MTG Salvation

I haven't been on the forums in a little but I've still been brewing. Came here to post this deck that has been showing promise in my testing. To my surprise a few people seem to have been having similar ideas but I feel my current list is sufficiently unique to warrant its own thread.
This deck is meant to do one thing and one thing only; go fast. You want to land a 1 drop on T1 and ride it to victory. Puresteel Paladin allows the deck to do some really nasty stuff and makes it a bit less embarrassing in the event that your opponent gets to keep playing past turn 4. Without further ado, I give you Puresteel Aggro.



You may notice that without the lands, this deck comes in under $40 which is nice. Stave Offs started as Brave the Elements which changed to accommodate the switch from Auriok Edgewright/Auriok Steelshaper to Goblin Gaveleer. It then became Emerge Unscathed but after losing to twin and infect, Stave Off seemed like the most versatile pick. Other cards I've been considering include Temur Battle Rage, Galvanic Blast, Shrapnel Blast, O-Naginata, Basilisk Collar, and Adventuring Gear

In my extremely limited testing I've been just over 50%. It is very common to swing for 4 on Turn 2 with Gaveleer/Duelist and bone saw/shuko or Kitesail and Bonesplitter/2 Bone saws or Shukos. You can swing for 5 with Gaveleer and a Bonesplitter. 6 with Dualist and Bonesplitter. The decks best turn 2 within reason is 7 damage off Gavaleer + 2 Bone saw/Shuko. Unreasonably, the deck maxes out with 13 damage on turn 2 with T1 Gaveleer, T2 Paladin and 4 Bone saws.

No current side board but I've been kicking around some ideas. I like the idea of running a set of Steelshaper's Gift in the sideboard and a bunch of 1 of equipment that are more matchup specific (maybe even the swords). Dryad Militant and Ethersworn Canonist can stop Snapcaster decks. And for games you suspect to be very long I think Kemba, Kha Regent may have a home here. May also consider Wear // Tear or Leyline of Sanctity but this is all just a guess right now.

I am still playing around with the numbers and there are a few cards that I am still want to test out but the deck feels good right now. Have yet to have a Kolaghan's Command cast against me but that's what Charm is there for. Would love feedback as always

Hey guys! Haven't checked the thread in a while but I've been playing a lot with the deck. In regards to fetches and possibly becoming Jund, both run into the same problem. Going Jund without the fetches hurts bad. Plus the deck needs a density of mountains. And if you are fetching, you are thinning lands, which (while good in other decks) is very bad for us. In fact the more iterations of Auroras you cast, the better they get. Root maze seems pretty fine but I have found some problems in that a second one is a dead card, it's only pro forming optimally played very early, and many decks will just happen to draw their non fetch lands. Not saying it's unplayable but it's not as good as I initially hoped. I have been experimenting a little with Khalni Heart Expedition. It's 2 mana 2 for 1. A bit delayed but can give you a nice little bit of life after a T3 courser. More testing to come.

Also, I am attending a larger tournament tomorrow and I will be playing this. I'll post the deck list and results later. Wish me luck.

Awesome! I'm so glad you've been playing and enjoying the deck. I would love to see the 75 you're currently playing. Swagtusk seems perfect and I have been enjoying resolved Prime Times. I could definitely see Mr No Eyes and magmatic insight doing very well in the deck. Not sure I can get behind make a wish or Greenwarden as their effect just isn't big enough or efficient enough. But more than anything I appreciate the feedback. Seeing someone playing and enjoying the deck makes me beyond excited.

I would love to hear about your results.

I could see secure replacing some amount of dragon fodder/hordeling outburst. And as far as Zada, SHE will be very happy to see that 4 defiant strike have always been in the deck. It's simply one of the best prowess enablers the deck has. Adds a power, replaces itself, instant speed, all for 1 mana.

Seems awesome. Trade in a bunch of tokens for some real 3/3 beaters

Thanks. I've been wanting to put Zada back in but I'm pretty sure that's just my affinity for sweet interactions. I don't think he is efficient enough at this time but I will try putting him back in. See what number feels right but probably not the 4 of he once was. I also never really gave Sure Strike a chance but I think it's worth testing. Makes the swings into the swarms of mantis riders around standard feel a bit better.

For that I think it's perfect. It's got a bunch of cool synergies. Only suggestion I would make is to cut the Overwhelming Stampedes and throw in Overruns. Overwhelming Stampede is only good when you're ahead and if someone kills you big guy in response and all you have is a pile of 0/1s you're going to feel bad.

I'll bet I'm not the first person to post about this on the forum but I couldn't find the thread if it exists. I missed the boat on buying both Hangarback Walkers and Jace, Vryn's Prodigys so I've basically been locked out of standard for 12 months but I've been trying to brew up a sweet deck with no Jace, Hangarback, or even Gideons.



This deck started out as a Zada, Hedron Grinder deck but it always seemed too cute so I cut it and the Arcbonds. No board yet. Would love feedback.

I'm having a hard time seeing this deck able to compete with the tier 1-2 decks. This is a fair deck and fair decks in modern have to survive by being incredibly efficient and either killing quickly or disrupting. This deck has no way to stop combo and is just less efficient against other fair decks.I like the idea but I can't imagine how it keeps up with the other decks.

I've been playing around with putting some roadblocks in the main deck. I have found that spellskite is very good against a very large number of decks but the card I have actually really been liking is Courser of Kruphix. She gains us quite a bit of life, blocks well, but above all, gives us card advantage. It can also help when determining what to cast when. Also been trying a main deck Primeval Titan or two. Titan seems much better in game two when removal is taken out so I'll probably cut them in the main deck. I've also been thinking about Avenger of Zendikar as an alternate wincon. Not sure how I like it. Current iteration I've been working with:



I've also been getting better at determining when to just entwine a Rude Awakening instead of going for the combo. Still working on the sideboard.

If you're ever able to cast an empty the warrens after 2+ spells, your next aurora will be lethal. Also, its nice to just go turn 5, Rude Awakening, Aurora, 1-2 random spells, then Empty for 8-10 goblins, you have a very short clock. That being said, I think it is one of the least important cards in the deck. I have been looking for ways to slow other decks down and every time I go it to make room, empty is the first card I take out.

Lands entering tapped is a huge downside. The deck wants to be able to chain Auroras and tapped lands don't let that happen. If you want another incidental win-con entwined Rude Awakening is what you are looking for. I've ended games after just ramping 3-4 times then swinging in with 8 lands.

And if you do proxy it up and test it out please let me know your findings.

I just finished getting all the cards I need so no events yet but I plan on taking them to the next modern event I can attend. From what I can tell and the games I have played, quick decks have been a problem. A quick hand for burn, infect, or affinity can be unwinnable. Slow grindy decks have been much better match-ups. Our ramp spells give us so much discard fodder for Liliana. Grixis control has no real targets for their removal and Kher Keep does a good job of keeping their small number of threats at bay. I've been happy with how resilient the deck has been. It's easy to forget that The Great Aurora is a board wipe and decks that fetch up lands have trouble recovering as well. People usually bring in Blood Moon and Fulminator Mage and the deck with 29 lands and basic land searching doesn't really care about either. I think Spellskite and/or Anger of the Gods out of the board sures up some of the decks worst match-ups. I hope to get tournament result here as soon as possible.

Since The Great Aurora was spoiled I have tried to find a way to break it. There has to be some way to abuse such a wonky unique ability. Originally I played with some Banishing Light my own Sphinx's Tutelage then Aurora drawing 20 cards. That was just to slow but I got to thinking about other ways an Aurora could win and the answer seemed simple: Valakut, The Molten Pinnacle. Valakut puts us in modern so I started brewing. I started with a list looking a bit like Scapeshift but I realized several differences needed to be noted. The Great Aurora cares deeply about number of cards so ramp spells like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Search for Tomorrow do not actually net you cards for the Aurora and are not desirable. Instead cards like Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, and Nissa's Pilgrimage net 1-2 cards and are much more desirable. Also, any card that doesn't gain you a permanent or put a card in your hand is a loss when Aurora-ing. So with these rules in mind I started testing.




This is the fastest version of the deck I could muster. It usually Aurora's on turn 5-6 and wins that turn or the turn after. 2 ramp spells a Rude Awakening and an Aurora lets you Aurora on turn 5 for 12-18 cards depending on how many Khalni Garden/Young Pyromancer's you played. The deck is designed to let you Aurora multiple times and in my experience, an Aurora for around 19-23 cards will allow you win on the spot or to immediately Aurora again, especially when you are able to float mana before an Aurora. Eternal Witness lets you recast any spell, this is mainly used to get back a Rude Awakening and untap but it can also be used for any card.

I don't yet have a sideboard but this deck needs a slower game to thrive so any way to slow your opponent. Blood Moon slows down many decks and, thanks to Aurora shuffling, does nothing to interrupt our Valakut win. Root Maze may also be used to punish fetch lands for a minimal investment. Most of the answers this deck would want to bring in from the board should be in the form of permanents. Some ideas I had include Spellskite, Damping Matrix, Reclamation Sage, Choke, Kitchen Finks, Creeping Corrosion, Guttural Response Torpor Orb, and Pithing Needle. I would also want the board to include more copies of Boseiju, Kher Keep, and/or Radiant Fountain for match-up where applicable.

I would love some feedback. Maybe the deck is just too slow. Maybe Blood Moon Should be in the main. Let me know what you think!