alter the least is the way to go....
4 Mesa Enchantress
4 Tallowisp
4 Thief of Hope
2 Evershrike
4 Nameless Inversion
3 Sickening Shoal
3 Shining Shoal
1 Celestial Mantle
2 Faith's Fetters
3 Pillory of the Sleepless
1 Daybreak Coronet
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Flickerform
2 Temporal Isolation
2 Duress
24 Lands
4 Academy Researchers
4 Nobel Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Arcanum Wings
4 Eldrazi Conscription
4 Midnight Guard
4 Village Bell-Ringer
4 Splinter Twin
2 Elemental Mastery
3 Idyllic Tutor
2 Faith's Fetters
4 Temporal Isolation
Stall/Removal
4 Isocron Scepter
3 Lightning Helix
3 Silence
3 Disenchant
Sideboard Rebuff the Wicked for the combo and more removal.
(This is almost card-for-card the list that my friend has been running with great success at our local shop. He doesn't run Temporal Isolation, but I think that is the best Pacifism effect in modern for 2 mana.)
EDIT: If you think your meta is going to have a lot of decks that swapped removal for removal auras, this deck should work wonders as the only flash removal aura I can think of is Temporal Isolation, and that doesn't affect the combo at all.
Modern: B/W Tokens
I am a DCI rules advisor.
You can go with a Conscription package or more of a typical build. You could run things that give creatures abilities too so they aren't just sitting on the sidelines if you want to maximize exalted.
Honestly I think this sounds fun.
4 Kami of Ancient Law
4 Meddling Mage
4 Tallowisp
4 Vedalken Outlander
1 Angelic Destiny
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Path to Exile
1 Prison Term
4 Shining Shoal
4 Steel of the Godhead
1 Eiganjo Castle
4 Faerie Conclave
1 Gemstone Caverns
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
2 Marsh Flats
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Gate
2 Plains
4 Seachrome Coast
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Path to Exile
2 Pithing Needle
4 Spellskite
1 Sun Titan
3 Worship
MDing enchantment hate may also be a good idea.
Alternatively, you could run your normal Modern deck with a 3 card sideboard.
Practice for Khans of Tarkir Limited:
Draft: (#1) (#2) (#3) (#4) (#5)
Absolutely this, people are going to be throwing around mind controls and pacifisms, so you want to metagame it where the format gives you the advantage. Ray of Revelation might even be worth mainboarding 2-3 of since you are in the right colors and you know that everyone will have at least 12 enchantments.
A list like this might be a good start
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Tarmogoyf
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Troll Ascetic
4 Angelic Destiny
4 Path to Exile
2 Worship
3 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Temple Garden
Maybe remove Paths for Pacifism? After that you only have 4 more to go!
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Troll Ascetic
3 Geist of St. Traft
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Temporal Isolation
4 Angelic Destiny
1 Boar Umbra
1 Griffin Guide
1 Moldervine Cloak
1 Spirit Mantle
2 Mana Leak
2 Breeding Pool
4 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
Edit: Lol, deluge of "play Bant!" posts all at once.
I ran a thought experiment on my blog
Modern in a Nuclear Wasteland
of an extreme case of banning 20 more cards to make sure they get everything, then scaling back where appropriate. WotC seems to be on a slowly build up approach. Both ways probably reach similar end points.
The post Gatecrash metagame is proving to be closer to the endpoint than I estimated, so its very possible that few (if any) more cards need to be banned.
You have to take advantage of the meta and crush everyone. This is exactly what I would play.
GW for the LuLz
3x Mesa Enchantress
4x Verduran Enchantress
4x Sigil of the Nayan Gods
4x Quiet Disrepair
4x Savage Hunger
4x Aura of Silence
4x Seal of Primordium
3x Elspeth Knight Errant
4x Path to Exile
2x Austere Command
4x Stirring Wildwood
4x Treetop Village
16x Fetches and Basics and Stuffs.
