Sunday Nov 24, 2019
What's Cooking? Firing Up the Witch's Oven
2019-11
2019-11
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Throne of Eldraine, Episode 9: Vantress Gargoyle (Modern & Pioneer)
Just when you thought you'd seen it all, it turns out the castles of Eldraine are guarded by blue Tarmogoyfs with wings. At 5/4 flying for 1U, Vantress Gargoyle is an absolute unit. It's even an artifact to boot, with an illustrious pedigree of potential synergies. The catch? It might be a while before you can start attacking. Oh, and if you want to block, better make sure that hand size doesn't get too low. Perhaps you'd like to tap and mill for 1 instead?
Good cards come to those who break them, so this week, the crew is leaving no stone unturned with new lists for Vantress Gargoyle in both Pioneer and Modern. Will we ever attack with this card? Will we ever get to block with it? And perhaps most important of all, is this strong enough to be the centerpiece of its own deck, or is the Gargoyle better utilized as a role player in small numbers? As always, there's only one way to find out!
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Roundup: Pioneer B&R, Redux
Blue Moon Canlander (Damon): Top 8, Puget Sound Battleground 1k (Individual); Top 4, Puget Sound Battleground 1k (Team Trios)
Pioneer B&R Announcement
Flashback: The Royal Scions
Modern
Izzet Arcanist: 2-3 league (adapted from this 5-0 list by Habster)
Blue Moon (by thepensword): 7-3 leagues
Temur Prowess: 1-4 league
Pioneer
Grixis Arcanist: 4-6 leagues
Temur Deathtouch: 4-1 league
4c Royal Vehicles: 2-3 league
Izzet Firebirds: updated sketch (compare to these Izzet Firebirds lists from Challenge)
Additional concepts:
Grixis Flamewake Phoenix: updated sketch
Grixis Ninja Scions (by Pedro Almeida): sketch
Royal Frenzy Aggro (by Elvis Alcomb): sketch
Brew Session: Vantress Gargoyle
Pioneer
Sketch 1: Dimir Citadel Devotion
Sketch 2: Dimir Control
Sketch 3: Sultai Artifacts
Sketch 4: Vantress Ascendancy
Sketch 5: Mystic Forge
Sketch 6: Gargoyle Gift
Modern
Sketch 1: Dimir Turbo Trap (by Jordan Boisvert, based on this article at Modern Nexus)
Sketch 2: Sultai Delirium
Sunday Nov 10, 2019
Sunday Nov 10, 2019
Throne of Eldraine, Episode 8: The Royal Scions
Kiora delivered us a fresh 5-0 last week, but we knew that would happen, as Kiora has always been great. The combination with Glorybringer is excellent in Modern and even stronger in Pioneer, although the mana requirements proved to be much trickier without the smooth shock-fetch manabase. Eldrazi add an interesting wrinkle to the Gruul ramp archetype, and Niv-Mizzet got in on the 5-0 action too.
This week, we're on to the next 3 CMC walker with absurdly high loyalty. Oko has already been widely accepted as planeswalker royalty, but what about Eldraine's actual royalty, the dashing Kenrith Kids? Two useful +1s and an achievable ultimate make The Royal Scions an attractive card to brew around, in both Modern and Pioneer. We've got more than a dozen new lists, so whether you like looting for value, unlocking graveyard synergies, or pumping creatures and turning them sideways, there's something for everyone this week!
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Roundup: Pioneer B&R Announcement
Pioneer B&R Announcement
Aaron Forsythe tweet
Kiora Green Devotion (Dan): 3-2 league
Flashback: Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
Modern
Classic Niv-Mizzet (Damon): 5-0 league
Once Upon KiorDrazi (Dan): 5-0 league, 3-3 Modern Challenge
Once Upon Kiora (Damon): 4-1 league
Pioneer
RG Dragons (David): 2-3 league, 4-1 league
RG Dragons (Damon): 0-4 league, 4-1 league
Jeskai Dragons (David): 4-1 league, 1-4 league
Jeskai God-Pharaoh's Gift (David): 2-3 league
Brew Session: The Royal Scions
Pioneer
Sketch 1: Grixis Royal Arcanist
Sketch 2: Izzet Royal Prowess
Sketch 3a: 4c Royal Vehicles v1
Sketch 3b: 4c Royal Vehicles v2
Sketch 4a: Grixis Flamewake v1
Sketch 4b: Grixis Flamewake v2
Sketch 5: Temur Deathtouch Company
Sketch 6: Temur Pummeler
Sketch 7: 4c Faeburrow Company
Modern
Sketch 1: Grixis Royal Arcanist
Sketch 2: Temur Royal Phoenix
Sketch 3: Wrenn and Scions Midrange
Sketch 4: Izzet Collected Ponza
Reference: Blue Moon (thepensword)
Reference: Temur Kiora (Dan, 5-0)
Reference: Faeburrow Niv (Damon, 5-0)
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Throne of Eldraine, Episode 7: Bonecrusher Giant
It's finally time to dive into Pioneer, so it's no surprise that the first card we want to brew around is... Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner? That's right, Kiora! An old favorite on Faithless Brewing, Kiora has always been secretly excellent in Modern, especially when paired with Glorybringer in a ramp shell. New additions from Eldraine have Dan interested in updating the Modern list, while David believes that the basic shell can be ported over to Pioneer as well. But that's not all that Kiora can do. Looking outside of green, David has some wilder ideas for unlocking Kiora's synergies in Esper, Grixis, and Izzet. Do any of them have what it takes to keep up in the wild west that is Pioneer?
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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com
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Also, Dan has a new article up at Arenadecklists.gg, covering the rules of engagement for building successful decks in Pioneer. Check it out!
https://arenadecklists.gg/pioneers-rules-of-engagement/
Roundup: SCG Atlanta + Week 1 of Pioneer
Simic Urza Oko Goose (by Zan Syed): 4th place, SCG Atlanta Modern Open
Boros Burn (by Lichking7): 7-1, Pioneer Challenge
Brew Session: Kiora in Modern and Pioneer
Modern lists
Bonecrusher Oko-Kiora (Dan): 5-0 league
For a writeup on the evolution of this deck, see this article.
Once Upon KiorDrazi (Dan): 5-0 league
Pioneer lists
Sketch #1: Gruul Ramp
Sketch #2: Esper Dragons
Sketch #3: Grixis Hollow One
Sketch #4: Izzet God-Pharaoh's Gift