MTG Salvation

Honestly, based on this, Domain Zoo looks like the current top variant against all the linear decks currently running around. And any deck that can beat up Jund the way Caleb did in his series certainly seems worth playing. Dude needs some Abrupt Decay or Qasali Pridemage or he's gonna get ruined by Blood Moon and Rest in Peace, though.

Yeah, Tribal Zoo got more or less phased out by that Rainbow Aggro deck that's been running around of late. It doesn't get the nice toys like Tribal Flames, but (barring a Blood Moon) its lands do the job.

As for Big Zoo... I see what some people here are saying, but I remain unconvinced it's operating at the same power level as Gruul Zoo and other Modern decks. As GoST- says, it gets no easy wins, but where I do disagree is that there are decks out there that get easy wins against it (pretty much any combo or big-mana deck). At least with Gruul Zoo you're so fast that you can always just go for broke and force the opponent to put up meaningful resistance/outrace you by T4 or die.

Your reports of the Bant Eldrazi matchup being favorable is pretty surprising, to be honest. That deck is not all that different from the one that all but chased Naya Company Zoo out of the format back during Eldrazi Winter. That said, Bolt-the-dork is now something that hurts them pretty badly, and Zoo can do that. I do think that Gruul Zoo is better positioned overall (it's better at going under the other decks that I mentioned), but (as you said) that only lasts for as long as people don't devote their attention to hating it out. However, it's far from being in the meta's crosshairs at the moment, so now's a pretty good time to suit up with it.

As for the reasons why people don't play Naya Company Zoo... I've heard most of those before, yeah. I think Bant Eldrazi's rise to prominence is the biggest, though I think a significant amount of Zoo players got a taste of Reckless Bushwhacker or Death's Shadow and are unlikely to come back to Collected Company.

Are people still playing Big Zoo? The deck has mostly disappeared from ModernNexus' tier rankings, while Gruul Zoo is holding strong. And if so, how are you dealing with matchups like Bant Eldrazi, Merfolk, and Breach Titan? You don't have the option to go under them, and their midgame mostly looks better. I don't really see the rationale for the deck being a thing in the current meta, honestly.

I wouldn't, but that's because I'm a big fan of streamlining. I think it's easy to get enamored with odds and ends, and lose track of the fact that we really want to see cards like Wild Nacatl and Atarka's Command as often as possible. The shift from 60 to 61 cards is small, but trimming your percentages to see your money cards in aggro tends to be bad.

I'm honestly surprised no one is talking about this guy. Seems like it beats out Flinthoof Boar for a spot in Gruul Zoo, which is by far the best-performing Zoo deck right now (unless you count Death's Shadow as Zoo, which I don't). It's only a 4/3 trampler for 2 attack steps, but that's honestly all you need in most games, especially if you don't manage to give it haste immediately (which would mean it'd be swinging on turns 3-4).

I prefer Flinthoof Boar overall, but from what I've heard, the Tarmogoyf is basically a concession to the fact that Jund exists, and that Goyfs in that matchup get pretty large (since your opponent is also frequently contributing to the 'yard), and a very-often-Bolt-proof threat has some extra run there. I don't know if that's particularly convincing, but that's the rationale I've encountered.

I think 18 or 18 + Arbor is what I'd recommend. You never want to be seeing more than 3 lands in a game, unless one of those lands can attack.

Wilt-Leaf Liege, while very good overall, is more of a Hatebears kind of card.

Do you mean because of the 3/2 first striking body? Because creatures entering the battlefield tapped only really matters for Master of Waves tokens (since the pump effects still apply), and Merfolk runs a giant pile of basic lands (plus Æther Vial). I actually think it's a pretty mediocre card against Merfolk, considering that it's unlikely to keep the Fish from casting spells, and a Spreading Seas takes its blocking ability out of the picture.

There are several better options available. Goblin Guide is a 2/2 with haste for R, Kird Ape is a 2/3 for R, Wild Nacatl is a 3/3 for G, and Experiment One gets to be a 3/3 for G given the presence of the above options. Heck, Vexing Devil can either be a 4/3 for R or a supercharged Lava Spike, and not everyone runs that. It's just outclassed by other cards that have been printed.

It's a tough call. Unfortunately, it was somewhat at the mercy of your draws, because you really didn't have much to chase your T2 Loxodon Smiter with. On the other hand... you had a T2 Loxodon Smiter, and that counts for quite a bit. I would have been tempted to keep, but I understand your mull.

Quote from Osackpo »

I really like evolution, and I'll probably end up messing around with it. I can see a build with 1 new thalia, 1 huntmaster, 1 teeg, 1 thundermaw, 3 voice, 1 tireless tracker. This is a really powerful toolbox card.

That just sounds like Kiki Chord or Abzan Company without the instant-win combo juice. I think it behooves Zoo players to be careful and not water down the aggro Plan A in the name of testing out random tech.

Gruul Zoo doesn't want it because it's a 3-drop, which is too heavy for them. It could definitely see play as Kiki Chord hate in CoCo Zoo, though.

Cursecatcher is a legitimate concern for Kozilek's Return. It's fairly easy for Fish to get too big for 2 damage to move the needle, and the Catcher will buy them more time to do so. It's turned out to not be very scary for me as a Merfolk player. I much prefer Anger of the Gods or Volcanic Fallout, unless you have the Eldrazi to make the "flashback" mode relevant.