I understand how curve works, and I understand what your saying - and I'm telling you that in my play tests the card rarely made a difference because of all the other removal I play that is perfectly on curve.
If it works for you - awesome. I'm presenting a slightly different list that is catered to my flavor, retains a good mana base, and plays on curve. Nowhere did I say I didn't understand the reasoning for playing the card, I simply said that it has not been spectacular to me.
That is your removal that cost 3 or less from the last list you posted... It likely has not been spectacular because the rest of your list is probably inadequate in general. You must not be playing against any Hangarback Walker + Dromoka's Command decks.
I know I am coming off as super abrasive, but there is some sort of fundamental disconnect going on with the idea that Ruinous Path is worse than Utter End. That was evident the moment people started saying they were running a 4CC card over a 3CC card.
I've been testing R Path myself lately, and Kamahl's right, it really is in the perfect spot on the curve, and it kills everything. Sure, it drops from being an instant (H downfall), but TBH it is still the most effective way to deal with most any threat.
How do you draw cards?, I don't see a lot of card drawing and no early card draw. It's not easy to have your plainswalkers do most of your card drawing. I like the experimentation though, nice to see
I like the idea of a lot of these Ally cards, I can see them breathing more life into a Rally the Ancestors deck, one gives all your creatures haste and another gives them menace, and both of them are 4 mana or less casting cost. Just an idea.
Why would they make it a point to reprint modern-esque cards when they just immersed the market with MM2015? Serious question, not being an ass.
Why that would be good from a completely cynical "let's make money"-perspective, I don't know. Maybe it would (because it would boost sales), maybe it wouldn't, I don't know.
That said, modern is now more expensive than ever (MM2015 didn't do much to the prices) and it's at a level where the average player simply cannot afford most of the decks. Given that the format is becoming increasingly popular, that's a problem for a large portion of the player base, and people are (rightly) complaining about that. In case of modern the price-increase is particularly problematic because the affordable decks are almost always very linear strategies (combo, burn, etc.) that many players feel are boring to play and play against. The midrange stuff is usually very expensive.
Also, modern reprints are important for non-modern players as well because they are usually valuable cards that they can trade for (often times numerous) cards they actually need.
I have to disagree with this, if only that I do well in modern with budget decks. If you make your own, you get an advantage over net deckers, even if they have a more 'powerful' deck. Show up to your local shop for a few weeks in a row and you will see the meta, who plays what and how much of what is played, then you get to sideboard hate for them, and they can't for you. It really makes the dollar difference shrink considerably by keeping your eyes open.
As an experiment, I had been making terrible Standard decks of only uncommon and below creatures and have been keeping up with who does well in the pro tours, and sure enough, every week someone does well with something in the pros the next weekend in the game shop there are 10 desperate people playing that deck and get beat by my crap deck because they are piloting a deck they have no idea how to use. I am not lauding my own deck building skills here, I am just showing how easy it is to not spend a lot of money and still do well.
It is my mission to make people try and brew once in awhile, and move Magic away from the very expensive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors it has become.
This set sucks. And not because of the weak cards. I can live with weak cards. It means my wallet is safe. If the cards are well designed, flavourful and interesting, but weak, I don't mind.
The problem is the cards are not well designed. At all. And only a few cards are interesting.
First of all the allies. They shouldn't even be in the set. Because they just don't work from a flavour perspective. Let us see what their flavour was in the original Zendikar. They were mercenaries. Helping people on their expeditions into dangerous territory. And since people hired several of these mercenaries they worked together, and got stronger from it.
Now let's see battle for Zendikar. What is the flavour of the set? Everyone on Zendikar vs. the Eldrazi. So...Everyone is allied together? Then why is Cliffside Lookout an ally and Shadow Glider isn't? There is no distinction flavourwise why one is and the other isn't. Either every zendikar resident should have an ally type or nobody should have one. This mechanic makes no sense in this set and is in here just because the original Zendikar had it.
Next we have devoid and awaken. Which are just utterly pointless. And Wotc is trying to present them as some big parts of the set, as a new mechanic. But they are not good mechanics. Devoid shouldn't even be called a mechanic. If the card was just colorless and had no devoid text, what would change? Nothing. But Wotc is trying to make it look as if this is a ''mechanic''. And awaken is the most boring and uninspired design I've seen since...megamorph. Awaken cards are just cards we've seen before, with an option to pay extra for +1/+1 counters. Just like megamorph was morph with a +1/+1 counter. I am sick and tired of all these ''mechanics'' that are basically just a +1/+1 counter.
Landfall and converge are OK, but not really something new and both seem very neutered to me.
Another thing I dislike is the art. There are some exceptions, but overall this set just looks plain ugly. I realize this is highly subjective, but that's how I feel about it.
Overall this set is just bad. From a flavour perspective, from a design standpoint and from a powerlevel perspective aswell. Though like I said, the last one doesn't bother me. I might try a draft, but I'm not sure. It seems to me Wotc just relied on the expeditions to help them sell it. Maybe they even knew the set is garbage, so they added them. It would also explain the garbage art they have, maybe they were super rushed.
I agree with some of what you've said here, especially about the arbitrary way they makes some creatures Allies and some not, however I will disagree with you about Awaken being a boring mechanic. To me it seems fantastic, especially for control decks looking for new ways to close out victory, and awakening one of the man lands is just a nasty proposition, a 6/6+ hexproof or 5/6 lifelink is nothing to sneeze at.
I understand good removal can just lock out brews.. but you know what else locks out a brew....hangarback walker, seige rhino and Den protector. you want will make your deck better HW.
Okay the counterspells are pretty good right now, I mean its not mana leak but we have Silumgar's scorn so its hard to complain. Horribly arwy... creature only 4 or less... perhaps HW SR and DP will be the only threats and then it will be playable. But then someone will play Ojutai and you will cry, or perhaps a plainswalker or outpost seige. scatter to the winds and the devoid pay 4 spell... eventually I"ll learn their names. both are three mana. But counterspells are time sensitive, you need them at the moment and you need to be on the play to even hit HW.
Even the stuff that hits is 1 for 1 removal, the only way going 1 for 1 works is if you gain tempo advantage. I want to be able to kill their creature than counterspell their next play... or Dig through time. That only works if they spend their whole turn to cast and I get to do two things. I mean that sounds like I get everything I want but I don't because there is variance and my deck isn't going to give me what I want everytime.
If something is conditional then I need it to be low cost so I can tempo out people. I am okay with paying 4 for instant speed unconditional exile (utter end, silence the believers) I am okay for playing 3 for a sac if it gains me life (foul-tounge invocation, tribute to hunger) but I am not okay paying 3 for conditional exile that doesn't even kill half the threats I care about. It's too slow to save me from little aggro creatures and its a disaster if I draw it against a control or mid range deck.
I don't want to play a 24 counter deck I want to play a 6 counters, 6-10 spot removal, 4 wrath, 4-6 draw spell deck. This is standard I get I have to play creatures or plainswalkers as win conditions, no other 60 format do I get to play dragons. Right now there just isn't the 6-10 spot removal. I basically I can't start the game until turn 3 because the only 2 cmc removal doesn't kill anything that matters.
I just want doom blade back, it doesn't even kill tasigur or rhino (but those I can counter) and only gets half of a walker :/...
I play home-brewed UBW control, and Reality Shift is my all-star. it lets me do those 2 for 1s you are talking about, and it is that 2cmc you are looking for. As an added bonus that walker doesn't activate and bye bye Rhino/Raptor who was annoying me. Despise can be an interesting card as early it takes out a creature that is going to bother you and later it gets rid of that Elsbeth/Ugin. These are both low cost conditional cards that are tempo positive. Not sure if this helps, but these are two value cards I have found.
While you would normally think of this as a mill deck, it is more a control deck that mills as one of the initial win conditions. You stabilize the board, then card draw advantage will eventually win the game either through milling, Sulimgar, or Jace's ultimate. Plays much the same as regular Esper control, it is just a little more flexible.
The sideboard is designed to give a different look depending on what you face, you can take out the tutelage and switch to a straight control deck with creatures and jace as the win con, or continue milling with some minor tweaking. It is weighted towards Azban hate with the three Infinite Obliterations because of my local meta, you may consider doing something different with those slots. Orbs are in vs the Tutelage mirror or RDW. Sorin is both creature creation vs control and lifegain vs aggro. Valorous Stance nice as a jack of all trades, same with Utter End.
Key Cards Jace, Vryn's Prodigy - it is important to see more cards than your opponent, and fill up your graveyard to power delve cards all without using mana Monastery Siege - mana-less card-draw and delve fuel again, with the added bonus of making life miserable for RDW when you choose Dragons. Reality Shift - although this card sees little use, I find it is very helpful in this deck, not only does it kill any creature in the meta without evasion, it takes another card off their deck which benefits a milling strategy. The 2/2s left behind tend to get picked up by board sweepers, and don't do appreciable damage even if left due the the life gain you accrue over the game due to 12 lands that can make life. Treasure CruiseGurmag Angler Tasigur, the Golden Fang - you sift through a lot of cards. these take advantage of it though delve.
I have been testing this deck quite a bit in my local community, it has been performing well, one thing I have noticed is I have to play my turns fairly quickly, as my opponents tend to take longer than usual because they are trying to figure out the deck. I had a lot of draws until I sped up my play to compensate.
Best Matchups: Azban Control, RDW
Worst Matchup: Esper Control, due to time constraints, often ending in draw. Aggressive aggro decks can sometimes overwhelm if not enough removal is drawn in time.
If I have left anything out of the explanation, or you have any questions or suggestions, please comment, feedback is more than welcome.
My name is Dave, and I used to play magic from the early days (beta) to the urza's block. I recently got back in during DTK, and have been drafting and playing tournaments for the first time in my life. When I first started magic it was a few guys around whatever table you could cobble together, so walking into a card shop after all these years was an eye opening experience for me. I'm a fairly casual player, but I can take games off ranked players and I have won a few FNMs over the past months, so by no means am I what you would call a noob, but the sheer depth of cards I have missed since I have been gone has made the holes in my game apparent, so I hope to be able to pick brains here for ideas and for strategies. Feel free to pick mine too, I am here for anything Magic really. Except Homelands. The first rule of MTG is no one talks about Homelands.
I agree here, it is impossible to think red won't do well in this environment, with Swiftspears, Abbots, Outbursts, and the ability to still go Atarka.
As you can see the deck has a lot of moving parts, you try and get a curio down turn 2 or 3, then try and assemble your combination. Having the curio out makes for all sorts of abuse. For instance, abundant growth becomes a 1 mana repeatable card draw if you have another enchantment in play to bounce (2 abundant growth being ideal). Reality Acid turns from a terrible card into a very good one by bypassing the vanishing requirements. You can bounce an abundant growth and a reality acid for an advantage that quickly adds up. Utopia Sprawl and Arbor Elf helps speed things up and also synergizes with the abundant growth card draw strategy. Muddle the Mixture and Drift of Phantasms can be used for either transmuting for the piece of the combination you are missing, or for a counter and a blocker respectively. Drift can also get Reality Acid or Ensnaring Bridge, depending upon the situation. This deck can kill on turn 3 with a favourable draw, and reasonable hits the combination by turn 5-6 most times. The sideboard is a constantly evolving thing, the Doomwake Giants work surprisingly well when you are bouncing one mana enchantments around, the rest is standard hate for the most part, side in and out what you think you need vs each matchup. I have actually considered either Managorger Hydra or Sigil of the Empty Throne as alternate win conditions as well, though they don't quite fit as easily.
edit: Played modern last night vs Tron, I was able to have a curio out by turn 2 and by turn 3 I was destroying his lands using reality acid and my opp conceded. Many interesting ways to victory I am finding.
Any Feedback would be appreciated, I am fairly new to modern and I do not have a veteran's overall picture of the card pool, previous incarnations of decks, or just plain experience.
I've been testing R Path myself lately, and Kamahl's right, it really is in the perfect spot on the curve, and it kills everything. Sure, it drops from being an instant (H downfall), but TBH it is still the most effective way to deal with most any threat.
How do you draw cards?, I don't see a lot of card drawing and no early card draw. It's not easy to have your plainswalkers do most of your card drawing. I like the experimentation though, nice to see
I have to disagree with this, if only that I do well in modern with budget decks. If you make your own, you get an advantage over net deckers, even if they have a more 'powerful' deck. Show up to your local shop for a few weeks in a row and you will see the meta, who plays what and how much of what is played, then you get to sideboard hate for them, and they can't for you. It really makes the dollar difference shrink considerably by keeping your eyes open.
As an experiment, I had been making terrible Standard decks of only uncommon and below creatures and have been keeping up with who does well in the pro tours, and sure enough, every week someone does well with something in the pros the next weekend in the game shop there are 10 desperate people playing that deck and get beat by my crap deck because they are piloting a deck they have no idea how to use. I am not lauding my own deck building skills here, I am just showing how easy it is to not spend a lot of money and still do well.
It is my mission to make people try and brew once in awhile, and move Magic away from the very expensive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors it has become.
I really think the 3 to 2 set change is the real reason this is so haphazard. The next block will have all the growing pains worked out hopefully
I agree with some of what you've said here, especially about the arbitrary way they makes some creatures Allies and some not, however I will disagree with you about Awaken being a boring mechanic. To me it seems fantastic, especially for control decks looking for new ways to close out victory, and awakening one of the man lands is just a nasty proposition, a 6/6+ hexproof or 5/6 lifelink is nothing to sneeze at.
I play home-brewed UBW control, and Reality Shift is my all-star. it lets me do those 2 for 1s you are talking about, and it is that 2cmc you are looking for. As an added bonus that walker doesn't activate and bye bye Rhino/Raptor who was annoying me. Despise can be an interesting card as early it takes out a creature that is going to bother you and later it gets rid of that Elsbeth/Ugin. These are both low cost conditional cards that are tempo positive. Not sure if this helps, but these are two value cards I have found.
4 Negate
4 Reality Shift
3 Ultimate Price
1 Valorous Stance
3 Clash of Wills
4 Languish
1 Utter End
4 Treasure Cruise
4 Monastery Siege
4 Sphinx's Tutelage
Creatures 5
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
Lands 22
4 Dismal Backwater
4 Scoured Barrens
4 Tranquil Cove
4 Polluted Delta
3 Swamp
3 Island
3 Duress
3 Gurmag Angler
2 Infinite Obliteration
2 Orbs of Warding
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Utter End
1 Valorous Stance
While you would normally think of this as a mill deck, it is more a control deck that mills as one of the initial win conditions. You stabilize the board, then card draw advantage will eventually win the game either through milling, Sulimgar, or Jace's ultimate. Plays much the same as regular Esper control, it is just a little more flexible.
The sideboard is designed to give a different look depending on what you face, you can take out the tutelage and switch to a straight control deck with creatures and jace as the win con, or continue milling with some minor tweaking. It is weighted towards Azban hate with the three Infinite Obliterations because of my local meta, you may consider doing something different with those slots. Orbs are in vs the Tutelage mirror or RDW. Sorin is both creature creation vs control and lifegain vs aggro. Valorous Stance nice as a jack of all trades, same with Utter End.
Key Cards
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy - it is important to see more cards than your opponent, and fill up your graveyard to power delve cards all without using mana
Monastery Siege - mana-less card-draw and delve fuel again, with the added bonus of making life miserable for RDW when you choose Dragons.
Reality Shift - although this card sees little use, I find it is very helpful in this deck, not only does it kill any creature in the meta without evasion, it takes another card off their deck which benefits a milling strategy. The 2/2s left behind tend to get picked up by board sweepers, and don't do appreciable damage even if left due the the life gain you accrue over the game due to 12 lands that can make life.
Treasure Cruise Gurmag Angler Tasigur, the Golden Fang - you sift through a lot of cards. these take advantage of it though delve.
I have been testing this deck quite a bit in my local community, it has been performing well, one thing I have noticed is I have to play my turns fairly quickly, as my opponents tend to take longer than usual because they are trying to figure out the deck. I had a lot of draws until I sped up my play to compensate.
Best Matchups: Azban Control, RDW
Worst Matchup: Esper Control, due to time constraints, often ending in draw. Aggressive aggro decks can sometimes overwhelm if not enough removal is drawn in time.
If I have left anything out of the explanation, or you have any questions or suggestions, please comment, feedback is more than welcome.
My name is Dave, and I used to play magic from the early days (beta) to the urza's block. I recently got back in during DTK, and have been drafting and playing tournaments for the first time in my life. When I first started magic it was a few guys around whatever table you could cobble together, so walking into a card shop after all these years was an eye opening experience for me. I'm a fairly casual player, but I can take games off ranked players and I have won a few FNMs over the past months, so by no means am I what you would call a noob, but the sheer depth of cards I have missed since I have been gone has made the holes in my game apparent, so I hope to be able to pick brains here for ideas and for strategies. Feel free to pick mine too, I am here for anything Magic really. Except Homelands. The first rule of MTG is no one talks about Homelands.
I decided to base a deck around using the Cloudstone Curio mechanic, and this is my attempt. I cast the Curio with Altar of the Brood or Impact Tremors, then cycle the infinite combination of two of either Burning-Tree Emissary or Priest of Urabrask to mill/damage my opponent for the victory.
4 Muddle the Mixture
Creatures 15
4 Arbor Elf
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Drift of Phantasms
3 Priest of Urabrask
Artifacts/Enchantments 21
4 Altar of the Brood
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Abundant Growth
2 Impact Tremors
4 Cloudstone Curio
2 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Reality Acid
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Stomping Ground
4 Breeding Pool
3 Hinterland Harbor
2 Forest
2 Yavimaya Coast
1 Academy Ruins
4 Pyroclasm
3 Dispel
3 Spellskite
2 Impact Tremors
1 Reality Acid
2 Doomwake Giant
As you can see the deck has a lot of moving parts, you try and get a curio down turn 2 or 3, then try and assemble your combination. Having the curio out makes for all sorts of abuse. For instance, abundant growth becomes a 1 mana repeatable card draw if you have another enchantment in play to bounce (2 abundant growth being ideal). Reality Acid turns from a terrible card into a very good one by bypassing the vanishing requirements. You can bounce an abundant growth and a reality acid for an advantage that quickly adds up. Utopia Sprawl and Arbor Elf helps speed things up and also synergizes with the abundant growth card draw strategy. Muddle the Mixture and Drift of Phantasms can be used for either transmuting for the piece of the combination you are missing, or for a counter and a blocker respectively. Drift can also get Reality Acid or Ensnaring Bridge, depending upon the situation. This deck can kill on turn 3 with a favourable draw, and reasonable hits the combination by turn 5-6 most times. The sideboard is a constantly evolving thing, the Doomwake Giants work surprisingly well when you are bouncing one mana enchantments around, the rest is standard hate for the most part, side in and out what you think you need vs each matchup. I have actually considered either Managorger Hydra or Sigil of the Empty Throne as alternate win conditions as well, though they don't quite fit as easily.
edit: Played modern last night vs Tron, I was able to have a curio out by turn 2 and by turn 3 I was destroying his lands using reality acid and my opp conceded. Many interesting ways to victory I am finding.
Any Feedback would be appreciated, I am fairly new to modern and I do not have a veteran's overall picture of the card pool, previous incarnations of decks, or just plain experience.
Cheers!