Making Grixis Pyromancer

Modern Deck Help forum

Posted on Oct. 7, 2018, 10:57 a.m. by PTsmitty

I am trying to see if making a Grixis Pyromancer deck is viable now that Mission Briefing is out. I was thinking Briefing could work in this shell since Bedlam Reveler would like the extra instant in the yard, it would allow for my to get access to a removal spell in my graveyard similar to Snappy, and it would allow for me to filter the top of my deck a little bit. Here is the Modern Grixis Pyro build that I have started with it. I played tested a few times on here and I am thinking I have too many options for filtering/drawing with me running x4 Looting/x4 Scour/x1 Opt/x3 Briefing. Any advice is very much appreciated. Thanks

TMBRLZ says... #2

Surveil is nice, but the the biggest thing you lose in running Mission Briefing over Snapcaster Mage is the double cost.

I'd really evaluate how many of those situations you run into where it makes the choice harder and how much benefit Surveil is actually giving you over the power Snapcaster can give you.

I've watched Snappy close out games for Grixis by putting your opp on a 10 turn clock. It's unorthodox but hard to overlook.

October 7, 2018 2:27 p.m.

PTsmitty says... #3

I agree that Snappy is the far superior card of the two, but I am not currently wanting to spend the money for the copies I need. So I am trying to make this deck work without them. I have seen previous grixis pyromancer builds that play only 1-2 copies of them so I was thinking that I could use Briefing as a substitute. I feel that I have the dual lands that will allow for me to get around the UU cost, but I do realize that this requires me to really use my life as a resource. Hopefully if I get this build down correctly I will not miss the 2/1 body since I am using Pyro, tokens, and bedlam as my primary win conditions.

October 7, 2018 3:10 p.m.

generalrenard says... #4

The thing with Mission Briefing is that you would run it in conjunction with Snappy. Probably in a 2/2 or 3/1 split in favor of Snappy.

Also, the removal you lose by not running white just makes this deck essentially a worse form of Grixis shadow. The list also looks more similar to a shadow list, since pyromancer runs blood moon. Blood moon and double blue also puts snappy in a better position.

October 7, 2018 3:19 p.m.

Pieguy396 says... #5

I also think that Snapcaster Mage is generally just better than Mission Briefing. I could understand a 3-1 or 2-2 split, but 0-3 just feels wrong to me, even in a Pyromancer shell. I also think you're playing too many discard spells for a Pyromancer deck - 4 to 6 feels like the right number to me, but not 7. Finally, I'd strongly recommend playing Remand - the card is very powerful when you've established a board presence with Pyromancer and just need to keep your opponent from regaining their footing.

October 8, 2018 9:22 a.m.

PTsmitty says... #6

So I guess the consensus is that I will not be able to make this work without Snappy? I am not in the position to buy any right now so that is why I was trying to using Briefing. I do have the Remands that I can add in the deck.

October 8, 2018 2:08 p.m.

TMBRLZ says... #7

I dont think anybody is saying it won't work.

As a temporary holding spot it would be okay, though not having the flashback on a stick (creature) could be a bit of a disruption for the deck, but Snappy is probably the better option once you HAVE an option.

October 8, 2018 7:29 p.m.

Pieguy396 says... #8

I definitely second what TMBRLZ said. Mission Briefing is definitely a good card, and you'll certainly be able to do powerful things with it. Just be aware than there is a better option, so don't expect your deck to play at an optimized level. If you're looking to take it to FNM, take it to side events at a GP, or have some fun with friends, you should be just fine.

October 9, 2018 9:38 a.m.

PTsmitty says... #9

Yeah, my goal with the deck is take it to an FNM and be as competitive as possible, but I do realize that it will not be an optimum list since Snappy would be much better to use. I just want to try and make it as optimized as possible given my limited resources.

October 9, 2018 7:02 p.m.

Dreamweav3r says... #10

As someone who plays Mardu Pyro quite I bit I can say my gut feeling towards Briefing is its probably not good enough. You have to ask yourself what you're getting out of it, getting more spells in the yard is neat, but it also really isn't worth adding another color for. Also it isn't abnormal to be sitting on 2-3 lands most of the game, so double blue plus the cost of the spell is actually really prohibitive. I do think if you were going to go Grixis Snapcaster Mage is just better. Its much easier on mana, and it helps with applying pressure which decks like this sometimes lack. (Especially if you're removing Lingering Souls)

October 12, 2018 9:30 a.m.

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