Played an FNM for the first time in months. Went 1-3 so not the best. The deck felt awful in basically all my matchups (and honestly never feels consistent when I play it). The list is in my sig, here were the matchups.
Game 1: Mono white death and taxes. Round 1 I combo off on turn 3. Round 2 is a grind but drawing into 3x Kitchen Finks keeps me alive and eventually I win with beat down. 2-0 win.
Game 2: Sultai Control. I've never played against this before (In fact I didn't even know it was a thing). Round 1 I can't find the combo and by turn 4 he has full control and I lost. Round 2 I manage to bring him to 3 life with early aggression, then he stabilizes and I can't finish as he keeps me off combo and has answers for all my stuff. 45 minute grind for me to just scoop once I realize I can't win and he has a million mana for his nonsense. 0-2 lose.
Game 3: Bant spirits. Round 1 he kills me with pumped flying lords + spirits, I didn't have much of a chance to do anything. Round 2 he keeps me off combo consistently and I lose to beatdowns again. 0-2 lose.
Game 4: The Rock, BG. Round 1 he kills me with beatdowns from Goyf after taking my Devoted druid away on turn 1. I never find any other combo pieces. Round 2 he has Khalitas and Goyf beat downs again + tons of removal. I don't find any sideboard cards that can help me win. 0-2 lose.
Overall I'm quite frustrated with this deck. I've been playing it for nearly 2 years, and every time I attend an FNM, I lose almost every game I play. To make it worse, when I play with friends, I also lose almost all the time with this deck. The deck can win out of nowhere sometimes, but most of the time I find myself either missing a combo piece, or being disrupted too much to do anything. Very, very frustrated with this deck. It only seems to work when the opponent doesn't have interaction, but even then it will lose to not finding combo pieces, mana flooding, or other luck related events.
If WAR doesn't change the deck meaningfully, I'm going to sell it and move on. This deck just feels like an awful choice in this meta and falls apart to anything that has a clock + interacts, and also loses to faster combo decks that don't interact. Basically every deck in the format right now is better than this garbage.
@Arkaedrian: No offense, but I think the problems are with how you're playing, not with the decklist. Have you read SaintDoom's SB guide? Are you committing to the strategy switch?
Sultai Control game 2 you should have been a grind deck, not a combo deck.
Sounds like you didn't mulligan properly against Spirits.
Rock is tough, but the only SB card you REALLY need is some removal for their Kalitas/Scooze.
If you want a change, I highly recommend you look into one of the many variants of this deck. Neoform and Finale of Devastation (both from WAR) provide a big boost to the very-combo-oriented versions.
I agree that it's probably a mix of me making mistakes, plus not having enough experience against different matchups. That said, the deck still feels incredibly weak against anything that has interruption + a clock, which is basically every deck in the format.
Could you link Saint Dooms SB guide? It's not in the main post and I can't seem to find it.
It feels like counters company is in a similar place as infect in the format right now. Both decks will get some free wins since they can end the game as early as turn 3, but they rely on creatures to get there so we are vulnerable to every single type of interaction. Discard takes the combo pieces we need, counters stop us on the stack, and removal kills our creatures before we can win. All of the best decks in the format push on a unique axis that invalidates some amount of interaction present in the format. For example, tron doesn't care about your fatal pushes and bolts, humans is basically immune to counter-spells thanks to vial and cavern. And other decks like dredge require such a specific form of interaction that that often can't be interacted with until after side-boarding. Long story short, I feel like decks like coco and infect are decent tier 2 options since they present their strong proactive game-plans, but just aren't as resilient as the tier 1 decks in the format. I think we need to innovate to either go faster through the combo or present a more resilient game-plan that can't be disrupted by all of the commonly played interaction in the format.
@wolffman: Counters Company can change its gameplan as the situation requires. Given your analysis, it sounds like you're not changing tactics when appropriate. You need SaintDoom's SB guide too!
Thanks for the link the this SB guide. I've found it good except for Tron : enter removal and knight of automn, and "be fast with druid" seems very limited against one of the most popular deck in modern.
Anyone has more options? Personally I'm playing field of ruins main + surgical extraction SB but I'm not sure how many of each I should play
I happen to agree strongly with you there. I run 2x Eldritch Evolution in my SB for times when you just need to be FAST. Card disadvantage is unfortunate, but sometimes racing your opponent is the best plan.
I'm all for playable 1 drops in this deck. I think giver of runes plays exceptionally well with devoted druid based on the way that they naturally curve together. Turn 1 giver of runes followed by turn 2 druid puts us in a great position where two removal spells are needed to prevent us from un-tapping with a druid. It is yet another must kill creature that will help to strain opponents removal which I think is a net positive for the deck. I may drop all of my black cards and the finks combo and try to build a G/W deck focused on the devoted combo with gavony township and knight of the reliquary as the back-up plan.
RCE goes straight in the main for added protection when trying to combo and his etb trigger is amazing at getting a 1 drop or less that might not be that great until you realize that he can search for Stepmom for even more protection, Viscera Seer(combo piece) , Walking Ballista(combo piece), and even a mana dork to clutter the board for swings with a Mirror Entity if you should run one( which I think you should somewhere in the 75 because Ensnaring Bridge can be troublesome if we can't assemble the combo). All this on a 3/3 that you can sac to prevent your opp from casting noncreature spells that turn!
I had originally included Unbound Flourishing in the 3 but, lucasbpc, showed me that it wasn't as good as I thought it was so I edited my overzealous, and horribly incorrect, interpretation of the card and replaced it with Plague Engineer. You can read a few posts down about this bad boy.
Giver of a Runes aka Stepmom. Pretty straightforward. 1 Ranger- Captain, 1 Spellskite, 1 Stepmom is the bees knees for mees. Couldn't be happier with this versatile package. If you can get both her and Spellskite out you can redirect removal to Skite then give it protection! Hahahahaha. Why wouldn't you want that forever!!
I didn't use the Unbound Flourishing yet because I don't know what to shave for it and other other cards with x. I think Cabal Therapist is strong against control and combo and am hoping the interaction with it and finks makes it's inclusion worth it but I'd not then I'll likely cut it for Flourishing.
I think Cabal Therapist is where I want to be though. Having so many opportunities to flash it in at opp's eot, grabbing it off of RCE, or just early casting it either eats up a removal spell or I get to trigger it's ability and name a card that could blow me out if I try to combo. Extra points for sacking a Finks to it.
And I forgot to mention Plague Engineer's inclusion into my 75. Im anticipating Sliver decks. They were before my time but so many people love them that I can't imagine not seeing people trying to field bcompetitive brews with some of the new ones spoiled in MH. That rw one is pretty insane. Engineer is great against humans if I can play it turn 2 and I'm on the play. Otherwise it just soaks up a little damage which might be enough but 2 on board most likely means they'll never have a board. And it's great against hardened scales. Either double up on naming construct or name blinkmoth to nerf their Inkmoth Nexus so they can't activate it refraining from losing to poison. With Plague Engineer you can also cripple infect, which got a new toy to play with.
Eladamri's Call becoming legal in the format is very neat as it just adds to our arsenal of single-creature tutors. It could open up the Aether Vial version of the deck that people have tried before as you can EOT tutor for a Druid, and then Vial it in. If Company is dropped for it then it removes the 3cmc restriction of the deck which opens up a lot of potentials...
Game 1: Mono white death and taxes. Round 1 I combo off on turn 3. Round 2 is a grind but drawing into 3x Kitchen Finks keeps me alive and eventually I win with beat down. 2-0 win.
Game 2: Sultai Control. I've never played against this before (In fact I didn't even know it was a thing). Round 1 I can't find the combo and by turn 4 he has full control and I lost. Round 2 I manage to bring him to 3 life with early aggression, then he stabilizes and I can't finish as he keeps me off combo and has answers for all my stuff. 45 minute grind for me to just scoop once I realize I can't win and he has a million mana for his nonsense. 0-2 lose.
Game 3: Bant spirits. Round 1 he kills me with pumped flying lords + spirits, I didn't have much of a chance to do anything. Round 2 he keeps me off combo consistently and I lose to beatdowns again. 0-2 lose.
Game 4: The Rock, BG. Round 1 he kills me with beatdowns from Goyf after taking my Devoted druid away on turn 1. I never find any other combo pieces. Round 2 he has Khalitas and Goyf beat downs again + tons of removal. I don't find any sideboard cards that can help me win. 0-2 lose.
Overall I'm quite frustrated with this deck. I've been playing it for nearly 2 years, and every time I attend an FNM, I lose almost every game I play. To make it worse, when I play with friends, I also lose almost all the time with this deck. The deck can win out of nowhere sometimes, but most of the time I find myself either missing a combo piece, or being disrupted too much to do anything. Very, very frustrated with this deck. It only seems to work when the opponent doesn't have interaction, but even then it will lose to not finding combo pieces, mana flooding, or other luck related events.
If WAR doesn't change the deck meaningfully, I'm going to sell it and move on. This deck just feels like an awful choice in this meta and falls apart to anything that has a clock + interacts, and also loses to faster combo decks that don't interact. Basically every deck in the format right now is better than this garbage.
RWG Burn
GW Abzan Company
Sultai Control game 2 you should have been a grind deck, not a combo deck.
Sounds like you didn't mulligan properly against Spirits.
Rock is tough, but the only SB card you REALLY need is some removal for their Kalitas/Scooze.
If you want a change, I highly recommend you look into one of the many variants of this deck. Neoform and Finale of Devastation (both from WAR) provide a big boost to the very-combo-oriented versions.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
Could you link Saint Dooms SB guide? It's not in the main post and I can't seem to find it.
RWG Burn
GW Abzan Company
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DDrBtHUJ2F9Z8VINdYIBWJeJDtOEsK0oqKP1UgkHBSM/edit?usp=sharing
@wolffman: Counters Company can change its gameplan as the situation requires. Given your analysis, it sounds like you're not changing tactics when appropriate. You need SaintDoom's SB guide too!
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
Anyone has more options? Personally I'm playing field of ruins main + surgical extraction SB but I'm not sure how many of each I should play
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
SCG Modern IQ Glassboro, 1st Place
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1907944#paper
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
2 Eternal Witness
4 Militia Bugler
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Vizier of Remedies
1 Walking Ballista
3 Finale of Devastation
4 Collected Company
3 Forest
3 Gemstone Caverns
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
3 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
1 Auriok Champion
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Vivien's Arkbow
2 Dismember
1 Gavony Township
2 Knight of Autumn
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Tocatli Honor Guard
That shell has been around for a while. It is very probable that Neoform is a strict upgrade over Incubation/Incongruity.
I watched a stream of this deck. It mulligans VERY badly, but it does have some fantastically strong hands.
Legacy: Strawberry Shortcake, Aggro Loam, DnT+b
Modern: Devoted Karn
Vintage: Survival
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Modern Horizons/Giver of Runes#paper
I think I'd like to have mother of runes in the deck
Ranger-Captain of Eos
Plague Engineer
Giver of Runes aka Stepmom
RCE goes straight in the main for added protection when trying to combo and his etb trigger is amazing at getting a 1 drop or less that might not be that great until you realize that he can search for Stepmom for even more protection, Viscera Seer(combo piece) , Walking Ballista(combo piece), and even a mana dork to clutter the board for swings with a Mirror Entity if you should run one( which I think you should somewhere in the 75 because Ensnaring Bridge can be troublesome if we can't assemble the combo). All this on a 3/3 that you can sac to prevent your opp from casting noncreature spells that turn!
I had originally included Unbound Flourishing in the 3 but, lucasbpc, showed me that it wasn't as good as I thought it was so I edited my overzealous, and horribly incorrect, interpretation of the card and replaced it with Plague Engineer. You can read a few posts down about this bad boy.
Giver of a Runes aka Stepmom. Pretty straightforward. 1 Ranger- Captain, 1 Spellskite, 1 Stepmom is the bees knees for mees. Couldn't be happier with this versatile package. If you can get both her and Spellskite out you can redirect removal to Skite then give it protection! Hahahahaha. Why wouldn't you want that forever!!
1ST DRAFT
CREATURES 29
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Devoted Druid
3 Vizier of Remedies
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Duskwatch Recruiter
2 Eternal Witness
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
1 Spellskite
1 Giver of Runes
1 Viscera Seer
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Walking Ballista
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Knight of Autumn
INSTANT/SORCERIES 8
4 Chord of Calling
4 Collected Company
ARTIFACTS 2
2 Vivien's Arkbow
LANDS 21
4 Windswept Heath
3 Razorverge Thicket
3 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Nurturing Peatland
2 Forest
1 Plains
2 Gavony Township
SIDEBOARD 15
2 Cabal Therapist
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Eternal Witness
1 Remorseful Cleric
3 Path to Exile
1 Plague Engineer
1 Mirror Entity
1 Sin Collector
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Kataki, War's Wage
I didn't use the Unbound Flourishing yet because I don't know what to shave for it and other other cards with x. I think Cabal Therapist is strong against control and combo and am hoping the interaction with it and finks makes it's inclusion worth it but I'd not then I'll likely cut it for Flourishing.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge