All I know is that there is a U/B faeries in my metagame. I beat a Merfolk deck, something that apparently beat the Faerie deck, but I'm a bit nervous trying to play around all the counters, especially since I'm only playing R/G and no white. On the UB Faeries primer, one of them said that Kitchen Finks was good against them, so I will certainly side those in. Regardless, I'll give it a shot next Monday and see how it goes.
Well my gameplan is going to unleash Volcanic Fallout with extreme prejudice.
2 to their head, a bunch of smoldering faeries in the grave, seems like a win/win in my books.
Wouldn't it hurt your own creatures a lot as well though?
You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.
It's been playing out well for him, he's flooded out a few times tonight though. I think that's not the deck, I'm guessing it's just the MODO shuffler
I was just leafing through the results of the most recent daily event for Magic Online, I didn't see anyone show up in the top few. Hopefully we'll see some good results in the next one!
Edit: He's made a slight change after a bad loss to UWR Twin.
No e1 huh? Must perfer the soildness of lion. Sure, I can see that. not a fan of blaze though its amazing in the mirror. I could play that list if It did well at protour
As far as fallout, in most lists it doesnt hurt. In your gruul zoo it would
So this weekend I am going to a semi-local (about an hour away) modern tournament where first prize is a foil set of modern masters. Post-DRS I have been playing and so far enjoying Lantern's list for Naya Zoo but was told by some people I know who know a lot of the field it mostly will be zoo decks. Is it better to run small or big zoo at an event where the meta most likely will be, "zoo?" I imagine the reliquary kind will be the norm. I'm also expecting more than a few twin decks as well.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard:
Jeskai Black
Modern:
Jund
Legacy:
Esper Stoneblade
EDH:
5 color slivers
Arcum Daggson
Sharuum The Hedgemon
Mishra...Shenanigans?
Well, Tarmogoyf/KotR are pretty beatable with Rancor/GCR. Obviously Path is decent there too, but I don't feel like I'm missing it much.
Also, don't get me wrong, Path does some good stuff, but hell I'd rather run Dismember even if I have white mana^^ I don't quite remember who it was, but there was an SCG/CFB article stating that PtE is the worst card in his modern deck by a lot and I agree. I'd probably prefer Celestial Flare tbh
I'm running on 20 land too, but really so much 0 landers it's not even funny >.<
I really think Path is not the way to go currently. There's not a lot of Tron currently (from what I've seen) and they're often too slow anyway, while everything else you listed dies to Dismember or even burn. Pillar of Flame is a card I played a lot in GRuul Zoo and another cqard I'd run over Path.
That being said Rancor has been pretty hit or miss. So strong vs. Bitterblossom, Lingering Souls and Tarmogoyfs, while it does nothing vs. Wurmcoil and not too much in some other MUs. It's pretty solid vs. Pod and CCombo though as it adds to the clock a bit/ runs over Walls.
As far as boarding out Helix goes: Against 3-4 Electromancers I'm not sure I want to be running 6+ removal spells. If they have Pyromancer I'm leaving Helixes in anyway. It also depends on being on the play (Helix is better than RiP for sure then imo) or on the draw (I prefer getting rid of Ascension/PiF on the draw with RiP) and the exact built, since there have been some Pyromancer Bushwacker lists too.
As a last small question: what does PtE do vs. Affinity? I don't get it, unless you're saying you need more than 8 removals and some SB stuff (I have 2 Stony Silence, 1 Ancient Grudge, 2 Qasali Prdiemage sb), seeing as I run 1 extra Helix in place of Paths
Maybe I'm hating on the card too much, but I have so often faced a turn 3 Obstinate Baloth/supreme Verdict/ Turn 4 Batterskull that I'd rather not ramp my opponent when I could just Dismember 99% of the targets (aside from Wurmcoil obv.)
I side out paths for Grudge and Helix for Revelry against Affinity. And if they're not the tempered steel version i'd probably side out something else for Volcanic Fallout now that I'm running it. Probably for the extra Path and extra Helix that Grudge and Revelry don't cover.
What is our gameplan against Living End? Looks like our only hope is to stick Rest in Peace Turn 2 and then win fast enough before they find Beast Within.
Yesterday I tested some hours against Living End with 4c Zoo.
The preboarded matches are 55/45 in favour of Aquarium Zoo, due to the additional disruption (the reason why I think the deck is superior to regular Zoo). That is where I wanted to be in unfair matchups and I think it is reasonable to think the likelihood of winning preboard against other unfair strategies is similar. For instance I think Lantern would have won every game against Scapeshift in his video if he had a piece of hard disruption (discard/counter), even against fish preventing a master of waves to enter the battlefield should be the main concern besides removing lords. The disruption will prevent you from having to execute the "all eggs in one basket" plan.
I really want the 4. KotR though and don't know what to cut (probably a snapcaster). In my opinion Scavenging Ooze is one of the most important creatures in this deck btw (regarding the meta full of Pod, Kitchen Finks.dec and newly revived GY strategies) therefore the 3 MB and 1 SB.
Land-mana flow chart; or "How I didnt get color screwed."
Alright, I think some people porting from gruul to naya are having some trouble with this. Its pretty easy, but you just need to think a little before cracking, especially since we don't have perfect fetches. Least we're not domain.
1. Open your hand, look at your color spread and how much they cost per turn. For example e1 into nactal/ ape costs G then GR. Then Smiter costs GRW, or alternatively bolt helix costs RRW on turn 3. You have to budget out these money (mana costs) before even cracking your first land. Familiarize yourself with the colors in your hand first, don't be hastey, and when you got a good idea of the color weights in your hand move to step 2.
2. Now, You know whats in your hand. In most cases the important color will be red or green, as those are the colors of our creatures and our burn. White is 3rd. Now you have to, and this is crucial, figure out which you'll be doing more of: red or green? If your hand looks like I'll be playing a nacatl, then ape, then clearing the path with the 3 bolt effects I have in my hand, your answer is red. Go to step 2a. If your saying I need to drop E1, then nacatl ape/lion, then tarmo and keep the pressure up, go to step 2b.
2a. Ok, so you wanna ride 1/2 creatures to victory, seems fine, you have to crack your first land for what ever color you need for the creature (G probably) PLUS R. Then your next land should be W, to cover your bases, PLUS R. That way you can double bolt, still cast any 2 cmc creature, and have helix/boros charm mana represented. Move to step 3.
2b. You want to keep layin down the creatures with burn secondary to that, totally cool. Crack your fetch for what ever color you need for your creature, PLUS what ever color is needed for the next line of play. EX1: If you have nacatl in your hand, and ape/loam, crack the first land to be G / R EX2: If you have ape going first, then your choice between loam lion, goblin guide, or voice of resurgence, your first crack should be for W / R, as thats the heavest color. Your next crack should be to get what ever your next color should be what ever color you DONT have, and what ever is next in your creature line up. In EX1, that would be G PLUS W. In EX2: thats G PLUS W. Go to step 3.
3. 3 lands on. here it matters a lot less. You got the two lands you'll be using for most of the game. Now its up to you. You can have more burn mana represented, grab basics, or finish off your duals. Option 1 is great if your dropping creatures like in 2a, because thats your secondary game. Id probably also get green in that case too because you may have to cast left over critters. Option two is good if you want to ensure the health of your creatures and keep casting them. Keep nacatl big, keep ape happy, keep casting things in your hand if a blood moon happens. I wouldn't do this against a deck where I expect path (hatebears/american control) but I would if I expected nonbasic hate (delver/moon effects). Option 3 is the default. If option 1/2 doesnt really matter, or not up your ally, or you dont know what to do, safest thing is to fetch whatever completes your dual set. Go to helpful tips:
Helpful tips
- Tectonic edge and ghost quarter are cards that get played. Mostly in hatebears and in control, as well as 2 color midrange or knight midrange. Maybe you want to hold the 4th land, maybe you dont mind them blowing it up because you can still funtion on 2/3 lands, while they can not. Against hatebears its more annoying, aganist control, dont worry about it. the games going to go late (if it does, that sucks, sorry.) but you'll have 6-7 lands out. it wont matter. Just prioritize having all colors. they will go for your red first, then green, then white in that order, because they want to cut you off from burn, then creatures.
- Hatebears. ALWAYS CRACK YOUR FETCH FIRST. They will have arbitors and mindcensers. Get your mana, doesn't matter if they cut you off turn 3 as much as it does turn 2. Just be aggressive here and dont let them have time to set up their taxes. They will block with their taxers if their life gets low enough.
-Blood Moon. Delver and twin play this. Most mono red decks will have it, from rdw to big red. Even zoo uses it sometimes. In most of those cases it is comepletely ok to fetch a forest before hand. In the case of delver, they BANK on the turn 3 blood moon to stop you. If you crack a forest it screws their game up.
-Imperfect Fetches. Listen, land screw/ color screw happens, don't be hard on yourself. Try to get gruul colors, if you cant get white. Most of your creatures are gruul, so being able to cast them than a helix or path is usually more important.
- ALWAY SAVE MESA. If you're looking at a hand with a fetch land that isnt arid mesa, and one that is... Save arid mesa. There are expections to this rule, like if your following my flow chart above and you have to lead with it, but if you don't, DONT. Remember, all of our fetchs, sans mesa, are a little limp... They can fetch, but they cant perfectly fetch. Arid mesa can. It lets you change your game plan on the fly.
-One land hand. Short suggestion is, DONT DO IT. Yes we have a lot of one drops, casting one per turn, not impressive. If legacy is a 1 cmc format, Modern is a 2 cmc format. 2 is the magic number. Mull. Now, if your own the draw, you have 2 nacatls and have 22 lands in the deck, eh, not ganna stop you, but its still risky. Missing the turn 2 land drop, ok. missing the turn 3 one for a second land, you're probably dead.
-4 land hand. Also, probably shouldn't keep. Its better than a 1 land hand, since 2-3 lands are perfect, but you need to make sure you have full action for turn 1/2. If the opener is 4 lands, e1, nactal, ape, it is keepable, because you can do stuff turn 1-2. If its 4 lands, nacatl, ghorclan, smiter, its not a good hand probably.
I want to take a little time to break down these lists as I see them:
ALL LISTS:
Before we delve into these lists the first thing I can see is that all of these lists aren't "Tight" some of them scream experimental. Things like Helixes in the side, 1 ofs in the main board, are all ways to test many cards while keeping a core zoo. I wouldnt take any of these lists as perfect examples of zoo, because its ganna take til the second protour (7th of march) to really make a strong 99% correct list.
First list:
Right off the bat I can tell its a modified Gruul list. Its got the same core as the Pump version we saw around when gruul zoo was figuring out if vexing devil/burn or stangleroot/pump was better. But instead of Stangleroot it's nacatl. Not bad. It has harms way to negate bolts in resp. to pumps. Cool tech, but I'm still on the "Vines of vastwood is better" train. The sheer amount of burn in the side, I'm sure it was the user trying to dodge bolt first, have burn to use later. Probably expected hate and reversed the side cards (burn to side, pump to front) A good meta call, but I wouldnt consider the tech main stay.
Second list:
Big zoo with out goyf. If you dont know A user named alex won a GPT with a midrange list without goyf. Before he won it, I also cut goyf in my testing. Seems to be a running thing. This might be because the user couldnt afford goyf, maybe he thought there were better answers. It was clear hes testing out alot of 3 drops though, as you can see none were solid 4 ofs. I sitll like the walker route better, but if you wanna beat down higher mana curved, its cool. Theres nothing special about the list other than the above, its ver kibler.
Third List:
My list from reddit to a tee. Lol. I dunno what to say that hasn't been said already on this thread. If you got a question shoot.
Fourth List:
Domain/aquarium list. Lookin' at the sideboard this guy tossed everything in there but the kitchen (s)fink (Ba Doom, tish! I'll be here all night people...) Dunno what to go over here. Its alot of damage, thats the core. You can tell by him choosing explosive options over stable ones. For example, he could have done lynx, WITH knight to keep that cat swinging, but instead took St. Taft, the more quick damage option to maximize his quick out put, followed by boros and tribal. Side is a wreck though. Im sure if we see him again, he'll have more stable sides.
Fifth List:
We got a gruul zoo, but one that uses black for decay. I has someone talk to me the other day about this list. It uses decay instead of path because the user thought that was the better card. I disagree, because path is 1 mana. WHile decay is better on the 2/3rd turn, and can kill walkers... You can kill walkers with this list by dealing damage just as easily. Decay does not hit the same things path does though, like wurmcoil. Path has always been a catch all answer, not a removal spell like bolt. That aside, its probably the work of gruul zoo that pushed this thing to the top. Lotsa speed man, lotsa speed. It also had finks, probably to ward off other zoo decks. 3 goyfs because budget. 4 rancors is ackward, but I can understand it. Dont like the list too much... but that finks makes sense.
Last list
Another tribal zoo, this one more stable damage. Its got a defined side, and Id say this guy tested a bit. It looks like zoo aggro, with flames back up plan. If I was going to use flames, Id use something like this list, but I don't like killer mana bases. Anywho... Still the best flames list I've seen in a while. Stable.
Last notes after looking over them all:
I don't expect zoo to have this showing again in 2 days (remember these lists were from yesterday, meaning the lists from today are still blind in the dark decks. That being said, you'll see zoo numbers drop or stablize in 2 days from this post) because people will see the amount of zoo in todays lists and over prepare, meaning the number will drop to 1-2. Then I expect as hate evens out it will go back up to 2-3 a day if it remains popular (Sad but true fact: Most competitive magic players favorate colors are U and B which is not our pie. :P) Then the protour will tell us if people stay on it. as hard. If its a true tier 1 deck, which I think it is, than well be up there with jund/twin/control/delvers numbers and probably be a solid 6-10% of the meta.
Those are my predictions. Good showing, more than fae anyways... which I kinda expected. I figured if out of 100 people, 10 played zoo and 30 played fae, wed have higher numbers because we push them out.
Bonus segement! Reverse sideboarding:
You cant just look at our showings, got to look at what beat us too. Thats how we win, play smart, not dumb, know what you'll play against.
Cage is a must. People are figuring out fast finks is the way to go. Pod
Side cards people used against us in this MTGO daily
Pod
Much thanks for breaking down those lists that placed. I was very curious to see what people thought of how they were built. Does anybody think that one of these directions should be the one that we built toward ultimately? I realize that at some point it's people personal preference but as with most decks there should be a general list that most people should build towards.
I see that you said we won't know for sure until the second pro tour but I think we could do some brewing/tuning before then.
It gets to the point really here that you can define what ever list you want, buutttt testing has really finished. We've seen there are a couple zoo route you can go. All in damage, with domain, You can go all in speed, with gruul, or you can go for consistency, in small zoo, or midrange in kiblers. Now, aquerium "Counter cat" really hasn't proved itself yet... but those I mentioned before have.
Its what ever you like playing really. I like consistency, So thats what I get best result from because 1. I like it, 2. I tested it the most, thus 3. its my most refined. It really depends on the meta aside from that.
1. The meta is all non interactive combo= Domain zoo is the best
2. The Meta is all control oriented= Gruul Zoo is the best
3. The meta is all aggro oriented= Midrange Naya is the best
4. The meta is diverse, there is an equal amount of everything = Small zoo (consistency) is the best. You tweak it with other elements as needed.
Unlikely, but I'll mention it
5. Instant no creature combo becomes the best (we're talkin' old school storm, Ad-tendrils kinda stuff)= Countercat is the best.
To clarify what I meant in number 4, its where you take a zoo that looks something along the lines of:
You can test a list to profection, but until the meta is panned out you cant know which version is better, and even in those, what the flex spots should be. Fae is having that problem right now (but way worse then us, because we have a pretty clear core). You can tune, but you have to guess what the meta is. Thats something I will say, pros are better than me at. I know that I know zoo at least as well as kibler, but that guy knows magic better than me.
If I had to guess what the meta will be at the Gp, day two, I'm going with A LOT of pod, a good amount of twin, control, zoo, scapeshift, rock midrange decks, then a fair amount of fae, burn, grave yard combos, merfolk, delver. Thats why I'm on the boat that small zoo is the best, geared to beat decks with finks and burn removal is the way too go (thus my rampagers in my list, main boros charm/pillar, side 3 cage)
But again, thats me guessing. I'll know in a week or 2
I'm happy that 3 of those small zoos were guys who grabbed my reddit lists yay.
Overall: not many of them have changed. 5 in the top today. But like I said, the effects should be fully seen tommorrow (today was the blind day) th only cool differences we can see is that Domri, voice, pridemage, and ranger showed up in lists today. And some swords, but that seems cray to me.
Affinity, lots of it today. Pods bumpped its finks count to 4, and twin is rocking anger of the gods and threads of disloyality. Well actually it looks like alot of blue decks are running threads now must be why it spiked... Tons of anger of the gods too.
Looks like todays theme was "Does it beat zoo?" Worth noting ZERO fae in the tops, as well as jund. theres only a few control decks too. Mostly pod, twin, zoo or weird combos
@Risisko: Great job on the 3rd place! Liking the deck, and as for your question on Knights or Smiters, it really depends on two things. The meta your dealing with AND the amount of lands you have. If you are not running atleast 22 lands in your deck, I would forget about Knight. Smiter here has three major qualities that makes him good in these decks. First, he is a strong Beater 4/4 for 3 cmc cannot complain. Second, he is uncounterable! Great against Control and Faeries. Pretty much you get him out there, it will be difficult for them to win unless you get boardwipes. Third and finally, he is a target for E1 to evolve!
Also, I would consider playing Helix over Boros charm at the moment really, Helix has been excellent form of removal and is great against the mirror match.
You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.
That list tastes like bread and butter, and I am ok with that.
I was just leafing through the results of the most recent daily event for Magic Online, I didn't see anyone show up in the top few. Hopefully we'll see some good results in the next one!
Edit: He's made a slight change after a bad loss to UWR Twin.
As far as fallout, in most lists it doesnt hurt. In your gruul zoo it would
Jeskai Black
Modern:
Jund
Legacy:
Esper Stoneblade
EDH:
5 color slivers
Arcum Daggson
Sharuum The Hedgemon
Mishra...Shenanigans?
I side out paths for Grudge and Helix for Revelry against Affinity. And if they're not the tempered steel version i'd probably side out something else for Volcanic Fallout now that I'm running it. Probably for the extra Path and extra Helix that Grudge and Revelry don't cover.
I think that's a much better removal suite.
Sig courtesy of DOLZero
[82/360] Custom Cube
Blog about the Custom Cube
How important is Noble Hierarch to you?
Sig courtesy of DOLZero
[82/360] Custom Cube
Blog about the Custom Cube
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
3 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
18 lands
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Experiment One
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kird Ape
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
32 creatures
2 Mutagenic Growth
2 Path to Exile
2 Pillar of Flame
10 other spells
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Harm's Way
3 Lightning Helix
2 Path to Exile
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Pyroclasm
1 Shattering Spree
2 Tormod's Crypt
15 sideboard cards
SteelingIron (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
2 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Sejiri Steppe
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
22 lands
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Loxodon Smiter
3 Mirran Crusader
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Wild Nacatl
24 creatures
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
14 other spells
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Celestial Purge
2 Choke
1 Combust
2 Destructive Revelry
1 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Molten Rain
2 Rule of Law
15 sideboard cards
1310HaZzZaRd (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Forest
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
20 lands
4 Experiment One
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
2 Loam Lion
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
26 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
2 Pillar of Flame
14 other spells
1 Boros Charm
2 Combust
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Molten Rain
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Volcanic Fallout
dietz67 (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
60 cards
4 Arid Mesa
1 Blood Crypt
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
22 lands
3 Noble Hierarch
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
20 creatures
2 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
1 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
18 other spells
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Boros Charm
1 Dismember
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Might of Alara
1 Negate
1 Path to Exile
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
15 sideboard cards
SnC Scott (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
19 lands
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Experiment One
2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
3 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
25 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rancor
16 other spells
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Burning-Tree Shaman
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Rakdos Charm
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
15 sideboard cards
Batutinha_ (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737349 on 02/13/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
22 lands
2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
22 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
16 other spells
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Combust
4 Fulminator Mage
3 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Stony Silence
Current Big Event wins for Nayas:
GPT
top 4: Small Zoo
Win: Naya midrange.
MTGO:
5 small Zoos
1 Naya Midrange
1 Aquariums
4 Domain zoo
I think thats it so far.
It's a bit of an unwieldy wall of text.
Maybe post it somewhere like in the blogs or whatever you can do on this site and like too it. It tends to bury what everyone else had done before it.
ALL LISTS:
Before we delve into these lists the first thing I can see is that all of these lists aren't "Tight" some of them scream experimental. Things like Helixes in the side, 1 ofs in the main board, are all ways to test many cards while keeping a core zoo. I wouldnt take any of these lists as perfect examples of zoo, because its ganna take til the second protour (7th of march) to really make a strong 99% correct list.
First list:
Right off the bat I can tell its a modified Gruul list. Its got the same core as the Pump version we saw around when gruul zoo was figuring out if vexing devil/burn or stangleroot/pump was better. But instead of Stangleroot it's nacatl. Not bad. It has harms way to negate bolts in resp. to pumps. Cool tech, but I'm still on the "Vines of vastwood is better" train. The sheer amount of burn in the side, I'm sure it was the user trying to dodge bolt first, have burn to use later. Probably expected hate and reversed the side cards (burn to side, pump to front) A good meta call, but I wouldnt consider the tech main stay.
Second list:
Big zoo with out goyf. If you dont know A user named alex won a GPT with a midrange list without goyf. Before he won it, I also cut goyf in my testing. Seems to be a running thing. This might be because the user couldnt afford goyf, maybe he thought there were better answers. It was clear hes testing out alot of 3 drops though, as you can see none were solid 4 ofs. I sitll like the walker route better, but if you wanna beat down higher mana curved, its cool. Theres nothing special about the list other than the above, its ver kibler.
Third List:
My list from reddit to a tee. Lol. I dunno what to say that hasn't been said already on this thread. If you got a question shoot.
Fourth List:
Domain/aquarium list. Lookin' at the sideboard this guy tossed everything in there but the kitchen (s)fink (Ba Doom, tish! I'll be here all night people...) Dunno what to go over here. Its alot of damage, thats the core. You can tell by him choosing explosive options over stable ones. For example, he could have done lynx, WITH knight to keep that cat swinging, but instead took St. Taft, the more quick damage option to maximize his quick out put, followed by boros and tribal. Side is a wreck though. Im sure if we see him again, he'll have more stable sides.
Fifth List:
We got a gruul zoo, but one that uses black for decay. I has someone talk to me the other day about this list. It uses decay instead of path because the user thought that was the better card. I disagree, because path is 1 mana. WHile decay is better on the 2/3rd turn, and can kill walkers... You can kill walkers with this list by dealing damage just as easily. Decay does not hit the same things path does though, like wurmcoil. Path has always been a catch all answer, not a removal spell like bolt. That aside, its probably the work of gruul zoo that pushed this thing to the top. Lotsa speed man, lotsa speed. It also had finks, probably to ward off other zoo decks. 3 goyfs because budget. 4 rancors is ackward, but I can understand it. Dont like the list too much... but that finks makes sense.
Last list
Another tribal zoo, this one more stable damage. Its got a defined side, and Id say this guy tested a bit. It looks like zoo aggro, with flames back up plan. If I was going to use flames, Id use something like this list, but I don't like killer mana bases. Anywho... Still the best flames list I've seen in a while. Stable.
Last notes after looking over them all:
I don't expect zoo to have this showing again in 2 days (remember these lists were from yesterday, meaning the lists from today are still blind in the dark decks. That being said, you'll see zoo numbers drop or stablize in 2 days from this post) because people will see the amount of zoo in todays lists and over prepare, meaning the number will drop to 1-2. Then I expect as hate evens out it will go back up to 2-3 a day if it remains popular (Sad but true fact: Most competitive magic players favorate colors are U and B which is not our pie. :P) Then the protour will tell us if people stay on it. as hard. If its a true tier 1 deck, which I think it is, than well be up there with jund/twin/control/delvers numbers and probably be a solid 6-10% of the meta.
Those are my predictions. Good showing, more than fae anyways... which I kinda expected. I figured if out of 100 people, 10 played zoo and 30 played fae, wed have higher numbers because we push them out.
Bonus segement! Reverse sideboarding:
You cant just look at our showings, got to look at what beat us too. Thats how we win, play smart, not dumb, know what you'll play against.
Cage is a must. People are figuring out fast finks is the way to go. Pod
Side cards people used against us in this MTGO daily
Pod
Mill
Crypt Incursion
Fae:
Tokens:
Us:
Delver
Adnosium:
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Ninja Bear Stupid:
Tron:
Control:
Twin:
Scapeshift:
[cards]Anger of the Gods
inferno Titan
Obstinate Baloth[/card]
Edit: Better?
I see that you said we won't know for sure until the second pro tour but I think we could do some brewing/tuning before then.
Its what ever you like playing really. I like consistency, So thats what I get best result from because 1. I like it, 2. I tested it the most, thus 3. its my most refined. It really depends on the meta aside from that.
1. The meta is all non interactive combo= Domain zoo is the best
2. The Meta is all control oriented= Gruul Zoo is the best
3. The meta is all aggro oriented= Midrange Naya is the best
4. The meta is diverse, there is an equal amount of everything = Small zoo (consistency) is the best. You tweak it with other elements as needed.
Unlikely, but I'll mention it
5. Instant no creature combo becomes the best (we're talkin' old school storm, Ad-tendrils kinda stuff)= Countercat is the best.
To clarify what I meant in number 4, its where you take a zoo that looks something along the lines of:
4 kird ape
4 tamrogoyf
4 lighting bolt
3 path
Then add what you need to combat what you think you will face.
Tempo- grim lavamacers
control- voice of resurgence
Combo- Thalia
Aggro- Searing Blaze/lightning helix
Midrange- Ghor-clan rampager
Ramp- Molten rain.
ect ect.
You can test a list to profection, but until the meta is panned out you cant know which version is better, and even in those, what the flex spots should be. Fae is having that problem right now (but way worse then us, because we have a pretty clear core). You can tune, but you have to guess what the meta is. Thats something I will say, pros are better than me at. I know that I know zoo at least as well as kibler, but that guy knows magic better than me.
If I had to guess what the meta will be at the Gp, day two, I'm going with A LOT of pod, a good amount of twin, control, zoo, scapeshift, rock midrange decks, then a fair amount of fae, burn, grave yard combos, merfolk, delver. Thats why I'm on the boat that small zoo is the best, geared to beat decks with finks and burn removal is the way too go (thus my rampagers in my list, main boros charm/pillar, side 3 cage)
But again, thats me guessing. I'll know in a week or 2
enzoreal (4-0)
Modern Daily #6737373 on 02/14/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
3 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
18 lands
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Experiment One
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kird Ape
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
32 creatures
2 Mutagenic Growth
2 Path to Exile
2 Pillar of Flame
10 other spells
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Harm's Way
3 Lightning Helix
2 Path to Exile
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Pyroclasm
1 Shattering Spree
2 Tormod's Crypt
1310HaZzZaRd (4-0)
Modern Daily #6737373 on 02/14/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Forest
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
20 lands
4 Experiment One
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
2 Loam Lion
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
26 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
2 Pillar of Flame
14 other spells
1 Boros Charm
2 Combust
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Molten Rain
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Volcanic Fallout
15 sideboard cards
jakeup (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737373 on 02/14/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Blood Crypt
1 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
22 lands
1 Grim Lavamancer
3 Kird Ape
3 Loam Lion
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Wild Nacatl
17 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
3 Rancor
4 Tribal Flames
21 other spells
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Molten Rain
1 Path to Exile
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Spellskite
2 Thoughtseize
1 Twisted Image
1 Unflinching Courage
15 sideboard cards
FuriousAnger (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737373 on 02/14/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
19 lands
4 Experiment One
3 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Voice of Resurgence
4 Wild Nacatl
29 creatures
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
12 other spells
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Domri Rade
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Rest in Peace
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Voice of Resurgence
1 Wear // Tear
13 sideboard cards
Batutinha_ (3-1)
Modern Daily #6737373 on 02/14/2014
Download a .dek file for use in Magic Online
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
21 lands
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
24 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
15 other spells
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Combust
3 Fulminator Mage
3 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Stony Silence
15 sideboard cards
That makes the count:
Current Big Event wins for Nayas:
GPT
top 4: Small Zoo
6th Place: Small Zoo
Win: Naya midrange.
MTGO:
6 small/gruul Zoos
1 Naya Midrange
4 Domain zoo
I'm happy that 3 of those small zoos were guys who grabbed my reddit lists yay.
Overall: not many of them have changed. 5 in the top today. But like I said, the effects should be fully seen tommorrow (today was the blind day) th only cool differences we can see is that Domri, voice, pridemage, and ranger showed up in lists today. And some swords, but that seems cray to me.
Affinity, lots of it today. Pods bumpped its finks count to 4, and twin is rocking anger of the gods and threads of disloyality. Well actually it looks like alot of blue decks are running threads now must be why it spiked... Tons of anger of the gods too.
Looks like todays theme was "Does it beat zoo?" Worth noting ZERO fae in the tops, as well as jund. theres only a few control decks too. Mostly pod, twin, zoo or weird combos
Also, I would consider playing Helix over Boros charm at the moment really, Helix has been excellent form of removal and is great against the mirror match.