Bant Bogles?
Modern forum
Posted on Dec. 18, 2014, 1:40 p.m. by JRaynor
So I'm currently running Hexproof Bogles and the deck list seems to be pretty immutable and unchanging. It's a fun deck to play but I'm always looking for ways to improve my game.
So the basic premise of the deck is to drop a one drop as early as possible to avoid being countered and then pumping the one guy with enchantments galore.
I've played with or considered a variety of other hexproof creatures while I was building the appropriate decklist and there are typically great reasons why none of them are staples of the format. Silhanna Ledgewalker is halfway decent but she doesn't add enough value for the extra 1 cost. Witchstalker is wicked cool but just eons too slow in this format. And there really aren't any other notable and cheap Hexproof candidates out there... or so I thought.
The other day my eyes lit on Geist of Saint Traft This guy is serious business and the type of value I would require from a 3 drop in a modern deck. He's not G/W but since being given access to fetchlands through Khans, I'm not so afraid of splashing a third color. I actually end up Mulliganing more often over creatures in Bogles than I do over land in my Modern Mardu homebrew.
Splashing enough for one blue mana would be child's play but I can't be the first person who has thought of this. Anyone have any experience running a Bant Bogles? How does this work out? Any thoughts on it?
lemmingllama says... #3
Bant Bogles is decent, it also allows you to run Invisible Stalker as well. The big problem is that your mana base is that much more inconsistent, two colours is better than three.
I would rather just use U/W Bogles though, you can use Curiosity and Spectral Flight to replace Keen Sense and Rancor, and maybe Steel of the Godhead replacing Unflinching Courage. It also allows you to run some tempo aspects if you really need them.
December 18, 2014 2:12 p.m.
Yeah lemmingllama I've considered running Invisible Stalker a number of times in the past. I actually used to own a really cool foil one but traded it to a friend for his EDH deck. Anyway, while the Stalker is a great Hexproof card, there's a comparable green card in Silhana Ledgewalker. By the same token Curiosity is a lot cheaper $'s wise than Keen Sense but they do exactly the same thing so I was planning on just acquiring the full playset of Keen Sense at some point down the road. Geist of Saint Traft has been the first consideration in Blue that made the change actually worth considering though.
As far as two colors vs three colors, the logic doesn't follow through or everyone would run mono-colored decks. From what I've seen in Modern most if not all of the top tier decks are 3 colors. The more you diversify the more power you give yourself access to but the sharper that two edged blade runs and the more expensive your land base gets for the deck to be able to function. I've never heard anyone complain about having to run 3 colors in the Junk, or Jund, or UWR Midrange, Storm, Scapeshift, or Pod. It's not the running 3 colors that bothers me, it's having the 3 colors be worth it. I really don't see how swapping to U/W Bogles would be better than the traditional G/W.
ThatBlueMage BantPants huh? I just googled it and looked at a couple decklists but they were wildly variable even while sharing the same name. You have a good representation you can link me to of what it did at the time?
December 18, 2014 3:29 p.m.
Here is my deck I played awhile back The Auras are coming!
December 18, 2014 3:42 p.m.
You can still be consistent with all the fetches available to modern now. How many fetches can get a Hallowed Fountain or Breeding Pool? More than enough. I'm hoping to try out the version on my profile this Friday.
December 18, 2014 4:42 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #7
@jraynor I was just saying that U/W and G/W Bogles are basically the same decks, just that U/W is a bit slower but also more consistent due to the better evasion and the face beating of Geist of Saint Traft.
Bant Bogles would be silly if you are just splashing for Geist of Saint Traft and nothing else. That's why I was saying that if you intent to use him, then just run U/W. Also all of those 3 colour decks are slower decks. Bogles needs a fast start, and if you are missing a single one of your colours then you are screwed. Decks like Pod and Scapeshift have lots of time to find their colours and control the game.
Also if you really wanted to cut lands to add blue, what would you cut? Razorverge Thicket is perfect for Bogles, and we want a playset of Temple Gardens and Windswept Heaths. Horizon Canopy gives you card draw, and Dryad Arbor saves you from Liliana of the Veil. So unless you want to cut basics or replace the Temple Gardens, there isn't a lot of leeway in the mana base.
December 18, 2014 5:56 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #8
If you run 8-10 fetches, you should have no issues with mana in Bant. Geist of Saint Traft is an interesting card, and it's probably not too bad as a 2 of, but sticking on the Gladecover Scout and Slippery Bogle plan with Kor Spiritdancer to back things up seems the best option to me.
December 18, 2014 7:55 p.m.
If you don't have a play set of Horizon Canopy, then those slots should be basic. The current G/W version folds to an early Blood Moon depending on what it has on the board already.
December 18, 2014 10:46 p.m.
Horizon Canopy isn't good enough to warrant its current price tag compared to a lot of other cards. They're on my list to be sure but frankly I'd rather own a playset of Leyline of Sanctity before taking the final step with the mana base. If I had to choose between GW and UW, I think GW is clearly superior, in the way that BW tokens is just better than GW tokens even though they do pretty much the same thing.
I'm seeing a lot of good opinions but it doesn't sound like theirs any live experience running this or a variant so I'll probably give it a go and see what happens.
December 19, 2014 12:06 a.m.
I posted my deck and I've played it at many FNMs and local tournaments with good success. You have to play Spectral Fright if you're in blue. Invisible Stalker is better than silhana ledgewalker etc. If you're going to play Bogles, BANT is the best version to play.
Servo_Token says... #2
I'd advise looking into Bant Pants from a few years ago in standard. I believe that that deck is pretty much what you're searching for, but with a heavier blue influence.
I have a buddy who plays GW Bogs, and he's also mentioned something about Geist having merit in the deck. He certainly makes mullinganing a lot easier. And if red burn lists can splash for him, I don't see why you can't either.
December 18, 2014 2:01 p.m.