I actually really like that Kargan Dragonlord card. I might run two of those instead of the stormbreaths. I've used stormbreaths monstrous ability behind a bridge a few times but it usually gets in for lower than 4 damage by that time in the game. I'd rather have that 4 damage be dealt early with Kargan vs having a later stormbreath.
If 2 Uba Mask doesn't work out I may switch them back to magma jet. But I definitely like Crystal ball for the skry each turn potential. Idk. I like messing around with it. The main deck is strong enough that playing around with these last 6 card slots is possible without hurting the deck too much.
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@Raystack: I was first playing with Spellskites in the SB. Then I figured they would be of great help in so many G1 matchups (Infect, Burn, Boggles...) that I brought them main. But now I feel people keep their creature removal in G2-G3 to be able to deal with Spellskite (whereas I could bring them from the SB as a "surprise" against artifact removal).
I agree Spellskite does a lot more than being a creature. But I think on Game 1, I can rely on the "free win", then bring them in G2 or G3 to protect the most relevant lock pieces once I know which specific deck I'm facing.
Next week I'll experiment with Spellskites in the SB again, but run 3x Ratchet Bombs in the maindeck. I've been running 1 in the SB so far, and it's a good all-around answer to anything costing 1-2 that could sneak in before dropping a Chalice.
I'll keep you posted! I may end up bringing them back MD after all. ;-)
So, Koth of the Hammer has fallen out of favor recently? Eh? It's all about Grrrrrllll Power these days? Chandra, Torch of Defiance ftw? Card counts have flipped in her favor, and I can get on board with that. I don't think I'd do 4 of her, but her board impact (removal ability: 4 damage) can often be better than Koth's.
Yeah, if it were me, I'd run the 2nd list, Skia. But, I don't like the Uba Mask. I wonder if Bottled Cloister would be any better, as it's been suggested here by another poster in the past. 4-cmc is a tall order these days, so both get a thumbs down. When facing Affinity/Burn/Infect/Death's Shadow/Merfolk/DnT....pretty much anything competitive, you don't want to be looking at a hand with multipleUba Mask and Crystal Ball. 1st things 1st: Control the Board! You are way too light on early removal methinks. Look to the Magma Jet is where I'd first point you.
Jfmajor: Same line of thinking - Since we don't run T1 // 1CMC spells, that makes T2 doubly important. I think this is a benefit, not a detriment. 2cmc spells are just naturally better than 1cmc spells. To turn away from removal/spellskite on turn 2 seems very perilous. Following your lead, I am down to 3 spellskite due to redundant draws, but I'm rarely unhappy to see it in a opening hand. But, let me know how the testing goes without it main deck.
I have loved Chandra almost every time I have played her, she just seems so good in almost any situation. Whereas when you already have a bridge up and Koth's +1 kinda just does nothing since the mountain can't attack and his -2 is super situational depending on what is in your hand. Idk. If I had both Chandra and Koth in my hand I'm going to play the Chandra 9/10 times.
Maybe I will just drop the Uba Mask idea. Bottled Cloister is a decent idea as well. But I do understand that 4CMC is a tall order. Maybe I will just end up running 2 Magma Jets after all instead of adding another lock piece. I also was maybe thinking of maybe trying Trinisphere. It has a lower CMC but then I would have less 2 drop removal like you said.
I'll report back at the end of the night with my final decklist and how it went at the tournament tonight. Hopefully I don't have really bad matchups haha.
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Got wreaked by this tonight, guy knew I was on Restore Balance and Chalice'd on zero into turn two Nahiri. Game two I fetched wrong early on leading to a quick lose.
Considering I was 2-1 going in I think he did rather well. I felt it was a really bad matchups for me overall.
I didn't play very well with this deck tonight. I don't think it was the deck but more of my decisions and hands that I should have Mulliganed.
I ran the list a little different because the store didn't have some of the cards I was wanting to tryout, like Kargan Dragonlord, so unfortunately I had to go without them. I can definitely say that I do not like Crystal Ball at all though. So that is probably going to be out really fast.
Match one vs Boggles 2-0
Game one I chaliced on 1 turn 1 and chaliced on 2 turn 3 or 4 which led to an early scoop. So early I actually had no idea what deck I was even up against since nothing but green mana was played. So I didn't even sideboard. Game two I turn 2 blood mooned into a turn 5 chalice on 2 which led to another scoop before I was really threatened at all. Really easy wins there.
Match two vs 4 color allies 0-2
Game one he killed me before I could even get a bridge down. I think it was a turn 3 kill on his part because I had a bridge in my hand that never managed to see the battlefield. He even killed me through an Anger of the Gods that killed 2 of his creatures early. Game two I was able to get a chalice on 1 and got a bridge down but he destroyed the bridge and swung for lethal on turn 4ish IIRC. Another really fast kill for him. He was lucky to get the artifact removal from the sideboard but his deck was scary fast even without it.
Match three vs Scapeshift 0-2
Game one I should have Mulliganed. He was able to get to 7 mana and I never drew a blood moon to stop it. I got a magus down but it was electrolized immediately. The starting hand wasn't helped at all by the fact that I drew 5 mountains in a row so I had no support after my opening hand. Game two I made a terrible misplay that cost me the game. I sided out the Ensnaring Bridges and brought in stormbreath and witchbane orb. Never saw the orb but I was able to establish a decent blood moon lock and get stormbreath out swinging. He had 11 life left, 5 cards in hand, and I had Koth on the board. For some reason I didn't remember Koth's -2 for mana in which I could have swung for lethal by making stormbreath monsterous, dealing 5 for the cards in hand, swinging for 7 for a total of 12 damage,and then he killed me the very next turn. I don't know how I didn't see that.
So I went 1-2 in matchups and I dare say I went 3-3 in games if you minus the misplay. And while I like Trinisphere in the deck, I think I will replace it with Kargan Dragonlord once I can find two of them to run and the Crystal Ball was a failed experiment. Never was useful at all. So back to 4 Magma Jet for now.
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She started at $60.00 introductory price. When I first read her, I thought she had to be totally bogus. Fake. Way overpowered. And, $60.00 seemed like a reasonable price even if she was real. In recent months her worth has plummeted. $20-ish.
Sure. I get it. It doesn't work for JUND, and otherwise her market share for deck selection is limited. As a result, Chandra's value tanked. Is it actual playability that's been identified as underwhelming....or lack of application options? Let's talk about Hammer's Slammer. This is two peas in a pod: chocolate in peanut butter. Chandra's ability to surf the waves of game development seeeeems to be more effective.
Even better than Ajani Vengeant services R/W Control, Chandra is a 'sure thing' for us. The abilities absolutely, sublimely furthers our agenda. This harkens back to what I was writing about before: 2-CMC spells. Her +1 ability enacts a 'free casting' and subsequent 5 Loyalty (hard to kill) Planeswalker that only increases in viability as the turns go by.
@skia: We've tried Trinisphere in past posts. If it's not legacy, then it's not gonna happen.
I carefully read your analysis twice, Morimacil. Soooooo, are you trying to take my apes away? Aren't they an integral part of the deck? The common wisdom of this thread has been a resounding yes. In fact, I play with (7) Simian Spirit Guide: (4) SSG and (3) Desperate Ritual. If I were to entertain dropping any of these accelerators, the Rituals would be the first to go.
Apes are firmly entrenched in my build of Hammer's Slammer. My experience, after a ton of testing, has been the toggling up and down of my D.Ritual count, but I've never entertained the idea of dropping monkeys. Modern is so fast - I think you need to Build the Prison before the Opponent Commits the Crime. I can't slam down a Moon after he's fetched twice. I can't Bridge Up with a full hand while facing Infect or Affinity. And, I don't want to serve up the Cup of Nothingness a turn later than I have to.
You make a special case for doing a Chalice one turn later, believing it won't be that big of an impact. Consider this: He goes turn 1 and drops a Goblin Guide or any sort of spell that indicates to me that he is running a deck packed with 1-cmc spells. O.K. If I can SSG into a Chalice on my Turn 1, and this stops his Turn 2 play of dropping 2 more 1-cmc spells. I have effectively gone 2-for-2 on card economy (and much more for future drawn spells on his end). So, I have no problem whatsoever with the SSG in my opening hand.
That said, Can we? Can we still stay in the ring and trade play for play with competitive modern decks without our 'turbo boosts'? That is the essence of what Morimacil is asking. Well, this leaves open 7 slots. I will kick it around. What do you think would be a way to fill the void? Is it just more disruption, like Anger of the Gods? Is it more threats like Goblin Rabblemaster? My fear is that a slower development from us would allow for more "Fair" decks like Jund or Grixis control to pull ahead in longer bouts. My game plan against those guys is simple: Blood Moon is priority 1 and a Planeswalker, defended by bridge/spellskite, is my win condition 1.
Overall, I believe there is just way too much impact to playing 1 or 2 steps ahead for me to consider dropping SSG...or Desperate Ritual for that matter. I am reminded of classic cinema: "Take your stinking hands off my Simian Spirit Guide, you damn, dirty Human!"
I keep adding my two cents worth to a deck I only theorize with y'all about...But...I second the SSG are good to keep in. I agree that slamming a critical "sideboard" card turn 1 is worth the potential bad top deck because if you lock an opponent out with said card, does that top deck matter anymore?
I can see rituals being swapped out for other disruption, but my Skred roots really like killing creatures and graveyards pre-board.
How are the recent bannings going to affect our constructions? With Golgari Grave-Troll gone, dredge takes a slap to the fanny. This puts Anger of the Gods as a less than necessary pre-sideboard option for the general meta [besides ensnaring bridge handles creature swarm rather nicely]. I opt for a card that costs the same, and either does the same thing (for the most part) or it can spank planeswalkers and opponents that don't run wee critters: Slagstorm. This is an outlier card, but I still swear by it ---> when you are pairing it constructively with other damage sources. Rather than fear running our spare creatures into a wall of opposing creatures in futility, I feel like like there's enough Bam Bam for our Rabble Rabbles.
Put to practice: Add Goblin Rabblemaster back in! Add Slagstorm. Snipe with Magma Jet and lock down with Ensnaring Bridge. Mana Accelerators? I'm sticking with the crash helmet, and going as fast as I can out of the gate. Banzai!!!
Has anyone else seen this? It's Shaun McLaren's take on "All-In Red - Modern". We all know he's a recognized titan in the field. What do you think of his craftiness? The decklist on Starcitygames has an accompanying 3 videos of gameplay, which is so cool.
At first blush, I don't follow the inclusion of (5) 1-Drops [lightning bolt and relic of progenitus] alongside (4) Chalice of the Void. Does this make sense? Otherwise, it looks kind of familiar. But, check out the new Planeswalker!
Yeah, that's not a misprint...you're looking right into the eyes of Tibalt.
Don't agree with bolt & Tibalt at all. Relic main not needed as Dredge will be abandoned for the short term and can be handled G2/3 with hate cards out of the board.
Regardless, I'm happy to see this get more exposure. Though the developments going on in this thread are largely ignored by SCG/Goldfish.
Since it's not Skred, I'd say that based solely on testing alone, Raystack probably has the most developed version of the deck at this time. Seems that a few tweaks here and there to address the state of the meta is all that's left.
Personally, I wouldn't drop the ritual/SSG count at all. I like Jfmajor's criticism of game1 spellskite and to remain totally focused on the all-in nature of our T1 strategy.
Excited. Though, unless my employment situation changes, I will likely have to skip the Modern GP in Vegas this June :(. Currently planning on doing Legacy only. Would have to get a couple more night's accommodation to play Modern which comes out to several hundred dollars factoring in the insane $90 entrance fee.
Fiery Confluence has been showing up in a lot of Legacy lists but they have the luxury of sol lands.
Unfortunately, the cost is rising for this card right now so sorry I didn't mention it earlier. It does help protect walkers, remove threats, dome them... and maybe kill pesky artifacts.
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
With scry assistance, this has been very doable in Cockatrice testing. As for their Sideboard answers, Fracturing Gust is devastating. BUT, a successfully cast Blood Moon makes them getting 3 remote. I do fear Ancient Grudge, but I would bring in 2 Grafdigger's Cage. My threats are a 4-count of redundancy, Chalice on 2 and multiple Spellskite certainly help.
SIDENOTE:
Considering Octopus' comment on being more responsive to the current meta, and a playtest partner's insistence that I'm overly pursuing a MD fascination with Goblin Rabblemaster (he says it's like my ceaseless desire to see Hypnotic Specter regain competitive standing --- It's not 1994 anymore, jagged little pill to swallow), I'm successfully testing an absence of Rabble Rabble in the main. I've gone to more focused lock and search.
New Development: Witchbane Orb - it's now Main Deck. Welcome to the club, my Wiccan artifice!
I know he's a well-established player, but there are many things I don't think make sense with his decklist.
1) Tibalt
The +1 ability seems way too risky to me. Since you draw -before- discarding at random, I don't see how it really helps sculpt your hand in the long term. Whenever the Bridge is down, you try to stay empty-handed. If you draw a card you don't like, you can go Tibalt's +1 to draw something else... then face 50% chance of wasting it. I'll stick with my Crystal Ball!
The -2 -may- be relevant... but it takes forever to get there, and even with Chalice and Blood Moon, you may only be looking at 4-5 dmg after a 3-4 turn buildup. I'd feel safer with just an extra Koth or Chandra.
The Ultimate feels completely irrelevant because of Ensnaring Bridge.
2) Ghost Quarter
Why would you want to help your opponents fetch basics to work around Blood Moon?!
3) Relic of Progenitus + Lightning Bolt
I'll second that the inclusion of 5 one-drops don't mesh well with the 4 Chalices...
4) Mind Stone
I can see 4x Mind Stone making sense in Skred Red (to be sure to cast a 4 CMC spell on turn 3), but I don't see as much value as a singleton in Free Win Red with 4x SSG and 4x Desperate Ritual)
Still, it's nice to see the deck getting streamed. ;-) There aren't a lot of videos to study!
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I actually really like that Kargan Dragonlord card. I might run two of those instead of the stormbreaths. I've used stormbreaths monstrous ability behind a bridge a few times but it usually gets in for lower than 4 damage by that time in the game. I'd rather have that 4 damage be dealt early with Kargan vs having a later stormbreath.
If 2 Uba Mask doesn't work out I may switch them back to magma jet. But I definitely like Crystal ball for the skry each turn potential. Idk. I like messing around with it. The main deck is strong enough that playing around with these last 6 card slots is possible without hurting the deck too much.
Dragon Stompy - R 11-6-0
Ponza - RG 8-4-0
Tron - BG 1-2-0
Naya Burn - WRG 2-4-0
Spirits - UW2-2-0
Dragons - R
I agree Spellskite does a lot more than being a creature. But I think on Game 1, I can rely on the "free win", then bring them in G2 or G3 to protect the most relevant lock pieces once I know which specific deck I'm facing.
Next week I'll experiment with Spellskites in the SB again, but run 3x Ratchet Bombs in the maindeck. I've been running 1 in the SB so far, and it's a good all-around answer to anything costing 1-2 that could sneak in before dropping a Chalice.
I'll keep you posted! I may end up bringing them back MD after all. ;-)
So out of these two lists I would assume you like the 2nd a bit better?
First deck that I came to the thread with:
22 Mountain
Creatures
4 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Magus of the Moon
Planeswalkers
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Koth of the Hammer
Spells
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Pyretic Ritual
2 Anger of the Gods
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Crystal Ball
2 Uba Mask
Enchantments
4 Blood Moon
3 Pithing Needle
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Sun Droplet
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Shatterstorm
2 Witchbane Orb
Deck I am going to test out this Friday:
20 Mountain
2 Gemstone Caverns
Creatures
4 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Spellskite
2 Kargan Dragonlord
2 Magus of the Moon
Planeswalkers
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Koth of the Hammer
4 Desperate Ritual
2 Anger of the Gods
Artifacts
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Crystal Ball
2 Uba Mask
Enchantments
4 Blood Moon
3 Shattering Spree
1 Ratchet Bomb
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Sun Droplet
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Stormbreath Dragon
Dragon Stompy - R 11-6-0
Ponza - RG 8-4-0
Tron - BG 1-2-0
Naya Burn - WRG 2-4-0
Spirits - UW2-2-0
Dragons - R
Yeah, if it were me, I'd run the 2nd list, Skia. But, I don't like the Uba Mask. I wonder if Bottled Cloister would be any better, as it's been suggested here by another poster in the past. 4-cmc is a tall order these days, so both get a thumbs down. When facing Affinity/Burn/Infect/Death's Shadow/Merfolk/DnT....pretty much anything competitive, you don't want to be looking at a hand with multiple Uba Mask and Crystal Ball. 1st things 1st: Control the Board! You are way too light on early removal methinks. Look to the Magma Jet is where I'd first point you.
Jfmajor: Same line of thinking - Since we don't run T1 // 1CMC spells, that makes T2 doubly important. I think this is a benefit, not a detriment. 2cmc spells are just naturally better than 1cmc spells. To turn away from removal/spellskite on turn 2 seems very perilous. Following your lead, I am down to 3 spellskite due to redundant draws, but I'm rarely unhappy to see it in a opening hand. But, let me know how the testing goes without it main deck.
I have loved Chandra almost every time I have played her, she just seems so good in almost any situation. Whereas when you already have a bridge up and Koth's +1 kinda just does nothing since the mountain can't attack and his -2 is super situational depending on what is in your hand. Idk. If I had both Chandra and Koth in my hand I'm going to play the Chandra 9/10 times.
Maybe I will just drop the Uba Mask idea. Bottled Cloister is a decent idea as well. But I do understand that 4CMC is a tall order. Maybe I will just end up running 2 Magma Jets after all instead of adding another lock piece. I also was maybe thinking of maybe trying Trinisphere. It has a lower CMC but then I would have less 2 drop removal like you said.
I'll report back at the end of the night with my final decklist and how it went at the tournament tonight. Hopefully I don't have really bad matchups haha.
Dragon Stompy - R 11-6-0
Ponza - RG 8-4-0
Tron - BG 1-2-0
Naya Burn - WRG 2-4-0
Spirits - UW2-2-0
Dragons - R
Considering I was 2-1 going in I think he did rather well. I felt it was a really bad matchups for me overall.
I ran the list a little different because the store didn't have some of the cards I was wanting to tryout, like Kargan Dragonlord, so unfortunately I had to go without them. I can definitely say that I do not like Crystal Ball at all though. So that is probably going to be out really fast.
I ran the deck like this tonight:
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Spellskite
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Planeswalkers
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Koth of the Hammer
Spells
4 Desperate Ritual
2 Magma Jet
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Trinisphere
2 Crystal Ball
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
Enchantments
4 Blood Moon
Lands
20 Mountain
2 Gemstone Caverns
2 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Witchbane Orb
3 Shattering Spree
2 Sun Droplet
1 Ratchet Bomb
Match one vs Boggles 2-0
Game one I chaliced on 1 turn 1 and chaliced on 2 turn 3 or 4 which led to an early scoop. So early I actually had no idea what deck I was even up against since nothing but green mana was played. So I didn't even sideboard. Game two I turn 2 blood mooned into a turn 5 chalice on 2 which led to another scoop before I was really threatened at all. Really easy wins there.
Match two vs 4 color allies 0-2
Game one he killed me before I could even get a bridge down. I think it was a turn 3 kill on his part because I had a bridge in my hand that never managed to see the battlefield. He even killed me through an Anger of the Gods that killed 2 of his creatures early. Game two I was able to get a chalice on 1 and got a bridge down but he destroyed the bridge and swung for lethal on turn 4ish IIRC. Another really fast kill for him. He was lucky to get the artifact removal from the sideboard but his deck was scary fast even without it.
Match three vs Scapeshift 0-2
Game one I should have Mulliganed. He was able to get to 7 mana and I never drew a blood moon to stop it. I got a magus down but it was electrolized immediately. The starting hand wasn't helped at all by the fact that I drew 5 mountains in a row so I had no support after my opening hand. Game two I made a terrible misplay that cost me the game. I sided out the Ensnaring Bridges and brought in stormbreath and witchbane orb. Never saw the orb but I was able to establish a decent blood moon lock and get stormbreath out swinging. He had 11 life left, 5 cards in hand, and I had Koth on the board. For some reason I didn't remember Koth's -2 for mana in which I could have swung for lethal by making stormbreath monsterous, dealing 5 for the cards in hand, swinging for 7 for a total of 12 damage,and then he killed me the very next turn. I don't know how I didn't see that.
So I went 1-2 in matchups and I dare say I went 3-3 in games if you minus the misplay. And while I like Trinisphere in the deck, I think I will replace it with Kargan Dragonlord once I can find two of them to run and the Crystal Ball was a failed experiment. Never was useful at all. So back to 4 Magma Jet for now.
Dragon Stompy - R 11-6-0
Ponza - RG 8-4-0
Tron - BG 1-2-0
Naya Burn - WRG 2-4-0
Spirits - UW2-2-0
Dragons - R
She started at $60.00 introductory price. When I first read her, I thought she had to be totally bogus. Fake. Way overpowered. And, $60.00 seemed like a reasonable price even if she was real. In recent months her worth has plummeted. $20-ish.
Sure. I get it. It doesn't work for JUND, and otherwise her market share for deck selection is limited. As a result, Chandra's value tanked. Is it actual playability that's been identified as underwhelming....or lack of application options? Let's talk about Hammer's Slammer. This is two peas in a pod: chocolate in peanut butter. Chandra's ability to surf the waves of game development seeeeems to be more effective.
Even better than Ajani Vengeant services R/W Control, Chandra is a 'sure thing' for us. The abilities absolutely, sublimely furthers our agenda. This harkens back to what I was writing about before: 2-CMC spells. Her +1 ability enacts a 'free casting' and subsequent 5 Loyalty (hard to kill) Planeswalker that only increases in viability as the turns go by.
@skia: We've tried Trinisphere in past posts. If it's not legacy, then it's not gonna happen.
Apes are firmly entrenched in my build of Hammer's Slammer. My experience, after a ton of testing, has been the toggling up and down of my D.Ritual count, but I've never entertained the idea of dropping monkeys. Modern is so fast - I think you need to Build the Prison before the Opponent Commits the Crime. I can't slam down a Moon after he's fetched twice. I can't Bridge Up with a full hand while facing Infect or Affinity. And, I don't want to serve up the Cup of Nothingness a turn later than I have to.
You make a special case for doing a Chalice one turn later, believing it won't be that big of an impact. Consider this: He goes turn 1 and drops a Goblin Guide or any sort of spell that indicates to me that he is running a deck packed with 1-cmc spells. O.K. If I can SSG into a Chalice on my Turn 1, and this stops his Turn 2 play of dropping 2 more 1-cmc spells. I have effectively gone 2-for-2 on card economy (and much more for future drawn spells on his end). So, I have no problem whatsoever with the SSG in my opening hand.
That said, Can we? Can we still stay in the ring and trade play for play with competitive modern decks without our 'turbo boosts'? That is the essence of what Morimacil is asking. Well, this leaves open 7 slots. I will kick it around. What do you think would be a way to fill the void? Is it just more disruption, like Anger of the Gods? Is it more threats like Goblin Rabblemaster? My fear is that a slower development from us would allow for more "Fair" decks like Jund or Grixis control to pull ahead in longer bouts. My game plan against those guys is simple: Blood Moon is priority 1 and a Planeswalker, defended by bridge/spellskite, is my win condition 1.
Overall, I believe there is just way too much impact to playing 1 or 2 steps ahead for me to consider dropping SSG...or Desperate Ritual for that matter. I am reminded of classic cinema: "Take your stinking hands off my Simian Spirit Guide, you damn, dirty Human!"
I can see rituals being swapped out for other disruption, but my Skred roots really like killing creatures and graveyards pre-board.
Put to practice: Add Goblin Rabblemaster back in! Add Slagstorm. Snipe with Magma Jet and lock down with Ensnaring Bridge. Mana Accelerators? I'm sticking with the crash helmet, and going as fast as I can out of the gate. Banzai!!!
Creatures (8)
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Spellskite
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Accelerators (7)
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Desperate Ritual
Enchantments (4)
4 Blood Moon
Removal (6)
4 Magma Jet
2 Slagstorm
1 Koth of the Hammer
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Artifacts (8)
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Chalice of the Void
Lands (23)
19 Mountains
2 Mutavault
2 Gemstone Caverns
3 Shattering Spree
1 Kargan Dragonlord
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Roast
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Dragon's Claw
2 Sun Droplet
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Ratchet Bomb
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/34208_Video-All-In-Red-In-Modern.html
Has anyone else seen this? It's Shaun McLaren's take on "All-In Red - Modern". We all know he's a recognized titan in the field. What do you think of his craftiness? The decklist on Starcitygames has an accompanying 3 videos of gameplay, which is so cool.
At first blush, I don't follow the inclusion of (5) 1-Drops [lightning bolt and relic of progenitus] alongside (4) Chalice of the Void. Does this make sense? Otherwise, it looks kind of familiar. But, check out the new Planeswalker!
Yeah, that's not a misprint...you're looking right into the eyes of Tibalt.
1 Magus of the Moon
Planeswalkers (6)
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded
Lands (22)
20 Mountain
2 Ghost Quarter
Spells (27)
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Blood Moon
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Magma Jet
2 Anger of the Gods
Mana Sources
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Mind Stone
2 Dragon's Claw
1 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sun Droplet
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Flame Slash
1 Pyroclasm
1 Roast
4 Shattering Spree
Regardless, I'm happy to see this get more exposure. Though the developments going on in this thread are largely ignored by SCG/Goldfish.
Since it's not Skred, I'd say that based solely on testing alone, Raystack probably has the most developed version of the deck at this time. Seems that a few tweaks here and there to address the state of the meta is all that's left.
Personally, I wouldn't drop the ritual/SSG count at all. I like Jfmajor's criticism of game1 spellskite and to remain totally focused on the all-in nature of our T1 strategy.
Excited. Though, unless my employment situation changes, I will likely have to skip the Modern GP in Vegas this June :(. Currently planning on doing Legacy only. Would have to get a couple more night's accommodation to play Modern which comes out to several hundred dollars factoring in the insane $90 entrance fee.
Fiery Confluence has been showing up in a lot of Legacy lists but they have the luxury of sol lands.
Unfortunately, the cost is rising for this card right now so sorry I didn't mention it earlier. It does help protect walkers, remove threats, dome them... and maybe kill pesky artifacts.
Their deck includes emrakul, the aeons torn, summoning trap, fracturing gust. ancient grudge.
blood moon barely bothers them since they can ramp into emrakul, the aeons torn and they have maindeck through the breach.
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
Clearly, I am a Modern noob. Thanks for clearing that up.
A) Attack with Primeval Titan or Emrakul or Craterhoof.
ANSWER: Ensnaring Bridge.
B) Scapeshift / Valakut Hits
ANSWER: Blood Moon
With scry assistance, this has been very doable in Cockatrice testing. As for their Sideboard answers, Fracturing Gust is devastating. BUT, a successfully cast Blood Moon makes them getting 3 remote. I do fear Ancient Grudge, but I would bring in 2 Grafdigger's Cage. My threats are a 4-count of redundancy, Chalice on 2 and multiple Spellskite certainly help.
SIDENOTE:
Considering Octopus' comment on being more responsive to the current meta, and a playtest partner's insistence that I'm overly pursuing a MD fascination with Goblin Rabblemaster (he says it's like my ceaseless desire to see Hypnotic Specter regain competitive standing --- It's not 1994 anymore, jagged little pill to swallow), I'm successfully testing an absence of Rabble Rabble in the main. I've gone to more focused lock and search.
New Development: Witchbane Orb - it's now Main Deck. Welcome to the club, my Wiccan artifice!
I know he's a well-established player, but there are many things I don't think make sense with his decklist.
1) Tibalt
The +1 ability seems way too risky to me. Since you draw -before- discarding at random, I don't see how it really helps sculpt your hand in the long term. Whenever the Bridge is down, you try to stay empty-handed. If you draw a card you don't like, you can go Tibalt's +1 to draw something else... then face 50% chance of wasting it. I'll stick with my Crystal Ball!
The -2 -may- be relevant... but it takes forever to get there, and even with Chalice and Blood Moon, you may only be looking at 4-5 dmg after a 3-4 turn buildup. I'd feel safer with just an extra Koth or Chandra.
The Ultimate feels completely irrelevant because of Ensnaring Bridge.
2) Ghost Quarter
Why would you want to help your opponents fetch basics to work around Blood Moon?!
3) Relic of Progenitus + Lightning Bolt
I'll second that the inclusion of 5 one-drops don't mesh well with the 4 Chalices...
4) Mind Stone
I can see 4x Mind Stone making sense in Skred Red (to be sure to cast a 4 CMC spell on turn 3), but I don't see as much value as a singleton in Free Win Red with 4x SSG and 4x Desperate Ritual)
Still, it's nice to see the deck getting streamed. ;-) There aren't a lot of videos to study!