[Modern] ZOO A brief tutorial on Modern Zoo deckbuilding. v1.3.0
Updated 9/8/2011
More updates coming soon...
"Meow"
INTRO:
Traditionally, Zoo is a hyper-aggressive build that abuses the potential of undercosted, self-buffing weenies alongside burn and utility. Naya Zoo (the core of a Zoo build) is among the fastest aggro archetypes in the Modern format, and it almost certainly has the biggest toolbox. Thanks to the Ravnica Shocklands and Zendikar enemy Fetches, nothing substantial is lost from Legacy Zoo builds. One of the key components to Zoo's success is the general lack of a single, game-breaking card to draw hate, but rather a team of incredibly effecient creatures that maintain board advantage. With Zoo, efficiency is the name of the game.
THE CORE:
There are 6 creatures that essentially make up the core of Naya Zoo in this format.
It’s easy to see what these cards have in common: they have built-in growth or utility. They do not require the use of pump spells, equipment, or auras, because they take care of it themselves in combination with Fetches, Duals, and Burn. The best thing about that? You want to play all of those cards, anyway. There’s absolutely no downside.
As a result, you’ve got plenty of room in your deck for utility. Most utility cards in Naya Zoo are meant to be flexible: Deal with blockers/threats or smack your opponent’s dome. This is best accomplished through the use of burn, and most commonly:
Important Note:
There's a little combo, perhaps you've heard of it, known as Punishing Grove. It is a 2-card combo (Punishing Fire and Grove of the Burnwillows) that functions as a never-ending weenie-removal engine, or a continuous net dmg to player of 1 per use. You will see this combo in a variety of Zoo builds, including many of the most successful.
And since we have White, many like to include the removal staples:
Some prefer Tectonic Edge to Ghost Quarter because of tempo loss. Because Zoo runs on a low curve, I find the latter to be slightly better, particularly against decks like 12-post.
Purely aggressive builds work best with 26-32 creatures, 7-12 burn/utility, 21-22 lands including each of the Naya Shocklands, 2 playsets of Naya-colored enemy fetchlands, and a combination of Naya basics.
Mid-range builds (really on the low side of mid-range) work best with 22-26 creatures, 12-14 burn/utility, 22-24 lands.
THE WIN:
The goal is to sneak in with your 2/3, 3/3, 4/5 self-buffed critters turns 2-5 while your opponent is scrambling to set up his/her board. Clear out blockers with removal/burn and bolt your opponent’s face for the win. The clock is usually 4-5 turns. Your strategy is simple; your method is as visceral as the feral creatures in your zoo. Me smash things. If you prefer long, cerebral, soul-searching games (See Death and Taxes), this deck is not for you. It wins or it runs out of gas.
The following cards represent the makeup of flexible slots in Naya Zoo decklists.
WWW Ranger of Eos - Some swear by this card, I find him too little too late. Turn 4 is generally the kill turn. I like him sideboarded for slower matchups or against removal/sweep-heavy decks.
Steppe Lynx - Seems to make a good deal of sense in Zoo, but can be less reliable than Kird Ape, Wild Nacatl, Loam Lion. When he connects with a couple of Fetchlands/KotR, he is deadly.
Isamaru, Hound of Konda - Ehh, no. If he wasn't Legendary, yes. Even then he's actually weaker than Nacatl/Ape 90% of the time.
RRR Goblin Guide - Looking to fill that last 1-drop slot in Zoo? Sure, why not Goblin Guide? He's everything you want in hyper-aggro. Downside is barely a downside. 2 damage on turn 1 is nothing to scoff at, and he sticks around to continue beating, unlike, say, Bolt.
Grim Lavamancer - Has proven success in Legacy, so he deserves consideration. I generally prefer aggro 1-drops, but with all the fetches, burn and removal hitting the yard, I imagine he won't run out of gas. Synergy with KotR is good and bad. More food for lavamancer, less power for knights.
Punishing Fire While Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix are (generally) non-negotiable, Punishing Fire is often used in combination with Grove of the Burnwillows. A powerful combo that further prohibits opponents' board development, clears blockers, and nets 1 dmg per use.
Rift Bolt - Not a bad play, necessarily. More damage than you could incur on turn two with a creature, but substantially weaker than traditional Bolt or Helix. This could see play in mid-range decks or decks that lean toward RDW. Sorcery means likely +1/+1 for yer goyf
Tribal Flames - Used in 4c or 5c Zoo lists where it really shines. Most commonly found in Dark Zoo lists.
Lava Spike - Closest you can really get to another Lightning Bolt, though it lacks instant speed and doesn't target creatures. Much like Rift Bolt, when this hits the yard, it's likely going to pump your goyf. Most utility cards in Zoo are Instants.
Noble Hierarch - Mana-fixer and ramp, exalted, 1-drop. Turn 2 kotrs, makes bloodbraids more accessible.
Skinshifter - Possible budget replacement for goyf or KotR in more casual builds. Possibly more effective because of his evasion in SFM variants as a sword-carrier where he can benefit from protection. He turns into a Rhino, a Bird, and a Plant, so I want very badly to put him in my Zooo, but the fact that you have to invest mana into him each turn to make him effective makes him less appealing than goyf. Nevertheless, I'm going to test a Naya Cage-blade Zoo variant. (Because he looks like Nick Cage, duh)
Lotus Cobra - Fetches + KotR = lots of ramp. But where to put all that mana? Probably better in Big Zoo.
Beast Within - This card has superior alternatives in White, and fortunately we're playing White.
123 Aether Vial - Controversial. Many would include this card, but many others believe it's less effective than a Nacatl turn 1. Because this deck can effectively be played with 1-3 lands on the board, Vial is, in many ways, unnecessary, and it can actually slow you down or clog up your hand. The card's purpose is to A: Free up mana (less useful in a format with fewer outlets), and B: Allow one to cast creature spells at instant speed. Both of these advantages can be considered defensive, and the deck is predominantly an offensive one. Pro results beg to differ with me in some cases, and, while I defer to them, I want to see how Modern develops before I put it into my decklists. This card is a target, and you can count on meta hate piling up on it.
RGW Figure of Destiny - Excellent, versatile 1-drop. Probably the most common alternative in his slot. Permanently and instantly makes himself bigger and better. Great place to put extra mana, and because Zoo has such a low curve, there's often extra mana.
Gaddock Teeg - Has a good deal of built-in utility for a 2-drop, but feels better in sideboard against controllish decks, much like Dauntless Escort.
Kitchen Finks - Extraordinarily resilient and useful card. Negates effects of Shocklands, which can be helpful against other aggro decks. Almost always nets the full 4 life and squeaks in an attack or a block or both.
Land: Ghost Quarter - As I've been looking around at decklists, and playtesting it a bit myself, this card is better than Tectonic Edge in this deck. It stops land-based combos, it can create mana-fixing issues for opponents running 3-colors, it feeds KotR, it doesn't discriminate based on type, it can be a Strip Mine in some cases because most competitive decks in the format are running, oh, 5 or so basics. It's downright good.
Grove of the Burnwillows - This card is a beast in combination with Punishing Fire, and it is frequently maindecked. In Zoo it should never be used without Punishing Fire. Ever.
BBB Dark Confidant - Bob, as he is usually called, generates card advantage very early on, and swings for 2. He fits Zoo for a couple of reasons: He's incredibly efficient, and he fixes the stalling issues that most Zoo lists face around turns 4-5 in the event that the game hasn't ended yet. He is good enough to be worth building around, and found in many competitive lists.
BUDGET ALTERNATIVES:
Courtesy of kidlantern
Below is an explanation of the value of Tarmogoyf in Zoo, budget replacement options we have at our disposal, and why they're all worse than goyf...
I think Im going to just link people to this post when they ask about "Tarmogoyf budget replacements" Hopefully this can be a indepth answer and save everyone some time explaining over and over again.
In this post I will be explaining why "da goyf" if a irreplaceable card, why it is so powerful, and what you can do to imperfectly replace him (Or her. Who knows)
Goyf is so powerful because he is a beater for 2 cmc. He easily gets to 4/5 with out much effort, but sees play as a 5/6 or even 6/7 at times. He is graveyard dependent, but on all Graves, which is huge. Many times you can cast a "squire goyf" turn 2. That is saying one fetch land probably hit the grave yard. Saying they put out a creature and you bolt it, and also they ponder, your looking at at turn 3 4/5 goyf. A Leatherback goyf. Pretty big.
So why does everyone want him? Low mana cost means he is a beater for all decks. He costs 1G meaning he can be splashed for, and he doesnt have a high color requirement. He's a good topdeck because when hes big (barring hate) he probably will be just as big, if not bigger late game. He gets big on his own, meaning you can go about your business, and he probably will grow all on his own with out you dedicating much thought to it. And thats the real key to him, thus in bold.
That covers why hes so powerful. Now on to why hes irreplaceable. Although there are many cards that do some of these things, none do it as well as tarmogoyf. Others do it less efficient (They cost more, dedicate more to making it happen, or cost more.) Its as simple as that.
Now how to replace him. It isnt as simple as "Fill gap with this", what you wanna do instead is to change up your gameplan a little bit. In Zoo speicifly heres what you can do. Id suggest choosing one.
2. Get a big body for cheap. couple options here. Leatherback behemoth- 4/5 your average goyf size. 3 green mana is tougher to pull off then youd think though Woolly Thoctar-5/4 that doesnt need the grave. Costs 3, means he comes online turn 4. that can stuck. His smaller butt means he might loose the knight/goyf war. Scab-Clan Mauler or Stormblood Berserker Dependent on you doing damage before summoning it. Garruk's Companion- worse then above but worth putting on this "all inclusive list" Keldon Marauders3/3 that will disapper but will leave a bloody trail before it goes Watchwolf used in very old zoo lists. replaced by goyf.
3. Specializing your game plan to fix it. Jötun Grunt- Makes their knights/goyfs smaller. It would make yours too (which can suck) and its harder to keep alive. Quirion Dryad gets bigger as you cast more spells. Burn is awesome with this. Bad top deck (it starts off as a 1/1 and you got to start all over) Kavu Predator Use with grove of the burnwillows. Combo with punishing fire. Has actually won a higher event.
4. Mana ramp instead- Use Noble Hierarch or something to ramp into bigger things
5. Burn. Use more burn. ect.
6. Get a hold of one or 2 tarmogoyfs and fill the hole with Green Sun Zenith. G/W Maverick in legacy does this.
7. Play a different deck. Zoo is good. Zoo is popular, thus it has a high demand. Supply and demand will make cards more expensive. He is used in legacy and modern. If budget is an issue, you should seriously consider building a different deck. Rouge decks tend to be more fun and give edges in "Unknown"
Lastly Im going to add a key words of how big the goyf is. I hope everyone uses this for fun sake.
I'm tempted to call the 8/9 goyf Captain Planet, actually.
VARIANTS:
***Courtesy of slipknot72102***
Please note that many of these decklists have not been updated from their pre-banlist forms (most notably the presence of Jitte in just about every list.) Decklists will be modified as testing results come in. Updates coming...
Here is the deck that made Top 8 in PT Philly 2011, Modern. Mid-range with control elements, notably Bant Charm and sideboard. While the deck runs only 18 creatures, that number is really 22 with 4 copies of GSZ.
The only problem with Beast Within is that its counter intuitive to play in an aggro deck, seeing as giving the opponent a free 3/3 blocker isn't exactly what you want.
Not entirely accurate. I didn't forget goyf, I intentionally left it out as this is still technically a casual format, and doubling the price tag seems optional to me. It should be mentioned that Tarmogoyf is a must-have for competitive purposes, and it's a total powerhouse in Zoo.
Beast Within seems like a good sideboard card at minimum. It's instant speed land destruction if you need it and you should generally be able to outfight the token.
The formats slow enough that Bloodbraid Elf and/or Ranger of Eos are viable. I prefer Bloodbraid personally, as long as your opponent has a creature there are no dead cascades. The steppe lynx plan could also be viable if you want a faster approach.
Really? I've found that the format has a lot of fast combo. Anyway, IMHO Ranger of Eos should be left in the board for slower matchup because he does not pressure the opponent immediately. Bloodbraid Elf is good though because it does damage once it hits the board and also provides card advantage and like you said has almost no dead cascades in zoo. Also, I'm pretty sure that the deck wants 4 Path to Exile to fight opponents Goyfs and stuff.
I don't know if this is correct, but it's what I've been doing to some degree of success in my playgroup.
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Thanks to SushiOtter at Hakai Studios for the great banner.
I think Beast Within is very counter intuitive. O-ring instead if you want that kind of removal, although I would rather have 4x Path because you mainly want to clear a path for your creatues to bash through. Goblin Guide is good as it can hit on T1, it could replace Kird Ape as a red 1-drop. Also, has anyone thought of Æther Vial?
However, in today's culture of Justin Bieber, Jersey Shore, and Twilight, where every song on the radio, every program on television and every site on the internet is just another monument to the pinnacle of human stupidity, it's certainly not the worst thing that people could be watching.
The problem with vial is that Zoo wants to be playing threats, if you draw vial and a one drop you probably want to play the one drop first. If you draw no one drops and vial, you want to mulligan that hand. In theory it sounds nice but Zoo really just wants to be beating down rather than cheating in dudes. Plus a lot of the creatures are 1 or 2 mana so you're not really getting that much value out of Vial.
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On Mono Black in Commander:
Quote from BlackJack68 »
But whomever your commander is, Cabal Coffers is really in charge.
The problem with vial is that Zoo wants to be playing threats, if you draw vial and a one drop you probably want to play the one drop first. If you draw no one drops and vial, you want to mulligan that hand. In theory it sounds nice but Zoo really just wants to be beating down rather than cheating in dudes. Plus a lot of the creatures are 1 or 2 mana so you're not really getting that much value out of Vial.
This is why you don't play vial, it's good against counterbalence in legacy, but zoo wants threats against that deck, not an artifact.
Does anyone think the Stoneforge Mystic/ Fire/ice package would be good in this?
Also, 3 paths seems to be the right number.
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Originally Posted by Arcadic View Post
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how many one drops can a zoo list really take. Why not any wrath / day its a good backup plan and I suspect that hypergenesis combo is going to cheat a few spaghetti monsters into play and that does answer it.
Is lightning helix really still all that good. I'd rather play something like oblivion ring seeing as we don't know what impact jace is going to have on this new format.
I'm intrigued that no one has thought of elspeth yet.
I'm a fan of ranger of eos. It gives awesome reach in the late game. Consider it. Nothing compares to playing it as your last card in hand and swinging for the win with 2 nacatl's and just btw if you are playing more than 4 one drops you really can't afford to be playing cipt lands. Kataki, war's wage really should be in SB somewhere because of I remember correctly disciple is not banned
EDIT
Got some play testing in and I must say the ranger has got to be in the main. I played a chalice deck and the actually All is dust Three times and I still won on the back of two rangers tutoring 4 wild nacatl's. Really goodstuff. I'll playtest some more and get back to you guys. Something I realised is you cant keep a hand without one drops. Maybe inexperience on my part
As a legacy zoo player who never played extended, I was wondering how this deck would have any reach without Fireblast and Price of Progress? I would think it would have to be rather burn heavy, maybe something like Pancho's build but adding Tribal Flames as a finisher.
As a legacy zoo player who never played extended, I was wondering how this deck would have any reach without Fireblast and Price of Progress? I would think it would have to be rather burn heavy, maybe something like Pancho's build but adding Tribal Flames as a finisher.
Towards the end of the last season of Old Extended, Zoo decks started to play more disruptive elements as seen in the Boom//Bust Zoo deck or played a more midrange-y build with Bant Charm so they didn't really need reach. Tribal Zoo fell out of favor because the manabase honestly just kills you since you want all 5 colors for Tribal Flames but you can't afford to play them tapped so each land drop costed you 3 life. I think the Big Zoo might be the way to go here since you don't really have the burn of Legacy Zoo.
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On Mono Black in Commander:
Quote from BlackJack68 »
But whomever your commander is, Cabal Coffers is really in charge.
I think stoneforge mystic and bloodbraid elf should find a spot.
maybe the collar sparkmage combo is worth a try?
Stoneforge Mystic could probably get a spot in Big Zoo but it's probably too slow for Little Zoo, Sparkmage is horrible in the deck without collar so I don't think he is worth the spot. As for BBE, she's kind of bad compared to your other creatures but if you want to play Boom//Bust Zoo then she is a must.
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On Mono Black in Commander:
Quote from BlackJack68 »
But whomever your commander is, Cabal Coffers is really in charge.
Stoneforge Mystic could probably get a spot in Big Zoo but it's probably too slow for Little Zoo, Sparkmage is horrible in the deck without collar so I don't think he is worth the spot. As for BBE, she's kind of bad compared to your other creatures but if you want to play Boom//Bust Zoo then she is a must.
BBE without Cascade is bad compared to your other creatures; but you have to understand that she comes attached with another one of the better creatures in the deck; or a Helix/Bolt/Removal Spell.
She's pure value; can cycle you through a fatal land pocket and gives Zoo some CA. There's no dead cascades in the deck unless the opponent is creatureless or without any sort of permanents and even then it's only 3 to 5 cards that would be dead in those situations; (and honestly, if an opponent doesn't have creatures or permanents on the board; a 3/2 haste for 4 seems decent...)
(as an aside have you ever played with BBE? In any deck? I've never not wanted to see her in my hand; and given that this format is going to be slow enough for 4cc drops to be decent then I don't see any reason for her to not show up in this deck.)
Towards the end of the last season of Old Extended, Zoo decks started to play more disruptive elements as seen in the Boom//Bust Zoo deck or played a more midrange-y build with Bant Charm so they didn't really need reach. Tribal Zoo fell out of favor because the manabase honestly just kills you since you want all 5 colors for Tribal Flames but you can't afford to play them tapped so each land drop costed you 3 life. I think the Big Zoo might be the way to go here since you don't really have the burn of Legacy Zoo.
You may be correct, though I've never cared for big zoo variants all that much. I would suspect that with the control players playing 4x JTMS and the combo players going off with Dragonstorm on turn 4 (?) that I would want the most hyperaggressive build possible to win by turn 4, that way it keeps pace with combo and punishes control for relying on 4-drops. On the play, I guess Elspeth 1.0 would be alright, but I'm not sure I'd want her on the draw, and no more than a couple in any event. I might even be willing to play fast and loose with my own life total in the 60, and have some stuff to go big in the board in aggro mirrors.
Also, in response to some other thoughts in this thread, SFM has always felt to me like a total tempo killer in aggressive decks. I've played her in some casual tribal legacy decks that had an aggro plan and still have no idea what to do with my mana on turn 3 if I cast her turn 2. It actually feels the best to hold a sword in hand until turn 4 then vial it in and equip same turn, otherwise it seems to waste tempo or mana or both. If it were some really cheap equipment (non-sword) maybe it would fit together somehow.
BBE without Cascade is bad compared to your other creatures; but you have to understand that she comes attached with another one of the better creatures in the deck; or a Helix/Bolt/Removal Spell.
She's pure value; can cycle you through a fatal land pocket and gives Zoo some CA. There's no dead cascades in the deck unless the opponent is creatureless or without any sort of permanents and even then it's only 3 to 5 cards that would be dead in those situations; (and honestly, if an opponent doesn't have creatures or permanents on the board; a 3/2 haste for 4 seems decent...)
(as an aside have you ever played with BBE? In any deck? I've never not wanted to see her in my hand; and given that this format is going to be slow enough for 4cc drops to be decent then I don't see any reason for her to not show up in this deck.)
I actually played Zoo back in old extended and honestly I didn't really like her at all, some times she'd hit a relevant spell and be awesome and other times she would blank and be a bad 4 drop. She is just not better than any of the other 4 drops (Namely Elspeth) and that is why I don't think she has a place in Zoo outside of Boom//Bust Zoo where you can cascade into Blood Moon or Boom//Bust and just blow your opponent out completely. I also played Jund during Standard when it was really popular and New Extended. And BBE happens to be one of my favorite creatures ever and I'll play just about any deck that plays her, but Zoo really isn't one of them.
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On Mono Black in Commander:
Quote from BlackJack68 »
But whomever your commander is, Cabal Coffers is really in charge.
Zoo can't really afford it in the maindeck, you need fetchlands and shocklands to turn on your Nacatls, Loam Lions, and Kird Apes plus very few of your spells have more than 1 colorless mana so lands which don't tap for colored mana basically don't tap for mana half of the time. It might be alright in the SB against hypergenesis since Ghost Quarter is a strip mine against them.
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On Mono Black in Commander:
Quote from BlackJack68 »
But whomever your commander is, Cabal Coffers is really in charge.
I too am building a Modern Zoo. My question is the mana base. So using Fetches combined with shock lands, so I will basically be taking a lightning bolt to the face everytime I want to play a land. Is this gonna be the breaking point of this deck? Because it seems like an RDW build would have short work of me.....
I too am building a Modern Zoo. My question is the mana base. So using Fetches combined with shock lands, so I will basically be taking a lightning bolt to the face everytime I want to play a land. Is this gonna be the breaking point of this deck? Because it seems like an RDW build would have short work of me.....
This is something that I had some concerns about initially, since legacy zoo uses straight duals. Put those concerns to rest, though, because this archetype still wins fast enough to make it irrelevant. If you're nearly dead from your fetches and shocklands, A: Why the heck do you need so much land? and B: you're probably not going to win at this point, anyway.
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ZOO
A brief tutorial on Modern Zoo deckbuilding. v1.3.0
More updates coming soon...
"Meow"
INTRO:
Traditionally, Zoo is a hyper-aggressive build that abuses the potential of undercosted, self-buffing weenies alongside burn and utility. Naya Zoo (the core of a Zoo build) is among the fastest aggro archetypes in the Modern format, and it almost certainly has the biggest toolbox. Thanks to the Ravnica Shocklands and Zendikar enemy Fetches, nothing substantial is lost from Legacy Zoo builds. One of the key components to Zoo's success is the general lack of a single, game-breaking card to draw hate, but rather a team of incredibly effecient creatures that maintain board advantage. With Zoo, efficiency is the name of the game.
THE CORE:
There are 6 creatures that essentially make up the core of Naya Zoo in this format.
1 Loam Lion
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Knight of the Reliquary
It’s easy to see what these cards have in common: they have built-in growth or utility. They do not require the use of pump spells, equipment, or auras, because they take care of it themselves in combination with Fetches, Duals, and Burn. The best thing about that? You want to play all of those cards, anyway. There’s absolutely no downside.
As a result, you’ve got plenty of room in your deck for utility. Most utility cards in Naya Zoo are meant to be flexible: Deal with blockers/threats or smack your opponent’s dome. This is best accomplished through the use of burn, and most commonly:
1 Lightning Helix
1 Lava Spike
1 Incinerate
1 Punishing Fire
Important Note:
There's a little combo, perhaps you've heard of it, known as Punishing Grove. It is a 2-card combo (Punishing Fire and Grove of the Burnwillows) that functions as a never-ending weenie-removal engine, or a continuous net dmg to player of 1 per use. You will see this combo in a variety of Zoo builds, including many of the most successful.
And since we have White, many like to include the removal staples:
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Temporal Isolation
And the mana base consists of a combination (some optional) of the following (in addition to a small number of basics)...
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Arid Mesa
1 Marsh Flats
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Ghost Quarter
Some prefer Tectonic Edge to Ghost Quarter because of tempo loss. Because Zoo runs on a low curve, I find the latter to be slightly better, particularly against decks like 12-post.
Purely aggressive builds work best with 26-32 creatures, 7-12 burn/utility, 21-22 lands including each of the Naya Shocklands, 2 playsets of Naya-colored enemy fetchlands, and a combination of Naya basics.
Mid-range builds (really on the low side of mid-range) work best with 22-26 creatures, 12-14 burn/utility, 22-24 lands.
THE WIN:
The goal is to sneak in with your 2/3, 3/3, 4/5 self-buffed critters turns 2-5 while your opponent is scrambling to set up his/her board. Clear out blockers with removal/burn and bolt your opponent’s face for the win. The clock is usually 4-5 turns. Your strategy is simple; your method is as visceral as the feral creatures in your zoo. Me smash things. If you prefer long, cerebral, soul-searching games (See Death and Taxes), this deck is not for you. It wins or it runs out of gas.
Sample Decklists:
4 Kird Ape
3 Loam Lion
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Marsh Flats
2 Temple Garden
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Stomping Ground
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Gaddock Teeg
3 Stigma Lasher
3 Dauntless Escort
2 Vexing Shusher
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Kird Ape
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Bant Charm
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
1 Voidslime
2 Spell Pierce
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
2 Temple Garden
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Unified Will
2 Meddling Mage
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Molten Rain
2 Tribal Flames
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Kavu Predator
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Wild Nacatl
2 Fiery Justice
2 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Punishing Fire
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Fiery Justice
1 Kitchen Finks
4 Thoughts of Ruin
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
[20 other spells]
3 Bant Charm
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
[22 lands]
4 Arid Mesa
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Horizon Canopy
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Ground
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple Garden
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Flashfreeze
2 Gideon Jura
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Rule of Law
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Unified Will
FLEX CARDS:
The following cards represent the makeup of flexible slots in Naya Zoo decklists.
WWW
Ranger of Eos - Some swear by this card, I find him too little too late. Turn 4 is generally the kill turn. I like him sideboarded for slower matchups or against removal/sweep-heavy decks.
Steppe Lynx - Seems to make a good deal of sense in Zoo, but can be less reliable than Kird Ape, Wild Nacatl, Loam Lion. When he connects with a couple of Fetchlands/KotR, he is deadly.
Isamaru, Hound of Konda - Ehh, no. If he wasn't Legendary, yes. Even then he's actually weaker than Nacatl/Ape 90% of the time.
RRR
Goblin Guide - Looking to fill that last 1-drop slot in Zoo? Sure, why not Goblin Guide? He's everything you want in hyper-aggro. Downside is barely a downside. 2 damage on turn 1 is nothing to scoff at, and he sticks around to continue beating, unlike, say, Bolt.
Grim Lavamancer - Has proven success in Legacy, so he deserves consideration. I generally prefer aggro 1-drops, but with all the fetches, burn and removal hitting the yard, I imagine he won't run out of gas. Synergy with KotR is good and bad. More food for lavamancer, less power for knights.
Punishing Fire While Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix are (generally) non-negotiable, Punishing Fire is often used in combination with Grove of the Burnwillows. A powerful combo that further prohibits opponents' board development, clears blockers, and nets 1 dmg per use.
Rift Bolt - Not a bad play, necessarily. More damage than you could incur on turn two with a creature, but substantially weaker than traditional Bolt or Helix. This could see play in mid-range decks or decks that lean toward RDW. Sorcery means likely +1/+1 for yer goyf
Tribal Flames - Used in 4c or 5c Zoo lists where it really shines. Most commonly found in Dark Zoo lists.
Lava Spike - Closest you can really get to another Lightning Bolt, though it lacks instant speed and doesn't target creatures. Much like Rift Bolt, when this hits the yard, it's likely going to pump your goyf. Most utility cards in Zoo are Instants.
GGG
Scythe Tiger - Major tempo problems.
Noble Hierarch - Mana-fixer and ramp, exalted, 1-drop. Turn 2 kotrs, makes bloodbraids more accessible.
Skinshifter - Possible budget replacement for goyf or KotR in more casual builds. Possibly more effective because of his evasion in SFM variants as a sword-carrier where he can benefit from protection. He turns into a Rhino, a Bird, and a Plant, so I want very badly to put him in my Zooo, but the fact that you have to invest mana into him each turn to make him effective makes him less appealing than goyf. Nevertheless, I'm going to test a Naya Cage-blade Zoo variant. (Because he looks like Nick Cage, duh)
Lotus Cobra - Fetches + KotR = lots of ramp. But where to put all that mana? Probably better in Big Zoo.
Beast Within - This card has superior alternatives in White, and fortunately we're playing White.
123
Aether Vial - Controversial. Many would include this card, but many others believe it's less effective than a Nacatl turn 1. Because this deck can effectively be played with 1-3 lands on the board, Vial is, in many ways, unnecessary, and it can actually slow you down or clog up your hand. The card's purpose is to A: Free up mana (less useful in a format with fewer outlets), and B: Allow one to cast creature spells at instant speed. Both of these advantages can be considered defensive, and the deck is predominantly an offensive one. Pro results beg to differ with me in some cases, and, while I defer to them, I want to see how Modern develops before I put it into my decklists. This card is a target, and you can count on meta hate piling up on it.
RGW
Figure of Destiny - Excellent, versatile 1-drop. Probably the most common alternative in his slot. Permanently and instantly makes himself bigger and better. Great place to put extra mana, and because Zoo has such a low curve, there's often extra mana.
Gaddock Teeg - Has a good deal of built-in utility for a 2-drop, but feels better in sideboard against controllish decks, much like Dauntless Escort.
Kitchen Finks - Extraordinarily resilient and useful card. Negates effects of Shocklands, which can be helpful against other aggro decks. Almost always nets the full 4 life and squeaks in an attack or a block or both.
Bloodbraid Elf - Great alternative to Ranger of Eos in mid-range decks. Better in many cases.
Land:
Ghost Quarter - As I've been looking around at decklists, and playtesting it a bit myself, this card is better than Tectonic Edge in this deck. It stops land-based combos, it can create mana-fixing issues for opponents running 3-colors, it feeds KotR, it doesn't discriminate based on type, it can be a Strip Mine in some cases because most competitive decks in the format are running, oh, 5 or so basics. It's downright good.
Grove of the Burnwillows - This card is a beast in combination with Punishing Fire, and it is frequently maindecked. In Zoo it should never be used without Punishing Fire. Ever.
BBB
Dark Confidant - Bob, as he is usually called, generates card advantage very early on, and swings for 2. He fits Zoo for a couple of reasons: He's incredibly efficient, and he fixes the stalling issues that most Zoo lists face around turns 4-5 in the event that the game hasn't ended yet. He is good enough to be worth building around, and found in many competitive lists.
BUDGET ALTERNATIVES:
Courtesy of kidlantern
Below is an explanation of the value of Tarmogoyf in Zoo, budget replacement options we have at our disposal, and why they're all worse than goyf...
I'm tempted to call the 8/9 goyf Captain Planet, actually.
***Courtesy of slipknot72102***
Please note that many of these decklists have not been updated from their pre-banlist forms (most notably the presence of Jitte in just about every list.) Decklists will be modified as testing results come in. Updates coming...
Tsuyoshi Ikeda
Pro Tour–Austin Top 8, ExtendedMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
1 Forest
4 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Stomping Ground
3 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
3 Verdant Catacombs
22 lands
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
20 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Timely Reinforcements
4 Spectral Procession
18 other spells
2 Countryside Crusher
2 Flashfires
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Otherworldly Journey
3 Ravenous Trap
2 Riftsweeper
3 Volcanic Fallout
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Kavu Predator
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Wild Nacatl
2 Fiery Justice
2 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Punishing Fire
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Fiery Justice
1 Kitchen Finks
4 Thoughts of Ruin
Here is the deck that made Top 8 in PT Philly 2011, Modern. Mid-range with control elements, notably Bant Charm and sideboard. While the deck runs only 18 creatures, that number is really 22 with 4 copies of GSZ.
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
[20 other spells]
3 Bant Charm
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
[22 lands]
4 Arid Mesa
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Horizon Canopy
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Ground
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple Garden
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Flashfreeze
2 Gideon Jura
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Rule of Law
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Unified Will
Extended – Winner, PTQ for PT–San Juan Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
[16 other spells]
3 Blood Moon
4 Boom // Bust
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Temporal Isolation
4 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
2 Marsh Flats
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
2 Verdant Catacombs
Pro Tour–Austin 1st place, PT AustinMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
24 lands
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
21 creatures
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Punishing Fire
15 other spells
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Blood Moon
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Kataki, War's Wage
4 Meddling Mage
15 sideboard cards
Pro Tour–Austin Top 8, ExtendedMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
23 lands
2 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Plated Geopede
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
22 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Molten Rain
3 Path to Exile
15 other spells
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
4 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Gaddock Teeg
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Ravenous Trap
Pro Tour–Austin Top 8, ExtendedMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
1 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
21 lands
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kird Ape
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
23 creatures
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Might of Alara
3 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
16 other spells
1 drop zoo: runs 12+ 1cmc creatures. technically GWR sligh. Wrecked by chalice. Big time.
4 Loam Lion
4 Kird Ape
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
3 Lava Spike
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Marsh Flats
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Stomping Ground
3 Temple Garden
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Pithing Needle
3 Dauntless Escort
4 Path to Exile
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Surgical Extraction
Higdur's Dark Zoo list, taken from Modern Daily results: 4-0
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
2 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Kird Ape
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Might of Alara
4 Molten Rain
Need some good lists for:
Please post your decklists.
CG
Also, no goyf?
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Kird Ape
4x Knight of the Reliquary
4x Loam Lion
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Wild Nacatl
3x Qasali Pridemage
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lightning Helix
2x Path to Exile
Meh, seems fine.
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
Not entirely accurate. I didn't forget goyf, I intentionally left it out as this is still technically a casual format, and doubling the price tag seems optional to me. It should be mentioned that Tarmogoyf is a must-have for competitive purposes, and it's a total powerhouse in Zoo.
CG
Really? I've found that the format has a lot of fast combo. Anyway, IMHO Ranger of Eos should be left in the board for slower matchup because he does not pressure the opponent immediately. Bloodbraid Elf is good though because it does damage once it hits the board and also provides card advantage and like you said has almost no dead cascades in zoo. Also, I'm pretty sure that the deck wants 4 Path to Exile to fight opponents Goyfs and stuff.
I don't know if this is correct, but it's what I've been doing to some degree of success in my playgroup.
I'm Da_Man on Cockatrice
The problem with vial is that Zoo wants to be playing threats, if you draw vial and a one drop you probably want to play the one drop first. If you draw no one drops and vial, you want to mulligan that hand. In theory it sounds nice but Zoo really just wants to be beating down rather than cheating in dudes. Plus a lot of the creatures are 1 or 2 mana so you're not really getting that much value out of Vial.
This is why you don't play vial, it's good against counterbalence in legacy, but zoo wants threats against that deck, not an artifact.
Does anyone think the Stoneforge Mystic/ Fire/ice package would be good in this?
Also, 3 paths seems to be the right number.
scumbag
Want Higher Level Card Evaluation? Visit Diestoremoval.com
4 Arid Mesa
2 Marsh Flats
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Verdant Catacombs
3 Stomping Ground
3 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Godless Shrine
CREATURES (26)
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Wild Nacalt
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
2 Goblin Guide
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rift Bolt
4 Aether Vial
4 Oblivion Ring
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Ancient Grudge
If I can find someone online, I'm gonna test it this night and tell you about it.
The clan for custom card creators!
Is lightning helix really still all that good. I'd rather play something like oblivion ring seeing as we don't know what impact jace is going to have on this new format.
I'm intrigued that no one has thought of elspeth yet.
I'm a fan of ranger of eos. It gives awesome reach in the late game. Consider it. Nothing compares to playing it as your last card in hand and swinging for the win with 2 nacatl's and just btw if you are playing more than 4 one drops you really can't afford to be playing cipt lands. Kataki, war's wage really should be in SB somewhere because of I remember correctly disciple is not banned
EDIT
Got some play testing in and I must say the ranger has got to be in the main. I played a chalice deck and the actually All is dust Three times and I still won on the back of two rangers tutoring 4 wild nacatl's. Really goodstuff. I'll playtest some more and get back to you guys. Something I realised is you cant keep a hand without one drops. Maybe inexperience on my part
Insert witty phrase here
Towards the end of the last season of Old Extended, Zoo decks started to play more disruptive elements as seen in the Boom//Bust Zoo deck or played a more midrange-y build with Bant Charm so they didn't really need reach. Tribal Zoo fell out of favor because the manabase honestly just kills you since you want all 5 colors for Tribal Flames but you can't afford to play them tapped so each land drop costed you 3 life. I think the Big Zoo might be the way to go here since you don't really have the burn of Legacy Zoo.
Seems like an auto-include to me.
Modern
:rakdos::selesnya: goblins
:symr::symb::symg: Glass Cannon Griselbrand
sig made by Hakai Studios (http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=6100225)
Stoneforge Mystic could probably get a spot in Big Zoo but it's probably too slow for Little Zoo, Sparkmage is horrible in the deck without collar so I don't think he is worth the spot. As for BBE, she's kind of bad compared to your other creatures but if you want to play Boom//Bust Zoo then she is a must.
BBE without Cascade is bad compared to your other creatures; but you have to understand that she comes attached with another one of the better creatures in the deck; or a Helix/Bolt/Removal Spell.
She's pure value; can cycle you through a fatal land pocket and gives Zoo some CA. There's no dead cascades in the deck unless the opponent is creatureless or without any sort of permanents and even then it's only 3 to 5 cards that would be dead in those situations; (and honestly, if an opponent doesn't have creatures or permanents on the board; a 3/2 haste for 4 seems decent...)
(as an aside have you ever played with BBE? In any deck? I've never not wanted to see her in my hand; and given that this format is going to be slow enough for 4cc drops to be decent then I don't see any reason for her to not show up in this deck.)
Sig courtesy of DOLZero
You may be correct, though I've never cared for big zoo variants all that much. I would suspect that with the control players playing 4x JTMS and the combo players going off with Dragonstorm on turn 4 (?) that I would want the most hyperaggressive build possible to win by turn 4, that way it keeps pace with combo and punishes control for relying on 4-drops. On the play, I guess Elspeth 1.0 would be alright, but I'm not sure I'd want her on the draw, and no more than a couple in any event. I might even be willing to play fast and loose with my own life total in the 60, and have some stuff to go big in the board in aggro mirrors.
Also, in response to some other thoughts in this thread, SFM has always felt to me like a total tempo killer in aggressive decks. I've played her in some casual tribal legacy decks that had an aggro plan and still have no idea what to do with my mana on turn 3 if I cast her turn 2. It actually feels the best to hold a sword in hand until turn 4 then vial it in and equip same turn, otherwise it seems to waste tempo or mana or both. If it were some really cheap equipment (non-sword) maybe it would fit together somehow.
I actually played Zoo back in old extended and honestly I didn't really like her at all, some times she'd hit a relevant spell and be awesome and other times she would blank and be a bad 4 drop. She is just not better than any of the other 4 drops (Namely Elspeth) and that is why I don't think she has a place in Zoo outside of Boom//Bust Zoo where you can cascade into Blood Moon or Boom//Bust and just blow your opponent out completely. I also played Jund during Standard when it was really popular and New Extended. And BBE happens to be one of my favorite creatures ever and I'll play just about any deck that plays her, but Zoo really isn't one of them.
Insert witty phrase here
Zoo can't really afford it in the maindeck, you need fetchlands and shocklands to turn on your Nacatls, Loam Lions, and Kird Apes plus very few of your spells have more than 1 colorless mana so lands which don't tap for colored mana basically don't tap for mana half of the time. It might be alright in the SB against hypergenesis since Ghost Quarter is a strip mine against them.
This is something that I had some concerns about initially, since legacy zoo uses straight duals. Put those concerns to rest, though, because this archetype still wins fast enough to make it irrelevant. If you're nearly dead from your fetches and shocklands, A: Why the heck do you need so much land? and B: you're probably not going to win at this point, anyway.
CG