It's definitely a little slow and clunky but Ghost Quarter + Crucible + Hidden Stockpile is quite the late game engine. Crucible seems like more of a sideboard card though. It's so bad by itself and Ghost Quarter is not good in all matchups either.
I get that but Crucible by itself or just recurring fetchlands is just not worth 3 mana in the vast majority of games. I think Ghost Quarter is a great card but I'd save Crucible for matchups like Tron. Tron decks are such a bad matchup that I'd dedicate sideboard cards specifically for them. Agree?
For example, looking at mtggoldfish Modern metagame, top decks are Affinity, UR Storm, Eldrazi Tron, Burn, Death's Shadow, Dredge, CoCo, Ad Nauseam, etc. Ghost Quarter is serviceable to good against many of these but only Eldrazi Tron stands out as one where Crucible + Ghost Quarter would be really nice. Even then Eldrazi Tron only needs 5ish mana to function, unlike traditional Tron. If you imagine Crucible as a turn 4+ play then you could just be dropping a sick planeswalker instead.
1. Cool.
2. I could see that but I think I want that 4th Ghost Quarter more, especially if you were going to add a 4 drop over the 24th land. GQ can also give you revolt for Fatal Push
3. 5 Mana is a ton. The decks that have removal will also often have either Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolt or Liliana of the Veil so it's not quite as unkillable as it looks.
4. Fair enough.
5. Yeah, 1 vs 2 CMC is a huge game. Think playing on the draw against decks with great 2 drop creatures. If you are going to spend the extra mana, then I think you want Go for the Throat to kill huge stuff like Reality Smasher, Thoughtknot Seer, Primeval Titan, etc. Sure Affinity exists but 2 mana removal is pretty bad there anyway.
6. lol
7. Zealous persecution is great against Affinity, Lingering Souls mirrors (e.g. Abzan where it may also kill Dark Confidant), and Noble Hierarch / Birds of Paradise decks. It's even ok against Dredge since usually you have to race and killing all their Narcomoeba and Bloodghast while pumping your team is great. It is a tad narrow though. If budget wasn't a thing I'd play an Engineered Explosives.
I goldfished 23 land with Gideon in the main board a ton yesterday... And, you're right, 24 is definitely the number this deck wants. Going to try out the 4x Ghost Quarter.
I see your point about Blood Baron but in grindy matchups, 5 mana seems fine to me and I'm ok with someone spending Bolt-Snap-Bolt to remove it. I'm going to test 2x in the board. You're probably right, but I see some potential there.
I'm also going to try out some number of Zealous Persecution in the board, how many would you recommend?
Picking up some Fatal Push as soon as my store re-ups.
I think Crucible is very intriguing, but I'll protect my wallet and let someone else brew with that. Probably pretty good in a Smallpox-esque list.
Edit- What would everyone cut for a 2/2 split of Gideon/Sorin? I'm thinking I should move 1 Anguished Unmaking to the board and then cut 1 Sculler or Castigate (leaning towards Sculler).
Sounds good. I would start with just 1 Zealous Persecution, unless you anticipate playing against a lot of Affinity, CoCo, and Lingering Souls. The max I'd ever play is 2.
As far as cuts for Gideon/Sorin, I agree and would cut a Castigate and an Anguished Unmaking.
edit: You could even just move those cards to board and cut Grand Abolisher completely.
so from your posted list:
-4 Wall of Omens
-1 Castigate
-1 Anguished Unmaking
+4 Thraben Inspector
+2 Gideon
sideboard:
-3 Grand Abolisher
-2 Smother
-1 Gideon
+1 Zealous Persecution
+1 Anguished Unmaking
+2 Blood Baron
+1 Go for the Throat
+1 Fatal Push
Sounds good. I would start with just 1 Zealous Persecution, unless you anticipate playing against a lot of Affinity, CoCo, and Lingering Souls. The max I'd ever play is 2.
As far as cuts for Gideon/Sorin, I agree and would cut a Castigate and an Anguished Unmaking.
edit: You could even just move those cards to board and cut Grand Abolisher completely.
so from your posted list:
-4 Wall of Omens
-1 Castigate
-1 Anguished Unmaking
+4 Thraben Inspector
+2 Gideon
sideboard:
-3 Grand Abolisher
-2 Smother
-1 Gideon
+1 Zealous Persecution
+1 Anguished Unmaking
+2 Blood Baron
+1 Go for the Throat
+1 Fatal Push
for instance
Nice, thank you! Those were the exact changes I was thinking, except I'm up in the air on cutting a Castigate or a Sculler. Sculler is a much better tempo play but the card stays gone with Castigate which is also relevant for Strangler. And I'd like to put 2x Push in the board (cutting Disenchant).
I went 3-0-1 at my Tuesday night Modern event this week with the same list except -1 Smallpox +1 Blessed Alliance in the sideboard.
R1 Infect, lose die roll, 2-1
My poor opponent forgot his Ad Nauseam deck at home so he had borrowed Infect. g1 he led with Inkmoth and I had t2 Bob into t3 Gideon of the Trials +1 on his Inkmoth. g2 I kept a sketchy hand with only Plains, Lingering Souls, Copter, double Inquisition and Path and I scried a Ghost Quarter to the top. I hit a black source on turn 3 but he had Spellskite into Blighted Agent and so my discard came too late and my Path wasn't enough. G3 I had the nuts with discard into Bob into Lingering Souls. I almost died to my own Bob (flipped 3 drops 4 turns in a row) but I got there.
R2 Esper Control, win die roll, 2-1
g1 was funny because we both ended up topdecking and trading hits with Shambling Vent. I continue to flood and draw discard spells while he eventually draws Lingering Souls and Gideon Ally to close it out. g2 I had t2 Pack Rat, which he answers with Pithing Needle. I eventually beat him down with Lingering Souls and Elspeth. g3 he names Elspeth with Pithing Needle on turn 1, but I never draw it. I win with Lingering Souls, Liliana, and Pack Rat.
R3 Grixis Death's Shadow, win die roll, 1-1-1
This guy played insanely slowly and caused us to draw. g1 he mulled to 5 but I had the nuts. He had a few good rips as the game went on but I took it down with Elspeth. g2 I mulled to 5 and he had triple removal spell to get in the last damage. g3 we went to time and he went Serum Visions into Thought Scour to find Kozilek's Return to kill all my Spirits and make it a draw with him at 2 life and me at 8. I still had a Liliana on the board and my top card was Elspeth so I was a huge favorite to win. Little salty cause I play pretty quickly and he tanked on everything.
R4 UGR Scapeshift, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 I mull to 5 and die to a Scapeshift. g2 I have Thoughtseize to take his Scapeshift, then on my turn 3 I Surgical Extraction it and he has drawn another one. The only wincons in his deck are 3 Obstinate Baloth and I take it down with Bob and Elspeth + Shambling Vent. Bob revealed Shadow of Doubt on top of my library this game so he knows about it. g3 he mulls to 5 and I have discard (taking Scapeshift) into Bob into Elspeth. At some point I draw Shadow of Doubt. He casts Sower of Temptation and steal my Bob but after 2 turns he is forced to block a 4/4 flying Soldier token with Sower. He rips Snapcaster on 7 land to flashback Scapeshift but I have Shadow and lethal flying attackers next turn.
Once again the deck ran great. The sideboard could definitely be better but I boarded in every card over the course of the night. Fragmentize was the weakest.
Good job man! Glad to see others still toying around with this deck; it is one of my all time favorites. It is a very challenging deck to play but has game against nearly everything if configured right and really rewards the little deck building choices, proper side-boarding, and knowing the expected meta.
I haven't been playing much modern recently but I feel this deck is very well positioned. The only matches I feel really terrible about are dredge and to a lesser extent, burn.
If I can beat burn in the final swiss round with that deck then I am confident with the new tools the deck has gotten that the match-up isn't nearly as bad as it used to be.
Thank you sir. My store has a good competitive metagame full of sharp players so it's a great Training Grounds.
I think Burn is an even-to-favorable matchup for my build. Collective Brutality destroys them and Shambling Vent can you bring you back from the brink. The key is to kill them relatively quickly.
I think the worst matchup is Eldrazi Tron perhaps followed by GR Titanshift.
R1 Affinity, lose die roll, 1-1-1
g1 I had t2 Smuggler's Copter which was a complete all star, since his draw was mostly fliers and Inkmoth/Blinkmoth Nexus. Game 2 he had Blood Moon and Ghirapur Aether Grid to ultimately stabilize at 1 life and come back to win. Pretty crazy. g3 we just ran out of time. In general I believe my build is a significant favorite against Affinity. Lingering Souls and spot removal is all great and Mutavault / Copter neutralize Etched Champion.
R2 Storm, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 I mulled to 5 and he got me. g2 was classic discard into Bob into Lili. g3 I had disard into Lili into Elspeth and drew Shadow of Doubt to effectively counter his Gifts Ungiven on the last possible turn.
R3 Mardu Tokens, lose die roll, 2-0
g1 I had Lingering Souls into Elspeth and he had a lot of trouble with Elspeth. g2 I had Copter into Gideon and he made a significant misplay where he had 2 Spirit tokens and forgot I could crew Copter with the Knight to block, so my Gideon survived when it shouldn't have and then ran away with the game.
R4 Abzan, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had multiple Lingering Souls and he had none. g2 I had Liliana and Gideon of the Trials and ultimately Pack Rat to take it home.
I haven't lost a match in 3 weeks. lol
edit: List is here. Gideon of the Trials is still a big question mark. No idea if he should be in the 75.
Just picked up Dead Guy Ale and have been having pretty good luck with it.
I tried Brimaz, Copter, and Sculler (among others) in the 2 and 3-drop slots, and never felt too great about them. I threw Gifted Aetherborn in the slot and have been very happy with them. Deathtouch and Lifelink are almost always relevant. If you haven't given them a try, I really suggest it!
Still working on sideboard... currently it is as follows:
I'm definitely going to run 2 Bontu’s Last Reckoning as soon as they are available. I find myself desperately wanting sweepers against Company decks, which I seem to run up against on a pretty regular basis.
If it was me I'd go
-4 Mana Tithe
-2 Anguished Unmaking
-1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
-1 Gideon of the Trials
+2 Collective Brutality
+2 Smuggler's Copter
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
+1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
I really like Elspeth because she is so polarized between offense and defense. She can provide a stream of chump blockers or a stream of huge flying attackers. As a bonus her tokens can crew Copter. Don't underestimate Copter - it is the best thing you can play on turn 2 assuming you can crew it the next turn. I'm honestly considering putting 4 in my deck; it is that good.
Mana Tithe is bad for a lot of reasons. Most of all I found that BW naturally plays well at sorcery speed, especially with all the discard. The best turns to leave up Mana Tithe would be turns 1 and 3 but you already have better plays for those turns like Thoughtseize and Liliana. There isn't a matchup where the best card is Mana Tithe because the decks with expensive spells are mostly Tron decks that frequently have an extra 1 or 2 mana anyway.
I haven't played with Stockpile. I don't like the idea of Copter + Stockpile. Neither of them do anything on their own so you could have a lot of awkward draws. I think 8 creatures and 4 Lingering Souls is enough to play 2-3 Copters, especially with a few token-making planeswalkers. I play Pack Rat / Mutavault in my list and Mutavault is a nice way to crew copter. I think a Copter-centric list is the place to be
I like that list a lot more than the first one. My few changes would be:
-1 Gideon of the Trials
+1 Smuggler's Copter
-1 Plains
-1 Bloodstained Mire
+2 Concealed Courtyard
edit: I have also been considering cutting Pack Rat for Tidehollow Sculler since it seems awesome with Copter. However I will keep the Mutavaults.
If you are on the copter plan, I can recommend Blade Splicer as a very effective way to crew it. The 2 bodies also work well together with anthem effects from Sorin or Gideon. If Elspeth, Knight-Errant is your 4-drop of choice, it is hard to pass up Mirran Crusader, either in the sideboard or even 1-2 maindeck, since Shadow, Tasigur and Fatal Push is everywhere these days.
Has anybody given Gideon of the Trials a try in this deck? I see that there has been some recent commotion about him, but he seems really good for this deck.
Ammit eternal also looks pretty good for this deck. One of the biggest problems with deadguy ale was the lack of a cheap beater (a black gofy). Running something like:
If you are on the copter plan, I can recommend Blade Splicer as a very effective way to crew it. The 2 bodies also work well together with anthem effects from Sorin or Gideon. If Elspeth, Knight-Errant is your 4-drop of choice, it is hard to pass up Mirran Crusader, either in the sideboard or even 1-2 maindeck, since Shadow, Tasigur and Fatal Push is everywhere these days.
Both great points. It's a little hard to find room for more 3-drops past Lingering Souls and Liliana but those are probably the next best ones.
I'll report back once I've tested Sculler over Rat. I'm playing a build with 4 Smuggler's Copter so I'm trying to optimize turn 2 Copter draws. Playing Copter into Sculler seems sweet because the opponent is kind of screwed no matter what. They can't use their removal on Copter until you crew it so what do they do? Mostly just lose it to Sculler and then get hit by Copter, putting you at a big advantage. Even if they have Kolaghan's Command they have to use it in response to the Sculler trigger, which means you are taking another card forever. Throw an Inquisition or Thoughtseize into the mix and that sounds pretty hard to beat.
I've sworn by the Rat for a long time but now it feels clunky in most matchups. I think it was best against traditional midrange like Jund and Abzan but those are nowhere to be seen. Before Copter, there simply weren't any good two drops in BW besides Bob. Rat and Sculler are much worse. Copter and Lingering Souls are best friends so I think it's Copter time!
Sculler seems pretty weak in a creature-lite deck that has very little targets for removal and not enough pressure to utilize the tempo of Sculler
(as it will give back the card eventually).
I'd rather play more Thoughtseize/Collective Brutality instead.
Regarding playable 2-drops, what about Gifted Aetherborn ?
He trades with every ground creature and gains life (for Thoughtseize/Bob).
Another option can be Seeker of the Way which should have enough spells for Prowess and can also gain life.
Regarding Ammit Eternal, I think it is a trap and not a good card.
Unless you manage to connect with him the turn after you cast him and not get blocked/removed it will just die without doing anything.
Even Plague Belcher would be the better 3-drop (especially if you can kill a spirit token and keep it a 5/4).
For example, looking at mtggoldfish Modern metagame, top decks are Affinity, UR Storm, Eldrazi Tron, Burn, Death's Shadow, Dredge, CoCo, Ad Nauseam, etc. Ghost Quarter is serviceable to good against many of these but only Eldrazi Tron stands out as one where Crucible + Ghost Quarter would be really nice. Even then Eldrazi Tron only needs 5ish mana to function, unlike traditional Tron. If you imagine Crucible as a turn 4+ play then you could just be dropping a sick planeswalker instead.
I goldfished 23 land with Gideon in the main board a ton yesterday... And, you're right, 24 is definitely the number this deck wants. Going to try out the 4x Ghost Quarter.
I see your point about Blood Baron but in grindy matchups, 5 mana seems fine to me and I'm ok with someone spending Bolt-Snap-Bolt to remove it. I'm going to test 2x in the board. You're probably right, but I see some potential there.
I'm also going to try out some number of Zealous Persecution in the board, how many would you recommend?
Picking up some Fatal Push as soon as my store re-ups.
I think Crucible is very intriguing, but I'll protect my wallet and let someone else brew with that. Probably pretty good in a Smallpox-esque list.
Edit- What would everyone cut for a 2/2 split of Gideon/Sorin? I'm thinking I should move 1 Anguished Unmaking to the board and then cut 1 Sculler or Castigate (leaning towards Sculler).
As far as cuts for Gideon/Sorin, I agree and would cut a Castigate and an Anguished Unmaking.
edit: You could even just move those cards to board and cut Grand Abolisher completely.
so from your posted list:
-4 Wall of Omens
-1 Castigate
-1 Anguished Unmaking
+4 Thraben Inspector
+2 Gideon
sideboard:
-3 Grand Abolisher
-2 Smother
-1 Gideon
+1 Zealous Persecution
+1 Anguished Unmaking
+2 Blood Baron
+1 Go for the Throat
+1 Fatal Push
for instance
Nice, thank you! Those were the exact changes I was thinking, except I'm up in the air on cutting a Castigate or a Sculler. Sculler is a much better tempo play but the card stays gone with Castigate which is also relevant for Strangler. And I'd like to put 2x Push in the board (cutting Disenchant).
R1 Infect, lose die roll, 2-1
My poor opponent forgot his Ad Nauseam deck at home so he had borrowed Infect. g1 he led with Inkmoth and I had t2 Bob into t3 Gideon of the Trials +1 on his Inkmoth. g2 I kept a sketchy hand with only Plains, Lingering Souls, Copter, double Inquisition and Path and I scried a Ghost Quarter to the top. I hit a black source on turn 3 but he had Spellskite into Blighted Agent and so my discard came too late and my Path wasn't enough. G3 I had the nuts with discard into Bob into Lingering Souls. I almost died to my own Bob (flipped 3 drops 4 turns in a row) but I got there.
R2 Esper Control, win die roll, 2-1
g1 was funny because we both ended up topdecking and trading hits with Shambling Vent. I continue to flood and draw discard spells while he eventually draws Lingering Souls and Gideon Ally to close it out. g2 I had t2 Pack Rat, which he answers with Pithing Needle. I eventually beat him down with Lingering Souls and Elspeth. g3 he names Elspeth with Pithing Needle on turn 1, but I never draw it. I win with Lingering Souls, Liliana, and Pack Rat.
R3 Grixis Death's Shadow, win die roll, 1-1-1
This guy played insanely slowly and caused us to draw. g1 he mulled to 5 but I had the nuts. He had a few good rips as the game went on but I took it down with Elspeth. g2 I mulled to 5 and he had triple removal spell to get in the last damage. g3 we went to time and he went Serum Visions into Thought Scour to find Kozilek's Return to kill all my Spirits and make it a draw with him at 2 life and me at 8. I still had a Liliana on the board and my top card was Elspeth so I was a huge favorite to win. Little salty cause I play pretty quickly and he tanked on everything.
R4 UGR Scapeshift, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 I mull to 5 and die to a Scapeshift. g2 I have Thoughtseize to take his Scapeshift, then on my turn 3 I Surgical Extraction it and he has drawn another one. The only wincons in his deck are 3 Obstinate Baloth and I take it down with Bob and Elspeth + Shambling Vent. Bob revealed Shadow of Doubt on top of my library this game so he knows about it. g3 he mulls to 5 and I have discard (taking Scapeshift) into Bob into Elspeth. At some point I draw Shadow of Doubt. He casts Sower of Temptation and steal my Bob but after 2 turns he is forced to block a 4/4 flying Soldier token with Sower. He rips Snapcaster on 7 land to flashback Scapeshift but I have Shadow and lethal flying attackers next turn.
Once again the deck ran great. The sideboard could definitely be better but I boarded in every card over the course of the night. Fragmentize was the weakest.
Where's your list thought? I didn't find it in past posts.
I haven't been playing much modern recently but I feel this deck is very well positioned. The only matches I feel really terrible about are dredge and to a lesser extent, burn.
Anyway, little trip down memory lane, here is the absolutely abysmal budget deck I took to a PTQ top 8 a few years ago. http://www.mtgmintcard.com/mtg/decks/eventdecks/khans-of-tarkir-ptq-roanoke/jason-freischlag/wb-midrange
If I can beat burn in the final swiss round with that deck then I am confident with the new tools the deck has gotten that the match-up isn't nearly as bad as it used to be.
I think Burn is an even-to-favorable matchup for my build. Collective Brutality destroys them and Shambling Vent can you bring you back from the brink. The key is to kill them relatively quickly.
I think the worst matchup is Eldrazi Tron perhaps followed by GR Titanshift.
-1 Fragmentize
-1 Cast Out
-1 Zealous Persecution
-1 Ghost Quarter
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Fulminator Mage
+1 Phyrexian Revoker
+1 Smallpox
R1 Affinity, lose die roll, 1-1-1
g1 I had t2 Smuggler's Copter which was a complete all star, since his draw was mostly fliers and Inkmoth/Blinkmoth Nexus. Game 2 he had Blood Moon and Ghirapur Aether Grid to ultimately stabilize at 1 life and come back to win. Pretty crazy. g3 we just ran out of time. In general I believe my build is a significant favorite against Affinity. Lingering Souls and spot removal is all great and Mutavault / Copter neutralize Etched Champion.
R2 Storm, lose die roll, 2-1
g1 I mulled to 5 and he got me. g2 was classic discard into Bob into Lili. g3 I had disard into Lili into Elspeth and drew Shadow of Doubt to effectively counter his Gifts Ungiven on the last possible turn.
R3 Mardu Tokens, lose die roll, 2-0
g1 I had Lingering Souls into Elspeth and he had a lot of trouble with Elspeth. g2 I had Copter into Gideon and he made a significant misplay where he had 2 Spirit tokens and forgot I could crew Copter with the Knight to block, so my Gideon survived when it shouldn't have and then ran away with the game.
R4 Abzan, win die roll, 2-0
g1 I had multiple Lingering Souls and he had none. g2 I had Liliana and Gideon of the Trials and ultimately Pack Rat to take it home.
I haven't lost a match in 3 weeks. lol
edit: List is here. Gideon of the Trials is still a big question mark. No idea if he should be in the 75.
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Godless Shrine
4 Marsh Flats
2 Mutavault
2 Plains
4 Shambling Vent
3 Swamp
3 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
3 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
4 Lingering Souls
4 Dark Confidant
4 Pack Rat
4 Gifted Aetherborn
Planeswalkers
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Gideon of the Trials
Just picked up Dead Guy Ale and have been having pretty good luck with it.
I tried Brimaz, Copter, and Sculler (among others) in the 2 and 3-drop slots, and never felt too great about them. I threw Gifted Aetherborn in the slot and have been very happy with them. Deathtouch and Lifelink are almost always relevant. If you haven't given them a try, I really suggest it!
Still working on sideboard... currently it is as follows:
3 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Blessed Alliance
2 Disenchant
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Yahenni's Expertise
I'm definitely going to run 2 Bontu’s Last Reckoning as soon as they are available. I find myself desperately wanting sweepers against Company decks, which I seem to run up against on a pretty regular basis.
Any comments or suggestions?
If it was me I'd go
-4 Mana Tithe
-2 Anguished Unmaking
-1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
-1 Gideon of the Trials
+2 Collective Brutality
+2 Smuggler's Copter
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Fatal Push
+1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
+1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Elspeth + Shambling Vent is too good to pass up.
Mana Tithe is bad for a lot of reasons. Most of all I found that BW naturally plays well at sorcery speed, especially with all the discard. The best turns to leave up Mana Tithe would be turns 1 and 3 but you already have better plays for those turns like Thoughtseize and Liliana. There isn't a matchup where the best card is Mana Tithe because the decks with expensive spells are mostly Tron decks that frequently have an extra 1 or 2 mana anyway.
I haven't played with Stockpile. I don't like the idea of Copter + Stockpile. Neither of them do anything on their own so you could have a lot of awkward draws. I think 8 creatures and 4 Lingering Souls is enough to play 2-3 Copters, especially with a few token-making planeswalkers. I play Pack Rat / Mutavault in my list and Mutavault is a nice way to crew copter. I think a Copter-centric list is the place to be
I like that list a lot more than the first one. My few changes would be:
-1 Gideon of the Trials
+1 Smuggler's Copter
-1 Plains
-1 Bloodstained Mire
+2 Concealed Courtyard
edit: I have also been considering cutting Pack Rat for Tidehollow Sculler since it seems awesome with Copter. However I will keep the Mutavaults.
Ammit eternal also looks pretty good for this deck. One of the biggest problems with deadguy ale was the lack of a cheap beater (a black gofy). Running something like:
Seems like a really good start. I feel that pack rat is pretty strong right now due to a people running fewer maelstrom pulses.
Tidehollow Sculler is pretty bad right now with all of the kolaghan's commands running around and no other way to utilize him (such as wasteland strangler or eldrazi displacer).
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange
Both great points. It's a little hard to find room for more 3-drops past Lingering Souls and Liliana but those are probably the next best ones.
I'll report back once I've tested Sculler over Rat. I'm playing a build with 4 Smuggler's Copter so I'm trying to optimize turn 2 Copter draws. Playing Copter into Sculler seems sweet because the opponent is kind of screwed no matter what. They can't use their removal on Copter until you crew it so what do they do? Mostly just lose it to Sculler and then get hit by Copter, putting you at a big advantage. Even if they have Kolaghan's Command they have to use it in response to the Sculler trigger, which means you are taking another card forever. Throw an Inquisition or Thoughtseize into the mix and that sounds pretty hard to beat.
I've sworn by the Rat for a long time but now it feels clunky in most matchups. I think it was best against traditional midrange like Jund and Abzan but those are nowhere to be seen. Before Copter, there simply weren't any good two drops in BW besides Bob. Rat and Sculler are much worse. Copter and Lingering Souls are best friends so I think it's Copter time!
(as it will give back the card eventually).
I'd rather play more Thoughtseize/Collective Brutality instead.
Regarding playable 2-drops, what about Gifted Aetherborn ?
He trades with every ground creature and gains life (for Thoughtseize/Bob).
Another option can be Seeker of the Way which should have enough spells for Prowess and can also gain life.
Regarding Ammit Eternal, I think it is a trap and not a good card.
Unless you manage to connect with him the turn after you cast him and not get blocked/removed it will just die without doing anything.
Even Plague Belcher would be the better 3-drop (especially if you can kill a spirit token and keep it a 5/4).