I really like this deck i really don't know why it itsn't tier nowadays. here it's the list i think might work. still i have my doubts about 4 kalastria highborn+ 4 blood artist. i love the effect it seems to make, but is so theoretical. have anyone tested it yet??
I know what you are probably thinking. Other than the sideboard, this is pretty much exactly the same as the Vampire deck from Shards/Zendikar Standard. Seeing as how I that deck and the cards in it are so much better than the Vampires in Innistrad, I figured I would base the deck on that. I want to have some improvements made on this deck to make it modern playable. I'm pretty sure the sideboard needs work too. Any help is appreciated.
Captivating vampire really only works if you get a lot of vampires out quickly, you need more 1 drops, how bout Pulse Tracker, also Vampire Hexmage owns planeswalkers, i don't know why decks don't run this guy.
Only 1 sign in blood? You really don't have any draw factor, theres no point in running 1 either add 3 or remove it. I would say 4 Feast of Blood, 4 Sign in Blood, and 4 IOK. Its really the only thing you have for disruption in the deck. There is a B/R Vampire thread as well, located here for any further help with vamps.
Also lose the Piranha marsh add four marsh flats (for bloodghast). Loose the Leechridden swamp and add 2 Bojuka Bog (gy hate) and maybe another tectonic Edge and a Swamp? You don't really need those lands, not very good for a fast format like modern.
Also consider Blood Artist with the constant addition of sacing and losing Bloodghast, he would do wonders for the deck
Also Urge to Feed is huge most of the time it hits, keep that in mind if you are also thinking about your vamp deck
Stromkirk Noble - I've always liked this guy in aggro builds, but I am considering swapping him out for Gatekeeper of Malakir.
Vexing Devil - A devil in a vampire build?! Insanity. With the amount of burn I'm running, plus the crazy clock the rest of my creature base puts on them, these guys do some serious work. T1/2/3 they're better lightning bolts, swinging for 4, or drawing removal and keeping my Highborn's alive. After that, they're usually pretty efficient beaters/blockers.
Bloodthrone Vampire - I just like her a lot more as a sac outlet than Seer. She can easily enable turn 2 or 3 wins, and has crazy synergy with Highborn. Considering all the other good one drops we have, running Seer over her just seems stupid to me.
Falkenrath Aristocrat - My MB finisher, if the game drags past turn four or five, she can come down and do some serious work. The biggest weakness I've found to her is decks running Lingering Spirits. In that case, I'll usually swap in Nocturnus.
My sideboard choices are more or less placeholders at this point, I'm completely new to Modern and have no idea what I'll be facing, on Cockatrice and in my local meta, so any advice is appreciated.
A while back I'd constructed a deck with the main concept of the new efficient vamps. The idea was that each card would serve as multiple purposes. For example, Gatekeeper could be an Edict plus could hold equipment, Hexmage took out Planeswalkers and other counter-reliant permanents, and Nighthawk served for tempo purposes.
One of the cards that I'd come across that seemed to be absolutely perfect for the deck was Demonspine Whip. It made the lowly Gatekeeper a force to be reckoned with, made the Hexmage able to block just about any land creature and live (thanks to first strike), and made Nighthawk an absolute beast. I would highly suggest giving it a try. It wasn't necessarily a Modern-legal deck (due to the Volrath's Stronghold), but it could be worth investigating. I have it in my signature, as Rakdos.
So, it is my birthday for GP Toronto, and instead of playing Jund, I want to play a vampire list =)
How are your lists dealing with lingering souls?
It is getting play in Jund as well as quite a few other places. Seems to be pretty problematic for Nocturnus and Aristocrat.
Are you answering Lingering Souls or just hoping you will push through it/they won't draw it, lol?
Lingering Souls has actually been one of the few cards giving me trouble. Like you said, it hits Aristocrat really hard. I'm thinking about throwing some Flames of the Firebrand in the side, or something similar if anyone knows a better card for the same effect.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH WBRKaalia of the VastRBW BChainer, Dementia MasterB Legacy 0Manaless Dredge0 RGoblinsR Standard RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Do you keep in bloodghast when you board in grafdigger's?
I was planning on running Rakdos Charm for grave hate for this reason but not in the jund matchup
Lingering Souls has actually been one of the few cards giving me trouble. Like you said, it hits Aristocrat really hard. I'm thinking about throwing some Flames of the Firebrand in the side, or something similar if anyone knows a better card for the same effect.
I'd try to find a 2 mana answer. The 3 spot in Vamps is crowded and too crucial to be casting an answer.
We do that, we fall into their timing. Arc Trail seems slightly better tempo-wise.
I'd try to find a 2 mana answer. The 3 spot in Vamps is crowded and too crucial to be casting an answer.
We do that, we fall into their timing. Arc Trail seems slightly better tempo-wise.
Seems good. I did a search and came across Echoing Decay as well.
Oh wow, Echoing Decay looks really nice. Instant speed too. What is your 3 spot crowded with? I play nothing at three drop, though I do play a more burn oriented build.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH WBRKaalia of the VastRBW BChainer, Dementia MasterB Legacy 0Manaless Dredge0 RGoblinsR Standard RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Seems good. I did a search and came across Echoing Decay as well.
Good call on decay.
A few other merits for Marsh Casualities is it wipes out dark confidant, and with kicker kills everything except goyf at the same time.
Oh wow, Echoing Decay looks really nice. Instant speed too. What is your 3 spot crowded with? I play nothing at three drop, though I do play a more burn oriented build.
While Kalastria Highborn and Gatekeeper of Malakir aren't technically 3 drops, I only play them turn three. Throw in some Stromkirk Captain and Vampire Nighthawk and it gets crowded.
I've also been playing with a couple Brimstone Volley. With Seer and Aristocrat hosting sac outlets, and Bloodghast attacking relentlessly every turn, the Morbid trigger is pretty consistent.
Yeah, I think rakdos charm is a decent sideboard card, though not great.
Can also sideboard it in vs Twin/Kiki combo and Robots.
It does everything you want slightly sub-optimally, lol.
Aeon, have you tried running Stromkirk Noble over Lascerator? I only have room for one, and I dunno which would serve me better. My list looks really similar to yours, 22 creatures and a bunch of removal/burn/disruption. I also like Magma Jet a lot more than Sign in Blood here, you'd probably be better off pulling those and upping the other to four.
Aeon, have you tried running Stromkirk Noble over Lascerator? I only have room for one, and I dunno which would serve me better. My list looks really similar to yours, 22 creatures and a bunch of removal/burn/disruption. I also like Magma Jet a lot more than Sign in Blood here, you'd probably be better off pulling those and upping the other to four.
I almost wanna throw 1 or 2 Rain of Gores in the side, just in case I run into any annoying life gain decks. Thoughts on the card?
Very similar indeed. In fact, at one time I think I may have run your exact list! Decklist is always undergoes a few transformations as I tweak - sometimes in an attempt to optimize, sometimes out of boredom.
I agree about Magma Jets. I think I'll try running 3-4 and cut the Sign in Bloods. Scrying while burning is very efficient and makes the deck faster. Running out of gas is always a concern, but eh, that's life as an aggro player I guess.
As for Noble, I tried him but wasn't impressed. For one, he has to connect, a condition I'm not a fan of. While he does provide some pressure and "inevitability", I'm really just trying to play as many creatures with immediate value as possible. Highborn is the lone exception to this, as she needs other things to be happening + available mana to be of much value. The best thing Noble has ever done for me is bait removal so Highborn sticks! Captain tends to bait removal now though. In the end, lack of immediate value is not the thing that ultimately turned me away from Noble. It's the needing red mana on turn 1. It's a consistency problem.
Rain of Gore is an excellent sideboard card if you have a mono-white deck in your play group. There are some W/B life gain brews lurking out there too.
Very similar indeed. In fact, at one time I think I may have run your exact list! Decklist is always undergoes a few transformations as I tweak - sometimes in an attempt to optimize, sometimes out of boredom.
I agree about Magma Jets. I think I'll try running 3-4 and cut the Sign in Bloods. Scrying while burning is very efficient and makes the deck faster. Running out of gas is always a concern, but eh, that's life as an aggro player I guess.
As for Noble, I tried him but wasn't impressed. For one, he has to connect, a condition I'm not a fan of. While he does provide some pressure and "inevitability", I'm really just trying to play as many creatures with immediate value as possible. Highborn is the lone exception to this, as she needs other things to be happening + available mana to be of much value. The best thing Noble has ever done for me is bait removal so Highborn sticks! Captain tends to bait removal now though. In the end, lack of immediate value is not the thing that ultimately turned me away from Noble. It's the needing red mana on turn 1. It's a consistency problem.
Rain of Gore is an excellent sideboard card if you have a mono-white deck in your play group. There are some W/B life gain brews lurking out there too.
Yea, too many times have they simply dropped something big enough to block/trade with Noble. Deathrite Shaman outright shuts him down, and that card is running rampant in the meta. The only thing I don't like about Lacerator is that he can end up losing you games, especially if they manage to keep you off damage for the first few turns. It's probably just a playstyle choice; I've honestly never had trouble dropping Noble on t1, since I'm running 10 red sources that can have him out t1.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH WBRKaalia of the VastRBW BChainer, Dementia MasterB Legacy 0Manaless Dredge0 RGoblinsR Standard RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Yea, too many times have they simply dropped something big enough to block/trade with Noble. Deathrite Shaman outright shuts him down, and that card is running rampant in the meta. The only thing I don't like about Lacerator is that he can end up losing you games, especially if they manage to keep you off damage for the first few turns. It's probably just a playstyle choice; I've honestly never had trouble dropping Noble on t1, since I'm running 10 red sources that can have him out t1.
Shaman. What a jerk.
Lacerator mostly only loses me games I was going to lose anyways. At least that's been my experience. I only run 6 turn 1 red sources. Not enough for Noble. I think I'll add 2 more Blood Crypts though since I'm going to try cutting the x2 Signs and adding x2 Jets. I've been hesitant to run 4 Crypts because of the amount of self inflicted life loss after you factor in Lacerator and Sign In Blood, but whatever. The deck is basically sligh now with 10 instant burn and 3 instant removal spells. High risk = high reward!
Shaman. What a jerk.
Lacerator mostly only loses me games I was going to lose anyways. At least that's been my experience. I only run 6 turn 1 red sources. Not enough for Noble. I think I'll add 2 more Blood Crypts though since I'm going to try cutting the x2 Signs and adding x2 Jets. I've been hesitant to run 4 Crypts because of the amount of self inflicted life loss after you factor in Lacerator and Sign In Blood, but whatever. The deck is basically sligh now with 10 instant burn and 3 instant removal spells. High risk = high reward!
I'll try out Lacerator over Noble in some more testing and see which I like better ;3 I'm glad I switched to Seer from Bloodthrone though, thing is a house for getting rid of dead draws.
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EDH WBRKaalia of the VastRBW BChainer, Dementia MasterB Legacy 0Manaless Dredge0 RGoblinsR Standard RBWThe AristocratsWBR
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Viscera Seer
4 Bloodghast
4 Blood Artist
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
2 Blood Crypt
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Lavaclaw Reaches
8 Swamp
Why Phyrexian Arena over Dark Confidant?
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Bloodghast
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Captivating Vampire
4 Vampire Nocturnus
Spells
4 Feast of Blood
2 Smother
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Sign in Blood
1 Marsh Casualties
4 Leechridden Swamp
4 Piranha Marsh
2 Tectonic Edge
12 Swamp
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Pithing Needle
2 Smother
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Doom Blade
I know what you are probably thinking. Other than the sideboard, this is pretty much exactly the same as the Vampire deck from Shards/Zendikar Standard. Seeing as how I that deck and the cards in it are so much better than the Vampires in Innistrad, I figured I would base the deck on that. I want to have some improvements made on this deck to make it modern playable. I'm pretty sure the sideboard needs work too. Any help is appreciated.
Only 1 sign in blood? You really don't have any draw factor, theres no point in running 1 either add 3 or remove it. I would say 4 Feast of Blood, 4 Sign in Blood, and 4 IOK. Its really the only thing you have for disruption in the deck. There is a B/R Vampire thread as well, located here for any further help with vamps.
Also lose the Piranha marsh add four marsh flats (for bloodghast). Loose the Leechridden swamp and add 2 Bojuka Bog (gy hate) and maybe another tectonic Edge and a Swamp? You don't really need those lands, not very good for a fast format like modern.
Also consider Blood Artist with the constant addition of sacing and losing Bloodghast, he would do wonders for the deck
Also Urge to Feed is huge most of the time it hits, keep that in mind if you are also thinking about your vamp deck
Modern:
B 8Rack
RX Goblins
BG Elves (Attempting)
UBW Mill
G Stompy
UB Tezzerator
Legacy:
W Stax
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Vampire Lacerator
4x Vexing Devil
4x Kalastria Highborn
4x Bloodghast
4x Bloodthrone Vampire
2x Falkenrath Aristocrat
Burn (11)
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lava Spike
3x Rift Bolt
4x Blood Crypt
4x Dragonskull Summit
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
2x Dragonclaw Reaches
4x Mountain
5x Swamp
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Vampire Hexmage
2x Vampire Nocturnus
2x Go for the Throat
3x Tragic Slip
2x Feast of Blood
Stromkirk Noble - I've always liked this guy in aggro builds, but I am considering swapping him out for Gatekeeper of Malakir.
Vexing Devil - A devil in a vampire build?! Insanity. With the amount of burn I'm running, plus the crazy clock the rest of my creature base puts on them, these guys do some serious work. T1/2/3 they're better lightning bolts, swinging for 4, or drawing removal and keeping my Highborn's alive. After that, they're usually pretty efficient beaters/blockers.
Bloodthrone Vampire - I just like her a lot more as a sac outlet than Seer. She can easily enable turn 2 or 3 wins, and has crazy synergy with Highborn. Considering all the other good one drops we have, running Seer over her just seems stupid to me.
Falkenrath Aristocrat - My MB finisher, if the game drags past turn four or five, she can come down and do some serious work. The biggest weakness I've found to her is decks running Lingering Spirits. In that case, I'll usually swap in Nocturnus.
My sideboard choices are more or less placeholders at this point, I'm completely new to Modern and have no idea what I'll be facing, on Cockatrice and in my local meta, so any advice is appreciated.
As always, all critique and debate is welcome!
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
One of the cards that I'd come across that seemed to be absolutely perfect for the deck was Demonspine Whip. It made the lowly Gatekeeper a force to be reckoned with, made the Hexmage able to block just about any land creature and live (thanks to first strike), and made Nighthawk an absolute beast. I would highly suggest giving it a try. It wasn't necessarily a Modern-legal deck (due to the Volrath's Stronghold), but it could be worth investigating. I have it in my signature, as Rakdos.
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How are your lists dealing with lingering souls?
It is getting play in Jund as well as quite a few other places. Seems to be pretty problematic for Nocturnus and Aristocrat.
Are you answering Lingering Souls or just hoping you will push through it/they won't draw it, lol?
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Do you keep in bloodghast when you board in grafdigger's?
I was planning on running Rakdos Charm for grave hate for this reason but not in the jund matchup
I'd try to find a 2 mana answer. The 3 spot in Vamps is crowded and too crucial to be casting an answer.
We do that, we fall into their timing. Arc Trail seems slightly better tempo-wise.
Seems good. I did a search and came across Echoing Decay as well.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Oh wow, Echoing Decay looks really nice. Instant speed too. What is your 3 spot crowded with? I play nothing at three drop, though I do play a more burn oriented build.
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Good call on decay.
A few other merits for Marsh Casualities is it wipes out dark confidant, and with kicker kills everything except goyf at the same time.
While Kalastria Highborn and Gatekeeper of Malakir aren't technically 3 drops, I only play them turn three. Throw in some Stromkirk Captain and Vampire Nighthawk and it gets crowded.
I've also been playing with a couple Brimstone Volley. With Seer and Aristocrat hosting sac outlets, and Bloodghast attacking relentlessly every turn, the Morbid trigger is pretty consistent.
Here's the latest.
3 Viscera Seer
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Bloodghast
3 Kalastria Highborn
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Stromkirk Captain
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
Instant (13)
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Magma Jet
3 Terminate
2 Brimstone Volley
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
Land (22)
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
3 Dragonskull Summit
2 Marsh Flats
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Graven Cairns
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
5 Swamp
3 Duress
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Arc Trail
2 Dreadbore
2 Slaughter Games
2 Sign In Blood
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
How do you beat Jund with lingering souls and deathrite shaman?
Haven't run into one in local meta.
I suppose I would have to side in some GY hate.
Now that you mention it, some of my artifact hate should probably become Rakdos Charm. Bah-Bye Manic Vandal..
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Can also sideboard it in vs Twin/Kiki combo and Robots.
It does everything you want slightly sub-optimally, lol.
Plays like a more aggressive but more fragile version of Jund.
4 Bloodghast
4 Dark Confidant
2 Kalastria Highborn
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nocturnus
2 Olivia Voldaren
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Thoughtseize
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Swamp
3 Mutavault
2 Bloodcrypt
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Thoughtseize
2 Slaughter Games
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Shatterstorm
This is where my list has made it to so far;
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Viscera Seer
4x Kalastria Highborn
4x Bloodghast
3x Stromkirk Captain
3x Falkenrath Aristocrat
Instants (10)
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Terminate
2x Brimstone Volley
2x Magma Jet
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Blightning
Lands (23)
4x Blood Crypt
4x Dragonskull Summit
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
2x Lavaclaw Reaches
7x Swamp
2x Mountain
3x Vampire Hexmage
2x Rakdos Charm
3x Duress
2x Pithing Needle
2x Smash to Smithereens
3x Arc Trail
I almost wanna throw 1 or 2 Rain of Gores in the side, just in case I run into any annoying life gain decks. Thoughts on the card?
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Very similar indeed. In fact, at one time I think I may have run your exact list! Decklist is always undergoes a few transformations as I tweak - sometimes in an attempt to optimize, sometimes out of boredom.
I agree about Magma Jets. I think I'll try running 3-4 and cut the Sign in Bloods. Scrying while burning is very efficient and makes the deck faster. Running out of gas is always a concern, but eh, that's life as an aggro player I guess.
As for Noble, I tried him but wasn't impressed. For one, he has to connect, a condition I'm not a fan of. While he does provide some pressure and "inevitability", I'm really just trying to play as many creatures with immediate value as possible. Highborn is the lone exception to this, as she needs other things to be happening + available mana to be of much value. The best thing Noble has ever done for me is bait removal so Highborn sticks! Captain tends to bait removal now though. In the end, lack of immediate value is not the thing that ultimately turned me away from Noble. It's the needing red mana on turn 1. It's a consistency problem.
Rain of Gore is an excellent sideboard card if you have a mono-white deck in your play group. There are some W/B life gain brews lurking out there too.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Yea, too many times have they simply dropped something big enough to block/trade with Noble. Deathrite Shaman outright shuts him down, and that card is running rampant in the meta. The only thing I don't like about Lacerator is that he can end up losing you games, especially if they manage to keep you off damage for the first few turns. It's probably just a playstyle choice; I've honestly never had trouble dropping Noble on t1, since I'm running 10 red sources that can have him out t1.
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Shaman. What a jerk.
Lacerator mostly only loses me games I was going to lose anyways. At least that's been my experience. I only run 6 turn 1 red sources. Not enough for Noble. I think I'll add 2 more Blood Crypts though since I'm going to try cutting the x2 Signs and adding x2 Jets. I've been hesitant to run 4 Crypts because of the amount of self inflicted life loss after you factor in Lacerator and Sign In Blood, but whatever. The deck is basically sligh now with 10 instant burn and 3 instant removal spells. High risk = high reward!
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
I'll try out Lacerator over Noble in some more testing and see which I like better ;3 I'm glad I switched to Seer from Bloodthrone though, thing is a house for getting rid of dead draws.
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR