Now that things are starting to open up again, I thought I'd give it another try with this build. Any thoughts on moving things around? I know that Seasoned Pyromancer is in most builds, but I like the synergy of my deck without them.
I actually thought that they should have banned FL and Hogaak when they banned Bridge and not banned Bridge. I can see why they banned Mox Opal, too many decks were relying on it, just like Faithless Looting was.
Doesn't quite make sense why Ponza/LD decks would drop off though.
I don't see much Amulet Titan or Titan Shift being played in my area. Most have been playing UW Control, Mono Red/Boros, Humans and Infect, a few fringe players are running Tron. But a lot of players left when they banned Hogaak and Ono, I guess if they can't play broken cards, they don't want to play at all.
Any ideas for updating my list? Tron/UW Control/Whir/Infect are the commonly played decks in my area. I'm not concerned with Tron so much as I am Infect, they are so fast that I can't get ahead of them before they go for the kill.
Here is my current build. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. With the probable banning of Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis my Sideboard may change slightly.
I've seen several lists that run Wrenn and Six. The lack of available copies and the over-price they are commanding. Depending on how the B&R goes tomorrow, it may be a worthwhile card to include.
Here is my current build. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. With the probable banning of Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis my Sideboard may change slightly.
I'm actually running a version that appears to be a hybrid of both of those decks. Just trying to find something a little different than the run-of-the-mill versions that people would expect. I'm packing slightly more land destruction with 3 each Stone Rain/Pillage/Molten Rain, Domri Rade/Vivien Reid/Domri, Choas Bringer to search out my creatures. Dependant on my opponents I would sideboard in Karn, the Great Creator in the place of the other Planeswalkers. So far it seems to work, but the basically free Force of Negation is frustrating.
Has this deck pretty much been abandoned? I think that there are lots of decks that this is good against, but can suffer against UW Control running multiple copies of Force of Negation. Any tips on how to beat it?
That meta sounds very hostile to Elves. Honestly I don't think this is a good time for the deck. Ironic that Modern Horizons was supposed to be a boon for Elves, but instead might be one of the worst sets for us in recent memory with the introduction of Lava Dart, Plague Engineer, and Wrenn and Six to the format.
Tajuru Preserver is going pretty deep. That is far too narrow of a card for my tastes. I prefer Damping Sphere, which forces them to make 7 land drops before they can cast All is Dust and also has utility against other Tron and Phoenix decks.
I have never actually drawn my Damping Sphere, so I never think about it. Sometimes I wonder if I even have it in my deck after sideboarding! But I do agree that the meta in my area is extremely hostile to Elves. I've run RDW, Living End and Valacut Ramp previously, so perhaps I may go back to a red deck for a little while while I wait for a little more life to be breathed into our little green friends.
Thanks for all the insight! Don't know what I would have done without this group and forum!
I would actually expect Infect and possibly Burn to decrease in popularity, as the format should slow down and become more interaction-oriented now that BFB has been banned. I am looking forward to seeing more Humans, Dredge, Amulet Titan, and Tron again. Humans especially is probably my favorite Tier 1 matchup in modern.
It is true though that Elves doesn't feel amazing right now. Modern Horizons gave us Nurturing Peatland and Collector Ouphe, which were both nice upgrades but neither was a huge shot in the arm. Lava Dart, Wrenn and Six, and Plague Engineer are all seeing a lot of play right now and can be pretty unbeatable. I would not recommend Elves to anyone going into a large tournament with high level competition. As a "casually competitive" FNM-level deck though I think it's still totally fine.
A recent $1k in my area was won by Mono Red Phoenix. There were 2 of the Pyromancer decks in the T8, a BG Rock, Devoted Devastation, Thopter Sword, and 2 UR Phoenix. I haven't seen the results of one from yesterday and we have a $5k coming up in a few weeks that I'd be interested in playing in if I believe I can get a shot at a T16.
I've been seeing an increase in Tron at the weekly tournament. Is Tajuru Preserver a worthwhile SB card for us in that matchup, and if so, what do we pull?
*Edit* Eldrazi Tron won this weekend's $1k. I'm thinking that Tajuru Preserver will be a great help against All is Dust, since that is the only board sweeper they run.
[quote from="MTG_Bob »" url="/forums/the-game/modern/established-modern/aggro-tempo/767834-collected-company-elves?comment=2540"]None of those are particularly good matchups, although UW Control is easier I think since they no longer run terminus. You could consider removing some number of Dismember from your sideboard in favor of Fatal Push, as they're functionally equivalent in the matchups you named and the life loss from Dismember is significant against Burn. Melira, Sylvok Outcast is also a very real hate card against Infect, and worth considering in your SB if it's a major portion of your local meta.
To be frank I don't think the Mono Red Phoenix/Prowess Burn matchups are fixable. Any deck running Gut Shot and/or Lava Dart should be heavily favored vs. Elves. I mostly hope to get lucky in those matches.
With limited information, the best advice I feel I can offer is to know your role in these matchups. Don't be afraid to block early and trade off creatures against Infect, as we have more sources of card advantage than them. Force U/W to have the sweeper on curve - play aggressively and try to apply as much pressure as possible in the early turns. Going into a match with a gameplan helps me play the early turns successfully and also helps me understand what I needed to do differently when I lose.
I've been trying to outrace them as much as possible. I think with the Bridge from Below banning, my area will go to even more Infect/Burn/UW Control then before since there won't be as much of a need for graveyard hate. Perhaps it is time to shelf Elves again until they come up with something that makes them truly impressive once again? Which sucks, I enjoy playing the deck and they aren't played locally by anyone else.
4 Arbor Elf
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Bonecrusher Giant
3 Glorybringer
3 Klothys, God of Destiny
4 Seasoned Pyromancer
2 Scavenging Ooze
Instants(3)
3 Abrade
Sorcerys(5)
3 Pillage
2 Stone Rain
3 Blood Moon
4 Utopia Sprawl
Lands(21)
8 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
Planeswalkers(2)
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Choke
2 Cindervines
2 Collector Ouphe
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Veil of Summer
1 Weather the Storm
4 Arbor Elf
2 Arboreal Grazer
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Bonecrusher Giant
3 Glorybringer
3 Klothys, God of Destiny
Instants(3)
3 Abrade
Sorcerys(9)
3 Molten Rain
3 Pillage
3 Stone Rain
3 Blood Moon
4 Utopia Sprawl
Lands(21)
8 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
3 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
Planeswalkers(2)
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Boil
2 Cindervines
2 Defense Grid
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Veil of Summer
Doesn't quite make sense why Ponza/LD decks would drop off though.
2 Arboreal Grazer
4 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
3 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
2 Inferno Titan
Artifacts(2)
2 Trinisphere
Instants(4)
3 Abrade
1 Surgical Extraction
Sorcerys(9)
3 Pillage
3 Stone Rain
3 Molten Rain
3 Blood Moon
3 Utopia Sprawl
Lands(21)
8 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
3 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
Planeswalkers(4)
2 Domri, Chaos Bringer
1 Domri Rade
1 Vivien Reid
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Loaming Shaman
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Fry
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Choke
2 Spellskite
2 Klothys, God of Destiny
2 Arboreal Grazer
3 Arbor Elf
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Inferno Titan
Artifacts(2)
2 Trinisphere
Instants(4)
3 Abrade
1 Surgical Extraction
Sorcerys(9)
3 Pillage
3 Stone Rain
3 Molten Rain
3 Blood Moon
3 Utopia Sprawl
Lands(21)
8 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
3 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
Planeswalkers(5)
2 Domri, Chaos Bringer
1 Domri Rade
2 Vivien Reid
4 Karn, the Great Creator
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Fry
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Liquimetal Coating
1 Spellskite
1 Mycosynth Lattice
I have never actually drawn my Damping Sphere, so I never think about it. Sometimes I wonder if I even have it in my deck after sideboarding! But I do agree that the meta in my area is extremely hostile to Elves. I've run RDW, Living End and Valacut Ramp previously, so perhaps I may go back to a red deck for a little while while I wait for a little more life to be breathed into our little green friends.
Thanks for all the insight! Don't know what I would have done without this group and forum!
A recent $1k in my area was won by Mono Red Phoenix. There were 2 of the Pyromancer decks in the T8, a BG Rock, Devoted Devastation, Thopter Sword, and 2 UR Phoenix. I haven't seen the results of one from yesterday and we have a $5k coming up in a few weeks that I'd be interested in playing in if I believe I can get a shot at a T16.
I've been seeing an increase in Tron at the weekly tournament. Is Tajuru Preserver a worthwhile SB card for us in that matchup, and if so, what do we pull?
*Edit* Eldrazi Tron won this weekend's $1k. I'm thinking that Tajuru Preserver will be a great help against All is Dust, since that is the only board sweeper they run.
I've been trying to outrace them as much as possible. I think with the Bridge from Below banning, my area will go to even more Infect/Burn/UW Control then before since there won't be as much of a need for graveyard hate. Perhaps it is time to shelf Elves again until they come up with something that makes them truly impressive once again? Which sucks, I enjoy playing the deck and they aren't played locally by anyone else.