@Iaoshun it grows your graveyard and thus makes both Renegade Rallier and Rally the Ancestors way more powerful, while guaranteeing that you will have a land drop. If you don't feel like using it, I think it'd also be better to not use Rally the Ancestors at all, using Chord of Calling instead. You can also try using other milling/dredging tools if you don't like the satyr himself, of course.
I've been out of the MtG loop for about 5 months now and looking to get back into it. The new area I play in mostly does Modern so it's time to dust off the old Aristocracy deck!
I had the abzan variant with 4 rally and coco. Looking at the last few pieces new stuff has come out in my time away. It's hard for me to post my deck list off my phone so I will get around to it later.
The question I have is I see some lists are using Dark Confidant. How good is it? And I was running 4 Catacomb Sifter and they were working for me but no one else seems to run them, are they to slow?
I have no clue what Midern looks like right now and have no idea what people in my area are playing.
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Commander - Master of the Drunkin' Arts:D(no longer together)
I have a PPTQ coming up this Saturday and looking for any ideas on what to change. I haven't played any Modern for the last 7 months now, so a lot of the ideas I had for the deck were made based on a ton or research. This was the last deck I had up(besides Mono White DnT)and feel the most comfortable with this deck. I know the deck isn't as strong as other decks, but the format looks like it's trying to one for one as much as possible, and this deck is very hard to do that against.
I have 5 open slots right now and I'm not really sure what to fill them with.
I decided to run the 1x of Chord and Eldritch Evo to help find a sac outlet or some of the answers in the sideboard. I'm not sure how strong they will be, but it just felt right to run 1x of each.
I tried to construct the sideboard to suit what I think the meta will be after looking at some recent tournaments in the area. Planning on seeing Death Shadow, Storm, Reanimator, and Ad Nausea for sure. I'm probably going to see burn but I'm not sure if I need to run some Kitchen Finks in the 75.
Sorry I didn't wrap the deck in Tags, but I don't remember how to do that
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Commander - Master of the Drunkin' Arts:D(no longer together)
IMO You need to run some combination of Dorks, Blisterpod, Satyr Wayfinder, and/or more lands if you want to hit 4 mana for CoCo before turn ~7. If you're running the Rally plan you should probably have Satyr Wayfinder anyways.
Also, if you're running Chord & Evo you can probably shave a Sac Outlet -- 6 physical copies, 2 virtual fetch copies, and 3-4 CoCos is plenty.
After having a few days to look back on my choice to play Aristocrats at the PPTQ(the list I rolled with was a little different than the one I posted, get to that afterwards)I have no regrets. I did end up going 1-3 with it before dropping, and while it's not the best record, I enjoyed every game I played.
First I will post the 75 I rolled with(sorry its not in tags)
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Viscera Seer
2x Zulaport Cutthroat
2x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Voice of Resurgence
4x Blood Artiest
1x Flip Lily
1x Renegade Rallier
4x Catacomb Sifter
I took out the Chord and Eldritch Evo from the main for the following reasons-
Chord of Calling - Only got to playtest a few games before the event with it in the main and I found it stuck in my hand more often than not. The GGGx made it very had to cast most of the time. I love the flex to search something out, but I never felt it had a real spot in this build.
Eldritch Evolution - The main reason this got the ax was GG. I really didnt care it was sorcery speed, but my mana base was very Green light because Green was mostly a splash. I really did like it, but it would force me to fetch awkward. Maybe with more testing I would put it back in as a 1 of.
Now on to the match ups.
Round 1 - Merfolk - Lost 1-2
This was the hardest match up I had all day. The main reason being was the Spreading Seas/Seas Claim(think that's the name). He kept me off the colors I needed right as I needed them. Birds of Paradise was MVP in this round. Game two he drew into 3 Spreading and 2 Seas Claims putting this game bag very quickly. Game 3 was much of the same.
Round 2 - Burn - Lost 2-0
I've never built a Abzan list where Burn didn't just roll me. Game one he keeps a opening hand of 3x Eidolon of the Great Revel and makes my hand turn against me. Very quick game. Game 2 was a little different. I was able to get a board presence and have some good back and fourth action, but get defeated by a turn of Boros Charm, Boros Charm, Skullcrack. I accept the round Burn match up. I don't really feel to bad about this.
Round 3 - Mono Green Stompy - Win 2-0
Not a very fun game because the deck has no interaction. Both games I beat him down with spirit tokens. Nothing to report here.
Round 4 - Grishaolbrand - Lose 2-1
Game 1 he goes off on turn two. Yup. Game 2 I was able to keep him at bay with Thoughtseize, Sin Collector, and Sculler. Game 3, he goes off turn 2 again.
I would have kept playing just to get more testing in but I had to get my girlfriend to work(we share a car right now).
My takeaways with the deck.
I still think this deck has some legs to win games. This deck can grind with the best of them. I never felt like my deck was pure jank by any stretch of the imagination. It's a super fun deck to play and you get to play a really unique Modern strategy.
With that said, after playing my 4 rounds I was able to stay for and getting to look around the room between some rounds, I really feel like you need to have some form of disruption in the main and I can't stress this enough. This deck isn't fast enough to allow the other player to do as they please when you need some time to set up. Most of the time your set up is slower than theirs.
The reason I took the build that I did was because it was the last build I had before I stepped away from playing cards for a while. I was familiar with it and it never let me down before(still don't feel like it did on Saturday either) It's been 7 Months since I had played any form of competitive magic and just wanted to roll with something I was comfy with.
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Commander - Master of the Drunkin' Arts:D(no longer together)
So I plan to keep tinkering around with the deck. But I would like to hear some other people opinion on the deck and certain deck choices.
1. What was the main draw for you to play the WB version instead of going full Abzan? I have seen a good chunk of lists on here of just WB and was curious to know what made you want to not run the green splash. I've only ran the Abzan variants of the deck because I can't see this deck not running Voice or Collected company.
2. I see some lists run Return to the Ranks and some run Rally the Ancestors. I actually ordered 4 Return to Ranks because I see that some people are so I figured I'd give them a try. But I would like to hear some of your opinions on what makes you run Return over Rally? The Rally looks stronger to me in theory because of the instant speed.
3. Do you think the Mana Dorks are really worth running? The ramp felt very lackluster to me. I never really powered out anything of use from it. And it felt real bad to hit 2x Birds of a CoCo. I understand they can help but do they really?
4. Is the combo of Saffi and Rallier really worth running? It looks really jank to me but I would like to hear from the people running it. I'm never against trying new stuff, but I don't like investing money into something that sucks(done this to many times)
5. Are the normal CoCo combo decks really better? It looks like Aristocrats has a better grind game. Sure, the hate for the one hits the other, but I think Aristocrats has better overall grind because we don't just have to roll combo to get there.
I have no plan to give up on the deck, it's what I like to do. Tokens and grind but I would like to hear other peoples ideals on the questions above. I agree with what Shelldell and Dr. Sanchez have to say about the archtype, especially after going to the PPTQ. But I'm not fully ready to just roll over on my deck just yet.
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Commander - Master of the Drunkin' Arts:D(no longer together)
White green is a more fair agro version. It relies more on actual aristocrats to win and usually has a human subtheme. Green usually makes it more combo focus or value focus
Generally, Rally is better in a combo version. If you're running rally, you must auto incude satyr wayfinder.
For a coco deck? Yes. 2 bodies is two more triggers of blood artists. And hitting two dorks makes either less likely to be killed because you already have two (likely more) dorks on the field. Why waste removal when it's so far ahead anyway? It also digs you 4 deeper than you would have to your sac outlet or artist (whichever you need to win).
Haven't used it and not impressed, so can't really comment
Depends on your definition of better and the meta around you. CoCo gets more out on the field faster, making it a more combo version. My personal opinion is if you're adding green, embrace it's more combo nature. If you want the value grind, go for the orzhov human build. While voice of resurgence is a great card, humans synergize better. Better to do it that way than to handicap your green splash. If you're green you're either CoCo, Chord, Rally, or a combination of those variants. All of which are combo focused.
Slaughter the Strong seems like a pretty good sideboard card against midrange decks, eldrazi, and tron. Sacrifice triggers get around hexproof and indestructible triggers, and you can still sac any number of your guys for a Blood Artist
First time posting in this thread but Not sure if mentioned but do you think the new Elenda, the Dusk Rose can be a good payoff. Possibly sac a couple creatures then sac her and then her tokens if they respond to her summon. Also possibly with her on the field. Rally then sac her then all of her tokens
Elenda has some really neat flavor and mechanics but unfortunately is not efficient enough for Modern, sorry. It costs 6 mana to rally her back and 4 for a 1/1 is an awful rate. She would be interesting as a ~4/3, or if she cost BW but as-is she requires way too much investment to get anything out.
Hello everyone! First time poster on the thread but have been playing BW Aristocrats for a few months now as my "fun" FNM deck. While it still lacks one or two cards that could make it a strong deck in the format, this archetype is quite powerful and I've piloted it to many wins against some of the best decks in the format. I love playing it and hope people continue to post on the thread and help build it up! Here is my latest build of BW Aristocrats and my most successful variant so far:
I’ve been working on a BW list myself. How has asylum visitor been working for you? Is he more of a budget dark confidant, or are you getting a lot of draw?
Also, why kitesail freebooter over tidehollow sculler? Is the evasion and human synergy getting you better mileage than being able to target creature cards in hand?
Asylum visitor is a budget friendly option but is also a great 3/1 body that gets me card draw pain-free. The fact that you get cards whether you or your opponent have no cards in hand is very relevant as well. Opponents generally don't deal with her until it's too late. And absolutely with kitesail. Got the idea off the humans deck. We are more concerned with getting wrath effects, creature removal, and unfair combo pieces like Chord or Company out of their hand for the most part and this helps us do that while pumping up and early champion. The evasion is a nice plus and has been working well with the deck.
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Modern Decks: UWAzorius Titan ControlUW BWOrzhov ControlBW
Between Wayfinder and Stitcher you can get enough creatures in your grave that Rally starts to become more attractive than Return. It can also return E-Wit, which is important to get discarded copies of Rally and CoCo back into hand. I think running all 8 Blood Artists is the way to go here. They power up your sac loops much more than fodder like Doomed Traveler / Voice, and we already have Stitcher, Wayfinder, Dorks, and Cartel Aristocrat to act as blockers.
I started with 7-8 copies of Return/Rally but IMO they're too boom/bust -- if your grave is full they're great, if you haven't drawn into your Stitchers or Wayfinders they just clog up your hand. 4 CoCo / 4 Rally seems like a better balance.
Overall probably still too fair and slow to be terribly competitive, lol. I've tried to build the sideboard around that... Ensnaring Bridge seems great for this deck since it doesn't necessarily need to attack.
I haven't been here for a while. I've been convinced that the optimal path for this was to do a do a chord toolbox since Modern was pretty fast and you couldn't rely on getting what you needed fast enough via traditional aristocrat agro. I think a lot of things have changed since then and here's my thoughts on the latest chatter.
Stitcher's supplier is a FANTASTIC card and could push this deck into true competitiveness.
I don't like adding red for the Faithless looting effects. Eternal witness is a lot more important to get back your wincon of Rally the ancestors. Red would be a fourth color and much too greedy IMO. Besides, if you want a third, you can get Grisly Salvage
You don't need that many artists/cutthroates if you're filling your graveyard. It will just happen and you can rally and get two on the board. I don't suggest more than 6. I think 3 or 4 would work with enough graveyard fillers.
I do not like Ensnaring Bridge . It's a trap. The combo should already do fairly well against the fair decks. Bridge is a control card and would slow you down. It would also be a complete dead card against control decks. And any builds that try to be a little more greedy with their combo/control aspect will just straight up lose to a good control deck. For that reason I think it's time to go back complete circle to...
Now Here's my thoughts on changes to experiment with and consider:
AGRO ARISTOCRAT COBMO!!!Satyr Wayfinder is great when it comes in but is useless after. Stitcher's supplier is good both coming in and out. That's 4 great targets for Cartel aristocrat. Persist and self replacers like Blisterpod and Doomed Traveler could be great 1 drop additions. I'd personally prefer Blisterpod or Young Wolf as free green mana chord tappers.
Let's not forget to add Grim Flayer as an added third card to bin things. On a plus side, he's a mini goyf.
As an even newer scary addition, Bob is a great draw engine that combos well with Grim Flayer. Something I think people haven't been abusing enough. And with sufficient sac outlets, is fine.
I have been playing chord with Maralen of the Mornsong. It's a great EoT chord target to get your rally if you want to win the next turn. It's also a great response to search for your one or two anti graveyard hate. Then just sac it as neccessary so the opponent doesn't get a search.
Here's a skeleton of an agro decklist. Currently at 41 cards. Having a hard time deciding what to cut. Plus I don't think it has enough variety for grim flayer to be useful though dropping something for saproling migration sounds nice.
Still thinking about my chord variant if it's worth it. Really liked being able to chord maralen EoT to win or in response win by chording for the final piece like an artist or sac outlet. I'll give that some thought too
If you guys want to go all in on the Rally-Dredge plan there's another obscure card that could definitely help that: Mystic Retrieval
Lowers the creature count but means you don't have to hope you draw a witness to bring Rally back when its in the gy. Lacks the versatility though
First, people are already saying that Satyr wayfinder is the best card in the self-mill combo version for a long time. It's already a two drop being played and only hits 4 deep. That salvage doesn't give you a body is only 1 point of damage for the combo and isn't a big deal and adds an extra card to mill. It has already been played in the combo versions successfully
Second, As stated, we aren't relying only on salvage primarily. We are relying on satyr wayfinder and Stitcher's supply primarily.
Third, When compared to burning inquiry, Salvage is still a better card. 1 mana for two cards vs two mana for five cards. And with Salvage you don't have to go off color.
As for the Bobs and Grim Flayers for agro, you're still looking at it from the combo shell. Yes, from the combo perspective a non etb value card is mediocre, but that's not the point. Agro will run out of sac outlets and needs the card draw or at least some easier way to get bodies. That's why they often use things like Xathrid Necromancer or Bloodsoaked Champion. Bob grants them the card advatantage as well as sacs to The aristocrat as needed. Grim flayer is a mini-goyf threat that doubles as a free graveyard filler when it deals damage. A threat and combo piece all in one. Getting 4 card types to fill in the graveyard insn't that hard if the deck is built right. I haven't put the time to really think it through. But you have lands and creatures guaranteed going to the graveyard. That leaves instants and sorceries. The former already includes rally and can be filled using any of the multitudes of removal. The latter already includes grisly salvage and can include lingering souls or return to the ranks. Bonus points for Liliana of the Veil because discarding cards and killing things is things we want to do anyway.
That said, I admit I'm not 100% convinced of the aggro route only because it's hard to cut the deck to the effective 60 it would need to be. My instinct though is that if a build is made for it correctly, this would be the more stable deck as it can pivot between agro and combo at a whim and be less vulnerable to graveyard hate.
I had the abzan variant with 4 rally and coco. Looking at the last few pieces new stuff has come out in my time away. It's hard for me to post my deck list off my phone so I will get around to it later.
The question I have is I see some lists are using Dark Confidant. How good is it? And I was running 4 Catacomb Sifter and they were working for me but no one else seems to run them, are they to slow?
I have no clue what Midern looks like right now and have no idea what people in my area are playing.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
I have 5 open slots right now and I'm not really sure what to fill them with.
Creatures - 27
1x Dryad Arbor
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Viscera Seer
2x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Zulaport Cutthroat
3x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Blood Artist
4x Voice of Resurgence
1x Catacomb Sifter
1x Liliana, Heretical Healer
1x Renegade Rallier
Spells - 9
1x Eldritch Evolution
1x Chord of Calling
3x Collected Company
4x Rally the Ancestors
Lands - 19
4x Marsh Flats
3x Verdant Catacombs
2x Windswept Heath
1x Forest
1x Godless Shrine
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
1x Vault of the Archangel
3x Concealed Courtyard
I decided to run the 1x of Chord and Eldritch Evo to help find a sac outlet or some of the answers in the sideboard. I'm not sure how strong they will be, but it just felt right to run 1x of each.
Sideboard - 15
1x Gaddock Teeg
1x Sin Collector
2x Qasali Pridemage
2x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Fatal Push
2x Thoughtseize
2x Abrupt Decay
3x Path to Exile
I tried to construct the sideboard to suit what I think the meta will be after looking at some recent tournaments in the area. Planning on seeing Death Shadow, Storm, Reanimator, and Ad Nausea for sure. I'm probably going to see burn but I'm not sure if I need to run some Kitchen Finks in the 75.
Sorry I didn't wrap the deck in Tags, but I don't remember how to do that
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
Also, if you're running Chord & Evo you can probably shave a Sac Outlet -- 6 physical copies, 2 virtual fetch copies, and 3-4 CoCos is plenty.
First I will post the 75 I rolled with(sorry its not in tags)
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Viscera Seer
2x Zulaport Cutthroat
2x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Voice of Resurgence
4x Blood Artiest
1x Flip Lily
1x Renegade Rallier
4x Catacomb Sifter
4x Rally the Ancestors
4x Collected Company
22 Lands(not going to dig to deep into this)
Sideboard
3x Thoughtseize
3x Path to Exile
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Fatal Push
2x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Sin Collector
1x Orzhov Pontiff
1x Fiend Hunter
I took out the Chord and Eldritch Evo from the main for the following reasons-
Chord of Calling - Only got to playtest a few games before the event with it in the main and I found it stuck in my hand more often than not. The GGGx made it very had to cast most of the time. I love the flex to search something out, but I never felt it had a real spot in this build.
Eldritch Evolution - The main reason this got the ax was GG. I really didnt care it was sorcery speed, but my mana base was very Green light because Green was mostly a splash. I really did like it, but it would force me to fetch awkward. Maybe with more testing I would put it back in as a 1 of.
Now on to the match ups.
Round 1 - Merfolk - Lost 1-2
This was the hardest match up I had all day. The main reason being was the Spreading Seas/Seas Claim(think that's the name). He kept me off the colors I needed right as I needed them. Birds of Paradise was MVP in this round. Game two he drew into 3 Spreading and 2 Seas Claims putting this game bag very quickly. Game 3 was much of the same.
Round 2 - Burn - Lost 2-0
I've never built a Abzan list where Burn didn't just roll me. Game one he keeps a opening hand of 3x Eidolon of the Great Revel and makes my hand turn against me. Very quick game. Game 2 was a little different. I was able to get a board presence and have some good back and fourth action, but get defeated by a turn of Boros Charm, Boros Charm, Skullcrack. I accept the round Burn match up. I don't really feel to bad about this.
Round 3 - Mono Green Stompy - Win 2-0
Not a very fun game because the deck has no interaction. Both games I beat him down with spirit tokens. Nothing to report here.
Round 4 - Grishaolbrand - Lose 2-1
Game 1 he goes off on turn two. Yup. Game 2 I was able to keep him at bay with Thoughtseize, Sin Collector, and Sculler. Game 3, he goes off turn 2 again.
I would have kept playing just to get more testing in but I had to get my girlfriend to work(we share a car right now).
My takeaways with the deck.
I still think this deck has some legs to win games. This deck can grind with the best of them. I never felt like my deck was pure jank by any stretch of the imagination. It's a super fun deck to play and you get to play a really unique Modern strategy.
With that said, after playing my 4 rounds I was able to stay for and getting to look around the room between some rounds, I really feel like you need to have some form of disruption in the main and I can't stress this enough. This deck isn't fast enough to allow the other player to do as they please when you need some time to set up. Most of the time your set up is slower than theirs.
The reason I took the build that I did was because it was the last build I had before I stepped away from playing cards for a while. I was familiar with it and it never let me down before(still don't feel like it did on Saturday either) It's been 7 Months since I had played any form of competitive magic and just wanted to roll with something I was comfy with.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
1. What was the main draw for you to play the WB version instead of going full Abzan? I have seen a good chunk of lists on here of just WB and was curious to know what made you want to not run the green splash. I've only ran the Abzan variants of the deck because I can't see this deck not running Voice or Collected company.
2. I see some lists run Return to the Ranks and some run Rally the Ancestors. I actually ordered 4 Return to Ranks because I see that some people are so I figured I'd give them a try. But I would like to hear some of your opinions on what makes you run Return over Rally? The Rally looks stronger to me in theory because of the instant speed.
3. Do you think the Mana Dorks are really worth running? The ramp felt very lackluster to me. I never really powered out anything of use from it. And it felt real bad to hit 2x Birds of a CoCo. I understand they can help but do they really?
4. Is the combo of Saffi and Rallier really worth running? It looks really jank to me but I would like to hear from the people running it. I'm never against trying new stuff, but I don't like investing money into something that sucks(done this to many times)
5. Are the normal CoCo combo decks really better? It looks like Aristocrats has a better grind game. Sure, the hate for the one hits the other, but I think Aristocrats has better overall grind because we don't just have to roll combo to get there.
I have no plan to give up on the deck, it's what I like to do. Tokens and grind but I would like to hear other peoples ideals on the questions above. I agree with what Shelldell and Dr. Sanchez have to say about the archtype, especially after going to the PPTQ. But I'm not fully ready to just roll over on my deck just yet.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Satyr Wayfinder
2x Grisly Salvage
3x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Viscera Seer
3x Zulaport Cutthroat
4x Blood Artist
3x Voice of Resurgence
4x Rally the Ancestors
2x Abzan Ascendancy
2x Eternal Witness
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Qasali Pridemage
1x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Abrupt Decay
3x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Sin Collector
1x Selfless Spirit
1x Lone Missionary
1x Maelstrom Pulse
... I managed a 3-0, my matches:
2-1 against BG
2-1 against grixis DS
2-0 against scapeshift
it will always be fun...
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
- Mono Black Pox BBB Modern:
If you could rally her and others for 6 she pretty much heavily interested the number of creatures you rallied.
1 Bloodsoaked Champion
3 Champion of the Parish
3 Doomed Traveler
3 Viscera Seer
3 Asylum Visitor
3 Blood Artist
3 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Zulaport Cutthroat
2 Fatal Push
1 Path to Exile
3 Return to the Ranks
4 Lingering Souls
1 Settle the Wreckage
2 Smuggler's Copter
2 Concealed Courtyard
2 Field of Ruin
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
3 Swamp
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Disenchant
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Ruinous Path
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wrath of God
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
1 Rule of Law
This is still a work in progress so I'm happy to hear any suggestions! Happy playing!
UWAzorius Titan ControlUW
BWOrzhov ControlBW
Also, why kitesail freebooter over tidehollow sculler? Is the evasion and human synergy getting you better mileage than being able to target creature cards in hand?
UWAzorius Titan ControlUW
BWOrzhov ControlBW
Would Bloodcrazed Paladin be decent in here? Or Bontu? Or you don't really want to hold up 2 mana?
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
I'm still debating if Dryad Arbor is still worth a slot or not. I never really liked it but it can be a free creature in a pinch
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=392928
Modern - Mardu Death's Shadow(needs work)
DnT(mono white cause I had the cards)
Legacy - RUG Delver(almost foiled out)
RG Lands
4x Birds of Paradise
2x Noble Hierarch
4x Stitcher's Supplier
4x Viscera Seer
2x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Blood Artist
4x Zulaport Cutthroat
4x Satyr Wayfinder
3x Eternal Witness
Instants (8)
4x Collected Company
4x Rally the Ancestors
2x Forest
2x Godless Shrine
2x Horizon Canopy
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Temple Garden
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Westvale Abbey
4x Windswept Heath
2x Damping Sphere
4x Kitesail Freebooter
2x Phyrexian Revoker
2x Qasali Pridemage
3x Ensnaring Bridge
2x Lost Legacy
I started with 7-8 copies of Return/Rally but IMO they're too boom/bust -- if your grave is full they're great, if you haven't drawn into your Stitchers or Wayfinders they just clog up your hand. 4 CoCo / 4 Rally seems like a better balance.
Overall probably still too fair and slow to be terribly competitive, lol. I've tried to build the sideboard around that... Ensnaring Bridge seems great for this deck since it doesn't necessarily need to attack.
Now Here's my thoughts on changes to experiment with and consider:
Here's a skeleton of an agro decklist. Currently at 41 cards. Having a hard time deciding what to cut. Plus I don't think it has enough variety for grim flayer to be useful though dropping something for saproling migration sounds nice.
2 Viscera Seer
4 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Dark Confidant
4 Blood Artist
3 Grim Flayer
4 Rally the Ancestors
3 Eternal Witness
4 Lingering Souls
2 Liliana of the Veil
3 Fatal Push
19 lands
Still thinking about my chord variant if it's worth it. Really liked being able to chord maralen EoT to win or in response win by chording for the final piece like an artist or sac outlet. I'll give that some thought too
Lowers the creature count but means you don't have to hope you draw a witness to bring Rally back when its in the gy. Lacks the versatility though
Second, As stated, we aren't relying only on salvage primarily. We are relying on satyr wayfinder and Stitcher's supply primarily.
Third, When compared to burning inquiry, Salvage is still a better card. 1 mana for two cards vs two mana for five cards. And with Salvage you don't have to go off color.
As for the Bobs and Grim Flayers for agro, you're still looking at it from the combo shell. Yes, from the combo perspective a non etb value card is mediocre, but that's not the point. Agro will run out of sac outlets and needs the card draw or at least some easier way to get bodies. That's why they often use things like Xathrid Necromancer or Bloodsoaked Champion. Bob grants them the card advatantage as well as sacs to The aristocrat as needed. Grim flayer is a mini-goyf threat that doubles as a free graveyard filler when it deals damage. A threat and combo piece all in one. Getting 4 card types to fill in the graveyard insn't that hard if the deck is built right. I haven't put the time to really think it through. But you have lands and creatures guaranteed going to the graveyard. That leaves instants and sorceries. The former already includes rally and can be filled using any of the multitudes of removal. The latter already includes grisly salvage and can include lingering souls or return to the ranks. Bonus points for Liliana of the Veil because discarding cards and killing things is things we want to do anyway.
That said, I admit I'm not 100% convinced of the aggro route only because it's hard to cut the deck to the effective 60 it would need to be. My instinct though is that if a build is made for it correctly, this would be the more stable deck as it can pivot between agro and combo at a whim and be less vulnerable to graveyard hate.