Online Innovating

Hello everyone!
I have been playing a ton on Magic Workstation this past week, which does great for deck building solo, but often lacks in collaborating with others. Usually a lot of the people you meet online are hotheaded, n00bs, or just manage to annoy you (I had one guy who would try to pass phases for me, including passing turn despite me clicking "Thinking" a million times over). However, occasionally you run across someone who is legitimately cool (whether I fall into this category is up to your discretion). A few times I have run across people playing powerful rogue decks that were simply enjoyable to see happen. I too have been playing an interesting rogue deck:

4x Memnite
4x Signal Pest
4x Kuldotha Rebirth
4x Intangible Virtue
4x Galvanic Blast
4x Midnight Haunting
3x Master's Call
2x Chimeric Mass
3x Rally the Peasants
2x Vault Skirge
4x Flayer Husk

2x Mox Opal
7x Plains
7x Mountain
4x Clifftop Retreat
2x Contested Warzone

Sideboard:
4x Shrine of Loyal Legions
4x Mirran Crusader
3x Brimstone Volley
4x Arc Trail

This deck has been testing fairly well, and can be incredibly explosive. HOWEVER, it can also sit there and do a whole lot of nothing. Theres a large split in this deck between token makers and token enablers. Usually drawing infinite token makers isn't the problem, but instead drawing all the enablers. In the sideboard, we have Shrine of Loyal Legions against control decks, and W/x human decks. Mirran Crusader is awesome against UB Control and Solar Flare. Brimstone Valley is good against Red Deck as removal and a racing tool, and finally Arc Trail helps you against this weenie infested Meta.

However today I am not talking about my innovations, but instead cool decks i have on the other side of the battlefield. Since I was just talking about standard, lets talk about a sweet combination of two very powerful decks: Wolf Run Ramp and Chapin Grixis Control. I have been thinking about trying out Olivia in a Jund list since worlds, but I was beat to it. Wolf Run Jund was a small deck during states as a way to beat the mirror (Memoricide, just like in Valakut), but this deck goes a step further and plays Olivia Voldaren to much profit as well! Olivia Voldaren has this thing for a man with tons of mana.... (MTG drama! Lotus Cobra, "you're leaving me??" never mind, I'm not going to let myself get carried away....)

1x Birds of Paradise
3x Olivia Voldaren
4x Primeval Titan
4x Solemn Simulcrum
1x Viridian Emissary


3x BSZ
1x Army of Damned
3x Curse of Death's Hold
3x Doom Blade
3x Green Sun's Zenith
4x Rampant Growth
4x Sphere of the Suns

6x Swamp
4x Inkmoth Nexus
2x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Mountain
1x Dragonskull Summit
3x Copperline Gorge
5x Forest
4x Woodland Cemetery

There was no sideboard for this deck. After the match we discussed the deck a little, and it was quickly agreed upon that the Army of the Damned should be cut for an Inferno Titan. Also, I suggested running Slagstorm instead of Black Sun's Zenith. This does lead to an interesting discussion though: Black Sun's Zenith vs Slagstorm. I think Slagstorm is better right now because it's faster and more efficient. However, it is important to note the merits of Black Sun's Zenith: it can kill bigger threats like Hero of Bladehold, Phyrexian Obliterator, and Thrun, the Last Troll. However, we have Doom Blade, can outrace Obliterator, and we frankly don't care about Thrun (also he is probably in our SB as well!). One last reason that we may not want to run Slagstorm is the mana. This deck is primarily GB, only splashing red for Kessig Wolf Run and Olivia Voldaren. However between Rampant Growth, Sphere of the Suns, Solemn Similacrum, and Primeval Titan (never mind Birds of Paradise and Viridian Emissary) the mana in this deck is VERY consistent.

Some notable omissions from traditional Wolf Run Ramp is Garruk (big and small), Devil's Play, and Beast Within. Obviously in terms of creatures Doom Blade is far superior to Beast Within, and frankly there's not a lot of artifacts and Planeswalkers going on right now, however I feel adding in 1 Acidic Slime as a Zenith target isn't a bad idea. Devil's Play is the get out of jail free card, but I don't think that's the type of effect we're looking for here. And finally, Garruk. He is very powerful, and it might even be a replacement for the Curse of Death Holds (-3 Curse, +2 Garruk Primal Hunter, +1 Garruk Relentless). Curse is only good against the aggro decks, but doesn't do anything against control and the mirror. However, the way things are right now, it's kinda like when Flashfreeze was main deckable because of the dominance of Jund, so either choice is defensible (though Curse has to at least go in the board).

But that's just Standard! I want to touch upon Modern quickly with 2 decks I played against recently: Enchantress and Enduring Ideal.

4x Mesa Enchantress
4x Verduran Enchantress
 
1x Cage of Hands
2x Faith Fetters
3x Fertile Ground
3x Ghostly Prison
3x Journey to Nowhere
2x Leyline of Sanctity
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Sigil of the Empty Throne
3x Trace of Abundance
4x Utopia Sprawl


4x Harmonize

8x Forest
4x Horizon Canopy
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Plains
1x Stomping Ground
2x Temple Garden

SB
2x Torpor Orb
2x Wheel Sun and Moon
2x Circle of Protection: Red
2x Choke
3x Blood Moon
1x Emrakul
1x Ghostly Prison
2x Leyline of Sanctity

I have been playing a bunch of Legacy Enchantress recently, and this list made me very excited! I hadn't put any time or thought into a Modern Enchantress list, but this one is fairly solid. We took plenty of time to throw wrenches at each other's deck lists (I was playing Dredge and got destroyed by Ghostly Prison). This list seems tuned for the meta as I currently understand it right now (which is everything based on creatures or Storm/Ad Nauseum). The only real change I could suggest was a 1-of Idyllic Tutor, but that's a pretty bad card. This deck definitely is in a race from the first turn, as there is no Solitary Confinement 100% lock, which is why we need 3 Sigil of the Empty Throne to build up a board presence faster. Double Sigil, Journey you're dude, GG?

The last deck I want to spotlight on I wasn't able to get a list for, but it's a combo that I finally learned after hearing about it in passing once or twice: Enduring Ideal. Enduring Ideal was part of a 5-piece cycle from Saviors of Kamigawa, which really sucked as a set. The other cards in the cycle were all mediocre, but Enduring Ideal wound up being the only one that made an impact. Here's the combo:

Enduring Ideal --> Dovescape
Enduring Ideal --> Meishin, the Mind Cage
Enduring Ideal --> Form of the Dragon

If your opponent has a huge board position, you can switch Meishin and Dovescape. Because you are creating a copy of Enduring Ideal and not casting it, it curcumvents Dovescape from preventing it from being cast. This way, you have protection from spells and creatures (well.... not Emrakul) while having your opponent on a 4-turn clock. The rest of the deck plays control like Remand and ramp like Lotus Bloom and Seething Song. It's not a deck I am particularly interested in playing, but it does seem cool and different. It's just a big old 1-card combo kill!

That's all I have for today! It's really great to see others innovating in all the formats, beyond what is being featured in SCG opens and the GP/PT circuit. Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack
rLack on MWS