MTG Salvation

Hi all,

I like to hop into this thread and drop my most up-to-date list every once in awhile - here is what I"m doing:



Some of the logic - Perilous Voyage is great for Thalia/Chalice game 1, and I went with Echo of Eons over 2nd Wildest Dreams because I'm usually casting Dreams for 5 CMC at least anyway so one more CMC in exchange for potentially comboing with Strategic Planning dumping it in the yard seems like a good switch. Regarding the sideboard, Veil of Summer is an insane upgrade on Bound/Determined, Dissenter's Deliverance is for all the Chalices, Thing in the Ice is great for creature decks and decks that board out all of their removal, Spreading Seas for tron/amulet titan, and Weather the Storm for red prowess and burn decks. Unsure on the last card, but I think the sideboard has gotten much better in the past two years and makes the deck not completely a meme! Still a super fun deck, hope you all enjoy playing it!

Thanks for the reply! I agree with you on Grapeshot, but not because of the Storm comparison. It has drawn me cards to keep the combo going enough times to make it relevant. The Blood Moon plan was not as good with just the the Morphose, it was better with the Utopia Sprawls, but I took out the Sprawls due to nonbo with Precognition Field. I may put them back in and try to speed up the deck a bit - it's too slow for modern (but let's be honest it's mostly a fun deck, i'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know). I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi,

I am pretty new to the deck, but I figured I would share my list with you:



I added the perilous voyage so I don't autolose to game 1 Thalias and Eidolons. Remand seems like a decent fit but you hate seeing it with precognition field. The other tech I have going is x4 Manamorphose, which I haven't seen in any other lists but seems like a great include since it's basically just a free card, and you can use it to get the land off the top of your deck for precognition field, AND you can splash blood moon, which we can play through just fine! I have been considering replacing blue sun's zenith with grapeshot, but it's already a pain to keep track of mana and keeping track of storm alongside it would be obnoxious, however the remands would fit the deck much better. I also run one breeding pool so i can always fetch for the color I need - it hasn't stopped me from comboing often, so it seems like an okay concession. I think that's all the spice I have, but I'm going to figure out some more - the blood moons aren't good enough against tron, I think it's probably a 10/90 matchup still. but whatever, the deck is never going to be tier 1, just a super fun deck. Hope this helps, and welcome all criticism!

Cool report, thanks for sharing! Lantern and Ponza aren't the kind of decks that are fun to play magic against, so sounds like a rough tournament haha. I would keep the Summoner's Pacts in - I would board out Walking Ballista, Batterskull, one Gruul Turf (similar to Death & Taxes, the tempo swing from a strip mine on a karoo is backbreaking) and both Trackers, which would give me room for one Dismember to answer a t1 Bird or Elf. I would also rather bring a 2nd EE main rather than a Rec Sage, as you need 3/4 pieces to combo off (this is first and foremost a combo deck after all), and drawing the Sage in your opener against some matchups is rough, whereas EE will answer most of the same threats but is good in almost every matchup in some capacity.

Also, check out the Discord server where we chat Amulet strategy if you haven't already! https://discord.gg/9Ntysn

Thank you for the detailed response I'll let you know how it goes through some playtesting, going to give it a few weeks to build up some results. Out of country for two weeks so no magic during that period. Thanks for input!

@maverickzero First off, welcome to the forum! Love the avatar, big Mega Man fan as a kid. Lots to respond to, will do so this weekend probably. But regarding the black splash, it has been explored. Here are the core cards of the deck:

~27 Lands
4 Amulet of Vigor
4 Ancient Stirrings
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Primeval Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
4 Summoner's Pact

So that's 52 cards not counting Pact of Negation, which you may not need if you're running collective brutality or something to that effect. I'm not sure if Fatal Push is the answer, as I think Dismember does the same thing and we have plenty of life to work with against those decks typically, we just need to survive turn 3 or whatever. I think a better benefit of black would be hand disruption - having to race combo decks like Storm, Ad Nauseum and Scapeshift that are just faster and have a more reliable combo than us is not that fun. Or maybe a card like Raven's Crime. If we could get that in the graveyard, we would have something to do with the zillion lands in our hand in the mid game. Kinda scattered, but that's my two cents. Also, Ob Nix (creature with landfall) was discussed as an interesting wincon, and Glissa was another neat card option.

