This deck pretty much is a deck for people who can't afford goyfs for Jund but still wants to play a Jund Esque deck. This deck due to us playing white instead of green, while we lose the most powerful beater in modern, we get MANY outs to many annoying creatures thanks to Path to Exile. We also have a lot of ways to help stabilize with lifegain, such as Lightning Helix and Kitchen Finks. So while we don't have a 2 drop monster, we have ways help do close to as much damage with our removal and burn as well as our win conditions.
Chapter 2:
What is Dega?
Dega is a made up name to name the 3 colors of this deck which are white, black and red. Since we are a midrange deck, as said previously we want to kill things while still putting pressure on the board. The ways we do that are as follows... Hero of Bladehold our 'goyf' of the deck as I like to call it. If left unchecked this ends a game in 2 turns. Elspeth, Knight Errant her second ability is nasty for giving something +3/+3 and flying is painful for our opponent. Lastly we just use our burn spells to the face, due to us being white and red we have plenty of burn to shoot. One could always main or side a copy of Batterskull and just win through that.
Grim Lavamancer -
This guy is our poor substitute to Deathrite Shaman now the he is banned. While we cannot gain life with Grim Lavamancer or hit someone's graveyard. This guy still can shoot x/2s and shoot your opponent in the face. What can you do, modern is modern.
0-2 of.
Dark Confidant -
Another black all-star, there is NO ONE that wouldn't want to play this guy as any less than a 4 of. This guy is what keeps us going and our hand full. Since most of our CMC is low, the cost to pay is relatively low. I've had wins from behind due to this guy. This guy is amazing.
Play a full set if you can afford them.
Kitchen Finks -
Previously, this wasn't in the build but with the banning of DRS we need something to soothe our life loss plus put some pressure on board, this guy does this well.
Play 0-3 of.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos -
At first I doubted this cat, but I now that I've played him in standard I see what a beast this guy is. Sure he's pretty bad in the Jund/Junk MUs with abrupt decay and kill spells. But at least he doesn't die to bolt or the likes. He has synergy with Sorin as well.
Pia and Kiran Nalaar -
Played in Blue Moon and other grindy red decks alike in modern this card is pretty sweet. It's fliers it makes hard for any aggro deck to get in especially against affinity and infect's Inkmoth's. Against the grindy MUs you can get in for incremental points of damage until you can lethal them with her ability.
Run 0-2 of.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet -
This new card was first put into Jund lists and now it's being seen in this list as well. the 3/4 body makes it annoying for the good ol' bolt as well as him having lifelink. He also has an exile clause upon death clause that makes any Voice of Resurgence, Kitchen Finks or any graveyard shenanigans to occur. On top of that, you get value from removal by getting zombies for each killed and exiled creature when you can sacrifice to Kalitas. This guy is pretty nuts against most aggressive deck.
Play 0-3 of.
Olivia Voldaren
This gal? is pretty good if you can drop her on turn 6 for she is a 3/3 and vaulnerable to bolt w/o mana up. Her ability is nice to not only kill things but to also steal them as well if they are bigger creatures. If it ever comes up you can also sacrifice her and the the creatures you've made into a vampire with her ability and steal them to feed to Kalitas as well.
Play 0-1 of.
[/c]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/c] -
A test card of mine. Not sure if it's good enough but we'll see. It's effect was annoying in standard against the grindy MUs I can see it being slightly less annoying in modern.
Play 0-1 of.
The Spells: Lightning Bolt -
Do I really have to explain this card to you? It's the universal removal spell. Use it to clear annoying blockers/attackers or to finish someone off.
Auto 4 of.
Lightning Helix -
Lightning bolt but except we pay a more and we get the benefit of gaining 3 life as well. This is what helps feed out fetch/shock lands and also feeds Bob. This also lets us get an extra hand on Burn decks.
Play 4 of.
Path to Exile -
Our goyf-away, since bolts can't usually touch them. If playing against any competitive deck that uses green save this if possible for the goyfs. The only bad side to using this is the opponent gets a basic land. But most of the time that is not too relevant for either most decks have 2-4 basics in them now or we simply don't care. You could also try saving these for bigger things such as Resto Angels, Baneslayer Angels, anything that's higher than a x/3.
Play 2-4 of, depends on how relevant you think giving lands to your opponent is.
An instant speed kill spell that prevents regeneration. Not much to say here, I prefer his to the 3rd path to exile for I don't like giving my opponents too many lands.
Play 0-2 of.
Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozelik -
Ever since Theros bought back this gem to standard there shouldn't be much of an excuse to not have at least 3 of these in your binder. These have been used in every deck with black known to man. Pay 2 life to take a card? Yes please. SOME people may prefer Inquisition of Kozilek but I like versatility which thoughtseize gives.
Play a 3/2 or a 2/3 Split.
Lingering Souls -
Everyone that plays black is splashing white for this card, even Jund is. Since we have both colors there's no reason why we shouldn't. Three mana for two 1/1 fliers is awesome. Flash back for 2 is even better. Discard with liliana for even more value. These can act as a wall for turns to find a win con or answer or can play offense.
Play 3-4 of.
Painful Truths -
At first people thought this card was garbage in modern, but then people realized
3 mana for 3 cards and 3 life isn't a terrible trade off if you have a decent amount of life gain. We don't have much draw power outside of good ol' dark confidant.
Play 2-3 of if you cannot afford dark confidants or don't want to run them. Otherwise 0-2 of if you run them.
Crackling Doom -
Being played in the standard version of Mardu and it's effect is quite good against the rampant Reality Smashers going around. It's also very clutch against boggles. It's also very good against infect after pumps for lethal and you can 2-3 for one them. It can be awkward against the swarmy kind of decks however. My shop has a boggles player so I run them in my deck.
Play 0-2 of.
The Planeswalkers Liliana of the Veil -
Seeing a lot of play in most black midrange/control decks this card has unfortunately went up in price so getting your hands on these beauties if you don't own couple will be a pain. Her +1 is awesome against grindy decks such as midrange and control. He -2 is amazing against any single creature and even more amazing against Bogles enchantments. Her final usually doesn't happen but if it does it usually doesn't mean too much.
Play 2 or 3, depending on if Bogles is a thing in your meta or if you have a lot of grindy matches.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant -
You're all-star for pretty much close grindy games and against control decks. Going against a control deck and he has a wall of blockers with 5 life? Just slam this chick down, use her second ability and bam, you're now swinging for lethal in the air. He 1st ability isn't much, usually if you're in this position to be forced to use her 1st ability you're already in bad shape. Her finale is amazing though, if you manage to pull this off you've already won.
Play 0-1 of.
Ajani Vengeant -
This guy is pretty amazing. Didn't see much play before Jund made him thing. Fortunately Jund brought the best out of him. His 1st ability keeps pesky manlands and bombs tapped. His second ability is a 4 mana lightning helix, which isn't exactly the worst. For it's helped me against BUG infect with keeping dudes dead. His finale is game ending and the opponent will usually scoop if this happens.
Play 0-1 of.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor -
Goes quite well with our many token producer spells such as, Brimaz, Kalitas, Lingering Souls, and alike. It's life ability is no joke and you can feed the vampires you get from it's -2 to Kalitas as well.
Play 0-2 of.
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar -
This version is better than the original Gideon which even saw play in the old days of modern which means this is even playable in modern. It protects it self and attacks for 5 like the old one. The original Gideon didn't really protect it's self to well for it forced attackers to him. I play him as a finisher honestly or if I have an active Sorin on the field.
Play 0-2 of.
The Lands Arid Mesa, Marsh Flats, Bloodstained Mire
Fetch Lands are amazing, they can fetch ANY shock land in the deck or can fetch a basic if you need your life. Not much to explain here.
Play a set of each.
WRB Shock Lands -
Same argument with the Thoughtseize. Ever since RTR/GTC reprinted these into standard there's not much of a reason to not have these. What's even better is that you don't even need a play set of each if you're running a set of fetches. Not much to say about these guys.
# of shocks varies. If you despise blood moon play more basics and less fetches.
Blackcleave Cliffs -
Were the duals in Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Besieged Standard, and they're even amazing in modern in little amounts. Try to play these right away of a match if you can afford to, unless these may screw up your mana for they do come in tapped turns 3 and on.
Play no more or less than 3 of.
Shambling Vents -
Every Midrange deck needs it's manlands, while this manland isn't as good as the UW or RG or BU one it's the best one we have. It's also the cheapest one out of them all as well, only a few dollars. It also has lifelink which is a bonus. Sadly it's a 2/3 which means it's boltable. So animate this with caution, however this has saved me games against the aggressive decks due to it's lifelink.
Play 2-4 of.
Vault of the Archangel
Since, life loss will happen when you play with this deck this will help recuperate some of that. However, may end up having to drop this from the deck if I find out this color screws me. A test card. Be careful however, this can screw up your manabase color-wise for we are greedy with our colors early on in the game.
Play 0-1.
Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge -
Every deck in modern or legacy should be running some land destruction in they're land base. For Tron is gaining popularity, as well as opposing manlands are annoying. Now, whether you run Ghost quarter or Tectonic Edge is ALL preference. You can even run a 1/1 split but be warned it could screw up your mana base if you too many colorless sources.
Run 0-1 of either.
Our Matchups
The Match ups: (Us/Them)
Mono U Fish -
60/40 G1
50/50 G2
Abzan Company
35/65 G1
40/60 G2
Bogles -
50/50 G1
60/40 G2
Jund -
50/50 G1
60/40 G2
Burn -
65/35 G1
75/25 G2
RUG Scapeshift -
30/70 G1
40/60 G2
Affinity -
40/60 G1
60/40 G2
Infect -
40/60 G1
50/50 G2
Eldrazi -
Considering how good this deck is against most things...
25/75 G1
35/65 G2
What do you guys think? Think this deck can be a thing? I mean sure this deck may be a wannbe jund deck. For those who can't afford Goyfs, this deck may be for them. I also love Dega colors.
I played a deck almost identical to this a few months ago. I found Young Pyromancer to be not good enough even with the Lingering Souls. I ended up replacing them with more Scullers and two Mirran Crusaders who are nuts with equipment.
you are trying to poorly do a 3/2 split with DRS and lavamancer. I would cut 1 grim lavamancer/DRS for a helix, 1 path for a lili, you now have 15 removal spells-17 depending on how you see Lavamancer like before, but your removal gives him less land ramp and a more consistent matchup vs creatureless/creature light decks.
I think you should remember the 4,3,2,1s of magic and think where each card fits in. 4 is when you never do not want to see the card and would be ok drawing more than 1. 3 is when the card is good, you do not want to draw more than 1 but you want to draw 1 or want more than 4 and are doing a 3/2, 2 is when you either do not want the card in your opener but would like to draw it most games or also for 3/2 splits, yet do not need it every game, and 1 is when you can search it up or is conditionally good against part of the meta. the 1 ofs of decks make the deck what it is by adding spice and making it difficult to realize the deck composition. 1 ofs can also be a worse than a 4 of that you like like more of, but the 4 of is simply better than the 1 of trying to be a 5th copy. you do not want more than 5 of the same card generally. so take a hard look at your deck and see where you do not fulfill this or where you overplay cards.
"Punch him in the face" and "punch harder" are unacceptable in WCT. Advocating violence falls under the category of malicious advice. Suspension issued.
- Teia
you are trying to poorly do a 3/2 split with DRS and lavamancer. I would cut 1 grim lavamancer/DRS for a helix, 1 path for a lili, you now have 15 removal spells-17 depending on how you see Lavamancer like before, but your removal gives him less land ramp and a more consistent matchup vs creatureless/creature light decks.
I think you should remember the 4,3,2,1s of magic and think where each card fits in. 4 is when you never do not want to see the card and would be ok drawing more than 1. 3 is when the card is good, you do not want to draw more than 1 but you want to draw 1 or want more than 4 and are doing a 3/2, 2 is when you either do not want the card in your opener but would like to draw it most games or also for 3/2 splits, yet do not need it every game, and 1 is when you can search it up or is conditionally good against part of the meta. the 1 ofs of decks make the deck what it is by adding spice and making it difficult to realize the deck composition. 1 ofs can also be a worse than a 4 of that you like like more of, but the 4 of is simply better than the 1 of trying to be a 5th copy. you do not want more than 5 of the same card generally. so take a hard look at your deck and see where you do not fulfill this or where you overplay cards.
Ok I could be convinced on going down to 3 DRS. Also yeah, Young pyromancer hasn't been too spectacular yet, may drop him down to a 3 of as well.
Ok so I've noticed that in the Jund Midrange match ups it becomes REALLY grindy and so to break the stalemates G2, I'm going to add 2 Bonfire of the Damned to the SB.
So far, haven't been able to play B-skull yet. May just have to drop it for another sword.
MB
-1 DRS
-1 Young Pyromancer
SB
-2 Rule of Law
+2 Bonfire of the Damned
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I could see this being kinda like grixis control--remove/counter/discard everything under the sun then land a batterskull. It accepts grindy matchup as its basically creatureless--and it gets to do what it does because of blue card-draw. The problem still remains with it that you need to draw the right answers and use them on the right threats (this is a competitive deck I'm talking about again because it has blue card-draw to see a lot of cards making the picking and choosing what to kill with what a little easier).
The point of mentioning this is that it seems like you want to do the same thing but with worse card-draw and different control tools, so you'll want to draw a faster clock sooner--can you do that? is dividing out the deck into aggro/control rather than accepting one or the other going to work?
If you kind yourself falling flat, I think read the bones, more ajani, and a look into more of the black removal might be a good thing a good idea.
I could see this being kinda like grixis control--remove/counter/discard everything under the sun then land a batterskull. It accepts grindy matchup as its basically creatureless--and it gets to do what it does because of blue card-draw. The problem still remains with it that you need to draw the right answers and use them on the right threats (this is a competitive deck I'm talking about again because it has blue card-draw to see a lot of cards making the picking and choosing what to kill with what a little easier).
The point of mentioning this is that it seems like you want to do the same thing but with worse card-draw and different control tools, so you'll want to draw a faster clock sooner--can you do that? is dividing out the deck into aggro/control rather than accepting one or the other going to work?
If you kind yourself falling flat, I think read the bones, more ajani, and a look into more of the black removal might be a good thing a good idea.
Unfortunately we do not want to become more of a control deck. This deck wants to be more like Jund, kill things and resolves your threats and win.
As for the card draw, I think we can do better. Just not sure what in black is the best card draw. Heck does Jund even have card draw besides Bob? I do agree however. We need a faster clock.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Some options you forgot from someone playing this a while. Ranger of Eos (possibly better than Hero depending on meta)
Batterskull (1 of sideboard for burn/Jund type matchups) Hide/Seek is just better than wear/tear since it can exile emrakul and buy you time there, or get rid of a 1 of threat vs a number of decks.
Also Thalia should be a 2-3 of sideboard. Great against control and combo as a must answer threat. (sure it slows us down slightly, but in those matchups we play beatdown role and want to clock them)
I have certainly considered bonfire of the damned myself. It is quite fine against pod, jund and hatebears as just a 5 mana 1 sided pyroclasm later in the game killing 1-3 guys and dealing 2. If you miracle it turn 4/5/6 it can be a massive blowout.
Some options you forgot from someone playing this a while. Ranger of Eos (possibly better than Hero depending on meta)
Batterskull (1 of sideboard for burn/Jund type matchups) Hide/Seek is just better than wear/tear since it can exile emrakul and buy you time there, or get rid of a 1 of threat vs a number of decks.
Also Thalia should be a 2-3 of sideboard. Great against control and combo as a must answer threat. (sure it slows us down slightly, but in those matchups we play beatdown role and want to clock them)
I have certainly considered bonfire of the damned myself. It is quite fine against pod, jund and hatebears as just a 5 mana 1 sided pyroclasm later in the game killing 1-3 guys and dealing 2. If you miracle it turn 4/5/6 it can be a massive blowout.
I will consider Thalia. I LOVE Hide/Seek though. Omg gaining 15 life from exiling an emrakul is hilarious. I will look for one today.
I will swap light and shadow in for the feast and famine. Nice catch!
Pyroclasm VS Bonfire is something that was brought up earlier by a friend of mine. Still haven't decided on one vs the other. I'll ask for more opinions today.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I will consider Thalia. I LOVE Hide/Seek though. Omg gaining 15 life from exiling an emrakul is hilarious. I will look for one today.
I will swap light and shadow in for the feast and famine. Nice catch!
Pyroclasm VS Bonfire is something that was brought up earlier by a friend of mine. Still haven't decided on one vs the other. I'll ask for more opinions today.
Yea just played a game against tribal flames where bonfire would have killed 4 lingering souls tokens, a DRS, and a geist of saint traft. Lost the game instead albeit pretty flooded.
I am starting to think i want to try it as a 1-2 of. I certainly wouldn't bother with pyroclasm, just look for cards that take advantage of lots of trades, like batterskull and ranger. you pretty much always outcard jund with those + lingering souls (I would run 4, it is almost never bad to have a second one and it is one of the best cards in the deck IMO)
Don't forget that sword of light and shadow gives you a free creature from your GY as well. Pretty invaluable.
Yea just played a game against tribal flames where bonfire would have killed 4 lingering souls tokens, a DRS, and a geist of saint traft. Lost the game instead albeit pretty flooded.
I am starting to think i want to try it as a 1-2 of. I certainly wouldn't bother with pyroclasm, just look for cards that take advantage of lots of trades, like batterskull and ranger. you pretty much always outcard jund with those + lingering souls (I would run 4, it is almost never bad to have a second one and it is one of the best cards in the deck IMO)
Don't forget that sword of light and shadow gives you a free creature from your GY as well. Pretty invaluable.
I've been told that Bonfire > Pyroclasm more as well. I'll stick with hero of bladehold as my four drop for now. Because sadly I traded one of my 2 rangers. Oh well :c.
I did get almost everything for this deck now besides the fetches and the bobs.
Will be spending a good chunk of money for 3 bobs this week. Yeah that will be fun.
Then I will be toying with SCG's trade in offers for bulk rares to get my fetches for a good cheap price.
I'm hoping this Wednesday I can borrow some fetches and some Bobs and play this.
I think this deck can be a real thing!
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
After some more playtesting against my friend's bant pod deck. I've realized this deck and even in the Side deck. Has no way of dealing with an opposing Thrun, the Last Troll and Sigarda, Host of Herons
I think we just have to pray that we out race someone with Sigarda. Since she only dies to wipes. As for thrun, I was think that we need some sac effects in the side deck. Relying on liliana may not be enough. I also wouldn't want to rely on a bonfire miracle to do enough damage.
Then again, I besides my friend is Sigarda played in any side decks? I know thrun is play in some Jund side decks as for other GBx midrange decks.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Thrun and Sigarda are hopefully cards you can just race/chump. Certainly a bit of a weak spot, but you should have grinded some advantage before they came out hopefully to overwhelm your opponent with DRS or lingering souls.
Thrun and Sigarda are hopefully cards you can just race/chump. Certainly a bit of a weak spot, but you should have grinded some advantage before they came out hopefully to overwhelm your opponent with DRS or lingering souls.
Unfortunately, one of the games it was a T3 Thrun. Not much time to grind him down really.
Is there any sidedeck tech that anyone has found against Infect? I still find that MU slightly scary.
We can attempt to one for one their guys and hope they run out of pump/rangers guile's. But we only have so many kill spells.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I'd rather play 2 of Ajani and 1 of Hero of Bladehold. Ajani is just so much better than Hero of bladehold.
True, but they function completely differently.
Ajani, acts as a staller. Keeping pesky permanents tapped, kills us x/3s while gains us life.
Hero of Blade hold is something we want to slam down on a table as a win con for when stalemates happen. She is REALLY good at saying "Kill spell, or die."
She is in here for the sole purpose of us needing a good win con.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Would anyone be interested making this deck on MTGO and willing to send the video links to me so I can put them on the Primer? I unfortunately do not play MTGO or have the streaming capabilities so I cannot do this.
At the very least, sleeve up this deck and take it to a Modern Tournament. Then post back the results.
I just need more match up statistics.
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Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Would anyone be interested making this deck on MTGO and willing to send the video links to me so I can put them on the Primer? I unfortunately do not play MTGO or have the streaming capabilities so I cannot do this.
At the very least, sleeve up this deck and take it to a Modern Tournament. Then post back the results.
I just need more match up statistics.
I have been meaning on doing this myself. I'll try to do it soon and get some videos up. Plus I plan on running it through some dailies soon.
I feel a lot like Jund it has decent matchups all around. I can't decide what the biggest weaknesses are. Bogles seems like it may be tough with just 3 edict effects.
In any creature matchup it fares pretty well, and I feel it has a better control/combo matchup than Jund with Thalia/Sculler pretty amazing there. (10 discard spells)
Credit goes the original creator, Matthew White for making this sort of a thing.
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=999367
Chatper 1:
Introduction
This deck pretty much is a deck for people who can't afford goyfs for Jund but still wants to play a Jund Esque deck. This deck due to us playing white instead of green, while we lose the most powerful beater in modern, we get MANY outs to many annoying creatures thanks to Path to Exile. We also have a lot of ways to help stabilize with lifegain, such as Lightning Helix and Kitchen Finks. So while we don't have a 2 drop monster, we have ways help do close to as much damage with our removal and burn as well as our win conditions.
Chapter 2:
What is Dega?
Dega is a made up name to name the 3 colors of this deck which are white, black and red. Since we are a midrange deck, as said previously we want to kill things while still putting pressure on the board. The ways we do that are as follows... Hero of Bladehold our 'goyf' of the deck as I like to call it. If left unchecked this ends a game in 2 turns. Elspeth, Knight Errant her second ability is nasty for giving something +3/+3 and flying is painful for our opponent. Lastly we just use our burn spells to the face, due to us being white and red we have plenty of burn to shoot. One could always main or side a copy of Batterskull and just win through that.
Chapter 3:
The Deck List
Here's a recent deck list by tallanddirty, Ricardo Sanchez and even Ben Stark's Pro Tour List!
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=11500&d=265345&f=MO
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=11636&d=266303&f=MO
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/371273#online
Otherwise here's my current list.
3 Abbot of Keral Keep
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Kalitas, Traitor if Ghet
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Spells: 23
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
3 Inquisition of Kozelik
2 Thoughtseize
2 Painful Truths
2 Kolaghan's Command
2 Crackling Doom
3 Lingering Souls
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Arid Mesa
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
2 Godless Shrine
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Blood Crypt
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Shambling Vents
1 Fetid Heath
2 Mountains
2 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Damnation
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Rest for the Weary
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Outpost Siege
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Stony Silence
1 Shatterstorm
1 Crackling Doom
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Crumble to Dust
Chapter 4:
The Explaination of the List and how many to run.
The Creatures:
Grim Lavamancer -
This guy is our poor substitute to Deathrite Shaman now the he is banned. While we cannot gain life with Grim Lavamancer or hit someone's graveyard. This guy still can shoot x/2s and shoot your opponent in the face. What can you do, modern is modern.
0-2 of.
Dark Confidant -
Another black all-star, there is NO ONE that wouldn't want to play this guy as any less than a 4 of. This guy is what keeps us going and our hand full. Since most of our CMC is low, the cost to pay is relatively low. I've had wins from behind due to this guy. This guy is amazing.
Play a full set if you can afford them.
Kitchen Finks -
Previously, this wasn't in the build but with the banning of DRS we need something to soothe our life loss plus put some pressure on board, this guy does this well.
Play 0-3 of.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos -
At first I doubted this cat, but I now that I've played him in standard I see what a beast this guy is. Sure he's pretty bad in the Jund/Junk MUs with abrupt decay and kill spells. But at least he doesn't die to bolt or the likes. He has synergy with Sorin as well.
Pia and Kiran Nalaar -
Played in Blue Moon and other grindy red decks alike in modern this card is pretty sweet. It's fliers it makes hard for any aggro deck to get in especially against affinity and infect's Inkmoth's. Against the grindy MUs you can get in for incremental points of damage until you can lethal them with her ability.
Run 0-2 of.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet -
This new card was first put into Jund lists and now it's being seen in this list as well. the 3/4 body makes it annoying for the good ol' bolt as well as him having lifelink. He also has an exile clause upon death clause that makes any Voice of Resurgence, Kitchen Finks or any graveyard shenanigans to occur. On top of that, you get value from removal by getting zombies for each killed and exiled creature when you can sacrifice to Kalitas. This guy is pretty nuts against most aggressive deck.
Play 0-3 of.
Olivia Voldaren
This gal? is pretty good if you can drop her on turn 6 for she is a 3/3 and vaulnerable to bolt w/o mana up. Her ability is nice to not only kill things but to also steal them as well if they are bigger creatures. If it ever comes up you can also sacrifice her and the the creatures you've made into a vampire with her ability and steal them to feed to Kalitas as well.
Play 0-1 of.
[/c]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/c] -
A test card of mine. Not sure if it's good enough but we'll see. It's effect was annoying in standard against the grindy MUs I can see it being slightly less annoying in modern.
Play 0-1 of.
The Spells:
Lightning Bolt -
Do I really have to explain this card to you? It's the universal removal spell. Use it to clear annoying blockers/attackers or to finish someone off.
Auto 4 of.
Lightning Helix -
Lightning bolt but except we pay a more and we get the benefit of gaining 3 life as well. This is what helps feed out fetch/shock lands and also feeds Bob. This also lets us get an extra hand on Burn decks.
Play 4 of.
Path to Exile -
Our goyf-away, since bolts can't usually touch them. If playing against any competitive deck that uses green save this if possible for the goyfs. The only bad side to using this is the opponent gets a basic land. But most of the time that is not too relevant for either most decks have 2-4 basics in them now or we simply don't care. You could also try saving these for bigger things such as Resto Angels, Baneslayer Angels, anything that's higher than a x/3.
Play 2-4 of, depends on how relevant you think giving lands to your opponent is.
Terminate -
An instant speed kill spell that prevents regeneration. Not much to say here, I prefer his to the 3rd path to exile for I don't like giving my opponents too many lands.
Play 0-2 of.
Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozelik -
Ever since Theros bought back this gem to standard there shouldn't be much of an excuse to not have at least 3 of these in your binder. These have been used in every deck with black known to man. Pay 2 life to take a card? Yes please. SOME people may prefer Inquisition of Kozilek but I like versatility which thoughtseize gives.
Play a 3/2 or a 2/3 Split.
Lingering Souls -
Everyone that plays black is splashing white for this card, even Jund is. Since we have both colors there's no reason why we shouldn't. Three mana for two 1/1 fliers is awesome. Flash back for 2 is even better. Discard with liliana for even more value. These can act as a wall for turns to find a win con or answer or can play offense.
Play 3-4 of.
Painful Truths -
At first people thought this card was garbage in modern, but then people realized
3 mana for 3 cards and 3 life isn't a terrible trade off if you have a decent amount of life gain. We don't have much draw power outside of good ol' dark confidant.
Play 2-3 of if you cannot afford dark confidants or don't want to run them. Otherwise 0-2 of if you run them.
Crackling Doom -
Being played in the standard version of Mardu and it's effect is quite good against the rampant Reality Smashers going around. It's also very clutch against boggles. It's also very good against infect after pumps for lethal and you can 2-3 for one them. It can be awkward against the swarmy kind of decks however. My shop has a boggles player so I run them in my deck.
Play 0-2 of.
The Planeswalkers
Liliana of the Veil -
Seeing a lot of play in most black midrange/control decks this card has unfortunately went up in price so getting your hands on these beauties if you don't own couple will be a pain. Her +1 is awesome against grindy decks such as midrange and control. He -2 is amazing against any single creature and even more amazing against Bogles enchantments. Her final usually doesn't happen but if it does it usually doesn't mean too much.
Play 2 or 3, depending on if Bogles is a thing in your meta or if you have a lot of grindy matches.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant -
You're all-star for pretty much close grindy games and against control decks. Going against a control deck and he has a wall of blockers with 5 life? Just slam this chick down, use her second ability and bam, you're now swinging for lethal in the air. He 1st ability isn't much, usually if you're in this position to be forced to use her 1st ability you're already in bad shape. Her finale is amazing though, if you manage to pull this off you've already won.
Play 0-1 of.
Ajani Vengeant -
This guy is pretty amazing. Didn't see much play before Jund made him thing. Fortunately Jund brought the best out of him. His 1st ability keeps pesky manlands and bombs tapped. His second ability is a 4 mana lightning helix, which isn't exactly the worst. For it's helped me against BUG infect with keeping dudes dead. His finale is game ending and the opponent will usually scoop if this happens.
Play 0-1 of.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor -
Goes quite well with our many token producer spells such as, Brimaz, Kalitas, Lingering Souls, and alike. It's life ability is no joke and you can feed the vampires you get from it's -2 to Kalitas as well.
Play 0-2 of.
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar -
This version is better than the original Gideon which even saw play in the old days of modern which means this is even playable in modern. It protects it self and attacks for 5 like the old one. The original Gideon didn't really protect it's self to well for it forced attackers to him. I play him as a finisher honestly or if I have an active Sorin on the field.
Play 0-2 of.
The Lands
Arid Mesa, Marsh Flats, Bloodstained Mire
Fetch Lands are amazing, they can fetch ANY shock land in the deck or can fetch a basic if you need your life. Not much to explain here.
Play a set of each.
WRB Shock Lands -
Same argument with the Thoughtseize. Ever since RTR/GTC reprinted these into standard there's not much of a reason to not have these. What's even better is that you don't even need a play set of each if you're running a set of fetches. Not much to say about these guys.
# of shocks varies. If you despise blood moon play more basics and less fetches.
Blackcleave Cliffs -
Were the duals in Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Besieged Standard, and they're even amazing in modern in little amounts. Try to play these right away of a match if you can afford to, unless these may screw up your mana for they do come in tapped turns 3 and on.
Play no more or less than 3 of.
Shambling Vents -
Every Midrange deck needs it's manlands, while this manland isn't as good as the UW or RG or BU one it's the best one we have. It's also the cheapest one out of them all as well, only a few dollars. It also has lifelink which is a bonus. Sadly it's a 2/3 which means it's boltable. So animate this with caution, however this has saved me games against the aggressive decks due to it's lifelink.
Play 2-4 of.
Vault of the Archangel
Since, life loss will happen when you play with this deck this will help recuperate some of that. However, may end up having to drop this from the deck if I find out this color screws me. A test card. Be careful however, this can screw up your manabase color-wise for we are greedy with our colors early on in the game.
Play 0-1.
Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge -
Every deck in modern or legacy should be running some land destruction in they're land base. For Tron is gaining popularity, as well as opposing manlands are annoying. Now, whether you run Ghost quarter or Tectonic Edge is ALL preference. You can even run a 1/1 split but be warned it could screw up your mana base if you too many colorless sources.
Run 0-1 of either.
Our Matchups
The Match ups: (Us/Them)
Mono U Fish -
60/40 G1
50/50 G2
Abzan Company
35/65 G1
40/60 G2
Bogles -
50/50 G1
60/40 G2
Jund -
50/50 G1
60/40 G2
Burn -
65/35 G1
75/25 G2
RUG Scapeshift -
30/70 G1
40/60 G2
Affinity -
40/60 G1
60/40 G2
Infect -
40/60 G1
50/50 G2
Eldrazi -
Considering how good this deck is against most things...
25/75 G1
35/65 G2
GW Hatebears -
60/40 G1
70/30 G2
Video of DarkBrew VS GW Hate Bears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caj5joC-Q0Q
RG Tron
35/65 G1
55/45 G2
Video of DarkBrew VS Tron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi3E0DflZFQ
Living End
30/70 G1
50/50 G2
Mono Green Devotion
50/50 G1
70/30 G2
Naya Zoo
G1 50/50
G2 60/40
UWR Control
G1 35-40/65-60
G2 60/40
8 Rack
G1 40/60
G2 70/30
More Match up Stats to come.
Chapter 5:
Closing Statements
What do you guys think? Think this deck can be a thing? I mean sure this deck may be a wannbe jund deck. For those who can't afford Goyfs, this deck may be for them. I also love Dega colors.
Thanks to DarkBrew for posting Video Matchups!
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I think you should remember the 4,3,2,1s of magic and think where each card fits in. 4 is when you never do not want to see the card and would be ok drawing more than 1. 3 is when the card is good, you do not want to draw more than 1 but you want to draw 1 or want more than 4 and are doing a 3/2, 2 is when you either do not want the card in your opener but would like to draw it most games or also for 3/2 splits, yet do not need it every game, and 1 is when you can search it up or is conditionally good against part of the meta. the 1 ofs of decks make the deck what it is by adding spice and making it difficult to realize the deck composition. 1 ofs can also be a worse than a 4 of that you like like more of, but the 4 of is simply better than the 1 of trying to be a 5th copy. you do not want more than 5 of the same card generally. so take a hard look at your deck and see where you do not fulfill this or where you overplay cards.
Ok I could be convinced on going down to 3 DRS. Also yeah, Young pyromancer hasn't been too spectacular yet, may drop him down to a 3 of as well.
So maybe something along these lines.
-1 DRS
-1 Young Pyromancer
+2 Thundermaw Dragon!?
EDIT: I just realized, batterskull may be better.
-1 DRS
-1 Pyromancer
+1 Batterskull
+1 Tidehollow Sculler
Think this may be better?
I've felt like this deck could use more late game. But I'm scared for taking 5 off of Bob from revealing a thundermaw may hurt a lot or even kill me.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
So far, haven't been able to play B-skull yet. May just have to drop it for another sword.
MB
-1 DRS
-1 Young Pyromancer
SB
-2 Rule of Law
+2 Bonfire of the Damned
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Am I allowed to ask a Mod to sticky this? If so, could a Mod stick this?
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
The point of mentioning this is that it seems like you want to do the same thing but with worse card-draw and different control tools, so you'll want to draw a faster clock sooner--can you do that? is dividing out the deck into aggro/control rather than accepting one or the other going to work?
If you kind yourself falling flat, I think read the bones, more ajani, and a look into more of the black removal might be a good thing a good idea.
Unfortunately we do not want to become more of a control deck. This deck wants to be more like Jund, kill things and resolves your threats and win.
As for the card draw, I think we can do better. Just not sure what in black is the best card draw. Heck does Jund even have card draw besides Bob? I do agree however. We need a faster clock.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
So I looked at some good 4 drops in our colors. Same for 3 drops.
I've found out that Hero of Bladehold isn't all THAT bad. Sure she dies to Terminate and Go for the Throat. What she doesn't die to is bolt. Which is more common to find than kill spells.
It's something that Jund or any deck must answer to RIGHT away.
I've also forgotten about our anti-deck search friend Aven Mindcensor.
Young Pyromancer hasn't done a lot, I also realize we only have 15-17 spells. Not enough for pyromancer.
So here's the changes I've made.
-3 Young Pyromancer
-1 Batterskull
+2 Hero of Bladehold
+2 Aven Mindcensor
This also soothes our mana curve a lot for we have 1 through a 4 drop.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Batterskull (1 of sideboard for burn/Jund type matchups) Hide/Seek is just better than wear/tear since it can exile emrakul and buy you time there, or get rid of a 1 of threat vs a number of decks.
I also think Sword of light and shadow and sword of war and peace are better overall than FaF.
Also Thalia should be a 2-3 of sideboard. Great against control and combo as a must answer threat. (sure it slows us down slightly, but in those matchups we play beatdown role and want to clock them)
I have certainly considered bonfire of the damned myself. It is quite fine against pod, jund and hatebears as just a 5 mana 1 sided pyroclasm later in the game killing 1-3 guys and dealing 2. If you miracle it turn 4/5/6 it can be a massive blowout.
I will consider Thalia. I LOVE Hide/Seek though. Omg gaining 15 life from exiling an emrakul is hilarious. I will look for one today.
I will swap light and shadow in for the feast and famine. Nice catch!
Pyroclasm VS Bonfire is something that was brought up earlier by a friend of mine. Still haven't decided on one vs the other. I'll ask for more opinions today.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Yea just played a game against tribal flames where bonfire would have killed 4 lingering souls tokens, a DRS, and a geist of saint traft. Lost the game instead albeit pretty flooded.
I am starting to think i want to try it as a 1-2 of. I certainly wouldn't bother with pyroclasm, just look for cards that take advantage of lots of trades, like batterskull and ranger. you pretty much always outcard jund with those + lingering souls (I would run 4, it is almost never bad to have a second one and it is one of the best cards in the deck IMO)
Don't forget that sword of light and shadow gives you a free creature from your GY as well. Pretty invaluable.
I've been told that Bonfire > Pyroclasm more as well. I'll stick with hero of bladehold as my four drop for now. Because sadly I traded one of my 2 rangers. Oh well :c.
I did get almost everything for this deck now besides the fetches and the bobs.
Will be spending a good chunk of money for 3 bobs this week. Yeah that will be fun.
Then I will be toying with SCG's trade in offers for bulk rares to get my fetches for a good cheap price.
I'm hoping this Wednesday I can borrow some fetches and some Bobs and play this.
I think this deck can be a real thing!
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I think we just have to pray that we out race someone with Sigarda. Since she only dies to wipes. As for thrun, I was think that we need some sac effects in the side deck. Relying on liliana may not be enough. I also wouldn't want to rely on a bonfire miracle to do enough damage.
Then again, I besides my friend is Sigarda played in any side decks? I know thrun is play in some Jund side decks as for other GBx midrange decks.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Unfortunately, one of the games it was a T3 Thrun. Not much time to grind him down really.
Is there any sidedeck tech that anyone has found against Infect? I still find that MU slightly scary.
We can attempt to one for one their guys and hope they run out of pump/rangers guile's. But we only have so many kill spells.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
True, but they function completely differently.
Ajani, acts as a staller. Keeping pesky permanents tapped, kills us x/3s while gains us life.
Hero of Blade hold is something we want to slam down on a table as a win con for when stalemates happen. She is REALLY good at saying "Kill spell, or die."
She is in here for the sole purpose of us needing a good win con.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
At the very least, sleeve up this deck and take it to a Modern Tournament. Then post back the results.
I just need more match up statistics.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I have been meaning on doing this myself. I'll try to do it soon and get some videos up. Plus I plan on running it through some dailies soon.
I feel a lot like Jund it has decent matchups all around. I can't decide what the biggest weaknesses are. Bogles seems like it may be tough with just 3 edict effects.
In any creature matchup it fares pretty well, and I feel it has a better control/combo matchup than Jund with Thalia/Sculler pretty amazing there. (10 discard spells)