How do you feel about Circle of Flame for a side against rabble red and just aggro stuff in general?

What do you think of Trap Essence ?

Krishnaaaa:

Spootyone explained his reasoning on that card already, but it got swept up when he cleared the comments. This is what he said earlier:

"I think Trap Essence is pretty lackluster versus other hard counters in the format. And Temur Charm does pretty well at serving triple-duty I'm finding. Thanks you though!"

(Thanks you? :P)

Hope this helps clear things up!

Also spooty, what do you think of my new name? I feel like I'm undercover. I'm afraid people won't recognize me! I still don't know who GlistenerAgent was prior to his name change!

@tooTimid Likewise. My old username was incredibly long, unwieldy and conceited. This one is infinitely better.

What was your old name of GlistenerAgent?

It was a lot of things. I believe I have mentioned a few of them. :)

Sighs

We gonna play that way?

New name! I had no idea who you were lol. I'm like "who is this guy?"

Don't blow my cover Spootyone!

I've found the biggest counter to my deck is an early Master of the Feast , what do you do to deal with this?

NastyNate: While the G1 Master of the Feast can be a bit of an issue, things get much better after sideboarding. Destructive Revelry is quite potent against decks relying on strong enchantment creatures (and I'm honestly thinking about going up to 3 of them instead of the Unravel the Aether ). For game 1, I suggest either trying to lock him down using Kiora or biting the bullet and using 2 burn spells on him (or a combination of Chandra + burn).

Wow!

Bit of an identity crisis (This coming from the guy who just changed his name)?

I think I like it.

The first think I see is Crater's Claws . You have 3 creatures that trigger ferocious (4 if you count Keranos, God of Storms , but let's be real). 90 percent of the time Crater's Claws will be Blaze . I don't think that's a constructive level card. I'd consider 1 Arc Lightning and a second Magma Spray . Magma Spray is a card I think will be perfectly positioned as the format develops, and Arc Lightning is an incredible blow out against many decks. Mono Black Aggro can't really beat an Arc Lightning on turn 3. Kill all the things!!!

Maybe this is too cute but I wonder about a 1 of Destructive Revelry in the main? Courser of Kruphix ? Banishing Light ? Yeah it's probably to cute.....

Hmmm what else?

Yeah it looks pretty good.

The only other cards I'd consider I think could find a home are Steam Augury , a third Kiora, the Crashing Wave (Your only one card answer to Polukranos), and perhaps a third Anger of the Gods in the board.

All in all it seems pretty awesome! Good luck.

P.S. What do you think of my new name colors? To hard to read?

Nah, if anything your new name colors are too timid.

...

I'd probably rather be playing four Frontier Bivouac over some set of the scrylands (probably two of each). Scry is a little better with Courser and Chandra, but I think the consistency to cast 1UU, 1GG and 2RR will be more helpful.

GlistenerAgent

...

Anywho! I do think some number of Frontier Bivouac (Say that 5 times fast) is correct. I think Tri-Lands as a whole are being undervalued right now.

Also, I'm impressed your deck got to a score of 121 in two weeks. My highest deck is at nearly 80, and has been up for nearly a year...

Oh mighty Spootyone, how can one such as myself achieve the deck popularity that you present us with today?

Also, why did you construct your mana base to be am even split between colors when the deck is almost half red costs?

The charts on the right are somewhat inaccurate, and don't account for certain things. The deck is tilted a little towards red, and I think there should be some more red in the manabase, but it's not like the rings need to line up perfectly.

That pie chart isn't totally accurate due to the Fetchlands. It doesn't count them. Also he doesn't need double red until turn 4-5, and he needs double green and double blue on turns 2-3.

NINJA'D

Nissa, Worldwaker ?

GlistenerAgent, weisemanjohn: I appreciate the sentiments lol. I think that a lot of it comes to the timing and knowing your audience. I spend a lot of time perusing decks on here and I've learned what people like and when they like it. That's all :)

tooTimid: Now, to address the deck. Yesterday I watched the SCGopen in NJ and made sure to pay attention to the changing metagame. A vast majority of this deck was created based on speculation, so I've spent most of today testing to adjust my build to the new metagame we now know exists. The mana base is something I've been working on for a while. Trying to find the balance between damage from lands and the speed/consistency of them is quite a difficult task, and it one that I'm still not sure about. I would like to run more tri-lands instead of Mana Confluence or pain lands, but there are numerous times that I need to be at 5 mana on T4 or 6 mana on T5, etc. I'm still working on figuring things out in regards to that so except constant shifts in the manabase for weeks to come.

As for the spells, themselves, I am now trying to find ways to keep up with aggro decks and midrange decks without destroying the integrity of this build. My biggest threats that I've seen today were actually Master of the Feast , Polukranos, World Eater and Arbor Colossus . The first of the three I already have an answer to after sideboarding in the form of Destructive Revelry , but I've bumped it up to 3 because of how important it is that I get it in those matchups. Additionally, I've a main board Bow of Nylea , but more on that later.

Big green creatures were not a threat I was expecting to have an issue with, but this is coming from someone who has been used to contorlling Banishing Light and Elspeth, Sun's Champion for the past few months. I began looking for ways to deal with them when I finally decided upon Sedge Scorpion . Now, don't laugh. I'm serious. Counter spells are not always fast enough (or mana problems ensue) and burn spells just don't cut it without a painful and slow 2 or more for 1. Scorpion comes out on T1 and provides a sticky situation for them as they cannot fight it or attack into it without giving me an advantage. During this time, I can set up a board state that will allow me to stabilize. Sedge doubles as being additional aggro hate in sideboard games and I found it to be amazing in those matchups as well. Not entirely necessary with all the burn, but amazing nonetheless.

Now. The bow. I had it sideboarded for a while but found just how important it was for the aggro matches to attempt to stabilize so they can't just burn me out. It really is backbreaking for them. Why am I main boarding it? Well...I had an open slot after shifting things around a bit. But I asked myself (and you, as well) "what matchup is it bad against?" Is there really a BAD matchup to have the bow out there? I couldn't think of one. And if I find there are better things to have games 2 or 3 then I can always shift it out. But the potential to have it as a stabilizing agent in an otherwise scary Game 1 against Jeskai Tempo or Mono-black aggro is vital for the deck's ability to win those matches. I don't really have the room in the board for several Nylea's Disciple s and this provides recurring lifegain that cannot be Hero's Downfall 'd or Murderous Cut 'd. Thoughts?

xGhostx: Nissa is certainly a possibility in here. I'm not sure that I need another win condition or that she would be better than, say, Prognostic Sphinx , but it's possible she would be. In fact, the lands help to trigger Crater's Claws ....hmmm...I'll get back to you on that, eh?

I feel like that's vary similar to thought process behind splashing black in my Junk (Abzan sounds to much like Azkaban) aggro deck so many moons ago. You have lots of powerful creatures and walkers, but you can struggle against other bigger creatures and walkers. Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness stretched to far.

Fated Conflagration may be just what the doctor ordered. 5 damage takes out Polukranos, World Eater , Master of the Feast , Stormbreath Dragon , and everthing revant except for Doomwake Giant (Which isn't very good against your deck anyway) and Arbor Colossus . Seems like the best damage to mana rate burn spell you have. Also you're now playing a base red deck, so it's easier on the mana that it was in the original build.

The only other thing that comes immediately to mind is a 3rd Kiora. She doesn't care about size, just bubbles it up!

Those feel like pretty unsatisfactory answers. I wish I could give you more. The only other relevant suggestions I have are for your sideboard.

I'd think about 1 Back to Nature in your sideboard, probably in place of 1 of your Destructive Revelry . You're only playing 5 enchantments, so it's never really going to hurt you, but it's a huge blowout against Mono Black Aggro, Green Devotion, Constellation Strategies, and Specific dredge shells, all of which reared their heads at the 2 initiationals.

The other thing is a 1 or 2 of Sagu Mauler . It's just a huge tramping beater that demands a board wipe all on its lonesome. I suspect it'll be a good meta game call against the control decks I suspect will emerge to combat all of the G/X/x midrange shells.

Again I wish I had a beter "Problem Solved" suggestion, but I really don't. I really do like the direction this is headed and could see it being a real force to be reckoned with as the meta developes!

I might prefer Deadly Recluse solely because of how prevalent I feel Mantis Rider and Stormbreath Dragon are going to be. Butcher of the Horde is also something relevant that you can stop in its tracks.

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That is, until I realize it's not legal and you probably thought about it. Skylasher can still be considered because of the likely prevalence of Mantis Rider .

Skylasher isn't legal either buddy!@GlistenerAgent

Goddamn Standard. I suppose Hornet Nest and the reusable Gorgon's Head might suffice.