In the wake of banning of Pod right before the Fate Reforged Pro Tour, a lot of former Pod players shifted a lot of classic decks like the Rock, RG Tron, Burn, Affinity and Twin. At the FRFPT there was a huge number of Soul Rock decks, with strong showings from burn and affinity, as well as Twin, which ultimately took the title. At the FRFPT, Jacob Wilson brought this deck and placed in the Top 8. Initially people were calling this deck Abzan Midrange, without Liliana of the Veil. However, the more you look at this deck you realize it is a GW beat down deck, that hates on discard, counters, and has strong life gain. For the new developing meta in modern after the Pod and Treasure Cruise bannings.
When the deck premiered at Fate Reforge Pro-Tour it really didn't have a name. Wizards called it "Abzan" or "Podless Pod," which really doesn't fit as it does no tutoring, but focuses on jamming value creatures ASAP. The name Little Kid, as far as I can tell, is a reference to a GW creature deck played back in Shards/Lorwyn era. I originally heard the deck call Abzan Liege, as a reference to Rhinos + Wilt-Leaf Liege. Liege Rhino is now becoming popular, while Little Kid seems to be falling out of favor. However, I have also heard it called "hateless hatebearers" which I just think is funny.
Evolution
Since Jacob's first showing with the deck, two different version of the deck have formed; Speed vs Discard. The more speedy version uses mana-dorks to get ahead and power out large beater that take over the game. Jacob's list is below.
Since then similar lists have show up in top 8's in several large tournaments. They all feature at least 6 mana-dorks, and some have been play abrupt decay where Jacob's list did not. Some even sneak in the mighty tarmogoyf! All in all, this deck is meant to hit fast and hit big. It is much less interactive than its cousin.
The hand destruction deck is as yet unproven in large events, but it was developed by Emracool here on this forum.
It features 10 mainboard discard spells and creatures. I moves the token plan to the sideboard and plays a more controlling roll than its faster counter part. Emracool wrote up a nice primer on this deck on page 8 of this thread, which has been nicely formatted here.
Card Choices
GW Beats Kitchen Finks - a modern staple, generally gets you 2 for 1 card advantage and gains you life. Awesome for us, burn players hates it. Loxodon Smiter - 4/4 for 3, nice. Can't be countered or bolted? Well I guess that means UWR control and Twin hates it. Has the bonus of making opposing Liliana of the Veil significantly worse. Voice of Resurgence - More card advantage. Anyone who has played against him knows how much of a pain he is. His hate against control decks is strong and makes a great blocker against aggro decks. Siege Rhino - Is quickly becoming a modern staple for abzan decks. He has been compared to a Bloodbraid Elf that always hits a lightning helix. Match that with a 4/5 trample body and we have a winner. He is the main reason to have black in this deck. Wilt-leaf Liege - The name sake of this deck. WG has a ton of high efficiency beaters that deliver hate to a lot of decks. Make them all get +2/+2 and hate some more on hand disruption? Rounds out the nasty.
Ramp
Mana dorks are important to this deck. The faster the beaters come out the faster we get pressure on our opponents.
Noble Hierarch - Another modern staple. Produces 2/3 of the mana we need, but also gives exalted. Not much more to say Birds of Paradise - the original mana dork.
Utility Thoughtseize - The other reason to play black. This deck has issue with combo decks, notably living end and scapeshift. It also has issue with planeswalkers that cost more than 3, Karn, Sorin, Elspeth, to name a few. TS solves all of these problems. We have great life gain, so the 2 life lost is generally more than worth it. Abrupt Decay - If you are playing G and B in the same deck you have to consider this card. It answers tons of threats, and 95% removes its target. A huge number of Tier decks are hit hard by this card. To me it is surprising Jacob Wilson didn't include it in his 75. Zealous Persection - great combat trick card from BW Tokens. This can do some amazing alpha strikes if you are going wide. In addition it can act as a board wipe from time to time. Clears many tokens, cliques and even those pesky Pestermites that are twining. Qasali Pridemage - GW with exalted and a way to hate on Blood Moon, affinity/tron and twin all rolled into a nice efficient package. Tidehollow Sculler - He is a key player in the discard version. He takes a card and is a pumpable beater that lands on turn 2. He generally forces opponents to make bad decisions.
Planeswalkers Ajani, Mentor of Heroes - An amazing support walker, but quite pricey at 5cmc. He permanently pumps your dudes, and can dig to find you just the creature you need, which is almost half of your deck. Debatable if you want him MD, but not a bad SB choice at all. Sorin, Solemn Visitor - One of the superstar cards from KTK. He plays so nicely with souls. One swing with a couple souls and you can have a major life swing. He can somewhat protect himself with tokens, but really his job is to put games out of reach for your opponents. A consideration for the mirror or against burn. Elspeth, Knight-errant - Long considered one of the best walkers in modern. Nothing says win like giving a creature +3/3 and flying. She makes tokens which synergize nicely with Township, but again feels like a bit of a win more card, but if UWR becomes more popular may be a difficult card for them to deal with. I think she is more of a meta call.
Cards that need to be considered
This is a list of cards that I think (perk of starting the thread?) should be considered in the deck. Hopefully this will continue to change if the deck takes off. If cards don't pan out I will also put why they seem to fail here.
Dark Confidant - Bob is a powerful card. The deck has good life gain, but really lacks card advantage outside of difficult to remove creatures. Bob could help the deck keep pace with more controlling decks, allowing it to constantly keep pressure on. In a burn or aggro heavy meta the life loss is probably a bad idea. Abzan Charm - All 3 modes are quite relevant. Card draw at instant speed is a good thing. Pumping our creatures as a combat trick can be a good thing. 6/7 Rhinos can trample for quite a bit. Exile a large goyf or Titan/Wurmcoil all sounds good to me. Just that 3 cmc cost of all 3 colors might be a bit hard.
Sideboard
Sideboarding is arguably the most important part of playing a competitive game of magic. While your main deck is what you initially construct, you will end up playing more games of magic with a sideboarded deck. As such, picking your 15 hate cards is very important. Your choices will of course change depending on what sort of meta you expect to see on any given day and what your deck match ups are like before sideboarding. As this deck stands, its best match up is against it close relative, the Rock (BGx, mostly abzan these days). Also, because we are playing white, we have access to the best SB hate cards in the game.
Torpor Orb - With the TC and other bannings, as well as recent PT results, URx Twin is one of the top decks. Our deck struggles against combo and Torpor orb houses twin. 90% of their creatures have an ETB, and this just says no more. It does hurt us a bit too by weakening Finks and Rhino, but preventing "oops, I win" makes it worth it most times. Relic of Progenitus - Cheap easy GY hate. Dredge and other GY strats are always around. Tasigur is making waves, so a little GY can go a long way. In a pinch it can get your a card as well. Rest in Peace - mother of all GY hate. Destroys goyf, dredge and living end. If you are worried about GY strats, this is your best SB choice. Enough said. Leyline of Sanctity - Play this and burn basically can't win. They can't burn you out, and your creatures are just plain bigger. Done and done. Gaddock Teeg - Much more of a meta call. Does nothing against burn, infect, affinity and the mirror. Does help a bit against Twin, as they can't combo off, but dies to all sorts of cheap removal. Does make control much more sad as typically their finishers such as Cruel Ultimatum and White Sun's Zenith can't be played and it shuts down Cryptic command. Incidentally, it is pretty strong against Tron (GR and mono U) as it stops Ugin, Karn, Mindslaver, Condescend, Spell burst and Platinum angel. Not an auto-include by any means. Stony Silence - Hate artifacts and makes Tron and Affinity very sad. Fracturing Gust - 5cmc makes this card something you really need to consider carefully. It is hard to play, but man can it be a blow out. Against affinity it basically says I win. It does some damage against boggles too, if you survive long enough to play it. It can answer twin (hitting the combo as well as Blood moon and spreading seas), but not your first choice for this. Successful lists have played 1-2 in the board. Aven Mindscensor - Double edged sword. We have a big mana bass that requires fetches, so it hurts us there, but we do have a good number of dorks. However, against amulet bloom it just wins. It also makes our paths that much more sexy. Less important now that Pod has fallen, but can hurt Tron a lot as well. A good card to consider. Rule of Law vs Eidolon of Rhetoric - I combined these card because they basically do the same thing. Sole purpose is to beat storm. Can be annoying against other decks like burn, slows them down a lot, or twin (prevents them from countering the combo or double burning you rhinos), but it is really for twin. Rule of law is a bit better IMO because it is harder to deal with in general, but both can work. Chalice of the Void - Not as over the top powerful as it was when Delver was king, but Chalice with 1 counter basically wins the game against burn and boggles. Less effective against other decks. A meta call, but may be worth it as boggles is just faster than we are and we don't have a lot of ways to interact with them. Engineered explosives - we play 3 colors so we need to consider this card. Can just beat boggles and affinity (definitely played this on 0 and removed all 90% of their board before). On 2 can hit a lot of junk threats as well. Again, a meta call.
I will continue to update this primer as time/work allows!! If you see something that you think I should add, please send me a message or post in the thread!
I haven't play tested this deck at all so take this for what it's worth but my initial thought is to play 3-4 abrupt decay and replace razorverge thickets with horizon canopies for some late game card draw. The damage more than made up by finks and rhino I think. But perhaps sacrificing lands is not what you want to do when trying to activate gavony townships.
I haven't play tested this deck at all so take this for what it's worth but my initial thought is to play 3-4 abrupt decay and replace razorverge thickets with horizon canopies for some late game card draw. The damage more than made up by finks and rhino I think. But perhaps sacrificing lands is not what you want to do when trying to activate gavony townships.
I am still testing the deck out, and I agree that I would want Abrupts over thoughtseize, unless you have a lot of scapeshift in your meta. From what I have heard the dorks are the most important parts of the deck, and being able to land a turn 2 smiter/fink is kind of a big deal. I think the deck is very interesting and hates on a lot of strong decks in the meta right now. Also, being Goyfless, looks like it would be a great entry point for many players as well.
As far as card draw goes, I have been testing with Bob's instead of Hierarchs. While you do lose life, it lets you keep up fairly well with other decks. Just further testing, but the ability of this deck to stabilize and then go over the top is huge.
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
Like everyone else, I appreciate the value of Abrupt Decay in this format. However, I think people are underestimated how tight this deck is for space as it currently stands. Also, even if you do make room, though Abrupt Decay is relevant in many matchups, it doesn't provide us with anything that we are missing.
That's why I filled out the Thoughtseizes. Combo is our hardest matchup and Thoughtseize is the single best solution in the whole format. From the original list, my changes are:
-2 Birds of Paradise
+2 Thoughtseize
+1 Loxodon Smiter
Yes, I went to 61 cards. My local metagame requires the 4th Smiter.
I reworked the sideboard into something I find much more understandable, reliable, and relevant:
2 Chalice of the Void - Burn, Affinity, Gx Tron
2 Torpor Orb - Twin
2 Aven Mindcensor - Gx Tron, Scapeshift
2 Kor Firewalker - Burn, UWR, Zoo?, any red heavy deck
2 Stony Silence - Affinity, Gx Tron
2 Abrupt Decay - Burn, Affinity, Rock?, Twin, Zoo
3 Choke - UWR, Scapeshift, Twin
I am less than pleased to be playing no GBx Rock hate in the SB. But since the maindeck is designed to carry that matchup and the SB space is so well used to crush other common and/or scary decks, it seems like a fair sacrifice. If anyone has constructive feedback on the sideboard, I'd love to hear it.
The way I look at it, what combo decks are not broken by abrupt decay?
Twin - decay is a major issue for them
Storm - gets ascendency and goblin
Amulet Bloom - kills amulet
Scapeshift - yup does nothing
Living End - does nothing
Those are basically the tier 1 and 2 combo decks that I can think of. In an open meta, I think 4 thoughtseizes will be too much. In a known meta, I think using abrupt decay main deck may be potentially better depending on what you are planning on facing. That being said, abrupt decay is generally better against fair decks too. Personally I would rather seen the Abrupts main deck, which will free up your torpor orb slots, unless twin is just a giant part of your meta. 3 choke seems like a lot to me. You may consider a Celestial Purge or Rule of Law, which hoses storm, but also keeps faster under control. With all of the dorks in the deck this can hit the field on turn 2, which is a hell of a play. The deck already has a ton of maindeck life gain with finks and rhinos, I am not sure Firewalkers are where you want to be. Also firewalkers do nothing against Goyf, wild nacatyl and Loam Lion. Have you considered Gaddock Teeg instead? Fits in the beat down plan, makes scapeshift and GR Tron sad, and slows down UWR control plan and prevents twin. I might consider 1x Thrun and 1x Gaddock instead of firewalker.
Also, don't forget that Chalice is bonkers against boggles.
obviously, the SB is still up in the air. i don't get much time to play modern due to work so i'm trying to get in as much time as i can. there are a few PPTQs and GPTs that I want to do. SCG 5k in april.
as for card choices. i really feel that the 4-drop planeswalkers are good. garruk can be a win if it survives one turn. and sorin giving you life if they attack into you is really good. i'm actually tempted to move 2 decays main over thoughtseizes and fill them up in the board. like things have been said, decay is so much better in 70% of the matchups.
@OperationRemie: cutting a Finks and a Voice of Resurgence are almost certainly wrong. If your metagame has very little removal, you could justify it, but that doesn't happen in Modern. I would play Abrupt Decay over Slaughter Pact. And if you're not worried about Combo, turn the Thoughtseizes into open slots, not the Lingering Souls
@OperationRemie: cutting a Finks and a Voice of Resurgence are almost certainly wrong. If your metagame has very little removal, you could justify it, but that doesn't happen in Modern. I would play Abrupt Decay over Slaughter Pact. And if you're not worried about Combo, turn the Thoughtseizes into open slots, not the Lingering Souls
thanks. i decided to move thoughtseizes to the side. i feel like against certain decks in the main, it's not what i want. upped the counts on things as well. playtesting seems good. thanks, mirri.
I am not sure Garruk Wildspeaker is what this deck wants. There isn't a lot of interaction on an opponents turn that would justify his +1. If you are looking for a walker, I think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Elspeth, Knight-Errant or even another Sorin might be where you want to go.
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
I am not sure Garruk Wildspeaker is what this deck wants. There isn't a lot of interaction on an opponents turn that would justify his +1. If you are looking for a walker, I think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Elspeth, Knight-Errant or even another Sorin might be where you want to go.
that's true. i know a PW is sideboard material. possibly. i'm still playing around with it. this is what i changed:
still don't know if this is the right direction for it. hopefully i get to play with it soon. wish i could afford it on MTGO but paper will have to do.
I am 2-1 in matches right now. 2-0 vs Burn, 0-2 vs Fish, 2-0 vs Naya Soul Sisters. The main deck I am pretty happy with. I would probably drop Thrun and Slaughter pact from the board and maybe put in Thoughtseizes. I might drop a Bob for Elspeth, but that might just be reaction to the Naya soul sister's I faced.
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
if i had bobs, i might consider it. i just fear burn and i know a lot of places i go have a lot of burn. i know that there's a lot of lifegain but that's just me. i've lost to it too many times.
curious about your gaddock teeg in the side and your hatred for slaughter pact lol
Our curve is very high to be playing Bob. He was cut from Rock for this reason, and our curve is even higher than theirs. I love card advantage and Bob in general, but I see no matchup where the card advantage is worth the staggering life loss.
Pretty standard list aside from cards I don't have. Murderous Cut is kind of awkward and bad against Wurmcoil so I am working on rounding out my playset of paths. Also going to swap the Rhino and Liege numbers. I just want to see Rhino more most of the time. Would also like to try Stirring Wildwood.
Sideboard is a work in progress; here's what I'm working towards:
Basically, I want access to more disruption and interaction after game one. I'd like to put the Oozes maindeck somehow, but there is just no room. Still, he's nice having around against Abzan, graveyard strategies, and occasionally against BW Tokens to exile their Lingering Souls. Crypt should probably just be Relic of Progenitus. I would have Rest in Peace but it's just so bad with Voice, Finks, and Lingering Souls.
I don't know how indicative the Modern metagame the SCG IQs are, but I was surprised to not see a decklist of this archetype in the top 16. I figure a version of this deck with mainboard Abrupt Decay has a good enough matchup against Twin and improved game against Affinity while still retaining its advantage of better matchups than Abzan Midrange against the "mirror" and burn. Seems decently well positioned but maybe it just has yet to catch on, despite the top 8 at the PT.
Noble Hierarch is amazing. I understand the need for black mana, but at least go 3 Birds and 3 Hierarchs.
I put in an Urborg and have not been unhappy with the move.
And woot Tier 2!
i've actually been considering adding an urborg. haven't really finalized my decision cause i don't know what i'd be wanting all black with (maybe empty the pits as a 1-of sideboard? i know that's probably asking a lot for our mana).
and i'm glad we got tier 2
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I will continue to update this primer as time/work allows!! If you see something that you think I should add, please send me a message or post in the thread!
FRFPT
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Siege Rhino
3 Wilt-Liege
Spells - 10
4 Lingering Souls
2 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
3 Gavony Township
3 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Gardn
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Marsh Flats
2 Thoughtseize
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Stony Silence
2 Sword of War and Peace
1 Rule of Law
1 Leyline of Sactity
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heros
1 Slaughter Pact
SCG IQ on 2/15/15
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Siege Rhino
3 Wilt-Liege
Spells - 10
4 Lingering Souls
2 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
3 Gavony Township
3 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Gardn
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Marsh Flats
2 Thoughtseize
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Fracturing Gust
4 Stony Silence
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Leyline of Sactity
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heros
There have been more results!! Multiple top 8's! I will put the deck lists in soon!
I am still testing the deck out, and I agree that I would want Abrupts over thoughtseize, unless you have a lot of scapeshift in your meta. From what I have heard the dorks are the most important parts of the deck, and being able to land a turn 2 smiter/fink is kind of a big deal. I think the deck is very interesting and hates on a lot of strong decks in the meta right now. Also, being Goyfless, looks like it would be a great entry point for many players as well.
As far as card draw goes, I have been testing with Bob's instead of Hierarchs. While you do lose life, it lets you keep up fairly well with other decks. Just further testing, but the ability of this deck to stabilize and then go over the top is huge.
-1 noble
-1 birds
-1 path to exile
+2 abrupt decay
+1 Anafenza or Scavenging ooze
That's why I filled out the Thoughtseizes. Combo is our hardest matchup and Thoughtseize is the single best solution in the whole format. From the original list, my changes are:
-2 Birds of Paradise
+2 Thoughtseize
+1 Loxodon Smiter
Yes, I went to 61 cards. My local metagame requires the 4th Smiter.
I reworked the sideboard into something I find much more understandable, reliable, and relevant:
2 Chalice of the Void - Burn, Affinity, Gx Tron
2 Torpor Orb - Twin
2 Aven Mindcensor - Gx Tron, Scapeshift
2 Kor Firewalker - Burn, UWR, Zoo?, any red heavy deck
2 Stony Silence - Affinity, Gx Tron
2 Abrupt Decay - Burn, Affinity, Rock?, Twin, Zoo
3 Choke - UWR, Scapeshift, Twin
I am less than pleased to be playing no GBx Rock hate in the SB. But since the maindeck is designed to carry that matchup and the SB space is so well used to crush other common and/or scary decks, it seems like a fair sacrifice. If anyone has constructive feedback on the sideboard, I'd love to hear it.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
Twin - decay is a major issue for them
Storm - gets ascendency and goblin
Amulet Bloom - kills amulet
Scapeshift - yup does nothing
Living End - does nothing
Those are basically the tier 1 and 2 combo decks that I can think of. In an open meta, I think 4 thoughtseizes will be too much. In a known meta, I think using abrupt decay main deck may be potentially better depending on what you are planning on facing. That being said, abrupt decay is generally better against fair decks too. Personally I would rather seen the Abrupts main deck, which will free up your torpor orb slots, unless twin is just a giant part of your meta. 3 choke seems like a lot to me. You may consider a Celestial Purge or Rule of Law, which hoses storm, but also keeps faster under control. With all of the dorks in the deck this can hit the field on turn 2, which is a hell of a play. The deck already has a ton of maindeck life gain with finks and rhinos, I am not sure Firewalkers are where you want to be. Also firewalkers do nothing against Goyf, wild nacatyl and Loam Lion. Have you considered Gaddock Teeg instead? Fits in the beat down plan, makes scapeshift and GR Tron sad, and slows down UWR control plan and prevents twin. I might consider 1x Thrun and 1x Gaddock instead of firewalker.
Also, don't forget that Chalice is bonkers against boggles.
Here is my current SB:
2 Choke
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Rest in Peace
1 Rule of Law
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Stony Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Zealous Persectution
The things I am planning on changing is dropping slaughter pact for a Leyline, and a fracturing gust for another stony silence.
3x Forest
3x Gavony Township
1x Godless Shrine
1x stirring wildwood
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
3x Razorverge Thicket
1x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
Creature (25)
3x Birds of Paradise
2x Kitchen Finks
4x Loxodon Smiter
4x Noble Hierarch
2x Qasali Pridemage
4x Siege Rhino
3x Voice of Resurgence
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Instant (5)
4x Path to Exile
1x Slaughter Pact
Sorcery (5)
3x Lingering Souls
2x Thoughtseize
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Celestial Purge
2x Chalice of the Void
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Lingering Souls
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Stony Silence
2x Thoughtseize
1x Zealous Persecution
obviously, the SB is still up in the air. i don't get much time to play modern due to work so i'm trying to get in as much time as i can. there are a few PPTQs and GPTs that I want to do. SCG 5k in april.
as for card choices. i really feel that the 4-drop planeswalkers are good. garruk can be a win if it survives one turn. and sorin giving you life if they attack into you is really good. i'm actually tempted to move 2 decays main over thoughtseizes and fill them up in the board. like things have been said, decay is so much better in 70% of the matchups.
would love some input.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
thanks. i decided to move thoughtseizes to the side. i feel like against certain decks in the main, it's not what i want. upped the counts on things as well. playtesting seems good. thanks, mirri.
that's true. i know a PW is sideboard material. possibly. i'm still playing around with it. this is what i changed:
3x Forest
3x Gavony Township
1x Godless Shrine
1x Marsh Flats
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
3x Razorverge Thicket
1x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
3x Birds of Paradise
3x Kitchen Finks
4x Loxodon Smiter
4x Noble Hierarch
2x Qasali Pridemage
4x Siege Rhino
4x Voice of Resurgence
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
Instant (6)
2x Abrupt Decay
4x Path to Exile
Sorcery (4)
4x Lingering Souls
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Celestial Purge
2x Chalice of the Void
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Lingering Souls
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2x Stony Silence
3x Thoughtseize
1x Zealous Persecution
still don't know if this is the right direction for it. hopefully i get to play with it soon. wish i could afford it on MTGO but paper will have to do.
That little bit of extra card advantage really helps. This is the deck I am testing atm:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Siege Rhino
3 Dark Confidant
3 Loxodon Smiter
3 Wilt-leaf Liege
4 Voice of Resurgence
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Qasali Pridemage
Spells
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Path to Exile
3 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
2 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
3 Gavony Township
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Celestial Purge
1 Rule of Law
1 Stony Silence
1 Rest in Peace
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Zealous Persecution
2 Choke
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Thrun, the last Troll
1 Slaughter Pact
I am 2-1 in matches right now. 2-0 vs Burn, 0-2 vs Fish, 2-0 vs Naya Soul Sisters. The main deck I am pretty happy with. I would probably drop Thrun and Slaughter pact from the board and maybe put in Thoughtseizes. I might drop a Bob for Elspeth, but that might just be reaction to the Naya soul sister's I faced.
curious about your gaddock teeg in the side and your hatred for slaughter pact lol
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Loxodon Smiter
3 Siege Rhino
4 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Thoughtseize
2 Path to Exile
1 Murderous Cut
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Lingering Souls
Land: 23
3 Forest
1 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Temple Garden
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
3 Gavony Township
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Sunpetal Grove
Pretty standard list aside from cards I don't have. Murderous Cut is kind of awkward and bad against Wurmcoil so I am working on rounding out my playset of paths. Also going to swap the Rhino and Liege numbers. I just want to see Rhino more most of the time. Would also like to try Stirring Wildwood.
Sideboard is a work in progress; here's what I'm working towards:
2 Thoughtseize
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Duress
1 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Stony Silence
1 Fracturing Gust
Basically, I want access to more disruption and interaction after game one. I'd like to put the Oozes maindeck somehow, but there is just no room. Still, he's nice having around against Abzan, graveyard strategies, and occasionally against BW Tokens to exile their Lingering Souls. Crypt should probably just be Relic of Progenitus. I would have Rest in Peace but it's just so bad with Voice, Finks, and Lingering Souls.
I don't know how indicative the Modern metagame the SCG IQs are, but I was surprised to not see a decklist of this archetype in the top 16. I figure a version of this deck with mainboard Abrupt Decay has a good enough matchup against Twin and improved game against Affinity while still retaining its advantage of better matchups than Abzan Midrange against the "mirror" and burn. Seems decently well positioned but maybe it just has yet to catch on, despite the top 8 at the PT.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
I put in an Urborg and have not been unhappy with the move.
And woot Tier 2!
i've actually been considering adding an urborg. haven't really finalized my decision cause i don't know what i'd be wanting all black with (maybe empty the pits as a 1-of sideboard? i know that's probably asking a lot for our mana).
and i'm glad we got tier 2