So I went 3-1 again at my LGS with the list below so I thought I might write some thoughts about it. Firstly I just got to say I really think it is a fun deck. The ability to tutor for some key lands and just not creatures leads to alot of nailbiting moments and huge swings of the game. Somehow you think that a Bant deck should have have at least one Township, but the suprise +1/+1 to the team catches people off guard.
In general you really rarely get to combo off. It mostly plays an important role as a threat they need to deal with and gives you an out to fast uninteractive decks. Also do not underestimate how good Retreat is combined with threats like Geist and fetches.
I am still very much experimenting with the sideboard, so do not take is as something well worked out. Sideboarding is very metadependent anyways as I think most of us know.
The 1-of Dispel in the mainboard is nothing I would generally recommend. It is just an adaption to the my particular meta. I mean even Tron runs Bolts.
Match 1: 2-0 against UW tempo-control. On the draw.
This deck seemed to be built to win against all the other control decks, even running Cavern for wizards. I was lucky that none of my Voices got Snared, and they together with basically just fat creatures won the game. Keeping a fetch up with Retreat on board went he could never trust in a Snapcaster to block a Geist, or blocking with a Collonade.
Sideboard: Dispel and Negate in. Path and a Retreat out.
Match 2: 2-0 against Grixis control. On the draw.
Game 1 was mostly won thanks to two CoCos on turn 4 and 5. 2 Voices on turn 2 and 3 was very key here.
Game 2 was the same story. He could not stop a Voice on turn 2 and with me drawing threats he could not keep up with I quickly won the game.
Sideboard: Dispel, 1 Wheel and Spellskite in. Retreats out, thinking he probably has too much removal to combo off.
Match 3: 2-1 against GR Tron. On the play.
Game 1 I was happy to see a turn 3 combo win in hand, seeing he played Grove into an egg. But that joy came to end when he bolted my Hierarch, setting me back to turn 4 combo if I drew a mana source. But i did not do so in time for him to Tron off.
Game 2 and 3 was underesting. Turn 2 Stony both games completely shut him off tron and any fast clock could have won then. But it was nice to have both Pridemage ond tutorable Ghost Quarter as a backup if he had gotten rid of the Stony.
Sideboard: Stony and negate in, Ooze and Dispel (I think) out.
Match 4: 0-2 aganist Jeskai Gifts. On the draw.
Game 1 I had the combo but it was reliant on my Hierarch for white mana. I took the chance but it got bolted and afterwards I never drew a white mana source. I eventually lost with 7 white cards in hand.
Came 2 I kept a pretty spell-light hand hoping a Voice could do some work. It got Snared. After that I drew 5 lands in a row, and I could not get anything to stick through all his counterspells.
Thinking about card choices I will change one Kataki to another Stony. Having two of them was a nod towards CoCo, but Stony is just more versatile. The last Kataki is still tutorable with Chord.
Speaking Chord, I really love that card as a 1-of. The deck is not combo oriented enough to warrent more of them I think. Still very useful to find i.e. a Spellskite.
There is an odd Goyf as a 1-of and that is probably the most obvious card to change to something potentially more useful. It really is a great beater and I understand why some successfull lists have run it though.
I do not run Kessig in the deck. The first reason for it is that the mana base is really strained already. Having another colorless land is really bad sometimes when you do not have a mana dork. Also I just do not play red. It is one of my silly principles. To this point I have never had a situation where I needed it, but I will experiment with Rouge's Passage sometime in the future and see where that leads.
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In general you really rarely get to combo off. It mostly plays an important role as a threat they need to deal with and gives you an out to fast uninteractive decks. Also do not underestimate how good Retreat is combined with threats like Geist and fetches.
I am still very much experimenting with the sideboard, so do not take is as something well worked out. Sideboarding is very metadependent anyways as I think most of us know.
3 Birds of Paradise
1 Eternal Witness
2 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Kitchen Finks
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
1 Tarmogoyf
4 Voice of Resurgence
Other spells
1 Chord of Calling
3 Collected Company
1 Dispel
3 Path to Exile
3 Retreat to Coralhelm
2 Breeding Pool
4 Flooded Strand
4 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
1 Sejiri Steppe
2 Temple Garden
1 Westvale Abbey
4 Windswept Heath
1 Dispel
2 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Krosan Grip
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Negate
1 Path to Exile
1 Pithing Needle
1 Spellskite
2 Stony Silence
3 Wheel of Sun and Moon
The 1-of Dispel in the mainboard is nothing I would generally recommend. It is just an adaption to the my particular meta. I mean even Tron runs Bolts.
Match 1: 2-0 against UW tempo-control. On the draw.
This deck seemed to be built to win against all the other control decks, even running Cavern for wizards. I was lucky that none of my Voices got Snared, and they together with basically just fat creatures won the game. Keeping a fetch up with Retreat on board went he could never trust in a Snapcaster to block a Geist, or blocking with a Collonade.
Sideboard: Dispel and Negate in. Path and a Retreat out.
Match 2: 2-0 against Grixis control. On the draw.
Game 1 was mostly won thanks to two CoCos on turn 4 and 5. 2 Voices on turn 2 and 3 was very key here.
Game 2 was the same story. He could not stop a Voice on turn 2 and with me drawing threats he could not keep up with I quickly won the game.
Sideboard: Dispel, 1 Wheel and Spellskite in. Retreats out, thinking he probably has too much removal to combo off.
Match 3: 2-1 against GR Tron. On the play.
Game 1 I was happy to see a turn 3 combo win in hand, seeing he played Grove into an egg. But that joy came to end when he bolted my Hierarch, setting me back to turn 4 combo if I drew a mana source. But i did not do so in time for him to Tron off.
Game 2 and 3 was underesting. Turn 2 Stony both games completely shut him off tron and any fast clock could have won then. But it was nice to have both Pridemage ond tutorable Ghost Quarter as a backup if he had gotten rid of the Stony.
Sideboard: Stony and negate in, Ooze and Dispel (I think) out.
Match 4: 0-2 aganist Jeskai Gifts. On the draw.
Game 1 I had the combo but it was reliant on my Hierarch for white mana. I took the chance but it got bolted and afterwards I never drew a white mana source. I eventually lost with 7 white cards in hand.
Came 2 I kept a pretty spell-light hand hoping a Voice could do some work. It got Snared. After that I drew 5 lands in a row, and I could not get anything to stick through all his counterspells.
Thinking about card choices I will change one Kataki to another Stony. Having two of them was a nod towards CoCo, but Stony is just more versatile. The last Kataki is still tutorable with Chord.
Speaking Chord, I really love that card as a 1-of. The deck is not combo oriented enough to warrent more of them I think. Still very useful to find i.e. a Spellskite.
There is an odd Goyf as a 1-of and that is probably the most obvious card to change to something potentially more useful. It really is a great beater and I understand why some successfull lists have run it though.
I do not run Kessig in the deck. The first reason for it is that the mana base is really strained already. Having another colorless land is really bad sometimes when you do not have a mana dork. Also I just do not play red. It is one of my silly principles. To this point I have never had a situation where I needed it, but I will experiment with Rouge's Passage sometime in the future and see where that leads.