MTG Salvation

Isn't that deck just a worse version of Bushwacker Zoo?

Overview of the Deck
Hello all – in case you don’t know me (and why should you), my name is Hans Christian Ljungqvist – Beast_with_2_backs on Magic Online, and I previously popularized the budget Mono-Green Stompy deck piloting it to a top 8 at the 2014 Bazaar of Moxen tournament. If you are familiar with that deck you will probably notice some similarities in the creature package of my newest creation.

I’ve recently had a lot of success with a R/U/G version of the traditional budget U/G Evolve deck – managing a couple of competitive League 5-0’s. I wanted to share this deck with you all since WotC recently published a decklist of mine and the deck gained some traction from being featured in both the GAM Podcast episode 56, a TCGPlayer article by Seth Manfield, an SCG Daily Digest by Ross Merriam and finally an MTGGoldfish Instant Deck Tech.

The deck was originally called Harambe due to the abundance of great apes in the maindeck with Pongify, Kird Ape and Hooting Mandrils. Over time however both Kird Ape and Hooting Mandrils gave way to better cards in the form of Narnam Renegade and Avatar of the Resolute, so the name that seems to stick now is Blue Zoo.

However – I need your help in evolving the deck (pun intended) as right now the deck is still in its infancy as is evident by the somewhat rough numbers in the maindeck and the sideboard.

3 reasons why you should play Blue Zoo:
It’s fast! It’s cheap! And it’s a LOT of fun to play – blowing your opponent out with a random collection of draft unplayables appeals to a certain kind of people (not the Lantern kind of people – those are bad people). If you are one of those people – keep reading!

The difference between my list and the more general budget Evolve lists is that I am not trying to build an all-in Evolve deck. This is not the second coming of Hardened Scales or Winding Constrictor. Rather it is my attempt at building a tempo/aggro deck in Modern and in my opinion the Evolve/Undying creatures serve that role better than Delver of Secrets. Given that there are no free permission spells like Daze or Force of Will in Modern, playing protect the queen is often a losing proposition, and even a dedicated deck like Grixis Shadow has trouble protecting it’s threats. Blue Zoo however has a multitude of threats and Pongify/Hybridization serve as pseudo-threats.

Decklist

Card Choices
Experiment One
Young Wolf
Cloudfin Raptor
Strangleroot Geist
Pongify
Rapid Hybridization
These cards all serve as the core Evolve package and I strongly suggest you start off with 4 of each when building the deck. While 8 Pongify effects seem like a lot, experience tells me that you usually won't be sad to draw one off the top.

Narnam Renegade
Avatar of the Resolute
These two cards serve as the filler-threats of the deck while still synergizing with the main theme of +1/+1 counters. Narnam Renegade is by itself a decent threat and in my opinion the only viable 4th 1-drop available to the deck. Also with the conspicuous absence of Kird Ape, Narnam Renegade has to play the role of honorary ape. In this deck, Avatar of the Resolute is a powerhouse for only 2 green mana and will frequently enter the battlefield as a 5/4 or bigger, easily trumping what other fair decks have access to for 2 mana. The Avatar's synergy with the rest of the deck is one of the main reasons to not play Tarmogoyf in the 2-drop slot. The Trample is also quite relevant as Pongify effects allow for instant speed removal of blockers on the Avatar.

Spell Pierce
Vapor Snag
Lightning Bolt
These cards serve as your relevant game 1 interaction and are chosen for their flexibility - the sideboard includes more specific answers for different matchups. Vapor Snag, while seemingly a bit underpowered, works well in the situations where you have to smash an opposing creature – bouncing the token allows for a free attack. While spending 2 cards to remove 1 card is not optimal, being a tempo deck with a very fast clock, we can sometimes allow ourselves a 2-for-1 and still maintain a superior board presence. Lightning Bolt serves the dual role of killing roadblocks and allowing the deck to have a bit of reach to close games out.

Chart a Course
This recent addition from Ixalan serves as the most mana-efficient refueling card available in the R/U/G colors. While traditional cantrips aren’t effective enough in this type of deck, Chart a Course’s rate of 2 cards for 2 mana is a very good rate for a tempo deck.

The manabase is currently built to support 3 things:
First of, every single mana source provides green mana. This is a necessity, as 12 of our 1-drops cost green mana. Only 4 of the lands do not produce blue mana, which means that we will almost always have access to Cloudfin Raptor turn 1 if we want it.

Secondly, the deck has 10 fetches – currently tied with Burn for the second highest number of fetches in a Modern deck (Death’s Shadow decks tops that list with 12!). This allows us the luxury of only playing 2 Stomping Ground and means we usually always have a way of triggering Revolt on Narnam Renegade.

The third point is the Dryad Arbor. While traditionally Dryad Arbor serves as Liliana of the Veil protection for creature combo decks like Infect and Bogles, the Dryad Arbor in Blue Zoo serves as a low-cost way to get the engine rolling. It serves as free fodder for Pongify/Hybridization and is able to trigger Cloudfin Raptor on it’s own. While the deck only plays 18 lands, the lack of card selection means that you will occasionally flood out a bit. Having access to an extra attacker or a surprise blocker is very valuable.

As for the sideboard cards, the deck is generally quite flexible, so you have a lot of options to choose from. While many of the cards that I have included are meant for fairly good matchups, my approach to sideboarding is often to make decent/even matchups even better postboard rather than try to fix some of the abysmal matchups (Bogles for instance is virtually unwinnable). The only card I would strongly advise against tinkering with is Ancient Grudge, as it is the pillar of postboard strategies against the artifact based tier 1 decks. Some of you may notice that I include no graveyard hate in the sideboard. This is mostly since the relevant cards either hurt us too much (Grafdigger’s Cage) or just don’t do enough in Modern (Surgical Extraction). Apart from that, the Graveyard based decks are usually fine matchups – Dredge for instance is easily on of the best matchups, since it turns out that dead creatures block very poorly.

The case against 3-drops:
I’m going to spend a few lines explaining why the deck doesn’t play any 3-drops despite a prevalence of powerful cards available in the R/U/G colors. The most obvious choices would probably be Kitchen Finks and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar in the sideboard for the grindier matchups and honorary 3-drops like Snapcaster Mage and Hooting Mandrills in the maindeck.

The reasons for not playing the more mana-intensive cards are two-fold. First of all, my core philosophy for the deck is that it should be able to operate off of 2 lands, similar to the Burn deck’s ability to function on only 2 lands. Having only 18 lands with no filtering means that you will often have games where you never see the third land or choose to prioritize a Dryad Arbor over a third shock. Second of all, the deck is a tempo deck that usually shouldn't tap out past turn 2 or 3 but rather keep up interaction for whatever the opponent is doing.

Tapping out for a 3-drop is very dangerous in Modern, as a lot of decks will be able to punish you for it by either winning on the spot or by deploying their more impactful cards. That being said, both Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Kitchen Finks are very decent choices for the sideboard, I just firmly believe that cheaper, more targeted cards, can serve the same role.

Guide to Playing the Deck
First off – as anyone who has played with the Undying/Evolve creatures are aware, the combination of an Evolve creature + Pongify effect + Young Wolf = 8 power on the board on turn 2. That is one of the main draws to playing the deck – a lot of decks simply can’t keep up with that kind of opener. If you are unfamiliar with the math, the way it works is that you stack the triggers in such a way that the Evolve trigger from the token produced by the Pongify effect goes on the stack first and then the evolve trigger from your undying creature returning to the battlefield goes on top allowing both Evolve triggers to resolve as Evolve checks on resolution.

The approach to playing the deck is “get ahead – stay ahead”. This approach requires you to be able to get on the board early and interact at relevant levels with your opponent at a mana discount. The playstyle resembles a mix between Zoo and Legacy R/U/G Delver. While it is possible to play Blue Zoo purely like an aggro deck, I strongly discourage you from doing so – instead try to establish a dominant board presence and force your opponent to respond to it rather than just piling on. Knowing when to smash your own creatures with a Pongify effect and when to smash the opponent’s creatures is the most complex part of playing the deck.

Matchups
Affinity:
This one can be a bit rough – Affinity has a fast clock and a number of hard-to-deal-with threats. The games are very play/draw dependent, but the key to winning is to continuously apply pressure while trying to deal with their haymakers. Prioritize getting Steel Overseer off the table, as he can really ruin your day. Arcbound Ravager is not the end of the world, as keeping one mana open means your opponent has to respect your ability to interact with a Ravager target. This matchup drastically improves postboard.

Grixis Shadow:
Quite positive matchup – we are very fast, even for Modern standards. The Grixis player will have a very hard time punching through, as Blue Zoo blocks exceptionally well due to the Undying creatures and Narnam Renegade. Don’t be afraid to smash a Shadow that has grown too large. Do make sure to finish the game quickly however, as their superior card quality will take over once they get rid of all the air in the deck.

Eldrazi Tron:
One of the hardest matchups for Blue Zoo – the early game revolves around you being able to handle a Chalice of the Void for one. This is almost impossible to do game 1 and is one of the main reasons for including Ancient Grudge in the board. Apart from that, the deck is able to stall the ground quite effectively with big bodies and annoying card like Matter Reshaper.

Jeskai Control:
Very positive matchup – they rely on single target removal, which Pongify effects severely punish. The only card you need to worry about is Anger of the Gods. Otherwise it’s smooth sailing.

Storm:
Quite positive matchup – the combination of a fast clock and relevant disruption is just what the doctor ordered against the pure combo mages. Prioritize keeping removal up rather than counterspells.

Humans:
Even to negative matchup – we are faster, but they have a number of incredibly annoying cards like the two Thalias. Don’t get caught off guard by a Reflector Mage – keep a Pongify effect up if you can!

Burn:
Positive matchup – we goldfish as fast as burn and are quickly able to outmatch their groundbeaters. The only drawback is our manabase, which means you have to fetch carefully in order to not hurt yourself too much. Postboard a resolved Life Goes On means game over for Burn.

G/X Tron:
Even to positive matchup – Tron games feel quite lopsided. We either win very fast leaving them with no relevant way to interact or they manage to land a haymaker in time to stem the bleeding. Wurmcoil, Ugin and Oblivion Stone are the real issues here, whereas Karn and Ulamog are usually manageable. Counterspells work wonders postboard.

Titanshift:
Negative to even matchup – Our interaction lines up poorly against Titanshift meaning we are forced to race and overextend. The presence of Anger of the Gods makes life hard for our motley crew. Try to keep a hand that goldfishes turn 4.

Counters Company:
Even matchup – our interaction is very relevant, but the deck wouldn’t be a contender if it wasn’t able to grind through a few lightning bolts. Kitchen Finks is also a very annoying card. That being said, the deck has a lot of air and Blue Zoo will punch through eventually, given enough time.

U/W Control:
Positive matchup – they are by far the slowest of the controlling decks and their interaction is quite expensive like Detention Sphere and Supreme Verdict. Don’t overextend into a Supreme Verdict unless you’re doing it with Undying creatures, but make sure to still keep enough power on the board to be able to pressure their planeswalkers.

Lantern Control:
Negative matchup – our inability to remove Ensnaring Bridge game 1 means the preboarded games are very lopsided. Postboard we have a lot of interaction but will often have to win two sideboarded games.

B/G/X midrange:
Negative to even matchup – Jund and Abzan have a number of annoying cards. While Liliana of the Veil does very little against Blue Zoo (and may even be a liability), Tarmogoyf and Scavenging Ooze present real problems. The Scavenging Ooze needs to die on sight as it invalidates a large part of our gameplan. As for the Goyf, the stage of the game decides how the old Lhurgoyf should be handled. Experience tells me that it is usually correct to smash him and move on, taking the 2-for-1 in stride.

Alternate Card Choices
Atarka's Command
Atarka's Command is a very powerful card in traditional Zoo decks and often serves as a powerful finisher or as a way to cheat the combat math. I have alternated between 0 and 2 copies in the maindeck, but with the recent addition of Chart a Course, I have found that I prefer leaning towards being able to grind better rather than building a glass-cannony approach.

Dismember
Dismember is a very powerful card against certain decks and has been in and out of the deck over the past year. If your meta includes a lot of B/G/X and Eldrazi Tron it is probably correct to include some number of Dismembers in the maindeck to deal with their threats.

Grim Lavamancer
Grim Lavamancer is a highly efficient card with plenty of fodder in Blue Zoo. The biggest drawback is the amount of stress he puts on the manabase, requiring red mana every turn and occasionally forcing awkward fetches.

Remand
Remand is the traditional counterspell of choice for tempo decks. My biggest concern however is the 2 mana cost, which locks you into keeping mana up while also being awful when you're behind.

Mana Leak
Mana Leak suffers from some of the same problems as Remand. Keeping 2 mana up is a tall order for Blue Zoo and will lock you into a losing play pattern if you're forced to keep it up as early as turn 2.

Scavenging Ooze
Scavenging Ooze is super effective and could arguably be the best type of graveyard interaction for the deck. Old Scoozy is however very mana intensive and with no way of protecting him, he will rarely get to live long enough to take over the game.

Forked Bolt
Forked Bolt is another very effective card in the right meta. I currently don't feel the need for the split effect as there are very few creatures with 1 toughness in the meta apart from Noble Hierarch and Birds of Paradise.

Spell Snare
Spell Snare is one of the most effective 1 mana counterspells in Modern, but it's value tends to fluctuate with the meta. At the moment Spell Snare is only really good against Affinity and Storm and a virtually dead card against a deck like Eldrazi Tron.

Hooting Mandrils
Hooting Mandrils was originally one of the core creatures in the deck, but was cut due to the lack of synergy with the +1/+1 counter theme and the occasional games where you're not putting enough cards in your graveyard or you are met with graveyard hate. While the powerlevel of the Mandrils is on par with what the deck is capable of, the situations where I couldn't play the apes made me cut it.

Rancor
Rancor is another powerful card that serves as a repeatable source of damage while also providing some much-loved Trample. The card has been in and out of the deck but was eventually cut completely due to the danger of getting blown out by a removal spell on the Rancor target.

Bioshift
Never go full retard! The same goes for Hunger of the Howlpack, Master Biomancer and other cards in that category. You're basically turning a competitive deck into a kitchen table deck...

Actually that was the last League I ran with Opt - I came to the conclusion that it wasn't as good as Serum Visions. Serum Visions is able to serve the role of a pseudo threat in your opener as it digs 3 cards deep, whereas I don't feel you can keep a hand with no threats and an Opt.

Shaper's however is the real deal, easily replacing the Finks/Goyf/whatever you were playing in that slot. While Shaper's doesn't serve the exact same role the other cards did, its still a vast upgrade. DS and different variants of U/W/R have a hard time beating the card, and if you add in a Spellskite you can go nutz! Its still decent against B/G/x variants despite the presence of Liliana, but I think its a trap against Burn. Still, going from 2 or 3 mana sideboard cards to 1 mana cards is terrific!

I am very close to cutting the Dismember for another BoP, as I'm simply not that interested in seeing the Dismember anymore. Apart from the E-Tron matchup, I don't like the card in Infect these days. Its also possible that the deck should play even more protection spells to facilitate Shaper's, but I haven't tested that yet.

In response to all the "how do we deal with x?", unless x is Spellskite or Melira, the answer is always to kill them dead. Scared of Grim Lavamancer? Kill them. Scared of NOSB? Kill them. Say you got blown out by Izzet Staticaster G2 and for G3 you board in your Images but your opener shows no Image - no problem, just kill them... It sounds simplistic, but were the degenerate deck. You don't see Grishoal convert to R/B Control for G2/3, nor should Infect ever convert and attempt to take the control role (except perhaps in the mirror on the draw). If you play scared, you're dead - we play a deck with 12 1/1s...

Perhaps our worst matchups ever ;-) Affinity probably ranks as the worst tier 1 matchup, and Lantern is more or less unwinnable game 1. Like HanClinto said: Trim the fat and get rid of the Sorcery speed cards. My most recent list for reference: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/358751#online

You should probably replace all Artifact/Enchantment removal with 4 Natural State and 2 Pithing Needle and/or Creeping Corrosion now that Twin is gone. Pulse of Murasa is also a completely overlooked and incredibly powerful card - perhaps even better than Feed the Clan. I'm just not sure it belongs in Stompy.

If predictions as to Modern becoming a MUCH more degenerate format with Twin gone and Eldrazi on the Rise (pun intended) are correct, I think it might be time to shelve the Leatherback. Twin was perhaps our last good tier 1 matchup (Burn is fairly 50/50), and with Islands dropping in value, I think the meta is going to become very hostile to us. We simply can't compete if we have to play Affinity, Infect, Storm and Tron all day. I also predict Abzan and Jund numbers dropping drastically, as they inherently suffer against a wide field of degenerate decks. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but if not - Stompy is still a fantastic and cheap entry-level deck, but the days of winning PTQs and crushing the Online meta are probably over :-(

Gonna take the Leatherback for one last spin next week before OGW becomes legal online - all hail Ulamog!

Ye, Deglamer was specifically for Wurmcoil (and Darksteel Citadel, Keranos etc) but people seem to be shaving more and more Wurmcoils from Tron these days. It has also been some time since I've won a match against Tron - that deck has become super-brutal :-( I do however like the fact that Natural State hits every single card in the Lantern Control deck.

Took the old girl out for a spin today in Leagues - went 9-1 overall, losing only to Tron.

In the 5-0 run I beat Lantern Control, Burn, Twin, Sui-Zoo and Abzan. The Twin match especially was epic with huge battles back and forth. Got a little lucky against Lantern, I guess. Was expecting to get punched left and right, but the deck still has claws. They may not be as sharp as they used to be, but they can still scratch.

Oh, and the Advocate looks really fail - why would we want a 2/3 Vigilance do-nothing, when we can have a 3/3 do-nothing with better devotion?

Vines is just bonkers, easily as good in this deck as in Infect. It is far better than Aspect, if you really want to cut pump. Elvish Mystic will disappoint you, but feel free to try it. You have too many lands for a deck without 3 drops, and definetly a Pendelhaven too much. Just cut one. The 4th Dismember is perhaps also a bit over the top.

Some of you requested a matchup analysis, and since I last posted one, the meta has changed a lot.

Based on the following list (my list), I will try to break each of the matchups down rating them from +3 (virtual bye) to -3 (unwinnable). Each category is fairly wide, especially the +0. My thought process with the +0 category was to capture the decks in which the die-roll or a single card can make a big difference, and where neither deck has an inherent advantage. The +/- 1 category means inherently advantaged/disadvantaged etc. The highlighted decks represent the major players in the Modern metagame.



Jund +0: We are fast, efficient and resilient - Jund dislikes that. Their powerlevel is very high, so don't fret when they go T1 discard, T2 Goyf, T3 Liliana and you just lose.

Affinity -2: Very tough matchup. They take to the air and deal damage in huge chunks. Affinity keeps us from being truly competitive. If Affinity is big in you meta, consider adding Creeping Corrosion to the board.

U/R Twin +1: My favourite matchup. Resilient creatures coupled with light disruption has always been a problem for Twin. Look for hands with 1 drop, 2 drop and business. Avoid clunky hands with lategame potential.

Amulet Bloom -1: Hard for us to interact, pretty much have to race and hope they can't pull off two early kills.

Naya Burn +1: No damage from manabase and resilient creatures gives Burn a lot of headaches.

R/G Tron -1: This used to be a good matchup, but the addition of Ugin and lately Ulamog has made this matchup worse.

Abzan +0: Not as good as Jund due to Souls and PtE, but feels very 50/50. Like Jund, their best hands are very, very hard to beat.

Grixis/Tarmo Twin +1: The addition of black or green gives them access to fatties, which can slow us down a bit. Other than that, it is just a more fancy Twin deck.

Merfolk +0: Merfolk takes a lot of practice, as we need to leverage our early game advantage. We CANNOT win a drawn out game against the Folk. This matchup might have gotten worse with Harbinger - I haven't played it in a while.

Naya Company +0: Again we have an early advantage, but their fatties will eventually outclass our creatures - use pump as pseudo-removal.

Scapeshift +1: Not as good a matchup as Twin but still positive. Look for hands with a good curve as we have to leverage our early game advantage.

Infect -1: One of the few matchups, along with Affinity, where we are not the beatdown. They are consistently a turn faster than us, which means we need early interaction. Take any block they offer and squeeze in damage when you can.

Living End +0: Very dependent on whether or not we draw Scooze and Geist. Try to keep some creatures in hand while applying enough pressure to force them to go off. Tricky matchup which feels extremely swingy.

Abzan Company -1: They usually play the full suite of Finks which is quite annoying. On top of that they have the combo potential, which Vines for once does not interact with.

Grixis Control +1: They're blue, they're slow, and they have way too many conditional counterspells.

Bogles -2: Another non-interactive matchup which we can't race if they find Lifelink (they always do!). Try to race, cross your fingers.

Grixis Delver +1: Our creatures outclass their creatures on almost every level. After board it gets even better.

Small Zoo +0: This used to be a positive matchup, but the addition of Atarka's Command and the low-to-the-ground curve means they actually develop the board faster than us. Make smart blocks and be wary of Atarka's. You may be forced to play defensive for the first couple of turns.

Ad Nauseam -1: A pure damage race, keep hands that kill turn 4 and hope they can't chain Grace's etc. Bring in artifact/enchantment removal instead of Dismember/Scooze.

Storm +1: Scooze and Militant are haymakers. Look for fast hands with either. The only true combo matchup that is actually in our favour.

Elves -2: They can create boardstates that are impossible to break as early as turn 3, which we can't compete with.

Hatebears/D&T +0: Lots of tricks and shenanigans but not a lot of raw power. Some lists play Voice and Finks which is quite annoying. Be wary of Mirran Crusader post-board.

B/W Tokens +2: Keep hammering at them, and they will eventually crack. Look for hands with Rancor in them.

Goryo's Vengeance -1: Scooze does wonders against the deck, the rest of our cards: not so much... Race them, they are surprisingly inconsistent.

U/W Control/Gifts Control +0: The only blue-based decks which we do not have a positive matchup against. Wall of Omens is very, very annoying to have to punch through, and potential Elesh Norns are backbreaking. Their lategame is virtually unbeatable.

Soul Sisters -3: Unwinnable, I have literally never won a match against the Sisters. Thankfully the deck is really bad against everything else

8-Rack +1: Find a Geist or a Scooze and ride it to victory. Only problem card is Bridge, side in what you have of artifact/enchantment removal.

-3: Soul Sisters

-2: Affinity, Elves and Bogles

-1: Goryo's Vengeance, Ad Nauseam, Abzan Company, R/G Tron, Amulet Bloom and Infect

+0: U/W Control, Hatebears, Small Zoo, Living End, Naya Company, Merfolk, Abzan and Jund

+1: 8-Rack, Storm, Grixis Delver, Grixis Control, Scapeshift, Grixis/Tarmo Twin, Burn, U/R Twin

+2: B/W Tokens

Hey guys!

I'm at the 5k modern premier in DC (along with @johnkorean!) So far I'm undefeated and just took an intentional draw in round 7 locking me into top 8! Some quick data for the cats.

Round 1 ur twin 2-0
Round 2 temur twin 2-1
Round 3 grixis twin 2-1
Round 4 infect 2-1
Round 5 Naya Zoo 2-0
Round 6 affinity 2-0

Round 7 grixis delver *intentional draw

Round 8 even if I lose, I'm playing the top 8 so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm going to go eat but tonight on my drive home, I'll update you with round information and updated sb plan.

Wish me luck on a first place finish!
-catmix

Woohoo! Congrats to all of you! Get some rest tonight, good luck tomorrow, and don't worry about posting lists/reports until after your tournament is over. Go get it!

Hey whats up FAM! I've been watching this thread for a couple days now because I recently built a green stompy deck for modern and I wanted to see if there were people out here being successful with it before I entered it for competition. I must say this deck is definitely competitive and most people don't expect it. (I was the only one playing it at the tournament)

I went to PPTQ Milwaukee yesterday (5/17/2015) and I had incredible results. There were over 50 people in the tournament and 6 rounds before top 8 cuts. I went 4-0 (2-0 in every match) and then I was able to just double-draw into the Top 8. The only thing I completely self-sabotaged myself in the first round of the top 8, which was a huge disappointment but a big lesson learned. Below I have some notes on the matched I played and how I messed up in the Top 8.



Round 1: BW Fairies

Both matches he basically loses a lot of life to his lands and thoughtseizing me but I beat him down with dryads, sr geists and avatars, rancor and aspect of hydra.

Round 2: U/R Storm

I'm on the play and I drop a turn 1 Dryad and he quickly calls the judge to ask him if I had to remind him to exile his cards or if they are automatically exiled, smh, lol... The judge tells him that they are automatically exiled after he casts any instants or sorceries. He actually tried to grapeshot it but I Vines to Vastwood it and he sighs... I then just beat him down as he has no way to get rid of them.

The second match I board in Feed the Clan just to make sure I gain life early on so when he decides to storm I atleast force him to have to do extra plays etc. I also drop another turn one Dryad and then another Dryad. At the end of my turn he brings my Dryads back to my hand. and he plays a Goblin Eletromancer. I then replay my Dryads, and keep a land open for Vines. He makes 6 goblins. I force him to block with his goblins because I have trample and I pump with Gather Courage making my Dryad kill all his goblins. I then drop another Dryad with Rancor. He makes 8 Goblins, but I then drop a SR Geist with Rancor and I pump with aspect of hydra for the win.

Round 3: U/R Twin

I drop first turn Experiment One. I thought he was playing Storm because I saw serum Visions. I then drop ST Geist trigger Experiment One and swing for 4. Next turn I drop Avatar of the resolute and trigger Experiment One swing with SR Geist and E1 try to pump with Aspect but he Dispels it. Then He tries to Flash in Snapcaster on the next turn to block but I just pump my Avatar with Aspect and win.

Second match I know hes playing Twin because I saw the Snapcaster so I board in Torpor Orbs. We play first couple rounds I'm just getting in beats. Then he even flashed at the end of my turn (he didnt want to block it fearing I had a pump spell) I made sure to leave at least 2 lands untapped. When he flashed it in he tapped down one of my forests. On his turn he goes to play Splinter Twin and I Vines of Vastwood his Exarch in response. My turn I drop a Spellskite. and just beat him down with Aspect adding in the extra damage to win.

Round 4: R/W Burn

First match it was a race. He only had Swiftspear and burning me but I raced with with Scavenging Ooze and Dryad and I even blocked his 3/4 Swiftspear with my 2/2 Ooze (my two lands were tapped) and he lightning helixed me but before damage I tap my Ooze to play Gather Courage (Convoke) and pump him up to kill his Swiftspear. Then I just beat him down with Ooze and Dryad playing two Aspects.

Second Match I board in feed the clan and Obstinate Baloth. He gets stuck one land with Swiftspear and I kill his Goblin Guide with the same Gather Courage combat trick and I even drop Obstinate Baloth on my 4th turn gaining life but I already had him beat with my pumps.



Rounds 5 and 6 I just double drew into Top 8

NOW IS WHERE I MAKE SOME HUGE MISPLAYS

First round Top 8 I got against f*cking Bogles man, BOGLES... lol
I just beat all these crazy decks and I really lost to Bogles because
of my mistakes.

First match: I play forest say go. He drop a Bogle. My turn I drop forest (with Spellskite in my hand and Vines) COMPLETELY ignoring the fact that Bogles cant be targeted and I had to play Spellskite THAT turn to seal the deal. Instead I say go and try to Vines his Bogles as he goes to equip it with the enchantment that gives him protection from ALL creatures, smh. I then drop the Skite next turn and when he goes to equip it with an aura that can only placed on a creature that ALREADY has an aura on it I try to target it with my Skite so I definitely f*cked up there AGAIN. After a few turns I just scoop and go to game 2.

Second Match: I play Dryad, He plays Bogle, I play spellskite. I beat him Down. Game Over.

Third Match: We both Mulligan to 5, I should have stuck with my Mulligan to 6 because I definitely could have raced him but I wanted to make sure I had enchantment removal, which I didnt even get on my hand of 5 but I keep. Then He plays Bogle, I play Experiment One, He plays enchantment giving him first strike, I draw Deglamer, He then plays rangor attacks instead of me using Deglamer to get rid of his first strike enchantment and blocking I instead use it to get rid of Rancor and next turn he puts on the the +3+3 enchantment giving him lifelink and I just hope to draw enchanment hate which I dont and its pretty much game over, smh... I think I was just Boggled. I definitely learned my lesson here. Let it be a lesson to us all. Read the Cards ALWAYS! lol. I won 18 packs. (we all could have split to 36 but one guys said no, smh)

Anyways this Deck was AWESOME! and I will be playing next week at Star City Games Open in Worcester in the 5k Premier. Wish me luck, oh.

Then I went 3-1 in another daily Beat Grixis delver, lost to soul sisters, beat scapeshift (maybe added another player to the stompy crew ) and beat twin (spellskite did all the work) so yeah spellskite for time being i am very pleased with. sorry it's late and I need to get to sleep; I will try and expand results tomorrow if i get the time. (also no pic this time due to the round probably won't finish for another 1/2 hour)

Edit: of course they are doing the the modern PTQ prelims on a National Guard Weekend >.<

I'm a magic newbie, so I decided to make this for my first deck because it seemed easy to play. So I go to locals today for the first time and manage to go 3-0, beating Jund, Elves, and Junk(all 2-1) with no sideboard. Needless to say, I'm pretty sold on Stompy. (and collective company)

Hello everyone, I've been following this thread for about two weeks now. Last week I bought the cards for the deck, and tonight I was able to play the deck for the first time. Just signed up for the forums to post a tournament recap. I don't play much Modern but I follow the format and tournament scene so I'm pretty aware of the metagame and how most decks function on a cursory level.

Forgive me if the formatting is off. List is the fairly tuned one posted a few days ago.



Sideboard

Sideboard was a bit of a shot in the dark. I had no idea about the local meta and this LGS has only been running Thursday Modern for about 5 weeks, tonight being my first time playing.

22 Player Tournament. 5 rounds.
Result: 4-1 Final. Entered final round as sole undefeated player remaining at 4-0. Deck was a blast to play and caught everyone off guard, nobody expecting a linear creature aggro deck. Quick match summary:

Round 1 vs Splinter Twin 2-0
G1 Play. He keeps a 1 lander and I curve Dryad Militant -> Rancor + 2nd Dryad. He fails to find a land off Serum Visions and scoops.
G2 Draw. I mull to 6. He Bolts my T1 and Spell Snares my Turn 2. He slams a T3 Blood Moon and I respond with a T3 Choke out of my board. Ouch. I alpha striked him a few turns later with 2x kicked Vines on my Garruk Companion and Leatherback Baloth.

Round 2 vs GW Hatebears 2-1 (didnt know much about this deck)
G1 He gets mana screwed and I curve out.
G2 I chip him down 4 after he gets mana screwed for most of the game, only having Noble, Birds, and a Forest. He stabilized and I drew land and pump with no creatures until he swarmed me.
G3 Another straightforward game. Unfortunately his first two lands were 2x Horizon Canopy and he took probably 6 damage from land. Vines saved me from path and I killed him with Aspect on a Companion for 6.
I need to read about this matchup, only sideboard I brought in was Hunt. Hindsight I should have also brought Gutshot for his dorks.

Round 3 vs RW Skred 2-1
G1 He plays Swiftspear, I play E1 -> Strangleroot -> Strangleroot + Rancor. I outrace him and blank his removal with a Vines.
G2 I kept a hand with only 1 creature (Tuskar) which was a huge mistake. He plays Swiftspear and Seeker of the Way, lightning Helix my lone Tuskar, Pyroclasms an Empty Board, and kills me while my hand is full of pump spells. Oh well.
G3 He removes my early threats with bolts. He resolves a T3 Reckoner which I dismember. I play a few creatures and swing into him. He main phase Wear/Tear on my Rancor not realizing that just puts it back in my hand. I replay it next turn and kill him with a big Aspect. He's pretty salty about the Rancor but I just ignored him. "Like, who the **** plays that deck? Seriously! I have nothing to use against your deck, I play 4 Blood Moons mainboard against your ******* forests." lol. PJSalt.

Round 4 vs Esper Control 2-1
G1 My hand was picked apart by IoK x2 and a Thoughtseize first two turns. I have no gas and just get 1 for 1 removal on my guys until he Lingering Souls x2 + Sorin Lord of Innistrad emblem beats me to death.
G2 Grinded him down with great draws. He IoK T1 and takes my Scooze. I slowly beat him down with Rancor on two different creatures and his tokens are useless.
G3 We both mull. I end up with a not great but playable hand. 2 Dismember, rancor, E1, and two forests. I draw the 3rd dismember. Thankfully I did because I used all three. I killed his T3 Monastery Mentor and his T4 Tasigur. All I have on board is an unevolved E1 suited up with two rancor. I do 10 damage with that E1 before he paths it. He casts Timely Reinforcements twice and I grind down his tokens plus removal for a number of turns. He plays around the two forests I'm holding back until I draw Rancor and Leatherback Baloth. I play the Baloth and leave mana up. He taps out for Sorin and makes a token, which I trample over for the win next turn.

4-0 Sole Undefeated going into Round 5.

Round 5 vs Burn 0-2
G1 He sticks Eidolon and I chip away at myself just playing cards. I have the cards to put him to 2 from 14 but would die on the crackback regardless. Perhaps should have just gone for it and swing because I was likely dead anyways.
G2 I board in my lifegain, 2 Finks and 2 Feed the Clan. I keep a slower hand w/ 2x Finks and no two drops. He deals 4 with Goblin Guide + Bolts before I resolve first Finks. He suspends rift bolt and passes with two open mana -_-. I draw Feed the Clan, knowing no matter which I play it's getting skullcracked. Sure enough he responds with skullcrack, untaps and 4x Bolts me for GG.

Pretty weak ending to a fun night but it's to be expected vs burn I think. I came second overall, 1st was the Esper player I beat in R4. Not bad for first time piloting Stompy in an unknown meta. Sorry if my tournament report was convoluted or unnecessary, I've never written one before but it helps me when I read others reports so maybe this will help someone. I'll take better notes next time so I can give exact spell breakdowns and lines of play.

Thoughts: Deck is awesome! Rancor is probably MVP of this deck. It just does so much work and won me about half my games. Rancor on Strangleroot is hilarious because nobody wants to remove him without Path (of which he ate many tonight).

Aspect of Hydra was great, cast it for 3-4 consistently and few times for 6-7. I was using it more for removal protection and killing blockers than as a finisher. Vines adds a lot of depth to the deck, saving our creatures and making things very hard for our opponents. I played it without kicker plenty of times to blank removal.

The deck is tight and I can't wait for Avatar of the Resolute to add to this deck. Unbeknownst to me it was a great metagame deck, the room trended slower with 3+ Scapeshift, 3+ Twin decks, an assortment of control and Abzan, so linear aggro was very effective. Nobody was prepared and I blanked a lot of sideboards. Who knows if that will be the case next time I play.

Half the sideboard was pretty useless in my store, the enchant hate and artifact hate had no targets but c'est la vie. Thats's an aspect I have to work on, in a few matches I was unsure what to take out or put in. Need to practice and get more familiar with the deck. I made a few poor mulligan decisions w/ keeping some slow hands.

Overall it was a very fun deck to pilot and very cheap! To quote my round 5 opponent: "So you're like, a fair infect deck or something?" haha. I won back half the cost of my deck tonight in store credit so it's already paying off. Great starter deck for modern that I plan to practice with more and improve.

Cheers. Thanks to the people in this thread for the inspiration.

TL;DR: 4-1 22 person modern event first time playing deck. Second Place overall. 4-0 vs Twin, GW Hatebears, Skred R/W, Esper Control. Lost to Burn in finals.

I wake up and start reading that people are cutting Scavenging Ooze from their decks, and think the world must have gone crazy. After reading over the discussion, I hear what people are saying about Companion lowering their curve and making the deck more aggressive. I still think 2 ooze in the main is the right call because it's good in any aggro matchup as well as any graveyard matchup. Often times I'll intentionally bait removal with early creatures just so I can feed them to ooze later and gain life, but I see what people are saying about it being just a bear sometimes. I do think it is a mistake to cut Leatherbacks. Burn can't beat that card, and it's a big part of the meta game right now. I also think lowering the curve too much leaves the deck open to things like Pyroclasm or Electrolyze. As much as getting out ahead is key to the deck's success, not getting blown out by an early mass damage spell is key too.

As I indicated earlier, I'm trying to resolve the early pressure question through cutting the traditional 2 Dungrove/Finks/Flex spot before four drops (I have a single Thrun) by adding two one drops. I'm currently testing 4 Dryad Militant/4 Nettle Sentinel/2 Skarragan Pit-Skulk. I haven't played enough to give a decent report on how the changes have gone other than to say I'm happy with the switch.

Yeah maybe should find room. Maybe just -2 Hunt +2 Ooze. I'm not a huge fan of the all 2-3 of sideboard either so I'll probably tweak that - remove a Choke or two for Relic or something else, to start.

Edit: maybe this or something close to it...

Quote from user_369654 »

On another note, I moved Thrun to the board - Just have a hard time casting him :-( Bow of Nylea won me 3 unwinnable games last tournament at my LGS - wow, just wow. Deathtouch + trample seems to be the way to go in breaking stalled boardstates

Yeah, no matter how much I like Thrun, that might be the right call... in most of my games it seems like I was siding him out because I just wanted to be faster and kill them before they could stabilize... UWR/UW/Jund/The Rock being the exceptions.

I've thought a bit about Bow as well. Deathtouch would have made my boggle match a lot easier, Deathtouch+Trample is awesome, and the lifegain vs Burn would be great. Will definitely test it out.