Initially, this deck was the temur Delver of Secrets
/Hooting Mandrills deck with Traverse the Ulvenwald. My like for a little more control heavy decks got the better of me, and I considered cutting the delver package for an Anger of the Gods package, seeing as at the time infect was more popular, and less of the eldrazi/tron decks were popular. Since the banning of Gitaxian Probe, my deck lost some of its ability to blitz people, so I'm currently Pondering how I should build my list. I do not own Snapcaster Mage sadly, but all of the other cards listed I do own. I am a big fan of attrition/control decks, and I would play black for Liliana of the Veil and the powerful discard spells, but I also don't have Lili's, so here I am. I am a huge fan of temur and it's capabilities, and I am confident that with all of the tools in modern it is possible to make a powerful toolbox temur tempo/midrange deck. First off, I want all my creatures to survive Anger of the Gods, as it's my current sweeper of choice. Second, I want to have an aggressive presence earlygame that survives my sweepers, and if I don't draw into that early aggression, I want to be able to carry into late game without falling off. I realize this is a lot to ask for, but I think I have found a start. Insert Tarmogoyf, Savage Knuckleblade, and Bedlam Reveler. Wait, Savage Knuckleblade in modern?!?! Lets go over the stats. Yes, it is very mana restrictive and it's not too impressive if I don't sink mana into it, plus it lands right in the juicy "too late in the game for tron", and "3cmc for Abrupt Decay and Inquisition of Kozilek, and a revolted Fatal Push". It's certainly a card that hasn't seen much play in modern, and there clearly are reasons why, those listed above, and also that the temur color combo isn't really played in modern beyond the now nearly dead temur delver lists, and
Scapeshift
, which dropped blue in favor of primevial titan, and never would have had interest in the ogre anyway. One criteria for the shank wielding ogre is it's raw stats. At 4/4, it doesn't die to Lightning Bolt, our own Anger of the Gods, and can go eye to eye with opposing Tarmogoyf's, Grim Flayer's, and can brickwall aggressive creature based decks, but we're not playing it because it's a slightly worse
Woolly Thoctar
, we're playing it because it has flexibility. It's an attrition nightmare, a very powerful inclusion in a flexible, draw/go game. By bouncing it, it avoids removal unless our opponent is willing to play out two removal spells for our one creature, to which we win in card advantage. By pumping it, it actually beats an average/above average Tarmogoyf, Grim Flayer, tassigur, the golden fang, and Gurmag Angler, with the added bonus of closing out games quicker if our opponent stumbles in the early game. Haste is not to be overlooked as an option on this guy either, providing quick burst damage when our opponents least expect it, and it means it's a live draw in the late game draw/go duels, as well as being able to beat out Liliana of the Veil by bashing in for 4 hasty damage even after a +1 to 4 loyalty. All this being said, it has it's weaknesses, and the rest of the deck is designed to synergize with having toolbox creatures like this. I already explained that I want Anger of the Gods to be my sweeper, but why? Well, gaining an advantage against dredge is nice, but I include it here because it helps 2 or even 3-for-1 my opponent on their early game threats, and it being a 3 drop is perfect for my curve. Our own Tarmogoyf's should hopefully survive Zeus's mass-Lightning Bolt hissy fit on turn 3, and while late game anger may not be the most ideal draw, the rest of the deck is designed to be able to minimize that downside. The first turn we want to set up a tapland, Serum Visions, or Traverse the Ulvenwald to fix a land-light hand. Second turn can again be more set up, with the occasional Remand/Spell Snare to "get ya", while we get into the meatier midgame. The second turn can also be a time to deploy a Tarmogoyf if it survived discard, and can soak up a removal spell which we're fine with. Turn three is where you really, REALLY don't want to play Savage Knuckleblade if you can help it, unless you're up against tron (which good luck by the way) because it is a huge waste of resources both in cards, mana, and time if it just gets killed T3. This is where Anger of the Gods is a great sweeper, cleaning up any mana dorks that are accelerating our opponents, any early aggressive creatures, and if you can hold off another turn or two, can get those pesky Lingering Souls tokens off the table. Turn 4 is really up to how you drew, and what the matchup is like. If the board is clear, you can cross your fingers and haste in a knuckleblade, hold up countermagic if you suspect something tricksy, or Traverse the Ulvenwald for more gass if you seem to be out of pressure. In more aggressive matchups like merfolk, burn, and infect, you can always play out knuckleblade and keep a blue source up for Stubborn Denial, the Negate counterspell of choice in a deck where all the creatures in the main are going to be 4 power when the spell goes to resolve. There are so many nuisances in the many interactions this deck has midgame, and that is up to the pilot to discover the correct lines of play, but I can highlight how I feel this deck can survive into the late game. I've already discussed Savage Knuckleblade and how I think it's the AEtherling of modern, but what if we never see any, or if they aren't up to snuff in the matchup? Insert Traverse the Ulvenwald. The deck is set up to on average have delirium set up by the midgame with spells like Izzet Charm, and
Tarfire
, while also incidentally pumping our Tarmogoyf's at the same time. The main reason I don't run any delve in this deck, and a reason I think Snapcaster Mage, even if I had any, might not be the best choice, is because of the strength this deck gets from having a stocked graveyard. Traverse the Ulvenwald will often get our bloodthirsty yeti lategame, but chaining traverse's into Bedlam Reveler's is a dream come true for card advantage enthusiasts. As you might be able to tell, this deck can get empty handed by the late game by using our Lightning Bolts,
Tarfire
s, and counterspell's alike, and we utilize this chain to stay ahead of our opponent. With the slots freed from the Gitaxian Probe banning, I've been experimenting with more synergies to include. Do I run more counterspells in the main, maybe adding Cryptic Command and other powerful control cards, or perhaps a Keranos, God of Storms and Thragtusk to find with our traverse's? Do I get cheeky, and run Beast Within to hedge against tron and other decks like titanshift and eldrazi, punishing land-light draws of jund and junk, all the while sweeping away the beast token with my angers? There are so many options, and that's why I look to all of you, the wonderful community of Tappedout to see where I should take this deck. Please post your feedback, and if you feel any of my assessments on interactions/matchups are misplaced, please comment down below! As always +1 s are much appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy description.
