the point is definitely that things can be miserable without a Farseek on turn 2 as you probably don't have much do on turn 3 either since you're not playing Farseek and Borderland Ranger and Farseek makes it harder to run Domri ... Elvish Archdruid is a good 3 drop if you're running 8 mana elf but pushes the deck so green heavy it's hard to include the black too ... I'm looking at running Gruul something or another perhaps at the SCG Classic in Knoxville this weekend ... just so hard to give up the black based spot removal
as for your other post, yeah, Falkenrath is good - especially with Bonfire and Thundermaw to eliminate Lingering Souls tokens - a little worse now that Turn//Burn can also get rid of it but not much ... however, in the Farseek version, I find that I have to block a little more and she is terrible at blocking ... so it's almost a Farseek/Falkenrath dilemma that totally categorizes whether you're playing Aggro or Aggressive Midrange ... an Aggressive Midrange doesn't have as much interest in Falkenrath
I don't think I can agree with you here.
The deck is fine with or without Farseek, for me at least. I played a R/B deck for several several months this season with Aristocrat/Thundermaw and played against a ton of Jund and was fine.
You still have 4 Arbor Elf that act nearly as Farseek. Not the same but pretty close and Arbor Elf is nice to give you Falkenrath protection.
I think Aristocrat and Farseek can definitly coexist, without a doubt. It has a wonderful interaction with it IMO. Gets it out turn 3...and when we are really splashing very little black so it can help you grab that black source you need.
If GW gains popularity, Falkenwrath just gets better and better. How's the weather down there Loxodon Smiter?
Farseek is also great with Bonfire too, making them that much better if miracled earlier.
The two things I am currently been deciding on is Ooze or Varolz and Ghor Clan vs Huntmaster.
I think it mostly depends on the meta. Oviously the Ooze and Huntmaster are better against aggro and Ghor Clan and Varolz against midrange.
Bottom line: for me, I have been testing this and doing well with it. Top8'd a TCG1k 2 weeks ago with and in general testing it has been doing very well. I am really familar with Falkenwrath , Thundermaw and all the other cards so maybe thats why.
I dont think anyone is arguing Falkenrath is bad really in any version. We're all playing it. It's more that there are trade offs with Farseek. That being said as soon as you cut Falkenrath it becomes obvious something is missing. Ideally I think we'd all love to go 1,3,4 but there are certain realities (no Birds of Paradise) that make it a matter of trade offs. For a while Gyre Sage was reasonable. Then Farseek started looking like an option. You can always play more dorks but those wont fix the mana. It's really a matter of small trade offs. I don't like Farseek mostly in the idealized sense but it's hard to argue what it adds in terms of ensuring colors and ramp. In straight Jund colours I'm convinced it's the best option currently. Not because Elvish Mystic isn't playable but that the 3's aren't wow. Dreg Mangler is the best by a mile but make sure you have your 12 black sources. Varolz plays more like a curve topper but is reasonable. But these sort of decks always have needed a way to hold the fort early and we are at a deficit at 3(maybe Nighthawk.. GL on double black). Farseek Huntmaster is probably the best. Sounds like another deck.
Reckoner is actually the perfect 3 drop for the deck(it doesnt hurt Pilgrim is human). It's just too bad I didn't realise it earlier as I'm sure Burning Earth will chase my list out. I wasn't say GW will take over. Just that it's better situated for heavy dork(8+) shenanigans. On aside my old GW decks from the fall gave me the longest pause before moving to Jund Aggro. It took me almost 2 weeks after Gatecrash to come out to come up with the Gyre Sage 4 Falkenrath 4 Thundermaw deck. I had the preliminary deck during spoilers but it couldn't touch my GW lists(who in turn couldn't beat Flash which was still popular). I actually think aggressive GW decks can be a huge weakness since we don't play a ton of removal and they can present lethal quicker. But nobody plays those sort of decks anymore.
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No mention of Kibler's Gruul Aggro list going 3-0 at the Standard portion of the WMC? It's definitely got a lot more in common with Gr / Jund Aggro than it does with the Gruul Sligh hyperaggro version.
He took the place by storm, but I admit a good portion of that might have been because people weren't expecting the deck. That said, I really like it. Far more resiliency and inevitability than Gruul Sligh (which I play currently), whilst still being quicker than Jund Midrange.
It seems reasonable if you aren't expecting Boros Reckoners and Restoration Angels. With Jund on the in and Junk Reanimator on the outs and the change of UWR to not include Reckoner it actually seems quite reasonable. I think this deck has a very hard time beating Reckoner though. That's why most of us started splashing black in the first case. This is even more so. Mind you Burning earth is there to punish anyone most people trying to play 3 colors so really likely the only bad Reckoner matchup is the near mono Red or Gruul Sligh or whatever you call it. But that deck has also been on the outs. It's a brilliant metagame call I think. Although it's curious if it can beat Naya. I don't know if it can get ahead enough that Burning Earth matters and Naya is all Reckoners and Smiters.
All that being said I'm hoping this is the next evolution in deck building. If decks like this are strong enough we will see a push of the 3 color decks to be heavy 2 plus small splash which will make the Ravnica Guilds much more powerful comparatively than just the strong cards being jammed in decks. If it does enough we could see a shakeup late standard. Ie.. Selesnya beats this, Azorius beats Selesnya. etc.. It might even be self fulfilling if this pattern makes it harder for Reckoner to see play. Definitely something to keep watch for.
No mention of Kibler's Gruul Aggro list going 3-0 at the Standard portion of the WMC? It's definitely got a lot more in common with Gr / Jund Aggro than it does with the Gruul Sligh hyperaggro version.
Just finished a primer for Gruul Midrange I'd been working on (Kibler's result made me want to hustle a little more). Hope to see you all in that thread some too!
Yeah Kibler's Gruul list looks sweet but there are a few things to take into account when looking at it.
For one, he metagamed like a master in choosing it. He accurately predicted that the field would be almost all Jund and UWR which this deck smashes, especially because of the 4 Burning Earth out of the board.
As was mentioned above Boros Reckoner gives this deck a headache because unlike Jund Aggro you don't have Aristocrat to go over the top or hard removal like Doom Blade and Putrefy.
Also Bant Hexproof is an insanely bad match up. Kibler again predicted no one would play it so there's no SB hate but if you want this deck to survive in an open field you'd have to play something. No black means no access to things like Golgari Charm, Devour Flesh, etc.
Basically you trade Aristocrat and better removal for a more consistent mana base and Burning Earth. Also Strangleroot Geist is more viable.
That being said I'm interested, can't wait for the primer.
Working on a Jund Haste/Aggro list but can't seem to figure out what I want in the board. My meta mainly consists of 1.) Jund Midrange 2.) The Aristocrats 3.) Gruul Aggro/RDW 4.) Sphinx's Rev.dec. Here's the main:
Played 2 FNMs yesterday with the following list. 4-0'd one and 3-1'd the other. I beat reanimator, UWR flash, UB control, jund midrange, RG agro, RB agro, mono red, only lost to....... slivers.
The amount of nut draws and resilience is ridiculous.
You have all the usual blitz BTE nut draws, then you have pilgrim into necro nut draws and pilgrim into aristocrat nut draws. Striker and outcast push the damage through without the need to kill blockers.
Currently I'm reworking this to include huntmasters. Decks with good utility creatures are giving me problems and I don't want to slot removal over humans.
24 lands seems a lot for what that deck is doing. Even with Falkenrath on top. I guess if you are trying to put in Huntmaster it makes more sense, but Huntmaster doesn't seem like the right curve topper for the list. I wonder if having more top even matters. First look would be cut 2 lands and put in some more 1 or 2 drops. If you are out of Humans a card like Flinthoof Boar seems reasonable. But it might simply be that Experiment is no Champion of the Parish and the lack of output/pressure nut draws makes wanting bigger cards. Ghor Clan is always a possibility too. It's too bad you just blobbed the lands. Putting a bunch of good cheap creatures together over the 3 colors is easy but having the mana to support it is much more interesting especially when playing a lower land count(something this deck should seriously consider). Like clearly a strong green base so I'm guessing 10 T1 green sources (+4 Caverns). You want to be able to cast Falkenrath on curve so I figure 10 black sources min and probably about 4 non-black red sources of the min 10 red sources. If the mana is consistent enough and the density high enough seems like it could be decent. The trick will be to push enough damage through multiple sweepers. I imagine Archangelof Thune is a pain. I wonder if threaten effects could be a decent postboard strategy. Only 4 sac outlets though I suppose. Still it's interesting direction.
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24 lands were too much as you said, 23 is okay. Original plan was to have mutavaults, but 3 colors are hard with them.
Huntmasters purpose is to catch up against aggro if I'm on the defense. I can't really do that otherwise. Also mayor and huntmaster are very good at beating board stalls.
Haven't figured SB out. The only thing that I'm sure is that removal should stay there. No matter what removal I put maindeck it is blank in some matchups. Putrefies are only there becaue I can't win through Olivia that gets to untap.
I wish I had a card that can kill burning earth and is still useful if they don't have it.
I don't really see nonhuman creatures that are worth slotting over humans. Each human makes mayor, necromancer, cavern and aristocrat better.
If reanimator was still popular then ooze would be that card.
Anyway, necromancer+BTE is a very strong combination that just isn't popular yet. The trick is that you normally beat BTE decks with sweepers and removal, but necromancer and aristocrat make that plan bad.
Trying to update Jund Aggro (Cedric Phillips's "Unfriendly Skies" style) for the current metagame as a thought experiment now that Kibler Gruul is rampant ...
Here's taking what I had been running (which matches up card-for-card pretty close to the Kibler shell) and only changing it slightly - anyone still paying enough attention to provide some feedback ...
deck has tons of great synergies between lotleth troll, scavenging ooze, varolz, exava, and kalonian hydra. varolz works well with exava and the mana guys here effectively letting you sac your mana guys to give something haste. Running 4 exava can get awkward at times, but it's pretty easy to just discard the extra copies to lotleth troll or lili.
Sometimes the deck just gets there by laying t2 troll, trashing your entire hand to make a giant troll, then laying scavenging ooze the next turn and making a giant scavenging ooze and gaining a bunch of life. Other times you curve out exava into kalonian hydra and swing for millions.
abbattoir ghoul is just a trial run right now, but it's been spectacular. usually it just sits on defense or is practically unblockable. I had desecration demon and huntmaster in this spot as well for awhile as well and may end up going back to those, but the ghoul has just been such an awesome anti-aggro tool.
if you're looking for a deck that doesn't lose much post-rotation and can really pack a power punch, this is a very good shell so far.
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Big thanks to DarkNightCavalier from heroes of the planes studios for the sig!
"Unfriendly Skies" is not dead - I piloted this list to a 3-1-1 finish at a smaller SCG IQ yesterday but ended up missing the top 8 play-off. My thinking was that Kibler deck has been around long enough to impact the metagame and the splash of black is a solid option again.
Round 1: There were an odd number of players - I was the lucky one who started the day with a free win.
Round 2: Draw with UW Control - game 1 goes long and I lose my first ever game with a Domri emblem turned on; I draw a lot of lands after making the emblem and concede on his third or fourth Sphinx's Revelation to leave more time for sideboarded games. Another Domri Rade emblem is good enough and gets me in a position to have a few minutes for a game 3. Game 3 goes to extra turns, and he maneuvers the game into a position where I can't win but he can. I manage to force a draw by playing a Thragtusk to gain 5 life to go with the meager 6 I currently had, and he has to choose between countering it and flashing in a second Restoration Angel with his open mana - since he can't do both the game is a draw. He goes on to make top 8; I'm assuming he won out to get there but not sure.
Round 3: Lose 1-2 against GW Archangel beatdown. One game I mulligan a lot, then I do what I'm supposed to partially with the help of hard-casting Bonfire for x=2 to clear his board, but I keep a reasonable six in game 3 only to find out he had a practically perfect hand/draw.
Round 4: Win 2-0 against Jund Control - my draws were better than his. It's the third time I've played against this guy and we're fairly friendly at this point. When he has better draws, he usually gets me as he has done well at multiple tournaments larger than that one.
Round 5: Win 2-0 against Esper Control - game 1 I don't play any black cards or lands and get there impersonating Gruul Aggressive Midrange. Unexpected Falkenrath Aristocrat helps win game 2.
Another close but not quite finish with Jund Aggro - however, I did like having access to spot removal again and will probably continue playing it for the next few weeks.
Illness is there because there are a bunch of Aristocrats players at my locals. This could be anything else.
I'm basically not concerned with dedicated removal. I want Domri to get me over my opponents. I want Blood to end games and take out a creature as a last resort. Varolz + Rampager makes Blood absurd. Everything is subordinate to getting in with damage, quickly.
Did well last night, but this was not my exact deck. This is better. I made some bad sideboard choices and lost to Aristocrats. My main was also a little jazzed, not focused enough. Still made top 8.
Don't think any deck is really ready to be run under right now.
EDIT:
Modified slightly. All aggro, no removal focus.
I went 4-1 the other night and the loss was squarely my fault, a blatant misplay. I am sooo much faster than anyone else, and at the same time Domri Rade and Ghor-Clan Rampager + Flesh // Blood makes the deck super resilient.
I beat UWR Control 2-1, Junk Aristocrats 2-0 (never had a land come in untapped either game!), Mono-Black Post 2-0, GR Aggro 2-1.
I lost to Blue Jund 2-1, but only because game 1 I misplayed on the play that would have ended the game. I had 3 possible plays and did the worst one. So sad. Crushed him game 2. Mulliganed to 5 and drew badly game 3.
The sideboard was near perfect.
I am very happy with this deck for the next two weeks. I will miss it.
I don't think I can agree with you here.
The deck is fine with or without Farseek, for me at least. I played a R/B deck for several several months this season with Aristocrat/Thundermaw and played against a ton of Jund and was fine.
You still have 4 Arbor Elf that act nearly as Farseek. Not the same but pretty close and Arbor Elf is nice to give you Falkenrath protection.
I think Aristocrat and Farseek can definitly coexist, without a doubt. It has a wonderful interaction with it IMO. Gets it out turn 3...and when we are really splashing very little black so it can help you grab that black source you need.
If GW gains popularity, Falkenwrath just gets better and better. How's the weather down there Loxodon Smiter?
Farseek is also great with Bonfire too, making them that much better if miracled earlier.
The two things I am currently been deciding on is Ooze or Varolz and Ghor Clan vs Huntmaster.
I think it mostly depends on the meta. Oviously the Ooze and Huntmaster are better against aggro and Ghor Clan and Varolz against midrange.
Bottom line: for me, I have been testing this and doing well with it. Top8'd a TCG1k 2 weeks ago with and in general testing it has been doing very well. I am really familar with Falkenwrath , Thundermaw and all the other cards so maybe thats why.
Reckoner is actually the perfect 3 drop for the deck(it doesnt hurt Pilgrim is human). It's just too bad I didn't realise it earlier as I'm sure Burning Earth will chase my list out. I wasn't say GW will take over. Just that it's better situated for heavy dork(8+) shenanigans. On aside my old GW decks from the fall gave me the longest pause before moving to Jund Aggro. It took me almost 2 weeks after Gatecrash to come out to come up with the Gyre Sage 4 Falkenrath 4 Thundermaw deck. I had the preliminary deck during spoilers but it couldn't touch my GW lists(who in turn couldn't beat Flash which was still popular). I actually think aggressive GW decks can be a huge weakness since we don't play a ton of removal and they can present lethal quicker. But nobody plays those sort of decks anymore.
GWU Knightfall Modern
UW Tempo Legacy
UGR Burning Wish Cobra Vintage
It seems reasonable if you aren't expecting Boros Reckoners and Restoration Angels. With Jund on the in and Junk Reanimator on the outs and the change of UWR to not include Reckoner it actually seems quite reasonable. I think this deck has a very hard time beating Reckoner though. That's why most of us started splashing black in the first case. This is even more so. Mind you Burning earth is there to punish anyone most people trying to play 3 colors so really likely the only bad Reckoner matchup is the near mono Red or Gruul Sligh or whatever you call it. But that deck has also been on the outs. It's a brilliant metagame call I think. Although it's curious if it can beat Naya. I don't know if it can get ahead enough that Burning Earth matters and Naya is all Reckoners and Smiters.
All that being said I'm hoping this is the next evolution in deck building. If decks like this are strong enough we will see a push of the 3 color decks to be heavy 2 plus small splash which will make the Ravnica Guilds much more powerful comparatively than just the strong cards being jammed in decks. If it does enough we could see a shakeup late standard. Ie.. Selesnya beats this, Azorius beats Selesnya. etc.. It might even be self fulfilling if this pattern makes it harder for Reckoner to see play. Definitely something to keep watch for.
GWU Knightfall Modern
UW Tempo Legacy
UGR Burning Wish Cobra Vintage
As a tournament grinder, I can say in the past few events, I have not seen 1 single Boros Reckoner..
Just finished a primer for Gruul Midrange I'd been working on (Kibler's result made me want to hustle a little more). Hope to see you all in that thread some too!
For one, he metagamed like a master in choosing it. He accurately predicted that the field would be almost all Jund and UWR which this deck smashes, especially because of the 4 Burning Earth out of the board.
As was mentioned above Boros Reckoner gives this deck a headache because unlike Jund Aggro you don't have Aristocrat to go over the top or hard removal like Doom Blade and Putrefy.
Also Bant Hexproof is an insanely bad match up. Kibler again predicted no one would play it so there's no SB hate but if you want this deck to survive in an open field you'd have to play something. No black means no access to things like Golgari Charm, Devour Flesh, etc.
Basically you trade Aristocrat and better removal for a more consistent mana base and Burning Earth. Also Strangleroot Geist is more viable.
That being said I'm interested, can't wait for the primer.
2 Hellrider
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Experiment One
4 Flinthoof Boar
3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Dreg Mangler
2 Dreadbore
//Instant
2 Searing Spear
2 Abrupt Decay
//Land
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Forest
1 Mountain
3 Experiment One
3 Rakdos Cackler
4 Vexing Devil
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Spike Jester
2 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
2 Dreg Mangler
2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
2 Domri Rade
3 Rancor
4 Searing Spear
1 Flesh // Blood
Land
4 Blood Crypt
4 Stomping Ground
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Woodland Cemetary
2 Golgari Charm
2 Act of Treason
3 Deathrite Shaman
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Pillar of Flame
Necro blitz
4x experiment one
4x burning-tree emissary
4x lightning mauler
4x firefist striker
4x mayor of avabruck
4x deranged outcast
4x falkenrath aristocrat
4x cavern of souls
20x brg lands
The amount of nut draws and resilience is ridiculous.
You have all the usual blitz BTE nut draws, then you have pilgrim into necro nut draws and pilgrim into aristocrat nut draws. Striker and outcast push the damage through without the need to kill blockers.
Currently I'm reworking this to include huntmasters. Decks with good utility creatures are giving me problems and I don't want to slot removal over humans.
GWU Knightfall Modern
UW Tempo Legacy
UGR Burning Wish Cobra Vintage
1x zhur-taa druid
4x experiment one
4x burning tree emissary
4x lightning mauler
4x mayor of avabruck
1x firefist striker
1x deranged outcast
4x falkenrath aristocrat
4x huntmaster of the fells
2x putrefy
4x cavern
19x gbr lands
4x pillar of flame
2x electrickery
2x putrefy
2x ground seal
24 lands were too much as you said, 23 is okay. Original plan was to have mutavaults, but 3 colors are hard with them.
Huntmasters purpose is to catch up against aggro if I'm on the defense. I can't really do that otherwise. Also mayor and huntmaster are very good at beating board stalls.
Haven't figured SB out. The only thing that I'm sure is that removal should stay there. No matter what removal I put maindeck it is blank in some matchups. Putrefies are only there becaue I can't win through Olivia that gets to untap.
I wish I had a card that can kill burning earth and is still useful if they don't have it.
I don't really see nonhuman creatures that are worth slotting over humans. Each human makes mayor, necromancer, cavern and aristocrat better.
If reanimator was still popular then ooze would be that card.
Anyway, necromancer+BTE is a very strong combination that just isn't popular yet. The trick is that you normally beat BTE decks with sweepers and removal, but necromancer and aristocrat make that plan bad.
Here's taking what I had been running (which matches up card-for-card pretty close to the Kibler shell) and only changing it slightly - anyone still paying enough attention to provide some feedback ...
2 Elvish Mystic
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
2 Borderland Ranger
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Thundermaw Hellkite
3 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Stomping Ground
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Dragonskull Summit
5 Forest
3 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Olivia Voldaren
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
2 Thragtusk
1 Garruk Relentless
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Searing Spear
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Putrefy
4 overgrown tomb
4 blood crypt
4 stomping ground
4 woodland cemetery
3 dragonskull summit
3 forest
2 swamp
1 kessig wolf run
28 creatures
3 elvish mystic
3 arbor elf
4 lotleth troll
3 scavenging ooze
2 varolz, the scar-striped
3 lifebane zombie
4 exava, rakdos blood witch
2 abattoir ghoul
4 kalonian hydra
2 doom blade
2 tragic slip
1 dreadbore
1 abrupt decay
1 putrefy
3 liliana of the veil
2 domri rade
1 dreadbore
3 bonfire of the damned
3 pillar of flame
2 tribute to hunger
deck has tons of great synergies between lotleth troll, scavenging ooze, varolz, exava, and kalonian hydra. varolz works well with exava and the mana guys here effectively letting you sac your mana guys to give something haste. Running 4 exava can get awkward at times, but it's pretty easy to just discard the extra copies to lotleth troll or lili.
Sometimes the deck just gets there by laying t2 troll, trashing your entire hand to make a giant troll, then laying scavenging ooze the next turn and making a giant scavenging ooze and gaining a bunch of life. Other times you curve out exava into kalonian hydra and swing for millions.
abbattoir ghoul is just a trial run right now, but it's been spectacular. usually it just sits on defense or is practically unblockable. I had desecration demon and huntmaster in this spot as well for awhile as well and may end up going back to those, but the ghoul has just been such an awesome anti-aggro tool.
if you're looking for a deck that doesn't lose much post-rotation and can really pack a power punch, this is a very good shell so far.
Modern:
Twinning End
Commander:
Mayael the Anema
Destructive Revelry RG (cmc 2)
Instant
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Destructive Revelry does 2 damage to that permanent's controller.
I think I'm more excited about the bonfire on a stick.
Modern:
Twinning End
Commander:
Mayael the Anema
2 Elvish Mystic
2 Strangleroot Geist
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Flinthoof Boar
2 Borderland Ranger
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Thundermaw Hellkite
3 Domri Rade
2 Putrefy
3 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Kessig Wolf Run
5 Forest
3 Mountain
1 Swamp
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Putrefy
2 Burning Earth
2 Garruk Relentless
1 Olivia Voldaren
3 Thragtusk
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Round 1: There were an odd number of players - I was the lucky one who started the day with a free win.
Round 2: Draw with UW Control - game 1 goes long and I lose my first ever game with a Domri emblem turned on; I draw a lot of lands after making the emblem and concede on his third or fourth Sphinx's Revelation to leave more time for sideboarded games. Another Domri Rade emblem is good enough and gets me in a position to have a few minutes for a game 3. Game 3 goes to extra turns, and he maneuvers the game into a position where I can't win but he can. I manage to force a draw by playing a Thragtusk to gain 5 life to go with the meager 6 I currently had, and he has to choose between countering it and flashing in a second Restoration Angel with his open mana - since he can't do both the game is a draw. He goes on to make top 8; I'm assuming he won out to get there but not sure.
Round 3: Lose 1-2 against GW Archangel beatdown. One game I mulligan a lot, then I do what I'm supposed to partially with the help of hard-casting Bonfire for x=2 to clear his board, but I keep a reasonable six in game 3 only to find out he had a practically perfect hand/draw.
Round 4: Win 2-0 against Jund Control - my draws were better than his. It's the third time I've played against this guy and we're fairly friendly at this point. When he has better draws, he usually gets me as he has done well at multiple tournaments larger than that one.
Round 5: Win 2-0 against Esper Control - game 1 I don't play any black cards or lands and get there impersonating Gruul Aggressive Midrange. Unexpected Falkenrath Aristocrat helps win game 2.
Another close but not quite finish with Jund Aggro - however, I did like having access to spot removal again and will probably continue playing it for the next few weeks.
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Dreg Mangler
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Gyre Sage
4 Experiment One
3 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
3 Hellrider
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
3 Kalonian Hydra
2 Rancor
LANDS
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
4 Blood Crypt
2 Cavern of Souls
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Rootbound Crag
2 Putrefy
2 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
3 Duress
3 Act of Treason
3 Volcanic Strength
2 Golgari Charm
Love the speed of this deck... still could use some sideboard refining.
Town Win % = 75%
Mafia Win % = 75%
Overall Win % = 75%
Completed Game Log
2014: Best Mafia Performance (Group)
2014: Most Improved Player
2014: Best Town Player
2014: Best Overall Player
4 Experiment One
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Dreg Mangler
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
2 Hellrider
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Domri Rade
3 Flesh // Blood
LANDS 22
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
4 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
2 Woodland Cemetery
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Rootbound Crag
1 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Illness in the Ranks
3 Duress
3 Act of Treason
3 Golgari Charm
Illness is there because there are a bunch of Aristocrats players at my locals. This could be anything else.
I'm basically not concerned with dedicated removal. I want Domri to get me over my opponents. I want Blood to end games and take out a creature as a last resort. Varolz + Rampager makes Blood absurd. Everything is subordinate to getting in with damage, quickly.
Did well last night, but this was not my exact deck. This is better. I made some bad sideboard choices and lost to Aristocrats. My main was also a little jazzed, not focused enough. Still made top 8.
Don't think any deck is really ready to be run under right now.
EDIT:
Modified slightly. All aggro, no removal focus.
I went 4-1 the other night and the loss was squarely my fault, a blatant misplay. I am sooo much faster than anyone else, and at the same time Domri Rade and Ghor-Clan Rampager + Flesh // Blood makes the deck super resilient.
I beat UWR Control 2-1, Junk Aristocrats 2-0 (never had a land come in untapped either game!), Mono-Black Post 2-0, GR Aggro 2-1.
I lost to Blue Jund 2-1, but only because game 1 I misplayed on the play that would have ended the game. I had 3 possible plays and did the worst one. So sad. Crushed him game 2. Mulliganed to 5 and drew badly game 3.
The sideboard was near perfect.
I am very happy with this deck for the next two weeks. I will miss it.
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.