Venerated Rotpriest Combo Discussion
Modern forum
Posted on Feb. 17, 2023, 8:22 p.m. by Icbrgr
when Venerated Rotpriest was released it definitely raised an eyebrow from me knowing that it was gonna be a deck... and playing on arena its certainly does exist lol
Now that ive been flubbing around on youtube I'm seeing Modern brewers get ahold of it and it really looks scary... essentially gets searched with Summoner's Pact...then storm off with cantrips/cheap spells and then Ground Rift/Grapeshot.
I think what i find most frightening is that traditional removal doenst seem to stop the combo... if you cast Path to Exile or Lightning Bolt on the rotpriest the storm count still resumes and the ability triggeres still.
What do you all think? Is this gonna be a threatening deck or is it just hype?
maybe Nimble Obstructionist, Disallow or Tale's End would be interesting sideboard options to combat the deck? countering the activated/trigered ability of the rotpriest or maybe just the storm card?
February 17, 2023 8:48 p.m.
I think that attacking the number of cards in hand or somehow living when they try to combo off is the best approach. Melira, the Living Cure or the original both cause some problems for the deck and need to be removed.
You could also use something like Chalice of the Void if it doesn’t cripple your own deck.
There’s plenty of approaches that could make it difficult for the deck to function, so I’m not overly concerned. I do think it is capable of stealing some wins but remains glass cannon enough that it shouldn’t dominate the format.
February 17, 2023 9:12 p.m.
SteelSentry says... #5
Traditional removal definitely still works, tbh. Both the storm cards are sorcery speed (you might get a few counters, but you won't die in response), and if you kill the rotpriest in response to the storm trigger, they won't be able to target it with the copies. It's also vulnerable to the stax pieces that shut down traditional storm.
It's probably good enough that it's not going anywhere anytime soon, though.
February 18, 2023 4:16 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #6
Leyline of Sanctity is also a great way to not die to the Rotpriest.
February 18, 2023 5:29 a.m.
@SteelSentry oh that makes me feel a lot better! In the combo explanation when Grapeshot is used as the Storm card when they said it didn't matter if Venerated Rotpriest was alive for its effect to resolve like the first 2 copies would kill the priest but the other copies would still trigger/resolve the Toxic counters onto the opponent.... sorcery speed removal is out but instant speed removal an still work... ty ty
February 18, 2023 8:15 a.m.
SteelSentry says... #8
Icbrgr no problem b. The important bit is that Storm is a triggered ability that goes on the stack and can be responded to. It's easy to see if you play storm on MTGO but it's a little confusing in paper
February 18, 2023 9:31 a.m.
Having been competitively playing the list since its spoiling, I'll share some thoughts.
Discard
As nbarry223 noted discard is absurdly good against the deck. My LGS has a couple of 8Rack floating around, and I've discovered its a horrendous matchup. Smallpox is also awful.
Chalice
I run Cavern of Souls so I can cast Rotpriest through Chalice and Rotpriest doesn't care if the spells are countered. Most decks don't have Caverns though, so Chalice would be good, unless more people pick up on the tech.
Leyline is good against it as plakjekaas mentioned, but no one really plays it. I'm personally running Glistener Elf which doesn't care about it, but most versions, especially the Breach variants, will probably just fold to it.
Speaking of Breach, it's the most popular iteration right now, and it's fairly weak to graveyard hate, as Breach is how it tries to build up storm. Some lists aren't on it though, so antigraveyard is not a catchall.
Removal
Bolt and Heat often can't kill Rotpriest (Gather Courage and Mutagenic Growth), but Fury usually does enough damage and Solitude just eats it. Prismatic Ending/Leyline Binding work as well, but it seems to not be as heavily played right now.
Countermagic
Eh. The only things I actually care if they resolve are Rotpriests, and most decks aren't countering that t1 (Unless Minor Misstep picks up play).
Combo
Combo has been one the better matchups thus far. Fire / Ice is usually not enough to kill the Rotpriest, and the deck tends to move faster than Rhinos, Creativity, Prime Time, and Hammertime. TBH I don't know if there's any deck that can win as fast as it can on a good hand, especially since stock Hammertime no longer plays Ornithopter.
Melira
I don't think the deck could function through either Melira, but I doubt it's worth the sideboard slots right now. I'd say if your local meta has a fair share of Rotpriest, the slots could be worth it, but just entering a tournament blind I wouldn't run them.
TL;DR The MH2 elementals are the best ways to remove Rotpriest once its on the field. Preventive measures work best though. Chalice, Leyline, Discard etc.
February 18, 2023 12:58 p.m.
wallisface says... #10
Personally I feel for Modern that the deck will inhabit a space similar to the Allosaurus Rider decks, in that it can win super fast, but is also fairly unreliable, and in Rotpriests case, super easy to disrupt.
You can killspell the rotpriest at almost any stage during the combo and end it immediately. Remember the storm ability goes on the stack before the copies are made, so you have ample time to kill the creature before the storm copies can target it. Also note the storm card they use is sorcery speed, so allows for even easier disruption.
The deck is certainly fast, but has a high “lose-to-itself” rate due to its relative unreliability, and also dies to most forms of instant speed interaction pretty quickly. I don’t see the deck winning tournaments anytime soon.
nbarry223 says... #2
I think it will be a deck, not sure if it will become a staple, but it probably will. I don't think it is going to be meta-defining or anything, as it is quite dependent on a few cards, and does nothing without those cards.
It is still vulnerable to things like discard, pre-emptive removal of any win condition, or even something as simple as a melira to just prevent poison counters.
It may become a deck to consider when sideboarding, but I don't think we have to worry about it becoming the boogeyman of modern. it is a little too inconsistent and dependent on certain cards, and literally does nothing without the engine and win condition. While it is capable of a turn 2 win, like most other combo decks, it will not be doing so consistently.
February 17, 2023 8:31 p.m.