I would only replace gather the townsfolk for Auriok Champion, and it is very meta dependent, if there is a lot of Rock/Jund, GDS, Burn and dredge in your meta then Auriok is great.
I personally never have luck with zealous so I would prefer running 3 fatal push over them.
Yes, six to eight fetches are pretty standard. The number might change a little with Silent Clearing. Caves of Koilos is strictly a budget card. You don't need seven plains and one Swamp is a good idea. I have been playing this for mana:
The Fetid Heaths are flex spots as is the Shefet Dune. The third Shambling Vent could be considered a flex spot as well. With Modern Horizons, one will want some number of Silent Clearing. With Bitterblossom, the correct number is probably two or three. Without BB, four is the place to start testing. I would really like to have a third Plains, but I wanted to try out the Dune. A single Dune is not an awful idea, but it's not essential.
Many people like some number of Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin; this complicates things and I'm not going to go into that now; I've already got a pretty substantial wall of text going here.
Again thanks so much for the helpful feedback guys, really appreciate it! I will work with what I‘ve got for now, some Eight Whack Games coming up this weekend. Playset of Fatal Push is already in the mail. Will make sure to report afterwards:)
Alright, it's me again. Had a great time playing against Eight Whack Goblins! For timing reasons, I had to run Burrenton Forge-Tender instead of Auriok Champion, but still I was able to take roughly 60% of all games played.
One thing I also noticed was that I should replace my 4 Caves of Koilos as soon as possible. I suppose I could go for 4 Silent Clearing, as I was flooding quite some games, and also since I don't yet feel like buying Fetches and Shrines (budget again).
Up next I will probably also face a friend's GR Aggro(ish) deck quite a lot, running cards like Atarka's Command, Dryad Militant and Pyroclasm. Would it be smart to go for a bit more discard to try and prevent the surprise blocks with Atarka's or board wipes?
Really looking forward to your helpful answers as always
Cheers
nordberg
Seems like a nice finisher, that can go off as early as turn 4, and due to size, is resistant to lots of removal. Thoughts?
My build is heavy in Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession, and Bitterblossom. Almost all my tokens are fliers.
From the looks of it, the forum is actually not dying. Afaik someone ended up buying it and it will keep going
Sephara, Sky's Blade is something we already discussed over in the discord server. We came to the conclusion, that it does not make the deck faster, opens us up to removal and can be easily dead in hand in case of an early boardwipe.
Alright, it's me again. Had a great time playing against Eight Whack Goblins! For timing reasons, I had to run Burrenton Forge-Tender instead of Auriok Champion, but still I was able to take roughly 60% of all games played.
One thing I also noticed was that I should replace my 4 Caves of Koilos as soon as possible. I suppose I could go for 4 Silent Clearing, as I was flooding quite some games, and also since I don't yet feel like buying Fetches and Shrines (budget again).
Up next I will probably also face a friend's GR Aggro(ish) deck quite a lot, running cards like Atarka's Command, Dryad Militant and Pyroclasm. Would it be smart to go for a bit more discard to try and prevent the surprise blocks with Atarka's or board wipes?
Really looking forward to your helpful answers as always
Cheers
nordberg
Yes, four Caves of Koilos is a bad thing. One or two may not be so bad, but it's not a card one ever wants to see in multiples.
Some number of Silent Clearing is definitely in the no-brainer category. Without Bitterblossom, I wouldn't worry much about running four, but I'm going to start with three. Two of those in one's opening hand is worse than two Caves of Koilos. I run four Horizon Canopies in a GW deck, but BW tokens has the pseudo-card-advantage thing going with the token producers, so it isn't as desperately in need of draw as some other decks are.
Marsh Flats are what you really need, but the budget allows what the budget allows. The Clearings can also trigger revolt although not in a useful manner until turn-three. Two Godless Shrines is about all you want ultimately. If you are short on fetches, as indeed you are, one more Shrine wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, but another W fetch or two is probably a better idea.
That is good to know on the forums. I have been on here for some time trying to get info on various decks.
That being said, Discord? I would love to have some access to that. I didn't see the info on the main page. Is it somewhere else?
I'd love to see the discussion on Sephara, I thought mainly cause you can get her out for much less than CMC on most occasions, that she makes other tokens indestructible, is a foil to Burn (takes at least three spells to kill), and seems to be immune to lots of common removal in the format. In, fact, I was trying to wrack my brain on what might be good against it, considering things like Maelstrom Pulse, Assassin's Trophy, etc. Even sacrifice effects are not really good, assuming you have tapped 4 to make her in the first place. Would love to see that discussion.
That is good to know on the forums. I have been on here for some time trying to get info on various decks.
That being said, Discord? I would love to have some access to that. I didn't see the info on the main page. Is it somewhere else?
I'd love to see the discussion on Sephara, I thought mainly cause you can get her out for much less than CMC on most occasions, that she makes other tokens indestructible, is a foil to Burn (takes at least three spells to kill), and seems to be immune to lots of common removal in the format. In, fact, I was trying to wrack my brain on what might be good against it, considering things like Maelstrom Pulse, Assassin's Trophy, etc. Even sacrifice effects are not really good, assuming you have tapped 4 to make her in the first place. Would love to see that discussion.
The problem with the card isn't what is good against it, as you correctly pointed out of the common removal in modern only 3 cards hit her: path, trophy and pulse. But what actually does the angel improve for us?
The angel could help in matches that are already quite good for us: burn, gds, and dredge (they will have a hell of a time removing her). It is a win more card there.
Vs The rock it dies, but it is already a good matchup.
Maybe vs phoenix but you run the risk of being bounced by TiTi.
In humans and spirits is going to be bounced by reflector mage and left you wide open to attack after tapping your stuff.
I feel it is big and flashy but ends up being a trap. A turn 4 sorin seems more relevant.
In all honesty, I would like to have a third Plains as well; the lack of the third one proved a problem in one game. It wouldn't likely have made the difference, it must be said.
The Heaths seem like the obvious first choices, but I do love my Fetid Heaths. The Dunes would probably get voted out as well, but I haven't had it long enough to evaluate it. With the addition of three lands that I really don't want to tap for mana, man-lands become a bit more of a liability, so there's an argument for cutting one. Three additional Revolt triggers reduce the need for fetches and there seem to be plenty of ways to get B on turn-one, so I could see cutting a fetch. The Courtyard might be the hardest to justify, but I'm on twenty-four lands, so there's a real possibility of a Courtyard coming down tapped on turn-four.
I know at least one Heath is going, probably both. If I go back to three Plains, the eighth fetch will get the hook. I'm probably going to leave the Dune for now, so it's down to a Courtyard or a Vent. I'm just not sure yet.
Your thoughts are welcome.
We have quite a luxury of choices now. It's such a contrast to the days when people actually played Isolated Chapel and Caves of Koilos!
Well I hope so, what took you so long? I dropped that stinker when Concealed Courtyard came out and I never ran more than one. Not much isn't better that the Chapel.
So the Silent Clearings got their first run at FNM. You can probably guess what happened; game-one I drew two of them and no other land. I had an Auriok Champion and token makers so I kept it and it worked out all right. I will probably not get the fourth Clearing.
Overall, I went 1-1-1 - really. The match I won was 1-0. Games were in general grindy. The last match was UW Control and nothing I have outside of Burn seems to really have a chance there.
Mardu Charm is replaced by Kaya's Guile in the maindeck, with the latter allowing 2 modes, and lifegain/GY hate being very relevant in the deck and against the meta respectively. In the board, a Ravenous Trap is replaced by a more permanent answer against Hogaak in the form of Worship. It may sound counterintuitive against a deck that can mill you out; but this deck has an Emrakul main and will have to find their enchantment removal if they want the beatdown kill. Also, I cracked a shiny one from a gideon spellbook. So sue me.
Match 1 vs Vizier combo (Loss 0-2)
G1 is basically unbeatable, I have 1 removal spell and he has 2 layers of Giver of Runes to back up his combo. I thoughtseized his Eladamri's Call but an Eternal witness brings it back anyway.
Boarding: 1 Wrath of God, 1 Elesh Norn, IN. 1 Iona, 1 Bitterblossom, OUT.
G2 I make a rookie mistake and keep a 5 lander with 2 discard spells. Was worried about mulling down and missing lands. My deck proceeds to hand me 5 more lands, 1 bitterblossom, 1 helix and 1 lingering souls. This was pathetically insufficient. I need to be more greedy with my mulligans.
Score: 0-1
I think I let the deck down in G2 instead of the other way around.
Match 2 vs Mono Red Prison (Win 2-1)
G1 I flip a legion's landing turn 3 but don't have the combo. He lands a couple of goblin rabblemasters but I manage to stay alive long enough to go off. I pull both Emrakul and Iona blocking red for the win. My life goes pretty low, though.
Board: 1 Bitterblossom, 2 Thoughtseize OUT; 2 Wear // Tear, 1 Worship
G2 goes badly as he does a turn 2(!) Chandra, Torch using 2 rituals, then upticks for RR and casts chalice for one. What. The. Hell. I haven't even gotten my bearings when he drops a Sorcerous Spyglass and sees my hand of fatal push, path to exile and Nahiri, and conveniently blanks the last spell in my hand. The game drags because he can't find the last mana to cast Lattice and lock me out, but eventually Torch of Defiance ultimates and even though I manage to fetch my Iona, he eventually casts enough artifacts for 5 damage a pop to kill me.
G3 plays out a lot more like a proper game of magic. A chalice on 1 is largely ignored, and I trade tokens and helixes strategically with incoming gobbos and their token minions to stay alive. I go for 2 with the remaining tokens and get Iona and Emrakul on board; he untaps and fetches a bridge with Karn; but I am ready with a wear // tear in my hand to seal the win.
Score: 1-1
Artifact removal is really important in this match up, I only wish we could have more slots in the modern sideboard.
Match 3 vs Hogaak (Win 2-1)
G1 I gamely try to stay alive against a wave of zombies, 1 vengevine and 1 hogaak. His draws aren't even that good; but Hogaak's average draw is 14 power, 8 of which is trample damage. My path spent on vengevine and my tokens exhausted, I die.
Board: Iona, 2 thoughtseize, 2 bitterblossom OUT; Elesh Norn, 2 Wheel of Sun and Moon, 1 Wrath of God, 1 Worship IN
G2 the opponent keeps a slow hand that does nothing the first 2 turns. This means my turn 4 Emrakul is plenty fast enough to seal the win against his board of 2 lands and 1 Altar. What was going on over there I wonder?
G3 is the closest game. I path his turn 1 stitcher's supplier, but not before it put 1 vengevine, 1 bridge and 1 gravecrawler in. Turn 2 sees the opponent evoke a wispmare and cast gravecrawler, which means me getting hit by vengevine and I'm down to 14 (turn 1 shock), and he's got 1 token and 1 crawler. I spend my turn 2 casting Wheel of Sun and Moon, so I'm a sitting duck for 8 damage next turn bringing me to 6. I pass with 2 mana and a fetch; I block the vengevine and gravecrawler and take 2 more damage from the lone token, bringing me to 4 life, but at least the bridge is exiled now, in case another wispmare takes out the Wheel. I fetch tapped, going down to 3. My deck hands me the 4th land I need to survive; I shock and go to ONE LIFE, and cast Wrath of God, putting his crawler and vine on the bottom of his library. I've secured the board but I'm not out of the woods yet; Hogaak plays plenty of enchantment removal. His next turn sees a Insolent Neonate; I cast Kaya's Guile and force him to sacrifice it without value, while I pad my life total to 5. Fortunately I have my lingering souls to flashback, and creativity in my hand. I pull Elesh Norn, and while the opponent manages to remove Wheel with a wispmare, the 0/1 doesn't buy enough time for him to come back. I win with a 3/3 token and Elesh Norn beats.
Score: 2-1
The Hogaak deck is crazy strong. Every time I face it, even when I win, it feels more because the opponent drew badly. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite does an excellent job of locking the deck down, and is easily the strongest card against it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
What would ya say, actually I ahave a budget from further 50$ to tweak it a bit, what would u suggest besides two further copies from IoK ?
For starters, I think I'd get two more Concealed Courtyards to replace those Cities of Brass. That'll set you back about $4; I'd use the rest to buy some Windswept Heaths. They're about $11-$12 apiece so you might get all four and stay under or at your budget. An alternative is to get a couple of Godless Shrines and as many Windswept Heaths as you have money left for. Two Shrines is about all you will want ultimately so I wouldn't buy more that two.
The Windbrisk Heights are not really worth playing in my view and you really want to cut down on the Swamps, the Isolated Chapels and the Caves of Koilos. The latter two are strictly budget cards and both are bad in multiples. Swamps also make it tough to cast your Spectral Processions in a timely manner. Generally one Swamp is what you want but you need fetches to get there.
Unfortunately, even Flooded Strands are significantly higher in price that Windswept Heaths. Marsh Flats are significantly more expensive than Strands, but I'm not sure I'd spend money on Strands.
Two more Courtyards, two Shrines, and four Windswept Heaths would be a very good start but all together they are a little more than your budget. These will really improve your mana-base.
So this is what I've been working with, input welcome. Got to try it out yesterday at my LGS. Ended up 3-1, 4th of 15 beating RW Pheonix, Jund, and Rock but lost to Ad Nauseum. Only have the 1 Serra the Benevolent, but loved her whenever she hit play (even if I did lose the 1st game I played her, collective brutality drain through the worship) very much considering getting a 2nd, maybe even replace a Sorin? She's also pretty great off a Windbrisk hideaway. Also working to get another Bitterblossom and 2x more silent clearings. Is it worth running prismatic vista as another fetch just cuz? Sideboard is still flexible. Figuring out what's what as I haven't had much chance to play modern for a couple years.
Very abbreviated reports, I'll try to remember and take better notes next time.
Round 1 RW Pheonix: 2-0
Game one was pretty close. I managed to swing leathal turn before they'd have burned me out.
Game 2 was a bit of a blowout. Didn't draw any of my hate but the mainboard sundering growth dealt with the aria of flame quite nicely and my opponent couldn't really get back in from there.
Round 2 Jund: 2-1
Game 1 managed to get a surprise win with zealous persecution past his board. It was a bit of a race to see if I could land more intangible virtues than he could get plague engineers.
Game 2 was going pretty well. Had Serra on board and managed to get her ult, but ended up dead to the drain from collective brutality. Admittedly I wasn't playing as carefully as I should have and let some attacks through that I probably shouldn't. I also hadn't realized that bitterblossom would kill me through a worship too.
Game 3 was handily in my favor. Had spirits, Anthems, and Sorrin and just flew over
I would only replace gather the townsfolk for Auriok Champion, and it is very meta dependent, if there is a lot of Rock/Jund, GDS, Burn and dredge in your meta then Auriok is great.
I personally never have luck with zealous so I would prefer running 3 fatal push over them.
Yes, six to eight fetches are pretty standard. The number might change a little with Silent Clearing. Caves of Koilos is strictly a budget card. You don't need seven plains and one Swamp is a good idea. I have been playing this for mana:
2 Fetid Heath
2 Godless Shrines
4 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
1 Shefet Dunes
3 Shambling Vents
1 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Windswept Heaths
The Fetid Heaths are flex spots as is the Shefet Dune. The third Shambling Vent could be considered a flex spot as well. With Modern Horizons, one will want some number of Silent Clearing. With Bitterblossom, the correct number is probably two or three. Without BB, four is the place to start testing. I would really like to have a third Plains, but I wanted to try out the Dune. A single Dune is not an awful idea, but it's not essential.
Many people like some number of Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin; this complicates things and I'm not going to go into that now; I've already got a pretty substantial wall of text going here.
Gather the Townsfolk should go before Raise the Alarm. RtA is fine, but many prefer Bitterblossom. I still play RtA.
Timely Reinforcements doesn't belong main-deck. Auriok Champion is a very fine card for the main-deck; I run four. Some number of Fatal Push main-deck is another good idea. Three copies of Zealous Persecution main-deck seems excessive.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
Cheers
Basically, it all came down to me being able to answer his Legion Loyalist in time. Zealous Persecution turned out to be just the card you want when facing all those Foundry Street Denizen.
One thing I also noticed was that I should replace my 4 Caves of Koilos as soon as possible. I suppose I could go for 4 Silent Clearing, as I was flooding quite some games, and also since I don't yet feel like buying Fetches and Shrines (budget again).
Up next I will probably also face a friend's GR Aggro(ish) deck quite a lot, running cards like Atarka's Command, Dryad Militant and Pyroclasm. Would it be smart to go for a bit more discard to try and prevent the surprise blocks with Atarka's or board wipes?
Really looking forward to your helpful answers as always
Cheers
nordberg
Seems like a nice finisher, that can go off as early as turn 4, and due to size, is resistant to lots of removal. Thoughts?
My build is heavy in Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession, and Bitterblossom. Almost all my tokens are fliers.
From the looks of it, the forum is actually not dying. Afaik someone ended up buying it and it will keep going
Sephara, Sky's Blade is something we already discussed over in the discord server. We came to the conclusion, that it does not make the deck faster, opens us up to removal and can be easily dead in hand in case of an early boardwipe.
BWB/W Tokens
Pauper:
RUGAffinity
EDH:
BWAyli, Eternal Pilgrim
Some number of Silent Clearing is definitely in the no-brainer category. Without Bitterblossom, I wouldn't worry much about running four, but I'm going to start with three. Two of those in one's opening hand is worse than two Caves of Koilos. I run four Horizon Canopies in a GW deck, but BW tokens has the pseudo-card-advantage thing going with the token producers, so it isn't as desperately in need of draw as some other decks are.
Marsh Flats are what you really need, but the budget allows what the budget allows. The Clearings can also trigger revolt although not in a useful manner until turn-three. Two Godless Shrines is about all you want ultimately. If you are short on fetches, as indeed you are, one more Shrine wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, but another W fetch or two is probably a better idea.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
That being said, Discord? I would love to have some access to that. I didn't see the info on the main page. Is it somewhere else?
I'd love to see the discussion on Sephara, I thought mainly cause you can get her out for much less than CMC on most occasions, that she makes other tokens indestructible, is a foil to Burn (takes at least three spells to kill), and seems to be immune to lots of common removal in the format. In, fact, I was trying to wrack my brain on what might be good against it, considering things like Maelstrom Pulse, Assassin's Trophy, etc. Even sacrifice effects are not really good, assuming you have tapped 4 to make her in the first place. Would love to see that discussion.
BWB/W Tokens
Pauper:
RUGAffinity
EDH:
BWAyli, Eternal Pilgrim
The problem with the card isn't what is good against it, as you correctly pointed out of the common removal in modern only 3 cards hit her: path, trophy and pulse. But what actually does the angel improve for us?
The angel could help in matches that are already quite good for us: burn, gds, and dredge (they will have a hell of a time removing her). It is a win more card there.
Vs The rock it dies, but it is already a good matchup.
Maybe vs phoenix but you run the risk of being bounced by TiTi.
In humans and spirits is going to be bounced by reflector mage and left you wide open to attack after tapping your stuff.
I feel it is big and flashy but ends up being a trap. A turn 4 sorin seems more relevant.
2 Fetid Heath
2 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
1 Shefet Dunes
1 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Windswept Heath
The flex spots seem be be these:
2 Fetid Heath
1 Shefet Dunes
1 Shambling Vent
1 Windswept Heath
In all honesty, I would like to have a third Plains as well; the lack of the third one proved a problem in one game. It wouldn't likely have made the difference, it must be said.
The Heaths seem like the obvious first choices, but I do love my Fetid Heaths. The Dunes would probably get voted out as well, but I haven't had it long enough to evaluate it. With the addition of three lands that I really don't want to tap for mana, man-lands become a bit more of a liability, so there's an argument for cutting one. Three additional Revolt triggers reduce the need for fetches and there seem to be plenty of ways to get B on turn-one, so I could see cutting a fetch. The Courtyard might be the hardest to justify, but I'm on twenty-four lands, so there's a real possibility of a Courtyard coming down tapped on turn-four.
I know at least one Heath is going, probably both. If I go back to three Plains, the eighth fetch will get the hook. I'm probably going to leave the Dune for now, so it's down to a Courtyard or a Vent. I'm just not sure yet.
Your thoughts are welcome.
We have quite a luxury of choices now. It's such a contrast to the days when people actually played Isolated Chapel and Caves of Koilos!
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
2 Windswept Heath
1 Shambling Vent
3 Concealed Courtyard
1 Marsh Flats
1 Vault of the Archangel
4 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Godless Shrine
1 Blast Zone
1 hall of heliod's generosity
3 Silent Clearing
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
Overall, I went 1-1-1 - really. The match I won was 1-0. Games were in general grindy. The last match was UW Control and nothing I have outside of Burn seems to really have a chance there.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
4 Indomitable Creativity
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
Disruption (12)
4 Path to Exile
2 Fatal Push
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
2 Lightning Helix
Tokens (13)
2 Legion's Landing
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Lingering Souls
2 Bitterblossom
1 Kaya's Guile
4 Faithless Looting
Real Estate (24)
4 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
1 Inspiring Vantage
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Dragonskull Summit
2 Wear // Tear
2 Crumble to Dust
2 Teyo, the Shieldmage
1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificier
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
2 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Worship
1 Wrath of God
2 Stony Silence
Mardu Charm is replaced by Kaya's Guile in the maindeck, with the latter allowing 2 modes, and lifegain/GY hate being very relevant in the deck and against the meta respectively. In the board, a Ravenous Trap is replaced by a more permanent answer against Hogaak in the form of Worship. It may sound counterintuitive against a deck that can mill you out; but this deck has an Emrakul main and will have to find their enchantment removal if they want the beatdown kill. Also, I cracked a shiny one from a gideon spellbook. So sue me.
