Anyone have any SB tech options vs Whir Prison? It's too bad that Creeping Corrosion doesn't have the anti-regenerate clause. Was wondering if you guys had any other viable options.
Thanks for the feedback. I like Rakdos charm as a hedge vs Hollow One. The deck can have polarizing draws where you side in Grudge and they beat you up with a bunch of recursive threats and where you side in GY hate and they beat you with Hollows and Adepts. Thankfully, Rakdos Charm can easily flex between the two modes. More than an artifact hate card, Rakdos Charm for me is an instant speed "next level" my GY combo player opponent's yard. I actually do anticipate a decent amount of GY decks, and while Scooze is great against them, it is often times too slow. I've chosen to overload a bit in this department cause I want a strong matchup against Storm, Dredge, and KCI. It's also noteworthy that Spellbomb and Cage are highly anticipated board cards, meaning Nature's Claim and Abrade make it easy to break the game wide open again. Despite this, I choose to include them for their inherent advantages (low cmc, specifically), with 1 Rakdos Charm as a spicy hedge. In the end, you may be correct, but I've had good experiences with it.
Regarding Grudge, I agree that it shines in the specific matchups you've stated, but it really ends there. There are no wider applications for the card. It's great vs Affinity / Lantern, and moderate vs KCI / Tron. It might be possible that playing Deglamer / Unravel the AEther is a decent solution that helps vs Bogles, Wurmcoil Engine, and Buried Ruin. The 2-for-1 that Grudge provides can't be understated though. I just can't help but wonder why a lot of Jund "pros" have opted out of the card entirely. I assume it's because it is truly a very "narrow" card in this metagame.
@FlyingDelver
You're right that discard is weak versus the topdecking big mana decks. In regards to Duress/Thoughtseize, I was thinking the goal was to try and make tempo positive plays early on in order to try and turn the corner as early as possible. While typing this response up and looking at what dannyg had to say, I'm almost beginning to talk myself into just punting this matchup all together. Seems a bit futile. I should probably just try to shore up my 50% matchups instead of worrying about adding 5% to a 30/70 big mana matchup.
Either way, thanks to both of you for your thoughts <3
Hey all, just wanted to chime in here to see if I can aggregate any more ideas before I head to GP Vegas in 2 days.
I've been playing all sorts of different builds and have finally settled on 74/75. Previously, I took Joel Larsson's list (modified board) to a comp league 5-0 and Jadine's list (modified board) to a top 8 of a 50-player tournament this past weekend. I liked how dense Joel's list was, but I didn't care for the manabase. I think Bob is better as a 3-of right now, as maintaining a healthy life total is critical at the moment. I'm a big fan of Joslyn/Jadine/Victor Wood style lists with 25 lands and (now) 5 manlands. My losses where I felt a bit helpless were to (unsurprisingly) big mana. I have one slot in my SB that I want to dedicate towards these matchups. Right now I am considering:
Duress
Is the card I am most likely putting in my list. It has decent spread as being an anti-control and anti-combo card. I have an issue with Fulminator being much worse on the draw, and I think I would rather play an extra discard spell to give my opponents' speed bumps rather than trying to win with 4 Stone Rains out of the board.
Thoughtseize
Same as the above, but has applications in taking PrimeTime/Wurmcoil/Baneslayer. The only drawback is not being able to bring it in against Burn.
Pithing Needle
A card that I saw Jadine running recently. Seems pretty good right now. Just off the top of my head, prime targets include: all planeswalkers (Karn/Ugin/Teferi/Jace/Elspeth), Azcanta, Colonnade, Oblivion Stone, Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Cranial Plating, Knight of the Reliquary, Archdruid, Ezuri, Ironworks...the list goes on. I do feel like this card might be too soft overall, but it has applications in a wider range of matchups. Opinions and anecdotes on this one are greatly appreciated.
Fulminator Mage
An argument could be made for running the 4th. It's good a wide spread of decks, but I'm not entirely sure that I want to be on 4. Again, it doesn't solve the issue of being worse against Tron on the draw, and it can be somewhat slow.
Any other feedback on the board would be nice. I might be a little light on anti-Affinity cards, so Grudge might take that spot, but I've been feeling "okay" in that department so I'd rather focus on other matchups.
