Thank you for your feedback. My meta consist mainly of nayas, jund, RG tron, grixies, jeskai... should I be playn elves at all? lol
If yes.. i also need a plan vs jeskai. I'm new to elves and bit lost. It seems so unfavorable...
If you have a choice not to play Elves, I would advise against playing it in that meta. However, for us stubborn folk, I run into this sort of thing every time I play and I still see my fair share of wins.
Hehe, oh yea. I love the "us stubborn folk" part. All the way Syreal.
Part of my build is focusing on beating the Grixis, RG Tron and Jeskai builds. Thought-knot + Thoughtseize does a lot in stabilizing your presence with Elves and a 4/4 beater. I have been loving the direction of this and will continue to pound the control matchups with them.
If you don't want to touch colorless, you can always overload on Chameleon Colossus. That beats Jund and Grixis hard, though it doesn't do too much vs Jeskai or RG Tron.
I was kinda thinking about the same thing. Running 2 Colossus and 1 Thrun in the SB. You have 4 Caverns and 4 Llanowar Wastes to support your TKS, right?
Yes, but the approach Melves72 takes on the mana base may be more stable. My SCG IQ top 8 list went with only eight sources of colorless, but nine may be better. In essence, four caverns, four Llanowar Wastes and a Nykthos will make nine sources.
I think Melves72's lead approach (my top 8 list played lead) is also correct too. I have been fooling around with Chord, and it does lack punch against Jund and other grindy matchups. Since we are not taking slots for Jund specifically (foregoing Chameleon Colossus), I think it is better to fight those deck from the main deck (with leads) and fight control and combo with the sideboard (with TKS). Does this make sense? I am going back to Lead in the main deck for my next tournament.
There are two options that you could go with for a White based sideboard. Enchantments/Permanents and Creatures. Enchantments provide a more fire and forget method.
Key Enchantments - Stony Silence, Rest in Peace, Mark of Asylum, Rule of Law, Ghostly Prison, Worship are all valid choices. I am not really sure about Ghostly Prison or Worship, but they could be interesting tech. The two most common are Stony Silence and Rest in Peace and could have an impact against the 4 decks listed.
Yes, but the approach Melves72 takes on the mana base may be more stable. My SCG IQ top 8 list went with only eight sources of colorless, but nine may be better. In essence, four caverns, four Llanowar Wastes and a Nykthos will make nine sources.
I think Melves72's lead approach (my top 8 list played lead) is also correct too. I have been fooling around with Chord, and it does lack punch against Jund and other grindy matchups. Since we are not taking slots for Jund specifically (foregoing Chameleon Colossus), I think it is better to fight those deck from the main deck (with leads) and fight control and combo with the sideboard (with TKS). Does this make sense? I am going back to Lead in the main deck for my next tournament.
Definitely! Esp now with Abzan and Jund being rampant in the meta. So do we board in TKS against BGx? Why or why not?
I'm thinking of using that, except playing 2 Creeping Corrosion / Fracturing Gust over the Cages.
One other question, what cards are usually the first to be sided out of this deck? It seems like this deck sideboards really lightly, but I'm not sure what actually comes out.
Yes, but the approach Melves72 takes on the mana base may be more stable. My SCG IQ top 8 list went with only eight sources of colorless, but nine may be better. In essence, four caverns, four Llanowar Wastes and a Nykthos will make nine sources.
I think Melves72's lead approach (my top 8 list played lead) is also correct too. I have been fooling around with Chord, and it does lack punch against Jund and other grindy matchups. Since we are not taking slots for Jund specifically (foregoing Chameleon Colossus), I think it is better to fight those deck from the main deck (with leads) and fight control and combo with the sideboard (with TKS). Does this make sense? I am going back to Lead in the main deck for my next tournament.
Definitely! Esp now with Abzan and Jund being rampant in the meta. So do we board in TKS against BGx? Why or why not?
I would not. They are on a resource denial plan and once we are on top deck mode, TKS becomes a 2-1. They have a lot of removal and TKS becomes a terrible plan against their 1-1 removals. Our Lead, Dismembers and nicks with Shaman of the Pack usually does the trick.
There are a couple things you could take out. Against any deck that doesn't play green, Elvish Champion. Otherwise, my general rule has been fast decks - remove Elvish Visionary. Against slow decks- Dwynen's Elites or Nettle Sentinels.
In your case, you could shave an Ezuri, a non-archdruid Lord, Dwyen's Elite, Visionary, even Lead against speedy decks.
With decks that are trying to kill you quickly, you are safe to take out card advantage. If you are against decks that are trying to out-value, out-grind you, value pieces can come out. Dwyenen's elite while a combo deck can come in as just a 2/2 due to the amount of removal they have and is more of a combo piece along with Nettle Sentinel.
Question: I know Craterhoof Behemoth has been an alt win con when you don't have an Ezuri and archdruid together(you could get lucky and have a nykthos but lets assume you dont). He's the 1 piece I have yet to take the plunge on due to the price. He's pretty spicy considering he goes into only 1 constructed deck(I assume he must be popular with casuals and EDH).
Anyway, in modern, green has access to some of the biggest, most impactful green creatures ever printed. Is there a budget sub for him.
At first I thought he was a win-more card because if you have 8 mana to spend some how, you must already have an advanced board state and be winning the game anyway but just today I played against a couple Rakdos decks(IMO decks basically designed to beat small creature decks like ours) and I reached a point a couple times where Craterhoof would have won on the spot, even thru their board and I recognized the value of being able to chord for him(though at that point you likely need 3-4 lands and like 8 elves, which doesn't always happen)
Have you found Craterhoof to be necessary and if so, is there a budget alternative? The new green gearhulk seems like a great substitute and costs 3 mana less. Unless the new green gearhulk is just that much better, I prolly will splurge and pick up a craterhoof I just wanted to hear your experiences with him.
Hey everyone I am new to the forum. I play elves and stumbled across here and thought I join the conversation.
I've never really played magic competitively, just kitchen table with friends. Decided to go ahead and give it a shot when some friends talked me into entering a SCG IQ. Placed 10th overall (4-2).
Match 1: Dredge 2-0
Match 2: Jund 1-2
Match 3: Jund 0-2
Match 4: Homebrewed Deck 2-0
Match 5: Dredge 2-0
Match 6: Infect 2-1
I didn't run Nettle Sentinel this event because I wasn't sure of the Meta for my area. I tried to mainboard somethings to give me a better chance during the fist games.
I really liked having the 1 Eldritch Evolution. Every time it came up I was happy to see it. Against Infect I was able to get Melira turn 2. And Dredge I was able to get out Anafenza out by turn 2 as well. Im considering just going for a 2 Chord 2 EE mainboard.
This being my first tournament I had a lot of inexperience against Jund since I have never played against it. I was never able to get Chameleon Colossus out and had a rough time against Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. One game they played Damnation with a Kalitas out and I had no way to deal with the zombie tokens it left behind. The Only game I won against Jund was thanks to playing double Shaman of the Packs.
Overall I was happy with how it went, and im planning on going to a couple more SCG IQ this year. Competitive play was extremely fun.
So with Elves coming in the most recent SCG tournament in 19th place, makes me want to play Elves over Abzan Company again. I'm always deciding which deck to play over the other. One is 3 colours and doesn't need a creature type to work well. The other has massive synergis with a single creature type, meaning there are few option creatures to add to the deck. Are they equally strong? Or should I continue using Abzan Company over Elves? I'm forever tug-or-war'ing over this.
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
So with Elves coming in the most recent SCG tournament in 19th place, makes me want to play Elves over Abzan Company again. I'm always deciding which deck to play over the other. One is 3 colours and doesn't need a creature type to work well. The other has massive synergis with a single creature type, meaning there are few option creatures to add to the deck. Are they equally strong? Or should I continue using Abzan Company over Elves? I'm forever tug-or-war'ing over this.
