So everyone should know, Jund is a Menace. True story with science and everything. The deck has always been a powerhouse with it's 2 for 1 spells and sometimes 3+ for 1 spells. It's always done dumb things and this time is no different.
Unfortunately, with the release of M11, I do not believe traditional Jund is good enough to fight the new Meta. It is still amazing, but I feel like going in other directions would showcase better results.
But before I adventure into the M11 Standard, I would like to share what I was playing before the changes. If old, but still good, information does not interest you, just skip the Italics.
After finishing his article, I instantly sleeved (the online version of sleeving) this up and brought it into the 8 and 2-mans online. I was winning about 60% of my matches and it was fairing well. Slave of Bolas was amazing, but you didn't want them clogging up your hand in multiples. Staggershock, after cascading into it a few times, made me angry and I decided to "Hulk-Smash" it out of here. Not to mention, missing Maelstrom Pulse is a big thing. It still accomplishes quite a bit in all match-ups. Between blowing up Purtid Leech, Elspeth, Gideon, 2x Copies of any Creature, Spreading Seas, Sarkhan or his token, Baneslayers...the list goes on.
Changes are:
-2 Staggershock
-1 Slave of Bolas
+2 Maelstrom Pulse
+1 Sarkhan the Mad
Which left the deck looking like so (after putting more stuff in the sideboard):
A few more matches later and I was bored with the deck. It was performing better and more consistently, but it just wasn't giving me my fix (crack is whack kids).
I started tinkering around and noticed that most of the 8-mans I entered in, if not won by me, were won by creature based decks, like: RG Eldrazi, Mono-Green Eldrazi, Mythic, and Next Level Naya. Which against the previous version of the deck, was a pretty good match-ups. I started looking around for different ideas and came across one. In my last 8-man with Geopede Jund, I was smashed by Rastaf, playing an Eldrazi Jund deck. We got to talking about it and he shipped me the list. The original list was played (and created?) by Gatormage.
Vengevine - He allows you to race just about every deck, including mono-red. If you've never played with him, you should do it soon. Your missing out on so much. Lotus Cobra and Nest Invader - Letting you jump a turn and hitting your 4 drops on turn 3 is pretty insane. There are a lot of 4 drops in the deck. Not to mention they are both bodies and can turn sideways. Goblin Ruinblaster - This guy is a metagame call. There is a lot of decks that get ruined by the blaster. Also, hasty guys are pretty good and this deck has plenty. Slave of Bolas - The first time you steal someones Baneslayer or Sprouting Thrinax, you will be so over joyed. It also does a great job at laughing at opposing Sarkhan the Mads.
Opponent: "Sarkhan, make a token."
You: "OK! My turn?!" "Slave your token, kill your Sarkhan."
Opponent: "Eww..." Consuming Vapors - Vapors doesn't get cascaded into, it gains you life, and gains you card advantage. Against mono-red, you may need to hit your own creatures to stay in the game. Garruk Wildspeaker - This guy is a powerhouse. He is good against Jund Mirrors and Control Match-ups. Quite a few times I've played a Turn 2 Lotus Cobra, Turn 3 Fetchland, Garruk, untapping two lands, play Sprouting Thrinax. A few of my opponents just conceded right there considering they just Spreading Seas'd my land or cast a Putrid Leech turn 2. It's a good feeling.
Those are the odd choices in the deck. The sideboard is a bit straightforward. You board into a removal heavy deck against creature based decks.
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Right now, I am only testing Fauna Shaman to see if it fits well into this deck. The way it's built as of this moment, it is pretty insane. If I go up to 4x Fauna Shaman I am cutting 1x Maelstrom Pulse, 2x Putrid Leech and put in another Tutor Target creature or another Slave of Bolas or Bituminous Blast. I would take out a Pulse because I want my Bloodbraid Elf cascades to be more consistent for Vengevine, of course.
This deck is very aggressive and can do stupid things consistently. Almost all of your spells are unfair and this will lead to blow outs.
Some of the unusual card choices:
Grave Titan - Right now he is in the testing phase, but he's been pretty insane every time I cast him. I have won plenty of games that I should have lost, but then ripped him and won the game. You don't want more than 1 though, because drawing clunky 6 drops too often will outright lose you the game, especially in multiples.
Fauna Shaman - Some of you may be wondering why I am not testing with 4x Fauna Shaman to see if she is good enough. Well...the only time you play her on Turn 2 is when you have nothing else to play. You would much rather be playing a Putrid Leech, Nest Invader, or Lotus Cobra because all three of these lead to insane blow outs. Fauna Shaman in this deck is our "Plan B." She helps us win the late game and I feel 2x might be the perfect number for her. But then again, I haven't tested very much with her and we will find out if she's worth more than 2 slots.
Slave of Bolas - Mentioned in my "Old" Jund list. Also, RG Valakut/Titan is getting big and stealing someones Primeval Titan is game changing.
Obstinate Baloth - I've seen a bit of Dueling Megrims online and every once and a while I get paired against RDW. Do I need to explain more?
Duress - Now, this isn't too odd. These are completely necessary due to the rise in Combo and Control Decks. This is great against Dueling Megrims, Pyromancer Combo, and Control decks.
Sideboarding:
Jund
-3 Maelstrom Pulse - not good in mirror
+3 Obstinate Baloth - has a nice butt and turns off Blightning
RDW
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-3 Eldrazi Monument - too slow
-2 Slave of Bolas - sorcery speed
-3 Maelstrom Pulse - sorcery speed
+3 Obstinate Baloth - Gains life and has a nice butt
+3 Lightning Bolt - Kills Ball Lightnings and Goblin Guides
+3 Doom Blade - Kills Ball Lightnings and Hell's Thunders
Pyromancer Combo
-3 Eldrazi Monument - too slow
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-2 Slave of Bolas - no targets
+4 Duress - causes them to go into "panic mode"
+2 Obstinate Baloth - gains 4 life and is a beater
Dueling Megrims
-3 Eldrazi Monument - too slow
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-2 Slave of Bolas - no targets
-1 Sprouting Thrinax - not enough board impact
+4 Duress - gets rid of everything
+3 Obstinate Baloth - gets discarded frequently
UW Control
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-1 Eldrazi Monument - only need one per game
-2 Slave of Bolas - too slow
-4 Sprouting Thrinax - Never castable when spreading seas are involved
+4 Duress - Gets rid of almost everything
+2 Malakir Bloodwitch - Good in general against White Decks
+2 Doom Blade - for Baneslayer Angels
Fauna Naya
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-2 Slave of Bolas - too slow
-1 Eldrazi Monument - only want to see one per game
-1 Obstinate Baloth - not good enough
-2 Sprouting Thrinax - not good enough
+3 Doom Blade - kills large threats
+3 Lightning Bolt - kills mana dorks
+1 Malakir Bloodwitch - tutorable
RG Titan Force
-1 Grave Titan - too slow
-1 Obstinate Baloth - not good enough
-1 Maelstrom Pulse - only want to see one per game
-1 Eldrazi Monument - only want to see one per game
+4 Duress - get rid of their ramps spells
I haven't played all of these match-ups often enough to share my thoughts on the way games go, but most of the time you are just ignoring your opponent and winning. :)
Round 1 of an 8-man... this is a bye. Someone tried being cute with a Dark Tutalege deck.
Round 2 of that 8-man was against Fauna Naya
Not a great 8-man, but I figured it would at least give you an idea of what the deck does.
I'd like to start doing something new and is pretty fun at the end of my articles. Share with you the card(s) you should keep your eye on for the next few weeks, going up or down, and why. Disclaimer: This is all speculation, there is no promises.
Card(s) Watch:
Vengevine(+) - he has shot down to 20 tickets each as of recently. From playing with him and against him, he will be a format defining card. He is a powerhouse against UW, which is what a lot of decks are looking for. I would guess he will see more play and go up.
Expected (+/-): 25ea
Fauna Shaman(+) - Once people start realizing that Vengevine and Fauna Shaman are meant to be together, she will shoot up too. Right now she's at 5ea and you can probably get them at 4ea. This is a great price tag. The only issue I see with Fauna is that she might not get a 4x slot in decks like above. In most green decks, you are trying to be as aggressive as possible and Fauna Shaman slows you down a little. Other than that, she's a great back up plan.
Expected (+/-): 7ea
Primeval Titan(-) - he is waaaay up there right now (about 32) and will eventually start dipping down. The decks he is in right now are good, but there are many decks to fight it. I expect after Jund rotates out of standard, he will go back up, but for now keep your eye on him.
Expected (+/-): 20ea
Jace, the Mind Sculptor(+) - Jace always has a big price tag no matter how you look at it. He has gone down a little lately (75ea) and he will creep back up there. He is a strong investment right now because once Alara rotates, he will be the strongest card in standard(unless something is printed in Scars).
Expected (+/-): 80ea/After rotation 90+ea
That's it for this weeks ladies and gents. See you in the ques.
I enjoyed the article. Regarding the deck, how have you honestly been liking Fauna Shaman? In anticipation of her going back up I'm picking up a set ($4.50 as of this comment) but I just can't shake the feeling she's not "that" good. She just seems too slow and vulnerable. Don't get me wrong, if you untap with her (a couple times) you've pretty much won, but.. I dunno. I guess that's why I don't play aggro lol.
Regarding the Card Watch. I'm glad Primeval Titan is the new big Mythic. Of course, I say that as a control player who's very happy about Baneslayer Angel hitting the $17 mark!
This is the time to buy your M11 cards with not a single rare over $5!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing it. :)
Fauna Shaman is insane, but only in the right decks. You can't just throw her into a deck and call it good. You need to have some synergy involved otherwise you will not get good results out of her. Which is why I put Vengevine in every deck she's in. (Other synergies, but not recommended ones, include: Unearth Creatures and Bloodghast)
You don't have to build a deck around the card, but just having useful synergies makes her that much more insane if you get to untap with her. Obviously, ditching Vengevine and getting Bloodbraid is the best case scenario, but it happens frequently.
Also, I mentioned that I never wanted her too early in the game because she slows down your game plans. But seeing her turn 4+ is great, which is why I was only testing 2x. I always play something else before her if I can help it.
One problem I do see with Fauna is once Bloodbraid Elf and Ranger of Eos rotate, how good will she be then? That's something I've been wondering since the card being spoiled. But I suppose we will see.
2 Comments
I enjoyed the article. Regarding the deck, how have you honestly been liking Fauna Shaman? In anticipation of her going back up I'm picking up a set ($4.50 as of this comment) but I just can't shake the feeling she's not "that" good. She just seems too slow and vulnerable. Don't get me wrong, if you untap with her (a couple times) you've pretty much won, but.. I dunno. I guess that's why I don't play aggro lol.
Regarding the Card Watch. I'm glad Primeval Titan is the new big Mythic. Of course, I say that as a control player who's very happy about Baneslayer Angel hitting the $17 mark!
This is the time to buy your M11 cards with not a single rare over $5!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing it. :)
Fauna Shaman is insane, but only in the right decks. You can't just throw her into a deck and call it good. You need to have some synergy involved otherwise you will not get good results out of her. Which is why I put Vengevine in every deck she's in. (Other synergies, but not recommended ones, include: Unearth Creatures and Bloodghast)
You don't have to build a deck around the card, but just having useful synergies makes her that much more insane if you get to untap with her. Obviously, ditching Vengevine and getting Bloodbraid is the best case scenario, but it happens frequently.
Also, I mentioned that I never wanted her too early in the game because she slows down your game plans. But seeing her turn 4+ is great, which is why I was only testing 2x. I always play something else before her if I can help it.
One problem I do see with Fauna is once Bloodbraid Elf and Ranger of Eos rotate, how good will she be then? That's something I've been wondering since the card being spoiled. But I suppose we will see.