Gifts Ungiven is one of the most powerful and flexible tutors printed in Magic. It allows you to force cards in your graveyard at instant speed or fuel the graveyard while getting a needed card or effect in your hand. Early printings necessitated the knowledge of rule 7041.14b to maximize its power but newer printings state, "Up to 4 cards" clarifying that point of confusion for those unfamiliar with the deck.
The deck in general is a reactive control deck with a combo finisher. It aims to use discard and removal to control the board and create an opening where you can cast Gifts at your opponent's end step. Depending on the build you can cast Gifts as early as turn 3 and most versions of the deck aim to cheat in an Elesh Norn or an Iona to lock the opposing player long enough to close out the game. But as you'll see later there are plenty of combos and locks that can be assembled off of Gifts (no wonder it is banned in Commander).
Gifts is one of the more skill intensive decks in the format. It requires the pilot to know the meta, what piles work for each match up, and quickly identify the opposing deck so the right pile can be deployed. The deck also requires the pilot to be fast and be aware of the time for rounds as many match ups will go to Game 3 and the deck rarely losses or wins quickly.
The best match ups for this deck are low threat density decks, small creatures and decks that rely heavily on a single color. Small Creatures and decks that rely primarily on a single color will lose to Iona and Elesh Norn reanimation tactic while low threat density decks will have a hard time keeping their threat out for more than a turn.
The worst match up for Gifts is any variant of Tron. The removal suite is geared towards dealing with creatures, and the unburial targets don't line up with Tron's threats.
When you present a pile of cards to your opponent they get to pick which 2 go to the grave. During our primary use of Gifts this is not a concern as that is where we want them to go. However there will be times where your selection of cards will not be limited to 2 and your opponents choice matters more. In those cases the selection will either be for card advantage or be a deterministic pile. Deterministic Piles are ones that are designed to guarantee a given outcome. The easiest version of a deterministic pile is our wrath pile- we tutor for 3 wraths of different names and a random value card. No matter what the opponent selects we will get to wrath.
Our main deck building constriction is in the Name of the card. While most decks naturally want to run 4 of their main cards to maximize the odds of seeing their cards every game, we must look at the effect of the card and try to find cards that are very similar in effect if not an exact functional reprint. An example of this would be a split of Detention Sphere and Maelstrom Pulse these are both 3 cmc sorcery speed removal that removes the target and all other of the same name.
When rounding out your decklist look for cards that have recursive abilities like Dredge, Retrace, Jumpstart and Flashback.
*TIP* Most lists running more than one basic of a given type will use one snow covered basic of that type as that is considered a different name even though it is the same basic.
When evaluating any Gifts based combo you need to look at the total mana cost, as at max you'll have 5 mana available to you after casting Gifts at your opponent's end step and untapping (provided you are casting Gifts as soon as you have the mana for it.). The most powerful combos are ones that any of their 6 combinations can be completed for 4 mana or less as this provides the least amount of time for the opponent to interact with your pile of choice.
Unburial Combo Unburial Rites + Fatty (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite | Iona, Shield Of Emeria)) You use rule: 701.14b If a player is searching a hidden zone for cards with a stated quality, such as a card with a certain card type or color, that player isn't required to find some or all of those cards even if they're present in that zone.
This is our primary combo in the deck and is always in the mainboard.
High Value Target Snapcaster Mage + Noxious Revival + Value Card + High Value Card
Snapcaster Mage and Noxious Revival means any one card can be accessed. As they either give you the card outright or you make it your next draw by putting the card on top with a Noxious Revival or Snapcaster plus Noxious on your upkeep.
High Value Target Version 2 Eternal Witness + Unearth + Value Card + High Value Card
Ewit and Unearth work much in the same way as Snap + Noxious. They either give you the card out right our you can cast Ewit to get it or use unearth to reanimate Ewit and get the card.
3 of a Kind Day of Judgment + Wrath of God|Damnation +Supreme Verdict + High Value Card
Any effect can be tutored up at will following this recipe (3 of the effects and a value card most commonly Lingering Souls) This is most commonly seen when Gifting for a set of wraths. In the event you do not have 3 different cards on a given effect recursion can fill in but may impact how fast you can use the effect.
Many of the cards listed below can fit into more than one category. Choice and Flexibility are hallmarks of good cards in our deck design. The category they are listed are the most common reason to consider them.
Discard/Hand Control
Raven's Crime
Recursive discard spell part of a combo with Life from the Loam can also be used to dump a prematurely drawn Gifts piece.
Duress
Budget builds use it in place of premier discard but also sees play in the sideboard of some lists
Inquisition of Kozilek
The key piece of discard for our deck. We can lock opponents out by turn 4 so 99% of the time the CMC requirement is not a concern
Thoughtseize
Some lists run a split with IoK but due to the life loss our mana base requires it is usually sideboard.
Esper Charm
Instant speed mind rot with other options if they don't have cards to discard and can also be used to dump a prematurely drawn Gifts piece.. The WBU is hard for most builds.
Liliana of the Veil
Our deck is already good at discarding as many cards are recursive or we actively want to have them in the grave. Some lists have run her to great affect others have not ran her for various reasons including her double black CMC.
Collective Brutality
Another example of a card that is useful for causing discard while giving our deck the option to discard unwanted cards or set get more value from a recursive card.
Spot Removal
Assassin's Trophy
In many ways this is the best removal available. Able to get any permanent lands included helps our matchup against Tron.
Maelstrom Pulse
A singleton inclusion in any green list being able to clean up a board of tokens or deal with any permanent is great. Unlike Detention Sphere there is nothing left behind for them to get their card back.
Declaration in Stone
A budget variant of Maelstrom Pulse but with the drawback that it can only hit creatures. Some lists without green may also run it. The exile is a great upside as recursive creatures are common in Modern.
Anguished Unmaking
Exile removal on any nonland is nice but the life loss can be an issue in some builds and matchups. Avoid having this and Thoughtseize in the same deck as the combined life loss and the mana base may very well strand them in your hand.
Path to Exile –
Pure exile-based removal of any creature most decks run multiple copies.
*TIP* Remember that you can use these on your own creatures (tokens and Snapcaster Mage) if necessary, for mana fixing and ramp.
Fatal Push
Our mana base is generally full of fetches to turning on Revolt is trivial for most lists.
Mass Removal
Damnation/Wrath of God
Color shifted 4CMC wraths that prevent regeneration one or both is usually main to allow for wrath-based Gift Piles.
Languish/ Yahenni's Expertise
Budget option to Damnation, but also useful for making one-sided Wraths. While it is a mass removal some boards may not die to a simple -4/-4 or -3/-3.
Supreme Verdict
The mana cost will generally make this a sideboard card as WWU is hard to guarantee without leaning heavy on white.
Day of Judgment
Generally a one of to complete the trifecta of wraths.
Settle the Wreckage
Exile based wrath but only for attackers. We normally hold up mana on turn 4 so many opponents won't see it coming the first time and will be more hesitant to attack in future games.
Champion of Wits
Allows you to sculpt your hand on Turn 3 and refills your hand in the late game. At best he's a one of due to his sorcery speed restriction.
Vendilion Clique
One of the best blue creatures ever. If you're heavy on blue mana sources, you could theoretically support this card. It can be great at dumping a Gifts piece you draw prematurely
Radical Idea/Chemister's Insight
Jumpstart is a great way to get unwanted draws out of our hands, no showings as of yet with these cards though.
Serum Visions
Becoming a format staple for blue decks. Cheap and sets up your next few draws.
Opt, Anticipate or Telling Time
Instant speed dig that allows you to dodge drawing cards you would rather tutor for with Gifts.
Compulsive Research
The rare ability to create raw card advantage could be useful, but we rarely want to discard lands in this deck. Thirst for Knowledge is another option.
Bring to Light
An instant all-star in a 4+ color builds since you can search up just about anything in your list, particularly Gifts Ungiven. Could be useful for getting key sideboard cards in some matchups.
Alternative Reanimation Targets
Terastodon
If used it is in the sideboard and for dealing with Tron exclusively.
Ashen Rider
Could see play as a non green version of Terastodon. Exile is a great clause and not giving the opponent creatures is nice.
Empyrial Archangel
Sometimes used in place of Iona, Shield of Emeria as a reanimation target. A little more versatile and certainly more durable. Impossible for burn to deal with.
Blazing Archon
Impossible for creature decks to deal with outside of removal.
Inkwell Leviathan
Fast clock that can't be targeted. No results as of yet.
Obzedat, Ghost Council
Sometimes seen in decks built around Goryo's Vengeance once on the field it effectively hits for 7 and can't be removed outside of instant speed interactions.
Recursion
Noxious Revival
Can be paired with Snapcaster Mage to get any card from your deck. Can be used in Esper builds due to its Phyrexian mana cost.
*Tip* It says any graveyard so this can be used to stop opposing reanimation decks or to guarantee the opponent does not draw an out for a turn.
Snapcaster Mage
Nearly as important as Gifts itself. He is your second copy of any spell tutored or previously cast.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
A shining star of Rock, BUG, and Grix decks as of late. But insight from Ben Vrbo suggests that delving and activating him are both awkward in this particular deck.
Eternal Witness
Pseudo Snapcaster Mage - only for green heavy lists. Can get back Unburial Rites so you can cast it twice. Can pair with Sun titan and Rites to guarantee any card you want in the late game.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
Jace VP for short. He's not quite as good as Snapcaster or Briefing being that he has to flip to buy back a spell. But he can filter your hand which is great, and some lists run him with Goryo's Vengeance to mitigate the lack of haste.
Sun Titan
Brings back your Lily, Eternal Witness, or even a land if need be. Recursion is the name of our game and Sun Titan fits the bill. Create a soft-lock against control/combo with Fulminator Mage.
Mission Briefing
No results yet but this could be used as a budget Snapcaster Mage and the way its worded the opponent must respond prior to the spell resolving to keep you from casting the card and even if they exile the graveyard you get to potentially bin 2 cards to fuel it.
Utility Creatures of Note
Birds of Paradise and Sylvan Caryatid
Most commonly seen in 4 color variants as the extra color requires a little more fixing. BoP has synergy with Gavony Township but dies to any removal. Caryatid is a turn slower but can block some creatures and is generally impossible to remove without your consent (wraths, edicts or chump blocking)
Grim Flayer
2 mana beat stick that can fuel our graveyard/ dig through our deck. Most lists won't have too hard of a time turning delirium on for him to be a 4/4.
Tarmogoyf
Standard beat stick in green based decks. Our deck design has no issues getting it to 5/6 or 6/7 fairly easily.
Knight of the Reliquary
Useful if taking advantage of a Loam/Crime package, can be used to find utility lands like Ghost Quarter or Bojuka Bog and can ramp if needed provided you have lands to get.
*Tip* With KoR you can tutor for a fetchland and use that fetchland to get a land you need effectively growing +2/+2 on a single activation. If you get a Ghost Quarter in place of the fetchland and blow up your own land you can get +3/+3
Knight of Autumn
This creature does so much so well. She can blow up artifacts and enchantments, gain life and apply pressure as needed. If you find yourself needing a card or two to fill up the 75 you can't do better than KoA.
Grave Titan
Can easily be casted in heavy black builds or reanimated as needed. Comes in as 10 power across 3 bodies and still impacts the board if removed immediately (basically a necessity for any fatty you consider).
Lifegain Options
These cards are mostly for side boarded, but some are used main deck.
Kitchen Finks
Guaranteed 2 life and barring exile based removal it gains us 4 life and a trade or chump block.
Baneslayer Angel/Lyra Dawnbringer
The first strike helps to hold off attackers the 5-point lifegain allows you to swing out and force a race. A one of or 1/1 split is right to prevent Lyra's legendary typing to be an issue. The protection provided by Baneslayer is rarely if ever relevant while the lord effect from Lyra can pair with Iona meaning if only one is used Lyra should be your choice.
Timely Reinforcements
More often than not we will be at the lower life total and behind on board allowing for Timely to make 3 1/1's and give us 6 life which buys a lot of time to truly stabilize.
Thragtusk
Strong body and a huge life swing that leaves a decent body if removed. This is a strong card for many lists running green but it's high CMC generally means only one is used.
Nihil Spellbomb
Maindeckable in the right meta. At worst it cycles for 1B. Can always be cracked even with no mana open.
Bojuka Bog
Grave hate on a land. Great with KoR to tutor it out, but can also be found with a variation of the Loam/Crime package. Since it's a land that causes a triggered ability it dodges most counters which is nice.
Kaya's Guile
New kid on the block. Early reports are this is maindeckable due to its versatility.
Fracturing Gust and Cleansing Nova
Affinity, Bogles and Whir based Decks. Though getting to 5 mana is scary against these decks. Most would opt for Engineered Explosives + Academy Ruins.
Stony Silence
Great for Affinity, Tron and Whir based decks that rely on artifact ability.
Thrun, the Last Troll
Uncounterable and Hexproof makes this a nightmare for the control matches. Regenerate means it can block for days if needed.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa
This card hoses Abzan and Death's Shadow based decks. With the premier removal of the format being Path to Exile and Fatal Push he effectively has Hexproof. Very powerful but dead in some match-ups so sideboard is probably his home. Its nearly impossible to turn on the second part of him so evaluate him only as a 4/4 lifelink with protection.
Spellskite
Metas with high rates of bogles or infect should look to this allstar. Stealing their pump spells and enchantments is amazing.
Pithing Needle/Sorcerous Spyglass
Allows you to stop anything with an activated ability. From Fetchlands to Planeswalkers. Spyglass costs more but you get the information on what's in their hand.
Runed Halo
This is a great way to stick it to low threat density decks or Valakut based decks.
Unmoored Ego
We finally got a version of slaughter games and its at 3 mana which is great as on the play you can name a Tron land. Also is great for dealing with any combo based decks.
Damping Sphere
Storm and Tron hate great to have 1 or 2 in the board.
Ghost Quarter,Tectonic Edge and Field of Ruin
Generally great for dealing with opposing man lands and helps with Tron and Valukut based decks. Limit it to 2 in the main deck as the colorless mana they produce can cause issues with casting double color spells.
Gavony Township
Generally seen in the more midrange type builds that run small creatures up to Siege Rhino. Has nice synergy with Kitchen Finks allowing you to keep the finks gaining you life and blocking.
Bojuka Bog
Gravehate on a land. Can be grabbed with Gifts as part of the Loam/Crime package to keep an opposing graveyard under control and is nice as it can't be countered. Is a great inclusion with Knight of the Reliquary as it can be tutored into play at instant speed.
The deck in general has been floating around since Modern's inception. Variations of the list have been streamed by many of the MTG Content Creators and piloted with strong finishes in many tournaments. Some notable variations of this deck are:
These lists are sourced from MTGTop8.com and aim to show how the deck has changed with new sets and Bannings. Weight was given to Tournament size with the largest Tournaments list being used as the larger tournaments having a stronger performance needed for the same finish placement.
*Thanks to DNC at HOTP Studios for our banner*
**Special Thanks to izzetmage for his guide to Gifts Ungiven**
All the Magic Content Creators who have streamed the many variations of our deck archetype
Hopefully everyone likes the new primer. I wasn't aware updating it would require remaking the thread, so hopefully everyone is ok with the change. On the plus side since the primer is in my name, I can edit and update it as frequent as everyone likes. So if you want a card added to the discussion tab or have come up with a deterministic/synergistic pile I can add those too.
Sure, this might draw some fresh attention to the archetype, although the current prevalence of graveyard hate is an issue. Let me mention that your section on mass removal mentions Crime // Punishment as a way of getting rid of Jace VP, which is certainly incorrect, not only because a flipped Jace VP has CMC 2. In the Loam/Crime package the usual choice includes Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth for the maximum amount of black mana while Tectonic Edge is generally preferred against UWx archetypes as it keeps them off Cryptic Command and cleanly deals with active Colonnades (or Tar Pits, as both require at least 4 lands). I haven't tried it yet but instead of one of the utility lands (i.e. Academy Ruins), Blast Zone might be worth an inclusion. A notable mention could also be Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, I have quite liked him as a 1-of in the mainboard so far, especially against decks without much interaction and a bunch of graveyard synergies. The lifelink and the bolt-proof toughness help a lot as well.
Regarding the content of the primer, I think one could give some sort of rough guideline towards building certain variations of 4C (or Esper, if you want) Gifts. This kind of thing exists for e.g. GBx archetypes, specifying the number of discard spells, the number of removal, flex slots and so forth. I have most experience with the version heavily relying on B, so I can for sure come up with a rough blueprint for people trying to explore the archetype. Just let me know, I can send you the write-up as a PN and you can update the primer accordingly.
EOT-
Crime/Punishment- I just included what was in the primer. I haven't seen a version use is to date so I think it might just get dropped.
loam/crime I can update with the details.
Kalitas- can you do a small write up about him and I think there might be room for a tip about his trigger and wraths
I could definitely see a section in the Deck Construction breaking down the general build for the common variants. I think these would be the main variants:
4C
4C Heavy Black
Esper
Esper Goryo's
NerdSoda- you are right on the activation count. I was thinking +3 if you get a GQ and GQ your own land. I'll update the Tip.
I've married, bought a house, and had two children since I wrote the original primer so I hardly have the time to update. Your help is greatly appreciated.
That being said, I've been working diligently on a Red/x version that utilizes Seasoned Pyromancer as I feel it's an insane power house in this kind of deck. At the current meta game status, graveyard hate is too pervasive for me to test at the upcoming GP Vegas, but I may try out my list at a few of the side events. Basically my concept is a Mardu control shell with a blue splash for Snap, Jace, and Gifts
Sure, I'll include a section on his interaction with board wipes, although that's a well-known thing I guess. Regarding the deck construction breakdown, there are also multiple ways to build an Esper list, basically more heavily on U with counters as 'traditional' control or mostly B more similar to a streamlined version of the black-heavy 4C build, both with up and downsides in given environments. I also briefly tried a Bant Midrange approach with Voice of Resurgence and the Knightfall combo, splashing B for Rites and sideboard stuff but it did poorly at the local FNM (against Tron, Bogles, Jeskai Ascendancy, KCI).
I like the 'Moist' Mardu list FuneralofGod is presenting, Looting and Pyro are a quite natural fit I think. The land count is a little low (although Looting somewhat mitigates this), how did this work for you so far? The role of Decay/Trophy/Pulse is more or less taken care of by Terminate/Dreadbore and to some extent also Bolts, have you noticed the lack of inevitability against non-creature and/or non-planeswalker permanents? Liliana as a 1-of sounds odd, I would not go below 4 if the mana can support it, but again, I have no idea how this list plays out. Regarding the banning of Looting, I think it's not too likely, it also kills Mardu Pyromancers and weakens Dredge and Phoenix while doing too little against Hogaak.
I am a fan of the list though. It actually gave me an idea for the singleton version I was working on. Maybe I take it 5c to get as many "redundant" copies as possible, playing it a bit more like Jund splashing UW.
I am a fan of the list though. It actually gave me an idea for the singleton version I was working on. Maybe I take it 5c to get as many "redundant" copies as possible, playing it a bit more like Jund splashing UW.
It's just a splash, so I found 'wet' to be inappropriate. Also, alliterations.
You might want to include one or two Pentad Prism in your list and have a look at Bring to Light, I tried this a year or so ago with moderate success, it is pretty janky. Sakura Tribe Elder did quite some work, I also included a Kiki-Jiki with a Restoration Angel and Thragtusk as an additional combo, just for the value. I still have a list saved somewhere, I can PM it to you if you want.
I have to agree Funeral's list is one heck of a spicy list. Cleric + Titan seems hot as a way to keep grave decks under control. Though I think I'll keep tinkering with my list, don't have the time or spare money to retool my list that much.
Seasoned Pyro pitching graveyard pieces and being able to be Sun Titan'ed back seems really good too.
I'm wondering if Smiting Helix is also worth a spot; Gifts into Bolt, Smiting and Lightning Helix's, and Snapcaster, ask OP how they prefer their 6 damage?
If I continue playing singleton Gifts, it would let me play Mardu Charm as well, which is a pet card.
I really would like 23 land, but in my first few variations I was getting flooded so I dropped to 22. Sooner I'd like to fit another Unearth because that card is broken in modern
There is a tremendous amount of synergy in the moist Mardu list. I really miss having a catch-all like Trophy Or Decay. I'm even considering Bedevil
Smiting Helix is too cute, also it's only a Sorcery which has been my gripe with the card since day 1
Seasoned Pyromancer is the reason to play this deck. I wanted to include more copies of LOTV but she takes longer to generate value than SP. Also I'd love to have a few more copies of Lingering Souls (since I want to win off the back of Elesh Norn) but yet again, SP does their job just fine while refilling my hand
I keep going back and forth between Fulminator and Remorseful Cleric in the main. Fulminator is generally better against my worst match-ups (Tron and UWx) but graveyard aggro is so prevalent right now that it makes much more sense to keep the Cleric main
Finally - I don't think they will ever ban Faithless Looting in modern. There's too much invested into it,just like Brainstorm in legacy
@funeral- any thought on these cards to fill the catchall slots normally held by trophy /decay/pulse slots:
Generous gift (color shifted beast within) Giving a 3/3 is not great but its truly a catchall and only needing white is not to be underestimated in a 4 color list. I could see bedevil's bbr being an issue. Anguished unmaking - exile is nice but I can see the life loss being an issue with Thoughtsiezes in the list. Detention sphere and deputy of detention - deputy could be extra strong in your list with titan and unearth. But of course both detentions struggle from leaving a way for the opponent to get their card/s back.
3 mana is a whole lot more than 2 unfortunately, so I can't really get behind any of these options. I'll point out that in modern, cards that cost 3+ mana should generate card advantage. Maelstrom Pulse gets away with it in Jund because sometimes it's free off BBE. In this respect, Deputy is the best choice but it's honestly the least attractive to me. It's nice that it can come back with Titan but I don't want to rely on blue for any more than I have to. And for that matter I'd like to lean off white a bit more too, but Path is so good right now.
If/when the meta shifts after the next B&R announcement, I could see possibly playing a Grixis shell with a white splash. But currently PTE is the best spot removal in the format (mainly because of Hogaak & Phoenix)
4 Color Gifts Ungiven
(Hence force known as 4C Gifts)
https://discord.gg/JwqJUx9
.
Gifts Ungiven is one of the most powerful and flexible tutors printed in Magic. It allows you to force cards in your graveyard at instant speed or fuel the graveyard while getting a needed card or effect in your hand. Early printings necessitated the knowledge of rule 7041.14b to maximize its power but newer printings state, "Up to 4 cards" clarifying that point of confusion for those unfamiliar with the deck.
The deck in general is a reactive control deck with a combo finisher. It aims to use discard and removal to control the board and create an opening where you can cast Gifts at your opponent's end step. Depending on the build you can cast Gifts as early as turn 3 and most versions of the deck aim to cheat in an Elesh Norn or an Iona to lock the opposing player long enough to close out the game. But as you'll see later there are plenty of combos and locks that can be assembled off of Gifts (no wonder it is banned in Commander).
Gifts is one of the more skill intensive decks in the format. It requires the pilot to know the meta, what piles work for each match up, and quickly identify the opposing deck so the right pile can be deployed. The deck also requires the pilot to be fast and be aware of the time for rounds as many match ups will go to Game 3 and the deck rarely losses or wins quickly.
The best match ups for this deck are low threat density decks, small creatures and decks that rely heavily on a single color. Small Creatures and decks that rely primarily on a single color will lose to Iona and Elesh Norn reanimation tactic while low threat density decks will have a hard time keeping their threat out for more than a turn.
The worst match up for Gifts is any variant of Tron. The removal suite is geared towards dealing with creatures, and the unburial targets don't line up with Tron's threats.
When you present a pile of cards to your opponent they get to pick which 2 go to the grave. During our primary use of Gifts this is not a concern as that is where we want them to go. However there will be times where your selection of cards will not be limited to 2 and your opponents choice matters more. In those cases the selection will either be for card advantage or be a deterministic pile. Deterministic Piles are ones that are designed to guarantee a given outcome. The easiest version of a deterministic pile is our wrath pile- we tutor for 3 wraths of different names and a random value card. No matter what the opponent selects we will get to wrath.
Hand | Graveyard
AB | CD
AD | BC
AC | BD
BD | AC
BC | AD
CD | AB
Our main deck building constriction is in the Name of the card. While most decks naturally want to run 4 of their main cards to maximize the odds of seeing their cards every game, we must look at the effect of the card and try to find cards that are very similar in effect if not an exact functional reprint. An example of this would be a split of Detention Sphere and Maelstrom Pulse these are both 3 cmc sorcery speed removal that removes the target and all other of the same name.
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Unburial Rites
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
23 Lands
6 Discard
6 Removal
3 Wraths
When rounding out your decklist look for cards that have recursive abilities like Dredge, Retrace, Jumpstart and Flashback.
*TIP*
Most lists running more than one basic of a given type will use one snow covered basic of that type as that is considered a different name even though it is the same basic.
2 Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
1 Champion of Wits
Lands
1 Field of Ruin
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
3 Windswept Heath
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Garden
1 Island
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Snow-Covered Plains
3 Path to Exile
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Detention Sphere
2 Assassin's Trophy
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Discard
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Collective Brutality
Unburial
1 Unburial Rites
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
Wrath Package
1 Wrath of God
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Day of Judgment
Ramp
4 Sylvan Caryatid
Value
4 Lingering Souls
1 Snapcaster Mage
Gifts
3 Gifts Ungiven
1 Runed Halo
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Damping Sphere
1 Raven's Crime
1 Noxious Revival
1 Life from the Loam
2 Extirpate
1 Worship
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Unmoored Ego
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Field of Ruin
1x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
4x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Shambling Vent
2x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Watery Grave
Enchantment (2)
2x Search for Azcanta
Artifact (1)
1x Engineered Explosives
Sorcery (15)
1x Collective Brutality
1x Damnation
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Languish
4x Serum Visions
2x Thoughtseize
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unburial Rites
1x Chemister's Insight
4x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
2x Path to Exile
1x Settle the Wreckage
Planeswalker (3)
3x Liliana of the Veil
Creature (4)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1x Baneslayer Angel
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Flaying Tendrils
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Life from the Loam
1x Raven's Crime
2x Stony Silence
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unmoored Ego
1x Concealed Courtyard
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Fetid Heath
4x Flooded Strand
2x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
4x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
1x Seachrome Coast
2x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
Sorcery (17)
2x Collective Brutality
4x Discovery / Dispersal
1x Duress
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lingering Souls
2x Thoughtseize
1x Unburial Rites
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Griselbrand
4x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip
2x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Snapcaster Mage
Instant (11)
2x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
3x Goryo's Vengeance
3x Path to Exile
1x Collective Brutality
1x Countersquall
1x Disdainful Stroke
1x Disenchant
1x Dispel
1x Fatal Push
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
4x Leyline of the Void
1x Negate
2x Stony Silence
1x Timely Reinforcements
When evaluating any Gifts based combo you need to look at the total mana cost, as at max you'll have 5 mana available to you after casting Gifts at your opponent's end step and untapping (provided you are casting Gifts as soon as you have the mana for it.). The most powerful combos are ones that any of their 6 combinations can be completed for 4 mana or less as this provides the least amount of time for the opponent to interact with your pile of choice.
Unburial Combo
Unburial Rites + Fatty (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite | Iona, Shield Of Emeria)) You use rule:
701.14b If a player is searching a hidden zone for cards with a stated quality, such as a card with a certain card type or color, that player isn't required to find some or all of those cards even if they're present in that zone.
This is our primary combo in the deck and is always in the mainboard.
High Value Target
Snapcaster Mage + Noxious Revival + Value Card + High Value Card
Snapcaster Mage and Noxious Revival means any one card can be accessed. As they either give you the card outright or you make it your next draw by putting the card on top with a Noxious Revival or Snapcaster plus Noxious on your upkeep.
High Value Target Version 2
Eternal Witness + Unearth + Value Card + High Value Card
Ewit and Unearth work much in the same way as Snap + Noxious. They either give you the card out right our you can cast Ewit to get it or use unearth to reanimate Ewit and get the card.
Crumble to Dust
Snapcaster Mage + Noxious Revival + Ghost Quarter | Field of Ruin + Extirpate | Surgical Extraction
Allows you to destroy a nonbasic land and get rid of all copies of it not in play, just like Crumble to Dust. Helpful for Valukut and Tron based decks.
Loam/Crime
Raven's Crime + Life from the Loam + Ghost Quarter|Tectonic Edge + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
From the board you can bring in Loam and Crime to combat control by stripping their hand so they can't counter your removal or threats. You can also grab Bojuka Bog to arrange a grave lockout by playing Bojuka Bog every other turn as you must Ghost Quarter your own bog and use loam to get it back.
3 of a Kind
Day of Judgment + Wrath of God|Damnation +Supreme Verdict + High Value Card
Any effect can be tutored up at will following this recipe (3 of the effects and a value card most commonly Lingering Souls) This is most commonly seen when Gifting for a set of wraths. In the event you do not have 3 different cards on a given effect recursion can fill in but may impact how fast you can use the effect.
Loam Academy
Academy Ruins + Life from the Loam + Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry
Sets up the Thopter Sword combo allowing you to gain life and token thopters equal to your available mana. The sword and foundry can be replaced with any 2 artifacts for numerous possible combos anything from recurring Wurmcoil Engine or Engineered Explosives to locking out your opponent's graveyard with Nihil Spellbomb
Many of the cards listed below can fit into more than one category. Choice and Flexibility are hallmarks of good cards in our deck design. The category they are listed are the most common reason to consider them.
Discard/Hand Control
Raven's Crime
Recursive discard spell part of a combo with Life from the Loam can also be used to dump a prematurely drawn Gifts piece.
Duress
Budget builds use it in place of premier discard but also sees play in the sideboard of some lists
Inquisition of Kozilek
The key piece of discard for our deck. We can lock opponents out by turn 4 so 99% of the time the CMC requirement is not a concern
Thoughtseize
Some lists run a split with IoK but due to the life loss our mana base requires it is usually sideboard.
Esper Charm
Instant speed mind rot with other options if they don't have cards to discard and can also be used to dump a prematurely drawn Gifts piece.. The WBU is hard for most builds.
Liliana of the Veil
Our deck is already good at discarding as many cards are recursive or we actively want to have them in the grave. Some lists have run her to great affect others have not ran her for various reasons including her double black CMC.
Collective Brutality
Another example of a card that is useful for causing discard while giving our deck the option to discard unwanted cards or set get more value from a recursive card.
Spot Removal
Assassin's Trophy
In many ways this is the best removal available. Able to get any permanent lands included helps our matchup against Tron.
Abrupt Decay
Second only to Assassin's Trophy in some matchups the uncounterable clause will be amazing.
Maelstrom Pulse
A singleton inclusion in any green list being able to clean up a board of tokens or deal with any permanent is great. Unlike Detention Sphere there is nothing left behind for them to get their card back.
Declaration in Stone
A budget variant of Maelstrom Pulse but with the drawback that it can only hit creatures. Some lists without green may also run it. The exile is a great upside as recursive creatures are common in Modern.
Anguished Unmaking
Exile removal on any nonland is nice but the life loss can be an issue in some builds and matchups. Avoid having this and Thoughtseize in the same deck as the combined life loss and the mana base may very well strand them in your hand.
Detention Sphere
Like Maelstrom Pulse but exiles and leaves a way for the opponent to get the card back. It does have nice synergy with Sun Titan
Path to Exile –
Pure exile-based removal of any creature most decks run multiple copies.
*TIP*
Remember that you can use these on your own creatures (tokens and Snapcaster Mage) if necessary, for mana fixing and ramp.
Fatal Push
Our mana base is generally full of fetches to turning on Revolt is trivial for most lists.
Mass Removal
Damnation/Wrath of God
Color shifted 4CMC wraths that prevent regeneration one or both is usually main to allow for wrath-based Gift Piles.
Languish/ Yahenni's Expertise
Budget option to Damnation, but also useful for making one-sided Wraths. While it is a mass removal some boards may not die to a simple -4/-4 or -3/-3.
Flaying Tendrils/Cry of the Carnarium
Great for dealing with fast decks full of small threats the exile clause is great for cards like bloodghast.
Engineered Explosives
Works great in versions built around Academy Ruins.
*Tip*
When casting this against a control deck you can use colorless mana or mana of the same color already being used to keep the CMC off of 2 (Spell Snare/Chalice of the Void).
Supreme Verdict
The mana cost will generally make this a sideboard card as WWU is hard to guarantee without leaning heavy on white.
Day of Judgment
Generally a one of to complete the trifecta of wraths.
Settle the Wreckage
Exile based wrath but only for attackers. We normally hold up mana on turn 4 so many opponents won't see it coming the first time and will be more hesitant to attack in future games.
Filters and Draw Spells
Search for Azcanta
Lets you filter your draws and will sometimes act as a pseudo howling mine when you bin a Lingering Souls late game can flip and allow you to dig for Gifts Ungiven
Champion of Wits
Allows you to sculpt your hand on Turn 3 and refills your hand in the late game. At best he's a one of due to his sorcery speed restriction.
Vendilion Clique
One of the best blue creatures ever. If you're heavy on blue mana sources, you could theoretically support this card. It can be great at dumping a Gifts piece you draw prematurely
Radical Idea/Chemister's Insight
Jumpstart is a great way to get unwanted draws out of our hands, no showings as of yet with these cards though.
Serum Visions
Becoming a format staple for blue decks. Cheap and sets up your next few draws.
Opt, Anticipate or Telling Time
Instant speed dig that allows you to dodge drawing cards you would rather tutor for with Gifts.
Compulsive Research
The rare ability to create raw card advantage could be useful, but we rarely want to discard lands in this deck. Thirst for Knowledge is another option.
Bring to Light
An instant all-star in a 4+ color builds since you can search up just about anything in your list, particularly Gifts Ungiven. Could be useful for getting key sideboard cards in some matchups.
Alternative Reanimation Targets
Terastodon
If used it is in the sideboard and for dealing with Tron exclusively.
Ashen Rider
Could see play as a non green version of Terastodon. Exile is a great clause and not giving the opponent creatures is nice.
Empyrial Archangel
Sometimes used in place of Iona, Shield of Emeria as a reanimation target. A little more versatile and certainly more durable. Impossible for burn to deal with.
Blazing Archon
Impossible for creature decks to deal with outside of removal.
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Impossible for Jund to deal with outside of an opposing Liliana of the Veil.
Inkwell Leviathan
Fast clock that can't be targeted. No results as of yet.
Obzedat, Ghost Council
Sometimes seen in decks built around Goryo's Vengeance once on the field it effectively hits for 7 and can't be removed outside of instant speed interactions.
Recursion
Noxious Revival
Can be paired with Snapcaster Mage to get any card from your deck. Can be used in Esper builds due to its Phyrexian mana cost.
*Tip*
It says any graveyard so this can be used to stop opposing reanimation decks or to guarantee the opponent does not draw an out for a turn.
Snapcaster Mage
Nearly as important as Gifts itself. He is your second copy of any spell tutored or previously cast.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
A shining star of Rock, BUG, and Grix decks as of late. But insight from Ben Vrbo suggests that delving and activating him are both awkward in this particular deck.
Eternal Witness
Pseudo Snapcaster Mage - only for green heavy lists. Can get back Unburial Rites so you can cast it twice. Can pair with Sun titan and Rites to guarantee any card you want in the late game.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
Jace VP for short. He's not quite as good as Snapcaster or Briefing being that he has to flip to buy back a spell. But he can filter your hand which is great, and some lists run him with Goryo's Vengeance to mitigate the lack of haste.
Sun Titan
Brings back your Lily, Eternal Witness, or even a land if need be. Recursion is the name of our game and Sun Titan fits the bill. Create a soft-lock against control/combo with Fulminator Mage.
Mission Briefing
No results yet but this could be used as a budget Snapcaster Mage and the way its worded the opponent must respond prior to the spell resolving to keep you from casting the card and even if they exile the graveyard you get to potentially bin 2 cards to fuel it.
Utility Creatures of Note
Birds of Paradise and Sylvan Caryatid
Most commonly seen in 4 color variants as the extra color requires a little more fixing. BoP has synergy with Gavony Township but dies to any removal. Caryatid is a turn slower but can block some creatures and is generally impossible to remove without your consent (wraths, edicts or chump blocking)
Grim Flayer
2 mana beat stick that can fuel our graveyard/ dig through our deck. Most lists won't have too hard of a time turning delirium on for him to be a 4/4.
Tarmogoyf
Standard beat stick in green based decks. Our deck design has no issues getting it to 5/6 or 6/7 fairly easily.
Knight of the Reliquary
Useful if taking advantage of a Loam/Crime package, can be used to find utility lands like Ghost Quarter or Bojuka Bog and can ramp if needed provided you have lands to get.
*Tip*
With KoR you can tutor for a fetchland and use that fetchland to get a land you need effectively growing +2/+2 on a single activation. If you get a Ghost Quarter in place of the fetchland and blow up your own land you can get +3/+3
Knight of Autumn
This creature does so much so well. She can blow up artifacts and enchantments, gain life and apply pressure as needed. If you find yourself needing a card or two to fill up the 75 you can't do better than KoA.
Grave Titan
Can easily be casted in heavy black builds or reanimated as needed. Comes in as 10 power across 3 bodies and still impacts the board if removed immediately (basically a necessity for any fatty you consider).
Lifegain Options
These cards are mostly for side boarded, but some are used main deck.
Kitchen Finks
Guaranteed 2 life and barring exile based removal it gains us 4 life and a trade or chump block.
Baneslayer Angel/Lyra Dawnbringer
The first strike helps to hold off attackers the 5-point lifegain allows you to swing out and force a race. A one of or 1/1 split is right to prevent Lyra's legendary typing to be an issue. The protection provided by Baneslayer is rarely if ever relevant while the lord effect from Lyra can pair with Iona meaning if only one is used Lyra should be your choice.
Batterskull
Great for decks running Academy Ruins is naturally a recursive threat. Though this card took a hit from the printing of Kolaghan's Command
Timely Reinforcements
More often than not we will be at the lower life total and behind on board allowing for Timely to make 3 1/1's and give us 6 life which buys a lot of time to truly stabilize.
Thragtusk
Strong body and a huge life swing that leaves a decent body if removed. This is a strong card for many lists running green but it's high CMC generally means only one is used.
Wurmcoil Engine
Like Batterskull great in decks with Academy Ruins and like Thragtusk leaves bodies behind if removed. But the 6cmc casting cost is hard for many builds to reliably cast.
Specific Hate Cards/Sideboard Options
Nihil Spellbomb
Maindeckable in the right meta. At worst it cycles for 1B. Can always be cracked even with no mana open.
Bojuka Bog
Grave hate on a land. Great with KoR to tutor it out, but can also be found with a variation of the Loam/Crime package. Since it's a land that causes a triggered ability it dodges most counters which is nice.
Surgical Extraction or Extirpate
Great graveyard removal that also hurt combo and low threat density decks.
Kaya's Guile
New kid on the block. Early reports are this is maindeckable due to its versatility.
Fracturing Gust and Cleansing Nova
Affinity, Bogles and Whir based Decks. Though getting to 5 mana is scary against these decks. Most would opt for Engineered Explosives + Academy Ruins.
Stony Silence
Great for Affinity, Tron and Whir based decks that rely on artifact ability.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Great for shutting down Scavenging Ooze and barring removal prevents Counters Company or Vannifar Pod based decks from comboing.
Thrun, the Last Troll
Uncounterable and Hexproof makes this a nightmare for the control matches. Regenerate means it can block for days if needed.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa
This card hoses Abzan and Death's Shadow based decks. With the premier removal of the format being Path to Exile and Fatal Push he effectively has Hexproof. Very powerful but dead in some match-ups so sideboard is probably his home. Its nearly impossible to turn on the second part of him so evaluate him only as a 4/4 lifelink with protection.
Spellskite
Metas with high rates of bogles or infect should look to this allstar. Stealing their pump spells and enchantments is amazing.
Pithing Needle/Sorcerous Spyglass
Allows you to stop anything with an activated ability. From Fetchlands to Planeswalkers. Spyglass costs more but you get the information on what's in their hand.
Runed Halo
This is a great way to stick it to low threat density decks or Valakut based decks.
Unmoored Ego
We finally got a version of slaughter games and its at 3 mana which is great as on the play you can name a Tron land. Also is great for dealing with any combo based decks.
Damping Sphere
Storm and Tron hate great to have 1 or 2 in the board.
Lands
Manlands:
Most lists run some number of them with the most common being, Celestial Colonnade, Stirring Wildwood and Creeping Tar Pit
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Great for versions running a heavier black casting cost (Damnation, Liliana of the Veil). Also works with Loam/Crime allowing your lands to tap for black so you can Retrace Raven's Crime.
Ghost Quarter,Tectonic Edge and Field of Ruin
Generally great for dealing with opposing man lands and helps with Tron and Valukut based decks. Limit it to 2 in the main deck as the colorless mana they produce can cause issues with casting double color spells.
Vault of the Archangel
Turns Spirit tokens from Lingering Souls, and Snapcaster Mage, into deathtouch blockers. Like most lands, only 1 is needed.
Gavony Township
Generally seen in the more midrange type builds that run small creatures up to Siege Rhino. Has nice synergy with Kitchen Finks allowing you to keep the finks gaining you life and blocking.
Bojuka Bog
Gravehate on a land. Can be grabbed with Gifts as part of the Loam/Crime package to keep an opposing graveyard under control and is nice as it can't be countered. Is a great inclusion with Knight of the Reliquary as it can be tutored into play at instant speed.
The deck in general has been floating around since Modern's inception. Variations of the list have been streamed by many of the MTG Content Creators and piloted with strong finishes in many tournaments. Some notable variations of this deck are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmq3aJ5xLMA
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Lands (23)
1 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Concealed Courtyard
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Flooded Strand
2 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
1 Watery Grave
3 Fatal Push
3 Gifts Ungiven
3 Goryo's Vengeance
3 Path to Exile
3 Collective Brutality
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lingering Souls
4 Serum Visions
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unburial Rites
2 Detention Sphere
1 Runed Halo
3 Stony Silence
1 Countersquall
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Disenchant
1 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Ojutai's Command
3 Supreme Verdict
https://youtu.be/P1bhCWDtvbM
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Lands (23)
1 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Concealed Courtyard
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Flooded Strand
2 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
1 Watery Grave
3 Fatal Push
3 Gifts Ungiven
3 Goryo's Vengeance
3 Path to Exile
3 Collective Brutality
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lingering Souls
4 Serum Visions
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unburial Rites
2 Detention Sphere
1 Runed Halo
3 Stony Silence
1 Countersquall
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Disenchant
1 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Ojutai's Command
3 Supreme Verdict
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmq3aJ5xLMA
3 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Blood Artist
1 Coiling Oracle
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Renegade Rallier
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Sun Titan
4 Viscera Seer
3 Voice of Resurgence
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
Lands (22)
2 Forest
1 Island
2 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Breeding Pool
3 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
3 Polluted Delta
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Rally the Ancestors
1 Unburial Rites
2 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Scavenging Ooze
1 Beast Within
3 Echoing Truth
1 Feed the Clan
1 Sultai Charm
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
These lists are sourced from MTGTop8.com and aim to show how the deck has changed with new sets and Bannings. Weight was given to Tournament size with the largest Tournaments list being used as the larger tournaments having a stronger performance needed for the same finish placement.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/modern-league-2019-08-16#dabiggestb_-
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Field of Ruin
4x Flooded Strand
1x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
2x Shambling Vent
2x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
Planeswalker (6)
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Narset, Parter of Veils
2x Teferi, Time Raveler
Sorcery (15)
2x Chart a Course
2x Collective Brutality
1x Damnation
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Lingering Souls
1x Supreme Verdict
3x Thoughtseize
1x Unburial Rites
2x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Kaya's Guile
3x Path to Exile
Creature (6)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip
2x Snapcaster Mage
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Damping Sphere
2x Dovin's Veto
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Stony Silence
2x Unmoored Ego
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Field of Ruin
1x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
4x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Shambling Vent
2x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Watery Grave
Enchantment (2)
2x Search for Azcanta
Artifact (1)
1x Engineered Explosives
Sorcery (15)
1x Collective Brutality
1x Damnation
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Languish
4x Serum Visions
2x Thoughtseize
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unburial Rites
1x Chemister's Insight
4x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
2x Path to Exile
1x Settle the Wreckage
Planeswalker (3)
3x Liliana of the Veil
Creature (4)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1x Baneslayer Angel
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Flaying Tendrils
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Life from the Loam
1x Raven's Crime
2x Stony Silence
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unmoored Ego
1x Celestial Colonnade
1x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Field of Ruin
4x Flooded Strand
1x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Snow-Covered Island
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
Creature (4)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Snapcaster Mage
Instant (17)
1x Cryptic Command
3x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
2x Logic Knot
2x Mana Leak
1x Opt
4x Path to Exile
1x Spell Snare
1x Collective Brutality
2x Lingering Souls
4x Serum Visions
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Unburial Rites
1x Wrath of God
Planeswalker (3)
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Enchantment (2)
2x Search for Azcanta
2x Celestial Purge
2x Damping Sphere
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Negate
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Settle the Wreckage
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Thoughtseize
2x Timely Reinforcements
2x Concealed Courtyard
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Darkslick Shores
4x Flooded Strand
2x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
4x Marsh Flats
2x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
Sorcery (15)
3x Collective Brutality
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Lingering Souls
4x Serum Visions
1x Thoughtseize
1x Unburial Rites
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
4x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip
3x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Snapcaster Mage
Instant (12)
3x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
3x Goryo's Vengeance
3x Path to Exile
1x Countersquall
2x Detention Sphere
1x Disdainful Stroke
2x Disenchant
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Lost Legacy
1x Negate
1x Runed Halo
2x Stony Silence
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Academy Ruins
2x Celestial Colonnade
4x Flooded Strand
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Glacial Fortress
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
2x Mystic Gate
2x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Tolaria West
1x Watery Grave
Creature (2)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Snapcaster Mage
3x Gifts Ungiven
3x Muddle the Mixture
4x Path to Exile
2x Spell Snare
4x Thirst for Knowledge
Artifact (10)
1x Engineered Explosives
3x Sword of the Meek
2x Talisman of Progress
4x Thopter Foundry
Sorcery (7)
4x Serum Visions
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Unburial Rites
Enchantment (2)
1x Detention Sphere
1x Oblivion Ring
1x Celestial Purge
1x Disenchant
2x Dispel
2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Gut Shot
1x Hurkyl's Recall
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip
1x Negate
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Wrath of God
1x Breeding Pool
1x Forest
1x Gavony Township
2x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
2x Marsh Flats
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Tectonic Edge
2x Temple Garden
1x Treetop Village
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3x Verdant Catacombs
1x Watery Grave
3x Windswept Heath
4x Birds of Paradise
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Knight of the Reliquary
3x Noble Hierarch
4x Siege Rhino
4x Tarmogoyf
Sorcery (6)
1x Bring to Light
1x Life from the Loam
3x Lingering Souls
1x Unburial Rites
Instant (8)
3x Abrupt Decay
3x Gifts Ungiven
2x Path to Exile
Planeswalker (3)
3x Liliana of the Veil
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Creeping Corrosion
1x Dispel
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
3x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3x Stony Silence
1x Unravel the Aether
2x Zealous Persecution
4x Arid Mesa
1x Blood Crypt
4x Celestial Colonnade
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Sulfur Falls
1x Tectonic Edge
Instant (18)
4x Gifts Ungiven
1x Izzet Charm
3x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
4x Mana Leak
3x Path to Exile
1x Day of Judgment
3x Sleight of Hand
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Unburial Rites
1x Wrath of God
Creature (7)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Godo, Bandit Warlord
1x Keranos, God of Storms
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Vendilion Clique
Enchantment (1)
1x Detention Sphere
Artifact (2)
2x Batterskull
1x Banishing Light
1x Combust
2x Counterflux
1x Detention Sphere
1x Dispel
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Negate
2x Spreading Seas
1x Stony Silence
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Swan Song
2x Wear / Tear
1x Academy Ruins
1x Breeding Pool
3x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Forest
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
3x Marsh Flats
2x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Temple Garden
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vault of the Archangel
3x Verdant Catacombs
1x Watery Grave
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Darkblast
1x Dismember
4x Gifts Ungiven
3x Mana Leak
2x Path to Exile
Sorcery (8)
1x Life from the Loam
4x Lingering Souls
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Raven's Crime
1x Unburial Rites
Creature (8)
4x Deathrite Shaman
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Snapcaster Mage
Artifact (1)
1x Engineered Explosives
Planeswalker (4)
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
3x Liliana of the Veil
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Batterskull
1x Damnation
2x Duress
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Golgari Charm
1x Spellskite
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Terastodon
2x Thoughtseize
1x Torpor Orb
1x Breeding Pool
3x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Forest
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
3x Marsh Flats
2x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Swamp
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Temple Garden
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vault of the Archangel
3x Verdant Catacombs
1x Watery Grave
1x Crime / Punishment
1x Damnation
1x Life from the Loam
4x Lingering Souls
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Raven's Crime
1x Unburial Rites
Instant (13)
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Darkblast
1x Dismember
4x Gifts Ungiven
3x Mana Leak
2x Path to Exile
Creature (8)
4x Deathrite Shaman
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Snapcaster Mage
Planeswalker (3)
3x Liliana of the Veil
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Dispel
1x Duress
1x Fracturing Gust
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Golgari Charm
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Stony Silence
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Terastodon
1x Thoughtseize
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Drowned Catacomb
2x Fetid Heath
2x Glacial Fortress
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
2x Isolated Chapel
4x Marsh Flats
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Plains
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Snow-Covered Island
1x Snow-Covered Plains
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
2x Delay
3x Esper Charm
3x Forbidden Alchemy
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Go for the Throat
3x Path to Exile
2x Remand
1x Smother
3x Spell Snare
Sorcery (5)
1x Damnation
1x Day of Judgment
2x Unburial Rites
1x Wrath of God
Planeswalker (3)
3x Liliana of the Veil
Creature (6)
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Sun Titan
1x Deathmark
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Geist of Saint Traft
1x Mindbreak Trap
1x Purify the Grave
2x Surgical Extraction
3x Thoughtseize
2x Timely Reinforcements
2x Vendilion Clique
*Thanks to DNC at HOTP Studios for our banner*
**Special Thanks to izzetmage for his guide to Gifts Ungiven**
All the Magic Content Creators who have streamed the many variations of our deck archetype
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
Regarding the content of the primer, I think one could give some sort of rough guideline towards building certain variations of 4C (or Esper, if you want) Gifts. This kind of thing exists for e.g. GBx archetypes, specifying the number of discard spells, the number of removal, flex slots and so forth. I have most experience with the version heavily relying on B, so I can for sure come up with a rough blueprint for people trying to explore the archetype. Just let me know, I can send you the write-up as a PN and you can update the primer accordingly.
Crime/Punishment- I just included what was in the primer. I haven't seen a version use is to date so I think it might just get dropped.
loam/crime I can update with the details.
Kalitas- can you do a small write up about him and I think there might be room for a tip about his trigger and wraths
I could definitely see a section in the Deck Construction breaking down the general build for the common variants. I think these would be the main variants:
NerdSoda- you are right on the activation count. I was thinking +3 if you get a GQ and GQ your own land. I'll update the Tip.
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
I've married, bought a house, and had two children since I wrote the original primer so I hardly have the time to update. Your help is greatly appreciated.
That being said, I've been working diligently on a Red/x version that utilizes Seasoned Pyromancer as I feel it's an insane power house in this kind of deck. At the current meta game status, graveyard hate is too pervasive for me to test at the upcoming GP Vegas, but I may try out my list at a few of the side events. Basically my concept is a Mardu control shell with a blue splash for Snap, Jace, and Gifts
3 Seasoned Pyromancer
2 Jace, Vryn's prodigy
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Sun Titan
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Spells
4 Faithless looting
4 Gifts ungiven
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Path to exile
2 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Dreadbore
1 Terminate
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Lingering Souls
1 Kolaghan's command
1 Unburial Rites
1 Kaya's Guile
2 Unearth
2 Blackcleave cliffs
3 Bloodstained mire
2 Marsh Flats
2 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa
1 Godless shrine
1 Blood crypt
1 Steam vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Sacred foundry
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Graven cairns
1 Mountain
2 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Collective Brutality
1 Kolaghan's command
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Liliana, the Last hope
1 Anger of the gods
1 Damnation
1 Lightning Helix
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
Draft My Cube!
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/why-faithless-looting-and-allosaurus-rider-should-be-banned-along-with-hogaak/
http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/38407_Should-Faithless-Looting-Have-Been-Banned-In-Modern-.html
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
I like the 'Moist' Mardu list FuneralofGod is presenting, Looting and Pyro are a quite natural fit I think. The land count is a little low (although Looting somewhat mitigates this), how did this work for you so far? The role of Decay/Trophy/Pulse is more or less taken care of by Terminate/Dreadbore and to some extent also Bolts, have you noticed the lack of inevitability against non-creature and/or non-planeswalker permanents? Liliana as a 1-of sounds odd, I would not go below 4 if the mana can support it, but again, I have no idea how this list plays out. Regarding the banning of Looting, I think it's not too likely, it also kills Mardu Pyromancers and weakens Dredge and Phoenix while doing too little against Hogaak.
Please, gawd, no....
I am a fan of the list though. It actually gave me an idea for the singleton version I was working on. Maybe I take it 5c to get as many "redundant" copies as possible, playing it a bit more like Jund splashing UW.
It's just a splash, so I found 'wet' to be inappropriate. Also, alliterations.
You might want to include one or two Pentad Prism in your list and have a look at Bring to Light, I tried this a year or so ago with moderate success, it is pretty janky. Sakura Tribe Elder did quite some work, I also included a Kiki-Jiki with a Restoration Angel and Thragtusk as an additional combo, just for the value. I still have a list saved somewhere, I can PM it to you if you want.
Check your inbox, the list is somewhat off-topic to this thread for the people wondering, more Bring to Light jank than proper Gifts.
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
I'm wondering if Smiting Helix is also worth a spot; Gifts into Bolt, Smiting and Lightning Helix's, and Snapcaster, ask OP how they prefer their 6 damage?
If I continue playing singleton Gifts, it would let me play Mardu Charm as well, which is a pet card.
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
Draft My Cube!
Generous gift (color shifted beast within) Giving a 3/3 is not great but its truly a catchall and only needing white is not to be underestimated in a 4 color list. I could see bedevil's bbr being an issue.
Anguished unmaking - exile is nice but I can see the life loss being an issue with Thoughtsiezes in the list.
Detention sphere and deputy of detention - deputy could be extra strong in your list with titan and unearth. But of course both detentions struggle from leaving a way for the opponent to get their card/s back.
4c Gifts Deck Stats: https://bit.ly/2XMPrlY
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/120495
If/when the meta shifts after the next B&R announcement, I could see possibly playing a Grixis shell with a white splash. But currently PTE is the best spot removal in the format (mainly because of Hogaak & Phoenix)
Draft My Cube!