MTG Salvation

Hello everyone! I've been playing MtG for 9 months now and finally bought my first modern deck (which is pyro prison)

I've been watching Fluffys stream VODs and reading this thread so I'm somewhat aware what I'm supposed to do with the deck. There wasn't any KCI players in my LGS so recent ban shouldn't shake my local meta

Recognising opponents deck and interacting with it in a right way will be the first threshold. It comes from experience but I would like to be able to read thoughts or even a guide about sideboarding and playing against matchups ( like @ShowTime_Mtg was proposing )

Thank you in advance! I will be posting my own experiences with the deck in the future!

Hey ShowTime, congrats on your recent success! Been meaning to talk about your decklist on here for a while now. Really liking your build and your reasoning for removing the 1-for-1 removal spells makes sense. I’m concerned about matchups like Devoted Company or Storm though, where killing their creatures on the spot is imperative. I’m currently on 3 Abrades, 1 Lava Coil in the main, and while yeah, some matchups they’re dead cards, I hate the idea of just auto-losing to a creature or artifact combo piece because there aren’t any outs in my deck. Thoughts on that?

Love the inclusion of Jaya and will try to throw her in to test. I love that she can potentially speed up the clock along side Hazoret or Chandra, and that she can clean up problematic creatures (barring your opponent has no interaction). What are some of your favorite things you can do with Jaya?

Finally, I’m running the 4 Eidolon main like you, but instead of the Warbosses, I’m running 2 Scab-Clan Berserkers and an additional Hazoret. What are your thoughts on Scab-Clan? I felt like I chose it over the Warbosses because I wanted to improve my control and combo matchups, get some more guaranteed damage in, as the Goblins don’t seem to last very long, for good reason.

It’s great having you here and congrats again!

Edit: congrats to you too, xbankx! I’ll have to try out Dismembers but I’m kind of with ShowTime in that I love Eidolons main and can’t imagine running both cards, as that would be extremely painful

I somewhat disagree that there are matchups where its imperative to kill their creatures. Storm can be easily disrupted by Eidolon, Leyline, Dsphere, Chalice etc. I typically focus on keeping good hands with lock pieces over killing guys.

The removal spells can tread water, but typically you need to draw a Bridge to beat a beatdown deck, or a Moon to beat a lands deck, or some combination etc that i feel abrading some random guy is a band aid and overall a losing proposition.

I have not tested Berzerker, but there are some factors to consider:

1. The goblins are better when drawn in multiples (You can chump attack wide, they pump eachother etc)
2. Berzerkers are worse with Bridge. They cannot establish the hellbent Bridge lock. I would hate to be hellbent against something like Deaths Shadow, with Bridge in play, trying to draw a goblin to start production before they find abrade or Kcommand, and top deck this guy that does nothing.
3. The goblins represent the fastest possible clock if the opponent is locked down. Let's say you're racing your Tron opponent, they are under Blood Moon, but you fear hardcast Thragtusk, Ostone, or opponent finding Natures Claim. A Single goblin will kill the opponent in 3 attack steps, it would be a shame to have Berzerker as your threat, get in for 8 dmg over 3 turns, then have your opponent get out and crush you.

For these reasons, I dont think I like it at the moment. Also someone is up to six trophies, I have some catching up to do!

Thanks for the response. I’ll consider hopping back into Warbosses and increasing threat density by reducing spot removal main.

What has your matchup with UR Phoenix been like? I feel like a way to deal with TitI and the Drake has been super important, as we can lock them out with a Bridge, but once they find their Abrade or artifact removal, they can one-shot us with the amount of power they represent. I’ve found Lava Coil to be great at this. I’ve also reduced the number of Blood Moons to two because of the sheer amount of red decks I’ve been playing lately. Haven’t really regretted it but it could just be my local scene.

In my experience, UR Phoenix folds to Chalice on 1. Pre-board Chalice on 1 and Bridge is GG.

I don't know whether it already got discussed but am I the only one looking forward to utilize Light Up the Stage in Pyro Prison?

Quote from user-9949269 »

I don't know whether it already got discussed but am I the only one looking forward to utilize Light Up the Stage in Pyro Prison?

Hi user, I dont think card advantage is what this deck is looking for.

Most of the time, you are going for a turn 1-2 lock piece or turn 1-2 legion warboss/rabblemaster or mull to that.

I played another 5 leagues with this deck. Gone 4-1 3 times and 3-2 twice.

