I also naturally included Hadana's Climb to the mix, but as I didn't draw those cards early in every game, I added Song of Freyalise to the mix.
But I also scratched my head to figure out whether Sharktocrab was better than Zegana, Utopian Speaker, or even good to begin with. Well I had to actually play the card to find the beginning of an answer. It's good at preventing flyers from attacking, good at tapping neverending Rekindling Phoenixes, and is a decent evasion effect when I attacked. The idea here is to be able to reproduce the effect several times with the enchantments.
A white splash enables Shalai, Voice of Plenty which also benefits from the Familiar's ability (and Venerated Loxodon to a lesser extent). That's why I have to introduce a second list in this one post !
Those lists are all-in for now, it lacks removal spells, and a SB obviously. Let's see if this can go anywhere.
EDIT 21/01/19 : so after my first attempts with the deck, I feel like Hydroid Krasis can do a better job than Zegana, and Trostani better than Sharktocrab. Also Knight of Autumn seems ok VS aggro decks Game 1, so I edit the bant list above in consequence.
In the Temur version, Nikya could allow big Krasis turns, and Sharktocrab remains to be tested over some potential 3-drop.
Use your base creature package with Biomancer's Familiar, Incubation Druid and Growth-Chamber Guardian this starts your curve off well at 2 CMC for Vannifar, and the Guardians find other copies so getting to 3 is pretty easy and they are simply good without her. Then the three slot you get Exclusion Mage for bounce, Reclamation Sage or Thrashing Brontodon for artifact/enchantment hate, District Guide or Elvish Rejuvenator for a land fetch, Plaguecrafter as an out to the hexproof creatures, Blood Operative is a way to recursively start the curve at 3 if you add a surveil package (Doom Whisperer and Dream Eater. Then at 4 you have Frilled Mystic as a counterspell, Prime Speaker Vannifar, maybe a Sharktocrab. There is also the enchantments that you can pick from in Hadona's Climb (you would want Llanowar Elves with Climb) or Wilderness Reclamation, which untaps your lands so you can adapt on their turn, or hold open the Frilled Mystics. At 5 there is Biogenic Ooze which works with the Wilderness enchantment, and Mesmerizing Benthid which sort of works like your Sharktocrab but not against fliers, but isn't dependent on Familiar and is good with Climb as it's hexproof, and Academy Journeymage is another bounce ETB guy At six there is the card I think is the reason BUG would be cool with your idea -- it isn't in packs, but is standard legal -- Gravewaker. With Biomancer's Familar it's 5 mana bring a creature from your graveyard to play. If you use Prime Speaker, you can sac Frilled and then have counter up every turn (you can fail to find). You can bring back Plaguecrafter sacrificing itself and making them sac creatures, then planeswalkers, then when its an empty board making them discard the card they drew for the turn in their draw step basically locking them out of the game. With 2 Biomancers out it cost 1BB to resurrect, and with a money landbase you potentially can do two activations each turn like bring back Plaguecrafter, and hold up for Frilled or whatever. With Wilderness Reclamation the holding up mana part shouldnt be that difficult. Whatever slots left in the deck that are open likely are filled with Incubation // Incongruity as its a creature heavy deck and this digs or acts as removal.
Wouldn't BUG be the coolest one to try? Gravewaker, Plaguecrafter and Frilled Mystic with Prime Speaker Vannifar.
I forgot about Gravewaker, it's a pretty cool card. So far, Hydroid Krasis as the top curve (with the potential to be a 4-drop and flip Climb) has been great for me. I'm not sure I'd like to put another 6+ drop. Krasis is the one card that won me games VS control, and the lifegain is incidentally good VS aggro. I don't think Gravewaker's applications are as wide, or at least as fast (it costs 6 to play and 5 to activate if I have a Familiar). Plaguecrafter is probably not good in this aggro meta full of small creatures, Afterlife, tokens, etc...
Frilled Mystic is a card I consider for the SB but not in the main for now, because I mostly want to spend all my mana during my turns.
I built another Sultai deck with Vannifar, but I think this counters deck is something else. I don't want to sac my early drops to Vannifar, and the cards I can search for are not as impactful as a hard cast Krasis, at least in this shell.
There's surely a super nice deck to build with Reclamation, but I try not to play too many enchantments, they're usually terrible on an empty board and not very impactful VS control decks. Climb and Song are actually cards I try to get rid of, but I need more reps to see if something else can take the slot.
With 2 Biomancers out it cost 1BB to resurrect, and with a money landbase you potentially can do two activations each turn like bring back Plaguecrafter, and hold up for Frilled or whatever
I never had 2 Familiars on the board with something to do with it. Games usually end before that. But yes, Familiars stack and abilities become really cheap, that's one key of the deck : games with a Familiar are way easier to win.
and Mesmerizing Benthid which sort of works like your Sharktocrab but not against fliers, but isn't dependent on Familiar and is good with Climb as it's hexproof,
That's an intersting card to test, I'll have some reps with it. It looks like a good stabilization VS weenie decks and ok VS control. I hadn't noticed the tokens froze opponents's creatures. Trostani Discordant is in the same vein.
Whatever slots left in the deck that are open likely are filled with Incubation // Incongruity as its a creature heavy deck and this digs or acts as removal.
So, as much as I love pelt Collector, I currently cut them and play 4 Incubation // Incongruity instead. Collectors don't grow enough in this shell, and it's more important to find payoffs in order to make all those dorks valuable. Also, the removal spell is clutch in some MUs, without any it's really frustrating to lose to one creature.
Also, RDW and very fast aggros really force me to add lifegain in the maindeck, so I add 3 Knight of Autumn, which adds some tension in the manabase, but it's a necessary evil until I figure out something else. It also strongly pushes me towards Bant over Temur or Sultai.
I think I'd still keep a Sharktocrab because it's insane with the Familiar and isn't bad on it's own. Also Incubation into 4 drop is a natural curve so I think cutting at least one of the three Benthid's for a Sharktocrab would be good.
I see what you mean. Besides Shalai, it feels weird to have so few plays at 4 cmc. I think the deck can take advantage of that though : I can play more 3 mana stuff (like Incongruity, Autumn, adapt Guardian or Druid thanks to Familiar) and play a shockland tapped on turn 3/4.
Your idea of Benthid is actually good, it does a similar job to Shark, but I'll go even further by saying Trostani Discordant is slightly better than Benthid. Time will tell but I'll bet on her. Benthid may be better if a control metagame shows up, but aggro seems to take the cake right now.
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Zegana draws a card more often in decks with Explore dorks. It's very unreliable with the Familiar package alone though. I compare her to Hydroid Krasis, and the latter impressed me way more : not legendary, flying, gain life, draws more cards.
Zegana seems better in the first list because it's an aggro Stompy deck, so it's not quite what this topic is about.
It's interesting to see Vivien Reid in those list. Once again I'd compare her to Krasis, very similar role.
Maybe I should've named the topic after Biomancer's Familiar, because it's really a key component that turns the deck from fair into broken. familiar + Guardian + Druid is a very similar package to Wildgrowth Walker + Branchwalker + Ranger.
I'm currently working more on the Temur variant with Skarrgan Hellkite : lower threshold than Shalai but way higher ceiling : it kills faster.
Since red doesn't have lifegain VS aggro besides Deathgorge Scavenger, the deck must either be more aggro or more control (removals). Scavenger actually feels underwhelming, I wonder whether Gruul Spellbreaker wouldn't be better, or anything else. I want to keep re as a splash, but I can easily see myself run 4 Thrash // Threat to contain aggro. Maybe Fiery Cannonade in the SB.
I find Nikya overkill, it's like a very expensive Familiar. I think I should cut it and focus on staying alive while I find Hellkite and Krasis.
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I end up going back to the Bant version, and a card that impressed me a lot eventually becomes a 4x in the main deck : Depose // Deploy. It's very good in an aggro meta, so time will tell if it's worth that many copies.
I eventually cut the Knight of Autumn because it's too difficult to cast it, and its impact is often less good what Deploy can do.
I also want to cut Incubation in favor or cards that do something. Fewer one-drops, yes, but also more tapped lands in this new standard, so it sorta makes sense in this shell which doesn't quite want to race faster aggros.
Song of Freyalise is back in the mix for now, because there's too many games where my 8/8 Guardians and 6/8 Druids can't race, and Song is an additional way to present lethal on the board.
so I was trying to make Biomancer's Familiar work because it's very satisfying to adapt Incubation Druid for 1GG and Growth-Chamber Guardian for G. And then I thought of what card could abuse cost reductions, and I thought about Skarrgan Hellkite. So the first list I'll introduce is in Temur colors.
I also naturally included Hadana's Climb to the mix, but as I didn't draw those cards early in every game, I added Song of Freyalise to the mix.
But I also scratched my head to figure out whether Sharktocrab was better than Zegana, Utopian Speaker, or even good to begin with. Well I had to actually play the card to find the beginning of an answer. It's good at preventing flyers from attacking, good at tapping neverending Rekindling Phoenixes, and is a decent evasion effect when I attacked. The idea here is to be able to reproduce the effect several times with the enchantments.
A white splash enables Shalai, Voice of Plenty which also benefits from the Familiar's ability (and Venerated Loxodon to a lesser extent). That's why I have to introduce a second list in this one post !
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Biomancer's Familiar
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Incubation Druid
4 Deathgorge Scavenger
3 Nikya of the Old Ways
3 Skarrgan Hellkite
4 Hydroid Krasis
4 Breeding Pool
4 Stomping Ground
6 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Sulfur Falls
1 Mountain
1 Island
2 Hadana's Climb
Sorcery (4)
4 Incubation // Incongruity
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Biomancer's Familiar
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Incubation Druid
2 Knight of Autmn
2 Deathgorge Scavenger
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2 Trostani Discordant
4 Hydroid Krasis
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple Garden
6 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Glacial Fortress
1 Plains
2 Hadana's Climb
2 Assure // Assemble
Sorcery (4)
4 Incubation // Incongruity
2 Carnage Tyrant
2 Vine Mare
1 Vivien Reid
2 Deathgorge Scavenger
2 Ixalan's Binding
Those lists are all-in for now, it lacks removal spells, and a SB obviously. Let's see if this can go anywhere.
EDIT 21/01/19 : so after my first attempts with the deck, I feel like Hydroid Krasis can do a better job than Zegana, and Trostani better than Sharktocrab. Also Knight of Autumn seems ok VS aggro decks Game 1, so I edit the bant list above in consequence.
In the Temur version, Nikya could allow big Krasis turns, and Sharktocrab remains to be tested over some potential 3-drop.
Use your base creature package with Biomancer's Familiar, Incubation Druid and Growth-Chamber Guardian this starts your curve off well at 2 CMC for Vannifar, and the Guardians find other copies so getting to 3 is pretty easy and they are simply good without her. Then the three slot you get Exclusion Mage for bounce, Reclamation Sage or Thrashing Brontodon for artifact/enchantment hate, District Guide or Elvish Rejuvenator for a land fetch, Plaguecrafter as an out to the hexproof creatures, Blood Operative is a way to recursively start the curve at 3 if you add a surveil package (Doom Whisperer and Dream Eater. Then at 4 you have Frilled Mystic as a counterspell, Prime Speaker Vannifar, maybe a Sharktocrab. There is also the enchantments that you can pick from in Hadona's Climb (you would want Llanowar Elves with Climb) or Wilderness Reclamation, which untaps your lands so you can adapt on their turn, or hold open the Frilled Mystics. At 5 there is Biogenic Ooze which works with the Wilderness enchantment, and Mesmerizing Benthid which sort of works like your Sharktocrab but not against fliers, but isn't dependent on Familiar and is good with Climb as it's hexproof, and Academy Journeymage is another bounce ETB guy At six there is the card I think is the reason BUG would be cool with your idea -- it isn't in packs, but is standard legal -- Gravewaker. With Biomancer's Familar it's 5 mana bring a creature from your graveyard to play. If you use Prime Speaker, you can sac Frilled and then have counter up every turn (you can fail to find). You can bring back Plaguecrafter sacrificing itself and making them sac creatures, then planeswalkers, then when its an empty board making them discard the card they drew for the turn in their draw step basically locking them out of the game. With 2 Biomancers out it cost 1BB to resurrect, and with a money landbase you potentially can do two activations each turn like bring back Plaguecrafter, and hold up for Frilled or whatever. With Wilderness Reclamation the holding up mana part shouldnt be that difficult. Whatever slots left in the deck that are open likely are filled with Incubation // Incongruity as its a creature heavy deck and this digs or acts as removal.
T1: Overgrown Tomb tapped.
T2: Hinterland Harbor, Biomancer's Familiar
T3: Breeding Pool untapped, Plaguecrafter (self sac)
T4: Forest, Wilderness Reclamation -- their turn Frilled Mystic either chump block with it and or counter
T5: Watery Grave tapped
T6: Swamp, Gravewaker, their turn have Mystic up or start Plaguecraftering them.
I forgot about Gravewaker, it's a pretty cool card. So far, Hydroid Krasis as the top curve (with the potential to be a 4-drop and flip Climb) has been great for me. I'm not sure I'd like to put another 6+ drop. Krasis is the one card that won me games VS control, and the lifegain is incidentally good VS aggro. I don't think Gravewaker's applications are as wide, or at least as fast (it costs 6 to play and 5 to activate if I have a Familiar).
Plaguecrafter is probably not good in this aggro meta full of small creatures, Afterlife, tokens, etc...
Frilled Mystic is a card I consider for the SB but not in the main for now, because I mostly want to spend all my mana during my turns.
I built another Sultai deck with Vannifar, but I think this counters deck is something else. I don't want to sac my early drops to Vannifar, and the cards I can search for are not as impactful as a hard cast Krasis, at least in this shell.
There's surely a super nice deck to build with Reclamation, but I try not to play too many enchantments, they're usually terrible on an empty board and not very impactful VS control decks. Climb and Song are actually cards I try to get rid of, but I need more reps to see if something else can take the slot.
I never had 2 Familiars on the board with something to do with it. Games usually end before that. But yes, Familiars stack and abilities become really cheap, that's one key of the deck : games with a Familiar are way easier to win.
That's an intersting card to test, I'll have some reps with it. It looks like a good stabilization VS weenie decks and ok VS control. I hadn't noticed the tokens froze opponents's creatures. Trostani Discordant is in the same vein.
So, as much as I love pelt Collector, I currently cut them and play 4 Incubation // Incongruity instead. Collectors don't grow enough in this shell, and it's more important to find payoffs in order to make all those dorks valuable. Also, the removal spell is clutch in some MUs, without any it's really frustrating to lose to one creature.
Also, RDW and very fast aggros really force me to add lifegain in the maindeck, so I add 3 Knight of Autumn, which adds some tension in the manabase, but it's a necessary evil until I figure out something else. It also strongly pushes me towards Bant over Temur or Sultai.
Here's what I'll try :
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Biomancer's Familiar
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Incubation Druid
3 Knight of Autumn
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
3 Mesmerizing Benthid
4 Hydroid Krasis
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple Garden
6 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Glacial Fortress
1 Plains
4 Incubation // Incongruity
2 Song of Freyalise
2 Hadana's Climb
Your idea of Benthid is actually good, it does a similar job to Shark, but I'll go even further by saying Trostani Discordant is slightly better than Benthid. Time will tell but I'll bet on her. Benthid may be better if a control metagame shows up, but aggro seems to take the cake right now.
Now about the SB, it starts to take shape :
2 Vine Mare
1 Vivien Reid
4 Diamond Mare
1 Ixalan's Binding
4 Breeding Pool
7 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Island
3 Unclaimed Territory
Creatures (28)
4 Elvish Clancaller
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Incubation Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Pelt Collector
4 Steel Leaf Champion
2 Thorn Lieutenant
2 Zegana, Utopian Speaker
4 Hadana's Climb
3 Incubation // Incongruity
2 Spell Pierce
1 Vivien Reid
2 Spell Pierce
1 Vivien Reid
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Entrancing Melody
4 Frilled Mystic
2 River's Rebuke
2 Shapers' Sanctuary
4 Breeding Pool
2 Drowned Catacomb
5 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Watery Grave
Creatures (28)
2 Biogenic Ooze
2 Carnage Tyrant
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
2 Hostage Taker
4 Incubation Druid
4 Jadelight Ranger
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Merfolk Branchwalker
3 Zegana, Utopian Speaker
3 Hadana's Climb
2 Cast Down
2 Vivien Reid
3 Find // Finality
2 Cast Down
3 Disdainful Stroke
4 Negate
3 Thrashing Brontodon
3 Wildgrowth Walker
-Stay Frosty
Zegana seems better in the first list because it's an aggro Stompy deck, so it's not quite what this topic is about.
It's interesting to see Vivien Reid in those list. Once again I'd compare her to Krasis, very similar role.
Maybe I should've named the topic after Biomancer's Familiar, because it's really a key component that turns the deck from fair into broken. familiar + Guardian + Druid is a very similar package to Wildgrowth Walker + Branchwalker + Ranger.
I'm currently working more on the Temur variant with Skarrgan Hellkite : lower threshold than Shalai but way higher ceiling : it kills faster.
Since red doesn't have lifegain VS aggro besides Deathgorge Scavenger, the deck must either be more aggro or more control (removals). Scavenger actually feels underwhelming, I wonder whether Gruul Spellbreaker wouldn't be better, or anything else. I want to keep re as a splash, but I can easily see myself run 4 Thrash // Threat to contain aggro. Maybe Fiery Cannonade in the SB.
I find Nikya overkill, it's like a very expensive Familiar. I think I should cut it and focus on staying alive while I find Hellkite and Krasis.
I eventually cut the Knight of Autumn because it's too difficult to cast it, and its impact is often less good what Deploy can do.
I also want to cut Incubation in favor or cards that do something. Fewer one-drops, yes, but also more tapped lands in this new standard, so it sorta makes sense in this shell which doesn't quite want to race faster aggros.
Song of Freyalise is back in the mix for now, because there's too many games where my 8/8 Guardians and 6/8 Druids can't race, and Song is an additional way to present lethal on the board.
here's my MD :
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Biomancer's Familiar
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Incubation Druid
3 Deathgorge Scavenger
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
3 Trostani Discordant
4 Hydroid Krasis
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple Garden
6 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Glacial Fortress
1 Plains
2 Hadana's Climb
2 Song of Freyalise
Spells (4)
4 Depose // Deploy
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.