|| 5-0 modern competitive league MTGO ||
Oh, there is 1 difference: I swapped one mountain for one Zhalfirin Void. I liked ZV a lot when it worked, but fear for the game that I goo myself for not having enough red land sources. Deck hums along - wouldn't make any changes at this time.
Inclusion of ZV was what I posted about on the Sep 10th; I'm curious, a lot of games I've been playing with the full 4 ZV I have always had red on t2 either from scry, SSG or mountain, Gemstone on the draw etc. from there rituals can get more, chandra also adds 2R from her ability. With all this I haven't felt at risk of not having enough red when needed. Do you think your apprehension is just a fear or have you encountered borderline situations?
CLIPPER70 wrote about his extraordinarily inventive suggestion: (4) Zhalfirin Void on Sep. 10th. I incorporated 1 ZV into my 5-0 list. It worked out really well. Referencing your comment, just a few hours earlier, 'apprehension'. Honestly, my fear isn't based in data. I just predict that mana screws will result in running (4) ZV. It's a gut thing = Not enough red mana sourced land.
Nevertheless, you suggested the inclusion for Pyro Prison. Fair to note: it was done in a high performing Dragon Red deck which I also playtested. AND, the result was not positive, so I quickly abandoned the idea of ZV. That Dragon Deck looked good on paper and got a Top 8 in a very large event, but I could not get it to click.
OK, let's look at what your land base is for a pretty traditional Pyro Prison build:
Seems proficient. It definitely does not allow for Koth of the Hammer. But, Koth can shift in and out. Besides, it does provide significant filter.
Here's what I would say at first blush. -- Ramunap Ruins was discussed upon release, and the overwhelming consensus was that it's rubbish for Pyro Prison. We were wrong. Now? It's pretty close to a must include (in some number: 1-4). So, it happens. The masses can be wrong about seeing gold right underneath their noses. Consider the initial release of Kolaghan's Command......Nobody saw the power of that card for ages. Is Zhalfirin the next Ramunap or K Command?
Hello all, I've lurked here for a while, and finally got to the end of the posts! I've been running a version of this deck on MTGO with some success for the last month (still relatively new to the deck and MTGO so punts have happened). In my list I've been running 2 Shrine of Burning Rage and generally been happy. It is great to hide behind a Bridge with, and can act as removal if need be, as it hits any target. I only read from around page 100 of this board, so if you've tried it out before, I apologize. I like it because it eats Stacy destruction that might otherwise be coming for our Bridge or Chalice. And it ticks up on most of our spells.
My current iteration is something like this (I'm on my phone and not sure how y'all format your decklists so nicely), I tweak each go around:
4 Chandra, TOD
1 Koth
2 Sarkhan, Fireblood
4 desperate ritual
1 pyretic ritual
4 Simian Spirit guide
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Avaricious Dragon
1 Hazoret
4 Blood Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pia & Kiran
1 Abrade
1 Slagstorm
2 Shrine of the Burning Rage
Shrine of the Burning Rage, eh Sixtenspapa448? It has been tried, and I'm sure the wave motion blast of a pent up shrine can be awesome. It just comes down to the question of a dead top deck draw. We gotta limit those as much as possible. I'd opt for a walking ballista. List looks good, but I would drop that Ghost Quarter - I get that it helps for spot removal of a tron land, for example, but you're also helping them fetch into basics for free.
[[Zhalfirin Void]] --- Cats and Dogs living together. It's Pandemonium!
That's 21 Lands and (6) colorless mana cards. Tight. BUT, sometimes the Gemstones are pitched pre-game gemstone as 'mountains', AND sometimes the ZV is scrying into/away from a needed/unneeded mountain|ramunap.
I have 0 Chainwhirler in the main, and just 1 in the sideboard. My overarching concern are the (4) Eidolon in the sideboard. But, think about it. At most, we are talking about game 2 (and game 3 IF we lose). Also, there are plenty of occasions whereupon Eidolon is not brought in at all.
Thus the loss of red mana is not as risky as it might initially appear. For now, I like having (2) ZV, but I'm a fella that enjoys a risky proposition for the win. My testing has been very positive. And, I recently switched that mutavault into a 3rd Zhalfirin Void.
Sideboard
4x chalices of the void
4x eidolon of the great revel
1x boil
1x banefire
2x torpor orb
1x damping matrix
1x anger of the gods
1x hour of devastation
I just took out 2 ramunap ruins for 2 zhalfirin void. Not sure if I want to take out 2 mountains to go back up to the full 4. Also not sure how many ZV I will want in the end.
I wanted to stop by to thank everyone that's put work in on this deck. After an abysmal start to the modern PPTQ season with Storm, I randomly stumbled upon FluffyWolf's stream and pyro prison. After a tenth place finish and losing a win and in, I finally broke through yesterday and got third in a PPTQ, losing to a friend that took it down on UW control. This community is amazing and I'm on board the Pyro Prison bandwagon!
Congrats and welcome on board. We hope to be hearing more of your finishes and thoughts on the deck in the future. If you have any questions at all we would be more than happy to help out the best we can. Welcome to the campfire mountain brother.
I wanted to stop by to thank everyone that's put work in on this deck. After an abysmal start to the modern PPTQ season with Storm, I randomly stumbled upon FluffyWolf's stream and pyro prison. After a tenth place finish and losing a win and in, I finally broke through yesterday and got third in a PPTQ, losing to a friend that took it down on UW control. This community is amazing and I'm on board the Pyro Prison bandwagon!
Congrats on your breakthrough! It is always a great feeling. Glad that you were able to attain something Storm could not give you! =) Welcome!
I wanted to stop by to thank everyone that's put work in on this deck. After an abysmal start to the modern PPTQ season with Storm, I randomly stumbled upon FluffyWolf's stream and pyro prison. After a tenth place finish and losing a win and in, I finally broke through yesterday and got third in a PPTQ, losing to a friend that took it down on UW control. This community is amazing and I'm on board the Pyro Prison bandwagon!
Congrats on your breakthrough! It is always a great feeling. Glad that you were able to attain something Storm could not give you! =) Welcome!
Congrats and welcome on board. We hope to be hearing more of your finishes and thoughts on the deck in the future. If you have any questions at all we would be more than happy to help out the best we can. Welcome to the campfire mountain brother.
Thanks Zayl and Fluffy!
I'm really happy with the results so far. I have a team unified tournament coming up in two weeks that's been the main reason for branching out. It's looking like I'll be sleeving up mountains for some time to come.
I wanted to stop by to thank everyone that's put work in on this deck. After an abysmal start to the modern PPTQ season with Storm, I randomly stumbled upon FluffyWolf's stream and pyro prison. After a tenth place finish and losing a win and in, I finally broke through yesterday and got third in a PPTQ, losing to a friend that took it down on UW control. This community is amazing and I'm on board the Pyro Prison bandwagon!
I started developing something along a red prisona after seeing how blood moon wrecked my first foray into modern. Obviously my list ended up looking like the predominant lists because , well, those cards are better. I ended up with three thoughts.
I wished I had some greater inprint upon the deck. I am new-ish to Magic but I just hate to net deck.
I felt that the walkers/finishers really lacked the ability to drop and change the course of a game, or reverse the tide for that matter. Chandra is the best finisher around but if you face threats on the board and no bridge out she just dies a swift death. Same with Koth. These are cards that we really just throw out when we have a lock or control of the board.
So I just started by looking for a mono red replacement for Sarkhan and liked nothing till I went colorless with Karn, Scion of Urza.
After playing it I flat love him. Four mana fits the curve. He instantly deploys protection, which I wanted, and it digs deep for cards. At first I was content with the 2/2, 3/3 blockers but when I went to exploit the Constructs features the deck really took off. So here is my list.
I have play tested the main deck extensively. I think it gives up a bit to combo and control (primarily because of the absence of Goblin rabblemaster) but it gains in all of the other aggro including Jund.
Notes Mox opal makes this version a bit more explosive and the lead to emptying the hand quicker and easier.
Bottled Cloister, why isn't this card played more. I love it so much I lean toward keeping any opening hand with it. It turns the Bridge into a lock instantly. No dieing to pumped up chumps as I frantically tried to empty my hand. And the card advantage.
Claws of Gix allows me to gain that extra turn under pressure, not to mention it gets rid of the Bridges that have out lived their usefulness.
Welding Jar obviously acts as a shield to the bridges that hold back the hoard. I breath so much better with them out there.
Karn, Scion of Urza never drops a construct less then 4/4. really never. Generally the constructs get silly large and it is the opponent looking at my bridges to save them. (see the Claws).
My wins split pretty evenly between them (with 1 in 10 or so coming from monkey beats).
Obviously I want a Karn pre lock and a Chandra post lock, that's why I have a 3, 3 split.
The added cards are more 0 cmc cards that i can dump and feed the constructs and Opals. The chance of pulling any 1 card in a deck of 60 is 1.66% the chance of pulling any 1 card in a deck of 62 is 1.61%. So no matter what card it is that you want to pull, the added 2 cards only changes that amount by .05%
So in this case the added cards don't significantly effect the streamlining but do add the fluff I want.
A couple radically different decks got laid out earlier in this page by Hobo-Stew and FRIG. And, if nothing else is there to be loved, there are the names. Outstandingly creative. FRIG I get (as I'm from New England), but Hobo-Stew....sounds even more threatening than Mung.
First, an update to the great Void experiment. I like it. I got aggressive and went the full (4) just to see if I'd screw myself. It did happen, and the loss of Goblin Chainwhirler from the (75) is noted in certain matchups. With 4 Void, you really can't run Ramunap ruins. You're either scrying extra land away, so that you never get up to enough to fire them off, or if you do finally get to 5/6/7 mana, it's safe to say that it's under a blood moon. For now, I'm tinkering with 3 zhalfirin void, but I miss my mutavault most of all.
Speaking of lands, I like the inclusion of Inventor's Fair in FRIG's deck. With a full toolbox sideboard to call upon in games 2/3, that must come in handy. My concern on the build is what you've already mentioned: threat level. It's low. Very low. No Goblin Rabblemaster and No Eidolon of the Great Revel. There are no win-conditions in your sideboard - just more shields. Your wins come from (3) places: Karn/Chandra/Attack Monkeys. Against the wrong matchups, like control-combo, thats some tough sledding down the mountain. Consider a couple Hazoret the Fervent??
And, I know you mentioned that you're new to the game, so I get the 62 card build. But, the cardinal rule of Magic is 60. You will never see a deck in a top-8 list that runs even 1 card more than 60. I'd drop the claws of gix. But, again, I like where your head is at - tons of creativity.
Hobo-Stew hits upon a 0 Chalice of the Void deck construction - NONE. Brotha packs in 4 lightning bolt and 4 faithless looting instead. Having bolt must be awesome. But, the full playset of faithless? What other 1-drops can you now exploit. I guess my front runner would be Relic of Progenitus. It cantrips, drops easily and can really screw with the right opponent. If you go Relics/Zhalfirin/Faithless......now that's some dig.
Alright, kinfolk. Keep chucking rocks in the schoolyard, and high hopes for Goblin Cratermaker release.
Well I have been playing online for a day and have another 50 or so games in and the deck has further evolved.
First let me say that when my deck looked more like the standard build I loved Hazoret the Fervent. I would say that about 25% of my wins came from that and Chandra lobbing artillery from behind a bridges. I have gone in a direction with Karn that I do not sit behind the wall anymore. I build up a few huge (and I mean huge, they typically get to be 10/10 and more) constructs, then a take out the bridges with the Claws of gix and beat face.
The Claws are really a vital component. Additionally, the claws and the Inventors' Fair greatly help the game against burn. Also how often do you find yourself having to cast a spell that you do not want because of the need to empty your hand. I refer particularly to a bridge when you have a threat or a Moon when you need to utilize a land. This gets rid of them. I cast a lot of moons that simply don't matter just to sack them for the life.
I have found a replacement for Hazoret the Fervent in Ghirapur aether grid. I don't imagine many of really attacked with our god. We simply never got to the point we had no hand and no bridge out. We all just plink away with discards. My deck maximized this with Bottled Cloister giving me more ammunition to pitch. But my artifact heavy deck lends itself to doing just about the same amount per turn so I find it to be a wash. But being able to snipe creatures makes this a better, more resilient walking ballista in my build.
I moved a full grip of Goblins to the board as they are just so good against the decks you mentioned. I also moved my Chalices there. I am always trying to get my artifact count up and the chalices actually get in the way of that a bit. Sometimes you want to dump a arti at 0 but chalice at 0 stops all future 0 cmc cards. Plus outside of the matchups that an early chalice is GG I generally used my chalices to protect my bridges. But that role is take over by the welding jar. So I bring the chalice in on a matchup basis.
I cut the deck to 61 (because nobody takes a deck at 62 seriously) but dont plan to cut another card right now. I am cautious to suggest I know better as experience has time and again shown I do not. I resistedGoblin Rabblemaster for a month in my old build as I could not see how it could work with a bridge wielding deck. I was soo wrong obviously. However the analytics just don't support the prejudice against having more then 60 cards. If you need any card on the third round, lets say you need the third land, then your chances of getting said land go down by just 2 percent. That means 1 in 50 games will that extra card cost you the pull you wanted. Even so that does not guarantee a loss in that circumstance in and of itself. The math simply does not find any significant statistical advantage to 60 over 61. I think all the competitive decks use 60 because all of the competitive decks use 60. It simply self confirms and self reinforces the perception.
Just grabbed Legion Warboss for some games online and he works great with Rabblemaster.
I also threw in Krenko, Mob Boss and Shared Animosity and they both worked well when I was able to drop them i.e. turn one or late game for the win.
But, it has been a long time since I've played Pyro Prisons and it is all coming back to me. As I recall, two things happen when playing this deck. One, its a free win due to a rage quit turn one. It is nice in tournaments, but when playing casual online its not as satisfying. Two, they stick around and eventually break out of the prison and break you wide open. There is little in between. :/ Maybe there is a third thing where I sit there and draw mana resources for days and days and days then loose. lol
I think I could get more behind this deck if I dropped all the "control" like cards and just went all in on aggro, interaction, and ramp.
I made a Goblin version of this deck and what it lacked was extra Rabblemasters. None of the other goblins won the game by dropping turn 1. This card makes me want to try again. Basicly I just wanted to bloodmoon or Rabblemaster turn 1. Thats it. This is what I will try out
Russ, what's your current list? Can you post it? Are you streaming this weekend? I'm playing tomorrow and want to see where things stand. Last time I played at my LGS I faced a super fast, cheap Kiln Fiend deck (loss), UW control (loss) & Tron (loss) and some BW Sorin thing that I overran. There's also a Tooth & Nail deck that I simply can't beat, Storm and other Eldrazi decks,among other things. I've got my 2 copies of Sarkhan and 1 Avaricious now, so good to go there. Koth mainboard? C'mon people! I'm dying for content and tourney reports and games play-by-play.
Inclusion of ZV was what I posted about on the Sep 10th; I'm curious, a lot of games I've been playing with the full 4 ZV I have always had red on t2 either from scry, SSG or mountain, Gemstone on the draw etc. from there rituals can get more, chandra also adds 2R from her ability. With all this I haven't felt at risk of not having enough red when needed. Do you think your apprehension is just a fear or have you encountered borderline situations?
Nevertheless, you suggested the inclusion for Pyro Prison. Fair to note: it was done in a high performing Dragon Red deck which I also playtested. AND, the result was not positive, so I quickly abandoned the idea of ZV. That Dragon Deck looked good on paper and got a Top 8 in a very large event, but I could not get it to click.
OK, let's look at what your land base is for a pretty traditional Pyro Prison build:
Lands:
Seems proficient. It definitely does not allow for Koth of the Hammer. But, Koth can shift in and out. Besides, it does provide significant filter.
Here's what I would say at first blush. -- Ramunap Ruins was discussed upon release, and the overwhelming consensus was that it's rubbish for Pyro Prison. We were wrong. Now? It's pretty close to a must include (in some number: 1-4). So, it happens. The masses can be wrong about seeing gold right underneath their noses. Consider the initial release of Kolaghan's Command......Nobody saw the power of that card for ages. Is Zhalfirin the next Ramunap or K Command?
My current iteration is something like this (I'm on my phone and not sure how y'all format your decklists so nicely), I tweak each go around:
4 Chandra, TOD
1 Koth
2 Sarkhan, Fireblood
4 desperate ritual
1 pyretic ritual
4 Simian Spirit guide
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Avaricious Dragon
1 Hazoret
4 Blood Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pia & Kiran
1 Abrade
1 Slagstorm
2 Shrine of the Burning Rage
11 mountain
3 ramunap ruins
1 ghost quarter
1 scavenger grounds
3 gemstone caverns
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Mutavault
SB:
2 Boil
2 Damping sphere
2 Damping Matrix
3 Eidelon of the great revel
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Shattering Spree
1 Abrade
1 Hazoret
I really enjoy this discussion and look forward to keep following it.
[[Zhalfirin Void]] --- Cats and Dogs living together. It's Pandemonium!
So, following Clipper70s lead, I went aggressive:
- 2 Zhalfirin Void
- 3 Gemstone Caverns
- 1 Mutavault
- 2 Ramunap Ruins
- 13 Mountain
That's 21 Lands and (6) colorless mana cards. Tight. BUT, sometimes the Gemstones are pitched pre-game gemstone as 'mountains', AND sometimes the ZV is scrying into/away from a needed/unneeded mountain|ramunap.
I have 0 Chainwhirler in the main, and just 1 in the sideboard. My overarching concern are the (4) Eidolon in the sideboard. But, think about it. At most, we are talking about game 2 (and game 3 IF we lose). Also, there are plenty of occasions whereupon Eidolon is not brought in at all.
Thus the loss of red mana is not as risky as it might initially appear. For now, I like having (2) ZV, but I'm a fella that enjoys a risky proposition for the win. My testing has been very positive. And, I recently switched that mutavault into a 3rd Zhalfirin Void.
3x gemstone cavern
2x zhalfirin void
2x ramunap ruins
1x scavenger grounds
13x mountain
4x goblin rabblemaster
4x simian spirit guide
4x chandra, torch of defiance
2x sarkhan, fireblood
1x koth of the hammer
4x blood moon
4x ensnaring bridge
1x bottled cloister
4x desperate ritual
1x pyretic ritual
2x slagstorm
4x lightning bolt
4x faithless looting
Sideboard
4x chalices of the void
4x eidolon of the great revel
1x boil
1x banefire
2x torpor orb
1x damping matrix
1x anger of the gods
1x hour of devastation
I just took out 2 ramunap ruins for 2 zhalfirin void. Not sure if I want to take out 2 mountains to go back up to the full 4. Also not sure how many ZV I will want in the end.
Congrats on your breakthrough! It is always a great feeling. Glad that you were able to attain something Storm could not give you! =) Welcome!
Thanks Zayl and Fluffy!
I'm really happy with the results so far. I have a team unified tournament coming up in two weeks that's been the main reason for branching out. It's looking like I'll be sleeving up mountains for some time to come.
Great finish and welcome to the mountain!
I started developing something along a red prisona after seeing how blood moon wrecked my first foray into modern. Obviously my list ended up looking like the predominant lists because , well, those cards are better. I ended up with three thoughts.
So I just started by looking for a mono red replacement for Sarkhan and liked nothing till I went colorless with Karn, Scion of Urza.
After playing it I flat love him. Four mana fits the curve. He instantly deploys protection, which I wanted, and it digs deep for cards. At first I was content with the 2/2, 3/3 blockers but when I went to exploit the Constructs features the deck really took off. So here is my list.
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Karn, Scion of Urza
4 Anger of the Gods
2 Bottled Cloister
2 Claws of Gix
3 Welding Jar
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Mox Opal
1 Inventors' Fair
3 Zhalfirin Void
4 Darksteel Citadel
13 Mountain
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Spellskite
2 Damping Sphere
2 Torpor Orb
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Boil
2 Molten Rain
I have play tested the main deck extensively. I think it gives up a bit to combo and control (primarily because of the absence of Goblin rabblemaster) but it gains in all of the other aggro including Jund.
Notes
Mox opal makes this version a bit more explosive and the lead to emptying the hand quicker and easier.
Bottled Cloister, why isn't this card played more. I love it so much I lean toward keeping any opening hand with it. It turns the Bridge into a lock instantly. No dieing to pumped up chumps as I frantically tried to empty my hand. And the card advantage.
The early game digging with Zhalfirin Void is HUGE.
Claws of Gix allows me to gain that extra turn under pressure, not to mention it gets rid of the Bridges that have out lived their usefulness.
Welding Jar obviously acts as a shield to the bridges that hold back the hoard. I breath so much better with them out there.
Karn, Scion of Urza never drops a construct less then 4/4. really never. Generally the constructs get silly large and it is the opponent looking at my bridges to save them. (see the Claws).
My wins split pretty evenly between them (with 1 in 10 or so coming from monkey beats).
Obviously I want a Karn pre lock and a Chandra post lock, that's why I have a 3, 3 split.
The added cards are more 0 cmc cards that i can dump and feed the constructs and Opals. The chance of pulling any 1 card in a deck of 60 is 1.66% the chance of pulling any 1 card in a deck of 62 is 1.61%. So no matter what card it is that you want to pull, the added 2 cards only changes that amount by .05%
So in this case the added cards don't significantly effect the streamlining but do add the fluff I want.
First, an update to the great Void experiment. I like it. I got aggressive and went the full (4) just to see if I'd screw myself. It did happen, and the loss of Goblin Chainwhirler from the (75) is noted in certain matchups. With 4 Void, you really can't run Ramunap ruins. You're either scrying extra land away, so that you never get up to enough to fire them off, or if you do finally get to 5/6/7 mana, it's safe to say that it's under a blood moon. For now, I'm tinkering with 3 zhalfirin void, but I miss my mutavault most of all.
Speaking of lands, I like the inclusion of Inventor's Fair in FRIG's deck. With a full toolbox sideboard to call upon in games 2/3, that must come in handy. My concern on the build is what you've already mentioned: threat level. It's low. Very low. No Goblin Rabblemaster and No Eidolon of the Great Revel. There are no win-conditions in your sideboard - just more shields. Your wins come from (3) places: Karn/Chandra/Attack Monkeys. Against the wrong matchups, like control-combo, thats some tough sledding down the mountain. Consider a couple Hazoret the Fervent??
And, I know you mentioned that you're new to the game, so I get the 62 card build. But, the cardinal rule of Magic is 60. You will never see a deck in a top-8 list that runs even 1 card more than 60. I'd drop the claws of gix. But, again, I like where your head is at - tons of creativity.
Hobo-Stew hits upon a 0 Chalice of the Void deck construction - NONE. Brotha packs in 4 lightning bolt and 4 faithless looting instead. Having bolt must be awesome. But, the full playset of faithless? What other 1-drops can you now exploit. I guess my front runner would be Relic of Progenitus. It cantrips, drops easily and can really screw with the right opponent. If you go Relics/Zhalfirin/Faithless......now that's some dig.
Alright, kinfolk. Keep chucking rocks in the schoolyard, and high hopes for Goblin Cratermaker release.
First let me say that when my deck looked more like the standard build I loved Hazoret the Fervent. I would say that about 25% of my wins came from that and Chandra lobbing artillery from behind a bridges. I have gone in a direction with Karn that I do not sit behind the wall anymore. I build up a few huge (and I mean huge, they typically get to be 10/10 and more) constructs, then a take out the bridges with the Claws of gix and beat face.
The Claws are really a vital component. Additionally, the claws and the Inventors' Fair greatly help the game against burn. Also how often do you find yourself having to cast a spell that you do not want because of the need to empty your hand. I refer particularly to a bridge when you have a threat or a Moon when you need to utilize a land. This gets rid of them. I cast a lot of moons that simply don't matter just to sack them for the life.
I have found a replacement for Hazoret the Fervent in Ghirapur aether grid. I don't imagine many of really attacked with our god. We simply never got to the point we had no hand and no bridge out. We all just plink away with discards. My deck maximized this with Bottled Cloister giving me more ammunition to pitch. But my artifact heavy deck lends itself to doing just about the same amount per turn so I find it to be a wash. But being able to snipe creatures makes this a better, more resilient walking ballista in my build.
I moved a full grip of Goblins to the board as they are just so good against the decks you mentioned. I also moved my Chalices there. I am always trying to get my artifact count up and the chalices actually get in the way of that a bit. Sometimes you want to dump a arti at 0 but chalice at 0 stops all future 0 cmc cards. Plus outside of the matchups that an early chalice is GG I generally used my chalices to protect my bridges. But that role is take over by the welding jar. So I bring the chalice in on a matchup basis.
I cut the deck to 61 (because nobody takes a deck at 62 seriously) but dont plan to cut another card right now. I am cautious to suggest I know better as experience has time and again shown I do not. I resistedGoblin Rabblemaster for a month in my old build as I could not see how it could work with a bridge wielding deck. I was soo wrong obviously. However the analytics just don't support the prejudice against having more then 60 cards. If you need any card on the third round, lets say you need the third land, then your chances of getting said land go down by just 2 percent. That means 1 in 50 games will that extra card cost you the pull you wanted. Even so that does not guarantee a loss in that circumstance in and of itself. The math simply does not find any significant statistical advantage to 60 over 61. I think all the competitive decks use 60 because all of the competitive decks use 60. It simply self confirms and self reinforces the perception.
Here is my current list
4 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Karn, Scion of Urza
4 Anger of the Gods
1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
2 Bottled Cloister
2 Claws of Gix
3 Welding Jar
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Mox Opal
1 Inventors' Fair
3 Zhalfirin Void
4 Darksteel Citadel
13 Mountain
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Damping Sphere
1 Torpor Orb
2 Boil
2 Boom // Bust
PS> Boom // Bust is really useful in a deck with indestructible lands and artifact mana.
*Edited for Math error.
I also threw in Krenko, Mob Boss and Shared Animosity and they both worked well when I was able to drop them i.e. turn one or late game for the win.
But, it has been a long time since I've played Pyro Prisons and it is all coming back to me. As I recall, two things happen when playing this deck. One, its a free win due to a rage quit turn one. It is nice in tournaments, but when playing casual online its not as satisfying. Two, they stick around and eventually break out of the prison and break you wide open. There is little in between. :/ Maybe there is a third thing where I sit there and draw mana resources for days and days and days then loose. lol
I think I could get more behind this deck if I dropped all the "control" like cards and just went all in on aggro, interaction, and ramp.
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