While everyone is playing at least 12 Aura effects. I will be playing 8 that can cycle and 8 that can disenchant. Overrun your opponent with man lands and enchantress effects. Austere Command is there to wrath creatures but can also wrath enchantments if someone plays Open the Vaults.
this deck seems like you just durdle around a lot instead of actually doing anything. People are going to have to play a lot of enchantments, but playing just a bunch of cycling effects for the sake of cycling and no real threats except enchantment hate seems pretty loose. You still have to actually win the game.
EDIT: you also only have 8 enchant creature enchantments, the format requires 12
why not play doom blade/go for the throat/smother and dismember instead? those cards are sweet, but they aren't really as good as other cards in the format.
I think Thrun/Troll Ascetic/other hexproof dudes are really good if people have to use a bunch of enchantments, and I really like at least some green for Goyf and Ray of Revelation
I thought the criteria was Auras but I now see it must be creature auras.
It would be best if you played something like Tarmogoyf and a bunch of enchantment hate. Since goyfs gets really big when these things hit thes the bin.
I think running a bunch of cycle enchantments is the way to go. Sure it might be much of a threat but if you are wrathing the board of enchantments, the opponent has at least 12 dead cards in their deck. While your 12 dead cards can cycle.
Because Nameless Inversion and Geist of St Traft are Spirits, and Sickening Shoal is Arcane (triggering Tallowisp), and because Arcanum Wings lets you put auras into play at instant speed, at a discount. Just hypothetically, you could attack with a Tallowisp enchanted with Wings, discard a card to cast Sickening Shoal and kill something, trigger Tallowisp's ability to search for Angelic Destiny, then put Destiny into play enchanting Tallowisp, for just 2U, with Wings' ability. Or if you're behind on tempo, you can always go search for a Temporal Isolation and kill off two creatures at instant speed by turn 3 without sacrificing card advantage.
It's a good tempo play and a card advantage engine at the same time. At least, it seems that way to me.
EDIT: This is kinda what I'm thinking of going with right now. Any suggestions?
4 Geist of St Traft
1 Evershrike
1 Kitsune Mystic
4 Kami of Ancient Law
4 Sickening Shoal
1 Retether
1 Shining Shoal
3 Arcanum Wings
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Eldrazi Conscription
4 Temporal Isolation
1 Daybreak Coronet
1 Pillory of the Sleepless
1 Strands of Undeath
There must be 12 enchantments in 60 cards (the main deck) or in 75 cards (the main deck + the sideboard)?
BRG Loam Control (Assault - Loam) BRG
W Mono White Control (Martyr - Proc) W
Arcanum Wings
Eldrazi Conscription
Seems good.
Mix in Blighted Agent for a little spice.
In the starting 60.
Considering that Arcanum Wings already grants evasion, it seems kind of unnecessary to run cards that have redundant evasion. And they kind both kind of suck when you don't take their evasion into account.
The point is that Arcanum Wings does all that itself. It actually doesn't matter what creature you put it on, because it's 10 power on a (usually) unblockable creature for 3 mana at instant speed no matter what. Why use a card for its unblockability when the only reason you'd want it is for a situation where it already has flying?
You use the Invisible Stalker because it's got Hexproof, which means your opponent can't usually kill it in response to the aura swap being used. It's also unblockable, which is a plus.
You use the Blighted Agent because it's got infect, and is unblockable. It's a must-kill card if Aura Swap resolves, and an instant win if they don't deal with it, due to being an 11 power infect creature.
Edit: Regardless of which creature you use this on, 4 Arcanum Wings and 4 Eldrazi Conscription handles 8 of your 12 auras and creates a monster kill condition.
With conscription, it's a 13/13 with annihilator 2 for 6, super under costed fat with no disadvantage besides making room for the conscriptions.
I'd play it In a Bant mana ramp build with lotus cobra, Lightning greaves, noble heirarch, rhox war monk, sovereigns of lost alara, and some control.