Land (20)
Creature (17)
-
3x
Dark Confidant
- 4x Death's Shadow
- 4x Ignoble Hierarch
- 2x Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
- 4x Tarmogoyf
Sorcery (4)
Instant (16)
Planeswalker (3)
Sideboard
Instant (8)
Sorcery (4)
Artifact (3)
Maybeboard
Creature (2)
Land (2)
This is my first attempt at constructing a Jund deck. It’s also my first true Tri-color build. Here’s the relevant background information for some context: When I design a deck, I actively avoid snooping around looking at what other people have done. I don’t netdeck. I don’t have any issue with those that do, it’s just that I prefer to go in blind. This invariably means I make many of the same mistakes and poor choices others before me have made, as they learned what worked and what didn’t and then streamlined their creations into top tier decks.
Long story short, this is what I ended up with. I think it’s mostly cohesive and would be fine in casual settings, but I’d like to tune this for slightly more competitive play than just kitchen table matches. I have a handful of lingering concerns, so I’m looking for as much constructive criticism and critique as I can get. I won’t be making any immediate adjustments until I’ve garnered a decent sample size of feedback, but rest assured I’ll be reading and thinking about any suggestions posted.
We need access to Jund colors (, and ), and the best way to do this reliably is through fetches and duals. Fortunately for us, all those little 1 and 2 point pings are actually quite desirable. If we can control our opponent’s ability to output damage through our Discard and Removal spells, then this accumulated chip damage from our mana base becomes a self regulated spigot whereby we can adjust our own life total to an optimal amount to cast Death's Shadow as our finisher.
After examining the mana values of each card in the current build of this deck, these are the types and counts I’m sitting at for the moment.
•Bloodstained Mire and Verdant Catacombs are guaranteed to locate the exact land we need. Each can be used to find it’s appropriate basic land type in the event of a Blood Moon, or more often than not we’ll be locating one of our dual lands. 3 copies of each seems about right, as we’ll garner 1 point of damage from these fetches, compounded by a further 2 point hit by our duals. I’m trying to balance functionality with not going overboard and pinging myself to death. Incidentally, each of these fetchlands can acquire either dual land, so you cannot possibly go wrong.
•Blood Crypt and Overgrown Tomb are the aforementioned dual lands, opening up access to all 3 colors we need. As is our primary color with the other two being secondary, 4 copies each of these particular dual lands is sufficient. Both grant access to , and between this and our fetches being able to acquire any of our duals/basics, I feel the mana base is in a good place.
•2 copies each of Swamps, Forests and Mountains round out the mana pool and are a safeguard against certain Enchantments.
•Ignoble Hierarch is here on a trial basis (See “...Concerns” below). The perfect Jund mana dork, the little guy can help us out in the short game. An extra , or means an extra ’seize or bolt, or a Turn 2 Kolaghan's Command, of which one can never have enough.
As was mentioned under the last panel block, our goal is moderated and controlled life loss. A full suite of Discard and Removal spells ensure we aren’t drained of all life prematurely. Preemptively eliminate perceived threats, or if something eventually becomes problematic remove it afterward.
•Thoughtseize paves the way for us to begin establishing a boardstate of our own, while clearing potential obstacles. Losing those 2 life points feels almost like paying into our 401K; give up a little now for big returns at a later date.
•Liliana of the Veil is ravishingly beautiful and hauntingly effective. Her +1 is an impartial ’seize, and we can most likely dump a creature knowing Kolaghan's Command can bring it back to our hand. Her -2 is a strict win for us, and her ultimate smash needs no introduction.
•Lightning Bolt can be an excellent Turn 1 play, especially if going second. Zap a mana dork to slow down that stompy deck, or electrocute a goblin to derail that aggro deck. Makes for a fine finisher too, if they’re clinging to those last 3 life points.
•Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger qualifies as Discard; two mana, one one , forces a discard (potentially burning the opponent for 3 as well) and inters our Elder Giant safely in the graveyard, powering up Tarmogoyf as he bides his time to make his Escape.
•Abrupt Decay seemed like a very reliable hate card. We can target anything cmc 3 or less other than a land card, so it opens up our options considerably. Best used for harder to hit stumbling blocks like the myriad of Enchantments or Artifacts in that cmc range, as well as a handful of Planeswalkers.
•To paraphrase a certain someone, Assassin's Trophy ‘has no jurisdiction. It’ll find (target permanent), and make it squeal. I know the squealers when I see them, and...’ Being able to target anything on the board can sometimes make all the difference in the world.
•Kolaghan's Command offers exceptional versatility, and no matter which two options we pick we’re guaranteed to come out ahead. Be mindful of the boardstate and what may be lurking in your opponent’s hand, then choose accordingly.
Instead of the typical / draw spells (i.e. Night's Whisper or Tormenting Voice) I went with a much more prolific, much more self destructive selection: Dark Confidant. I’ve elected to run 3 copies, as a full playset felt like overkill, but it’s too significant a card to leave it questionable whether or not I’d draw one per game. With our Devious Advisor in play, we’ll be drawing 2 cards per turn and likely losing 1-2 life points on average. Thanks to a low mana curve, we don’t need to fear shooting ourselves in the foot by drawing, say, some sort of overcosted bomb. By the time we’re in danger of self destruction, we’ll almost certainly have the tools in hand to close out the game. In a pinch, we do have a plethora of ways to give Dark Confidant the boot, so ”Fear not the dark, my friend, and let the feast begin.”
•Tarmogoyf is a fantastic card. It took me a while to warm up to it, mostly as through inexperience I initially didn’t understand how it worked and then once I did, I felt leery about relying on it. But all that’s in the past now. I can see the value it offers, and we’re going all-in by including a full playset. For a mere we get a creature that will probably enter play either a 2/3 or a 3/4 in most cases. Fetchlands, Turn 1 bolts and ’seizes, and Mishra’s Baubles and the like are all highly probable to be in graveyard(s) by Turn 2; the fact that further card types like Planeswalkers and Enchantments will realistically end up there over time means that Tarmogoyf will just get stronger with age. Throw in the benefit from Ignoble Hierarch’s Exalted bonus, and we have a highly capable threat in both early and late game scenarios.
•Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger is a possible mid game play, thanks to the extra mana from our goblin. It won’t take long between Fetches, Instants and Sorceries for Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger to have its Escape cost covered, and once free this is a force to be reckoned with.
Survey the battlefield; if it’s reasonably safe to do so, begin attacking and wearing down the opponent’s life total through battle damage and attrition.
•As Tarmogoyf checks both players graveyards, it’s entirely possible that by Turn 4 we could be looking at a 5/6 or 6/7. We’ll contribute 3 card types at bare minimum, likely 4; and we have the right targeted removal spells to send the opponent’s Enchantments, Artifacts or Planeswalkers there too.
•Liliana of the Veil can have a massive impact on the boardstate with her final smash. If she’s not removed in 3 turns, we can effectively halve everything the opponent has in play. Judicious use of her -6 can really swing the balance of the game back in our favor, should we be faltering.
•Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger will chew through the opposing player’s resources, be they cards in hand or blockers on the battlefield. A recursive 6/6 with a nasty ETB/Attack trigger is not something to be taken lightly.
Pro Tip Show
•Death's Shadow is clearly a core component of the deck. Toward the latter half of the game we’ll likely be in possession of ever dwindling life points, which just so happens to be the perfect soil in which to plant this creature. An 8/8 or greater for just one can completely turn the tide of battle, and that low mana cost can be taken advantage of—a Kolaghan's Command retrieving Death's Shadow from the graveyard and recasting it back to the battlefield is an extremely feasible play.
•Through a more micro form of management (What do we call that, Jim?), direct the flow of the early game with Discard and Removal spells.
•Cast Dark Confidant early to capitalize on his card draw effect.
•Cast Tarmogoyf after a few card types invariably end up in our graveyard, following up with Kroxa as mana becomes available.
•Cast Death's Shadow as our life total approaches critical, then attack for the win.
•Apostle's Blessing will protect key creatures from removal, and as we have 0 sources of mana we’ll be paying the phyrexian equivalent—perfect to chisel off 2 life points while saving an attacking Death's Shadow, buffing it in the process.
•Collective Brutality is another great multiple choice spell along the lines of Kolaghan's Command. We can dump unnecessary stuff like additional copies of Liliana, Dark Confidant or Kroxa (who wants to be in the graveyard anyway) to pay the Escalate cost(s), then open up a wide array of useful options.
•Surgical Extraction is great at ensuring a nullified threat doesn’t resurface. We don’t want a traditional graveyard sweeper like Bojuka Bog, since that would likely interfere with Tarmogoyf, so Surgical Extraction is a nice middle ground. Also useful at locking down distasteful combos.
•Pithing Needle can really help us lockdown what’s transpiring on the battlefield. What we can’t destroy or force to be discarded, we can put the kibosh on using this. Should it find its way to the graveyard, all the better—it’ll be one more card type for our Lhurgoyf to grow big and strong with.
Cards in the Maybeboard are ones I’ve evaluated and declined to include in the main deck, but I wish to leave them here as a reminder in case the current build changes and they become more suitable.
Alright, so here are my worries. The main one looming ominously overhead is this: 1) Am I at risk of dealing too much incidental damage to myself through fetches, duals and various spells to the point where I either kill myself outright or risk my life total dropping so low that a simple burn spell will finish me off? It’s difficult to gauge without extensive playtesting, and I’m inexperienced in the archetype. My only potential life-gain to offset damage incurred would come through Collective Brutality, so I wonder if it’s worth moving it to the maindeck permanently?
2) Additionally, I have doubts about Ignoble Hierarch. Is it really necessary? I’ve been going back and forth on this one. On the one hand, supplemental mana is always useful, accelerating our early game and allowing us to cast a barrage of spells and creature threats at a pace we otherwise couldn’t. Dark Confidant keeps our hand full, while Ignoble Hierarch helps us push stuff out. Plus the whole Exalted mechanic can help us out quite a bit. Plus it can really help when facing down a Blood Moon. On the other hand, it dies incredibly easily and once dead does nothing but perhaps contribute a card type to Tarmogoyf’s count. We could return it to hand and recast it with Kolaghan's Command, but that seems like a waste—it couldn’t tap for mana until the following turn, and why bring that back when we could bring a Death's Shadow or Tarmogoyf back? It’s useful, but I wonder if there are other, better options out there.
3) My final concern is whether or not the current build is too reliant on Death's Shadow. I don’t think it is, since I have enough spells that don’t inflict self-damage, and multiple other high damage beater creatures. But I thought I’d bring it up in case it is an issue.
”Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me...”
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Casual
95% Competitive
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 2 years |
| Last updated | 2 years |
| Legality | This deck is Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 5 - 0 Mythic Rares 41 - 11 Rares 4 - 0 Uncommons 0 - 4 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.77 |
| Folders | Modern, Modern Decks to Make |
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