BW Tokens is a difficult deck to classify; it has aspects of control, aggro, and combo. It wins with creatures, but there's no need to be discouraged if the opponent is still at twenty by turn 5. In fact, the longer the game goes, the more confident I feel about winning. For this reason, I tend to treat BW Tokens as a control deck that puts its efforts into creature advantage rather than mana, cards in hand, or defensive planeswalkers (as more traditional control decks do).
Table of Contents:
1) History
2) The Deck
- 2.1) The Core
- 2.2) Additions and Alternatives
3) Sideboard
4) Articles
5) Decklists
6) I got the Event Deck... Now what? Tips for playing the deck
- 6.1) General Play Advice
- 6.2) Muligan Advice
- 6.3) Card Rulings and Interactions
- 6.4) How to Maximize Thoughtseize Effects
7) Match Analysis
8) Splashes *NEW, READ ME*
1) History:
BW Tokens is a old Standard deck from the times of Lorwyn/Shards of Alara. During that cycle it gravitated between being one of the best decks to being totally dominant.
It burst onto the modern scene when Jyun'ichi Miyajima won a GP with it in July 2012.
During 2013, it has been somewhat championed by Melissa DeTora during some GPs and to some extent by Craig Wescoe who chose to play it at the 2013 Magic World Championship. In 2014, it was printed as the Modern Event deck, making many of the core cards easy to acquire.
2) The Deck:
The core of the deck is Token Generators (Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession), Anthems (Intangible Virtue, Honor of the Pure), Hand Disruption (Thoughtseize), Removal (Path to Exile), and a few utility or token producing Creatures. BW Tokens as a ton of flexibility, and there is no "permanent" decklist. Still, all players agree a normal deck will conform to the following layout:
Notice there are over a dozen "optional" slots. The amount of deck variety is staggering. As such, card choices are laid out into Core and Alternative. Core cards have been in virtually every successful deck, and generally fill all 60 slots. Alternative cards can provide additional support in the main 60 based on your unique meta. The lists are divided by what role the card plays in the deck. The number of slots in the deck is variable, and based on historically successful decks.
Raise the Alarm1W Two 1/1s for 2cmc isn’t exactly amazing. Being at instant speed does help though, helps a lot actually.
As with all the tokens generators, it only starts getting broken when you get your anthems online.
Lingering Souls2W Always run 4. It is usually considered to be amongst the best spells in the Modern format, some decks splash white just so they can have it.
Spectral ProcessionWWW Always run 4. More often than not, in this deck, it’s about the same quality as Lingering Souls. Having to have triple white mana if you want to cast it for 3cmc is kind of a bummer though.
It actually counts as 6cmc, so it single-handedly ruins the prospect of running Dark Confidant. But when you are getting three flying 2/2s for one card, you can’t really complain.
ThoughtseizeB 1cmc and 2 life to see your opponents whole hand and then taking whatever nonland card you want from it. Mkay. It's usually called the second best spell in modern after Lightning Bolt.
Honor of the Pure1W The best anthem if you run a deck with many vanilla (and white) creatures.
Intangible Virtue1W The better one if your running less non-token creatures or if you somehow produce tokens that are not white. The vigilance can often prove decisive versus other creature decks, as you can start to race them with impunity.
Zealous PersecutionWB Not really a classic anthem, seeing as how it is a instant and the effect only lasts until end of turn.
However it also doubles as a actual removal or conditional sweeper vs. Snapcaster Mage, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Dark Confidant, Vendilion Clique, Pestermite, Grim Lavamancer, Affinity, Soul Sisters, to name a few. It's not an auto-include in the deck, but cast it during combat to truly tip the scales over.
Path to ExileW Always run 4. It’s usually considered among the premier removal spells in modern.
Doom Blade1B It's simple and effective. Sometimes, you just need to kill something.
Murderous Cut4B (B With Delve) - Unrestricted kill spell that can delve to become Path to Exile cheap. Similar to Slaughter Pact (See "Alternatives"), it can really blow out an unsuspecting opponent.
Elspeth Tirel3WW The best planeswalker for this deck. Every ability is relevant to our game-plan. Running out of life? Done. Need some creatures? Easy. Want to just say "!@#$ you" to your opponent and clear the field? Gladly. It is important to note that we are not aiming to curve into her. This deck has loads of 3cmc drops. Keep playing creatures, tokens, and removal as needed, then slam down Tirel For The Win. Unlike the other walkers, Tirel can actively recover a bad board state, so she gets the favored nod by the MTGsalvation community.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor2WB Sorin 3.0 is widely considered the best walker option against a burn or aggro heavy meta. His +1 lasts until your next turn giving you an edge in attacking, or an extra defensive buff. Similar to Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and Elspeth, Knight-Errant, he requires a populated board to really go to work. In short, he'll allow you to maintain an edge in a game, but will not recover you from a bad board state.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant2WW One of the best walkers in Modern, she can provide a chump blocker each turn for that goyf, give you card advantage vs. control or provide you with a faster clock. Starting on 4 loyalty and having two +1’s means she is very resilient. She has added synergy in a creature heavy deck.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad2WB In this deck he proves to be very much like the Knight-Errant. His -2 for a permanent anthem is great with our other token generators, and the lifelink on the tokens he produces should not be underestimated. Sorin shines in a more token focused deck with more Intangible Virtue.
Creatures are an important part of the deck. Having an all token game plan can be risky, especially playing in a small meta. Cards like Ratchet Bomb and Engineered Explosives can just ruin us. Large creatures can also act as finishers that have to be answered, or risk turning the game heavily in our favor. For the core of the deck, generally run up to 3 of one the following, and any additional creatures from the "alternatives" list as needed:
Hero of Bladehold2WW Some use her as a alternative to the Planeswalkers. She does put a ton pressure on the opponent if she is active, but not doing anything for the first turn when costing 4cmc is pretty steep.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos1WW Run no more than 3. Hail to the King! At first glance, Brimaz is a weaker Hero, that competes with our 3cmc slot token generators. In reality, the 3cmc is a benefit (see explanation below), and he puts serious pressure on your opponent. He also decreases your reliance on Intangible Virtue, as he produces Vigilance creatures.
Marsh Flats Our fetchland. Can get our Plains, Swamps and Godless Shrines
Arid Mesa The other fetchland that get get us plains. Not strictly needed, but it does help a bit.
Isolated Chapel We run Plains and Swamps and need white and black mana.
Fetid Heath Filter that mana! So we can drop a Auriok Champion on turn 2 from our turn 1 Swamp or turn 3 that Spectral Procession. As it only provides a colorless mana on it’s own and doesn’t synergies with Isolated Chapel, running more than two is not recommended.
Windbrisk Heights Cheat in a Planeswalker for 2cmc, or an anthem during combat. Keep in mind that activating it allows you to ignore standard timing. As long as you attacked with 3 creatures that turn, you can play what ever is under it at instant speed. It’s (un?)surprisingly good in this deck.
While the core cards above usually make up the full 60. There is definitely opportunity to change some things depending on your local meta, or personal preferences. The basic deck is not always the best path. Decks focusing on additional creatures like Squadron Hawk, non-traditional anthems like Sword of War and Peace, alternative token generators like Bitterblossom, and heavy focuses on hand disruption like Castigate have reported to be competitive.
Midnight Haunting2W A Lingering Souls without the flashback but at instant speed.
Gather the Townsfolk1W Not exactly optimal but 2cmc and a token generator isn’t too bad.
Timely Reinforcements2W Situational best describes this card. The six life can be huge against RDW and Zoo decks; three creatures isn’t anything so sneeze at, either. It has great synergy with Windbrisk Heights. It can be totally dead in top deck scenarios.
BitterBlossom1B Recently unbanned and ready for action, BB produces constant pressure at the cost of your life total. A deck with shocks, fetch's, and thoughseizes can make BB a fast clock for both you an your opponent. As such, no pro player has yet to endorse it, but MTGsalvation community members have posted results with BB decks. Keep in mind that Honor of the Pure is a no go with this strategy. Life gain is also recommended
Sword of Fire and Ice3Also provides relevant protections, deals extra damage to players, and lets you draw. All around solid card.
Sword of Feast and Famine3Again, the colors of protection are relevant, and being able to untap all land going into your second main phase can set up a dominate board state quickly.
DuressB Shouldn’t be in the main 60 unless your meta is combo and control heavy. Generally, you want thoughtseize of inquisition.
CastigateBW A more permanent thoughtseize effect with no penalties. Very powerful, but cost restrictive in both colors, and competing for the 2 drop slot with anthems.
Dismember1(P/B)(P/B) A great card that sees a lot of play both mainboard and sideboard in others decks.
DisfigureB 1cmc instant speed removal that works against the majority of modern staples is never a bad thing.
Engineered ExplosivesX It can shut down bogles, robots, and merfolk easily. Definitely an option over doom blade, depending on your meta.
Hour of Reckoning4WWW Conditional and expensive. It can, however, totally save your bacon in an agro heavy meta.
Slaughter Pact2B More expensive and conditional than Doom Blade, but being able to play it the turn before you pay for it allows you to tap out playing our numerous sorcery speed cards, and be ready for whatever craziness your opponent will cast on his turn.
Mirran Crusader1WW Strong against Goyf and bogles. A few successful decks have ran it, and it's also recommended by Craig Wescoe.
Squadron Hawk1W A solid way to keep creatures on the field and apply pressure. It's best played a group of 4, and with a Sword of X and X.
Auriok ChampionWW Being protection from black and red means she won’t be getting removed too easily. Giving 1 life for each creature entering the battlefield means you’ll be gaining pretty much life from all your tokens.
If you have two in play she acts as a hard counter for the combos of Splinter Twin and Murderous Redcap.
Still, in some match-ups she is close to a dead card and usually the first one to be side-boarded out.
Tidehollow ScullerWB Is the subject of much debate. In a perfect world, it’s a Thoughtseize with a 2/2 body for 2cmc. Sadly the world we live in (modern) is pretty far from perfect. The biggest problem is that he always eats removal, thus returning whatever card you chose. As such, an easy conclusion to draw is that Sculler should always take the removal spell. This is not entirely true, as Sculler really shines as a tempo choice. You get an opportunity to see your opponent's hand (always good), and then choose the card they most need. They can then waste a turn killing the sculler (a psuedo time walk), or try playing without a (hopefully) key piece of their deck. This can create a 1:1 trade. We both spend a card from our hand, and we both spend a turn of our time. Since BW Tokens is a fair deck, forcing our opponen's to play fair, too, is powerful. Still, skuller always risks being situational, which is why I list him as an alternative to Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek
Caves of Koilos A cheap alternative if you don’t have enough fetches.
Vault of the Archangel Sometimes seen as a singelton. It turns your tokens into a death squad, in addition to gaining you life.
Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge Having a way to remove pesky land is great. Generally the goal is to remove land with powerful effects, like man lands, or to stop Tron/Scapeshift. Keeping your opponent off a color of mana is a secondary goal.
More to come!
3) Sideboard:
We could talk about sideboard for days. Ultimately, run what works in your meta. If you don't know what that is, there are a few solid options for "unknown" metas, but the ideal option is to go to events, and learn the meta.
In general, it is best to run the Hatiest Hate Possible. You don't want to inconvenience your opponent, you want to ruin their day. Keep that in mind when making sideboard selections.
Rest in Peace1W A ‘hard’ alternative to Relic of Progenitus, as it has a continuous effect. Does tamper with your own Lingering Souls, so don't bring it in against Snapcaster Mage. It's not worth locking out one of your best cards, too.
Grafdigger's Cage1 The cage DOES NOT STOP LIVING END. It does, however, stop Storm and Pod (and our own Lingering Souls). It is a powerful solution to 2 very specific decks. Rest in Peace also hurts those decks, and has broader applications, so generally, the cage is not recommended.
Stony Silence1W Artifact hate. Shuts down the most troublesome cards that Affinity has, as well as significantly slowing down Tron (and stopping Birthing Pod). Seeing as those two decks are amongst the most popular, the consensus is that anything between 1-3 of this particular card is common sense.
Burrenton Forge-TenderW Anti-hate. Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods is the bane of BW Tokens, as it can single handedly wipe our board presence. This is our 1cmc answer to it. More often than not, it occupies 3 slots in the sideboard.
Aven Mindcensor2W Flashing this guy in can severely hamper decks that like to search their library, such Pod, Amulet of Vigor, and Scapeshift. It can slow down Tron as well. Being a 2/1 flyer means he’ll be pulling some extra weight as a damage dealer, especially with Honor of the Pure.
Runed HaloWW A very popular "unknown meta" catch all, Runed Halo can shut down anything trying to hit you. A slippery bogle, goyf, or even Deceiver Exarch.
Liliana of the Veil1BB Probably the best walker in Modern. She helps against Bogles and any kind of control matchups (including Merfolk).
Rule of Law2W Shuts down living end and Storm. Can be substituted for Ethersworn Canonist or Eidolon of Rhetoric. Eidolon also has the benefit of being a lightning bolt proof creature for the same cost.
Torpor Orb1 Stops ETB effects, most notably souls sisters, combo elves, and amulet of vigor (namely Primeval Titan). I good choice against local metas with budget players, as those are lower tier, but cheap decks.
Suppression Field1W Stops twin, and slows down pod. Good option if you play against both decks in your meta.
Disenchant1W Simple and effective. It's a good way to take out artifacts and enchantments (big surprise, right?). Bring it in against Bogles, Robots, and lower tier strategies like Heartless Summoning and combo elve's Cloudstone Curio.
Sundering Growth(G/W)(G/W) Probably the "better" disenchant, as the ability is the same, but will almost always net you another token. The only draw back is the WW casting cost.
Oblivion Ring2W Oring needs no introduction. It's fantastic, broad hate against anything that needs to go away. It is sometimes played over Disenchant or Sundering Growth as it has further applications in other matches.
Fulminator Mage(B/R)(B/R) Another card with very clear uses. He brings the added bonus of letting us tap out on our turn to play token producing sorceries, while still having an answer to Urza Lands and Scapeshift.
4) Articles:
Here are some in depth articles about BW Tokens, taking a look at the decks strengths, weaknesses, specific matchups and so on.
I highly recommend that you read them.
6) I got the Event Deck... Now what? Tips for playing the deck:
BW Tokens may never be a tier one deck. At the end of the day, it is a fair deck, that means no instant win combos, no ramping, and virtually no way to draw (besides Windbrisk Heights). That being said, the combination of hand disruption, spot removal, super efficient token producers, and the best hate/sideboard cards in the game can spell VICTORY in any meta.
If you're new to modern, and are considering the event deck, check out this article on StarCityGames. This thread is not for discussing budget concerns with the deck. It for discussing the cards and various ways to play the deck. With that in mind, let's start with a stock decklist, derived from simple modifications to the event deck:
As a general rule, BW Tokens truely shines as an Aggro/Control deck. The first step is to disrupt our opponent's opening hand via a turn 1 or 2 thoughtseize effect. In an ideal scenario, we can also spend the first or second turn setting up our field with a utility card, such as an Anthem, Windbrisk Heights, Engineered Explosives, Rest in Peace, Stoney Silence, etc. On turn 3, we should aim to resolve a threat (Spectral Procession and Lingering Souls are ideal). From there, we should focus on wearing down our opponents life total, while controlling their board with Thoughseize, Path to Exile, Zealous Persecution, and any of our other fantastic hate.
Sometimes our hand just doesn't support that, or our opponent manages to brush off our turn 3 threat. When that happens, the deck is capable of playing in a pure control, or midrange manner. An example of pure control situation is having to muligan down to 5, leaving you a hand of 3 thoughtseize, 1 Godless Shrine, and 1 Plains. Thoughtseize, Path to Exile, and our sideboard hate is often sooo crippling it can win a game on its own. We just have to depend on controlling the board long enough to draw into a threat. An example of midrange style gameplay is when our turn 3 threat gets efficiently answered, and we don't have a second in hand (or a Lingering Souls to flashback). We now have to keep our opponents board in check for a turn or two in order to rebuild.
It should be noted that we do not have the card draw power of "draw go" control, nor the game finishing creatures of Midrange Jund (or more recently, Abzan/Junk). Play toward those strategies only when required.
6.2) Advice for the Mulligan phase:
The primary way to answer this is to either know what your opponent is doing, or to consider your third turn.
Since we have powerful black control cards, and fantastic White hate, if you have previous knowledge of your opponent's deck, mulligan to a card that helps. For example, anthems and lingering souls won't help against storm. You probably want to start with a thoughtseize, or your sideboard cards (in games 2/3). Again, the deck doesn't draw. Don't expect to hit Rest in Peace off the top before Living End wipes the field.
If there is no advanced knowledge to draw on, focus on having a playable hand. First off, you need a token generator. That should be pretty obvious, as this is a token deck. That's not all though, you should also consider your turn 3 options. This deck has a handful of turn 3 possibilities: Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Spectral Procession, Lingering Souls, and Tidehallow Sculler or Raise the Alarm + Windbrisk Heights. All can be played on turn 3, and (especially in game 1) it's nearly mandatory that one of them is played. Since we're a fair deck, it's important to establish board presence early. The beauty of the deck is that we have options with what mana cost we must fulfill (2W,1WW, orWWW). If your opening hand can not reasonably support its turn 3 drop, or you don't have a turn 3 drop, Mulligan.
6.3) Card rulings and interactions that you should remember:
As with every deck, it's important to remember what your cards can do, and what they can't. Windbrisk Heights - As long as you've met the clause of "3 of your creatures attacked this turn", you can pay the 1 mana, tap heights, and play the exiled card. This ignores standard timings. Don't forget to pop out an anthem during the declare attackers phase! Also, remember that the Brimaz and Hero of Bladehold tokens do not count as being "Declared as attacking", so they DO NOT count toward your windbrisk total. Lingering Souls - It's a Sorcery. Raise the Alarm - It (on the other hand) is an instant. Spectral Procession - You can play it for BBBBW or BBWW in a pinch (or even colorless instead of black).
Finally, don't over extend. A common mistake is to flood the field with tokens (despite having enough in play to push for lethal), only to get blown out by a sweeper. Sometimes, you have to agro with everything you've got, but do not do that unless it is mandatory.
7) Match Analysis:
There is plenty of room for variation in BW Tokens. For the matchups section, I've listed the major competing decks, and all none-core cards that help against that match. Your sideboard will not fit all these cards. Generally, you need to pad your mainboard a bit with what you think you're going to fight.
In general, BW Token decks have 4 or 5 flex spots. These slots get filled with meta choices such as Auriok Champion, Mirran Crusader, and Engineered Explosives. These will be the first cards to remove when sideboarding, as they are not core to the deck. After that, I recommend removing/trying alternatives to Raise the Alarm, as it's our weakest token generator. Walkers are a good 3rd option to drop, as Elspeth's main power is against midrange decks, which have gone out of favor since the banning of Deathrite Shaman.
BW Tokens has game against everything, if you prepare properly. We are generally favored against midrange strategies. Midrange decks push for small, incremental gains, and our "3+ creatures for the price of 1 spells" hurts that plan. Most decks in Modern fall back on a midrange strategy when they run out of agro beats, or can't hit their combo. As mentioned before, longer games can lean in our favor.
As with other midrange strategies, we have a small advantage right out of the gate. Their spot removal (lightning bolt/helix) doesn't do much against our spells that produce multiple flyers. Hitting an anthem is a must, as a 2/2 creature can trade with Geist of St Traft, forcing them to use resources (or the loose Geist) trying to get through. Elspeth Tirel also shines in this match, as the life gain, creatures produced, and field wipe potential are all huge swings in our favor. Watch out for Restoration Angel and Thundermaw Hellkite. The Hellkite is not super common, but can really wreck us, while Resto is just an all around good card that hurts our air superiority.
+ Sword of Fire and Ice
+ Sword of War and Peace
They have two routes to victory, Primeval Titan and Hive Mind. Both routes require them to search their library (prime time needs lands, hive mind uses transmute to search up a pact). Don't let them search their library, and keep up removal for Primeval Titan. They also use Firespout to clear the skies.
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender
BANNED! I won't remove this info yet. Another deck may arise taking advantage of a Melira or Angel/Spike Feeder combo. The key is to stop them from using their toolbox effectively. Stony Silence their pod, and use Aven Mindcensor to limit their search ability. Make them play like a midrange deck, and they'll go down. Mirran Crusader is a powerful creature in this match.
+ Stony Silence
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Rest In Peace (maybe. It was great against the melira win con, but doesn't stop Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder)
The key against burn is to gain life or stop any of their spells. They run out of gas fast, and rely on players hurting themselves to get faster wins. Try to only Thoughtseize if you know it can take a spell that would hurt you more than the 2 to cast. Don't shock lands in or fetch unless necessary. Watch out for sweepers in game 2/3.
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender
+ Auriok Champion
The mirror match is a race to get more anthems in play than your opponent. As such, sideboard hate to destroy enemy anthems is useful, replacing Path to Exile or other direct removal which are not useful against the token strategy.
+ Disenchant
+ Engineered Explosives
Difficult game one. Nothing we do stops them, and when living end goes off, their board is crazy, full of big monsters, some with reach. In game 2, mulligan for RiP and Rule of Law. Use your inq/seize to grab Anger of the Gods and Beast Within.
+ Rest in Peace
+ Rule of Law
Like all combo decks, the goal is to hold the combo at bay, or ruin it entirely with Leyline of Sanctity. Remember that when scapeshift goes off and all the mountains enter play, Valakut puts a number of triggers, equal to the number of mountains that came into play, on the stack. TecEdge can destroy a mountain in response to the first valakut trigger resolving. The remaining triggers will still be on the stack, but if they no longer have the 6 mountains necessary, none of the remaining damage will be dealt. Same trick can be done with Fulminator Mage. In this match, Ghost Quarter doesn't help.
+ Leyline of Sanctity
+ Runed Halo (naming Valakut, the molten pinnacle)
+ Fulminator Mage
+ Liliana of the Veil
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender (Protection against red sweepers)
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Tectonic Edge
Same game plan as RG, but no more red sweepers to worry about. They favor the Academy Ruins package, which fuels the super fun Mindslaver lock. Fortunately, Stony Silence and standard land destruction makes that tough. If they do get the lock, you can request they play it out. It takes about 10 minutes to mill out a deck 1 turn at a time. They have to use Academy Ruins, draw the mindslaver, cast and activate the mindslaver, pass the turn, then draw your card, tap your land, and pass the turn back. You can get lucky, push the game to time, or catch them in an error. Be very cautious of mass return spells, like Cyclonic Rift and Aetherize.
+ Stony Silence
+ Fulminator Mage
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Tectonic Edge or Ghost Quarter
The key is to break their combo. They can't really fight our token army, so make it hard to combo off, and we can win. Keep Path to Exile mana untapped (even if just as a threat), and hold Zealous Persecution to either guarantee a win or to stop the combo for 1 turn.
+ Torpor Orb
Same as TarmoTwin, but now they don't have scooze or goyf. This deck plays with more of a midrange feel, which gives us an advantage.
+ Torpor Orb
8) Splashes:
Khans of Tarkir has brought in new fetchlands, giving us potential to improve the mana base of a splash. Previously, splashes had been too taxing to the base, and didn't actually help the deck. In the past year and half, asside from new lands, we've also gotten Young Pyromancer and Voice of Resurgence. Both are strong token producing cards proven in eternal formats. Going forward, splashes do need to get some serious consideration, even if we eventually opt away from them. Additionally, (as a fun historical fact) prior to the printing of Lingering Souls, tokens was often referred to as Wx Tokens, with G and B being the primary color options.
I will be working on this "Splashes" section of the primer. If you're posting a slash deck, please conform to these guidelines.
1) We all agree that the core of the deck is Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession, Anthems, Thoughtseize effects, and Path to Exile. If your Mardu/Abzan lists don't include the core, I call that a brew, not a splash.
2) We're dipping our toes into unproven territory. If you're presenting a splash list, please don't just say, "what do ya'll think about this list" without first providing your explanation of the card choices.
3) Discussing the merits of a single splash card (Slaughter Games, Hide // Seek) is fine, assuming you post your opinion of the card first.
Change Log Jan 20, 2014
Removed Pod from the "Matches" Section
Restructured Section 6 into subsections, and added subsection 1
Started Splashes section
Started the Change Log
Jan 21, 2014
Added Sorin, SV and Murderous Cut to the "core" section
I THINK if BW TOKENS should run a Sword, that must beSword of Body and Mind due to the free 2/2 token everyturn ALSO we can get another alternative way to WIN the games MILLIN his decks ... hit 3 turn by 1/1 flyin are 9 damage, 3 2/2 token and 30 cards on graveyard ...
I see it 2-3 copys of an Alternative way to Win ...
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
Just got 9th place at a PTQ (Stupid Tie breakers!!!!) out of 140 people running tokens...Ill have a summary up in the next couple of days hopefully...my list:
Decided to go with a Wescoe style list, and I loved it! Played really nicely against pretty much everything my record was 7-1-1 losing only to bogles...
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Check out our podcast exploring the casually-competitive side of Magic! Extra Turns Podcast
Just got 9th place at a PTQ (Stupid Tie breakers!!!!) out of 140 people running tokens...Ill have a summary up in the next couple of days hopefully...my list:
Decided to go with a Wescoe style list, and I loved it! Played really nicely against pretty much everything my record was 7-1-1 losing only to bogles...
this one went to turns and I had him dead on board if we had another turn, he wouldn't scoop to me even though I should have won...al the removal in the main was awesome in the matchup, also getting an anthem out if possible makes the game a lot easier
Round 2: Affinity 1-0-1
Easy match, zealous persecution is soo good in this matchup...He won game one and games two and three I got out a turn 2 stony silence so there want a lot he could do
Round 3: Green Tron 2-0-1
Never seen this build before...he used quicksilver amulet as another way to cheat emrakul out. I beat him game 1 with discard taking his stuff, game 2 he got an emrakul out, and game 3 discard was also super helpful in controlling his hand
Round 4: BW Tokens Mirror! 3-0-1
This is a miserable matchup...it is pretty much a race to see who can get an anthem/more zealous persecutions first, it really could have gone either way but I got him game 3
Round 5: Bogles 3-1-1
never really had a chance game one, kept a good hand but not a good hand against bogles...game two I kept a hand with 3 discard spells and a spectral Procession and he dropped a turn 0 leyline of sanctity (since when do they play this?) I could not do anything...
Round 6: Living End 4-1-1
She won game 1, game 2 I got out a canonist turn 2 and eventually won, game 3 I got out Rest in peace turn 2 and eventually won
Round 7: GW Hatebears 5-1-1
Never played this matchup before...seems pretty easy to me, got it in 2
Round 8: Affinity 6-1-1
I was in 9th place going into this round, all of the top 8 drew and even though I won I didn't have the tie breakers...finished 9 out of about 140 which I am pretty happy about, not sure what I would have changed about the deck, it ran really well...I will be going to more PTQ's for sure this season since there are a few nearby
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I'm surprised to see all of the talk about swords all of the sudden. In the last thread they were briefly mentioned but determined to be too slow/enabled your opponent's removal. The issue being that you tap out to equip the sword only to have your opponent use their previously useless removal smashing your new threat and since they haven't used any of their other spot removal to this point they likely have 1-2 in hand to stave you off a couple turns. Unless of course you just happen to have the right combination of protections. If you are playing anything in G/B/x they just decay your sword when you swing and you either get in for 1 or simply lose the token to a block.
I haven't used them myself so I can't say they are bad but the idea seemed to be squashed pretty quickly last time. The proliferation of Abrubt Decay makes swords worse than they used to be. I feel like Anthems are more worth the risk though because they offer their buff without additional equipcosts and offer it across several bodies which scales much better with the amount of creatures we play. If anything I'd rather run another anthem than a sword because anthems help against red sweepers where only a few swords will protect a single token from a red sweeper.
She won game 1, game 2 I got out a canonist turn 2 and eventually won, game 3 I got out Rest in peace turn 2 and eventually won.
I'm curious as to your choice to bring in Canonist here. In my experience Living End tends to play a bunch of Cycle creatures to fill their yard and dig for their Cascade spell. Was Canonist to stop the Cascade? Did Rest in Peace or Canonist help more do you think? I have a hard time with this matchup and I run Rest in Peace. It seems they always pull their answer and "combo out" anyway.
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I'm surprised to see all of the talk about swords all of the sudden. In the last thread they were briefly mentioned but determined to be too slow/enabled your opponent's removal. The issue being that you tap out to equip the sword only to have your opponent use their previously useless removal smashing your new threat and since they haven't used any of their other spot removal to this point they likely have 1-2 in hand to stave you off a couple turns. Unless of course you just happen to have the right combination of protections. If you are playing anything in G/B/x they just decay your sword when you swing and you either get in for 1 or simply lose the token to a block.
I haven't used them myself so I can't say they are bad but the idea seemed to be squashed pretty quickly last time. The proliferation of Abrubt Decay makes swords worse than they used to be. I feel like Anthems are more worth the risk though because they offer their buff without additional equipcosts and offer it across several bodies which scales much better with the amount of creatures we play. If anything I'd rather run another anthem than a sword because anthems help against red sweepers where only a few swords will protect a single token from a red sweeper.
She won game 1, game 2 I got out a canonist turn 2 and eventually won, game 3 I got out Rest in peace turn 2 and eventually won.
I'm curious as to your choice to bring in Canonist here. In my experience Living End tends to play a bunch of Cycle creatures to fill their yard and dig for their Cascade spell. Was Canonist to stop the Cascade? Did Rest in Peace or Canonist help more do you think? I have a hard time with this matchup and I run Rest in Peace. It seems they always pull their answer and "combo out" anyway.
I'm still trying to figure the deck out. What I've noticed is that there are times where there's nothing to do and an anthem doesn't stop a red sweeper when it deals 3. When I had 5 or more anthems in my deck I would be drawing those and no gas. With the sword, I would still have no gas and it's a dead card on it's own, but the boons I get if it connects or drawing the removal away from my anthems, or having 2 bodies that are now a threat is an angle I'm trying. Far too many games where I've sat with this deck with nothing to do, but draw-go.
I'm curious as to your choice to bring in Canonist here. In my experience Living End tends to play a bunch of Cycle creatures to fill their yard and dig for their Cascade spell. Was Canonist to stop the Cascade? Did Rest in Peace or Canonist help more do you think? I have a hard time with this matchup and I run Rest in Peace. It seems they always pull their answer and "combo out" anyway.
It is meant to stop the cascade...sometimes it is better then rule of law against living end specifically because it can come back if they manage to kill it, and it is a bear and can beat down. rule of law and the canonist are in the board to stop storm and cascade strategies (Ad Naus, and living end)...the only removal living end runs is beast within, so I think the canonist is better in that particular matchup (although Rest in Peace is fantastic as well)
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I suppose you get to beat down while you have it which puts them on a faster clock.
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You dont pay canoist for the beats in fact i prefer rule of law for that effect because it doesnt turn on their removal. the reasons for canonist/rule of law/eidolon of rhetoric is to hose storm and living end. They hose living end better than rest in piece because they prevent living end from wiping the board as well as comboing out. try tossing in anyone of them and see what happen. Canonist is best vs living end since it can do damage which is sometimes nice but rule of law and eidolon of rhetoric are better vs storm since they arent killed by burn spells.
You dont pay canoist for the beats in fact i prefer rule of law for that effect because it doesnt turn on their removal. the reasons for canonist/rule of law/eidolon of rhetoric is to hose storm and living end. They hose living end better than rest in piece because they prevent living end from wiping the board as well as comboing out. try tossing in anyone of them and see what happen. Canonist is best vs living end since it can do damage which is sometimes nice but rule of law and eidolon of rhetoric are better vs storm since they arent killed by burn spells.
Moore summed that up well. Canonist comes down on turn 2, before the combo, and doesn't prevent you from playing spectral procession the next turn. On the other hand, it dies to Anger of the Gods, so always remember to thoughtseize first to clear the way. Also, be careful when thoughtseizing Living End decks because of the cycling. Let them dump a few cycle cards first. It's a tough match to play against. If you grind their combo to a stop, they can still play massive monsters with reach, regenerate, and other nasty abilities.
Quick and dirty match rundown:
Round 4: BW Tokens Mirror! 3-0-1
This is a miserable matchup...it is pretty much a race to see who can get an anthem/more zealous persecutions first, it really could have gone either way but I got him game 3
Round 5: Bogles 3-1-1
never really had a chance game one, kept a good hand but not a good hand against bogles...game two I kept a hand with 3 discard spells and a spectral Procession and he dropped a turn 0 leyline of sanctity (since when do they play this?) I could not do anything...
It's safe to say the Wescoe style deck has serious merit. In direct comments to your matches, I need to add the mirror to the match up section. I've played the mirror, and all my games came down to "who's got the most anthems". Bogles plays leyline to prevent Cruel Edict effects (such as Liliana of the Veil). Always mull for Engineered Explosives or similar. I find Sundering Growth to not be enough in that match, btw. I really dislike the bogle strategy. It's basically a goldfishing deck.
I'm surprised to see all of the talk about swords all of the sudden. In the last thread they were briefly mentioned but determined to be too slow/enabled your opponent's removal. The issue being that you tap out to equip the sword only to have your opponent use their previously useless removal smashing your new threat and since they haven't used any of their other spot removal to this point they likely have 1-2 in hand to stave you off a couple turns. Unless of course you just happen to have the right combination of protections. If you are playing anything in G/B/x they just decay your sword when you swing and you either get in for 1 or simply lose the token to a block.
I haven't used them myself so I can't say they are bad but the idea seemed to be squashed pretty quickly last time. The proliferation of Abrubt Decay makes swords worse than they used to be. I feel like Anthems are more worth the risk though because they offer their buff without additional equipcosts and offer it across several bodies which scales much better with the amount of creatures we play. If anything I'd rather run another anthem than a sword because anthems help against red sweepers where only a few swords will protect a single token from a red sweeper.
I agree with Krimsonviper. An anthem can be dead, and even with a token producer/creature, it may not get you to where you need to be. A sword has potential to turn the game. In testing, I've liked swords, but I've never gotten one online in an actual tournament. They're no more abrupt decay-able than Honor of the Pure. The risk in that regard is tapping out when you could be doing something else.
i just buy a Sword of Body and Mind to test it as 1x and 2x Elspeth Tirel as finisher
i still think that sword fits really nice in the deck ... 2/2 tokens by free makes me happy
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I dont like Tidehollow Sculler, some people love it and another dont, i prefer quit him and put 1+ Hero of Bladehold and +1 Elspeth Tirel o Knight-Errant and +2 Inquisition of Kozilek
I think you need FINISHERS on this deck, 3 hero + 1 Elspeth are 4 Finishers and you will run 8 discard speels enougt for turn 1
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I agree. I don't play him, because game 1 he gets pathed or bolted immediately. Game 2 and 3 he is slightly less likely to be killed, but if you take an important card he'll never stay long. I like playing 7-8 turn 1 discard spells instead. I only play 2 Elspeth Knight Tirel as my finishers. I just haven't found a huge need to have more than 2 finishers.
I do play 2x timely reinforcements main deck as additional token producers. They have worked well for me.
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- Modern WBB/W TokensWB WUBAd NauseamWUB
- Commander WG Captain Sisay's LegendsWG
If you see a lot of combo and assembly then Tidehollow can still do work. Mirran Crusader does not produce tokens but a 2/2 Double Strike, with relevent protections, is good. With even a single anthem on the field he is a 4 turn clock just by himself. I'm not sure he will fix your bad matchups though.
Without seeing your sideboard its hard to make suggestions but Leyline of Sanctity stops Storm, Scapeshift, Burn, the worst part mono-U Tron, and the Meliria Pod Combo (Murderous Redcap). The same with Runed Halo. Runed Halo is neat because it can also shut down any decks biggest threat from hitting you. Granted I would not rely on Leyline of Sanctity or Runed Halo to help you against Pod because they can just wipe your board with their combo and go aggro beats on your dome. Suppression Field slows down Tron and Pod. Stony Silence slows down Affinity, Tron, and Pod. Tectonic Edge is supposedly good against Scapeshift but Ghostquarter doesn't require an activation cost. It also has some game against Tron.
I would also find a way to add 1 more Path. As it is you are relying extremely Heavily on your hand disruption to get you there. If Tron does drop a Wurmcoil Engine, what then? You can't Thoughtseize what's already on the board. I would also add 1 more Zealous Persecution. It is really good against Affinity and Bogles. In my mana base I run 2x Ghostquarter and 1 Vault of the Archangel.
Elspeth is a value engine against a lot of decks. What your basic game plan for Tokens should be is early game disruption until about turn 3, 4, or 5 when you begin setting up your threats and game plan. Then you swing with tokens as available until the game either ends or you hit Elspeth and run her until you can wipe the board for your own win or simply use her value to sustain through with 1 or 2 pingers until the opponent dies.
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Table of Contents:
1) History
2) The Deck
- 2.1) The Core
- 2.2) Additions and Alternatives
3) Sideboard
4) Articles
5) Decklists
6) I got the Event Deck... Now what? Tips for playing the deck
- 6.1) General Play Advice
- 6.2) Muligan Advice
- 6.3) Card Rulings and Interactions
- 6.4) How to Maximize Thoughtseize Effects
7) Match Analysis
8) Splashes *NEW, READ ME*
1) History:
It burst onto the modern scene when Jyun'ichi Miyajima won a GP with it in July 2012.
During 2013, it has been somewhat championed by Melissa DeTora during some GPs and to some extent by Craig Wescoe who chose to play it at the 2013 Magic World Championship. In 2014, it was printed as the Modern Event deck, making many of the core cards easy to acquire.
2) The Deck:
The core of the deck is Token Generators (Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession), Anthems (Intangible Virtue, Honor of the Pure), Hand Disruption (Thoughtseize), Removal (Path to Exile), and a few utility or token producing Creatures. BW Tokens as a ton of flexibility, and there is no "permanent" decklist. Still, all players agree a normal deck will conform to the following layout:
2 Creatures
4 Optional Creatures
Token Generators
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Other Token Generator
3 Anthems
3 Other Anthems
Direct Removal (4 to 8)
4 Path to Exile
4 Optional Removal
4 Hand Disruption
4 Optional Disruption
23 Land
Notice there are over a dozen "optional" slots. The amount of deck variety is staggering. As such, card choices are laid out into Core and Alternative. Core cards have been in virtually every successful deck, and generally fill all 60 slots. Alternative cards can provide additional support in the main 60 based on your unique meta. The lists are divided by what role the card plays in the deck. The number of slots in the deck is variable, and based on historically successful decks.
As with all the tokens generators, it only starts getting broken when you get your anthems online.
Lingering Souls 2W Always run 4. It is usually considered to be amongst the best spells in the Modern format, some decks splash white just so they can have it.
Spectral Procession WWW Always run 4. More often than not, in this deck, it’s about the same quality as Lingering Souls. Having to have triple white mana if you want to cast it for 3cmc is kind of a bummer though.
It actually counts as 6cmc, so it single-handedly ruins the prospect of running Dark Confidant.
But when you are getting three flying 2/2s for one card, you can’t really complain.
Inquisition of Kozilek B It is to Thoughtseize what Riftbolt is to Lightning Bolt. While it's not as good, it still does a ton of work
Intangible Virtue 1W The better one if your running less non-token creatures or if you somehow produce tokens that are not white. The vigilance can often prove decisive versus other creature decks, as you can start to race them with impunity.
Zealous Persecution WB Not really a classic anthem, seeing as how it is a instant and the effect only lasts until end of turn.
However it also doubles as a actual removal or conditional sweeper vs. Snapcaster Mage, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Dark Confidant, Vendilion Clique, Pestermite, Grim Lavamancer, Affinity, Soul Sisters, to name a few. It's not an auto-include in the deck, but cast it during combat to truly tip the scales over.
Doom Blade 1B It's simple and effective. Sometimes, you just need to kill something.
Murderous Cut 4B (B With Delve) - Unrestricted kill spell that can delve to become Path to Exile cheap. Similar to Slaughter Pact (See "Alternatives"), it can really blow out an unsuspecting opponent.
Elspeth Tirel 3WW The best planeswalker for this deck. Every ability is relevant to our game-plan. Running out of life? Done. Need some creatures? Easy. Want to just say "!@#$ you" to your opponent and clear the field? Gladly. It is important to note that we are not aiming to curve into her. This deck has loads of 3cmc drops. Keep playing creatures, tokens, and removal as needed, then slam down Tirel For The Win. Unlike the other walkers, Tirel can actively recover a bad board state, so she gets the favored nod by the MTGsalvation community.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor 2WB Sorin 3.0 is widely considered the best walker option against a burn or aggro heavy meta. His +1 lasts until your next turn giving you an edge in attacking, or an extra defensive buff. Similar to Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and Elspeth, Knight-Errant, he requires a populated board to really go to work. In short, he'll allow you to maintain an edge in a game, but will not recover you from a bad board state.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant 2WW One of the best walkers in Modern, she can provide a chump blocker each turn for that goyf, give you card advantage vs. control or provide you with a faster clock. Starting on 4 loyalty and having two +1’s means she is very resilient. She has added synergy in a creature heavy deck.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad 2WB In this deck he proves to be very much like the Knight-Errant. His -2 for a permanent anthem is great with our other token generators, and the lifelink on the tokens he produces should not be underestimated. Sorin shines in a more token focused deck with more Intangible Virtue.
Creatures are an important part of the deck. Having an all token game plan can be risky, especially playing in a small meta. Cards like Ratchet Bomb and Engineered Explosives can just ruin us. Large creatures can also act as finishers that have to be answered, or risk turning the game heavily in our favor. For the core of the deck, generally run up to 3 of one the following, and any additional creatures from the "alternatives" list as needed:
Hero of Bladehold 2WW Some use her as a alternative to the Planeswalkers. She does put a ton pressure on the opponent if she is active, but not doing anything for the first turn when costing 4cmc is pretty steep.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos 1WW Run no more than 3. Hail to the King! At first glance, Brimaz is a weaker Hero, that competes with our 3cmc slot token generators. In reality, the 3cmc is a benefit (see explanation below), and he puts serious pressure on your opponent. He also decreases your reliance on Intangible Virtue, as he produces Vigilance creatures.
Arid Mesa The other fetchland that get get us plains. Not strictly needed, but it does help a bit.
Godless Shrine Always run 4. Our shock land.
Isolated Chapel We run Plains and Swamps and need white and black mana.
Fetid Heath Filter that mana! So we can drop a Auriok Champion on turn 2 from our turn 1 Swamp or turn 3 that Spectral Procession. As it only provides a colorless mana on it’s own and doesn’t synergies with Isolated Chapel, running more than two is not recommended.
Windbrisk Heights Cheat in a Planeswalker for 2cmc, or an anthem during combat. Keep in mind that activating it allows you to ignore standard timing. As long as you attacked with 3 creatures that turn, you can play what ever is under it at instant speed. It’s (un?)surprisingly good in this deck.
Gather the Townsfolk 1W Not exactly optimal but 2cmc and a token generator isn’t too bad.
Timely Reinforcements 2W Situational best describes this card. The six life can be huge against RDW and Zoo decks; three creatures isn’t anything so sneeze at, either. It has great synergy with Windbrisk Heights. It can be totally dead in top deck scenarios.
BitterBlossom 1B Recently unbanned and ready for action, BB produces constant pressure at the cost of your life total. A deck with shocks, fetch's, and thoughseizes can make BB a fast clock for both you an your opponent. As such, no pro player has yet to endorse it, but MTGsalvation community members have posted results with BB decks. Keep in mind that Honor of the Pure is a no go with this strategy. Life gain is also recommended
Sword of Fire and Ice 3Also provides relevant protections, deals extra damage to players, and lets you draw. All around solid card.
Sword of Feast and Famine 3Again, the colors of protection are relevant, and being able to untap all land going into your second main phase can set up a dominate board state quickly.
Castigate BW A more permanent thoughtseize effect with no penalties. Very powerful, but cost restrictive in both colors, and competing for the 2 drop slot with anthems.
Disfigure B 1cmc instant speed removal that works against the majority of modern staples is never a bad thing.
Engineered Explosives X It can shut down bogles, robots, and merfolk easily. Definitely an option over doom blade, depending on your meta.
Hour of Reckoning 4WWW Conditional and expensive. It can, however, totally save your bacon in an agro heavy meta.
Slaughter Pact 2B More expensive and conditional than Doom Blade, but being able to play it the turn before you pay for it allows you to tap out playing our numerous sorcery speed cards, and be ready for whatever craziness your opponent will cast on his turn.
Smother and Go for the Throat 1B Alternatives to Doom Blade with a different condition requirement.
Squadron Hawk 1W A solid way to keep creatures on the field and apply pressure. It's best played a group of 4, and with a Sword of X and X.
Auriok Champion WW Being protection from black and red means she won’t be getting removed too easily. Giving 1 life for each creature entering the battlefield means you’ll be gaining pretty much life from all your tokens.
If you have two in play she acts as a hard counter for the combos of Splinter Twin and Murderous Redcap.
Still, in some match-ups she is close to a dead card and usually the first one to be side-boarded out.
Tidehollow Sculler WB Is the subject of much debate. In a perfect world, it’s a Thoughtseize with a 2/2 body for 2cmc. Sadly the world we live in (modern) is pretty far from perfect. The biggest problem is that he always eats removal, thus returning whatever card you chose. As such, an easy conclusion to draw is that Sculler should always take the removal spell. This is not entirely true, as Sculler really shines as a tempo choice. You get an opportunity to see your opponent's hand (always good), and then choose the card they most need. They can then waste a turn killing the sculler (a psuedo time walk), or try playing without a (hopefully) key piece of their deck. This can create a 1:1 trade. We both spend a card from our hand, and we both spend a turn of our time. Since BW Tokens is a fair deck, forcing our opponen's to play fair, too, is powerful. Still, skuller always risks being situational, which is why I list him as an alternative to Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek
Vault of the Archangel Sometimes seen as a singelton. It turns your tokens into a death squad, in addition to gaining you life.
Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge Having a way to remove pesky land is great. Generally the goal is to remove land with powerful effects, like man lands, or to stop Tron/Scapeshift. Keeping your opponent off a color of mana is a secondary goal.
More to come!
We could talk about sideboard for days. Ultimately, run what works in your meta. If you don't know what that is, there are a few solid options for "unknown" metas, but the ideal option is to go to events, and learn the meta.
In general, it is best to run the Hatiest Hate Possible. You don't want to inconvenience your opponent, you want to ruin their day. Keep that in mind when making sideboard selections.
Rest in Peace 1W A ‘hard’ alternative to Relic of Progenitus, as it has a continuous effect. Does tamper with your own Lingering Souls, so don't bring it in against Snapcaster Mage. It's not worth locking out one of your best cards, too.
Grafdigger's Cage 1 The cage DOES NOT STOP LIVING END. It does, however, stop Storm and Pod (and our own Lingering Souls). It is a powerful solution to 2 very specific decks. Rest in Peace also hurts those decks, and has broader applications, so generally, the cage is not recommended.
Stony Silence 1W Artifact hate. Shuts down the most troublesome cards that Affinity has, as well as significantly slowing down Tron (and stopping Birthing Pod). Seeing as those two decks are amongst the most popular, the consensus is that anything between 1-3 of this particular card is common sense.
Burrenton Forge-Tender W Anti-hate. Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods is the bane of BW Tokens, as it can single handedly wipe our board presence. This is our 1cmc answer to it. More often than not, it occupies 3 slots in the sideboard.
Aven Mindcensor 2W Flashing this guy in can severely hamper decks that like to search their library, such Pod, Amulet of Vigor, and Scapeshift. It can slow down Tron as well. Being a 2/1 flyer means he’ll be pulling some extra weight as a damage dealer, especially with Honor of the Pure.
Runed Halo WW A very popular "unknown meta" catch all, Runed Halo can shut down anything trying to hit you. A slippery bogle, goyf, or even Deceiver Exarch.
Leyline of Sanctity 2WW Another "unknow meta" catch all. It can stop opposing thoughtseizes, lightning bolts to the face (Burn in general), Liliana of the Veil and random mill decks.
Liliana of the Veil 1BB Probably the best walker in Modern. She helps against Bogles and any kind of control matchups (including Merfolk).
Rule of Law 2W Shuts down living end and Storm. Can be substituted for Ethersworn Canonist or Eidolon of Rhetoric. Eidolon also has the benefit of being a lightning bolt proof creature for the same cost.
Celestial Flare WW Totally anti-Bogle tech.
Torpor Orb 1 Stops ETB effects, most notably souls sisters, combo elves, and amulet of vigor (namely Primeval Titan). I good choice against local metas with budget players, as those are lower tier, but cheap decks.
Suppression Field 1W Stops twin, and slows down pod. Good option if you play against both decks in your meta.
Disenchant 1W Simple and effective. It's a good way to take out artifacts and enchantments (big surprise, right?). Bring it in against Bogles, Robots, and lower tier strategies like Heartless Summoning and combo elve's Cloudstone Curio.
Sundering Growth (G/W)(G/W) Probably the "better" disenchant, as the ability is the same, but will almost always net you another token. The only draw back is the WW casting cost.
Pithing Needle 1 A great way to stop pesky planeswalkers, namely Karn Liberated.
Oblivion Ring 2W Oring needs no introduction. It's fantastic, broad hate against anything that needs to go away. It is sometimes played over Disenchant or Sundering Growth as it has further applications in other matches.
Fulminator Mage (B/R)(B/R) Another card with very clear uses. He brings the added bonus of letting us tap out on our turn to play token producing sorceries, while still having an answer to Urza Lands and Scapeshift.
4) Articles:
Here are some in depth articles about BW Tokens, taking a look at the decks strengths, weaknesses, specific matchups and so on.
I highly recommend that you read them.
Melissa DeTora on BW Tokens after getting 11th at the San Diego Grand Prix, 3/22/2013
Craig Wescoe on his 5th place run at the MTG World Championships (8/9/2013). He discusses BW Tokens part way down.
Melissa DeTora again, this time for the Detroit Grand Prix, 8/28/2013
What You Should Play in Modern and Why by Craig Wescoe - May 30, 2014
Fighting Treasure Cruises with BW Tomkens by Melissa DeTora - Dec 3, 2014 A specific BW token build for fighting through a Treasure Cruise heavy meta.
5) Decklists:
Historically successful decklists:
3 Auriok Champion
3 Deathrite Shaman
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Honor of the Pure
2 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Arid Mesa
1 Fetid Heath
2 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
5 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
3 Windbrisk Heights
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Duress
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Shrine of Loyal Legions
2 Sin Collector
3 Stony Silence
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Hero of Bladehold
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Fetid Heath
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Windbrisk Heights
3 Auriok Champion
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Duress
1 Path to Exile
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Rest in Peace
2 Rule of Law
3 Stony Silence
4 Auriok Champion
1 Sin Collector
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Honor of the Pure
2 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
3 Zealous Persecution
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Arid Mesa
2 Fetid Heath
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
5 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Windbrisk Heights
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Dismember
1 Path to Exile
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Shrine of Loyal Legions
2 Sin Collector
2 Sundering Growth
4 Auriok Champion
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Honor of the Pure
1 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Arid Mesa
2 Fetid Heath
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
5 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Windbrisk Heights
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Disenchant
2 Duress
2 Memoricide
1 Path to Exile
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Shrine of Loyal Legions
2 Stony Silence
4 Auriok Champion
3 Hero of Bladehold
3 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
3 Zealous Persecution
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
4 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Windbrisk Heights
2 Dismember
2 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Fulminator Mage
3 Mirran Crusader
1 Rule of Law
3 Stony Silence
2 Auriok Champion
2 Cloudgoat Ranger
2 Hero of Bladehold
4 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Honor of the Pure
2 Intangible Virtue
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
3 Thoughtseize
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
1 Mutavault
6 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Windbrisk Heights
2 Auriok Champion
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Dismember
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Nevermore
2 Stony Silence
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Zealous Persecution
3 Hero of Bladehold
4 Mirran Crusader
2 Doom Blade
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
4 Thoughtseize
4 Zealous Persecution
1 Fetid Heath
4 Godless Shrine
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
6 Plains
2 Windbrisk Heights
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Rest in Peace
1 Rule of Law
4 Runed Halo
4 Stony Silence
2 Hero of Bladehold
Spells
2 Slaughter Pact
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
3 Timely Reinforcements
4 Lingering Souls
Buffs
2 Honor of the Pure
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Elspeth Tirel
1 Sorin Solemn Visitor
Lands
3 Windbrisk Heights
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Vault of the Archangel
3 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Torpor Orb
2 Disenchant (blood moon)
3 Leyline of Sanctity
6) I got the Event Deck... Now what? Tips for playing the deck:
BW Tokens may never be a tier one deck. At the end of the day, it is a fair deck, that means no instant win combos, no ramping, and virtually no way to draw (besides Windbrisk Heights). That being said, the combination of hand disruption, spot removal, super efficient token producers, and the best hate/sideboard cards in the game can spell VICTORY in any meta.
If you're new to modern, and are considering the event deck, check out this article on StarCityGames. This thread is not for discussing budget concerns with the deck. It for discussing the cards and various ways to play the deck. With that in mind, let's start with a stock decklist, derived from simple modifications to the event deck:
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos (or Hero of Bladehold)
Spells
2 Doom Blade
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
4 Spectral Procession
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Lingering Souls
Buffs
3 Honor of the Pure
2 Intangible Virtue
3 Zealous Persecution
2 Elspeth Tirel (probably my first change)
Lands
3 Windbrisk Heights
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats (or Caves of Koilos)
3 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Rule of Law
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
2 Celestial Flare
2 Torpor Orb
Sometimes our hand just doesn't support that, or our opponent manages to brush off our turn 3 threat. When that happens, the deck is capable of playing in a pure control, or midrange manner. An example of pure control situation is having to muligan down to 5, leaving you a hand of 3 thoughtseize, 1 Godless Shrine, and 1 Plains. Thoughtseize, Path to Exile, and our sideboard hate is often sooo crippling it can win a game on its own. We just have to depend on controlling the board long enough to draw into a threat. An example of midrange style gameplay is when our turn 3 threat gets efficiently answered, and we don't have a second in hand (or a Lingering Souls to flashback). We now have to keep our opponents board in check for a turn or two in order to rebuild.
It should be noted that we do not have the card draw power of "draw go" control, nor the game finishing creatures of Midrange Jund (or more recently, Abzan/Junk). Play toward those strategies only when required.
Since we have powerful black control cards, and fantastic White hate, if you have previous knowledge of your opponent's deck, mulligan to a card that helps. For example, anthems and lingering souls won't help against storm. You probably want to start with a thoughtseize, or your sideboard cards (in games 2/3). Again, the deck doesn't draw. Don't expect to hit Rest in Peace off the top before Living End wipes the field.
If there is no advanced knowledge to draw on, focus on having a playable hand. First off, you need a token generator. That should be pretty obvious, as this is a token deck. That's not all though, you should also consider your turn 3 options. This deck has a handful of turn 3 possibilities: Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Spectral Procession, Lingering Souls, and Tidehallow Sculler or Raise the Alarm + Windbrisk Heights. All can be played on turn 3, and (especially in game 1) it's nearly mandatory that one of them is played. Since we're a fair deck, it's important to establish board presence early. The beauty of the deck is that we have options with what mana cost we must fulfill (2W,1WW, orWWW). If your opening hand can not reasonably support its turn 3 drop, or you don't have a turn 3 drop, Mulligan.
Windbrisk Heights - As long as you've met the clause of "3 of your creatures attacked this turn", you can pay the 1 mana, tap heights, and play the exiled card. This ignores standard timings. Don't forget to pop out an anthem during the declare attackers phase! Also, remember that the Brimaz and Hero of Bladehold tokens do not count as being "Declared as attacking", so they DO NOT count toward your windbrisk total.
Lingering Souls - It's a Sorcery.
Raise the Alarm - It (on the other hand) is an instant.
Spectral Procession - You can play it for BBBBW or BBWW in a pinch (or even colorless instead of black).
The first from Reid Duke: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/26855_Thoughtseize-You.html
And the second from Conley Woods: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11723
Finally, don't over extend. A common mistake is to flood the field with tokens (despite having enough in play to push for lethal), only to get blown out by a sweeper. Sometimes, you have to agro with everything you've got, but do not do that unless it is mandatory.
7) Match Analysis:
There is plenty of room for variation in BW Tokens. For the matchups section, I've listed the major competing decks, and all none-core cards that help against that match. Your sideboard will not fit all these cards. Generally, you need to pad your mainboard a bit with what you think you're going to fight.
In general, BW Token decks have 4 or 5 flex spots. These slots get filled with meta choices such as Auriok Champion, Mirran Crusader, and Engineered Explosives. These will be the first cards to remove when sideboarding, as they are not core to the deck. After that, I recommend removing/trying alternatives to Raise the Alarm, as it's our weakest token generator. Walkers are a good 3rd option to drop, as Elspeth's main power is against midrange decks, which have gone out of favor since the banning of Deathrite Shaman.
BW Tokens has game against everything, if you prepare properly. We are generally favored against midrange strategies. Midrange decks push for small, incremental gains, and our "3+ creatures for the price of 1 spells" hurts that plan. Most decks in Modern fall back on a midrange strategy when they run out of agro beats, or can't hit their combo. As mentioned before, longer games can lean in our favor.
+ Liliana of the Veil
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender
+ Ghost Quarter
+ Sword of Fire and Ice
+ Sword of War and Peace
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender
+ Stony Silence
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Rest In Peace (maybe. It was great against the melira win con, but doesn't stop Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder)
+ Celestial Flare
+ Engineered Explosives
+ Liliana of the Veil
+ Ghost Quarter (stops dryad arbors)
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender
+ Auriok Champion
+ Disenchant
+ Engineered Explosives
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender(if needed)
+ Ghost Quarter (for the man lands)
+ Mirran Crusader
+ Sword of Feast and Famine
+ Rest in Peace
+ Rule of Law
+ Liliana of the Veil
+ Engineered Explosives
+ Ghost Quarter
+ Stony Silence
+ Runed Halo
+ Engineered Explosives
+ Ghost Quarter
+ Leyline of Sanctity
+ Runed Halo (naming Valakut, the molten pinnacle)
+ Fulminator Mage
+ Liliana of the Veil
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender (Protection against red sweepers)
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Tectonic Edge
+ Engineered Explosives
+ Torpor Orb
+ Rule of Law or Ethersworn Canonist
+ Rest in Peace
+ Leyline of Sanctity
+ Runed Halo (name Grapeshot)
+ Stony Silence
+ Fulminator Mage
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Tectonic Edge or Ghost Quarter
+ Burrenton Forge-Tender (Protection against red sweepers)
+ Pithing Needle or Oblivion Ring against Karn.
+ Stony Silence
+ Fulminator Mage
+ Aven Mindcensor
+ Tectonic Edge or Ghost Quarter
+ Torpor Orb
+ Torpor Orb
+ Mirran Crusader
+ Rest in Peace (for this match, shutting out their goyf, scooze, and snap caster are enough to be okay with the loss of our Lingering Souls)
+ Torpor Orb
Khans of Tarkir has brought in new fetchlands, giving us potential to improve the mana base of a splash. Previously, splashes had been too taxing to the base, and didn't actually help the deck. In the past year and half, asside from new lands, we've also gotten Young Pyromancer and Voice of Resurgence. Both are strong token producing cards proven in eternal formats. Going forward, splashes do need to get some serious consideration, even if we eventually opt away from them. Additionally, (as a fun historical fact) prior to the printing of Lingering Souls, tokens was often referred to as Wx Tokens, with G and B being the primary color options.
I will be working on this "Splashes" section of the primer. If you're posting a slash deck, please conform to these guidelines.
1) We all agree that the core of the deck is Lingering Souls, Spectral Procession, Anthems, Thoughtseize effects, and Path to Exile. If your Mardu/Abzan lists don't include the core, I call that a brew, not a splash.
2) We're dipping our toes into unproven territory. If you're presenting a splash list, please don't just say, "what do ya'll think about this list" without first providing your explanation of the card choices.
3) Discussing the merits of a single splash card (Slaughter Games, Hide // Seek) is fine, assuming you post your opinion of the card first.
Jan 20, 2014
Also, what swords are best for this deck?
From what I have seen sword of war and peace is the best sword by a fair margin. I haven't tested sword of fire and ice, but it seems like the second strongest
WBB/W TokensWB
WUBAd NauseamWUB
- Commander
WG Captain Sisay's LegendsWG
Also, my last comment:
What about of run 1x of Sword of Body and Mind??
It put 2/2 token and 10 cards of opponents library on graveyard ...
looks cool put tokens by free everyturn, equip on one 1/1 fly token and hit by 3 damage, put 2/2 token and put 10 cards on graveyard ...
if token die, equip on another token 1/1 fly ...
and 2/2 wolf green tokens can be 3/3 or 4/4 with intangible virtue
and the proteccion from BLUE/GREEN its good too
here in Europe its 5.00€ (7.00$) vs 20.00€ (25.00$) that cost Sword of Feast and Femine
I THINK if BW TOKENS should run a Sword, that must beSword of Body and Mind due to the free 2/2 token everyturn ALSO we can get another alternative way to WIN the games MILLIN his decks ... hit 3 turn by 1/1 flyin are 9 damage, 3 2/2 token and 30 cards on graveyard ...
I see it 2-3 copys of an Alternative way to Win ...
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
4 Windbrisk Heights
3 Isolated Chapel
5 Plains
2 Fetid Heath
4 Godless Shrine
1 Swamp
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
3 Mirran Crusader
3 Hero of Bladehold
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Zealous Persecution
4 Path to Exile
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Doom Blade
2 Timely Reinforcements
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Rule of Law
2 Sundering Growth
1 Engineered Explosives
Decided to go with a Wescoe style list, and I loved it! Played really nicely against pretty much everything my record was 7-1-1 losing only to bogles...
Nice. What other matchups did you play against?
UWRUWR Delver/Lynx TempoUWR-------UWRUWR Midrange GeistUWR-------UWRUWR Nahiri ControlUWR-------UWRUWR SaheeliUWR
BGRJund / Jund ShadowBGR-------BGWAbzan / Abzan ShadowBGW
Commander (Leviathan/MTGO): UWGeist of Saint TraftUW
Round 1: Zoo 0-0-1
this one went to turns and I had him dead on board if we had another turn, he wouldn't scoop to me even though I should have won...al the removal in the main was awesome in the matchup, also getting an anthem out if possible makes the game a lot easier
Round 2: Affinity 1-0-1
Easy match, zealous persecution is soo good in this matchup...He won game one and games two and three I got out a turn 2 stony silence so there want a lot he could do
Round 3: Green Tron 2-0-1
Never seen this build before...he used quicksilver amulet as another way to cheat emrakul out. I beat him game 1 with discard taking his stuff, game 2 he got an emrakul out, and game 3 discard was also super helpful in controlling his hand
Round 4: BW Tokens Mirror! 3-0-1
This is a miserable matchup...it is pretty much a race to see who can get an anthem/more zealous persecutions first, it really could have gone either way but I got him game 3
Round 5: Bogles 3-1-1
never really had a chance game one, kept a good hand but not a good hand against bogles...game two I kept a hand with 3 discard spells and a spectral Procession and he dropped a turn 0 leyline of sanctity (since when do they play this?) I could not do anything...
Round 6: Living End 4-1-1
She won game 1, game 2 I got out a canonist turn 2 and eventually won, game 3 I got out Rest in peace turn 2 and eventually won
Round 7: GW Hatebears 5-1-1
Never played this matchup before...seems pretty easy to me, got it in 2
Round 8: Affinity 6-1-1
I was in 9th place going into this round, all of the top 8 drew and even though I won I didn't have the tie breakers...finished 9 out of about 140 which I am pretty happy about, not sure what I would have changed about the deck, it ran really well...I will be going to more PTQ's for sure this season since there are a few nearby
I haven't used them myself so I can't say they are bad but the idea seemed to be squashed pretty quickly last time. The proliferation of Abrubt Decay makes swords worse than they used to be. I feel like Anthems are more worth the risk though because they offer their buff without additional equipcosts and offer it across several bodies which scales much better with the amount of creatures we play. If anything I'd rather run another anthem than a sword because anthems help against red sweepers where only a few swords will protect a single token from a red sweeper.
I'm curious as to your choice to bring in Canonist here. In my experience Living End tends to play a bunch of Cycle creatures to fill their yard and dig for their Cascade spell. Was Canonist to stop the Cascade? Did Rest in Peace or Canonist help more do you think? I have a hard time with this matchup and I run Rest in Peace. It seems they always pull their answer and "combo out" anyway.
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
I'm still trying to figure the deck out. What I've noticed is that there are times where there's nothing to do and an anthem doesn't stop a red sweeper when it deals 3. When I had 5 or more anthems in my deck I would be drawing those and no gas. With the sword, I would still have no gas and it's a dead card on it's own, but the boons I get if it connects or drawing the removal away from my anthems, or having 2 bodies that are now a threat is an angle I'm trying. Far too many games where I've sat with this deck with nothing to do, but draw-go.
It is meant to stop the cascade...sometimes it is better then rule of law against living end specifically because it can come back if they manage to kill it, and it is a bear and can beat down. rule of law and the canonist are in the board to stop storm and cascade strategies (Ad Naus, and living end)...the only removal living end runs is beast within, so I think the canonist is better in that particular matchup (although Rest in Peace is fantastic as well)
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Moore summed that up well. Canonist comes down on turn 2, before the combo, and doesn't prevent you from playing spectral procession the next turn. On the other hand, it dies to Anger of the Gods, so always remember to thoughtseize first to clear the way. Also, be careful when thoughtseizing Living End decks because of the cycling. Let them dump a few cycle cards first. It's a tough match to play against. If you grind their combo to a stop, they can still play massive monsters with reach, regenerate, and other nasty abilities.
It's safe to say the Wescoe style deck has serious merit. In direct comments to your matches, I need to add the mirror to the match up section. I've played the mirror, and all my games came down to "who's got the most anthems". Bogles plays leyline to prevent Cruel Edict effects (such as Liliana of the Veil). Always mull for Engineered Explosives or similar. I find Sundering Growth to not be enough in that match, btw. I really dislike the bogle strategy. It's basically a goldfishing deck.
I agree with Krimsonviper. An anthem can be dead, and even with a token producer/creature, it may not get you to where you need to be. A sword has potential to turn the game. In testing, I've liked swords, but I've never gotten one online in an actual tournament. They're no more abrupt decay-able than Honor of the Pure. The risk in that regard is tapping out when you could be doing something else.
i still think that sword fits really nice in the deck ... 2/2 tokens by free makes me happy
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I think you need FINISHERS on this deck, 3 hero + 1 Elspeth are 4 Finishers and you will run 8 discard speels enougt for turn 1
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I do play 2x timely reinforcements main deck as additional token producers. They have worked well for me.
WBB/W TokensWB
WUBAd NauseamWUB
- Commander
WG Captain Sisay's LegendsWG
Without seeing your sideboard its hard to make suggestions but Leyline of Sanctity stops Storm, Scapeshift, Burn, the worst part mono-U Tron, and the Meliria Pod Combo (Murderous Redcap). The same with Runed Halo. Runed Halo is neat because it can also shut down any decks biggest threat from hitting you. Granted I would not rely on Leyline of Sanctity or Runed Halo to help you against Pod because they can just wipe your board with their combo and go aggro beats on your dome. Suppression Field slows down Tron and Pod. Stony Silence slows down Affinity, Tron, and Pod. Tectonic Edge is supposedly good against Scapeshift but Ghostquarter doesn't require an activation cost. It also has some game against Tron.
I would also find a way to add 1 more Path. As it is you are relying extremely Heavily on your hand disruption to get you there. If Tron does drop a Wurmcoil Engine, what then? You can't Thoughtseize what's already on the board. I would also add 1 more Zealous Persecution. It is really good against Affinity and Bogles. In my mana base I run 2x Ghostquarter and 1 Vault of the Archangel.
Elspeth is a value engine against a lot of decks. What your basic game plan for Tokens should be is early game disruption until about turn 3, 4, or 5 when you begin setting up your threats and game plan. Then you swing with tokens as available until the game either ends or you hit Elspeth and run her until you can wipe the board for your own win or simply use her value to sustain through with 1 or 2 pingers until the opponent dies.
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