[Deck] Elves

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ktkenshinx
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Post by ktkenshinx » 4 years ago

This is a placeholder thread. If you are interested in taking over the thread and/or writing a primer, PM the moderator team.
This is the thread to discuss the Elves archetype in Modern.
Over-Extended/Modern Since 2010

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FoodChainGoblins
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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 4 years ago

25 person FNM. Sad times for me (again)

Round 1 vs. Grixis Shadow. In the first game, I fade removal for 2 turns after my mana dude eats a turn 1 Fatal Push. Then I have 1 off lethal with attacks, but I also have Westvale Abbey, turning into a big dude for more than lethal and he's tapped out (not that it matters since DS doesn't run main board creature bounce). Games 2 and 3, he goes turn 1 removal into turn 2 removal or double removal, turn 3 Plague Engineer. He removes Lords then casts double Death's Shadow in game 2 and in game 3, Death Shadow the next turn and Temur Battle Rage in game 3 (his only out to win at this point). He had 42 cards left in library and 2 draw steps, so I know he has Temur Battle Rage. It's his only out to win. He gets there. Mind you, this is a player who played fetch, shock, Thoughtseize me all 3 games when I played Neoform. Now he didn't have discard, but removal like crazy for Elves. I won that Neoform match 2-1, but I'm deathly afraid of what this guy can draw. His Thought Scours and Mishra's Bauble feel more like, "draw target card that is good in the current matchup." Yes, I'm salty. 1-2.

Round 2 vs. Mono White Soldiers. Here's an easier matchup, in fact, not a "real" Modern deck. It also happens to be a super easy matchup for Elves. I put too many Lords and Elves for him to get through early on, then find Ezuri and it's over. A similar thing happened in game 2, but he Path to Exile on my turn 2 Elvish Archdruid. Ezuri got there again, but with 2 Companies, it was waaaaay over lethal. I felt a bid badly for the guy since this matchup seems unwinnable unless I mull to 4 or less. 2-0.

Round 3 vs. Ponza. This is where the salt is really going to come out. I don't like this guy in the slightest and the fact that he's 1-2 vs. me lifetime with ideal draws in all 3 matches upsets me. He wins the die roll. Why did I say that? Because he turn 2 Pillages me 4 times while I just have Llanowar Elves. Unfortunately for me, I don't draw any 1 drops this game, so I play 2 Dwynen's Elite. After he quadruple Pillaged me, he triple Bloodbraid Elf into 2 more Utopia Sprawl and Birds of Paradise, he then Glorybringer my Llanowar Elves and it's over. He was tanking on the final turn, so I told him if he has Glorybringer #2 or Bloodbraid Elf #4, I will scoop. (I almost said if he has Pillage #4, but I noticed 4 Pillage in the yard and I didn't want him to think I'm accusing him of playing more than 4 in the deck.) I guess he didn't have that or want to show me. In the next game, he turn 2 Bloodbraid Elf into Flame Slash on my mana dude and I drew no 1 drops this game, so I played a 2 drop or 3 drop each turn while he Chandra, Torch, Dismember, and then draw Kessig Wolf Run to push the Bloodbraid Elf, then the Arbor Elf, and finally a Birds of Paradise past me. I told him I didn't play enough 1 drops in my deck. 0-2.

Round 4 vs. Vexing Zoo. In the first game, he plays some dudes and puts some pressure, but I explode the board and draw a Heritage Druid, a card that I never would have seen in Round 3 and fill the board with too many dudes. I have Shaman of the Pack AND Ezuri kills. The same thing happens in game 2, but we both get stuck on 1 land. I have Llanowar Elves into Elvish Mystic into Elvish Archdruid, so 1 land does better for me. He finally draws Faithless Looting, loots and finds a 2nd land, but discards Golgari Charm. Yep, this game is going bad for him. Shaman of the Pack and Ezuri give me 2 ways to kill. 2-0.

2-2. I've become more afraid of opponents that draw well than any other thing in Modern. I think it may be time for my to take a break from this format for a while. I mean, it's cool that Ponza won the die roll, so I could not cast Elvish Archdruid and I drew 3 Company and 2 Lead the Stampede instead of a single 1 drop, but it's also bad if he draws 4 Blood Moon instead of 4 Pillage, right? That's kind of a non game as well and possible in the draw steps. I mean, it seems at least as possible as drawing 4 Pillage in a row.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by The Fluff » 4 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
4 years ago
25 person FNM. Sad times for me (again)

Round 3 vs. Ponza. This is where the salt is really going to come out. I don't like this guy in the slightest and the fact that he's 1-2 vs. me lifetime with ideal draws in all 3 matches upsets me. He wins the die roll. Why did I say that? Because he turn 2 Pillages me 4 times while I just have Llanowar Elves. Unfortunately for me, I don't draw any 1 drops this game, so I play 2 Dwynen's Elite. After he quadruple Pillaged me, he triple Bloodbraid Elf into 2 more Utopia Sprawl and Birds of Paradise, he then Glorybringer my Llanowar Elves and it's over. He was tanking on the final turn, so I told him if he has Glorybringer #2 or Bloodbraid Elf #4, I will scoop. (I almost said if he has Pillage #4, but I noticed 4 Pillage in the yard and I didn't want him to think I'm accusing him of playing more than 4 in the deck.) I guess he didn't have that or want to show me. In the next game, he turn 2 Bloodbraid Elf into Flame Slash on my mana dude and I drew no 1 drops this game, so I played a 2 drop or 3 drop each turn while he Chandra, Torch, Dismember, and then draw Kessig Wolf Run to push the Bloodbraid Elf, then the Arbor Elf, and finally a Birds of Paradise past me. I told him I didn't play enough 1 drops in my deck. 0-2.
surprised here, he did not use any anger of the gods and still won against elves. I guess winning the die roll is key.

"do you have a 5th copy of ____ card?" is a common joke thrown around in our playgroup when someone is winning too much, :p
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AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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FoodChainGoblins
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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 4 years ago

The Fluff wrote:
4 years ago
surprised here, he did not use any anger of the gods and still won against elves. I guess winning the die roll is key.

"do you have a 5th copy of ____ card?" is a common joke thrown around in our playgroup when someone is winning too much, :p
Yeah, Anger of the Gods was something I could expect and was prepared for. I can rebuild fairly easily with Lead the Stampede, although admittedly I did not see any in all 3 games. I did have Company and 3 lands in my opener in Game 3, but I didn't find a land and I was actually not too confident in Company since I hit 1 creature (not a Lord) in game 1 (but my start was too good and he only removed turn 1 Llanowar).

I actually realized something that was a very bad mistake by me in Game 3. When he Kologhan's Command on my Ezuri, I had a Green mana. I should have used it to put a regeneration shield on my Shaman of the Pack. I think the reason I didn't do that is I actively wanted him to attack since it left me outs to push through lethal (Shaman of the Pack, Lord, or Dismember). But since I ended up drawing the 1 of Scavenging Ooze with tons of creatures in the graveyard (I'm not kidding when I say he went turn 1 removal into turn 2 double removal), I would have been over 20 life, thus not prone to Temur Battle Rage because the Scooze would have a 4/4 body now. If he attacks and Rages, unless he drew a removal for my other Shaman of the Pack, he loses. So I guess we would be in a staring match. I'm not sure who wins that in the long run (I was scared to end it quickly because if he can find 3 land, Plague Engineer, and 3 removals every game, then I'm pretty sure he's likely to find his 2nd copy of Plague Engineer that I assumed he had (sort of confirmed later on when I looked at new lists on mtgtop8). I'm pretty sure it's better for us to be in a staring match while I scavenge creature after creature, padding my life total each turn. I was just hoping to get 1 top deck to end it, but I think it's not the correct play. What do you think? What would you do? (I kind of let fear guide my thought processes, always assuming my opponent draws the only card that can win them the game. It was right with Temur Battle Rage though.)

Regarding the 4 Pillage guy, he's pretty socially awkward (I know, all of us are, lol). I'm not sure how he would take it and although I don't like the guy because of how he treated friends, I don't want HIM to have any beef with me. I mean, he shouldn't, considering how he drew. Don't get me wrong. I know Ponza will always have 3-4 mana on turn 2, only drawing 4-5 drops with a single land the rest of the way, but any of my game 2 or game 3 draws vs. Grixis Shadow in round 1 would have beaten him. I mean, 3 Company and 2 Lead the Stampede when I have 2 mana? He just was tanking and there literally wasn't a thing I could do to get out of it. I understand the need to play perfectly when you're super far ahead, but we're playing FNM.

*For what it's worth, 2 things stand out to me. He was playing a friend and it was super close, but my friend won on turn 5 of turns. The guy mentioned if he had drawn some card (I think Abrupt Decay), he could have "forced a tie." Why would he want a tie at FNM? Our store pays to records of 4-0 or 3-0-1 or 3-1. There is nothing for 2-1-1 or less. Saying that is really bad, especially to me as players who play slowly, forcing a tie and then won't concede because they took 90% of the playing time, are my pet peeve and the only thing that will get me visibly upset when playing. The other thing is against another friend. This guy is 1-2. He's paired up vs. my friend at 2-1. My friend asks politely for a concession and the guy rants about "how other players would feel about that, blah blah." This is FNM, not the Pro Tour. Maybe they take $1-2 away from each other 3-1 to give to my friend at 3-1 at the most. Store credit doesn't get too far here, as the prices are much higher than FB or Ebay. So you can figure out who won when they had to play it out...
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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The Fluff
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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

leaving this here in case an elves player passes by.

is Elvish Warmaster better than Dwynen's Elite?
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AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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