Bring to Kiki

[CaptainTwiddle]

Here's a brew that is basically an update of the Kiki Chord deck. The deck goes into all 5 colors to play Bring to Light. While you lose the instant speed tutoring provided by Chord of Calling, the mana is actually less intense in many situations for BtL. The other upside of BtL compared to CoC is that you can tutor for instants/sorceries, which expands the power of the sideboard in particular. The basic premise of the deck is unchanged: play mana ramp and a toolbox of creatures, which happens to contain the Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Restoration Angel combo. Kiki and Angel also provide synergy with many of the toolbox creatures. As such, the deck plays more of midrange control game and either wins with the combo or simply by exhausting the opponent's resources.

Bring to Kiki
CREATURES
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Bounding Krasis
3 Courser of Kruphix
1 Eternal Witness
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Restoration Angel
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Siege Rhino
1 Sin Collector
1 Spellskite
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Thragtusk
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Wall of Omens
1 Wall of Roots
SPELLS
4 Bring to Light
1 Chord of Calling
4 Path to Exile
LAND
2 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Breeding Pool
2 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Seachrome Coast
2 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
1 Auriok Champion
1 Celestial Purge
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Loaming Shaman
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Shatterstorm
1 Shriekmaw
1 Stony Silence
1 Worship
1 Zealous Conscripts

The sideboard is obviously very flexible and adaptive, given the toolbox nature of the deck.

[CaptainTwiddle]

Evidently, I was on to something with adding Bring to Light to Kiki-Chord. A version of the deck piloted by Ryland Taliaferrd finished in the top 8 of an SCG IQ on 10/31/15. I believe the decklist was created by Sam Black (I heard that via a podcast, so I'm not 100% on it). You can check it here or below:

Five Color Chord
CREATURES
1 Spellskite
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Lotus Cobra
1 Noble Hierarch
4 Restoration Angel
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Wall of Omens
1 Courserof Kruphix
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
SPELLS
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Retreat to Coralhelm
2 Chord of Calling
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Path to Exile
1 Boom//Bust
3 Bring to Light
1 Lingering Souls
LAND
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Breeding Pool
4 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Raging Ravine
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Shambling Vent
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
1 Bring to Light
1 Crumble to Dust
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Izzed Staticaster
1 Jaddi Offshoot
3 Kor Firewalker
1 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
1 Slaughter Games
1 Thragtusk


I think the list is interesting, but I don't love a number of the card choices. I think it should be playing the full set of Paths in the main. I understand that the list is leaning heavy red to facilitate Kiki, but I think the mana is pretty good and you want removal that will just get stuff off the board. Obzedat and Thundermaw Hellkite seem a bit too cute; I'd rather just have the 2nd Kiki and a Thragtusk in the main. The Swords seem a bit risky to me. I guess if there has been a shift away from Kolaghan's Command and Abrupt Decay decks, they might be safer. I like that they turn your mana dorks into real threats, but maybe something like Gavony Township is better suited to the task (the deck includes Knight of the Reliquary after all). I also think the single Lingering Souls is a little odd.

With that in mind, here is an updated list of mine that include the Knight + Retreat engine. It's really not a "combo" in this deck, as there is no Kessig Wolf Run or other land to allow your Knight to push through blockers, but I've found that KotR lets the deck get really grindy. If you use it with Retreat to just thin the lands out of your deck and grow to a very large size, you'll be drawing gas while your opponent has to chump block every turn. Also, Retreat is pretty solid with Kiki and can be used defensively to buy time until you can overpower the opponent.

Kiki Retreat (by CaptainTwiddle)
CREATURES
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Bounding Krasis
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Eternal Witness
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
3 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Lotus Cobra
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Restoration Angel
1 Siege Rhino
1 Spellskite
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Thragtusk
2 Wall of Omens
1 Wall of Roots
1 Wood Elves
SPELLS
3 Bring to Light
2 Chord of Calling
4 Path to Exile
1 Retreat to Coralhelm
LAND
2 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Breeding Pool
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
1 Agent of Erebos
1 Boom // Bust
1 Bring to Light
1 Crumble to Dust
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Shriekmaw
1 Sin Collector
1 Slaughter Games
1 Zealous Conscripts

I like this build a bit more, at least in what appears to be the current aggro/Zoo heavy meta. The extra walls are really helpful and Sylvan Caryatid is a great blocker and mana source. The Siege Rhino and Thragtusk may be redundant, but there are certain situations where one is preferable to the other (Thragtusk shines against opposing 4/5 Tarmogoys, for instance, while Rhino lets you drain life without using combat (gets around Worship, if that's a thing)). The single Bounding Krasis is another Kiki combo piece. I opted for Krasis over Deceiver Exarch because it's a bit better in combat when you need to play fair.

Bring to Light is a crazy card. It allows for crazy hybrid decks with Kiki, Gifts Ungiven, and Scapshift, and in the case of the above, the KotR + Retreat combo can fit in as well. I can only imagine Bring to Light will continue to lead to interesting brews in the future.

[Valtrix]

You know that bring to light can't actually tutor up retreat to coralhelm, right? It's a shame that that's the case...

[GoblinSettler]

This deck looks awesome.

I've had a light blue splash and Knights in my Kiki Chord deck. So I put in couple Retreat as well. It's not terribly consistent at seeing either combo. But it is decent without and rather fun to play.

Here you've taken it to the next level. I'll try something similar next time I play Modern. Thanks!

[CaptainTwiddle]

You know that bring to light can't actually tutor up retreat to coralhelm, right? It's a shame that that's the case...

Yes, I'm aware of this. The Retreat is really just in there for value and the potential incidental combo. Outside of the KotR interaction, you can use it to untap mana dorks, make blockers or tap down potential attackers using fetchlands, and get non-infinite additional uses out of Kiki.

[zebhillard]

I've actually been playing this fairly often recently, and even managed to win my Byes to GP Detroit with it. I didn't take it to the GP because of the Eldrazi menace, but dusted it back off since the bannings are coming up soon. It works by basically just jamming all of the infinite combos you can manage into one shell, and letting your opponent try and decide which one they are going to attempt to stop...then pulling off another. At one point, I was running 2 copies of Jace, Vryn's Prodigy instead of Eternal Witness...but Witness is just so very solid. The Glissa is currently being tested, but I haven't had enough games to give reliable commentary on her. The slot she's in I usually had Huntmaster of the Fells, which as a workhorse, pure and simple.

Here's the list I'm currently on:

Creatures (25)
1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
1 Archangel of Thune
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Eternal Witness (or Jace, Vryn's Prodigy)
1 Glissa, the Traitor (or Huntmaster of the Fells)
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Murderous Redcap
2 Noble Hierarch
4 Restoration Angel
1 Spellskite
1 Spike Feeder
1 Thragtusk
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped


Spells (11)
4 Bring to Light
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Path to Exile
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Tidings


Lands (24)
1 Blood Crypt
1 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Strand
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Shambling Vent
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills


And finally, the sideboard...which is in a pretty constant state of flux.

1 Abrupt Decay
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Disenchant
2 Fracturing Gust
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Path to Exile
1 Slaughter Games
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Wrath of God

[Echelon]

Looking at the name of the topic, the deck should have been called Kiki's Delivery Service.

[zebhillard]

Looking at the name of the topic, the deck should have been called Kiki's Delivery Service.

It's a fun 75 to play, and honestly I generally don't even Bring for Kiki. The benefit of Bring over Chord is you can find Sorcery solutions to your problems and then just keep turning guys sideways for the win if you think they have a way to disrupt your combo. Chord can definitely be more resilient (and only having three sources of red from lands does hurt when you need to hard cast Kiki), but it's still a deck full of good options. I'll likely keep tuning it as more sets release and see if it moves from "potentially decent" to "viable."

[Echelon]

It's a fun 75 to play, and honestly I generally don't even Bring for Kiki. The benefit of Bring over Chord is you can find Sorcery solutions to your problems and then just keep turning guys sideways for the win if you think they have a way to disrupt your combo. Chord can definitely be more resilient (and only having three sources of red from lands does hurt when you need to hard cast Kiki), but it's still a deck full of good options. I'll likely keep tuning it as more sets release and see if it moves from "potentially decent" to "viable."

I fear the point of my post went straight over your head, but that's ok. It was a pun above anything else.

[zebhillard]

I fear the point of my post went straight over your head, but that's ok. It was a pun above anything else.

Oh, no. I got it, just thought instead of replying with a simple acknowledgement, I'd further the ideas listed in the thread.

[CaptainTwiddle]

I figured I'd resurrect this thread. I've kept the Kiki + Bring to Light deck in my arsenal for a while and have enjoyed having at as an option. The build that I'm most fond of incorporates Scapeshift as an alternate combo win condition. The deck, in many ways, is an excuse to play with some cool cards, but it's actually quite powerful and is awkward for many decks to play against, as your opponent will likely have no idea what you're on until you're about to combo. If they thwart one combo, you have the other at your disposal. I find myself winning with Kiki + Resto Angel most of the time, but Scapeshift + Valakut plays on such a different axis that it's difficult for most decks to effectively answer both.

Here's the list:

Kikishift
CREATURES
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Eternal Witness
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Restoration Angel
1 Reveillark
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Spellskite
2 Wall of Omens
2 Wall of Roots
1 Wood Elves
SPELLS
4 Bring to Light
4 Chord of Calling
4 Path to Exile
1 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
LAND
2 Forest
1 Island
2 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Breeding Pool
2 Cinder Glade
1 Murmuring Bosk
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Windswept Heath

SIDEBOARD
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Bribery
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Loaming Shaman*
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Ravenous Trap*
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
2 Stony Silence
1 Thragtusk

*The Loaming Shaman and Ravenous Trap in the sideboard will probably be replaced by something else, now that Dredge has been weakened by the banning of Golgari Grave-Troll.

Some cards that I've tried in the sideboard in the past to reasonable results include:

Crumble to Dust - hate for Tron, which might be on the uptick
Etched Monstrosity - reasonable against grindy decks, especially if Fatal Push becomes the removal spell du jour.
Kitchen Finks - more life gain against Burn and a solid roadblock against midrange/aggro decks
Slaughter Games - answer to some combos or specific cards that are otherwise hard to beat
Shriekmaw - removal that can be reused with Resto or Kiki and an evasive body
Wrath of God - another sweeper would be helpful and I think WoG gets the nod. Supreme Verdict is an option, but the cannot be countered clause is irrelevant if you're casting it off of Bring to Light (if your opponent fears a sweeper, they'll just counter BTL).