This site works best with JavaScript enabled. Please enable JavaScript to get the best experience from this site.
Table of Contents IntroductionDeck Construction VeggiesMeatSauceCrustPreparation Sideboarding Sideboard ConstructionMatchups Tournament Results GR Ponza This is Ponza, a classic deck making its way in the world. A modern incarnation tempo land destruction. The name explains the deck well. Ponza Rotta Red, or simply “Ponza” as it would come be called, is named for a kind of like a calzone, but deep fried (“~the finest delicacy of Waukesha, Wisconsin.” -Kwal). The deck can be split up into different classes of cards crust (land), meat (creatures), red sauce (Land Destruction), and ramp (veggies). “A perfect balance.” The deck is notable for its simple game plan and varying deck construction. "Impressive." —Chandra Nalaar
Destroy their lands, swing at their face! Possibly the oldest deck in Modern outside of burn, at least that looks anything like it’s original. No matter how long you’ve been playing magic you have memories of learning about land destruction shortly after you learn how to play. Some people hate the concept. Everyone else is reading this. Whether it was Sinkhole, Molten Rain or Wrecking Ball it made an impression. As Magic has evolved, so has the recipe for land destruction decks. This is where we are today. The concept of Ponza, including the name, dates back to 1997 when Brian Kowal brought the deck to ProTour Rome. In the years following the deck posted many results and several incarnations. It gained the most fame from a January 2000 match between Jon Finkle (Vampiric Tutor control) and Chris Benafel (Ponza) in the finals US nationals. After rotation, the deck fell into relative obscurity, being hit hard by the loss of several key cards. Chris Benafel’s 70 card PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creature (7)4 Avalanche Riders3 MasticoreSorcery (17)3 Cave-In1 Earthquake3 Hammer of Bogardan4 Pillage4 Stone Rain2 Tectonic BreakInstant (6)2 Shock4 BoilArtifact (11)3 Fire Diamond4 Cursed Totem4 Thran FoundryEnchantment (4)4 Seal of FireLand (25)4 Rishadan Port3 Dust Bowl4 Ghitu Encampment14 Mountain Late 2001 we do see the first incarnation of the deck that looks and plays like the Ponza we know today. While this list had minimal success it set the ultimate precedent for Ponza decks to follow. GR Ponza by Sean McKeownMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creatures (22)4 Llanowar Elves2 Birds of Paradise4 Thornscape Familiar4 Veteran Brawlers4 Flametongue Kavu4 SkizzikSorceries (15)4 Assault/Battery4 Stone Rain4 Pillage3 Tectonic BreakLand (23)4 Rishadan Port4 Karplusian Forest4 City of Brass6 Mountain5 Forest Between 2001 and 2013 was a dark time in Ponza’s History, literally it became a black deck. The deck’s closest successors were a variety of control decks that hurt your opponent’s lands, including the ever notorious Smallpox Decks. In 2014 Itou Manabu brought Ponza to GP Kobe 2014 and made it to the top 32 with the deck mostly as we see it today. Itou Manabu’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creatures (19)4 Arbor Elf2 Eternal Witness1 Huntmaster of the Fells1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed3 Scavenging Ooze2 Stormbreath Dragon3 Tarmogoyf3 Thundermaw HellkiteInstants (9)1 Beast Within2 Dismember4 Lightning Bolt2 Summoning TrapSorceries (4)4 Molten RainEnchantments (7)3 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlLands (21)4 Misty Rainforest6 Snow-Covered Forest2 Snow-Covered Mountain4 Stomping Ground1 Temple of Abandon4 Verdant CatacombsSideboard2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods2 Choke2 Combust1 Damping Matrix1 Engineered Explosives1 Huntmaster of the Fells1 Obstinate Baloth1 Shatterstorm1 Torpor Orb Matt Mendoza is generally credited for bringing the deck into Modern. Progressing from a list involving Tooth and Nailing into Xenagos and Emrakul into the deck we know and love today. Organically developing the deck all over again. “Great minds think alike.” This development took place in 2016 and came into its own during the Eldrazi Winter, or as Ponza liked to call it, “Snack Time.” Today the deck enjoys relative obscurity. Maintaining enough top results to prove that the deck is competitive, but few enough that most opponents will not have had much playtime against it. Table of Contents There goes the neighborhood.-Stone Rain
Ponza is a relatively flexible deck. You can change the portions, order it exactly how you want it. But some things pineapple never go on Pizza, Calzone, Ponza Rotta in the deck. We have less what you would call flex slots and more portion control, how much Ramp, LD, or how many Bombs can change heavily depending on the meta. Every version of Modern Ponza is RG with 4 Stone Rain, 4Blood Moon, and 4 Utopia Sprawl beyond that let the meta decide. So-called because they help the deck grow big and strong. Once upon a time the deck was just meat and sauce, but we’ve grown up and learned that adding in a few vegetables helps with consistency. You will typically want between 8-11 single mana ramp sources. Your overall curve will determine how important 2R turn 2 is, as well as ease with which you hit 6. Utopia Sprawl (Run 4) : “It’s entirely possible that this deck exists because Sprawl is in the format.”-Matt M. The vast majority of the time, it should enchant a basic Forest. Enchanting a Stomping Ground with a Sprawl can be necessary, but it is not desirable. Post-Moon, Ground is no longer a forest and Sprawl falls off. Choosing your color is also important. Most of the time you will choose R and about a third of the time G. Each situation requires consideration, always make your choices off of the lands in your hand, what you want to play turn 2, and what effect Blood Moon will have on your plays. It is worth familiarizing yourself with the ways opponents can take advantage of Utopia Sprawl. Destroying the enchanted land is a 2 for 1, more commonly you will see Spreading Seas which causes the land to lose the forest typing, causing Sprawl to fall off. It is often wise to spread out which lands you enchant in order to hedge your bets against removal. Arbor Elf (Run 4) : A solid G dork that turns into incredible ramp in conjunction with Utopia Sprawl. A turn 1 Arbor Elf followed by a turn 2 Sprawl is GGRR mana on turn 2 and we have just the cards that can best take advantage of this 4 mana.Birds of Paradise (Run 0-2) : Mana dork numbers 5 & 6 these help with consistently seeing 3 mana on turn 2. Not anywhere near as good as Arbor Elf but the next best thing. You will typically play the Elf first to attempt the turn 2 4 play. However if you are confident that your opponent has removal for your turn 1 play drop the Birds first a bait. Most lists run 1 but some go up to 3. Courser of Kruphix (Run 1-2) :Card filtering, life gain, efficient blocking. He does a lot of things. Better in aggro metas. Sauce makes the dish. This is your interactivity with your opponent, ruin their game plan so you can play out yours fully. You will want between 6-9 land destruction spells, 4 Blood Moon, and 0-5 removal spells. Some decks focus much heavier on control and denying their opponents lands. Others use Stone Rain as more of a tempo play putting their opponent behind. Land Destruction Stone Rain (Run 4) : The base line of our deck, literally the tomatoes. Use this to destroy an opponent’s land on turn 2. How often have you kept a hand with just enough land? In modern its all the time, now you can punish people for choosing to do so. Unlike other LD decks you will often hit basics to then follow up with a Blood MoonMolten Rain (Run 2-4) : What you hope to hit with Bloodbraid Most lists run 3 as additional Stone Rain, the double red is very accomplishable turn 2 but will occasionally require paying for an untapped Stompy. For the most part, we are not trying to keep our opponents off lands entirely but rather disrupt their ability to play out their hand. Mwonvuli Acid-Moss (Run 0-1) :Have you ever blown up a land and ramped on turn 2? It’s the best feeling in the world. This was recently a 4 of in every Ponza deck, with the unbanning of Bloodbraid Elf there has been a unilateral shift towards LD spells that she can hit. Notably fetches Forests, Forests, and Forests.Primal Command (Run 0-2) : Lifegain when we need it, tutors up a bomb off the topdeck, slows their land plays, can deal with anything not a creature, maindeck tech against graveyard decks, this card pulls a lot of weight. Many lists run 1, some lists run 2.Beast Within (Run 0-1) : Our all-purpose answer to anything, acts as additional LD or can knock out a planeswalker our opponent was depending on to stabilize. The drawback is real though, use caution, beasts ahead. Bloodbraid hitting this at the wrong time isn’t something you want to do.Acidic Slime (Run 0-1) : Destroys a land and blocks well, but we generally want to be the aggressive ones. After putting an opponent back a few turns, possibly locked out, we go on the offensive. This guy is slow on the LD side and worthless on the aggressive side. Can be very good against Death’s Shadow though. Crumble to Dust (Run 0-1) :An incredible card against many decks, all of whom we already have a good matchup against. Blood Moon & Friend Blood Moon (Run 3-4) :So important it gets it’s own category. Blood Moon is central to the deck’s plan. This is the card that turns our medium LD plan into a lock. Against some decks it’s a free win. Against others it can function as an Arcane Laboratory only allowing them to play one spell a turn with their colored mana. It is even often effective against other Blood Moon decks. Their mana base is carefully crafted to be able to play through a Moon, but if you pick off their non-red basics they can be locked out by their own cards. Occasionally it goes to the side-board but never doubt that it is great verses the majority of decks you will ever play against. Magus of the Moon (Run 0-1) :It is Blood Moon on a fragile 2/2 body. Trinisphere (Run 0-4) :A unique card with the ability to slow fast decks to a crawl. Better in our deck than anywhere else. We can play it on turn 2 which is a whole lot better than when it would be naturally played turn 3. Also, better when you can destroy an opponent’s lands below 3. Not all decks care very much about it so use your judgment, or better yet, your board. Removal Bonfire of the Damned (Run 0) :Once a major staple of the deck, but doesn’t play well with cascade.Mizzium Mortars (Run 0-2) :4 Damage will kill many things in the format. When overloaded can act as an emergency wipe for a swarm late game. Generally, not favored by the majority of decks. Lists running Goblin Deep-Dwellers run 1-4.Lightning Bolt (Run 0-4) : Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once the premier removal of Modern is now relegated to a maybe. Solid versatile removal that can also hit an opponent’s face. Unfortunately, there are many common creatures in Modern that it won’t hit. Use your judgment and read the meta. Sweltering Suns (Run 0-1) :Very similar to Anger, doesn’t exile creatures but it potentially better in the main deck in the event we don’t want a boardwipe. Decks running it run 1 main and 1-2 Anger in the board to supplement.Anger of the Gods (Run 0) :Useful low cost boardwipe to clear early enemy creatures. Unfortunately hits our Dorks setting us back potentially several turns of mana. Important in the board for when you need swarm removal or a creature exiled. Sideboard card. Firespout (Run 0) : While a cute way to dodge our creatures while wiping flyers it would have to be cast for GGG which isn’t exactly the easiest thing for us. The majority of the time it is worse than Sweltering Suns or Anger of the Gods. Does nothing off of cascade.Beast Within (Run 0-1) :See Above in LD You can’t have a Ponza without meat, well you can, Adrian Sullivan ran Vegetarian Ponza in 1999. But aside from that Ponza runs Meat. These are your finishers, meant to close out the game quickly. In today’s world, the bombs we run are the most resistant possible. Dodging removal and interference as best as possible. This is our most versatile section, almost every bomb has been replaced with a different creature in one list or another. Staples Bloodbraid Elf (Run 4) : Board presence and hopefully LD off the top. This is the perfect level of aggressive value that we needed.Tireless Tracker(Run 3-4) : Has proven himself to be of immense value. Card draw and a respectable body make for a fearsome combination.Inferno Titan (Run 2-3) : The fastest clock at 6 mana. Clears the way of blockers, pumps for extra damage, and can easily be a 2 turn kill. His weakness is Path, but having an ETB effect helps mitigate that flaw. Pia and Kiran Nalaar(Run 0-1) :Holds back swarms well and gives you a versatile presence on the board. Stormbreath Dragon(Run 0-1) :A strong card at weird spot in our curve. Some metas it is what we need others it isn’t. If you read Stormbreath and didn’t see the word Shroud, look again. It can’t be killed by Path, Push, or Bolt. It usually kills an onboard Lilliana of the Veil before she could edict. Its Monstrous ability will end games surprisingly often. Chandra, Torch of Defiance (Run 1-2) :The kind of versatility we desperately want. ‘Draws’ cards, ramps, functional removal. She fits in the deck well, both on curve and filling in things we need. Meta Flex Slots Chandra, Flamecaller(Run 0-2) : Big Sis Chandra. Her jobs are to put pressure on your opponent, wipe the board, and maybe fill your hand.Obstinate Baloth (Run 0-2) :Hedge your bets against aggro and burn by running him main. Strong against Lilliana decks. Usually occupies one of our flex slots with Thrun and Thragtusk. Adjust for meta accordingly. I've seen burn scoop to a turn 2 Baloth.Thragtusk(Run 0-1) :Resilient, aggressive, and proactive. Thragtusk is a good card. His competition is stiff at 5 mana and most list typically skip him.Thrun, The last Troll (Run 0-1) :Our stickiest threat. Once he resolves (he will), he should never be allowed to leave the field. Incredible against control, often functioning as The Abyss. He blocks well against more aggressive decks but doesn’t shine because he doesn’t progress our gameplan if he’s blocking. Generally in the sideboard at 1.Scavenging Ooze (Run 0-2) :Maindeck graveyard hate, lifegain, and early body. Unfortunately, he doesn’t shine his brightest in our deck. We rarely are at 2 mana early game, preferring to cast more impactful spells. Late game there are some lot better things we could be doing. It’s overall ‘Good Card’ nature leads many players to run it anyway.Chameleon Colossus (Run 0-1) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Glory Bringer (Run 0-1) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Huntmaster of the Fells (Run 0-2) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Rogue Cards Platinum Emperion & Madcap Experiment (Run 0 or 5) :Always run together. Having an Emperion on board is a near auto win against damage-based deck if they can’t remove it. The combo here is better than in any other deck because we stand a realistic chance of hardcasting Emperion should we draw it. Became quite popular for about a month but fewer and fewer list run him nowadays. Goblin Dark Dwellers (Run 0-2) :Like Bloodbraid Elf but on the back end fallen out of favor since it cost 1 more. Follows up Stone Rain like a Snapcaster with an aggressive body. This card will change your deck more than any other threat. List running him often run more spot removal, add in a single Molten Rain. Generally working to capitalize on his value. Never forget that it has Menace.Nissa, Vital Force (Run 0-1) :A card once considered that offers the deck more options. I’m not a big fan.Hazoret the Fervent (Run 0-1) :This guy gives a beating and does everything we want. He falls awkwardly into the curve and man players feel he doesn’t play out well. Potentially the best card when we are in topdeck mode. How many you run depends on how many of the more specific meta cards you want in your main. Samut, Voice of Dissent (Run 0-2) :A very aggressive creature, but that’s most all it is. I’d rather be running a 4th copy of Inferno TitanWurmcoil Engine(Run 0-1) :If you’ve ever played against this card you know how good it is. One of the big perks of this deck is its adaptability. Play what bombs you see as most relevant to what decks you will face. It has some popularity as a 1 of. Rhonas the Indomitable (Run 0-2) :A follow up to the god plan, comes down early and stays relevant as long as you have another creature. Unfortunately, it plays poorly alone and makes a horrid topdeck. The first thing your opponent will see and hopefully something they won’t have. Land. All of your decisions here center around 2 cards. Blood Moon & Utopia Sprawl We run mostly Fetches and Basics with only 3 slots dedicated to Duel Lands Basics Mountain (Run 1-2) : You need this from time to time untapped, painless, produces red without Blood Moon. It is so good they have been printing it since Alpha. Forest(Run 8-9) : High interaction card, very key, run it. Fetches Wooded Foothills (Run 4) :Gets both of our colors. Run 4.Windswept Heath (Run 4) :You can run any Fetch that grabs green. Heath just happens to be the cheapest. If you’re feeling like it/already own them feel free to run Verdant Catacombs or Misty Rainforest to potentially throw your opponent off turn 1 about what you are running. Duel Lands Stomping Ground (Run 2-3) :This can get you both of your colors untapped. Don’t forget that you can grab it with Mwonvuli Acid-Moss. Run 3 if its your only dual, run 2 if you also run the following. Cinder Glade (Run 0-1) :Very often can come into play untapped considering the amount of basics we are running. It’s bad on turn 2. Run 1. Effect Lands Kessig Wolf Run (Run 0-1) :Powerful with as much mana as we can make, can turn anything into a clock. Great when we are topdecking. Just a Mountain when Blood Moon is out. Most lists run 0. So, you have your ingredients and you are ready to bake. Here are a few guidelines so you don’t get burnt. This is probably the most likely configuration for the deck you will run into. Everything else is a derivative of. Sample DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Lands (21)9 Forest1 Mountain8 Fetches3 DuelsRamp (10)4 Arbor Elf4 Utopia Sprawl2 Bird of ParadiseLD (11)4 Stone Rain4 Blood Moon3 Molten RainThreats (16)2 Inferno Titan4 Bloodbraid Elf4 Tireless Tracker2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance2 Pia and Kiren Nalaar2 Flex Creature ThreatsRemoval (2)2 Lightning Bolt Other Builds Include: Madcap PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Lands (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded Foothills4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise2 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion2 Stormbreath Dragon1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last TrollInstants (1)1 Beast WithinSorceries (14)3 Bonfire of the Damned3 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainEnchantments (8)4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlPlaneswalkers (2)2 Chandra, Torch of DefianceSideboard2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Choke2 Kitchen Finks2 Obstinate Baloth3 Sudden Shock2 Thrun, the Last Troll GDD PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creature (14)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise1 Courser of Kruphix2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers1 Hazoret the Fervent4 Stormbreath Dragon1 ThragtuskSorcery (11)1 Mizzium Mortars1 Molten Rain3 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone Rain1 Sweltering SunsLand (21)1 Cinder Glade8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run4 Misty Rainforest1 Mountain2 Stomping Ground4 Wooded FoothillsInstant (4)1 Beast Within3 Lightning BoltPlaneswalker (2)2 Chandra, Torch of DefianceEnchantment (8)4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlSideboard (14)2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Chameleon Colossus1 Faerie Macabre1 Kitchen Finks1 Relic of Progenitus2 Thrun, the Last Troll4 Trinisphere Table of Contents “Be it ever so crumbled, there's no place like home. “ - Goblin Settler
So-called because they help the deck grow big and strong. Once upon a time the deck was just meat and sauce, but we’ve grown up and learned that adding in a few vegetables helps with consistency. You will typically want between 8-11 single mana ramp sources. Your overall curve will determine how important 2R turn 2 is, as well as ease with which you hit 6. Utopia Sprawl (Run 4) : “It’s entirely possible that this deck exists because Sprawl is in the format.”-Matt M. The vast majority of the time, it should enchant a basic Forest. Enchanting a Stomping Ground with a Sprawl can be necessary, but it is not desirable. Post-Moon, Ground is no longer a forest and Sprawl falls off. Choosing your color is also important. Most of the time you will choose R and about a third of the time G. Each situation requires consideration, always make your choices off of the lands in your hand, what you want to play turn 2, and what effect Blood Moon will have on your plays. It is worth familiarizing yourself with the ways opponents can take advantage of Utopia Sprawl. Destroying the enchanted land is a 2 for 1, more commonly you will see Spreading Seas which causes the land to lose the forest typing, causing Sprawl to fall off. It is often wise to spread out which lands you enchant in order to hedge your bets against removal. Arbor Elf (Run 4) : A solid G dork that turns into incredible ramp in conjunction with Utopia Sprawl. A turn 1 Arbor Elf followed by a turn 2 Sprawl is GGRR mana on turn 2 and we have just the cards that can best take advantage of this 4 mana.Birds of Paradise (Run 0-2) : Mana dork numbers 5 & 6 these help with consistently seeing 3 mana on turn 2. Not anywhere near as good as Arbor Elf but the next best thing. You will typically play the Elf first to attempt the turn 2 4 play. However if you are confident that your opponent has removal for your turn 1 play drop the Birds first a bait. Most lists run 1 but some go up to 3. Courser of Kruphix (Run 1-2) :Card filtering, life gain, efficient blocking. He does a lot of things. Better in aggro metas.
So-called because they help the deck grow big and strong. Once upon a time the deck was just meat and sauce, but we’ve grown up and learned that adding in a few vegetables helps with consistency. You will typically want between 8-11 single mana ramp sources. Your overall curve will determine how important 2R turn 2 is, as well as ease with which you hit 6.
Sauce makes the dish. This is your interactivity with your opponent, ruin their game plan so you can play out yours fully. You will want between 6-9 land destruction spells, 4 Blood Moon, and 0-5 removal spells. Some decks focus much heavier on control and denying their opponents lands. Others use Stone Rain as more of a tempo play putting their opponent behind. Land Destruction Stone Rain (Run 4) : The base line of our deck, literally the tomatoes. Use this to destroy an opponent’s land on turn 2. How often have you kept a hand with just enough land? In modern its all the time, now you can punish people for choosing to do so. Unlike other LD decks you will often hit basics to then follow up with a Blood MoonMolten Rain (Run 2-4) : What you hope to hit with Bloodbraid Most lists run 3 as additional Stone Rain, the double red is very accomplishable turn 2 but will occasionally require paying for an untapped Stompy. For the most part, we are not trying to keep our opponents off lands entirely but rather disrupt their ability to play out their hand. Mwonvuli Acid-Moss (Run 0-1) :Have you ever blown up a land and ramped on turn 2? It’s the best feeling in the world. This was recently a 4 of in every Ponza deck, with the unbanning of Bloodbraid Elf there has been a unilateral shift towards LD spells that she can hit. Notably fetches Forests, Forests, and Forests.Primal Command (Run 0-2) : Lifegain when we need it, tutors up a bomb off the topdeck, slows their land plays, can deal with anything not a creature, maindeck tech against graveyard decks, this card pulls a lot of weight. Many lists run 1, some lists run 2.Beast Within (Run 0-1) : Our all-purpose answer to anything, acts as additional LD or can knock out a planeswalker our opponent was depending on to stabilize. The drawback is real though, use caution, beasts ahead. Bloodbraid hitting this at the wrong time isn’t something you want to do.Acidic Slime (Run 0-1) : Destroys a land and blocks well, but we generally want to be the aggressive ones. After putting an opponent back a few turns, possibly locked out, we go on the offensive. This guy is slow on the LD side and worthless on the aggressive side. Can be very good against Death’s Shadow though. Crumble to Dust (Run 0-1) :An incredible card against many decks, all of whom we already have a good matchup against. Blood Moon & Friend Blood Moon (Run 3-4) :So important it gets it’s own category. Blood Moon is central to the deck’s plan. This is the card that turns our medium LD plan into a lock. Against some decks it’s a free win. Against others it can function as an Arcane Laboratory only allowing them to play one spell a turn with their colored mana. It is even often effective against other Blood Moon decks. Their mana base is carefully crafted to be able to play through a Moon, but if you pick off their non-red basics they can be locked out by their own cards. Occasionally it goes to the side-board but never doubt that it is great verses the majority of decks you will ever play against. Magus of the Moon (Run 0-1) :It is Blood Moon on a fragile 2/2 body. Trinisphere (Run 0-4) :A unique card with the ability to slow fast decks to a crawl. Better in our deck than anywhere else. We can play it on turn 2 which is a whole lot better than when it would be naturally played turn 3. Also, better when you can destroy an opponent’s lands below 3. Not all decks care very much about it so use your judgment, or better yet, your board. Removal Bonfire of the Damned (Run 0) :Once a major staple of the deck, but doesn’t play well with cascade.Mizzium Mortars (Run 0-2) :4 Damage will kill many things in the format. When overloaded can act as an emergency wipe for a swarm late game. Generally, not favored by the majority of decks. Lists running Goblin Deep-Dwellers run 1-4.Lightning Bolt (Run 0-4) : Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once the premier removal of Modern is now relegated to a maybe. Solid versatile removal that can also hit an opponent’s face. Unfortunately, there are many common creatures in Modern that it won’t hit. Use your judgment and read the meta. Sweltering Suns (Run 0-1) :Very similar to Anger, doesn’t exile creatures but it potentially better in the main deck in the event we don’t want a boardwipe. Decks running it run 1 main and 1-2 Anger in the board to supplement.Anger of the Gods (Run 0) :Useful low cost boardwipe to clear early enemy creatures. Unfortunately hits our Dorks setting us back potentially several turns of mana. Important in the board for when you need swarm removal or a creature exiled. Sideboard card. Firespout (Run 0) : While a cute way to dodge our creatures while wiping flyers it would have to be cast for GGG which isn’t exactly the easiest thing for us. The majority of the time it is worse than Sweltering Suns or Anger of the Gods. Does nothing off of cascade.Beast Within (Run 0-1) :See Above in LD
Sauce makes the dish. This is your interactivity with your opponent, ruin their game plan so you can play out yours fully. You will want between 6-9 land destruction spells, 4 Blood Moon, and 0-5 removal spells. Some decks focus much heavier on control and denying their opponents lands. Others use Stone Rain as more of a tempo play putting their opponent behind.
You can’t have a Ponza without meat, well you can, Adrian Sullivan ran Vegetarian Ponza in 1999. But aside from that Ponza runs Meat. These are your finishers, meant to close out the game quickly. In today’s world, the bombs we run are the most resistant possible. Dodging removal and interference as best as possible. This is our most versatile section, almost every bomb has been replaced with a different creature in one list or another. Staples Bloodbraid Elf (Run 4) : Board presence and hopefully LD off the top. This is the perfect level of aggressive value that we needed.Tireless Tracker(Run 3-4) : Has proven himself to be of immense value. Card draw and a respectable body make for a fearsome combination.Inferno Titan (Run 2-3) : The fastest clock at 6 mana. Clears the way of blockers, pumps for extra damage, and can easily be a 2 turn kill. His weakness is Path, but having an ETB effect helps mitigate that flaw. Pia and Kiran Nalaar(Run 0-1) :Holds back swarms well and gives you a versatile presence on the board. Stormbreath Dragon(Run 0-1) :A strong card at weird spot in our curve. Some metas it is what we need others it isn’t. If you read Stormbreath and didn’t see the word Shroud, look again. It can’t be killed by Path, Push, or Bolt. It usually kills an onboard Lilliana of the Veil before she could edict. Its Monstrous ability will end games surprisingly often. Chandra, Torch of Defiance (Run 1-2) :The kind of versatility we desperately want. ‘Draws’ cards, ramps, functional removal. She fits in the deck well, both on curve and filling in things we need. Meta Flex Slots Chandra, Flamecaller(Run 0-2) : Big Sis Chandra. Her jobs are to put pressure on your opponent, wipe the board, and maybe fill your hand.Obstinate Baloth (Run 0-2) :Hedge your bets against aggro and burn by running him main. Strong against Lilliana decks. Usually occupies one of our flex slots with Thrun and Thragtusk. Adjust for meta accordingly. I've seen burn scoop to a turn 2 Baloth.Thragtusk(Run 0-1) :Resilient, aggressive, and proactive. Thragtusk is a good card. His competition is stiff at 5 mana and most list typically skip him.Thrun, The last Troll (Run 0-1) :Our stickiest threat. Once he resolves (he will), he should never be allowed to leave the field. Incredible against control, often functioning as The Abyss. He blocks well against more aggressive decks but doesn’t shine because he doesn’t progress our gameplan if he’s blocking. Generally in the sideboard at 1.Scavenging Ooze (Run 0-2) :Maindeck graveyard hate, lifegain, and early body. Unfortunately, he doesn’t shine his brightest in our deck. We rarely are at 2 mana early game, preferring to cast more impactful spells. Late game there are some lot better things we could be doing. It’s overall ‘Good Card’ nature leads many players to run it anyway.Chameleon Colossus (Run 0-1) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Glory Bringer (Run 0-1) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Huntmaster of the Fells (Run 0-2) :It’s a good card, providing good value. Usually you have better things to be doing. Rogue Cards Platinum Emperion & Madcap Experiment (Run 0 or 5) :Always run together. Having an Emperion on board is a near auto win against damage-based deck if they can’t remove it. The combo here is better than in any other deck because we stand a realistic chance of hardcasting Emperion should we draw it. Became quite popular for about a month but fewer and fewer list run him nowadays. Goblin Dark Dwellers (Run 0-2) :Like Bloodbraid Elf but on the back end fallen out of favor since it cost 1 more. Follows up Stone Rain like a Snapcaster with an aggressive body. This card will change your deck more than any other threat. List running him often run more spot removal, add in a single Molten Rain. Generally working to capitalize on his value. Never forget that it has Menace.Nissa, Vital Force (Run 0-1) :A card once considered that offers the deck more options. I’m not a big fan.Hazoret the Fervent (Run 0-1) :This guy gives a beating and does everything we want. He falls awkwardly into the curve and man players feel he doesn’t play out well. Potentially the best card when we are in topdeck mode. How many you run depends on how many of the more specific meta cards you want in your main. Samut, Voice of Dissent (Run 0-2) :A very aggressive creature, but that’s most all it is. I’d rather be running a 4th copy of Inferno TitanWurmcoil Engine(Run 0-1) :If you’ve ever played against this card you know how good it is. One of the big perks of this deck is its adaptability. Play what bombs you see as most relevant to what decks you will face. It has some popularity as a 1 of. Rhonas the Indomitable (Run 0-2) :A follow up to the god plan, comes down early and stays relevant as long as you have another creature. Unfortunately, it plays poorly alone and makes a horrid topdeck.
You can’t have a Ponza without meat, well you can, Adrian Sullivan ran Vegetarian Ponza in 1999. But aside from that Ponza runs Meat. These are your finishers, meant to close out the game quickly. In today’s world, the bombs we run are the most resistant possible. Dodging removal and interference as best as possible. This is our most versatile section, almost every bomb has been replaced with a different creature in one list or another.
The first thing your opponent will see and hopefully something they won’t have. Land. All of your decisions here center around 2 cards. Blood Moon & Utopia Sprawl We run mostly Fetches and Basics with only 3 slots dedicated to Duel Lands Basics Mountain (Run 1-2) : You need this from time to time untapped, painless, produces red without Blood Moon. It is so good they have been printing it since Alpha. Forest(Run 8-9) : High interaction card, very key, run it. Fetches Wooded Foothills (Run 4) :Gets both of our colors. Run 4.Windswept Heath (Run 4) :You can run any Fetch that grabs green. Heath just happens to be the cheapest. If you’re feeling like it/already own them feel free to run Verdant Catacombs or Misty Rainforest to potentially throw your opponent off turn 1 about what you are running. Duel Lands Stomping Ground (Run 2-3) :This can get you both of your colors untapped. Don’t forget that you can grab it with Mwonvuli Acid-Moss. Run 3 if its your only dual, run 2 if you also run the following. Cinder Glade (Run 0-1) :Very often can come into play untapped considering the amount of basics we are running. It’s bad on turn 2. Run 1. Effect Lands Kessig Wolf Run (Run 0-1) :Powerful with as much mana as we can make, can turn anything into a clock. Great when we are topdecking. Just a Mountain when Blood Moon is out. Most lists run 0.
The first thing your opponent will see and hopefully something they won’t have. Land. All of your decisions here center around 2 cards. Blood Moon & Utopia Sprawl We run mostly Fetches and Basics with only 3 slots dedicated to Duel Lands
So, you have your ingredients and you are ready to bake. Here are a few guidelines so you don’t get burnt. This is probably the most likely configuration for the deck you will run into. Everything else is a derivative of. Sample DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Lands (21)9 Forest1 Mountain8 Fetches3 DuelsRamp (10)4 Arbor Elf4 Utopia Sprawl2 Bird of ParadiseLD (11)4 Stone Rain4 Blood Moon3 Molten RainThreats (16)2 Inferno Titan4 Bloodbraid Elf4 Tireless Tracker2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance2 Pia and Kiren Nalaar2 Flex Creature ThreatsRemoval (2)2 Lightning Bolt Other Builds Include: Madcap PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Lands (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded Foothills4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise2 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion2 Stormbreath Dragon1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last TrollInstants (1)1 Beast WithinSorceries (14)3 Bonfire of the Damned3 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainEnchantments (8)4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlPlaneswalkers (2)2 Chandra, Torch of DefianceSideboard2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Choke2 Kitchen Finks2 Obstinate Baloth3 Sudden Shock2 Thrun, the Last Troll GDD PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creature (14)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise1 Courser of Kruphix2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers1 Hazoret the Fervent4 Stormbreath Dragon1 ThragtuskSorcery (11)1 Mizzium Mortars1 Molten Rain3 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone Rain1 Sweltering SunsLand (21)1 Cinder Glade8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run4 Misty Rainforest1 Mountain2 Stomping Ground4 Wooded FoothillsInstant (4)1 Beast Within3 Lightning BoltPlaneswalker (2)2 Chandra, Torch of DefianceEnchantment (8)4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlSideboard (14)2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Chameleon Colossus1 Faerie Macabre1 Kitchen Finks1 Relic of Progenitus2 Thrun, the Last Troll4 Trinisphere
So, you have your ingredients and you are ready to bake. Here are a few guidelines so you don’t get burnt.
Teir 1 AffinityBurnColorless Eldrazi TronDeath’s Shadow JundDeath's Shadow GrixisDredgeRG BreachRG Titanshift Teir 2 Abzan Toolbox ComboCompany ElvesDeath & TaxesUR StormLiving EndUW ControlJeskai MidrangeHumansKnightfallGx Tron Notable Mentions. JundBant EldraziAd NauseamGrixis ControlMerfolk In this section we can compile sideboard strategies for specific matchups. Due to the varying nature of the deck what to do can change greatly depending on your build. However, the same basic things stay good. I hope that this part will be a community project, gathering play data and experience in how to react to each situation. Currently we have a lot of information individually. Now let’s gather it all together so that it can be of use to us. One unique thing about Ponza is that basically every card can be cut depending on the situation. Some decks are reliant to LD, some Blood Moon does nothing against. Sometimes the deck is so fast you cut your big bombs for midrange ones. Essentially the only thing that you shouldn’t touch when boarding is the core mana base. Don’t Cut ManaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards 21 Lands4 Arbor Elf4 Utopia Sprawl Now the trick is finesse. Knowing what to cut and what to add is good, but not overdoing it is more important. We don’t mind our opponents siding in hate for Blood Moon it dilutes their primary game plan, and we will win games that way. Don’t give them games for the same reason. Anything brought in should either cripple their deck or advance our game plan comparably to what was taken out for it. The point of a sideboard is to shore up the decks weaknesses against common problem it will face in the current meta. Let’s see what we’ve got. Anti-Control Boil or Choke :Both are incredibly damaging to UW Control, Grixis Control, and even Merfolk. Choke is the more powerful card, Boil is preferred due to its instant speed. Wait for them to tap out at the end of your turn and blow up all their lands. It’s not a mistake they will make twice. Watch out for any Islands you may have due to Speading SeasSpellskite :Removal Catcher, the card. Can help keep your threats alive, I’d rather just run more threats.Thrun, the Last Troll :Control’s nightmare. They can’t stop it from coming down and they can’t remove it once it’s there. Damnation works but you are far more likely to play against Supreme Verdict. I’ve seen UW Control block with a different Celestial Colonnade every turn to keep from dying. Removal Anger of the Gods :When you need it, this is the card to go for. Good against combo toolbox, swarm strategies, elf combo. Beast Within :In the board to deal with an unexpected problem. Answers anything.Dismember :Sometimes you have to kill a creature right now. Not favored, but it’s an option if you feel you need it.Sudden Shock :Good at killing opposing mana dorks and interrupting creature based combo decks. Artifact Hate Fracturing Gust :We can drop this easily and early, problem solver.Ancient Grudge :Solid 2 shot artifact removal, the favored option.Creeping Corrosion or Shatterstorm :When affinity is a problem, these are your answer. See Fracturing Gust if Boggles is an issue.Nature's Claim : You might decide your removal needs to cost one. If so, here it is. Generally Grudge is better Life Gain Kitchen Finks :Comes down when you most need him, blocks twice and gains you 4 life.Obstinate Baloth :The better blocker, get all the life you need at once. Better considering it also comes in against Lilliana of the Veil decks.Thragtusk : As good as he is in the main deck, he’s also great in the board. But Finks comes down sooner, provides similar blockage and lifegain. Graveyard Hate Grafdigger's Cage :Stop creature combos near entirely.Relic of Progenitus :Requires a more proactive approach than Cage but also helps against Snapcaster Mage and Living End.Faerie Macabre :Removal is better when your opponents don’t know it’s coming. Only removes 2 cards so less effective against storm but great against other combo.Scavenging Ooze :When you know you need him, his versatility shines more.Surgical Extraction :After you stop a problem once, this less you make sure it never happens again. Crippling against some decks. Trinisphere Trinisphere : A very strong card, if it’s not in your main deck it is most likely here. Don’t run with Madcap Experiment in your deck This section will be filled in with community input, thank you for you patience as data comes in. Tier ranking is going solely off of MtgSalvation’s Standards and and only are listed for organizational reasons. Teir 1 Teir 2 Notable Mentions. Table of Contents “Options will cost you, but a lack of them will cost you even more.” – Lightning Rift
The point of a sideboard is to shore up the decks weaknesses against common problem it will face in the current meta. Let’s see what we’ve got. Anti-Control Boil or Choke :Both are incredibly damaging to UW Control, Grixis Control, and even Merfolk. Choke is the more powerful card, Boil is preferred due to its instant speed. Wait for them to tap out at the end of your turn and blow up all their lands. It’s not a mistake they will make twice. Watch out for any Islands you may have due to Speading SeasSpellskite :Removal Catcher, the card. Can help keep your threats alive, I’d rather just run more threats.Thrun, the Last Troll :Control’s nightmare. They can’t stop it from coming down and they can’t remove it once it’s there. Damnation works but you are far more likely to play against Supreme Verdict. I’ve seen UW Control block with a different Celestial Colonnade every turn to keep from dying. Removal Anger of the Gods :When you need it, this is the card to go for. Good against combo toolbox, swarm strategies, elf combo. Beast Within :In the board to deal with an unexpected problem. Answers anything.Dismember :Sometimes you have to kill a creature right now. Not favored, but it’s an option if you feel you need it.Sudden Shock :Good at killing opposing mana dorks and interrupting creature based combo decks. Artifact Hate Fracturing Gust :We can drop this easily and early, problem solver.Ancient Grudge :Solid 2 shot artifact removal, the favored option.Creeping Corrosion or Shatterstorm :When affinity is a problem, these are your answer. See Fracturing Gust if Boggles is an issue.Nature's Claim : You might decide your removal needs to cost one. If so, here it is. Generally Grudge is better Life Gain Kitchen Finks :Comes down when you most need him, blocks twice and gains you 4 life.Obstinate Baloth :The better blocker, get all the life you need at once. Better considering it also comes in against Lilliana of the Veil decks.Thragtusk : As good as he is in the main deck, he’s also great in the board. But Finks comes down sooner, provides similar blockage and lifegain. Graveyard Hate Grafdigger's Cage :Stop creature combos near entirely.Relic of Progenitus :Requires a more proactive approach than Cage but also helps against Snapcaster Mage and Living End.Faerie Macabre :Removal is better when your opponents don’t know it’s coming. Only removes 2 cards so less effective against storm but great against other combo.Scavenging Ooze :When you know you need him, his versatility shines more.Surgical Extraction :After you stop a problem once, this less you make sure it never happens again. Crippling against some decks. Trinisphere Trinisphere : A very strong card, if it’s not in your main deck it is most likely here. Don’t run with Madcap Experiment in your deck
The point of a sideboard is to shore up the decks weaknesses against common problem it will face in the current meta. Let’s see what we’ve got.
This section will be filled in with community input, thank you for you patience as data comes in. Tier ranking is going solely off of MtgSalvation’s Standards and and only are listed for organizational reasons. Teir 1 Teir 2 Notable Mentions.
This section will be filled in with community input, thank you for you patience as data comes in. Tier ranking is going solely off of MtgSalvation’s Standards and and only are listed for organizational reasons.
Updated Last: 09/14/2017 Currently dated, will be updated soon. If I miss anything please feel free to message me about it. Kevin Nagy’ PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)9 Forest1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (14)4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise4 Inferno Titan1 Obstinate Baloth1 Stormbreath Dragon2 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (14)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (11)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance1 Garruk, Primal Hunter4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods1 Dismember1 Fracturing Gust1 Grafdigger's Cage3 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus2 Sudden Shock1 Thrun, the Last Troll Jon Elgan's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (16)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon2 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (13)3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss2 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Fracturing Gust3 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus2 Sudden Shock2 Trinisphere Riku Lammi's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)10 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground2 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (13)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion2 Stormbreath Dragon1 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (13)2 Bonfire of the Damned3 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (13)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance3 Root Maze4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Beast Within1 Boil1 Bonfire of the Damned1 Chameleon Colossus1 Courser of Kruphix2 Obstinate Baloth1 Primal Command2 Sudden Shock *Currently we do not have many Major results. Until then Major Events will mean any tournament with results posted online involving more than 50 players. John Paul Urian’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (22)1 Cinder Glade10 Forest1 Mountain2 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded Foothills4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise2 Courser of Kruphix3 Inferno Titan2 Obstinate Baloth2 Stormbreath DragonINSTANTS and SORC. (14)1 Abrade1 Beast Within2 Bonfire of the Damned1 Mizzium Mortars4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance1 Garruk, Primal Hunter4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD1 Abrade1 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Chameleon Colossus1 Fracturing Gust1 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll3 Trinisphere dlt006’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (21)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise1 Dragonlord Atarka4 Huntmaster of the Fells2 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon1 Thragtusk4 Tireless Tracker1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (10)2 Crumble to Dust4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone Rain8 OTHER SPELLS4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods1 Dragonlord Atarka1 Fracturing Gust2 Hellkite Tyrant3 Kitchen Finks2 Primal Command1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll Alexandre Murgey’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)9 Forest1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (12)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise4 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion1 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (17)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Fracturing Gust2 Grim Lavamancer2 Kitchen Finks2 Scavenging Ooze2 Sudden Shock1 Thrun, the Last Troll Adsav's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)1 Cinder Glade10 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run2 Mountain3 Sheltered Thicket4 Stomping GroundCREATURES (16)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon2 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (13)3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss2 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon1 Chandra, Pyromaster1 Garruk Wildspeaker4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Fracturing Gust3 Kitchen Finks3 Lightning Bolt3 Relic of Progenitus Scott Davies's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Mountain4 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (17)4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Samut, Voice of Dissent2 Scavenging Ooze4 Stormbreath DragonINSTANTS and SORC. (14)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (9)3 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD3 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Grafdigger's Cage2 Kitchen Finks1 Primal Command2 Relic of Progenitus1 Scavenging Ooze2 Sudden Shock *Currently using any results the deck gets according to MTGTop8. Many of our member decklist perform as well or better at similarly sized stores that do not post their lists online. *If you would like your list featured please indicate so when you post it with Bold Blue Text so I can find it. Survival is a constant competition from which both sides can benefit. - Evolutionary Escalation
Kevin Nagy’ PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)9 Forest1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (14)4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise4 Inferno Titan1 Obstinate Baloth1 Stormbreath Dragon2 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (14)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (11)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance1 Garruk, Primal Hunter4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods1 Dismember1 Fracturing Gust1 Grafdigger's Cage3 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus2 Sudden Shock1 Thrun, the Last Troll Jon Elgan's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (16)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon2 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (13)3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss2 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Fracturing Gust3 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus2 Sudden Shock2 Trinisphere Riku Lammi's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)10 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground2 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (13)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion2 Stormbreath Dragon1 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (13)2 Bonfire of the Damned3 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (13)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance3 Root Maze4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Beast Within1 Boil1 Bonfire of the Damned1 Chameleon Colossus1 Courser of Kruphix2 Obstinate Baloth1 Primal Command2 Sudden Shock *Currently we do not have many Major results. Until then Major Events will mean any tournament with results posted online involving more than 50 players.
John Paul Urian’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (22)1 Cinder Glade10 Forest1 Mountain2 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded Foothills4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise2 Courser of Kruphix3 Inferno Titan2 Obstinate Baloth2 Stormbreath DragonINSTANTS and SORC. (14)1 Abrade1 Beast Within2 Bonfire of the Damned1 Mizzium Mortars4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance1 Garruk, Primal Hunter4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD1 Abrade1 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Chameleon Colossus1 Fracturing Gust1 Kitchen Finks2 Relic of Progenitus1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll3 Trinisphere dlt006’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (21)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise1 Dragonlord Atarka4 Huntmaster of the Fells2 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon1 Thragtusk4 Tireless Tracker1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (10)2 Crumble to Dust4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone Rain8 OTHER SPELLS4 Blood Moon4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods1 Dragonlord Atarka1 Fracturing Gust2 Hellkite Tyrant3 Kitchen Finks2 Primal Command1 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll Alexandre Murgey’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)9 Forest1 Mountain3 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (12)4 Arbor Elf1 Birds of Paradise4 Inferno Titan2 Platinum Emperion1 ThragtuskINSTANTS and SORC. (17)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Madcap Experiment4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Fracturing Gust2 Grim Lavamancer2 Kitchen Finks2 Scavenging Ooze2 Sudden Shock1 Thrun, the Last Troll Adsav's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)1 Cinder Glade10 Forest1 Kessig Wolf Run2 Mountain3 Sheltered Thicket4 Stomping GroundCREATURES (16)1 Acidic Slime4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Stormbreath Dragon2 Thragtusk1 Thrun, the Last Troll1 Wurmcoil EngineINSTANTS and SORC. (13)3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss2 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (10)4 Blood Moon1 Chandra, Pyromaster1 Garruk Wildspeaker4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD2 Ancient Grudge3 Anger of the Gods1 Fracturing Gust3 Kitchen Finks3 Lightning Bolt3 Relic of Progenitus Scott Davies's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards LANDS (21)8 Forest1 Mountain4 Stomping Ground4 Windswept Heath4 Wooded FoothillsCREATURES (17)4 Arbor Elf2 Birds of Paradise3 Inferno Titan2 Samut, Voice of Dissent2 Scavenging Ooze4 Stormbreath DragonINSTANTS and SORC. (14)2 Beast Within3 Bonfire of the Damned4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss1 Primal Command4 Stone RainOTHER SPELLS (9)3 Blood Moon2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance4 Utopia SprawlSIDEBOARD3 Ancient Grudge2 Anger of the Gods2 Grafdigger's Cage2 Kitchen Finks1 Primal Command2 Relic of Progenitus1 Scavenging Ooze2 Sudden Shock *Currently using any results the deck gets according to MTGTop8. Many of our member decklist perform as well or better at similarly sized stores that do not post their lists online.
*If you would like your list featured please indicate so when you post it with Bold Blue Text so I can find it.
Quote from rickster_Aren't decks like this too slow? I think delver would be good in this type of deck, but you'd have to change some cards to accommodate it, like switching out spreading seas for boomerang and the sweepers for serum visions. Maybe grim lavamancer would be good too? what about 2-3 copies of reverberate?
Quote from izzetmageYour curve is a bit too high IMO. Have you tried Wildfire? It's the basis of a few completely different deck archetypes, but still a LD spell nonetheless. Artifact ramp and planeswalkers are its BFFs. SB wise, if you play red you can make space for Blood Moon.
Quote from Magicman657I really feel like you need better / more win conditions. What's going to stop me from Hide/Seek (Seek)ing away or Pathing your Frost Giants when you tap out to drop LD?
Quote from Flaatneeds more magnivore, that guy really owns in decks like this. late game 10/10 haste for 4 mana really steals games away. Also 4 darksteel citadel with boom//bust is a must. the chance on t2 stone rain is very nice
Quote from MegiddoNext time you ask me if I want to see your gun, I'm saying no.
Quote from IsoQuote from VoidQuote from Iso But...this is for mostly clan people. Do you want this game to launch or not? NO. Quote from kingcobwebSomething Awful has one that does automated votecounts (and supports nicknames).Quote from AzraelAutomatic vote-counts?! *pees pants*
Quote from IsoQuote from VoidQuote from Iso But...this is for mostly clan people. Do you want this game to launch or not? NO.
Quote from VoidQuote from Iso But...this is for mostly clan people. Do you want this game to launch or not?
Quote from Iso But...this is for mostly clan people.
Quote from kingcobwebSomething Awful has one that does automated votecounts (and supports nicknames).Quote from AzraelAutomatic vote-counts?! *pees pants*
Quote from AzraelAutomatic vote-counts?! *pees pants*
Quote from VoidPlease remember that Pithing Needle is useable on Fetch Lands. Since you're not running mana accels this card would be great in helping shut down your oppenents early game. I tried running LD with a :symg::symr::symw: mana base. I gave up on the idea because of the meta when Modern was first introduced. With the new banned list and meta being rediscovered, this is a good time to look into a LD deck. Best of luck!
Quote from VoidIf you're doing only then you might want to look into Planeswalkers or maybe Ball Lightning. Adding just one more color would truly be benefical to your deck. I would consider for Ajani Goldmane or Ajani Vengeant. White would also bring on more options for creatures. Low casting cost creatures at that.
Quote from corycpdno snap casters?
Quote from Freakonature00 @CHEESY_BARF: I find that running blue gives you more ways to handle stuff than just going for removal aggressive and destroying lands. For example, Spreading Seas will probably colour screw them; there aren't many blue decks around and countermagic will work better at removing early threats than many sweepers. What if he plays something big? A well-fed goyf on the field will be hard to remove with just burns. So countering it would be best, if not outright destroying it (which warrants my inclusion of Beast Within, even though just a singleton). I've tried going that route, but it's usually only effective against the aggressive creature decks cause of all the burn removal. It'll totally just fold to combo though, especially when you don't have a Blood Moon out by turn 3. And that's if you're lucky. Sometimes, getting it out turn 3 wouldn't matter anyway, which is why I don't wanna be too reliant on it. While I've said that I don't see the Mono-Red LD take on this making it far, do let us know how your testing goes. In any case, considering your deck's gameplan with red, do check out the Moon's Essence primer cause they're discussing exactly what you're trying to do. I'm sure your input will be valuable to those working there.
Quote from Flaathas anyone tried out Shivan Wumpus as a beater/ld card for this deck. 4 mana 6/6 trample is nice. the only thing is that he is quite bad when your opponents are winning the creature race. id play this deck B/R 4 blackmail ( only discard in modern to kill lands) 4 rise//fall ( modern hymn that works nicely with blackmail) or inquisition of koizilek 4 terminate or cruel eddict 2 consuming vapors 4 boom// bust 2 bonfire of the damned ( not sure about this one, maybe Terminus could work well in this deck aswell but then it needs 3colors) 4 stone rain 4 magnivore 3 Shivan Wumpus the plan would be to destroy anything low mana in your opponents hand the first few turns. then start blowing up lands and killing creatures that might have come through. the issue I have with the blue version is that it seems weak against storm combo and burn, basicly decks that can operate on 2 mana as long as there hand stays untouched. What do you guys think? btw: Where is the "weak wildfire" card 3rr deals 3 damage to all creatures each player sac 3 lands... that would be awsome
Quote from Panic_PuppetIsochron Scepter combined with boomerang...if it comes out on turn 2 on the play you can ensure they never get off two land. However many lands they have when you stick it, that's the maximum they'll have until they remove it.