Saw this deck on CFB and definitely want to try it out. I own half the deck already but in foil so I figure if I'm going to build it I should get what I'm missing in foil too.Looking forward to checking out videos of the deck and this post to see any revelations.
@rtdeely: Ballay On? On Ballay! Kilimanjaro Awaits - let's climb!!! What you are proposing? We are talking about some David Lee Roth free climbing MTV video action here, dude. To do the full break down on every deck (swaps and narrative) as you propose? Indeed, 'this must be just like living in paradise'. I can dig it - just....where's the time? I mean, I only recently did a full card-for-card comprehensive sideboarding guide a few pages ago for the first time in the history of the thread. And, since? Criminally and as expected, I've already made multiple alterations to both main deck and sideboard.
@GetupKid1234: Welcome - Welcome. For video watching, there are a few matches in the primer on my 1K deck: only a few cards different from this month's top 8 deck by Russell.
DEFEATING TIER 1 DECKS
So, I reviewed MTGsalvation's top 10 tier 1 decks and revisited sideboard strategies. Notably, there are (3) decks which can give us noise. And, here are the opponent's principal disruptive cards that are currently being targeted for shutdown by our singular answer Sorcerous Spyglass:
That is a whole lot of heavy lifting for a single spyglass. We quickly adopted the spyglass after it proved to be a superior alternative to Pithing Needle (1-shot glasses of urza & it didn't conflict with chalice of the void on 1). But, I have always been a detractor of Needle. So, I welcome the opportunity to call it and its cousin telescope rubbish!
Alrighty, so ever the fan of X-for-1, what do I see as the alternative? I'm not the first to mention it: Damping Matrix. Sure, it conflicts with our Pia and Kiran Nalaar as well as Walking Ballista, but consider the war of attrition. Who gets hurt more? Seems like this answer has been under our noses all along, no?
THE HAMMER Hammer of Bogardan? It's little better now than when I yoinked one (alongside a frenetic efreet) in the Mirage pre-release back in '96, methinks. S'pose it can work, but that's a helluva slow clock with only sorcery-speed damage. That said, I do have to say that is was pretty badass to pull the 2 most mechanically engaging & gorgeous cards from the set. The store was a'buzz. In those days, there was no pre-release decklist.
NEW DECK
So, this is my new TEST DECK. It goes back to my earlier Pyro Prison version of running a single Walking Ballista, multiple Tormenting Voice and a single Tezzeret's Gambit. This leaves me vulnerable to 1/1 weenie attack, but I just don't see it as a prevalent deck type these days. The (1) Piran does somewhat serve as a swiss army knife bulwark. Abrade, however necessary, is simply too narrow for my taste & statistically it gets sideboarded out a little too often. So, (0) Abrade/Magma Jet on this go around. I know that's greedy, but I'm willing to test a 'Big Red' variant that has no spot removal [outside of ballista] to see how well it performs. As for the sideboard, I am going wide with the (2) Damping matrix. Also, the threat density got upped a tick by adding the 4th Eidolon of the Great Revel.
Hello Disciples of the Mountain. After the banning of Gitaxian Probe earlier this year i have been in the search for a new deck to fill the void of Infect. Having decided I wanted to sleeve up my Koth's again I went searching for a deck and stumbled upon Free Win and Skred. After a bit of testing and playing I didnt really feel comfortable with either one and almost hung up the red control dream all together until I saw Russ's list the other week. It Immediately set my Johnny wheels spinning at the ability to play multiple roles so easily in just a few quick slots in and out in the SB so what else was I to do but to pull the trigger on the missing Chalices I needed and sleeve up for the next Modern event in my area.
After reading Russ's guide on siding and roles I managed to do rather well having a first round loss to Death and taxes never finding a Bridge plus a surprise Mark of Asylum in g2 on t2 negating my grip full of Slag/Angers. ROund 2 I handily took out WU fishes with an easy chalice on 1 followed up by a bridge g1 with a bit of deja-vu in game 2. Round 3 was versus Rakdos burn that I barely managed to eek out a win in both games ending both of them with my opponent just needing to topdeck a bolt to finish me off. Final round of the night before cutoffs was a easy loss to mono green tron where honestly I am not 100% sure of my position with the deck and I am sure I made multiple misplays but i managed to barely squeak into the top 8 the store had for the event in the 8th seed. quarterfinals opponent was a weird GB deck that was half the rock/half 8 rack. Game 1 he turn 1 Inquisitions and grabs my ritual for the moon I had planned to play leaving me to scrabble to place a lock piece but not before he had a bob and goyf on field making for a clean kill from behind. Game 2 I enact plan "aggro" and drop in the t1 rabble followed by a turn 2 chalice for 1, he draws for his turn 3 and just scoops remarking how he had side-boarded most his removal out placing me on Free Win and never saw that coming. Game 3 his own bob plus 2 eidolons seals his fate quickly as i hide behind a bridge. and in the semifinals I again fall to r4 opponent of Mono Green Tron while I flail and try my best. Game 1 i made a fatal error of going for the turn 1 moon instead of rabblemaster completely playing the wrong role for the matchup. and in game 2 i do get the turn 1 rabble but he swiftly followed up with a dismember on his t1 followed by a o-stone for my Moon. It was an awesome night though I am completely enthralled with this deck and although i know i made a ton of mistakes I plan on conquering this big red hill of a deck.
Some tips from the experts about the tron matchup would be amazing as well as there are a few Mono U turn decks in my meta and im not 100% sure on how to properly play versus it. I am assuming going for the full aggro but i feel if they start going off there will be nothing I can do. ALSO I dropped the Mamma and papa for the Hammer only ever saw it in one of my tron games when it didnt matter but it just feels like a good fit if i ever drew it in any of my other matches I would have been stoked to see it at nearly any time. Will be playing in another event on sunday and I will run my results back to you guys. hopefully with more of a breakdown as a total new acolyte attempts to join the ranks of the masters. Thanks to Ray for the beautiful Incarnation of a red prison deck, and Congrats again to Russ for his well earned finish of this machine.
Nice! That's an awesome tournament report. Before I get into that, Ray, damping matrix is nuts and I think it's the way to go, however, don't forget spyglass also hits lands, PLANESWALKERS, and enchantments. I was thinking of swapping just one apyglass for a matrix, but testing is the only way to know for sure.
Zayl, I don't think I've seen you post here before. Welcome! You are spot on with your analysis and it showed in your results. For big Tron, you gotta be the aggressor. You are also correct when you said turn one moon was the wrong play. That's alright, for a deck that seems straight forward, this deck is anything but. Would have loved to hear how hammer worked out for ya, but I'm not sold on it yet. Time Will tell and more testing is needed. Also, I play taking turns as well and eidolin destroys that deck. I'm looking forward to hearing about more tournament results and remember, if you get the role correct, you'll be afforded the luxury of making a fee play error mistakes, just don't mess up your role assessment.
@Ray: I'm all for just continually asking for input from the community and compiling the list for handling role assessment. (If people aren't getting annoyed by the many questions and find it useful XD) The bulk of it would probably handle about 75% of the meta.
Looking at mtgtop8 for results from the last two weeks, Death's Shadow is sitting at a whopping 15% play rate. While we have tougher match ups, I would like to hear from others the approach that should be taken here as I consider DS to be somewhere between aggro and midrange. So I don't feel I can outright say we need to play control or not. Nor do I think role assessment is only based on going the opposite of the opponent. This is also the most played deck at the moment so we should really have this one down. Whenever I reach a new deck, I will want to focus on all the current variants of it, just like U and UG Merfolk. So let's dig into DS variants! I'll ask for Urza variants afterwards as not only can it be a hard match up, but it's also sitting close to 10% played.
So the template I'm currently following is this:
Death's Shadow:
Goal:
Win specifics:
Post game specifics:
Pyro's role:
For the decks with many different variants, I may just make several listings as roles could change quite a bit. Feel free to look at the attached list (Affinity and Merfolk so far) for details on how these are being filled out. These are not set in stone either so also feel free to suggest revisions/additions to previous lists. These personally help me a lot so I'm hoping it will do the same for others. (I absolutely crushed three different affinity players the other night due to compiling the affinity list and suddenly having a ton of confidence in my choices against them). I had no need to look at a sb list either!
*And as a little side note, just because I like throwing around card ideas. I think this is probably a little too janky but Breath of fury + Goblin Rabblemaster? I don't think this would work well for a lot of reasons but can't deny that if shields are down with a goblin token already in play, this can just win. Seismic Assault was also something I looked at for turning lands into shocks and also a discard outlet when flooded with lands for bridge. I admit these are both very janky ideas but I think it's better to post it than not. Also, Ash Zealot?
Another mention of Pyro Prison on the interwebs, my mountainfolk kin!
Matt Sperling of 'ChannelFireball' mentioned us in yesterday's article. The 2nd paragraph under 'Choose your own Adventure': >>> "You can brew a deck. Pyro Prison, Hollow One, some of the new Saheeli takes—there are new decks popping up from time to time and they’re scary."
Been trying to catch up on the threads over the past couple of months since I’ve been away...great stuff guys.
I have to admit, hammer of bogardan has always been one of my favorite cards, and one of two that i actively collect when i have the chance....the other being hoodwink, still looking for a foil version if anyone needs any Christmas ideas for me....:):)
Anyway, color me surprised when i saw someone was using Hammer to some effect....i didn’t realize it was Modern legal. Would love to know everyone’s thoughts on using the card in the deck.
I'd like to chat a little bit about Contradiction. It's the bedrock of Pyro Prison. It's also the engine that drives Attrition. No color better enacts the concepts of self-killing attrition than black - perhaps my favorite color. Black exploits the primal struggle of Magic: 20 down to 0. No shortcuts or combos or infinites. On the flipside there is green/white. You know those new Magic players that start in G/W and try to create some sort of simcity where they are gaining life and putting up circles of protection - a nice little farm situated on a rubber-based, fabric-topped playmat.
You know it, but they don't. Bless their sweet hearts, these precious babes - typically/yes broad-sweeping - don't understand competitive Magic, and will most likely never rise to its highest ranks. This is a game of war. A struggle to the death, and attrition based wins are the most bloody.
Attrition is defined by "the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure." As it is defined in Magic, it's the concept that BOTH players suffer, but if done correctly - you suffer less.
Pyro Prison is The Sideboard Deck, because it changes the rules via attrition. When the opponent sits down he has a certain set of expectations about how the game will be played. We pour lava into their bowl of cheerios.
You'd like to attack? Heh, the moat is down - no attacks.
You'd like to tap your mana for colors other than mine - Nope.
You'd like to cast cards from your hand? - that's not allowed here.
The Power Lock Suite is our starting point. But, it doesn't equal a win. If we stopped there, we are little better than the kid who wants to cast Stream of Life and Fog and Worship and put up a Gideon Emblem and then call it a day. Our arsenal needs to have more than shields.
The spear. When I see folks devising their own Pyro Prison sideboards which are devoid of win-cons, I identify them with that newbie who runs green/white and talks about his infinite life combos. You have got to get a little magma on ya, if you're gonna win. So, in the interests of seizing the day, is there a lock that is also, albeit self-defeating, a knife?
4. You'd like to cast cards without taking damage? Ooooh, Sorry. Eidolon of the Great Revel. And, what a revelation he was! A perfect complement to Goblin Rabblemaster. I've taken that count from where I once dipped a toe in on a singleton right up to a playset.
Further, I added a new contradiction. Phyrexian Mana. My current test deck has 2 spells which feature this mechanic. Green/White dude asks 'why would you play a spell that costs you life: Eidolons - Phyrexian Metamorph - Tezzeret's Gambbit? They are hedged bets. Attrition, my young man!
I'm going deeper with this latest machination - beyond phyrexian mana. Damping Matrix. It totally screws with my game plan, but does it hurt my opponent just a little bit more? It's like I wrote 2 years ago when I launched this deck, "Are you down with turbo-speed, chaotic boards that are orchestrated prisons? Then look to the Red Side of the Force".
Let's review our Contradictions (read: cards which are self-limiting or self-defeating) thus far....
Chalice of the Void
Blood Moon
Magus of the Moon
Ensnaring Bridge
Slagstorm
Tormenting Voice
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Torpor Orb
Grafdigger's Cage
Gemstone Caverns
In this new prototype, I've taken it to the next ledge higher on the mountain face:
Phyrexian Metamorph - 2 life to cast it and I may very well have no legal targets when I can do so
Tezzeret's Gambit - 2 life to cast it and I may very well blow up my own turtle-down behind a bridge
Quick note: on Damping Matrix vs. Eldrazi Tron -- Good Koth Almighty! Bridge + Matrix = Total Shutdown. They are left with (1) Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and (2) Karn Liberated. Which can be harsh, but bear in mind that these mother*****ers do cost 7+ mana. I've shunned Matrix for a long time, but when it became clear that E-Tron presented a real problem for us, there were 2 answers: Self-immolation via Matrix Aaaaand accelerated beat-down:
Goblin Rabblemaster X 4
Eidolon of the Great Revel X 4
Phyrexian Metamorph X 1
The metamorph has been gas. Once more I harken back to the card which was once in this slot = through the soft, Bambi eyes of a Green/White Newbie = a friggen 2nd Spellskite. Well, tiger, Spellskite never won no games of magic (well, unless Doran the Siege Tower was on the board). So, grab your sword, take 2 points of phyrexian mana damage, and chaaaaaaarge!!!!
>>>>>>> GREATEST HITS POST >>>>>>>
We've got a lot of new mountainfolk roaming in after hearing about Russell Colosi's Top 8. You can't expect them to read 861 posts. So, I thought I'd repost one of my favorites from back in the day: this is a Fan Fiction Tournament Report based on Star Trek which I did back on April 8th of this year. Interesting to see where the decklist was back then....
STAR TREK II
The Wrath of Koth
Saavik: On the Kobayashi Maru scenario, sir... will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know. McCoy: Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario.
Saavik: How? Kirk: I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship.
Saavik: What? David Marcus: He cheated.
Kirk: I changed the conditions of the test; got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose.
Saavik: Then you never faced that situation... faced death. Kirk: I don't believe in the no-win scenario.
More on that dialogue later, Mountainfolk -- I'm just setting the tone.
FNM - 20 People - 4 Rounds. It was another undefeated performance for my RED Prison / Hammer's Slammer: Between the Hammer and the Anvil. In 2017 paper tournaments, that tallies up to 28 wins and 6 losses: 82% win percentage. On to the report......
Round 1: G/x Tron - In game 1, we both flood for a while until his inevitable top deck threats annihilate. Game 2 has me casting (4) Blood Moons and his constant Karn Liberated assault wasn't enough. Game 3 was more of the same with Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Rabble/Rabble doing their work as they did in the previous game.
SIDEBOARDING
IN: 2 Shattering Spree / 4 Goblin Rabblemaster / Magus of the Moon
OUT: Walking Ballista / Crystal Ball / 3 Ensnaring Bridge / 2 Slagstorm
Round 2: Grixis Death Shadow - The Triple Power Lock Suite were key for the wins. For sideboarding, I trim down on the acceleration in lieu of creatures threats, and he just doesn't have enough answers. But, truthfully, he was land light & unable to fetch out from under a blood moon - not the best contest. I would say I won, but not that he lost; if that makes any sense.
Round 4: We'll come back to Round 3 in a minute. Jund Death Shadow - I feel like I could play this matchup all night - so fun. This deck is much easier to beat than Jund. Reason? Chalice of the Void. It just houses that whole deck (except tarmogoofy, but the graveyards are hardly as full when he can't cast his hand out ).
SIDEBOARDING: He did nothing and I did (8)
IN: 4 Goblin Rabblemaster / Roast / Pithing Needle / Magus of the Moon / Ratchet Bomb
OUT: Walking Ballista / Koth of the Hammer / Chandra, Torch of Defiance / Crystal Ball / 2 Magma Jet / 2 Slagstorm
Aaaaaaand, Round 3 - Ding Ding Ding
Round 3: Melira-Viscera-Coco
Spock: The Kobayashi Maru scenario frequently wreaks havoc on students and equipment. As I recall you took the test three times yourself. Your final solution was, shall we say, unique? Kirk: It had the virtue of never having been tried.
We seat ourselves, and Sam says, "You know, of all my friends who heard about or saw our match, I was the least bothered by how you beat me last time. You pulled off two Turn-1 Blood Moons." I cordially reply, "Oh, yeah - I remember. Abzan is my worst matchup. I got lucky." We chat about how both of our decks are of the Prison/Combo variety for the win: kinda happens or it doesn't.
Game 1: I rip a turn 1 Koth of the Hammer. He starts out a little slowly. I rip a turn 2 Blood Moon. Later, I've ultimated into Emblem and hold one card in my hand: Slagstorm. He fires off a Chord of Calling and plops a Viscera Seer beside a Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Kitchen Finks. Sam goes to infinite life. AND: He can scry his deck into a perfect draw each turn, and he can eventually bolster his creatures into unimaginably powerful titans. It didn't 'kinda happen'. It absolutely, motherhumpin' happened - His deck just won magic.
He looked at me. I knew he wanted me to offer my sword. It's the chivalrous and expected action in gentleman's warfare. I looked at my board: 3 mountains, a chalice on 1, a blood moon, and a Koth emblem. He had those three creatures and 3 land. I only had one card, a slagstorm, in hand. I paused. I thought of Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
I also don't believe in the no-win scenario. "Let's play it out." He sighed. Understandably, he's looking for the courtesy. After all, the two of us just had this very discussion. Any onlooker would think me delusional, even disrespectful, to fight on. But, I believed I could take his sword.
I untap and slagstorm. Ensnaring Bridge soon followed alongside more precious mountains. "Judge!" I ask about determining a comparative library card count (read: concession)? He looks up the process as the game meanders through a few more turns. Resolution: we lay out our decks in stacks of 10 and it's verified that I have him by exactly 1 card on a draw out. At that point, Sam shares that if he can properly execute back-to-back collected company, he can capture the win. But, the odds were - in his word - 'infinitesimal'. Incredulously, then it happened. He conceded.
Kobayashi Maru got hammered to the mat and counted out....for the 2nd time.
The format you have is fantastic Rtdeeley. Looking forward to seeing your full list once it is completed.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Hello Mountaineers quick report ive been writing between games of one of my LGS's mega modern monthly event. A little smaller at 20 people cause of the holidays but still a good learning grounds. Here are my 5 rounds while i wait to see if i top 8ed
R1
4C kiki
G1 mull to 5 and my turn 2 moon dosemt faze him at all through 2 birds. Lose to angel/felidar with phophoros
G2 I mess up and try to play aggro and he floods the board through everything. Need to learn to reevalute my opponents deck better
0-1
R2
Grixis Death shadow
G1 going in blind i go fora t1 rabble hit him then he dismembers, my little creatures and no bridge gets me run over.
G2 i turn 4 boil him when he is tapped out and 1 sided armegeddon him drop a bridge after that and ride chandra to a win
G3 i have a rather nuts mull with 2 SSG, mountain, chandra, chalice, and bridge he lighting axes hiself to grab my chalice, i turn 2 bridge him into a t3 moon with a spellskite to block his 1/1 shadows finally find a 4th land to chandra his shadows to 3/3 and koth cleans up with his ult
1-1
R3
Affinity
G1 drops hand kills with plating
G2 hard locks with double moon, double spyglass chalice on 0 and 1 and a angers made for a fun game
G3 stained the mind me on turn me on turn 4 for bridges when i had 2 in hand having just played a bloodmoon earlier instead of one of them. Came entirely out of left field
1-2
R4
Devoted Abzan
G1 he starts off on pilgrim i chalice for 1 off a gemstone cavern. He then plays quasali pride mage followed by rhonas i drop a magus of the moon and he tried to pride mage it but of course thst dosent work. Plays out a finks and i tale beats searching for a 4th land for the 2 Chandra in hand. Get a ballista on 1 he blows my chalice up then rip the 4th land and start to clear his board with blocks and get a lock with bridge slowly killing him with rabblemaster tokens tell he scoops
G2 he plays BG fastland i had the gemstone again and ritual into turn 1 moon, turn 2 torpor orbs 4 chandra and 5 koth he only has 2 mountains and scoops from there.
R5
Taking turns
G1 I keep a hanf 1 mana short of t1 rabble and never find a 2nd land 18 cards deep he took turns and beat down with thassa
Opponent is a friend of mine and part of my team he finally got his deck togehter for this tourney and looks at me during sideboarding with a pleading "please dont boil me bro" I tell him no promises.
G2 I on the play drop a turn 1 rabble and bring it home from there only having 1 land again
G3 I keep a slower hand and he gigadrowse for a few turns. In t3 i land SSG and serve in turn 4 at end of my turn he flashes in dictate of kruphik and in response i just boil him leaving him with just a halimar depths. He blinks picks up the card and states "huh its an instant" 1 turn latter rabble robbles him over. Time to see if my 3-2 can eek into the top8
Edit: sadly I lost on breakers coming in at 9th. Had a blast piloting the deck and each game I get under the belt the better im feeling about the next. Sadly once again i only ever saw Hammer once and it was at a spot that i didn't need to cast it unless i really just wanted to but my opponent would of been dead the next turn either way. But it still feels solidish sofar Russ.
Great reads! I'm still planning to stream the Pyro Prison, just got tackled by the Flu :(, but just about better now, so I think I'll get one together. I'll try and catch up with the stuff that was posted between my comments about doggo stream and now, to see what has evolved and what articles have sprung up around the interwebs!
I'm excited to see some streams! I love watching Pyro Prison in action. Shortly after Ray took down the 1k, fellow poster Amok and I both contacted SaffronOlive with hopes of him streaming the deck, and we had high hopes. His Free Win Red was obviously an inspiration, so who better to showcase the power of Pyro Prison? Unfortunately it hasn't happened just yet, possibly because of our lack of published results on MTGO, possibly because around the same time, he ran a variant called Free Win Skred, a Chalice-less version. I still have hopes, but it probably won't be for a while.
On the other hand, Seth, as much as we love him, isn't from our side of the mountain. It'll be great to watch one of our own, with intimate knowledge of the deck. And then there's the star of the show, someone Seth could never compete with.. the doggo!
Hey everyone, this is my first post here on mtgsalvation.
I used to play Lantern almost exclusively but switched over to this Pyro Prison build a few weeks ago, which I have not regretted! I've been pleasantly surprised by the basic mountain. Went 5-0 in a league the other day, and have been learning more about it each day. I did an absolutely sick turn 1 play today, which included having a Chandra and Ensnaring bridge on Turn 1 !
ATTACHMENTS
(1-on-1)_ Modern_ Vs. rakdos3 12_18_2017 8_49_34 PM
Welcome mtgblee. Yep, this deck does that a lot more than it should. It's just as exciting every time, although I'm sure you almost fell out your chair laughing at how absurd this deck can be. Nice job on the 5-0 finish in an mtgo league. Good stuff and I'm looking forward to more posts from you. Always interested in hearing what others have to say. Be sure to also let us know when you don't do well. Gotta learn from mistakes and hearing about it will help others as well.
Last night, I start a match by mulling into a t1 Moon on the draw off Caverns. Opponent goes Mountain, pass.. ok. I play the Moon anyway, who knows. They go Mountain, Chalice on 1. Uh oh.. the mirror?? No. Unfortunately for him, he was on Free Win Red. He won the race to Chandra in game 1, but here is where the parity ends, my fellow mountainfolk. After side, we were no longer playing the same deck, and there was little he could do about Rabble, Eidolon and Hazoret da God. It wasn't even close. Praise Haz!
When SaffronOlive posted FWR v.2, he said he believed the deck, as it was then, could spike a GP. Well, it's safe to say we've taken the deck to a whole different level, and it was never more evident than during my match last night.
Does zo-zu the punisher have any place in the board for this deck? Like blood moon forces the big mana decks to play all their lands. Could be good. Just thinking out loud...
@GetupKid1234: Welcome - Welcome. For video watching, there are a few matches in the primer on my 1K deck: only a few cards different from this month's top 8 deck by Russell.
DEFEATING TIER 1 DECKS
So, I reviewed MTGsalvation's top 10 tier 1 decks and revisited sideboard strategies. Notably, there are (3) decks which can give us noise. And, here are the opponent's principal disruptive cards that are currently being targeted for shutdown by our singular answer Sorcerous Spyglass:
Alrighty, so ever the fan of X-for-1, what do I see as the alternative? I'm not the first to mention it: Damping Matrix. Sure, it conflicts with our Pia and Kiran Nalaar as well as Walking Ballista, but consider the war of attrition. Who gets hurt more? Seems like this answer has been under our noses all along, no?
THE HAMMER
Hammer of Bogardan? It's little better now than when I yoinked one (alongside a frenetic efreet) in the Mirage pre-release back in '96, methinks. S'pose it can work, but that's a helluva slow clock with only sorcery-speed damage. That said, I do have to say that is was pretty badass to pull the 2 most mechanically engaging & gorgeous cards from the set. The store was a'buzz. In those days, there was no pre-release decklist.
NEW DECK
So, this is my new TEST DECK. It goes back to my earlier Pyro Prison version of running a single Walking Ballista, multiple Tormenting Voice and a single Tezzeret's Gambit. This leaves me vulnerable to 1/1 weenie attack, but I just don't see it as a prevalent deck type these days. The (1) Piran does somewhat serve as a swiss army knife bulwark. Abrade, however necessary, is simply too narrow for my taste & statistically it gets sideboarded out a little too often. So, (0) Abrade/Magma Jet on this go around. I know that's greedy, but I'm willing to test a 'Big Red' variant that has no spot removal [outside of ballista] to see how well it performs. As for the sideboard, I am going wide with the (2) Damping matrix. Also, the threat density got upped a tick by adding the 4th Eidolon of the Great Revel.
Creatures (8)
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Walking Ballista
Accelerators (12)
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Pyretic Ritual
2 Tormenting Voice
1 Tezzeret's Gambit
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Koth of the Hammer
Power Locks (12)
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Blood Moon
Disruption (2)
2 Slagstorm
Lands (21)
17 Mountains
3 Gemstone Caverns
1 Mutavault
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Damping Matrix
2 Shattering Spree
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Spellskite
1 Torpor Orb
1 Hazoret the Fervent
After reading Russ's guide on siding and roles I managed to do rather well having a first round loss to Death and taxes never finding a Bridge plus a surprise Mark of Asylum in g2 on t2 negating my grip full of Slag/Angers. ROund 2 I handily took out WU fishes with an easy chalice on 1 followed up by a bridge g1 with a bit of deja-vu in game 2. Round 3 was versus Rakdos burn that I barely managed to eek out a win in both games ending both of them with my opponent just needing to topdeck a bolt to finish me off. Final round of the night before cutoffs was a easy loss to mono green tron where honestly I am not 100% sure of my position with the deck and I am sure I made multiple misplays but i managed to barely squeak into the top 8 the store had for the event in the 8th seed. quarterfinals opponent was a weird GB deck that was half the rock/half 8 rack. Game 1 he turn 1 Inquisitions and grabs my ritual for the moon I had planned to play leaving me to scrabble to place a lock piece but not before he had a bob and goyf on field making for a clean kill from behind. Game 2 I enact plan "aggro" and drop in the t1 rabble followed by a turn 2 chalice for 1, he draws for his turn 3 and just scoops remarking how he had side-boarded most his removal out placing me on Free Win and never saw that coming. Game 3 his own bob plus 2 eidolons seals his fate quickly as i hide behind a bridge. and in the semifinals I again fall to r4 opponent of Mono Green Tron while I flail and try my best. Game 1 i made a fatal error of going for the turn 1 moon instead of rabblemaster completely playing the wrong role for the matchup. and in game 2 i do get the turn 1 rabble but he swiftly followed up with a dismember on his t1 followed by a o-stone for my Moon. It was an awesome night though I am completely enthralled with this deck and although i know i made a ton of mistakes I plan on conquering this big red hill of a deck.
Some tips from the experts about the tron matchup would be amazing as well as there are a few Mono U turn decks in my meta and im not 100% sure on how to properly play versus it. I am assuming going for the full aggro but i feel if they start going off there will be nothing I can do. ALSO I dropped the Mamma and papa for the Hammer only ever saw it in one of my tron games when it didnt matter but it just feels like a good fit if i ever drew it in any of my other matches I would have been stoked to see it at nearly any time. Will be playing in another event on sunday and I will run my results back to you guys. hopefully with more of a breakdown as a total new acolyte attempts to join the ranks of the masters. Thanks to Ray for the beautiful Incarnation of a red prison deck, and Congrats again to Russ for his well earned finish of this machine.
Zayl, I don't think I've seen you post here before. Welcome! You are spot on with your analysis and it showed in your results. For big Tron, you gotta be the aggressor. You are also correct when you said turn one moon was the wrong play. That's alright, for a deck that seems straight forward, this deck is anything but. Would have loved to hear how hammer worked out for ya, but I'm not sold on it yet. Time Will tell and more testing is needed. Also, I play taking turns as well and eidolin destroys that deck. I'm looking forward to hearing about more tournament results and remember, if you get the role correct, you'll be afforded the luxury of making a fee play error mistakes, just don't mess up your role assessment.
Looking at mtgtop8 for results from the last two weeks, Death's Shadow is sitting at a whopping 15% play rate. While we have tougher match ups, I would like to hear from others the approach that should be taken here as I consider DS to be somewhere between aggro and midrange. So I don't feel I can outright say we need to play control or not. Nor do I think role assessment is only based on going the opposite of the opponent. This is also the most played deck at the moment so we should really have this one down. Whenever I reach a new deck, I will want to focus on all the current variants of it, just like U and UG Merfolk. So let's dig into DS variants! I'll ask for Urza variants afterwards as not only can it be a hard match up, but it's also sitting close to 10% played.
So the template I'm currently following is this:
Death's Shadow:
Goal:
Win specifics:
Post game specifics:
Pyro's role:
For the decks with many different variants, I may just make several listings as roles could change quite a bit. Feel free to look at the attached list (Affinity and Merfolk so far) for details on how these are being filled out. These are not set in stone either so also feel free to suggest revisions/additions to previous lists. These personally help me a lot so I'm hoping it will do the same for others. (I absolutely crushed three different affinity players the other night due to compiling the affinity list and suddenly having a ton of confidence in my choices against them). I had no need to look at a sb list either!
*And as a little side note, just because I like throwing around card ideas. I think this is probably a little too janky but Breath of fury + Goblin Rabblemaster? I don't think this would work well for a lot of reasons but can't deny that if shields are down with a goblin token already in play, this can just win. Seismic Assault was also something I looked at for turning lands into shocks and also a discard outlet when flooded with lands for bridge. I admit these are both very janky ideas but I think it's better to post it than not. Also, Ash Zealot?
Matt Sperling of 'ChannelFireball' mentioned us in yesterday's article. The 2nd paragraph under 'Choose your own Adventure': >>> "You can brew a deck. Pyro Prison, Hollow One, some of the new Saheeli takes—there are new decks popping up from time to time and they’re scary."
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/stop-complaining-about-modern-its-the-closest-we-have-to-a-perfect-format/
@rtdeeley: Absolutely support your endeavor! Let's get learned good.
Oh, and did you read the comments? Someone played pyro prison at. Local fnm....we're having an impact!!
I have to admit, hammer of bogardan has always been one of my favorite cards, and one of two that i actively collect when i have the chance....the other being hoodwink, still looking for a foil version if anyone needs any Christmas ideas for me....:):)
Anyway, color me surprised when i saw someone was using Hammer to some effect....i didn’t realize it was Modern legal. Would love to know everyone’s thoughts on using the card in the deck.
You know it, but they don't. Bless their sweet hearts, these precious babes - typically/yes broad-sweeping - don't understand competitive Magic, and will most likely never rise to its highest ranks. This is a game of war. A struggle to the death, and attrition based wins are the most bloody.
Attrition is defined by "the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure." As it is defined in Magic, it's the concept that BOTH players suffer, but if done correctly - you suffer less.
Pyro Prison is The Sideboard Deck, because it changes the rules via attrition. When the opponent sits down he has a certain set of expectations about how the game will be played. We pour lava into their bowl of cheerios.
The spear. When I see folks devising their own Pyro Prison sideboards which are devoid of win-cons, I identify them with that newbie who runs green/white and talks about his infinite life combos. You have got to get a little magma on ya, if you're gonna win. So, in the interests of seizing the day, is there a lock that is also, albeit self-defeating, a knife?
4. You'd like to cast cards without taking damage? Ooooh, Sorry. Eidolon of the Great Revel. And, what a revelation he was! A perfect complement to Goblin Rabblemaster. I've taken that count from where I once dipped a toe in on a singleton right up to a playset.
Further, I added a new contradiction. Phyrexian Mana. My current test deck has 2 spells which feature this mechanic. Green/White dude asks 'why would you play a spell that costs you life: Eidolons - Phyrexian Metamorph - Tezzeret's Gambbit? They are hedged bets. Attrition, my young man!
I'm going deeper with this latest machination - beyond phyrexian mana. Damping Matrix. It totally screws with my game plan, but does it hurt my opponent just a little bit more? It's like I wrote 2 years ago when I launched this deck, "Are you down with turbo-speed, chaotic boards that are orchestrated prisons? Then look to the Red Side of the Force".
Let's review our Contradictions (read: cards which are self-limiting or self-defeating) thus far....
In this new prototype, I've taken it to the next ledge higher on the mountain face:
Quick note: on Damping Matrix vs. Eldrazi Tron -- Good Koth Almighty! Bridge + Matrix = Total Shutdown. They are left with (1) Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and (2) Karn Liberated. Which can be harsh, but bear in mind that these mother*****ers do cost 7+ mana. I've shunned Matrix for a long time, but when it became clear that E-Tron presented a real problem for us, there were 2 answers: Self-immolation via Matrix Aaaaand accelerated beat-down:
The metamorph has been gas. Once more I harken back to the card which was once in this slot = through the soft, Bambi eyes of a Green/White Newbie = a friggen 2nd Spellskite. Well, tiger, Spellskite never won no games of magic (well, unless Doran the Siege Tower was on the board). So, grab your sword, take 2 points of phyrexian mana damage, and chaaaaaaarge!!!!
Creatures (8)
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Magus of the Moon
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Walking Ballista
Accelerators (11)
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Pyretic Ritual
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Tezzeret's Gambit
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Koth of the Hammer
Power Locks (12)
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Blood Moon
Disruption (3)
2 Slagstorm
1 Abrade
Lands (21)
17 Mountains
3 Gemstone Caverns
1 Mutavault
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Damping Matrix
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Shattering Spree
1 Spellskite
1 Torpor Orb
1 Hazoret the Fervent
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
We've got a lot of new mountainfolk roaming in after hearing about Russell Colosi's Top 8. You can't expect them to read 861 posts. So, I thought I'd repost one of my favorites from back in the day: this is a Fan Fiction Tournament Report based on Star Trek which I did back on April 8th of this year. Interesting to see where the decklist was back then....
Saavik: On the Kobayashi Maru scenario, sir... will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know.
McCoy: Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario.
Saavik: How?
Kirk: I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship.
Saavik: What?
David Marcus: He cheated.
Kirk: I changed the conditions of the test; got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose.
Saavik: Then you never faced that situation... faced death.
Kirk: I don't believe in the no-win scenario.
More on that dialogue later, Mountainfolk -- I'm just setting the tone.
FNM - 20 People - 4 Rounds. It was another undefeated performance for my RED Prison / Hammer's Slammer: Between the Hammer and the Anvil. In 2017 paper tournaments, that tallies up to 28 wins and 6 losses: 82% win percentage. On to the report......
Round 1: G/x Tron - In game 1, we both flood for a while until his inevitable top deck threats annihilate. Game 2 has me casting (4) Blood Moons and his constant Karn Liberated assault wasn't enough. Game 3 was more of the same with Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Rabble/Rabble doing their work as they did in the previous game.
SIDEBOARDING
IN: 2 Shattering Spree / 4 Goblin Rabblemaster / Magus of the Moon
OUT: Walking Ballista / Crystal Ball / 3 Ensnaring Bridge / 2 Slagstorm
Round 2: Grixis Death Shadow - The Triple Power Lock Suite were key for the wins. For sideboarding, I trim down on the acceleration in lieu of creatures threats, and he just doesn't have enough answers. But, truthfully, he was land light & unable to fetch out from under a blood moon - not the best contest. I would say I won, but not that he lost; if that makes any sense.
Round 4: We'll come back to Round 3 in a minute. Jund Death Shadow - I feel like I could play this matchup all night - so fun. This deck is much easier to beat than Jund. Reason? Chalice of the Void. It just houses that whole deck (except tarmogoofy, but the graveyards are hardly as full when he can't cast his hand out ).
SIDEBOARDING: He did nothing and I did (8)
IN: 4 Goblin Rabblemaster / Roast / Pithing Needle / Magus of the Moon / Ratchet Bomb
OUT: Walking Ballista / Koth of the Hammer / Chandra, Torch of Defiance / Crystal Ball / 2 Magma Jet / 2 Slagstorm
Aaaaaaand, Round 3 - Ding Ding Ding
Round 3: Melira-Viscera-Coco
Spock: The Kobayashi Maru scenario frequently wreaks havoc on students and equipment. As I recall you took the test three times yourself. Your final solution was, shall we say, unique?
Kirk: It had the virtue of never having been tried.
We seat ourselves, and Sam says, "You know, of all my friends who heard about or saw our match, I was the least bothered by how you beat me last time. You pulled off two Turn-1 Blood Moons." I cordially reply, "Oh, yeah - I remember. Abzan is my worst matchup. I got lucky." We chat about how both of our decks are of the Prison/Combo variety for the win: kinda happens or it doesn't.
Game 1: I rip a turn 1 Koth of the Hammer. He starts out a little slowly. I rip a turn 2 Blood Moon. Later, I've ultimated into Emblem and hold one card in my hand: Slagstorm. He fires off a Chord of Calling and plops a Viscera Seer beside a Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Kitchen Finks. Sam goes to infinite life. AND: He can scry his deck into a perfect draw each turn, and he can eventually bolster his creatures into unimaginably powerful titans. It didn't 'kinda happen'. It absolutely, motherhumpin' happened - His deck just won magic.
He looked at me. I knew he wanted me to offer my sword. It's the chivalrous and expected action in gentleman's warfare. I looked at my board: 3 mountains, a chalice on 1, a blood moon, and a Koth emblem. He had those three creatures and 3 land. I only had one card, a slagstorm, in hand. I paused. I thought of Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
I also don't believe in the no-win scenario. "Let's play it out." He sighed. Understandably, he's looking for the courtesy. After all, the two of us just had this very discussion. Any onlooker would think me delusional, even disrespectful, to fight on. But, I believed I could take his sword.
I untap and slagstorm. Ensnaring Bridge soon followed alongside more precious mountains. "Judge!" I ask about determining a comparative library card count (read: concession)? He looks up the process as the game meanders through a few more turns. Resolution: we lay out our decks in stacks of 10 and it's verified that I have him by exactly 1 card on a draw out. At that point, Sam shares that if he can properly execute back-to-back collected company, he can capture the win. But, the odds were - in his word - 'infinitesimal'. Incredulously, then it happened. He conceded.
Kobayashi Maru got hammered to the mat and counted out....for the 2nd time.
Creatures (6)
3 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Walking Ballista
1 Spellskite
Accelerators (9)
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Tormenting Voice
Enchantments (4)
4 Blood Moon
Removal (5)
2 Magma Jet
2 Slagstorm
1 Roast
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Koth of the Hammer
Artifacts (9)
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Crystal Ball
Lands (22)
18 Mountains
2 Mutavault
2 Gemstone Caverns
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Shattering Spree
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Roast
1 Magus of the Moon
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
R1
4C kiki
G1 mull to 5 and my turn 2 moon dosemt faze him at all through 2 birds. Lose to angel/felidar with phophoros
G2 I mess up and try to play aggro and he floods the board through everything. Need to learn to reevalute my opponents deck better
0-1
R2
Grixis Death shadow
G1 going in blind i go fora t1 rabble hit him then he dismembers, my little creatures and no bridge gets me run over.
G2 i turn 4 boil him when he is tapped out and 1 sided armegeddon him drop a bridge after that and ride chandra to a win
G3 i have a rather nuts mull with 2 SSG, mountain, chandra, chalice, and bridge he lighting axes hiself to grab my chalice, i turn 2 bridge him into a t3 moon with a spellskite to block his 1/1 shadows finally find a 4th land to chandra his shadows to 3/3 and koth cleans up with his ult
1-1
R3
Affinity
G1 drops hand kills with plating
G2 hard locks with double moon, double spyglass chalice on 0 and 1 and a angers made for a fun game
G3 stained the mind me on turn me on turn 4 for bridges when i had 2 in hand having just played a bloodmoon earlier instead of one of them. Came entirely out of left field
1-2
R4
Devoted Abzan
G1 he starts off on pilgrim i chalice for 1 off a gemstone cavern. He then plays quasali pride mage followed by rhonas i drop a magus of the moon and he tried to pride mage it but of course thst dosent work. Plays out a finks and i tale beats searching for a 4th land for the 2 Chandra in hand. Get a ballista on 1 he blows my chalice up then rip the 4th land and start to clear his board with blocks and get a lock with bridge slowly killing him with rabblemaster tokens tell he scoops
G2 he plays BG fastland i had the gemstone again and ritual into turn 1 moon, turn 2 torpor orbs 4 chandra and 5 koth he only has 2 mountains and scoops from there.
R5
Taking turns
G1 I keep a hanf 1 mana short of t1 rabble and never find a 2nd land 18 cards deep he took turns and beat down with thassa
Opponent is a friend of mine and part of my team he finally got his deck togehter for this tourney and looks at me during sideboarding with a pleading "please dont boil me bro" I tell him no promises.
G2 I on the play drop a turn 1 rabble and bring it home from there only having 1 land again
G3 I keep a slower hand and he gigadrowse for a few turns. In t3 i land SSG and serve in turn 4 at end of my turn he flashes in dictate of kruphik and in response i just boil him leaving him with just a halimar depths. He blinks picks up the card and states "huh its an instant" 1 turn latter rabble robbles him over. Time to see if my 3-2 can eek into the top8
Edit: sadly I lost on breakers coming in at 9th. Had a blast piloting the deck and each game I get under the belt the better im feeling about the next. Sadly once again i only ever saw Hammer once and it was at a spot that i didn't need to cast it unless i really just wanted to but my opponent would of been dead the next turn either way. But it still feels solidish sofar Russ.
On the other hand, Seth, as much as we love him, isn't from our side of the mountain. It'll be great to watch one of our own, with intimate knowledge of the deck. And then there's the star of the show, someone Seth could never compete with.. the doggo!
I used to play Lantern almost exclusively but switched over to this Pyro Prison build a few weeks ago, which I have not regretted! I've been pleasantly surprised by the basic mountain. Went 5-0 in a league the other day, and have been learning more about it each day. I did an absolutely sick turn 1 play today, which included having a Chandra and Ensnaring bridge on Turn 1 !
When SaffronOlive posted FWR v.2, he said he believed the deck, as it was then, could spike a GP. Well, it's safe to say we've taken the deck to a whole different level, and it was never more evident than during my match last night.
It's an interesting thought.. between Zo-Zu, Eidolon and Harsh Mentor, things could get weird.