Here's something I've been working on, and was hoping to get some criticism. I really want to try this and make a BUG walkers deck work, but it seems tough to do, as it can very easily get rolled over by hyper aggressive strategies.
Instead of Opportunity (I don't really like it because of it's high cmc) try out Font of Fortunes. I have been using it and really love it as my draw.
Suggestions for the hyper fast deck, just add more cheap removal like the ones mentioned above, along with Doom Blade for non-black creatures and Ratchet Bomb
Far/Away is really good. Try using it fused if possible. Adding more cheap removal should help. I'd recommend side boarding removal like Doom Blade since it is situational. Those are all inexpensive cards that will help your aggro match ups .
I agree with dropping Opportunity and a few Vraska. Add in some more removal in those spots. I don't know that 3 Extinguish All Hope is right here, it isn't a complete wipe and is expensive, I would only play two. You want to draw it eventually, but you can't afford it to log your hand in he early game, or you can easily lose before getting the mana to cast it. Drown in Sorrow might be more helpful against aggressive decks, or even Whelming Wave. Wave doesn't kill them, but buys you time to draw more removal and get Jace/Kiora in play to start blunting their offense, or give Ashiok time to give you blockers. The problem with this deck idea is both the lack of a good wipe and the lack of a good defensive creature to take over the game quickly. Desecration Demon might do a good job, because while it won't block what you want, it still cuts down their creature count or prevents attacking. You just don't have the "I win" card to play to, whether it is Elspeth, Verdict killing 3+ creatures(Extinguish can sorta do this, it is just so much worse at it), or a huge Rev to ensure you have counters for everything.
Kiora does a good job at winning. When I played her in my BUG deck, getting her to ultimate was fairly easy. The key is to have enough removal/counters that you can allow you opponent 1 creature on the battlefield while protecting Kiora from burn/Hero's Downfall.
Outside of that it looks like just Aetherling, or a gang of Courser beatdown lol.
As NicolBolas said, there's just no "I win" card that turns the game in your favor once you land it. I think that is why many BUG decks seem to go a bit more midrange because with Green you do have access to some sweet creatures like Polukranos.
my list. I have been trying out this and is hoping to focus on this deck as i feel this have very good chances in current meta. still fine tuning here and there but generally feel the deck have ways to interact with most decks around. its generally a super friends shell with a sub milling theme which is just a 2nd win con. I manage to deck a few opponent out after holding the game for long and normally it will only takes 2-3 turns max to deck out opponents when you have the milling pieces Consuming Aberration and phenax. other wise it is still ok even if the milling didnt start immediately.
@GHOUL: Hour of Need might be only new spell, but Temple of Malady certainly helps.
@wei3721: don't play Phenax, he is bad. If you want an effective mill tool for alt win con, use Jace, Memory Adept. He draws you cards in addition to the mill, and a single activation will usually be enough to make the opponent deck out before you do anyways. Phenax does nothing but mill, and depends on having one of your (few) creatures out to do so. With the cards you are playing, if Phenax is active it is VERY unlikely for you to lose anyways, because your only permanents are high-impact and only have 2 symbols each. If you have 3 of a combination of Demon, Jace, Ashiok, Kiora, or Abberation (though I think that is another card that should go), then you are almost certainly going to win regardless (and even then JMA probably helps win faster). Mill as an alt win con is only good when it doesn't cost your deck anything (example: Nephalia Drownyard of last standard). Abberation isn't ideal, but it does at least do things besides mill, namely provide a huge creature that gets bigger as you follow your regular gameplan.
Short version:
Definitely replace Phenax with JMA
I suggest dropping Abberation for more removal, likely another Downfall and another Far/Away
Hey thanks for the comment. I was play testing with my friend last nite and got the same feeling like u say.. Scry phenax to bottom, left in hand leaving mana for removals etc..
Tho the times when I manage to mill ppl 1 time with consuming for 20+ cards with phenax in play makes me win the game with fun.. But that is definitely a win more situation..
What do u think of gaze of granite? Is it too slow?
Will be swapping these cards for what u mention thanks
Can force yourself to destroy your permanents for destroy some cards on opponent control
If you can build around it (Thassa, God of the Sea/other indestructible permanents + Lotleth Troll/other regenerate creature) can be a single side sweeper but, even in this case, the high cmc and the sorcery speed can create some problem...
I will use Drown in Sorrow instead or a mix of the two if really necessary...
Just FYI, if your going to be using Drown in Sorrow. If you have Troll out, you won't be able to regen him if Drown in Sorrow kills him because of the -2/-2 effect. He would have to have a toughness of 3 to survive Drown in Sorrow.
I would say no on Gaze of Granite, simply because it is always going to be behind. By turn four, killing one drops isn't helping all that much, killing two-drops on turn 5 is still leaving 3/4 drops to beat on you. I think it would be better to just play Drown or 1-for-1 removal, using your creatures to take care of the small stuff. Golgari Charm will usually kill most 1-drops anyways. Gaze also can't kill large creatures without killing your walkers even when you have the mana.
I know Courser of Kruphix is a very good card but there is just so many ways to kill it in the current meta. I really think black decks and the like know the advantages this card can bring to a control shell so it is the primary target for their removal spells. I love the card and many might consider me crazy for telling you not to play it since there are some match-ups in which it really does shine. I just think there are many other different ways to approach BUG. It is probably my favorite archetype in standard atm. Ashiok is very underrated and not a lot of decks have easy ways to deal with him right away, especially if you have turn 2 removal. Kiora is also in the same boat. If you don't have a straight removal spell for her she often times can hit ultimate with ease against the slower midrange/control decks. The syngergy between the two walkers is the primary reason this archetype has so much potential and I would abuse this. I know that BUG control isn't the best control shell as you dont have access to the 3 best control cards in standard, so maybe a midrange approach might be necessary. Consider the creature base from Mono Black, which is currently the most popular deck in standard. It is a control deck but the creatures it plays allow it to easily win with very little disruption drawn. Cards like grey merchant and pack rat can win games so easily sometimes that removal isn't always necessary. Being as you have access to pack rat, and both green and blue you could have some pretty nutty turns when you have kiora on the board. try to think outside the box when building this deck, bug is a shell with a ton of options and crazy combinations of cards that together can represent an insane power level. Just a few weeks ago in Moscow t8 a guy won a game with kiora/pack rat. The potential is there you just need to consider every card and how it would work. I would try to find old lists from gerrard fabiano. He was working on bug hardcore a few months back and had some pretty sweet lists. http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=66067 here is a link to one of them that he won a super IQ with. just another approach to consider. Good luck and I hope u kick some ass!!
M15 gave this deck a HUGE boost with Aetherspouts. While it is worse than Verdict in the fact that it costs five and doesn't permanently answer a specific dangerous creature, it does have the advantage of being one-sided. The lack of an effective sweeper was one of the main things holding this deck back, so it is in a much better place with this. BUG has the ability to wreck aggro with stuff like Courser of Kruphix (which is also strong CA), Sylvan Caryatid (which also provides helpful mana fixing), good removal, and now a sweeper, then finish the game with walkers. The idea against control is to have more walkers than they have Banishing Light or Hero's Downfall and ride one of them to victory. The new Garruk isn't amazing but gives us a 2-of card with that "I win" impact if we want to play a 7-drop.
With M15 out now, I feel like Nissa is an auto-include in these kinds of lists. Untapping lands and making 4/4s is good. I'm not sure what advantages BUG walkers has of the Jund walkers list though. Kiora over Xenagos as well as Jace, Memory Adept for control. Ashiok is a beating against the right decks, too. Blue over red also gives you card draw and counters if you need them.
I made RUG walkers because the more I thought about it the worse Ashiok seemed to be against the majority of the field, which he should be an argument for why you would want to be BUG anyway. Aetherspouts is a beating, and Nissa is basically an auto include. The fact she can easily result in a 3 turn clock after a resolved spouts is often too much for some decks to handle, it's just about living to the point where you can do that.
Also the format is currently soft to counters, and there are many reasonable options you can play. Basically if you are in blue purely for Aetherspouts you might not be making the most of your options, though the card is arguably the best sweeper in the format right now. Your curve is also super high, so it is very possible to just get run over by fast decks.
1 Island
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Swamp
3 Temple of Deceit
3 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Watery Grave
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3 Extinguish All Hope
3 Far // Away
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
3 Opportunity
3 Vraska the Unseen
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Ætherling
Far/Away is really good. Try using it fused if possible. Adding more cheap removal should help. I'd recommend side boarding removal like Doom Blade since it is situational. Those are all inexpensive cards that will help your aggro match ups .
Also with your mana base, it might need some configuring. Use this for guidance.
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/frank-analysis-how-many-colored-mana-sources-do-you-need-to-consistently-cast-your-spells/
Outside of that it looks like just Aetherling, or a gang of Courser beatdown lol.
As NicolBolas said, there's just no "I win" card that turns the game in your favor once you land it. I think that is why many BUG decks seem to go a bit more midrange because with Green you do have access to some sweet creatures like Polukranos.
3x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Bile Blight
3x Breeding Pool
2x Consuming Aberration
2x Cyclonic Rift
3x Desecration Demon
1x Far / Away
1x Golgari Charm
3x Hero's Downfall
3x Jace, Architect of Thought
3x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
4x Overgrown Tomb
1x Phenax, God of Deception
2x Psychic Strike
1x Reap Intellect
4x Swamp
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Temple of Deceit
4x Temple of Malady
2x Temple of Mystery
1x Vraska the Unseen
4x Watery Grave
@wei3721: don't play Phenax, he is bad. If you want an effective mill tool for alt win con, use Jace, Memory Adept. He draws you cards in addition to the mill, and a single activation will usually be enough to make the opponent deck out before you do anyways. Phenax does nothing but mill, and depends on having one of your (few) creatures out to do so. With the cards you are playing, if Phenax is active it is VERY unlikely for you to lose anyways, because your only permanents are high-impact and only have 2 symbols each. If you have 3 of a combination of Demon, Jace, Ashiok, Kiora, or Abberation (though I think that is another card that should go), then you are almost certainly going to win regardless (and even then JMA probably helps win faster). Mill as an alt win con is only good when it doesn't cost your deck anything (example: Nephalia Drownyard of last standard). Abberation isn't ideal, but it does at least do things besides mill, namely provide a huge creature that gets bigger as you follow your regular gameplan.
Short version:
Definitely replace Phenax with JMA
I suggest dropping Abberation for more removal, likely another Downfall and another Far/Away
Tho the times when I manage to mill ppl 1 time with consuming for 20+ cards with phenax in play makes me win the game with fun.. But that is definitely a win more situation..
What do u think of gaze of granite? Is it too slow?
Will be swapping these cards for what u mention thanks
Just FYI, if your going to be using Drown in Sorrow. If you have Troll out, you won't be able to regen him if Drown in Sorrow kills him because of the -2/-2 effect. He would have to have a toughness of 3 to survive Drown in Sorrow.
4 Temple of Malady
3 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple of Deceit
3 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Mystery
3 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
2 Swamp
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
Spells - 22
4 Thoughtseize
4 Sign in Blood
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Silence the Believers
4 Ætherspouts
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Liliana Vess
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
Sideboard TBD, but I love that it could include an aggressive transformative with creatures like Reaper of the Wilds.
Also the format is currently soft to counters, and there are many reasonable options you can play. Basically if you are in blue purely for Aetherspouts you might not be making the most of your options, though the card is arguably the best sweeper in the format right now. Your curve is also super high, so it is very possible to just get run over by fast decks.
wouldnt reap the bones be better then sign in blood?
Modern:
BRG DEMIGOD Jund GRB
UB TEZZ Control BU