Electrickery. Elspeth is a big deal and this gets you straight through the wall of tokens and takes their tempo back. Not to mention all the 1 tough dudes running around at the moment. This feels like sideboard, but after seeing the week 1 field I think I would main 2 in a R/B or R/W/b build.
I really wanted to make a Bant Aggro-control deck but can't afford it.
Ever seen a deck with Voice, Fleecemane, Smiter, and Aetherling? Do you really want to see that?
I think that kind of deck presents a painful amount of problems. Prophet of Kruphix abuses the creature and counterspell components. It still has revelation with some of the most potent creatures in the game.
Sounds like an appropriate deck.
Yes, I'd live to play against a three-colour aggro deck that curves to six. Free wins are awesome in the early rounds of events.
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LP, I'm checking your article out as well. Behind all of your swag is the brain of one of the most intelligent Magic players I've ever known. I guess that's one more thing for you to add to the wall of ego that is your Sally sig.
I can go with that. LK, you are the Mace Windu of red mages...cool, tempered logic in deliberation, but capable of just flat kicking tail when the situation warrants it.
Nothing surprising about Worcester, unfortunately. Although Ross Merriam (from my LGS) had an odd take on Boros that I think accounts more for his quality as a player than the build.
Aggro tends to edge a brand new meta, and while I knew GR Monsters would be in good numbers, RDW just curves a lot easier. Not sure if having UW in the finals instead of Esper is a bit of false encouragement, though.
Finally ... Slightly disappointed that UWR was seemingly absent. I do think Assemble is a solid threat right now.
One thing is for certain: All criticisms regarding the playability of the Scry lands seems to be absolutely false. Most of the 2 coloured decks, even ones on the more aggressive end of the spectrum, ran some number of them and more than a few of the control players even ran Guildgates to better their mana bases. The typical spoiler season hyperbolic overreaction to them not being good enough to see play has, once again, been trounced.
It also amuses me to see Ashiok getting play in sideboards and in the main, given how many people were ready to call the card totally unplayable without having tested it. I suspect he'll continue to have a presence in the metagame from time to time.
Lastly, while there are a few break out archetypes, it's not only far too early to talk about the Standard, but also shortsighted to imagine that any predictions will hold true from week to week. Once Theros hits MTGO there'll be a massive increase in testing and competitive tournaments, and if what we saw from the tail end of the past Standard format is true, the Standard metagame now can shift at an alarming pace, rendering discussions about "tier 1" and "tier 1.5" decks almost irrelevant, as those largely arbitrary ranking systems can't keep up with the radically accelerated pace the metagame evolves at in modern times.
People weren't mad about the unplayability of scry lands, the fact that they were printed as rares bothered the most.
I like Prophet of Kruphix. At the very least, it's hate-bait that has no mana cost if your opponent doesn't instantly kill it, and if it survives for 2 turns you pretty much won. I can definitely see people playing around with it this format.
You can't look at a card like that. You have to look at the format, which consists of very fast decks or decks trying to counter you into oblivion. Prophet isn't very playable in that kind of environment.
Nothing surprising about Worcester, unfortunately. Although Ross Merriam (from my LGS) had an odd take on Boros that I think accounts more for his quality as a player than the build.
Aggro tends to edge a brand new meta, and while I knew GR Monsters would be in good numbers, RDW just curves a lot easier. Not sure if having UW in the finals instead of Esper is a bit of false encouragement, though.
Finally ... Slightly disappointed that UWR was seemingly absent. I do think Assemble is a solid threat right now.
Assemble isn't bad, Elspeth is just SO much better. Assemble seems like it will be a sideboard card at most.
People weren't mad about the unplayability of scry lands, the fact that they were printed as rares bothered the most.
Oh they were, but yes they were mostly upset that they were Rares.
Point is, even the baseline of all dual lands, the tap dual, can be good enough to play if it lets you play with powerful gold cards. Scry lands do that. I don't even see the issue with them being Rares; dual lands tend to hold their value since people usually want play sets of them, so them being Rares likely increases the over all value of the set. I highly doubt any smattering of 5 other Rares holds comparable value from a specific set, unless that set features multiple Rares that can rack up value like Snapcaster Mage and Scavenging Ooze.
Besides, dual lands are almost always Rare. Was anyone really that surprised? :/
@Wizarius: I agree. It's a 5 drop that can drastically alter the game in your favour. It might be too cute, but the effect is interesting enough that it'll likely tread at the cusp of playability.
I hate Maze's end decks so much.
It's just a sloppy win condition slapped with fog effects.
If anything, fogs are winning the game.
Agreed. I've always hated fog decks. Luckily for us, someone will be packing Burning Earth and that will keep Maze's End off the top tables.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
As for firedrinker, that is curious. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that he was hedging on the meta there to be fairly aggressive decks for the most part, where Firedrinker kind of falls to pieces. Don't get me wrong, I love the card, but I think he made a smart call with Strikers and Shortcutters(Which I did not even expect to see) to take out blockers and play to the long game a bit better.
Reckoner is partly due to expectations on the meta, I imagine anyway, but more importantly due to its interaction with Fanatic of Mogis, which is what won him the day. That extra 3 damage off the top of Fanatic is absurdly good, and too much to pass up. Really, his decks was more "Fanatic Deck Wins" over straight RDW aggro. It certainly can function like that, but he's playing for that turn 4 Fanatic many times with standard RDW being an alternate playstyle(Not to say that it's an alt win con; rather Fanatic was that; just that he stole the games he played with Fanatic more than anything else).
It's still Red Deck Wins; you didn't call the deck "Hellrider Deck Wins" last year, after all. It is typical of aggressive Red decks to end their curve at 3 or 4, depending on how much impact the cards at that value have. Boros Reckoner is awesome in most matches; even some control decks use damage to remove creatures, so his ability is rarely inactive. Adding all that mana to Fanatic's devotion turns the card from good to great, letting it play out as a 4/2 with quasi-haste (and you can go and give it haste with the Hammer, which is rad).
What should be taken away is the similarities, no the differences. Most played some selection of Shocks and Lightning Strikes, with a small spattering of Mizzium Mortars. They all played Rakdos Cackler and Firefist Striker. Ash Zealot is curiously absent from Owen Turtenwald's 8th place list. All the mono-Red lists in the top 16 were sporting Chandra's Phoenix, so that card is back in a big way. Not surprising, really. It is exactly what most Red decks want out of a 3 drop.
The biggest disadvantage to the Reckoner/Fanatic plan is that it tightens the mana base and makes Mutavault surprisingly unattractive. If you see Mutavaults, you can probably safely say there's little chance of Reckoner showing up, and the Fanatic is definitely weaker without it.
Perhaps mono-black becomes a thing not as a control deck but as an aggro deck similar to "Fanatic deck wins"? You've got some better cards and some worse cards throughout the curve (e.g. Thrill-kill Assassin > Chainwalker, Rakdos Shred-Freak < Ash Zealot) that ultimately ends in a very similar, pseudo-aggressive shell that uses devotion-powered burn to the face as a curvetopper/finisher. The advantage to black is Gray Merchant's drain is a heck of a lot stronger than Fanatic's mere burn and actual card advantage engines (Underworld Connections and Dark Prophecy) that double as difficult-to-remove devotion boosters.
On that note, I know RDW typically runs light on land but is anyone else uneasy packing 20-21 when you're trying to curve into a four-drop? With Reckoner and Phoenix at too, I dunno I just think I'd prefer 22-23 land. They could even be Mutavaults so you're not completely losing action dropping two spells. But hey, I'm not the Red expert and I didn't win any major tournaments...
Perhaps mono-black becomes a thing not as a control deck but as an aggro deck similar to "Fanatic deck wins"? You've got some better cards and some worse cards throughout the curve (e.g. Thrill-kill Assassin > Chainwalker, Rakdos Shred-Freak < Ash Zealot) that ultimately ends in a very similar, pseudo-aggressive shell that uses devotion-powered burn to the face as a curvetopper/finisher. The advantage to black is Gray Merchant's drain is a heck of a lot stronger than Fanatic's mere burn and actual card advantage engines (Underworld Connections and Dark Prophecy) that double as difficult-to-remove devotion boosters.
On that note, I know RDW typically runs light on land but is anyone else uneasy packing 20-21 when you're trying to curve into a four-drop? With Reckoner and Phoenix at too, I dunno I just think I'd prefer 22-23 land. They could even be Mutavaults so you're not completely losing action dropping two spells. But hey, I'm not the Red expert and I didn't win any major tournaments...
Not entirely sure I really like this idea....
Especially if Mutavaults are lands #22-24. Fanatic is a very important part of the deck, but I feel like it's more important to curve your 1-3 out well instead of topdecking that extra land when you have a 2 burn spells in hand.
Just my own 2 cents. I'm not a huge aggro player either way. So take it with a grain of salt.
You can get away with a couple colorless sources even with the triple-color costs, it's not that big a deal. And Black runs Nykthos better since it has viable noncreature permanents for devotion, which helps offset Merchant's higher cost over Fanatic, can still pay triple-black even on T3 if you curve into it (with Shred-Freak), and flat-out spew more stuff onto the battlefield if your CA engines are doing work.
Just, you know, throwing ideas out there.
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I think Legion Loyalist or even Hero's Downfall would just be better in those builds.
Tiamat, Chromatic Dragon RWUBG
Planeswalker - Tiamat
[+1] Sit on Nicol Bolas
[+0] Wait for him to beg for mercy, rule the multiverse.
[-7] Not necessary, she is the ultimate.
Yes, I'd live to play against a three-colour aggro deck that curves to six. Free wins are awesome in the early rounds of events.
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Aggro tends to edge a brand new meta, and while I knew GR Monsters would be in good numbers, RDW just curves a lot easier. Not sure if having UW in the finals instead of Esper is a bit of false encouragement, though.
Finally ... Slightly disappointed that UWR was seemingly absent. I do think Assemble is a solid threat right now.
So, you think Seedborn Muse + Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir for the mana of either one is unplayable in a format with Mystic Genesis which is just a really beefed up version of Mystic Snake. And your credibility is?
I'm pretty sure Prophet of Kruphix will see some play
If you hate the deck, I'm probably playing it!
People weren't mad about the unplayability of scry lands, the fact that they were printed as rares bothered the most.
You can't look at a card like that. You have to look at the format, which consists of very fast decks or decks trying to counter you into oblivion. Prophet isn't very playable in that kind of environment.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Assemble isn't bad, Elspeth is just SO much better. Assemble seems like it will be a sideboard card at most.
Oh they were, but yes they were mostly upset that they were Rares.
Point is, even the baseline of all dual lands, the tap dual, can be good enough to play if it lets you play with powerful gold cards. Scry lands do that. I don't even see the issue with them being Rares; dual lands tend to hold their value since people usually want play sets of them, so them being Rares likely increases the over all value of the set. I highly doubt any smattering of 5 other Rares holds comparable value from a specific set, unless that set features multiple Rares that can rack up value like Snapcaster Mage and Scavenging Ooze.
Besides, dual lands are almost always Rare. Was anyone really that surprised? :/
@Wizarius: I agree. It's a 5 drop that can drastically alter the game in your favour. It might be too cute, but the effect is interesting enough that it'll likely tread at the cusp of playability.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
EDH:
UBGThe MimeoplasmUBG
I hate Maze's end decks so much.
It's just a sloppy win condition slapped with fog effects.
If anything, fogs are winning the game.
That's the beauty of it. It's so fun to see the butthurt in people's faces when they lose to a ridiculously stupid deck.
A guy I was talking to earlier also ran Into the Wilds as acceleration and Cackling Perimeter as an alternative wincon. Hilarity! I tell you!
Agreed. I've always hated fog decks. Luckily for us, someone will be packing Burning Earth and that will keep Maze's End off the top tables.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)It's almost as cool as killing someone with owls (Ebony Owl Netsuke) but I'll settle for 5 color combos.
EDH:
UBGThe MimeoplasmUBG
As for firedrinker, that is curious. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that he was hedging on the meta there to be fairly aggressive decks for the most part, where Firedrinker kind of falls to pieces. Don't get me wrong, I love the card, but I think he made a smart call with Strikers and Shortcutters(Which I did not even expect to see) to take out blockers and play to the long game a bit better.
Reckoner is partly due to expectations on the meta, I imagine anyway, but more importantly due to its interaction with Fanatic of Mogis, which is what won him the day. That extra 3 damage off the top of Fanatic is absurdly good, and too much to pass up. Really, his decks was more "Fanatic Deck Wins" over straight RDW aggro. It certainly can function like that, but he's playing for that turn 4 Fanatic many times with standard RDW being an alternate playstyle(Not to say that it's an alt win con; rather Fanatic was that; just that he stole the games he played with Fanatic more than anything else).
Reckoner sure does make Fanatic a lot better. Firedrinker was probably a meta choice. The card is best when you don't expect creature combats.
The deck sure feels less aggressive without more than four turn one plays, though that's usually a good thing to broaden your clocking potential.
What should be taken away is the similarities, no the differences. Most played some selection of Shocks and Lightning Strikes, with a small spattering of Mizzium Mortars. They all played Rakdos Cackler and Firefist Striker. Ash Zealot is curiously absent from Owen Turtenwald's 8th place list. All the mono-Red lists in the top 16 were sporting Chandra's Phoenix, so that card is back in a big way. Not surprising, really. It is exactly what most Red decks want out of a 3 drop.
The biggest disadvantage to the Reckoner/Fanatic plan is that it tightens the mana base and makes Mutavault surprisingly unattractive. If you see Mutavaults, you can probably safely say there's little chance of Reckoner showing up, and the Fanatic is definitely weaker without it.
It explains the choices of the red mages very well I feel.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
On that note, I know RDW typically runs light on land but is anyone else uneasy packing 20-21 when you're trying to curve into a four-drop? With Reckoner and Phoenix at too, I dunno I just think I'd prefer 22-23 land. They could even be Mutavaults so you're not completely losing action dropping two spells. But hey, I'm not the Red expert and I didn't win any major tournaments...
Not entirely sure I really like this idea....
Especially if Mutavaults are lands #22-24. Fanatic is a very important part of the deck, but I feel like it's more important to curve your 1-3 out well instead of topdecking that extra land when you have a 2 burn spells in hand.
Just my own 2 cents. I'm not a huge aggro player either way. So take it with a grain of salt.
Just, you know, throwing ideas out there.