I need to know if any of these cards would be viable to build with.
Modern forum
Posted on Dec. 27, 2014, 11:16 p.m. by EverythingIsK
I have playsets of Vampire Nighthawk, Desecration Demon, and Pack Rat.
I sadly have an inner Johnny in me that wants me to use them all some how. Splashing colors is an option I'm okay with, and I like mostly control/ tempo decks.
Thanks in advance.
I saw someone say that Pack Rat is vastly underplayed in Modern, but I'm unsure of what shell Pack Rat wants in Modern. It could also be he's just too slow.
December 27, 2014 11:30 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #4
Pack Rat sees some fringe play, but overall they aren't the strongest Modern cards. I'd look at this 8rack deck that is very interesting.
You could probably run a mono-black control deck that uses Desecration Demon as a finisher and uses lots of cheap removal and discard to keep their creatures away.
Vampire Nighthawk doesn't really have a place in Modern, its just too slow for what it does.
December 27, 2014 11:34 p.m.
EverythingIsK says... #5
The one I would think would most likely be viable is Pack Rat because he's low cost to start, plus the card chucking could use flashback spells (maybe even snapcaster?).
December 27, 2014 11:35 p.m.
Desecration Demon is tbh pretty crap in modern right now. With the overwhelming amount of delver decks, the demon can just be tapped down easily with small creatures like Young Pyromancer tokens. Also, modern is considered a turn 4 format, so while you spend your turn dropping a demon, your opponent is splinter twin/exarch comboing out. They're all fun cards but are subpar for modern. However, with that said I think if I had to choose the most viable of them, it would be Pack Rat, but it would need a pretty good shell to truly shine.
December 28, 2014 12:32 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #7
Nighthawk : Tier 2 in Tribal Vampire builds. I've seen some skilled players do pretty well with it honestly
Deso-Demon : Is too "clunky" in modern. The closest thing is Abyssal Persecutor . wich is often played in mono-black control lists with Smallpox in it
Rat pack : I've seen him on 2 lists
1 : "Proactive" mono black discard decks. This means you'll be playing a little more aggressively and probably not playing Ensnaring Bridge. you'll play rat in it's place
2 : mardu builds. I guess he's considered good there.
December 28, 2014 12:36 a.m.
EverythingIsK says... #8
After a bit of research, I've found this neat little combo.
Turn 1 - Training Grounds
Turn 2 - Pack Rat
Turn 3 - On their end step, make three Rats
Turn 4 - Make a Rat and attack
So now to see to it to try to make it consistent.
December 28, 2014 2:09 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #9
I think Pack Rat is the most viable for competitive modern but it isnt that good even then so if you were to make Pack Rat good, I would make a deck entirely around him.
December 28, 2014 3:34 a.m.
Desecration demon is wrecked by tokens and other swarm decks, so he's out.
Vampire nighthawk is decent but 3 drops should be having some major impact. I like him but next to liliana and courser he doesn't do enough.
Pack rat is the most viable but has a specific niche. His best use is just to turn dead draws into more pack rats, which is most useful when your main strategy goes awry. Given that he creates more copies of himself and buffs himself he's actually pretty good but this meta is prepared for these shenanigans with things like Anger of the Gods and Drown in Sorrow
December 28, 2014 4:45 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #11
No one here saw that Pack Rat Rock deck with 8 Manlands? I'm on my phone so no link but the list is on mtg top 8
December 28, 2014 10:02 a.m.
Saw that one. Preferred the version with Skinrender.
December 28, 2014 10:10 a.m.
KrosanTusker says... #14
I think Pack Rat is good, and it does sort of see a bit of play in fringe Rock lists, but not much. Vampire Nighthawk is a 3-drop that dies to Lightning Bolt and Desecration Demon is just not a great card, so they're not worth it.
December 28, 2014 2:10 p.m.
I could see a turn three Vampire Nighthawk into a turn four Sublime Archangel in an exalted deck being a game ender. But exalted gets blown out brutally by board wipes.
December 28, 2014 3:35 p.m.
I've seen pack rat in some deadguy ale list for modern before. Thing about deadguy ale is it was a terrible deck before treasure cruise and now it's even worse.
December 29, 2014 4:40 a.m.
I saw Nighthawk see FRINGE FRINGE play in Rock lists, same with rat.
Epochalyptik says... #2
I'm not an expert on Modern, but I think these cards are too slow and underwhelming for the format. They had their prime in Standard, which was slower and less powerful overall.
December 27, 2014 11:19 p.m.