Abzan/Junk Reanimator a.k.a. Junk Rites Modern Primer
Introduction: Abzan or Junk Reanimator is a deck from Innistrad-Return to Ravnica Standard that used value powerhouses like Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Angel of Serenity to dominate fair decks in its time; this modern recreation and its personal success results from a culmination of the larger card pool in modern and the search for a deck that would consistently defeat the Eldrazi menace.
I will discuss how I arrived at this deck, the deck's strategy, its success, individual cards and alternatives, and match ups.
The triple GP weekend dominated by the Eldrazi, specifically UW Eldrazi, gave me the first idea for transforming INN-RTR Reanimator to modern. My thinking was "how hilarious would it be for UW Eldrazi to play against a deck full of ETB creatures that Displacer could never blink profitably." And Thragtusk's dominance in its standard reminded me of another card that has recently been handing out headaches on a regular basis: Siege Rhino. It gave many a Magic player nightmares when you chained Siege Rhino and many others when you chained Thragtusks. Why not both? So now I'll cut to the chase and give you my current decklist without SOI updates:
Basic Strategy: Abzan Reanimator or Junk Rites is a midrange ramp and graveyard based strategy that has multiple angles of attack that allow it to outgrind every fair deck you'll come across. Plan A: Use Grisly Salvage and Satyr Wayfinder to fill up your graveyard, optimally hitting Unburial Rites along with Thragtusk, Siege Rhino, and/or Angel of Serenity; of course, there are other creature options I will discuss later. Plan B: If your opponent finds a way to deal with your resources in the graveyard, use the mana dorks like Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl to ramp out Siege Rhino (as early as turn 2!)and Thragtusk. Plan C: If your opponent has spent their first few turns interacting with your graveyard shenanigans and slowing your mana production, then start hardcasting those fatties normally.
Personal Achievements: The accomplishments of this deck have been few but considerable, placing second at the first GPT (22 players) I took it to and first at the next GPT (25 players) at Gamer Heaven on March 20th and Shuffle & Cut on March 27th, respectively, in Southern California. Its record against Eldrazi in Comp REL stand thus: 6-1 against UW Eldrazi, 3-2 against UR Eldrazi. These results and my experiences with the deck lead me to believe it has the potential to become a modern Tier 1 powerhouse.
While it was created with Eldrazi in mind, it has has stellar performance against other fair decks, like Jund and Junk Midrange or UWx Control archetypes. It has a more challenging time with hyper aggressive strategies like Burn and Affinity but has the tools to stabilize and dominate mid-late game, and a challenging to poor matchup against fast combo decks, which is what sideboards are for. In discussing match ups, I will stick to Tier 1/2 decks with very brief match up summaries for now, but will add sideboard strategies to this primer later.
Significant Updates:
1. Building a manabase with high forest count is paramount to success if you maintain the Arbor Elf/Utopia Sprawl Ramp strategy.
2. Traverse the Ulvenwald's performance has been exemplar. I highly recommend it as a playset, with slightly reduced land count (but maintain forest count).
Edit: I discuss deck options and alternatives with consideration to the recent banned list updates in post #6 and take an updated list out for two games in post #9
Card Choices and Alternatives: This list will constantly be growing as I add more cards or new cards are created
Ramp: To keep up with the faster decks of the format, mana accelerants are a necessity. While the ramp cards themselves are individually weaker than your other spells, the quality of your value creatures helps you keep pace with grindy decks. Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl are considerably powerful in tandem, as a hand of Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, and two untapped green sources (one must be a green shockland) will allow you to power out a Siege Rhino on turn 2, which is a nightmare for many opponents. Birds of Paradise One drop accelerant Arbor Elf One drop accelerant Utopia Sprawl One drop accelerant; watch out for land destruction or Spreading Seas/Blood Moon effects Alternatives: Avacyn's Pilgrim Llanowar Elf Elves of Deep Shadow
Graveyard Shenanigans: These cards will fill up your graveyard while helping you dig for relevant creatures and your utility lands; altogether, they allow you to churn through your deck very quickly as well as keep hands with fewer lands. Satyr Wayfinder Digs for Gavony and Vault while filling up the grave and creating some board presence; a quiet MVP of the strategy Grisly Salvage Digs for utility lands and relevant creatures while filling up the grave Unburial Rites The main avenue of the deck's strategy; provides insane value while not being completely necessary to the deck's success in most games Alternatives: Mulch Played in the original standard lists; however, Satyr Wayfinder does much of the same job while also providing a speedbump Pulse of Murasa Subtly versatile card that can gain life and Raise Dead one of your creatures or interact with opposing graveyard shenanigans
Other Creatures: Kitchen Finks The best speed bump in the format for aggressive decks that aren't called Affinity Sin Collector A value body that provides hand disruption against Control and Combo Siege Rhino Provides a sizeable body along with a stabilizing source of lifegain and extra reach Thragtusk A standard powerhouse that provides the largest speed bump in the form of five life and a second creature; spells inevitability for aggro match ups but also excellent for grindy match ups Shriekmaw An excellently versatile card that can aggressively take out creatures in aggro match ups while providing late game value; will likely be played in fewer copies after Eldrazi is weakened Acidic Slime Another excellently versatile card for taking out random permanents and providing a deterring roadblock; worse against hyper aggressive strategies, but will fill niche roles when necessary Angel of Serenity Often the nail in the coffin for attrition wars; Angel provides a unique X-for-1 effect that can refill your hand by targeting other creatures in your graveyard, or clear the opponent's board and allow for a huge attack or significant tempo reset Alternatives: Phyrexian Revoker Can name Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas or Thopter Foundry, providing a unique "catch-all" effect on a creature Qasali Pridemage Destroys unwanted artifacts and enchantments or provides some extra game offensively Reclamation Sage For breaking up Thopter Foundry shenanigans, along with any other artifacts we run into; essentially a smaller Acidic Slime Eternal Witness For mid to late game card advantage Thrun, the Last Troll a powerhouse against Control strategies Polukranos, World Eater Excellent against Eldrazi's X/1s in particular Grave Titan A creature that will create a dominating board presence; one was tested in the original list but I decided I preferred the second Angel Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Hoses small creature strategies but less consistent without Gifts Ungiven; I decided the second Angel would do the same job Hornet Queen AAALL the roadblocks! Again, I decided a second Angel would be more versatile Angel of Despair A similar effect to that of Angel of Serenity if that's what you're looking for; I prefer Angel of Serenity for its versatility and multi-target Ashen Rider Another similar effect to that of the mentioned Angels
Planeswalkers (which we can power out turn 2, similar to Siege Rhino; this should greatly amplify the effectiveness) Liliana of the Veil Control's nightmare when Jund had access to Deathrite Shaman and could power out turn 2 Lili; we play far more 1 drop accelerants, making this a potent consideration Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Provides a steady stream of small creatures Elspeth, Knight-Errant Similar to Lord of Innistrad Sorin, Solemn Visitor Life gain for racing and flying bodies Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Similar token producer and resilient threat Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed Similar token producer with powerful abilities; somewhat more fragile loyalty
Removal and Other Spells: Lingering Souls A powerhouse in attrition wars and considerable threat when you add Gavony Township to the equation Painful Truths Another excellent card in attrition match ups, which can be offset by your creatures' numerous instances of inherent life gain; not as effective against Burn Path to Exile Unconditional removal spell for haymakers like Scavenging Ooze, Kalitas, and Olivia Abrupt Decay Removal spell for key permanents that might prove to be a nuisance Alternatives: Traverse the Ulvenwald Perhaps a pseudo Green Sun's Zenith with the right tool box EDIT: This card's performance has been extraordinary; I highly recommend auto including it as a 4-of. Opens up so many options it is a headache to build, play, and write about, but the versality is unparalleled. Maelstrom Pulse Sorcery speed removal spell for problematic permanents Anguished Unmaking Instant speed removal spell for problematic permanents; life loss is a liability in certain match ups but the versatility is worth considering Declaration in Stone The halfway between Path to Exile and Maelstrom Pulse; sorcery speed unconditional removal for problematic creatures Batterskull A powerhouse against control strategies, particularly URx
Utility/Man Lands: Vault of the Archangel Excellent for racing and stabilizing against Aggro decks if you get to that point Gavony Township Wins games on its own (well, if you have a bunch of Spirit tokens and mana dorks to get swole) Horizon Canopy For the late game grind, or to top deck that much needed spell Stirring Wildwood Survives Bolt and blocks flyers; also your most needed colors are typically green and white Alternatives/Honorable Mentions Temple Garden and Overgrown Tomb are honorable mentions, as two of these, Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, and Siege Rhino make for a turn two Siege Rhino, a semi-frequent occurrence that always puts a smile on my face (and a frown on my opponent's)
Sideboard Cards: Duress Helpful against Control and Combo Strategies; also good against Burn Thoughtseize Helpful against Control and Combo Strategies; not as good against Burn Surgical Extraction Helpful against opposing graveyard based combo strategies Stony Silence Helpful against Affinity and key in any hopes of defeating RG Tron Fracturing Gust Helpful against Affinity and Hexproof Auras
Match Ups
General Evaluations:
Aggressive/Midrange creature decks without an infinite combo: Favorable
Control/Midrange strategies: Favorable to Very Favorable
Hyper Aggressive decks: Challeging
Fast combo: Challenging to Unfavorable
Other unfair strategies: Challenging to Very Unfavorable
Specific Tier 1 & 2 Match Ups
UW Eldrazi: Favorable
Your creatures will quickly outclass theirs in value and size. Watch out for their aggressive starts of Mimic, TKS, Reality Smasher; you have the tools to clog the ground and outgrind them unless they find the triple TKS opening. Consider their sideboard Rest in Peace after game 1 and prioritize ramping out threats over graveyard strategies in games 2 and 3.
UR Eldrazi: Even-Favorable
Your creatures and Lingering Souls give you an edge, but the biggest threat from them is Obligator stealing your turn 2 Rhino and using it against you. Prioritize dealing with their threats or clogging up the board, and your creatures will quickly outvalue theirs, especially with the aid of Gavony Township or Vault of the Archangel.
Jund Midrange: Very Favorable
This match up is a walk in the park with Painful Truths, Lingering Souls, Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Angel of Serenity all playing dominating roles. Be careful to not let their haymakers like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and Olivia Voldaren get out of hand; prioritize your removal accordingly. Scavenging Ooze and Dark Confidant are also creatures that may prove slightly annoying, but even 3-4 Dark Confidant activations will have trouble keeping up with your value train. As a Jund player myself, I would never ever want to see myself on the Jund side of this match up.
Burn: Even
Abzan has the tools to make this matchup easily in its favor between Kitchen Finks, Siege Rhino, and Thragtusk. Watch out for a timely Atarka's Command or Skullcrack, but short of that, late game is a nightmare for them. The real challenge is stemming the bleeding early game, so block with non-mana dorks, trade, and use removal aggressively in the first few turns.
Abzan Company: Even to Challenging
Their best route to victory against you is through infinite life or damage; prioritize removal for their combo pieces and your creatures will quickly outclass and pressure theirs. If the game does grind out, the first to find Gavony Township will gain a considerable edge. After sideboard, graveyard interaction becomes invaluable in breaking up their combo.
Infect: Challenging to Unfavorable
Game one is tough. With mana dorks, Satyr Wayfinder, and Lingering Souls, you'll have enough to clog the board and keep their Elves and Nexuses out of the red zone. This leaves Blighted Agent as the worst offender, so prioritize removal accordingly and find the best openings to cup check them. Discard spells and information will drastically improve your game post sideboard.
Affinity: Challenging to Unfavorable
Again, a tough game one awaits. Lingering Souls is excellent against them, so prioritize removal for Ravager, Overseer, and Master of Etherium. From experience, the most efficient way to lock up game one is with an Unburial Rites'd Angel of Serenity. If you have Shriekmaws, those are the first to go in sideboarded games. Stony Silence, Abrupt Decay, and Fracturing Gust will be all-stars post sideboard, even if a Utopia Sprawl is caught in the crossfire.
Abzan Midrange: Favorable
With their own Lingering Souls and acc, Abzan midrange fairs a little bit better than Jund; it doesn't do much to help their case, however, as Reanimator is still easily the favorite here. Just keep an eye out for Scavenging Ooze and Gavony Township.
UWx Control: Favorable
Without Dissipate to slow your engine, modern UWx Control decks will have much more difficulty keeping up with your value, requiring multiple Jace activations, Snapcaster triggers, and Sphinxe's Revelations just to keep up.
Zoo: Even to Favorable
Depending on how fast they can get off the ground and which variant of Zoo you're facing, the difficulty will range. Your creatures' larger size, inherent lifegain, and value will be the deciding factor as long as you stem the bleeding from the early turns. Keep in mind that Knight of the Reliquary can get scary if accompanied by a Kessig Wolf Run.
Griselbrand Reanimator/Through the Breach: Unfavorable
This matchup will be difficult in game one. Prioritize dropping an early clock and then holding up interaction and removal afterwards. After sideboard, bring in all the discard and disruption you have (bonus points to Pulse of Murasa as super secret tech) and repeat the strategy.
RG Tron: Very Unfavorable
This is the fair deck nightmare. You will have more or less game depending on how many Stony Silences and Acidic Slimes or other land destruction you are playing. Maelstrom Pulse and Anguished Unmaking give you a few points against resolved planeswalkers but this is still the nightmare matchup.
Since this deck is my baby, I'll do my best to answer questions and keep this thread moving on a daily basis. The results so far have been small and local, but with GPLA coming up, I'm looking to put Modern Abzan Reanimator on the map.
First GPTLA I played the deck in (March 20 at Jimmy's USA in Southern California, 22 people)
R1 L 1-2 against Grixis Grishoalbrand
R2 W 2-1 against UG Infect
R3 W 2-1 against Gruul Aggro
R4 W 2-1 against UW Eldrazi
R5 ID against UWR control
Top 8
QF W 2-0 against Abzan Company
SF W 2-0 against UW Eldrazi
F L 1-2 against UR Eldrazi
Second GPTLA I played the deck in (March 27 at Shuffle and Cut, 25 people)
R1 L 0-2 against Goblin Aggro
R2 W 2-0 against UW Eldrazi (even after mulling to 4 and opp kept 6! whoot)
R3 W 2-0 against UW Control
R4 W 2-0 against Jund Midrange
R5 ID against RG Tron
Top 8
QF W 2-0 against UR Eldrazi
SF W 2-1 against Grixis Control
F "W" 2-0 RG Tron opponent didn't want the byes (thank goodness)
Thanks for commenting. I played the exact 75 listed as "heyitskhaiguyy's Deck" at the second GPT; at the first GPT I had an Acidic Slime main board in place of the third Lingering Souls (dying to Eldrazi Obligator led me to the switch), 3-1 Marsh Flats/Verdant Catacombs that I changed to 3 Catacombs-1 Marsh Flats, and a second Restoration Angel that I later changed to a second Shriekmaw.
To answer your questions, Angel of Serenity serves as both removal and card advantage. By targeting creature cards in your graveyard, you put your opponent in the position of dealing with a 5/6 flyer, which is usually unparalleled in modern, or removing it somehow, which returns the creatures you exiled to your hand, essentially refilling your grip with Thragtusk, Shriekmaw, and Siege Rhino; this is excellent against control strategies that have spent the game dealing with your threats. By targeting creatures on your opponent's board, you reset the board position in your favor; if they do eventually kill the Angel, the creatures you exiled have been "bounced" from the board to their hand (not merely returned to the battlefield, as some opponents mistakenly thought), which is a significant tempo advantage that can break stalemates and races wide open (although you want to avoid opposing targets with ETB like Snapcaster). Of course, if your opponent kills the Angel in response to the first trigger, your targets are permanently exiled, so I typically split the targets between creatures in my graveyard and creatures my opponents have in play if I suspect a removal spell. It is this that makes me say Angel of Serenity provides a "unique X-for-1" effect.
What made me choose Angel of Serenity over Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider is all I have mentioned; it is extremely versatile. By judging the situation, you can wipe their board for a lethal attack, aim to refill your hand once they deal with the Angel, or a combination. It also performs niche roles like exiling Grishoalbrand's reanimation targets. So while Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider do perma-exile a single target, Angel of Serenity can target multiple creatures and play multiple roles.
And let's not even mention the absurdity if you ever chain Angels by exiling, say, their Reality Smasher/Tarmogoyf and the Thragtusk and other Angel of Serenity in your graveyard. Can you say value train?
May just be talking to myself here, but I will endeavor to keep this thread moving.
With the April 4th banned and restricted update, I have noticed a strong resurgence in blue based midrange/control decks online, especially those using the Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry combo. Perhaps it is people just testing the viability of the unbanned cards in Modern, but this may eventually lead to a much grindier, attrition based format. Also less dominant is the former Eldrazi archetype, which has lost much of its early game aggressiveness and consistency without Eye of Ugin; on the other hand, Tron has lost its late game inevitability.
If this meta does shift to a more grindy attrition style, I believe we are well positioned to adjust. (My alternative is bringing Jund to matches and watching my opponent suspend Ancestral Visions for their turn 1 play.) From my experiences against UWx Control style decks and outgrinding multiple Snapcasters, Jace activations, and Sphinx's Revelations, I am confident we can keep pace with the likes of Ancestral Visions and Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry as well. I will note that I am less experienced with the Sword/Thopter/Tezzeret builds than I am with UWx, and would appreciate any helpful guidance and input. I have recently seen lists playing Ensnaring Bridge and Chalice of the Void and remain uncertain if these are experimental, independent brews, or are more established lists; I will try to gain more information over the next few days to provide better insight.
Below I have listed some main board options/adjustments to combat a grindier meta, with consideration for an increased number of artifact decks.
Planeswalkers (which we can power out turn 2, similar to Siege Rhino; this should greatly amplify the effectiveness) Liliana of the Veil Control's nightmare when Jund had access to Deathrite Shaman and could power out turn 2 Lili; we play far more 1 drop accelerants, making this a potent consideration Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Provides a steady stream of small creatures Elspeth, Knight-Errant Similar to Lord of Innistrad Sorin, Solemn Visitor Life gain for racing and flying bodies Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Similar token producer and resilient threat Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed Similar token producer with powerful abilities; somewhat more fragile loyalty
Creatures Scavenging Ooze Excellent against grindy strategies, blue Snapcaster/Jace decks and can interrupt the Sword/Thopter chain; perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted Phyrexian Revoker Can name Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas or Thopter Foundry, providing a unique "catch-all" effect on a creature Qasali Pridemage Destroys unwanted artifacts and enchantments or provides some extra game offensively Reclamation Sage For breaking up Thopter Foundry shenanigans, along with any other artifacts we run into; essentially a smaller Acidic Slime Eternal Witness For mid to late game card advantage Thrun, the Last Troll a powerhouse against Control strategies Acidic Slime Perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted
Spells Traverse the Ulvenwald Perhaps a pseudo Green Sun's Zenith with the right tool box Thoughtseize With more Control appearing, discard seem appealing for protecting and pushing through threats Inquisition of Kozilek Similar to Thoughtseize Abrupt Decay Decent against Sword/Thopter decks as an uncounterable answer to Thopter Foundry, Ensnaring Bridge, and Chalice of the Void; perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted Painful Truths Perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted to answer attrition and control strategies Maelstrom Pulse Deals with problematic permanents, whether artifact, creature, or planeswalker Anguished Unmaking Similar effect to Pulse Batterskull A powerhouse against control strategies, particularly URx
I think Lilly should be main for sure. Hitting it T2 as you said is a great play, and it fuels your own yard for reanimiation. I would probably suggest shying away from the other walkers, as it dilutes the game plane of using the graveyard as a resource. I know you are trying to attack from different angles, but you don't want to dilute too much.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern: UWR Breach, UWB Esper control
Legacy: UW RiP/Helm, UR Sneak and Show
Thanks for the input. I considered putting one in the sideboard previously but decided not to due to expectations of a more aggressive meta. I also reasoned that the second Painful Truths would be enough gas for any grindy matches against control; with blue having access to Ancestral Visions now, I'll try her out in the main. Seems to be a good time to test it.
Opponent 1: UW Tron
G1: On the draw; opp plays Celestial Colonnade, I follow up with Overgrown Tomb, Arbor Elf; opp plays Urza's Mine and taps out for Azorius Signet, I follow up with fetch into Temple Garden and drop Liliana. Opponent leaves the room.
-This match was indicative of... something?
Opponent 2: Bant Midrange with Ardent Plea and Ancestral Visions(!)
G1: Much grindier; turn two Rhino gets Path'ed Another Rhino, another Path. Elspeth, Knight-Errant giving his Tarmogoyf flying and multiple Exalted triggers gets me down to 4 life until I mill into Lingering Souls and find Birds of Paradise to chump. Stabilize with reanimated Thragtusk and third Rhino; ground gets cluttered with opponent's Noble Hierarch, Voice of Resurgence, and leftover Voice token. He resolves a suspended Visions, finds an Ardent Plea cascading into third Voice, and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy threatens to flip and Path my last flying blockers but I find Scooze to fizzle the second minus activation and stabilize to sixteen life, followed up by more Souls. He switches his game plan, making Elspeth Soldier tokens. I chip away at his life with my last Spirit until he suspends a second Visions and ults Elspeth, putting her at one loyalty; I finish her off. Less than 20 cards left, where dat Angel at? Resolve fourth Rhino, putting him to two. At this point our board states are fairly even except for my Spirit and his emblem. Put him at one life. The second suspended Visions apparently doesn't get there, and he leaves the room.
#outgrinded
What I confirmed: Turn 2 Liliana against Control=tilt; Lili is good against Control. Turn 2 Siege Rhino, followed by second Rhino, and later, Rhinos three and four are pretty okay. Would have preferred finding an Angel to sweep the board. Deck keeps up with Ancestral Visions, it seems. I did miss the Shriekmaws, and might put one back in.
Small update for today that's relevant to the last few posts: Played the last updated list against UW Control (an actual match this time) with Ancestral Visions and the Thopter/Meek Combo.
Won 2-0 through two Ancestral Visions game 1 and one Visions game 2 with another on the stack at 1 suspend counter
This is great, possibly my favorite deck from standard ever (along with aristocrats), and was sad when it rotated. I am glad that you are seeing success with it.
Thanks for the feedback, guys! I'd love to see or hear about more people utilizing this strategy so we can collaborate to share ideas and results. On that note, my friend will be borrowing my deck and preparing it for another GPT this Sunday; I'll let you know how it goes.
Small update: From the last posted list, I swapped a main board Path for a main board Shriekmaw and the sideboard Abrupt Decay for that Path to Exile and the sideboard Anguished Unmaking for a Maelstrom Pulse. Had time for two matches today:
Match 1: Scapeshift
G1: L Lost to the combo; managed to stay above 19 life to delay for a turn and got within 1 attack away from killing them. Being on the play would have made the difference there, but what can you do.
G2: W Turn 2 Lili followed by Rhino gets there.
G3: L Mulled to 4 Some discard delayed him but a big Epiphany at the Drownyard was back breaking after trading 1 for 1 with no pressure. Scapeshift and another pile? Sure, have that stack.
Match 2: Sultai Midrange with Ancestral Visions
G1: W Ancestral Visions never came off the stack. Rhino, Souls, and Swagtusk - can you say out valued?
G2: L They Inquisitioned my ramp (left in discard after seeing all that in game 1? if you say so) and followed it up with a sizable Goyf. Remand/Snapcaster chain out-tempos us and we ded.
G3: W Turn 2 Wayfinder hits Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Sprawl; I guess I'm okay with that. Hardcast threats from my hand to avoid Remand-for-value but he gets stuck on 3 lands and eventually taps out for Serum Visions and Goyf. Reanimate Thragtusk and Decay his Goyf, and it ends shortly after the Rhinos start hitting the table.
So I just kind of stumbled on this deck today. I have been looking to utilize the card Life from the Loam in modern in the wake of the more grindy meta that I anticipate seeing, but I didn't quite know how I should go about it. After seeing this, and fondly thinking back to my days as a pod player, I am thinking about putting a new list together.
So basically I intend to take this shell, but twist it a bit to accommodate the loam lands strategy. Cards that I'd be cutting from your list are things like Satyr wayfinder, utopia sprawl, and Polukranos for things like Knight of the reliquary, smallpox, and loam. I'll post up here once I get a list that I like and you should let me know what you think!
Hello JankPlays, i like you list, specially because i hate top decking Utopia Sprawl on late game.
running a deck like this so focused on the early game (Arbor Elf/Birds of Paradise) seems risk and indeed it is, ive been playing this deck non stop for the last 2 days.
its great, no doubt, but again, early game needs to be fixed and i think you did just that.
I ended up adding 1 Anguished Unmaking and 2 Abrupt Decay due to the new combo running around as well planeswalkers i find myself having trouble dealing with. again just testing so far, but its doing well so far.
in the end ends up being a mmix of both decks but im loving it, wanted to stick more Knight of the Reliquary into the deck but maybe its not a good idea, even the Gitrog Monster might find a place, tell me what you think.
Hey guys, great to see all these innovations to the deck. I'll be focusing on the main strategies I detailed, aside from testing one or two-ofs tech cards at a time, but let me know how your playtesting goes. I'm interested in knowing how your specific inclusions and changes work out in the new meta. As for Utopia Sprawl/Arbor Elf and Birds of Paradise, the original lists included so much ramp because I felt the need to be able to keep pace with Eldrazi aggro; now that the meta is slowing down, I might cut two Birds of Paradise but I'm particularly fond of the turn 2 Siege Rhino that Arbor Elf/Utopia Sprawl enables. So I'll leave those in, but since I've noticed I've been taking out Birds in almost every match, those will go. Keep me updated on your end; I'd love to hear about your own experiences playing the deck and how your games go.
As far as KotR and The Gitrog Monster goes: Knight was a creature I wanted to try out in the past and definitely has potential to be a powerhouse. And the Gitrog Monster may be best as a one of, since it's a tad on the expensive side and has less ETB value unless you have a land to immediately follow it up with. If you don't have a land and it immediately gets removed, that could you back quite a bit; that said, perhaps it would be a worthwhile inclusion if you can frequently enable Life from the Loam or add Courser of Kruphix. Typically new metas are more aggressive, but the unbans point towards more grindy; Courser could be a good middle ground against such opponents.
Caligoletto, I have considered running delve creatures but in the past went for a more value centered approach. This was largely due to considerations for Eldrazi Aggro, but now that the winter is over, I will look more into delve and other strategies. It'd be great if you also tried it out on your end. And as for my lists, I don't know what the discrepancy is but I see 21 lands for both lists; if you don't see Temple Gardens, those should be the two that are missing.
I put the vessel in originally because I was running 4 traverse the ulvenwald and that deck was focused on getting domain. That's just a fourth salvage. How do we feel about adding some number of chord of calling as well?
I don't think this is the right deck for Chord of Calling, since our creatures are relatively expensive and we are inconsistent in assembling a mass of creatures for convoke. We also don't have that many bullets; while you could try to assemble a middle ground between Melira Company and this deck, I don't think it would be as effective at either strategy. I do like the idea of Traverse the Ulvenwald, but am not sure if four-of is the right number.
Update, you 100% need 2 copies of Angel of Serenity. It does far too much work, and with only one copy, I'm just begging for it every game. Loam puts in good work, but I don't think that we need 4 of, 2 works just fine. Next cards to consider: Bow of nylea, and Wall of roots. Bow for counteracting the dredge on loam and grinding out a bunch of life, potentially also pushing through more damage every turn, and wall just as a test to see if it's anywhere near as good as the other dorks while being a sufficient early game blocker.
Glad to hear some agreement on the two Angels; she really does a ton of work. I've entertained the thought of three Angels, but never got around to actually testing it. Perhaps it's too much, but I don't think I've ever lost a game where I stuck an Angel for full (3 targets) value.
On a similar note, I put back in the two Painful Truths and like them a lot more than Liliana. I think Lili's better when your individual cards have a decent power level, but since we have a lot of dorks/pieces that become less relevant, the draw 3 feels so much better. Resolving either should put Control decks against the wall, and I think Painful Truths is the better inclusion. Any consensus or different opinion on that would be appreciated.
Not 100% sure on Bow of Nylea, as we usually want cards to stay in our graveyard. Although Siege Rhino + death touch is great so I won't dismiss it completely yet; let me know how it works out for you. I think Wall of Roots has potential; one of my favorite aspects of Utopia Sprawl was enchanting an untapped forest and being able to use the mana immediately to advance my mana without losing tempo, which Wall of Roots also does similarly. Again, let me know how that works for you.
After playing my updated version tonight, I feel like the more I deviate from my original list the worse the deck gets. It's super solid as is. The only card I have left to try out is Traverse the Ulvenwald. I just picked one up tonight and will get another upon release for 2 in the deck total. I feel like it's an amazing card in the loam variant.
I've found that Birds is just the worst mana dork because it doesn't deal damage at all. Flying is fine, but I want to be able to block and get the vault kill when possible. I also feel like I see Lingering Souls too much, and might cut it down to two copies. I realize that some decks just can't handle it, and it's existence will have to depend on just how grindy the meta gets, but for now I'm not a huge fan of as many as I have.
How have Life from the Loam and Smallpox been performing for you? Also, have you tried Painful Truths? Perhaps that's a good alternative for the third Lingering Souls.
Smallpox is kind of meh in the few matchups that i've played it, but it can blow out certain decks which I feel makes it worth the include. We don't care about discarding or sac'ing a dude, so there's really no downside. Loam is the tits. With Knight and some utility lands, it is super abusable and gives a sometimes insurmountable amount of advantage.
I don't own any painful truths, but it might be a good addition as a one of to bring the souls down to two. Though Traverse might just be better there for grabbing those bullet creatures. Hard to tell right now.
Tomorrow, a friend of mine will be taking the deck out to a GPT in Orange, California. I'll update with his results when he gets back to me. Trial time, whoo!
R1 W Eldrazi (no surprises there)
R2 L Burn (I did prepare his 75 for this match up but I guess the draws didn't line up or he kept a clunky hand)
R3 L Grixis Delver (whut)
R4 L Sultai Midrange with Ancestral Visions (whut)
I'm not sure how he did so poorly against what was basically the dream lineup. Wish I'd been there now. In his defense, he had only picked up the deck two days before and only played a couple of test matches after a 2 month hiatus through Eldrazi winter. Maybe next time.
Also: Mindwrack Demon is pretty bonkers in the deck. Nothing too crazy, but it keeps the GY flowing and presents a decent threat. Also always had Delirium up when I landed him (although on one occasion my opponent landed Rest in Peace immediately afterwards. /atearshed)
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Introduction: Abzan or Junk Reanimator is a deck from Innistrad-Return to Ravnica Standard that used value powerhouses like Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Angel of Serenity to dominate fair decks in its time; this modern recreation and its personal success results from a culmination of the larger card pool in modern and the search for a deck that would consistently defeat the Eldrazi menace.
I will discuss how I arrived at this deck, the deck's strategy, its success, individual cards and alternatives, and match ups.
The triple GP weekend dominated by the Eldrazi, specifically UW Eldrazi, gave me the first idea for transforming INN-RTR Reanimator to modern. My thinking was "how hilarious would it be for UW Eldrazi to play against a deck full of ETB creatures that Displacer could never blink profitably." And Thragtusk's dominance in its standard reminded me of another card that has recently been handing out headaches on a regular basis: Siege Rhino. It gave many a Magic player nightmares when you chained Siege Rhino and many others when you chained Thragtusks. Why not both? So now I'll cut to the chase and give you my current decklist without SOI updates:
2 Angel of Serenity
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Restoration Angel
4 Satyr Wayfinder
2 Shriekmaw
3 Siege Rhino
2 Thragtusk
Instants 7
4 Path to Exile
3 Grisly Salvage
Sorceries 7
3 Lingering Souls
1 Painful Truths
3 Unburial Rites
4 Utopia Sprawl
Lands 21
2 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Acidic Slime
1 Duress
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Painful Truths
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sin Collector
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Stony Silence
2 Thoughtseize
Basic Strategy: Abzan Reanimator or Junk Rites is a midrange ramp and graveyard based strategy that has multiple angles of attack that allow it to outgrind every fair deck you'll come across. Plan A: Use Grisly Salvage and Satyr Wayfinder to fill up your graveyard, optimally hitting Unburial Rites along with Thragtusk, Siege Rhino, and/or Angel of Serenity; of course, there are other creature options I will discuss later. Plan B: If your opponent finds a way to deal with your resources in the graveyard, use the mana dorks like Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl to ramp out Siege Rhino (as early as turn 2!)and Thragtusk. Plan C: If your opponent has spent their first few turns interacting with your graveyard shenanigans and slowing your mana production, then start hardcasting those fatties normally.
Personal Achievements: The accomplishments of this deck have been few but considerable, placing second at the first GPT (22 players) I took it to and first at the next GPT (25 players) at Gamer Heaven on March 20th and Shuffle & Cut on March 27th, respectively, in Southern California. Its record against Eldrazi in Comp REL stand thus: 6-1 against UW Eldrazi, 3-2 against UR Eldrazi. These results and my experiences with the deck lead me to believe it has the potential to become a modern Tier 1 powerhouse.
While it was created with Eldrazi in mind, it has has stellar performance against other fair decks, like Jund and Junk Midrange or UWx Control archetypes. It has a more challenging time with hyper aggressive strategies like Burn and Affinity but has the tools to stabilize and dominate mid-late game, and a challenging to poor matchup against fast combo decks, which is what sideboards are for. In discussing match ups, I will stick to Tier 1/2 decks with very brief match up summaries for now, but will add sideboard strategies to this primer later.
Significant Updates:
1. Building a manabase with high forest count is paramount to success if you maintain the Arbor Elf/Utopia Sprawl Ramp strategy.
2. Traverse the Ulvenwald's performance has been exemplar. I highly recommend it as a playset, with slightly reduced land count (but maintain forest count).
Edit: I discuss deck options and alternatives with consideration to the recent banned list updates in post #6 and take an updated list out for two games in post #9
Card Choices and Alternatives: This list will constantly be growing as I add more cards or new cards are created
Ramp: To keep up with the faster decks of the format, mana accelerants are a necessity. While the ramp cards themselves are individually weaker than your other spells, the quality of your value creatures helps you keep pace with grindy decks. Arbor Elf and Utopia Sprawl are considerably powerful in tandem, as a hand of Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, and two untapped green sources (one must be a green shockland) will allow you to power out a Siege Rhino on turn 2, which is a nightmare for many opponents.
Birds of Paradise One drop accelerant
Arbor Elf One drop accelerant
Utopia Sprawl One drop accelerant; watch out for land destruction or Spreading Seas/Blood Moon effects
Alternatives:
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Llanowar Elf
Elves of Deep Shadow
Graveyard Shenanigans: These cards will fill up your graveyard while helping you dig for relevant creatures and your utility lands; altogether, they allow you to churn through your deck very quickly as well as keep hands with fewer lands.
Satyr Wayfinder Digs for Gavony and Vault while filling up the grave and creating some board presence; a quiet MVP of the strategy
Grisly Salvage Digs for utility lands and relevant creatures while filling up the grave
Unburial Rites The main avenue of the deck's strategy; provides insane value while not being completely necessary to the deck's success in most games
Alternatives:
Mulch Played in the original standard lists; however, Satyr Wayfinder does much of the same job while also providing a speedbump
Pulse of Murasa Subtly versatile card that can gain life and Raise Dead one of your creatures or interact with opposing graveyard shenanigans
Other Creatures:
Kitchen Finks The best speed bump in the format for aggressive decks that aren't called Affinity
Sin Collector A value body that provides hand disruption against Control and Combo
Siege Rhino Provides a sizeable body along with a stabilizing source of lifegain and extra reach
Thragtusk A standard powerhouse that provides the largest speed bump in the form of five life and a second creature; spells inevitability for aggro match ups but also excellent for grindy match ups
Shriekmaw An excellently versatile card that can aggressively take out creatures in aggro match ups while providing late game value; will likely be played in fewer copies after Eldrazi is weakened
Acidic Slime Another excellently versatile card for taking out random permanents and providing a deterring roadblock; worse against hyper aggressive strategies, but will fill niche roles when necessary
Angel of Serenity Often the nail in the coffin for attrition wars; Angel provides a unique X-for-1 effect that can refill your hand by targeting other creatures in your graveyard, or clear the opponent's board and allow for a huge attack or significant tempo reset
Alternatives:
Phyrexian Revoker Can name Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas or Thopter Foundry, providing a unique "catch-all" effect on a creature
Qasali Pridemage Destroys unwanted artifacts and enchantments or provides some extra game offensively
Reclamation Sage For breaking up Thopter Foundry shenanigans, along with any other artifacts we run into; essentially a smaller Acidic Slime
Eternal Witness For mid to late game card advantage
Thrun, the Last Troll a powerhouse against Control strategies
Polukranos, World Eater Excellent against Eldrazi's X/1s in particular
Grave Titan A creature that will create a dominating board presence; one was tested in the original list but I decided I preferred the second Angel
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Hoses small creature strategies but less consistent without Gifts Ungiven; I decided the second Angel would do the same job
Hornet Queen AAALL the roadblocks! Again, I decided a second Angel would be more versatile
Angel of Despair A similar effect to that of Angel of Serenity if that's what you're looking for; I prefer Angel of Serenity for its versatility and multi-target
Ashen Rider Another similar effect to that of the mentioned Angels
Planeswalkers (which we can power out turn 2, similar to Siege Rhino; this should greatly amplify the effectiveness)
Liliana of the Veil Control's nightmare when Jund had access to Deathrite Shaman and could power out turn 2 Lili; we play far more 1 drop accelerants, making this a potent consideration
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Provides a steady stream of small creatures
Elspeth, Knight-Errant Similar to Lord of Innistrad
Sorin, Solemn Visitor Life gain for racing and flying bodies
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Similar token producer and resilient threat
Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed Similar token producer with powerful abilities; somewhat more fragile loyalty
Removal and Other Spells:
Lingering Souls A powerhouse in attrition wars and considerable threat when you add Gavony Township to the equation
Painful Truths Another excellent card in attrition match ups, which can be offset by your creatures' numerous instances of inherent life gain; not as effective against Burn
Path to Exile Unconditional removal spell for haymakers like Scavenging Ooze, Kalitas, and Olivia
Abrupt Decay Removal spell for key permanents that might prove to be a nuisance
Alternatives:
Traverse the Ulvenwald Perhaps a pseudo Green Sun's Zenith with the right tool box EDIT: This card's performance has been extraordinary; I highly recommend auto including it as a 4-of. Opens up so many options it is a headache to build, play, and write about, but the versality is unparalleled.
Maelstrom Pulse Sorcery speed removal spell for problematic permanents
Anguished Unmaking Instant speed removal spell for problematic permanents; life loss is a liability in certain match ups but the versatility is worth considering
Declaration in Stone The halfway between Path to Exile and Maelstrom Pulse; sorcery speed unconditional removal for problematic creatures
Batterskull A powerhouse against control strategies, particularly URx
Utility/Man Lands:
Vault of the Archangel Excellent for racing and stabilizing against Aggro decks if you get to that point
Gavony Township Wins games on its own (well, if you have a bunch of Spirit tokens and mana dorks to get swole)
Horizon Canopy For the late game grind, or to top deck that much needed spell
Stirring Wildwood Survives Bolt and blocks flyers; also your most needed colors are typically green and white
Alternatives/Honorable Mentions
Temple Garden and Overgrown Tomb are honorable mentions, as two of these, Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, and Siege Rhino make for a turn two Siege Rhino, a semi-frequent occurrence that always puts a smile on my face (and a frown on my opponent's)
Sideboard Cards:
Duress Helpful against Control and Combo Strategies; also good against Burn
Thoughtseize Helpful against Control and Combo Strategies; not as good against Burn
Surgical Extraction Helpful against opposing graveyard based combo strategies
Stony Silence Helpful against Affinity and key in any hopes of defeating RG Tron
Fracturing Gust Helpful against Affinity and Hexproof Auras
Match Ups
General Evaluations:
Aggressive/Midrange creature decks without an infinite combo: Favorable
Control/Midrange strategies: Favorable to Very Favorable
Hyper Aggressive decks: Challeging
Fast combo: Challenging to Unfavorable
Other unfair strategies: Challenging to Very Unfavorable
Specific Tier 1 & 2 Match Ups
UW Eldrazi: Favorable
Your creatures will quickly outclass theirs in value and size. Watch out for their aggressive starts of Mimic, TKS, Reality Smasher; you have the tools to clog the ground and outgrind them unless they find the triple TKS opening. Consider their sideboard Rest in Peace after game 1 and prioritize ramping out threats over graveyard strategies in games 2 and 3.
UR Eldrazi: Even-Favorable
Your creatures and Lingering Souls give you an edge, but the biggest threat from them is Obligator stealing your turn 2 Rhino and using it against you. Prioritize dealing with their threats or clogging up the board, and your creatures will quickly outvalue theirs, especially with the aid of Gavony Township or Vault of the Archangel.
Jund Midrange: Very Favorable
This match up is a walk in the park with Painful Truths, Lingering Souls, Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Angel of Serenity all playing dominating roles. Be careful to not let their haymakers like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and Olivia Voldaren get out of hand; prioritize your removal accordingly. Scavenging Ooze and Dark Confidant are also creatures that may prove slightly annoying, but even 3-4 Dark Confidant activations will have trouble keeping up with your value train. As a Jund player myself, I would never ever want to see myself on the Jund side of this match up.
Burn: Even
Abzan has the tools to make this matchup easily in its favor between Kitchen Finks, Siege Rhino, and Thragtusk. Watch out for a timely Atarka's Command or Skullcrack, but short of that, late game is a nightmare for them. The real challenge is stemming the bleeding early game, so block with non-mana dorks, trade, and use removal aggressively in the first few turns.
Abzan Company: Even to Challenging
Their best route to victory against you is through infinite life or damage; prioritize removal for their combo pieces and your creatures will quickly outclass and pressure theirs. If the game does grind out, the first to find Gavony Township will gain a considerable edge. After sideboard, graveyard interaction becomes invaluable in breaking up their combo.
Infect: Challenging to Unfavorable
Game one is tough. With mana dorks, Satyr Wayfinder, and Lingering Souls, you'll have enough to clog the board and keep their Elves and Nexuses out of the red zone. This leaves Blighted Agent as the worst offender, so prioritize removal accordingly and find the best openings to cup check them. Discard spells and information will drastically improve your game post sideboard.
Affinity: Challenging to Unfavorable
Again, a tough game one awaits. Lingering Souls is excellent against them, so prioritize removal for Ravager, Overseer, and Master of Etherium. From experience, the most efficient way to lock up game one is with an Unburial Rites'd Angel of Serenity. If you have Shriekmaws, those are the first to go in sideboarded games. Stony Silence, Abrupt Decay, and Fracturing Gust will be all-stars post sideboard, even if a Utopia Sprawl is caught in the crossfire.
Abzan Midrange: Favorable
With their own Lingering Souls and acc, Abzan midrange fairs a little bit better than Jund; it doesn't do much to help their case, however, as Reanimator is still easily the favorite here. Just keep an eye out for Scavenging Ooze and Gavony Township.
UWx Control: Favorable
Without Dissipate to slow your engine, modern UWx Control decks will have much more difficulty keeping up with your value, requiring multiple Jace activations, Snapcaster triggers, and Sphinxe's Revelations just to keep up.
Zoo: Even to Favorable
Depending on how fast they can get off the ground and which variant of Zoo you're facing, the difficulty will range. Your creatures' larger size, inherent lifegain, and value will be the deciding factor as long as you stem the bleeding from the early turns. Keep in mind that Knight of the Reliquary can get scary if accompanied by a Kessig Wolf Run.
Griselbrand Reanimator/Through the Breach: Unfavorable
This matchup will be difficult in game one. Prioritize dropping an early clock and then holding up interaction and removal afterwards. After sideboard, bring in all the discard and disruption you have (bonus points to Pulse of Murasa as super secret tech) and repeat the strategy.
RG Tron: Very Unfavorable
This is the fair deck nightmare. You will have more or less game depending on how many Stony Silences and Acidic Slimes or other land destruction you are playing. Maelstrom Pulse and Anguished Unmaking give you a few points against resolved planeswalkers but this is still the nightmare matchup.
This deck's goal: Tier One
First GPTLA I played the deck in (March 20 at Jimmy's USA in Southern California, 22 people)
R1 L 1-2 against Grixis Grishoalbrand
R2 W 2-1 against UG Infect
R3 W 2-1 against Gruul Aggro
R4 W 2-1 against UW Eldrazi
R5 ID against UWR control
Top 8
QF W 2-0 against Abzan Company
SF W 2-0 against UW Eldrazi
F L 1-2 against UR Eldrazi
Second GPTLA I played the deck in (March 27 at Shuffle and Cut, 25 people)
R1 L 0-2 against Goblin Aggro
R2 W 2-0 against UW Eldrazi (even after mulling to 4 and opp kept 6! whoot)
R3 W 2-0 against UW Control
R4 W 2-0 against Jund Midrange
R5 ID against RG Tron
Top 8
QF W 2-0 against UR Eldrazi
SF W 2-1 against Grixis Control
F "W" 2-0 RG Tron opponent didn't want the byes (thank goodness)
Thanks for commenting. I played the exact 75 listed as "heyitskhaiguyy's Deck" at the second GPT; at the first GPT I had an Acidic Slime main board in place of the third Lingering Souls (dying to Eldrazi Obligator led me to the switch), 3-1 Marsh Flats/Verdant Catacombs that I changed to 3 Catacombs-1 Marsh Flats, and a second Restoration Angel that I later changed to a second Shriekmaw.
To answer your questions, Angel of Serenity serves as both removal and card advantage. By targeting creature cards in your graveyard, you put your opponent in the position of dealing with a 5/6 flyer, which is usually unparalleled in modern, or removing it somehow, which returns the creatures you exiled to your hand, essentially refilling your grip with Thragtusk, Shriekmaw, and Siege Rhino; this is excellent against control strategies that have spent the game dealing with your threats. By targeting creatures on your opponent's board, you reset the board position in your favor; if they do eventually kill the Angel, the creatures you exiled have been "bounced" from the board to their hand (not merely returned to the battlefield, as some opponents mistakenly thought), which is a significant tempo advantage that can break stalemates and races wide open (although you want to avoid opposing targets with ETB like Snapcaster). Of course, if your opponent kills the Angel in response to the first trigger, your targets are permanently exiled, so I typically split the targets between creatures in my graveyard and creatures my opponents have in play if I suspect a removal spell. It is this that makes me say Angel of Serenity provides a "unique X-for-1" effect.
What made me choose Angel of Serenity over Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider is all I have mentioned; it is extremely versatile. By judging the situation, you can wipe their board for a lethal attack, aim to refill your hand once they deal with the Angel, or a combination. It also performs niche roles like exiling Grishoalbrand's reanimation targets. So while Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider do perma-exile a single target, Angel of Serenity can target multiple creatures and play multiple roles.
And let's not even mention the absurdity if you ever chain Angels by exiling, say, their Reality Smasher/Tarmogoyf and the Thragtusk and other Angel of Serenity in your graveyard. Can you say value train?
With the April 4th banned and restricted update, I have noticed a strong resurgence in blue based midrange/control decks online, especially those using the Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry combo. Perhaps it is people just testing the viability of the unbanned cards in Modern, but this may eventually lead to a much grindier, attrition based format. Also less dominant is the former Eldrazi archetype, which has lost much of its early game aggressiveness and consistency without Eye of Ugin; on the other hand, Tron has lost its late game inevitability.
If this meta does shift to a more grindy attrition style, I believe we are well positioned to adjust. (My alternative is bringing Jund to matches and watching my opponent suspend Ancestral Visions for their turn 1 play.) From my experiences against UWx Control style decks and outgrinding multiple Snapcasters, Jace activations, and Sphinx's Revelations, I am confident we can keep pace with the likes of Ancestral Visions and Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry as well. I will note that I am less experienced with the Sword/Thopter/Tezzeret builds than I am with UWx, and would appreciate any helpful guidance and input. I have recently seen lists playing Ensnaring Bridge and Chalice of the Void and remain uncertain if these are experimental, independent brews, or are more established lists; I will try to gain more information over the next few days to provide better insight.
Below I have listed some main board options/adjustments to combat a grindier meta, with consideration for an increased number of artifact decks.
Planeswalkers (which we can power out turn 2, similar to Siege Rhino; this should greatly amplify the effectiveness)
Liliana of the Veil Control's nightmare when Jund had access to Deathrite Shaman and could power out turn 2 Lili; we play far more 1 drop accelerants, making this a potent consideration
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Provides a steady stream of small creatures
Elspeth, Knight-Errant Similar to Lord of Innistrad
Sorin, Solemn Visitor Life gain for racing and flying bodies
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Similar token producer and resilient threat
Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed Similar token producer with powerful abilities; somewhat more fragile loyalty
Creatures
Scavenging Ooze Excellent against grindy strategies, blue Snapcaster/Jace decks and can interrupt the Sword/Thopter chain; perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted
Phyrexian Revoker Can name Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas or Thopter Foundry, providing a unique "catch-all" effect on a creature
Qasali Pridemage Destroys unwanted artifacts and enchantments or provides some extra game offensively
Reclamation Sage For breaking up Thopter Foundry shenanigans, along with any other artifacts we run into; essentially a smaller Acidic Slime
Eternal Witness For mid to late game card advantage
Thrun, the Last Troll a powerhouse against Control strategies
Acidic Slime Perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted
Spells
Traverse the Ulvenwald Perhaps a pseudo Green Sun's Zenith with the right tool box
Thoughtseize With more Control appearing, discard seem appealing for protecting and pushing through threats
Inquisition of Kozilek Similar to Thoughtseize
Abrupt Decay Decent against Sword/Thopter decks as an uncounterable answer to Thopter Foundry, Ensnaring Bridge, and Chalice of the Void; perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted
Painful Truths Perhaps an increase in number main board is warranted to answer attrition and control strategies
Maelstrom Pulse Deals with problematic permanents, whether artifact, creature, or planeswalker
Anguished Unmaking Similar effect to Pulse
Batterskull A powerhouse against control strategies, particularly URx
Legacy: UW RiP/Helm, UR Sneak and Show
2 Angel of Serenity
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Restoration Angel
2 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Siege Rhino
2 Thragtusk
Instants 9
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Path to Exile
4 Grisly Salvage
Planeswalkers 2
2 Liliana of the Veil
Sorceries 7
2 Lingering Souls
3 Unburial Rites
4 Utopia Sprawl
Lands 21
2 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Acidic Slime
1 Duress
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Painful Truths
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sin Collector
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Stony Silence
2 Thoughtseize
Opponent 1: UW Tron
G1: On the draw; opp plays Celestial Colonnade, I follow up with Overgrown Tomb, Arbor Elf; opp plays Urza's Mine and taps out for Azorius Signet, I follow up with fetch into Temple Garden and drop Liliana. Opponent leaves the room.
-This match was indicative of... something?
Opponent 2: Bant Midrange with Ardent Plea and Ancestral Visions(!)
G1: Much grindier; turn two Rhino gets Path'ed Another Rhino, another Path. Elspeth, Knight-Errant giving his Tarmogoyf flying and multiple Exalted triggers gets me down to 4 life until I mill into Lingering Souls and find Birds of Paradise to chump. Stabilize with reanimated Thragtusk and third Rhino; ground gets cluttered with opponent's Noble Hierarch, Voice of Resurgence, and leftover Voice token. He resolves a suspended Visions, finds an Ardent Plea cascading into third Voice, and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy threatens to flip and Path my last flying blockers but I find Scooze to fizzle the second minus activation and stabilize to sixteen life, followed up by more Souls. He switches his game plan, making Elspeth Soldier tokens. I chip away at his life with my last Spirit until he suspends a second Visions and ults Elspeth, putting her at one loyalty; I finish her off. Less than 20 cards left, where dat Angel at? Resolve fourth Rhino, putting him to two. At this point our board states are fairly even except for my Spirit and his emblem. Put him at one life. The second suspended Visions apparently doesn't get there, and he leaves the room.
#outgrinded
What I confirmed: Turn 2 Liliana against Control=tilt; Lili is good against Control. Turn 2 Siege Rhino, followed by second Rhino, and later, Rhinos three and four are pretty okay. Would have preferred finding an Angel to sweep the board. Deck keeps up with Ancestral Visions, it seems. I did miss the Shriekmaws, and might put one back in.
Won 2-0 through two Ancestral Visions game 1 and one Visions game 2 with another on the stack at 1 suspend counter
Match 1: Scapeshift
G1: L Lost to the combo; managed to stay above 19 life to delay for a turn and got within 1 attack away from killing them. Being on the play would have made the difference there, but what can you do.
G2: W Turn 2 Lili followed by Rhino gets there.
G3: L Mulled to 4 Some discard delayed him but a big Epiphany at the Drownyard was back breaking after trading 1 for 1 with no pressure. Scapeshift and another pile? Sure, have that stack.
Match 2: Sultai Midrange with Ancestral Visions
G1: W Ancestral Visions never came off the stack. Rhino, Souls, and Swagtusk - can you say out valued?
G2: L They Inquisitioned my ramp (left in discard after seeing all that in game 1? if you say so) and followed it up with a sizable Goyf. Remand/Snapcaster chain out-tempos us and we ded.
G3: W Turn 2 Wayfinder hits Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Unburial Rites, and Sprawl; I guess I'm okay with that. Hardcast threats from my hand to avoid Remand-for-value but he gets stuck on 3 lands and eventually taps out for Serum Visions and Goyf. Reanimate Thragtusk and Decay his Goyf, and it ends shortly after the Rhinos start hitting the table.
So I just kind of stumbled on this deck today. I have been looking to utilize the card Life from the Loam in modern in the wake of the more grindy meta that I anticipate seeing, but I didn't quite know how I should go about it. After seeing this, and fondly thinking back to my days as a pod player, I am thinking about putting a new list together.
So basically I intend to take this shell, but twist it a bit to accommodate the loam lands strategy. Cards that I'd be cutting from your list are things like Satyr wayfinder, utopia sprawl, and Polukranos for things like Knight of the reliquary, smallpox, and loam. I'll post up here once I get a list that I like and you should let me know what you think!
Edit:
Here's the list that I came up with -
1x Angel of Serenity
4x Arbor Elf
2x Avacyn's Pilgrim
1x Kitchen Finks
2x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Restoration Angel
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Siege Rhino
2x Thragtusk
Sorcery (12)
4x Life from the Loam
3x Lingering Souls
2x Smallpox
3x Unburial Rites
Enchantment (1)
1x Vessel of Nascency
Instant (6)
3x Grisly Salvage
3x Path to Exile
1x Bojuka Bog
2x Canopy Vista
2x Forest
1x Gavony Township
3x ghost quarter
1x Godless Shrine
1x Marsh Flats
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
2x Stirring Wildwood
1x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Acidic Slime
3x Jaddi Offshoot
2x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Natural State
1x Pulse of Murasa
1x Raven's Crime
1x Sin Collector
2x Stony Silence
1x Surgical Extraction
1x The Gitrog Monster
It's a lot more lands focused, but that's because I get to play with Loam and smallpox.
Legacy: GWB Rhino Fit
Commander: RKurkesh Onakke AncientR
Hello JankPlays, i like you list, specially because i hate top decking Utopia Sprawl on late game.
running a deck like this so focused on the early game (Arbor Elf/Birds of Paradise) seems risk and indeed it is, ive been playing this deck non stop for the last 2 days.
its great, no doubt, but again, early game needs to be fixed and i think you did just that.
i tried like yourself the Gitrog Monster and its a powerhouse.
since you dont run Utopia Sprawl anymore i dont see the need of running 4 Arbor Elf. in my list i changed to 4 birds of paradise and 2 arbor elf.
could you tell how Vessel of Nascency been performing for you??
thank you, i will leave the list ive been tweaking here:
1 Angel of Serenity
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Restoration Angel
1 Scavenging Ooze
3 Siege Rhino
2 Thragtusk
2 Arbor Elf
2 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Kitchen Finks
Instants 10
3 Path to Exile
3 Grisly Salvage
1 Dismember
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Abrupt Decay
Lands 22
3 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Marsh Flats
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Swamp
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Lingering Souls
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Unburial Rites
2 Smallpox
2 Life from the Loam
1 Thoughtseize
2 Duress
2 Stony Silence
1 Sin Collector
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Golgari Charm
1 Path to Exile
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Krosan Grip
1 The Gitrog Monster
I ended up adding 1 Anguished Unmaking and 2 Abrupt Decay due to the new combo running around as well planeswalkers i find myself having trouble dealing with. again just testing so far, but its doing well so far.
in the end ends up being a mmix of both decks but im loving it, wanted to stick more Knight of the Reliquary into the deck but maybe its not a good idea, even the Gitrog Monster might find a place, tell me what you think.
As far as KotR and The Gitrog Monster goes: Knight was a creature I wanted to try out in the past and definitely has potential to be a powerhouse. And the Gitrog Monster may be best as a one of, since it's a tad on the expensive side and has less ETB value unless you have a land to immediately follow it up with. If you don't have a land and it immediately gets removed, that could you back quite a bit; that said, perhaps it would be a worthwhile inclusion if you can frequently enable Life from the Loam or add Courser of Kruphix. Typically new metas are more aggressive, but the unbans point towards more grindy; Courser could be a good middle ground against such opponents.
Legacy: GWB Rhino Fit
Commander: RKurkesh Onakke AncientR
Legacy: GWB Rhino Fit
Commander: RKurkesh Onakke AncientR
On a similar note, I put back in the two Painful Truths and like them a lot more than Liliana. I think Lili's better when your individual cards have a decent power level, but since we have a lot of dorks/pieces that become less relevant, the draw 3 feels so much better. Resolving either should put Control decks against the wall, and I think Painful Truths is the better inclusion. Any consensus or different opinion on that would be appreciated.
Not 100% sure on Bow of Nylea, as we usually want cards to stay in our graveyard. Although Siege Rhino + death touch is great so I won't dismiss it completely yet; let me know how it works out for you. I think Wall of Roots has potential; one of my favorite aspects of Utopia Sprawl was enchanting an untapped forest and being able to use the mana immediately to advance my mana without losing tempo, which Wall of Roots also does similarly. Again, let me know how that works for you.
Also, Updated list:
2x Avacyn's Pilgrim
2x Arbor Elf
1x Wall of Roots
1x Scavenging ooze
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Kitchen Finks
2x Knight of the Reliquary
4x Siege Rhino
1x Restoration Angel
1x Thragtusk
2x Angel of Serenity
Instants:
3x Path to Exile
2x Abrupt Decay
4x Grisly Salvage
Sorceries:
2x Life from the Loam
2x Smallpox
3x Lingering Souls
3x Unburial Rites
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Godless Shrine
2x Temple Garden
1x Plains
1x Swamp
2x Forest
4x Windswept Heath
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Wooded Foothills
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Gavony Township
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Hissing Quagmire
2x Stirring Wildwood
1x Spirit of the Labyrinth
1x Abrupt Decay
2x Day of Judgment
2x Jaddi Offshoot
2x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Natural State
2x Stony Silence
1x The Gitrog Monster
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Raven's Crime
1x Illness in the Ranks
I've found that Birds is just the worst mana dork because it doesn't deal damage at all. Flying is fine, but I want to be able to block and get the vault kill when possible. I also feel like I see Lingering Souls too much, and might cut it down to two copies. I realize that some decks just can't handle it, and it's existence will have to depend on just how grindy the meta gets, but for now I'm not a huge fan of as many as I have.
Legacy: GWB Rhino Fit
Commander: RKurkesh Onakke AncientR
I don't own any painful truths, but it might be a good addition as a one of to bring the souls down to two. Though Traverse might just be better there for grabbing those bullet creatures. Hard to tell right now.
Legacy: GWB Rhino Fit
Commander: RKurkesh Onakke AncientR
R1 W Eldrazi (no surprises there)
R2 L Burn (I did prepare his 75 for this match up but I guess the draws didn't line up or he kept a clunky hand)
R3 L Grixis Delver (whut)
R4 L Sultai Midrange with Ancestral Visions (whut)
I'm not sure how he did so poorly against what was basically the dream lineup. Wish I'd been there now. In his defense, he had only picked up the deck two days before and only played a couple of test matches after a 2 month hiatus through Eldrazi winter. Maybe next time.
Also: Mindwrack Demon is pretty bonkers in the deck. Nothing too crazy, but it keeps the GY flowing and presents a decent threat. Also always had Delirium up when I landed him (although on one occasion my opponent landed Rest in Peace immediately afterwards. /atearshed)