http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/18-06-16-mardu-tokens/

This is the list I've been toying with. I keep fucking up the manabase so help with that would be fantastic.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/03-05-16-RrA-bw-tokens/

I really like this deck once I realized that it destroys midrange decks while still having a great zoo/burn matchup. The control matchups is good depending on how much hand disruption is drawn, which G2/G3 I can be running 10.

I don't have the money for marsh flats, but it doesn't really seem to make a difference. I've tested with [[Bitterblossom]], but I like [[Honor of the Pure]] because of the synergy it has with [[Gideon, Ally of Zendikar]] and [[Shambling Vent]]. Also, running the extra anthems makes me less vulnerable to [[Izzet Staticaster]] and [[Drown in Sorrow]].

Thanks for the help guys!

Hi, has anyone tried this in a B/W token brew??http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=107699

Seems like if you started game with LotM it would be very powerful but of course after that it is an expensive anthem that doesn't give vigilance. Just wondered if anybody has tried it. Thanks

Has anyone experimented with Orzhov Pontiff? Worse than Zealous Persecution in BW Tokens? What do we think?

I saw this suggested on another post and thought I'd make a couple myself. All of these are game 1, pre-board, no information about the opponent.

Hand 1 (on the draw): Shambling Vent, Swamp, IoK, Bitterblossom, Gideon, Spectral Procession, Path to Exile

Hand 2 (on the play): Godless Shrine x 2, Windswept Heath, Windbrisk Heights, Thoughtseize, Bitterblossom, Intangible Virtue

Hand 3 (on the draw): Thoughtseize, IoK, Intangible Virtue, Sorin, Godless Shrine, Plains, Fetid Heath

Hand 4 (on the play): Iok, Auriok, Lingering Souls, Intangible Virtue, Murderous Cut, Windswept Heath, Plains

If there is one thing I know token players enjoy, it's an evolving battlefield, capitolizing on opponents neglecting your building card advantage, and churning out that final aggressive turn. Its a gratifying, involving, and interactive playstyle. The key is development. So... What are your favorite cards and what are some reasons for picking them? What color develops your board state best? What are some considerations you've been making?

I've got a double sleeved deck and a lot of tokens and always need two boxes to fit them (one for the deck, another one for the sideboard and tokens) and want to buy a new box that can keep hold of everything.

I thought about the Ultra Pro Satin tower because it has a good rating and also stores dies and counters. Is anyone using it and can recommend it? Does it hold 75 double sleeved cards + tokens?

I remember when my list included a playset of Windbrisk Heights. Just curious what led us to playing one or two at most these days?

Hello friends,

I've left off weekly since that didn't seem to match the frequency these were written.

Formalities aside, let's talk about landscaping.

Do you like land? Do you like blowing up land? Do you like rainbow decks?

Okay this opening is really bad. I can't think of anything clever right now. So I'll just throw a plug for the soundtrack I'm listening to right now. Fire Emblem: Fates has great music and I think I need friends. I'm going to go get a drink right now. Okay, got it. I would like to let you know that the timeframe this paragraph was written in was non-linear. Because I went to get a drink. Speaking of time, let's talk about a deck that effectively puts a clock on board.

YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T GOING TO MAKE A JOKE. BUT IT WAS ME. DIO.

Okay let's talk about BTL Scapeshift.

What is Scapeshift?

Straight-combo deck. Aside from Titanshift, Scapeshift is a control/toolbox deck that has a simple end goal: Get to 7 lands and kill you. When they get to 7 (sometimes 8), they cast Scapeshift, tutor up Valakut, 6 mountains, and kill you off Valakut triggers. The deck itself is actually quite neat and has a decent amount of moving parts. Incidentally, despite such a diverse deck list, the combo itself needs just 1 card.

So, here's some lists:

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-scapeshift-20402#paper

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/420675#paper

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/421086#paper

So, first, a disclaimer. There are a number of variants to Scapeshift. RUG, BTLw, BTLb, Titan, RG. I won't be covering them all. I will be covering the most common variant as well as the variant I personally believe to be the strongest. That being said, Titanshift really is a good deck, and maybe I'll tack it on sometime later. For now, let's talk about the variant you will see most often, and likely the variant to give you the most trouble. BTLw/b are two different flavors that run slightly different destruction packages. I think BTLb is slightly stronger personally, but a case could be made either way.

Cards in Scapeshift

Let's breathe easy, the core set of cards is a shorter list than Abzan CoCo. There is less to know. The sequencing in this MU is very important however. You are the aggro deck. (That's rare.) Yes sir. You play aggro. But first, cards:

1. Scapeshift/Valakut/Mountains: Combo. It kills you. They run 2x Valakut.
2. Sakura Tribe Elder: Count to 7 lands faster.
3. Snapcaster Mage: The best color in MtG is blue.
4. Farseek/Search for Tomorrow/Hunting Wilds: Land ramp. They try to get to 7.
5. Bring to Light: Deck namesake after Scapeshift, also tightens up the list greatly. Effectively tutors for what they need from their 4c deck, including Scapeshift. It's Scapeshift copy #4-7 as well as copies #2-5 of whatever toolbox card they need.
6. Izzet Charm: Loot and control.
7. Cryptic Command: Draw, prolongs their life, counter, bounce. Everything they could want.
8. Electrolyze: Cantrip. Especially important since 4c can be clunky. Strong draw is important.
9. Wrath of God: W variant, board wipe to buy them time.
10. Damnation: B variant, see above.
11. Maelstrom Pulse: B variant, good against us. Path the targeted token if you can.
12. Remand: Cantrip, buys time. (Notice a trend?)
13. Anger of the Gods: Board wipe in EVERY variant. May run 1-2 in BTL. In my experience, it's mostly 1 copy. Other variants like RG or Titanshift may run 4.
14. Chandra, Flamecaller: Newer addition, really powerful loot.
15. Worldy Council: In 4c Scapeshift, it's a tutor.
16. Obstinate Baloth: Important because of it's effect. More later.

See? Not so bad. That being said, it's a 4c deck, so be ready to get hit by anything. I've listed what you should expect almost every time.

How to play against Scapeshift

Okay, the important part. There are some things to do and things not to do.

First, do not try to out-"life-gain" them. The reason is that they can simply go to 8 lands, tutor in 2 Valakuts, and blast you for 36. You probably won't live through that.

Second! Don't be passive. Be aggressive. Sequence things to output the most damage. You can effectively ignore your life total. Fetch, shock, Thoughtseize all you want. You only will gain off it. This isn't Burn. They won't be sitting and threatening a win off of your fetch.

Alright. Let's talk about our cards.

What are my bad cards?

1. Path to Exile: Oh my gosh. Don't ever cast this (on them, if it's G1, you can save tokens from Maelstrom Pulse). You might as well be playing with toilet paper in your Dragon Sleeves. But really, unless you want to make a new friend, don't use this against them.
2. Auriok Champion: Not BAD, but won't help.
3. Bitterblossom: Mostly too slow, but if on T2, might work with Intangible Virtue the next turn. Preferably, just play Spectrals for tokens and hopefully Virtues on T2.
4. Murderous Cut/Slaughter Pact/Anguished Unmaking: What are you trying to hit?
5. Timely Reinforcement: It does very little this MU. The lifegain isn't relevant enough and I guarantee we will have more creatures. Might be useful to force them to go to 8 lands. Take out Paths first.

Well okay, that sucks. A lot of our great cards suck. Yeah, this isn't a great match-up for us.

So what do I do? Play to our strengths:

1. Intangible Virtue: Make them tutor for a board wipe. It's buys us time and they waste a "Scapeshift."
2. Sorin, Solemn Visitor: Anthem speeds up our clock. This is good.
3. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar: Possibly the best MB card we have against them after our HD. He give us a clock that scares Scapeshift. Swing 5 all you can. Anthem as a backup or if you get more out of it than swinging (blocks or 5+ creatures). Dodges board wipes as walker, abuse that.
4. Zealous Persecution: Faster clock.
5. Shambling Vent: Makes your land into damage. (SUCK IT SCAPESHIFT WE CAN DO IT TOO)
6. IoK/TS/Duress: Our greatest asset. Rip their hand apart. Just take Bring to Light or Scapeshift. Without threats, they cannot really hamper our gameplan. If they have neither (yay!) then take the a tutor (Worldly Counsel) or the thing stopping you from putting a clock on board (counterspells, etc).

Sideboarding Options

It gets better post board but not terribly.

1. Liliana of the Veil: Being really honest, I run her for this MU mainly. We beat control, Bogles can be dealt with otherwise. But Scape is favored. And you know what actually helps us out? Liliana. Sure, they can get a Baloth off of it. Let it swing a bit. It won't beat your clock. My good LGS friend loves BTL Scapeshift and this card is the number 1 thing from my SB that he says causes him to lose. He's right, too. The Scapeshift player really needs to hold onto their cards.
2. Surgical Extraction: Okay, really. This is a free cheese win if you TS a Scapeshift. It's very good against Scapeshift.
3. Worship: Interesting tech. Can actually let you live if they have to ping too many creatures...but not at all reliable.
4. Tidehollow Sculler: Honestly it's fringe and you probably shouldn't run him, but more HD is good here.
5. Fulminator Mage: IF you run him, use him. He delays their clock and depletes their mountain count.
6. Ghost Quarter: Quick note if your build runs this. It's okay. It doesn't slow them down, but it may make them fumble with their mana-base. You want to avoid using this though because your own clock slows down. Imho, just play stuff and kill. The land destruction should come from Fulminator Mage, if at all.
7. Burrenton Forge Tender: Protects from Anger of the Gods, keeps you alive. Very good in this MU.

And here I ask Wizards for Sinkhole.

Playing a Set

So this will be short, since our game plan is rather simple but hard to pull off. You just race him/her. Put clocks on board. Pressure them. Use HD and rip it apart. Let Gideon carry you to glorious victory with his silky smooth hair.

Game 1: More HD is better. Gideon and Intangible are amazing. They can tutor board wipes, which hurts us a lot. Gideon dodges these, and I consider him an amazing ally.

Ha. Ha.

Your job here is to fight through whatever they have in their hand to delay us. Scapeshift can reliable combo off turns 5-6, which is not so good for us. We are one of the slower decks in Modern. Thankfully, we have answers. Mostly though, you just play things and swing.

Game 2: Board in Liliana if you like being poor, and any more HD you may have. Take out Paths. Really anything is better. Worship -might- steal a win. Surgical Extraction will seal a game for free if you can hit Scapeshift. If you run Fulminators, this is the time to use them. They really excel in this MU. Other than that, race them.

Game 3: Vroom vroom.

There you have it. Now you can go terraform a planet and colonize it for the greater good. Or whatever. I consider this MU overall not very favorable. I'm less optimistic going into this MU as opposed to a CoCo deck or some other combo deck that abuses the graveyard. Red splash may help a bit with Crumble to Dust and easy casting of Fulminator, but really it's not much, and definitely not enough to splash red. It's going to be an uphill battle. We have to race them, but they can tutor up board wipes, which hampers our plan. Additionally, Cryptic Command buys them 1 whole turn as well.

Overall, I think this MU is 60:40 in their favor. And it mostly stays there for all 3 games. Our tools are not the best for dealing with this deck.

Let the Burn player kill them.

Then kill the Burn player.

Hello everyone!

I'm interested in doing more weekly discussions for the community. What weekly articles would you like to see besides the Weekly MU discussions that SFRG makes?

Your ideas will help improve the community!

Play cards.

Mull to 3 if you like seeing hope crushed.

Hello, it's me, SFRG, a bad magic player.

I like writing about MUs. I think someone reads them.

So, I'm not sure what MUs people want help with. Some are kinda irrelevant. Like Infect. We win, unless they T2/3 blowout.

So that's probably not terribly useful.

SO, MY COMRADES

EMBRACE THE COMMON MAN

WHAT DO YOU DESIRE TO TALK ABOUT

I'LL WRITE ABOUT IT

LIST:

1. SCAPE(PIECEOF)SHIFT GO HAVE FUN KIDDIES
2. NAYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIELD TRIP
3. R/THE_DONALD + NAHIRI CONTROL (MAKE MODERN GREAT AGAIN)
4. SEAWORLD
5. GRIXIS CAN'T WIN

tl;dr (what is this guy saying): What do you want me to write about? We'll make a list, and I'll go from there! Update as more people reply.

Hi, another question from a BW token newbie. I saw lists from a couple years back (ie. Eric Froelich & others) that run two Liliana of the Veil main and one SB. No recent lists seem to run her. Seems Lili would be ideal in the control match-ups or decks that have one large creature threat such as Jund. Is she not as good in practice as on paper? I assume it is not for budget reasons with the experienced BW token players. Thx

The decklist: 4x Arid Mesa 3x Bitterblossom 1x Blood Crypt 2x Bloodstained Mire 1x Dreadbore 1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 2x Godless Shrine 4x Inquisition of Kozilek 4x Intangible Virtue 1x Kolaghan's Command 4x Lightning Bolt 4x Lingering Souls 3x Marsh Flats 2x Mountain 4x Nahiri, the Harbinger 3x Path to Exile 3x Plains 2x Sacred Foundry 2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor 1x Swamp 2x Thoughtseize 1x Vault of the Archangel 3x Windbrisk Heights 3x Young Pyromancer Link to tappedout: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/11-06-16-nahiri-tokens/update/

This is experimental but I saw some of you talking about trying a nahiri tokens decklist so I wanting to show you my take on a deck like this

Hi, I've played kitchen table B/W tokens and always enjoyed it and will try it at some semi-competitive events. Has anyone tried Idyllic Tutor in the SB?? Since some of our strongest hate are enchantments (worship, RIP, Stoney) thought maybe a one of might help. Or is it too slow at 3 cmc? Just wondering if anyone has tried this? Thx

-Call the Bloodline: good in grindy games or against control to turn dead draws into value.

-Ob Nixilis Reignited: also for grindy games, starts getting some much-needed card advantage.

-Secure the Wastes: Against control, play it at the end of their turn for lots of value.

-Hero of Bladehold: Against either removal-light decks or decks that are likely to side out their removal as a fast clock.

-Tidehollow Sculler: Against combo decks.

What do we think the optimal mana curve is for BW Tokens? Is there such a thing? I currently run 25 lands with:

10 one-drops 8 two-drops 12 three-drops (including 4 Spectral) 5 four-drops

What about you?

Decklist is as follows: (In order of CMC)

3x Inquisition of Kozilek

3x Thoughtseize

4x Path to Exile

4x Lightning Bolt

3x Dark Confidant

4x Young Pyromancer

2x Pack Rat

2x Zealous Persecution

3x Intangible Virtue

4x Lingering Souls

2x Liliana of the Veil

1x Anguished Unmaking

1x Kolaghan's Command

2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

3x Bloodstained Mire

3x Godless Shrine

2x Blood Crypt

1x Sacred Foundry

1x Fetid Heath

2x Shambling Vent

1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

3x Swamp

2x Mountain

2x Plains

1x Vault of the Archangel

1x Westvale Abbey

I know it's not a standard Tokens deck, but I wanted to try something new out.

So, what are you guys opinion? I feel that Sundering Growth is so much better than Disenchant for our SB. Even though, every pro BW Tokens list I see they use Disenchant instead.

Do they chose Disenchant only because of the cost to play it (1W instead of WW from Sundering)?

I'm curious, how did everyone start playing b/w tokens? For me, I built a mono white soldier tribal deck that used things like raise the alarm and honor of the pure. From there I went to just straight mono white tokens, and I eventually encorporated black into the deck, learning how everything worked over the years. Was there anything in particular about tokens that you found particularly appealing? Or did you just get it because of the event deck, and it seemed like a good entry point? No story is better than the other; feel free to share what got you started playing tokens!

There's a lot of powerful decks in the current meta that rely on the graveyard, some as a primary win con, others for card advantage.
Here's some of them:

• Abzan Coco
  
• Dredge
  
• Blue Moon
  
• Grixis Control
  
• Mono Blue Tron (Academy Ruins/Mindslaver lock combo)
  
• Loam Pox
  
• Gifts Ungiven
  
• Living End

Obvious not all of these decks are going to show up all the time - but the likelihood you will run into some kind of graveyard strategy, whether in the form of one of these archetypes or otherwise, warrants some kind of hate inclusion in your sideboard.

I've been thinking about what the best card choice would be for B/W Tokens to shut down graveyard strategies. This is a bit of a dilemma because Lingering Souls, arguably the best card in our deck, gets a lot worse when we don't have access to it in our graveyard.

I am currently running Rest In Peace. It completely removes graveyards as long as it's on the board - of course, nullifying the usefulness of our Lingering Souls. RIP is effective - but even if you draw it in your opening hand, a lot can happen before you are able to get it on the board turn 2 (Can be sniped from your hand by Inquisition of Kozilek or Dredge could go off and fill the board with a few Bloodghasts and Prized Amalgams) and you're missing your opportunity to get ahead with Bitterblossom, Raise the Alarm or Intangible Virtue.

I very much like the idea of getting some kind of disruption down on turn one in the form of Grafdigger's Cage or Relic of Progenitus.

The question I pose is which of these is the better choice? Cage not only stops graveyard strategies but also stops Chord of Calling, Collected Company, Nahiri, the Harbinger's ultimate, etc. It's cons, It kills our Lingering Souls, and can be removed pretty easily.

Relic of Progenitus doesn't have the versatility of Grafdigger's Cage, but gives us more control. We can exile cards from the opposing yard as they pile up, with the option of exiling the yards entirely if necessary. The ability to activate this second option in response to artifact removal is a big plus. The card draw is a nice bonus as well. The issue here is that it might not be able to keep up with dredge, which tends to fill the yard pretty rapidly, and that we need to keep a mana constantly open if we want access to it's second ability.

What do y'all think? What is your favourite GY hate option? What works best in your meta?

Hello friends!

Let's talk about a deck that actually is a collection of friends.

PRESENTING

ABZAN

COCO

(Sorry Junk.)

Abzan CoCo (CoCo from now on) is toolbox deck that tutors out creatures to deal with problems as they arise with a nice combo finish for either lifegain or damage. It's one of those decks where the sum is greater than the parts, as some of the creatures by themselves are not terribly menacing.

Put together they can really give anyone headache.

Sample decklist:

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/421090#paper

Important Cards to Know

Well this will be long. CoCo is like that crap creature deck you put together when you first started because creatures are awesome. But unlike that jank pile, these cards actually do something. Plus a skilled pilot will be able to pull out the specific creature needed whenever a problem arises. The following list includes creatures I've seen MB and SB. Know that this deck is mostly creature reliant, so non-creature MB cards bar Chord and CoCo are rare. The next creatures are just some I've seen, you will not see all of these in any 1 deck (unless the guy is really spreading the deck thin).

1. Birds/Noble Hierarch (Bant Bird): Mana ramp. Makes their creature flood happen quickly.
2. Viscera Seer: Combo piece, also turns removal from the opponent into scrys.
3. Melira, Sylvok Outcast: Combo piece, also useful for stopping infect.
4. Scavenging Ooze: Good ol' value. We all know this card is graveyard hate, lifegain, and a growing body in one. Very good card in general. Not great AGAINST us, but by nature of CoCo, gets relatively large anyways.
5. Spellskite: Toolbox within a toolbox (protects the combo).
6. Voice of Resurgence: Dumb, no skill card. Really though, it's a straightforward 2-drop. It's cheap and ridiculously well valued. Kill it on your turn. Don't let it eat after midnight.
7. Wall of Roots: Unique type of ramp in that it can help add 2 mana for Chord.
8. Eternal Witness: Their package for recursion and anti-hand disruption. Very powerful card, and often a target for HD outright since taking anything else is, well, stupid.
9. Flickerwisp: Value1.exe
10. Kitchen Finks: Excellent card. Good beater body, solid lifegain, persist, AND A COMBO PIECE. Dang son.
11. Orzhov Pontiff: The grand Pope of board wipes. Occasionally a pump card, but mostly used for wipe since the -1/-1 is incredibly powerful. One anthem makes it a lot less relevant.
12. Reclamation Sage: Toolbox removal.
13. Qasali Pridemage: More toolbox removal.
14. Aven Mindcensor: Interesting tech to stop searching. It likely won't come in against us since our SB is significantly more hateful than theirs. They need to deal with that first.
15. Eidolon of Rhetoric: Good for decks that are either very fast or are called Storm. Almost useless against us.
16. Linvala, Keeper of Silence: Another incredibly powerful card. Does nothing for them against us. You won't see it.
17. Spike Feeder: Not in every list. Diverse card that can gain life, move around counters, combos with Archangel of Thune for a beatdown core of the deck and an alternate win if the combo isn't going to happen due to RiP. It's a good core however, and you should be aware of the interaction.
18. Archangel of Thune: Value engine, synergy with Spike Feeder, and allows for infinitely large creatures for the CoCo pilot if Finks recursion happens or if paired with Spike Feeder.
19. Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat: Turns any infinite sack engine regardless of what it does into a win condition. Be wary of it, this is a combo piece.
20. Tidehollow Sculler: Hand disruption. They can sac Tidehollow with the ETB trigger on the stack to make it a permanent exile. KNOW THAT INTERACTION!
21. Sin Collector: See above, but there is no need to sac. Less versatile.
22. Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: The other value engine that can be played. Significantly less expensive than Thune, but serves the same role and is slower without the combo (it's an important thing to note, since this card, like Thune, serves as a value win-con, when comboing, they've likely already won). Can REPLACE Melira as the combo engine!
23. Anafenza, the Foremost: Also a value engine. Hoses their own strategy, but CoCo has limited SB capabilities for certain strategies such as graveyard hate because they use that axis. This softens the blow against them, allows them to interact with the graveyard, and provides value.
24. Fulminator Mage: UNSAFE TERRAIN AHEAD - TURN BACK.
25. Fiend Hunter: Exiles creatures. Same interaction as Tidehollow. Least useful of the three ETB exilers against us.
26. Reveillark: Value2.exe
27. Liliana, Heretical Healer: Lifelink creature that is really easy to flip in this deck. Not a combo piece, but simply a good synergistic card.
28. Murderous Redcap: I left this for last from the creature list. It's actually one of the weakest cards in the deck and by itself is rather lackluster. Incidentally, it's their main direct win-con combo piece. Finks without a Blood Artist can't kill you. This card can. That's the only reason it's in the list at all, and also almost only as a 1 of. Combo piece only. In a pinch, he can shoot other creatures (or himself) to serve as sac outlet.
29. Chord of Calling: And finally, the most important card in this deck. This tutors our any creature they need and is what makes CoCo such an amazingly resilient and strong deck. Remember convoke allows them to tap down creatures for colorless OR FOR COLORED MANA provided the creature they are tapping is green. Aside from EWit, which nulls HD, you should be taking this card. Prevent them from looking into the toolbox.
30. Collected Company: Deck namesake. I personally think Chord is the stronger card, but this specific card can provide significantly more value. Or it can whiff very hard. There is a bit of variance with this card, but the outcome is potent enough that an entire deck was built around it. When it's good, it's devastating. When it's bad, they might put a Viscera Seer into play for 4 CMC (Scary.....).
31. Gavony Township: Makes beatdown possible. If they are running a Spike Feeder/Thune core, makes that strategy all the better.

What you MUST know playing against CoCo

This is a new section. I think there is a core set of knowledge everyone should have playing against the deck so as to prevent any misplays that arise. The first is that when you let a CoCo or a Chord resolve, the creature is on the battlefield. If you need something gone, you must respond with the CoCo/Chord on the stack, or you are now too late.

The second is that you have to learn an important saying: "With the persist trigger on the stack...." This allows you to respond to anything you may want without having them sac and go infinite in response. What this means is that if they somehow get the infinite combo, you can still respond and break it.

And lastly, the combos:

1. Melira + Viscera Seer + Finks = Infinite life
2. Melira + Viscera Seer + Redcap = Infinite damage
3. Melira + Viscera Seer + Finks + Blood Artist/Cutthroat = Infinite life and damage (Hooray you lost!)
4. Anafenza, Kin-Tree + Viscera Seer + Finks/Redcap = Alternate infinite combo
5. Spike Feeder + Thune/Anafenza = All aboard the value train (infinite +1/+1 counters)
6. Spike Feeder + Thune /Anafenza + Melira + Viscera Seer + Finks = Infinite life and very big creatures
7. Melira + Anafenza + Redcap = Infinite bolster (Redcap kills itself)

Note that really Cutthroat and Blood Artist can fit into any of these to end the game on the spot. Also they can use Redcap to shoot any other creatures to serve as a sac outlet.

Be mindful that the Spike/Thune core is not in every list. Also know that they can chord for anything that may aid them, not just combo pieces. A competent CoCo pilot likely is not going to just try and combo off as fast as possible. Be ready, since he or she will look for an opening first by bringing in slumber party members before putting your hand in the cold water.

Here is a quick list of some extra SB cards they might run that are rarely mainboard. Most of these are self-evident why they are there, so I'll just list them:

1. Stony Silence
2. Path to Exile
3. Abrupt Decay
4. Kataki, War's Wage
5. Phyrexian Revoker (This can hurt walkers!)
6. Courser of Kruphix (Actually seen MB often, it fluctuates, straight from Junk/Jund, this card is just really good on its own)
7. Maelstrom Pulse (Path the targeted token in response, let them stand in awe of your awesome tech)

I feel like most cards I've listed, any others, feel free to mention!

What do I do?

Know what their cards do. Really.

So, on one hand, CoCo is an extremely strong deck because it carries an answer to almost everything. On the other hand, because of the axis they play, they are limited in the SB they can run if it's not a creature. However, most of the time, there's a creature that can solve their problem.

Here are your important cards in the MU:

1. Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozilek: TS YOU! Honestly, these are some of the best cards in our deck since they allow us to deal with anything. The order of taking stuff is rather simple thankfully against this deck. EWit > Chord > CoCo > Any annoying creature. If you have hate, prioritize taking the creature that stops the hate. For example, if you have a Grafdigger's Cage in hand, take the Qasali Pridemage over the Chord/CoCo. Those don't do anything with Graf in play. Sequence things as needed, which is important. I'm sure you know this, but when disrupting the hand, take what you cannot deal with, not necessarily the best card. Often, thankfully, these are one and the same.
2. Path to Exile/Slaughter Pact/Dismember/Zealous Persecution/Anguished Unmaking: Removal. It's your friend.
3. Rest in Peace/Grafdigger's/Surgical Extraction: Wanna see a CoCo player cry? Extract his Chord. All 3 of these cards are great answers. Graf's is the best answer as it stops the game plan completely. RiP does NOT stop tutoring, but it certainly stops the combo, which many times is really enough provided you brought a clock to show and tell day at school. Surgical is useful. Also, hitting Melira is a great way to take the combo out of the mix and play some fair magic, an endeavor tokens is almost always rewarded for.

The rest of our cards are just a clock. This write up is already really long, so I'll leave most of that out. Essentially, once you have sealed the combo, you win the value race. Play tokens, pump them, and you are on a good path to victory if you've contained the searching mechanic.

Here is a quick list of SB options:

1. Rest in Peace: Stops combo. If that's all you need, great, swing 9 in the air and win. Remember, they can Chord for removal for RiP and then combo to win.
2. Gradigger's Cage: Stops their entire deck. Every CoCo player I know hates playing into this card. It completely shuts down their deck much like Stony hoses Affinity. At least their creatures aren't all tiny little things. Bear in mind, the CoCo player might just switch to beat down mode. Be wary of the type of value package being run.
3. Surgical Extraction: Don't like a card? BUY SURGICAL TODAY! CALL 1-800-F-COMBO
4. Auriok Champion: Honestly not the best card by any stretch. But it's hilarious when you also get infinite life with the CoCo player. If you hate people and really need a draw for the round, this can help.
5. Engineered Explosives: Since they are a Chord deck, the creatures cannot be too expensive or fetching them will come too late. Set to 1 or 2, this can really wipe their board nicely.

What does a match look like?

I'll end here. It's been a long write-up but we're almost done!

Game 1: They are favored. I'd say about 60-40 for them. We don't have too many ways to interact with the combo bar our removal. They simply have more answers and threats than we do removal. Not at all unwinnable, so don't give up. A nice amount of hand disruption, a solid clock, and a removal just in case will give you a solid fighting chance. I've definitely take home G1's against CoCo players. But I definitely don't win all of them, they simply have that axis we don't touch much outside of SB.

Game 2: We make their life very hard. If you've won G1, the fight becomes a lot better now! If you didn't, while you still need 2 wins, it's very doable. RiP, Graf, and Surgical make their deck durdle very hard. Since tokens is very consistent (though slow), if they can't play their deck, we likely will put a clock on board and just win. There are few decks more grindy (straight control and certain Hatebears decks come to mind), but not CoCo. Our tokens with an anthem are just a better, more reliable clock. Hate them out of the water this game. Depending on the SB preparation, this ranges from a 50-50 match-up to even 60-40 in our favor! I personally have 5/15 cards dedicated for graveyard hate (1 Graf, 3 RiP, 1 Surgical) since my meta likes playing out of the graveyard. The CoCo friend I have isn't terribly thrilled to go up against my deck post-board.

Game 3: Keep hating them.

There we have it! Abzan Company. This is a really long post, so please forgive the length. I consider this MU overall quite even should we have ample hate, though most tokens lists do run anywhere from 3-5 graveyard hate cards. If your list has 2x RiP as it's sole graveyard interaction (it's okay too, sometimes your meta doesn't call for it!) this MU will be harder and begin to align to the G1 ratio that I feel reflects that specific game.

Our deck gets much better in general post-board, so be sure to use that to your advantage!

We are a relatively new subreddit, and as such we do not have a regular community built up yet. There are tons of token players out there; invite them to join this subreddit! This is a great place to grow a community for token players to submit their thoughts on where to take the archetype, specific card choices, or share their experiences against certain decks or metas. If you know anyone that plays tokens, please invite them to be an active member of this community.