1) No we do not run enough fuel. We would also have to splash blue or green to make his ability relevant. Dark confidant and tasigur do not work well together either.
2) Yes. Giving the opponents an out to sac their crappiest creature so we cannot attack is not good for us. Percy has trample, which is relevant against birds of paradise, lingering souls tokens, and other flyers.
3) Our three drop slot is already pretty clogged up with liliana or lingering souls. If we have enough creatures to activate Atheros, then we are probably already winning the game. Lingering souls and pack rat tokens do not work well with athreos either.
Thanks for the quick reply. I agree with you on #1 and #3, but I'm still not sold on #2. Desecration Demon is terrible in a few match-ups, but I don't think most decks in Modern run crappy creatures that they are willing to sacrifice. Liliana of the Veil is a very powerful card in Modern largely because it can be a Cruel Edict, then continue to give value afterwards.
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Blue
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
I'll throw my 2 cents in for your questions Bjamman.
1.) I think the deck DOES have enough fuel for tasigur but the biggest problem is messing up the mana to get the extra abilities out of him. If we weren't playing Bobs we would pobably play anglers instead. As far as Jotun grunt goes I feel he has quite a strong matchup against tasigur mostly because he makes it really damn hard to cast the 4/5 and a 4/4 vs nothing is pretty strong.
2.) The trample of abyssal is absolutely the reason I want him over desecration. He also has won me a lot of games by just being a blocker people can't swing into where as with desecration they can simply sac their worst and swing through with their best (Abyssal persecutor is an Abyss for the best creature they're willing to swing with while Desecration demon is an Abyss for their worst) On top of all that I've never saved removal for persy instead of killing an opponents threat. Usually we will have enough time due to vault or sorin to just naturally get to removal after our opponents are at 0. Quite frankly though I'd rather have 4x lingering souls than any number of aetheros in my deck.
3.) Aetheros is a good card in our colors but I don't feel like it fits our strategy. Perhaps if you played arenas instead of Confidants it would be good (this would also allow you to play gurmag angler.
1) Yeah, it does seem like this deck can't run delve spells without cutting Dark Confidant and that splashing for Tasigur, the Golden Fang isn't really worthwhile. As far as Jotun Grunt vs. Tasigur, the Golden Fang goes, I still think Tasigur is heavily favored. Even against an active Grunt, Tasigur is always a live draw for our opponents since this deck's strategy is grindy, but Jotun Grunt is always a dead draw against a resolved Tasigur.
2) Okay, now I'm convinced that Abyssal Persecutor is better than Desecration Demon. Percy trades with their biggest threat instead of their smallest one, and his trample is a big upside.
3) It sounds like the main reason Athreos, God of Passage is excluded is because he works poorly with tokens, which are at the core of this deck. It's hard to justify playing any Orzhov-color deck without Lingering Souls, so Athreos is just poorly-positioned in the meta.
Blue
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
I think that this card is better suited for death and taxes since you can used aether vial to put a flikerwisp in the battlefield. Target anything you want (including lands) then play wasteland strangler. Skinrender is a card that is similar and doesn't see play even in zombie decks. It does cost 1 more mana though.
I think Strangler plays well with Sculler and Path but I am not sure that is stronger than what we are already doing. If somebody starts trying it out I will be all ears. It occurs to me that this whole opening up of the exile zone to interaction is a pretty big shift, and who knows how it will play out?
2-2 tonight in a small field of 22. I am still at 23 lands with 6 colorless and two Urborgs. I did get manascrewed once tonight with no white sources though. Sorin, Solemn Visitor did not factor into tonight's matches but I am definitely keeping him.
1-2 vs. RUG Infect: I should have won G1 but got so focused on the board I overlooked a Souls in my yard and lost with him at 1 life. So many dumb mistakes in my game! Grunt was very strong in the first game. G2 I took with Spirit tokens and my single Sculler swinging with Wargear attached. G3 he had multiple Inkmoths and whittled me down using Pendelhaven and Exalted triggers from Noble Hierarch. Should have been a win this match but as I often do, I misplayed. IN: Engineered Explosives x2, Fulminator Mage x3, and Disenchant x2. OUT: Pack Rat x3, Go for the Throat x1, Abyssal Persecutor x3 (Rat and Percy being too slow, was my thinking).
2-1 vs. Burn: Finally beat my buddy with the Burn deck. G1 was an easy win for him. G2 I took with repeated Mutavault swings using Vault of the Archangel after IoK x3 in the first three turns followed by Lili. Too much discard for him to overcome, and I ended with 15 life. G3 I won riding two Kor Firewalkers. IN: Kor Firewalker x3. OUT: Go for the Throat x1 and Victim of Night x2.
2-0 vs. Bogles: Bogles is very weak against Dead Guy and I always know what they are trying to do and how to stop it. IN: Disenchant x2 and Engineered Explosives x2. OUT: Targeted removal x3 (saving Path for Percy and the Kor Spiritdancers they often run) and Percy x1. Bogles dies to Lili and our disruption suite every time. Make sure you get their Daybreak Coronet for free by Disenchanting their other Aura to make it fall off, which is an easy twofer.
0-2 vs. Affinity: In G1 I kept a hand that was very very bad against Robots and lost on T3. G2 I held on for longer but wasn't able to use Engineered Explosives or Grafted Wargear due to my own one-of Stony Silence. We needLingering Souls in this match and a single copy in G2 was not enough. IN: Eng. Expl. x2, Fulminator Mage x3, Disenchant x2, Stony Silence x1. OUT: Lili x3, Percy x3, Go for the Throat x1, Jötun Grunt x1.
I could have done better tonight in both G1 and G4, if it weren't for the fact that I continue to occasionally, and at inopportune moments, miss lines that would play out better and should have been apparent.
I am still sold on Jötun Grunt despite the fact that he is sometimes dead in hand due to limited graveyard fodder. When he is good he is really good, and he is always a surprise. Grafted Wargear continues to impress; swinging for flample 9 with an auto-out for Abyssal Persecutor is so rad, and it also really wakes up the Spirit tokens. Tonight the Wargear even made Tidehollow Sculler into a serious threat! That has never happened for me before.
I need to watch out for nonbos like those I experienced in match 4. I think the sideboard continues to need tuning. I am considering Chalice of the Void in place of Engineered Explosives, and I need to go back to 2x Stony Silence because that card is the very best against Affinity, and also very good against Tron.
Sideboarding suggestions would be much appreciated. Especially in regards to in/out suggestions. I often find it easier to find what I need to board in than it is to figure out what to board out.
Hey guys I'm back! I have a few questions and I really need some help. I received the Modern Event deck for my birthday. However, I am having trouble enjoying BW Tokens as a whole. I feel that it is far too vulnerable to certain decks and relies on drawing good cards, something that the deck cannot set up. Thus, I am in a tight spot. Now I know I love midrange startegies, and I mean LOVE. Is the event deck easily upgradeable into BW Midrange? Do the decks play very similarly? Am I just stuck in a trap?
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Try to get
4 dark confidant
2-3 liliana of the vei
3-4 thoughtseize
5-7 fetches
4 godless shrines
And you good to go.
Thanks! Is there anything else I should know? I really want to know how similarly the two decks play. The obvious differnce is that one is swinging with little guys while the other is swinging with one big guy. What other differences are there?
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In Tokens your line to victory is pretty much always the same; play tokens, buff with +X/+X and vigilance, and swing for the win. I didn't think it was particularly weak after upgrading from the Event Deck base build, but I didn't find it very engaging either. In Dead Guy you have several possible lines to victory; Abyssal Persecutor, Spirit Tokens, or Pack Rat. Jotun Grunt can swing big when he has the depth in the graveyards to support him. All of the creatures can get much more deadly when they buff up with Grafted Wargear.
