It's quite easy to understand, really. Trolls normally have hexproof and regeneration, which makes them very difficult to get rid of. Worship makes you, the player, very difficult to get rid of as long as you control a creature. Pair the two of them and many opponents are forced to scoop, at least game one. What makes this so appealing is the combo already fits nicely into any Bant aggro deck. Chances are you're already running mana dorks and Geist of Saint traft, so you're only 4-6 Trolls and 2-4 Worships away from playing Troll Worship! If anyone has any input or contributions related to the primer please speak up. Now good luck to all you trolls out there!
The Enablers - What makes the deck work. If you're not running these guys, you're not playing Troll Worship.
Worship - Obvious. The great thing about this card is that it doesn't require much build-around in order to include it in your deck. If you play with strong resilient creatures already, then Worship will help you outlast any opponent trying to race you, namely; Affinity, Twin, and Delver. Since this card itself doesn't win you the game, and has resilience in being an Enchantment, you probably don't need to run more than 2-3. Some lists max out at 4 total in the 75.
Troll Ascetic - Your basic Troll. This guy is tough no matter which way the opponent is coming at you. Though still vulnerable to Death Cloud, Liliana of the Veil and Small Pox. Being able to drop this guy on turn 2 off a Noble Hierarch is a very strong play. You're going to want at least 3, probably 4.
Thrun, the Last Troll - The grandpa Troll. This Troll can't even be countered, making him the most resilient card in your deck. Hence why you probably only need 1-2 of him. Clones can take him out, but that's not much of a concern in Modern.
Geist of Saint Traft - While technically not a Troll, most opponents will feel trolled by him. Arguably one of the best aggressive creatures ever printed. Any self-respecting Bant aggro player runs at least 3, and you should do the same. I personally recommend maxing him out at 4 because, unlike the other Trolls, he has zero resilience outside of Hexproof. He can be countered, destroyed, or killed in combat. But we have other ways of supplementing Saint Traft in this area.
The Support - These are not part of the namesake interaction, but are required for your deck to function properly.
Noble Hierarch - One of the most important cards for the deck. Easily the best mana dork ever printed. Makes any of our colors, and buffs any lone attacker, which is almost always relevant. You'll want to run 4, always.
Birds of Paradise - Inferior to the Hierach, these guys are the 2nd best we have. They make all of our colors and fly when necessary. Having more than just 4 mana dorks is important because this deck wants to be slamming a 3-drop on turn 2, every single time. The general consensus is to run 2-4 Birds of Paradise.
Qasali Pridemage - The perfect utility creature. Seal of Primordium on a stick, AND has exalted to buff the guys that really matter. I personally recommend running 4 of these maindeck, because otherwise this deck looses pretty bad to Blood Moon. Some people opt for only 2 or so main, but one should probably have at least 3 total in the 75. Some even supplement this with additional Seal of Primordium in the board. Not a bad idea.
Wiggle Room - None of these cards are mandatory, but most all of them are worth considering for your maindeck. Some are obvious meta calls, and some require your personal testing to determine what works best.
Knight of the Reliquary - Since you're probably running at least 5-8 fetch lands, Kotr is generally a savagely undercosted beater. His ability to tutor up lands is often relevant, but requires you to pack some what of a land toolbox in your 75.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben -Only consider this all-star if your list has a heavy creature base. A minimum of 25 should suffice. That being said, if you can support her, she will be good to you. And more importantly, she will be bad for your opponents. Modern is still overall a spell-based format. Thorn of Amethyst on a stick with First Strike is definitely no laughing matter. She can wreck opponents like Delver, Tron, Loam, and generally any control deck. A maximum of 3 in the 75 should suffice.
Mirran Crusader - Though his protections rarely prevent him from being blasted by a spell, they often let him swing through Tarmogoyfs and Batterskull tokens all day long. And of course anything with Double Strike can be a threat when paired with any of the pump effects we'll talk about later. Because he'll be one of the more situational beaters in your deck if you decide to include him, you're going to want between 2-3 at most.
Rhox War Monk - This guy has caught a lot of flak in Modern, mostly because of the existence of Path to Exile. His resilience only shines against R/x opponents, so his place in Worship is probably the sideboard. That being said, some lists have mainboarded as many as 3 and done quite well. This is mostly a meta call. RWM will generally hose RDW and Affinity.
Kitchen Finks - Basically serves the same purpose as RWM. This is probably a matter of personal preference, more than anything else. Most seem to like the Monk more, some people still hold true to the Finks. If your goal is really just to stall, Finks is probably better. But since our goal is no different than traditional Bant aggro, we're probably better off with the more aggressive body on the Monk. If you want to run Finks, 3 total in the 75 should be plenty.
Jotun Grunt - This is one of those cards that you either love or hate. It is extremely meta dependent (I can't stress this enough). I've found that the more competitive your meta is, the more fetch lands and tarmogoyfs there will be, and thus the more effective you'll find the Grunt to be. He's also useful against Gifts, Snapcasters, and Loam. He is a hate card and an efficiently costed beater all in one. A maximum of 3 in your 75 is probably optimal.
Tarmogoyf - This guy needs no introduction or explanation. 3/4 or 4/5 for 1G is generally pretty good. If you run enough spells to support him, and more importantly if you can afford him ($$), you should probably run him. That being said, he doesn't work as well alongside Thalia or Jotun Grunt. Anywhere from 2-4 would be effective.
Vendillion Clique - The ladies don't really provide much synergy to Troll Worship. Though easily one of the best blue creatures ever, and we are playing blue after all, so no one would argue with running 2 or so. More than that would be excessive. She could be useful for grabbing an answer for Worship out of your opponent's had, I guess..
Spells - Non-permanent card options. Everything from removal to counterspells to utility. There's not a lot of room in this deck for these kind of spells (probably 4-8 slots maximum) so choose wisely.
Spell Pierce - Great utility against the types of spells that hinder us the most. Being able to counter a Karn, Wrath of God, or Firespout with all one mana is invaluable. Most would recommend at least 3 in the maindeck, but like many choices, this is a meta call. If you expect Zoo, RDW, and Affinity then this is probably sideboard material.
Spell Snare - Another amazing one-cost counterspell. Hits a very relevant range of targets. Again, the important thing here is that it only costs one mana. Tempo is very important for a deck like Troll Worship, we don't want to keep any more mana up for counters than we absolutely have to.
Remand - Probably the best counterspell in Modern. The casting cost might be a bit of a liability, but if you can facilitate it then you should probably run this over any other 2-cost counter. It counters the spell unconditionally and replaces itself in your hand. Anywhere from 2-4 could work.
Negate - This is good for the same reason Spell Pierce is good. However, in a turn 4 format, your opponent will rarely be able to pay the 2 for Pierce, so most would recommend just playing that instead. If you're expecting a longer game, you might include 1-2 copies of Negate somewhere in your 75.
Mana Leak - Not much explaining to do. If you're reading this forum then you've probably used Mana Leak before. Generally kills spells dead for the first four turns of the game. Run 3 at most.
Path to Exile - The best removal available to us. Though against certain opponents giving them an extra land early is the last thing we want to be doing. Still it's very important against decks like Delver, Twin, etc. A minimum of 3 in your 75 is mandatory.
Condemn - Not a terrible option, considering Worship is generally going to give us the inevitability. It's rare that an aggro deck will allow the opponent to gain life, but it's not as much of a problem for us. Still, most would agree that Path is just better.
Psionic Blast - This spell is probably a bit overcosted, but how often does a Bant player get to burn someone/something for 4? Blow up a 3/4 Tarmogoyf, a 4/4 Kotr, or just reach in for that last bit of their life total. But take this with a grain of salt. Not a popular choice, but worth consideration. Run only 1-2 of these, if any.
Dismember - A great single mana removal option. At -5/-5, it will hit just about all relevant creatures that it can actually target. However most feel that in a world where the average player spends at least 3 life per game in their lands alone, paying additional life for a removal spell isn't always worth it. Mostly a personal choice. Running 1-2 is enough.
Steelshaper's Gift - Sort of a no-brainer. Run this if and only if you've got at least 1-3 Swords in your 75. The number of Steelshaper's Gifts is generally equal to or greater only by one than the number of swords. We'll talk more about swords in a minute.
Buffs - Packing a suite of hexproof creatures, you're going to want to take advantage of as many buffs as you can. Swords and Auras are particularly effective, since your targets cannot be removed in response, thus no loss of tempo.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant - She's a staple in almost every white deck in Modern. She's up there with JTMS for one of the most broken Planeswalkers ever printed. Not to mention the synergy between her tokens and Worship. You're going to want anywhere from 1-4 of these in your 75. Most lists seem to be stuck on 3.
Angelic Destiny - One of the best auras ever printed. Your hexproof creatures give you the opportunity to stick as well as other auras without fear of a 2-for-1. No one would argue that AD is the best at what it does, but the mana cost can be a liability. Most would agree that Elspeth usually fills this role a bit better, but there's often room for both. As many as 4 Angelic Destinies have been ran maindeck with much success, but also as few as none. It's your call.
Spectral Flight - I'm going out on a limb here and listing this card even though I haven't seen any lists run it other than my own. It works on the same principal as Angelic Destiny; it gives evasion and pumps. The trade off I'm making is 2 less damage per turn in exchange for keeping that 2 mana open for something like a counterspell or possibly a Qasali Pridemage. You can deal 16 damage by turn 4 with one of these slapped on a Geist of Saint Traft, and that's assuming you didn't get any exalted buffs. Still a very fast clock by any standards. I started out running only 2 and recently bumped up to 3. I'm always happy to see the card.
Swords of Things and Stuff - I'm not going into detail for each different sword. All of the protections and abilities can be relevant depending on the match-up. The general consensus is that only Sword of War and Peace and Sword of Fire and Ice are worth including in the maindeck. But all the other swords have seen play with at least some success here and there. Like many choices discussed so far, this is a meta call. With only 1-3 Swords in the 75, you're probably going to want a couple copies of Steelshaper's Gift. If you're running more like 3-5 Swords total, you probably don't need the tutors.
Sideboarding - While many of the cards discussed thus far are arguably sideboard material, they are also mainboardable. This section will discuss cards that can completely hose certain opponents, but are dead in other match-ups, and thus belong solely in your sideboard, if at all.
Hurkyll's Recall - Anti-Affinity, and at a very efficient mana cost.
Creeping Corrosion - Anti-Affinity. Higher manacost than HR, but kills everything dead. Casting this is basically game over against Affinity.
Kataki, War's Wage - More anti-Affinity. Useless in most other match-ups. Most opt for either Recall or Corrosion, since Affinity usually plays red and thus can just Galvanic Blast this little guy.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - Great against Twin, and to a lesser extent Affinity. Not too useful against much else..
Krosan Grip - This is for Twin, plain and simple. Not really relevant in any other match-ups. Though it doesn't even stop Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
Seal of Primordium - I prefer this over Krosan Grip because against Twin it can still pseudo-dodge counters, and is still very relevant in other match-ups.
Graveyard Hate - It comes in many forms. Please suggest any options I may have missed here.
Great Sable Stag - This guy is amazing against U/x control. Unfortunately blue usually pairs itself with white so they can always Path to Exile him out. Still worth consideration. I've recently dropped him from my sideboard because I can't enchant him with Spectral Flight.
Obstinate Baloth - Probably the best anti-discard tech available. There's nothing like dropping this guy for free against Jund's Blightning or Loam's Raven's Crime.
Wilt-Leaf Liege - Same purpose as O-Baloth. Though gaining 4 life is usually more relevant than an anthem.
Leyline of Sanctity - While this has many purposes, it is mainly used as anti-discard. Bant is known for running out of gas, so nothing hurts worse than having to pitch a card or two for no reason. This is a good option because it's also good against R/x aggro and burn.
