PROOF of CONCEPT
"You know what they say about Misery and what She loves..."
~ a quixotic deck-builder, brewing in solitude
Experimental Modern hybrid of Tempo Company, GDS, Pride Zoo (4/5c Goodstuff), and Jund. Currently untested in paper for lack of financial resources, so while any and all feedback is appreciated, please do so with a pinch of salt :>
THE CORE GAME-PLAN
Attempts to exploit the proactive edge of vehement life-loss for Death's Shadow (via Dark Confidant, Thoughtseize, and a 5-Color manabase) by pairing DS with an aggressive development plan (via Wild Nacatl pressure, Noble Hierarch acceleration, and Tribal Flames as split card Roast//Lava Axe) and huge tempo-swing payoffs (via Spell Queller delays and Collected Company instant-speed value/threat presentation). The (one of many) classic Jund forced interactivity package of Dark Confidant and Thoughtseize allow for game against any deck, calling for action from fair decks to answer DC and unfair decks to recover from TS.
SUPPORTING CAST
Lightning Bolt needs no introduction, but the rest of the heretofore unmentioned main-deckers might; Geist of Saint Traft, Reflector Mage, and Thalia, Heretic Cathar are all to round out the 3-cost top end of CoCo hits, with Qasali Pridemage bringing up the rear as (hot take) the sleeper best card of the deck. Geist almost always feels good to hit against decks looking to respect your creatures, and can still end games against anyone off a T1 Hierarch. Thalia is admittedly a pet card of mine in Modern; when it comes out early, it can slow the opponent to a halt while you continue to develop and pressure, potentially feeling like a Time Walk on a stick (3-power First Strike is a damn sneaky stick, too). A pair of Bouncy Boys (Reflector Mage) polishes off the tempo game plan, erasing anyone who tries to race by punching your team through their split defenses, and potentially buying a crucial turn or two against decks that rely on the presence and persistence of a single, key creature, like Amulet Titan and 4c Copy Cats. Could even merit a bump up in # of copies, as it rarely feels bad to nab with a Company.
THE CASE for CASTE CAT
So, Qasali Pridemage is an inefficient beater, dies to most anything, represents a Forest Bear at face-value, and isn't often exciting to hit off of a Company. Why, then, is it the deck's sleeper all-star? Most simply: it's never bad, and sometimes your only out to a smorgasbord of hoses and key pieces. Just to name a few: Cranial Plating, Ensnaring Bridge, Blood Moon, Amulet of Vigor, Daybreak Coronet, Chalice of the Void; even just as a niche-answer, it hits cards like Hollow One, Spreading Seas, Search for Azcanta
, Oblivion Stone, Utopia Sprawl if you feelin' froggy tryna hop, any individual part of Wurmcoil Engine -- when he's not busy being average board-clutter, he's reminding your opponent's permanents that they don't have to be creatures to be targets. This cat wizard puts in humble, thankless work, and for that we love him.
MUCH ADO ABOUT SIDEBOARD
Sideboard features a bunch of theory on my part (not that the rest of the deck isn't precisely the same). Deflecting Palm and Dromoka's Command are both excellent ways to blindside Burn and Bogles decks, with some further versatility in a variety of match-ups (Deflecting Palm against Primeval Titan decks, Dromoka's Command against Anger of the Gods/Sweltering Suns and Blood Moon sideboard plans). Fatal Push is a good 1:1 replacement for Thoughtseize against fair decks; you aren't going to need the life-loss from TS when you have more time to get there naturally with fetches and combat damage, and you'd much rather be able to answer the threats they present than end up top-decking a discard spell when resources are thin. Kataki, War's Wage and Fulminator Mage are neat dudes to nab off of a CoCo, the former played over things like Stony Silence and Ancient Grudge for that very reason and the latter played because problematic lands are immune to your standard Thoughtseize and Spell Queller disruption suite. Spell Pierce lets you surprise creature-light decks by interacting on their turn earlier than expected; they might play around Spell Queller if they see it Game One, but they probably won't play around a 1-mana piece of 'nty' (Stubborn Denial, as well as Temur Battle Rage while on the topic, get worse without Gurmag Angler and Tasigur, the Golden Fang). Orzhov Pontiff comes in against fair decks touting dorks and/or Lingering Souls and/or Young Pyromancer. Since this doesn't run any Trample effects main-board, tokens can sometimes stone-cold your attempts to keep tempo. For that and for other fair, combat-damage decks we've got a singleton Ghor-Clan Rampager we can bring in. Dude makes combat a cinch, turning every creature in the deck into something fierce. Lastly, Snapcaster Mage comes in for any of these three situations: (1) absolutely need a 4th Thoughtseize, (2) would appreciate access to a 4th Fatal Push, or (3) Snap-Bolt and Snap-Flames sound like an optimal end-game.
THANKS
...for slogging through my Treatise on This Wack Modern Brew. I hope you feel the urge to comment and critique, at your leisure of course!
