Honestly, I don't see how a Kaladesh block energy deck is any better than what I've compiled.
I agree that Harnessed Lightning can be a great removal spell but it is not worth the lower power level of the rest of the deck and playing those underpowered energy creatures without any real payoff (like Marvel used to be in the Standard deck).
I don't think that energy is particularly good enough for Pioneer (to play a fair deck).
The idea behind Roar is to have some amount of reach in the deck also when combined with Thunderbreak's ability it can chip away at opponents' life-total so it takes less attacks to close out the game.
As creature removal it is on-par with similarly costed options like Lightning Strike and Abrade (and Scorching Dragonfire) and the extra upside of a fully powered Searing Blaze is appealing to me.
I'm not sure if Lava Coil (or Mizzium Mortars) is worth playing in the maindeck so far and I already have Roast to deal with bigger creatures.
I wonder if Reality Shift can be good enough and if the downside isn't too bad, some other fringe removal options I thought about were Response // Resurgence and Thrash // Threat which are a bit situational.
Savage Knuckleblade is both one of my best blockers and my best non-dragon threat (also one of the reasons to play blue in the deck imho). Tracker and Courser aren't good enough to play 3-4x copies imho and I needed a solid creature in this slot.
# Oko might be worth 4x copies though it is pretty hard to kill so 2x copies seemed enough.
# Scions isn't an aggro card imho as it is too slow for it but the combination of looting with high loyalty makes it a decent option here imho with the creature buff only being situationally useful.
# Sarkhan Unbroken is probably my main reason of splshing blue in first place and I really like this card (maybe it's a pet card of mine) as it does everything I want with card draw and dragon tokens to protect it and take over the game.
It is better than the other Sarkhan 5-manaPW's that turn into dragons as those can't do both (card advantage and protection).
Reagarding Silumgar's Scorn I understand what you mean and it is true but I wanted to have some manner of interaction with non-creature spells and there aren't any playable 2-mana (catch-all) counters in this format (Quench/Censor doesn't cut it) so Silumgar's Scorn is probably my best option and the dragon synergy can really make it playable despite the difficult casting cost.
The deck is meant to play as a midrange deck which can switch roles according to the matchup being either proactive and aggressive or more reactive.
The deck can probably use Deathrite Shaman to good effect with all the self-mill to power it.
Dawn is a very slow card (5-mana for a 20-land aggro deck is a lot) and it doesn't even bring the creatures back into play.
Have you considered alternative reanimation spells like Gruesome Menagerie ?
It can bring up to the 3x creatures directly into play which seems much better.
There is also Command the Dreadhorde but you need some lifegain to not get killed by it.
I considered cutting Strangler altogether for Catacomb Sifter but eventually decided against it as it's probably supported well enough in the deck to justify its inclusion.
To compensate for the loss of Temple I've added a playset of Elvish Mystic for some mana acceleration.
I used to have Lost Legacy in the SB as it acts both as a (non-artifact) combo hoser and can also "draw" all copies of Scourge from the deck. not sure if it is worth including here now though.
It hasn't been mentioned here yet but Knights have another lord (besides Inspiring Veteran) in Valiant Knight which is a bit slow but potentially a game-ender if you can untap with it and use the double-strike ability.
The manabase is rather questionable, maybe "fast lands" or "pain lands" should be here.
I'm not sure if basic lands are really that important in this format unless every deck plays Field of Ruin
(since Assassin's Trophy isn't everywhere and there is no Path to Exile and Blood Moon to worry about).
I'm not sure if the interaction here is enough as it isn't very at closing the game and doesn't disrupt as well as BG/x decks.
I wonder if Reality Shift or Thrash // Threat can work as legitimate removal spells in these colors (besides Roast).
I agree that Harnessed Lightning can be a great removal spell but it is not worth the lower power level of the rest of the deck and playing those underpowered energy creatures without any real payoff (like Marvel used to be in the Standard deck).
I don't think that energy is particularly good enough for Pioneer (to play a fair deck).
4x Gifted Aetherborn
4x Relentless Dead
4x Murderous Rider
4x Dread Shade
2x Josu Vess, Lich Knight
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Enchantment (2)
2x Underworld Connections
4x Fatal Push
4x Grasp of Darkness
Sorcery (4)
4x Thoughtseize
Land (24)
17x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Castle Locthwain
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Ashiok, Dream Render
2x Sorcerous Spyglass
2x Ob Nixilis Reignited
2x Languish
2x Ratchet Bomb
4x Duress
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Josu Vess, Lich Knight isn't amazing but it is probably the strongest payoff for Nykthos besides Torment of Hailfire.
Some more good options for the deck can be:
Creatures:
# Pack Rat, Nightveil Specter, Ayara, First of Locthwain, Isareth the Awakener, Liliana, Heretical Healer, Drana, Liberator of Malakir, Plague Mare,
Erebos, God of the Dead, Ravenous Chupacabra, Spawn of Mayhem, Desecration Demon, Rankle, Master of Pranks, Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Doom Whisperer, Shadowborn Demon, God-Eternal Bontu, Cavalier of Night, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Massacre Girl
Tetzimoc, Primal Death, Demonlord Belzenlok, Kothophed, Soul Hoarder, Demon of Dark Schemes, Noxious Gearhulk
Non-creatures:
# Liliana, the Last Hope, Liliana, Death's Majesty, Liliana, Dreadhorde General, Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage
Arguel's Blood Fast, Dreadhorde Invasion, Whip of Erebos, Demonic Pact, Liliana's Contract, Palace Siege, The Eldest Reborn
Judge's Familiar, Tithe Taker, Phyrexian Revoker, Thalia and Remorseful Cleric + Vryn Wingmare (in the SB).
Depending how the meta shapes out the are more options for disruptive creatures like:
Dryad Militant, Hushbringer/Tocatli Honor Guard/Hushwing Gryff, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Aven Mindcensor and Eidolon of Rhetoric.
Here is the deck :
4x Thraben Inspector
4x Judge's Familiar
2x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Tithe Taker
2x Selfless Spirit
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3x Benalish Marshal
4x Venerated Loxodon
4x Smuggler's Copter
Sorcery (4)
4x Declaration in Stone
Land (23)
12x Plains
1x Castle Ardenvale
4x Mutavault
4x Shefet Dunes
2x Scavenger Grounds
4x Remorseful Cleric
2x Selfless Spirit
2x Vryn Wingmare
2x Brave the Elements
2x Fragmentize
2x Conclave Tribunal
1x Gideon of the Trials
Isn't 25x lands too much for an aggro deck ?You can play Knight of the White Orchid in your 2-drop slot and cut down on lands.
If you're looking for an aggressive 2-drop there is Honored Crop-Captain (Consul's Lieutenant is also similar).
Tithe Taker can potentially be good (as a taxing resilient creature) as well and Imposing Sovereign can help avoid blockers.
There are some situationally useful creatures like: Humble Defector (good with Prince) and Dire Fleet Daredevil.
Some more potentially playable 2-drops can be:
Robber of the Rich, Hanweir Militia Captain, Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, Wojek Halberdiers, Skyknight Vanguard, Precinct Captain and Swiftblade Vindicator/Boros Swiftblade.
Some Strong 3-drops to consider are:
Tajic, Legion's Edge and Thalia, Heretic Cathar that provide some advatage besides combat stats unlike Marshal.
Hanweir Garrison can also be very good and help go wide on its own and Lyev Skyknight is a decent evasive threat that can "detain" a creature (or PW) for a turn.
Some other potentially playabe 3-drops can be: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Devoted Crop-Mate which can reanimate smaller creatures.
Mentor of the Meek probably fits a build with a lower curve but is also a creature to consider for some card advantage (same with Militia Bugler).
(unless I want to save some money and go with Adventurous Impulse or Shimmer of Possibility instead).
The idea behind Roar is to have some amount of reach in the deck also when combined with Thunderbreak's ability it can chip away at opponents' life-total so it takes less attacks to close out the game.
As creature removal it is on-par with similarly costed options like Lightning Strike and Abrade (and Scorching Dragonfire) and the extra upside of a fully powered Searing Blaze is appealing to me.
I'm not sure if Lava Coil (or Mizzium Mortars) is worth playing in the maindeck so far and I already have Roast to deal with bigger creatures.
I wonder if Reality Shift can be good enough and if the downside isn't too bad, some other fringe removal options I thought about were Response // Resurgence and Thrash // Threat which are a bit situational.
Savage Knuckleblade is both one of my best blockers and my best non-dragon threat (also one of the reasons to play blue in the deck imho).
Tracker and Courser aren't good enough to play 3-4x copies imho and I needed a solid creature in this slot.
# Oko might be worth 4x copies though it is pretty hard to kill so 2x copies seemed enough.
# Scions isn't an aggro card imho as it is too slow for it but the combination of looting with high loyalty makes it a decent option here imho with the creature buff only being situationally useful.
# Sarkhan Unbroken is probably my main reason of splshing blue in first place and I really like this card (maybe it's a pet card of mine) as it does everything I want with card draw and dragon tokens to protect it and take over the game.
It is better than the other Sarkhan 5-mana PW's that turn into dragons as those can't do both (card advantage and protection).
Reagarding Silumgar's Scorn I understand what you mean and it is true but I wanted to have some manner of interaction with non-creature spells and there aren't any playable 2-mana (catch-all) counters in this format (Quench/Censor doesn't cut it) so Silumgar's Scorn is probably my best option and the dragon synergy can really make it playable despite the difficult casting cost.
The deck is meant to play as a midrange deck which can switch roles according to the matchup being either proactive and aggressive or more reactive.
How would you build a Temur Midrange deck ?
Dawn is a very slow card (5-mana for a 20-land aggro deck is a lot) and it doesn't even bring the creatures back into play.
Have you considered alternative reanimation spells like Gruesome Menagerie ?
