I have read a lot of the forum since your reply. I really like your mono humans list. What do you think about playing some fetchlands to reduce the likelihood of drawing lands?
@VidarThor: Haven't tested Thalia's Lieutenant in anything other than mono-Humans. It could probably work fine, but of course you're going to get some super awkward draws that are just unavoidable.
@AggieSnake: I don't like running fetchlands purely for the sake of deck thinning. There's a really good article out there that I can't link to off the top of my head that discusses exactly this. In a mono humans list, I'm already recommending you go down to 17 land. If you really want additional thinning I would consider something like Flagstones of Trokair instead.
I don't think it's as simple as that. Lieutenant being a 2 drop is a pretty big deal in this deck, since ideally you're dropping a creature turn one, then two creatures in turn two. Champion being a 1 drop means you can drop two humans turn 2 and swing for 3 off of him if you lead off with him and you then have three attackers on turn 3, which makes the nonbo with Figure and Lynx tolerable as you aren't losing too much in the way of pressure as you still have up the optimal number of attackers. With a two drop you can't really afford the potential whiff offered by the nonbo, it's gotta be good every time you play it. In mono humans it will be, but with 8 less targets... Not so much.
If you could afford the manabase you can splash green for experiment onr and some of the allies. All of them are humans.
If you lead on champion and follow with leuitenant you attack for 3 on turn 2. Of course after that he is just an exspensive champion of the parish. You should play leitenant turn 3 or 4 where his Crusade effect is stronger.
And Figure of Destiny (and possibly also Steppe Lynx) should be cut entirely from the deck anyway as it is slow and doesn't have any synergy with the rest of the deck.
I definitely don't think splashing green is really where you'd want to be since you can run the allies while staying mono-white (or go mono-humans for that matter). You said so yourself, once he hits play he's an expensive Champion, which means you need to be maximizing his ETB effect to make him worth running. If you are running Lynx and Figure you aren't doing so, and I don't think it's worth running in that scenario due to the possibility to underwhelm. With that build you really want to run as few cards that cost more than 1 as possible because you want that untapped Plains open for combat tricks.
Not that I think they need separate threads, but I do feel they are two distinct decks in terms of your choices, so a card being good in one doesn't automatically make it good in the other.
As I said a ways back, I think mono-White Humans simply outclasses the Goyfs deck at the moment. They are strategically very similar but Humans to me has more explosive potential. The strength of Goyfs is that you have more creatures that are threats in and of themselves, but there are way too many Savannah Lions-heavy draws that a turn 4 Thalia's Lieutenant will rescue you from but a turn 4 Steppe Lynx won't.
I've been tinkering around again with the Paul Rietzl-esque version of Goyfs that I posted about a ways back that I took to day 2 at GP Charlotte. This is the 75 I've been playing online, and been having modest success with:
Basically you're taking the standalone threats from Goyfs and backing them up with armies-in-a-can and anthems. In this version, it's often even more important than before to leave mana up.
@johnkorean Your idea has allowed me to spread my wings in modern and has given a great deal of success locally and at other Grand Prixs. Thank You VERY MUCH!
Secondly, I see the "army in a can" idea working to an extent. This version focuses very heavily on playing the best cards possible in each spot, and for the most part, the list (as I am seeing it in February) looks very good.
From my experience, Selfless Spirit could be an inclusion, if not main, then sideboard. It has served me as a mainboard sweeper deterrent something our deck has an issue with.
Currently I am on the Mono-White Humans plan, but consistency won the day for me. I look forward to testing more Goyfs in the future.
Here is my list I will be taking to GP Vancouver 2016 (next weekend):
Hey guys, I dropped this post in the Soldiers thread, but I think it better belongs in here. Though, I rewrote it to better fit this thread. And, to tie in my deck into this thread the OP mentioned the Ardent Recruit in his original post stating he causes the deck to be designed around him. The OP is 100% correct - it does. And, here is my take on that it.
The deck focuses on evasion via inherent first strike supported by soft control elements to disrupt unfair decks. As you can see this build is very explosive and outside of explosive openings, AotC, HoG, and TGoT all help to hinder the opponents defenses and/or "going off" one turn too late allowing us to close a game out. Another strength is that there are no lord like effect that could potentially cause blowout during combat. If you wish, you could swap out KotWO for Consul's Lieutenant as she is a terror on the battlefield if she ever becomes renown. But, you are trading speed for potential pump - tough choices. Also, Thalia, Heretic Cathar is another decent pick; however, she only brings mana disruption to the table making her the bottom of the pick.
It lacks soft disruption, which may put it one step behind the ground pounders. But, the only way to find out who comes out on top is to play them extensively.
I hope you found my lists interesting. The toughest challenge will be ensuring consistency between artifacts and Metalcraft. It takes time to get the balance correct so just stick with with and tweak as needed.
AggieSnake
I have read a lot of the forum since your reply. I really like your mono humans list. What do you think about playing some fetchlands to reduce the likelihood of drawing lands?
AggieSnake
@AggieSnake: I don't like running fetchlands purely for the sake of deck thinning. There's a really good article out there that I can't link to off the top of my head that discusses exactly this. In a mono humans list, I'm already recommending you go down to 17 land. If you really want additional thinning I would consider something like Flagstones of Trokair instead.
If you lead on champion and follow with leuitenant you attack for 3 on turn 2. Of course after that he is just an exspensive champion of the parish. You should play leitenant turn 3 or 4 where his Crusade effect is stronger.
Thalia's Lieutenant (and Gather the Townsfolk) is much better than any of those non-humans.
Not that I think they need separate threads, but I do feel they are two distinct decks in terms of your choices, so a card being good in one doesn't automatically make it good in the other.
I've been tinkering around again with the Paul Rietzl-esque version of Goyfs that I posted about a ways back that I took to day 2 at GP Charlotte. This is the 75 I've been playing online, and been having modest success with:
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Windswept Heath
2 Flooded Strand
8 Plains
Creatures
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Student of Warfare
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Brave the Elements
4 Path to Exile
2 Mana Tithe
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Spectral Procession
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Kor Firewalker
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Dismember
2 Celestial Flare
2 Sundering Growth
Basically you're taking the standalone threats from Goyfs and backing them up with armies-in-a-can and anthems. In this version, it's often even more important than before to leave mana up.
Secondly, I see the "army in a can" idea working to an extent. This version focuses very heavily on playing the best cards possible in each spot, and for the most part, the list (as I am seeing it in February) looks very good.
From my experience, Selfless Spirit could be an inclusion, if not main, then sideboard. It has served me as a mainboard sweeper deterrent something our deck has an issue with.
Currently I am on the Mono-White Humans plan, but consistency won the day for me. I look forward to testing more Goyfs in the future.
Here is my list I will be taking to GP Vancouver 2016 (next weekend):
2 Cavern of Souls
18 Plains
Creatures:
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Selfless Spirit
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Lantern Scout
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Path to Exile
3 Brave the Elements
Sidebaord:
3 Repel the Abominable
3 Hallowed Moonlight
3 Stony Silence
3 Disenchant
3 Blessed Alliance
Have a great day
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Porcelain Legionnaire
4x Toolcraft Exemplar
4x Ardent Recruit
4x Boros Elite
4x Hope of Ghirapur
4x Signal Pest
4x Memnite
4x Mox Opal
4x Authority of the Consuls
RESOURCES: 16
3x Darksteel Citadel
13x Plains
Here is another take on the deck via flying.
4x Auriok Sunchaser
4x Daring Skyjek
4x Smuggler's Copter
4x Toolcraft Exemplar
4x Ardent Recruit
4x Boros Elite
4x Hope of Ghirapur
4x Signal Pest
4x Ornithopter
4x Mox Opal
4x Authority of the Consuls
RESOURCES: 16
3x Darksteel Citadel
13x Plains
Here are some other cards I found interesting to try out in the Support section: Veteran's Armaments, Wojek Siren, Brave the Elements, and Collective Effort. I could easily see a humans pump build splashing the control or indestructible sub-theme into it. (indestructible sub-theme: Frontline Medic, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Brave the Elements)
I hope you found my lists interesting. The toughest challenge will be ensuring consistency between artifacts and Metalcraft. It takes time to get the balance correct so just stick with with and tweak as needed.
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