Zombies in Kansas (T3 Win)
Modern
SCORE: 47 | 99 COMMENTS | 7705 VIEWS | IN 15 FOLDERS
Simic Charm —Dec. 1, 2015
1xNihil Spellbomb + 1xDispel --> 2xSimic Charm in the side-board
1xRemand --> 1xSimic Charm in the main-board
Okay so after a lot of playtesting, I am REALLY liking Simic Charm. It is going to replace Nihil Spellbomb AND one Dispel in the sideboard, as the ability to provide hexproof against delve-style decks is often as useful as exiling their yards, given that I am a creature based combo deck. I am so thoroughly impressed with it though that I think I'm even going to run it as a one of in the mainboard instead of Remand. Here is my reasoning:
1) Simic Charm's first mode allows us to trade up where opponents would not expect it. Snapcaster Mage could now trade with Tasigur, the Golden Fang, and Pili-Pala could plow through a Restoration Angel or even surprise kill a Liliana of the Veil. Basically the first mode just lets us trade where opponents would never suspect it.
2) Simic Charm's second mode turns it into something even stronger than a Counterspell. It allows us to effectively hard counter cards like Abrupt Decay (which can't otherwise be countered) and protects all of our creatures from any targeted removal for the rest of the turn. This helps us against Jund, Junk, Burn, any control deck, Tron (Pili-Pala already dodges Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and Simic Charm can protect him from Karn Liberated), twin... you get the idea.
3) Simic Charm's third mode basically turns it into a removal spell, and against cards with delve, this is doubly true. This makes Simic Charm more useful than Abrupt Decay AND Maelstrom Pulse against boggles, bloom titan, Junk Aggro, Jund Aggro, and Allies.
4) Simic Charm's third mode can bounce Pili-Pala back to our hand in the face of mass removal. No other card in this deck can do that.
5) Remand acts as a counter spell. It is most often used on removal at critical moments. Simic Charm can duplicate this effect..
In short, Simic Charm fills a niche role which this deck has been lacking and which it has needed. Combine this all with the fact that Simic Charm can be tutored for on those rare occasions when necessary, and this swap is long in coming.
More win-cons would be useful if this deck were intended to go as fast as possible. The point of this deck though is to be as sturdy as possible. Granted it's still a combo deck so speed is an objective, but with as many tutors and cantrips as the deck has (and a majority of the cards in this deck do one of those two things), being able to find a singular win-condition is not hard. Going off without a win-con isn't even all that risky (though still unsafe) as you will likely have plenty of draw spells in hand. The deck also has plenty of recursion in the form of Snapcaster Mage, which means that it is not unusual for a win-con which has ended up in the graveyard to still be accessible for me.
Instead of aiming for speed via a large number of win-cons, the deck aims for sturdiness through a select few win-cons which can be used multiple times if necessary. The deck also has Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in the sideboard for those situations where I end up needing another win-condition against the odd deck or two.
November 26, 2015 1:52 p.m.
Mostly happy with the deck so far, but one last card which has been feeling really underwhelming for me is Nihil Spellbomb. It was great in The Minefield as it was a very easy card to fetch, but in Zombies in Kansas it just... feels bad. I can't fetch it in this deck, and a one of tech card for graveyard hate (while by no means pointless) does feel less than powerful in a combo deck.
What I am thinking of replacing it with would be 1xDeathrite Shaman because he can help with some life-gain in match-ups like burn (while he lasts), can provide ramp and color fixing against those aggro decks which he is boarded in against, and can provide color fixing. Combine this with the fact that he provides graveyard hate and can serve as a blocker (or just eats removal) and I am rather sold on the shaman being superior to Nihil Spellbomb. The fact that he can hurt my opponent means almost nothing to me. However, I want more than one of him to be able to board in, for draw consistency if nothing else.
My question is this: What do you guys recommend I replace in the sideboard so that I can have 2xDeathrite Shaman in there, given that Nihil Spellbomb will be one of the two cards?
November 27, 2015 2:04 a.m.
Adameus2012 says... #4
Your deck is modern right? Deathrite Shaman is banned in Modern.
November 27, 2015 5:48 a.m.
facepalms note to self. Don't goldfish after a thanksgiving dinner. I guess Scavenging Ooze might be a suitable replacement but it feels far less powerful.
November 27, 2015 1:10 p.m.
Adameus2012 says... #6
Lol I hear you. I just was assembling a modern deck last week and in my rough draft I had treasure cruise. Took me a minute to remember that it was banned. I think ooze would be an okay replacement, he can beat face if needed.
November 28, 2015 7:57 a.m.
Hmmm... I might just do a one of ooze then. As a one of he can actually combo with my infinite mana loop to exile an opponents whole graveyard. Since he costs two I can tutor him.
November 28, 2015 1:21 p.m.
I am still fiddling with what I want to replace Nihil Spellbomb with.
If you think any of the cards which I am considering are better than ANY of my current sideboard options, please tell me. What I most want help with right now is this: The development of the side-board and specifically what to replace Nihil Spellbomb with.
Check out the "Maybeboard Discussions" section of the deck. I would very much appreciate any and all feedback on the matter.
November 29, 2015 2:31 a.m.
TheFoilAjani says... #9
I like how the deck looks! Quick note, Dispel does literal nothing against Living End. With Violent Outburst and Demonic Dread, cascade is a cast trigger, so you can't disrupt that part with Dispel.
Edit: In fact, Demonic Dread is a sorcery.
November 29, 2015 3:08 p.m. Edited.
Huh... I did not know that about cascade. I will make sure to change that then. Although that does make the match-up considerably worse than I previously believed. I will have to do some play testing to determine just how bad it is.
Any thoughts on the Nihil Spellbomb sideboard swaps?
November 29, 2015 4:42 p.m. Edited.
Really leaning towards replacing Nihil Spellbomb with Simic Charm. Thoughts anyone?
November 30, 2015 5:48 p.m.
TheFoilAjani says... #12
I'm personally a big fan of Tormod's Crypt. It does some work.
K34 says... #1
I don't wanna assume I know better than you how to play your deck, but it looks like you could use some more outlets for your infinite mana. You've got a playset of Grand Architect and Pili-Pala, but only 1 each of Blue Sun's Zenith and Profane Command. Know what I mean? I guess you've got lots of tutors, but couldn't it make more sense to just increase the number of your x spells?
November 26, 2015 10:52 a.m.