Heart of Kiran is an interesting choice - it's definitely strong in an aggro meta. It favorably blocks Phoenixes, anything in Burn, anything in Dredge, dodges a Thing in the Ice flip activation to at least chump, doesn't die to Bolt, and is a clock on its own. Definitely works well with Sarkhan in the Dragon build. To Timba's point though, I can see crewing it being awkward at times.
I tried it in a more traditional Skred list some time last year and it had some nice lines.
Turn 2 Heart
Turn 3 Eternal Scourge + crew = swing for 4
Turn 4 Koth + animate mountain + crew with loyalty + attack with all = swing for 11, 15 total
It's a lot of damage for Skred to deal that fast, but ultimately it wasn't better than Mind Stone or extra removal in a traditional list.
Thanks for the feedback man, always happy to discuss!
Magma Jet is the man, to be honest. You'd be surprised. 2 damage hits a lot in the current meta: Arclight Phoenix, Monastery Swiftspear, Soulscar Mage, Goblin Guide, Narcomoeba, Bloodghast, most humans and most spirits until they get buffed. Take care of the weenies while saving my Bolts and Skreds for bigger boys like Thing in the Ice, Drakes, and the occasional Prime Time or Colonnade.
I actually quite like Sweltering Suns as well. I used to run 1-2x in place of Angers, but Phoenix and Dredge demand we run Anger right now since the exile is super relevant.
To your point about the nonbo with Relic, I actually disagree. If you Magma Jet before popping Relic, you can increase the chances of drawing the card you actually want. I was able to bottom 2 lands, and cracked Relic after. Don't remember what I drew but I still skipped 2 bad draws.
Stormbreath: Don't get me wrong, I love that dragon. Keep in mind I'm zeroed in on the meta: if you play SBD into a battlefield with a few Phoenixes, Swiftspears, Things, Prized Amalgams, or Titans, it's a dead draw or at best a chump blocker. Dark Dwellers gives me the chance to Anger it all away or Skred something big. He also has the same stats until the "nuke" (lol) and Menace is kind of ghetto flying.
Lava Coil: This is a very specific answer to turn 2 Thing in the Ice, not much more. Skred, Mouth of Ronom, Chandra are all too slow to answer that problem. Considered Rending Volley here as well but Combust is an interesting option - it hits Thing, Drake, Amalgam, and just about every Human and Spirit.
Surgical I'll have to keep playing with. To be honest I'm still new to the card but we'll see how it plays out.
Rabblemaster: I've always found him to be a bit awkward, to be honest. Like against Storm or Ad Naus, we pretty much need a quick clock, but I've found that it's not a guarantee even if we find him. He gives you an increased chance to beat them, but not high enough for me. I'd rather focus on the matchups I can win and just hope to dodge the ***** ones. To be fair, Humans being around definitely reduces the amount of Storm and Ad Naus in the meta.
Damping Sphere: I am punting to combo, you're right. Well, some of it. The sphere is definitely a good one - it was a tough call to cut it from the board. Again, I was hyper focused on the top meta. But to be honest, against Tron and Amulet we have Blood Moon and Molten Rain. Keep in mind that Abrade and Shattering Spree help here too - hitting an early Expedition Map or Amulet buys us a lot time to find Moon or Rain.
Against either Phoenix deck, I'd take out Blood Moons and Squee. Mono Red Phoenix, I would bring in Dragon's Claws, but against Izzet I would bring in Surgicals.
Thanks for the comments dude, I didn't find your post aggressive at all. Peace!
[...] How did GDD perform for you? I've never been impressed with the card but I could see trying it more. I'm also curious about Mind Stone. I've come to the conclusion that you run Magma Jet over Stone, not in tandem with it. How did it perform for you? Lastly, excellent call on giving up on Rabblemaster. It doesn't do what you need it to fast enough. I'd always run Scab-Clan Berserker over it because it hurts so many more decks and packs an equally strong punch, if not stronger. The sideboard to me looks questionable but I can see where you were coming from with it. [...]
I think GDD is pretty awesome. It gives us options and redundancy. I haven't fully figured out the options/timing yet - getting an extra Anger/Molten Rain can be a blowout, an extra Skred can be clutch, Magma Jet can be useful, but I think sometimes playing it naked can be correct. I got to live the dream against a control player: Turn 2 Mind Stone (then they play a Search for Azcanta), Turn 3 Blood Moon, Turn 4 Molten Rain their Island, Turn 5 GDD + Molten Rain on the other Island they just found, then start swinging. It felt gleefully rude.
Mind Stone is great and I don't see myself cutting it. I think it's the reason I can get away with 21 lands, but even with 22-23 lands, ramping out a 4-drop on Turn 3 can be devastating, and the cycling always give reach in a grind. In my build I'm trying to use the Magma Jets strategically - for board cleanup or digging for an answer. I'm not usually tossing them out on Turn 2 like I would with a Mind Stone, so I think they fulfill different uses. Also, they work together if you scry bottom bottom, then pop the Mind Stone to dig even deeper.
Agreed on Rabblemaster, he's never done it for me. Haven't tested Scab-Clan but it seems cool. Do you think it's much better than Eidolon of the Great Revel? We have enough 4-drops that I don't think Eidolon hurts us too badly, but coming out a turn sooner can be relevant.
Overall I went 3-1 in the last chance qualifier (almost securing 2 byes for the main event), 4-3 main event, 3-2 in the Mythic Qualifier the next day. I was really hoping to Day 2 again this year, but still not a bad showing. Had an absolute blast and I've been felt pretty motivated to play some Modern again.
As has been tradition, Skred is a pretty meta dependent deck. The top meta is (or was at the time of the event) Phoenix, Burn, Dredge, Amulet, Grixis Death Shadow. Main deck Angers and Relics clean up Phoenix and Dredge, Blood Moon is basically a win against GDS and Amulet, and Magma Jet helps us find what we need while taking care of the weenies or being incidental damage to face.
Let's talk cards.
4x Magma Jet: Shoutout to thnkr for testing and pushing this. I've consistently been surprised at how handy they are and how much you can count on them. Starting with 4x Magma Jet informed the rest of the tuning choices we made.
21 lands: I'm still not totally sure about this, but over the course of the weekend I honestly still felt like I flooded out more times than I was in a drought. Magma Jet and the usual Relic/Mindstone cycling are of course a huge help. I feel like maybe like .3 of a land extra might have been nice, but I didn't have time to experiment with 61 cards lists to find the perfect balance.
2x Hazoret: Goes toe to toe with almost any threat, the current meta has very little Path to worry about, and she's a complete stone wall with a built-in win con. I've gone up to 2x because of her value and ability to still weaponize the second copy if you happen to draw it.
1x Lava Coil: Mostly for the early Thing in the Ice or Prized Amalgam, but this could have easily been a Roast.
2x Goblin Dark-Dwellers: Cutting Stormbreath was a tough call, but again, with the lack of Path in the top meta, I just wanted the extra spot removal, Anger, Molten Rain, Surgical, and to be honest, even a free Magma Jet feels pretty good sometimes. The Menace is also quite relevant for pushing damage through. Really recommend trying it - Relic is not the obstacle you think it is when you plan accordingly.
2x Surgical Extraction (SB): I tested with a control expert who highly recommended this. It has relevant applications in a ton of matchups, but to be honest I still need to learn how and when to use it. I did get to use it against Dredge and Phoenix to great effect so I think it's worth the slots.
6x Lifegain artifacts (SB): This was kind of a trolly meta call, but it totally paid off since I ran into Burn twice. And to be honest, I had just accepted the combo deck losses if I ran into them (even though they're not great right now), so I felt I could afford the slots. See below for a hilarious board state against a poor Burn opponent.
This thread has been pretty inactive lately, but I really hope I can encourage you guys to start Skredding again - the time feels right!
@Emzed: Thanks for the tips! I was considering Tracker as I seem to flood out with this deck pretty often. Should be playing the deck again on Friday so I'll keep this all in mind.
Was wondering if anyone has strategies/recommendations against control decks, in particular Jeskai and Grixis have been giving me trouble. The dorks die, the Eldritch Evolutions get countered, the Saheelis get bolted, etc. Is it all about trying to rush out a Blood Moon/Magus of the Moon? Feels like both the combo and the midrange plan fall off the radar here.
Did anybody get a hold of the list of the Skred player at the PT? Bringing Skred to GP Toronto this weekend so I'd be interested in seeing what they had.
This sounds exactly like the Rock opponent I played against a few weeks back. Assuming you're in the US, what state are you in? Maybe we're secretly locals and never knew it lol. Truthfully, the salt is always worth it, and there is nothing more fun than smashing face with a Koth while the opponent can't do anything.
Hah, unfortunately not a local. I'm fighting the good fight from up north in Canada. I'll make the trip down to NY-ish states from time to time, though.
Congrats Yorck! Would be interested in a report or even just your list.
Had a fun experience at FNM the other day. Crowd has been bigger lately because of the Fatal Push promo and we're seeing a mix of people coming in, including the hyper-competitive types from another shop that I don't usually play at.
The guy is on BG Rock and already I can tell he's the type of player I hate because when I cut his deck, he takes mine and shuffles it for like 30 seconds. It's an FNM bro.
Game 1 he's on the play and plays a Verdant Catacombs, passes. I play a Snow-Covered Mountain. End of turn, he foolishly fetches an Overgrown Tomb and mash shuffles 10+ times after doing so. Turn 3 I drop a Blood Moon on him, no response. I ride a turn 4 Koth to victory.
He comments, "Fun and interactive Magic..." while admitting he should have grabbed a basic.
Next game is even funnier to me. He actually fetches for basic Forest and Swamp this time, and has a Bob on the field by the time I drop a Blood Moon. You can see he's irked, but on his first Bob trigger after the Blood Moon, he finds a Maelstrom Pulse and has the mana to cast it. I figure he would want to actually play a game of Magic this time, but he decides not to play it. Next turn I Molten Rain his Swamp and lock him out of the game again and ride a Stormbreath to victory.
He goes on a small rant about how Blood Moon is his most hated card in Magic and how all the other "unfun" cards at least end the game quickly. I'm biting my tongue trying not to laugh, and all I could say after is "You had a Maelstrom Pulse."
I probably could have said more, but the salt was palpable. This was clearly the type of guy who felt he should have won because he had 4x Goyf and 4x Lily in his deck, and taking the win from him with a deck that costs less than those cards alone was so satisfying. Really refreshed my love for the deck even though I've been on it for over a year.
Not related to spoiler discussion, but I tried out a one of Hazoret the Fervent this week and want to echo the people who have been recommending her. Unbelievably good top deck, and to be honest even in the opening hand it's quite easy to sequence her. I played her after dropping P&K or Koth/Chandra, and never had a problem hitting 1 card in hand to activate her. Every time she came up I was happy to see her. I'd like to try running 2x but I'm unsure what to cut.
Looks cool, I'll try this out! Really appreciate the analytical approach when it comes to life differential.
One thing I'll mention is that I personally really like using Mirran Crusader in the side which I'm not seeing in your list. You haven't lived until you've buffed one with Kessig Wolf Run to a 5/2 Double Strike Trample and then exerted Combat Celebrant!!
Edit: It just keeps getting better... forgot that you can trigger exalted twice because of the second combat step. This is making combat math much more complicated and I love it.
I tried it in a more traditional Skred list some time last year and it had some nice lines.
Turn 2 Heart
Turn 3 Eternal Scourge + crew = swing for 4
Turn 4 Koth + animate mountain + crew with loyalty + attack with all = swing for 11, 15 total
It's a lot of damage for Skred to deal that fast, but ultimately it wasn't better than Mind Stone or extra removal in a traditional list.
Thanks for the feedback man, always happy to discuss!
Magma Jet is the man, to be honest. You'd be surprised. 2 damage hits a lot in the current meta: Arclight Phoenix, Monastery Swiftspear, Soulscar Mage, Goblin Guide, Narcomoeba, Bloodghast, most humans and most spirits until they get buffed. Take care of the weenies while saving my Bolts and Skreds for bigger boys like Thing in the Ice, Drakes, and the occasional Prime Time or Colonnade.
I actually quite like Sweltering Suns as well. I used to run 1-2x in place of Angers, but Phoenix and Dredge demand we run Anger right now since the exile is super relevant.
To your point about the nonbo with Relic, I actually disagree. If you Magma Jet before popping Relic, you can increase the chances of drawing the card you actually want. I was able to bottom 2 lands, and cracked Relic after. Don't remember what I drew but I still skipped 2 bad draws.
Stormbreath: Don't get me wrong, I love that dragon. Keep in mind I'm zeroed in on the meta: if you play SBD into a battlefield with a few Phoenixes, Swiftspears, Things, Prized Amalgams, or Titans, it's a dead draw or at best a chump blocker. Dark Dwellers gives me the chance to Anger it all away or Skred something big. He also has the same stats until the "nuke" (lol) and Menace is kind of ghetto flying.
Lava Coil: This is a very specific answer to turn 2 Thing in the Ice, not much more. Skred, Mouth of Ronom, Chandra are all too slow to answer that problem. Considered Rending Volley here as well but Combust is an interesting option - it hits Thing, Drake, Amalgam, and just about every Human and Spirit.
Surgical I'll have to keep playing with. To be honest I'm still new to the card but we'll see how it plays out.
Rabblemaster: I've always found him to be a bit awkward, to be honest. Like against Storm or Ad Naus, we pretty much need a quick clock, but I've found that it's not a guarantee even if we find him. He gives you an increased chance to beat them, but not high enough for me. I'd rather focus on the matchups I can win and just hope to dodge the ***** ones. To be fair, Humans being around definitely reduces the amount of Storm and Ad Naus in the meta.
Damping Sphere: I am punting to combo, you're right. Well, some of it.
Against either Phoenix deck, I'd take out Blood Moons and Squee. Mono Red Phoenix, I would bring in Dragon's Claws, but against Izzet I would bring in Surgicals.
Thanks for the comments dude, I didn't find your post aggressive at all. Peace!
I think GDD is pretty awesome. It gives us options and redundancy. I haven't fully figured out the options/timing yet - getting an extra Anger/Molten Rain can be a blowout, an extra Skred can be clutch, Magma Jet can be useful, but I think sometimes playing it naked can be correct. I got to live the dream against a control player: Turn 2 Mind Stone (then they play a Search for Azcanta), Turn 3 Blood Moon, Turn 4 Molten Rain their Island, Turn 5 GDD + Molten Rain on the other Island they just found, then start swinging. It felt gleefully rude.
Mind Stone is great and I don't see myself cutting it. I think it's the reason I can get away with 21 lands, but even with 22-23 lands, ramping out a 4-drop on Turn 3 can be devastating, and the cycling always give reach in a grind. In my build I'm trying to use the Magma Jets strategically - for board cleanup or digging for an answer. I'm not usually tossing them out on Turn 2 like I would with a Mind Stone, so I think they fulfill different uses. Also, they work together if you scry bottom bottom, then pop the Mind Stone to dig even deeper.
Agreed on Rabblemaster, he's never done it for me. Haven't tested Scab-Clan but it seems cool. Do you think it's much better than Eidolon of the Great Revel? We have enough 4-drops that I don't think Eidolon hurts us too badly, but coming out a turn sooner can be relevant.
Here's what I ran:
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Skred
4x Mind Stone
4x Magma Jet
1x Lava Coil
3x Blood Moon
3x Anger of the Gods
1x Squee, the Immortal
2x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2x Hazoret the Fervent
2x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
20x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Scrying Sheets
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Shattering Spree
2x Abrade
4x Dragon's Claw
2x Sun Droplet
1x Anger of the Gods
3x Molten Rain
Overall I went 3-1 in the last chance qualifier (almost securing 2 byes for the main event), 4-3 main event, 3-2 in the Mythic Qualifier the next day. I was really hoping to Day 2 again this year, but still not a bad showing. Had an absolute blast and I've been felt pretty motivated to play some Modern again.
As has been tradition, Skred is a pretty meta dependent deck. The top meta is (or was at the time of the event) Phoenix, Burn, Dredge, Amulet, Grixis Death Shadow. Main deck Angers and Relics clean up Phoenix and Dredge, Blood Moon is basically a win against GDS and Amulet, and Magma Jet helps us find what we need while taking care of the weenies or being incidental damage to face.
Let's talk cards.
4x Magma Jet: Shoutout to thnkr for testing and pushing this. I've consistently been surprised at how handy they are and how much you can count on them. Starting with 4x Magma Jet informed the rest of the tuning choices we made.
21 lands: I'm still not totally sure about this, but over the course of the weekend I honestly still felt like I flooded out more times than I was in a drought. Magma Jet and the usual Relic/Mindstone cycling are of course a huge help. I feel like maybe like .3 of a land extra might have been nice, but I didn't have time to experiment with 61 cards lists to find the perfect balance.
2x Hazoret: Goes toe to toe with almost any threat, the current meta has very little Path to worry about, and she's a complete stone wall with a built-in win con. I've gone up to 2x because of her value and ability to still weaponize the second copy if you happen to draw it.
1x Lava Coil: Mostly for the early Thing in the Ice or Prized Amalgam, but this could have easily been a Roast.
2x Goblin Dark-Dwellers: Cutting Stormbreath was a tough call, but again, with the lack of Path in the top meta, I just wanted the extra spot removal, Anger, Molten Rain, Surgical, and to be honest, even a free Magma Jet feels pretty good sometimes. The Menace is also quite relevant for pushing damage through. Really recommend trying it - Relic is not the obstacle you think it is when you plan accordingly.
2x Surgical Extraction (SB): I tested with a control expert who highly recommended this. It has relevant applications in a ton of matchups, but to be honest I still need to learn how and when to use it. I did get to use it against Dredge and Phoenix to great effect so I think it's worth the slots.
6x Lifegain artifacts (SB): This was kind of a trolly meta call, but it totally paid off since I ran into Burn twice. And to be honest, I had just accepted the combo deck losses if I ran into them (even though they're not great right now), so I felt I could afford the slots. See below for a hilarious board state against a poor Burn opponent.
This thread has been pretty inactive lately, but I really hope I can encourage you guys to start Skredding again - the time feels right!
Was wondering if anyone has strategies/recommendations against control decks, in particular Jeskai and Grixis have been giving me trouble. The dorks die, the Eldritch Evolutions get countered, the Saheelis get bolted, etc. Is it all about trying to rush out a Blood Moon/Magus of the Moon? Feels like both the combo and the midrange plan fall off the radar here.
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=116415
List is pretty stock aside from 1x Glorybringer. 23 lands, 4 Mind Stones, and for the doubters, 2x Scrying Sheets.
Congrats Yorck! Would be interested in a report or even just your list.
The guy is on BG Rock and already I can tell he's the type of player I hate because when I cut his deck, he takes mine and shuffles it for like 30 seconds. It's an FNM bro.
Game 1 he's on the play and plays a Verdant Catacombs, passes. I play a Snow-Covered Mountain. End of turn, he foolishly fetches an Overgrown Tomb and mash shuffles 10+ times after doing so. Turn 3 I drop a Blood Moon on him, no response. I ride a turn 4 Koth to victory.
He comments, "Fun and interactive Magic..." while admitting he should have grabbed a basic.
Next game is even funnier to me. He actually fetches for basic Forest and Swamp this time, and has a Bob on the field by the time I drop a Blood Moon. You can see he's irked, but on his first Bob trigger after the Blood Moon, he finds a Maelstrom Pulse and has the mana to cast it. I figure he would want to actually play a game of Magic this time, but he decides not to play it. Next turn I Molten Rain his Swamp and lock him out of the game again and ride a Stormbreath to victory.
He goes on a small rant about how Blood Moon is his most hated card in Magic and how all the other "unfun" cards at least end the game quickly. I'm biting my tongue trying not to laugh, and all I could say after is "You had a Maelstrom Pulse."
I probably could have said more, but the salt was palpable. This was clearly the type of guy who felt he should have won because he had 4x Goyf and 4x Lily in his deck, and taking the win from him with a deck that costs less than those cards alone was so satisfying. Really refreshed my love for the deck even though I've been on it for over a year.
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=114166
One thing I'll mention is that I personally really like using Mirran Crusader in the side which I'm not seeing in your list. You haven't lived until you've buffed one with Kessig Wolf Run to a 5/2 Double Strike Trample and then exerted Combat Celebrant!!
Edit: It just keeps getting better... forgot that you can trigger exalted twice because of the second combat step. This is making combat math much more complicated and I love it.