Have a read to this article. I dont agree with all of it, but it is another good place to start AFTER reading all of Jordan's articles on Modernexus. Also there is a very good discord group.... good luck with the deck! Personally, I find best matchups are where Chalice is most effective - GDS, Burn, Infect, Jund/Abzan (we can also grind!), Bogles, even Phoenix decks. Just to give you an idea...
Hi all. I was wondering about people's views of or experiences with Karn, Scion of Urza. For testing, I have put 2 in the MB, cutting a Warping Wail and an Endless One (I had cut 2 Matter Reshaper for 2 Endless One and the Smuggler's Copter for Wail from standard lists), but have yet to draw it and use it in game play. I like its potential to be able to: 1) filter the deck late game and get access to extra cards as needed, also in the same way we can play Scourge from exile; 2) creating thopters that get pumped by artifacts seems to go great with the Chalices and Powders we often have on the battlefield.
Hi @agattuso and thanks for posting. Could you let us know your thoughts about sideboard cards Torpor Orb and The Immortal Sun. How did they work for you? I can see Orb having use against a few decks, but when did you or plan to use Orb and Sun? thanks
Phantasmal Image and Engineered Explosives
So I learned today that after copying an Awoken Horror the cmc for Phantasmal image is 0. My opponent was playing the new UR Arclight/TITI deck and had his Awoken Horror facing 2 imaged Horrors of my own. He EE for 2 to clear the board so he could follow with Reveler, but he lost his and my imaged ones stayed. So sweet that an image of transformed card only gets the facing card cmc and not cmc of reverse, per the rule changed with Sol.....!
Thanks for the list and big props for the results. I been playing the monoR version "Runaway Arclight" or "Runaway Red", so I have a sense of which SB cards to bring in for certain MUs, but not sure what to take out in your deck. Do you have some SB notes/guide?
Yep lots of versions kicking around, I just didnt see a thread yet for a UR version, and people criminally ignore what Thing in the Ice is capable of. :]
There was a 5-0 by MentalMisstep that is listed under the Runaway Arclight Hyper-Aggro forum.
The deck you're talking about is by Evart Moughon. I think his list (soon on scg.com) is something like that :
...
Note sure whether he has 3 Revelers or 2 or 4, in which case where the cut for Insult is. Maybe he doesn't run 4 Charms, I didn't see many copies played in his match.
He's at 7-2 for Day 2.
There is a deck tech with him on the stream. His deck is:
I tried Risk Factor but found it to be too clunky. Also been switching back and forth between Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus. While can trip of Relic is great, I feel the loss of cards in my own yard is a nonbo with so many other cards in the deck and what I am trying to do. Not so sure whether or not to stick with Alpine Moon or go to Blood Moon; I consider Blood Moon to be better overall, but sometimes (most times?) not fast enough. Also in SB, I have split between Shattering Spree and Smash to Smithereensjust because I am paranoid about Chalice on 1. Finally playing with Satyr Firedancer. tho havent seen it come into play yet; same for Rampaging Ferocidon as I have found lifegain to be so damaging to this deck's ability to win.
A final question: Generally speaking how much bolting to creatures can the deck allow before I have effectively taken myself out of a chance of winning? I find this to be a problem against creature decks like WG Valuetown. Welcome comments
Although expensive and a non-bo with Bloodghast, Night of Souls' Betrayal will end decks that seek to defend by swarming tokens / manlands / infect / affinity / lingering souls. As a 1-of, I think it's worth it. The other option, however narrow & jank, is Electrickery.
Yeah my biggest concern with the data from Karsten's article is he programmed it to auto-mull all one land hands, when a land and a faithless looting is often keep-able and if there is a street wraith mixed in it's even better. ...
That is exactly scenario of screenshot above. I drew one land, Wraith, Looting and 1 Hollow One. Drew the other 2 through the cycling of the Wraith and then Looting.... I think a 1-lander that is able to cast Hollow One on turn 1 is a keep.
Frank Karsten has run the numbers on hollow one hits off of our random discard effects, plus it is useful to know that a turn 1 burning inquiry with no hollow ones in hand only has a 10-15% chance of paying off. ...
Of course, those magical turn 1 moments still happen! See screenshot....
Overall, I can't see these cards fitting in to the current aggro build. We take our chances with all the random looting. The deck usually isn't surviving the long game (with exceptions sometimes of course!). I think it's why decks that used to play Call to the Netherworld weren't competitive enough. Assuming we try one of these cards, what would we cut? I can't see cutting any of the looters, or perhaps maybe one, but which one? That leaves our two flex spots, which I think Collective Brutality overall fits much better into our game plan. (I played Jund and exercised all 3 modes to drop 2 Bloodghast into yard, kill a Bob and take a Kolaghan's Command, while draining life. In any event, is running 1 or 2 of those recursion cards worth it?
I don’t buy random discard as a reason not to play cards. We randomly discard everything. Hollow ones. Gurmags. Lands. Bloodghasts...
The random discard is actually one of things I like best about playing the deck. It's like rolling the dice. I used to play Slivers and Frenetic Sliver was my favorite - flip a coin to decide if a Sliver lives or dies!
So I learned today that after copying an Awoken Horror the cmc for Phantasmal image is 0. My opponent was playing the new UR Arclight/TITI deck and had his Awoken Horror facing 2 imaged Horrors of my own. He EE for 2 to clear the board so he could follow with Reveler, but he lost his and my imaged ones stayed. So sweet that an image of transformed card only gets the facing card cmc and not cmc of reverse, per the rule changed with Sol.....!
Thanks for the list and big props for the results. I been playing the monoR version "Runaway Arclight" or "Runaway Red", so I have a sense of which SB cards to bring in for certain MUs, but not sure what to take out in your deck. Do you have some SB notes/guide?
There was a 5-0 by MentalMisstep that is listed under the Runaway Arclight Hyper-Aggro forum.
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Island
4 Mountain
Creatures
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Goblin Electromancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Chart a Course
4 Faithless Looting
4 Fiery Temper
1 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
4 Risk Factor
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Spell Pierce
1 Surgical Extraction
4 The Flame of Keld
2 Tormod's Crypt
There is a deck tech with him on the stream. His deck is:
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Steam Vents
1 Island
3 Mountain
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Thing in the Ice
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Bedlam Reveler
4 Faithless Looting
4 Serum Visions
2 Thought Scour
4 Manamorphose
4 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Fiery Temper
4 Surgical Extraction
2 Abrade
3 Dragon's Claw
2 Alpine Moon
2 Dispel
2 Izzet Staticaster
Been trying this deck out and it can be a lot of fun and at times so frustrating... but that's MTG.
Here is my deck:
2 Ramunap Ruins
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Bomat Courier
1 Rampaging Ferocidon
4 Faithless Looting
2 Gut Shot
4 Fiery Temper
4 Wizard's Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
3 The Flame of Keld
2 Alpine Moon
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Goblin Chainwhirler
1 Shattering Spree
1 Dismember
1 Rampaging Ferocidon
1 Smash to Smithereens
2 Satyr Firedancer
I tried Risk Factor but found it to be too clunky. Also been switching back and forth between Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus. While can trip of Relic is great, I feel the loss of cards in my own yard is a nonbo with so many other cards in the deck and what I am trying to do. Not so sure whether or not to stick with Alpine Moon or go to Blood Moon; I consider Blood Moon to be better overall, but sometimes (most times?) not fast enough. Also in SB, I have split between Shattering Spree and Smash to Smithereensjust because I am paranoid about Chalice on 1. Finally playing with Satyr Firedancer. tho havent seen it come into play yet; same for Rampaging Ferocidon as I have found lifegain to be so damaging to this deck's ability to win.
A final question: Generally speaking how much bolting to creatures can the deck allow before I have effectively taken myself out of a chance of winning? I find this to be a problem against creature decks like WG Valuetown. Welcome comments
Of course, those magical turn 1 moments still happen! See screenshot....