I pondered modern land kill for a while, but soon gave up after I realized i wont be able to get the key cards for quite some time.
Anyhow, here is what I came up to hopefully give some ideas.
It' far from refined, but it was a nice start. Sadly it will be quite some time before I can get any fetch land, the shaman or even the pyromancers,
so I have returned my attention back to my modern Death cloud and legacy pox.
So I read through the forums a bit and it seems people agreed that Land Destruction was for the most part a bit slow. I've made a quick attempt at an all out form of land destruction that impacts both players, but will hurt the player less overall. It needs a better finisher than what I currently have, but again, this is just an untested idea I came up with for fun. I just want to get people talking again!
I think most of it is self explanatory. The point of the deck is to use your 1 and 2 mana land destruction to keep them from getting past 2 lands at the beginning of the game, and then likely play a bit of a slow style as you bounce back faster than they do thanks to a few mana generating artifacts that'll always stay out.
Thoughts?
It needs some work for sure, but it's definitely an "all or nothing strategy" kind of deck. You should be able to lock people down first game most times because no one is going to expect it. Second game might be a lot harder though, as they'd be happy to keep 4+ land hand.
The most entertaining opening is definitely a Simian Spirit Guide followed by a Crack the Earth when your opponent went first, because you can play it before you play your own land and it's almost like you had first turn.
I think one of the best starts would be:
T1: Land + SSG = Rakdos Signet
Turn 2: Land + Akki Blizzard-Herder
Turn 3: Smallpox, then land, then continue the game at 2 land, while the opponent has nothing but perhaps 1 creature if they're lucky (or playing zoo)
Hopefully they're a bit stuck, but all of your spells cost about 3 at most... maybe 4.
Just an idea. I have no idea if it actually works or not yet though. If anyone tries it out, let me know!
Need more leonin arbitor + Tect edge/Ghost quarter
I've been over this before, but I'll say it again. Tec edge is worthless in a land denial deck, because if your opponent ever gets to 4 land, you've probably already lost.
I have been really keen to take this to a LGS for a modern fnm. Am getting some cards for this and am thinking has R/W/B worked at all? Access to Rain of Tears or the like.
Any cards in recent sets helped out? Also have tried to find some YouTube clips but most of them are R/G
Have play tested a few games and found that our early game options Crack the Earth and Boom // Bust just set has back as much as our opponent so we really gain no advantage. Also of course it would seem with this strategy more than others it is imperative we go first!
Need to ramp quicker as I was finding I was simply keeping them at 2 land and they could still play stuff but I guess that is what Trinisphere is for.
As you might've noticed this thread is kind off dead, and there isn't too much interest in denial strategies overall on the modern subforums.
You might have more luck getting replies on the RW lockdown thread.
They also run a land destruction type list, but often with a more varied lockdown strategy. the thread is worth a read and i have
myself converted my land destruction list into a hybrid RW lockdown land destruction list.
Magical Christmas land says that I go first and can play a mana dork on turn 1. Turn 2 play a fetchland and play Boom targeting my fetchland but also crack the fetchland whilst retaining priority. Then I will be 2 land up (plus my original mana dork) whilst the opponent has none.
Have also thought about playing a mountain and sacrificing a Satyr Hedonist for a turn 1 Stone Rain or Molten Rain .
The deus is there to act as a finisher whilst continuing the land destruction. The titan is there because they are what I have. Any suggestions are much welcome.
I have also thought about dropping the white altogether but not sure.
Your deck is currently playing a non excisting removal suit main, against decks like affinity/zoo this will be the death of you game 1.
I would advice moving some amount of those bolts (or helixes) into the main.
With the bridges in the side, are you able to empty your hand quick enough? it seems like the Elspeth/Deus or other big beaters might give your opponent time to slip under it. When on the land destruction plan i like running Ghostly Prison
in their place.
Also, you have to explain to me how this satyr trick of yours works, how do you sac him on turn 1, when it already costs 2 mana casting him, does he even give you any mana increase? Play out for 2 mana, sac for 1 mana gain 3 mana = no gain...
Yeah against aggro might be a problem you have a point about the Lightning bolt . Just what to take out ...
Also thanks for the satyr. Totally misread that one.
Would love to grab some fulminator mage may do this soon. Would I be right in thinking that Ghost Quarter won't reduce their overall land count just replace one for a basic?
I have been working on a RG Worldfire deck for quite awhile now. I've played around with a lot of the cards you guys are talking about and I figured I could share some insight even though my deck isn't exactly what this thread is for. Boom//Bust with Darksteel Citadel lets you cast it on turn 2 as a Sinkhole for 1R. Crack the Earth was always pretty loose for me. It rarely hit a land on your opponent's side unless you were already ahead. In which case, it was just winmore. I'd highly recommend looking into Plow Under if you are playing a ramp angle. Casting that on turn 3 is such a blow out against most decks. On top of that, back to back Plowings will usually win games. The Stone Rain cards are often not enough to really offset an opponent's game plan in a noticeable way outside of specific circumstances. So you have to cast multiples to get the desired effect, which means you won't be setting up any board presence on your side. Cards like Trinisphere and Ghostly Prison make the taxing effect of your LD more relevant though. I have Trinisphere in my sideboard but I'm considering running it MB over Blood Moon as a more disruptive card against more decks. In general, it may be better to think about this sort of deck as a Tempo deck, rather than a Control/Stax deck. Just my two cents though.
Have played a few games with this deck on Cockatrice and I have been winning more than I have been losing. Not sure if it is because they are not expecting it or anything. I wish I could record them and put them up.
Hi. Will have to post a final decklist later but very similar to what I have above. I did take out the Crack the Earth and added 3 Manamorphose as I felt they replace themselves and they help me get to my finishers quicker.
Playing the deck what I have noticed is the importance of getting my turn 1 mama dork out so I can start destroying lands on turn 2.
I have sort of figured out a way to record cockatrice games so I thought I would share one. Keep in mind it is the very first one I have ever posted on YouTube but have a look and see what you think. I have a few others I will post but it is way too late now.
With people talking about being able to have the plan work in the beginning of the game, but then not being able to finish the game: Anyone tried or considered Raging Ravine as the win-con?
The EBT might just make it terrible because you are so dependent on your mana early on, but I thought I'd suggest it.
There is also the Land package. Ghost Quarter + Crucible of Worlds gives us a land destruction engine. In the current modern meta, decks run 4.5 basic lands and after that Ghost Quarter becomes Strip Mine. Buried Ruin negates artifact removal (none of the main decks currently run artifact exile). Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse give us fetch lands that do not cost life, which can become an issue if we use them multiple times. The number of fetches / mountains has worked relatively well so far, but might adjusted with further tuning.
Even with land recursion, Crack the Earth was either excellent or terrible, with the latter being the more common case. As much fun as Simian Spirit Guide + Crack the Earth is on the draw, it was very narrow and for some decks didn't matter. This would be a different story entirely with Raze.
How come you do not have Helldozer included?? Or an even better question would be why is Pillage not in? I can understand giving us a lot of smaller monsters but against artifact heavy decks Pillage will get the job done and after Wildfire kicks in and destroys the opponents land that is when you can stack the mana destruction with each 3 mana that you have. If you get a couple of Dark Rituals in there then it could also help with getting some of your more costly monsters out i.e. Mana Skimmer. Or stalling for time with Mine Layer ability. Damnation would also seem to be a good sweeper if you have few creatures in your deck.
Helldozer is terrible for this deck. Between Stone Rain, Molten Rain, and Boom/Burst you have plenty of land kill. You want bigger, more impressive wincons.
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Anyhow, here is what I came up to hopefully give some ideas.
4 Inquisition of Kozalek
4 Molten Rain
2 Plunder
4 Roiling Terrain
4 Smallpox
2 Sowing Salt
3 Wrecking Ball
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Blood Crypt
3 Dragonskull Summit
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Ghost Quarter
5 Mountian
4 Swamp
It' far from refined, but it was a nice start. Sadly it will be quite some time before I can get any fetch land, the shaman or even the pyromancers,
so I have returned my attention back to my modern Death cloud and legacy pox.
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
4x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
5x Mountain
3x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Rakdos Keyrune
4x Rakdos Signet
Creature (16)
4x Akki Blizzard-Herder
4x Fulminator Mage
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Young Pyromancer
4x Boom/Bust
4x Crack the Earth
4x Smallpox
Instant (4)
4x Lightning Bolt
I think most of it is self explanatory. The point of the deck is to use your 1 and 2 mana land destruction to keep them from getting past 2 lands at the beginning of the game, and then likely play a bit of a slow style as you bounce back faster than they do thanks to a few mana generating artifacts that'll always stay out.
Thoughts?
It needs some work for sure, but it's definitely an "all or nothing strategy" kind of deck. You should be able to lock people down first game most times because no one is going to expect it. Second game might be a lot harder though, as they'd be happy to keep 4+ land hand.
The most entertaining opening is definitely a Simian Spirit Guide followed by a Crack the Earth when your opponent went first, because you can play it before you play your own land and it's almost like you had first turn.
I think one of the best starts would be:
T1: Land + SSG = Rakdos Signet
Turn 2: Land + Akki Blizzard-Herder
Turn 3: Smallpox, then land, then continue the game at 2 land, while the opponent has nothing but perhaps 1 creature if they're lucky (or playing zoo)
Hopefully they're a bit stuck, but all of your spells cost about 3 at most... maybe 4.
Just an idea. I have no idea if it actually works or not yet though. If anyone tries it out, let me know!
I've been over this before, but I'll say it again. Tec edge is worthless in a land denial deck, because if your opponent ever gets to 4 land, you've probably already lost.
Any cards in recent sets helped out? Also have tried to find some YouTube clips but most of them are R/G
Need to ramp quicker as I was finding I was simply keeping them at 2 land and they could still play stuff but I guess that is what Trinisphere is for.
Cant wait for the opportunity for a possible turn 2 Boom targeting our own fetchland only to not lose any land!
Will hopefully post a decklist soon.
You might have more luck getting replies on the RW lockdown thread.
They also run a land destruction type list, but often with a more varied lockdown strategy. the thread is worth a read and i have
myself converted my land destruction list into a hybrid RW lockdown land destruction list.
I would like to see your list, Crack the Earth is an interesting card with Simian Spirit Guide and Flagstones of Trokair
but I haven't been able to get as much out of it as i'd like, paying 3 for it with a active Trinisphere on the table is a bit sad.
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Forest
4 Arid Mesa
4 Stomping Ground
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Plains
3 Mountain
Creatures (17)
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Elvish Mystic
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Deus of Calamity
2 Inferno Titan
3 Crack the Earth
4 Boom // Bust
4 Molten Rain
4 Stone Rain
2 Roiling Terrain
Planeswalkers (3)
2 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth Knight Errant
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Pyroclasm
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Satyr Hedonist
Magical Christmas land says that I go first and can play a mana dork on turn 1. Turn 2 play a fetchland and play Boom targeting my fetchland but also crack the fetchland whilst retaining priority. Then I will be 2 land up (plus my original mana dork) whilst the opponent has none.
Have also thought about playing a mountain and sacrificing a Satyr Hedonist for a turn 1 Stone Rain or Molten Rain .
The deus is there to act as a finisher whilst continuing the land destruction. The titan is there because they are what I have. Any suggestions are much welcome.
I have also thought about dropping the white altogether but not sure.
I would advice moving some amount of those bolts (or helixes) into the main.
With the bridges in the side, are you able to empty your hand quick enough? it seems like the Elspeth/Deus or other big beaters might give your opponent time to slip under it. When on the land destruction plan i like running Ghostly Prison
in their place.
On straight land destruction spells i would look into both Ghost Quarter and Fulminator Mage
Also, you have to explain to me how this satyr trick of yours works, how do you sac him on turn 1, when it already costs 2 mana casting him, does he even give you any mana increase? Play out for 2 mana, sac for 1 mana gain 3 mana = no gain...
Also thanks for the satyr. Totally misread that one.
Would love to grab some fulminator mage may do this soon. Would I be right in thinking that Ghost Quarter won't reduce their overall land count just replace one for a basic?
Playing the deck what I have noticed is the importance of getting my turn 1 mama dork out so I can start destroying lands on turn 2.
I have sort of figured out a way to record cockatrice games so I thought I would share one. Keep in mind it is the very first one I have ever posted on YouTube but have a look and see what you think. I have a few others I will post but it is way too late now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPf9mJfpWp4
The EBT might just make it terrible because you are so dependent on your mana early on, but I thought I'd suggest it.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Stormbreath Dragon
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Faithless Looting
2 Mind Stone
4 Molten Rain
3 Stone Rain
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Tectonic Edge
21 Mountain
Probably rough around the edges. Shame that Relic of Progenitus and the like are a thing, because Magnivore would be a fun addition otherwise.
1x Buried Ruin
2x Darksteel Citadel
2x Evolving Wilds
4x Ghost Quarter
2x Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
3x Inkmoth Nexus
8x Mountain
2x Terramorphic Expanse
Instant (7)
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Surgical Extraction
2x Genju of the Spires
Sorcery (14)
2x Anger of the Gods
4x Boom // Bust
3x Molten Rain
2x Red Sun's Zenith
3x Stone Rain
Artifact (5)
2x Crucible of Worlds
1x Druidic Satchel
2x Expedition Map
Creature (8)
4x Fulminator Mage
4x Simian Spirit Guide
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Boil
2x Guttural Response
2x Relic of Progenitus
1x Shattering Blow
2x Shattering Spree
2x Sowing Salt
2x Trinisphere
The deck runs the typical suite of LD with: Molten Rain, Stone Rain, and Fulminator Mage as well as Boom // Bust. Here Surgical Extraction is primarily for extracting Fetch Lands but can also be used to neuter Tron.
There is also the Land package. Ghost Quarter + Crucible of Worlds gives us a land destruction engine. In the current modern meta, decks run 4.5 basic lands and after that Ghost Quarter becomes Strip Mine. Buried Ruin negates artifact removal (none of the main decks currently run artifact exile). Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse give us fetch lands that do not cost life, which can become an issue if we use them multiple times. The number of fetches / mountains has worked relatively well so far, but might adjusted with further tuning.
Even with land recursion, Crack the Earth was either excellent or terrible, with the latter being the more common case. As much fun as Simian Spirit Guide + Crack the Earth is on the draw, it was very narrow and for some decks didn't matter. This would be a different story entirely with Raze.
Thoughts?