@The Fluff, Thank you for your feedback! Regarding your questions:
1) Maindeck Gideon is still up for debate but currently there bc of my more aggro skewed meta. At worse, he buys me at least an extra turn. At best, he’s literally won me the game, especially when he can be recurred with Sun Titan. Between him and Cavalier (in classic list), they are utility pieces that could be changed out post testing, but so far have pulled their weight.
2)I have been pleasantly impressed with Farmhand. I typically run 4 Pilgrim’s Eye to ensure I hit my land drops and achieve Emeria asap. I e replaced them with Farmhand for a few reasons- she comes down a turn earlier, which allows me to keep sketchier hands if I’m lacking the lands I need for turn 3, and while she lacks the evasiveness of Pilgrim, her Coven ability is nothing to sneeze at. It’s easily achieved in my build by turn 4 which is great for the aggro I’ve faced. I think she’s a worthy inclusion as a means of reliable mana fixing/land drop consistency, even if you ignore the threat of activation.
3)Like you said, Ephemerate a nice combat trick and I’ve seen times when it’s absolutely fantastic. But having played both with and against it, I’ve seen and caused moments where you get 2-for-1 and are now in a bad position. Currently, I don’t know what I would cut to put in a pair (that’s probably the most I would run personally) that would make me feel like the deck’s in a better place. Hope all that makes sense.
I’ve been testing both versions this weekend and am happy with the results so far. I think it really comes down to play style preference and comfort piloting them. I honestly believe that with the Emeria archetype (UW, mono, Stoneforge, etc.) there’s no wrong answer. Depending on the meta and pilot, this deck can flat out hold its own and have fun in the process.
Here is my more classical Emeria build that I’m also testing out. It forgoes the Stoneforge/equipment package for a creature heavy control playstyle (my personal favorite). Like you said @The Fluff, it includes Flickerwisp, which has been great against all the tokens on my opponents board while making the most of Skyclave. I don’t know if I could see myself using Ephemerate though, as I remember @GerantDePhares mentioning that you never want a dead topdeck, and that has been the case at times with that card.
What’s going on everyone? Been a minute since I’ve checked into the thread. I’ve been rocking Historic for a while but have lost the joy in Arena. I’ve decided to come back to my first love as Modern has seen a nice revival. Really hoping in person play picks up, especially around my area, when it comes to the format. As before, I’m rocking with the mono white version of the deck and gone with the Stoneforge upgrade. I’ve included my list below and will keep you posted on the results. So far I’ve been picking off the cobwebs by playing on MODO and feels like home so far. Always enjoy feedback, so have at it.
Edit: would also love to hear peoples thoughts on Stoneforge vs traditional (creature heavy) versions in the current meta. I’ll be testing both.
I also have been tinkering with an artifact version using Ingenious Smith over Stoneforge. It’s obviously a budget version but has been pretty consistent hitting targets due to the amount in the deck. Trying to decide which version I favor more.
4 Ingenious Smith
4 Wall of Omens
4 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Skyclave Apparition
1 Cavalier of Dawn
3 Sun Titan
1 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
3 Mortarpod
2 Batterskull
1 Kaldra Compleat
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains
Hey everyone! Glad to see this thread is still active and thriving! This is by far my favorite Magic deck and I’ve been piloting it for years. I’m trying to get back into Modern after a while of being away and want to get back to my Emeria roots. Though I’m well aware that the Stoneforge build is the best version of this deck, I’m really tired of greedy WotC just ravaging my bank account and can’t justify spending all that money for certain cards. Instead I’d like to go in on a mono white creature heavy version of the deck. Here is my current iteration of the main deck. I’d love to know yalls thoughts and if you had any recommendations:
4 Thraben Inspector
3 Charming Prince
4 Wall of Omens
4 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Skyclave Apparition
2 Cavalier of Dawn
3 Sun Titan
2 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains
1) Maindeck Gideon is still up for debate but currently there bc of my more aggro skewed meta. At worse, he buys me at least an extra turn. At best, he’s literally won me the game, especially when he can be recurred with Sun Titan. Between him and Cavalier (in classic list), they are utility pieces that could be changed out post testing, but so far have pulled their weight.
2)I have been pleasantly impressed with Farmhand. I typically run 4 Pilgrim’s Eye to ensure I hit my land drops and achieve Emeria asap. I e replaced them with Farmhand for a few reasons- she comes down a turn earlier, which allows me to keep sketchier hands if I’m lacking the lands I need for turn 3, and while she lacks the evasiveness of Pilgrim, her Coven ability is nothing to sneeze at. It’s easily achieved in my build by turn 4 which is great for the aggro I’ve faced. I think she’s a worthy inclusion as a means of reliable mana fixing/land drop consistency, even if you ignore the threat of activation.
3)Like you said, Ephemerate a nice combat trick and I’ve seen times when it’s absolutely fantastic. But having played both with and against it, I’ve seen and caused moments where you get 2-for-1 and are now in a bad position. Currently, I don’t know what I would cut to put in a pair (that’s probably the most I would run personally) that would make me feel like the deck’s in a better place. Hope all that makes sense.
I’ve been testing both versions this weekend and am happy with the results so far. I think it really comes down to play style preference and comfort piloting them. I honestly believe that with the Emeria archetype (UW, mono, Stoneforge, etc.) there’s no wrong answer. Depending on the meta and pilot, this deck can flat out hold its own and have fun in the process.
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Ambitious Farmhand
3 Charming Prince
4 Wall of Omens
3 Flickerwisp
3 Skyclave Apparition
1 Cavalier of Dawn
3 Sun Titan
1 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains
1 Lone Missionary
3 Remorseful Cleric
2 Ranger-Captain of Eos
2 Sanctum Prelate
1 Celestial Purge
2 Pithing Needle
1 Deafening Silence
2 Seal of Cleansing
1 Stony Silence
Edit: would also love to hear peoples thoughts on Stoneforge vs traditional (creature heavy) versions in the current meta. I’ll be testing both.
3 Thraben Inspector
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wall of Omens
4 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Skyclave Apparition
3 Sun Titan
1 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
1 Mortarpod
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
1 Kaldra Compleat
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains
1 Lone Missionary
3 Remorseful Cleric
2 Sanctum Prelate
2 Celestial Purge
2 Pithing Needle
1 Shadowspear
1 Deafening Silence
2 Seal of Cleansing
1 Stony Silence
4 Ingenious Smith
4 Wall of Omens
4 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Skyclave Apparition
1 Cavalier of Dawn
3 Sun Titan
1 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
3 Mortarpod
2 Batterskull
1 Kaldra Compleat
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains
4 Thraben Inspector
3 Charming Prince
4 Wall of Omens
4 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Skyclave Apparition
2 Cavalier of Dawn
3 Sun Titan
2 Gideon of the Trials
4 Path to Exile
2 Generous Gift
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Winds of Abandon
1 Day of Judgment
2 Wrath of God
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Field of Ruin
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Mistveil Plains
14 Plains