Modern forum
Posted on Oct. 14, 2014, 5:11 p.m. by ChiefBell
Does anyone play a deck centred around this card?
Want to assess the advantages of a golgari build versus an orzhov build. Golgari gives you traditionally strong cards like Tarmogoyf and Abrupt Decay . However orzhov gives you fantastic synergy from Lingering Souls which you can discard to pox, flashback for tokens, and then later sacrifice a token to pox too. Value.
Anyone with insight?
I don't play Pox, but a friend of mine plays a version of the deck with cards like Vengevine and Bloodghast where the cards you are sacrificing and discarding are irrelevant.
Also, I think he may run like a Stirring Wildwood or two just to have access to Lingering Souls but most of the time you're discarding it for the flashback affect anyway.
October 14, 2014 5:17 p.m.
Thanks ks for the thread. I'm mainly just wanting to discuss goyf and removal versus lingering souls. Goyf is amazing and will win games. Souls won't unless you have anthems.
October 14, 2014 5:25 p.m.
Can't feasibly. Manabase is quit tricky to maintain in a 3 colour deck - even more so when you're being forced to sacrifice your own lands.
October 14, 2014 6:04 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #8
Spirit tokens are still very powerful if you can amass a swarm of them.
October 14, 2014 6:15 p.m.
Yeh it seems to be ok but it's a bit slow and unwieldy.
October 14, 2014 6:17 p.m.
I play 8rack with them (That Lovin' Feeling). I personally love smallpox, it's a REALLY strong card in modern, even legacy.
I run green with it because Abrupt Decay and Beast Within suit my needs for the deck. Golgari is literally all about poxing people; see dredge and Bloodghast . personally, I feel your answer lies in this question: is there any other cards worth playing that actually get value off of Smallpox in orzhov? namely asking about white here, and I honestly cant think of many. green has a buttload, and most are super value.
October 14, 2014 6:18 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #11
It's actually not that hard ChiefBell between fetches, shocks and birds/bird like creatures.
October 14, 2014 6:19 p.m.
White has creatures like Doomed Traveler and the like that leave stuff behind when they die. Pus white has various other cheap token makers that work decent with pox. I do think you could make an argument for either color or even both really and it would come down to player preference one which option you pick.
On a slightly different note Lingering Souls without anthems is still damn good. 4 chump blockers if nothing else is pretty insane and pretty good at slowing down goyfs and other non-trampling dudes. Pus no one wants to use a single target removal spell on the spirit tokens so they are likely are going to be able to block or poke away for quite a while. Besides it really is hard to deal with multiple souls.
October 14, 2014 6:44 p.m.
HorrorAvengers says... #13
I run golgari, but I still run lingering souls. I run a playset of pox, and 3 raven's crime and lili. I never have a problem casting souls. And even If I do, I run 1 godless shrine if I get stuck. Haven't had to grab it yet.
October 14, 2014 6:58 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #14
The best argument I've seen for WhitePox is Flagstones of Trokair . Even then, it makes it that much harder to cast Smallpox early, requires Urborg.
Other than that, I don't think white has much to offer over the removal Green brings. Lingering Souls are good, but they're easily dealt with.
October 14, 2014 6:58 p.m.
HorrorAvengers says... #15
idk, I personally like path over decay. That might be personal preference though.
October 14, 2014 7:07 p.m.
HorrorAvengers says... #16
Plus golgari-pox tends to feel more like rock-guest-starring-smallpox, but that might just be me.
October 14, 2014 7:08 p.m.
8 rack? My friend uses it in his 8 rack and it works wonders.
October 14, 2014 9:14 p.m.
I can't even try to think of a pox deck without Life from the Loam included somewhere. This allows for Raven's Crime shenanigans and maybe even the fringe Worm Harvest .
October 14, 2014 9:41 p.m.
Orzhov list seems to be fine in reality. In orzhov you already have access to things like Dismember and Victim of Night for removal so it's not such a big deal. The only things worth splashing green for are goyf and decay. Decay isn't necessary (it's fantastic but you don't NEED it), and goyf would be nice but suffers to Lingering Souls anyway, which is sort of ironic because we're arguing in favour of including it but it's bad against the card I have access to already. I am tempted to put in 4x Verdant Catacombs and 4x Overgrown Tomb because I sort of can. It's tough because the list is essentially monoblack. You want two black lands in hand by T2 for pox, which means that every land should, in an ideal world, tap for black as well as a ceondary colour.
I don't want to play 8rack because I already have an 8rack deck and it's ok but not fantastic.
October 15, 2014 10:29 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #22
What if it was sort of like that but with a bigger stax focus and locking the opponent out of mana?
October 15, 2014 11:02 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #23
Yes
Was that an attempt at derailing the thread?
It's delicious.
October 15, 2014 11:22 a.m.
I'm confused. Deadguy ale isn't a stax deck, and deadguy ale isn't a modern deck?
October 15, 2014 11:38 a.m.
VampireArmy says... #25
The modern rendition can be suited for a more land denial stax approach
October 15, 2014 11:43 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #26
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/355/
I for one, am deeply confused.
October 15, 2014 12:04 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #30
I jimmy-rigged something in Junk colors. Is it Filled with a Pox?. First draft obviously.
October 15, 2014 12:43 p.m.
I've got one as well, it's replaced my old junk list with a new one.
October 15, 2014 1:26 p.m.
Wasn't there a list going about some time back that used Smallpox and Death Cloud to put the game in a favorable state for the player? Or am I thinking of something else?
October 22, 2014 8:22 a.m.
derKochXXL says... #34
Sorry, for being a little of track, but GoofyFoots comment made me realize that you can landhate your (control) opponent with Beast Within and then Smallpox them, which seems to be an awesome synergy.
October 23, 2014 3:40 a.m.
I play a green black deck with Small Pox and Life from the Loam in it. I don't play Tarmogoyf in it though. If your interested its Loam Poxx.
Matsi883 says... #2
APPLE01DOJ plays Pox.
October 14, 2014 5:13 p.m.