I glanced back a few pages, but is no one trying out Rescue from the Underworld? Given all of the value ETB triggers in the deck, it seems like it would have some potential. The ability to return a planeswalker is very powerful with Aid, but most of these lists don't seem to run many, and sometimes none at all.
Being able to retrigger a Wayfinder, or late game retrigger a Primordial, Shadowborn or Ashen Rider seems quite powerful. The delay effect is definitely strange, but it also provides a small amount of protection from removal effects.
I don't care for it, and I think his legacy performance overall speaks to some of the drawbacks of his main deck choices. Thought Scour is a dead card that can steal an entire turn given the low mana requirements of the deck, and a Probe would probably be a lot stronger. I also don't see what Chain Lightning is really providing beyond a little bit more reach. I'd run the fourth Stifle, but that's a personal preference.
Cliques in the main are interesting, but I'd want a 19th land if I was going to do that.
Rough doesn't kill your flipped Delver, making it ever so slightly better than Pyroclasm. Tumble never comes up at all.
Chalice on 1 is a serious problem you just have to deal with via countermagic or possible Ancient Grudge in games 2 or 3. It only sees play in a few decks these days, so you won't see a ton of it. Ditto Blood Moon, which also sucks pretty bad.
TNN isn't really the issue. He can mess up your ground game, but he's not the real danger. Jitte is absolutely lethal to you (just like everyone else), and you have very few ways to deal with it once it resolves. You can Spell Pierce it, and after board you can Submerge whatever it is attached to (sometimes) or Stifle the equip, but it puts a lot of really gross pressure on you.
RUG is all about conservation of resources. You have the most powerful early game in the format that doesn't involve Show and Tell and a Lotus Petal. Plenty of RUG matches are won or lost on the first turn with a Stifle. The match will continue from there, but the turning point really can come that early because of the huge tempo swing.
It's a resource denial deck with an aggressive game plan. Your goal is ultimately to steal 7 attack steps with a Delver, or string the game out in its early stages long enough for a few hits from a Tarmogoyf to seal it. You have a million ways to filter your hand and find the right answer, but zero ways to draw additional cards. Playing the game 1 for 1 is a losing proposition, so a major aspect of your strategy has to be stranding effective mid- and late-game answers in the opponent's hand. To do that, every card you keep has to count.
I love RUG, and I'm by no means an expert at it. However, I feel like I learn more about the deck every game I play, and I'm always improving. It just rewards thinking ahead to a greater degree than most other decks.
They're sold out at those prices, so if it's a pump and dump then it is a successful one.
I am simply flabbergasted at the rate at which legacy staples are rising. I'm one of the lucky ones with a couple of decks already built, but damn if it isn't going to be hard to invest much more.
Slaughter games is really bad news though, i do not really know what to do against it aside from ignorant bliss with scapeshift in hand which seems
quite suboptimal.
Shadow of Doubt works. It is a narrow answer for Slaughter Games, but can also have a Stifle-like effect in Modern with all the fetches running around that can be a really excellent tempo play (plus it cantrips).
They're relying on Deathrite because they want to use the graveyard too. Honestly, I'm quite surprised we haven't seen something like Dredge putting up numbers lately.
I'm pretty sure Modern is far more popular than Legacy these days. Wizards has even said that Modern is their 2nd most popular Contructed fomat. Just because your local GPT only turned out 30 folks doesn't mean that worldwide it's not actually much better supported. Just out of curiosity, roughly where are you located, and is Legacy still actually well supported/attended there?
Anyway, the rest of your post I agree with, and I think wizards is at a point with the format where they will slowly start unbanning things as time goes on. Something like Nacatl would be a good start, and there are other deck archetypes that could use some help too. I'm also confident that there will be cards in future blocks that stir things up significantly. It wasn't too long ago that we got Snapcaster Mage, Young Pyromancer, Restoration Angel, and Deathrite Shaman. There will be other cards that emerge in the next year that could easily affect Modern enough to shake things up.
Remember folks: Wizards has the master plan. They know what's happening 3 years ahead of us, and they've tested for it. I have faith that the 2nd most popular (and money-making) Constructed format is high on their priority list, and that they will do their best to keep it interesting without disappointing invested players.
Metro Atlanta, and yeah legacy is well supported at that exact same location. When Is say Modern isn't supported, I'm also talking about beyond the local level. The fact that SCG supports Legacy Opens but not Modern ones is very telling.
Banning Deathrite would be terrible for the format because of the further mistrust of the ban list it would cause. Yes, it's a very powerful card, but this is an eternal format. You have a million answers for it, so just pick one.
Modern is picking up, but it is still nowhere near as common as even legacy in terms of events. A local GPT yesterday had 30 people for a low-cost modern event on a Saturday. That kind of attendance is pretty low, and speaks to the level of interest in the format as a whole.
I really enjoy Modern, but it needs *unbannings* right now, not more ban list additions just because a card is strong. Frankly, the unbanning of Nacatl and the rise of a stronger aggro element in Modern would be the best balance for Deathrite. An aggressive one-drop, two-drop follow up is pretty good at keeping pressure on Deathrite > Liliana starts.
That list is quite similar to what I've been running (much lighter on removal like Bolt and heavier on draw), except I run a pair of Tribe-Elders and 4 Snapcasters. In general I really like that approach.
Being able to retrigger a Wayfinder, or late game retrigger a Primordial, Shadowborn or Ashen Rider seems quite powerful. The delay effect is definitely strange, but it also provides a small amount of protection from removal effects.
Cliques in the main are interesting, but I'd want a 19th land if I was going to do that.
I would cut 2 Forked Bolt for 1 Probe, and 1 Fire/Ice. Sometimes that split damage really comes in handy, and it pitches to FoW.
I'm also not a fan of Thought Scour in RUG Delver at all.
Chalice on 1 is a serious problem you just have to deal with via countermagic or possible Ancient Grudge in games 2 or 3. It only sees play in a few decks these days, so you won't see a ton of it. Ditto Blood Moon, which also sucks pretty bad.
It's a resource denial deck with an aggressive game plan. Your goal is ultimately to steal 7 attack steps with a Delver, or string the game out in its early stages long enough for a few hits from a Tarmogoyf to seal it. You have a million ways to filter your hand and find the right answer, but zero ways to draw additional cards. Playing the game 1 for 1 is a losing proposition, so a major aspect of your strategy has to be stranding effective mid- and late-game answers in the opponent's hand. To do that, every card you keep has to count.
I love RUG, and I'm by no means an expert at it. However, I feel like I learn more about the deck every game I play, and I'm always improving. It just rewards thinking ahead to a greater degree than most other decks.
I am simply flabbergasted at the rate at which legacy staples are rising. I'm one of the lucky ones with a couple of decks already built, but damn if it isn't going to be hard to invest much more.
Shadow of Doubt works. It is a narrow answer for Slaughter Games, but can also have a Stifle-like effect in Modern with all the fetches running around that can be a really excellent tempo play (plus it cantrips).
Metro Atlanta, and yeah legacy is well supported at that exact same location. When Is say Modern isn't supported, I'm also talking about beyond the local level. The fact that SCG supports Legacy Opens but not Modern ones is very telling.
Modern is picking up, but it is still nowhere near as common as even legacy in terms of events. A local GPT yesterday had 30 people for a low-cost modern event on a Saturday. That kind of attendance is pretty low, and speaks to the level of interest in the format as a whole.
I really enjoy Modern, but it needs *unbannings* right now, not more ban list additions just because a card is strong. Frankly, the unbanning of Nacatl and the rise of a stronger aggro element in Modern would be the best balance for Deathrite. An aggressive one-drop, two-drop follow up is pretty good at keeping pressure on Deathrite > Liliana starts.