The deck has been playtesting ok to date, although I have to admit I've been struggling with clearing the board when I need to. I've added a sweeper to boost my options for keeping the board stable for me, and a value land.
The max hand size is not often relevant, and I don't mind turfing rocks here and there. More options for creature destruction is more of a priority. The orchard is a clear, strict upgrade. Zedruu didn't really need it.
So, I've been really enjoying playing this deck. It holds up well in most cases, but I am finding myself struggling to close out a game. It ramps well, draws ok, and slightly struggles against low creature builds, but otherwise I'm mostly happy. I've made one change to try out over the next little while:
I've found myself really not playing the staff and when I am it's often surplus to requirement. So, as a janky combo enabler I'm not sad to see it go. Disciple is a holdover from a Sydri deck I've just pulled apart, and I feel like it could get some decent mileage here. Time will tell.
Had an interesting win yesterday. Played against Jodah, Archmage Eternal, Polukranos, World Eater, and Karlov of the Ghost Council. Jodah laid down some serious fat early with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Avacyn, Angel of Hope locking the board down. I had Glissa in as a 1/1, and had no answers in hand - I spent half a dozen turns cycling baubles for land. The thing that really helped make this a solid plan was Forbidden Orchard - using it to cast baubles, give spirit to non-Norn player (didn't matter which), dies as a state-based action, get another bauble, value.
Karlov got locked out and swung at until death, and eventually I drew into Dictate of Erebos and Merciless Executioner. Resolved both and took the lock apart. Jodah swept after that, and I proceeded to build an army of various rocks. Hit some solid black draw and finally drew into a win con with Oblivion Stone and Marionette Master. I pumped her, blew up the board and insta-won.
It was sort of a frustrating game in that I had very little value or impact on the board for most of the game. Sure, I managed a TON of land (and to be fair I started with Coffers in hand), but I didn't really have any way of impacting the board or winning for a long time. Marionette was solid, though. That girl ends games. Disciple of the Vault played a cameo and was good value also.
It makes me wonder if I need more ways to benefit from the baubles, the bleed effects, and getting actual creatures onto the field. I'm tossing up adding Sly Requisitioner - there's no doubt I could cast her cheap, and all of the rocks, eggs and baubles I'm saccing gives me an instant army. In a similar vein, I'm tossing up Herald of Anguish too - he can at least break the back of an indestructible, he could be cast cheap, he has evasion, and he has a semi griefy control aspect in the EOT discard too. I'm not certain he's strong enough, but he's a possibility.
I'd love to hear any thoughts on these two, or other suggestions to give the deck a bit more of a cutting edge.
I am thinking I really should try out Sly Requisitioner perhaps I'll cut acidic slime for being generic goodstuff and not part of my tokens grind plan.
The two rocks here have just sat in my hand when I've pulled them, so they don't really need a place. I'm hoping the requisitioner will give me a bit more board presence, especially once I get a bauble chain going. Wave is hopefully a way to break through an army or really bleed someone down. I've yet to pull it, it may be underwhelming. Time will tell.
So, I took apart a Daretti build yesterday. It wasn't doing much for me, I'd barely played it and it was holding up a lot of value in cards I wasn't playing. There's a few key pieces I've added here:
So, these should give me a lot more consistency. Recursion and draw with the scarecrow, an alternative to Birthing Pod with the Forgemaster, and a beater as alternative with the Colossus.
I did also free up a Vedalken Orrery, Mycosynth Lattice and a couple of other valuable staples, but I wanted to leave them sitting a little before I decided where to slot them in with my other builds.
It's been a while since I made any changes to the deck, and partly it's because I'm not sure where to go with it at present. It's been a little durdley, and I'm not sure how to pick it up out of a rut. I've made a couple of changes, and I've got a couple more coming in the next few weeks after UMA release.
The 0 baubles have all been pretty underwhelming. It's free draw, but that's not something I've lacked anyway, and they don't do anything significant on their own. I've added a couple of removal options, and Ratchet Bomb back in for token strats. The land additions are generally upgrades to my mind, and Orrery should be interesting at the least.
I'd be interested in feedback at this point. Aside from the two bleeder effects I'm a little short of definitel strategies to angle towards a win, so any help would be appreciated.
So, I've been mulling over this list for the last couple of weeks. It's pretty clear from the last post that it isn't doing what I want it to. It's been a little directionless and really only wins drawing into a couple of specific cards, and otherwise durdles. What I've decided is to try a radical change of tack, and I've decided to remodel the list, with better removal, better draw, a decent Birthing Pod curve, and a few more options to make the deck a bit more of a threat. I haven't playtested yet, but I am looking forward to it. It's more focused on Birthing Pod as an engine, with a supplementary back up for board presence of Kuldotha Forgemaster. See below:
I've tried to give myself a couple of ways to get the Pod, dig for it, or survive without it. Likewise with Forgemaster. The other big piece I'm excited about adding is Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. A lot of our rocks and creatures are going to be sacrificed for value, for pod chains, for lands in hand. It should mean my army getting large, and it has a lot of synergy back and forth with other key pieces in the deck. Swinging with Glissa for 3 every turn is easy to miss. Pumping her larger makes the choice to block a lot harder. Not only that, Maz and Thopter Assembly provide flying cover I've otherwise lacked.
I also thought hard about adding Lattice; it can get nasty. That being said, it plays nicely with Disciple of the Vault and Marionette Master, untaps my board with Unwinding Clock, helps a little with colour fixing....and obviously it's something to play around in terms of land destruction. I'm not above doing it in the right scenario, but it's definitely not something I'd do unless it's cutthroat play.
So I guess it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm looking forward to it, should be a lot of fun. Any recommendations or critique, please feel free to respond.
A little after this (I think it might have been somewhere around turn 10 or 12) both opponents swept. They were both having trouble with drawing into answers, and I had a full grip with Sheoldred, Whispering One, Beast Within, Decree of Pain and a couple of other decent tricks. I guess it was a bit of a goldfish, but it's nice to know I've got some good synergy going.
I've been trying out a couple of other changes in the last week or so, too:
So far, so good with these changes - there seems a bit more consistency in the deck and it has plans to aim for; I can land genuine threats, I don't have to contend in combat to make Glissa's triggers work, and if I need to swing with her I can make her bigger. I was a bit hesitant to add Smokestack, but I guess it's as griefy as you let it be. I had it in hand last game and didn't play it. Likewise with Jester's Cap - card is great for neutering combo decks - I'd like to think it might come back at some point. Otherwise, pretty happy with how it's looking.
Birthing pod is sorcery only btw so you can't sac in response.
I have picked up a Phyrexian Tower that I can use as a sac land along with ashnod's altar and Krark-clan ironworks I already have. Its just useful to have sac outlets you can use in response to exile effects.
I am super heavy on the artifacts and utility lands since I am mostly a colourless deck so I can have a lot of colourless producing lands.
I found that the 4 mana slot was the hardest and my deck ends up super 6 drop heavy.
Ah, you're right. Whoops. To be fair, both players were pretty close to sweeping anyway.
It does bring up the point that it'd be good to have some sac outlets in here to prevent this happening. I could probably dig up a Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer or a Claws of Gix. I've been thinking about adding Claws as a way to get rid of permanents that could turn on me anyway - Phyrexian Arena, Necropotence, Smokestack and such, and it'd be nice to have another 1-drop in the chain.
Craterhoof Behemoth I probably don't have the money for at the moment, so the end of my chain is definitely more disruptive than anything in terms of leveraging ETB effects. I guess there's options for the end of the chain that aren't THAT expensive - Razaketh, the Foulblooded could be a decent finisher (and sac outlet), Pestilence Demon could help with Glissa triggers, Stonehoof Chieftain could be cool, or if I wanna get really griefy there's Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - I probably wouldn't get that mean though.
In addition, added End-Raze Forerunners into the build, removing Deathreap Ritual...hesitantly. I've got great draw options here, but this one did do well. The list is sort of at the point where any further changes I don't know which pieces deserve to stay more than others. That's probably a good sign, but it does make refining the list difficult.
Have you considered Animation Module? It plays nice with Mazirek and Marionette Master. Another thing I found is that you might want to change one of your 1 mana ramp artifacts to something with a higher CC (like mind stone), just to make it easier to recur those sweet 1 CC artifacts (because you lack 0 CC artifacts, Hangarback is really nice!).
And yes, I know Animation Module is 1 CC so my suggestions are countering each other
Have you considered Animation Module? It plays nice with Mazirek and Marionette Master. Another thing I found is that you might want to change one of your 1 mana ramp artifacts to something with a higher CC (like mind stone), just to make it easier to recur those sweet 1 CC artifacts (because you lack 0 CC artifacts, Hangarback is really nice!).
And yes, I know Animation Module is 1 CC so my suggestions are countering each other
I hadn't considered it, but now that you mention it, Animation Module is not a bad choice by any stretch. I used to run it in Ghave, Guru of Spores to good effect. Also plays nicely with Verdurous Gearhulk. I'd been looking at easy ways to get a ton of artifact tokens in play to make good use of Marionetter Master and Disciple of the Vault. Had been looking at Genesis Chamber. This could do pretty decent as well. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try to track one down.
And yes, my Scrap Trawler curve does need some work. I'd looked at Hangarback Walker - still looking at it - I'm just a little hesitant because I don't have a ton of ways of making big mana. I guess it doesn't need to be enormous. As far as 2 drops go, Mind Stone would be a decent add I guess. Thaumatic Compass could do well, too.
The lands are an obvious upgrade from random utility to solid adds. I added Deathreap Ritual back in and Phyrexian Reclamation for consistency - I've found running with an early Pod keeping a reasonable board presence is difficult. Nevinyrral's Disk entering tapped is a little problematic, so Wave of Vitriol is a reasonable substitute. It's been devastating in my Nissa build, and it pairs tremendously with Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. It should be a pretty solid add. Mind Stone comes in as a decent ramp/draw option that gives me a little curve with which to bring stuff back with Scrap Trawler.
I just can't really cut Krosan Grip it's saved me so many times, it is basically the problem solver in commander.
Lighthouse is a meta thing, I have very low mana requirements so my deck is loaded with utility lands but if you are playing obliterator...
I often get plinked to death from a lot of life loss over the course of a game from random attacks and AoE damage and self-inflicted from black card draw I just find myself in lethal range randomly so I just want some life gain from somewhere Familiar does that but if you have something like Vampire Nighthawk or other lifelinkers.
The disk is a classic but yeah it's super annoying, being low cost is nice though.
I just can't really cut Krosan Grip it's saved me so many times, it is basically the problem solver in commander.
Lighthouse is a meta thing, I have very low mana requirements so my deck is loaded with utility lands but if you are playing obliterator...
I often get plinked to death from a lot of life loss over the course of a game from random attacks and AoE damage and self-inflicted from black card draw I just find myself in lethal range randomly so I just want some life gain from somewhere Familiar does that but if you have something like Vampire Nighthawk or other lifelinkers.
The disk is a classic but yeah it's super annoying, being low cost is nice though.
Arcane Lighthouse has literally done nothing for me other than produce 1.
I find myself in the same boat with DoT, my life total does slip away incrementally. Filigree Familiar was another hard cut, and I think it will maybe make a return. I was hesitant to add Phyrexian Reclamation for the same reason in terms of life loss, but I need some sort of non-artifact recursion. I had thought of adding something like Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat to compensate for life loss, but I really didn't think it would be a good fit. I guess there's Whip of Erebos to hit both requirements? I don't really like that reanimation clause though, there is no way around the exile. Or I could run Sangromancer I guess.
Yeah, disk and stone are tough in the list. Stone takes a ton of mana, but I can manage that somewhat.
Wave of Vitriol seems counterintuitive. It'll either do really well as a finisher or really poorly. I guess the idea is to make a huge impact with Disciple of the Vault, Marionette Master and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. It will either work or it won't, no harm done if playtests go poorly; it's easy enough to swap the disk back in.
So, it's been a little while since I updated the list here, but I've been busy playtesting in the meantime. As well as this, I've taken apart a Ghave, Guru of Spores. There isn't a whole lot that becomes available for here, but there are some juicy bits that have been in rotation.
On top of these, Filigree Familiar is back in, and so is Krosan Grip. I'm trying without Decree of Pain and Smokestack for these. I'm looking to cement all of these changes for better or worse over the next week or so, it's just hard to play test this much at once.
Ghave also freed up a copy of Tooth and Nail and Ghoulcaller Gisa. T&N could be strong here, but I'm not 100% sure. There's no insta-win in the deck for it to abuse, and if there were I wouldn't even consider it. Gisa could be ok, I think I'd prefer her elsewhere though.
Things got a little messy with my playtesting of Glissa. I had a few bits and pieces picked up from my LGS over the weekend, and resolved to take the deck apart, do an overhaul and focus down on something that doesn't wander off the path so much. With that in mind I've rewritten the original post, and the decklist is now as follows:
I tried to make sure my Pod curve was on point, likewise with Trawler. There's a small sacrifice subtheme, and a small amount of reanimation. I didn't want to go too deep on either of these as they're not entirely relevant to Glissa, but supplements to keep things rolling.
Have yet to playtest in current iteration, but fingers crossed it'll do nice things.
I tossed up heavily adding Nim Deathmantle and Ashnod's Altar, as well as Tooth and Nail - at the end of it, I decided against these. In the first case they're too far down the combo line, and in the latter because there's no immediately obvious tutor choices from an entwined cast. I'd be happy to be convinced otherwise, or see feedback on the list otherwise.
I like both. My wife wanted to buy a box - it's more fun than singles, albeit a much more expensive and risky way to try to acquire the cards you want. However, it's nice to share a hobby regardless.
I like both. Massacre Girl is going to kill all of the things. I think it'd be a solid add here. Finale of Devastation I'm torn about. Not because it's not awesome, it clearly is. I just want to windmill slam it into both this deck and my Nissa build, so it'll be a toss up. I also like Vivien's Arkbow here. It's not perfect, but it does a couple of things this deck wants to do - vomit creatures onto the board and fill the yard. It's a good early drop, and could do decent things. Deathsprout is nice too - weird mix of effects, but at instant speed and those two specific things on it, it's really good value.
God-Eternal Bontu could be good too. It's a bit of a weird card, in that it's going to need a really specific build to be good. It could fit here, I'm not overly sure. Walker wise, if I happen to pull Liliana, Dreadhorde General it almost certainly gets in here.
I was stoked to pick up Blast Zone and Massacre Girl, they'll both do just fine here. Seedborn Muse was easy enough to pull - great card, but she fits better in another deck than here. Golden Guardian never really got off the ground, and Dictate of Erebos is one of those cards that sits in your hand not being cast. Without going all in on attrition and adding Grave Pact and a ton of sacrifice outlets I can leave it and still do just fine. Ulvenwald Tracker has been a little lackluster too, so it was an easy swap to track down Hangarback Walker for a slot. Walking Ballista would've been nice too, but that thing is not cheap these days. Deathsprout I like as a tempo/control add. It can do either/or/both, so there's a reasonable amount of utility there.
I've still got a few new cards to pick up, and at least one or two will see consideration here; Finale of Devastation and Finale of Eternity are both cards that could see a slot here, and I've got a copy of Command the Dreadhorde on the way too - I don't think it'll see play here, but it's a toss up.
You weren't satisfied with the Arkbow? It doesn't work for me as I just don't need a mana sink. I've put the new Ugin in instead. Now to find room for Warping Wail and living the dream of a free counterspell...
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In:
Forbidden Orchard
Necromantic Selection
Out:
Jungle Hollow
Thought Vessel
The max hand size is not often relevant, and I don't mind turfing rocks here and there. More options for creature destruction is more of a priority. The orchard is a clear, strict upgrade. Zedruu didn't really need it.
In
Disciple of the Vault
Out
Thornbite Staff
I've found myself really not playing the staff and when I am it's often surplus to requirement. So, as a janky combo enabler I'm not sad to see it go. Disciple is a holdover from a Sydri deck I've just pulled apart, and I feel like it could get some decent mileage here. Time will tell.
Karlov got locked out and swung at until death, and eventually I drew into Dictate of Erebos and Merciless Executioner. Resolved both and took the lock apart. Jodah swept after that, and I proceeded to build an army of various rocks. Hit some solid black draw and finally drew into a win con with Oblivion Stone and Marionette Master. I pumped her, blew up the board and insta-won.
It was sort of a frustrating game in that I had very little value or impact on the board for most of the game. Sure, I managed a TON of land (and to be fair I started with Coffers in hand), but I didn't really have any way of impacting the board or winning for a long time. Marionette was solid, though. That girl ends games. Disciple of the Vault played a cameo and was good value also.
It makes me wonder if I need more ways to benefit from the baubles, the bleed effects, and getting actual creatures onto the field. I'm tossing up adding Sly Requisitioner - there's no doubt I could cast her cheap, and all of the rocks, eggs and baubles I'm saccing gives me an instant army. In a similar vein, I'm tossing up Herald of Anguish too - he can at least break the back of an indestructible, he could be cast cheap, he has evasion, and he has a semi griefy control aspect in the EOT discard too. I'm not certain he's strong enough, but he's a possibility.
I'd love to hear any thoughts on these two, or other suggestions to give the deck a bit more of a cutting edge.
Indestructible is a pain which is why I play ashes to ashes and before that sever the bloodline.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
In:
Sly Requisitioner
Killing Wave
Out:
Panharmonicon
Trading Post
The two rocks here have just sat in my hand when I've pulled them, so they don't really need a place. I'm hoping the requisitioner will give me a bit more board presence, especially once I get a bauble chain going. Wave is hopefully a way to break through an army or really bleed someone down. I've yet to pull it, it may be underwhelming. Time will tell.
In:
Skullclamp
Scarecrone
Kuldotha Forgemaster
Darksteel Colossus
Out:
Mind Stone
Ratchet Bomb
Psychosis Crawler
Killing Wave
So, these should give me a lot more consistency. Recursion and draw with the scarecrow, an alternative to Birthing Pod with the Forgemaster, and a beater as alternative with the Colossus.
I did also free up a Vedalken Orrery, Mycosynth Lattice and a couple of other valuable staples, but I wanted to leave them sitting a little before I decided where to slot them in with my other builds.
In:
Ratchet Bomb
Vedalken Orrery
Dismember
Cultivate
Command Tower
Inventor's Fair
Out:
Mox Amber
Urza's Bauble
Mishra's Bauble
Chromatic Sphere
Golgari Rot Farm
Golgari Guildgate
The 0 baubles have all been pretty underwhelming. It's free draw, but that's not something I've lacked anyway, and they don't do anything significant on their own. I've added a couple of removal options, and Ratchet Bomb back in for token strats. The land additions are generally upgrades to my mind, and Orrery should be interesting at the least.
I'll be adding All is Dust, Maelstrom Pulse and Eternal Witness in the coming weeks. I also have several solid artifact bombs in my folder gathering dust. I'm not certain if they're right for the deck, and they'd be a big departure from the current strategies, but they are a consideration:
Mycosynth Lattice
Darksteel Forge
Unwinding Clock
Thopter Assembly
Nevinyrral's Disk
Cranial Plating
Loxodon Warhammer
I can't see Forge being any help in here, and I'm doing side-eye at Lattice to see if there's any angles to leverage it with. With a board wipe and Disciple of the Vault or Marionette Master in play it's game over, but otherwise I can't see any other value in it. Clock is obviously good with rocks and attacking, but otherwise not amazing.
I'd be interested in feedback at this point. Aside from the two bleeder effects I'm a little short of definitel strategies to angle towards a win, so any help would be appreciated.
3 Glissa, the Traitor
Artifacts
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Wanderer's Twig
1 Traveler's Amulet
1 Expedition Map
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Sol Ring
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Skullclamp
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Golgari Signet
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Oblivion Stone
4 Birthing Pod
4 Jester's Cap
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Unwinding Clock
5 Batterskull
5 Cauldron of Souls
6 Mycosynth Lattice
Creatures
1 Disciple of the Vault
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Myr Retriever
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Burnished Hart
3 Eternal Witness
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Merciless Executioner
3 Scarecrone
3 Scrap Trawler
3 Wood Elves
4 Arcbound Reclaimer
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Ravenous Chupacabra
4 Graveborn Muse
5 Acidic Slime
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
5 Lord of Extinction
5 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
6 Duplicant
6 Marionette Master
6 Noxious Gearhulk
6 Thopter Assembly
6 Wurmcoil Engine
7 Myr Battlesphere
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
8 Terastodon
8 Woodfall Primus
3 Necropotence
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Pernicious Deed
4 Deathreap Ritual
4 Greater Good
5 Revel in Riches
5 Dictate of Erebos
Instants & Sorceries
3 Beast Within
3 Krosan Grip
3 Maelstrom Pulse
7 All is Dust
8 Decree of Pain
Lands
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Command Tower
1 Hissing Quagmire
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Buried Ruin
1 Tainted Wood
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Foul Orchard
1 Phyrexia's Core
7 Forest
14 Swamp
I've tried to give myself a couple of ways to get the Pod, dig for it, or survive without it. Likewise with Forgemaster. The other big piece I'm excited about adding is Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. A lot of our rocks and creatures are going to be sacrificed for value, for pod chains, for lands in hand. It should mean my army getting large, and it has a lot of synergy back and forth with other key pieces in the deck. Swinging with Glissa for 3 every turn is easy to miss. Pumping her larger makes the choice to block a lot harder. Not only that, Maz and Thopter Assembly provide flying cover I've otherwise lacked.
I also thought hard about adding Lattice; it can get nasty. That being said, it plays nicely with Disciple of the Vault and Marionette Master, untaps my board with Unwinding Clock, helps a little with colour fixing....and obviously it's something to play around in terms of land destruction. I'm not above doing it in the right scenario, but it's definitely not something I'd do unless it's cutthroat play.
So I guess it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm looking forward to it, should be a lot of fun. Any recommendations or critique, please feel free to respond.
A little after this (I think it might have been somewhere around turn 10 or 12) both opponents swept. They were both having trouble with drawing into answers, and I had a full grip with Sheoldred, Whispering One, Beast Within, Decree of Pain and a couple of other decent tricks. I guess it was a bit of a goldfish, but it's nice to know I've got some good synergy going.
I've been trying out a couple of other changes in the last week or so, too:
1 Filigree Familiar
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 Smokestack
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Burnished Hart
1 Jester's Cap
1 Acidic Slime
1 Unwinding CLock
1 Batterskull
1 Golgari Signet
So far, so good with these changes - there seems a bit more consistency in the deck and it has plans to aim for; I can land genuine threats, I don't have to contend in combat to make Glissa's triggers work, and if I need to swing with her I can make her bigger. I was a bit hesitant to add Smokestack, but I guess it's as griefy as you let it be. I had it in hand last game and didn't play it. Likewise with Jester's Cap - card is great for neutering combo decks - I'd like to think it might come back at some point. Otherwise, pretty happy with how it's looking.
I have picked up a Phyrexian Tower that I can use as a sac land along with ashnod's altar and Krark-clan ironworks I already have. Its just useful to have sac outlets you can use in response to exile effects.
I am super heavy on the artifacts and utility lands since I am mostly a colourless deck so I can have a lot of colourless producing lands.
I found that the 4 mana slot was the hardest and my deck ends up super 6 drop heavy.
My pod chain goes through precursor golem, wurmcoil engine, myr battlesphere into Craterhoof behemoth putting more and more tokens into play.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
It does bring up the point that it'd be good to have some sac outlets in here to prevent this happening. I could probably dig up a Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer or a Claws of Gix. I've been thinking about adding Claws as a way to get rid of permanents that could turn on me anyway - Phyrexian Arena, Necropotence, Smokestack and such, and it'd be nice to have another 1-drop in the chain.
My chain sort of bottlenecks around 4-5 too, but I've found it sort of good. There's a lot of vaule in that range and it can shoot you ahead pretty quick. Imagine Eternal Witness, picking up Myr Retriever into Solemn Simulacrum into Sidisi, Undead Vizier or Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest.
Craterhoof Behemoth I probably don't have the money for at the moment, so the end of my chain is definitely more disruptive than anything in terms of leveraging ETB effects. I guess there's options for the end of the chain that aren't THAT expensive - Razaketh, the Foulblooded could be a decent finisher (and sac outlet), Pestilence Demon could help with Glissa triggers, Stonehoof Chieftain could be cool, or if I wanna get really griefy there's Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - I probably wouldn't get that mean though.
I'm assuming that Mox Opal isn't in the deck due to budget constraints? It seems like a natural inclusion here.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Oh damn! War Pigs looks legit! That could totally be in the plans.
Yeah, Mox Opal is way outta my budget, unfortunately.
1 Filigree Familiar
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 Smokestack
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Burnished Hart
1 Jester's Cap
1 Acidic Slime
1 Unwinding CLock
1 Batterskull
1 Golgari Signet
In addition, added End-Raze Forerunners into the build, removing Deathreap Ritual...hesitantly. I've got great draw options here, but this one did do well. The list is sort of at the point where any further changes I don't know which pieces deserve to stay more than others. That's probably a good sign, but it does make refining the list difficult.
And yes, I know Animation Module is 1 CC so my suggestions are countering each other
I hadn't considered it, but now that you mention it, Animation Module is not a bad choice by any stretch. I used to run it in Ghave, Guru of Spores to good effect. Also plays nicely with Verdurous Gearhulk. I'd been looking at easy ways to get a ton of artifact tokens in play to make good use of Marionetter Master and Disciple of the Vault. Had been looking at Genesis Chamber. This could do pretty decent as well. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try to track one down.
And yes, my Scrap Trawler curve does need some work. I'd looked at Hangarback Walker - still looking at it - I'm just a little hesitant because I don't have a ton of ways of making big mana. I guess it doesn't need to be enormous. As far as 2 drops go, Mind Stone would be a decent add I guess. Thaumatic Compass could do well, too.
I've also just picked up a Phyrexian Obliterator. It'll likely come in here, which makes me wonder about switching out Executioner's Capsule for Triangle of War for extra nastiness. There's at least a couple of creatures that could benefit from the fight mechanic in Glissa, the Traitor, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Wurmcoil Engine and Obliterator.
In:
Twilight Mire
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Phyrexian Obliterator
Phyrexian Reclamation
Deathreap Ritual
Mind Stone
Wave of Vitriol
Out:
Reliquary Tower
Arcane Lighthouse
Phyrexia's Core
Wayfarer's Bauble
Filigree Familiar
Nevinyrral's Disk
Krosan Grip
The lands are an obvious upgrade from random utility to solid adds. I added Deathreap Ritual back in and Phyrexian Reclamation for consistency - I've found running with an early Pod keeping a reasonable board presence is difficult. Nevinyrral's Disk entering tapped is a little problematic, so Wave of Vitriol is a reasonable substitute. It's been devastating in my Nissa build, and it pairs tremendously with Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest. It should be a pretty solid add. Mind Stone comes in as a decent ramp/draw option that gives me a little curve with which to bring stuff back with Scrap Trawler.
Lighthouse is a meta thing, I have very low mana requirements so my deck is loaded with utility lands but if you are playing obliterator...
I often get plinked to death from a lot of life loss over the course of a game from random attacks and AoE damage and self-inflicted from black card draw I just find myself in lethal range randomly so I just want some life gain from somewhere Familiar does that but if you have something like Vampire Nighthawk or other lifelinkers.
The disk is a classic but yeah it's super annoying, being low cost is nice though.
Wave of Vitriol feels like it counters us :/
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Wave of Vitriol ended up not being a great add, so it came out and Nevinyrral's Disk came back in.
As well as this:
Mycosynth Lattice leaves for Meren of Clan Nel Toth - thanks Ghave!
Revel in Riches leaves for Pitiless Plunderer
Cauldron of Souls leaves for Journey to Atzal
Phyrexian Reclamation leaves for Torment of Hailfire
On top of these, Filigree Familiar is back in, and so is Krosan Grip. I'm trying without Decree of Pain and Smokestack for these. I'm looking to cement all of these changes for better or worse over the next week or so, it's just hard to play test this much at once.
Ghave also freed up a copy of Tooth and Nail and Ghoulcaller Gisa. T&N could be strong here, but I'm not 100% sure. There's no insta-win in the deck for it to abuse, and if there were I wouldn't even consider it. Gisa could be ok, I think I'd prefer her elsewhere though.
3 Glissa, the Traitor
Creatures
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
2 Myr Retriever
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Eternal Witness
3 Filigree Familiar
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Scarecrone
3 Scrap Trawler
3 Sylvok Replica
3 Wood Elves
4 Golden Guardian
4 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
4 Phyrexian Obliterator
4 Pitiless Plunderer
4 Ravenous Chupacabra
4 Solemn Simulacrum
5 Lord of Extinction
5 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
5 Seedborn Muse
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
5 Verdurous Gearhulk
6 Duplicant
6 Marionette Master
6 Noxious Gearhulk
6 Wurmcoil Engine
7 Myr Battlesphere
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
8 End-Raze Forerunners
8 Terastodon
8 Woodfall Primus
3 Beast Within
3 Krosan Grip
Sorceries
2 Torment of Hailfire
3 Maelstrom Pulse
5 Living Death
7 All is Dust
Artifacts
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Expedition Map
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Mind Stone
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Oblivion Stone
4 Birthing Pod
4 Hedron Archive
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Smokestack
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Trading Post
Enchantments
3 Journey to Eternity
3 Necropotence
3 Pernicious Deed
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Deathreap Ritual
4 Greater Good
5 Dictate of Erebos
5 Revel in Riches
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Inventor's Fair
1 Buried Ruin
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Command Tower
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Hissing Quagmire
1 Tainted Wood
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Temple of Malady
1 Twilight Mire
9 Forest
13 Swamp
I tried to make sure my Pod curve was on point, likewise with Trawler. There's a small sacrifice subtheme, and a small amount of reanimation. I didn't want to go too deep on either of these as they're not entirely relevant to Glissa, but supplements to keep things rolling.
Have yet to playtest in current iteration, but fingers crossed it'll do nice things.
I tossed up heavily adding Nim Deathmantle and Ashnod's Altar, as well as Tooth and Nail - at the end of it, I decided against these. In the first case they're too far down the combo line, and in the latter because there's no immediately obvious tutor choices from an entwined cast. I'd be happy to be convinced otherwise, or see feedback on the list otherwise.
I'll be adding Massacre girl easier to cast and fits better in my pod chain than massacre wurm
What do you think about Finale of Devastation? it seems a lot like you might want it
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I like both. Massacre Girl is going to kill all of the things. I think it'd be a solid add here. Finale of Devastation I'm torn about. Not because it's not awesome, it clearly is. I just want to windmill slam it into both this deck and my Nissa build, so it'll be a toss up. I also like Vivien's Arkbow here. It's not perfect, but it does a couple of things this deck wants to do - vomit creatures onto the board and fill the yard. It's a good early drop, and could do decent things. Deathsprout is nice too - weird mix of effects, but at instant speed and those two specific things on it, it's really good value.
God-Eternal Bontu could be good too. It's a bit of a weird card, in that it's going to need a really specific build to be good. It could fit here, I'm not overly sure. Walker wise, if I happen to pull Liliana, Dreadhorde General it almost certainly gets in here.
In:
Blast Zone
Hangarback Walker
Mimic Vat
Deathsprout
Massacre Girl
Out:
Llanowar Wastes
Ulvenwald Tracker
Golden Guardian
Dictate of Erebos
Seedborn Muse
I was stoked to pick up Blast Zone and Massacre Girl, they'll both do just fine here. Seedborn Muse was easy enough to pull - great card, but she fits better in another deck than here. Golden Guardian never really got off the ground, and Dictate of Erebos is one of those cards that sits in your hand not being cast. Without going all in on attrition and adding Grave Pact and a ton of sacrifice outlets I can leave it and still do just fine. Ulvenwald Tracker has been a little lackluster too, so it was an easy swap to track down Hangarback Walker for a slot. Walking Ballista would've been nice too, but that thing is not cheap these days. Deathsprout I like as a tempo/control add. It can do either/or/both, so there's a reasonable amount of utility there.
I've still got a few new cards to pick up, and at least one or two will see consideration here; Finale of Devastation and Finale of Eternity are both cards that could see a slot here, and I've got a copy of Command the Dreadhorde on the way too - I don't think it'll see play here, but it's a toss up.