wrote the mana up too quickly and wrote that by accident. Was writing off the top of my head while distracted, wasn't getting that down right at all. Made changes that were in my list now that I was looking at it. Have Aether Meltdown and Walk the Plank.
So tested this out on two Competitive leagues got 4-1 and 5-0 and won Tuesday Night Magic. It loses the energy, takes the Sultai Structure, and builds a powerful control deck.
So pretty much, the deck plays out as a traditional control deck. Draw-Go, remove and counter. Carnage Tyrant plays a solid finisher, Scarab God let's you pick up after your destruction, Torrential Gearhulk plays a great defender, flashing back removal or card draw, and is great call back card, especially with Liliana, since it plays a triple threat threat with Scarab God. Hostage Taker gives you great defense, forces them to use their resources, and later once their worn out, or you have counter protection, it lets you gain substantial advantage. Bontu's Last Reckoning has consistently been effective against Temur, Sultai, and Four Color Energy, and the drawback, has been little to none. Disallow and Supreme Will obviously have their benefits. Vraska's Contempt has been exceptional, but, work as a two or three of, the four of just doesn't seem to work.
Originally had Yahenni's Expertise in the sideboard when I wasn't sure of Bontu's reckoning. Bontu's Reckoning plays it so much better. Lost Legacy and Duress are necessary for U/W Control and B/W Tokens. I still prefer Negate over Spell Pierce, though if the move on modo goes from B/W Tokens or Temur Energy or U/W Control, to another aggro deck, spell pierce may make a better card. Doomfall is perfect against mid-range creature decks and great hand destruction when nothing else is happening. Appetite for the Unnatural is great because of both token decks that are floating around. Esper and B/W Tokens. And Sentinel Totem as well is great for Esper Gifts and other decks (which is most of them) that are aiming to dominate with a The Scarab God.
The problem with Modern pro tours, sans Oath of the Gatewatch Eldrazi winter was simply that 90% of the time none of the new cards from the set (or very few) would show up. The purpose of a pro-tour is to foster innovation around the new mechanics and cards, and show off the cards.
So me and my friends have been testing like crazy on Untap with the new cards, to see what we can do for tournaments, and what decks might work for game day and first weeks FNM, our team of 4 people have currently finished no less than 3-1 or 4-1 depending on the game shop we go to at separate Game Shops.
We've been testing a bunch of decks. Ramp is the deck to beat. At least two of my testing group are going with that for Gameday, with Traverse the Ulenwald, due to Hedron Archive, Oath of Nissa, Evolving Wilds, Kozelik's Return, it's really easy to enable Delirium.
RB Vampires seems like a bust, it great draws are great but not unstoppable (Unlike Atarka Red's Great draws just left you helpless to a top deck turn 3.) It gets stomped by ramp. It gets stomped by Esper Dragons and Esper Control varieties (we tested this one extensively, because it looks like it should be very good, but, for some reason, the current designs we pulled from the internet and the current designs we our selves made weren't showing huge success).
About Esper, with new Sorin, they have a top end to win the game. The problem Esper has is no longer a strong amount of counters (Disdainful stroke for the late game was very powerful) and outside Planar Outburst and Descend Upon The Sinful, no unconditional boardwipes (and Descend is only a one or two of). Also, one of Esper's biggest problems now is that it runs out of cards and can't refill it's hand. There is no premier card draw, outside of painful truth, which plays as a horrible behind card to turn the game around. (There may be a U/B Zombie Control Deck, with Relentless Dead, Diregraf Colossus, and Flesh Bag Marauder, along with Under the Floorboards, Rise from the Tides).
I saw Cryptolith Rites and wanted to do something cool with it. My group thought I was crazy and said that it's nothing more than a fun commander card, but, then we tested G/B Devoid (Demonic Rites, or other names) and had some solid play against Esper, Dominated RB Vampires, and was good against ramp, not great, but good. But, I thought there was more to go for it, what if we got a little more ambitious.
The birth of NAYA Tokens: This is by far not a definitive list, but it's what we're working on right now.
Okay this deck should be a bit self-explanatory, but it does a lot of things, so I'll elaborate. It's first win con is simply straight up agro, produce lots of tokens, pump them up, swing in, kill.
The second of Cryptolith ramp, where you produce lots of creatures, pump out your big creatures, Dragonlord Atarka or Ulamog, and their dead. The third win con is Westvale abbey, and tapping five tokens and sacking abbey and then the next turn just rebuilding the whole army.
Westvale abbey can be a good way to swing the game in the mid game when you're almost out and need life gain, it has so many crazy benefits, it's awesome.
I'm just hopng that we get some sort of cheap, two to three mana card that investigates at the beginning of an upkeep. This would be wonderful as at the moment when Shadows come, we are out of card draw. Dig and Treasure Cruise goes buh-bye. It's also something that's sorely needed in modern to give blue something to do, even at such a cost, it needs some way of getting card advantage.
We'll most likely get the same break up as the last one.
One origins Planeswalker, probably Liliana (which many people will feel disappointed by, because in no way will it be Liliana of the Veil). Then probably two Planeswalkers from the Plane, probably Tibalt and Sorin.
In Fear, Jace and someone else, I think a 4 or 5 Mana Jace.
So, I've been playing Delver on and off for awhile, with the release of the Reckless Bushwhacker and the banning of Twin, my testing for U/R Delver has gone into over time. I've been getting consistent Turn 4 wins, with the occasional turn 3 win. Pretty much, with Young Pyromancer, Gitaxian Probes, and Mutagenic Growths, you have the potential to make a small army on turn 3, and then cast bushwacker and give them all haste and +1/0.
It takes a great hand to hit a turn 3 kill, but, it happens. In the meantime, the deck has a long game as well, ways to deal with board stalls, and ways to get around several challenges. This obviously isn't a finished list. It's a work in progress. But I've gotten into Pro Tour Atlanta, so, I'm in heavy testing so far.
My friends were the first to say to me, why aren't you playing Snapcaster main, and it's because, it slows the deck down for what it's supposed to do. Beat the opponent down. When I get into a grindy match, full of disruption and removal, JUND for instance, or board stall, Lantern Control, then, I side in the Snapcaster, to take care of the late game, and to push through the extra burn.
Day's Undoing, the unplayable mystic, turns out to be very playable on the turn that you want it to be playable, a turn 5 without missing a land drop (which isn't always the case due to the 22 lands in the deck. But turn 5 lets you leave up counter magic to negate their draw, and often can give you a full hand to swing back hard if given the opportunity. Usually you don't want to get to that predicament, but, sometimes they're at a low enough life that it doesn't even matter, and a new hand gives you bolts to finish off the job.
The perfect hand is Turn 1 Delver, Turn 2 Young Pyromancer, Turn 3 Monastery swiftspear, Gitaxian, Gitaxian, Mutagenic, Mutagenic, Bushwhacker... like I said, it's not an always hand, and it's not meant to kill on turn 3, but, turn 4, but, it's happened, and a turn 3 kill is hugely nice.
It most likely will have a Liliana, just not a LOTV, they said with Origins release that the story lines and planes being visited are all going to revolve around the 5 Planeswalkers. So Liliana and Innistrad are almost a guarantee, is it going to be a Liliana of the Veil.
With the amount of card draw, I don't have an issue with finding my answers, and wiping the board. The deck is a late game structure. Working on a green version to do it in turn 4. But right now, just think of it as a control deck with a combo finish.
So, I'm lucky to have two game shops in my community, and after release, they hold a lot of standard competitions. So, I did FNM and Win-A-Box since Friday afternoon. 4-0 at FNM, 5-2 at Win-A-Box this morning. I had to make a lot of quick trades, but, I put together, what I feel is the definitive Noyan Ascendancy deck that's just hugely effective.
For those of you who don't know, or haven't paid attention or written it off. It's a Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck that relies on awaken from Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper.
Now, questions I've been asked. Why no Jace? First off, every test I've had with Jace, has proven unsatisfying. On turn two, I want to anticipate, tormenting voice, or prep for Radiant Flames, I don't want like the slowing effect for a card that dies ninety percent of time, and leaves me behind. Two, it's abilities, though powerful, don't add a great deal to ending the game or giving me an advantage I won't get from the mountain of card draw I already have. Jace may be the best card in Standard, but, it's not the most needed card in this deck.
What deck challenges this. U/R Devoid and G/W Hardened Scales gave me my losses in Win-A-Box, U/R Devoid held me back because of it's cheap four and 5 toughness creatures, meaning I'm counting on Planar Outburst, Stasis Snare, and Spell Shrivel to keep them off the board. The massive boosting of creatures can be too overwhelming in the early game. But, if they don't have turn one hardened scales, it's pretty simple to beat, and they were close games.
By and large, this deck isn't perfect, it still needs some sideboard work, and some basic structuring, but, it's powerful and consistent.
3x Glimmer of Genius
2x Vraska's Contempt
2x Disallow
3x Fatal Push
2x Doomfall
2x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Walk the Plank
4x Hostage Taker
1x Carnage Tyrant
2x Torrential Gearhulk
2x The Scarab God
2x Vraska, Relic Seeker
1x Liliana, Death's Majesty
4x Blossoming Marsh
4x Botanical Sanctum
2x Fetid Pool
3x Evolving Wilds
2x Forest
3x Island
3x Swamp
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
1x Doomfall
2x Appetite for the Unnatural
2x Negate
3x Duress
3x Lost Legacy
2x Sentinel Totem
So pretty much, the deck plays out as a traditional control deck. Draw-Go, remove and counter. Carnage Tyrant plays a solid finisher, Scarab God let's you pick up after your destruction, Torrential Gearhulk plays a great defender, flashing back removal or card draw, and is great call back card, especially with Liliana, since it plays a triple threat threat with Scarab God. Hostage Taker gives you great defense, forces them to use their resources, and later once their worn out, or you have counter protection, it lets you gain substantial advantage. Bontu's Last Reckoning has consistently been effective against Temur, Sultai, and Four Color Energy, and the drawback, has been little to none. Disallow and Supreme Will obviously have their benefits. Vraska's Contempt has been exceptional, but, work as a two or three of, the four of just doesn't seem to work.
Originally had Yahenni's Expertise in the sideboard when I wasn't sure of Bontu's reckoning. Bontu's Reckoning plays it so much better. Lost Legacy and Duress are necessary for U/W Control and B/W Tokens. I still prefer Negate over Spell Pierce, though if the move on modo goes from B/W Tokens or Temur Energy or U/W Control, to another aggro deck, spell pierce may make a better card. Doomfall is perfect against mid-range creature decks and great hand destruction when nothing else is happening. Appetite for the Unnatural is great because of both token decks that are floating around. Esper and B/W Tokens. And Sentinel Totem as well is great for Esper Gifts and other decks (which is most of them) that are aiming to dominate with a The Scarab God.
We've been testing a bunch of decks. Ramp is the deck to beat. At least two of my testing group are going with that for Gameday, with Traverse the Ulenwald, due to Hedron Archive, Oath of Nissa, Evolving Wilds, Kozelik's Return, it's really easy to enable Delirium.
RB Vampires seems like a bust, it great draws are great but not unstoppable (Unlike Atarka Red's Great draws just left you helpless to a top deck turn 3.) It gets stomped by ramp. It gets stomped by Esper Dragons and Esper Control varieties (we tested this one extensively, because it looks like it should be very good, but, for some reason, the current designs we pulled from the internet and the current designs we our selves made weren't showing huge success).
About Esper, with new Sorin, they have a top end to win the game. The problem Esper has is no longer a strong amount of counters (Disdainful stroke for the late game was very powerful) and outside Planar Outburst and Descend Upon The Sinful, no unconditional boardwipes (and Descend is only a one or two of). Also, one of Esper's biggest problems now is that it runs out of cards and can't refill it's hand. There is no premier card draw, outside of painful truth, which plays as a horrible behind card to turn the game around. (There may be a U/B Zombie Control Deck, with Relentless Dead, Diregraf Colossus, and Flesh Bag Marauder, along with Under the Floorboards, Rise from the Tides).
I saw Cryptolith Rites and wanted to do something cool with it. My group thought I was crazy and said that it's nothing more than a fun commander card, but, then we tested G/B Devoid (Demonic Rites, or other names) and had some solid play against Esper, Dominated RB Vampires, and was good against ramp, not great, but good. But, I thought there was more to go for it, what if we got a little more ambitious.
The birth of NAYA Tokens: This is by far not a definitive list, but it's what we're working on right now.
Creatures
4x Deathmist Raptor
4x Den Protector
4x Hangarback Walker
4x Sylvan Advocate
2x Hanweir Militia Captain
2x Tireless Tracker
1x Ulamog, The Ceaseless Hunger
1x Dragonlord Atarka
3x Dromoka's Command
Enchantment
4x Cryptolith Rite
Planeswalker
3x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
3x Arlinn Kord
Land
3x Game Trail
3x Fortified Village
4x Canopy Vista
2x Cinder Glades
4x Westvale Abbey
2x Evolving Wilds
3x Forest
1x Mountain
2x Plains
Sorcery
3x Declaration in Stone
Instant
3x Secure The Wastes
1x Dromoka's Command
1x Ulamog, The Ceaseless Hunger
3x Worldbreaker
2x Evolutionary Leap
Okay this deck should be a bit self-explanatory, but it does a lot of things, so I'll elaborate. It's first win con is simply straight up agro, produce lots of tokens, pump them up, swing in, kill.
The second of Cryptolith ramp, where you produce lots of creatures, pump out your big creatures, Dragonlord Atarka or Ulamog, and their dead. The third win con is Westvale abbey, and tapping five tokens and sacking abbey and then the next turn just rebuilding the whole army.
Westvale abbey can be a good way to swing the game in the mid game when you're almost out and need life gain, it has so many crazy benefits, it's awesome.
One origins Planeswalker, probably Liliana (which many people will feel disappointed by, because in no way will it be Liliana of the Veil). Then probably two Planeswalkers from the Plane, probably Tibalt and Sorin.
In Fear, Jace and someone else, I think a 4 or 5 Mana Jace.
It takes a great hand to hit a turn 3 kill, but, it happens. In the meantime, the deck has a long game as well, ways to deal with board stalls, and ways to get around several challenges. This obviously isn't a finished list. It's a work in progress. But I've gotten into Pro Tour Atlanta, so, I'm in heavy testing so far.
Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Reckless Bushwhacker
Sorcery
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lava Spike
4 Serum Visions
2 Day's Undoing
3 Remand
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
Land
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
4 Sulfur Falls
4 Steam Vents
3 Islands
3 Mountain
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Mana Leak
1 Dispel
1 Anul
2 Vapor Snag
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Blood Moon
My friends were the first to say to me, why aren't you playing Snapcaster main, and it's because, it slows the deck down for what it's supposed to do. Beat the opponent down. When I get into a grindy match, full of disruption and removal, JUND for instance, or board stall, Lantern Control, then, I side in the Snapcaster, to take care of the late game, and to push through the extra burn.
Day's Undoing, the unplayable mystic, turns out to be very playable on the turn that you want it to be playable, a turn 5 without missing a land drop (which isn't always the case due to the 22 lands in the deck. But turn 5 lets you leave up counter magic to negate their draw, and often can give you a full hand to swing back hard if given the opportunity. Usually you don't want to get to that predicament, but, sometimes they're at a low enough life that it doesn't even matter, and a new hand gives you bolts to finish off the job.
The perfect hand is Turn 1 Delver, Turn 2 Young Pyromancer, Turn 3 Monastery swiftspear, Gitaxian, Gitaxian, Mutagenic, Mutagenic, Bushwhacker... like I said, it's not an always hand, and it's not meant to kill on turn 3, but, turn 4, but, it's happened, and a turn 3 kill is hugely nice.
For those of you who don't know, or haven't paid attention or written it off. It's a Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck that relies on awaken from Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper.
Creature
4 Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper
Instants
3 Anticipate
2 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Spell Shrivel
Sorcery
4 Magmatic Insight
3 Tormenting Voice
4 Treasure Cruise
3 Radiant Flames
2 Planar Outburst
2 Stasis Snare
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
Land
4 Prairie Stream
3 Flooded Strand
3 Windswept Heath
3 Mystic Monastery
2 Battlefield Forge
2 Shivan Reef
3 Island
3 Mountain
3 Plains
2 Brutal Expulsion
2 Roast
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Soulfire Grand Master
1 Stasis Snare
2 Gideon's Reproach
1 Spell Shriver
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Planar Outburst
2 Fate Forgotten
Now, questions I've been asked. Why no Jace? First off, every test I've had with Jace, has proven unsatisfying. On turn two, I want to anticipate, tormenting voice, or prep for Radiant Flames, I don't want like the slowing effect for a card that dies ninety percent of time, and leaves me behind. Two, it's abilities, though powerful, don't add a great deal to ending the game or giving me an advantage I won't get from the mountain of card draw I already have. Jace may be the best card in Standard, but, it's not the most needed card in this deck.
What deck challenges this. U/R Devoid and G/W Hardened Scales gave me my losses in Win-A-Box, U/R Devoid held me back because of it's cheap four and 5 toughness creatures, meaning I'm counting on Planar Outburst, Stasis Snare, and Spell Shrivel to keep them off the board. The massive boosting of creatures can be too overwhelming in the early game. But, if they don't have turn one hardened scales, it's pretty simple to beat, and they were close games.
By and large, this deck isn't perfect, it still needs some sideboard work, and some basic structuring, but, it's powerful and consistent.
2 Soulfire Grand master
2 Ojutai's Command
2 Sphinx's Tutelage
2 Negate
2 Dispel
1 Radiant Flames
1 Seismic Rupture
3 Jeskai Charm