Thank you for the quick response! I appreciate all of your advice and will take it into account! I'm currently thinking about the following changes: +1 Dark Confidant, +4 Young Pyromancer, +1 Eternal Witness, +1 Traverse the Ulvenwald, -3 Lili, -4 Birds. Birds are less necessary without Lili's. I want to try the Gemstone Mines before tossing them, especially since I would still like to have t1 green for Traverse, t1 black for Seize and t3 triple red for Assault. But I'm open to dropping if they underperform. I actually like the overall strategy with the Young Pyros - the tokens chump block, and the 3 Seize, 3 Ravens Crime and 2 Collective Brutality keep their hand free of important spells, covers both axis of creatures and spells for the most part. I'm thinking E-Wit is solid as a Traverse-able way to pull Gitrog from the yard if he gets dredged, and if I don't want Gitrog then E-Wit is another copy of Terminate or Collective Brutality. I may eventually swap it out with Kolaghan's Command though.

What are the deck's match-ups against Tiers 1 & 2 decks? Specifically: Storm, Affinity, Jeskai Tempo, Eldrazi Tron, Titanshift, G/x Tron, B/G/x variants (including Jund), Grixis Death's Shadow, Collected Company decks, Taxes decks (Mono-white, eldrazi, etc), and janky artifact strategies (including Lantern). I can use intuition on most of these, but I'm curious what you guys (the experts) have the most trouble with and what kinds of sideboard cards you would never leave home without, cards that crush us (other than the obvious like Rest in Peace). One of the benefits of my build is the ability to put 1-of silver bullet creatures into the deck that I can Traverse to, so that's something else I'm factoring into my sideboarding decisions. Also, if anyone is interested in talking more about the strategy, I can start up a Discord chat or something. Forum seems pretty quiet, so maybe it would lead to increated discussion. Thanks for any feedback!

Hello all! I'm interested in giving this shell a shot, as it seems like it would have game against combo and control, which the meta is pretty full of right now. Plus the deck just seems sweet! I have been tweaking a list, and I would like to run it past the people who have grinded every iteration for feedback:



I've only been into Modern for about 9 months, so Brian DeMar's article on CFB was the first I've heard about the Assault Loam archetype. I've played Amulet Titan exclusively since I started modern, so a combo deck that can grind and utilize a suite of interesting lands is right in my wheelhouse! Here is some of my logic, but please feel free to punch holes in it as you see fit:

Collective Brutality: Between having a bad burn match-up and the desire to discard extra copies of Seismic Assault (with 4 in the main), lands and Loam, Collective Brutality seems like a natural addition. It doesn't hurt that it's also just good without the discard synergies.

Birds of Paradise: I want to consistently stick Seismic Assault by turn 3 (thus running the full four copies), and since I am running three LotV, I should hopefully be able to launch one of the powerful three drops on turn 2. Birds also allows for extra Raven's Crime retracing on turn 2 or a two-drop and a one-drop, which can be pretty power.

Dark Confidant: Birds of Paradise is pretty bad card quality, therefore I wanted to have something to generate pure card advantage other than Loaming cycling lands in the late game. Dark Confidant also helps find the Seismic Assault/Loam and allows us to run two Traverse and one Gitrog, which is committing only three pieces that are decent card quality on their own and together can create a near infinite combo. More below on the combo.

Traverse the Ulvenwald and The Gitrog Monster: Gitrog obviously kills it in this deck, but 5 cmc spots in a deck that wants to chuck all of its lands at opponents' faces isn't a small task, so one seems like the optimal number. The near infinite combo is Gitrog/Dakmor Salvage and Assault, which allows you to ping two damage as many times as your deck allows (you need to dredge 2 each time you ping, so the amount of damage is equal to the # of cards in your deck divided by two essentially), and it's worth noting that the combo fires at instant speed, and if you have a 2nd land in hand it works through removal. With Birds and Bobs, we're almost guaranteed to have delirium with land/instant/sorcery/creature by about turn 4/5, at which point Traverse can grab either piece of the combo (Gitrog or Salvage). If we dredge the Gitrog on accident, we can always just grab Raging Ravine or a cycling land to begin the card advantage engine.

Gemstone Mine: This is definitely speculative, but my logic is that 1) we need turn 1 black/green for Thoughtseize, Raven's Crime, Birds of Paradise and Traverse the Ulvenwald, but need double black for Liliana of the Veil and triple red for Seismic Assault. Gemstone comes in untapped and helps us curve out. Our curve tops out at three though, so when Gemstone Mine dies we just play a third land and the Gemstone Mine becomes a Loam target for the rest of the game. Seems like it synergizes well with the rest of the deck, but curious if it's been tested.

The sideboard is completely speculative. Also, I would like to fit another Traverse or a Kolaghan's Command into the main to bring back a milled Gitrog and have maindeck artifact hate, but the list feels tight. Suggestions and constructive criticism welcomed, and feel free to drop me a line about anything, as I enjoy meeting new people and the collaborative brewing process. Thanks all!

Polymorph plan sounds better in another deck...

I tested a version of Protean Hulk - it's hilarious but worse than Emrakul in my experience. The problem with both decks in my experience is the card quality stinks, worse-so in Protean Hulk version. If they counter the Breach or 'seize your Azusa, you're playing from the top almost immediately, which is rough. I've found the Breach iterations to have terrible match-ups against Jund (basically unwinnable against even the average Jund hand), all decks with the Seize/IoK/Collective Brutality/Lili package in whatever amounts, and U/R Breach. For that reason, I'm back on the stock version until combo is less prevalent in the format, which is bringing hand disruption and control pretty heavily into the meta right now. The stock version also has game against Jund, whereas I feel like I should just scoop with Breach version. I'm currently on a Rec Sage and x3 Swan Song to win counter wars and counter Blood Moons. Curious to hear any other results.

@daviusminimus It appears that everyone took your request for advice as an opportunity to plug all their own builds, so I'll offer some advice. I think Botanical Sanctum vs Grove is a close call. I think with no Explores or Serum Visions and only one Relic, plus the SSG, plus 28 lands, your card quality is worse than the typical Amulet list, so you may need the Groves more than some other decks to stave off a Death's Shadow for an extra turn or two. I also think needing a blue source on turn 1 may not be what you need all that often - I think you'll usually be spending turn 1 playing an amulet or a Scout. That said, postboard if you board out scouts or amulets the Botanical Sanctum could feel pretty smart. I like at least two Relics, which gives you a pretty good chance of finding it in your opener or off a Stirrings, and finding it by t2 is pretty important against Storm and Shadow decks (although t2 on the draw isn't even quick enough sometimes!). I feel like when I find Relic I beat Storm almost every time if I can afford to keep up 1 mana each turn - they need a double Grapeshot or a ridiculous amount of cantrip luck to go off through a Relic, as I'm sure you know. Since you have Bog main, I think you're fine with 1 though. I never liked Explore, so I can't speak to that. If I were to make a suggestion, I would maybe commit to either 2 SSG or 2 Pierce or drop the Courser, or visions or something. I feel like the flex spots should either be used to have answers to everything or speed the deck up. While you have a lot of answers, you sacrifice a lot of card quality/advantage to do it, so I think your BGx and other attrition strategies is probably weak. Explores and Visions help a lot in those matches in my experience. As you mentioned, you made room for another Tracker with this strategy, so maybe you are comfortable enough post-board against those archetypes that it's no biggie. Hope that helped.

@kanister thanks for clarification. I'll be paying close attention. Magic is too damn complicated...

@Bob449 beat me to it, just about to post this. The rule change doesn't explicitly call our Vesuva's effect but I also assume that it nullifies the ability to copy basics. Karoos coming in untapped is a small consolation for one of the few good tools we have against blood moon. It's a bummer.

@0oSunnYo0 *slow clap* - so thorough, I have dealt with so many of those situations. Thank you for the thoughtful commentary, your firsthand experience is super useful. This is why I love the amulet community - so many dedicated followers with great feedback for the group. Can't wait for this matchup now!

thanks for the feedback guys. I've come to the conclusion that 1) Trinket Mage just isn't cutting it right now due to the lack of room for Pithing Needle and Chalice in the board and the fact that when you need EE and Relic to survive, you need it right now, not after you tap out to put it in your hand to play it next turn. And 2) Dismember is great against Storm, Jeskai Tempo, Counters Company (bad match-up), BG Rock and Jund, Death's Shadow variants, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Death/Eldrazi & Taxes, and so much more. Pretty much everything but U/W Control, Titanshift, Tron, and some combo decks that Trinket Mage wouldn't help against much anyway (grab an amulet and go off next turn if they don't). I think there is an argument to bringing a second Dismember mainboard as well over the 4th Azusa, but for now I think I'll leave it. I also want to bring back GQ main because I hate losing to tron, but there is a ton of Snap control in my LGS scene so Bog stays in for now. I didn't like the Ramunap Excavator either - the GQ lock happens too late in the game usually, and otherwise it's only good if they've Fulminator'd you, and in that case you're usually getting beat and not spending your summoner's pact on an Excavator - so I brought in an Ancient Grudge, which I think I prefer over Seal of Primordium in a meta without many Blood Moons. Here's my current list if anyone is interested.

What's the strategy vs Jeskai Tempo? Bobby boards out amulets and scouts, and boards in threats, dismembers and swan songs. Dismember didn't feel great to me, but I can't think of a better strategy. If you don't bring in dismembers and try to keep up with tempo, they'll just swing a couple times and then helix/electrolyze/bolt and snap back to close the game. You can't sit back and find your cavern and cast threat after threat to dry up their removal, because you're taking 3-5 dmg per turn you don't do anything. I think Ruric has to be a big part of this, but I'm not smart enough to know the answer. Help appreciated, thanks.