How so? Am I missing som erules interaction here? I thought that the skite would get the +3/+3 trigger from Wild Defiance if you redirect it. Or am I wrong here?
It sounded like you were saying you could keep triggering Wild Defiance multiple times. You can with 2 kites, but with 1 you can only do it once.
I tried Corrupted Resolve way back in the standard infect days. Dispel or Spell Pierce were usually better. However I have been thinking that a couple of Corrupted Resolve may actually be quite good in the sideboard if you are expecting to run into Scapeshift.
I also tried Postmortem Lunge back in standard, and it did win some games out of nowhere, but most of the time I found that more creatures were better in that slot.
I am a big fan of this Logan Mize list, and have also been running all 4 Ordeal of Heliod which just feels broken at times in a taller more focused and pilgrimless version of UW Heroic. I still like Aqueous Form more than Stratus Walk though. I have also moved up to 4 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer main deck and booted out the last 2 Seeker of the Way which tended to get sided out regularly anyway.
This finish from Logan helps show that Fate Reforged didn't really give us much in terms of new cards, but the deck is still more than capable of competing. That is not to say that some form of wider UW Heroic deck couldn't emerge with Monastery Mentor, but there is always going to be other decks more suited to playing that card.
I've been running arbor elf as a substitute for Noble Heirarch. I know the main draw of Heirarch is Exalted but I've found the Elf to be good to ramp into 2CMC infect creature plus protection on Turn 2. Is that worth it or should I swap them out for more pump spells?
If you are going for a Noble Hierarch substitute you might want to look at Birds of Paradise. Hopefully Hierarch will be reprinted in Modern Masters 2015, which combined with the banning of Birthing Pod should bring the price down considerably.
One change I would make to that list is to move the 2 main deck Dismember to the sideboard. They were in there because of Pod, and the chance of running into a tutorable game 1 Spellskite. I am not sure at this point what the optimal replacement would be, but some ideas are Might of Old Krosa, Ranger's Guile, Wild Defiance or Spellskite.
How is G Infect any better suited than other forms?
MonoG Cathedral had a brief moment of glory where the format was slower than it has been recently, and it had this remarkable ability if you didn't win early, to grind out wins with Inkmoth Nexus, Cathedral of War, Pendelhaven and Sylvan Scrying. The deck should be able to do that again with some success. It doesn't mean that it is better than UGx, it just means it should be viable again.
With the recent Banned and Restricted Announcements, I do feel to there would be a resurgence of the old metagame decks such as 'Twin Combo, USA Control and B/G Rock/Jund/Junk decks, where I think in this situation Mono-Green Infect will have improved chances of performance. \:D/ Still building UG Infect though; just to have options.
For sure, MonoG Cathedral just got better again, along with Infect in general. The annoying thing is that the main version of BGx will be Junk/Abzan midrange which usually runs Lingering Souls providing them with some protection against Inkmoth Nexus. Of course cards like Rancor, Apostle's Blessing and Distortion Strike provide an easy way through, but it is still annoying. I have a feeling that Jund will make some sort of come back but it will take time for that to happen. As Izzet mentioned burn will still be around, and I think a range of creature based decks will become better such as Zoo, Merfolk, Soul Sisters etc. I am really looking forward to the modern Pro Tour in a few weeks as that will play a big part in establishing the meta.
From the recent Grand Prix in Omaha, I was disappointed but not surprised that Infect was absent from the Top 8 as it has been difficult for Infect lately in larger events. However, somehow I only just noticed that a UG Infect deck made it to the Top 16 of the 1168 player event. It shows that even in the current environment (which may change on Monday), Infect can still compete. Here is the list:
A few things that stand out about the list are that he is running 9 fetch lands, which help with the cost of the single Become Immense, as do Gitaxian Probe and Mutagenic Growth. His list is running less creatures than usual, but it does include a single Sylvan Scrying to help find an extra Inkmoth Nexus, and also helps with the cost of Become Immense.
The list is running 2 Wild Defiance main deck and 1 in the side, which seems to be a card that keeps coming up recently. This may have contributed to the absence of Rancor, as it doesn't trigger Wild Defiance, whereas Distortion Strike combines nicely with Wild Defiance.
Lastly I notice all 4 Spellskite in the sideboard! I would be very curious to know in what match ups he boarded in all 4, any thoughts?
You already are running Noble Hierarch and Wooded Foothills, honestly I would be adding Windswept Heath, Breeding Pool and Blighted Agent, then drop Cathedral of War entirely or at the most keep it as a 1 of. As much as I have been a fan of Mono Green Cathedral in the past, the current format requires Infect to be faster, rather than the grindy plan of the cathedral decks.
For anyone that is interested in the non-pilgrim version, last weekend Zach Jesse made the Top 8 of the SCG Open in Seattle with a pilgrim-less list. He ended up going 14-1 in the rounds, and finished 3rd in the Top 8.
On Reddit he had this to say about running a non-pilgrim version:
Quote from Zach Jesse »
I think the biggest way in which not playing Heliod's Pilgrim impacts the deck is that you're obliged to run more Aqueous Forms. Aqueous Form is a great way to close out games quickly, and if you're not able to tutor for them, you should be prepared to draw them naturally ... with 4 Aqueous Forms and 4 Battlewise Hoplites, you can get in a lot of scrying to dig for answers to problems or, more often the case, to maintain the momentum needed to win.
we will have a new toy with the newly spoiled instant from fate reforged. by having that, we dont dilute our deck while still having a removal for the problematic butcher/rhinos
It sure looks like the removal spell of choice for UW heroic, probably a sideboard card but it seems useful for sure.
It sounded like you were saying you could keep triggering Wild Defiance multiple times. You can with 2 kites, but with 1 you can only do it once.
I also tried Postmortem Lunge back in standard, and it did win some games out of nowhere, but most of the time I found that more creatures were better in that slot.
This finish from Logan helps show that Fate Reforged didn't really give us much in terms of new cards, but the deck is still more than capable of competing. That is not to say that some form of wider UW Heroic deck couldn't emerge with Monastery Mentor, but there is always going to be other decks more suited to playing that card.
If you are being hated out in a local group, then I would even go as far as to replace some or all of your Nature's Claims with Naturalize.
Delver numbers should decrease in time, but when we do play them at least they won't be refueling their hand.
On the negative side it does mean that Jund and Junk will be torturing us again in greater numbers.
http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpoma15/top-16-decklists-2015-01-11
3 Breeding Pool
2 Pendelhaven
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Glistener Elf
4 Blighted Agent
1 Viridian Corrupter
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Apostle's Blessing
2 Distortion Strike
4 Might of Old Krosa
4 Groundswell
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Mutagenic Growth
1 Become Immense
2 Wild Defiance
3 Viridian Corrupter
1 Wild Defiance
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Dispel
4 Nature's Claim
4 Spellskite
A few things that stand out about the list are that he is running 9 fetch lands, which help with the cost of the single Become Immense, as do Gitaxian Probe and Mutagenic Growth. His list is running less creatures than usual, but it does include a single Sylvan Scrying to help find an extra Inkmoth Nexus, and also helps with the cost of Become Immense.
The list is running 2 Wild Defiance main deck and 1 in the side, which seems to be a card that keeps coming up recently. This may have contributed to the absence of Rancor, as it doesn't trigger Wild Defiance, whereas Distortion Strike combines nicely with Wild Defiance.
Lastly I notice all 4 Spellskite in the sideboard! I would be very curious to know in what match ups he boarded in all 4, any thoughts?
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=77507
4 Island
6 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
3 Mana Confluence
3 Temple of Enlightenment
Creatures [16]
4 Battlewise Hoplite
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Hero Of Iroas
2 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 Seeker of the Way
4 Aqueous Form
2 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Ordeal of Thassa
1 Stratus Walk
1 Ajani's Presence
4 Defiant Strike
2 Feat of Resistance
4 Gods Willing
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Triton Tactics
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Suspension Field
1 Hopeful Eidolon
2 Ajani's Presence
2 Erase
2 Mortal's Ardor
1 Negate
2 Stubborn Denial
2 Glare of Heresy
1 Treasure Cruise
On Reddit he had this to say about running a non-pilgrim version:
Zach released a series of videos today of him playing the deck on MTGO:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ8jJjE1HR12sS_Zc1-sVPTagfhPCuBWC
Zach has also released a series of articles on The Meadery about the deck:
UW Heroic a Primer
Spell Choices in UW Heroic
UW Heroic Take Three
UW Heroic Take Four
He certainly has an entertaining style about him and a passion for UW Heroic. I particularly enjoyed the videos and the primer article.