MTG Salvation

If you think the opponent is holding GY hate in hand, Raven's Crime really helps empty it. If they land a RIP, you have no choice but to Decay/Ray/Charm it. Gets even harder with Leyline. This is when TS/Duress comes in handy. Don't overextend until you know they aren't going to blow you out of the game.

I'd love some feedback on this list. It tries to abuse Zombie Infestation , whose tokens are pumped by the odd Risen Executioners. The low creature count ensures that Executioners will always castable, though I'm not sure how possible having 4 mana up will be. I really dig the interaction between Infestation + Loam, and the full set of GQ ensures a constant barrage on the opponent's manabase (hey tron). Was considering Young Pyro but upping the creature count means losing Executioner. All-in zombies feels very rogueish, able to overwhelm players not expecting it. Loam seems to be the best way to restock the hand, any other suggestions?

Quote from VoodooKick »

Got absolutely nothing in my packs (BFZ packs are still golden to open though) but I did get a few oohs and ahhs from the playerbase there. It was amusing to watch the new guard of the community be exposed to mid-2000's technology, and have to respect a card like Garruk Wildspeaker lol. Hopefully my post was insightful, and I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions for the list and sideboard plans. I'd rather not impose my advice or suggestions on anyone else unless they explicitly ask for it, even though I am seeing some wonky card choices... I'll stay posted in the forum if I land on anything else or have any kind of revelation that may help tweak the build you're all on. Peace

Nice job on your FNM. I'm curious about your choice of Garruk Wildspeaker: why not Garruk Relentless? I get that 3/3s are quite better than 2/2s, but Relentless has that wicked axe-target-creature ability. Unless you're primarily using the untap two lands ability, both Garruks are prone to being Lightning Bolted. Don't get me wrong, I love the innovation (reverse innovation?) but in such a creature-dense format the Relentless bolt seems crucial.

I'm also wondering about your choice of Pyromancer. You have such few MUST-DESTROY creatures in your list , I'd have to anticipate the opponent removing Pyro asap. Do you rely on the heavy Black discard/general *******-up of Crime/Smallpox to clear the way for it? Or do you just run it out and hope to generate tokens before it dies?

Greetings,
This new tech could very nicely shore up the Burn MU for us:
http://mythicspoiler.com/bfz/cards/retreattokazandu.jpg

@cursed mumm
Your list looks really excellent. I wish there was enough room to jam a set of Pyromancer considering how many spells you play. All of that spot removal excites me in the best way, but where the heck are your Abrupt Decays?

@Julien
Smallpox and Boom could make for a very strong game against most decks (except for maybe burn), I'd like to see a sample list with those included in the core. It would make sense to increase Ghost Quarter count if the goal is to totally ravage the opp's manabase. My concern is that games would go super long between 1. spending several turns blowing up lands, and 2. having a less dense selection of win cards. Keep in mind that Pox/Bust make it harder for us to cast Seismic Assault. Unless the plan is to go all-in Vortex...?

@theflow
Porphyry Nodes, I've been looking at this card since it came out and I've yet to craft anything juicy enough to bring to a tournament. I want to love the card, but I don't know how to break it. If your plan is to go super creature light, it could certainly carry you into the mid/late game. I would love to see it rip Burn a new one.

Has anyone considered Risen Executioner in the Jund lists? Seems worthwhile to throw away a creature that we can recast whenever we please

Your Assault Gifts list looks pretty juicy, but I wonder if going to 3 Bolts is a good idea? I understand you have all those 1-ofs for Gifts tricks, but removal in red is already very conditional. I could imagine you running into some trouble when facing opposing Rhinos/Goyfs/Tasigurs. The additional counterspells are probably supposed to balance that out, but we can't exactly counter every card they throw down.

I've been perusing the Jund thread, and I noticed something interesting: their curve is actually higher than ours (generally) and they still play Dark Confidant. So I'm wondering, why aren't we? The gruesome twosome of Pyromancer and Confidant seems like a powerhouse, and the best part about Seismic Loam is that we don't really care if our creatures eat removal. I'd probably have to cut Liliana, but my thinking is that Confidant is on par in terms of card advantage (i get +1 card, rather than you get -1 card).

I'd like to hear your collective thoughts on this very thrown-together core:

4 Young Pyromancer
4 Dark Confidant
4 Life from the Loam
3 Seismic Assault

3 Raven's Crime
3 Inquisition of Kozilek

4 Magmatic Insight
2 Faithless Looting
3 Lingering Souls
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Lightning Bolt

36 cards, which leaves 24 slots for lands. The lowered curve should allow 24 to function well. If this looks silly to anyone, feel free to say so.

I'm on the same page with you regarding Vortex. I will probably run 0 copies, 1 at most. It just doesn't compare to the explosiveness of Seismic (or Borborygmos).

I'm wondering about the Pyromancer builds, is it worth running X Eternal Witness to be able to 1. recur killed Pyromancers, 2. recur instants/sorceries to further feed Pyromancer? Or is there a superior creature choice that I'm missing? I just know that 4 total creatures is too few, even with Souls tokens.

Although this card will make Pyromancer Loam even stronger, I'm pretty stuck on the reanimator list so this is what I'll be primarily working with:




Alternatively, we can use this new toy to generate more value, albeit less explosively, while using liliana and decay to keep the opponent's creatures down:



It may also be worthwhile to cut Liliana in favor of more targeted removal as it doesn't interact well with Pyromancer, could just as easily be Smallpox, Bolt or Smother.
I also predict that opposing Raging Ravines will become problematic with the rise of Jund, so it could be worthwhile to increase our Ghost Quarter count.

This card looks like it has potential to be broken wide open in various formats. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes the way of Treasure Cruise.
T1 Fetch Magmatic Insight, T2 Fetch Loam get back 3 land cards. Omfg
I love it

edit: it's also important to remember that you can replace one or both of the Insight draw effects with Loam dredging

Actually I think Molten Vortex could fit nicely in a shell that leans on Blood Moon. It makes your utility lands more useful with Moon on the table

Quote from mykatdied »

You should practice more with assault and if you goldfish, just imagine having to pay R every time you want to activate it. Believe me this new card is at best a 2 of aside 3 or 4 assault. The R for activation is a lot steeper than I think many realize.

I'm in agreement with you, especially considering that red is just a splash color in my deck for Faithless Looting, Flame Jab, and Seismic Assault in the SB. I like to keep color intensity to a minimum with my 4c list. However, I could see a straight Gruul list using Vortex as redundant copies of Seismic Assault. Even then, the ability to tap out on your turn and still have Seismic triggers is huge, and Vortex isn't so friendly. We can also look at it like this: Molten Vortex requires a larger mana investment. RR=2 damage, RRR=4 damage, RRR=6 damage etc. The mana investment on Seismic is much more generous, it's not uncommon to get 9 damage through the turn you put it down. The ability to play Vortex turn 1 seems shiny and new, but I'd rather be Looting or Raven'sing.

Oh wow, I just saw Hallowed Moonlight. This card essentially takes a dump on my deck.

This is currently what I'm fking with. Reanimator is strong in a format that has like 3 grave hate spells that nobody seems to play.
I'm considering cutting Liliana for Young Pyromancer, but the edict effect is arguably stronger than a token engine. I do like swarms of blockers though, especially if the opponent doesn't know about my Borborygmos plan.
Also, Seismic is in the SB for now.

Is the goal of Nissa's Pilgrimage to ramp or to stock your hand? As much as I like the card, I wonder if its worth the space in the deck. What sort of numbers would you play?

I really like the idea of using Hooting Mandrills. Can anyone attest to some tournament value of this card?