You folks can expect an article for Dega Midrange hopefully by this weekend, breaking down the numbers behind successful lists, a look at the mana base, the curve, and how your selections impact each other. It is primarily a numbers breakdown, so there will not be any construction going on. If you enjoy analytical takes on deck construction, I think this will be a read for you
Where do you write your articles? Is it somewhere on this site or do you have a separate blog?
I played this deck last season, started this season with it, got destroyed by everything and made the switch to Mono black and have been doing reasonably well with it.
Last season I really like Assemble and started with it again but it quickly fell out of favour for Elspeth. Now it seems like the lists I have seen are going back to Assemble, potentially even as a 4 off. Played in an SCG Inv Qualifier last weekend and beat this deck with mono black in a close one but he destroyed me in Game 2 with an Assemble and Slaughter Games for my Grey Merchant.
So... tempted to try this deck again. Like Esper on paper it seems like it has a good answers for everything, while in practice not being exactly that. Look forward to the article.
Was trying a green splash to improve the Mono blue matchup as that is what I was losing to on MTGO dailys. This is the list I ran on the w/e in an SCG invitational qualifier. Went 5-0-2 in a 7 round swiss beating (in order): UW Control, GW Aggro, Mono U Devotion, BRW Midrange and R Devotion. Deck ran pretty smooth but quite a few 2-1 matches. In UW match he cast 4 revelations and 3 aetherlings and I still won so I guess our control matchup is fine (although esper is definately harder).
Still not sure the green splash is required, decay was alright but not outstanding, mistcutter helped me put away match against mono blue that I was probably winning anyway. With 10 G sources, hitting green was never a problem all day and I never had an issue casting specter on curve. Never got to use prism to cast spells I didn't have land for but I like that small utility.
Mutavault was great all day. Definately like it over Nykthos as a way to build big rats quickly and Nykthos ussually is good only in games we are winning anyway (i.e have 4 + devotion on the field).
We split the cash in top 8 ($200 not a bad day ) but I lost my first top 8 match against another Monu U deck. It went to 3 games, game 1 I got run over by their curve of 2 drop into Thassa into bident, game 2 I won with a solo skylasher on T2 and mutavaults into like 5 removal spells. Game 3 was close critical decision on T1 thoughtsize: I could've taken Master, Bident or Specter. I had a Specter of my own and no removal and he had only 2 lands and none in hand so I took the Specter. He proceeded to draw 2 running lands and a Thassa and I drew no removal for the whole games. I also made a questionable decision on Turn 4 to cast my second specter instead of Demon as I knew he had the master. Demon to preasure or force him to start sacing creatures probably would've been the better play.
Here is the list. I still think it is solid, not sure if mono Black is just not better. The deck does struggle against the new Naya and BRW control decks running 4 Assemble. What do you guys think about Illness in the Ranks as sideboard tech? It hurts pack rat but shuts off Elspeth and Assemble where we don't thoughtsieze them.
Sideboarding:
Mono blue
-1 Whip of Erebos
-2 Pack Rat
-1 Erebos
-3 Ultimate price
+2 Miscutter hydra
+2 Skylasher
+3 Doom blade
Pretty logical I think. Hydra and Skylasher are better threats than Pack rat and Erebos. Whip is too slow and Doom blade is better than Ultimate price due to Wierds and Judges Familiar
Esper
-3 Ultimate Price
-2 Pack rat
+3 Lifebane Zombie
+ Erebos, God of the Dead
+1 pithing needle
Pack rat out because of Verdict and D Sphere. Lifebane for Baron. Rest is obvious.
Removal in. Lifebane is better than Specter here and Whip because they do damage in big chunks and hard to race.
Mono black devotion
+2 pack rat
+1 Devour Flesh
+1 Erebos, God of the Dead
-4 Desecration Demon
Demon is worst threat in the mirror IMO. Devour flesh for T2 rat or T3 Specter. Erebos is critical in the mirror making their Whips, Gray merchants worse.
I was playing this deck before rotation and doing pretty well with it in a semi-competitive environment (won and top 8 game day, won a GPT, reasonable sucess in dailys on MTGO).
The deck is very good against aggro, decent against other midrange decks but has real problems against Sphinxes rev decks. Most of the sideboard needs to be dedicated to anti-control.
A few thoughts and experiances on card choices:
+ Had a lot more sucesss against control when I replaced single card discard (duress, sin collector) with underworld connections and slaughtergames. Although Thoughtsieze is a lot better than Duress, basically the deck does not kill quickly so getting rid of one card like a Rev doesn't matter when they have time to draw more. That was with cavern though to push through dragons and obzedaddy but now thoughtsieze for a counterspell the turn of or turn before you cast your threat maybe good. Going in to a new meta though I think I like the 2 connections, 2 slaughter games package
+ A wide range of hard to kill threats is what this deck should be presenting. I have tried 3 Thundermaw and Aurilia in the past and while it sometimes kills out of no where, the deck is a lot more consistent when it leans on Assemble and Obzeddady. This also the reason I'm not a fan of Desecration Demon or Alms beast in this deck.
+ You really want life gain in this deck also. Previously it really helped against burning earth with Vampire night hawk and Blood baron. I think you still want Baron in the deck and maybe 1-2 Whips. Especially with a great card draw spell in Read the bones that costs you life and if you are running Thoughtsieze
+ The deck used to have to run 26-27 lands but with read the bones and a lot more scry think this can be reduced to 25. I think it still needs 2-3 rakdos keyrunes because jumping from 3 to 5 is what this deck really wants to be doing. Also being able sweep with Mortars is nice but maybe a bit leass so now with Anger.
+ There is a really nice removal suite available now. I think 1 mana removal is really important in this deck chain to rocks and the very unfasionable shock is fine. Especially shock you can play on turn 3 off a rakdos keyrune. Doesn't have to be fasionable, just needs to let you survive.
+ I love the synergy between Assemble, Purphoros, Obzedady and Elsbeth. Also between Obze and the Whip
Overall I think this deck is really well positioned going in blind. There will be aggro decks which this deck is brutal against. Anger especially an insane pickup and the hard to kill threats it presents stilll exist. All the scry is also really really good in this deck as it used to flood a fair bit and being able to get rid of useless land or removal against control decks will be really valuable. The control matchup will still be rough, espeically without cavern but it is not un-winnable. I'm still not sure about Stormbreath dragon, dying to mortars seems a big weakness over Thundermaw.
Mana base may not be the best. Ash Zealot is excluded as it is hard to cast reliably on curve. Reckoner may also be in the same boat and have to be cut. Everything else seems ok.
Some nice synergy also between Tymaret, Phoenix and Cerbeus. Being Red Black has some nice sideboard options vs mono red having access to Lifebane zombie and Thoughtsieze.
What do you think? Has potential or is mono red just better? Is the mana base too bad?
It's interesting that the people that support these lands are using the argument that they will lead to a lot more smoother draws.
But over this standard season I could actually see the opposite effect due to these lands. For example people are forced to play a lot more basics leading to a lot more games being decided by color screw.
Even in control decks the ability to hit your land untapped on turn 3-5 cannot be underestimated. For example if you keep 2 hands on the play with a card draw spell, supreme verdict and 3 other spells (a common and decent keep), if you only hit these tapped lands and are effectively time walked and not able to verdict on 4 that could be game over.
Going over the RtR block cards and looking what I may want to order to setup for the new standard, I was most disspointed by thinking cards like Voice and Smitter are going to be almost impossible to play. It maybe worth splashing for 4 and 5 mana gold cards but any in the 2 and 3 drop slot are going to be considerably worse due to fixing in this set. Just food for thought for considering your RtR and M14 purchase decisions.
Think this thread should now be closed or the title changed. Big rakdos is the current best deck and has no bad match ups. Zombies clearly did not fall they evolved and got some big vampire devil and dragon help
Its good to be back playing Rakdos aggro and eating my words
So the key was Aristocrat, Hellridder and Hell kite in a zombie deck with fast resilient starts and 10 removal
I got close but never that brave before the GP winning lists.
On the W/e finished 5-0-1 in the swiss and $300 for my troubles in a top 8 split. 2 appetite in the board also did some work. Great to see big rakdos doing it over the plague of thragtusks
i went to a 19-man tournament and went 3-1, solidifying 3rd place. i think this is a real deck and it can be quite scary to people, especially when the captain comes out.
I played: Selesnya Midrange: 2-0 America Control: 2-0 Red Deck Wins: 2-1 G/W Humans: 0-2 (I couldn't get any of my removal for this and got beat by rancor)
As for the sideboard, another Golgari Charm is a definite contender. Playing against U/W with Detention Spheres/Oblivion Ring would be really good for me if I had one extra charm. I'm thinking of adding another Demon too.
I'm content with the mana base right now and it'll only get better once Gatecrash comes out. I really have high hopes for this deck. would love your thoughts.
Interesting deck. So only 1 Thragtusk deck? How many did he get out?
Seems like a list worth trying and good against UW flash especially. Like you said will benefit from watery grave.
Wow smitter is a great idea. I'm going to replace the centaur healers with him. Against aggro they can't spear him without also losing a creature and it tangles well with giest and resto angel and augur. They have to play something to answer his threat which allows you a chance to resolve other things. Awesome tech
Really great article. Well thought out and backed up by stats. If you could add side boarding guidance more specifically ie. + and - for the gauntlet that would be great.
If decks like this get popular and start praying on the Thragtusk decks http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...11&event_ID=19. This Flash deck that won runs 7 counterspells and 4 snapcaster and seems very weak to Zombies running 4 caverns.
Crushed 3 aggro decks (2 RDW, 1 RB zombies) with my re-animating Thragtusks on Friday. Felt bad while doing it because been on the other side of that many times. They quite often got me between 1-5 life but I ussually finished on 16-22. A couple of them had Appetite but drew it at the wrong time, one had slaughter games for my tusks and I beat him with angels, healers and lingering souls, no one cast a threaten effect. Refer my previous comments.
This "Flash" deck plays 7 counterspells and snapcaster. Our deck really struggles with counterspells as it needs to resolve salvage/mulch/looting early for fixing and tusk/angel later to stabalise and win. Our spells are pretty expensive and it takes a while for us to be able to cast 2 at a time so hard to overload their counterspells. Giest is also a major threat and on turn 3 we don't have much to punish them for tapping out. On Friday I died to a turn 2 rest in peace followed by like a turn 7 Thundermaw with 2 counterspells.
After board it is even worse as they can bring in even more counterspells and graveyard hate (purify the grave / rest in peace being what I have seen commonly)
How are people addressing this? I have changed the vault to a cavern and considering whether I can fit in one more cavern. Also considering putting 2 tribute to hunger in the board as it is instant speed, gives us life and these types of decks only have 1 threat at time most of the time. Also keeping the grudge in there for rune chanters pike.
As a side note how popular do people think the Flash deck will be? Having Giest in the board seems really strange and it seems a real rock paper scissors as BG or BR zombies with caverns would be very good against this Flash deck but those decks can't beat any deck with a Thragtusk
Current list which crushes aggro decks and has good midrange and control matchups:
After reading some of the logic presented here, I had to chime in...
I went to the top 8 of the invitational qualifier with rakdos aggro so I think I'm qualified to speak on this...
Appetite for brains is an amazing sideboard card. It hits thragtusk, resto, plainswalkers, supremes, terminus and plenty of more "Draw or die" cards against aggro.
I know we are focusing mainly on thragtusk hate but good sideboard cards need multiple uses.
Mark of mutiny is cute and does some awesome things under the right circumstances but it is very narrow and not truely competitive. Yes, IF they have cast a Thragtusk already, and IF they have no blockers and IF you have a sac outlet then this card can be an absolute blowout, but aggro decks need consisantcy, we do not have the time or board state to set up cute interactions.
As for the fact that "Appetite for brains is not aggro" well there is no rule written that says every card you have has to do damage. Duress effects have been alot in aggro for a very long time and have done quite well.
Please see thoughtseize in affinity to get an example of what i'm talking about.
Have you found with 4 appetite the timing works? What do you usually board out for it against Bant control and Jund and Renimator and GW (and every other deck running the green menace)? Low impact burn cards like pillar/bump or blight if they have resto angel?
Tested about 40 games on mtgo running RB zombies with aristocrat and blood throne as sac outlets and Zealous conscripts as steal. Didn't really have a higher win percentage to normal, the pieces don't come together often enough. Zealous while very good means the land count needs to increase so I'm not sure overall it is a positive improvement. Bloodthone was poor majority of the time I would've rather had blood artist or Knight of infamy
Bah i disagree, i think br zombies when good builded can still have a 40% chance to win vs Bant Control (wich is our worst matchup) and maybe a little better post side. UWR midrange is more on dice roll and Jund is around 50%.
Frites is not a bad matchup too, if u just draw a cremate when they will try to reanimate something tapping out on t4 or so and u remove it as response, they're dead.
Yeah thrag is a big problem but we can still win quite a lot of games versus him. Anyway, i hope too they will print something in red or black colors to limit the power of thragtusk. As i said, even a 2/2 1R Haste players cant gain life should be good.
Well you should play more on MTGO and test those numbers (which are not even favourable). Also check out SCG and mtgo daily results even "good builded" decks with good pilots struggle. Agree the BR frites match up is not bad (if they don't hit a rolling temblar or bonfire, or early tusk, or you hit a cremate at the right time - notice the theme?)
Where do you write your articles? Is it somewhere on this site or do you have a separate blog?
I played this deck last season, started this season with it, got destroyed by everything and made the switch to Mono black and have been doing reasonably well with it.
Last season I really like Assemble and started with it again but it quickly fell out of favour for Elspeth. Now it seems like the lists I have seen are going back to Assemble, potentially even as a 4 off. Played in an SCG Inv Qualifier last weekend and beat this deck with mono black in a close one but he destroyed me in Game 2 with an Assemble and Slaughter Games for my Grey Merchant.
So... tempted to try this deck again. Like Esper on paper it seems like it has a good answers for everything, while in practice not being exactly that. Look forward to the article.
Still not sure the green splash is required, decay was alright but not outstanding, mistcutter helped me put away match against mono blue that I was probably winning anyway. With 10 G sources, hitting green was never a problem all day and I never had an issue casting specter on curve. Never got to use prism to cast spells I didn't have land for but I like that small utility.
Mutavault was great all day. Definately like it over Nykthos as a way to build big rats quickly and Nykthos ussually is good only in games we are winning anyway (i.e have 4 + devotion on the field).
We split the cash in top 8 ($200 not a bad day
Here is the list. I still think it is solid, not sure if mono Black is just not better. The deck does struggle against the new Naya and BRW control decks running 4 Assemble. What do you guys think about Illness in the Ranks as sideboard tech? It hurts pack rat but shuts off Elspeth and Assemble where we don't thoughtsieze them.
4 Mutavault
12 Swamps
4 Golgari guildgate
4 Overgrown tomb
1 Breeding pool
25 lands
Threats
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2 Pack rat
14 Threats
4 Thoughtsieze
4 Underworld connections
1 Whip of erebos
1 Erebos god of the dead
1 Prophetic prism
11 Utility spells
Removal
3 Ultimate price
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Abrupt decay
10 Removal
2 Devour flesh
2 Doom blade
3 Lifebane zombie
1 Erebos God of the Dead
2 Mistcutter hydra
2 Skylasher
1 Pithing needle
2 Pack rat
Sideboarding:
Mono blue
-1 Whip of Erebos
-2 Pack Rat
-1 Erebos
-3 Ultimate price
+2 Miscutter hydra
+2 Skylasher
+3 Doom blade
Pretty logical I think. Hydra and Skylasher are better threats than Pack rat and Erebos. Whip is too slow and Doom blade is better than Ultimate price due to Wierds and Judges Familiar
Esper
-3 Ultimate Price
-2 Pack rat
+3 Lifebane Zombie
+ Erebos, God of the Dead
+1 pithing needle
Pack rat out because of Verdict and D Sphere. Lifebane for Baron. Rest is obvious.
GR Devotion
+ 3 Doom Blade
+3 Lifebane zombie
+1 Devour flesh
-1 Whip of Erebos
-3 Decay
-3 Specter
Removal in. Lifebane is better than Specter here and Whip because they do damage in big chunks and hard to race.
Mono black devotion
+2 pack rat
+1 Devour Flesh
+1 Erebos, God of the Dead
-4 Desecration Demon
Demon is worst threat in the mirror IMO. Devour flesh for T2 rat or T3 Specter. Erebos is critical in the mirror making their Whips, Gray merchants worse.
The deck is very good against aggro, decent against other midrange decks but has real problems against Sphinxes rev decks. Most of the sideboard needs to be dedicated to anti-control.
A few thoughts and experiances on card choices:
+ Had a lot more sucesss against control when I replaced single card discard (duress, sin collector) with underworld connections and slaughtergames. Although Thoughtsieze is a lot better than Duress, basically the deck does not kill quickly so getting rid of one card like a Rev doesn't matter when they have time to draw more. That was with cavern though to push through dragons and obzedaddy but now thoughtsieze for a counterspell the turn of or turn before you cast your threat maybe good. Going in to a new meta though I think I like the 2 connections, 2 slaughter games package
+ A wide range of hard to kill threats is what this deck should be presenting. I have tried 3 Thundermaw and Aurilia in the past and while it sometimes kills out of no where, the deck is a lot more consistent when it leans on Assemble and Obzeddady. This also the reason I'm not a fan of Desecration Demon or Alms beast in this deck.
+ You really want life gain in this deck also. Previously it really helped against burning earth with Vampire night hawk and Blood baron. I think you still want Baron in the deck and maybe 1-2 Whips. Especially with a great card draw spell in Read the bones that costs you life and if you are running Thoughtsieze
+ The deck used to have to run 26-27 lands but with read the bones and a lot more scry think this can be reduced to 25. I think it still needs 2-3 rakdos keyrunes because jumping from 3 to 5 is what this deck really wants to be doing. Also being able sweep with Mortars is nice but maybe a bit leass so now with Anger.
+ There is a really nice removal suite available now. I think 1 mana removal is really important in this deck chain to rocks and the very unfasionable shock is fine. Especially shock you can play on turn 3 off a rakdos keyrune. Doesn't have to be fasionable, just needs to let you survive.
+ I love the synergy between Assemble, Purphoros, Obzedady and Elsbeth. Also between Obze and the Whip
Overall I think this deck is really well positioned going in blind. There will be aggro decks which this deck is brutal against. Anger especially an insane pickup and the hard to kill threats it presents stilll exist. All the scry is also really really good in this deck as it used to flood a fair bit and being able to get rid of useless land or removal against control decks will be really valuable. The control matchup will still be rough, espeically without cavern but it is not un-winnable. I'm still not sure about Stormbreath dragon, dying to mortars seems a big weakness over Thundermaw.
Think this is what I would play in a blind meta:
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
2 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
10 creatures
Other spells
1 Assemble the legion
1 Rakdos's return
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Rakdos keyrune
3 Read the bones
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
12 Other spells
Removal
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Dreadbore
2 Warleader's Helix
2 Mizzium mortars
2 Chained to the rocks
2 Shock
13 Removal
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Blood Crypt
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Swamp
3 Mountain
25 lands
1 Assemble the legion
2 Rakdos's return
2 Underworld connections
2 Slaughter games
1 Pithing needle
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Anger of the gods
3 Lifebane zombie
1 Ratchet bomb
15 sideboard
4 Firedrinker Satyr
2 Tormented hero
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Spike Jester
2 Tymaret, the Murder King
4 Chandras phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
2 Underworld Cerberus
29 creatures
4 Lightning Strike
3 Magma jet
7 other spells
Lands
4 Rakdos guildgate
4 Blood crypt
8 Mountains
6 Swamp
2 Mutavault
24 lands
4 Boros reckoner
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Thoughtsieze
3 Lifebane zombie
2 Mizium mortars
Mana base may not be the best. Ash Zealot is excluded as it is hard to cast reliably on curve. Reckoner may also be in the same boat and have to be cut. Everything else seems ok.
Some nice synergy also between Tymaret, Phoenix and Cerbeus. Being Red Black has some nice sideboard options vs mono red having access to Lifebane zombie and Thoughtsieze.
What do you think? Has potential or is mono red just better? Is the mana base too bad?
But over this standard season I could actually see the opposite effect due to these lands. For example people are forced to play a lot more basics leading to a lot more games being decided by color screw.
Even in control decks the ability to hit your land untapped on turn 3-5 cannot be underestimated. For example if you keep 2 hands on the play with a card draw spell, supreme verdict and 3 other spells (a common and decent keep), if you only hit these tapped lands and are effectively time walked and not able to verdict on 4 that could be game over.
Going over the RtR block cards and looking what I may want to order to setup for the new standard, I was most disspointed by thinking cards like Voice and Smitter are going to be almost impossible to play. It maybe worth splashing for 4 and 5 mana gold cards but any in the 2 and 3 drop slot are going to be considerably worse due to fixing in this set. Just food for thought for considering your RtR and M14 purchase decisions.
So the key was Aristocrat, Hellridder and Hell kite in a zombie deck with fast resilient starts and 10 removal
I got close but never that brave before the GP winning lists.
On the W/e finished 5-0-1 in the swiss and $300 for my troubles in a top 8 split. 2 appetite in the board also did some work. Great to see big rakdos doing it over the plague of thragtusks
Interesting deck. So only 1 Thragtusk deck? How many did he get out?
Seems like a list worth trying and good against UW flash especially. Like you said will benefit from watery grave.
If decks like this get popular and start praying on the Thragtusk decks http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...11&event_ID=19. This Flash deck that won runs 7 counterspells and 4 snapcaster and seems very weak to Zombies running 4 caverns.
The only hope IMO is if decks like this get popular and start praying on the Thragtusk decks http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/deckshow.php?&t[C1]=1&start_date=2012-11-11&end_date=2012-11-11&event_ID=19. This Flash deck that won runs 7 counterspells and 4 snapcaster and seems very weak to Zombies running 4 caverns.
This "Flash" deck plays 7 counterspells and snapcaster. Our deck really struggles with counterspells as it needs to resolve salvage/mulch/looting early for fixing and tusk/angel later to stabalise and win. Our spells are pretty expensive and it takes a while for us to be able to cast 2 at a time so hard to overload their counterspells. Giest is also a major threat and on turn 3 we don't have much to punish them for tapping out. On Friday I died to a turn 2 rest in peace followed by like a turn 7 Thundermaw with 2 counterspells.
After board it is even worse as they can bring in even more counterspells and graveyard hate (purify the grave / rest in peace being what I have seen commonly)
How are people addressing this? I have changed the vault to a cavern and considering whether I can fit in one more cavern. Also considering putting 2 tribute to hunger in the board as it is instant speed, gives us life and these types of decks only have 1 threat at time most of the time. Also keeping the grudge in there for rune chanters pike.
As a side note how popular do people think the Flash deck will be? Having Giest in the board seems really strange and it seems a real rock paper scissors as BG or BR zombies with caverns would be very good against this Flash deck but those decks can't beat any deck with a Thragtusk
Current list which crushes aggro decks and has good midrange and control matchups:
4 Blood crypt
3 Clifftop retreat
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Rootbound crag
3 Sunpetal grove
4 Temple Garden
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Cavern of souls
23 lands
Creatures
3 Lingering souls
2 Restoration angel
4 Thragtusk
4 Angel of serinity
3 Centaur healer
1 Craterhoof beheamoth
17 creatures
4 Mulch
4 Grisly Salvage
4 Faithless looting
4 Unburial Rites
2 Dreadbore
2 Rolling temblor
20 other spells
2 Deathrite sharman
1 Olivia Voldaran
2 Oblivion ring
1 Ancient grudge
1 Ray of revelation
3 Bonfire of the dammed
2 Slaughter games
1 Sever the bloodline
1 Craterhoof beheamoth
1 Dreadbore
15 sideboard
Have you found with 4 appetite the timing works? What do you usually board out for it against Bant control and Jund and Renimator and GW (and every other deck running the green menace)? Low impact burn cards like pillar/bump or blight if they have resto angel?
Tested about 40 games on mtgo running RB zombies with aristocrat and blood throne as sac outlets and Zealous conscripts as steal. Didn't really have a higher win percentage to normal, the pieces don't come together often enough. Zealous while very good means the land count needs to increase so I'm not sure overall it is a positive improvement. Bloodthone was poor majority of the time I would've rather had blood artist or Knight of infamy
Well you should play more on MTGO and test those numbers (which are not even favourable). Also check out SCG and mtgo daily results even "good builded" decks with good pilots struggle. Agree the BR frites match up is not bad (if they don't hit a rolling temblar or bonfire, or early tusk, or you hit a cremate at the right time - notice the theme?)