Thanks for the report. I usually find Kiki chord extremely difficult. The deck usually completely outvalues me until they combo for the win. Can you provide details on that matchup and your sideboard plan?
I'm updating some information that has been asked of me! I am also going to update links below once I have had some time to test with Ixalan. Tomorrow night, if I can get the singles needed, I will stream with Ixalan in a league.
Feel free to private message me with any singles you would love to see tested! I'll try to pick them up.
-Catmix
Ixalan in Death And Taxes:
Hello there, DNT Squad! Let's dive right into this. We have become a Tier 1 deck in the last 6 months. There are two builds primarily responsible for this: Mono-White DNT & Eldrazi And Taxes. This is not to say other builds haven't had major success but the major meta share is from the aforementioned duo. The next step is to see if either of those lists got better with Ixalan, and to determine what specific cards will be utilized from the new set.
Ixalan Playables: [These cards have the potential of being used for Death And Taxes in the maindeck and/or sideboard].
Field of Ruin: This card seems to be the clear winner as most likely played card for our archetype. I am not sold on it taking over Tectonic Edge slots like some others have been thinking. I do believe that this could be the 8th and 9th colorless land slots.
Settle the Wreckage: Path of God, Wrath to Exile, Mass Path (or whatever!) This is very likely in contention with the Dusk/Dawn slots in Mono-White's board. Not having to lose your own team is great. Having to wait for an opponent to alpha swing might be problematic, though. I do like this card a lot and look forward to testing it.
Kinjalli's Sunwing: This card has potential to be a flex slot for Mono-White. The body is "reasonable" and the tax is pretty affective in Modern. If a list wants Thalia, Heretic Cathar, there might be a chance this takes some of the same slots (maybe).)
Deadeye Tracker: Surprisingly, I think this might be a viable (pun intended) target for Eldrazi and Taxes. One Drops have proven to be pretty important. Having a card that can filter cards, scale in size, and force removal from the opps could be great. Eldrazi And Taxes players should really, really, really look at addressing the mana issues with the list. That deck has access to so many great tools but punishes itself so much with the current configuration.
A Death-Cat's Sideboard Plan:
Recently, I have had an influx of people asking me for my sideboard planning. I tend to play "unconventional" Magic and look for mix-ups to adjust for the meta (see in example: Journey To Nowhere.) While I may not be reinventing the wheel or choosing a plan most will agree with, many have continuously asked about my personal sideboard strategy.
So without further adieu, "How to be a Death-Cat".
Precursor to building the SB:
Step 1: Jam (and track) as many games with your desired list. Find out how many games you are winning on draw/play with your main deck. The desired result is to be 50% better against any given deck at any given time with your main deck. While you play more games in the sideboard, you have access to a maximum of 15 cards in your SB. Having a fighting chance game one is critical to your overall win percentage. Have you ever noticed most people in Top 8 do not have amazing blow out wins but consistently win round over round. This is because a balanced deck will win across the field instead of head-hunting 2-3 meta decks.
Step 2: Use a trusted site such as: MtgTop 8 or Mtg Goldfish to determine what the top tier decks are. Observe how many decks have overlapping strategies. Do 3 decks in the meta all crumble to Rest In Peace? Is there a singular deck that just seems like its the only one that needs specific hate (Affinity). Use the information from Step 1 to determine if you even want to have additional tools against them. If you are 50%+ against them on play and draw, then why are you dedicating hate to the deck or the pilot. My earliest years of Magic have shown me sometimes we get tethered to how it feels to lose to the same player over and over again. Eventually, you want to stick it to that player... not the deck.
Step 3: Accept your losses. There are some decks that you will not beat unless you over commit to beating them. If you are playing against a deck that you are 20-40% on play/draw prior to boarding, Adding 2 cards to your SB is not worth the percentage points you would gain against other overlapping strategies. After every round in a major event, I count what cards in my SB came in and how many were drawn in the match. This will help you you track whether your sb choices are influential in you wining games.
