MTG Salvation

IMO, Blooming Marsh should always be considered as a 4-of if you are running Grim Flayer and not Noble Hierarch. White mana is only useful turn 3 onwards, we should consistently hit 2 black and 1 green on turn 2 to be able to curve from Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtseize to Grim Flayer/Tarmogoyf to Liliana of the Veil/Lingering Souls with very minimal pain from our lands.

Have been testing 4 Blooming Marsh with 4 Noble Hierarchs recently. Turn 2 Liliana of the Veil is lights out against most decks. First turn is pain free as I can either go Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtseize or cast Noble Hierarch without fetching and shocking.

Here's my current manabase:
4x Blooming Marsh
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Shambling Vent
2x Marsh Flats
2x Windswept Heath
2x Swamp
1x Forest
1x Plains
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Godless Shrine
1x Temple Garden

Quote from Axel_kh »

Hey guys, I finally sold my affinity and have the opportunity to buy into Junk. I already have Lilis and most lands and spells.
I really don't like Jund -_- Right now how do you guys feel about Junk vs Jund against the metagame?

What kind of meta are you expecting?

Willy Edel was playing Abzan at GP LA and he played Sorin, Solemn Visitor instead of Siege Rhinos in the main board. Sorin, Solemn Visitor feels like a win-more card to me, excellent when you're ahead or equal on the board but feels weak when you're behind. Siege Rhino stabilizes life totals, provides a bit of reach and is good when ahead, equal or behind on the board. Both are weak against blue decks where they usually don't resolve. What was the meta in GP LA that made Willy completely cut Siege Rhinos?

Wilted Abzan or Little Kid Abzan is the deck you're looking for. The deck usually has an explosive start and puts a clock fairly quickly against Tron especially if you draw a turn 1 Noble Hierarch or Birds of Paradise. The deck is also resilient against discard and 1 for 1 removal which is Jund's forte that's why the deck has been dubbed the "midrange hunter". It packs life gain to combat Burn in the form of Kitchen Finks and Siege Rhinos. I suggest taking a look at Jacob Wilson's Pro Tour Fate Reforged deck and start from there. The meta in that tournament was mostly Abzan midrange and Burn, and they designed the deck to next level those decks.

2 Deflecting Palms are ideal. Useful vs Infect, Affinity (Cranial Plating, Master of Etherium and Arcbound Ravager shenanigans)and a big Tarmogoyf, Emrakul, Primetime swing.

What cards do you guys bring in against Jeskai Harbinger? I'm not quite familiar with the matchup yet.

a) Majority of Burn players prefer 12-13 fetchlands, you can get all your colors in your second turn so Copperline Gorge is not necessary.
b) Tarmogoyf and Hooting Mandrills does nothing the turn that they come into play, we have SB tools to combat the hate that the opponent brings in. If your playing against W or G, expect Leyline of Sanctity, Feed the Clan or Timely Reinforcements so bring in a couple of Destructive Revelries and Skullcracks. If playing the mirror, expect Kor Firewalkers so bring in your Skullcracks and Path to Exiles.
c) Again, with 13 fetchlands, Kor Firewalker is definitely castable on turn 2. I personally run 3 Sacred Foundries and 13 fetchlands and I haven't had any problems casting Kor Firewalker on turn 2.

Sideboard plan
vs Burn
Out: 4x Dark Confidant, 3x Thoughtseize
In: 1x Disfigure, 1x Duress, 1x Engineered Explosives, 3x Kitchen Finks, 1x Damnation

vs Infect
Out: 2x Maelstrom Pulse, 3x Scavenging Ooze
In: 1x Disfigure, 1x Duress, 1x Engineered Explosives, 2x Fulminator Mage

vs Affinity
Out: 4x Liliana of the Veil, 3x Scavenging Ooze
In: 1x Disfigure, 1x Engineered Explosives, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Pithing Needle, 2x Stony Silence

vs Jund
Out: 4x Inquisition of Kozilek, 3x Thoughtseize
In: 1x Damnation, 3x Kitchen Finks, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Painful Truths

vs Abzan Company
Out: 4x Inquisition of Kozilek, 4x Liliana of the Veil
In: 1x Damnation, 1x Disfigure, 1x Engineered Explosives, 2x Fulminator Mage, 2x Grafdigger's Cage, 1x Painful Truths

vs Tron
Out: 4x Abrupt Decay, 3x Scavenging Ooze
In: 1x Duress, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Painful Truths, 1x Pithing Needle, 2x Stony Silence

vs Jeskai Harbinger
Out: 4x Abrupt Decay, 1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Path to Exile
In: 1x Duress, 2x Kitchen Finks, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Painful Truths, 1x Pithing Needle

I've cut Siege Rhino from my 75 and replaced him with Dark Confidant, I feel that Siege Rhino is too slow for the current meta. After testing this build, the deck feels Jund-esque. The 2 Ghost Quarters and 2 Maelstrom Pulses in the mainboard is a concession to Tron and Jeskai Harbinger being pretty popular right now. Thoughts?

Here's the light test, The Dark Confidant has an orange hue and the card that I used for comparison is a real Grafdigger's Cage.

Thanks for the immediate reply. I'd appreciate it if you upload scans of your bobs. I'm still worried because I've held a fake ONS Wooded Foothills and the texture is quite similar. Any more inputs?

Hey folks! I received this Dark Confidant in the mail today. The first thing I noticed was the glossy finish, the card surface is just too smooth when compared to my other cards. I'll be posting light test results later. Here are the 600 dpi scans:

Based on my testing against Affinity, Liliana of the Veil is at her best in pressuring the opponent when we have spirit tokens out. The Affinity player either wastes a Galvanic Blast to prevent a second edict after and initial edict or forces a trade with their Inkmoth/Blinkmoth Nexus, Vault Skirge with our spirit tokens. As long as we prevent Etched Champion from entering the battlefield, we're good. He's the only reason that I'm leaving in my Inquisition of Kozileks.

I've been testing Engineered Explosives in place of Golgari Charm , I've been very impressed. It kills what Golgari Charm kills and spares our tokens. I will continue to test it and report.

I'll be playing on a GPT this weekend. I'm expecting mostly Infect, U/W/x Control, Burn, Jund and Abzan Company. Here's my 75 and sideboard plan:



vs Burn
Out: 3x Thoughtseize, 2x Lingering Souls
In: 3x Kitchen Finks, 1x Duress, 1x Golgari Charm

vs Abzan Company
Out: 4x Inquisition of Kozilek, 3x Liliana of the Veil, 1x Lingering Souls
In: 2x Grafdigger's Cage, 1x Duress, 1x Languish, 2x Painful Truths, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Damnation

vs Jund
Out: 4x Inquisition of Kozilek, 3x Thoughtseize, 1x Maelstrom Pulse
In: 3x Kitchen Finks, 2x Painful Truths, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Damnation

vs Affinity:
Out: 3x Thoughtseize, 3x Scavenging Ooze, 1x Siege Rhino
In: 2x Stony Silence, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Damnation, 1x Languish, 1x Golgari Charm

vs Infect
Out: 3x Scavenging Ooze, 2x Siege Rhino
In: 1x Duress, 1x Golgari Charm, 2x Fulminator Mage, 1x Languish

vs U/W/x Control
Out: 4x Abrupt Decay, 4x Siege Rhino
In: 1x Duress, 2x Painful Truths, 3x Kitchen Finks, 2x Fulminator Mage

Card choices:
Golgari Charm: I originally had Disfigure in this slot, but I chose Golgari Charm because of the versatility it offers. It kills Eidolon of the Great Revel, Steel Overseer, Glistener Elf, Blighted Agent, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch and if timed right, Inkmoth/Blinkmoth Nexus. The other modes are pretty useful in this meta also.

Languish: I'm still choosing between Languish and Flaying Tendrils. Languish is usually a one sided board wipe but 4 mana is a lot, Flaying Tendrils is good vs Abzan Company and Affinity but is bad vs Elves, Merfolk and Zoo. If my meta sees more Abzan Company and less Elves, Merfolk and Zoo, I can see replacing Languish with Flaying Tendrils.

Thought/opinions/suggestions on my 75 and sideboard plan?

Take out all Abrupt Decays and leave in Path to Exiles. They also play Obstinate Baloths which can trump our Liliana if played properly.