So after seeing some lists and stuff, I decided to sleeve up Mardu with Light up the Stage and see if it was good. This is the list I ran tonight. I wish I had some blackcleave cliffs, but alas
I ended up 4-0 beating amulet titan, G tron, U tron and Vannifar pod. The pod deck was the only deck to take a game from me and the deck felt very smooth and consistent. I did board out light up the stage every round, but the match-ups were not about card quantity. I think the reason I like this, is that it is obviously a burn deck, but sequencing your spells is slightly different than in boros, so it almost feels like a different deck. Also, your game ones are just brutal against most opponents. I will, in immediate future, continue with this build. It honestly felt better than Boros and has felt better in my testing. But obviously more testing must be done.
Did you get to live the dream and Rakdos Charm against the pod deck?
On a side note, do you guys like shatter effects against amulet, or are we just supposed to race and hope they don’t have the nuts?
I did not. Game one I was just way too fast. He got game two with the combo and game three he mulled and kept a sketchy six, and burn punishes sketchy keeps.
The eidolons felt clunky with Light up the Stage. I never wanted to cast them off it and eidolon has just felt whelming lately, even in boros burn. In the matchups where it is good, it is likely the best card in the deck (UR phoenix, storm, etc...). But with no maindeck lifegain and playing three colors (so lots of shocking), it is more likely to get eidolon locked in some matchups (humans, spirits). I wanted every maindeck card to play well with plan A, burn the face. Then post-board I could bring in the powerful interaction. Whether or not this is correct is why we test.
So after seeing some lists and stuff, I decided to sleeve up Mardu with Light up the Stage and see if it was good. This is the list I ran tonight. I wish I had some blackcleave cliffs, but alas
I ended up 4-0 beating amulet titan, G tron, U tron and Vannifar pod. The pod deck was the only deck to take a game from me and the deck felt very smooth and consistent. I did board out light up the stage every round, but the match-ups were not about card quantity. I think the reason I like this, is that it is obviously a burn deck, but sequencing your spells is slightly different than in boros, so it almost feels like a different deck. Also, your game ones are just brutal against most opponents. I will, in immediate future, continue with this build. It honestly felt better than Boros and has felt better in my testing. But obviously more testing must be done.
Finished 3-1 last night. Beat a budget Eldrazi Tron (no chalices), a budget UR deck, and affinity (non-scales) and lost to dredge. The dredge deck had creeping chill and that card is a beating. I won game two on the back of a turn 2 rest in peace, but game 1 and 3 he got to do his thing and it felt pretty bad. Also, I know every deck that was playing GW there was playing at least 2 knight of autumn, so just another card to keep in mind, which we probably all knew.
I beat RG valakut, Storm, lost to humans, beat BG Infect, Storm, RG Valakut, UW Control and then lost to Bant Combos (it had both the knight/retreat and druid/vizier combo). The humans match was super close, but I drew both bridges game 3 and couldn't empty my hand and ended losing exactly to a freebooter. I'm surprised I took a game against the bant deck, it felt horrible. Overall, I had some good match-ups and the deck performed very well all day. I will say had those bridges been path to exiles, I probably win the match against humans, but I obviously couldn't have them with a UW teammate.
Side note, his match-up lottery was the worst. Tron x3, Green Devotion, Storm x2 and Humans x2 (not in that order, but still). He got rolled all day, felt kinda bad for him.
First off, long time listener and love using this thread to help me improve and tweak this deck. I will premise that this inquiry i have is due to the unified team modern event coming up in about a month so bear with me. My teammates are on affinity and UW control. The problem is the UW deck NEEDS path to exile to function. We don't have time (or the funds for that matter) to switch decks. So my question is, if you are running RWg burn and couldn't run path to exile, what would you replace it with? My list is pretty stock, 20 lands, 3 skullcrack and 1 grim lavamancer with all the usual suspects as 4 ofs. My sideboard so far is below. Any input is greatly appreciated!
I'm like 99% sure I know you can't, but some players at my LGS seemed convinced that they could change constructed decks between rounds at an FNM. So in a modern FNM, they could play round 1 with Tron, then in round 2, when they know their opponent is on burn, they could switch to soul sisters and so on. This isn't true, correct?
Lately, Collective Brutality has been brutally beating up on me (sorry for the pun). Is there a way to combat this card?
Collective Brutality is one of the best anti-burn cards we have in modern. Its casting does not guarantee a loss for the burn player, but it really messes up with burn's gameplan. If used escalating all modes, you are being three for one'd. However, you can fight it back to achieve some degree of damage control.
Atarka's Command is decent against it, if you cast it in response to CB choosing +1/+1 to your creatures and denying lifegain for your opponents, you can counter 2 CB modes (lifedrain and -2/-2 to target creature). If you don't have creatures or don't mind them dying, 3 to the face and lifegain deny are the way to go, so Skullcrack is equally good in this situation.
