Land
Blast zone enters the battlefield with a charge counter on it.
T: Add C
XX, T: Put X charge counters on Blast Zone.
3, T, Sacrifice Blast Zone: Destroy all nonland permanents with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Blast Zone.
Looks like we are getting a new utility land with WAR.
It does seem to be pretty slow and producing only colourless is of course a real cost, too.
I will definitly test 1 Mainboard maybe in the 3rd Ghost Quarter slot, since utility lands are so much better with loam and it does come into play untapped.
So yesterday i played in a ca. 100 man tournament with RG Loam. I went 5-2 and got placed 13th.
This deck my actually be viable.
First, here’s my list I played:
Overall the deck felt really smooth, with only a few mulligans. Playing 26 Lands with a build-in flood protection in Assault and Loothing does that I think.
4 BBE’s felt great, wouldn’t miss them in the future. BBE into Countryside Crusher can be insane.
Speaking of, Countryside Crusher also felt really good, to my suprise. Drawing only action afterwards is great, while having a Creature that must be handled or chumped because he grows big unbelivable fast.
Lootings are actually not my favorite card in this deck, since I almost never want to do it on turn 1 and rather fetch for a tapped Stomping Ground and see what I’m up against or how my hand will sculpt in the next draw steps.
Also RiP is a beating and were a big factor in the two games i lost. Will definitely play more Nature’s Claims or something like Destructive Revelry.
I just thought about Cindervines, it can be cast preemptively, can be found with Commune with the Gods, is an Enchanment for Tarmogoyf and is always somewhat useful. I'm trying out 2 in the Board and 1 Nature's Claim right now.
@CrypticCommander: Many thanks for posting here regulary and keeping the Deck alive, a true believer. You were right with the second Sheltered Thicket, I almost always wanted one when i get the Loam going, will add a second. I can’t wait for the Onslaught Cycle Land reprint in Modern Horizons
In my current list I play -1 Mountain, -1 Copperline Gorge (this card is really bad in this deck)
+ 1 Sheltered Thicket, +1 Fire-Lit Thicket
Regarding Naya Loam; I was on a Naya List at the beginning, mostly for a clean answer to threats with Path to Exile and Wear//Tear and of course KotR. But at last the manabase felt really awkward, and was not worth the trade off in my opinion. RG runs much smoother.
I think Jund will have the same problems, even if I’d love to Play Confidant and Raven’s Crime.
After looking through my matchup notes, I've been noticing a trend with these RG lists. I am currently at around a 90% win pct when on the play and at around a 40% win pct on the draw with the deck, showcasing a major flaw.
While I totally agree that having the Combo on the Play is much better than being on the braw, I can't say that I think the difference is that drastic. The Deck is still a Midrange deck with the best grind engine ever in Loam.
I also don't like adding Rituals, Caverns or SSG for the price of inconsintence. When playing Birds or Utopia Sprawls, BBE becomes much weaker obviously, and i value BBEs much hgher than having the possibility of having a Turn 2 Assault.
Btw. the biggest struggle I have found so far is, that if my Loams get exiled due to a Surgical, I can hardly win anymore. Losing the recurring removal spells is really harsh for many match-ups. Has anybody a idea, how to make the deck less Loam reliant while still being not hot garbage?
To combat Surgical I thought about brining in Edge of Tomorrow, but I couldn't find any space in the side or mainboard. I think your best bet is to try and play around it with cycle lands.
Tarmogoyf and Countryside Crusher are still a real threat, especially when the Opp mulliganed for a surgical and does not have many Removal left in their hand/deck.
Good to see that there are some other people on this deck. I've also brewed some time with the Seismic Assault Archetype.
In the beginning I was on Naya colours for Knight of the Reliquary, Path to Exile[/card, Lightning Helix and some sideboard Options. I didn't liked the inconsistent and painful manabase though, so i switched to RG. However my list is a bit different:
I want to discuss some choices about the maindeck:
Tarmogoyf: I believe that Tarmogoyf is very important for this deck, since we get our Graveyard full reasonably fast with Looting and Commune/Wayfinder. It also stalls against aggro decks or acts as a alternate wincon. I think Young Pyromancer goes in the same slot but in my testings I've found him to be very lackluster. He's good with Flame Jab for sure, but besides that i don't think the critical mass for Instant or Sorceries is reached in this deck.
Scavenging Ooze: Good card on its own and especially in the current meta. I will probably add a Fire-Lit Thicket to the manabase to maximise the effect.
Molten Vortex: In some match-ups like Humans or spirits I really like this on Turn 1, in other occasions it kind of acts like Assault #5. I also like having more Enchantments for Tarmogoyf.
Commune with the Gods: i see that you are playing the Wayfinder instead of Commune, but I don't know why. Commune digs one deeper and finds both of our synergy cards while Wayfinder can only find Loam. Putting lands in the Graveyard instead of the hand is also better with Loam and Countryside Crusher in the deck I believe. The only upside I see is the 1/1 body to chumpblock. Not a good synergy with Anger of the Gods in the Sideboard
Lands: I strongly believe that 22 lands are way to little. I am currently playing 26 and wouldn't even go down to 25. Drawing Lands is so important for the deck, they are in some situation the best top deck. I'm also playing 9 Fetchlands to get my loam going as soon as possible. I will maybe cut one in favor of a Fire-Lit Thicket, but a critical mass in Fetchlands is very important in my opinion.
I've also thought about Bloodbraid Elf, but I haven't tested him yet. Will definitely do though.
A Traverse package with 4 Bauble, 2-3 Traverse and some 1 off's sounds also nice, especially with Tarmogoyf. I haven't found the space for that yet, though.
Land
Blast zone enters the battlefield with a charge counter on it.
T: Add C
XX, T: Put X charge counters on Blast Zone.
3, T, Sacrifice Blast Zone: Destroy all nonland permanents with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Blast Zone.
Looks like we are getting a new utility land with WAR.
It does seem to be pretty slow and producing only colourless is of course a real cost, too.
I will definitly test 1 Mainboard maybe in the 3rd Ghost Quarter slot, since utility lands are so much better with loam and it does come into play untapped.
This deck my actually be viable.
First, here’s my list I played:
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Countryside Crusher
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Seismic Assault
4 Faithless Looting
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Flame Jab
4 Life from the Loam
4 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Stomping Ground
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Sheltered Thicket
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Forest
6 Mountain
1 Raging Ravine
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Damping Sphere
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature's Claim
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Lightning Axe
The Match-Ups were:
2-1 Abzan Midrange
2-1 Grixis Delver
0-2 UW Control
2-1 Grishoalbrand
2-0 Restore Balance
1-2 Burn
2-1 Storm
Overall the deck felt really smooth, with only a few mulligans. Playing 26 Lands with a build-in flood protection in Assault and Loothing does that I think.
4 BBE’s felt great, wouldn’t miss them in the future. BBE into Countryside Crusher can be insane.
Speaking of, Countryside Crusher also felt really good, to my suprise. Drawing only action afterwards is great, while having a Creature that must be handled or chumped because he grows big unbelivable fast.
Lootings are actually not my favorite card in this deck, since I almost never want to do it on turn 1 and rather fetch for a tapped Stomping Ground and see what I’m up against or how my hand will sculpt in the next draw steps.
Also RiP is a beating and were a big factor in the two games i lost. Will definitely play more Nature’s Claims or something like Destructive Revelry.
I just thought about Cindervines, it can be cast preemptively, can be found with Commune with the Gods, is an Enchanment for Tarmogoyf and is always somewhat useful. I'm trying out 2 in the Board and 1 Nature's Claim right now.
@CrypticCommander: Many thanks for posting here regulary and keeping the Deck alive, a true believer. You were right with the second Sheltered Thicket, I almost always wanted one when i get the Loam going, will add a second. I can’t wait for the Onslaught Cycle Land reprint in Modern Horizons
In my current list I play -1 Mountain, -1 Copperline Gorge (this card is really bad in this deck)
+ 1 Sheltered Thicket, +1 Fire-Lit Thicket
Regarding Naya Loam; I was on a Naya List at the beginning, mostly for a clean answer to threats with Path to Exile and Wear//Tear and of course KotR. But at last the manabase felt really awkward, and was not worth the trade off in my opinion. RG runs much smoother.
I think Jund will have the same problems, even if I’d love to Play Confidant and Raven’s Crime.
While I totally agree that having the Combo on the Play is much better than being on the braw, I can't say that I think the difference is that drastic. The Deck is still a Midrange deck with the best grind engine ever in Loam.
I also don't like adding Rituals, Caverns or SSG for the price of inconsintence. When playing Birds or Utopia Sprawls, BBE becomes much weaker obviously, and i value BBEs much hgher than having the possibility of having a Turn 2 Assault.
To combat Surgical I thought about brining in Edge of Tomorrow, but I couldn't find any space in the side or mainboard. I think your best bet is to try and play around it with cycle lands.
Tarmogoyf and Countryside Crusher are still a real threat, especially when the Opp mulliganed for a surgical and does not have many Removal left in their hand/deck.
In the beginning I was on Naya colours for Knight of the Reliquary, Path to Exile[/card, Lightning Helix and some sideboard Options. I didn't liked the inconsistent and painful manabase though, so i switched to RG. However my list is a bit different:
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Countryside Crusher
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Seismic Assault
1 Molten Vortex
4 Faithless Looting
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Flame Jab
4 Life from the Loam
2 Lightning Axe
4 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Stomping Ground
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Sheltered Thicket
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Forest
6 Mountain
1 Raging Ravine
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Damping Sphere
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature's Claim
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Lightning Axe
I want to discuss some choices about the maindeck:
Tarmogoyf: I believe that Tarmogoyf is very important for this deck, since we get our Graveyard full reasonably fast with Looting and Commune/Wayfinder. It also stalls against aggro decks or acts as a alternate wincon. I think Young Pyromancer goes in the same slot but in my testings I've found him to be very lackluster. He's good with Flame Jab for sure, but besides that i don't think the critical mass for Instant or Sorceries is reached in this deck.
Scavenging Ooze: Good card on its own and especially in the current meta. I will probably add a Fire-Lit Thicket to the manabase to maximise the effect.
Molten Vortex: In some match-ups like Humans or spirits I really like this on Turn 1, in other occasions it kind of acts like Assault #5. I also like having more Enchantments for Tarmogoyf.
Commune with the Gods: i see that you are playing the Wayfinder instead of Commune, but I don't know why. Commune digs one deeper and finds both of our synergy cards while Wayfinder can only find Loam. Putting lands in the Graveyard instead of the hand is also better with Loam and Countryside Crusher in the deck I believe. The only upside I see is the 1/1 body to chumpblock. Not a good synergy with Anger of the Gods in the Sideboard
Lands: I strongly believe that 22 lands are way to little. I am currently playing 26 and wouldn't even go down to 25. Drawing Lands is so important for the deck, they are in some situation the best top deck. I'm also playing 9 Fetchlands to get my loam going as soon as possible. I will maybe cut one in favor of a Fire-Lit Thicket, but a critical mass in Fetchlands is very important in my opinion.
I've also thought about Bloodbraid Elf, but I haven't tested him yet. Will definitely do though.
A Traverse package with 4 Bauble, 2-3 Traverse and some 1 off's sounds also nice, especially with Tarmogoyf. I haven't found the space for that yet, though.