Weekly MTG Update - April 18th, 2016

Another week has flown by us and this just means another Weekly MTG Update! So let's start off with some local FNM results!

I did not attend Modern Monday again due to work conflicts but I did attend FNM this past Friday and brought Mono Red Eldrazi with me below is my list:

Overall I went 1-2 and dropped. I only managed to beat BW control and lost to Bant Company and a homebrew UR thopter list.

I have a PPTQ coming up this Saturday that I plan on attending and will be preparing for it this week so expect some streams coming your way!

I'm hoping to do some more video content not just with the podcast but maybe some deck showcases in Magic Duels since I'm pretty fond of the game but we shall see. The biggest thing I need for all this is time! Which I have none of sadly.

In other news, the Starcitygames Invitational just happened and wow what a showing for Standard. Bant Company and W/x or even Mono White humans have both had very strong showings. I'm not sure how I feel about all this as the meta is still in it's infancy stages with SOI just being out. I really hope we won't be facing a similar meta to Theros/RTR where 2-3 decks are the only one's showing up. That spells trouble to me but as I said, way too early to tell.

Collected Company has become a card that has definitely shaped Standard maybe even more so than Siege Rhino ever did. Creature decks have become the go to decks and it's becoming more and more common place to run 25+ creatures right now. Even in Modern Collected Company has seen some impact mainly with Abzan and Elves. It feels like over the weekend with SCG people have forgotten to sideboard in Hollowed Moonlight, especially now that 4C Rally is no longer a threat.

So what else has been going on with MTG? I did open a box of SOI last week and below are the best pulls I got out of it!

Best pulls from the box #mtg #SOI

A photo posted by @zubatron on Apr 13, 2016 at 4:08pm PDT

I must say I've been enjoying SOI draft a lot! It really makes me want to play more limited which I feel I have neglected terribly since I've gone hardcore into Standard and Modern. I did a SOI draft and below is what I put together. I feel it isn't too terrible but it was a lot of fun. Inspiring Captain is definitely a real threat to be had on the board and people kept passing them to me! At one point my deck had 3 but I had to trim it down.

Otherwise not much else has been going on with me MTG wise. I'm prepping for this PPTQ and hoping to do decently well, but we shall see! I'll be sure to do a write up on it when I get back from the tournament!

Weekly Magic Update - April 10th, 2016

Another week has gone by my magic friends and we are on the brink of exploring a new Standard with Shadows over Innistrad finally having been released! My box has not come in yet but I'm hoping it will show up sometime this week. I'll be sure to post some of the more notable pulls I get!

So what's been going on in the world of Magic the Gathering you may ask? Well, with SOI finally released I participated in the first SOI Standard this past Friday and ended up going 2-1 with my redone Eldrazi Ramp which can be seen below:

I feel like this deck is probably not well suited in this Standard as it still suffers the same issues it always has is if you don't have a good opening hand, good luck even winning. I know that can be said with a lot of decks but I've felt this is even more so with Eldrazi Ramp. Some decks you can handle having a mediocre hand but if your hand is mediocre in Ramp good luck.

So the next deck I have built is Red Eldrazi beatdown which I plan on doing a deck tech very shortly. Which I haven't done one of those in awhile eh?

So then we proceeded to draft and below is the decklist I drafted:

I ended up going 2-1 and getting third place. I lost to a similar drafted deck, oh well though. I can say I thoroughly enjoyed drafting Shadows over Innistrad compared to BFZ or OGW. OGW and BFZ felt like very straight forward formats to draft where SOI so far has a lot of fun limited mechanics with delirium and madness and clues makes it for a fun draft environment. I saw someone try and draft a UB clue deck and even though he didn't do well he had a ton of fun playing it at least.

Pictured below is the rare I got from my prize pack:

Won this guy from a draft getting 3rd place #mtg

A photo posted by @zubatron on Apr 10, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

I'm also working on grinding packs in Magic Duels and I'm messing around with some new AI decks to help grind gold. It seems they have made a lot of changes to the starter decks so my mono red goblin deck I used to grind gold with is no longer good. So now I'm experimenting with some new decks to grind faster and more efficient. Once I find something good I'll be sure to post it and write about it!

That's all for now! Have a great one everybody!

Weekly Magic Update - April 7th, 2016

So it has been a crazy couple of weeks for me personally. If you heard episode 14 of my podcast you'd understand why. Work has been getting in the way of life a lot lately! Including Magic! How rude right? Why should real life responsibilities get in the way of my spell slinging? But alas, I have to be a responsible adult and do what I must.

I've decided to make a change to how the weekly updates go. Instead of separating from weekly updates into Modern and Standard I'm going to combine them into one weekly update. This will not only help me since I've become so busy lately but I am also going to be talking about deck brews I may be thinking of writing up or cool new cards coming up as well. So we shall see how it goes in the future!

So what has been going on in the world of MTG for me? Not a whole lot honestly. I haven't had a chance to go to Modern Monday's past few weeks and I did go to the last Standard FNM this past friday but went 1-2 with Eldrazi Ramp. I had just gotten done with a 20 hour work day and didn't care that much how I did. Then it was Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease.

These were the two best pulls I felt I had in the night:

Ended up not even using either card instead I built this sweet Green/White Werewolf/Human deck which did pretty decently and what I mean by that was I went 2-0 in the first round and then dropped cause I was exhausted. This was the Midnight Pre-release. I can't do those anymore, I'm getting too old for this shit. Here's the deck I put together for Pre-release:

Other than that, I ordered a box of Shadows over Innistrad which should arrive next week hopefully so I'll be sure to post my pulls for that as well. I've also come up with my first Standard deck list for the new SOI standard. It's just Eldrazi Ramp pretty much and it may be the deck I take to the PPTQ I plan on attending on April 23rd. It can be seen below:

So what else has been going on before we end this week's update? Not a whole lot of nothing. I did a bit of tweaking to my Nin and Oloro EDH decks. Been feeling the itch to play a bit of EDH lately so I've tried to slide in some new cards here and there. I've also slowly begun the torturous process of organizing my cards again.....for the 1000th time. They haven't been organized since Battle for Zendikar came out so it's due. 

That's about it for me and hope you enjoyed reading it, I shall be back again next week with some more MTG tales to tell! Have a good one! 

Weekly Standard Update - March 28th, 2016

Another week, another FNM gone by! This week I decided to take my Eldrazi Ramp for a spin again! Listed below is the decklist so let's get on with the tournament results!

 

Round 1: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Esper Control 1-1 DRAW

Round 2: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Midrange Landfall 2-1 WIN

Round 3: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Esper Control 2-0 WIN

Round 4: Eldrazi Ramp vs. BR Dragons 1-2 LOST

So game 3 of Round 4 was basically a non game. My opening hand in game 3 was 6 lands and a Nissa's Pilgrimage. Yuck! Had to mulligan down to 4 cause the next set of hands consisted of no lands! It was a blow out but it happens. It's what Magic is all about right?

In other news, Shadows over Innistrad prerelease is this weekend! Woot! Who else is excited? I know I am!

I'm also getting excited for redoing my Eldrazi Ramp deck, here are my thoughts of what I will be adding and replacing:

                   

                       Rattleclaw Mystic                    change to                         Leaf Gilder

Since Rattleclaw Mystic is going away I figured the next best Manadork we have available to us right now. I've seen Hedron Crawler being used but that just doesn't work out for me since the majority of my deck is Green and I already have plenty of access to colorless mana. So Leaf Gilder is a shoo-in here.

                         

                        Wooded Foothills                     change to                       Game Trail

For this change I'm thinking not using a whole 4-of Game Trail but instead maybe go to 2-3. If I go down to 2 I will add 1 more forest and 1 more mountain, If I go 3-of then just 1 more forest. The rest of my mana base should be fine.

                       

                 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon                 change to                     Chandra, Flamecaller

With Ugin leaving our next best choice is Chandra. While the board wipe isn't the same quality as Ugin's, it is something. We'll just have to see how this pans out.

So there you have it. I'm not sure on sideboard changes yet due to not being sure what we'll see. I will be sure to post results on how this new ramp deck does and if it is worthy to take to the next PPTQ I'm attending which is on April 23rd!

Thanks for reading everyone!

              

What's considered fair?

If you've been around your local game store long enough or even at competitive REL events you've probably heard the following few phrases tossed around:

"This deck is unfair!"

"Well, that's fair"

"Seems fair.." said with a sarcastic remark

And so on and so on. You know what I'm talking about. The people who complain that certain decks and deck archetypes are deemed unfun and unfair because they are seemingly impossible to beat against your deck. It's probably confirmation bias hitting me but it seems like I hear these phrases uttered more and more often lately. So what is fair?

If we look at the definition of fair it is as follows:

"Agreeing with what is right or acceptable"

"Treating people in a way that does not favor some over others"

"Not too harsh or critical"

So now that we have that out of the way what is fair again? Most times when I hear people complain about unfair decks it's most likely caused with them losing to a deck that is not well suited to theirs or a control deck that locks you down. Can we really call those unfair though?

Most people will argue that Magic the Gathering is about fun right? It is just a game some would say after getting lambasted that an opponent's deck was deemed unfair. So what fun is it if someone plays a deck that locks down someone else or it has an infinite combo and there is seemingly nothing you can do?

I can understand this point of view, you go to FNM or to your LGS to play some Magic and it can be no fun if the one super competitive person brings their awesome deck and beats everyone with it. Whether this just be a free for all play or a commander game. It can bring no fun for everyone else. This is where playgroups can make up house rules where they all agree not to play certain cards or combos and everyone can be in agreement and happy.

On the other hand though, Magic has always been about (to me) ways to figure out how certain cards work and figuring out cool combinations and spells and effects and building a deck from there regardless of the format. Saying that the one person who brings their one deck that can destroy yours and your playgroup that they can no longer play it or certain cards within it, how fair is that for that person? Instead of setting the game on an easy difficulty, why not take that challenge to figure out a way to defeat that particular deck?

But again, you can argue, I just play for fun and don't want the stress or non enjoyment of playing against those kinds of decks. Which is fine in itself, because Magic caters to all types of players and I can agree. I personally don't take EDH/Commander very seriously so my decks are not anywhere near being considered competitive. I don't always put the optimal cards in them either, I prefer fun cards. The only time I do not agree when people complain about decks being unfun or unfair is when it comes to competition.

When it comes to FNM or higher level Comp REL events whether or not a deck is unfair or not should not even be questioned. There are caveats to this of course. I am of course referring to bannings that have happened in Magic's past. Whether that is the splinter twin banning, the summer bloom banning as well as pod and etc..... You can find all the banned cards here:

Unless a particular card is so warping of the format or a deck is warping the format should there be someone to intervene but as a player while you are waiting for a particular card or deck to be banned, should you just sit by and let it take over or should you figure out ways to beat it?

If doing well at competitive events means a lot to you then you need to figure out ways to beat that deck that seems so unfair to you. Practice against it and even play as that deck so you can understand all the lines of play and understand it's weaknesses!

A good example of this is the takeover of Eldrazi in Modern. When Eldrazi swept the Pro Tour a few months back everyone was calling for its ban. Wizards decided to let the meta evolve and see if people can figure out ways to beat it and there have been some attempts! If you look at all the big Modern events on mtgtop8.com you'll mainly see Eldrazi Aggro running rampant everywhere! Does this mean we should ban some parts of the Eldrazi deck?

You could make a good argument that yes you should. Right now at mtgtop8.com Eldrazi Aggro

takes up 27% of the meta. I don't think there has been a Modern deck that has ever taken up that much but I ask once again should we just give up and let Wizards take care of the format or allow them to maybe print some answers to help us combat the Eldrazi invasion or have the fine pro minds develop ways to combat the Eldrazi?

Without getting too deep into the Eldrazi mess in Modern. I mainly just wanted to state, that in Magic, especially at higher level events (which is where this article sort of sparked from), if a deck is truly unfair. Maybe you just didn't prepare right for the event, or played a deck that was poorly suited for the meta. Whatever the issue may be, figure out why the deck is unfair and figure out how to fairly beat it!

Weekly Standard Update - March 21st, 2016

Another week has passed us and another FNM has gone by. With a few weeks left of this current standard before rotation happens it appears my current LGS's FNM has become considerably smaller. Whether it is due to the end of standard coming soon or lack of interest I'm not sure. Hopefully we get more people coming as Shadows over Innistrad comes out.

So I decided to bring Jeskai Dragons with me this week again. This time I stayed for all 4 rounds where last week I did not as I was completely exhausted and could barely stay awake. Life has started taking a toll on me much more than it has been. Below is my deck list I am currently running:

 

Rather than going by a match by match analysis as I usually do I figure I'd rather discuss what possible implications Shadows over Innistrad might have on standard. While I don't usually like guessing what may or may not come from the new set it is worth looking at but before we begin here is how I did:

Round 1: Jeskai Dragons vs. UR Prowess 2-0 WIN

Round 2: Jeskai Dragons vs. Atarka Red 0-2 LOST

Round 3: Jeskai Dragons vs. Atarka Landfall 2-0 WIN

Round 4: Jeskai Dragons vs. Eldrazi Aggro 2-0 WIN

So overall I got 3rd place since 1st and 2nd split. Instead of prize money I took 2 prize packs instead and managed to pull a Kozilek's Return and Chandra, Flamecaller. So definitely worth it.

Now back to Shadows over Innistrad. The rare lands were just spoiled today as you can see below:

These lands tell me that it may be possible for 3 colors to still exist albeit possibly the shard colors instead of the wedge colors. It's still really early to tell but these new rarelands will definitely make Dual colored decks much easier to handle.

So what may we see come this new standard? I definitely think an all zombie's deck is possible with Relentless Dead and Khalita's floating around. Possibly a B/R Vampire deck as well could be a good beatdown deck. I can also see a landfall type deck still existing but going from an aggro shell to a midrange shell adding in Mina and the new Arlin Kord Planeswalker.

Personally the deck I'm excited about the most to try and build is a new Sphinx's Tutelage deck. With cards coming to the forefront such as Thing in the Ice and the new Jace along with Startled Awake. I'm excited to try and build this and mill out my opponent. Mill has always been one of my favorite mechanics in the game and one of my favorite ways to win. Of course I don't expect this to be competitive but there is that hope.

So what other sort of decks are you hoping to see in the new Standard? Comment below and let me know!

Weekly Standard Update - March 6th, 2016

So it's been awhile since I've done an article and I wanted to do a quick Standard Update. This past friday I did not go to FNM so why bother doing a Standard update then?

Not sure but I feel like writing one anyway. Standard has been as fun as ever, that is if you like playing 4 color rally or Bant CoCo. Collected Company will become the new Siege Rhino come rotation, as in it will be in every deck. The card is just too good to pass up.

So what am I itching to play? I've seen some Jeskai Dragons flying around so I've built that. I plan on doing a deck tech about it soon. There are two PPTQ's coming up that I'm hoping to participate in as well. March 26th and April 23rd. We shall see though!

So that's about it for me. I know, not much of an update. In my personal life I have been busy buying a house so that has been taking up a lot of my time! See ya guys soon!

Weekly Standard Update - February 23rd, 2016

Another week, another Standard update and another FNM gone by. This past FNM I played my Eldrazi Ramp again and with much success again I managed to get 2nd place after splitting in the final round. I ran the same list but after the night was over I updated my list in preparation for the PPTQ I went to on Saturday February 20th.

The list I ran Saturday is below:

As you can tell it's a big improvement over what I had. When test playing with World Breaker that card just put in it's work over and over again. So how did I do in the PPTQ?

You can listen to my Podcast Episode below or just read my results to see how I did!

`

FNM Results:

Round 1: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Black/White Tokens - 2-0 WIN

Round 2: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Mardu Green - 2-0 WIN

Round 3: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Red/White Aggro - 2-1 WIN

Round 4: Split

Final Results: 3-0-1

Place: 2nd Place

PPTQ Results:

Round 1: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Grixis Dragons - 2-0 WIN

Round 2: Eldrazi Ramp vs. 4 Color Rally - 1-2 LOST

Round 3: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Atarka Red - 2-1 WIN

Round 4: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Atarka Landfall - 0-2 LOST

Round 5: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Mardu Green - 1-2 LOST

Round 6: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Mardu Green - 1-2 LOST

Final Results: 2-4

Place: 34th Place


Lessons Learned:

Follow my gut instinct. Listen to it more. I have a problem with keeping hands that are sub-optimal and I need to stop that especially when I go on a losing streak. Trust my feelings more! Thanks for listening and reading! Stay tuned for more!

Standard - Mono Green Ramp

Today we will be discussing another one of my favorites decks for this current Standard season. Mono Green Eldrazi Ramp. Like many other ramp decks this has the potential of getting out big dumb creatures quickly, but in this case the big dumb creatures are pretty dangerous and ruthless. In one corner we have the vicious Dragon Lord Atarka and in the other the Eldrazi Titan Duo of Kozilek and Ulamog, are they gonna face off? Not against each other but against YOU Rival Planeswalker!

Let's take a look at the current decklist:

As you can see it's built like a typical ramp deck and acts like a typical ramp deck, so what makes it so fun to play? If you're a Timmy at heart (like I am and can be) you love those big beefy creatures. Who doesn't want to play an 8/8 on turn 5 and have your opponent look at you with disbelief? I know I sure do!

Let's go over the creatures and spells and then I'll discuss some of the pros and cons of the deck with it's various matchups:


Creatures-

Conduit of Ruin: A 1 of in the deck and a great 1 of it is. Allowing your creatures to be 2 cheaper for the first one you cast that turn is extremely effective in a deck like this, as well as allowing you to search for a creature card that costs 7 CMC or higher and place it on top of your library is almost a must for this deck. While the creature itself is not a huge body, the effects of the card are more than enough to make up for it.

Den Protector: This little card has surprised me throughout all of it's lifetime in standard so far. I didn't think much of it when it was first announced but now almost a year in it's a must in most decks. It's Eternal Witness like ability when it flips is crucial for a deck like this. Need more ramp? Need more creatures to come out? Flip that Den!

Dragonlord Atarka: One of 3 of the big beefy creatures in this deck. It can certainly help stabilize a board especially if your opponent is trying to wide and you have 1-2 creatures out on the field. Plus it flies, has trample and it's an 8/8. What's not to love?

 Jaddi Offshoot: Normally life gain is not that important for decks but it can be for a deck such as this one. You may not get any real threats out by turn 4 or 5 and if you're up against an aggro deck, this little 1 drop can mean the difference from a win or a loss.

Kozilek, the Great Distortion: Oh Kozi, you give me so many gifts, up to 7 of them possibly. I haven't needed more than 1 of Kozilek in this deck. The only reason I run Kozilek is in hopes of drawing another answer I may need in the game. A 12/12 is no laughing matter but Ulamog just provides more benefits than ol' Kozi does.

Oblivion Sower: A 5/8 that has the ability to exile your opponent's top 4 cards and you take all the lands from it, sign me up! Being able to cast this on turn 4 puts you ahead greatly in the ramp war.

Rattleclaw Mystic: Our resident mana dork. With Elvish Mystic no where to be seen in this Standard, Rattleclaw is our next best option for this deck. Leaf Gilder comes a close second and will become the mana dork of choice come rotation (Unless Shadows of Innistrad comes out with a better one). This guy helps alot with his red mana because you're only running one mountain as well.

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: Good ol' Ulamog. What more can be said about him? Except he is bad ass! Even if he gets countered, you still get to exile two permanents of your choice and if he does live and manages to attack, welp your opponent has to mill 20 cards if Ulamog attacks. I love this guy! Even more so than his older version!


Spells-

Explosive Vegetation: Typical mana ramp card. This is the card that will enable you to get your one red mana in the deck.

Hedron Archive: Another mana enabler and it's ability to sac it and draw cards is always useful.

Kozilek's Return: When the great titan Kozilek rose up from the earth he brought upon fire and brimstone. The perfect board wipe for this deck. It used to be Radiant Flames but this card has proven it's worth to me. Plus it comes back to deal 5 damage when you summon a big Eldrazi creature.

Nissa's Pilgrimage: Another typical mana ramp card. The spell mastery is just another plus in late game if you have nothing better to do.

Nissa's Renewal: The main reason I run this card is for it's life gain. As I mentioned earlier, life gain is a tad more important to a deck like this since you normally don't play any creatures until turn 4 or 5. Gaining 7 life can mean a win or loss for you as I mentioned above.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Ugin, you are the man. Let me tell you what, Ugin is a dragon that will save your butt over and over again. His exile ability and his ability to bolt creatures makes him an absolute necessary addition to this deck. Don't worry Ugin, even though you go away soon, I'll never forget you.


Sideboard:

Desolation Twin: What's worse than having one 10/10 creature out on the field? Having two 10/10 creatures out on the field. I've mainly sided this in against the mirror match. I haven't had much use for it otherwise.

Explosive Vegetation: Just when I thought I had enough vegetables, I explode some more. This is just to help me get mana quicker.

From Beyond: If I know a match is going to be a bit grindy I'll side this in, for not only mana ramping but to have some bodies on the field. Also it being an Eldrazi tutor helps me all the more.

Jaddi Offshot: Sided in for the aggro matchup.

Natural State: This is used for those pesky enchantments that like to exile my big creatures. They weren't hurting anyone either!

Nissa's Renewal: Having two Nissa's Renewal can be tricky. The life gain is a plus but if I feel like I'm going to need it, I'll take out an explosive vegetation and side this in.

Pulse of Murasa: If my Den Protector's are hated on quickly, I'll take them out and put in Pulse. It having a similar Den Protector effect and gaining 6 life has been very beneficial for me.

Roast: Need to kill that pesky Siege Rhino and you don't have a board wipe coming anytime soon? Get in a roast and cook some rhino meat up!

Void Winnower: I side this card in more than I expected. Being able to lock down your opponent is a huge benefit.

Warping Wail: A good way to stop those pesky 4 color rally decks. Well it doesn't stop them completely but it can help.

Winds of Qal Sisma: A good fog card to help you against those aggro matches or midrange decks as well.

World Breaker: Another card that can help get rid of pesky enchantments. I've found him more useful as a sideboard card than mainboard, at least in my meta so far.


So there's the deck in a nutshell. What match ups have I found favorable against it?

-Abzan
-Most aggro shells
-Dark Jeskai

Control matchups do not fare well for my deck. Countering and destroying most anything I put on the field will just slow me down and prepare me for the inevitable.

Is this deck rotation proof? Not exactly. Ugin does a lot for this deck, if there isn't any meaningful replacement come April I doubt this deck will survive rotation. It could hang on but if there's no easy way to help you stabilize the board if your opponent goes wide I don't see this deck lasting much longer. Rattleclaw Mystic, as I mentioned above, can easily be replaced for another mana dork. If there is not a multicolor mana dork available I may have to change the lands up a bit and add in another mountain or two.

This deck is definitely fun and for all the Timmy's at heart out there. Enjoy the deck and thanks for reading!

Weekly Standard Update - Feburary 7th 2016

Hey everyone and hope you have had a great weekend. Today we're going to start our Weekly Standard Update alongside our Weekly Modern Update were we discuss how I did at this past FNM or higher level tournament and what's happening in Standard!

So this past Friday I decided to bring my Mono Green Eldrazi Ramp deck again. Last time I brought it I went 4-0 and was looking to dominate again. I did make some changes to my sideboard before I left for the tournament. I added in 2x Pulse of Murasa, 2x Warping Wail, and 1x Natural State. Pulse of Murasa was a natural add in for me mainly because if Den Protector got a lot of hate I had a chance to return a land or creature and gain 6 life. Win-win right there. Warping Wail was mainly sided in against potential 4 color rally and aggro decks. Natural State was for enchantment hate.

The Decklist is posted below so you can see for yourself:

So how did I do and what did I go up against? Let's discuss!

Round 1: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Abzan Aggro

Ahh, it's been well over a year and a half and Abzan is still the bane of my existence. How excited will I be when Siege Rhino goes away? I think I may hold a big celebration when it's rotated out. At one point in Standard I did play Abzan for a few weeks because if you can't beat them, might as well join them.

So Game 1, I had the perfect opening hand that all Ramp wants. 2 lands, 1 Rattleclaw mystic, 1 Nissa's Pilgrimage, 1 Explosive Vegetation, 1 Ugin, and 1 Dragonlord Atarka. By the time turn 5 came, Atarka was out and wiping my opponent's board and he quickly scooped after that when not having any answers.

Game 2 on the other hand had a very similar opening hand but my opponent sided in Utter End's and Suspension Fields. He managed to exile two Ulamog's but when the third came out he scooped. He couldn't handle that many Ulamog's.

Round 1 Results: 2-0 WON

Round 2: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Atarka Landfall

One of my favorite standard decks out there right now. So when I saw his turn 1 Monastery Swiftspear I knew I was in for a ride. My opponent didn't have the typical landfall aggro, he also had Thunderbreak Regent's as well. Game 1 ended quickly though with me being able to get Atarka out early and soon after Ulamog.

Game 2 however was in his favor. I managed to wipe the board with Ugin but he killed Ugin the next turn and managed to beat me down as I got really land flooded.

Game 3 was much of the same as Game 1. Atarka out early and then Ulamog soon after and a scoop.

Round 2 Results: 2-1 WON

Round 3: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Black/White Tokens

Brutal Hordechief can be a real threat. I underestimated this deck at first glance but with it's ability to go wide and even after a board wipe how quickly it can build back up was too much for my deck to handle. Game 1 ended after a very back and forth battle with Ugin and Ulamog coming out but both getting exiled shortly after coming out.

Game 2 was the same as Game 1. It came down to a 1 life difference and it was over. A very fun game overall but in the end the Eldrazi Ramp deck crumbled to little tokens.

Round 3 Results: 0-2 LOST

Round 4: Eldrazi Ramp vs. Abzan Aggro

We meet again Abzan. Last time we fought I destroyed you, you wish to come again and face the might of the Eldrazi and the power of Ugin? Hmph, I laugh at thee. This round once again tested the mettle of the Eldrazi against the all powerful Abzan army of Warden of the First Tree, Anafenza, and Siege Rhino. They ended up being no match against this deck though. Once Ugin laid claim to the land and wiped their existence off the map it gave me time to summon Ulamog to my aid and destroy my opponent.

Round 2 began and he assembled his army as quickly as he could. The great Dragonlord Atarka was summoned and destroyed Anafenza but kept Warden alive. My opponent summoned two Siege Rhino's but they ended up dying quickly from the might of Ugin and Ulamog. My opponent raised his white flag in defeat and shame. This planeswalker held his head up high as he crushed the skulls of Siege Rhinos.

Round 4 Results: 2-0 WON

Final Results: 3-1 3rd Place!

So the night ended pretty decently. Made some prize money and won a promo. I'm still very pleased with the results of how well Mono Green Eldrazi Ramp is in the current meta. I also like how not many pieces will Rotate out come April. I still have yet to test the might of the almighty 4 Color Rally at FNM. Time will tell though. If Dark Jeskai can fall, I'm sure 4 Color Rally can fall just as well.

What will I run next Friday? If I'm feeling different, I may try UR Prowess just for kicks but if I'm in a winning mood, Eldrazi ramp it is!

Standard - Atarka Landfall

One of the first decks I built for BFZ standard came pretty easily to me after seeing all the landfall creature cards. I immediately knew aggro would be the best shell for this type of deck and since then I have won a few FNM's with this deck. It has changed slightly since it's first iteration but has relatively stayed the same for the most part. With OGW out, I haven't touched the deck since but the one addition I would try out would be Reckless Bushwacker. Not sure what I would take out for it, maybe Makindi Sliderunner?

With it's ability to have 2 fetches out on the field and 2-3 landfall creatures on the board and you decide to let's say, crack both those fetches and then play an Atarka's Command and choosing to deal 3 damage to your opponent and play another land which is a fetch and crack that fetch. Let's just say, that's a lot of potential damage on the field. I've had many a game where that exact scenario played out.

Listed below was my first iteration with the deck. Let's take a look together shall we?

4x Atarka's Command 1x Become Immense 3x Bloodstained Mire 2x Cinder Glade 3x Forest 2x Goblin Heelcutter 2x Looming Spires 4x Makindi Sliderunner 4x Monastery Swiftspear 5x Mountain 4x Scythe Leopard 4x Snapping Gnarlid 4x Swell of Growth 4x Temur Battle Rage 4x Wild Slash 3x Windswept Heath 4x Wooded Foothills 3x Zurgo Bellstriker Sideboard|sideboard|Sideboard: 2x Display of Dominance 2x Exquisite Firecraft 2x Plummet 3x Roast 2x Shatter 2x Volcanic Upheaval

I went heavy with the landfall creatures because well, it's landfall! Looking over the creatures, having 2 creatures at 4 CMC possibly 3 CMC with dash wasn't the best idea. I was going with the idea that Heelcutter will help in the long run with it's ability to stop a creature from blocking so I can pump a creature up. Swell of Growth also turned out to be too slow in the long run and Atarka's Command gave us the same ability to play an extra land anyway.

So what did I learn with this deck? It needed to be tighter and faster. I did manage to Top 4 a couple times with the deck at FNM but could never get past the final round. The sideboard was a mess as the meta was still really unsure at the time.


The next variation of Landfall borrowed heavily from Atarka Red but with less landfall creatures and no creature above 3 CMC. As you can see below:

 

I removed any and all removal in the mainboard as I was treating this like a straight burn and wanted to win as quickly as possible. Only putting in removal in sideboard. I had a lot of good luck with Sarkhan. Even though it being a 5 drop, sometimes if the game went on that long and it was a mirror matchup or another aggro deck, this coming out of no where surprised people and it would give me that extra boost for the win.

This variation of the deck won me a few FNM's and consistently placed me in Top 4. The tightness of it and it could be forgiving even if I got land flooded as long as I had some landfall creatures out. The amount of fetches it plays helps with thinning the deck and paying for delve for Become Immense as well. Overall I was pretty happy with the deck.

Right now the deck is retired as I've moved on to Mono Green Ramp and UR Prowess but I would definitely consider taking this to a Comp REL event. It can definitely hold it's own and do well.

Thanks for reading!

Standard - Grixis Dragon Control

Today we're going to be discussion a deck I had come up with early on when BFZ first came out. It did not end up doing well at all but I really enjoyed played it as the Control style is one of my other favorite archetypes to play as well. Grixis contains three of my favorite colors in magic, Red, Blue and Black. I've been working on building Grixis in Modern so when BFZ came out I thought it was time for Grixis in Standard as well. You'll come to find out I was wrong but nonetheless let's talk about the deck anyway.

In the previous Standard one of my favorite decks to play at the time was UB Control. I never hopped on board the Esper Control train at that time (Ojutai was a bit pricey then) so I stuck with UB. I won a few FNM's with that deck and consistently placed in the Top 4 as well. So I thought, why not try to do the same now that BFZ is out but add some red?

Creatures

Dragonlord Kolaghan: With his Haste ability and giving other creatures haste, he seemed too good in the meta at the time. Thinking back on it now I probably should have taken this out for another Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury. This card ended up not doing much for me in the end.

Dragonlord Silumgar: Do I want to take your creature or planeswalker? Yes I would like to take your creature or planeswalker. Dies too easily to removal though.

Dragonmaster Outcast: What was I thinking putting this in here? Dies way too easily and ended up not being very good for a control matchup. If I could go back I would nix these and put in more removal/counters.

Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury: As I mentioned earlier I should've made this a 2 of as it's dash ability is just so handy and it's pump ability.

Silumgar, the Drifting Death: Flying, Hexproof and can kill 1/1 Tokens when it or another dragon I control attacks? Count me in!

Thunderbreak Regent: Besides the Dragonlords, this has been one of my favorite dragon cards through the Tarkir set. The fact it hits your opponents face for 3 if they target it makes it that much better. Even if  the card resolves and it ends up dying before you can attack with it, makes it worthwhile in the long run. Especially if you just keep bringing the Regent's out.


Spells

Complete Disregard: This still isn't a bad card, but mainboardable? Probably not but it does get rid of Jace which is only too prevalent in my local meta. 2 of is not enough though if I were to keep it mainboard, possibly 3.

Crux of Fate: Perfect board wipe for our deck. Not much more to say.

Dig Through Time: Still one of my favorite cards in this current Standard and I'll be sad to see it go. It'll become a small piece to some future EDH deck I build when it rotates out. To me, this card is still a must for any control deck.

Radiant Flames: Hey a board wipe against aggro decks on turn 3? Count it in. Proved to be useful sometimes.

Ruinous Path: A slower Hero's Downfall. Turns out Instant Speed is pretty good.

Silumgar's Command: This card was very conditional in it's use, by the time you get to 5 mana you should be having better things to do than cast this card or wait on your turn and be reactive. If only it cost 4 mana it would be tons better.

Silumgar's Scorn: The closest we've gotten to normal Counterspell in Standard in awhile. Good thing all your creatures are Dragons so this won't be too hard to pull off, right? Right?

Tormenting Voice: Why did I put this in?


I'm going to skip the sideboard in this article and just focus on where I think I went wrong with this deck. I made the mistake a lot of people make when a rotation occurs, thinking they can build their favorite deck from the previous Standard and just add to it and hope it works out. The meta was still forming in BFZ and I was hoping control would take more of a forefront.

If I went back to the deck now what changes would I make? What Oath cards would I include in as well? I think I would definitely add in either a playset or 3 of Draconic Roar. I would definitely take out the Dragonmaster Outcast and Dragonlord Kolaghan's as well and add in another Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury and another removal/counter spell. Possibly go down to 3 Dig's?

I may just go back and retool this deck soon and test it out online and see how it does in this current meta. I've seen R/B Dragons become slightly more popular in the meta, perhaps a more control variant of that list splashing Blue can be done. If I do decide to retool it, I'll be sure to do another showcase talking about it. For the time being, I consider this a dud deck showcase. A good idea on paper, but end up not panning out.

Standard - UR Prowess

Now that Oath of the Gatewatch has come out, one of the more exciting cards I noticed (and I'm sure many many others noticed as well) was Stormchaser Mage. This little 1/3 with Flying, Haste and Prowess for 2 CMC seemed too good to be true. To me it's like the older brother to Monastery Swiftspear. A lot of the decks I like to brew are aggro mainly because that's what I'm comfortable with. I also enjoy a good control shell as well, the past two standards I mainly played control but the KTK - BFZ era I've found myself back in aggro.

Look at it, isn't it wonderful? It's the perfect tempo drop if your previous turn was a Monastery Swiftspear, now you drop Stormchaser Mage and you can start applying some serious pressure to your opponent. Let's go over a decklist I've been working on for UR Prowess. I've been really excited about this deck and it's possibilities about where it can go. 

So let's talk about the deck a little bit. Listed below is the decklist I am currently using. It's a decklist that was used at a Starcity Open and so far I'm pretty pleased with it. One complaint I have had about it is it feels like too few creautres as your opening hand is very important, more so than most decks it feels like. Once you do get a creature of two out, you're ready to rock and roll and abuse that prowess ability.

Creatures

Abbot of Keral Keep: A 2/1 with Prowess by itself is not bad. Abbot's extra ability with exiling the top card and you have the chance to play it makes it better. Normally you do not want to play this turn 2 unless you absolutely have too.

Jace, Vyrn's Prodigy: What more can be said about Baby Jace? Is he a must in this deck? With this variant I would say so. His ability to flashback spells once he flips is invaluable for your creatures.

Monastery Swiftspear: This card is a must. Probably the best one drop we've seen in standard in awhile (in my opinion at least).

Stormchaser Mage: The newest kid on the block and has abilities that Monastery Swiftspear can only dream of (mainly just flying). This card was the one that made me decide to build this deck.

Spells

Dispel: While normally not a mainboard card, but running one isn't too bad. Not only does it prevent instant kill spells or counters it still buffs your prowess.

Expeditie: If this was just a one mana give creature haste card it would be very meh. The fact it lets you draw a card makes this card go from meh to yea, not bad!

Fiery Impulse: For a long while I've been going back and forth between Wild Slash and Fiery Impulse. At first I couldn't stay away from Wild Slash but Fiery Impulse, especially in this list, proves it can wipe creatures out easier than slash. With it getting spell mastery much easier than some other decks, this card was a no brainer.

Roast: Does it kill Siege Rhino? Check. Can it kill most ground creatures that are played? Check.

Slip Through Space: First reading this card it's interesting. You'll definitely want to cast it on your ground creatures more than anything. Plus you draw a card, there's never anything wrong with drawing cards!

Temur Battle Rage: Yes, give me all the double strikes.

Titan's Strength: That which doesn't kill your opponent, only means you need to do more damage. This helps you achieve that goal quicker.

Treasure Cruise: With all the spells you play in this deck, this card essentially becomes Ancestral Recall for you. Need I say more?

Sideboard

Boiling Earth: I found this pick interesting. With Token decks becoming more apparent, this card definitely fits a small niche, though it does depend on your meta also.

Disdainful Stroke: Don't want your opponent casting big spells? Stop them with this!

Dispel: I would definitely bring this in for the mirror. While prowess will still go off for them, at least it can prevent more damage for you.

Duress: An overall good card, with no Thoughtseize in Standard, this is your next best bet.

Murderous Cut: If you have to bring this in, take a treasure cruise out.

Painful Truths: Still a good card minus the life lost. Side this in against the slower decks, aggro would be no good.

Pia and Kiran Nalaar: Chandra's parents have definitely been seeing more play, not just in Standard but in Modern as well. One of my favorite Origins' cards. If your games are looking to go mid to late, side this in to help you out.

Roast: Need to kill an extra Rhino? Get this in.

Wild Slash: Just more burn, I may put this in if I just need that extra damage to my opponent to help kill them quicker.

Overall the deck is fairly fun. I'm not sure if it is well positioned in the current meta though, with 4 color rally and CoCo decks running rampant as well as ramp and Atarka Red running around the deck is definitely second tier. What about when Shadows of Innistrad comes out? We will have to see. We will lost Swiftspear as well as the fetchlands and other spells, if SOI brings any good support cards along with it, it may stay alive.

Bring it to an FNM or your LGS for practice and see how you like it. So far the deck is pretty fun and can be pretty explosive. It does feel very glass cannon like if/when your board is wiped. It doesn't feel as fast as Atarka Red though so against Atarka you'll just have to be faster and the better player.

Thanks for reading! I'm planning on doing more write ups on other Standard decks I am currently running and doing a weekly Modern Report where I report how well I did at Monday Night Modern and where I am at in the game.

Standard - RB Eldrazi Aggro

After having played many 3 to 4 colored decks in Standard since Battle for Zendikar has dropped, I started to miss some of the simplicity that 2 colored decks can provide. I've already done one write up about Boros aggro but it does splash green. Today's deck is purely a 2 colored deck and one that I've found to be quite fun.

 

I've done quite a bit of testing with this deck and I've found it to be quite fun. It may not be as fast and explosive as Atarka Red but it has the possibility of swarming the board. So let's go over some of the creatures in the deck and against some of the common match ups you may face.

Creatures

Dominator Drone: A 3/2 for 2B? While not that great as a vanilla creature, what makes him an addition to this deck? The fact that we're an aggro deck and the only thing we care about is killing the opponent as quickly as we can, dealing 2 damage as soon as it resolves just helps us further that goal of winning. It won't always deal the 2 damage but there is a high probability you will have another colorless creature out.

Dust Stalker: While a 4 CMC is not a typical creature you like to see in an aggro list, this guy was just too good to let go. I'm still experimenting with using 2 instead of 3 but a 5/3 haste which may also return to your hand in case your board was wiped the previous turn isn't that bad. It's never fun taking 5 damage if you're on the receiving end.

Eldrazi Obligator: I wasn't too sold on using this little guy at first. A 2R 3/1 with haste but also has the ability to steal an opponent's creature for a turn for 1<>? It was sold for me the moment I was able to steal my opponent's Siege Rhino or [insert big creature here]. You won't get 5 mana on the field that often so don't rely on his ability too much.

Flayer Drone: A 3/1 3CMC with First Strike is ok but I liked the added ability of opponent's taking 1 damage whenever another colorless creature enters the battlefield. It's just another way to get your opponent's life down faster.

Forerunner of Slaughter: This is the card that sparked the brewer in me. I love that is gives haste to other colorless creatures and just for 1 mana. I feel this card is a must in any RB Eldrazi Aggro shell.

Sludge Crawler: Our only one drop creature in the deck and not a bad one. With it's ability to ingest and also be pumped, he's more than meets the eyes.

Vile Aggregate: At first I was not even considering this creature when I was first building the deck but after playing with it more, I'm sold. It's easy to get to Siege Rhino power and it can take a few punches as well. The Trample and Ingest sold it for me as well.

Wasteland Strangler: This card has the potential to be a good 2 for 1. If you were able to ingest your opponent you also have the ability to destroy one of his creatures after casting this guy.


Spells


Ghostfire Blade: Ever since Khans of Tarkir has dropped, this has been one of my favorite equipment's throughout it's whole standard. Only costs 1 to play and with our deck, 1 to equip. It was a no brainer to include this in the deck.

Murderous Cut: This is our only removal spell in the deck if you don't count Wasteland Strangler since he is not guaranteed to remove a creature.

Titan's Strength: Too good of a pump spell to pass up and with it's scry ability, it only further helps us. Not much else to say.


Sideboard


Duress: Knowing is half the battle isn't it? Put this card in if you suspect or know that your opponent is going to be playing a board wipe spell.

Murderous Cut: Sometimes adding in 1 or 2 more Murderous Cut isn't bad. Especially if games can draw out longer and you need to kill some of those big creatures of their's. Adding this is a safe bet.

Rending Volley: A burn spell that can't be countered is never a bad card.

Roast: Need to kill those pesky Siege Rhinos? This is the card you want!

Self-Inflicted Wound: This card is pretty useful if they have one creature on the field but if they have multiple, not so much.

Transgress the Mind: I would mainly board this in against Eldrazi Ramp as that is getting more and more popular.

Ultimate Price: Once again a solid kill spell if your opponent plays a lot of mono colored creatures.


I feel like this deck shines pretty well in Game 1. In all my testing I have done, game 1 usually goes without a hitch. Game 2 and 3 is where it can be tricky. Depending on the type of deck you're up against will determine whether you still need to go fast and kill quickly or stay back a little bit and control the board a bit.

This deck is a perfectly good and fun deck to take to your LGS for FNM. I doubt it would do well above that level. It's also relatively cheap to build. If you can't afford the fetches in it I would replace them with Evolving Wilds and one more basic land of your choice.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more brews! I'm working on a U/R Prowess one next for Standard!

Standard - Boros Aggro

In the current standard, 3 colors and even 4 colors have been reigning supreme and rightly so. Fetches allow the mana fixing you need and the new dual lands definitely help out with that allowing you to splash that much needed third or fourth color. Today we're here to discuss a new deck tech I've been messing around with which I have named Boros Beatdown.

Aggro decks in this current standard so far have been dominated mainly by Atarka Red and Gruul Landfall. They are very fast and explosive but can lose steam quickly if the game is prolonged. Spot removal and life gain slows down the aggro game tremendously. I've always been a fan of token decks so this list takes some of the best cards in Atarka Red with some common token cards.

Monastery Swiftspear is a must in any aggro deck right now with it applying pressure to your opponent on turn 1. In my experience so far with the deck Hangarback Walker has been more of a defensive creature to help stave off aggro decks with their explosive energy. Seeker of the Way helps out as well with the prowess trigger to help not lose so much life quickly against the aggro matchup. 

So what are some things this deck can do? For one, it does have the possibility to beat down quickly in a non mirror aggro matchup. If and when board wipes occur you can quickly get a board presence again. I do notice the deck tends to fall apart against decks that play the bigger creatures or flyers. I've experimented adding in Temur Battle Rage and Titan's Strength but all that did was turn this deck into another Atarka Red splashing white. I felt that going wide and swinging and having an Atarka's Command in hand can definitely shift things in your favor.

The sideboard is where this deck can change from a beatdown deck to a more midrange style with lots of spot removal. Silkwrap and Suspension Field are both great for exiling both small and big creatures respectively. Rending Volley and Radiant Purge to get rid of some of the bigger pesky creatures. I'm still on the fence between Radiant Purge and Valorous Stance. 

Is this a tier 1 deck? Definitely not. It is a pretty fun deck to take to an FNM and play. You could also make it a budget deck as well, I would just get rid of the Fetchlands, the Commands and add in Titan's Strength and more basic lands along with some Evolving Wilds. The creatures are cheap enough to get except for Hangarback which could be replaced with Zurgo or Lightning Beserker. Let me hear your thoughts on how you would improve it, the decklist is below and as we all know, no decklist is ever truly complete.

Standard - Atarka Elves

Today I'm here to talk about one of my favorite tribal decks in the current KTK - BFZ standard. Dubbed Atarka Elves. While it may not be a top tier performing standard deck, nor is it much of a budget build it sure can be a fun deck to play. 

Currently as I am writing this, Standard is mainly comprised of Dark Jeskai, Abzan, Atarka Red, and Esper. All four have variations within each of them but the meta right now feels stale. No longer am I seeing at my LGS different builds or variety as I was during THS - KTK standard. Most people now are running whatever is popular, aka Good cards.dec. This is only a small sample of my area so other LGS meta's may vary so take my words with a very small grain of salt.

I currently play Elves in Modern and starting to build Elves in legacy so why not try and do the same in Standard? When Magic Origins came out my elf senses were tingling and thought, finally! Elf tribal is a thing! While I tried and failed with elf tribal before BFZ came out, it wasn't until the fetchable duals did the addition of red allow the deck to play Atarka's Command consistently.

So how does one pilot the deck? The deck almost plays like an aggro deck but you don't want to get rid of your hand all at once. Languish and Radiant Flames are very real threats to the deck as well as Crux of Fate. While board wipes are expected, that's why I would normally hold back a few elf cards in my hand once I had 3-4 elves in play, as it is easy to get a board presence again. Especially against midrange and control decks you'll have to be mindful of what mana they have open and if they have a counter coming your way or a kill spell.

VS. Dark Jeskai

With my experiences against Dark Jeskai, I noticed you want to be fast and aggressive and make sure to have an Atarka's Command in your opening hand if you can get it. I've seen most decks play Fiery Impulse or Wild Slash and once they get a flipped Jace, it may be very hard for you to come back. If they are playing with a Mantis Rider variant that becomes a real threat to your deck as well. Radiant Flames is another killer to the deck. So what can we do against such threats?

If you're lucky enough to win game one, you may want to sideboard in Rending Volley, Self-Inflicted Wound, and Ultimate Price or Duress. Your style will have to change to be a bit more reactive as to not dropping all your creatures at once. You can sideboard out the Thornbow Archers and 1 or 2 of the Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen, I'll also take out some of the Sylvan Messanger as well.

VS. Abzan

Abzan can be a real hit or miss with Elves. Once they start getting Rhino's out it can be pretty tough to combat it. Most Abzan decks I see have a really good tempo now. I typically see, Turn 1 Warden of the First Tree, Turn 2 Heir of the Wild, Turn 3 Anafenza, and Turn 4 Rhino. None of those creatures are easy to deal with for elves. The best thing to do is to trade as much as you can and hold back attacking sometimes so you can kill their creatures. Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen can be very good against this deck as it let's you gain life that you most likely lost against Siege Rhino anyway. Atarka's Command can at least stop the opponent from gaining that life and doing 3 damage in the process.

Now what do we sideboard in? It will most likely be something similar to Dark Jeskai. Rending Volley, Self-Inflicted Wound, and Ultimate Price. I would suggest taking out once again, Thornbow Archers and Sylvan Messanger. In my experience Abzan was never a good matchup against Elves.

VS. Atarka Red

This matchup seemed rather even in my experience. It really came down to who gets to go first. If I go first I have a higher chance of winning than if they go first, which seems to be true for most aggro match ups. However, when it comes to sideboard. I highly recommend putting in all the Eyeblight Massacre you can muster. Take out Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen as by Turn 4, you may not have a lot of life left anyway. I've seen Eyeblight Massacre do some heavy duty work that can stall their board. Duress and Ultimate Price put in their due diligence as well. Overall the matchup seemed 50/50.

VS. Esper Control

I have not had much experience with this match up as I have had with the others. It can be a difficult matchup if you cannot kill them quickly. Once they start building up more mana they continue to just counter everything you put out. Languish and Crux of Fate are real downers with this matchup. So what can you do overall? Sideboard in Duress to begin with to try and disrupt any counters or board wipes. Self-Inflicted Wound and Rending Volley for any creatures that come out in play. Honestly it's really up to your ability to get out creatures and get them down quickly.


So overall, the deck can be quite fun. I managed to take 2nd place during BFZ gameday and have placed a few FNM's with it. Would I take this to a bigger event other than FNM? Most likely not. If Languish and Crux of Fate and Radiant Flames suddenly disappeared from the meta, this deck would be positioned better then.

I've been asked before if there is a budget version of the deck and while you can build a budget version, without the main piece of Atarka's Command it just becomes a regular Golgari Elves build. The Atarka's Command is the piece that really allows you to swing in fast and kill them quickly. Collected Company is a must have as well but you may get away with not having it. It helps to flood the board with more bodies but with Elvish Visionary and Sylvan Messanger they can at least help pick up some slack.

So if I had to make a budget build I may have it look something like this:

The biggest loss is Atarka's Command obviously as well as Collected Company. You can do without Nissa, though she can be helpful just getting you more land which is where Llanowar Empath and Seek the Wilds helps to do here and without fetches you really only have Evolving Wilds to help you for land. I still kept in Llanowar Wastes as those are relatively cheap to buy, I did not include Jungle Hollow as you really don't want lands coming in tapped, 4 is enough.For the sideboard we obviously had to cut Rending Volley and so I put in Murderous Cut instead. This budget list isn't final and may change.

So to end with, where do we take the deck from here? With Languish, Crux and Radiant Flames being really good board wipes I feel there isn't much else to do as of yet. Maybe Oath of the Gatewatch will have some new tools for this deck to utilize and if it does I'll do another write up to see how it fares. 

Questions? Comments? Feel free to drop one and thanks for reading!