Isn't only 8 Ally a little low for the count??? If you're gonna try the Ally subtheme, just as Dennis says, Kazandu Blademaster is an excelent choise. You should never understimate the growing power of vigilance+first strike, even if it is a 2 drop.
Even whitout the Lynx, I would add some fetchs, just for the deckthining at least.
About the captain's claws, if the tokens were humans, it would be so great. But I don't belive that pay 3 is worth the +1/+0 and the ocassional ally trigger.
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So, to make a long story short, I played the deck at SCG Baltimore and went a respectable but disappointing 4-3. I was 4-2 heading into round 7 of 8, where I believe 5-2-1 was a lock for top 32. Round 7 was basically a win-and-draw-and-in for top 32, so I was still playing relevant Magic in the last meaningful round. Quick report:
Round 1: Grixis Delver, W 2-0. Both games my opponent was able to get a turn 2 Gurmag Angler, but I was able to go wide. Game 2 I was somehow able to fight through a Young Pyromancer even though it stuck around for something like 6 turns.
Round 2: Jeskai Control, W 2-1. Game 1 I just outlasted his spot removal until I was eventually able to attack for the win. Game 2 he crushed me. But Game 3: very reminiscent of Game 1, except I knew I had to close it out before he was able to sweep my board away. Here's the scenario: he has 4 land (including 3 blue sources), plays a shockland tapped, and passes. I draw for the turn. My opponent is at 5. I am holding a Thalia's Lieutenant, Brave, and Mana Tithe. I have 3 Plains. I cast Thalia's Lieutenant. He attempts to Cryptic Command, and I play the match-winning Mana Tithe. MANA TITHE!!!
Round 3: Merfolk, L 0-2. This is not a winnable matchup, especially against turn 2 Spreading Seas both games. Harbinger of the Tides both games was also backbreaking.
Round 4: Jund, L 1-2. A real close back and forth match, but he was able to land a Scavenging Ooze and gain 5 life immediately, and I just didn't have the resources to compete.
Round 5: 8Whack, W 2-0. Not particularly competitive. Opponent mulliganed both games and was never really in it.
Round 6: Jund, W 2-1. Very similar to the previous Jund matchup, except this time I was the one that had just enough resources to squeak by.
Round 7: Zoo, L 0-2. Not competitive. Game 1 I mulled to 5 and actually put up a good showing. Game 2 I keep a 1-lander that would be a god-draw with another land. Opponent mulls to 4, he draws the nuts, I don't draw the second land.
Summary: all in all a decent showing. In retrospect, I wish I had kept the Steppe Lynx/fetchland version and gone to battle with that since it's what I'm familiar with. I knew going into it that I hated the Allies, and they didn't change my mind. 8 is of course not enough, but running Blademasters is completely contrary to how I have tried to build and play this deck. 17 lands is of course risky but was generally plenty. 17 gives you an expected value of about 1.98 lands in your opener, which is just about where you want to be. Without the fetches, and without Figures, you don't have nearly as much to do with the extra lands. As for Thalia's Lieutenant, he was great when he was good, but overall he felt extremely clunky and never felt like a really good fit, oddly enough. He's undeniably powerful, but I think I would prefer him in a more 1-drop 2-drop 3-drop style Humans deck, rather than the dump-your-hand aggro I've tried to build.
The Mana Tithe for the win is, by far, the best thing I have read in a long time!
The Ally subtheme simply dosen't have enougth cards to support it. Did the Hada Freeblade grow bigger than a 3/4 during any match?
From the original goyfs of the deck, the only one that I have found to cut is the Figure of Destiny. Not being human isn't the problem, but having to pay at once to make it a 4/4 dosen't suits me. The Student of Warfare, on the other hand, you can pay it over the course of diferent turns to make it grow, always ensuring you have an open plain to use a Path to Exile or Brave the Elements.
A sad thing that you didn't make it, but still, a 4-3 for this kind of deck in the meta of modern is a great result, you have reason to be happy with your performance.
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Sorry for the bad english, not my native language!!!
So, to make a long story short, I played the deck at SCG Baltimore and went a respectable but disappointing 4-3. I was 4-2 heading into round 7 of 8, where I believe 5-2-1 was a lock for top 32. Round 7 was basically a win-and-draw-and-in for top 32, so I was still playing relevant Magic in the last meaningful round. Quick report:
Round 1: Grixis Delver, W 2-0. Both games my opponent was able to get a turn 2 Gurmag Angler, but I was able to go wide. Game 2 I was somehow able to fight through a Young Pyromancer even though it stuck around for something like 6 turns.
Round 2: Jeskai Control, W 2-1. Game 1 I just outlasted his spot removal until I was eventually able to attack for the win. Game 2 he crushed me. But Game 3: very reminiscent of Game 1, except I knew I had to close it out before he was able to sweep my board away. Here's the scenario: he has 4 land (including 3 blue sources), plays a shockland tapped, and passes. I draw for the turn. My opponent is at 5. I am holding a Thalia's Lieutenant, Brave, and Mana Tithe. I have 3 Plains. I cast Thalia's Lieutenant. He attempts to Cryptic Command, and I play the match-winning Mana Tithe. MANA TITHE!!!
Round 3: Merfolk, L 0-2. This is not a winnable matchup, especially against turn 2 Spreading Seas both games. Harbinger of the Tides both games was also backbreaking.
Round 4: Jund, L 1-2. A real close back and forth match, but he was able to land a Scavenging Ooze and gain 5 life immediately, and I just didn't have the resources to compete.
Round 5: 8Whack, W 2-0. Not particularly competitive. Opponent mulliganed both games and was never really in it.
Round 6: Jund, W 2-1. Very similar to the previous Jund matchup, except this time I was the one that had just enough resources to squeak by.
Round 7: Zoo, L 0-2. Not competitive. Game 1 I mulled to 5 and actually put up a good showing. Game 2 I keep a 1-lander that would be a god-draw with another land. Opponent mulls to 4, he draws the nuts, I don't draw the second land.
Summary: all in all a decent showing. In retrospect, I wish I had kept the Steppe Lynx/fetchland version and gone to battle with that since it's what I'm familiar with. I knew going into it that I hated the Allies, and they didn't change my mind. 8 is of course not enough, but running Blademasters is completely contrary to how I have tried to build and play this deck. 17 lands is of course risky but was generally plenty. 17 gives you an expected value of about 1.98 lands in your opener, which is just about where you want to be. Without the fetches, and without Figures, you don't have nearly as much to do with the extra lands. As for Thalia's Lieutenant, he was great when he was good, but overall he felt extremely clunky and never felt like a really good fit, oddly enough. He's undeniably powerful, but I think I would prefer him in a more 1-drop 2-drop 3-drop style Humans deck, rather than the dump-your-hand aggro I've tried to build.
Do you feel that a dump your hand aggro build is still better than a 1 drop 2 drop 3 drop build?
Do you feel that a dump your hand aggro build is still better than a 1 drop 2 drop 3 drop build?
It's tough to say. I'm not sure going with a more curve-out style (say, Champion into Accorder Paladin into Silverblade Paladin into Hero of Bladehold) would have made any difference, and with as much spot removal as there is right now, it's quite possible it's just worse. I haven't tested a curve out style, though, so that may be what I turn my attention to next. I don't necessarily think the Goyfs deck is badly positioned right now, but I think it's a bit more meta-dependent than a curve-out style that rests more on the power level of its individual cards.
The amount of spot removal is far greater in modern than the board sweepers, this deck naturals enemy, so having to curve the mana into less creatures is, in fact, worse for this kind of Weenie deck. In fact, most of the matchs ups that this deck loses, it's against deck that can go wide faster than us, or have a stong board precense and resorces to stabylize.
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So, given the current meta, what seems to be the next option?
I would like to agree with johnkorean that Steppe Lynx and Figure of Destiny are some of the first to go if we are going for a more low to the ground build. Lynx can give us 2 great turns of attacks then die because of drawing lands can be problematic. Figure (though I really believe this card is amazing in certain matchups)is a hindrance to our more synergy based hand-dropping versions of the deck.
I am also currently testing Thalia's Lieutenant and have been seeing very on-and-off results. On one hand a turn three Lieutenant onto an stacked board and holding up a Brave the Elements is just backbreaking. But after a Slagstorm or Anger of the Gods (I will explain in a minute) that wipes our board Thalia's Lieutenant is not good. At all. In those cases, I would rather play an Honor of the Pure and rebuild afterward than play a 1/1 for 2.
Tap effects such as Imposing Sovereign and Glimpse the Sun God also have potential against most creature stratagies. Sovereign seems to be better as an early drop or when you are ahead on board. Glimpse gets better over time and can be used to tap down the last few big creatures.
The Ally subtheme is promising but seems slower than our original version, but is more stable to combat and consistent damage per turn. I will test it very soon.
But what seems to be the issue lately is that spot removal can be the bane for us. Take the deck Skred, a red based control deck with snow lands that revolves around sweepers such as Slagstorm and Anger of the Gods and spot removal in Lightning Bolt and Skred. Brave the Elements is only a one time use against them and our creatures are always at risk of being removed. Late game they will drop Koth of the Hammer and new Goblin Dark-Dwellers to beat us down. Post-board Sun Droplet and more wraths can ensue. How can we stop this?
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, can stall mass removal for a turn as well make spell based combos much harder to accomplish (answer to Storm?) though post-board, Thalia also slows us down.
Graveyard recursion in the forms of Immortal Servitude and Return to the Ranks could also be an answer if we allow them to believe we rely on our graveyard. Servitude on 1, returning all the Parishes and Allies sounds good to me.
In the end I believe we can push through this meta and rise to the top, but we need to solidify what the deck needs.
I feel like we're in a pretty good place overall; 4-3 at an SCG Open is a very respectable finish, especially considering that it was with an unfamiliar version of the deck. Our main issue seems to be against decks that go wide (Elves, Tokens, Merfolk, Zoo) and against these decks I think it's important to have a decent mid-game. Harm's Way might also be really helpful against these types of decks, as you can frequently take out two of their creatures with one card during combat. Tap effects will also be huge here.
Also, as far as tap effects go, I think Expose Evil is worth considering as well. Most of the time tapping two creatures will be enough to push through that last bit of damage, and the clue token will be good for those instances where it isn't quite enough to close out the game.
I continue to feel like we're one good 1-drop, maybe 2, away from a real contending deck. The worst creature in the deck right now, I think, isn't Lynx or Figure, or even the random 2/1s. It's Boros Elite. There's simply no good way to keep 3 creatures on the board when you need them, since there's so much spot removal, so many blockers, and if you do tap out to get a 4th threat down, you've lost your Brave cover and are exposing yourself to a blowout.
I've been toying around with the deck a bit, returning to the Lynx/Figure build, and I've swapped the Elites for Thalia just to see what happens. I also took out a Brave and a removal spell for 2 Honor of the Pure, since I think we could really use the extra beef, and I was unimpressed with Thalia's Lieutenant, especially in a non-mono-Human build.
I'm also looking at re-working the board. I've long held this belief that there are effectively 3 ways to beat an aggro deck: kill the opponent (either out-agrro or uninteractive combo), kill the opponent's creatures (spot removal or sweepers), and kill the opponent's creatures' attacks (beefy blockers or lifegain/fog effects). Rather than having sideboard slots for specific decks, I'm thinking about making it a more general board in order to combat the different strategies, not cards, opposing decks will try to beat us. I'm still tinkering around, so I don't really have anything to report yet, but I'm thinking of giving some number of Elspeths a go.
Another thing I keep coming back to is the Paul Rietzl-style list I played a while back that ran more Honor of the Pure plus Spectral Procession. Procession is a card that could really help us get over the top, especially if we go back to running Honor. I'll give it a whirl and see what I come up with.
More than Spectral procession, I would suggest adding some B to our mana base and run Lingering Souls. One less token, but the flashback makes this card a much more powerfull option.
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The tokens are there to serve as a Plan B. With the 32 1-drops version I've been running, there really is no plan B. It's pedal to the metal, kill them quick or don't kill them at all. The problem with that approach is that there are too many spot removal spells and too many adequate blockers. Spectral Procession effectively combats both strategies. It just gives the deck added dimension that we didn't have before. For that reason, I'm not a fan of Gather the Townsfolk, since the tokens do nothing against beefy ground guys like Goyf. I also prefer Procession to Souls because I think the extra immediate body adds more pressure, which is ultimately still where we want to be.
Anyway, this is the 60 I've been running recently (sideboard still in flux, but for now contains 4 Paths, anti-Red, anti-graveyard, anti-Affinity, etc.):
Initial thoughts: I've basically kept all of the namesake Goyfs (aka, the 1-drops that can get to 4/4 or bigger) but stripped the deck of the underwhelming creatures; namely, the forever 2/1s + Boros Elite. In their place I've put in Procession, Thalia, and Honor of the Pure. So far I've been impressed with the versatility of the deck: we retain the ability to put down a turn 4 clock by turn 2, but we also have more flexibility and can adjust our gameplan depending on the opponent. Before, it was too easy for the opponent to kill the important creatures and leave us with a naked Boros Elite. Now, every single creature is a legitimate threat in its own right (even Champion, but that's more based on the future power level he implies).
There is, however, a good amount of anti-synergy in the deck. There's only 16 Humans in the deck to trigger Champion, for example. There's also a lot of spells, which obviously don't play nicely with Thalia. Even so, this version certainly has a lot more depth to it, and turn 2 Honor followed by turn 3 Procession is legitimately scary for most decks.
What sells me on this version for the time being, though, is how much success I've been having against Jund. The deck isn't nearly as reliant on explosive starts as it used to be, so you're able to keep much slower hands and can slog through the middle game. Before, all they had to do was kill the things that matter and play a blocker or two and the game was over. Now, they have to have an answer for every creature you play (well, maybe not the Thalias), and they really don't have many good answers against the tokens.
If you've been struggling with the all 1-drop deck, I strongly recommend giving this version a try. It will reintroduce you to the concept of "strategy after turn 5."
OP Adding 4 Thalias in the main deck??? That's a suprise, since you always said that Thalia, Guardian of Thraben slows down the deck.
It's a reduced, but more consistent number of creatures, and seems to allow you to play more heavy spells. Not completly sure about Honor of the pure, but will give a try next FNM
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It's a radical departure for me, and part of the point is that I'm trading a percentage of our nut draw turn 4 kills for some staying power when the opponent plays a second removal spell. I'm not sure I would say it is better, but I would definitely say it is more robust, and I feel like there are fewer games that just feel over. Spectral Procession, especially with Honor of the Pure out, is a really big problem for most decks.
I do think Thalia belongs in the board rather than the main, and I'm still looking for an adequate replacement. Perhaps something as simple as Precinct Captain could work here, or Knight of the White Orchid. I might test Captain out to start, but Thalia does fight too much with the deck.
I go back and forth on the removal. I may eventually swap the 2 Mana Tithes for 2 Paths, especially once Thalia goes to the board and I have less slots.
I'm okay with having less support for Champion. Part of my concern is that trying to max out Champion is causing us to play extremely sub-par creatures. Turn 2 3/3 Champion is much less likely now, but I think that's okay. This actually pushes us towards more turn 1 Student turn 2 pump Student openers, which I know I have been under-utilizing. These changes give the deck a lot more game, rather than having a single-minded blitz plan. I think the blitz plan is simply too easily countered right now.
I have not tested Gossipmonger, but he could be good. Intervention Pact I'm not as crazy about. I prefer Angel's Grace against those decks minus Infect.
Note: the Spectral Processions and Honor of the Pures are more or less a package deal. I don't think I would run one and not the other, given their purpose.
I really do think this is probably the best starting point for the deck (if I ever get around to writing a primer, I think that's the "stock list" I would advise running), and then modifications to this are based on personal preference and possibly metagame concerns. I still think Boros Elite and, to a lesser extent, Soldier of the Pantheon and Mardu Woe-Reaper desperately want to be upgraded, but I just don't think the options are there without losing the soul of the deck. I've dipped into Allies and 2-drops with mixed, though mostly underwhelming, results, and I tried having more of a mid-to-late game strategy, which felt like it slowed the deck down too much. My best success comes from the semi-all-in strategy that really leans on Brave the Elements to get through for the last points of damage. That's what I've been playing again recently, and I've had a good amount of success in the tournament practice room. The majority of my losses come from getting land screwed, and not from getting beat by the opponents' decks.
I realize the card needs a lot of suppport, but many of our decks already run most of the support cards I just listed. A boros elite may be easier to trigger, but a flipped Kenzo can win the game all on his own. I think it's worth the investment. I plan to look into it.
*edit* 5/3/16
after testing with bushi I learned a few things.
1. He is very difficult to flip
2. I won every single game he flipped
3. It is possible to flip bushi turn 1, which I did once, and the opponents reaction was fantastic
4. Once you play bushi, most people tend to dodge him. They don't block him and they don't swing in to him unless they have a removal spell for any tricks. This is especially true if you've flipped him once before
Is bushi good or not? Still unsure...but the power of Kenzo is undeniable. That dude wins games on his own. And an unflipped bushi played a lot of mind games with my opponent as he mentioned several times holding back a removal spell for at least a few turns to make sure I didn't catch him off guard. So bushi also draws fire away from more important creatures, even when there is no real possibility of flipping him. I may try him again in the future.
Another card I really want to test is mikaeus, the lunarch. It's similar to affinity's steel overseer and I usually see it as a 4-of in those decks. He also plays really well with anafenza, kin-tree spirit and thalia's lieutenant. Some combination of those cards alongside a slew of one-drops could easily pump most to all of your creatures by 2-3 counters. It might slow the deck down, but it sure as hell would break any board stalls. Could be worth looking into.
Another interesting card; luminarch ascension
How often are we taking damage from the opponent? Obviously a lot when it's against affinity, burn, etc. But against removal heavy decks like jund, junk, tron, and control, it would be pretty threatening to stick this enchantment on turn two and just let it tick up as the game progresses. Your opponent would either have to burn you to keep it from going up, which is less removal pointed at your dudes, or he'd have to attack you, which means less blockers for you to deal with. Rest in Peace may be the better sideboard card in these matchups, but it's certainly food for thought.
oh yea...for those curious.
My turn one play was bushi tenderfoot. The burn player's turn one play was goblin guide. He swung in. I blocked. Cast mutagenic growth on bushi. Guide died. Bushi flipped. Crashed in with Kenzo for six on turn two. Opponent took his second turn and scooped. Haha it was a good time.
There're reasons why a lot of people think that the Kamigawa block was one of the worst ever. The flip creatures are one of those reason. Yes, the power of Kenzo the Hardhearted is undeniable, but with how much consistency can you flip him over the curse of the games??? If there are ways to flip him certanly in every game, it would be a must card for the deck. Another thing that troubles me is how the legendary rule limits the numbers of copys in play.
You compare Mikaeus to Steel overseer, but the lunarch is a much more slow effect, and far less consistent. And, again, the legendary rule limits the explosive power of the creature.
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The problem with Bushi Tenderfoot is that, against an opponent who is paying attention, he's just a 1/1 with unblockable. It's a similar reason why I hate Boros Elite (I play him grudgingly because the condition for making him passable is something the deck naturally wants to be doing): the opponent can point their removal spells at the other creatures, and then you're stuck with a 1/1.
