WAR gave 2 huge additions for this deck.
1st and most obvious is Gideon Blackblade which is bonkers vs control and Reclamation decks but is weak vs aggro decks while on draw. The fact that he can't block as well as he's fighting over 3-drop spot with History of Benalia and Benalish Marshal makes him great fit for sideboard in mono White version. For decks without such heavy 3-drop slot filled, like Selesnya or Orzhov, he might be great even mainboard.
2nd which I had to experience before I've settled my opinion about is Law-Rune Enforcer. This little 1-drop is amazing, stops lot of pressure and breaks the walls. Ghalta, Primal Hunger from Rhythm of the Wild? No problem. Lyra Dawnbringer? No problem. Thief of Sanity threatening to gain huge card advantage? Nope. 2 toughness allows to dodge Goblin Chainwhirler and is finally another maindeckable answer for annoying Rekindling Phoenix. Right now I'm playing 3 because 1 power is something that isn't that spectacular for aggro deck and he mostly sucks vs control.
Other than that I added 1x Tomik, Distinguished Advokist. What I've always lacked in this deck is lack of decent flyers. For 2 mana I have legendary 2/3 flyer that dodges every single popular early Black removal - Moment of Craving, Cry of the Carnarium and Cast Down - and is relevant in creature matchups during stalls. He was sometimes relevant but being legendary 2 drop with no real relevant effect or ability forces me to play only 1 copy.
Deck feels really smooth, sideboarding is very easy and intuitive and has game vs literally every single deck in the metagame. The worst matchups are probably Black control decks with loads of maindeck creature removal but improves greatly after sideboard, Sultai which became less popular lately and mono R where a lot depends on starting hands and is around 50/50.
Exactly! But by doing a 2/2 split you don't add any more 4 CMC cards. And hitting your second Frienzy off of your fist is bad, Chandra would be much better.
It seems like you would be comparing drawing chandra to drawing a cheap burn spell, instead of comparing getting two frienzys vs. one frienzy and one chandra
But you want more 4 CMC cards with Chandra in deck... You want those Phoenixes mainboard. And Frenzy doesn't want it.
Personally I wouldn't even run 4 copies of either Frenzy or Chandra maindeck. Even in RNA people were cutting these for more burn.
But you can easly test this split on Arena and post results here
You don't want more 4 CMC cards with Frenzy around. Frenzy is great because it can provide you huge card advantage by playing multiple cards in a row and by doing so you have to stay on low on curve. Especially when you have Runaway Steam-Kin or 2 on board, you can just go off the turn you cast it.
Chandra is more consistent, allows to easly play maindeck 3-4 drops and is harder to interact with (ppl right now play more enchantment removal). She's better for slower iterations of the deck and in games that card value matters.
From my experience you have to be really explosive with aggro decks right now and Frenzy allows for much more devastating turns compared to Chandra.
You have to realise that both cards take 1 of your turns off and payoff of both cards is either next explosive Frenzy turn or slow, grindy Chandra turns. If you get both Frenzy and Chandra on board as mono Red player you're losing 2 turns for what? Filtering lands
Experimental Frenzy works much better in cheap, burn, The Flame of Keld style Red decks. Chandra, Fire Artisan is stronger in Red decks with higher 3-4 CMC creature count - Whirlers, Phoenixes, etc. All depends on deck build. I don't think mixing up them is a good idea, it's either one or the other.
Personally as a White Weenie player I've yet to lose a game vs RDW with Chandra. Playing her is pretty much dead turn for Red player and in games vs other aggro decks it might be deadly. Still I'd go with her over Frenzy right now until control decks will play more planeswalker removal instead of Mortify.
Yeah, both Selfless Spirit and Phyrexian Revoker overperformed in last FNM and I think the numbers are correct. Thought about adding 4th Revoker but he is pretty useless vs Phoenix and Dredge which are big portion of current metagame right now. He may fill Legion's Landing spot nicely though. Something to think about.
Student of Warfare is much better topdeck than Soldier of the Pantheon in mid-late game. Also he's the only real mana sink. Either oponent deals with him early enough - spending removal on 1 mana 1/1 - or he grows to huge unstoppable threat. These kind of games may and will definately happen more often or not. SotP is always just a 2/1 with mediocre ability.
Obviously I didn't test Knight but I see the potential and am willing to test this guy anyways. Him or Figure of Destiny.
Maybe will go with 2x Judge's Familiar in place of Legion's Landing and 1 SotP...
I also have problem with sideboard. In 2 weeks we have a bigger modern tournament and I'm willing to play this deck. I'm pretty sure that there will be top meta decks and my sideboard isn't properly build for this environment.
For now I'm sure on:
4x Path to Exile - for nasty creature decks;
3x Rest in Peace - GY hate
2x Leonin Relic-Warder - for Tron, Vial, prison, Hardened Scales
6 slots I'm unsure about. Martyr of Sands - vs burn, Storm, Scapeshift, much bigger counter vs "deal 20 dmg ASAP" decks. Leyline of Sanctity - vs burn, Storm, Scapeshift, discard, some parts of Lantern, more flexible and all rounded than Martyr but it's not as explosive and Repeal is a thing Ethersworn Canonist or Eidolon of Rhetoric - vs Phoenix, Storm, other combo/draw-a-lot decks, canonist is faster but more vunerable to removal, Eidolon is more expensive but survives Bolt and Push (mostly) Damping Sphere vs Phoenix, Tron, Storm Kataki, War's Wage - mostly vs affinity and prison decks but seems too narrow and weak Stony Silence - strong but has no legs,
I think 2x Damping Sphere, 2x Canonist/Eidolon and 2x Kataki/Stony is the way to go. Makes me vunerable to burn matchups though... Thoughts?
Also thinking about Worship as a card of choice vs combo (and control if I get Kytheon) decks because I'm so heavy creature/low spell deck.
Somewhere in this article is probably the best Mono White Humans decklist in there is right now. Maybe I'd add Benalish Marshal over Honor of the Pure and increase land count to 20.
Match 1 vs Bant Toolbox, won 2:0
Game 1 named Birds of Paradise with Phyrexian Revoker denying him the much needed ramp. Because of that he couldn't keep up with me and I just stomped him with superior forces.
Game 2 was pretty much the same - Revoker on his mana dork slowing him down and smashing him good. He did have some defences up and running but I went wider. 2x Soldier of the Pantheon on board vs his 2 mana dorks and Spell Queller dealt a lot of dmg in this game. Kytheon flipped but didn't matter that much.
Match 2 vs Ad Nauseam, won 2:1
Game 1 I wasn't fast and distruptive enough to stop him from going off. Little Thalia slowed him for 1 turn but that wasn't enough.
Game 2 Revoker named Pentad Prism and screwed his mana to combo off - he lacked 2nd to cast Ad Nauseam.
Game 3 got Revoker from Windbrisk Heights naming his Lotus Bloom just in time for him to combo off next turn. Again Shefet Dunes buffed the team for lethal but I still think I had this game already.
Match 3 vs 8Rack, won 2:0
Game 1 was a race but I managed to win this. Selfless Spirit prevented him from wiping my board with Bontu's Last Reckoning
Game 2 mulled to 6, kept 4 lands, Soldier and WLL, he played turn 1 Blackmail, gave him 3 lands, my turn 1 drew land, played Soldier, he then turn 2 Thoughtsiezed me and was forced to discard WLL. After that I top decked little Thalia and he conceded
Phyrexian Revoker was HUGE. Distrupting their mana fixing was crucial in first 2 matches. Without him I'd definately lose at least 3 games. Obviously he isn't doing much vs Drakes or Dredge but against rest of the field (and my local meta) he's doing wonders. Soldier of the Pantheon isn't looking good right now. His protection mattered against one deck but overall it's very narrow and most of the time he's just a Savannah Lions.
Haven't seen Legion's Landing for a long time in this deck and I don't think it's something I want to see in my hand.
I may try Student of Warfare next time. Maybe will come back to Judge's Familiar as well.
Finished FNM with 3/2 record... Actually 2/2 because of Bye.
I thought a little about this deck and decided to roll with old, more agressive and less hatebeary list but with some new additions:
Match 2 vs Dredgevine??? Some dredge'y brew, won 2:1
Game 1 he started with Stitcher's Supplier and got Gravecrawler and 2x Prized Amalgam from it... Not cool. But I started with t1 Dryad, t2 nothing, t3 Marshal, t4 WLL, t5 Spectral and I had my defences strong enough to stabilize the board. I would've won that but he topdecked Narcomoeba to chump the lethal and then topdecked Skaab Ruinator that just screwed me over. We both had defences up and running and it was flyers fight. My 3 2/2 Spirits vs his Narcomoeba and Skaab - Skaab did the work.
Game 2 I was on some real agression but he just recurred Darkblast over and over and just killed my 2/1's at the cost of not casting any creatures whatsoever. After some time big Thalia and 2 Spirits pushed through so I could play WLL from Windbrisk Heights for the win.
Game 3 was tough and even game board-wise. He had some bad luck because he threw all removal with Stitcher's Supplier and dredge. After some time I pushed through with superior numbers. Shefet Dunes buffed for perfect lethal.
Match 3 vs Bant Eldrazi, lost 0:2
Game 1 after mull to 6 I kept veeeery bad hand with 3 little Thalias and 1 big one. He just bashed me with Thought-Knot Seer and I had nothing to really defend with. My bad, should've mulled further to 5 especially that I was on draw.
Game 2 was better, Phyrexian Revoker naming Noble Hierarch slowed him down a bit. Still he got 3 Seers on board + Eldrazi Displacer blinking them over and over and preventing my Kytheon from flipping. After some time he played Worship, and my only way to win the game was to flip Kytheon. Drew all 3, every single one got Pathed. I threw away Leo-RW's into sideboard... A mistake that pretty much lost me this one.
Match 4 vs Mardu Pyromancer, won 2:0
Game 1 Phyrexian Revoker named Lilianna of the Veil and it was well worth it as he had one in hand. He traded 1 for 1 well but Spectral Procession was too much value for him. Also had Marshal and 2 Selfless Spirits and just stomped him with bigger creatures.
Game 2 was similar, he traded 1 for 1 early game generating tokens but t4 WLL into t5 WLL he just couldn't beat. Ensnaring Bridge was eaten by Leo-RW and I swung for lethal.
Match 5 vs my favourite Bant Toolbox, lost 0:2
Game 1 was favorable at the beginning, had 5 creatures turn 4 but couldn't find any pump for the rest of the game. He just had bigger creature. Swinging with Spell Queller for 5 every turn while having enough defence dealt with me.
