Can jund afford to cut a bob?
Modern forum
Posted on June 5, 2016, 7:04 p.m. by apple41792
Just like title says. Does jund have to play 4 bobs or is one cutable?
APPLE01DOJ says... #3
Why would you want to? Link is to your build or the build in question. It's certainly plausible but there is probably better things to cut.
June 5, 2016 7:44 p.m.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #4
I've never liked "Bob" as a card. I understand it's relevance and it's upside, but I'm not one to feel "frisky" to stand on death's doorstep for a 2/1. Sorry, not sorry. There are probably other options that are better. Take a look at "Abzan", they hardly ever run "Bob", granted they sometimes play more expensive spells, but still, even the low to the ground builds don't. If you want a similar effect, you could try Sin Prodder. Jund has a lot in the 2 drop slot anyway. And this guy isn't a slouch at attacking.
June 5, 2016 10:34 p.m.
I wouldnt point to Abzan as a good reason to cut Confidant. Abzan plays Lingering Souls, thats a lot of card advantage.
Confidant can be risky, but on curve allows you to start drawing extra cards T3 and have your lands untapped, whereas tapping out on T3 for something like Truths or Bones might be less painful but you basically take the turn off. You build Jund with a low curve to mitigate the risk of dying to Confidant, and you gain the life back with Finks or Kalitas.
Honestly if youre that worried bout Confidant killing you, just play Courser and Bolt him when you see that one Tasigur on top.
June 6, 2016 12:13 a.m.
Well if you don't need to hold on to removal in your hand (because its multipurpose, like Kolaghan's Command, or proactive, like Thoughtseize), then there are good alternatives for bob. But the usual Jund build, relies heavily in having answers in hand.
Blood Scrivener, Asylum Visitor - the latter which can net you 2 cards per turn, if your opponent is forced to discard, or burns through his/her hand.
June 6, 2016 8:31 a.m.
Abzan is also more poorly positioned than Jund, and a lot of that revolves around the fact that it can't afford to play Bob because it has too many heavy spells. Bob is the engine of the Jund deck, and it should be considered a core piece. The gripes about its fragility and its riskiness are old as dirt. The fact of the matter is that the card wins the game if not answered, and that kind of raw power is exactly what Jund is looking for in its threats.
June 6, 2016 8:46 a.m.
Also Phyrexian Etchings - if you have some cop out from the cumulative upkeep, like Vampire Hexmage.
June 6, 2016 3:45 p.m.
Bob is your friend.
I run him in 
Death and taxes with a mass of 3 drops and 2 four drops, with Flagstones of Trokair thinning my 21 lands every now and then.. Id never cut him.
If only I could afford the jund 'combo' - Lily/goyfs. So many 1-2 drops off the top deck of jund, such power.
June 7, 2016 2:59 a.m.
Its well worth saving up for your playsets of Liliana and Goyf. Jund plays so good in topdeck battles, moreso when you get 2 cards every turn haha
June 7, 2016 4:37 p.m.
Right?! Seeing as how Im banned at my podunk meta for protesting sketchy cheatsy people and no long play paper, Its not like MTGO is un-afordable. Jund is my fav for competitive decks.
My reasoning: Your building jund, dont skimp cuz your obviously not on a budget. I am however. ;/ DnT short the resto and bobs is about 110$ USD. Still wouldnt cut down on bobs if I were buying them now.
DarkMagician says... #2
Depends on your meta and what you want to replace it with. It's tough to lose card advantage in a deck that uses it to win.
June 5, 2016 7:11 p.m.