It's a huge tempo loss sitting there trying to keep two mana open to stop your opponent from playing on curve. It's easy to play around. The reason cards like daze are so good is because you can tap out to deploy threats that really pressure your opponent to cast their answer spells on curve. Force spike doesn't see any play because it's still a tempo loss by forcing you to keep mana open, sometimes for no value at all.
Paying one mana to draw a card is also tempo loss. It would be better to use a one mana spell to remove a creature than countering it.
Remand is just a better card because it gets better in the late game, while also cycling. I would definitely run remand over Censor. In fact, I would run just about any other instant speed two-mana spell in place of censor.
Looking at the list, it should be noted that he's running As Foretold. This may have some bearing on the card choices.
1) While this deck is definitely ata disadvantage against a lot of combo decks, I don't think any of them are just "scoop" matchups. Even the worst matchups can sometimes be won with disruption + pressure. These matchups are the main reason I play lightning bolt over fatal push. Same for me laying against lands.
2) Kolaghan's command is a great card in the grinder matchups, particularly against stoneforge decks. I have personally always run one copy, but I know people who run more.
3) I've always been on the side of library as a dark confidant #5. When your deck is a lot of 3x and 4x cards, the raw card draw is better.
I've definitely been trying pull from tomorrow, and it's not ideal. Raw card draw is just not where you want to be with this deck. We've had jace's ingenuity for a long time, which never saw play, and it's arguably better/more efficient. We really need cards that jump us past the fluff, which is why Dig Through Time was so great.
I still play the classic RUG Scapeshift deck, and still love it the best. I might try gifts ungiven again with some of these aftermath cards, though.
Yeah we can't control the bannings, so there isn't much point worrying about it.
However, I think the fact that everyone is hyping the power of death rite shaman really works to our favor. I've been playing against a lot of people lately who are deathly afraid of this one-drop and will expend tons of resources trying to get rid of it. I am seeing every DRS get force of will, fatal push, abrupt decay, and board sweeper being thrown at it. Then they have an empty hand and I'm beating down with a Tarmogoyf and a dark confidant the rest of the game.
I had someone stifle my DRS four times last night in a single game. People are scared of this thing.
I used to be a big fan of desecration demon in modern jund. It was a big beater for cheap that was hard to remove.
However, in legacy, so many decks run pyromancer, baleful strix, mentor, millions of elves and so forth. Also, more decks are running fatal push, which decrease its resistance to removal. I've been playing this deck for a few years now, and one card that always is a beast is bloodbraid elf. I would max on bloodbraids before adding other one-of four drops.
The sideboard looks like you're trying to midrange harder post-board. In my opinion, most of your sideboard should be geared towards the decks that go way over the top of us or combo quickly. Control decks and midrange decks are already good matchups.
I typically base my sideboard on what cards I will take out in a given matchup. For instance, my sideboard looks like this:
2x surgical extraction
2x faerie macabre
2x pithing needle
2x pyroblast
1x dismember
1x toxic deluge
1x golgari charm
1x null rod
1x Chandra, torch of defiance (or other planeswalker)
1x dread of night
1x lost legacy (flex slot)
So, against BUG decks, I typically board out 4x thoughtseize, and 1 hymn to tourach. I replace them with 2x pyroblast, 1x Chandra, 1x toxic deluge, and 1x dismember.
Against lands, I board out 4x thoughtseize, and 3x hymn. I board in 2x surgical, 2x faerie macabre, 2x pithing needle, and 1x Chandra.
Against storm, I board out 3x punishing fire, 3x abrupt decay. I board in 2x surgical, 2x pyroblast, 1x null rod, 1x lost legacy. Honestly this matchup is so bad I could really board out much more, but it would warp my sideboard too much.
I don't run any fatal push in the 75. I would much rather run lightning bolt, because it's much more versatile and helps with my clock. Push doesn't help with gurmag angler or reality smasher, which dismember handles. The one match up it would actually help in is infect, which in legacy, is a really tough deck for jund to beat. Abrupt decay and punishing fire just suck against infect. However, there's not much infect in the meta and I can't dedicate any extra spots to the matchup.
Just some examples from my experience with the deck. This is my main deck, though I sometimes run BG turbo depths and Nic Fit.
I think fatal push is probably better in decks that don't have access to bolt. I would personally add more bolts before fatal push.
Between lightning bolt, punishing fire,abrupt decay, and Liliana I never am thinking that I need more cheap removal. What I AM looking for is something that kills big eldrazi creatures efficiently.
I would play fatal push for sure in a straight G/B deck. Maybe this card makes those types of decks more viable?
I played a junk pod deck in legacy for a little while and I could never find any success with it. The version I had used the angel/spike feeder combo and used rhinos. It also made use of veteran explorer and cabal therapy.
Kitchen finks was very weak when paired against almost every creature that is played in legacy (both Thalias, tarmogoyf, young pyromancer, Gurmag angler, and monastery mentor as examples). Most of the other creatures had the same problem.
Although removal is less prevalent in legacy than modern, it's the type of removal that completely negates a strategy like pod (Terminus, Swords to Plowshares, and punishing fire).
I used having township but it never got activated because of how prevalent wasteland is in the format. It's not uncommon in legacy to me stuck on 3 lands.
Have you tried asking about grim flayer on the Jund forum? Looking at the primer and subsequent deck lists, this deck seems to be, functionally, a jund deck, and many of the card choices look identical.
I'm sure someone has tried it in jund a few times and could give better insight.
Blue Moon would probably be the closest, in whatever form you choose to make it. Even during the twin era, there was a grixis moon and RUG Moon deck that used a lot of the same cards. I will find some lists.
The big thing to keep in mind, though, is that these decks existed heavily in a twin meta and would most certainly need to be changed to face the challenges of the current meta.
The double red in the mana cost is the toughest part. You already need at least one green and two black in the early part of the game. Between our wastelands and the opponents', this can be a challenge. A double red card just seems tough to me. I have often wanted to run things like scab-clan berserker or eidolon of the great revel against storm, but the double red cost is always prohibitive.
Also, bloodbraid works really well against opposing planeswalkers.
The point I was trying to make is that if bloodbraid and punishing fire aren't good, then red is probably not the best color to be running.
Paying one mana to draw a card is also tempo loss. It would be better to use a one mana spell to remove a creature than countering it.
Remand is just a better card because it gets better in the late game, while also cycling. I would definitely run remand over Censor. In fact, I would run just about any other instant speed two-mana spell in place of censor.
Looking at the list, it should be noted that he's running As Foretold. This may have some bearing on the card choices.
2) Kolaghan's command is a great card in the grinder matchups, particularly against stoneforge decks. I have personally always run one copy, but I know people who run more.
3) I've always been on the side of library as a dark confidant #5. When your deck is a lot of 3x and 4x cards, the raw card draw is better.
I still play the classic RUG Scapeshift deck, and still love it the best. I might try gifts ungiven again with some of these aftermath cards, though.
However, I think the fact that everyone is hyping the power of death rite shaman really works to our favor. I've been playing against a lot of people lately who are deathly afraid of this one-drop and will expend tons of resources trying to get rid of it. I am seeing every DRS get force of will, fatal push, abrupt decay, and board sweeper being thrown at it. Then they have an empty hand and I'm beating down with a Tarmogoyf and a dark confidant the rest of the game.
I had someone stifle my DRS four times last night in a single game. People are scared of this thing.
However, in legacy, so many decks run pyromancer, baleful strix, mentor, millions of elves and so forth. Also, more decks are running fatal push, which decrease its resistance to removal. I've been playing this deck for a few years now, and one card that always is a beast is bloodbraid elf. I would max on bloodbraids before adding other one-of four drops.
The sideboard looks like you're trying to midrange harder post-board. In my opinion, most of your sideboard should be geared towards the decks that go way over the top of us or combo quickly. Control decks and midrange decks are already good matchups.
I typically base my sideboard on what cards I will take out in a given matchup. For instance, my sideboard looks like this:
2x surgical extraction
2x faerie macabre
2x pithing needle
2x pyroblast
1x dismember
1x toxic deluge
1x golgari charm
1x null rod
1x Chandra, torch of defiance (or other planeswalker)
1x dread of night
1x lost legacy (flex slot)
So, against BUG decks, I typically board out 4x thoughtseize, and 1 hymn to tourach. I replace them with 2x pyroblast, 1x Chandra, 1x toxic deluge, and 1x dismember.
Against lands, I board out 4x thoughtseize, and 3x hymn. I board in 2x surgical, 2x faerie macabre, 2x pithing needle, and 1x Chandra.
Against storm, I board out 3x punishing fire, 3x abrupt decay. I board in 2x surgical, 2x pyroblast, 1x null rod, 1x lost legacy. Honestly this matchup is so bad I could really board out much more, but it would warp my sideboard too much.
I don't run any fatal push in the 75. I would much rather run lightning bolt, because it's much more versatile and helps with my clock. Push doesn't help with gurmag angler or reality smasher, which dismember handles. The one match up it would actually help in is infect, which in legacy, is a really tough deck for jund to beat. Abrupt decay and punishing fire just suck against infect. However, there's not much infect in the meta and I can't dedicate any extra spots to the matchup.
Just some examples from my experience with the deck. This is my main deck, though I sometimes run BG turbo depths and Nic Fit.
Between lightning bolt, punishing fire,abrupt decay, and Liliana I never am thinking that I need more cheap removal. What I AM looking for is something that kills big eldrazi creatures efficiently.
I would play fatal push for sure in a straight G/B deck. Maybe this card makes those types of decks more viable?
Kitchen finks was very weak when paired against almost every creature that is played in legacy (both Thalias, tarmogoyf, young pyromancer, Gurmag angler, and monastery mentor as examples). Most of the other creatures had the same problem.
Although removal is less prevalent in legacy than modern, it's the type of removal that completely negates a strategy like pod (Terminus, Swords to Plowshares, and punishing fire).
I used having township but it never got activated because of how prevalent wasteland is in the format. It's not uncommon in legacy to me stuck on 3 lands.
I'm sure someone has tried it in jund a few times and could give better insight.
Here is Matt Costa's Grixis Moon/Control:
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/grixis-control-in-modern/
Here is the RUG Moon deck Jeff Hoogland and Todd Anderson were using:
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/deck_tech_temur_moons_with_jef.html
The big thing to keep in mind, though, is that these decks existed heavily in a twin meta and would most certainly need to be changed to face the challenges of the current meta.
Also, bloodbraid works really well against opposing planeswalkers.