Went 3-3 at pptq yesterday. The deck is clearly powerful. 2 of my 3 losses were matches that with more familiarity I should have won. Wasnt a problem with the deck. I dont have much experience playing against storm (1-2) or naya kiki chord (1-2). But both seem like matches that should be slightly if not significantly (in the case of kiki) favored for rakdos. The last loss was agains boros burn (0-2). Pretty sure i need to up the sideboard count to 3 dragon claw and 2 collective brutality in the side. Won vs abzan coco (2-0), uw contol (2-0) and gr valkut (2-0). My list was posted earlier on page 57.
Went 3-3 at pptq yesterday. The deck is clearly powerful. 2 of my 3 losses were matches that with more familiarity I should have won. Wasnt a problem with the deck. I dont have much experience playing against storm (1-2) or naya kiki chord (1-2). But both seem like matches that should be slightly if not significantly (in the case of kiki) favored for rakdos. The last loss was agains boros burn (0-2). Pretty sure i need to up the sideboard count to 3 dragon claw and 2 collective brutality in the side. Won vs abzan coco (2-0), uw contol (2-0) and gr valkut (2-0). My list was posted earlier on page 57.
Storm is absolutely a favored matchup for the Rakdos lists. We have hand disruption and the easy ability to keep their creatures that generate cheap spells off of the table with our vast removal. The key to the matchup is knowing the pieces to take out of their hand, and to know when to aggressively mulligan into hand disruption. Also, exiling their graveyard is helpful post-board with Rakdos Charm or Nihil Spellbomb, whichever you play.
Naya Kiki Chord is a frustrating matchup. Eternal Witness is an absolute nightmare of a card for us to deal with. It's almost a must-take out of their hands with hand disruption, but a Chord of Calling will get another Eternal Witness, getting back their Chord of Calling allowing for a Restoration Angel, blinking the Eternal Witness, and so forth. It's a miserable matchup and we need to rely on Surgical Extraction or Extirpate after Game 1 to get rid of the Eternal Witness or Chord of Calling copies, and then hope they simply do not draw well enough.
Burn is a bad matchup. There's no way around that. Hit your Collective Brutality copies and drop a Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet on turn four, and you have a chance. Also, you NEED the opponent to have a creature-heavy hand.
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I'm not sure how much control you have over the thread, but you definitely have the first post in the Primer, meaning that you are the one who can adjust it. If you can change the title of the Primer, it might be time to mention that this deck is pretty officially B/R Control labeled across many mainstream websites.
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I agree with the sentiments in this post and I feel it's a shame it's been somewhat overlooked.
The BR deck has evolved well past what is in the OP of the current primer. Change the name of the deck to BR Control and alter the deck templates according to what has gained prominence over the past few months. The deck in smashpacman's post is one mode of the deck, whereas the other mode includes Pack Rats and Goblin Rabblemaster as the primary threats (along with other win cons such as Hazoret, Kalitas, and Olivia).
I eventually decided to part with one Bolt in order to include a fourth Blood Moon. Previously I had been hesitant to run four Moons due to the possibility of drawing two in my initial seven. However, this isn't going to happen frequently and we do have multiple avenues for discard (Haz, Liliana, Pack Rat). Blood Moon is a major part of the deck, and even if it doesn't shut down an opponent's deck entirely, it often prevents them from playing multiple spells per turn - it only makes sense to maximise the likelihood of drawing it.
I've also recently incorporated a splash for white for artifact and enchantment hate, which has served me very well thus far. Wear//Tear has been pivotal in removing Fraying Sanity, Leyline, etc.
Have also included Stormbreath Dragon in the sideboard; this card is phenomenal and it may very well be my new favourite creature. A very difficult beast to deal with (survives most removal) and a 4/4 flyer with haste is rarely a poor investment.
Anyway, still loving the deck - I don't really want to play anything else at the moment.
I've found that 3 collective Brutality is needed to beat burn, at least on the build I have. So far I haven't dropped a match but it is extremely tough and close. Blood moon is suprisingly effective against burn if you can land it early enough to turn off the multicolored spells.
I'm not sure how much control you have over the thread, but you definitely have the first post in the Primer, meaning that you are the one who can adjust it. If you can change the title of the Primer, it might be time to mention that this deck is pretty officially B/R Control labeled across many mainstream websites.
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I agree with the sentiments in this post and I feel it's a shame it's been somewhat overlooked.
The BR deck has evolved well past what is in the OP of the current primer. Change the name of the deck to BR Control and alter the deck templates according to what has gained prominence over the past few months. The deck in smashpacman's post is one mode of the deck, whereas the other mode includes Pack Rats and Goblin Rabblemaster as the primary threats (along with other win cons such as Hazoret, Kalitas, and Olivia).
I eventually decided to part with one Bolt in order to include a fourth Blood Moon. Previously I had been hesitant to run four Moons due to the possibility of drawing two in my initial seven. However, this isn't going to happen frequently and we do have multiple avenues for discard (Haz, Liliana, Pack Rat). Blood Moon is a major part of the deck, and even if it doesn't shut down an opponent's deck entirely, it often prevents them from playing multiple spells per turn - it only makes sense to maximise the likelihood of drawing it.
