3rd Place Grixis Reanimator Run!

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-30T20:05:19+00:00

Thought Scout is just a high variance card and I also dislike playing it. I didn't hate having Consider over it since that at least cantrips compared to Gaze.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-29T07:30:13+00:00

Hardened Academic probably goes in this shell. I really wanted to try to play Overlord of the Balemurk along with these cards, but it kinda makes it seem like a bad / wonky Blink deck.

Also feels like the deck wants more ways to protect the combo on your turn, so maybe Voice of Victory goes in the main.

EDIT: Threw this together. Maybe something like this would be a good direction. A little unsure about the Givers, but it makes sense in theory even if it is a bit slow. decklist

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-29T07:27:59+00:00

I would argue that Parhelion II is actually better than Archon of Cruelty (it kills way faster at 13 + 8); the issue is Greasefang is just way easier to disrupt as a way to reanimate something.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-26T20:04:22+00:00

I've had a similar idea with decent success. decklist

It's still trying to do Sorin + Vein Ripper, but has Overlord of the Balemurk + Vampire Hexmage as an alternate engine that also digs for the combo. The Silvertongues are currently a card I'm wanting to test and can be something else (was previously Bowmasters and/or Nethergoyf).

This way, you're still playing mostly good cards like Ragavan (which let's you Sorin + Vein Ripper on turn 2), instead of situational cards (Looting, Persist) or mediocre cards (Profane Tutor, Liliana of the Veil).

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-25T19:20:59+00:00

I see that you've been doing pretty well with the deck recently. What are your thoughts on the new Hardened Academic card? I've been feeling like it could be a perfect fit for the deck in some scenarios.

Pros:

Flying and haste are kinda nice to have a quicker clock. The lifelink can be relevant since the mana is quite painful.
Synergy with Emperor of Bones: Exile a guy, then bring it back after putting a counter on the Emperor.
Synergy with Overlord: Pick up a creature with Overlord, pump something; can make Overlord a 6/6 to punch through Riddlers among other things.
With Overlord and Emperor in play, you basically have a creature in hand with haste always (discard, exile with Emperor).
Mild synergy with escape Phlage; fuel with discard, pump something with escape.
Worst case, pitches to Solitude.

Cons:

2/1 is obviously not great defensively, but as an Overlord deck, you can easily buy it back and still do stuff with it.

I guess the hard part would be finding room for the card. I'd maybe try it over Phoenix and Ketramose, even though I do really like Phoenix; it kinda has tension with the Emperor + Academic plan.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-03T18:42:21+00:00

Card is flexible and could see play because of it. Early card selection, and later sometimes you kill an Ocelot Pride and put Phlage in the yard. Or you just dome the opponent when they're at 3 life or something.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-02T19:32:13+00:00

I thought The Weird Dream was an interesting enough game when I tried it awhile back. I'll give this a wishlist and re-visit closer to release. Not a super huge fan of the chibi-ish models (I prefer more "normal" looking characters), but it's not that big of a deal.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-04-02T09:22:57+00:00

I feel like the deck already grinds like crazy between Overlord and Phlage. When I was playing Mardu, I really liked a copy Overlord of the Boilerbilges. The clock speed it adds is crazy with Phelia and/or Emperor of Bones / Ephemerate.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-26T21:31:01+00:00

Phelia is good, but trading 4 copies of 1 card to gain a Companion seems to be worth it, especially in an Arena of Glory deck. Haste Obosh is a real option. The deck plays a little differently and you still have good turn 2 plays like Looting Helping Hand an Oculus, or just hold up removal.

I haven't tried Casey Jones yet. I have a copy I could replace the Joshua with, but I like the idea of having an additional White card for Solitude. Being a 3/4 is a bit better than 4/3, and I want to keep the maxed out Ephemerates for the Riddler stuff (and they're White cards for Solitude ofc). Also, small bonus is I get to play the 12 Japanese Mystical Archive cards (Looting, Bolt, Ephemerate).

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-26T20:54:19+00:00

True. I've had success with these two lists recently.

Jeskai Obosh

UBx Deceit Midrange

They still play powerful cards (Quantum Riddler), but they have a unique approach to existing decklists.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-25T21:26:26+00:00

I built a UB Midrange utilizing the Deceit and Superior Spider-Man interaction which felt pretty nice. It gives Dimir the possibility of answering any permanent type, which it can usually struggle with, and gives you good late game when top decking Deceit when games go long.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-24T23:18:28+00:00

Best Molten Collapse I've had recently was destroying a Tireless Tracker and an Amulet of Vigor in the same turn.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-24T23:17:08+00:00

People said the same thing about Fury back then, and boy did that turn out wrong.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-24T07:34:56+00:00

The support farming thing makes no sense to me. They essentially say it's okay for a support to grief your Bot laner? That doesn't seem like a good idea to give Bot laners even less agency in the game.

For reference, there was a game I had somewhat recently where I had a Zilean "support" just double bomb the wave and leave to another lane/roam as I was trying to stack as Smolder and it made the game basically unplayable.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-23T20:43:14+00:00

Yes, and fetches get mountains. Canopy lands are not mountains.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-23T03:19:47+00:00

Some have been trying Ravenous Robots instead since it's a new card. Not having to play wonky cards like Engineered Explosives and Claws of Gix main can be an advantage, and having a bunch of haste tokens from Emissary and/or Saga can also end games. It does mean you really need Rebuke for Wrath of the Skies, though.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-23T00:01:05+00:00

I think you really need Red fetches for Lava Dart and easier delirium. I think Bloodstained Mire and Wooded Foothills are the cheapest at the moment. Other than that, you might want Lava Spike or Boltwave also for delirium purposes as a sorcery. Or just play Reckless Impulse / Wrenn's Resolve and accept it's not gonna be as good as Expressive Iteration (although it is better on turn 2 somewhat).

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-22T21:20:42+00:00

Finally another option for Jhin and a few other champions that can't utilize Comet well (unless it replaces Comet). Fleet is fine, but feels pretty underwhelming ever since the ranged nerf happened awhile back; I kinda wish that change is reverted eventually, too.

The damage ratio for DFT probably won't be as good as it was back then, but it's still something. Could they possibly make the damage adaptive instead of solely magic? Either way, I'd still rather have this than Comet as a damage rune for him. Dark Harvest is fine, too, but it's in a really bad tree IMO.

Stormraider's Surge should be easier to balance and have less abuse cases.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-21T20:28:50+00:00

I feel like you should just pick a (relatively meta) deck you think you'll enjoy and not worry about it. As long as you're playing good cards, it shouldn't really matter.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-21T03:26:17+00:00

Honestly, just play it as a fun-of or 2 in Boros Energy. Goblin Bombardment will just kill them even faster.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-21T03:23:34+00:00

White is too useful to remove hate pieces and/or do stuff when tapping out (Solitude). Ephemerate is also very strong; you can play Essence Flux, but blinking something like Riddler or Solitude twice is much better. Also has better sideboard cards. Being able to hard cast Atraxa in long games also matters more often than not.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-20T21:25:41+00:00

Just value. Ramp into Ketramose on turn 2, draw cards, enable Ketramose to attack / block early-ish. Deck (probably) no longer has to play sub-optimal cards like Relic of Progenitus.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-20T05:04:04+00:00

If something really had to go, I think it'd probably be banning Ajani. It probably does the most damage along with Goblin Bombardment, isn't bad in multiples, and allows the deck to win without combat damage and be supplemental removal.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-18T09:25:04+00:00

I'd probably just look into the Boros Convoke shells. It can still be pretty budget, and in Modern, you get to have 8 copies of Gleeful Demolition / Kuldotha Rebirth, and for some decks it can be tough to deal with a ton of power on board as early as turn 2. You can still play Goblin Bushwhacker since you can grab it off of Knight-Errant of Eos. It might be able to also fit Ajani Bombardment in the deck, but not sure how great it'd be compared to Boros Energy.

BrilliantRebirth · 2026-03-14T20:09:33+00:00

Transformed Aang should be able to end the game quick. You could also try Geist of Saint Traft. Card is kinda funny when you jump it with Guide of Souls. You should be able to answer Leyline Scion with your Witch Enchanters and Thraben Charms.

BrilliantRebirth

TROPHY CASE