Introduction
First of all, this deck wasn't created by myself. The first list I had found was by SaffronOlive. I didn't like some of the mainboard and sideboard choices so I tweaked the deck to my liking.
At it's core, this deck is an aggro tribal deck focusing on the Spirit creature type. Thanks to a lot of the new Spirits from Eldritch Moon and of course the powerful Spirits from the past, this deck is finally viable and very competetive.
Noble Hierarch: This is a staple card in the deck. Being able to slam a War Monk, a Captain or hold up a Spell Queller on the second turn of the game is almost unfair. The Exalted ability is very relevent, seeing that this is an aggro deck.
Birds of Paradise: We want to be able to slam those 3 drops on turn 2 every game, so an extra mana accelerant is helpful, even though it's strictly worse than Noble Hierarch.
Mausoleum Wanderer: At firs this card seems pretty weak, but when you have a Hierarch on the field, attack with this creature, then cast a Collected Company and get, say, a Captain and another spirit, this creature will grow big! It's a combination of Champion of the Parish and Cursecatcher and it fits perfectly in this deck.
Rattlechains: Another staple of the deck. Being able to flash him in to save one of your creatures from removal is big. The fact that it gives all your spirits flash might just make this card the most important card of the deck.
Selfelss Spirit: This card is great against other aggro decks. Let's say your opponent attacks. Before blockers you cast Collected Company, get one of these and another creature. You sack the Selfless Spirit and block as you like. This creature is also a very good combo with Supreme Verdict, which will become a one sided board wipe.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: Thanks to Collected Company we have creatures entering the battlefield left and right. This card is good, although a bit of a nonbo if you have multiple Noble Hierarchs or Birds on the field.
Spell Queller: The god of the spirits. This card is just nuts, a 3 mana counterspell with a 2/3 flying body. Thanks to cards like Rattlechains, Drogskol Captain and Kira your opponent will rarely be able to get it off the table after you've stolen their spell.
Drogskol Captain: The lord of the spirits. Other spirits get +1/+1 and hexproof. Can you believe it? Hexproof! This means having 2 of these on the table will just shut every removal card from your opponent down. Having 2 of these (or 1 of these and 1 Kira) will have your opponent in a softlock if they can't handle your flying spirits.
Rhox War Monk: Not a spirit, but a 3/4 lifelinker that can be cast on turn 2. Just a good value card. Also shuts down Blade Splicer and Burn.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner: Giving your creatures pseudo hexproof. A great combo with the Captain.
Collected Company: The glue that keeps this deck together.
Path to Exile: The premier removal spell in these colors. Why only 2? Well, I'd rather play 0 so I could play more creatures, but it's the best removal spell in these colors, and since there are a lot of decks that do utilize creatures, it's a safe move to include 2 of these in the main.
Matchups
I have only played this deck in a tournament once, but that was on the Dutch Modern Open, the biggest Modern tournament in the Netherlands. I had a 5-3 finish with the deck, mainly because I was inexperienced with it and made a lot of mistakes. I did playtest this deck casually against friends. Here are my matchups at the moment, note that the percentages are just a rough estimate:
Jund/Grixis/BRx Control (80-20): Any deck that focuses on 1 for 1 spot removal is going to have a hard time against this deck. The only way that they are able to win is if they rip your hand apart with cards like Thoughtseize or Inquisition, other than that it will be very hard for them to race your flyers, especially if they have hexproof.
Bant Eldrazi (50-50): I've only played agains this deck once, and it felt like a very 50/50 matchup. I was at a healthy 14 life and I had my opponent at 1, after which he untaps and plays a Worship. Only out to that was Supreme Verdict, which I couldn't find.
Affinity (30-70): Affinity is a very hard matchup for the deck. You can win, but only if you have the right sideboard cards at the right time, otherwise they will just overwhelm you.
Burn (50-50): Burn seems like another 50/50 matchup. Play and draw are extremely important here. You really want a turn 2 Rhox War Monk in this matchup. Thalia, Heretic Cathar is also good here.
Merfolk (60-40): I played twice against Merfolk. Both times this deck just got out faster, as well as a good amount of hate for AEther Vial in the sideboard.
Tron (80-20): You will always be faster than Tron. Something to keep in mind in this matchup is that you should just play out your Spell Quellers early, since most of the time the only thing you want to counter are Expedition Map and Ancient Stirrings. Those are the only real threats to you. After that the mana cost of their cards will be too high to Spell Queller, so they become useless.
Abzan (70-30): Spell Queller those Siege Rhinos! The only problem in this matchup is Voice of Resurgence, but Path to Exile will handle with that. Damnation from their sideboard isn't a blowout as long as you have Selfless Spirit ready to die!
These are all the decks I have played/tested against. I will of course add more once I have played more.
In Conclusion
This deck is a lot of fun to play thanks to the synergies being very strong. You can bring this deck to big tournaments and expect to bring up good results (if you don't make mistakes like me...) If you have any question regarding card choices, matchups or anything else, feel free to ask.
The double green of Strangleroot, plus it's lack of evasion turn me off from the card. I do like Nebelgast Herald though. Maybe putting one Kira in the side and replacing it with Herald in the main would be worthwhile.
I run a nebelgast in the main and that card has won me so many games. They ult Nahiri, you cast coco when Emma hits the battlefield, most likely won't be countered, they'll just look at it as more targets for Annihilator, hit nebelgast herald and phantasmal image. Tap and copy their Emrakul. It's time to enjoy magic again boys!
Also I'm playing this at SCG Orlando this weekend, so if you see some dude named Evan on the fm area spooking people out of their socks, it's me!
Does Azorius Herald really beat out Kitchen Finks? I know its better with Nebelghast and Captain, but Herald dies if you grab it off CoCo, correct? Being able to trade/chump against 2 of burns creatures while being a reasonable body seems better.
Ive been running a singleton Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the main, it's overperformed in the few games I've played.
Hierarch is important, and you will recognize it when the opponent kills you being at 2-3, the exalted trigger means from 1 to 5 points of damage in some matches. However, i still don't buy into them and have been playing 4 Arbor elf first, and then 4 Birds, and the deck is strong anyway. Imo the hierarchs are just the step to get to a serious competitive level, but are not mandatory to get results at local events, even more, birds are better blockers when needed, though if we're blocking with birds it means we're behind.
Anyway, hierarch's exalted triggers are important in the early game but they're still there to get us to CoCo in turn 3, which bird also does, so the change is not worth the 240 dollars that hierarchs are worth nowadays.
Regarding the SCG results, i'm only surprised that it took so long to Bant Spirits to start getting results. My exprience has been amazing, and at my LGS even though they're stsrting to sideboard against spirits, we spirits players have been doing well anyway.
My list is almost the same as Caleb's, excepting the aura, in which place i run remand. I play 4 CoCo, 2 path and 2 remand, enough to get to the midgame against almost any deck, where i wrap it up, or die hahaha, our late game is not as strong as others.
I sincerly expect to keep seeing results as the deck is to good, to interactive, and too fun to be dwelling in the deck construction forums.
Good point, turn 1 Hierarch, turn 2 GoST, turn 3 attack for 7 and then CoCo sounds amazing, and possible against uninteractive decks, jund, burn or zoo just bolt the hierach on the spot. Great card though, i really hope it comes down to the 10-15 dollars range but i doubt it if it's not reprinted soon, until then Birds will do the trick.
To be fair, the Scapeshift player had the win in the semi and screwed up real hard. That weekend was full of misplays on camera, even for decks that are supposedly old and well-digested by players, but still huge misplays happen.
To me, it shows off Caleb is a high toughness player that managed to pilot the deck greatly throughout the whole tournament. His knowledge of the format plays a role too, i.e. He knows when to Quell or Wander something, and when to trade or chump.
This archetype is hard to play, I assume that's why the deck takes time to perform. You need to be a real good player to push this deck into a big Top8.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
I wouldn't take out the Steel of the Godhead from Caleb's list. It is a fun card for sure, but alongside Hexproof it is just a monster at creating an engine to win boardstalls, create reach, and stabilize your lifetotal in a race. Putting it on a Geist of Saint Traft gives you up to a 12 point lifeswing every turn, and other spirits are going to be just as good when under the aura of Drogskol Captain.
Hey, I got to play a few rounds at modern Monday this week, 3-1 beating Burn, BW Tokens and Merfolk, losing to Skred(*grumble Mainboard Ensnaring Bridge grumble*). I got to cast 4 CoCos the whole night, and I still felt the deck was performing.
Not upset with how I played; I'm running a modified list because I'm missing 2 captains, with a 4th selfless spirit and a Gideon, AoZ instead.
I really disliked Nebelghast Herald. Most of the time it just didn't do enough. I'll be cutting it for Phantasmal Image.
The Kitchen Finks were fine against burn, better than Azorius Herald would have, IMO, but Blessed Alliance seems super sweet, definitely going to give it a whirl.
The singleton Thalia really overperformed for me, either as a reliable blocker or as a speed bump for Burn. This is probably due to my inability to draw well, she's a pet card from legacy, I guess she'll take a spot from Phantasmal Image once I sort out my list.
I'm glad more people are here and catching on to how fun and powerful this deck is. I know it's been said a million times, but Spell Queller is a gross card. I feel like any game I can Spell Queller twice in a row, the game is over.
Aggro (right now there are decks that are just insanely aggresive, more than ever in Modern, Naya burn and Death Shadow are as aggro as it gets) is a tough match up that improves with experience and good piloting. I recomend to watch the match that Caleb held against Affinity, it was a guide on how to play against aggro.
I've had a better MU by including more 1-drops in the form of Kami of false hope, and by delaying them with Remand, a one turn delay might be all that the deck needs to stabilize without losing card advantage, from turn 4 and on we should be building up to race them.
Caleb constantly traded 1 for 1 agains affinity and was incredibly pacient, i mean, really pacient, before seeing it i wasn't able to play like that but now i'm much more careful. Always remember that from turn 3-4 you'll be able to cast CoCo and for a lot of decks is just too much to handle, it's a real card.
So though i think sideboard is important (i run 3 kami), aggro must be met with a different playstyle, and the deck can do it.
Building this deck at this moment, (From Dredge to Spirits :)) Can someone answer my question
1.) Rhox War Monk vs Kitchen Finks. Which do you think is better against aggro matchups
2.) Do we need counterspell in mb. If it is, Remand, Mana Leak or Spell Pierce?
3.) What matchup do you think are the worst? Imo, (not been tested thou) its Merfolk, Burn (since we lack lifegain) and Affinity
4.) Esper, UW or Bant?
5.) What are the other spirit creatures that are underrated?
Hi, So far my only worst matchup in this deck are aggro decks. How do you deal with them? My list is almost the same as Caleb but instead of 2 steel of the godhead, i replaced it with 1 kira and 1 bird. Should i put back god head or should i put creature that gains life? What do you also think of 2 favorable winds insted of 2 steel of the godhead?
Nebelgast Herald (over Geist) seems like a good option against Aggro and also wotks well with Favorable Winds.
There is also Azorius Herald which doesn't work off CoCo but is pretty decent otherwise for the SB.
Instead of 2 steel of the god head, how about putting 2 birds of paradise? Since our deck mostly have a cmc of 3 and we really want a 3rd turn coco. Thoughts?
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Introduction
First of all, this deck wasn't created by myself. The first list I had found was by SaffronOlive. I didn't like some of the mainboard and sideboard choices so I tweaked the deck to my liking.
At it's core, this deck is an aggro tribal deck focusing on the Spirit creature type. Thanks to a lot of the new Spirits from Eldritch Moon and of course the powerful Spirits from the past, this deck is finally viable and very competetive.
Decklist
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Birds of Paradise
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
2 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
4 Spell Queller
4 Drogskol Captain
2 Rhox War Monk
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Instants
4 Collected Company
2 Path to Exile
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Flooded Strand
3 Windswept Heath
2 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Razorverge Thicket
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Gavony Township
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Forest
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Rhox War Monk
2 Path to Exile
Birds of Paradise: We want to be able to slam those 3 drops on turn 2 every game, so an extra mana accelerant is helpful, even though it's strictly worse than Noble Hierarch.
Mausoleum Wanderer: At firs this card seems pretty weak, but when you have a Hierarch on the field, attack with this creature, then cast a Collected Company and get, say, a Captain and another spirit, this creature will grow big! It's a combination of Champion of the Parish and Cursecatcher and it fits perfectly in this deck.
Rattlechains: Another staple of the deck. Being able to flash him in to save one of your creatures from removal is big. The fact that it gives all your spirits flash might just make this card the most important card of the deck.
Selfelss Spirit: This card is great against other aggro decks. Let's say your opponent attacks. Before blockers you cast Collected Company, get one of these and another creature. You sack the Selfless Spirit and block as you like. This creature is also a very good combo with Supreme Verdict, which will become a one sided board wipe.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: Thanks to Collected Company we have creatures entering the battlefield left and right. This card is good, although a bit of a nonbo if you have multiple Noble Hierarchs or Birds on the field.
Spell Queller: The god of the spirits. This card is just nuts, a 3 mana counterspell with a 2/3 flying body. Thanks to cards like Rattlechains, Drogskol Captain and Kira your opponent will rarely be able to get it off the table after you've stolen their spell.
Drogskol Captain: The lord of the spirits. Other spirits get +1/+1 and hexproof. Can you believe it? Hexproof! This means having 2 of these on the table will just shut every removal card from your opponent down. Having 2 of these (or 1 of these and 1 Kira) will have your opponent in a softlock if they can't handle your flying spirits.
Rhox War Monk: Not a spirit, but a 3/4 lifelinker that can be cast on turn 2. Just a good value card. Also shuts down Blade Splicer and Burn.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner: Giving your creatures pseudo hexproof. A great combo with the Captain.
Collected Company: The glue that keeps this deck together.
Path to Exile: The premier removal spell in these colors. Why only 2? Well, I'd rather play 0 so I could play more creatures, but it's the best removal spell in these colors, and since there are a lot of decks that do utilize creatures, it's a safe move to include 2 of these in the main.
Jund/Grixis/BRx Control (80-20): Any deck that focuses on 1 for 1 spot removal is going to have a hard time against this deck. The only way that they are able to win is if they rip your hand apart with cards like Thoughtseize or Inquisition, other than that it will be very hard for them to race your flyers, especially if they have hexproof.
Bant Eldrazi (50-50): I've only played agains this deck once, and it felt like a very 50/50 matchup. I was at a healthy 14 life and I had my opponent at 1, after which he untaps and plays a Worship. Only out to that was Supreme Verdict, which I couldn't find.
Affinity (30-70): Affinity is a very hard matchup for the deck. You can win, but only if you have the right sideboard cards at the right time, otherwise they will just overwhelm you.
Burn (50-50): Burn seems like another 50/50 matchup. Play and draw are extremely important here. You really want a turn 2 Rhox War Monk in this matchup. Thalia, Heretic Cathar is also good here.
Merfolk (60-40): I played twice against Merfolk. Both times this deck just got out faster, as well as a good amount of hate for AEther Vial in the sideboard.
Tron (80-20): You will always be faster than Tron. Something to keep in mind in this matchup is that you should just play out your Spell Quellers early, since most of the time the only thing you want to counter are Expedition Map and Ancient Stirrings. Those are the only real threats to you. After that the mana cost of their cards will be too high to Spell Queller, so they become useless.
Abzan (70-30): Spell Queller those Siege Rhinos! The only problem in this matchup is Voice of Resurgence, but Path to Exile will handle with that. Damnation from their sideboard isn't a blowout as long as you have Selfless Spirit ready to die!
These are all the decks I have played/tested against. I will of course add more once I have played more.
This deck is a lot of fun to play thanks to the synergies being very strong. You can bring this deck to big tournaments and expect to bring up good results (if you don't make mistakes like me...) If you have any question regarding card choices, matchups or anything else, feel free to ask.
to Nebelgast Herald (or Bygone Bishop/Geist of Saint Traft)
and Strangleroot Geist be a good idea ?
The double green of Strangleroot, plus it's lack of evasion turn me off from the card. I do like Nebelgast Herald though. Maybe putting one Kira in the side and replacing it with Herald in the main would be worthwhile.
Also I'm playing this at SCG Orlando this weekend, so if you see some dude named Evan on the fm area spooking people out of their socks, it's me!
Ive been running a singleton Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the main, it's overperformed in the few games I've played.
Also if you go with 4x Birds of Paradise over Noble Hierarch it not only saves money but makes Favorable Winds very good in this deck and I would use it over Steel of the Godhead.
I would go with:
3x Nebelgast Herald + 2x Favorable Winds + 4x Birds of Paradise over 4x Noble Hierarch + 3x Geist of Saint Traft + 2x Steel of the Godhead.
Lol I am wondering the same thing. I assume we would lose some percentage points but I am thinking she is not as important as in Infect or Eldrazi.
Anyway, hierarch's exalted triggers are important in the early game but they're still there to get us to CoCo in turn 3, which bird also does, so the change is not worth the 240 dollars that hierarchs are worth nowadays.
Regarding the SCG results, i'm only surprised that it took so long to Bant Spirits to start getting results. My exprience has been amazing, and at my LGS even though they're stsrting to sideboard against spirits, we spirits players have been doing well anyway.
My list is almost the same as Caleb's, excepting the aura, in which place i run remand. I play 4 CoCo, 2 path and 2 remand, enough to get to the midgame against almost any deck, where i wrap it up, or die hahaha, our late game is not as strong as others.
I sincerly expect to keep seeing results as the deck is to good, to interactive, and too fun to be dwelling in the deck construction forums.
To me, it shows off Caleb is a high toughness player that managed to pilot the deck greatly throughout the whole tournament. His knowledge of the format plays a role too, i.e. He knows when to Quell or Wander something, and when to trade or chump.
This archetype is hard to play, I assume that's why the deck takes time to perform. You need to be a real good player to push this deck into a big Top8.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
Not upset with how I played; I'm running a modified list because I'm missing 2 captains, with a 4th selfless spirit and a Gideon, AoZ instead.
I really disliked Nebelghast Herald. Most of the time it just didn't do enough. I'll be cutting it for Phantasmal Image.
The Kitchen Finks were fine against burn, better than Azorius Herald would have, IMO, but Blessed Alliance seems super sweet, definitely going to give it a whirl.
The singleton Thalia really overperformed for me, either as a reliable blocker or as a speed bump for Burn. This is probably due to my inability to draw well, she's a pet card from legacy, I guess she'll take a spot from Phantasmal Image once I sort out my list.
I'm glad more people are here and catching on to how fun and powerful this deck is. I know it's been said a million times, but Spell Queller is a gross card. I feel like any game I can Spell Queller twice in a row, the game is over.
I've had a better MU by including more 1-drops in the form of Kami of false hope, and by delaying them with Remand, a one turn delay might be all that the deck needs to stabilize without losing card advantage, from turn 4 and on we should be building up to race them.
Caleb constantly traded 1 for 1 agains affinity and was incredibly pacient, i mean, really pacient, before seeing it i wasn't able to play like that but now i'm much more careful. Always remember that from turn 3-4 you'll be able to cast CoCo and for a lot of decks is just too much to handle, it's a real card.
So though i think sideboard is important (i run 3 kami), aggro must be met with a different playstyle, and the deck can do it.
1.) Rhox War Monk vs Kitchen Finks. Which do you think is better against aggro matchups
2.) Do we need counterspell in mb. If it is, Remand, Mana Leak or Spell Pierce?
3.) What matchup do you think are the worst? Imo, (not been tested thou) its Merfolk, Burn (since we lack lifegain) and Affinity
4.) Esper, UW or Bant?
5.) What are the other spirit creatures that are underrated?
Thank you!! Hoping for fast response
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=13589
And some more (with a losing 2-3 record) - http://www.channelfireball.com/videos/channel-calebd-modern-bant-spirits-2/
There is also Azorius Herald which doesn't work off CoCo but is pretty decent otherwise for the SB.