It can bring up to the 3x creatures directly into play which seems much better.
There is also Command the Dreadhorde but you need some lifegain to not get killed by it.
We'll need to see how the format shapes out but there are some options for such a deck like:
Judge's Familiar, Dryad Militant/Remorseful Cleric, Tithe Taker/Vryn Wingmare, Phyrexian Revoker, Hushbringer/Tocatli Honor Guard/Hushwing Gryff, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Selfless Spirit, Aven Mindcensor, Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Eidolon of Rhetoric and Shalai, Voice of Plenty.
I used to have Relic in the original deck to enable Wasteland Strangler and get back Eternal Scourge and in this version I decided to go with Scavenging Ooze as a replacement instead of Scrabbling Claws (a decent Relic stand-in) to have a higher quality of a card and gain some life and have also added Scavenger Grounds to the manabase.
I considered cutting Strangler altogether for Catacomb Sifter but eventually decided against it as it's probably supported well enough in the deck to justify its inclusion.
To compensate for the loss of Temple I've added a playset of Elvish Mystic for some mana acceleration.
A natural replacement for Stirrings is Once Upon a Time though a case could be made for Adventurous Impulse as a cheaper cantrip that digs for lands and creatures.
Here is the list:
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Scavenging Ooze
4x Matter Reshaper
4x Eternal Scourge
3x Wasteland Strangler
4x Thought-Knot Seer
4x Reality Smasher
Instant (10)
4x Fatal Push
2x Assassin's Trophy
4x Once Upon a Time
4x Llanowar Wastes
4x Blooming Marsh
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Hashep Oasis
2x Scavenger Grounds
1x Blast Zone
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Forest
1x Swamp
4x Thoughtseize
2x Assassin's Trophy
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Phyrexian Revoker
1x Wasteland Strangler
2x Blight Herder
2x Vraska, Golgari Queen
I used to have Lost Legacy in the SB as it acts both as a (non-artifact) combo hoser and can also "draw" all copies of Scourge from the deck. not sure if it is worth including here now though.
Regarding equipment there is Sigiled Sword of Valeron to consider.
Here it is:
4x Gilded Goose
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Courser of Kruphix
2x Tireless Tracker
2x Savage Knuckleblade
4x Thunderbreak Regent
3x Glorybringer
Enchantment (4)
4x Oath of Nissa
Instant (9)
4x Silumgar's Scorn
4x Draconic Roar
1x Abrade
Sorcery (2)
2x Roast
2x Oko, Thief of Crowns
2x Sarkhan Unbroken
Land (22)
3x Mana Confluence
4x Rootbound Crag
4x Hinterland Harbor
2x Breeding Pool
2x Steam Vents
2x Stomping Ground
2x Lumbering Falls
1x Forest
1x Island
1x Mountain
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Destructive Revelry
2x Abrade
2x Negate
2x Roast
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1x Keranos, God of Storms
The manabase is rather questionable, maybe "fast lands" or "pain lands" should be here.
I'm not sure if basic lands are really that important in this format unless every deck plays Field of Ruin
(since Assassin's Trophy isn't everywhere and there is no Path to Exile and Blood Moon to worry about).
I'm not sure if the interaction here is enough as it isn't very at closing the game and doesn't disrupt as well as BG/x decks.
I wonder if Reality Shift or Thrash // Threat can work as legitimate removal spells in these colors (besides Roast).
Some other cards to consider for a deck like this:
# Once Upon a Time - might be worth it over Oath of Nissa though I wanted a 1-mana dig spell (also the price of this is really inflated).
Incubation // Incongruity is also an interesting option but only if the removal side is actually playable.
# Domri, Anarch of Bolas - good combination of abilities: ramp + anti-countermagic, removal and a buff for the creatures.
# The Nissa PW's - Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, Nissa, Steward of Elements and Nissa, Vital Force.
# Vivien Reid - good card advantage and situational removal.
# The Royal Scions - looting, a creature buff and high loyalty.
# Jace, Vryn's Prodigy - probably fits a version with less creatures and more spells.
# Alternative dragon options - Stormbreath Dragon, Skarrgan Hellkite, Demanding Dragon, Verix Bladewing and maybe even Opportunistic Dragon.
(and it can't be hit by Abrupt Decay/Assassin's Trophy).
Bramblecrush seems like decent all-round non-creature removal for (big mana) green decks, especially to remove PW's or troublesome lands.
Precinct Captain seems rather hit & miss, there are probably better options in its place,
Like: Tithe Taker, Phyrexian Revoker, Hanweir Militia Captain, Imposing Sovereign and Remorseful Cleric.
Knight of the White Orchid might also work here.
I'd also consider Dauntless Bodyguard for the 1-drop slot.
If you want more anthems I'd go with Venerated Loxodon over Spear (Always Watching also seems better).
I'd probably go with Declaration in the maindeck and Tribunal (or Banishing Light) in the SB.
It doesn't exactly fit this build but History of Benalia can probably be a good option in grindier matchups.