Step 4: Change your sideboard based on what your results are telling you! If you have cards that have become pet sideboard cards, cut them! "I SAID CUT THEM!" lol. Modern is always changing. Cards are always being printed. Your match up percentages are changing every 3 months. Storm use to be a complete joke against DNT. Now, they have 8 Thalias/Storm Lords. Change your sideboards. Stop being stubborn.
Pre-Ixalan Sideboard: Here goes an example sideboard of mine (at the moment):
This sideboard was a result of all the things I described in the precursor section. I tracked my results and made changes as needed. (Gideon might need to be readjusted at the time of the post).
Lets give a mock run through 5 rounds to see if I have reasonable sideboard options. I am going to check a random tournament report on MTG Goldfish and see how our SB would have would perform. Link to Gauntlet
R1 vs UW Control.
SB Options: Gideon of the Trials, Oblivion Ring, Eidolon of Rheteric, Rest In Peace, Spellskite.
R2 vs Ad Nauseam (Skipped Jeskai due to redundancy).
SB Options: Gideon of the Trials, Oblivion Ring, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Spellskite, Burrenton Forge-Tender.
R3 vs Esper Gifts.
SB Options: Eidolon of Rhetoric, Rest In Peace, Spellskite, Sunlance, Journey To Nowhere.
R4 vs Bogle.
SB Options: Spellskite, Oblivion Ring.
R5 vs Affinity.
SB Options: Oblivion Ring, Spellskite, Journey to Nowhere, Sunlance, Burrenton Forge-Tender.
With these matches, data shows me that I can expect to run a 5-0 or 4-1 against the meta. The swingiest matches being Bogle and Affinity. The Gideon might be the shakiest card in my board according to what we are observing. Initially, Gideon was in the Board due to Smallpox and other randoms showing up in the meta. But, it might be time to turn those into Settle the Wreckage. And guess what! That would answer the shaky match ups we just analyzed.
While this is not a step by step into every tier match up, I hope it gives some insight to my SB building and why I feel that my unorthodox sb tends to do well. In the last year I have attended roughly 6-7 events and have placed top 8 in all of them. I think with more data we can all potentially continue to uncover great tools as metas keep pushing forward.
Are you being stupid on purpose? Am I missing the joke?
Your tone seems hostile. I think it would be more productive to just give your opinion on a card/strategy opposed to chastising someone for an idea. I love these forums for the collective effort to make decks stronger. Comments like this will just drive people away from these forums and even the game.
He only embalms it. I'm pretty sure they were being sarcastic.
Can anyone explain why some of the Abzan decks only play 3 Lilliana of the veils and 3 total planeswalkers in the main board? Jund and most BG rock lists play 4 Lilly of the Veil.
I also think acknowledging the pilots is very critical too! Playing Death and Taxes is not easy and no matter whether lists are agreed upon, piloting to 2nd and 6th finishes at a GP is extraordinary work. So congrats for that alone.
I'm also going to take a chance to humble brag and say that I have repeatedly mentioned MonoWhite and GW were the best positioned variants! Also street cred to @charonsobol for calling out dust//dawn weeks ago!
sometime this week I plan on recapping the two lists and offer my perspective. Let me know a good night for y'all!
Looking forward to it man.
Here's some thing to think about. I know that you like Gideon of the trials. Isn't this card that much better in a build that Plays dusk/dawn?
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-Tdog
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Thank you catmix. This is really helpful
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In addition to the 3 Jund decks in the top 32 of Louisville, I also noticed that another list won an IQ
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=116153
This was the best weekend for Jund in a while.
I'm curious to see what lists are going to be the best moving forward (classic, blood moon, rabble master,Lilliana heavy)
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Your tone seems hostile. I think it would be more productive to just give your opinion on a card/strategy opposed to chastising someone for an idea. I love these forums for the collective effort to make decks stronger. Comments like this will just drive people away from these forums and even the game.
He only embalms it. I'm pretty sure they were being sarcastic.
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I agree with 4th Lilly. Lilly lost hope as 1 in board is also very strong.
How did the grim fosters work for you? Did you face any RIP or Relic? I usually like trackers or Gideon's to counteract he GY hate.
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And -2 Serra avenger for 2 selfless spirits?