Just a heads up. For the command, use the +1/+1 mode and three damage (assuming you want to save a creature). it is one more damage than denying them two life.
I agree with this. I originally had my paths in the board, quickly realized I was boarding them in a lot, and have not regretted putting them in the main. So I run 4 commands, 4 bolts and 3 paths (with the 4th in the board) and have loved it.
Continue having success with 1-drop zoo. Beat affinity, lantern, abzan midrange, UW control, and Blue Moon/Madcap for Saturday afternoon magic. Trying out scrapheap scrounger since my meta has a fair amount of midrange/control strategies. It never really came up as I either boarded it our (affinity) and played against two path decks. at worst it is a 3 power two drop that can be cast through blood moon/spreading seas. also doesn't matter if it gets countered which is nice.
So I've been enjoying the 1-drop reckless bushwacker zoo lately. Went 5-0 tonight at FNM playing grixis delver twice, naya burn (no cats, yes atarka's command), abzan zoo and RW burn (no green at all). Here is the list. I unfortunately do not own a playset of arid mesas (hence the 4x mires), but with the reprint I should be able to get them. The sideboard is still in flux. Jund has proven to be harden than expected, hence the planeswalkers. Domri has put in work. I just put the chandra's in the board this week (which require the 20th land), but I didn't board it in (it is not for the above decklists).
Played the above list to another 4-0 finish. I got the ol' round one bye, then beat 4-color emerge, BW angel control and RW goggles. I made a few changes. I moved the linvala, the preserver to the board, added a second archangel avacyn to the main, moved a tragic arrogance to the board, moved the 4th stasis snare to the main and dropped a rending volley from the 75. I also swapped the fortified village for a second battlefield forge. The decks seems good, but I haven't played against bant company at all, so I have no idea how that match up would be.
I did not. Game one I was just way too fast. He got game two with the combo and game three he mulled and kept a sketchy six, and burn punishes sketchy keeps.
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
1 Grim Lavamancer
Spells (32)
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Boros Charm
4 Bump in the Night
4 Skullcrack
4 Rift Bolt
4 Light up the Stage
4 Skewer the Critics
4 Arid Mesa
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
1 Inspiring Vantage
3 Blood Crypt
3 Mountain
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Path to Exile
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Rest in Peace
4 Searing Blaze
I ended up 4-0 beating amulet titan, G tron, U tron and Vannifar pod. The pod deck was the only deck to take a game from me and the deck felt very smooth and consistent. I did board out light up the stage every round, but the match-ups were not about card quantity. I think the reason I like this, is that it is obviously a burn deck, but sequencing your spells is slightly different than in boros, so it almost feels like a different deck. Also, your game ones are just brutal against most opponents. I will, in immediate future, continue with this build. It honestly felt better than Boros and has felt better in my testing. But obviously more testing must be done.
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Rift Bolt
4x Lava Spike
4x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Helix
4x Searing Blaze
3x Skullcrack
1x Stomping Ground
3x Inspiring Vantage
3x Mountain
4x Arid Mesa
3x Bloodstained Mire
3x Wooded Foothills
2x Deflecting Palm
4x Destructive Revelry
2x Ensnaring Bridge
2x Exquisite Firecraft
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Searing Blood
1x Skullcrack
I beat RG valakut, Storm, lost to humans, beat BG Infect, Storm, RG Valakut, UW Control and then lost to Bant Combos (it had both the knight/retreat and druid/vizier combo). The humans match was super close, but I drew both bridges game 3 and couldn't empty my hand and ended losing exactly to a freebooter. I'm surprised I took a game against the bant deck, it felt horrible. Overall, I had some good match-ups and the deck performed very well all day. I will say had those bridges been path to exiles, I probably win the match against humans, but I obviously couldn't have them with a UW teammate.
Side note, his match-up lottery was the worst. Tron x3, Green Devotion, Storm x2 and Humans x2 (not in that order, but still). He got rolled all day, felt kinda bad for him.
1 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Exquisite Firecraft
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Searing Blood
1 Skullcrack
Just a heads up. For the command, use the +1/+1 mode and three damage (assuming you want to save a creature). it is one more damage than denying them two life.
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
4 Arid Mesa
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
Creatures:
4 Experiment One
4 Narnam Renegade
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kird Ape
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
2 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Atarka's Command
3 Path to Exile
2 Deflecting Palm
3 Destructive Revelry
1 Domri Rade
2 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Kari Zev's Expertise
1 Path to Exile
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1x Arid Mesa
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Forest
1x Mountain
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
Creature (29)
4x Goblin Guide
4x Kird Ape
4x Narnam Renegade
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Burning-Tree Emissary
4x Hidden Herbalists
1x Flinthoof Boar
4x Reckless Bushwhacker
2x Rancor
2x Seal of Fire
Instant (8)
4x Atarka's Command
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Boros Charm
2x Chandra, Pyromaster
1x Domri Rade
2x Hooting Mandrills
3x Path to Exile
1x Sacred Foundry
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Seal of Primordium