I've also recently incorporated a splash for white for artifact and enchantment hate, which has served me very well thus far. Wear//Tear has been pivotal in removing Fraying Sanity, Leyline, etc.
Have also included Stormbreath Dragon in the sideboard; this card is phenomenal and it may very well be my new favourite creature. A very difficult beast to deal with (survives most removal) and a 4/4 flyer with haste is rarely a poor investment.
Anyway, still loving the deck - I don't really want to play anything else at the moment.
I figured that Stony Silence has a wider reach when playing against decks such as Affinity. Do you think that Kolaghan's Command is sufficient?
Stormbreath has been great -- each time I've been able to play it, it has won the game for me. I will always bring Stormbreath in when I am playing against a deck with Path (usually swapping it for a Kalitas or Olivia, depending on match-up). Have you considered Stormbreath in your deck?
I haven't considered Hallowed Moonlight - looks pretty sweet, although I feel like Graffdigger's does a more effective job of holding down CoCo decks.
I figured that Stony Silence has a wider reach when playing against decks such as Affinity. Do you think that Kolaghan's Command is sufficient?
Stormbreath has been great -- each time I've been able to play it, it has won the game for me. I will always bring Stormbreath in when I am playing against a deck with Path (usually swapping it for a Kalitas or Olivia, depending on match-up). Have you considered Stormbreath in your deck?
I haven't considered Hallowed Moonlight - looks pretty sweet, although I feel like Graffdigger's does a more effective job of holding down CoCo decks.
Kolaghan's Command is definitely good enough to take down Affinity, as long as you know the matchup. With our other one-mana removal spells, I don't believe I have ever lost a single game in tournament against Affinity when resolving a single Kolaghan's Command (or more).
Hallowed Moonlight is more of a pet card for me. It is a huge blowout against Living End and wins the game without the opponent having a way to interact with it, and can do the same against the Chord of Calling and CoCo decks. It also draws a card when you simply need to "cycle" it for two mana. I'm all for Grafdigger's Cage, but it is much more likely that the opponent will interact with it, so that's just some food for thought.
I have also become accustomed to playing Hide // Seek over Wear // Tear. You need the single White source either way, but having a way to almost instantly defeat the Sun and Moon decks by taking away their Emrakul feels pretty good as an alternate cost. It also blows out Darksteel Citadel by putting their land on the bottom of their deck, for what that's worth.
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I figured that Stony Silence has a wider reach when playing against decks such as Affinity. Do you think that Kolaghan's Command is sufficient?
Stormbreath has been great -- each time I've been able to play it, it has won the game for me. I will always bring Stormbreath in when I am playing against a deck with Path (usually swapping it for a Kalitas or Olivia, depending on match-up). Have you considered Stormbreath in your deck?
I haven't considered Hallowed Moonlight - looks pretty sweet, although I feel like Graffdigger's does a more effective job of holding down CoCo decks.
Kolaghan's Command is definitely good enough to take down Affinity, as long as you know the matchup. With our other one-mana removal spells, I don't believe I have ever lost a single game in tournament against Affinity when resolving a single Kolaghan's Command (or more).
Hallowed Moonlight is more of a pet card for me. It is a huge blowout against Living End and wins the game without the opponent having a way to interact with it, and can do the same against the Chord of Calling and CoCo decks. It also draws a card when you simply need to "cycle" it for two mana. I'm all for Grafdigger's Cage, but it is much more likely that the opponent will interact with it, so that's just some food for thought.
I have also become accustomed to playing Hide // Seek over Wear // Tear. You need the single White source either way, but having a way to almost instantly defeat the Sun and Moon decks by taking away their Emrakul feels pretty good as an alternate cost. It also blows out Darksteel Citadel by putting their land on the bottom of their deck, for what that's worth.
Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Usually, they can't re-tutor the artifact or enchantment, because none of the decks being played right now have tutor effects. It is possible that the opponent can fetch and the card can get shuffled back to the top, but I'll take that risk to be able to case the other side of the card when necessary.
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Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Usually, they can't re-tutor the artifact or enchantment, because none of the decks being played right now have tutor effects. It is possible that the opponent can fetch and the card can get shuffled back to the top, but I'll take that risk to be able to case the other side of the card when necessary.
Yeah, I thought the same thing (fetching, shuffling). I'll keep playing and adjust accordingly.
I just beat another Grixis Death's Shadow opponent. I do find it interesting that GDS has been made out to be the bogeyman that it is. I don't find it to be a particularly difficult match-up at all. I have more difficulties beating control decks! We are very well positioned at taking out DS decks due to our suite of removal spells. Anyone else's experiences accord with mine in this regard?
Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Usually, they can't re-tutor the artifact or enchantment, because none of the decks being played right now have tutor effects. It is possible that the opponent can fetch and the card can get shuffled back to the top, but I'll take that risk to be able to case the other side of the card when necessary.
Yeah, I thought the same thing (fetching, shuffling). I'll keep playing and adjust accordingly.
I just beat another Grixis Death's Shadow opponent. I do find it interesting that GDS has been made out to be the bogeyman that it is. I don't find it to be a particularly difficult match-up at all. I have more difficulties beating control decks! We are very well positioned at taking out DS decks due to our suite of removal spells. Anyone else's experiences accord with mine in this regard?
I have had the same results. Since we run Fatal Push AND Terminate, along with the ability to force them to sacrifice creatures to Liliana of the Veil (which, in turn, can take the Stubborn Denial out of their hand), they have a hard time stabilizing. There are many ways to play around the deck, and I hope it stays in the format for a long time, because it is a good matchup for us overall. This is all without mentioning that we get to slam a Blood Moon on their three color manabase. On top of everything, we simply bring in Engineered Explosives from the SB for even more hate.
Control decks can be tricky matchups. The Demigod lists had a great time crushing those decks because of the recurrence with Demigod of Revenge and Kolaghan's Command, while Pia and Kiran Nalaar provided great board presence and Chandra, Torch of Defiance was an excellent alternate finisher. However, the more low-to-the-ground creature versions of the deck with Pack Rat and Dark Confidant simply get hosed by removal spells and then have to sit on their hands with removal of their own becoming nigh uncastable.
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Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Usually, they can't re-tutor the artifact or enchantment, because none of the decks being played right now have tutor effects. It is possible that the opponent can fetch and the card can get shuffled back to the top, but I'll take that risk to be able to case the other side of the card when necessary.
Yeah, I thought the same thing (fetching, shuffling). I'll keep playing and adjust accordingly.
I just beat another Grixis Death's Shadow opponent. I do find it interesting that GDS has been made out to be the bogeyman that it is. I don't find it to be a particularly difficult match-up at all. I have more difficulties beating control decks! We are very well positioned at taking out DS decks due to our suite of removal spells. Anyone else's experiences accord with mine in this regard?
I have had the same results. Since we run Fatal Push AND Terminate, along with the ability to force them to sacrifice creatures to Liliana of the Veil (which, in turn, can take the Stubborn Denial out of their hand), they have a hard time stabilizing. There are many ways to play around the deck, and I hope it stays in the format for a long time, because it is a good matchup for us overall. This is all without mentioning that we get to slam a Blood Moon on their three color manabase. On top of everything, we simply bring in Engineered Explosives from the SB for even more hate.
Control decks can be tricky matchups. The Demigod lists had a great time crushing those decks because of the recurrence with Demigod of Revenge and Kolaghan's Command, while Pia and Kiran Nalaar provided great board presence and Chandra, Torch of Defiance was an excellent alternate finisher. However, the more low-to-the-ground creature versions of the deck with Pack Rat and Dark Confidant simply get hosed by removal spells and then have to sit on their hands with removal of their own becoming nigh uncastable.
Yeah, I've been getting slightly disheartened over the past day or two, because 90% of my match-ups have been control decks and I've been getting absolutely destroyed -- I've lost the past 6 games I've played! There are certainly things I could do to improve my standing, but I think the low to the ground mode of this deck has great difficulty dealing with board wipes as you've alluded to. Seeing a Wrath of God or Supreme Verdict line up on the stack is heart breaking when you have a field of Pack Rats or Goblins ready to swing.
Smashpacman, what's your most used mode of Rakdos Charm? When do you typically bring it in? I'm trying to judge its utility.
It looks quite versatile me. It could potentially be a game ender against decks that play very wide and against token decks!
I've also changed my deck (present above). I managed to get ahold of a Kalitas -- I removed 1 x Pack Rat to make room for him.
This weekend I'm going to be playing against a GW Elves deck that utilises Vizier of Remedies. Any thoughts as to what would be best to sideboard in/out for this match up? I'm thinking:
In: 2 Rakdos Charm, 2 Anger of the Gods, Grim Lavamancer (To shock creatures), Surgical Extraction and Extirpate (Remove Vizier, crucial elves, Coco), Damnation.
Out: Blood Moon (It would depend on what his mana-base consists of. Will assess this after first game). Maybe Chandra and Liliana.
Any thoughts as to what else I should sideboard out? I'm slightly stumped.
I missed this post previously.
Rakdos Charm is mostly utilized for graveyard removal. It works against Dredge and Living End, but that mode is also useful against any Snapcaster Mage deck. I usually don't board in all 3 copies against Snapcaster Mage decks, but I usually bring in one or two against any deck running Snapcaster Mage, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, or Gurmag Angler. All three copies also come in against Affinity, as it hits any target in the deck. I haven't cast the third mode of damaging creature's controllers since Splinter Twin was banned out of Modern.
Against GW Vizier of Remedies decks, whether or not they are on full-on Elves builds or simply GW Collected Company, my sideboard plan based on your list would be to bring in the 2 Anger of the Gods, the Surgical Extraction, the Damnation, and the Grim Lavamancer. I would probably board out the two Kolaghan's Command and the Pack Rats. You have to play the control game against that deck. If you can Surgical Extraction the Vizier of Remedies, you will win probably 90% of your games from that point on. Not allowing them to have a board is pretty much the key to success. If you have an abundance of removal spells and have the option to hit their Collected Company with Surgical Extraction, that is also a sound strategy. I don't see the use for Rakdos Charm, since you will likely be removing their important creatures as you go, and it then becomes nothing more than a Lava Spike at best.
