What’s Cooking? Firing Up the Witch’s Oven

Faithless Brewing, Episode 31: Witch's Oven

Let's face it, Vantress Gargoyle is probably not going to make the leap to eternal playable anytime soon. It struggles to attack in Pioneer, although our Modern explorations did yield some very interesting builds using powerful tools like Archive Trap and Into the Story. That being said, when a card can't even hack it in Standard, we shouldn't ask too much of it off the bat.

On the other hand, when a card is dominating Standard and meets the benchmark metrics for eternal playability (best in class effect, highly efficient, useful card type) it is certainly worth a closer look. Witch's Oven fits that bill. The "Kentucky Fried Kitten" / "Meow Mix" combo with Cauldron Familiar was a breakout star at the most recent Mythic Championships, and those two have started to make some inroads into Pioneer as well. But how good is this combo really? And is there more to the Oven than just cat food? While Damon and Dan are busy prepping Niv-Mizzet in Modern for GP Columbus, David has been cooking up some spicy Oven lists that he thinks just might hit the sweet spot.

Flashback: Vantress Gargoyle

Modern

Simic Flying Goyfs: 3-2 league. Extremely effective at finding big flyers and attacking with them, but struggles against creature decks and high density of removal.

Sultai Flying Goyfs: 2-3 league, noticeably clunkier than the Simic version because Glimpse and Hedron Crab fight for mana, but some additions like Drown in the Loch are well worth the price of admission.

Gargoyles, Please!: 2-3 league. Yes, this is a Modern list with four copies of Didn't Say Please. The concept here is not bad, but the execution could use refinement.

Turbo Trap Control: 4-1 league. This strategy might be secretly excellent. Needs a more diverse set of spells in the main deck, but Mystic Sanctuary + Into the Story is incredible and the sideboard juke plan can steal games.

Pioneer

Emry Ascendancy: achieved numerous turn 3 kills, but this deck relies super heavily on Emry surviving, and probably shouldn't run any Gargoyles as they can never attack

Gargoyle Gift: 3-2 league, Gargoyle is actually a decent blocker here and synergizes with both Kiora and Gift

Bonus list: Retraction Helix Ascendancy by MrRaeb

Brew Session: Witch's Oven

Pioneer

Sketch 1: Sultai Cat Dredge

Sketch 2: Rakdos Bone Picker

Sketch 3: Grixis Emerge Oven

Sketch 4: Orzhov Life Gain

Modern

Utopia Niv-Mizzet (GP Columbus build)

The Real Gargoyles of Castle Vantress

Faithless Brewing, Episode 30: 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!

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

Royal Pain in the Scions

Faithless Brewing, Episode 29: The Royal Scions (Modern & Pioneer)

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!

Roundup: Pioneer B&R Announcement

Flashback: Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner

Brew Session: The Royal Scions

Bonecrushing and Glorybringing in Modern and Pioneer

Faithless Brewing, Episode 28: Kiora Returns

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?

Update: We are now on Patreon! If you like our show, please consider joining our community:

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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

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