Do we just accept at this point that Eli Kassis is a genius who just "gets" Knightfall more than anyone else? I mean at this point he's put up results with about 4-5 different lists (Company, Nahiri, Eldritch Evolution, etc.) while the rest of us struggle to make the deck anything more than mediocre Tier 3 territory... *sigh*
Sacrifice Selfless Soul: Creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
2/1
--
IMO this is quietly one of the best creatures in ENM, and it could be great in Knightfall. This is far more affordable than Dauntless Escort and arguably more impactful given its evasion. A cheap and effective Chord target to stop wraths or save knight/geist. Also a very relevant attacker with exalted, and it has good synergy with Tamiyo.
With this and the new Tamiyo, I feel like the deck's aggressive plan has been boosted significantly. The only question is how to hit the right balance of non-land spells (Path, Retreat, CoCo, Chord and now Tamiyo all competing for precious few slots.)
To me, Tamiyo seems perfect for this deck. Clearing the way for Knight and Geist, drawing extra cards to find the combo or just more gas seems great. It can also slow down aggro decks by freezing their best attackers. It does unfortunately compete for the precious non-creature slots, so I can't see running more than 2, but nonetheless, I think this card shows promise.
I don't think this is the right deck for Eldritch Evolution. We're very constrained in the amount of >3 CMC creatures we can have and we already play a lot of non-creature cards.
Thalia is interesting and very good on turn 2 with a manadork, but it may be hard to squeeze her in because we already have so many 3-drops we want to play. Still, some testing is warranted.
Can anyone give me a brief rundown of this decks matchups? Like how is Jund, Abzan coco, kiki, infect, GR Tron matchups.
Infect feels pretty good if you have Spellskite in the main. Tutorable GQ is great against Blinkmoth nexus.
Jund feels about 50/50. Voice of Resurgence is your best card against them.
Tron is tricky. A turn 2 Knight can ghost quarter them into oblivion, and they are very vulnerable to the combo. Collected Company is very good against them too as it can come in after their Karn and kill it. On the other hand, Ugin is a huge pain and so is O-Stone. I can't give a percentage on this one but it feels winnable.
Kiki is probably 45/55 in their favor. They can block for days and their combo is more consistent. I haven't faced much Abzan Company but I imagine it would be similar, especially since their maindeck Finks also put them out of range of a single Knight combo swing.
Yes i really liked it, do you have some suggestions or tips on things i wrote(like changing ecc)?
what do you think about 1x of Eiganjo castle for a geist protection for example?
I've tried out Eiganjo Castle in a build that is heavy on Legendary creatures (3 Geist, 3 Vendilion Clique in the main, 3 Thalia in the side) and liked it a lot. Protecting Geist from Anger of the Gods is a real thing. The only issue is that mana can be awkward, especially if you also run Sejiri Steppe. Assuming you run one basic Plains, you end up with three white-only lands in a deck that wants to have double blue.
Isn't Abrupt Decay significantly worse now, given that it can hardly target anything in the Eldrazi deck?
Speaking of which, how do people feel about Intrepid Hero as an answer to the morass of 4/4s and 5/5s running around right now?
Chord versions of our deck can pack 1 Hero in the main deck, hopefully stall for long enough with big knights and voices to chord out a hero and start nuking their creatures. Untapping the hero with Coralhelm would be busted too.
I'm also thinking that reflector mage makes sense as a maindeck card in the new Eldrazi-dominated meta.
Thoughts?
Edit: Gut Shot is definitely a problem for the Intrepid Hero plan, though.
I have been very happy with the deck's performance in testing and will be running it in competitive events shortly.
Thoughts on some of the choices:
- Splashing red for Kessig Wolf-Run is worth it. I miss Gavony Township and the less painful manabase of going straight Bant, but Kessig ensures the combo kill with knight and synergizes really well with the wealth of Exalted creatures in the deck. Having access to Izzet Staticaster in the sideboard is a nice bonus as well.
- Courser of Kruphix is just awesome, but I am only running one due to diminishing returns.
- I decided on Kitchen Finks over Loxodon Smiter because it shines in the same match-ups (Abzan, Jund, Grixis) while giving the deck a better chance against Burn, Affinity and Zoo. Smiter may be better than Finks against Kolaghan's Command but most Grixis and Jund players will either see your hand and won't choose the discard mode if you have a Smiter, or they just will not risk it just in case if you're playing Green and White.
- I hear all the criticisms about Sejiri Steppe; it's not often that you can use it to save a creature via Knight or protect your combo (although it's an actual blow-out when it does happen), but I've found that it has enough utility as an extra "spell" to get an attacker across that it's worth running
Overall I've really enjoyed this build. I find that it has a good balance between aggression, disruption and utility. I haven't found any match-up to be unwinnable, with the possible exception of Amulet Bloom (which hopefully is on its way out of the format). Abzan can be challenging but not unwinnable.
I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions, particularly on the sideboard.
Do we just accept at this point that Eli Kassis is a genius who just "gets" Knightfall more than anyone else? I mean at this point he's put up results with about 4-5 different lists (Company, Nahiri, Eldritch Evolution, etc.) while the rest of us struggle to make the deck anything more than mediocre Tier 3 territory... *sigh*
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
1W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
Sacrifice Selfless Soul: Creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
2/1
--
IMO this is quietly one of the best creatures in ENM, and it could be great in Knightfall. This is far more affordable than Dauntless Escort and arguably more impactful given its evasion. A cheap and effective Chord target to stop wraths or save knight/geist. Also a very relevant attacker with exalted, and it has good synergy with Tamiyo.
With this and the new Tamiyo, I feel like the deck's aggressive plan has been boosted significantly. The only question is how to hit the right balance of non-land spells (Path, Retreat, CoCo, Chord and now Tamiyo all competing for precious few slots.)
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
I don't think this is the right deck for Eldritch Evolution. We're very constrained in the amount of >3 CMC creatures we can have and we already play a lot of non-creature cards.
Thalia is interesting and very good on turn 2 with a manadork, but it may be hard to squeeze her in because we already have so many 3-drops we want to play. Still, some testing is warranted.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Infect feels pretty good if you have Spellskite in the main. Tutorable GQ is great against Blinkmoth nexus.
Jund feels about 50/50. Voice of Resurgence is your best card against them.
Tron is tricky. A turn 2 Knight can ghost quarter them into oblivion, and they are very vulnerable to the combo. Collected Company is very good against them too as it can come in after their Karn and kill it. On the other hand, Ugin is a huge pain and so is O-Stone. I can't give a percentage on this one but it feels winnable.
Kiki is probably 45/55 in their favor. They can block for days and their combo is more consistent. I haven't faced much Abzan Company but I imagine it would be similar, especially since their maindeck Finks also put them out of range of a single Knight combo swing.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
I've tried out Eiganjo Castle in a build that is heavy on Legendary creatures (3 Geist, 3 Vendilion Clique in the main, 3 Thalia in the side) and liked it a lot. Protecting Geist from Anger of the Gods is a real thing. The only issue is that mana can be awkward, especially if you also run Sejiri Steppe. Assuming you run one basic Plains, you end up with three white-only lands in a deck that wants to have double blue.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
How crucial have the Tarmogoyfs been? Would your build still hold water with say, -3 Goyf, +2 Voice, +1 Ooze?
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Speaking of which, how do people feel about Intrepid Hero as an answer to the morass of 4/4s and 5/5s running around right now?
Chord versions of our deck can pack 1 Hero in the main deck, hopefully stall for long enough with big knights and voices to chord out a hero and start nuking their creatures. Untapping the hero with Coralhelm would be busted too.
I'm also thinking that reflector mage makes sense as a maindeck card in the new Eldrazi-dominated meta.
Thoughts?
Edit: Gut Shot is definitely a problem for the Intrepid Hero plan, though.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Spellskite
2 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Courser of Kruphix
Spells:
4 Path to Exile
3 Retreat to Coralhelm
4 Collected Company
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands:
1 Horizon Canopy
4 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
3 Flooded Strand
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Plains
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Forest
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Island
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Stomping Ground
1 Kor Firewalker
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Stony Silence
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Spellskite
2 Negate
1 Unified Will
1 Dispel
2 Izzet Staticaster
I have been very happy with the deck's performance in testing and will be running it in competitive events shortly.
Thoughts on some of the choices:
- Splashing red for Kessig Wolf-Run is worth it. I miss Gavony Township and the less painful manabase of going straight Bant, but Kessig ensures the combo kill with knight and synergizes really well with the wealth of Exalted creatures in the deck. Having access to Izzet Staticaster in the sideboard is a nice bonus as well.
- Courser of Kruphix is just awesome, but I am only running one due to diminishing returns.
- I decided on Kitchen Finks over Loxodon Smiter because it shines in the same match-ups (Abzan, Jund, Grixis) while giving the deck a better chance against Burn, Affinity and Zoo. Smiter may be better than Finks against Kolaghan's Command but most Grixis and Jund players will either see your hand and won't choose the discard mode if you have a Smiter, or they just will not risk it just in case if you're playing Green and White.
- Incidentally, Kolaghan's Command is the reason I am only running one Spellskite mainboard
- I hear all the criticisms about Sejiri Steppe; it's not often that you can use it to save a creature via Knight or protect your combo (although it's an actual blow-out when it does happen), but I've found that it has enough utility as an extra "spell" to get an attacker across that it's worth running
- Ghost Quarter with Knight of the Reliquary is the real deal against Tron and Infect
Overall I've really enjoyed this build. I find that it has a good balance between aggression, disruption and utility. I haven't found any match-up to be unwinnable, with the possible exception of Amulet Bloom (which hopefully is on its way out of the format). Abzan can be challenging but not unwinnable.
I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions, particularly on the sideboard.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB