@johnkorean Your idea has allowed me to spread my wings in modern and has given a great deal of success locally and at other Grand Prixs. Thank You VERY MUCH!
Secondly, I see the "army in a can" idea working to an extent. This version focuses very heavily on playing the best cards possible in each spot, and for the most part, the list (as I am seeing it in February) looks very good.
From my experience, Selfless Spirit could be an inclusion, if not main, then sideboard. It has served me as a mainboard sweeper deterrent something our deck has an issue with.
Currently I am on the Mono-White Humans plan, but consistency won the day for me. I look forward to testing more Goyfs in the future.
Here is my list I will be taking to GP Vancouver 2016 (next weekend):
In all honesty, there are so many Human variants to play in Modern, each with fantastic upsides, that creating a primer would almost be too huge. But I love where everyone is going.
I took this list to a 4-0 win at my local FNM. I faced Mardu Control, Grixis Control, RG Tron and Jeskai Nahiri. Overall they were interesting Match ups.
The reason I ran this list compared to a regular Boles shell is I wanted to make all targeted removal useless. I also wanted to shore up our matchups against decks that show us the most issues. Specifically decks running targeted removal, hand disruption, and burn spells.
That means no Kor Spiritdancer or miscellaneous auras like Keen Sense, Open the Armory(although the card has really pulled its weight in my testing. I will defiantly try to find a spot for it in the main or side again) or Worship(Open the Armory target). I know that card draw and resiliency through tutors is very needed in this deck, but the amount of cards I made dead or inefficient at best to the opponent made the game plan much easier to pull off.
If I would continue with this idea, my mainboard would look a little something like this:
1-2 against Death and Taxes. Sadly I lost both board stalls without enough awnsers. The second game I did get to steamroll over three Thalia, Guardian of Thrabens. Totally fine with that loss
2-0 8-Whack. Both games my creatures became too large for them to bushwhack through. Thank you Thalia's Lieutenant.
0-2 Valukut Breach. I drew no removal and missideboarded thinking Valukaut triggers were red. then they through the breached Emrekul an dthen I was finished.
Regarding the allies build, I will defiantly try it out online.
It has been awhile since I posted on here, and the overall arc of my list has changed a bit.
I have been doing extensive testing at my local LGS as well as Magic Online's queues and have solidified a list I will take into a leauge sometime today. I will explain the oddities and changes below
To start off, this list was built to fare better against grinder matchups and midrange-control decks such as Grixis Delver and Nahiri Jeskai, while still being able to goldfish turn 4 if the matchup requires (Tron, Merfolk, D&T)
What I truely enjoy about the list is its reliabilty on the "Holy Trifecta" as I call it. We all know what these do.
Path to Exile: Our Premier removal spell, kills Goblin Electromancer or a Tasigur with equal force. I cannot see myself NOT running 4, but you could run 3. Brave the Elements: A true swiss army knife. Protection from any colored removal, mini-fog when declaring blocks, or the best of all, A WIN CONDITION. 4-of for me. Honor of the Pure: I know we have had our disputes over this card but I have been running into more Electrolyze decks that can destroy our chances of goldfishing that it won its spot as a four-of. It is also FANTASTIC with Spectral Procession and Gather the Townsfolk.
About the Token Producers, it seems as if they are our only option to increase our stability late game without extending our decks reliance on the graveyard with cards like Return to the Ranks.
Gather the Townsfolk: A Raise the Alarm type of human generator that functions as a theoretical +2/+2 (or sometimes +5/+5 thanks to Zoo) to all our Human lords. It is also a more conservative turn two play against more aggressive decks. Spectral Procession: I had SERIOUS doubts about this card because it was not synergistic with the Human game plan, but the value I gained from this card has outweighed all concerns. Against Nahiri Jeskai and other traditional control matchups it has stablized the board after a Supreme Verdict and has warrented many 3-for-1s in my favor. Against Jund it is a saturation of threats our deck needed to survive the constant onslaught of removal. And most imortatly, giving our deck flying has curbed many attempts by D&T, Affinity, Infect and Tokens to steal easy wins from me. It also allowed me to win against a board stall with Merfolk and Abzan Company.. You all should give it try at least sideboard against grindier matchups. You will not regret it.
Mainboard Switches and commentary:
Soldier of the Pantheon: This card has destroyed Junk and D&T builds single-handedly. On of the best Lions in my opinion. Mardu-Woe Reaper: With the rise of Dredge agian he is back in the main to combat pesky Vengeful Pharaohs and other ridiculous creatures. Thraben Inspector: As OP has stated, basically the Human version of Elvish Visionary, with the added perk that it is a 1/2. FANTASTIC top-deck as well Student of Warfare: I love this card for what it does on a stalled out board. Late-Game it has the ability to dominate and turn the tide. Sadly there is only so many times I can have it targeted by Flickerwisp, Vapor Snag or outright Terminated after I poured my manabase for three turns into it, that I just want to go home and cry. I side it out against a lot of decks, but it still has its uses. Not many goyfs have kept this position for this long. I will keep it in for awhile. Cavern of Souls: Unless you like to stare down Chalice of the Void for a living, this is our best option against it. Also perks against Nahiri Jeskai.
Other Sideboard Consireations and Commentary:
Thalia, Heretic Cathar: I ran one of her in the side against control-heavy metas and it did wonders. Yes, I know, it costs three, but it can turn the tide into our favor with how much tempo they lose. Celestial Flare: Here lies the answer to your Infect and Bogles problems. It just wrecks them. It also serves as the Brave the Elements replacement in colorless creature match-ups (Eldrazi, Affinity and sometimes Tron). Could be replaced with Blessed Alliance thanks to Eldritch Moon. Imposing Sovereign: A mini big Thalia that can curb Thopter-Sword shenanigans. Good against Eldrazi as well. Burrenton Forge-Tender: This is our extra answers against Red sweepers such as Pyroclasm and Amger of the Gods. Fantastic Burn counter and absolutely obliterates red Assault Strobe style decks. Sundering Growth: I thought this card wasn't needed thanks to Stony Silence. Then I played against Troll Worship. Do not make the same mistake I did. Angel's Grace: Mini Fog against aggro decks and Ad nauseum destroyer. This card has single-handedly won me games. It will never leave sideboard. EVER.
I do not expect all of you to read all of this but this is where I am at.
So, given the current meta, what seems to be the next option?
I would like to agree with johnkorean that Steppe Lynx and Figure of Destiny are some of the first to go if we are going for a more low to the ground build. Lynx can give us 2 great turns of attacks then die because of drawing lands can be problematic. Figure (though I really believe this card is amazing in certain matchups)is a hindrance to our more synergy based hand-dropping versions of the deck.
I am also currently testing Thalia's Lieutenant and have been seeing very on-and-off results. On one hand a turn three Lieutenant onto an stacked board and holding up a Brave the Elements is just backbreaking. But after a Slagstorm or Anger of the Gods (I will explain in a minute) that wipes our board Thalia's Lieutenant is not good. At all. In those cases, I would rather play an Honor of the Pure and rebuild afterward than play a 1/1 for 2.
Tap effects such as Imposing Sovereign and Glimpse the Sun God also have potential against most creature stratagies. Sovereign seems to be better as an early drop or when you are ahead on board. Glimpse gets better over time and can be used to tap down the last few big creatures.
The Ally subtheme is promising but seems slower than our original version, but is more stable to combat and consistent damage per turn. I will test it very soon.
But what seems to be the issue lately is that spot removal can be the bane for us. Take the deck Skred, a red based control deck with snow lands that revolves around sweepers such as Slagstorm and Anger of the Gods and spot removal in Lightning Bolt and Skred. Brave the Elements is only a one time use against them and our creatures are always at risk of being removed. Late game they will drop Koth of the Hammer and new Goblin Dark-Dwellers to beat us down. Post-board Sun Droplet and more wraths can ensue. How can we stop this?
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, can stall mass removal for a turn as well make spell based combos much harder to accomplish (answer to Storm?) though post-board, Thalia also slows us down.
Graveyard recursion in the forms of Immortal Servitude and Return to the Ranks could also be an answer if we allow them to believe we rely on our graveyard. Servitude on 1, returning all the Parishes and Allies sounds good to me.
In the end I believe we can push through this meta and rise to the top, but we need to solidify what the deck needs.
I agree on the potential of Thalia's Lutenient. In all honesty I may drop Stepoe Lynx in favor of the Lutenient if it lives up to it's potential. Will test in XMage when avalible, will report.
I have come to give a tournament report from my LGS last night. The store I was attending was rumored to hold many Affinity and Eldrazi Aggro players, so I knew it was going to be an uphill battle (given the general composition of our deck). In the end I was surprised about our deck's overall power level and have gained some interesting insights.
Game One: He managed to combo off and flood the board with Elves RABBITS before I could manage to make any meaningful attacks. Ezuri, Renegade Leader can throw a wrench into any combat step.
Game Two: I sided in the hard removal and the two Angel's Grace's and played kill the Heritage Druid and Essense Warden. Sadly that didn't work, because he Collected Companyed into a stable board state and a nice Shaman of the Pack trigger. He was at 15, I was at a very unsafe 12. Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked I ripped an Angel's Grace off the top and attaked with all my dudes that could survive through a regenerated elf RABBIT. He took he bait and alpha striked with his team, I then played said Angel's Grace and won with the swing back next turn.
Game Three: He couldn't combo off at all as I assemled a board full of leveled Student of Warfares and a Gideon, Battle-Forged. I also drew my two Angel's Grace, just i case :D. I managed to beat the RABBITS!
Round Three: Master of Etherium Affinity 2-1
Game One: He had a fast start, but I had three fetchlands and two Steppe Lynx. I managed to beat down on his defenses quicker than he could draw a big threat
Game Two: Master of Etherium is better than Etched Champion in the Colorless matchup, but thanks to their meta call, we can remove it before it becomes a problem. Sad thing is he drew 2 Masters and I drew no removal. 14/14 Masters.
Game Three: Down to the wire, We both kept slow hands, but he drew no Master of Etherium so we cruised to a close victory thanks to the two Path to Exiles in my starting hand. Note: He never played a single Cranial Plating this whole match.
At this point friends... I made a critical error. Remember how I said that Master of Etherium can be removed compared to Etched Champion? The Affinity match before this one I was able to safely play more removal since everything they played could die to Path to Exile or Dismember. Sadly I misinterpreted this match up and played control against them and lost.. barely :]
Two big things I can gain from this tournament and possibly you can also:
1. Know what type of Affinity you are going against and sideboard/plan accordingly. It will save you many games!
2. Angel's Grace saves lives or buy you a turn against many decks. The Elves RABBITS match-up shows how ignorant of Angel's Grace some players can be. Use it to your advantage!
Other notes:
- In both Affinity Matchups I sided in 8 cards including Kataki, War's Wage, I only saw Path to Exile and Dismember.
- Glimpse the Sun God was in the 60 (as a 2-of) in all games except the last two games against Etched Affinity. I didn't see either of them. I am still convinced it is a good card, an I wish to bring you a matchup when it helped, perhaps tomorrow at FNM?
It was a while since I made a post, and a lot has changed to my deck. I managed to go to GP Vancouver BC in January, and pulled 180 dollars of trade value. So I now have 8 fetches and 3 Steppe Lynx to add to the deck, as well as others!
Explanations below: Steppe Lynx- This guy is the real deal, swinging with a 4/5 is an amazing feat when you stare down U/R Delver and Burn, though he falls short later in the game without fetch-lands, hence only 3 copies Glimpse the Sun God- I went into my local FNM thinking that this card would be a joke. But every time I have used this card I have won the game. It is just to clear the pah for the remaining damage. 10/10 would blind again.
I have had GREAT success at my local game store with this deck and have beaten some of the most established decks in the format, but if I could give an overview of matchups, this is where I am at:
Good Match-up: (Brave the Elements wins games outright)
Kiki-Chord- If you can pose a threat early in the game, they will have to waste tempo Chording for Lone Missionarys to stay alive, so all you have to do is never let them stabalize which is quite easy in my opionion. Glimpse the Sun God shines so well in this match-up.
Burn- If they need to Lightning Bolt your creatures to stay alive, you have become the dominant deck. Better yet try killing two Goblin Guide with a single Harm's Way. Fun stuff!
Hard Match-ups in our favor: (Brave the Elements is sometimes forced)
Delver- I LOVE this match-up. It is difficult, but in the end if you can stop their value train with any combination of Harm's Way, Grafdigger's Cage, and Honor of the Pure, you will be safe and in the clear.
Hard Match ups in their favor: (Brave the Elements is effectivly useless, but we can win otherwise)
Affinity- This matchup is SOOOOOOOO CLOSE to being beatable. We are on the defensive right until the very end. They resolve a Etched Champion with a Cranial Plating, we are done. But it is beatable if we can manage to get more removal...
Unbeatable Matches Thus Far: (Brave the Elements is USELESS)
Lantern Control- They resolve an Ensnaring Bridge, I am done for. Bad side boarding? Perhaps. But still a bad match-up overall. Sun Droplet is a pain.
Elves: RABBITS. THEY FLOOD THE BOARD LIKE RABBITS. They essentially play a combo deck with creatures. I am always on the losing side of this match-up, and I am always two turns from winning. Ezuri, Renegade Leader is just too much to handle.
Going forward, I am going to try to tune my sideboard for Elves and colorless decks in general. What ideas do you all have?
Thank you Hidralzki, jthansaw, and D90Dennis14. I will try all the suggestions and report my findings when I can. My computer at the moment is without a charge corx, so it won't be instantaneous when I get results, but I will try.
My thoughts on Judge's Familiar are about the same as to johnkorean's on Mana Tithe. If the flying 1/1 body is useless game 2 and forward, at least you forced your opponent to hold thier Pyroclasm for one turn. Great play if it isn't needed. If it is needed then you have Nexi-blocking, pump-spell negating superstar. Plus it is a creature and not a spell. I will test him out of board for one version (see below), but I see his usefulness game one to be beneficial either way.
Regarding Thalia,
I hold johnkorean's view on it. The best part about this deck is I can hold up one mana and scare the living crap out of my opponent with the threat of all the one drop instants this deck can benefit from. That extra mana cost to all spells is beneficial, and the first strike is no doubt useful, but I have doubts using her.
Regarding Precint Captain,
I really am looking forward to using this charector in my games, especially with Honor of the Pure. He signifies the Pure, scary threat at two-mana I think this deck needs. Now when it comes to him and Knight of the White Orchid, I like Precint Captain in the Honor of the Pure build instead of the Thalia build.
About Knight of the White Orchid:
He is a first strike bear that can fetch a land, which if i am running Thalia, will be crucial. I prefer him over Precinct Captain because of this.
That being said, I will try two routes. One featuring Knight of the White Orchid and Thalia:
.
-2 Honor of the Pure
-2 Grand Abolisher
+2 Thalia, Guardian of Thrabean
+2 Knight of the White Orchid
And the other will feature Precint Captain and Grand Abolisher
-2 Knight of the White Orchid
-2 Judge's Familiar
+4 Precint Captain
Now the sideboard
I will try all the suggestions given and see where it gets me. I still like Stony Silence because it can completley shut down Affinity, as well as some smaller LGS archetypes (Eggs, Master Transmuter, Blue Tron). But if Suppresion Field is more problematic for them as it is for us (bear in mind, leveling up and Figure's abilites are hit also) than a full 4 of is in order.
Here it is:
2 Suppresion Field
2 Stony Silence
2 Harm's Way
2 Dismember
2 Path to Exile
2 Sundering Growth
3 Rest in Peace
That should be all until I get some results. But before I go, I have a question...
How is our Living End matchup?
Are Rest in Peace all we need to beat them?
I wonder this because boardwipes are our biggest threat, and they can do that as early as turn three.
Oh! I also forgot about Honor of the Pure!
It is an awesome play turn three and onward if you have a reasonable boardstate, and I couldn't see playing without it. It does have its flaws against faster aggro decks where all the removal hits our creatures, but overall it is worth it.
First off I want to say how awesome it is to see the community behind this deck! I picked this deck up about two months ago and have been Top 4 at my LGS ever since.
I didn't have the money to invest in the Steppe Lynx build, but here is my take on it:
(Forgive me for not knowing the proper deck formatting, this is my first post)
4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Soildier of the Pantheon
4 Mardu Woe-Reaper
4 Boros Elite
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Grand Abolisher
2 Judge's Familiar
4 Brave the Elements
2 Path to Exile
2 Honor of the Pure
18 Plains
My reasoning for the smaller inclusions:
Grand Abolisher: He is a human that can shut down combat tricks on your turn as well as any chance of your opponents countering your important spells.
Judge's Familiar: Basically a Mana Tithe on a flying stick. He also can block incoming Inkmoth Nexi.
Knight of the White Orchid: First Strike against other aggro decks does wonders. It can also allow us to play him and hold up a Path to Exile of Brave the Elements.
Path to Exile: I just don't want to see more than one most of the time. Another two are in the sideboard for other matchups.
My sideboard usually consists of the following:
4 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
4 Sunlance
2 Path to Exile
3 Rest in Peace
BW Tokens is a thing at my LGS so Sundering Growth does wonders here.
Stony Silence is a full-board replacement for Brave the Elements for Tron and Affinity matchups.
Sunlane is just great against small creature aggro, and does a better job than Path most of the time also.
I would love to hear what your takes on it are. I have also loved the discussion done so far, and I want to participate as much as I can. Happy Brewing!
In our deck, our sisters give us all the life we need. This card, if played, would replace the sisters, but the sisters are just strictly better.
We have Ranger of Eos and Squadron Hawk to draw us what we need more often (More sisters and evasive threats)
I see it as a playable budget replacement but not as budget as juat getting the sisters themselves.
Secondly, I see the "army in a can" idea working to an extent. This version focuses very heavily on playing the best cards possible in each spot, and for the most part, the list (as I am seeing it in February) looks very good.
From my experience, Selfless Spirit could be an inclusion, if not main, then sideboard. It has served me as a mainboard sweeper deterrent something our deck has an issue with.
Currently I am on the Mono-White Humans plan, but consistency won the day for me. I look forward to testing more Goyfs in the future.
Here is my list I will be taking to GP Vancouver 2016 (next weekend):
2 Cavern of Souls
18 Plains
Creatures:
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Hada Freeblade
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Selfless Spirit
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Lantern Scout
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Path to Exile
3 Brave the Elements
Sidebaord:
3 Repel the Abominable
3 Hallowed Moonlight
3 Stony Silence
3 Disenchant
3 Blessed Alliance
Have a great day
Here is my list:
4 Hada Freeblade
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Lantern Scout
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Kazandu Blademaster
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Path to Exile
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Brave the Elements
Lands
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Windswept Heath
4 Flooded Strand
10 Plains
3 Repel the Abominable
3 Hallowed Moonlight
3 Stony Silence
3 Disenchant
3 Blessed Alliance
Thank you. I will keep that in mind. On second thought, Worship should be built around itself (Troll Worship) or be part of a sideboard anyway.
4 Slippery Bogle
4 Gladecover Scout
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
Spells:
3 Path to Exile
3 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Rancor
4 Hyena Umbra
4 Spider Umbra
4 Daybreak Coronet
3 Unflinching Courage
2 Spirit Mantle
2 Gryff's Boon
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Brushland
4 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Temple Garden
3 Sunpetal Grove
3 Forest
2 Plains
4 Fog
4 Seal of Primordium
2 Pithing Needle
1 Spirit Link
1 Path to Exile
2 Stony Silence
1 Leyline of Sanctity
Hello All!
I took this list to a 4-0 win at my local FNM. I faced Mardu Control, Grixis Control, RG Tron and Jeskai Nahiri. Overall they were interesting Match ups.
The reason I ran this list compared to a regular Boles shell is I wanted to make all targeted removal useless. I also wanted to shore up our matchups against decks that show us the most issues. Specifically decks running targeted removal, hand disruption, and burn spells.
That means no Kor Spiritdancer or miscellaneous auras like Keen Sense, Open the Armory(although the card has really pulled its weight in my testing. I will defiantly try to find a spot for it in the main or side again) or Worship(Open the Armory target). I know that card draw and resiliency through tutors is very needed in this deck, but the amount of cards I made dead or inefficient at best to the opponent made the game plan much easier to pull off.
If I would continue with this idea, my mainboard would look a little something like this:
4 Slippery Bogle
4 Gladecover Scout
3 Silhana Ledgewalker
Spells:
4 Rancor
3 Path to Exile
3 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Hyena Umbra
4 Spider Umbra
4 Daybreak Coronet
3 Unflinching Courage
2 Spirit Mantle
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Temple Garden
3 Razorverge Thicket
1 Forest
2 Plains
I look forward to working with you all and seeing what we can come up with.
Happy Brewing!
2-1 against Merfolk. Brave the Elements did the winning for me, second game I scooped to a Chalice of the Void on 1. I did not have Cavern of Souls online
1-2 against Death and Taxes. Sadly I lost both board stalls without enough awnsers. The second game I did get to steamroll over three Thalia, Guardian of Thrabens. Totally fine with that loss
2-0 Burn. First game I had two Thalia's Lieutenants and three Brave the Elements, so their Searing Blazes never stood a chance. Second game they flooded out and I abused that fact.
2-0 8-Whack. Both games my creatures became too large for them to bushwhack through. Thank you Thalia's Lieutenant.
0-2 Valukut Breach. I drew no removal and missideboarded thinking Valukaut triggers were red. then they through the breached Emrekul an dthen I was finished.
Regarding the allies build, I will defiantly try it out online.
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Thalia's Lieutenant
4x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Thraben Inspector
3x Soldier of the Pantheon
3x Mardu Woe-Reaper
2x Student of Warfare
4x Path to Exile
4x Brave the Elements
4x Honor of the Pure
4x Gather the Townsfolk
2x Spectral Procession
Lands
16x Plains
2x Cavern of Souls
1x Spectral Procession
2x Angel's Grace
3x Burrenton Forge-Tender
3x Rest in Peace
4x Celestial Flare
2x Stony Silence
Good Day to all!
It has been awhile since I posted on here, and the overall arc of my list has changed a bit.
I have been doing extensive testing at my local LGS as well as Magic Online's queues and have solidified a list I will take into a leauge sometime today. I will explain the oddities and changes below
To start off, this list was built to fare better against grinder matchups and midrange-control decks such as Grixis Delver and Nahiri Jeskai, while still being able to goldfish turn 4 if the matchup requires (Tron, Merfolk, D&T)
What I truely enjoy about the list is its reliabilty on the "Holy Trifecta" as I call it. We all know what these do.
Path to Exile: Our Premier removal spell, kills Goblin Electromancer or a Tasigur with equal force. I cannot see myself NOT running 4, but you could run 3.
Brave the Elements: A true swiss army knife. Protection from any colored removal, mini-fog when declaring blocks, or the best of all, A WIN CONDITION. 4-of for me.
Honor of the Pure: I know we have had our disputes over this card but I have been running into more Electrolyze decks that can destroy our chances of goldfishing that it won its spot as a four-of. It is also FANTASTIC with Spectral Procession and Gather the Townsfolk.
About the Token Producers, it seems as if they are our only option to increase our stability late game without extending our decks reliance on the graveyard with cards like Return to the Ranks.
Gather the Townsfolk: A Raise the Alarm type of human generator that functions as a theoretical +2/+2 (or sometimes +5/+5 thanks to Zoo) to all our Human lords. It is also a more conservative turn two play against more aggressive decks.
Spectral Procession: I had SERIOUS doubts about this card because it was not synergistic with the Human game plan, but the value I gained from this card has outweighed all concerns. Against Nahiri Jeskai and other traditional control matchups it has stablized the board after a Supreme Verdict and has warrented many 3-for-1s in my favor. Against Jund it is a saturation of threats our deck needed to survive the constant onslaught of removal. And most imortatly, giving our deck flying has curbed many attempts by D&T, Affinity, Infect and Tokens to steal easy wins from me. It also allowed me to win against a board stall with Merfolk and Abzan Company.. You all should give it try at least sideboard against grindier matchups. You will not regret it.
Mainboard Switches and commentary:
Soldier of the Pantheon: This card has destroyed Junk and D&T builds single-handedly. On of the best Lions in my opinion.
Mardu-Woe Reaper: With the rise of Dredge agian he is back in the main to combat pesky Vengeful Pharaohs and other ridiculous creatures.
Thraben Inspector: As OP has stated, basically the Human version of Elvish Visionary, with the added perk that it is a 1/2. FANTASTIC top-deck as well
Student of Warfare: I love this card for what it does on a stalled out board. Late-Game it has the ability to dominate and turn the tide. Sadly there is only so many times I can have it targeted by Flickerwisp, Vapor Snag or outright Terminated after I poured my manabase for three turns into it, that I just want to go home and cry. I side it out against a lot of decks, but it still has its uses. Not many goyfs have kept this position for this long. I will keep it in for awhile.
Cavern of Souls: Unless you like to stare down Chalice of the Void for a living, this is our best option against it. Also perks against Nahiri Jeskai.
Other Sideboard Consireations and Commentary:
Thalia, Heretic Cathar: I ran one of her in the side against control-heavy metas and it did wonders. Yes, I know, it costs three, but it can turn the tide into our favor with how much tempo they lose.
Celestial Flare: Here lies the answer to your Infect and Bogles problems. It just wrecks them. It also serves as the Brave the Elements replacement in colorless creature match-ups (Eldrazi, Affinity and sometimes Tron). Could be replaced with Blessed Alliance thanks to Eldritch Moon.
Imposing Sovereign: A mini big Thalia that can curb Thopter-Sword shenanigans. Good against Eldrazi as well.
Burrenton Forge-Tender: This is our extra answers against Red sweepers such as Pyroclasm and Amger of the Gods. Fantastic Burn counter and absolutely obliterates red Assault Strobe style decks.
Sundering Growth: I thought this card wasn't needed thanks to Stony Silence. Then I played against Troll Worship. Do not make the same mistake I did.
Angel's Grace: Mini Fog against aggro decks and Ad nauseum destroyer. This card has single-handedly won me games. It will never leave sideboard. EVER.
I do not expect all of you to read all of this but this is where I am at.
Happy Brewing!
I would like to agree with johnkorean that Steppe Lynx and Figure of Destiny are some of the first to go if we are going for a more low to the ground build. Lynx can give us 2 great turns of attacks then die because of drawing lands can be problematic. Figure (though I really believe this card is amazing in certain matchups)is a hindrance to our more synergy based hand-dropping versions of the deck.
I am also currently testing Thalia's Lieutenant and have been seeing very on-and-off results. On one hand a turn three Lieutenant onto an stacked board and holding up a Brave the Elements is just backbreaking. But after a Slagstorm or Anger of the Gods (I will explain in a minute) that wipes our board Thalia's Lieutenant is not good. At all. In those cases, I would rather play an Honor of the Pure and rebuild afterward than play a 1/1 for 2.
Honor of the Pure can also serve a profitable defense from UR Delver and any Electrolyze or Fork Bolt effects they run. It essentialy is a protection from 2-for-1's outside of a Wrath of God or a Maelstorm Pulse effect.
Tap effects such as Imposing Sovereign and Glimpse the Sun God also have potential against most creature stratagies. Sovereign seems to be better as an early drop or when you are ahead on board. Glimpse gets better over time and can be used to tap down the last few big creatures.
The Ally subtheme is promising but seems slower than our original version, but is more stable to combat and consistent damage per turn. I will test it very soon.
But what seems to be the issue lately is that spot removal can be the bane for us. Take the deck Skred, a red based control deck with snow lands that revolves around sweepers such as Slagstorm and Anger of the Gods and spot removal in Lightning Bolt and Skred. Brave the Elements is only a one time use against them and our creatures are always at risk of being removed. Late game they will drop Koth of the Hammer and new Goblin Dark-Dwellers to beat us down. Post-board Sun Droplet and more wraths can ensue. How can we stop this?
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, can stall mass removal for a turn as well make spell based combos much harder to accomplish (answer to Storm?) though post-board, Thalia also slows us down.
Burrenton Forge-Tender is also a FABULOUS answer to red based sweepers, and can serve as a last ditch effort to save a Kytheon, Hero of Akros flip.
Graveyard recursion in the forms of Immortal Servitude and Return to the Ranks could also be an answer if we allow them to believe we rely on our graveyard. Servitude on 1, returning all the Parishes and Allies sounds good to me.
In the end I believe we can push through this meta and rise to the top, but we need to solidify what the deck needs.
I have come to give a tournament report from my LGS last night. The store I was attending was rumored to hold many Affinity and Eldrazi Aggro players, so I knew it was going to be an uphill battle (given the general composition of our deck). In the end I was surprised about our deck's overall power level and have gained some interesting insights.
My Mainboard was the ext same as in my last post.
My Sideboard looked a little like this:
1 Suppression Field
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Angel's Grace
1 Rest in Peace
2 Harm's Way
1 Lithomancer's Focus (for against the colorless menace, but never saw mainboard play)
1 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
2 Torpor Orb (This card hoses Kiki Chord, Soul Sisters, UW Titan, Abzan Company, yet these decks did't make an appearance that night)
1 Wrath of God
Round One: GB Elves 2-1
Game One: He managed to combo off and flood the board with
ElvesRABBITS before I could manage to make any meaningful attacks. Ezuri, Renegade Leader can throw a wrench into any combat step.Game Two: I sided in the hard removal and the two Angel's Grace's and played kill the Heritage Druid and Essense Warden. Sadly that didn't work, because he Collected Companyed into a stable board state and a nice Shaman of the Pack trigger. He was at 15, I was at a very unsafe 12. Everything changed when
the Fire Nation attackedI ripped an Angel's Grace off the top and attaked with all my dudes that could survive through a regeneratedelfRABBIT. He took he bait and alpha striked with his team, I then played said Angel's Grace and won with the swing back next turn.Game Three: He couldn't combo off at all as I assemled a board full of leveled Student of Warfares and a Gideon, Battle-Forged. I also drew my two Angel's Grace, just i case :D. I managed to beat the RABBITS!
Round Two: UG Landfall 2-0
Interesting little deck he had going here. He relied on a Retreat to Coarlhelm, Skyshroud Ranger, Soratami Cloudstalker, Tideforce Elemetal, Amulet of Vigor and a lot of bounce lands to create an infinite mana combo to either Blue Sun Zenith me to death of just hard cast an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Good thing we can go faster than a 3-5 piece combo deck :D. Nothing really to show here.
Round Three: Master of Etherium Affinity 2-1
Game One: He had a fast start, but I had three fetchlands and two Steppe Lynx. I managed to beat down on his defenses quicker than he could draw a big threat
Game Two: Master of Etherium is better than Etched Champion in the Colorless matchup, but thanks to their meta call, we can remove it before it becomes a problem. Sad thing is he drew 2 Masters and I drew no removal. 14/14 Masters.
Game Three: Down to the wire, We both kept slow hands, but he drew no Master of Etherium so we cruised to a close victory thanks to the two Path to Exiles in my starting hand. Note: He never played a single Cranial Plating this whole match.
Round Four:Etched Champion Affinity 1-2
Game One: Two Huge Champion of the Parishs, two Steppe Lynx and a Gideon, Battle-Forged paired with both mainboard Honor of the Pures made this match too much for an Affinity deck to handle. Especially when he never pulled a single Cranial Plating.
At this point friends... I made a critical error. Remember how I said that Master of Etherium can be removed compared to Etched Champion? The Affinity match before this one I was able to safely play more removal since everything they played could die to Path to Exile or Dismember. Sadly I misinterpreted this match up and played control against them and lost.. barely :]
Game Two: One Etched Champion, a 5/7 Ornithopter and another Arcbound Ravanger forced me to stall out. Sadly praying for Brave the Elements ins't an option here. Death by Galvanic Blast.
Game Three: Two Etched Champions, Spellskite, and a Vault Skirge against two Steppe Lynx, two small Figure of Destinys and a hand full of 2/1's. I had a good early game, but once they stabalized with those Champions, It was hard to go on. At least I got him down to 5 and it took half and hour and an Angel's Grace!
Two big things I can gain from this tournament and possibly you can also:
1. Know what type of Affinity you are going against and sideboard/plan accordingly. It will save you many games!
2. Angel's Grace saves lives or buy you a turn against many decks. The
ElvesRABBITS match-up shows how ignorant of Angel's Grace some players can be. Use it to your advantage!Other notes:
- In both Affinity Matchups I sided in 8 cards including Kataki, War's Wage, I only saw Path to Exile and Dismember.
- Glimpse the Sun God was in the 60 (as a 2-of) in all games except the last two games against Etched Affinity. I didn't see either of them. I am still convinced it is a good card, an I wish to bring you a matchup when it helped, perhaps tomorrow at FNM?
2 Harm's Way
1 Path to Exile
2 Angel's Grace
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Dismember
The other slots depend on the week.
I would love to hear what you guys think!
It was a while since I made a post, and a lot has changed to my deck. I managed to go to GP Vancouver BC in January, and pulled 180 dollars of trade value. So I now have 8 fetches and 3 Steppe Lynx to add to the deck, as well as others!
Here is my deck as it stands
4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Mardu Woe-Reaper
3 Boros Elite
3 Steppe Lynx
4 Brave the Elements
3 Path to Exile
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Glimpse the Sun God
4 Windswept Heath
4 Flooded Strand
10 Plains
Explanations below:
Steppe Lynx- This guy is the real deal, swinging with a 4/5 is an amazing feat when you stare down U/R Delver and Burn, though he falls short later in the game without fetch-lands, hence only 3 copies
Glimpse the Sun God- I went into my local FNM thinking that this card would be a joke. But every time I have used this card I have won the game. It is just to clear the pah for the remaining damage. 10/10 would blind again.
I have had GREAT success at my local game store with this deck and have beaten some of the most established decks in the format, but if I could give an overview of matchups, this is where I am at:
Good Match-up: (Brave the Elements wins games outright)
Kiki-Chord- If you can pose a threat early in the game, they will have to waste tempo Chording for Lone Missionarys to stay alive, so all you have to do is never let them stabalize which is quite easy in my opionion. Glimpse the Sun God shines so well in this match-up.
Burn- If they need to Lightning Bolt your creatures to stay alive, you have become the dominant deck. Better yet try killing two Goblin Guide with a single Harm's Way. Fun stuff!
Hard Match-ups in our favor: (Brave the Elements is sometimes forced)
Delver- I LOVE this match-up. It is difficult, but in the end if you can stop their value train with any combination of Harm's Way, Grafdigger's Cage, and Honor of the Pure, you will be safe and in the clear.
Hard Match ups in their favor: (Brave the Elements is effectivly useless, but we can win otherwise)
Affinity- This matchup is SOOOOOOOO CLOSE to being beatable. We are on the defensive right until the very end. They resolve a Etched Champion with a Cranial Plating, we are done. But it is beatable if we can manage to get more removal...
Unbeatable Matches Thus Far: (Brave the Elements is USELESS)
Lantern Control- They resolve an Ensnaring Bridge, I am done for. Bad side boarding? Perhaps. But still a bad match-up overall. Sun Droplet is a pain.
Elves: RABBITS. THEY FLOOD THE BOARD LIKE RABBITS. They essentially play a combo deck with creatures. I am always on the losing side of this match-up, and I am always two turns from winning. Ezuri, Renegade Leader is just too much to handle.
Going forward, I am going to try to tune my sideboard for Elves and colorless decks in general. What ideas do you all have?
My thoughts on Judge's Familiar are about the same as to johnkorean's on Mana Tithe. If the flying 1/1 body is useless game 2 and forward, at least you forced your opponent to hold thier Pyroclasm for one turn. Great play if it isn't needed. If it is needed then you have Nexi-blocking, pump-spell negating superstar. Plus it is a creature and not a spell. I will test him out of board for one version (see below), but I see his usefulness game one to be beneficial either way.
Regarding Thalia,
I hold johnkorean's view on it. The best part about this deck is I can hold up one mana and scare the living crap out of my opponent with the threat of all the one drop instants this deck can benefit from. That extra mana cost to all spells is beneficial, and the first strike is no doubt useful, but I have doubts using her.
Regarding Precint Captain,
I really am looking forward to using this charector in my games, especially with Honor of the Pure. He signifies the Pure, scary threat at two-mana I think this deck needs. Now when it comes to him and Knight of the White Orchid, I like Precint Captain in the Honor of the Pure build instead of the Thalia build.
About Knight of the White Orchid:
He is a first strike bear that can fetch a land, which if i am running Thalia, will be crucial. I prefer him over Precinct Captain because of this.
That being said, I will try two routes. One featuring Knight of the White Orchid and Thalia:
.
-2 Honor of the Pure
-2 Grand Abolisher
+2 Thalia, Guardian of Thrabean
+2 Knight of the White Orchid
And the other will feature Precint Captain and Grand Abolisher
-2 Knight of the White Orchid
-2 Judge's Familiar
+4 Precint Captain
Now the sideboard
I will try all the suggestions given and see where it gets me. I still like Stony Silence because it can completley shut down Affinity, as well as some smaller LGS archetypes (Eggs, Master Transmuter, Blue Tron). But if Suppresion Field is more problematic for them as it is for us (bear in mind, leveling up and Figure's abilites are hit also) than a full 4 of is in order.
Here it is:
2 Suppresion Field
2 Stony Silence
2 Harm's Way
2 Dismember
2 Path to Exile
2 Sundering Growth
3 Rest in Peace
That should be all until I get some results. But before I go, I have a question...
How is our Living End matchup?
Are Rest in Peace all we need to beat them?
I wonder this because boardwipes are our biggest threat, and they can do that as early as turn three.
That is all! Happy Brewing!
It is an awesome play turn three and onward if you have a reasonable boardstate, and I couldn't see playing without it. It does have its flaws against faster aggro decks where all the removal hits our creatures, but overall it is worth it.
Carry on!
I didn't have the money to invest in the Steppe Lynx build, but here is my take on it:
(Forgive me for not knowing the proper deck formatting, this is my first post)
4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Soildier of the Pantheon
4 Mardu Woe-Reaper
4 Boros Elite
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Grand Abolisher
2 Judge's Familiar
4 Brave the Elements
2 Path to Exile
2 Honor of the Pure
18 Plains
My reasoning for the smaller inclusions:
Grand Abolisher: He is a human that can shut down combat tricks on your turn as well as any chance of your opponents countering your important spells.
Judge's Familiar: Basically a Mana Tithe on a flying stick. He also can block incoming Inkmoth Nexi.
Knight of the White Orchid: First Strike against other aggro decks does wonders. It can also allow us to play him and hold up a Path to Exile of Brave the Elements.
Path to Exile: I just don't want to see more than one most of the time. Another two are in the sideboard for other matchups.
My sideboard usually consists of the following:
4 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
4 Sunlance
2 Path to Exile
3 Rest in Peace
BW Tokens is a thing at my LGS so Sundering Growth does wonders here.
Stony Silence is a full-board replacement for Brave the Elements for Tron and Affinity matchups.
Sunlane is just great against small creature aggro, and does a better job than Path most of the time also.
I would love to hear what your takes on it are. I have also loved the discussion done so far, and I want to participate as much as I can. Happy Brewing!