MTG Salvation

Has anyone tested Throes of Chaos in the deck yet? I think it actually makes sense as a 1 of. If we draw it early it can pitch to discard like Faithless Looting, or late it turns into a live spell.

In a deck that is land heavy it can function as a way to dig for a live card when you've got nothing else going on. I'm planning to run it this week at FNM, but the more I consider it there more I think this is actually great for land heavy builds.

I tried Branchwalker and Jadelight along side Bloodbraid Elf and was pretty underwhelmed in general. I feel like RG wants to err more on the combo side of the spectrum so playing value creatures just doesn't cut it. Maybe they'd work better in Jund where they can be supported by Fatal Push and discard spells.

I think there are plenty of good points in there, especially if you're in Jund. I am running an RG list so some of it isn't applicable (no discard spells, only bolt for removal), but maybe you're right, maybe I'm just playing it wrong and need to adjust my play rather than changing the card. I'll give it another shake.

I've continued testing with RG lists including more and less creatures. Currently testing a list with 4x Arboreal Grazer, 3x Dryad Greenseeker, and 3x Countryside Crusher, 3x Seismic Assault, 3x Living Twister. I've actually cut Faithless Looting entirely in favor of Magmatic Insight. Looting can be great, but it can also be awful, particularly late game with no cards in hand. Insight has felt a lot better to me, but I'm also playing a very land heavy version with 27 lands.

Dryad Greenseeker has been pretty awesome so far. The place I've felt it has helped the most is with early Countryside Crusher. Playing Crusher on T3 always felt a bit bad because it would prevent me from hitting later land drops. With Dryad in play you have a little bit better of an ability to manipulate the top of the deck with Crusher, and you've also got an extra opportunity to draw a land after the Crusher trigger. Even if Crusher isn't in play just having an opportunity to pick up another land to pitch to Assault has been pretty fantastic.

Arboreal Grazer on the other hand has been fairly mixed. I really like the ramp. A T2 Assault, Twister, or Crusher has been awesome but top decking Grazer is pretty feel bad. Jury is still out on that one.

Has anyone tried Saheeli, Sublime Artificer? She's a more expensive Young Pyromancer, but she doesn't die to creature removal. I feel like our 3 slot is already pretty full, but maybe she's worth it?

I couldn't find anything in this thread about the explore creatures from Ixalan block. Has anyone tried running Merfolk Branchwalker or Jadelight Ranger? In a creature heavy build they seem like gas. They draw lands to pitch with Assault, they help you filter your draws and get Loam/Flame Jab directly into the graveyard. I don't otherwise think these cards are really that great in Modern, but I think they fit this game plan really well. They're also a great cascade target for BBE.

Has anyone played with Jaya Ballard at all? I'm currently running her as a 2 of in my take on the RG list. I took it in a more controlling direction with only 3 main board creatures (3x Countryside Crusher). While she comes down a lot later than you'd like both of her + abilities are relevant in this deck. I've had a few games where I use the 3R mana she can generate to cast multiple Flame Jab because Assault isn't online, or get extra damage out of the Loam -> Cycle Thicket -> Assault loop by casting more Loams per turn.

Here's my current list: