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  • posted a message on Infinite Loop Combo?
    As mentioned before, there is a black infinite lifegain/loss combo of Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond. When adding white, these can be made partly redundant and better curved into with Vizkopa Guildmage and Cliffhaven Vampire.

    Problem with this combo is you always need another way to gain life, preferably on curve, making it a three piece combo which is very easily disrupted. I used to play a reasonably good deck but it felt lacking versus the removal loaded modern format. Though with the recent printings of Ixalan and Amonkhet blocks the deck looks like it could warrant revisiting.
    Posted in: Modern
  • posted a message on The thread formerly known as GBX Constrictor
    Quote from TechnoWriter »
    .......

    Of the sideboard cards, the only one I'm really not sure of is Deathgorge Scavenger, simply because graveyard strategies seem to be the only decks to bring it in against. Am I mistaken there? As in, should I be bringing it in vs other decks and if so, what would come out that isn't already coming out? I spose they could come in against control because of Gearhulk silliness...


    Thanks for your insights!
    I'd like to respond to your comment about Scavenger. In fact, I'm considering it as a one off main for an opcomming tournament (will report afterwards) with another two in the side. Thing is, I can't decide what to take out.

    The card is very good in most matches. Gaining you life against aggro and targeted removal and keeping various decks that abuse the graveyard in check like GPG, control, scarab gods and grow lists. All while putting preasure on the opponents life total and has a gigantic target on its back. It's just that versatile.
    Only ceveat, it's not very synergistic and would take a very synergistic card to be taken out.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    Now that we are a top tier deck, people will try to adapt their decks to it.
    I'm curious what you all think how people will try to do this. After that, we can look into ways to counter those attempts.

    First off, Our Freebooter/Meddling Mage/Thalia package allready feels great as a countermeasure. I see Xathrid Necromancer as the best way to deal with sweepers and I feel War Priest of Thune would be good against Stony Silence/Solemnity.


    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on The thread formerly known as GBX Constrictor
    I don't play Kitesail Freebooter in my list and value Bristling Hydra over Hostage Taker (3/2 split).

    I have faced situations where hostage taker gets pushed immediately more than once. If it doesnt though, it has great tempo potential and card advantage, all wrapped into one.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    The deck is Tier 1!, Great to be part of this journey.

    I've revamped my deck and proxied some vials up. Plays out great! Placed my order for a playset today, so i'm officially on the vial list.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    Thank you very much for your insight. Much appreciated! Don't worry about the critical tone, this is why I asked in the first place, so thank you for your contribution.

    I do think you're spot on. I like to play the disruptive style of play, and with humans it has proven to be worthwile against most of my friends modern decks at the kitchen table. I allready play the tempo/combo game with Knightfall and aggro with Zoo so I wanted something different. Also, I wanted to play something different from the rest of the field and find out how my brew would coope. I've been on humans for some time (AER Standard) and love how it allows for "brewing" with every new set. Love that aspect of Magic.

    The next best thing for me at this moment is go back to BantB like I did before I added the Inquisitions and Thoughtseizes, trading them for a playset of Reflector Mage and adding Meddling Mage to the sideboard. The mana base can be fixed without much trouble focussing on GW for spells and adding Unclaimed Territory. Though I feel this particular move wont shore up te control/combo matchup. I'd go as far and say it probably makes it worse. Also, Blood Moon and other mana denial which is prevalent in my local meta.

    I'm not on the Vial plan yet, but I can see it's potential and I know for a fact, Thalia v1 is a awesome magic card! I use her in another deck from the board to great succes!
    I allready own most pieces of the Vial lists except Aether Vial but I'm not really ready to drop the path's yet I guess Rolleyes

    Regarding Mirran Crusader
    This is a (local)Meta call for me, but probably not the best in a wide spread field. What would you guys reccomend as curve topper next to Thalia and Anafenza? Aside from Mantis Rider.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    First time I gave my Abzan Humans deck a go at FNM level last friday. I'd like to report here and hear what you guys think.

    Went with a friend to another town for a new experience, probably not the best moment to try out something new. I usually play Bushwhacker Zoo or Classic Knightfall @ FNM with great success, but seriously wanted to know how my Humans brew would cope.
    It was less crowded than usual, one of the locals said. Vibe was good and I was feeling confident.

    First match, Grixis Control
    Game 1: He mulls to 5 and I keep my first (good) hand. T1 CoP, T2 Freebooter, T3 Crusader met Push, Bolt, Snap-Bolt. He follows with Vendillion Clique taking a Threat, which I path after a few swings. The game gets grindy, but his tempo and removal plays get him there.
    Game 2: I board in Rest in Peace and Sin Collector. First big mistake here. I Fire off with T1 Thoughtseize and see lands, bolt, push and Mystical Teachings. I take Bolt. T2 CoP + Hiërarch followed by T3 COCO which gets countered by mana leak. Game get's grindy again and I get him to 3 Life (while i'm at 14) Things look good until he plays Torrential Gearhulk. Game ends after 3 swings and a few removal spells. 0-1

    Second Match, Jeskai Tempo (Geist).
    Forgot most details about this game, but played very sloppy. Played CoCo instead of double Freebooter Game 1. Won game 2 and made a mistake in the 3rd game. Kitesail Freebooter saw Path To Exile and Supreme Verdict I choose Path, thinking I could come back from the verdict after some Mirran Crusader swings. Coco gets Spell Quellered bypassing Cavern of Souls And I never draw more gas. GG. 0-2 Does not look good.

    Third Match, Mono G Stompy.
    Game 1: I take all his pump spells and beat him with Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Anafenza, The Foremost. Made a mistake by attacking into a Avatar of the Resolute with freebooter. But I get there.
    Game 2: He has dismember for my creatures and goes wider which is enough.
    Game 3: Hard lock with Mirran Crusader & Worship 1-2

    Fourth Match, Tooth and Nail (My buddy), we both on have a 1-2 score
    Game 1: Killing his ramp and nabbing his big spells.
    Game 2: He gets to the desired 9 mana, but never draws Tooth and Nail I have the right answers for his threats. 2-2

    My decklist this weekend



    In a new shop with unexpected meta, I made some bad calls during the games which could potentially have changed the outcome of some games. Bad draws and never seeing Rest in peace against the Snapcaster decks was backbreaking.
    In hindsight I should dare to mulligan more aggressively. I kept every hand which was good in isolation, but two of my biggest mistakes were: Not boarding in Fiendslayer Paladin which would have been impossible to remove for the Grixis player and playing a very very sloppy game against Jeskai.
    I upped my game and the other two games felt very good. The deck felt solid and the mana was relatively pain-free.

    I had a blast because the setting and vibe were great. Met some nice guys and had fun playing the game. Vial 5c Humans and my Grixis Control opponent went head to head in the final round and they decided to draw. They both topped the list.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on Knightfall/Bant Company
    Sideboards will allways be adapted to what harder matchups one would expect to encouter in any setting. That being said, This is how my deck currently looks like.


    Maindeck choices
    22 Lands and 7 dorks:
    I want to get to 4 mana as reliable as possible. Dorks often, if not Always, get pushed/bolted in my local meta.

    Two drop slot:
    Here I have some general utility,
    Scavenging Ooze for graveyard strategies (Mostly dredge and lingering souls) and the lifegain for aggro and burn.
    Voice of Resurgence against instant speed removal, control decks and some resilliency. I consider this somewhat of a flex spot.
    Qasali Pridemage for all sorts of nasty enchantments, also exalted on any evasive beater.
    All two drops have potential of presenting a good clock.

    I will probably put back some Selfless Spirits to battle the black based control decks.

    Three drop slot:
    Knight of the Reliquary, Spell Queller and Reflector Mage need no explaination. These cards almost always serve purpose. Disruption, Evasion, Beatdown, Combo, Utility. This is why the deck exists.

    Nimble Obstructionist Came in just after the release of HOU and has been great so far. Often as a stifle on a fetch on the end of my 2nd turn or to heavilly disrupt the TRON player trying to pop expedition map. If not, Nimble makes a bluf on Spell Queller less painfull and when the opponent is expecting Spell Queller and passes the turn, you play this as an efficient evasive beater.
    It can also be a hard counter in the mirror. I consider this a flex spot.

    Courser of Kruphix This is a leftover from the list I first played, More of a defensive card but great in the burn/aggro matchup alongside the card advantage. I consider this a flex spot and would be the first one to go if something better comes along.

    Sideboard choices
    Ghost Quarter, Mostly for the (E)tron and Eldrazi matches. Get those Temples! Also, makes for excellent battle tricks with a Knight of the Reliquary out.
    Bojuka Bog to battle any graveyard combo deck and Dredge. The matches where I need instant speed graveyard cleansing.
    Stony Silence for affinity and Tron
    Negate Any spell based decks and combo like Tooth and Nail, Burn, 8Rack, Control etc.
    Unified Will Been trying this one out but have yet to succeed. I consider this a flex spot
    Eidolon of Rhetoric mostly for Storm, but als great against Elves, Swarm Aggro, Affinity, Burn. Combo's nicely with Spell Queller
    Izzet Staticaster for Ramp, ELves, Affinity, Bant Eldrazi, Tokens of any kind
    Kitchen Finks When I need the life, Burn and Aggro, otherwise where more resiliency is needed.
    Nimble Obstructionist When players expect Spell Queller, when I need to stop Expedition map, Fetch heavy 3+ color decks
    Dusk / Dawn Eldrazi and any other deck where big creatures make my life difficult. Note dawn gets me back any creature in the deck except for Nimble Obstructionist.

    I recently cut one Dusk / Dawn for Unified Will to try it out, but havn't been inpressed. I want it to be a hard counter in creature matchups, but it often is not. Also, sometimes i just want it to be Negate Maybe I'm doing something wrong there.
    I have to find some room (main or side) to fit in one or two Slefless Spirit.
    Posted in: Midrange
  • posted a message on Knightfall/Bant Company
    I like your list, it's about 95% of what I play.
    I'm still on 7 dorks, 22 land and 4 Reflector Mage though. The two drop slots are exactly the same and they have served me well so far. I don't play any Tireless Tracker, Instead I have one Courser of Kruphix and one Nimble Obstructionist with a 2nd one in the sideboard.
    The latter straight up wins games when disrupting the right activations and makes players look funny when they try to play around Spell Queller and get hit for 3 or 4 the next turn.
    Posted in: Midrange
  • posted a message on Knightfall/Bant Company
    Hey all, I have been playing my traditional knightfall list for quite some time now and I would say i'm an experienced player. I like the way you can addapt the playstyle to certain matchups and until recently I have found ways to beat numerous competitive decks within my playgroup and FNM. Recently one has started playing decks which rely on mana denial as the disruptive gameplan (esper control and bloodmoon). I'm having deficulties beating them eventhough i'm maindecking enchantment hate and stifle effects.

    How do you play vs Bloodmoon, Spreading Seas, Shadow of Doubt, Tectonic Edge, alongside heavy removal and board wipes?

    One thing i'll do for sure Selfless Spirit back in the sideboard or maybe even mainboard, but what to cut.
    Posted in: Midrange
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    Quote from Octa-bit »
    I've been crawling through the gatherer and I found a couple of humans that might make for some interesting discussion. I'm curious what others think about them and if they have a potential place in this deck.

    Harsh Mentor this seems like a great SB card for us. It stops elves hard which is one of our weakest matches. It also does a surprising amount of work against affinity as well. It hits them on cranial plating, overseer, man lands, and it makes ravager incredibly sad. It will definitely draw removal but it will slow them down quite a bit while they look for it, or if we take it with kitesail. It is also good against counters company and most infinite combo decks.

    Yes, everything you say makes this my sideboard card of choice in another deck. Unfortunately it does not quite stop elves from massively casting more elves with their mana engine. The one azuri activation is no biggy. If wizards had designed this card slightly different. i.e. Htting planeswalkers and mana abilities, or had left out the "on the battlefield" clause, this would be way overpowered

    Hanweir Militia Captain this is kind of in the same boat as Hanweir Garrison in that it produces human tokens. This one however comes down a turn sooner and is easier to vial. It can also be vialed in eot when we have 3 creatures out for a quick flip. It can also hit much harder later on. It does go tall as opposed to wide (It does go a bit wide just not as much as Garrison) but it can still make tokens regardless of attacking.

    Not what I want to be doing at 2 mana

    Kessig Malcontents this seems like a nice finisher. Dropping in for 3-5 extra damage out of nowhere. A great way to speed up our clock. It is a little more expensive at 3, but overall it's not a huge issue.

    Great in a real go wide strategy for sure! Though I don't think that that is what we truely are. So, situational at best. I do believe the Vial version fits this card better than the COCO version

    Prophetic Flamespeaker this one might be a bit more out there but I think it's worth considering. So by itself it's not great. Throw in a mayor or lieutenant and it starts to become a real threat. What's more it also provides us with more cards. By the time we get this guy out our hand is getting thin. What's more if it's unblocked (or even blocked if it's buffed) it can get us two cards a turn.

    Trample is nice, But we allready have Mirran Crusader which is in our base collors and more resilient. The CA potential is nice when it connects, but we are usually tapped out before combat

    Disciple of Deceit I think this one is actually a pretty interesting card. It turns almost any dead draw into a tutor. Game two being able to pitch a random card for one of your SB cards sounds amazing, or even just pitching a priest for a champion of the parish. It does have some problems though. It is slow. Hard cast it takes two turns for a pay off. With vial/Coco though it does cut that down to a single turn. It's also got decent stats. Nothing to set the world on fire but it can take a hit from the average bear and live to tell the tale. I think trying as a two of might be worth testing.

    On the surface it looks like a way to find a silver bullet, but note, this takes two full turns after landing for it to pay off. One of which it has to survive combat because we don't realy have a way to tap our own creatures. Seems way to janky


    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on I will be stepping down in the next two weeks as Moderator.
    Dear Lantern,


    I want you to know that reading your primer on Zoo has helped me make the switch to modern when returning to magic in 2016 after 20 odd years.
    I'm still a fan of the archetype and have the deck ready to play at all times.
    Thank you for your contribution and I wish you goodluck in life and the game!

    Regards
    Maxim
    Posted in: Modern Archives
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    Yes, And this is exactly why the vial lists sport a greater concentration of two drop creatures. I think Vial on two is usually optimal in those humans lists.
    Another pro for the vial strategy is that it's not susceptible to "bolt the bird" scenario's in terms of ramp disruption.

    I guess both strategies have different merrits, whereas personal preference is key. I opt for the more resilient and more spell based list, but my list is quite different. Still haven't lost a casual match with it against a variety of tier X decks though. Will give it a shot at FNM soon.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    I'd like to point out the fact that Aether Vial, while providing nice tricks and preassure early, is burning trough your hand twice as fast, whereas CoCo provides pure card advantage as a two for one most of the time.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
  • posted a message on Modern Humans
    Burn is always a though race but i fell actually pretty good against it with my Abzan build. Also post board i add more disruption with Sin Collector alongside Kambal, Consul of Allocation which is always valueable against burn as a two-for-one.
    I also swap out some easy to kill threats for Fiendslayer Paladin. This card is the most narrow card in my board, though I haven't found reason to drop it yet.


    Question: In an Abzan list with 1-mana disruptionspells, would Fatal Push be prefarable over Path to Exile?
    Please share your thoughts.
    Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
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