Vs UW/Jeskai/Jund/Mardu i abandon the combo entirely and go to grind town. depending on the sideboard cards i go like -all viziers -2 to 4 chords -1 to 3 druids - 1 to 4 dorks. In my case thats often a total of 11 cards (like in 2 worship, 3 path, 1 scooze, 1 pridemage, 1 selfless spirit, 1 bajuka bog, 2 voices) . some ppl might argue to never drop the combo, i disagree!
That is something I have been experimenting with as well. I tend to keep one copy of each of the vizier/druid combo so i have an "oopsiwin" out of nowhere. So far it seems to be....okay. Not the best and Im still unfavored but maybe that's just how the matchup goes?
Good job. I may try Buglers tonight as well. The videos are really good for people trying to analyze others' play or even analyze their own play (later on).
I'm trying to get ready for hedging a bit against UR Delver since that got 3-0-1, IDing with URw Delver last FNM.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Hey guys won my first pptq today playing abzan company and deck felt broken, only lost one game entire day. I played against
Rd 1 Humans (2-0)
I never knew how easy this mu was.
Rd 2 Humans (2-1)
Rd 3 Affinity(2-0)
Rd 4 Boggles( 2-0)
Rd 5 UW Miracles(2-0)
I got paired down so I couldnt double draw in but won anyway
Rd 6 Draw
Quarterfinals Skred(2-0)
How did skred top 8? he went bolt into skred into anger into chandra into 2 more bolts and then he died. If he cant win that game against a creature deck idk how that deck beats anything.
Semifinals Humans (2-0)
Finals HallowOne(2-0)
Top decked viscera seer the last turn of game two to gain infinite life and win the pptq. felt great.
Overall I think this deck is insane and all the mus near the top of the meta seem great for it.
Hey guys won my first pptq today playing abzan company and deck felt broken, only lost one game entire day. I played against
Rd 1 Humans (2-0)
I never knew how easy this mu was.
Rd 2 Humans (2-1)
Rd 3 Affinity(2-0)
Rd 4 Boggles( 2-0)
Rd 5 UW Miracles(2-0)
I got paired down so I couldnt double draw in but won anyway
Rd 6 Draw
Quarterfinals Skred(2-0)
How did skred top 8? he went bolt into skred into anger into chandra into 2 more bolts and then he died. If he cant win that game against a creature deck idk how that deck beats anything.
Semifinals Humans (2-0)
Finals HallowOne(2-0)
Top decked viscera seer the last turn of game two to gain infinite life and win the pptq. felt great.
Overall I think this deck is insane and all the mus near the top of the meta seem great for it.
I think a lot of the time people trim down on the combo too much against control. Sure I trim a vizier and 2 birds but I leave in most of it because you can force them into an uncomfortable position just by grinding and beating down and then win with the combo. Also devoted druid is a lightning rod for removal so I would never cut any in this mu. Also chording for sin collector with the miracle tirigger on the stack was awesome. I just played the mu online and I swift 2-0ed it. I think if you play tight company is a slight favorite but one little mistake can cost you the game.
Well its the list I posted above. I cut -1 viscera seer, -1 vizier of remedies, -1 kitchen finks, -2 birds of paradise, 1- chord of calling. +1 Maelstrom pulse, +2 sin collector, +1 tidehollow Sculler, +1 Qasali Pridemage, +1 Tirless Tracker. I've never lost a match to UW. With the way tat they board Brining in timely Lyra baneslayer etc. not having the combo is a mistake since all of those are nightmars for the beatdown plan. even just having a druid in play without the intent to combo can drive the control player mad having to respect it and not be able to tap out for one of their big things.
What do you guys think about Company as a whole? I am in this weird place where I feel that the Combo route is pretty fast for Modern, but there are quicker combos. But our Combo is vulnerable to creature removal.
I feel like if a quicker combo deck doesn't quite get the quick kill against us, then we can Combo them. Plus we have some hate as well in the mode of creatures that we can Chord for. If we are not interacted with, it can be very easy for us to Combo off, of course depending on the version of Company.
But I also feel that our Combo is more vulnerable to creature removal than something like KCI. Control is tougher for us than something like KCI, Ad Nauseam, or Storm.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Good point guys. I actually forgot about a lot of that. Yeah, you have another way to win, but there are decks in the format that you just aren't beating with Combat damage; Affinity, Tron, Bogles, Storm most likely, Valakut, and many more. The grindy decks are becoming less and less; probably Mardu being the most prominent. Against Control you can win this way. In fact it is the only way to win and takes a lot of grinding from us as well.
I guess one of the best things about this deck is that it has many ways to win - Combo, Hate, or Combat damage grind. Plus, the silver bullets can be changed around. It's also super tough to choose silver bullets because large PPTQ metas can never be guessed. I've seen many players go away from Burrenton Forge-Tender, Selfless Spirit, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence. I've seen a lot of non-creature spells, ie. Path to Exile and Abrupt Decay. Sometimes discard, which I think is wrong and rare. I guess you mostly hedge against what you don't want to lose to. But then the deck you least expect creeps out of the woodworks.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
In continuation of my hot-streak lately, I went 4-0 at last nights Modern putting my record at 11-1 in the last three events I've played. Old write ups for completion sake:
Played this deck for the first time in a while since I've been on GTron for PPTQ season. I got my Buglers which I've been itching to try out as I talked about here, and sailed to a 4-0 for the night! The deck felt super powerful, possibly the most powerful iteration of the deck I've played yet. My sample size is only 4 matches mind you, but I had some crazy games which are explained below. List for reference:
Some notes about the deck before the games:
- Yes that is a 14 card sideboard. I must have forgot one at home, but it didn't seem to matter at all.
- Omitting the Finks + Seer package for Bugler + KotR. This allows Bugler to hit every card in the deck.
- 1 Courser of Kruphix compliments the KotR's. Because of it's inclusion I am playing 7 dorks and 22 lands, as opposed to my normal 8 dorks and 21 lands. Yes I like to cheat on the lands, but not here.
- KotR even acts as a dork in some cases, especially if you play it turn 2, so you are playing what is essentially 15 "dorks" not even inducing EWit getting fetches back. I never had mana problems.
- Only 3 Eternal Witness. I always like 4, but I figured with Bugler I could drop one to make the deck a little less reliant on the graveyard.
- I played before with 6 land destruction lands, but found that against the majority of decks they didn't do what I wanted them to do. Because of this I dropped to 3. This lets me still kill stuff like the random Inkmoth/Mutavault while also slowing down Tron and Valakut enough to win those matchups (in theory). With the 3 extra "utility land" slots I was able to include a second Horizon Canopy to help out the combo and flooding in general, and a Gavony Township for when the deck goes real wide.
Onto the games:
Round 1 vs Grixis Death's Shadow:
Game 1 was a grind fest with him removing my Druids, but not having a fast start himself. Once I accepted that I wasn't going to combo I went all in on the KotR plan. The game was decided with him using a Temur Battlerage on his 8/8 Shadow to kill my 10/10 Knight. I then Companied into Knight + EWit, using the company again to hit another Knight and win the game since he ran out of blockers. Game 2 was more of the same with me boarding out the combo and into a midrange deck (everything but Kataki, Rec Sage, and Eidolon). I overwhelmed him with value and won with 2 11/11 Knights while destroying his lands thanks to Path removing his only two basic lands. Bugler kept on finding Knights or EWits that Companies couldn't and kept the value train going. 2-0
Round 2 vs Mardu Pyromancer:
More of the same as round 1. The dude went Lootings into Pyromancer and I won some turns after with the combo by casting some Companies and Bugler finding what I wanted. Boarded the same as against Death's Shadow since I figured I couldn't combo again through all of the removal. The game this time went pretty long with him killing my turn 2 druid and resolving a LotV which I had to then throw away a Knight and Ewit to. I eventually got there though as he couldn't discard my companies, and I started chaining them to fill up the board. I found my Scooze and kept his graveyard out of relevant stuff while I had a Spellskite and Forge-Tender as backup. The Scooze then went on to continually attack him and win. 2-0
Round 3 vs UG Infect:
This was the guy I lost to in the top 8 of the PPTQ on Sunday. Game 3 was the only relevant one and super intense with him on the play. Turn 2 he has a Blighted Agent while I have a Temple Garden and Horizon Canopy to play a Devoted Druid. His turn 3 he hits me for 7 infect, and will hit me for a guaranteed 3 more the next turn so I have to win. I untap, and my hand is Vizier, Ghost Quarter, Bugler, and some other not relevant stuff. I play the Vizier with the Temple Garden since I can draw a card with Canopy. This is only better than playing Bugler if I draw a Chord or Company, so I figure I'll Bugler instead sine I can hit 2 Recruiters and 1 Ballista in 4 cards. I miss, but hit another Bugler. It then dawned on me that I could Ghost Quarter my land to get an untapped Plains and cast the second Bugler to tray again. Lo and behold it hits a Recruiter and I get a clutch win! You can watch the video of the match here. 2-1
Round 4 vs Eldrazi Tron:
This is the guy I beat in round 5 of the PPTQ. Games were grindy with me eventually using a Chord to get through his Chalice on 2 and win the game. It was weird since he know the Chord was coming but didn't Dismember the Druid... Game 2 was won off of the back of KotR and some land fetching shenanigans to block Reality Smashers after the wiped my graveyard. Again a misplay on his part as he should have waited and he would have won. Re-watching the footage I also missed a Duskwatch trigger, so I'll have to remember that for the future. It didn't matter though as it died the turn after. You can watch the video of the match here. 2-0
---
Thoughts on the deck:
- I really really liked Bugler. The deck has been getting away from the graveyard more and more, but is still dependent with Eternal Witness and Knight of the Reliquary. It's not the worst is hate is brought in for it, but it certainly is annoying. Bugler helps get away from this (replacing Finks).
- Hitting a Bugler off of a Company almost guarantees hitting something that you need since you get to keep digging. I found if I was ever wanting a card I could always find it within the next 1-2 turns. It also makes the combo much more consistent meaning you will fizzle less when getting infinite mana.
- A downside with Bugler is that you are more dependent on W during the combo, so you have to be mindful to fetch it out.
- KotR is a beast, and is often the biggest thing on the battlefield. With Finks I found I was using it to chump and stay alive until I could squeak out a combo. Now for the same mana cost I am winning combats, ramping, and thinning my deck. You lose life gain in the deck, and if anything take more damage from fetches, so I can imagine the Burn matchups is suddenly harder.
- The plan of going super-combo maindeck and transitional value-midrange deck in the sideboard worked out well. I was able to race things like without interaction like Infect (and Affinity in pre-event games) while absolutely destroying the opponent with value post-board.
- I'm not sure what I want sideboard card #15 to be. Perhaps a Pridemage, or another Scooze...?
I will hopefully play this again Wednesday and see if I can replicate the results.
Took the deck to a 3-1 tonight, which puts Bugler version at 7-1 overall. Only changes were +1 Selfless Spirit MD, +1 Courser of Kruphix & +1 Qasali Pridemage SB so I had 15 cards this time. List for reference:
Wins were 2-0 vs taking Turns. I won the match in about 10 mins total with a turn 3 combo each game. 2-1 vs G Devotion. I kept a slow hand game 1 hoping I could just get there, whereas games 2 and 3 I forced the combo and blew him out of the water. 2-1 vs Scales Affinity, with game 3 him mulling to 5 while I had the turn 3 win. He didn't have removal on his turn 2 so I won.
My loss was to UW Control, 0-2. Game 1 I kept a 1 land hand with Hierarch, Druid, Druid, Vizier, Chord, EWit, Forest. On turn 2 I drew a second Chord, and he Logic Knotted my Druid for 1. If I had drawn a land it would have resolved and I was pretty confident in my chances, but alas I didn't. I went on to draw Chords for 2 more turns, so I had all 4 in hand before I got my second land. Wasn't winning that one. Second game was more of the same, with a T2 Bugler finding Druid, playing the Druid T3, and him wrathing the board on his T4. From there he stabilized with a Teferi and then Jace, so I was lost at that point. I hoped to see a Company so I could start trying to flood the board with it and EWits, but never saw either card and was grinded out.
The control matchup was pretty bad, especially with them playing Terminus now. My strategy was to force the combo and hope they can't Logic Knot for enough on Turn 2, as we aren't going to win the long game. Their Planeswalkers out value us, unlike other midrange decks that we can play the grindy-value game with. Perhaps adding a Breeding Pool and 3 Unified Will to the sideboard is the best bet for this matchup. Countering their first wrath or PW will give us a window to try and win. Thoughts on the matchup?
My list was unchanged from the one I played when I went 3-1. Matchups went as follows:
2-0 vs Eldrazi Tron, 2-1 vs Infect, 2-0 vs Hardened Scales Affinity, 2-1 vs Bant mirror (he played Queller's instead of Bugler's). Not a ton to talk about since the games are really playing out the same each time. With the addition of Militia Buglers I can slam the combo pretty much whenever I need too since digging for it is really easy, and this was a night of playing very uninteractive decks allowing me to combo as fast as I wanted. Pretty much every match I was sideboarding out the Knights and bringing in Spellskites and Paths, among other things. I didn't really get to play vs any midrange decks which my sideboard is tuned for. The good thing about that is that it means the maindeck is good enough to combo at the speed of some the best. Only changes to the deck I would do would be the addition of another Militia Bugler since that card has been insane and helps the deck be less graveyard dependent.
If you want to watch the Infect match you can here, and the Bant Company match here.
I have a player of the year championship on Saturday I may take this too since it's been doing so well, but I'm expecting a lot of UW Control to show up. At the last PPTQ at this store there was 6/47 pure UW Control which is scary. This will be an invite only tourney though, so possibly more KCI and Humans (less pet decks) which I'm fine with. I guess there are no haymaker cards that can beat UW Control while staying pure GW eh? Something like Pharika, God of Affliction vs GB decks.
I like Bugler more. They're both card advantage, at least replacing themselves once. Bugler is better for the combo, and Tracker is better for the grindy plan B. Since comboing is plan A in the deck I like aiding that plan and tailoring my sideboard to fight interactive decks that don't let us combo. That way you win as many game 1's as possible and can side to combat any strategy. I don't think the two cards can co-exist that well, which is why I've been running KotR alongside Bugler. A few 3+ power misses for Bugler is fine, but I like to try and keep that as low as possible.
Just bought into GW/abzan "goodstuffs" just buying playsets of cards to make a few different decks, which CoCo will be the first one I will put together. My LGS has now loads of UW players since the rise of the deck, so i was just wondering, is there a reason there is no Boseiju in the 75 on any of the lists? It would seem good to guarantee CoCo or Chord resolving and makes comboing in the matchup easier? Lifeloss doesn't matter in that MU anyways. Probably I am missing something, but that single land feels like it would up our game a lot against the new control menace. Maybe even one traverse on the SB as well to get the boseiju, when needed?
I don't think that's what you want vs UW Control. First off you have to find the card. Without Knight of the Reliquary, and only one Boseiju, Who Shelters All, you won't see it in most games. Second, it is only helping 8/60 cards in the deck, which is a pretty low 13.3% of cards. Postboard Chord of Calling isn't even that useful because putting a single creature into play isn't that impactful, and our board is often kept pretty low so it's a bit more mana than usual. Third, UW plays lots of Field of Ruins and they don't have any lands to hit except for Gavony Township, and now Boseiju. You will realistically get 1 activation out of it before it is destroyed. I think you'll be better off just trying to jam cards through their spells. Eternal Witness rebuys Company to keep the value train going, and a Company/Chord on their endstep will cause them to be tapped out allowing you to get a psedo-uncounterable spell.
Jeez, you're killing it. I haven't been 11-1 at any time with a deck in quite a long time (the last time I remember was with Little Kid Abzan at a specific LGS where it did well). Keep crushing. I think I am going to use Abzan Company for Sunday's PPTQ - Laplasjan's list.
(off to watch the vids)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I like it! This is the ultimate all-in Bugler list. I have been wanting to try Gaddock Teeg in the SB for a while now, but was mostly unsure of it with Company and Chord main deck. I'm assuming some Companies come out and it shuts down more than it hurts you, but I also am missing 2 foil Gaddock Teeg and don't want to run the list with 2 non foils, lol.
Let us know how it goes. I think I'm trying Laplasjan's list again tonight. Either that or Elves.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Had a rough one! 20 player FNM
Round 1 vs. Jeskai Thing Ascension. Triple Lightning Bolt and some Snappies. Not enough pressure and I get there with some creatures after a Company. Viscera Seer was key in this one, allowing for scrys when creatures were marked for dead. In the next game, he got the Thing and I missed a land drop, which didn't allow me to rebuild enough in time, as 1 for 1 removal got creatures out of the way. In the final one, I make the correct SB call in adding 2 Abrupt Decay to the 3 Path to Exile. I didn't want to dilute the Collected Company, but literally Thing, Ascension, and maybe burn are the only ways I lose. I end up getting there with a key Sin Collector and Scavenging Ooze #2 is good to go. He ended up with 2 lands in hand in the end. I faced a lot of removal in this match, but only Game 2 with Thing put pressure on me. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Zoo. Noble Hierarch into double Wild Nacatl. Then the Bloodbraid Elf into Bolt got my Finks. I had Vizier and Chord in hand, so I was waiting for the tap out of Bloodbraid Elf to hit a creature so I could get a million life. Then I'm in the same situation with another Finks next turn. I tell him Bloodbraid Elf into Bolt and I will scoop. Bloodbraid Elf into … Lightning Helix! I'm not scooping yet. Creatures are attacking. Okay, I'm scooping. In the last game, I drop some creatures, which get killed. I am unable to double spell and his 2 lands are playing double 1 drop or a key 2 drop a turn, including Grafdigger's Cage, shutting down a Collected Company from hand. I proceed to draw another Collected Company AND a Chord (mind you I sided out 1 of each, knowing that this would happen). I can't quite get enough on board and Lightning Helix finishes me off when he draws a 3rd land finally to go with the Forest/Sacred Foundry. 0-2.
Round 3 vs. Titanshift. In the first game, he Bolts my Birds of Paradise, but I have Devoted Druid the next turn. Then he taps out for Bloodbraid Elf into Farseek (whew, thought it was Bolt with Devoted Druid on my side). I combo out the next turn. In the next game, I can't find Vizier of Remedies and he gets a lethal 18 point Scapeshift. Damping Sphere slowed me down a tiny bit, but if Duskwatch Recruiter hit Vizzy, I was good to go. In the next game, I combo out on turn 3 again. I am nearly guaranteed to get there. Collected Company X 2 and E Witness for a 3rd Company, sacrifice Horizon Canopy, then play a land for a Clue, sacrifice, all doesn't find me Duskwatch Recruiter, so I build my board. I also land Sin Collector during all these Companies to see triple land and Thragtusk with 2 Search for Tomorrow suspended. I pray for no Angry Gods and they are not indeed angry, with me getting there in 2 turns after I vomited the board with triple Company. After 1 hit, Anger of the Gods wouldn't have saved him because I had a big Tracker, but he had Thragtusk and a Valakut trigger, making me almost regret not playing the last Kitchen Finks from hand. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. UR Delver. He plays a million Bolts, Snappies, Cryptic, and then a midgame Delver gets me. Pretty embarrassing stuff. In the next game, Eidolon of Rhetoric wrecks him. I play it turn 2 on the play after Noble Hierarch and it wrecks him. He goes to block in the midgame with a 1/1 Delver and a flashed Nimble Obstructionist, but I Abrupt Decay and kill both. I end up drawing another Scavenging Ooze to go with one on board and had Sin Collector, which showed double Snapcaster Mage, too. When it rains, it pours. In the final game, he gets there with Delver and another creature by Bolting (and he had 1 Incinerate/1 Searing Spear/1 Harvest Pyre as well) creature after creature, and then the final Harvest Pyre to move the blocker out of the way after Cryptic Command on Scooze. Niiice! 1-2.
I finish 2-2. Faced 19 Lightning Bolts (8-3-3-5) and 6 Lightning Helix (3-3) in today's tournaments. It's not so bad, but mediocre draws in my opinion, get slaughtered by that backed up by a clock. I won the rounds when my opponent didn't have a lcock.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
In continuation of my hot-streak lately, I went 4-0 at last nights Modern putting my record at 11-1 in the last three events I've played. Old write ups for completion sake:
Played this deck for the first time in a while since I've been on GTron for PPTQ season. I got my Buglers which I've been itching to try out as I talked about here, and sailed to a 4-0 for the night! The deck felt super powerful, possibly the most powerful iteration of the deck I've played yet. My sample size is only 4 matches mind you, but I had some crazy games which are explained below. List for reference:
Some notes about the deck before the games:
- Yes that is a 14 card sideboard. I must have forgot one at home, but it didn't seem to matter at all.
- Omitting the Finks + Seer package for Bugler + KotR. This allows Bugler to hit every card in the deck.
- 1 Courser of Kruphix compliments the KotR's. Because of it's inclusion I am playing 7 dorks and 22 lands, as opposed to my normal 8 dorks and 21 lands. Yes I like to cheat on the lands, but not here.
- KotR even acts as a dork in some cases, especially if you play it turn 2, so you are playing what is essentially 15 "dorks" not even inducing EWit getting fetches back. I never had mana problems.
- Only 3 Eternal Witness. I always like 4, but I figured with Bugler I could drop one to make the deck a little less reliant on the graveyard.
- I played before with 6 land destruction lands, but found that against the majority of decks they didn't do what I wanted them to do. Because of this I dropped to 3. This lets me still kill stuff like the random Inkmoth/Mutavault while also slowing down Tron and Valakut enough to win those matchups (in theory). With the 3 extra "utility land" slots I was able to include a second Horizon Canopy to help out the combo and flooding in general, and a Gavony Township for when the deck goes real wide.
Onto the games:
Round 1 vs Grixis Death's Shadow:
Game 1 was a grind fest with him removing my Druids, but not having a fast start himself. Once I accepted that I wasn't going to combo I went all in on the KotR plan. The game was decided with him using a Temur Battlerage on his 8/8 Shadow to kill my 10/10 Knight. I then Companied into Knight + EWit, using the company again to hit another Knight and win the game since he ran out of blockers. Game 2 was more of the same with me boarding out the combo and into a midrange deck (everything but Kataki, Rec Sage, and Eidolon). I overwhelmed him with value and won with 2 11/11 Knights while destroying his lands thanks to Path removing his only two basic lands. Bugler kept on finding Knights or EWits that Companies couldn't and kept the value train going. 2-0
Round 2 vs Mardu Pyromancer:
More of the same as round 1. The dude went Lootings into Pyromancer and I won some turns after with the combo by casting some Companies and Bugler finding what I wanted. Boarded the same as against Death's Shadow since I figured I couldn't combo again through all of the removal. The game this time went pretty long with him killing my turn 2 druid and resolving a LotV which I had to then throw away a Knight and Ewit to. I eventually got there though as he couldn't discard my companies, and I started chaining them to fill up the board. I found my Scooze and kept his graveyard out of relevant stuff while I had a Spellskite and Forge-Tender as backup. The Scooze then went on to continually attack him and win. 2-0
Round 3 vs UG Infect:
This was the guy I lost to in the top 8 of the PPTQ on Sunday. Game 3 was the only relevant one and super intense with him on the play. Turn 2 he has a Blighted Agent while I have a Temple Garden and Horizon Canopy to play a Devoted Druid. His turn 3 he hits me for 7 infect, and will hit me for a guaranteed 3 more the next turn so I have to win. I untap, and my hand is Vizier, Ghost Quarter, Bugler, and some other not relevant stuff. I play the Vizier with the Temple Garden since I can draw a card with Canopy. This is only better than playing Bugler if I draw a Chord or Company, so I figure I'll Bugler instead sine I can hit 2 Recruiters and 1 Ballista in 4 cards. I miss, but hit another Bugler. It then dawned on me that I could Ghost Quarter my land to get an untapped Plains and cast the second Bugler to tray again. Lo and behold it hits a Recruiter and I get a clutch win! You can watch the video of the match here. 2-1
Round 4 vs Eldrazi Tron:
This is the guy I beat in round 5 of the PPTQ. Games were grindy with me eventually using a Chord to get through his Chalice on 2 and win the game. It was weird since he know the Chord was coming but didn't Dismember the Druid... Game 2 was won off of the back of KotR and some land fetching shenanigans to block Reality Smashers after the wiped my graveyard. Again a misplay on his part as he should have waited and he would have won. Re-watching the footage I also missed a Duskwatch trigger, so I'll have to remember that for the future. It didn't matter though as it died the turn after. You can watch the video of the match here. 2-0
---
Thoughts on the deck:
- I really really liked Bugler. The deck has been getting away from the graveyard more and more, but is still dependent with Eternal Witness and Knight of the Reliquary. It's not the worst is hate is brought in for it, but it certainly is annoying. Bugler helps get away from this (replacing Finks).
- Hitting a Bugler off of a Company almost guarantees hitting something that you need since you get to keep digging. I found if I was ever wanting a card I could always find it within the next 1-2 turns. It also makes the combo much more consistent meaning you will fizzle less when getting infinite mana.
- A downside with Bugler is that you are more dependent on W during the combo, so you have to be mindful to fetch it out.
- KotR is a beast, and is often the biggest thing on the battlefield. With Finks I found I was using it to chump and stay alive until I could squeak out a combo. Now for the same mana cost I am winning combats, ramping, and thinning my deck. You lose life gain in the deck, and if anything take more damage from fetches, so I can imagine the Burn matchups is suddenly harder.
- The plan of going super-combo maindeck and transitional value-midrange deck in the sideboard worked out well. I was able to race things like without interaction like Infect (and Affinity in pre-event games) while absolutely destroying the opponent with value post-board.
- I'm not sure what I want sideboard card #15 to be. Perhaps a Pridemage, or another Scooze...?
I will hopefully play this again Wednesday and see if I can replicate the results.
Took the deck to a 3-1 tonight, which puts Bugler version at 7-1 overall. Only changes were +1 Selfless Spirit MD, +1 Courser of Kruphix & +1 Qasali Pridemage SB so I had 15 cards this time. List for reference:
Wins were 2-0 vs taking Turns. I won the match in about 10 mins total with a turn 3 combo each game. 2-1 vs G Devotion. I kept a slow hand game 1 hoping I could just get there, whereas games 2 and 3 I forced the combo and blew him out of the water. 2-1 vs Scales Affinity, with game 3 him mulling to 5 while I had the turn 3 win. He didn't have removal on his turn 2 so I won.
My loss was to UW Control, 0-2. Game 1 I kept a 1 land hand with Hierarch, Druid, Druid, Vizier, Chord, EWit, Forest. On turn 2 I drew a second Chord, and he Logic Knotted my Druid for 1. If I had drawn a land it would have resolved and I was pretty confident in my chances, but alas I didn't. I went on to draw Chords for 2 more turns, so I had all 4 in hand before I got my second land. Wasn't winning that one. Second game was more of the same, with a T2 Bugler finding Druid, playing the Druid T3, and him wrathing the board on his T4. From there he stabilized with a Teferi and then Jace, so I was lost at that point. I hoped to see a Company so I could start trying to flood the board with it and EWits, but never saw either card and was grinded out.
The control matchup was pretty bad, especially with them playing Terminus now. My strategy was to force the combo and hope they can't Logic Knot for enough on Turn 2, as we aren't going to win the long game. Their Planeswalkers out value us, unlike other midrange decks that we can play the grindy-value game with. Perhaps adding a Breeding Pool and 3 Unified Will to the sideboard is the best bet for this matchup. Countering their first wrath or PW will give us a window to try and win. Thoughts on the matchup?
My list was unchanged from the one I played when I went 3-1. Matchups went as follows:
2-0 vs Eldrazi Tron, 2-1 vs Infect, 2-0 vs Hardened Scales Affinity, 2-1 vs Bant mirror (he played Queller's instead of Bugler's). Not a ton to talk about since the games are really playing out the same each time. With the addition of Militia Buglers I can slam the combo pretty much whenever I need too since digging for it is really easy, and this was a night of playing very uninteractive decks allowing me to combo as fast as I wanted. Pretty much every match I was sideboarding out the Knights and bringing in Spellskites and Paths, among other things. I didn't really get to play vs any midrange decks which my sideboard is tuned for. The good thing about that is that it means the maindeck is good enough to combo at the speed of some the best. Only changes to the deck I would do would be the addition of another Militia Bugler since that card has been insane and helps the deck be less graveyard dependent.
If you want to watch the Infect match you can here, and the Bant Company match here.
I have a player of the year championship on Saturday I may take this too since it's been doing so well, but I'm expecting a lot of UW Control to show up. At the last PPTQ at this store there was 6/47 pure UW Control which is scary. This will be an invite only tourney though, so possibly more KCI and Humans (less pet decks) which I'm fine with. I guess there are no haymaker cards that can beat UW Control while staying pure GW eh? Something like Pharika, God of Affliction vs GB decks.
For straight GW one card that used to see play for the control match up and mid-range grind was Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. This 5-0 GW List has 3 Gideon in the side.
As for the question of Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Read the card. Even in the GW list this land is terrible. It comes into play tapped. It produces colourless mana which makes it unplayable in Abzan. It is a bad choice against UWx control because even if you make your Coco or Chord uncounterable they generally have Path / Bolt / Helix to deal with one of the 2 or 3 combo pieces that need to be in play to make this resolve. Against control you have to play the long grindy game because comboing is very difficult due to the spot removal.
Went to a pptq today, 3-2'd, nothing special. Just getting back into the deck.
Reason I'm posting is that of the 26 people there, 7 of us were playing Druid combo in one flavor or another. I've not seen anyone in my area playing the deck in months and suddenly it's over 20% of the meta. I think it might have just been a fluke, but heads up; frequently playing the mirror might be on the horizon.
That is something I have been experimenting with as well. I tend to keep one copy of each of the vizier/druid combo so i have an "oopsiwin" out of nowhere. So far it seems to be....okay. Not the best and Im still unfavored but maybe that's just how the matchup goes?
I'm trying to get ready for hedging a bit against UR Delver since that got 3-0-1, IDing with URw Delver last FNM.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Rd 1 Humans (2-0)
I never knew how easy this mu was.
Rd 2 Humans (2-1)
Rd 3 Affinity(2-0)
Rd 4 Boggles( 2-0)
Rd 5 UW Miracles(2-0)
I got paired down so I couldnt double draw in but won anyway
Rd 6 Draw
Quarterfinals Skred(2-0)
How did skred top 8? he went bolt into skred into anger into chandra into 2 more bolts and then he died. If he cant win that game against a creature deck idk how that deck beats anything.
Semifinals Humans (2-0)
Finals HallowOne(2-0)
Top decked viscera seer the last turn of game two to gain infinite life and win the pptq. felt great.
Overall I think this deck is insane and all the mus near the top of the meta seem great for it.
What was your list?
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Viscera Seer
4 Devoted Druid
4 Vizier of Remedies
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
1 Scavenging ooze
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Eternal Witness
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Shalai, voice of plenty
1 Walking Balista
4 Collected Company
4 Chord of Calling
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Temple Garden
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Gavony Township
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Blooming Marsh
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Path to exile
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 worship
1 Sin collector
2 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Burrenton Forge Tender
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 eidolon of rhetoric
I feel like if a quicker combo deck doesn't quite get the quick kill against us, then we can Combo them. Plus we have some hate as well in the mode of creatures that we can Chord for. If we are not interacted with, it can be very easy for us to Combo off, of course depending on the version of Company.
But I also feel that our Combo is more vulnerable to creature removal than something like KCI. Control is tougher for us than something like KCI, Ad Nauseam, or Storm.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I guess one of the best things about this deck is that it has many ways to win - Combo, Hate, or Combat damage grind. Plus, the silver bullets can be changed around. It's also super tough to choose silver bullets because large PPTQ metas can never be guessed. I've seen many players go away from Burrenton Forge-Tender, Selfless Spirit, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence. I've seen a lot of non-creature spells, ie. Path to Exile and Abrupt Decay. Sometimes discard, which I think is wrong and rare. I guess you mostly hedge against what you don't want to lose to. But then the deck you least expect creeps out of the woodworks.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Staff2-0 vs Eldrazi Tron, 2-1 vs Infect, 2-0 vs Hardened Scales Affinity, 2-1 vs Bant mirror (he played Queller's instead of Bugler's). Not a ton to talk about since the games are really playing out the same each time. With the addition of Militia Buglers I can slam the combo pretty much whenever I need too since digging for it is really easy, and this was a night of playing very uninteractive decks allowing me to combo as fast as I wanted. Pretty much every match I was sideboarding out the Knights and bringing in Spellskites and Paths, among other things. I didn't really get to play vs any midrange decks which my sideboard is tuned for. The good thing about that is that it means the maindeck is good enough to combo at the speed of some the best. Only changes to the deck I would do would be the addition of another Militia Bugler since that card has been insane and helps the deck be less graveyard dependent.
If you want to watch the Infect match you can here, and the Bant Company match here.
I have a player of the year championship on Saturday I may take this too since it's been doing so well, but I'm expecting a lot of UW Control to show up. At the last PPTQ at this store there was 6/47 pure UW Control which is scary. This will be an invite only tourney though, so possibly more KCI and Humans (less pet decks) which I'm fine with. I guess there are no haymaker cards that can beat UW Control while staying pure GW eh? Something like Pharika, God of Affliction vs GB decks.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
I like how you can coco in a bugler and see ten cards deep for 4 mana. That's sweet.
Stay reasonable, be mindful of your expectations and don't feed the trolls.
Doomsdayin'
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
StaffI don't think that's what you want vs UW Control. First off you have to find the card. Without Knight of the Reliquary, and only one Boseiju, Who Shelters All, you won't see it in most games. Second, it is only helping 8/60 cards in the deck, which is a pretty low 13.3% of cards. Postboard Chord of Calling isn't even that useful because putting a single creature into play isn't that impactful, and our board is often kept pretty low so it's a bit more mana than usual. Third, UW plays lots of Field of Ruins and they don't have any lands to hit except for Gavony Township, and now Boseiju. You will realistically get 1 activation out of it before it is destroyed. I think you'll be better off just trying to jam cards through their spells. Eternal Witness rebuys Company to keep the value train going, and a Company/Chord on their endstep will cause them to be tapped out allowing you to get a psedo-uncounterable spell.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
(off to watch the vids)
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)4x Vizier of Remedies
4x Duskwatch Recruiter
4x Devoted Druid
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Noble Hierarch
2x Walking Ballista
4x Eternal Witness
4x Militia Bugler
Spells(8)
4x Collected Company
4x Chord of Calling
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
2x Plains
3x Forest
2x Horizon Canopy
2x Temple Garden
3x Gavony Township
1x Marsh Flats
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Godless Shrine
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Sin Collector
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Qasali Pridemage
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
3 Path to Exile
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
I like it! This is the ultimate all-in Bugler list. I have been wanting to try Gaddock Teeg in the SB for a while now, but was mostly unsure of it with Company and Chord main deck. I'm assuming some Companies come out and it shuts down more than it hurts you, but I also am missing 2 foil Gaddock Teeg and don't want to run the list with 2 non foils, lol.
Let us know how it goes. I think I'm trying Laplasjan's list again tonight. Either that or Elves.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Jeskai Thing Ascension. Triple Lightning Bolt and some Snappies. Not enough pressure and I get there with some creatures after a Company. Viscera Seer was key in this one, allowing for scrys when creatures were marked for dead. In the next game, he got the Thing and I missed a land drop, which didn't allow me to rebuild enough in time, as 1 for 1 removal got creatures out of the way. In the final one, I make the correct SB call in adding 2 Abrupt Decay to the 3 Path to Exile. I didn't want to dilute the Collected Company, but literally Thing, Ascension, and maybe burn are the only ways I lose. I end up getting there with a key Sin Collector and Scavenging Ooze #2 is good to go. He ended up with 2 lands in hand in the end. I faced a lot of removal in this match, but only Game 2 with Thing put pressure on me. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Zoo. Noble Hierarch into double Wild Nacatl. Then the Bloodbraid Elf into Bolt got my Finks. I had Vizier and Chord in hand, so I was waiting for the tap out of Bloodbraid Elf to hit a creature so I could get a million life. Then I'm in the same situation with another Finks next turn. I tell him Bloodbraid Elf into Bolt and I will scoop. Bloodbraid Elf into … Lightning Helix! I'm not scooping yet. Creatures are attacking. Okay, I'm scooping. In the last game, I drop some creatures, which get killed. I am unable to double spell and his 2 lands are playing double 1 drop or a key 2 drop a turn, including Grafdigger's Cage, shutting down a Collected Company from hand. I proceed to draw another Collected Company AND a Chord (mind you I sided out 1 of each, knowing that this would happen). I can't quite get enough on board and Lightning Helix finishes me off when he draws a 3rd land finally to go with the Forest/Sacred Foundry. 0-2.
Round 3 vs. Titanshift. In the first game, he Bolts my Birds of Paradise, but I have Devoted Druid the next turn. Then he taps out for Bloodbraid Elf into Farseek (whew, thought it was Bolt with Devoted Druid on my side). I combo out the next turn. In the next game, I can't find Vizier of Remedies and he gets a lethal 18 point Scapeshift. Damping Sphere slowed me down a tiny bit, but if Duskwatch Recruiter hit Vizzy, I was good to go. In the next game, I combo out on turn 3 again. I am nearly guaranteed to get there. Collected Company X 2 and E Witness for a 3rd Company, sacrifice Horizon Canopy, then play a land for a Clue, sacrifice, all doesn't find me Duskwatch Recruiter, so I build my board. I also land Sin Collector during all these Companies to see triple land and Thragtusk with 2 Search for Tomorrow suspended. I pray for no Angry Gods and they are not indeed angry, with me getting there in 2 turns after I vomited the board with triple Company. After 1 hit, Anger of the Gods wouldn't have saved him because I had a big Tracker, but he had Thragtusk and a Valakut trigger, making me almost regret not playing the last Kitchen Finks from hand. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. UR Delver. He plays a million Bolts, Snappies, Cryptic, and then a midgame Delver gets me. Pretty embarrassing stuff. In the next game, Eidolon of Rhetoric wrecks him. I play it turn 2 on the play after Noble Hierarch and it wrecks him. He goes to block in the midgame with a 1/1 Delver and a flashed Nimble Obstructionist, but I Abrupt Decay and kill both. I end up drawing another Scavenging Ooze to go with one on board and had Sin Collector, which showed double Snapcaster Mage, too. When it rains, it pours. In the final game, he gets there with Delver and another creature by Bolting (and he had 1 Incinerate/1 Searing Spear/1 Harvest Pyre as well) creature after creature, and then the final Harvest Pyre to move the blocker out of the way after Cryptic Command on Scooze. Niiice! 1-2.
I finish 2-2. Faced 19 Lightning Bolts (8-3-3-5) and 6 Lightning Helix (3-3) in today's tournaments. It's not so bad, but mediocre draws in my opinion, get slaughtered by that backed up by a clock. I won the rounds when my opponent didn't have a lcock.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)For straight GW one card that used to see play for the control match up and mid-range grind was Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. This 5-0 GW List has 3 Gideon in the side.
As for the question of Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Read the card. Even in the GW list this land is terrible. It comes into play tapped. It produces colourless mana which makes it unplayable in Abzan. It is a bad choice against UWx control because even if you make your Coco or Chord uncounterable they generally have Path / Bolt / Helix to deal with one of the 2 or 3 combo pieces that need to be in play to make this resolve. Against control you have to play the long grindy game because comboing is very difficult due to the spot removal.
Reason I'm posting is that of the 26 people there, 7 of us were playing Druid combo in one flavor or another. I've not seen anyone in my area playing the deck in months and suddenly it's over 20% of the meta. I think it might have just been a fluke, but heads up; frequently playing the mirror might be on the horizon.
"Reveal a Dragon"