It's a sweet one for sure. I'm in for chaining Ghost Quarter against Tron. It does seem to fall short against the other unfair stuff that's all too common in Modern, but maybe a well constructed sideboard can cover that. Being a planeswalker is also nice for Goyf since Zoo usually doesn't run any.
Rabblemaster, Thalias, Shalai, and no KotR are all very interesting to me. I've been debating which 2 drops to play besides Goyf since Voice has kinda sucked for me, so I'll try Thalia one of these days. Tbh I'm hoping for a decent aggressive green 2-drop from MH. I do love the sideboard though, no nonsense just solid hate.
Most traditional midrange Zoo builds lean heavily on Tarmogoyf. If he's not an option then I would consider a more aggressive Reckless Bushwhacker build like this:
If you want to transition to that from Boros Burn, pick up some green fetches and shocks, Atarka's Command, and Vexing Devil. The rest of the deck overlaps with the Burn cards you probably already have or is very cheap. I also would replace the 1-of Copperline Gorge with something else since it doesn't play nicely with Nacatl.
That's an interesting take on the card I hadn't considered; I was thinking of how it might fit into current Chord decks.
This makes me think of the old GSZ zoo decks from...2011? Comparing the two, finding any color creature is a huge boon but not finding Dryad Arbor on 1 is a notable tradeoff. Looking forward to your initial take.
Funny, I've noticed the deck popping up too and was also confused how it managed to 5-0. There's an article on tcgplayer that touches on it today; the author calls it RG Hatebears.
I like the Copters, and the synergy between Vial and Eidolon is cute but Vial seems clunky to me otherwise. The deck runs relatively few creatures (26). I also question 3x Raging Ravine in a low-curve deck.
Been playing Zoo for about 6 months and am gearing up for a team tourney. I've been playing mostly traditional Big Zoo (1st list) but have been seeing more and more lists popping up running Rallier + Seal, with no Bolts (2nd list). I'm considering switching to a mix of the two strategies, with some interesting maindeck inclusions: Thalia HC, Magus, Rhonas (3rd list). Any feedback? (All included lists are netdecked but are very close to what I've been running)
I don't love smiter, but I play him because of 1) the fact that his abilities are decent in a DS meta and 2) lack of alternatives. There's a sharp dropoff among 3-drops after KotR (unless you're running Geist). I did have a guy choose Smiter with an IoK last week because he wasn't really thinking it through. It was pretty funny, though not something to count on when choosing a 3-drop
so I finally got around to buying Goyfs, and switched over to Zoo from Knightfall/Kiki Chord. I took this list to a 4-round event. Mainboard was the same, sideboard was -1 Kataki -1 Worship -1 Eidolon +1 Bonfire +1 Domri Rade +1 Ancient Grudge
Round 1: 2-0 vs Mono Black
Game 1, I just beat him down with a pair of Goyfs
Game 2 was a grind, but he made the mistake of Inquisitioning my Smiter, who went directly to play. Tracker was also great and drew plenty of cards
Round 2: 2-1 vs Counters Company
Game 1 I had a single Bolt for interaction, and he was able to replace the Vizier I killed and combo'd me before I could beat him down
Game 2 I Fiery Justice'd 3 creatures, then followed up with two CoCos and killed him quickly
Game 3 I played a Blood Moon when he only had 2 shocks in play. He never played another spell and I killed him with a Nacatl
Round 3: 1-2 vs RUG Shackles Control (I think?)
Game 1 I was stuck on 1 land + Hierarch for a while, but eventually I found a land plus a Smiter and Nacatl and killed him while he didn't really do much
Game 2 I got Shackles'd (had not seen it game 1 so I took out my Pridemages). It was a very close game but eventually Shackles got there
Game 3 was very grindy and he got down to 2, but after drawing a few too many lands in the late game he closed it out. Glen Elendra Archmage was pretty good against me, countering a Bolt and a Domri Rade
Round 4: 2-1 vs Affinity
Game 1 I got rekt by Plating on Etched Champion. I expected to lose game 1 to Affinity, and this one wasn't even close
Game 2 he dropped 4 0-cmc creatures turn 1, then I played EE and killed them all. A Bonfire a few turns later prompted a concession
Game 3 was super close and very grindy. I stuck some beaters while he went nuts with plating, but I was able to kill most of his creatures. A final hit from Plating on a Champion put me to 1 but he died on the backswing. This was the most interesting game, because I had the choice on turn 2 to Bonfire for 1, killing his lone Vault Skirge before he could get in a hit with the Plating in play. I opted to wait and get a juicier Bonfire the next turn. He played another Skirge, hit me for 7, then I killed them both with Bonfire. I'm not convinced waiting was right because it came down to a race in the end and a 14-point life swing is huge. However, I also ran out of removal towards the end of the game and never had an answer for the Plating itself, so maybe killing the second Skirge was worth it. I'd like to get some thoughts on that
Overall the deck felt really good. It's nice to play a deck with Bolts and Goyfs in it. The maindeck was solid (though Elspeth only showed up once and got countered), and the sideboard cards were pretty brutal in the matchups I played. I would consider cutting the Mindcensors from the board, maybe for an extra Blood Moon and something else. I do think having more resilient threats either in the main or the board would help, maybe additional Trackers or something else.
Took a Nahiri list splashing black (very similar to this from Mr. Hoogland) to a 3-round event today. Went 2-1 despite my mess of a sideboard.
2-0 vs UB Mill
OP got stuck on 2-3 lands both games, though Archive Trap did some work. Nahiri for Inferno Titan closed out G1, then Nahiri for Kiki into Resto won G2. Nahiri was of course great, since OP's deck couldn't pressure her at all.
1-2 vs Grixis Shadow/Delver
Lost G1 to absurdly large creatures for 1 mana; didn't have the removal to keep up or a fast combo to steal the game. Ooze carried G2. Drew a lot of lands G3 and ran out of gas.
2-0 vs 4C Gifts
Got a few Voices + tokens G1, and the tokens were large enough to survive OP's Gifts into Unburial Rites for Elesh Norn. Chord for Witness rebuying Path disposed of the Elesh Norn and the tokens closed it out easily. G2 was a grind, but Witness beatdown did a lot of work, then Inferno Titan finished the job. The matchup seems pretty favorable, and I won both games with a hand still full of gas.
The main deck seemed pretty well set configured, though the sideboard was bad (entirely my fault for forgetting to build it ahead of time). Fiery Justice seems insane right now, with Death's Shadow and Devoted Druid/Vizier decks being everywhere. I've seen a lot of people moving away from Nahiri, which is reasonable though I still like her a lot. I'll continue to test her.
I've seen a couple of lists running Botanical Sanctum. Why not run Razorverge Thicket so you can get either the dork of path turn 1?
I've been trying it after I tried 1 basic Island in the main (mostly to make casting Clique easier). I switched to Botanical Sanctum after realizing that Island made Voice harder to cast. Not saying it's 100% correct but that's my rationale.
Why is that deck running grim flayer? It only has 5 enchantments to enable delerium.
I have no clue. Like I said, it's a spicy one. It's worth noting that the pilot, Shawn Becker, did well with that list then reverted to a more standard Knightfall list (and still did well).
There have been several lists in the past using Chord as a 1-2 of (such as this or the spiciest list I've ever seen). I'm not a huge fan because GGG can be challenging with our awkward manabase (though convoke makes it easier), but primarily because I've found this to be a grindy midrange deck first, and a combo deck second. As powerful and versatile as it is, Chord is an overcosted creature where Company provides card and mana advantage.
I've been thinking of playing Geist of Saint Traft again, like I used to a year ago. Geist + exalted (or Elspeth, of which I would run 1-2) is good at giving non-interective decks the business. He's also good if people are leaning on Fatal Push.
How did you sideboard against humans? I think that matchup is like playing against a worse eldrazi. I would have kept the combo, included more removal and worship. Seems to be one of this weird matchups (like against lifegain) where you might think that grinding is a good idea but its not, and you need to be aggressive.
I believe I went -2 Pridemage -3 Retreat -2..Selfless Spirit, I think? +2 Alliance +2 Courser +2 Worship (which managed to steal me a game) +1 Baloth. This matchup felt a lot more like Goblins, tbh. They had a super aggressive curve of Champion of the Parish, Thalia's Lieutenant, Soldier of the Pantheon, Voltaic Brawler, Mayor of Avabruck and I just got swarmed. My cards were more powerful than theirs but they were able to dump theirs out much faster.
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Raging Ravine
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Damping Sphere
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Knight of Autumn
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Stony Silence
2 Gaddock Teeg
Rabblemaster, Thalias, Shalai, and no KotR are all very interesting to me. I've been debating which 2 drops to play besides Goyf since Voice has kinda sucked for me, so I'll try Thalia one of these days. Tbh I'm hoping for a decent aggressive green 2-drop from MH. I do love the sideboard though, no nonsense just solid hate.
http://tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=29526&iddeck=246934
If you want to transition to that from Boros Burn, pick up some green fetches and shocks, Atarka's Command, and Vexing Devil. The rest of the deck overlaps with the Burn cards you probably already have or is very cheap. I also would replace the 1-of Copperline Gorge with something else since it doesn't play nicely with Nacatl.
This makes me think of the old GSZ zoo decks from...2011? Comparing the two, finding any color creature is a huge boon but not finding Dryad Arbor on 1 is a notable tradeoff. Looking forward to your initial take.
I like the Copters, and the synergy between Vial and Eidolon is cute but Vial seems clunky to me otherwise. The deck runs relatively few creatures (26). I also question 3x Raging Ravine in a low-curve deck.
Been playing Zoo for about 6 months and am gearing up for a team tourney. I've been playing mostly traditional Big Zoo (1st list) but have been seeing more and more lists popping up running Rallier + Seal, with no Bolts (2nd list). I'm considering switching to a mix of the two strategies, with some interesting maindeck inclusions: Thalia HC, Magus, Rhonas (3rd list). Any feedback? (All included lists are netdecked but are very close to what I've been running)
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Voice of Resurgence
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
1 Domri Rade
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Tireless Tracker
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Voice of Resurgence
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Renegade Rallier
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Path to Exile
3 Seal of Fire
1 Arid Mesa
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Temple Garden
2 Forest
2 Stomping Ground
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Voice of Resurgence
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Renegade Rallier
3 Tarmogoyf
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Wild Nacatl
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Seal of Fire
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Stomping Ground
2 Arid Mesa
2 Forest
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
Round 1: 2-0 vs Mono Black
Game 1, I just beat him down with a pair of Goyfs
Game 2 was a grind, but he made the mistake of Inquisitioning my Smiter, who went directly to play. Tracker was also great and drew plenty of cards
Round 2: 2-1 vs Counters Company
Game 1 I had a single Bolt for interaction, and he was able to replace the Vizier I killed and combo'd me before I could beat him down
Game 2 I Fiery Justice'd 3 creatures, then followed up with two CoCos and killed him quickly
Game 3 I played a Blood Moon when he only had 2 shocks in play. He never played another spell and I killed him with a Nacatl
Round 3: 1-2 vs RUG Shackles Control (I think?)
Game 1 I was stuck on 1 land + Hierarch for a while, but eventually I found a land plus a Smiter and Nacatl and killed him while he didn't really do much
Game 2 I got Shackles'd (had not seen it game 1 so I took out my Pridemages). It was a very close game but eventually Shackles got there
Game 3 was very grindy and he got down to 2, but after drawing a few too many lands in the late game he closed it out. Glen Elendra Archmage was pretty good against me, countering a Bolt and a Domri Rade
Round 4: 2-1 vs Affinity
Game 1 I got rekt by Plating on Etched Champion. I expected to lose game 1 to Affinity, and this one wasn't even close
Game 2 he dropped 4 0-cmc creatures turn 1, then I played EE and killed them all. A Bonfire a few turns later prompted a concession
Game 3 was super close and very grindy. I stuck some beaters while he went nuts with plating, but I was able to kill most of his creatures. A final hit from Plating on a Champion put me to 1 but he died on the backswing. This was the most interesting game, because I had the choice on turn 2 to Bonfire for 1, killing his lone Vault Skirge before he could get in a hit with the Plating in play. I opted to wait and get a juicier Bonfire the next turn. He played another Skirge, hit me for 7, then I killed them both with Bonfire. I'm not convinced waiting was right because it came down to a race in the end and a 14-point life swing is huge. However, I also ran out of removal towards the end of the game and never had an answer for the Plating itself, so maybe killing the second Skirge was worth it. I'd like to get some thoughts on that
Overall the deck felt really good. It's nice to play a deck with Bolts and Goyfs in it. The maindeck was solid (though Elspeth only showed up once and got countered), and the sideboard cards were pretty brutal in the matchups I played. I would consider cutting the Mindcensors from the board, maybe for an extra Blood Moon and something else. I do think having more resilient threats either in the main or the board would help, maybe additional Trackers or something else.
2-0 vs UB Mill
OP got stuck on 2-3 lands both games, though Archive Trap did some work. Nahiri for Inferno Titan closed out G1, then Nahiri for Kiki into Resto won G2. Nahiri was of course great, since OP's deck couldn't pressure her at all.
1-2 vs Grixis Shadow/Delver
Lost G1 to absurdly large creatures for 1 mana; didn't have the removal to keep up or a fast combo to steal the game. Ooze carried G2. Drew a lot of lands G3 and ran out of gas.
2-0 vs 4C Gifts
Got a few Voices + tokens G1, and the tokens were large enough to survive OP's Gifts into Unburial Rites for Elesh Norn. Chord for Witness rebuying Path disposed of the Elesh Norn and the tokens closed it out easily. G2 was a grind, but Witness beatdown did a lot of work, then Inferno Titan finished the job. The matchup seems pretty favorable, and I won both games with a hand still full of gas.
The main deck seemed pretty well set configured, though the sideboard was bad (entirely my fault for forgetting to build it ahead of time). Fiery Justice seems insane right now, with Death's Shadow and Devoted Druid/Vizier decks being everywhere. I've seen a lot of people moving away from Nahiri, which is reasonable though I still like her a lot. I'll continue to test her.
From the board, Anafenza, the Foremost might be worth a slot if Living End shows up a lot. She can't be Shriekmaw'd if you go for the T2 Evolution.
I've been trying it after I tried 1 basic Island in the main (mostly to make casting Clique easier). I switched to Botanical Sanctum after realizing that Island made Voice harder to cast. Not saying it's 100% correct but that's my rationale.
I have no clue. Like I said, it's a spicy one. It's worth noting that the pilot, Shawn Becker, did well with that list then reverted to a more standard Knightfall list (and still did well).
I believe I went -2 Pridemage -3 Retreat -2..Selfless Spirit, I think? +2 Alliance +2 Courser +2 Worship (which managed to steal me a game) +1 Baloth. This matchup felt a lot more like Goblins, tbh. They had a super aggressive curve of Champion of the Parish, Thalia's Lieutenant, Soldier of the Pantheon, Voltaic Brawler, Mayor of Avabruck and I just got swarmed. My cards were more powerful than theirs but they were able to dump theirs out much faster.