Dies to Removal

I want a place to talk about my bad deck without cluttering the FoS clubhouse with Scrump nonsense.

[deck]
Creature 20
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 War-Name Aspirant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Ashcloud Phoenix

Spells 18
n4 Titan's Strength
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
2 Arc Lightning
4 Stoke the Flames

Land 22
22 Mountain
[/deck]

I like this Khaos. It seems like it'll run right through anyone who stumbles or any annoying green cards. Have you tried running some number of Stormbreath/Sarkhan in this shell? If you did, how'd it go?

After the little bit of actual playing I've done, this is where I'm starting to steer to. I just want something reliable and consistent that can punch through some early resistance but can also switch gears if need be

There's actually a couple of flex slots, mainly in the 2 drop section.I could play Eidolon or Bloodseeker, but I really think that anything with some kind of evasion will be the best choice. I assume that most of the early game opposition will be tokens, caryatids, and coursers, so aspirant seems to be the way to go. The Titans Strengths are really going to shine when attacking head on into coursers, plus the Scry will be good
for helping me dig for Burn

Haven't tested THIS list with the Dragons yet, but I have played similar shells before with 23 land and 2 dragons. It can be done, I think, just by removing a Phoenix and 2 burn spells for a land and 2 Stormbreaths.

Being able to fly overhead is going to be really strong as I suspect that many people will be trying to just play big fatties to brick wall aggro strategies

Agree with everything here.

I did some light testing with the deck and Ashcloud Phoenix is way better than I thought. Once you get to 6 mana that bird never dies. I noticed that it had an awesome interaction with Purphoros. When you're opponent kills the bird, it hits the graveyard then comes back morphed and triggers Purphoros. Turns any kill spell on the bird into a 2 for 1 in your favor. I'm not sure how powerful of a combo it is though, probably just cute.

How have your thoughts on side boarding been? I like how flexible this deck is so it can go a lot of ways. Almost like
a transformative side board could work. Something like

[deck]Side Board Idea[/deck]

I think Magma Spray is going to be relevant in aggro mirrors because it's a 1 mana kill spell and it exiles Bloodsoaked Champion. The Mountain, Dragon, and Harness is there for Abzan/Temur decks. Hammer is there for the BUG control list to keep the gas going.

Haven't even seriously attempted to build a sideboard, but a transformational board was something I definitely had in mind (and something very similar to what you've already put together). The deck itself really reminds me of the early INN/RTR decks that the pre-FoS crew was building. It had a very similar curve and the sideboard plan was to board into a bigger deck, capable of playing the control role well.

Finding a utility land would be very nice to have for the sideboard. Back then, we did have the luxury of
having Hellion Crucible as an excellent mana sink that produced a very hard to deal with threat. And recently, of course, we had Mutavault. We don't have that now and I'm not sure if Radiant Fountain, fetches or even Nykthos are necessary (though it couldn't hurt). I'm wary about devoting too much, um, devotion, to the Nykthos idea because then the deck will want to obviously want to shift into something much bigger. I like the medium size of the deck where it's small enough to get under the bigger and slower decks, but just big enough to go over the very low to the ground aggro decks. For me, it's something like the goldilocks zone, not too big and not too small - just the right size for me to assess my role as beatdown or control and go from there.

The cards I'm considering are definitely Magma Spray and Searing Blood. Spray is great for the reasons you mention, and I'm almost inclined to play a full set.

Another definite inclusion is Chandra, Pyromaster. At least 2. I believe that she'll
be able to do it all for whatever role the deck needs to play by either allowing us to sidestep fatties and go ultimate with the burn package, or be content to snipe x/1's.

Prophetic Flamespeaker is also on my mind since he's able to produce a ton of advantage and pairs nicely with Chandra. He's a fairly big brickwall for smaller aggro strategies (though Boros Reckoner he is not) and you can utilize the "sword and shield" technique with fliers. (The "sword and shield" is when you wall up with tough defenders ((the shield)) while swinging overhead with a sizeable flier ((the sword)) to win the game) It's possible he could be a maindeck inclusion, but I'd prefer to remain on the side of being proactive in Game 1.

One thing that I have my doubts about right now is Hammer of Purphoros. I'm not sure if it will be as effective in this shell since for all intents and purposes, I'd actually like to see 6-7 mana for recycling my bird and possibly going monstrous with Stormbreath.
However, I could be wrong, and I'd like to test it out before I make any wild claims.

Eidolon of the Great Revel also seems like it may be a decent inclusion. Maybe not the full set, but some number. And I do like Harness by Force.

Anyways, with some of these cards, I figure that this would be a good place for me to start:

[deck]Sideboard[/deck]

It could be that I'm just wanting build a bad devotion deck. And I probably am. But I'm still going to test it out tomorrow afternoon. And I'm sure Alex will probably want pics to confirm this.

This may be a better sideboard:

[deck]Sideboard[/deck]

ShOuld change your user name to Scrumper of Salvation.

Sending out an SoS to the world.

Hey man, it's the first couple weeks of rotation. It's a brewer's paradise out there, yo! Anything goes for now.

It would be an awesome title.

I'll change my custom title.

Although I have a feeling you may be taking a verbal jab at me. I'm game though.

And I'll keep the title as long as I jam this brew.

You're like the Heart of the clan.

Also, scrumpin in a bottle...

Dammit, why are you always so right!?

And now I also have The Police stuck in my head. That's never a bad thing, I suppose.

I think the boarded land should be a Nykthos, I like the idea of jeering instigator, and if you're going bigger part board, you want to max out on arc lightning.

The more I think about it, I think I may want to maindeck Chandra. It would free up the sideboard for more goodies like Arc Lightning.

Been spending most our lives living in a scrumper's paradise...

I did some testing against a BUG control list with this:

[deck=Livin' The Scrump Life]
Creatures (20)
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 War-Name Aspirant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Ash-Cloud Phoenix

Spells (18)
4 Titan's Strength
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
2 Arc Lightning
4 Stoke the Flames

Land (22)
20 Mountain
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
[/deck]

The deck did quite well and fought through Caryatid/Courser very well. Arc Lightning and Magma Jet felt like the weakest cards in this match up. 3 mana sorcery speed was mediocre but that's to be expected. It's here to 2 for 1 aggro match ups. Magma Jet was good for fighting through Coursers and setting up draws.

One thing I noticed is that I found myself wanting to find a 4 drop often. Just something to help give the game inevitability when the games went long. For example, if I had to use most of my spells to kill caryatids and coursers
that kept stone walling. Next testing session I'm going to try out -2 Arc Lightning and +2 Purphoros. I like that he turns my 1 drops into shocks and provides another source of pumps. I could also see going -2 Arc Lightning, -1 Magma Jet, for +1 Nykthos, +2 Stormbreath Dragon as another option.

This deck can have some awkward draws, but also some ridiculous ones. This deck can pull out turn 3 kills if you're opponent doesn't have a 1 or 2 drop when you're on the play.

Turn 1: Swiftspear -> 1 damage (19)
Turn 2: Swiftspear -> Titan's Strength -> Prowess Triggers -> 7 damage (12)
Turn 3: Titan's Strength -> Lightning Strike/Titan's Strength -> Prowess Triggers -> 12 damage (0)

It's a nut draw that requires your opponent to stumble, but it's there. Something to be aware of if you're debating about whether to start burning your pumps on damage instead of killing annoying green creatures.

I'll be testing tonight with 2 Chandras in the main

Thanks for the testing data! Good stuff!

How Phoenix had work until now? I play it in the Pre released and didn't like very much. Don't see it without haste been a house in standard.

It's 4 power in the air for 4 that has multiple lives

What's not to like??

Multiples life cost 6 mana...
Do you will have 6 manas often or even any time? In a agroo shell I see scrying my 5 ans 6 lands to the bottom (something like in the beginning of last year with White Walter/Pyro Boros deck and Stormbreath Dragon).
It's very easy to kill and come back with a 2/2 vanilla guy (not bad 2 for 1), but at that time maybe a 2/2 grizzly bear don't make a difference.
I feel that without haste I don't assure damage because with no trample and 1 of toughness it can be block by any little bird.

In what world do you live in that 6 mana is hard to obtain with 22 lands and Scry effects?

Also, stop with this "I feel" bullshit

Why don't you jam some constructed games with Phoenix and THEN come down and tell us all why its not good.

That's some tough love, yo.

Me and DerWille need some hard facts, man

I didn't say that you can not achieve 6 manas.
Question: do you scry the 5 and 6 land to bottom or you will keep that for the phoenix?
Last year with the stormbreath dragon I didn't run it in pyroboros, because after 4 land, I want gas and no more lands.
In the pre released in all games I cast it, it only win me one. The others are easy kill and came black to chump block when I went behind because I don't like kill myself...

Scrying isn't always as simple as gas vs land and top vs bottom - a lot depends on the boardstate and the plans I've made for the next turn or two, which will affect my sequencing

Ideally, I'd like something strong to sit at the top of the curve, which is the Phoenix. It's an evasive beater that gives me a 2/2 when it "dies." The value is when I do reach my 6th land, which happens more often than you think because it's not an all-in deck, I have a sink for my mana that grants me another Phoenix

The cool thing is that Titans Strength can even let the little Morph go on the offensive if need be

Prerelease decks and games are pretty different from constructed games, dude. You should know this Another thing to consider is that if the opponent is going to spend removal on my birds, they may not have it for the Rabblemaster,
which is huge

I don't want to argue this to exhaustion.
I will hope it work for you, DUDE. Simply that.

My last opinion to don't bored you more:
-The problem for me is that don't seems a cohesive plan. You put this in a NO All-In deck, but you have 8 1 drop, a 2 drop that induces you to attack and Rabble that is great attacking, and for last a playset of Titan's Strength that is another only offensive card.

You sound mad, bro.

You didn't bother to read the beginning post did you?

You didn't bother to read the beginning post did you?

Yes I read, and I don't feel the deck is bad, only that in my opinion is inconsistent 4 Phoenix to "switch" gears. I only see Stormbreath Dragon and eventually the new planeswalker capable of that . Sincerely I think this standard will have more flyers then last, beginning with Prognostic Sphinx, Butcher the Orde, Stormbreath Dragon, Herald of Torment (possible in another creature), the new jeskay guy, the new white bird that leaves a token, etc , with more flyers the evasion of the Phoenix in middle/late game will be diluted and don't granted damage.

But this is only my point of view.
I hope you make the deck great for you, and working well.
Good luck for it.

You have fair points, but a 4 mana 4 power flier with great late game value is very good in a medium size aggressive deck.

Yes 4 mana, 4 power flyer is nice.

I will test a deck very close to this soon. Only will have some time and partners in the weekend (I put it in a topic I call RDW at new standard). And after read yours and others list I'm very undecided in 2 drop spot. First I put Eidolon in that place, but now I'm thinking in Altac Bloodseeker and in War-Name Aspirant. With exact the same burn package you have in your list what do you think about Altac Bloodseeker? Can he really go through or is only a trap? Will be preferable War-Name Aspirant, because with the exact 8x 1 drop you have we always be attacking in turn 2?
I don't have any experience with this two yet. Can you give me your opinion, please.

Bloodseeker was in the spot when I was maindecking Blood over the Titans Strength. The problem that I had was that he was pretty lackluster when I wasn't able to kill things and I figured that Aspirant at his worst was still a 2/1 but it had evasion, which was huge

Bloodseeker may be a lot better with Chandra in the main though

@amcfviera The bird is something you need just need to play with. I was skeptical of a 4/1 flier without a haste, but then I went off with it. That bird will completely take over a game. Without 6 mana, your opponent must 2 for 1 themselves to get rid of it. With 6 mana they need to 3 for 1 themselves in a single draw step.

You should read War-Name Aspirant as "1R, 2/1 Creature, War-Name Aspirant cannot be blocked by Sylvan Caryatid." The early game creature selection is based on nullifying the first part of the Caryatid/Courser combo. Eidolon of the Great Revel cannot do that. Altac Bloodseeker has to jump through hoops to do that. If you really hate War-Name Aspirant so much, play Borderland Marauder instead. It'll have 3 power on the attack to kill Caryatids if it's blocked.

Very well said

Thanks for your answers. I really like War-Name Aspirant and didn't had think in "War-Name Aspirant as "1R, 2/1 Creature, War-Name Aspirant cannot be blocked by Sylvan Caryatid", It will be a good card for it own. This will be my 2 drop, Eidolon go to sideboard if necessary, or leave for now the 75. I'm curious about the altac, because I will put a package of Magma Jet, Lightning Strike and Stoke, but I'm afraid it will be a trap for me. I didn't really like conditional cards, or cards that make me play a spell in a bad time. My list will be now very close to this.

Just look at the +1/+1 as a bonus after turn 2.

The deck has a lot of plays on turn 2 as it is: pumping a Satyr to kill a Caryatid, playing a burn spell to pump Swiftie/kill a dude, land more 1 drops, or play Aspirant.

Turn 3 can be even more complicated - play an Aspirant after attacking and playing a Titan's Strength, dropping a Rabblemaster, Arc Trail, etc.

Did some more testing against the BUG list with Chandra and Purphoros.

Chandra is good for digging and getting blockers out of the way, but she didn't take over the game like Purphoros did. She was usually dealt with. Purphoros did better by turning the deck into burn spells. His pump ended up being relevant when closing out a game with 2 or 3 1 drops on the field. I could just force through damage.

The biggest insight I found was on Ashcloud Phoenix. There were a few games I kept lands on top without much gas because I was trying to rush to 6 mana while having no other threats in hand. I ended up losing those games when my opponent 2 for 1'd themselves and I wasn't able to flip. Any sort of flood situation also made my deck much worse. It's a little bit of a nonbo with the bird, but I decided to put +2 Hammer of Purphoros in the main.

The hammer dies to sultai charm unfortunately, but it puts an immense amount
of pressure on the field. During the times I'm flooding out, it gets me 3/3's to fight with. It also gives the bird haste and start swinging in.

Bird and Hammer Playstyle:
I think the best way to use the bird and hammer together is to keep it at either 4 or 6. If you don't have a bird in hand or on the field, but draw a 5th land, sac it. Make the golem and keep up the pressure. Once you do get the bird, stop sacing land until you get to 6. If your opponent deals with the bird, punish them by sacing your land down to 4 again (if you need to). The bird is amazing when it goes off, but the heart of the deck is aggro. Pressure and punishment are how we win.

[deck]My Little Red Scrumper[/deck]

Still not sure what to do with the last slots. Part of me wants to play Purphoros, Chandra, or Prophetic Flamespeaker. Chandra was a bit lackluster in testing, but her ability to remove blockers would be great in those sorts of matches (but isn't that why I'm flying over?) I like that Flamespeaker lets me be even more aggressive in control match ups, but it's hard to find anything to take out for that (Magma Jet?).

For the open slot my buddy made another suggestion that I like, Phyrexian Revoker. Against any sort of planeswalker based deck, this fucks with their strategy pretty hard. It's a lightning rod for removal though and I'm not sure if it would be better than some number of Purphoros and Chandra.

Well, as someone who's played revoker, sometimes you just get people when you name caryatid or elvish mystis...

Ya know LP, sometimes, the obvious is so elusive.

Didn't get to test anything last night since I had a surprise company visit at work and was forced into 4 hours of overtime. My workday was almost 12 hours long and after that I was too drained to do anything but drink a few beers.


I'm probably going to take this mess to FNM tonight:

[deck]Scrumplord Defense[/deck]

I'm going for a more synergistic approach here and I'm unsure if the deck actually want to go big postboard or not.

I'm actually pretty irritated that I didn't get to play last night.

@Khaos —

Throw at least +1 Mountain, +1 Ashcloud Phoenix, +2 Stormbreath Dragons in the sideboard for Go Big plan.