Match 1 vs Vizier combo (Loss 0-2)
G1 is basically unbeatable, I have 1 removal spell and he has 2 layers of Giver of Runes to back up his combo. I thoughtseized his Eladamri's Call but an Eternal witness brings it back anyway.
Boarding: 1 Wrath of God, 1 Elesh Norn, IN. 1 Iona, 1 Bitterblossom, OUT.
G2 I make a rookie mistake and keep a 5 lander with 2 discard spells. Was worried about mulling down and missing lands. My deck proceeds to hand me 5 more lands, 1 bitterblossom, 1 helix and 1 lingering souls. This was pathetically insufficient. I need to be more greedy with my mulligans.
Score: 0-1
I think I let the deck down in G2 instead of the other way around.
Match 2 vs Mono Red Prison (Win 2-1)
G1 I flip a legion's landing turn 3 but don't have the combo. He lands a couple of goblin rabblemasters but I manage to stay alive long enough to go off. I pull both Emrakul and Iona blocking red for the win. My life goes pretty low, though.
Board: 1 Bitterblossom, 2 Thoughtseize OUT; 2 Wear // Tear, 1 Worship
G2 goes badly as he does a turn 2(!) Chandra, Torch using 2 rituals, then upticks for RR and casts chalice for one. What. The. Hell. I haven't even gotten my bearings when he drops a Sorcerous Spyglass and sees my hand of fatal push, path to exile and Nahiri, and conveniently blanks the last spell in my hand. The game drags because he can't find the last mana to cast Lattice and lock me out, but eventually Torch of Defiance ultimates and even though I manage to fetch my Iona, he eventually casts enough artifacts for 5 damage a pop to kill me.
G3 plays out a lot more like a proper game of magic. A chalice on 1 is largely ignored, and I trade tokens and helixes strategically with incoming gobbos and their token minions to stay alive. I go for 2 with the remaining tokens and get Iona and Emrakul on board; he untaps and fetches a bridge with Karn; but I am ready with a wear // tear in my hand to seal the win.
Score: 1-1
Artifact removal is really important in this match up, I only wish we could have more slots in the modern sideboard.
Match 3 vs Hogaak (Win 2-1)
G1 I gamely try to stay alive against a wave of zombies, 1 vengevine and 1 hogaak. His draws aren't even that good; but Hogaak's average draw is 14 power, 8 of which is trample damage. My path spent on vengevine and my tokens exhausted, I die.
Board: Iona, 2 thoughtseize, 2 bitterblossom OUT; Elesh Norn, 2 Wheel of Sun and Moon, 1 Wrath of God, 1 Worship IN
G2 the opponent keeps a slow hand that does nothing the first 2 turns. This means my turn 4 Emrakul is plenty fast enough to seal the win against his board of 2 lands and 1 Altar. What was going on over there I wonder?
G3 is the closest game. I path his turn 1 stitcher's supplier, but not before it put 1 vengevine, 1 bridge and 1 gravecrawler in. Turn 2 sees the opponent evoke a wispmare and cast gravecrawler, which means me getting hit by vengevine and I'm down to 14 (turn 1 shock), and he's got 1 token and 1 crawler. I spend my turn 2 casting Wheel of Sun and Moon, so I'm a sitting duck for 8 damage next turn bringing me to 6. I pass with 2 mana and a fetch; I block the vengevine and gravecrawler and take 2 more damage from the lone token, bringing me to 4 life, but at least the bridge is exiled now, in case another wispmare takes out the Wheel. I fetch tapped, going down to 3. My deck hands me the 4th land I need to survive; I shock and go to ONE LIFE, and cast Wrath of God, putting his crawler and vine on the bottom of his library. I've secured the board but I'm not out of the woods yet; Hogaak plays plenty of enchantment removal. His next turn sees a Insolent Neonate; I cast Kaya's Guile and force him to sacrifice it without value, while I pad my life total to 5. Fortunately I have my lingering souls to flashback, and creativity in my hand. I pull Elesh Norn, and while the opponent manages to remove Wheel with a wispmare, the 0/1 doesn't buy enough time for him to come back. I win with a 3/3 token and Elesh Norn beats.
Score: 2-1
The Hogaak deck is crazy strong. Every time I face it, even when I win, it feels more because the opponent drew badly. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite does an excellent job of locking the deck down, and is easily the strongest card against it.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
4 Ajani's Pridemate
2 Archangel of Thune
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Battle Screech
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
2 Conclave Tribunal
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Godless Shrine
8 Plains
1 Shefet Dunes
2 Windbrisk Heights
4 Windswept Heath
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Sundering Growth
3 Duress
2 Stony Silence
2 Tormod's Crypt
I actually play this BW- Token Deck on Budget, it was originally the Modern Event Deck, with some Minor tweakings:
//Lands
4 Caves of Koilos
2 City of Brass
2 Concealed Courtyard
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Plains
4 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Windbrisk Heights
//Spells
2 Dismember
4 Duress
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Legion's Landing
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Spectral Procession
2 Zealous Persecution
//Sideboard
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Kataki, War's Wage
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Soul Warden
3 Tidehollow Sculler
What would ya say, actually I ahave a budget from further 50$ to tweak it a bit, what would u suggest besides two further copies from IoK ?
The Windbrisk Heights are not really worth playing in my view and you really want to cut down on the Swamps, the Isolated Chapels and the Caves of Koilos. The latter two are strictly budget cards and both are bad in multiples. Swamps also make it tough to cast your Spectral Processions in a timely manner. Generally one Swamp is what you want but you need fetches to get there.
Unfortunately, even Flooded Strands are significantly higher in price that Windswept Heaths. Marsh Flats are significantly more expensive than Strands, but I'm not sure I'd spend money on Strands.
Two more Courtyards, two Shrines, and four Windswept Heaths would be a very good start but all together they are a little more than your budget. These will really improve your mana-base.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
2 Auriok Champion
Enchantment
1 Bitterblossom
4 Intangible Virtue
Land
4 Marsh Flats
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Shambling Vent
4 Concealed Courtyard
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Windbrisk Heights
4 Godless Shrine
4 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Silent Clearing
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Fatal Push
1 Sundering Growth
1 Dismember
4 Path to Exile
2 Raise the Alarm
1 Zealous Persecution
Sorcery
3 Thoughtseize
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
Planeswalker
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Serra the Benevolent
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Rest in Peace
1 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Runed Halo
2 Damping Sphere
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Sundering Growth
1 Zealous Persecution
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Stain the Mind
1 Day of Judgment
Very abbreviated reports, I'll try to remember and take better notes next time.
Round 1 RW Pheonix: 2-0
Game one was pretty close. I managed to swing leathal turn before they'd have burned me out.
Game 2 was a bit of a blowout. Didn't draw any of my hate but the mainboard sundering growth dealt with the aria of flame quite nicely and my opponent couldn't really get back in from there.
Round 2 Jund: 2-1
Game 1 managed to get a surprise win with zealous persecution past his board. It was a bit of a race to see if I could land more intangible virtues than he could get plague engineers.
Game 2 was going pretty well. Had Serra on board and managed to get her ult, but ended up dead to the drain from collective brutality. Admittedly I wasn't playing as carefully as I should have and let some attacks through that I probably shouldn't. I also hadn't realized that bitterblossom would kill me through a worship too.
Game 3 was handily in my favor. Had spirits, Anthems, and Sorrin and just flew over
Round 3 Ad Nauseum: 0-2
Game 1, quickly lost to Lightning storm combo
Game 2, sided in Runed Halo (named lightning storm), Leyline of sanctity, and some other stuff for creature removal, but promptly lost to ad nauseum -> Laboratory Maniac -> serum visions.
Round 4 Junk: 2-1
nothing too memorable.
Modern:
BWBW TokensWB
Commander:
BGMazirek's Budget BugsGB, BRRakdos's Robots (and Eldrazi)RB, RRKrenko, Goblin Combo-MasterRR, GGNylea, No-TrampleGG, BWAyli's ClericsWB,
WIP: BUR Crosis, Grixis Skies
https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=22565&f=MO