Other than that, Dead Guy (in the current build being played and discussed in this thread) is more removal intensive than Tokens and has card advantage from Dark Confidant and Liliana. It requires more thought and skill to play well.
Some players are running a lifegain variant that uses Restoration Angel and Kitchen Finks that has a different road to victory but I haven't played that deck and can't speak for it.
In Tokens your line to victory is pretty much always the same; play tokens, buff with +X/+X and vigilance, and swing for the win. I didn't think it was particularly weak after upgrading from the Event Deck base build, but I didn't find it very engaging either. In Dead Guy you have several possible lines to victory; Abyssal Persecutor, Spirit Tokens, or Pack Rat. Jotun Grunt can swing big when he has the depth in the graveyards to support him. All of the creatures can get much more deadly when they buff up with Grafted Wargear.
Other than that, Dead Guy (in the current build being played and discussed in this thread) is more removal intensive than Tokens and has card advantage from Dark Confidant and Liliana. It requires more thought and skill to play well.
Some players are running a lifegain variant that uses Restoration Angel and Kitchen Finks that has a different road to victory but I haven't played that deck and can't speak for it.
Thank you! I'll definitely upgrade the event deck to this. I'm just glad most of the contents carry over.
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I think the biggest difference is that tokens has a much more aggressive game plan than we do. DGA is all about attrition and card advantage, because of this we are generally better against combo decks as we play more interactive spells. This also means our clock isn't nearly as good so we concede to needing main deck life gain in some fashion out a way to speed up or click that isn't generally considered excellent(grafted wargear or sometimes swords) recently we have been including abyssal prosecutor because it stabilizes the board and is immune to the most common forms of removal in the format then once you have stabilizes the flample helps close out the game quickly.
Came in third at 3-1 tonight in a field of 16; my LGS has two Modern nights now but the big one is on Monday with typically 30+ players. Tonight did not feel as competitive.
2-0 vs. Bogles: Bogles dies to Lili and IoK/TS. Disenchant and EE out of the board seal the deal.
2-1 vs. Dredgevine: My deck was dominant in the two games I won and not terrible in the one I lost, but in that one I didn't have the W I needed. (See below.)
0-2 vs. Grixis Control: In this match my mana was completely inadequate; with six colorless utility lands, two Urborgs, and only 23 lands total, it seems I am too greedy. I have to make some breathing room by adding a Plains and losing a Lili, I think.
2-1 vs. Affinity: I had some nonbos in this match and I could have sideboarded better. But Stony Silence + Lingering Souls = Affinity can't win.
Abyssal Persecutor is absolutely the real deal. No way I would ever take it out in the current meta. Sorin, Solemn Visitor felt very strong again tonight. His +1 and -2 were both very relevant. Grafted Wargear is the PERFECT equipment for this deck, and only partly because it ridonkulizes and then gets rid of Percy. You can also use it to kill Bob if low on life, and in the meantime he's been swinging as a 5/3. Jötun Grunt is probably going to die in a couple of turns anyway, so nothing to lose there. And +3/+2 on flying Spirit or Vampire tokens that are easily replaceable is obviously very, very good. So the "disadvantage" is either an actual plus or it's trivial. And all with equip 0!!
If I could find room for a third Grafted Wargear I would add it. It fits the deck to a T.
Had a lot of fun tonight, the deck played as intended and I avoided many of my typical boneheaded misplays. As always, thanks to the board for the advice and collaboration.
I have a few questions about this deck before I get a list together and proxy it up.
1. How heavy black are we? It seems like a lot of the lists recently posted are incredibly heavy in black, and the double white spells in the primer are missing. Since I can't afford Lilis anytime soon, is it possible to play Brimaz?
2. What do I build for an unknown meta? I think Blade Splicer could be very good, but gets blanked by Bolt and anything with 4 toughness
3. What's the deal with Jotun Grunt? He doesn't seem very good to me at all. He dies if played early but on paper looks irrelevant in the late game.
4. And finally, is this a deck that is easily accessible. I'm a 16 year old who is unsatisfied with the event deck. We've already been over how much of it carries over, but is this a deck that can be put together for cheap? I know we hate budget talk, but the question still stands for a lot of players.
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The deck ain't cheap. If you want to move from the MED into Dead Guy I would start with the mana base and get the fetches and shocks. Caves of Koilos is very bad with Thoughtseize and Dark Confidant. Isolated Chapel is very bad with colorless lands and this deck needs Mutavault to make Pack Rat strong enough to be a player. After that, get some Thoughtseizes and two more IoKs and make sure you have four Paths. All of this stuff dual-purposes to strengthen the Tokens build.
Then, to get the rest of the way there, you will need to throw down for Bob and Lili. I don't know any competitive versions of this deck that don't feature those two cards as major players. I built into Dead Guy from the Modern Event Deck in just this way.
Jötun Grunt is conditional for sure, but it works for me. Maindeck graveyard hate is a terrific idea in the current meta (as it plays out at my LGS, anyway). Personally I don't plan to take it out but I also wouldn't run it as more than a two-of. Some people prefer a more disruption-heavy Tidehollow Sculler focus but Sculler is much worse than Grunt in the late game. Others run Gatekeeper of Malakir which I haven't tried.
Spellskite and Shadow of Doubt are probably the weirdest things about this deck. Each maintains a high floor against the field and can be a true hoser in certain situations due to its unique disruptive effect. I like to play a controlling style so I will put cards like that in the main if I think they are good enough against the average opponent. Definitely among the most flexible slots in the deck.
How is pack rat working out for you? For me it is always in a weird spot, I either go all in on turn 2 if I see their hand turn one or I wait until turn 5. Most of the times I cast it I feel like I could win just with a different 2 drop. Plus you pretty much have to run mutavault with pack rat. With all of the other colorless lands we run it can lead to some very bad draws. What match ups against tier 1 decks do you feel that pack rat is good against? Possibly Jund?
How is shambling vent working for you? I played 2 in my main deck for a modern event tonight and I really didn't get a chance to test it. Jotun grunt did feel like a strong creature in most match ups though.
Pack Rat is interesting. It adds a hyper-aggro dimension you can't get anywhere else. Think of it as an infinite supply of uncounterable flash lords, i.e. Merfolk in a can. Mutavault is just icing on the cake. I like Pack Rat in every matchup as a resilient and versatile win condition.
Shambling Vent has been awesome. The deck wanted some incidental lifegain not to mention the manland for its colors. At first I thought the Elspeth interaction was magical christmas land but I played a bunch and it was so good that I added another Elspeth.
Every matchup? I feel that it is way too slow in Burn, with twin we have the ability to kill their combo or not, affinty we just kill their creatures, merfolk is a toss up if they get more lords than our kill spells (or if they draw speading seas). For each of these matchups pack rats just seems too slow.
I almost always side pack rat out, am I just crazy or do other people do this?
The deck ain't cheap. If you want to move from the MED into Dead Guy I would start with the mana base and get the fetches and shocks. Caves of Koilos is very bad with Thoughtseize and Dark Confidant. Isolated Chapel is very bad with colorless lands and this deck needs Mutavault to make Pack Rat strong enough to be a player. After that, get some Thoughtseizes and two more IoKs and make sure you have four Paths. All of this stuff dual-purposes to strengthen the Tokens build.
Then, to get the rest of the way there, you will need to throw down for Bob and Lili. I don't know any competitive versions of this deck that don't feature those two cards as major players. I built into Dead Guy from the Modern Event Deck in just this way.
Jötun Grunt is conditional for sure, but it works for me. Maindeck graveyard hate is a terrific idea in the current meta (as it plays out at my LGS, anyway). Personally I don't plan to take it out but I also wouldn't run it as more than a two-of. Some people prefer a more disruption-heavy Tidehollow Sculler focus but Sculler is much worse than Grunt in the late game. Others run Gatekeeper of Malakir which I haven't tried.
Believe me, I knew going into this that this deck wasn't going to be cheap. I've yet to attend a Modern event yet, I've just played against people between rounds at FNM, which is why I'm asking because I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Given that I'm a high school student, this will probably be my little project for a long time. Or I'll have to succumb to budget decks, but not without a fight.
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Thanks for the quick reply. I agree with you on #1 and #3, but I'm still not sold on #2. Desecration Demon is terrible in a few match-ups, but I don't think most decks in Modern run crappy creatures that they are willing to sacrifice. Liliana of the Veil is a very powerful card in Modern largely because it can be a Cruel Edict, then continue to give value afterwards.
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
1.) I think the deck DOES have enough fuel for tasigur but the biggest problem is messing up the mana to get the extra abilities out of him. If we weren't playing Bobs we would pobably play anglers instead. As far as Jotun grunt goes I feel he has quite a strong matchup against tasigur mostly because he makes it really damn hard to cast the 4/5 and a 4/4 vs nothing is pretty strong.
2.) The trample of abyssal is absolutely the reason I want him over desecration. He also has won me a lot of games by just being a blocker people can't swing into where as with desecration they can simply sac their worst and swing through with their best (Abyssal persecutor is an Abyss for the best creature they're willing to swing with while Desecration demon is an Abyss for their worst) On top of all that I've never saved removal for persy instead of killing an opponents threat. Usually we will have enough time due to vault or sorin to just naturally get to removal after our opponents are at 0. Quite frankly though I'd rather have 4x lingering souls than any number of aetheros in my deck.
3.) Aetheros is a good card in our colors but I don't feel like it fits our strategy. Perhaps if you played arenas instead of Confidants it would be good (this would also allow you to play gurmag angler.
1) Yeah, it does seem like this deck can't run delve spells without cutting Dark Confidant and that splashing for Tasigur, the Golden Fang isn't really worthwhile. As far as Jotun Grunt vs. Tasigur, the Golden Fang goes, I still think Tasigur is heavily favored. Even against an active Grunt, Tasigur is always a live draw for our opponents since this deck's strategy is grindy, but Jotun Grunt is always a dead draw against a resolved Tasigur.
2) Okay, now I'm convinced that Abyssal Persecutor is better than Desecration Demon. Percy trades with their biggest threat instead of their smallest one, and his trample is a big upside.
3) It sounds like the main reason Athreos, God of Passage is excluded is because he works poorly with tokens, which are at the core of this deck. It's hard to justify playing any Orzhov-color deck without Lingering Souls, so Athreos is just poorly-positioned in the meta.
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
The card is also talked about here:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/634422-scd-wasteland-strangler
I think that this card is better suited for death and taxes since you can used aether vial to put a flikerwisp in the battlefield. Target anything you want (including lands) then play wasteland strangler. Skinrender is a card that is similar and doesn't see play even in zombie decks. It does cost 1 more mana though.
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange
2-2 tonight in a small field of 22. I am still at 23 lands with 6 colorless and two Urborgs. I did get manascrewed once tonight with no white sources though. Sorin, Solemn Visitor did not factor into tonight's matches but I am definitely keeping him.
1-2 vs. RUG Infect: I should have won G1 but got so focused on the board I overlooked a Souls in my yard and lost with him at 1 life. So many dumb mistakes in my game! Grunt was very strong in the first game. G2 I took with Spirit tokens and my single Sculler swinging with Wargear attached. G3 he had multiple Inkmoths and whittled me down using Pendelhaven and Exalted triggers from Noble Hierarch. Should have been a win this match but as I often do, I misplayed. IN: Engineered Explosives x2, Fulminator Mage x3, and Disenchant x2. OUT: Pack Rat x3, Go for the Throat x1, Abyssal Persecutor x3 (Rat and Percy being too slow, was my thinking).
2-1 vs. Burn: Finally beat my buddy with the Burn deck. G1 was an easy win for him. G2 I took with repeated Mutavault swings using Vault of the Archangel after IoK x3 in the first three turns followed by Lili. Too much discard for him to overcome, and I ended with 15 life. G3 I won riding two Kor Firewalkers. IN: Kor Firewalker x3. OUT: Go for the Throat x1 and Victim of Night x2.
2-0 vs. Bogles: Bogles is very weak against Dead Guy and I always know what they are trying to do and how to stop it. IN: Disenchant x2 and Engineered Explosives x2. OUT: Targeted removal x3 (saving Path for Percy and the Kor Spiritdancers they often run) and Percy x1. Bogles dies to Lili and our disruption suite every time. Make sure you get their Daybreak Coronet for free by Disenchanting their other Aura to make it fall off, which is an easy twofer.
0-2 vs. Affinity: In G1 I kept a hand that was very very bad against Robots and lost on T3. G2 I held on for longer but wasn't able to use Engineered Explosives or Grafted Wargear due to my own one-of Stony Silence. We need Lingering Souls in this match and a single copy in G2 was not enough. IN: Eng. Expl. x2, Fulminator Mage x3, Disenchant x2, Stony Silence x1. OUT: Lili x3, Percy x3, Go for the Throat x1, Jötun Grunt x1.
I could have done better tonight in both G1 and G4, if it weren't for the fact that I continue to occasionally, and at inopportune moments, miss lines that would play out better and should have been apparent.
I am still sold on Jötun Grunt despite the fact that he is sometimes dead in hand due to limited graveyard fodder. When he is good he is really good, and he is always a surprise. Grafted Wargear continues to impress; swinging for flample 9 with an auto-out for Abyssal Persecutor is so rad, and it also really wakes up the Spirit tokens. Tonight the Wargear even made Tidehollow Sculler into a serious threat! That has never happened for me before.
I need to watch out for nonbos like those I experienced in match 4. I think the sideboard continues to need tuning. I am considering Chalice of the Void in place of Engineered Explosives, and I need to go back to 2x Stony Silence because that card is the very best against Affinity, and also very good against Tron.
Sideboarding suggestions would be much appreciated. Especially in regards to in/out suggestions. I often find it easier to find what I need to board in than it is to figure out what to board out.
Other than that, Dead Guy (in the current build being played and discussed in this thread) is more removal intensive than Tokens and has card advantage from Dark Confidant and Liliana. It requires more thought and skill to play well.
Some players are running a lifegain variant that uses Restoration Angel and Kitchen Finks that has a different road to victory but I haven't played that deck and can't speak for it.
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
3 Mutavault
1 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
3 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
Creature (13):
3 Abyssal Persecutor
4 Dark Confidant
2 Jötun Grunt
3 Pack Rat
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Go for the Throat
4 Path to Exile
2 Victim of Night
Artifact (2):
2 Grafted Wargear
Planeswalker (4):
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorcery (11):
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
3 Thoughtseize
2 Disenchant
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Fulminator Mage
3 Kor Firewalker
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Stony Silence
2-0 vs. Bogles: Bogles dies to Lili and IoK/TS. Disenchant and EE out of the board seal the deal.
2-1 vs. Dredgevine: My deck was dominant in the two games I won and not terrible in the one I lost, but in that one I didn't have the W I needed. (See below.)
0-2 vs. Grixis Control: In this match my mana was completely inadequate; with six colorless utility lands, two Urborgs, and only 23 lands total, it seems I am too greedy. I have to make some breathing room by adding a Plains and losing a Lili, I think.
2-1 vs. Affinity: I had some nonbos in this match and I could have sideboarded better. But Stony Silence + Lingering Souls = Affinity can't win.
Abyssal Persecutor is absolutely the real deal. No way I would ever take it out in the current meta. Sorin, Solemn Visitor felt very strong again tonight. His +1 and -2 were both very relevant. Grafted Wargear is the PERFECT equipment for this deck, and only partly because it ridonkulizes and then gets rid of Percy. You can also use it to kill Bob if low on life, and in the meantime he's been swinging as a 5/3. Jötun Grunt is probably going to die in a couple of turns anyway, so nothing to lose there. And +3/+2 on flying Spirit or Vampire tokens that are easily replaceable is obviously very, very good. So the "disadvantage" is either an actual plus or it's trivial. And all with equip 0!!
If I could find room for a third Grafted Wargear I would add it. It fits the deck to a T.
Had a lot of fun tonight, the deck played as intended and I avoided many of my typical boneheaded misplays. As always, thanks to the board for the advice and collaboration.
1. How heavy black are we? It seems like a lot of the lists recently posted are incredibly heavy in black, and the double white spells in the primer are missing. Since I can't afford Lilis anytime soon, is it possible to play Brimaz?
2. What do I build for an unknown meta? I think Blade Splicer could be very good, but gets blanked by Bolt and anything with 4 toughness
3. What's the deal with Jotun Grunt? He doesn't seem very good to me at all. He dies if played early but on paper looks irrelevant in the late game.
4. And finally, is this a deck that is easily accessible. I'm a 16 year old who is unsatisfied with the event deck. We've already been over how much of it carries over, but is this a deck that can be put together for cheap? I know we hate budget talk, but the question still stands for a lot of players.
The deck ain't cheap. If you want to move from the MED into Dead Guy I would start with the mana base and get the fetches and shocks. Caves of Koilos is very bad with Thoughtseize and Dark Confidant. Isolated Chapel is very bad with colorless lands and this deck needs Mutavault to make Pack Rat strong enough to be a player. After that, get some Thoughtseizes and two more IoKs and make sure you have four Paths. All of this stuff dual-purposes to strengthen the Tokens build.
Then, to get the rest of the way there, you will need to throw down for Bob and Lili. I don't know any competitive versions of this deck that don't feature those two cards as major players. I built into Dead Guy from the Modern Event Deck in just this way.
Jötun Grunt is conditional for sure, but it works for me. Maindeck graveyard hate is a terrific idea in the current meta (as it plays out at my LGS, anyway). Personally I don't plan to take it out but I also wouldn't run it as more than a two-of. Some people prefer a more disruption-heavy Tidehollow Sculler focus but Sculler is much worse than Grunt in the late game. Others run Gatekeeper of Malakir which I haven't tried.
Blade Splicer sucked for me.
Here is my decklist:
4 Marsh Flats
4 Shambling Vent
3 Mutavault
3 Godless Shrine
3 Swamp
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Plains
Planeswalker
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Dark Confidant
4 Pack Rat
2 Spellskite
1 Kitchen Finks
Sorcery
4 Lingering Souls
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
Instant
4 Path to Exile
2 Shadow of Doubt
1 Dismember
1 Darkblast
2 Stony Silence
1 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Celestial Purge
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Thoughtseize
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
Spellskite and Shadow of Doubt are probably the weirdest things about this deck. Each maintains a high floor against the field and can be a true hoser in certain situations due to its unique disruptive effect. I like to play a controlling style so I will put cards like that in the main if I think they are good enough against the average opponent. Definitely among the most flexible slots in the deck.
I'm trying out the new Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Elspeth, Knight-Errant is quite good with Shambling Vent.
Sideboard is a work in progress.
How is shambling vent working for you? I played 2 in my main deck for a modern event tonight and I really didn't get a chance to test it. Jotun grunt did feel like a strong creature in most match ups though.
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange
Shambling Vent has been awesome. The deck wanted some incidental lifegain not to mention the manland for its colors. At first I thought the Elspeth interaction was magical christmas land but I played a bunch and it was so good that I added another Elspeth.
I almost always side pack rat out, am I just crazy or do other people do this?
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange