Another land for our flex land spots. Looks to be good vs. GY decks and decks with Goyf.
That is interesting. So many good utility lands, so few slots.
Some advantages to consider:
It can't be countered.
Plays nice with Chalice of the Void!
I will definitely be picking up some of these.
I know I'm a day late here but seems like this would be great while running Crucible of Worldstoo. Especially with Solemnity being spoiled to possibly hurt our Chalice plays past turn 3.
The only difference in my list to the one you posted is that I don't run Chalice MB and only 1x All is Dust MB, other than that my list is identical. Instead, I run 1x Basilisk Collar (for Endbringer), 2x Contortion (as an alternate win with Smasher or as a Bolt) and 2x Warping Wail (as a catch all). I will likely move Chalice to the MB once I figure out what my local Meta is but for now I've decided that an aggro/well rounded direction is where I want to be. Even more so since my main was originally Affinity.
I've been playing casually & competitively since revised and, personally, I don't consider myself a great Magic player but I feel I am above average. Magic is my devoted hobby. I watch videos/read articles of deck techs & strategy discussions, I build based on what I know my strong suits as a player are and I test against the best decks in the format.
That's said, the best ways to become better than what you are now is knowledge; knowledge of the capabilities of your deck, knowledge of the other decks in the format, what is currently within your local meta and how to properly sideboard. Magic is a craft that needs to be honed and, like others had previously said, practice practice and practice.
I've been slotting 3+ Relic of Progenitus for that reason plus to deal with Dredge. The best strategy with a control player is to just keep dumping threats on the board and forcing them to respond to them until they have nothing left. What's so great about our deck is that our threats need to be dealt with immediately or we run away with the game (especially in a more aggro focused build). Plus, it's not often we run out of gas. Even if your conservative with playing creatures, you should still be running through people fairly consistently.
I tried out Stoic Angelto stellar results. I'm still sticking with a more control focused deck but, as pointed out, the plan is to stay aggro while doing it.
As far as cards from the new set are concerned, I agree that Kambal, Consul of Allocationis going to be beyond great out of the SB when facing Storm or Ascendancy decks.
The Blood Moon problem is one I've been trying to figure out how to get around for a while now. The only consistent answers I've come up with are to either run 2 Qasali Pridemage main and 2 in the board or to run an extra forest main and some green enchantment hate in the board. I like the Stormbreath idea but it kinda clogs up space during games that we don't see a Moon. I'm confident that there is an answer out there, we just need to find it.
After testing more, I'm convinced that this deck is LEGIT and probably on of the funnest decks I've piloted in a very long time. Watching my opponents face when I drop a turn 2 Mantis Rider then turn 3 & 4 Siege Rhino is a joy that's hard to duplicate. I'm also convinced that a more control heavy version is the way to go. I still swear by Reflector Mage over Falkenrath Aristocrat mainly because I like my decks to be more interactive but that's personal preference, I suppose.
Personally, I'm short 2 Voice of Resurgence so I'm using Coiling Oracle in it's place to really good results (but boy do I wish he was a 2/2). I've been trying other cards like Geist of Saint Traft (Great, of course but even better once I learned he still gets a boost from Exalted), Rhox War Monk (Still find to be underwhelming over Finks), Deputy of Acquittals (only worked half the time when I needed it to), Butcher of the Horde (Pretty much a worse Aristocrat), Doran (you really have to tailor the deck to him) & Rafiq of the Many (Very fun with Geist). I love that the deck can be tinkered with and not really miss a step too much.
My current decklist is as follows:
Creatures:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Coiling Oracle
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Kitchen Finks
3 Reflector Mage
3 Spell Queller
3 Mantis Rider
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Siege Rhino
Spells:
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Path to Exile
Lands:
1 Forest
1 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Exotic Orchard
2 Reflecting Pool
3 City of Brass (no Mana Confluence atm)
3 Pillar of the Paruns
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Tendo Ice Bridge (No Gemstone Mines atm)
I'm not saying Falkenrath Aristocrat isn't good, I just dropped it to be more control, which has just as mixed results as the aggro build.
Reflector Mage has been great. Especially when I can drop it down on turn 2 and rob my opp of a turn. Against Death's Shadow it has been an MVP so even if I go back to full aggro, I'm at the very least boarding 2-3 depending on the meta.
The Dredge matchup is easily the most difficult I've played. Dredge doesn't conform to natural Magic so the only way to handle it is post-boarding. I've been slotting more GY hate in all my decks because the deck is gaining more traction.
Affinity is a race, nothing more. That's where the Aggro version shines more.
The only reason I suggested Dromoka's Command & Revelry is because if we don't get the Pridemate out, we can at least still float mana before the Moon resolves in attempt to snub it out with one of the two when it does. I've also considered trying Hide//Seek as it can remove Blood Moon from play or eliminate a future one(which also makes me more inclined to run a single Plains in the deck also).
Doran actually sounds really fun! I am definitely going to try him out.
I just came across this deck about a week ago and thought it looked really interesting but felt it lacked something. I took more of a Control focus with it and replaced the [[Falkenrath Aristocrat]]'s with [[Reflector Mage]]'s. Also Did the same as you by cutting the single [[Tidehollow Sculler]] for the 4th [[Spell Queller]]. Made a huge difference.
I also came to same conclusion as you that [[Rhox War Monk]] needed to fit into this deck somehow but I simply can't figure out when I wanna drop for them. [[Kitchen Finks]] serves too large of a purpose for when a game goes long to drop them. With that said, I'll be keeping the Monk in the burner.
Other Cards I tested out were [[Glittering Wish]] (which is really fun actually) & [[Knight of New Alara]] instead of [[Wilt-Leaf Liege]] (which was just as lackluster). That's one of the things I love about the deck; it's SO versatile. The downside is that the original deck list is so rock solid that it's hard to find things to take out to try other things. Anafenza is really the easiest thing to cut after the changes I made already to test other things in that slot but I always end up putting her back, as a 4/4 for 3 with a decent ability is worth keeping.
Obviously, [[Blood Moon]] is our BANE. So I amped up the enchantment destruction by siding [[Dromoka's Command]] since it serves dual purposes and I'm leaning heavily towards adding a single [[Destructive Revelry]], for good measure.
Just looking at all the different versions of goblins floating around is a lot to take in. Is there a link somewhere for goblins(and one for gobots) that lists the following?
1) An UPDATED stock goblin (or gobot) list that incorporates Reckless Bushwacker. The ones on the primer do not include this very important fellow anywhere
2) The ideal number of one drops, two drops, etc. This would be helpful for experimenting with different cards (I.E. taking out Mogg War Marshall and trying out Burning Tree Emissary)
Thanks.
I second that a primer update is needed. I'll write something up on Gobots if needed.
For someone who is working with Gobots specifically, I'd appreciate a dedicated primer.
I think marrow shards is more for affinity than goblins...
Magmatic chasm is a sweet one, i'll give it a spin in the sideboard.
How are you guys siding game 2-3? My feeling is i never want to take out more than 2 cards of the mainboard, i seem to need every card from the 60 to win, they all work together. My sideboard is still just a pile of stuff i have, i don't really know what to put there...
Also i 3-1 today at a LGS, losing to "the rock" (both games was blown out by drown in sorrow into maelstrom pulse with value), beat bant aggro, tron and u/w hatebears. All the games the deck felt pretty good, even the ones i lost. There are a lot of different possibilities and combination of explosive starts. My list:
Burning tree emissary is a bomb in this deck, she makes reckless bushwhacker so much more consistent and she leads to a lot of the deck's explosive starts.
Mishra's bauble felt a lot better than 4x ornithopter. The delayed cantrip can set up some great follow up plays. I still play two thopters but i always side both out games 2-3. Playing just 2 is ok, you absolutely never want to draw more than one copy anyways (and hopefully you sac it to rebirth).
I'm having a lot of fun playing your list. I've also been trying it with -4 Denizen & -1 Loyalist and +2 Ornithoper & +3 Shrapnel Blast with decent results. My opponents don't know what to do with themselves on turn 3 when I punch them in the face with so much damage, not to mention what I've already done to them in the turn prior. Mind you, this deck is super fragile but not much more than Infect and at least it can go wide. I shutter to think what this deck would be like if Chrome Mox was still legal.
So far my sideboard has been the standard fare of hate cards, what have you been using?
I know I'm a day late here but seems like this would be great while running Crucible of Worldstoo. Especially with Solemnity being spoiled to possibly hurt our Chalice plays past turn 3.
Forgive me if this has already been a topic but, admittedly, I'm lazy and would rather not scroll thru all the comments to find an answer.
That's said, the best ways to become better than what you are now is knowledge; knowledge of the capabilities of your deck, knowledge of the other decks in the format, what is currently within your local meta and how to properly sideboard. Magic is a craft that needs to be honed and, like others had previously said, practice practice and practice.
As far as cards from the new set are concerned, I agree that Kambal, Consul of Allocationis going to be beyond great out of the SB when facing Storm or Ascendancy decks.
The Blood Moon problem is one I've been trying to figure out how to get around for a while now. The only consistent answers I've come up with are to either run 2 Qasali Pridemage main and 2 in the board or to run an extra forest main and some green enchantment hate in the board. I like the Stormbreath idea but it kinda clogs up space during games that we don't see a Moon. I'm confident that there is an answer out there, we just need to find it.
Personally, I'm short 2 Voice of Resurgence so I'm using Coiling Oracle in it's place to really good results (but boy do I wish he was a 2/2). I've been trying other cards like Geist of Saint Traft (Great, of course but even better once I learned he still gets a boost from Exalted), Rhox War Monk (Still find to be underwhelming over Finks), Deputy of Acquittals (only worked half the time when I needed it to), Butcher of the Horde (Pretty much a worse Aristocrat), Doran (you really have to tailor the deck to him) & Rafiq of the Many (Very fun with Geist). I love that the deck can be tinkered with and not really miss a step too much.
My current decklist is as follows:
Creatures:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Coiling Oracle
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Kitchen Finks
3 Reflector Mage
3 Spell Queller
3 Mantis Rider
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Siege Rhino
Spells:
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Path to Exile
Lands:
1 Forest
1 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Exotic Orchard
2 Reflecting Pool
3 City of Brass (no Mana Confluence atm)
3 Pillar of the Paruns
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Tendo Ice Bridge (No Gemstone Mines atm)
Reflector Mage has been great. Especially when I can drop it down on turn 2 and rob my opp of a turn. Against Death's Shadow it has been an MVP so even if I go back to full aggro, I'm at the very least boarding 2-3 depending on the meta.
The Dredge matchup is easily the most difficult I've played. Dredge doesn't conform to natural Magic so the only way to handle it is post-boarding. I've been slotting more GY hate in all my decks because the deck is gaining more traction.
Affinity is a race, nothing more. That's where the Aggro version shines more.
The only reason I suggested Dromoka's Command & Revelry is because if we don't get the Pridemate out, we can at least still float mana before the Moon resolves in attempt to snub it out with one of the two when it does. I've also considered trying Hide//Seek as it can remove Blood Moon from play or eliminate a future one(which also makes me more inclined to run a single Plains in the deck also).
Doran actually sounds really fun! I am definitely going to try him out.
I also came to same conclusion as you that [[Rhox War Monk]] needed to fit into this deck somehow but I simply can't figure out when I wanna drop for them. [[Kitchen Finks]] serves too large of a purpose for when a game goes long to drop them. With that said, I'll be keeping the Monk in the burner.
Other Cards I tested out were [[Glittering Wish]] (which is really fun actually) & [[Knight of New Alara]] instead of [[Wilt-Leaf Liege]] (which was just as lackluster). That's one of the things I love about the deck; it's SO versatile. The downside is that the original deck list is so rock solid that it's hard to find things to take out to try other things. Anafenza is really the easiest thing to cut after the changes I made already to test other things in that slot but I always end up putting her back, as a 4/4 for 3 with a decent ability is worth keeping.
Obviously, [[Blood Moon]] is our BANE. So I amped up the enchantment destruction by siding [[Dromoka's Command]] since it serves dual purposes and I'm leaning heavily towards adding a single [[Destructive Revelry]], for good measure.
For someone who is working with Gobots specifically, I'd appreciate a dedicated primer.
I'm having a lot of fun playing your list. I've also been trying it with -4 Denizen & -1 Loyalist and +2 Ornithoper & +3 Shrapnel Blast with decent results. My opponents don't know what to do with themselves on turn 3 when I punch them in the face with so much damage, not to mention what I've already done to them in the turn prior. Mind you, this deck is super fragile but not much more than Infect and at least it can go wide. I shutter to think what this deck would be like if Chrome Mox was still legal.
So far my sideboard has been the standard fare of hate cards, what have you been using?