Just top 8'ed a local "Modern Challenger" in Bristol, UK with a new version of Kiki Chord, running 4 Stoneforge Mystic. I think that SFM is exactly what this deck was missing - a solid Plan A 2-drop for the beatdown plan. The card is really, really good here. Why? 1) it's card advantage, (2) it's a removal magnet, leaving fewer spells to interact with the combo later, (3) we can hardcast Batterskull pretty efficiently due to large counts of mana dorks.
Other new tech that has really impressed me includes Hexdrinker, which can level *really fast.* A level 3 or higher Hexdrinker gives you an amazing clock in matchups like Jund, pushing the game into your favour fast.
I'm interested in a a few changes, and any input people may have. My current tweaks to test are:
Mainboard:
-1 Renegade Rallier
+1 Vivien, Champ
Sideboard:
-2 Fiery Justice
-1 Vivien, Champ (moved to main)
+3 Chalice of the Void
So I've heard a lot about Chalice, and it's really good against Phoenix, which could well be the most played deck now BridgeVine has been banned down a bit. However, I'm unsure as to whether it hits enough tough matchups, and hits them hard enough, to be worth the slots. Phoenix is pretty 50/50 already, I feel, and I don't know if there's something more impactful that I could run to say, turn the UW matchup from 10/90 to closer to 40/60.
A mainboard answer that exiles with no target restrictions? Sign me up!
I mean, if it's exile you're sfter, white already has Path at 1 mana. I get that you get the cantrip option too but this doesn't seem worth adding a colour for, imo :/
My thoughts on other previews:
Absorb won't see play bc 3 mana is awkward for Modern counters.
Dovin seems way too fragile, also historically PW's with "+ do nothing" haven't been good, and Dovin needs setup for his + to do slightly less nothing. Should be ok for standard tho
Bedevil seems playable actually, yes it's on 3 and it's competing with Dreadbore, but it does enough more for the extra mana that devks like Pyro might wanna pick 1 up. Decks with G like Jund will stick to Trophy and Pulse tho.
Kaya is fascinating, though I have no idea if she'll work. Her + is obviously good against GY decks, but she's a bit slow if you're trying to hate on Dredge or Phoenix style strategies. Also sorcery speed is a big drawback on grave hate. Her - seems like it will be great against, like, Lantern and Zoo? Her ult is obviously good if you use it but not what i'd be judging the card on.
I really like the look of Hydroid Krasis, finally. I guess it's probably too slow but if some sort of rampy midrange/control deck popped up, it could well make a sweet finisher. Would be a mirror breaker and a half for Control matches of Bant picks up ever...
It mainboards only the widest reaching and most impactful hatebears, and aims to play a value/beatdown game with a lot of lifegain and graveyard recursion. Leaning on a playset of Restos and using Evo as my sole tutor makes me much more able to combo off as well, to punish uninteractive or tapped out opponents. I'd say my wins are somewhere around 50/50 split between beatdown and combo kills.
In terms of sideboard, there's a lot there that can't be tutored for. I already have tutorable grave hate in the main, so I'm happy running Rest in Peace for it's sheer power in the side. Mostly the side is noncreature spells that ruin matchups for certain decks, with a couple of cards that can be tutored that make the gane very difficult for certain decks. I'm a particular fan of Settle the Wreckage and Cataclysmic Gearhulk - in the latter case, the decks it is best against don't have s way of interacting with it, and it effectively guarantees you being ahead on board after it resolves.
Been playing a version with Eldritch Evolution and no Chords. Very happy with it so far - it seems to be able to capitalise very well in terms of comboing off when it's safe, and the value build with lots of death triggers is good in our current creature_combat.meta that we live in The deck seems to be better at preying on less experienced players than at fairly winning games tho, which is a concern for me taking it to higher events. Will be running it through the gauntlet of GP Side Events this weekend and will get back to you all with my findings and whatever list I settle on...
You're supposed to be angry at this because no one outside the US has a chance of getting these, then again if you're in the US you can just leave the rest of us to be angry
Has anyone tried a BGR kiki chord decklist, and dropped white entirely?
We lose some of our hate, but pickup things like Inquisition and now Assassin's Trophy. The quality of BG creatures has been going up as well. Combo pieces can be 1x each of combat celebrant and zealous conscripts. I've been searching around for a creature toolbox deck after being dissatisfied with the control options in my naya kiki chord, and thought exploring black might be the way to go.
I feel like swapping for black loses you too much. Losing Resto, Voice, Pridemage, Rallier Knight of Autumn and a lot of the sideboard seems like far too steep a price to gain Trophy and... Grim Flayer?
Just like OP, I like all the changes except for the name "MagicFest". What would you rather tell you´re family, non-playing friends and co-workers that you´re going to, a MagicFest or a Grand Prix? One sounds supremely dorky and the other sounds like a serious competition. I´m still going to call it a GP. But a name is just a name, it doesn´t matter a lot, and all the other changes look like great, tangible improvements.
I just tell people I'm going to a convention, it's what they are after all. Not sure why MagicCon or something like it wasn't chosen.
Seal Away
+ not damage based
+ exiles
+ instant
- rarely hits non attackers
- Can be removed
As easy as it might be to list the pros and cons, actually choosing which ones to run is a bit harder. If you have any opinion on what the best options are, please leave a reply
It's a reverse Yawg's Will - opponent's grave gives this much more limited combo potential, but I guess there must be something to do with it. Storm mirror breaker?
Other new tech that has really impressed me includes Hexdrinker, which can level *really fast.* A level 3 or higher Hexdrinker gives you an amazing clock in matchups like Jund, pushing the game into your favour fast.
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Stomping Ground
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Temple Garden
4x Forest
2x Plains
3x Horizon Canopy
1x Gavony Township
Creatures: 30
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Noble Hierarch
2x Voice of Resurgence
2x Selfless Spirit
1x Remorseful Cleric
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Magus of the Moon
2x Eternal Witness
1x Renegade Rallier
4x Kitchen Finks
1x Knight of Autumn
3x Restoration Angel
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2x Thragtusk
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
Spells: 7
3x Path to Exile
2x Chord of Calling
2x Eldritch Evolution
1x Collector Ouphe
1x Gaddock Teeg
1x Qasali Pridemage
1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1x Damping Sphere
1x Stony Silence
1x Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
2x Rest in Peace
2x Blood Moon
2x Fiery Justice
2x Settle the Wreckage
I'm interested in a a few changes, and any input people may have. My current tweaks to test are:
Mainboard:
-1 Renegade Rallier
+1 Vivien, Champ
Sideboard:
-2 Fiery Justice
-1 Vivien, Champ (moved to main)
+3 Chalice of the Void
So I've heard a lot about Chalice, and it's really good against Phoenix, which could well be the most played deck now BridgeVine has been banned down a bit. However, I'm unsure as to whether it hits enough tough matchups, and hits them hard enough, to be worth the slots. Phoenix is pretty 50/50 already, I feel, and I don't know if there's something more impactful that I could run to say, turn the UW matchup from 10/90 to closer to 40/60.
I just have to!
I mean, if it's exile you're sfter, white already has Path at 1 mana. I get that you get the cantrip option too but this doesn't seem worth adding a colour for, imo :/
My thoughts on other previews:
Absorb won't see play bc 3 mana is awkward for Modern counters.
Dovin seems way too fragile, also historically PW's with "+ do nothing" haven't been good, and Dovin needs setup for his + to do slightly less nothing. Should be ok for standard tho
Bedevil seems playable actually, yes it's on 3 and it's competing with Dreadbore, but it does enough more for the extra mana that devks like Pyro might wanna pick 1 up. Decks with G like Jund will stick to Trophy and Pulse tho.
Kaya is fascinating, though I have no idea if she'll work. Her + is obviously good against GY decks, but she's a bit slow if you're trying to hate on Dredge or Phoenix style strategies. Also sorcery speed is a big drawback on grave hate. Her - seems like it will be great against, like, Lantern and Zoo? Her ult is obviously good if you use it but not what i'd be judging the card on.
I really like the look of Hydroid Krasis, finally. I guess it's probably too slow but if some sort of rampy midrange/control deck popped up, it could well make a sweet finisher. Would be a mirror breaker and a half for Control matches of Bant picks up ever...
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Arid Mesa
2x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Forest
2x Plains
1x Gavony Township
3x Horizon Canopy
Creatures: 30
4x Birds of Paradise
3x Noble Heirarch
3x Voice of Resurgence
1x Remorseful Cleric
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Kitchen Finks
2x Knight of Autumn
2x Eternal Witness
1x Renegade Rallier
1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
4x Restoration Angel
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2x Thragtusk
3x Path to Exile
4x Eldritch Evolution
2x Fiery Justice
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
2x Damping Sphere
1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2x Settle the Wreckage
1x Worship
1x Magus of the Moon
1x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Gaddock Teeg
It mainboards only the widest reaching and most impactful hatebears, and aims to play a value/beatdown game with a lot of lifegain and graveyard recursion. Leaning on a playset of Restos and using Evo as my sole tutor makes me much more able to combo off as well, to punish uninteractive or tapped out opponents. I'd say my wins are somewhere around 50/50 split between beatdown and combo kills.
In terms of sideboard, there's a lot there that can't be tutored for. I already have tutorable grave hate in the main, so I'm happy running Rest in Peace for it's sheer power in the side. Mostly the side is noncreature spells that ruin matchups for certain decks, with a couple of cards that can be tutored that make the gane very difficult for certain decks. I'm a particular fan of Settle the Wreckage and Cataclysmic Gearhulk - in the latter case, the decks it is best against don't have s way of interacting with it, and it effectively guarantees you being ahead on board after it resolves.
Any comments or questions are welcome
You're supposed to be angry at this because no one outside the US has a chance of getting these, then again if you're in the US you can just leave the rest of us to be angry
I feel like swapping for black loses you too much. Losing Resto, Voice, Pridemage, Rallier Knight of Autumn and a lot of the sideboard seems like far too steep a price to gain Trophy and... Grim Flayer?
I just tell people I'm going to a convention, it's what they are after all. Not sure why MagicCon or something like it wasn't chosen.
Lightning Strike:
+ instant
+ goes face
- not much damage
Lava Coil:
+ exiles
+ good damage
- sorcery
Response:
+ high damage, kills most things
+ has a win button on the side
- only useful in combat
Justice Strike:
+ Kills Nullhide Ferox
+ Instant
- misses defensive creatures
- intensive colour requirements
Seal Away
+ not damage based
+ exiles
+ instant
- rarely hits non attackers
- Can be removed
As easy as it might be to list the pros and cons, actually choosing which ones to run is a bit harder. If you have any opinion on what the best options are, please leave a reply
Aurelia costs 4, you can just go to town without the ???
It's a reverse Yawg's Will - opponent's grave gives this much more limited combo potential, but I guess there must be something to do with it. Storm mirror breaker?