Mindbreak Trap - Include this if and only if you expect Storm and/or Pyromancer in your meta. The card is a complete dud for most other match-ups.
Torpor Orb - One of the best sideboard techs to be considered. Let's take a look at which cards/decks the Orb hoses.
Kor Firewalker - Pure anti red card. This combined with Worship and you're completely unkillable. The definition of inevitability. Run this in your board only if you expect Mono Red, since Rakdos will have Smother and Boros will have Path to Exile
Refraction Trap - Another anti-red card. This can potentially create a huge tempo swing, though most would opt for the Firewalker if you're really scared of red, since he plays well with Worship.
Kessig Wolf Run (and companion Stomping Ground) with the hexproof guys has become a real break-through for this deck. Guaranteeing your damage gets through along with Sword triggers has been the game finishing counter-measure the deck needed to get into the next level. I highly recommend people try this out.
Cutting the more expensive cards, along with play-testing data revealing just how much more effectively the deck functions with a turn 1 mana creature, has led me to cut the Lotus Cobras and shore up the 1-slot with a full playset of Birds and a 9th guy in Avacyn's Pilgrim. This has the added benefit of blanking all opponent's copies of Spell Snare, a card which is seeing a lot of play.
The extra "oomph" of Sword of War and Peace's damage dealing against controllish decks has pushed it into the mainboard over Ice and Fire (which stands ready to hop in against Faeries and Delver decks).
Worship has made the match-up against Affinity good enough that Stony Silence isn't needed, though I may want to add an extra copy of Worship in the sideboard to nail that home.
Bojuka Bog and Surgical Extraction are key for defeating Melira-Pod and Dredge/Loam decks. Expect to see a lot of these after the results of GP: Lincoln. Mortarpod also helps against Pod, working to shut down their sacrifice outlet.
Does anyone have any tech for dealing with UW and UR Tron decks? Thalia is helpful, but I'm still looking for something more. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
As it stands following GP: Lincoln, this deck is well-positioned in the meta. It is very effective against both the aggro and combo decks, and so long as the control decks continue to not use anti-regeneration sweeps like Wrath of God, effective against control.
Elspeth is great against Tron and Jund, two decks which make up at least 40% of the metagame, and she is good against almost everything else. I can see cutting her down to 3, but playing zero is a mistake.
I didn't want to post this idea until I had tested it thoroughly, and I'm glad to report that despite the sheer greediness of this list, it's incredibly powerful and efficient, with the upside of beating your opponent a multitude of ways.
You have the aggro plan, the worship/hexproof plan, and the Gifts/Rites plan. The thirst and the ideas unbound give you not only a way to pitch fatties, but 2 targets for gifts ungiven if you happen to draw the unburial rites. meanwhile, you still have a very fast clock with goyf, geist, KOTR, and clique, and the worships let you race without worrying about your opponent's gameplan too much.
The sideboard is pretty much geared against the decks that tend to have a decent game 1 against you, namely affinity, burn, and splinter twin. Tron can be tricky, but if you expect a lot of tron in your meta there's plenty of hate for that deck if you're OK with dropping a couple finks/warmonks for remands or gaddock teegs.
What I like the most about this list is that it's both proactive and resilient to just about any board state. I've beaten affinity game 1 with a reanimated elesh norn, and then laughed as his useless nihil spellbombs did nothing to step me from beating him to death with thrun + worship game 2.
The weaknesses of the deck are what you would expect - disruption, sweepers, and explosive hands. With that said, this deck recovers from a bad board state better than most, and the tempo cards like spell pierce and kitchen finks are great at buying you time to stick a combo/threat to squeak out victories.
Also of note: No permission mainboard and no swords. Instead, Angelic Destiny and a slightly beefier (24) creature count. And... Razorverge Thicket... Probably because it's almost exclusively a WG list.
I win round one 2-1 against a Ux Caw Blade variant. Game two tripped me up a bit with a very, very timely ***. I sided out 3 Worship for two Finks and a Krosan Grip after game two, but neither ended up being necessary. I feel that this match would have been much more difficult had my opponent had better draws. I didn't have to deal with as many chump blockers as I'm used to with Caw, and his swords were relevant in only one game.
I win round two 2-0 against Fae. Fae is just a bit too slow for Bant, and I was able to spell pierce his biggest tool (Cryptic Command) I think three out of the four times I saw it. Lots of flying chump blockers to deal with, but I was able to whittle them away with regenerating, flying trolls and a Celestial Colonnade.
I lose round three 1-2 against Jund. This was a bizarre match. To summarize: I won the game I should have lost, and I lost the two games I should have won. First game I'm on the draw, he has a really disruption-heavy starting hand (i ended up losing 3 cards first two turns to IoK and Thoughtseize), I make a play mistake and swing into a Raging Ravine with a troll while tapped out. I also hooked up 2 Spectral Flights to a BoP, because I was concerned with getting early damage in. Naturally it got pulsed around turn 4 or 5. I actually won, but it was close. Game two I swapped in 3 Leyline of Sanctity for a Mana Leak a Worship and Avacyn's, I handily bring him down to 1 life with a relatively nut hand (including a turn 0 leyline), and then he miraculously stabilizes off of first a BBE into a Maelstrom Pulse, and second a BBE into a Liliana. Game 3, similar situation. I handily bring him down to 1 life, and he ends up pulling almost exactly what he needed to keep me in check. I WOULD HAVE KILLED to have a Psionic Blast in-hand in either of those games.
Leyline of Sanctity was a champ against Jund. If you can hold onto some countermagic to fend off Maelstrom Pulse, this card makes your life a lot simpler.
I will be significantly altering my deck come M13, moving Worships exclusively to the sideboard (they are still very, very important in some key matchups), and adding Rancor/Ajani. I will likely pull the Avacyn's Pilgrim. I put him in initially because I was sick and tired of not pulling a mana dork every game. That really was just a streak of bad luck, though, because ever since I added him, I've pulled too many. Unfortunately, I locked that deck in before I could make the change.
