I spent about a half hour writing up the first 3 matches and decided to just skip that process as I just don't have the time this week to get through 15 rounds. So I'll post my list and MU's and let you guys ask me any questions you might have. For the newer guys posting in this thread I've been playing this version of the deck since May/June of last year. This is my 4th GP with the deck previously finishing 6-3 (Pittsburgh), 4-3 (GP Eldrazi Winter), 11-4 (Charlotte), and now 12-3 at GP Indy.
To anyone thinking about trying out this deck, let me warn you that it is the hardest deck I've ever played. It's very, very, very easy to over extend with this deck into blow out city. Resource management is key and you have to know how to change rolls over and over throughout most match ups. I wouldn't suggest this deck to anyone without a firm knowledge of the modern format and a lot of patience.
Feelings on specific card choices over the weekend:
Fauna Shaman - This crappy 2/2 is the glue that holds this deck together. Every game this card resolved and didn't immediately eat removal it won me the game. I've said it before and I'll say it again.. Fauna Shaman is the most underrated card in modern and probably won about 50-60% of my MUs. Selfless Spirit - The newest edition to my list and card #61. This card was amazing all weekend. It killed multiple opponents via evasion, it crushed Jund, it made the Tron matchup feel winnable (yea right..) and even killed some Signal Pests. Would play 2 in the 75 or 76 again. Magus of the Moon - Maybe I'm just lucky but this card oozes free wins for me.. like all the time.. against almost anything. Phantasmal Image - Every time I chord into a Phantasmal Image to copy a TKS with their trigger on the stack to show them a land in my hand and take my opponents Reality Smasher I should get pro point. Izzet Staticaster - I love you.. but to be fair you could spend more time in my sideboard. Horizon Canopy (x2) - Best mana base change I've made in a while. Drawing cards off lands is cool. Blood Moon (x2) - Play more Blood Moon. If I could fit 4 in my board I would. Thrun, the Last Troll - Got trolled and didn't board in Thrun once all weekend.. Also didn't play against a single counterspell all weekend. Hooray! Engineered Explosives - Should have been a 2 of.. I think this was my biggest miss on the weekend.
I think I won 9 out of my 24 game wins via combo, 12 via Voice/Finks/Gavony beats, 2 by opponents just conceding to Blood Moon effects and 1 by Chording into Reclamation Sage popping a Phyrexian Unlife while my opponent was at a negative life total from their own Ad Nauseam on upkeep in response to their Lotus Bloom cast trigger with Eidolon of Rhetoric in play.
Not necessarily, Burn is a pretty 50/50 MU and really requires them to have the necessary answers. I would also says it's very play/draw dependent.
G1 of R9, I missed lethal by 1 point which I punted as I could have activated Fauna Shaman pitching the Bird I had in hand to grab Bell Ringer untapping my team and had an additional card in the yard for Scooze to eat for the last point. G2 I won and G3 I mulled to 5 trying to find a playable hand.
R10 my oppoenent had 4 Skullcrack effects G1 on the play and G2 I couldn't find a 3rd Mana source on what would have been a fantastic 7 with any third land off the top.
It's also worth noting that in each game I lost, I saw at least 2 copies of Searing Blaze. Having Forge Tender in the past was always a decent option but I would rather hedge my bets on a 2nd Selfless Spirit as it serves a purpose in a number of MUs, especially in this size event. I think the #1 card to potentially slot would be Lightning Helix if I wanted to improve the MU as it's boardable across multiple MUs.
I played yesterday at my LGS and lost to naya burn in the last rd. I could've secured a PR slot but I had a big misplay during the deciding game. I had wall of roots, birds, noble, burrenton, kor fire walker and finks and my opponent attacked with 2 goblin guides and 1 swiftspear. I blocked with my burrenton, finks and fire walker... before damage, opponent cast skullcrack i didn't know that the effect of skullcrack would kill my burrenton and firewalker even though they are pro red. It was such a lesson learned the hard way
I could've won the match but I still think that burn is kind of unfavorable match up even though i have burrenton, firewalker, lone missionary in my SB.
After SB, its kind of hard to develop your board because opp always leaves 2 open mana ready to skullcrack/atarka com in response to chord or casting finks.
If they're always holding mana open, you have to bite the bullet and make them have it. If you sit there and do nothing, they'll just hold up Skullcrack and keep casting other burn spells. You have to kill burn before they kill you, because, given enough time and topdecks, they will kill you.
He won me a couple of games via combo out of nowhere but I also blew out a few opponents swinging aggressively and then I untap the team to block profitably.. Nobody ever expects it.
Luda - your record vs. jund and bant eldrazi is ridiculous. Could you maybe go through those matchups and explain what you feel is the core strategy?
Against both winning G1 is huge.
Jund is fairly obvious but value is key, hold your paths for Kalitas, Scooze and Bob depending on the situation. Company should allow you to fight through anything else. Post board, keep in Pridemage for Cage/Leyline, replace Skite with Selfless Spirit, bring in a 2nd Scooze and EE. Blood Moon is huge and a turn 2/3 Moon just shuts them down. Note that Company dodges Inquisition which is pretty big when behaving as your pay-off engine where Evo & Chord don't.
Eldrazi is far easier, Magus can lock them out of G1 so easily it's halarious. Outside of that focus on Voices/Finks to combat their beaters. Hold Paths for Drowner and Displacer if possible and attempt to trade with Smashers and Seers in combat. Phantasmal Image can be absolutely nuts here as well. Post board I was bringing in the 2x Moons, 1x Path.
Also, Fauna Shaman fights through Cage in both MU's fairly well post board so value them pretty high... But that goes for almost everything.
I'm playing the Darwin variant (my list is in the last few posts, previous page maybe?) and was considering the inclusion of a single fauna shaman for some time now.
Any recommendations on the include? Dos don'ts etc.
I notice that shaman for bell ringer or resto angel (untapping shaman, and most likely in opponent's end step) enables the kiki combo pretty hard. Does that line ever work for you?
Cheers
Private Mod Note
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
I was hoping to play this list: http://www.themeadery.org/decks/deck/9953/ over the weekend but I was unable to get the engineered explosives. Is there anything I should replace them with or would I be better off looking for a different deck list?
If you're looking to dive deeper on black Crime // Punishment is also an option.
As someone who doesn't want to drop a ton of tickets for a second Explosives on MTGO, I'm intrigued. Is it also possible to get this card back with Eternal Witness?
I spent about a half hour writing up the first 3 matches and decided to just skip that process as I just don't have the time this week to get through 15 rounds. So I'll post my list and MU's and let you guys ask me any questions you might have. For the newer guys posting in this thread I've been playing this version of the deck since May/June of last year. This is my 4th GP with the deck previously finishing 6-3 (Pittsburgh), 4-3 (GP Eldrazi Winter), 11-4 (Charlotte), and now 12-3 at GP Indy.
To anyone thinking about trying out this deck, let me warn you that it is the hardest deck I've ever played. It's very, very, very easy to over extend with this deck into blow out city. Resource management is key and you have to know how to change rolls over and over throughout most match ups. I wouldn't suggest this deck to anyone without a firm knowledge of the modern format and a lot of patience.
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
3 Fauna Shaman
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Eternal Witness
1 Spellskite
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Village Bell-Ringer
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Restoration Angel
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Collected Company
3 Chord of Calling
3 Path to Exile
Land (22)
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Plains
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Gavony Township
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Spellskite
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Path to Exile
2 Blood Moon
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Stony Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Engineered Explosives
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Death Shadow Zoo - 2-1
Round 3: GR Tron - 1-2 (9-0 player going into Day 2)
Round 4: Jund - 2-0
Round 5: Bant Eldrazi - 2-1
Round 6: Jund - 2-1
Round 7: Jund - 2-0
Round 8: Bant Retreat - 2-1
Round 9: RW Burn - 1-2
Round 10: Naya Burn - 0-2
Round 11: Affinity - 2-1
Round 12: Abzan Company - 2-1
Round 13: Bant Eldrazi - 2-0 (Pascal Maynard)
Round 14: Ad Nauseam - 2-0
Round 15: Bant Eldrazi - 2-1
Feelings on specific card choices over the weekend:
Fauna Shaman - This crappy 2/2 is the glue that holds this deck together. Every game this card resolved and didn't immediately eat removal it won me the game. I've said it before and I'll say it again.. Fauna Shaman is the most underrated card in modern and probably won about 50-60% of my MUs.
Selfless Spirit - The newest edition to my list and card #61. This card was amazing all weekend. It killed multiple opponents via evasion, it crushed Jund, it made the Tron matchup feel winnable (yea right..) and even killed some Signal Pests. Would play 2 in the 75 or 76 again.
Magus of the Moon - Maybe I'm just lucky but this card oozes free wins for me.. like all the time.. against almost anything.
Phantasmal Image - Every time I chord into a Phantasmal Image to copy a TKS with their trigger on the stack to show them a land in my hand and take my opponents Reality Smasher I should get pro point.
Izzet Staticaster - I love you.. but to be fair you could spend more time in my sideboard.
Horizon Canopy (x2) - Best mana base change I've made in a while. Drawing cards off lands is cool.
Blood Moon (x2) - Play more Blood Moon. If I could fit 4 in my board I would.
Thrun, the Last Troll - Got trolled and didn't board in Thrun once all weekend.. Also didn't play against a single counterspell all weekend. Hooray!
Engineered Explosives - Should have been a 2 of.. I think this was my biggest miss on the weekend.
My question would be what percentage of your games were won with the Kiki-Resto combo? And, I'm assuming, the others were won with Voice beat downs?
G1 of R9, I missed lethal by 1 point which I punted as I could have activated Fauna Shaman pitching the Bird I had in hand to grab Bell Ringer untapping my team and had an additional card in the yard for Scooze to eat for the last point. G2 I won and G3 I mulled to 5 trying to find a playable hand.
R10 my oppoenent had 4 Skullcrack effects G1 on the play and G2 I couldn't find a 3rd Mana source on what would have been a fantastic 7 with any third land off the top.
It's also worth noting that in each game I lost, I saw at least 2 copies of Searing Blaze. Having Forge Tender in the past was always a decent option but I would rather hedge my bets on a 2nd Selfless Spirit as it serves a purpose in a number of MUs, especially in this size event. I think the #1 card to potentially slot would be Lightning Helix if I wanted to improve the MU as it's boardable across multiple MUs.
I could've won the match but I still think that burn is kind of unfavorable match up even though i have burrenton, firewalker, lone missionary in my SB.
After SB, its kind of hard to develop your board because opp always leaves 2 open mana ready to skullcrack/atarka com in response to chord or casting finks.
Abzan Traverse / Traverse Shadow / UR Kiki
WGR Naya Rock
He won me a couple of games via combo out of nowhere but I also blew out a few opponents swinging aggressively and then I untap the team to block profitably.. Nobody ever expects it.
Against both winning G1 is huge.
Jund is fairly obvious but value is key, hold your paths for Kalitas, Scooze and Bob depending on the situation. Company should allow you to fight through anything else. Post board, keep in Pridemage for Cage/Leyline, replace Skite with Selfless Spirit, bring in a 2nd Scooze and EE. Blood Moon is huge and a turn 2/3 Moon just shuts them down. Note that Company dodges Inquisition which is pretty big when behaving as your pay-off engine where Evo & Chord don't.
Eldrazi is far easier, Magus can lock them out of G1 so easily it's halarious. Outside of that focus on Voices/Finks to combat their beaters. Hold Paths for Drowner and Displacer if possible and attempt to trade with Smashers and Seers in combat. Phantasmal Image can be absolutely nuts here as well. Post board I was bringing in the 2x Moons, 1x Path.
Also, Fauna Shaman fights through Cage in both MU's fairly well post board so value them pretty high... But that goes for almost everything.
I'm playing the Darwin variant (my list is in the last few posts, previous page maybe?) and was considering the inclusion of a single fauna shaman for some time now.
Any recommendations on the include? Dos don'ts etc.
I notice that shaman for bell ringer or resto angel (untapping shaman, and most likely in opponent's end step) enables the kiki combo pretty hard. Does that line ever work for you?
Cheers
Follow the link for nice cheap clothing.
Playing:
Death's Shadow Jund
Played:
Kiki Chord, Zoo variants, Goblins, Burn
Township is a boss. Run it if you aren't already doing so. Wins games.
If you're looking to dive deeper on black Crime // Punishment is also an option.
As someone who doesn't want to drop a ton of tickets for a second Explosives on MTGO, I'm intrigued. Is it also possible to get this card back with Eternal Witness?