Round 1 vs Colourless Eldrazie:
Game 1 he found one of his 2 Scavenger Grounds when I had 3 Loams in the graveyard. Couldn't really recover from that, even with an active Seismic Assault.
Game 2 he got double Chalice on 2 (correct call from him btw) which rendered my Grudge quite useless and since I didn't board in the Beast Within (and just the one Nature's Claim) I had no out to kill them. So it turned in a slugfest, where he won in the end cause he found a Smasher (survived at 2 life for 10+ turns). However, my mana was atrocious, which basically costed me the game. I needed to Ghost Quarter myself twice to be able to cast Looting + Assault in turn 3 and 4. With any untapped dual I should have won that game without any problems.
Round 2 vs UW Control
Game 1 I fked up. I missed two damage cause I used Assault instead of Flame Jab to kill of the Teferi which resulted into one less token from Pyro. He survived with 1 hp... . He finished me with an big Entreat.
Game 2 he had a clunky draw, double Angel and Jace which looks quite bad against an active Assault Loam. Won thanks to a huge Tracker and Reveler.
Game 3 I kept a clunky hand, it went to time, he won in the last turn due to an EOT Clique + 2x Snappy flash in into untap into double removal spell. I also drew kinda *****ty + he killed of 3 Seimsic Assaults, so it was really hard to win. I really missed Tec Edge for that match-up (and Thrun...)
Round 3 vs bye (feelsbadman)
Round 4 vs Copy Cat + Kiki
Game 1 I had an Bolt for the Lotus Cobra into a Crusher which Crushed him within 3 turns (first killed the PW than with two swings him).
Game 2 I again killed an turn 2 Cobra + had a Dismember + Beast Within for his Combo. Went again for a Crusher, Dismembered an Glorybringer and got a 11/11 Crusher within one turn due to two Wayfinder.
Deck felt nice, but I am super rusty with that archetype (last time I played it Deathrite Shaman was legal...), hence a lot of mistakes and lost games because of this.
Btw, what is the reason for no Bloodbraid in that shell? It would replace the Reveler's most likely, cause it is a high end drop (only casted a Reveler for 3 or 2 mana once). Furthermore, I somehow want to play with Traverse in that shell, getting Delirium is super easy (especially thanks to Wayfinder and the Dredge from Loam). However, I do not know what silver bullets I would want to play.
The thing I noticed the most was, that the SB was kinda crappy in the given meta. We have a lot of big mana deck (Amulet, Tron and Titanshift mainly) and Alpine Moon, while being decent, is mostly not really enough. Hence, I will play the 4th Quarter in the SB (vs Amulet + Tron) and a 3rd Alpine Moon next time (Damping Sphere is nice vs Tron and Amulet, but not really game changing). I also need something vs Control, or at least I have the feeling that I need something here.
Greetings,
Kathal
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
@Kathal A big mana meta like that almost would make me want to play smallpox. I’ve found prime time decks/etron to be where I like the card the most, since the creature you hit is usually very relevant. I haven’t tried alpine moon though.
As for BBE, in my experience there’s too many chances to hit something weak or momentarily useless, even Loam can be a bad cascade. However, there’s probably room for a list that plays more high-value spells and BBE.
I’ve been thinking of a traverse package as well. I can see something like 1 Gitrog being used to facilitate a combo kill, maybe then Tasigur for value or even Kefnet.
Good to see that there are some other people on this deck. I've also brewed some time with the Seismic Assault Archetype.
In the beginning I was on Naya colours for Knight of the Reliquary, Path to Exile[/card, Lightning Helix and some sideboard Options. I didn't liked the inconsistent and painful manabase though, so i switched to RG. However my list is a bit different:
I want to discuss some choices about the maindeck:
Tarmogoyf: I believe that Tarmogoyf is very important for this deck, since we get our Graveyard full reasonably fast with Looting and Commune/Wayfinder. It also stalls against aggro decks or acts as a alternate wincon. I think Young Pyromancer goes in the same slot but in my testings I've found him to be very lackluster. He's good with Flame Jab for sure, but besides that i don't think the critical mass for Instant or Sorceries is reached in this deck.
Scavenging Ooze: Good card on its own and especially in the current meta. I will probably add a Fire-Lit Thicket to the manabase to maximise the effect.
Molten Vortex: In some match-ups like Humans or spirits I really like this on Turn 1, in other occasions it kind of acts like Assault #5. I also like having more Enchantments for Tarmogoyf.
Commune with the Gods: i see that you are playing the Wayfinder instead of Commune, but I don't know why. Commune digs one deeper and finds both of our synergy cards while Wayfinder can only find Loam. Putting lands in the Graveyard instead of the hand is also better with Loam and Countryside Crusher in the deck I believe. The only upside I see is the 1/1 body to chumpblock. Not a good synergy with Anger of the Gods in the Sideboard
Lands: I strongly believe that 22 lands are way to little. I am currently playing 26 and wouldn't even go down to 25. Drawing Lands is so important for the deck, they are in some situation the best top deck. I'm also playing 9 Fetchlands to get my loam going as soon as possible. I will maybe cut one in favor of a Fire-Lit Thicket, but a critical mass in Fetchlands is very important in my opinion.
I've also thought about Bloodbraid Elf, but I haven't tested him yet. Will definitely do though.
A Traverse package with 4 Bauble, 2-3 Traverse and some 1 off's sounds also nice, especially with Tarmogoyf. I haven't found the space for that yet, though.
Good to see that there are some other people on this deck. I've also brewed some time with the Seismic Assault Archetype.
In the beginning I was on Naya colours for Knight of the Reliquary, Path to Exile[/card, Lightning Helix and some sideboard Options. I didn't liked the inconsistent and painful manabase though, so i switched to RG. However my list is a bit different:
I want to discuss some choices about the maindeck:
Tarmogoyf: I believe that Tarmogoyf is very important for this deck, since we get our Graveyard full reasonably fast with Looting and Commune/Wayfinder. It also stalls against aggro decks or acts as a alternate wincon. I think Young Pyromancer goes in the same slot but in my testings I've found him to be very lackluster. He's good with Flame Jab for sure, but besides that i don't think the critical mass for Instant or Sorceries is reached in this deck.
Scavenging Ooze: Good card on its own and especially in the current meta. I will probably add a Fire-Lit Thicket to the manabase to maximise the effect.
Molten Vortex: In some match-ups like Humans or spirits I really like this on Turn 1, in other occasions it kind of acts like Assault #5. I also like having more Enchantments for Tarmogoyf.
Commune with the Gods: i see that you are playing the Wayfinder instead of Commune, but I don't know why. Commune digs one deeper and finds both of our synergy cards while Wayfinder can only find Loam. Putting lands in the Graveyard instead of the hand is also better with Loam and Countryside Crusher in the deck I believe. The only upside I see is the 1/1 body to chumpblock. Not a good synergy with Anger of the Gods in the Sideboard
Lands: I strongly believe that 22 lands are way to little. I am currently playing 26 and wouldn't even go down to 25. Drawing Lands is so important for the deck, they are in some situation the best top deck. I'm also playing 9 Fetchlands to get my loam going as soon as possible. I will maybe cut one in favor of a Fire-Lit Thicket, but a critical mass in Fetchlands is very important in my opinion.
I've also thought about Bloodbraid Elf, but I haven't tested him yet. Will definitely do though.
A Traverse package with 4 Bauble, 2-3 Traverse and some 1 off's sounds also nice, especially with Tarmogoyf. I haven't found the space for that yet, though.
I like this list a lot. My list is decidedly budget friendly. I have been building it up with store credit for a while now. I originally designed it so that I could play the deck without Tarmogoyf, since it is expensive.
I found the best two drops to fill that slot were Scavenging Ooze and Young Pyromancer. They both are credible threats in my meta, especially with the extra spells I play for Bedlam Reveler.
Satyr Wayfinder was originally in the deck as a 1/2 of because of my awful manabase. It finds lands, Loam and Flame Jab on top of other things and carries a nice chumping body. The Wayfinders also let me cut a few lands. I'm on 23 right now, and a turn 2 wayfinder "mini-tutors" for Loam and other graveyard spells while counting as a land. In the late game, he comes down as a shock attached to a 1/1 that can often be what I need to stabilize. Block for a turn against a goyf and kill it the next with Loam-Cycle-Loam.
Commune with the Gods is good when it finds you Seismic Assault, but is terrible when it misses. When you Commune and hit a Countryside Crusher turn 2 instead of committing anything to the board in an archetype where you likely have another three drop in hand already, it feels so bad. I don't play many "good" creatures, though with Goyf Commune has 4 more big hits, so often a 4 of Commune would hit a Wayfinder, a Flame Jab, and 3 lands. I found Wayfinder more consistent. Commune late game is way better though, especially when I commune into a Bedlam Reveler
I always just preferred to play threats over commune like more Trackers and Scoozes, but with Bedlam Reveler demanding a high number of spells in the deck, I decided to throw a couple back in.
In my testing with Molten Vortex, I've found you need to really build your deck around it to make it good. In certain matchups, like you said, in humans, spirits, and infect, it cleans house. In others, it's an t1 enchantment that wants you to be playing lands while discarding them and using your entire turn to do it. Out of the sideboard, I like it a lot, though in the maindeck it can sometimes be too much for our resources; at least, in my experience.
I like your manabase. I'd like to play more fetches, but again, I'm building this up again since my store banned proxies last year. Still, one essential thing to playing the deck in this meta is Sheltered Thicket. I think it would be advantageous to cut a mountain for one more Sheltered Thicket in your list. Cycle lands are incredibly powerful in loam, as they let you deal 10 damage in a turn with Seismic Assault. With Goyfs rolling around and TiTis at an all time high, having enough damage to kill high toughness creatures is essential.
Round 1 vs Colourless Eldrazie:
Game 1 he found one of his 2 Scavenger Grounds when I had 3 Loams in the graveyard. Couldn't really recover from that, even with an active Seismic Assault.
Game 2 he got double Chalice on 2 (correct call from him btw) which rendered my Grudge quite useless and since I didn't board in the Beast Within (and just the one Nature's Claim) I had no out to kill them. So it turned in a slugfest, where he won in the end cause he found a Smasher (survived at 2 life for 10+ turns). However, my mana was atrocious, which basically costed me the game. I needed to Ghost Quarter myself twice to be able to cast Looting + Assault in turn 3 and 4. With any untapped dual I should have won that game without any problems.
Round 2 vs UW Control
Game 1 I fked up. I missed two damage cause I used Assault instead of Flame Jab to kill of the Teferi which resulted into one less token from Pyro. He survived with 1 hp... . He finished me with an big Entreat.
Game 2 he had a clunky draw, double Angel and Jace which looks quite bad against an active Assault Loam. Won thanks to a huge Tracker and Reveler.
Game 3 I kept a clunky hand, it went to time, he won in the last turn due to an EOT Clique + 2x Snappy flash in into untap into double removal spell. I also drew kinda *****ty + he killed of 3 Seimsic Assaults, so it was really hard to win. I really missed Tec Edge for that match-up (and Thrun...)
Round 3 vs bye (feelsbadman)
Round 4 vs Copy Cat + Kiki
Game 1 I had an Bolt for the Lotus Cobra into a Crusher which Crushed him within 3 turns (first killed the PW than with two swings him).
Game 2 I again killed an turn 2 Cobra + had a Dismember + Beast Within for his Combo. Went again for a Crusher, Dismembered an Glorybringer and got a 11/11 Crusher within one turn due to two Wayfinder.
Deck felt nice, but I am super rusty with that archetype (last time I played it Deathrite Shaman was legal...), hence a lot of mistakes and lost games because of this.
Btw, what is the reason for no Bloodbraid in that shell? It would replace the Reveler's most likely, cause it is a high end drop (only casted a Reveler for 3 or 2 mana once). Furthermore, I somehow want to play with Traverse in that shell, getting Delirium is super easy (especially thanks to Wayfinder and the Dredge from Loam). However, I do not know what silver bullets I would want to play.
The thing I noticed the most was, that the SB was kinda crappy in the given meta. We have a lot of big mana deck (Amulet, Tron and Titanshift mainly) and Alpine Moon, while being decent, is mostly not really enough. Hence, I will play the 4th Quarter in the SB (vs Amulet + Tron) and a 3rd Alpine Moon next time (Damping Sphere is nice vs Tron and Amulet, but not really game changing). I also need something vs Control, or at least I have the feeling that I need something here.
Greetings,
Kathal
Glad you liked the deck!
This list is very taxing to play, and I don't blame you for making misplays. I punted hard against both UR Phoenix and Jund last week, getting me an unintentional draw and a loss.
I think the control matchup is very favorable for us. I used to dedicate a heavy amount of sideboard cards to it, with Worm Harvest and extra Tectonic Edge and more, but I found I was winning in the maindeck anyways. And that was before I played Trackers...
Control is all about landing a threat early, chipping in for damage, and then using Loam + Flame Jab or Conflagrate or manlands to kill your opponent. Since loam has dredge, you can cast it every turn. Even if your opp counters it, it will come back. My deck usually runs reeeaaal thin when I face control due to the large number of times I dredge it. Oh, and if you land Seismic Assault it's easy mode. You have to be careful about running into Detention Sphere and even Teferi, Hero of Dominaria's -3, but even then you can just Flame Jab your opp out.
This sideboard is messy for a reason. Most of this deck's matchups are fairly close, so not a lot of cards are needed to make the deck better. Against tron for example, I usually board in 2 Alpine Moon, 1 Damping Sphere, 1 Beast Within, and extra threats which on top of the Ghost Quarter + Loam loops maindeck does really well. I made this sideboard through elephanting the deck, and increased a lot of the popular matchup spreads across the board.
I think the Amulet Titan deck is a good matchup for the deck, especially post board. In that deck, removal, recurring Ghost Quarter, and shooting down Titans makes the matchup either even or us favored. Post board it gets even better with Claim, Grudge, and Beast Within. Scapeshift is a really hard MU that I've sort of given up on. That's what the Alpine Moon are really there for, and I didn't want to run more than 2 or shill out for a card I don't really like to play anyways, Blood Moon.
And finally, I think Bloodbraid Elf is fine, but it only draws you one card instead of 3. Bedlam Reveler often attacks as a 7/8 when I need him to (Loam + FJ), draws more cards, dredges loam like a Sheltered Thicket so lets you deal 10 damage in a turn on the same turn you cast him, and is a better draw late game. It is only worse against Rest in Peace and often I'll board him out for trackers.
Has Magmatic Insight been considered here at all as a digging spell alongside Looting? This archetype seems particarly good against GDS and Phoenix since they have few ways to interact with your Enchantments. I'm considering building the deck but worried about what problem match ups I might face.
What about Commune with the Gods to help find the namesake enchantment, Or Molten Vortex, Tarmogoyf, etc
Note: No SB cause I have not made any thoughts about it.
No Pyro anymore, cause I really do not like him. In the RUG version he is way better, but not in the straight RG (especially when I have access to Goyf). Still not sure on the high end, Reveler is such a wonky card. Will probably cut him completely for another Tracker (like him more) and probably another low cost value card. I have him stuck in my hand way to often, so if possible, I would want to avoid all card which have a CMC higher than 3 but if I can cast them via alternative cost or I can use them from the graveyard. Rix Maadi Reveler doesn't look that bad in that slot, I just need to add a black source to be able to cast it for the Spectacle cost. With Spectacle, it does basically the same as Reveler (for a similar mana cost), without it is just a 2/2 Looter, so not that bad. Nissa, Vastwood Seer would also work in that slot btw but would require 2 Forests.
Greetings,
Kathal
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Has Magmatic Insight been considered here at all as a digging spell alongside Looting? This archetype seems particarly good against GDS and Phoenix since they have few ways to interact with your Enchantments. I'm considering building the deck but worried about what problem match ups I might face.
What about Commune with the Gods to help find the namesake enchantment, Or Molten Vortex, Tarmogoyf, etc
Regarding Goyf and Molten Vortex, read the last page or so for infos regarding them.
Regarding Insight, I tested it several times in different Loam decks, it was always bad. Lategame it does nothing (if you do not have already the Loam engine going, where you usually do not draw any cards but just dredge), early game you do not want to pitch lands cause you really need to hit your landdrops, only midgame it shines. If you want to play another cantrip, go for stuff like Tormenting Voice, which is again, not that great, but still doable. However, Commune with the Gods and Satyr Wayfinder are both better than most 2CMC Cantrips.
Greetings,
Kathal
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Btw. I just searched through all Modern legal utility lands for this deck, and it is kinda depressing. There are basically no good cards out there, the best one being Quicksand and Kessig Wolf Run for this deck (and I wouldn't play Wolf Run). So kinda hope for Modern Horizon for some goodies on this end (looking at you Threshold lands).
Greetings,
Kathal
Private Mod Note
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Has Magmatic Insight been considered here at all as a digging spell alongside Looting? This archetype seems particarly good against GDS and Phoenix since they have few ways to interact with your Enchantments. I'm considering building the deck but worried about what problem match ups I might face.
What about Commune with the Gods to help find the namesake enchantment, Or Molten Vortex, Tarmogoyf, etc
Magmatic Insight is fine, but is just awkward in so many situations. There aren't many times where it is better than Looting, but if you are playing somewhere in the range of 28 lands, it will almost always be good. The reason why I often play Tormenting Voice over insight if I want to play one or the other is because it lets me discard all the problematic cards in my hand such as dead removal spells against tron or nonland cards that want to be in the graveyard like Loam and Conflagrate.
Goyf and Commune are both great in the deck. The traditional lists play no Commune with the Gods because they would rather be more threat dense and play discard like Inquisition of Kozilek and Raven's Crime. The Jund Assault Loam lists are basically structured as a "bigger jund deck," often just playing 3 copies of the combo to close out the late game.
And finally, as far as matchups goes, has one of the most favorable spreads in modern at the moment. It is favored game 1 vs GDS and is 50/50 postboard, it is well favored vs Phoenix, it is favored over dredge (though Creeping Chill can always screw that up), and is 50/50 with all the midrange and control decks. The only decks it loses hard to are uninteractive combo decks like Titanshift and Ad Nauseum, while the prison and bogles matchups leave something to be desired (Engineered Explosives in sideboard is a good option for those decks.).
Note: No SB cause I have not made any thoughts about it.
No Pyro anymore, cause I really do not like him. In the RUG version he is way better, but not in the straight RG (especially when I have access to Goyf). Still not sure on the high end, Reveler is such a wonky card. Will probably cut him completely for another Tracker (like him more) and probably another low cost value card. I have him stuck in my hand way to often, so if possible, I would want to avoid all card which have a CMC higher than 3 but if I can cast them via alternative cost or I can use them from the graveyard. Rix Maadi Reveler doesn't look that bad in that slot, I just need to add a black source to be able to cast it for the Spectacle cost. With Spectacle, it does basically the same as Reveler (for a similar mana cost), without it is just a 2/2 Looter, so not that bad. Nissa, Vastwood Seer would also work in that slot btw but would require 2 Forests.
Greetings,
Kathal
Reveler is kind of in the PW Slot of the deck where it is very awkward. I had 2 Anger of the Gods there for a while, but Reveler fit better. I do think Tracker is probably better than Reveler, especially with the ability to loop fetchlands and crack clues to dredge loam, it's again that my LGS has no trackers left and I am still waiting for my last couple to arrive in the mail.
I'm trying to think of situations where Tracker wouldn't be better, and there aren't a lot. Reveler has those times where your opp has Rest in Peace and it costs the full 8 while tracker is a 3 mana threat + card advantage, reveler does draw you 3 cards but tracker fetch/GQ draws at least 2 and likely more, Reveler survives Anger / Bolt while tracker does not (at first), I think Tracker just on all accounts looks better in that slot.
Because there are fewer utility lands, Loam is a real bad card on its own in modern, especially compared to the legacy AggroLoam lists. I also hope Horizons brings some good lands, mainly Forgotten Cave and his friends as well as more utilities.
Tracker is worse if you do not have Loam in the lategame but still have your graveyard (Ooze or Surgical could have removed all your Loams). There, Reveler is better.
Otherwise, Tracker is another pay off card for Loam (which the deck really wants) and still decent without Loam. It is also better in a Goyf version, since you have less incentive to loop Flame Jabs for Pyro Tokens.
I was wondering if a 1-of ramunap ruins would be good for the control matchup. If we can keep casting Loam we can keep getting it and using it. Might be better than megaliths in that scenario?
There’s a few cards for the side I want to bring up:
- I really like grafdigger’s cage in the side as like a 3 or 4-of. In our main it hits conflagrate/flame Jab and looting, but against something like dredge or storm it really slows them down or downright stops them.
- I like Heaven//Earth as a board wipe, it’s one of the only ones that can be cast from the grave.
- I haven’t tested this one, but i’m Gonna try shattering spree as artifact hate, since i’m Already playing a ton of red sources.
Tracker is worse if you do not have Loam in the lategame but still have your graveyard (Ooze or Surgical could have removed all your Loams). There, Reveler is better.
Otherwise, Tracker is another pay off card for Loam (which the deck really wants) and still decent without Loam. It is also better in a Goyf version, since you have less incentive to loop Flame Jabs for Pyro Tokens.
Keldon Megaliths is the only one interesting I found, and that one sucks too, cause I'm close to never hellbent :/
Greetings,
Kathal
Yeah, when I was talking about utility lands, I specifically meant in this deck in particular. There are a lot of good lands in modern, just not a whole lot that are amazing in AssLoam or popular Loam strategies in general. I think Keldon Megaliths is a little low powered compared to a creature land, Conflagrate, or even Flame Jab loops. It’s just a little too cute imo.
I was wondering if a 1-of ramunap ruins would be good for the control matchup. If we can keep casting Loam we can keep getting it and using it. Might be better than megaliths in that scenario?
There’s a few cards for the side I want to bring up:
- I really like grafdigger’s cage in the side as like a 3 or 4-of. In our main it hits conflagrate/flame Jab and looting, but against something like dredge or storm it really slows them down or downright stops them.
- I like Heaven//Earth as a board wipe, it’s one of the only ones that can be cast from the grave.
- I haven’t tested this one, but i’m Gonna try shattering spree as artifact hate, since i’m Already playing a ton of red sources.
Ramunap Ruins could be good if it is sacrificing other deserts I think. If the goal is to Loam - sac ramunap to deal 2, then it's fairly slow and will take up your entire turn each time you do it. For practically 7 mana (tapping Ruins) you deal 2 damage to your opponent. Flame Jab deals at least 3 per turn and costs 5, letting you play lands up to a Treetop Village to be able to swing in and Arc Lightning against a control deck.
Where Ruins gets good is when your opp has a Leyline of Sanctity or some sort of "Eidolon of the Great Revel" effect that stops your FJs. 2 dmg isn't a lot, but if you have gotten your opponent low by attacking in with Goyfs, Crushers, and ManLands, then it could be good. That being said, I think that's pretty niche and not very applicable.
I was playing Heaven // Earth for a while. It's really good when the first half is good and against x/2s. I found that it wasn't big enough to be great against humans, especially after a Thalia's Lieutenant, couldn't be cast from the graveyard against Spirits, and wouldn't deal with the opposing goyf on the other side of the battlefield. I switched to Conflagrate because it just did more, and consistently either swept the board of my opp or killed a big threat that needed to die when I didn't have Seismic Assault. If Mardu Pyromancer becomes a huge deck again, I'll sleeve it back up, but it's lackluster on most other occasions.
Shattering Spree is great. I'd advise to play a couple different artifact hate spells such as that and Abrade or Cindervines so you don't get blown out by Chalice of the Void, but Spree is very good against the prison decks that run over this archetype.
I'm new to these loam assault strategies and tried out CrypticCommander's RG list with 3 young pyromancer that was posted not long ago. I went 2 and 2 at FNM last Friday but really enjoyed the playstyle and love all the cool synergies in this deck. I just had a couple questions/ideas and wanted to see what some of you more experienced loam assault pilots thought.
1. Is it worth it to skew the sideboard to more enchantment based hate? I feel that since we're using Commune with the gods as an enabler, we can dig and find our sideboard cards pretty easily and not sacrifice our main game plan. Might be too cute but it could be worth exploring since we could grab Cindervines or seal of primordiun for artifact/enchantment hate, or wheel of sun and moon as grave hate, raking canopy for Phoenix hate etc
2. Has anyone tried out Ramunap excavator or wayward swordtooth in the deck? I'm thinking swordtooth main as another big beater and the ability to ramp. Also being able to double ghost quarter in a turn seems powerful against certain decks. For the grindier match ups where you need more threats excavator could be brought in so we don't have to rely on loam as much.
Let me know what you guys think. I'm going to try out kathals list above with the 4 goyfs tonight but cutting the bedlam revellers for an extra tireless tracker and a conflagrate. Still deciding what I want to cut for wayward swordtooth lol
1. Is it worth it to skew the sideboard to more enchantment based hate? I feel that since we're using Commune with the gods as an enabler, we can dig and find our sideboard cards pretty easily and not sacrifice our main game plan. Might be too cute but it could be worth exploring since we could grab Cindervines or seal of primordiun for artifact/enchantment hate, or wheel of sun and moon as grave hate, raking canopy for Phoenix hate etc
Hey there! As far as enchantment stuff goes, I could see Cindervines being a fine card to grab. It's a good sideboard card that I just haven't tested yet. Seal of Primordium is practically the same card, just not taking mana to sac plus a substiantially smaller amount of text. Wheel could be good as your graveyard hate spell of choice as well over the crypts. When it comes to a card like Raking Canopy, I think it's just too cute in a lot of ways. The card is good against phoenix and is good against spirits, but maindeck our matchups against those decks are already sky high. A resolved Seismic Assault is a very strong answer to Arclight Phoenix, and Scooze helps to keep them dead too. I'd rather play a less specific sideboard card like Cindervines which could come in, deal some damage, then kill a Pyromancer Ascension out of Phoenix or Aether Vial out of Spirits. So the short answer is yes, I think some enchantments in sideboard would be fine to include, especially Cindervines.
2. Has anyone tried out Ramunap excavator or wayward swordtooth in the deck? I'm thinking swordtooth main as another big beater and the ability to ramp. Also being able to double ghost quarter in a turn seems powerful against certain decks. For the grindier match ups where you need more threats excavator could be brought in so we don't have to rely on loam as much.
Ramunap Excavator (or Crucible of Worlds before it) used to see play in sideboards during times where you really wanted Ghost Quarter in the metagame. When the format was dominated by Summer Bloom, Tron, and Twin, it was commonly played as a one-of or two-of out of board. The thing about Crucible effects is you really want your lands to be strong enough for it to deal real damage. If your Crucible just lets you crack a fetchland each turn, it is a good card, but not game-changing.
In legacy where there are more powerful lands that do insane things (looking at you Tabernacle) Crucible is way stronger on its own. In modern, the real reason to run it is to loop Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, which both are mediocre when facing the wrong matchup. I think Excavator is just not powerful enough in this metagame, though if Amulet Titan and Tron begin to dominate completely again, I'd be willing to keep it in my sb.
Wayward Swordtooth is closer since it doesn't die to Bolt and does more on its own. It reminds me of Azusa, which I tested a while ago but didn't perform. One similar card that did do well however is Sakura-Tribe Scout, which let me cast Seismic Assault turn 2 in some games and double Ghost Quarter in others. Wayward Swordtooth would also be better if we wanted to ramp up to a huge play, though we only really need to get to 6 lands in loam.
All this talk reminds me that the base AssaultLoam list hasn't been posted on here in a while. The RG list is malleable because it's hard to emulate the sheer power that the Jund list has as far as creatures and removal goes, but the archetype is RGx and I think the Naya version might be the strongest right now for the metagame. I'll work on updating the classic lists I have from 6 months ago and post them on here with the reprints.
Here's a rough look at the Jund Loam deck as the archetype would look now. The primer does explain the card choices well, but I'll go through a quick TL;DR.
While the RGx AssaultLoam archetype in general is known for having great removal, Jund Loam extends this by having unconditional removal like Fatal Push and Assassin's Trophy combined with hand disruption in Liliana of the Veil, Raven's Crime, and other targeted discard. Lili is especially good in the deck because of Loam, as we can discard excess lands while keeping "real cards" and the opponent gets ground out.
Dark Confidant is the best card in the deck imo. It is what really incentivizes playing these colors. Because of the large amount of lands we run, it hits a lot of lands and lets us draw cards even when we want to dredge loam. While Tireless Tracker is a really good long game card advantage engine + threat, the mana investment we need to put into tracker makes it so sometimes we win/lose the game with clues on the table, unable to find opportunities to crack them in our curve. Confidant lets you draw cards each turn with Assault Loam online, and really is indescribably good.
That is the traditional deck, but I wouldn't really play it right now because of the amount of damage it deals to itself. Instead, I think the best option right now would be Naya Loam... I have a few lists for this one, but I don't know which one would be best for the metagame. The incentives for this version are good sideboard pieces and hate, even potentially boarding in Rest in Peace with a transformational sideboard, though I haven't updated that version since 2013, so it needs some work. It could look something like this:
Something like this... I think the SB is kind of all over the place, but I just threw it together. Naya is a color combination that can be built in so many different ways it is hard to just throw together a list that works, unlike Jund, where you have a slim number of really absurdly powerful cards that you can just mash together to make a deck. This list uses mana dorks to power out your 3-drops turn 2. Turn 2 Seismic Assault, turn 3 AssaultLoam is unbeatable for some strategies. That is pretty uncommon though - the main reason you play the dorks in loam is to be able to have a plan post-board casting value 3 drop creatures with good removal. Unfortunately, since Noble Hierarch can't tap for R, we have to play Birds and Arbor Elf. The latter makes us have to have a Stomping Ground turn 1, so it is only a 1 of. I have seen lists that even transition to Naya Company post-board, but that doesn't seem so good in the metagame.
I have seen Naya Loam decks that run Monastery Mentor which try to cast Loam + Flame Jab + Flame Jab + Flame Jab to make 4 tokens in one turn then give all your monks +4/+4 and swing for 21 the next turn. I have seen lists that combine Countryside Crusher with Knight of the Reliquary to have them fuel each other and both grow large. I used to play a list that played Commune with the Gods to find Retreat to Coralhelm and had KnightFall inside AssaultLoam (1 of Retreat with 4 KoRs, so some games you just 2 card combo kill). The Naya Loam archetype it the most flexible of the four major color combinations, and is hard to build because of it.
Round 1 vs Colourless Eldrazie:
Game 1 he found one of his 2 Scavenger Grounds when I had 3 Loams in the graveyard. Couldn't really recover from that, even with an active Seismic Assault.
Game 2 he got double Chalice on 2 (correct call from him btw) which rendered my Grudge quite useless and since I didn't board in the Beast Within (and just the one Nature's Claim) I had no out to kill them. So it turned in a slugfest, where he won in the end cause he found a Smasher (survived at 2 life for 10+ turns). However, my mana was atrocious, which basically costed me the game. I needed to Ghost Quarter myself twice to be able to cast Looting + Assault in turn 3 and 4. With any untapped dual I should have won that game without any problems.
Round 2 vs UW Control
Game 1 I fked up. I missed two damage cause I used Assault instead of Flame Jab to kill of the Teferi which resulted into one less token from Pyro. He survived with 1 hp... . He finished me with an big Entreat.
Game 2 he had a clunky draw, double Angel and Jace which looks quite bad against an active Assault Loam. Won thanks to a huge Tracker and Reveler.
Game 3 I kept a clunky hand, it went to time, he won in the last turn due to an EOT Clique + 2x Snappy flash in into untap into double removal spell. I also drew kinda *****ty + he killed of 3 Seimsic Assaults, so it was really hard to win. I really missed Tec Edge for that match-up (and Thrun...)
Round 3 vs bye (feelsbadman)
Round 4 vs Copy Cat + Kiki
Game 1 I had an Bolt for the Lotus Cobra into a Crusher which Crushed him within 3 turns (first killed the PW than with two swings him).
Game 2 I again killed an turn 2 Cobra + had a Dismember + Beast Within for his Combo. Went again for a Crusher, Dismembered an Glorybringer and got a 11/11 Crusher within one turn due to two Wayfinder.
Deck felt nice, but I am super rusty with that archetype (last time I played it Deathrite Shaman was legal...), hence a lot of mistakes and lost games because of this.
Btw, what is the reason for no Bloodbraid in that shell? It would replace the Reveler's most likely, cause it is a high end drop (only casted a Reveler for 3 or 2 mana once). Furthermore, I somehow want to play with Traverse in that shell, getting Delirium is super easy (especially thanks to Wayfinder and the Dredge from Loam). However, I do not know what silver bullets I would want to play.
The thing I noticed the most was, that the SB was kinda crappy in the given meta. We have a lot of big mana deck (Amulet, Tron and Titanshift mainly) and Alpine Moon, while being decent, is mostly not really enough. Hence, I will play the 4th Quarter in the SB (vs Amulet + Tron) and a 3rd Alpine Moon next time (Damping Sphere is nice vs Tron and Amulet, but not really game changing). I also need something vs Control, or at least I have the feeling that I need something here.
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
As for BBE, in my experience there’s too many chances to hit something weak or momentarily useless, even Loam can be a bad cascade. However, there’s probably room for a list that plays more high-value spells and BBE.
I’ve been thinking of a traverse package as well. I can see something like 1 Gitrog being used to facilitate a combo kill, maybe then Tasigur for value or even Kefnet.
In the beginning I was on Naya colours for Knight of the Reliquary, Path to Exile[/card, Lightning Helix and some sideboard Options. I didn't liked the inconsistent and painful manabase though, so i switched to RG. However my list is a bit different:
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Countryside Crusher
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Seismic Assault
1 Molten Vortex
4 Faithless Looting
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Flame Jab
4 Life from the Loam
2 Lightning Axe
4 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Stomping Ground
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Sheltered Thicket
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Forest
6 Mountain
1 Raging Ravine
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Damping Sphere
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature's Claim
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Lightning Axe
I want to discuss some choices about the maindeck:
Tarmogoyf: I believe that Tarmogoyf is very important for this deck, since we get our Graveyard full reasonably fast with Looting and Commune/Wayfinder. It also stalls against aggro decks or acts as a alternate wincon. I think Young Pyromancer goes in the same slot but in my testings I've found him to be very lackluster. He's good with Flame Jab for sure, but besides that i don't think the critical mass for Instant or Sorceries is reached in this deck.
Scavenging Ooze: Good card on its own and especially in the current meta. I will probably add a Fire-Lit Thicket to the manabase to maximise the effect.
Molten Vortex: In some match-ups like Humans or spirits I really like this on Turn 1, in other occasions it kind of acts like Assault #5. I also like having more Enchantments for Tarmogoyf.
Commune with the Gods: i see that you are playing the Wayfinder instead of Commune, but I don't know why. Commune digs one deeper and finds both of our synergy cards while Wayfinder can only find Loam. Putting lands in the Graveyard instead of the hand is also better with Loam and Countryside Crusher in the deck I believe. The only upside I see is the 1/1 body to chumpblock. Not a good synergy with Anger of the Gods in the Sideboard
Lands: I strongly believe that 22 lands are way to little. I am currently playing 26 and wouldn't even go down to 25. Drawing Lands is so important for the deck, they are in some situation the best top deck. I'm also playing 9 Fetchlands to get my loam going as soon as possible. I will maybe cut one in favor of a Fire-Lit Thicket, but a critical mass in Fetchlands is very important in my opinion.
I've also thought about Bloodbraid Elf, but I haven't tested him yet. Will definitely do though.
A Traverse package with 4 Bauble, 2-3 Traverse and some 1 off's sounds also nice, especially with Tarmogoyf. I haven't found the space for that yet, though.
I found the best two drops to fill that slot were Scavenging Ooze and Young Pyromancer. They both are credible threats in my meta, especially with the extra spells I play for Bedlam Reveler.
Satyr Wayfinder was originally in the deck as a 1/2 of because of my awful manabase. It finds lands, Loam and Flame Jab on top of other things and carries a nice chumping body. The Wayfinders also let me cut a few lands. I'm on 23 right now, and a turn 2 wayfinder "mini-tutors" for Loam and other graveyard spells while counting as a land. In the late game, he comes down as a shock attached to a 1/1 that can often be what I need to stabilize. Block for a turn against a goyf and kill it the next with Loam-Cycle-Loam.
Commune with the Gods is good when it finds you Seismic Assault, but is terrible when it misses. When you Commune and hit a Countryside Crusher turn 2 instead of committing anything to the board in an archetype where you likely have another three drop in hand already, it feels so bad. I don't play many "good" creatures, though with Goyf Commune has 4 more big hits, so often a 4 of Commune would hit a Wayfinder, a Flame Jab, and 3 lands. I found Wayfinder more consistent. Commune late game is way better though, especially when I commune into a Bedlam Reveler
I always just preferred to play threats over commune like more Trackers and Scoozes, but with Bedlam Reveler demanding a high number of spells in the deck, I decided to throw a couple back in.
In my testing with Molten Vortex, I've found you need to really build your deck around it to make it good. In certain matchups, like you said, in humans, spirits, and infect, it cleans house. In others, it's an t1 enchantment that wants you to be playing lands while discarding them and using your entire turn to do it. Out of the sideboard, I like it a lot, though in the maindeck it can sometimes be too much for our resources; at least, in my experience.
I like your manabase. I'd like to play more fetches, but again, I'm building this up again since my store banned proxies last year. Still, one essential thing to playing the deck in this meta is Sheltered Thicket. I think it would be advantageous to cut a mountain for one more Sheltered Thicket in your list. Cycle lands are incredibly powerful in loam, as they let you deal 10 damage in a turn with Seismic Assault. With Goyfs rolling around and TiTis at an all time high, having enough damage to kill high toughness creatures is essential.
This list is very taxing to play, and I don't blame you for making misplays. I punted hard against both UR Phoenix and Jund last week, getting me an unintentional draw and a loss.
I think the control matchup is very favorable for us. I used to dedicate a heavy amount of sideboard cards to it, with Worm Harvest and extra Tectonic Edge and more, but I found I was winning in the maindeck anyways. And that was before I played Trackers...
Control is all about landing a threat early, chipping in for damage, and then using Loam + Flame Jab or Conflagrate or manlands to kill your opponent. Since loam has dredge, you can cast it every turn. Even if your opp counters it, it will come back. My deck usually runs reeeaaal thin when I face control due to the large number of times I dredge it. Oh, and if you land Seismic Assault it's easy mode. You have to be careful about running into Detention Sphere and even Teferi, Hero of Dominaria's -3, but even then you can just Flame Jab your opp out.
This sideboard is messy for a reason. Most of this deck's matchups are fairly close, so not a lot of cards are needed to make the deck better. Against tron for example, I usually board in 2 Alpine Moon, 1 Damping Sphere, 1 Beast Within, and extra threats which on top of the Ghost Quarter + Loam loops maindeck does really well. I made this sideboard through elephanting the deck, and increased a lot of the popular matchup spreads across the board.
I think the Amulet Titan deck is a good matchup for the deck, especially post board. In that deck, removal, recurring Ghost Quarter, and shooting down Titans makes the matchup either even or us favored. Post board it gets even better with Claim, Grudge, and Beast Within. Scapeshift is a really hard MU that I've sort of given up on. That's what the Alpine Moon are really there for, and I didn't want to run more than 2 or shill out for a card I don't really like to play anyways, Blood Moon.
And finally, I think Bloodbraid Elf is fine, but it only draws you one card instead of 3. Bedlam Reveler often attacks as a 7/8 when I need him to (Loam + FJ), draws more cards, dredges loam like a Sheltered Thicket so lets you deal 10 damage in a turn on the same turn you cast him, and is a better draw late game. It is only worse against Rest in Peace and often I'll board him out for trackers.
What about Commune with the Gods to help find the namesake enchantment, Or Molten Vortex, Tarmogoyf, etc
Draft My Cube!
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
1 Forest
4 Mountain
3 Sheltered Thicket
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Copperline Gorge
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Raging Ravine
4 Faithless Looting
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Dismember
1 Flame Jab
1 Molten Vortex
1 Lightning Axe
//CMC2
2 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Life from the Loam
3 Commune with the Gods
4 Seismic Assault
3 Countryside Crusher
1 Tireless Tracker
2 Bedlam Reveler
Note: No SB cause I have not made any thoughts about it.
No Pyro anymore, cause I really do not like him. In the RUG version he is way better, but not in the straight RG (especially when I have access to Goyf). Still not sure on the high end, Reveler is such a wonky card. Will probably cut him completely for another Tracker (like him more) and probably another low cost value card. I have him stuck in my hand way to often, so if possible, I would want to avoid all card which have a CMC higher than 3 but if I can cast them via alternative cost or I can use them from the graveyard. Rix Maadi Reveler doesn't look that bad in that slot, I just need to add a black source to be able to cast it for the Spectacle cost. With Spectacle, it does basically the same as Reveler (for a similar mana cost), without it is just a 2/2 Looter, so not that bad. Nissa, Vastwood Seer would also work in that slot btw but would require 2 Forests.
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Regarding Insight, I tested it several times in different Loam decks, it was always bad. Lategame it does nothing (if you do not have already the Loam engine going, where you usually do not draw any cards but just dredge), early game you do not want to pitch lands cause you really need to hit your landdrops, only midgame it shines. If you want to play another cantrip, go for stuff like Tormenting Voice, which is again, not that great, but still doable. However, Commune with the Gods and Satyr Wayfinder are both better than most 2CMC Cantrips.
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Goyf and Commune are both great in the deck. The traditional lists play no Commune with the Gods because they would rather be more threat dense and play discard like Inquisition of Kozilek and Raven's Crime. The Jund Assault Loam lists are basically structured as a "bigger jund deck," often just playing 3 copies of the combo to close out the late game.
And finally, as far as matchups goes, has one of the most favorable spreads in modern at the moment. It is favored game 1 vs GDS and is 50/50 postboard, it is well favored vs Phoenix, it is favored over dredge (though Creeping Chill can always screw that up), and is 50/50 with all the midrange and control decks. The only decks it loses hard to are uninteractive combo decks like Titanshift and Ad Nauseum, while the prison and bogles matchups leave something to be desired (Engineered Explosives in sideboard is a good option for those decks.).
I'm trying to think of situations where Tracker wouldn't be better, and there aren't a lot. Reveler has those times where your opp has Rest in Peace and it costs the full 8 while tracker is a 3 mana threat + card advantage, reveler does draw you 3 cards but tracker fetch/GQ draws at least 2 and likely more, Reveler survives Anger / Bolt while tracker does not (at first), I think Tracker just on all accounts looks better in that slot.
Utility lands in modern practically don't exist, or at least, the way they do in legacy. The few that have seen fringe play in this archetype are as such:
GQ, Field of Ruin, Tectonic Edge,
Bojuka Bog
Mortuary Mire (now maybe would be Memorial to Folly
Skyline Cascade
Cycling lands and some of the AKH Deserts
Because there are fewer utility lands, Loam is a real bad card on its own in modern, especially compared to the legacy AggroLoam lists. I also hope Horizons brings some good lands, mainly Forgotten Cave and his friends as well as more utilities.
Otherwise, Tracker is another pay off card for Loam (which the deck really wants) and still decent without Loam. It is also better in a Goyf version, since you have less incentive to loop Flame Jabs for Pyro Tokens.
There are a lot of useful utility lands in Modern, just not exactly for this deck:
Arena, Buried Ruin, Academy Ruins, Cavern of Souls, Desolate Lighthouse (biggest reason to go RUG btw for me), Eiganjo Castle, Emira, the Sky Ruin, Field of Ruin, Flagstone of Trokair, Gavony Township, Ghost Quarter, Inventor's Fair, Kessig Wolf Run, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, Moorland Haunt, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Pendelhaven, Phyrexia's Core (Hardening Scales + Graft land), Ruins of Oran-Rief, Scavenger Grounds, Sea Gate Wreckage, Sejiri Steppe (Knightfall), Slayers' Stronghold, Tecotonic Edge, Tolaria West, Tron lands, Valakut, Molten Pinnacle, Vault of the Archangel, Vesuva, and the Scrylands, Manlands, fetches and co.
Keldon Megaliths is the only one interesting I found, and that one sucks too, cause I'm close to never hellbent :/
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
There’s a few cards for the side I want to bring up:
- I really like grafdigger’s cage in the side as like a 3 or 4-of. In our main it hits conflagrate/flame Jab and looting, but against something like dredge or storm it really slows them down or downright stops them.
- I like Heaven//Earth as a board wipe, it’s one of the only ones that can be cast from the grave.
- I haven’t tested this one, but i’m Gonna try shattering spree as artifact hate, since i’m Already playing a ton of red sources.
Where Ruins gets good is when your opp has a Leyline of Sanctity or some sort of "Eidolon of the Great Revel" effect that stops your FJs. 2 dmg isn't a lot, but if you have gotten your opponent low by attacking in with Goyfs, Crushers, and ManLands, then it could be good. That being said, I think that's pretty niche and not very applicable.
Cage is a good sideboard card. I prefer Damping Sphere vs Storm because of Empty the Warrens, but it is a legitimate option. I would probably play Surgical Extraction in that slot first because of how good it is right now in the metagame, being able to exile Phoenix and Creeping Chill and Conflagrate and graveyard hate and Primeval Tita...
I was playing Heaven // Earth for a while. It's really good when the first half is good and against x/2s. I found that it wasn't big enough to be great against humans, especially after a Thalia's Lieutenant, couldn't be cast from the graveyard against Spirits, and wouldn't deal with the opposing goyf on the other side of the battlefield. I switched to Conflagrate because it just did more, and consistently either swept the board of my opp or killed a big threat that needed to die when I didn't have Seismic Assault. If Mardu Pyromancer becomes a huge deck again, I'll sleeve it back up, but it's lackluster on most other occasions.
Shattering Spree is great. I'd advise to play a couple different artifact hate spells such as that and Abrade or Cindervines so you don't get blown out by Chalice of the Void, but Spree is very good against the prison decks that run over this archetype.
I'm new to these loam assault strategies and tried out CrypticCommander's RG list with 3 young pyromancer that was posted not long ago. I went 2 and 2 at FNM last Friday but really enjoyed the playstyle and love all the cool synergies in this deck. I just had a couple questions/ideas and wanted to see what some of you more experienced loam assault pilots thought.
1. Is it worth it to skew the sideboard to more enchantment based hate? I feel that since we're using Commune with the gods as an enabler, we can dig and find our sideboard cards pretty easily and not sacrifice our main game plan. Might be too cute but it could be worth exploring since we could grab Cindervines or seal of primordiun for artifact/enchantment hate, or wheel of sun and moon as grave hate, raking canopy for Phoenix hate etc
2. Has anyone tried out Ramunap excavator or wayward swordtooth in the deck? I'm thinking swordtooth main as another big beater and the ability to ramp. Also being able to double ghost quarter in a turn seems powerful against certain decks. For the grindier match ups where you need more threats excavator could be brought in so we don't have to rely on loam as much.
Let me know what you guys think. I'm going to try out kathals list above with the 4 goyfs tonight but cutting the bedlam revellers for an extra tireless tracker and a conflagrate. Still deciding what I want to cut for wayward swordtooth lol
Ramunap Excavator (or Crucible of Worlds before it) used to see play in sideboards during times where you really wanted Ghost Quarter in the metagame. When the format was dominated by Summer Bloom, Tron, and Twin, it was commonly played as a one-of or two-of out of board. The thing about Crucible effects is you really want your lands to be strong enough for it to deal real damage. If your Crucible just lets you crack a fetchland each turn, it is a good card, but not game-changing.
In legacy where there are more powerful lands that do insane things (looking at you Tabernacle) Crucible is way stronger on its own. In modern, the real reason to run it is to loop Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, which both are mediocre when facing the wrong matchup. I think Excavator is just not powerful enough in this metagame, though if Amulet Titan and Tron begin to dominate completely again, I'd be willing to keep it in my sb.
Wayward Swordtooth is closer since it doesn't die to Bolt and does more on its own. It reminds me of Azusa, which I tested a while ago but didn't perform. One similar card that did do well however is Sakura-Tribe Scout, which let me cast Seismic Assault turn 2 in some games and double Ghost Quarter in others. Wayward Swordtooth would also be better if we wanted to ramp up to a huge play, though we only really need to get to 6 lands in loam.
All this talk reminds me that the base AssaultLoam list hasn't been posted on here in a while. The RG list is malleable because it's hard to emulate the sheer power that the Jund list has as far as creatures and removal goes, but the archetype is RGx and I think the Naya version might be the strongest right now for the metagame. I'll work on updating the classic lists I have from 6 months ago and post them on here with the reprints.
4 Faithless Looting
3 Fatal Push
1 Raven's Crime
1 Conflagrate
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
Two-Drops (17)
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Life from the Loam
2 Commune with the Gods
2 Assassin's Trophy
Three-Drops (6)
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Seismic Assault
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Raging Ravine
2 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
1 Sheltered Thicket
2 Gemstone Mine
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Graven Cairns
1 Copperline Gorge
2 Mountain
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Assassin's Trophy
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Tireless Tracker
2 Thoughtseize
1 Raven's Crime
1 Damping Sphere
While the RGx AssaultLoam archetype in general is known for having great removal, Jund Loam extends this by having unconditional removal like Fatal Push and Assassin's Trophy combined with hand disruption in Liliana of the Veil, Raven's Crime, and other targeted discard. Lili is especially good in the deck because of Loam, as we can discard excess lands while keeping "real cards" and the opponent gets ground out.
Dark Confidant is the best card in the deck imo. It is what really incentivizes playing these colors. Because of the large amount of lands we run, it hits a lot of lands and lets us draw cards even when we want to dredge loam. While Tireless Tracker is a really good long game card advantage engine + threat, the mana investment we need to put into tracker makes it so sometimes we win/lose the game with clues on the table, unable to find opportunities to crack them in our curve. Confidant lets you draw cards each turn with Assault Loam online, and really is indescribably good.
That is the traditional deck, but I wouldn't really play it right now because of the amount of damage it deals to itself. Instead, I think the best option right now would be Naya Loam... I have a few lists for this one, but I don't know which one would be best for the metagame. The incentives for this version are good sideboard pieces and hate, even potentially boarding in Rest in Peace with a transformational sideboard, though I haven't updated that version since 2013, so it needs some work. It could look something like this:
3 Path to Exile
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Arbor Elf
2 Lightning Axe
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Commune with the Gods
3 Life from the Loam
3 Tireless Tracker
2 Knight of Autumn
3 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Courser of Kruphix
2 Ajani Vengeant
24 Lands
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Damping Sphere
1 Wear // Tear
1 Beast Within
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Courser of Kruphix
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Settle the Wreckage
I have seen Naya Loam decks that run Monastery Mentor which try to cast Loam + Flame Jab + Flame Jab + Flame Jab to make 4 tokens in one turn then give all your monks +4/+4 and swing for 21 the next turn. I have seen lists that combine Countryside Crusher with Knight of the Reliquary to have them fuel each other and both grow large. I used to play a list that played Commune with the Gods to find Retreat to Coralhelm and had KnightFall inside AssaultLoam (1 of Retreat with 4 KoRs, so some games you just 2 card combo kill). The Naya Loam archetype it the most flexible of the four major color combinations, and is hard to build because of it.