My list (standard):
4 Ornithopter
4 Pilgrim of Heliod
4 Ghostfire Blade
4 Illusory Angel
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Stratus Walk
4 Singing Bell Strike
4 Ensoul Artifact
4 God's Willing
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Tranquil Cove
2 Flooded Strand
3 Plains
7 Island
So the differences in lists? Well, the dumbing down of the mana base was a necessity (i.e. no Temples of Enlightenment or a set of Flooded Strand). I'm playing a full playset of bell strikes. Todd noted that he had wanted more the whole tournament and had a difficult time with larger creatures. I'm also running Illusory Angel over Hero of Iroas. I feel that needs some explaining. Other than Ensoul Artifact and/or something suited up with (multiple) Ghostfire Blades, this deck is very threat-light. The Angel presents a very reasonable clock and can be pumped out as early as turn two. The Angel is always a threat, but often the Hero is just a (sad) bear. Granted, the Angel can sometimes be a dead card and is often a very bad topdeck. Just remember to be conservative with the Ornithopters!
You might wonder why the full playset of Stratus Walk if Hero is no longer in the deck. There's currently a lot of token decks in Standard and unfortunately, your Ensoul Artifact (even on a Darksteel Citadel), can just get brickwalled by any number of things - Akroan Crusader, Hordeling Outburst, Elspeth, etc. Therefore, it's very important to be able to give them wings if need be.
Sometimes, you're attacking with Darksteel Citadel for 5 on turn 2 and sometimes you sit with a bunch of junk cards in your hand until turn 3-4. There's a lot of variance in the deck, but it's very fun to play. I honestly wish there were some better artifacts in standard. Playing phyrexian revoker is kind of painful. I haven't seen any cards spoiled (so far) that makes this deck that much more playable, so it kind of remains something to toy with.
Bonus deck:
Modern Shamans
I have a certain fondness for this deck, from Lorwyn Block Constructed to Extended, I've enjoyed playing a variation of this deck.
So here we go:
4 Bosk Banneret
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Burning Tree Shaman
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Flame-kin harbinger
4 Rageforger
4 Wolf-skull shaman
4 Firedrinker Satyr
3 Leaf-Crowned Elder
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Burning Tree Shaman
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Flame-kin harbinger
4 Rageforger
4 Wolf-skull shaman
4 Firedrinker Satyr
3 Leaf-Crowned Elder
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Stomping Grounds
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Fire-Lit Thicket
4 Forest
3 Mountain
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Stomping Grounds
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Fire-Lit Thicket
4 Forest
3 Mountain
Sideboard:
1 Hexhunter
4 Fulminator Mage
3 Viridian Shaman
3 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Masked Admirers
2 Vexing Shusher
1 Pyrewild Shaman
4 Fulminator Mage
3 Viridian Shaman
3 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Masked Admirers
2 Vexing Shusher
1 Pyrewild Shaman
There isn't much to explain in the maindeck. All of the creatures are shamans and so Bosk Banneret makes everything cost 1 less / Leaf-Crowned Elder and Wolf-Skull Shaman will always trigger on a non-land card, and Rage Forger will put a +1/+1 counter on all your (other) creatures.
For card explanations: it's a shame that Deathrite Shaman was banned, so it's up to Firedrinker Satyr (who is oddly a shaman) to fill in. While modern is running rampant with burn and UR delver, sometimes the card will just be a free burn spell for your opponent. That's just the way it has to be if the deck is going to be aggressive enough. The other 1 drop shamans aren't very impressive. Goblin Arsonist is only relevant if it dies and while Intimidator Initiate could potentially be useful, the deck is too mana hungry to be able to use it effectively. (there are also some other 1 drop shamans that filter mana and do other things that are largely irrelevant, but they don't need mentioning) An aggressive deck cannot afford to only have 4 one-drops. I've seen versions that run lightning bolt instead, but it badly messes up your synergy.
You might notice that there's only three Leaf-Crowned Elders. It's a great card in this deck because casting free spells is always GR8, but four is a lot of mana. Ideally, you're winning on turn 4-5, so if you're expecting multiple triggers from this guy, it probably isn't it. This card is probably fine against burn as a giant wall that absorbs 2 burn spells, but mostly white or black decks will just trade a removal spell with it.
Burning-Tree Shaman has a reasonably-sized body and can punish certain types of decks.
So why so many fetchlands? 6 is an awful lot. There's 7 creatures in the deck with Kinship so you'll often get to look at the top card of your library before you draw it so the fetchlands give you a chance to refresh the top card of your library if it's a nonland card. This is especially relevant when you have multiple instances of kinship.
As for the sideboard: what is Fulminator Mage doing here??? The format is a bit fast for 1RR - destroy target nonbasic land (granted, you can fetch it up with Flame-Kin Harbinger). There are really only three decks you would want this card: Scapeshift, Urzatron, and Amulet of Vigor Combo. Most other decks will shrug off losing a land. Maybe I'm wrong on this and this should be mainboard instead of Burning-Tree Shaman, but this requires testing and is also somewhat dependent on your local meta.
There's Viridian Shaman for Affinity and Cunning Sparkmage can also be effective, as it is against other aggressive strategies. I'm starting to think that the 2 Vexing Shushers aren't needed in the board as the majority of counterspells in the modern meta consist of Remand or Mana Leak. But there are a reasonable number of Crpytic Commands and Spell Snares out there.
Now for the singletons. The Fauna Shaman in the deck makes it a lot easier to find this cards and there's a certain synergy with Pyrewild Shaman. This is for playing against decks like Zoo, or at least anything packing Tarmogoyf, as your creatures are going to be smaller than theirs the majority of the time and you can at least trade this way. The Hexhunter was an interesting idea, but I can't think of that many problematic enchantments other than Jeskai Ascendancy and random enchantments from Bogles. It stays a singleton for now, but could potentially prove useful.
There was an interesting 4-drop shaman spoiled from the new set that could merit inclusion.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7ZbvX4Oao0d6ROTltYBcZpRAnJfa63L__Egv2GABqb8P9IiNGnFMPNFbiRHTgyOHl5elYoEjnGwHEij-VMqsraSPRozqYj77bEhRTtxVtKf9pqlLPVtIfDMcxCTiAbBeLbC4c7ADRB7B/s1600/shaman.png)
The upsides: haste is nice and the ability has good synergy with Rage Forger.
Downsides: 4 is a lot of mana for this guy and unfortunately, 2 toughness is pretty low.
Downsides: 4 is a lot of mana for this guy and unfortunately, 2 toughness is pretty low.
This guy might be a singleton finisher at best. Sometimes the deck can vomit out creatures and you feel silly with 4 two-power creatures staring down a Tarmogoyf.
Well, that's all for now, but until next time...
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