What's everyone's thoughts on Fatal Push for Jund? I've been running BUG Aluren recently to take a break from Jund, but have preordered a set for another deck.
Congratulations on your finish! I was excited to see Jund in the T32. I have not yet tried the 2nd swamp, but I might try it out since I've seen a few people make that switch. I believe my fetch config right now is 4 Catacombs, 2 Mire, and 2 Foothills. I could see switching to a 3/1 on the non-Catacomb fetches if I added the 2nd Swamp.
I'm also interested in just going up to 4 Punishing Fire as a few have done, because it seems in the fair matches, it can end the game on its own. Like you said, I feel that if I can find PF in the Infect match, I can control the pace of the game then. I think your sideboard seems solid and pretty similar to mine for the most part.
I agree that Confidant should be a 4-of. He just blows games open if left unchecked, and puts the opponent in a position of scrambling to find an answer before they get buried.
I think you're right about the IoK. Being able to take anything is just too strong to pass up.
Overall I've had excellent results with Jund and I continue to have a blast each time I play. I'm impressed you did so well after switching from Junk. Well done!
I usually have really great game against DnT. The only times I've lost to it was them getting multiple Wastes, into MoR/Thalia, into Ports. Just really grinding my game into a halt. For SB, I usually pull out my 3 Hymns, 2 Thoughtseizes, and 2 Liliana's. Pretty much I try to shed any "Discard Random/Opponent's Choice card" effects to minimize any potential Wilt-Lief Liege they might bring in. Then I bring in 2 Charms, 1 Deluge, 1 Ancient Grudge, 1 LftL (for heavy Waste draws on their part or Cataclysm), 1 Needle. After that I usually don't have any problem. You have 7 ways to deal with RIP, 3 "Board Wipes" to break their board control elements, as well as Grudge/Needle handling equipment/Revokers/MoR.
I had never really used Library all that much prior to playing Jund. But, since I have, it's been amazing in how it can blow games open if you can resolve it. Deluge is pretty handy as a board wipe. I run 1 in addition to my 2 Charms in the board. There's a lot of DnT/Pyromancer Tokens/Elves/Mentor where I play and it has been great. I've found 3 Wastelands to be more than enough. I've seen lists with 4, but I've had problems in the past with multiple Wasteland draws, when the deck really needs to start hitting it's colors early.
My buddy and I have been playing and tweaking a build of this deck for about a month now with pretty good results. We're running a 1-of Unburial Rites and a Craterhoof Behemoth in addition to all the usual suspects.
We'll definitely be trying out the Prized Amalgam. While I was at work he proxied a list including them and said there were times he was able to kill on turn 4 with the inclusion.
I haven't begun the foiling process, but I think I might start once I nail down a definitive list.
My proposed SB would be to trim the Grip and Choke to add an Ooze and the 2nd Charm. The Ooze as an extra hedge against Dredge and the Charm as another answer to DnT, Pyromancer/Elementals, and Elves.
That's pretty much what I ended up telling them. Historically I've really wrecked Shardless given the ability of P. Fire to mow down just about anything they play. As well as answer Jace and Liliana. I enjoy playing Jund and I don't have any desire (nor monetary means :P) to switch to Shardless right now. I think if I just tweak my list and keep my play tight (I was pretty upset with my sloppy play at times) I'll be able to push farther with the deck. I think they were more of the mind that blue would give a higher skill cap and that the non-blue colors are just limiting what I can do (my mulligans in the quarterfinals for instance and being able to 'undo' them with cantrips or draw).
Ran Jund again yesterday at a tournament. There were about 22-24 people. Made top 8, but lost again in the quarters. Played against:
Death and Taxes: 1-2
Bant Miracles: 2-0
Dredge: 2-1
Death and Taxes: 2-0
Miracles: ID
Top 8
4c Delver: 1-2
I misplayed in the first game in round 1 against DnT by not thinking about him cheating SoFI into play instead of casting it, so I took 12 from an equipped Mirran Crusader when I didn't have to.
In the top 8 I just had mediocre draws game 1 while he had gas. Game 2 I stalemated the board with Goyf, but I had DRS and he was low on health so he slowly died. Game 3 my hands were pretty awful: my 7 had no land, my 6 had Forest, Grove, Decay x2, and Bob (I almost kept this, thinking that if my scry showed a black producing land or fetch, I'd be in business, but I didn't want to risk also not being able to play anything, so I mulled), my 5 was Wasteland x2, Badlands, Bolt, Liliana. Scry revealed another Badlands, so I rolled with it. But in the end his 6 was better. Seemed like it had Underground Sea, DRS x2, Delver, Daze, Ponder?
Aside from my misplays and maybe questionable mulligan, the deck felt pretty good. I'm gonna play it again next weekend at another event (In spite of my friends telling me to just play Shardless and get on the blue success train like everyone else. )
1). I normally lead off with Shaman. Unless you've got the info what you're playing against and that necessitates the TS instead, I'd lead with Shaman.
2). I board out my Hymns and leave some amount of TS in to grab Natural Orders or GSZ. This past weekend I was able to grab a Glimpse which really slowed him down. Also Jitte is huge here as well. It was probably the reason I won game 3 against elves. Although he eventually found the Rec Sage for it, the damage had been done.
3). Here I usually board out all my Hymns and 1 TS, leaving 3 to grab specific things. Discard is bad in the late game, so you want to minimize that as much as possible.
4). DnT should be one of your better match ups. But I do prioritize getting rid of MoR, because if she survives, she can blow the game wide open. Post board I bring Deluge, Charm, Grudge, Jitte, and Needle in. Needle usually names an equipment, but I've also used it to shut down MoR so I could take control of the game with P Fire. Sometimes they'll have the multiple MoR hands and that can be a nightmare if you don't find Deluge/Charm fast enough. Needle gives an extra layer of protection.
My friend runs a burn deck so I do get to play against it every now and then. I put Trinisphere for combo, but I bring it in against burn, too, as well as the Jitte, 2 Duress. I try to keep my Wastelands up to nuke my own lands to lessen the pain from PoP.
Mostly try to have a fast hand and hope to race while sticking a DRS/Jitte to keep your head above water. It's definitely not an easy match.
Ran Jund at a tournament today. Went 4-0-1 to make T8 as #1 seed, but then lost in the quarterfinals to Infect in 3 games. Deck felt strong all day, just got some less than stellar draws against Infect I felt (never saw PF).
It's seems difficult trying to innovate the deck when you're pretty much tied to green and red. You could take the deck in a more Jund approach, maybe run Angler, Tasigur, and KC/Terminate with Scapeshift as an alternate wincon. But then I feel Grixis just does that gamelan better because they get to run blue and card filtering and counters.
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Eidolon of Blossoms
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Fertile Ground
1 Greater Auramancy
4 Ghostly Prison
2 Idyllic Tutor
2 Journey to Nowhere
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Sigil of the Empty Throne
2 Sphere of Safety
1 Starfield of Nyx
4 Plains
1 Marsh Flats
4 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Runed Halo
2 Rest in Peace
2 Nevermore
2 Stony Silence
1 Choke
2 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Open the Vaults
This is what I'm currently running. Need to try it out in a tournament, but in a little testing I've done it seemed solid.
I'm also interested in just going up to 4 Punishing Fire as a few have done, because it seems in the fair matches, it can end the game on its own. Like you said, I feel that if I can find PF in the Infect match, I can control the pace of the game then. I think your sideboard seems solid and pretty similar to mine for the most part.
I agree that Confidant should be a 4-of. He just blows games open if left unchecked, and puts the opponent in a position of scrambling to find an answer before they get buried.
I think you're right about the IoK. Being able to take anything is just too strong to pass up.
Overall I've had excellent results with Jund and I continue to have a blast each time I play. I'm impressed you did so well after switching from Junk. Well done!
We'll definitely be trying out the Prized Amalgam. While I was at work he proxied a list including them and said there were times he was able to kill on turn 4 with the inclusion.
I haven't begun the foiling process, but I think I might start once I nail down a definitive list.
Sneak & Show: 2-0
Miracles: 2-1
UWr Stoneblade: 1-2
Death and Taxes: 2-0
4c Deathblade: 1-2
Top 8
Loam Pox: 1-2
The stoneblade match was pretty close, as was the Deathblade and Pox. Probably need to tighten my play up somewhere.
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Duress
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Golgari Charm
1 Choke
1 Slaughter Games
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Pithing Needle
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Trinisphere
My proposed SB would be to trim the Grip and Choke to add an Ooze and the 2nd Charm. The Ooze as an extra hedge against Dredge and the Charm as another answer to DnT, Pyromancer/Elementals, and Elves.
1 Pithing Needle
2 Duress
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Golgari Charm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Trinisphere
1 Slaughter Games
Death and Taxes: 1-2
Bant Miracles: 2-0
Dredge: 2-1
Death and Taxes: 2-0
Miracles: ID
Top 8
4c Delver: 1-2
I misplayed in the first game in round 1 against DnT by not thinking about him cheating SoFI into play instead of casting it, so I took 12 from an equipped Mirran Crusader when I didn't have to.
In the top 8 I just had mediocre draws game 1 while he had gas. Game 2 I stalemated the board with Goyf, but I had DRS and he was low on health so he slowly died. Game 3 my hands were pretty awful: my 7 had no land, my 6 had Forest, Grove, Decay x2, and Bob (I almost kept this, thinking that if my scry showed a black producing land or fetch, I'd be in business, but I didn't want to risk also not being able to play anything, so I mulled), my 5 was Wasteland x2, Badlands, Bolt, Liliana. Scry revealed another Badlands, so I rolled with it. But in the end his 6 was better. Seemed like it had Underground Sea, DRS x2, Delver, Daze, Ponder?
Aside from my misplays and maybe questionable mulligan, the deck felt pretty good. I'm gonna play it again next weekend at another event (In spite of my friends telling me to just play Shardless and get on the blue success train like everyone else. )
2). I board out my Hymns and leave some amount of TS in to grab Natural Orders or GSZ. This past weekend I was able to grab a Glimpse which really slowed him down. Also Jitte is huge here as well. It was probably the reason I won game 3 against elves. Although he eventually found the Rec Sage for it, the damage had been done.
3). Here I usually board out all my Hymns and 1 TS, leaving 3 to grab specific things. Discard is bad in the late game, so you want to minimize that as much as possible.
4). DnT should be one of your better match ups. But I do prioritize getting rid of MoR, because if she survives, she can blow the game wide open. Post board I bring Deluge, Charm, Grudge, Jitte, and Needle in. Needle usually names an equipment, but I've also used it to shut down MoR so I could take control of the game with P Fire. Sometimes they'll have the multiple MoR hands and that can be a nightmare if you don't find Deluge/Charm fast enough. Needle gives an extra layer of protection.
Hope this helped!
Mostly try to have a fast hand and hope to race while sticking a DRS/Jitte to keep your head above water. It's definitely not an easy match.
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Punishing Fire
3 Hymn to Tourach
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Sylvan Library
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wasteland
3 Badlands
2 Bayou
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
-Sideboard-
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Duress
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Golgari Charm
1 Choke
1 Slaughter Games
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Pithing Needle
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Trinisphere
I played against Elves (2-1), Miracles (2-1), Goblins (2-1), Death and Taxes (2-0), Loam Pox (0-0-3), Infect (1-2)