(This is my sad attempt to make it look official, forgive me lol)
Back in standard, I loved playing The Aristocrats. A good amount of resilience to your creatures, as well as having a reliable way to drain life from your opponents was always a very strong combination. With treasure cruise, Birthing Pod, and Dig Through Time getting taken out of the format, UR Burn/Delver, Splinter Twin, and Scapeshift decks all took a hit(along with pod completely going bye-bye), which would most likely be seen as some of the worst matchups for this deck. Also, Fate Reforged came out with the card Rally the Ancestors, which gives you an instant speed way to bring back all your troops (most of the creatures in the deck are 2 or less mana) and push the last damage you need through with blood artists and Cartel Aristocrats.
Now, one of the main things that makes this deck a strong contender, is the amount of different versions that can work. Orzhov, Mardu, and Abzan are all viable color configurations, that all pack a punch. This can also be seen as a strength, because if the Aristocrats picks up, then each version will require your opponents to have different sideboard cards for an effective matchup.
The Core
- Doomed Traveler : What a perfect one drop for this deck! Offering us two bodies for the price of one (one is flying, no less) all for the efficient cost of 1 mana. Love it
- Bloodsoaked Champion : A little aggressive guy, offering two power, recursion, and some early beats. Being able to bring him back constantly can be a big game changer in drawn out matches with a steady drain every turn.
- Blood Artist : Probably one of the better two drops in modern. You can hose out aggro just by slamming your creatures on the board with an Artist out, while also being able to sacrifice armies or blank out board wipes because of his insane effect. This gives you an edge, as you can pull away from your opponent in life totals just by playing magic.
- Cartel Aristocrat : One of the main cards we want to play this archetype. A two mana bear that can be both aggressive and defensive, while doubling as your win condition in the late game? Sign us up for a playset
- Dark Confidant : This very well could be the best Bob deck around, considering the low curve and your steady dose of life gain. If he sticks on the board too long, your deck just amasses such a large mob that the game will be over even if they clear the board
- Lingering Souls : This card is just a house. Netting 4 bodies on a single card, it gives you an aggressive edge while also allowing you to play for the slower game where you may not be the aggro deck. Very powerful with Blood Artist
- Butcher of the Horde/Falkenrath Aristocrat/Varolz, the Scar-Striped (Our big finisher. 4 mana and modern means we don't want to see multiples of this in the opening hand, and probably don't need them to win the game, but it definitely turns the game around when it shows up.)
- Rally the Ancestors : While being iffy in Abzan, this card can create "combo" turns. Bringing back a whole squad of guys at instant speed to sacrifice for lethal draining is pretty common in this deck. Being able to win at instant speed in some situations is amazingly powerful
- Lightning Bolt/Path to exile/Abrupt Decay (removal) : You are gonna want removal to crash in for damage, and these would be the go-to options for any of the builds
No matter what variant you're playing, these are going to be the core cards you use.
