I wasn't really worried about replacing it, with the format slowing down the selection and CA Looting gave got a bit less relevant overall, so I focused on reactive relevant cards like K.Command and Kaya's Guile, which did WONDERS on my first playtests against those midrange-control decks as well as the aggro matchups. I'm quite sure though that discard is getting less relevant with so much CA being around, When I lost, it was mostly due to the OVERWHELMING card advantage some decks could generate out of the blue, rendering my fair cards really useless in the late-game. Goblins and Ringleader, SFM tutoring of a topdeck, Dredge, control, Affinity with Mystic Forge, Jund and W&6... So I'm thinking it would be better to move Discard to the sideboard against combo only, and focus our Maindeck on our combo and consistency + Overall catch-all removal like dunno, Anguished Unmaking to get creatures as well as PW, enchantments and artifacts. I know this seems CMC heavy, but we have flexible card choices to curve into.
The PW route seems quite appealing also, testing the Nahiri list + Chandra felt really really good. Little Chandra Helps Nahiri Ult as well as giving token fodder for the Creativity ALONE, Nahiri's +1 gives the selection we lack + Removal + alternative win-condition, to curve Legion's Landing into Raise the Alarm into either of these PW is a powerful curve giving little room to our opp to breathe and many angles of attack.
It's been a long time. The loss of faithless looting is bad, but DHWorlds_BsB is right - the format is that much slower. Still I couldn't stand the powering down of lingering souls. The interaction between looting and souls was pretty powerful. Compounding the issue is not only do we lose velocity, we also lose one of the best ways of getting a topdecked emrakul or iona replaced with usable cards and getting them back into the library. Tormenting Voice actually shuffles emmy in before you draw 2, and I've tested it - it feels horribly slow. Collective Brutality is presently the best way to get rid of the cards while also interacting with the board at least.
Without the incentive of souls and in search of a card that can let me loot - giving me selection while ridding myself of topdecked payoff cards - I started to question if Black is still the color to support red and white with. For info, I replaced looting with Collective brutality as a discard outlet, but the mardu deck has been taking a break while I tested another color set - Jeskai.
Deck has participated in 2 FNMs so far, going 2-1 and then 3-0 for an overall of 5-1. Not too bad, but plenty more testing to do. About the card choices-
Izzet Charm
Yup, the successor to Faithless Looting can only be cast once and costs U more, but is also a swiss army knife. It's a spell pierce or shock if u need it to be. Hitting a Karn and then polymorphing into Emrakul is good. Speaking of polymorph-
Polymorph
Splashing blue for Izzet Charm naturally means access to redundancies. There are a large number of games where Creativity would simply save the day but we can't find it. Losing the awesome selection and velocity of Looting just makes it worse. With 2 extra combo pieces in the deck, I've been flipping up iona and emmy a lot more often.
Serum Visions
Speaking of velocity, this card digs the deepest of the 3 blue modern cantrips. I could see this being Sleight of Hand, but I supposed I'm still undecided.
Cloudform
The substitute for lingering souls at the 3-drop slot, this hexproof flier can win games against midrange/control by itself, and can't be removed when you're polymorphing or creativity-ing it.
Teferi, Time Raveler
He brings so much to the deck I can't even. Stops people interacting with creativity or your tokens as you're going for it. Enables end-step creativity/polymorph. Bounces troublesome stuff like Aria of Flame, and even drawing.
I can see the appeal of Blue and Little Tef, BUT I don't own any copies of him, and he's far too expensive right now for me to buy a playset. Additionally, on the matter of replacing the Looting effect, even though we did lose Speed and Consistency, I feel that from all the looting reliant decks that are now trying desperately to replace it, the Creativity combo is one of the least affected. Let me explain.
I can understand that looting was our go-to Draw-power, Selection, and CA generator, pitching lingering Souls when needed and sending Emrakul back to our deck for the combo. Fortunately, and different from strategies like Dredge, Phoenix, and Grishoalbrand, those upsides of looting aren't even the deck's central strategy or even dependent on its early use, making it that much easier to replace. For example, going for a Full-playset of Nahiri, the Harbinger. It helps with removal, it loots away stranded emrakuls in hand and also those L.Souls for value. Nahiri also grants an alternative wincon with her Ult and synergizes extremely well with Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, as I've mentioned on my last comment. I'm up for Boros creativity, with a black splash and with B.Moon maindeck (like old Mardu Pyro) as so many strategies right now have greedy manabases.
with 4 Chandras, 4 Nahiris, maybe even war of the Spark Saheeli as none of those actually get hurt by B.moon's land taxing.
Marc, you stick to the Jeskai, I'll experiment with the colors I have access to right now!!! hope you get some awesome results
Oh man dude don't get me started on cost - i foiled out my entire mardu deck, and when I continued with tormenting voice/brutality replacing looting it just wasn't the same. I felt like I wasn't controlling well enough, I went into topdeck mode real quick and I'm mostly just sitting and waiting to naturally draw creativity or die.
Regarding 4 nahiris, the first mardu version I ran did that - 4 nahiris and 4 creativities. The result however is you get some very clunky draws and starting hands - 2 nahiris and 1 creativity in your starting hand is very likely a ship, and you don't have looting anymore to help fix them. I can get behind at most 2 copies of Nahiri + 4 creativities; thats something like the 4 creativities and 2 polymorphs in my version. Having 6 curve toppers is about right.
I also toyed with the idea of going back to straight RW, which was the version before mardu. At the time, there were no smol chandras, and with her around, you could do some pretty sick aggro. playing full sets of krenko's command and dragon fodder coupled with a playset of goblin grenade is no joke. Especially when the goblin grenade can be recast with chandra's -2. Just imagine -
t1 legion's landing -
t2 fodder, attack for 1 -
t3 chandra, attack for 5 -
t4 attack for 5 again, grenade, flashback grenade.
Straight RW also has a much easier time playing blood moon. I'm not sure if you even want the black splash at that point - lingering souls is not good without looting, bitterblossom alone isn't worth the color, and there isn't any particular deck that discard is strong against at the moment.
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Guys, Thrill of Possibility is a great option now. Strictly better tormenting voice with the exception being if your opponent has a dispel in hand. Since we're interactive, being able to hold up interaction and wait and see what the opponent does before casting is awesome.
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Night's Whisper, Discovery // Dispersal, Ransack the Lab or Tormenting Voice ?
The PW route seems quite appealing also, testing the Nahiri list + Chandra felt really really good. Little Chandra Helps Nahiri Ult as well as giving token fodder for the Creativity ALONE, Nahiri's +1 gives the selection we lack + Removal + alternative win-condition, to curve Legion's Landing into Raise the Alarm into either of these PW is a powerful curve giving little room to our opp to breathe and many angles of attack.
Without the incentive of souls and in search of a card that can let me loot - giving me selection while ridding myself of topdecked payoff cards - I started to question if Black is still the color to support red and white with. For info, I replaced looting with Collective brutality as a discard outlet, but the mardu deck has been taking a break while I tested another color set - Jeskai.
4 Indomitable Creativity
2 Polymorph
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
Tokens (9)
3 Legion's Landing
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Cloudform
Interaction (12)
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Izzet Charm
Cantrips (4)
4 Serum Visions
Walkers (6)
4 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Chandra, Acolyte of Flame
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Mountain
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Tocatli Honor Guard
2 Lightning Helix
1 Timely Reinforcements
3 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Platinum Emperion
1 Stony Silence
2 Rest In Peace
Deck has participated in 2 FNMs so far, going 2-1 and then 3-0 for an overall of 5-1. Not too bad, but plenty more testing to do. About the card choices-
Izzet Charm
Yup, the successor to Faithless Looting can only be cast once and costs U more, but is also a swiss army knife. It's a spell pierce or shock if u need it to be. Hitting a Karn and then polymorphing into Emrakul is good. Speaking of polymorph-
Polymorph
Splashing blue for Izzet Charm naturally means access to redundancies. There are a large number of games where Creativity would simply save the day but we can't find it. Losing the awesome selection and velocity of Looting just makes it worse. With 2 extra combo pieces in the deck, I've been flipping up iona and emmy a lot more often.
Serum Visions
Speaking of velocity, this card digs the deepest of the 3 blue modern cantrips. I could see this being Sleight of Hand, but I supposed I'm still undecided.
Cloudform
The substitute for lingering souls at the 3-drop slot, this hexproof flier can win games against midrange/control by itself, and can't be removed when you're polymorphing or creativity-ing it.
Teferi, Time Raveler
He brings so much to the deck I can't even. Stops people interacting with creativity or your tokens as you're going for it. Enables end-step creativity/polymorph. Bounces troublesome stuff like Aria of Flame, and even drawing.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
I can understand that looting was our go-to Draw-power, Selection, and CA generator, pitching lingering Souls when needed and sending Emrakul back to our deck for the combo. Fortunately, and different from strategies like Dredge, Phoenix, and Grishoalbrand, those upsides of looting aren't even the deck's central strategy or even dependent on its early use, making it that much easier to replace. For example, going for a Full-playset of Nahiri, the Harbinger. It helps with removal, it loots away stranded emrakuls in hand and also those L.Souls for value. Nahiri also grants an alternative wincon with her Ult and synergizes extremely well with Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, as I've mentioned on my last comment. I'm up for Boros creativity, with a black splash and with B.Moon maindeck (like old Mardu Pyro) as so many strategies right now have greedy manabases.
with 4 Chandras, 4 Nahiris, maybe even war of the Spark Saheeli as none of those actually get hurt by B.moon's land taxing.
Marc, you stick to the Jeskai, I'll experiment with the colors I have access to right now!!! hope you get some awesome results
PS: Nice damn playmat bruh
Regarding 4 nahiris, the first mardu version I ran did that - 4 nahiris and 4 creativities. The result however is you get some very clunky draws and starting hands - 2 nahiris and 1 creativity in your starting hand is very likely a ship, and you don't have looting anymore to help fix them. I can get behind at most 2 copies of Nahiri + 4 creativities; thats something like the 4 creativities and 2 polymorphs in my version. Having 6 curve toppers is about right.
I also toyed with the idea of going back to straight RW, which was the version before mardu. At the time, there were no smol chandras, and with her around, you could do some pretty sick aggro. playing full sets of krenko's command and dragon fodder coupled with a playset of goblin grenade is no joke. Especially when the goblin grenade can be recast with chandra's -2. Just imagine -
t1 legion's landing -
t2 fodder, attack for 1 -
t3 chandra, attack for 5 -
t4 attack for 5 again, grenade, flashback grenade.
Straight RW also has a much easier time playing blood moon. I'm not sure if you even want the black splash at that point - lingering souls is not good without looting, bitterblossom alone isn't worth the color, and there isn't any particular deck that discard is strong against at the moment.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR