Why not the 4th scooze? Dont knock it till you've tried it. People theorize and assume its bad, but when you get down to it its a card that is impactful in nearly every matchup.
I dont advocate whip, if you dont have any creatures out its a horrible t4 play against burn. I'd rather play it in a deck with restoration angel where you can gain huge advantage from it. I'd rather just play Obstinate Baloth and know that im going to gain 4 life when I pay 4 mana, rather than watching them untap and kill me more often than not.
My build runs eighteen creatures main-deck and I would probably bring in more for Burn. I've got Whips on hand so I think I'll give it a try along with an extra Baloth. Baloth buys a turn, but Whip could just put it out of reach immediately.
I haven't seen a match-up that makes me want another Scooze; he's too slow to help against Burn and that's about all I'm worried about right now.
I've already got two Drown in Sorrow on board and, yes, it is a very fine side-board card - often a blow-out. However, one Honor of the Pure and you're back to screwed. GB does have answers to HoP too and Obliterator is still a thing so I don't suppose the Crusader is that big a problem.
Profane Command looks like a good card. I'm wondering why it's not played more - I've never seen it anywhere. I guess it's just fairly mana-intensive.
wrench mind is a better SB card against burn than nighthawk. It takes 2 cards instead of 1. If you want to have creatures with lifelink run whip of Erebos and gain life from Scooze, Goyf, and Obliterator. Also, running more Baloths is a very good option.
Leyline of sanctity is the right option for the Souls version, and since souls is very good against janky aggro decks you might want to try it out.
I like deathmark better than lifebane zombie. You don't get a 3/1 intimidate, but GW has no card advantage, so we want to use removal and win via card advantage. It cost 2 less and lifebane doesn't do much if they have no cards in hand.
Yeah, take your own advice and play a singleton bow maindeck.
Cut witness or 4th oblit.
Actually, i'd cut both and go upto 4 scooze.
MD bow is really good with kitchen finks.
I feel like lifebane is too slow against the things we would want it against, except for midrange BGx mirror matches.
It might be really good against pod, being able to swing through stalled board states.
That all makes sense, except maybe four main-deck Scooze; not sure I'm on board there.
Whip hadn't occurred to me even though I won a casual Standard game with it just yesterday. Whip can be stupid-good in a grindy match.
The thing I liked about Lifebane is the ability to get Mirran Crusader out of someone's hand but it is probably too slow to work. I know someone will figure out how good that guy is against BG eventually.
Once I tire of the big fella, I might try out Souls or even Junk but I really like Obliterock right now.
So, a main-deck Bow, a Whip in the board, another Baloth in the board, and possibly a trip to the store for Wrench.
I'm not sure there's much of a plan but to have fun.
And no, I will not call 'em Jeskai; Jeskai is just a mixed-up American.
If you have suggestions that won't trash the theme - such as it is - or eliminate the possibility of the Daxos-Ride Down combo, I'd be please to hear them.
Recently, I switched from Jund to Obliterock to compete against the janky aggro decks that sometimes gave Jund problems. Rock has been fun to play and it's crushed everything I've played against except Burn. I lost 2-1 last night to a mediocre Burn deck - not a good Burn deck such as I fancy my Dega Burn to be but a janky RW Burn deck with a playset of Clifftop Retreat.
In fairness, the mana-base was about all that was really wrong with his deck; it lacked some of the popular tech such as Eidolon of the Great Revel, but otherwise it was a reasonable Burn deck with Lightning Helix.
The first game, he got stuck on one land and I stole that one. The second game was pretty close; I would have won next turn. The last game was not really close.
So the obvious question is; what to do about Burn. Scooze is actually too slow and there are too few creatures in the match-up anyway. Finks obviously help and the Witness could be swapped for another Fink but that's still only three cards that can help in time.
Another Baloth in the side-board is a thought; I'll probably swap Thrun for it when I'm playing at this particular store and swap it back when I play at the other place I frequent. A single Bow of Nylea is in order; I may even put it in the main-deck.
About the only other thing I can think of that might help is Batman. It seems to me that a Burn player would probably have to at least waste a card on him. Is adding two or three of this guy to my 75 an awful idea? I'd probably drop the Thoughtseize and the Putrefy first. I also need to get some Storm hate as well but that will take some more thought.
One other, random question; what do you guys think of Lifebane Zombie as a side-board card?
Yeah, based on what everyone is saying it seems mono red will work just fine, but splashing white and black will really make the deck shine. The KTK fetchlands are currently selling for ~$15 a pop. Do you think I should buy now or will they go down even further later on?
Most of the finance people seem to think that they will drop down to around $10. I expect them to as well, similar to the way shocklands were when they were reprinted.
Buy them before the next Modern season. I personally think they will probably go up a bit as people start using them in Standard. Bloodstained Mire already can't stay on the shelves. Once people figure out the new control shells Flooded Strand and Polluted Delta will probably get very popular. Wooded Foothills will be popular in Standard and Modern. Windswept Heath will probably remain the cheapest of the bunch.
Of course, all of this is pure speculation and there's no good reason to take my word for it.
@vegantoad: I haven't played Rebuff the Wicked, but I could see where it can be good against certain decks. I really like 1 mana instants, and also like the idea of countering Cryptic when they try to counter/bounce (usually targeting Choke).
Rebuff the Wicked - I'd give it a hearty "meh" on paper. To me, it is similar to running Mana Tithe - a nice trick that will work once but never has the impact you want it to have.
Isn't Faith's Shield just better than Rebuff the Wicked? Stave Off, while having the disadvantage of affecting only creatures, has the advantage of doubling as twin-hate - you know that would just be a hoot!
I had initially discounted Ajani's Pridemate due to the lack of life-gainers. I had forgotten Soldier of the Pantheon also gained life; I'd considered him simply due the the multi-colored-ness of Khans.
Some life-gain is indicated, due to the mana-base pain. The alternative is to durndle with comes-into-play tapped lands and that doesn't sound like something soldiers want to do, does it?
I still have a WU heroic deck assembled - less the about-to-rotate Ravnica stuff. I'll probably stick with mostly heroic soldiers at least for now. After I get a box or two of Khans opened, maybe some outlast shenanigans will get a try. I have to say there's some soldier goodness in M15 as well that needs consideration.
But for now, the yard isn't going to mow itself, so the list will have to wait a bit longer.
It's too close to my bed time to do an entire list right now - but watch this space - so I'll just provide the combination that made me decide this had to be done:
There are a metric crap-load of soldiers to chose from in the new standard, including that darling little Kithkin, Preeminent Captain who will have, well, a preeminent role in this deck.
Do the Khan-slaught fetches have anyone dreaming of multi-colored Knight decks? GW should get a little smoother and a bunch cheaper. WU will certainly be worth considering. Three colors doesn't seem impossible with all ten fetches available.
The little knight with the funny name, Knight of the Holy Nimbus, is the best knight two-drop available in Modern for the Burn match-up. Few Burn decks pack enough mana to reliably hit three on turn three, so Nimbus greatly slows their tempo.
I like Knight of the Holy Nimbus too, it's unique ability is useful against burn and it has an interesting name and nice art. I don't really fancy drawing him in the middle to late game though, so maybe this is the reason why I haven't tried him yet.
I suppose protection from a color may well be better late game than Numbus's auto-regeneration, but only if it's the right color. First strike versus flanking? First strike makes a better defender I suppose, but Flanking probably is better for an attacker.
My build runs eighteen creatures main-deck and I would probably bring in more for Burn. I've got Whips on hand so I think I'll give it a try along with an extra Baloth. Baloth buys a turn, but Whip could just put it out of reach immediately.
I haven't seen a match-up that makes me want another Scooze; he's too slow to help against Burn and that's about all I'm worried about right now.
I've already got two Drown in Sorrow on board and, yes, it is a very fine side-board card - often a blow-out. However, one Honor of the Pure and you're back to screwed. GB does have answers to HoP too and Obliterator is still a thing so I don't suppose the Crusader is that big a problem.
Profane Command looks like a good card. I'm wondering why it's not played more - I've never seen it anywhere. I guess it's just fairly mana-intensive.
That all makes sense, except maybe four main-deck Scooze; not sure I'm on board there.
Whip hadn't occurred to me even though I won a casual Standard game with it just yesterday. Whip can be stupid-good in a grindy match.
The thing I liked about Lifebane is the ability to get Mirran Crusader out of someone's hand but it is probably too slow to work. I know someone will figure out how good that guy is against BG eventually.
Once I tire of the big fella, I might try out Souls or even Junk but I really like Obliterock right now.
So, a main-deck Bow, a Whip in the board, another Baloth in the board, and possibly a trip to the store for Wrench.
Thanks for the help fellows!
4 Herald of Anafenza
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Ainok Bond-Kin
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Abzan Falconer
3 Daxos of Meletis
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Fabled Hero
1 High Sentinels of Arashin
Lands
4 Battlefield Forge
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island
2 Mystic Monastery
8 Plains
3 Shivan Reef
2 Tranquil Cove
1 Ajani's Presence
2 Deflecting Palm
3 Feat of Resistance
2 Ride Down
1 Spear of Heliod
2 Ajani Steadfast
Side-board
1 Ajani's Presence
1 Feat of Resistance
1 Deflecting Palm
2 Reprisal
2 Ride Down
3 Banishing Light
3 Devouring Light
2 End Hostilities
I'm not sure there's much of a plan but to have fun.
And no, I will not call 'em Jeskai; Jeskai is just a mixed-up American.
If you have suggestions that won't trash the theme - such as it is - or eliminate the possibility of the Daxos-Ride Down combo, I'd be please to hear them.
In fairness, the mana-base was about all that was really wrong with his deck; it lacked some of the popular tech such as Eidolon of the Great Revel, but otherwise it was a reasonable Burn deck with Lightning Helix.
The first game, he got stuck on one land and I stole that one. The second game was pretty close; I would have won next turn. The last game was not really close.
4 Dark Confidant
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Eternal Witness
2 Kitchen Finks
4 Phyrexian Obliterator
Lands
2 Forest
2 Marsh Flats
3 Overgrown Tomb
3 Swamp
4 Treetop Village
3 Twilight Mire
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Woodland Cemetery
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Fulminator Mage
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Darkblast
1 Thoughtseize
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Golgari Charm
1 Putrefy
So the obvious question is; what to do about Burn. Scooze is actually too slow and there are too few creatures in the match-up anyway. Finks obviously help and the Witness could be swapped for another Fink but that's still only three cards that can help in time.
Another Baloth in the side-board is a thought; I'll probably swap Thrun for it when I'm playing at this particular store and swap it back when I play at the other place I frequent. A single Bow of Nylea is in order; I may even put it in the main-deck.
About the only other thing I can think of that might help is Batman. It seems to me that a Burn player would probably have to at least waste a card on him. Is adding two or three of this guy to my 75 an awful idea? I'd probably drop the Thoughtseize and the Putrefy first. I also need to get some Storm hate as well but that will take some more thought.
One other, random question; what do you guys think of Lifebane Zombie as a side-board card?
Buy them before the next Modern season. I personally think they will probably go up a bit as people start using them in Standard. Bloodstained Mire already can't stay on the shelves. Once people figure out the new control shells Flooded Strand and Polluted Delta will probably get very popular. Wooded Foothills will be popular in Standard and Modern. Windswept Heath will probably remain the cheapest of the bunch.
Of course, all of this is pure speculation and there's no good reason to take my word for it.
Isn't Faith's Shield just better than Rebuff the Wicked? Stave Off, while having the disadvantage of affecting only creatures, has the advantage of doubling as twin-hate - you know that would just be a hoot!
Some life-gain is indicated, due to the mana-base pain. The alternative is to durndle with comes-into-play tapped lands and that doesn't sound like something soldiers want to do, does it?
I still have a WU heroic deck assembled - less the about-to-rotate Ravnica stuff. I'll probably stick with mostly heroic soldiers at least for now. After I get a box or two of Khans opened, maybe some outlast shenanigans will get a try. I have to say there's some soldier goodness in M15 as well that needs consideration.
But for now, the yard isn't going to mow itself, so the list will have to wait a bit longer.
It's too close to my bed time to do an entire list right now - but watch this space - so I'll just provide the combination that made me decide this had to be done:
Okay maybe it isn't as cool as I think it is but what's the worst thing that can happen?
This will certainly be white with red and blue splashes, so the mana will include;
and possibly a single Mountain and Island each.
There are a metric crap-load of soldiers to chose from in the new standard, including that darling little Kithkin, Preeminent Captain who will have, well, a preeminent role in this deck.
I suppose protection from a color may well be better late game than Numbus's auto-regeneration, but only if it's the right color. First strike versus flanking? First strike makes a better defender I suppose, but Flanking probably is better for an attacker.
I'm not diggin' Isolated Chapel, Sunpetal Grove or Woodland Cemetery. I'm also not sold on Overgrown Tomb - certainly not on two copies. You need nearly every land to produce white mana.
I might try some combination of some number of Arid Mesa, one more Horizon Canopy, one more Plains.