Is there any reason to play 1 deck only? I have about 4-5 decks assembled at any one time which i switch between, but what I play at FNM is usually a meta choice. The same goes for bigger events.
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So with Elves coming in the most recent SCG tournament in 19th place, makes me want to play Elves over Abzan Company again. I'm always deciding which deck to play over the other. One is 3 colours and doesn't need a creature type to work well. The other has massive synergis with a single creature type, meaning there are few option creatures to add to the deck. Are they equally strong? Or should I continue using Abzan Company over Elves? I'm forever tug-or-war'ing over this.
Is there any reason to play 1 deck only? I have about 4-5 decks assembled at any one time which i switch between, but what I play at FNM is usually a meta choice. The same goes for bigger events.
I have to keep switching 16-20 cards between the decks to play them. I have other decks, but trying to find my fast-green deck to play.
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
So with Elves coming in the most recent SCG tournament in 19th place, makes me want to play Elves over Abzan Company again. I'm always deciding which deck to play over the other. One is 3 colours and doesn't need a creature type to work well. The other has massive synergis with a single creature type, meaning there are few option creatures to add to the deck. Are they equally strong? Or should I continue using Abzan Company over Elves? I'm forever tug-or-war'ing over this.
Is there any reason to play 1 deck only? I have about 4-5 decks assembled at any one time which i switch between, but what I play at FNM is usually a meta choice. The same goes for bigger events.
I have to keep switching 16-20 cards between the decks to play them. I have other decks, but trying to find my fast-green deck to play.
ooh yea, i hate shared resources. If you're looking for speed, it should be elves straight up. And why not abzan elves? You get the reach of Shaman, with the Sideboard power of GW. I run Anafenza in my side and Kambal is just another reason to have both Tomb and Garden in my manabase.
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EE vs. Chord -- this has been hashed to some length in Abzan Company where the consensus is zeroing in on 4 Company, 3 Chord, 2 EE... however, in Elves, your win con is overwhelming numbers of Elves in any case. Everything has to answer first to "does this get more elves down"... EE is a "get 1-for-2 cards" even if it gets bullets, versus just hard casting or Chord, 1-for-1, or Company 2-for-1. Even Lead the Stampede can be strictly better if your elfing-off mana wise. EE really needs to have the power of "I just did this and the game is essentially over" (and since you don't have great odds on an EE, just trying to get lucky), but sometimes it will be instead: I just paid 3 and sac-ed for this and got countered, or I just got a bullet and it was removed anyway, and suddenly you are well off Elves pace and likely to lose. And don't forget how much a threat Chord is when you don't even have it in hand... you keep mana and creatures up, your opponent is always worried about Chord/Company on their turn. When you play EE, opponent can see your bullet on the table, versus the likes of Anger of the Gods >> Chord for Burrenton, laugh and beat down.
One idea I have to jank things up is to use Mirror Entities with Burrenton and Selfless Spirit, protect against those board wipes, easy to Chord for, and eventually elves when it matters. I have used Mirror Entity before and it demands to be removed immediately just like Ezuri.
On different note, so little discussion about graveyard-using opponents, all over our meta right now... Rest in Peace, Leylines of the Void, all these tools we have available, not seeing it in deck lists...
Magic is a game about resources and while your assessment that EE is 1-for-2 is correct, you're ignoring the mana cost part. Even when you're Chording for a 1CMC target, you're paying 1 more mana than you would with EE. If you're after a 3CMC target you're paying 6 mana and considering the fact that you're paying some of it via Convoke, that's a lot of resources wasted. You're not tapping your elves to attack, basically you haven't done anything that turn in hopes of resolving Chord on their EoT. EE on the other hand will always cost 3 which allows for plays such as bringing Chameleon Colossus down on T2 via Heritage+Dwynen's Elite. Or any other 4CMC threat for that matter. The point of EE is that they see your bullet. Preferably one that puts a clock on them and pressure to deal with it. When Jund sees Colossus it's suddenly a 5 turn clock (even less with it's pump ability). No longer can they afford to hold back and pick you off one by one. Or Thrun against Jeskai. Or Anafenza against Dredge. You can even get Melira/Kataki down on T2 which is not possible with Chord.
Chord is far from being "game is essentially over when I cast it". Your arguments against EE hold the same for Chord. If they kill the bullet you just Chorded for, they've timewalked you and you're behind. Same if they counter it. It's about knowing how and when to play them. If you're playing against deck with counters, you have to anticipate a potential counter and play it only when they're tapped out unless there is no other play available.
Lead the Stampede on the other hand costs the same as EE but it doesn't advance our board. It merely refills our hand and if we're behind on board we can't rebuild as quickly with mana only from our lands.
Or, you know, you could just chord for it, I'm not partial against Chord.
And then they bolt it the following turn and you're left with nothing 3 toughness is a deal breaker in Modern. You're better off grabbing Athreos, God of Passage so they'll either have to pay 3 life to keep the elves in the graveyard or they go back in your hand.
I'm new on this forum and i would like to have some advice about my elves deck.
Land and sideboard are really not optimal and this is why i need your help. I buying every card one by one as i'm on a tight budget. So i just put what i had on hand in the sideboard for now.
My meta consist mostly of UWR Control, Hatebears, tron, affinity, burn, infect,death and taxes and merfolks
For land, i'm trying to get a hand on some green fetch and temple garden to be able to splash white in the sideboard.
But for now, what would be my best sideboard option? Make them discard their wincon with cards like Duress, IoK and Thoughtseize?
How do you manage to stay in the game after a board wipe? I thought Fresh meat woud be interesting but keeping 4 mana open just in case seems to slow my gameplan too much....
I've had a bit of interest in this deck for some time, and today is the day I've decided to take the plunge and ask some questions about the deck. The first is that I am torn between the following two lists:
In this metagame that has swung towards Linear decks, Chord is probably the better bet at this time. It is faster, more consistent, but less resilient.
as you might have noticed the Primer on page one is pretty outdated. In order to represent the resent iterations of Collected Elves I tried to create a new Primer (without pictures right now).
You'll find a google-doc at this link which can be commented by everybody via this link (I hope this works well. If not, please tell me).
English is not my native language so please feel free to correct me wherever needed (spelling, grammar, confusing sentences, ...). Please tell me what you'd change/add/remove with regards to content, as well and why.
I'll try to implement your suggestions and will name you at the end. You can contact me per PM as well.
I appreciate your help and lets make a great Primer together.
Great idea. Just added some suggestions. If folks can do some work on a sideboarding section, as well as talk about the Nettle Sentinel debate, that would be great.
And then they bolt it the following turn and you're left with nothing 3 toughness is a deal breaker in Modern. You're better off grabbing Athreos, God of Passage so they'll either have to pay 3 life to keep the elves in the graveyard or they go back in your hand.
Bolt it and I'm left with nothing?
They spent a card and gained me 2 life. More importantly, Kambal is a flagbearer. They HAVE to deal with him, or lose. That's how high-impact he is.
3 Toughness is a dealbreaker IF the creature does not provide value on ETB/death. Kambal, no matter how they remove him, is discard + drain 2 (well, unless they cast Ulamog and exile him). That's value. Just like Finks is 4 life + 2/1 body.
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Dunno, seems to me like you're wasting 3 mana, EE and an elf for a creature that has no synergy with the rest of the deck and will likely last just to drain for 2. What matchups do you plan to bring him in against?
Dunno, seems to me like you're wasting 3 mana, EE and an elf for a creature that has no synergy with the rest of the deck and will likely last just to drain for 2. What matchups do you plan to bring him in against?
Eidolon of Rhetoric, Anafenza, Kataki and Melira all have no synergy with the rest of the deck. They can also all just eat a dismember and die.
Kambal is a silver bullet, just like all of them, and he cannot go unanswered, which to me qualifies him immediately. He will take Fink's slot for burn, and will also come in against Storm, alongside Eidolon.
