After looking at and enjoying Kuldotha Boros in Pauper, I decided to look into the possibility of the archetype in Modern. It did not take long to realise that it was gonna be an 8-Whack deck, and I think it's actually pretty decent.
Like any 8-whack deck, we wanna build up a big board - which we can do very quickly due to our 0 drops and low curve - then cast one of our bushwackers and get whackin'. Where this differs from goblin 8-whack is that it uses artifacts such as
Memnite
and
Ornithopter
to swarm the board quickly as well as fuel cards such as
Toolcraft Exemplar
and
Kuldotha Rebirth
.
Why this over traditional 8-Whack? Because this deck is seriously explosive. Between costs,
Simian Spirit Guide
and all twelve of the buff creatures, this list can win on T3 easy and often - the current record is an attack for 19 on Turn 3. Goblin 8-whack is probably more consistent but the low land count is aided by the fact that the deck can run off two land easily.
Really happy with this list and any thoughts or suggestions would be warmly welcomed. Without further ado, here's the breakdown:
Mainboard
Memnite
/
Ornithopter
: In order to get whackin' ASAP, Memnite and Ornithopter can be dropped immediately to enable some of our other creatures and build up a decent board quick, either by themselves or with
Kuldotha Rebirth
. Their final, especially large use that they can be used as a free cast in order to surge
Reckless Bushwhacker
, even when you're on 2 land. Therefore, if you've got a reckless whacker in hand, then it could be worth hanging onto either of these guys. They'll have haste when bushwhackwer lands anyway.
Bomat Courier
: Anyone whose played red in standard knows how good Bomat Courier is. He attacks on turn 1 and, if played right, can potentially draw us crucial cards to help close out the game fast. Due to the zero-drops and low land count, this deck can dump its hand really fast, which allows Bomat Courier to be effective very early. Drawing 2 or 3 cards from one is usually enough to do some damage. Only downside is that your opponent is likely to clock this and will want to block it or remove through other means, therefore it may be unwise to attack with it every turn.
Goblin Bushwhacker
/
Reckless Bushwhacker
: The aforementioned whackers and the primary win condition. +1/+0 and haste is extremely useful on a big board, especially as you can dump some creatures on the same turn and they can still attack. As mentioned previously, the zero-drops have great synergy with Reckless Bushwhacker, and it is worth hanging onto one in hand if you have him as well.
Signal Pest
: Essentially serves as bushwhackers 9-12. Decent evasion gives Signal Pest the ability to sneak past blockers and give its Battle-Cry buff, which is comparably large to it's goblin counterparts. The fact it is an artifact also aids in enabling Toolcraft Exemplar.
Toolcraft Exemplar
: Partly the reason for splashing white, the amount of artifacts in the deck makes Toolcraft Exemplar pretty scary. Exemplar will almost always be at least a 3/2 for and giving him first-strike is doable with the right hand. Note that this is only on your turn though, so no reason not to turn him sideways really.
Kytheon, Hero of Akros
/
Gideon, Battle-Forged
: At worst, Kytheon is a 2/1 for . At best, he's a one-drop planeswalker that swings for 4 starting on turn 2, and that is really not that hard to achieve with haste creatures and drops. Beyond his excellent aggressive capability, he can draw attackers towards him to buy you a turn or two, as well as leave an indestructible blocker to protect himself with. Making a
Bomat Courier
indestructible is particularly useful, allowing it to attack and build up a stockpile of cards regardless of the opponent's board or removal they may have.
Goblin Guide
: Is any 8-whack variant complete without Goblin Guide? Probably not. Goblin Guide is the optimal turn one play if you're looking to maximise damage at least 90% of the time, and he's still really powerful if you play him later.
Lightning Bolt
: Good for clearing the road of blockers or for getting in that final hit to the face.
Kuldotha Rebirth
: The final pay-off for the artifact theme, Kuldotha rebirth has the power to flood the board really quick when combined with any of the drops, making the inevitable whacking much bigger. Due to requiring artifacts out to enable Toolcraft Exemplar and the fact that Bomat and Signal Pest would rather not be sacrificed, I don't think more than two is great. Those two are worth it though, as the most explosive openers usually do involve Rebirth.
Simian Spirit Guide
: SSG in an opening hand further aids in making the deck more explosive while helping support a lower land count. Being able to Bolt or activate sac Bomat courier while tapped out is also pretty fun, although that doesn't come up often. As good as I feel a playset would be, I just don't know where the fourth copy would go.
Sideboard
Destructive Revelry
: Got a playset of Revelry because
Chalice of the Void
absolutely wrecks this list as well as being decent against another bad matchup, Hardened Scales. The two damage is also a nice touch.
Goblin Rabblemaster
: The steady stream of attackers provided by Rabblemaster helps greatly in turning the tides when you're forced to grind. Not sure if two should be in the sideboard due to the decks very low curve, so I would consider cutting this to one. Also considering
Legion Warboss
in this slot as well due to Mentor and its less forceful attack policy.
Grafdigger's Cage
/
Rest in Peace
: Cheap graveyard hate. Grafdigger's low cost and artifact typing make it very useful for controlling graveyards and enabling other artifact synergies, and when that isn't enough, Rest in Peace should cover it. Also considering
Tormod's Crypt
due to similar reasons as Grafdigger's.
Path to Exile
: A bit of extra removal for when Lightning Bolt won't cut it.
Skullcrack
: I put this in to counteract life-gain but I'm not sure how necessary it is. Any suggestions of what this could become instead would be greatly appreciated.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
: Thalia works well against control and other non-creature or heavy removal matchups. Pushing a board wipe back a turn can usually be enough to win before it hits, making her invaluable in these games.
