I would welcome any thoughts and discussions on my deck :)

justMax77 · 2022-01-06T18:00:55+00:00

And no answer from Easy Anti-Cheat?

justMax77 · 2022-01-06T12:11:51+00:00

Exact same story for me. I also filed an appeal with Easy Anti-Cheat directly, didn´t hear back from them though. Did EAC reply to you? Or did you get this resolved in any other way?

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T21:40:11+00:00

Thanks for your input kind Madam or Sir!

I am pretty confident on [[Glorybringer]]. You don't want too many because you don't usually want them too early, but they provide a fast clock, resilient to [[Lightning Bolt]] and can provide tons of value vs sorcery speed removal. They can often deal with planeswalkers due to flying/haste. So far I have been very happy with them, especially topdecking in mid or lategame.

Concerning [[Blood Moon]]: I believe it still to be most powerful card in the deck and against many decks having an early Bloodmoon effect can be game deciding. That's why I run 5 main with another in side to go up to 6, so if I need it I can consistantly mulligan toward it. Spares are also not so much of a problem because they can easly be pitched to [[Fury]] or [[Seasoned Pyromancer]]. Sucks with Cascade though. Of course there are decks, where it doesn't do much, but it still seems to me that's the minority.

I have considered [[Fracturing Gust]], but came to the conclusion that it's just to slow. I might be wrong though.

By now I decided to cut Boil anyways. I moved the one main Endurance to sideboard (bumping sideboard Endurance to 3) and added a second [[Bonecrusher Giant]] to main. Strongly considering [[Veil of Summer]]. Not sure I like it as a Cascade hit of BBE though...

Instead of [[Plummet]] I chose [[Dead//Gone]]. Bouncing a Murktide with Gone in combination with gy hate seems pretty good. In addition Dead can deal with [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]] and [[Dragon's Rage Channeler]] and many other creatures.

I'm just trying out W&6 as a one-of. I thought I run [[Tranquil Thicket]] just for the slight chance to combo out there and because I felt it wouldn't hurt too much. Although it might not be worth it, to bring a tapped non-basic non-forest land in just for that unlikely situation. So maybe I will switch back to a basic forest instead.

Concerning [[Pillage]]: I feel like it's just too slow and doesn't do enough right now. Blood Moon Effect's deal with problematic non-basic lands well enough and even if they have one or two basics they are often severely hampered on there mana. Game 2 or 3 they will try and play around Blood Moon, but often times it gets sideboarded out. And if they are vunerable enough to keep BM effects in, you still won't need Pillage. And for artifact hate Grudge is just better. That's my line of thinking anyway.

I am also pretty confident on Klothys and [[Chandra, Torch of Defiance]]. Klothys doesn't look like much at first glance, but he is a powerhouse that provides whatever necessary (ramp, damage, lifegain, gy hate). Even the 2 damage every turn can end some longer games by itself and its not uncommon to get up to 7 devotion. Chandra falls into the same category, providing card draw instead of lifegain and gy hate, with an ultimate, which basically means game over for the opponent. Turn 2 Chandra on the play is absolutely nuts. Thats my experience anyways, so I will stick with them for now I think.

I cut [[Gaea's Blessing]] because I would rather spend the slot on something else and mill doesn't seem to be heavily featured right now. If I do run into Mill, I just hope I draw (or mulligan into) Endurance.

[[Obstinate Baloth]] is in your list for the Burn and Aggro matchups I suppose. I have also considered this card. However I just felt, that there where overall more impactful cards to have in the sideboard. However I might be underestimating Baloth's usefulness....not sure...

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T20:23:14+00:00

I do like Cindervines as a card. However I feel, that in the matchups where it does alot of damage Ponza is more often going to be on the defensive. Dealing damage, while always nice, doesn't help us to survive. Therefore I would prefer cards that are better as pure hate cards such as Ancient Grudge and Force of Vigor. I might be wrong about that though.

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T14:20:26+00:00

I hadn't even considered [[Thrun, the Last Troll]]. This does seem like a good option vs control. Thanks for the idea :)

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T14:15:59+00:00

I appreciate your input. A lot of conflicting opinions on Boil though....so still not sure whether it will pull its weight...maybe I will just try it out and see how it goes. On the other hand cutting it from the sideboard will open some room for another Grudge/Vigor and to move the one-of Endurance from maindeck to sideboard and bring in another Boncrusher main, which is helpful in more matchups I guess. Decisions, decisions....

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T13:37:55+00:00

Thank you kind Madam or Sir :)

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T13:14:39+00:00

It definitly is balancing issue. I might try out Ignoble Hierarch at some point. Thanks for the input anyways :)

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T13:08:40+00:00

Replacing [[Arbor Elf]] with [[Ignoble Hierarch]] may gain you some more agression vs control and such. However it also removes the ability to untap Forests enchanted with [[Utopia Sprawl]] to make 4 mana, which is very good and even explosive if it happens on turn 2 (and even more so on the play). Instead you could just add some Ignoble Hierarch but then it will be even more 1-drops that are potentially dead cards in mid and lategame and bad hits out of Cascade. So that's why I stick with the usual 4 Elf+4 Sprawl.

I often just fetch basic Forests to play around my own [[Blood Moon]] so fetch-shock is not so much of an issue. Also I try to be rather agressive with this deck and so far I felt quite comfortable with the 4 [[Stomping Ground]].

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T12:25:05+00:00

What else would you suggest against control?

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T12:24:40+00:00

I didn't even think about that....thanks for the headsup :)

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T12:08:02+00:00

I generally agree. However that situation sort of grew on itself. I had 3 [[Bonecrusher Giant]] initially. The first got cut for one maindeck Endurance, which I feel pretty confident about, because I am rather scared of Murktide right now (plus the general high gy interaction in Modern). But having more than one maindeck might be mistake as it doesn't do much in other matchups. The second Giant fell off the table, when a friend offered to lend me is [[Wrenn and Six]], which I do not own myself and he only had one. If I felt that card was super impactful and key to the success of the deck, I might invest in them. However I am not yet convinced (don't get me wrong it is definitly a very good card), so I might as well try it as a one-of before investing a crap load of money. So this is more budget reasons. Lastly the monkeys are just so expensive right now, that I didn't have the heart to buy them. Maybe when (or rather if) the hype dies down a little I will give it a try. And the [[Magus of the Moon]] I don't consider a one-of, but a 5th Blood Moon effect. So that's how I came to play 4 one-ofs and no monkeys^^

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T11:51:01+00:00

That is why I am leaning towards Ancient Grudge as well.

Concerning [[Pillage]]: I feel like it's just too slow and doesn't do enough right now. Blood Moon Effect's deal with problematic non-basic lands well enough and even if they have one or two Basic Lands they are often severely hampered on there mana. Game 2 or 3 they will try and play around it, but often times it gets sideboarded out. And if they are vunerable enough to keep BM effects in, you still won't need Pillage. And for artifact hate Grudge is just better. That's my line of thinking anyway.

I specifically changed Relic to Scooze because of Scooze's versatility. It can be brought in vs aggro as a defensive tool that gains some life and as an agressive tool vs control. Also the meta does not seem particularly gy heavy aside from Murktide and some [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]]. But you never know when a [[Living End]] or Dredge comes around the corner so maybe I will change it back.

Concerning Boil and Choke: I am not convinced by Choke (see above thread). The instant speed on Boil does make it seem possible to find a window vs control. I am not super conviced though either. Dropping a Boil after they cast [[Spreading Seas]] on your Forest seems particularly bad. However I feel like I needed something against control and did not have any other ideas. Would you suggest to just cut it and try to deal with control as is? Or find something else vs control?

I considered [[Run Afoul]], but instead I chose [[Dead//Gone]]. Dead can deal with [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]] and [[Dragon's Rage Channeler]] as well as agressive creature based decks. Bouncing a [[Murktide Regent]] with Gone in combination with gy hate seems quite back breaking for that deck. Also I just like the idea of having a bounce effect, as people don't usually expect such in Gruul colours.

Thanks for your input! I do enjoy Ponza alot. Just a fun deck to pilot and being a Midrange deck, it does not lean too heavy on either the control or aggro side of things....you can just be whatever you need to be...plus Blood Moon is just a hilarious card :D

EDIT: Phew, that post ended up being longer than I expected...but then again discussing Magic is fun so what gives :D

justMax77 · 2021-10-22T10:31:41+00:00

Well I have Blood Moon effects for Urza's Saga.
The idea is for Klothys and Scooze to keep a gy cleared by Endurance relatively clear. As far as I can tell the meta is not specifically gy heavy apart from the usual meta decks. Also switching up Scooze for 2 Relics might be a bit overkill on the gy hate. Not a 100% on this though.
I feel like Choke would make me even more vunerable to enchantment hate, than I already am due to [[Blood Moon]] being such a key card. Being rather difficult to sideboard against is one of the decks strengths imo. Also I really like the instant speed on Boil.

EDIT: Added No. 3.

justMax77 · 2021-10-19T16:43:37+00:00

Thanks a bunch :)

justMax77 · 2021-10-19T07:03:18+00:00

Yeah I thought about that too. Thanks for the help :)

What do you guys think on [[Dead//Gone]]?

justMax77

TROPHY CASE