Been seeing a lot of new 4 color prison deck so Im back to 4 abrade main. Also saw a few affinity.

Quote from user-9949269 »

I don't know whether it already got discussed but am I the only one looking forward to utilize Light Up the Stage in Pyro Prison?

While Light Up the Stage may have a spot in the Trash Dragon build, although not sure where in the 75 you would put it yet. I'm more excited for Cavalcade of Calamity in the sideboard of the 8 Rabble versions. Played 2 in the board at FNM this week to bring in against GBx decks. It definitely saved two games for me. Played against Jund and Rock. Went 6-0 on the night (top 4 split)

@DFray85: 6-0 at an FNM. That's Outstanding! At first glance, Cavalcade of Calamity didn't catch my eye. But, that record and the impact it can have upon against a difficult matchup of Jund/Rock has me taking pause....it's still a pass for me, because it's too narrow in application as aggression only. Overall, it comes down to playing a card that can have an immediate impact on the board/game state with a little more utility. Similar concept is Purphoros, God of the Forge for a 'ping' mechanic in an 8-Rabble Goblin Gun design. And, it does a bit more. But, hey, you already proved that it works - cool maneuvering!

@Showtime_Mtg: He has climbed to the top of the mountain 5 times, and it is...good (XBankx1 is also throwing big rocks out there). Beyond your skillful tournament success with Pyro Prison, your write-ups exhibit logistical understandings of the underpinnings of success with this deck. Thus, you've crafted your own brand of (75) to suit.

ANALYZING THE BUILD
In order to succeed with an attrition based, soft lock prison deck, your cards must be slightly more impactful than your opponents cards. When possible, shut down entire lines of their development with a Power Lock (Bridge, Chalice, Moon, and sometimes Eidolon). Otherwise, claim 2-for-1 advantage with your spells (Goblin shooters, Planeswalkers, Sweepers and Gods).

1-for-1 Spot Removal
Showtime --- 0 [No spot removal]
xBankX1 --- 4 [2 abrade and 2 dismember]
Joymonger --- 4 [3 abrade and 1 lavacoil]
Fluffywolf --- 2 [2 Abrade]
Raystack --- X [we'll get to how I answer that question later]

O.K. What is the king of spot removal in Pyro Prison? Abrade. It's not really debatable. When it was first published, mountain folk adopted it at varying speeds, but every single one of us eventually put it in our (60). I was the last to do so. Why? I detest 1-for-1 removal. Ultimately, I gave in because it provided enough of an assist to our cage building. Metas change. And, now it has - thankfully - moved back to the sideboard again for both me and Showtime.

However, I still believe we have to pack some sort of removal in our Main Deck. All due respect to Showtime's titanic record of wins, I have a question about:
3-CMC spell count vs. Lack of Removal Spells


(17) 3-CMC spells with no spot or sweeper removal. Is this too crowded of a CMC slot? The challenge since creating the deck has been to avoid too many spells that cost 3. It strains a smooth ramp, particularly when you consider there are no 1-CMC spells.

The inclusion of Eidolon of the Great Revel (as Showtime observed above) populated a slot that allows us to present threats 1 turn earlier than before. Since Eidolon can trade for damage (removal) from attackers AND offer shock damage to spell based decks, this reduces our reliance upon our 'crutch card', the king of spot removal: Abrade.

If you ratchet up the threat density to include 8-Rabbles and 4 Eidolons, is that enough to abandon the need for ANY removal cards whatsoever in the main deck? It's been working for Showtime. But, I talked with Russ Colosi last night, and reflected upon the tournament observations of @Midnwalker about this topic. We think it's a reach too far.

The principal concern is getting run over by a creature deck. Even if you do rip a bridge into play, you won't be able to dump down your hand fast enough - because it's full of 3-cmc spells.

But, that's just a theory. One that Showtime has repeatedly proven wrong, so I took his exact decklist out for a competitive league. It did well. 3-2. Small sample size, but I want to be fair and informed about my analysis.

Anyway, I am extraordinarily impressed and overjoyed with seeing Showtime's face at the campfire. Clever construction & premier analysis in your posts here. AND...2nd place on the MTGO Trophy leaderboard - worldwide.


I'll wrap up by deciphering X. I reported that I run 'X' 1-for-1 spot removal in my Pyro Prison deck. Depending on your interpretation, I run anywhere between 0 and 4.

• 2 Slagstorm
• 1 Collective Defiance
• 1 Goblin Cratermaker

The top 2 could be considered creature removal, be it One or Many, but they can also be considered a Lightning Bolt to the opponent's 20. The 3rd could be considered a spot removal spell, but it could also be considered a Bear. And, rather than abrade - which is often held after turn 2 - I always play out a cratermaker on turn 2 which creates disruption/clock.

Let's see the list


The keen eye will immediately call into question my 3-CMC count. It's (18). That's 1 more than Showtime's and I just got done questioning his crowded 3-CMC slot! True. But 3 of my spells are removal. And, there's an exploding teddy bear which got rolled out a turn earlier. If I'm facing creature attack, I have a few more answers.

There really is no right or wrong - just a discussion board. And, I hope that Showtime receives my words with the spirit in which they are given.

Mountain Hugs to Tjuppus, Dfray, akaHoudini (welcome back), and user-9949249 for joining the clan. Question though....is user-9949249 a bot. What's with the name?? Are we being spied upon!!

Thanks for the shoutout from the Rayfather. So this is the deck I took to FNM last week. I wanted to test out Cavalcade of Calamity in the sideboard. Its probably not going to stay in the 75 but its cheap and wanted to test it. And my sideboard and deck is a bit skewed towards my LGS meta. I'll have to check my notes for more match specifics. But rounds went as follows.

R1 2-0 Infect
R2 2-0 Lantern Control
R3 2-1 Rock
R4 2-0 Jeskai Control
R5 2-1 Jund
T8 2-1 Dredge
Top 4 split
Rest of top 4 was
jund guy from R5
(Side note i normally would have drawn into top8 so i could grab some food, but he was being an Ahole he didn't want to draw because insert super condescending voice "I've never lost to red prison")
Izzet Phoenix
Grixis DS

All in all good night, other than Jund guy who was not a local guy to my LGS

I'm digging the cavalcade in the side, but what matchups is it useful in and what did you take out? I love the synergy with hellbent bridge and an ass load of tokens, but I'm not seeing where that would be the strategy. (I'm also fairly new to modern)

It's been a long time since I've roamed these halls, been mainly in the discord and such and stopped by because I've heard showtime_ was here. I just want to say how stoked I am seeing jaya in the list and mainboard too!! I've been championing her for the last 7 months and she has been wonderful for me. Can you shed some light on why you like her in the list and why in the mainboard?

I only brought it in for GBx decks. Brought in the cavalcades a spellskite and spyglass. I actually have been cutting bridges in the match up. Just been trying to race them. Cavalcade helped with the race and allowed me to keep their walkers off the board regardless of blockers. Honestly i'll keep testing it in matchups locally but it probably wouldn't make the 75 for a large event.

Happy you beat this jund guy. It is very silly saying he never lost to a bloodmoon deck, if he play a 3 colour greedy deck. I hope he was salty? Bridge and chalice I allways put out vs jund and bring in 4 relic. Seems me personally have the way found for beating jund

Hey everyone, ShowTime_ here. Up to 6 trophies! I'm considering making a write up on my main board sideboard plans/choices since there has been interest. I may be taking a break from pyro prison for a few weeks to test standard for the upcoming RPTQ, but part of me doesn't want to, I've been having too much damn fun with this deck. I don't know if I want to to continue to chase Naisic, I'm pretty sure he plays 400% more than i do. Bottom line is this deck is the real deal, I am clipping a 5-0 every 3 leagues or so. I think it's as good as any deck in modern. Anyone who doesn't think its tier 1 is wrong. It's also excellent against most of the top decks in the field. I will have a write up hopefully after the RPTQ, or at least soon!

Would love a good write up ShowTime. I'm planning on playing Pyro in a Mythic Qualifier at MagicFest Cleveland at the end of February. I'm working on nailing down the flex spots of the 75 and update the sideboard. Now that KCI is banned I'm curious to see how the meta responds.

Went 2-2 last night, won against UR Phoenix and Esper Mill, lost against Eldrazi Taxes and Dredge. Used the list below:



Match 1 - UR Phoenix - 2-0
Went 2-0, game 1 I assembled a Bridge, Chalice on 1 and 2, and Chandra; he folded on turn 5 as soon as I played the second Chalice. Game 2, I got an early Warboss and Mutavault.

Match 2 - Esper Mill 2-1
Interesting match to say the least. Game 1 I got Gemstone out since I was on the draw and then I got a turn 2 Blood Moon. He folded after I found a Rabble. Game 2 he used Bridge and Mesmeric Orb to lock me down while he milled me to death. Game 3, I locked him down with Witchbane Orb and killed him with an ult'd Chandra. And to think I was going to remove Witchbane Orb from my board with a different card...

Match 3 - BW Eldrazi Taxes 0-2
Lost 0-2, removal wasn't strong enough against multiple Thought-Knots and I never drew into a Blood Moon. I had Bridge Game 1 but he kept flickerwisp-ing it away and beat me down. Is this a terrible matchup for us without a Moon out?

Match 4 - Dredge 1-2
Game 1 he did Dredge things. Game 2, I got him with a Bridge lockdown + Rabbles. Game 3 was close but Chandra whiffed and exiled my Bridge while I was tapped out, so I died to his Bloodghasts. My Anger wiped out almost all of his board beforehand but I didn't draw into another one quickly enough. I probably should have added more Cages instead of Relics in my board.

Overall I'm okay with how I did, although I do wish I could do better than 2-2 with P-Prison at some point. I definitely got punished for keeping a greedy hand Game 3 of Dredge, but I think I made good decisions overall with keeping and mulligan-ing hands. Eldrazi and Taxes hurt a lot and initially he thought I was on Skred; ironically Skred would've have saved me, since my old Skred list ran Roast and the titular Skred which would have smashed his Seers. I have a Trinisphere and Ravenous Traps in the mail, might continue to adjust my ramp since I did lose a game to Dredge by drawing nothing but lands, rituals, and Guides. Bridge was a godsend so definitely curious to see if I can find ways to cheat my own creatures through it more/find more win cons that are non-creature. Maybe add in a Koth? Also Eidolon did nothing for me tonight, but I have a 4th in the mail and will see if it has more impact the next time I play Prison.

Hey Kin!

I've been reviewing the report from DFray85 - wise construction that plays all the heavy hitters of locks, threats, and removal. The Cavalcade of Calamity goes a little too narrow as aggression only application (as you noted in your follow up post). Another 'ping' mechanic that also has more utility is Purphoros, God of the Forge. When he clicks? Voodoo Chile: chopping down mountains with the edge of his hand!

I studied your matchups in your 6-0 run.
R1 2-0 Infect
R2 2-0 Lantern Control
R3 2-1 Rock
R4 2-0 Jeskai Control
R5 2-1 Jund
T8 2-1 Dredge
Judging on the meta, I'd remove the (2) CoC and try:

1.) Magus of the Moon: Great against Jund / BG Rock (keeps them off double-black Liliana at a minimum, man lands, and kills their Fetch land/Field of Ruin fetch tricks.) It's also great against Infect.

2.) Dire Fleet Daredevil: Now, this may be too sneaky for its own good. BUT, judging from your specific matchups, she's fantastic against Jeskai. Plenty of targets against Jund/BG Rock. And, a 2/1 first strike against Dredge stops Bloodghast dead and can negate an Ancient Grudge, Conflagrate, Life from the Loam...even a free dig/draw of a Faithless Looting would be a common option.
And, in this matchup, it's all about finding the right answers ASAP.


Perennial allstar Zayl pops in again! I noted that Showtime_MTG also clued into power of your best gal, Jaya Ballard, Task Mage. Yup - a 1 is a solid bet. I was trying Scab-Clan Berserker in the maindeck, but testing proved that it too often got blocked up by a wall OR it couldn't get through blockers to turn itself on. So, I'm onto Jaya and Legion Warboss again.

Showtime_MTG is up to (6) Trophies in Modern Competitive Leagues. I think you picked the right avatar name, buddy.

Lastly, Jokerstyle - superb write-up. I think the decklist is sound. The (10) rituals may be a little too much gas that will later turn into 'hot air' since you don't have a lot of filtering cards like: Tormenting Voice, Faithless Looting, Zhalfirin Void, Sarkhan, Fireblood, etc. etc. Comments on the sideboard would be that Alpine Moon and Damping Sphere have largely been left behind (damping sphere has a little more usage) because they don't provide a clock of damage & their roles are already being played by Eidolon, Chalice, and Moon. And, good on ya for keeping the faith with Witchbane Orb. Look to and respect...The Orb!!!

Hi ShowTime,

just a question, how do you sideboard for the jund and grixis shadow matchup?

Here's my new list; I removed the Eidolons in favor of filter draws, replaced my single Magus with a Koth, and replaced Alpine Moon and Damping Sphere with two Cratermakers for Eldrazi and Tron. I'm wondering what people think, thanks prison peeps~