Talking Creatures
I did some testing with Tilling Treefolk instead of Life From The Loam due to the ability to cycle it in and out as well as another body on the field my opponent wanted to get rid of and was not disappointed with it. Flickerwisp has been a giant pain in the deck, looking forward my thoughts have been towards lands and getting one more in the list, that makes Flickerwisp an easy target for a cut. Looking at possibilities Restoration Angel is something I really want to draw a win or two off the value of my creatures with, I'll be testing a pair of them out next time. Street Wraith has been an oddball B minus card in the list, while Astral Drift demands its' presence, not quite sold yet, but not sold on cutting any yet either (Damned if you do....). Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch are incredible turn one plays, not to mention the early Astral Drift, but also the ability to keep a two land hand with Eternal Witness to guarantee picking up the Windswept Heath has been a great turn two play. Siege Rhino was the ringer, I either wanted more or wished it was a Thragtusk, going forward I may replace a Flickerwisp with one, the straight value train with the cleanup step in combat cycle out a Siege Rhino has been amazing, not mentioning the games where you just cast one on turn three and turn four for the game. Eternal Witness makes this deck sing and dance, if you aren't on four in your list, you should be. Tidehollow Sculler falls into the same effectiveness and bold play this deck needs, if I could run ten I would.
Talking Sorceries Edge of Autumn in my testing has been slowly deciding to whittle itself out of the list, unfairly due to the fact you lose so much steam when you cycle it, however as an opener with a Noble Hierarch or Birds of Paradise you can really start to slam down problems onto the battlefield simply due to the plus two mana. Edge of Autumn is also high on my keep as a singleton list for fixing and digging purposes, if I were running a few Flagstones of Trokair my list would run four Edge of Autumn. Unearth is probably the best card to be printed into modern from horizons. Due to the requirement of only a small creature coming home, two seems fair enough especially with Eternal Witness leading the commotion. Inquisition of Kozilek while not quite as powerful as Thoughtseize, also doesn't give them back the card like Tidehollow Sculler either. Something grand and explosive like a turn one play using an Inquisition of Kozilek to discard their Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize followed by a Tidehollow Sculler to take the Tarmogoyf or Lightning Bolt makes my day. Definitely wish for more design space to increase these, guess that's what the sideboard is for right?
Talking Instants Path to Exile is the workhorse of modern, this deck needs more than two, I plan to increase it to three and have another target when I board in Wasteland Strangler. Abrupt Decay mainboard has been an impressive tool, Eternal Witness just smooths out your need for things when the opponent hasn't robbed you of its' goodness with a Surgical Extraction.
Talking Lands
One of each Temple Garden, Overgrown Tomb and Godless Shrine has been the only mix I've seen necessary, early turns need the untapped lands to power things up, past that you can fetch for a basic or the tapped Scattered Groves if needed, remembering there's only a few basics in the deck against Blood Moon is a high priority. Usually after a fetch or two all the shocklands are on the battlefield, I leave Scattered Groves in the deck to keep a 'live' draw still in the list instead of turn four plus topdecking a Temple Garden for the loss, you have a chance for the cycler to drive you home.
With this list I had a hard time with having enough lands, like I said earlier I really wish I had one more. Flickerwisp has not performed enough to justify a four pack.
I would love some feedback on my list, constructive criticism only please. I took it to FNM for the first time last night and played against Burn (0-2)Jeskai (1-2) and Pox Attrition (2-0). I'm looking to ramp it up next week and get it firing on more than just two cylinders.
Introduction: Answering the Call of the Wild might sound like widdling outdoors behind the woodshed to you, if so you're in the right place! Now, I know what you're thinking, Call of the Wild isn't a modern legal card, it's enough to make you flip that table isn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the birth of Impromptu Raid.
The ramp up! Arbor Elf- By and far one of our best tools for achieving maximum velocity, grants the power to ramp as well and abuse our lands that have been tainted by an enchantment. Play four or don't bother playing. Utopia Sprawl- Easiest and most resilient way to ramp pair it with an arbor elf and you're running a turn 2 Thragtusk onto the battlefield. Play minimum of four or suffer for your insolence. Llanowar Elves- Sub par in our list with no interaction from Utopia Sprawl. Heavier ramp decks might find better use for it. Simian Spirit Guide- Not only does this give the extra +1 from the exile, it's also a creature that can be raided instead of burnt up. Also useful for looking tapped out and slamming a Lightning Bolt or Dismember out of nowhere. Play three to four to bury your opponent even faster.
Valuetown!
-The deck obviously plays like a ramp deck but has a hidden gem to push it over the top and cause our opponent to fall to the wayside.
Impromptu Raid- Getting it out on turn 2 is the ideal situation, but it's never a dead draw until you're winning with one already. Sneaking up and bashing with an uncounterable Primeval Titan never fails to impress the girls we roll with. Play four or get raided yourself. Courser of Kruphix- Minimizing the cost of life we pay for our fetches helps a bit, however this delightful Sandra's true power shines in a few ways. Firstly it let's us determine whether to draw a card or to raid in a creature. Second, while running fetches we're able to 'shotgun' away the top card and shuffle, letting us then mold a draw or a raid even further than thought possible. Play four, a multi-use creature should never be ignored in valuetown.
Unfair Advantages!
-All that mana and nowhere to go, bend over baby!
Primeval Titan- Our number one meat head. This effectively turns the tide of the game towards your favor every time it hits the board and makes for a hard catch up if it can swing in the same turn. More mana means more raiding, run no less than four. Thragtusk- Hey, at least we're not using Restoration Angel to abuse it right? Splashing white might be a viable option just for that card! Gaining the +5 life and a 3/3 afterwards isn't anything to scoff at, it let's us attack (as if we weren't going to) or raid and block while cushioning a heavier blow. Run two or three for good measure. Wurmcoil Engine- Two for one's are great, three for 2 sounds like you'll have a spare one for that third arm you have growing out of your neck! Too many 6/6's for 6 might be too much, run one or two. Woodfall Primus- We may as well call this man Mr. Pig. A 6/6 trampler then a 5/5 trampler that blows up not-creature things gives us the reach needed to deal with artifacts, lands, planeswalkers etc.... Run two or three, they're that good. Hornet Queen- A sneaky unexpected wall of doom. Defensively it's the best card in our deck that can cause a blow-out situation, offensively it's still a grizzly bear that brings four sour little friends to party. Run one or less. Sundering Titan- Probably the reason you kept reading this far. This card lets us change the battlefield somewhere between 1-5 lands at a time and also does it when mom yells to come home too. Very good against 2-5 color decks. Run one and maybe a second in the board.
Lands are important too!
-We live in an unfortunate world where a mono colored deck needs more than just basic land, try these!
Windswepth Heath- Allows for a splash of color and as mentioned above, works excellently with Courser of Kruphix and lands like Canopy Vista. Four is recommended. Wooded Foothills- A second set of fetchlands lets you whittle away at how many are in your deck, increasing the odds of successfully 'blind' raiding into something great!
Four is recommended. Ghost Quarter- Best option for fighting decks like the new Eldrazi and Tron, also can be used in emergency situations to 'shotgun' as well. With many other ways to handle such threats, three is probably the optimal number. Dryad Arbor- When you know they've got the Cruel Edict in hand and you can't afford to lose your only threat, or if you need that sneak +1 more damage to get through, also not a hard press to run a combo in the side with it either. (Examine: Freed From the RealUtopia Sprawl) Run one or more if boarding in infinite mana combo.
Two things that gatherer has to mention:
-If you put a creature onto the battlefield and a different player takes control of it before the end of the turn, you can't sacrifice it at end of turn. It will remain on the battlefield. It will have haste as long as it's on the battlefield.
-If the ability is activated after the current turn's End step has begun, the creature won't be sacrificed until the next turn's End step.
-You can activate Impromptu Raid on your opponent's turn as a blocking technique (See: Hornet Queen)
-Running this many basic lands let's you run the 'tango' lands such as Cinder Glade and Canopy Vista with little to no drawback so long as you fetch for basics the first time or two.
-'Shocklands' like Overgrown Tomb or Breeding Pool allow a splash for sideboard or one of cards in the deck you might decide you want to join the raiding party as well. Oracle of Mul Daya- Acts as an additional Courser of Kruphix, very good at filling that battlefield with lands without fetching.
The idea behind this deck is to not run anything that defeats efficiency. What you lose in the versatility of running Gitaxian Probe you gain back again from Street Wraith who can be both raided and cycled depending on which zone he's in, basically turning your deck into 52 cards instead of 60.
It's almost like the old 12-post in the fact you can copy your Eldrazi Temple with Vesuva, post board you can use Expedition Map to grind out slower games when needed.
Sideboard Choices!
As with all sideboards they're very dependent on your playstyle but here's more fuel for the fires!
Choke- Extremely harsh toward blue decks and very effective. Dismember- One of the very best cards at dealing with just about everything. Nature's Claim- Hits early artifacts or cards like affinity's Cranial Plating to stop them in their tracks. Avenger of Zendikar- A beast attacker that gives you some more reach if you have yet to play a land when you raid him in, Hornet Queen is better though. Noxious Revival- They killed your Primeval Titan? Pay two life and raid him back in! Excellent for destruction based magic matchups. Acidic Slime- Tiny little pest that does almost as good as Woodfall Primus. Mwonvuli Beast Tracker- Can set up a crazy good raid, finds Woodfall Primus, Primeval Titan, Hornet Queen. Summoning Trap- Excellent in the counter-magic matchups, can also be ramped to and end of turn squeeze out a rotten totty. Sylvan Primordial- Destroys and ramps into more raiding, few complaints except that we want a close-up of Groot. Ground Seal- Perfect for stopping those decks that like to target and reanimate things that hit you really hard! Scavenging Ooze- Similar to Ground Seal but requires G to respond to at the right time. Perfect for creature based strategies like Jund and Junk. Through the Breach- Gives you that edge but is only a one time deal, use it wisely! Surgical Extraction- For those times when you REALLY don't want to see that card again, remember it hits non basic lands you blew up too!
I'm testing all three decks to see which one will work best for me, I'd love your thoughts and opinions about how to make it even better! Naysayers and the ilk can be on the receiving end of the raid!
-Twin was very good at being a "bully" on the playground, it forced you to sideboard very aggressively for it as well as have 1-2 maindeck answers for it as well.
-Tron does this effectively as well but leaves the gate just a few seconds too late.
-Jund is all about the value, it's a great deck but can't stop this aberration cold like it can other decks, it's basically a wash out for them.
-Affinity has the capability of losing a key piece and still being able to outrun most strategies hence the durability and its' showing in this tournament.
If wizards is ever going to have a healthy modern format the banned list needs to turn into a restricted list like you see in vintage, this would allow decks to utilize their "power cards" to achieve some affluent sense of direction instead of being ripped apart with little to no effort.
If you can imagine a world full of singleton rite of flames on T1, hehe. A simple "restricted to one" change would change modern to the best format they've ever had. Even a sneaky hypergenesis isn't that frightening when you think about it.
I actually took mine mono green, using utopia sprawl, primeval titan, cream of the crop and arbor elf. I never got around to perfecting it, but it was really fun to play, especially woodfall primus and oracle of mul daya both helping or synergizing with the raid.
If I have Boneyard Wurm and a total (including the wurm) of five creatures in the graveyard, when I scavenge it onto another creature does that creature get zero or five counters on it?
If say a player is casting lingering souls from their graveyard, and I cast delay, will the souls suspend, be cast in 3 turns, then go to their graveyard?
After some serious testing against multiple decks, I've actually come to love this card, you get to counter their hopes or dreams and still have the mana you need to cast Terminus or Aetherize, or to Sphinx's Revelation, Feeling of Dread, etc.. afterwards. I've actually been running 2 in my main board especially against Aurelia's Fury, Mind Grind, or just about anything where you need that second spell to get the job done a bit further.
So I've been trying to correct a friend of mine, here's his situation.
Can someone correct me if I am wrong?
CR 601.2
(1) Announce spell, put on the stack
(2) Choose modes, announce value of the variables, intent to play alternate costs, additional & special costs, and how to pay hybrid
(3) Choose targets and effect per target
(4) Determine costs. Play mana abilities.
(5) Pay costs
In short, if I have 2 Lion's Eye Diamonds, can I announce Flayer of the Hatebound, and cast him with the mana from the Diamonds, since that is a mana ability that doesn't use the stack?
Wouldn't the announcement of the flayer remove it from my hand and place it on the stack?
I know that paying the Cost of LED is going to pitch that Flayer into his graveyard, can I get some help convincing him thouroughly?
3 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
4 Flickerwisp
2 Tilling Treefolk
4 Eternal Witness
2 Siege Rhino
4 Street Wraith
4 Tidehollow Sculler
Enchantments
4 Astral Drift
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Unearth
1 Edge of Autumn
Instants
2 Path to Exile
1 Abrupt Decay
Lands
4 Windswept Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Garden
4 Razorverge Thicket
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Scattered Groves
1 Barren Moor
2 Secluded Steppe
2 Tranquil Thicket
2 Plains
2 Forest
1 Swamp
Talking Creatures
I did some testing with Tilling Treefolk instead of Life From The Loam due to the ability to cycle it in and out as well as another body on the field my opponent wanted to get rid of and was not disappointed with it.
Flickerwisp has been a giant pain in the deck, looking forward my thoughts have been towards lands and getting one more in the list, that makes Flickerwisp an easy target for a cut. Looking at possibilities Restoration Angel is something I really want to draw a win or two off the value of my creatures with, I'll be testing a pair of them out next time.
Street Wraith has been an oddball B minus card in the list, while Astral Drift demands its' presence, not quite sold yet, but not sold on cutting any yet either (Damned if you do....).
Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch are incredible turn one plays, not to mention the early Astral Drift, but also the ability to keep a two land hand with Eternal Witness to guarantee picking up the Windswept Heath has been a great turn two play.
Siege Rhino was the ringer, I either wanted more or wished it was a Thragtusk, going forward I may replace a Flickerwisp with one, the straight value train with the cleanup step in combat cycle out a Siege Rhino has been amazing, not mentioning the games where you just cast one on turn three and turn four for the game.
Eternal Witness makes this deck sing and dance, if you aren't on four in your list, you should be.
Tidehollow Sculler falls into the same effectiveness and bold play this deck needs, if I could run ten I would.
Talking Sorceries
Edge of Autumn in my testing has been slowly deciding to whittle itself out of the list, unfairly due to the fact you lose so much steam when you cycle it, however as an opener with a Noble Hierarch or Birds of Paradise you can really start to slam down problems onto the battlefield simply due to the plus two mana. Edge of Autumn is also high on my keep as a singleton list for fixing and digging purposes, if I were running a few Flagstones of Trokair my list would run four Edge of Autumn.
Unearth is probably the best card to be printed into modern from horizons. Due to the requirement of only a small creature coming home, two seems fair enough especially with Eternal Witness leading the commotion.
Inquisition of Kozilek while not quite as powerful as Thoughtseize, also doesn't give them back the card like Tidehollow Sculler either. Something grand and explosive like a turn one play using an Inquisition of Kozilek to discard their Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize followed by a Tidehollow Sculler to take the Tarmogoyf or Lightning Bolt makes my day. Definitely wish for more design space to increase these, guess that's what the sideboard is for right?
Talking Instants
Path to Exile is the workhorse of modern, this deck needs more than two, I plan to increase it to three and have another target when I board in Wasteland Strangler.
Abrupt Decay mainboard has been an impressive tool, Eternal Witness just smooths out your need for things when the opponent hasn't robbed you of its' goodness with a Surgical Extraction.
Talking Lands
One of each Temple Garden, Overgrown Tomb and Godless Shrine has been the only mix I've seen necessary, early turns need the untapped lands to power things up, past that you can fetch for a basic or the tapped Scattered Groves if needed, remembering there's only a few basics in the deck against Blood Moon is a high priority. Usually after a fetch or two all the shocklands are on the battlefield, I leave Scattered Groves in the deck to keep a 'live' draw still in the list instead of turn four plus topdecking a Temple Garden for the loss, you have a chance for the cycler to drive you home.
With this list I had a hard time with having enough lands, like I said earlier I really wish I had one more. Flickerwisp has not performed enough to justify a four pack.
