MTG Salvation

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Deck Construction
• Veggies
• Meat
• Sauce
• Crust
• Preparation
3. Sideboarding
• Sideboard Construction
• Matchups
4. 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 Riders 3 Masticore Sorcery (17) 3 Cave-In 1 Earthquake 3 Hammer of Bogardan 4 Pillage 4 Stone Rain 2 Tectonic Break	Instant (6) 2 Shock 4 Boil Artifact (11) 3 Fire Diamond 4 Cursed Totem 4 Thran Foundry Enchantment (4) 4 Seal of Fire	Land (25) 4 Rishadan Port 3 Dust Bowl 4 Ghitu Encampment 14 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 Elves 2 Birds of Paradise 4 Thornscape Familiar 4 Veteran Brawlers 4 Flametongue Kavu 4 Skizzik	Sorceries (15) 4 Assault/Battery 4 Stone Rain 4 Pillage 3 Tectonic Break Land (23) 4 Rishadan Port 4 Karplusian Forest 4 City of Brass 6 Mountain 5 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 Elf 2 Eternal Witness 1 Huntmaster of the Fells 1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed 3 Scavenging Ooze 2 Stormbreath Dragon 3 Tarmogoyf 3 Thundermaw Hellkite Instants (9) 1 Beast Within 2 Dismember 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Summoning Trap	Sorceries (4) 4 Molten Rain Enchantments (7) 3 Blood Moon 4 Utopia Sprawl Lands (21) 4 Misty Rainforest 6 Snow-Covered Forest 2 Snow-Covered Mountain 4 Stomping Ground 1 Temple of Abandon 4 Verdant Catacombs	Sideboard 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Anger of the Gods 2 Choke 2 Combust 1 Damping Matrix 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Huntmaster of the Fells 1 Obstinate Baloth 1 Shatterstorm 1 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.

1. 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 Moon
• Molten 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.


2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 Titan
• Wurmcoil 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 Forest 1 Mountain 8 Fetches 3 Duels Ramp (10) 4 Arbor Elf 4 Utopia Sprawl 2 Bird of Paradise	LD (11) 4 Stone Rain 4 Blood Moon 3 Molten Rain Threats (16) 2 Inferno Titan 4 Bloodbraid Elf 4 Tireless Tracker 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 2 Pia and Kiren Nalaar 2 Flex Creature Threats	Removal (2) 2 Lightning Bolt




• Other Builds Include:

Madcap PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Lands (21) 8 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 4 Arbor Elf 2 Birds of Paradise 2 Inferno Titan 2 Platinum Emperion 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Thragtusk 1 Thrun, the Last Troll	Instants (1) 1 Beast Within Sorceries (14) 3 Bonfire of the Damned 3 Madcap Experiment 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 4 Stone Rain Enchantments (8) 4 Blood Moon 4 Utopia Sprawl Planeswalkers (2) 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance	Sideboard 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Anger of the Gods 1 Choke 2 Kitchen Finks 2 Obstinate Baloth 3 Sudden Shock 2 Thrun, the Last Troll

GDD PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creature (14) 4 Arbor Elf 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Courser of Kruphix 2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers 1 Hazoret the Fervent 4 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Thragtusk Sorcery (11) 1 Mizzium Mortars 1 Molten Rain 3 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 1 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain 1 Sweltering Suns	Land (21) 1 Cinder Glade 8 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 2 Stomping Ground 4 Wooded Foothills Instant (4) 1 Beast Within 3 Lightning Bolt Planeswalker (2) 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance Enchantment (8) 4 Blood Moon 4 Utopia Sprawl	Sideboard (14) 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Chameleon Colossus 1 Faerie Macabre 1 Kitchen Finks 1 Relic of Progenitus 2 Thrun, the Last Troll 4 Trinisphere

Table of Contents

---

“Be it ever so crumbled, there's no place like home. “ - Goblin Settler

1. Teir 1
• Affinity
• Burn
• Colorless Eldrazi Tron
• Death’s Shadow Jund
• Death's Shadow Grixis
• Dredge
• RG Breach
• RG Titanshift
2. Teir 2
• Abzan Toolbox Combo
• Company Elves
• Death & Taxes
• UR Storm
• Living End
• UW Control
• Jeskai Midrange
• Humans
• Knightfall
• Gx Tron
3. Notable Mentions.
• Jund
• Bant Eldrazi
• Ad Nauseam
• Grixis Control
• Merfolk

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 Lands 4 Arbor Elf 4 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.

1. 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 Seas
• Spellskite :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.
2. 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.
3. 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
4. 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.
5. 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.


6. 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.

1. Teir 1
2. Teir 2
3. Notable Mentions.

Table of Contents

---

“Options will cost you, but a lack of them will cost you even more.” – Lightning Rift

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 Forest 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (14) 4 Arbor Elf 2 Birds of Paradise 4 Inferno Titan 1 Obstinate Baloth 1 Stormbreath Dragon 2 Thragtusk	INSTANTS and SORC. (14) 2 Beast Within 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 1 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (11) 4 Blood Moon 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 1 Garruk, Primal Hunter 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 1 Dismember 1 Fracturing Gust 1 Grafdigger's Cage 3 Kitchen Finks 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Sudden Shock 1 Thrun, the Last Troll

Jon Elgan's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 8 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (16) 1 Acidic Slime 4 Arbor Elf 2 Birds of Paradise 3 Inferno Titan 2 Stormbreath Dragon 2 Thragtusk 1 Thrun, the Last Troll 1 Wurmcoil Engine	INSTANTS and SORC. (13) 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 2 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (10) 4 Blood Moon 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Anger of the Gods 1 Fracturing Gust 3 Kitchen Finks 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Sudden Shock 2 Trinisphere

Riku Lammi's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 10 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 2 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (13) 4 Arbor Elf 1 Birds of Paradise 3 Inferno Titan 2 Platinum Emperion 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Thragtusk	INSTANTS and SORC. (13) 2 Bonfire of the Damned 3 Madcap Experiment 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (13) 4 Blood Moon 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 3 Root Maze 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Anger of the Gods 1 Beast Within 1 Boil 1 Bonfire of the Damned 1 Chameleon Colossus 1 Courser of Kruphix 2 Obstinate Baloth 1 Primal Command 2 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 Glade 10 Forest 1 Mountain 2 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 4 Arbor Elf 1 Birds of Paradise 2 Courser of Kruphix 3 Inferno Titan 2 Obstinate Baloth 2 Stormbreath Dragon	INSTANTS and SORC. (14) 1 Abrade 1 Beast Within 2 Bonfire of the Damned 1 Mizzium Mortars 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 1 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (10) 4 Blood Moon 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 1 Garruk, Primal Hunter 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 1 Abrade 1 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Chameleon Colossus 1 Fracturing Gust 1 Kitchen Finks 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Thragtusk 1 Thrun, the Last Troll 3 Trinisphere

dlt006’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 8 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (21) 1 Acidic Slime 4 Arbor Elf 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Dragonlord Atarka 4 Huntmaster of the Fells 2 Inferno Titan 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Thragtusk 4 Tireless Tracker 1 Wurmcoil Engine	INSTANTS and SORC. (10) 2 Crumble to Dust 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 4 Stone Rain 8 OTHER SPELLS 4 Blood Moon 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 1 Dragonlord Atarka 1 Fracturing Gust 2 Hellkite Tyrant 3 Kitchen Finks 2 Primal Command 1 Thragtusk 1 Thrun, the Last Troll

Alexandre Murgey’s PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 9 Forest 1 Mountain 3 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (12) 4 Arbor Elf 1 Birds of Paradise 4 Inferno Titan 2 Platinum Emperion 1 Thragtusk	INSTANTS and SORC. (17) 2 Beast Within 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Madcap Experiment 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (10) 4 Blood Moon 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Fracturing Gust 2 Grim Lavamancer 2 Kitchen Finks 2 Scavenging Ooze 2 Sudden Shock 1 Thrun, the Last Troll

Adsav's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 1 Cinder Glade 10 Forest 1 Kessig Wolf Run 2 Mountain 3 Sheltered Thicket 4 Stomping Ground CREATURES (16) 1 Acidic Slime 4 Arbor Elf 2 Birds of Paradise 3 Inferno Titan 2 Stormbreath Dragon 2 Thragtusk 1 Thrun, the Last Troll 1 Wurmcoil Engine	INSTANTS and SORC. (13) 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 2 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (10) 4 Blood Moon 1 Chandra, Pyromaster 1 Garruk Wildspeaker 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Anger of the Gods 1 Fracturing Gust 3 Kitchen Finks 3 Lightning Bolt 3 Relic of Progenitus

Scott Davies's PonzaMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
LANDS (21) 8 Forest 1 Mountain 4 Stomping Ground 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills CREATURES (17) 4 Arbor Elf 2 Birds of Paradise 3 Inferno Titan 2 Samut, Voice of Dissent 2 Scavenging Ooze 4 Stormbreath Dragon	INSTANTS and SORC. (14) 2 Beast Within 3 Bonfire of the Damned 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss 1 Primal Command 4 Stone Rain OTHER SPELLS (9) 3 Blood Moon 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 4 Utopia Sprawl	SIDEBOARD 3 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Grafdigger's Cage 2 Kitchen Finks 1 Primal Command 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Scavenging Ooze 2 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

Table of Contents

Reserved. Just in case.

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 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?

It's slow, but not too slow because of the early disruption/removal. Just need to survive long enough to get things going. The sweepers are very necessary cause of all early drops around; remember, the deck has no creatures for us to block with. Playing Delver of Secrets isn't what the deck wants to do. And it'll just draw all the removal. Not the deck for it. Might need some testing. As for Grim Lavamancer, that'll just change the whole deck altogether. The beauty of it is to not have any other creatures EXCEPT Frost Titan so any form of removal they draw early on is a dead card. They're transformational sideboard options at best.

Boomerang would just bounce the land, and they'll still be able to play it again. Granted, if it was a shockland, they'd either be slowed down or end up taking more damage, but that's not the aim. While this is somewhat a tempo deck, Boomerang only gives you that slight edge, by only delaying them a turn. Destroying lands will have them hope they draw lands to play and not just play the land we bounced. We're trying to stop them, not stall them. So destroying lands or Spreading Seas them is essential to deny them off their colours. Plus, it cantrips.

Reverberate is a horrible topdeck cause it doesn't do anything on its own. Will be better off without it.

Your 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 izzetmage

Your 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.

Wildfire is great but it's probably not for this deck cause I believe Boom // Bust will fill in that same role when you draw it late. Once a Frost Titan hits, land a Bust and you're good to go. Pretty much the same idea. Although Wildfire does have that bonus sweeping effect which could come in handy... Maybe a 1/2-of but that'll greatly increase the curve which is quite steep as it is.

Might up the land count to 25.

Quote from Magicman657

I 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?

When it gets to the point where I do cast Frost Titan, the board will be in my favour if I'm not already dead. The titan on its own can keep 1 land tapped so even cheap removal will be costly considering the amount of land destruction.

As for Hide // Seek and the like, well, I have to say that I don't have answers for that, but it's something consider before tapping out I guess. These cards are partly the reason why I've included some counters like Remands. But yeah, it'll hurt getting hit by that.

The deck's already very dense as it is, I'm really not sure about adding other win conditions. I do get where you're coming from but this really needs more extensive testing as of now.

Updated deck and possible card choices and such. Need more input and ideas!

Quote from Flaat

needs 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

Magnivore is great for LD decks, yeah but cause it lacks creatures, and compared to Frost Titan which is harder to deal with, Magnivore will immediately draw whatever 'dead' removal the opponent would have in hand. I'd like to avoid that and have just that pseudo card advantage by letting them hold onto 'dead' removals.

Hadn't thought of the Darksteel Citadels, nice. Should be an auto-include indeed.

P.S. Thinking of removing Annex totally for Molten Rain. With the high land count, I'd rather have a cheaper land destruction spell which could be potential damage than steal a land. Though, in Annex's defense, it'll work great against other decks that play Darksteel Citadel since we can't destroy that. Plus, with the addition of Darksteel Citadel in the deck, Ghost Quarter could be used as a fetch too (for more synergy with Boom // Bust). Thoughts?

EDIT: Moved Annex to sideboard instead in favour of Molten Rain to lower the average CMC of the deck. Dropped Roiling Terrain to 2 as well for the same reason. Added a singleton Red Sun's Zenith and removed the 4th Lightning Bolt to make use of the excess mana in case of a dragged game. And it's reuseable as well, though the chances are slim, more of a finisher than anything.

Please 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!

no snap casters?

If 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 Void

Please 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!

Yeah, that's great actually. But probably just a sideboard card, I'd rather they do fetch something, lose 1 life (possibly 3), then I destroy it or cast Spreading Seas on it. Plus, if they've fetched, and I keep destroying their lands, they'll possibly run out of lands even faster.

Also yeah, cause of the new decks emerging and modern changing here and there, I'm having good vibes for this.

Quote from Void

If 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.

Playing something like Ball Lightning makes me feel like trying to be RDW as well, and it'll be better if we stray away from that. This isn't sligh, and I think we should stay away from trying to be sligh. Decks that try to be too many things usually don't work out very well. From my experience, at least. Playing creatures, unless they're hard to remove or is beneficial the moment they hit, goes against what I believe we're trying to do. Blanking out pretty much all their removals is quite important and gives you that pseudo card advantage.

The only Planeswalker I found that COULD be useful for the deck are the two already listed in card choices. Chandra, the Firebrand and Ajani Vengeant. But I haven't found that many good reasons to splash white though, so maybe I'm missing something.

Quote from corycpd

no snap casters?

I've been pondering on what I can do with so much mana, and I guess Snapcaster Mage would be a fine addition. It has a decent body which could work well with my used spells. Most times during testing, I end up with a lot of mana and nothing to do so maybe it'll be useful to have a few. A playset? I'm skeptical though. Cause let's say, if I had a Snapcaster instead of a Stone Rain in hand on turn 3, then I'll be waiting for some use of the Snapcaster instead of outright destroying a land on that turn and that might/could slow me down. This really needs testing. But I love the idea of including him.

@CHEESY_BARF: I find that running blue gives you more ways to handle stuff than just going for removal aggressively 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 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.

Thanks for the link, I had no idea that there were decks centered around Blood Moon, I always figured it was more of a sideboard card.

You could probably splash any color in a heavy red LD deck, although I agree that white is probably the weakest. My original thought (before trying mono red) was to splash black for Terminate, maybe even 1 or 2 Wrecking Ball or Blightning. So many choices. Anyway, I'm off work this week so me and some friends will have time to playtest. This Thursday I'm going to a Modern tournament, so probably Friday I'll post back with my final decklist and results.

Quote from Flaat

has 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

Maybe Smallpox?

Quote from Flaat

has 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

Shivan Wumpus... This kind of deck is the only home for it to be playable but it's gonna need a lot of testing. I'm a little skeptical.

I like the BR take on it and have thought of it (though not much) but I prefer blue for the counter magic and draw although being able to get their lands from hand could hurt a lot too but Blackmail is giving them a choice. Once they know what we're playing, lands will never be revealed. I don't like it since discard lets them decide and if we're talking about choosing what to discard for them, Thoughtseize and Rise // Fall, they only target nonland stuff. Once they know what they're up against, they'll choose to keep lands and go topdeck mode. So unless we're playing very heavy discard (which will make the LD plan take a backseat) I don't think this will work as well as blue.

I'd rather have them going 'topdeck' mode for lands, even with their hand full. I'm leaning more towards blue for now even with its weak matchups. Against Burn, I'd just aggressively mulligan for a Spreading Seas; that'll keep us alive long enough to stabilise and they don't play that many lands too. For storm, I'm not sure though but it's probably our weakest matchup.

I'm thinking though, if we play some black disruption/discard as part of a transformational sideboard plan...

Quote from Panic_Puppet

Isochron 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.

Isochorn Scepter doesn't and probaly won't have much synergy with the type of deck since the average CMC is 3 with all the usual LD. And without it, Boomerang is very subpar at its job of denying them off lands as they'll definitely only be set a turn back, rather than possibly many turns. We're playing a long game and just buying a turn isn't gonna be enough. I'd rather slow them down with removal/counter magic early before starting to destroy lands.

Yeah, the scepter can do that, great. But to make it work 'consistently' enough to warrant their inclusion, gotta have 4 of each. That's 8 slots gone for something so gimmicky and everyone has artifact hate in their 75. Not to mention that having other 2 CMC spells to make the scepter have other targets is essential for it to not be a dead draw. It's also a 2-for-1 on yourself if it gets removed right after you play it. And if it's just a 1-2 of, might as well not play it cause you want it early for it to be best. You're probably already winning if you survive that long.

Well, that's just my opinion. Avoiding bouncing lands instead of destroying; too much risk in the 'already very risky' gameplan.

Jet is good. Not very impressed with wayfinder. He needs to be 2 1 mana guys and 2 bolts probably. Where are the bolts anyhow?

I like Frost Titan as the finisher here, the extra 2 required to remove him really does add up when mana is already at a premium.

Were I to play LD, I'd play Naya so I could run Knight of the Reliquary and Bloodbraid Elf. Nothing beats cascading into Boom/Bust and casting Bust for free.

Then you have Acidic Slime, which you can flicker with Restoration Angel. And if you're playing Angel, you can have Kiki in the sideboard for a surprise win.