I did mention Aethersphere Harvester, but with Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Tireless Tracker, and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar for me I just can't find a spot for it. I already fit in a pair of Heart of Kiran anyway due to the synergy with the planeswalkers and our plethora of 3 power creatures. Plus the super sweet interaction with Chandra's +RR allowing me to cast it when she enters play. Not to mention the deck was one of the few that had a hard time fitting copter into it in the first place. The one thing I do worry about is dropping my Incendiary Flow for more creatures and vehicles. Maybe Aethersphere can fit into here, but it's not as inevitable as a Tireless Tracker for me. Perhaps I'm overthinking it all.
Ghirapur Orrery looks interesting, but I've got the continued card advantage with Tireless Tracker, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and I've ulted Nissa, Voice of Zendikar a surprising amount when I'm not under copter pressure. I used to have problems going into pure topdeck mode with just Trackers, but ever since I upped my count of Chandra and Nissa I've not had that problem. Last time I played Grixis Control I drew more of my deck then they did both games.
I'd be excited to see the blue shell become better than it was in Kaladesh. About the only blue energy creature I saw that was really played was Virtuoso. The easiest room for the Harvester is going to be in there.
I've always felt pretty good against Control with Chandra, ToD and Nissa, VoZ mainboard. I'm not too worried about that. Marvel lost some consistency, and Saheeli will have to deal with life without Reflector Mage. I've always felt weak to Marvel though, and while Ulamog feels better to get hit by than Emrakul it's still going to be tough. The Aggro version will get picked apart by Saheeli if it brings plenty of counterspells and removal though, which at least the preliminary versions appear to have. It should trounce what remains of Marvel though.
Walkers in general should see a little more play without Copter smashing their face in and Emrakul being more inevitable, and in a deck with enough of them Heart of Kiran fits in really well. Especially if cast from Chandra, Torch of Defiance mana.
Pretty sure the only things I've lost to were misplays, Copter, and Emrakul in Kaladesh so I'm pretty hyped about RGx Midrange going forward, although there's certainly Copy Cats to worry about. A couple Heart of Kiran aren't going to be nearly as defensive required anymore without Copter about, and Emrakul was the only thing more inevitable than Chandra, Torch of Defiance. I definitely feel more comfortable about not splashing blue just for countermagic now, but I'd be excited to see if the blue splash helps for Jace and Rogue Refiner. Rishkar, Peema Renegade deserves testing no matter what though. I think I'll finally drop my Weaver of Lightning on the sideboard now too.
Throw in 4 Llanowar Wastes too if you are doing it on a budget, and maybe find some other 4 lands to throw in there. You want to increase the chances of a turn 1 or 2 Duress (since it's budget) off the sideboard if they are playing low cost board wipes. I haven't had that much trouble with Blood Moon unless they also wipe the board, given we have plenty of green sources on the board. Last time I played against something with Blood Moon they sided it out.
Yeah I'm surprised with the number of walkers given his only defense against Smuggler's Copter is those Harnessed Lightnings at least on the mainboard. I know Gideon is doing fantastic in other decks, but they usually have something in the air to block. I'm certainly willing to test a couple Chandra, though I'm thinking of having a couple Copters myself to do something in the air.
It's definitely looking like the Aggro version of RG Energy lies with the Pummeler, and that there is a viable RG Energy Midrange without one drops beyond Attune with Aether. The highest ranking RG Energy deck in the latest pro tour lacked Pummeler and even ran Skysovereign, Consul Flagship so I'm excited to see how that variant turns out. Brian Kipler's list also looked pretty nifty. Both ran plenty of Tireless Trackers, so even without the energy it brings it looks like it has a place in the Non-Pummmeler variant.
Ghirapur Orrery looks interesting, but I've got the continued card advantage with Tireless Tracker, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and I've ulted Nissa, Voice of Zendikar a surprising amount when I'm not under copter pressure. I used to have problems going into pure topdeck mode with just Trackers, but ever since I upped my count of Chandra and Nissa I've not had that problem. Last time I played Grixis Control I drew more of my deck then they did both games.
I'd be excited to see the blue shell become better than it was in Kaladesh. About the only blue energy creature I saw that was really played was Virtuoso. The easiest room for the Harvester is going to be in there.
I'm looking at Greenbelt Rampager, Heart of Kiran, and Aethersphere Harvester in the more Midrange version. Rampager as a 4-of most certainly, Heart of Kiran as long as I can keep my 3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance and 2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, and I'm not sure how I'd fit Aethersphere Harvester but it's worth trying. As it stands it looks like I'm already dropping my last Lathnu Hellion and x3 Incendiary Flow. I don't really want to drop much if any of the x4 Tireless Tracker. If I can block flying reliably my walkers get that much stronger though.
So far it's looking like this for testing.
4 Aether Hub
3 Cinder Glade
9 Forest
3 Game Trail
2 Mountain
Artifacts
2 Heart of Kiran
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Instants
1 Blossoming Defense
4 Harnessed Lightning
Sorceries
4 Attune with Aether
Planeswalkers
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
3 Bristling Hydra
4 Greenbelt Rampager
3 Longtusk Cub
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Tireless Tracker
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
3 Voltaic Brawler
4 Galvanic Bombardment
3 Lathnu Hellion
2 Natural State
2 Clip Wings
1 Natural Obsolescence
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
2 Weaver of Lightning
1 Arlinn Kord
1 Incendiary Flow
1 Aethersphere Harvester
1 Heroic Intervention
1 Plummet