Hi guys, so I'm a relatively new MTG player (been playing roughly 4 months) and I'm looking to become a bit more competitive. I just bought the deck yesterday to play on MTGO (except for the horizon canopies because those things are expensive!) and I'm having great fun because you have many options and lines of play compared to a more linear deck. Anyway, I'm playing this this list and I'm seeking advice on the following:
- Is there a sideboard guide somewhere that explains which cards you should board in/out vs the T1 decks?
- Because I don't have the horizon canopies, I've supplemented it for a forest, an extra razorverge thicket and a cavern of souls. Do you think the cavern of souls is worth it to get uncounterable humans or druids? If not, which lands should I put in?
- What are the strongest and weakest matchups for this deck?
Hi guys, so I'm a relatively new MTG player (been playing roughly 4 months) and I'm looking to become a bit more competitive. I just bought the deck yesterday to play on MTGO (except for the horizon canopies because those things are expensive!) and I'm having great fun because you have many options and lines of play compared to a more linear deck. Anyway, I'm playing this this list and I'm seeking advice on the following:
- Is there a sideboard guide somewhere that explains which cards you should board in/out vs the T1 decks?
- Because I don't have the horizon canopies, I've supplemented it for a forest, an extra razorverge thicket and a cavern of souls. Do you think the cavern of souls is worth it to get uncounterable humans or druids? If not, which lands should I put in?
- What are the strongest and weakest matchups for this deck?
Thanks!
We discussed some general sideboarding strategy a few pages back, see here. A few of us talked more about it in the following comments over a couple pages.
With 10 fetches already, I'd recommend Razorverge for the rest of flex lands. That said, you have tested Cavern likely more than any of us, and can decide better if you like it or not. Mana in straight GW is extremely good, so you can probably afford one colorless land.
I discuss matchups a little in the sideboard advice comment, but in general Druid Evolution beats up on slower decks with limited interaction, like Tron, Titanshift, Amulet. The hardest matchup preboard is any discard + removal deck, but I've found these matchups are fixable with a boardplan involving Chameleon Colossus/Mystic Enforcer. I would personally rate Jeskai Control or UR Phoenix as the most difficult. Decks that interact beyond removal with counters or discard are a struggle (Jeskai) and Phoenix is difficult due to the combination of Surgical, 6+ kill spells, and Thing in the Ice. Burrenton Forge Tender is the best sideboard card against these two.
I would recommend looking at the primer for more tips, and looking at the past page or two to see updated lists.
RE: 10 dorks, 4 Evo. I gave it a shot by cutting Incubations for the two slots, and found that while the increase in goldfish speed was nice--albeit difficult to really gauge in testing (IRRC it's something like ~5% more T2 Druids)--I am on 9 dorks and 3 Evo. Quite a few changes for me since my last post, so I'll give a list and give my thoughts.
I will say my testing with Neoform in general has been all positive. Card is great. Playing zero is a mistake.
9 dorks, 3 Evo vs 10, 4: I think this one for me comes down to sideboarding and evening up matchup wins percentages. In short, I suppose I view 10, 4 as as too win more for my taste. I want some mainboards slots dedicated to utility, and I'm wanting to sideboard out too many cards vs Midrange and Control. I'd say this decision is exacerbated if the London mull goes live since seeing a T2 Druid line in the opening 7 isn't as imperative with a stronger mull rule.
Teferi, Time Raveler: I really started to seriously consider this card when looking for anti-Control sideboard cards. Creatures of all kind are pretty bad against Terminus, and Gideon AoZ is a glorified Retreat to Emeria that can get bolted with how bad it is vs Path. Going wide with 2/2s isn't as good as I'd hope it'd be, so I was exploring different options.
Teferi is powerful vs Control as he allows us to cheese the matchup. We plus and win either that turn by Lunging, or casting an Evo effect on their end step and winning the next turn with no way for the opponent to interact due to the passive. What sells me on playing him the main is that this same play pattern is valuable against really any deck with removal, and that his minus hits everything that's threatening to me: runaway creatures like TitI, Bob, Steel Overseer; creatures that allow opponents to race such as Infect things, Baral, Sram, Titan; and lock pieces like Spyglass and Cage. It is also a stellar card vs Midrange, buying us time against T2 threats like Goyf, Gurmag, and DS.
With 4 Teferi in the 75, I'm wondering if it's greedy to stay on 1 blue source. Hallowed Fountain is pretty abysmal in a deck with so many G one drops and double G spells, I suppose it would be a second Pool. With 10 fetches and Dryad Arbor in my deck, I find myself usually waiting to crack fetches, so that factor combined with 8 blue producing dorks has me okay with 1 for now.
Ezuri vs Mirror Entity: This one for me came down to Mirror Entity being more cute than good against Phoenix, white mana being a problem when drawn, and me favoring the combo utility of Ezuri vs the beatdown potential of Entity. T1 Dork, T2 Ezuri, T3 Druid + Regen backup is great. The 2 Druid + Ezuri win has come up some. And I've even been able to win a few races with Llanowar chumping like a champ.
3 Finale, 4 Lunge: This one mainly comes down Neoform pushing me to trim a tutor. Neoform mainly absorbs Incubation slots, meaning I'm more consistently seeing the creatures I need to compared to spinning the wheel. I'm comfortable trimming a tutor based on that. Lunge really should be a 4x when Neoform has great synergy with it, and it frees up a SB slot playing it main.
PS: I've been considering buying into MTGO to play this deck a bit more and try streaming. Is that's something any of you would be interested in?
I think Rhonas would be a great add in a version with more focus on a beatdown back up plan in the main. Having a Renegade Rallier for instance would allow for great lines like Neoform'ing a two drop into a 4 power creature, then bring back the creature.
I had considered Rhonas along with Mirror Entity, but overall I like the utility Ezuri adds with my list being especially combo focused. The ability to protect Druid and have another combo is more valuable to me. I'm not sure what wins in my book between Mirror Entity and Rhonas. Entity does lose points if you're trading Chords for Finale. A common line for me was EoT Chord for Entity, untap and kill them with a board of dorks.
I don't miss Shalai against midrange mainly because my primary plan is not to combo them. Landing a pro black creature against midrange has a much more profound impact than Shalai. The combo plan B does still mean we control much of how the game is played, so I can see why Shalai is valuable as it progresses both my plan A and B, but I personally do not like half-measure sort of cards (why I don't have Selfless Spirit or Scooze in my board anymore for example). Maybe this is a playstyle preference thing, I definitely wouldn't call running Shalai a mistake.
For rival graveyard hate, I'm happy to either just ignore it and tutor into the pieces I need, or rely on Teferi or sideboard cards to deal with the problem card. There's really just Lunges and Witness that care about the yard, and a maindeckable answer like Teferi helps a lot.
For rival graveyard hate, I'm happy to either just ignore it and tutor into the pieces I need, or rely on Teferi or sideboard cards to deal with the problem card. There's really just Lunges and Witness that care about the yard, and a maindeckable answer like Teferi helps a lot.
My primary issue with GY hate: Surgical Extraction is very popular. If Druid gets killed and extracted, you're stuck trying to win with weak beats or really low impact Ezuri activations.
My secondary issue with GY hate: it impacts our card quality. Lunge and Eternal Witness become dead draws. We can't really avoid this by trimming on either card post-board because the opponent will obviously bring in extra removal.
For rival graveyard hate, I'm happy to either just ignore it and tutor into the pieces I need, or rely on Teferi or sideboard cards to deal with the problem card. There's really just Lunges and Witness that care about the yard, and a maindeckable answer like Teferi helps a lot.
My primary issue with GY hate: Surgical Extraction is very popular. If Druid gets killed and extracted, you're stuck trying to win with weak beats or really low impact Ezuri activations.
My secondary issue with GY hate: it impacts our card quality. Lunge and Eternal Witness become dead draws. We can't really avoid this by trimming on either card post-board because the opponent will obviously bring in extra removal.
There's not a lot of great ways to deal with Surgical unfortunately. My plan vs black midrange allows me to shrug off Surgical and Forge Tender is my best way of working around Surgical out of Red decks. I suppose there's Riftsweeper?
I'm happy with my list's answers to yard hate, if you'd like to be more conservative that's certainly achievable!
There's been a couple of new cards in MH1 that seem like they could be worthy of play in Druid Evo. Step Mom not protecting herself makes me pass on her for now given BFT is better vs Red, I'm on pro-black dudes for Black, and the rest doesn't pack enough removal to make these effects necessary.
I definitely plan to replace 1 of my 3 Canopies with the UG Canopy.
I think you could include 1-2 Eladamri's Call in place of Finale of Devastation, just to split your options against Graffdigger's Cage decks.
It's not really better or worse I think, still 4 mana to get a 2-drop in play, just a different option.
Finale has the slight advantage of being a mana sink and occasionally serve as a kill on its own, if your regular kills are gone. Call has the advantage of being able to get a Ballista directly.
By the way, like AcademyRuins, I started running Neoform, and so far I'm really liking it.
I was already convinced by the green Finale, but Neoform should definitely be included too.
These two cards are a great addition.
This week I've been running a list inspired by his, only with 8 fetches instead of 10 (for 2 Razorverge Thicket) and Shalai instead of Ezuri.
So far, I've won somewhat consistently against my friends playing Tron, Humans, and Whir Prison.
I'm still novice with the deck, but I'll run the list this weekend at MKM Series Paris, I'll let you know how it went.
So far, I've won somewhat consistently against my friends playing Tron, Humans, and Whir Prison.
I'm still novice with the deck, but I'll run the list this weekend at MKM Series Paris, I'll let you know how it went.
I expect those to be fantastic matchups for this deck: When my usual deck (Counters Company) draws a Druid combo hand, these matchups are smooth sailing. Your win rate should be 75% or higher vs your buddies.
Eladamri's Call is getting reprinted in Modern Horizons. Does this deck care?
The one issue with Eladamri's Call is significant: it requires white mana, meaning there will be games you lose because you do not have double white mana when going off with Vizier in hand. It will be interesting to see what wins out between the two with Finale having different pros and cons. I like how Call gets Ballista, allows you to tutor and cast over multiples turns (great with 4 drops in the deck), and dodges Cage. I like how Finale is great in grindy games when I can rebuy Druid from the yard when there are 2+, how I can rebuy one of sideboard cards like Pridgemage, and that it can be a ramp spell for GG. Losing out on Ballista and getting mostly shut out by Cage (Druid + Vizier + Finale is at least a W) is a noticable drawback.
I ordered my Calls, so I'll be interested to give them a go. Perhaps a split is optimal, who knows.
By the way, like AcademyRuins, I started running Neoform, and so far I'm really liking it.
I was already convinced by the green Finale, but Neoform should definitely be included too. These two cards are a great addition.
This week I've been running a list inspired by his, only with 8 fetches instead of 10 (for 2 Razorverge Thicket) and Shalai instead of Ezuri.
So far, I've won somewhat consistently against my friends playing Tron, Humans, and Whir Prison.
I'm still novice with the deck, but I'll run the list this weekend at MKM Series Paris, I'll let you know how it went.
I'm glad you're liking Neoform. It really does make the list significantly more threatening. I would mention that without a three drop win con, you'll be without a win if you have the combo and no one drops. You may need a second Breeding Pool for Neoform -> Witness -> Shalai. That said, it doesn't come up a whole lot, just something to consider. I will say I may just like Ezuri better in the dark with the cheaper CMC, ability to protect Druid, ability to chump with Llanowar or Druid, and double Druid wins coming up often.
It's sad to hear the news about MTGsalvation dying, but I'll be happy to jump to the new platform they mentioned. If that's a bust, I can look into a subreddit or Discord.
Interesting new card spoiled today. Not sure if this beats out Spellskite, but it could end up being pretty useful against Burn. The fact that it's a changeling gives it some synergy with Ezuri.
Anyone interested in giving this a try?
Unsettled Mariner :symw::symu:
Creature — Shapeshifter
Changeling
Whenever you or a permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {1}.
I think Giver of Runes is a better addition to the deck. Comes out before Druid, so it is on curve to provide protection. Also, it can't be played around by having a spare land, unlike Mariner.
I just got into Druid decks fairly recently and the evolution seemed like the most focused and competitive version - especially with Giver of Runes, I think a streamlined build that aims to combo and only combo is probably better suited for the current Modern environment. I also want to buy this deck irl, which currently has forced me into the moderate budget range (though this deck quite easily accommodates for that requirement). Here is my current decklist:
In deckbuilding, several things came up that I wanted to consult this thread for.
First, I found that generally, I was just using Duskwatch Recruiter as a wincon only, and decided that maybe I wanted to substitute some or most of them for more tutors, which serve the same purpose but usually hold a lot more utility.
I have also really liked Giver of Runes so far, which has seemed to me to be a great way to help cover removal or otherwise make the opponent's early turns extremely awkward.
At the moment, I am kind of lukewarm about Postmortem Lunge, and as I have shaved them down to 2 copies (mostly for more tutors) I was just wondering how core the 4-of is considered to you guys.
Concerning the URx decks that seem to currently be the bane of this deck, what sort of strategy is this deck taking post-board to deal w/ them? Also, just in general, are there any changes that you would make to my sideboard? (keep in mind I would totally be playing blue if not for my budget requirements)
Do you think I have too many tutors? I have just found that many of the other cards in my deck might as well have just been these more versatile combo pieces, and as of yet, I have liked the abundance of them quite a lot. On this topic, do you think Eladamri's Call is worth it? The factors I have been considering are mainly manabase problems, the upside of dodging Cage, the fact that it effectively can be a Finale of Devastation that allows you to pay the cost across 2 turns, and it's cheap IRL cost.
And finally, are there just any other thoughts or changes you would like to give me considering my deck and maybe the archetype in general?
EDIT: Postboard, what is our gameplan against Tron? Are we favored in any of the 2-3 games?
Yes, Duskwatch Recruiter decreases in value as you play more Finale of Devastation, so number vary as appropriate.
I'm glad to hear Giver of Runes is working out for you. I'm excited to try it once my local meta calms down.
Postmortem Lunge is a complex card. Having multiple in hand or topdecking them later can be a major bummer. On the other hand, it often lets you win on turn 3 when your opponent plays removal on your turn 2 Druid. Given that this deck is pretty speed oriented, I'd say it is very worth playing. At least 3 in the maindeck and maybe a 4th in the side. Mix and match with Lightning Greaves according to your meta's tastes.
Beating Izzet Phoenix is hard for almost all Druid decks. For this Druid deck, your primary win plan will be to combo them out before TiTi flips. If it does flip, you likely have 1 out: have your Druid kill itself, lunge it back next turn (without getting Surgical Extraction'd), and win off that. If you find UR Phoenix to be a large portion of your meta, other Druid shells are probably better for you.
Number of tutors is often decided by your strategy. What are you trying to do? This thread is primarily for a super speed game plan with a consistent turn 2 Druid and turn 3 win (hence the Neoforms and Postmortem Lunges). If you have a different plan, you'll play different tutors. Check out the Druid combo Discord to see other varieties.
Every shell of Druid just races Tron. Unless said deck is playing Knight of the Reliquary, in which case it races Tron and plays Ghost Quarter and/or Field of Ruin.
I'm definitely building off @AcademyRuin's list. It is clearly well tuned and a great starting point. However, I personally disagree with @AcademyRuins regarding Giver of Runes. I think Stepmom is going to be a big bonus for this deck. Our number one problem is creature removal and Postmortem Lunge doesn't solve that all on its own. To be fair, I only play paper Magic and my local meta is very removal heavy. So that is probably defining a lot of my choices.
Starting this upcoming FNM, I'll be testing this list:
If I can get my hands on a Waterlogged Grove at a decent price, that will be taking the slot of one of the Horizon Canopies.
Card choices:
Rhonas over Ezuri: My single biggest concern is, if you can't go for Ballista, Rhonas allows any of your creatures to attack for infinite damage whereas Ezuri only enables Elves. Also, on the off chance that my opponent Surgicals the Devoted Druids, Rhonas opens up a possible beatdown plan. And I really like that he's indestructible. I do wonder if I'll miss the double Druid + Ezuri combo.
Only 1 Duskwatch: Finale removes the need for Duskwatch. If you have the mana combo, cast Finale for Ballista with X being a large number. Ballista will enter the battlefield as a 0/0 with no counters but state based effects won't kill it until the spell finishes resolving. Next part of the spell gives Ballista +X/+X. When Finale finishes resolving, Ballista will be an X/X with zero counters on it. Spend your infinite mana on Ballista's add-a-counter ability, then shoot your opponent for an arbitrarily large amount of damage. 1 Duskwatch remains so you can combo off when you don't have Finaly by fetching him with Neoform or Eldritch Evolution.
3 Postmortem Lunge: Playing 4 Lunge kinda sucks. They clog up your hand and don't do anything most of the time.
1 Lightning Greaves: In the spot of the 4th Lunge. This is a proactive alternative to Lunge. No its not perfect, but it has a variety of advantages that Lunge doesn't and it plays very nice with mana dorks and with Stepmom. There's a strong possibility that there should be more than 1 of these in the 75. Only testing will tell.
SB Knight of Autumn: Reliably handles many issues.
SB Eladamri's Call: An early tutor that doesn't 2-for-1 ourselves
Experiments:
Heroic Intervention is intended for combating sweepers.
Thanks for the great response to Aetherbringer. I'd be interested in testing out Giver of Runes more. Big thing with the card is finding 3-4 slots. I definitely like playing the set rather than 1 or 2 because it's fairly bad off the top and isn't a card you'll be tutoring too often (although you have more incentive without Ezuri). Looks like you accomplished that by shaving Duskwatch, no 9th dork, and cutting Dryad Arbor. I'll have to consider going to 1 to 2 Duskwatch in the future, but I do find myself getting scrappy wins with it often. I'm not huge on cutting Arbor personally, but if you'd like to forego it, I'd encourage you to play some fastlands over 2-3 fetches.
I like your list for a removal heavy metagame for sure. Similar to BFT out of the side, T1 Stepmom, T2 Druid with Lunge in hand is a fantastic nut draw. You'll have to let us know what you think of your list.
Well, I was interested in the win condition aspect + mana accelaration in a deck that usually plays 10 mana dorks.
That seemed decent, hence my question.
But someone just pointed out to me that, with that Leyline on the board, Freed From the Real on a Birds or Hierarch makes infinite mana + infinite buff and attack on turn 2.
Seems quite possibly busted.
Like you, I don't know if Druid Evolution is the right shell for it though.
Eladamri's Call costing W is a pretty big problem when tutoring up Vizier. I personally prefer Evolution today for its ability to put Druid in play T2 and combo without white mana. I wouldn't be surprised to see these lists move to a different tutor than Call in the future, but hey I could be totally wrong. I will say 4 colors with Call is very ambitious since you need WW on T3 and T1 B. If I'm playing Call, I'd try to stay as close to 2 colors as possible.
When you tap a creature for mana, add an additional G .
6GG: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
So this card is pretty neat in the context of Druid combo. This in the opener + T1 Dork generates 4 mana on turn 2, meaning you can Call or Finale for Druid. The reason Evolution and Neoform are so powerful in a vacuum is they allow one to kill turn 3 without naturally drawing Druid.
Outside of that, it's an infinite mana sink, cheated out or not, although it does provide no evasion like Rhonas or Ezuri.
I could see Call + Finale lists try this, or anything that already likes Arbor Elf + Utopia sprawl in order to drop 4 mana plays T2. Maybe Call + Finale lists could try it in the board for matchups they need to race? Not sure. I'll be interested to see what happens with that card.
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- Is there a sideboard guide somewhere that explains which cards you should board in/out vs the T1 decks?
- Because I don't have the horizon canopies, I've supplemented it for a forest, an extra razorverge thicket and a cavern of souls. Do you think the cavern of souls is worth it to get uncounterable humans or druids? If not, which lands should I put in?
- What are the strongest and weakest matchups for this deck?
Thanks!
With 10 fetches already, I'd recommend Razorverge for the rest of flex lands. That said, you have tested Cavern likely more than any of us, and can decide better if you like it or not. Mana in straight GW is extremely good, so you can probably afford one colorless land.
I discuss matchups a little in the sideboard advice comment, but in general Druid Evolution beats up on slower decks with limited interaction, like Tron, Titanshift, Amulet. The hardest matchup preboard is any discard + removal deck, but I've found these matchups are fixable with a boardplan involving Chameleon Colossus/Mystic Enforcer. I would personally rate Jeskai Control or UR Phoenix as the most difficult. Decks that interact beyond removal with counters or discard are a struggle (Jeskai) and Phoenix is difficult due to the combination of Surgical, 6+ kill spells, and Thing in the Ice. Burrenton Forge Tender is the best sideboard card against these two.
I would recommend looking at the primer for more tips, and looking at the past page or two to see updated lists.
I will say my testing with Neoform in general has been all positive. Card is great. Playing zero is a mistake.
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
1 Plains
3 Horizon Canopy
Creatures (24)
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Llanowar Elves
4 Devoted Druid
4 Vizier of Remedies
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
1 Walking Ballista
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Eternal Witness
3 Neoform
4 Eldritch Evolution
3 Finale of Devestation
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
4 Postmortem Lunge
2 Path to Exile
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Spellskite
1 Meddling Mage
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Deputy of Detention
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
1 Knight of Autumn
2 Chameleon Colossus
1 Mystic Enforcer
9 dorks, 3 Evo vs 10, 4: I think this one for me comes down to sideboarding and evening up matchup wins percentages. In short, I suppose I view 10, 4 as as too win more for my taste. I want some mainboards slots dedicated to utility, and I'm wanting to sideboard out too many cards vs Midrange and Control. I'd say this decision is exacerbated if the London mull goes live since seeing a T2 Druid line in the opening 7 isn't as imperative with a stronger mull rule.
Teferi, Time Raveler: I really started to seriously consider this card when looking for anti-Control sideboard cards. Creatures of all kind are pretty bad against Terminus, and Gideon AoZ is a glorified Retreat to Emeria that can get bolted with how bad it is vs Path. Going wide with 2/2s isn't as good as I'd hope it'd be, so I was exploring different options.
Teferi is powerful vs Control as he allows us to cheese the matchup. We plus and win either that turn by Lunging, or casting an Evo effect on their end step and winning the next turn with no way for the opponent to interact due to the passive. What sells me on playing him the main is that this same play pattern is valuable against really any deck with removal, and that his minus hits everything that's threatening to me: runaway creatures like TitI, Bob, Steel Overseer; creatures that allow opponents to race such as Infect things, Baral, Sram, Titan; and lock pieces like Spyglass and Cage. It is also a stellar card vs Midrange, buying us time against T2 threats like Goyf, Gurmag, and DS.
With 4 Teferi in the 75, I'm wondering if it's greedy to stay on 1 blue source. Hallowed Fountain is pretty abysmal in a deck with so many G one drops and double G spells, I suppose it would be a second Pool. With 10 fetches and Dryad Arbor in my deck, I find myself usually waiting to crack fetches, so that factor combined with 8 blue producing dorks has me okay with 1 for now.
Ezuri vs Mirror Entity: This one for me came down to Mirror Entity being more cute than good against Phoenix, white mana being a problem when drawn, and me favoring the combo utility of Ezuri vs the beatdown potential of Entity. T1 Dork, T2 Ezuri, T3 Druid + Regen backup is great. The 2 Druid + Ezuri win has come up some. And I've even been able to win a few races with Llanowar chumping like a champ.
3 Finale, 4 Lunge: This one mainly comes down Neoform pushing me to trim a tutor. Neoform mainly absorbs Incubation slots, meaning I'm more consistently seeing the creatures I need to compared to spinning the wheel. I'm comfortable trimming a tutor based on that. Lunge really should be a 4x when Neoform has great synergy with it, and it frees up a SB slot playing it main.
PS: I've been considering buying into MTGO to play this deck a bit more and try streaming. Is that's something any of you would be interested in?
I had considered Rhonas along with Mirror Entity, but overall I like the utility Ezuri adds with my list being especially combo focused. The ability to protect Druid and have another combo is more valuable to me. I'm not sure what wins in my book between Mirror Entity and Rhonas. Entity does lose points if you're trading Chords for Finale. A common line for me was EoT Chord for Entity, untap and kill them with a board of dorks.
EDIT:
Also, what's the strategy against graveyard hate? Just work on shooting their RIPs, Scoozes, and Kalitas'?
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
For rival graveyard hate, I'm happy to either just ignore it and tutor into the pieces I need, or rely on Teferi or sideboard cards to deal with the problem card. There's really just Lunges and Witness that care about the yard, and a maindeckable answer like Teferi helps a lot.
My secondary issue with GY hate: it impacts our card quality. Lunge and Eternal Witness become dead draws. We can't really avoid this by trimming on either card post-board because the opponent will obviously bring in extra removal.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I'm happy with my list's answers to yard hate, if you'd like to be more conservative that's certainly achievable!
There's been a couple of new cards in MH1 that seem like they could be worthy of play in Druid Evo. Step Mom not protecting herself makes me pass on her for now given BFT is better vs Red, I'm on pro-black dudes for Black, and the rest doesn't pack enough removal to make these effects necessary.
I definitely plan to replace 1 of my 3 Canopies with the UG Canopy.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
It's not really better or worse I think, still 4 mana to get a 2-drop in play, just a different option.
Finale has the slight advantage of being a mana sink and occasionally serve as a kill on its own, if your regular kills are gone. Call has the advantage of being able to get a Ballista directly.
By the way, like AcademyRuins, I started running Neoform, and so far I'm really liking it.
I was already convinced by the green Finale, but Neoform should definitely be included too.
These two cards are a great addition.
This week I've been running a list inspired by his, only with 8 fetches instead of 10 (for 2 Razorverge Thicket) and Shalai instead of Ezuri.
So far, I've won somewhat consistently against my friends playing Tron, Humans, and Whir Prison.
I'm still novice with the deck, but I'll run the list this weekend at MKM Series Paris, I'll let you know how it went.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I ordered my Calls, so I'll be interested to give them a go. Perhaps a split is optimal, who knows. I'm glad you're liking Neoform. It really does make the list significantly more threatening. I would mention that without a three drop win con, you'll be without a win if you have the combo and no one drops. You may need a second Breeding Pool for Neoform -> Witness -> Shalai. That said, it doesn't come up a whole lot, just something to consider. I will say I may just like Ezuri better in the dark with the cheaper CMC, ability to protect Druid, ability to chump with Llanowar or Druid, and double Druid wins coming up often.
It's sad to hear the news about MTGsalvation dying, but I'll be happy to jump to the new platform they mentioned. If that's a bust, I can look into a subreddit or Discord.
Anyone interested in giving this a try?
Unsettled Mariner :symw::symu:
Creature — Shapeshifter
Changeling
Whenever you or a permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {1}.
2/2
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I just got into Druid decks fairly recently and the evolution seemed like the most focused and competitive version - especially with Giver of Runes, I think a streamlined build that aims to combo and only combo is probably better suited for the current Modern environment. I also want to buy this deck irl, which currently has forced me into the moderate budget range (though this deck quite easily accommodates for that requirement). Here is my current decklist:
3 Plains
2 Brushland
1 Horizon Canopy
4 Temple Garden
2 Windswept Heath
1 Fortified Village
6 Forest
1 Gavony Township
Nonlands
2 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Giver of Runes
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
3 Eladamri's Call
2 Postmortem Lunge
4 Devoted Druid
3 Eldritch Evolution
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Finale of Devastation
2 Eternal Witness
4 Vizier of Remedies
3 Chord of Calling
2 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Chameleon Colossus
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Path to Exile
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Remorseful Cleric
In deckbuilding, several things came up that I wanted to consult this thread for.
First, I found that generally, I was just using Duskwatch Recruiter as a wincon only, and decided that maybe I wanted to substitute some or most of them for more tutors, which serve the same purpose but usually hold a lot more utility.
I have also really liked Giver of Runes so far, which has seemed to me to be a great way to help cover removal or otherwise make the opponent's early turns extremely awkward.
At the moment, I am kind of lukewarm about Postmortem Lunge, and as I have shaved them down to 2 copies (mostly for more tutors) I was just wondering how core the 4-of is considered to you guys.
Concerning the URx decks that seem to currently be the bane of this deck, what sort of strategy is this deck taking post-board to deal w/ them? Also, just in general, are there any changes that you would make to my sideboard? (keep in mind I would totally be playing blue if not for my budget requirements)
Do you think I have too many tutors? I have just found that many of the other cards in my deck might as well have just been these more versatile combo pieces, and as of yet, I have liked the abundance of them quite a lot. On this topic, do you think Eladamri's Call is worth it? The factors I have been considering are mainly manabase problems, the upside of dodging Cage, the fact that it effectively can be a Finale of Devastation that allows you to pay the cost across 2 turns, and it's cheap IRL cost.
And finally, are there just any other thoughts or changes you would like to give me considering my deck and maybe the archetype in general?
EDIT: Postboard, what is our gameplan against Tron? Are we favored in any of the 2-3 games?
I'm glad to hear Giver of Runes is working out for you. I'm excited to try it once my local meta calms down.
Postmortem Lunge is a complex card. Having multiple in hand or topdecking them later can be a major bummer. On the other hand, it often lets you win on turn 3 when your opponent plays removal on your turn 2 Druid. Given that this deck is pretty speed oriented, I'd say it is very worth playing. At least 3 in the maindeck and maybe a 4th in the side. Mix and match with Lightning Greaves according to your meta's tastes.
Beating Izzet Phoenix is hard for almost all Druid decks. For this Druid deck, your primary win plan will be to combo them out before TiTi flips. If it does flip, you likely have 1 out: have your Druid kill itself, lunge it back next turn (without getting Surgical Extraction'd), and win off that. If you find UR Phoenix to be a large portion of your meta, other Druid shells are probably better for you.
Number of tutors is often decided by your strategy. What are you trying to do? This thread is primarily for a super speed game plan with a consistent turn 2 Druid and turn 3 win (hence the Neoforms and Postmortem Lunges). If you have a different plan, you'll play different tutors. Check out the Druid combo Discord to see other varieties.
Every shell of Druid just races Tron. Unless said deck is playing Knight of the Reliquary, in which case it races Tron and plays Ghost Quarter and/or Field of Ruin.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I'm definitely building off @AcademyRuin's list. It is clearly well tuned and a great starting point. However, I personally disagree with @AcademyRuins regarding Giver of Runes. I think Stepmom is going to be a big bonus for this deck. Our number one problem is creature removal and Postmortem Lunge doesn't solve that all on its own. To be fair, I only play paper Magic and my local meta is very removal heavy. So that is probably defining a lot of my choices.
Starting this upcoming FNM, I'll be testing this list:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Giver of Runes
4 Devoted Druid
4 Vizier of Remedies
1 Duskwatch Recruiter
1 Eternal Witness
1 Rhonas
1 Walking Ballista
3 Neoform
4 Eldritch Evolution
3 Finale of Devastation
3 Postmortem Lunge
1 Lightning Greaves
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
1 Plains
3 Horizon Canopy
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Knight of Autumn
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Chameleon Colossus
1 Eladamri's Call
2 Heroic Intervention
2 Reflector Mage
If I can get my hands on a Waterlogged Grove at a decent price, that will be taking the slot of one of the Horizon Canopies.
Card choices:
Experiments:
Cards I'm considering for the future, depending on the performance of the current configuration:
Card recommendations for beating Thing in the Ice, UW Planeswalkers Control, and BGx Midrange are appreciated!
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I like your list for a removal heavy metagame for sure. Similar to BFT out of the side, T1 Stepmom, T2 Druid with Lunge in hand is a fantastic nut draw. You'll have to let us know what you think of your list.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2012876#paper
When you tap a creature for mana, add an additional G .
6GG: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
That seemed decent, hence my question.
But someone just pointed out to me that, with that Leyline on the board, Freed From the Real on a Birds or Hierarch makes infinite mana + infinite buff and attack on turn 2.
Seems quite possibly busted.
Like you, I don't know if Druid Evolution is the right shell for it though.
Outside of that, it's an infinite mana sink, cheated out or not, although it does provide no evasion like Rhonas or Ezuri.
I could see Call + Finale lists try this, or anything that already likes Arbor Elf + Utopia sprawl in order to drop 4 mana plays T2. Maybe Call + Finale lists could try it in the board for matchups they need to race? Not sure. I'll be interested to see what happens with that card.