Juza's does have Rishkar, Peema Renegade and looks like it lacks Bristling Hydra and Woodland Wanderer though. Meaning he wants to ramp into 5 mana things rather than 4 mana things. Given he has at least 3+ Verdurous Gearhulk that makes sense. It's an interesting take, because Rishkar crews a lot more than Servant can and is much more relevant late game.
Looks like Martin Juza's deck does indeed have Scrapheap Scrounger. Basically looking like a black splash for that and Fatal Push. Which given the deck is really easy to splash something with certainly looks appealing.
I've actually dumped all my Blossoming Defense. I hated getting multiples, and I never wanted to hold up mana in the early turns anyway. Midrange doesn't need a key piece to survive, and instead every creature excepting our energy mana bear is a threat.
Flow could be good. I like 2x shock for better curve (we are 2 drop heavy already) and I play 4x chandra which kills snake already. But haven't tried flow so not sure.
I've had Nissa in there before Heart. Nissa was there for the Mardu Vehicles matchup in the past by blocking all of the ground based aggro while removal took care of Copter. She's still a powerhouse at blocking aggressive ground non-trample aggro. If she gets to the ultimate against Aggro or Control you pretty much win on the spot. Now these days yeah she's great with Heart and she's both pretty good at forcing Copy Cats to do something and absorbing damage or +1/+1 counters from a Walking Ballista in GB Counters.
I've been running x2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, x3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and x2 Heart of Kiran and I've been loving it. Could definitely be convinced to go up to x3 Heart of Kiran if I dropped the x2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade. Heart of Kiran has been an absolute powerhouse. Rishkar has sometimes been missing the mark, but I've had enough good moments with him to be hesitant in dropping him. Needs more testing I think. I still have a pair of five drops as well that I can ramp into.
For removal I have x4 Harnessed Lightning, x1 Shock, x1 Incendiary Flow in the main. The 1/1 split of Shock and Incendiary Flow is each handles Saheeli or the snake better. Would really love Lightning Strike about now. I'm curious if I could get away with x2 Shock instead against GB aiming mostly at the Walking Ballista.
I think you are spot on for why you want red. Harnessed Lightning in RG is just much better than Grasp of Darkness. Fatal Push versus Shock have their pros and cons, where Fatal Push often has more creature reach and Shock can go towards walkers and players. Incendiary Flow has always treated me well even if it's a Sorcery, while I admit there are times I'd prefer Ruinous Path. The energy cards in Voltaic Brawler and Bristling Hydra are absolute powerhouses. Brawler in particular has shined against Gideon in enough games for me to be incredibly fond. Most of all though, I have to agree that Chandra, Torch of Defiance is the main reason to go RG Midrange in a world that tends to lack flyers and mindslaver effects. All of her activates are relevant, and I've already done enough Turn 3 Chandra and Heart of Kiran games to just love that dream sequence. Going into Turn 4 with 6-7 mana is nuts. Copy Cats has an incredibly difficult time dealing with walkers when they are resolved, and Chandra is just under Gideon in power as long as she's protected which RG Midrange can usually do.
I agree on Tireless Trackers being better than Sin Prodder. I just can never praise Trackers enough. They demand an answer against Midrange or Control. Even then you usually get a Clue out of it. In a deck that runs 20-25 "lands" by counting Attune to Aether they fit far better than I'd have dreamed. Between Tireless Trackers and Chandra you can keep your mana busy in the mid to late game. It's what gives the deck it's Midrange feel.
I still don't get why people don't like cub, when it is one of the best creature in my opinion. In many games I win thanks to the cub; if we are not counting the pummeler, in my opinion the best creatures of the deck are cub - hydra followed by brawler. Cub pumps just to avoid shock/harnessed lightning, grows over the top and it's an energy generator thanks to its ability. Just won a game against jeskai control with cub. It also avoid radiant flames most of the time. Just play it in the right time and protect him, in the right matchup it's bonkers
I'm one who took out the Cubs to replace with Greenbelt Rampager. I don't run the Pummeler version. I've always personally rated Voltaic Brawler as better than the Cub due to the 4/3 trample which is far more reliable than even the 4/4, but I'd always kept both prior to Aether Revolt. The Longtusk Cub is I agree one of the strongest creatures in the deck when everything goes right. It's the worst when it goes wrong. After two games of putting 2 counters onto it and getting hit by Fatal Push I was done and I've never looked back. It lacks ETB Energy, can suck up all your Energy for nothing, and chumping it has always stalled it out. Voltaic Brawler on the other hand can pressure planeswalkers when necessary and at worst gives you two energy to use elsewhere. Rampager can generate energy in a pinch, and the pressure you can put out with it on Turn 3 or 4 is incredible with it only costing 1 mana. Not to mention with Rampager often sucking up more energy out of the deck there wasn't much left to give to the Cub. I think Longtusk Cub is amazing in a Pummeler deck that's building up a ton of energy, but Midrange tends to uses it up incrementally on several cards throughout the game rather then going for broke on one.
With enough answers including Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Galvanic Bombardment, Shock, Incendiary Flow, and Harnessed Lightning I could see RG beating up BG.
Here's a list I'm looking at playing at the San Jose GP this weekend. Please let me know your thoughts! I'm curious, is Goblin Darkdwellers worth considering sideboard? With all of our removal, it seems like it could work. Is it nota s good as gearhulk and Skysovereign?
I think you need to stick Tireless Trackers in there. They've never let me down, and they crew Kiran. I haven't been liking Longtusk Cubs on the mainboard ever since I've been using Greenbelt Rampager and Heart of Kiran. They are great on the play certainly, but they can get some dead situations and that's always felt bad. There's a limit I feel to what can suck in energy, and the Cub is one that sometimes never can even provide any. Especially against GB Counters in my test games. I actually dropped the Cubs completely, and switched to a Lathnu Hellion sideboard. Here's what I've shaped into after testing:
I've much preferred Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and/or a 3rd Chandra, Torch of Defiance over Arlinn Kord in the past. I didn't give her a shot in testing with the new meta which would certainly improve her, but I don't think her problems go away. She's not always on the flip side you want her to be, which creates situations where you have to delay what you want to do or chase the goal for the next turn. Besides, Heart of Kiran off Chandra's +1 is nuts. Which is why I've had a fantastic time with Heart of Kiran in testing.
Rush of Adrenaline is only for Pummeler builds. I'd rather just have a Shock in it's place. Kari Zev's Expertise has been doing some pretty good work against other Midrange and Marvel builds. I'm haven't quite convinced myself it isn't a win-more combination against Midrange though. I'm still testing it. Lathnu Hellion is definitely a sideboard card now for the Midrange build. Heroic Intervention really only protects us against Fumigate, given most of the real threats can ignore Radiant Flames. Besides, playing a board wipe into a board that has planeswalkers and vehicles is already soft countered. No need to overdo it, I'd rather have something hit the board afterwords to swing the Heart into. The one thing I think you are missing though is Tireless Tracker. It's not an energy card, but it's just too good to pass up. Between Chandra, the Trackers, and sometimes even a Nissa ultimate you can outgrind a lot of the Midrange and Control strategies out there right now.
Frontier is gaining ground but until it is officially recognized, it will never amount to more than a niche and won't affect its value...
I mean I agree I don't think Frontier is going many places either until it's officially recognized, but [[Collected Company]] would not have spiked recently if it wasn't for Frontier. Not to mention Jace. It's having an effect on prices, regardless if it lasts or not.
Against Combo you don't want Rishkar's Expertise because you can't tap out. Against Control it's risky given you might not have any board state, but you need the card draw to get to that. It'd work against Midrange, Aggro, or maybe even Tempo, but those situations may just be a win more over casting Skysovereign or Gearhulk even if theoretically you could do both. I've been running one on my sideboard for testing and frankly I'm not impressed. I've been liking Kari Zev's Expertise much more actually. Strictly sideboard material versus Midrange or Marvel, but it has flipped a few losses into a surprise win. I didn't think I'd ever enjoy a Threaten effect in constructed.
My issue with Winding Constrictor in Jund or other testing is the counter theme heavily depends on that card. People are packing a ton of removal to combat Copy Cat Control, so at least in my testing you either draw the Winding Constrictor or they answer it almost immediately. Regardless of how many Blossoming Defense you are packing. The one or two times you get to go with the card on the field though it's absolutely nuts. Just metering some expectations, as I initially jumped onto the GB hype train too and had some middling results. Maybe there's a better version of it out there than what I was playing though. Walking Ballista had some cool synergy with other stuff, but otherwise it had a much weaker late game than RG Midrange.
I played a few test games against GW Humans (2-1), Saheeli Copy Cat (2-0), Marvel (2-1), and UB Control (2-0). Settled on this before the games. I quick decided between Brawler and Cub, and went the Brawler route with the Cubs on the side for matches I wanted to race against an empty board or sometimes just when I'm on the play. Turn 3 5/4 trample was pretty crazy in the matches I got him out. Nissa and Chandra are just absolute beasts now without the flying threat. Heart of Kiran is just insane to cast off Chandra's mana, and there is definitely not a lack of 3 power creatures on this deck to crew it without the loyalty which I really only used for an offensive lethal or defense. Greenbelt Rampager is ridiculous at staving off Humans, and overall being something people can't ignore. I didn't cast it for it's energy very often though. Rishkar is nuts given on Turn 4 I blew out 9 mana worth of threats against UB Control with Greenbelt Rampager, Voltaic Brawler, followed by Chandra into Heart of Kiran. Was just way too much for Control to handle even with Push knocking off the Rampager the next turn, although it'd have been less spectacular if Chandra was countered instead of Brawler. Trackers continued to dominate or just crew Heart of Kiran while I was curving out. Keeping my hand full wasn't a problem with Chandra most of the time, and Trackers or Nissa in others. On the side Kari Zev's Expertise saved me my last Marvel game by stealing Ulamog, and the Shocks were generally good at killing Saheeli at instant speed when the combo was about to go off.
I'm interested to see what the meta becomes, because I do think I'd worry about GB with +1/+1 counters now that you mention it. I'm just not quite ready to jump into the blue splash quite yet even though I've always wanted Jace in the deck. I'm still worried at dropping my current x3 Incendiary Flow for just more creatures/vehicles, but those test games went extremely well without. Both Chandra and Nissa were in particular insane.
I've had Nissa in there before Heart. Nissa was there for the Mardu Vehicles matchup in the past by blocking all of the ground based aggro while removal took care of Copter. She's still a powerhouse at blocking aggressive ground non-trample aggro. If she gets to the ultimate against Aggro or Control you pretty much win on the spot. Now these days yeah she's great with Heart and she's both pretty good at forcing Copy Cats to do something and absorbing damage or +1/+1 counters from a Walking Ballista in GB Counters.
For removal I have x4 Harnessed Lightning, x1 Shock, x1 Incendiary Flow in the main. The 1/1 split of Shock and Incendiary Flow is each handles Saheeli or the snake better. Would really love Lightning Strike about now. I'm curious if I could get away with x2 Shock instead against GB aiming mostly at the Walking Ballista.
I agree on Tireless Trackers being better than Sin Prodder. I just can never praise Trackers enough. They demand an answer against Midrange or Control. Even then you usually get a Clue out of it. In a deck that runs 20-25 "lands" by counting Attune to Aether they fit far better than I'd have dreamed. Between Tireless Trackers and Chandra you can keep your mana busy in the mid to late game. It's what gives the deck it's Midrange feel. I'm one who took out the Cubs to replace with Greenbelt Rampager. I don't run the Pummeler version. I've always personally rated Voltaic Brawler as better than the Cub due to the 4/3 trample which is far more reliable than even the 4/4, but I'd always kept both prior to Aether Revolt. The Longtusk Cub is I agree one of the strongest creatures in the deck when everything goes right. It's the worst when it goes wrong. After two games of putting 2 counters onto it and getting hit by Fatal Push I was done and I've never looked back. It lacks ETB Energy, can suck up all your Energy for nothing, and chumping it has always stalled it out. Voltaic Brawler on the other hand can pressure planeswalkers when necessary and at worst gives you two energy to use elsewhere. Rampager can generate energy in a pinch, and the pressure you can put out with it on Turn 3 or 4 is incredible with it only costing 1 mana. Not to mention with Rampager often sucking up more energy out of the deck there wasn't much left to give to the Cub. I think Longtusk Cub is amazing in a Pummeler deck that's building up a ton of energy, but Midrange tends to uses it up incrementally on several cards throughout the game rather then going for broke on one.
I think you need to stick Tireless Trackers in there. They've never let me down, and they crew Kiran. I haven't been liking Longtusk Cubs on the mainboard ever since I've been using Greenbelt Rampager and Heart of Kiran. They are great on the play certainly, but they can get some dead situations and that's always felt bad. There's a limit I feel to what can suck in energy, and the Cub is one that sometimes never can even provide any. Especially against GB Counters in my test games. I actually dropped the Cubs completely, and switched to a Lathnu Hellion sideboard. Here's what I've shaped into after testing:
4 Aether Hub
2 Cinder Glade
9 Forest
4 Game Trail
2 Mountain
//Artifacts
2 Heart of Kiran
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
//Instants
4 Harnessed Lightning
//Sorceries
4 Attune with Aether
1 Incendiary Flow
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
//Creatures
3 Bristling Hydra
4 Greenbelt Rampager
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Tireless Tracker
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Voltaic Brawler
1 Kari Zev's Expertise
1 Incendiary Flow
3 Lathnu Hellion
1 Tears of Valakut
3 Natural State
1 Root Out
4 Shock
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Rush of Adrenaline is only for Pummeler builds. I'd rather just have a Shock in it's place. Kari Zev's Expertise has been doing some pretty good work against other Midrange and Marvel builds. I'm haven't quite convinced myself it isn't a win-more combination against Midrange though. I'm still testing it. Lathnu Hellion is definitely a sideboard card now for the Midrange build. Heroic Intervention really only protects us against Fumigate, given most of the real threats can ignore Radiant Flames. Besides, playing a board wipe into a board that has planeswalkers and vehicles is already soft countered. No need to overdo it, I'd rather have something hit the board afterwords to swing the Heart into. The one thing I think you are missing though is Tireless Tracker. It's not an energy card, but it's just too good to pass up. Between Chandra, the Trackers, and sometimes even a Nissa ultimate you can outgrind a lot of the Midrange and Control strategies out there right now.
I mean I agree I don't think Frontier is going many places either until it's officially recognized, but [[Collected Company]] would not have spiked recently if it wasn't for Frontier. Not to mention Jace. It's having an effect on prices, regardless if it lasts or not.
My issue with Winding Constrictor in Jund or other testing is the counter theme heavily depends on that card. People are packing a ton of removal to combat Copy Cat Control, so at least in my testing you either draw the Winding Constrictor or they answer it almost immediately. Regardless of how many Blossoming Defense you are packing. The one or two times you get to go with the card on the field though it's absolutely nuts. Just metering some expectations, as I initially jumped onto the GB hype train too and had some middling results. Maybe there's a better version of it out there than what I was playing though. Walking Ballista had some cool synergy with other stuff, but otherwise it had a much weaker late game than RG Midrange.
4 Aether Hub
2 Cinder Glade
9 Forest
4 Game Trail
2 Mountain
//Artifacts
2 Heart of Kiran
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
//Instants
1 Blossoming Defense
4 Harnessed Lightning
4 Attune with Aether
//Planeswalkers
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
//Creatures
3 Bristling Hydra
4 Greenbelt Rampager
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Tireless Tracker
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Voltaic Brawler
2 Kari Zev's Expertise
4 Longtusk Cub
2 Natural Obsolescence
2 Natural State
4 Shock
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
I played a few test games against GW Humans (2-1), Saheeli Copy Cat (2-0), Marvel (2-1), and UB Control (2-0). Settled on this before the games. I quick decided between Brawler and Cub, and went the Brawler route with the Cubs on the side for matches I wanted to race against an empty board or sometimes just when I'm on the play. Turn 3 5/4 trample was pretty crazy in the matches I got him out. Nissa and Chandra are just absolute beasts now without the flying threat. Heart of Kiran is just insane to cast off Chandra's mana, and there is definitely not a lack of 3 power creatures on this deck to crew it without the loyalty which I really only used for an offensive lethal or defense. Greenbelt Rampager is ridiculous at staving off Humans, and overall being something people can't ignore. I didn't cast it for it's energy very often though. Rishkar is nuts given on Turn 4 I blew out 9 mana worth of threats against UB Control with Greenbelt Rampager, Voltaic Brawler, followed by Chandra into Heart of Kiran. Was just way too much for Control to handle even with Push knocking off the Rampager the next turn, although it'd have been less spectacular if Chandra was countered instead of Brawler. Trackers continued to dominate or just crew Heart of Kiran while I was curving out. Keeping my hand full wasn't a problem with Chandra most of the time, and Trackers or Nissa in others. On the side Kari Zev's Expertise saved me my last Marvel game by stealing Ulamog, and the Shocks were generally good at killing Saheeli at instant speed when the combo was about to go off.
I'm interested to see what the meta becomes, because I do think I'd worry about GB with +1/+1 counters now that you mention it. I'm just not quite ready to jump into the blue splash quite yet even though I've always wanted Jace in the deck. I'm still worried at dropping my current x3 Incendiary Flow for just more creatures/vehicles, but those test games went extremely well without. Both Chandra and Nissa were in particular insane.