I ended up choosing this deck as a meta call when playing the top eight in our Modern League. It was a good call. We played Double Elimination with a Winner's Bracket and a Loser's Bracket and I went unbeaten through the entire Winner's Bracket, beating Bant Spirits, Enduring Ideal and UR Phoenix x2 during the day. 2-0, 2-0, 2-0 and finally 3-0 (the final was best of five). Great deck and I had a fun time!
i have a question to who is really experienced with the deck.
if im playing aganist a deck which is not very interactive, lets say tron. i know it will be a race, i need to combo before a karn starts eating my resources.
Im on the play, i look at my seven cards and it has the combo, angel's grace, ad nauseam, some lands and a spoils but no mana acceleration making it too slow.
Is it too risky to try turn 1 spoils for lotus bloom? should i try that or mulligan to 6? i know my life aganist tron is not very important, but it can exile key pieces, also aganist decks like scapeshift being above 18 life means an extra turn.
Hi,
Assuming you do not have a city of brass in the deck, has 53 cards in library, and willing to lose 19 life, the chances of getting a lotus bloom is around 38%.
The chances of a tron player having a Karn on their opening hand is roughly 39%. Same chance as you getting a lotus bloom on your opening 7. The chances to get a bloom when you mulligan down to 6 becomes 61% though.
This is not a rule to follow but only as a guide. If I were you and I had ad naus, angels grace, spoils,2 scry lands and a cantrip,I would keep. I can still win by turn 4 when I find pentad prism.
Hey - had a stab at the Modern Challenge yesterday and went 6-2. I did not progress to the Top 8 due to bad tiebreakers. Dropped games to Jund and GDS. Nevertheless, the deck seems to be well positioned, especially if Burn/Izzet Phoenix stay popular. I don't run anything surprising (fetch-less, 2 win cons) - I've started using Godhead of Awe in the sideboard again due to GDS's resurgence.
Hey everyone. I'm back to MTG after a ~3.5 year hiatus and pretty stoked that my old Ad Nauseam deck only needed a few small changes. I went 2-2 at FNM and will probably be playing this deck quite a bit and hopefully be pretty active on this forum. I agree that Ad Nauseam seems pretty good in the meta right now.
On a funny note I lost a game on turn 2: Turn 1 my Lab Maniac got milled with thought scour, turn 2 i got thoughtsiezed and my lightning storm got taken, lol
My team got 15th at the modern open. My personal record was an INSANE 14-1.
You can see a full write up of my weekend by going to the facebook group mtg modern ad nauseam facebook group. Im not going to post it here as its too much work.
I'm not 100% sure if I want to keep Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in the sideboard, still a work in progress. I might take it out and replace it with a discard spell along with taking out Grafdigger's Cage. Izzet Phoenix is just too rampant now along with Dredge, having that on the board early really makes it hard for my opponent to go off while I'm trying to go off. I'll try it a bit and see how it goes.
I'm not 100% sure if I want to keep Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in the sideboard, still a work in progress. I might take it out and replace it with a discard spell along with taking out Grafdigger's Cage. Izzet Phoenix is just too rampant now along with Dredge, having that on the board early really makes it hard for my opponent to go off while I'm trying to go off. I'll try it a bit and see how it goes.
You're gonna wanna cut those courtyards for gemstone mines as soon as you possibly can. It's the best rainbow land available. Not being able to cantrip on turn 1 is so bad for our deck. We play temples so we can frequently take turns 2-3 off to just gain more selection and cantrip.
You're gonna wanna cut those courtyards for gemstone mines as soon as you possibly can. It's the best rainbow land available. Not being able to cantrip on turn 1 is so bad for our deck. We play temples so we can frequently take turns 2-3 off to just gain more selection and cantrip.
They're there for right now until I can get ahold of some Gemstone Mine. I'd figure they're good substitutes for the time being. I have also dropped Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and switched it out for Spellskite, seems to be better for protection of targeted removal if need be.
Hey there, noob here, im in trouble with bant spirit, and amulet titan, could someone give me some advice or tips of how to sideboard against them? Im playing the stock list, with bontus and fatal in the side, What do you trim?
Cheers!
Hey there, noob here, im in trouble with bant spirit, and amulet titan, could someone give me some advice or tips of how to sideboard against them? Im playing the stock list, with bontus and fatal in the side, What do you trim?
Cheers!
From my experience, I'm cutting some number of Pacts and some number of either Cantrips/Mana rocks to make way for 2x Grand Abolishers and 2x Paths or Pushes (i prefer paths).
Some Sideboards now show Godhead of Awe. I not sure that's a good Sideboard choice. It doesn't weaken the fast aggo Decks as far as i know. Against which Decks you would use it?
Some Sideboards now show Godhead of Awe. I not sure that's a good Sideboard choice. It doesn't weaken the fast aggo Decks as far as i know. Against which Decks you would use it?
Some Sideboards now show Godhead of Awe. I not sure that's a good Sideboard choice. It doesn't weaken the fast aggo Decks as far as i know. Against which Decks you would use it?
This will probably cover some things you already know, but just for completeness's sake I'm going to explain some background info as well.
Ad Nauseam usually wants to sideboard these threats versus decks that have enough dismantle your card advantage or your actual combo in some capacity (e.g. Blood Moon,Stony Silence,Runed Halo, you get the picture).
Now, the reason for picking one specific game-finisher is, simply, what decks struggle to kill it post-board the most. Grave Titan thrives against BGx decks and removal-light decks, Elspeth is practically unanswerable versus creature decks that can't beat into it (except for Spirits), and Dromoka is great against tempo and UBx. Crovax was a weird one that only really stuck around when Infect was the 'it' deck, but who knows, maybe it'll find a home to counter other decks later down the road.
The current decks that one might face in a competitive Modern environment where single threats might be useful are Death's Shadow, Dredge, Amulet Titan, Spirits, and BGx decks -- in short, tempo/attrition decks or combo decks that can go off faster than you on average. So what does Godhead do that the other aforementioned cards don't? For starters, it's a 4/4 flyer playable on T3. This is a major advantage against tempo decks -- unless they have an [[Echoing Truth]] or something, they're unlikely to be able to 1-for-1 something like that. It has a CMC of 5, so Spell Queller can't nab it. And lastly, its Humility-styled effect almost completely neuters Primeval Titan and makes Dredge's explosiveness more manageable.
Now, Godhead does have a few problems, such as its restrictive casting cost, the fact that it can get traded for a Flame Slash or Assassin's Trophy or its ineffectiveness versus tokens or decks that don't care about attacking. So if you don't have too many high-tier decks in you playgroup, you may want to consider other finishers. Hell, you could leave them out entirely -- I don't run alternate wincons in my sideboard, since people like to watch me play whenever I'm at the LGS, and will know to keep removal in for Godhead.
Hopefully this was useful, it's been a while since I've posted on here. Feel free to poke me if you have other questions about the deck.
Some Sideboards now show Godhead of Awe. I not sure that's a good Sideboard choice. It doesn't weaken the fast aggo Decks as far as i know. Against which Decks you would use it?
I have a Godhead of Awe though I haven't considered moving to having in sideboard. Honestly don't know how to fit in my sideboard. Here is what I have now:
Of everything that I see in your sideboard currently, Painful Truths is probably the best card to replace with Godhead of Awe. The second Hurkyl's Recall or the Spellskite are probably removable as well, depending on your meta and whether or not you want 2x Godheads.
As a sidenote, why do you Patrician's Scorn over other enchantment-removal options? I understand that it's useful in situations where you might not have mana to cast anything else, but options such as Wear // Tear have more utility and also will hurt you less on a naked Ad Nauseam (since it has a CMC of 3). Not to mention that it blows up your own Phyrexian Unlife on occasion o.O
I couldn't imagine boarding it against anything other than decks running Leyline of Sanctity. Am I missing something, or is it just personal preference?
Of everything that I see in your sideboard currently, Painful Truths is probably the best card to replace with Godhead of Awe. The second Hurkyl's Recall or the Spellskite are probably removable as well, depending on your meta and whether or not you want 2x Godheads.
As a sidenote, why do you Patrician's Scorn over other enchantment-removal options? I understand that it's useful in situations where you might not have mana to cast anything else, but options such as Wear // Tear have more utility and also will hurt you less on a naked Ad Nauseam (since it has a CMC of 3). Not to mention that it blows up your own Phyrexian Unlife on occasion o.O
I couldn't imagine boarding it against anything other than decks running Leyline of Sanctity. Am I missing something, or is it just personal preference?
Patrician's Scorn is a personal preference for decks that run problematic enchantments such as Leyline of Sanctity and sometimes Solemnity once in a blue moon. Hurkyl's Recall is just an answer that deals with artifacts in a way where I don't target thus it gets around hexproof, same with Patrician's Scorn. Painful Truths is definitely going to take a break for Godhead of Awe to see if it helps, especially against all the Phoenix decks running a muck.
Of everything that I see in your sideboard currently, Painful Truths is probably the best card to replace with Godhead of Awe. The second Hurkyl's Recall or the Spellskite are probably removable as well, depending on your meta and whether or not you want 2x Godheads.
As a sidenote, why do you Patrician's Scorn over other enchantment-removal options? I understand that it's useful in situations where you might not have mana to cast anything else, but options such as Wear // Tear have more utility and also will hurt you less on a naked Ad Nauseam (since it has a CMC of 3). Not to mention that it blows up your own Phyrexian Unlife on occasion o.O
I couldn't imagine boarding it against anything other than decks running Leyline of Sanctity. Am I missing something, or is it just personal preference?
Patrician's Scorn is a personal preference for decks that run problematic enchantments such as Leyline of Sanctity and sometimes Solemnity once in a blue moon. Hurkyl's Recall is just an answer that deals with artifacts in a way where I don't target thus it gets around hexproof, same with Patrician's Scorn. Painful Truths is definitely going to take a break for Godhead of Awe to see if it helps, especially against all the Phoenix decks running a muck.
I supposed Hurkyl's Recall is more of a meta-dependent option for what's getting played in your area; I don't see too many artifact decks, especially post-KCI, so I only run it as a 1-of in favor of spot removal. But of course I don't know your local meta, so if you find it helpful then I certainly won't stop you ;D.
I would like to know if Godhead is a preferable option to say, Path to Exile or Grafdigger's Cage, though. If you end up testing both, please do keep me posted, because I would love to tweak my sorta-outdated sideboard. Cheers fam.
Posting this as a separate message due to it not really being related to the conversation above:
Being a chronic brewer, there are all sorts of cards that I've tried to slot into the mainboard to make the deck unique enough to break through silver-bullet answers. Not looking for any particular feedback, but thought I'd share, and feedback is still welcome.
Whir of Invention: This on 0 can tutor up a Lotus Bloom at instant speed. if Pentad Prism becomes too much of a liability sitting on the field for a turn or two, perhaps Whir might be a decent replacement. Also thins out the deck and allows for artifact sideboard options to also be tutored up AND allows for fast mana-ramp/tutoring for sideboard fatties such as Wurmcoil Engine and Platinum Angel. However, this does cause deck-shuffling, which muddies up calculations for topdecks. Also, Simian Spirit Guide doesn't get to pay for Whir on 0.
As Foretold: Mostly in my tests with Tolaria West, but this allows you to directly cast your Lotus Blooms. Also allows for some other suspend staples, such as 1-of Living End's for removal and Ancestral Vision's for digging deep into the deck. My tests have unfortunately shown that the deck gets kind of clunky due to the heavy 3-mana slots, but it provides an interesting ability to dig fairly deep into the deck in the midgame, and also provides some versatility.
Isochron Scepter: I love this card too much for brewing. Angel's Grace fits under it, allowing for infinite fogs. In combination with some instant-speed cantrips such as Peer Through Depths and Opt, it could potentially prove as a useful value-engine. It does have some issues of being a vulnerable target on the field though, being an artifact and all.
Snapcaster Mage: 1-2 of these in the sideboard seems like an option vs BGx decks, especially since most players that know what Ad Naus Combo is won't bother to sideboard graveyard-hate.
Zombie Infestation: Alternate Lightning Storm-type effect that has literally won me games before against some control decks. The fact that it allows for an entirely different form of dealing damage across multiple targets makes it extremely difficult to answer correctly post-board, and circumvents cards like Runed Halo and Gideon of the Trials. Additional upsides: much more cast-able if drawn pre-combo, operable with much fewer cards in hand/library, and can win on occasion with just an Ad Nauseam. Downsides: Less likely to one-shot, and cannot win at instant speed or even in the same turn, which means you NEED another Angel's Grace or to leave a card or two in your library.
I'll add more things as I remember or test them ^_^.
Hi,
Assuming you do not have a city of brass in the deck, has 53 cards in library, and willing to lose 19 life, the chances of getting a lotus bloom is around 38%.
The chances of a tron player having a Karn on their opening hand is roughly 39%. Same chance as you getting a lotus bloom on your opening 7. The chances to get a bloom when you mulligan down to 6 becomes 61% though.
This is not a rule to follow but only as a guide. If I were you and I had ad naus, angels grace, spoils,2 scry lands and a cantrip,I would keep. I can still win by turn 4 when I find pentad prism.
Hope this helps.
On a funny note I lost a game on turn 2: Turn 1 my Lab Maniac got milled with thought scour, turn 2 i got thoughtsiezed and my lightning storm got taken, lol
You can see a full write up of my weekend by going to the facebook group mtg modern ad nauseam facebook group. Im not going to post it here as its too much work.
Good luck and keep comboing!
4x Lotus Bloom
4x Pentad Prism
Creatures (5):
1x Laboratory Maniac
4x Simian Spirit Guide
Enchantments (3):
3x Phyrexian Unlife
Instant (15):
4x Ad Nauseam
4x Angel's Grace
1x Lightning Storm
3x Pact of Negation
3x Spoils of the Vault
3x City of Brass
3x Concealed Courtyard
3x Darkslick Shores
1x Island
2x Plains
3x Seachrome Coast
4x Temple of Deceit
2x Temple of Enlightenment
Sorceries (8):
4x Serum Visions
4x Sleight of Hand
2x Bontu's Last Reckoning
1x Echoing Truth
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Hurkyl's Recall
4x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Pact of Negation
1x Painful Truths
1x Patrician's Scorn
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
I'm not 100% sure if I want to keep Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in the sideboard, still a work in progress. I might take it out and replace it with a discard spell along with taking out Grafdigger's Cage. Izzet Phoenix is just too rampant now along with Dredge, having that on the board early really makes it hard for my opponent to go off while I'm trying to go off. I'll try it a bit and see how it goes.
You're gonna wanna cut those courtyards for gemstone mines as soon as you possibly can. It's the best rainbow land available. Not being able to cantrip on turn 1 is so bad for our deck. We play temples so we can frequently take turns 2-3 off to just gain more selection and cantrip.
They're there for right now until I can get ahold of some Gemstone Mine. I'd figure they're good substitutes for the time being. I have also dropped Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and switched it out for Spellskite, seems to be better for protection of targeted removal if need be.
Cheers!
From my experience, I'm cutting some number of Pacts and some number of either Cantrips/Mana rocks to make way for 2x Grand Abolishers and 2x Paths or Pushes (i prefer paths).
RUBDa ShadowBUR
deaths shadow
This will probably cover some things you already know, but just for completeness's sake I'm going to explain some background info as well.
Cards like Godhead of Awe give the deck an alternative means to winning the game that doesn't require comboing; just a Lotus Bloom or Pentad Prism and 2-3 lands will let you cast something that has enough of an affect of maybe winning the game by itself. This role has also been filled by Grave Titan, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Crovax, Ascendant Hero, and Dragonlord Dromoka.
Ad Nauseam usually wants to sideboard these threats versus decks that have enough dismantle your card advantage or your actual combo in some capacity (e.g. Blood Moon,Stony Silence,Runed Halo, you get the picture).
Now, the reason for picking one specific game-finisher is, simply, what decks struggle to kill it post-board the most. Grave Titan thrives against BGx decks and removal-light decks, Elspeth is practically unanswerable versus creature decks that can't beat into it (except for Spirits), and Dromoka is great against tempo and UBx. Crovax was a weird one that only really stuck around when Infect was the 'it' deck, but who knows, maybe it'll find a home to counter other decks later down the road.
The current decks that one might face in a competitive Modern environment where single threats might be useful are Death's Shadow, Dredge, Amulet Titan, Spirits, and BGx decks -- in short, tempo/attrition decks or combo decks that can go off faster than you on average. So what does Godhead do that the other aforementioned cards don't? For starters, it's a 4/4 flyer playable on T3. This is a major advantage against tempo decks -- unless they have an [[Echoing Truth]] or something, they're unlikely to be able to 1-for-1 something like that. It has a CMC of 5, so Spell Queller can't nab it. And lastly, its Humility-styled effect almost completely neuters Primeval Titan and makes Dredge's explosiveness more manageable.
Now, Godhead does have a few problems, such as its restrictive casting cost, the fact that it can get traded for a Flame Slash or Assassin's Trophy or its ineffectiveness versus tokens or decks that don't care about attacking. So if you don't have too many high-tier decks in you playgroup, you may want to consider other finishers. Hell, you could leave them out entirely -- I don't run alternate wincons in my sideboard, since people like to watch me play whenever I'm at the LGS, and will know to keep removal in for Godhead.
Hopefully this was useful, it's been a while since I've posted on here. Feel free to poke me if you have other questions about the deck.
WUBAd NauseamBUW
WBBW TokensBW
MUST. BUILD. ANTI-META BREWS.
I have a Godhead of Awe though I haven't considered moving to having in sideboard. Honestly don't know how to fit in my sideboard. Here is what I have now:
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Echoing Truth
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Hurkyl's Recall
4x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Pact of Negation
1x Painful Truths
1x Patrician's Scorn
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Spellskite
I might take out Painful Truths if the numbers of success really make a difference. Mainly have Painful Truths for card draw.
As a sidenote, why do you Patrician's Scorn over other enchantment-removal options? I understand that it's useful in situations where you might not have mana to cast anything else, but options such as Wear // Tear have more utility and also will hurt you less on a naked Ad Nauseam (since it has a CMC of 3). Not to mention that it blows up your own Phyrexian Unlife on occasion o.O
I couldn't imagine boarding it against anything other than decks running Leyline of Sanctity. Am I missing something, or is it just personal preference?
WUBAd NauseamBUW
WBBW TokensBW
MUST. BUILD. ANTI-META BREWS.
Patrician's Scorn is a personal preference for decks that run problematic enchantments such as Leyline of Sanctity and sometimes Solemnity once in a blue moon. Hurkyl's Recall is just an answer that deals with artifacts in a way where I don't target thus it gets around hexproof, same with Patrician's Scorn. Painful Truths is definitely going to take a break for Godhead of Awe to see if it helps, especially against all the Phoenix decks running a muck.
I supposed Hurkyl's Recall is more of a meta-dependent option for what's getting played in your area; I don't see too many artifact decks, especially post-KCI, so I only run it as a 1-of in favor of spot removal. But of course I don't know your local meta, so if you find it helpful then I certainly won't stop you ;D.
I would like to know if Godhead is a preferable option to say, Path to Exile or Grafdigger's Cage, though. If you end up testing both, please do keep me posted, because I would love to tweak my sorta-outdated sideboard. Cheers fam.
WUBAd NauseamBUW
WBBW TokensBW
MUST. BUILD. ANTI-META BREWS.
Being a chronic brewer, there are all sorts of cards that I've tried to slot into the mainboard to make the deck unique enough to break through silver-bullet answers. Not looking for any particular feedback, but thought I'd share, and feedback is still welcome.
Whir of Invention: This on 0 can tutor up a Lotus Bloom at instant speed. if Pentad Prism becomes too much of a liability sitting on the field for a turn or two, perhaps Whir might be a decent replacement. Also thins out the deck and allows for artifact sideboard options to also be tutored up AND allows for fast mana-ramp/tutoring for sideboard fatties such as Wurmcoil Engine and Platinum Angel. However, this does cause deck-shuffling, which muddies up calculations for topdecks. Also, Simian Spirit Guide doesn't get to pay for Whir on 0.
Tolaria West: Similarly to Whir, this allows for Lotus Bloom tutoring, along with 0-drop singletons that might be beneficial from the sideboard (e.g. Boseiju, Who Shelters All, Pact of Negation, Slaughter Pact, Bojuka Bog, Tormod's Crypt). Has similar issues to Whir, though, as well as only being useful at sorcery speed.
As Foretold: Mostly in my tests with Tolaria West, but this allows you to directly cast your Lotus Blooms. Also allows for some other suspend staples, such as 1-of Living End's for removal and Ancestral Vision's for digging deep into the deck. My tests have unfortunately shown that the deck gets kind of clunky due to the heavy 3-mana slots, but it provides an interesting ability to dig fairly deep into the deck in the midgame, and also provides some versatility.
Isochron Scepter: I love this card too much for brewing. Angel's Grace fits under it, allowing for infinite fogs. In combination with some instant-speed cantrips such as Peer Through Depths and Opt, it could potentially prove as a useful value-engine. It does have some issues of being a vulnerable target on the field though, being an artifact and all.
Snapcaster Mage: 1-2 of these in the sideboard seems like an option vs BGx decks, especially since most players that know what Ad Naus Combo is won't bother to sideboard graveyard-hate.
Zombie Infestation: Alternate Lightning Storm-type effect that has literally won me games before against some control decks. The fact that it allows for an entirely different form of dealing damage across multiple targets makes it extremely difficult to answer correctly post-board, and circumvents cards like Runed Halo and Gideon of the Trials. Additional upsides: much more cast-able if drawn pre-combo, operable with much fewer cards in hand/library, and can win on occasion with just an Ad Nauseam. Downsides: Less likely to one-shot, and cannot win at instant speed or even in the same turn, which means you NEED another Angel's Grace or to leave a card or two in your library.
I'll add more things as I remember or test them ^_^.
WUBAd NauseamBUW
WBBW TokensBW
MUST. BUILD. ANTI-META BREWS.
RUBDa ShadowBUR
UBlue EndU
BAd NauseamB