Hey hey, just checking in after having a relatively successful couple days, going 2-0-2 Thursday night, followed by 3-1 FNM. I really liked the look of this list that won an IQ, so I put it together. After some small tweaks, this is what I brought on Thursday:
2-0 vs Ponza. Got a bit lucky that's his draws didn't cooperate G1. G2 I went T3 second cobra, rallier, Saheeli copy rallier, avalanche riders your Utopia'd land.
2-0 vs Burn. Sigarda, end of story. She also insulates the combo from bolt which can be nice.
1-1-1 vs BBE Jund. Casual modern, so we were both taking our time thinking our turns through, and as a result neither of us could finish in turns. Great match, really intricate, lots of play to it. Which is great, as it gives me plenty of opportunity to screw up and get the wrong thing with Evo
1-1 vs Amulet. Another super intricate match. Won G1. G2, on T3 of turns, he swings with 18 trample power, me at 6 with Saheeli in play. Last turn I scried Evo to the top. I chump with everything except an Oracle to survive at 1, but postcombat Ruric Thar locks me out.
Changes for Friday:
MD
-1 Wall of Omens
+1 Eternal Witness
SB
-1 Kataki
+1 Tireless Tracker
0-2 vs Burn. Steamrolled. Having to keep shaky hands, no Sigarda, got burned.
2-0 vs Affinity. G1 he had a slow draw with no payoffs and only Inkmoth beats. G2 he mulls to five and I have all the SB action in the world.
2-1 vs Gr Tron, no Karns due to budget. G1 I keep a slow midrange hand and Ugin seals the deal. G2 Stony turns off 2 relics and 2 eggs. G3 was very tight. I went to copy a Cobra with 2 Felidar in hand, threatening to make 8 mana, this plays around 1 dismember no matter what he does, which he had.
2-1 vs Storm. G1 she goes off T3, not able to disrupt with Chup or Sigarda. Postboard is a lot better naturally. We had 2 Eidolon games, backed up by some paths and countermagic. She was never able to remove Eidolon.
@BadMcFadden: I hear you. The deck can do some undeniably powerful, synergy-driven things... just not quite consistently enough to get there without running a little hot. The core of Saheeli/Felidar/Evo/Oath also drives you towards a simpler creature-based proactive plan over a more spell-heavy instant speed interactive one like Kiki-Chord, which isn't to everyone's tastes.
However, I echo maniospas's comments that before you cash in the cards I would try something like one of Lejoon's recent lists which trades some of the explosiveness of the Hoogland approach for a more consistently smooth 6/2 Dork package, Wall and Courser for draw and filtering, and Paths in the main for interaction.
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With that out of the way I have a ~30 person MNM report:
Match 1: Burn (0-2) G1 I have to mull to a keepable 5 with Dork, Oath, Rallier, lands. He sticks T2 Eidolon. I Oath and reveal Siege Rhino... next turn he skull cracks Siege Rhino to seal the game.
G2 I keep a decent hand with Thalia and Rallier, maybe a dork. After his T1 Rift Bolt I play Thalia T2, licking my lips at the taxes that are about to come rolling in. On his T2 he plays Eidolon, which I'm able to remove a couple turns later with a lucky topdeck'd Rec Sage. He follows with a second Eidolon. At that point I decide to pay 4 to Evolve Thalia into Felidar and flicker Rec Sage. I'm able to Rallier Thalia back to the field the next turn but the damage from the double Eidolons has already taken a toll. I topdeck lands for several turns and he Boros Charms me dead. SB: -2 Saheeli, -1 Lancers // +2 Thalia GoT, +1 Reclamation Sage
Match 2: WB Eldrazi & Taxes (1-2) G1 I steal a win with a T4 combo
G2/G3 were pretty similar. G2 I did some cute opener things with Hierarch > T2 Cobra > Rallier > Oath > Engineered Explosives on 2. I set it to 2 thinking that I'd want to neutralize their namesake hatebears. Mistake. Opponent played Mirran Crusader followed by Flickerwisp. I detonated Explosives but he had another Thalia to replace it with (lol). Thalia's 2/1 first strike and Mirran Crusader's pro-green essentially invalidate Cobra and Rallier in combat. Eventually I got Rhino on the board but the opponent was able to attack with Crusader and then flicker it for psuedo vigilance. G3 was similar, except with the added salt of drawing 5-6 lands in a row. Lesson learned, hold the EE back until they commit to the board and then likely detonate at 3. SB: -3 Evolution, -1 Kambal, -1 Lancers // +2 Explosives, +1 Staticaster, +1 Rec Sage, +1 Gearhulk In hindsight even with the search hate I should've kept at least 2, maybe 3 Evos in since it's essential to both comboing out and getting Gearhulk into play, which felt like the only ways we're winning this matchup
Match 3: Bant Hatebears (2-0)
G1 We get into a board stall. I topdeck Rhino, then next turn I get to evolve Rallier into Lancers, play Saheeli the same turn, and copy Rhino to seal the game.
G2 I combo out on T4-5 SB: -1 Kambal // +1 Gearhulk
Match 4: Burn (2-0) G1 I combo out at 5 life after my opponent gets greedy and decides to send his Swiftspear damage at me instead of finishing off Saheeli.
G2 He keeps my board clear for several turns. Eventually I'm able to stick Cobra > fetch crack > Evolve cobra into Rhino. Next turn I Felidar flicker Rhino but get Skull Cracked. I swing with Rhino to put my opponent at 1 with myself at 3. Stuck on 3 mana, I evolve Rhino into Kambal and my opponent scoops. SB: -2 Saheeli, -1 Lancers // +2 Thalia GoT, +1 Reclamation Sage In the future I might leave the third Saheeli and but cut the third Rallier
Overall 2-2
Thoughts & takeaways:
-The 6/3 dork config felt great and I recommend it for anyone in a meta with lots of fast aggro & combo decks.
-The third Rallier is not bad but feels flexible, I'm thinking more about what I want here... I might proxy up Jadelight Ranger for testing. Other options are Courser, Splicer, and KotR. I'd prefer to keep it GW to spare my manabase any more strain.
-Lancers broke through a board stall in a big splashy way. I can't tell yet if it was a little slow and win-more or simply win-enough. Definitely adds some good lines but is expensive and also must be supported with enough 3-CMC Evo fodder. Still assessing.
-Kambal was still a decent option against Burn, though worse than the Finks he replaced vs Hatebears. I did see at least one Storm player at the tables so for now I feel vindicated in running Kambal in the main but as a legendary below-curve creature he's going to have to put in some work to keep earning his spot.
-Mirran Crusader is tough. I'm open to tips in general vs WB Taxes if anyone has them. I probably just need to get some more practice against this deck.
First off, thank you for all the posts and SB guide. I'm really interested in trying to make something near this list start to come together for GP Toronto if I end up going.
3rd Rallier: Now I've yet to try a 4 Cobra/4 Rallier build, but in my experience with a 'normal' (less all-in) build even the second one felt like too much sometimes. Is there a Voice/Oath/Canopy to grab a high enough percentage of the time?
KotR: I tried 2 Knights for a while, and while I eventually wanted to move away from the Knight/GQ/Gavony package, I can say that Knight is a pretty nice threat that always makes an strong impact if not removed. It's good with the new higher fetch count, and its presence was particularly appreciated against E Tron.
Manabase: No Temple Garden? I keep a fair amount of 1-landers with some dorks/Oaths, but would feel a lot less comfortable doing so without a Garden to fetch.
Also, looking to ease some strain, is 2 each of U/R shocks really necessary with your build? I see this allows you to more reliably get these colours off the non-G fetches, but if that's the case why not just more G fetches? I guess it would enable you to roll up fetching your 1 W source along with an off colour at the same time? I'd love to delve deeper into this, and figure out details that I'm not picking up.
Kambal: I want to try out your splash build, and like the idea of Kambal at first blush. Against Storm, I like that it's a fragile hate piece (like Teeg, as opposed to Eidolon) while also speeding up our clock while they dig. How has it tested against Burn, does it complement the Rhinos nicely?
Some SB cards:
EE: Looking at the SB guide, I can't help but think of Fiery Justice instead, although the Humans MU might be too much reason. It also can feel bad to play FJ before maxing out on Paths.
I would also get the desire to lean away from Stony/Kataki, since I like the Affinity MU with enough Path/FJ and Rec Sage/Staticaster. Then there's Lantern to think about, which used to feel ~50/50 in my small sample size with Noble, Oath, Evo, Qasali/Sage, Tracker, although I haven't played against it now with Whir and Needle/Cage main. I guess it's now probably significantly worse.
Mindcensor: I tried it a while back, and felt it wasn't doing enough vs Valakut. But then I've tried everything to improve this MU beyond the point of just accepting an unfavoured race.
Thalia: I've been thinking about it, and looking at your guide I really want to try it out. Would you say it's definitely been helpful?
Vs WB Taxes (Eldrazi?), one way to attack it that I've liked is just more removal. Every additional Path/Helix/FJ helps, although FJ not with Mirran Crusader of course. Removal is also just always really good against Affinity, Humans, Coco, etc.
Thanks again for the SB guide, and cheers to everyone posting here too.
The Wooded Bastion and second Temple Garden should be Horizon Canopies.
Short Version:
Round 1: 1-2 vs Burn
Round 2: 1-2 vs Esper Shadow
Round 3: 2-0 vs Merfolk
Round 4: 2-0 vs Grixis Control
Round 5: 2-1 vs Affinity
Round 6: 2-0 vs Affinity
Round 7: 1-2 vs Abzan
Round 8: 2-1 vs Jeskai Tempo
Ended up in 37th, just out of prizes.
Some highlights:
Round 1: 1-2 vs Burn
Game 2, since he only has 1 mana up, I sac Finks to get Thragtusk. Hmmm. Next game.
Game 3, double Eidolon. Good beats. I was groggy during this match, and likely made some mistakes that I didn't even realize.
Round 2: 1-2 vs Esper Shadow
Up against a skilled player and acquaintance who knows my deck well. He's been doing well locally with Titanshift.
So I'm surprised at Street Wraith Game 1. But I T2 Cobra, T3 Saheeli + Evo with him tapped out.
Game 2 I get completely destroyed by a Spell Queller he later tells me is a 1-of.
Round 3: 2-0 vs Merfolk
I combo quick both games, T3 in the second. Match was over in 10-15 minutes. Friends first thought I had the bye, then after I told them what I was up against, gave me their condolences on my loss
Round 4: 2-0 vs Grixis Control
I love playing this type of matchup. He resolves Ancestral Vision both games, but the first game I have enough to cross the finish line, and in the second I go toe to toe with him with Tracker, eventually grinding him down to where I can resolve both Thragtusk and Sun Titan.
Round 5: 2-1 vs Affinity
Game 1, he T4's me on the play. I played 2 lands and a Wall. Plating is lights out G1.
