I pretty much exclusively play legacy these days and would like to at least have something modern sleeved up so I can swing by FNM periodically.
I primarily play ANT in legacy; and I know Modern storm is pretty poorly positioned right now; and modern Ad Naus seems like a middling deck at best; so I'm not necessarily looking to replicate the experience.
Keys I'm looking for that do mirror ANT:
- Deck I can focus on long term, generally going to have some degree of viability (even if it ebbs and flows a bit)
- Deck that rewards focus and dedication, rather than metagaming. I'm too old and dont get to play paper often enough to aggressively metagame anymore
I actually feel like Cast Down is exceptionally good in the meta right now; so there might be some merit to the Chalice plan.
When I have some downtime I'll draw up a list and throw it into a friendly league and see how it feels; probably tomorrow evening.
Besides this, RUG has a real problem with removal and CA. Bolt is simply not a good removal spell in today's metagame (either it can only remove recurring creatures, doesn't kill most creatures (Drakes, Goyf, Hallow One, Anglers, Death Shadow,...) and those creatures it can kill, Push can also kill even without Revolt). Sure, Kozilek's Return is a decent sweeper, but against those decks where you really would want it (Spirits, Humans, Hardening Affinity, Devoted Druid,...) it is not even that good to begin with.
I simply see no reason at all to go RUG atm, since it offers so little to the deck. Bant looks straight up better than RUG and I do not really like Bant so far (dunno why, it somehow feels a little bit clunkier when playing it out).
Greetings,
Kathal
I assume EDF is Elder Deep-Fiend; which is actually super sweet, but I'm running him in Bant - I see no reason to grab him in Temur.
(I agree there's no reason to move to Temur)
That said, Elder Deep-Feind has been good. He's a clock; another psuedo-timewalk effect; searchable off Mystical; can be bought back off Pulse of Murasa; just a lot of versatility in this shell.
Not 100% on him yet; but so far I've been more pleased than not. I rarely use emerge; 8 mana is not a lot in this deck anyways.
I've been watching every VOD and reading everything that anyone has written about this deck so far, please keep the posts coming everyone! Ever since twin got banned, this is the first deck where I feel like I'm falling in love and want to play it (helps that sultai is my favorite color wedge). I'm planning on picking it up in 2 weeks when I get my work bonus.
Any new innovations happening? Any flex slots/fun-ofs that are finding success in your personal lists? I'm going to renew my manatraders account this weekend to test before I buy the paper cards, but for now I'm living vicariously through all of you.
I need content, feed me!
Also curious about this deck. Mind sharing the content you're finding? I'm curious to watch a bit before I take the plunge on this deck.
I'm currently on a 7-0 tear in friendlies with the deck. I am torn about wanting Tolaria West; but it feels like it absolutely has legs.
To be completely honest, I don't know if I want an "always enter tap" to the battelfield land in a 19-lands build...
With all the looting effects and the Goryo's plan I've never felt like spending a whole turn transmutting for LE.
But that's just my one of my first impressions with the deck, it does need much more testing
I agree; that is my number one hesitation. However the utility is high enough that I'm inclined to test it for a few leagues.
These new lists (particularly the new Griselbrand list and Chalice/Blood moon list) look pretty competitive with the meta right now.
Question - For those who have tried the Griselbrand variant, how has Jace been? He seems slow and unnecessary especially running 4x Faithless Looting and 4x Izzet Charm.
Thoughts?
Jace has overperformed. He can flash back anything through As Foretold; almost always flips with Goryo's instantly; and just is a truck. Best shell I've tried him in yet.
edit:
So in two leagues; I'm 8-2.
The two losses were to a cragginwick creamator deck (lol) and to RB Burn (this was a fluke; really bad draws at one point in a close game).
I'm really impressed with the deck and will be trying some variations on it moving forward.
Alright, time to elaborate a little more on what I ran the other night. We used sweltering suns over slagstorm because we have actual threats that we want to cycle into. Unlike the previous pyro prison builds, this one ran 4 chandra, 1 hazoret, 4 glorybringer, and a hoarding dragon maindeck. significantly more threat dense than the usual build of prison. we only ran 2 bridges because of the heavy dragon build and we could find a bridge with hoarding dragon. I'm not posting the decklist because it needs a lot of work and I wouldn't recommend anyone copying it. I think Fluffy might make a few changes and run it tonight. There were some observations that I did notice when playing it.
#1. Glorybringer was nuts. Everytime we cast glory, it felt great. We ran the whole set (x4) and it was dominate every time.
#2. Thunderbreak Regent was an all-star. Seriously, this is a card that needs to be tested more, but it was GREAT. I have it on the board because it doesn't have haste and it terrible vs the non-interactive aggro/combo decks; however, vs the control/midrange decks, it was nuts. Most decks need two spells to kill it, which means 6 damage to the face. Either that or a 4/4 flyer stays in play and smashes face. Those on the stream saw it. This will probably be my new addition to pyro prison, it was that good. Still a sidebaord card, but definitely one I want to be bringing in.
#3. I didn't miss spyglass at all and didn't run any in this league. I use it to deal with Aether Grid and planeswalkers, but thunderbreak regeant effectively deals with the grid. You really going to shoot it down and take 12 in the process? I don't think so. Also, planeswalkers can be attacked down, especially if we are running haste threats like glory and hazoret. Plus, if you think using spyglass to stop Karn will work, well, you just haven't played that match. I still like damping sphere because it shuts off everything and cast a wide enough net in the matches it's good in to warrant a spot.
#4. Hoarding dragon was terrible. Path to exile and reflector mage don't card about it. the dragon must DIE, not leave play, not get exiled, not put back into the library with teferi....but DIE for you get the artifact. While this can be useful in some spots (Jund, Mardu Pyromancer), there were others where it was lack luster (Humans, Control, Combo).
I definitely like the dragons and will be testing more going forward. Maybe I can find a build where the new planeswalker would be good. I'm still not sure because he would take up valuable slots and so far, the dragon plan feels good without the new planeswalker. we'll see, only a few weeks away.
Did anybody watch my last stream? Even if you didn't and have some thoughts, let me know. I've won a few matches without bridge using dragons where I definitely wanted bridge in the usual build. Glorybringer is a house.
- I agree re: Thunderbreak Regent -- I have been impressed in testing with him lately in a lower-bridge-count build. He often eats double bolt for 6 damage back to face, or swings a few times. Value is good here when you can add pressure.
- I am hesitant to drop my last Spyglass from the side, but I can see the reasoning.
- Hoarding Dragon did not impress me at all, either.
I think hasty dragons are the place to be (see: Glorybringer) or Dragons that always net value (Thunderbreak).
I primarily play ANT in legacy; and I know Modern storm is pretty poorly positioned right now; and modern Ad Naus seems like a middling deck at best; so I'm not necessarily looking to replicate the experience.
Keys I'm looking for that do mirror ANT:
- Deck I can focus on long term, generally going to have some degree of viability (even if it ebbs and flows a bit)
- Deck that rewards focus and dedication, rather than metagaming. I'm too old and dont get to play paper often enough to aggressively metagame anymore
Any thoughts?
When I have some downtime I'll draw up a list and throw it into a friendly league and see how it feels; probably tomorrow evening.
Conceptually, I like it a lot
I assume EDF is Elder Deep-Fiend; which is actually super sweet, but I'm running him in Bant - I see no reason to grab him in Temur.
(I agree there's no reason to move to Temur)
That said, Elder Deep-Feind has been good. He's a clock; another psuedo-timewalk effect; searchable off Mystical; can be bought back off Pulse of Murasa; just a lot of versatility in this shell.
Not 100% on him yet; but so far I've been more pleased than not. I rarely use emerge; 8 mana is not a lot in this deck anyways.
Still feeling them out, though
And thats super rare in modern.
Also curious about this deck. Mind sharing the content you're finding? I'm curious to watch a bit before I take the plunge on this deck.
I agree; that is my number one hesitation. However the utility is high enough that I'm inclined to test it for a few leagues.
Jace has overperformed. He can flash back anything through As Foretold; almost always flips with Goryo's instantly; and just is a truck. Best shell I've tried him in yet.
edit:
So in two leagues; I'm 8-2.
The two losses were to a cragginwick creamator deck (lol) and to RB Burn (this was a fluke; really bad draws at one point in a close game).
I'm really impressed with the deck and will be trying some variations on it moving forward.
I did want to find side for a Tolaria West or three. May test that.
But generally it played rather smoothly
edit: Just "hardcast" a griselbrand off an electrodominance in a pinch (leyline of the void in play in a long drawn out post-sideboard game).
Update: Took it to an easy 5-0 in a friendly league. I'm impressed.
Fell in love with this list; just ordered the pieces I was missing to make this happen.
Do you have a list?
All hist recent finishes that I see are pretty standard.
I am also going to be running Tormenting Voice for a bit. I really have come to loathe the discard 2 provision
- I agree re: Thunderbreak Regent -- I have been impressed in testing with him lately in a lower-bridge-count build. He often eats double bolt for 6 damage back to face, or swings a few times. Value is good here when you can add pressure.
- I am hesitant to drop my last Spyglass from the side, but I can see the reasoning.
- Hoarding Dragon did not impress me at all, either.
I think hasty dragons are the place to be (see: Glorybringer) or Dragons that always net value (Thunderbreak).