Quote from Donkin »Quote from purklefluff »Hi guys, FNM success here
Playing a RUG omens list (had some success a while ago, a some online interest and a couple of star city vs/deck techs).
I've found it to be consistently the fastest version of the deck, and with the added interaction from cryptic and remand, it's very powerful and often just runs people over on turn 4.
List first:
Hey, loving this list. Decided that I'll be taking this to a PPTQ this sunday. Was hoping I could get your input on a few questions.
1: Do you side out the omens against BGX?
2: How good is titan really? I've done some testing and found that I would rather have interaction and would eventually draw scapeshift anyway.
3: How good is explore? I felt that I wanted a card that would be more consistently impactful.
4: how are the matchups against linear decks such as burn zoo etc? I ended up putting bolts in the list to make these matchups better but we may not need them.
5: How is gaea's revenge doing? I really like it but perhaps another surak could just be better. (surak -> titan is gross)
6: How do you deal with affinity without grudge/other hate?
Would really love your input! I think you're at the forefront of the archetype. A possible sideboard guide would be awesome too!
Thanks again, Donk.
No problem, I'll have a go
I've just woken up, so when I get back from work later I'll give a more complete response.
I believe I answered one of your questions already. I'm keen to test running some number (probably 1) anger of the gods maindeck. That would bring the removal count to 4. I'd suggest that in the current meta it's probably reasonable, but not drawing a card sucks. An alternative would be izzet charm.
Re; Jund matchup. I've played it both ways, but recently I've been keeping most of the omens in. They tend to board out removal so it works in our favour. I mostly swap remands for baloths (although use your judgement because on the play, remand is still good), and drop the explores whatever happens. Surrak comes in as well.
I dropped gaea's revenge :(. It's won me games but slow blue decks currently aren't a problem. I replaced it with a 3rd chalice of the Void, because that card has been absolutely nuts for me against fast decks. A 2nd engineered explosives could also be a decent choice but i went with Chalice for the bonus to burn/infect matchup.
Beating suicide zoo is tough. So far the electrolyze package + just general disruption from blue spells and direct damage from omen/valakut has been enough to win games, but i could see switching out 1x electrolyze for something more substantial. Hard to say what though. I don't like running more than 1 maindeck anger because they are so bad against quite a few decks, and drawing dead cards in this deck isn't what you want to be doing.
(also we don't run snapcaster so bolt isn't as amazing as usual).
Titan is great. I initially went from 4 shift, 0 titan to considering including some number of titan, simply because it was another great wincon alongside omen, and it gets around spell pierce/negate and those kinds of things. It also presents a credible threat through certain types of hate, or just by itself, plus it gets around crumble to dust if you are able to drop the titan early enough (means you can get valaluts safely on the board). Also means you have 6 maindeck topdecks to just windmill slam and win the game, which I recognise (as a longtime player) was an issue in the past, before treasure cruise. Sometimes you just didn't draw the win. Now you tend to, so it's better. Finally, it's relevant that titan can block and also "shoot" down creatures as well as your opponent. It just provides another angle (although of course with omen, it's insta-win just like scapeshift).
Erm. Watch out for dredge. Beaten it in testing quite a few times but that said, it's very fast, and I haven't put any real grave hate in the board. This could change of course.
The sideboard is obviously flexible, but certain things are a lock:
2 dispel
3 baloth (I'm still loving 4 tbh but three is the absolute minimum)
1 big dude (surrak/inferno, your preference. I like surrak because uncounterable flash is pretty mega)
1 izzet staticaster just the best at what it does)
1 engineered explosives (basically necessary right now)
2 anger of the gods (again, necessary)
Beyond that, I reckon you could get some mileage out of different things. I like chalice. Depends on your expected meta. Some graveyard hate could be decent too. Negate is always a strong option.
Any more questions just ask.
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You can see a full write up of my weekend by going to the facebook group mtg modern ad nauseam facebook group. Im not going to post it here as its too much work.
Good luck and keep comboing!
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this was the list I won the RPTQ with.
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pentad Prism
4 Simian Spirit Guide
White
4 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Angel's Grace
Black
4 Ad Nauseam
2 Spoils of the Vault
1 Mystical Teachings
Dig
4 Serum Visions
4 Sleight of Hand
2 Pact of Negation
1 Lightning Storm
1 Echoing Truth
1 Laboratory Maniac
Land
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Darkslick Shores
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Gemstone Mine
2 City of Brass
2 Plains
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Pact of Negation
2 Fatal Push
1 Settle the Wreckage
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
2 Thoughtseize
2-0 KCI (also qualified)
2-0 Living End
2-1 Jund
2-0 Titan Shift
ID
ID
2-1 Amulet titan (Im on the draw)
I owe my success to every spirits pilot losing round 1. Everyone came prepared to beat that deck (except for me) and it really showed round 1. Once I was in the X-0 bracket every matchup was great for me.
Cheers.
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I went 4-0-2 in the swiss of the RPTQ, and won in the finals for top 4. I'm going to the pro tour! woo!
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spell peirce should be pact of negation. no question. Grafdiggers cage does nothing to help us win the game.
EE is a decent SB card, but you need to look out for stony silence. I'd rather just see another wear tear in that slot.
Unlife should be in the main, and you should go up to 3 bontus.
These are my opinions, I've taken down a PPTQ with the list and will most likely be slinging this deck at the RPTQ next week.
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My big problem with Vizier combo at the moment is: Coco is card advantage at the cost of deck building restriction/increased variance. EVO Is a bullet tutor, but self exiles and is card disadvantage. Especially when countered. I also found that I was losing too often to grindy/value decks. This list is my attempt at solving these problems.
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Devoted Druid
4 Vizier of Remedies
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
1 Walking Ballista
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Restoration Angel
2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Evolutionary Leap
4 Eldritch Evolution
3 Postmortem Lunge
3 Chord of Calling
Lands: 21
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Windswept Heath
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
2 Plains
4 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Horizon Canopy
2 Evolutionary Leap
2 Path to Exile
2 Knight of Autumn
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Mystic Enforcer
1 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
Evolutionary leap allows us to draw a creature every time a creature of ours would die. This means our opponent is losing a card and we are neutral on cards. I thought it would be a good start to fixing the problem, but I went a step further and added kitchen finks back to the deck. Kitchen finks gains us life, is two bodies, works well with vizier/shalai/gavony and now also Evolutionary Leap. Finks and leap actually present us with card advantage, especially with any of the other synergy cards mentioned. additionally, Eldritch evo with finks > Restoration angel is an aggro/value line that I wanted access to. Resto might not be worth the slot. I think Kitchen Finks as a value creature and Evolutionary Leap will really help against the grindy decks that are going to 1 for 1 us into the ground.
Let me know what you all think, I've been having some decent results so far.
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4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Island
3 Forest
spells
4 Prismatic Omen
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Scapeshift
4 Cryptic Command
3 Remand
2 Izzet Charm
2 Traverse the Ulvenwald
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Primeval Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Spellskite
3 Tarfire
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Pithing Needle
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Spellskite
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Keranos, God of Storms
Dellerium has been hard to trigger so far in testing but I think adding an engineered to the main deck will be helpful. I don't know if this is an improvement on a more standard omen list but its been fun and has worked. Traverse is also not terrible with delerium off especially against bloodmoon decks.