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I imagine the relatively low amounts of discard is a meta choice, but the Abbot of Keral Keep seems like an interesting choice. Virtual card advantage the turn it comes into play with some upside due to Prowess and you don't take damage like from Dark Confidant. The downside being he's a one time use.
I'm interested in this build and may try something like this.
Here's the deck I've been testing out. Was gonna post in the Mardu Midrange thread, but it's much more control-focused than most of the decks there, so I thought here might be better.
A little background, the original idea was to build a deck that could play Sarkhan the Mad, a card I thought was really under-appreciated. Sarkhan honestly performs great. With lots of token-makers in the deck, you can turn your creatures into dragons easily. Chalice of the Void on x=1 is another super strong play, especially in the current meta, and stops any Fatal Push the opponents may have.
It has some trouble though. The mana base is a bit rocky, and the sideboard is kinda thrown together. There's also some cards I'd like to find space for but can't, stuff like Ensnaring Bridge or an extra Kolaghan's Command.
Let me know what you think, I could really use some feedback haha
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It's flavor-tastic
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My Decks:
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(online)Enduring Ideal
(online)BUG
(paper)Mono White Control
Standard:
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(online) UWR Control
Here's the deck I've been testing out. Was gonna post in the Mardu Midrange thread, but it's much more control-focused than most of the decks there, so I thought here might be better.
A little background, the original idea was to build a deck that could play Sarkhan the Mad, a card I thought was really under-appreciated. Sarkhan honestly performs great. With lots of token-makers in the deck, you can turn your creatures into dragons easily. Chalice of the Void on x=1 is another super strong play, especially in the current meta, and stops any Fatal Push the opponents may have.
It has some trouble though. The mana base is a bit rocky, and the sideboard is kinda thrown together. There's also some cards I'd like to find space for but can't, stuff like Ensnaring Bridge or an extra Kolaghan's Command.
Let me know what you think, I could really use some feedback haha
This is very interesting. I had the Mardu version built for a long time, but having a way to actually use Sarkhan the Mad profitably is intriguing always. It does feel gimmicky, but still a cool idea. My immediate issue is that the win conditions don't feel strong enough for a control shell. Kitchen Finks isn't exactly a world beater, although it does keep you alive longer, it isn't the first thing I think of when I'm trying to win the game. Chandra, Torch of Defiance is far and away your best win condition, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar can also be quite strong. Anguished Unmaking seems counter-productive for the gain that Kitchen Finks gives. Is the exile effect really necessary beyond Path to Exile for nonland permanents? Really this deck seems overall like it's trying to abuse Chalice of the Void and Simian Spirit Guide when it simply might not need to. If the Chalice strategy fails, it feels like it's all over, although I can see where it's appealing against decks like Burn and Death's Shadow.
Those are my initial reactions. Also 3 Sarkhan the Mad seems like excessive, even for the gimmicks.
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I win 99% of the games I play with either tokens from Sarkhan the Mad or with Batterskull. The Kitchen Finks are there to help mitigate some of the loss of life and control the board some early, and are good with Sarkhan. Turn three Finks into turn four Sarkhan with help of Simian Spirit Guide is a great play.
Spirit Guide isn't just for getting Chalice out on turn one, it's a pretty solid card in general, if a bad topdeck late game.
As for Chalice, it's a really solid card in most matchups really. It doesn't have to be on one. Against say a U/W/X control deck putting it on zero or two has a lot of value. Zero for Ancestral Vision, two takes out Mana Leak, Negate, Snapcaster Mage, and Blessed Alliance. I side it out in some matchups, like Collected Company decks, but it's pretty solid most of the time.
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It's flavor-tastic
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My Decks:
Modern:
(online)Enduring Ideal
(online)BUG
(paper)Mono White Control
Standard:
(paper) Whatever I can throw together
(online) UWR Control
I win 99% of the games I play with either tokens from Sarkhan the Mad or with Batterskull. The Kitchen Finks are there to help mitigate some of the loss of life and control the board some early, and are good with Sarkhan. Turn three Finks into turn four Sarkhan with help of Simian Spirit Guide is a great play.
Spirit Guide isn't just for getting Chalice out on turn one, it's a pretty solid card in general, if a bad topdeck late game.
As for Chalice, it's a really solid card in most matchups really. It doesn't have to be on one. Against say a U/W/X control deck putting it on zero or two has a lot of value. Zero for Ancestral Vision, two takes out Mana Leak, Negate, Snapcaster Mage, and Blessed Alliance. I side it out in some matchups, like Collected Company decks, but it's pretty solid most of the time.
This is actually a very interesting list overall if it works. My goal was to see how you defended the card choices. There are some crazy strong interactions with the cards in your list, such as a Simian Spirit Guide into a Chandra, Torch of Defiance on Turn 3, or if the mana is perfect, a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar on Turn 3. My main concern would be with how well the deck fares against aggressive matchups if you do not draw a Chalice of the Void. Lingering Souls helps a lot against decks such as Affinity, but the sustainable creature based strategies such as Zoo and fast creature output such as Burn and the new Hollow One deck that is running around seems tough. I know it's because you're on Chalice, but playing a BRx control deck without Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt seems like it makes some of those matchups infinitely harder. I haven't played the list so I could be dead wrong, and the answers that Chalice + Lingering Souls + board wraths provides might simply be THAT good.
The one rough draft piece of your deck in my opinion is the sideboard. It feels like you've thought through all of your main deck choices, but with so many interesting niche cards that can have crazy good impacts on the Modern metagame being available in Mardu, some of the numbers in the sideboard seem a bit excessive. I don't know what's best off the top of my head, but Anger of the Gods seems like a possible inclusion, as well as Hide // Seek, Hallowed Moonlight, Wear // Tear, Engineered Explosives, Painful Truths, Ajani Vengeant, Kolaghan's Command (since it's not in your 75 anywhere), and several others. These are just examples to get the creative juices flowing.
I will also commend you on playing Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. I have always believed both on paper and in practice that it is better than Sorin, Solemn Visitor about 80% of the time. It's insane with Lingering Souls and it stays out of Lightning Bolt range while providing permanent lifelink and chump blockers as it grows itself.
Also, my last question would be whether or not you have considered Young Pyromancer since you're playing Lingering Souls, or whether or not you've considered Boom // Bust since you're playing Simian Spirit Guide? Your deck is super cool, but I figured I'd ask about these.
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I like the look of your list overall and its similar to the idea I had brewing mine up. I've found through playing that the two drop slot is by far the most lacking in BR. I've gone through bitterblossom, bone picker, and pia nalaar (I know, three drop) and can't find the correct fit. Dark confidant might be the best option if you have them available, and is my next test (been jamming rock and skred since I couldn't get this list solid).
Overall I think you would be more successful with more pushes and terminates over bolt. I had gone to 3/3 on push/terminate with no bolts but toyed with having 1-2 bolts for face and spot removal. With the number of spot removal spells you have sweepers become less important and can probably move to the board in order to give you more action spells G1.
My experience with BR is that if you are trying to control the game you need to do something "proactive" and unfair like early blood moons with SSG. The deck lacks the early pressure so needs to lock the opponent out until you can land your four drop bombs.
Young Pyromancer and Boom // Bust just really don't go with the game plan.
I made some adjustments to the sideboard, and I'm gonna try swapping out Collective Brutality in the main for Anger of the Gods. Really the biggest problem with the deck is that it easily falls behind against tempo and midrange decks. Hoping that upping the board wipes will help that some. Here's what the list looks like now.
Bloodghast is an interesting choice. I played it as a primary win condition awhile back alongside Shrieking Affliction back when decks were more susceptible to discard. When Jund is the big deck in the format, Bloodghast is king. They can't answer the card repeatedly, and wind up losing by attrition when they run out of answers. Of course, this was all before Kalitas was printed, which is a major problem for Bloodghast. I've never used it with Demigod, which seems to make full use out of Faithless Looting, but I'm not sure how strong it really is presently.
Have you considered Pia and Kiran Nalaar? That card used to be a singleton in my list, but has overperformed so well lately that I've recently gone up to two.
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So my main issue with affinity is that I'm using way too many resources trying to keep Crainial Plating off his guys while I try to find my Kolaghan's Command and even then mainboard Etched Champs are annoying as well. But the biggest issue is that sideboarded in Ghirapur Æther Grid. I cannot deal with that card obviously besides thoughtseizing it and hoping for the best. Should I just fold to that card or maybe splash white for some hate? Any advice?
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Storm is absolutely a favored matchup for the Rakdos lists. We have hand disruption and the easy ability to keep their creatures that generate cheap spells off of the table with our vast removal. The key to the matchup is knowing the pieces to take out of their hand, and to know when to aggressively mulligan into hand disruption. Also, exiling their graveyard is helpful post-board with Rakdos Charm or Nihil Spellbomb, whichever you play.
Naya Kiki Chord is a frustrating matchup. Eternal Witness is an absolute nightmare of a card for us to deal with. It's almost a must-take out of their hands with hand disruption, but a Chord of Calling will get another Eternal Witness, getting back their Chord of Calling allowing for a Restoration Angel, blinking the Eternal Witness, and so forth. It's a miserable matchup and we need to rely on Surgical Extraction or Extirpate after Game 1 to get rid of the Eternal Witness or Chord of Calling copies, and then hope they simply do not draw well enough.
Burn is a bad matchup. There's no way around that. Hit your Collective Brutality copies and drop a Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet on turn four, and you have a chance. Also, you NEED the opponent to have a creature-heavy hand.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
I agree with the sentiments in this post and I feel it's a shame it's been somewhat overlooked.
The BR deck has evolved well past what is in the OP of the current primer. Change the name of the deck to BR Control and alter the deck templates according to what has gained prominence over the past few months. The deck in smashpacman's post is one mode of the deck, whereas the other mode includes Pack Rats and Goblin Rabblemaster as the primary threats (along with other win cons such as Hazoret, Kalitas, and Olivia).
Here is my current list:
4 Dark Confidant
3 Pack Rat
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 Hazoret The Fervent
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Planeswalkers:
2 Liliana of the Veil
Spells:
4 Blood Moon
4 Fatal Push
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Kolaghan's Command
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Terminate
3 Thoughtseize
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Mountain
2 Mutavault
4 Polluted Delta
1 Godless Shrine
4 Swamp
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Collective Brutality
1 Damnation
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
1 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Wear//Tear
1 Stony Silence
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Shatterstorm
I eventually decided to part with one Bolt in order to include a fourth Blood Moon. Previously I had been hesitant to run four Moons due to the possibility of drawing two in my initial seven. However, this isn't going to happen frequently and we do have multiple avenues for discard (Haz, Liliana, Pack Rat). Blood Moon is a major part of the deck, and even if it doesn't shut down an opponent's deck entirely, it often prevents them from playing multiple spells per turn - it only makes sense to maximise the likelihood of drawing it.
I've also recently incorporated a splash for white for artifact and enchantment hate, which has served me very well thus far. Wear//Tear has been pivotal in removing Fraying Sanity, Leyline, etc.
Have also included Stormbreath Dragon in the sideboard; this card is phenomenal and it may very well be my new favourite creature. A very difficult beast to deal with (survives most removal) and a 4/4 flyer with haste is rarely a poor investment.
Anyway, still loving the deck - I don't really want to play anything else at the moment.
I like your deck balance, but some of your sideboard choices are interesting. Why Stony Silence with access to Kolaghan's Command in these colors? How good has Stormbreath Dragon been out of the board? Also, have you considered Hallowed Moonlight to deal with some of the Collected Company and Chord of Calling?
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
I figured that Stony Silence has a wider reach when playing against decks such as Affinity. Do you think that Kolaghan's Command is sufficient?
Stormbreath has been great -- each time I've been able to play it, it has won the game for me. I will always bring Stormbreath in when I am playing against a deck with Path (usually swapping it for a Kalitas or Olivia, depending on match-up). Have you considered Stormbreath in your deck?
I haven't considered Hallowed Moonlight - looks pretty sweet, although I feel like Graffdigger's does a more effective job of holding down CoCo decks.
Kolaghan's Command is definitely good enough to take down Affinity, as long as you know the matchup. With our other one-mana removal spells, I don't believe I have ever lost a single game in tournament against Affinity when resolving a single Kolaghan's Command (or more).
Hallowed Moonlight is more of a pet card for me. It is a huge blowout against Living End and wins the game without the opponent having a way to interact with it, and can do the same against the Chord of Calling and CoCo decks. It also draws a card when you simply need to "cycle" it for two mana. I'm all for Grafdigger's Cage, but it is much more likely that the opponent will interact with it, so that's just some food for thought.
I have also become accustomed to playing Hide // Seek over Wear // Tear. You need the single White source either way, but having a way to almost instantly defeat the Sun and Moon decks by taking away their Emrakul feels pretty good as an alternate cost. It also blows out Darksteel Citadel by putting their land on the bottom of their deck, for what that's worth.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
Yeah, Kolaghan's Command certainly is a powerful card for the Affinity match-up. I will continue to monitor my standing against that particular deck and fashion my sideboard from there.
Hide//Seek looks like an awesome card! I wasn't aware of its existence. I will see if I can get my hands on a couple. Have you had any issues with your opponent being able to tutor the enchantment/artifact after you've placed it back in their library?
Usually, they can't re-tutor the artifact or enchantment, because none of the decks being played right now have tutor effects. It is possible that the opponent can fetch and the card can get shuffled back to the top, but I'll take that risk to be able to case the other side of the card when necessary.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
Yeah, I thought the same thing (fetching, shuffling). I'll keep playing and adjust accordingly.
I just beat another Grixis Death's Shadow opponent. I do find it interesting that GDS has been made out to be the bogeyman that it is. I don't find it to be a particularly difficult match-up at all. I have more difficulties beating control decks! We are very well positioned at taking out DS decks due to our suite of removal spells. Anyone else's experiences accord with mine in this regard?
I have had the same results. Since we run Fatal Push AND Terminate, along with the ability to force them to sacrifice creatures to Liliana of the Veil (which, in turn, can take the Stubborn Denial out of their hand), they have a hard time stabilizing. There are many ways to play around the deck, and I hope it stays in the format for a long time, because it is a good matchup for us overall. This is all without mentioning that we get to slam a Blood Moon on their three color manabase. On top of everything, we simply bring in Engineered Explosives from the SB for even more hate.
Control decks can be tricky matchups. The Demigod lists had a great time crushing those decks because of the recurrence with Demigod of Revenge and Kolaghan's Command, while Pia and Kiran Nalaar provided great board presence and Chandra, Torch of Defiance was an excellent alternate finisher. However, the more low-to-the-ground creature versions of the deck with Pack Rat and Dark Confidant simply get hosed by removal spells and then have to sit on their hands with removal of their own becoming nigh uncastable.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
Yeah, I've been getting slightly disheartened over the past day or two, because 90% of my match-ups have been control decks and I've been getting absolutely destroyed -- I've lost the past 6 games I've played! There are certainly things I could do to improve my standing, but I think the low to the ground mode of this deck has great difficulty dealing with board wipes as you've alluded to. Seeing a Wrath of God or Supreme Verdict line up on the stack is heart breaking when you have a field of Pack Rats or Goblins ready to swing.
I missed this post previously.
Rakdos Charm is mostly utilized for graveyard removal. It works against Dredge and Living End, but that mode is also useful against any Snapcaster Mage deck. I usually don't board in all 3 copies against Snapcaster Mage decks, but I usually bring in one or two against any deck running Snapcaster Mage, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, or Gurmag Angler. All three copies also come in against Affinity, as it hits any target in the deck. I haven't cast the third mode of damaging creature's controllers since Splinter Twin was banned out of Modern.
Against GW Vizier of Remedies decks, whether or not they are on full-on Elves builds or simply GW Collected Company, my sideboard plan based on your list would be to bring in the 2 Anger of the Gods, the Surgical Extraction, the Damnation, and the Grim Lavamancer. I would probably board out the two Kolaghan's Command and the Pack Rats. You have to play the control game against that deck. If you can Surgical Extraction the Vizier of Remedies, you will win probably 90% of your games from that point on. Not allowing them to have a board is pretty much the key to success. If you have an abundance of removal spells and have the option to hit their Collected Company with Surgical Extraction, that is also a sound strategy. I don't see the use for Rakdos Charm, since you will likely be removing their important creatures as you go, and it then becomes nothing more than a Lava Spike at best.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=115581
2 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Mountain
4 Swamp
4 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Graven Cairns
4 Polluted Delta
2 Smoldering Marsh
2 Temple of Malice
4 Fatal Push
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Terminate
1 Damnation
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Night's Whisper
3 Dragon's Claw
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Kozilek's Return
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Molten Rain
1 Shatterstorm
1 Slaughter Games
2 Thoughtseize
I imagine the relatively low amounts of discard is a meta choice, but the Abbot of Keral Keep seems like an interesting choice. Virtual card advantage the turn it comes into play with some upside due to Prowess and you don't take damage like from Dark Confidant. The downside being he's a one time use.
I'm interested in this build and may try something like this.
// 6 Artifact
2 Batterskull
4 Chalice of the Void
// 8 Creature
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Kitchen Finks
// 5 Instant
2 Terminate
2 Anguished Unmaking
1 Kolaghan's Command
// 24 Land
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Dragonskull Summit
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Malice
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Sarkhan the Mad
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
// 9 Sorcery
4 Lingering Souls
3 Wrath of God
2 Collective Brutality
// 3 Artifact
3 Grafdigger's Cage
// 3 Enchantment
3 Leyline of Sanctity
// 9 Sorcery
3 Dreadbore
4 Timely Reinforcements
2 Shattering Spree
A little background, the original idea was to build a deck that could play Sarkhan the Mad, a card I thought was really under-appreciated. Sarkhan honestly performs great. With lots of token-makers in the deck, you can turn your creatures into dragons easily. Chalice of the Void on x=1 is another super strong play, especially in the current meta, and stops any Fatal Push the opponents may have.
It has some trouble though. The mana base is a bit rocky, and the sideboard is kinda thrown together. There's also some cards I'd like to find space for but can't, stuff like Ensnaring Bridge or an extra Kolaghan's Command.
Let me know what you think, I could really use some feedback haha
Modern:
(online)Enduring Ideal
(online)BUG
(paper)Mono White Control
Standard:
(paper) Whatever I can throw together
(online) UWR Control
Legacy:
(paper)The Gate
(paper)Dream Halls
This is very interesting. I had the Mardu version built for a long time, but having a way to actually use Sarkhan the Mad profitably is intriguing always. It does feel gimmicky, but still a cool idea. My immediate issue is that the win conditions don't feel strong enough for a control shell. Kitchen Finks isn't exactly a world beater, although it does keep you alive longer, it isn't the first thing I think of when I'm trying to win the game. Chandra, Torch of Defiance is far and away your best win condition, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar can also be quite strong. Anguished Unmaking seems counter-productive for the gain that Kitchen Finks gives. Is the exile effect really necessary beyond Path to Exile for nonland permanents? Really this deck seems overall like it's trying to abuse Chalice of the Void and Simian Spirit Guide when it simply might not need to. If the Chalice strategy fails, it feels like it's all over, although I can see where it's appealing against decks like Burn and Death's Shadow.
Those are my initial reactions. Also 3 Sarkhan the Mad seems like excessive, even for the gimmicks.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
Spirit Guide isn't just for getting Chalice out on turn one, it's a pretty solid card in general, if a bad topdeck late game.
As for Chalice, it's a really solid card in most matchups really. It doesn't have to be on one. Against say a U/W/X control deck putting it on zero or two has a lot of value. Zero for Ancestral Vision, two takes out Mana Leak, Negate, Snapcaster Mage, and Blessed Alliance. I side it out in some matchups, like Collected Company decks, but it's pretty solid most of the time.
