Match 1: Mono Black
Game 1 he crushed me but game 2 I managed to push enough damage across and game 3 he was on a mull to 5. Got it 2-1.
Match 2: RW Devotion
Both games were very close but i managed to just barely squeeze by winning 2-0.
Match 3: G/R Devotion
This has to be my WORST matchup by far. He got game 1 because i kept an iffy hand that didnt pan out. i got game 2 thanks to double brave the elements. and he got game 3 due to having better draws. lost 1-2.
Match 4: Esper Control
Game 1 he missed a land drop and i did not forgive him for it. When he finally tried to gain value of of d-sphere, i braved. Game 2 was very long and drawn out, but thanks to an impressive mix of mutavaults, spears, and ajanis, i lived through a verdict, 2 blood barons, an obzedat, and an elspeth. phew. Ajani really saved me there.
I ended up getting 2nd, they guy playing G/r Devotion got 1st, and the guy playing Mono Black got 3rd.
The real point of me sharing this is that i took out the 2 Xathrids in the main and put in two Ajanis and i must say he is what made me do so well tonight. Couldnt have done it without him. Im not sure if i want more of him or if a 2/2 split with spear is the best.
I'm on the two two Ajani/Spear mix right now and I think it's better than having more Ajani's. The spear is really good in some situations where Ajani does nothing and Ajani is good at getting damage through in situations where your opponent thinks they have you locked up. I think moving Xathrid to the board is good as the only deck I really bring him in against is Esper and UW control.
Yesterday I went to FNM, running the Orzhov version of the deck with necromancers in the board and the Ajani/Spear split.
Round 1: My opponent was playing a bad version of monogreen devotion and had terrible draws. He said it was his first time playing. 2-0
Round 2: Another bad green devotion deck. He had slow starts both games and couldn't get anything down. 2-0
Round 3: A monowhite heroic deck. He got 2-for-1'd multiple times by my banisher preist after he enchanted a creature. Ajani kept pumping my creatures and forced him to go after it rather than attacking me. 2-0
Round 4: A monoblack devotion deck played by a good player. Game 1, I kept a hand of 2 godless shrine, 2 plains, mutavault, dryad militant, soldier of the pantheon. He thoughtseized and took the soldier, but I drew into more creatures and kept up the pressure, using a banisher preist to exile a desecration demon. He was able to kill the preist, but I had a brave the elements for the lethal swing. Game 2, I sideboarded in 2 thoughtseize, 2 sin collector, and 2 dark betrayal. He mulliganed to 6 and missed a land drop turn 3, ending up with a pair of underworld connections and a gray merchant stuck in his hand while I used my disruption to take his removal. 2-0
Game 5: Another competitive monoblack devotion deck, but splashing green for putrefy and abrupt decay. We drew for prizes, but played for fun. Game 1, I kept him on the back foot forcing him to play his removal spells rather than build devotion, making his gray merchants useless. Game 2 went similarly, with him digging through his deck with underworld connections but ending up with his green spells and no green mana. I was able to keep 3 creatures plus 2 mutavaults and a spear on the board, and a brave the elements pushed through lethal damage. 2-0
I definitely think that the 2/2 split works best, as drawing more than one ajani or spear is terrible but having four pump effects is very good for the deck.
I'm on the two two Ajani/Spear mix right now and I think it's better than having more Ajani's. The spear is really good in some situations where Ajani does nothing and Ajani is good at getting damage through in situations where your opponent thinks they have you locked up. I think moving Xathrid to the board is good as the only deck I really bring him in against is Esper and UW control.
I too am sold on this. I just got back from an SCG Super IQ. Lost in the top 8 round to Gerrard Fabiano (more on that match later) but Ajani single-handedly won me countless games I would have otherwise lost. I hope to write up a report soon but my brain is mush at this point.
Anyone playing Judge's Familiar over Dryad Militant in the orzhov list? I tend to side out militants as my meta is heavy mono blue & tidebinder usually locks him down. Countering spells can be a real thing against mono black, uw, & gw's advents.
Private Mod Note
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Sig by DarkNightCavalier @ Heroes of the Plane Studios
Militant simply nets you more damage than the familiar, and in a deck that is trying to kill your opponent quickly, your maindeck should consist of synergistic threats that add to your overall game plan. It doesnt need specific answers to things. (Thats what the sideboard is for) Familiar is mostly an answer. Some could argue since it has evasion it still nets the same amount of damage and can enable battalion more often, but ive always found myself just happier to take the extra power.
Speaking of adding to the decks game plan, Ajani really is what this deck wants. The Xathrid Necromancers are nice but only really "needed" against esper midrange and control. Ajani can deal extra damage in otherwise stalled board states, if only in game 1. Nobody wants a double spear or double ajani draw, but 1 of each is just fine by me, so the 2/2 split is where im going to stay.
For reference, here is my deck and how I sideboard: (I've changed things around since the open in Indy, and felt like I have learned a lot about how to play and what to board into since then. Keep in mind I only had a week to play with it before going there.)
Esper/UW Control:
-4 Banisher Priest = +4 Xathrid Necromancer
-2 Brave The Elements -2 Orzhov Charm = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
B/W Control:
-3 Orzhov Charm = +3 Dark Betrayal
-2 Brave The Elements -2 Ajani, Caller of The Pride = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
-4 Banisher Priest = +4 Xathrid Necromancer
Mono Black:
-3 Orzhov Charm = +3 Dark Betrayal
-2 Ajani, Caller of The Pride = +2 Profit // Loss
-4 Banisher Priest = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
In some matchups I have to change my whole game plan and style of play, in other matchups i feel that less is more, usually only bringing in a bit of removal.
What do you guys think about the new white weenie beater Brimaz, king of Oreskos?
He's pretty sweet and I can't wait to shove him in to my Wb aggro build, I've dubbed him "The Cat Daddy".
Is very annoying, though it is not the end of the world, Mutavualt, The Cat Daddy, and Spear of Heliod fight it very well and Xathrid Necromancer lets you make tokens off of it.
It's not that much worse than golgari charm/shrivel/ etc. While frontline medic and Boros charm get worse it doesn't hurt orzhov aggro as bad as any other sweeper would. Spear is much better, profit//loss might be a main deck card and we might need less x-1s, but it's not the end of the deck. Our new cat legend ignores it and we don't know what other cards will help us. I just went 7-2 with a list at a ptq that I'll post later on that's slightly different (no militants at all) and I feel really good against any matchup. Mono black gets tougher but that's basically it
I could change the formula to a more burn based strategy, or I could replace Brave the Elements with Boros Charm for more resilience, even though both offer an equal amount. I think Spear doesn't help much here since it only stops the biggest dudes as my field should be pretty big as it is. This list has a nice curve and a nice aggro setup. The best thing is when the field stays and I get to pump with archangel. The red splash feels a little weak here, but the creatures it brings offers great utility with any others combined here.
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The red mage lives by the variance and dies by the variance. May the variance be with you, always.
It's not that much worse than golgari charm/shrivel/ etc. While frontline medic and Boros charm get worse it doesn't hurt orzhov aggro as bad as any other sweeper would. Spear is much better, profit//loss might be a main deck card and we might need less x-1s, but it's not the end of the deck. Our new cat legend ignores it and we don't know what other cards will help us. I just went 7-2 with a list at a ptq that I'll post later on that's slightly different (no militants at all) and I feel really good against any matchup. Mono black gets tougher but that's basically it
The issue here is that not as many people run Shrivel or Golgari Charm because its only really good against our deck or Boss Sligh, but Drown in Sorrow has a lot wider range of applications and so its more likely to be main decked as a black board wipe. Bad for us.
The issue here is that not as many people run Shrivel or Golgari Charm because its only really good against our deck or Boss Sligh, but Drown in Sorrow has a lot wider range of applications and so its more likely to be main decked as a black board wipe. Bad for us.
I highly doubt people will main deck it except in an aggro heavy meta, and even then it will only be 1 or 2. I'm more worried about people sideboarding 3 or 4 of them, though it is a stretch (1 or 2 seems more likely). It all depends on the meta though.
So what does everyon think about sideboarding Fortify to deal with Drown in Sorrow? The advantage is that it can be used offensively to deal lethal as well as defensively to keep the weenies alive!
So what does everyon think about sideboarding Fortify to deal with Drown in Sorrow? The advantage is that it can be used offensively to deal lethal as well as defensively to keep the weenies alive!
Don't tell me everyone is abandoning this deck cause of one card spoiled! Come on!
Seriously though, I'm just thinking about upping the number of Thoughtseize and/or Duress in the sideboard to combat Drown in Sorrow. Also Fortify would work as well. And playing some more creatures with 3+ toughness will help to mitigate this as well (Brimaz, I'm looking at you).
I'm going to reserve judgment until the whole set is spoiled, but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me want to abandon the deck.
We have a serious embarrassment of riches in the 3-drop slot.
Yeah, Ive been having trouble figuring out which ones to drop in my BNG testing.
And as for dropping the deck, the thought never crossed my mind. I feel the deck is really well positioned to go into an unknown format with and has the aggression to punish bad hands, decks, and play.
Been playing with and loving the red version for the last couple months. Was thinking about switching to the black version as it seems a little better positioned to handle things after BNG, but I can't bring myself to give up on Boros Charm. It's won me so many games on it's own.
Would it be possible to splash both colors? We could keep the same number of white sources, but would the extra drawbacks to the manabase just be too bad to justify it?
Threw this together real quick without really considering BNG stuff yet.
Match 1: Mono Black
Game 1 he crushed me but game 2 I managed to push enough damage across and game 3 he was on a mull to 5. Got it 2-1.
Match 2: RW Devotion
Both games were very close but i managed to just barely squeeze by winning 2-0.
Match 3: G/R Devotion
This has to be my WORST matchup by far. He got game 1 because i kept an iffy hand that didnt pan out. i got game 2 thanks to double brave the elements. and he got game 3 due to having better draws. lost 1-2.
Match 4: Esper Control
Game 1 he missed a land drop and i did not forgive him for it. When he finally tried to gain value of of d-sphere, i braved. Game 2 was very long and drawn out, but thanks to an impressive mix of mutavaults, spears, and ajanis, i lived through a verdict, 2 blood barons, an obzedat, and an elspeth. phew. Ajani really saved me there.
I ended up getting 2nd, they guy playing G/r Devotion got 1st, and the guy playing Mono Black got 3rd.
The real point of me sharing this is that i took out the 2 Xathrids in the main and put in two Ajanis and i must say he is what made me do so well tonight. Couldnt have done it without him. Im not sure if i want more of him or if a 2/2 split with spear is the best.
Thoughts and opinions?
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Round 1: My opponent was playing a bad version of monogreen devotion and had terrible draws. He said it was his first time playing. 2-0
Round 2: Another bad green devotion deck. He had slow starts both games and couldn't get anything down. 2-0
Round 3: A monowhite heroic deck. He got 2-for-1'd multiple times by my banisher preist after he enchanted a creature. Ajani kept pumping my creatures and forced him to go after it rather than attacking me. 2-0
Round 4: A monoblack devotion deck played by a good player. Game 1, I kept a hand of 2 godless shrine, 2 plains, mutavault, dryad militant, soldier of the pantheon. He thoughtseized and took the soldier, but I drew into more creatures and kept up the pressure, using a banisher preist to exile a desecration demon. He was able to kill the preist, but I had a brave the elements for the lethal swing. Game 2, I sideboarded in 2 thoughtseize, 2 sin collector, and 2 dark betrayal. He mulliganed to 6 and missed a land drop turn 3, ending up with a pair of underworld connections and a gray merchant stuck in his hand while I used my disruption to take his removal. 2-0
Game 5: Another competitive monoblack devotion deck, but splashing green for putrefy and abrupt decay. We drew for prizes, but played for fun. Game 1, I kept him on the back foot forcing him to play his removal spells rather than build devotion, making his gray merchants useless. Game 2 went similarly, with him digging through his deck with underworld connections but ending up with his green spells and no green mana. I was able to keep 3 creatures plus 2 mutavaults and a spear on the board, and a brave the elements pushed through lethal damage. 2-0
I definitely think that the 2/2 split works best, as drawing more than one ajani or spear is terrible but having four pump effects is very good for the deck.
Standard Budget Decks Link:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/standard-type-2/budget-standard/752237-clownstabbers-budget-decks
I too am sold on this. I just got back from an SCG Super IQ. Lost in the top 8 round to Gerrard Fabiano (more on that match later) but Ajani single-handedly won me countless games I would have otherwise lost. I hope to write up a report soon but my brain is mush at this point.
_
Sig by DarkNightCavalier @ Heroes of the Plane Studios
Speaking of adding to the decks game plan, Ajani really is what this deck wants. The Xathrid Necromancers are nice but only really "needed" against esper midrange and control. Ajani can deal extra damage in otherwise stalled board states, if only in game 1. Nobody wants a double spear or double ajani draw, but 1 of each is just fine by me, so the 2/2 split is where im going to stay.
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
4 Dryad Militant
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Daring Skyjek
4 Precinct Captain
3 Imposing Sovereign
4 Banisher Priest
4 Brave the Elements
3 Orzhov Charm
2 Spear of Heliod
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
2 Orzhov Guildgate
4 Mutavault
2 Thoughtseize
3 Dark Betrayal
2 Doom Blade
2 Sin Collector
4 Xathrid Necromancer
2 Profit // Loss
Esper/UW Control:
-4 Banisher Priest = +4 Xathrid Necromancer
-2 Brave The Elements -2 Orzhov Charm = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
B/W Control:
-3 Orzhov Charm = +3 Dark Betrayal
-2 Brave The Elements -2 Ajani, Caller of The Pride = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
-4 Banisher Priest = +4 Xathrid Necromancer
Mono Black:
-3 Orzhov Charm = +3 Dark Betrayal
-2 Ajani, Caller of The Pride = +2 Profit // Loss
-4 Banisher Priest = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Sin Collector
Mono Blue:
-4 Dryad Militant = +2 Doom Blade +2 Profit // Loss
White Weenie:
-4 Banisher Priest = +2 Doom Blade +2 Profit // Loss
Esper Humans:
-3 Orzhov Charm -1 Ajani, Caller of The Pride = +2 Thoughtseize +2 Profit // Loss
-4 Banisher Priest = +4 Xathrid Necromancer
G/W Aggro:
-2 Orzhov Charm = +2 Doom Blade
G/r Devotion:
-2 Orzhov Charm = +2 Thoughtseize
-2 Spear of Heliod = +2 Doom Blade
Red/RW Devotion:
-2 Boros Elite = +2 Doom Blade
RDW/Boss Sligh:
-4 Banisher Priest = +2 Doom Blade +2 Profit // Loss
In some matchups I have to change my whole game plan and style of play, in other matchups i feel that less is more, usually only bringing in a bit of removal.
Thoughts and opinions always welcome.
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
He's pretty sweet and I can't wait to shove him in to my Wb aggro build, I've dubbed him "The Cat Daddy".
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Sig by DarkNightCavalier @ Heroes of the Plane Studios
EDIT: Drown In Sorrow
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
Is very annoying, though it is not the end of the world, Mutavualt, The Cat Daddy, and Spear of Heliod fight it very well and Xathrid Necromancer lets you make tokens off of it.
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Woops, yes i did. Thanks for catching that.
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Boros Elite
3 Imposing Sovereign
3 Precinct Captain
3 Cavalry Pegasus
3 Banisher Priest
3 Firemane Avenger
1 Tajic, Blade of the Legion
4 Archangel of Thune
2 Path of Bravery
1 Spear of Heliod
13 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Mutavault
I could change the formula to a more burn based strategy, or I could replace Brave the Elements with Boros Charm for more resilience, even though both offer an equal amount. I think Spear doesn't help much here since it only stops the biggest dudes as my field should be pretty big as it is. This list has a nice curve and a nice aggro setup. The best thing is when the field stays and I get to pump with archangel. The red splash feels a little weak here, but the creatures it brings offers great utility with any others combined here.
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
3 Boros Elite
3 Imposing Sovereign
2 Precinct Captain
3 Cavalry Pegasus
3 Banisher Priest
3 Firemane Avenger
1 Tajic, Blade of the Legion
4 Archangel of Thune
4 Brave the Elements
2 Path of Bravery
4 Boros Charm
Lands (24)
12 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Mutavault
Same deck, cut out a Boros Elite, a Precinct Captain, a Plains, and a Spear of Heliod for a set of Boros Charm.
Edit: now it seems spell heavy
The issue here is that not as many people run Shrivel or Golgari Charm because its only really good against our deck or Boss Sligh, but Drown in Sorrow has a lot wider range of applications and so its more likely to be main decked as a black board wipe. Bad for us.
Abzan Midrange
Modern:
Scapeshift
I highly doubt people will main deck it except in an aggro heavy meta, and even then it will only be 1 or 2. I'm more worried about people sideboarding 3 or 4 of them, though it is a stretch (1 or 2 seems more likely). It all depends on the meta though.
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Don't tell me everyone is abandoning this deck cause of one card spoiled! Come on!
Seriously though, I'm just thinking about upping the number of Thoughtseize and/or Duress in the sideboard to combat Drown in Sorrow. Also Fortify would work as well. And playing some more creatures with 3+ toughness will help to mitigate this as well (Brimaz, I'm looking at you).
I'm going to reserve judgment until the whole set is spoiled, but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me want to abandon the deck.
_
Yeah, Ive been having trouble figuring out which ones to drop in my BNG testing.
And as for dropping the deck, the thought never crossed my mind. I feel the deck is really well positioned to go into an unknown format with and has the aggression to punish bad hands, decks, and play.
He's going to have to play lands to win - Paul Cheon
Decks:
Standard:
WBWb Weenie/Almost Orzhov AggroWB
UWUW ControlUW
Modern:
UWRUWR ControlUWR
Would it be possible to splash both colors? We could keep the same number of white sources, but would the extra drawbacks to the manabase just be too bad to justify it?
Threw this together real quick without really considering BNG stuff yet.
4 Mutavualt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Temple of Silence
2 Plains
Creatures
4 Boros Elite
4 Solider of the Pantheon
4 Daring Skyjek
4 Precinct Captain
3 Imposing Sovereign
3 Banisher Priest
2 Xathrid Necromancer
4 Brave the Elements
4 Boros Charm
4 Orzhov Charm
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
4 Thoughtsieze
2 Burning Earth
3 Dark Betrayal
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Profit // Loss
2 Glare of Heresy
1 Renounce the Guilds
I'm aware this is possibly just a terrible idea, but I wanted to see what others thought.
Modern: Domain Zoo, Affinity
Legacy: RUG Delver