The mana base is actually really solid as is. I used to run a split of 4/3/2 of Misty/Scalding/Arid but I'm aiming to have turn 1 U or G depending on Delver or Nacatl into a turn 2 3/3 Nacatl/having Lightning Helix up (WR). So having Steam Vents+Temple Garden or Hallowed Fountain+Stomping Ground meets those requirements. A 4/4 split on Misty and Arid gets me to that regardless of which fetch I have with Misty being unable to grab Sacred Foundry for the unlikely and awkward draw that needs to instantly turn on Nacatl. To be fair, Flooded Strand and Wooded Foothills provides the same color coverage but Strand can't grab Stomping Ground as opposed to Misty not grabbing Sacred Foundry. I'd rather be able to grab all of the relevant fetches and have occasional access to Foundry. Plus I have a playset of foil Mistys that I like using.
Splashing B for Tribal Flames is pretty weak in my opinion. I don't think the deck really benefits from one mana discard and anything costing double black is uncastable (so no LilianaOTV). If I really wanted extra burn, Boros Charm is probably a better choice since it is instant, blanks Abrupt Decay and is on a casting cost that the deck already plays towards having. Charms in general seems a bit weaker than some of the other choices that the deck could run but Boros Charm is something I have considered trying out and most likely will in the near future.
I was considering running Trickbind over the 4th Remand. I do like its interaction with several cards in the meta. Though I don't think Stifling lands is really the best use of it. Most of the combo decks in the format are held off a turn or fold to it (countering the Storm trigger on Grapeshot for example). Which is probably the most relevant use of it. I will test with it but I'm not sure it will necessarily be better than just buying a turn with Remand.
I went 3-1 at my Modern tournament yesterday playing this list:
A lot of the Tier 1 decks that used to show up have tapered off unfortunately. I played against Mono-B Devotion, UB Faeries, Mono-B Infect, and UW Control. I only lost to Devotion. I crushed him game 1 with a couple creatures and burn while he lost life to Phyrexian Arena. Game 2 he resolved 2 Phyrexian Crusaders into my board of Nacatl and hand full of burn. Game 3 I got him to two life and had a 1/1 spirit and a Hierarch and needed him to brick on a flying blocker (which seemed likely since I had only seen ground beaters) and he dropped Griselbrand into play. I had to top deck Snag, Snapcaster or one of the remaining 5 burn spells in my deck. Got a Misty Rainforest and scooped. This sort of scenario showed up once in every round that I played. Twice it worked out for me (against Infect and Faeries) and the other times it didn't (Devotion and Control).
Electrolyze was alright the two times I saw it. I killed a Vendilion Clique with it in response to the trigger, which was decent value. The other time, I just shot my opponent for two EoT and drew a card. Which I guess isn't terrible but not really what I want to be doing with three mana. Sword of Fire and Ice was pretty solid and won me a game by allowing me to get in for an additional two points of damage but Pike would have done the same in that situation. So I'm seeing it as whether drawing cards is more relevant than First Strike (pushing through more damage and making blocking hell for my opponent) and it's actually pretty close. I'll play around with both of these a bit more and see how that goes but I think Electrolyze will end up getting cut.
I would like to say that It was pretty great having more counter magic than the control deck. I won every counter war we got into except for one over him Pathing a Delver on turn 5 and that was only because I was shy one blue source (I only drew one fetch that game).
Why would you make those changes? I know that what you are recommending is more like the UR Delver removal/counter suite but I'm really not a fan of Spell Snare. It's solid while on the draw in a handful of matches for their turn 2 but it loses a lot of utility as the game progresses (outside of the GBx match up where most of their deck is made of 2-drops). I'd rather have more versatile answers.
I had a discussion with Jeff Hoogland about Pillar in UR Delver on reddit a couple weeks ago. I know he uses and recommends it but he also boards it out in every match up except Pod. I agree it's solid against Pod in game 1 but if I were really worried about that match up, Magma Spray out of the sideboard would be acceptable. Sorcery speed for a Shock is mediocre in a deck looking to bluff instants to victory. Path to Exile hits the cards that I need exiled (Voice and Finks; to some extent Archangel of Thune) assuming counter magic doesn't hit them first and I have more than enough Burn for everything else.
Forked Bolt seems like a replacement for Arc Trail at 1cmc. Picking off a x/2 and an x/1 seems mildly better out of a 1-of in the deck. I've personally had a lot of success with the Arc Trail and like its place in the deck. I'm going to give Electrolyze a try and see if the instant speed and card draw is worth the extra mana. I can give Forked Bolt a try next time. Though thinking about all this, makes me want to give Electrickery a try as well. It is a lot like Forked Bolt but deals completely with Young Pyromancer/his tokens as well as Lingering Souls.
There is a Modern GP coming to Vancouver in February and I have this brew that has been working very well for me that I'd like to get fine tuned for the event. Here's the decklist with a brief description, card choices and my current thoughts below.
Basically this is UR Delver tempo deck with Nacatl splashed in for added threat density and consistency. The main premise is to run out a turn 1 guy that will become a 3 power beater and then protect it with counter magic and burn. Aside from a fairly painful mana base, the deck has solid game against most T1 decks. Affinity is the biggest problem but the SB has several ways to interact with them post-board. The problem I had with other Delver decks, is that without turn 1 Delver, the deck was rather durdly and bought time but without applying pressure the deck's success diminished as the game went on. So having 8 1 mana 3/xs has been extremely helpful in keeping pressure on the opponent. Plus, playing so many colors means ever card in the deck is good.
The Creatures Delver of Secrets + Wild Nacatl = The main reason for the deck. Clocking an opponent for 3+ plus a turn is solid and these guys only get better in multiples. Noble Hierarch = Exalted brings extra pressure from the other creatures, reducing the turns to kill from 7 to 5. Good in multiples and gives mana advantage. Snapcaster Mage = Bolt+Snap+Bolt is one of the strongest things to be doing in the meta. He has access to 8 "bolts" as well as being additional counter spells when needed. Then he beats in for two on top of that. He does everything the deck needs but being a 2cmc + the flashblack spell is a touch awkward for the low mana count, so he only gets 3 slots.
The Spells Lightning Bolt = I'm playing Red. Auto 4-of. Serum Visions = Smoothing draws and setting up Delver flips are very important for this deck and managing inconsistency is big. It's usually a turn 2 or 3 play but is typically very good whenever cast. Spell Pierce = 1cmc generic counter spell. It's a good surprise card and great for counter wars. A bit too narrow to warrant more than 2 copies. Lightning Helix = Bolts 5-8. The life gain is fairly relevant for offsetting the damage the land base usually incurs as well. Mana Leak = The hard counter of the deck. Games generally don't last to where the opponent can play around it. Being 1U is very important as well. Remand = One of, it not, the best Tempo cards in the format. Putting the opponent off of plays for a turn can usually close out games quickly. Especially with Mana Leak or Bolt to soak up the card the following turn. Arc Trail = This has been a pretty awesome 1-of for the deck. Electrolyze at 3 mana is a bit awkward for the mana base and restricts plays. It has a solid damage to cmc ratio but is a sorcery. I've been really happy with it though. It kills off most things and can always go to their face for 2.
The Spice Steelshaper's Gift = This functions as a second copy of Runechanter's Pike while simultaneously buffing the Pike. Runechanter's Pike = A staple from back when Delver was standard legal. First Strike and buffs with all the spells in the deck, this thing makes attacking brutal. I've given it the go over something like Sword of Fire and Ice mainly because of cmc restrictions. Two free mana on a turn is much easier to come by than 3. Ajani Vengeant = Sleeping a permanent and some extra reach are nice. Plus he makes for a great distraction for opponents. Generally he isn't needed to win games but when he does resolve, I end up winning those games. Moorland Haunt = There are removal heavy decks out there and Abrupt Decay is a thing. Having a way to recur value off of lost creatures is great. Like in old standard, the spirits hold a Pike exceptionally well.
Notable Exclusions: Tarmogoyf = I tried him as a 3-of over Pike/Gift/Ajani but he typically didn't hit play until turn 4+ and was generally lackluster. I don't think he'd be a terrible option here but equipping a creature with a Pike for 4+ damage on a creature already in play (essentially haste) has worked better for me.
Current thoughts:
- The lands are pretty tight but I've been considering running a basic Plains over the Sacred Foundry. The main reason I haven't switched yet is that I'm not sure how prevalent Blood Moon will be at the tournament and it hasn't been a problem at my Meta. I like the Sacred Foundry as a way to instantly make Nacatl a 3/3 but it can't be fetched with Misty Rainforest. It's pretty close either way, but I think the Foundry is safer.
- Timely Reinforcements vs Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard. They serve similar functions. Mainly anti-Burn. Timely is better against aggro decks, where as Leyline is better against the discard spells. I like that Timely still flips Delver but I think this choice may be more meta dependent. In which case Leyline seems better for a higher caliber tournament.
-I was having some issues with flooding out at 20 lands (seeing 4+ in a game along with Nobles). I cut a fetchland (from 9 to 8) to go to 19 to help reduce this.
I'm making this thread to help track my changes to the deck and tuning but I'd also love any input for the community here. Questions, comments and suggestions are more than welcome. More eyes can only make things better.
It definitely looks solid. A lot like the traditional Jund lists, like you said. No Raging Ravine or Treetop Village in the mana base seems odd. Is there any particular reason for Pack Rat over Bob? He might help with your consistency issues and plays well with Liliana and discard. What do you board Olivia in for? Scavenging Ooze and Courser seem nice for some incidental lifegain and value. Has Eternal Witness been working for you? It has been fairly awkward the times I've tried it, though it has been a long time since I gave her a shot.
I've been playing it in a semi-serious GR Ramp deck. With a Mox Opal hand you can drop it on turn 3, but typically turn 4 is when it comes up. It's pretty busted and casting two in a game usually just means you win. I also run 3 Trinisphere in the deck which makes it even more potent. If you want to play with it, it's solid but I don't think it would ever be a real competitive card.
For modern in general, I prefer Ghost Quarter over Tec Edge. Just because of the versatility it has over Tec Edge (e.g. killing tron lands before they have 4 lands in play, killing man-lands for no additional mana cost, and things like that). As far as numbers, it depends on the build of the deck and how prevalent Tron is in your meta. Typically you want one or two MB. Though I like 3 in my RUG build but 2 is probably an acceptable number. Tec Edge is probably more useful of you are running into more things like Jund and UWR control(ish) decks. Killing man-lands and not giving the opponent land advantage is usually pretty good in the grindier games. I'm still partial to GQ though. Even in those circumstances.
That's what I came to after talking it over with a couple friends of mine. I'm still not sure of the split on Ensoul and Blast. I may drop a Stormbreath just to go for a 4/4 split on them. I need to get a few odds and ends cards but I will try and get the deck together and play it as soon as I can. Standard is usually on Mondays at my store but I may be at a concert Monday night. I'll try and post results as I can get them.
Went 2-2 at my modern tournament last night. I beat UR Kiln Fiend and Mono Black Devotion; and lost to Bogle and UW Planeswalker control. It was a very brew heavy night. Anyways, I wasn't particularly happy with the 3-of Helix and how deep I had pushed it. I think scaling it back to 2 Helix and cutting the Flame Jabs back along with Worst Fears and just using it as a late game value engine is probably stronger. The way the deck was setup wasn't terrible but it was rather durdly and not as interactive as I would have liked.
I think I'm going to give the deck a break for awhile though. There's a GP coming up in February in Vancouver that I want to attend and do well at with a brew of mine. The one that I feel strongest about is my 4 color CounterCat deck, so I'm going to be trying to play with that almost exclusively. I'll still try to playtest with Loam when I can but with the meta shifting to Burn, Bogle, Merfolk and very aggressive decks like that, I don't think Loam will be effective enough to compete.
I still really like Helix and it generates a ton of value but it really only gets value in the late game unless your hand plays out perfectly (Looting into value). But even then, the earliest you can make use of it is turn 4. In the grindy long games, it's really nice but with how aggressive things are getting, it's not that helpful. Most games, it was a struggle to get the right cards in the yard to get immediate value out of it. So I could have cast it but it wouldn't have done anything most of the time or cut off my ability to Retrace spells. I think having it as a back up value engine is where it'd be best. Generally, getting some combination of Loam, Crime and Looting were the best value. The Flame Jabs were nice for consistency but cutting back on the Helix makes them unnecessary. I opted for Pyromancers for a bit more pressure. That may be wrong but it seems decent enough for going into more testing.
I could definitely run Magma Jet over Shock. I was just thinking along the lines of having 1-drops to work with the Angel. Do you feel like you run enough artifacts to make Ensoul and Shrapnel Blast worth 4-of slots in your list? I was concerned they would be dead draws without a higher artifact count. I'd be fine with swapping the numbers on the Angel. I just wanted to make sure that I had one in hand to make the most use of the enablers when I draw them.
I had considered Judge's Familiar as well as Cloudfin Raptor. I just figured leaning on more aggressive pressure was a bit safer than a more reactive creature. Revoker was also on my list of things to try. Scuttling Doom Engine wasn't a 5 drop and Niv-Mizzet seemed more fun. Though I'm sure it probably is a better call to run the Engine.
I'll make some changes to the deck and edit the list later.
I'm not trying to focus on Helix. I'm just sharing lines of play that I've discovered so everyone who wants to play with it knows. It's useful but Seismic Assault is still a much strong card and the Assault+Loam combo is still my main goal while playing the deck. It just depends on how your hand plays out that determines which line you need to go with. I'm not sure if 3 Helix is right for the deck but I figure if I see it more, then I can gauge its usefulness more.
I thought that was what I had said... two Helix with the same spells on them. Oh well. Haha. I think Assault is still an important part of the deck's functionality. Helix is additional value and mana advantage but Assault is still a huge win con/stabilizer.
So basically, I wanted to make a deck that would make Illusory Angel worthwhile. I don't think this is going to be any sort of phenomenal deck but it seems decent enough. However, I play very little standard. So getting some extra eyes on the list would be awesome. Tips on a UR Sideboard would be great. My store has a lot of Black devotion decks and a smattering of other tier decks from my understanding.
Anyways, Burning-Tree Emissary into Illusory Angel is the primary thought here. It can happen turn 2 with a turn 1 Drum. Though I expect it to happen on turn 3 more often than not (Fueled by Ornithopter as well at that point). Generator Servant on turn 2 also lends itself to 5 mana so I could cast a 2-drop something or other and have a hasty Angel on turn 3. Or I can just play Keranos or Stormbreath. I'm not sure if there are enough artifacts to make 4 Ensoul worth running; if not, then I'll switch the split of Ensoul and Shrapnel Blast. In all honesty, Niv-Mizzet should probably be another Stormbreath Dragon (to work better with Generator Servant) but I really want to run him in standard one more time before rotation happens. It would be awesome if I ever did get to cast him off of a Servant though.
I'll be throwing this together and see if it does anything the next time I play standard. Again, any help would be greatly appreciated.
To my understanding that would work. The casting of a copy triggers the other. So if you manage to get two Helix with Jab/(the same sorcery) you go infinite and deal infinite damage. Not as elegant as Twin decks but a possibility to keep in mind.
Yeah, Loam+anything on a Helix is just gravy. Also, I was thinking about it and Helix with Flame Jab lets you play through Blood Moon fairly well. Especially if you can get Loam into the yard with it. Faithless Looting works though Blood Moon too, so you can still get stuff from your hand into your graveyard. I'm actually really liking the direction Helix is taking... I'm excited to play it again this week.
Splashing B for Tribal Flames is pretty weak in my opinion. I don't think the deck really benefits from one mana discard and anything costing double black is uncastable (so no LilianaOTV). If I really wanted extra burn, Boros Charm is probably a better choice since it is instant, blanks Abrupt Decay and is on a casting cost that the deck already plays towards having. Charms in general seems a bit weaker than some of the other choices that the deck could run but Boros Charm is something I have considered trying out and most likely will in the near future.
I went 3-1 at my Modern tournament yesterday playing this list:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Wild Nacatl
3 Snapcaster Mage
Spells: 26
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
2 Vapor Snag
2 Spell Pierce
4 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
1 Electrolyze
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Moorland Haunt
4 Arid Mesa
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Steam Vents
2 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Back to Nature
1 Counterflux
2 Path to Exile
2 Spellskite
1 Stony Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Wear // Tear
A lot of the Tier 1 decks that used to show up have tapered off unfortunately. I played against Mono-B Devotion, UB Faeries, Mono-B Infect, and UW Control. I only lost to Devotion. I crushed him game 1 with a couple creatures and burn while he lost life to Phyrexian Arena. Game 2 he resolved 2 Phyrexian Crusaders into my board of Nacatl and hand full of burn. Game 3 I got him to two life and had a 1/1 spirit and a Hierarch and needed him to brick on a flying blocker (which seemed likely since I had only seen ground beaters) and he dropped Griselbrand into play. I had to top deck Snag, Snapcaster or one of the remaining 5 burn spells in my deck. Got a Misty Rainforest and scooped. This sort of scenario showed up once in every round that I played. Twice it worked out for me (against Infect and Faeries) and the other times it didn't (Devotion and Control).
Electrolyze was alright the two times I saw it. I killed a Vendilion Clique with it in response to the trigger, which was decent value. The other time, I just shot my opponent for two EoT and drew a card. Which I guess isn't terrible but not really what I want to be doing with three mana. Sword of Fire and Ice was pretty solid and won me a game by allowing me to get in for an additional two points of damage but Pike would have done the same in that situation. So I'm seeing it as whether drawing cards is more relevant than First Strike (pushing through more damage and making blocking hell for my opponent) and it's actually pretty close. I'll play around with both of these a bit more and see how that goes but I think Electrolyze will end up getting cut.
I would like to say that It was pretty great having more counter magic than the control deck. I won every counter war we got into except for one over him Pathing a Delver on turn 5 and that was only because I was shy one blue source (I only drew one fetch that game).
I had a discussion with Jeff Hoogland about Pillar in UR Delver on reddit a couple weeks ago. I know he uses and recommends it but he also boards it out in every match up except Pod. I agree it's solid against Pod in game 1 but if I were really worried about that match up, Magma Spray out of the sideboard would be acceptable. Sorcery speed for a Shock is mediocre in a deck looking to bluff instants to victory. Path to Exile hits the cards that I need exiled (Voice and Finks; to some extent Archangel of Thune) assuming counter magic doesn't hit them first and I have more than enough Burn for everything else.
Forked Bolt seems like a replacement for Arc Trail at 1cmc. Picking off a x/2 and an x/1 seems mildly better out of a 1-of in the deck. I've personally had a lot of success with the Arc Trail and like its place in the deck. I'm going to give Electrolyze a try and see if the instant speed and card draw is worth the extra mana. I can give Forked Bolt a try next time. Though thinking about all this, makes me want to give Electrickery a try as well. It is a lot like Forked Bolt but deals completely with Young Pyromancer/his tokens as well as Lingering Souls.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Wild Nacatl
3 Snapcaster Mage
Spells: 26
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Pierce
1 Steelshaper's Gift
4 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
1 Arc Trail
1 Runechanter's Pike
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Moorland Haunt
4 Arid Mesa
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Steam Vents
2 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Back to Nature
1 Counterflux
2 Path to Exile
2 Spellskite
1 Stony Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Wear // Tear
Basically this is UR Delver tempo deck with Nacatl splashed in for added threat density and consistency. The main premise is to run out a turn 1 guy that will become a 3 power beater and then protect it with counter magic and burn. Aside from a fairly painful mana base, the deck has solid game against most T1 decks. Affinity is the biggest problem but the SB has several ways to interact with them post-board. The problem I had with other Delver decks, is that without turn 1 Delver, the deck was rather durdly and bought time but without applying pressure the deck's success diminished as the game went on. So having 8 1 mana 3/xs has been extremely helpful in keeping pressure on the opponent. Plus, playing so many colors means ever card in the deck is good.
The Creatures
Delver of Secrets + Wild Nacatl = The main reason for the deck. Clocking an opponent for 3+ plus a turn is solid and these guys only get better in multiples.
Noble Hierarch = Exalted brings extra pressure from the other creatures, reducing the turns to kill from 7 to 5. Good in multiples and gives mana advantage.
Snapcaster Mage = Bolt+Snap+Bolt is one of the strongest things to be doing in the meta. He has access to 8 "bolts" as well as being additional counter spells when needed. Then he beats in for two on top of that. He does everything the deck needs but being a 2cmc + the flashblack spell is a touch awkward for the low mana count, so he only gets 3 slots.
The Spells
Lightning Bolt = I'm playing Red. Auto 4-of.
Serum Visions = Smoothing draws and setting up Delver flips are very important for this deck and managing inconsistency is big. It's usually a turn 2 or 3 play but is typically very good whenever cast.
Spell Pierce = 1cmc generic counter spell. It's a good surprise card and great for counter wars. A bit too narrow to warrant more than 2 copies.
Lightning Helix = Bolts 5-8. The life gain is fairly relevant for offsetting the damage the land base usually incurs as well.
Mana Leak = The hard counter of the deck. Games generally don't last to where the opponent can play around it. Being 1U is very important as well.
Remand = One of, it not, the best Tempo cards in the format. Putting the opponent off of plays for a turn can usually close out games quickly. Especially with Mana Leak or Bolt to soak up the card the following turn.
Arc Trail = This has been a pretty awesome 1-of for the deck. Electrolyze at 3 mana is a bit awkward for the mana base and restricts plays. It has a solid damage to cmc ratio but is a sorcery. I've been really happy with it though. It kills off most things and can always go to their face for 2.
The Spice
Steelshaper's Gift = This functions as a second copy of Runechanter's Pike while simultaneously buffing the Pike.
Runechanter's Pike = A staple from back when Delver was standard legal. First Strike and buffs with all the spells in the deck, this thing makes attacking brutal. I've given it the go over something like Sword of Fire and Ice mainly because of cmc restrictions. Two free mana on a turn is much easier to come by than 3.
Ajani Vengeant = Sleeping a permanent and some extra reach are nice. Plus he makes for a great distraction for opponents. Generally he isn't needed to win games but when he does resolve, I end up winning those games.
Moorland Haunt = There are removal heavy decks out there and Abrupt Decay is a thing. Having a way to recur value off of lost creatures is great. Like in old standard, the spirits hold a Pike exceptionally well.
Notable Exclusions:
Tarmogoyf = I tried him as a 3-of over Pike/Gift/Ajani but he typically didn't hit play until turn 4+ and was generally lackluster. I don't think he'd be a terrible option here but equipping a creature with a Pike for 4+ damage on a creature already in play (essentially haste) has worked better for me.
Current thoughts:
- The lands are pretty tight but I've been considering running a basic Plains over the Sacred Foundry. The main reason I haven't switched yet is that I'm not sure how prevalent Blood Moon will be at the tournament and it hasn't been a problem at my Meta. I like the Sacred Foundry as a way to instantly make Nacatl a 3/3 but it can't be fetched with Misty Rainforest. It's pretty close either way, but I think the Foundry is safer.
- Timely Reinforcements vs Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard. They serve similar functions. Mainly anti-Burn. Timely is better against aggro decks, where as Leyline is better against the discard spells. I like that Timely still flips Delver but I think this choice may be more meta dependent. In which case Leyline seems better for a higher caliber tournament.
-I was having some issues with flooding out at 20 lands (seeing 4+ in a game along with Nobles). I cut a fetchland (from 9 to 8) to go to 19 to help reduce this.
I'm making this thread to help track my changes to the deck and tuning but I'd also love any input for the community here. Questions, comments and suggestions are more than welcome. More eyes can only make things better.
Potential changes to test:
-1 Runechanter's Pike, +1 Sword of Fire and Ice (to determine if mana cost is restrictive)
-1 Remand, +1 Trickbind (a bit of variety and for its utility against Pod, Twin and other decks)
4 Ornithopter
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Generator Servant
4 Illusory Angel
3 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Scuttling Doom Engine
4 Magma Jet
3 Springleaf Drum
3 Shrapnel Blast
4 Ensoul Artifact
Land: 22
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
3 Island
5 Mountain
That's what I came to after talking it over with a couple friends of mine. I'm still not sure of the split on Ensoul and Blast. I may drop a Stormbreath just to go for a 4/4 split on them. I need to get a few odds and ends cards but I will try and get the deck together and play it as soon as I can. Standard is usually on Mondays at my store but I may be at a concert Monday night. I'll try and post results as I can get them.
I think I'm going to give the deck a break for awhile though. There's a GP coming up in February in Vancouver that I want to attend and do well at with a brew of mine. The one that I feel strongest about is my 4 color CounterCat deck, so I'm going to be trying to play with that almost exclusively. I'll still try to playtest with Loam when I can but with the meta shifting to Burn, Bogle, Merfolk and very aggressive decks like that, I don't think Loam will be effective enough to compete.
Here's what I'm changing my decklist to:
4 Faithless Looting
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Raven's Crime
4 Life from the Loam
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Permanents: 16
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Dark Confidant
1 Spellweaver Helix
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Seismic Assault
Lands: 25
1 Raging Ravine
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
3 Graven Cairns
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
1 Spellweaver Helix
2 Slaughter Games
2 Rakdos Charm
1 Back to Nature
2 Spellskite
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Dismember
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Anger of the Gods
I still really like Helix and it generates a ton of value but it really only gets value in the late game unless your hand plays out perfectly (Looting into value). But even then, the earliest you can make use of it is turn 4. In the grindy long games, it's really nice but with how aggressive things are getting, it's not that helpful. Most games, it was a struggle to get the right cards in the yard to get immediate value out of it. So I could have cast it but it wouldn't have done anything most of the time or cut off my ability to Retrace spells. I think having it as a back up value engine is where it'd be best. Generally, getting some combination of Loam, Crime and Looting were the best value. The Flame Jabs were nice for consistency but cutting back on the Helix makes them unnecessary. I opted for Pyromancers for a bit more pressure. That may be wrong but it seems decent enough for going into more testing.
I had considered Judge's Familiar as well as Cloudfin Raptor. I just figured leaning on more aggressive pressure was a bit safer than a more reactive creature. Revoker was also on my list of things to try. Scuttling Doom Engine wasn't a 5 drop and Niv-Mizzet seemed more fun. Though I'm sure it probably is a better call to run the Engine.
I'll make some changes to the deck and edit the list later.
4 Ornithopter
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
3 Generator Servant
4 Illusory Angel
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
4 Shock
4 Springleaf Drum
3 Shrapnel Blast
4 Ensoul Artifact
Land: 22
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
3 Temple of Epiphany
2 Island
5 Mountain
So basically, I wanted to make a deck that would make Illusory Angel worthwhile. I don't think this is going to be any sort of phenomenal deck but it seems decent enough. However, I play very little standard. So getting some extra eyes on the list would be awesome. Tips on a UR Sideboard would be great. My store has a lot of Black devotion decks and a smattering of other tier decks from my understanding.
Anyways, Burning-Tree Emissary into Illusory Angel is the primary thought here. It can happen turn 2 with a turn 1 Drum. Though I expect it to happen on turn 3 more often than not (Fueled by Ornithopter as well at that point). Generator Servant on turn 2 also lends itself to 5 mana so I could cast a 2-drop something or other and have a hasty Angel on turn 3. Or I can just play Keranos or Stormbreath. I'm not sure if there are enough artifacts to make 4 Ensoul worth running; if not, then I'll switch the split of Ensoul and Shrapnel Blast. In all honesty, Niv-Mizzet should probably be another Stormbreath Dragon (to work better with Generator Servant) but I really want to run him in standard one more time before rotation happens. It would be awesome if I ever did get to cast him off of a Servant though.
I'll be throwing this together and see if it does anything the next time I play standard. Again, any help would be greatly appreciated.