To me, See the Unwritten seems like a strictly worse version of summoning trap.
Its not an instant, it doesn't offer you the "trap" option, and the second trigger actually happens less than you would expect in our list. My only 4+ power creatures are Prime Time and Hoof.
Been doing some testing with 2 coursers and 1 magus main board, and I've been liking the results so far. I've also enjoyed the path/beast within in the main board. I've moved the spike feeder/archangel combo to the sideboard in favor or more toolkit cards mainboard.
Fun play I made today - My opponent cast slaughter pact on one of my creatures with 2 non basics and a forest in play. On my turn, I played magus of the moon and passed back. With my opponent having no black sources, I won!
I understand that tooth and nail is really only good in the late game, but I do think that it would be better in this list than in others due to the existence of the feeder + thune combo. 9 mana is pretty achievable by turn 5, but I would much rather have something that is useful in the midgame.
Other creature cards I am considering putting in the deck are Saffi, Reveillark, Kitchen Finks, and Wall of Roots. Wall or roots seems good in the magus slot, and synergizes very well with chord. If I could find a sac outlet in our colors (there aren't many good ones), Thune + Finks + Sac outlet is also a combo.
What this list likely needs though is one or 2 more ways to dig/search for creatures. Summoning Trap and Summoner's Pact are the 2 which come immediately mind. Yisan, the Wanderer Bard and Birthing Pod are also options.
NOTE: This is OB1Aleco, I don't know why I'm logged into 2 different accounts on my different computers.
You suggest that I remove two cards from my list, Magus and Voyaging Satyr. What if I put 2 Tooth and Nail in their place? That would allow me dump out the combo, allow me to more easily play my double white creatures if they get stranded in my hand, and even play a craterhoof from hand for 1 less mana.
I agree with your assessment of wave, which would mean that wave is good against a little less than half of the decks in modern meta right now. Isn't that enough justification to cut waves from the main and run 2 or 3 of them in the side?
Hey everyone! I love how active this thread is, I've been trolling it for a while as I continue to play this deck. After reading some of the discussions in this thread, I have a little bit of a new take on this list which I am currently testing out to some great success. Big changes? No G-Waves and no Plow Unders in the main, a splash of white, and more shamans!
I moved the "gas" to the sideboard, which I have been loving so far. Some decks hate to see g-wave, other decks hate to see plow under, and it felt awkward running one or the other in my mainboard. Having not shown either of those card to my opponent after game 1, siding into them after game 1 can be simply devastating.
Another big change I've made was a splash into white for the toolkit. Elesh Norn simply crushes faces in the current meta, and restoration angel is incredible in a deck loaded with ETB triggers. So much value!
Lastly, since I was already on the "Sachi, lord of shamans" plan, I gave elvish visionaries a try. Ho-lee-***** are these incredible. Burning tree into visionary is ridiculous on turn 2 against any deck, a sachi on turn 3 can pretty much end things after that. I'm honestly considering running a second sachi at this point because she is much better when drawn into than when chorded for, most likely in place of the mainboard reclamation sage.
Thanks! I'll consider cutting one of the primal commands or chords for the 4th plow under, as like I said in my post, Its really really hard to lose if you can resolve that card. I might be undervaluing it.
For the 4th garruk, I've always been worried about drawing a 2-garruk opening hand. In my current list, there really aren't any cards (other than prime time and nykthos) that I am not happy to have 2 of in my opening hand. Do you all feel like the 4th garruk is just a neccesity due to how powerful he is in this list?
As to the elesh norn, I would be super happy to chord of calling for her, but would be most concerned about being able to cast her if I draw into her. I don't own any fetchlands, so I would most likely need to replace a few forests with temple gardens and my overgrowth's with fertile grounds to support her. I'm not sure if even that would be enough to consistently cast double white if she ends up in my hand. It would certainly open up a few more sideboard cards for the toolkit though (kataki, thalia) and even a few cool mainboard cards (knight of the reliquary, resto angel). Its definitely something worth testing online before I go out and buy her in paper!
Hi guys, really happy to see such a new and active thread for my favorite modern deck. I've been piloting this deck for a long time both online and casually, and a few days ago I just won a tournament with it!
For me, this deck started out as a full-blown G-Wave list. All I wanted to do was jam massive g-waves on turn 3 or 4, and I didn't really have any other real win conditions (other than chord for hoof). Then, I discovered the power of e-witness/primal command. I used to only run 2 primal commands in the deck, but I quickly realized that I was winning games much more often with witness/command than I was when I was casting fat g-waves, so I started to run 4 primal commands and 3 g-waves.
After slowly realizing that (at least in my list) primal command was a much more versatile and powerful card than g-wave, I decided to go the full blown plow under route. To date, I haven't lost a competitive game of Magic when I have resolved plow under on or before turn 4 (Its pretty much game over if I resolve it turn 3 on the play, which is quite easy with this list). It completely rips the carpet out from under an opponent, and gives you 2 turns to find answers and apply pressure. Here's the list I'm currently running:
Mana Ramp:
Where I diverge a bit with my ramp is the inclusion of 3 cards I rarely see on other lists. Magus, overgrowth, and Sachi. The magus and sachi are both one ofs which I very commonly chord for. The overgrowth is flat out DEVASTATING to resolve on turn 2 or 3 with an arbor elf/magus/voyaging satyr/garruk in play.
Overgrowth:
Overgrowth isn't run in many lists I see, presumably because it costs 3 mana and doesn't "win you the game". Its effect is way better than fertile ground's if you have a way to untap mana (arbor elf/magus/garruk), and is castable on turn 2 if you played a turn 1 utopia sprawl or arbor elf. A turn 2 overgrowth, left unchecked, nearly guarantees I can cast plow under/primal command on turn 3 for the blowout (which is the goal of the deck game 1). You'd rather draw one of these bad boys late in the game than a utopia sprawl, but its obviously setting you up for some blowouts against the bounce effect of cryptic command. This is one of the few cards in this deck I would consider cutting, possibly for some elvish visionaries (I will explain why later).
Magus of the Candelabra:
Magus is great because (as far as I know) its the only 1 mana creature capable of untapping Nykthos (yay chord of calling for 1), has 2 toughness (take that electrolyze!) and his ability to untap multiple lands is very relevant. Consider the resolving primeval titan, then untapping the fetched kessig wolf run and stomping ground with magus to attack for lethal. Untapping a nykthos and a land with a utopia sprawl/overgrowth on it to net additional mana is very strong. Overall, its a consistently useful card that slots well into the toolkit of anyone running chord.
Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro:
I always feel great resolving Sachi, my legendary uncommon. My opponent always picks it up and says "what does this do?". She's a sneaky card that catches a lot of players off guard. If you're running chord, and you have 4x burning trees and 4x e-witnesses, guess what? You're running 8 shamans! Elvish visionary is also a shaman, and our new friend reclamation sage is also a shaman. If you're running Thrun (also a shaman), you can block with him then tap him to regenerate himself. Sachi will always at least tap herself for two green mana, and she instantly pays for herself if you already had 2 shamans in play. I end up cutting her against the control matchup because I bring out the burning trees for strangleroot geists, but I absolutely love her in the main board and have a hard time justifying another card over her with 10 shamans in my deck. I am heavily considering cutting the 2 overgrowths and maybe 1 chord for elvish visionaries, as visionaries are also shamans that would power up sachi.
The Spells: Chord of Calling:
I've been running 4 chords in my 60 since the first ever iteration of this list. I might be a bit biased, but I would never consider cutting these. They do so much for this deck. If I need devotion, I can chord for an eternal witness to get back my chord. It allows my sideboard to be full of sexy one of hate cards. It lets me win on turn 3 in christmas land by chording for my craterhoof. It does everything I need in a card, and all at instant speed. This card ends up finishing most of my games for me since I don't run g-wave mainboard. It wins games, it prevents me from losing games, and I really don't mind seeing 2 of them in my hand. It just means I can blow the first one on an arbor elf or a magus of the candelabra before I have to play safe with my second! I really don't know many mono green lists which wouldn't want to run 2 or more chords if they have access to them. Its arguably the best card in the deck.
Primal Command:
The versatility of this card is back breaking. The E-witness/primal command land lock flat out wins games, so I can keep a lot of hands which only get me to 5 mana if they include a primal command. Don't forget about the modes which aren't "search for creature" and "put non-creature permanent on top of library". Shuffling the graveyard of a living end player into their library is devastating. Gaining 7 life against aggro decks is far more relevant than setting them back a land/draw. This card does everything I need and more. IMO, this card should be at LEAST a 3 of in any deck that runs eternal witness.
Plow Under:
What an obscure, beautiful little card this is. In a perfect game you resolve this card turn 3 on the play, leaving your opponent with no lands in play and 2 lands on top of their deck. How do you lose from there? Sure, its not putting permanents into play and attempting to finish the game like a G-wave is, but its setting you up for a very favorable game with a toolkit deck that can dig for answers against a depleted opponent. G-wave is much flashier, but in my opinion is less consistent in a list that runs 11 non-permanents. This is one of the newest cards to make it into my list, but I already love the feel of it. I almost feel like a mono-green control player. I went 2-2 or 3-1 in the 3 tournaments I mainboarded g-wave over plow under, and I split at the final table my first week with the plow under list. I think my list likes this card more than others since it is definitely a toolkit deck, decks which are all out on the g-wave plan would need to cut a few cards to make plow under a good replacement option. This card gives me much more action than g-wave does in G1 against control and midrange decks, but I side them out for g-waves in the aggro matchup. A zoo/affinity player really doesn't mind a plow under as much as a control player does.
The Toolkit:
With 4 chords and 4 primal commands, I can almost always find the answer I need. The toolkit is less apparent in the main 60, as the only cards that really feels like they belong to the toolkit are the reclamation sage and the genesis hydra (to a lesser extent, the magus of the candelabra, primeval titans, sachi, and craterhoof can be considered part of the toolkit). That said, my sideboard is full of answers for games 2 and 3.
Spellskite:
Comes in against control, jund, twin, and any list I expect is running path. This chard is especially good when chorded for, it can do anything from steal a splinter twin to shut down a kikki-pod combo.
Elderscale Wurm:
There are a huge number of decks which cannot beat this card, including ours. Comes in against affinity, zoo, merfolk, and the mirror.
Vexing Shusher:
Pretty straightforward selection. Control is our biggest problem, and this card is amazing against control. Try not to rush these out, its best when you resolve them the same turn as your big devastating spell so the control player can't just bolt it on their turn.
Viridian Zealot:
As far as I'm aware, this is the best answer to torpor orb and it provides 2 devotion while doing it. Orb hoses this deck, so the SB needs something to answer it.
Scavenging Ooze:
Gains life, laughs at goyf/snapcaster/reanimation, and eventually becomes a threat on its own in some matchups. I'm considering running one of these mainboard.
Phyrexian Revoker:
Shuts off walkers and combo pieces. Liliana is a big problem for my list, but this card would probably be the first cut I would make from my toolkit, perhaps for an acidic ooze.
Reclamation Sage:
I prefer this to acidic ooze in the mainboard for 2 reasons. Its a shaman (yay sachi), and it costs less mana. I think I might need one more of these in the sideboard.
Genesis Hydra:
I did not expect this card to be so good when it was first announced. I've only played with it for about a week, but DAMN does he do work. Only really good in non g-wave versions of this list, for obvious reasons. Control almost never gets value for countering this card, as the ability resolves whether or not it enters the battlefield. I'm honestly considering running one more of this card in the main deck.
Summary/Potential Changes:
This list is stupidly fun to play. I feel like a control player in mono green! I can find answers, quickly apply pressure, and make massive tempo plays with plow under/primal command which most decks cannot recover from. If I were to make any changes to this deck, it would likely be to the toolkit or to try and find room for elvish visionaries in the main board. The only red cards in my 75 are sarkhan vol which I bring in with the 3 g-waves, and the kessig wolf run. It kinda feels like I'm missing an opportunity to cash in on some sweet red creatures. Magus of the moon and zealous conscripts seem like solid toolkit options. Thrun could also end up finding a spot in my sideboard (guess what? He's a shaman!). If I had the money for fetchlands, I would definitely run a copy of inkmoth nexus for fetching when primeval titan hits the field. Finally, I would love for someone to suggest cards to cut for Elvish Visionary! With Sachi in play, visionaries become crazy good.
Its not an instant, it doesn't offer you the "trap" option, and the second trigger actually happens less than you would expect in our list. My only 4+ power creatures are Prime Time and Hoof.
Fun play I made today - My opponent cast slaughter pact on one of my creatures with 2 non basics and a forest in play. On my turn, I played magus of the moon and passed back. With my opponent having no black sources, I won!
Other creature cards I am considering putting in the deck are Saffi, Reveillark, Kitchen Finks, and Wall of Roots. Wall or roots seems good in the magus slot, and synergizes very well with chord. If I could find a sac outlet in our colors (there aren't many good ones), Thune + Finks + Sac outlet is also a combo.
What this list likely needs though is one or 2 more ways to dig/search for creatures. Summoning Trap and Summoner's Pact are the 2 which come immediately mind. Yisan, the Wanderer Bard and Birthing Pod are also options.
You suggest that I remove two cards from my list, Magus and Voyaging Satyr. What if I put 2 Tooth and Nail in their place? That would allow me dump out the combo, allow me to more easily play my double white creatures if they get stranded in my hand, and even play a craterhoof from hand for 1 less mana.
4x Arbor Elf
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
4x Eternal Witness
4x Elvish Visionary
2x Primeval Titan
1x Voyaging Satyr
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Restoration Angel
1x Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
4x Chord of Calling
4x Primal Command
Enchantments:
4x Utopia Sprawl
Walkers:
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
Land:
1x Stomping Ground
1x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Temple Garden
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
13x Forest
1x Spellskite
1x Elderscale Wurm
1x Vexing Shusher
1x Viridian Zealot
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Wurmcoil Engine
2x Genesis Hydra
3x Genesis Wave
3x Plow Under
I moved the "gas" to the sideboard, which I have been loving so far. Some decks hate to see g-wave, other decks hate to see plow under, and it felt awkward running one or the other in my mainboard. Having not shown either of those card to my opponent after game 1, siding into them after game 1 can be simply devastating.
Another big change I've made was a splash into white for the toolkit. Elesh Norn simply crushes faces in the current meta, and restoration angel is incredible in a deck loaded with ETB triggers. So much value!
Lastly, since I was already on the "Sachi, lord of shamans" plan, I gave elvish visionaries a try. Ho-lee-***** are these incredible. Burning tree into visionary is ridiculous on turn 2 against any deck, a sachi on turn 3 can pretty much end things after that. I'm honestly considering running a second sachi at this point because she is much better when drawn into than when chorded for, most likely in place of the mainboard reclamation sage.
What do you guys think of this new list?
For the 4th garruk, I've always been worried about drawing a 2-garruk opening hand. In my current list, there really aren't any cards (other than prime time and nykthos) that I am not happy to have 2 of in my opening hand. Do you all feel like the 4th garruk is just a neccesity due to how powerful he is in this list?
As to the elesh norn, I would be super happy to chord of calling for her, but would be most concerned about being able to cast her if I draw into her. I don't own any fetchlands, so I would most likely need to replace a few forests with temple gardens and my overgrowth's with fertile grounds to support her. I'm not sure if even that would be enough to consistently cast double white if she ends up in my hand. It would certainly open up a few more sideboard cards for the toolkit though (kataki, thalia) and even a few cool mainboard cards (knight of the reliquary, resto angel). Its definitely something worth testing online before I go out and buy her in paper!
For me, this deck started out as a full-blown G-Wave list. All I wanted to do was jam massive g-waves on turn 3 or 4, and I didn't really have any other real win conditions (other than chord for hoof). Then, I discovered the power of e-witness/primal command. I used to only run 2 primal commands in the deck, but I quickly realized that I was winning games much more often with witness/command than I was when I was casting fat g-waves, so I started to run 4 primal commands and 3 g-waves.
After slowly realizing that (at least in my list) primal command was a much more versatile and powerful card than g-wave, I decided to go the full blown plow under route. To date, I haven't lost a competitive game of Magic when I have resolved plow under on or before turn 4 (Its pretty much game over if I resolve it turn 3 on the play, which is quite easy with this list). It completely rips the carpet out from under an opponent, and gives you 2 turns to find answers and apply pressure. Here's the list I'm currently running:
4x Arbor Elf
1x Magus of the Candelabra
1x Voyaging Satyr
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
1x Reclamation Sage
4x Eternal Witness
1x Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
2x Primeval Titan
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Genesis Hydra
4x Chord of Calling
4x Primal Command
3x Plow Under
Enchantments:
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Overgrowth
Walkers:
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
Land:
1x Stomping Ground
1x Kessig Wolf Run
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
15x Forest
1x Spellskite
1x Elderscale Wurm
3x Genesis Wave
1x Sarkhan Vol
1x Vexing Shusher
1x Viridian Zealot
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Phyrexian Revoker
2x Kitchen Finks
3x Strangleroot Geist
Card Breakdown
Mana Ramp:
Where I diverge a bit with my ramp is the inclusion of 3 cards I rarely see on other lists. Magus, overgrowth, and Sachi. The magus and sachi are both one ofs which I very commonly chord for. The overgrowth is flat out DEVASTATING to resolve on turn 2 or 3 with an arbor elf/magus/voyaging satyr/garruk in play.
Overgrowth:
Overgrowth isn't run in many lists I see, presumably because it costs 3 mana and doesn't "win you the game". Its effect is way better than fertile ground's if you have a way to untap mana (arbor elf/magus/garruk), and is castable on turn 2 if you played a turn 1 utopia sprawl or arbor elf. A turn 2 overgrowth, left unchecked, nearly guarantees I can cast plow under/primal command on turn 3 for the blowout (which is the goal of the deck game 1). You'd rather draw one of these bad boys late in the game than a utopia sprawl, but its obviously setting you up for some blowouts against the bounce effect of cryptic command. This is one of the few cards in this deck I would consider cutting, possibly for some elvish visionaries (I will explain why later).
Magus of the Candelabra:
Magus is great because (as far as I know) its the only 1 mana creature capable of untapping Nykthos (yay chord of calling for 1), has 2 toughness (take that electrolyze!) and his ability to untap multiple lands is very relevant. Consider the resolving primeval titan, then untapping the fetched kessig wolf run and stomping ground with magus to attack for lethal. Untapping a nykthos and a land with a utopia sprawl/overgrowth on it to net additional mana is very strong. Overall, its a consistently useful card that slots well into the toolkit of anyone running chord.
Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro:
I always feel great resolving Sachi, my legendary uncommon. My opponent always picks it up and says "what does this do?". She's a sneaky card that catches a lot of players off guard. If you're running chord, and you have 4x burning trees and 4x e-witnesses, guess what? You're running 8 shamans! Elvish visionary is also a shaman, and our new friend reclamation sage is also a shaman. If you're running Thrun (also a shaman), you can block with him then tap him to regenerate himself. Sachi will always at least tap herself for two green mana, and she instantly pays for herself if you already had 2 shamans in play. I end up cutting her against the control matchup because I bring out the burning trees for strangleroot geists, but I absolutely love her in the main board and have a hard time justifying another card over her with 10 shamans in my deck. I am heavily considering cutting the 2 overgrowths and maybe 1 chord for elvish visionaries, as visionaries are also shamans that would power up sachi.
The Spells:
Chord of Calling:
I've been running 4 chords in my 60 since the first ever iteration of this list. I might be a bit biased, but I would never consider cutting these. They do so much for this deck. If I need devotion, I can chord for an eternal witness to get back my chord. It allows my sideboard to be full of sexy one of hate cards. It lets me win on turn 3 in christmas land by chording for my craterhoof. It does everything I need in a card, and all at instant speed. This card ends up finishing most of my games for me since I don't run g-wave mainboard. It wins games, it prevents me from losing games, and I really don't mind seeing 2 of them in my hand. It just means I can blow the first one on an arbor elf or a magus of the candelabra before I have to play safe with my second! I really don't know many mono green lists which wouldn't want to run 2 or more chords if they have access to them. Its arguably the best card in the deck.
Primal Command:
The versatility of this card is back breaking. The E-witness/primal command land lock flat out wins games, so I can keep a lot of hands which only get me to 5 mana if they include a primal command. Don't forget about the modes which aren't "search for creature" and "put non-creature permanent on top of library". Shuffling the graveyard of a living end player into their library is devastating. Gaining 7 life against aggro decks is far more relevant than setting them back a land/draw. This card does everything I need and more. IMO, this card should be at LEAST a 3 of in any deck that runs eternal witness.
Plow Under:
What an obscure, beautiful little card this is. In a perfect game you resolve this card turn 3 on the play, leaving your opponent with no lands in play and 2 lands on top of their deck. How do you lose from there? Sure, its not putting permanents into play and attempting to finish the game like a G-wave is, but its setting you up for a very favorable game with a toolkit deck that can dig for answers against a depleted opponent. G-wave is much flashier, but in my opinion is less consistent in a list that runs 11 non-permanents. This is one of the newest cards to make it into my list, but I already love the feel of it. I almost feel like a mono-green control player. I went 2-2 or 3-1 in the 3 tournaments I mainboarded g-wave over plow under, and I split at the final table my first week with the plow under list. I think my list likes this card more than others since it is definitely a toolkit deck, decks which are all out on the g-wave plan would need to cut a few cards to make plow under a good replacement option. This card gives me much more action than g-wave does in G1 against control and midrange decks, but I side them out for g-waves in the aggro matchup. A zoo/affinity player really doesn't mind a plow under as much as a control player does.
The Toolkit:
With 4 chords and 4 primal commands, I can almost always find the answer I need. The toolkit is less apparent in the main 60, as the only cards that really feels like they belong to the toolkit are the reclamation sage and the genesis hydra (to a lesser extent, the magus of the candelabra, primeval titans, sachi, and craterhoof can be considered part of the toolkit). That said, my sideboard is full of answers for games 2 and 3.
Spellskite:
Comes in against control, jund, twin, and any list I expect is running path. This chard is especially good when chorded for, it can do anything from steal a splinter twin to shut down a kikki-pod combo.
Elderscale Wurm:
There are a huge number of decks which cannot beat this card, including ours. Comes in against affinity, zoo, merfolk, and the mirror.
Vexing Shusher:
Pretty straightforward selection. Control is our biggest problem, and this card is amazing against control. Try not to rush these out, its best when you resolve them the same turn as your big devastating spell so the control player can't just bolt it on their turn.
Viridian Zealot:
As far as I'm aware, this is the best answer to torpor orb and it provides 2 devotion while doing it. Orb hoses this deck, so the SB needs something to answer it.
Scavenging Ooze:
Gains life, laughs at goyf/snapcaster/reanimation, and eventually becomes a threat on its own in some matchups. I'm considering running one of these mainboard.
Phyrexian Revoker:
Shuts off walkers and combo pieces. Liliana is a big problem for my list, but this card would probably be the first cut I would make from my toolkit, perhaps for an acidic ooze.
Reclamation Sage:
I prefer this to acidic ooze in the mainboard for 2 reasons. Its a shaman (yay sachi), and it costs less mana. I think I might need one more of these in the sideboard.
Genesis Hydra:
I did not expect this card to be so good when it was first announced. I've only played with it for about a week, but DAMN does he do work. Only really good in non g-wave versions of this list, for obvious reasons. Control almost never gets value for countering this card, as the ability resolves whether or not it enters the battlefield. I'm honestly considering running one more of this card in the main deck.
Summary/Potential Changes:
This list is stupidly fun to play. I feel like a control player in mono green! I can find answers, quickly apply pressure, and make massive tempo plays with plow under/primal command which most decks cannot recover from. If I were to make any changes to this deck, it would likely be to the toolkit or to try and find room for elvish visionaries in the main board. The only red cards in my 75 are sarkhan vol which I bring in with the 3 g-waves, and the kessig wolf run. It kinda feels like I'm missing an opportunity to cash in on some sweet red creatures. Magus of the moon and zealous conscripts seem like solid toolkit options. Thrun could also end up finding a spot in my sideboard (guess what? He's a shaman!). If I had the money for fetchlands, I would definitely run a copy of inkmoth nexus for fetching when primeval titan hits the field. Finally, I would love for someone to suggest cards to cut for Elvish Visionary! With Sachi in play, visionaries become crazy good.
Happy ramping, green mages!