Ross Meriam with GW Elves (Vizier + Devoted Druid) in Top8 @ SCG Richmond.
I was just about to ask everyone's opinions on Devoted elves. I currently run GB elves and have been intrigued by the possibility of running devoted. Worth it or too clunky?
I think Ross made a mistake leaving in Chord game 2 against GDS. It was dead in his hand at the end of the game and is very hard to resolve against the deck. Even if it does resolve, you have so few permanents sometimes that it's not acquiring what you want.
That being said, Chord for SOTP in G3 would have been a nice way to win that game, but not playing black got him that far anyway so it's a moot point.
I was thinking the same thing with the Chord. He should've sided all 4 out and just brought in more creatures (like Aven Mindcensor). He brought in rest in peace and path too which I guess was OK (RIP got thoughtseized and Path got countered), but being on the play game 3 he should've gone all in on the creatures and just raced.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
I didn't catch the Affinity matchup. Was the infinite combo necessary to win the game or would a single Ezuri activation have been enough? I watched the stream periodically throughout the day and when I caught him on camera it always seemed like a Shaman would be the perfect top deck.
general premises:
5 lords - you're drawing a lot of cards and your "vanilla" elf count is higher, so more lords is preferable
craterhoof - all you need is 8 mana and boom. it's a great card in this list.
coiling oracle - turns your CoCos into mini glimpse-of-natures and helps you flip into more elves or mana on a critical turn.
silver bullets - pact costing 0 lets you fetch your silver bullets as early as you have mana to pay for the cost of the pact.
playstyle:
look to turn 3 to create a huge combo-ish turn where you chain through lots of elves, multiple CoCos and end with a craterhoof swing for the win. Turn 2 is possible if you draw (or can pact for) double nettle sentinel. being able to pact mid-chain is critical, but equally you can just dump your hand full of elves and untap with a bunch of mana, pact for hoof and win. removing chord from the equation increases your susceptibility to removal but you tend to win in a "big turn" rather than have to pass the turn holding chord mana up.
downsides: not really any clean way to incorporate white into the list without fudging the manabase slightly (I guess a single temple garden is possible so you can run cards like Kataki, but without chord you're forced to draw them off the top which is possible but a bit harsh)
there's also an alternative GB build which subs the 3 oracles out for 3 shaman of the pack, but I haven't tested it yet. instead of the blue cards in the side you'd just run thoughtseize and stain the mind (both great options).
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
I don't think the argument of "Only if he had SOTP", means that much. If he had Ezuri he would have won as well. He just didn't draw anything but mana dorks and lands that third game.
I do agree that he should have taken out Chord's, especially knowing his opponent did not have any wrath's or board wipes.
You're right. There were a lot of things that didn't align for Ross in that match, but one advantage of playing SotP is that you still get to play Ezuri. It's just another win condition and in this case probably the only win condition to finish the job. Toward the end of the match I'm not sure an activated Ezuri would have been enough to get through the 30+ toughness on the other side of the board.
I was thinking the same thing with the Chord. He should've sided all 4 out and just brought in more creatures (like Aven Mindcensor). He brought in rest in peace and path too which I guess was OK (RIP got thoughtseized and Path got countered), but being on the play game 3 he should've gone all in on the creatures and just raced.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
Don't think you board in all the creatures there, pretty sure you just cut Vizier and Chord and shove the 3 Paths and 2 Chameleon Colossi in. Your game 1 plan is good enough for games 2 + 3 and the infinite combo is borderline impossible to assemble but now he's forced to respect it so you can just board it out.
I was thinking the same thing with the Chord. He should've sided all 4 out and just brought in more creatures (like Aven Mindcensor). He brought in rest in peace and path too which I guess was OK (RIP got thoughtseized and Path got countered), but being on the play game 3 he should've gone all in on the creatures and just raced.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
Don't think you board in all the creatures there, pretty sure you just cut Vizier and Chord and shove the 3 Paths and 2 Chameleon Colossi in. Your game 1 plan is good enough for games 2 + 3 and the infinite combo is borderline impossible to assemble but now he's forced to respect it so you can just board it out.
I'd rather have mindcensor and scooze than PTE vs DS, especially on the play. I find I always have chump blockers for DS (especially with 2 Cham colossus in the side) and creatures just give us a much wider board state than they can handle. He also didn't need to worry about sweepers. The hatebird would also consistently ping for damage in a stalled board state, and DS as a ton of sac lands. I can see the benefits of path, but I also think it plays too defensively when we probably could've chump blocked anyway.
I'd rather have mindcensor and scooze than PTE vs DS, especially on the play. I find I always have chump blockers for DS (especially with 2 Cham colossus in the side) and creatures just give us a much wider board state than they can handle. He also didn't need to worry about sweepers. The hatebird would also consistently ping for damage in a stalled board state, and DS as a ton of sac lands. I can see the benefits of path, but I also think it plays too defensively when we probably could've chump blocked anyway.
PTE isn't defensive at all, most the time it's an offensive spell to clear a blocker and enable you to attack freely - you have to remember that DS runs very few genuine creatures so removing one is a premium. Comparatively, Mindcensor is a genuine waste of time compared to PTE - you chip for 2, yes, but you also can chip for way more than 2 if you just remove their one dude. Not only that,but Mindcensor discourages their fetching - when in reality, you want them to fetch as much as possible. Take every free point of damage you can get. Path even also deals with pesky creatures that are occasionally problematic (read: Young Pyromancer).
I mean you do still need to worry about sweepers against a generic DS opponent, as that's one of the few ways they get a massive edge in the matchup. Path usually almost always is W: Time Walk against DS as they have to commit so many cards to getting their creatures on board in the first place that cleanly removing it is such a massive problem for them as thats their usual means of stabilising.
If you're not bringing in Path for the DS matchup, why do you even have them in the board in the first place? They're the perfect matchup for them.
So at this point I've tried out Summoner's Pact over Chord of Calling. It's made the deck very explosive, and as far as I can tell most people can't take advantage of it too well. Only problem is, I'm horrible at remembering it.
I don't think any of the Devoted Druid pieces will be banned. The best shell for the deck is Abzan Company and that deck is far from dominant as recent results have shown. I think the combo is safe for Modern.
I don't think any of the Devoted Druid pieces will be banned. The best shell for the deck is Abzan Company and that deck is far from dominant as recent results have shown. I think the combo is safe for Modern.
Definitely not bannable - cards demand an entire deck around it, while Twin was simply a great addition to an already great UR Control deck. If they didn't ban Abzan Company before, theres no reason to ban it now.
I was just about to ask everyone's opinions on Devoted elves. I currently run GB elves and have been intrigued by the possibility of running devoted. Worth it or too clunky?
I'll be piloting a GW Druid list at the remaining PPTQs of the season, similar to this list that recently 5-0d: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/727399#paper
I think Ross made a mistake leaving in Chord game 2 against GDS. It was dead in his hand at the end of the game and is very hard to resolve against the deck. Even if it does resolve, you have so few permanents sometimes that it's not acquiring what you want.
That being said, Chord for SOTP in G3 would have been a nice way to win that game, but not playing black got him that far anyway so it's a moot point.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
BLiliana, Heretical HealerB| |GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
GWBDoom Plane EnchantressBWG
sure. the list is a little old but here's the general idea:
4x nettle sentinel
4x llanowar elves
4x elvish mystic
3x dwynen's elite
4x elvish visionary
3x coiling oracle
4x elvish archdruid
1x elvish champion
2x ezuri, renegade leader
1x craterhoof behemoth
4x collected company
4x cavern of souls
2x nykthos, shrine to nyx (important inclusion)
4x misty rainforest
3x forest
2x breeding pool
2x horizon canopy
1x westvale abbey
4x unified will
1x reclamation sage
2x fracturing gust
1x cyclonic rift
1x scavenging ooze
1x eternal witness
1x hornet queen
2x thragtusk
1x kitchen finks
1x chameleon colossus
general premises:
5 lords - you're drawing a lot of cards and your "vanilla" elf count is higher, so more lords is preferable
craterhoof - all you need is 8 mana and boom. it's a great card in this list.
coiling oracle - turns your CoCos into mini glimpse-of-natures and helps you flip into more elves or mana on a critical turn.
silver bullets - pact costing 0 lets you fetch your silver bullets as early as you have mana to pay for the cost of the pact.
playstyle:
look to turn 3 to create a huge combo-ish turn where you chain through lots of elves, multiple CoCos and end with a craterhoof swing for the win. Turn 2 is possible if you draw (or can pact for) double nettle sentinel. being able to pact mid-chain is critical, but equally you can just dump your hand full of elves and untap with a bunch of mana, pact for hoof and win. removing chord from the equation increases your susceptibility to removal but you tend to win in a "big turn" rather than have to pass the turn holding chord mana up.
downsides: not really any clean way to incorporate white into the list without fudging the manabase slightly (I guess a single temple garden is possible so you can run cards like Kataki, but without chord you're forced to draw them off the top which is possible but a bit harsh)
there's also an alternative GB build which subs the 3 oracles out for 3 shaman of the pack, but I haven't tested it yet. instead of the blue cards in the side you'd just run thoughtseize and stain the mind (both great options).
I do agree that he should have taken out Chord's, especially knowing his opponent did not have any wrath's or board wipes.
BLiliana, Heretical HealerB| |GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
GWBDoom Plane EnchantressBWG
Don't think you board in all the creatures there, pretty sure you just cut Vizier and Chord and shove the 3 Paths and 2 Chameleon Colossi in. Your game 1 plan is good enough for games 2 + 3 and the infinite combo is borderline impossible to assemble but now he's forced to respect it so you can just board it out.
I'd rather have mindcensor and scooze than PTE vs DS, especially on the play. I find I always have chump blockers for DS (especially with 2 Cham colossus in the side) and creatures just give us a much wider board state than they can handle. He also didn't need to worry about sweepers. The hatebird would also consistently ping for damage in a stalled board state, and DS as a ton of sac lands. I can see the benefits of path, but I also think it plays too defensively when we probably could've chump blocked anyway.
PTE isn't defensive at all, most the time it's an offensive spell to clear a blocker and enable you to attack freely - you have to remember that DS runs very few genuine creatures so removing one is a premium. Comparatively, Mindcensor is a genuine waste of time compared to PTE - you chip for 2, yes, but you also can chip for way more than 2 if you just remove their one dude. Not only that,but Mindcensor discourages their fetching - when in reality, you want them to fetch as much as possible. Take every free point of damage you can get. Path even also deals with pesky creatures that are occasionally problematic (read: Young Pyromancer).
I mean you do still need to worry about sweepers against a generic DS opponent, as that's one of the few ways they get a massive edge in the matchup. Path usually almost always is W: Time Walk against DS as they have to commit so many cards to getting their creatures on board in the first place that cleanly removing it is such a massive problem for them as thats their usual means of stabilising.
If you're not bringing in Path for the DS matchup, why do you even have them in the board in the first place? They're the perfect matchup for them.
Definitely not bannable - cards demand an entire deck around it, while Twin was simply a great addition to an already great UR Control deck. If they didn't ban Abzan Company before, theres no reason to ban it now.