I love building decks, so when I saw the new Regal Caracal, I knew I wanted to make as competitive of a cat tribal deck as possible. Through playtesting, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that Regal Caracal's mana cost is too high to fit with all the good 1-3 mana cats in Modern. Despite this, I think that Naya Cats is actually pretty competitive.
After a quick google search, I realized I wasn't the first person to come up with this idea. I found this post from 2015 by Melissa DeTora talking about a very similar list going 3-1 in a daily MTGO event, piloted by MTGO user FredSavage16.
The basic strategy here is to play cheap and efficient cat creatures on the early turns and then clear blockers with removal and/or point the burn spells at the opponent's face to finish off their last remaining life points.
I think this list is a solid starting point. There are a ton of good cards in Naya colors, so there is a lot of room for personal preference.
In-depth card choices/What could be changed:
Creatures: Ranger of Eos is not a cat but he is amazing in this deck, usually getting two 3/3 Wild Nacatls. If you really want to keep the deck purely cats, you can go with Regal Caracal or something like Obelisk of Urd.
I'm not 100% sure whether Savannah Lions or Steppe Lynx is better. With 10 fetch lands I'm leaning towards Steppe Lynx being better, but I can see the argument for Savannah Lions. You could also cut some instants to run 4 of each if you want to have a higher creature count (and potentially make a few more tweaks and turn this into a Collected Company deck).
Planeswalkers:
Ajani is a cat person, which makes him an awesome fit for the cat theme. There are many versions of Ajani that are playable, but I like Ajani, Caller of the Pride because it costs the least while still having a powerful effect.
Land:
22 Lands feels like a good amount for this deck's relatively low curve. Having 10 fetch lands goes well with Steppe Lynx. Cavern of Souls is a solid option if you anticipate a lot of counterspells, but doesn't work with any of the instants nor does it work with Ranger of Eos
Sideboard:
There are a ton of options in Naya colors for a wide variety of opposing decks in the current Modern metagame. I like to have cards such as Rest in Peace to deal with pesky graveyard decks(dredge, delver) and cards like Stony Silence and Shatterstorm for decks like Affinity, Tron, Lantern Control, etc.
My current sideboard that I'm using on MTGO:
Qasali Pridemage is good enough for the maindeck imho (even as a playset), apart from dealing with artifacts/enchantment the exalted can really help create favorable attacks.
Thanks for the input! It definitely is a limited version of Naya Zoo, but pretty much the only significant loss is Tarmogoyf.
I can see the argument one could make that our deck is mildly creature light, and for cutting Ajani and Dromoka's Command to add something like 4 Savannah Lions or Qasali Pridemage. However, I don't understand why you would want to cut Ranger of Eos(besides not being a cat. I also understand this logic is inconsistent with my lack of Tarmogoyfs. I prefer to make a card like Ranger of Eos shine rather than just using something with no synergy with the deck). I think Ranger is awesome in here.
Generally the reason for not using these is that they aren't costed aggressively enough or good enough on their own. Here is the more in-depth reasoning I used to decide not to use these creatures.
Sacrificing a land in a 22 or less land deck doesn't appeal to me when the payoff is only a 3/2 shroud(Scythe Tiger). This deck is already good against other creature decks, and Mirri, Cat Warrior is bad against everything other than those, having only 2 power for 3 mana. The flying on Leonin Skyhunter is decent against opposing blockers, but I personally don't think it provides enough power for the cost and the flying is too situational to warrant its inclusion. Ajani's Pridemate is a good card, but doesn't fit in this list. It needs more life gain synergy cards to work. Qasali Ambusher could be used as a sideboard card, but this deck is already good against creature decks. Marisi's Twinclaws costs too much in this deck for a 2 power double striker. Temur Sabertooth could definitely be worth a slot in a more mid-range list with more cards like Ranger of Eos that we would want to bounce. I don't think a 4/3 for 4 mana is not what we want to be doing most of the time in this deck.
I think automaton would be playable in a list with more creatures, but the problem with cards like it is that their stats on their own (2/2 for 3 or 2/1 for 2) are very weak compared to our other creatures (3/3s or 2/3s for 1 mana, etc). The benefit to not running these cards is that the average powerlevel of the deck increases.
I'm not sure that this deck isn't up to par with Modern. Besides the loss of Tarmogoyf, which is admittedly a big loss, the deck isn't missing out on many cards that we want to be playing. I don't see the appeal of mana dorks here with such a low curve. Most aggro decks do not run them. I can see wanting to run Collected Company, but I prefer Ranger of Eos because it is much more consistent and the payoff is 3 cards worth of value versus sometimes two. I chose the Ajani, Caller of the Pride version of Ajani because he fits in this deck's curve nicely, but he definitely isn't mandatory. I also provided my reasoning for not wanting to run Regal Caracal in the original post (CMC too high). I would definitely want to run mana dorks with planeswalkers and synergistic cards like Temur Sabertooth, Regal Caracal, and Felidar Guardian in a more mid-range version of this deck, but I am not convinced that it is just a better version of this deck.
CoCo seems much better for an aggressive deck than Ranger of Eos, but would need more creatures (4x Qasali Pridemage + 2x Prowling Serpopard) (it is technnicaly a cat and is pretty good) to ensure a good chance of hitting.
Another potentially playable cat can be Longtusk Cub (seems better than something like a 3/1 with an upside like Initiate's Companion).
CoCo seems much better for an aggressive deck than Ranger of Eos, but would need more creatures (4x Qasali Pridemage + 2x Prowling Serpopard) (it is technnicaly a cat and is pretty good) to ensure a good chance of hitting.
Another potentially playable cat can be Longtusk Cub (seems better than something like a 3/1 with an upside like Initiate's Companion).
I think that's a pretty strong CoCo version. This might be a stretch but with so many 1 drops and so few 3 drops, I think CoCo loses some of its value. Maybe cut some Steppe Lynx for more 3 drops? Lynx can be very strong with fetches and the deck needs early plays, but I can't think of anything else to change. Solid list.
Even though it was just tournament practice and not in a league or an event, I'm happy that I've won 11 of the last 12 games I played on MTGO with this deck!
As it was expected a vannila deck without enough interaction can't compete in Modern
(unless it is extremely fast and can steal some games when opponents stumble).
Big fan of more tribal and Crown of Convergence for late game.
Creatures (26)
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Loam Lion
4x Fleecemane Lion
4x Qasali Pridemage
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4x Wilt-Leaf Liege
3x Regal Caracal
Since there's a combo with Intruder Alarm, but the list is Bant, I still put an alphacore here in order to let people discuss this Knight Bantfall-like / Intruder Elves-like version :
Not sure the deck as to play more or less cats, as there's no lord effect outside of the Sovereign. Not sure of anything actually, but the good thing is it can combo off on T3 (while the Elves version was way more complicated to set up).
There's no need of Beck // Call to dig for a win con for example.
Private Mod Note
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Also there is a 2-card combo with Thraben Doomsayer that doesn't need a mana dork to go infinite.
It can possibly work better in a humans shell than in Cats imho.
It should be noted that Drift of Phantasms can find both parts of the combo.
I really like the idea of this deck but it seems a little limited, do you think there's any chance of it being decent or is it just a little too slow/not enough support?
Not enough support. The Doomsayer version plays better with Alarm. Time will tell if cats can be viable, but it needs a set with a few more playable cats.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Ended up going 3-0. The deck felt really fun to play but there are a few changes that I would make if I played it again. I would cut the Chained to the Rocks and just play Path to Exile like I should have (I didn't want to give my opponent the lands). I would cut the Regal Caracals because they probably aren't as good as Collected Company and I would probably cut the Cavern of Souls because it just isn't good enough. The sideboard needs some work too but I didn't really mind it too much the way it was.
Round one: Mono Red Tron - 2-0
I played against a Mono Red Tron deck that someone from the LGS brewed up and is designed to beat creature decks (it plays Pyromancer's Goggles, and a bunch of cards like Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods to keep the board clean until he can double Banefire you out of the game). I won this 2-0 pretty easily.
Game 1: I was just too fast for his spells or threats.
Game 2: he banked on Platinum Angel to stabilize him then I just played Qasali Pridemage and blew it up and won.
Round 2: Elves 2-1
Game 1: pretty sure this is unwinable for me. Couldn't find a removal spell and was basically locked into just playing threats and hoping I don't get overran
Game 2: Boarded out my Atarka's Commands and brought in the Dromoka's Commands for extra removal and it was insane. Electrickery would have also been insane here too but I never drew it or needed it.
Game 3: Again Dromoka's Command was insane here. 2 for 1 every time I used it. I tried Leonin Arbiter in this game to try and shut off Chord of Calling. It was not correct to do it but it ended up winning me the match because he boarded out 2 Chords and left in 2 and ended up drawing both of those instead of his CoCos.
Round 3: GW Company 2-1
Game 1: we were on a board stall for like 5-8 turns where I had (3) Pride Sovereign on board with a bunch of other random cats against his (3) Knight of the Reliquary and random blockers. I ended up producing more cats than he could blockers and just held out until I drew Atarka's command so I could alpha strike with way more than enough damage.
Game 2: I got blown out by him hitting 3 out of 4 Kitchen Finks and a mulligan to 5.
Game 3: This was a Blow out in my favor. I drew too many creature for him to deal with and won on the back of Atarka's Command + multiple threats vs not enough blockers.
All in all, this deck just felt like a Zoo Deck that had a little bit more synergy but also had a late game thanks to the Regal Caracals.
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Loam Lion
4x Fleecemane Lion
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Ranger of Eos
Instants (16)
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
4x Lightning Helix
2x Boros Charm
2x Dromoka's Command
2x Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Land (22)
4x Arid Mesa
4x Windswept Heath
2x Wooded Foothills
4x Sacred Foundry
3x Temple Garden
1x Stomping Ground
2x Plains
1x Forest
1x Mountain
I love building decks, so when I saw the new Regal Caracal, I knew I wanted to make as competitive of a cat tribal deck as possible. Through playtesting, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that Regal Caracal's mana cost is too high to fit with all the good 1-3 mana cats in Modern. Despite this, I think that Naya Cats is actually pretty competitive.
After a quick google search, I realized I wasn't the first person to come up with this idea. I found this post from 2015 by Melissa DeTora talking about a very similar list going 3-1 in a daily MTGO event, piloted by MTGO user FredSavage16.
The basic strategy here is to play cheap and efficient cat creatures on the early turns and then clear blockers with removal and/or point the burn spells at the opponent's face to finish off their last remaining life points.
I think this list is a solid starting point. There are a ton of good cards in Naya colors, so there is a lot of room for personal preference.
Creatures:
Ranger of Eos is not a cat but he is amazing in this deck, usually getting two 3/3 Wild Nacatls. If you really want to keep the deck purely cats, you can go with Regal Caracal or something like Obelisk of Urd.
I'm not 100% sure whether Savannah Lions or Steppe Lynx is better. With 10 fetch lands I'm leaning towards Steppe Lynx being better, but I can see the argument for Savannah Lions. You could also cut some instants to run 4 of each if you want to have a higher creature count (and potentially make a few more tweaks and turn this into a Collected Company deck).
Honorable mentions: Qasali Pridemage (more of a sideboard cat), Felidar Guardian (awesome synergy with Ranger of Eos, Planeswalkers, Regal Caracals,and even blinking a land for Steppe Lynx. Downside is that it doesn't do much by itself.), and Tarmogoyf (Unfortunately not a cat =(. I would replace Steppe Lynx with Goyf if you want to use it.)
Instants:
I like the 4/4/4 setup of Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Helix, and I like the 2/2 split of the more flexibile Boros Charm and Dromoka's Command.
Honorable mention: Atarka's Command
Planeswalkers:
Ajani is a cat person, which makes him an awesome fit for the cat theme. There are many versions of Ajani that are playable, but I like Ajani, Caller of the Pride because it costs the least while still having a powerful effect.
Honorable mention: Ajani Vengeant
Land:
22 Lands feels like a good amount for this deck's relatively low curve. Having 10 fetch lands goes well with Steppe Lynx.
Cavern of Souls is a solid option if you anticipate a lot of counterspells, but doesn't work with any of the instants nor does it work with Ranger of Eos
Honorable mentions: Gavony Township, Horizon Canopy, Kessig Wolf Run, Stirring Wildwood, Raging Ravine,Needle Spires
Sideboard:
There are a ton of options in Naya colors for a wide variety of opposing decks in the current Modern metagame. I like to have cards such as Rest in Peace to deal with pesky graveyard decks(dredge, delver) and cards like Stony Silence and Shatterstorm for decks like Affinity, Tron, Lantern Control, etc.
My current sideboard that I'm using on MTGO:
2x Stony Silence
3x Kor Firewalker
1x Vandalblast
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Shatterstorm
3x Qasali Pridemage
Other powerful sideboard cards include Grafdigger's Cage and Molten Rain.
That about sums it up. I hope you enjoy defeating your opponents with a deck full of cats. Let me know what you think!
I'd start by cutting: Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Boros Charm and Dromoka's Command (and Ranger of Eos) for more creatures and consider going with Atarka's Command over Lightning Helix.
Qasali Pridemage is good enough for the maindeck imho (even as a playset), apart from dealing with artifacts/enchantment the exalted can really help create favorable attacks.
Some more cat options:
Scythe Tiger, Mirri, Cat Warrior, Leonin Skyhunter (cheap flyer), Ajani's Pridemate (can be good with lifegain), Marisi's Twinclaws (a bit costly at 4-mana and needs anthems), Qasali Ambusher (can be free conditionally), Temur Sabertooth (a late game mana sink that can blank removal) Seht's Tiger (fringe SB option).
There are also the "Generic Lords" in Adaptive Automaton and Metallic Mimic which can slot into any tribe.
To make the deck more up to par with Modern it probably needs to play mana dorks and either Collected Company or bigger creatures or Pw's
(Regal Caracal, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar).
Thanks for the input! It definitely is a limited version of Naya Zoo, but pretty much the only significant loss is Tarmogoyf.
I can see the argument one could make that our deck is mildly creature light, and for cutting Ajani and Dromoka's Command to add something like 4 Savannah Lions or Qasali Pridemage. However, I don't understand why you would want to cut Ranger of Eos(besides not being a cat. I also understand this logic is inconsistent with my lack of Tarmogoyfs. I prefer to make a card like Ranger of Eos shine rather than just using something with no synergy with the deck). I think Ranger is awesome in here.
Generally the reason for not using these is that they aren't costed aggressively enough or good enough on their own. Here is the more in-depth reasoning I used to decide not to use these creatures.
Sacrificing a land in a 22 or less land deck doesn't appeal to me when the payoff is only a 3/2 shroud(Scythe Tiger). This deck is already good against other creature decks, and Mirri, Cat Warrior is bad against everything other than those, having only 2 power for 3 mana. The flying on Leonin Skyhunter is decent against opposing blockers, but I personally don't think it provides enough power for the cost and the flying is too situational to warrant its inclusion. Ajani's Pridemate is a good card, but doesn't fit in this list. It needs more life gain synergy cards to work. Qasali Ambusher could be used as a sideboard card, but this deck is already good against creature decks. Marisi's Twinclaws costs too much in this deck for a 2 power double striker. Temur Sabertooth could definitely be worth a slot in a more mid-range list with more cards like Ranger of Eos that we would want to bounce. I don't think a 4/3 for 4 mana is not what we want to be doing most of the time in this deck.
I think automaton would be playable in a list with more creatures, but the problem with cards like it is that their stats on their own (2/2 for 3 or 2/1 for 2) are very weak compared to our other creatures (3/3s or 2/3s for 1 mana, etc). The benefit to not running these cards is that the average powerlevel of the deck increases.
I'm not sure that this deck isn't up to par with Modern. Besides the loss of Tarmogoyf, which is admittedly a big loss, the deck isn't missing out on many cards that we want to be playing. I don't see the appeal of mana dorks here with such a low curve. Most aggro decks do not run them. I can see wanting to run Collected Company, but I prefer Ranger of Eos because it is much more consistent and the payoff is 3 cards worth of value versus sometimes two. I chose the Ajani, Caller of the Pride version of Ajani because he fits in this deck's curve nicely, but he definitely isn't mandatory. I also provided my reasoning for not wanting to run Regal Caracal in the original post (CMC too high). I would definitely want to run mana dorks with planeswalkers and synergistic cards like Temur Sabertooth, Regal Caracal, and Felidar Guardian in a more mid-range version of this deck, but I am not convinced that it is just a better version of this deck.
Another potentially playable cat can be Longtusk Cub (seems better than something like a 3/1 with an upside like Initiate's Companion).
Here is what I'd go with for a CoCo build:
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Loam Lion
4x Fleecemane Lion
4x Qasali Pridemage
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Prowling Serpopard
2x Adaptive Automaton
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
4x Collected Company
Land (22)
4x Windswept Heath
3x Arid Mesa
3x Wooded Foothills
3x Sacred Foundry
3x Temple Garden
2x Stomping Ground
2x Plains
2x Forest
1x Gavony Township
I think that's a pretty strong CoCo version. This might be a stretch but with so many 1 drops and so few 3 drops, I think CoCo loses some of its value. Maybe cut some Steppe Lynx for more 3 drops? Lynx can be very strong with fetches and the deck needs early plays, but I can't think of anything else to change. Solid list.
This is what I'm running right now. I agree that we needed a few more creatures so, I cut two Lightning Helixes for two Qasali Pridemages. I also swapped a Dromoka's Command for a Become Immense.
With all the fetches, Become Immense is not that hard to cast and I like the surprise factor. Also, the synergy with double strike from Boros Charm and Ajani, Caller of the Pride is awesome.
If I feel the deck is still too light on creatures I might cut another Dromoka's Command and an Ajani for more Qasali Pridemages.
Even though it was just tournament practice and not in a league or an event, I'm happy that I've won 11 of the last 12 games I played on MTGO with this deck!
As it was expected a vannila deck without enough interaction can't compete in Modern
(unless it is extremely fast and can steal some games when opponents stumble).
Pretty impressive going 4-0 with this deck (though the last 2 matches weren't against Tier decks).
I still think that CoCo is the way to go and not Ajani or Regal Caracal, also Windbrisk Heights and Shining Shoal are really bad (especially over L.Bolt) and Honor of the Pure is mediocre.
#http://www.gatheringmagic.com/kevincrimin-06082017-rogues-alley-modern-soul-cats/
A "Soul Sisters"-Cats hybrid, Regal Caracal and Brimaz are actually pretty good in this type of deck (and Sacred Cat isn't too bad though it isn't Serra Ascendant) however White Sun's Zenith is way too slow and should just be more copies of Auriok Champion and Archangel instead.
A surpring amount of content about such a casual deck.
Creatures (26)
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Loam Lion
4x Fleecemane Lion
4x Qasali Pridemage
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4x Wilt-Leaf Liege
3x Regal Caracal
Artifacts (2)
2x Crown of Convergence
Instants (4)
4x Path to Exile
Enchantments (4)
4x Honor of the Pure
Land (24)
4x Arid Mesa
4x Windswept Heath
4x Temple Garden
3x Marsh Flats
3x Plains
1x Forest
3x Stirring Wildwood
2x Gavony Township
Here is how I'd do it:
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Loam Lion
4x Fleecemane Lion
4x Qasali Pridemage
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4x Pride Sovereign
Instants (12)
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Path to Exile
4x Collected Company
4x Windswept Heath
3x Arid Mesa
3x Wooded Foothills
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Temple Garden
2x Stomping Ground
2x Plains
2x Forest
2x Gavony Township
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Stony Silence
2x Selfless Spirit
2x Loaming Shaman
2x Lightning Helix
2x Fulminator Mage
1x Prowling Serpopard
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Pride Sovereign
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Chord of Calling
3 Intruder Alarm
Not sure the deck as to play more or less cats, as there's no lord effect outside of the Sovereign. Not sure of anything actually, but the good thing is it can combo off on T3 (while the Elves version was way more complicated to set up).
There's no need of Beck // Call to dig for a win con for example.
(unless you want to add Idyllic Tutor or dig with Commune with the Gods).
Also there is a 2-card combo with Thraben Doomsayer that doesn't need a mana dork to go infinite.
It can possibly work better in a humans shell than in Cats imho.
It should be noted that Drift of Phantasms can find both parts of the combo.
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Loam Lion
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Pride Sovereign
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Regal Caracal
Non-creature Spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Atarka's Command
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Arid Mesa
2 Temple Garden
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Stomping Ground
2 Forest
2 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Cavern of souls
2 Electrickery
4 Dromoka's Command
2 Rest In Peace
1 Stony Silence
2 Ancient Grudge
4 Leonin Arbiter
Ended up going 3-0. The deck felt really fun to play but there are a few changes that I would make if I played it again. I would cut the Chained to the Rocks and just play Path to Exile like I should have (I didn't want to give my opponent the lands). I would cut the Regal Caracals because they probably aren't as good as Collected Company and I would probably cut the Cavern of Souls because it just isn't good enough. The sideboard needs some work too but I didn't really mind it too much the way it was.
Round one: Mono Red Tron - 2-0
I played against a Mono Red Tron deck that someone from the LGS brewed up and is designed to beat creature decks (it plays Pyromancer's Goggles, and a bunch of cards like Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods to keep the board clean until he can double Banefire you out of the game). I won this 2-0 pretty easily.
Game 1: I was just too fast for his spells or threats.
Game 2: he banked on Platinum Angel to stabilize him then I just played Qasali Pridemage and blew it up and won.
Round 2: Elves 2-1
Game 1: pretty sure this is unwinable for me. Couldn't find a removal spell and was basically locked into just playing threats and hoping I don't get overran
Game 2: Boarded out my Atarka's Commands and brought in the Dromoka's Commands for extra removal and it was insane. Electrickery would have also been insane here too but I never drew it or needed it.
Game 3: Again Dromoka's Command was insane here. 2 for 1 every time I used it. I tried Leonin Arbiter in this game to try and shut off Chord of Calling. It was not correct to do it but it ended up winning me the match because he boarded out 2 Chords and left in 2 and ended up drawing both of those instead of his CoCos.
Round 3: GW Company 2-1
Game 1: we were on a board stall for like 5-8 turns where I had (3) Pride Sovereign on board with a bunch of other random cats against his (3) Knight of the Reliquary and random blockers. I ended up producing more cats than he could blockers and just held out until I drew Atarka's command so I could alpha strike with way more than enough damage.
Game 2: I got blown out by him hitting 3 out of 4 Kitchen Finks and a mulligan to 5.
Game 3: This was a Blow out in my favor. I drew too many creature for him to deal with and won on the back of Atarka's Command + multiple threats vs not enough blockers.
All in all, this deck just felt like a Zoo Deck that had a little bit more synergy but also had a late game thanks to the Regal Caracals.