[Deck] Food Chain - Evoke Abuse

[Moczoc]

I think the problem of the Deck is that even with the Recruter, you have problems reaching the 23 mana(sometimes less) mana for the kill.

?! It's not a problem at all. My list often has to reach 28 mana and it's not really difficult. The fastest way is Iname as One, but sometimes I have to take the longer way and play out every creature.
The main draw engine should stay Myojin of Seeing Winds, even if he often only draws 4 cards it's enough to chain into another one. Thats a reason why I play 4 Empath.

[Oros, the Avenger]

Sorry, i didnt test your list, only 2 others posted here, and then i build my own. What can i play in your list for the Recruiters? Something that doesnt cost $75

[Oros, the Avenger]

Sorry for double posting, but i got a card that can create a chain like the Recruiter, except it cant tutor Maga at the end, but it doesnt cost $75 each. I talk about Embermage Goblin, you play it for 4, tutor another one, and always do the same like with the Recruiter. In the list of Moczoc, you get such a draw that finding Maga shouldnt be a problem.

[Willoe]

sure dude, that's pretty good, but the pros with imperial recruiter is: can fetch almost any crature in the deck and it costs 1 less. The difference in cmc is enormous, since you can be that unlucky to play a food chain with say chrome mox and ancient tomb and then you got no other mana sources, and embermage goblin is the only creature in your hand. If you delay yourself a turn, you give the opponent a time walk and that gives them one more turn to find answers. For creature fetching, I would rather use Skyshroud Sentinel. Let's face it, nothing can beat that recruiter!

[Oros, the Avenger]

Skyshroud Sentinel is MUCH better than the Goblin, because it is green, which helps you going off. Of course nothing can beat the Recruiter in such a deck, but its a fact that it cost ca. $75, 4 of them cost more than the complete rest of the deck. I test the Sentinel. My list look like this now:
// Lands
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
4 [EX] City of Traitors
4 [A] Savannah
4 [RAV] Temple Garden
1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
1 [ON] Flooded Strand
2 [ON] Windswept Heath
1 [6E] Crystal Vein

// Creatures
1 [DIS] Court Hussar
4 [UL] Raven Familiar
4 [SC] Fierce Empath
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter
1 [SOK] Iname as One
1 [SOK] Maga, Traitor to Mortals
4 [NE] Skyshroud Cutter
3 [CHK] Myojin of Seeing Winds
1 [AP] Phyrexian Gargantua
4 [NE] Skyshroud Sentinel

// Spells
4 [MM] Food Chain
4 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
4 [FUT] Summoner's Pact

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [SC] Xantid Swarm
SB: 4 [FUT] Pact of Negation
SB: 4 [MR] Chalice of the Void
SB: 3 [DS] Trinisphere

The Raven Familiar is better than the Hussar, because you can leave it in play if you have enough mana so you can draw an extra card with the myojin.

[matelml]

Where are the Eternal Witnesses?

[Oros, the Avenger]

For what you need Witnesses. The cards are removed from game due to Food Chain.

[matelml]

My bad, I should have realized.

[Willoe]

Oros, if you want to do some playtesting in te next couple of days I would be happy, I don't have any time for it, sorry :/ The inclusion of Skyshroud Sentinel or some other "fetch 3 creatures with the name name" creatures seems very interesting to me.

[Oros, the Avenger]

I did tons of testings, and i have to say it like this:
Sometimes, you mull yourself to oblivion. But most, you have to take a mull or two, then be happy, and go off on turn 2 or 3. The biggest problem of the combo is right at the beginning. Thats where you fizzle if you got really bad luck. It happens to me 2 or three times. Later on, you have so much mana, that even if you draw a couple of lands in a row, you can keep the combo up. I will test the Phage-Acolyte kill in addition to the Maga kill, because Phage is tutorable and the Acolyte can be picked up during combo(or for the players playing the Recruiter, they can tutor it too). I will think about how to use both kills in one Decklist, so even if Maga gets countered, you can simply go on, killing with Phage or the other way around. I dont know what to cut, i think until tomorrow(i live in Germany), i made up a new list.

[rufus]

Sorry for double posting, but i got a card that can create a chain like the Recruiter, except it cant tutor Maga at the end, but it doesnt cost $75 each. I talk about Embermage Goblin, you play it for 4, tutor another one, and always do the same like with the Recruiter. In the list of Moczoc, you get such a draw that finding Maga shouldnt be a problem.

Goblin Matron is superior to Embermage Goblin for this in every way that I can think of. Regardless Imperial Recruiter is still a much more potent card.

I was musing on the potential for Kiki-Jiki to produce a combo finish, but there doesn't seem to be anything.

[Oros, the Avenger]

I think I'm going to kick these "chain creatures", meaning the Sentinel, completely off, because except the Recruiter, the only thing they get me is mana or permanents for the myojin, but when the chain ends, i have -1 creature, what is more fatal than dont having so much mana. I also think about playing a Sliver Kill or Momir Vig, or both, but i dont know where i should take the slots. If they dont fit into the list, i Hussar and Familiar as a 4 off and have still a slot which i can use for something with cc6+, maybe a 4. myojin. The Phage kill simply sucks, Phage gets chumped or whatever, so i dont think we can waste 3-4 Slots for Phage+Acolyte.

[bruno_tiete]

The problem is, that evoke is such a new mechanic and in legacy, a max of two of them are playable. Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw.

So have we deemed Mournwhelk unplayable?

[Oros, the Avenger]

I think even Maw is unplayable, because you dont need mana, you need cards in hand, creature cards in hand. Hand Maw and Whelk are both creature card -1, so i think they arent useable. I tested quiet a lot today, and Momir Vig is sometimes really broken, but sometimes simply useless. I think im going to play it as a 3-off, because if you play him less than 3 times, you get him quiet late, when you dont need him. But he is the first card i would kick when Morningtide brings some good Evokers.

[Jade]

I'm playing aethersnipe again in the place of shriekmaw, and I'm very happy with it. It is less of a dead draw if your opp has no annoying creatures on the table. just bounce your raven / hussar or, for the overkill, myojin.

Techy.

[Oros, the Avenger]

I think, if I start disliking Momir, i cut him, play Hussar as a 4-off and AEthersnipe as a 1-off, because it can be tutored. But you cant bounce your hussar, Snipe doesnt have Flash ;)

[rufus]

Well, there's whitemane lion which does have flash, and can, thus be used to recycle Mulldrifter as well as the Hussar.

How do people feel about Whirlpool Warrior/Rider/Drake?

[Jade]

But you cant bounce your hussar, Snipe doesnt have Flash ;)

You can just pay the white mana for hussar, shouldn't be that hard normally.

You may also bounce a hardcasted mulldrifter for 4 cards. Never happened to me so far, though.

Edit: Lion is way better regarding the bouncing, but snipe also makes 7 mana out of 3.
I looked into the whirlpoolers too, but I'm afraid of getting a hand of lands / tutors / chalices (yeah, I still think this deck needs them. damn swords.). They're probably too random for a competitive deck.

[bruno_tiete]

I looked into the whirlpoolers too, but I'm afraid of getting a hand of lands / tutors / chalices (yeah, I still think this deck needs them. damn swords.).

You should just not pass priority with a creature in play. Or is there something I am not seeing?




On a second note, I thought about a twist to the concept.

What if we used Cabal Therapy, Academy Rector and a singleton Wild Pair?
Maybe even phyrexian Tower. If you can manage to sacrifice a rector, you dont need to worry about drawing creatures, just playing them will get the sickness rolling.

Or maybe I had too much coffe.

[Oros, the Avenger]

I would say, if i would get enough slots for the rector, the Therapy/Tower, i would rather play Dovescape instead of Wild Pair. Dovescape protects the Combo from being countered or whatever.