Could you explain the significance of Garruk and Nissa in your sideboard? Idk if I'm over thinking it or what. But I never understood planeswalkers in Elf boards. So I guess I'm asking when you bring them in and how they help. Thanks!
Planeswalkers allow you to put pressure onto the board with a single card against the grindy decks. Having a Garruk Relentless on board was pretty key to beating Miracles as Elves in Legacy as you could just keep pumping out wolves and keep your precious cards in your hand until you need to use them. Nissa also does the same thing by allowing you to constantly producing a stream of 5/5's.
It's a bit unrelated to the topic at hand and I apologize, but I thought you guys have been sort of like my virtual family that I thought I'd share. We added a new mini elf to our family (our third such mini elf) and she is a beautiful, healthy little girl. Her name is Natsumi, which means Summer Ocean.
@Planeswalkers
On a more related note, I think the planeswalkers are a highly underrated piece of technology in Elf sideboards. When I ran Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, it always shined since it helped with our tech and now that I run Steward of Elements, I see the value in them. They are especially important against snappy decks and anything that controls our board state.
@Syreal94
Thanks for your streaming! It is a lot of work and I hope you keep going. We all benefit greatly from your work, so I thought I'd share our appreciation.
Twitch finally uploaded my stream for the day, I suggest watching the middle league as it was a 4-1, and the 5c Deaths Shadow match is a great game to look at and analyse.
Really enjoying two Nissa, Vital Force in the board, and I also plan on testing some Garruk Relentless in the board at some point in the future.(maybe up to 3 of them to replace Lead!)
LOVE the stream Syreal. Really appreciate it as an elves player learning the ropes. Keep em coming!
Dude! Congratulations on the beautiful baby with beautiful name. Although, I'm a bit worried that she might become a Fish pilot with that name :P.
Streaming aint nearly as much work as what you're going through right now, but I appreciate the compliments. (As for the next stream, tomorrow Thurs 0900 aest/1600 pdt/1900 edt!)
Could you explain the significance of Garruk and Nissa in your sideboard? Idk if I'm over thinking it or what. But I never understood planeswalkers in Elf boards. So I guess I'm asking when you bring them in and how they help. Thanks!
Planeswalkers allow you to put pressure onto the board with a single card against the grindy decks. Having a Garruk Relentless on board was pretty key to beating Miracles as Elves in Legacy as you could just keep pumping out wolves and keep your precious cards in your hand until you need to use them. Nissa also does the same thing by allowing you to constantly producing a stream of 5/5's.
Thank you for that information. I suppose Relentless also acts as removal when needed. And if it flips, you still get your wolves each turn but with deathtouch.
It's a bit unrelated to the topic at hand and I apologize, but I thought you guys have been sort of like my virtual family that I thought I'd share. We added a new mini elf to our family (our third such mini elf) and she is a beautiful, healthy little girl. Her name is Natsumi, which means Summer Ocean.
@Planeswalkers
On a more related note, I think the planeswalkers are a highly underrated piece of technology in Elf sideboards. When I ran Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, it always shined since it helped with our tech and now that I run Steward of Elements, I see the value in them. They are especially important against snappy decks and anything that controls our board state.
@Syreal94
Thanks for your streaming! It is a lot of work and I hope you keep going. We all benefit greatly from your work, so I thought I'd share our appreciation.
Omg Congratulations! Get her into magic early like Dana Fischer haha!
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Mark of Asylum was discussed in the primer as a potential sideboard but I've never really seen it used by any Elves deck this year (as far as I remember). What could be the reason behind it? Seems really good (in theory) against decks that mostly rely on burn spells for removal (Burn, Valakut, Ponza, etc.)
I haven't seen mark of asylum run in a long time. It used to be run mostly to stop red sweepers and bolts. With bolt being at an all time low and a lot of people preferring cards like lead the stampede and planeswalkers for rebuilding after a wrath instead of protecting from one, it's just not seeing use. The cards people are using instead of it are useful in more matches and can be useful still if you draw them after a wrath or in a matchup with wraths that aren't Damage based.
Mark of Asylum was discussed in the primer as a potential sideboard but I've never really seen it used by any Elves deck this year (as far as I remember). What could be the reason behind it? Seems really good (in theory) against decks that mostly rely on burn spells for removal (Burn, Valakut, Ponza, etc.)
I ran Mark of Asylum in my Abzan list for quite a while. My local meta game at the time was full of Jund, RG Tron, Jeskai with the odd Skred here and there. That meant lots of Bolts, Angers, Pyroclasms and other red damage based spells. Mark makes our elves immune to all those spells which is a huge advantage. It also works against creatures like Grim Lavamancer.
But with the printing of Fatal Push the meta game shifted as well with damaged based removal being far less prevalent than before. If that's the case with your meta game then you can easily skip Mark altogether.
I have been running voice of zendikar in my SB for quite a while and when she hits the board T2 it always puts the opponent in a bind. Being faced by a PW threat when you're expecting to deal with go-wide is always from left field. She's out of bolt range after the first uptick, too. And then now they're going to be pressured into using any wipes on a bunch of tokens and some loose elves we've put down early, or be faced with a downtick that will suddenly present lethal or at worst a 2 turn clock.
The worst my Nissa has done is eat a Detention Sphere, but I suppose that's an uncommon scenario.
@mikeduges congrats! is she your first? my little elfling/scion/elemental token came into play last August and is turning 1 this year. such an adventure, although it means I've been missing most FNMs. Hah!
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So planeswalkers wise, which would we say is the most beneficial in the side? Nissa Vital Force, Nissa Voice of Zendikar or Garruk Relentless?
I've found Nissa, Vital Force to be the most useful so far post board. I haven't tested Garruk quite yet, but I'm doing that today in about 45m on my stream.
Why would you want to play planeswalkers in sideboard?
Which matchups are you looking to improve with them?
The match ups against control and midrange that have a bunch of wipes, or very efficient removals and snaps. I'm speaking from the perspective of Voice of Zendikar in particular though. Making plant tokens all day errday makes death's shadow particularly sad.
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Thanks so much for the congratulations! My little elf is healthy and is quite the voracious eater.
@MarcWizard
Actually, she is my third. I have one mini elf girl, one boy elf and our tiny one that came last week. Busy life, but worth every bit of it.
@Syreal94
I do hope they all play Elves. But, I have a soft spot for Fish, so I am not too worried if she goes fish. As far as names go, my eldest is Sakura (Cherry Blossom) middle boy is Koyo (Crimson Leaves) so they look to be good for tapping for forest mana. Natsumi may have to use islands.
@Regardingplaneswalekrs
I am increasingly convinced that Planeswalkers are a good way to fight board wipes. As I said earlier, I have tried Voice of Zendikar and have loved it. I ordered me some Vital Force and am looking forward to casting them. It just gives the deck an angle which 1) opponents are not expecting and 2) hard to get rid of.
Mana base again was perfect, side too, almost did 4-0, but a bad lucky in the first match cut me off.
Jund (1-2)
Game 1 I was so fast and in play, when he dropped the third land, I fineshed him.
Game 2 Lili and 3 Fatal Push did all the job.
Game 3 the lame moment of the night, I had 16 life and an empty field, he 5 and a Goyf with no hand, he attacked and passed, I casted my Company and found 6 lands...then just draw a dork and more land, sad.
Jeskai Control (2-1)
Game 1 this is my fear, but I had a very fast hand and he just found a Path, I did Lead too and was super good.
Game 2 Verdict x2, meh...
Game 3 was intense, grindy, but I played around the Verdict, slowly and just stomped when found Chord for Selfless that hold the game until the Shamans was growing.
GW Company (2-1)
Game 1 missed the math job, didn't blocked some important creatures and this killed me in the stompy time.
Game 2 nothing to say, just tons of creatures both side, but Elves are powerfull.
Game 3 same the 2, but an Elvish Champion took the game easily.
RG Ponza (2-1)
Game 1 he started with fast LD, but I had more lands and dorks, 2 Company then Ezuri time.
Game 2 Titan turn 3 and done, he said that was a god hand.
Game 3 I did some Elffball stuff and he casted a Titan, I casted Chord for Ezuri with enough mana to protect my creatures forever, an Elvish Champion helpped with evasion and I took the game with this.
I'm just needing some help with the side out, for now I'm cutting Visionary almost all the time.
I don't know if it's too much to ask but would everyone who sees this post please respond with what they run as a sideboard? Since the deck is very linear like combo, I have been having a tough time deciding..
I see people suggesting PWs, but are they really better than Selfless spirit and Lead the Stampede/similar? Also, the 5-mana ones seem incredibly expensive.
Also, why do people like Champion that much? Isn't Ezuri just always better?
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Thought of the Month: I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
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Planeswalkers allow you to put pressure onto the board with a single card against the grindy decks. Having a Garruk Relentless on board was pretty key to beating Miracles as Elves in Legacy as you could just keep pumping out wolves and keep your precious cards in your hand until you need to use them. Nissa also does the same thing by allowing you to constantly producing a stream of 5/5's.
It's a bit unrelated to the topic at hand and I apologize, but I thought you guys have been sort of like my virtual family that I thought I'd share. We added a new mini elf to our family (our third such mini elf) and she is a beautiful, healthy little girl. Her name is Natsumi, which means Summer Ocean.
@Planeswalkers
On a more related note, I think the planeswalkers are a highly underrated piece of technology in Elf sideboards. When I ran Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, it always shined since it helped with our tech and now that I run Steward of Elements, I see the value in them. They are especially important against snappy decks and anything that controls our board state.
@Syreal94
Thanks for your streaming! It is a lot of work and I hope you keep going. We all benefit greatly from your work, so I thought I'd share our appreciation.
BGElvesBG and BUGNissa ElvesBUG Faithful Elfer since May 1st, 2015
Results: SCG IQ Top 8, Monthly Modern Masters Top 4
LOVE the stream Syreal. Really appreciate it as an elves player learning the ropes. Keep em coming!
Streaming aint nearly as much work as what you're going through right now, but I appreciate the compliments. (As for the next stream,
tomorrowThurs 0900 aest/1600 pdt/1900 edt!)Once again, congrats dude.
Thank you for that information. I suppose Relentless also acts as removal when needed. And if it flips, you still get your wolves each turn but with deathtouch.
Omg Congratulations! Get her into magic early like Dana Fischer haha!
Marath, Will of the Wild Tokens!! / Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund Dragons! / Muzzio, Visionary Architect / Brago, King Eternal / Daretti, Scrap Savant / Narset, Enlightened Master / Alesha, Who Smiles at Death / Bruna, Light of Alabaster / Marchesa, the Black Rose / Iroas, God of Victory / Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury / Omnath, Locus of rage / Titania, Protector of Argoth / Kozilek, the Great Distortion
Modern
Elves / Titanshift / Merfolk
I ran Mark of Asylum in my Abzan list for quite a while. My local meta game at the time was full of Jund, RG Tron, Jeskai with the odd Skred here and there. That meant lots of Bolts, Angers, Pyroclasms and other red damage based spells. Mark makes our elves immune to all those spells which is a huge advantage. It also works against creatures like Grim Lavamancer.
But with the printing of Fatal Push the meta game shifted as well with damaged based removal being far less prevalent than before. If that's the case with your meta game then you can easily skip Mark altogether.
@Mikeduges: Congratulations!
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
The worst my Nissa has done is eat a Detention Sphere, but I suppose that's an uncommon scenario.
@mikeduges congrats! is she your first? my little elfling/scion/elemental token came into play last August and is turning 1 this year. such an adventure, although it means I've been missing most FNMs. Hah!
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
I keep reading people siding them for the Grindy matchups.
I've found Nissa, Vital Force to be the most useful so far post board. I haven't tested Garruk quite yet, but I'm doing that today in about 45m on my stream.
The match ups against control and midrange that have a bunch of wipes, or very efficient removals and snaps. I'm speaking from the perspective of Voice of Zendikar in particular though. Making plant tokens all day errday makes death's shadow particularly sad.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Next stream is Sunday, 6/8. Garruk has been good so far, imo, but would like more numbers. Lifecrafter's has also been stellar.
@MarcWizard
Actually, she is my third. I have one mini elf girl, one boy elf and our tiny one that came last week. Busy life, but worth every bit of it.
@Syreal94
I do hope they all play Elves. But, I have a soft spot for Fish, so I am not too worried if she goes fish. As far as names go, my eldest is Sakura (Cherry Blossom) middle boy is Koyo (Crimson Leaves) so they look to be good for tapping for forest mana. Natsumi may have to use islands.
@Regardingplaneswalekrs
I am increasingly convinced that Planeswalkers are a good way to fight board wipes. As I said earlier, I have tried Voice of Zendikar and have loved it. I ordered me some Vital Force and am looking forward to casting them. It just gives the deck an angle which 1) opponents are not expecting and 2) hard to get rid of.
BGElvesBG and BUGNissa ElvesBUG Faithful Elfer since May 1st, 2015
Results: SCG IQ Top 8, Monthly Modern Masters Top 4
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Blooming Marsh
3 Horizon Canopy
3 Forest
4 Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Dwynen's Elite
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Nettle Sentinel
3 Elvish Visionary
4 Shaman of the Pack
3 Chord of Calling
1 Lead the Stampede
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Elvish Champion
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Selfless Spirit
1 Hornet Nest
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Mirror Entity
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Yixlid Jallier
1 Eternal Witness
Mana base again was perfect, side too, almost did 4-0, but a bad lucky in the first match cut me off.
Jund (1-2)
Game 1 I was so fast and in play, when he dropped the third land, I fineshed him.
Game 2 Lili and 3 Fatal Push did all the job.
Game 3 the lame moment of the night, I had 16 life and an empty field, he 5 and a Goyf with no hand, he attacked and passed, I casted my Company and found 6 lands...then just draw a dork and more land, sad.
Jeskai Control (2-1)
Game 1 this is my fear, but I had a very fast hand and he just found a Path, I did Lead too and was super good.
Game 2 Verdict x2, meh...
Game 3 was intense, grindy, but I played around the Verdict, slowly and just stomped when found Chord for Selfless that hold the game until the Shamans was growing.
GW Company (2-1)
Game 1 missed the math job, didn't blocked some important creatures and this killed me in the stompy time.
Game 2 nothing to say, just tons of creatures both side, but Elves are powerfull.
Game 3 same the 2, but an Elvish Champion took the game easily.
RG Ponza (2-1)
Game 1 he started with fast LD, but I had more lands and dorks, 2 Company then Ezuri time.
Game 2 Titan turn 3 and done, he said that was a god hand.
Game 3 I did some Elffball stuff and he casted a Titan, I casted Chord for Ezuri with enough mana to protect my creatures forever, an Elvish Champion helpped with evasion and I took the game with this.
I'm just needing some help with the side out, for now I'm cutting Visionary almost all the time.
As of currently I am running:
2x Reclamation Sage
1x Chameleon Colossus
2x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Elvish Champion
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Beast Within
1x Rhys the Exiled
1x Essence Warden
2x Heroic Intervention
1x Nissa, Vital Force
Thank you everyone in advance!
Also, why do people like Champion that much? Isn't Ezuri just always better?
Thought of the Month:
I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo