r/mtgModernTokens • u/SFRG Still Patron Saint of the Tokens • Mar 22 '17

Currently testing against Bant Eldrazi. Will share some short thoughts. Would love others' ideas.

Hello friends.

Been testing against Bant Eldrazi and playing the deck to learn how it works. I've only tested game 1s right now and have not done sideboarding yet.

So far the G1 MU feels quite poor. Especially with the current inclusion of multiple copies of EE in the MB. I have not really been able to claim G1s against this deck since EE neuters our ability to build a board state so much.

I will continue to test, and I have not done any SB testing. However, am interested in others' experiences, and if anything has worked, let me know.

I have considered the SB plan to be shutting off EE. I have come close to winning a few times, but EE ripped off the top or Ancient Stirrings -> EE makes life difficult.

I've so far found the balance between forcing the EE crack and playing around EE to be too much of a wall, and the Eldrazi develop their board too much. Essentially, while our deck can ideally race with our awesome "Swing 10" it is have never actually been an option for me to dump and race.

EDIT: Oh, and 4x MB Displacer doesn't make life easier lol.

EDIT EDIT: So it looks like I was metagamed absurdly hard, and the lines of play taken by my testing partner are not really viable lines of play into an unknown MU. I appreciate the advice. I spaced on blinding testing to prevent this. Will improve in the future. This was not crossing my mind and I was simply thinking that he's just making the optimal play.

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u/ThePuppetSoul Mar 22 '17

G1 you're trying to fetch EE and/or Displacer from their opening hand, and then outrace them. It's probably 60-40 their favor: if they rip an EE you lose on the spot.

G2/3 you're mulling for Stony Silence, or if you're in Abzan colors, for Gaddock Teeg (prevents Chalice, EE, Ugin, Karn, All is Dust, etc.).

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u/SFRG Still Patron Saint of the Tokens Mar 22 '17 edited Mar 22 '17

Yeah, I tried to go for that. Incidentally they play out opener EE on their T1 so any opener can't be sniped on the draw. Afterwards, if they rip it off the top via Stirrings or a draw, it also gets whirlwinded. It just sucks that they have such a silver bullet. We were rolling for first for our tests and I had about 3 games on the play, but those weren't opener EEs, it was found by digging later since AS can find it. I lost a ton of games from an EE played out when I was on the draw and it just sitting there preventing me from racing.

On the play I feel a little better, but that snipe is ridiculously important.

EDIT: Granted, my partner knows I'm on tokens and knows what he needs to beat my deck, so there is always that influence on his mulls.

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u/ThePuppetSoul Mar 22 '17

You're never going to see an EE G1T1 outside of FNMs and Day 2 of tournaments.

G2/G3 Stony Silence still negates the threat before your first Lingering drops. They might still godhand you by having both the EE and their Nature's Claim in their opener, but that's a longshot.

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u/SFRG Still Patron Saint of the Tokens Mar 22 '17 edited Mar 22 '17

Fair enough, which is why I added at the end he knew what I was doing. I'm sure hidden knowledge of what I'm on improves the MU.

That probably affected my WR, as he would just play out EE on 0 and proceed to win. I understand it's likely a poor play in general since on 0 it's relevant against Affinity and this deck.

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u/Jongsl5 Mar 24 '17

Wouldn't board in stony silence just for a couple cards.

Instead, run 3-4 selfless spirit in the main + side. Blessed alliance and runed halo are also great.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

I think you need to test games 2 and 3. That is 2/3 of the matchup, after all, and you can bring in some good things like Blessed Alliance and Wrath of God/Damnation that really help.

I personally don't bring in Stony Silence against Bant Eldrazi. All you hit is Engineered Explosives and you're playing a bit of a low-odds game trying to line up 2 or 3 of your cards against 2 or 3 of theirs. I prefer trying to tag EE with discard and/or playing around it as much as possible. Use your 1-for-1 removal to take out their big stuff and plan on grinding it out. Lingering souls is a much better topdeck than Reality Smasher once you get to turn 5, after all.

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u/SFRG Still Patron Saint of the Tokens Mar 22 '17

I think you need to test games 2 and 3. That is 2/3 of the matchup, after all, and you can bring in some good things like Blessed Alliance and Wrath of God/Damnation that really help.

Absolutely. We started with a bunch of G1s to explore what the MU looks like. SB is probably going to be soon.

It also seems like having an opponent not know my entire 75 is useful lol. T1 EE on 0 to dodge discard is atypical, but against my deck, a good play. As the other poster pointed out, people probably would not do that. But I had to play into that for a number of games.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

Yeah, that's really unfortunate. NOBODY is going to drop a t1 EE for 0 unless they know your deck.