Been taking a more aggressive slant to Big Zoo with BBE recently.
If you read old CoCo lists, you'll notice that this is a typical trend for me as a player -- it's a bias but one that I think is founded. A slow and plodding Zoo deck is simply not that great.
Rabblemaster is a great way to fight through spot removal. So much removal being played at Sorcery speed means that nobody can afford to play around Ghor-Clan.
Ramunap Ruins is a great way to provide reach in MUs where you can't push a Knight through in a single turn (yknow, the ones where you both need to be able to attack with Knight and activate it all in the same turn? yeah, i get those too). When you think about Jund, Grixis, and the race to the bottom, sometimes shock for 5 mana is enough. Playing a basic mountain is awful. But I can settle for a mountain with an activated ability.
Lantern is correct. Molten Rain is bananas right now. I'll even bring in 1-2 against Jund as it's a great way to pick off manlands and Lilianas in a single turn.
edit: Guess it wasn't Lantern? I'd have to review thread history to see the proposal.
Between Spreading Seas, Search for Azcanta, and boggles, I've upped my Destructive Revelry count.
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Alpine Moon/Damping Sphere/Blood Moon, all of these help the dreaded Tron Matchup. Which one to pick is totally up to how you decide to tackle the Titanshift and storm matchup. I personally see no reason to ever go back to blood moon in our deck because I don't feel the need to board in a bad topdeck to get free wins against random decks, so that leaves Alpine Moon and Damping Shpere for me. I personally see a lot more storm than I do titanshift so I play Sphere, and because it also hits other random combo decks like KCI. Now, if infect continues to see a rise then it may be correct to also play alpine moon to shut off inkmoth nexus, but for now I've settled on punting the titanshift matchup and only really having a fast clock + dromoka's command + random Gaddock Teeg interaction against the deck.
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I also don't think Fleecemane is the right call. If you're gonna spend 5 mana then just spend the 5 mana and play Sigarda or some other fattie. I do think that this allows us to use some spicy sideboard cards that may not have been on the radar before, and I personally love Mastery of the Unseen against them. They usually don't have an answer to enchantments post board, and the card just punishes their Teferi "tucks".
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I went 4-0 on Wednesday and 3-1 last night for 7-1 this week. The matchups were Jund, Bant Knightfall, Jund, GR Titanshift, Jund, Affinity, Jeskai Control (lost), and Grixis Control. Against Titanshift I won in the most epic of fashions, he turn 3'd a BBE into summoner's pact for another BBE, I untapped and molten rained his stomping ground to take him off of 4 mana so he died to his pact trigger
On a side note, I just finished foiling out the full 75!
I ran the same GP list.
2
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Stomping Ground
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Temple Garden
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
2 Lightning Helix
1 Dromoka's Command
1 Archangel Avacyn
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Gaddock Teeg
3 Molten Rain
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Dromoka's Command
1 Stony Silence
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Grafdigger's Cage
Round 1: Humans (2-1)
I lose the first game pretty lopsidedly. Against unknown I usually try and have removal spell + 1-2 drops, but here I kept a slower hand without removal, and by the time I got some it was too late.
In: +1 Avacyn, 2 Kozilek's Return, 2 Dromoka's Command
Out: - 3 Smiters, 2 Tarmogoyf
I won games 2 and 3 off the back of removal + creatures. Just like I drew it up!
Round 2: RG Eldrazi (2-0)
Game 1: I bolt his noble turn 1 and that messes his clock up way bad.
In: +1 Avacyn, 2 Dromoka's Command
Out: -2 Lightning Helix, -1 Bolt
Game 2: Read game 1. Pretty easy win, but he kept super greedy hands.
Round 3: Lantern Control: (2-0)
Game 1 I just kill him before he's able to dig and find whir or bridge.
In: +2 Teeg, +2 Thalia, +1 Stony, +1 Grudge
Out: -3 Path, -1 DC, -2 Smiters
Game 2 I have a hand with Grudge, Thalia, and a fast clock. He turn 1 inquisitions me and takes Thalia. I draw Teeg on turn 2 and play it which stops the Whir I see him draw later on. He gets a bridge out but I have the grudge for it, with flashback the next turn after he Academy Ruins it back. I have the GQ to stop that shenanigans and win.
Round 4: BR Hollow One (2-1)
I go first and it's not very close. I path and dromoka's command his big guys while his smaller guys can't even block. Travesty.
In: +2 Dromoka's Command, +1 Ancient Grudge
Out: -2 Lightning Helix, -1 Lightning Bolt
Game 2 I mull to 5 with no lands. I draw my first land after 2 discard steps and lose. I almost turned the corner though!
Game 3 is a close repeat of game 1. I play my things and he spends his first two turns trying to draw and discard stuff to play some beaters, but path is too much tempo for him. I draw a bolt with him at 8 and then have a smiter finish off his last blocker and attack for lethal.
Round 5 Humans(2-0)
Game 1 is back and forth, but I'm able to stop him when I'm at 6 life.
In: +1 Avacyn, 2 Kozilek's Return, 2 Dromoka's Command
Out: - 3 Smiters, 2 Tarmogoyf
Game 2 wasn't as close as game 1. I kept a noble hierarch + 4 removal spell hand that go there. Twas great.
Round 6: Jund (2-0)
Both games were the same. He tried to discard some of my cards while I boat raced him with a proper curve. I never dipped below 13 life in either game. He lands a Liliana which I ignore on a swing back and he ticks up after playing 2 Dark Confidants and sees me put a loxodon Smiter into play for free
In: +1 Avacyn, +2 Dromoka's Command
Out: -2 Lighning Helix, -1 Lightning Bolt
Round 7: Jund (2-0)
He plays Raging Ravine into Dark Confidant into inquisition of kozilek. I played Noble into Voice/Nacatl. When I reveal for his IoK I reveal 2 bloodbraid elfs and a loxodon smiter
In: +1 Avacyn, +2 Dromoka's Command
Out: -2 Lighning Helix, -1 Lightning Bolt
Game 2 I remove every threat he plays while landing goyf into knight. He pulses Knight but then I play knight + Voice into the third Knight I drew + Kessig Wolf Run. It wasn't even close. When your jund opponent plays turn 1 treetop village or raging ravine I feel so great.
Round 8: Humans (2-0)
Game 1: We go back and forth a bit but then I draw scooze who helps me recover in time to finish him off.
In: +1 Avacyn, 2 Kozilek's Return, 2 Dromoka's Command
Out: - 3 Smiters, 2 Tarmogoyf
Game 2: This game was much more drawn out and interesting. We go back and forth a while and he ends up with a board filled with champions, meddling mages, freebooter, and 2 Xathrid Necromancer. His Freebooter took a Helix and attacks for 2 in the air. I'm at 8 life and it's looking pretty grim. I draw Avacyn off the top and knew I just won the game. Next turn he attacks in with Freebooter and I kill it with the Avacyn. He plays another booter to take the helix back while making 2 2/2 zombies. He ends up having to make a desperation attack all out and gets me to 1 life, but then my Avacyn flips and kills all the zombies he just received.
Round 9: UW Control (1-2)
Game 1: I make a seemingly small mistake that cost me the game. He won the die roll and knew what the other 8 undefeated's were on. After he turn 1 serum visioned I looked around and knew he was the UW control player. I play a shock land tapped instead of a fetchland up to bolt him eot because I had a slower hand. I end up attacking him down to 1 before he stabilizes with Jace/Gideon and kills me.
In: +1 Avacyn, +2 Thalia, +2 Teeg, +2 Dromoka's
Out: -3 Path, - 2 Helix, -2 Scooze
Game 2: He gets an Elspeth the turn before I land a teeg making his hand of Jace/Cryptic useless. I get the Kessig up to kill his Elspeth after he chumps with a token. Then later he goes for the lethal attack with tokens + Collonade but I get the ghost quarter to stop lethal and make a lethal attack back.
Game 3: Repeat of game 1. I had some iffy draws this match, and both his wins came with him at 1 life. Bad beats.
Round 10: 4c Saheeli Good stuff. (0-2)
He was on the play and is placying Jace, Saheeli, Voice, and other good stuff cards. I don't draw the 4th land to play 2 spells a turn and he keeps jace bouncing my blockers to waste my turn. He fateseals fetches to the bottom lol and kills me.
In: +2 Teeg, + Avacyn, +2 Dromoka's
Out: -2 Helix, -3 Goyf,
Game 2: I have Nacatl + removal, but don't draw any gas while he has Jace take over the game. This match was not on the radar at all for me, and feel like had I played it before I could have made better decisions.
Round 11: Ponza (2-1)
Game 1: I get game 1 pretty easy as I bolt his arbor elf and tempo'd him out the game.
In: +2 Dromoka's, +2 Teeg,
Out: -2 Goyf, -2 Helix
Games 2 and 3 he wins with turn 2 blood moon into Chandra's into Pia and Kiran's. They were close at some points, but I couldn't close out the game before his oozes took over. He double anger of the gods in game 2 to seal the deal. This one stinks because in my testing Ponza is a great matchup. His Blood Moons were too timely though.
Round 12: Infect (2-0)
Games 1 and 2 I just have fast creatures and removal spells. He lands some infect creatures but never anything that could get past my blockers. I'm pretty sure infect is just a bad bogles deck in the current metagame.
In: +2 Dromoka's, +2 Teeg (do they even play become immense anymore?)
Out: -3 Smiters, -1 Scavenging Ooze
Round 13: Burn (2-0)
Game 1: We both get fast beats out, but I get 2 bloodbraid elves and ship the cascade triggers to the bottom to get around his eidolon's. A well timed Helix is good too.
In: +2 Dromoka's, +2 Thalia
Out: -3 Smiter, -1 Path
Game 2: He tries to searing blaze my Wild Nacatl but I dromoka's command preventing the damage and fighting his 2/2/ goblin guide. That was pretty much GG.
Round 14: Grixis Death Shadow: (2-1)
Game 1: I had the path every time. BBE is great in this matchup!
In: +2 Thalia, +2 Dromoka's
Out: -1 Scooze, -1 Bolt, -2 Helix
Game 2 I drew about 5 lands in a row after he's at 4 life
Game 3: We go back and forth and Thalia does some real work with him on 2 lands. He gets to a point where he has 2x Push and 2x Snapcasters though but I topdeck the BBE and path his blocker to swing in for lethal.
Round 15: Affinity (1-2)
Game 1 he has 5 permanents in play on a mull to 6, followed by turn 2 etched champion.
In: +2 Kozilek's Return, +2 Dromoka's, +Grudge, +Stony Silence
Out: -3 Smiters, -3 some other stuff I don't remember.
Game 2 I have 4 removal spells in hand. GG.
Game 3 I kept a hand with some 2 drops, helix, and Kozilek's return. I have a Nacatl in hand and he empties his hand again. I need to topdeck the third land on turn 4 to live after he has etched champion with 2x plating on it. I don't topdeck it and lose. Happens.
Was super stoked for the tournament. The deck drew like gas on day 1 which was pretty great. You definitely have to mulligan aggressively with the deck though, especially if you're not playing against a grindy deck.
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Burn. Round 14 was Grixis Death Shadow.
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I'm sorry
List: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/established-modern/aggro-tempo/565682-zoo-video-primer?comment=8777
I wen't 8-0 into 11-4.
Wins:
3x Humans
2x Jund
BR Hollow One
Lantern Control
RG Eldrazi
Infect
Burn
Grixis Shadow
Losses:
Affinity
UW Control (10th place guy)
Ponza (He won SCG Dallas last week)
4c Saheeli/Jace/ValueTown.dec
1
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Stomping Ground
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Temple Garden
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
2 Lightning Helix
1 Dromoka's Command
1 Archangel Avacyn
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Gaddock Teeg
3 Molten Rain
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Dromoka's Command
1 Stony Silence
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Grafdigger's Cage
Small changes I'd make to the board would probably -1 molten rain +1 Gaddock Teeg. Again, I'll try and get the report later on this week when I'm better and finals are done.
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My favorite have been Goyf/Scooze/Voice in the main, and Teeg out of the board is great. I've played with Big Thalia before and was always underwhelmed for some reason.
Here are some links to a couple of sweet builds recently:
TCG Mining Modern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZuXVQs-ZRo&t=25s
Jeff Hoogland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GWWuIQKPI
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