My next move is to add the following and remove the following:
-4 Flickerwisp
-1 Siege Rhino
+1 Plains or Swamp (leaning toward Swamp to balance the basics)
+1 Thragtusk
+1 Path to Exile
+2 Restoration Angel
Edit: Forgot my Sideboard
3 Wasteland Strangler
2 Scarab Feast
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Path to Exile
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Plague Engineer
1 Damping Sphere
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Spellskite
4x Tarmogoyf
1x Snapcaster Mage
2x Kitchen Finks
4x Bloodbraid Elf
Instants (8)
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Manamorphose
1x Tarfire
Sorceries (8)
4x Ancestral Vision
4x Serum Visions
Enchantments (12)
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Blood Moon
4x As Foretold
3x Forest
3x Island
2x Stomping Ground
2x Steam Vents
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Scalding Tarn
1x Tolaria West
3x Spreading Seas
2x Spellskite
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Beast Within
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Pithing Needle
1x Fulminator Mage
1x Ancient Grudge
2x Life Goes On
Does Myth Realized die due to Languish's effect?
Introduction: Answering the Call of the Wild might sound like widdling outdoors behind the woodshed to you, if so you're in the right place! Now, I know what you're thinking, Call of the Wild isn't a modern legal card, it's enough to make you flip that table isn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the birth of Impromptu Raid.
Impromptu Raid let's you cheat out a big menacing fatty turns before you would ever have the ability, while at the same time giving you instant value since your creatures do things such as gain you life, find ghost quarters to fight eldrazi, completely devasate pesky shocklands or make your opponent need a swatter. The biggest thing to note here is that Impromptu Raid not only shoves out a bully that doesn't care about the principal's office, it also gives that bully haste!
We'll go over the how-to's shortly, but first here's a basic deck for the broodish troll inside us all:
4 Arbor Elf
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Llanowar Elves
Valuetown
4 Impromptu Raid
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Primeval Titan
2 Thragtusk
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Woodfall Primus
1 Hornet Queen
1 Sundering Titan
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothils
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Dryad Arbor
11 Forest
The ramp up!
Arbor Elf- By and far one of our best tools for achieving maximum velocity, grants the power to ramp as well and abuse our lands that have been tainted by an enchantment. Play four or don't bother playing.
Utopia Sprawl- Easiest and most resilient way to ramp pair it with an arbor elf and you're running a turn 2 Thragtusk onto the battlefield. Play minimum of four or suffer for your insolence.
Llanowar Elves- Sub par in our list with no interaction from Utopia Sprawl. Heavier ramp decks might find better use for it.
Simian Spirit Guide- Not only does this give the extra +1 from the exile, it's also a creature that can be raided instead of burnt up. Also useful for looking tapped out and slamming a Lightning Bolt or Dismember out of nowhere. Play three to four to bury your opponent even faster.
Valuetown!
-The deck obviously plays like a ramp deck but has a hidden gem to push it over the top and cause our opponent to fall to the wayside.
Impromptu Raid- Getting it out on turn 2 is the ideal situation, but it's never a dead draw until you're winning with one already. Sneaking up and bashing with an uncounterable Primeval Titan never fails to impress the girls we roll with. Play four or get raided yourself.
Courser of Kruphix- Minimizing the cost of life we pay for our fetches helps a bit, however this delightful Sandra's true power shines in a few ways. Firstly it let's us determine whether to draw a card or to raid in a creature. Second, while running fetches we're able to 'shotgun' away the top card and shuffle, letting us then mold a draw or a raid even further than thought possible. Play four, a multi-use creature should never be ignored in valuetown.
Unfair Advantages!
-All that mana and nowhere to go, bend over baby!
Primeval Titan- Our number one meat head. This effectively turns the tide of the game towards your favor every time it hits the board and makes for a hard catch up if it can swing in the same turn. More mana means more raiding, run no less than four.
Thragtusk- Hey, at least we're not using Restoration Angel to abuse it right? Splashing white might be a viable option just for that card! Gaining the +5 life and a 3/3 afterwards isn't anything to scoff at, it let's us attack (as if we weren't going to) or raid and block while cushioning a heavier blow. Run two or three for good measure.
Wurmcoil Engine- Two for one's are great, three for 2 sounds like you'll have a spare one for that third arm you have growing out of your neck! Too many 6/6's for 6 might be too much, run one or two.
Woodfall Primus- We may as well call this man Mr. Pig. A 6/6 trampler then a 5/5 trampler that blows up not-creature things gives us the reach needed to deal with artifacts, lands, planeswalkers etc.... Run two or three, they're that good.
Hornet Queen- A sneaky unexpected wall of doom. Defensively it's the best card in our deck that can cause a blow-out situation, offensively it's still a grizzly bear that brings four sour little friends to party. Run one or less.
Sundering Titan- Probably the reason you kept reading this far. This card lets us change the battlefield somewhere between 1-5 lands at a time and also does it when mom yells to come home too. Very good against 2-5 color decks. Run one and maybe a second in the board.
Lands are important too!
-We live in an unfortunate world where a mono colored deck needs more than just basic land, try these!
Windswepth Heath- Allows for a splash of color and as mentioned above, works excellently with Courser of Kruphix and lands like Canopy Vista. Four is recommended.
Wooded Foothills- A second set of fetchlands lets you whittle away at how many are in your deck, increasing the odds of successfully 'blind' raiding into something great!
Four is recommended.
Ghost Quarter- Best option for fighting decks like the new Eldrazi and Tron, also can be used in emergency situations to 'shotgun' as well. With many other ways to handle such threats, three is probably the optimal number.
Dryad Arbor- When you know they've got the Cruel Edict in hand and you can't afford to lose your only threat, or if you need that sneak +1 more damage to get through, also not a hard press to run a combo in the side with it either. (Examine: Freed From the Real Utopia Sprawl) Run one or more if boarding in infinite mana combo.
Nuts, bolts, tricks and the kitchen sink!
An ideal hand that is ready to raid would look similar to this: Forest Windswept Heath Arbor Elf Impromptu Raid Simian Spirit Guide Utopia Sprawl Courser of Kruphix
Turn 1 you would want to play Forest and Arbor Elf
Turn 2 you would want to play Windswept Heath finding a Forest tapping to enchant your untapped Forest with Utopia Sprawl naming a color (usually green), tapping for GG, untapping with Arbor Elf, tapping for GG, then casting Impromptu Raid.
Turn 3 you would want to tap the enchanted land and the unenchanted land for Courser of Kruphix then a land from hand or the top of your library gaining +1 life then hopefully revealing a monstrous value critter untapping the enchanted land with Arbor Elf then activating Impromptu Raid beginning the assault.
Two things that gatherer has to mention:
-If you put a creature onto the battlefield and a different player takes control of it before the end of the turn, you can't sacrifice it at end of turn. It will remain on the battlefield. It will have haste as long as it's on the battlefield.
-If the ability is activated after the current turn's End step has begun, the creature won't be sacrificed until the next turn's End step.
-You can activate Impromptu Raid on your opponent's turn as a blocking technique (See: Hornet Queen)
-Running this many basic lands let's you run the 'tango' lands such as Cinder Glade and Canopy Vista with little to no drawback so long as you fetch for basics the first time or two.
-'Shocklands' like Overgrown Tomb or Breeding Pool allow a splash for sideboard or one of cards in the deck you might decide you want to join the raiding party as well.
Oracle of Mul Daya- Acts as an additional Courser of Kruphix, very good at filling that battlefield with lands without fetching.
Raiding Party Favorite Decklists!
4 Arbor Elf
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Primeval Titan
2 Woodfall Primus
2 Thragtusk
1 Hornet Queen
1 Sundering Titan
4 Street Wraith
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Impromptu Raid
Sorceries
4 Gitaxian Probe
Lands
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Windswept Heath
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Cinder Glade
9 Forest
1 Crumble to Dust
2 Dismember
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Spellskite
1 Nature's Claim
1 Blood Moon
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Summoning Trap
1 Gutteral Response
1 Choke
The idea behind this deck is to not run anything that defeats efficiency. What you lose in the versatility of running Gitaxian Probe you gain back again from Street Wraith who can be both raided and cycled depending on which zone he's in, basically turning your deck into 52 cards instead of 60.
4 Arbor Elf
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Primeval Titan
4 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Blightsteel Collosus
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Myr Battlesphere
Enchantments
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Impromptu Raid
4 Freed From the Real
4 Serum Visions
Lands
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Breeding Pool
1 Hinterland Harbor
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Academy Ruins
4 Forest
3 Island
4 Stubborn Denial
2 Dismember
1 Pact of Negation
1 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Spreading Seas
2 Dispel
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
It has the blue feeling from Keiga, the Tide Star stealing creatures and the Diluvian Primordial causing a ruckus with their things as well. Serum Visions puts in a good amount of work with Impromptu Raid and the scry. Don't forget you can put Wurmcoil Engine back on top with Academy Ruins for more raiding!
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Primeval Titan
4 Thragtusk
3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
2 Blightsteel Collosus
Enchantments
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Impromptu Raid
2 Summoning Trap
Sorceries
4 Through the Breach
Lands
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Eye of Ugin
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Vesuva
4 Stomping Ground
4 Forest
2 Summoning Trap
2 Spellskite
2 Crumble to Dust
1 Ancient Grudge
4 Dismember
4 Expedition Map
It's almost like the old 12-post in the fact you can copy your Eldrazi Temple with Vesuva, post board you can use Expedition Map to grind out slower games when needed.
Sideboard Choices!
As with all sideboards they're very dependent on your playstyle but here's more fuel for the fires!
Choke- Extremely harsh toward blue decks and very effective.
Dismember- One of the very best cards at dealing with just about everything.
Nature's Claim- Hits early artifacts or cards like affinity's Cranial Plating to stop them in their tracks.
Avenger of Zendikar- A beast attacker that gives you some more reach if you have yet to play a land when you raid him in, Hornet Queen is better though.
Noxious Revival- They killed your Primeval Titan? Pay two life and raid him back in! Excellent for destruction based magic matchups.
Acidic Slime- Tiny little pest that does almost as good as Woodfall Primus.
Mwonvuli Beast Tracker- Can set up a crazy good raid, finds Woodfall Primus, Primeval Titan, Hornet Queen.
Summoning Trap- Excellent in the counter-magic matchups, can also be ramped to and end of turn squeeze out a rotten totty.
Sylvan Primordial- Destroys and ramps into more raiding, few complaints except that we want a close-up of Groot.
Ground Seal- Perfect for stopping those decks that like to target and reanimate things that hit you really hard!
Scavenging Ooze- Similar to Ground Seal but requires G to respond to at the right time. Perfect for creature based strategies like Jund and Junk.
Through the Breach- Gives you that edge but is only a one time deal, use it wisely!
Surgical Extraction- For those times when you REALLY don't want to see that card again, remember it hits non basic lands you blew up too!
I'm testing all three decks to see which one will work best for me, I'd love your thoughts and opinions about how to make it even better! Naysayers and the ilk can be on the receiving end of the raid!
-Tron does this effectively as well but leaves the gate just a few seconds too late.
-Jund is all about the value, it's a great deck but can't stop this aberration cold like it can other decks, it's basically a wash out for them.
-Affinity has the capability of losing a key piece and still being able to outrun most strategies hence the durability and its' showing in this tournament.
If wizards is ever going to have a healthy modern format the banned list needs to turn into a restricted list like you see in vintage, this would allow decks to utilize their "power cards" to achieve some affluent sense of direction instead of being ripped apart with little to no effort.
If you can imagine a world full of singleton rite of flames on T1, hehe. A simple "restricted to one" change would change modern to the best format they've ever had. Even a sneaky hypergenesis isn't that frightening when you think about it.
Far // Away
If I cast Oracle of Bones and the tribute wasn't paid, can I fuse Far // Away without paying its' cost?
When I'm choosing one at random, is that card still revealed to the opponent when it goes to my hand?
After some serious testing against multiple decks, I've actually come to love this card, you get to counter their hopes or dreams and still have the mana you need to cast Terminus or Aetherize, or to Sphinx's Revelation, Feeling of Dread, etc.. afterwards. I've actually been running 2 in my main board especially against Aurelia's Fury, Mind Grind, or just about anything where you need that second spell to get the job done a bit further.
Thoughts?
I know that paying the Cost of LED is going to pitch that Flayer into his graveyard, can I get some help convincing him thouroughly?