First match-up: Humans (1-1, Draw)
First game I was wrecked.
I remember entering from sideboard 4 paths, 1 queller (sorry, i almost not remember what I got out on any matches)
Second game I was able to combo with Felidar + Saheeli.
Third game we ended in turns with no one victorious.
I have to say, that I was playing with a blind player, if he weren't, game would go much faster and would win me.
Second match-up: Ponza (2-0, win)
Quellers in both matches gave me the game. First game I comboed him with Felidar + Saheeli.
Second game I entered Qasali and Thragtusk. I ended up beating him by damage without combo.
Third matchup: Vizier (2-0, win)
First game my opponent gained infinite lifes thanks to vizier + kitchen + the creature that scries when you sac a creature. I comboes him thanks to Altar of the brood and double felidars.
Second game I entered gaddocks, paths, queller. I combed him with felidar + guardian. Quellers were a nice way to stop their combo.
Fourth match-up: Little zoo (Win 2-1)
First game I got a land, birds and oath. Thought was good since I got 2 mana plus something to speed up searching them. Lost.
Sideboard was pretty much the same as vizier plus rest in peace for reliquari. Second match rest in peace delay a lot him and I could combo him with altar. Third game quellers did their job and I could combo him with restoration angel and kiki-jiki.
Fifth match-up: Saheeli (lose 1-2)
First game got stucked with lands, but he didn't know what I was playing. He comboed me fast with saheeli + felidar.
Second game I entered paths and queller. I could queller some pieces and I was able to combo him the same way.
Third game I got saheeli on game on T2, but on T3 from him got Fiery Justice and killed my saheeli and lotus cobra. From there on I couldn't draw anything good. Shame because I was going to combo on my T3.
Sixth match-up: UW control (loss 0-2)
Couldn't do much against him. Once I had my creatures prepared to combo, or before them with rampagers, I got them on the bottom of my deck with Terminus on both games. Jace mindsculptor and gideon of trials got their games.
Rest in peace for logic knot, casters, gaddocks for cryptics and it's high mana costs... but none was saw. Easy for him.
Seventh match-up: UW control (win 2-0)
First game was really close, I got on T2 altar of the brood and could mill some important cards. I manage to get a felidar on game. Later on I could manage to bait him with a Medling mage to get it countered and enter the second felidar. Won it but was tough since he got a jace and teferi on game.
Sideboard the same as last match. I could manage this time to get rip, in game. I entered saheeli soon and with some creatures to put some pression. Late game I could manage to bait him again to counter my gaddock so I could eldritch my medling mage to a felidar guardian, which gave me the game.
Eigth match-up: BR (win 2-1)
First game I was able to win thanks to Altar of the brood, even after some inquisitions and the red creature that discards his hand and draws three.
Second game I sideboarded spell queller, rest in peace. I got overwhelmed with young pyromancer and lingering souls. Totally blowed.
Third game I entered the paths. I was able to go a bit fast, and ended comboing with saheeli + felidar.
Overall: 5/2/1
It was my first GP I ever played, and I left with a very nice feeling on how it went, even I didn't entered for Day 2.
I really like how the deck went. Altar of the Brood came just dandy, letting me comboing with a way almost anyonedidn't expected. They had to get both felidar and read them since they didn't believed it went infinite milling, was funny.
Also, including the quellers gave me a lot of games. They are just awesome exiling almost everything playable in modern protecting our pieces. I really recommend them.
I also participated in a Modern event this weekend, not as big as GP Barcelona though, but managed to win the swiss (4-0-2 with intentional draws in two last rounds). I played this list:
Somehow I don't seem to be able to beat Jund with my list. My sample size isn't huge, and maybe variance just isn't in my favor here, but it would be great if someone could take a look at my list and tell me if they have any ideas. I keep winning against basically every grindy midrange deck, except Jund.
My current sideboard plan is to bring in 2 Tireless Trackers, Shalai, 2 Bolts and 2 Fiery Justice for Acidic Slime, a Bird, a Cobra, a Wall, 2 Evolutions and a Saheeli.
I'm not sure if I want extra removal to more reliably handle their threats, ways to punish their discard (Obstinate Baloth) or some kind of powerful trump (Keranos, Thragtusk). What has been working the best for you guys?
It's been a while since I've posted in this thread. I've been pretty busy with work and personal stuff. Anyways, last time I was active on here was late last year after doing well at a SCG Modern Classic. I hadn't done an SCG IQ in a long time, but I decided to try my hand at one again on the Sunday before last. Here's the list I ended up making Top8 with. And before you ask, yes, I am playing 64 in the maindeck. Most magic players blindly believe that 60 card maindecks are the only option. And the majority of the time those individuals would be correct. However, there are cases where playing more than 60 is better. We're a toolbox deck, and having access to more silver bullets in the maindeck will allow win some games that we otherwise wouldn't. I'm by no means a pro player, but if no one tries to break the mold, how can we innovate? I would love to get your thoughts on playing more than 60 in the main.
I ended up going 4-0-2 in the Swiss, and lost in the Quarerfinals
Here is my quick and dirty match reports:
Round 1: Win, Bant Vizier Company (2-1)
Normally this is a pretty terrible matchup for our deck. I got combo'd in game 1, but Linvala was incredible in games 2 and 3.
Round 2: Win, Collins Mullen playing GB Infect (2-0)
The main gameplan against this deck is to just shove a bunch of flyers in his way so we have time to combo him, or find a Pia and Kiran, Reveillark, etc. In this matc, Reveillark was my MVP.
Round 3: Win, Mono Green Tron (2-0)
In the past this deck has really struggled with Tron. However, this version of the deck with the maindeck hate like Aven Mindcensor, Magus of the Moon, and Acidic Slime doesn't really have too much trouble. Sideboarded games get even easier with Avalanche Riders.
Round 4: Win, Jeskai Control (2-1)
UWx control decks can be very hit or miss. I generally feel them to be fairly good matchups for decks like this, but its very easy to lose to decks like these. We generate a lot of value with each of our creatures, so there's no reason to play a lot of them onto the board at the same time and expose ourselves to a sweeper and get 2-3 for one'd. These matchups tend to be longer and grindier than almost any deck in the format, so you typically want to board out all of your mana dorks except for cobras since they can be a threat. Against the Jeskai variants, you usually want to keep your life total high. They turn the corner very quickly and can put you on the back foot out of no where. UW is easer. They're gunna path or settle you a million times, so you should pretty much exclusively fetch for shock lands. Reveillark is again nuts in this type of matchup.
Round 5: Intentional Draw
Round 6: Intentional Draw into Top8
Top8 Quarterfinals: Paired against Collins Mullen again. We both know what each other's decks do now, so I lost the element of surprise, but I still had the same gameplan: try to get a bunch of flyers. Unfortunately I mulliganed 5 times in three games and he ended up getting me in game 3. I counted and there were 22 potential draws that I had to either stall me for a turn, buy me multiple turns, or just win the game for me on the spot. Instead I drew lands for 3 turns straight. Oh well. I'm not upset about getting knocked out. Had a lot of fun. The deck performed very well throughout the day. And getting knocked out by Collins is a good way to go. He's a great player and friend of mine. He ended up taking down the event and locked his bid for the Invitational.
Sorry if I left some details out. Just trying to type everything up from memory from like 10 days ago. I would love your feedback on my list, what you think about decks with more than 60 cards, and any general comments or questions.
Unless you're doing something very specific (Battle of Wits, Scapeshift/Cryptic/no duals, siding in cards to beat a mill deck, etc), playing more than 60 is wrong for definable reasons. Here's a good exploration of the topic from a couple of years ago. Chapin ended up down on his own toolbox experiment, and the math doesn't support Nassif's 61 card deck.
I have found voice of resurgence to work wonders in the Jund matchup - especially with ralliers. In builds focused on asap comboing you just don't have enough cards to overload their removal (cobra is the worst offender here) and they can durdle along holding up a removal spell or two to disrupt a whole chain of cards leading up to the combo
7-1-1 in matches (including an ID). Amusingly, I sided out the Blood Moons ever match except one, but they did randomly steal a G1 against Elves of all decks! I beat Elves, Affinity, Skred, Burn x2, Hollow One, and Boggles. I lost to Burn once in the swiss.
A couple of notes:
Wall of Omens feels great right now. In a more linear meta, I want the velocity and the more stalwart defense.
Voices out of the board felt pretty good as well. I liked the option of going up to 6 good defensive two-drops in some games.
I want another Worship in the sideboard. It stole games against Burn and Boggles.
Fiery Justice felt solid. I could still see Engineered Explosives in that spot.
I want to give the main deck Blood Moons another shot. They don't cost me much beyond the slot, and they have the ability to steal games. I didn't face any of the big mana decks today, but they were present.
The Blood Moons created a chain reaction with the rest of the deck building decisions. Lotus Cobra and Rallier get worse in this build, and I am heavily prioritizing 3-drops. 8 dorks, and main deck Trackers felt pretty good.
Gz Siefer, great result! Your list seems interesting, I really like that approach.
Any thoughts on including a creature that can potentially get rid of opposing basic lands (Acidic Slime, Avalanche Riders) to lean even more on the Moon plan?
And how was Scavenging Ooze been performing for you? I've mostly been avoiding it in favor of Rest in Peace, but maybe it's time to give the card another chance.
Rest in Peace is better as a pure hate card, but I think we want that slot to do a bit more. ScOoze is tutorable, has more matchup flexibility (it's great against Burn), and is itself a threat.
It's not much but I gave Bugler some preliminary testing via goldfishing and a handful of matches. ETB card filtering is exactly the sort of effect we want and Bugler does hit Felidar + Kiki and a lot of other utility creatures... but I got a little frustrated after sending several potentially game-winning Evos and Saheelis to the bottom of the deck.
For now I think Bugler is a better fit for GW(r) Vizier with Knights.
I want to try a couple of Buglers out. It shouldn't miss much (~22+ hits), and adds to the decks ability to find the cards it needs while still building up a board. It doesn't go long like Tracker, but it plays better initial defense (particularly against Burn), and gives you a card without additional resource investment. My biggest concern is that in a list with 8 dorks and 4 walls, the hits might be relatively low impact.
is anyone still splashing black? I'm on it for a rhino and (sometimes) a vengeful rebel maindeck. I can't really run kiki in that build but I've also been running sin collectors side which have been absolute all stars against control and Combo. Getting to copy or blink them is just icing on the cake
Extremely similar list to the one Koopa posted above made top 8 at a 231-person SCG Classic. I'm new to this deck, I played kiki-pod back in the day until the ban and then twin, but stopped playing modern for a while after the second banning
anyone have experience testing with Thalia's Lancers like the linked deck uses? The stats are not bad, 4/4 first strike matches up favorably with most creatures in modern (helpful for trying to stabilize after there's some pumped up humans on the other side of the table). Tutor targets in the above list are Shalai, Voice of Plenty and Saheeli Rai and Pia and Kiran Nalaar, with a couple of sideboard silver bullets. So Lancers can get means to protect the combo, half of the combo itself, or a card for generating board presence. We have a lot of singleton haymakers to choose from at 5-cmc though, can anyone who's tested with the card provide any insight to how often it feels like the card you want to draw?
@maniospas apart from "clearing the way" against control it's been crazy vs storm and friends. The vast majority of the answers storm has for us is bounce effects, and the best way to combat that is with dudes that don't care about getting killed and bounced. Im on a slower list (2 cobra 3 rallier 4 voice) so the fast combo matchups were a real struggle til I tried sin collectors, it's much more manageable now. Copying or blinking him is also lights out for storm most of the time.
R1 vs Jund Traverse Shadow
Had to mull to a crappy 4 G1 and got run over within a couple minutes. In the second game I kept a more reasonable 6 but T1 Bird got Dismembered followed by T2 Thoughtseize and a gigantic Shadow. I chumped a few times but I was on the back foot, blew up a Shadow with an Explosives only to have him Traverse for another next turn and shortly finished the job. 0-2.
R2 BYE
After getting run over by Shadow in ~15 minutes I got to sit around for an hour and half doing nothing. yay.
R3 vs GU Infect
G1 he dies to the combo after deciding to only swing 2 dmg at Saheeli instead of pumping to clear her from the board.
G2 he corrects his mistake and clears Saheeli, RIP
G3 opponent spends his Dismember on Spellskite which ends up clearing the way for me to combo off next turn. 2-1
R4 vs Bogles
G1 Opponent has a Rancor'd Bogle and I try to find a window to play Saheeli without her getting cleared but she dies. I play Felidar but die before I can get the second Saheeli down.
G2 I combo out
G3 I have the nuts of T1 Bird into T2 Bird + Spellskite, T3 Felidar, T4 Saheeli. I steal 4x enchantments and end the game with a ~5/9 Skite. 2-1.
Overall 3-1.
T2 Saheeli might be the best thing the deck can do in a vacuum but in the majority of my games tonight it wasn't safe to play Saheeli out T2 — even on the play — due to the opponent leading T1 with a pumpable threat.
I was slightly concerned about having too many 2-CMC Wall effects but they were really clutch vs Infect and Bogles, Spellskite in particular.
Unfortunately I didn’t draw too many Buglers and in the couple instances I had one in hand I wasn’t really in a position where I wanted to cast it, so I don't have a concrete opinion on him yet. I appreciate his 2/3 vig body and instant / free card draw but I still take issue with how low-impact the vast majority of his hits are, even when built-around. For example, if you cast Felidar you have a higher chance of drawing into the other half of the combo (3 Evo, 4 Saheeli, 1 Kiki) off of a Wall blink random topdeck than a Bugler blink looking 4 deep. I think Wall already does enough of what I want Bugler to do, and at a lower cost.
I was initially hesitant to include Blood Moon in the main, favoring core synergies instead, but I ended up siding in Moon for every matchup. Next week I will probably try something closer to Siefer's list:
Just playing Magus of the Moon, Eidolon of Rhethoric, Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Izzet Staticaster takes you very far in the format.
Could you sell me on Linvala? I’ve put her in a few times but always end up cutting her. She seems juuust a hair too slow vs creature combo, OK vs Affinity, and doesn't do anything with our core combo.
@Shelldell: I don't exactly love Linvala but presumably her stock increases for decks relying on rallier and e wittness to shut down scoozes. For creature combo, reflector mages or early sideboard interaction can help you land her in time. If you are on the wall of omens plan, she doesn't seem as strong.
@Lejoon: Interesting list with Buglers. However I still feel as you have misunderstood what Lotus Cobra and Renegade Rallier do in the deck and the reason why so many lists with them have put up results. They enable a much faster combo and is not really there for "going wide". Have you tried playing with them yourself? I have comboed out of nowhere so many times with these cards in the deck, from spots where it would otherwise have been impossible to win.
Also, Saheeli Rai on turn 2 is great, but it also tells your opponent to leave up mana for your turn 3 so it will be hard to go off. I much rather have Lotus Cobra on turn 2 (even better - with mana dork on turn 1 so I can play cobra + fetch on turn 2).
For whatever it's worth I wasn't a big fan of the all-in build, either, until Kiki was added. To me, Kiki made that build "click", validating the playset of Evos and the Cobra-Rallier package, which previously couldn't find Saheeli consistently enough to justify running the engine.
If I recall correctly, in the early days of this thread Kiki was widely dismissed for being too mana-intensive. @Lejoon have you tested a recent Cobra-Rallier list with Kiki involved? I'd guess that the cobra lists of today are somewhat different than what you tested a year+ ago, but I could be mistaken.
I'd love to work a couple Cobras back into my build but mainboard Blood Moon is so good right now...
My main problem with Wall of Omens is that it doesn't set any pressure on our opponent and gives them more time to find sweepers and/or hold up counter magic instead of having to interact with the board. The Cobra/Voice/Rallier package has to be dealt with pretty quickly or they lose to the "dumb beatdown" plan.
My current build isn't running it, but I wanted to defend Cobra/Rallier a bit. The Cobra/Rallier package is a non-interactive combo package, much more than a "dump your hand" one. One of the big mistakes I've seen people make with this deck, is assuming 8 power on turn 3 is big game in Modern. Yeah, it can win, and I've played to it in some games, but it's not particularly impressive against a lot of decks. This, I think, sometimes gives people an overly negative impression of what that package is actually doing, which is giving you haymaker potential against decks with limited interaction. Without Cobra, T2 combos rely on a T2 Saheeli. Not only does this telegraph our threat level, but it's incredibly fragile. Beyond some silly draws, Cobra draws allow us to hold our threats until we're ready, while still comboing as early as turn 3.
Right now, I've been favoring a build that is more resilient to disruption, better at handling early aggression, and catered toward maindeck Moon effects. In a world where you're expecting a lot of Jeskai, Burn, Humans, and Tron, I think the Hierarch/Omens/Moon (Bugler?) build has legs.
When the format is rather non-interactive, I tend to lean toward Cobra builds. Remember, a lot of the non-interactive decks attack (Affinity, Eldrazi, Boggles, Infect) and even decks with some disruption (Humans) have limited options at instant speed.
I'm currently trying to figure out how we beat BridgeVine, and if that deck floods the meta for a while, Cobra/Rallier builds might be better. I think Stonehorn Dignitary is a must in the 75 moving forward, and I'm going to be trying it in the main. It's obviously pretty terrible against a chunk of the meta, but it completely decimates BridgeVine, Boggles, Infect, and a few others, while providing a lot of value against Burn, Affinity, and amusingly, the Mirror.
@Lejoon, I think we're largely on the same page about the deck, though I do think the Cobra build is a bit better against Storm, KCI, and the like Game 1, and post-board games are all about the sideboard regardless of build. If all you want is a combo goldfish on T3, the Cobra build has a couple of percentage points on the 8 dork build. Certainly, I agree with you about favoring 8 dork builds against interactive decks. I take some number of dorks out against Jund, Jeskai, and Mardu, but they're not the comical liability Cobra is in those match-ups.
Re: Stonehorn Dignitary vs. Magus of the Moat, consider the flexibility of Stonehorn in a number of matchups, not just against BridgeVine. Affinity, Infect, Hollow One, and Boggles can (and often do) attack through the air. Dignitary is also significantly harder to kill, gives you a turn even if killed, and doesn't interfere with our combo while on the board. Magus might be a little better against BridgeVine, but I think it's largely inferior to Dignitary overall.
@Lejoon, our current builds are very close. The meta is a bit wonky right now when it comes to interaction. It's not a midrange fiesta, but there are a number of decks that run some amount of disruption while also being very susceptible to disruption themselves. As an example, Humans wants to cause trouble with Meddling Mage, Freebooter, and Reflector Mage, but it often folds to a T2 Moon effect. We're in a space where linear decks are often trying to interact just enough to protect their plan. With the exception of possibly BridgeVine, I love where how the Dork/Moon build is positioned in the current meta. I'm planning on taking something approaching the linked list to a couple of PPTQs this weekend, and want to sort out a few slots.
Magus of the Moon in the main vs a 3rd Bugler. Magus in the main is good against Tron, Humans, Boggles, and occasionally catches the odd 3-color deck unprepared. I want a copy in my 75, but I could be talked into moving it back to the the board.
Worship in the board. I've had good success with Worship, but it has a significant overlap with Dignitary. Worship is better against Burn (especially G2), but otherwise I might be able to free up 2 slots in the board. Thoughts on Worship, and what might better take its place?
My deck list was the one posted before, but I'll post here again:
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Lotus Cobra
3 Renegade Rallier
1 Eternal Witness
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Felidar Guardian
2 Restoration Angel
1 Sun Titan
2 Meddling Mage
3 Spell Queller
4 Voice of Resurgence
Planeswalker
4 Saheeli Rai
Other Spells
2 Altar of the Brood
2 Eldritch Evolution
4 Oath of Nissa
1 Breeding Pool
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Flooded Strand
3 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Island
2 Plains
1 Gavony Township
1 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
3 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Damping Sphere
4 Path to Exile
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Spell Queller
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Thragtusk
First match-up: Humans (1-1, Draw)
First game I was wrecked.
I remember entering from sideboard 4 paths, 1 queller (sorry, i almost not remember what I got out on any matches)
Second game I was able to combo with Felidar + Saheeli.
Third game we ended in turns with no one victorious.
I have to say, that I was playing with a blind player, if he weren't, game would go much faster and would win me.
Second match-up: Ponza (2-0, win)
Quellers in both matches gave me the game. First game I comboed him with Felidar + Saheeli.
Second game I entered Qasali and Thragtusk. I ended up beating him by damage without combo.
Third matchup: Vizier (2-0, win)
First game my opponent gained infinite lifes thanks to vizier + kitchen + the creature that scries when you sac a creature. I comboes him thanks to Altar of the brood and double felidars.
Second game I entered gaddocks, paths, queller. I combed him with felidar + guardian. Quellers were a nice way to stop their combo.
Fourth match-up: Little zoo (Win 2-1)
First game I got a land, birds and oath. Thought was good since I got 2 mana plus something to speed up searching them. Lost.
Sideboard was pretty much the same as vizier plus rest in peace for reliquari. Second match rest in peace delay a lot him and I could combo him with altar. Third game quellers did their job and I could combo him with restoration angel and kiki-jiki.
Fifth match-up: Saheeli (lose 1-2)
First game got stucked with lands, but he didn't know what I was playing. He comboed me fast with saheeli + felidar.
Second game I entered paths and queller. I could queller some pieces and I was able to combo him the same way.
Third game I got saheeli on game on T2, but on T3 from him got Fiery Justice and killed my saheeli and lotus cobra. From there on I couldn't draw anything good. Shame because I was going to combo on my T3.
Sixth match-up: UW control (loss 0-2)
Couldn't do much against him. Once I had my creatures prepared to combo, or before them with rampagers, I got them on the bottom of my deck with Terminus on both games. Jace mindsculptor and gideon of trials got their games.
Rest in peace for logic knot, casters, gaddocks for cryptics and it's high mana costs... but none was saw. Easy for him.
Seventh match-up: UW control (win 2-0)
First game was really close, I got on T2 altar of the brood and could mill some important cards. I manage to get a felidar on game. Later on I could manage to bait him with a Medling mage to get it countered and enter the second felidar. Won it but was tough since he got a jace and teferi on game.
Sideboard the same as last match. I could manage this time to get rip, in game. I entered saheeli soon and with some creatures to put some pression. Late game I could manage to bait him again to counter my gaddock so I could eldritch my medling mage to a felidar guardian, which gave me the game.
Eigth match-up: BR (win 2-1)
First game I was able to win thanks to Altar of the brood, even after some inquisitions and the red creature that discards his hand and draws three.
Second game I sideboarded spell queller, rest in peace. I got overwhelmed with young pyromancer and lingering souls. Totally blowed.
Third game I entered the paths. I was able to go a bit fast, and ended comboing with saheeli + felidar.
Overall: 5/2/1
It was my first GP I ever played, and I left with a very nice feeling on how it went, even I didn't entered for Day 2.
I really like how the deck went. Altar of the Brood came just dandy, letting me comboing with a way almost anyonedidn't expected. They had to get both felidar and read them since they didn't believed it went infinite milling, was funny.
Also, including the quellers gave me a lot of games. They are just awesome exiling almost everything playable in modern protecting our pieces. I really recommend them.
I also participated in a Modern event this weekend, not as big as GP Barcelona though, but managed to win the swiss (4-0-2 with intentional draws in two last rounds). I played this list:
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Lotus Cobra
3 Birds of Paradise
3 Renegade Rallier
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Felidar Guardian
3 Eldritch Evolution
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Spellskite
2 Reflector Mage
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Thragtusk
1 Acidic Slime
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Sun Titan
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Flooded Strands
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Forest
2 Plains
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Stomping Ground
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Gavony Township
2 Blood Moon
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Stony Silence
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Lone Missionary
2 Rest in Peace
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
Round 2: 2-1 vs Monoblack Devotion
Round 3: 2-0 vs Grixis Control
Round 4: 2-1 vs RW Burn
Round 5-6: Draws
Lost with 1-2 to Affinity with maindeck Worship(!) in the quarters.
11-3-1 @ GP Copenhagen: Top Stories of Grand Prix Copenhagen
4x Birds of Paradise
1x Noble Hierarch
4x Lotus Cobra
3x Wall of Omens
4x Renegade Rallier
1x Reflector Mage
4x Felidar Guardian
1x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Acidic Slime
1x Glorybringer
1x Sun Titan
Other Spells (12)
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Saheeli Rai
4x Eldritch Evolution
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Flooded Strand
1x Arid Mesa
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Breeding Pool
1x Stomping Ground
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Temple Garden
3x Forest
1x Plains
1x Mountain
1x Horizon Canopy
2x Gaddock Teeg
2x Tireless Tracker
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2x Lightning Bolt
2x Fiery Justice
2x Stony Silence
1x Rest in Peace
1x Blood Moon
1x Worship
I'm not sure if I want extra removal to more reliably handle their threats, ways to punish their discard (Obstinate Baloth) or some kind of powerful trump (Keranos, Thragtusk). What has been working the best for you guys?
It's been a while since I've posted in this thread. I've been pretty busy with work and personal stuff. Anyways, last time I was active on here was late last year after doing well at a SCG Modern Classic. I hadn't done an SCG IQ in a long time, but I decided to try my hand at one again on the Sunday before last. Here's the list I ended up making Top8 with. And before you ask, yes, I am playing 64 in the maindeck. Most magic players blindly believe that 60 card maindecks are the only option. And the majority of the time those individuals would be correct. However, there are cases where playing more than 60 is better. We're a toolbox deck, and having access to more silver bullets in the maindeck will allow win some games that we otherwise wouldn't. I'm by no means a pro player, but if no one tries to break the mold, how can we innovate? I would love to get your thoughts on playing more than 60 in the main.
http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/121942
I ended up going 4-0-2 in the Swiss, and lost in the Quarerfinals
Here is my quick and dirty match reports:
Round 1: Win, Bant Vizier Company (2-1)
Normally this is a pretty terrible matchup for our deck. I got combo'd in game 1, but Linvala was incredible in games 2 and 3.
Round 2: Win, Collins Mullen playing GB Infect (2-0)
The main gameplan against this deck is to just shove a bunch of flyers in his way so we have time to combo him, or find a Pia and Kiran, Reveillark, etc. In this matc, Reveillark was my MVP.
Round 3: Win, Mono Green Tron (2-0)
In the past this deck has really struggled with Tron. However, this version of the deck with the maindeck hate like Aven Mindcensor, Magus of the Moon, and Acidic Slime doesn't really have too much trouble. Sideboarded games get even easier with Avalanche Riders.
Round 4: Win, Jeskai Control (2-1)
UWx control decks can be very hit or miss. I generally feel them to be fairly good matchups for decks like this, but its very easy to lose to decks like these. We generate a lot of value with each of our creatures, so there's no reason to play a lot of them onto the board at the same time and expose ourselves to a sweeper and get 2-3 for one'd. These matchups tend to be longer and grindier than almost any deck in the format, so you typically want to board out all of your mana dorks except for cobras since they can be a threat. Against the Jeskai variants, you usually want to keep your life total high. They turn the corner very quickly and can put you on the back foot out of no where. UW is easer. They're gunna path or settle you a million times, so you should pretty much exclusively fetch for shock lands. Reveillark is again nuts in this type of matchup.
Round 5: Intentional Draw
Round 6: Intentional Draw into Top8
Top8 Quarterfinals: Paired against Collins Mullen again. We both know what each other's decks do now, so I lost the element of surprise, but I still had the same gameplan: try to get a bunch of flyers. Unfortunately I mulliganed 5 times in three games and he ended up getting me in game 3. I counted and there were 22 potential draws that I had to either stall me for a turn, buy me multiple turns, or just win the game for me on the spot. Instead I drew lands for 3 turns straight. Oh well. I'm not upset about getting knocked out. Had a lot of fun. The deck performed very well throughout the day. And getting knocked out by Collins is a good way to go. He's a great player and friend of mine. He ended up taking down the event and locked his bid for the Invitational.
Sorry if I left some details out. Just trying to type everything up from memory from like 10 days ago. I would love your feedback on my list, what you think about decks with more than 60 cards, and any general comments or questions.
Thanks!
-Nathan
11-3-1 @ GP Copenhagen: Top Stories of Grand Prix Copenhagen
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Wall of Omens
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Reflector Mage
4 Felidar Guardian
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Thragtusk
Spells
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Blood Moon
4 Saheeli Rai
3 Eldritch Evolution
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Arid Mesa
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Stony Silence
2 Fiery Justice
1 Worship
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Voice of Resurgence
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
7-1-1 in matches (including an ID). Amusingly, I sided out the Blood Moons ever match except one, but they did randomly steal a G1 against Elves of all decks! I beat Elves, Affinity, Skred, Burn x2, Hollow One, and Boggles. I lost to Burn once in the swiss.
A couple of notes:
Wall of Omens feels great right now. In a more linear meta, I want the velocity and the more stalwart defense.
Voices out of the board felt pretty good as well. I liked the option of going up to 6 good defensive two-drops in some games.
I want another Worship in the sideboard. It stole games against Burn and Boggles.
Fiery Justice felt solid. I could still see Engineered Explosives in that spot.
I want to give the main deck Blood Moons another shot. They don't cost me much beyond the slot, and they have the ability to steal games. I didn't face any of the big mana decks today, but they were present.
The Blood Moons created a chain reaction with the rest of the deck building decisions. Lotus Cobra and Rallier get worse in this build, and I am heavily prioritizing 3-drops. 8 dorks, and main deck Trackers felt pretty good.
Any thoughts on including a creature that can potentially get rid of opposing basic lands (Acidic Slime, Avalanche Riders) to lean even more on the Moon plan?
And how was Scavenging Ooze been performing for you? I've mostly been avoiding it in favor of Rest in Peace, but maybe it's time to give the card another chance.
For now I think Bugler is a better fit for GW(r) Vizier with Knights.
This list 5-0'd a Daily. Very traditional list.
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
anyone have experience testing with Thalia's Lancers like the linked deck uses? The stats are not bad, 4/4 first strike matches up favorably with most creatures in modern (helpful for trying to stabilize after there's some pumped up humans on the other side of the table). Tutor targets in the above list are Shalai, Voice of Plenty and Saheeli Rai and Pia and Kiran Nalaar, with a couple of sideboard silver bullets. So Lancers can get means to protect the combo, half of the combo itself, or a card for generating board presence. We have a lot of singleton haymakers to choose from at 5-cmc though, can anyone who's tested with the card provide any insight to how often it feels like the card you want to draw?
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
2x Spellskite
3x Wall of Omens
3x Militia Bugler
3x Reflector Mage
4x Felidar Guardian
1x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Thragtusk
Spells (11)
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Saheeli Rai
3x Eldritch Evolution
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Misty Rainforest
1x Flooded Strand
2x Stomping Ground
1x Breeding Pool
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Temple Garden
2x Forest
2x Plains
2x Horizon Canopy
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Lightning Bolt
2x Gaddock Teeg
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Stony Silence
2x Blood Moon
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Reveillark
Had to mull to a crappy 4 G1 and got run over within a couple minutes. In the second game I kept a more reasonable 6 but T1 Bird got Dismembered followed by T2 Thoughtseize and a gigantic Shadow. I chumped a few times but I was on the back foot, blew up a Shadow with an Explosives only to have him Traverse for another next turn and shortly finished the job. 0-2.
R2 BYE
After getting run over by Shadow in ~15 minutes I got to sit around for an hour and half doing nothing. yay.
R3 vs GU Infect
G1 he dies to the combo after deciding to only swing 2 dmg at Saheeli instead of pumping to clear her from the board.
G2 he corrects his mistake and clears Saheeli, RIP
G3 opponent spends his Dismember on Spellskite which ends up clearing the way for me to combo off next turn. 2-1
R4 vs Bogles
G1 Opponent has a Rancor'd Bogle and I try to find a window to play Saheeli without her getting cleared but she dies. I play Felidar but die before I can get the second Saheeli down.
G2 I combo out
G3 I have the nuts of T1 Bird into T2 Bird + Spellskite, T3 Felidar, T4 Saheeli. I steal 4x enchantments and end the game with a ~5/9 Skite. 2-1.
Overall 3-1.
T2 Saheeli might be the best thing the deck can do in a vacuum but in the majority of my games tonight it wasn't safe to play Saheeli out T2 — even on the play — due to the opponent leading T1 with a pumpable threat.
I was slightly concerned about having too many 2-CMC Wall effects but they were really clutch vs Infect and Bogles, Spellskite in particular.
Unfortunately I didn’t draw too many Buglers and in the couple instances I had one in hand I wasn’t really in a position where I wanted to cast it, so I don't have a concrete opinion on him yet. I appreciate his 2/3 vig body and instant / free card draw but I still take issue with how low-impact the vast majority of his hits are, even when built-around. For example, if you cast Felidar you have a higher chance of drawing into the other half of the combo (3 Evo, 4 Saheeli, 1 Kiki) off of a Wall blink random topdeck than a Bugler blink looking 4 deep. I think Wall already does enough of what I want Bugler to do, and at a lower cost.
I was initially hesitant to include Blood Moon in the main, favoring core synergies instead, but I ended up siding in Moon for every matchup. Next week I will probably try something closer to Siefer's list:
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
4x Wall of Omens
2x Spellskite
2x Tireless Tracker
2x Reflector Mage
4x Felidar Guardian
1x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Thragtusk
Spells (13)
4x Oath of Nissa
4x Saheeli Rai
3x Eldritch Evolution
2x Blood Moon
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Flooded Strand
2x Stomping Ground
1x Breeding Pool
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Temple Garden
3x Forest
2x Plains
2x Horizon Canopy
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Lightning Bolt
1x Stony Silence
2x Gaddock Teeg
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Reflector Mage
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1x Reveillark
Also, Saheeli Rai on turn 2 is great, but it also tells your opponent to leave up mana for your turn 3 so it will be hard to go off. I much rather have Lotus Cobra on turn 2 (even better - with mana dork on turn 1 so I can play cobra + fetch on turn 2).
11-3-1 @ GP Copenhagen: Top Stories of Grand Prix Copenhagen
If I recall correctly, in the early days of this thread Kiki was widely dismissed for being too mana-intensive. @Lejoon have you tested a recent Cobra-Rallier list with Kiki involved? I'd guess that the cobra lists of today are somewhat different than what you tested a year+ ago, but I could be mistaken.
I'd love to work a couple Cobras back into my build but mainboard Blood Moon is so good right now...
11-3-1 @ GP Copenhagen: Top Stories of Grand Prix Copenhagen
Right now, I've been favoring a build that is more resilient to disruption, better at handling early aggression, and catered toward maindeck Moon effects. In a world where you're expecting a lot of Jeskai, Burn, Humans, and Tron, I think the Hierarch/Omens/Moon (Bugler?) build has legs.
When the format is rather non-interactive, I tend to lean toward Cobra builds. Remember, a lot of the non-interactive decks attack (Affinity, Eldrazi, Boggles, Infect) and even decks with some disruption (Humans) have limited options at instant speed.
I'm currently trying to figure out how we beat BridgeVine, and if that deck floods the meta for a while, Cobra/Rallier builds might be better. I think Stonehorn Dignitary is a must in the 75 moving forward, and I'm going to be trying it in the main. It's obviously pretty terrible against a chunk of the meta, but it completely decimates BridgeVine, Boggles, Infect, and a few others, while providing a lot of value against Burn, Affinity, and amusingly, the Mirror.
Re: Stonehorn Dignitary vs. Magus of the Moat, consider the flexibility of Stonehorn in a number of matchups, not just against BridgeVine. Affinity, Infect, Hollow One, and Boggles can (and often do) attack through the air. Dignitary is also significantly harder to kill, gives you a turn even if killed, and doesn't interfere with our combo while on the board. Magus might be a little better against BridgeVine, but I think it's largely inferior to Dignitary overall.
Magus of the Moon in the main vs a 3rd Bugler. Magus in the main is good against Tron, Humans, Boggles, and occasionally catches the odd 3-color deck unprepared. I want a copy in my 75, but I could be talked into moving it back to the the board.
Worship in the board. I've had good success with Worship, but it has a significant overlap with Dignitary. Worship is better against Burn (especially G2), but otherwise I might be able to free up 2 slots in the board. Thoughts on Worship, and what might better take its place?