Oh this was a total fun/rando deck to play. I went 4-1 tho
I did end up adding the eldest reborn to the main just for you. I didnt' add any more push tho cause our meta is slowly shifting to beat red so there is a ton of U/B midrange and control. So a lot less targets.
Just like expected, The Scarab God was the real MVP.
4-1 seems decent. IIRC, you had a run of 4-0s, then some 3-1s. My emoticon interpretation game is not strong, but it seems like you are okay with the result.
How was The Eldest Reborn for you? I really like it with The Scarab God and Champion because I can bin TSG early with Champion when I need land and then use Liliana or The Eldest Reborn to bring it back.
yea, 4-1 was surprising cause we normally dont have enough players for 5 rounds.
I got lucky with matchups too. only against 1 u/b guy, and thats my loss. I aggro'd approach somehow and rest were against red/redblack variants
eldest reborn is solid. got a teferi once and got my lyra back every other time. Scarab God is just so strong again. I love how the meta shifts like this cause i got em when they dropped to 10 lol.
I might finally sleeve up the deck for a small casual tournament on friday. Been tinkering on it for a while and expect to see a lot of white based removal.
Ixalan's Binding is just a better card than cast out atm if youre not control. You are tapping out every turn anyways. No reason to not just get more value from the binding. That miner tho! He does blank so many removal.
played GW Angels twice last weekend to a disappointing 4-5-1 record. 2-2-1 for FNM where i had subpar hands most of the night. 2-3 on Saturday where i tried making some changes (Boat, Ballista, Servant, Defense). Ballista felt awful. Servant v Branchwalker feels 50/50 Sometimes better, sometimes worse. Boat was decent but led to more clunky openers. Defense is Defense.
Pretty torn atm. Missed Khenra's ability to close games and create large life swings and Branchwalkers filtering ability to get me closer to answers i need and land drops i need to hit
Deck seems solid to me. I would try to work in another B source (for a better chance at t2 Siphoner) and a copy of The Eldest Reborn, but I like all the cards you have also. Playing against W, you probably don't need reminding to play Cast Out first before Binding, because you want to be the person who Bindings Binding rather than vice versa.
Ah yes. The Liliana-esque saga does fit well and should be very strong versus other midrange decks. I might squeeze in a copy.
I'm feeling pretty confident about the deck. The manabase has not been problematic thusfar. I could technically swap out a Sunpetal Grove for an Isolated Chapel, but i prioritize the green sources for Servant and curve into the big guys or fix for other colors.
The deck unfortunately does not play well with the fastlands.
I usually don't play Siphoner as early as turn two. The card is very strong early, but also very vulnerable to an on-curve chainwhirler
Eventually i decided to sleeve the deck up and yesterday, i gave it a first "competitive" go. I Took the following list to a 3-1 finish in a 4 rounds tournament in a casual setting, giving room to some experimentation.
Third round: BW Aggro (2-0 win on the play)
Game one, First time i cast Untamed Kavu which has been rotting in hand for most games because i had other things to do. Though in this game it did a ton of work. Bashing through heaps of Knights and tokens while growing it steadily with Rishkar and Shalai, his only removalspell was Seal Away, nuf said. Game two i think he got a little manascrewed. Bristling Hydra ftw.
Didn't Board for game two, to see how it went.
Fourth round: BW Aura's (2-1 win on the play)
It's getting late and this was a pretty tough and grindy matchup. I don't know all the details, but he tries to curve hard from Knight of Grace into Danitha Capashen, Paragon and abuse Kwende, Pride of Femeref.
He has a lot of evasion and pumpspells but i get there eventually. Game two he boards in the lifegain, and at one moment he swings with a 7/something double strike lifelinking thing. I have to sacrifice my Bristling Hydra for the life swing to be a little more manageble. But it prove to be too much to get back from. Game three I played Servant of the Conduit followed by 3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner in the next two turns, keeping mana up for Vizier of Deferment which he tries to Seal Away. I blink Servant of the Conduit. All the energy of the world and all Siphoners with a very high life total and only one attacker to worry about, nets met so much card advantage that he just can't keep up. I overrun him purely on board state.
Out: 4 Untamed Kavu
In: 2 Thrashing Brontodon and 2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
In the end, it was my first opponent who took the first place overal, and i ended up right behind him with only one point short. Felt pretty good about the deck after wat felt a pretty bad start.
Some observations in hindsight:
-There were no real control decks, so the sideboard was not as usefull as it could have been. Though i prepared for the worst.
-Untamed Kavu, While undiniably strong as a 6/6 and even 5/5 vigilance trample when cast for 5, was rotting in my hands most of the time at two mana.
-Aethergeode Miner and especially Vizier of Deferment were absolute houses against the plethora of (white based) removal. Vizier being best as it also saves a creature from Fumigate if it would happen. But when things get really broken, is when you blink Rishkar or even Servant for energy or mana.
-Thrashing Brontodon sometimes feels a little slow.
-Didn't encouter any of the red based decks, so i cannot comment on the matchup, though i know from experience Snake into Rishkar is a mighty strong opening versus Red based Aggro. Just be sure to take out those Soul-Scar Mages
-The white removal over Vraska's Contempt has played out great. The splash for one white is just easier, never really have to rely on double black, also cycling.
-MVP's: Bristling Hydra, Shalai, Voice of Plenty (Yes the activated ability is sick in the deck) and Vizier of Deferment.
Going forward, i will probably shave a Kavu or two in favor of another vizier and rishkar, or maybe get Verdurous Gearhulk back in the deck. Blinking that seems a lot of fun. I don't think i need Blossoming Defense, though a turn three two drop with push or defense as backup is still very strong.
The sideboard needs some tweeking, might add some more removal or lifegain to cope with the more aggressive strategies Aethersphere Harvester comes to mind. Right now, the board is very focussed on the control matchup which, admiddetly, seems pretty good allready.
Had my doubts at first but had a lot of fun eventually. Let me know what you think!
just keep in mind that white "removal" can be interacted with because it stays in play, making it subpar at times vs white/green because they can deal with it after the fact
All green midrange decks go here? Including Steel Leaf decks, Snake decks, Angel ramp decks, sultai scarab God decks?
Mono Green Aggro has a thread, as does RGx Monsters, but this is the catchall until we get more traffic. There's also a Jund thread and a reanimator thread in deck creation. Constrictor and Abzan definitely go here.
-Aethergeode Miner and especially Vizier of Deferment were absolute houses against the plethora of (white based) removal. Vizier being best as it also saves a creature from Fumigate if it would happen. But when things get really broken, is when you blink Rishkar or even Servant for energy or mana.
it only blinks if it attacked or blocked. How does it do anything vs a sorcery speed fumigate? (guessing it wasn't blocking since they are playing fumigate)
I mean, maybe i'm reading it wrong but that clause makes the card pretty worthless against just about everything except settle imo.
You are absolutely right. It would not do anything versus fumigate unless the target has blocked, which it probably hasn't.
Though versus anything else it functioned exactly the way i planned it.
Don't try this at home (Magic Online) or anywhere else if you want to win.
But ... As soon as I saw Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants I thought of my beloved Constrictor. Unfortunately, the compromises induced by the second W on the upper right corner of the card do not make it competitively worthwhile. However, I mostly play at FNM level, largely for fun. The pleasure of playing Ajani and dropping multiple counters on multiple creatures or bringing back a Constrictor seems palpable. Utilizing Shalai's activated ability seems fun, also.
Had some success today with a G/U deck that goes
4x Bristling Hydra
4x Vine Mare
4x give those guys flying
and a bunch of other mostly creatures some energy sources, some bit of spells.
That success however happened to be all red decks. I'm seeing other creature decks around: stompy, dinos, vampires, dragons, knights, lifegain tribal. For some reason control seems to have disappeared from the local meta.
Gideon's Intervention can't be attacked though, but the mana cost is a problem.
I did end up adding the eldest reborn to the main just for you. I didnt' add any more push tho cause our meta is slowly shifting to beat red so there is a ton of U/B midrange and control. So a lot less targets.
Just like expected, The Scarab God was the real MVP.
How was The Eldest Reborn for you? I really like it with The Scarab God and Champion because I can bin TSG early with Champion when I need land and then use Liliana or The Eldest Reborn to bring it back.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
I got lucky with matchups too. only against 1 u/b guy, and thats my loss. I aggro'd approach somehow and rest were against red/redblack variants
eldest reborn is solid. got a teferi once and got my lyra back every other time. Scarab God is just so strong again. I love how the meta shifts like this cause i got em when they dropped to 10 lol.
This is what i have for now.
3 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Aether Hub
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Scattered Groves
Creatures (27)
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Winding Constrictor
4 Untamed Kavu
4 Servant of the Conduit
2 Vizier of Deferment
2 Rishkar Peema Renegade
4 Bristling Hydra
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2 Blossoming Defense
4 Fatal Push
3 Cast Out
4 Duress
3 Aethergeode Miner
3 Thrashing Brontodon
2 Prowling Serpopard
1 Yahenni's Expertise
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Advice or comment is more than welcome.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
Did change the sideboard a little to have game against a wider field.
3 Aethergeode Miner
3 Thrashing Brontodon
2 Deathgorge Scavenger
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
2 Carnage Tyrant
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
Pretty torn atm. Missed Khenra's ability to close games and create large life swings and Branchwalkers filtering ability to get me closer to answers i need and land drops i need to hit
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
I'm feeling pretty confident about the deck. The manabase has not been problematic thusfar. I could technically swap out a Sunpetal Grove for an Isolated Chapel, but i prioritize the green sources for Servant and curve into the big guys or fix for other colors.
The deck unfortunately does not play well with the fastlands.
I usually don't play Siphoner as early as turn two. The card is very strong early, but also very vulnerable to an on-curve chainwhirler
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
3 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Aether Hub
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Scattered Groves
Creatures (27)
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Winding Constrictor
4 Untamed Kavu
4 Servant of the Conduit
2 Vizier of Deferment
2 Rishkar Peema Renegade
4 Bristling Hydra
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2 Blossoming Defense
4 Fatal Push
2 Cast Out
1 Ixalan's Binding
3 Duress
3 Aethergeode Miner
2 Thrashing Brontodon
2 Prowling Serpopard
1 The Eldest Reborn
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
2 Carnage Tyrant
First round: GW Vehicles (1-2 Loss on the draw)
Started of game one pretty bad versus Traxos, Scourge of Kroog, gained back some faith in game two when i had the removal i needed for Heart of Kiran, Karn, Scion of Urza and Traxos, Scourge of Kroog but got mana screwed pretty bad in game 3. Should probably mulliganed that (very slow) hand.
Eventually lost to a failed removal sweep. Though it must be said, it was a pretty cool and very high stack of spells. I Sac Thrashing Brontodon on Heart of Kiran, In response he animates it with Rhonas the Indomitable to give it hexproof from Shalai, Voice of Plenty, I use a revolted Fatal Push from the sac'd Brontodon on Shalai to keep the spells from resolving, in response he casts Blossoming Defense targetting Shalai. Game over after that.
At this moment i start to doubt my choice of deck or cards. But honestly, Rhonas+Heart of Kiran mixed with protection i just a pain to fight.
Out: 1 Blossoming Defense and 4 Untamed Kavu
In: 1 The Eldest Reborn, 2 Thrashing Brontodon and 2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Second round: GW Historic Construct tribal (2-0 win on the draw)
Both Pretty Quick games, I had Ixalan's Binding and Cast Out for Karn, Scion of Urza both games which, apart from Traxos, was the main wincon in the deck. Game 2 he tried to keep me from Rishkar, Peema Renegade's Mana, but blanked the removal he had with Vizier of Deferment, gaining a lot of tempo, redistributing counters and used Shalai, Voice of Plenty to pump the team several times. Aethergeode Miner was also a star in keepiong seal away's stuck in hand. Settle the Wreckage did nothing which felt really good.
Out: 4 Untamed Kavu
In: 2 Thrashing Brontodon and 2 Aethergeode Miner
Third round: BW Aggro (2-0 win on the play)
Game one, First time i cast Untamed Kavu which has been rotting in hand for most games because i had other things to do. Though in this game it did a ton of work. Bashing through heaps of Knights and tokens while growing it steadily with Rishkar and Shalai, his only removalspell was Seal Away, nuf said. Game two i think he got a little manascrewed. Bristling Hydra ftw.
Didn't Board for game two, to see how it went.
Fourth round: BW Aura's (2-1 win on the play)
It's getting late and this was a pretty tough and grindy matchup. I don't know all the details, but he tries to curve hard from Knight of Grace into Danitha Capashen, Paragon and abuse Kwende, Pride of Femeref.
He has a lot of evasion and pumpspells but i get there eventually. Game two he boards in the lifegain, and at one moment he swings with a 7/something double strike lifelinking thing. I have to sacrifice my Bristling Hydra for the life swing to be a little more manageble. But it prove to be too much to get back from. Game three I played Servant of the Conduit followed by 3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner in the next two turns, keeping mana up for Vizier of Deferment which he tries to Seal Away. I blink Servant of the Conduit. All the energy of the world and all Siphoners with a very high life total and only one attacker to worry about, nets met so much card advantage that he just can't keep up. I overrun him purely on board state.
Out: 4 Untamed Kavu
In: 2 Thrashing Brontodon and 2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
In the end, it was my first opponent who took the first place overal, and i ended up right behind him with only one point short. Felt pretty good about the deck after wat felt a pretty bad start.
Some observations in hindsight:
-There were no real control decks, so the sideboard was not as usefull as it could have been. Though i prepared for the worst.
-Untamed Kavu, While undiniably strong as a 6/6 and even 5/5 vigilance trample when cast for 5, was rotting in my hands most of the time at two mana.
-Aethergeode Miner and especially Vizier of Deferment were absolute houses against the plethora of (white based) removal. Vizier being best as it also saves a creature from Fumigate if it would happen. But when things get really broken, is when you blink Rishkar or even Servant for energy or mana.
-Thrashing Brontodon sometimes feels a little slow.
-Didn't encouter any of the red based decks, so i cannot comment on the matchup, though i know from experience Snake into Rishkar is a mighty strong opening versus Red based Aggro. Just be sure to take out those Soul-Scar Mages
-The white removal over Vraska's Contempt has played out great. The splash for one white is just easier, never really have to rely on double black, also cycling.
-MVP's: Bristling Hydra, Shalai, Voice of Plenty (Yes the activated ability is sick in the deck) and Vizier of Deferment.
Going forward, i will probably shave a Kavu or two in favor of another vizier and rishkar, or maybe get Verdurous Gearhulk back in the deck. Blinking that seems a lot of fun. I don't think i need Blossoming Defense, though a turn three two drop with push or defense as backup is still very strong.
The sideboard needs some tweeking, might add some more removal or lifegain to cope with the more aggressive strategies Aethersphere Harvester comes to mind. Right now, the board is very focussed on the control matchup which, admiddetly, seems pretty good allready.
Had my doubts at first but had a lot of fun eventually. Let me know what you think!
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
it only blinks if it attacked or blocked. How does it do anything vs a sorcery speed fumigate? (guessing it wasn't blocking since they are playing fumigate)
I mean, maybe i'm reading it wrong but that clause makes the card pretty worthless against just about everything except settle imo.
Though versus anything else it functioned exactly the way i planned it.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
Yes exactly, and abuse etb triggers.
When attacking with the dreaded hydra, people will try to 1for1 with settle. The look on their face is priceless.
Only small downside is any +1/+1 counters will fall off, but i'd rather keep my creature at base p/t than have nothing at all.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
But ... As soon as I saw Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants I thought of my beloved Constrictor. Unfortunately, the compromises induced by the second W on the upper right corner of the card do not make it competitively worthwhile. However, I mostly play at FNM level, largely for fun. The pleasure of playing Ajani and dropping multiple counters on multiple creatures or bringing back a Constrictor seems palpable. Utilizing Shalai's activated ability seems fun, also.
So, in the spirit of FNM fun, I offer Abzan Constrictor:
2 Seekers' Squire
1 Dryad Greenseeker
4 Winding Constrictor
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Jadelight Ranger
1 Militia Bugler
1 Thorn Lieutenant
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
Enchantment
1 Cast Out
1 The Eldest Reborn
1 Seal Away
Land
1 Forest
2 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Scattered Groves
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Walking Ballista
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
Instant
1 Fatal Push
1 Hour of Glory
1 Cast Down
Sorcery
1 Adventurous Impulse
Planeswalker
1 Ajani Unyielding
2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
2 Blossoming Defense
2 Heroic Intervention
1 Hour of Glory
2 Duress
1 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Realistically, Elves would probably make the deck better, like so:
4 Llanowar Elves
1 Seekers' Squire
1 Dryad Greenseeker
4 Winding Constrictor
1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Jadelight Ranger
1 Thorn Lieutenant
3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
Enchantment
1 Cast Out
1 Seal Away
Land
1 Forest
2 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Scattered Groves
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Walking Ballista
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
Instant
1 Fatal Push
1 Hour of Glory
1 Cast Down
Sorcery
1 Adventurous Impulse
Planeswalker
1 Ajani Unyielding
2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
2 Blossoming Defense
2 Heroic Intervention
1 Hour of Glory
2 Duress
1 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Feedback please!
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
4x Bristling Hydra
4x Vine Mare
4x give those guys flying
and a bunch of other mostly creatures some energy sources, some bit of spells.
That success however happened to be all red decks. I'm seeing other creature decks around: stompy, dinos, vampires, dragons, knights, lifegain tribal. For some reason control seems to have disappeared from the local meta.