What are some good sideboard options against Gruul aggro? I feel like it's an auto-loss for my deck.
Anything that passes the Bolt test is solid. Having Knight of the Reliquary in the main is invaluable because it blocks their guys all day and fetches Vault of the Archangel, which they can't beat. Kitchen Finks is always an MVP, as is Inquisition of Kozilek. Bringing in any extra copies of Path is good because they can't make good use of the extra lands anyway. I've always wished that I had a good sweeper in the side, so there's that...Wrath of God would do fine, but Damnation is more in our colours (as long as your favourite colour isn't green!).
Golgari Charm may also be useful for blocking + regenerating, taking out some of their guys. Batterskull is a beast and if you can drop it, you'll do just fine! That card just plain wrecks fair decks... Ooze should be in the main, but if it's not, it should be in the side. Swap it in for Bob to keep your curve intact, take out some Souls for Finks, bring in more targeted discard and removal, and drop a Batterskull into play if you have the chance.
I think I like finks. I forgot I had 3 sitting in my binder, so I don't have any issue throwing them in the sideboard. Batterskull and baloth are just too slow. I've been killed multiple times before I get to take my 4th turn.
Now I'm going to throw something out there. This is based on meta call where my biggest competition is burn, USA Midrange, and Storm.... Kor Firewalker.
I think I like finks. I forgot I had 3 sitting in my binder, so I don't have any issue throwing them in the sideboard. Batterskull and baloth are just too slow. I've been killed multiple times before I get to take my 4th turn.
Yeha, they were working out well for me against rdw and gruul aggro in testing. The other option I've considered is infest, but it can interact negatively with our board.
Did you think to ask if I was still around before you wrote a new primer?
Hello!
I messaged Lantern in response to the sticky about updating primers; the old one focused on utilizing Doran and a more Hatebears-oriented build. As the intended purpose of a primer is to guide a new player towards understanding the construction and playstyle of the deck, it needs to be up to date so as to be relevant.
The metagame has shifted and the Junk described in this primer best reflects what is viable today. When that changes, so will the primer. I appreciate all the work you've done and if there's something you'd like to add (and this applies to anyone reading this), PM me and we'll discuss its addition.
Okay guys after testing each BGx Midrange deck for several months I am back at Junk again. Jund without BBE feels not like before and I dont like it as much as I used to. Wraptor Jund was awesome at first but the more I played it the more I started too see that it is not my playstyle (and sometimes lacks heavy against aggro). Thus I am back at LS, Path and KotR (one of my favorite cards).
I am looking for some more advise or hints regarding my list. I will visit a few more Tourneys in the next weeks before I will visit the GP in Belgium. <snip>
Looks good! I prefer the 4/3 Knight/Souls split because 4 Souls is a bit clunky in my testing but it's definitely not wrong. The sideboard brings up some interesting cards I would like to add to the primer (namely, Life From the Loam). Wrench Mind stands out to me as a good substitution for Raven's Crime if it doesn't test well. It would be a huge help to everyone if you posted your results here so we can have an idea of how the deck is doing in other metas.
Yeha, they were working out well for me against rdw and gruul aggro in testing. The other option I've considered is infest, but it can interact negatively with our board.
Their deck was basically designed to reach 3 toughness to be out of range of infest and pyroclasm effects (namely pyroclasm). So I'm questioning the overall effectiveness of infest, considering it will likely kill most of our own creatures in the process. What makes the decision to play infest difficult is the fact that infest is great against a lot of other decks such as affinity and birthing pod which are also somewhat difficult matchups for this deck. So as it stands, infest I think needs some more vigorous testing to see if it's worth bringing in against gruul aggro. If not, I guess finks will have to do.
Thanks for the advice Mark! I´ve got Raven's Crime + Loam online in 2 of my games and it won me both (one against UWr, one against U-Tron). Wrench Mind can only be used once so I think I like Raven's Crime a bit more. Loam was an idea I took from Matt Ferandos Junk deck that placed top 8 at GP San Diego
How do you like the idea to write a little sideboard guide in the primer? For example what you possibly side out against Affinity and what you could bring in?
Poop has done this very nicely for GB Deathcloud here: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=531654
Edit:
An other idea instead of Raven's Crime is something like Extirpate or Surgical Extraction. That might shore up Tron huge times if you destroy a single Tronland with TecEdge and can be usefull against Combo or UWr if you can discard something decent prior to it.
Loam + Raven's Crime is a powerful engine. My concern looking at it was the singleton Crime, which makes it a difficult combo to assemble. I agree with you about the limited use[s] of Wrench Mind, and wish the card was closer to Hymn in playability.
I'd like to add a quick matchup and sideboard section to the primer. I'll start on it now.
Any obvious lack of the "standard" Junk cards are because I am out of funds to purchase big staples as I'm in school. What do you guys think of the list? Any improvements that could be made (other than add Thoughtseize or more Confidant)? I do own more fetches but not any more that grab Green. I have a set of Arid Mesas, would it be worth putting a few of those in? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I've seen Sorin, Lord of Innistrad in a few lists that made 4-0/3-1 on Magic Online. Because of that, I figured that I would put him in here to test him out. After testing, I don't really like him. I'm not sure what would be better suited in his place though.
Any obvious lack of the "standard" Junk cards are because I am out of funds to purchase big staples as I'm in school. What do you guys think of the list? Any improvements that could be made (other than add Thoughtseize or more Confidant)? I do own more fetches but not any more that grab Green. I have a set of Arid Mesas, would it be worth putting a few of those in? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
You probably want Knight of the Reliquary in there somewhere. If you do, I would exchange 1 Gavony for 1 Vault of the Archangel. You also want more Dark Confidant once you can afford them. For now, here are my suggestions:
Maindeck:
-1 Gavony Township
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Loxodon Smiter
-2 Duress
+4 Knight of the Reliquary
+1 Vault of the Archangel
Your sideboard is kind of all over the place, but if that works for you then I can't comment. The only thing that seems definitely wrong is the Deglamer. There are better cards to use that fill the same role.
But so does Path to Exile which you already have 4 of...?
I guess so, I just figured that more "clean" answers were better than less. I'll just put a destroy spell in instead.
I will definitely be trying out the KofRs as they look pretty sweet. Would there be any use in adding in an Arid Mesa or two? I realize that they don't specifically grab the colors that I'm wanting the most but I thought it might be good with Knight and Deathrite?
Just name a few
Anything that passes the Bolt test is solid. Having Knight of the Reliquary in the main is invaluable because it blocks their guys all day and fetches Vault of the Archangel, which they can't beat. Kitchen Finks is always an MVP, as is Inquisition of Kozilek. Bringing in any extra copies of Path is good because they can't make good use of the extra lands anyway. I've always wished that I had a good sweeper in the side, so there's that...Wrath of God would do fine, but Damnation is more in our colours (as long as your favourite colour isn't green!).
Golgari Charm may also be useful for blocking + regenerating, taking out some of their guys. Batterskull is a beast and if you can drop it, you'll do just fine! That card just plain wrecks fair decks... Ooze should be in the main, but if it's not, it should be in the side. Swap it in for Bob to keep your curve intact, take out some Souls for Finks, bring in more targeted discard and removal, and drop a Batterskull into play if you have the chance.
-Mark
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
RIP Eggs
My Trade Thread
Yeha, they were working out well for me against rdw and gruul aggro in testing. The other option I've considered is infest, but it can interact negatively with our board.
Hello!
I messaged Lantern in response to the sticky about updating primers; the old one focused on utilizing Doran and a more Hatebears-oriented build. As the intended purpose of a primer is to guide a new player towards understanding the construction and playstyle of the deck, it needs to be up to date so as to be relevant.
The metagame has shifted and the Junk described in this primer best reflects what is viable today. When that changes, so will the primer. I appreciate all the work you've done and if there's something you'd like to add (and this applies to anyone reading this), PM me and we'll discuss its addition.
-Mark
Looks good! I prefer the 4/3 Knight/Souls split because 4 Souls is a bit clunky in my testing but it's definitely not wrong. The sideboard brings up some interesting cards I would like to add to the primer (namely, Life From the Loam). Wrench Mind stands out to me as a good substitution for Raven's Crime if it doesn't test well. It would be a huge help to everyone if you posted your results here so we can have an idea of how the deck is doing in other metas.
-Mark
Their deck was basically designed to reach 3 toughness to be out of range of infest and pyroclasm effects (namely pyroclasm). So I'm questioning the overall effectiveness of infest, considering it will likely kill most of our own creatures in the process. What makes the decision to play infest difficult is the fact that infest is great against a lot of other decks such as affinity and birthing pod which are also somewhat difficult matchups for this deck. So as it stands, infest I think needs some more vigorous testing to see if it's worth bringing in against gruul aggro. If not, I guess finks will have to do.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
Loam + Raven's Crime is a powerful engine. My concern looking at it was the singleton Crime, which makes it a difficult combo to assemble. I agree with you about the limited use[s] of Wrench Mind, and wish the card was closer to Hymn in playability.
I'd like to add a quick matchup and sideboard section to the primer. I'll start on it now.
-Mark
EDH: Xenagos, God of Revels.
1 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Liliana of the Veil
4 Loxodon Smiter
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Batterskull
2 Duress
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
2 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Godless Shrine
2 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Swamp
3 Temple Garden
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Deglamer
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Golgari Charm
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Stony Silence
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Torpor Orb
Any obvious lack of the "standard" Junk cards are because I am out of funds to purchase big staples as I'm in school. What do you guys think of the list? Any improvements that could be made (other than add Thoughtseize or more Confidant)? I do own more fetches but not any more that grab Green. I have a set of Arid Mesas, would it be worth putting a few of those in? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
You probably want Knight of the Reliquary in there somewhere. If you do, I would exchange 1 Gavony for 1 Vault of the Archangel. You also want more Dark Confidant once you can afford them. For now, here are my suggestions:
Maindeck:
-1 Gavony Township
-1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Loxodon Smiter
-2 Duress
+4 Knight of the Reliquary
+1 Vault of the Archangel
Your sideboard is kind of all over the place, but if that works for you then I can't comment. The only thing that seems definitely wrong is the Deglamer. There are better cards to use that fill the same role.
Draft My Cube!
But so does Path to Exile which you already have 4 of...?
RIP Eggs
My Trade Thread
I guess so, I just figured that more "clean" answers were better than less. I'll just put a destroy spell in instead.
I will definitely be trying out the KofRs as they look pretty sweet. Would there be any use in adding in an Arid Mesa or two? I realize that they don't specifically grab the colors that I'm wanting the most but I thought it might be good with Knight and Deathrite?