Like wildfire said...boil and sowing salts are the best alternative to Fulminator mage. Boil is very narrow in what it does, but I've played games where it destroys 5+ lands because no one ever expects that card (they definitely will game 3!). I actually really like outpost siege. I've been meaning to test it out, but I just don't want to cut anything in my current list for it. I actively dislike chandra because she's basically just an outpost siege that's easier to destroy
I added fulminator mage to the sideboard, so that when they bring in their enchantment hate for blood moon, I still have some land disruption. I usually bring blood moon out game 2 unless I'm playing something like Junk, which has a weak manabase to bloodmoon even when they're prepared for it (still hits Gavony Township and manlands). The Chalice/Dragon's Claw package is great against burn. The Guttural responses are awesome against twin and control. It lands your fatties under counter magic and counters late game cryptic commands for 1 mana, which feels awesome. The other cards are pretty self explanatory. I recommend some amount of magma jets for securing land drops or throwing lands that you don't need to the bottom of the deck. Hand selection and deck manipulation is extremely powerful in a midrange deck, which is what we are. I dislike the Eidolon of the Great Revel lists I've seen on this forum recently. Especially the ones trying to SSG them into play turn 1. That's 2 cards for 1 creature that MAY deal tops like 4 dmg (unless your meta is all storm and ascendancy) before it's removed. It also hurts yourself and dies to your own pyroclasms. Just stick with the good cards and don't waste your time trying to play the burn deck (which is where eidolon belongs). I may cut one Stormbreath Dragon for another Thundermaw Hellkite. I killed 2 pestermites and 1 vendilion clique off the thundermaw alone. Although I have used stormbreath dragon's monsterous ability on many occasions and it's fantastic. I closed out 3 games with a skred targeting my reckoner for 7+ dmg once they tapped out on their turn or the end of mine. Also, Genju of the Spires is awesome in this deck. After clearing the board with a pyroclasm, this guy (or gal) hits for 6 dmg alone. If they kill your mountain, oh well, put it on another mountain and wait until the coast is clear again. Awesome card mid to late game, especially when it comes to top decking time and both players are out of gas.
Just wanted to share my experience with RUG Delver at Modern State Championships this weekend. I ended up at 7th place and really felt like the deck performed really well. Here was the list that I ran:
I went 4-0 and then decided to draw 2 games in row into the top 8. I would have been guaranteed a top 8 spot anyway, but I wanted to go out and get lunch. Haha. I think I could have went 6-0 if I would have played it out. Sadly I lost first round in the top 8 to infect. Here's a breakdown of the matchups.
Match 1: (2-1)
UR Splinter Twin
The first game I never saw a Delver of Secrets or a Tarmogoyf, thus I never put much pressure on the field. After 15 or so turns the Twin player combed off. It was simply badluck on my part. I won games 2 and 3 after getting a turn 1 Delver of Secrets on the field and simply countered my way to victory.
Match 2: (2-0)
Bloom Titan/Hive Mind
He had a pretty god hand, however he wasn't able to go off fast enough. I mana leaked his turn 2 Summer Bloom. Since I was on the play I was able to Cryptic Command his dual land back to his hand. Then 2 turns later I snapped Cryptic Command. He never really caught back up after that and my 2 tarmogoyfs finished him off. Game 2 I got a Blood Moon down and it was game over at that point. Done and done.
This matchup is incredibly hard for a lot of decks at the moment. I barely managed to win games 1 and 3. Just make sure to clear their board on your turn, so that they either feel obligated to waste Giant Growth type spells or their creature dies. If they get a Wild Defiance on the field, then you're likely going to lose to their Inkmoth Nexus. That's how I lost in the top 8. I can't stress enough how devastating Spellskite is against this deck.
Top 8, Match 7: (0-2)
UG Infect (Same Deck)
I went 4-1 with this deck at a local modern tournament. There were about 30 people there and I got third place.
Matchups:
2-0: R/G Tron
2-0: Elemental Combo
2-1: Combo elves
2-1: Red Deck Wins
0-2: Affinity
Suggestions and Comments:
I loved the feel of this deck. I never felt like I didn't have a relevant answer to any threat. The hardest matchup by far was Affinity. Game 1 I didn't draw enough removal, only 1 lightning bolt. Game 2 I had to mulligan down to 4 and keep 1 land hand. Didn't draw Stony Silence and got beat down quickly. The Red Deck Wins matchups have always been a bit rough for me in the past with all the fetchlands and shocklands, so I sideboarded Timely Reinforcements. I can't overstate how much this card won me the game. It simply beats Red Deck Wins, assuming that they don't Skullcrack in response. The other matchups were not that hard for the deck.
One addition that I made to this deck that a lot of other deck lists on this forum don't have was Wilt-Leaf Liege. I got it on the field in 3 games and in conjunction with all your other threats, it wins the games quickly. Kessig Wolf Run also allowed me to plow through the combo elf deck that was planning to chump block me all day. The trample, regardless of whether it's X=1 or X=5, is very relevent on a creature such as Tarmogoyf or Knight of the Reliquary.
I'm skeptical of a lot of card prices at the moment due to it being PTQ season and due to the fact that Star City Games has a knack for stocking up on specific cards and then jacking up prices to to "low supply". A definite contender for a price boom in my mind would be Lotus Cobra. It is a very solid card that is down right amazing in the right deck and it's also a mythic, which means if its demand ever does go up it's price will surely rocket.
I have somewhat moved away from the idea of running a defender mana based deck. With arbor elf on the field with all the land enchantments, the mana base is more than enough by turn 3 or 4 at the highest. I really like the idea of cloudthresher in this deck. I really like that card, especially against a delver deck. I have also been debating between eternal witness and noxious revival. They both serve similar purposes, except for the fact that noxious revival is instant speed and can potentially only cost me 2 life to play. If on turn 3, the opponent stops me from playing one of my spells, then I can hopefully cast a noxious revival at the end of their turn and have the chance to cast the card again on my next turn. Also, as March Hare mentioned earlier, noxious revival can target cards in your opponent's graveyard. You can bounce a land from their graveyard to the top of their deck, which secures their next draw. I will switch eternal witness into the deck at some point to test it out though.
I really like summoner's trap. It not only can potentially cost 0 mana to cast, but it is also an instant, which makes it great to cast on the opponents turn. However, I would prefer summoner's pact over summoner's trap any day because I can search my entire library for any green creature, rather than hope that I get a creature in the top 7 cards of my library. Especially in this deck which doesn't run very many creatures I don't like to base a card on luck.
Thanks for the replies. I actually saw your decklist (Turbo Plow) just after I posted mine. My ideal play would be:
T1: Forest, Arbor Elf
T2: Forest, Tap Forest, Utopia Spawl on Untapped forest, Tap Enchanted Forest and Untap/Tap it again with Arbor Elf, Overgrowth the same forest
T3: At this point I have 9 mana available even without playing another forest, so I can:
a) Play terastodon
b) Play woodfall primus
c) Play plow under
d) Play primal command in which case i would bounce a land of theirs and search for either a) or b) to be played the following turn
e) Play summoner's pact and do a) or b)
T4: Play harmonize or garruk, primal hunter to refill my hand
I like the idea of putting Eldrazi into my deck and it wouldn't be hard because I already have a Kozilek and Emrakul in my possession, but I can't fetch them out with summoner's pact, which is just such a powerful card. I'll have to play this deck some more and see if I change my mind. I've also thought about putting in acidic slime, but I like woodfall primus and terastodon more because they pack a punch along with their land removal. Acidic slime just hits for 2 a turn. They might have a blocker big enough to kill it by that point.
I want to change the noxious revival count to 4, but I don't know what to take out for it. Half the time when I play the deck I don't even want to pull either of the walls because I have so much mana with arbor elf already. They do however save me from the beast tokens I produce with terastodon.
This is a modern deck that I have been putting together. Using Plow Under on your opponent by turn 3 pretty much ruins their early to mid game and it may cause them to quit Magic the Gathering all together. Seriously causes some rage, however, it is very susceptible to counter spells like many other decks. Plow Under is an insane tempo card, especially if you recur that plow under with Noxious Revival . Once you do that you can use Primal Command to bounce another land to their deck and search for a fatty. Or you can use a Summoner's Pact to find the fatty directly. Both Terastodon and Woodfall Primus will keep their lands from hitting the table. Overgrowth and Utopia sprawl make Arbor Elf a serious mana producer (I hate when people say he's no different than Llanowar Elves !. Wall of Roots also provides mana (even on the turn you play him), so the deck doesn't need many lands. Garruk, Primal Hunter can draw a bunch of cards off of Terastodon and Woodfall Primus . Proceed to smash face. Deck suggestions would be nice.
Thanks for your reply. I changed the cards around a bit. I'm always surprised when people post card suggestions and I've never even seen the card before. Ghost quarter would be a great addition to the deck. I also love raging ravines.
I've been thinking about building a R/G Life from the Loam + Seismic Assault deck. Here is what I was thinking of using. Any suggestions would be nice.
I need some help with my deck. I'm not adding goyfs because lets be honest, they are overpriced (unless they become cheaper when Modern Masters is released). I may add snapcaster mages, scalding tarn, misty rainforest in the future. Any suggestions would be helpful. It is based around getting aether vial down (magic number would be 4cmc) and constantly controlling the enemy while still drawing extra cards. This is what I have so far:
I need some help with my deck. I'm not adding goyfs because lets be honest, they are overpriced (unless they become cheaper when Modern Masters is released). I may add snapcaster mages in the future. Any suggestions would be helpful. It is based around getting aether vial down and constantly controlling the enemy while still drawing extra cards. This is what I have so far:
2-0 Junk
2-0 Burn
2-1 Tasigur Twin
2-1 Howling Mine
Here's the list I ran:
Sideboard:
I added fulminator mage to the sideboard, so that when they bring in their enchantment hate for blood moon, I still have some land disruption. I usually bring blood moon out game 2 unless I'm playing something like Junk, which has a weak manabase to bloodmoon even when they're prepared for it (still hits Gavony Township and manlands). The Chalice/Dragon's Claw package is great against burn. The Guttural responses are awesome against twin and control. It lands your fatties under counter magic and counters late game cryptic commands for 1 mana, which feels awesome. The other cards are pretty self explanatory. I recommend some amount of magma jets for securing land drops or throwing lands that you don't need to the bottom of the deck. Hand selection and deck manipulation is extremely powerful in a midrange deck, which is what we are. I dislike the Eidolon of the Great Revel lists I've seen on this forum recently. Especially the ones trying to SSG them into play turn 1. That's 2 cards for 1 creature that MAY deal tops like 4 dmg (unless your meta is all storm and ascendancy) before it's removed. It also hurts yourself and dies to your own pyroclasms. Just stick with the good cards and don't waste your time trying to play the burn deck (which is where eidolon belongs). I may cut one Stormbreath Dragon for another Thundermaw Hellkite. I killed 2 pestermites and 1 vendilion clique off the thundermaw alone. Although I have used stormbreath dragon's monsterous ability on many occasions and it's fantastic. I closed out 3 games with a skred targeting my reckoner for 7+ dmg once they tapped out on their turn or the end of mine. Also, Genju of the Spires is awesome in this deck. After clearing the board with a pyroclasm, this guy (or gal) hits for 6 dmg alone. If they kill your mountain, oh well, put it on another mountain and wait until the coast is clear again. Awesome card mid to late game, especially when it comes to top decking time and both players are out of gas.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
Artifacts (2)
2 Vedalken Shackles
Instants (16)
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Electrolyze
2 Cryptic Command
2 Remand
1 Twisted Image
4 Serum Visions
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Gitaxian Probe
Lands (21)
3 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
6 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
2 Blood Moon
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Spellskite
2 Flame Slash
2 Damping Matrix
2 Combust
1 Counterflux
2 Mizzium Skin
I went 4-0 and then decided to draw 2 games in row into the top 8. I would have been guaranteed a top 8 spot anyway, but I wanted to go out and get lunch. Haha. I think I could have went 6-0 if I would have played it out. Sadly I lost first round in the top 8 to infect. Here's a breakdown of the matchups.
Match 1: (2-1)
UR Splinter Twin
The first game I never saw a Delver of Secrets or a Tarmogoyf, thus I never put much pressure on the field. After 15 or so turns the Twin player combed off. It was simply badluck on my part. I won games 2 and 3 after getting a turn 1 Delver of Secrets on the field and simply countered my way to victory.
Match 2: (2-0)
Bloom Titan/Hive Mind
He had a pretty god hand, however he wasn't able to go off fast enough. I mana leaked his turn 2 Summer Bloom. Since I was on the play I was able to Cryptic Command his dual land back to his hand. Then 2 turns later I snapped Cryptic Command. He never really caught back up after that and my 2 tarmogoyfs finished him off. Game 2 I got a Blood Moon down and it was game over at that point. Done and done.
Match 3: (2-0)
Naya Zoo
This matchup wasn't even close. I simply bolted and countered everything he did. Only think that stuck around was a Loxodon Smiter, which was promptly Pillar of Flamed and then Snapcaster Mage, then Pillar of Flamed again.
Match 4: (2-1)
UG Infect
This matchup is incredibly hard for a lot of decks at the moment. I barely managed to win games 1 and 3. Just make sure to clear their board on your turn, so that they either feel obligated to waste Giant Growth type spells or their creature dies. If they get a Wild Defiance on the field, then you're likely going to lose to their Inkmoth Nexus. That's how I lost in the top 8. I can't stress enough how devastating Spellskite is against this deck.
Top 8, Match 7: (0-2)
UG Infect (Same Deck)
This time around I simply didn't draw the removal that I needed and his Blighted Agent killed me game 1 and Inkmoth Nexus killed me game 2 with a Wild Defiance on the field. Twisted Image killed a Noble Hierarch on turn 1 both games, which is incredibly powerful. Inkmoth Nexus is simply too powerful in this matchup, especially with Apostle's Blessing to back it up. Looking back on this hard matchup, I'm considering adding 2 Vapor Snags to the sideboard, seeing as it's a soft answer to removing any Inkmoth Nexus or pumped Blighted Agent/Glistener Elf
1 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Marsh Flats
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Stirring Wildwood
2 Stomping Ground
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Temple Garden
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Loxodon Smiter
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl
1 Wilt-Leaf Liege
Spells
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Krosan Grip
3 Stony Silence
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Torpor Orb
2 Volcanic Fallout
I went 4-1 with this deck at a local modern tournament. There were about 30 people there and I got third place.
Matchups:
2-0: R/G Tron
2-0: Elemental Combo
2-1: Combo elves
2-1: Red Deck Wins
0-2: Affinity
Suggestions and Comments:
I loved the feel of this deck. I never felt like I didn't have a relevant answer to any threat. The hardest matchup by far was Affinity. Game 1 I didn't draw enough removal, only 1 lightning bolt. Game 2 I had to mulligan down to 4 and keep 1 land hand. Didn't draw Stony Silence and got beat down quickly. The Red Deck Wins matchups have always been a bit rough for me in the past with all the fetchlands and shocklands, so I sideboarded Timely Reinforcements. I can't overstate how much this card won me the game. It simply beats Red Deck Wins, assuming that they don't Skullcrack in response. The other matchups were not that hard for the deck.
One addition that I made to this deck that a lot of other deck lists on this forum don't have was Wilt-Leaf Liege. I got it on the field in 3 games and in conjunction with all your other threats, it wins the games quickly. Kessig Wolf Run also allowed me to plow through the combo elf deck that was planning to chump block me all day. The trample, regardless of whether it's X=1 or X=5, is very relevent on a creature such as Tarmogoyf or Knight of the Reliquary.
MVPs:
Wilt-Leaf Liege
Wild Nacatl
Knight of the Reliquary + Kessig Wolf Run
I really like summoner's trap. It not only can potentially cost 0 mana to cast, but it is also an instant, which makes it great to cast on the opponents turn. However, I would prefer summoner's pact over summoner's trap any day because I can search my entire library for any green creature, rather than hope that I get a creature in the top 7 cards of my library. Especially in this deck which doesn't run very many creatures I don't like to base a card on luck.
T1: Forest, Arbor Elf
T2: Forest, Tap Forest, Utopia Spawl on Untapped forest, Tap Enchanted Forest and Untap/Tap it again with Arbor Elf, Overgrowth the same forest
T3: At this point I have 9 mana available even without playing another forest, so I can:
a) Play terastodon
b) Play woodfall primus
c) Play plow under
d) Play primal command in which case i would bounce a land of theirs and search for either a) or b) to be played the following turn
e) Play summoner's pact and do a) or b)
T4: Play harmonize or garruk, primal hunter to refill my hand
I like the idea of putting Eldrazi into my deck and it wouldn't be hard because I already have a Kozilek and Emrakul in my possession, but I can't fetch them out with summoner's pact, which is just such a powerful card. I'll have to play this deck some more and see if I change my mind. I've also thought about putting in acidic slime, but I like woodfall primus and terastodon more because they pack a punch along with their land removal. Acidic slime just hits for 2 a turn. They might have a blocker big enough to kill it by that point.
I want to change the noxious revival count to 4, but I don't know what to take out for it. Half the time when I play the deck I don't even want to pull either of the walls because I have so much mana with arbor elf already. They do however save me from the beast tokens I produce with terastodon.
2 Terastodon
2 Woodfall Primus
2 Acidic Slime
4 Wall of Roots
4 Arbor Elf
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Plow Under
2 Harmonize
2 Primal Command
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Garruk, Primal Hunter
19 Forest
I took out
2 Noxious Revival
4 Eternal Witness
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Seismic Assault
4 Noxious Revival
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Thunderous Wrath
2 Realms Uncharted
4 Faithless Looting
4 Life from the Loam
2 Harrow
6 Mountain
2 Raging Ravine
4 Ghost Quarter
6 Forest
4 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
3 Mystic Snake
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Eternal Witness
3 Hinterland Harbor
2 Sulfur Falls
3 Forest
6 Island
2 Steam Vents
2 Mountain
3 Flooded Grove
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Cryptic Command
3 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Vapor Snag
2 Izzet Charm
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
3 Mystic Snake
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Eternal Witness
3 Hinterland Harbor
2 Sulfur Falls
3 Forest
6 Island
2 Steam Vents
2 Mountain
3 Flooded Grove
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Cryptic Command
3 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Vapor Snag
2 Izzet Charm