I've seen variants of this show up in PTQ T8 Lists so for now:
Moved to Established
Does anyone know if the OP is still active, or if not is anyone interested in taking this over?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Crystal Shard should not be overlooked, at least for the sideboard of this deck. It lets you reuse your witnesses every turn, and gets better with replaying them with aether vial at instant speed.
The crystal witness engine is very powerful, but can be a little slow for an environment like modern.
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Hey guys. I'm a longtime Legacy player who has been thinking about getting into Modern so I don't have to miss about half the events that go on in my area. I fell in love with this deck after watching it at the Player's Championship. I've done a bit of testing and here's the list I'm working with.
I think my list is a little counter heavy, but the decks I usually have trouble with are blue decks. I usually eat non control decks. Anyone have tips on fighting control, especially delver? Usually it's UWR Delver.
So, since my last post I've made a few changes. 8 Counters is too many. I went -2 Mana Leak, -1 Remand, +2 Electrolyze, +1 Cryptic Command.
CC is undoubtably powerful, but I'm not sure how nessissary it is. It's one of the few spells that's inpossible to double cast in on turn, which is definitely sad. I had a great match vs Jund. He casts a leathal Bolt, I cast one bolt, dropping him to 3. I then cast a second bolt. He responds with a bolt and I cast CC. He casts a third bolt and I vial in Tiago ftw. What an exciting conclusion to a great match. Also, some people are cutting Thirst. I would strongly recommend against this. I love thirst.
I'm a legacy player, so I keep making mistakes with SBing and lands, but this is definitely an exciting deck. And FUN
Honestly, I don't like KotR in Modern. He is only sometimes better than goyf in Legacy where Knight decks run 7-10 fetches. You can't run nearly that many in Modern, and so KotR is noticeably smaller. Furthermore, you cant use KotR to cycle through lands willy nilly because shocks force you to build a more complex mana base with less forests in it. We still have Canopy, sure, but that's really not enough. For KotR to be worth it over goyf (and don't think you can play both, there isn't room), you need it to be a 6/6 reliably. That's just not happening.
So I finally have most of this deck togeather and I'm going to start giving it a tray, although with my own changes.
I think it really needs at least 2 manlands. I find them very inportant and won prob 1/3 of my modern games off the back of a man land. I feel it could really give the deck an extra punch if Goyf is not around.
I'm also going to test 1 Plow Under opposed to the 4th CC. I think some people dont see the potential Plow Under has, especially late game. If anything it buys you a couple tuns, but I feel in some mu's with Witness and Snappy it could be a lock down for a few turns.
What manland are you interested in playing? Treetops? I suppose a manland or two would probably increase our control MU. They'll also help us do the random aggro plan which I love.
What manland are you interested in playing? Treetops? I suppose a manland or two would probably increase our control MU. They'll also help us do the random aggro plan which I love.
With the high Island count, you might want to run Faerie Conclave. The clock is represents is terrible, but Bolt and Electrolyze can speed up that clock.
Plow Under is probably a better card than Timewarp. Two turns later they have the same number of cards and the same number of lands. Those are what is important about Timewarp, so why not double it? Consider that Timewarp costs 5 and Chant costs 2 with kicker.
I think Id rather play Treetop than Faerie, though it does have some appeal.
Here's my current list: SB is a bit of a guess as I figure out what to play in the current meta.
MVPs are definitely Glenn and Huntmaster. Those guys are amazing. I'll probably drop Threads with the fall of Jund and such, but it's still quite good. I just don't think I'll be bringing it in much. What do you guys think of Pulse of the Fields for the Rx matchup? That seems to be one of our worst.
Plow Under is probably a better card than Timewarp. Two turns later they have the same number of cards and the same number of lands. Those are what is important about Timewarp, so why not double it? Consider that Timewarp costs 5 and Chant costs 2 with kicker.
MVPs are definitely Glenn and Huntmaster. Those guys are amazing. I'll probably drop Threads with the fall of Jund and such, but it's still quite good. I just don't think I'll be bringing it in much. What do you guys think of Pulse of the Fields for the Rx matchup? That seems to be one of our worst.
I do agree with Plow Under, it can really place someone in a difficult position for two turns with both land an lack of draw. An when your playing counter by the time your opponent can play something you tell them 'NO! Thanks for trying'.
Can you give a little more insight on what it is about Glenn an Huntmaster that makes them MVP's for you? Considering they are in your SB how often did you find yourself moving them MB?
I'm going to test out both manlands, I'm not set on which yet. Like I said earlier I have found them useful in so many games that if I can fit it why not!
I have run this deck at a few PTQ's, and I really like the idea of plow under. The amount of USA and UW makes bolt and electrolyze virtually useless. Its also terrible against tron, although you can randomly steal games with them + V-Clique.
I think if I were going to add Plow Under to this deck, I would definitely want to add cards like lotus cobra, shadow of doubt, and other cards that will help deny resources. I think that would probably mean not playing red. Vapor snag would probably be a suitable replacement for bolt since the mana denial will mean that they will have a lot of trouble effectively casting spells. It might also be possible to run thought scour as a way to control their draws (knocking off the 2 lands on top of their deck if they are land screwed, leaving them there if they aren't). Losing a color also gives you a lot of room for colorless lands like tectonic edge, ghost quarter, or mutavault.
I love the idea of a simic vial deck. Would also free up sb space for phantasmal image(who is a gangstar in his own).
Also I would like to weigh in on the man land topic, conclave is bad. We want blue sources to come in untapped because even though our mana is good, tripple U is still hard. I use the same reasoning when telling people to run 4-5 islands over some combination of hinterland harbor and sulfur falls.
In addition to that conclave is extra weak to electrolyse. A card known for naturally 3 for 1 ing many of our creatures (snapcaster, e wit, clique and possibly image and delivery depending on how spicy your deck is). I don't think we need to consider adding another creature that that is weak to a very common burn spell.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When does lightning bolt kill Emrakul? When your opponent's at three.
I really like Electrolyze because its useful in several matches. Sure you board it out against torn, but it's huge against Bob, Clique, Tiago, EWitness, Affinity, elves, Hatebears and more. Even using it to just kill a goyf after it blocked yours, plus 1 damage, plus 1 card? It's phenomenal.
What manland are you interested in playing? Treetops? I suppose a manland or two would probably increase our control MU. They'll also help us do the random aggro plan which I love.
I don't think its really viable, but my friend did this agaisnt me with his bant eternal command and I thought it was pretty cool.
cute i guess? but aside from ramping on turn 1 I don't think this deck has any further applications for ANOTHER x/1. This would even leave our mana vulnerable to opposing electrolyse.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When does lightning bolt kill Emrakul? When your opponent's at three.
As soon as a deathrite shaman hits the table obviously it's a top priority to remove, but at the same time this deck is pretty good at killing it. This deck draws a ton of cards and you absolutely will see removal every game, you just have to know that against the BG/x shell you can't be baited into wasting your removal early if they're slowrolling a shaman and if you get a chance to gain value off your snapcasters and witness, take it.
Although DRS is easily the boogeyman of this deck, I don't find jund to be that difficult of a matchup, it may even be favored.
Ral Zarek[/CARD] seems like he would do gross things in this deck. [+1] Untapping a vial is the MO for this deck, [-2] to emulate lightning bolt is always good, and [-7] should allow you to win the game in short order.
Ral Zarek, while extremely powerful, isn't quite the shoe in people expect in this deck IMO, because we really don't have enough creatures to actually be flooding the board when untapping vials. At the two drop spot you can either drop double goyf or goyf+snap but only if you have extra mana, and at three you could drop witness and clique which sounds a little better but I don't always find myself at three vial counters.
its pretty cool to vial in a two drop at your upkeep in response to the vial trigger and then vial in a three drop after vial goes to three counters though.
I think he could see play here but it's not quite as simple as dropping two cards and adding Ral and calling it a day, but he is absolutely at his best with a tarmogoyf on the field which is something unique to this color combination which I like.
What do people think about the idea of including a couple of Plasm Capture? I think that it plays well with the structure of the deck given that it already looks to abuse mana engines via aether vial and likes to stay untapped for cryptic. I don't know if the deck is perfectly setup yet to take full advantage of the mana, but I was wondering if you guys thought that it would be an interesting/good direction to take the deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Moved to Established
Does anyone know if the OP is still active, or if not is anyone interested in taking this over?
The crystal witness engine is very powerful, but can be a little slow for an environment like modern.
bhamrick's RUG Vial
Modern – 4–0, Magic Online Daily Event, March 8
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Flooded Grove
1 Forest
5 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
22 lands
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Vendilion Clique
14 creatures
4 Aether Vial
4 Cryptic Command
4 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
4 Serum Visions
24 other spells
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Combust
2 Counterflux
1 Firespout
2 Pyroclasm
3 Spellskite
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 AEther Vial
Creatures:
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Eternal Witness
2 Vendilion Clique
Instants:
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Electrolyze
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Cryptic Command
2 Serum Visions
Lands:
1 Breeding Pool
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Flooded Grove
1 Forest
4 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Spell Pierce
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Combust
2 Threads of Disloyalty
I think my list is a little counter heavy, but the decks I usually have trouble with are blue decks. I usually eat non control decks. Anyone have tips on fighting control, especially delver? Usually it's UWR Delver.
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
CC is undoubtably powerful, but I'm not sure how nessissary it is. It's one of the few spells that's inpossible to double cast in on turn, which is definitely sad. I had a great match vs Jund. He casts a leathal Bolt, I cast one bolt, dropping him to 3. I then cast a second bolt. He responds with a bolt and I cast CC. He casts a third bolt and I vial in Tiago ftw. What an exciting conclusion to a great match. Also, some people are cutting Thirst. I would strongly recommend against this. I love thirst.
I'm a legacy player, so I keep making mistakes with SBing and lands, but this is definitely an exciting deck. And FUN
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
I usually keep Vial at 2, not 3.
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
I think it really needs at least 2 manlands. I find them very inportant and won prob 1/3 of my modern games off the back of a man land. I feel it could really give the deck an extra punch if Goyf is not around.
I'm also going to test 1 Plow Under opposed to the 4th CC. I think some people dont see the potential Plow Under has, especially late game. If anything it buys you a couple tuns, but I feel in some mu's with Witness and Snappy it could be a lock down for a few turns.
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
With the high Island count, you might want to run Faerie Conclave. The clock is represents is terrible, but Bolt and Electrolyze can speed up that clock.
Because plow under effectively time stretch for 5 mana
I think Id rather play Treetop than Faerie, though it does have some appeal.
Here's my current list: SB is a bit of a guess as I figure out what to play in the current meta.
MVPs are definitely Glenn and Huntmaster. Those guys are amazing. I'll probably drop Threads with the fall of Jund and such, but it's still quite good. I just don't think I'll be bringing it in much. What do you guys think of Pulse of the Fields for the Rx matchup? That seems to be one of our worst.
4 AEther Vial
Creatures:
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Eternal Witness
2 Vendilion Clique
Instants:
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Electrolyze
2 Mana Leak
3 Remand
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Cryptic Command
3 Serum Visions
Lands:
1 Breeding Pool
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Flooded Grove
1 Forest
4 Island
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Ground
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Spell Pierce
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Combust
2 Threads of Disloyalty
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
I do agree with Plow Under, it can really place someone in a difficult position for two turns with both land an lack of draw. An when your playing counter by the time your opponent can play something you tell them 'NO! Thanks for trying'.
Can you give a little more insight on what it is about Glenn an Huntmaster that makes them MVP's for you? Considering they are in your SB how often did you find yourself moving them MB?
I'm going to test out both manlands, I'm not set on which yet. Like I said earlier I have found them useful in so many games that if I can fit it why not!
I love the idea of a simic vial deck. Would also free up sb space for phantasmal image(who is a gangstar in his own).
Also I would like to weigh in on the man land topic, conclave is bad. We want blue sources to come in untapped because even though our mana is good, tripple U is still hard. I use the same reasoning when telling people to run 4-5 islands over some combination of hinterland harbor and sulfur falls.
In addition to that conclave is extra weak to electrolyse. A card known for naturally 3 for 1 ing many of our creatures (snapcaster, e wit, clique and possibly image and delivery depending on how spicy your deck is). I don't think we need to consider adding another creature that that is weak to a very common burn spell.
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
Dryad Arbor can be vialed in for super ramp tech.
I don't think its really viable, but my friend did this agaisnt me with his bant eternal command and I thought it was pretty cool.
Modern:
UWUW TronUW
Legacy:
WDeath N TaxesW
CEldrazi C
If you couldn't tell I hate greedy blue decks.
Vintage
WWhite Trash
cute i guess? but aside from ramping on turn 1 I don't think this deck has any further applications for ANOTHER x/1. This would even leave our mana vulnerable to opposing electrolyse.
Also, how has the RDW/Burn matchup been?
Huntmaster comes in against Death & Taxes. Not sure what else. Glen is for Tron.
Did Deathrite Shaman really destroy it completely?
Although DRS is easily the boogeyman of this deck, I don't find jund to be that difficult of a matchup, it may even be favored.
Speculate less. Test more.
its pretty cool to vial in a two drop at your upkeep in response to the vial trigger and then vial in a three drop after vial goes to three counters though.
I think he could see play here but it's not quite as simple as dropping two cards and adding Ral and calling it a day, but he is absolutely at his best with a tarmogoyf on the field which is something unique to this color combination which I like.