MTG Salvation

I've just been alerted on the Whirza thread that Emry, Lurker of the Loch + Jeskai Ascendancy + Mishra's Bauble/Welding Jar/Tormod's Crypt means infinite P/T for Emry, infinite spells, and infinite looting. Dump two Mox Opals in the process and that's infinite mana. Pyrite Spellbomb or Spine of Ish Sah is probably the win condition. Will this spawn its own Whirza variant?

Quote from the nobodys »

I have a feeling that 4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch will be what ends up being correct, and that maybe some number of Jeskai Ascendancy get included in lists because of its potential being an insta-win with Emry and a mishra's bauble. At least, that's certainly what I'll be trying out as soon as I can get the cards on MTGO.

Just a refresher, with Emry and a bauble in play or the graveyard, and an ascendancy on board, you can cast bauble over and over, make emry lethal and swing. Or you can loot enough to put 2 opals in the graveyard, get infinite mana, and cast something from your deck that can close out the game. The cost of a few ascendancies in lists seems pretty low.

Double infinite combos does seem delicious, but I suspect they'll grow their own Whirza variant a la the Whirzablade lists. Would those lists drop Goblin Engineer/SFM for Emry? Would they play Wishclaw Talisman as additional tutors?

I don't care that this set is lower-powered than quite a few others in recent memory; there are bound to be playable cards in it. So this is the place to make your own Top 10 lists for Throne of Eldraine! I'll kick things off with my Top 10 New to Modern, as usual:

1. Hushbringer: Dagnabbit, a sideboard card is the most likely to see play in Modern, IMO. Shutting off "dies" triggers as well as ETB triggers is pretty good, though.
2. Deafening Silence: A 1-mana near-Rule of Law is bound to shake up Modern sideboards.
3. Witch's Vengeance: Wiping out most Humans and Spirits is worth it in sideboards alone, and then there are more fringe tribes like Merfolk, Goblins, Elementals, and Faeries.
4. Drown in the Loch: A card that can be a counterspell or a spot removal spell is pretty darn versatile, especially at 2 mana. Modern loves exiling its opponents' entire graveyards, though, which is why this isn't ranked higher.
5. Once Upon a Time: Creature-based combo just got faster. Being 2 mana on its off days is quite good, too, as is digging for lands.
6. Beanstalk Giant: It's a ramp spell that doubles as a big threat later in the game. That should give it major brownie points.
7. Wishclaw Talisman: Whirza's seen a steep rise in Modern, and this conditional-in-practice tutor should give it a boost in fast match-ups. Whirza has the sac outlets to support it and the tutors to find it, at any rate...
8. Emry, Lurker of the Loch: She's similarly only here because of Whirza. She find your desired artifacts more poorly than Goblin Engineer does, but she might produce card advantage more easily, and she's often cheaper.
9. Fae of Wishes: An expensive but colour-friendly tutor, and jump through some hoops and you can tutor again with it. Might see play in decks capable of pumping out big mana.
10. Castle Locthwain: It's another draw engine on a land! The life payment price can be steep at times, but surely you can go Hellbent more easily in decks that want it...

Quote from Melkor »

Robin Hood is bad because he has to attack? He doesn't even have to connect to get you the card, just attack. how many red creatures don't have to connect to get value in Modern? I think Eidolon may be the only one. I hope everyone agrees with you and the other people not respecting this card so I can get it cheap, but I don't see any way this isn't the star of the set by the time it rotates from Standard

Young Pyromancer just needs you to hold priority and cast an instant or sorcery in order to get value. Seasoned Pyromancer doesn't even need that. Bedlam Reveler is expensive or a late-game play but is instant value.

But I've killed so many Goblin Rabblemasters before they had a chance to make any Goblin tokens and so many Kiki-Jikis before they could truly go infinite that I cannot treat Robber of the Rich like he's on par with Young Pyromancer.

I personally have my doubts about Robin Hood. He needs to attack to be any good unless he's blocking fliers that day.

Ah yes, the big dump of cards I'm thinking of testing that haven't been mentioned here:

Fae of Wishes: A (4-mana) wish tutor is powerful; the ability to tutor again is more powerful still. Might it make it in Mono-U Tron or UGrx Scapeshift? I know I'm having success with it so far in Paradoxical Urza: I've searched for initial combo pieces with it quite a few times so far, so it's better than a dedicated win con.

Mystic Sanctuary: It's a fetchable Island that can topdeck recur an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard in the mid-late game. It was deceptively good in last night's testing in UW Miracle Control, but needing 3 other Islands in order to topdeck recur kinda sucks.

Castle Garenbrig: OK, I guess I do have to agree with the guys who say it's a land that taps for 2 mana. Primeval Titan loves this land.

Dwarven Mine: A Mountain that can make a 1/1 is powerful, but it runs into much the same issues as Mystic Sanctuary. Nice supplement to Field of the Dead, though...

Hushbringer: I'm sure it will see sideboard play. Stifling "dies" triggers on top of ETB triggers is quite powerful.

Deafening Silence: It's this close to being a 1-drop Rule of Law. That's gotta see sideboard play.

Glass Casket: An intriguing way to Whir of Invention for removal that ignores Collector Ouphe and friends.

Charming Prince: Interesting option for life gain sideboard dude...or blinker. Might Bant Soulherder be interested along with Emeria decks?

Witching Well: Some Whirza guys are interested in this and its ability to increase deck consistency.

Hypnotic Sprite: Yet another way to sneak counterspells into a Collected Company deck. Too bad it can't counter anything when cheated in.

Merchant of the Vale: A 1-mana instant discard outlet is probably the reason you're playing this guy.

The Magic Mirror: Great card draw, but how often is this better than Jace TMS?

Merfolk Secretkeeper: Vengevine No Hogaak players are interested in this card as a 2-mana self-mill 4 dude.

Fervent Champion: His most broken interaction seems to be with Sunforger. Luckily, we have ways to tutor for both in a midrange shell!

Fires of Invention: Is there a way to break this card? At the very least, this might see play as the inevitability 1-of in Living End: it lets them cast Living End from their hand and play 2 creatures in a single turn instead of 1.

Irencrag Feat: Might there be a Big Red deck that wants this card?

Irencrag Pyromancer: A powerful payoff for cantrip-happy decks. Shame UR Phoenix pretty much died...

Redcap Melee: Instant-speed Flame Slash that can also hit planeswalkers is groovy, but how costly is sacrificing a land in order to do so?

Thrill of Possibility: It's instant-speed Tormenting Voice.

Gilded Goose: I'm not that confident it will see play, but it's an intriguing combination of mana dork and life gain.

Kenrith's Transformation: How desperate are mono-green or UG decks for creature quality changing that cantrips? It might be a maindeckable way for Hardened Scales to deal with Collector Ouphe, but losing abilities when this is on their own dudes bites, even though it grants lots of them +3/+3.

Rosethorn Halberd: Will the lack of Trample prevent this from playing a Rancor-like role?

Chulane, Teller of Tales: There's gotta be a way to break this guy, right?

Dance of the Manse: Somebody is going to want to play artifact/enchantment reanimation.

Doom Foretold: Reminds others of The Abyss, but how powerful will it be?

Sorcerer's Broom: Hilarious way to gain a swarm of creatures in Spirits decks? Or does it even have to be a Spirits deck as long as you have enough fetchlands?

Although some of the post-Looting Dredge results use Insolent Neonate instead of blue cards, I've generally found that Neonate is worse than Shriekhorn (which is worse than Tome Scour) to the point of being borderline unplayable as long as Golgari Grave-Troll is banned and we never get a second Dredge 5 card. I'm therefore not a fan of the Haggle on Merchant of the Vale--at least Neonate can block.

I'd still rather play Cathartic Reunion over any Discard 1 Draw 2 because, when I have hands with CR as my only enabler, I need to play catch-up fast on Turn 2, and CR often provides because of its additional card draw (as long as I can cast it on Turn 2).

Quote from Arkaedrian »

Seems there's a major disconnect between this Forum and MTG Goldfish. Everyone here seems to be on Devoted Stoneblade lately, whereas on MTGgoldfish with lists putting up real results, it seems people aren't even touching Stoneforge mystic. What's up with that?

If we go by MTGgoldfish numbers, the old school version of this deck with Coco and Chord is about tied with the newer all-in version with Evolution and Lunge.

The Devoted Stoneblade lists I've seen are basically a third version, with only Eladamri's Call and Finale of Devastation being mandatory. They performed pretty well last weekend in StarCityGames results, so I might argue that they're the ones with the best real results lately.

That says "four", not "five" on Venture Deeper, right? Because if that says "five"...I need more Tome Scours for my Modern Dredge deck.

What do you think of the Manamorphose plan in Ferventblade lists? This lets you draw 4 cards and chain them into a 5th spell the turn you equip Fervent Champion with Sunforger and pay RW. I'm mainly trying to extract as much value from cheap Sunforger unequips as possible because man, does Fervent Champion die to Wrenn and Six. Manamorphose can get clunky when naturally drawn, though. (It has been maindecked in Mardu Pyro builds, though.)

Also, in Jeskai builds, wouldn't Dovin's Veto be hilarious?

Quote from Courier7 »

Well, that's a thing. It also increases the utility of Reave Soul. Did Kenrith choose this or was it done to him? I highly doubt he chose it, unless he read up on the mystical qualities of the Elk as described in First Nations lore.

Let's put it this way: Oko, Thief of Crowns turns people into Elks.

Quote from SmauG »

Reach and CA in modern Humans possibly?

Cards that make both sides draw cards have traditionally been bad or at least unplayable in higher formats. This reminds me of Duskmantle Seer in a bad way.

Hoping the other members of the rare land cycle are as good as Castle Locthwain: that land ETB tapped unless you control a Swamp, produces 1 black mana only, but lets you draw a card and then lose life equal to the number of cards in your hand for only 1BB, t! Decks like BGx Midrange, Death's Shadow decks, and 8-Rack look like they can support it...

EDIT: OK, Castle Ardenvale at least looks like it's at Castle Locthwain level. ETB tapped unless you have a Plains, produces 1 white mana only, and makes a 1/1 white Human creature token for 2WW, t! It looks like a less demanding version of Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree, and I think anything from UWx Control to Death and Taxes may want this card.

Any way to break Escape to the Wilds? It's almost Draw 5 for 5 (sorcery-speed) mana as long as you can cast all the spells and drop all the lands before the end of your next turn...and you get an additional land drop this turn. Oh, it costs 3RG.

So this Grail is also the Black Cauldron. ...To be fair, the Welsh King Arthur also went after a magic cauldron.

Card-wise, this seems reminiscent of Gate to the Afterlife into God-Pharaoh's Gift to me.

Will Goblins decks try going for an infinite combo with Grumgully, the Generous, an infinite sac outlet goblin, and a Persist goblin, or will they stick to the good old good old? Now Goblin Matron can tutor for all 3 pieces of the combo!

How good does Stonecoil Serpent look in Hardened Scales decks? Scalable size, being an artifact creature, getting quite a few +1/+1 counters on it as it ETB is quite fun, and reach, trample, and protection from multicolored are quite fun.

Might Murderous Rider see play as a 3-mana unconditional creature/planeswalker removal spell that creature tutors can find?

Maybe this pushes out Kari Zev's Expertise in non-blue Cascade Living End decks as the inevitability 1-of? It not only lets you cast Living End immediately from hand, it also turbo-charges your Plan B by letting you cast 2 creatures per turn instead of 1 (because Living End's creatures are that expensive in practice).