s for the Wilt Leaf lieges I'm seeing, I feel they are currently unnecessary.
I agree here. I cut them. Four Loxodon seem enough for anti-discard effects. Addition of 1 Gavony Township could replace their +1/+1 functionality, if needed.
I cut Thalia months ago when Storm and Eggs were no longer top tier contenders.
I still run 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben MD. I find she does one of two things when she hits the board - either she causes such a delay for the opponent that it essentially wins the game, or it draws some removal spell out of their hand and doesn't hit something more important. She seems to be one of those cards that people think they have to remove asap, even if she really doesn't impact their deck. I like her more for the mental impact than a true "hosing" like she can do on storm type decks. That being said, she's one of those cards that you can easily play around with the number to include.
Let's talk about Journey To Nowhere. It costs 1W, is Sorcery-speed, and exiles a creature completely. Its not a bad card in a vacuum, and could certainly be Paths #5-6.
What are its weaknesses? The biggest issue that jumps out at me is that Journey is an Enchantment that, when killed, brings the creature back. That means against Abrupt Decay decks, the card under Journey could return. You still get a 1-for-1 trade, but now you traded your removal spell for a Abrupt Decay or even a Qasali Pridemage activation instead of for a creature.
Against RG Tron, the Tron player can pop an Oblivion Stone, kill our team, AND get a Wurmcoil back. However, is that better for us to force our opponents to "free" their Wurmcoils instead of simply being able to fetch for the same Wurmcoil with Eye of Ugin? IDK. It depends on the game in question.
Where would I want Journey To Nowhere over Condemn? I just finished a 20 game set against Melira Pod. Pod players aren't dumb. They know what creatures they control that are critical at each point in the game, and they know what needs to stick around on the field. They're not going to attack you with that Spike Feeder if they have any chance of getting an Archangel of Thune to pair with it! In this case, I really want to be able to put these combo pieces away and force the Pod player to have a Abrupt Decay or Qasali Pridemage or Harmonic Sliver to kill THAT instead of my incoming search hate or Torpor Orb.
All of this is why I still run 4 Path to Exile. I just miss being able to play Swords to Plowshares so much and I continually look for something different and or better to put in the deck. Almost everything that you could play instead of Path to Exile suffers from the same drawback of Journey to Nowhere, unfortunately. I do consider Oust from time to time; the lifegain is irrelevant in 90% of games, and in a similar means as cards like Plow Under you gain a Timewalk-type effect. Oust could be my Path to Exile #5-6 - I just wish it was instant speed.
Yea, all good points, especially the manlands. I know in my heart I will play 4 - I'm just always questioning every card if for no other reason than to reaffirm that it is still worthwhile to play.
As for the other changes, I want to try Condemns as Path's #5-6 against the other fair decks and Tron. I went for Sunlance first, but then decided that I really wanted an out to Wurmcoils and Merfolk that are pumped past 3 toughness.
Understandable to get more removal and in most cases I do like Condemn but in particular v Tron, stuffing Wurmcoil in to their deck just delays them for a turn due to Eye of Ugin. Maybe if the Eye has already been GQ'd it is effective, however.
In general, I hate Path to Exile because of the ramp it grants. Arbiters and Mindcensors help to get around that, but I'm always looking for something "better". I consider Journey to Nowhere a lot in place of Path to Exile. Is the instant speed of Path to Exile worth it currently? I'm not sure there's all that much on the board that needs to die "right this second".
If you feel like it's awful to draw a vial on turn 3, it's just as bad to draw a dork on turn 3 sometimes.
I don't run Vial in my build but if I draw a dork on T3 at least it has exalted, which I'm finding tends to win a lot more games than I would ever have given it credit for. I do run vial in Death and Taxes, but as those builds (both Modern and Legacy) have more "tricks" I find it works out better there.
I keep going back and forth on swords. They seem like an obvious fit but for some reason they tend to be the first card(s) I cut. That being said, I probably like War and Peace the most still if for nothing but the protection it grants. I look at the combat effects of all swords as not guaranteed to work, though, so the protections matter more to me.
In theory, I think that the deck could still use some kind of main deck life gain if the Baneslayers are removed. It isn't really a fast deck in most matches and I've found that the repeated lifegain the Baneslayer provides to be just as - if not more - important than the body it comes attached to.
So I am going to start testing the list I played in the tournament with the changes I've already mentioned to the sideboard, and see if I like the Rancor main deck in place of Baneslayer.
Do you plan on replacing both Baneslayer with Rancor? I can see the argument for Rancor / against Baneslayer but I think I would prefer a 1/1 split than totally get rid of the Baneslayer. She's such a game swing when she goes to work.
This is what I'm currently running. I've found that one Worship main typically comes up when needed and has definitely won some games. I keep debating Kataki, War's Wage or Birds of Paradise. The mana dork does allow the T2 Leonin Arbiter + Ghost Quarter but I've had some good success riding the LD of the deck along with Kataki. Anyone playing him main deck?
Sideboard changes often. Nothing out of the norm in there just yet.
Long time lurker here. Been playing a version of hatebears for a while.
I've found that having 2 engineered explosives MD really can swing the game in our favor against so many threats. I don't think I would consider a build without those 2 cards in the main.
I agree here. I cut them. Four Loxodon seem enough for anti-discard effects. Addition of 1 Gavony Township could replace their +1/+1 functionality, if needed.
I still run 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben MD. I find she does one of two things when she hits the board - either she causes such a delay for the opponent that it essentially wins the game, or it draws some removal spell out of their hand and doesn't hit something more important. She seems to be one of those cards that people think they have to remove asap, even if she really doesn't impact their deck. I like her more for the mental impact than a true "hosing" like she can do on storm type decks. That being said, she's one of those cards that you can easily play around with the number to include.
All of this is why I still run 4 Path to Exile. I just miss being able to play Swords to Plowshares so much and I continually look for something different and or better to put in the deck. Almost everything that you could play instead of Path to Exile suffers from the same drawback of Journey to Nowhere, unfortunately. I do consider Oust from time to time; the lifegain is irrelevant in 90% of games, and in a similar means as cards like Plow Under you gain a Timewalk-type effect. Oust could be my Path to Exile #5-6 - I just wish it was instant speed.
Understandable to get more removal and in most cases I do like Condemn but in particular v Tron, stuffing Wurmcoil in to their deck just delays them for a turn due to Eye of Ugin. Maybe if the Eye has already been GQ'd it is effective, however.
In general, I hate Path to Exile because of the ramp it grants. Arbiters and Mindcensors help to get around that, but I'm always looking for something "better". I consider Journey to Nowhere a lot in place of Path to Exile. Is the instant speed of Path to Exile worth it currently? I'm not sure there's all that much on the board that needs to die "right this second".
I don't run Vial in my build but if I draw a dork on T3 at least it has exalted, which I'm finding tends to win a lot more games than I would ever have given it credit for. I do run vial in Death and Taxes, but as those builds (both Modern and Legacy) have more "tricks" I find it works out better there.
I keep going back and forth on swords. They seem like an obvious fit but for some reason they tend to be the first card(s) I cut. That being said, I probably like War and Peace the most still if for nothing but the protection it grants. I look at the combat effects of all swords as not guaranteed to work, though, so the protections matter more to me.
Do you plan on replacing both Baneslayer with Rancor? I can see the argument for Rancor / against Baneslayer but I think I would prefer a 1/1 split than totally get rid of the Baneslayer. She's such a game swing when she goes to work.
2x Aven Mindcensor
2x Baneslayer Angel
1x Kataki, War's Wage
4x Leonin Arbiter
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
4x Loxodon Smiter
4x Noble Hierarch
3x Qasali Pridemage
2x Scavenging Ooze
1x Spellskite
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Voice of Resurgence
4x Razorverge Thicket
2x Forest
4x Ghost Quarter
4x Horizon Canopy
1x Eiganjo Castle
2x Plains
2x Stirring Wildwood
4x Temple Garden
2x Engineered Explosives
4x Path to Exile
1x Worship
This is what I'm currently running. I've found that one Worship main typically comes up when needed and has definitely won some games. I keep debating Kataki, War's Wage or Birds of Paradise. The mana dork does allow the T2 Leonin Arbiter + Ghost Quarter but I've had some good success riding the LD of the deck along with Kataki. Anyone playing him main deck?
Sideboard changes often. Nothing out of the norm in there just yet.
I've found that having 2 engineered explosives MD really can swing the game in our favor against so many threats. I don't think I would consider a build without those 2 cards in the main.