And honestly I'm used to Jund feeling bad, but at the same time getting good results. It hasn't felt truly powerful for me since DRS/BBE. I feel like that's kind of the whole draw to playing Midrange decks. I've always assumed the people who choose Midrange are those who enjoy a good game of magic and/or are masochists. Live by the grind, die by the grind.
I logged into just to /truth this. Haha
As for productive conversation, anyone been playing Jadine's build? There's a lot of subtle sense in her card choices that become more apparent the more I play different variations of "stock" Jund. For example, 2 Forests and 2 Wooded Foothills. These are largely enablers for Scooze, especially in tight scenarios where you either A) don't want to give up life by shocking yourself via Bloodstained Mire and/or B) have already fetched out the singleton Forest in some matchups. These somewhat conservative mana base choices can have serious implications towards your life total, especially against Burn etc. The three Bobs may seem perplexing, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Drawing multiples against aggro or combo is poor, drawing multiples against control is good, however, Jund inflicts so much damage to itself that he can actually become a huge liability vs the control decks of today (Jeskai/Mardu). I can't drop Scooze below 3 main. It has just swung way too many games back into my favor to ever be cut, especially in this climate. 25 lands or 24, the variance is really negligible but I still follow suit and play 25 mostly because of how heavy the sideboard is. Sometimes you bring in 4-5 3+ drops in a matchup. It's important to keep the land count healthy, especially in the face of mulligans. Regardless of what other people think of her list, I am happy piloting it and will continue to do so.
What I have come to ask are good board options against the control decks I mentioned. I've been eyeballing Hazoret as a great topend card that has a lot of versatility. It can 1-shot Teferi, grind past Ensnaring Bridge, stonewall Hollow Ones, and basically force Jeskai to have a Path/Purge or just die. Quickly too. I've been rather unimpressed by Thrun lately. Maybe I've just been drawing him when I'm already too far behind for it to matter. How are you guys preparing your sideboards for the grindfest? Are we bringing in Nihil Spellbombs to counter Search for Azcanta / Snap value? Is anyone playing Golgari Charm as an additional out to Mardu tokens? Are there any cards that you would love to bring in vs both? Are Finks worth the slots vs control?
Let me first state that I am no Eldrazi Tron expert, but I am in this forum right now because I think Baby Karn has legs in this archetype.
Would it be out of the question to perhaps shave some Endbringers for Hangarback Walkers main, given the state of the meta? If there's a ton of Humans / Go-Wide / Affinity / Hollow One, it seems like a possible conclusion for furthering the strength of Karn's -2. Perhaps I am totally wrong, and I'll gladly hear your guys' opinions.
PS: I will be attending GP Vegas in a month and am trying to lock down a deck. Right now I'm between BGx variants and Eldrazi variants. Any opinions on this matter would be great!
A few things to note here: Magnus, Nijutsu42, Clay, and Chris all ran 5C shadow. Nijustsu ran Clay's list from two opens ago with one significant change: Breeding Pool over Stomping Ground. After playing testing this deck some, I can 100% agree with this change. Having access to an additional source of U helps your Stub lines and as well as accounts for the influx of blue cards that come in post board. This makes casting red spells a little more difficult, but all lists have been shaving down on them. Regardless, all 5C lists moving forward have adopted this change.
Lantto still has a different idea about what should be run in the main. The differences between his and Spicklemire's list are more Lilianas / removal in the SCG versions and Temur Battle Rage for Magnus. Sideboard for the former includes an extra Disdainful Stroke as well as more Traverse targets (Izzet Staticaster, Ghor-clan Rampager, Ranger of Eos), and Nihil Spellbombs / Collective Brutality / Kozileks Return for the latter. After watching Dylan Hovey play on stream, he too also agrees that you want Temur Battle Rage to cheese against cheese. With the influx of Storm, Affinity, Coco, and other go-wide decks (see Humans), this has become more mandatory than ever.
In this past weekend's Modern Challenge, Sesquialtera top 8'd with BGw Shadow. He eschews any colored cards main and ups the number of Abrupt Decays and adds more Grim Flayers for threats. His/her sideboard is the full Abzan suite, with Intrepid Hero as a sweet tech card against other large creature decks (Shadow, Tron). While I don't know if this version is what I would play, this isn't the first time I've seen 4C pop up on the Daily 5-0.
5C Shadow looks to be my weapon of choice. It's essentially Jund Shadow with Stubs to better interact with problem cards and removal. The one folly of the deck is that fetch sequencing in an 18-land deck can often leave you stranded without the fourth color.
There's also some argument to be made for Jund Shadow. Dennis Zens' list from MKM Hamburg a month ago shows that running Bolt helps against the X/3s of the format (see Baral, Chief of Compliance) and Kolaghan's Command is great against Affinity, Tron, and to help grind.
Tons of options amongst these lists, which goes to show that Traverse Shadow is very much still a strong choice in this diverse metagame.
Quite solid looking list, although to me that looks a little soft against burn.
I think Blood Moon is a good place to be in right now. I don't know about playing it mainboard, but there have been several successful lists recently running it in the side. I, personally, will be trying this out relatively soon. Will post results here.
While I don't disagree with some of the sentiments about Abzan Traverse, I do want to point out a few pros about the deck for people wanting to look into it. The point of going delirium is to have less dead cards. Bauble, like Street Wraith, turns your deck into 56 cards. Traverse increases your Tarmogoyf count to 8 (or any bullet count to 5). Traverse, when used for lands, thins out your deck at the cost of tempo, and when your curve tops out at a singleton 4-drop, you can get away with a greedy mana base of 19-ish lands. This is the primary draw to the deck - eliminating bad topdecks. It is also largely the reason why Shadow decks are/were considered the best midrange decks, cause they could effectively execute the midrange gameplan off as little as 3 mana sources, while constantly topdecking into hyper-efficient 1-2cmc threats/answers. It's the true midrange dream.
Abzan Traverse gives up the power of Death's Shadow in exchange for more life and Lingering Souls. It's just as lean as the Shadow decks, but with an added layer of resilience. What most people here disagree with is the post-board opportunity cost. All of a sudden, Nihil Spellbomb and Rest In Peace are great versus 12 threats in your deck as opposed to the usual 7 (Goyfs & Flayers). The irony is that having bullets post-board may be hindered by the fact that you can't Traverse for it through graveyard hate.
All this said, I still think Abzan Traverse is really good. It feels good to play because it's much more lean when you shave 4 lands and run with 4 Baubles as cantrips. Because this archetype thrives on putting both you and your opponent into topdeck mode, being able to increase threats and decrease dead cards is a huge advantage.
My question is mainly how does this deck function against mana denial? A single GQ can knock you completely out of Blue mana, and afaik there isn't any real way to defend against it. Eldrazi, Tron, Bears, Junk etc. all play GQ, and this list hinges pretty heavily on counterspells.
Does anyone have input on how to SB with this deck?
This list runs 3 MD Stubborn Denials, meaning it's metagamed vs uninteractive decks. Spicklemore probably expected a lot of Storm, Ad Nauseam, and Scapeshift. Against all of the decks you've mentioned (besides Tron Tron), it's safe to assume you can board out the Stubs in favor of cards that will aid that particular matchup, therefore lowering your reliance on U, and your vulnerability to GQ. That said, you've also listed some pretty difficult matchups, and GQ is at a premium when it comes to keeping this deck down.
I've been running the list (trend started by Fallleaf with his 8-0 a few weeks back). Seems strong, I like how threat-dense it is. Tracker has been on and off for me, but mostly on. 2 might be too many for the maindeck, but they shine in the grind matches. Everything else is pretty stock. I don't really want to play Bob right now cause of Burn and Valakut, and Flayer has proven his value over time.
Garruk is an interesting add. His tickup allows you to play him and then protect him with a flashbacked Lingering Souls, leading into a 16 damage aerial swing the following turn, barring disruption. Cranking out tokens has always been decent, but not entirely sure about his overall value within this shell.
So, I played this last night based off of Willy Edel's recent article.
Some pros and cons based off of only 4 rounds.
-Delirium is way easy to turn on.
-Having "more" tarmogoyfs through traverse is great.
-Small toolbox from the sideboard is amazing.
-Sometimes bauble is awkward and traverse is too slow.
-Land light hands are very real and sometimes you might not get there and get stuck on lands and stumble and it can hurt a lot.
I'm gonna keep messing with this, I think there's something here for sure.
Not that I find anything particularly wrong with the current state of Abzan, but I do want to test this version also. Just fishing hands, it feels more lean and dense than traditional Abzan (due to -3 lands / Heirarchs). It does make us somewhat more reliant on the GY, but we're already doing that so why not push it even further?
Willy's reasonings in the article are decent, and if you check MTGO, there have been several 5-0's with variants of this list already. The few things I am not sold on are Shriekmaw in the main (maybe it's just my expected metagame - I don't think he will be that good there) and wanting a Pulse MB (which you have already done).
I am particularly impressed by the 1 MB Bojuka Bog, which would be GREAT right now, as well as the flexibility of using a low-to-the-ground toolbox that can be customized to beat virtually any metagame.
Interesting choice of Hero's Downfall in the first list. Resolved walkers are generally annoying, but is it necessary given all of the flyers and Creeping Tar Pit? Think Twice is also an interesting mana concession for the sake of flexibility. Also note 4(!) Brutalities main.
The second list looks more standard, but ditches Visions.
Both are running Leyline of the Void, which I think is absolutely the correct choice right now, given the strength of GY-based decks (looking at DSJ and Dredge, or even any Snapcaster Deck).
I agree with this, but I also think that none of these articles are aiming to be Faeries primers. They're all simply stating two things: the meta has shifted to become more welcoming for Faeries and that the printing of Fatal Push helps the deck where it was originally hurting the most. Dickmann in particular repeatedly states in his article that he is still testing things, oftentimes overloading in a certain card slot to determine how useful X card is in various scenarios. Then there's players like me, completely wary of playing Faeries, but still seeking the commentary of said 52 minds on recent lists that have popped up. I don't think they're telling everyone to play those lists as much as they are also asking for players to explore an archetype that hasn't made a Modern splash for a bit.
@Cody_X
Playing devil's advocate here. Dickmann is pushing the Thought Scour agenda because he is dissatisfied with Serum Visions and Ancestral Visions (both of which have just as many fans as naysayers). What Thought Scour brings to the table are the exact same things it brings to Grixis Control/Delver lists: an instant speed cantrip that also fuels Tiago/Delve (minus a few synergies). Looking back at lists through the years, there are lists that run Scour as a two-of, so this kind of strategy isn't unheard of. Would trying to go heavier on this front not make any sense for Faeries?
Personally I don't think tasigur alone is enough of a payoff to be milling ourselves, but running tasigur does make it easier to consider thought scour as a 1-mana cantrip. I'd be more inclined to start with the list here http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/faeries/, though I would run surgical extraction over ravenous trap in any case.
Keep in mind that Thought Scour intrinsically makes Tiago better and is also instant speed. I've been reading up on a lot of Faeries and it seems that people are somewhat dissatisfied with Tiago's selection, Serum Visions being a mediocre card, and Ancestral Visions being too slow. Borrowing the Scour engine from what resembles Grixis Control sounds like an interesting and more aggressive way to take the deck.
Also note, both PV and Dickmann omit discard from the main. This is different from the usual recommendation. Why is this?
Thanks for the feedback. I like Rakdos charm as a hedge vs Hollow One. The deck can have polarizing draws where you side in Grudge and they beat you up with a bunch of recursive threats and where you side in GY hate and they beat you with Hollows and Adepts. Thankfully, Rakdos Charm can easily flex between the two modes. More than an artifact hate card, Rakdos Charm for me is an instant speed "next level" my GY combo player opponent's yard. I actually do anticipate a decent amount of GY decks, and while Scooze is great against them, it is often times too slow. I've chosen to overload a bit in this department cause I want a strong matchup against Storm, Dredge, and KCI. It's also noteworthy that Spellbomb and Cage are highly anticipated board cards, meaning Nature's Claim and Abrade make it easy to break the game wide open again. Despite this, I choose to include them for their inherent advantages (low cmc, specifically), with 1 Rakdos Charm as a spicy hedge. In the end, you may be correct, but I've had good experiences with it.
Regarding Grudge, I agree that it shines in the specific matchups you've stated, but it really ends there. There are no wider applications for the card. It's great vs Affinity / Lantern, and moderate vs KCI / Tron. It might be possible that playing Deglamer / Unravel the AEther is a decent solution that helps vs Bogles, Wurmcoil Engine, and Buried Ruin. The 2-for-1 that Grudge provides can't be understated though. I just can't help but wonder why a lot of Jund "pros" have opted out of the card entirely. I assume it's because it is truly a very "narrow" card in this metagame.
@FlyingDelver
You're right that discard is weak versus the topdecking big mana decks. In regards to Duress/Thoughtseize, I was thinking the goal was to try and make tempo positive plays early on in order to try and turn the corner as early as possible. While typing this response up and looking at what dannyg had to say, I'm almost beginning to talk myself into just punting this matchup all together. Seems a bit futile. I should probably just try to shore up my 50% matchups instead of worrying about adding 5% to a 30/70 big mana matchup.
Either way, thanks to both of you for your thoughts <3
I've been playing all sorts of different builds and have finally settled on 74/75. Previously, I took Joel Larsson's list (modified board) to a comp league 5-0 and Jadine's list (modified board) to a top 8 of a 50-player tournament this past weekend. I liked how dense Joel's list was, but I didn't care for the manabase. I think Bob is better as a 3-of right now, as maintaining a healthy life total is critical at the moment. I'm a big fan of Joslyn/Jadine/Victor Wood style lists with 25 lands and (now) 5 manlands. My losses where I felt a bit helpless were to (unsurprisingly) big mana. I have one slot in my SB that I want to dedicate towards these matchups. Right now I am considering:
Duress
Is the card I am most likely putting in my list. It has decent spread as being an anti-control and anti-combo card. I have an issue with Fulminator being much worse on the draw, and I think I would rather play an extra discard spell to give my opponents' speed bumps rather than trying to win with 4 Stone Rains out of the board.
Thoughtseize
Same as the above, but has applications in taking PrimeTime/Wurmcoil/Baneslayer. The only drawback is not being able to bring it in against Burn.
Pithing Needle
A card that I saw Jadine running recently. Seems pretty good right now. Just off the top of my head, prime targets include: all planeswalkers (Karn/Ugin/Teferi/Jace/Elspeth), Azcanta, Colonnade, Oblivion Stone, Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Cranial Plating, Knight of the Reliquary, Archdruid, Ezuri, Ironworks...the list goes on. I do feel like this card might be too soft overall, but it has applications in a wider range of matchups. Opinions and anecdotes on this one are greatly appreciated.
Fulminator Mage
An argument could be made for running the 4th. It's good a wide spread of decks, but I'm not entirely sure that I want to be on 4. Again, it doesn't solve the issue of being worse against Tron on the draw, and it can be somewhat slow.
For reference, here is my list:
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Bloodbraid Elf
//Walkers
4 Liliana of the Veil
//Spells
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Fatal Push
1 Terminate
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Kolaghan's Command
3 Raging Ravine
2 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Swamp
1 Forest
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Collective Brutality
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Duress
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
Any other feedback on the board would be nice. I might be a little light on anti-Affinity cards, so Grudge might take that spot, but I've been feeling "okay" in that department so I'd rather focus on other matchups.
I logged into just to /truth this. Haha
As for productive conversation, anyone been playing Jadine's build? There's a lot of subtle sense in her card choices that become more apparent the more I play different variations of "stock" Jund. For example, 2 Forests and 2 Wooded Foothills. These are largely enablers for Scooze, especially in tight scenarios where you either A) don't want to give up life by shocking yourself via Bloodstained Mire and/or B) have already fetched out the singleton Forest in some matchups. These somewhat conservative mana base choices can have serious implications towards your life total, especially against Burn etc. The three Bobs may seem perplexing, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Drawing multiples against aggro or combo is poor, drawing multiples against control is good, however, Jund inflicts so much damage to itself that he can actually become a huge liability vs the control decks of today (Jeskai/Mardu). I can't drop Scooze below 3 main. It has just swung way too many games back into my favor to ever be cut, especially in this climate. 25 lands or 24, the variance is really negligible but I still follow suit and play 25 mostly because of how heavy the sideboard is. Sometimes you bring in 4-5 3+ drops in a matchup. It's important to keep the land count healthy, especially in the face of mulligans. Regardless of what other people think of her list, I am happy piloting it and will continue to do so.
What I have come to ask are good board options against the control decks I mentioned. I've been eyeballing Hazoret as a great topend card that has a lot of versatility. It can 1-shot Teferi, grind past Ensnaring Bridge, stonewall Hollow Ones, and basically force Jeskai to have a Path/Purge or just die. Quickly too. I've been rather unimpressed by Thrun lately. Maybe I've just been drawing him when I'm already too far behind for it to matter. How are you guys preparing your sideboards for the grindfest? Are we bringing in Nihil Spellbombs to counter Search for Azcanta / Snap value? Is anyone playing Golgari Charm as an additional out to Mardu tokens? Are there any cards that you would love to bring in vs both? Are Finks worth the slots vs control?
Sorry for the brain vomit.
Would it be out of the question to perhaps shave some Endbringers for Hangarback Walkers main, given the state of the meta? If there's a ton of Humans / Go-Wide / Affinity / Hollow One, it seems like a possible conclusion for furthering the strength of Karn's -2. Perhaps I am totally wrong, and I'll gladly hear your guys' opinions.
PS: I will be attending GP Vegas in a month and am trying to lock down a deck. Right now I'm between BGx variants and Eldrazi variants. Any opinions on this matter would be great!
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/802670#paper (Chris Andersen - SCG Cincinnati Open - Top 32) same list
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/802665#paper (Clay Spicklemire - SCG Cincinnati Open - Top 32) same list
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/796800#paper (Magnus Lantto - MTGO Daily - 5-0)
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/784425#paper (Ninjutsu42 - MTGO Daily - 5-0)
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/802215#paper (Sesquialtera - MTGO Challence - 6-1)
A few things to note here: Magnus, Nijutsu42, Clay, and Chris all ran 5C shadow. Nijustsu ran Clay's list from two opens ago with one significant change: Breeding Pool over Stomping Ground. After playing testing this deck some, I can 100% agree with this change. Having access to an additional source of U helps your Stub lines and as well as accounts for the influx of blue cards that come in post board. This makes casting red spells a little more difficult, but all lists have been shaving down on them. Regardless, all 5C lists moving forward have adopted this change.
Lantto still has a different idea about what should be run in the main. The differences between his and Spicklemire's list are more Lilianas / removal in the SCG versions and Temur Battle Rage for Magnus. Sideboard for the former includes an extra Disdainful Stroke as well as more Traverse targets (Izzet Staticaster, Ghor-clan Rampager, Ranger of Eos), and Nihil Spellbombs / Collective Brutality / Kozileks Return for the latter. After watching Dylan Hovey play on stream, he too also agrees that you want Temur Battle Rage to cheese against cheese. With the influx of Storm, Affinity, Coco, and other go-wide decks (see Humans), this has become more mandatory than ever.
In this past weekend's Modern Challenge, Sesquialtera top 8'd with BGw Shadow. He eschews any colored cards main and ups the number of Abrupt Decays and adds more Grim Flayers for threats. His/her sideboard is the full Abzan suite, with Intrepid Hero as a sweet tech card against other large creature decks (Shadow, Tron). While I don't know if this version is what I would play, this isn't the first time I've seen 4C pop up on the Daily 5-0.
5C Shadow looks to be my weapon of choice. It's essentially Jund Shadow with Stubs to better interact with problem cards and removal. The one folly of the deck is that fetch sequencing in an 18-land deck can often leave you stranded without the fourth color.
There's also some argument to be made for Jund Shadow. Dennis Zens' list from MKM Hamburg a month ago shows that running Bolt helps against the X/3s of the format (see Baral, Chief of Compliance) and Kolaghan's Command is great against Affinity, Tron, and to help grind.
Tons of options amongst these lists, which goes to show that Traverse Shadow is very much still a strong choice in this diverse metagame.
Thoughts?
I think Blood Moon is a good place to be in right now. I don't know about playing it mainboard, but there have been several successful lists recently running it in the side. I, personally, will be trying this out relatively soon. Will post results here.
Abzan Traverse gives up the power of Death's Shadow in exchange for more life and Lingering Souls. It's just as lean as the Shadow decks, but with an added layer of resilience. What most people here disagree with is the post-board opportunity cost. All of a sudden, Nihil Spellbomb and Rest In Peace are great versus 12 threats in your deck as opposed to the usual 7 (Goyfs & Flayers). The irony is that having bullets post-board may be hindered by the fact that you can't Traverse for it through graveyard hate.
All this said, I still think Abzan Traverse is really good. It feels good to play because it's much more lean when you shave 4 lands and run with 4 Baubles as cantrips. Because this archetype thrives on putting both you and your opponent into topdeck mode, being able to increase threats and decrease dead cards is a huge advantage.
This list runs 3 MD Stubborn Denials, meaning it's metagamed vs uninteractive decks. Spicklemore probably expected a lot of Storm, Ad Nauseam, and Scapeshift. Against all of the decks you've mentioned (besides Tron Tron), it's safe to assume you can board out the Stubs in favor of cards that will aid that particular matchup, therefore lowering your reliance on U, and your vulnerability to GQ. That said, you've also listed some pretty difficult matchups, and GQ is at a premium when it comes to keeping this deck down.
Garruk is an interesting add. His tickup allows you to play him and then protect him with a flashbacked Lingering Souls, leading into a 16 damage aerial swing the following turn, barring disruption. Cranking out tokens has always been decent, but not entirely sure about his overall value within this shell.
Not that I find anything particularly wrong with the current state of Abzan, but I do want to test this version also. Just fishing hands, it feels more lean and dense than traditional Abzan (due to -3 lands / Heirarchs). It does make us somewhat more reliant on the GY, but we're already doing that so why not push it even further?
Willy's reasonings in the article are decent, and if you check MTGO, there have been several 5-0's with variants of this list already. The few things I am not sold on are Shriekmaw in the main (maybe it's just my expected metagame - I don't think he will be that good there) and wanting a Pulse MB (which you have already done).
I am particularly impressed by the 1 MB Bojuka Bog, which would be GREAT right now, as well as the flexibility of using a low-to-the-ground toolbox that can be customized to beat virtually any metagame.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/610007#paper
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/610009#paper
Interesting choice of Hero's Downfall in the first list. Resolved walkers are generally annoying, but is it necessary given all of the flyers and Creeping Tar Pit? Think Twice is also an interesting mana concession for the sake of flexibility. Also note 4(!) Brutalities main.
The second list looks more standard, but ditches Visions.
Both are running Leyline of the Void, which I think is absolutely the correct choice right now, given the strength of GY-based decks (looking at DSJ and Dredge, or even any Snapcaster Deck).
I agree with this, but I also think that none of these articles are aiming to be Faeries primers. They're all simply stating two things: the meta has shifted to become more welcoming for Faeries and that the printing of Fatal Push helps the deck where it was originally hurting the most. Dickmann in particular repeatedly states in his article that he is still testing things, oftentimes overloading in a certain card slot to determine how useful X card is in various scenarios. Then there's players like me, completely wary of playing Faeries, but still seeking the commentary of said 52 minds on recent lists that have popped up. I don't think they're telling everyone to play those lists as much as they are also asking for players to explore an archetype that hasn't made a Modern splash for a bit.
@Cody_X
Playing devil's advocate here. Dickmann is pushing the Thought Scour agenda because he is dissatisfied with Serum Visions and Ancestral Visions (both of which have just as many fans as naysayers). What Thought Scour brings to the table are the exact same things it brings to Grixis Control/Delver lists: an instant speed cantrip that also fuels Tiago/Delve (minus a few synergies). Looking back at lists through the years, there are lists that run Scour as a two-of, so this kind of strategy isn't unheard of. Would trying to go heavier on this front not make any sense for Faeries?
Keep in mind that Thought Scour intrinsically makes Tiago better and is also instant speed. I've been reading up on a lot of Faeries and it seems that people are somewhat dissatisfied with Tiago's selection, Serum Visions being a mediocre card, and Ancestral Visions being too slow. Borrowing the Scour engine from what resembles Grixis Control sounds like an interesting and more aggressive way to take the deck.
Also note, both PV and Dickmann omit discard from the main. This is different from the usual recommendation. Why is this?