With regards to resources, I can see you're partial against EE. FYI, EE's additional toll is the creature you sacrifice and nothing more. That's the price you pay for the speed. When you chord you pay Chord, and X + 3. With EE you pay EE, and creature + 3. That's why EE isn't mainboard but brought in only with silver bullets that severely skew the match up in your favor.
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I was kinda thinking about the same thing. Running 2 Colossus and 1 Thrun in the SB. You have 4 Caverns and 4 Llanowar Wastes to support your TKS, right?
Yes, but the approach Melves72 takes on the mana base may be more stable. My SCG IQ top 8 list went with only eight sources of colorless, but nine may be better. In essence, four caverns, four Llanowar Wastes and a Nykthos will make nine sources.
I think Melves72's lead approach (my top 8 list played lead) is also correct too. I have been fooling around with Chord, and it does lack punch against Jund and other grindy matchups. Since we are not taking slots for Jund specifically (foregoing Chameleon Colossus), I think it is better to fight those deck from the main deck (with leads) and fight control and combo with the sideboard (with TKS). Does this make sense? I am going back to Lead in the main deck for my next tournament.
BGElvesBG and BUGNissa ElvesBUG Faithful Elfer since May 1st, 2015
Results: SCG IQ Top 8, Monthly Modern Masters Top 4
I'm relatively new to this deck, and am looking for advice.
My current maindeck looks like this.
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Heritage Druid
4 Nettle Sentinel
2 Boreal Druid
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Elvish Archdruid
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Elvish Champion
1 Imperious Perfect
4 Collected Company
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Temple Garden
1 Gavony Township
1 Pendelhaven
9 Forest
I have a 3K Tournament tomorrow, and am expecting most of the field to be Tron, Jund/Abzan, Affinity, and URx Delver.
What would be a good sideboard for this meta? And what usually gets sided out in most matchups?
I also have access to Chord of Callings and many silver bullets if that version of the deck would be better for what I expect to face.
Thanks!!
Key Enchantments - Stony Silence, Rest in Peace, Mark of Asylum, Rule of Law, Ghostly Prison, Worship are all valid choices. I am not really sure about Ghostly Prison or Worship, but they could be interesting tech. The two most common are Stony Silence and Rest in Peace and could have an impact against the 4 decks listed.
Key creatures - Katkai's War Wage (Affinity), Phyrexian Revoker (Tron), Chameleon Colossuses (Jund/Abzan), Selfless Spirit (Jund/Abzan/Tron)
Other Key Sells - Fracturing Gust, Reclamation Sage, Dismember, Beast Within, Path to Exile
Definitely! Esp now with Abzan and Jund being rampant in the meta. So do we board in TKS against BGx? Why or why not?
I just saw the sideboard you listed in post 6305.
I'm thinking of using that, except playing 2 Creeping Corrosion / Fracturing Gust over the Cages.
One other question, what cards are usually the first to be sided out of this deck? It seems like this deck sideboards really lightly, but I'm not sure what actually comes out.
I would not. They are on a resource denial plan and once we are on top deck mode, TKS becomes a 2-1. They have a lot of removal and TKS becomes a terrible plan against their 1-1 removals. Our Lead, Dismembers and nicks with Shaman of the Pack usually does the trick.
BGElvesBG and BUGNissa ElvesBUG Faithful Elfer since May 1st, 2015
Results: SCG IQ Top 8, Monthly Modern Masters Top 4
In your case, you could shave an Ezuri, a non-archdruid Lord, Dwyen's Elite, Visionary, even Lead against speedy decks.
With decks that are trying to kill you quickly, you are safe to take out card advantage. If you are against decks that are trying to out-value, out-grind you, value pieces can come out. Dwyenen's elite while a combo deck can come in as just a 2/2 due to the amount of removal they have and is more of a combo piece along with Nettle Sentinel.
Anyway, in modern, green has access to some of the biggest, most impactful green creatures ever printed. Is there a budget sub for him.
At first I thought he was a win-more card because if you have 8 mana to spend some how, you must already have an advanced board state and be winning the game anyway but just today I played against a couple Rakdos decks(IMO decks basically designed to beat small creature decks like ours) and I reached a point a couple times where Craterhoof would have won on the spot, even thru their board and I recognized the value of being able to chord for him(though at that point you likely need 3-4 lands and like 8 elves, which doesn't always happen)
Have you found Craterhoof to be necessary and if so, is there a budget alternative? The new green gearhulk seems like a great substitute and costs 3 mana less. Unless the new green gearhulk is just that much better, I prolly will splurge and pick up a craterhoof I just wanted to hear your experiences with him.
I've never really played magic competitively, just kitchen table with friends. Decided to go ahead and give it a shot when some friends talked me into entering a SCG IQ. Placed 10th overall (4-2).
Here's what I played:
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Heritage Druid
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Shaman of the Pack
4 Elvish Druid
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Eternal Witness
1 SpellSkite
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Lead the Stampede
1 Chord of Calling
4 Windswept Heath
4 Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Nythkos, Shrine to Nyk
1 Pendlehaven
6 Forest
2 Chord of Calling
1 Eldritch Evolution
2 Fracturing Gust
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Choke
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Anafenza, The Foremost
Match 1: Dredge 2-0
Match 2: Jund 1-2
Match 3: Jund 0-2
Match 4: Homebrewed Deck 2-0
Match 5: Dredge 2-0
Match 6: Infect 2-1
I didn't run Nettle Sentinel this event because I wasn't sure of the Meta for my area. I tried to mainboard somethings to give me a better chance during the fist games.
I really liked having the 1 Eldritch Evolution. Every time it came up I was happy to see it. Against Infect I was able to get Melira turn 2. And Dredge I was able to get out Anafenza out by turn 2 as well. Im considering just going for a 2 Chord 2 EE mainboard.
This being my first tournament I had a lot of inexperience against Jund since I have never played against it. I was never able to get Chameleon Colossus out and had a rough time against Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. One game they played Damnation with a Kalitas out and I had no way to deal with the zombie tokens it left behind. The Only game I won against Jund was thanks to playing double Shaman of the Packs.
Overall I was happy with how it went, and im planning on going to a couple more SCG IQ this year. Competitive play was extremely fun.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
But but but
Consider this play against most control/burn match ups:
T1 Forest, Dork.
T2 2nd land drop, Eldritch Evolution saccing dork into Kambal, Consul of Allocation.
Or, you know, you could just chord for it, I'm not partial against Chord.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
Is there any reason to play 1 deck only? I have about 4-5 decks assembled at any one time which i switch between, but what I play at FNM is usually a meta choice. The same goes for bigger events.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
I have to keep switching 16-20 cards between the decks to play them. I have other decks, but trying to find my fast-green deck to play.
U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
ooh yea, i hate shared resources. If you're looking for speed, it should be elves straight up. And why not abzan elves? You get the reach of Shaman, with the Sideboard power of GW. I run Anafenza in my side and Kambal is just another reason to have both Tomb and Garden in my manabase.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Magic is a game about resources and while your assessment that EE is 1-for-2 is correct, you're ignoring the mana cost part. Even when you're Chording for a 1CMC target, you're paying 1 more mana than you would with EE. If you're after a 3CMC target you're paying 6 mana and considering the fact that you're paying some of it via Convoke, that's a lot of resources wasted. You're not tapping your elves to attack, basically you haven't done anything that turn in hopes of resolving Chord on their EoT. EE on the other hand will always cost 3 which allows for plays such as bringing Chameleon Colossus down on T2 via Heritage+Dwynen's Elite. Or any other 4CMC threat for that matter. The point of EE is that they see your bullet. Preferably one that puts a clock on them and pressure to deal with it. When Jund sees Colossus it's suddenly a 5 turn clock (even less with it's pump ability). No longer can they afford to hold back and pick you off one by one. Or Thrun against Jeskai. Or Anafenza against Dredge. You can even get Melira/Kataki down on T2 which is not possible with Chord.
Chord is far from being "game is essentially over when I cast it". Your arguments against EE hold the same for Chord. If they kill the bullet you just Chorded for, they've timewalked you and you're behind. Same if they counter it. It's about knowing how and when to play them. If you're playing against deck with counters, you have to anticipate a potential counter and play it only when they're tapped out unless there is no other play available.
Lead the Stampede on the other hand costs the same as EE but it doesn't advance our board. It merely refills our hand and if we're behind on board we can't rebuild as quickly with mana only from our lands.
And then they bolt it the following turn and you're left with nothing 3 toughness is a deal breaker in Modern. You're better off grabbing Athreos, God of Passage so they'll either have to pay 3 life to keep the elves in the graveyard or they go back in your hand.
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
I'm new on this forum and i would like to have some advice about my elves deck.
Land and sideboard are really not optimal and this is why i need your help. I buying every card one by one as i'm on a tight budget. So i just put what i had on hand in the sideboard for now.
My meta consist mostly of UWR Control, Hatebears, tron, affinity, burn, infect,death and taxes and merfolks
Here's my list:
MAINBOARD
Creatures:
SPELLS:
LANDS:
SIDEBOARD:
For land, i'm trying to get a hand on some green fetch and temple garden to be able to splash white in the sideboard.
But for now, what would be my best sideboard option? Make them discard their wincon with cards like Duress, IoK and Thoughtseize?
How do you manage to stay in the game after a board wipe? I thought Fresh meat woud be interesting but keeping 4 mana open just in case seems to slow my gameplan too much....
Thank you very much in advance.
I've had a bit of interest in this deck for some time, and today is the day I've decided to take the plunge and ask some questions about the deck. The first is that I am torn between the following two lists:
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Elvish Visionary
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Shaman of the Pack
4 Chord of Calling
4 Collected Company
Lands (18)
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Forest
4 Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pendelhaven
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Elvish Visionary
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Chord of Calling
4 Collected Company
Sorceries (4)
4 Lead the Stampede
Lands (18)
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Forest
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Pendelhaven
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
Which of these do you think is better positioned in the current metagame, and why? Thanks for any help on this issue.
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
as you might have noticed the Primer on page one is pretty outdated. In order to represent the resent iterations of Collected Elves I tried to create a new Primer (without pictures right now).
This is quite a read but I'd like to ask for your help to finish this:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZHjY-6VGLhPT4Yr8_Ss1Xj9CY0Vm_KlxmUd95Odc6q8/edit?usp=sharing
You'll find a google-doc at this link which can be commented by everybody via this link (I hope this works well. If not, please tell me).
English is not my native language so please feel free to correct me wherever needed (spelling, grammar, confusing sentences, ...). Please tell me what you'd change/add/remove with regards to content, as well and why.
I'll try to implement your suggestions and will name you at the end. You can contact me per PM as well.
I appreciate your help and lets make a great Primer together.
Thank you very much,
Shandoral
Bolt it and I'm left with nothing?
They spent a card and gained me 2 life. More importantly, Kambal is a flagbearer. They HAVE to deal with him, or lose. That's how high-impact he is.
3 Toughness is a dealbreaker IF the creature does not provide value on ETB/death. Kambal, no matter how they remove him, is discard + drain 2 (well, unless they cast Ulamog and exile him). That's value. Just like Finks is 4 life + 2/1 body.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
Eidolon of Rhetoric, Anafenza, Kataki and Melira all have no synergy with the rest of the deck. They can also all just eat a dismember and die.
Kambal is a silver bullet, just like all of them, and he cannot go unanswered, which to me qualifies him immediately. He will take Fink's slot for burn, and will also come in against Storm, alongside Eidolon.
With regards to resources, I can see you're partial against EE. FYI, EE's additional toll is the creature you sacrifice and nothing more. That's the price you pay for the speed. When you chord you pay Chord, and X + 3. With EE you pay EE, and creature + 3. That's why EE isn't mainboard but brought in only with silver bullets that severely skew the match up in your favor.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR