Nope! The number of lands! That's why it's useful in two- and tri-color decks as opposed to Seismic Strike which is based on Mountains.

I played 8 more games yesterday with this build and went 7-1. So now my total is 18-2. I have not needed any sort of Elvish Visionary for draw or early defense in this build for 2 reasons: The first I usually have at least 1 or 2 burns/destroys for anything that comes out early that is a *true* threat. Secondly, with the Saruli Gatekeepers, taking damage for the first 3 turns after getting rid of what threat that may be tough to handle more than makes up for the damage I take. Not to mention Anger of the Gods will rock weenie/aggro builds. With the Gatekeepers also being a 2/4, once it comes out, it is basically an indestructible wall in this meta lol. If someone wastes destroy/burn on it, all the better.

As far as something being out of reach of Shock, Ground Assault, or Auger Spree it is pretty much never. Shock of course can be out of reach here and there but it is usually used for the 99% of 2 toughness creatures, lol. Ok, maybe not quite 99%, but they are everywhere! Plus Shock is useful any time I'm blocked/blocking with a Gatekeepers/Jailbreaker. When you get to Auger there is next to nothing it can't kill outside the late-game bombs, which is why I pretty much always save Ground Assault for last when using my destroys unless I absolutely have to use it early. So it can literally kill anything, especially with 4 Cultivates, it is rare that I don't see at least 1. Then of course there's the 2 Flesh to Dust if anything gets past the other stuff. I've not one single time said "Man, if I just had a Cunning Sparkmage right now I would be in better shape". Not with this build, I do like Sparkmage elsewhere!

On top of all of that, I tend to get plenty of draw from Graveborn Muse and between those, thinning with Cultivates, and tutoring with Rune-Scarred Demon I am pretty much never without an answer to something my opponent plays. The times I do go extended amounts of time searching for the right answer I am almost always going to gain 7 life at least once if not 2-3 times over with the Gatekeepers and later Pelakka Wurms.

The life/defense of the Gatekeepers keep me alive long enough to get to the late game where this deck will end fairly quickly after an already battered opponent is "grasping for straws". Ogre Jailbreakers will bring on very strong pressure and will kill nearly anything that blocks them (especially with a Shock or Spree in hand). The opponent can only get smacked in the face for 4 damage so many times before they have to start blocking and sacrificing what few stragglers they may have left. And then the big guys come in to play (queue for RQ, lol).

There's been a couple games where the magic gods didn't grant me a Muse, Cultivate, or a 5th land where I literally won on the backs of the Gatekeepers/Jailbreakers supported with the Shocks, Sprees, and Assaults. Which was basically the game-plan when making this deck. Add in early support before and a few bombs after the "4-drop" area (that is just stupid strong when you have 12 gates) and you are good to go.

Looks good, Neb, but I wish you'd autocard by CMC instead of color so I could more easily get a sense of the curve. It's 3-3-10-10-2-8, if anyone's interested.

Anyway, that looks a tad on the high side; have you considered cutting the Charmbreaker for another land?

I always like to put the cards in order they are in the deck editor so it is easier for people to put it together by just going down the list, although I certainly agree it might be better for forum purposes to sort it by CMC. I might go ahead and start doing/edit for that.

I generally don't have a problem with land but there's been a couple times where 1 more land would have helped move things along. That's not a bad idea Hakeem, I'll give that a shot. I'll drop the Charmbreakers and add a Mountain since my lowest cost cards are as well as my lowest costing double cost being .

I just feel that your deck doesn't get going until 4CMC when you drop a defender and regain some life. At 24 land with no early game plays besides Cultivate, I can see you getting stuck on three mana for a turn or two and falling behind. I imagine this is quite tough to beat if it hits four mana and hasn't been pressured because the top end and removal packages are both great. Getting to land drop four ASAP seems critical for that to happen, though.

You are pretty much right-on here. Getting stuck at 3 land isn't that common with the 4 Cultivates, but I did get stuck at 3 in one game and sure enough that was one of my losses. Although if I had hit any land or Cultivate at any time before I finally lost, that game was a win. Good call.

Did I do that again? yeah, I meant Treasured Find. I don't know why I keep doing that.

Anyways, the deck is solid and fun to play. Treasured ends up usually grabbing ground assault back for me as more people are playing big 'uns. Used Ground Assault for 9 damage on Kozilek the other day, then finished it with Anger of the Gods to exile that monster.

I'm not all that great with aggro(creatures, etc.) but removal? I love removal, usually black.(this versions sample of black removal kind of sucks so far). Ground Assault and Auger Spree are great, as is ANger of the Gods. I'm tempted to make my mono black use rakdos guildgate so I can use Auger Spree.

Since my deck utilizes monsters itself, I'm not worried about grabbing them back out of the graveyard cause where there's one monster, there's many more. I tend to draw the removal out with Treasured Find or if the game calls for it, another Saruli Gatekeeper.

The cards I listed were listed for added early protection and can really really help stall longer if you're not lucky enough to get that Anger in hand. Putting all your money on the anger to protect you against fast aggro decks is risky business from my experience.

Not to mention visionary helps get deeper into your deck and get those angers or whatever you need.

I'm not 100% sure who this is directed at, lol, but I'm pretty sure it is me. ;P

So basically while Anger is certainly the most potent card vs. an early rush it is by far not the only. With the Shocks, Auger Sprees, and if in a real bind the Assaults early on, there is plenty of options to scale back an early rush. On top of that, and this may be what is being overlooked the most here, when I hit that 4th land I am also gaining 7 life with Gatekeepers. So what damage that does get through with an early rush is basically wiped away and at the same time a staunch defender is now on the board. I can pretty much bank on gaining 14 life during a game between 4 Gatekeepers and the 2 Pelakkas. I've literally yet to lose to any of the fast aggro builds (and as everyone knows, they are abundant).

It isn't that 1 of the options I listed above can deal with a rush on it's own (outside Anger), it is when all the options are combined that they are very capable of handling any early-game rush. I will almost always have 2 of some sort of early damage spell and almost always have a Gatekeeper by T4. If I don't have a Gatekeeper that early then I probably have more burn/Anger and vise versa.

As far as the Visionaries are concerned, again, they are simply just not needed. The real question here would be "What do you replace for any number of Visionaries and is that worth it?" I don't see anything. Do I replace Shocks? I'd rather have the Shocks that can deal with something like a Goblin Rabblemaster. I certainly can't go down on the land count or Cultivates. Anything else is really starting to be iffy to be replaced by a Visionary or 2 and frankly I haven't felt I ever needed one so far. I love Visionaries and they are probably in all but a couple of my builds with in it, but this is one that doesn't need them.

Visionaries are fine, but there's just no room for them here without diluting the quality of the removal and bombs. Once you do that, there's less good stuff for you to draw into.

I see.

Hello chums! Thanks to Hakeem for the invite

I have been having a decent amount of success with a Jund list I keep tinkering with. I tend to switch one or two cards around every few days. Right now I'm trying out Cunning Sparkmage. While it is always in flux, here's where it is now:

1 Suffer the Past
1 Tribute to Hunger
1 Flesh to Dust
2 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Griselbrand

4 Shock
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Inferno Titan

1 Genesis Hydra
4 Elvish Visionary
2 Reclamation Sage
4 Cultivate
1 Arbor Colossus
2 Terra Stomper
2 Pelakka Wurm

1 Kozilek, Butcher of Fun

1 Treasured Find
3 Ground Assault

4 Swamp
4 Mountain
7 Forest
2 Rakdos Guildgate
4 Gruul Guildgate
2 Golgari Guildgate

Take it for a spin or offer any suggestions.

How consistently can you actually cast Griselbrand, mate? I see too few black mana sources to 100% hit him when you have 8 lands. Other than that, build's pretty similar to what I'm running except Sparkmages and Reclamation Sage. Also, I need to try sticking in Kozilek because I've never tried that.

Every now and then he winds up stranded, but for the most part you're good to go as long as you're careful with your Cultivating. There are 4 swamps so you can always fetch to cast (unless the jerkface is playing Mold Shamblers).

Typically, your mana priorities in order are 1) triple green, 2) double red, and 3) quadruple black. These obviously get rejiggered as the situation and spells in hand dictate.

Okay, thanks. Have yet to find a build where I could try him Maybe that's the one.

Hakeem, is he the infamous jund runner??

Haha no I don't think so. I only just started running Sparkmages.

We have had some epic clashes though.

Reading comprehension: I lack it.

You guys should get on STEAM! ><

I'm sorry, best, have a looot of family-related issues atm Last time I played was in July, I think... Hope to get back in about a week though! Can't wait to test all these new build ideas.