As a three drop it can be hit by CoCo and it provides an evasive, indestructible 4/6 whose attack/block functions we can turn on when it comes down Turn 3 (unlike some of the other gods), and its ability conveniently acts as Sac Outlets 8-9 or Blood Artists 9-10, albeit at a steeper cost.
I wouldn't have expected a Modern playable God but this looks like a potentially solid fit for us
"He plays in a walk in humidor so keep his foils from bending. He once kept an all land hand just to know what it felt like to be mana flooded. He uses power nine for ante. He is the most interesting magic playing in the world." Old man, "I don't always tap basic lands for mana, but when i do, I tap Gurus."
I was thinking the same thing. Seems like it could be pretty strong.
He seems great in a more aggro build. Mine was trending towards grindy so I'll need to tweak. Seems like Bontu could be a finisher in the traditional aggro list.
I see him mainly as a Menace beatstick, the sacrifice/lifedrain ability is costed too high to be more than a fallback when all other sacrifice outlets have been removed/disabled (looking at you, pithing needle).
Definitely. He's a 3 cost, evasive, resilient beater. It's just gravy that his activated ability has some synergy with the rest of deck.
Well, played in that mini last night and ran terribly, went 0-3. There was a fair amount of variance (I got mana flooded, playing 21 lands, in every single game except two) but I also think it is because the listed I posted a couple days ago is trying to do too many things.
Match 1: Dimir Mindcrank Combo
(1-2)
Game 1- Got off to a great start and got him down to a handful of life. Unfortunately, all my draws were lands and I never drew a sac outlet so I ran out of gas before he went off.
Game 2- This was the best game of the night for me. Curved out with Doomed Traveler, Aristocrat, Lingering Souls, Zulaport/Blood Artist. Killed him on turn 4 by saccing my board for drain triggers.
Game 3- Mulled to 6 after having a hand full of lands, kept a questionable 4 lander (+path, cartel aristocrat) and flooded out.
Match 2: RG Devoted/Quillspike Combo
(1-2)
Game 1- Opponent mulled to 5. I drew a decent opening 7. He removed my early threats but I picked away with Spirit Tokens and managed to do a big sac/drain on turn 5 or 6 for the finish.
Game 2- First 7: all lands. Next 6: All lands. Next 5: 3 lands, path, lingering souls that I keep. Never got going and he combo'd off even through the path before I could draw anything else relevant.
Game 3- I get a good starting 7 but only draw lands all game long. I don't get any of my boarded in hand hate or a path, he draws the nuts and flings an infinitely large Quillspike at me after a chump block.
Match 3: BW Tokens
(0-2)
Game 1- Get off to a decent start, gum up drawing only lands, get blown out by a Zealous Persecution clearing 5x Spirit tokens. Get blown out the next turn by another wiping by the 4x tokens I just flashbacked double Lingering Souls for. Possibly a punt as I overextended twice, but considering I was stalling out and flooding may still have been right to push. His board presence gets out of control and my hand full of lands doesn't help there.
Game 2- First 7: 6 lands, 1 path. Next 6: No lands. Next 5: 3 Lands, Cartel Aristocrat, Lingering souls. My opponent inquisitions both of his first turns shredding my hand, I draw 3 lands off the top, and scoop.
So a lot of mana issues there, which I think are outliers as I thought I was being super greedy only running 21. I did realize that unless I go full RallyFenza, Anafenza/Safehold elite really don't do too much for me. I was trying to ride the line between grindy/fast and combo/aggro and I think aggro is just the better build.
Also, Leonin Arbiter just didn't do much for me. Even though I don't have the money for Marsh flats, I had enough copies/saved up store credit to run 6x other fetches that can grab Godless Shrines.
So here's the list I will be testing and playing in next week's FNM:
Trying out Grim Haruspex to grab a bit of extra gas but I plan on switching it out for 2x Bontu once Amonkhet drops unless I am extremely impressed by the Haruspex
Hey guys, I've just signed up here and have been reading over some of the past and latest posts. It seems pretty cool with loads of great suggestions for the New Aristocrats deck!
I saw the a post about a version of this deck on Channel Fireball earlier in the week, I think, and really felt that it was the first deck that I've actually wanted to branch out into Modern for. I've been playing for just over two years now - started with EDH and tried Standard from SOI onwards non-competitive, but have played in some pre-release and Gamedays. I don't get to go to FNM due to work, but hope that might change later in the year. I really like brewing my own decks and have never netdecked before, but this deck stood out - so I've bought almost the whole deck (minus fetches and some of the most expensive cards i.e. Thoughtseize, 3 x Path to Exile, 3 x Inquisition of Kozilek and some of the SB). However, I think the deck is playable. I just lost 2-1 in a match on Xmage to a Blood Moon Dragon deck (I'm not very familiar with the entire Modern meta).
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to trying to get some games with the deck, trade/buy into the more expensive pieces and hopefully follow and contribute to this excellent thread! I have a playset of Bloodghast and was thinking about getting it into the deck, so was encouraged by an earlier post that had good things to say about it!
Mmmmm, B for a flying 3/2 deathtouch that we can enable with sacs and removal... Doesn't play well with CoCo / Return / Rally, but maybe good in a more interactive Orzhov or Mardu build.
My issue right now is that we've got a lot of strong attackers we can enable but we're still saddled with a large number of cards that do essentially nothing unless you get them all on the board together. Because that core engine takes up so much room there isn't much space left for these new attackers which don't actually enable the engine. We still need a card that combine these engine pieces together -- Hidden Stockpile and Bontu are close, but don't quite solve the issue without being free sac outlets. Is it better to go more aggressive / less combo-y and try to work in more of these good beat-down cards while reducing the Artists and Outlets?
It is 4 piece combo. And very fragile to removal unless its done unexpected via CoCo. Don't use it as a deck only plan. I know it is played even by few famous players, but you need at least 6 Rally effect to make it worok imo. I would rather include finks+anafenza+sac outlet if you want to combo ppl. You can definitely get away with 7 sac outlets, especially with coco. Rally vs Return i dunno its both different card. i feel like Rally the Ancestors is more Blood artist (combo) oriented, when you go midrange/combo deck i like Return to the Ranks more beacuse it gets a great value with those Satyrs.
On other note, is it only me or do you do half of those 20 life through combat damage as well? Also i must ask, where are 4 copies of bob in every aristocrats? so low curve, i understand that 2cmc slot is a bit occupied but i value Dark Confidant more than eg Voice of Resurgence. Also i don't like Tidehollow Sculler. It has 2cmc so it's on occupied spot and when is it good? i feel like aristocrats are already favorable against pure creature deck so maybe something like Path to Exile=1cmc (imho if you go competitive you need at least 4 spot removals unless you full combo ala Ad nauseam). I see Tron and those Sun and moon, skred decks as worst matchups, because when they wrath of god and drop Nahiri, the Harbinger, Chandra, torch of Defiance its almost gg. And there is always a way to get that Sculler first or with the rest of creatures with Anger of the Gods This is reason why i dropped all Sculler and have few Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Sin Collector in side.
What do you feel is bad matchups and what does your side looks like guys?
P.S Bone Picker seems awesome, just not for us; Bontu seems good as one, two-of as top of our curve and mana sink when out of gas with some board. those 3-4 extra drain from him can be game.
So I was sitting at work and Bam inspiration struck. For better or worse I mashed up Eldrazi and Aristocrats. This was my first draft of the deck but I think it has potential. Thoughtknot helps you clear out potential threats. Reshaper sacs or trades really well and sifter of skulls just lets you go really deep.
Wanted to get people's opinions as I think this deck is actually decent on paper.
Hi Guys, was wondering if there has been any discussion on Liliana Heretical Healer in an Orzhov build? If so, I'd be very thankful for a link to the discussion or a rough idea as to how many pages I should go back. Thank you.
Also been seeing talk of an orzhov aggro build on the last few pages with Bontu. Does anyone have a sample decklist? I'm imagining it would look something like the budget magic list Saffron Olive brewed a few weeks back.
So I was sitting at work and Bam inspiration struck. For better or worse I mashed up Eldrazi and Aristocrats. This was my first draft of the deck but I think it has potential. Thoughtknot helps you clear out potential threats. Reshaper sacs or trades really well and sifter of skulls just lets you go really deep.
Wanted to get people's opinions as I think this deck is actually decent on paper.
I think the concept is solid. I've also messed around with Matter Reshaper in Aristocrats and there's definitely potential there. I think you could also move this convo over to the Aristocrats thread since 80% of the cards are the same and the strategy is pretty similar (see: Mono-White Taxes + BW Eldrazi & Taxes sharing the same thread). EDIT: looks like we've been merged.
I would start with the full set of Reshaper and Lingering Souls (great cards!), and trim down to 2x Sifter of Skulls. I'm generally less sold on Sifter since it's a "3.5" drop with 3 toughness, no ETB ability, no evasion for beats or recursion, doesn't proc on your Spirit tokens, and it doesn't help you when you need to find a sac outlet or drainer -- it's "just" a value extender and ramp piece at the top end of your curve, which is a slightly awkward place for those traits IMO.
What's your goal with Batterskull? It's not a bad card but it is rather expensive for your curve and doesn't directly support the Aristocrats plan.
A couple of points about my approach. I am trying one of Liliana, Heretical Healer given recent discussions on this forum. I would prefer Thoughtseize to Inquisition of Kozilek but still a budget issue. I really like Bob and Smuggler's Copter to keep gas in late game, together with Return rather than Rally, even tho Return doesn't hit Lili. Finally, I am thinking of taking out the Worship and one Zealous Persecution in favor of 2 Stony Silence. Welcome comments and suggestions.
Hey everyone, I have a friend just getting into modern from standard thats looking to build a budget W/B Aristocrats deck. Previously I had told them that Hangerback Walker would be a good enabler for this style of play but looking at the primer I didn't see it mentioned. Is it just not nessesary? Also they want to run a Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim in addition to playsets of Viscera Seer and Cartel Aristocrat. What is the general concensus on Ayli?
@Jim_Prov
Looking at your list, i would be afraid to play with this manabase - 4 colorless, 6 basics and you have 7 twodrops with WB cmc. As i am playing this deck, i generally dont like Ghost Quarter here, because you dont care about creature lands that much and against tron that one or two turns won't win games often enough. If you are on budget, i would definitely add Caves of Kolios, if not, fetches and Shrines. As for maindeck, i am on 3 Liliana, Heretical healer myself. Best line ever is T1 Viscera seer, T2 Dark Confidant T3 Liliana, Heretical healer, sac seer, ressurect seer or confidant if dead. T4 go off. In a lot of matchups she outvalues opp (Jund, Abzan, with 5 counters any control really). Next point Fragmentize > Disenchant and stony silence is must imo.
@Fincown Hangarback walker is slow. If you are paying 2 mana, you get overpriced Doomed traveler. If 4, its overpriced lingering souls. The ability to put counters is so clunky, imagine, you drop it T2, T3 you cant play 3 drop, because you want to pump walker and you cant atack with it. T4 it will maybe payoff provided it lives that long, and you live that long. Ayli, eternal pilgrim with no tweeks in maindeck is worse Cartel Aristocrat. I feel you need to utilize her next ability to get her above average sac outlet.
@Jim_Prov
Looking at your list, i would be afraid to play with this manabase - 4 colorless, 6 basics and you have 7 twodrops with WB cmc. As i am playing this deck, ...
Anyway the reason I’m posting is because I’m trying to see if there is a deck with the saffi eriksdotter, renegade rallier, viscera seer + zulaport cutthroat combo. I need some help.
What do you guys think? Is the combo even worth it? Saffi is pretty bad on her own. On the other hand renegade rallier fits well within the theme.
Yes! I think the Saffi combo is worth running. Many of you know that I was a big fan of Rallyfenza, but I had issues with a couple core design tensions: (1) CoCo wants 3-drops but Return to the Ranks wants 2-drops, (2) Rallyfenza runs a lot of cards that are individually bad (Anafenza, Melira, Rally/Return with an undeveloped graveyard) or become really bad in the face of grave hate (Rally/Return, Safehold Elite), and (3) it had a really awkward curve of nearly only 2-drops that usually wastes mana on turns 1 & 3.
IMO Rallier fixes a lot of these problems. Instead of the mass Return/Rally we lean on Rallier, which is much more versatile and can set up some early game tempo and value plays. Rallier also has nuts value synergy with Voice of Resurgence, and is at least still a 3/2 body even in the face of grave hate. Eternal Witness helps round out the recursion package, which is entirely creature-based.
Yes, Saffi is still somewhat mediocre on her own but I think she does a better job than Anafenza or Melira in terms of supporting the general sac-value plan by also recurring Voices or bringing back your bolted Blood Artists so you can sac out.
I prefer Chord of Calling to Return/Rally. Best case it gets you the last infinite combo piece (and lets you run fewer bad pieces), but it's also great for grabbing what you need to fill out your Voice beats plan, or get you that second blood artist so you can sac out. The deck's win cons are pretty fluid so it's nice to have a card that's similarly versatile. There are a few different ways you can set up the infinite combo turn 3, but as far as I know they all involve either CoCo or Chord.
The curve and consistency feel pretty good. If you like the look of it you're welcome to help me get some data together.
I am torn between WB and Abzan builds. Your Abzan build looks like more fun, but how is consistency by adding the extra color? Also what does your sideboard look like? Does it have better answers to current MTGO meta?
The consistency drop in color availability is pretty much negligible compared to a 2 color list thanks to 6x multi-color Dorks and 12x fetches. The real downside is that you soften yourself to Burn and don't have much room for uncolored utility lands.
My sideboard is a carry-over from my old Rallyfenza list, and as such still needs some tuning for the current meta:
Is Abzan better than Orzhov? In general I would guess so -- the vast majority of the successful Aristocrat lists that have posted results at moderately sized events in the last year or two have all ran CoCo -- but I don't have a great answer for the nuances of this specific meta. I think that running CoCo means you will always have a bit more proactive game, even in the face of hate, since you can always fall back on putting a high density of bodies right on the field. The combination of dorks + Rallier + CoCo can give you some strong tempo plays, which is something BW doesn't really have access to. I was playing with Collective Brutality + Copter + Souls + Bloodghast a few pages ago and it is definitely good, but synergy-driven tempo plays didn't come up quite as consistently as I'd like.
You do generally sacrifice interaction to go more all-in, but it's really all up to how you want to build it. Spot removal is at a premium right now against DSJ so if you wanted you could make sure that somewhere in the 75 is a configuration with 6x spot removal spells (3x Path, 3x Push) and even 3-drop creatures like Fiend Hunter as extra interaction.
The archetype as a whole is probably always going to have a lousy Tron & Storm matchup. Depending upon the hand you have the potential to grind along with Death's Shadow with CoCo, Rallier, and E-Wit. Having a T3-T4 infinite combo means you get random free wins out from under decks sometimes.
As far as beating a specific meta goes, Chord + CoCo is pretty useful for finding Silver Bullets. Here are some bullets (and other SB cards) that have been run in similar lists:
Abrupt Decay
Anafenza, the Foremost
Archangel of Thune
Autumn's Veil
Aven Mindcensor
Big Game Hunter
Burrenton Forge-Tender
Burrenton Shield-Bearers
Distended Mindbender
Duress
Eidolon of Rhetoric
Ethersworn Canonist
Fiend Hunter
Fulminator Mage
Gaddock Teeg
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Intrepid Hero
Kataki, War's Wage
Kitchen Finks
Lingering Souls
Maelstrom Pulse
Orzhov Pontiff
Path to Exile
Phyrexian Revoker
Qasali Pridemage
Reclamation Sage
Scavenging Ooze
Selfless Spirit
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Sin Collector
Spellskite
Spike Feeder
Stony Silence
Surgical Extraction
Thoughtseize
Thrun, the Last Troll
Tidehollow Sculler
Tireless Tracker
opinion on this new 2cmc drop that has been leaked? i feel like it has a place in our build?
In a non-human version there are better options like: Carrier Thrall, Doomed Traveler and in Green there are Blisterpod/Tukatongue Thallid.
As a three drop it can be hit by CoCo and it provides an evasive, indestructible 4/6 whose attack/block functions we can turn on when it comes down Turn 3 (unlike some of the other gods), and its ability conveniently acts as Sac Outlets 8-9 or Blood Artists 9-10, albeit at a steeper cost.
I wouldn't have expected a Modern playable God but this looks like a potentially solid fit for us
I was thinking the same thing. Seems like it could be pretty strong.
He seems great in a more aggro build. Mine was trending towards grindy so I'll need to tweak. Seems like Bontu could be a finisher in the traditional aggro list.
Definitely. He's a 3 cost, evasive, resilient beater. It's just gravy that his activated ability has some synergy with the rest of deck.
Match 1: Dimir Mindcrank Combo
(1-2)
Game 1- Got off to a great start and got him down to a handful of life. Unfortunately, all my draws were lands and I never drew a sac outlet so I ran out of gas before he went off.
Game 2- This was the best game of the night for me. Curved out with Doomed Traveler, Aristocrat, Lingering Souls, Zulaport/Blood Artist. Killed him on turn 4 by saccing my board for drain triggers.
Game 3- Mulled to 6 after having a hand full of lands, kept a questionable 4 lander (+path, cartel aristocrat) and flooded out.
Match 2: RG Devoted/Quillspike Combo
(1-2)
Game 1- Opponent mulled to 5. I drew a decent opening 7. He removed my early threats but I picked away with Spirit Tokens and managed to do a big sac/drain on turn 5 or 6 for the finish.
Game 2- First 7: all lands. Next 6: All lands. Next 5: 3 lands, path, lingering souls that I keep. Never got going and he combo'd off even through the path before I could draw anything else relevant.
Game 3- I get a good starting 7 but only draw lands all game long. I don't get any of my boarded in hand hate or a path, he draws the nuts and flings an infinitely large Quillspike at me after a chump block.
Match 3: BW Tokens
(0-2)
Game 1- Get off to a decent start, gum up drawing only lands, get blown out by a Zealous Persecution clearing 5x Spirit tokens. Get blown out the next turn by another wiping by the 4x tokens I just flashbacked double Lingering Souls for. Possibly a punt as I overextended twice, but considering I was stalling out and flooding may still have been right to push. His board presence gets out of control and my hand full of lands doesn't help there.
Game 2- First 7: 6 lands, 1 path. Next 6: No lands. Next 5: 3 Lands, Cartel Aristocrat, Lingering souls. My opponent inquisitions both of his first turns shredding my hand, I draw 3 lands off the top, and scoop.
So a lot of mana issues there, which I think are outliers as I thought I was being super greedy only running 21. I did realize that unless I go full RallyFenza, Anafenza/Safehold elite really don't do too much for me. I was trying to ride the line between grindy/fast and combo/aggro and I think aggro is just the better build.
Also, Leonin Arbiter just didn't do much for me. Even though I don't have the money for Marsh flats, I had enough copies/saved up store credit to run 6x other fetches that can grab Godless Shrines.
So here's the list I will be testing and playing in next week's FNM:
4x Doomed Traveler
3x Viscera Seer
4x Blood Artist
3x Bloodthrone Vampire
4x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Zulaport Cutthroat
2x Grim Haruspex(Bontu the Glorified)
4x Path to Exile
2x Rally the Ancestors
4x Lingering Souls
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Concealed Courtyard
1x Flooded Strand
4x Godless Shrine
2x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
2x Swamp
1x Windswept Heath
2x Fatal Push
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Disenchant
2x Grand Abolisher
2x Stony Silence
1x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Stain the Mind
Trying out Grim Haruspex to grab a bit of extra gas but I plan on switching it out for 2x Bontu once Amonkhet drops unless I am extremely impressed by the Haruspex
I saw the a post about a version of this deck on Channel Fireball earlier in the week, I think, and really felt that it was the first deck that I've actually wanted to branch out into Modern for. I've been playing for just over two years now - started with EDH and tried Standard from SOI onwards non-competitive, but have played in some pre-release and Gamedays. I don't get to go to FNM due to work, but hope that might change later in the year. I really like brewing my own decks and have never netdecked before, but this deck stood out - so I've bought almost the whole deck (minus fetches and some of the most expensive cards i.e. Thoughtseize, 3 x Path to Exile, 3 x Inquisition of Kozilek and some of the SB). However, I think the deck is playable. I just lost 2-1 in a match on Xmage to a Blood Moon Dragon deck (I'm not very familiar with the entire Modern meta).
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to trying to get some games with the deck, trade/buy into the more expensive pieces and hopefully follow and contribute to this excellent thread! I have a playset of Bloodghast and was thinking about getting it into the deck, so was encouraged by an earlier post that had good things to say about it!
I definitely agree that Bontu the Glorified could be useful too!
EDH - Nath of the Gilt Leaf
BG
Mmmmm, B for a flying 3/2 deathtouch that we can enable with sacs and removal... Doesn't play well with CoCo / Return / Rally, but maybe good in a more interactive Orzhov or Mardu build.
My issue right now is that we've got a lot of strong attackers we can enable but we're still saddled with a large number of cards that do essentially nothing unless you get them all on the board together. Because that core engine takes up so much room there isn't much space left for these new attackers which don't actually enable the engine. We still need a card that combine these engine pieces together -- Hidden Stockpile and Bontu are close, but don't quite solve the issue without being free sac outlets. Is it better to go more aggressive / less combo-y and try to work in more of these good beat-down cards while reducing the Artists and Outlets?
On other note, is it only me or do you do half of those 20 life through combat damage as well? Also i must ask, where are 4 copies of bob in every aristocrats? so low curve, i understand that 2cmc slot is a bit occupied but i value Dark Confidant more than eg Voice of Resurgence. Also i don't like Tidehollow Sculler. It has 2cmc so it's on occupied spot and when is it good? i feel like aristocrats are already favorable against pure creature deck so maybe something like Path to Exile=1cmc (imho if you go competitive you need at least 4 spot removals unless you full combo ala Ad nauseam). I see Tron and those Sun and moon, skred decks as worst matchups, because when they wrath of god and drop Nahiri, the Harbinger, Chandra, torch of Defiance its almost gg. And there is always a way to get that Sculler first or with the rest of creatures with Anger of the Gods This is reason why i dropped all Sculler and have few Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Sin Collector in side.
What do you feel is bad matchups and what does your side looks like guys?
P.S Bone Picker seems awesome, just not for us; Bontu seems good as one, two-of as top of our curve and mana sink when out of gas with some board. those 3-4 extra drain from him can be game.
Wanted to get people's opinions as I think this deck is actually decent on paper.
Doomed Traveler x3
Viscera Seer x4
Cartel Aristocrat x2
Dark Confidant x2
Zulaport Cutthroat x3
Blood artist x2
Matter reshaper x3
Thought-knot seer x4
Sifter of skulls x4
Batterskull X1
Lingering Soulsx3
Inquisition of Kozilek x3
Path to exile x4
Caves of koilos x4
Marsh Flats x4
Godless shrine x3
Eldrazi temple x4
Cavern of souls x3
Wastes x1
Swamp x2
Plains x1
Also been seeing talk of an orzhov aggro build on the last few pages with Bontu. Does anyone have a sample decklist? I'm imagining it would look something like the budget magic list Saffron Olive brewed a few weeks back.
I would start with the full set of Reshaper and Lingering Souls (great cards!), and trim down to 2x Sifter of Skulls. I'm generally less sold on Sifter since it's a "3.5" drop with 3 toughness, no ETB ability, no evasion for beats or recursion, doesn't proc on your Spirit tokens, and it doesn't help you when you need to find a sac outlet or drainer -- it's "just" a value extender and ramp piece at the top end of your curve, which is a slightly awkward place for those traits IMO.
What's your goal with Batterskull? It's not a bad card but it is rather expensive for your curve and doesn't directly support the Aristocrats plan.
4 Doomed Traveler
1 Bloodsoaked Champion
2 Viscera Seer
3 Blood Artist
3 Zulaport Cutthroat
4 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Dark Confidant
Spells:
3 Path to Exile
1 Fatal Push
3 Return to the Ranks
4 Lingering Souls
2 Smuggler's Copter
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
2 Marsh Flats
3 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
1 Godless Shrine
3 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Shambling Vent
2 Vault of the Archangel
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Fatal Push
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Worship
2 Disenchant
1 Wrath of God
A couple of points about my approach. I am trying one of Liliana, Heretical Healer given recent discussions on this forum. I would prefer Thoughtseize to Inquisition of Kozilek but still a budget issue. I really like Bob and Smuggler's Copter to keep gas in late game, together with Return rather than Rally, even tho Return doesn't hit Lili. Finally, I am thinking of taking out the Worship and one Zealous Persecution in favor of 2 Stony Silence. Welcome comments and suggestions.
Looking at your list, i would be afraid to play with this manabase - 4 colorless, 6 basics and you have 7 twodrops with WB cmc. As i am playing this deck, i generally dont like Ghost Quarter here, because you dont care about creature lands that much and against tron that one or two turns won't win games often enough. If you are on budget, i would definitely add Caves of Kolios, if not, fetches and Shrines. As for maindeck, i am on 3 Liliana, Heretical healer myself. Best line ever is T1 Viscera seer, T2 Dark Confidant T3 Liliana, Heretical healer, sac seer, ressurect seer or confidant if dead. T4 go off. In a lot of matchups she outvalues opp (Jund, Abzan, with 5 counters any control really). Next point Fragmentize > Disenchant and stony silence is must imo.
@Fincown
Hangarback walker is slow. If you are paying 2 mana, you get overpriced Doomed traveler. If 4, its overpriced lingering souls. The ability to put counters is so clunky, imagine, you drop it T2, T3 you cant play 3 drop, because you want to pump walker and you cant atack with it. T4 it will maybe payoff provided it lives that long, and you live that long. Ayli, eternal pilgrim with no tweeks in maindeck is worse Cartel Aristocrat. I feel you need to utilize her next ability to get her above average sac outlet.
IMO Rallier fixes a lot of these problems. Instead of the mass Return/Rally we lean on Rallier, which is much more versatile and can set up some early game tempo and value plays. Rallier also has nuts value synergy with Voice of Resurgence, and is at least still a 3/2 body even in the face of grave hate. Eternal Witness helps round out the recursion package, which is entirely creature-based.
Yes, Saffi is still somewhat mediocre on her own but I think she does a better job than Anafenza or Melira in terms of supporting the general sac-value plan by also recurring Voices or bringing back your bolted Blood Artists so you can sac out.
I prefer Chord of Calling to Return/Rally. Best case it gets you the last infinite combo piece (and lets you run fewer bad pieces), but it's also great for grabbing what you need to fill out your Voice beats plan, or get you that second blood artist so you can sac out. The deck's win cons are pretty fluid so it's nice to have a card that's similarly versatile. There are a few different ways you can set up the infinite combo turn 3, but as far as I know they all involve either CoCo or Chord.
Here is where I'm at right now:
4x Birds of Paradise
2x Noble Hierarch
4x Viscera Seer
4x Blood Artist
2x Cartel Aristocrat
2x Saffi Eriksdotter
4x Voice of Resurgence
2x Zulaport Cutthroat
2x Eternal Witness
4x Renegade Rallier
3x Chord of Calling
4x Collected Company
Sorcery (2)
2x Lingering Souls
Land (21)
2x Forest
1x Godless Shrine
3x Marsh Flats
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Razorverge Thicket
1x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Verdant Catacombs
1x Westvale Abbey
4x Windswept Heath
I am torn between WB and Abzan builds. Your Abzan build looks like more fun, but how is consistency by adding the extra color? Also what does your sideboard look like? Does it have better answers to current MTGO meta?
My sideboard is a carry-over from my old Rallyfenza list, and as such still needs some tuning for the current meta:
2x Path to Exile
3x Qasali Pridemage
3x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Fiend Hunter
1x Intrepid Hero
2x Fulminator Mage
You do generally sacrifice interaction to go more all-in, but it's really all up to how you want to build it. Spot removal is at a premium right now against DSJ so if you wanted you could make sure that somewhere in the 75 is a configuration with 6x spot removal spells (3x Path, 3x Push) and even 3-drop creatures like Fiend Hunter as extra interaction.
The archetype as a whole is probably always going to have a lousy Tron & Storm matchup. Depending upon the hand you have the potential to grind along with Death's Shadow with CoCo, Rallier, and E-Wit. Having a T3-T4 infinite combo means you get random free wins out from under decks sometimes.
As far as beating a specific meta goes, Chord + CoCo is pretty useful for finding Silver Bullets. Here are some bullets (and other SB cards) that have been run in similar lists:
Anafenza, the Foremost
Archangel of Thune
Autumn's Veil
Aven Mindcensor
Big Game Hunter
Burrenton Forge-Tender
Burrenton Shield-Bearers
Distended Mindbender
Duress
Eidolon of Rhetoric
Ethersworn Canonist
Fiend Hunter
Fulminator Mage
Gaddock Teeg
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Intrepid Hero
Kataki, War's Wage
Kitchen Finks
Lingering Souls
Maelstrom Pulse
Orzhov Pontiff
Path to Exile
Phyrexian Revoker
Qasali Pridemage
Reclamation Sage
Scavenging Ooze
Selfless Spirit
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Sin Collector
Spellskite
Spike Feeder
Stony Silence
Surgical Extraction
Thoughtseize
Thrun, the Last Troll
Tidehollow Sculler
Tireless Tracker