I readily admit to ashiok being a pet card, though the matches it comes in for tend to drag to the point that the slowness is off set. I really do like Last Hope, particularly if the meta calls for it. She has a lot of utility across different matchups, and has no inherent tension with the stubs i run. Main it if your LGS is loaded with aggro, midrange and control, SB it if not, in my opinion.
The problem with the new Vraska is that her +1 doesn't really do anything special for modern. Most games won't go long enough where you're going to be a willing to sacrifice a land to draw a card.
Hey everyone Little local fnm report with my take on sultai midrange. Went 4-0 (8W-2L) and played againts MonoR phoenix, Abzan rock, UW control and Bant spirits.
Some card choices : Mishra's Bauble : The main reason why this card is in the deck is to grow Tarmogoyf some and to activate Grim Flayer more consistently. It also randomly helps "scrying" for Nissa's 0 activation and acts as a pseudo-opt most times. Im not too happy about this card, but it is not too bad.
Grim Flayer : This card also seemed underwhelming when I was building the deck, thus why only 2 copies. In reality, the fact that this is a 2 drop is relevant. It also felt way more oppressive seeing how my opponents always wanted this card off the battlefield. I could see switching these and dropping the baubles with them, but they've been good beaters and the surveil 3 is the real star here.
Ancestral vision : AV was good when it came up. This is my way of getting card advantage without big money planeswalkers like Liliana OTV or Jace TMS. I've had this on turn 1 maybe 3 out of 10 games, mostly because I've sided it out against some faster decks. It was great against Abzan and UW and, according to my opponents, the reason why I won those matches. More on that later.
Yahenni's Expertise : Guys, read this card. This is like a worse version of what we sometimes want in this kind of deck. I feel like this deck has trouble once it's a little behind againts aggro decks, so this card helps alot. It also tags along a 3 mana card which can be awkward sometimes, because of how tapout empty handed most games end up to be. The big deal here, though, is the fact that it can cast Ancestral Vision! It has helped me a few times and merits its spot in the deck especially playing AV, but it also restricts the creatures that see play; there are no Scavenging Ooze in the main and only 2 Tireless Tracker in the deck for that reason. Those 2 creatures are really powerful against most matchups so I'm still unsure of the numbers.
Creeping Tar Pit & Field of ruin : I want more of these, they were great. Tar pit was great against Liliana, since she's mostly always obligated to tick down. Field triggered tracker a few times and was very useful in the grindy matchups killing Celestial Colonnade and Treetop Village., very nice! Not having to use removal on lands against another rock deck is very precious. I'm not sure the manabase can handle more Field of ruin though, considering the amount of double colour cards this deck plays (the removal, flayer...).
Nissa, Steward of Elements : This card is in where Liliana of the Veil and Jace, the Mind Sculptor would be. This is mainly a budget reason, but the card did do some work. The scry is really nice and putting a creature in for free with some scry and baubles is really good as well. But then again, this card is very little immediate impact. I'm not sure if it would be better just as Tireless tracker #3 and 4 or maybe some Scavenging oozes.
The sideboard is a mess, please send help.
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Tournament report : Round 1 vs MonoR phoenix
Game 1 I kept a standard hand with inquisition, Tarmogoyf and a mostly painless land suite. My opponent quickly sends me to only 4 life dealing with my Goyf. The game ends a few turns after I cast Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and kill their Monastery Swiftspear.
Game 2 I kept a hand with 2 Goyfs, Feed the clan, some discard and a Mishra's Bauble. My opponent played Soul-Scar Mage, bolted and Gut Shotted my goyf to oblivion. I played the second goyf followed by gain 10 in response to another deal 3 to my goyf. My opponent was never able to catch back up, ever after dealing with my creatures and swinging with 2 prowess creatures. The bauble was key in this game for ferocious.
The manabase was great both games, 5 basic lands really helped and I drew the right half of my deck for the matchup.
Round 2 vs Abzan rock
Game 1 went as most Abzan matches go : we trade resources for the first few turns of the game. Eventually we trade blows with manlands; their Shambling Vents meant that they were winning the race (I was at 5 at some point with them at ~10). I eventually find Nissa, Steward of Elements and start scrying for cards. The shambling vents was never able to really put pressure on my planeswalker and I end up scrying over 20 cards of my deck, with occasional 0 activation to put a goyf and some other creatures with the help of bauble. My opponent somehow deals with my Nissa, but I drop the 2nd one to seal the deal.
Game 2 : I don't remember what happened this game, but I got run over I think.
After this game, I felt pretty medium about Nissa and very highly about Tar pits. Nissa did scry me 20 and occasionnaly put some creatures into play, but a JTMS or LOTV in her stead would've just won me the game in a few turns.
Round 3 vs UW control
Game 1 : I have a good hand with 3 discard spells and lands. I tag most things in my opponent's hand and deploy some creatures. My opponent played 2 Search for Azcantas which were met with abrupt decays. The game goes on for a little while with them killing my stuff and eventually deploying Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I deal with the planeswalker with some form Tar pit attack I think? I then resolve AV and drop a goyf with both of us on topdeck mode for a while. The goyf was a 7/8 due to them playing planeswalker and enchantment. Celestial Colonnades were also not a problem here thanks to Field of Ruin
Game2 : I think I went AV on 1 followed by discard + AV on 2 with my opponnent on a mulligan to 5. I also cast Unmoored Ego to name JTMS. Through discard, I know they have Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in hand, which they decide not to play on 5. Great move, since I have negate in hand. They're eventually forced to do it when I Thoughtseize their Cryptic Command.
After the games, my opponent tells me they don't think they can win with my version of the deck playing AV and how their deck was built. They were not playing the big card drawing spells so could not keep up with the card advantage AV provided.
Round 4 vs Bant spirits
Game 1 : I keep a great hand with discard, Fatal push, tarmogoyf and a mostly painless lands. My opponent plays Mausoleum Wanderer on 1 followed by Selfless Spirit on 2. I push the Wanderer in response to try and stay on par with them as much as possible. I decide to kill the wanderer here to preserve life but also to be able to play my spells when things matter more in the later turns. One could argue that killing the Selfless Spirit and letting them sac their Wanderer is the right play, but I would rather not let them choose which spell I get to cast. The game goes my way with a 4/5 goyf and a Kalitas in play and a lot of removal for their spirits. They play Collected company as a last ditch effort with lethal on my side of the board and them at 1 point from lethal. They don't find anything particularly relevant and we go to game 2.
Game 2 : I keep an ok hand with 2 tarmogoyfs and some removal. They play Mausoleum Wanderer, Selfless Spirit and Drogskol Captain. I deploy goyf and some removal. They then play Rest in Peace and I never am able to catch up with my baby tarmogoyf. Creeping tar Pit did get them to ~5 life but their Collected Company beat my already dead sultai deck.
Game 3 : This game was interesting. The game goes as usual : spirits into removal. I Collective brutality twice on 2 different Drogskol Captains. They get to hit me a few times with a Rattlechains (if I remember right...) for 3 off the back of a Noble Hierarch and deploy a Rest in Peace once again. This game though, I saw no goyfs and deployed my Grim Flayer and a Tireless Tracker. We trade resources with my still at a low life total, but tireless tracker draws me some sweet sweet gas and I get there.
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Final thoughts :
This deck was real sweet. The Ancestral Visions we're super sweet and the creature package also felt reasonable. I think I got to play against a good spread of decks and the deck showed that it can grind properly as well as deploy a lot of disruption against creature strategies. I think going on, I would test more Assassin's Trophy if the Tron matchup is miserable (which it certainly might be) or if more planeswalkers and Gurmag anglers show up. I don't think this deck plays well when behind, so overloading on answers is very necessary with how I play the deck.
I would also try to find the correct threat suite. Some have talked about Dark Confidant instead of Grim flayer and I see how that can be a good idea; most matches came down to a grind in topdeck mode and I think bob serves the same role in those games - it is a 2drop must answer threat that draws me gas if it "connects". The difference is the power/toughness and the fact that it randomly loses life. I was really happy with the lowpain manabase so I don't think shelling $$ for Dark confidant is a good idea. Especially since JTMS would be a better upgrade path for the deck I feel.
I would maybe also go up to 24 lands if I drop Grim Flayer and bauble, but for now it felt reasonable.
Hey everyone Little local fnm report with my take on sultai midrange. Went 4-0 (8W-2L) and played againts MonoR phoenix, Abzan rock, UW control and Bant spirits.
Some card choices : Mishra's Bauble : The main reason why this card is in the deck is to grow Tarmogoyf some and to activate Grim Flayer more consistently. It also randomly helps "scrying" for Nissa's 0 activation and acts as a pseudo-opt most times. Im not too happy about this card, but it is not too bad.
Grim Flayer : This card also seemed underwhelming when I was building the deck, thus why only 2 copies. In reality, the fact that this is a 2 drop is relevant. It also felt way more oppressive seeing how my opponents always wanted this card off the battlefield. I could see switching these and dropping the baubles with them, but they've been good beaters and the surveil 3 is the real star here.
Ancestral vision : AV was good when it came up. This is my way of getting card advantage without big money planeswalkers like Liliana OTV or Jace TMS. I've had this on turn 1 maybe 3 out of 10 games, mostly because I've sided it out against some faster decks. It was great against Abzan and UW and, according to my opponents, the reason why I won those matches. More on that later.
Yahenni's Expertise : Guys, read this card. This is like a worse version of what we sometimes want in this kind of deck. I feel like this deck has trouble once it's a little behind againts aggro decks, so this card helps alot. It also tags along a 3 mana card which can be awkward sometimes, because of how tapout empty handed most games end up to be. The big deal here, though, is the fact that it can cast Ancestral Vision! It has helped me a few times and merits its spot in the deck especially playing AV, but it also restricts the creatures that see play; there are no Scavenging Ooze in the main and only 2 Tireless Tracker in the deck for that reason. Those 2 creatures are really powerful against most matchups so I'm still unsure of the numbers.
Creeping Tar Pit & Field of ruin : I want more of these, they were great. Tar pit was great against Liliana, since she's mostly always obligated to tick down. Field triggered tracker a few times and was very useful in the grindy matchups killing Celestial Colonnade and Treetop Village., very nice! Not having to use removal on lands against another rock deck is very precious. I'm not sure the manabase can handle more Field of ruin though, considering the amount of double colour cards this deck plays (the removal, flayer...).
Nissa, Steward of Elements : This card is in where Liliana of the Veil and Jace, the Mind Sculptor would be. This is mainly a budget reason, but the card did do some work. The scry is really nice and putting a creature in for free with some scry and baubles is really good as well. But then again, this card is very little immediate impact. I'm not sure if it would be better just as Tireless tracker #3 and 4 or maybe some Scavenging oozes.
The sideboard is a mess, please send help.
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Tournament report : Round 1 vs MonoR phoenix
Game 1 I kept a standard hand with inquisition, Tarmogoyf and a mostly painless land suite. My opponent quickly sends me to only 4 life dealing with my Goyf. The game ends a few turns after I cast Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and kill their Monastery Swiftspear.
Game 2 I kept a hand with 2 Goyfs, Feed the clan, some discard and a Mishra's Bauble. My opponent played Soul-Scar Mage, bolted and Gut Shotted my goyf to oblivion. I played the second goyf followed by gain 10 in response to another deal 3 to my goyf. My opponent was never able to catch back up, ever after dealing with my creatures and swinging with 2 prowess creatures. The bauble was key in this game for ferocious.
The manabase was great both games, 5 basic lands really helped and I drew the right half of my deck for the matchup.
Round 2 vs Abzan rock
Game 1 went as most Abzan matches go : we trade resources for the first few turns of the game. Eventually we trade blows with manlands; their Shambling Vents meant that they were winning the race (I was at 5 at some point with them at ~10). I eventually find Nissa, Steward of Elements and start scrying for cards. The shambling vents was never able to really put pressure on my planeswalker and I end up scrying over 20 cards of my deck, with occasional 0 activation to put a goyf and some other creatures with the help of bauble. My opponent somehow deals with my Nissa, but I drop the 2nd one to seal the deal.
Game 2 : I don't remember what happened this game, but I got run over I think.
After this game, I felt pretty medium about Nissa and very highly about Tar pits. Nissa did scry me 20 and occasionnaly put some creatures into play, but a JTMS or LOTV in her stead would've just won me the game in a few turns.
Round 3 vs UW control
Game 1 : I have a good hand with 3 discard spells and lands. I tag most things in my opponent's hand and deploy some creatures. My opponent played 2 Search for Azcantas which were met with abrupt decays. The game goes on for a little while with them killing my stuff and eventually deploying Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I deal with the planeswalker with some form Tar pit attack I think? I then resolve AV and drop a goyf with both of us on topdeck mode for a while. The goyf was a 7/8 due to them playing planeswalker and enchantment. Celestial Colonnades were also not a problem here thanks to Field of Ruin
Game2 : I think I went AV on 1 followed by discard + AV on 2 with my opponnent on a mulligan to 5. I also cast Unmoored Ego to name JTMS. Through discard, I know they have Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in hand, which they decide not to play on 5. Great move, since I have negate in hand. They're eventually forced to do it when I Thoughtseize their Cryptic Command.
After the games, my opponent tells me they don't think they can win with my version of the deck playing AV and how their deck was built. They were not playing the big card drawing spells so could not keep up with the card advantage AV provided.
Round 4 vs Bant spirits
Game 1 : I keep a great hand with discard, Fatal push, tarmogoyf and a mostly painless lands. My opponent plays Mausoleum Wanderer on 1 followed by Selfless Spirit on 2. I push the Wanderer in response to try and stay on par with them as much as possible. I decide to kill the wanderer here to preserve life but also to be able to play my spells when things matter more in the later turns. One could argue that killing the Selfless Spirit and letting them sac their Wanderer is the right play, but I would rather not let them choose which spell I get to cast. The game goes my way with a 4/5 goyf and a Kalitas in play and a lot of removal for their spirits. They play Collected company as a last ditch effort with lethal on my side of the board and them at 1 point from lethal. They don't find anything particularly relevant and we go to game 2.
Game 2 : I keep an ok hand with 2 tarmogoyfs and some removal. They play Mausoleum Wanderer, Selfless Spirit and Drogskol Captain. I deploy goyf and some removal. They then play Rest in Peace and I never am able to catch up with my baby tarmogoyf. Creeping tar Pit did get them to ~5 life but their Collected Company beat my already dead sultai deck.
Game 3 : This game was interesting. The game goes as usual : spirits into removal. I Collective brutality twice on 2 different Drogskol Captains. They get to hit me a few times with a Rattlechains (if I remember right...) for 3 off the back of a Noble Hierarch and deploy a Rest in Peace once again. This game though, I saw no goyfs and deployed my Grim Flayer and a Tireless Tracker. We trade resources with my still at a low life total, but tireless tracker draws me some sweet sweet gas and I get there.
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Final thoughts :
This deck was real sweet. The Ancestral Visions we're super sweet and the creature package also felt reasonable. I think I got to play against a good spread of decks and the deck showed that it can grind properly as well as deploy a lot of disruption against creature strategies. I think going on, I would test more Assassin's Trophy if the Tron matchup is miserable (which it certainly might be) or if more planeswalkers and Gurmag anglers show up. I don't think this deck plays well when behind, so overloading on answers is very necessary with how I play the deck.
I would also try to find the correct threat suite. Some have talked about Dark Confidant instead of Grim flayer and I see how that can be a good idea; most matches came down to a grind in topdeck mode and I think bob serves the same role in those games - it is a 2drop must answer threat that draws me gas if it "connects". The difference is the power/toughness and the fact that it randomly loses life. I was really happy with the lowpain manabase so I don't think shelling $$ for Dark confidant is a good idea. Especially since JTMS would be a better upgrade path for the deck I feel.
I would maybe also go up to 24 lands if I drop Grim Flayer and bauble, but for now it felt reasonable.
Thanks everyone
Congrats on the 4-0! Nice job.. Interesting take with the Ancestral Vision. It's a card I would've thought to try in this archetype. I've been brewing sultai again recently and I've really liked Nissa actually, even alongside the more traditional PWs
How are you all liking Sultai compared to The Rock right now? Sultai looks like a lot of fun to play, but just green/black looks a bit more consistent.
How are you all liking Sultai compared to The Rock right now? Sultai looks like a lot of fun to play, but just green/black looks a bit more consistent.
As much as I love BUG, I’m currently on GB right now. I can’t bring myself to play a deck that relies so heavily on the yard at the moment. I’m on more of a Big GB deck though, so it’s not really the same thing. It is nice not being so easily hated out though.
If I were to go back to BUG in the near future, I’d probably try something similar to what I’m playing now, but with Growth Spiral, Nissa Steward of the Elements, Kiora, maybe a big blue finisher alongside Primeval Titan.
How are you all liking Sultai compared to The Rock right now? Sultai looks like a lot of fun to play, but just green/black looks a bit more consistent.
As much as I love BUG, I’m currently on GB right now. I can’t bring myself to play a deck that relies so heavily on the yard at the moment. I’m on more of a Big GB deck though, so it’s not really the same thing. It is nice not being so easily hated out though.
If I were to go back to BUG in the near future, I’d probably try something similar to what I’m playing now, but with Growth Spiral, Nissa Steward of the Elements, Kiora, maybe a big blue finisher alongside Primeval Titan.
Kiora? That's funny, I didn't think either of the Kiora planeswalkers were fast or good enough for modern. What makes you want to bring her in? (just curious)
Kiora? That's funny, I didn't think either of the Kiora planeswalkers were fast or good enough for modern. What makes you want to bring her in? (just curious)
I don't think either one of them is generically strong enough to see regular play since they aren't good enough for our "good stuff" deck, just fringe ideas really. I'm somewhat interested in testing Kiora, Master of the Depths next to Garruk Wildspeaker and Utopia Sprawl in a Big Sultai deck and see what happens.
Sultai Reclamation took 39th at the latest Open and got some coverage too. I can't post a direct link to it at work, but I will later. Deck looks incredibly fun (and challenging) to pilot.
I have to say, I love how straightforward and no-nonsense that manabase is. Plus, all those shocklands work great with Reclamation.
I was looking at your titan cloud list and I noticed how the triple black and double green adding blue would cause some serious rework on the mana base. with treetop village not fetchable i feel it could be replaced with lumbering falls losing trample to hexproof and maybe even stopping opposing ghost quarter, molten rain fx.
the tiny Kiora although not bolt proof, does have the coiling oracle fx built in, which is another card you could look at similar to growth spiral.
I was looking at your titan cloud list and I noticed how the triple black and double green adding blue would cause some serious rework on the mana base. with treetop village not fetchable i feel it could be replaced with lumbering falls losing trample to hexproof and maybe even stopping opposing ghost quarter, molten rain fx.
the tiny Kiora although not bolt proof, does have the coiling oracle fx built in, which is another card you could look at similar to growth spiral.
Yeah, the mana would have to completely change which would be a serious drawback, because the deck doesn’t care about Blood Moon really, and adding a 3rd color would make Blood Moon MUCH better against me. And that’s currently one of my favorite aspects of the deck, that it’s not very easy to “hate” out. I may put some effort into it at some point, but for now I really enjoy the way it’s running.
I do like the thought of Growth Spiral and Coiling Oracle in a “Big Sultai” type build though, without Death Cloud. Not sure what the payoffs are yet, but I’ve been rattling that idea around in my head for a while.
I know the pain of being on the other side of the table from Blood Moon. My buddy I test with had Sun and Moon and we put our cards together for a Rakdos prison just before Hollow One was printed. The cool part of Demigod of Revenge is that he doesn't care about Blood Moon and that is card that has kept Sultai down for a long time.
I'm going to talk about an idea i have rattling around in my head so i've been trying to make a 75.
I seen a post on this thread talking about Ancestral Vision and Yahenni's Expertise and wanted to try to touch on the 3 or less for free part. So it resembles Cascade because whatever is cast for free resolves before Yaheeni's -3/-3 all so creatures x/3 are kind of mediocre with that sequence. Snap seems ok because the etb lets you do something from the yard.
I want to talk about a few cards i found that somewhat synergize together but I haven't tested yet.
Pulse of Murasa: great card with Yaheeni's even though you have to pick before the wipe. it gains 6 at instant speed which is great if you've ever seen the clocks on phoenix builds, affinity, zoo, burn. Snapcaster Mage: pick a card, any card. Liliana of the Veil: protects, discards, boom Liliana, the Last Hope: protects, yard to hand, umbrella corp Collective Brutality: the rules on Escalate allow you to pay additional cost so you can pick multi modes which is nice. Bloodghast: hard to kill. annoying. Fatal Push: the free part is optional. But if you choose snapcaster and target this thing, it works. Assassin's Trophy: Looking at you Elspeth, Sun's Champion, or whatever else is in the way.
I was thinking about how you can use Gifts for "silver bullet" cards and with my ghosting at home i noticed you can destroy a lot of lands mainboard and Bloodghast ability LftL is awesome. It gets 3 lands. Azusa! field, field, gq as early as T5.
Tron MU and "No pressure" MUs like U/W control.
phoenix MUs can get you really low as early as T2. my original card was Thragtusk because its funny with Murasa but after the luls its not fast enough. Life Goes On
spell pierce is just kind of a catch all vs Dispel even though i had combo based decks in mind for Aether Vial, Cranial Plating, and more annoying things like Worship. that thing is pro decay, natural state, and EE for this build.
I know this isn't a control topic, however I want to get some feedback on my list.
I think it's pretty solid but I torn about whether Tireless Tracker is something to include. The card is fantastic but can be really slow. The planeswalker package could be virtually anything, but I like this setup as it works well with the deck. Ob Nixilis is "our" Teferi, so I feel. Anyway, I would love some deck critique. Thanks :). I could see cutting 1 snapcaster and the tireless trackers all together for a more answers. Maybe a Thragtusk would be nice as well.
UR Drake
Modern:
WBGCompany, UGInfect, RBGDredge
UR Drake
Modern:
WBGCompany, UGInfect, RBGDredge
Im trying this new list, and to revive the conversation on this thread.
Im trying a UB shell with a green splash, but it is still a rough cut
What do you guys think of the new spoilers?
UR Drake
Modern:
WBGCompany, UGInfect, RBGDredge
3x Blooming Marsh
1x Breeding Pool
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Forest
1x Island
2x Misty Rainforest
2x Overgrown Tomb
2x Polluted Delta
2x Swamp
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Watery Grave
4x Dark Confidant
2x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2x Scavenging Ooze
4x Tarmogoyf
Spells(17)
4x Assassin's Trophy
3x Collective Brutality
3x Fatal Push
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Serum Visions
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Liliana of the Veil
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
Artifacts(4)
4x Mishra's Bauble
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
Because Bob hurts enough
I have them in the SB by the way
wanting so long playing this color combo
The deck :
4 tarmogoyf
2 grim flayer
2 snapcaster mage
2 tireless tracker
2 kalitas, traitor of ghet
Planeswalkers (2)
2 nissa, steward of elements
Sorceries (12)
4 ancestral vision
4 inquisition of kozilek
2 thoughtseize
1 yahenni's expertise
1 maelstrom pulse
Instants (7)
3 fatal push
2 abrupt decay
2 assassin's trophy
4 mishra's bauble
Lands (23)
4 polluted delta
4 verdant catacombs
2 creeping tar pit
2 field of ruin
2 overgrown tomb
1 blooming marsh
1 botanical sanctum
1 watery grave
1 breeding pool
2 forest
2 swamp
1 island
3 nihil spellbomb
2 unmoored ego
1 pulse of murasa
1 feed the clan
1 yahenni's expertise
1 flaying tendrils
2 collective brutality
1 scavenging ooze
1 negate
1 disdainful stroke
Some card choices :
Mishra's Bauble : The main reason why this card is in the deck is to grow Tarmogoyf some and to activate Grim Flayer more consistently. It also randomly helps "scrying" for Nissa's 0 activation and acts as a pseudo-opt most times. Im not too happy about this card, but it is not too bad.
Grim Flayer : This card also seemed underwhelming when I was building the deck, thus why only 2 copies. In reality, the fact that this is a 2 drop is relevant. It also felt way more oppressive seeing how my opponents always wanted this card off the battlefield. I could see switching these and dropping the baubles with them, but they've been good beaters and the surveil 3 is the real star here.
Ancestral vision : AV was good when it came up. This is my way of getting card advantage without big money planeswalkers like Liliana OTV or Jace TMS. I've had this on turn 1 maybe 3 out of 10 games, mostly because I've sided it out against some faster decks. It was great against Abzan and UW and, according to my opponents, the reason why I won those matches. More on that later.
Yahenni's Expertise : Guys, read this card. This is like a worse version of what we sometimes want in this kind of deck. I feel like this deck has trouble once it's a little behind againts aggro decks, so this card helps alot. It also tags along a 3 mana card which can be awkward sometimes, because of how tapout empty handed most games end up to be. The big deal here, though, is the fact that it can cast Ancestral Vision! It has helped me a few times and merits its spot in the deck especially playing AV, but it also restricts the creatures that see play; there are no Scavenging Ooze in the main and only 2 Tireless Tracker in the deck for that reason. Those 2 creatures are really powerful against most matchups so I'm still unsure of the numbers.
Creeping Tar Pit & Field of ruin : I want more of these, they were great. Tar pit was great against Liliana, since she's mostly always obligated to tick down. Field triggered tracker a few times and was very useful in the grindy matchups killing Celestial Colonnade and Treetop Village., very nice! Not having to use removal on lands against another rock deck is very precious. I'm not sure the manabase can handle more Field of ruin though, considering the amount of double colour cards this deck plays (the removal, flayer...).
Nissa, Steward of Elements : This card is in where Liliana of the Veil and Jace, the Mind Sculptor would be. This is mainly a budget reason, but the card did do some work. The scry is really nice and putting a creature in for free with some scry and baubles is really good as well. But then again, this card is very little immediate impact. I'm not sure if it would be better just as Tireless tracker #3 and 4 or maybe some Scavenging oozes.
The sideboard is a mess, please send help.
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Tournament report :
Round 1 vs MonoR phoenix
Game 1 I kept a standard hand with inquisition, Tarmogoyf and a mostly painless land suite. My opponent quickly sends me to only 4 life dealing with my Goyf. The game ends a few turns after I cast Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and kill their Monastery Swiftspear.
Game 2 I kept a hand with 2 Goyfs, Feed the clan, some discard and a Mishra's Bauble. My opponent played Soul-Scar Mage, bolted and Gut Shotted my goyf to oblivion. I played the second goyf followed by gain 10 in response to another deal 3 to my goyf. My opponent was never able to catch back up, ever after dealing with my creatures and swinging with 2 prowess creatures. The bauble was key in this game for ferocious.
The manabase was great both games, 5 basic lands really helped and I drew the right half of my deck for the matchup.
Round 2 vs Abzan rock
Game 1 went as most Abzan matches go : we trade resources for the first few turns of the game. Eventually we trade blows with manlands; their Shambling Vents meant that they were winning the race (I was at 5 at some point with them at ~10). I eventually find Nissa, Steward of Elements and start scrying for cards. The shambling vents was never able to really put pressure on my planeswalker and I end up scrying over 20 cards of my deck, with occasional 0 activation to put a goyf and some other creatures with the help of bauble. My opponent somehow deals with my Nissa, but I drop the 2nd one to seal the deal.
Game 2 : I don't remember what happened this game, but I got run over I think.
Game 3 I have Ancestral Vision on 1. My opponent played Liliana of the Veil and Liliana the Last Hope which were both dealt with by Creeping Tar Pit. Eventually, I resolve the Ancestral Vision which finds me another AV and Yahenni's expertise. Another AV off of the Expertise next turn gets me the game.
After this game, I felt pretty medium about Nissa and very highly about Tar pits. Nissa did scry me 20 and occasionnaly put some creatures into play, but a JTMS or LOTV in her stead would've just won me the game in a few turns.
Round 3 vs UW control
Game 1 : I have a good hand with 3 discard spells and lands. I tag most things in my opponent's hand and deploy some creatures. My opponent played 2 Search for Azcantas which were met with abrupt decays. The game goes on for a little while with them killing my stuff and eventually deploying Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I deal with the planeswalker with some form Tar pit attack I think? I then resolve AV and drop a goyf with both of us on topdeck mode for a while. The goyf was a 7/8 due to them playing planeswalker and enchantment. Celestial Colonnades were also not a problem here thanks to Field of Ruin
Game2 : I think I went AV on 1 followed by discard + AV on 2 with my opponnent on a mulligan to 5. I also cast Unmoored Ego to name JTMS. Through discard, I know they have Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in hand, which they decide not to play on 5. Great move, since I have negate in hand. They're eventually forced to do it when I Thoughtseize their Cryptic Command.
After the games, my opponent tells me they don't think they can win with my version of the deck playing AV and how their deck was built. They were not playing the big card drawing spells so could not keep up with the card advantage AV provided.
Round 4 vs Bant spirits
Game 1 : I keep a great hand with discard, Fatal push, tarmogoyf and a mostly painless lands. My opponent plays Mausoleum Wanderer on 1 followed by Selfless Spirit on 2. I push the Wanderer in response to try and stay on par with them as much as possible. I decide to kill the wanderer here to preserve life but also to be able to play my spells when things matter more in the later turns. One could argue that killing the Selfless Spirit and letting them sac their Wanderer is the right play, but I would rather not let them choose which spell I get to cast. The game goes my way with a 4/5 goyf and a Kalitas in play and a lot of removal for their spirits. They play Collected company as a last ditch effort with lethal on my side of the board and them at 1 point from lethal. They don't find anything particularly relevant and we go to game 2.
Game 2 : I keep an ok hand with 2 tarmogoyfs and some removal. They play Mausoleum Wanderer, Selfless Spirit and Drogskol Captain. I deploy goyf and some removal. They then play Rest in Peace and I never am able to catch up with my baby tarmogoyf. Creeping tar Pit did get them to ~5 life but their Collected Company beat my already dead sultai deck.
Game 3 : This game was interesting. The game goes as usual : spirits into removal. I Collective brutality twice on 2 different Drogskol Captains. They get to hit me a few times with a Rattlechains (if I remember right...) for 3 off the back of a Noble Hierarch and deploy a Rest in Peace once again. This game though, I saw no goyfs and deployed my Grim Flayer and a Tireless Tracker. We trade resources with my still at a low life total, but tireless tracker draws me some sweet sweet gas and I get there.
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Final thoughts :
This deck was real sweet. The Ancestral Visions we're super sweet and the creature package also felt reasonable. I think I got to play against a good spread of decks and the deck showed that it can grind properly as well as deploy a lot of disruption against creature strategies. I think going on, I would test more Assassin's Trophy if the Tron matchup is miserable (which it certainly might be) or if more planeswalkers and Gurmag anglers show up. I don't think this deck plays well when behind, so overloading on answers is very necessary with how I play the deck.
I would also try to find the correct threat suite. Some have talked about Dark Confidant instead of Grim flayer and I see how that can be a good idea; most matches came down to a grind in topdeck mode and I think bob serves the same role in those games - it is a 2drop must answer threat that draws me gas if it "connects". The difference is the power/toughness and the fact that it randomly loses life. I was really happy with the lowpain manabase so I don't think shelling $$ for Dark confidant is a good idea. Especially since JTMS would be a better upgrade path for the deck I feel.
I would maybe also go up to 24 lands if I drop Grim Flayer and bauble, but for now it felt reasonable.
Thanks everyone
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Grim flayer
2 Jace, Vryn's prodigy
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Spells (19)
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
2 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Serum Visions
4 Fatal Push
2 Assassin's Trophy
2 Stubborn Denial
Other (9)
3 Mishra's Bauble
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
1 Liliana, the Last hope
3 Blooming Marsh
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Polluted Delta
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Breeding pool
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Collective Brutality
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Assassin's trophy
1 Languish
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Liliana, the Last hope
Draft My Cube!
I think something along the lines like this deck looks very fun and versatile to play:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1597843#paper
Still deciding which deck to go for in Modern, but I should probably wait until after Modern Horizon with picking a deck since it's a lot of money.
If I were to go back to BUG in the near future, I’d probably try something similar to what I’m playing now, but with Growth Spiral, Nissa Steward of the Elements, Kiora, maybe a big blue finisher alongside Primeval Titan.
Kiora? That's funny, I didn't think either of the Kiora planeswalkers were fast or good enough for modern. What makes you want to bring her in? (just curious)
I have to say, I love how straightforward and no-nonsense that manabase is. Plus, all those shocklands work great with Reclamation.
http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/127742
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Lands (24)
1 Forest
3 Island
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Polluted Delta
4 Watery Grave
4 Wilderness Reclamation
4 Assassin's Trophy
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
4 Cryptic Command
4 Growth Spiral
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Mystical Teachings
1 Nexus of Fate
2 Pulse of Murasa
4 Remand
2 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Crypt Incursion
1 Cyclonic Rift
2 Devour Flesh
2 Fatal Push
2 Life Goes On
2 Surgical Extraction
the tiny Kiora although not bolt proof, does have the coiling oracle fx built in, which is another card you could look at similar to growth spiral.
I do like the thought of Growth Spiral and Coiling Oracle in a “Big Sultai” type build though, without Death Cloud. Not sure what the payoffs are yet, but I’ve been rattling that idea around in my head for a while.
I'm going to talk about an idea i have rattling around in my head so i've been trying to make a 75.
I seen a post on this thread talking about Ancestral Vision and Yahenni's Expertise and wanted to try to touch on the 3 or less for free part. So it resembles Cascade because whatever is cast for free resolves before Yaheeni's -3/-3 all so creatures x/3 are kind of mediocre with that sequence. Snap seems ok because the etb lets you do something from the yard.
I want to talk about a few cards i found that somewhat synergize together but I haven't tested yet.
Pulse of Murasa: great card with Yaheeni's even though you have to pick before the wipe. it gains 6 at instant speed which is great if you've ever seen the clocks on phoenix builds, affinity, zoo, burn.
Snapcaster Mage: pick a card, any card.
Liliana of the Veil: protects, discards, boom
Liliana, the Last Hope: protects, yard to hand, umbrella corp
Collective Brutality: the rules on Escalate allow you to pay additional cost so you can pick multi modes which is nice.
Bloodghast: hard to kill. annoying.
Fatal Push: the free part is optional. But if you choose snapcaster and target this thing, it works.
Assassin's Trophy: Looking at you Elspeth, Sun's Champion, or whatever else is in the way.
Now for just some good cards with the recurring things from above.
Demigod of Revenge: This guy is just fun to build with imo. Protection from Fatal Push and Blood Moon. Not that hard to get into the yard with either Lily, Brutality, Gifts, Loam. 20 you.
Gifts Ungiven:
The packages here kind of split into situations but you can pick like-
Demigod of Revenge, Bloodghast, Snapcaster Mage,Collective Brutality
Field of ruin, Ghost Quarter, BloodGhast, Life from the Loam
here is what i've come up with:
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/sultai-black/
I was thinking about how you can use Gifts for "silver bullet" cards and with my ghosting at home i noticed you can destroy a lot of lands mainboard and Bloodghast ability LftL is awesome. It gets 3 lands. Azusa! field, field, gq as early as T5.
Tron MU and "No pressure" MUs like U/W control.
phoenix MUs can get you really low as early as T2. my original card was Thragtusk because its funny with Murasa but after the luls its not fast enough. Life Goes On
EE for clears but you can get the Yahenni's cast for 0 vs token strats. Young Pyromancer, Lingering Souls.
spell pierce is just kind of a catch all vs Dispel even though i had combo based decks in mind for Aether Vial, Cranial Plating, and more annoying things like Worship. that thing is pro decay, natural state, and EE for this build.
I think it's pretty solid but I torn about whether Tireless Tracker is something to include. The card is fantastic but can be really slow. The planeswalker package could be virtually anything, but I like this setup as it works well with the deck. Ob Nixilis is "our" Teferi, so I feel. Anyway, I would love some deck critique. Thanks :). I could see cutting 1 snapcaster and the tireless trackers all together for a more answers. Maybe a Thragtusk would be nice as well.
2x Breeding Pool
3x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Field of Ruin
1x Forest
3x Island
3x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
3x Polluted Delta
2x Swamp
2x Verdant Catacombs
2x Watery Grave
4x Snapcaster Mage
3x Tireless Tracker
Instant (15)
1x Abrupt Decay
3x Assassin's Trophy
2x Countersquall
3x Cryptic Command
3x Fatal Push
2x Logic Knot
1x Pulse of Murasa
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Vraska, Golgari Queen
Enchantment (3)
3x Bitterblossom
Artifact (1)
1x Engineered Explosives
Sorcery (5)
3x Ancestral Vision
1x Damnation
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Breeding Pool
3x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Field of Ruin
1x Forest
3x Island
3x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
3x Polluted Delta
2x Swamp
2x Verdant Catacombs
2x Watery Grave
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Thragtusk
Instant (16)
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Assassin's Trophy
2x Countersquall
3x Cryptic Command
4x Fatal Push
2x Logic Knot
1x Pulse of Murasa
Planeswalker (5)
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Vraska, Golgari Queen
3x Bitterblossom
Artifact (3)
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Nihil Spellbomb
Sorcery (5)
3x Ancestral Vision
1x Damnation
1x Maelstrom Pulse