Any Modern Playables in BFZ?
Modern forum
Posted on Nov. 16, 2015, 4:21 p.m. by GreenGhost
I know KTK, FRF and DTK all had their modern playables in the form of Siege Rhino, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, the fetches, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Kolaghan's Command, Atarka's Command, Collected Company and to some degree Monastery Mentor, but does BFZ have any possible modern playables aside from the tango lands and possibly Gideon, Ally of Zendikar?
Retreat to Coralhelm, Crumble to Dust, Lumbering Falls, Some of the allies have made tribal allies a lot better. Mortuary Mire in BGx decks. I think Sanctum of Ugin will be tested in RG Tron. Wouldn't mind seeing Titan's Presence tested. Horribly Awry is good for control/tempo. I think Vampiric Rites could see use.
November 16, 2015 4:38 p.m.
XxShadowxX says... #5
Bring to light is already seeing play in modern Scapeshift decks.Doesn't seem like a bad idea to buy them while they're cheap. Ulamog and the manlands could definetely see play, although the activation cost on the blue/green one is a little high.These and the ones you already mentioned seem like the main modern playables in Battle For Zendikar.
November 16, 2015 4:46 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #6
Painful Truths is awesome!
Some people like to muck around with Bring to Light. Sucks, but eh.
Retreat to Coralhelm spawned its own deck.
Crumble to Dust > Sowing Salt.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is great in Tron. Void Winnower might be good too.
November 16, 2015 4:46 p.m. Edited.
canterlotguardian says... #7
GlistenerAgent do you really think Painful Truths could be viable in someone's eyes? I have 3 of them that I've pulled and I was disappointed every time.
November 16, 2015 4:52 p.m.
XxShadowxX says... #8
GlistenerAgent, look at the placings in standard and modern for decks using bring to light. It is a good card, so even if you don't like the care it still isn't a bad idea to buy some on anticipation of them going, up probably higher than before.
November 16, 2015 5:08 p.m.
SoggyGecko says... #9
I really don't think so. It just has such a low power level, that there is nothing good enough for modern. I guess the expedition lands count, right? There are some fringe cards that are okay, like Zulaport Cutthroat as Blood Artist 5-8, and then Crumble to Dust. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger will see some play just because Timmys, and I think Vampiric Rites and Drana, Liberator of Malakir are just kinda cool cards.
Long story short.. Nope, not really.
November 16, 2015 5:08 p.m.
Three recent scapeshift decks have tried Bring to Light. It's a horrible card thats way too slow, easily disreputable and hard to cast. There have been many, many more scapeshift decks that haven't bothered with it.
November 16, 2015 5:12 p.m.
GreenGhost says... #11
Ok thanks for all of the feedback! I really wasn't expecting this much discussion on the topic but this was great!
November 16, 2015 5:17 p.m.
pumpkinwavy says... #12
ChiefBell tron is pretty tier 1, and many tron players play 1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. But that's not reall a big change at all, and other than that, nothing.
I do believe that Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is actually better than Elspeth, Knight-Errant, and so any deck that was previously playing elspeth might want to make the switch. But none of those decks are tier 1.
November 16, 2015 5:19 p.m.
Some do run Ulamog, but not all. I'm not convinced with it - it seems very win-more.
November 16, 2015 5:23 p.m.
XxShadowxX says... #14
CheifBell, if you look at some of the newest RPTQ results, you'll see that the decks that came in 1st run Bring to Light. As far as I can see, none of the most recent Scapeshift decks not running Bring to Light got 1st. There has to be a good reason for that.
November 16, 2015 5:26 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #15
canterlotguardian Remember that Treasure Cruise card? We get to play with it now.
XxShadowxX Scapeshift is the only deck that will play Bring to Light. In my experience, Scapeshift without BtL is much more streamlined, has much better mana and plays more smoothly. I think that people are playing with BtL simply because of new card hype, not because it is actually good.
AbzanFTW I'd take draw a card and lose a life over scry 2 any day. Painful Truths is really good. It's kind of like the Dig Through Time vs. Treasure Cruise debate, but with Read you don't get as much selection as Dig.
We get to play with "draw 3 cards". Enjoy it, man! I think that Edel has it in his Abzan SB right now.
November 16, 2015 5:26 p.m. Edited.
....did you just compare a 1 mana draw 3 to a 3 mana draw 3 that requires 3 colours?
November 16, 2015 5:27 p.m.
There are scapeshift decks running BTL but not a majority of them. The ones running it did do pretty well! But then the ones not running did pretty well also. I wouldn't chalk this one up to any more than random variance at this point. If we see a pattern emerging over many playtests then sure but I'm very dubious.
November 16, 2015 5:32 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #19
People cast Treasure Cruise with five cards in their graveyard. Painful Truths lets you keep the cards in your graveyard and still get 3 new ones. I'm not saying that it's better than Cruise, I'm just saying that it's potent and people should play with it before slamming it. I've been rather impressed with it.
Also, there aren't that many hard 3-for-1s in Modern. When a new one comes around the comparisons are inevitable.
November 16, 2015 5:36 p.m. Edited.
And I strongly believe that CoCo allies can be a Tier #2 strategy.
Ha. Haha.
November 16, 2015 6:06 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #22
There's only one other card that no-one has mentioned, other than all the various allies that will float around lists.
This guy is a better Tukatongue Thallid for Aristocrats decks. Certainly not perfect, but still technically Modern playable.
Also just to join in, Painful Truths is alright in a meta without a lot of aggro. Between your lands, Thoughtseize, Dark Confidant, and other ways that G/B/x decks abuse their life total, this is just another way to hurt yourself. I'm pretty sure I'd rather just run Abzan Charm if I really wanted a three color drawing card, since it also has other relevant functions.
November 16, 2015 6:17 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #25
@lemmingllama In Abzan, sure. I'm thinking Mentor. Sounds fun.
November 16, 2015 6:46 p.m.
I'll give up my mini sleepers from the set. I've been running a BUG man land rock deck running Kiora, Master of the Depths and things like Creeping Tar Pit and Lumbering Falls. It's only lost like 2 out of 10 matches (i've been keeping a tally for testing purposes) playing against a multitude of modern decks such as affinity, jund, twin, bloom, etc. It's losses were to Death and Taxes and Soul Sisters. The best value is plus oneing Kiora and untapping the man land you just swung with and another random land, or a random land and tasigur.
November 16, 2015 7:15 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #27
My problem with Painful Truths is that it's a sorcery. That would be fine for high-impact cards, but because it doesn't impact the board immediately, it feels like a waste of a turn. Perhaps a decent sideboard option against BGx and control, but I don't ever see myself wanting to cast it against, say burn.
November 16, 2015 9:52 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #28
What is it with Ulamog?? His only strength (pretty much) over Spaghettis is the fact that he can be reanimated. And even then, he will do nothing if he gets one swing in because he has no impact on the board and without the cast trigger is a vanilla 10/10. The only other deck that can play him is Tron, which already has Karn for cheaper spot removal and Emrakul for a game-ending creature. Newlamog sort of sucks guys. His older version is arguably better than him and even he doesn't see any play.
November 16, 2015 9:56 p.m. Edited.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #29
Well, he is 5 less mana than the flying spaghetti monster. So he can be cast (theoretically, not practically) turn 4.
November 16, 2015 10:05 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #30
Sure, but at that level of cost, there's really not much of a difference, especially if you've managed a T3 Karn. Besides, things like Eye of Ugin make Emrakul easier to cast, so I really doubt that the 
extra mana is a problem for Tron.
November 16, 2015 10:07 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #31
Ulamog turns Twin and Scapeshift into even to favorable matchups.
November 16, 2015 10:16 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #32
How so? The removal? Cause that's already on a T3 Karn. The milling? It's an overkill, if you can get in two swings with this guy, you were going to win anyways. Because it's a 10/10 indestructible? Then why isn't Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre played (or rather barely played)? Same body for one extra and annihilator 4 > exiling 20 cards off the top. I don't mean to come off as aggressive, but I honestly don't see what this guy offers to Tron that the other played cards don't.
November 16, 2015 10:36 p.m. Edited.
GlistenerAgent says... #33
When you cast Ulamog, you get to exile two lands or whatever. They can't Remand it, either. That's fucking backbreaking.
November 16, 2015 11:16 p.m. Edited.
Wizard_of_the_Broke says... #34
lemmingllama I totally agree about Blisterpod in Aristocrats/Abzan Ascendancy type decks. I also think Zulaport Cutthroat does okay as Blood Artist 5 and 6 in those builds.
November 16, 2015 11:50 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #35
March from the Tomb spawned its own T2 deck. VampireArmy likes to play it.
November 17, 2015 12:44 a.m.
I've been play RG tron since BFZ hit and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger has seen more scoops from my opponents than Emrakul, tbh. Hitting Karn on T3, following up with T4 Ceaseless, while obviously the nut, just removes the opponent from the game entirely. Also being able to tutor up a "double Karn" in the late game shifts boardstates that Pyroclasm and Oblivion Stone can't. Manlands are a pain.
Obviously the milling aspect is negligent because you're already to the point where you're just grabbing Emrakul to finish but in rogue cases that removes one-of answers. Then comparing Newlamogg to Oldmog, there's a big difference between 10 and 11 mana in some matchups. Having tron, eye, and grove, you can cast Newlamog on T5 where you still have to wait until T6 for Oldmog.
All of this being said I play him because he works in my meta really well for closing games a turn or two earlier than Emrakul. Some people don't play him at all in favor of more wipes and that's fine too.
November 17, 2015 2:26 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #37
The only 3 playable cards so far are BTL, Crumble, and Coralhelm. None of these have affected the format in any significant way.
November 17, 2015 6:02 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #38
I own zero decks that play March from the Tomb
I own a few that play Rally the Ancestors but that deck already existed
November 17, 2015 10:57 a.m.
I agree with GlistenerAgent T4 Ulamog, Ceaseless Hunger wins the game on the spot. Exiling 2 lands is game over. I think he takes the play of Sundering Titan personally.
November 17, 2015 11:07 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #40
I thought your BW deck played March from the Tomb ... oh well.
November 17, 2015 12:35 p.m.
Harashiohorn says... #41
Overall BFZ will be a sleeper set. As of now, there's nothing that is blatantly above curve, or with much "breakability". In the long run the manlands, and Retreat to Coralhelm have the most obvious potential, but overall this set will have a similar impact to THEROS rather than KHANS, or RTR. Oh and Sylvan Scrying is probably worth getting that playset of while their real cheap.
November 17, 2015 3:16 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #42
I saw ChiefBell say Bring to Light is "disreputable" and pictured it selling counterfeit watches out of an alley.
But yeah, Crumble to Dust is a better Sowing Salt. Tron and Scapeshift players I've spoken to are... let's just say they're not thrilled with it being a card that exists. It's way easier to cast in a format that loves its three color decks. I'm unimpressed with the allies; the ones that do cool things in Standard and are efficient are Bolt fodder.
November 17, 2015 10:42 p.m.
Yeah like, it doesnt have the best reputation haha.
November 18, 2015 1:22 a.m.
JonathanSamurai says... #45
The basic lands are modern playable, and the expedition foils. Everything else in this block is almost as meh as Theros to me.
November 21, 2015 1:46 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #46
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is definitely plausible. It isn't a replacement for Elspeth, rather, it serves a completely different purpose: a reliable finisher. This guy can either stall the board with a 2/2 creature till you get answers when you are low on health, or he can start swinging and deal some significant damage, as the opponent has to block after a couple of swings. He is best in control decks, or decks that rely on some synergy to gain advantage but don't have a good enough means to get out damage.
November 21, 2015 2 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #47
W/B Tokens has actually gotten a ton of love in Planeswalker form in recent sets. I've heard some discussion of the new Gideon.
November 22, 2015 12:18 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #48
The new Gideon isn't for tokens. It doesn't replace Elspeth, Knight-Errant as she +1's when she generates a token. Giving her much more inevitability and survivability than Gideon ever would. Gideon is better in a control suit or a midrange suit where you can stack removal after removal on the opponent then prop down a Gideon after all that and watch them weep as they have to spend all their creatures blocking a 5/5 indestructible.
November 22, 2015 4:23 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #49
Most discussion I've heard on the card has been from tokens players wanting to experiment with it alongside the walkers they already have. It certainly doesn't replace Elspeth. Not all these decks even run Elspeth anymore though.
I'm not sure why this is really a significant improvement on Gideon Jura outside of that deck. Can you clear that up?
November 22, 2015 5:19 a.m.
No I dont think the new Gideon is an improvement on Jura at all. Especially not in a control deck. A control deck wants to contest the opponents resources and Jura does this better because instead of producing a single token to hold off aggro he can redirect all creatures to him when they attack which is potentially huge. His -2 as well is repeatable removal and you absolutely cannot beat repeatable removal in a control deck.
Bolten711 says... #2
In short: lol.
November 16, 2015 4:32 p.m.