Modern:
(online)Enduring Ideal
(online)BUG
(paper)Mono White Control
Standard:
(paper) Whatever I can throw together
(online) UWR Control
Legacy:
(paper)The Gate
(paper)Dream Halls
This is actually a very interesting list overall if it works. My goal was to see how you defended the card choices. There are some crazy strong interactions with the cards in your list, such as a Simian Spirit Guide into a Chandra, Torch of Defiance on Turn 3, or if the mana is perfect, a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar on Turn 3. My main concern would be with how well the deck fares against aggressive matchups if you do not draw a Chalice of the Void. Lingering Souls helps a lot against decks such as Affinity, but the sustainable creature based strategies such as Zoo and fast creature output such as Burn and the new Hollow One deck that is running around seems tough. I know it's because you're on Chalice, but playing a BRx control deck without Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt seems like it makes some of those matchups infinitely harder. I haven't played the list so I could be dead wrong, and the answers that Chalice + Lingering Souls + board wraths provides might simply be THAT good.
The one rough draft piece of your deck in my opinion is the sideboard. It feels like you've thought through all of your main deck choices, but with so many interesting niche cards that can have crazy good impacts on the Modern metagame being available in Mardu, some of the numbers in the sideboard seem a bit excessive. I don't know what's best off the top of my head, but Anger of the Gods seems like a possible inclusion, as well as Hide // Seek, Hallowed Moonlight, Wear // Tear, Engineered Explosives, Painful Truths, Ajani Vengeant, Kolaghan's Command (since it's not in your 75 anywhere), and several others. These are just examples to get the creative juices flowing.
I will also commend you on playing Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. I have always believed both on paper and in practice that it is better than Sorin, Solemn Visitor about 80% of the time. It's insane with Lingering Souls and it stays out of Lightning Bolt range while providing permanent lifelink and chump blockers as it grows itself.
Also, my last question would be whether or not you have considered Young Pyromancer since you're playing Lingering Souls, or whether or not you've considered Boom // Bust since you're playing Simian Spirit Guide? Your deck is super cool, but I figured I'd ask about these.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
Overall I think you would be more successful with more pushes and terminates over bolt. I had gone to 3/3 on push/terminate with no bolts but toyed with having 1-2 bolts for face and spot removal. With the number of spot removal spells you have sweepers become less important and can probably move to the board in order to give you more action spells G1.
My experience with BR is that if you are trying to control the game you need to do something "proactive" and unfair like early blood moons with SSG. The deck lacks the early pressure so needs to lock the opponent out until you can land your four drop bombs.
I made some adjustments to the sideboard, and I'm gonna try swapping out Collective Brutality in the main for Anger of the Gods. Really the biggest problem with the deck is that it easily falls behind against tempo and midrange decks. Hoping that upping the board wipes will help that some. Here's what the list looks like now.
// 6 Artifact
2 Batterskull
4 Chalice of the Void
// 8 Creature
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Kitchen Finks
// 5 Instant
2 Terminate
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Kolaghan's Command
// 24 Land
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Dragonskull Summit
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Malice
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Sarkhan the Mad
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
// 9 Sorcery
4 Lingering Souls
3 Wrath of God
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Hide // Seek
1 Dreadbore
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Shattering Spree
3 Crumble to Dust
1 Anger of the Gods
Modern:
(online)Enduring Ideal
(online)BUG
(paper)Mono White Control
Standard:
(paper) Whatever I can throw together
(online) UWR Control
Legacy:
(paper)The Gate
(paper)Dream Halls
Bloodghast is an interesting choice. I played it as a primary win condition awhile back alongside Shrieking Affliction back when decks were more susceptible to discard. When Jund is the big deck in the format, Bloodghast is king. They can't answer the card repeatedly, and wind up losing by attrition when they run out of answers. Of course, this was all before Kalitas was printed, which is a major problem for Bloodghast. I've never used it with Demigod, which seems to make full use out of Faithless Looting, but I'm not sure how strong it really is presently.
Have you considered Pia and Kiran Nalaar? That card used to be a singleton in my list, but has overperformed so well lately that I've recently gone up to two.
Standard: Temur Energy RUG
Pauper: Fireball Black B
Commander: Kaervek the Merciless BR
"Always Bolt the Bird."
3 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Hazoret the Fervent
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
4 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Thoughtseize
4 Terminate
1 Collect Brutality
3 Kolaghan's Command
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Blood Moon
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Batterskull
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Polluted Delta
4 Blood Crypt
7 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
Sideboard:
2 Collective Brutality
1 Shatterstorm
1 By Force
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Torpor Orb
1 Flaying Tendrils
1 Damnation
3 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Grave Titan
1 Blood Moon
1 Surgical Extraction
So my main issue with affinity is that I'm using way too many resources trying to keep Crainial Plating off his guys while I try to find my Kolaghan's Command and even then mainboard Etched Champs are annoying as well. But the biggest issue is that sideboarded in Ghirapur Æther Grid. I cannot deal with that card obviously besides thoughtseizing it and hoping for the best. Should I just fold to that card or maybe splash white for some hate? Any advice?
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I find that you use too many resources into killing their artifacts.
As sideboard I would try to do only few changes to the deck in sideboard, in order to increase the pressure.