Let me first start out by saying, I'm not sure I am posting this in the right place. If not, feel free to remove/move it if needed. This is my take on a deck in the new standard that will be coming with Guilds of Ravnica. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I thought this would be a great start. Also the manabase is a little iffy, I may cut 1-2 isolated chapel for another swamp/forest.
It looks like you don't have a plan. Almost all those 1-ofs are just bad cards that are really high on the mana curve, and you have no ramp
Why add White? It makes your mana worse, and you're pretty much just getting removal that BG can already replicate.
If you're trying to build around Stitcher's Supplier and Glowspore Shaman, have you tried making the whole build lower to the ground to make the 3/1 body relevant? I haven't worked out a good build yet, but I think those two are going to fit together with Charnel Troll, Plaguecrafter, Thorn Lieutenant and one of the green Hexproof 4-drops in a more aggressive build.
2. What is the deck doing exactly besides putting cards in the graveyard? It looks like it is just going to durdle around, kill a few creatures/permanents, then die.
I recommend cutting most (or all) of your one-of's. Go to Scryfall and search for cards that interact with the Graveyard in Black/Green. EmeticLunch has some good ideas with the creatures he mentioned. Another great graveyard payoff is Bone Dragon.
2. What is the deck doing exactly besides putting cards in the graveyard? It looks like it is just going to durdle around, kill a few creatures/permanents, then die.
I recommend cutting most (or all) of your one-of's. Go to Scryfall and search for cards that interact with the Graveyard in Black/Green. EmeticLunch has some good ideas with the creatures he mentioned. Another great graveyard payoff is Bone Dragon.
the idea is to be able to answer an array of different things while stabilizing. And finishing your opponent off with lotleth/izoni/moodmark/vigorspore/raiders. I splash white for the versatility of knight of autumn as well as the possibility of adding other creative white creatures like remorseful cleric. Also I am not sure why you think I would just die. What am I dying to? All these creatures don't need to stick on the battlefield. I want most of them to die so I can re-use them.
It looks like you don't have a plan. Almost all those 1-ofs are just bad cards that are really high on the mana curve, and you have no ramp
Why add White? It makes your mana worse, and you're pretty much just getting removal that BG can already replicate.
If you're trying to build around Stitcher's Supplier and Glowspore Shaman, have you tried making the whole build lower to the ground to make the 3/1 body relevant? I haven't worked out a good build yet, but I think those two are going to fit together with Charnel Troll, Plaguecrafter, Thorn Lieutenant and one of the green Hexproof 4-drops in a more aggressive build.
I added white as knight of autumn can do things that I would need 2-3 other creatures to do while letting me add more versatility to the deck. I've also thought about the troll but he's not really going to help the route i'm trying to go. If I were to use the troll i'd be going more b/g explore. Also i'm not sure why you say I don't have a plan. The plan is in the name of the deck. Journey to eternity IS the plan. I may cut a few things to main deck Gruesome menagerie as a second tool to bring back some cards.
- Hard to tell between Zealot and Merfolk Branchwalker who works better. I'm heavily black so it tends to force my pick anyway. I also believe I want to draw a card and that I don't need to put one in the yard since I already have that kind of effect on 8 other creatures.
- I want at least one Findbroker to get back a Journey, that also explains Memorial to Folly which allows a slow but resilient chain if need be. I did cut a Chupa for it.
- Hard to tell whether Whsiperer is a better 5-drop than Underrealm Lich. I prefer a wincon over a value card on the paper. There's already plenty of ways to bin stuff in the yard anyway.
- Secrets. Maybe the card is garb, but it seems strong to search for Trophy, Journey, Demons and SB stuff overall (at instant speed). If there's a deck for that card in standard, this may be it. the card opens to a wider toolbox btw, but it takes time to figure out what is worth a slot.
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- Hard to tell between Zealot and Merfolk Branchwalker who works better. I'm heavily black so it tends to force my pick anyway. I also believe I want to draw a card and that I don't need to put one in the yard since I already have that kind of effect on 8 other creatures.
- I want at least one Findbroker to get back a Journey, that also explains Memorial to Folly which allows a slow but resilient chain if need be. I did cut a Chupa for it.
- Hard to tell whether Whsiperer is a better 5-drop than Underrealm Lich. I prefer a wincon over a value card on the paper. There's already plenty of ways to bin stuff in the yard anyway.
- Secrets. Maybe the card is garb, but it seems strong to search for Trophy, Journey, Demons and SB stuff overall (at instant speed). If there's a deck for that card in standard, this may be it. the card opens to a wider toolbox btw, but it takes time to figure out what is worth a slot.
I'm trying to go a little wider with my plays than dropping a whisperer/demon of catastrophe. Those can always be 1 for 1'd. Where it will feel bad to waste a decent removal spell on the likes of any of my tinkerers. Being able to smash them with a vigorspore, or moodmark at instant speed with journey is quite a threat.
I do like the idea of using Journey to Eternity to turn the Undergrowth enablers into something more. Honestly, otherwise Undergrowth just seems like a limited mechanic.
I'm trying to go a little wider with my plays than dropping a whisperer/demon of catastrophe. Those can always be 1 for 1'd. Where it will feel bad to waste a decent removal spell on the likes of any of my tinkerers.
Yeah you're right about the demons being easily killed. Vraska is after all a card I need to put back, the sac outlet is absolutely necessary to flip Journey (Plaguecrafter is probably more important than I initially thought too). The pay-offs are numerous, and I agree witrh the others that you go all over the place. Like, maybe Lotleth Giant can be a 2/3-of and be a great way to reach the opponent without even attacking (ala Gray Merchant of Asphodel & Whip of Erebos). We can otherwise go big with big Impervious Greatwurm, Ghalta, Primal Hunter or simply Carnage Tyrant. Not sure...
In your list, clearly the one-ofs are mostly all bad. You either want to play 2-4 copies of cards for a specific plan (the better one of all), or not play them at all. Your removal suit is weird too, I'm not sure Contempt has any relevance now the Gods are gone and Trophy is here.
I'm trying to go a little wider with my plays than dropping a whisperer/demon of catastrophe. Those can always be 1 for 1'd. Where it will feel bad to waste a decent removal spell on the likes of any of my tinkerers.
Yeah you're right about the demons being easily killed. Vraska is after all a card I need to put back, the sac outlet is absolutely necessary to flip Journey (Plaguecrafter is probably more important than I initially thought too). The pay-offs are numerous, and I agree witrh the others that you go all over the place. Like, maybe Lotleth Giant can be a 2/3-of and be a great way to reach the opponent without even attacking (ala Gray Merchant of Asphodel & Whip of Erebos). We can otherwise go big with big Impervious Greatwurm, Ghalta, Primal Hunter or simply Carnage Tyrant. Not sure...
In your list, clearly the one-ofs are mostly all bad. You either want to play 2-4 copies of cards for a specific plan (the better one of all), or not play them at all. Your removal suit is weird too, I'm not sure Contempt has any relevance now the Gods are gone and Trophy is here.
You're playing a deck that brings creatures back from the graveyard and an entire guild centered around that and you find contempt to be irrelevant? Not sure why you're playing reassembling skeleton tbh he just seems meh all around. I'm not sure the point of even playing journey if you're not gonna use it to it's full potential. It's called a toolbox for a reason. I understand everyone thinks I should be "focused" but there are certain cards that can destroy what I'm trying to do. I don't need to be focused as I am continuously bringing threats back in different forms. they could all be just vanilla 2/2s and it would still be a headache. I think the diversity will be useful but we'll see
You're playing a deck that brings creatures back from the graveyard and an entire guild centered around that and you find contempt to be irrelevant?
Until that kind of deck is proven to be tier 1, there's not a ton of incentive to play Contempt. If I want to fight a graveyard strategy, I play cards that exile graveyards entirely, not a few Contempts while graveyard decks play a ton of recursive elements. Plus, Trophy takes care of Journey.
Not sure why you're playing reassembling skeleton tbh he just seems meh all around
I'm getting some reps with it to see how it plays. It's a creature I can sac forever to Vraska or Demons. True that with so few sac outlets, its uses may be too narrow here. What other cards could take these slots ?
I'm not sure the point of even playing journey if you're not gonna use it to it's full potential. It's called a toolbox for a reason.
It's called a toolbox because you named the deck that way, it doesn't mean it's the right way to build it. The full potential of Journey isn't necessarily to have a toolbox in your graveyard, especially if some cards you play are one-ofs, so they may never be in your graveyard for the entire duration of your games. If you take a look at reanimator decks, they don't quite play as a toolbox. Abzan Rea during the Thragtusk era wasn't a toolbox, Sultai Sidisi during Khans had very specific finishers but it was dictated by the metagame.
Maybe you can explain why you play your one-ofs ?
1 Plaguecrafter : don't you want more so Journey flips more often ?
1 Lotleth Giant : I like it, but do you have some feedback about playing only 1, and if playing more is a viable plan ?
1 Moodmark Painter : Menace is far from being enough to beat any creature-based deck. This card looks garbage.
1 Golgari Raiders : no evasion again, that's not a threatening finisher, and Journey can revive creatures at instant speed, so haste ain't super relevant.
1 Izoni, Thousand-Eyed : Chainwhirler crushes it ? This is no Hornet Queen either, 1/1 grounders do nothing in the format.
1 Vigorspore Wurm : another garbage card, no evasion, those are commons for a reason.
1 Golgari Findbroker : same as Giant, do you want more, is 1 ok ?
1 Skyscanner : this is a bad card cantrip creature, there are better ones for only 2 mana (just because they're 2-drops btw).
From what I see you could play 4 copies of a single card that is overall more serviceable than the 4 worst cards you have in that list. Costly Plunder can be easily replaced by Vraska if you want to draw cards.
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You're playing a deck that brings creatures back from the graveyard and an entire guild centered around that and you find contempt to be irrelevant?
Until that kind of deck is proven to be tier 1, there's not a ton of incentive to play Contempt. If I want to fight a graveyard strategy, I play cards that exile graveyards entirely, not a few Contempts while graveyard decks play a ton of recursive elements. Plus, Trophy takes care of Journey.
Not sure why you're playing reassembling skeleton tbh he just seems meh all around
I'm getting some reps with it to see how it plays. It's a creature I can sac forever to Vraska or Demons. True that with so few sac outlets, its uses may be too narrow here. What other cards could take these slots ?
I'm not sure the point of even playing journey if you're not gonna use it to it's full potential. It's called a toolbox for a reason.
It's called a toolbox because you named the deck that way, it doesn't mean it's the right way to build it. The full potential of Journey isn't necessarily to have a toolbox in your graveyard, especially if some cards you play are one-ofs, so they may never be in your graveyard for the entire duration of your games. If you take a look at reanimator decks, they don't quite play as a toolbox. Abzan Rea during the Thragtusk era wasn't a toolbox, Sultai Sidisi during Khans had very specific finishers but it was dictated by the metagame.
Maybe you can explain why you play your one-ofs ?
1 Plaguecrafter : don't you want more so Journey flips more often ?
1 Lotleth Giant : I like it, but do you have some feedback about playing only 1, and if playing more is a viable plan ?
1 Moodmark Painter : Menace is far from being enough to beat any creature-based deck. This card looks garbage.
1 Golgari Raiders : no evasion again, that's not a threatening finisher, and Journey can revive creatures at instant speed, so haste ain't super relevant.
1 Izoni, Thousand-Eyed : Chainwhirler crushes it ? This is no Hornet Queen either, 1/1 grounders do nothing in the format.
1 Vigorspore Wurm : another garbage card, no evasion, those are commons for a reason.
1 Golgari Findbroker : same as Giant, do you want more, is 1 ok ?
1 Skyscanner : this is a bad card cantrip creature, there are better ones for only 2 mana (just because they're 2-drops btw).
From what I see you could play 4 copies of a single card that is overall more serviceable than the 4 worst cards you have in that list. Costly Plunder can be easily replaced by Vraska if you want to draw cards.
1. I'm not too worried about getting the journey to flip, as I can put it on glowspore shaman/stitcher's supplier and swing with them until they die. I can also sack to Costly plunder. Yet I could see a want for a second plaguecrafter. unsure of what to cut for it.
2. I don't want to run more than one Lotleth Giant as he costs quite a bit and is basically a dead card if I draw him and can't bin him.
3. I think you're sleeping on Moodmark Painter. He's essentially a big threat and can win games on the wings of Skyscanner as I don't believe flying will be prevalent in the meta.
4. Golgari raiders I am probably going to drop as you make a good point.
5. Izoni, Thousand-Eyed Reads as a great card, but I may cut it as well.
6. Vigorspore wurm I am probably going to cut for a second moodmark painter as I really think that card is going to be sweet.
7. I want to run a second Golgari Findbroker but I am unsure what I want to cut.
8. I don't have any fliers and it draws me a card. That is the only reason I run Skyscanner over Dusk legion zealot. Will also be deadly with moodmark painter
9. Costly Plunder to me is better than running Vraska, Golgari Queen She has a big target on her back so I assume 90% of the time i'm only getting one ability out of her, or she'll never enter the battlefield. Where as costly plunder is an instant speed sac outlet that draws me more than one card.
This is what I'm thinking for now. I want to play skyscanner first and see how it does, but I might cut the 2nd plaguecrafter for a 2nd one if it performs well.
1. I'm not too worried about getting the journey to flip, as I can put it on glowspore shaman/stitcher's supplier and swing with them until they die. I can also sack to Costly plunder. Yet I could see a want for a second plaguecrafter. unsure of what to cut for it.
I don't think it's ideal to hope that a creature dies in combat. The other creature decks can fly over the Journey carrier, Steel Leaf Champion is unblockable, Trophy can destroy the Journey (many other spells can as well), so it looks safer to have a bunch of sac outlets you can use asap, and Plaguecrafter seems to be the best : creature, hits control decks, 3 mana, trades early game. Try to cut your Plunders entirely and play Crafters instead.
9. Costly Plunder to me is better than running Vraska, Golgari Queen She has a big target on her back so I assume 90% of the time i'm only getting one ability out of her, or she'll never enter the battlefield. Where as costly plunder is an instant speed sac outlet that draws me more than one card.
I disagree on this point. Vraska is an engine. You can sac Chupacabra every turn and revive it, for example. You can do that with Lotleth Giant or any card you want. It's going to be game-winning in this archetype.
I think you cna play Dusk Legion Zealot and/or Merfolk Branchwalker to make card advantage, they're creatures that carry Journey. Costly Plunder is not CA, you spend 2 cards to draw 2.
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1. I'm not too worried about getting the journey to flip, as I can put it on glowspore shaman/stitcher's supplier and swing with them until they die. I can also sack to Costly plunder. Yet I could see a want for a second plaguecrafter. unsure of what to cut for it.
I don't think it's ideal to hope that a creature dies in combat. The other creature decks can fly over the Journey carrier, Steel Leaf Champion is unblockable, Trophy can destroy the Journey (many other spells can as well), so it looks safer to have a bunch of sac outlets you can use asap, and Plaguecrafter seems to be the best : creature, hits control decks, 3 mana, trades early game. Try to cut your Plunders entirely and play Crafters instead.
9. Costly Plunder to me is better than running Vraska, Golgari Queen She has a big target on her back so I assume 90% of the time i'm only getting one ability out of her, or she'll never enter the battlefield. Where as costly plunder is an instant speed sac outlet that draws me more than one card.
I disagree on this point. Vraska is an engine. You can sac Chupacabra every turn and revive it, for example. You can do that with Lotleth Giant or any card you want. It's going to be game-winning in this archetype.
I think you cna play Dusk Legion Zealot and/or Merfolk Branchwalker to make card advantage, they're creatures that carry Journey. Costly Plunder is not CA, you spend 2 cards to draw 2.
Were going to try it like this. I'm almost 100% that vraska is going to be 2 cards for 1 as she isn't going to survive long enough.If I find that flipping journey is difficult then we can add 1-2 more plaguecrafter. Also as for steel leaf we can block with glow spore with a journey on it.
I'm having a blast with Vraska so far. With a Journey flipped, every turn I can revive and sac again.
I play 4 Plaguecrafters and 2 Vraskas with still 2 Maus Secrets to search for them if need be. That card is so tough to evaluate for me.
I'm thinking of Gleaming Barrier over Dusk Legion Zealot, since it's a better blocker and a good sac outlet. It will ramp for the dead 6-7 drops in my hand, help using a flipped Journey, carry it nicely (even though it doesn't die to Chainwhirler lik Zealot does). tha card came to mind when I search for a land tutor (Elvish Rejuvenator, District Guide), and perhaps a 2-drop wall will play better than a 3-drop. i'll give a feedback about it.
Pelakka Wurm may be a good pay-off in order to fight aggro decks and burn decks. I feel like my life total goes down too fast, and both Wurm and Barrier can help.
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I'm having a blast with Vraska so far. With a Journey flipped, every turn I can revive and sac again.
I play 4 Plaguecrafters and 2 Vraskas with still 2 Maus Secrets to search for them if need be. That card is so tough to evaluate for me.
I'm thinking of Gleaming Barrier over Dusk Legion Zealot, since it's a better blocker and a good sac outlet. It will ramp for the dead 6-7 drops in my hand, help using a flipped Journey, carry it nicely (even though it doesn't die to Chainwhirler lik Zealot does). tha card came to mind when I search for a land tutor (Elvish Rejuvenator, District Guide), and perhaps a 2-drop wall will play better than a 3-drop. i'll give a feedback about it.
Pelakka Wurm may be a good pay-off in order to fight aggro decks and burn decks. I feel like my life total goes down too fast, and both Wurm and Barrier can help.
Im not sure why you would use gleaming barrier? You can't just sacrifice him...
Also about life total, this is why I play contempts and splashed the white for knight of autumn. Gaining 4 life, then using him as a chump blocker to do it all again the next turn is amazing.
I agree, Journey just isn't that great as a competitive card. It is more of a fun table top magic kind of card. Building BG around it seems shoddy at best. I like some of the card interactions in your list tho. The crazy number of 1ofs is bad. And some of them are just terrible cards in general.
I agree, Journey just isn't that great as a competitive card. It is more of a fun table top magic kind of card. Building BG around it seems shoddy at best. I like some of the card interactions in your list tho. The crazy number of 1ofs is bad. And some of them are just terrible cards in general.
I actually changed it up and doubled up on the more effective cards.
Definitely looking more solid. How do you plan to push damage through on a clogged board tho? Is this just an attack into them and let stuff die then reset kind of game plan? I've been having a LOT of trouble closing games out cause of no evasion of any kind in the new junk colors. Almost like i need carnage tyrant now.
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple Garden
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Forest
3 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Field of Ruin
Creatures (22)
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Glowspore Shaman
2 Underrealm Lich
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 Knight of Autumn
1 Plaguecrafter
1 Lotleth Giant
1 Moodmark Painter
1 Golgari Raiders
1 Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
1 Vigorspore Wurm
1 Golgari Findbroker
1 Skyscanner
3 Journey to Eternity
3 Assassin's Trophy
3 Costly Plunder
3 Vraska's Contempt
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
3 Duress
3 Gruesome Menagerie
1 Knight of Autumn
2 Remorseful Cleric
2 Ritual of Soot
1 Burglar rat
1 Kraul Harpooner
1 Plague Mare
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
Why add White? It makes your mana worse, and you're pretty much just getting removal that BG can already replicate.
If you're trying to build around Stitcher's Supplier and Glowspore Shaman, have you tried making the whole build lower to the ground to make the 3/1 body relevant? I haven't worked out a good build yet, but I think those two are going to fit together with Charnel Troll, Plaguecrafter, Thorn Lieutenant and one of the green Hexproof 4-drops in a more aggressive build.
2. What is the deck doing exactly besides putting cards in the graveyard? It looks like it is just going to durdle around, kill a few creatures/permanents, then die.
I recommend cutting most (or all) of your one-of's. Go to Scryfall and search for cards that interact with the Graveyard in Black/Green. EmeticLunch has some good ideas with the creatures he mentioned. Another great graveyard payoff is Bone Dragon.
the idea is to be able to answer an array of different things while stabilizing. And finishing your opponent off with lotleth/izoni/moodmark/vigorspore/raiders. I splash white for the versatility of knight of autumn as well as the possibility of adding other creative white creatures like remorseful cleric. Also I am not sure why you think I would just die. What am I dying to? All these creatures don't need to stick on the battlefield. I want most of them to die so I can re-use them.
I added white as knight of autumn can do things that I would need 2-3 other creatures to do while letting me add more versatility to the deck. I've also thought about the troll but he's not really going to help the route i'm trying to go. If I were to use the troll i'd be going more b/g explore. Also i'm not sure why you say I don't have a plan. The plan is in the name of the deck. Journey to eternity IS the plan. I may cut a few things to main deck Gruesome menagerie as a second tool to bring back some cards.
4 Glowspore Shaman
4 Dusk Legion Zealot
4 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Plaguecrafter
3 Ravenous Chupacabra
1 Golgari Findbroker
4 Demon of Catastrophes
2 Doom Whisperer
4 Assassin's Trophy
4 Mausoleum Secrets
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Memorial to Folly
6 Swamp
4 Forest
Several things :
- Hard to tell between Zealot and Merfolk Branchwalker who works better. I'm heavily black so it tends to force my pick anyway. I also believe I want to draw a card and that I don't need to put one in the yard since I already have that kind of effect on 8 other creatures.
- Skeleton seems great to enable Demon of Catastrophes on an empty board. At first I also used it for a couple Vraska, Golgari Queen, but I apparently did cut those. The demons are my main sac outlet to flip Journey to Eternity.
- I want at least one Findbroker to get back a Journey, that also explains Memorial to Folly which allows a slow but resilient chain if need be. I did cut a Chupa for it.
- Hard to tell whether Whsiperer is a better 5-drop than Underrealm Lich. I prefer a wincon over a value card on the paper. There's already plenty of ways to bin stuff in the yard anyway.
- Secrets. Maybe the card is garb, but it seems strong to search for Trophy, Journey, Demons and SB stuff overall (at instant speed). If there's a deck for that card in standard, this may be it. the card opens to a wider toolbox btw, but it takes time to figure out what is worth a slot.
Yeah you're right about the demons being easily killed. Vraska is after all a card I need to put back, the sac outlet is absolutely necessary to flip Journey (Plaguecrafter is probably more important than I initially thought too). The pay-offs are numerous, and I agree witrh the others that you go all over the place. Like, maybe Lotleth Giant can be a 2/3-of and be a great way to reach the opponent without even attacking (ala Gray Merchant of Asphodel & Whip of Erebos). We can otherwise go big with big Impervious Greatwurm, Ghalta, Primal Hunter or simply Carnage Tyrant. Not sure...
In your list, clearly the one-ofs are mostly all bad. You either want to play 2-4 copies of cards for a specific plan (the better one of all), or not play them at all. Your removal suit is weird too, I'm not sure Contempt has any relevance now the Gods are gone and Trophy is here.
I think I'll try this list from now on:
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Glowspore Shaman
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
4 Reassembling Skeleton
4 Plaguecrafter
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 Golgari Findbroker
2 Carnage Tyrant
1 Lotleth Giant
3 Journey to Eternity
3 Vraska, Golgari Queen
3 Assassin's Trophy
2 Mausoleum Secrets
Lands (22):
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Memorial to Folly
6 Swamp
4 Forest
You're playing a deck that brings creatures back from the graveyard and an entire guild centered around that and you find contempt to be irrelevant? Not sure why you're playing reassembling skeleton tbh he just seems meh all around. I'm not sure the point of even playing journey if you're not gonna use it to it's full potential. It's called a toolbox for a reason. I understand everyone thinks I should be "focused" but there are certain cards that can destroy what I'm trying to do. I don't need to be focused as I am continuously bringing threats back in different forms. they could all be just vanilla 2/2s and it would still be a headache. I think the diversity will be useful but we'll see
Until that kind of deck is proven to be tier 1, there's not a ton of incentive to play Contempt. If I want to fight a graveyard strategy, I play cards that exile graveyards entirely, not a few Contempts while graveyard decks play a ton of recursive elements. Plus, Trophy takes care of Journey.
I'm getting some reps with it to see how it plays. It's a creature I can sac forever to Vraska or Demons. True that with so few sac outlets, its uses may be too narrow here. What other cards could take these slots ?
It's called a toolbox because you named the deck that way, it doesn't mean it's the right way to build it. The full potential of Journey isn't necessarily to have a toolbox in your graveyard, especially if some cards you play are one-ofs, so they may never be in your graveyard for the entire duration of your games. If you take a look at reanimator decks, they don't quite play as a toolbox. Abzan Rea during the Thragtusk era wasn't a toolbox, Sultai Sidisi during Khans had very specific finishers but it was dictated by the metagame.
Maybe you can explain why you play your one-ofs ?
1 Plaguecrafter : don't you want more so Journey flips more often ?
1 Lotleth Giant : I like it, but do you have some feedback about playing only 1, and if playing more is a viable plan ?
1 Moodmark Painter : Menace is far from being enough to beat any creature-based deck. This card looks garbage.
1 Golgari Raiders : no evasion again, that's not a threatening finisher, and Journey can revive creatures at instant speed, so haste ain't super relevant.
1 Izoni, Thousand-Eyed : Chainwhirler crushes it ? This is no Hornet Queen either, 1/1 grounders do nothing in the format.
1 Vigorspore Wurm : another garbage card, no evasion, those are commons for a reason.
1 Golgari Findbroker : same as Giant, do you want more, is 1 ok ?
1 Skyscanner : this is a bad card cantrip creature, there are better ones for only 2 mana (just because they're 2-drops btw).
From what I see you could play 4 copies of a single card that is overall more serviceable than the 4 worst cards you have in that list. Costly Plunder can be easily replaced by Vraska if you want to draw cards.
1. I'm not too worried about getting the journey to flip, as I can put it on glowspore shaman/stitcher's supplier and swing with them until they die. I can also sack to Costly plunder. Yet I could see a want for a second plaguecrafter. unsure of what to cut for it.
2. I don't want to run more than one Lotleth Giant as he costs quite a bit and is basically a dead card if I draw him and can't bin him.
3. I think you're sleeping on Moodmark Painter. He's essentially a big threat and can win games on the wings of Skyscanner as I don't believe flying will be prevalent in the meta.
4. Golgari raiders I am probably going to drop as you make a good point.
5. Izoni, Thousand-Eyed Reads as a great card, but I may cut it as well.
6. Vigorspore wurm I am probably going to cut for a second moodmark painter as I really think that card is going to be sweet.
7. I want to run a second Golgari Findbroker but I am unsure what I want to cut.
8. I don't have any fliers and it draws me a card. That is the only reason I run Skyscanner over Dusk legion zealot. Will also be deadly with moodmark painter
9. Costly Plunder to me is better than running Vraska, Golgari Queen She has a big target on her back so I assume 90% of the time i'm only getting one ability out of her, or she'll never enter the battlefield. Where as costly plunder is an instant speed sac outlet that draws me more than one card.
This is what I'm thinking for now. I want to play skyscanner first and see how it does, but I might cut the 2nd plaguecrafter for a 2nd one if it performs well.
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple Garden
4 Woodland Cemetery
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Field of Ruin
Creatures (22)
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Glowspore Shaman
2 Underrealm Lich
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 Knight of Autumn
2 Plaguecrafter
1 Lotleth Giant
2 Moodmark Painter
2 Golgari Findbroker
1 Skyscanner
3 Journey to Eternity
3 Assassin's Trophy
3 Costly Plunder
3 Vraska's Contempt
2 Arguel's Blood Fast
3 Duress
3 Gruesome Menagerie
1 Knight of Autumn
2 Remorseful Cleric
2 Ritual of Soot
1 Burglar rat
1 Kraul Harpooner
1 Plague Mare
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
I don't think it's ideal to hope that a creature dies in combat. The other creature decks can fly over the Journey carrier, Steel Leaf Champion is unblockable, Trophy can destroy the Journey (many other spells can as well), so it looks safer to have a bunch of sac outlets you can use asap, and Plaguecrafter seems to be the best : creature, hits control decks, 3 mana, trades early game. Try to cut your Plunders entirely and play Crafters instead.
I disagree on this point. Vraska is an engine. You can sac Chupacabra every turn and revive it, for example. You can do that with Lotleth Giant or any card you want. It's going to be game-winning in this archetype.
I think you cna play Dusk Legion Zealot and/or Merfolk Branchwalker to make card advantage, they're creatures that carry Journey. Costly Plunder is not CA, you spend 2 cards to draw 2.
Were going to try it like this. I'm almost 100% that vraska is going to be 2 cards for 1 as she isn't going to survive long enough.If I find that flipping journey is difficult then we can add 1-2 more plaguecrafter. Also as for steel leaf we can block with glow spore with a journey on it.
I play 4 Plaguecrafters and 2 Vraskas with still 2 Maus Secrets to search for them if need be. That card is so tough to evaluate for me.
I'm thinking of Gleaming Barrier over Dusk Legion Zealot, since it's a better blocker and a good sac outlet. It will ramp for the dead 6-7 drops in my hand, help using a flipped Journey, carry it nicely (even though it doesn't die to Chainwhirler lik Zealot does). tha card came to mind when I search for a land tutor (Elvish Rejuvenator, District Guide), and perhaps a 2-drop wall will play better than a 3-drop. i'll give a feedback about it.
Pelakka Wurm may be a good pay-off in order to fight aggro decks and burn decks. I feel like my life total goes down too fast, and both Wurm and Barrier can help.
Im not sure why you would use gleaming barrier? You can't just sacrifice him...
Also about life total, this is why I play contempts and splashed the white for knight of autumn. Gaining 4 life, then using him as a chump blocker to do it all again the next turn is amazing.
What do you mean ? A sac outlet can let me sac it like any other creature.
You said that Gleaming Barrier was a sac outlet, which confused me.
You got me, all the pros are secretly holding their Journey tech for this set because it was just too good.
I actually changed it up and doubled up on the more effective cards.