The sideboard is far from optimal, as it's just made up some extra cards that I happened to have and thought might be useful.
Round 1: Red-Black Devotion (W 2-0)
I'd never seen a deck like this before, but it focused on graveyard recursion and cards like Relentless Dead to slow the game down enough to drop some big creatures and close out the game. Unfortunately, my opponent didn't draw enough land and wasn't able to pull off any big plays. I won both matches pretty handily.
Round 2: Merfolk (W 2-0)
I'm sure many of you will be surprised by this result. Both games were extremely close and could have gone either way. Game 1 I won at the last possible opportunity thanks to Brave the Elements, while game two I Sunlance'd a Master of Waves to take out most of his board and swing for the win. My opponent was new to the deck and made a few minor misplays, which definitely improved my chances.
Round 3: Restore Balance (L 0-2)
I'll admit it, I hate playing against combo decks. The list was from SaffronOlive's budget Magic series (http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-45-7-tix-modern-restore-balance) and basically plays as a control deck that can cascade into Restore Balance to wipe out all of your lands and creatures. I came close in both games, but losing all of my lands and creatures multiple times in each game proved to be too much.
Round 4: GW Titan Control (L 1-2)
This was a very interesting match. The deck was pretty similar to the UW lists that run Flickerwisp, Lone Missionary, Wall of Omens, and Sun Titan, but in lieu of blue the deck used green cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Wood Elves to ramp into its big plays. I won the first match through speed, but was shut down by Wall of Omens and board wipes in the later two games.
Overall, the deck performed pretty well. Thalia's Lieutenant was fantastic and I'll definitely keep at least 3 in the main deck. My biggest concern is how badly I performed against the two control decks I faced, as aggro decks are generally supposed to fare well against control decks. My deck had absolutely no answer for Restore Balance, nor can I think of any sideboard cards that would have been helpful. The Wall of Omens/Lone Missionary and Flickerwisp synergy also seemed insurmountable. Thoughts?
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It is actually pretty similar to my list that plays Kazandu Blademaster, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and 2 more lands instead of Boros Elite and Mardu Woe-Reaper.
Here it is:
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Expedition Envoy
4x Hada Freeblade
4x Kazandu Blademaster
4x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Student of Warfare
2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Thalia's Lieutenant
4x Brave the Elements
4x Path to Exile
Land (19)
1x Eiganjo Castle
4x Flagstones of Trokair
14x Plains
In the Thalia slot I consider Captain's Claws for more creatures and Ally triggers or Honor of the Pure.
Even whitout the Lynx, I would add some fetchs, just for the deckthining at least.
About the captain's claws, if the tokens were humans, it would be so great. But I don't belive that pay 3 is worth the +1/+0 and the ocassional ally trigger.
Round 1: Grixis Delver, W 2-0. Both games my opponent was able to get a turn 2 Gurmag Angler, but I was able to go wide. Game 2 I was somehow able to fight through a Young Pyromancer even though it stuck around for something like 6 turns.
Round 2: Jeskai Control, W 2-1. Game 1 I just outlasted his spot removal until I was eventually able to attack for the win. Game 2 he crushed me. But Game 3: very reminiscent of Game 1, except I knew I had to close it out before he was able to sweep my board away. Here's the scenario: he has 4 land (including 3 blue sources), plays a shockland tapped, and passes. I draw for the turn. My opponent is at 5. I am holding a Thalia's Lieutenant, Brave, and Mana Tithe. I have 3 Plains. I cast Thalia's Lieutenant. He attempts to Cryptic Command, and I play the match-winning Mana Tithe. MANA TITHE!!!
Round 3: Merfolk, L 0-2. This is not a winnable matchup, especially against turn 2 Spreading Seas both games. Harbinger of the Tides both games was also backbreaking.
Round 4: Jund, L 1-2. A real close back and forth match, but he was able to land a Scavenging Ooze and gain 5 life immediately, and I just didn't have the resources to compete.
Round 5: 8Whack, W 2-0. Not particularly competitive. Opponent mulliganed both games and was never really in it.
Round 6: Jund, W 2-1. Very similar to the previous Jund matchup, except this time I was the one that had just enough resources to squeak by.
Round 7: Zoo, L 0-2. Not competitive. Game 1 I mulled to 5 and actually put up a good showing. Game 2 I keep a 1-lander that would be a god-draw with another land. Opponent mulls to 4, he draws the nuts, I don't draw the second land.
Summary: all in all a decent showing. In retrospect, I wish I had kept the Steppe Lynx/fetchland version and gone to battle with that since it's what I'm familiar with. I knew going into it that I hated the Allies, and they didn't change my mind. 8 is of course not enough, but running Blademasters is completely contrary to how I have tried to build and play this deck. 17 lands is of course risky but was generally plenty. 17 gives you an expected value of about 1.98 lands in your opener, which is just about where you want to be. Without the fetches, and without Figures, you don't have nearly as much to do with the extra lands. As for Thalia's Lieutenant, he was great when he was good, but overall he felt extremely clunky and never felt like a really good fit, oddly enough. He's undeniably powerful, but I think I would prefer him in a more 1-drop 2-drop 3-drop style Humans deck, rather than the dump-your-hand aggro I've tried to build.
The Ally subtheme simply dosen't have enougth cards to support it. Did the Hada Freeblade grow bigger than a 3/4 during any match?
From the original goyfs of the deck, the only one that I have found to cut is the Figure of Destiny. Not being human isn't the problem, but having to pay at once to make it a 4/4 dosen't suits me. The Student of Warfare, on the other hand, you can pay it over the course of diferent turns to make it grow, always ensuring you have an open plain to use a Path to Exile or Brave the Elements.
A sad thing that you didn't make it, but still, a 4-3 for this kind of deck in the meta of modern is a great result, you have reason to be happy with your performance.
Do you feel that a dump your hand aggro build is still better than a 1 drop 2 drop 3 drop build?
It's tough to say. I'm not sure going with a more curve-out style (say, Champion into Accorder Paladin into Silverblade Paladin into Hero of Bladehold) would have made any difference, and with as much spot removal as there is right now, it's quite possible it's just worse. I haven't tested a curve out style, though, so that may be what I turn my attention to next. I don't necessarily think the Goyfs deck is badly positioned right now, but I think it's a bit more meta-dependent than a curve-out style that rests more on the power level of its individual cards.
I would like to agree with johnkorean that Steppe Lynx and Figure of Destiny are some of the first to go if we are going for a more low to the ground build. Lynx can give us 2 great turns of attacks then die because of drawing lands can be problematic. Figure (though I really believe this card is amazing in certain matchups)is a hindrance to our more synergy based hand-dropping versions of the deck.
I am also currently testing Thalia's Lieutenant and have been seeing very on-and-off results. On one hand a turn three Lieutenant onto an stacked board and holding up a Brave the Elements is just backbreaking. But after a Slagstorm or Anger of the Gods (I will explain in a minute) that wipes our board Thalia's Lieutenant is not good. At all. In those cases, I would rather play an Honor of the Pure and rebuild afterward than play a 1/1 for 2.
Honor of the Pure can also serve a profitable defense from UR Delver and any Electrolyze or Fork Bolt effects they run. It essentialy is a protection from 2-for-1's outside of a Wrath of God or a Maelstorm Pulse effect.
Tap effects such as Imposing Sovereign and Glimpse the Sun God also have potential against most creature stratagies. Sovereign seems to be better as an early drop or when you are ahead on board. Glimpse gets better over time and can be used to tap down the last few big creatures.
The Ally subtheme is promising but seems slower than our original version, but is more stable to combat and consistent damage per turn. I will test it very soon.
But what seems to be the issue lately is that spot removal can be the bane for us. Take the deck Skred, a red based control deck with snow lands that revolves around sweepers such as Slagstorm and Anger of the Gods and spot removal in Lightning Bolt and Skred. Brave the Elements is only a one time use against them and our creatures are always at risk of being removed. Late game they will drop Koth of the Hammer and new Goblin Dark-Dwellers to beat us down. Post-board Sun Droplet and more wraths can ensue. How can we stop this?
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, can stall mass removal for a turn as well make spell based combos much harder to accomplish (answer to Storm?) though post-board, Thalia also slows us down.
Burrenton Forge-Tender is also a FABULOUS answer to red based sweepers, and can serve as a last ditch effort to save a Kytheon, Hero of Akros flip.
Graveyard recursion in the forms of Immortal Servitude and Return to the Ranks could also be an answer if we allow them to believe we rely on our graveyard. Servitude on 1, returning all the Parishes and Allies sounds good to me.
In the end I believe we can push through this meta and rise to the top, but we need to solidify what the deck needs.
Also, as far as tap effects go, I think Expose Evil is worth considering as well. Most of the time tapping two creatures will be enough to push through that last bit of damage, and the clue token will be good for those instances where it isn't quite enough to close out the game.
I definitely think that the all-in aggro style is better than the curve-out aggro style, having tried both a little. The only other direction I can see this deck going is a Merfolk-esque deck that uses Aether Vial and Thalia's Lieutenant, but we'll probably need more 2-mana lords to be printed before that can happen. That's the direction I'd really like to ultimately go in with my deck, as I feel that most of the pieces for that deck are already in place (Champion of the Parish, Student of Warfare, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Thalia's Lieutenant, Brave the Elements, Path to Exile, and Honor of the Pure).
I've been toying around with the deck a bit, returning to the Lynx/Figure build, and I've swapped the Elites for Thalia just to see what happens. I also took out a Brave and a removal spell for 2 Honor of the Pure, since I think we could really use the extra beef, and I was unimpressed with Thalia's Lieutenant, especially in a non-mono-Human build.
I'm also looking at re-working the board. I've long held this belief that there are effectively 3 ways to beat an aggro deck: kill the opponent (either out-agrro or uninteractive combo), kill the opponent's creatures (spot removal or sweepers), and kill the opponent's creatures' attacks (beefy blockers or lifegain/fog effects). Rather than having sideboard slots for specific decks, I'm thinking about making it a more general board in order to combat the different strategies, not cards, opposing decks will try to beat us. I'm still tinkering around, so I don't really have anything to report yet, but I'm thinking of giving some number of Elspeths a go.
Gather the Townsfolk however works with Champion of the Parish/Thalia's Lieutenant and might be worth testing.
If you to build W/B humans some creatures that come to mind are:
Dark Confidant, Xathrid Necromancer and Bloodsoaked Champion.
Anyway, this is the 60 I've been running recently (sideboard still in flux, but for now contains 4 Paths, anti-Red, anti-graveyard, anti-Affinity, etc.):
8 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Windswept Heath
2 Flooded Strand
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Brave the Elements
2 Mana Tithe
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Spectral Procession
Initial thoughts: I've basically kept all of the namesake Goyfs (aka, the 1-drops that can get to 4/4 or bigger) but stripped the deck of the underwhelming creatures; namely, the forever 2/1s + Boros Elite. In their place I've put in Procession, Thalia, and Honor of the Pure. So far I've been impressed with the versatility of the deck: we retain the ability to put down a turn 4 clock by turn 2, but we also have more flexibility and can adjust our gameplan depending on the opponent. Before, it was too easy for the opponent to kill the important creatures and leave us with a naked Boros Elite. Now, every single creature is a legitimate threat in its own right (even Champion, but that's more based on the future power level he implies).
There is, however, a good amount of anti-synergy in the deck. There's only 16 Humans in the deck to trigger Champion, for example. There's also a lot of spells, which obviously don't play nicely with Thalia. Even so, this version certainly has a lot more depth to it, and turn 2 Honor followed by turn 3 Procession is legitimately scary for most decks.
What sells me on this version for the time being, though, is how much success I've been having against Jund. The deck isn't nearly as reliant on explosive starts as it used to be, so you're able to keep much slower hands and can slog through the middle game. Before, all they had to do was kill the things that matter and play a blocker or two and the game was over. Now, they have to have an answer for every creature you play (well, maybe not the Thalias), and they really don't have many good answers against the tokens.
If you've been struggling with the all 1-drop deck, I strongly recommend giving this version a try. It will reintroduce you to the concept of "strategy after turn 5."
It's a reduced, but more consistent number of creatures, and seems to allow you to play more heavy spells. Not completly sure about Honor of the pure, but will give a try next FNM
Seems to me like it is more likely to lose to itself now.
1. Playing 4x Thalia with so many spells (especially with Spectral Procession).
2. No removal among those spells, PtE should be there imho (over Mana Tithe and 2x other spells).
3. Much less support for Champion of the Parish, and no Thalia's Lieutenant.
BtW, has any of you tested Town Gossipmonger (in place of Boros Elite/Mardu Woe-Reaper) in your non-ally versions ?
What do you think about Intervention Pact as sideboard tech against decks that try to kill you with one big swing/turn ?
I do think Thalia belongs in the board rather than the main, and I'm still looking for an adequate replacement. Perhaps something as simple as Precinct Captain could work here, or Knight of the White Orchid. I might test Captain out to start, but Thalia does fight too much with the deck.
I go back and forth on the removal. I may eventually swap the 2 Mana Tithes for 2 Paths, especially once Thalia goes to the board and I have less slots.
I'm okay with having less support for Champion. Part of my concern is that trying to max out Champion is causing us to play extremely sub-par creatures. Turn 2 3/3 Champion is much less likely now, but I think that's okay. This actually pushes us towards more turn 1 Student turn 2 pump Student openers, which I know I have been under-utilizing. These changes give the deck a lot more game, rather than having a single-minded blitz plan. I think the blitz plan is simply too easily countered right now.
I have not tested Gossipmonger, but he could be good. Intervention Pact I'm not as crazy about. I prefer Angel's Grace against those decks minus Infect.
Note: the Spectral Processions and Honor of the Pures are more or less a package deal. I don't think I would run one and not the other, given their purpose.
7 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
4 Brave the Elements
4 Path to Exile
Creatures
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Boros Elite
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Mardu Woe-Reaper
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
I really do think this is probably the best starting point for the deck (if I ever get around to writing a primer, I think that's the "stock list" I would advise running), and then modifications to this are based on personal preference and possibly metagame concerns. I still think Boros Elite and, to a lesser extent, Soldier of the Pantheon and Mardu Woe-Reaper desperately want to be upgraded, but I just don't think the options are there without losing the soul of the deck. I've dipped into Allies and 2-drops with mixed, though mostly underwhelming, results, and I tried having more of a mid-to-late game strategy, which felt like it slowed the deck down too much. My best success comes from the semi-all-in strategy that really leans on Brave the Elements to get through for the last points of damage. That's what I've been playing again recently, and I've had a good amount of success in the tournament practice room. The majority of my losses come from getting land screwed, and not from getting beat by the opponents' decks.
I realize the card needs a lot of suppport, but many of our decks already run most of the support cards I just listed. A boros elite may be easier to trigger, but a flipped Kenzo can win the game all on his own. I think it's worth the investment. I plan to look into it.
*edit* 5/3/16
after testing with bushi I learned a few things.
1. He is very difficult to flip
2. I won every single game he flipped
3. It is possible to flip bushi turn 1, which I did once, and the opponents reaction was fantastic
4. Once you play bushi, most people tend to dodge him. They don't block him and they don't swing in to him unless they have a removal spell for any tricks. This is especially true if you've flipped him once before
Is bushi good or not? Still unsure...but the power of Kenzo is undeniable. That dude wins games on his own. And an unflipped bushi played a lot of mind games with my opponent as he mentioned several times holding back a removal spell for at least a few turns to make sure I didn't catch him off guard. So bushi also draws fire away from more important creatures, even when there is no real possibility of flipping him. I may try him again in the future.
Another card I really want to test is mikaeus, the lunarch. It's similar to affinity's steel overseer and I usually see it as a 4-of in those decks. He also plays really well with anafenza, kin-tree spirit and thalia's lieutenant. Some combination of those cards alongside a slew of one-drops could easily pump most to all of your creatures by 2-3 counters. It might slow the deck down, but it sure as hell would break any board stalls. Could be worth looking into.
Another interesting card; luminarch ascension
How often are we taking damage from the opponent? Obviously a lot when it's against affinity, burn, etc. But against removal heavy decks like jund, junk, tron, and control, it would be pretty threatening to stick this enchantment on turn two and just let it tick up as the game progresses. Your opponent would either have to burn you to keep it from going up, which is less removal pointed at your dudes, or he'd have to attack you, which means less blockers for you to deal with. Rest in Peace may be the better sideboard card in these matchups, but it's certainly food for thought.
oh yea...for those curious.
My turn one play was bushi tenderfoot. The burn player's turn one play was goblin guide. He swung in. I blocked. Cast mutagenic growth on bushi. Guide died. Bushi flipped. Crashed in with Kenzo for six on turn two. Opponent took his second turn and scooped. Haha it was a good time.
You compare Mikaeus to Steel overseer, but the lunarch is a much more slow effect, and far less consistent. And, again, the legendary rule limits the explosive power of the creature.
It can be a fun card but obviously not reliable enough to play in a deck that tries to win consistently.
4x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Student of Warfare
4x Boros Elite
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Hada Freeblade
4x Expedition Envoy
4x Thalia's Lieutenant
1x Mentor of the Meek
4x Brave the Elements
3x Path to Exile
2x Honor of the Pure
Land (18)
18x Plains
3x Sunlance
3x Harm's Way
3x Revoke Existence
2x Rest in Peace
2x Banishing Light
2x Nevermore
The sideboard is far from optimal, as it's just made up some extra cards that I happened to have and thought might be useful.
Round 1: Red-Black Devotion (W 2-0)
I'd never seen a deck like this before, but it focused on graveyard recursion and cards like Relentless Dead to slow the game down enough to drop some big creatures and close out the game. Unfortunately, my opponent didn't draw enough land and wasn't able to pull off any big plays. I won both matches pretty handily.
Round 2: Merfolk (W 2-0)
I'm sure many of you will be surprised by this result. Both games were extremely close and could have gone either way. Game 1 I won at the last possible opportunity thanks to Brave the Elements, while game two I Sunlance'd a Master of Waves to take out most of his board and swing for the win. My opponent was new to the deck and made a few minor misplays, which definitely improved my chances.
Round 3: Restore Balance (L 0-2)
I'll admit it, I hate playing against combo decks. The list was from SaffronOlive's budget Magic series (http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-45-7-tix-modern-restore-balance) and basically plays as a control deck that can cascade into Restore Balance to wipe out all of your lands and creatures. I came close in both games, but losing all of my lands and creatures multiple times in each game proved to be too much.
Round 4: GW Titan Control (L 1-2)
This was a very interesting match. The deck was pretty similar to the UW lists that run Flickerwisp, Lone Missionary, Wall of Omens, and Sun Titan, but in lieu of blue the deck used green cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Wood Elves to ramp into its big plays. I won the first match through speed, but was shut down by Wall of Omens and board wipes in the later two games.
Overall, the deck performed pretty well. Thalia's Lieutenant was fantastic and I'll definitely keep at least 3 in the main deck. My biggest concern is how badly I performed against the two control decks I faced, as aggro decks are generally supposed to fare well against control decks. My deck had absolutely no answer for Restore Balance, nor can I think of any sideboard cards that would have been helpful. The Wall of Omens/Lone Missionary and Flickerwisp synergy also seemed insurmountable. Thoughts?