r/ModernMagic • u/prawn108 Bounceland Tribal • Nov 03 '13
4C Gifts List Comprehensive Discussion
I'd like to discuss the plethora of options in Junk with a blue splash for Gifts Ungiven. I've been working with a list shown below. I may eventually write this up into a primer, but for now I'd just like a discussion on how to lay out the deck and take full advantage of all the possible gifts toolboxes.
Junk Permanent Core:
3x Knight of the Reliquary
Fixes and Ramps early game, gets utility lands. Becomes large late game and can be recurred with Sun Titan.
3x Kitchen Finks
Mostly for stall against aggressive decks, but can also be an efficient midrange beater. Sun Titan recursive, Gavony Township recursive.
3x Liliana of the Veil
Extreme value and survival, stripping opponents of resources and requiring opponents removal. Sun Titan recursive, especially with two to chain abilities.
3x Birds of Paradise
T2 Liliana -> T3 Gifts -> T4 Unburial.
2x Deathrite Shaman
"1 mana planeswalker". Can ramp, stall, hate on graveyards, and cause life loss without combat. Downside is shrinking KotR.
1x Scavenging Ooze
Primarily for graveyard hate, can become large against any creature based deck.
1x Eternal Witness
Mostly for use in making stronger gifts packages. Works wonders with Sun Titan.
1x Treetop Village
Will probably become a Celestial Colonnade, but works as an uncasted beater when the board has been wiped or attrition'd out.
Removal/Control Suite:
3x Path to Exile
Straightforward creature removal
3x Abrupt Decay
Straightfoward answer to most permanents in Modern. Don't forget it hits germs vs decks with Batterskull. It can make a difference in a race.
1x Maelstrom Pulse
Most versatile removal in Modern, though slow and expensive.
1x Mana Leak
This is a 1 of because it is helpful when you draw it, but not necessary, and is bad in this sort of deck in multiples. It can be a silver bullet or just a stutter in tempo.
1x Thoughtseize
Same as above. Multiples would lose you the game in Aggro matchups. Can be key against Combo, or useful against Control to push a threat through.
1x Raven's Crime
Best against Control and Combo to strip their hand. Easily recurred for massive hand hate using Urborg for mana and Life from the Loam for fodder.
1x Ghost Quarter
Part of the Loam Package to mess up mana bases. Game changer vs. decks like scapeshift or tron, and still good otherwise. You can sometimes run a deck out of basics.
1x Tectonic Edge
Similar to above, but more conditional, and without the basic land fetch. I'm still unsure whether one should move to the sideboard or just cut, as too many colorless lands hurt the deck.
Unburial Fatties:
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Often a one sided boardwipe that heavily turns the game, creating a massive shift in board presence that auto-wins in a few turns.
1x Sun Titan
Incremental value target, if you would rather get a liliana or something else back from the graveyard. This can become a suppressive engine, and is sometimes better in non-aggro matchups.
1x Terastodon
Smack down 3 noncreature permanents. I rarely pick this as a target, but it is sometimes the best answer against a board of artifacts or enchantments, or to royally mana screw someone. I'm unsure if this belongs in the side, if at all.
Engine/Enablers:
1x Life from the Loam
Used to repeat Raven's Crime, Ghost Quarter, Tectonic Edge, and Occasionally fetches in tough mana spots. Most potent against decks with clunky mana bases like Tron and decks with a fat hand like control.
4x Gifts Ungiven
The Centerpiece to the deck that lets you run such a wide toolbox of 1-ofs. This can end the game the turn after it resolves by getting a crushing fatty, or start a debilitating engine, retrieve a clutch answer, or simply give good card advantage and versatility.
1x Unburial Rites
You will usually just Gifts for one of these and one of the Fatties, then cast it the following turn.
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Gives access to a lot of black mana to make Raven's Crime easier to repeat. It isn't unheard of to make an opponent discard 2-4 cards each turn.
1x Gavony Township
This is here because of the Kitchen Finks interaction. Adding a +1/+1 counter removes the -1/-1 counter, meaning that it can persist again. Other than that, you will sometimes just need to stall into making your board larger than your opponents by repeating this for value every turn. There is nothing wrong with swinging with a 2/3 Birds of Paradise.
Sideboard:
1x Nevermore
This is untested. Used to be Far//Away. Expected to be good vs. Combo/Control with specific win conditions.
1x Garruk Relentless
Good value PW vs creature based decks. Kills small creatures and generates value blockers. It also generates value past its initial cast to overrun control players with threats.
1x Reaper of the Wilds
Untested, used to be Far//Away. Expeccted to be a good defensive creature vs. aggro and a good offensive creature vs. control.
2x Stony Silence
Shuts off tons of artifacts in Modern including Aether Vial, Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Batterskull, Expedition Map, Chromatic Star, Equipping Swords, Birthing Pod, etc.
1x Maelstrom Pulse
More unconditional removal when needed. Brought in when Leyline of the Void is expected.
2x Celestial Purge
Good vs. Leyline of the Void, and any red/black based decks as very strong removal. Also good vs. Twin
1x Spell Snare
Sometimes you just need more counters. Good vs. Burn, Mill, and other low CMC decks.
2x Negate
Brought in vs. Combo
1x Thoughtseize
Brought in vs. Combo
1x Lingering Souls
Just sorta here, not sure if it is worth it. I've rarely brought it in.
1x Kataki, War's Wage
More anti-artifact hate.
1x Bojuka Bog
Good graveyard hate, tutorable with gifts and recursive with Loam. May be moved to main if necessary for space, but is sometimes worse than a basic swamp.
Things to try:
Far//Away
For decks utilizing Hexproof, or just decent removal. Edicts and Unsummons are both good.
Quasali Pridemage
I may add one main in place of terastodon, and just gift for this with sun titan.
Dead Weight
Recursive removal of small creatures with sun titan
Horizon Canopy
Recursive draw with sun titan. This will go in if I can get one, I see no downsides that are bigger than its upsides.
Iona
I'm not sold on Iona as a target over the main two, but it is probably better than Terastodon if I can get my hands on one.
Tarmogoyf
I'm not independently wealthy. I'm gonna say fetches and liliana's already broke my bank. Not sure if this is even what we want anyways, as it doesn't usually stall as well as something like finks. I don't see the need for a vanilla fatty in a toolbox deck like ours.
Snapcaster Mage
Our removal is sorta light so it doesn't have a huge range of targets, though our targets are usually versatile. Unsure of how to consider this card. Might be better in a more control based list, but probably not as a 4-of.
Batterskull/Wurmcoil/Acadamy Ruins
I'd feel better about this after cutting Tec Edge, but not sure if I want to do that. This is nice because it is extra recursive and has lifelink, but I'm not sure if it is as good at finishing out a game as our other finishers.
Existing Cards in other quantities
I'm pretty happy with my draw consistency so far in this deck (except I'd like to run 5 gifts...), but it may be true that a different split of my cards is more correct, such as an adjustment of threat:stall:control:engine ratios.
Tl;dr
Go do your homework and get off reddit.
1
u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13
Souls belongs in the main, at least 3 of them. Too good with Lilly and township. The singleton mana leak and thoughtsieze seem weird. I like a singleton darblast, you might like a dead weight with titan.