Oh, and since this is also the thread for heroic variants.. anyone toyed with the idea of a W/G heroic deck? Started tossing the idea around with a friend when we realized fabled hero + become immense + god's willing is 20 damage by itself, and become immense is just great anyways in a deck like this. Then, you've got Titanic Growth as well for amazing damage output and potentially some bigger heroic guys or +1/+1 counter shenanigans with things like hardened scales.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible. I saw someone post a decklist earlier in the thread, but it was much different then where I was thinking of taking it. Basically, the U/W core, just adding in titan's strength and ordeal of purphoros. No ascendancy at all, no akroan crusaders. Still white base of creatures.
Ordeal of heliod is nice for gaining life (and we'd prolly still have it to tutor for, since we'll have a very painful manabase) but ordeal of purphoros helps get them dead and/or deal with pesky creatures that we can't otherwise deal with (rabblemaster, mantis rider, etc..). Titan's strength just gives us ridiculous damage potential. 4 damage (adding heroic trigger in) for 1 mana, plus scry 1, is crazy efficient for an aggro deck.
Oh, and since this is also the thread for heroic variants.. anyone toyed with the idea of a W/G heroic deck? Started tossing the idea around with a friend when we realized fabled hero + become immense + god's willing is 20 damage by itself, and become immense is just great anyways in a deck like this. Then, you've got Titanic Growth as well for amazing damage output and potentially some bigger heroic guys or +1/+1 counter shenanigans with things like hardened scales.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible. I saw someone post a decklist earlier in the thread, but it was much different then where I was thinking of taking it. Basically, the U/W core, just adding in titan's strength and ordeal of purphoros. No ascendancy at all, no akroan crusaders. Still white base of creatures.
Ordeal of heliod is nice for gaining life (and we'd prolly still have it to tutor for, since we'll have a very painful manabase) but ordeal of purphoros helps get them dead and/or deal with pesky creatures that we can't otherwise deal with (rabblemaster, mantis rider, etc..). Titan's strength just gives us ridiculous damage potential. 4 damage (adding heroic trigger in) for 1 mana, plus scry 1, is crazy efficient for an aggro deck.
My first heroic deck was a GW Hardened Scales deck, yes. These days I play a Bant WUG Heroic deck, which is basically like the decks listed here but with 4x Hardened Scales, 4x Solidarity of Heroes and usually a few Ranger's Guile thrown in. Solidarity is great, great fun. Nobody expects a 2/2 to be a 15/15 by the time I finish casting my pre-combat instants. With Aqueous Form they're unblockable too, so... yeah. Solidarity is my favourite card.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible.
Wow, with twenty lands that looks bonkers. And looks a little light on triggers for Akroan Crusader.
It's a jeskai aggro/heroic hybrid but you're right about the land. I would move the treasure cruise to the sideboard or even cut them off completely for 2 extra lands.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible.
Well.. no. That deck looks decent, but more of a W/R heroic deck, that splashes U. I want to do the same core as the W/U deck, but splash red.
That deck only has one heroic creature, crusader, and it dies to drown/anger very easily. I like the fact our guys don't actually die to those sweepers.
Some of his ideas are solid, although im not sold on that many Stratus Walk, and I still think Ajani's Presence is too good to pass up. Testing over the next week may prove otherwise, but we'll see.
I kinda like the idea of having "bombs" tutorable by Heliod's Pilgrim, especially against the grindy decks where they tap out for a removal spell and you slam a Spectra Ward.
Yea, I'm watching the videos right now. I also like a couple of his ideas, such as stubborn denial over feat of resistance main, that I want to try out. He's playing the extra stratus walk to make up for the evasion lost by taking the 2 feat of resistances out. I don't know that I agree, but I understand why he did it.
I really want seeker of the way in the 75 though. Don't agree with cutting those completely. It lets you crush some decks like mono red, and can put a lot of pressure on opponents since you can target your heroic guys and they still get pumped. 2 main, 1-2 sideboard seems right.
I'm really surprised he thought it needed a 23rd land, especially after he lowered the curve and added more cantrips.
I've also realized I just need to add more battlewise hoplites back in. It was correct for my tournament, but they are better against our weak matchups going forward.
The card i notice he omitted is Eidolon of Countless BattlesI mean in all my testing the card has been simply amazing in the Green Match Ups. Is it really worth cutting?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Unfortunately, all of my test animals have died or escaped, so i shall be the final subject. I feel no fear. This is a momentous night."
--Laboratory notes, final entry
We're already good in the green matchups, though. Plus, eidolon is only good if you have at least 2 other creatures/auras out, which means you are likely winning anyways, and if you just play some other enabler instead then you make your guys big enough to kill their polukranos/coursers/etc.. without it.
Too often I've found Eidolon clunky, underwhelming, and when it does hit big it's usually win-more. It was good for a while with Fabled Hero though. I stopped running him because again, too clunky and often win-more. He did show up in a few State Championship top 8 lists though.
Speaking of Fabled Hero and cards that have disappeared from the conversation, I've had much smoother draws cutting Eidolon for Triton Tactics. It feels great to see the reaction of my opponent when I unexpectedly kill a Rhino, Knuckleblade, Mauler, or Polukranos. BOO-YA
I also still run Last Breath in the sideboard and I eat mana dorks, rdw beaters, Rabblemaster, Courser, Eidolon of Blossoms, Seeker, and Swiftspear for lunch. They occupy the Treasure Cruise slots I see in other sideboards. IMO that card is only there for big 8 round tournaments where you are likely to face a couple removal.dec lists. For fnm and mtgo dailies, I've yet to find it useful.
"Unfortunately, all of my test animals have died or escaped, so i shall be the final subject. I feel no fear. This is a momentous night."
--Laboratory notes, final entry
From what I've been playing, I feel Battle Mastery as a one-of game ender with Heliod's Pilgrim to tutor late game is obnoxious. The problem I'm finding with Eidolon is that you can't tutor him. I also like the double strike. I do see that in certain matchups Eidolon could be lights out.
So, thus far I've played 3 FNM's with about 12-16 people each time. The meta that I've noticed is probably 20% Jeskai, 20% Some sort of ramp (mono green or green blue), 30% Abzan, 10% Mardu, 10% Red aggro and 10% other (one guy is running Ascendancy Combo, and one guy has this deck that is 35% removal who I've gotten matched against every week, I'm not sure about the others).
With this is mind, I'm thinking for sideboard:
2x Ordeal of Heliod
4x Stubborn Denial
1x Swan Song
4x Feat of Resistance
2x Erase
2x Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
The reasoning behind each is: I want more lifegain in some matches like Abzan, aggro, and Jeskai, so I have the 2 Ordeals to get my deck up to 4 of them. Stubborn Denial and Swan Song gives me the ability to counter spells I can't deal with in other ways (Crackling Doom and Thoughtseize/Despise) for the Mardu and the matchup with that bastard with the removal deck. The Feat of Resistance is to replace Ajani's Presence in matches where it's a bit more heavy on exile effects rather than destroy. Erase is for decks running Chained to the Rocks/Banishing Light/Oblivion Field and things like that, and the Lagonna's are for other aggro decks and decks heavy of burn effects, since they're good for blocking and are out of the range of burn spells as soon as you drop them.
Sounds mostly fine for your meta. However, while I am ok with 1-2 erase, your reasoning is slightly off from mine. If they banishing light/chain your heroic guy and then you erase it, you still lost all the counters, so it's not amazing in those instances. It's moreso for whip of erebos and ascendancy combo decks. You would rather god's willing/feat of resistance in response to the banishing light/chain.
Also, swan song is a two edged sword. Sometimes, all they need is a flyer to start racing you.
In my opinion I'd cut 1 swan song and 1 erase for a glare of heresy and a treasure cruise. The cruise for the mardu decks and that removal.dec guy. Glare of heresy hits a lot of the same things as the erase, but can also take out actual threats from many decks. I personally would try to fit 1-2 of the feat of resistance into the main deck, but that's personal preference.
Lastly, that meta sounds slightly more hostile to this deck then most, as the 20% jeskai, 10% mardu + 1 removal.dec guy means over 1/3 of the field are tougher matchups for this deck. You beat most of the others well enough that I'd focus my sideboard against those. If you are already running an ordeal of heliod in the main (which I highly suggest) you can cut another one from the side. If you need more then two to go off against red aggro, you did something wrong.
edit: basically, without seeing the main deck list, hard to make any real suggestions. It wouldn't be a grave mistake to run that sideboard, but it could also be tuned up a little bit.
Oh, I posted my deck list earlier in the thread. Here it is again, with one change I've made to it. I took your advice and main decked 2 Feat of Resistances over the Ajani's. I also realized that I was short 2 cards on the sideboard I posted! And in response to what you said about Erase, it would work basically like a counter spell since it's an instant wouldn't it? I was thinking more about holding it in hand to use in response, rather than return creatures that were exiled, as well as set people back by getting rid of their Courser or destroying whip, as you mentioned. I have 2x Ordeals of Heliod, but I like to up it to 4x just for the amount of counters that ordeals generate. Often you can get 3, but normally it generates two counters for one spell as well as the extra effect. If you have a good idea for something else to generate more counters early, I'd love to hear it (like 4 more Defiant Strikes...). I'll consider Treasure Cruise, I do notice sometimes that my graveyard is filling up and it would be nice to draw 3 cards. I would probably put in 2 though, just because I don't like having one of's in my deck. I took out the Swan Song, because I don't think I need the 5 counter spells anyways, since they don't trigger heroic.
@samiamnot I haven't been impressed with seeker. Gerry seemed to agree with me. The only matchup I'm actively "happy" to see seeker is mono-red, and maybe Jeskai. But with so much green/Mardu, I would rather see Lagonna or something.
I'm still trying Eidolon of Countless Battles, but I do agree with Gerry that you want a critical mass of draw spells. However, I dont think we need 2 Stubborn Denials main, as I want to be targeting my guys a LOT.
I could see going to 23 land but I tend to flood a lot on 23, 22 has been a good number so far with all the scry/drawing.
One card I kind of want to try is Icy Blast...
I'm unsure about the Seekers in the board, but they seem good vs. aggressive decks, good in the mirror (gives you an edge in the Spell fights) and ok vs. Jeskai. The sideboard is the biggest work in progress, I've been pretty happy overall with the main atm.
I'm unsure about the Seekers in the board, but they seem good vs. aggressive decks, good in the mirror (gives you an edge in the Spell fights) and ok vs. Jeskai. The sideboard is the biggest work in progress, I've been pretty happy overall with the main atm.
If it's a tapping effect you're after, why not Glimpse the Sun God? Doesn't have the ferocious bonus, but it's white (slightly easier access to white mana than blue in your deck), it scrys, and you can target your own creatures with surplus mana for extra heroic triggers.
Seeker of the Way is quite good in my experience, and I would even advocate cutting the 4th Pilgrim in the side for a 3rd Seeker. Other than that, your sideboard looks pretty good too.
Meanwhile, I've transitioned here from the Temur Monsters train. Got tired of that deck and I'm looking to go back to being Aggro Jones for a while. Here's the list I'll be bringing to my next local FNM:
Heliod's Pilgrim is sweet when it tutors things up, but seeing multiples in my opening seven made me unhappy, so I feel like 2 is a good number. Lately I've been feeling similarly about Eidolon of Countless Battles... I could see myself going down to 2 of those and running a singleton Battle Mastery like some have been discussing. EDIT: Deck actually only had 2 Eidolons and I miscounted. Derp.
Haven't had any issues in testing with running maindeck Seeker of the Way. My other option was Phalanx Leader or perhaps Vanguard of Brimaz. Seeker is better if you want to go wider than one guy, in my opinion, since prowess piggybacks on the spells you're using to target your heroic guys.
20 lands is no where near enough. It may look like we have a cheap deck, but you regularly want to get to 4 mana, and even with all the cantrios you need 22.
You may get away with 21, but you can't have treasure cruise main or countless battles. Besides, the upside of 22 lands is being able to play multiple things a turn to pull ahead
20 lands is no where near enough. It may look like we have a cheap deck, but you regularly want to get to 4 mana, and even with all the cantrios you need 22.
You may get away with 21, but you can't have treasure cruise main or countless battles. Besides, the upside of 22 lands is being able to play multiple things a turn to pull ahead
Haven't run into any issues yet with 20 lands, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt until I make it through an FNM.
EDIT: Just checked my deck and I miscounted. I have an extra Island in my list and only 2 Eidolons. I have updated my list in the post above.
If it's a tapping effect you're after, why not Glimpse the Sun God? Doesn't have the ferocious bonus, but it's white (slightly easier access to white mana than blue in your deck), it scrys, and you can target your own creatures with surplus mana for extra heroic triggers.
And in response to what you said about Erase, it would work basically like a counter spell since it's an instant wouldn't it? I was thinking more about holding it in hand to use in response, rather than return creatures that were exiled, as well as set people back by getting rid of their Courser or destroying whip, as you mentioned.
Yea, ok, I just went and double checked the rules on that. I'm still used to oblivion ring wording, so I keep thinking these new ones will at least 'blink' the creature even if you exile in response.
Still, you don't always have it in hand and with mana available right when you need it. My point being, if you are only bringing it in for a couple banishing lights/chain to the rocks, it's not worth it. It's too narrow of a card at that point. It needs to be against a deck where they have one enchantment that can just win for them (ascendancy and whip, for example) or a deck that is running a ton of targets (G/B constellation).
If you somehow know they are running 4x banishing and 4x chain, then that's an exception too, but most aren't running that many. More like 3x chain main, 1 banishing light sideboard. In that instance, I'd rather have another threat against them then a card that only answers 4 in their deck. We don't want to overload one guy and get wrecked by crackling doom anyways.
I agree we usually only want 1 creature on board, unless we need chumpers to stall in which case Trailblazer is an all-star, but 12 is too few imo.
And why more Battlewise than Hero? The Hero line of play is the BEST line of play on the deck, totally explosive with Odeals and Walks.
Like I said earlier, Treasure Cruise is mostly for big 8 round tournaments where you are likely to face a couple removal.dec they are pretty bad for fnm and mtgo dailies. That said, why would you ever run Dig mainboard? Even with 11 instant spells and 6 Ordeals you'll rarely have enough cards in GY to Delve it. I almost never have more than 3 spells in my GY, and only get to 5 mana once in a while.
Digs should definitely be Aqueous Form. No Aqueous Form means you usually auto lose to Hornet Queen and risk losing the race vs Wingmate Roc.
Also, since before this deck I had been playing heroic ascendancy combo, and sometimes that deck just won with it's aggro draws, I want to see if a W/U/r straight heroic (no combo) deck is possible. I saw someone post a decklist earlier in the thread, but it was much different then where I was thinking of taking it. Basically, the U/W core, just adding in titan's strength and ordeal of purphoros. No ascendancy at all, no akroan crusaders. Still white base of creatures.
Ordeal of heliod is nice for gaining life (and we'd prolly still have it to tutor for, since we'll have a very painful manabase) but ordeal of purphoros helps get them dead and/or deal with pesky creatures that we can't otherwise deal with (rabblemaster, mantis rider, etc..). Titan's strength just gives us ridiculous damage potential. 4 damage (adding heroic trigger in) for 1 mana, plus scry 1, is crazy efficient for an aggro deck.
My first heroic deck was a GW Hardened Scales deck, yes. These days I play a Bant WUG Heroic deck, which is basically like the decks listed here but with 4x Hardened Scales, 4x Solidarity of Heroes and usually a few Ranger's Guile thrown in. Solidarity is great, great fun. Nobody expects a 2/2 to be a 15/15 by the time I finish casting my pre-combat instants. With Aqueous Form they're unblockable too, so... yeah. Solidarity is my favourite card.
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=75910
Well.. no. That deck looks decent, but more of a W/R heroic deck, that splashes U. I want to do the same core as the W/U deck, but splash red.
That deck only has one heroic creature, crusader, and it dies to drown/anger very easily. I like the fact our guys don't actually die to those sweepers.
If you dont have Premium I recommend you get it, the videos were very good.
4 Favored Hoplite
3 Heliod's Pilgrim
4 Hero Of Iroas
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Island
9 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
1 Mana Confluence
4 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Tranquil Cove
1 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Ordeal of Thassa
1 Singing Bell Strike
3 Stratus Walk
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
1 Battle Mastery
2 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Spectra Ward
2 Erase
2 Stubborn Denial
3 Glare of Heresy
2 Treasure Cruise
Some of his ideas are solid, although im not sold on that many Stratus Walk, and I still think Ajani's Presence is too good to pass up. Testing over the next week may prove otherwise, but we'll see.
I kinda like the idea of having "bombs" tutorable by Heliod's Pilgrim, especially against the grindy decks where they tap out for a removal spell and you slam a Spectra Ward.
Thanks Hero's of the Plane
Modern
-------------
xRxAffinityxRx
I really want seeker of the way in the 75 though. Don't agree with cutting those completely. It lets you crush some decks like mono red, and can put a lot of pressure on opponents since you can target your heroic guys and they still get pumped. 2 main, 1-2 sideboard seems right.
I'm really surprised he thought it needed a 23rd land, especially after he lowered the curve and added more cantrips.
I've also realized I just need to add more battlewise hoplites back in. It was correct for my tournament, but they are better against our weak matchups going forward.
--Laboratory notes, final entry
Speaking of Fabled Hero and cards that have disappeared from the conversation, I've had much smoother draws cutting Eidolon for Triton Tactics. It feels great to see the reaction of my opponent when I unexpectedly kill a Rhino, Knuckleblade, Mauler, or Polukranos. BOO-YA
I also still run Last Breath in the sideboard and I eat mana dorks, rdw beaters, Rabblemaster, Courser, Eidolon of Blossoms, Seeker, and Swiftspear for lunch. They occupy the Treasure Cruise slots I see in other sideboards. IMO that card is only there for big 8 round tournaments where you are likely to face a couple removal.dec lists. For fnm and mtgo dailies, I've yet to find it useful.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
4x Seeker of the Way
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Hero of Iroas
3x Heliod's Pilgrim
4x Gods Willing
4x Defiant Strike
2x Feat of Resistance
4x Ordeal of Thassa
1x Ordeal of Heliod
2x Aqueous Form
1x Stratus Walk
1x Singing Bell Strike
4x Flooded Strand
4x Temple of Enlightenment
2x Tranquil Cove
1x Mana Confluence
9x Plains
2x Island
3x Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2x Treasure Cruise
2x Erase
1x Ordeal of Heliod
1x Heliod's Pilgrim
1x Ajani's Presence
1x Battle MAstery
1x Spectra Ward
Any thoughts or suggestion? criticism's accepted
--Laboratory notes, final entry
With this is mind, I'm thinking for sideboard:
2x Ordeal of Heliod
4x Stubborn Denial
1x Swan Song
4x Feat of Resistance
2x Erase
2x Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
The reasoning behind each is: I want more lifegain in some matches like Abzan, aggro, and Jeskai, so I have the 2 Ordeals to get my deck up to 4 of them. Stubborn Denial and Swan Song gives me the ability to counter spells I can't deal with in other ways (Crackling Doom and Thoughtseize/Despise) for the Mardu and the matchup with that bastard with the removal deck. The Feat of Resistance is to replace Ajani's Presence in matches where it's a bit more heavy on exile effects rather than destroy. Erase is for decks running Chained to the Rocks/Banishing Light/Oblivion Field and things like that, and the Lagonna's are for other aggro decks and decks heavy of burn effects, since they're good for blocking and are out of the range of burn spells as soon as you drop them.
Any thoughts on how this could be improved?
Also, swan song is a two edged sword. Sometimes, all they need is a flyer to start racing you.
In my opinion I'd cut 1 swan song and 1 erase for a glare of heresy and a treasure cruise. The cruise for the mardu decks and that removal.dec guy. Glare of heresy hits a lot of the same things as the erase, but can also take out actual threats from many decks. I personally would try to fit 1-2 of the feat of resistance into the main deck, but that's personal preference.
Lastly, that meta sounds slightly more hostile to this deck then most, as the 20% jeskai, 10% mardu + 1 removal.dec guy means over 1/3 of the field are tougher matchups for this deck. You beat most of the others well enough that I'd focus my sideboard against those. If you are already running an ordeal of heliod in the main (which I highly suggest) you can cut another one from the side. If you need more then two to go off against red aggro, you did something wrong.
edit: basically, without seeing the main deck list, hard to make any real suggestions. It wouldn't be a grave mistake to run that sideboard, but it could also be tuned up a little bit.
5x Island
10x Plains
2x Tranquil Cove
2x Temple of Enlightenment
1x Flooded Strand
Creatures (16)
4x Battlewise Hoplite
2x Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4x Favored Hoplite
2x Hero of Iroas
4x Seeker of the Way
4x Aqueous Form
4x Ordeal of Thassa
2x Stratus Walk
2x Ordeal of Heliod
Instants (12)
4x Defiant Strike
2x Ajani's Presence
4x Gods Willing
2x Feat of Resistance
2x Erase
2x Glare of Heresy
2x Ordeal of Heliod
2x Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4x Stubborn Denial
2x Feat of Resistance
1x Ajani's Presence
@samiamnot I haven't been impressed with seeker. Gerry seemed to agree with me. The only matchup I'm actively "happy" to see seeker is mono-red, and maybe Jeskai. But with so much green/Mardu, I would rather see Lagonna or something.
Thanks Hero's of the Plane
Modern
-------------
xRxAffinityxRx
What do you guys think of this list?
4 Favored Hoplite
3 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4 Hero of Iroas
4 Battlewise Hoplite
3 Seeker of the Way
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Feat of Resistance
Enchantments (8)
4 Ordeal of Thassa
4 Stratus Walk
4 Temple of Enlightenment
2 Tranquil Cove
4 Flooded Strand
8 Plains
3 Island
2 Ajani's Presence
3 Aqueous Form
2 Erase
1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
1 Stubborn Denial
3 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Seeker of the Way
2 Treasure Cruise
4 Battlewise Hoplite
4 Hero of Iroas
2 Lagonna-band Trailblazer
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 Aqueous Form
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
2 Feat of Resistance
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Ordeal of Thassa
1 Singing Bell Strike
1 Stratus Walk
3 Island
9 Plains
4 Temple of Enlightenment
2 Tranquil Cove
1 Aqueous Form
2 Ajani's Presence
1 Erase
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Spectra Ward
1 Heliod's Pilgrim
2 Seeker of the Way
2 Treasure Cruise
I'm still trying Eidolon of Countless Battles, but I do agree with Gerry that you want a critical mass of draw spells. However, I dont think we need 2 Stubborn Denials main, as I want to be targeting my guys a LOT.
I could see going to 23 land but I tend to flood a lot on 23, 22 has been a good number so far with all the scry/drawing.
One card I kind of want to try is Icy Blast...
I'm unsure about the Seekers in the board, but they seem good vs. aggressive decks, good in the mirror (gives you an edge in the Spell fights) and ok vs. Jeskai. The sideboard is the biggest work in progress, I've been pretty happy overall with the main atm.
Thanks Hero's of the Plane
Modern
-------------
xRxAffinityxRx
If it's a tapping effect you're after, why not Glimpse the Sun God? Doesn't have the ferocious bonus, but it's white (slightly easier access to white mana than blue in your deck), it scrys, and you can target your own creatures with surplus mana for extra heroic triggers.
Seeker of the Way is quite good in my experience, and I would even advocate cutting the 4th Pilgrim in the side for a 3rd Seeker. Other than that, your sideboard looks pretty good too.
Meanwhile, I've transitioned here from the Temur Monsters train. Got tired of that deck and I'm looking to go back to being Aggro Jones for a while. Here's the list I'll be bringing to my next local FNM:
4 Flooded Strand
4 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Mana Confluence
7 Plains
3 Island
Creatures (19)
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Hero of Iroas
4 Battlewise Hoplite
3 Seeker of the Way
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
2 Heliod's Pilgrim
4 Gods Willing
4 Defiant Strike
4 Ordeal of Thassa
2 Feat of Resistance
2 Aqueous Form
1 Stratus Walk
1 Singing Bell Strike
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Treasure Cruise
4 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
4 Stubborn Denial
2 Ajani's Presence
1 Glare of Heresy
1 Erase
1 Singing Bell Strike
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Treasure Cruise
Heliod's Pilgrim is sweet when it tutors things up, but seeing multiples in my opening seven made me unhappy, so I feel like 2 is a good number.
Lately I've been feeling similarly about Eidolon of Countless Battles... I could see myself going down to 2 of those and running a singleton Battle Mastery like some have been discussing.EDIT: Deck actually only had 2 Eidolons and I miscounted. Derp.Haven't had any issues in testing with running maindeck Seeker of the Way. My other option was Phalanx Leader or perhaps Vanguard of Brimaz. Seeker is better if you want to go wider than one guy, in my opinion, since prowess piggybacks on the spells you're using to target your heroic guys.
You may get away with 21, but you can't have treasure cruise main or countless battles. Besides, the upside of 22 lands is being able to play multiple things a turn to pull ahead
Thanks Hero's of the Plane
Modern
-------------
xRxAffinityxRx
Haven't run into any issues yet with 20 lands, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt until I make it through an FNM.
EDIT: Just checked my deck and I miscounted. I have an extra Island in my list and only 2 Eidolons. I have updated my list in the post above.
Icy Blast would be able to tap a Stormbreath Dragon, though. That could outweigh the reasons in favor of Glimpse the Sun God that you mention.
Yea, ok, I just went and double checked the rules on that. I'm still used to oblivion ring wording, so I keep thinking these new ones will at least 'blink' the creature even if you exile in response.
Still, you don't always have it in hand and with mana available right when you need it. My point being, if you are only bringing it in for a couple banishing lights/chain to the rocks, it's not worth it. It's too narrow of a card at that point. It needs to be against a deck where they have one enchantment that can just win for them (ascendancy and whip, for example) or a deck that is running a ton of targets (G/B constellation).
If you somehow know they are running 4x banishing and 4x chain, then that's an exception too, but most aren't running that many. More like 3x chain main, 1 banishing light sideboard. In that instance, I'd rather have another threat against them then a card that only answers 4 in their deck. We don't want to overload one guy and get wrecked by crackling doom anyways.
And why more Battlewise than Hero? The Hero line of play is the BEST line of play on the deck, totally explosive with Odeals and Walks.
Like I said earlier, Treasure Cruise is mostly for big 8 round tournaments where you are likely to face a couple removal.dec they are pretty bad for fnm and mtgo dailies. That said, why would you ever run Dig mainboard? Even with 11 instant spells and 6 Ordeals you'll rarely have enough cards in GY to Delve it. I almost never have more than 3 spells in my GY, and only get to 5 mana once in a while.
Digs should definitely be Aqueous Form. No Aqueous Form means you usually auto lose to Hornet Queen and risk losing the race vs Wingmate Roc.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW