That's a possibility. Plummet just feels very narrow though. I wish stupid Atzocan Archer was a 1/5 so he survived Glorybringer then I'd play him in a heartbeat. Ditto for Obelisk Spider. Spider is definitely worth considering for the sideboard, I think. If only he didn't cost 3CMC... so overloaded at that spot already. Still, he puts the brakes on any aggressive start from our opponents pretty hard, and both survives and is castable off of Yahenni's Expertise.
I think the actual answer is also the most obvious one: just play more Vraska's Contempt. I'm going to try moving the 2 I have in the sideboard to the main, replacing Razaketh and a Jadelight Ranger (mainly because I was borrowing it and had to give it back).
Not sure if Golden Guardian is worth it but (once flipped) it can provide extra mana to activate Atzal besides making golems.
I seriously doubt it. That's just so... durdley. I still think the deck is at its best when you just curve out with solid creatures. I'll take Tendershoot Dryad over Golden Guardian all day.
I've tried this build for some games and wasn't pleased with the manabase (the non-budget version).
I consistently had openers with Sunpetal Grove and Evolving Wilds being unable to cast Hidden Stockpile on turn 2.
Might also give Tendershoot Dryad a try but I'd hesitate spending 5-mana on an easily killable (especially bad against Magma Spray that exiles it) creature without immediate value.
Might also give Tendershoot Dryad a try but I'd hesitate spending 5-mana on an easily killable (especially bad against Magma Spray that exiles it) creature without immediate value.
I tried a more-or-less straight Abzan version featuring Renegade Rallier and Hidden Stockpile. Ultimately, I found the power increase to be fairly minimal (we're already winning most longer games anyways we don't need more grind) and the awkward mana made it more likely to get Zerg-rushed if you have a bad draw. If it works for you, however, please let us know.
Also, I cannot recommend Tendershoot Dryad enough. It does everything we want to be doing for just 5 mana. I'm definitely on board for 3 copies. Slamming back-to-back Dryads against an opponent who failed to deal with the first one is just soul-crushing. You can see the sadness creep into their eyes. I don't care about whatever they were doing before that; 2 5/5s every upkeep is enough to salvage and take control of almost any board state.
As for Brontodon vs. Jadelight, I was running a 3-3 split, but I'm straight G/B. If you're Abzan you might not be able to handle that much GG on T3. I can't say I prefer one over the other, I just know I want both basically all the time. Brontodon's ability turned out to be way more relevant than I initially thought. I tried a version without them and I just hated it, not having outs to all the O-ring effects. On the other hand, Jadelight is always good, but it's never great. And that's what you need some times.
Might also give Tendershoot Dryad a try but I'd hesitate spending 5-mana on an easily killable (especially bad against Magma Spray that exiles it) creature without immediate value.
I tried a more-or-less straight Abzan version featuring Renegade Rallier and Hidden Stockpile. Ultimately, I found the power increase to be fairly minimal (we're already winning most longer games anyways we don't need more grind) and the awkward mana made it more likely to get Zerg-rushed if you have a bad draw. If it works for you, however, please let us know.
Also, I cannot recommend Tendershoot Dryad enough. It does everything we want to be doing for just 5 mana. I'm definitely on board for 3 copies. Slamming back-to-back Dryads against an opponent who failed to deal with the first one is just soul-crushing. You can see the sadness creep into their eyes. I don't care about whatever they were doing before that; 2 5/5s every upkeep is enough to salvage and take control of almost any board state.
As for Brontodon vs. Jadelight, I was running a 3-3 split, but I'm straight G/B. If you're Abzan you might not be able to handle that much GG on T3. I can't say I prefer one over the other, I just know I want both basically all the time. Brontodon's ability turned out to be way more relevant than I initially thought. I tried a version without them and I just hated it, not having outs to all the O-ring effects. On the other hand, Jadelight is always good, but it's never great. And that's what you need some times.
You mind posting your list? Curious what you dropped for the third Tendershoot. I definitely agree though, Tendershoot is a board changer.
Moving 2x Vraska's Contempt to the mainboard, replacing 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded and 1x Jadelight Ranger. Razaketh was more of a pet card I wanted to try out because it is physically impossible for me to not try at least 1 terrible card in my brews. He was bad. The reason I replaced the Jadelight, on the other hand, is because I was borrowing it from a friend and he needed it back for his new deck. Ideally, I'd still be running x3, cutting a Fatal Push I think.
Adding 2x Shapers' Sanctuary to the sideboard, replacing the Contempts that moved to the main. I've been wanting to try this card out for awhile now and I think it is currently well positioned. It gives 1-for-1 control decks absolute fits, and it's also not too shabby against something like R/G Monsters because of all the cheap removal they play, not to mention the Glorybringer triggers.
So to answer your actual question: I don't own a third Tendershoot Dryad so I'm not currently playing one. That said, I am actively looking to trade for them (both because of the Dominaria leaks and because the card is actually quite good in EDH) and if I actually owned another, I would play it in a heartbeat, almost certainly replacing a Journey to Eternity. Despite being the namesake of the deck, it is honestly one of the weaker cards. It can sometimes be difficult to flip, can lead to some awful blow-outs if your not careful, and even if you are careful, many decks are now running multiple Field of Ruin which just blank it. Not to mention being legendary means drawing multiples leaves you with dead cards in hand.
Overall I'm fairly happy with my core of cards and am really just looking to make a couple tweaks here and there at this point. My biggest issues are:
I think my sideboard is over-committed to control. Against something like U/B control, I currently bring in 8 cards. I have no real excuse for this other than I really hate The Scarab God. Before I started main decking the Contempts, it got to the point I would just scoop game one against a resolved Scarab God. The card is disgusting.
I'm worried about R/x decks with 4x Rekindling Phoenix and 4x Glorybringer. As evidenced by the last page or so of posts, I'm trying to come up with a solid answer for 4 power fliers and am still failing to do so. Vraska's Contempt helps but it's expensive (as in mana-cost) and I've only got the two of them (as in they're like $15 each or something). *sigh* If only Obelisk Spider was a 1/5. =(
And, since I'm already doing this entire write up, here are my thoughts about how the deck might look going forward with the release of Return to Dominaria. Spoilers, obviously, so don't look if they're trying to avoid the leak.
I think the most obvious change is the reprinted of Llanowar Elves. The card is great, and allows us to load up on GG 3-drops like Thrashing Brontodon and Jadelight Ranger and makes those cards significantly better. Even just putting a Journey to Eternity on a T1 Elf can potentially be good enough.
Other potential cards I'm going to be looking into once the set drops:
Dark Bargain - Maybe as a 2-of for midranger or control match-ups. Instant speed plays well with Vraska's Contempt and gives us a good way to restock both our hand and our graveyard for a reanimation target.
Knight of Malice - Doubtful its good enough but something to consider. Easier to cast than Gifted Aetherborn and almost as good in combat. If White decks become strong, could be a contender.
Broken Bond - Will probably replace Appetite for the Unnatural in my sideboard. Nothing exciting but I think the potential to ramp ahead makes it one of the better Naturalize variants we've seen in awhile. Especially with how much Exploring we tend to do.
Woodland Cemetery - Obviously improved mana is going to be good. Having all 10 Checklands as well as the 5 dual-type Cycling lands might allow for some crazy brews if you want to get super greedy, but the first place I'd start is to see if the Abzan version of the deck feels less clunky with better mana.
Not going to lie, I feel like an idiot right now. How could I forget about Aethersphere Harvester? I even remembered Skysovereign, Consul Flagship but rejected it because Crew 3 is unreliable in my current build.
Went 2-1 here with two of the games being very close and the other game I was mana screwed at 4 until I died.
Comments here:
1. The deck struggles a bit when they go wide with things such as call to the feast and buffing all of those tokens with Radiant Destiny. This is a bit specific but it was a chore to get ahead of that wide of the board. Glad I put Yahenni's Expertise in and have since added the Bontu's Last Reckoning.
2. Obviously fatal push is amazing here so keep the 4 of.
The second game I went against was a B/U/G energy list using Bristling Hydra, Hadana's Climb and key removal. I went 0-2 here. Couldn't get past the damn hydras because I couldn't target them and they kept removing all of my Gifted Aetherborns. Literally just got trounced repeatedly. Yet another reason to add Bontu's Last Reckoning.
Comments here:
1. Hydras kill all. Run Bontu's Last Reckoning (unless we get another pure sweeper in color). It will save your life.
The third game I played was against U/B control. This deck destroyed U/B control. I went 2-1 here, only losing the first game because my opponent had 4 Essence Scatter and 2 Torrential Gearhulk in the first 6-7 turns. It literally had me tilted as hell. Couldn't get on board and when my opponent hit his second Gearhulk I just scooped.
Post Board this deck destroyed without my opponent hitting the nut draw and adding in 2x Lost legacy, (I played both targeting The Scarab God and Essence Scatter) 3x Prowling Serpopard, and 2x Vraska's Contempt. My opponent had no response to my ability to drop creatures and once I hit both of my Dryads it was a route.
Comments Here:
1. You shouldn't worry about control, at least with my setup. I know we're gonna lose Serpopard after rotation but until then it makes this game a breeze.
2. Maybe finding room for 2 Blossoming Defense might be an ideal? Im not really sure its worth it.
Overall, this deck was a blast. I would say Tendershoot Dryad is a MUST in this deck. Yes it is expensive and easily removed but with all of our recursion it is completely worth it especially after you hit ascend. Getting a 3/3 every upkeep is nasty especially against control and it stemmed the tide against go wide strategies. I realized that 4x Journey to Eternity was too many so I moved 1x Vraska's Contempt from the side to the main and I'll be figuring what else to add to the board later. Other than the one mana screw I never had problems keeping good mana flow or curving. I might also go down 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan as cutting 1 from the main was always the move when boarding. Not sure what I'll go with instead.
Went 2-1 here with two of the games being very close and the other game I was mana screwed at 4 until I died.
Comments here:
1. The deck struggles a bit when they go wide with things such as call to the feast and buffing all of those tokens with Radiant Destiny. This is a bit specific but it was a chore to get ahead of that wide of the board. Glad I put Yahenni's Expertise in and have since added the Bontu's Last Reckoning.
2. Obviously fatal push is amazing here so keep the 4 of.
The second game I went against was a B/U/G energy list using Bristling Hydra, Hadana's Climb and key removal. I went 0-2 here. Couldn't get past the damn hydras because I couldn't target them and they kept removing all of my Gifted Aetherborns. Literally just got trounced repeatedly. Yet another reason to add Bontu's Last Reckoning.
Comments here:
1. Hydras kill all. Run Bontu's Last Reckoning (unless we get another pure sweeper in color). It will save your life.
The third game I played was against U/B control. This deck destroyed U/B control. I went 2-1 here, only losing the first game because my opponent had 4 Essence Scatter and 2 Torrential Gearhulk in the first 6-7 turns. It literally had me tilted as hell. Couldn't get on board and when my opponent hit his second Gearhulk I just scooped.
Post Board this deck destroyed without my opponent hitting the nut draw and adding in 2x Lost legacy, (I played both targeting The Scarab God and Essence Scatter) 3x Prowling Serpopard, and 2x Vraska's Contempt. My opponent had no response to my ability to drop creatures and once I hit both of my Dryads it was a route.
Comments Here:
1. You shouldn't worry about control, at least with my setup. I know we're gonna lose Serpopard after rotation but until then it makes this game a breeze.
2. Maybe finding room for 2 Blossoming Defense might be an ideal? Im not really sure its worth it.
Overall, this deck was a blast. I would say Tendershoot Dryad is a MUST in this deck. Yes it is expensive and easily removed but with all of our recursion it is completely worth it especially after you hit ascend. Getting a 3/3 every upkeep is nasty especially against control and it stemmed the tide against go wide strategies. I realized that 4x Journey to Eternity was too many so I moved 1x Vraska's Contempt from the side to the main and I'll be figuring what else to add to the board later. Other than the one mana screw I never had problems keeping good mana flow or curving. I might also go down 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan as cutting 1 from the main was always the move when boarding. Not sure what I'll go with instead.
Any questions feel free to ask.
Just curious, any reason for no Jadelight? Otherwise list looks great. I think I'm going to drop a Journey for another Tendershoot and find a spot for Vraska main.
Poly is partially for fun and partially against aggro.
I can stay up enough to get to turn 6 against aggro and once you start popping out 5/5s at the rapid rate that game is over.
Honestly, I should probably drop it down to a one of as that is all I ever sideboard in. The sideboard is still in a bit of a flux at the moment. I'm not sure what all to include.
I think I made these games harder than they needed to be thanks to some poor mulliganing decisions. I missed early land drops all 3 games while my opponent had Thunderherd Migration on turn 2 each game. I was lucky enough to catch my opponent overextending with my sideboarded Bontu's Last Reckoning and that was enough to pull out game 3.
Round 2 -- Esper Tokens?? -- W 2-0
My opponent was playing some sort of brew which tried to kill with Marionette Master. It also had Hidden Stockpile and Anointed Procession so I'm not entirely sure what the deck was trying to do. Game 1 my opponent's first play was tap out on turn 4 for an Anointed Procession despite the fact that I had a Thrashing Brontodon in play. I offered to let them take it back but he said it didn't matter because he didn't have anything else to do and I was attacking him down to like 2 life. Game 2 he had a Fumigate to stop the early aggression followed by a Marionette Master with Procession in play. Sideboarded Yahenni's Expertise casting a Brontodon for free put a quick stop to that and I followed it up with a Tendershoot Dryad to seal the game. My opponent even remarked how troublesome Dryad was because he was holding Settle the Wreckage but it didn't actually do anything to stop the Dryad.
Round 3 -- B/R Pirates -- W 2-1
Not really much to say here. It's an aggro deck. If you don't die to the initial rush you're probably fine. I ended game 3 at around 45 life thanks to recurring Verdant Sun's Avatar over and over again. Opponent didn't have a way to stop a flipped Journey so they were fairly easy games once that happened.
Overall I'm pretty happy with my current list. I don't think I'm going to make any changes until Dominaria comes out. Really looking forward to that Llanowar Elves reprint.
How're you finding the white splash? Is it worth it for a Vona/Ajani? Any colour issues during games?
Vona has been pretty meh. Originally I put her in to serve as a beefy roadblock against aggro decks but my local meta has moved away from the hyper-aggressive decks since then. I do like that she gives me an out to any non-land permanent but I certainly wouldn't fault anyone for taking her out. She's definitely expendable.
Ajani, on the other hand, has been pretty great every time I've brought him in. Multiple times I've had an opponent tap out to play The Scarab God and I follow it up with an Ajani and it's brutal. He also comes in against other midrange match-ups where he can eat a Rekindling Phoenix or a big derpy dinosaur. Even if I removed Vona I'd definitely leave the lands just to be able to bring in Ajani from the sideboard.
There has been at least once where I had an opening hand with Plains+Swamp and then a bunch of GG cards which was kind of awkward, but for the most part it has been entirely irrelevant. Once Dominaria brings the other 5 checklands I'm interested in trying a straight Abzan build because I think the mana base will be able to support it. For right now though I wouldn't do more than a light splash.
Sticks around but easily removed at only 2 loyalty if you -2 him on entry..... How prevalent is red in your meta?
As I said earlier, my meta is currently moving away from hyper-aggressive decks. I haven't seen mono-red in a few weeks. The only aggro deck I see regularly right now is that W/U Auras deck. Yes, Ajani isn't great against aggressive decks or go-wide strategies. That's why he's in the sideboard despite how much I've sung his praises. The games you want him, though, you really want him. Like, you said he's easily removed but that either means your opponent has 2-for-1'd themselves to Shock/Contempt him after he's eaten a creature, or your opponent has enough creatures on board that removing one still allows them to get through in which case you were already is a pretty terrible spot.
Every time I've played Ajani I've been extremely happy with the results. I'm more than willing to sacrifice a little mana stability to support the ability to run him in my sideboard. I completely understand if that's not something you're interested in, but you won't be able to convince me otherwise. I'm gonna keep Ajani regardless of what you say.
No need to get defensive and testy. You play magic however you want. Im just trying to understand why you think its a good idea.... Jesus.....
Sorry if I sounded defensive, it was not my intention. I was merely trying to stop you from wasting your time; you could give me a dozen well-reasoned and logically sound arguments as to why Ajani isn't worth it and I'd simply ignore you. I'll never betray my fluffy husbando.
No, we need a better answer to decks with a bunch of Rekindling Phoenixs and Glorybringers. Maybe Plummet really is the way to go. Maybe Heaven // Earth.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-78-18-tix-golden-journey-standard
Not sure if Golden Guardian is worth it but (once flipped) it can provide extra mana to activate Atzal besides making golems.
I consistently had openers with Sunpetal Grove and Evolving Wilds being unable to cast Hidden Stockpile on turn 2.
The deck could probably use Concealed Courtyard over Field of Ruin and a couple of basics.
I'm testing out: 2x Regal Caracal + 2x Arborback Stomper in the Golden Guardian slots for some immediate value.
Other options might be: Angel of Invention, Angel of Sanctions and Vona, Butcher of Magan.
Might also give Tendershoot Dryad a try but I'd hesitate spending 5-mana on an easily killable (especially bad against Magma Spray that exiles it) creature without immediate value.
I also prefer Thrashing Brontodon to Jadelight Ranger in the 3-mana slot for Journey flipping purposes and being a better blocker.
I've found Benefaction of Rhonas to be pretty good in this build (as a 2x-of) finding both creatures and enchantments (especailly Ixalan's Binding).
Also, I cannot recommend Tendershoot Dryad enough. It does everything we want to be doing for just 5 mana. I'm definitely on board for 3 copies. Slamming back-to-back Dryads against an opponent who failed to deal with the first one is just soul-crushing. You can see the sadness creep into their eyes. I don't care about whatever they were doing before that; 2 5/5s every upkeep is enough to salvage and take control of almost any board state.
As for Brontodon vs. Jadelight, I was running a 3-3 split, but I'm straight G/B. If you're Abzan you might not be able to handle that much GG on T3. I can't say I prefer one over the other, I just know I want both basically all the time. Brontodon's ability turned out to be way more relevant than I initially thought. I tried a version without them and I just hated it, not having outs to all the O-ring effects. On the other hand, Jadelight is always good, but it's never great. And that's what you need some times.
You mind posting your list? Curious what you dropped for the third Tendershoot. I definitely agree though, Tendershoot is a board changer.
1x Arch of Orazca
2x Field of Ruin
2x Sunpetal Grove
2x Foul Orchard
4x Blooming Marsh
1x Plains
7x Forest
6x Swamp
Creatures: 24
4x Merfolk Branchwalker
3x Gifted Aetherborn
2x Jadelight Ranger
3x Thrashing Brontodon
4x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3x Ravenous Chupacabra
2x Tendershoot Dryad
1x Vona, Butcher of Magan
1x Noxious Gearhulk
1x Verdant Sun's Avatar
3x Fatal Push
2x Vraska's Contempt
Enchantments: 4
4x Journey to Eternity
Planeswaklers: 2
1x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
2x Shapers' Sanctuary
1x Arguel's Blood Fast
1x Heroic Intervention
2x Appetite for the Unnatural
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Lost Legacy
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
3x Yahenni's Expertise
1x Carnage Tyrant
1x Ajani Unyielding
Overall I'm fairly happy with my core of cards and am really just looking to make a couple tweaks here and there at this point. My biggest issues are:
And, since I'm already doing this entire write up, here are my thoughts about how the deck might look going forward with the release of Return to Dominaria. Spoilers, obviously, so don't look if they're trying to avoid the leak.
Other potential cards I'm going to be looking into once the set drops:
Here's what I'm running.
1x Carnage Tyrant
3x Gifted Aetherborn
4x Merfolk Branchwalker
1x Noxious Gearhulk
4x Ravenous Chupacabra
1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
3x Seekers' Squire
2x Tendershoot Dryad
3x Thrashing Brontodon
4x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Instants (5)
4x Fatal Push
1x Vraska's Contempt
1x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
Enchantments (3)
3x Journey to Eternity
Land (24)
4x Blooming Marsh
2x Field of Ruin
6x Forest
2x Foul Orchard
10x Swamp
Creatures (5)
2x Polyraptor
3x Prowling Serpopard
Sorceries (4)
2x Lost Legacy
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
1x Yahenni's Expertise
3x Plummet
2x Vraska's Contempt
Went for 4 rounds and I got the 1st round buy.
First actual game I played against a B/W Vamps deck running Legion Lieutenant, Adanto Vanguard, and Paladin of Atonement.
Went 2-1 here with two of the games being very close and the other game I was mana screwed at 4 until I died.
Comments here:
1. The deck struggles a bit when they go wide with things such as call to the feast and buffing all of those tokens with Radiant Destiny. This is a bit specific but it was a chore to get ahead of that wide of the board. Glad I put Yahenni's Expertise in and have since added the Bontu's Last Reckoning.
2. Obviously fatal push is amazing here so keep the 4 of.
The second game I went against was a B/U/G energy list using Bristling Hydra, Hadana's Climb and key removal. I went 0-2 here. Couldn't get past the damn hydras because I couldn't target them and they kept removing all of my Gifted Aetherborns. Literally just got trounced repeatedly. Yet another reason to add Bontu's Last Reckoning.
Comments here:
1. Hydras kill all. Run Bontu's Last Reckoning (unless we get another pure sweeper in color). It will save your life.
The third game I played was against U/B control. This deck destroyed U/B control. I went 2-1 here, only losing the first game because my opponent had 4 Essence Scatter and 2 Torrential Gearhulk in the first 6-7 turns. It literally had me tilted as hell. Couldn't get on board and when my opponent hit his second Gearhulk I just scooped.
Post Board this deck destroyed without my opponent hitting the nut draw and adding in 2x Lost legacy, (I played both targeting The Scarab God and Essence Scatter) 3x Prowling Serpopard, and 2x Vraska's Contempt. My opponent had no response to my ability to drop creatures and once I hit both of my Dryads it was a route.
Comments Here:
1. You shouldn't worry about control, at least with my setup. I know we're gonna lose Serpopard after rotation but until then it makes this game a breeze.
2. Maybe finding room for 2 Blossoming Defense might be an ideal? Im not really sure its worth it.
Overall, this deck was a blast. I would say Tendershoot Dryad is a MUST in this deck. Yes it is expensive and easily removed but with all of our recursion it is completely worth it especially after you hit ascend. Getting a 3/3 every upkeep is nasty especially against control and it stemmed the tide against go wide strategies. I realized that 4x Journey to Eternity was too many so I moved 1x Vraska's Contempt from the side to the main and I'll be figuring what else to add to the board later. Other than the one mana screw I never had problems keeping good mana flow or curving. I might also go down 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan as cutting 1 from the main was always the move when boarding. Not sure what I'll go with instead.
Any questions feel free to ask.
Just curious, any reason for no Jadelight? Otherwise list looks great. I think I'm going to drop a Journey for another Tendershoot and find a spot for Vraska main.
I can stay up enough to get to turn 6 against aggro and once you start popping out 5/5s at the rapid rate that game is over.
Honestly, I should probably drop it down to a one of as that is all I ever sideboard in. The sideboard is still in a bit of a flux at the moment. I'm not sure what all to include.
1x Arch of Orazca
2x Field of Ruin
2x Sunpetal Grove
2x Foul Orchard
4x Blooming Marsh
1x Plains
7x Forest
6x Swamp
Creatures: 25
4x Merfolk Branchwalker
3x Gifted Aetherborn
3x Jadelight Ranger
3x Thrashing Brontodon
4x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3x Ravenous Chupacabra
2x Tendershoot Dryad
1x Vona, Butcher of Magan
1x Noxious Gearhulk
1x Verdant Sun's Avatar
2x Fatal Push
2x Vraska's Contempt
Enchantments: 4
4x Journey to Eternity
Planeswaklers: 2
1x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
2x Shapers' Sanctuary
1x Arguel's Blood Fast
1x Heroic Intervention
2x Appetite for the Unnatural
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Lost Legacy
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
3x Yahenni's Expertise
1x Carnage Tyrant
1x Ajani Unyielding
Round 1 -- G/R Dinosaurs -- W 2-1
I think I made these games harder than they needed to be thanks to some poor mulliganing decisions. I missed early land drops all 3 games while my opponent had Thunderherd Migration on turn 2 each game. I was lucky enough to catch my opponent overextending with my sideboarded Bontu's Last Reckoning and that was enough to pull out game 3.
Round 2 -- Esper Tokens?? -- W 2-0
My opponent was playing some sort of brew which tried to kill with Marionette Master. It also had Hidden Stockpile and Anointed Procession so I'm not entirely sure what the deck was trying to do. Game 1 my opponent's first play was tap out on turn 4 for an Anointed Procession despite the fact that I had a Thrashing Brontodon in play. I offered to let them take it back but he said it didn't matter because he didn't have anything else to do and I was attacking him down to like 2 life. Game 2 he had a Fumigate to stop the early aggression followed by a Marionette Master with Procession in play. Sideboarded Yahenni's Expertise casting a Brontodon for free put a quick stop to that and I followed it up with a Tendershoot Dryad to seal the game. My opponent even remarked how troublesome Dryad was because he was holding Settle the Wreckage but it didn't actually do anything to stop the Dryad.
Round 3 -- B/R Pirates -- W 2-1
Not really much to say here. It's an aggro deck. If you don't die to the initial rush you're probably fine. I ended game 3 at around 45 life thanks to recurring Verdant Sun's Avatar over and over again. Opponent didn't have a way to stop a flipped Journey so they were fairly easy games once that happened.
Overall I'm pretty happy with my current list. I don't think I'm going to make any changes until Dominaria comes out. Really looking forward to that Llanowar Elves reprint.
Ajani, on the other hand, has been pretty great every time I've brought him in. Multiple times I've had an opponent tap out to play The Scarab God and I follow it up with an Ajani and it's brutal. He also comes in against other midrange match-ups where he can eat a Rekindling Phoenix or a big derpy dinosaur. Even if I removed Vona I'd definitely leave the lands just to be able to bring in Ajani from the sideboard.
There has been at least once where I had an opening hand with Plains+Swamp and then a bunch of GG cards which was kind of awkward, but for the most part it has been entirely irrelevant. Once Dominaria brings the other 5 checklands I'm interested in trying a straight Abzan build because I think the mana base will be able to support it. For right now though I wouldn't do more than a light splash.
Every time I've played Ajani I've been extremely happy with the results. I'm more than willing to sacrifice a little mana stability to support the ability to run him in my sideboard. I completely understand if that's not something you're interested in, but you won't be able to convince me otherwise. I'm gonna keep Ajani regardless of what you say.