Variant choices
- Athreos, God of Passage : Running just two colors gives you room to play something terrifying like this god. He works to just recur your creatures and bolt your opponent, he can lead to fast finishes
- Tidehollow Sculler : giving the deck a little bit of mainboard disruption that doubles as a body can be very relevant in Aristocrats
- Hero of Bladehold : A hyper aggressive 4 drop, and it just spews tokens out to boot. Can quickly make your opponents life total 0 if left unchecked
- Mogg War Marshal : Personally the reason I play the Mardu version, you get three dudes for 2 mana! Lightning Helix on a stick is a pretty good thing. Also gets added value with a card later mentioned
- Lighting Bolt : don't think I need to say anything about bolt, but you can get away with not running it in this deck if you choose to
- Goblin Rabblemaster : This creature, coupled with Mogg, can just take over games by himself unless answered immediately. Also feeds your blood Artist triggers
- Falkenrath Aristocrat : A 4/1 with haste and potential indestructibility is an amazing deal. Did I mention it has flying and doubles as a sac engine? Yeah
- Butcher of the Horde : Really up to the player to use Falk or Butcher, both are amazing. Lifelink and Vigilance are too good for me to pass up personally, but they both work great
- Outpost Siege : A potential pseudo-Blood Artist, pseudo-Card advantage engine. Great 1-of in the deck
-Tymaret, the Murder King : Little and aggressive, late game can just start bolting your opponent to death as well
- Tukatongue Thallid - Pretty much a green slightly worse Traveler. Still very good
- Voice of Resurgence : This card is NUTS in this deck. at least two bodies, while the second body is probably hefty. Great in control matchups
- Abrupt Decay : One of the better removal spells ever printed? Cool
- Maelstrom Pulse : ANOTHER of the best removal spells ever made? Double Cool
- Varolz, the Scar-Striped : Sac engine for the deck, hard to remove, and he also can throw counters onto creatures after your others have hit the bin. He is value town here
- Abzan Ascendancy : The first ability might be awesome late game, beefing up the squad. The second ability however, is why we would use this card. Making two guys for one on every nontoken is backbreaking in this deck
- Siege Rhino : Last time I checked, a poser Warleader's Helix on a 4/5 trample beatstick is pretty great
Those are all good ideas! The one creature I'm not 100% sold on right now is Tidehollow Sculler. If I were to replace it, it would probably be with viscera seer. I thought about fooling around with a single Grave Pact but that might be a little slow to be playing maindeck
Yeah, I'm not completely sold on High priest yet either, but I figured it's a card that can end the game pretty quick in this type of deck if they don't have removal for it right away. What would you suggest in its' place?
This deck has a lot of choices, doesn't it?! Haha. I'm currently deciding on whether Abzan, Mardu, or just Orzhov is the best combination? I'm leaning towards Mardu honestly, because butcher of the horde can get pretty nasty, but that also stretches your mana a little more. Definitely gonna have to fool around with all of the combinations
Mainly to keep the curve low. Being an instant and getting both effect at the same time is good as well. Pontiff is a creature and a human at that so it might be forth it though.
Burrenton Forge-Tender for sure! Aso, Cartel Aristocrat is MVP agains red deck, since you can give her pro red by sacing a Bloodsoaked, saving it from exile and get it back on your turn.
2 things
1st - I see no Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. She is woefully underplayed right now especially with recent banning's and the prospect that Tron and combo decks will make a comeback, she just hurts them too much.
2nd you already have a MD answer for Anger of the Gods[/cards] in Athreos, god of Passage
Here is something I put together back in the spring before m15 and Khans block landed. It had about 50% success against more creature based decks but it housed Gifts-Tron about 80% of the time, Thalia is too much for them. Pod was an issue for it but YAY that boogie man is gone.
Creatures killed by anger would not trigger Athreos as they exile.
Thalia is amazing! I want her in all my decks.
That's true regarding Athreos, God of Passage but with a sac outlet on the field that not a big problem.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben might be really good but probably best in the Sideboard since she's not that good agains creature decks and you never want to sac it.
I've always been a huge fan of Thalia, but I'm just not sure how the metagame is going to be now. If combo and tron do begin showing up in droves, then she's definitely MB. As for now I think I'll use her in the SB.
I have been running my version of modern Aristocrats for about 3 months now. It favorable matchup against burn, delver, and all sorts of midrange grinders to heavy control decks. The weakness are mostly just combo like ascendency, storm, and pod but with such powerful sideboard options that white has, I think these can be favorable too. How I managed to tune my deck was by kind of smashing it with soul sisters to get an edge against other creature decks or creature based combo decks (like twin).
I call my new version of this deck... The Aristocatz! Here is the list.
Personally I think the two decks mesh well together. Brimaz and lingering souls work both as token generators to sacrifice to your aristocrats, as well as life gainers with soul's attendant to pump up your pridemates. All of the removal is also burn, to give you some reach. The Slaughter pacts are in there because I was having a hard time against certain creature based combo decks (namely birthing pod) and wanted to not have to leave mana on turn 3. With the Slaugher pacts I can slam a brimaz and not have to worry about losing the game when I pass the turn.
Something that I really like now that I see it in the original post is Rally the Ancestors. For 5 mana that card just says "Win the game at instant speed"!! If they tap out, end of turn bring back all of your guys which is hopefully multiple blood artists + a sacrifice outlet. Then you Sac everything to kill them on their end step. Is this to cute as a one of?
Something that I don't really think the deck needs is athreos. Believe me I tested with him and in modern he is way way too slow of an engine. You don't want to be recasting creatures anyways so putting them back in your hand really sucks, and you can never kill someone with his trigger by sacrificing some of your guys. If they can't take the damage they just choose not to take it.
Terminate just came in during any match where I felt I needed more removal. Not sure if that is the correct way to be going about it but basically if the deck had siege rhino or tarmagoyf I brought in Terminate.
The Electrickery was absolutely amazing against delver and b/w tokens.
Rakdos Charm is just multipurpose hate. Hits Pod, hits Cranial Plating, kills people who combo with twin, and Nukes a graveyard when you need it to without turning off your own blood artist.
Slaughter Games I never brought in ever. Pretty sure that's just not where I want to be on turn 4 with this deck. In my mind it does everything, in reality I think it does nothing.
Eidolon of Rhetoric is fine. Comes in against storm and ascendancy and they cant bolt it.
Vandalblast never saw play in my deck. But I never went against affinity at my shop.
Thoughtsieze was good. I would love to play them main but I think the sideboard is fine. Everyone knows what this card does.
Hushwing Gryff was bad and will not be in the sideboard anymore lol. I kept trying to get people with it but this deck generally doesn't hold up mana so they always see it coming. One time against twin they just burned me out with combo in hand because they knew I was waiting for something as not flashing back a Lingering Souls in my graveyard is a huge tell.
I would definitely put the white leyline in the board for those two eidolons if I could find them anywhere locally. Eidolon gets hit with enchantment hate and creature removal as well as the leyline being free sometimes and better in more matchups. I thought about Thalia but she turns off my turn 3 brimaz into slaughter pact play and I think Thalia is actually really good against us as it is good for us to be on the field. I want to bolt your dude, attack, and then play another guy.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Bring back Transmute as a U/B mechanic and take your mill back to the depths of hell where it came from!
I'm looking at an Abzan list with varolz and voice of resurgence. Kitchen finks seems solid as well but maybe just gums up the 3 slot with lingering souls being there. What are thoughts on running mana dorks? Or even some walkers like either of the bw sorins?
Definitely the new sorin vs. the old sorin. I do not like the green version though. Reason being I don't really think that voralz is a big enough threat in modern. Falkenrath is much better as your big sac outlet then voralz is in my oppinion. 4 power of evasive haste vs. a 2 power utility creature which we already have with cartel aristocrat. You can still run kitchen finks in the Mardu version if your meta is very heavy on either removal or aggression.
On the other hand, if you really want to go the abzan version I think it would work but it would just need to be more value based kind of how the junk aristocrats deck in standard had Loxodon Smiter and Obzedat, Ghost Council. At that point why are you not just playing Angel Pod... oh wait
I would play Goyfs in any deck that runs Varolz but I don't think goyf is good in the deck either. You will never want to sacrifice a goyf.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Bring back Transmute as a U/B mechanic and take your mill back to the depths of hell where it came from!
You really do not want to have path to exil be your removal of choice. It shuts off your death triggers in blood artist. I am certain you can do better with bolt, tragic slip, or heck even doom blade. If you absolutely feel it necessary (what is everyone you play with playing tron with 4x Wurmcoil Engine?) then you can afford sideboard slots to path to exile.
4 Rally the ancestors seems too many, but I have not tested with it yet. 2 seems ok but 1 is probably all I would run personally. It forgets one very important word... Haste.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Bring back Transmute as a U/B mechanic and take your mill back to the depths of hell where it came from!
You really do not want to have path to exil be your removal of choice. It shuts off your death triggers in blood artist. I am certain you can do better with bolt, tragic slip, or heck even doom blade. If you absolutely feel it necessary (what is everyone you play with playing tron with 4x Wurmcoil Engine?) then you can afford sideboard slots to path to exile.
4 Rally the ancestors seems too many, but I have not tested with it yet. 2 seems ok but 1 is probably all I would run personally. It forgets one very important word... Haste.
Yeah, where I play does have loads of tron running around, and I only expect that to be much of the case with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon coming out and the bannings. Also, Rally the Ancestors may lack the word haste but it enables you to bring the whole squad back to block, or to sacrifice again for lethal. Being an instant really gives it the value since you can reanimate your men in response to attacks
Well, Altar's Reap is giving you card draw, while doubling as a sac engine, and is an instant. And you know, it's probably not used in pauper since all of the cards in Aristocrats that really matter are uncommons. In modern as opposed to standard, with your opponents having access to stronger cards, having a way to dig into your deck further is definitely something you want
Yeah I really don't feel Altar's Reap or Rally the Ancestors. They seem very awkward. I don't think you can afford playing such low power level cards in a deck where the main cards already are so weak on their own. The only additional "weak" card I would play is Skirsdag High Priest, since the payoff is so good.
I don't see Path to Exile being a problem. The single ping isn't that important compared to the power of the card. However, if playing the red splash I think Lightning Bolt could be better just cause is can go to the face. Not sure though. The same goes for the green splash and Abrupt Decay. The upside of not getting countered and being able to hit all kind of non land permanents could be better.
Didn't even run the necromancer in standard during those last 3 months you could. It has always been so slow. You want to tap out on turn 3 to potentially trade your 1/1 tokens for 2/2 tokens? Necromancer doesn't give you any more resilience to anger of the gods then just sacrificing all of your dudes to cartel before the damage goes through and draining them with blood artist. Also, if you go that route you are hosed even more so by rest in peace. Currently the only thing rest in peace does to my list is shut off the flashing back of lingering souls and the death triggers of blood artists. But my aristocatz version isn't so heavily reliant on the blood artists either. Probably want to be sideboarding the blood artists out against white decks you think would be running RIP and white leyline. Especially if you have seen Path to Exile in game one.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Bring back Transmute as a U/B mechanic and take your mill back to the depths of hell where it came from!
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Back in standard, I loved playing The Aristocrats. A good amount of resilience to your creatures, as well as having a reliable way to drain life from your opponents was always a very strong combination. With treasure cruise, Birthing Pod, and Dig Through Time getting taken out of the format, UR Burn/Delver, Splinter Twin, and Scapeshift decks all took a hit(along with pod completely going bye-bye), which would most likely be seen as some of the worst matchups for this deck. Also, Fate Reforged came out with the card Rally the Ancestors, which gives you an instant speed way to bring back all your troops (most of the creatures in the deck are 2 or less mana) and push the last damage you need through with blood artists and Cartel Aristocrats.
Now, one of the main things that makes this deck a strong contender, is the amount of different versions that can work. Orzhov, Mardu, and Abzan are all viable color configurations, that all pack a punch. This can also be seen as a strength, because if the Aristocrats picks up, then each version will require your opponents to have different sideboard cards for an effective matchup.
The Core
- Bloodsoaked Champion : A little aggressive guy, offering two power, recursion, and some early beats. Being able to bring him back constantly can be a big game changer in drawn out matches with a steady drain every turn.
- Blood Artist : Probably one of the better two drops in modern. You can hose out aggro just by slamming your creatures on the board with an Artist out, while also being able to sacrifice armies or blank out board wipes because of his insane effect. This gives you an edge, as you can pull away from your opponent in life totals just by playing magic.
- Cartel Aristocrat : One of the main cards we want to play this archetype. A two mana bear that can be both aggressive and defensive, while doubling as your win condition in the late game? Sign us up for a playset
- Dark Confidant : This very well could be the best Bob deck around, considering the low curve and your steady dose of life gain. If he sticks on the board too long, your deck just amasses such a large mob that the game will be over even if they clear the board
- Lingering Souls : This card is just a house. Netting 4 bodies on a single card, it gives you an aggressive edge while also allowing you to play for the slower game where you may not be the aggro deck. Very powerful with Blood Artist
- Butcher of the Horde/Falkenrath Aristocrat/Varolz, the Scar-Striped (Our big finisher. 4 mana and modern means we don't want to see multiples of this in the opening hand, and probably don't need them to win the game, but it definitely turns the game around when it shows up.)
- Rally the Ancestors : While being iffy in Abzan, this card can create "combo" turns. Bringing back a whole squad of guys at instant speed to sacrifice for lethal draining is pretty common in this deck. Being able to win at instant speed in some situations is amazingly powerful
- Lightning Bolt/Path to exile/Abrupt Decay (removal) : You are gonna want removal to crash in for damage, and these would be the go-to options for any of the builds
No matter what variant you're playing, these are going to be the core cards you use.
Variant choices
- Tidehollow Sculler : giving the deck a little bit of mainboard disruption that doubles as a body can be very relevant in Aristocrats
- Hero of Bladehold : A hyper aggressive 4 drop, and it just spews tokens out to boot. Can quickly make your opponents life total 0 if left unchecked
- Lighting Bolt : don't think I need to say anything about bolt, but you can get away with not running it in this deck if you choose to
- Goblin Rabblemaster : This creature, coupled with Mogg, can just take over games by himself unless answered immediately. Also feeds your blood Artist triggers
- Falkenrath Aristocrat : A 4/1 with haste and potential indestructibility is an amazing deal. Did I mention it has flying and doubles as a sac engine? Yeah
- Butcher of the Horde : Really up to the player to use Falk or Butcher, both are amazing. Lifelink and Vigilance are too good for me to pass up personally, but they both work great
- Outpost Siege : A potential pseudo-Blood Artist, pseudo-Card advantage engine. Great 1-of in the deck
-Tymaret, the Murder King : Little and aggressive, late game can just start bolting your opponent to death as well
- Voice of Resurgence : This card is NUTS in this deck. at least two bodies, while the second body is probably hefty. Great in control matchups
- Abrupt Decay : One of the better removal spells ever printed? Cool
- Maelstrom Pulse : ANOTHER of the best removal spells ever made? Double Cool
- Varolz, the Scar-Striped : Sac engine for the deck, hard to remove, and he also can throw counters onto creatures after your others have hit the bin. He is value town here
- Abzan Ascendancy : The first ability might be awesome late game, beefing up the squad. The second ability however, is why we would use this card. Making two guys for one on every nontoken is backbreaking in this deck
- Siege Rhino : Last time I checked, a poser Warleader's Helix on a 4/5 trample beatstick is pretty great
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Fetid Heath
1 Flooded Strand
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
3 Swamp
Creatures
2 Athreos, God of Passage
4 Blood Artist
4 Dark Confidant
4 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Doomed Traveler
2 Skirsdag High Priest
2 Hero of Bladehold
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Path to Exile
2 Rally the Ancestors
2 Zealous Persecution
4 Lingering Souls
4 marsh flats
1 arid mesa
1 bloodstained mire
1 fetid heath
1 rugged prairie
3 godless shrine
3 sacred foundry
2 blood crypt
3 plains
2 swamp
1 mountain
Creatures
4 doomed traveler
4 Dark Confidant
4 blood artist
3 bloodsoaked champion
4 cartel aristocrat
3 mogg war marshal
2 butcher of the horde
2 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 lingering souls
3 path to exile
2 Dreadbore
2 rally the ancestors
1 Outpost Siege
4 Thoughtseize
2 Rakdos Charm
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Wear // Tear
1 Path to Exile
2 Crackling Doom
4 marsh flats
1 verdant catacombs
1 windswept heath
1 fetid heath
1 wooded bastion
3 godless shrine
3 temple garden
2 overgrown tomb
2 plains
2 forest
2 swamp
Creatures
4 doomed traveler
4 Dark Confidant
4 blood artist
4 cartel aristocrat
3 bloodsoaked champion
4 voice of resurgence
2 varolz, the scar-striped
1 Siege Rhino
1 abzan ascendancy
4 lingering souls
3 path to exile
2 abrupt decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Tournament Results
RBW Aristocrats, 3-1 (FNM Modern, 16 players)
RBW Aristocrats, 2-2 (Modern Event, 24 players)
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Isolated Chapel
1 Fetid Heath
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmotg
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Plains
3 Swamp
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Doomed Traveler
4 Blood Artist
4 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Gather the Towsfolk
3 Skirsdag High Priest
4 Xathrid Necromancer
4 Path to Exile
3 Zealous Persecution
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
Bloodsoaked Champion is a GREAT addition to the deck and will let you do all kinds of shenanigans. Just FYI
The first card I would cut for splashing another color is Champion of the Parish. You might also be satisfied with fewer copies of Skirsdag High Priest and Zealous Persecution.
1st - I see no Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. She is woefully underplayed right now especially with recent banning's and the prospect that Tron and combo decks will make a comeback, she just hurts them too much.
2nd you already have a MD answer for Anger of the Gods[/cards] in Athreos, god of Passage
Here is something I put together back in the spring before m15 and Khans block landed. It had about 50% success against more creature based decks but it housed Gifts-Tron about 80% of the time, Thalia is too much for them. Pod was an issue for it but YAY that boogie man is gone.
2x Athreos, God of Passage
3x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Champion of the Parish
3x Dark Confidant
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Tidehollow Sculler
3x Xathrid Necromancer
INSTANT
4x Path to Exile
SORCERY
1x Immortal Servitude
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
4x AEther Vial
LAND
4x Arid Mesa
2x Fetid Heath
2x Ghost Quarter
4x Godless Shrine
4x Marsh Flats
3x Plains
2x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Disenchant
2x Ghostly Prison
3x Lingering Souls
2x Mark of Asylum
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
2x Thoughtseize
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
Current Decks
Standard : WB Orzhov Vampires BW GUB Sultai Constrictor BUG
Brawl : GB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons BG
Modern : GB Golgari Elves BG GR Atarka Goblins RG
Pauper : W Heroic W GB Delve BG
That's true regarding Athreos, God of Passage but with a sac outlet on the field that not a big problem.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben might be really good but probably best in the Sideboard since she's not that good agains creature decks and you never want to sac it.
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
Current Decks
Standard : WB Orzhov Vampires BW GUB Sultai Constrictor BUG
Brawl : GB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons BG
Modern : GB Golgari Elves BG GR Atarka Goblins RG
Pauper : W Heroic W GB Delve BG
I call my new version of this deck... The Aristocatz! Here is the list.
4x Doomed Traveler
3x Ajani's Pridemate
3x Blood Artist
4x Cartel Aristocrat
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3x Falkenrath Aristocrat
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Magma Jet
2x Forked Bolt
2x Slaughter Pact
3x Lingering Souls
2x Marsh Flats
3x Godless Shrine
2x Sacred Foundry
1x Blood Crypt
4x Plains
1x Mountain
2x Swamp
1x Fetid Heath
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Caves of Koilos
Personally I think the two decks mesh well together. Brimaz and lingering souls work both as token generators to sacrifice to your aristocrats, as well as life gainers with soul's attendant to pump up your pridemates. All of the removal is also burn, to give you some reach. The Slaughter pacts are in there because I was having a hard time against certain creature based combo decks (namely birthing pod) and wanted to not have to leave mana on turn 3. With the Slaugher pacts I can slam a brimaz and not have to worry about losing the game when I pass the turn.
Something that I really like now that I see it in the original post is Rally the Ancestors. For 5 mana that card just says "Win the game at instant speed"!! If they tap out, end of turn bring back all of your guys which is hopefully multiple blood artists + a sacrifice outlet. Then you Sac everything to kill them on their end step. Is this to cute as a one of?
Something that I don't really think the deck needs is athreos. Believe me I tested with him and in modern he is way way too slow of an engine. You don't want to be recasting creatures anyways so putting them back in your hand really sucks, and you can never kill someone with his trigger by sacrificing some of your guys. If they can't take the damage they just choose not to take it.
1x Electrickery
2x Rakdos Charm
1x Slaughter games
2x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x VandalBlast
3x Thoughtsieze
3x Hushwing Gryff
Terminate just came in during any match where I felt I needed more removal. Not sure if that is the correct way to be going about it but basically if the deck had siege rhino or tarmagoyf I brought in Terminate.
The Electrickery was absolutely amazing against delver and b/w tokens.
Rakdos Charm is just multipurpose hate. Hits Pod, hits Cranial Plating, kills people who combo with twin, and Nukes a graveyard when you need it to without turning off your own blood artist.
Slaughter Games I never brought in ever. Pretty sure that's just not where I want to be on turn 4 with this deck. In my mind it does everything, in reality I think it does nothing.
Eidolon of Rhetoric is fine. Comes in against storm and ascendancy and they cant bolt it.
Vandalblast never saw play in my deck. But I never went against affinity at my shop.
Thoughtsieze was good. I would love to play them main but I think the sideboard is fine. Everyone knows what this card does.
Hushwing Gryff was bad and will not be in the sideboard anymore lol. I kept trying to get people with it but this deck generally doesn't hold up mana so they always see it coming. One time against twin they just burned me out with combo in hand because they knew I was waiting for something as not flashing back a Lingering Souls in my graveyard is a huge tell.
I would definitely put the white leyline in the board for those two eidolons if I could find them anywhere locally. Eidolon gets hit with enchantment hate and creature removal as well as the leyline being free sometimes and better in more matchups. I thought about Thalia but she turns off my turn 3 brimaz into slaughter pact play and I think Thalia is actually really good against us as it is good for us to be on the field. I want to bolt your dude, attack, and then play another guy.
On the other hand, if you really want to go the abzan version I think it would work but it would just need to be more value based kind of how the junk aristocrats deck in standard had Loxodon Smiter and Obzedat, Ghost Council. At that point why are you not just playing Angel Pod... oh wait
I would play Goyfs in any deck that runs Varolz but I don't think goyf is good in the deck either. You will never want to sacrifice a goyf.
1 arid mesa
1 bloodstained mire
1 fetid heath
1 rugged prairie
3 godless shrine
3 sacred foundry
2 blood crypt
3 plains
2 swamp
1 mountain
4 blood artist
4 bloodsoaked champion
4 cartel aristocrat
3 mogg war marshal
2 butcher of the horde
4 lingering souls
3 path to exile
2 lighting bolt
2 altar's reap
4 rally the ancestors
1 verdant catacombs
1 windswept heath
1 fetid heath
1 wooded bastion
3 godless shrine
3 temple garden
2 overgrown tomb
2 plains
2 forest
2 swamp
4 blood artist
4 cartel aristocrat
4 bloodsoaked champion
4 voice of resurgence
2 varolz, the scar-striped
1 abzan ascendancy
4 lingering souls
4 path to exile
3 abrupt decay
2 altar's reap
2 rally the ancestors
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
4 Rally the ancestors seems too many, but I have not tested with it yet. 2 seems ok but 1 is probably all I would run personally. It forgets one very important word... Haste.
Yeah, where I play does have loads of tron running around, and I only expect that to be much of the case with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon coming out and the bannings. Also, Rally the Ancestors may lack the word haste but it enables you to bring the whole squad back to block, or to sacrifice again for lethal. Being an instant really gives it the value since you can reanimate your men in response to attacks
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
Didn't have access to it really. There are so many times I wish I could have found room for a like 2 Faithless Looting back in standard.
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought
I don't see Path to Exile being a problem. The single ping isn't that important compared to the power of the card. However, if playing the red splash I think Lightning Bolt could be better just cause is can go to the face. Not sure though. The same goes for the green splash and Abrupt Decay. The upside of not getting countered and being able to hit all kind of non land permanents could be better.
If playing red in the deck I would definitely go the humans rout with Falkenrath Aristocrat, Xathrid Necromancer and Gather the Townsfolk leaving out Lingering Souls.
UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins