Note that this primer is also meant to be a resource to help with future brewing of the deck (or other creature-centric decks), that's why there are listed loads of relevant cards and synergies.
Table of contents
• Deck name explained
• Basics
• Background
• Why play MOST?
• Sample deck lists
• Matchups
• Core cards of the deck
• Sideboard
• Two potential cores
• Related decks
• Synergies to build upon
• Possible combos
• Packages from above
• Examples of online playing
• Discord
• Podcasts covering the deck
• Tournament results
• Modern version of the deck
MOST
MOST is an acronym for Merieke, Opposition, Survival of the Fittest, and Tradewind Rider. Note that many of these cards have been replaced as they became less relevant, it is a name that was relevant a long time ago.
With Survival banned it may be more appropriate to call it MOFT, since Fauna Shaman replaced Survival of the fittest. But we won't do that, no.
Basics of the deck
At its heart it's a creature centric control deck, using creatures to try to control the board and to some degree stack and having some amount of selection to help find the creatures needed. Depending on which colours and card selection suit you choose to use, the deck will look a bit differently. The deck is typically focused on the bant colours with a light black splash but any combination is possible and they all have their advantages. An introduction to what the different colours bring, and what different colour combinations look like, could be added to this primer.
The deck typically tries to ramp by playing a large amount of alternative mana sources and fewer lands. In parallel it can deploy a Mother of Runes to secure key creatures and gain board control. The advantage of this is that you develop your board more quickly than most decks, and your late game topdecks improve since a top decked mana producer can be used as tutor fodder for Fauna Shaman. Having Fauna Shaman active and an Aether Vial in play means you can put basically any card from your deck into play at instant speed and uncounterably (well, you need to plan for it and tick Vial up accordingly). This is very useful. Vs combo you can slam a Spell Queller, Leovold, Gaddock Teeg or Gilded Drake at an inconvenient moment for your opponent. Vs control a Glen Elendra can cause some problems, or a Magus of the Moon. Vs aggressive decks a Peacekeeper can give you all the time in the world to build up a game winning board. And vs midrange decks getting Leovold, Merieke Ri Berit or Stoneforge for Jitte can all be game winners. You can also tutor up strong card advantage engines when that is the approach you need to take, or a sweeper. It's all up to you and how you choose to use your flex slots. Just changing a single slot can have a large impact on a matchup.
Background of the deck
It was created by the user Stinner as a Survival deck in 2008-2009. Already in 2004 the ATS thread was created on the Source. Also in the 90's I was playing 5c Tradewind which can be read about on The Dojo, buried deep in memory.
The deck, in its post-survival form, has been discussed on the now inactive MtG-forum Tipo1.it since Dec 10th 2011:
http://www.tipo1.it/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27255
I highly recommend using Google Translate when browsing this forum: https://translate.google.com/transla...-text=&act=url
Previous thread on the source and other forums was the Trade Pod deck, which was high-jacked by the user Buloid to discuss MOST in late 2013:
Thread: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Birthing-Pod)
Buloid's post: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...l=1#post765777
Why play this deck?
It is perhaps the most beautiful deck of legacy (not afraid of using big words here), surprising you with its consistency (which is reasonable), efficiency (which is good) and flexibility (which is unparalleled). It is unlike anything most of you have seen or played before, so free your mind of your mental inhibitions and browse on.
The deck is different in that it doesn't put one single strategy foremost and then does everything to streamline the deck into executing that strategy, it is a deck that tries to execute a multi-faceted strategy by having an efficient and redundant tutor core (maybe it needs to be streamlined, you're welcome to dig in). Due to the last decade's steady increase in efficiency of creatures we can expect this deck to only get better with time. The most crucial aspect seems to be veeeery few people playing it. The learning curve is steep, the deck is difficult to master, the deck building possibilities are endless, but given time and effort the deck will reward you with tremendous fun, even your opponents will enjoy it with you, and correctly tailored for your meta it can be a strong contender.
The deck has a maindeck hatebear strategy which gives it good game vs combo and control decks, it can pack FoW somewhere in the 75 which helps vs t1-2 combo and it has a redundant card tutoring core that lets you find a multitude of silver-bullets for certain matchups (such as Gilded Drake, Magus of the Moon, Orzhov Pontiff, Merieke Ri Berit, etc).
It is a very creative deck archetype. The core is flexible and provides a lot of tutoring and protection vs both fair and unfair strategies. It can host basically any creature based combo and will put it together by turn 4-5 if left uninterrupted, and Mother of Runes and Force of Will can help it be uninterrupted if that's what you're going for. FoW’s can also be used to protect your creatures against sweepers if they are rampant in your local meta, the Vials and ramp options give it a good chance vs mana denial strategies (but Canadian Threshold is still a tough matchup in my experience).
One of the deck’s main disadvantages is that it is very hard to both put together optimally and to master a list; there is most certainly a better list out there and evaluating changes can be hard since it is not a streamlined deck with 4 copies of every card, different games can play out quite differently. Having access to almost any of the cards in your list every turn and figuring out if you need to be defensive, offensive, which threat you should focus on preparing for or which synergies you should deploy and in what order can be quite challenging. Putting an extra counter on a Vial because you want to be guaranteed to put a certain creature in your deck into play may result in your losing the game.
Sample deck lists
03-27-2020 Pettdan and 020719
02-17-2020 Vickas and 122018, 2018
06-08-2019 Bobmans
03-24-2019 Memories of the Time
02-22-2019 Deragun
02-21-2019 Bedell
02-02-2019 AngryBacon
01-12-2019 ChristoferV
12-22-2018 FutureSight2_MTGBoogaloo
11-16-2018 Cermak
09-20-2018 Demonic Pact
08-17-2018 Kanti
02-22-2018 Stinner
05-12-2017 Shaden
04-14-2017 Hadhod
02-15-2017 Alexeezay
Matchups
Running out of space for the primer, moved here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1082090
Common and a few not so common core cards of the deck (by decreased order of frequency in decklists, subjectively)
• Lands: 14-18 cards
1 Forest
0-1 Plains
1-3 Savannah
1-2 Tropical Island
1-2 Bayou
0-1 Tundra
0-1 Underground Sea
0-1 Taiga
6-8 Fetches for Forest type cards
Not counting Dryad Arbor among the lands.
• Alternative mana sources: 4-14 cards
Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Green Sun's Zenith, Dryad Arbor, Aether Vial, Once upon a Time
Comment: there used to be mixed opinions on playing Aether Vial in this deck, as of now it's relatively established in most versions. Here you can find previous discussion on this: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...l=1#post856704
• Tutors and card selection: 6-12 cards (GSZ included above)
Once upon a Time, Green Sun’s Zenith, Fauna Shaman, Sylvan Library, Brainstorm, Recruiter of the Guard, Imperial Recruiter
• Utility: 1-2 cards
Scryb Ranger, Quirion Ranger
Comment: These are often key cards of the deck, although if your list is focusing on ETB effects they become a little less useful, still however excellent. They triple up on the activations of each creature with a tap effect in the deck, since you can activate the Ranger's ability during the opponent's turn too. The perhaps most useful applications are Mother of Runes for board control and protection, and using it to get 4 mana out of a single land and mana dork, extremely resource efficient. Other examples of applications are doubling up on tutoring with Fauna Shaman, good if you try to use a graveyard based combo or synergy such as using Volrath's Shapeshifter; the rangers turn Merieke Ri Berit into a killer machine and win condition since you can untap her with her first activation on the stack to put a second copy on the stack, taking control of several creatures; you can use Tradewind Rider (rarely played lately) to bounce 2-3 lands per turn to create a soft lock, keeping your opponent on 1 land for the rest of the game. The Scryb Ranger provides more utility, flashing in to fizzle a Wasteland is common as is blocking Strix/Delver/Clique or carrying equipment, but the Quirion Ranger can be fetched more easily. Adding Soulherder to the deck puts more focus on etb-effects than tap-effects, so depending on which effects you focus on you may want to run 1 or 2 copies.
• Control: 1-2 cards
Glen Elendra Archmage, Opposition, Tradewind Rider
Comment: Tradewind Rider and Opposition have fallen out of favor but are still powerful options, consider if they are right for your meta. Both cards are actually weak to Terminus.
• Removal: 3-7 cards
Qasali Pridemage, Knight of the Autumn, Orzhov Pontiff, Plague Engineer, Swords to Plowshares, Abrupt Decay, Umezawa’s Jitte, Izzet Staticaster
Comment: You absolutely need artifact removal to get rid of Umezawa's Jitte before it connects (if that card is seeing play, with Oko in the format it has dropped a lot), or some other way of dealing with it such as Peacekeeper or Force of Will.
• Hatebears: 4-7
Gaddock Teeg, Merieke Ri Berit, Leovold, Emissary of Trest, Meddling Mage, Vendilion Clique, Phyrexian Revoker, Magus of the Moon, Sanctum Prelate, Shalai, Voice of Plenty, Collector Ouphe
• Finishers: 0-1 cards
Mirror Entity, Sublime Archangel, Rafiq of the Many, Shaman of the Great Hunt, True-Name Nemesis, Brightling
• Protection: 3-8 cards
Mother of Runes, Giver of Runes, Peacekeeper, Baleful Strix, Force of Will, Spell Pierce, Negate, Spellskite, Spell Queller, Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• Card advantage: 2-5 cards
Soulherder, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Sylvan Library, Leovold Emissary of Trest, Shaman of the Great Hunt, Keranos, God of Storms, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Edric, Spymaster of Trest
• Boosting your team: 0-2 cards
• Lifegain or damage prevention
Scavenging Ooze, Umezawa’s Jitte, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Brightling, Rhox War Monk, Batterskull, Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
• Graveyard-interaction
• Planeswalkers
Oko, Thief of Crowns, Venser, the Sojourner, Domri Rade, Nissa, Steward of Elements, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Garruk Relentless, Captain Sisay
Comments: Planeswalkers will always be slightly suboptimal in the deck, if you can find a creature with a similar ability that is much better due to the tutorability provided by Fauna Shaman, protection from Mother of Runes, reusing thanks to Meren, and being playable through Aether Vial. There is a way to tutor for the planeswalkers and that is using Captain Sisay to tutor for them since they are legendary.
Other options to the core cards:
When considering which cards to add to your list you generally want the card to fullfill as many of the following requirements as possible (basically common sense):
- The card is a relevant topdeck in a lot of matchups independent of other cards in the deck. The more generally relevant a card is, the better. Fauna Shaman does loosen this requirement but many games will be played without an active Fauna Shaman. Playing Brainstorm in your list, of course, further loosens this requirement.
- Choose cards that have synergies with as many of the other cards in your deck as possible. A practical way of working with this is consider packages of cards. An example is Scryb Ranger which has synergy with any creature with a tap effect, which is most creatures in the deck, while also having a combo-like synergy with Merieke ri Berit (who's not "supposed to" untap).
- Cards that don't have much synergies with the other cards should have some very strong effects. Examples are Sylvan Library and Force of Will.
- When adding a combo element to the deck, the cards included should preferably be as few as possible and individually relevant.
Removal:
Plague Engineer, Plaguecrafter, Plague Mare, Granger Guildmage, Umezawa's Jitte, Kolaghan's Command, Shriekmaw, Vengeful Pharaoh, Jeska, Warrior Adept, Kamahl, Pit Fighter, Plaguebearer, Big Game Hunter, Matsu-Tribe Sniper, Stalking Leonin, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, Magus of the Scroll, Masticore, Dimir Charm, Izzet Charm, Tetsuo Umezawa, Giltspire Avenger, Basilisk Collar, Devout Witness, Ulvenwald Tracker, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Palace Jailer, Fleshbag Marauder, Merciless Executioner, Ravenous Chupacabra
Comments: the red legends are hardly playable, I've been thinking of combining them with Necrotic Ooze, in that case you don't have to play them but can use their ability through the Ooze. Vengeful Paraoh has very nice synergy with Fauna Shaman.
Hatebears:
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, Notion Thief, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Alms Collector, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Leonin Arbiter, Aven Mindcensor, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Council of the Absolute, Scab-Clan Berserker, Nimble Obstructionist
Tutors:
Recruiter of the Guard, Imperial Recruiter, Eladamri's Call, Stoneforge Mystic, Muddle the Mixture, Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, Living Wish, Glittering Wish, Dimir Infiltrator
Discard and hand disruption:
Vendilion Clique, Riptide Pilferer, Kitesail Freebooter, Tidehollow Sculler, Needle Specter, Gwendlyn di Corci, Dimir Cutpurse, Bloodhusk Ritualist, Ana Battlemage, Distended Mindbender, Thought-Knot Seer
Comment: there is also the combination of Leovold, Emissary of Trest or Notion Thief with Magus of the Wheel or similar creatures.
Thought-Knot Seer is pretty hard to cast and playing it would require some innovative choices. Cards that help cast Thought-Knot Seer could be Aether Vial, Magus of the Library, Cavern of Souls
Card advantage:
Card draw or filtering:
Edric, Spymaster of Trest, Vizier of the Menagerie, Dark Confidant, Heartwood Storyteller, Runic Armasaur, Kefnet the Mindful, Sky Hussar, Magus of the Library, Forgotten Creation, Mentor of the Meek
Utility:
Thousand-Year Elixir, possibly next to Trophy Mage, Retreat to Coralhelm, Crystal Shard, Kiora's Follower, Rhythm of the Wild
Protection:
Archangel of Tithes, Judge's Familiar, Mausoleum Wanderer, Selfless Squire, Mardu Ascendancy, Sylvan Safekeeper, Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist, Crackdown
Permission:
Finishers:
Saskia the Unyielding, Mirran Crusader, Scarab God, Gheist of Saint Traft, Samut, Voice of Dissent, Rhonas the Indomitable, Hero of Bladehold, Wren's Run Packmaster, Wolfbriar Elemental, Kefnet the Mindful, Erebos, God of the Dead, Thassa, God of the Sea, Desecration Demon (can be untapped with the Rangers to ignore the tapping effect), Purphoros, God of the Forge
Combat creatures:
Glissa, the Traitor
Comments: Glissa can rule the battlefield in some matchups and come in with Vial to block-kill an attacking creature, with the benefit of bringing back Vials, Strixes and Jitte from the graveyard for free. She also has very nice synergy with Walking Ballista.
Boosting your team:
Life gain or damage prevention:
Selfless Squire, Spike Weaver, Angus Mackenzie, Obstinate Baloth, Thragtusk, Kitchen Finks, Knight of the Autumn
Other mana producers:
Sylvan Caryatid, Magus of the Librayr, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Shaman of Forgotten Ways, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Sideboard considerations
Vs combo or control:
Force of Will, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Invasive Surgery, Swan Song, Zur's Weirding, Meddling Mage, Sanctum Prelate,
Vs combo:
Vs control decks:
Vs removal heavy decks:
Shapers' Sanctuary, Steely Resolve, Dense Foliage, Bubble Matrix, Absolute Law, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Vs mana denial:
Vs graveyard strategies:
Vs artifact-heavy decks:
Vs burn strategies:
Vs lands strategies:
Vs big creature strategies:
Two potential cores of the deck
To help me in my deck building with this deck I tend to build a core of the deck that contains the most useful cards that are needed to keep the deck together and provide the answers to some of the most common strategies. Let me know if you like a different core of the deck and I'll add it.
Upd March 2020: Since a while back I've been running Flickerwisph and Recruiter, inspired by DnT, and with recent MTGO success of Esper Vial using Soulherder I decided to try it too, I'll update the shell with Soulherder below. Also the release of OuaT means this card is now competing with GSZ (and Brainstorm) for space in the deck. I think if you're playing a value control version, then Recruiter is better, but if you're playing a combo control version, then Fauna Shaman is relatively better, but I think there is a lot of overlap between the optimal versions of both approaches. Also Collector Ouphe has appeared as a new hatebear for the sideboard, Oko presents a good threat and answer vs fair decks that MOST can ramp into, Uro and Kroxa appear as new Vial+Karakas value engines and late-game grind power. Kunoros has appeared as another relevant hatebear although it's hard to say how it fits, being a bit slow at three mana and not green and competing with Scavenging Ooze and Containment Priest.
With Soulherder:
3 Once Upon a Time
1 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Fauna Shaman
Non-creatures:
4 Aether Vial
1 Sylvan Library
Green creatures:
2 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Knight of Autumn
Non-green creatures:
3 Mother of Runes
1 Soulherder
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Sanctum Prelate
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
16 fetches and forests
Comment: with Soulherder etb effects get better, like Knight of Autumn and Orzov Pontiff. The lower amount of GSZs mean Dryad Arbor, Meren and Leovold are much harder to find consistently. This also means it's less necessary to run black cards and splashing red is more of an option than in the Meren version. An advantage of this version is a lot of built in card advantage and good board presence. The OuaT's could be replaced with Brainstorms, making it easier to build a FoW-version.
With Meren:
3 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Once Upon a Time
4 Aether Vial
2 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Recruiter of the Guard
3 Mother of Runes
1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
1 Sylvan Library
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Plague Engineer
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
16 fetches and forests
Comment: This version seems more relevant for a combo version since Fauna Shaman offers unparallelled tutor ability and puts creatures in the graveyard which is sometimes needed for combos.
Sideboard:
1 Carpet of Flowers
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
1-3 Leyline of the Void
Close contenders:
Peacekeeper
Motivation for this core:
These are 43 cards so you have 17 potential one-offs to add to the deck. From this you can go for a FoW version, a combo version, a mana denial version à la DnT, an elves package, wizards, artifact theme or whatever you like.
The current trend is to play Aether Vial, I think it is too good not to play, but it can be changed for more mana dorks.
You probably want more answers to Umezawa's Jitte, depending on how popular it is, but answers will help vs Chalice too and that never hurts. That can be in the form of additional Qasalis, Reclamation Sage, Abrupt Decay, Kolaghan's Command, Force of Will and/or Peacekeeper.
I usually play 2 Scryb Ranger, 0 Quirion Ranger, but I think this depends on how many lands you choose to play. Furthmore, usually there will be 2 Leovolds.
You also typically want some card draw, either Sylvan Library or Brainstorm. If you want to play FoW's somwewhere in the 75 then Brainstorm is well suited.
I removed Merieke ri Berit from this list because I've been fine without her, however she's a real game-winning card that's nice to have access to. If attrition based decks are tier 1, then she may be ill positioned.
I'll add here Stinner's description of his list, it has some general recommendations that can be considered a core:
Originally Posted by Stinner
Decks that share some features with MOST or that can be used for inspiration
Basically, any creature heavy deck with Vials or tribal deck contains synergies that can be used by MOST too. Below decks are ordered by thread number.
ATS (Angry Tradewind Survival): http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...al)-Former-DTB
Cephalid Breakfast: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...alid-Breakfast Also: Intro to updated CB 2020
Full English Breakfast: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...lish-Breakfast
Faerie Stompy: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Faerie-Stompy
Grand Architect (modern deck): http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...rand-Architect
Mono-blue Martyr: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...no-Blue-Martyr
Stoneybrook's Alarm, Wizard to Opposition: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...to-Opposition!
Oracle Opposition: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...cle-Opposition
Trophy Mage control: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...y-Mage-Control
Stilljutsu, UB Ninja Still: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...UB-Ninja-Still
Faerie Ninja Still: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...no-Blue-Tempo)
Humans, 1: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...er-undefeated)
Humans, 2: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Legacy-Humans
Standing Vial: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Standing-Vial
Spicy Popcorn: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Spicy-Popcorn
Wizards (Eternal Durdles): http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...61#post1042761
Spirit Tribal: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-Spirit-Tribal
Below decks are not Source-threads:
Vial Wizards (Modern): https://www.channelfireball.com/arti...-vial-wizards/, here is a video explaining the deck: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uc9iA...ature=youtu.be
Esper Vial: Reddit-discussion
BUG Vial: MTGO 5-0 decklist 041120
Synergies to build upon
• Wizards
Patron Wizard, Spellstutter Sprite, Voidmage Prodigy, Qasali Pridemage, Meddling Mage, Vendilion Clique, Izzet Staticaster, Glen Elendra Archmage, Grim Lavamancer, Dark Confidant, Snapcaster Mage, Sylvan Safekeeper, Thornscape Battlemage, Zameck Guildmage, Mangara of Corondor, Master of Waves, Trinket Mage, Trophy Mage, Aphetto Grifter, Surgespanner,Mirror Entity, Cursecatcher, Martyr of Frost, Zameck Guildmage, Sage of Fables, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Boros Reckoner, Aven Mindcensor, Venser, Shaper Savant, Azorious Guildmage Master Biomancer, Marchesa, the Black Rose, Ana Battlemage, Magus of the Library,Mistcaller, Merfolk Trickster, Reflector Mage, Naru Meha, Master Wizard, Naban, Dean of Iteration, Siren Stormtame, Champion of Wits, Dreamstealer, Nimble Obstructionist, Baral, Chief of Compliance, Harbinger of the Tides, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, Galecaster Colossus (which can be used from the graveyard with a Necrotic Ooze if you don't get to hardcast it), Archivist
Comments: The deck already likes to play a lot of wizards, sometimes up to ten wizards in the main deck. At that point, with the inclusion of one specific card, the Patron Wizard, you can effectively lock down many decks or at least prevent them from playing the game efficiently. Note that Quirion and Scryb Ranger help out by untapping wizards. Voidmage Prodigy has a similar effect.
• Faeries
• Elves
Wirewood Symbiote, Fauna Shaman, Leovold, Emissary of Trest, Edric, Spymaster of Trest, Quirion Ranger, Coiling Oracle, Elvish Visionary, Reclamation Sage, Thornscape Battlemage, Zameck Guildmage, Rishkar, Peema Renegade Mirror Entity, Wren's Run Packmaster, Master Biomancer, Deranged Hermit, Glissa, the Traitor, Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Ochran Assassin, Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
Comments: We already play a lot of elves, so even without trying there is some elf theme in the deck. See discussion here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1032714
• Artifacts
Goblin Welder, Baleful Strix, Sundering Titan, Wurmcoil Engine, Grand Architect, Batterskull, Thopter Spy Network, Thopter Foundry, Walking Ballista, Spellskite, Trinket Mage, Trophy Mage, Noxious Gearhulk, Ethersworn Adjudicator, Padeem, Consul of Innovation, Memnarch, Scarecrone, Muzzio, Visionary Architect, Mirage Mirror, Vedalken Shackles, Masticore, Leonin Abunas, Arcbound Ravager, Basilisk Collar, Trophy Mage (could be played with Vedalken Shackles, Thousand-Year Elixir, Sword of Fire and Ice, Trinisphere, Glissa, the Traitor, Ensnaring Bridge)
• Graveyard based synergies, reanimation strategies etc (or more generally strategies for cheating a monster into play)
Necrotic Ooze, Scarab God, Arcane Artisan, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, Loyal Retainers, Goblin Welder, Mimeoplasm, Volrath's Shapeshifter, Apprentice Necromancer, Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Order of Whiteclay, Magus of the Will, Coffin Queen, Hell's Caretaker, Lazav, the Multifarious
Comments:
Necrotic Ooze is a fantastic card for this deck, since Fauna Shaman puts anything into the graveyard, most abilities of your creatures are activated abilities so even without trying Necrotic Ooze is likely to be a super creature by the time you get access to it during a game. Meren of Clan Nel Toth is another card slot in the deck that utilizes the graveyard by bringing the creatures back into play. If you look further down you will find that there are a lot of combos and strong synergies with Necrotic Ooze that are worth considering. Some cards provide good enough synergy from the graveyard that you could consider playing them just to get value from Necrotic Ooze, one such option could be Zacama, Primal Calamity (or Minion of Leshrac) who first takes care of any bothersome creatures, then any equipment or lock pieces the opponent may have and then starts gaining you life.
Another card that deservs its own section is Volrath's Shapeshifter. A couple of players devote themselves to Shapeshifter versions, building on the tradition of the deck Full English Breakfast. VS mixes utility and combo potential in a fascinating way that gives the player a lot of opportunity to outplay the opponent. Here are some cards that work well with it: Phage the Untouchable, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Master of Cruelties, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
• Goblins
Krenko, Mob Boss, [cards]Grenzo, Dungeon Warden[cards], Grenzo, Havoc Raiser, Goblin Welder, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Comments: with a Quirion or Scryb Ranger in play a Krenko by itself can generate 7 tokens over your and the opponent's first turn without summoning sickness, over yours and your opponents next turn you can have another 49 tokens. With a Mirror Entity in play this goes even more crazy.
• Spirits
Mausoleum Wanderer, Spell Queller, Kira, Great-Glass Spinner, Dimir Cutpurse, Geist of Saint Traft, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Kataki, War's Wage, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Tradewind Rider, Strangleroot Geist, Phantom Nantuko, Karlov of the Ghost Council (pretty nice with Scavenging Ooze)
Comments: Mausoleum Wanderer is what creates some extra synergy here. There should be some more things to make this strong enough to be really useful, but a lot of these cards work well in the deck anyway.
• Lands
Knight of the Reliquary, Karakas, Gaea’s Cradle, Ramunap Excavator, Sylvan Safekeeper, Tireless Tracker, Scryb Ranger, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Weathered Wayfarer
Comment: Playing Karakas and having a way to tutor for it is very good next to legendary creatures such as Vendilion Clique, Mangara of Corondor, and Venser, Shaper Savant. Especially if you also play Vial, e.g. you can replay Clique during each of your opponent's draw steps to create an uncounterable soft lock.
• Legends
Karakas, Aether Vial, Vendilion Clique, Mangara of Corondor, Captain Sisay, Gaea’s Cradle, Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Comments: Note that Captain Sisay can tutor for any planeswalker too!
• Mana denial
Stasis, Winter Orb, Scryb Ranger, Quirion Ranger, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Vryn Wingmare, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Archangel of Tithes, Tsabo's Web, Static Orb, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
Comments: Stasis combos with the Rangers so you can add it to your arsenal to fight various decks with basically zero deck building cost. The problem in my experience is not so much the usefulness of Stasis as that games become slow and your opponents become frustrated when they can't play.
• Generating and using a lot of mana
Gaea's Cradle, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Grand Architect with Pili-Pala, Shaman of the Great Hunt, Mirror Entity, Knight of the Reliquary, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, Wren's Run Packmaster, Rhonas the Indomitable, Wolfbriar Elemental
Comments: generating a lot of mana can be used with mana sinks such as Shaman of the Great Hunt, Rhonas the Indomitable and creatures that can be hardcast using this excessive mana while also spending a few slots to offer a way of cheating it into play such as Natural Order, Loyal Retainers, Elvish Piper et cetera.
• Stealing Stuff
Merieke ri Berit, Yasova Dragonclaw, Gilded Drake, Sower of Temptation, Dominating Licid
Comments: Merieke Ri Berit is super powerful and you probably don't need anything else, still there are a few options.
• +1/+1-Counters
Archangel of Thune, Spike Feeder, Spike Weaver, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Hangarback Walker, Walking Ballista, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, Siegehorn Ceratops (with Izzet Staticaster or Granger Guildmage), Steel Overseer, Winding Constrictor, Sage of Fables, Metallic Mimic, Zameck Guildmage, Chasm Skulker, Master Biomancer, Marchesa, the Black Rose, Karlov of the Ghost Council, Strangleroot Geist, Phantom Nantuko
• -1/-1-Counters
Scorpion God, Necroskitter, Grim Poppet, Phyrexian Plaguelord, Quillspike, Devoted Druid, Wickerbough Elder, Phyrexian Hydra
• Enchantments
Setessan Champion, Sylvan Library, Oath of Nissa, Courser of Kruphix, Riptide Chimera, Bitterblossom, Zur the Enchanter, Mardu Ascendancy, Riptide Chimera, Argothian Enchantress, Second Chance, Shared Animosity, Sacred Mesa, Arasta of the Endless Web, Aegis of the Gods, Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea, Doomwake Giant, Detention Sphere, Recurring Nightmare, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Chromanticore, Archon of Sun's Grace, Aluren, Food Chain, Kestia, the Cultivator, Detention Sphere, Klothys, God of Destiny, Sterling Grove, Destiny Spinner,
Comments: There's not much here really, but maybe we'll find some more to add.
• Tokens
Master of Waves, Wren's Run Packmaster, Hero of Bladehold, Mardu Ascendancy, Bitterblossom, Stonybrook Schoolmaster, Bloodline Keeper // Lord of Lineage, Pharika, God of Affliction, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Pride Sovereign, Deranged Hermit, Tendershoot Dryad, Reef Worm, Brutal Hordechief, Custodi Soulbinders, Hallowed Spiritkeeper, Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
Comments: couple these with creatures providing boosting, +1/+1+ counters, card advantage upon connecting (e.g. Edric).
• Clerics
Edgewalker, Orzhov Pontiff, Mother of Runes, Weathered Wayfarer, Containment Priest, Vizier of Remedies, Academy Rector, Alms Collector, Ethersworn Canonist, Angus Mackenzie, Auriok Champion, War Priest of Thune, Children of Korlis (this actually answers Tendril's of Agony from turn 1), Mikaeus, the Lunarch, Skirsdag High Priest, High Priest of Penance, Leonin Arbiter, Remorseful Cleric, Weathered Wayfarer
Comments: I'm collecting stuff here, not enough right now but Edgewalker seems so cool if you can put a bunch of creatures into play for free with him. I think these will be moved to some section with ideas that aren't worth going through here.
• Rogues
Earwig Squad, True-Name Nemesis,Brazen Borrower, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, Edric, Spymaster of Trest, Bitterblossom, Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, Thada Adel, Acquisitor
Comments: Earwig Squad seems like an interesting addition to the deck, a potential gamewinner vs combo and also good vs control, but it's hard to find enough Goblins and Rogues, that are good enough to play without the Squad, to make it reliable. I'll list some options here.
• Elementals
Master of Waves, Risen Reef, Animar, Soul of the Elements, Nivmagus Elemental, Wolfbriar Elemental, Fulminator Mage, Lightning Skelemental
Comments: Master of Waves is good with e.g. Grand Architect and Patron Wizards so I've been looking for other elementals that may be worth adding to that shell, just to make Master of Waves a little bit better. This is more of a bonus synergy than something to build on, but who knows what can be found here. Recently a lot of elementals were printed, not least Risen Reef which gives a lot of extra value to Elemental synergies so it's worth considering.
Possible combos
• Necrotic Ooze with any of the following:
Devoted Druid, Quillspike
Phyrexian Devourer, Triskelion, Walking Ballista
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Tree of Perdition
• Loyal Retainers or Apprentice Necromancer with any Legendary card
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Emrakul, Aeon's Thorn
• Volrath’s Shapeshifter, Phage the Untouchable or Vesperlark and a sacrifice outlet for infinite sacrificing (like Carrion Feeder)
• Aluren, Cavern Harpy, Recruiter of the Guard, Imperial Recruiter, Orzhov Pontiff, Sedraxis Alchemist. If playing this version it may be a good idea to maximize cards that have synergy with Aluren and Cavern Harpy, such as: Orzhov Pontiff, Baleful Strix, Coiling Oracle, Vendilion Clique, Bone Shredder, Spellstutter Sprite, Trinket Mage
• Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Walking Ballista
• Grand Architect, Pili-Pala
• Zameck Guildmage or Vizier of Remedies or Melira, Sylvok Outcast or Rhythm of the Wild, Varolz the Scar-Striped, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, Glen Elendra Archmage, Falkenrath Aristocrat
• Varolz, the Scar-Striped, Phyrexian Dreadnought, Death's Shadow
• Volrath's Shapeshifter, Lazav, the Multifarious, Phyrexian Dreadnought
• Archangel of Thune, Spike Feeder
• Painter's Servant, Grindstone, Trinket Mage
• Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Pestermite, Deceiver Exarch, Necrotic Ooze
• Knight of the Reliquary, Retreat to Coralhelm. Not quite a combo but it allows you to grow the knight huge quickly, while allowing for other tricks with Retreat.
Packages from above
Below are some of the packages from above, giving an idea of how the deck can be customized.
• Blue artifacts devotion
Master of Waves, Grand Architect, Mausoleum Wanderer, Baleful Strix, Pili-Pala, Walking Ballista, Trinket Mage, Phyrexian Metamorph
Comments: here is a link to a post discussing Grand Architect: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...l=1#post994288
This shell works very well with Painter's Servant and Grindstone, with Trinket Mage tutoring for Grindstone and Fauna Shaman tutoring for Painter, and once Painter is in play you can even GSZ for Trinket Mage and you can use Grand Architect to generate all the mana you need to play and activate the combo. It's also sweet how Grand Architect helps you hardcast expensive artifact creatures that alternatively Goblin Welder can weld into play after Fauna Shaman discarded them. You can even play Gaea's Cradle or Rofellos to help out hardcasting them. Batterskull is the best card I found because a) it can be tutored by Stoneforg Mystic which is a strong way of using Aether Vial EoT, b) it's not eaten by Deathrite Shaman (irrelevant post ban), c) it can be played and equiped by Grand Architect, d) welding it in creates a new creature every time.
Here is a link to some discussion about Grand Architect: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...l=1#post994288
• Ranger of Eos
• Flickerwisp
• Recruiter of the Guard
• Mono-blue Martyr
The key cards from the amazing deck Mono-blue Martyr are very possible to play as a package in MOST:
Sky Hussar, Martyr of Frost, Nivmagus Elemental, Flusterstorm, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Judge's Familiar, Mausoleum Wanderer, Cursecatcher, Skaab Ruinator
• Ninjas
This section was created with the introduction of Yuriko, who is probably good enough to be the only ninja in your deck, and with a Mirror Entity in play this gets ridiculously good. See the section for similar decks or Mono-Blue Martyr (just above) for more inspiration!
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
• Doran, the Siege Tower
Mardu Ascendancy, Spellskite
Comments: Doran is a very efficient beater by itself at three mana, even if it's usually rather unexciting to play a vanilla beater. It does boost all your 0/1's (BoP and Noble), 3/4's (Meren) and some of your opponent's creatures will lose power (True-Name Nemesis, Delver of Secrets, Young Pyromancer, Vendilion Clique, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben etc). It does make some other cards ridiculously good though. Mardu Ascendancy is a very interesting card, by courtesy of both protecting your team vs sweepers and offering the potential of providing a ton of free attacking goblin tokens every turn. If you have a Quirion/Scryb Ranger around you can use the goblin tokens for chump blocking, maybe you are attacking with fliers, in this case your opponent will have quite some trouble racing you. With Doran around, Mardu Ascendancy sacrifices to give your entire team +3/+3 until end of turn which with your army of creatures probably means you can attack for lethal on the very same turn (you even get extra goblin tokens when attacking, this seems extremely powerful). The disadvantage is that enchantments are hard to find (Zur the Enchanter) and the color combinations is not our favorite.
Examples of online playing
Andrea Mengucci testing a version of MOST, note that he is rather inexperienced with the deck (April 2017):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO38jCsXrh0
Another attempt with a more updated list (Dec 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=RL21PRZMyUg
Jeff Hoogland playing MOST on stream (30th May 2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjOIPZjMHX0
Phil Gallagher playing 5c MOST on MTGO (Jan 2019): https://youtu.be/8UqKntsRBgw
You can watch streams here: https://www.twitch.tv/pettdan
Discord
Join the discord: https://discord.gg/a3HRRhH
Podcasts covering the deck
The dead format episode 25 with Rodney Bedell on 2018-12-18: https://podtail.com/sv/podcast/the-d...rodney-bedell/
Tournament results
A search for Fauna Shaman and Quirion Ranger on Mtgtop8.com results in the following decks that are all based on Survival of the Fittest. Decks for Fauna Shaman have been linked in the old thread but they were from thecouncil.es which is no longer available.
Survival Bant by Matteo Negrini in 2010:
https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=530&d=206878&f=LE
Ooze Survival by Nicola Landoni in 2010:
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=844&d=208289&f=LE
Retainers Survival by Bachiorri Lorenzo in 2010:
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=789&d=208052&f=LE
Welder Survival by Francisco José Gonzalez in 2010:
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=772&d=207970&f=LE
Survival of the Moby Team by Letterio Musolino in 2010:
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=546&d=207039&f=LE
Fauna Shaman-based decklists have been posted on thecouncil.es which is no longer available.
The user Stinner top8-ed with these lists in 2013:
http://www.molulo.it/Deck.aspx?dID=4
http://www.molulo.it/Deck.aspx?dID=24
User Shaden top16'ed at Nebraska's War in late 2017 (list and tournament report: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1031536 )
User Demonic_Pact top16'ed at MKM Rome in March 2018 (list and tournament report: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1040384 ).
A 5-0-list from MTGO was published in December 2018 (list here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1061231 )
Modern versions of the deck
Last edited by pettdan; 04-30-2020 at 03:32 PM.
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