Went 4-0 at FNM last night with the list I posted above. Was very happy with how the deck performed.
Round 1 - Abzan CoCo Chord (won 2-1)
This was a pretty grindy match that I won on the back of lingering souls tokens and my ability to exile my opponent's threats. He was using Renegade Rallier to bring back things like Goyf, and had some number of Finks. I boarded in my other two Path to Exile, my extra Anguished Unmaking and my Kalitas to deal with it. Felt like a bit of a nonbo to bring in Kalitas with the exile effects, but we were trading a lot in combat and I figured I could get some value there, also at 3/4, Kalitas lined up nice against a lot of his threats. He was also running a number of infinite combos that I needed to watch out for, so I used my discard spells and my Tidehollow Scullers to take away the pieces when I could. Hidden Stockpile came through in a big way keeping Servos on the board to block, and giving me a scry every turn in those long games to keep my draws relevant.
Round 2 - Abzan Midrange (Won 2-0)
Another grindy matchup. I managed to snag Maelstrom Pulse with Inquisition early in both games and ride my spirit and servo tokens to victory. Went up to the full 8 1-mana removal spells from the board to deal with all the Goyf/Flayer/Rallier shenanigans. The lifegain from Shambling Vent after stabilizing kept me in both games, and in game 2 the Scry from Stockpile actually saved me at 4 life the turn before I won by letting me put an Abyssal Persecutor on the bottom while I had a Bob in play.
My manabase felt like the real advantage in this matchup. I took far less damage from fetch/shock lands than he did, and Shambling Vents let me claw my way back up. My removal just lined up so well against all of his threats, too.
Round 3 - Mardu Eldrazi (Won 2-0)
I killed him pretty quickly in game 1 and didn't really get a sense of what he was doing. I saw Hangarback Walkers, Relic of Progenitus, and Ratchet Bomb so I sided in 2 Pithing Needle and 2 Stony Silence... Then saw Reality Smasher and Thought-Knot Seers. Managed to fight through them with a couple Revolt-activated Fatal Pushes and a Zealous Persecution blocking blowout, stabilizing at 2 life. 2 Shambling Vents brought my life back to a comfortable 6 the next turn (outside smasher range, he was top decking, so smasher bolt was not possible) and I won the turn after that.
Round 4 - BGRW Delerium w/ Death's Shadow
I haven't played against this deck before, but he was doing a lot of the same things as my firs two opponents, like slamming Goyfs and Flayers then bringing them back with Renegade Rallier. My removal lined up too well against that plan and I slowly managed his threats before killing him with spirits/servos both games. Sorin's +1 off the top of the deck won me the first game the turn before he was poised to kill me, letting 4 spirits get in for 8 lifelink.
Some observations after the fact.
- I need to drop Liliana and play a second Sorin. I boarded her out almost every game. With the addition of the Hidden Stockpiles I am now sort of halfway between tokens and midrange and she doesn't fit the script the way she used to (plus it sucks only being able to run 1). Sorin is always a good draw and just wins me games, or helps get me back in them.
- 4x Fatal Push 2x Path to Exile main with 2x Path board felt right last week, but this week I found myself bringing the extra Paths and even Anguished Unmaking in constantly to deal with Renegade Rallier. The Fatal Push were still fine, but it feels bad pushing an attacking Goyf and then seeing it come right back. I was pushing a lot more on my own turn. Push was still insane, just need to figure out the split.
- Hidden Stockpile is amazing against fair decks. People don't respect it game 1, and as an enchantment it's hard to remove in games 2/3. My deck wants to grind, and it fits the script perfectly. It makes Zealous Persecution better, it smooths draws, it gives me a sac outlet for Persecutor... I just love everything it does.
Push was very important for its ability to hit Noble Heirarch or Goblin Guide turn 1. Lowering the average CMC in the deck is great. If it's ever really dead you can side it out.
The best thing about Hidden Stockpile is that it doesn't die to a lightning bolt. The second best thing about Hidden Stockpile is that you can scry away dead draws anytime someone spends a card to kill one of your creatures. The scry is a more important part of the card than I had originally anticipated.
You don't need to get a lot of servos right away because the game will usually go long. (Though there are occasionally very aggressive 3+ early servo hands.)
Using the planeswalkers correctly is very important. Sorin and Liliana both can steal games. I know there are games I lost because didn't go for the ultimate immediately when I had the chance, or didn't plan to protect them in the right way, especially in choosing what to discard to Liliana.
The servo tokens benefiting from Sorin's +1 is why I went up to 2 copies, but it's also good that Sorin is a “threat” that doesn't die to a regular sweeper. I wanted another threat that doesn't die to Anger of the Gods and I ended up with Brimaz. I think the deck does need at least 1 card that can be a quick clock, whatever your preferred creature is.
I've played against Bant Eldrazi a number of times recently. Their curve makes them susceptible to letting you pick off the things in their hand the turn before they can play it. If you have 2 removal spells in hand, Thoughtknot isn't that bad since it gives you a card back. The worst case is if they get back-to-back Reality Smashers. Zealous Persecution is good against the scion tokens.
To have a chance against Tron I like to bring in 2 Anguished Unmaking, 2 Thoughtseize, and 2 Stony Silence. Stony is important against Oblivion Stone, and Map if you get it early enough.
Burn is rough if you don't draw a Sorin or some hate card. Or if you draw too many Lingering Souls instead of discard and removal. I did get unlucky twice this weekend where I would use Sculler, see no Searing Blaze, then they immediately draw a Searing Blaze so the Sculler doesn't manage to save me even 3 damage. Since I added the Anguished Unmaking to the sideboard (mostly for Planeswalkers) I could probably go down to 1 Disenchant and maybe put in another Leyline of Sanctity.
A lot of matchups are all about removing all their creatures on a good curve. Again, Push is really good. Push early and often and prevent the Merfolk from ganging up on you.
I don't currently have any plans to change the main deck, I like it how it is.
I could see putting in 1 Plains as the 23rd land, but it hasn't hurt me too much not having it.
I dropped the Shambling Vents when I put in the 2 Polluted Delta. I didn't want to give up casting turn 1 or 2, especially with wanting to give Stockpile a chance and Inquisition being so important. I'll try to pay attention to how much I miss them – they were good on an empty board, but putting 4 mana into it usually meant I wasn't doing anything else that turn. There's never been a time I would activate two at once. For people for don't like Gatekeeper as much as I do, I guess you would turn some of those slots into lands 23 and 24 for the vents.
A week before, I did a 4 round event with mostly the same deck but -1 Sorin, -1 Brimaz, -1 Push, +2 Collective Brutality, +1 Hidden Stockpile. Brutality always seemed worse than Push at 2 mana and sorcery speed. It was also harder to guess when the opponent would have an instant or sorcery to discard than I expected.
Push is incidentally also good against Affinity, whether it's an early Signal Pest or a Blinkmoth.
The highlight was Hidden Stockpile preventing Jund's Maelstrom Pulse from blowing out my Spirits at the last minute. But other than that I was never really behind because I had so much removal.
Skred I basically had no chance against. Anger into Koth into Emblem, and having to play around Blood Moon was too much. This is what made me want the Anguished Unmaking in the sideboard.
I probably got lucky against Lantern. Started the sideboard games with removal for Bridge in hand. Sorin sped up the clock along with a lot of Servos. It was good that the Stockpile doesn't require extra mana investment to make servos so I could keep putting more stuff onto the board at the same time.
From what I've seen so far Stockpile is good against Jund and should be good against Grixis. In match ups where it isn't amazing, the important thing is that it doesn't just eat a removal spell and leave you nothing like a creature would.
I really like the look of your list, and I'm happy to see someone else playing (and having success with) Hidden Stockpile. I've fallen in love with it myself. I'm finding that opponents don't respect it at the moment, and it ends up costing them when the value lets you take over a game. You're absolutely right that once they do realize it's a problem, it's very hard to remove for most decks. People who don't play it think it's a tokens card, but I think it's lackluster in that deck, while it shines in ours. I recently went up to the full 4 copies (after starting 2x Stockpile 2x Ayli, then moving to 3x Stockpile and 1x Ayli).
I have a couple questions:
Gatekeeper of Malakir is spicy. Can you elaborate a bit on why it's good for you? I've considered it myself, but I never gave it a shot because I decided that at BBB, it might be too hard to cast. I'm guessing it's worth slamming on turn 2 if you have no other play? Or do you find yourself holding it for the kicker effect?
I like seeing Brimaz in lists too. I'm leaning towards slotting one back into my main deck myself. However at 24 lands and with no Gatekeepers to worry about, my deck has an easier time making WW than yours. Is dropping him on curve ever an issue?
How often do you side in your Zealous Persecutions? Partially because of the Hidden Stockpiles leaving me with more tokens, I settled on two in the main and one in the board. It's useful in almost every matchup for blocking blowouts, killing blows, or to mise Affinity/Infect in the early turns.
The deck is very interesting. It plays almost like Jund. Some very hard control cards early, but still can close the game quickly once you stick a threat. Certain decks have a hard time dealing with Unlife so that's a nice main deck delay for something like Burn or Affinity. I haven't tested this enough yet to be comfortable taking to a major event but I'm working on this list.
Well with my particular lands, I have none that don't produce black, so casting both are the same.
I would certainly love to include Wraith, maybe just a straight swap with Confidant is best. But I am not tutoring the shadow as DSJ does, so I'm not entirely reliant
I'm going to try a build with ranger of eos. Maybe a death's shadow build one.
It might have some sinergy with Pack rat, because we're getting more cards to discard if needed.
Also became interested in the archetype after mtggoldfish. Seth streamed a less gimicky version on his stream. Came to this thread hoping to find a way to merge deadguy ale with a heavy planeswalker suite. I don't like wall of Omens in seth's list. Maybe swap them for bob and copters? Also stockpile is spicy and a neat way to protect walkers, crew vehicles, and go wide.
Copter doesn't have enough bodies to crew it, only Lingering Souls is not enough (you usually wouldn't want to crew it with Gideon).
You can try Bob but it can hurt you pretty bad with all the expensive 3+cmc cards in the deck and it is a pretty bad attacker and even worse defender (for the PW's).
In the match-ups you really need Stony Silence (Eggs, Affinity, Lantern and maybe Tron) boarding out Heart of Kiran is very reasonable imho, its not like it is the only win-con of the deck (far from it actually).
I still don't like Hidden Stockpile and consider it a bad Bitterblossom mainly because it is conditional and produces chump blockers and not evasive threats.
The sac-outlet option would be really good if it was free instead of costing 1-mana.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor starts with higher loyalty than Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and it's +1 can create a massive life swing
(even with just Heart that can attack for 5 in the air), this why I consider him the better version and also why it is generally preffered in "BW Tokens".
R1 - UR Gifts Ungiven Storm, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had t1 Inquisition, t2 Bob, t3 Liliana, t4 Gideon of the Trials, and beat him down. g2 I had t1 Inquisition, t2 Collective Brutality to kill his Electromancer and discard a spell, t3 Liliana, etc. It wasn't close.
R2 - UR Blue Moon, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had discard into manlands + Elspeth. Critically I fetched a Plains and a Swamp and drew a second Swamp. He eventually bounced Elspeth with Cryptic Command and played Blood Moon, but I followed up with Pack Rat. I had 5 mana with 2 black sources so he couldn't kill it and died to rats. g2 he kept a bad hand with Blood Moon and I opened with discard into Liliana followed by Gideon. Liliana forced him to go all-in on a Torrential Gearhulk but I had Path.
R3 - Burn, lose die roll, 2-0
g1 I drew both Collective Brutality and Elspeth + Shambling Vent. Still close as I won at 3 life. g2 I went down to 9 but I killed all his creatures and once again assembled Elspeth + Shambling Vent to win at 21 life.
R4 - Ad Nauseam, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 he killed me on turn 4. g2 I discard him into oblivion and beat him down with Bob and Pack Rat. g3 He had Leyline of Sanctity. I had Bob into Liliana to pressure his hand. He discarded a Simian Spirit Guide at one point so when he finally drew Ad Nauseam I cast Surgical Extraction on his Spirit Guide and he didn't have enough mana to kill me.
Overall the deck ran very smoothly. I think the first 3 matchups were good for me and Ad Nauseam is close to 50-50, probably slightly in their favor.
@Grimble: I haven't played my Deadguy deck in a few months, but I was having a lot of success with Hidden Stockpile when it first came out (running with 10 fetches). I agree with all of your assessments of the card. I never tried it with Copter, but I'm intrigued enough that I might sleeve it up and give it a try again. One thing I was doing with it was running Abyssal Persecutor. That dude is no joke, he rumbles with just about anything in modern and wins, and the Stockpiles give you a very reliable sac outlet to get rid of him once he has taken care of business. If you look back a page or two you will see some of my lists.
Ya, I don't claim that sideboard is the best. I still think it's good but wouldn't fault anyone for changing it around. If anything I'd add more cards to beat big mana decks like Eldrazi Tron.
@davemo88 wow Elspeth + Shambling vent is really neat, feels like Baneslayer angel right there ! Might try this out
Baneslayer indeed. Since you like Sorin, Lord of Innistrad you should try Elspeth. The Angelic Blessing ability is insanely good and not only with Shambling Vent. It's great for killing opposing planeswalkers, getting the last few points in, and turns Dark Confidant or a single token into a real threat. Not many decks can block fliers. You might also like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
edit: I agree that Sorin, Solemn Visitor is good in dedicated tokens but much worse in a traditional midrange shell. Compared to other 4 mana planeswalkers, he is awful on an empty board and when you're behind.
TL,DR: 3-1, 2-1 W Blink, 2-1 Death's Shadow, 1-2 U Eldrazi Tron, 2-1 Knightfall Brew
Match 1: 2-1 vs Mono-White Blink
Game 1 on the play-
I shred his hand early with [[Inquisition of Kozilek]], [[Castigate]], and [[Tidehollow Sculler]]. Pick off his [[Thraben Inspector]] and [[Wall of Omens]] with some [[Wasteland Strangler]] processing and he hits 1 of my Stranglers with a [[Journey to Nowhere]]. I resolve the first half of [[Lingering Souls]] followed by [[Sorin, Solemn Visitor]] the next turn. He resolved and +s [[Gideon Jura]] to buy himself a turn. I [[Anguished Unmaking]] Gids and swing for the win.
Board: -2 Leonin Arbiter, +2 Smother
Game 2 on the draw-
Game 2 starts very similarity to Game 1. I made a huge misplay around turn 5-6 when I had the board and used the second half of Souls to get blown out by a Wrath... That I had seen with my turn 1 Inquisition. After that he resolved a [[Mirran Crusader]] who just took the game over with the help of [[Ajani, Caller of the Pride]]. I managed to grind for a while with Walls, Sorin, and Shambling Vents but never drew a [[Path to Exile]] and he managed his Crusader well.
Game 3 on the play-
I start with the dream of Inquisition, followed by Sculler, followed by Strangler processing the card to kill his turn two play. I resolve a Sorin and Souls, with a grip of removal, and Castigate a Wrath. He resolves a [[Restoration Angel]] that I deal with and a [[Mirran Crusader]] but it's too late and I cruise to the match win.
Match 2 (2-1 vs Death's Shadow)
Game 1 on the draw-
I resolve a turn 2 [[Leonin Arbiter]] and protect it with some hand hate. The Arbiter helps me keep him off his colors with [[Ghost Quarter]] and keep his life total high enough that I have a grip full of removal and some Walls when he finally removes it. I resolve half of Lingering Souls as I know he only has one counter in hand. He goes all in, goes down to 4 life and has [[Tasigur, the Golden Fang]] and 3x [[Death's Shadow]] in play, setting up for next turn lethal. I Inquisition his one card hand, it's a [[Thoughtseize]], so I'm safe to drop Sorin, +1, and swing with 2 spirit tokens for the win.
Board: -2 Tidehollow Sculler, +2 Smother
Game 2 on the draw-
I draw a good hand with some removal which he shreds with hand hate. He gets the Shadows out early and I attempt to stabilize with Walls and [[Shambling Vent]]. He gets Tasigur online and has a couple of [[Snapcaster Mage]]s that he uses to finish my hand and blockers off.
Game 3 on the play-
We shred each other's hand early and I win the topdeck war afterwards. I draw removal for his threats and then he floods out. I ride Vents and Soul tokens to victory.
Match 3 (1-2 vs Blue Eldrazi Tron)
Game 1 on the play-
I keep him off Tron with Leonin Arbiter and GQs. His hand is threat light and I Sculler a [[Thought-Knot Seer]]. I followed that with my most interesting line of the day; processing the Seer with a Strangler to kill my own Sculler because I saw a [[Repeal]] and no other threats with an Inquisition. Unfortunately, I just can't finish him quickly enough and he eventually resolves [[Ugin the Spirit Dragon]] who just takes over the game.
I land some early Arbiters to keep him from searching out Tron and hit him with some mid game hand hate to keep him off any big threats. I deal with a [[Reality Smasher]] by pitching Lingering Souls and flashing it back. 1 resolve [[Gideon, Ally of Zendikar]] and token. Next turn I clear his blocker and Gidspunch. He finally gets Tron online and drops Ulamog, clearing Gideon and a body. But with my tokens and an activated Vent I have exact lethal past a blocker.
Game 3 on the draw-
He assembles turn three Tron but I hang in with hand hate and some well timed removal. Eventually I play and flashback a few Souls and resolve Sorin to start pulling myself back in and ahead. He Ulamogs, hitting Sorin and a Vent. I drop another Sorin and a Wall and I'm winning the race. He topdecks [[Mindslaver]] with [[Academy Ruins]] out but is a mana off of the lock. He takes my next turn but with my blockers, I'll win on the crack back even against Ulamog. He has to kill me with my own cards or draw a land on his turn. He draws my [[Godless Shrine]], shocks me, and pains me for 1 with [[Caves of Koilos]] (he actually almost missed the Cave and passed). Looked at his next card, not a land... Oh well, them's the beats.
Match 4** (2-1 vs Bant Knightfall Brew w/ B splash and [[Gifts Ungiven]] package)
Game 1 on the play-
I get out to a great start, removing his mana dorks and [[Knight of the Reliquary]] with hand hate and Stranglers. I'm a turn away from the win when he hard casts [[Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite]] and blows me out. He follows it with [[Grave Titan]] and things look bleak. I drop some Walls to stall and eventually draw into removal. I manage to stabilize with Vents, Sorin, and some tokens and grind out the win with some more removal.
Board: -2 Castigate, -1 Leonin Arbiter, -2 Wall of Omens, +2 Relic of Progenitus, +2 Smother, +1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Game 2 on the draw-
I keep a questionable 2 lander after mulling to 6. He ramps with dorks and I Path the first Knight. He starts recurring Ghost Quarters with Life from the Loam after I dropped a Leonin Arbiter, a misplay on my part. He reanimates a dredged Elesh Norn with [[Liliana, Death's Majesty]] and that's the game.
Game 3 on the play-
He has to mull to 4. I remove any relevant cards he has in hand and Souls/Sorin into a quick, easy victory
Notes:
- Very fun, grindy games.
- Feels like a deck with matchups ranging 60-40/40-60, no auto losses but no easy wins.
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor is an absolute house in this deck.
- Have to be very careful with how you sequence your lands with this budget mana base. Turn 1 Inquisitions are great but I think having W and B turn 2 is more important.
- I switched my Thraben Inspectors out for the Wall of Omens on a whim before the event. Wall of Omens performed great but I'm still not sure if the immediate card is better than Thraben being a proactive turn 1 play and attacking with Sorin's buff.
- Need to upgrade my Smothers to [[Fatal Push]] and maybe find a way to main deck them, I wanted the extra removal a lot.
-Leonin Arbiter is 1 of the best or 1 of the worst cards in the deck depending on the matchup.
-I was worried running 4x Shambling Vent but the card is fantastic, 4 is the right number IMO.
- It felt great holding my own against $500-$1000 decks with my $150 home brew.
Questions
1. Thraben Inspector or Wall of Omens?
2. How does the mana base look? Could I fit another Ghost Quarter? Could I run more basics?
3. Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the sideboard? I run Gids AoZ to help midrange mirrors. Would 2x Baron work better, as it dodges so much removal?
4. Speaking of Gideon... 1-2x in the sideboard, 1x in the main, is he even worth it?
5. I know Fatal Push is better than Smother, but in my deck, not being able to trigger Revolt reliably, how MUCH better is Push than Smofher?
6. I definitely want more removal in my sideboard... But how much? And what? Should I be looking at Go For the Throat, Journey to Nowhere, Dismember, something else?
7. Sideboard suggestions? This deck has a fairly even matchup percentage across the board, so I prefer to run broader answers that can get me a few percentage points against multiple decks instead of 20 percentage points against one deck.
8. Anything else you can think of?
Questions
1. Thraben Inspector or Wall of Omens?
2. How does the mana base look? Could I fit another Ghost Quarter? Could I run more basics?
3. Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the sideboard? I run Gids AoZ to help midrange mirrors. Would 2x Baron work better, as it dodges so much removal?
4. Speaking of Gideon... 1-2x in the sideboard, 1x in the main, is he even worth it?
5. I know Fatal Push is better than Smother, but in my deck, not being able to trigger Revolt reliably, how MUCH better is Push than Smofher?
6. I definitely want more removal in my sideboard... But how much? And what? Should I be looking at Go For the Throat, Journey to Nowhere, Dismember, something else?
7. Sideboard suggestions? This deck has a fairly even matchup percentage across the board, so I prefer to run broader answers that can get me a few percentage points against multiple decks instead of 20 percentage points against one deck.
8. Anything else you can think of?
1. If I had to choose, I'd play Thraben Inspector. Inspector is better with Sorin and better in your best draws where you are aggressive.
2. Manabase looks fine. I would consider cutting Vault of the Archangel for the last Ghost Quarter. In my experience Vault of the Archangel is too situational and expensive. With 4 Leonin Arbiter in my deck, I'd want to draw Ghost Quarter as often as possible.
3. I think Gideon is way better than Baron.
4. I like Gideon more than Sorin. Sorin only shines with multiple creatures in play. Gideon is fine all by himself and is better when you are behind on board. I even think he's better in Lingering Souls mirrors because his emblem increases toughness. I'd honestly try 2 in the main over Sorin, or the 1/1 split you mentioned.
5. I'd go so far as to say Smother is now unplayable. If you wanted another removal spell I'd play Go for the Throat or Dismember.
6. See above.
7. At the very least I'd cut Grand Abolisher from your sideboard and add at least one Zealous Persecution. I might also play a Cast Out. Another interesting card is Dusk // Dawn but it ain't great with Wasteland Strangler.
8. Cool deck!
Questions
1. Thraben Inspector or Wall of Omens?
2. How does the mana base look? Could I fit another Ghost Quarter? Could I run more basics?
3. Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the sideboard? I run Gids AoZ to help midrange mirrors. Would 2x Baron work better, as it dodges so much removal?
4. Speaking of Gideon... 1-2x in the sideboard, 1x in the main, is he even worth it?
5. I know Fatal Push is better than Smother, but in my deck, not being able to trigger Revolt reliably, how MUCH better is Push than Smofher?
6. I definitely want more removal in my sideboard... But how much? And what? Should I be looking at Go For the Throat, Journey to Nowhere, Dismember, something else?
7. Sideboard suggestions? This deck has a fairly even matchup percentage across the board, so I prefer to run broader answers that can get me a few percentage points against multiple decks instead of 20 percentage points against one deck.
8. Anything else you can think of?
1. If I had to choose, I'd play Thraben Inspector. Inspector is better with Sorin and better in your best draws where you are aggressive.
2. Manabase looks fine. I would consider cutting Vault of the Archangel for the last Ghost Quarter. In my experience Vault of the Archangel is too situational and expensive. With 4 Leonin Arbiter in my deck, I'd want to draw Ghost Quarter as often as possible.
3. I think Gideon is way better than Baron.
4. I like Gideon more than Sorin. Sorin only shines with multiple creatures in play. Gideon is fine all by himself and is better when you are behind on board. I even think he's better in Lingering Souls mirrors because his emblem increases toughness. I'd honestly try 2 in the main over Sorin, or the 1/1 split you mentioned.
5. I'd go so far as to say Smother is now unplayable. If you wanted another removal spell I'd play Go for the Throat or Dismember.
6. See above.
7. At the very least I'd cut Grand Abolisher from your sideboard and add at least one Zealous Persecution. I might also play a Cast Out. Another interesting card is Dusk // Dawn but it ain't great with Wasteland Strangler.
8. Cool deck!
Thanks for the responses!
1. That was the way I was leaning, for the same reasons.
2. I think I might cut Vault to just go down to 23 lands. Wish it was possible to run 23.5 because that's what this deck seems to want.
3. That's fair. But I think Baron has some merit as it dodges Path and Push and survives Bolt.
4. I'm going to run 1 Gideon in the main, may go up to 2. But I'd never run less than 2 Sorin. It's been a beast in my testing.
5. Whoa, I knew it was a bad budget option until I upgrade to Pushes but didn't realize it was that bad now. Just because of the CMC?
6. I put a Go for the Throat in the sideboard, I know I have a Dismember somewhere but I can't find it.
7. I've considered Zealous Persecution but it seems narrow, what matchups do I want it for. And I've been considering Cast Out, maybe even main deck.
1. Cool.
2. I could see that but I think I want that 4th Ghost Quarter more, especially if you were going to add a 4 drop over the 24th land. GQ can also give you revolt for Fatal Push
3. 5 Mana is a ton. The decks that have removal will also often have either Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolt or Liliana of the Veil so it's not quite as unkillable as it looks.
4. Fair enough.
5. Yeah, 1 vs 2 CMC is a huge game. Think playing on the draw against decks with great 2 drop creatures. If you are going to spend the extra mana, then I think you want Go for the Throat to kill huge stuff like Reality Smasher, Thoughtknot Seer, Primeval Titan, etc. Sure Affinity exists but 2 mana removal is pretty bad there anyway.
6. lol
7. Zealous persecution is great against Affinity, Lingering Souls mirrors (e.g. Abzan where it may also kill Dark Confidant), and Noble Hierarch / Birds of Paradise decks. It's even ok against Dredge since usually you have to race and killing all their Narcomoeba and Bloodghast while pumping your team is great. It is a tad narrow though. If budget wasn't a thing I'd play an Engineered Explosives.
Round 1 - Abzan CoCo Chord (won 2-1)
This was a pretty grindy match that I won on the back of lingering souls tokens and my ability to exile my opponent's threats. He was using Renegade Rallier to bring back things like Goyf, and had some number of Finks. I boarded in my other two Path to Exile, my extra Anguished Unmaking and my Kalitas to deal with it. Felt like a bit of a nonbo to bring in Kalitas with the exile effects, but we were trading a lot in combat and I figured I could get some value there, also at 3/4, Kalitas lined up nice against a lot of his threats. He was also running a number of infinite combos that I needed to watch out for, so I used my discard spells and my Tidehollow Scullers to take away the pieces when I could. Hidden Stockpile came through in a big way keeping Servos on the board to block, and giving me a scry every turn in those long games to keep my draws relevant.
Round 2 - Abzan Midrange (Won 2-0)
Another grindy matchup. I managed to snag Maelstrom Pulse with Inquisition early in both games and ride my spirit and servo tokens to victory. Went up to the full 8 1-mana removal spells from the board to deal with all the Goyf/Flayer/Rallier shenanigans. The lifegain from Shambling Vent after stabilizing kept me in both games, and in game 2 the Scry from Stockpile actually saved me at 4 life the turn before I won by letting me put an Abyssal Persecutor on the bottom while I had a Bob in play.
My manabase felt like the real advantage in this matchup. I took far less damage from fetch/shock lands than he did, and Shambling Vents let me claw my way back up. My removal just lined up so well against all of his threats, too.
Round 3 - Mardu Eldrazi (Won 2-0)
I killed him pretty quickly in game 1 and didn't really get a sense of what he was doing. I saw Hangarback Walkers, Relic of Progenitus, and Ratchet Bomb so I sided in 2 Pithing Needle and 2 Stony Silence... Then saw Reality Smasher and Thought-Knot Seers. Managed to fight through them with a couple Revolt-activated Fatal Pushes and a Zealous Persecution blocking blowout, stabilizing at 2 life. 2 Shambling Vents brought my life back to a comfortable 6 the next turn (outside smasher range, he was top decking, so smasher bolt was not possible) and I won the turn after that.
Round 4 - BGRW Delerium w/ Death's Shadow
I haven't played against this deck before, but he was doing a lot of the same things as my firs two opponents, like slamming Goyfs and Flayers then bringing them back with Renegade Rallier. My removal lined up too well against that plan and I slowly managed his threats before killing him with spirits/servos both games. Sorin's +1 off the top of the deck won me the first game the turn before he was poised to kill me, letting 4 spirits get in for 8 lifelink.
Some observations after the fact.
- I need to drop Liliana and play a second Sorin. I boarded her out almost every game. With the addition of the Hidden Stockpiles I am now sort of halfway between tokens and midrange and she doesn't fit the script the way she used to (plus it sucks only being able to run 1). Sorin is always a good draw and just wins me games, or helps get me back in them.
- 4x Fatal Push 2x Path to Exile main with 2x Path board felt right last week, but this week I found myself bringing the extra Paths and even Anguished Unmaking in constantly to deal with Renegade Rallier. The Fatal Push were still fine, but it feels bad pushing an attacking Goyf and then seeing it come right back. I was pushing a lot more on my own turn. Push was still insane, just need to figure out the split.
- Hidden Stockpile is amazing against fair decks. People don't respect it game 1, and as an enchantment it's hard to remove in games 2/3. My deck wants to grind, and it fits the script perfectly. It makes Zealous Persecution better, it smooths draws, it gives me a sac outlet for Persecutor... I just love everything it does.
Draft My Cube!
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Enchantments (3)
3 Hidden Stockpile
Planeswalkers (5)
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorceries (10)
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
4 Lingering Souls
4 Fatal Push
4 Path to Exile
Lands (22)
4 Marsh Flats
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Polluted Delta
4 Godless Shrine
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Swamp
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Thoughtseize
2 Disenchant
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Stony Silence
3 Rest in Peace
This is what I used for side events at GP Pittsburgh.
3-round single elimination (1 win)
Jund (2-0)
UW Sun Titan Control (1-2)
4-round swiss (4-0)
Merfolk (2-1)
Knightfall (2-1)
8-whack (2-1)
Slivers (2-0)
3-round single elimination (2 wins)
Burn (2-1)
GR Land Destruction (2-0)
GR Tron (1-2)
1-round Turbo (1 win)
Madcap Emperion (2-1)
5-round swiss (3-1-1)
Bant Eldrazi (2-0)
Jeskai Kiki (2-0)
Burn (0-2)
Bant Eldrazi (2-1)
Abzan Coco (ID)
Push was very important for its ability to hit Noble Heirarch or Goblin Guide turn 1. Lowering the average CMC in the deck is great. If it's ever really dead you can side it out.
The best thing about Hidden Stockpile is that it doesn't die to a lightning bolt. The second best thing about Hidden Stockpile is that you can scry away dead draws anytime someone spends a card to kill one of your creatures. The scry is a more important part of the card than I had originally anticipated.
You don't need to get a lot of servos right away because the game will usually go long. (Though there are occasionally very aggressive 3+ early servo hands.)
Using the planeswalkers correctly is very important. Sorin and Liliana both can steal games. I know there are games I lost because didn't go for the ultimate immediately when I had the chance, or didn't plan to protect them in the right way, especially in choosing what to discard to Liliana.
The servo tokens benefiting from Sorin's +1 is why I went up to 2 copies, but it's also good that Sorin is a “threat” that doesn't die to a regular sweeper. I wanted another threat that doesn't die to Anger of the Gods and I ended up with Brimaz. I think the deck does need at least 1 card that can be a quick clock, whatever your preferred creature is.
I've played against Bant Eldrazi a number of times recently. Their curve makes them susceptible to letting you pick off the things in their hand the turn before they can play it. If you have 2 removal spells in hand, Thoughtknot isn't that bad since it gives you a card back. The worst case is if they get back-to-back Reality Smashers. Zealous Persecution is good against the scion tokens.
To have a chance against Tron I like to bring in 2 Anguished Unmaking, 2 Thoughtseize, and 2 Stony Silence. Stony is important against Oblivion Stone, and Map if you get it early enough.
Burn is rough if you don't draw a Sorin or some hate card. Or if you draw too many Lingering Souls instead of discard and removal. I did get unlucky twice this weekend where I would use Sculler, see no Searing Blaze, then they immediately draw a Searing Blaze so the Sculler doesn't manage to save me even 3 damage. Since I added the Anguished Unmaking to the sideboard (mostly for Planeswalkers) I could probably go down to 1 Disenchant and maybe put in another Leyline of Sanctity.
A lot of matchups are all about removing all their creatures on a good curve. Again, Push is really good. Push early and often and prevent the Merfolk from ganging up on you.
I don't currently have any plans to change the main deck, I like it how it is.
I could see putting in 1 Plains as the 23rd land, but it hasn't hurt me too much not having it.
I dropped the Shambling Vents when I put in the 2 Polluted Delta. I didn't want to give up casting turn 1 or 2, especially with wanting to give Stockpile a chance and Inquisition being so important. I'll try to pay attention to how much I miss them – they were good on an empty board, but putting 4 mana into it usually meant I wasn't doing anything else that turn. There's never been a time I would activate two at once. For people for don't like Gatekeeper as much as I do, I guess you would turn some of those slots into lands 23 and 24 for the vents.
A week before, I did a 4 round event with mostly the same deck but -1 Sorin, -1 Brimaz, -1 Push, +2 Collective Brutality, +1 Hidden Stockpile. Brutality always seemed worse than Push at 2 mana and sorcery speed. It was also harder to guess when the opponent would have an instant or sorcery to discard than I expected.
(3-1)
Jund (2-0)
Skred (0-2)
Affinity (2-1)
Lantern (2-1)
Push is incidentally also good against Affinity, whether it's an early Signal Pest or a Blinkmoth.
The highlight was Hidden Stockpile preventing Jund's Maelstrom Pulse from blowing out my Spirits at the last minute. But other than that I was never really behind because I had so much removal.
Skred I basically had no chance against. Anger into Koth into Emblem, and having to play around Blood Moon was too much. This is what made me want the Anguished Unmaking in the sideboard.
I probably got lucky against Lantern. Started the sideboard games with removal for Bridge in hand. Sorin sped up the clock along with a lot of Servos. It was good that the Stockpile doesn't require extra mana investment to make servos so I could keep putting more stuff onto the board at the same time.
From what I've seen so far Stockpile is good against Jund and should be good against Grixis. In match ups where it isn't amazing, the important thing is that it doesn't just eat a removal spell and leave you nothing like a creature would.
I really like the look of your list, and I'm happy to see someone else playing (and having success with) Hidden Stockpile. I've fallen in love with it myself. I'm finding that opponents don't respect it at the moment, and it ends up costing them when the value lets you take over a game. You're absolutely right that once they do realize it's a problem, it's very hard to remove for most decks. People who don't play it think it's a tokens card, but I think it's lackluster in that deck, while it shines in ours. I recently went up to the full 4 copies (after starting 2x Stockpile 2x Ayli, then moving to 3x Stockpile and 1x Ayli).
I have a couple questions:
Gatekeeper of Malakir is spicy. Can you elaborate a bit on why it's good for you? I've considered it myself, but I never gave it a shot because I decided that at BBB, it might be too hard to cast. I'm guessing it's worth slamming on turn 2 if you have no other play? Or do you find yourself holding it for the kicker effect?
I like seeing Brimaz in lists too. I'm leaning towards slotting one back into my main deck myself. However at 24 lands and with no Gatekeepers to worry about, my deck has an easier time making WW than yours. Is dropping him on curve ever an issue?
How often do you side in your Zealous Persecutions? Partially because of the Hidden Stockpiles leaving me with more tokens, I settled on two in the main and one in the board. It's useful in almost every matchup for blocking blowouts, killing blows, or to mise Affinity/Infect in the early turns.
4 Death's Shadow
4 Dark Confidant
2 Phyrexian Obliterator
Spells (27)
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
4 Fatal Push
4 Sign in Blood
2 Orzhov Charm
2 Collective Brutality
3 Phyrexian Unlife
2 Lingering souls
2 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Marsh Flats
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained mire
3 Godless Shrine
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Swamp
The deck is very interesting. It plays almost like Jund. Some very hard control cards early, but still can close the game quickly once you stick a threat. Certain decks have a hard time dealing with Unlife so that's a nice main deck delay for something like Burn or Affinity. I haven't tested this enough yet to be comfortable taking to a major event but I'm working on this list.
What do you guys think?
Draft My Cube!
Did everyone move away from the pack rat and mutavault plan?
I'm leaving here some suggestions (don't know if any are good):
Cryptbreaker
Bearer of silence
Glint-sleeve siphoner
Hanweir Militia Captain
Heir of Falkenrath
Relentless Dead
I would certainly love to include Wraith, maybe just a straight swap with Confidant is best. But I am not tutoring the shadow as DSJ does, so I'm not entirely reliant
Draft My Cube!
It might have some sinergy with Pack rat, because we're getting more cards to discard if needed.
This seems like a really solid shell for a W/B Midrange deck.
Powerful PW's like Gideons (and possibly Sorin and Elspeth) + Heart of Kiran + Lingering Souls and lots of removal and discard.
You can try Bob but it can hurt you pretty bad with all the expensive 3+cmc cards in the deck and it is a pretty bad attacker and even worse defender (for the PW's).
Hidden Stockpile seems very meh, just a worse Bitterblossom (which isn't that good itself imho).
I'd probably prefer tokens spells like Spectral Procession/Timely Reinforcements or Sram's Expertise
(and cast 3-cmc Gideon or Lingering Souls for free).
Myth Realized might be an interesting option as well.
If I were to add more PW's to the deck it would be Sorin, Solemn Visitor over Liliana, the Last Hope (or LotV).
I'd also like a copy of Anguished Unmaking (or Cast Out) as a catch-all removal in the deck as 1/2 a mb/sb split.
I'd also throw in a couple of Mutavault to have more manlands in addition to Shambling Vent.
Something like this:
4x Gideon of the Trials
3x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2x Gideon Jura
Artifact (3)
3x Heart of Kiran
Creature (3)
3x Wall of Omens
Instant (8)
4x Path to Exile
3x Fatal Push
1x Anguished Unmaking
Sorcery (13)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
4x Lingering Souls
2x Wrath of God
4x Marsh Flats
4x Godless Shrine
4x Shambling Vent
4x Concealed Courtyard
3x Plains
1x Swamp
2x Mutavault
2x Anguished Unmaking
3x Rest in Peace
3x Leyline of Sanctity
3x Stony Silence
3x Fulminator Mage
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
In the match-ups you really need Stony Silence (Eggs, Affinity, Lantern and maybe Tron) boarding out Heart of Kiran is very reasonable imho, its not like it is the only win-con of the deck (far from it actually).
I still don't like Hidden Stockpile and consider it a bad Bitterblossom mainly because it is conditional and produces chump blockers and not evasive threats.
The sac-outlet option would be really good if it was free instead of costing 1-mana.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor starts with higher loyalty than Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and it's +1 can create a massive life swing
(even with just Heart that can attack for 5 in the air), this why I consider him the better version and also why it is generally preffered in "BW Tokens".
I just went 4-0 at my tuesday night Modern event with this list:
2x Ghost Quarter
4x Mutavault
4x Shambling Vent
4x Concealed Courtyard
4x Marsh Flats
2x Godless Shrine
1x Plains
3x Swamp
Creature
4x Dark Confidant
4x Pack Rat
2x Smuggler's Copter
Planeswalker
4x Liliana of the Veil
1x Gideon of the Trials
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Sorcery
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
2x Collective Brutality
4x Lingering Souls
Instant
3x Path to Exile
3x Fatal Push
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Cast Out
1x Celestial Purge
1x Damnation
1x Fragmentize
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Pithing Needle
1x Runed Halo
1x Shadow of Doubt
1x Smallpox
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Thoughtseize
1x Zealous Persecution
R1 - UR Gifts Ungiven Storm, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had t1 Inquisition, t2 Bob, t3 Liliana, t4 Gideon of the Trials, and beat him down. g2 I had t1 Inquisition, t2 Collective Brutality to kill his Electromancer and discard a spell, t3 Liliana, etc. It wasn't close.
R2 - UR Blue Moon, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had discard into manlands + Elspeth. Critically I fetched a Plains and a Swamp and drew a second Swamp. He eventually bounced Elspeth with Cryptic Command and played Blood Moon, but I followed up with Pack Rat. I had 5 mana with 2 black sources so he couldn't kill it and died to rats. g2 he kept a bad hand with Blood Moon and I opened with discard into Liliana followed by Gideon. Liliana forced him to go all-in on a Torrential Gearhulk but I had Path.
R3 - Burn, lose die roll, 2-0
g1 I drew both Collective Brutality and Elspeth + Shambling Vent. Still close as I won at 3 life. g2 I went down to 9 but I killed all his creatures and once again assembled Elspeth + Shambling Vent to win at 21 life.
R4 - Ad Nauseam, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 he killed me on turn 4. g2 I discard him into oblivion and beat him down with Bob and Pack Rat. g3 He had Leyline of Sanctity. I had Bob into Liliana to pressure his hand. He discarded a Simian Spirit Guide at one point so when he finally drew Ad Nauseam I cast Surgical Extraction on his Spirit Guide and he didn't have enough mana to kill me.
Overall the deck ran very smoothly. I think the first 3 matchups were good for me and Ad Nauseam is close to 50-50, probably slightly in their favor.
Ya, I don't claim that sideboard is the best. I still think it's good but wouldn't fault anyone for changing it around. If anything I'd add more cards to beat big mana decks like Eldrazi Tron.
Baneslayer indeed. Since you like Sorin, Lord of Innistrad you should try Elspeth. The Angelic Blessing ability is insanely good and not only with Shambling Vent. It's great for killing opposing planeswalkers, getting the last few points in, and turns Dark Confidant or a single token into a real threat. Not many decks can block fliers. You might also like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
edit: I agree that Sorin, Solemn Visitor is good in dedicated tokens but much worse in a traditional midrange shell. Compared to other 4 mana planeswalkers, he is awful on an empty board and when you're behind.
4x Leonin Arbiter
4x Tidehollow Sculler
4x Wasteland Strangler
4x Path to Exile
2x Anguished Unmaking
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Castigate
4x Lingering Souls
4x Concealed Courtyard
3x Ghost Quarter
4x Godless Shrine
2x Plains
4x Shambling Vent
2x Swamp
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Disenchant
3x Grand Abolisher
2x Kor Firewalker
2x Smother
2x Stony Silence
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Stain the Mind
TL,DR: 3-1, 2-1 W Blink, 2-1 Death's Shadow, 1-2 U Eldrazi Tron, 2-1 Knightfall Brew
Match 1:
2-1 vs Mono-White Blink
Game 1 on the play-
I shred his hand early with [[Inquisition of Kozilek]], [[Castigate]], and [[Tidehollow Sculler]]. Pick off his [[Thraben Inspector]] and [[Wall of Omens]] with some [[Wasteland Strangler]] processing and he hits 1 of my Stranglers with a [[Journey to Nowhere]]. I resolve the first half of [[Lingering Souls]] followed by [[Sorin, Solemn Visitor]] the next turn. He resolved and +s [[Gideon Jura]] to buy himself a turn. I [[Anguished Unmaking]] Gids and swing for the win.
Board: -2 Leonin Arbiter, +2 Smother
Game 2 on the draw-
Game 2 starts very similarity to Game 1. I made a huge misplay around turn 5-6 when I had the board and used the second half of Souls to get blown out by a Wrath... That I had seen with my turn 1 Inquisition. After that he resolved a [[Mirran Crusader]] who just took the game over with the help of [[Ajani, Caller of the Pride]]. I managed to grind for a while with Walls, Sorin, and Shambling Vents but never drew a [[Path to Exile]] and he managed his Crusader well.
Game 3 on the play-
I start with the dream of Inquisition, followed by Sculler, followed by Strangler processing the card to kill his turn two play. I resolve a Sorin and Souls, with a grip of removal, and Castigate a Wrath. He resolves a [[Restoration Angel]] that I deal with and a [[Mirran Crusader]] but it's too late and I cruise to the match win.
Match 2
(2-1 vs Death's Shadow)
Game 1 on the draw-
I resolve a turn 2 [[Leonin Arbiter]] and protect it with some hand hate. The Arbiter helps me keep him off his colors with [[Ghost Quarter]] and keep his life total high enough that I have a grip full of removal and some Walls when he finally removes it. I resolve half of Lingering Souls as I know he only has one counter in hand. He goes all in, goes down to 4 life and has [[Tasigur, the Golden Fang]] and 3x [[Death's Shadow]] in play, setting up for next turn lethal. I Inquisition his one card hand, it's a [[Thoughtseize]], so I'm safe to drop Sorin, +1, and swing with 2 spirit tokens for the win.
Board: -2 Tidehollow Sculler, +2 Smother
Game 2 on the draw-
I draw a good hand with some removal which he shreds with hand hate. He gets the Shadows out early and I attempt to stabilize with Walls and [[Shambling Vent]]. He gets Tasigur online and has a couple of [[Snapcaster Mage]]s that he uses to finish my hand and blockers off.
Game 3 on the play-
We shred each other's hand early and I win the topdeck war afterwards. I draw removal for his threats and then he floods out. I ride Vents and Soul tokens to victory.
Match 3
(1-2 vs Blue Eldrazi Tron)
Game 1 on the play-
I keep him off Tron with Leonin Arbiter and GQs. His hand is threat light and I Sculler a [[Thought-Knot Seer]]. I followed that with my most interesting line of the day; processing the Seer with a Strangler to kill my own Sculler because I saw a [[Repeal]] and no other threats with an Inquisition. Unfortunately, I just can't finish him quickly enough and he eventually resolves [[Ugin the Spirit Dragon]] who just takes over the game.
Board: -3x Wasteland Strangler, +2 Stony Silence, +1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Game 2 on the play-
I land some early Arbiters to keep him from searching out Tron and hit him with some mid game hand hate to keep him off any big threats. I deal with a [[Reality Smasher]] by pitching Lingering Souls and flashing it back. 1 resolve [[Gideon, Ally of Zendikar]] and token. Next turn I clear his blocker and Gidspunch. He finally gets Tron online and drops Ulamog, clearing Gideon and a body. But with my tokens and an activated Vent I have exact lethal past a blocker.
Game 3 on the draw-
He assembles turn three Tron but I hang in with hand hate and some well timed removal. Eventually I play and flashback a few Souls and resolve Sorin to start pulling myself back in and ahead. He Ulamogs, hitting Sorin and a Vent. I drop another Sorin and a Wall and I'm winning the race. He topdecks [[Mindslaver]] with [[Academy Ruins]] out but is a mana off of the lock. He takes my next turn but with my blockers, I'll win on the crack back even against Ulamog. He has to kill me with my own cards or draw a land on his turn. He draws my [[Godless Shrine]], shocks me, and pains me for 1 with [[Caves of Koilos]] (he actually almost missed the Cave and passed). Looked at his next card, not a land... Oh well, them's the beats.
Match 4**
(2-1 vs Bant Knightfall Brew w/ B splash and [[Gifts Ungiven]] package)
Game 1 on the play-
I get out to a great start, removing his mana dorks and [[Knight of the Reliquary]] with hand hate and Stranglers. I'm a turn away from the win when he hard casts [[Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite]] and blows me out. He follows it with [[Grave Titan]] and things look bleak. I drop some Walls to stall and eventually draw into removal. I manage to stabilize with Vents, Sorin, and some tokens and grind out the win with some more removal.
Board: -2 Castigate, -1 Leonin Arbiter, -2 Wall of Omens, +2 Relic of Progenitus, +2 Smother, +1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Game 2 on the draw-
I keep a questionable 2 lander after mulling to 6. He ramps with dorks and I Path the first Knight. He starts recurring Ghost Quarters with Life from the Loam after I dropped a Leonin Arbiter, a misplay on my part. He reanimates a dredged Elesh Norn with [[Liliana, Death's Majesty]] and that's the game.
Game 3 on the play-
He has to mull to 4. I remove any relevant cards he has in hand and Souls/Sorin into a quick, easy victory
Notes:
- Very fun, grindy games.
- Feels like a deck with matchups ranging 60-40/40-60, no auto losses but no easy wins.
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor is an absolute house in this deck.
- Have to be very careful with how you sequence your lands with this budget mana base. Turn 1 Inquisitions are great but I think having W and B turn 2 is more important.
- I switched my Thraben Inspectors out for the Wall of Omens on a whim before the event. Wall of Omens performed great but I'm still not sure if the immediate card is better than Thraben being a proactive turn 1 play and attacking with Sorin's buff.
- Need to upgrade my Smothers to [[Fatal Push]] and maybe find a way to main deck them, I wanted the extra removal a lot.
-Leonin Arbiter is 1 of the best or 1 of the worst cards in the deck depending on the matchup.
-I was worried running 4x Shambling Vent but the card is fantastic, 4 is the right number IMO.
- It felt great holding my own against $500-$1000 decks with my $150 home brew.
Questions
1. Thraben Inspector or Wall of Omens?
2. How does the mana base look? Could I fit another Ghost Quarter? Could I run more basics?
3. Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the sideboard? I run Gids AoZ to help midrange mirrors. Would 2x Baron work better, as it dodges so much removal?
4. Speaking of Gideon... 1-2x in the sideboard, 1x in the main, is he even worth it?
5. I know Fatal Push is better than Smother, but in my deck, not being able to trigger Revolt reliably, how MUCH better is Push than Smofher?
6. I definitely want more removal in my sideboard... But how much? And what? Should I be looking at Go For the Throat, Journey to Nowhere, Dismember, something else?
7. Sideboard suggestions? This deck has a fairly even matchup percentage across the board, so I prefer to run broader answers that can get me a few percentage points against multiple decks instead of 20 percentage points against one deck.
8. Anything else you can think of?
1. If I had to choose, I'd play Thraben Inspector. Inspector is better with Sorin and better in your best draws where you are aggressive.
2. Manabase looks fine. I would consider cutting Vault of the Archangel for the last Ghost Quarter. In my experience Vault of the Archangel is too situational and expensive. With 4 Leonin Arbiter in my deck, I'd want to draw Ghost Quarter as often as possible.
3. I think Gideon is way better than Baron.
4. I like Gideon more than Sorin. Sorin only shines with multiple creatures in play. Gideon is fine all by himself and is better when you are behind on board. I even think he's better in Lingering Souls mirrors because his emblem increases toughness. I'd honestly try 2 in the main over Sorin, or the 1/1 split you mentioned.
5. I'd go so far as to say Smother is now unplayable. If you wanted another removal spell I'd play Go for the Throat or Dismember.
6. See above.
7. At the very least I'd cut Grand Abolisher from your sideboard and add at least one Zealous Persecution. I might also play a Cast Out. Another interesting card is Dusk // Dawn but it ain't great with Wasteland Strangler.
8. Cool deck!
Thanks for the responses!
1. That was the way I was leaning, for the same reasons.
2. I think I might cut Vault to just go down to 23 lands. Wish it was possible to run 23.5 because that's what this deck seems to want.
3. That's fair. But I think Baron has some merit as it dodges Path and Push and survives Bolt.
4. I'm going to run 1 Gideon in the main, may go up to 2. But I'd never run less than 2 Sorin. It's been a beast in my testing.
5. Whoa, I knew it was a bad budget option until I upgrade to Pushes but didn't realize it was that bad now. Just because of the CMC?
6. I put a Go for the Throat in the sideboard, I know I have a Dismember somewhere but I can't find it.
7. I've considered Zealous Persecution but it seems narrow, what matchups do I want it for. And I've been considering Cast Out, maybe even main deck.
8. Thanks!
2. I could see that but I think I want that 4th Ghost Quarter more, especially if you were going to add a 4 drop over the 24th land. GQ can also give you revolt for Fatal Push
3. 5 Mana is a ton. The decks that have removal will also often have either Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolt or Liliana of the Veil so it's not quite as unkillable as it looks.
4. Fair enough.
5. Yeah, 1 vs 2 CMC is a huge game. Think playing on the draw against decks with great 2 drop creatures. If you are going to spend the extra mana, then I think you want Go for the Throat to kill huge stuff like Reality Smasher, Thoughtknot Seer, Primeval Titan, etc. Sure Affinity exists but 2 mana removal is pretty bad there anyway.
6. lol
7. Zealous persecution is great against Affinity, Lingering Souls mirrors (e.g. Abzan where it may also kill Dark Confidant), and Noble Hierarch / Birds of Paradise decks. It's even ok against Dredge since usually you have to race and killing all their Narcomoeba and Bloodghast while pumping your team is great. It is a tad narrow though. If budget wasn't a thing I'd play an Engineered Explosives.