I feel like the polymorph deck could be a sort of parallel to Junk Gifts. Where we take Junk midrange and insert the gifts package, polymorph could take a bw tokens shell, though modified to have no real creatures, and include a polymorph package as a finisher. I'd probably say Norn mainboard for sure and MAYBE Emrakul, and relegate Iona to the board, since Norn makes you alpha strike and Emmy is Emmy. It really doesn't fit into this thread though.
Nope. Magmatic insight is just a red style cantrip, not a draw card, since you're still just getting card parity, and discarding dead lands isn't important for us since we loot away excess lands anyways. I've tested Ideas Unbound in the card advantage slot, but it just doesn't dig very well outside the combo turn. I think Pyromancer Ascension might be the correct card in the card advantage slot since it just doubles all our cantrips, which helps all cantrips dig better as well as making the combo turn extremely easy.
Gifts is not a good tutor for an emrakul deck. Spending 4 mana on your tutor the same turn as your 5 mana spell is really difficult to do. You'd be a lot better off sticking to things like faithless looting and just playing the griselcannon deck. You're basically taking two decks and making them worse by combining them.
This deck seems to fit here better than anywhere else, and I'm not far along with it enough to make a primer for it. Basically, instead of using glittering wish, I'm using Intruder Alarm as Ascendancy 5-8 and trying to run alternate combo pieces that work with both ascendancy and alarm. It is pretty easy to get board states that make infinite mana, infinite dudes, or infinite dredge with loam into a win.
Hav your list is pretty similar to mine, at least main board. The major differences are that I put Iona in the side, I don't run Thoughtseize, and I have Murderous Cut/Slaughter Pact/Snapcaster as one-ofs for a removal gifts pile. Oh and I have Loam main, but I assume that is tuning that you have decided is better for you.
Why is no one testing Golari Grave Troll? I feel like he is ideal for this sort of deck. He is recursive, fills your yard, and comes out big with self protection
I've been trying to make a dredge deck work in modern and this is probably one of the more wackier ones with potential. I'm definitely subscribing to this thread
How is bridge from below for you? I'm wondering if the value you get off it is better than having more combo cards, like the 4th bird, alarm, obedience, and third Mystic Retrieval. It also makes me want to start brewing with dredge and ascendancy combo in the same deck...
it is basically a hybrid deck between green devotion and 4c gifts (and some pod interactins) that has a very unique game plan as a result. I think it would be difficult to judge without trying it out, but it seems like a magical christmas land deck. The land count is pretty low and you rely on dorks, which feels unstable, and your curve doesn't exist. I have no doubt that it is trying to do powerful things and occasionally blows people out, but I don't like how all in it looks. I'm speaking as a Junk Gifts player.
The sacrifice is the cost of the ability, and the removal of the counter is the effect. You can continuously respond to the sacrifice ability itself, so you don't actually have to remove the counters until you sacrificed finks as many times as you want. The triggers will go like this:
Sacrifice finks. Two things go on the stack: Persist and the Gargadon ability. Persist resolves. Now Anafenza's Bolster goes on the stack on top of the Gargadon ability. Once that resolves, you're back to square one, except you have a Gargadon trigger on the stack, and two more life. You continuously respond to the triggers so that they don't resolve until you're done, then all the counters come off as you let the stack empty.
This was a friend playing his own weird brew. It didn't really count for a whole lot considering I just overwhelm him with creatures and he has a really hard time handling multiple finks coming at him. I fear the active seismic assault + loam interaction if it happens really early because it can crush me if I'm not already on big mana with sun titans or emeria creating value. He got a turn 4 assault in one of the games, but I had enough creature presence to still overwhelm him and finish out the game. The second game was no contest. He didn't see an assault or gifts until it was too late.
Round 2: Bloom Titan (2-1)
He got game 1 by just having it, and me not having enough paths. Pretty typical. Game 2 I lasted long enough via removal to get myself to the infinite life combo, which he concedes to, of course. Game 3 he didn't threaten me before my turn 3 blood moon, which he had to concede to again.
Round 3: Jund Scapeshift (2-0)
I've never seen this deck before this match, but he said it was sort of a thing. I'm still sort of curious about it because it didn't seem too bad. Game 1 he didn't draw a scapeshift for a very long time. I ran into 2 finks and 3 Sun Titans, and he had to use a lot of his mountains and ramp spells just to survive, so when he finally hit a scapeshift, he could only grab 2 mountains from his deck and couldn't kill me. I eventually got there with another few creatures. Game 2 I landed an early blood moon and he was sitting on a hand full of ramp and scapeshift, and I just beat him down while he failed to find an abrupt decay.
Round 4: Split with RUG twin. I expect I have about a 50/50 win ratio with it, basically coming down to whether I saw enough removal for the combo while I crush his fair game. I was happy to split.
Verdict: My changes for this event were to remove Mangara from the deck and replacing it with a 1 of Flickerwisp, which was a good call since it is just a powerful value creature, and I may end up adding more of them. In the sideboard, I increased my pyroclasms from 2 to 4, taking out odd chaff. I still need to get more bloodmoons, since it is apparently such a good sideboard card for so many matchups. I'm still debating what number of blood moons and fulminators I should have in the side since they serve a fairly similar role, but bloodmoon works faster while fulminator provides more power as the game length increases.
Game 1 he got land ****ed and I won without thinking. Game 2 was a fantastic game of back and forth magic, trying to break board stalls, and eventually losing to flyers. I didn't see a sun titan that game, which would have definitely changed the game to my favor. Game 3 I stumbled and got flooded and he had the beatdown nut. I still just think I need to raise pyroclasms to 4 in the board.
Round 2: Mono G Aggro 1-2
I had creature light hands in the losses of this match. I really need wall of omens and be able to stall into sun titan. The pressure this deck puts out is so constant that it is hard to deal with if you only have removal spells and no board presence, and the size of my creatures are not as good as his. Fiend hunter did do serious work, though. I need to actually get ghostly prisons and spellskites for the board to help these types of matchups.
Round 3: Storm 2-1
I stuck an early kor firewalker in both of my wins, and was able to just sacrifice permanents including lands to get gargadon to increase the clock. I wouldn't have won against a more experienced storm player, but it was enough for this game. Once again, my underdeveloped sideboard needs fulminators and nevermores.
Round 4: Bye
Round 5: Naya Aggro brew (2-0)
Goyfs, Seeker of the ways, swiftspears, temur battle rages, and become immense. He had creature light draws and I answered them and we just stared at each other until my board overwhelmed him. He said he ran 3 monastery mentors, and that could have been scary if he stuck one and I couldn't answer it, but luckily that never happened. Game 2 was actually close as he kept topdecking seeker of the way and I couldn't find the second pyroclasm (he buffed out of the first one), but I just went infinite on turn 6 and won.
Conclusion:
I need to get off my ass and buy the sideboard. The garbage I have now is not doing anything to shore up these heavy aggro and combo matchups. I need to go 4 pyroclasm, 3 fulminator, 2 spellskite, 2 ghostly prison, 3 wear/tear, 1 blood moon I think. Scrabbling claws might also make an appearance if I decide I need to start hating graveyards.
Awesome! Make sure you post your results and findings here! I'd love to have more feedback from another play tester. I think the shell has a ton of potential in the metagame.
Played this at FNM again last night. There was a weak showing due to graduation weekend, but we got enough for 3 rounds. I ended 2-1
8 Rack - 1-0-1
Game 1 went 42 minutes. He landed Ensnaring Bridge, and I went infinite on life, and I had to kill him by recurring bolts into my deck with mistveil plains, using emeria and Solemn Simulacrum to shuffle and increase draw power. I had to bolt down a Liliana of the Veil first just in case he pulled off a dangerous ult pile. I nearly lost game 2 to a growing pile of Racks, but I managed to go infinite and force the draw in extra turns.
Twin - 0-2
Game 1 was a turn 4 loss in which I unfortunately only saw one path and he had a spellskite. Game 2 was longer, and I nearly had it in the bag, but I misplayed and gave him a combo window by dropping a Sun Titan and Fiend Huntering his Exarch, but he bolted it and had a Splinter Twin, when I could have just held up a wear/tear instead. I think this matchup is probably 40-60 in Twin's favor main board, and my sideboard is not fully developed yet. I think Blind Obedience will be my tech against them since it is also interestingly good in other matchups.
UG Infect - 2-1
I lost game one to distortion strike, allowing him to dodge my Wall of Omens that I was so proud of. I wasn't expecting it for some reason and it caught me off guard. I didn't have removal and the back to back unblockable got me. Game two and three I had better draws and had fiend hunters and removal spells to handle everything he had, and I got a blood moon off in the last game to hit the manlands. I think we have a slightly favorable matchup since we have removal and board clogging, but it isn't insanely favorable since they have manlands and unblockable techniques.
This deck seems to fit here better than anywhere else, and I'm not far along with it enough to make a primer for it. Basically, instead of using glittering wish, I'm using Intruder Alarm as Ascendancy 5-8 and trying to run alternate combo pieces that work with both ascendancy and alarm. It is pretty easy to get board states that make infinite mana, infinite dudes, or infinite dredge with loam into a win.
What do you guys think?
How is bridge from below for you? I'm wondering if the value you get off it is better than having more combo cards, like the 4th bird, alarm, obedience, and third Mystic Retrieval. It also makes me want to start brewing with dredge and ascendancy combo in the same deck...
Gerry Thompson featured deck, but he didn't have much to say that wasn't obvious: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/30915_Daily-Digest-Utopia-Sprawl-Is-Taking-Over-Modern.html
it is basically a hybrid deck between green devotion and 4c gifts (and some pod interactins) that has a very unique game plan as a result. I think it would be difficult to judge without trying it out, but it seems like a magical christmas land deck. The land count is pretty low and you rely on dorks, which feels unstable, and your curve doesn't exist. I have no doubt that it is trying to do powerful things and occasionally blows people out, but I don't like how all in it looks. I'm speaking as a Junk Gifts player.
Sacrifice finks. Two things go on the stack: Persist and the Gargadon ability. Persist resolves. Now Anafenza's Bolster goes on the stack on top of the Gargadon ability. Once that resolves, you're back to square one, except you have a Gargadon trigger on the stack, and two more life. You continuously respond to the triggers so that they don't resolve until you're done, then all the counters come off as you let the stack empty.
Round 1: Gifts Assault Loam (2-0)
This was a friend playing his own weird brew. It didn't really count for a whole lot considering I just overwhelm him with creatures and he has a really hard time handling multiple finks coming at him. I fear the active seismic assault + loam interaction if it happens really early because it can crush me if I'm not already on big mana with sun titans or emeria creating value. He got a turn 4 assault in one of the games, but I had enough creature presence to still overwhelm him and finish out the game. The second game was no contest. He didn't see an assault or gifts until it was too late.
Round 2: Bloom Titan (2-1)
He got game 1 by just having it, and me not having enough paths. Pretty typical. Game 2 I lasted long enough via removal to get myself to the infinite life combo, which he concedes to, of course. Game 3 he didn't threaten me before my turn 3 blood moon, which he had to concede to again.
Round 3: Jund Scapeshift (2-0)
I've never seen this deck before this match, but he said it was sort of a thing. I'm still sort of curious about it because it didn't seem too bad. Game 1 he didn't draw a scapeshift for a very long time. I ran into 2 finks and 3 Sun Titans, and he had to use a lot of his mountains and ramp spells just to survive, so when he finally hit a scapeshift, he could only grab 2 mountains from his deck and couldn't kill me. I eventually got there with another few creatures. Game 2 I landed an early blood moon and he was sitting on a hand full of ramp and scapeshift, and I just beat him down while he failed to find an abrupt decay.
Round 4: Split with RUG twin. I expect I have about a 50/50 win ratio with it, basically coming down to whether I saw enough removal for the combo while I crush his fair game. I was happy to split.
Verdict: My changes for this event were to remove Mangara from the deck and replacing it with a 1 of Flickerwisp, which was a good call since it is just a powerful value creature, and I may end up adding more of them. In the sideboard, I increased my pyroclasms from 2 to 4, taking out odd chaff. I still need to get more bloodmoons, since it is apparently such a good sideboard card for so many matchups. I'm still debating what number of blood moons and fulminators I should have in the side since they serve a fairly similar role, but bloodmoon works faster while fulminator provides more power as the game length increases.
Round 1: Hatebears 1-2
Game 1 he got land ****ed and I won without thinking. Game 2 was a fantastic game of back and forth magic, trying to break board stalls, and eventually losing to flyers. I didn't see a sun titan that game, which would have definitely changed the game to my favor. Game 3 I stumbled and got flooded and he had the beatdown nut. I still just think I need to raise pyroclasms to 4 in the board.
Round 2: Mono G Aggro 1-2
I had creature light hands in the losses of this match. I really need wall of omens and be able to stall into sun titan. The pressure this deck puts out is so constant that it is hard to deal with if you only have removal spells and no board presence, and the size of my creatures are not as good as his. Fiend hunter did do serious work, though. I need to actually get ghostly prisons and spellskites for the board to help these types of matchups.
Round 3: Storm 2-1
I stuck an early kor firewalker in both of my wins, and was able to just sacrifice permanents including lands to get gargadon to increase the clock. I wouldn't have won against a more experienced storm player, but it was enough for this game. Once again, my underdeveloped sideboard needs fulminators and nevermores.
Round 4: Bye
Round 5: Naya Aggro brew (2-0)
Goyfs, Seeker of the ways, swiftspears, temur battle rages, and become immense. He had creature light draws and I answered them and we just stared at each other until my board overwhelmed him. He said he ran 3 monastery mentors, and that could have been scary if he stuck one and I couldn't answer it, but luckily that never happened. Game 2 was actually close as he kept topdecking seeker of the way and I couldn't find the second pyroclasm (he buffed out of the first one), but I just went infinite on turn 6 and won.
Conclusion:
I need to get off my ass and buy the sideboard. The garbage I have now is not doing anything to shore up these heavy aggro and combo matchups. I need to go 4 pyroclasm, 3 fulminator, 2 spellskite, 2 ghostly prison, 3 wear/tear, 1 blood moon I think. Scrabbling claws might also make an appearance if I decide I need to start hating graveyards.
8 Rack - 1-0-1
Game 1 went 42 minutes. He landed Ensnaring Bridge, and I went infinite on life, and I had to kill him by recurring bolts into my deck with mistveil plains, using emeria and Solemn Simulacrum to shuffle and increase draw power. I had to bolt down a Liliana of the Veil first just in case he pulled off a dangerous ult pile. I nearly lost game 2 to a growing pile of Racks, but I managed to go infinite and force the draw in extra turns.
Twin - 0-2
Game 1 was a turn 4 loss in which I unfortunately only saw one path and he had a spellskite. Game 2 was longer, and I nearly had it in the bag, but I misplayed and gave him a combo window by dropping a Sun Titan and Fiend Huntering his Exarch, but he bolted it and had a Splinter Twin, when I could have just held up a wear/tear instead. I think this matchup is probably 40-60 in Twin's favor main board, and my sideboard is not fully developed yet. I think Blind Obedience will be my tech against them since it is also interestingly good in other matchups.
UG Infect - 2-1
I lost game one to distortion strike, allowing him to dodge my Wall of Omens that I was so proud of. I wasn't expecting it for some reason and it caught me off guard. I didn't have removal and the back to back unblockable got me. Game two and three I had better draws and had fiend hunters and removal spells to handle everything he had, and I got a blood moon off in the last game to hit the manlands. I think we have a slightly favorable matchup since we have removal and board clogging, but it isn't insanely favorable since they have manlands and unblockable techniques.