haha no. that... it's not gonna work. land d is what makes this deck. and you want to replace all of it with expensive planeswalkers?
ive found the deck to be extremely consistent. which is what has drawn me to it. ive juggled with the idea of adding white, but now for rest in peace/stony silence than anything else.
This list is like a hybrid of g devotion and ponza. It feels very much a "if I get to four mana, the game is over!" And speaking as a devotion player, that does not make a good game plan. However I would say that if you switch Crumble with Beast, then hunt master with either chandra or Rabblemaster, then do something about acidic slime and or dl atarka, you have a deck. But you can't argue with results. Or maybe you can.
With everyone on the fatal push plan, does that make Rabblemaster playable? I've seen it in a bunch of decks and it's just so good.
Between T2 Stone Rain or Rabblemaster, i choose Stone rain. It's much more devastating. The thing about ponza is that almost any threat is good enough since your game plan is to blow up their mana and stop them from being able to interact. The 3 drop slot is ideally for a card that blows up lands or blood moon. Not for an actual threat.
Usual sequence of play is:
T1: Arbor elf/Utopia Sprawl
T2: Stone rain/Blood moon
T3: Acid Moss/Chandra
T4: 6 mana threat
Rabblemaster messes up that sequence a bit. It's better in skred red than it is here, i think (even though Skred is a bad deck).
That list definitely has some weird choices. 4 trackers??? :|
But I actually kind of like Atarka...it's not the worst choice ever. Kills anglers!
Hellkite Tyrant though...what do you bring this against??? Affinity? Lantern? That's a weird one. I mean if you hit affinity with this, gg but I would think there are cheaper options!
Most of the players's choices have been backed before. I personally prefer Chandra over Huntmaster since it wins the game a LOT faster.
I also echo on the tracker. It's just too slow and you're never really cracking clues anyways.
I've also moved the Abrades to the main. My reasoning is that we really don't care about burning to the face since that's really not what our game is about. However, the ability to interact with BOTH creatures and artifacts game 1 is actually really relevant. I've even been contemplating upping the number of abrades as it's essentially never a dead card. Being modal is really key here as both effects are mediocre but when put together really give you flexibility that's needed in this type of deck.
I wish there was a GP near by that had modern so I could really put the deck through it's paces but alas...someone else will need to do this!
Good run bud. Glad to see someone else echo the 0 birds. Chandra is exactly the card the deck wants. it's insane in this build. Its basically impossible to lose when you T2 chandra. the deck is truly powerful and has shown me to be incredibly consistent. i think it's on the verge of going up in tiers. i haven't lost a match since my ptq win. currently sitting at 11-0. the deck attacks the game in a way that virtually no deck can defend against. it doesn't play fair and it's not a combo deck. it's great!
PPTQ today. I will write up a report in victory or defeat!
Looking forward to your feedback. But if you win, people might start to take notice haha
FYI: I'm starting to come around to the idea that Chandra is a 4 of. That card alone will win you more games that would otherwise be unwinnable. I think it's more than worth testing.
But also you could think that you are making them think about more angles to defend. If they can have a narrow focus it makes it much easier to play our deck.
My assessment is that it's not worth the slots. My list is pretty tight and the GDD just doesn't have that big of an impact on the board for what it brings to the table. It doesn't interact with our best spells either, like someone said earlier.
There is a change I would consider making to the board though and that is the colossus. GDS is starting to adapt to all the hate and some of them are now running Young Pyromancer in the board. This totally blanks our plan.
I guess the next step is to find a creature that is both protection from black AND red. But it's just a 2/2, sadly.
if you want to work with GDD you certainly need to change the make up of your spell suite. Blood Moon may not even work that well and becomes a 1 or 2 of, while you focus on re-using land destruction or value cards like molten rain or pulse of murasa alongside the usual suite of stone rains. You'll be dropping X value spells because they just don't work with your new plan. Maindeck bolts,or even Exquisite Firecrafts are attractive. Beast Within becomes questionable with so many red anti land options. Sweltering Suns becomes a super contender with the ability to cycle and then be used from the GY.
I disagree on the Moon assessment. While Goblin wants more 3 or less spells, Moon is too good to remove. I run 4 Moons and 3 Goblins and have had no problems with it.
When I ran GDD i found there was a shortage of slots for targets. 2-3 more spell targets may not seem like much, but its like playing Delver with 25 vs 28 instants/sorceries in the deck. You can feel it across a large number of games. Moon doesn't become bad per se, but it becomes less good compared to maximizing your synergy. I do believe I was last experimenting with how many Acid-Moss I wanted versus Moons, both of which aren't GDD targets and are certainly strong effects in the deck overall.
And.... that's how I ended up not using GDD in the end, because some of the strongest spells just don't work with the threats, and I didn't like to play GDD with no targets, which will happen very often when your main deck already has 4 moon, 10 ramp and 8-10 other threats taking up 24-26 slots.
this is basically how i felt about gdd. i tended to have to pay it without generating value and it felt wasted every time. plus it turns your opponents grave hate on. the more cards you can obsolete from your opponent, the better.
another thing to mention. avalanche riders also strike me as underwhelming because you essentially pay 4 mana for a 2/2 with haste that time walks you if u wanna keep it around. I'd rather play that kicker goblin that pops non basics since you only have to pay for it once. i mean unless your deck is all about flicker effects...
Here's a decklist my friend used last weekend for a PPTQ. It is unconventional and probably controversial but he almost piloted it to a Top 8 PPTQ (38 Players).
I lent him the deck to which he tweaked for his play style. His record was 3-2-1 but he could've gone 4-1-1 and possibly dominate the Top 8 and winning the tournament but due to confusion on the tournament prize structure he decided to have a concession with his last round opponent. I am part to blame as I did not brief him on the stakes and I left during round 5 as he thought after the swiss rounds that the tourney is over and the top 8 players are the winners. FYI, this is only his second Modern tournament (he rarely plays Modern as he plays Pauper) and was not familiar on how the tournament works.
We had a Draw for Round 1 as we were paired with another late competitor so I am left wondering of the possibilities had we arrived on time.
Apologies as I don't have the sideboard as he made the list on the fly. We initially talked about adding Blood Moon at the sideboard before the event but I guess he forgot and was pressured listing the deck and adjusting the sideboard.
I watched a couple of his games and I can tell that he can pilot the deck better had he had reps from it. This was the first time he used the deck by the way.
Acidic Slime - Was added because of the 2-in-1 effect without the drawback of Avalanche Riders. It was a great card against Death's Shadow due to Deathtouch.
Chandra, Pyromaster - This would have been Chandra, Torch of Defiance but due to budgetary reasons I had to settle with this.
Cinder Glade - This could've been the 4th Stompy Ground but I don't have it. I'd rather change it to a Forest as it is bad in an opening hand.
Windswept Heath - This was supposed to be 3 only and Wooded Foothills should be 4 instead.
I'm going to give this a try as we both feel the normal land destruction count on accepted Ponza lists are not enough. I'll see if I can borrow a Chandra, TOD but if not then I'll stick with the Pyromaster. The sideboard is a work in progress and there's a big chance that it will include Blood Moons.
I might go to 4 Acidic Slimes and cut the 2 Reclaiming Vines.
I like Abrade as it can hit an artifact because Affinity is slightly favored against us. If I'm able to get a set before the weekend, then the Lightning Bolts will be replaced.
My recommendation is to cut 2 Reclaiming Vines and 1 Roiling Terrain (although this is definitely cute) for 3 lands. 18 lands is not enough. The original lists I was playing had 21 lands and even that I thought was not enough. I've been playing 22 (with no birds) and am never looking back. Acidic slime is a card I've considered many times and it being able to remove a random enchantment is pretty sweet but...the body is useless. A 2/2 is too fragile to matter. Why the Grove? Seems like it would just be better if it was a forest.
Here's a decklist my friend used last weekend for a PPTQ. It is unconventional and probably controversial but he almost piloted it to a Top 8 PPTQ (38 Players).
I lent him the deck to which he tweaked for his play style. His record was 3-2-1 but he could've gone 4-1-1 and possibly dominate the Top 8 and winning the tournament but due to confusion on the tournament prize structure he decided to have a concession with his last round opponent. I am part to blame as I did not brief him on the stakes and I left during round 5 as he thought after the swiss rounds that the tourney is over and the top 8 players are the winners. FYI, this is only his second Modern tournament (he rarely plays Modern as he plays Pauper) and was not familiar on how the tournament works.
We had a Draw for Round 1 as we were paired with another late competitor so I am left wondering of the possibilities had we arrived on time.
Apologies as I don't have the sideboard as he made the list on the fly. We initially talked about adding Blood Moon at the sideboard before the event but I guess he forgot and was pressured listing the deck and adjusting the sideboard.
I watched a couple of his games and I can tell that he can pilot the deck better had he had reps from it. This was the first time he used the deck by the way.
Acidic Slime - Was added because of the 2-in-1 effect without the drawback of Avalanche Riders. It was a great card against Death's Shadow due to Deathtouch.
Chandra, Pyromaster - This would have been Chandra, Torch of Defiance but due to budgetary reasons I had to settle with this.
Cinder Glade - This could've been the 4th Stompy Ground but I don't have it. I'd rather change it to a Forest as it is bad in an opening hand.
Windswept Heath - This was supposed to be 3 only and Wooded Foothills should be 4 instead.
I'm going to give this a try as we both feel the normal land destruction count on accepted Ponza lists are not enough. I'll see if I can borrow a Chandra, TOD but if not then I'll stick with the Pyromaster. The sideboard is a work in progress and there's a big chance that it will include Blood Moons.
I might go to 4 Acidic Slimes and cut the 2 Reclaiming Vines.
I like Abrade as it can hit an artifact because Affinity is slightly favored against us. If I'm able to get a set before the weekend, then the Lightning Bolts will be replaced.
My recommendation is to cut 2 Reclaiming Vines and 1 Roiling Terrain (although this is definitely cute) for 3 lands. 18 lands is not enough. The original lists I was playing had 21 lands and even that I thought was not enough. I've been playing 22 (with no birds) and am never looking back. Acidic slime is a card I've considered many times and it being able to remove a random enchantment is pretty sweet but...the body is useless. A 2/2 is too fragile to matter. Why the Grove? Seems like it would just be better if it was a forest.
Shattering spree is also unaffected by a chalice at 1. You just replicate it. The original copy will be countered but the replicate copy will kill the chalice. Also chalice on 1 does nothing spectacular against our deck. Once you have cast your 1st accelerator to cast 3 spell on turn 2 the rest are sort of redundant, unless you have the 4 drop, 2 land, elf sprawl god hand!!!
That aside thanks for taking the time to answer!
Yes, I know that the chalice doesn't affect the subsequent replicates. But having to spend an extra mana just to hit the card twice can be an issue. It gets around Teeg, I guess haha. I wouldn't play either anyways as they are too narrow. I would rather play that gremlin version where you get 2/2 dudes if I were to play a card like SS.
Chalice on 1 is only really good against us if we're on the draw. Sometimes your opponents forget the trigger though...
That 4 drop land/elf/sprawl hand happened more often than you'd think to me yesterday. There's nothing more satisfying than to untap with 6 mana available to your opponents 1 land. Really hard to lose from that spot. And it's turns like that that make this deck so good.
2. I hate thragtusk, and find practically anything is better in that slot. I hate it against burn as well, which is a matchup some people are convinced it's good in. What matchups does it impress you in?
4. On a scale of '1' to 'I'm so F***ing dead' how bad are dredge, hollowvine and living end matchups for you with only 2 relics for graveyard hate?
5. You mentioned wolf run was a card you don't like. I agree. However, you were playing a Cinder glade (which you mentioned should be a thicket) but eiher way, I dislike it for the same reason I don't like wolf run. If your hand is forest, cinderglade, elf, sprawl, moon, and any 2 other non land cards I feel like you've shot yourself in the foot for no reason, and that every land should be able to enter untapped in our deck. Your thoughts on this?
I love the inclusion of Chameleon colossus and choke by the way. Thanks again for the report!
1: Trinisphere locks out burn. It's your single best card against them. I played it main because my meta tends to have a lot of zoo/burn. However, going forward, it can definitely be pushed back to the sideboard. It's much better on the play than the draw.
2: Thragtusk has it's uses. It's particularly good against anything that runs path. But making the shift to Baloth might end up being better since it costs one less and does have some applications against GDS/Jund. It's not a hay maker.
3: I wanted to play Abrade specifically because of affinity and fish. Being able to shoot a land/lord/artifact is a slight edge over all 3 of those cards. Shattering spree is a sorcery. I may as well run by force which is unaffected by a chalice at 1. If you don't expect any Fish in your meta, then grudge is marginally better, I think.
4: Living is a better match up than the other 2. Mainly because of moon/land d. Trinisphere is great here. A must. Hollowvine is not consistent enough to really make an impact. It's a "win on t2 or do nothing" kind of deck. Dregde is not very popular here but moon/land d and angers should be good here. With that said, every deck has unbeatable hands (see my game vs GDS).
5: The Thicket is in there for a single reason: To be cycled. It's pretty unlikely that you'll ever fetch it out, but you want to have a critical mass of lands. It serves as an insurance for the worst case scenario. I think the tiny edge gained from it being cyclable over just being another land makes a difference. There were games where I would have wanted that.
Choke could potentially be switched to Boil. Boil is better on the draw and Choke on the play. But I really like Choke in the current meta.
I'm coming to report on my PPTQ today. One where I ended up winning it
I know we've been talking back and forth about what the ideal package is and a page or two back I highlighted what I believed was the correct core of the deck. I'm here to report on my result and share my deck list with all of you. Maybe throw in my thought process.
Round 1 vs Esper Control
Game 1: T2 Blood moon locked him out of the game.
Game 2: T3 Choke locked him out of the game.
I added choke to my sideboard because of the fish match-up. I found this one to be incredibly difficult and moon does nothing here. Replacing some with Choke WILL give you free wins. More on choke later...
1-0
Round 2 vs Fish
Game 1: I'm on the draw here and manage to win this match off lucky Bonfire.
Game 2: He overruns me before I can really do anything (although top decking a Bonfire would have won me the game).
Game 3: He kept a one land hand (cavern of souls), I land choke T2 and lock him out of the game.
2-0
Round 3 vs Fish (yes, only 2 players and I played against both)
Game 1: I keep him off his lords with Chandra and bonfires.
Game 2: He kept a one-lander with vial, but I pop it with Abrade and follow up with Choke and he concedes.
3-0
Round 4 vs Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I T2 blood moon and he basically doesn't do anything for the match.
Game 2: He counters a couple things, but eventually burns me out.
Game 3: Moon and choke hold him off available mana, I'm at 5 and he aims to burn me out, but a timely Thragtusk puts the game out of reach.
4-0
Round 5 & 6 I draw. 4-0-2.
Top 8 (finished 3rd overall)
Quarter finals vs GB Tron
This is a matchup that turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Mostly because of the damn artifacts that can be converted for cards and mana.
Game 1: Blood moon T2, keep him off his lands to eventually finish him off with a Stormbreath.
Game 2: I T2 Blood moon but he's ready for it with Nature's claim. I'm able to keep him off Tron but not off drawing lands naturally. I get him down to 5 but he lands a wurmcoil. I had my own, we trade (i have an abrade in hand) but I never draw another threat that matter. He lands Karn followed by another wurm coil where my only out is Bonfire. I draw, it's not bonfire. Off to Game 3.
Game 3: I land a T3 Chandra and my gameplan is just to get to the emblem. I keep him off Tron with a moon and some land D, get to the emblem, GG.
5-0-2
Semi finals vs: Grixis Death Shadow
This is the match up where going first is the most important thing. Sadly, my opponent finished in 2nd and gets to choose.
Game 1: He rapes my hand and I die to an angler (i had acceleration, moon, land d).
Game 2: T1 Utopia Sprawl. My hand is: Land, Choke, Stone Rain, Blood Moon. He fetches for a U/B land, thought seizes me, sees my hand, let's out a sigh, takes the moon. I play the choke and pass turn. He draws, concedes.
Game 3: He plays a fetch but pass. He start with Utopia Sprawl hoping he counters it. He does. I proceed to play an elf, which he never kills. He draws some cards, inquisitions me but has no pressure. I rip off the top a Chameleon colossus. Opponent has the "holy ***** i'm dead" face. I put him from 11 to 3 and pass. He draws, and concedes. His hand: 2 Terminate.
6-0-2
Finals vs Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I get to start, it matters. T1 Elf (he plays colonade), T2 moon. GG.
Game 2: We go back and forth until we hit top deck mode. He snaps a negate on my acid moss, enchants a steel of the god head on it and starts pressuring me. I draw 5 straight lands and die.
Game 3: T2 Choke. Land D. Primal command his tapped colonnade and fetch Stormbreath. GG.
Cinder Glade: Should be a Sheltered Thicket but I forgot to make the switch.
I didn't end up playing against Affinity this time, but both it and Fish are our toughest matchup. Which is why I dedicate the most sideboard cards to them. Abrade has the benefit of being useful in pretty much any matchup. Going to the face is not really important with the "burn spell" since your threats are all hay makers anyways.
Relic is not super useful but does have its uses. It's decent against DS so you always want to bring it. But you don't *need* it. If they inquisition you, they have to take it or their game plan is going to suck. Which leaves room to do other things.
Tireless Tracker is the only card I'm so-so on. It can be great, but it's only really useful against the control match ups because you want to bring in more threats anyways since they are bringing in a bunch of negates. Nothing like having them sitting there with negates and you landing a Tracker. But I can see it being switched to something that's more useful. One thing I will note though, if you switch the card with something else, make sure it's either a threat or something that will lock out the opponent. Modern is all about not letting your opponents play magic. Always remember that and you'll do fine.
A lot of you guys keep the birds in your main and I am convinced that's wrong. The card can't attack, is a horrible top deck and you really don't need it. Cut it. You'll thank me later.
The only game I wish I had a KWR was vs GB Tron Game 2. But other than that, not once did I feel like I needed that card. Cut it.
ive found the deck to be extremely consistent. which is what has drawn me to it. ive juggled with the idea of adding white, but now for rest in peace/stony silence than anything else.
Between T2 Stone Rain or Rabblemaster, i choose Stone rain. It's much more devastating. The thing about ponza is that almost any threat is good enough since your game plan is to blow up their mana and stop them from being able to interact. The 3 drop slot is ideally for a card that blows up lands or blood moon. Not for an actual threat.
Usual sequence of play is:
T1: Arbor elf/Utopia Sprawl
T2: Stone rain/Blood moon
T3: Acid Moss/Chandra
T4: 6 mana threat
Rabblemaster messes up that sequence a bit. It's better in skred red than it is here, i think (even though Skred is a bad deck).
But I actually kind of like Atarka...it's not the worst choice ever. Kills anglers!
Hellkite Tyrant though...what do you bring this against??? Affinity? Lantern? That's a weird one. I mean if you hit affinity with this, gg but I would think there are cheaper options!
Most of the players's choices have been backed before. I personally prefer Chandra over Huntmaster since it wins the game a LOT faster.
I've also moved the Abrades to the main. My reasoning is that we really don't care about burning to the face since that's really not what our game is about. However, the ability to interact with BOTH creatures and artifacts game 1 is actually really relevant. I've even been contemplating upping the number of abrades as it's essentially never a dead card. Being modal is really key here as both effects are mediocre but when put together really give you flexibility that's needed in this type of deck.
I wish there was a GP near by that had modern so I could really put the deck through it's paces but alas...someone else will need to do this!
Looking forward to your feedback. But if you win, people might start to take notice haha
FYI: I'm starting to come around to the idea that Chandra is a 4 of. That card alone will win you more games that would otherwise be unwinnable. I think it's more than worth testing.
Here's my most updated list.
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
4 Stone Rain
Creatures
2 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Inferno Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Arbor Elf
2 Thragtusk
Other
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Primal Command
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Abrade
4 Utopia Sprawl
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Blood Moon
10 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Mountain
2 Stomping Ground
1 Sheltered Thicket
1 Creeping Corrosion
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Trinisphere
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Chameleon Colossus
2 Choke
1 Beast Within
2 Crumble to Dust
My assessment is that it's not worth the slots. My list is pretty tight and the GDD just doesn't have that big of an impact on the board for what it brings to the table. It doesn't interact with our best spells either, like someone said earlier.
There is a change I would consider making to the board though and that is the colossus. GDS is starting to adapt to all the hate and some of them are now running Young Pyromancer in the board. This totally blanks our plan.
I guess the next step is to find a creature that is both protection from black AND red. But it's just a 2/2, sadly.
this is basically how i felt about gdd. i tended to have to pay it without generating value and it felt wasted every time. plus it turns your opponents grave hate on. the more cards you can obsolete from your opponent, the better.
My recommendation is to cut 2 Reclaiming Vines and 1 Roiling Terrain (although this is definitely cute) for 3 lands. 18 lands is not enough. The original lists I was playing had 21 lands and even that I thought was not enough. I've been playing 22 (with no birds) and am never looking back. Acidic slime is a card I've considered many times and it being able to remove a random enchantment is pretty sweet but...the body is useless. A 2/2 is too fragile to matter. Why the Grove? Seems like it would just be better if it was a forest.
My recommendation is to cut 2 Reclaiming Vines and 1 Roiling Terrain (although this is definitely cute) for 3 lands. 18 lands is not enough. The original lists I was playing had 21 lands and even that I thought was not enough. I've been playing 22 (with no birds) and am never looking back. Acidic slime is a card I've considered many times and it being able to remove a random enchantment is pretty sweet but...the body is useless. A 2/2 is too fragile to matter. Why the Grove? Seems like it would just be better if it was a forest.
Missed the 2 primal commands. Updated now.
Yes, I know that the chalice doesn't affect the subsequent replicates. But having to spend an extra mana just to hit the card twice can be an issue. It gets around Teeg, I guess haha. I wouldn't play either anyways as they are too narrow. I would rather play that gremlin version where you get 2/2 dudes if I were to play a card like SS.
Chalice on 1 is only really good against us if we're on the draw. Sometimes your opponents forget the trigger though...
That 4 drop land/elf/sprawl hand happened more often than you'd think to me yesterday. There's nothing more satisfying than to untap with 6 mana available to your opponents 1 land. Really hard to lose from that spot. And it's turns like that that make this deck so good.
1: Trinisphere locks out burn. It's your single best card against them. I played it main because my meta tends to have a lot of zoo/burn. However, going forward, it can definitely be pushed back to the sideboard. It's much better on the play than the draw.
2: Thragtusk has it's uses. It's particularly good against anything that runs path. But making the shift to Baloth might end up being better since it costs one less and does have some applications against GDS/Jund. It's not a hay maker.
3: I wanted to play Abrade specifically because of affinity and fish. Being able to shoot a land/lord/artifact is a slight edge over all 3 of those cards. Shattering spree is a sorcery. I may as well run by force which is unaffected by a chalice at 1. If you don't expect any Fish in your meta, then grudge is marginally better, I think.
4: Living is a better match up than the other 2. Mainly because of moon/land d. Trinisphere is great here. A must. Hollowvine is not consistent enough to really make an impact. It's a "win on t2 or do nothing" kind of deck. Dregde is not very popular here but moon/land d and angers should be good here. With that said, every deck has unbeatable hands (see my game vs GDS).
5: The Thicket is in there for a single reason: To be cycled. It's pretty unlikely that you'll ever fetch it out, but you want to have a critical mass of lands. It serves as an insurance for the worst case scenario. I think the tiny edge gained from it being cyclable over just being another land makes a difference. There were games where I would have wanted that.
Choke could potentially be switched to Boil. Boil is better on the draw and Choke on the play. But I really like Choke in the current meta.
I'm coming to report on my PPTQ today. One where I ended up winning it
I know we've been talking back and forth about what the ideal package is and a page or two back I highlighted what I believed was the correct core of the deck. I'm here to report on my result and share my deck list with all of you. Maybe throw in my thought process.
Round 1 vs Esper Control
Game 1: T2 Blood moon locked him out of the game.
Game 2: T3 Choke locked him out of the game.
I added choke to my sideboard because of the fish match-up. I found this one to be incredibly difficult and moon does nothing here. Replacing some with Choke WILL give you free wins. More on choke later...
1-0
Round 2 vs Fish
Game 1: I'm on the draw here and manage to win this match off lucky Bonfire.
Game 2: He overruns me before I can really do anything (although top decking a Bonfire would have won me the game).
Game 3: He kept a one land hand (cavern of souls), I land choke T2 and lock him out of the game.
2-0
Round 3 vs Fish (yes, only 2 players and I played against both)
Game 1: I keep him off his lords with Chandra and bonfires.
Game 2: He kept a one-lander with vial, but I pop it with Abrade and follow up with Choke and he concedes.
3-0
Round 4 vs Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I T2 blood moon and he basically doesn't do anything for the match.
Game 2: He counters a couple things, but eventually burns me out.
Game 3: Moon and choke hold him off available mana, I'm at 5 and he aims to burn me out, but a timely Thragtusk puts the game out of reach.
4-0
Round 5 & 6 I draw. 4-0-2.
Top 8 (finished 3rd overall)
Quarter finals vs GB Tron
This is a matchup that turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Mostly because of the damn artifacts that can be converted for cards and mana.
Game 1: Blood moon T2, keep him off his lands to eventually finish him off with a Stormbreath.
Game 2: I T2 Blood moon but he's ready for it with Nature's claim. I'm able to keep him off Tron but not off drawing lands naturally. I get him down to 5 but he lands a wurmcoil. I had my own, we trade (i have an abrade in hand) but I never draw another threat that matter. He lands Karn followed by another wurm coil where my only out is Bonfire. I draw, it's not bonfire. Off to Game 3.
Game 3: I land a T3 Chandra and my gameplan is just to get to the emblem. I keep him off Tron with a moon and some land D, get to the emblem, GG.
5-0-2
Semi finals vs: Grixis Death Shadow
This is the match up where going first is the most important thing. Sadly, my opponent finished in 2nd and gets to choose.
Game 1: He rapes my hand and I die to an angler (i had acceleration, moon, land d).
Game 2: T1 Utopia Sprawl. My hand is: Land, Choke, Stone Rain, Blood Moon. He fetches for a U/B land, thought seizes me, sees my hand, let's out a sigh, takes the moon. I play the choke and pass turn. He draws, concedes.
Game 3: He plays a fetch but pass. He start with Utopia Sprawl hoping he counters it. He does. I proceed to play an elf, which he never kills. He draws some cards, inquisitions me but has no pressure. I rip off the top a Chameleon colossus. Opponent has the "holy ***** i'm dead" face. I put him from 11 to 3 and pass. He draws, and concedes. His hand: 2 Terminate.
6-0-2
Finals vs Jeskai Tempo
Game 1: I get to start, it matters. T1 Elf (he plays colonade), T2 moon. GG.
Game 2: We go back and forth until we hit top deck mode. He snaps a negate on my acid moss, enchants a steel of the god head on it and starts pressuring me. I draw 5 straight lands and die.
Game 3: T2 Choke. Land D. Primal command his tapped colonnade and fetch Stormbreath. GG.
7-0-2 and an RPTQ invite.
Here's my deck list:
4 Arbor Elf
2 Thragtusk
2 Stormbreath
2 Inferno Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Chandra, the defiant torch
4 Stone Rain
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
2 Molten Rain
2 Bonfire of the damned
4 Blood Moon
3 Trinisphere
2 Primal Command
4 Windswept Heath
2 Stomping Ground
1 Cinder Glade
1 Mountain
10 Forest
2 Abrade
2 Choke
2 Chameleon Colossus
2 Tireless Tracker
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Creeping Corossion
2 Relic of Progenitus
Cinder Glade: Should be a Sheltered Thicket but I forgot to make the switch.
I didn't end up playing against Affinity this time, but both it and Fish are our toughest matchup. Which is why I dedicate the most sideboard cards to them. Abrade has the benefit of being useful in pretty much any matchup. Going to the face is not really important with the "burn spell" since your threats are all hay makers anyways.
Relic is not super useful but does have its uses. It's decent against DS so you always want to bring it. But you don't *need* it. If they inquisition you, they have to take it or their game plan is going to suck. Which leaves room to do other things.
Tireless Tracker is the only card I'm so-so on. It can be great, but it's only really useful against the control match ups because you want to bring in more threats anyways since they are bringing in a bunch of negates. Nothing like having them sitting there with negates and you landing a Tracker. But I can see it being switched to something that's more useful. One thing I will note though, if you switch the card with something else, make sure it's either a threat or something that will lock out the opponent. Modern is all about not letting your opponents play magic. Always remember that and you'll do fine.
A lot of you guys keep the birds in your main and I am convinced that's wrong. The card can't attack, is a horrible top deck and you really don't need it. Cut it. You'll thank me later.
The only game I wish I had a KWR was vs GB Tron Game 2. But other than that, not once did I feel like I needed that card. Cut it.