Looks really good! Thanks for putting this together! It's no secret that Troll Worship is my favorite Bant list. I am really happy that we have a primer dedicated to it!
I put this together relatively fast so if there's anything I missed please let me know.
I'll update the decklists as people post new/modified versions. I'm really intrigued by Razor's hybrid list. Seems like a good tech. I've thought about going transformational out of the board, bringing in the Gifts package, but I haven't tried it yet. And his list just throws all of it at you maindeck. Sounds pretty strong.
That's the thing I love about Bant in modern right now. It's got such a solid core (Noble, Geist, Pridemage) that you could take it almost anywhere and include several different subthemes and still maintain a competitive win ratio in the meta.
Nice post. I assume this deck is weak to sweepers, esp *** and BSZ. Of course decks packing those are in theory well on thier way to dead and worship is just a final nail in the coffin.
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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.
Yeah Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Moorland Haunt are both great at outlasting through sweepers. I don't think BSZ is used much in Modern but an EOT Gifts for DOJ/***/Snap/X would be a scary opposing play, no doubt. I personally don't usually keep mana up for regen unless I'm expecting a Firespout or lethal combat damage. DOJ is pretty rare too it seems..
Its costs 5 which is a bit too expensive for the maindeck with its aggro game plan.
It'll stop sacrifice effects and may have a place in the sideboard if your meta has a lot of those effects, Jund - Liliana and Tron - All is Dust, are two matchups where is might be useful.
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Smile your day could be worse, so I did smile and it was worse.
I have tested her a bit as a singleton, and most of the time I'd be equally, if not more, satisfied to draw a Thrun or Geist. I was really hoping she'd be more useful, but she is just barely out of range curve-wise for me most of the time. Cards like this remind us just how powerful Geist is, considering he comes down earlier and does more damage even later in the game.
Yeah I think if she was 1WWG for 4/4 I would definitely consider including her. But as it is I've been cutting my curve in every way possible (down to only 1 Elspeth even) so there's no way I'm adding a 5-drop to the deck.
On that note, I've recently decided to bump up to 8 counters, demoting Thalia and Jotun Grunt to the sideboard. I realized that since I run Spectral Flight instead of Swords I can really utilize counter magic a lot earlier. I've been doing 4 Pierce and 4 Remand and really liking it.. And I'm actually trying out -1 Elspeth (down to 1x maindeck) and +1 Spirit Mantle. Obviously the card is insanely situational but I've won games because of it that I couldn't have won with Swords or Spectral.. (since it makes the creature unblockable). It's obviously only useful on GOST though since he's a pretty decent clock on his own. I dunno though..still testing it. Obviously Elspeth is insanely powerful in any deck that can support her but my build has been gravitating more towards tempo-style plays rather than tap-out aggro beats.
After doing a lot of testing over the weekend on cockatrice, I made a significant change to my list thanks to Funeral's suggestions. I maindecked 3 Spectral Flight. Let me tell you, this card is a monster. At 2cmc, my opinion is that it is actually better than Angelic Destiny in this particular deck, and it helps you get through more consistently than a swords package. You will get some funny looks when you cast it, but people quickly change their tune when a Geist blasts them on turn 3 for 9 evasive damage.
Even on our smallest beater, the Troll Ascetic, a Spectral Flight can put them on an easy three-turn clock as long as you can get a bit of exalted damage in and/or they payed a bit of life for their lands.
@Raalic - How are you liking Voidslime? Could you see Deprive or Remand working well in the same slot? Or has the ability to counter abilities been relevant?
Even on our smallest beater, the Troll Ascetic, a Spectral Flight can put them on an easy three-turn clock as long as you can get a bit of exalted damage in and/or they payed a bit of life for their lands.
That was the basis of an SCG Legacy Open winning deck
Yes, we know. I was at that tournament, and I saw that deck..and it was brutal. I was already running Bant aggro in modern at the time, but he gave me the idea to include Spectral Flight. Philip's deck has been brought up several times in Modern Bant discussions. The big problem/difference between Bant in Legacy and in Modern is that they have Brainstorm and Daze. Those change the dynamic of the deck quite a bit.. but either way I really loved Philip's deck. I wish we could find some way to make use of Unstable Mutation here (mostly because I've got two TSP foils at home :cool:) but since it doesn't give evasion it's pretty hard to justify.
Even on our smallest beater, the Troll Ascetic, a Spectral Flight can put them on an easy three-turn clock as long as you can get a bit of exalted damage in and/or they payed a bit of life for their lands.
@Raalic - How are you liking Voidslime? Could you see Deprive or Remand working well in the same slot? Or has the ability to counter abilities been relevant?
I will probably be keeping Voidslime as a 1-of because i like having one actual hard counter (GUU is really no more difficult to produce than 1UU for something like Dissipate), and just for the weird stuff it can do that people never seem to be expecting. I actually used it to win a game against twin, granted he was kind of an idiot. I was sitting on a worship with a flying thrun and 2 troll ascetics. I swung with thrun and he laughed, tapped his pestermite to activate twin, and i countered the ability resulting in 6 lethal to the face. Good times.
Gotcha, I don't follow Bant but I saw this thread linked in the "Recent Posts" section and your post reminded me of that Legacy build. Makes sense that it has been brought up before around here, haha.
While I don't normally like to say "this card can be a port for this card", I would suggest that Mask of Memory could be applicable for this deck to dig for card advantage with something as small as a BoP with Heirarch in play. It can come down and equip a Troll on turn 3 to force blockers and generally be faster than Swords.
It's something that has come up in the Death and Taxes builds as of late and, evidently, has been incredibly useful.
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Also, consider that Liliana counts as occasional mana denial, and it starts to become a significant portion of our strategy.
Yeah as mentioned in the primer, most seem to feel that W&P and F&I are the only ones worth including in the maindeck. And if you're packing Spectrals then F&I isn't as sexy of an option, so I would just try out a couple W&P and see how it works for you. L&S and B&M would easily be the worst choices you could make, so it's either W&P or F&F you have to choose. If you're packing a lot of permission then F&F could work to your advantage, but overall it's probably unnecessary. W&P kills them dead, plain and simple.
Spell Pierce is far better than mana leak for us though. I'd always cut the leaks first.
Agree with this.
List looks pretty good, though. It's remarkably similar to mine, tho I like to run a 9th mana dork and 4 spectral flights, myself. Manabase looks.. identical.
When Rancor/Ajani hit, I am going to test a build which relegates Worship to 3 sideboard slots in favor of a blouses maindeck. Probably going to go as high as 7-9 auras split probably 4/3/1 or 4/4/1 between Spectral Flight, Rancor, Spirit Mantle.
EDIT: On a side note, I wanted to talk about Infect. Right now the deck is fringe, at best, so we haven't had to worry about a sideboard for it. There is no question that the deck invalidates our strategy, and it's a really difficult match up. With the Rancor reprint, I think we can expect (at least initially) a major spike in the popularity of this deck. So.. sideboard options? Is Mirran Crusader + Melira enough to wreck Infect? Does the existence of Pod in the meta kind already make Infect too hit or miss to be a concern?
I've found that Infect's largest weaknesses are blockers and removal on its critters. The Bant Blouses match-up is actually fairly ugly, as Blouses only runs 4 removal spells while Infect runs more than 8 creatures, and Blouses can't run that many flying blockers. However, I have no clue how Infect will get past the removal-happy, pretty disruptive UWR Delver, RUG Tempo Thresh, and Jund (you'd be surprised how good Spell Pierce is against Infect).
Just try dodging the match-up--I don't think it's worth boarding in Meliras.
Is Rancor really where we want to be? I mean +2/0 and trample for G is insane obviously, but there is no evasion. Ascetics can regenerate still (with a hefty investment) but the last thing I want to do with my Gost is slap on a Rancor and suicide him into a Bob (or some other 2 power creature) even if I will net an even loss of cards with my opponent (since the Rancor returns). I would almost rather play an aura like U for +1/0 and flying if it existed. I will probably test it out still as a 1-of in my list, but I don't see it making a big splash for me.
Regarding infect - I haven't been keeping up with the meta as much recently (thanks to Diablo III) so would anyone mind clarifying what they do exactly? Is it mono black like it was in standard? Are they running Liliana or other edict effects? Because honestly that's the only way I see them giving us any real problems. And even then, they are probably outclassed by Jund.
When Rancor/Ajani hit, I am going to test a build which relegates Worship to 3 sideboard slots in favor of a blouses maindeck. Probably going to go as high as 7-9 auras split probably 4/3/1 or 4/4/1 between Spectral Flight, Rancor, Spirit Mantle.
Rancor does something really important: it takes away tempo/control's ability (or anyone else's, for that matter) to chump block. I'm probably not strapping it to a Geist, but I'll definitely, definitely plug it into a troll. NO ONE is going to block your rancored troll with a Bob, and least of all with a squadron hawk. The card is really, really good.
As for infect, most modern variants I've seen are UG, and they run that unblockable dude (Blighted Agent?) with stupid amounts of pump. Rancor turns any of their dudes into threats for G. Make no mistake, this deck is lightning fast and suicidal. It's a really rough match up for us.
I win round one 2-1 against a Ux Caw Blade variant. Game two tripped me up a bit with a very, very timely ***. I sided out 3 Worship for two Finks and a Krosan Grip after game two, but neither ended up being necessary. I feel that this match would have been much more difficult had my opponent had better draws. I didn't have to deal with as many chump blockers as I'm used to with Caw, and his swords were relevant in only one game.
I win round two 2-0 against Fae. Fae is just a bit too slow for Bant, and I was able to spell pierce his biggest tool (Cryptic Command) I think three out of the four times I saw it. Lots of flying chump blockers to deal with, but I was able to whittle them away with regenerating, flying trolls and a Celestial Colonnade.
I lose round three 1-2 against Jund. This was a bizarre match. To summarize: I won the game I should have lost, and I lost the two games I should have won. First game I'm on the draw, he has a really disruption-heavy starting hand (i ended up losing 3 cards first two turns to IoK and Thoughtseize), I make a play mistake and swing into a Raging Ravine with a troll while tapped out. I also hooked up 2 Spectral Flights to a BoP, because I was concerned with getting early damage in. Naturally it got pulsed around turn 4 or 5. I actually won, but it was close. Game two I swapped in 3 Leyline of Sanctity for a Mana Leak a Worship and Avacyn's, I handily bring him down to 1 life with a relatively nut hand (including a turn 0 leyline), and then he miraculously stabilizes off of first a BBE into a Maelstrom Pulse, and second a BBE into a Liliana. Game 3, similar situation. I handily bring him down to 1 life, and he ends up pulling almost exactly what he needed to keep me in check. I WOULD HAVE KILLED to have a Psionic Blast in-hand in either of those games.
Leyline of Sanctity was a champ against Jund. If you can hold onto some countermagic to fend off Maelstrom Pulse, this card makes your life a lot simpler.
I will be significantly altering my deck come M13, moving Worships exclusively to the sideboard (they are still very, very important in some key matchups), and adding Rancor/Ajani. I will likely pull the Avacyn's Pilgrim. I put him in initially because I was sick and tired of not pulling a mana dork every game. That really was just a streak of bad luck, though, because ever since I added him, I've pulled too many. Unfortunately, I locked that deck in before I could make the change.
ONTO ROUND THREE.
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The Enablers - What makes the deck work. If you're not running these guys, you're not playing Troll Worship.
Troll Ascetic - Your basic Troll. This guy is tough no matter which way the opponent is coming at you. Though still vulnerable to Death Cloud, Liliana of the Veil and Small Pox. Being able to drop this guy on turn 2 off a Noble Hierarch is a very strong play. You're going to want at least 3, probably 4.
Thrun, the Last Troll - The grandpa Troll. This Troll can't even be countered, making him the most resilient card in your deck. Hence why you probably only need 1-2 of him. Clones can take him out, but that's not much of a concern in Modern.
Geist of Saint Traft - While technically not a Troll, most opponents will feel trolled by him. Arguably one of the best aggressive creatures ever printed. Any self-respecting Bant aggro player runs at least 3, and you should do the same. I personally recommend maxing him out at 4 because, unlike the other Trolls, he has zero resilience outside of Hexproof. He can be countered, destroyed, or killed in combat. But we have other ways of supplementing Saint Traft in this area.
The Support - These are not part of the namesake interaction, but are required for your deck to function properly.
Birds of Paradise - Inferior to the Hierach, these guys are the 2nd best we have. They make all of our colors and fly when necessary. Having more than just 4 mana dorks is important because this deck wants to be slamming a 3-drop on turn 2, every single time. The general consensus is to run 2-4 Birds of Paradise.
Qasali Pridemage - The perfect utility creature. Seal of Primordium on a stick, AND has exalted to buff the guys that really matter. I personally recommend running 4 of these maindeck, because otherwise this deck looses pretty bad to Blood Moon. Some people opt for only 2 or so main, but one should probably have at least 3 total in the 75. Some even supplement this with additional Seal of Primordium in the board. Not a bad idea.
Wiggle Room - None of these cards are mandatory, but most all of them are worth considering for your maindeck. Some are obvious meta calls, and some require your personal testing to determine what works best.
Mirran Crusader - Though his protections rarely prevent him from being blasted by a spell, they often let him swing through Tarmogoyfs and Batterskull tokens all day long. And of course anything with Double Strike can be a threat when paired with any of the pump effects we'll talk about later. Because he'll be one of the more situational beaters in your deck if you decide to include him, you're going to want between 2-3 at most.
Rhox War Monk - This guy has caught a lot of flak in Modern, mostly because of the existence of Path to Exile. His resilience only shines against R/x opponents, so his place in Worship is probably the sideboard. That being said, some lists have mainboarded as many as 3 and done quite well. This is mostly a meta call. RWM will generally hose RDW and Affinity.
Kitchen Finks - Basically serves the same purpose as RWM. This is probably a matter of personal preference, more than anything else. Most seem to like the Monk more, some people still hold true to the Finks. If your goal is really just to stall, Finks is probably better. But since our goal is no different than traditional Bant aggro, we're probably better off with the more aggressive body on the Monk. If you want to run Finks, 3 total in the 75 should be plenty.
Jotun Grunt - This is one of those cards that you either love or hate. It is extremely meta dependent (I can't stress this enough). I've found that the more competitive your meta is, the more fetch lands and tarmogoyfs there will be, and thus the more effective you'll find the Grunt to be. He's also useful against Gifts, Snapcasters, and Loam. He is a hate card and an efficiently costed beater all in one. A maximum of 3 in your 75 is probably optimal.
Tarmogoyf - This guy needs no introduction or explanation. 3/4 or 4/5 for 1G is generally pretty good. If you run enough spells to support him, and more importantly if you can afford him ($$), you should probably run him. That being said, he doesn't work as well alongside Thalia or Jotun Grunt. Anywhere from 2-4 would be effective.
Vendillion Clique - The ladies don't really provide much synergy to Troll Worship. Though easily one of the best blue creatures ever, and we are playing blue after all, so no one would argue with running 2 or so. More than that would be excessive. She could be useful for grabbing an answer for Worship out of your opponent's had, I guess..
Spells - Non-permanent card options. Everything from removal to counterspells to utility. There's not a lot of room in this deck for these kind of spells (probably 4-8 slots maximum) so choose wisely.
Spell Snare - Another amazing one-cost counterspell. Hits a very relevant range of targets. Again, the important thing here is that it only costs one mana. Tempo is very important for a deck like Troll Worship, we don't want to keep any more mana up for counters than we absolutely have to.
Negate - This is good for the same reason Spell Pierce is good. However, in a turn 4 format, your opponent will rarely be able to pay the 2 for Pierce, so most would recommend just playing that instead. If you're expecting a longer game, you might include 1-2 copies of Negate somewhere in your 75.
Mana Leak - Not much explaining to do. If you're reading this forum then you've probably used Mana Leak before. Generally kills spells dead for the first four turns of the game. Run 3 at most.
Path to Exile - The best removal available to us. Though against certain opponents giving them an extra land early is the last thing we want to be doing. Still it's very important against decks like Delver, Twin, etc. A minimum of 3 in your 75 is mandatory.
Condemn - Not a terrible option, considering Worship is generally going to give us the inevitability. It's rare that an aggro deck will allow the opponent to gain life, but it's not as much of a problem for us. Still, most would agree that Path is just better.
Psionic Blast - This spell is probably a bit overcosted, but how often does a Bant player get to burn someone/something for 4? Blow up a 3/4 Tarmogoyf, a 4/4 Kotr, or just reach in for that last bit of their life total. But take this with a grain of salt. Not a popular choice, but worth consideration. Run only 1-2 of these, if any.
Dismember - A great single mana removal option. At -5/-5, it will hit just about all relevant creatures that it can actually target. However most feel that in a world where the average player spends at least 3 life per game in their lands alone, paying additional life for a removal spell isn't always worth it. Mostly a personal choice. Running 1-2 is enough.
Steelshaper's Gift - Sort of a no-brainer. Run this if and only if you've got at least 1-3 Swords in your 75. The number of Steelshaper's Gifts is generally equal to or greater only by one than the number of swords. We'll talk more about swords in a minute.
Buffs - Packing a suite of hexproof creatures, you're going to want to take advantage of as many buffs as you can. Swords and Auras are particularly effective, since your targets cannot be removed in response, thus no loss of tempo.
Angelic Destiny - One of the best auras ever printed. Your hexproof creatures give you the opportunity to stick as well as other auras without fear of a 2-for-1. No one would argue that AD is the best at what it does, but the mana cost can be a liability. Most would agree that Elspeth usually fills this role a bit better, but there's often room for both. As many as 4 Angelic Destinies have been ran maindeck with much success, but also as few as none. It's your call.
Spectral Flight - I'm going out on a limb here and listing this card even though I haven't seen any lists run it other than my own. It works on the same principal as Angelic Destiny; it gives evasion and pumps. The trade off I'm making is 2 less damage per turn in exchange for keeping that 2 mana open for something like a counterspell or possibly a Qasali Pridemage. You can deal 16 damage by turn 4 with one of these slapped on a Geist of Saint Traft, and that's assuming you didn't get any exalted buffs. Still a very fast clock by any standards. I started out running only 2 and recently bumped up to 3. I'm always happy to see the card.
Swords of Things and Stuff - I'm not going into detail for each different sword. All of the protections and abilities can be relevant depending on the match-up. The general consensus is that only Sword of War and Peace and Sword of Fire and Ice are worth including in the maindeck. But all the other swords have seen play with at least some success here and there. Like many choices discussed so far, this is a meta call. With only 1-3 Swords in the 75, you're probably going to want a couple copies of Steelshaper's Gift. If you're running more like 3-5 Swords total, you probably don't need the tutors.
Sideboarding - While many of the cards discussed thus far are arguably sideboard material, they are also mainboardable. This section will discuss cards that can completely hose certain opponents, but are dead in other match-ups, and thus belong solely in your sideboard, if at all.
Creeping Corrosion - Anti-Affinity. Higher manacost than HR, but kills everything dead. Casting this is basically game over against Affinity.
Kataki, War's Wage - More anti-Affinity. Useless in most other match-ups. Most opt for either Recall or Corrosion, since Affinity usually plays red and thus can just Galvanic Blast this little guy.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - Great against Twin, and to a lesser extent Affinity. Not too useful against much else..
Krosan Grip - This is for Twin, plain and simple. Not really relevant in any other match-ups. Though it doesn't even stop Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
Seal of Primordium - I prefer this over Krosan Grip because against Twin it can still pseudo-dodge counters, and is still very relevant in other match-ups.
Graveyard Hate - It comes in many forms. Please suggest any options I may have missed here.
Obstinate Baloth - Probably the best anti-discard tech available. There's nothing like dropping this guy for free against Jund's Blightning or Loam's Raven's Crime.
Wilt-Leaf Liege - Same purpose as O-Baloth. Though gaining 4 life is usually more relevant than an anthem.
Leyline of Sanctity - While this has many purposes, it is mainly used as anti-discard. Bant is known for running out of gas, so nothing hurts worse than having to pitch a card or two for no reason. This is a good option because it's also good against R/x aggro and burn.
Mindbreak Trap - Include this if and only if you expect Storm and/or Pyromancer in your meta. The card is a complete dud for most other match-ups.
Torpor Orb - One of the best sideboard techs to be considered. Let's take a look at which cards/decks the Orb hoses.
Refraction Trap - Another anti-red card. This can potentially create a huge tempo swing, though most would opt for the Firewalker if you're really scared of red, since he plays well with Worship.
Deck Lists - The fun part.
[/quote]
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Troll Ascetic
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
Enchantments (5):
4 Spectral Flight
1 Spirit Mantle
Instants (11):
4 Spell Pierce
4 Remand
3 Psionic Blast
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Eiganjo Castle
3 Forest
2 Island
1 Plains
3 Path to Exile
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Jotun Grunt
1 Seal of Primordium
3 Worship
2 Obstinate Baloth
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Invisible Stalker
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
3 Geist of Saint Traft
Enchantments (5):
4 Unstable Mutation
1 Moldervine Cloak
Instants (12):
3 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
3 Remand
2 Delay
2 Psionic Blast
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Eiganjo Castle
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Plains
3 Path to Exile
1 Spell Snare
4 Torpor Orb
4 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Worship
Draft My Cube!
CG
I'll update the decklists as people post new/modified versions. I'm really intrigued by Razor's hybrid list. Seems like a good tech. I've thought about going transformational out of the board, bringing in the Gifts package, but I haven't tried it yet. And his list just throws all of it at you maindeck. Sounds pretty strong.
That's the thing I love about Bant in modern right now. It's got such a solid core (Noble, Geist, Pridemage) that you could take it almost anywhere and include several different subthemes and still maintain a competitive win ratio in the meta.
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Its costs 5 which is a bit too expensive for the maindeck with its aggro game plan.
It'll stop sacrifice effects and may have a place in the sideboard if your meta has a lot of those effects, Jund - Liliana and Tron - All is Dust, are two matchups where is might be useful.
CG
On that note, I've recently decided to bump up to 8 counters, demoting Thalia and Jotun Grunt to the sideboard. I realized that since I run Spectral Flight instead of Swords I can really utilize counter magic a lot earlier. I've been doing 4 Pierce and 4 Remand and really liking it.. And I'm actually trying out -1 Elspeth (down to 1x maindeck) and +1 Spirit Mantle. Obviously the card is insanely situational but I've won games because of it that I couldn't have won with Swords or Spectral.. (since it makes the creature unblockable). It's obviously only useful on GOST though since he's a pretty decent clock on his own. I dunno though..still testing it. Obviously Elspeth is insanely powerful in any deck that can support her but my build has been gravitating more towards tempo-style plays rather than tap-out aggro beats.
also, the banner is in!! Thanks Rivenor!!!
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CG
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Qasali Pridemage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Troll Ascetic
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Spell Pierce
4 Path to Exile
1 Voidslime
2 Worship
3 Spectral Flight
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Forest
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Island
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Plains
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple Garden
3 Verdant Catacombs
That creature package is pretty close to mass production-ready..
CG
@Raalic - How are you liking Voidslime? Could you see Deprive or Remand working well in the same slot? Or has the ability to counter abilities been relevant?
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That was the basis of an SCG Legacy Open winning deck
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=44895
-MTG Salvation.
Yes, we know. I was at that tournament, and I saw that deck..and it was brutal. I was already running Bant aggro in modern at the time, but he gave me the idea to include Spectral Flight. Philip's deck has been brought up several times in Modern Bant discussions. The big problem/difference between Bant in Legacy and in Modern is that they have Brainstorm and Daze. Those change the dynamic of the deck quite a bit.. but either way I really loved Philip's deck. I wish we could find some way to make use of Unstable Mutation here (mostly because I've got two TSP foils at home :cool:) but since it doesn't give evasion it's pretty hard to justify.
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I will probably be keeping Voidslime as a 1-of because i like having one actual hard counter (GUU is really no more difficult to produce than 1UU for something like Dissipate), and just for the weird stuff it can do that people never seem to be expecting. I actually used it to win a game against twin, granted he was kind of an idiot. I was sitting on a worship with a flying thrun and 2 troll ascetics. I swung with thrun and he laughed, tapped his pestermite to activate twin, and i countered the ability resulting in 6 lethal to the face. Good times.
CG
While I don't normally like to say "this card can be a port for this card", I would suggest that Mask of Memory could be applicable for this deck to dig for card advantage with something as small as a BoP with Heirarch in play. It can come down and equip a Troll on turn 3 to force blockers and generally be faster than Swords.
It's something that has come up in the Death and Taxes builds as of late and, evidently, has been incredibly useful.
-MTG Salvation.
CG
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If you like a complete Sword suite for Troll Worship (I do--I also run 1 Steelshaper's Gift), I recommend SoFaI, SoWaP, and SoFaF.
Even randomly equipping your hexproof dudes with the wrong swords wins games.
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Thrun, The Last Troll
4 Troll Ascetic
Spells
3 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Pierce
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Enchantments
3 Spectral Flight
2 Worship
Lands
2 Breeding Pool
1 Celestial Colonnade
2 Forest
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Plains
1 Tectonic Edge
2 Temple Garden
3 Verdant Catacombs
Once Rancor is an option im thinking
-1 Troll Ascetic
-2 Spell Pierce
-1 Moorland Haunt
+3 Rancor
+1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Agree with this.
List looks pretty good, though. It's remarkably similar to mine, tho I like to run a 9th mana dork and 4 spectral flights, myself. Manabase looks.. identical.
When Rancor/Ajani hit, I am going to test a build which relegates Worship to 3 sideboard slots in favor of a blouses maindeck. Probably going to go as high as 7-9 auras split probably 4/3/1 or 4/4/1 between Spectral Flight, Rancor, Spirit Mantle.
EDIT: On a side note, I wanted to talk about Infect. Right now the deck is fringe, at best, so we haven't had to worry about a sideboard for it. There is no question that the deck invalidates our strategy, and it's a really difficult match up. With the Rancor reprint, I think we can expect (at least initially) a major spike in the popularity of this deck. So.. sideboard options? Is Mirran Crusader + Melira enough to wreck Infect? Does the existence of Pod in the meta kind already make Infect too hit or miss to be a concern?
CG
Just try dodging the match-up--I don't think it's worth boarding in Meliras.
Regarding infect - I haven't been keeping up with the meta as much recently (thanks to Diablo III) so would anyone mind clarifying what they do exactly? Is it mono black like it was in standard? Are they running Liliana or other edict effects? Because honestly that's the only way I see them giving us any real problems. And even then, they are probably outclassed by Jund.
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As for infect, most modern variants I've seen are UG, and they run that unblockable dude (Blighted Agent?) with stupid amounts of pump. Rancor turns any of their dudes into threats for G. Make no mistake, this deck is lightning fast and suicidal. It's a really rough match up for us.
CG
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Qasali Pridemage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Troll Ascetic
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
3 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Flight
4 Spell Pierce
3 Worship
1 Spirit Mantle
1 Mana Leak
1 Temple Garden
2 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Razorverge Thicket
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Creeping Corrosion
1 Krosan Grip
3 Mindbreak Trap
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Kitchen Finks
I win round one 2-1 against a Ux Caw Blade variant. Game two tripped me up a bit with a very, very timely ***. I sided out 3 Worship for two Finks and a Krosan Grip after game two, but neither ended up being necessary. I feel that this match would have been much more difficult had my opponent had better draws. I didn't have to deal with as many chump blockers as I'm used to with Caw, and his swords were relevant in only one game.
I win round two 2-0 against Fae. Fae is just a bit too slow for Bant, and I was able to spell pierce his biggest tool (Cryptic Command) I think three out of the four times I saw it. Lots of flying chump blockers to deal with, but I was able to whittle them away with regenerating, flying trolls and a Celestial Colonnade.
I lose round three 1-2 against Jund. This was a bizarre match. To summarize: I won the game I should have lost, and I lost the two games I should have won. First game I'm on the draw, he has a really disruption-heavy starting hand (i ended up losing 3 cards first two turns to IoK and Thoughtseize), I make a play mistake and swing into a Raging Ravine with a troll while tapped out. I also hooked up 2 Spectral Flights to a BoP, because I was concerned with getting early damage in. Naturally it got pulsed around turn 4 or 5. I actually won, but it was close. Game two I swapped in 3 Leyline of Sanctity for a Mana Leak a Worship and Avacyn's, I handily bring him down to 1 life with a relatively nut hand (including a turn 0 leyline), and then he miraculously stabilizes off of first a BBE into a Maelstrom Pulse, and second a BBE into a Liliana. Game 3, similar situation. I handily bring him down to 1 life, and he ends up pulling almost exactly what he needed to keep me in check. I WOULD HAVE KILLED to have a Psionic Blast in-hand in either of those games.
Leyline of Sanctity was a champ against Jund. If you can hold onto some countermagic to fend off Maelstrom Pulse, this card makes your life a lot simpler.
I will be significantly altering my deck come M13, moving Worships exclusively to the sideboard (they are still very, very important in some key matchups), and adding Rancor/Ajani. I will likely pull the Avacyn's Pilgrim. I put him in initially because I was sick and tired of not pulling a mana dork every game. That really was just a streak of bad luck, though, because ever since I added him, I've pulled too many. Unfortunately, I locked that deck in before I could make the change.
ONTO ROUND THREE.
CG