***Disclaimer*** I want to start off by saying this is my first primer and that I am no where near a master at this deck. I just didn't see a set place to talk about this list without imposing on other primers and I really want to discuss it. Anyone who feels more qualified can easily be given OP Privileges. ***
Black White Humans
Introduction and The Reasons to Play This Build
This deck had a small rise in the middle of Theros when Patrick Chaplins B/W Midrange list that top 8ed Pro Tour Theros became public knowledge. With the success of Mono black and the rise of popularity in Blood Baron of Vizkopa the list deviated back to Patrick Chapins style of the deck and we still see that deck being played today. Back to B/W Humans. The primary role of the deck is an aggro beatdown plan with disruption. It also makes great use of Xathrid Necromancer and the Humans Synergy very similar to Shota Takao's list which was Esper from the GP.
Where this deck is different from B/W Midrange is that pre sideboard it generally curves out at 3 sometimes 4. It drops multiple threats a turn and uses Synergy from Humans as well as Spear of Heliod and Mutavault. This deck can have you dead by turn 5 and is very resilient to Control decks via Xathrid Necromancer and Thoughtseize as well as the potential of Rootborn Defenses. It is also different from the Esper list because the manabase is more stable, it has less ETB Tapped Lands and more incentive to play Mutavault in the full package.
Where the deck slacks is it's end game. It doesn't have the inevitability the B/W Midrange version has with Removal and Blood Baron/Obzedat Whip. It also lacks the lifegain those decks do pre board. It also lacks the removal package and the versatility of the Esper Version. No splashing for Sphinx's RevelationSupreme Verdict or Detention Sphere.
Decklists:
While this deck has had some small showing over the past few months I want to focus on the most important one and who I think had it best.
Xathrid Necromancer: The Bread and Butter of this deck. Helps against board wipes vs control deck and makes combat and math very difficult for the opposing player via the Human Synergy. Great in multiples and has the versatility as an attacker , a blocker , or even the target of your own removal spell. Similar to Blood Artist in the aristocrats of last standard just not nearly as powerful
Soldier of the Pantheon: The Allstar One drop of the Theros Format. Protection from Multicolored, gains you life, can swing through big creatures and block big creatures due to its protection, giving you 2 power for 1 mana and also being a Human! You couldn't ask anymore from the one drop slot.
Dryad Militant: The other option at the 1cmc slot. While also giving 2 power for 1 mana Dryad is not that strong in a format with no Snapcaster Mage or Flashback mechanic. It gives some incidental hate to Elixir of Immortality lists but other than that it's a pretty vanilla 2/1. It has the slight upside to Boros Elite in that it dodges Ultimate Price and doesn't need other creatures by it's side to see its full power.
Banisher Priest:
With a deck only running 4 removal spells mainboard these bad boys serve as our 5th/6th/7th removal spells while being a bit fragile but also with a lot of upside of our black removal. For starters we don't lose life like Orzhov Charm or have as many restrictions as Ultimate Price. We also have the niche ability of exile as opposed to destroy. This helps against Active Gods, Indestructible Creatures Fleecemane LionRootborn Defenses as well as opposing graveyard effects such as Xathrid Necromaner. Where this removal lacks in is that it makes it so Banisher Priest is a bad blocker and is susceptible to removal and this can pose some very risky combat steps.
Imposing Sovereign: This Card is pretty poor for the curve via its toughness of 1 but where it shines is it's ability to halt other aggro decks both on the attacking and defensive ends. It makes it so Cards like Ash Zealot are as vanilla as they would appear on paper as well as shutting down cards like Obzedat, Ghost Council and Whip of Erebos while slightly neutering cards like Stormbreath DragonAetherling and Xenagos, God of Revels and making it so turn 5 Blood Baron of Vizkopa aren't a complete auto lose. Most critical in the G/R monsters Matchup.
Pain Seer: is a card that shines in control matchups as well as Mono Black matchups. If not answered it provides 2 damage as well as a free card on upkeep. In these matchups we can afford the life loss for the card advantage as their removal can run thin without their trump cards like Underworld Connections or Sphinx's Revelation. 2/2 is very much on curve for this slot, not being restrictive on mana colors and also being a human. This card is a very good addition from Born of the Gods.
Daring Skyjek: While being slightly below curve on the toughness department at 1 it is ahead of curve at 3 power. Works well with a jammed board as well as Xathrid Necromancer. Battalion allows this card to jump in the air for evasion which usually means suiciding another creature but because of Xathrid Necromancer, this usually becomes a rinse and repeat process. This card is a human itself so that never hurts and becomes a big hitter with Spear of Heliod. Also has great synergy with Mutavault
Spirit of the Labyrinth: This card is mainly here for its above the curve raw power at 3/1. It's only downside is that it is not a human but it has the upside of 3 power at 2cmc as well as shutting down cards like Underworld Connections and Sphinx's Revelation as well as Bident of Thassa and other draw effects. Not much to say in terms of synergy, this card is everything that is written on it and there is no secret to why its played.
Orzhov Charm: Not much to say here except for yep this card is as good as it seems in magical christmas land. In an aggro deck it is always very iffy to play removal because of the games where it can be dead in hand. Not with this card. While indiscriminately killing any creature outside of protection or indestructibility with the only downside being lifeloss this is everything you could want from a removal spell in an aggro deck....or is it. On top of all that great stuff you can also buyback creatures from your graveyard or bounce your own creature to your hand to avoid pesky things like Bile BlightPacifismDomesticationDetention Sphere and any other removal of your choice.
Thoughtseize :as if playing an aggro deck in the arguably two best removal colors in standard couldn't get better, you also get to play the best disruption spells across all 3 formats. For 1 mana rip a problem card from your opponents hand or just leave them with nothing but lands, your choice. Helps avoid all the pesky triumphs to our deck via color protection or just helps in winning the card advantage war. Teams up very well with Pain Seer but watch out the life loss can take a toll.
With this deck heavily reliant on Ravnica and M14 Block I still feel this deck has one more potential upgrade from Journey To Nyx in the form of the Black White God. If we happen to get a 3cmc or 4cmc god similar to Erebos, God of The Dead or Thassa, God of the Sea I feel this this deck can really take off. It's biggest problem is it's lack of double devotion givers on a gummed up board and thats what makes single color gods unappealing cause none of them give a needed static ability outside of Erebos against a few decks. Vigilance is never really needed with Xathrid.
Honestly, for this specific deck, I'd probably run Boros Elite over Dryad Militant - but I'd also 4 Mutavaults instead of 3 and a playset of Precinct Captains, which makes it much easier to get the Batallion triggers.
In a vaccum, Dryad Militant is obviously more powerful, but Boros Elite is arguably on par with her in a (basically) White Weenie strategy that uses a low, creature-heavy curve, some tokens (Precinct Captain) and Mutavaults, plus: She's a human.
I personally play Elite in my deck over Dryad Militant, but playing precinct captain in this deck is not as good as you think for starters its double white. Secondly Pain seer gives you a lot more against caryatid openings from particular decks where precinct is stone walled. The upside of this deck in comparison to other is not missing drops on curve. Especially banking in playing 4 mutavaults and 4 temples, its hard to get double white. The upside isn't worth the consistency.
I personally play Cartel Aristocrat as a 3 of and 4 boros elite for dryad. I shave some spirits and soverigns for the cartels.
Not sure if this should go in here, or the existing White Weenie primer considering this is a white splash black deck that I've been playing for awhile now. I just dumped a Brave the Elements and a Precinct Captain for a pair of Pain Seer.
I went 5-0 in a local tourney today with the following list.
Round 1, mono black devotion. Charm on Pack Rat is great. Swarm the board, no problems. Sided in the obvious, didn't see it.
Round 2, Red deck wins. Brave for combat tricks to kill attackers was great, removal obviously is excellent, and the necromancer leads to 2 for 1ing your opponent.
Round 3, Hero of Iroas/hexproof. Swarm for the win. Mana screw wins me the other game.
Round 4, white/black midrange. Swarm for the win using Brave against even Blood Baron.
Round 5, green/white tokens. Removal and swarm takes it no problem.
Sided out Pain Seer nearly every match for a better answers, but in the matches where it got going, it was great with a curve this low. I’m not sure what I’d change, but I might dump another Cartel Aristocrat for my 4th Brave back. Stopping removal and sneaking by creatures is just too good. On the other hand, I have yet to try going all in with Pain Seer and main deck Thoughtseize, but I’m a little worried about life loss from shock lands, Thoughtseize and Pain Seer all combined against anything that isn’t a U/W control deck. Never used the Revoke, no one seemed to be playing any gods today.
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Legacy: WRDeath and Taxes UWRMiracles UBTezzerator GTrinity GBWRLoam URLandstill
Modern: WUBValue Titan UMerfolk WGDeath and Taxes
has anyone tried using cavalry pegasus in their builds? one thing i was really noticing during playtest is that the board would really easily gum itself up due to neither player having profitable attacks, and i really want a good way to get through nasty board states. i was running brave the elements in rw humans, but it's nowhere near as good in BW with all the black creatures the deck runs. i have a couple in my current lists but so far ive only drawn it during win-more situations.
courtisans! compatriots! lend me your ears, we slayed this demagogue, dragged it to its knees. we cut all the sycophants, deafened their call, we gave back the willing to better us all. we will not go quiet, we will not be restrained, we will not be slaves to an impotent regime. mark this in remembrance, the turning of tides. our nascent republic, born of his demise.
Hey all, thought I'd chime in here as lately this his been my deck of choice. I tried getting on the Ephara aggro train and almost took that deck to SCG Seattle, but last minute changed to Esper Humans. Big mistake it turned out. After that I switched over to B/W Humans and have stayed there ever since. So first I'll start with my current decklist
Sideboard varies a lot, and this past week I actually only used Doom Blade and Ultimate Price from it with my only losses being to G/R Monsters and then a WWr list in top 4.
Now that that's out of the way, here's my thoughts on the discussion so far.
1) Cavalry Pegasus - Not as good as it looks. The board shouldn't gum itself up because you can afford to swing with some abandon thanks to the Xathrid Necromancer. Pegasus is simply a 1/1 Flyer for 2 mana, when instead you can play a Pain Seer for card advantage or a Skyjek. The Pegasus doesn't really do make enough of an impact for me to take out either of those two cards.
2) Brave the Elements - I agree this can probably be almost cut completely. It's come in very useful for me a lot of times, primarily against Anger of the Gods, but I can see the reasons to cut it especially if you start running more black creatures.
3) Frontline Medic - I want this to work a LOT. I just don't know if it will. Generally I think our 3 spot is really crowded since that's where I think we should be curving out at, and I can't see myself cutting Xathrid for him. Maybe the Spear could go? But that takes away a piece of removal and an anthem for a card that provides situational protection. My local meta is really heavy on removal so for my I can't justify the inclusion of him. I did pick up a few recently though so I'll probably see if I can find room to stuff him into the deck.
Going forward I'm trying to make room for Athreos in this deck. Right now I'm planning on cutting the Spears for him (despite my above argument about the Spear being as good as it is), and taking Brave the Elements out for Cartel Aristocrat.
My experience with frontline medic is that he's very slow and difficult to turn on. The interaction with Seer seems sweet but I don't think he's good enough in this removal-heavy standard.
I almost want to say esper is worth taking a look at with the release of Battlefield Thaumaturge. In combo w/ Launch the Fleet (and w/e else they release w/ strive) it looks interesting. This brings up playing springleafs to help eleviate the tricolor as well as an alterante way to turn pain seer's inspire on.
It was mentioned above but I concur on Cartel Aristocrat as an auto include with the new god Athreos, God of Passage . Stupid amounts of synergy to explore with this set and we're not even half way through. Maybe even Underworld Coinsmith to help with the last bit of damage as well as god activation.
Why doesn't anyone run Brimaz? Yeah, he isn't a human, but I would think that how good he is would outweigh him not returning from a Xathid trigger. He generally forces a Supreme Verdict all by himself against control. Is he simply too high on the curve at 3?
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One of these day I have to get myself organizized.
It is not about forcing the board clear, its about having position from necromancer after the board clear. There is enough synergy to warrant only including humans.
I'm curious how you all feel about Precinct Captain? After being on board the token generating train for a really long time I finally cut him completely simply due to his strict mana requirements. For the most part, in all the lists I've been running, aside from the Spear I try and stay away from anything that has WW or BB in it's casting cost. Thoughts?
I think the question now is whether it is worth it to keep running humans for Necromancer or whether we want to just run the best creatures in the colors and let Athreos provide the wipe protection. Athreos+Necromancer is great, but with both of those and Spear the three slot is really cluttered.
I'm curious how you all feel about Precinct Captain? After being on board the token generating train for a really long time I finally cut him completely simply due to his strict mana requirements. For the most part, in all the lists I've been running, aside from the Spear I try and stay away from anything that has WW or BB in it's casting cost. Thoughts?
He may be bad now, but Mana Confluence is going to help come JIN.
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One of these day I have to get myself organizized.
20 turn 1 plays, necromancer and Atheros are your value. Thoughtseize will just rip out their best card hopefully a Supreme Verdict or some other trump they might have. I'm considering Pain Seer and Rakdos Cackler as maybes.
Instead of High Priest I would put in Cartel Aristocrat. It puts the oppenent on a clock and has crazy synergy with both necromancer and the god.
You get to recur the High Priest which seems good, I did have Cartel in also but cut him, he probably should be played though.
I get the idea behind the 'recuring' High Priest, but it's really only a thing if it dies during combat. You can't actually 'force' the effect the way someone would want to. Thus, it might as well most of the time read 'Unblockable' and it'll just ding for 1. All the while the Cartel can 'ding' for two and is an amazing sac outlet for Athreos and allows for some possibly useful things, such as if they try and detention sphere something you can always sac out to it, or if they banishing light sac it out, maybe recur it. Much more useful than High Priest.
I like what this list has going on. Like it was said previously I would cut High Priest for Cartel Aristocrat. Also I would cut King Macar and two of the Boros Elite and play 3x Pain Seer. This deck needs some form of dig because it will flounder after a fast start without Athreos or Necromancer.
Here's my current list I've been running, after dropping blue and going straight White Black
W/B Humans. l"ll admit I have some weird choices in the deck, as I'm trying to find the perfect combination, but all the cards work very well, including the Vizkopa Guildmage.
Vizkopa Guildmage: I went with 2 because the life gain or lifeloss can be very useful. It gives the deck a form of reach, an is insane when I have whip out. Will Underworld Coinsmith replace it? Possibly. I'll test them both out for sure.
Eidolon of Countless Battles I tried this in place of Ajani. It's not a human, but I often swarm the field and most of my guys are not very big. I usually bestow first. It's been working well so far.
Pain Seer: With limited card advantage, this is sorely needed. The lifelink from Whip of Erebos and Vizkopa Guildmage can offset taking any damage.
Mono Black: 03:37
2-0. I won the first game off camera. I thought seized his hand he had all literally all removal. I had to outlast his removal, and won with an Eidolon of Countless Battles enchanted with another eidolon, while he had no way to apply pressure to the board.
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"I do as I choose, and I answer to no one!"
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
I can see 5 spots on my deck that is debatable.. the 3 obzedat and 2 Whip of Erebos. Maybe add 1 more necromancer, +2 Brave The elements and +2 "human" but i think obzedat is way too strong to be taken out and it helps to turn the god on/off.
Introduction and The Reasons to Play This Build
This deck had a small rise in the middle of Theros when Patrick Chaplins B/W Midrange list that top 8ed Pro Tour Theros became public knowledge. With the success of Mono black and the rise of popularity in Blood Baron of Vizkopa the list deviated back to Patrick Chapins style of the deck and we still see that deck being played today. Back to B/W Humans. The primary role of the deck is an aggro beatdown plan with disruption. It also makes great use of Xathrid Necromancer and the Humans Synergy very similar to Shota Takao's list which was Esper from the GP.
Where this deck is different from B/W Midrange is that pre sideboard it generally curves out at 3 sometimes 4. It drops multiple threats a turn and uses Synergy from Humans as well as Spear of Heliod and Mutavault. This deck can have you dead by turn 5 and is very resilient to Control decks via Xathrid Necromancer and Thoughtseize as well as the potential of Rootborn Defenses. It is also different from the Esper list because the manabase is more stable, it has less ETB Tapped Lands and more incentive to play Mutavault in the full package.
Where the deck slacks is it's end game. It doesn't have the inevitability the B/W Midrange version has with Removal and Blood Baron/Obzedat Whip. It also lacks the lifegain those decks do pre board. It also lacks the removal package and the versatility of the Esper Version. No splashing for Sphinx's Revelation Supreme Verdict or Detention Sphere.
Decklists:
While this deck has had some small showing over the past few months I want to focus on the most important one and who I think had it best.
Jesse Hefner 's SCG Invitational List - http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/2533_standard_71_or_better_decklist.html
3 Banisher Priest
3 Daring Skyjek
4 Dryad Militant
3 Imposing Sovereign
4 Pain Seer
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Spirit of the Labyrinth
Lands (22)
6 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mutavault
1 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Temple of Silence
3 Orzhov Charm
1 Ultimate Price
2 Spear Of Heliod
4 Thoughtseize
1 Pithing Needle
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
3 Sin Collector
2 Dark Betrayal
2 Doom Blade
3 Duress
1 Glare of Heresy
1 Revoke Existence
Card Choices:
Soldier of the Pantheon: The Allstar One drop of the Theros Format. Protection from Multicolored, gains you life, can swing through big creatures and block big creatures due to its protection, giving you 2 power for 1 mana and also being a Human! You couldn't ask anymore from the one drop slot.
Dryad Militant: The other option at the 1cmc slot. While also giving 2 power for 1 mana Dryad is not that strong in a format with no Snapcaster Mage or Flashback mechanic. It gives some incidental hate to Elixir of Immortality lists but other than that it's a pretty vanilla 2/1. It has the slight upside to Boros Elite in that it dodges Ultimate Price and doesn't need other creatures by it's side to see its full power.
Banisher Priest:
With a deck only running 4 removal spells mainboard these bad boys serve as our 5th/6th/7th removal spells while being a bit fragile but also with a lot of upside of our black removal. For starters we don't lose life like Orzhov Charm or have as many restrictions as Ultimate Price. We also have the niche ability of exile as opposed to destroy. This helps against Active Gods, Indestructible Creatures Fleecemane Lion Rootborn Defenses as well as opposing graveyard effects such as Xathrid Necromaner. Where this removal lacks in is that it makes it so Banisher Priest is a bad blocker and is susceptible to removal and this can pose some very risky combat steps.
Imposing Sovereign: This Card is pretty poor for the curve via its toughness of 1 but where it shines is it's ability to halt other aggro decks both on the attacking and defensive ends. It makes it so Cards like Ash Zealot are as vanilla as they would appear on paper as well as shutting down cards like Obzedat, Ghost Council and Whip of Erebos while slightly neutering cards like Stormbreath Dragon Aetherling and Xenagos, God of Revels and making it so turn 5 Blood Baron of Vizkopa aren't a complete auto lose. Most critical in the G/R monsters Matchup.
Pain Seer: is a card that shines in control matchups as well as Mono Black matchups. If not answered it provides 2 damage as well as a free card on upkeep. In these matchups we can afford the life loss for the card advantage as their removal can run thin without their trump cards like Underworld Connections or Sphinx's Revelation. 2/2 is very much on curve for this slot, not being restrictive on mana colors and also being a human. This card is a very good addition from Born of the Gods.
Daring Skyjek: While being slightly below curve on the toughness department at 1 it is ahead of curve at 3 power. Works well with a jammed board as well as Xathrid Necromancer. Battalion allows this card to jump in the air for evasion which usually means suiciding another creature but because of Xathrid Necromancer, this usually becomes a rinse and repeat process. This card is a human itself so that never hurts and becomes a big hitter with Spear of Heliod. Also has great synergy with Mutavault
Spirit of the Labyrinth: This card is mainly here for its above the curve raw power at 3/1. It's only downside is that it is not a human but it has the upside of 3 power at 2cmc as well as shutting down cards like Underworld Connections and Sphinx's Revelation as well as Bident of Thassa and other draw effects. Not much to say in terms of synergy, this card is everything that is written on it and there is no secret to why its played.
Orzhov Charm: Not much to say here except for yep this card is as good as it seems in magical christmas land. In an aggro deck it is always very iffy to play removal because of the games where it can be dead in hand. Not with this card. While indiscriminately killing any creature outside of protection or indestructibility with the only downside being lifeloss this is everything you could want from a removal spell in an aggro deck....or is it. On top of all that great stuff you can also buyback creatures from your graveyard or bounce your own creature to your hand to avoid pesky things like Bile Blight Pacifism Domestication Detention Sphere and any other removal of your choice.
Ultimate Price: While only being a singleton it packs a punch to clean up cards like Stormbreath Dragon and Desecration Demon. While killing bigs walls like Polukranos, World Eater and Courser of Kruphix . Still has the downside of protection from black spells but that is the bane of black/white decks.
Thoughtseize :as if playing an aggro deck in the arguably two best removal colors in standard couldn't get better, you also get to play the best disruption spells across all 3 formats. For 1 mana rip a problem card from your opponents hand or just leave them with nothing but lands, your choice. Helps avoid all the pesky triumphs to our deck via color protection or just helps in winning the card advantage war. Teams up very well with Pain Seer but watch out the life loss can take a toll.
Strategy,Matchups and Sideboard:
Coming Soon!
Tournament Results:
Jesse Hefner 's SCG Invitational List Top 8 - http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/2533_standard_71_or_better_decklist.html
3 Banisher Priest
3 Daring Skyjek
4 Dryad Militant
3 Imposing Sovereign
4 Pain Seer
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Spirit of the Labyrinth
Lands (22)
6 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mutavault
1 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Temple of Silence
3 Orzhov Charm
1 Ultimate Price
2 Spear Of Heliod
4 Thoughtseize
1 Pithing Needle
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
3 Sin Collector
2 Dark Betrayal
2 Doom Blade
3 Duress
1 Glare of Heresy
1 Revoke Existence
Closing Thoughts:
With this deck heavily reliant on Ravnica and M14 Block I still feel this deck has one more potential upgrade from Journey To Nyx in the form of the Black White God. If we happen to get a 3cmc or 4cmc god similar to Erebos, God of The Dead or Thassa, God of the Sea I feel this this deck can really take off. It's biggest problem is it's lack of double devotion givers on a gummed up board and thats what makes single color gods unappealing cause none of them give a needed static ability outside of Erebos against a few decks. Vigilance is never really needed with Xathrid.
I personally play Elite in my deck over Dryad Militant, but playing precinct captain in this deck is not as good as you think for starters its double white. Secondly Pain seer gives you a lot more against caryatid openings from particular decks where precinct is stone walled. The upside of this deck in comparison to other is not missing drops on curve. Especially banking in playing 4 mutavaults and 4 temples, its hard to get double white. The upside isn't worth the consistency.
I personally play Cartel Aristocrat as a 3 of and 4 boros elite for dryad. I shave some spirits and soverigns for the cartels.
I went 5-0 in a local tourney today with the following list.
4 Boros Elite
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
2 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Daring Skyjek
3 Precinct Captain
2 Pain Seer
4 Imposing Sovereign
3 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Banisher Priest
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Spells:
3 Brave the Elements
3 Orzhov Charm
1 Doom Blade
1 Spear of Heliod
Land:
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
1 Swamp
11 Plains
2 Mutavault
3 Thoughtseize
2 Doom Blade
2 Sin Collector
1 Xathrid Necromancer
2 Dark Betrayal
2 Revoke Existence
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Glimpse the Sun God
1 Banisher Priest
Round 1, mono black devotion. Charm on Pack Rat is great. Swarm the board, no problems. Sided in the obvious, didn't see it.
Round 2, Red deck wins. Brave for combat tricks to kill attackers was great, removal obviously is excellent, and the necromancer leads to 2 for 1ing your opponent.
Round 3, Hero of Iroas/hexproof. Swarm for the win. Mana screw wins me the other game.
Round 4, white/black midrange. Swarm for the win using Brave against even Blood Baron.
Round 5, green/white tokens. Removal and swarm takes it no problem.
Sided out Pain Seer nearly every match for a better answers, but in the matches where it got going, it was great with a curve this low. I’m not sure what I’d change, but I might dump another Cartel Aristocrat for my 4th Brave back. Stopping removal and sneaking by creatures is just too good. On the other hand, I have yet to try going all in with Pain Seer and main deck Thoughtseize, but I’m a little worried about life loss from shock lands, Thoughtseize and Pain Seer all combined against anything that isn’t a U/W control deck. Never used the Revoke, no one seemed to be playing any gods today.
Modern: WUBValue Titan UMerfolk WGDeath and Taxes
W death + taxes W
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Boros Elite
4x Tormented Hero
2x Dryad Militant
3x Imposing Sovereign
4x Daring Skyjek
4x Pain Seer
4x Xathrid Necromancer
2x Spear of Heliod
4x Orzhov Charm
3x Brave the Elements
Lands
4x Godless Shrine
4x Temple of Silence
2x Mutavault
3x Swamp
7x Plains
Sideboard varies a lot, and this past week I actually only used Doom Blade and Ultimate Price from it with my only losses being to G/R Monsters and then a WWr list in top 4.
Now that that's out of the way, here's my thoughts on the discussion so far.
1) Cavalry Pegasus - Not as good as it looks. The board shouldn't gum itself up because you can afford to swing with some abandon thanks to the Xathrid Necromancer. Pegasus is simply a 1/1 Flyer for 2 mana, when instead you can play a Pain Seer for card advantage or a Skyjek. The Pegasus doesn't really do make enough of an impact for me to take out either of those two cards.
2) Brave the Elements - I agree this can probably be almost cut completely. It's come in very useful for me a lot of times, primarily against Anger of the Gods, but I can see the reasons to cut it especially if you start running more black creatures.
3) Frontline Medic - I want this to work a LOT. I just don't know if it will. Generally I think our 3 spot is really crowded since that's where I think we should be curving out at, and I can't see myself cutting Xathrid for him. Maybe the Spear could go? But that takes away a piece of removal and an anthem for a card that provides situational protection. My local meta is really heavy on removal so for my I can't justify the inclusion of him. I did pick up a few recently though so I'll probably see if I can find room to stuff him into the deck.
Going forward I'm trying to make room for Athreos in this deck. Right now I'm planning on cutting the Spears for him (despite my above argument about the Spear being as good as it is), and taking Brave the Elements out for Cartel Aristocrat.
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
It was mentioned above but I concur on Cartel Aristocrat as an auto include with the new god Athreos, God of Passage . Stupid amounts of synergy to explore with this set and we're not even half way through. Maybe even Underworld Coinsmith to help with the last bit of damage as well as god activation.
He may be bad now, but Mana Confluence is going to help come JIN.
BW Humans
4 Boros Elite
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Tormented Hero
4 Precinct Captain
3 High Priest of Penance
4 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Banisher Priest
4 Athreos, God of Passage
1 King Macar, the Gold-Cursed
1 Spear of Heliod
4 ThoughtSeize
4 Oppressive Rays
20 Lands:
9 Plains
4 Temple of Silence
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mana Confluence
4 Celestial Flare
4 Devour Flesh
4 Spirit of the Labyrinth
2 Banishing Light
1 Glare of Heresy
20 turn 1 plays, necromancer and Atheros are your value. Thoughtseize will just rip out their best card hopefully a Supreme Verdict or some other trump they might have. I'm considering Pain Seer and Rakdos Cackler as maybes.
You get to recur the High Priest which seems good, I did have Cartel in also but cut him, he probably should be played though.
I get the idea behind the 'recuring' High Priest, but it's really only a thing if it dies during combat. You can't actually 'force' the effect the way someone would want to. Thus, it might as well most of the time read 'Unblockable' and it'll just ding for 1. All the while the Cartel can 'ding' for two and is an amazing sac outlet for Athreos and allows for some possibly useful things, such as if they try and detention sphere something you can always sac out to it, or if they banishing light sac it out, maybe recur it. Much more useful than High Priest.
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W/B Humans. l"ll admit I have some weird choices in the deck, as I'm trying to find the perfect combination, but all the cards work very well, including the Vizkopa Guildmage.
4 Solder of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
2 Imposing Sovereign
2 Vizkopa Guildmage
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
4 Xanthrid Necromancer
2 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Pain Seer
2 Banisher Priest
1 Celestial Flare
2 Thoughtseize
2 Ultimate Price
3 Hero's Downfall
Others 4
2 Spear of Heliod
2 Whip of Erebos
Lands 22
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
1 Orzhov Guildgate
5 Swamp
8 Plains
3 Sin Collector
3 Lifebane Zombie
3 Fieldslayer Paladin
2 Revoke Existence
2 Bile Blight
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Vizkopa Guildmage: I went with 2 because the life gain or lifeloss can be very useful. It gives the deck a form of reach, an is insane when I have whip out. Will Underworld Coinsmith replace it? Possibly. I'll test them both out for sure.
Eidolon of Countless Battles I tried this in place of Ajani. It's not a human, but I often swarm the field and most of my guys are not very big. I usually bestow first. It's been working well so far.
Pain Seer: With limited card advantage, this is sorely needed. The lifelink from Whip of Erebos and Vizkopa Guildmage can offset taking any damage.
I'm on camera playing the deck against Red/White Burn and Mono Black control here: http://www.twitch.tv/spanky_kc/b/521955448
Red/White Burn: Game starts at 01:52
Mono Black: 03:37
2-0. I won the first game off camera. I thought seized his hand he had all literally all removal. I had to outlast his removal, and won with an Eidolon of Countless Battles enchanted with another eidolon, while he had no way to apply pressure to the board.
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
First, the BBD Deck:
4 Temple of Silence
2 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mana Confluence
2 Mutavault
6 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
3 Underworld Coinsmith
3 Athreos, God of Passage
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Herald of Torment
3 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Spear of Heliod
2 Whip of Erebos
4 Orzhov Charm
Kind of a midrange deck, not focused on the human theme.
Now CVM tkae on the deck, with a focus on humans:
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Athreos, God of Passage
2 Banisher Priest
4 Boros Elite
3 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Daring Skyjek
2 Imposing Sovereign
4 Xathrid Necromancer
1 Banishing Light
3 Brave the Elements
2 Orzhov Charm
2 Spear Of Heliod
Lands (22)
6 Plains
4 Godless Shrine
4 Mana Confluence
4 Mutavault
4 Temple of Silence
And now my take on the deck:
4 Temple of Silence
2 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mana Confluence
2 Mutavault
7 Plains
3 Swamp
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
3 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Athreos, God of Passage
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Banisher Priest
3 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Imposing Sovereign
2 Spear of Heliod
2 Whip of Erebos
2 Orzhov Charm
2 Brave the Elements
I can see 5 spots on my deck that is debatable.. the 3 obzedat and 2 Whip of Erebos. Maybe add 1 more necromancer, +2 Brave The elements and +2 "human" but i think obzedat is way too strong to be taken out and it helps to turn the god on/off.
edit:
this one was posted today by BBD:
2 Pack Rat
4 Precinct Captain
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Herald of Torment
1 Underworld Coinsmith
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Athreos, God of Passage
Lands (25)
5 Plains
5 Swamp
4 Godless Shrine
2 Mana Confluence
2 Mutavault
3 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Temple of Silence
4 Banishing Light
3 Bile Blight
2 Orzhov Charm
2 Spear Of Heliod
1 Whip of Erebos
3 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
3 Sin Collector
2 Deicide
3 Doom Blade
4 Thoughtseize