Furyblade Vampire is another two-drop to consider with your current build. A solid beating if you have cards to pitch, crews copters when you don't, and is also a vampire on the occasions that matters.
I would consider dropping the Imprisoned angle. 2 cards and 7 mana for an extraction effect is cute but not very efficient, and giving your opponent mana seems counterproductive.
Pieces of the Puzzle will help you find all of your...erm...you know. Maybe instead of the blasts since the copy effect will be pricey? If you go that route could swap some of the Sowers to the board along with a couple utility Eldrazi for Coax from the Blind Eternities
Unless you're all in on the mill win, Fevered Visions is great here.
An Engulf the Shore or two can help you stabilize against faster starts after you start eating land.
What I really want you to do is ignore all that and play Dreadwaters. Mill baby mill
My limited testing was mostly focused on Reflector Mage and Spell Queller so of course I got none of those pairings.
Match 1 against B/W Legends:
Deck is similar to B/W Angels but also had Odric, Ayla, and Always Watching.
G1: I keep a slow hand with burn, but no creatures. The midgame consists of both of us saying "Land, go." His T3 Always Watching invalidates half my burn as removal so I start throwing what I can at his face to no avail. Lose.
G2: Unanswered T2 Thermo with a full grip of burn ends this really fast. Win
G3: Keep a hand with Thermo, two lands, and a bunch of burn. We both get stuck on two lands for a while. He finds his third first and I have to pitch burn to kill Thalia, then Thalia, then an Eldrazi Displacer. He wises up and doesn't let Thermo stick around long. By the time I start finding my lands, he sticks a second Always Watching and I come up a turn short with him at 12 and me holding 3 Firecrafts and 2 Commands.
(0-1)
Match 2 against Jund
G1: Durdling around until your opponent drops the Chandra that costs twice as much as your Chandra but is ten times better is not a great plan. Lose
G2: Lightning Berserker + Thermo set him up early, Regent + burn closes the deal. Win
G3: Thermo goes ping+burn+ping+die horribly, then another follows up right away and does the same thing. An obscene amount of burn to the face follows afterwards. Win
(1-1)
Match 3 against U/B Zombies:
Didn't really test against this one so didn't know how to play against it. I still don't. Didn't have good notes for this one, but the deck was light on removal which really helped. Won 2-0. We played 3 games afterwards which he trounced me completely in all 3.
(2-1)
Match 4 against Mono-B Zombies.
This version was NOT light on MD removal. MD Fleshbag Marauder makes Regent a sad panda.
I lose 1-2 here. Going 1-1 with my burn doesn't go well since he can bring most of his stuff back from the graveyard anyway. Tough nut to crack.
(2-2)
I was counting on match-ups with light MD removal like Bant, Spirits, and Humans and it blew up in my face spectacularly. Definitely missed the lack of board presence from the builds I normally run against the decks I went up against.
Props:
Atarka's Command: Even in a deck like this, at worst it's a Skullcrack which is still pretty decent. Niche plays like sneaking a dragon out T3 or getting reach to block happen occasionally.
Exquisite Firecraft: Still better than Collective Defiance. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
Lightning Berserker: Play moar tap lands plz.
Incendiary Flow: Exile all those stupid zombies.
Slops:
Me: Still can't mulligan for crap.
Fiery Impulse: Did ok most of the time, but I still HATE HATE HATE burn that can't go to creatures and the face.
Me again: "Nobody's playing removal in Standard right now, hur hur."
I'd replace Zurgo with Berserker, not Neonate. Berserker gets better as the game goes on and worst case can trade up with just about anything. T2 Sylvan Advocate gives Zurgo a sad (Neonate just goes around).
I liked Ire Shaman over Abbott when I was running your type of build. The evasion was more useful than prowess against all the clogged ground states. Playing him turn 2 wasn't always horrible like it was with Abbott if you're holding a T3/T4 Bushwhacker setup.
Love the tone of that article. "Sure Bant has as much representation as the next two archtypes combined, but some people said it would be 30% of the field instead of 20% so everything is a-ok"
The big surprise for me is how many zombie decks there are.
Tough call. I like the idea of MD Weaver, but hate losing out on an alternative non-spell threat in Regent (along with that delicious potential Roar damage).
Personally I would probably stick with option 1, or maybe swap the Revelers for Weavers if you want to go that route. I'm not high on that card right now.
Tormenting Voice is extremely risky against Spell Queller.
There are some really great plays in this deck. Bushwaker-Chandra is awesome as it gets you right into the pw clause. That's 7 damage out of 2 cards later in the game if you set the game up right.
Chandra's flip trigger is part of her activated ability, so unfortunately you'd still need to play another card to untap her so she can ping and flip.
Been testing against pretty much only those two decks since they scare me the most.
Bant CoCo is basically playing Russian roulette where you're at the mercy of their CoCo hits. It's hard to plan around "EOT play good card, get two good creatures hur hur." Reminds me too much of Bloodbraid Elf standard...
Going under works sometimes but is really risky. Going over is still probably the best bet but Queller makes it a little more difficult.
For Spirits, trying to target their creatures is usually an exercise in futility. Despite all the cute interactions and tempo plays, the kill is usually pretty slow (depending on build) so I usually just go for sticking creatures T1-T2 and throwing all my burn at their face while racing. Running out of gas is as real a risk for them as for us.
Sorry it's not terribly helpful. Neither our creatures nor our spells are good enough to rely on exclusively, but I think right now leaning towards spells makes sense due to Reflector Mage (Spell Queller don't care either way). The decklist I've been using in post #752 is what I've been using to try to limit the impact of both those cards.
Still trying to find a better answer than wait two months for CoCo to rotate out...
This is moving away from aggro a bit, but with the current meta it's tough trying to pound it out on the ground. Fewer creatures makes Reflector less backbreaking (or actually helpful with Regent), and the ability to cast two spells a turn with a decent amount at instant speed helps a lot against Queller in CoCo.
I've been enjoying the deck more than I thought I would. The TA trolling is real.
If you're still running the decklist from post #726, Kozilek's Return doesn't bother your creatures too much and isn't something they really expect a deck like ours to be running. Instant speed helps a lot.
Almost 20 years later and I got to make the same opening play from my Edric EDH deck.
Pieces of the Puzzle will help you find all of your...erm...you know. Maybe instead of the blasts since the copy effect will be pricey? If you go that route could swap some of the Sowers to the board along with a couple utility Eldrazi for Coax from the Blind Eternities
Unless you're all in on the mill win, Fevered Visions is great here.
An Engulf the Shore or two can help you stabilize against faster starts after you start eating land.
What I really want you to do is ignore all that and play Dreadwaters. Mill baby mill
1st and 15th at the SCG Syracuse Classic too. Guess the deck has some legs.
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=106366
4 Game Trail
15 Mountain
4 Thermo-Alchemist
3 Lightning Berserker
3 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
4 Thunderbreak Regent
1 Avaricious Dragon
4 Atarka's Command
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Exquisite Firecraft
4 Draconic Roar
4 Fiery Impulse
2 Collective Defiance
3 Roast
3 Weaver of Lightning
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1 Clip Wings
My limited testing was mostly focused on Reflector Mage and Spell Queller so of course I got none of those pairings.
Match 1 against B/W Legends:
Deck is similar to B/W Angels but also had Odric, Ayla, and Always Watching.
G1: I keep a slow hand with burn, but no creatures. The midgame consists of both of us saying "Land, go." His T3 Always Watching invalidates half my burn as removal so I start throwing what I can at his face to no avail. Lose.
SB: -4 Fiery Impulse +4 Rending Volley -1 Lightning Berserker +1 Clip Wings.
G2: Unanswered T2 Thermo with a full grip of burn ends this really fast. Win
G3: Keep a hand with Thermo, two lands, and a bunch of burn. We both get stuck on two lands for a while. He finds his third first and I have to pitch burn to kill Thalia, then Thalia, then an Eldrazi Displacer. He wises up and doesn't let Thermo stick around long. By the time I start finding my lands, he sticks a second Always Watching and I come up a turn short with him at 12 and me holding 3 Firecrafts and 2 Commands.
(0-1)
Match 2 against Jund
G1: Durdling around until your opponent drops the Chandra that costs twice as much as your Chandra but is ten times better is not a great plan. Lose
G2: Lightning Berserker + Thermo set him up early, Regent + burn closes the deal. Win
G3: Thermo goes ping+burn+ping+die horribly, then another follows up right away and does the same thing. An obscene amount of burn to the face follows afterwards. Win
(1-1)
Match 3 against U/B Zombies:
Didn't really test against this one so didn't know how to play against it. I still don't. Didn't have good notes for this one, but the deck was light on removal which really helped. Won 2-0. We played 3 games afterwards which he trounced me completely in all 3.
(2-1)
Match 4 against Mono-B Zombies.
This version was NOT light on MD removal. MD Fleshbag Marauder makes Regent a sad panda.
I lose 1-2 here. Going 1-1 with my burn doesn't go well since he can bring most of his stuff back from the graveyard anyway. Tough nut to crack.
(2-2)
I was counting on match-ups with light MD removal like Bant, Spirits, and Humans and it blew up in my face spectacularly. Definitely missed the lack of board presence from the builds I normally run against the decks I went up against.
Props:
Atarka's Command: Even in a deck like this, at worst it's a Skullcrack which is still pretty decent. Niche plays like sneaking a dragon out T3 or getting reach to block happen occasionally.
Exquisite Firecraft: Still better than Collective Defiance. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
Lightning Berserker: Play moar tap lands plz.
Incendiary Flow: Exile all those stupid zombies.
Slops:
Me: Still can't mulligan for crap.
Fiery Impulse: Did ok most of the time, but I still HATE HATE HATE burn that can't go to creatures and the face.
Me again: "Nobody's playing removal in Standard right now, hur hur."
Also it's been said before, but Lightning Berserker Lightning Berserker Lightning Berserker
The big surprise for me is how many zombie decks there are.
I think so, for the instant speed if nothing else. Potentially blanking a CoCo right after it happens for 3-4 mana is ok too.
Personally I would probably stick with option 1, or maybe swap the Revelers for Weavers if you want to go that route. I'm not high on that card right now.
Tormenting Voice is extremely risky against Spell Queller.
Chandra's flip trigger is part of her activated ability, so unfortunately you'd still need to play another card to untap her so she can ping and flip.
Bant CoCo is basically playing Russian roulette where you're at the mercy of their CoCo hits. It's hard to plan around "EOT play good card, get two good creatures hur hur." Reminds me too much of Bloodbraid Elf standard...
Going under works sometimes but is really risky. Going over is still probably the best bet but Queller makes it a little more difficult.
For Spirits, trying to target their creatures is usually an exercise in futility. Despite all the cute interactions and tempo plays, the kill is usually pretty slow (depending on build) so I usually just go for sticking creatures T1-T2 and throwing all my burn at their face while racing. Running out of gas is as real a risk for them as for us.
Sorry it's not terribly helpful. Neither our creatures nor our spells are good enough to rely on exclusively, but I think right now leaning towards spells makes sense due to Reflector Mage (Spell Queller don't care either way). The decklist I've been using in post #752 is what I've been using to try to limit the impact of both those cards.
Still trying to find a better answer than wait two months for CoCo to rotate out...
4 Thermo-Alchemist
4 Thunderbreak Regent
3 Lightning Berserker
2 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
1 Avaricious Dragon
Spells (23)
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Exquisite Firecraft
4 Draconic Roar
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Atarka's Command
3 Collective Defiance
15 Mountain
4 Game Trail
4 Cinder Glade
4 Rending Volley
4 Roast
4 Weaver of Lightning
2 Kozilek's Return
1 Clip Wings
This is moving away from aggro a bit, but with the current meta it's tough trying to pound it out on the ground. Fewer creatures makes Reflector less backbreaking (or actually helpful with Regent), and the ability to cast two spells a turn with a decent amount at instant speed helps a lot against Queller in CoCo.
I've been enjoying the deck more than I thought I would. The TA trolling is real.
Watch out for those flashed Selfless Spirit though