I fail to see the threat in that deck.
- Two card combo with 2W cost each. (4th turn if they are very lucky) or three card combo as a second plan (worse than current DDruid, Visier decks)
- Three colored deck, light on basics.
- No library manipulation spells to find combo pieces, no counters, no access to dreadful Kolaghans Command.
- Grafdiggers Cage, Torpor Orb, Ratchet Bomb after sb.
I fail to see the threat in that deck.
- Two card combo with 2W cost each. (4th turn if they are very lucky) or three card combo as a second plan (worse than current DDruid, Visier decks)
- Three colored deck, light on basics.
- No library manipulation spells to find combo pieces, no counters, no access to dreadful Kolaghans Command.
- Grafdiggers Cage, Torpor Orb, Ratchet Bomb after sb.
While I agree that after SB we have some options, and Torpor Orb/Cage with bridge kills their wincons, however, we simply cannot destroy Solemnity, not with Ratchet Bomb or anything else we have access to. If they land it and Unlife, we lose the game. I also wouldn't be surprised to see this deck cut down to WB, possibly with Idillyc Tutor? An early Thoughtseize/Inquisition complicates any plan we may have as well.. I think this archetype is clearly a bad matchup.
Herd correction: the task of undermining the legitimacy of this new Solemnity deck falls not unto us, but to the community.
Amok illustrates our limited mono-color answers to a rather unwieldy, clunky enchantment lock threat -- yeah, not gold star, but not wholly ineffectual. Nevertheless, it's the Modern community that will challenge this new upstart. Solemnity is a long way from being proclaimed unbeatable Tier 1.
We simply cannot destroy Solemnity, not with Ratchet Bomb
off course we can. We can drop it t1-t2 and keep ticking it up BEFORE Solemnity hits play. Knowing what we facing after g1, I would mull for an early Moon or Bomb. Also considering they don't run any tutors or draw/scry effects yet, there is a chance they won't find that card soon enough.
Herd correction: the task of undermining the legitimacy of this new Solemnity deck falls not unto us, but to the community.
Amok illustrates our limited mono-color answers to a rather unwieldy, clunky enchantment lock threat -- yeah, not gold star, but not wholly ineffectual. Nevertheless, it's the Modern community that will challenge this new upstart. Solemnity is a long way from being proclaimed unbeatable Tier 1.
Agreed. Initially my focal point was on our matchup directly, but as always, Ray comes in to clear things up. This deck has plenty of counterspells, Abrupt Decays and turn 3 kills to fight through before we need to worry about it. Another wise observation from our elder Mountainfolk!
Appreciate the words, Caligula....but, it really was Amok that best elucidated the state of affairs. Solemnity is a horror show if it hits against us - alongside Phyrexian Unlife - but, there are a whole lotta other headbangers at the party that need to be beaten as well (and, them folks pack plenty'o removal/counterspells). Translation: this new threat is a very narrow deck, so let's see how it does out on the playground before we start worrying ourselves.
Well gang, the PPTQ went decently well. Ended up 4-2 - would have made top 8 with better tiebreakers, and every match I lost was 2-1, so I was literally 1 game, one killer topdeck, one corrected misplay, out of the top 8. But thems the breaks. Overall had a great time and looking forward to the next event. Full tournament report below! (with plenty of running off at the mouth)
Couldn't find a Mutavault or Shattering Spree in time. Don't think it really mattered though, to be honest. The post is hella long, so I put each match in a spoiler so y'all wouldn't have to scroll for hours if you don't want to read it.
Round 1: The Mirror???:
This guy was also playing big red spells, rituals, bridges, Chandras... It was surreal. First game I draw 9 lands and lose horribly to Chandra. Second game we compare notes and oddly enough both bring in almost our entire sideboards (I left only the Grafdigger's Cages in the board). Lot of moons to take out I guess. Game 2 I get a little early aggression with Rabblemaster but he kills it before it gets too crazy. We're both stalling on lands, but I get to three mana and Molten Rain one of his mountains. Next turn drop another threat and that's all she wrote. Third game is much more grindy. I drop a Chandra that I'm gently ticking up. But then he drops his own, and the race is on. Turns out that if you do the math, the second Chandra will win, as she gets her 2 damage in first. Anyway, he kills my Chandra, but then I kill his with something (can't remember) and we're back to square one except he's got a bridge down (guess the creatures in game 2 scared him). I drop a Rabblemaster, but it just sits behind bridge. Then I get another Chandra, but then of course he drops another one too! Lucky enough, mine reveals By Force off the top, and I smash his artifacts and swing in to kill his queen. Next turn Hazoret shows up to seal the deal.
Gotta say it was weird playing against us. After the game we talked a bit and it emerged that his deck is basically ours except -4 Rabblemaster & 4 Chalice, and + 4 Lightning Bolt & 4 Magma Jet (and of course some other tweaks like a couple more planeswalkers). He ended up going 4-1-1 and hitting top 8, so clearly the deck is doing something right.
1-0
Round 2: U/W Control:
Don't remember this one too well. Lose the first game to Gideon doing stuff and him drawing way more cards than me. In the second game I get aggressive with turn 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar, followed up by Rabblemaster. I kind of slow roll things though to avoid Supreme Verdict (after the round I found out he had sided them out). Eventually I get there and win, despite a misplay or two. Third game for some reason I keep a 1 land hand and well that's enough to lose to.
1-1
Round 3: G/R Scapshift:
Game 1 I get Scapeshifted out in short order. Game 2 I get a little early aggression in with Rabblemaster and he wastes his Beast Within killing it. Then I slow roll hate pieces and Chandras until that's that. I think he actually got out every land in his deck, but Valakut is just a dinky mountain when you look at it under the light of the Blood Moon. Game 3 I keep a hand with 3 mountains, Simian Spirit Guide, Desperate Ritual, and Magus of the Moon. That was probably a mistake, especially as I'm on the draw and he plays Stomping Grounds turn 1. I manage to sort of put on some pressure with a Chandra, and Magus and Witchbane Orb successfully stop his Valakuts, but Primeval Titan attacks with too much force, killing Chandra and eventually me. My kingdom for a bridge!
1-2
Round 4: 8-Rack:
Haven't heard anyone talk about this matchup here but you can take it from me - it's all about Chalice. Game 1 I'm on the play and my hand has a Chalice with enough lands to drop it on turn 2. Then along comes ol' Inquisition of Kozilek to ruin my day, and I have to discard it. But like I always say, it's better to be lucky than skilled: I topdeck a Chalice, set it at 1, and ride that train to victory. He casts a few more discard spells, but he has little removal for Koth, I Abrade his Mutavault (instant speed is a hell of a drug) and Ensnaring Bridge is a good thing to toss away to Wrench Mind. Game 2, however, I keep a slow hand with 3 mountains, no ramp, and a few 3-4 drops. DO NOT DO THIS. This isn't the first game I've lost to keeping hands like this; in certain matchups you will just lose if you can't do important things on turn 2-3. I guess this is one of those (burn is another). He has me hellbent by turn 3, and keeps me that way. The Rack and Asylum Visitor make short work of me. Game 3, I mulligan, but among the 6 cards I keep are 2 Chalices and 2 mountains. Since I'm going first, he has me discard one, but I play the other, and that's that.
2-2
Round 5: Naya Zoo:
I feel like this matchup is fairly straight-forward. They're like Burn, except they suffer a lot more from their inability to cross bridges. Game 1 I'm on the play looking at a possible turn 1 Chalice. Not knowing what he's playing I think for a minute but then I figure I'll go for it - if nothing else it'll shut down his first turn. Turns out to have been the right move, as he struggles to put any real aggression together and I pick a few creatures off and come in for the win the Chandra. Game 2 is a little hard-fought, but eventually he wins. I think I made a misplay dropping a Blood Moon when I could have laid down a Magus of the Moon - both turned off Kird Ape, but one could have blocked. I worried he would Bolt it, but in retrospect I should have gone for it. Anway... Game 3 is a bit of a nailbiter. Early game has him dropping Goblin Guide. I play a Rabblemaster and trade with his Guide, but he's got a replacement. But then, so do I. Still, he's keeping the pressure on. I manage to drop a Chalice on 1, but I'm staring down Signal Pest, Kird Ape, and the Green 1/2 that gets bigger off Revolt. Finally, I'm at 2 life, but I manage to get a bridge in play and my hand down to 2 cards. One of them is Chandra, and I use her to kill the 1/2. He doesn't topdeck 2cmc burn for a turn or two, then Magus of the Moon turns off all his Destructive Revelrys and lethal Boros Charmss and I start to feel a bit safer. Eventually, I win the game at 2 life off Chandra.
3-2
Round 6: Merfolk:
I lose game 1 to not having a bridge. I think I may have forgotten to have my Chalice counter his Aether Vial at some point too... Dunno, but I got royally stomped in that game. Still, I don't lose heart, trusting in the words of our lord and savior Ray, who says Merfolk is good matchup. Game 2, however, there is a lot of despair as I see 7 cards without a land, 6 with only 1, 5 without any, and finally I end up on 4 cards: 2 mountains, Abrade, and Tormenting Voice. He plays CurseCatcher and Lord of Atlantis. I Abrade the lord. He plays another one. I Tormenting Voice a land away and draw... Ensnaring Bridge and a replacement for that third land. At this point he's smelling blood in the water and goes to finish me. He taps out to cast Master of Waves. I tap out to cast Ensnaring Bridge. And that's good enough to get the job done, as he just sits there looking sad while I put together the pieces to finish him off with Chandra. Turns out 4 cards can be enough as long as you draw the only one that matters. Game 3, my opener has a turn 1 bridge. He taps out to play Vial on turn 1. Remembering how good it was last game, I reason that once this thing drops I will just win. So I go for the turn 1 bridge while he's tapped out and it works out just like they say. Ray was right, just dig for the Bridge. After the match my opponent showed me what he brought in - it was all countermagic. If you can find the right opening, that'll be all you need; once the bridge sticks to the table it'll stick it to them.
4-2
Tiebreakers put me at 10th out of 36 people. Won 6 packs Had a lot of fun with the deck, and was happy to play against fresh faces (my home store is relatively small and fairly casual). Feel like I could have made it with maybe a little more aggressive mulliganing. But hey.
Some random observations:
- quite happy with Abrade. Maindeck artifact hate is nice, and killing creatures is where you want to be. Might go up to 2 and drop Arc Trail.
- love love love Tormenting Voice. This deck needs to draw the right lock piece in the right match up. Definitely keeping 3, and might add couple lootings just for the extra digging
- i do not like hands with lots of good high-curve good stuff and no ramp. I'm always tempted to keep them (probably because I play too much EDH). Thinking of going for the 5th ritual like Ray runs to keep down on these kinds of hands. We really want to do stuff turn 2. But rituals are horrible topdecks... I dunno
- a lot of people have said things to me like 'your deck gives up card advantage for aggression.' I think thinking of the deck like that is interesting but ultimately mistaken. It overlooks the weird kind of card advantage: virtual card advantage. This is the kind of card advantage you get when Chalice of the Void makes every 1 mana spell not exist anymore. Or when Ensnaring Bridge makes creatures that are supposed to attack do nothing. Or when Blood Moon makes your lands suck. These cards do not directly remove your opponent's cards, that is true. But they render vast swaths of them useless, effectively blanking those cards and filling your opponent's deck and hand with duds. That is a very real kind of card advantage, and ramp spells help maximize it by getting those effects out early when they are most devastating. Of course, employing this kind of card advantage is somewhat different and strange, since sometimes the blanked cards can be un-blanked, and some cards are quite hard to blank in this way... but you get the idea.
- RE the Solemnity combos: could be scary but I'm willing to sit in the wait-and-see camp for now. We'll find answers if we need them.
Anyway, thanks for reading! At the start of the day, I tutored a 2nd grader, and when I showed up she gave me this beautiful notecard with a drawing of a character she likes on each side of it. Apparently this character has two personas, one of which is a psycho killer, and another of which is the embodiment of mercy. I figured this fit well and decided to use her notecard as my Chandra emblem the whole day, was a lot of fun. After the tournament I had it laminated. Pics below
Aslid; first of all, great tournament report! I love reading them, and I'm like a school girl reading about her bff's new boo, I need details!! You always provide plenty of them.
It definitely feels like you were a bit unlucky losing to scapeshift .. especially with the turn 1 Magus in game 3. That's just how it happens sometimes unfortunately. Still a strong showing though, there's always next time!
Under your "random thoughts" you make an excellent point about card advantage, I totally agree with you. There's nothing better than leaving your opponent with a bunch of useless cards in hand, unable to attack with creatures, slowly draining their life 2 at a time. Since we sometimes 2 or 3-for-1 ourselves to ramp out a lock piece, it would seem that we would be giving up card advantage for aggression, but as you so eloquently explained, it only appears that way at first glance.
Your custom emblem is really cool, I might have to get my daughter to make one for me!
Hello fellow mountain folk, I come back to report some very good news. I am currently 13 - 1 with this list on xmage (only the last couple nights) and I may finally be shifting towards my own version of RW. I find our prison sisters have many good ideas and that we limit ourselves by going the mono red route. Also, there is something special about the salt that Mana Tithe produces. I feel that the RW suite really gives us everything that we are looking for but previous versions never had the bridge and also focused on too much on creature beats and not focused on the lock.
I have been brewing this for a while with some assistance from online decks and Reddit chats. Also, if you feel that the splashing of white makes this deck unwelcome here, that's also understandable and I don't want to step on any toes.
Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Big mountain hugs for Vegitas --- impressive stats --- buuuuuuut, that's a R/W Control deck. For Pyro Prison? A stranger in a strange land.
I've got to find some time to circle back on Aslid's tourney report: 10th of 36 people. Strong. And, you know the best part of the write-up, outside of the heartwarming crayon craft, is her assessment of the newest addition to her deck: Tormenting Voice. I believe the review was "love, love, love."
Yes. Agree, agree, agree. I also like the characterization of the mechanics of how our deck develops. Indeed, we are incongruous. There are times I'd nearly toss my hand away - neeeearly my whole hand (not really) - for a turn 1 Blood Moon. But, other decks could never ponder such a maneuver since their threats and defenses are static: for instance, Aggro spells are no more timely nor effective according to the turn count. We freely lose ground to gain ground. So, yeah, consider that 5th ritual: Pyretic Ritual as a 1-of.
Big mountain hugs for Vegitas --- impressive stats --- buuuuuuut, that's a R/W Control deck. For Pyro Prison? A stranger in a strange land.
Thanks Ray, I figured as much. I think I might be feeling how you must felt when you saw "Bloody Humans" and "Free Win Red" and wanted to combine the two to create something new. I feel that a mono coloured deck is too limiting in modern but I love what our deck does to other players and I keep messing with different builds to see what's the best course of action. I'll try shopping it to the RW control thread and keep our discussion here focused on the mono version .
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Hey all...sorry I've been away for awhile, still salty after RL kept me away from the Invitational. But, good news, have this Sat blocked out to dust off the blood moons and head to the local shop for a modern event. Not going to change much at this point, but would be interested if there has been any recent tech against death's shadow decks.
Will report out from the T8 hopefully again this weekend.
I was watching that stream live. Was more of a Skred version of the deck but with Rabblemaster's. I personally prefer the Chalice of the Void version but Skred can do well also, especially with 4 Rabblemaster's. I thought it was odd that Seth didn't like the card. He mentioned at the end of the stream that he wasn't sure if he would put Rabblemaster in the deck if he played it again. I feel like that's downplaying Rabblemaster a little bit.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My current modern paper decks with current match records since 02/01/17:
Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Well I've been playing the deck long enough to have a feel for it now, so tonight I decided to take it in a somewhat different direction, into a more control-oriented build with a new super-hot tech card borrowed from our friends over in Legacy. Just to try things out and see what happened.
That's right folks, it's Bottled Cloister. My thinking is that this card would be pretty hot in control matchups in that it gives us card advantage. It also works well with Bridge in that it just auto-dumps your hand for you so you don't have to worry about getting hellbent. I've found more than once where my hand has been turn 3 bridge, but the rest of my hand is still sitting there and I can't dump it fast enough. The Cloister helps with that a lot, and keeps you drawing gas.
I also put in Sin Prodder to try him out again over Goblin Rabblemaster. If this is the draw-a-ton-of-cards version, then hey why not.
As for the games, I ended up 2-2. Beat Death's Shadow and Monowhite Aggro, lost to Burn and Elves. Not an inspiring record, but hey, you gotta pay the price to learn the lesson.
Was a big fan of how Cloister worked out, less a fan of Sin Prodder. Cloister saved my bacon a few games, and in general drew a ton of cards which is always nice. Sin Prodder usually just got killed. When Rabblemaster dies at least you're left with a 1/1, but with this guy no such luck. Also, I think if we go this direction, we need lean harder into it and play more creature removal. So if I were to do it again, I think I'd make the following changes: Out: 3 Sin Prodder, 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar, 1 Tormenting Voice In: 1 Bottled Cloister, 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Sweltering Suns, 1 Mountain
Cloister really needs you to hit 4 mana (lost at least a couple games to being too low on lands). And without Rabblemaster you can't really do much in the combat step, neither block nor attack, so you need to handle creatures and generate threats in some other way - I'm thinking more sweepers and the 4th Chandra can help with that.
Anyway, just a quick report on some new twists on the deck - I recommend trying Cloister to those considering things. Could even be good in Vegitas' RW deck. One thing I noticed on that list is that you have a number of high cmc cards and situational effects like Wraths and Cast Outs, and while those are non-bos with Bridge, Cloister could maybe help.
Whoa, I have been in Standard-land for the past month only to completely miss Sandfrog actually thinking the idea of Chalice-less "Free Win Skred" was viable and taking the deck to new heights of visibility! On top of that, SaffronOlive recently streamed it and 5-0ed, too!
Ironically, I 1-4ed the league after I posted here (after 5-0 and three 4-1s) and never looked back, since Standard became interesting again and had no real Modern play since.
. My thinking is that this card would be pretty hot in control matchups in that it gives us card advantage. It also works well with Bridge in that it just auto-dumps your hand for you so you don't have to worry about getting hellbent. I've found more than once where my hand has been turn 3 bridge, but the rest of my hand is still sitting there and I can't dump it fast enough. The Cloister helps with that a lot, and keeps you drawing gas.
IMHO Cloister is way too slow for modern. Seriously, you would have to drop it t2 (pretty impossible t1) to have any chance of saving your hand from discard while drawing your extra card. If I'd get a chance I'd rather drop Moon or Chalice t1-t2 to fight Death Shadow decks - which is oftten enough to grab a win.
Sandfrog throws down a 5-0 in online MTGO tourney play and that record is duplicated by SaffronOlive shortly thereafter by showcasing/replaying his deck. Make no mistake, this is big time. After only 4 days of being posted on MTGGOLDFISH.COM, the 5 round matchup was viewed over 25,000 times on youtube.
Honest question from a fella that doesn't play MTGO: how rare & competitive is a 5-0 finish?. Unawares, I put out an internal message to Sandfrog. I asked about his impression of the win, thoughts on Chalice vs. No Chalice {strategic choice OR is it a budget choice}, and where he is planting his flag? Saffron Olive 'seemingly' renamed Sandfrog's deck to "free win skred" and then claimed it as a variation of his own deck "free win red". I noted that Sandfrog's deck - by his own naming - wasn't published 'free win skred'.
The concept of a chalice-less deck is a new one to Pyro Prison. Saffron will recall that his original Free Win Red had no chalice of the void. Yet, he - like most of us - doubts its exclusion in today's play. Like Skia_AoP, I wonder about Saffron's dismissal of the core of a pyro prison creature assault: Goblin Rabblemaster. I've written enough about its merit that I won't revisit the canon. Do people, particularly Sandfrog, have opinions of how Saffron piloted the deck? Well, I'm very happy for Sandfrog.....I guess I just want to know a little bit more about the 'post-game analysis' & know that this all bodes well for our discussion and shared accomplishments here.
EDIT:
@Aslid -- applause for trying some new tech, but I tend to agree with Amok on Bottled Cloister. Our 4-drops are so critical and need to swerve the game. I've seen Cloister do some damage in Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas decks, but they can better take advantage of that artifact theme. So, I wonder if Outpost Siege might be a safer bet.
Also, I totally identify with the struggle to make sense of our 4-5 swing slots in the build. I notice you're checkering it out with 1-ofs: Abrade, Magma Jet, Sweltering Suns, Ratchet Bomb. It's tough! Lately, I'm considering a rather dig-heavy & top-heavy cmc build whereby I go: 2 Piran, 2 magma jet, 1 faithless looting (ugh), and 3 tormenting voice. Since I'm not doing any sweepers, the Piran serve as extra blockers and obviously they can go the distance with some tricks. I think I like the idea. If I jam myself on a Chalice on 1, then I can toss the faithless looting to a T voice, and since the discipline of keeping a card in hand for t. voice is my style (when needed) this does synergize with the best way to draw into a faithless looting. Make sense??
- Two card combo with 2W cost each. (4th turn if they are very lucky) or three card combo as a second plan (worse than current DDruid, Visier decks)
- Three colored deck, light on basics.
- No library manipulation spells to find combo pieces, no counters, no access to dreadful Kolaghans Command.
- Grafdiggers Cage, Torpor Orb, Ratchet Bomb after sb.
While I agree that after SB we have some options, and Torpor Orb/Cage with bridge kills their wincons, however, we simply cannot destroy Solemnity, not with Ratchet Bomb or anything else we have access to. If they land it and Unlife, we lose the game. I also wouldn't be surprised to see this deck cut down to WB, possibly with Idillyc Tutor? An early Thoughtseize/Inquisition complicates any plan we may have as well.. I think this archetype is clearly a bad matchup.
Amok illustrates our limited mono-color answers to a rather unwieldy, clunky enchantment lock threat -- yeah, not gold star, but not wholly ineffectual. Nevertheless, it's the Modern community that will challenge this new upstart. Solemnity is a long way from being proclaimed unbeatable Tier 1.
off course we can. We can drop it t1-t2 and keep ticking it up BEFORE Solemnity hits play. Knowing what we facing after g1, I would mull for an early Moon or Bomb. Also considering they don't run any tutors or draw/scry effects yet, there is a chance they won't find that card soon enough.
Agreed. Initially my focal point was on our matchup directly, but as always, Ray comes in to clear things up. This deck has plenty of counterspells, Abrupt Decays and turn 3 kills to fight through before we need to worry about it. Another wise observation from our elder Mountainfolk!
Decklist:
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Ratchet Bomb
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Arc Trail
1 Pyroclasm
3 Tormenting Voice
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Abrade
2 Gemstone Caverns
19 Mountain
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Witchbane Orb
3 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Dragon's Claw
1 Pyroclasm
1 Sweltering Suns
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 By Force
1 Vandalblast
1 Molten Rain
Couldn't find a Mutavault or Shattering Spree in time. Don't think it really mattered though, to be honest. The post is hella long, so I put each match in a spoiler so y'all wouldn't have to scroll for hours if you don't want to read it.
Round 1: The Mirror???:
Gotta say it was weird playing against us. After the game we talked a bit and it emerged that his deck is basically ours except -4 Rabblemaster & 4 Chalice, and + 4 Lightning Bolt & 4 Magma Jet (and of course some other tweaks like a couple more planeswalkers). He ended up going 4-1-1 and hitting top 8, so clearly the deck is doing something right.
Round 2: U/W Control:
Round 3: G/R Scapshift:
Round 4: 8-Rack:
Round 5: Naya Zoo:
Round 6: Merfolk:
Tiebreakers put me at 10th out of 36 people. Won 6 packs Had a lot of fun with the deck, and was happy to play against fresh faces (my home store is relatively small and fairly casual). Feel like I could have made it with maybe a little more aggressive mulliganing. But hey.
Some random observations:
- quite happy with Abrade. Maindeck artifact hate is nice, and killing creatures is where you want to be. Might go up to 2 and drop Arc Trail.
- love love love Tormenting Voice. This deck needs to draw the right lock piece in the right match up. Definitely keeping 3, and might add couple lootings just for the extra digging
- i do not like hands with lots of good high-curve good stuff and no ramp. I'm always tempted to keep them (probably because I play too much EDH). Thinking of going for the 5th ritual like Ray runs to keep down on these kinds of hands. We really want to do stuff turn 2. But rituals are horrible topdecks... I dunno
- a lot of people have said things to me like 'your deck gives up card advantage for aggression.' I think thinking of the deck like that is interesting but ultimately mistaken. It overlooks the weird kind of card advantage: virtual card advantage. This is the kind of card advantage you get when Chalice of the Void makes every 1 mana spell not exist anymore. Or when Ensnaring Bridge makes creatures that are supposed to attack do nothing. Or when Blood Moon makes your lands suck. These cards do not directly remove your opponent's cards, that is true. But they render vast swaths of them useless, effectively blanking those cards and filling your opponent's deck and hand with duds. That is a very real kind of card advantage, and ramp spells help maximize it by getting those effects out early when they are most devastating. Of course, employing this kind of card advantage is somewhat different and strange, since sometimes the blanked cards can be un-blanked, and some cards are quite hard to blank in this way... but you get the idea.
- RE the Solemnity combos: could be scary but I'm willing to sit in the wait-and-see camp for now. We'll find answers if we need them.
Anyway, thanks for reading! At the start of the day, I tutored a 2nd grader, and when I showed up she gave me this beautiful notecard with a drawing of a character she likes on each side of it. Apparently this character has two personas, one of which is a psycho killer, and another of which is the embodiment of mercy. I figured this fit well and decided to use her notecard as my Chandra emblem the whole day, was a lot of fun. After the tournament I had it laminated. Pics below
(sorry they're upside down)
Tymna & Ishai, ie Esper Edric
Crosis Turbotrash
It definitely feels like you were a bit unlucky losing to scapeshift .. especially with the turn 1 Magus in game 3. That's just how it happens sometimes unfortunately. Still a strong showing though, there's always next time!
Under your "random thoughts" you make an excellent point about card advantage, I totally agree with you. There's nothing better than leaving your opponent with a bunch of useless cards in hand, unable to attack with creatures, slowly draining their life 2 at a time. Since we sometimes 2 or 3-for-1 ourselves to ramp out a lock piece, it would seem that we would be giving up card advantage for aggression, but as you so eloquently explained, it only appears that way at first glance.
Your custom emblem is really cool, I might have to get my daughter to make one for me!
I have been brewing this for a while with some assistance from online decks and Reddit chats. Also, if you feel that the splashing of white makes this deck unwelcome here, that's also understandable and I don't want to step on any toes.
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Planeswalkers (10)
1 Gideon of the Trials
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Ajani Vengeant
Spells (9)
4 Mana Tithe
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Wrath of God
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
Enchantments (4)
4 Blood Moon
Lands (24)
4 Arid Mesa
2 Gemstone Caverns
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
7 Plains
2 Rugged Prairie
3 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
3 Disenchant
1 Molten Rain
1 Cast Out
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Torpor Orb
That's what I've got so far. Hopefully, you enjoy my little pet project Possible thoughts include taking out Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Gideon of the Trials in exchange for a couple Goblin Rabblemaster
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
I've got to find some time to circle back on Aslid's tourney report: 10th of 36 people. Strong. And, you know the best part of the write-up, outside of the heartwarming crayon craft, is her assessment of the newest addition to her deck: Tormenting Voice. I believe the review was "love, love, love."
Yes. Agree, agree, agree. I also like the characterization of the mechanics of how our deck develops. Indeed, we are incongruous. There are times I'd nearly toss my hand away - neeeearly my whole hand (not really) - for a turn 1 Blood Moon. But, other decks could never ponder such a maneuver since their threats and defenses are static: for instance, Aggro spells are no more timely nor effective according to the turn count. We freely lose ground to gain ground. So, yeah, consider that 5th ritual: Pyretic Ritual as a 1-of.
Thanks Ray, I figured as much. I think I might be feeling how you must felt when you saw "Bloody Humans" and "Free Win Red" and wanted to combine the two to create something new. I feel that a mono coloured deck is too limiting in modern but I love what our deck does to other players and I keep messing with different builds to see what's the best course of action. I'll try shopping it to the RW control thread and keep our discussion here focused on the mono version .
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Will report out from the T8 hopefully again this weekend.
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
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
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160703896 Here's the hotlink to the games.
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
The list:
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Sin Prodder
2 Magus of the Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Bottled Cloister
2 Koth of the Hammer
4 Blood Moon
1 Magma Jet
1 Sweltering Suns
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Abrade
4 Desperate Ritual
2 Gemstone Caverns
19 Mountain
2 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Molten Rain
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Slagstorm
2 Pyroclasm
2 Witchbane Orb
3 Dragon's Claw
That's right folks, it's Bottled Cloister. My thinking is that this card would be pretty hot in control matchups in that it gives us card advantage. It also works well with Bridge in that it just auto-dumps your hand for you so you don't have to worry about getting hellbent. I've found more than once where my hand has been turn 3 bridge, but the rest of my hand is still sitting there and I can't dump it fast enough. The Cloister helps with that a lot, and keeps you drawing gas.
I also put in Sin Prodder to try him out again over Goblin Rabblemaster. If this is the draw-a-ton-of-cards version, then hey why not.
As for the games, I ended up 2-2. Beat Death's Shadow and Monowhite Aggro, lost to Burn and Elves. Not an inspiring record, but hey, you gotta pay the price to learn the lesson.
Was a big fan of how Cloister worked out, less a fan of Sin Prodder. Cloister saved my bacon a few games, and in general drew a ton of cards which is always nice. Sin Prodder usually just got killed. When Rabblemaster dies at least you're left with a 1/1, but with this guy no such luck. Also, I think if we go this direction, we need lean harder into it and play more creature removal. So if I were to do it again, I think I'd make the following changes:
Out: 3 Sin Prodder, 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar, 1 Tormenting Voice
In: 1 Bottled Cloister, 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Sweltering Suns, 1 Mountain
Cloister really needs you to hit 4 mana (lost at least a couple games to being too low on lands). And without Rabblemaster you can't really do much in the combat step, neither block nor attack, so you need to handle creatures and generate threats in some other way - I'm thinking more sweepers and the 4th Chandra can help with that.
Anyway, just a quick report on some new twists on the deck - I recommend trying Cloister to those considering things. Could even be good in Vegitas' RW deck. One thing I noticed on that list is that you have a number of high cmc cards and situational effects like Wraths and Cast Outs, and while those are non-bos with Bridge, Cloister could maybe help.
Good luck tomorrow Mvilla!
PS. Here's a dumb interaction I noticed today: Flickerwisp targeting Ensnaring Bridge?!?! Also lost to that
Tymna & Ishai, ie Esper Edric
Crosis Turbotrash
Ironically, I 1-4ed the league after I posted here (after 5-0 and three 4-1s) and never looked back, since Standard became interesting again and had no real Modern play since.
IMHO Cloister is way too slow for modern. Seriously, you would have to drop it t2 (pretty impossible t1) to have any chance of saving your hand from discard while drawing your extra card. If I'd get a chance I'd rather drop Moon or Chalice t1-t2 to fight Death Shadow decks - which is oftten enough to grab a win.
but yeah I agree it works good with Bridge.
Honest question from a fella that doesn't play MTGO: how rare & competitive is a 5-0 finish?. Unawares, I put out an internal message to Sandfrog. I asked about his impression of the win, thoughts on Chalice vs. No Chalice {strategic choice OR is it a budget choice}, and where he is planting his flag? Saffron Olive 'seemingly' renamed Sandfrog's deck to "free win skred" and then claimed it as a variation of his own deck "free win red". I noted that Sandfrog's deck - by his own naming - wasn't published 'free win skred'.
The concept of a chalice-less deck is a new one to Pyro Prison. Saffron will recall that his original Free Win Red had no chalice of the void. Yet, he - like most of us - doubts its exclusion in today's play. Like Skia_AoP, I wonder about Saffron's dismissal of the core of a pyro prison creature assault: Goblin Rabblemaster. I've written enough about its merit that I won't revisit the canon. Do people, particularly Sandfrog, have opinions of how Saffron piloted the deck? Well, I'm very happy for Sandfrog.....I guess I just want to know a little bit more about the 'post-game analysis' & know that this all bodes well for our discussion and shared accomplishments here.
EDIT:
@Aslid -- applause for trying some new tech, but I tend to agree with Amok on Bottled Cloister. Our 4-drops are so critical and need to swerve the game. I've seen Cloister do some damage in Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas decks, but they can better take advantage of that artifact theme. So, I wonder if Outpost Siege might be a safer bet.
Also, I totally identify with the struggle to make sense of our 4-5 swing slots in the build. I notice you're checkering it out with 1-ofs: Abrade, Magma Jet, Sweltering Suns, Ratchet Bomb. It's tough! Lately, I'm considering a rather dig-heavy & top-heavy cmc build whereby I go: 2 Piran, 2 magma jet, 1 faithless looting (ugh), and 3 tormenting voice. Since I'm not doing any sweepers, the Piran serve as extra blockers and obviously they can go the distance with some tricks. I think I like the idea. If I jam myself on a Chalice on 1, then I can toss the faithless looting to a T voice, and since the discipline of keeping a card in hand for t. voice is my style (when needed) this does synergize with the best way to draw into a faithless looting. Make sense??