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  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Welcome! The original/generic list is in the opening post. A warning though, this deck really needs the companies to be competitive. A good list will run 2-3 rally's, 2-3 ranks, and 2-4 companies.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Shelldell is saying all the right things. We want the deck to be consistent, but flexible. Grisly Salvage is a trap in this deck. We want to be playing creatures out turns 1-4. Then we want to be casting Rally or Collected Company for the value/win. ~6 drain dorks is where we want to be. Again the flexibility of being able to win through a graveyard hate card or counterspells with a ton of drain triggers is extremely relevant.

    All we need is two lands in our opener to keep, but we want at least four by the end of the game. 21 lands helps us get there, and less than that is very risky.

    Lastly, having 3 or less Anafenza-type cards is a no go. A 2/2 split is reasonable, but the bare minimum. Again, consistency is important and running less of our important cards is going to make us lose.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    The only graveyard hate I've seen is Rest in Peace. But man is it a doozy. I've been running three Quasali Pridemages in the side and draw into one fairly frequently. I've actually stopped running this for a while because in my store it seems like >30% of decks run this in the side.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Quote from Shelldell »
    @Matt: Highly Favored vs Tron? o__O I'm curious to see what list you're running right now.

    Sac in response to exile does work if we have an outlet down and they target a creature, yes. However, I think the optimal play may be for Karn to exile a white land and keep us off of our high-impact four drops, CoCo and Rally for a couple turns due to our relatively low land count. I've had this happen several games and it left me durdling a bit as I hoped to top-deck the infinite combo.. which didn't work out and gave Tron enough time put out another threat and finish taking over the game. Maybe I just got especially unlucky, though.

    I'll try it out some more. I don't think there's much room for Ghost Quarter in the main as we're already strained between GB, GG, and WW not to mention BB for those trying to run Fulminator... running any significant amount of grey land sounds like a little much for our mana needs. Plus, with the need to hit 4+ mana sac'ing a land seems like it might slow us down as much as it'd slow them down.

    More aggro via Bloodthrone Vampire is an interesting direction, though I think one achilles heal of the deck is when people realize they can remove a sac outlet at instant speed to shut down the drain combo until you can recur the outlet or play another one. I only run 2x Cartel Aristocrats but I think they pull their weight in that even against a versed opponent who's gunning for the sac outlet the protection helps keep your gameplan going, plus they enable valuable 2-for-1 chump blocks.

    In other news it's nice to see that some of the Eldrazi decks are down-playing or entirely removing the grave-hate processing aspect in favor of running more fatties via heartless summoning etc. This is probably OK for us as they generally lack evasion other than Reality Smasher, making them good for our chump-block plan.

    Additionally, the rise in infect (and to a lesser extent affinity) might be a good reason to reconsider running 1-2x Melira mainboard (or at least side!) for anyone who hasn't done so yet.

    Reading through my response now, I should have added a paragraph break. I meant we are more favored in general now that twin and bloom are slowed/gone. Then I went on to explain about our tron matchup. To be honest, I think we are close to 50/50 on tron, but I haven't had a ton of games against them yet. No one in my meta plays it for some reason. However, if you think about it, what sideboard hate does tron have against us? They need to hit turn 3 tron or they can die to combo on turn 4. Pyroclasm can actually help us in some situations Smile Wait, does tron play relic? I don't think they do normally, right?

    I'm currently running 1x Melira 3x Anafenza in the main and might go to 2x Melira and 2x Anafenza soon depending on how much infect I see. It's a good thing to keep in mind.

    Bloodthrone was played in SaffronOlive's original list. However, I don't know if we can go up to 8 sac outlets. It's possible we could trim some numbers to allow 4x Seer, 2x Aristocrat, and 2x Bloodthrone. If I had this deck on MTGO, I'd be grinding all this out and see what sticks, but I'm not there yet.


    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    I think we are much better favored now. If they Karn, we sac whatever they target in response. If they O-Stone, it puts everything into our graveyard. Ugin is the hard one. But theoretically, we can sac our board in response to their minus. Overall, I think tron is highly in our favor. They can't even counter our reanimation spells in the late game.

    The only matchups I've had serious issues with are Goryo's Vengeance and Restore Balance. But most decks without counterspells have this issue.

    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    It does hurt! We need to switch over to beats against them. I haven't had much success, however, the Blood Artists are helpful. They are sacking eldrazi tokens all the time. I think it's reasonable for our gameplan to just clutter the board up with guys and look to drain them out for the win.

    In other notes, I've switched back to the CC version of the deck. Grisly salvage is good, but it actually makes us slower in most games. It opens us up to die to fast decks like burn or infect and is harder to get the mana sorted out needing WW or BG on turn two. I know some of you mentioned this before. Collected Company gives us card advantage in the best way. I'll never cut it from this deck again.

    On January 1st at FNM, I went 4-1 with the deck. My only loss coming from U/R Twin. In that game, I actually had the win on board, with Anafenza, Cutthroat, and an Aristocrat but was tapped out. I failed to see that I could have convoked these three to Return to the Ranks for X=1 and bring back the last combo piece. He SplinterTwinned the next turn for game 3.

    Anyone else have reports? Here's my current list:

    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Quote from Shelldell »
    How do you guys feel about running more creatures in the sideboard?

    It sounds like 2-3x Qasali Pridemage has already gathered a lot of support over disenchant, but would a combination of 4x Tidehollow Sculler and 2x Spellskite be a better answer to combo than Thoughtseize as it'd better syngerize with our creature-based gameplan?


    I've been running 2x Spellskite and it's been good so far. Haven't thought of Tidehollow Sculler yet. I'd say it's worth a try.

    Here's a list of some 2CMC creatures that we can use:
    Spellskite
    Tidehollow Sculler
    Kataki, War's Wage
    Ethersworn Canonist
    Auriok Champion
    Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
    Kor Firewalker
    Burrenton Forge-Tender
    Keening Apparition
    Grand Abolisher
    Scavenging Ooze
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Quote from solnox »
    The uncounterable clause is what makes it relevant. I found that being able to stop twin easily and kill jaces and other cards that bother me. Also I have been running into Torpor Orbs+ even Grafdiggers cage on mtgo..

    Yeah, I completely agree. If you have access to them, it can definitely be a 2-of in the sideboard or even a replacement for paths if you are feeling it.

    Quote from herenorthere »
    I find it odd that this deck has its own Primer when its really just Abzan Aristocrats.

    I believe there is a distinct difference. This is straight combo. Aristocrats plays the long game and approaches combo by saccing it's board and bringing everything back occasionally. They look to swing in with Cartel Aristocrat and win by pinging with it and Blood Artist triggers. We plan to combo off turn 4 every game and only get to pinging if the primary goal fails.

    Quote from Shelldell »
    Is adding blue for snap really necessary? I'd think that Eternal Witness solves the milling issue well enough, no?

    No, I don't think adding blue for Snapcaster Mage is worth it. It does work with our 2-CMC creature goal, so it may be able to see some play. However, again, we need to ask, is it assisting the combo or just diluting the deck? Eternal Witness as a one or two-of seems to work just fine without adding an extra color if that effect is needed. Smile
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Hey there! Welcome to the ranks! What version of the deck are you running?

    I like Abrupt Decay and think it's fine in the side. It would certainly give you an out to bloodmoon and such. However, I feel like there are plenty of two drop creatures that fill the role just as well, and can be brought back with our return spells. I worry about milling my own side boarded spells and rendering them useless. If you decide to run it, let us know what you being it in for and how it performs!
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Thanks for the report Battle! Very detailed. I wanted to comment on your jund match. You did the right thing by continuing with game two and not conceding the game. I don't know if you know this or not, but if you win the first game and go to time on the second game, you will win the match. I see that you might be able to combo him out in a fast game three, but if you survived into turns, you almost won the match :)I'm glad you like the deck and will continue with it. It'd be nice if one of us could put up some results!

    Shell, I'll go into it a bit with Grisly Salvage/Anafenza and sideboarding for my version. Generally, I will never play Anafenza on turn two. It's like a last resort sort of thing. Since my job is to fill the graveyard and rally/return on turn four, I want to be Salvaging or Wayfindering on turn two. Since the deck only plays three Anafenza, having one in your opening hand isn't as likely as other cards, which is good. So, with that in mind, you will only be shooting for double white by turn four! This makes it much easier to grasp the manabase. I really need to update the primer with information like this. Probably after I get a few more games under my belt. About the sideboarding, here's my thoughts. First, think of Abzan Rally as "Midrange" where this is more "Combo". Battle is going more into midrange than I would like, but that's fine, he's still basing it off of a combo that Abzan rally doesn't use and we do. Depending on the matchup, I usually side out my Cartel Aristocrats, 2-4 blood artist/cutthroats, and a Salvage. If I'm playing against burn/combo/anything fast I sometimes side out a fetch as well. Going down to 20 or 19 lands doesn't hurt too much when we only need two lands in hand to get going. Against tron, we theoretically have a positive matchup against them and really shouldn't need to side anything in. If you are running stony silence that can help a lot. Also Burrenton Forge-Tender can be good against their sweepers. Battle covered most of the other sideboarding. I run two spellskites, which help against a ton of decks.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Alright, looking forward to it!
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Sweet man. You're racking up quite the record there!

    I'm telling you, if you want it to be faster, we need to keep it low CMC and redundant. If you're going to not have any disruption in the main, you need to be able to win quickly and consistently. Cutting Rally and cutting down the combo potential makes it slower and less consistent. If only there was a way to play MTGO without owning the cards, like a Proxy mode or something, we could test a gauntlet with both styles of the deck.

    I'll be taking it to FNM this week and Monday Night Modern next week. I'll be able to report some of my experience after that. There isn't anything else I can do until then though, which is frustrating.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Thanks for your report! I wish I had access to the cards on MTGO, I'd be grinding matches all day. Anyone feel like donating some of the cards? XD It's actually only about $200 for my version of the deck on MTGO, so I might start getting myself there. I'd love to post some videos for y'all.

    I feel like the format isn't closed to graveyard stats. Looking at the top decks in the format, there are some sideboard cards that see play against us, but mostly it's Grafdigger's Cage as a one or two of. Some spattering of torpor orb and Surgical Extractions, but again, only has one-ofs. I don't think people are prepared for this kind of graveyard deck in the current meta.

    I think Collected Company is really solid can it's inclusion should be up to the pilot of the deck. Whoever can put up results first will have their version of the deck as the primer baseline Smile The other one will be under "Alternative Builds" or something. How are Eternal Witnesses working out for you? They seem really solid in this deck - Especially off of a CC!

    I was looking into Golgari Thug when I typed up the Primer. However, I struggled with what to remove for it. I feel like the only thing we could replace for it would be Satyr Wayfinder, but I love Wayfinder too much to cut it right now. Maybe cut a Cartel Aristocrat and Cutthroat for two? I don't think we'd want more then that. All we need is one in the yard for it to be useful. We definitely need to be careful not to dilute the core combo or we lose the purpose of the deck. Lotleth Troll is interesting, but we are trying to combo off by turn 4 and he doesn't help so much. Though, I have found myself with a combo piece in hand when I wish it was in the graveyard, so maybe we can try him in some numbers...
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    Oh man was there a difference. Swapping out Collected Company for Grisly Salvage was amazing. I only ended up 2-2, but my losing matches were game threes and I lost because I'm a bad player and didn't side in correctly. Here's my report:

    Match 1: B/W Good Stuff?

    Game one had me on the draw. Kept a hand with three lands (seems to be the sweet spot), a rally, and some dudes. He mulled to four. I was able to fill the graveyard and combo out turn four. He didn't play anything, so I didn't know what to sideboard. Game two on the draw again. He had Surgical Extraction on Anafenza (not THAT big of a deal because we have Melira), but then had a turn three Rest in Peace. This shut us down. HARD. I almost came back, but he filled the board with lingering souls tokens and got me. Game three, I failed to side in my Pridemages (don't get me started) and he had a turn two Rest in Peace. You can't even get your Blood Artist triggers when that is out. He slowly filled up the board with stuff (Phyrexian Obliterator and Obzedat?!?!) and got it. 0-1

    Match 2: Grixis Delver

    Game one on the draw again. I filled up my graveyard and played some guys. He started on a turn two Young Pyromancer and had a bunch of tokens out by turn 6 or 7. he knew I had a Return in hand from Gitaxian Probe, so he was keeping counter mana open each turn. I was able to convoke for Return, he countered it, and I responded with a Rally I drew that turn for game. He was blown away. Smile Game two I struggled to find a Return spell and by the time I found one and could cast it, he had a million counters in hand. He swung for lethal with tokens and angler. I did NOT side in the darkblasts, like a noob. Game three (still no darkblasts) I kept a hand with no Grisly Slavage or Wayfinders and four land. It turns out that this hand is WAY to slow. I never saw a Return spell, but I almost got him on the beat down plan. He had all the answers late game and bolt-snapcaster-bolt to finish me off. 0-2

    Match 3: B/W Lifegain

    This was really easy. He had no disruption or apparently any good sideboard cards, so I just filled the graveyard each game and combo'd off. 1-2

    Match 4: Naya Burn

    He was 1-1-1. Don't know how burn could draw, but, whatever. Game 1: I mull to four and he plays an Eidelon of the Great Revel on turn two. I scoop after a couple turns. Game 2: (IN: 4 Lone Missionary, 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender. OUT: 2 Cartel Aristocrat, 1 Verdant Catacombs, 1 Grisly Salvage) I keep a hand of seven with a Rally and a lone missionary. He gets me down to one before I stabilize. His lethal Boros Charm negated by my Forge-Tender. I'm able to rally and combo him out. Game 3: (Same sideboard) Mull to 5 and keep a hand with Lone missionary and Forge-Tender. This time I get a board presence early and run a return to bring back Anafenza, Lone missionary, Blood Artist, and Safehold elite. I can't find a sac outlet to save my life, but he's topdecking and I'm at 13 life. I win by beating him down with creatures.


    What I learned: SIDEBOARDING IS SUPER IMPORTANT. I completely blame myself for my two losses and not the deck. We have the tools, I just didn't use them. After my match with grixis, I remembered a sideboard card that would be awesome for us: Guttural Response! Since this deck is much more about combo now, having counters to counter their counters is supremely important! Since we now have the darkblasts for Affinity, I think we might be able to take the Kataki out. I'm looking at putting in three Guttural Responses and taking out the paths and kataki from the sideboard. Also, out best hand has 2 lands, either Wayfinder or Grisly Salvage, and a return spell. The rest don't really matter as long as we start to fill the graveyard. I actually feel pretty confident about mulling with this deck as we only need to cast Wayfinder or Salvage to start rolling. This is the list I want to test for next week:


    Did anyone get to try this deck yet? And/or have thoughts on the decklist? Wanna tell me to "Git Good" or something? I don't care, I just want people to start talking about this deck!
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on RallyFenza
    I'm trying to make this deck as fast as possible. I think it's our only chance to do well in this format. CC can be fast, but it's mainly for the late game or coming back from behind. There are a couple combo decks in Modern and they can all go off turn 3 or 4. I want to be able to do that.

    Lingering Souls seems good for grindy control matchups that can counter our return spells, since it works from the graveyard as well. Abzan Ascendancy may be good, but I feel like it's too slow. It should be tested with though... Same with Grim Haruspex. Too slow except in matches that will go long.

    I'm actually really interested in the life from the loam package in the sideboard. What would be involved with that? Just loam?

    Anyway, I'm taking this list to FNM tonight to grind out as many matches as I can:

    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
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