I have had it happen but it hasn't mattered too much to me. Bugler still counts for 2 bodies which taxes removal better. I can really only see it mattering when we are trying to race a need a flying blocker.
I'm certain that Militia Bugler is a very good card for Humans. But I must admit I am terrified of Tron. Big Thalia is very good game 1 vs Tron, and I'm pretty sure Bugler will be too slow for Tron. Or whatever card advantage it can get us will be destroyed by Oblivion Stone or Ugin's -X ability. I don't know about you guys, but it seems to me that Tron is more present in the metagame now than it was a few months ago. Having a good game 1 against this deck seems to me quite important.
And what should Meddling Mage name in the Tron matchup? Karn Liberated is the most numerous removal in their deck, but Ugin and Oblivion Stone can sweep our board. Walking Ballista is another problem I've seen from the SB, and sometimes maindeck (makes sense, as it can win a game by itself with tons of mana). And then there is also Spatial Contortion... Tron can overload our Freebooters and MedMages, and don't much care about Thalia. And if they untap with Wurmcoil Engine, it's pretty much game over, unless we have Reflector Mage to delay what may be inevitable.
Speaking of Reflector Mage... is it just me or has the metagame shifted a bit away from creatures deck? If so, maybe we should cut a copy (and rely on Militia Bugler to find the 3 others), and revert back to 4 Thalia in the main deck. What do you think?
It means you still rely on topdecking Mantis anyway, Bugler indeed doesn't change much of that.
If we need a Human with 2 power, Flying and Haste, then we should consider swapping Mantis Rider for Skynight Legionnaire or Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. But I doubt we want to go there. After all, Bugler is more likely to put the next Rider closer to the top deck, than farther away. Hypergeometric Calculator tells us that Bugler will only reveal Mantis Rider 24.7% of the time. This means that 75.3% of the time, Rider will get closer to the top of the deck through a Bugler activation. I'm fine with these numbers, and will accept the few frustrating times it *is* the needed card and I have to put it at the bottom of the deck.
Speaking of Reflector Mage... is it just me or has the metagame shifted a bit away from creatures deck? If so, maybe we should cut a copy (and rely on Militia Bugler to find the 3 others), and revert back to 4 Thalia in the main deck. What do you think?
At first glance, I would play 3 Buglers + 3 Ref Mages so I increase my silver bullet ratio thanks to more Buglers.
Tron is more present in the metagame now than it was a few months ago. Having a good game 1 against this deck seems to me quite important.
I doubt Humans will have a good G1 MU against Tron ever with the current card pool ! If Wizards print a creature that hates on Tron, ok. Or Eerie Interlude-like effect on a creature. I don't see any other way.
I'm expecting Humans to have a pretty bad time in the coming months.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
I really like to see Big Thalia back in the lists. She is good not only versus Tron, but against almost every other 3c deck in modern. Jeskai, Grixis and GBx midrange decks are very reliant on their fetches and Non-Basics.
Also, in the aggro mirror Big Thalia can win you the race.
Only problem is you need tot start with Noble into Thalia and Noble needs to survive to have a real impact or it might be too late.
Hi all, I haven't been following much Humans discussion because for the last two months or so because I was playing Standard. I see everyone else here likes the Bugler though. Modern PPTQ season is starting and after an underwhelming day 1 of the SCG on Standard on Sat I entered the Modern Classic yesterday with Humans and went 7-2 for 15th.
I am not very good at remembering how matches go even moments after the fact (it is a skill I'm trying to improve on) so I don't have enough to write up a full tournament report but I can try and answer questions. My matchups were:
R1: Esper Control 2-1 1-0-0
R2: Counters Company 2-1 2-0-0
R3: Mardu Pyro 2-1 3-0-0
R4: GW Elves 2-1 4-0-0
R5: Affinity 2-1 5-0-0
R6: Living End 1-2 5-1-0
R7: Hollow One 2-1 6-1-0
R8: G Tron 1-2 6-2-0
R9: Hollow One 2-1 7-2-0
Quick thoughts about the deck and card choices: Militia Bugler is clearly the new hotness, and I like it in the flex spots. Skimming through the past few posts it seems everyone here does to, so I'm not crazy. The card is medium/medium-strong but it will always be medium, as opposed to the other cards we used to run in those spots. I like that the card has a relatively high floor. Restoration Angel for example can be kind of wonky to cast as our deck would love to operate on 3 mana sources and Vial a lot of the time, and against decks where it's blowout potential isn't relevant it's just a flying beater that we may need to tick Vial up to 4 against. I like 2, but I can see going to 3. Unsure what I'd cut, perhaps a Reflector Mage mainboard.
I am in love with Gaddock Teeg. "Meddling Mage naming all their good spells". A friend of mine told me to play 2 but I decided to play 1 Teeg, 1 Kataki. Looking back I would have played 2 this weekend. This card just comes in against a lot of the field running around today, because it just turns off so many decks' payoff cards. Supreme Verdict/Cryptic Command. Collected Company/Chord of Calling. Karn/Ugin. Gifts Ungiven/Past in Flames. It's really not all that awkward to cast in this deck, and it can buy us enough time to close out a game while our opponents win conditions rot in their hand.
Selfless Spirit was another concession to U/W that I felt is also an out to Oblivion Stone (which Gaddock Teeg misses). I like it better than Xathrid Necromancer but I don't really like either. Unsure if it's even worth running wrath specific hate.
Kataki is a card that I am really not sure how to evaluate. The card is only good in one situation, it's in your opener against Affinity. That's what happened yesterday, but I'm not sure if it is good enough elsewhere to keep it in the 75. If I was going to play it I'd probably play 2 because you really need it in your opener against that deck, but 0 may be better than 2. Lantern has been on the downswing for months, and I don't think its that good against KCI but I've never played with it in that matchup so I could be wrong.
Everything else is pretty stock. Deck plays powerful Magic. It's linear and fast enough to win through rough matchups, which is something your deck has to do in Modern. Going to a PPTQ this upcoming weekend and I'll try to write notes to write a better actual report.
Hey everyone! I'm very new to the deck and I was just curious if anyone has a recent sideboard guide. I don't have an issue with what to bring in, but I tend to have a hard time deciding what to take out.
Matches:
2-1 vs. Counters Company
2-1 vs. Jeskai Control
2-0 vs. RG Hollow One
2-0 vs. Death's Shadow Zoo
1-2 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
1-2 vs. Mono G Tron
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-0 vs. BR Hollow One
Notes:
Bugler is great, should have played more than 2 copies.
Big Thalia was great, never saw it vs. Tron though. 2 copies seems fine, could also be in the sideboard though.
Trimming Meddling Mage and Freebooter felt good.
Matches:
2-1 vs. Counters Company
2-1 vs. Jeskai Control
2-0 vs. RG Hollow One
2-0 vs. Death's Shadow Zoo
1-2 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
1-2 vs. Mono G Tron
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-0 vs. BR Hollow One
Notes:
Bugler is great, should have played more than 2 copies.
Big Thalia was great, never saw it vs. Tron though. 2 copies seems fine, could also be in the sideboard though.
Trimming Meddling Mage and Freebooter felt good.
Hey Demon, do you mind to share your sideboard plan?
Here's how I sideboarded (to the best of my memory):
vs. Counters Company: (Try to race/disrupt their combo kill...you can't always play around them already having the pieces, Staticaster and Reflector Mage are MVP, they might have Worship)
OUT:
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Militia Bugler
IN:
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Dismember
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil (they generally bring in Paths so you have that as a good target in addition to Coco. Same body as Thalia so pretty easy replace)
don't think you can afford to bring in Reclamation Sages even though they frequently have Worship...this might be wrong though, but I feel it's too bad when they don't draw a Worship and if they do draw one you won't have time to draw into this before they combo you...
vs. Jeskai Control: (not an easy matchup. Have to find a sort of balance between pressure and not overcommiting. Seeing their hand helps a lot with decision making)
OUT:
4 Reflector Mage
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Thalia's Lieutenant
IN:
2 Sin Collector
1 Selfless Spirit
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
vs. RG Hollow One: (not much experience vs. this rather than BR...they seem to be less Graveyard reliant and more aggressive though. Remember that Daredevil can just exile Looting even without mana to cast it)
OUT:
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Meddling Mage
IN:
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
vs. Death's Shadow Zoo: (Reflector Mage best card, Big Thalia is also amazing. I think Champions are still good but much less so than vs. GDS as they also have Goyfs etc.)
OUT:
3 Meddling Mage
IN:
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
vs. Grixis Death's Shadow: (They essentially become a control deck post board so you board like you're against something between BGx and UWx...Vial sucks vs. decks with lots of discard/removal and no countermagic. Meddling Mage dies to so many different things that it's bad)
OUT:
4 Aether Vial
3 Meddling Mage
1 Phantasmal Image
IN:
2 Auriok Champion
2 Sin Collector
1 Dismember
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
vs. Mono G Tron: (not sure what to do here...hope you draw well and they stumble. Big Thalia best card, buys you 2-3 extra turns before they Ugin/O-Stone you. Phantasmal Image is flexible here, I won a game here by milling my opponent out with Ulamog so keep your mind open to weird plays)
OUT:
2 Miltia Bugler
1 Reflector Mage
IN:
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Selfless Spirit
vs. BR Hollow One: (don't like either Meddling or Freebooter in this matchup. Losing to Lavamancer is a thing. Building a First Strike Wall is too)
OUT:
3 Meddling Mage
3 Kitesail Freebooter
IN:
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
I don't take notes so this is all from memory. Should be pretty accurate though. No guarantees this is optimal, I'm happy to discuss and learn about any of the decisions
Bugler is right in this deck, I am certain. It is a tremendous consistency tool and I personally think that the fact that it gets its value once and then is free for combat duty--unlike, say, Meddling, Thalia, Freebooter, or more relevantly, Dark Confidant--is a huge part of its useful application. I haven't whiffed with it yet and it has proved decisive on several occasions.
I'm playing three in a standard list, except I have only three Phantasmal Image. I was 4-0-1 Friday (ID last round) and 3-1 (losing only the mirror) last night at my large and competitive LGS with this list.
For sideboarding, I often run into the problem of knowing what looks good to bring in, but not knowing what I want to take out. In these situations I usually side out a mix of single copies of cards that may be useful but are not key players in the matchup.
Ya, I'm liking Bugler too. I've been playing around a bit with a list that's a bit heavier on card advantage. The only problem is that the heavy CA builds wind up light on power.
I guess from a creatures toolbox perspective, Imperial Recruiter and Recruiter of the Guard are both superior to the other two options since they just get you your silver bullet period. This will add tremendous consitency to the sideboard plan which is always the best. Imperial Recruiter find most (sideboard)creatures in our current deck so that's probably the better of the two.
From an aggro perspective though, Militia Bugler and Shardless Agent both are better. The former putting the biggest body on the table and the vigilance is a nice added bonus which should not be take lightly, while the latter just drops two bodies for only three mana. We'll end up with a mininmum of 2 power and 3 toughness with Shardless Agent divided over two bodies unless you hit Aether Vial. Militia Bugler on the other hand provides some form of selection, and we are ususally able to cast or put in play the found card via Aether Vial.
I guess Militia Bugler is the most balanced design and probably the best we will ever see in a stadard/modern cardpool, which is a pretty nice feat from the desingers of WotC.
I'm running three at the moment and will be rocking the deck this week at my LGS. to see how they fare.
Going to try 4 Bugler and an Island somewhere in my list tonight at FNM and tomorrow at a PPTQ. Getting to 4 starts cutting into our "real slots", unsure about just cutting another Phantasmal Image or trying to move a Reflector Mage to the sideboard.
I was reading the Mardu Pyromancer thread today, and man their primer is really really well done. Do you guys think this primer should get updated at some point? It still has Mayor and Collected Company as cards in its banner lol.
Going to try 4 Bugler and an Island somewhere in my list tonight at FNM and tomorrow at a PPTQ. Getting to 4 starts cutting into our "real slots", unsure about just cutting another Phantasmal Image or trying to move a Reflector Mage to the sideboard.
Mardu primer.....
How did you go? I took 3 copies of Militia Bugler to my LGS tonight, moved a Reflector Mage to the side and played the full core. Felt like the right choice for sure in that particular meta.
Spirits though, that's a hard hitting deck, feels slightly unfavorable. Maybe luck was on his side. Let's call it positive karma since the player scooped game one while he would have won if he didn't.
The deck often times runs at instant speed, all hexproof and all flyers with the new lord mixed in is serious buisiness.
How would you all play that match, curious to hear about your experiences.
Also went 3-1 last night with x3 Bugler. Card felt really good and I think x3 copies is right. Won against Burn, Mono W Prison and Goblins. Lost my last game 0-2 to Mono R Prison.... that match up felt horrible. chalice of the void, blood moon, anger of the gods and ensnaring bridge is tricky for us.
Never played against Spirits, can you be the aggressor or can you try and lock them out with Meddling Mage and Reflector Mage?
Anyone using damping sphere in their sideboard? Other than Tron and Storm, what would you bring it in against?
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What do you guys think about Xathrid Necromancer to resist decks with lots of removals? I can see it appears sometimes in SB and even in maindeck to free some SB slots, but is it really good? Competition is severe among 3-drops, and a lot of decks that run removals also run Path to Exile (UW Control, UWx control, Abzan, even Burn post-sb), which trades with the Necromancer (3 mana for 1).
Still very useful against sweepers and decks like Mardu Pyromancer I guess.
So do you think it fits in the current meta?
Played something similar to what I posted above last night. Went 4-0 in rounds, 8-2 in games. Played against UWR Control, Jund, Taking Turns, and Eldrazi Tron.
Wasn't able to stick a Bob all night, but Direfleet was fantastic, Necromancer also won me some games that I would have otherwise lost. Bugler was absolutely great, and Daredevil was fun. Had an opening with Daredevil where I was on the play in game 3. I open on Cavern, Hierarch. Opponent opens on Swamp/Inquisition and takes my Thalia. I untap, play my land and Daredevil his Inquisition, then next turn follow it up with a Meddling Mage+Freebooter.
Also went 3-1 last night with x3 Bugler. Card felt really good and I think x3 copies is right. Won against Burn, Mono W Prison and Goblins. Lost my last game 0-2 to Mono R Prison.... that match up felt horrible. chalice of the void, blood moon, anger of the gods and ensnaring bridge is tricky for us.
Never played against Spirits, can you be the aggressor or can you try and lock them out with Meddling Mage and Reflector Mage?
Anyone using damping sphere in their sideboard? Other than Tron and Storm, what would you bring it in against?
Tough luck, Prison decks are hard and never really fun to play against.
I have a copy of Damping Sphere in the board. It has uses versus Tron, Eldrazi, Storm, KCI, Elves, One drop aggro, and even Bolt-snap-bolt decks. Granted, to some it's only a minor anoyance. I like it for it's flexibility.
What do you guys think about Xathrid Necromancer to resist decks with lots of removals? I can see it appears sometimes in SB and even in maindeck to free some SB slots, but is it really good? Competition is severe among 3-drops, and a lot of decks that run removals also run Path to Exile (UW Control, UWx control, Abzan, even Burn post-sb), which trades with the Necromancer (3 mana for 1).
Still very useful against sweepers and decks like Mardu Pyromancer I guess.
So do you think it fits in the current meta?
There has been written and said plenty of good things on the card in this thread. I've ran two from the sideboard in the past, but currently i'm on zero copies. It's at its best when you can vial it in in response to a sweeper, but it's a tricky proposition to drop the proactive plan. Otherwise it's good against decks with a lot of spot removal. Mardu is indeed one of them, so are the GBx midrange decks. Beware of Anger of the Gods though.
@SmauG Thx for the details, so Necromancer is worse than before indeed.
I have done some testing with Militia Bugler too. As you guys all said, it seems to be a great balanced card (tested against Hollow One, Control, and the mirror). The list certainly deserves 2 or 3 copies in the maindeck. With 4 you risk having a slow, clunky hand with 2-3 of them, which is a bit more annoying than Reflector Mages or Mantis Riders (because Bugler doesn't have any good immediate impact on the board).
I'm still wondering what is best:
1) add the Bugler in the flex slots and keep the rest of the deck intact, as it has proved to be well-balanced and complete
2) or try to redesign the deck a bit, knowing that the meta keeps shifting and that Bugler can now more easily find 2-power creatures in the deck.
Some of you mentioned some 1-drops, perhaps 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim can help to cast the 3-drops; perhaps it's nice to be more aggressive with Kytheon, hero of Akros
Perhaps some humans are now less relevant than before (Meddling Mage, Reflector Mage...)?
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And what should Meddling Mage name in the Tron matchup? Karn Liberated is the most numerous removal in their deck, but Ugin and Oblivion Stone can sweep our board. Walking Ballista is another problem I've seen from the SB, and sometimes maindeck (makes sense, as it can win a game by itself with tons of mana). And then there is also Spatial Contortion... Tron can overload our Freebooters and MedMages, and don't much care about Thalia. And if they untap with Wurmcoil Engine, it's pretty much game over, unless we have Reflector Mage to delay what may be inevitable.
Speaking of Reflector Mage... is it just me or has the metagame shifted a bit away from creatures deck? If so, maybe we should cut a copy (and rely on Militia Bugler to find the 3 others), and revert back to 4 Thalia in the main deck. What do you think?
If we need a Human with 2 power, Flying and Haste, then we should consider swapping Mantis Rider for Skynight Legionnaire or Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. But I doubt we want to go there. After all, Bugler is more likely to put the next Rider closer to the top deck, than farther away. Hypergeometric Calculator tells us that Bugler will only reveal Mantis Rider 24.7% of the time. This means that 75.3% of the time, Rider will get closer to the top of the deck through a Bugler activation. I'm fine with these numbers, and will accept the few frustrating times it *is* the needed card and I have to put it at the bottom of the deck.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
At first glance, I would play 3 Buglers + 3 Ref Mages so I increase my silver bullet ratio thanks to more Buglers.
I doubt Humans will have a good G1 MU against Tron ever with the current card pool ! If Wizards print a creature that hates on Tron, ok. Or Eerie Interlude-like effect on a creature. I don't see any other way.
I'm expecting Humans to have a pretty bad time in the coming months.
Also, in the aggro mirror Big Thalia can win you the race.
Only problem is you need tot start with Noble into Thalia and Noble needs to survive to have a real impact or it might be too late.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
My list:
4 Champion of the Parish
1 Kessig Malcontents
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Mantis Rider
4 Meddling Mage
2 Militia Bugler
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Phantasmal Image
4 Reflector Mage
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Aether Vial
Lands (19)
1 Plains
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Unclaimed Territory
2 Auriok Champion
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Selfless Spirit
3 Sin Collector
1 Dismember
2 Gut Shot
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Kataki, War's Wage
I am not very good at remembering how matches go even moments after the fact (it is a skill I'm trying to improve on) so I don't have enough to write up a full tournament report but I can try and answer questions. My matchups were:
R1: Esper Control 2-1 1-0-0
R2: Counters Company 2-1 2-0-0
R3: Mardu Pyro 2-1 3-0-0
R4: GW Elves 2-1 4-0-0
R5: Affinity 2-1 5-0-0
R6: Living End 1-2 5-1-0
R7: Hollow One 2-1 6-1-0
R8: G Tron 1-2 6-2-0
R9: Hollow One 2-1 7-2-0
Quick thoughts about the deck and card choices:
Militia Bugler is clearly the new hotness, and I like it in the flex spots. Skimming through the past few posts it seems everyone here does to, so I'm not crazy. The card is medium/medium-strong but it will always be medium, as opposed to the other cards we used to run in those spots. I like that the card has a relatively high floor. Restoration Angel for example can be kind of wonky to cast as our deck would love to operate on 3 mana sources and Vial a lot of the time, and against decks where it's blowout potential isn't relevant it's just a flying beater that we may need to tick Vial up to 4 against. I like 2, but I can see going to 3. Unsure what I'd cut, perhaps a Reflector Mage mainboard.
I am in love with Gaddock Teeg. "Meddling Mage naming all their good spells". A friend of mine told me to play 2 but I decided to play 1 Teeg, 1 Kataki. Looking back I would have played 2 this weekend. This card just comes in against a lot of the field running around today, because it just turns off so many decks' payoff cards. Supreme Verdict/Cryptic Command. Collected Company/Chord of Calling. Karn/Ugin. Gifts Ungiven/Past in Flames. It's really not all that awkward to cast in this deck, and it can buy us enough time to close out a game while our opponents win conditions rot in their hand.
Selfless Spirit was another concession to U/W that I felt is also an out to Oblivion Stone (which Gaddock Teeg misses). I like it better than Xathrid Necromancer but I don't really like either. Unsure if it's even worth running wrath specific hate.
Kataki is a card that I am really not sure how to evaluate. The card is only good in one situation, it's in your opener against Affinity. That's what happened yesterday, but I'm not sure if it is good enough elsewhere to keep it in the 75. If I was going to play it I'd probably play 2 because you really need it in your opener against that deck, but 0 may be better than 2. Lantern has been on the downswing for months, and I don't think its that good against KCI but I've never played with it in that matchup so I could be wrong.
Everything else is pretty stock. Deck plays powerful Magic. It's linear and fast enough to win through rough matchups, which is something your deck has to do in Modern. Going to a PPTQ this upcoming weekend and I'll try to write notes to write a better actual report.
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Kitesail Freebooter
3 Meddling Mage
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Mantis Rider
4 Reflector Mage
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Militia Bugler
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
2 Auriok Champion
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Sin Collector
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Dismember
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Matches:
2-1 vs. Counters Company
2-1 vs. Jeskai Control
2-0 vs. RG Hollow One
2-0 vs. Death's Shadow Zoo
1-2 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
1-2 vs. Mono G Tron
2-1 vs. Grixis Death's Shadow
2-0 vs. BR Hollow One
Notes:
Bugler is great, should have played more than 2 copies.
Big Thalia was great, never saw it vs. Tron though. 2 copies seems fine, could also be in the sideboard though.
Trimming Meddling Mage and Freebooter felt good.
Hey Demon, do you mind to share your sideboard plan?
and congrats for you results
vs. Counters Company: (Try to race/disrupt their combo kill...you can't always play around them already having the pieces, Staticaster and Reflector Mage are MVP, they might have Worship)
OUT:
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Militia Bugler
IN:
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Dismember
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil (they generally bring in Paths so you have that as a good target in addition to Coco. Same body as Thalia so pretty easy replace)
don't think you can afford to bring in Reclamation Sages even though they frequently have Worship...this might be wrong though, but I feel it's too bad when they don't draw a Worship and if they do draw one you won't have time to draw into this before they combo you...
vs. Jeskai Control: (not an easy matchup. Have to find a sort of balance between pressure and not overcommiting. Seeing their hand helps a lot with decision making)
OUT:
4 Reflector Mage
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Thalia's Lieutenant
IN:
2 Sin Collector
1 Selfless Spirit
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
vs. RG Hollow One: (not much experience vs. this rather than BR...they seem to be less Graveyard reliant and more aggressive though. Remember that Daredevil can just exile Looting even without mana to cast it)
OUT:
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Meddling Mage
IN:
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
vs. Death's Shadow Zoo: (Reflector Mage best card, Big Thalia is also amazing. I think Champions are still good but much less so than vs. GDS as they also have Goyfs etc.)
OUT:
3 Meddling Mage
IN:
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
vs. Grixis Death's Shadow: (They essentially become a control deck post board so you board like you're against something between BGx and UWx...Vial sucks vs. decks with lots of discard/removal and no countermagic. Meddling Mage dies to so many different things that it's bad)
OUT:
4 Aether Vial
3 Meddling Mage
1 Phantasmal Image
IN:
2 Auriok Champion
2 Sin Collector
1 Dismember
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
vs. Mono G Tron: (not sure what to do here...hope you draw well and they stumble. Big Thalia best card, buys you 2-3 extra turns before they Ugin/O-Stone you. Phantasmal Image is flexible here, I won a game here by milling my opponent out with Ulamog so keep your mind open to weird plays)
OUT:
2 Miltia Bugler
1 Reflector Mage
IN:
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Selfless Spirit
vs. BR Hollow One: (don't like either Meddling or Freebooter in this matchup. Losing to Lavamancer is a thing. Building a First Strike Wall is too)
OUT:
3 Meddling Mage
3 Kitesail Freebooter
IN:
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Auriok Champion
1 Dismember
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
I don't take notes so this is all from memory. Should be pretty accurate though. No guarantees this is optimal, I'm happy to discuss and learn about any of the decisions
I'm playing three in a standard list, except I have only three Phantasmal Image. I was 4-0-1 Friday (ID last round) and 3-1 (losing only the mirror) last night at my large and competitive LGS with this list.
For sideboarding, I often run into the problem of knowing what looks good to bring in, but not knowing what I want to take out. In these situations I usually side out a mix of single copies of cards that may be useful but are not key players in the matchup.
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Dark Confidant
4 Kitesail Freebooter
1 Loyal Cathar
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Meddling Mage
2 Mantis Rider
2 Reflector Mage
4 Militia Bugler
1 Xathrid Necromancer
4 Aether Vial
Land 19
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Plains
From an aggro perspective though, Militia Bugler and Shardless Agent both are better. The former putting the biggest body on the table and the vigilance is a nice added bonus which should not be take lightly, while the latter just drops two bodies for only three mana. We'll end up with a mininmum of 2 power and 3 toughness with Shardless Agent divided over two bodies unless you hit Aether Vial.
Militia Bugler on the other hand provides some form of selection, and we are ususally able to cast or put in play the found card via Aether Vial.
I guess Militia Bugler is as good as it get's for modern but if i would have to rank them in two catagories to would be something like:
Toolbox: Imperial Recruiter>Recruiter of the Guard>Militia Bugler>Shardless Agent
Aggro: Shardless Agent>Militia Bugler>Imperial Recruiter>Recruiter of the Guard
I guess Militia Bugler is the most balanced design and probably the best we will ever see in a stadard/modern cardpool, which is a pretty nice feat from the desingers of WotC.
I'm running three at the moment and will be rocking the deck this week at my LGS. to see how they fare.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
I was reading the Mardu Pyromancer thread today, and man their primer is really really well done. Do you guys think this primer should get updated at some point? It still has Mayor and Collected Company as cards in its banner lol.
How did you go? I took 3 copies of Militia Bugler to my LGS tonight, moved a Reflector Mage to the side and played the full core. Felt like the right choice for sure in that particular meta.
These were my 75
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Ancient Zigurrat
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
Creatures (37)
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Meddling Mage
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Phantasmal Image
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Mantis Rider
3 Reflector Mage
3 Militia Bugler
4 Aether Vial
2 Gut Shot
2 Auriok Champion
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Damping Sphere
3 Sin Collector
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Reflector Mage
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Dismember
Played against Mardu Pyro, Bant Company and KCI without droping a game. Losing only the "final" game against UW spirits 1-2.
Felt really good about my first 2-0 win vs Mardu, which is a very hard matchup for me. KCI was very tense.
Militia Bugler is the truth. Notable hits where Izzet Staticaster with vial on three versus Mardu and a board full of spirit tokens, Kitesail Freebooter showing KCI and land just the turn before he could cast it, and Thalia's Lieutenant at random instances for pure value.
Spirits though, that's a hard hitting deck, feels slightly unfavorable. Maybe luck was on his side. Let's call it positive karma since the player scooped game one while he would have won if he didn't.
The deck often times runs at instant speed, all hexproof and all flyers with the new lord mixed in is serious buisiness.
How would you all play that match, curious to hear about your experiences.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
Never played against Spirits, can you be the aggressor or can you try and lock them out with Meddling Mage and Reflector Mage?
Anyone using damping sphere in their sideboard? Other than Tron and Storm, what would you bring it in against?
Everyone loves an angry mob RWG
Why so Bloo? RU
Still very useful against sweepers and decks like Mardu Pyromancer I guess.
So do you think it fits in the current meta?
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
2 Dark Confidant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Meddling Mage
4 Kitesail Freebooter
1 Phantasmal Image
4 Militia Bugler
4 Mantis Rider
3 Reflector Mage
4 Aether Vial
Land 19
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Ziggurat
2 Plains
4 Unclaimed Territory
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Mana Confluence
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Sin Collector
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Xathrid Necromancer
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Damping Sphere
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Cartel Aristocrat
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Renegade Rallier
Wasn't able to stick a Bob all night, but Direfleet was fantastic, Necromancer also won me some games that I would have otherwise lost. Bugler was absolutely great, and Daredevil was fun. Had an opening with Daredevil where I was on the play in game 3. I open on Cavern, Hierarch. Opponent opens on Swamp/Inquisition and takes my Thalia. I untap, play my land and Daredevil his Inquisition, then next turn follow it up with a Meddling Mage+Freebooter.
Have a few changes to make in my sideboard.
Tough luck, Prison decks are hard and never really fun to play against.
I have a copy of Damping Sphere in the board. It has uses versus Tron, Eldrazi, Storm, KCI, Elves, One drop aggro, and even Bolt-snap-bolt decks. Granted, to some it's only a minor anoyance. I like it for it's flexibility.
There has been written and said plenty of good things on the card in this thread. I've ran two from the sideboard in the past, but currently i'm on zero copies. It's at its best when you can vial it in in response to a sweeper, but it's a tricky proposition to drop the proactive plan. Otherwise it's good against decks with a lot of spot removal. Mardu is indeed one of them, so are the GBx midrange decks. Beware of Anger of the Gods though.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
I have done some testing with Militia Bugler too. As you guys all said, it seems to be a great balanced card (tested against Hollow One, Control, and the mirror). The list certainly deserves 2 or 3 copies in the maindeck. With 4 you risk having a slow, clunky hand with 2-3 of them, which is a bit more annoying than Reflector Mages or Mantis Riders (because Bugler doesn't have any good immediate impact on the board).
I'm still wondering what is best:
1) add the Bugler in the flex slots and keep the rest of the deck intact, as it has proved to be well-balanced and complete
2) or try to redesign the deck a bit, knowing that the meta keeps shifting and that Bugler can now more easily find 2-power creatures in the deck.