Game 2 he Platings me down low quick, and I'm forced to Path + Helix, and then next turn E-Wit into Path to barely survive. I fade Blast for a turn before comboing.
Game 3 I T3 him.
Round 6: 2-0 vs Affinity
Game 1 I have Bird + 2 lands as well as a Cobra in play, with both combo pieces in hand for several turns, not able to play out Guardian, and not wanting to expose Saheeli. Need to draw any land. Eventually draw Witness, get back a fetch. He attacks me down to 2 and I'm able to surprise combo next turn.
Game 2 was disgusting. I use 2 Evos to turn Bird + Wall into Rec Sage + Staticaster. With the help of a Guardian and Pridemage, over the next few turns I get his board of Mountain, Glimmervoid, and 6 artifacts down to just Mountain. I love playing affinity post-board haha.
Round 7: 1-2 vs Abzan
Long grindy games, he wins in turns.
Game 1, with Cobra in play, I draw the fetch I need to play Rallier, get back fetch, play Titan, get Saheeli, copy Titan, get E-wit, buy back Path, swing with Titan, and path his Tracker. Hmmmmmm.
Game 2, I overextend into Damnation. Stupid.
Only change I made before the tournament was swapping Magus to Teeg. Similar concerns about removal making Magus lackluster.
Eldrazi Tron: This matchup feels like an easier Affinity. They've got the same kind of "just kill you" draws, but their threats are less diverse, and we have a better sideboard plan for them. You're actually capable of standing toe-to-toe with their average draws until they cast All Is Dust. If you can stabilize with a 6/6 or better, they have to start working a lot harder to attack. Upgrading a Voice of Resurgence can often accomplish this. Sun Titan is even better. (It gets better still if you have a Domri Rade in play with 6 loyalty counters!) Game 2, we get to bring in a ton of gas.
SB Out: 2 Voice of Resurgence, 1 Courser of Kruphix, 1 Renegade Rallier, 1 Thragtusk, 1 Domri Rade SB In: 2 Unified Will, 2 Blood Moon, 1 Magus of the Moon, 1 Reclamation Sage
An easier Affinity? That has not been my experience. In fact I'm desperate for any ideas on how to handle this matchup. Is Unified Will the difference maker, or is there something I'm missing? Because what I'm doing is rarely working, and I need a better plan.
Nicely done Siefer! Great job and good luck at the rptq
Just a couple thoughts:
First, I really like having the 4th Evo in the board to be another bullet in matchups where 1 or 2 creatures are showstoppers. But I can understand the squeeze of the SB.
You say you never tutor rallier, but Voice -> rallier -> Voice is one of my default Evo plans. I basically love to get it whenever Voice is good.
I haven't really found Jund to be that hard (although the sample size is small, as you were alluding to). I do have 2 Finks MB/SB though, as well as 2 relic right now. But the Voice plan is just too strong, and Sigarda is unstoppable.
Lastly, how has Eidolon felt for you? I used to have one but felt that it wasn't pulling its weight. I guess I'm relying on Teeg/relic for Storm/Living End.
Forge-Tender and the moon effects are interesting, and I might have to give them a try.
Wow, it's really cool to me that people are working off my list, I'm flattered guys
@Shelldell I agree with Cobra being awkward at times, it comes out in any MU where card quality is important. It seems hard to determine if it's worth it overall.
I'm also on 1-of Finks/Witness/Rallier/Reflector right now. Been content with r mage so far.
Still on Manglehorn over rec sage.
I've been trying to find a way to shore up the Titanshift MU, to little avail :/ I think the best course of action might be just to accept an unfavoured race, so 4th Evo and maybe Teeg come in. When I was on Magus, he didn't even feel that great. It's quite a bit better with the newer versions on less Bolts, though.
I haven't played much against bennyhillz UW, but in general vs Ux Teeg and Voice are the allstars, with Tracker a close third.
I haven't tried Auriok Champion, but I do like Finks as it comes in vs Shadow, GBx, Ux as well.
For Dredge, Teeg is key. Staticaster is great too, but get Teeg first if possible. I've also been on some form of grave hate recently, switching between 2x RiP, Nihil Spellbomb, or Relic.
Btw, I've been quite successful vs Shadow recently. Sigarda is the stone cold nuts. I'm almost certain you should be playing her.
And Abzan feels like an almost unloseable MU.
Finally, I'm currently just hoping to dodge Gx Tron :/ It hurts that even with a Moon effect, we still can't necessarily depend on winning before T7.
1. I mean it does happen that I get flooded sometimes, yeah. Maybe the Cobras could come in and out as a meta call. On the whole, I have liked them.
2. I'm really attached to Angel of Sanctions. It's the answer to anything, but also good card advantage and a potent threat. Good vs Grixis Shadow, Eldrazi Tron. I rarely find myself siding it out. I haven't really thought about Angel vs Thragtusk, more Angel vs Sun Titan. On that note...
3. I do miss having Titan in the deck, but I don't miss drawing it early when it matters. I'm generally ok with clogged boards and playing the value game.
I do want to fit both a second GQ and a Horizon Canopy. I'm not sure what to cut though. Was considering basics.
And yeah I'm looking to try the second Finks as well. Saccing a dork for it is tough though, because often games against burn are about not having the time/mana to do what I want.
Changes for this tournament were adding a Finks to the main over a Scooze (would have liked to fit a second), squeezing the 4th path into the main, adding Magus, Lightcaster, and 2 Stony. Would have liked to play a Horizon Canopy, but couldn't get my hands on one. Not sure how I feel about the 1 Ghost Quarter.
Short Version:
Round 1: 0-2 vs Affinity
Round 2: 2-0 vs Burn
Round 3: 2-1 vs Naya Company
Round 4: 2-1 vs Devoted Elves
Round 5: ID, clean cut to top 8
Quarters: 2-1 vs Affinity
Semis: 2-0 vs BG Rock
Finals: Split
Round 1 vs Affinity: 0-2
This is not great game 1 unless you keep a fast combo hand, and even then Saheeli has to survive if you play her first. I kept a Voice, Oath, Evo -type hand, and quickly lost to a T1 Plating.
Out of the side, Manglehorn, Stony, Staticaster are of course great, and Linvala is alright. I think I made some mistakes sideboarding, which I fixed in the top 8.
Game 2 I kept an OK hand with Manglehorn, and lost to Etched Champion and flyers. Thought to myself, alright time to rattle 'em off.
Round 2 vs Burn: 2-0
I won both games at 3 life, fading 1 topdeck each time. Game 1 I combo'd, game 2 I Saheeli copied a voice token to push exact lethal through his topdecked Eidolon.
IN: Baloth, Blessed Alliance, Evo
OUT: Angel of Sanctions, Saheeli, Rallier
Round 3 vs Naya Company: 2-1
Game 1, I lost to Goyf and new Thalia beats. He had 3 Paths for my 3 Voices.
I brought in Baloth, Teeg, and maybe Blessed Alliance, Evo? Not sure if Teeg is worth is for just Company.
Game 2 was a real grind, with me flooding the board with value creatures in front of his Knight of the Reliquarys. I was recurring Path with Witness, and Ghost Quarter with Rallier since he mentioned only having 1 basic left in the deck. I eventually began attacking with a 7/7 token among others, when he cast company during my attack while I had 2 Voices in play. Trigger trigger. He died the next turn.
Game 2 ended with only 10 minutes remaining, so I began to shuffle and play quickly. I keep a hand with bird, Saheeli, and Felidar. We both play our dorks T1, and T2 I play Saheeli and tick up over a Voice, hoping he'll tap out for Company. He does, and I copy Birds for the 4th mana to combo.
Round 4 vs Devoted Elves: 2-1
I see a Devoted Druid on the bottom of his deck while he shuffles, so that was nice. T1 Llanowar lets me know it's Elves, which I know about but haven't seen or played against. He plays some dudes including a Druid, so I play carefully holding up a Path, and not deploying Saheeli so that she doesn't get attacked. Once he has no cards in hand, I play out both pieces.
IN: Teeg, Linvala, Staticaster, Evo
OUT: Finks, Rallier, 2 Voice
Game 2 I keep a hand with 2 Evo, because why else do I bring in bullets? I Evo away a dork T2 for Staticaster, which may have been a bit hasty. It eats a Path, but gets replaced by a Linvala which shuts him down. He Companys into Revoker naming my Saheeli in play, and we both do nothing while he develops his board. He eventually finds another Path and Ezuri-kills me.
Game 3 became a bit chaotic. Time again began to run down, with many players and the judges watching us. I have a Staticaster and some stuff in play, he has Druid, Ezuri, Archdruid, Revoker naming Saheeli. I had been holding up Path for a while, and wanted to Path his Revoker to begin copying Staticaster. But once Archdruid was no longer sick, he attacked, made mana, Overran, made more mana by untapping Druid, and repeat. He was doing this all quite sloppily, and I pointed out that the loop wasn't mana-neutral, which he seemed to think it was. Judges intervened, started keep track of P/T on paper, etc. This combat took about 10 mins with so much confusion. I realized I was dead to the attack, so I pathed Druid in response to the second Overrun, which he conceded to for some unknown reason. He may have been a bit tilted that I didn't Path sooner? I was not about to win on the crackback. OK then.
Round 5: ID, clean cut to top 8
Woohoo!
Quarters vs Affinity: 2-1
This was the same guy from round 1. Game 1 on the play, he starts beating me down with flyers. I remember regretting Pathing something instead of a Signal Pest. On my turn, I have the mana to cast only one of Finks, Saheeli, or Felidar. I'm forced to cast Finks since he's presenting exact lethal with flyers, and can't win the next turn.
Game 2 I combo him. Don't remember anything except him getting a GRV for casting a Vault Skirge off 2 colourless lands.
Game 3, Staticaster goes to WORK. Pinging things left and right, holding back multiple manlands. He has a Champion which begins to beat me down. I Manglehorn his Grafdigger's Cage since he has no other threats. At some point he tries to Dispatch something, and I notice he has only Champion and Mox Opal in play for Metalcraft. I'm hoping it will resolve and only tap my guy, but the judge notices that Mox Opal was his W mana source, so we had to rewind, and he got another GRV. He animated some lands to get metalcraft, one of which I got to pick off end of turn.
Doing nothing, I play a Saheeli which his Champion kills in 3 hits. I start chipping in, and I'm winning the race, so he has to hold back with Champion. Eventually I find an Evo with a Felidar in play. Witness back Saheeli. I had all 4 birds in play at the end.
Semis vs BG Rock: 2-0
Game 1 he IoK's off a Blooming Marsh, taking Witness over Path or Saheeli. He plays a Witness of his own and Pulses my Saheeli, but he runs out of resources doing things like T2 Fatal Push my Wall of Omens, which I am extremely OK with. He plays a Lili which I worried me, but I topdeck Felidar, flicker Wall, Saheeli.
I keep a stellar 6 on the draw of fetch, dork, Oath, Voice, Witness, Evo. My scry is a Tracker, which I kept, maybe greedy. He Pushes my dork and plays Bob on T2, which I have no Path for. T2 my Oath finds me a fetch. He decays my Oath, which I again could not be more OK with. I hit my 3rd land drop, and go with Witness back Oath over getting Voice into play, specifically because then my Evo can get a Sigarda next turn, which it does. We both play Trackers, and he continues to draw off Bob every turn, but he has no answer for Sigarda and she goes the distance. He dies at 3 life to Bob flipping Tracker.
Finals: Split with a Titanshift player, which I was eager to do.
Super happy with the result, deck is so fun and I think I played pretty well and focused for the most part. I was a little stunned as I kept winning, at my first IQ and second Comp REL event.
Feel free to give any criticism/recommendations on my list or play. 1 Finks and 1 Ghost Quarter I'm especially not ecstatic about.
So I've been on the somewhat standard 1 negate, 2 unified will for a while now. Today someone suggested Disdainful Stroke over unified will.
Main differences I can see are DS is better vs Eldrazi Tron, UW better vs Living End. Against UWx control I'm not sure.
Any opinions?
Eidolon is most relevant against storm, but also comes in against: snapcaster decks, cascade decks (living end, restore balance), ad nauseum and elves if on the play.
Are you bringing eidolon in vs grixis (delver/shadow/control)?
Scooze vs Loaming Shaman?
Angel is currently the only out to artifacts/enchantments. I previously had a Rec Sage side or a Qasali Pridemage main.
I had a Sun Titan in before, and it was good, but I took it out for fear of too many big drops.
I like the 3/1 Saheeli/Kiki split over 4/0. After copying a Voice, I don't think I could take it out.
The removal SB package. I like the variety, do you guys particularly not like Condemn?
I'm completely in love with Dusk // Dawn. It has been beyond amazing for me.
So yeah, just getting another voice and list in the mix. Any and all ideas welcome.
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Coiling Oracle
1 Wall of Omens
4 Renegade Rallier
4 Felidar Guardian
1 Ravenous Chupacabra
1 Thalia's Lancers
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Spells
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Saheeli Rai
4 Eldritch Evolution
4 Windswept Heath
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Forest
1 Plains
1 Horizon Canopy
2 Path to Exile
2 Stony Silence
1 Unified Will
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Lone Missionary
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2-0 vs Ponza. Got a bit lucky that's his draws didn't cooperate G1. G2 I went T3 second cobra, rallier, Saheeli copy rallier, avalanche riders your Utopia'd land.
2-0 vs Burn. Sigarda, end of story. She also insulates the combo from bolt which can be nice.
1-1-1 vs BBE Jund. Casual modern, so we were both taking our time thinking our turns through, and as a result neither of us could finish in turns. Great match, really intricate, lots of play to it. Which is great, as it gives me plenty of opportunity to screw up and get the wrong thing with Evo
1-1 vs Amulet. Another super intricate match. Won G1. G2, on T3 of turns, he swings with 18 trample power, me at 6 with Saheeli in play. Last turn I scried Evo to the top. I chump with everything except an Oracle to survive at 1, but postcombat Ruric Thar locks me out.
Changes for Friday:
MD
-1 Wall of Omens
+1 Eternal Witness
SB
-1 Kataki
+1 Tireless Tracker
0-2 vs Burn. Steamrolled. Having to keep shaky hands, no Sigarda, got burned.
2-0 vs Affinity. G1 he had a slow draw with no payoffs and only Inkmoth beats. G2 he mulls to five and I have all the SB action in the world.
2-1 vs Gr Tron, no Karns due to budget. G1 I keep a slow midrange hand and Ugin seals the deal. G2 Stony turns off 2 relics and 2 eggs. G3 was very tight. I went to copy a Cobra with 2 Felidar in hand, threatening to make 8 mana, this plays around 1 dismember no matter what he does, which he had.
2-1 vs Storm. G1 she goes off T3, not able to disrupt with Chup or Sigarda. Postboard is a lot better naturally. We had 2 Eidolon games, backed up by some paths and countermagic. She was never able to remove Eidolon.
Deck feels solid, fun as always
First off, thank you for all the posts and SB guide. I'm really interested in trying to make something near this list start to come together for GP Toronto if I end up going.
3rd Rallier: Now I've yet to try a 4 Cobra/4 Rallier build, but in my experience with a 'normal' (less all-in) build even the second one felt like too much sometimes. Is there a Voice/Oath/Canopy to grab a high enough percentage of the time?
KotR: I tried 2 Knights for a while, and while I eventually wanted to move away from the Knight/GQ/Gavony package, I can say that Knight is a pretty nice threat that always makes an strong impact if not removed. It's good with the new higher fetch count, and its presence was particularly appreciated against E Tron.
Manabase: No Temple Garden? I keep a fair amount of 1-landers with some dorks/Oaths, but would feel a lot less comfortable doing so without a Garden to fetch.
Also, looking to ease some strain, is 2 each of U/R shocks really necessary with your build? I see this allows you to more reliably get these colours off the non-G fetches, but if that's the case why not just more G fetches? I guess it would enable you to roll up fetching your 1 W source along with an off colour at the same time? I'd love to delve deeper into this, and figure out details that I'm not picking up.
Kambal: I want to try out your splash build, and like the idea of Kambal at first blush. Against Storm, I like that it's a fragile hate piece (like Teeg, as opposed to Eidolon) while also speeding up our clock while they dig. How has it tested against Burn, does it complement the Rhinos nicely?
Some SB cards:
EE: Looking at the SB guide, I can't help but think of Fiery Justice instead, although the Humans MU might be too much reason. It also can feel bad to play FJ before maxing out on Paths.
I would also get the desire to lean away from Stony/Kataki, since I like the Affinity MU with enough Path/FJ and Rec Sage/Staticaster. Then there's Lantern to think about, which used to feel ~50/50 in my small sample size with Noble, Oath, Evo, Qasali/Sage, Tracker, although I haven't played against it now with Whir and Needle/Cage main. I guess it's now probably significantly worse.
Mindcensor: I tried it a while back, and felt it wasn't doing enough vs Valakut. But then I've tried everything to improve this MU beyond the point of just accepting an unfavoured race.
Thalia: I've been thinking about it, and looking at your guide I really want to try it out. Would you say it's definitely been helpful?
Vs WB Taxes (Eldrazi?), one way to attack it that I've liked is just more removal. Every additional Path/Helix/FJ helps, although FJ not with Mirran Crusader of course. Removal is also just always really good against Affinity, Humans, Coco, etc.
Thanks again for the SB guide, and cheers to everyone posting here too.
Played a FaceToFace 3K yesterday with a list that I haven't touched in 3 weeks. Got off to a rough start, but brought it back decently.
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Lotus Cobra
4 Voice of Resurgence
1 Renegade Rallier
4 Felidar Guardian
1 Eternal Witness
1 Thragtusk
2 Wall of Omens
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Sun Titan
Spells
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Saheeli Rai
3 Eldritch Evolution
4 Path to Exile
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
2 Plains
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Lone Missionary
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Stony Silence
2 Blood Moon
1 Lightning Helix
1 Eldritch Evolution
1 Fiery Justice
The Wooded Bastion and second Temple Garden should be Horizon Canopies.
Short Version:
Round 1: 1-2 vs Burn
Round 2: 1-2 vs Esper Shadow
Round 3: 2-0 vs Merfolk
Round 4: 2-0 vs Grixis Control
Round 5: 2-1 vs Affinity
Round 6: 2-0 vs Affinity
Round 7: 1-2 vs Abzan
Round 8: 2-1 vs Jeskai Tempo
Ended up in 37th, just out of prizes.
Some highlights:
Round 1: 1-2 vs Burn
Game 2, since he only has 1 mana up, I sac Finks to get Thragtusk. Hmmm. Next game.
Game 3, double Eidolon. Good beats. I was groggy during this match, and likely made some mistakes that I didn't even realize.
Round 2: 1-2 vs Esper Shadow
Up against a skilled player and acquaintance who knows my deck well. He's been doing well locally with Titanshift.
So I'm surprised at Street Wraith Game 1. But I T2 Cobra, T3 Saheeli + Evo with him tapped out.
Game 2 I get completely destroyed by a Spell Queller he later tells me is a 1-of.
Round 3: 2-0 vs Merfolk
I combo quick both games, T3 in the second. Match was over in 10-15 minutes. Friends first thought I had the bye, then after I told them what I was up against, gave me their condolences on my loss
Round 4: 2-0 vs Grixis Control
I love playing this type of matchup. He resolves Ancestral Vision both games, but the first game I have enough to cross the finish line, and in the second I go toe to toe with him with Tracker, eventually grinding him down to where I can resolve both Thragtusk and Sun Titan.
Round 5: 2-1 vs Affinity
Game 1, he T4's me on the play. I played 2 lands and a Wall. Plating is lights out G1.
Game 2 he Platings me down low quick, and I'm forced to Path + Helix, and then next turn E-Wit into Path to barely survive. I fade Blast for a turn before comboing.
Game 3 I T3 him.
Round 6: 2-0 vs Affinity
Game 1 I have Bird + 2 lands as well as a Cobra in play, with both combo pieces in hand for several turns, not able to play out Guardian, and not wanting to expose Saheeli. Need to draw any land. Eventually draw Witness, get back a fetch. He attacks me down to 2 and I'm able to surprise combo next turn.
Game 2 was disgusting. I use 2 Evos to turn Bird + Wall into Rec Sage + Staticaster. With the help of a Guardian and Pridemage, over the next few turns I get his board of Mountain, Glimmervoid, and 6 artifacts down to just Mountain. I love playing affinity post-board haha.
Round 7: 1-2 vs Abzan
Long grindy games, he wins in turns.
Game 1, with Cobra in play, I draw the fetch I need to play Rallier, get back fetch, play Titan, get Saheeli, copy Titan, get E-wit, buy back Path, swing with Titan, and path his Tracker. Hmmmmmm.
Game 2, I overextend into Damnation. Stupid.
Only change I made before the tournament was swapping Magus to Teeg. Similar concerns about removal making Magus lackluster.
An easier Affinity? That has not been my experience. In fact I'm desperate for any ideas on how to handle this matchup. Is Unified Will the difference maker, or is there something I'm missing? Because what I'm doing is rarely working, and I need a better plan.
Just a couple thoughts:
First, I really like having the 4th Evo in the board to be another bullet in matchups where 1 or 2 creatures are showstoppers. But I can understand the squeeze of the SB.
You say you never tutor rallier, but Voice -> rallier -> Voice is one of my default Evo plans. I basically love to get it whenever Voice is good.
I haven't really found Jund to be that hard (although the sample size is small, as you were alluding to). I do have 2 Finks MB/SB though, as well as 2 relic right now. But the Voice plan is just too strong, and Sigarda is unstoppable.
Lastly, how has Eidolon felt for you? I used to have one but felt that it wasn't pulling its weight. I guess I'm relying on Teeg/relic for Storm/Living End.
Forge-Tender and the moon effects are interesting, and I might have to give them a try.
@Shelldell I agree with Cobra being awkward at times, it comes out in any MU where card quality is important. It seems hard to determine if it's worth it overall.
I'm also on 1-of Finks/Witness/Rallier/Reflector right now. Been content with r mage so far.
Still on Manglehorn over rec sage.
I've been trying to find a way to shore up the Titanshift MU, to little avail :/ I think the best course of action might be just to accept an unfavoured race, so 4th Evo and maybe Teeg come in. When I was on Magus, he didn't even feel that great. It's quite a bit better with the newer versions on less Bolts, though.
I haven't played much against bennyhillz UW, but in general vs Ux Teeg and Voice are the allstars, with Tracker a close third.
I haven't tried Auriok Champion, but I do like Finks as it comes in vs Shadow, GBx, Ux as well.
For Dredge, Teeg is key. Staticaster is great too, but get Teeg first if possible. I've also been on some form of grave hate recently, switching between 2x RiP, Nihil Spellbomb, or Relic.
Btw, I've been quite successful vs Shadow recently. Sigarda is the stone cold nuts. I'm almost certain you should be playing her.
And Abzan feels like an almost unloseable MU.
Finally, I'm currently just hoping to dodge Gx Tron :/ It hurts that even with a Moon effect, we still can't necessarily depend on winning before T7.
1. I mean it does happen that I get flooded sometimes, yeah. Maybe the Cobras could come in and out as a meta call. On the whole, I have liked them.
2. I'm really attached to Angel of Sanctions. It's the answer to anything, but also good card advantage and a potent threat. Good vs Grixis Shadow, Eldrazi Tron. I rarely find myself siding it out. I haven't really thought about Angel vs Thragtusk, more Angel vs Sun Titan. On that note...
3. I do miss having Titan in the deck, but I don't miss drawing it early when it matters. I'm generally ok with clogged boards and playing the value game.
I do want to fit both a second GQ and a Horizon Canopy. I'm not sure what to cut though. Was considering basics.
And yeah I'm looking to try the second Finks as well. Saccing a dork for it is tough though, because often games against burn are about not having the time/mana to do what I want.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/saheeli-evolution-scg-iq-24-june-2017/
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
4 Voice of Resurgence
3 Wall of Omens
2 Lotus Cobra
1 Renegade Rallier
1 Eternal Witness
1 Kitchen Finks
4 Felidar Guardian
1 Angel of Sanctions
Spells
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Path to Exile
4 Saheeli Rai
3 Eldritch Evolution
4 Windswept Heath
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
2 Plains
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Manglehorn
1 Devout Lightcaster
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Magus of the Moon
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
2 Stony Silence
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Eldritch Evolution
Changes for this tournament were adding a Finks to the main over a Scooze (would have liked to fit a second), squeezing the 4th path into the main, adding Magus, Lightcaster, and 2 Stony. Would have liked to play a Horizon Canopy, but couldn't get my hands on one. Not sure how I feel about the 1 Ghost Quarter.
Short Version:
Round 1: 0-2 vs Affinity
Round 2: 2-0 vs Burn
Round 3: 2-1 vs Naya Company
Round 4: 2-1 vs Devoted Elves
Round 5: ID, clean cut to top 8
Quarters: 2-1 vs Affinity
Semis: 2-0 vs BG Rock
Finals: Split
Round 1 vs Affinity: 0-2
This is not great game 1 unless you keep a fast combo hand, and even then Saheeli has to survive if you play her first. I kept a Voice, Oath, Evo -type hand, and quickly lost to a T1 Plating.
Out of the side, Manglehorn, Stony, Staticaster are of course great, and Linvala is alright. I think I made some mistakes sideboarding, which I fixed in the top 8.
Game 2 I kept an OK hand with Manglehorn, and lost to Etched Champion and flyers. Thought to myself, alright time to rattle 'em off.
Round 2 vs Burn: 2-0
I won both games at 3 life, fading 1 topdeck each time. Game 1 I combo'd, game 2 I Saheeli copied a voice token to push exact lethal through his topdecked Eidolon.
IN: Baloth, Blessed Alliance, Evo
OUT: Angel of Sanctions, Saheeli, Rallier
Round 3 vs Naya Company: 2-1
Game 1, I lost to Goyf and new Thalia beats. He had 3 Paths for my 3 Voices.
I brought in Baloth, Teeg, and maybe Blessed Alliance, Evo? Not sure if Teeg is worth is for just Company.
Game 2 was a real grind, with me flooding the board with value creatures in front of his Knight of the Reliquarys. I was recurring Path with Witness, and Ghost Quarter with Rallier since he mentioned only having 1 basic left in the deck. I eventually began attacking with a 7/7 token among others, when he cast company during my attack while I had 2 Voices in play. Trigger trigger. He died the next turn.
Game 2 ended with only 10 minutes remaining, so I began to shuffle and play quickly. I keep a hand with bird, Saheeli, and Felidar. We both play our dorks T1, and T2 I play Saheeli and tick up over a Voice, hoping he'll tap out for Company. He does, and I copy Birds for the 4th mana to combo.
Round 4 vs Devoted Elves: 2-1
I see a Devoted Druid on the bottom of his deck while he shuffles, so that was nice. T1 Llanowar lets me know it's Elves, which I know about but haven't seen or played against. He plays some dudes including a Druid, so I play carefully holding up a Path, and not deploying Saheeli so that she doesn't get attacked. Once he has no cards in hand, I play out both pieces.
IN: Teeg, Linvala, Staticaster, Evo
OUT: Finks, Rallier, 2 Voice
Game 2 I keep a hand with 2 Evo, because why else do I bring in bullets? I Evo away a dork T2 for Staticaster, which may have been a bit hasty. It eats a Path, but gets replaced by a Linvala which shuts him down. He Companys into Revoker naming my Saheeli in play, and we both do nothing while he develops his board. He eventually finds another Path and Ezuri-kills me.
Game 3 became a bit chaotic. Time again began to run down, with many players and the judges watching us. I have a Staticaster and some stuff in play, he has Druid, Ezuri, Archdruid, Revoker naming Saheeli. I had been holding up Path for a while, and wanted to Path his Revoker to begin copying Staticaster. But once Archdruid was no longer sick, he attacked, made mana, Overran, made more mana by untapping Druid, and repeat. He was doing this all quite sloppily, and I pointed out that the loop wasn't mana-neutral, which he seemed to think it was. Judges intervened, started keep track of P/T on paper, etc. This combat took about 10 mins with so much confusion. I realized I was dead to the attack, so I pathed Druid in response to the second Overrun, which he conceded to for some unknown reason. He may have been a bit tilted that I didn't Path sooner? I was not about to win on the crackback. OK then.
Round 5: ID, clean cut to top 8
Woohoo!
Quarters vs Affinity: 2-1
This was the same guy from round 1. Game 1 on the play, he starts beating me down with flyers. I remember regretting Pathing something instead of a Signal Pest. On my turn, I have the mana to cast only one of Finks, Saheeli, or Felidar. I'm forced to cast Finks since he's presenting exact lethal with flyers, and can't win the next turn.
IN: Manglehorn, Staticaster, Linvala, Evo, 2 Stony Silence, maybe Blessed Alliance?
OUT: Finks, Rallier, 4 Voice, maybe 1 Felidar?
Game 2 I combo him. Don't remember anything except him getting a GRV for casting a Vault Skirge off 2 colourless lands.
Game 3, Staticaster goes to WORK. Pinging things left and right, holding back multiple manlands. He has a Champion which begins to beat me down. I Manglehorn his Grafdigger's Cage since he has no other threats. At some point he tries to Dispatch something, and I notice he has only Champion and Mox Opal in play for Metalcraft. I'm hoping it will resolve and only tap my guy, but the judge notices that Mox Opal was his W mana source, so we had to rewind, and he got another GRV. He animated some lands to get metalcraft, one of which I got to pick off end of turn.
Doing nothing, I play a Saheeli which his Champion kills in 3 hits. I start chipping in, and I'm winning the race, so he has to hold back with Champion. Eventually I find an Evo with a Felidar in play. Witness back Saheeli. I had all 4 birds in play at the end.
Semis vs BG Rock: 2-0
Game 1 he IoK's off a Blooming Marsh, taking Witness over Path or Saheeli. He plays a Witness of his own and Pulses my Saheeli, but he runs out of resources doing things like T2 Fatal Push my Wall of Omens, which I am extremely OK with. He plays a Lili which I worried me, but I topdeck Felidar, flicker Wall, Saheeli.
IN: Sigarda, 2 Tracker, Baloth, Evo
OUT: 1 Saheeli, 1 Felidar, 2 Lotus Cobra, 1 Birds
I keep a stellar 6 on the draw of fetch, dork, Oath, Voice, Witness, Evo. My scry is a Tracker, which I kept, maybe greedy. He Pushes my dork and plays Bob on T2, which I have no Path for. T2 my Oath finds me a fetch. He decays my Oath, which I again could not be more OK with. I hit my 3rd land drop, and go with Witness back Oath over getting Voice into play, specifically because then my Evo can get a Sigarda next turn, which it does. We both play Trackers, and he continues to draw off Bob every turn, but he has no answer for Sigarda and she goes the distance. He dies at 3 life to Bob flipping Tracker.
Finals: Split with a Titanshift player, which I was eager to do.
Super happy with the result, deck is so fun and I think I played pretty well and focused for the most part. I was a little stunned as I kept winning, at my first IQ and second Comp REL event.
Feel free to give any criticism/recommendations on my list or play. 1 Finks and 1 Ghost Quarter I'm especially not ecstatic about.
Thanks for reading.
Mini-report forthcoming.Main differences I can see are DS is better vs Eldrazi Tron, UW better vs Living End. Against UWx control I'm not sure.
Any opinions?
Are you bringing eidolon in vs grixis (delver/shadow/control)?
Current list that a friend and I have been on:
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
3 Lotus Cobra
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Wall of Omens
2 Renegade Rallier
1 Eternal Witness
1 Tireless Tracker
4 Felidar Guardian
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Angel of Sanctions
Spells
4 Oath of Nissa
3 Path to Exile
3 Eldritch Evolution
3 Saheeli Rai
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
2 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Plains
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Lone Missionary
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Condemn
1 Negate
2 Unified Will
3 Dusk // Dawn
Thoughts:
Scooze vs Loaming Shaman?
Angel is currently the only out to artifacts/enchantments. I previously had a Rec Sage side or a Qasali Pridemage main.
I had a Sun Titan in before, and it was good, but I took it out for fear of too many big drops.
I like the 3/1 Saheeli/Kiki split over 4/0. After copying a Voice, I don't think I could take it out.
The removal SB package. I like the variety, do you guys particularly not like Condemn?
I'm completely in love with Dusk // Dawn. It has been beyond amazing for me.
So yeah, just getting another voice and list in the mix. Any and all ideas welcome.