Game 2 I lost because of my own mistake - I went greedy and smashed t4 WLL. Instead I should wait with Path because he had Basilisk Collar and he only needed to tutor Walking Ballista and wipe my board. Which he did.
Shefet Dunes won 2nd game in last 2 weeks. But had 2 in my opening hand once as my only W sources and dealt ~6 dmg to me. I don't really think it mattered during this matchup because I was already far behind in board during this game. I think I'll cut 1 for simple Plains because if it was some other deck it would probably be fatal.
Isamaru was relevant twice - vs Dredge player he survived -1/-1 removals and vs Eldrazi he actually traded because of Eiganjo. Soldier of the Pantheon dealt free 6 dmg vs Toolbox player because he had nothing to block him with... He actually flashed Spell Queller to block him and had no creatures afterwards. Judges Familiar didn't matter in any single game.
Kytheon didn't flip once but he was a threat opponents always wanted to kill in the first place.
Revoker was very cool, I wish I had him vs Toolbox player. Sucked that he didn't get buffed from WLL and he was just a 2/1 for the rest of one game while Dryad was a whooping 6/5. Spectral Procession regularly overperformed, I don't know why I even though about cutting them.
Sometimes Familiars overperform, sometimes Leo RW overperform, sometimes they feel underwhelming, never something in the middle.
Games I won felt like it was because of my opponents doing mistakes or having bad luck.
Games I lost felt like it was because I did mistakes or they had great hands.
Not a single game felt like we both did our best and just the one that played better won.
I know I could play ~3 games better and could've won like 1 or 2 of them but oh well, I didn't.
Overall not the best performance from my side. But hey, I got foiled Flagstones!
From my experience splash choices depend more on preferences rather than metagame.
I don't think 9 sources in version are enough to consistantly have mana for counterspells.
Sure, they are gamebreaking in some matchups. But sometimes you just sit with 2-3 Plains and no source when this single Negate would matter.
This splash also makes sideboards vs creature decks worse. There is a trend to play couple Baffling Ends in maindeck and rest of the 4 in sideboard. But you still need to put something in place of this and most of the times people cut 1-drops. That on the other hand slows the deck, makes Venerated Loxodon harder to cast and Baffling End is blank card vs creatureless decks (Reclamation decks, Nexus, Esper).
Overall the most popular version is a little bit slower and less consistant than mono and I don't think the trade is worth it.
Also IRL Nexus decks are far less popular because how expensive and rare high on demand Nexus of Fate is.
I'm still playing the same decklist I posted last time and went top #500 Mythic on MTGA playing it excusively. I made it into Mythic from Diamond 2 by winning vs 2 Simic Nexus and 2 Temur Reclamation afterwards in a row. I was simply too fast and while they ramped up very fast they had nothing to play afterwards.
In contrast to what you wrote I think Grull is hardest matchup for me - it has bigger creatures faster, has better removal and before I build up my forces I end up defending with smaller creatures than he has. Also I don't have that many responces to Rekindling Phoenix and Skarrgan Hellkite other than Conclave Tribunal.
I actually think that version is stronger in this matchup because of Lava Coil and surprise wreckage with Heroic Reinforcements. But again, this makes deck more inconsistant and playing 4 mana card in 20 lands deck is very risky.
4th spirit is something I consider but ultimately I settled on 3 copies with 4th in sideboard as there aren't really that many board wipes flying around.
Arbiter, while not amazing, is overall good hatebear that works around whole field. Other bears aren't that versatile. Turn 1 Familiar into turn 2 Arbiter screwes with most decks hard especially on play and makes cat resilient. Also Arbiter makes Path and GQ better.
Going vs tribal decks is hard as they most of the time grow even bigger than mine. Still there is a chance to fight them with 7 anthem creatures and I'd rather cut Spectral Procession rather than these. 3 mana is a lot and without pump all they really do is chump.
Maybe I should move big Thalias to sideboard though and actually play with Procession main. Something to consider.
Speaking of sideboard - I'm still working on it. I think Kataki isn't that good nowadays and adding 4th Leo-RW in side alongside 2 Stony Silence would be decent enough as he really overperformed during my games. Phyrexian Revoker hates on artifacts with activated abilities as well and playing him maindeck also does some work. I don't think Affinity is that scary and it's the only reason to play Kataki. Leyline of Sanctity is here not only for Burn but mostly for hand distruption. I've already lost way too many times because I had some crucial hate card discarded and that was true mainly vs Lantern and 8Rack when my only out was Leo-RW catching Ensnaring Bridge. Also does some work vs Storm and Ad Nauseam.
Also though I have not enough GY hate with literally nothing maindeck and only 3 RiP in side. I think I should try to play some maindeckable GY hate but everything seems underwhelming with Remorseful Cleric and Jötun Grunt being only viable options for me. Containment Priest would fix this hole so good WotC pls.
Went 2/1 on FNM with deck above but -1 Arbiter for +1 Selfless.
Match 1 vs Izzet Phoenix, won 2:1
Game 1 won - enemy flooded and couldn't find phoenixes, not much to talk about. Pathing TITI before he flipped was crucial as well.
Game 2 he was beating me with 2 Phoenixes since turn 2, way too fast for me.
Game 3 won - turn 1 Judge's Familiar into turn 2 little Thalia into turn 3 Dryad and Selfless Spirit slowed him hard enough. Felt amazing to do such thing while still giving beats. Leonin Relic-Warder caught stacked Pyromancer Ascension which was crucial as well.
Match 2 vs Boros Burn, won 2:0
Game 1 again opp flooded and after some time I had 2 spirits, Marshal and 2 WLL's.
Game 2 won - opening hand with Leyline of Sanctity and 2x Martyr of Sands, on turn 3 I had 39 health. After that I had plenty of time to build up. Leonin Arbiter did some job too as opponent sat with 2 mana whole game.
Match 3 vs Bant Toolbox, lost 0:2
Game 1 was even but I missplayed picking wrong Path target and he went off with his combo.
Game 2 I sat on 2 mana and he turn 3'd CoCo into Kira and some other creature that was relevant for him (forgot what it was). Couldn't even Path anything in response...
Overall he had amazing hand in both games and played 3 great CoCo's which was harsh.
After these I played another game vs 8Rack for funzies and lost 2:1. I lost mostly because of mistakes and I think it should've done much better if I didn't make my mistakes. Something to learn from.
Eiganjo saved little Thalia once.
Kytheon flipped once vs Phoenix and made Thalia indestructible. Shefet Dunes gave enough dmg to finish 8Rack off. Leonin Arbiter denied land from Path once but it didn't matter that much. Also denied land from GQ - didn't matter neither.
GQ on Flagstones gave me white mana to Path TITI. It was still a thing even while playing Arbiter. Judge's Familiar saved little Thalia once from removal. He felt like little Selfless Spirit!
Overall I liked this variation more than the one before. The distruption package really paid off, Judge's Familiar overperformed, can't say the same about Leonin Arbiter. Me and Bant player both agreed that cat would be much better in deck with Aether Vial and he should be the target to change in this deck. Still he's doing work against every deck equally and will stick to him for now.
Next time I'll try 4x Arbiters and add 3x Phyrexian Revokers. He can name a lot of stuff nowadays, be it ramp creatures, planeswalkers, Devoted Druid, Aether Vial, Cranial Plating, Mox Opal, Lantern cards... Lot of utility but no hate vs graveyard decks...
Probably I'll go down with Spectral Procession. I dislike this idea but it's the only one I have as I feel they're least relevant in this deck now.
I really hope Containment Priest will be printed in Modern Horizons as it would be fantastic to have in current metagame.
So after I've played Vintage tournament in our local store (proxy of course) with Mono W Hatebears and borrowed some ideas to implement to this deck.
Given that Modern is getting faster and faster (it's actually looking more and more similar to Legacy/Vintage now) I've realised my deck can't keep up with most meta decks. So I started to tune it down making it more of a Hatebear style deck.
I got rid of Soldier of the Pantheons, Legion's Landing and Isamaru. They are too small and not impactful enough nowadays. Instead I went for Judge's Familiars and Leonin Arbiters. I felt that the hate and slowing pace of the game these guys provide are more useful now for White Weenie. If I stop them doing unfair things my 3+ drop package will hurt much more. After all 3 1/1 Spirit Tokens don't do much when other decks can bounce my board and attack for 10 in the same turn.
Running Leonin Arbiters made me maindeck Path to Exiles. It really makes it bonkers, as well as Ghost Quarter though it's nonbo with Flagstones of Trokair - I may change it for simple Plains.
Thanks to maindecking Paths I've got more free slots in sideboard now and revamped it a little though I'll need more playtesting to improve it. A lot of possibilities here.
I know I'm tryhard fan of White Weenie decks but I'd strongly reccomend starting off with Unites Assault and build towards mono W aggro. It's very strong archetype now, is creature based and and potentially will survive rotation. A lot of strong tools will stay - Venerated Loxodon, Tithe Taker, Unbreakable Formation, Conclave Tribunal, maybe Azorius with Deputy of Detention or even Dovin, Grand Arbiter will become stronger option. The only thing to find in next sets are couple of decent agressive 1 and 2-drops and additional anthem effect that will fill Benalish Marshals slot.
After RNA (last set) was released not many new decks emerged (more like old ones evolved) and I doubt it will be otherwise this time. I wouldn't hesitate to get new deck now especially that there are top tier decks that will not only be viable after new set is released but also I believe will survive rotation after October.
Am I limited to attacking with half my creatures if I sense settle the wreckage?
That's something you have to estimate based on board state. Simply put - don't do attack big enough to make counterswing lose you a game. You have to be sure that oponent won't kill you right away after he Settles you.
WAR gave 2 huge additions for this deck.
1st and most obvious is Gideon Blackblade which is bonkers vs control and Reclamation decks but is weak vs aggro decks while on draw. The fact that he can't block as well as he's fighting over 3-drop spot with History of Benalia and Benalish Marshal makes him great fit for sideboard in mono White version. For decks without such heavy 3-drop slot filled, like Selesnya or Orzhov, he might be great even mainboard.
2nd which I had to experience before I've settled my opinion about is Law-Rune Enforcer. This little 1-drop is amazing, stops lot of pressure and breaks the walls. Ghalta, Primal Hunger from Rhythm of the Wild? No problem. Lyra Dawnbringer? No problem. Thief of Sanity threatening to gain huge card advantage? Nope. 2 toughness allows to dodge Goblin Chainwhirler and is finally another maindeckable answer for annoying Rekindling Phoenix. Right now I'm playing 3 because 1 power is something that isn't that spectacular for aggro deck and he mostly sucks vs control.
Other than that I added 1x Tomik, Distinguished Advokist. What I've always lacked in this deck is lack of decent flyers. For 2 mana I have legendary 2/3 flyer that dodges every single popular early Black removal - Moment of Craving, Cry of the Carnarium and Cast Down - and is relevant in creature matchups during stalls. He was sometimes relevant but being legendary 2 drop with no real relevant effect or ability forces me to play only 1 copy.
Right now the deck looks like this:
4 Dauntless Bodyguard
3 Law-Rune Enforcer
2 Skymarcher Aspirant
3 Snubhorn Sentry
2 Adanto Vanguard
4 Tithe Taker
1 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
4 Benalish Marshal
4 Venerated Loxodon
4 History of Benalia
1 Unbreakable Formation
4 Conclave Tribunal
2 Adanto Vanguard
4 Baffling End
4 Tocatli Honor Guard
3 Gideon Blackblade
2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
Deck feels really smooth, sideboarding is very easy and intuitive and has game vs literally every single deck in the metagame. The worst matchups are probably Black control decks with loads of maindeck creature removal but improves greatly after sideboard, Sultai which became less popular lately and mono R where a lot depends on starting hands and is around 50/50.
But you want more 4 CMC cards with Chandra in deck... You want those Phoenixes mainboard. And Frenzy doesn't want it.
Personally I wouldn't even run 4 copies of either Frenzy or Chandra maindeck. Even in RNA people were cutting these for more burn.
But you can easly test this split on Arena and post results here
You don't want more 4 CMC cards with Frenzy around. Frenzy is great because it can provide you huge card advantage by playing multiple cards in a row and by doing so you have to stay on low on curve. Especially when you have Runaway Steam-Kin or 2 on board, you can just go off the turn you cast it.
Chandra is more consistent, allows to easly play maindeck 3-4 drops and is harder to interact with (ppl right now play more enchantment removal). She's better for slower iterations of the deck and in games that card value matters.
From my experience you have to be really explosive with aggro decks right now and Frenzy allows for much more devastating turns compared to Chandra.
You have to realise that both cards take 1 of your turns off and payoff of both cards is either next explosive Frenzy turn or slow, grindy Chandra turns. If you get both Frenzy and Chandra on board as mono Red player you're losing 2 turns for what? Filtering lands
Personally as a White Weenie player I've yet to lose a game vs RDW with Chandra. Playing her is pretty much dead turn for Red player and in games vs other aggro decks it might be deadly. Still I'd go with her over Frenzy right now until control decks will play more planeswalker removal instead of Mortify.
From my friends experience Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is great sideboard card vs Sultai (stops Wildgrowth Walker and Hydroid Krasis which is a LOT) and less vs Controls. Against everything else he's rather weak.
Student of Warfare is much better topdeck than Soldier of the Pantheon in mid-late game. Also he's the only real mana sink. Either oponent deals with him early enough - spending removal on 1 mana 1/1 - or he grows to huge unstoppable threat. These kind of games may and will definately happen more often or not. SotP is always just a 2/1 with mediocre ability.
Obviously I didn't test Knight but I see the potential and am willing to test this guy anyways. Him or Figure of Destiny.
Maybe will go with 2x Judge's Familiar in place of Legion's Landing and 1 SotP...
I also have problem with sideboard. In 2 weeks we have a bigger modern tournament and I'm willing to play this deck. I'm pretty sure that there will be top meta decks and my sideboard isn't properly build for this environment.
For now I'm sure on:
4x Path to Exile - for nasty creature decks;
3x Rest in Peace - GY hate
2x Leonin Relic-Warder - for Tron, Vial, prison, Hardened Scales
6 slots I'm unsure about.
Martyr of Sands - vs burn, Storm, Scapeshift, much bigger counter vs "deal 20 dmg ASAP" decks.
Leyline of Sanctity - vs burn, Storm, Scapeshift, discard, some parts of Lantern, more flexible and all rounded than Martyr but it's not as explosive and Repeal is a thing
Ethersworn Canonist or Eidolon of Rhetoric - vs Phoenix, Storm, other combo/draw-a-lot decks, canonist is faster but more vunerable to removal, Eidolon is more expensive but survives Bolt and Push (mostly)
Damping Sphere vs Phoenix, Tron, Storm
Kataki, War's Wage - mostly vs affinity and prison decks but seems too narrow and weak
Stony Silence - strong but has no legs,
I think 2x Damping Sphere, 2x Canonist/Eidolon and 2x Kataki/Stony is the way to go. Makes me vunerable to burn matchups though... Thoughts?
Also thinking about Worship as a card of choice vs combo (and control if I get Kytheon) decks because I'm so heavy creature/low spell deck.
Somewhere in this article is probably the best Mono White Humans decklist in there is right now. Maybe I'd add Benalish Marshal over Honor of the Pure and increase land count to 20.
Also here was some talking about White Weenies: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/791212-white-weenie-wallop?page=5
1x Eiganjo Castle
4x Flagstones of Trokair
4x Ghost Quarter
8x Plains
2x Shefet Dunes
3x Windbrisk Heights
1-drops (13)
4x Dryad Militant
1x Isamaru, Hound of Konda
3x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
1x Legion's Landing
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
3x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Selfless Spirit
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3-drops (6)
4x Benalish Marshal
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4-drops (3)
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
6-drops (4)
4x Spectral Procession
3x Martyr of Sands
4x Path to Exile
1x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
2x Rest in Peace
1x Thalia, Heretic Cathat
2x Leyline of Sanctity
Match 1 vs Bant Toolbox, won 2:0
Game 1 named Birds of Paradise with Phyrexian Revoker denying him the much needed ramp. Because of that he couldn't keep up with me and I just stomped him with superior forces.
Game 2 was pretty much the same - Revoker on his mana dork slowing him down and smashing him good. He did have some defences up and running but I went wider. 2x Soldier of the Pantheon on board vs his 2 mana dorks and Spell Queller dealt a lot of dmg in this game. Kytheon flipped but didn't matter that much.
Match 2 vs Ad Nauseam, won 2:1
Game 1 I wasn't fast and distruptive enough to stop him from going off. Little Thalia slowed him for 1 turn but that wasn't enough.
Game 2 Revoker named Pentad Prism and screwed his mana to combo off - he lacked 2nd to cast Ad Nauseam.
Game 3 got Revoker from Windbrisk Heights naming his Lotus Bloom just in time for him to combo off next turn. Again Shefet Dunes buffed the team for lethal but I still think I had this game already.
Match 3 vs 8Rack, won 2:0
Game 1 was a race but I managed to win this. Selfless Spirit prevented him from wiping my board with Bontu's Last Reckoning
Game 2 mulled to 6, kept 4 lands, Soldier and WLL, he played turn 1 Blackmail, gave him 3 lands, my turn 1 drew land, played Soldier, he then turn 2 Thoughtsiezed me and was forced to discard WLL. After that I top decked little Thalia and he conceded
Phyrexian Revoker was HUGE. Distrupting their mana fixing was crucial in first 2 matches. Without him I'd definately lose at least 3 games. Obviously he isn't doing much vs Drakes or Dredge but against rest of the field (and my local meta) he's doing wonders.
Soldier of the Pantheon isn't looking good right now. His protection mattered against one deck but overall it's very narrow and most of the time he's just a Savannah Lions.
Haven't seen Legion's Landing for a long time in this deck and I don't think it's something I want to see in my hand.
I may try Student of Warfare next time. Maybe will come back to Judge's Familiar as well.
I thought a little about this deck and decided to roll with old, more agressive and less hatebeary list but with some new additions:
1x Eiganjo Castle
4x Flagstones of Trokair
4x Ghost Quarter
8x Plains
2x Shefet Dunes
3x Windbrisk Heights
1-drops (13)
4x Dryad Militant
1x Isamaru, Hound of Konda
2x Judge's Familiar
3x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3x Soldier of the Pantheon
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
3x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Selfless Spirit
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3-drops (6)
4x Benalish Marshal
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4-drops (3)
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
3x Martyr of Sands
4x Path to Exile
2x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Leonin Relic-Warder
2x Rest in Peace
1x Thalia, Heretic Cathat
2x Leyline of Sanctity
Match 1 Bye
Match 2 vs Dredgevine??? Some dredge'y brew, won 2:1
Game 1 he started with Stitcher's Supplier and got Gravecrawler and 2x Prized Amalgam from it... Not cool. But I started with t1 Dryad, t2 nothing, t3 Marshal, t4 WLL, t5 Spectral and I had my defences strong enough to stabilize the board. I would've won that but he topdecked Narcomoeba to chump the lethal and then topdecked Skaab Ruinator that just screwed me over. We both had defences up and running and it was flyers fight. My 3 2/2 Spirits vs his Narcomoeba and Skaab - Skaab did the work.
Game 2 I was on some real agression but he just recurred Darkblast over and over and just killed my 2/1's at the cost of not casting any creatures whatsoever. After some time big Thalia and 2 Spirits pushed through so I could play WLL from Windbrisk Heights for the win.
Game 3 was tough and even game board-wise. He had some bad luck because he threw all removal with Stitcher's Supplier and dredge. After some time I pushed through with superior numbers. Shefet Dunes buffed for perfect lethal.
Match 3 vs Bant Eldrazi, lost 0:2
Game 1 after mull to 6 I kept veeeery bad hand with 3 little Thalias and 1 big one. He just bashed me with Thought-Knot Seer and I had nothing to really defend with. My bad, should've mulled further to 5 especially that I was on draw.
Game 2 was better, Phyrexian Revoker naming Noble Hierarch slowed him down a bit. Still he got 3 Seers on board + Eldrazi Displacer blinking them over and over and preventing my Kytheon from flipping. After some time he played Worship, and my only way to win the game was to flip Kytheon. Drew all 3, every single one got Pathed. I threw away Leo-RW's into sideboard... A mistake that pretty much lost me this one.
Match 4 vs Mardu Pyromancer, won 2:0
Game 1 Phyrexian Revoker named Lilianna of the Veil and it was well worth it as he had one in hand. He traded 1 for 1 well but Spectral Procession was too much value for him. Also had Marshal and 2 Selfless Spirits and just stomped him with bigger creatures.
Game 2 was similar, he traded 1 for 1 early game generating tokens but t4 WLL into t5 WLL he just couldn't beat. Ensnaring Bridge was eaten by Leo-RW and I swung for lethal.
Match 5 vs my favourite Bant Toolbox, lost 0:2
Game 1 was favorable at the beginning, had 5 creatures turn 4 but couldn't find any pump for the rest of the game. He just had bigger creature. Swinging with Spell Queller for 5 every turn while having enough defence dealt with me.
Game 2 I lost because of my own mistake - I went greedy and smashed t4 WLL. Instead I should wait with Path because he had Basilisk Collar and he only needed to tutor Walking Ballista and wipe my board. Which he did.
Shefet Dunes won 2nd game in last 2 weeks. But had 2 in my opening hand once as my only W sources and dealt ~6 dmg to me. I don't really think it mattered during this matchup because I was already far behind in board during this game. I think I'll cut 1 for simple Plains because if it was some other deck it would probably be fatal.
Isamaru was relevant twice - vs Dredge player he survived -1/-1 removals and vs Eldrazi he actually traded because of Eiganjo.
Soldier of the Pantheon dealt free 6 dmg vs Toolbox player because he had nothing to block him with... He actually flashed Spell Queller to block him and had no creatures afterwards.
Judges Familiar didn't matter in any single game.
Kytheon didn't flip once but he was a threat opponents always wanted to kill in the first place.
Revoker was very cool, I wish I had him vs Toolbox player. Sucked that he didn't get buffed from WLL and he was just a 2/1 for the rest of one game while Dryad was a whooping 6/5.
Spectral Procession regularly overperformed, I don't know why I even though about cutting them.
Sometimes Familiars overperform, sometimes Leo RW overperform, sometimes they feel underwhelming, never something in the middle.
Games I won felt like it was because of my opponents doing mistakes or having bad luck.
Games I lost felt like it was because I did mistakes or they had great hands.
Not a single game felt like we both did our best and just the one that played better won.
I know I could play ~3 games better and could've won like 1 or 2 of them but oh well, I didn't.
Overall not the best performance from my side. But hey, I got foiled Flagstones!
I don't think 9 sources in version are enough to consistantly have mana for counterspells.
Sure, they are gamebreaking in some matchups. But sometimes you just sit with 2-3 Plains and no source when this single Negate would matter.
This splash also makes sideboards vs creature decks worse. There is a trend to play couple Baffling Ends in maindeck and rest of the 4 in sideboard. But you still need to put something in place of this and most of the times people cut 1-drops. That on the other hand slows the deck, makes Venerated Loxodon harder to cast and Baffling End is blank card vs creatureless decks (Reclamation decks, Nexus, Esper).
Overall the most popular version is a little bit slower and less consistant than mono and I don't think the trade is worth it.
Also IRL Nexus decks are far less popular because how expensive and rare high on demand Nexus of Fate is.
Mono isn't that bad against Nexus and Reclamation decks anyways. I have 4 maindeck Conclave Tribunal to catch Wilderness Reclamation and Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Demystify in sideboard is clutch in this matchup.
Only thing I'm still unsure of is the amount of Demystifys and Unbreakable Formations in 75.
I'm still playing the same decklist I posted last time and went top #500 Mythic on MTGA playing it excusively. I made it into Mythic from Diamond 2 by winning vs 2 Simic Nexus and 2 Temur Reclamation afterwards in a row. I was simply too fast and while they ramped up very fast they had nothing to play afterwards.
In contrast to what you wrote I think Grull is hardest matchup for me - it has bigger creatures faster, has better removal and before I build up my forces I end up defending with smaller creatures than he has. Also I don't have that many responces to Rekindling Phoenix and Skarrgan Hellkite other than Conclave Tribunal.
I actually think that version is stronger in this matchup because of Lava Coil and surprise wreckage with Heroic Reinforcements. But again, this makes deck more inconsistant and playing 4 mana card in 20 lands deck is very risky.
Arbiter, while not amazing, is overall good hatebear that works around whole field. Other bears aren't that versatile. Turn 1 Familiar into turn 2 Arbiter screwes with most decks hard especially on play and makes cat resilient. Also Arbiter makes Path and GQ better.
Going vs tribal decks is hard as they most of the time grow even bigger than mine. Still there is a chance to fight them with 7 anthem creatures and I'd rather cut Spectral Procession rather than these. 3 mana is a lot and without pump all they really do is chump.
Maybe I should move big Thalias to sideboard though and actually play with Procession main. Something to consider.
Speaking of sideboard - I'm still working on it. I think Kataki isn't that good nowadays and adding 4th Leo-RW in side alongside 2 Stony Silence would be decent enough as he really overperformed during my games. Phyrexian Revoker hates on artifacts with activated abilities as well and playing him maindeck also does some work. I don't think Affinity is that scary and it's the only reason to play Kataki.
Leyline of Sanctity is here not only for Burn but mostly for hand distruption. I've already lost way too many times because I had some crucial hate card discarded and that was true mainly vs Lantern and 8Rack when my only out was Leo-RW catching Ensnaring Bridge. Also does some work vs Storm and Ad Nauseam.
Also though I have not enough GY hate with literally nothing maindeck and only 3 RiP in side. I think I should try to play some maindeckable GY hate but everything seems underwhelming with Remorseful Cleric and Jötun Grunt being only viable options for me.
Containment Priest would fix this hole so good WotC pls.
Maybe Grafdigger's Cage is an answer to my problematic matchups...
1x Eiganjo Castle
4x Flagstones of Trokair
4x Ghost Quarter
8x Plains
2x Shefet Dunes
3x Windbrisk Heights
1-drops (10)
4x Dryad Militant
3x Judge's Familiar
3x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Leonin Arbiter
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
3x Phyrexian Revoker
3x Selfless Spirit
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3-drops (6)
4x Benalish Marshal
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4-drops (3)
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
Other (4)
4x Path to Exile
4x Martyr of Sands
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
1x Selfless Spirit
3x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
3x Leyline of Sanctity
@magic_geek How would you build your mono W version right now?
Match 1 vs Izzet Phoenix, won 2:1
Game 1 won - enemy flooded and couldn't find phoenixes, not much to talk about. Pathing TITI before he flipped was crucial as well.
Game 2 he was beating me with 2 Phoenixes since turn 2, way too fast for me.
Game 3 won - turn 1 Judge's Familiar into turn 2 little Thalia into turn 3 Dryad and Selfless Spirit slowed him hard enough. Felt amazing to do such thing while still giving beats. Leonin Relic-Warder caught stacked Pyromancer Ascension which was crucial as well.
Match 2 vs Boros Burn, won 2:0
Game 1 again opp flooded and after some time I had 2 spirits, Marshal and 2 WLL's.
Game 2 won - opening hand with Leyline of Sanctity and 2x Martyr of Sands, on turn 3 I had 39 health. After that I had plenty of time to build up. Leonin Arbiter did some job too as opponent sat with 2 mana whole game.
Match 3 vs Bant Toolbox, lost 0:2
Game 1 was even but I missplayed picking wrong Path target and he went off with his combo.
Game 2 I sat on 2 mana and he turn 3'd CoCo into Kira and some other creature that was relevant for him (forgot what it was). Couldn't even Path anything in response...
Overall he had amazing hand in both games and played 3 great CoCo's which was harsh.
After these I played another game vs 8Rack for funzies and lost 2:1. I lost mostly because of mistakes and I think it should've done much better if I didn't make my mistakes. Something to learn from.
Eiganjo saved little Thalia once.
Kytheon flipped once vs Phoenix and made Thalia indestructible.
Shefet Dunes gave enough dmg to finish 8Rack off.
Leonin Arbiter denied land from Path once but it didn't matter that much. Also denied land from GQ - didn't matter neither.
GQ on Flagstones gave me white mana to Path TITI. It was still a thing even while playing Arbiter.
Judge's Familiar saved little Thalia once from removal. He felt like little Selfless Spirit!
Overall I liked this variation more than the one before. The distruption package really paid off, Judge's Familiar overperformed, can't say the same about Leonin Arbiter. Me and Bant player both agreed that cat would be much better in deck with Aether Vial and he should be the target to change in this deck. Still he's doing work against every deck equally and will stick to him for now.
Next time I'll try 4x Arbiters and add 3x Phyrexian Revokers. He can name a lot of stuff nowadays, be it ramp creatures, planeswalkers, Devoted Druid, Aether Vial, Cranial Plating, Mox Opal, Lantern cards... Lot of utility but no hate vs graveyard decks...
Probably I'll go down with Spectral Procession. I dislike this idea but it's the only one I have as I feel they're least relevant in this deck now.
I really hope Containment Priest will be printed in Modern Horizons as it would be fantastic to have in current metagame.
1x Eiganjo Castle
4x Flagstones of Trokair
4x Ghost Quarter
8x Plains
2x Shefet Dunes
3x Windbrisk Heights
1-drops (13)
4x Dryad Militant
3x Judge's Familiar
3x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4x Leonin Arbiter
2x Leonin Relic-Warder
2x Selfless Spirit
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3-drops (6)
4x Benalish Marshal
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4-drops (3)
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
6-drop (4)
4x Spectral Procession
4x Path to Exile
3x Martyr of Sands
2x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Leonin Relic-Warder
1x Selfless Spirit
3x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
3x Leyline of Sanctity
So after I've played Vintage tournament in our local store (proxy of course) with Mono W Hatebears and borrowed some ideas to implement to this deck.
Given that Modern is getting faster and faster (it's actually looking more and more similar to Legacy/Vintage now) I've realised my deck can't keep up with most meta decks. So I started to tune it down making it more of a Hatebear style deck.
I got rid of Soldier of the Pantheons, Legion's Landing and Isamaru. They are too small and not impactful enough nowadays. Instead I went for Judge's Familiars and Leonin Arbiters. I felt that the hate and slowing pace of the game these guys provide are more useful now for White Weenie. If I stop them doing unfair things my 3+ drop package will hurt much more. After all 3 1/1 Spirit Tokens don't do much when other decks can bounce my board and attack for 10 in the same turn.
Running Leonin Arbiters made me maindeck Path to Exiles. It really makes it bonkers, as well as Ghost Quarter though it's nonbo with Flagstones of Trokair - I may change it for simple Plains.
Thanks to maindecking Paths I've got more free slots in sideboard now and revamped it a little though I'll need more playtesting to improve it. A lot of possibilities here.
Other than that it could be pretty budget (there are budget lists that were going 5/0 in MTGO Leagues - go full on cheap flyers, pump them with counters and just push for the win). I think White Weenie will find a way to be playable after rotation.
That's something you have to estimate based on board state. Simply put - don't do attack big enough to make counterswing lose you a game. You have to be sure that oponent won't kill you right away after he Settles you.
Legion's Landing is powerful card and shouldn't be swapped for anything else. If you don't have it though any other efficient 1-drop will work. Hunted Witness, Healer's Hawk or Rustwing Falcon are some ideas.