Grey (Tokens)

Modern Zicca21

SCORE: 11 | 45 COMMENTS | 2789 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS


Jaxson129 says... #1

I like the look of it a lot! I'd play Gideon if it was my call. With working the token angle why not really? The biggest holes I can see would be if they played Virulent Plague to keep your tokens dying when you spawn them, and also with all your non-basic land if I played you I would board in a Blood Moon ASAP against you. However you are running 8 cards that are showing you my hand and discarding so that's pretty good protection from both. I would suggest entertaining the idea of some enchantment destruction in the sideboard as a final fail safe. Obviously it's totally up to you. +1 because I love any deck playing my boy Sorin and it's a solid token deck.

December 27, 2015 8:56 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #2

Hey thanks! I know that there are holes if my opponent is playing token hate, but it's not too common. Bile Blight and Detention Sphere could wreck this as well. Maybe a couple Erase in the SB... Where would you fit in Gideon? I could try him instead of Elspeth but I think she's a better finisher and a great surprise from Windbrisk Heights.

Also that +1 would be appreciated!

December 27, 2015 10:07 p.m. Edited.

Jaxson129 says... #3

+1 has been delivered. I realize Sorin is a pretty nice token pump but why run three when you can lose one and drop Gideon in? Now you might run all three planeswalkers and your chances of drawing a planeswalkers stay the same, but less likely of a useless duplicate in case Sorin is already on the field.

December 28, 2015 12:19 a.m.

xzzane says... #4

How competitive do you want this to be? Do you have a budget? What is your local meta?

December 28, 2015 12:24 a.m.

Zicca21 says... #5

Jaxson129 thanks! I don't want to drop a Sorin because his lifegain is vital. Between fetches, Thoughtseize, and Bitterblossom I need it. I'd rather sideboard Dismember or maybe 1 Blossom. I'd rather have too much Solemn Visitor than too little.

I'd mostly just want to use Gideon for his emblem or a couple tokens but I'd rarely +1 I think. Which makes me think it'd be better to use Sorin, Lord of Innistrad because his emblem doesn't kill him... but I'm not an expert! Anyways, it's hard to justify him over the lifegain.

xzzane I would like it to be pretty competitive, but also kinda budget... the only cards I don't own in the mainboard are the Marsh Flats so I could spend more if necessary. And I'm not too familiar with my modern meta but I would hope to take this to find out!

December 28, 2015 2:21 a.m.

xzzane says... #6

Alright, let's get to work then! First off, Gideon isn't worth it overall. Gideon is good, don't get me wrong, but Sorin, Solemn Visitor is the better planeswalker. It's better to run 3 Sorins. Take out Sun's Champion. 6 cmc is way, way too high for modern, and tokens likes to run a lower cmc as a whole. Go down to just 24 lands by taking out an Isolated Chapel. I would also consider going down to just 3 Windbrisk Heights, since you don't want to get it within your first 3 turns. You should be running 4 Path to Exile. Consider a 1/1 split of Dismember and Murderous Cut. If you lack familiarity with your meta, would you like to gear your side to an open meta, based on the overall meta results on modernnexus?

December 28, 2015 2:20 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #7

xzzane I like Elspeth for really long games as she is a big finisher but maybe I could just put her in the side for control match ups. She's just so good off of Windbrisk. I only have 3 paths right now which is why I don't have a 4th. But one I acquire one I'll probably put it in.

What would you put in instead of Elspeth if I dropped a land?

I did try and build my sideboard with a few more popular builds in mind and also doing some research on other token decks to see what they ran.

December 28, 2015 6:32 p.m.

xzzane says... #8

She's just not worth it. Trust me. You will not be able to reliably cast her, and there will be times when another card would have done much better. As to what I would recommend, that depends on your budget. I would personally recommend taking out elspeth and a land for 2 Auriok Champion. Can I ask as to what decks you based t off of, and what token decks you researched? Not trying to be overly critical, but your sideboard can be greatly improved from where it is now.

December 28, 2015 6:43 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #9

Aiight, I'll check them out. I don't have any now. I've seen those being played as they mostly lock down any Grixis stuff and burn gets slowed down.

A deck by Stanislav Cifka that he played during pro tour Fate Reforged. That and a couple decks I watched from online players on YouTube. I also don't have all the cards they used.

December 28, 2015 7:44 p.m.

xzzane says... #10

Keep in mind that the meta has changed since then. Shameless plug, check out this primer I made

December 28, 2015 7:59 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #11

Yeah but it was the most recent deck that I was close to making.

Shameful plug? Ha but incredibly useful. Where's all your experience with this deck come from? I'm glad you gave that link, helps me trust your suggestions.

December 28, 2015 9:58 p.m.

xzzane says... #12

I've exclusively played b/w tokens for 5-6 years. When you've played a single deck that long you get to know it pretty well lol.

December 28, 2015 10:05 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #13

I believe it! That's pretty cool, and longer then I have been playing magic...

I like how you suggested a split between Dismember and Murderous Cut when I found this on your deck's comment section.

"Gideon is for testing purposes. Elspeth doesn't fit as well in a blossom shell. A 1/1 split of cut and Dismember is fine. I personally prefer 2 Dismember as it gives me the option to take out early mana dorks."

What changed your mind? Too much life loss?

December 28, 2015 10:15 p.m.

xzzane says... #14

The life loss got to be painful, and I dropped to 5 removal spells as opposed to 6. When you want a 5th removal spell I recommend cut, but there are pros and cons to either 2 dismember or a 1/1 split when you are running 6 removal spells. With the 2 dismembers you have a higher chance of killing mana dorks and it allows you to side in Rest in Peace unhindered. A 1/1 split is less harmful to your overall life total, which is more relevant in blossom lists, but you're less likely to be able to take out mana dorks early on in the game.

December 28, 2015 10:32 p.m. Edited.

Zicca21 says... #15

Well I'm looking for 2 Auriok Champion now. They expensive...

Sideboard thoughts? Or should I just go back to your link?

December 29, 2015 12:13 a.m.

xzzane says... #16

Sideboard needs some work. Take a look at my personal token deck, Swarm and Conquer V 2.0's sideboard. It's geared towards an open meta, so I would copy it for the meantime, and alter it when you know your meta better. Raise the Alarm is just not very good in a blossom shell, and there are much better slots in your 75. For what it does, Beckon Apparition is very lackluster. Rest in Peace hits a lot harder.

December 29, 2015 12:32 a.m.

Zicca21 says... #17

Why don't Raise and Blossom mix?

December 29, 2015 1:52 a.m.

xzzane says... #18

Blossom builds just simply don't need it. There are better slots for the 75. It helps looking at everything as a choice for cmc. If you had both raise and blossom in hand turn two, the most logical choice is to play blossom on turn two in order to get maximum value out of it. B/w tokens can be generally divided into two different builds - Raise the Alarm shells and Bitterblossom shells. The fact that they share the same cmc means they don't mix that well, and belong solely in their own separate build.

December 29, 2015 2 a.m.

Jack-Frost says... #19

I'm surprised you aren't running Liliana of the Veil. Any reason why?

Your main deck seems to follow a bitterblossom build, but your sideboard is designed for a raise the alarm shell. I'd take a look at two decks of XZzane's Swarm and Conquer V 2.0 and Raise the Alarm Build. He has a ton of experience with tokens and that should help you out a lot.

As for sideboard, how about Chalice of the Void, Engineered Explosives, Ghostly Prison, Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Sundering Growth, and Timely Reinforcements.

January 10, 2016 12:44 a.m.

Zicca21 says... #20

He commented a bunch before I cleaned up comments. No Lily because she's expensive and I don't think as helpful as she could be for this build.

Also most of the cards you suggested for my sideboard are already in mine... I'm going a little basic until I see what's all going on in my meta.

January 10, 2016 7:04 p.m.

xzzane says... #21

It should be mentioned I'm actually thinking of replacing lili for Gideon.

January 10, 2016 7:15 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #22

Man! You said earlier he didn't fit... but I do like that price difference.

January 10, 2016 7:23 p.m.

xzzane says... #23

I tend to be an old fart who doesn't accept change that quickly haha.

January 10, 2016 7:25 p.m.

Zicca21 says... #24

Ok I'll believe that. I hope he works!

January 10, 2016 8:10 p.m.

Jack-Frost says... #25

I know most were in your sideboard but i've found that if I suggest only two or three cards that people don't have most of them for some unknown reason take out cards they actually need and mess up the entire sideboard so i've taken to just giving an entire sideboard suggestion and its seems to be working so far.

Why Trostani's Judgment? I know it's an exile with populate, but you are only going to get one spirit out of it and the mana cost is so high you will never really get to play it without disrupting your entire turn. If you want exile then why not run Path to Exile, or at least something slightly lower cost?

January 11, 2016 8:22 a.m.

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