There is no real 'budget' replacement for The Scarab God. The God's ability to end games isn't just because it's a 5 mana 5/5. It allows you to simply untap and slowly create an army of creatures your opponent already dealt with. 4/4 Siren Stormtamers which you can sacrifice to keep your God safe from removal. Instant speed 4/4 Hostage Takers to steal annoying threats your opponents may have. You can end of draw step get a 4/4 Kitesail Freebooter and take the wrath effect your opponent just drew.
There isn't a replacement for The Scarab God that doesn't make your deck infinitely worse. Like going from 3-1 to 1-3 at events worse.
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Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
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I'm curious as to what the problem with The Scarab God is. It's only $25 (current price on SCG) which isn't all that expensive. Compare that to Gideon, ALly of Zendikar who floated between $30 and $40 for quite a while in Standard.
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#PayThePros
The trouble is a the popular decks right now are using or trying the scarab god, which is why his price is high. Given it appeared in a summer set as well it's probably got some supply issues. How many do we really need to run, though?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Is there any possibility of going a more controlling route? Something like this, for example? It's basically the creatures from PVDDR's list, then the key removal and draw spells from a UB control shell. Not sure of the manabase yet, but this one gives 18u/18b.
I get that TSG has some juicy "do something" creatures to reanimate with this biult, but since it has been around on HOD, has found some different homes in different decks: zombie, control...(like, to draw a comparison with modern, the Nahiri+Emrakul finisher).
Now, since many decks provide good creatures anyway (you can always steal oppo's as well), I was wondering why play pirates in the first place, if is just a "stall the game untill the Scarab god comes into play", or if it stands some chance on its own, or almost...if, in other words, it could add something new to the meta (like a more "aggressive" control deck -- not necessarly aggro, but do-something other that draw-go, draw-go, counter, counter, glimmer, torrential gearhulk, GG).
The Scarab God works very well in the kind of aggressive / tempo strategy that demir pirates brings. While he can work in a lot of decks, the reason he is good here is because of all the utility creatures that have rather weak bodies, but good ETB or sacrifice abilities. Basically, it's because the pirates used in the tempo strategy had to sacrifice power and toughness to have those nice abilities that the god is a good fit.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I get that TSG has some juicy "do something" creatures to reanimate with this biult, but since it has been around on HOD, has found some different homes in different decks: zombie, control...(like, to draw a comparison with modern, the Nahiri+Emrakul finisher).
Now, since many decks provide good creatures anyway (you can always steal oppo's as well), I was wondering why play pirates in the first place, if is just a "stall the game untill the Scarab god comes into play", or if it stands some chance on its own, or almost...if, in other words, it could add something new to the meta (like a more "aggressive" control deck -- not necessarly aggro, but do-something other that draw-go, draw-go, counter, counter, glimmer, torrential gearhulk, GG).
All of these cards have the exact same strengths and weaknesses. Their strength, is that they are all great tempo cards. Stormtamer comes down early and easily disrupts the opponent while also attacking with evasion. Freebooter disrupts our opponent's hand while being an evasive attacker. Captain easily makes an army of evasive tokens while being evasive himself at a very low investment cost. Hostage Taker allows us to steal a problem card and even allows us to cast it for ourselves later. All of these tempo plays are amazing in the early game, and at most points in the midgame. But if you hit the late game, all of them are abysmal. Your tempo plays don't matter as much when you're at the late game and your opponent is making huge plays. Who cares about you playing some 1 power fliers that disrupt your opponent? They're casting Carnage Tyrant or Glorybringer and just laughing at you.
That's why you run TSG. It shores up the late game. Those tiny little creatures are a lot more threatening when they suddenly become 4/4s. Add to it the fact that a lot of them have great ETB abilities is just gravy on top of everything. That is why you run TSG. It is your late game top end because your are running Pirates.
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This is one deck where I wish we weren't so tightly coupled with pirates. Merfolk has a few really good cards and even Aether poisoner has potential. There is a control build in limited for pirates, but I don't think it works that well in standard.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm having a blast with this deck. unfortunately i'm testing on cockatrice where at the moment everyone is trying their dino-brews, so I haven't played yet against something like temur energy.
I'm trying to understand if there's a role for Jace in this deck or not.
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
The card I've been testing is a common of all things... Watertrap weaver. It's not a pirate, but with a blink spell and The scarab god both allowing the reuse of the effect it may prove useful against things like dinosaurs.
Also, any deck not running Siren's Ruse and using both Kitesail Freebooter and Hostage taker is not playing this deck right. Play it! The counterplay is hilarious. It makes me wish we had Spellqueller in the format. Not that our opponents want that guy in the format right now, but holy smokes that would be madness with the other blink card. I actually prefer the extra mana and free draw over the one mana and a counter.
I prefer the first one due to it also doubling as a boost spell to get the last few points of damage in. The second is basically a counter to sweltering suns. The first lets you re-evaluate the opponents hand and field if you lose Kitesail Freebooter or Hostage Taker.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I agree with you about Siren's Ruse, it's the strongest version of that trick.
About the Scarab God, I wonder whether Liliana, Death's Majesty isn't better. The deck don't rely on too many lands and you always want mana open for instant speed stuff. Knowing that you draw cards with Siren's Ruse, Ruin Raider, use mana off Fathom Fleet Captain and potentially Hostage Taker, Lili lets us do more things in a single turn.
Another card that I think could be in the main deck is 2x Sorcerous Spyglass. It hits so many things that the Pirate deck can't recover from, may be worth it. Bolas, Gods, Hydra, Cub, Chandra, Ballista,... name a deck you have 2 targets for the most part.
If we get to play 4 5-drops, 2x Dire Fleet Ravager wouldn't be so bad. This card stops any energy beater, Gearhulk or etc... and grinds correctly. He's also valuable in the graveyard. Hard to evaluate though.
That's a flaw of playing U/B, you don't really have a way to deal with enchantments outside of countering them. That said, I think that between Siren Stormtamer, Kitesail Freebooter, and Lookout's Dispersal, the deck has enough ways to deal with the enchantments before they hit play
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#PayThePros
I agree with you about Siren's Ruse, it's the strongest version of that trick.
About the Scarab God, I wonder whether Liliana, Death's Majesty isn't better. The deck don't rely on too many lands and you always want mana open for instant speed stuff. Knowing that you draw cards with Siren's Ruse, Ruin Raider, use mana off Fathom Fleet Captain and potentially Hostage Taker, Lili lets us do more things in a single turn.
Another card that I think could be in the main deck is 2x Sorcerous Spyglass. It hits so many things that the Pirate deck can't recover from, may be worth it. Bolas, Gods, Hydra, Cub, Chandra, Ballista,... name a deck you have 2 targets for the most part.
If we get to play 4 5-drops, 2x Dire Fleet Ravager wouldn't be so bad. This card stops any energy beater, Gearhulk or etc... and grinds correctly. He's also valuable in the graveyard. Hard to evaluate though.
I actually considered her when I thought about budget alternatives. The problem with Liliana is that she can't bring things back on your opponents turn, which the god is able to do and is a major reason it is so good. She is a value engine in that she can constantly create 2/2 zombies to defend herself and can keep ticking up until potentially one side wrathing the board. She's not a bad card to use, just the sorcery speed interactions don't feel as flexible. There's a bit of a gap in the 5 mana spot right now. Baral's Expertise is another option, and for a big beater using Cryptic Serpent can be good. It actually goes over a lot of green dinosaurs and trades with creatures as big as Carnage Tyrant. There is also Vizier of Many faces.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I actually considered her when I thought about budget alternatives. The problem with Liliana is that she can't bring things back on your opponents turn, which the god is able to do and is a major reason it is so good. She is a value engine in that she can constantly create 2/2 zombies to defend herself and can keep ticking up until potentially one side wrathing the board. She's not a bad card to use, just the sorcery speed interactions don't feel as flexible. There's a bit of a gap in the 5 mana spot right now. Baral's Expertise is another option, and for a big beater using Cryptic Serpent can be good. It actually goes over a lot of green dinosaurs and trades with creatures as big as Carnage Tyrant. There is also Vizier of Many faces.
The thing is you don't want a lot of high CMC cards in your deck because of Ruin Raider. I made that post on the first page to explain why Raider is good and should be in the deck, but you want to limit how high the cost of cards on your curve are. This is why I am only proposing 2 Scarab God and 4 Hostage Takers as the only cards that cost more than 3 mana. Though I will say that Siren's Ruse does look interesting, and I may be willing to try it out. It's a pseudo counterspell for removal, and is a great way to get more use out of your Hostage Takers and Kitesail Freebooters.
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Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
In every game, I draw cards with Raiders, and I can never cast 5-drops since I have instants, abilities and hostages to play.
Jace and Saboteur are in very early testing, replacing the 5-drops. Vizier of Many Faces is a more probable inclusion in my mind, it's cheap and synergistic enough.
Edit : cut Never for Push, adjusted the mana, cut Jace for VoMF.
I actually considered her when I thought about budget alternatives. The problem with Liliana is that she can't bring things back on your opponents turn, which the god is able to do and is a major reason it is so good. She is a value engine in that she can constantly create 2/2 zombies to defend herself and can keep ticking up until potentially one side wrathing the board. She's not a bad card to use, just the sorcery speed interactions don't feel as flexible. There's a bit of a gap in the 5 mana spot right now. Baral's Expertise is another option, and for a big beater using Cryptic Serpent can be good. It actually goes over a lot of green dinosaurs and trades with creatures as big as Carnage Tyrant. There is also Vizier of Many faces.
The thing is you don't want a lot of high CMC cards in your deck because of Ruin Raider. I made that post on the first page to explain why Raider is good and should be in the deck, but you want to limit how high the cost of cards on your curve are. This is why I am only proposing 2 Scarab God and 4 Hostage Takers as the only cards that cost more than 3 mana. Though I will say that Siren's Ruse does look interesting, and I may be willing to try it out. It's a pseudo counterspell for removal, and is a great way to get more use out of your Hostage Takers and Kitesail Freebooters.
I'm just proposing some options. Cryptic Serpent would definitely be a problem for someone running Raiders. Actually, I kind of want to try Arguel's Blood fast with Ruin Raider. Both let you draw and if your life total gets too low it can flip into a land that lets you sacrifice it for life. Not a bad deal with The Scarab God, since there is a point where we'd probably want to sacrifice something just to boost it as a 4/4. Just don't know what to cut for it...
I was hoping to go the old Favorable Winds build, but the pirate offerings are a little lacking. I think there is enough density to do it, though. Ruin Raider actually works really well in that deck as the only non-flier since the CMC of the deck is mostly 4 and below. Anthem the team with the scarab god out and even the 1/1 suddenly become 2/2 flying threats, with the 4/4 eternals now 5/5s as well. In that build Nimble Obstructionist can work.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
My current list that I'm thinking about building...
I like Aether Meltdown against aggro decks and it even works on the majority of dinosaurs. It will stop a Hazoret swinging in from doing any damage as well. Confiscation Coup is there as a payoff to steal important creatures and control finishers without worrying about losing or protecting the pirate, and Aethersphere Harvester is there to block against Glorybringer or to let Ruin Raider attack in. Gonti's Machinations is a way to stabilize and gives a bit of reach when we may need to end the game quickly as well as get some energy for hub or harvester. The sideboard is a bit of a hot mess: I want to be able to transform into a more aggressive listing against control if that is a thing and just swing in hard with fliers. Vizier of Many Faces is there to answer Carnage Tyrant, as we don't really have a good way to deal with it besides copy and block. Baral's Expertise is the closest thing we have to Engulf the Shores against tokens of all kinds, which are probably going to be all over the place this coming standard. never // Return is really our best answer against planeswalkers. Opt is there to drop the deck down to a 57 card deck and lets me filter quickly to find what we need.
Negate is one that I'm going back and forth on. It's largely there to dependably deal with board sweeps when we don't have a pirate on the field to use Lookout's Dispersal for 2 mana. Spell Pierce might be a better choice against Ramunap Red due to them usually not holding up mana for Lightning Strike or Abrade.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
It's also going to be rather hard for them to use a 4 cmc exile effect on anything we'd be playing in the deck given all the counter magic and even blink spells. Consign // Oblivion is another good option with a late game upside, though.
I think the big enemy to the airborne army build is Aethersphere Harvester itself. A lot of decks run that card and even if it gets neutered by Aether Meltdown, it's still an 0/5 flying wall. Ice Over would be hard to hit it with directly. Maybe Baral's Expertise?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Also, I think Hostage Taker may be difficult to defend in this meta against Lightning Strike since to play it safely,
The best counterspell we have for 1 mana is Siren Stormtamer, and we run Freebooter and Dispersal for good reasons too. The deck plays slowly, it's a tempo archetype that will keep mana open in the early turns very often. Once you get the deck doesn't quite play on curve, but rather reacts to what the opponent does, suddenly HT is easier to sequence.
Also, I think Hostage Taker may be difficult to defend in this meta against Lightning Strike since to play it safely,
The best counterspell we have for 1 mana is Siren Stormtamer, and we run Freebooter and Dispersal for good reasons too. The deck plays slowly, it's a tempo archetype that will keep mana open in the early turns very often. Once you get the deck doesn't quite play on curve, but rather reacts to what the opponent does, suddenly HT is easier to sequence.
THIS
in my tests that's something I've realised too: it's a game of waiting. You strip their hand of some stuff, forcing them to play into your HT. you don't slam it down tapping down on T4...you wait for the right moment to "raid" their "ship".
It's a much more complex gameplay than "putting down a bunch of evasive creatures and swing". That's why when a friend was asking how Do I deal with wipes I told him that if I haven't discarded or countered them, I'm still playing 2/3 creatures top. Which is why fathom fleet captain is so important: it allows you to go wide without committing to the board.
We almost play like a control deck, I replay love the way the deck plays.
Side note: careful,with consign//oblivion. Thanks to the new rules, that's 7 damage with ruin raider....
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Yeah Fathom Fleet Captain is secretly one of the better plan A cards this deck has access to. Just between a Captain and a Siren Stormtamer you are able to make an army of evasive creatures while holding up loads of removal and permission.
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Modern Decks: UBG Lantern Control GBU BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Jace, Cunning Castaway looks real bad in the deck since he seems to curve best in an aggro shell, which Pirates is not. 2x Aethersphere Harvester will take the slots, since it's really good at giving Ruin Raider the opportunity to synergize with itself.
Daring Saboteur is also pretty bad but I feel like I need 2 Pirates in this slot to strengthen all those cards that synergize with the tribe. I'll try Vizier of MF.
I was wondering what are people's opinions on siren's ruse and march of the drowned
Ruse is a must imho. Looks like a clunky toy but plays like Blossoming Defense, which is a card people had doubts about in the early days.
March is tempting in the SB, i'm not there yet though.
Also, I think Hostage Taker may be difficult to defend in this meta against Lightning Strike since to play it safely,
The best counterspell we have for 1 mana is Siren Stormtamer, and we run Freebooter and Dispersal for good reasons too. The deck plays slowly, it's a tempo archetype that will keep mana open in the early turns very often. Once you get the deck doesn't quite play on curve, but rather reacts to what the opponent does, suddenly HT is easier to sequence.
Right, just traditionally I've always had issues in tempo spirits back in the day due to 4 mana cards being too slow.
On a side note, I've swapped out the machinations now in favor of glint sleeve siphoner. I don't want too many non-pirates, but a two of like the Obstructionist can help, and I like it more than the draw two card at two mana options we have.
Also love the harvesters. They are doing some good things.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm not sold on Siphoner since Raider draws us cards already. I had games where I discarded to handsize enough times to not want more of the same effect.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
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There isn't a replacement for The Scarab God that doesn't make your deck infinitely worse. Like going from 3-1 to 1-3 at events worse.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I'm curious as to what the problem with The Scarab God is. It's only $25 (current price on SCG) which isn't all that expensive. Compare that to Gideon, ALly of Zendikar who floated between $30 and $40 for quite a while in Standard.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
7 Island
7 Swamp
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
3 Submerged Boneyard
4 Siren Stormtamer
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Hostage Taker
2 Ruin Raider
2 The Scarab God
4 Fatal Push
3 Opt
2 Walk the Plank
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
4 Disallow
3 Supreme Will
2 Vraska's Contempt
The Scarab God works very well in the kind of aggressive / tempo strategy that demir pirates brings. While he can work in a lot of decks, the reason he is good here is because of all the utility creatures that have rather weak bodies, but good ETB or sacrifice abilities. Basically, it's because the pirates used in the tempo strategy had to sacrifice power and toughness to have those nice abilities that the god is a good fit.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Here is why you run TSG in Pirates.
Look at the creatures we're running in these lists:
Siren Stormtamer
Kitesail Freebooter
Fathom Fleet Captain
Hostage Taker
All of these cards have the exact same strengths and weaknesses. Their strength, is that they are all great tempo cards. Stormtamer comes down early and easily disrupts the opponent while also attacking with evasion. Freebooter disrupts our opponent's hand while being an evasive attacker. Captain easily makes an army of evasive tokens while being evasive himself at a very low investment cost. Hostage Taker allows us to steal a problem card and even allows us to cast it for ourselves later. All of these tempo plays are amazing in the early game, and at most points in the midgame. But if you hit the late game, all of them are abysmal. Your tempo plays don't matter as much when you're at the late game and your opponent is making huge plays. Who cares about you playing some 1 power fliers that disrupt your opponent? They're casting Carnage Tyrant or Glorybringer and just laughing at you.
That's why you run TSG. It shores up the late game. Those tiny little creatures are a lot more threatening when they suddenly become 4/4s. Add to it the fact that a lot of them have great ETB abilities is just gravy on top of everything. That is why you run TSG. It is your late game top end because your are running Pirates.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm trying to understand if there's a role for Jace in this deck or not.
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Also, any deck not running Siren's Ruse and using both Kitesail Freebooter and Hostage taker is not playing this deck right. Play it! The counterplay is hilarious. It makes me wish we had Spellqueller in the format. Not that our opponents want that guy in the format right now, but holy smokes that would be madness with the other blink card. I actually prefer the extra mana and free draw over the one mana and a counter.
Also, as for a budget replacement for scarab god (because this deck is dirt cheap without it), just play more Dreamcaller siren. Other good possible cards are Nimble Obstructionist, Mirage Mirror, and Failure // Comply. The 6 mana fixed Cyclonic Rift is also a very good card in the deck, because it answers Carnage Tyrant and can deal with dinosaur tokens. I'm not totally convinced The Scarab God is worth his price tag right now due to Deathgorge Scavenger and Deadeye tracker, as well as Sentinel Totem, Crook of Condemnation, and watchers of the dead, etc. (Geez, they really did a number on the yard). Not to mention Sorcerous Spyglass.
Also, for targeted removal protection there are two Blossoming Defense cards for demir:
1) Supernatural Stamina
2) Dive Down
I prefer the first one due to it also doubling as a boost spell to get the last few points of damage in. The second is basically a counter to sweltering suns. The first lets you re-evaluate the opponents hand and field if you lose Kitesail Freebooter or Hostage Taker.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
About the Scarab God, I wonder whether Liliana, Death's Majesty isn't better. The deck don't rely on too many lands and you always want mana open for instant speed stuff. Knowing that you draw cards with Siren's Ruse, Ruin Raider, use mana off Fathom Fleet Captain and potentially Hostage Taker, Lili lets us do more things in a single turn.
Another card that I think could be in the main deck is 2x Sorcerous Spyglass. It hits so many things that the Pirate deck can't recover from, may be worth it. Bolas, Gods, Hydra, Cub, Chandra, Ballista,... name a deck you have 2 targets for the most part.
If we get to play 4 5-drops, 2x Dire Fleet Ravager wouldn't be so bad. This card stops any energy beater, Gearhulk or etc... and grinds correctly. He's also valuable in the graveyard. Hard to evaluate though.
That's a flaw of playing U/B, you don't really have a way to deal with enchantments outside of countering them. That said, I think that between Siren Stormtamer, Kitesail Freebooter, and Lookout's Dispersal, the deck has enough ways to deal with the enchantments before they hit play
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I actually considered her when I thought about budget alternatives. The problem with Liliana is that she can't bring things back on your opponents turn, which the god is able to do and is a major reason it is so good. She is a value engine in that she can constantly create 2/2 zombies to defend herself and can keep ticking up until potentially one side wrathing the board. She's not a bad card to use, just the sorcery speed interactions don't feel as flexible. There's a bit of a gap in the 5 mana spot right now. Baral's Expertise is another option, and for a big beater using Cryptic Serpent can be good. It actually goes over a lot of green dinosaurs and trades with creatures as big as Carnage Tyrant. There is also Vizier of Many faces.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The thing is you don't want a lot of high CMC cards in your deck because of Ruin Raider. I made that post on the first page to explain why Raider is good and should be in the deck, but you want to limit how high the cost of cards on your curve are. This is why I am only proposing 2 Scarab God and 4 Hostage Takers as the only cards that cost more than 3 mana. Though I will say that Siren's Ruse does look interesting, and I may be willing to try it out. It's a pseudo counterspell for removal, and is a great way to get more use out of your Hostage Takers and Kitesail Freebooters.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
4 Hostage Taker
4 Ruin Raider
4 Fathom Fleet Captain
4 Kitesail Freebooter
2 Daring Saboteur
4 Siren Stormtamer
4 Fatal Push
4 Lookout's Dispersal
4 Siren's Ruse
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Island
3 Swamp
1 Ifnir Deadlands
1 Scavenger Grounds
In every game, I draw cards with Raiders, and I can never cast 5-drops since I have instants, abilities and hostages to play.
Jace and Saboteur are in very early testing, replacing the 5-drops. Vizier of Many Faces is a more probable inclusion in my mind, it's cheap and synergistic enough.
Edit : cut Never for Push, adjusted the mana, cut Jace for VoMF.
I'm just proposing some options. Cryptic Serpent would definitely be a problem for someone running Raiders. Actually, I kind of want to try Arguel's Blood fast with Ruin Raider. Both let you draw and if your life total gets too low it can flip into a land that lets you sacrifice it for life. Not a bad deal with The Scarab God, since there is a point where we'd probably want to sacrifice something just to boost it as a 4/4. Just don't know what to cut for it...
I was hoping to go the old Favorable Winds build, but the pirate offerings are a little lacking. I think there is enough density to do it, though. Ruin Raider actually works really well in that deck as the only non-flier since the CMC of the deck is mostly 4 and below. Anthem the team with the scarab god out and even the 1/1 suddenly become 2/2 flying threats, with the 4/4 eternals now 5/5s as well. In that build Nimble Obstructionist can work.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I like Aether Meltdown against aggro decks and it even works on the majority of dinosaurs. It will stop a Hazoret swinging in from doing any damage as well. Confiscation Coup is there as a payoff to steal important creatures and control finishers without worrying about losing or protecting the pirate, and Aethersphere Harvester is there to block against Glorybringer or to let Ruin Raider attack in. Gonti's Machinations is a way to stabilize and gives a bit of reach when we may need to end the game quickly as well as get some energy for hub or harvester. The sideboard is a bit of a hot mess: I want to be able to transform into a more aggressive listing against control if that is a thing and just swing in hard with fliers. Vizier of Many Faces is there to answer Carnage Tyrant, as we don't really have a good way to deal with it besides copy and block. Baral's Expertise is the closest thing we have to Engulf the Shores against tokens of all kinds, which are probably going to be all over the place this coming standard. never // Return is really our best answer against planeswalkers. Opt is there to drop the deck down to a 57 card deck and lets me filter quickly to find what we need.
4 Aether Hub
4 Drowned Catacomb
3 Ifnir Deadlands
8 Island
3 Swamp
2 Unclaimed Territory
Spells
4 Aether Meltdown
2 Aethersphere Harvester
2 Gonti's Machinations
3 Lookout's Dispersal
2 Negate
3 Opt
3 Siren's Ruse
3 Hostage Taker
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Ruin Raider
2 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Siren Stormtamer
2 The Scarab God
1 Baral's Expertise
2 Dreamcaller Siren
3 Favorable Winds
3 Never // Return
2 Confiscation Coup
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Vizier of Many Faces
Negate is one that I'm going back and forth on. It's largely there to dependably deal with board sweeps when we don't have a pirate on the field to use Lookout's Dispersal for 2 mana. Spell Pierce might be a better choice against Ramunap Red due to them usually not holding up mana for Lightning Strike or Abrade.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
consign//oblivion
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Edit: Dropping the Confiscation Coup for Spell Pierce. I think I may swap some slots to try making room for Consign // Oblivion, but the deck already runs Negate and Lookout's Dispersal, so unless they are holding for The scarab God, I don't think there is much to worry about. I'm more worried about Settle the Wreckage, Fumigate, Sweltering Suns, and possibly Hour of Devastation. Also, I think Hostage Taker may be difficult to defend in this meta against Lightning Strike since to play it safely, you really need at least 5 mana, the best counter we got for one mana is Spell Pierce, and the decks running Lightning Strike that late in the game are things like RG mid-range and various temur energy builds that could have mana to spare on turn 5. We do have Siren Stormtamer, but they may try to play around it.
I think the big enemy to the airborne army build is Aethersphere Harvester itself. A lot of decks run that card and even if it gets neutered by Aether Meltdown, it's still an 0/5 flying wall. Ice Over would be hard to hit it with directly. Maybe Baral's Expertise?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The best counterspell we have for 1 mana is Siren Stormtamer, and we run Freebooter and Dispersal for good reasons too. The deck plays slowly, it's a tempo archetype that will keep mana open in the early turns very often. Once you get the deck doesn't quite play on curve, but rather reacts to what the opponent does, suddenly HT is easier to sequence.
THIS
in my tests that's something I've realised too: it's a game of waiting. You strip their hand of some stuff, forcing them to play into your HT. you don't slam it down tapping down on T4...you wait for the right moment to "raid" their "ship".
It's a much more complex gameplay than "putting down a bunch of evasive creatures and swing". That's why when a friend was asking how Do I deal with wipes I told him that if I haven't discarded or countered them, I'm still playing 2/3 creatures top. Which is why fathom fleet captain is so important: it allows you to go wide without committing to the board.
We almost play like a control deck, I replay love the way the deck plays.
Side note: careful,with consign//oblivion. Thanks to the new rules, that's 7 damage with ruin raider....
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Yeah, and actually Never // Return is a card I'm cutting in favor of Fatal Push for now, because of Ruin Raider. It makes my 2x Sorcerous Spyglass even more worth the maindeck.
Jace, Cunning Castaway looks real bad in the deck since he seems to curve best in an aggro shell, which Pirates is not. 2x Aethersphere Harvester will take the slots, since it's really good at giving Ruin Raider the opportunity to synergize with itself.
Daring Saboteur is also pretty bad but I feel like I need 2 Pirates in this slot to strengthen all those cards that synergize with the tribe. I'll try Vizier of MF.
Ruse is a must imho. Looks like a clunky toy but plays like Blossoming Defense, which is a card people had doubts about in the early days.
March is tempting in the SB, i'm not there yet though.
Right, just traditionally I've always had issues in tempo spirits back in the day due to 4 mana cards being too slow.
On a side note, I've swapped out the machinations now in favor of glint sleeve siphoner. I don't want too many non-pirates, but a two of like the Obstructionist can help, and I like it more than the draw two card at two mana options we have.
Also love the harvesters. They are doing some good things.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm not sold on Siphoner since Raider draws us cards already. I had games where I discarded to handsize enough times to not want more of the same effect.