Hey guys, really like the look of these lists, very cool. I was just wondering how 'easy' it would be to eventually convert one of these lists to full Junk, after slowly making the money for those damn Goyfs and Liliana's?
Glad to see traffic in here again. I think the best counter to run in the main is Spell Pierce.
@Mirrislegend: Like you, I run Elspeth as well. T1 dork, T2 Geist, T3 Elspeth is basically game. Geist and Elspeth present a very fast clock. I used to run a very very similar list to yours.As far as your flex spots go I would run four Geists. Knight of the Reliquary is my favorite card and I love her in my Abzan deck but I abandoned her here because I run Dig Through Time. Card is fantastic in this deck. Overall, I like the way your list looks.
Also, I think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes should be strongly considered for this deck. This deck runs enough targets and combined with Dig can help you find the cards you need. Also, in top deck mode a bird or noble can become threats and not to mention pumping Geist.
Do you guys feel that KotR can be a decent replacement for goyf? Unless that guy gets reprinted he is way or of my budget.
Nothing can replace Goyf but I love Knight of the Reliquary in this deck. I highly recommend her and run four copies myself. Especially, if Goyf is out of your budget, I see no reason not to run her.
I basically took your advice on building the deck. Although, i did not have the elspeth/ajani. I +2 souls +1 lili. I want to get a feel for the deck before i start customiZing anything. How do i make a fancy decklist like that?
Thanks for your input.
No problem. Those are fine replacements. I would definitely run the 4th Liliana. I personally don't run souls because there were so many times where, like ExplodingWaffle, I found it lacking. Also,another reason why I vouch for Elspeth is because I run Mirran Crusader in the side for BGx and Pod. If your opponent doesn't have an answer it's game over fairly quickly.
I am confident you will enjoy the deck. It's a fun deck to play and very competitive.
looking to start playing junk.. whats a good list? i will be playing on MTGO for the time being
That is tough to say. I would recommend running Knight of the Reliquary and Elspeth, Knight-Errant. KOTR is just amazing for me and nobody expects Elspeth. The look on an opponents face when you drop Elspeth is priceless. There are lot of good posters, such as Mastodon and ExplodingWaffle, who have good lists. Take a look and see what suites your playstyle.
Here is my current list (main deck), I will be adding Abzan Charm when it is released:
Abzan Charm
WBG
Instant
Choose one -
- Exile target creature with power 3 or greater.
- You draw two cards and you lose 2 life.
- Distribute two +1/+1 counters among one or two target creatures.
At my last LGS modern event I tried running 3 copies of Pack Rat along with a full set of LS and 2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrads. For the first time I ran no KotR, and although I missed her I didn't run into a time where I completely wished I had her. It's well known that LS isn't as good as Knight against combo, but it does allow me to directly side in a lot of the hate I have for combo without sacrificing the power of the deck. And that being said, I saw great results with the power of the deck's late game. One game against affinity was down to the wire and I was able to swing for 16 damage off a Sorin emblem, some souls, and a treetop village. This isn't going to happen all the time of course, but it's a nice means of maximizing value off the synergy between these cards.
I will still always vouch for my lady KotR, but if you shape the deck you can still make Souls a powerful option without totally ruining other matchups.
I am all about efficiency as well, that is why I brought up Pack Rat. For example dead cards in certain matches can be pitched to the Rat (efficient) and multiple scoozes aren't always the best. I agree with you that scooze is probably better for the deck but I am going to test Rat. BTW, great job with the primer. Have you had a chance to test Ajani yet?
Mastodon and Jain_Mor I agree with you both. Every time I cast Knight I am glad it is not Souls. Knight doesn't get the respect I think she deserves. At GP Boston, a jumped Knight from Elsepth finished games. If you get to untap with her you can mana ramp, fetch for utility lands (edge and vault, etc. People complain at time that she is usually a 3/3 or 4/4 but too many times I've had her at 7/7 or bigger. Feels great when you drop a Tectonic Edge for your land for the turn and get to double tect edge a control player. Enough gushing about Knight...
Has anyone else found Scavenging Ooze underwhelming at times. I run three main deck and have considered running Pack Rat in it's place. I am going to test him out with two Mutavault main deck. Rat has been having some success in modern and maybe it can be great in this deck. Maybe Goyf, Knight, and Rat teamed up with Lili, Elspeth, and Ajani can be something. Anybody try Rat?
Edit: Also Pack Rat helps us against graveyard hate since it isn't reliant on the graveyard as our beaters are (Goyf, Knight).
@Throst, I guess I should have prefaced my post by saying that I was looking for flexible cards/plans that are incident good against souls.
That's said, 4th scooze isn't a bad shout
Dark blast doesn't seem great, ur still using a card for each of them
Maelstrom pulse is also nice incidental hate too.
I'm running a typical junk build with knight and no souls at the moment, current sideboard needs a haymaker card for midrange, creature matchups and control
2 cage
2 stony
2 fulminator
2 censor
1 unravel the aether
1 golgari charm
1 drown in sorrow
1 drown/night of souls betraya/damnation
1 engineered explosives
1 sword of light and shadow
1 timely/phyrexian arena/Titan/planeswalker/equipment
I am running Knight with no souls as well. I posted my GP Boston list on the last page. I highly recommend running Elspeth, Knight-Errant. All star in every match I dropped it in. It finished games off. I am in favor ofMirran Crusader in the board for GBx and Pod matches. Especially if you run Elspeth. I swung for 10 on T4 against a Rock Opponent (not always going to happen but it did for me at a GP). I don't know what your current list looks like but if you have about 20 targets you should try out Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. He works well for me, Junk Walkers for the win.
Let me start off by saying that Elspeth, Knight-Errant was my MVP. It surprised every opponent I played against. Every game I won she played a role in it. Best moment of the tournament for me was dropping dropping a T3 Mirran Crusader(sideboard) followed by a T4 Elspeth against a Rock opponent. My opponent was dumbfounded. Knight of the Reliquary was amazing. Surprisingly, I never searched with her, just used her as a beat stick. Elspeth jumped her several times for big damage. I was expecting a lot of GBx decks (which there was) so I packed three copies of Mirran Crusader. Crusader is also great vs pod. Since, I was going to run Elspeth I thought it would be a no brainer. I was on my way to a 4-0 start but I ran into Suasay (he was featured for written coverage on day 1). I was up 1-0 (thanks to Elspeth) and up 14-4 in Game two but I ran into Keranos, God of Storms(mainboard) and he took over the game. G3 was a close one but he won. Lost to a UWR control the following round and was 3-2 at that point. I then rattled up 3 straight wins to go to 6-2. By round nine fatigue began to catch up to me. I misplayed vs a UWR Twin deck and lost a game 2 that I should have won. I lost round 9 and was pretty bummed out but I had a great time. Ajani, Mentor of Heroes showed up twice and it's great. Against, the rock opponent in game 1 he found me a Liliana of the Veil, Knight, Knight Errant, Tarmogoyf, and Dark Confidant. I had all three walkers out in a long game one and won. Also, Vault of the Archangel saved my behind in several games. Here is the list that I ran:
I don't think I need Maelstrom Pulse in the main, but it might be necessary. Over my six wins I beat RG Tron (2-0), Tezz Affinity (2-1), Merfolk (2-0), Rock (2-0), RG Scapeshift with a splash of white for path (2-0), and I can't remember the last deck. Twin, Affinity, GBx, Pod, UWR and Scapeshift were everywhere. I see that some people have moved away from Path to Exile but it was and has always been great for me. In closing Elspeth was my best card, it changed every game I won in my favor and caught each opponent off guard.
P.S.-Keranos is a great card, took victory away from my grasp
Went 6-3 @ GP Boston with Ajani, Elspeth, and Liliana...Lost my win and in to day 2 in the last round. Deck played great, happy with it. Will post a decklist tomorrow if anyone is interested.
I for one am bringing KOTRs and Tec Edges to SCGBalt for the modern open this weekend. Knight has done very well for me.
@Mirrislegend: Like you, I run Elspeth as well. T1 dork, T2 Geist, T3 Elspeth is basically game. Geist and Elspeth present a very fast clock. I used to run a very very similar list to yours.As far as your flex spots go I would run four Geists. Knight of the Reliquary is my favorite card and I love her in my Abzan deck but I abandoned her here because I run Dig Through Time. Card is fantastic in this deck. Overall, I like the way your list looks.
Also, I think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes should be strongly considered for this deck. This deck runs enough targets and combined with Dig can help you find the cards you need. Also, in top deck mode a bird or noble can become threats and not to mention pumping Geist.
Nothing can replace Goyf but I love Knight of the Reliquary in this deck. I highly recommend her and run four copies myself. Especially, if Goyf is out of your budget, I see no reason not to run her.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/established-modern/511600-junk
No problem. Those are fine replacements. I would definitely run the 4th Liliana. I personally don't run souls because there were so many times where, like ExplodingWaffle, I found it lacking. Also,another reason why I vouch for Elspeth is because I run Mirran Crusader in the side for BGx and Pod. If your opponent doesn't have an answer it's game over fairly quickly.
I am confident you will enjoy the deck. It's a fun deck to play and very competitive.
That is tough to say. I would recommend running Knight of the Reliquary and Elspeth, Knight-Errant. KOTR is just amazing for me and nobody expects Elspeth. The look on an opponents face when you drop Elspeth is priceless. There are lot of good posters, such as Mastodon and ExplodingWaffle, who have good lists. Take a look and see what suites your playstyle.
Here is my current list (main deck), I will be adding Abzan Charm when it is released:
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
Planeswalkers 6:
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
Instant/Sorcery 15:
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Path to Exile
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Temple Garden
1 Horizon Canopy
3 Tectonic Edge
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Stirring Wildwood
Abzan Charm
WBG
Instant
Choose one -
- Exile target creature with power 3 or greater.
- You draw two cards and you lose 2 life.
- Distribute two +1/+1 counters among one or two target creatures.
How was Pack Rat for you?
Has anyone else found Scavenging Ooze underwhelming at times. I run three main deck and have considered running Pack Rat in it's place. I am going to test him out with two Mutavault main deck. Rat has been having some success in modern and maybe it can be great in this deck. Maybe Goyf, Knight, and Rat teamed up with Lili, Elspeth, and Ajani can be something. Anybody try Rat?
Edit: Also Pack Rat helps us against graveyard hate since it isn't reliant on the graveyard as our beaters are (Goyf, Knight).
I am running Knight with no souls as well. I posted my GP Boston list on the last page. I highly recommend running Elspeth, Knight-Errant. All star in every match I dropped it in. It finished games off. I am in favor ofMirran Crusader in the board for GBx and Pod matches. Especially if you run Elspeth. I swung for 10 on T4 against a Rock Opponent (not always going to happen but it did for me at a GP). I don't know what your current list looks like but if you have about 20 targets you should try out Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. He works well for me, Junk Walkers for the win.
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
3 Scavennging
Planeswalkers 6:
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
Instant/Sorcery 15:
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Path to Exile
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Temple Garden
1 Horizon Canopy
3 Tectonic Edge
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Choke
2 Stony Silence
2 Hushwing Gryff
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Mirran Crusader
1 Thoughtseize
I don't think I need Maelstrom Pulse in the main, but it might be necessary. Over my six wins I beat RG Tron (2-0), Tezz Affinity (2-1), Merfolk (2-0), Rock (2-0), RG Scapeshift with a splash of white for path (2-0), and I can't remember the last deck. Twin, Affinity, GBx, Pod, UWR and Scapeshift were everywhere. I see that some people have moved away from Path to Exile but it was and has always been great for me. In closing Elspeth was my best card, it changed every game I won in my favor and caught each opponent off guard.
P.S.-Keranos is a great card, took victory away from my grasp