Interesting that he switched off of Angel back to a pure Company list. I wonder what made him change.
Their team had a tournament report on mtgmintcard.com. Abzan Company is just a faster deck, but they anticipated that Relic of Progenitus would be abundant in PTOGW so they went with version that is less reliant on the graveyard. Now Relic is gone, Abzan Company is better.
Angel/spike is boarded in vs graveyard hate and lightning bolts.
Linvala has some use vs UW Eldrazi.
Maindeck Pontiff is also fine in a UW Eldrazi meta
Hi everyone, I'm slowly working on building this deck as my introduction to modern. I borrowed a friend's pod deck for several rounds a while ago, and it was a ton of fun. Luckily, this deck seems to be similar to pod in a lot of ways.
One thing that I don't understand, though, is the choice between 2-4 Noble Hierarchs. Is there a major drawback to running 4? Is 2 not enough? I'm curious to hear the reasoning behind the choice.
The same goes for Viscera Seer and running 3 versus 4. I had always assumed that maxing on combo pieces was the correct choice; why is that different here?
Also, has the Archangel + spike feeder combo fallen out of favor as a backup?
I think most of the decisions are:
22-23 lands, 2-3 Noble Hierarchs, 1-2 Wall of Roots (I play 22/3/1) If you cut manadorks you have to add a land. The more 3-drops (finks and ewit) you have, you want more Nobles. The more 2-drops (voice and scooze), you want Wall.
3-4 Kitchen Finks, 3-4 Eternal Witness (I play 4/3) Maintain the powerlevel of Collected Company. You need to consistently hit real cards, manadorks don't count. Situational bullets are also less of a hit, as you can't count them as useful all the times.
2-3 Viscera Seer (I play 3, please never play 4) Viscera Seer is pretty bad outside of the combo.
Always 2/2 Anafenza and Melira.
Im doing fine vs UR eldrazi, they don't have enough interactions to stop our combo. UW is much worse. Path is too good vs our creatures. Worship is nice but they seem to be boarding in Disenchants, Oblivion Rings and Stubborn Denials against us.
Gideon is kinda weak to so many dismembers in the format, so it's most of the time a biggerblossom, unless you also have Liliana on the board to force their hand.
I'm now playing with 3x Gemstone Mine and 3x Urborg. I sacrificing the Mine to Pox when it is low on counters, target it with Boom, and has Urborg with it. Urborg, is also a fine Pox/Boom/discard target to mitigate it's legendary drawback.
Relics are very good. Creature removals/wraths are very good. Lingering souls are not as much. Surgicals are fine.
Not sure if I'll bring in Memoricide though. And you should probably name Chord of Calling with them.
So my plan is this: -2 Lingering Souls +2 Surgical Extraction
Hey everyone, I am new to this archetype, what do we think of running Marsh Flats in the manabase? I've seen lists that do, and some that don't. What are the advantages of each?
It really is a preference call. When running just pain lands, you take on average 3.5 damage per game. This makes them slightly worse damage wise than Fetches. The reason some of us go without Fetches is because your average T1 play costs you less life and doesn't punish you as much for Thoughtseize. When I had fetches, I almost never fetched a basic (because you need both colors and might as well get them). This would put you at 15 after a T1 Thoughtseize.. ow. With Painlands you are only at 17 and can then play accordingly. I also preferred pain lands because it slightly increased the number of lands that can tap for <C>. Because of this, I have never been stuck with all color sources and not been able to cast TKS and Reality Smasher. The benefit of Fetches is it lets you play Rest for the Weary, You can play it without but it does make the card slightly worse.
Great explanation. I also dislike fetches because my meta plays a lot of paths and GQ.
I can see Elspeth, Knight Errant and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar be good as well.
Elspeth can jump a large Champion or Pridemate to get around blockers. Gideon can +1 to attack. Before twin was banned these plays were horrendous if they tapped our creature in response.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
This is true IF we can get the Process mechanic going, but this is not always easy against decks like say Elves, Fish, or Affinity. I agree that it is good enough to keep, but I would say that it will only work out if you are committed to the exile and Process game plan.
I have 4 Relics, 2 Claws, 4 Path, 1 Surgical Extraction, and 1 Oblivion Ring main and I STILL can't get it to hit every time, because sometimes I don't draw into sufficient exile effects, and other times I can't get any cards into their yard to get started.
There are also TKS, Sower and Bojuka Bog you can play.
One last edit with food for thought: Anybody think of running some numbers of Bitterblossom? It's another awkward to answer threat that can be used for a supply of chump blockers against aggressive decks and continues to pour out dudes if left unchecked. With Vault and Sorin now being run in lists.. the life loss can be minor impact. Just a thought.
Everyone hates Strangler, but when you get to trigger the ability, it is amazing, especially in our worst matchups. Reshaper doesn't always give you value, especially with so many decks playing Path to Exile nowadays. Also, the colorless <> mana is hard to get on curve unless you increase the number of <> sources, which can be tough. But I agree, Strangler is the worst card. I just don't know what to put in its place.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
I use a ratchet bomb as a catch all, but also use 2 disenchants as well. I imagine chalice would be a huge pain.
I will say that reality smasher is the real deal. I ran 2 in place of a herder and a sower. I wanna put another one in there. I may drop it down to one ulamog and go up to 3 smashers. With b/w being more grindy, Ulamog as a 2 of seems iffy.
My biggest issues is the lack of marshes, I have all the current fetches, but still have trouble from time to time with mana. I also only have 3 shrines but will grab the last on friday before SCG Regionals in Seattle.
I've been on the fence with MD surgical extraction as its been a decent play, but it really is hit and miss. Not sure if I want scarbbling claws, more dismember, or doom blade in it's place. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Eye of Ugin
4 Godless Shrine
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Shambling Vent
2 Plains
1 Swamp
Black 14
White 12
Colorless 11
This is 25 lands. Note that Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile can kind of fix your mana if you are desperate. Blight Herder adds colorless. Expedition Maps.
Their team had a tournament report on mtgmintcard.com. Abzan Company is just a faster deck, but they anticipated that Relic of Progenitus would be abundant in PTOGW so they went with version that is less reliant on the graveyard. Now Relic is gone, Abzan Company is better.
http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpmel16/top-32-decklists-2016-03-06
Linvala has some use vs UW Eldrazi.
Maindeck Pontiff is also fine in a UW Eldrazi meta
I think most of the decisions are:
22-23 lands, 2-3 Noble Hierarchs, 1-2 Wall of Roots (I play 22/3/1) If you cut manadorks you have to add a land. The more 3-drops (finks and ewit) you have, you want more Nobles. The more 2-drops (voice and scooze), you want Wall.
3-4 Kitchen Finks, 3-4 Eternal Witness (I play 4/3) Maintain the powerlevel of Collected Company. You need to consistently hit real cards, manadorks don't count. Situational bullets are also less of a hit, as you can't count them as useful all the times.
2-3 Viscera Seer (I play 3, please never play 4) Viscera Seer is pretty bad outside of the combo.
Always 2/2 Anafenza and Melira.
I'm now playing with 3x Gemstone Mine and 3x Urborg. I sacrificing the Mine to Pox when it is low on counters, target it with Boom, and has Urborg with it. Urborg, is also a fine Pox/Boom/discard target to mitigate it's legendary drawback.
Not sure if I'll bring in Memoricide though. And you should probably name Chord of Calling with them.
So my plan is this: -2 Lingering Souls +2 Surgical Extraction
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Memoricide
1 Vampiric Link
2 Rest for the Weary
2 Disenchant
1 Celestial Purge
2 Spellskite
3 Stony Silence
Fetches gives you more plays postboard vs Blood Moon. Also Rest for the Weary at instant speed.
I can see Elspeth, Knight Errant and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar be good as well.
Elspeth can jump a large Champion or Pridemate to get around blockers. Gideon can +1 to attack. Before twin was banned these plays were horrendous if they tapped our creature in response.
There are also TKS, Sower and Bojuka Bog you can play.
Lingering Souls should be enough and faster.
Wasteland Strangler is amazing in our worst matchups. It is the reason we stand a chance in the linear aggro metagame. People complain about burn and affinity and they want to cut Wasteland Strangler. Don't do this.
Congrats!
Have you found 11 colorless sources enough for 4 TKS and 2 Smasher?
edit:
I just noticed the scary interaction between Reality Smasher and Loxodon Smiter/Wilt-leaf Liege. The blowout is real.
I wouldn't play 3 Eye of Ugin and 4 Lingering Souls in the same deck.
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Eye of Ugin
4 Godless Shrine
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Shambling Vent
2 Plains
1 Swamp
Black 14
White 12
Colorless 11
This is 25 lands. Note that Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile can kind of fix your mana if you are desperate. Blight Herder adds colorless. Expedition Maps.