That's basically the idea. I run 2 Voice of Resurgence main because I think that card is key in any grindy matchup, and 2 Eternal Witness (great to chain Cocos toward your combo or just value) Right now I'm trying a single Renegade Rallier as a way to rebuy combo pieces or voice, get back Ghost Quarter when that's relevant, or make clues for Tracker. I go down to 6 1-drop dorks (10 total accelerants is enough IMO), 3 Vizier of Remedies (because that card stinks), put the Scavenging Ooze in the sideboard, and cut 2 Tireless Tracker.
In terms of the lands, personally I'd cut 2 Field of Ruin for 1 Gavony Township and 1 Horizon Canopy, but I can see the appeal of mass land destruction. Stomping Ground + Kessig Wolf Run is a consideration, but it does kind of make the deck run less smoothly. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is also a spicy fun-of option. It can be a decent way to go over the top in grindy matchups. It may ultimately be too cute, though.
Dauntless bodyguard is definitely something that caught my eye as well. I honestly wonder if a benevolent-bodyguard-varient wouldn't be too strong in modern, because this guys drawback makes it extremely awkward.
Remember, a good opponent will kill druid while it's summoning sick if possible. So... The only scenario I can come up with where this card is good is when you play a druid and pass with chord to protect. Druid only costs 2 mana, so this is only relevant if you have exactly 4 chord Mana left, and isn't relevant against path, dismember, brutality, or reflector mage.
Will there be scenarios where you simultaneously:
a) have to protect a druid with exactly 4 convoke?
b) are facing removal that indestructible works against?
c) still have the cards to go off after?
Yes. But will that happen enough times to justify playing a Savannah Lion? I think probably not. Its possible that my logic's flawed, let me know what you find if you test it.
You're not wrong. I think it's worth a try just because Bolt and Push are so prevalent. It also protects against various other spells such as Kolaghan's Command, Abrupt Decay, Anger of the Gods, Supreme Verdict, etc. It can also be used for combat in odd cases. The biggest thing is the surprise factor. It's not hard to hold up 4 mana when counting untapped creatures including druid itself. Yes, there are spells it doesn't protect against, but I think it's still worth a shot on balance. The card isn't awful on its own; Savannah Lion beats aren't the worst, especially with Exalted.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty
3W
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying
You, planeswalkers you control, and other creatures you control have hexproof.
4GG: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
3/4
--
Mainly for the Devoted Druid builds, but this card is sweet. It's a combo piece. It protects our other combo pieces. It's hate for a bunch of decks, including Burn and Storm, and very good against Liliana (both Lilianas, even). It's a 3/4 beater in the air. It blocks Mantis Rider. At 4 casting cost and 4 toughness, it's annoying to deal with removal. It's a grindy win-con with the built-in Gavony Township effect.
Did I mention it's a combo piece??
Yes, it's a miss from Collected Company, but the list plays Walking Ballista, and sometimes more than one. This is also excellent with Chord of Calling to blank any removal, discard or other spell that targets... anything on your side of the battlefield. I think the druid builds play minimum one of these in the main.
But while Shalay got a lot of attention yesterday, I think there's another potentially very good card that flew under the radar, also for the Druid build:
Dauntless Bodyguard
W
Creature - Human Knight
As Dauntless Bodyguard enters the battlefield, choose another creature you control.
Sacrifice Dauntless Bodyguard: The chosen creature gains indestructible until end of turn.
2/1
--
A 2/1 for W isn't awful on rate, but where this shines is as a super cheap protection spell with Chord of Calling. Anyone who plays Burrenton Forge-Tender knows how good it feels to have Chord for Forge-Tender ready to save your devoted druid. This is a more maindeckable version of that. Yes, Selfless Spirit does it better, but Chord for 2 is significantly harder to do than Chord for 1.
I'm wondering if we could have a curve like this to protect Druid:
Chord for 1 = Dauntless Bodyguard (save it from non-white removal)
Chord for 2 = Selfless Spirit (save your whole board from non-white removal)
Chord for 3 = Renegade Rallier (recur it after any removal as long as you have a graveyard)
Chord for 4 = Shalai, Voice of Plenty (save it from any targeted removal so long as your opponent can't respond with a removal spell that hits Shalai)
All of these could be 1-ofs, and all are very good cards in their own right.
Is it fair to say that we're one of the biggest beneficiaries of this Unban? It seems both Jace and Bloodbraid Elf are viable in our deck, albeit in different versions. I think Jace should drop in price a bit after M25, so I'm looking forward to getting a couple of copies.
Sweet list, but it looks dead in the water against Affinity with 0 Kataki 0 Stony... No ways to remove Artifacts or enchantments also can't be right, even with a way to play around Bridge. Then again, Kelvin may be just making a conscious choice to improve some matchups at the expense of others.
From early testing, Jace is just disgusting in this deck. In a good way.
Jace + Courser = free cards and life. Add Tireless Tracker and/or Knight to the mix to make the value even more absurd.
Jace + birds/hierarchs = Brainstorm to sharply increase card quality
Jace + Coco = set up double Knight Coco.
I think we have to go 8 manadorks if we hope to support 6-7 4-drop spells. The suite of 3-drops I'm running currently is 4 Knights, 4 Quellers, 2 Coursers, 2 Trackers, 1 Clique. Clique has been REALLY good in my testing, doing things like blanking a Breach deck's combo, removing Supreme Verdict from UW, etc. I'm seriously considering going up to 2 Cliques because in a meta where we're going to be fighting over Jace on turn 4, it's really nice to have Spell Queller up as well as Clique. Also some have suggested that Jace will cause an uptick in combo decks, and Clique is one of the better ways to counter that.
So I hate to say it but we may need to pony up the cash for this one...
I think we're going to need to adapt, and the best way to do that may be just playing 2-3 Jace ourselves. Turn 3 Jace from us will make it pretty rough for any midrange/combo deck. If that's the case, I think we go straight Bant, drop red entirely, add a basic Island (and enough basics to get Knight to 20/20 naturally). I'd probably also play 1-2 Vendillion Clique since we'd need double blue anyway and Clique is just a great card.
Mind sharing your list?
Currently on traditional Knightfall, but would love to try out humans.
Here's my list. It changes slightly from week to week (especially the sideboard). Tamiyo, Field Researcher is a bit of a fun-of, but it has been very effective in any grindy matchup or midrange creature mirror.
I'm also on Humans Knightfall and virtually undefeated with it at my LGS. I switched to playing other things like GW Value Town and Saheeli combo to switch things up, but humans is a great deck and probably the most competitive version of Knightfall IMO. In terms of how it compares to the flavor of the month 5-color humans, I would say that it's not as disruptive and therefore weaker against combo (though you do have Thalia, and have access to Unified Will postboard), but is stronger against grindy value decks and maybe aggro decks (CoCo is a hell of a card). It also holds up better against Blood Moon, which is worth noting.
I finally got around to playing Bant Humans and, well, I won't be playing traditional Knightfall for the next while. The deck cuts a little bit of the midrange grind (like lifegain) for a lot more aggression. Essentially, instead of playing powerful answers (like Scavenging ooze for yards), the deck plays cards that buy time (like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Reflector mage). This time is used to make your opponets lifetotal low with your Champion of the parish before they do much of anything. This increase in aggression helps out stupendously. Tonight, I managed to out aggro elves (something I could pretty much never do with knightfall).
Let's break it down a little further. Modern is a format where you kinda need some way to goldfish. Humans can do that a little better than knightfall. The deck, by it's nature, is a bit more linear. Of course, this opens the deck up to a little more hate (namely Anger of the Gods), but, typically, you're still going to win the too deck war.
So, it seems that I'm going to be on it for the next while.
Agreed, and Anger of the Gods isn't necessarily that good against us because we can often get Champion of the Parish / Knight of the Reliquary to 4/4 before they get to cast it, and we usually run Burrenton Forge-Tender. I have to reiterate my belief that this is the best build of the deck at present. It's somewhat linear but not overly so. The deck still has serious play to it with cards like Unified Will. Case in point, I'm 9-0 with it at my LGS over three weeks.
Honestly, it's pretty new tech for me so I'm not too sure where I want it but I can think of a few matchups where I might bring it in: Valakut, Grapeshot, Ad Nauseam, maaaaybe Living End? Basically any deck that relies on a single card to end the game. If it ends up being good against Storm as well as Valakut, that's probably good enough to justify it.
In a Sideboard like this, what would you personally take out to replace with Gideon's Intervention?
Which version is this? I'm guessing it's the traditional version?
Regardless, probably Gaddock Teeg. I don't like Teeg in this deck because it stops us from casting our own Cocos. It also does nothing against Valakut decks and dies to every removal under the sun. There could be an argument for taking out a 1/1 split between Teeg and Eidolon.
What else does Gideon's Intervention hit? Just curious, I don't know if it is good enough to justify a spot in the sideboard if it only hits one match up.
Honestly, it's pretty new tech for me so I'm not too sure where I want it but I can think of a few matchups where I might bring it in: Valakut, Grapeshot, Ad Nauseam, maaaaybe Living End? Basically any deck that relies on a single card to end the game. If it ends up being good against Storm as well as Valakut, that's probably good enough to justify it.
Precisely. And without that card, they're left with a bunch of dumb 6/6s that look puny compared toKnight of the Reliquary. I believe that Intervention, along with Unified Will / Flashfreeze might be the way forward in terms of beating Valakut decks.
That's basically the idea. I run 2 Voice of Resurgence main because I think that card is key in any grindy matchup, and 2 Eternal Witness (great to chain Cocos toward your combo or just value) Right now I'm trying a single Renegade Rallier as a way to rebuy combo pieces or voice, get back Ghost Quarter when that's relevant, or make clues for Tracker. I go down to 6 1-drop dorks (10 total accelerants is enough IMO), 3 Vizier of Remedies (because that card stinks), put the Scavenging Ooze in the sideboard, and cut 2 Tireless Tracker.
In terms of the lands, personally I'd cut 2 Field of Ruin for 1 Gavony Township and 1 Horizon Canopy, but I can see the appeal of mass land destruction. Stomping Ground + Kessig Wolf Run is a consideration, but it does kind of make the deck run less smoothly. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is also a spicy fun-of option. It can be a decent way to go over the top in grindy matchups. It may ultimately be too cute, though.
No Path to Exile or Bojuka Bog in the sideboard seems nuts to me, though.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
You're not wrong. I think it's worth a try just because Bolt and Push are so prevalent. It also protects against various other spells such as Kolaghan's Command, Abrupt Decay, Anger of the Gods, Supreme Verdict, etc. It can also be used for combat in odd cases. The biggest thing is the surprise factor. It's not hard to hold up 4 mana when counting untapped creatures including druid itself. Yes, there are spells it doesn't protect against, but I think it's still worth a shot on balance. The card isn't awful on its own; Savannah Lion beats aren't the worst, especially with Exalted.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Shalai, Voice of Plenty
3W
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying
You, planeswalkers you control, and other creatures you control have hexproof.
4GG: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
3/4
--
Mainly for the Devoted Druid builds, but this card is sweet. It's a combo piece. It protects our other combo pieces. It's hate for a bunch of decks, including Burn and Storm, and very good against Liliana (both Lilianas, even). It's a 3/4 beater in the air. It blocks Mantis Rider. At 4 casting cost and 4 toughness, it's annoying to deal with removal. It's a grindy win-con with the built-in Gavony Township effect.
Did I mention it's a combo piece??
Yes, it's a miss from Collected Company, but the list plays Walking Ballista, and sometimes more than one. This is also excellent with Chord of Calling to blank any removal, discard or other spell that targets... anything on your side of the battlefield. I think the druid builds play minimum one of these in the main.
But while Shalay got a lot of attention yesterday, I think there's another potentially very good card that flew under the radar, also for the Druid build:
Dauntless Bodyguard
W
Creature - Human Knight
As Dauntless Bodyguard enters the battlefield, choose another creature you control.
Sacrifice Dauntless Bodyguard: The chosen creature gains indestructible until end of turn.
2/1
--
A 2/1 for W isn't awful on rate, but where this shines is as a super cheap protection spell with Chord of Calling. Anyone who plays Burrenton Forge-Tender knows how good it feels to have Chord for Forge-Tender ready to save your devoted druid. This is a more maindeckable version of that. Yes, Selfless Spirit does it better, but Chord for 2 is significantly harder to do than Chord for 1.
I'm wondering if we could have a curve like this to protect Druid:
Chord for 1 = Dauntless Bodyguard (save it from non-white removal)
Chord for 2 = Selfless Spirit (save your whole board from non-white removal)
Chord for 3 = Renegade Rallier (recur it after any removal as long as you have a graveyard)
Chord for 4 = Shalai, Voice of Plenty (save it from any targeted removal so long as your opponent can't respond with a removal spell that hits Shalai)
All of these could be 1-ofs, and all are very good cards in their own right.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Jace + Courser = free cards and life. Add Tireless Tracker and/or Knight to the mix to make the value even more absurd.
Jace + birds/hierarchs = Brainstorm to sharply increase card quality
Jace + Coco = set up double Knight Coco.
I think we have to go 8 manadorks if we hope to support 6-7 4-drop spells. The suite of 3-drops I'm running currently is 4 Knights, 4 Quellers, 2 Coursers, 2 Trackers, 1 Clique. Clique has been REALLY good in my testing, doing things like blanking a Breach deck's combo, removing Supreme Verdict from UW, etc. I'm seriously considering going up to 2 Cliques because in a meta where we're going to be fighting over Jace on turn 4, it's really nice to have Spell Queller up as well as Clique. Also some have suggested that Jace will cause an uptick in combo decks, and Clique is one of the better ways to counter that.
So I hate to say it but we may need to pony up the cash for this one...
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
1 Eternal Witness seems wrong. You want at least 3 in Vizier lists. Also not a fan of Geist in the main.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Here's my list. It changes slightly from week to week (especially the sideboard). Tamiyo, Field Researcher is a bit of a fun-of, but it has been very effective in any grindy matchup or midrange creature mirror.
// 29 Creature
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Mayor of Avabruck
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Reflector Mage
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Eternal Witness
// 2 Enchantment
2 Retreat to Coralhelm
// 7 Instant
4 Collected Company
3 Path to Exile
// 1 Planeswalker
1 Tamiyo, Field Researcher
4 Windswept Heath
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
2 Forest
2 Plains
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Stomping Ground
// 10 Creature
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Vithian Renegades
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Unified Will
// 1 Land
1 Bojuka Bog
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
I'm also on Humans Knightfall and virtually undefeated with it at my LGS. I switched to playing other things like GW Value Town and Saheeli combo to switch things up, but humans is a great deck and probably the most competitive version of Knightfall IMO. In terms of how it compares to the flavor of the month 5-color humans, I would say that it's not as disruptive and therefore weaker against combo (though you do have Thalia, and have access to Unified Will postboard), but is stronger against grindy value decks and maybe aggro decks (CoCo is a hell of a card). It also holds up better against Blood Moon, which is worth noting.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Agreed, and Anger of the Gods isn't necessarily that good against us because we can often get Champion of the Parish / Knight of the Reliquary to 4/4 before they get to cast it, and we usually run Burrenton Forge-Tender. I have to reiterate my belief that this is the best build of the deck at present. It's somewhat linear but not overly so. The deck still has serious play to it with cards like Unified Will. Case in point, I'm 9-0 with it at my LGS over three weeks.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Which version is this? I'm guessing it's the traditional version?
Regardless, probably Gaddock Teeg. I don't like Teeg in this deck because it stops us from casting our own Cocos. It also does nothing against Valakut decks and dies to every removal under the sun. There could be an argument for taking out a 1/1 split between Teeg and Eidolon.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Honestly, it's pretty new tech for me so I'm not too sure where I want it but I can think of a few matchups where I might bring it in: Valakut, Grapeshot, Ad Nauseam, maaaaybe Living End? Basically any deck that relies on a single card to end the game. If it ends up being good against Storm as well as Valakut, that's probably good enough to justify it.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
Precisely. And without that card, they're left with a bunch of dumb 6/6s that look puny compared toKnight of the Reliquary. I believe that Intervention, along with Unified Will / Flashfreeze might be the way forward in terms of beating Valakut decks.
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB