Thing is - some people like this linear crap. I don't.
And I usually don't mind at all for "format health" or "balanced archetypes" because I believe that, for the average player, what matters the most is their local meta, the people they play with/against. While banning/unbanning cards surely has serious impact in actual competitive Modern (because people will just migrate to whatever the next best deck is, that's the whole idea of playing Tier 1), I'd like to believe Modern community would be a lot better if we all just admitted that we play whatever we want/like/think that works for our local metas, and pay less heed to what Pro Player X or Y said about the format or played last week.
IMHO that was the whole point of dropping the Modern Pro Tour (it created a lot of anticipation, speculation and need for fast changes). Of course GP meta health is at stake - because that's where competitive players are, and Spike will always just jam what's currently the best - but I'd like to think that as long as people are just playing what they like against what they hate, Modern will be just fine.
Seems to me there's way too much uproar for what seemingly can be solved by deckbuilding - reminds me a lot of Treasure Cruise Delver times. I'd just slam maindeck Volcanic Fallouts, and have Flame Jabs on my Life from the Loam deck and call it a day, had a blast (and Smallpox was really effective against Melira Pod). Of course Dredge is pretty busted, but what's NOT busted in competitive Modern anyway?
Isn't that the main reason to "be" competitive? Why give your opponent the chance to cast their 4-drops when you can just obliterate them before that?
I'd really like to think that some people prefer "winning" to "playing", and others actually like "playing the game", as in learning what your opponent's doing and all. And while we keep trying to make "winning-centric" metas care about interaction/fun factor/balance, we should just focus on learning our place and doing what we like.
Problem with Infect is getting the time to react to their fast openers - If I depend on getting Molten Vortex online, and having bolts, it may or may not be enough. That's pretty much the only reason I keep Sudden Shock around, so I can side out my slow/grindy cards (Crusher, Sensation) and side in more removal and disruption such as Revelries, Angers and Shocks. And it might as well be due to being a bad player, but I don't find the matchup easy at all.
What would you recommend to improve my Infect matchup? I find it hard to be this favored ("almost a bye") against such an explosive/consistent/resilient deck.
Yeah, I agree with you on the extraction part - it is pretty awful to draw multiple Assaults when they're nothing more than discard fodder for Faithless Looting
And by no means I wanted to say that naturally drawing lands is efficient - I just meant it sometimes gets me there. Of course I rely heavily on creatures on these games ^^
(EDIT)
I really like how versatile Fog is (Infect/Aggro/Griselshoal/Affinity), and I don't think dropping down to 2 Destructive Revelry would be a good idea.
That said, while I do like my current sideboard (as in "I think I have a lot of useful tools"), I'm terrible at actually sideboarding (as showcased on the report).
Regarding Dredge, I see Anger of the Gods as a paliative measure - they are resilient enough as to rebuild their position. It's Cage that really matters, imho. Having the Assault-Loam engine online also helps a lot, indeed, and Goyfs/Crushers tend to block Amalgams very well. I usually board in Fog as well in favor of the slower cards.
And you're absolutely correct regarding the Snapcaster Mage matchups, I really should sideboard more carefully.
I don't see having Loam extirpated as game over because of these other threats/game plans. Of course things still need to align somewhat well (deck would absolutely love having access to another Loam-like recursive effect), but I guess that's playing game 2 with a synergy-based deck, regardless.
Ok, this last week's FNM was weird. There were only 9 players, field looked like this:
- 2 Grixis Delver
- 2 Grixis Control
- 1 RG Titanshift
- 1 UG Infect
- 1 Dredge
- 1 Naya Allies
- 1 RG Assault
I performed very poorly - went 0-3 and a bye. Will go into detail on what I believe I did wrong, and what could've been better regarding my current list.
First thing, right off the bat - don't EVER assume that I'm a good player. I believe I make a lot of mistakes, and really find myself having to crawl back into the game most of the time. That said, here we go.
Friday Night Magic - Leitura Parque D. Pedro
November 18
Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Attendance was low that night due to a myriad of factors. Another popular store moved to a better location recently, which has been drawing players there for the past few weeks. Also, finals are approaching, and a number of regulars missed this FNM to prepare (or something).
Round 1 - Grixis Control
Got paired against my friend who was trying Corey Buckhart’s Grixis Control (with a different SB, aimed toward what we usually have here, of course). He’s very experienced with Control, and manages his resources very well.
It was mostly an awesome game, I believe I put up a good fight. He countered my Crawling Sensation and delayed Molten Vortex action by countering the Life from the Loam and giving me little to no breathing room.
Game 2 I keep a very bad opener (Hindsight). Again, I rely too much on my creatures and a lonely Molten Vortex to stop the flood gates (?), and get punished by abundant removal + Engineered Explosives. This game was also very fun and intense - to the point I slammed a Thrun, the Last Troll and began the clock, which he answered with a Tasigur, the Golden Fang. We got to the point where he was very low on life (3-ish) and chained Cryptic Commands for “Tap all; bounce Raging Ravine”. He even played around Lightning Bolt (which I didn’t have) until the very last turn, when he bashed for lethal with Tasigur and Tar Pit.
Hindsight 20/20: I’d totally side the Cages, everytime. Also, I knew what I was playing against, and should’ve mulliganed more aggressively toward an early Crawling Sensation and Life from the Loam, since I have 8 Assault effects - even on Game 1. Total brainfart - kept creature-heavy hands against “removal.deck”. Other than that, totally should’ve kept some number of Lightning Bolts for Game 2. Really need to improve my sideboarding skills (fair warning: more cringe ahead)
Loss: 0-2
Overall: 0-1
Round 2 - Grixis Delver
This one came back to bite me in the butt. I tend to be overly confident against Grixis because no Rest in Peace usually means I can play around the graveyard hate, and Crawling Sensation at times takes the game by itself.
Also, I take pride on running a ton of recursive damage, which makes the deck solid against small-creature strategies, so when I realized I was paired up against Grixis Delver I thought to myself “What could possibly go wrong? Everything seems aligned in my favor, right?”
Oh boy.
This guy is the original “Dredge Guy” on the store. Since he’s afraid of a banning, he has been borrowing different decks to try them and see that he’s not completely set adrift should a ban arise in the near future. He’s a cool guy, and plays mostly well (better than I do, at the very least), though he isn’t as experienced as my Round 1 opponent.
Game 1 is a blur. I was under the impression I kept a very solid hand, since I knew what I was playing against. Removals here and there, then Tasigur, the Golden Fang happened, and numerous discards and… Really, something bad happened, and I can’t seem to remember precisely - I assume, however, that I misplayed somehow and/or never found Life from the Loam. Also, Crawling Sensation was discarded (I guess) early in the game.
Game 2 I get completely, absolutely, totally, definitely, undoubtedly destroyed. First of all, I keep Anger of the Gods, Destructive Revelry (idk, Leyline), Lightning Bolt and Molten Vortex. I mean, come on, so much value - Turn 1 Vortex, playing around discard spell and all.
Hindsight 20/20: Less Thragtusk, more Tarmogoyf. Also, mulligan aggressively toward the engine, not good - just keep removal and wait for the engine to come online by itself. Don’t side out Crawling Sensation since it could’ve possibly won me the game there (blocking Tasigur, finding Loam, fueling the grave for Goyf…), even against Delver.
Loss: 0-2
Overall: 0-2
Round 3 - RG Titanshift
It’s been a long time since I had last played against a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck. Of all blends and flavors, I’d rather get obliterated by honest-to-god ramp into Primeval Titan and actual individual Valakut triggers than all that Through the Breach-Emrakul, the Aeons Torn mumbo-jumbo, so I found this match very fun to play.
The player is also very experienced with Magic and Modern, and I enjoy playing against good players because of the feedback after each game, since we get to discuss what we did right, wrong or what could’ve worked, what we played around… This applies to all 3 of my opponents, but due to time constraints this was the round I actually had the opportunity to talk about plays and all.
Game 1 is a head-to-head race. He finds a lot of ramp, I get the Molten Vortex engine early, assisted by Tarmogoyf for the sick beats. However, he reaches 8 lands and Scapeshifts for 36 damage, which is more than enough. This game, though uneventful, had both of us thinking about potential damage and how long the game could take, whether we would have another turn or not… So it was pretty intense in its last turns.
Tough game, very intense and fast-paced, we both had a blast.
Hindsight 20/20: Really have to learn to sideboard better, I got traumatized by graveyard hate and keep bringing Destructive Revelry even in matches where it doesn’t belong. The Lightning Bolts are better than I value them, even if less synergistic with the deck - I should be more conscious about how to value reach.
Loss: 1-2
Overall 0-3
Round 4 - Bye
I like to joke around that the perfect record is “0-3, cry in the bathroom for round 4, get dropped out for not showing, lose lottery prizes”. Well, while I was somewhat inclined of following the plan, I have to work better on untilting myself and getting some perspective so I can improve as a magic player, Assault Loam or not.
Result: 2-0 Bye
Overall: 1-3
Verdict - Scrub
//
To anyone who read this far, thank you very much for your support - I’ll keep trying to get better and better so I can provide more helpful advice, but truth is I’m a bit bummed out (even disregarding this FNM), so I’ll stop playing Modern for a while. As soon as I get excited about some new tech or strategy, will be sure to come back here, since Assault Loam will always have a special place in my heart.
All the best to all of you, hope you enjoyed this scrub’s report! ^^
Haven't been able to playtest your 4C list, I'll just jam my usual Red-Green build tonight. It's been 10 days and no further activity on this thread, which is kinda sad.
Really looking forward to testing something like this - the 4-color greed is real, but there are a ton of very sweet synergies there that really caught my eye. As a huge fan of Smallpox and Young Pyromancer I must say I'm very impressed. It's hard to evaluate how such a list would play, but nevertheless I'm curious
I also agree on Crawling Sensation being a powerhouse - wins matches on its own sometimes.
Really unsure on what else to say other than this list looks sweet, and don't know whether I'll be able to playtest it anytime soon to provide more helpful feedback. But congratulations, man, just the idea of running these cards and game plans together warms my heart.
This event would usually have been hosted by Star City Games, but they have decided to only do spring states this year.
As I have ran the last 6 or so South Dakota Fall States, I decided to host it myself, getting custom playmats made (thanks to Gamermats.com), and running it as normal.
We had 26 players show up from 4 different states.
Top 8 Players:
1rst Vince Hill (of Fort Laramie, Wy)
2nd Trevor Walz (of Spearfish, SD)
3rd Tyler Sanders (of Rapid City, SD)
4th Joel Anderson (of Rapid City, SD)
5th Travis Conrad (of Deadwood, SD)
6th Thomas Evans (of Dickinson, ND)
7th Landon Heinricy (of Pierre, SD)
8th Sean Watson (of Rapid City, SD)
Hello everyone - sometimes I like to come back here and share my latest list. I'm far from being a competitive (or competent) player, and mostly run Seismic Assault on FNMs. My sole purpose is to share whatever knowledge I may have acquired recently, and perhaps it could help some of you.
Why Red/Green?
I like straight-up Red/Green the most because I feel like I can keep the greediest hands and get away with it. It also feels a lot easier to get RRR for Seismic Assault, and helps me go deep on early-game Ghost Quarter recursion versus Tron. The times I played Jund or Temur always felt like I had the very real chance of losing to my own manabase, and RG just gets rid of that stress, mostly.
Recent Additions and Tests
I have recently tested a bit with Noose Constrictor as a Wild Mongrel of sorts. I even tried adding a Madness subtheme to the deck just because - but it really underperformed. I think the best thing I achieved with it was Life from the Loam getting back lands so I could discard and bash for 5 every turn, since my opponent had Leyline of Sanctity out. It worked out just fine, but Scavenging Ooze #3 might just be better overall. Not completely sure, though - since the Constrictor also looked nice alongside Crusher, but that's stretching a bit. With 8 "discard a land" outlets on the deck, seems unnecessary.
On the other hand, Crawling Sensation has been a total beast. It pretty much won me several games (and matches) against Grixis and a couple of games against Jeskai Control and weenie decks. It fulfills the function Young Pyromancer used to have (back when I played a lot more Sorceries/Instants and had maindeck Flame Jabs, before Molten Vortex existed), but is a lot harder to remove. Additionally, helps me dig for Life from the Loam and increases the relevant Enchantment count, making enchantment removal a bit worse (due to multiple threats). I highly recommend some testing on this, especially if you like grinding the game.
Vessel of Nascency started out as a 1-of, to check if it could be a Commune with the Gods that had less timing restrictions. I used to run a number of Communes because I really found the effect very helpful - but it cost me a lot of tempo and was vulnerable to timely countermagic, which is why I have been searching for something similar. Vessel fulfilled my expectations because it's another turn 1 play, synergizes nicely with Tarmogoyf, and has the slight upside of allowing me to get an artifact (for sideboarded games) or even a land (that +2 damage sometimes actually matters). It's versatile, doesn't get stuck on my hand... Been liking it so far.
Magmatic Insight was very disappointing - ran a varying number of them through the last year or so, from 1 to 4 - definitely has a lot of value if I were back on the Young Pyromancer train, but then again it just feels very awkward most of the time. It's not BAD, just not there yet. Haven't tested Tormenting Voice or Cathartic Reunion on the slot because I really hate being Spell Snared (who doesn't?). Definitely on a more spell-centered strategy, they could work great with Life from the Loam, but yeah.
Another recent addition has been the Haunted Fengraf plan - basically, recur creatures to outgrind the opponent. Friend of mine suggested it, so I have been testing. Too soon to think of any conclusions.
Regarding the Sideboard, my configuration has been changing A LOT lately. My main concern has been having a plan against Dredge, Bogles, Infect and Griselshoal (the "top cancers" on my local metagame). Other than that, getting a hand against Merfolk and Burn would also be great, and Bant Eldrazi was very rough (played only one match, couldn't test much). Overall, the sideboard has been serviceable - only conclusion so far is that the Tron matchup really only needs aggressive mulligans toward Ghost Quarter and Life from the Loam (used to run 2 Crumble to Dust on SB).
Comments on Current Iteration:
I really like this current list. It's by no means polished/competitive/metagame-breaking, but I just like how smoothly it runs, and how easy it is to dig toward Loam, finding a replacement Assault post-removal... Of course, Rest in Peace IS a beating, but that's ok, I guess. I really think 26 lands feels right, though a bit on the lighter side (used to run 28), but it works. Getting to untap, dredge Loam and attack with a lethal Crusher+Assault for 17+ damage HAS to be one of my favourite things in Magic, all the while having access to some sweet land disruption, board control and some resilience to countermagic.
Just... trust the deck, I guess. It's ok to keep 1-landers with Loam/Looting/Vessel. Crusher costs 3 mana + a fetchland. Cast Loam for 0 lands so you can make a big Goyf on turn 3. Always have a plan for Rest in Peace and GO DEEP, being cautious is all your opponent wants. Make them have to have it and crush some countrysides. Throwing lands at your opponent's face.
Regarding Baleful Strix, I'd say it's a bit too much - it's not like Wall of Omens that simply blocks and nets you some virtual life, it's a cantrip creature that blocks really well (due to flying) and trades up with anything. It's already a 2:1 effect on itself, and if either trades in combat or takes removal, it's a 3:1 with zero effort. Too much.
If your meta has a lot of burn or gr aggro, call the bloodline is likely a great card there. Chumps with lifelink for days? Yes please. There hasn't been much discussion here but I do tend to check in every day if you ever have comments or questions I would happily bounce ideas back and forth with you.
Hey - long time, no see (I remember your posts back from Treasure Cruise Modern!)
Yeah, I agree - Call the Bloodline is very sweet - was thinking of sleeving back my Squee, Goblin Nabobs and going all-in, but didn't work. However, it sure makes the Jund approach to Assault Loam a lot better. But what about Crawling Sensation? First thing it comes to mind is that it provides an additional "dredge" effect to help find Life from the Loam and make Countryside Crusher bigger without requiring additional resources (for example, Call the Bloodline costs a card per token, and Sensation also triggers with Ghost Quarter and fetchlands. I'm not completely sold, though - Bloodline is probably better because Lifelink AND being an engine on itself - but I might give Sensation a whirl on a nonblack list.
Friend of mine offered me some help and designed his own Assault deck, with a slightly different approach:
This is a preliminary list that he brewed attempting to apply some interesting ideas. First of all, he wanted the deck to be less susceptible to graveyard hate, while giving it tools to drag the game (Blood Moon) and avoid getting decked in the grindiest matchups (Gaea's Blessing). His intention was to make the deck play more like a midrange strategy instead of going guns blazing on the engine and burning opponent ASAP.
I was very skeptical at first, but once I played some matches I finally understood. 4 Mulch might be too much - could see replacing at least one copy for Commune with the Gods, the third Life from the Loam or something else - but drawing 2-3 lands straight from the library has been a lifesaver. Also, casting Gaea's Blessing to shuffle back some relevant spells in grindy games does help.
Although not entirely on board with his list, I felt it was refreshing to see something different (at least for me), and thought it might me helpful for you guys.
Either way, will keep on testing some weird ideas, and see if something cool comes up.
What I meant was "built this crappy list on last minute with whatever I had immediate access to, it's not at all optimized/tested/justifiable by any means". I'm trying to get back at discussing an archetype I was pretty fond of.
Clarification: "I know it's awful, don't bother" (providing feedback on such a crappy list)
Have there been any recent developments for the more traditional Seismic Assault strategy?
Thanks for the advice, LeviatanCL - looks like an interesting option, gave the primer a quick read, as well as some of the latest comments there. I'm not completely sold, though - looks like a lot of wishful thinking (reminds me of my durdle decks).
And yes, you got it right, regarding what I probably want. It's a bit deeper than that (I used to enjoy playing fair games that lead to weird, complex board states), but you got the core idea. Really appreciate the feedback, will keep looking into it - thanks.
Going kind of out on a limb here, it doesn't sound anything like the decks you've played before, but while reading your post I kept thinking about 8Rack. It's a mono-black control deck with a ton of discard spells that wins with The Rack and Shrieking Affliction.
It does run 4 Ensnaring Bridge and 4 Liliana of the Veil, so it's not a budget deck if that's a problem.
Sorry for taking so long to reply - thanks for the advice.
Sadly, my B card pool is somewhat limited, but I'll look into it nonetheless. Appreciate the thoughtful advice!
Wanted to get back to this thread, after a long time away (phew, 3 weeks since last comment?). Have there been any recent developments for the more traditional Seismic Assault strategy?
Considering the whole Zombie Infestation/Call the Bloodline approach, I'm not a huge fan, but has it been working better than just going all-in with the Assault plan? Doesn't look particularly fast or solid, on first sight.
Thanks for the advice, LeviatanCL - looks like an interesting option, gave the primer a quick read, as well as some of the latest comments there. I'm not completely sold, though - looks like a lot of wishful thinking (reminds me of my durdle decks).
And yes, you got it right, regarding what I probably want. It's a bit deeper than that (I used to enjoy playing fair games that lead to weird, complex board states), but you got the core idea. Really appreciate the feedback, will keep looking into it - thanks.
Thing is - some people like this linear crap. I don't.
And I usually don't mind at all for "format health" or "balanced archetypes" because I believe that, for the average player, what matters the most is their local meta, the people they play with/against. While banning/unbanning cards surely has serious impact in actual competitive Modern (because people will just migrate to whatever the next best deck is, that's the whole idea of playing Tier 1), I'd like to believe Modern community would be a lot better if we all just admitted that we play whatever we want/like/think that works for our local metas, and pay less heed to what Pro Player X or Y said about the format or played last week.
IMHO that was the whole point of dropping the Modern Pro Tour (it created a lot of anticipation, speculation and need for fast changes). Of course GP meta health is at stake - because that's where competitive players are, and Spike will always just jam what's currently the best - but I'd like to think that as long as people are just playing what they like against what they hate, Modern will be just fine.
Seems to me there's way too much uproar for what seemingly can be solved by deckbuilding - reminds me a lot of Treasure Cruise Delver times. I'd just slam maindeck Volcanic Fallouts, and have Flame Jabs on my Life from the Loam deck and call it a day, had a blast (and Smallpox was really effective against Melira Pod). Of course Dredge is pretty busted, but what's NOT busted in competitive Modern anyway?
Isn't that the main reason to "be" competitive? Why give your opponent the chance to cast their 4-drops when you can just obliterate them before that?
I'd really like to think that some people prefer "winning" to "playing", and others actually like "playing the game", as in learning what your opponent's doing and all. And while we keep trying to make "winning-centric" metas care about interaction/fun factor/balance, we should just focus on learning our place and doing what we like.
Problem with Infect is getting the time to react to their fast openers - If I depend on getting Molten Vortex online, and having bolts, it may or may not be enough. That's pretty much the only reason I keep Sudden Shock around, so I can side out my slow/grindy cards (Crusher, Sensation) and side in more removal and disruption such as Revelries, Angers and Shocks. And it might as well be due to being a bad player, but I don't find the matchup easy at all.
What would you recommend to improve my Infect matchup? I find it hard to be this favored ("almost a bye") against such an explosive/consistent/resilient deck.
And by no means I wanted to say that naturally drawing lands is efficient - I just meant it sometimes gets me there. Of course I rely heavily on creatures on these games ^^
Regarding Anger of the Gods, I understand what you're saying - but what would you recommend? Swapping Worm Harvest for Anger #3? Or Maybe one of the Feed the Clans?
(EDIT)
I really like how versatile Fog is (Infect/Aggro/Griselshoal/Affinity), and I don't think dropping down to 2 Destructive Revelry would be a good idea.
That said, while I do like my current sideboard (as in "I think I have a lot of useful tools"), I'm terrible at actually sideboarding (as showcased on the report).
Regarding Dredge, I see Anger of the Gods as a paliative measure - they are resilient enough as to rebuild their position. It's Cage that really matters, imho. Having the Assault-Loam engine online also helps a lot, indeed, and Goyfs/Crushers tend to block Amalgams very well. I usually board in Fog as well in favor of the slower cards.
And you're absolutely correct regarding the Snapcaster Mage matchups, I really should sideboard more carefully.
On 8 Seismic Assault effects, I just like the redundancy to find them faster (and discard extras to Looting) because it makes me more resilient against enchantment removal. While I'm pretty much "all in", I've won more than once after getting Surgical Extraction/Extirpate'd - if it's not Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void, Countryside Crusher still grows, Tamogoyf presents a clock and I can always naturally draw lands (it actually works). Raging Ravine and Crawling Sensation are also very real threats that don't depend on Life from the Loam, and that being the case I'd probably side in Thrun, the Last Troll, Thragtusk and Worm Harvest to get that extra edge if the matchup is grindy enough.
I don't see having Loam extirpated as game over because of these other threats/game plans. Of course things still need to align somewhat well (deck would absolutely love having access to another Loam-like recursive effect), but I guess that's playing game 2 with a synergy-based deck, regardless.
Again, what terrifies me is Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void. I believe Relic of Progenitus, Scavenging Ooze, Nihil Spellbomb, Tormod's Crypt, Surgical Extraction and Extirpate all have ways to play around. Not easy, by any means, but manageable.
Thank you very much for your thoughts ^^
- 2 Grixis Delver
- 2 Grixis Control
- 1 RG Titanshift
- 1 UG Infect
- 1 Dredge
- 1 Naya Allies
- 1 RG Assault
I performed very poorly - went 0-3 and a bye. Will go into detail on what I believe I did wrong, and what could've been better regarding my current list.
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Stomping Ground
4 Copperline Gorge
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Raging Ravine
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Haunted Fengraf
2 Mountain
2 Forest
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Countryside Crusher
//Spells
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Life from the Loam
//Enchantments
4 Molten Vortex
2 Vessel of Nascency
4 Seismic Assault
2 Crawling Sensation
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Fog
2 Sudden Shock
2 Feed the Clan
3 Destructive Revelry
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Thragtusk
1 Worm Harvest
First thing, right off the bat - don't EVER assume that I'm a good player. I believe I make a lot of mistakes, and really find myself having to crawl back into the game most of the time. That said, here we go.
Friday Night Magic - Leitura Parque D. Pedro
November 18
Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Attendance was low that night due to a myriad of factors. Another popular store moved to a better location recently, which has been drawing players there for the past few weeks. Also, finals are approaching, and a number of regulars missed this FNM to prepare (or something).
Round 1 - Grixis Control
Got paired against my friend who was trying Corey Buckhart’s Grixis Control (with a different SB, aimed toward what we usually have here, of course). He’s very experienced with Control, and manages his resources very well.
Game 1 I begin with early pressure - Molten Vortex into Tarmogoyf and then Countryside Crusher. It takes me a while to find Life from the Loam, and in this time he manages to properly address all my threats and grind me out on a dragged game, finishing off with Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Snapcaster Mages and Creeping Tar Pit.
It was mostly an awesome game, I believe I put up a good fight. He countered my Crawling Sensation and delayed Molten Vortex action by countering the Life from the Loam and giving me little to no breathing room.
I side out the Lightning Bolts and a Countryside Crusher in favor of Thrun, the Last Troll, Thragtusk, Worm Harvest and 2 copies of Destructive Revelry just in case. I wonder if I should bring the Grafdigger’s Cages, but since the match is set up to be a grindfest, I thought I’d need to flashback my Faithless Lootings to keep up the pressure.
Game 2 I keep a very bad opener (Hindsight). Again, I rely too much on my creatures and a lonely Molten Vortex to stop the flood gates (?), and get punished by abundant removal + Engineered Explosives. This game was also very fun and intense - to the point I slammed a Thrun, the Last Troll and began the clock, which he answered with a Tasigur, the Golden Fang. We got to the point where he was very low on life (3-ish) and chained Cryptic Commands for “Tap all; bounce Raging Ravine”. He even played around Lightning Bolt (which I didn’t have) until the very last turn, when he bashed for lethal with Tasigur and Tar Pit.
Hindsight 20/20: I’d totally side the Cages, everytime. Also, I knew what I was playing against, and should’ve mulliganed more aggressively toward an early Crawling Sensation and Life from the Loam, since I have 8 Assault effects - even on Game 1. Total brainfart - kept creature-heavy hands against “removal.deck”. Other than that, totally should’ve kept some number of Lightning Bolts for Game 2. Really need to improve my sideboarding skills (fair warning: more cringe ahead)
Loss: 0-2
Overall: 0-1
Round 2 - Grixis Delver
This one came back to bite me in the butt. I tend to be overly confident against Grixis because no Rest in Peace usually means I can play around the graveyard hate, and Crawling Sensation at times takes the game by itself.
Also, I take pride on running a ton of recursive damage, which makes the deck solid against small-creature strategies, so when I realized I was paired up against Grixis Delver I thought to myself “What could possibly go wrong? Everything seems aligned in my favor, right?”
Oh boy.
This guy is the original “Dredge Guy” on the store. Since he’s afraid of a banning, he has been borrowing different decks to try them and see that he’s not completely set adrift should a ban arise in the near future. He’s a cool guy, and plays mostly well (better than I do, at the very least), though he isn’t as experienced as my Round 1 opponent.
Game 1 is a blur. I was under the impression I kept a very solid hand, since I knew what I was playing against. Removals here and there, then Tasigur, the Golden Fang happened, and numerous discards and… Really, something bad happened, and I can’t seem to remember precisely - I assume, however, that I misplayed somehow and/or never found Life from the Loam. Also, Crawling Sensation was discarded (I guess) early in the game.
I sideboard badly - out with Tarmogoyfs and both Crawling Sensations (since it was Delver, not Control), in with Anger of the Gods, Sudden Shock and Thragtusk. After all, “what else could possibly go wrong?”...
Game 2 I get completely, absolutely, totally, definitely, undoubtedly destroyed. First of all, I keep Anger of the Gods, Destructive Revelry (idk, Leyline), Lightning Bolt and Molten Vortex. I mean, come on, so much value - Turn 1 Vortex, playing around discard spell and all.
He goes turn 1 Pithing Needle for Molten Vortex. That’s fine. I manage to topdeck Faithless Looting that finds me Seismic Assault and Life from the Loam. Long story short - he exiled my Loam with Nihil Spellbomb, discarded Seismic Assault and wrecked my board with Tasigur, again, and follow-up removal spells. I never find another Faithless Looting nor Life from the Loam, Seismic Assault or Thragtusk, but that was well deserved.
Hindsight 20/20: Less Thragtusk, more Tarmogoyf. Also, mulligan aggressively toward the engine, not good - just keep removal and wait for the engine to come online by itself. Don’t side out Crawling Sensation since it could’ve possibly won me the game there (blocking Tasigur, finding Loam, fueling the grave for Goyf…), even against Delver.
Loss: 0-2
Overall: 0-2
Round 3 - RG Titanshift
It’s been a long time since I had last played against a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck. Of all blends and flavors, I’d rather get obliterated by honest-to-god ramp into Primeval Titan and actual individual Valakut triggers than all that Through the Breach-Emrakul, the Aeons Torn mumbo-jumbo, so I found this match very fun to play.
The player is also very experienced with Magic and Modern, and I enjoy playing against good players because of the feedback after each game, since we get to discuss what we did right, wrong or what could’ve worked, what we played around… This applies to all 3 of my opponents, but due to time constraints this was the round I actually had the opportunity to talk about plays and all.
Game 1 is a head-to-head race. He finds a lot of ramp, I get the Molten Vortex engine early, assisted by Tarmogoyf for the sick beats. However, he reaches 8 lands and Scapeshifts for 36 damage, which is more than enough. This game, though uneventful, had both of us thinking about potential damage and how long the game could take, whether we would have another turn or not… So it was pretty intense in its last turns.
I sideboard my Lightning Bolts out (and something else, Crawling Sensations if I had to guess), get a Thragtusk, 2 copies of Destructive Revelry (just in case) and Feed the Clan each. I realize I don’t actually have a sideboard plan against Valakut - older versions of the deck used to run 3 Ghost Quarter and 2 Tectonic Edge, so, for the first time since my last Tron matchup, I miss them.
Game 2 I keep an aggressive hand, with Countryside Crusher + fetchland on turn 4 to play around Lightning Bolt, Seismic Assault on 3 and Tectonic Edge to keep my opp down a land. Even though I had to fetch for shock twice, I pressure him enough so he Summoner’s Pact for a Courser of Kruphix to hit land drops and net some life, but ultimately I threaten lethal with a giant Countryside Crusher and Life from the Loam+Seismic Assault to clear the path. He concedes.
(for anyone who’s counting, that was my first Game Win that night)
Game 3 I open with Vessel of Nascency into Tarmogoyfs. 3 of them. They all grow to be 5/6s, opponent gains a bunch of life out of Obstinate Baloths, Courser of Kruphix and used up a lot of Valakut triggers to finish off my board. He’s at 4 life, I never found Life from the Loam, though already have Molten Vortex on the field and a land in hand. He has 2 online Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, topdecks a fetchland. I’m at 6.
Tough game, very intense and fast-paced, we both had a blast.
Hindsight 20/20: Really have to learn to sideboard better, I got traumatized by graveyard hate and keep bringing Destructive Revelry even in matches where it doesn’t belong. The Lightning Bolts are better than I value them, even if less synergistic with the deck - I should be more conscious about how to value reach.
Loss: 1-2
Overall 0-3
Round 4 - Bye
I like to joke around that the perfect record is “0-3, cry in the bathroom for round 4, get dropped out for not showing, lose lottery prizes”. Well, while I was somewhat inclined of following the plan, I have to work better on untilting myself and getting some perspective so I can improve as a magic player, Assault Loam or not.
Result: 2-0 Bye
Overall: 1-3
Verdict - Scrub
//
To anyone who read this far, thank you very much for your support - I’ll keep trying to get better and better so I can provide more helpful advice, but truth is I’m a bit bummed out (even disregarding this FNM), so I’ll stop playing Modern for a while. As soon as I get excited about some new tech or strategy, will be sure to come back here, since Assault Loam will always have a special place in my heart.
All the best to all of you, hope you enjoyed this scrub’s report! ^^
Anyhow, will edit this later with my report.
Really looking forward to testing something like this - the 4-color greed is real, but there are a ton of very sweet synergies there that really caught my eye. As a huge fan of Smallpox and Young Pyromancer I must say I'm very impressed. It's hard to evaluate how such a list would play, but nevertheless I'm curious
I also agree on Crawling Sensation being a powerhouse - wins matches on its own sometimes.
Really unsure on what else to say other than this list looks sweet, and don't know whether I'll be able to playtest it anytime soon to provide more helpful feedback. But congratulations, man, just the idea of running these cards and game plans together warms my heart.
Hi - found the referred list on a thread on Modern Forum. Here it is, thought it could be useful:
First things first, my current list:
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Stomping Ground
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Raging Ravine
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Haunted Fengraf
2 Mountain
2 Forest
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Countryside Crusher
//Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Faithless Looting
4 Life from the Loam
//Enchantments
4 Molten Vortex
2 Vessel of Nascency
4 Seimic Assault
2 Crawling Sensation
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Fog
2 Sudden Shock
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Feed the Clan
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Thragtusk
1 Worm Harvest
Why Red/Green?
I like straight-up Red/Green the most because I feel like I can keep the greediest hands and get away with it. It also feels a lot easier to get RRR for Seismic Assault, and helps me go deep on early-game Ghost Quarter recursion versus Tron. The times I played Jund or Temur always felt like I had the very real chance of losing to my own manabase, and RG just gets rid of that stress, mostly.
Recent Additions and Tests
I have recently tested a bit with Noose Constrictor as a Wild Mongrel of sorts. I even tried adding a Madness subtheme to the deck just because - but it really underperformed. I think the best thing I achieved with it was Life from the Loam getting back lands so I could discard and bash for 5 every turn, since my opponent had Leyline of Sanctity out. It worked out just fine, but Scavenging Ooze #3 might just be better overall. Not completely sure, though - since the Constrictor also looked nice alongside Crusher, but that's stretching a bit. With 8 "discard a land" outlets on the deck, seems unnecessary.
On the other hand, Crawling Sensation has been a total beast. It pretty much won me several games (and matches) against Grixis and a couple of games against Jeskai Control and weenie decks. It fulfills the function Young Pyromancer used to have (back when I played a lot more Sorceries/Instants and had maindeck Flame Jabs, before Molten Vortex existed), but is a lot harder to remove. Additionally, helps me dig for Life from the Loam and increases the relevant Enchantment count, making enchantment removal a bit worse (due to multiple threats). I highly recommend some testing on this, especially if you like grinding the game.
Vessel of Nascency started out as a 1-of, to check if it could be a Commune with the Gods that had less timing restrictions. I used to run a number of Communes because I really found the effect very helpful - but it cost me a lot of tempo and was vulnerable to timely countermagic, which is why I have been searching for something similar. Vessel fulfilled my expectations because it's another turn 1 play, synergizes nicely with Tarmogoyf, and has the slight upside of allowing me to get an artifact (for sideboarded games) or even a land (that +2 damage sometimes actually matters). It's versatile, doesn't get stuck on my hand... Been liking it so far.
Magmatic Insight was very disappointing - ran a varying number of them through the last year or so, from 1 to 4 - definitely has a lot of value if I were back on the Young Pyromancer train, but then again it just feels very awkward most of the time. It's not BAD, just not there yet. Haven't tested Tormenting Voice or Cathartic Reunion on the slot because I really hate being Spell Snared (who doesn't?). Definitely on a more spell-centered strategy, they could work great with Life from the Loam, but yeah.
Another recent addition has been the Haunted Fengraf plan - basically, recur creatures to outgrind the opponent. Friend of mine suggested it, so I have been testing. Too soon to think of any conclusions.
Regarding the Sideboard, my configuration has been changing A LOT lately. My main concern has been having a plan against Dredge, Bogles, Infect and Griselshoal (the "top cancers" on my local metagame). Other than that, getting a hand against Merfolk and Burn would also be great, and Bant Eldrazi was very rough (played only one match, couldn't test much). Overall, the sideboard has been serviceable - only conclusion so far is that the Tron matchup really only needs aggressive mulligans toward Ghost Quarter and Life from the Loam (used to run 2 Crumble to Dust on SB).
Comments on Current Iteration:
I really like this current list. It's by no means polished/competitive/metagame-breaking, but I just like how smoothly it runs, and how easy it is to dig toward Loam, finding a replacement Assault post-removal... Of course, Rest in Peace IS a beating, but that's ok, I guess. I really think 26 lands feels right, though a bit on the lighter side (used to run 28), but it works. Getting to untap, dredge Loam and attack with a lethal Crusher+Assault for 17+ damage HAS to be one of my favourite things in Magic, all the while having access to some sweet land disruption, board control and some resilience to countermagic.
Just... trust the deck, I guess. It's ok to keep 1-landers with Loam/Looting/Vessel. Crusher costs 3 mana + a fetchland. Cast Loam for 0 lands so you can make a big Goyf on turn 3. Always have a plan for Rest in Peace and GO DEEP, being cautious is all your opponent wants. Make them have to have it and crush some countrysides. Throwing lands at your opponent's face.
DAMN that list looks AWESOME, man *-* cheers!
[disclaimer]: I'm not an active user on this forum, please feel free to provide feedback, but keep in mind I might-- *smokescreen*
Regarding Baleful Strix, I'd say it's a bit too much - it's not like Wall of Omens that simply blocks and nets you some virtual life, it's a cantrip creature that blocks really well (due to flying) and trades up with anything. It's already a 2:1 effect on itself, and if either trades in combat or takes removal, it's a 3:1 with zero effort. Too much.
Hey - long time, no see (I remember your posts back from Treasure Cruise Modern!)
Yeah, I agree - Call the Bloodline is very sweet - was thinking of sleeving back my Squee, Goblin Nabobs and going all-in, but didn't work. However, it sure makes the Jund approach to Assault Loam a lot better. But what about Crawling Sensation? First thing it comes to mind is that it provides an additional "dredge" effect to help find Life from the Loam and make Countryside Crusher bigger without requiring additional resources (for example, Call the Bloodline costs a card per token, and Sensation also triggers with Ghost Quarter and fetchlands. I'm not completely sold, though - Bloodline is probably better because Lifelink AND being an engine on itself - but I might give Sensation a whirl on a nonblack list.
Friend of mine offered me some help and designed his own Assault deck, with a slightly different approach:
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Stomping Ground
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Raging Ravine
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Mountain
4 Forest
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Countryside Crusher
//Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Faithless Looting
2 Magmatic Insight
4 Mulch
2 Life from the Loam
2 Gaea's Blessing
2 Anger of the Gods
4 Molten Vortex
2 Seismic Assault
3 Blood Moon
This is a preliminary list that he brewed attempting to apply some interesting ideas. First of all, he wanted the deck to be less susceptible to graveyard hate, while giving it tools to drag the game (Blood Moon) and avoid getting decked in the grindiest matchups (Gaea's Blessing). His intention was to make the deck play more like a midrange strategy instead of going guns blazing on the engine and burning opponent ASAP.
I was very skeptical at first, but once I played some matches I finally understood. 4 Mulch might be too much - could see replacing at least one copy for Commune with the Gods, the third Life from the Loam or something else - but drawing 2-3 lands straight from the library has been a lifesaver. Also, casting Gaea's Blessing to shuffle back some relevant spells in grindy games does help.
Although not entirely on board with his list, I felt it was refreshing to see something different (at least for me), and thought it might me helpful for you guys.
Either way, will keep on testing some weird ideas, and see if something cool comes up.
Clarification: "I know it's awful, don't bother" (providing feedback on such a crappy list)
Have there been any recent developments for the more traditional Seismic Assault strategy?
Sorry for taking so long to reply - thanks for the advice.
Sadly, my B card pool is somewhat limited, but I'll look into it nonetheless. Appreciate the thoughtful advice!
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Windswept Heath
3 Stomping Ground
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Raging Ravine
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
2 Mountain
2 Forest
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Countryside Crusher
1 Eternal Witness
2 Hooting Mandrils
//Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Faithless Looting
4 Magmatic Insight
4 Life from the Loam
1 Anger of the Gods
//Enchantments
4 Molten Vortex
4 Seismic Assault
1 Pithing Needle
2 Nature's Claim
2 Guttural Response
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Feed the Clan
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Crumble to Dust
I know it's awful, don't bother.
Wanted to get back to this thread, after a long time away (phew, 3 weeks since last comment?). Have there been any recent developments for the more traditional Seismic Assault strategy?
Was thinking maybe sticking to RG and using Crawling Sensation as a 1 or 2-of, but I still need better sideboard plans against Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void and Leyline of Sanctity, never seems to be enough.
Considering the whole Zombie Infestation/Call the Bloodline approach, I'm not a huge fan, but has it been working better than just going all-in with the Assault plan? Doesn't look particularly fast or solid, on first sight.
And yes, you got it right, regarding what I probably want. It's a bit deeper than that (I used to enjoy playing fair games that lead to weird, complex board states), but you got the core idea. Really appreciate the feedback, will keep looking into it - thanks.