Ravager is also problematic if we don't have enough blockers and a Ballista to ping whatever they want to put the counters on. Same goes for Plating. At least sideboarding is easy as Lodestones are useless against them.
Best thing about God-Pharaoh's Gift is that tokens don't get exiled in the end step. Hit for 4 with Wanderer and have it ready to sac and force them to pay 4 if they want to resolve an instant or sorcery.
I'm thinking of adding a copy or two of Echoing Truth to deal with problematic permanents like Stony Silence. It doesn't permanently deal with it but it's a catch all (bar manlands) and can be effective enough to let us get through next turn.
Went 3-1 in an 18 player Modern Monday today. Saw Zac playing the deck on stream @ GP Vegas and decided to sleeve it up. Nearly identical list except 3x Ceremonious Rejection and just 1x Wurmcoil Engine since I couldn't get the second one.
Lost 0-2 (P) versus Grixis Death's Shadow
Won 2-1 (D) versus Jeskai Control
Won 2-0 (D) versus Junk
Won 2-0 (P) versus Grixis Moon
Round 1 - Grixis Death's Shadow // 0-2 (On the play):
Got absolutely destroyed in G1. I'm on the play, island, Mausoleum Wanderer, pass. He fetches, goes to 17, casts Dismember on my Wanderer, goes to 13, pass. I follow up with Ethereum Sculptor, pass. He fetches again, down to 10. Cast two Death's Shadows, pass. I stumble, get hit for 10 the following the turn and he plays another Shadow.
Game 2 wasn't much different. Thoughtseize takes the Architect, he slams an early Tasigur while dealing with my threats one by one.
Round 2 - Jeskai Control // 2-1 (On the draw):
Novice player, he made quite a lot of mistakes. Slowly grinded him down with Blinkmoth Nexuses in game 1. Floodfest in game 2 but stalled it long enough with two copies of Thorn of Amethyst which slowed him down considerably. Game 3 we had about 5 minutes left on the clock and I mowed him down with T1 Familiar into T2 Chief Engineer into Etherium Sculptor into Throne. Followed by T3 Grand Architect into Lodestone Golem with Wurmcoil Engine backup ready for T4. GG.
Round 3 - Junk // 2-0 (On the draw):
Game 1 I land two Lodestone Golems off an Architect which along with Nexus and some Copter hits bring him to 0. Game turns into a grindfest with me controlling a Sculptor, Engineer and two Trinket Mages in hand while he has a Goyf and two spirit tokens. He chips at my life getting me down to 6 before I grabbed a Hangarback Walker with one mage and Relic of Progenitus with the other to shrink his Goyf. He topdecks a Rhino to bring me down to 3 but I manage to tick my Walker up enough to prevent him from favourably attacking. Eventually I get a Ballista, grow it considerably and while finds a Path for my Walker, Ballista grew out of control and took over the game.
Round 4 - Grixis Moon // 2-0 (On the play):
Basically a Grixis Control list with Blood Moons. He never cast one and it'd be useless against me anyway, Islands all the way. Game 1 was Throne all-star game. Must've drained at least 10 life with it as he wasn't able to deal with it. Rest was on the shoulders of Blinkmoth Nexus chipping for 1 all the way down from 11 life.
Game 2 saw two Lodestone Golems versus his Tasigur and Ballista eventually securing the victory.
Overall I'm really happy with the deck and it's performance. It's incredibly resilient although it lacks in card advantage and sometimes feels like you're playing topdeck roulette. I already ordered a playset of Sage of Epityr to test them out as well as some other artifacts like Defense Grid, Storage Matrix, Mindlock Orb, Quicksilver Fountain, Torpor Orb and Scuttling Doom Engine to test it alongside Wurmcoil Engine. Can't be chumped with weenies and hits for 6 when destroyed.
Haven't seen much discussion recently about Defense Grid. What are your thoughts? It's costs the same as Throne which means it's possible to use the same lines of play. We're a tap out deck so the extra cost will mostly affect our opponents and their instant speed shenanigans.
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
Drew Swords just twice, Feast against Elves and Ice against Soul Sisters with Stony Silence so hardly any testing there.
Myr Battlesphere felt great. Gives us chump blockers and bodies to potentially turn blue with Architect which can translate into a huge Ballista.
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
4x Chief Engineer
4x Etherium Sculptor
4x Grand Architect
4x Lodestone Golem
4x Walking Ballista
3x Judge's Familiar
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Wurmcoil Engine
4x Smuggler's Copter
2x Throne of the God-Pharaoh
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Bident of Thassa
Lands (22):
16x Island
4x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Academy Ruins
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
2x Dismember
2x Thorn of Amethyst
2x Trinket Mage
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Torpor Orb
1x Hangarback Walker
1x Pithing Needle
1x Basilisk Collar
I'm thinking of adding a copy or two of Echoing Truth to deal with problematic permanents like Stony Silence. It doesn't permanently deal with it but it's a catch all (bar manlands) and can be effective enough to let us get through next turn.
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
1 Academy Ruins
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
16 Island
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Creatures (32):
4 Chief Engineer
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Grand Architect
3 Judge's Familiar
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Master of Etherium
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Walking Ballista
1 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
2 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
1 Basilisk Collar
3 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Dismember
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Trinket Mage
Lost 0-2 (P) versus Grixis Death's Shadow
Won 2-1 (D) versus Jeskai Control
Won 2-0 (D) versus Junk
Won 2-0 (P) versus Grixis Moon
Round 1 - Grixis Death's Shadow // 0-2 (On the play):
Got absolutely destroyed in G1. I'm on the play, island, Mausoleum Wanderer, pass. He fetches, goes to 17, casts Dismember on my Wanderer, goes to 13, pass. I follow up with Ethereum Sculptor, pass. He fetches again, down to 10. Cast two Death's Shadows, pass. I stumble, get hit for 10 the following the turn and he plays another Shadow.
Game 2 wasn't much different. Thoughtseize takes the Architect, he slams an early Tasigur while dealing with my threats one by one.
In: 2x Thorn of Amethyst, 2x Trinket Mage, 1x Grafdigger's Cage, 1x Relic of Progenitus, 1x Hangarback Walker, 1x Basilisk Collar
Out: 3x Master of Etherium, 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh, 1x Smuggler's Copter, 1x Walking Ballista, 1x Judge's Familiar, 1x Lodestone Golem
Round 2 - Jeskai Control // 2-1 (On the draw):
Novice player, he made quite a lot of mistakes. Slowly grinded him down with Blinkmoth Nexuses in game 1. Floodfest in game 2 but stalled it long enough with two copies of Thorn of Amethyst which slowed him down considerably. Game 3 we had about 5 minutes left on the clock and I mowed him down with T1 Familiar into T2 Chief Engineer into Etherium Sculptor into Throne. Followed by T3 Grand Architect into Lodestone Golem with Wurmcoil Engine backup ready for T4. GG.
In: 2x Thorn of Amethyst, 2x Trinket Mage, 1x Hangarback Walker, 1x Pithing Needle, 1x Grafdigger's Cage, 1x Relic of Progenitus
Out: 3x Master of Etherium, 1x Smuggler's Copter, 1x Etherium Sculptor, 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh, 1x Judge's Familiar, 1x Walking Ballista
Round 3 - Junk // 2-0 (On the draw):
Game 1 I land two Lodestone Golems off an Architect which along with Nexus and some Copter hits bring him to 0. Game turns into a grindfest with me controlling a Sculptor, Engineer and two Trinket Mages in hand while he has a Goyf and two spirit tokens. He chips at my life getting me down to 6 before I grabbed a Hangarback Walker with one mage and Relic of Progenitus with the other to shrink his Goyf. He topdecks a Rhino to bring me down to 3 but I manage to tick my Walker up enough to prevent him from favourably attacking. Eventually I get a Ballista, grow it considerably and while finds a Path for my Walker, Ballista grew out of control and took over the game.
In: 2x Trinket Mage, 2x Thorn of Amethyst, 1x Hangarback Walker, 1x Relic of Progenitus, 1x Basilisk Collar, 1x Grafdigger's Cage
Out 4x Master of Etherium, 1x Chief Engineer, 1x Etherium Sculptor, 1x Judge's Familiar, 1x Walking Ballista, 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh, 1x Smuggler's Copter
Round 4 - Grixis Moon // 2-0 (On the play):
Basically a Grixis Control list with Blood Moons. He never cast one and it'd be useless against me anyway, Islands all the way. Game 1 was Throne all-star game. Must've drained at least 10 life with it as he wasn't able to deal with it. Rest was on the shoulders of Blinkmoth Nexus chipping for 1 all the way down from 11 life.
Game 2 saw two Lodestone Golems versus his Tasigur and Ballista eventually securing the victory.
In: 2x Trinket Mage, 2x Grafdigger's Cage, 2x Thorn of Amethyst, 1x Hangarback Walker, 1x Pithing Needle, 1x Basilisk Collar, 1x Relic of Progenitus
Out: 4x Master of Etherium, 2x Smuggler's Copter, 1x Judge's Familiar, 1x Chief Engineer, 1x Walking Ballista, 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh
Overall I'm really happy with the deck and it's performance. It's incredibly resilient although it lacks in card advantage and sometimes feels like you're playing topdeck roulette. I already ordered a playset of Sage of Epityr to test them out as well as some other artifacts like Defense Grid, Storage Matrix, Mindlock Orb, Quicksilver Fountain, Torpor Orb and Scuttling Doom Engine to test it alongside Wurmcoil Engine. Can't be chumped with weenies and hits for 6 when destroyed.
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW
WBG Elves WBG
Cheeri0s
EDH:
RG Omnath, Locus of Rage RG || GWUB Atraxa, Praetors' Voice GWUB
R Zo-Zu the Punisher R || WU Brago, King Eternal WU
UB Gisa and Geralf UB || BGW Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW