iCounter

Titan Valakut is tough. You need pressure and disruption and I've considered running a Disdainful Stroke or two in the sideboard for that matchup and Tron, even though I don't like sideboarding for Tron. I think Stubborn Denial maindeck is better against Tron than sideboard Fulminator anyways. I do think you have more game against Breach Titan than Jund or Abzan, as counterspells are far stronger than removal in the matchup. As you mentioned, the list has been changing a bit, mostly to test cards, and I consider Jace, Nihil Spellbomb, Tasigur, 1 Scavrnging Ooze, and Vapor Snag to be flex spots. I really like Jace in a list that is disrupting an opponent and deploying threats prior to Jace coming down. I think he's awful in the format when you're tapping out to cast him without a way to protect him. He's been great in grindy matchups when the board is relatively clear, is great against Lingering Souls, Narcomoeba, and Stinkwred Imp. Against Dredge, I find myself winning game one when they don't have the busted turn 1 draws when I can hold up Stubborn Denial to stop Conflag/Rally, use Jace/Lili the Last Hope to pick off threats, and bide time for Scavenging Ooze to take over the game. Jace had also been great at stabilizing against a Young Pyromancer out of Grixis and letting bigger threats and Stubborn Denial take over the game. Overall I don't love Jace in the format but I think he shores up some weaknesses in the deck and plays best with big Goyfs and Flayers to hold off the ground.

Overall, you're playing a game plan that falls somewhere between Grixis Delver and Jund. You have more ways to exploit tempo than Jund and can often close a game on turn 5-6. It's not quite as fast as Delver, but is able to create bigger threats on average and can be a bit more disruptive with discard and Lili.

As far as creatures go, Goyf is pretty obvious. Grim Flayer is the card the deck is built most around, as a turn 1 bauble, fetch land, and thought scour very frequently turns on Delirium on turn 2. There's an inherent tension between Flayer/Snapcaster and Tasigur/Cut, so it takes a lot of reps with the list to know how to manage your graveyard (like Grixis Delver) to keep Delrium going and delving around it. The major impetus for playing the deck is Stubborn Denial, which I think is an incredibly powerful card. You only play two Snapcaster because without Bolt or Path, they're clunkier, yet still powerful. Mindwrack Demon is very much a flex spot. I have liked it during testing as it refills the graveyard for Delve, Delirium, Snapcaster, and Goyf. I've also tested Whirler Rogue, Tireless Tracker, and a few other 1-of threats in that slot. You're basically looking for evasion, value, and a threat in that slot. I've also valued having my 4-drop being resilient to Liliana of the Veil. I'm very excited to test Heart of Kirin in this list, perhaps with Ashiok or Garruk Wildspeaker. Heart of Kirin is crewed by the deck's threats, enables Stubborn Denial, and works well with and defends Planeswalkers. Another card I'm considering in the flex slot is Glen Elendra, as I think she's much stronger when you have a powerful board presence.

Another matchup I've been quite pleased with is Dredge. The combination of countermagic to stop Rally the Peasants and Conflagrate, big threats on the ground, Scavenging Ooze, and discard all give you a very fair shot against anything but their most explosive hands game one and the sideboard hate has been quite effective.

I don't think it's quite there for today's Modern metagame. You can often get past having less powerful removal spells like Path, Bolt, and Terminate by leveraging countermagic, but you can be overpowered or have the wrong interaction at the wrong time. The deck feels much stronger against Grixis Delver as you're playing a more similar gameplan to Delver (tempo) with, on average, bigger threats that bolt is bad against. The deck is really good against noncreature combo like Ad Nauseum, as you get access to Maelstrom Pulse, Discard, Lili, Abrupt Decay, as well as Stubborn Denial, which is really tough for them to beat.

I thought about it and I'm not sure I love Crackling Doom at the moment, not enough to add an additional color. I wanted to make the more consistent and conservative build first and adjust from there.

I'd love to see Tasigur in the sideboard potentially in grindy games. Sweet brew.

Yeah I really like Scatter to the Winds but this list seems to straddle the line between a midrange value and tapout control deck. I really like the idea of reanimating Halimar Tidecaller with Summons or Shepherd for value. The size of the creatures in this deck shouldn't matter too much, as they get out of control once emblems start accumulating. It's kind of the perfect value creature. It also allows Shambling Vents to attack in the air, making it easier to regain some life.

Card considerations to test are Halimar Tidecaller and Clutch of Currents to really push the value/awaken theme to another level.

Thanks!! I appreciate the feedback and the tips!

Went ahead to make the swap of removing Siege Rhino in favor of Tasigur

I think Gideon, Ally of Zendikar will definitely be a welcome addition to this deck as well.

Thank you! I appreciate it. The other card I have yet to test but think has potential is Hangarback Walker. It might make its way in for the Siege Rhino (which has also been Tasigur at times). The other card it could come in for is Murderous Cut.

I definitely understand why it looks a bit disjointed, but a lot of cards overlap or aren't as great in certain match-ups. With a deck like this, you always want 1-2 Celestial Purge for Keranos and it's also an additional removal spell for Liliana and Gurmag Angler. Kitchen Finks comes in against burn and in the grindy match-ups (usually against twin g2-3) just as a value creature. 2 Engineered Explosives are what I think are necessary for Bogles. Without Liliana, you just need a way to attack their creatures (can't try to 1 for 1 their auras) and EE seems like the best option. Overall, I've been pretty happy with the sideboard thus far, even though it appears to be a ton of 1-ofs. I do understand wanting to make it more streamlined though. Modern is the most diverse its been in my opinion, so I like variety and options.

Thanks! I've been testing online and have won some 8 mans. Haven't run it through dailies yet.

I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless and love those cards in general!

Honestly they're just too slow for Modern. They are great sources of value, but the value isn't immediate unfortunately.

Thanks for the suggestion, I've been thinking about making that switch or a mix of the two. I have found myself in situations where I need more proactive threats and bodies.

If anybody is looking or interested in possible additions/changes, I think there are possibilities.

-- Soul of Innistrad/Soul of New Phyrexia as possible 1-ofs to mill over. Their abilities are great from the graveyard and are possible targets to reainmate, thought Soul of New Phyrexia does seems potentially better in a Nighthowler deck, since keeping creatures in the graveyard is great, giving permanents indestructible for a turn is incredibly powerful vs control, Trample makes it better with Nighthowler, and dodges opposing Sultai Charms and Ultimate Prices should they become prevalent.
-Whip of Erebos may just be weak in a deck that is more dedicated to reanimating a threat that sticks or building a colossal Nighthowler attacker than playing value creatures that give powerful effects.
-- 1-of Gilt-Lead Winnower is also a powerful body to hold Nighthowler, adds to the removal suite, solid with Whip.
-- Commune with the Gods vs Gather the Pack: Whip is so powerful in past iterations of these archetypes that being able to dig for it seems more powerful than the Spell Mastery upside on Gather. However, if Whip leaves the deck, Gather the Pack is clearly a better choice.

If anyone is interested in helping with the evolution of this deck, I'd love other recommendations for the deck as a whole and specifically suggestions as to what the best targets are for singular reanimation effects in standard. Atarka was a consideration, but I think cards that add tokens (Hornet Queen) or are very hard to deal with (Sagu Mauler and Gaea's Revenge) are towards the top of my list, especially since Nighthowler + Mauler seems nearly unbeatable.

I really appreciate the feedback. I have looked at that card a few times and really like the additional land drop ability in this deck and it does seem great in some match-ups. I haven't tested it yet, but if I were to, I think I could maybe shave 1 caryatid for 1. I do like the idea of playing a land on the opponent's end step and really ramping out of nowhere.