I would like to request this deck be moved into the established section. It has won several major events recently and continues to put at least 1 or 2 top 8 appearances every week for the last two months. Personally I'm loving the new list with 4x Giver of Runes. Example list: 1st place on MTGO PTQ
Noteworthy facts
4 Giver of Runes (obviously)
No Path main board (only 1 SB)
Full set of Fatal Push, 2 Bolts (These are the ONLY removal)
Maybe I'll try one Angler and only 3 Tidehollow. But honestly THS has been really good. He does a faster Arcanist impression in that he ensures you will double discard in the first couple turns. You don't really need Angler because you have lots of other bodies so games can be won off little attacks. Also Ranger finds Shadow so you still have technically 8 draws that get you a big threat.
I do really love Faithless Looting and wish I could squeeze a pair into my list. I'm playing in a MCQ this weekend but honestly I'll probably just play Jund Shadow because I'm a lot more familiar with the deck
Young Pyromancer seems bad with Shadow because your cantrips are not compatible. I feel the same way about Arcanist. IMHO the evolution of this archetype is the solid BW shell with the third color splash. And I still can't bring myself to play Shadow without TBR so red will be my third color. It's worth mentioning that Sculler plays well with Unearth too.
I feel this list might be worse against regular tron but better against Eldrazi tron. And the burn match-up has been unwinnable for me lately regardless of my configuration. Any body else having better luck?
check out this list from a Modern MOCS recently.
Very impressed with the innovation here as I wouldn't have thought to include Sculler. Also happy to see TBR on the table.
With Bridge From Below receiving the ban, it's probably safe to remove the main deck Spellbomb and tweak the Sideboard a bit. I still like Yixlid Jailer because it shuts down dredge nicely. But maybe not 4x is needed? My shot at a new list
The duress is very experimental. Thinking I can bring it in against UW Control, Tron, and Burn. Three popular archetypes that are worse than 50/50 in my experience. I really would like to test out 1 or 2 Seasoned Pyromancer but I just can't bring myself to commit to a double red spell in this deck.
I liked Arcanist more after I added a couple Lightning bolts. Maybe the 8th discard spell is correct also. That makes me want to add a single Seasoned Pyromancer to mitigate late game discard draws. But I'm not sure if I want 5x main deck three drops. Maybe I'll also try 20 land as some lists have done
Regarding Remorseful Cleric vs Yixlid Jailer - Jailer only needs to exist and he shuts them down. With any one-shot graveyard effect, it's very easy for them recover. It honestly doesn't sound like any one here has played that many matches against Hogaak. It's a ridiculously fast engine and it can refill its graveyard in nothing flat. The last piece of graveyard hate they're worried about is a Nihil Spellbomb or a Remorseful Cleric. The deck has so many cogs they can even win over Surgical. Yixlid and Leyline are far and away the best answers, but they are much more prepared for one of those over the other. And don't kid yourself, no one is clocking Hogaak with a 2/1 flyer.
Temur Battle Rage is just great, especially in a deck that can reliably supply a Shadow (unlike Grixis Shadow). Funny enough Arcanist hasn't been that impressive to me. It's the best at filling the Snapcaster role sans blue, so I'll stick with it for now. I'll admit, when it's good..its really good. I personally wouldn't consider going up to 4 unless we substantially change the non-creature suite of the deck.
Jailer is the best form of hate against Bridge Vine because they run so few answers to it. Dark blast is about the only thing that can deal with it but even then we have unearth.
This deck is the real deal. I would like to request from the mods for a primer for this archetype because, while similar in ways to both Jund and Grixis, it is really a whole new Shadow variant and IMHO more powerful than it's predecessors. It has the staying power of Grixis Shadow while supplying more consistent threats as Traverse Shadow could. It doesn't rely as much on the graveyard as either of the archetypes though and that may be the best part.
(I'm not volunteering to write the primer per se..because Flying Delver and Izzetmage are the BEST, but if no one is interested I would be willing to get started on it..anyone else interested?)
Personally I'm not sold on the Baubles in Abe & Jeremy's list from the SCG lineup but its hard to argue with their results. I can't imagine playing Shadow without Temur Battle Rage though. It makes winning matches like Tron and Burn so much easier. Even Hogaak can be difficult because they make a lot of blockers (despite 3 of their main cards inability to block).
Here is my list and some thoughts:
I'm always worried about losing to Tron and Burn so I've tailored my sideboard a bit. My biggest concern with the current stock list is that the sideboard has so many three-drops. It doesn't make sense to take out more than 1-2 captains so by bringing in something like 5-6 three drops I just worry it increases the curve too much post board. There are a few other lists that run zero baubles and instead run 3x Nihil Spellbomb and 20x land and then Seasoned Pyromancer as an additional way to help mitigate flooding. Seems promising but again, such a high mana curve with 5-6 maindeck three drops.
I really like Lightning Bolt in the deck as it gives another spell for Arcanist to target and it helps shore up the Infect and Humans match-ups. I won a game against Tron just by Bolting them twice and flashing it back twice with Arcanist (and a single attack from a 5/5 Shadow). In the few games I tried with the Bauble list I found that Arcanist often times swings blank because my graveyard has only Wraiths and Baubles. And regarding Arcanist and it's relevance against infect - he is sorcery speed even when your removal is instant, so it's good to have more instant speed removal in the case of Inkmoth Nexus. Bolt of course is also another way to hurt yourself when you need to swing big with Shadows.
Example list: 1st place on MTGO PTQ
Noteworthy facts
Draft My Cube!
I do really love Faithless Looting and wish I could squeeze a pair into my list. I'm playing in a MCQ this weekend but honestly I'll probably just play Jund Shadow because I'm a lot more familiar with the deck
Draft My Cube!
4 Death's Shadow
4 Street Wraith
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Ranger-Captain of Eos
Spells (25)
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Surgical Extraction
4 Fatal Push
4 Path to exile
2 Unearth
2 Temur battle rage
4 Marsh Flats
4 Bloodstained mire
1 Arid Mesa
2 Godless shrine
1 Blood crypt
1 Sacred foundry
4 Silent Clearing
1 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Fulminator Mage
3 Collective Brutality
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Giver of Runes
1 Burrenton Forge Tender
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Kolaghan's command
1 Kaya's Guile
1 Hex Parasite
I feel this list might be worse against regular tron but better against Eldrazi tron. And the burn match-up has been unwinnable for me lately regardless of my configuration. Any body else having better luck?
Draft My Cube!
Very impressed with the innovation here as I wouldn't have thought to include Sculler. Also happy to see TBR on the table.
Any thoughts to share?
Draft My Cube!
Draft My Cube!
4 Death's Shadow
4 Street Wraith
4 Ranger-Captain of Eos
1 Giver of Runes
3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Thoughtseize
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to exile
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Fatal Push
2 Temur battle rage
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Unearth
3 Faithless looting
4 Silent Clearing
4 Marsh Flats
4 Bloodstained mire
1 Arid Mesa
2 Godless shrine
1 Blood crypt
1 Sacred foundry
1 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Yixlid Jailer
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Kolaghan's command
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Plague Engineer
1 Lingering Souls
1 Burrenton Forge Tender
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Duress
The duress is very experimental. Thinking I can bring it in against UW Control, Tron, and Burn. Three popular archetypes that are worse than 50/50 in my experience. I really would like to test out 1 or 2 Seasoned Pyromancer but I just can't bring myself to commit to a double red spell in this deck.
Draft My Cube!
Draft My Cube!
Temur Battle Rage is just great, especially in a deck that can reliably supply a Shadow (unlike Grixis Shadow). Funny enough Arcanist hasn't been that impressive to me. It's the best at filling the Snapcaster role sans blue, so I'll stick with it for now. I'll admit, when it's good..its really good. I personally wouldn't consider going up to 4 unless we substantially change the non-creature suite of the deck.
Draft My Cube!
Jailer is the best form of hate against Bridge Vine because they run so few answers to it. Dark blast is about the only thing that can deal with it but even then we have unearth.
Also, I don't think the site is closing. check this out
Draft My Cube!
(I'm not volunteering to write the primer per se..because Flying Delver and Izzetmage are the BEST, but if no one is interested I would be willing to get started on it..anyone else interested?)
Personally I'm not sold on the Baubles in Abe & Jeremy's list from the SCG lineup but its hard to argue with their results. I can't imagine playing Shadow without Temur Battle Rage though. It makes winning matches like Tron and Burn so much easier. Even Hogaak can be difficult because they make a lot of blockers (despite 3 of their main cards inability to block).
Here is my list and some thoughts:
4 Death's Shadow
4 Street Wraith
4 Ranger-Captain of Eos
3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
1 Giver of Runes
Spells
4 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
2 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Faithless Looting
2 Unearth
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Silent Clearing
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
2 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Yixlid Jailer
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Lingering Souls
1 Plague Engineer
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Collective Brutality
2 Kolaghan's Command
I'm always worried about losing to Tron and Burn so I've tailored my sideboard a bit. My biggest concern with the current stock list is that the sideboard has so many three-drops. It doesn't make sense to take out more than 1-2 captains so by bringing in something like 5-6 three drops I just worry it increases the curve too much post board. There are a few other lists that run zero baubles and instead run 3x Nihil Spellbomb and 20x land and then Seasoned Pyromancer as an additional way to help mitigate flooding. Seems promising but again, such a high mana curve with 5-6 maindeck three drops.
I really like Lightning Bolt in the deck as it gives another spell for Arcanist to target and it helps shore up the Infect and Humans match-ups. I won a game against Tron just by Bolting them twice and flashing it back twice with Arcanist (and a single attack from a 5/5 Shadow). In the few games I tried with the Bauble list I found that Arcanist often times swings blank because my graveyard has only Wraiths and Baubles. And regarding Arcanist and it's relevance against infect - he is sorcery speed even when your removal is instant, so it's good to have more instant speed removal in the case of Inkmoth Nexus. Bolt of course is also another way to hurt yourself when you need to swing big with Shadows.
Draft My Cube!