I have been jamming this deck online this week and believe the deck is a little under powered. You desperately try and assemble the combo, but there is so much disruption floating around and the rest of the deck often struggle to get the job done as the power level is a tad weak....
Im with you on the underpowered aspect. Ive moved off this deck for a bit playing around with bant and bw eldrazi. A turn 3 combo is amazing don't get me wrong and when that happens its great. I am a 8 rack player at heart though so its possibly its just not my style. I loves me some hand disruption and whenever I am playing against it it I am always like why am I not playing hand disruption! Good luck to you all and I hope GP vegas has a great showing for the deck.
I don't understand how people can feel that a top tier deck is under powered. Can anyone explain this to me? I don't see any other discussion about the "low power" of other Tier 1 decks, so why in the last few pages have people been saying the deck feels weak? Is it, or is it not a tier 1 deck?
Is this a good choice for the current and upcoming Modern Meta, or am I better off with something else?
Note: I plan on trading my Wilted Abzan deck for this - I'm starting to question if it's a good idea. Thoughts?
It could possibly be play style like I said I love hand disruption a lot it feels when I combo out that I am not really playing magic either its just play devoted druid wait and a turn and win it just wasn't a satisfactory win after the first couple of times. However it was more often play devoted druid and watch removal deal with it then play something to get it back or coco hoping to hit devoted druid. The deck never felt strong enough without the combo. My other combo deck was titanshift and the games of magic were just much more interesting with that deck then they seem to be with this one as far as comparing two combo decks. I am also a huge fan of non tiered decks because they are less likely to be known or expected to play against so there is that as well for me.
I switched it up and tried a naya list almost identical to Pokkens and went 4-0 last night at FNM (~20 players). After playing the abzan build for a while, the naya one seems so much more resilient with 4x Renegade Rallier. I never felt like I was far away from winning (that being said, I did draw well all night). Even managed to win against 2x Ensnaring Bridge with Birds of Paradise beats with Kessig Wolf Run.
You have lit on the fundamental difference between my version (and also the GW version that plays ralliers) and the Finks decks:
Most of the time, putting what is likely one of your strongest cards back on the battlefield + a 3/2 body is much stronger than gaining 2 life and putting a 2/1 on the battlefield.
The form of card advantage kitchen finks represents is not very good against most of the current format top decks - it can generally be outclassed in combat and made into a glorified chump blocker, or its gameplan is completely irrelevant (Tron, storm, ad naus, etc.).
Yeah I see that now, I will be grinding naya for the immediate future. I went with -2 Hierarch/-1 Lavamancer, only because I don't own any, and had +2 Voice/+1 scooze. How necessary do you think those extra 2 dorks/lavamancer are?
Yeah I see that now, I will be grinding naya for the immediate future. I went with -2 Hierarch/-1 Lavamancer, only because I don't own any, and had +2 Voice/+1 scooze. How necessary do you think those extra 2 dorks/lavamancer are?
I feel pretty strongly about playing 9 1-drops, and never fewer than 7.
I'd try a few things:
1) add 3 avacyn's pilgrim to get to 9 x cmc 1 dudes (This will give you a good idea if you want to run as much ramp as I do)
2) If you feel comfortable playing 7x 1-drops, replace the voices with things that are going to protect your combo or enable it. +2 duskwatch recruiter is the easiest play.
I'd consider straight up just replacing all 3 of those things with recruiters if you are good with 6 mana dorks. Generally would not add any more flex slots until having 4 recruiters myself.
@Pokken, in the Naya version wouldn't Grove of the Burnwillows be a great land? Since your version tries to go all-in for the combo, the extra life points would naturally delay the death shadow match-ups.
What would a abzan-version of the counters company using the set of Renegade Rallier look like? The card does look amazing in giving resilience to the combo
Sorry I missed this question I think.
1) Grove cuts down on fetchable lands, even 1 is too many. It would be OK instead of the 4th wolf run only, but I like drawing a wolf run. Rallier makes you like fetchables more.
2) Abzan version with rallier over finks would have two avenues I think:
a) play black for sideboard cards with a single overgrown tomb.
b) Play a sin collector or orzhov pontiff instead of flickerwisp as a value creature targeted to your meta. Both are very strong.
I generally think the Abzan version for sideboard cards is just worse than FC's list. The mana being worse is not worth it to me. You can find ways to beat aggro decks, even if it's sideboarding that new multi-condemn-to-exile from Ixalan when it drops
(I also just realized I have been thinking of FC as FeloniusCarp forever, transposing the a and r, and realize I have probably misspelled it a million times too. Sorry dude).
If you wanted to play Abzan with 4x Rallier, I would ignore finks and seer and just play black for sideboard cards. Pharika, Sin Collector, Pontiff, Sculler, Big Game Hunter, Abrupt Decay, and Maelstrom Pulse are the likely inclusions.
Edit: I'm flying out to GP Las Vegas tomorrow for modern. Anyone else in the thread going to be there?
I'm pretty set on this:
Watching GP Las Vegas. Mirran Crusader seems so good against Shadow, specially now that manylists don't run Bolt.
Also, FiendSlayer Paladin seems great and they're playable with Company.
Thoughts?
In Abzan they are both much worse than Pharika. Typically Mirran crusader being good lasts for as long as it takes people to find their pile of pyroclasms.
I wouldn't touch either of those cards with a 3m pole with these decks.
Note: Crusader has one advantage over Pharika, which is that it can be dropped as a topdeck and block a Shadow. The problem there is that it usually can't attack in those situations. The upside is not worth it imo for how vulnerable it is to a bolt, pyroclasm, anger, etc.
Pharika is good against death's shadow, and a good coco hit.
However, if you want to dedicate more sideboard slots for the matchup, which might be worth it, then chameleon colossus will wreck them. Maybe it's even worth having 2 of those in the side along with a pharika to make sure you can actualy draw it with some frequency.
The fact that it's not a coco hit hurts it a lot though.. You generally board out chords in the matchup, so it's hard to hit it when you need it. But if you do, you'll most likely win as they can't answer it and it generally one shots them (can block with snap)
Anybody in here testing the Bant list (Queller/Reflector/Unified Will) with the minimal black splash for 1x Seer in the Main and 1x Pontiff in the board. A couple local guys put out articles around it in the last week:
I don't think Bant is worth it, personally. Bant is really GWub so the mana base is even tougher and blood moon is even more of a beating. You're also running creatures like reflector mage and spell queller, which are both solid but not better in my mind than running another ewit.
Anybody in here testing the Bant list (Queller/Reflector/Unified Will) with the minimal black splash for 1x Seer in the Main and 1x Pontiff in the board. A couple local guys put out articles around it in the last week:
I disagree with a few numbers and the manabase in both lists. But was looking to see if anyone here has put in some time with it?
Isn't Spell Queller awkward? We want to combo as soon as possible, that's T3; Queller is only going to be good T3 if we have double Dorks and Combo in hand, I don't really trust that to be the case most of the time. Queller makes Company awkward as well because we want to use it for card advantage and to force our opponent to make mistakes, hitting Queller with Company is just not useful when we're trying to push the game. Holding mana for Queller is not furthering our board state and it's a card we aren't getting use out of. Just drop a Selfless Spirit, most of the time that's going to force removal immediately because of the implications, you can Rallier it back, and hitting it with Company isn't awkward at all.
If I were to go for Bant, I would bring Phantasmal Image x3 and Augur of Bolas x1, or something to that effect. Now I can keep my Ralliers, I can still Company at the end of my opponent's turn, and I won't Company into a Queller when I want to push the game. Additionally, Images in the yard become Ralliers when they come out getting a train of 3/2s who benefit from Township and can end their train with a big creature from the opponent's side of the board, something from your side, or even just an extra land if you really don't have anything. Plays like that on an opponent's end step are going to cause problems and really force their removal packages. This also lets you shift to the beat down faster if you're recovering from a sweeper since you are now getting more things back with a single Rallier.
Queller is trying to play control. I don't think we're control.
Anybody in here testing the Bant list (Queller/Reflector/Unified Will) with the minimal black splash for 1x Seer in the Main and 1x Pontiff in the board. A couple local guys put out articles around it in the last week:
I disagree with a few numbers and the manabase in both lists. But was looking to see if anyone here has put in some time with it?
I put in some time with a bant list without finks/seer and spell queller/reflector mage feel insanely underpowered compared to eternal witness against fair decks and rallier vs. unfair decks for the most part.
Queller with seer does an OK cancel impression I guess, but I'm not sure that's what the deck is missing really.
The counterspell dudes mostly feel just a lot worse than hand disruption out of black for me. We get a lot out of perfect information from cards like sin collector, sculler, and thoughtseize.
I personally would not bother further testing. They invariably make the same mistake that the KOTR builds make imho, which is to cut too much value for action, which leads to getting ground out by midrange and control where we used to win, without really improving the big mana and combo matchup a lot.
Queller has *one* upside and that's that it's okay vs. combo decks, but it's never as good as it seems on paper. Ad nauseam can straight up combo over top of it as well
Annd they're both down to 0 or 1 horizon canopy. C'mon guys
So according to the meta for next Modern FNM store I'm going to visit, the entire store is pretty much on Eldrazi Tron (5+ players in ~12 size events) with just one of a Burn and Living End being the competitive decks. The rest is budget jank. Any suggestions on what I should be throwing in the main/side for this? I'm starting on a pretty regular Abzan Company manabase/decklist and am entirely open to buying up whatever I need to give me the best chance against Eldrazi Tron.
I believe naya with magus or crumble is the best against either tron flavor. I'd run 1 magus main and 2 in the side. Be interested in other's results for sure but even without hate the quicker combo with wolf run has allowed me to beat Tron variants regularly.
I'm back from the GP. I went 5-4 on day one and unfortunately missed day 2 :(. I was 5-2 and then lost my two win-and-ins for day 2. Oh well. I played the exact list I posted a few pages ago. Here's a brief tournament report based on what I remember:
Round 1 vs. GB Midrange
Game 1 is pretty drawn out with lots of 1 for 1 trades. I have a rhonas in play holding back his goyfs while I spam township activations. Eventually I have enough power in play to take him out in 1 combat step.
Sb: +2 Pridemage, +2 Leap, +3 Path, -3 Hierarch, -2 Chord, -2 Vizier
Game 2 He has several early discard spells and a turn 4 Night of Souls' Betrayal. He takes a very long time to find a threat but has enough removal to keep me from putting much pressure on him. He eventually finds a Kalitas and overwhelms me with zombies.
Game 3 he has turn 1 Grafdigger's Cage, turn 3 Flaying Tendrils for my birds and druid, turn 4 Kalitas. Yeesh. I can't outvalue him through Cage and Kalitas and eventually get run over by zombies again. He seemed to have a lot of sideboard stuff for this matchup.
0-1
Round 2 vs. Grixis Control
Game 1 I mull to 6 and get stuck on 2 lands with 3 Cocos in hand I never get to 4 before he kills me with a tasigur + snapcaster. I'm not actually positive that he's on control and not shadow, but I never saw a street wraith and he fetched a tapped shock despite being at 15+ life at one point, so I assumed it was control.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Burrenton Forge-Tender, +2 Evolutionary Leap, - 2 Vizier, -1 Birds, -2 Chord
Game 2 We both go to 6. I have turn 2 Druid, turn 3 chord for vizier with a duskwatch in hand but he has fatal push for druid in response. I have renegade rallier to try again, but he has terminate. I coco into double witness to return coco + druid, untap, play selfless then druid. He concedes when I play duskwatch, showing me a hand full of snapcasters and not enough mana to flashback two removal spells.
Game 3 I resolve Leap on turn 2 and he has to read it :P. The game goes pretty long and I manage to flood out despite the leap, but I coco into double rallier with revolt to bring back druid + recruiter and drown him in value.
1-1
Round 3 vs. Bant Eldrazi
Game 1 I'm on the play with my best 7 of the tournament: 2x Land, 2x Chord, Druid, Duskwatch, Birds. I curve birds into druid and my opponent manages a turn 2 thought-knot, but it isn't enough to stop the combo with 2x chord and a recruiter in hand.
Sb: -4 Rallier, -1 Selfless, -1 Flickerwisp, +1 Linvala, +2 Pridemage, +3 Path (I'm anticipating Cage and maybe Worship)
Game 2 She keeps an early EE on 2 on board for a while to keep me from comboing. I amass a board of like 5 mana dorks and a witness, and am able to activate 2 townships per turn until my board is too large to handle.
2-1
Round 4 vs. Abzan
Game 1 I mull to 6 and his Liliana puts us both into topdeck mode. I manage to deal with Lili and it gets to the point where he has 2 5/6 goyfs in play while I'm at 4 life and I can't keep anything on board since I'm basically under double The Abyss.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Pridemage, +2 Leap, +2 Path, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord, -3 Hierarch
Game 2 I try to turn 3 combo but he has path. I try again a few turns later and he has another path. After seeing him use two paths I decide to run out the Rhonas I drew. He doesn't find another path before Rhonas + township takes over the game.
Game 3 I mull to 5 and he has turn 2 Collective brutality killing my bird and taking my coco into turn 3 lili and I run out of steam real fast.
2-2
Round 5 vs. Esper Narset
Game 1 I keep a slow hand with 2x Rallier. He has turn 4 Supreme Verdict, I rebuild with the Ralliers and he has another verdict. I hit a mediocre Coco of Recruiter + Hierarch, then topdeck a witness. He plays a Gideon Jura and plusses it. I resolve coco a second time and find druid + another recruiter. He untaps and has snapcaster-verdict and I lose to Gideon beats.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +2 Pridemage, +2 Leap, -2 Birds, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord
Game 2 I don't remember this one very well but I end up with a leap and an Ooze in play for a long time. He has a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that he's using to hold back the Ooze, which is quite large. I topdeck Chord, use it to find Rhonas, kill Gideon with a trampling Ooze, then kill him a few turns later. He shows me a hand of 3x snapcaster, 1x surgical.
Game 3 I run out Rhonas early on and it gets pathed. I manage to grind through all his removal and am able to make infinite mana, which seals the game in a few turns off of 2 townships and a recruiter.
3-2
Round 6 vs. Grixis Shadow
Game 1 My opponent has turn 1 inquisition to take my druid and prevent my turn 3 combo. I beat him down with recruiters and a selfless spirit (no township) while he casts cantrips. The only creature he sees is a snapcaster and he ends the game with 9 lands in play/hand.
Sb: -1 Flickerwisp, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord, +2 Scavenging Ooze, +3 Path
Game 2 I mull to 4 and get stuck on 1 land after he pushes my hierarch. I die to a Shadow pretty quickly.
Game 3 This is a very long and very close game. Near the end of the game, I'm at 3 and have a board of mana dorks + ralliers that I've been using township on. He has a gurmag, 2 snapcasters, and a liliana, last hope (no creatures in his yard). I topdeck a chord and pass the turn. He untaps, draws and slams a snapcaster targeting lightning bolt. I chord in response, get Ooze and exile the bolt in response. Eventually I kill him by flying over his board with a bird + township.
4-2
Round 7 vs. Infect
Game 1 I keep a hand with a turn 3 kill on the draw. Unfortunately, he had a turn 3 kill on the play with turn 1 hierarch, turn 2 agent, turn 3 groundswell x2.
Sb: -4 Rallier, -1 Witness, +2 Pridemage, +3 Path
Game 2 He mulls to five and I have a path for his agent. I flood the board with chump blockers and he can never get glisteners through for damage while I win with township.
Game 3 I keep a hand with turn 3 combo + path. I play turn 1 birds, turn 2 druid + path to force him to vines, then win the game the next turn.
5-2
Round 8 vs Storm
Game 1 I keep a slow hand with witnesses and cocos and get punished when he goes off turn 4 on the play.
Sb: -4 Rallier +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric, +1 Ethersworn Canonist, +2 Scavenging Ooze
Game 2 I mull to 6 and have a turn 2 Eidolon. He doesn't find an answer for it while I assemble the combo.
Game 3 I keep 3 lands, hierarch, druid, vizier, rhonas. He has a turn 3 pyroclasm to kill my mana dorks and goes off on turn 5 while I try to rebuild.
5-3
Round 9 vs Living End
Game 1 I mull to 5 and keep birds, druid, duskwatch, land x2. He takes a really long time to find a cascade spell (ended up cycling 12 guys) and I would have been able to win if I found chord/vizier, but I draw lands and witnesses.
Sb: +1 Eidolon, +1 Canonist, +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Leap, -1 Flickerwisp, -3 Hierarch, -1 Rallier
Game 2 I have the turn 3 combo and he doesn't have spirit guide.
Game 3 I have the turn three combo again but he has beast within. I untap and use rallier to return druid, but he finds a cascade spell and puts 16 power into play while I'm left with a druid. I can't find the combo and die the next turn.
5-4
Overall I liked the deck a lot, just couldn't quite get there in the last two rounds.
I think it's defensible as a 1-2-of in a goyf heavy meta. I think general you'll find it not broad enough and worse than leap vs. th ose decks. Not many decks flood the board in 3+ power guys.
Thanks for the report @FC. Why did you sideboard the renegade ralliers out against the Bant Eldrazi? Are you considering any changes to the deck? I'm going to test it out for the first time tomorrow using a list very similar to yours.
My thinking vs Bant Eldrazi is that they play very little interaction for the combo, so you want to just go off asap. In retrospect, leaving in a few Ralliers is probably good because they play explosives and you need to chump sometimes. I also didn't mention it in my big post, but going forward I think I'll try either Spellskite or Selfless Spirit #2 instead of Flickerwisp.
My thinking vs Bant Eldrazi is that they play very little interaction for the combo, so you want to just go off asap. In retrospect, leaving in a few Ralliers is probably good because they play explosives and you need to chump sometimes. I also didn't mention it in my big post, but going forward I think I'll try either Spellskite or Selfless Spirit #2 instead of Flickerwisp.
I'd do spellskite. That's on my list to consider too. Skite does a lot of work -- particularly against path decks and bant eldrazi and eldrazi tron.
Skite effectively blanks both ballista and endbringer for our purposes, which is spectacular.
Note: Rallier is v. good because of 3 power allowing it to double block smashers without really going down a card. I would shave an e-wit or two first but generally I only board 4 cards for them (1 vizier 1 lavamancer 2 chord).
It could possibly be play style like I said I love hand disruption a lot it feels when I combo out that I am not really playing magic either its just play devoted druid wait and a turn and win it just wasn't a satisfactory win after the first couple of times. However it was more often play devoted druid and watch removal deal with it then play something to get it back or coco hoping to hit devoted druid. The deck never felt strong enough without the combo. My other combo deck was titanshift and the games of magic were just much more interesting with that deck then they seem to be with this one as far as comparing two combo decks. I am also a huge fan of non tiered decks because they are less likely to be known or expected to play against so there is that as well for me.
You have lit on the fundamental difference between my version (and also the GW version that plays ralliers) and the Finks decks:
Most of the time, putting what is likely one of your strongest cards back on the battlefield + a 3/2 body is much stronger than gaining 2 life and putting a 2/1 on the battlefield.
The form of card advantage kitchen finks represents is not very good against most of the current format top decks - it can generally be outclassed in combat and made into a glorified chump blocker, or its gameplan is completely irrelevant (Tron, storm, ad naus, etc.).
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
I feel pretty strongly about playing 9 1-drops, and never fewer than 7.
I'd try a few things:
1) add 3 avacyn's pilgrim to get to 9 x cmc 1 dudes (This will give you a good idea if you want to run as much ramp as I do)
2) If you feel comfortable playing 7x 1-drops, replace the voices with things that are going to protect your combo or enable it. +2 duskwatch recruiter is the easiest play.
I'd consider straight up just replacing all 3 of those things with recruiters if you are good with 6 mana dorks. Generally would not add any more flex slots until having 4 recruiters myself.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Pharika is the strongest hate card vs. Grixis Shadow. You can play more.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Sorry I missed this question I think.
1) Grove cuts down on fetchable lands, even 1 is too many. It would be OK instead of the 4th wolf run only, but I like drawing a wolf run. Rallier makes you like fetchables more.
2) Abzan version with rallier over finks would have two avenues I think:
a) play black for sideboard cards with a single overgrown tomb.
b) Play a sin collector or orzhov pontiff instead of flickerwisp as a value creature targeted to your meta. Both are very strong.
I generally think the Abzan version for sideboard cards is just worse than FC's list. The mana being worse is not worth it to me. You can find ways to beat aggro decks, even if it's sideboarding that new multi-condemn-to-exile from Ixalan when it drops
(I also just realized I have been thinking of FC as FeloniusCarp forever, transposing the a and r, and realize I have probably misspelled it a million times too. Sorry dude).
Duuuude, this list looks so good. I have to know how you did! Did you make day 2? What happened?!
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
In Abzan they are both much worse than Pharika. Typically Mirran crusader being good lasts for as long as it takes people to find their pile of pyroclasms.
I wouldn't touch either of those cards with a 3m pole with these decks.
Note: Crusader has one advantage over Pharika, which is that it can be dropped as a topdeck and block a Shadow. The problem there is that it usually can't attack in those situations. The upside is not worth it imo for how vulnerable it is to a bolt, pyroclasm, anger, etc.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
However, if you want to dedicate more sideboard slots for the matchup, which might be worth it, then chameleon colossus will wreck them. Maybe it's even worth having 2 of those in the side along with a pharika to make sure you can actualy draw it with some frequency.
The fact that it's not a coco hit hurts it a lot though.. You generally board out chords in the matchup, so it's hard to hit it when you need it. But if you do, you'll most likely win as they can't answer it and it generally one shots them (can block with snap)
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/modern-bant-counters-company/
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/kyleboggemes-06152017-bant-company-in-modern/
I disagree with a few numbers and the manabase in both lists. But was looking to see if anyone here has put in some time with it?
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
If I were to go for Bant, I would bring Phantasmal Image x3 and Augur of Bolas x1, or something to that effect. Now I can keep my Ralliers, I can still Company at the end of my opponent's turn, and I won't Company into a Queller when I want to push the game. Additionally, Images in the yard become Ralliers when they come out getting a train of 3/2s who benefit from Township and can end their train with a big creature from the opponent's side of the board, something from your side, or even just an extra land if you really don't have anything. Plays like that on an opponent's end step are going to cause problems and really force their removal packages. This also lets you shift to the beat down faster if you're recovering from a sweeper since you are now getting more things back with a single Rallier.
Queller is trying to play control. I don't think we're control.
"Reveal a Dragon"
I put in some time with a bant list without finks/seer and spell queller/reflector mage feel insanely underpowered compared to eternal witness against fair decks and rallier vs. unfair decks for the most part.
Queller with seer does an OK cancel impression I guess, but I'm not sure that's what the deck is missing really.
The counterspell dudes mostly feel just a lot worse than hand disruption out of black for me. We get a lot out of perfect information from cards like sin collector, sculler, and thoughtseize.
I personally would not bother further testing. They invariably make the same mistake that the KOTR builds make imho, which is to cut too much value for action, which leads to getting ground out by midrange and control where we used to win, without really improving the big mana and combo matchup a lot.
Queller has *one* upside and that's that it's okay vs. combo decks, but it's never as good as it seems on paper. Ad nauseam can straight up combo over top of it as well
Annd they're both down to 0 or 1 horizon canopy. C'mon guys
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Pretty sick with renegade rallier.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Round 1 vs. GB Midrange
Game 1 is pretty drawn out with lots of 1 for 1 trades. I have a rhonas in play holding back his goyfs while I spam township activations. Eventually I have enough power in play to take him out in 1 combat step.
Sb: +2 Pridemage, +2 Leap, +3 Path, -3 Hierarch, -2 Chord, -2 Vizier
Game 2 He has several early discard spells and a turn 4 Night of Souls' Betrayal. He takes a very long time to find a threat but has enough removal to keep me from putting much pressure on him. He eventually finds a Kalitas and overwhelms me with zombies.
Game 3 he has turn 1 Grafdigger's Cage, turn 3 Flaying Tendrils for my birds and druid, turn 4 Kalitas. Yeesh. I can't outvalue him through Cage and Kalitas and eventually get run over by zombies again. He seemed to have a lot of sideboard stuff for this matchup.
0-1
Round 2 vs. Grixis Control
Game 1 I mull to 6 and get stuck on 2 lands with 3 Cocos in hand I never get to 4 before he kills me with a tasigur + snapcaster. I'm not actually positive that he's on control and not shadow, but I never saw a street wraith and he fetched a tapped shock despite being at 15+ life at one point, so I assumed it was control.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Burrenton Forge-Tender, +2 Evolutionary Leap, - 2 Vizier, -1 Birds, -2 Chord
Game 2 We both go to 6. I have turn 2 Druid, turn 3 chord for vizier with a duskwatch in hand but he has fatal push for druid in response. I have renegade rallier to try again, but he has terminate. I coco into double witness to return coco + druid, untap, play selfless then druid. He concedes when I play duskwatch, showing me a hand full of snapcasters and not enough mana to flashback two removal spells.
Game 3 I resolve Leap on turn 2 and he has to read it :P. The game goes pretty long and I manage to flood out despite the leap, but I coco into double rallier with revolt to bring back druid + recruiter and drown him in value.
1-1
Round 3 vs. Bant Eldrazi
Game 1 I'm on the play with my best 7 of the tournament: 2x Land, 2x Chord, Druid, Duskwatch, Birds. I curve birds into druid and my opponent manages a turn 2 thought-knot, but it isn't enough to stop the combo with 2x chord and a recruiter in hand.
Sb: -4 Rallier, -1 Selfless, -1 Flickerwisp, +1 Linvala, +2 Pridemage, +3 Path (I'm anticipating Cage and maybe Worship)
Game 2 She keeps an early EE on 2 on board for a while to keep me from comboing. I amass a board of like 5 mana dorks and a witness, and am able to activate 2 townships per turn until my board is too large to handle.
2-1
Round 4 vs. Abzan
Game 1 I mull to 6 and his Liliana puts us both into topdeck mode. I manage to deal with Lili and it gets to the point where he has 2 5/6 goyfs in play while I'm at 4 life and I can't keep anything on board since I'm basically under double The Abyss.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Pridemage, +2 Leap, +2 Path, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord, -3 Hierarch
Game 2 I try to turn 3 combo but he has path. I try again a few turns later and he has another path. After seeing him use two paths I decide to run out the Rhonas I drew. He doesn't find another path before Rhonas + township takes over the game.
Game 3 I mull to 5 and he has turn 2 Collective brutality killing my bird and taking my coco into turn 3 lili and I run out of steam real fast.
2-2
Round 5 vs. Esper Narset
Game 1 I keep a slow hand with 2x Rallier. He has turn 4 Supreme Verdict, I rebuild with the Ralliers and he has another verdict. I hit a mediocre Coco of Recruiter + Hierarch, then topdeck a witness. He plays a Gideon Jura and plusses it. I resolve coco a second time and find druid + another recruiter. He untaps and has snapcaster-verdict and I lose to Gideon beats.
Sb: +2 Scavenging Ooze, +2 Pridemage, +2 Leap, -2 Birds, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord
Game 2 I don't remember this one very well but I end up with a leap and an Ooze in play for a long time. He has a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that he's using to hold back the Ooze, which is quite large. I topdeck Chord, use it to find Rhonas, kill Gideon with a trampling Ooze, then kill him a few turns later. He shows me a hand of 3x snapcaster, 1x surgical.
Game 3 I run out Rhonas early on and it gets pathed. I manage to grind through all his removal and am able to make infinite mana, which seals the game in a few turns off of 2 townships and a recruiter.
3-2
Round 6 vs. Grixis Shadow
Game 1 My opponent has turn 1 inquisition to take my druid and prevent my turn 3 combo. I beat him down with recruiters and a selfless spirit (no township) while he casts cantrips. The only creature he sees is a snapcaster and he ends the game with 9 lands in play/hand.
Sb: -1 Flickerwisp, -2 Vizier, -2 Chord, +2 Scavenging Ooze, +3 Path
Game 2 I mull to 4 and get stuck on 1 land after he pushes my hierarch. I die to a Shadow pretty quickly.
Game 3 This is a very long and very close game. Near the end of the game, I'm at 3 and have a board of mana dorks + ralliers that I've been using township on. He has a gurmag, 2 snapcasters, and a liliana, last hope (no creatures in his yard). I topdeck a chord and pass the turn. He untaps, draws and slams a snapcaster targeting lightning bolt. I chord in response, get Ooze and exile the bolt in response. Eventually I kill him by flying over his board with a bird + township.
4-2
Round 7 vs. Infect
Game 1 I keep a hand with a turn 3 kill on the draw. Unfortunately, he had a turn 3 kill on the play with turn 1 hierarch, turn 2 agent, turn 3 groundswell x2.
Sb: -4 Rallier, -1 Witness, +2 Pridemage, +3 Path
Game 2 He mulls to five and I have a path for his agent. I flood the board with chump blockers and he can never get glisteners through for damage while I win with township.
Game 3 I keep a hand with turn 3 combo + path. I play turn 1 birds, turn 2 druid + path to force him to vines, then win the game the next turn.
5-2
Round 8 vs Storm
Game 1 I keep a slow hand with witnesses and cocos and get punished when he goes off turn 4 on the play.
Sb: -4 Rallier +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric, +1 Ethersworn Canonist, +2 Scavenging Ooze
Game 2 I mull to 6 and have a turn 2 Eidolon. He doesn't find an answer for it while I assemble the combo.
Game 3 I keep 3 lands, hierarch, druid, vizier, rhonas. He has a turn 3 pyroclasm to kill my mana dorks and goes off on turn 5 while I try to rebuild.
5-3
Round 9 vs Living End
Game 1 I mull to 5 and keep birds, druid, duskwatch, land x2. He takes a really long time to find a cascade spell (ended up cycling 12 guys) and I would have been able to win if I found chord/vizier, but I draw lands and witnesses.
Sb: +1 Eidolon, +1 Canonist, +2 Scavenging Ooze, +1 Leap, -1 Flickerwisp, -3 Hierarch, -1 Rallier
Game 2 I have the turn 3 combo and he doesn't have spirit guide.
Game 3 I have the turn three combo again but he has beast within. I untap and use rallier to return druid, but he finds a cascade spell and puts 16 power into play while I'm left with a druid. I can't find the combo and die the next turn.
5-4
Overall I liked the deck a lot, just couldn't quite get there in the last two rounds.
Modern
Value Town
Amulet Titan
Legacy
4C Loam
My Peasant Cube
http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/11667
I think it's defensible as a 1-2-of in a goyf heavy meta. I think general you'll find it not broad enough and worse than leap vs. th ose decks. Not many decks flood the board in 3+ power guys.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Modern
Value Town
Amulet Titan
Legacy
4C Loam
My Peasant Cube
http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/11667
I'd do spellskite. That's on my list to consider too. Skite does a lot of work -- particularly against path decks and bant eldrazi and eldrazi tron.
Skite effectively blanks both ballista and endbringer for our purposes, which is spectacular.
Note: Rallier is v. good because of 3 power allowing it to double block smashers without really going down a card. I would shave an e-wit or two first but generally I only board 4 cards for them (1 vizier 1 lavamancer 2 chord).
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall