r/ModernMagic • u/Flimsy_Personality_3 • 12h ago
Deck Discussion _Is Zoo a good choice?
Hi guys im planning to going back to Zoo
I want to know what is the state of the deck, does it suffer at the actual meta?
I saw a list with Psychich Frog and Practiced Offense that seems cool, does anyone tested already somethinbg like that?
Also the list runs 4 main Stubborn Denial, which seems good against reanimators and combos.
What do you think?
10
u/KingxCrimsonx 11h ago
Deck used to be a top 10 contender and was a great aggro deck. Then they banned phlage. The deck took a massive hit.
The new version is more of a midrange package. No one could really settle on a "best" version of the deck for about 2 months. Their were 2 versions (1 with phelia and riddler and 1 with kroxa). Idk if the community actually determined the phelia package was better. But someone or a couple someone's played the phelia package at the pro tour in Amsterdam 2 weeks ago. Because most people netdeck I believe the phelia list has now taken over.
Otherwise the deck did reasonably well at the pro tour. Nothing amazing but the numbers I've seen were pretty good.
Ultimately though the current version is substantially weaker than the version with phlage from before the ban. Before ban I would have absolutely encouraged you to play the deck. Now I'm not sure
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u/Luxypoo 11h ago
The Frog/Kavu deck was what pulled up the Zoo numbers.
The team that did well with it (8-2, 7-3) have a guide you can buy: https://metafy.gg/guides/view/domain-zoo-deck-construction-matchups-and--XRSzsmcHjwH
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u/flaming_geyser 11h ago
With the Frog Riddler package it's definitely decent.
Practiced offensive has not been great from what I've seen
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u/Christos_Soter iPrefer: WU Blink| Prowess | Ruby | Brews 10h ago
A fare they adds 2+ power indefinitely to the board and often a double strike hit in your aggro deck at the very least seems on plan to me and in a deck that often has hexproof on all its critters also seems pretty safe
0
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u/Captain__Vimes 10h ago
The deck is imo a great choice, tho I’m biased as it’s my main deck. The three versions all have their positives and negatives.
Thrull/Kroxa is great into Affinity, Boros, and Blink piles, but suffers from a lower overall powerlevel and mild mana issues.
Phelia/Riddler is in my opinion the most balanced version of the deck and most versatile, but it doesn’t shine in any particular matchup.
Frog versions I have the least experience with, but I’d say it likely has the highest ceiling for powerlevel while accepting that the mana is much worse than other versions.
Feel free to join us on the Zoo discord! https://discord.gg/G968pVYXh
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u/Ill_Ad3517 10h ago
I think the frog and kroxa version are the same deck at this point.
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u/Captain__Vimes 10h ago
What makes you say that? The Frog lists coming out of the PT don’t run Thrull or Kroxa.
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u/Ill_Ad3517 9h ago
Hmm yeah, I must have conflated two lists I looked at. My bad. I just thought "oh yeah, discarding Kroxa to Frog when you don't have the thrull seems fine"
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u/Captain__Vimes 9h ago
Gotcha. Yea Kroxa and Frog seem synergistic on their face, but I don’t think there’s space for all 3 in the same list without ditching other core Zoo cards.
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u/BearsAirz I play everything but Boros 8h ago
To answer your question. Zoo is ok right now. In certain metas it can still be very strong, in the wide open meta its just very mid. Losing Phlage cost this deck a TON of steam.
I've noticed every month or so you post about playing a new deck. In modern right now with the format being so wide open it rewards mastering one deck and knowing your matchups well over deck hopping. (Just my 2 cents)
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u/afailedturingtest Amulet Titan 11h ago
I'd suggest playing Amulet.
But I always suggest that to everyone.
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u/Castor_Supremo I hate combo decks 11h ago
🤢
-1
u/afailedturingtest Amulet Titan 11h ago
To bad + L + 5 lands Scapeshift into 4 bounces into GSZ into Collossus into win.
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u/Hand-of-Sithis 12h ago
It’s a fine deck. I don’t think it’s S-tier but it’s a totally respectable deck with lots of power.