Yeah, I think Pili-Pala takes the deck in a direction that doesn't work with the aggro plan. Too many slots are going to be used for finding combo pieces. The 1 of Expedition Map and Tolaria West are interesting though. In addition to Walking Ballista it's a good way to find a Academy Ruins or Inventors' Fair for some recursion/utility.
Something different I'm going to try out when I have time.
Now that GW Vizier is a thing there needs to be a good reason to try the Pili-Pala combo. I decided to max out on the tax effects and run the full 8 Cursecatchers to protect the combo. I think the biggest issue will be finding a win con without access to Chord/CoCo/Duskwatch Recruiter.
The deck is totally a meta call. The sideboard needed more tweaking than what I ran. It destroys Death Shadow and any black or red deck. Burn folds pretty quick to this.
I've ran this deck for a over a year now so if you have any questions about card choices, DM me and we can move the conversation out of this channel.
Round 1 - Racist.deck - 2-0
Got matched with a janky mono-white deck where all the creatures had protection from black, and he was running Painter's Servant to turn everything black. Would actually have been pretty hard to battle through all that unblockable lifelink except that G1 and G2 I got Basilisk Collar on Walking Ballista to shoot first Painter's Servant and then the rest of his board.
Hey Neal. I was the janky pro black player. I should have followed my heart and played this deck I thought the pro black taxes angle was a decent meta choice with Death Shadow variants everywhere. Saw exactly 0. Go figure.
My list cuts the two signal pest for Pili-Pala to get instant wins with Walking Ballista. Still looking for another outlet for infinite mana without changing the composition of the deck.
Yeah, it does. I forgot it goes onto the battlefield without allowing you to pay any mana. However, it would live if Master of Etherium was out.
Kinda clunky in any case. Would need a 1 of as a mana sink to search out and win with Ballista being a no-go. Something 1 or 2 mana.
Sacred Armory ?
Edit: In the end I think the staff may be the way to go since it is a guaranteed win.
Whir of Invention > Walking Ballista if combo is onlineNon-boIf Grand Architect and Walking Ballista are online > Whir of Invention into Pili-Pala at opponents end step.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/674033-paint-it-black
The deck is totally a meta call. The sideboard needed more tweaking than what I ran. It destroys Death Shadow and any black or red deck. Burn folds pretty quick to this.
I've ran this deck for a over a year now so if you have any questions about card choices, DM me and we can move the conversation out of this channel.
3 Auriok Champion
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Painter's Servant
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Devout Lightcaster
4 Mirran Crusader
2 Paladin en-Vec
2 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Restoration Angel
1 Deathbringer Liege
4 AEther Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 Distorting Lens
3 Always Watching
Lands:21
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Ghost Quarter
15 Plains
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Celestial Purge
2 Rest in Peace
2 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Worship
Hey Neal. I was the janky pro black player. I should have followed my heart and played this deck
My list cuts the two signal pest for Pili-Pala to get instant wins with Walking Ballista. Still looking for another outlet for infinite mana without changing the composition of the deck.
4 Walking Ballista
2 Judge's Familiar
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Chief Engineer
4 Etherium Sculptor
2 Pili-Pala
4 Grand Architect
2 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Smuggler's Copter
2 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
2 Whir of Invention
Lands:22
1 Academy Ruins
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Inventors' Fair
16 Island
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
2 Trinket Mage
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Unified Will
1 Aethersphere Harvester