Is Firemane Angel any good in the sideboard in a meta with a decent amount of burn/Aggro?
With all the ways we have to just dump it straight to the graveyard, I'd think gaining anywhere from 2-4 life a turn passively would be backbreaking against those kinds of decks.
Gnaw to the Bone is far and away the best life gain option we have. You should probably be splashing green anyways for Ancient Grudge out of the SB.
I don't play this deck much anymore but when I did (3-ish months ago) I always used 2x Gnaw to the Bone in SB.
I think Molderhulk belongs in a different deck. Think of it like our version of Bedlam Reveler. I could see him in a Gitrog type of deck, but not really in Dredge Vine. Seven creatures is a considerable amount, but the fact that he brings Bloodghast back with him is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to seeing people experiment with this and some other new cards from GRN. After all, Ravnica (and the Golgari) are what gave us Dredge in the first place.
Going that route, I think you'd want something like Commune with the Gods rather than Grisly Salvage. Overall the chances of getting 2-for-1'ed are probably too great. And you have no way to get the enchantment back if they destroy it.
The important thing is having enough discard outlets to pitch your Bridge, should you draw it. Unlike Vine and Ghast, it does absolutely nothing from your hand. Bridge also seems fragile against creature heavy decks that will likely block every combat
Don't you think Crypt Breaker requires a little too much setup? Requiring a tap, plus two Mana, coupled with the that he can't pitch a card immediately, say if they bolt him at your EOT?
Maybe that's a blessing in disguise since bolting him means they aren't bolting your threats. I just feel like a list like this needs...something
I would probably agree though that Neonate and Looting are too valuable to forgo
My worry with removing the Delve threats entirely is that you are committing to only Vengevine or Shadow being your haymaker threats. Not to say we need more than that, but I'm just iffy on the subject.
Insolent Neonate certainly has a home here, since he compliments both dredge and Vengevine very well. I'll test out some different builds over the week and update later.
Stitchers supplier has me interested in this deck again. I really like the Eldritch Evolution Varolz list posted, but it sort of feels like it's lacking evasion. Maybe some number of Hooting Mandrills in place of an Angler or two, and maybe Driven // Despair? Has the potential to improve combo matchups too
Those are some great suggestions, thank you.
With some collective effort maybe we can develop that list here in this thread. Honestly Gurmag Angler felt like an auto-include since he pairs so well with Gravecrawler but we have a new Zombie in the mix so maybe the fish isn't necessary.
Stitcher's Supplier really wants Cabal Therapy to be legal in modern. Or if we had some other way to sacrifice it for value early in the game, effectively paying 1 Mana to Mill six cards and get some other value (via whatever your sac outlet is doing).
Eldritch Evolution might not be the answer, but I think it's a step in the right direction. If can tutor a Death's shadow late in the game when it matters most, it can tutor Eternal witness to get back a critical Gurmag Angler, it can get Varolz which is a super combo with Shadow of course.
I will probably start somewhere around here. Prized Amalgam seems like he wants in on this too, but I'm not sure how to fit him.
EDIT-
If anyone is considering Death's Shadow I would strongly suggest trying out Call to the Netherworld . It's great if you have enough black creatures to support it. And especially insane with Street Wraith. The play with Shadow is to discard it early and then return it later when/if your life total permits
Flameblade Adept has proven to be a strong turn 1 play, since just about every attack she will get at least 1 buff and often more. If I don't play her on turn 1 she is usually just discarded when I don't have anything else to pitch for Looting. On average I think she gets in for more damage than a guide could because she has menace. And there's always those random times when she's the only other creature spell I have and she helps me trigger Vengevine or Surge Bushwhacker.
Rampager is another card I would really like to try. It seems very synergistic here.
-Cannot be hit by IOK while in your hand
-Cannot be countered
-Counts as a discarded card for Hollow and Adept
-both pumps and tramples, kind of like Become Immense & TBR built into one card
I keep switching back and forth between Cathartic Reunion and Goblin Lore. Lately I've been lucky with Lore but I wonder if the inconsistency will come back to spite me. I'll be taking this deck to GP Vegas so I'm trying to work out the last few kinks.
Anyone have input on Reunion vs. Lore in a version like this?
I run a very similar list and I really dislike lore. Sequencing bte into bushwacker is crucial, and lore messes up with that. If you want to play lore, you need to build your deck around it to take advantage of the random discard (4x bloodghast and possibly 4x phoenix too).
The problem with reunion is that it is a bit slow, and is also an horrible topdeck. Right now I'm only running 2 and it feels alright.
Thanks for the feedback. So what are you running for non-creature spells? Lightning bolts? Any other discard enablers?
The games did not go well. The amount of times I just whiff on the combo felt like close to 50%.. that happens sometimes in my regular version but just more rarely. If you can't get any Bridges in the bin, then the robots are completely useless. Sure they can trigger Vines, but unless you have 2+ Vines in the bin, you aren't about to waste two robots just bringing back one Vine. It's a cute combo that I was initially excited to try but has not proved to excel over any other version that I've tried
I don't think the random discard does work as well in that version. It's important to hold onto your free robots and bin your bridges. The play is to discard your bridges and Vines, then play free robots that die on impact, trigger Vines and make zombies. They also work great with Reckless Bushwhacker because they are still considered spells so they enable Surge cost. It's a fun version but more of an all-in combo approach. For reference, here is the list that I tried (albeit only for a few days online)
Gnaw to the Bone is far and away the best life gain option we have. You should probably be splashing green anyways for Ancient Grudge out of the SB.
I don't play this deck much anymore but when I did (3-ish months ago) I always used 2x Gnaw to the Bone in SB.
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Going that route, I think you'd want something like Commune with the Gods rather than Grisly Salvage. Overall the chances of getting 2-for-1'ed are probably too great. And you have no way to get the enchantment back if they destroy it.
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Maybe that's a blessing in disguise since bolting him means they aren't bolting your threats. I just feel like a list like this needs...something
I would probably agree though that Neonate and Looting are too valuable to forgo
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My worry with removing the Delve threats entirely is that you are committing to only Vengevine or Shadow being your haymaker threats. Not to say we need more than that, but I'm just iffy on the subject.
Insolent Neonate certainly has a home here, since he compliments both dredge and Vengevine very well. I'll test out some different builds over the week and update later.
Thanks for the interest here.
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Those are some great suggestions, thank you.
With some collective effort maybe we can develop that list here in this thread. Honestly Gurmag Angler felt like an auto-include since he pairs so well with Gravecrawler but we have a new Zombie in the mix so maybe the fish isn't necessary.
4 Death's Shadow
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Gravecrawler
3 Lotleth Troll
1 Golgari Thug
1 Eternal Witness
3 Stinkweed Imp
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
4 Vengevine
3 Hooting Mandrills
Spells (13):
4 Faithless Looting
4 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
3 Eldritch Evolution
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Overgrown Tomb
2 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Driven // Despair
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Fatal Push
1 Big Game Hunter
1 Golgari Charm
2 Collective Brutality
4 ????
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I'm thinking something like:
4 Death's shadow
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Gravecrawler
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Gurmag Angler
4 Vengevine
4 Stinkweed Imp
1 Eternal witness
1 Varolz, the Scar-striped
4 Faithless Looting
4 Thoughtseize
3 Eldritch Evolution
Lands
4 Verdant catacombs
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Blood Crypt
2 Overgrown tomb
2 Stomping Ground
1 Forest
1 Swamp
Eldritch Evolution might not be the answer, but I think it's a step in the right direction. If can tutor a Death's shadow late in the game when it matters most, it can tutor Eternal witness to get back a critical Gurmag Angler, it can get Varolz which is a super combo with Shadow of course.
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4 Insolent Neonate
4 Gravecrawler
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Gurmag Angler
4 Vengevine
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Thug
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lightning bolt
3 Cathartic Reunion
Lands (19)
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Blood Crypt
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
I will probably start somewhere around here. Prized Amalgam seems like he wants in on this too, but I'm not sure how to fit him.
EDIT-
If anyone is considering Death's Shadow I would strongly suggest trying out Call to the Netherworld . It's great if you have enough black creatures to support it. And especially insane with Street Wraith. The play with Shadow is to discard it early and then return it later when/if your life total permits
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-Cannot be hit by IOK while in your hand
-Cannot be countered
-Counts as a discarded card for Hollow and Adept
-both pumps and tramples, kind of like Become Immense & TBR built into one card
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Thanks for the feedback. So what are you running for non-creature spells? Lightning bolts? Any other discard enablers?
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4 Street Wraith
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Hollow one
4 Vengevine
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Endless One
2 Walking Ballista
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Faithless Looting
4 Bridge From Below
Lands (18):
18 Lands
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For Mandrills, I usually only cast one per game, and if I draw multiples he becomes an easy discard code for Looting
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