(POST ROTATION) JESKAI BURN

[Tyrael]

That list looks really strong

[Valdarith]

No testing, just more theorycrafting from me.

[deck]
creatures (16)
4 monastery swiftspear
4 satyr firedancer
4 mantis rider
4 goblin rabblemaster

spells (21)
4 magma jet
4 lightning strike
2 arc lightning
4 jeskai charm
4 stoke the flames
2 chandra, pyromaster
1 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker

lands (23)
4 battlefield forge
4 shivan reef
4 temple of epiphany
4 temple of triumph
2 temple of enlightenment
5 mountain
[/deck]

[Khaospawn]

I like that a lot, Val.

I think Firedrinker Satyr would still be good to maindeck over the dancer though. And it could maybe use another White source or 2.

[NotARobot]

Im kinda liking seeker of the way right now. I can't find a good shell for him yet but hes 2 power 2 drop with lifelinking prowess, seems like very powerful anti-agro tech. Maybe in a sideboard slot? IDK.

[Jasper]

Well, someone on the team finally managed to sleeve something up that didn't just get raped constantly by my list, and it's Black White Control. His deck is like, 3 Elspeth, 2 Wingmate Roc, 4 Ram's, and the rest is removal. Such a pain to deal with. What happens is that he plays a Sheep turn 2, and if I don't remove it immediately it kind of carries him. God forbid he get's 2 out. I will be testing sideboard games against him tomorrow, and we'll see how that goes. As of right now though, I'd say I'm at a 35% win rate in game 1 against it.

I will say though, that I'm not terribly concerned with it for this first event. I haven't really caught wind of any sort of legitimate Control decks popping up online, so hopefully that means it's under-represented at this $5k.


Otherwise, I learned a little more about my sideboard today against the other decks in our current testing pool.

[card]Anger of the
Gods[/card], it's kind of just unnecessary. Testing tomorrow will have zero of these in my side. It's a sideboard card for other small aggro decks, but the list is already hosing them regardless due to all the 2 mana burn spells, and Mantis Rider giving them the dick along with Taylor Swiftspear.

Chandra, Pyromaster, seems kind of greedy. She's like, my favorite card in standard, but I just kind of haven't found a use for her yet.


For the future:

[deck]Sideboard[/deck]

Everything that was already in the board has been doing it's job very well, but as mentioned above, Anger of the Gods and Chandra were just kind of weak. Circle of Flame is pretty rad, in that it kind of hoses small aggro in to the ground. It's also just kind of
hilarious that I can kill X/5's from this thing dealing 1 damage to them when they attack me. Suspension Field is there as an earlier answer than Banishing Light, because I don't want to Banish a stupid Sheep on 3, by which point it has gained them 2 life, not to mention if it blocked my 1-drop, and at the same time, it is already Exiling anything that I wouldn't want to point Burn spells at. Glare of Heresy is kind of just a catch all for anything playing white, my only gripe is that it is Sorcery speed, and therefore might get dumped.


Other considerations:
Seeker of the Way, I like the guy a lot. The problem is, who do we want to gain life against? Is he supposed to be blocking things against small aggro? Why aren't we just burning the little twerps? It's a card that's good in a matchup that is already almost a bye. I hope this card see's play somewhere other than Limited,
but I don't think this is the deck for him.

Erase, because fuck Courser and fuck Nyx Fleece Ram. Oh, and fuck gods too, and that Banishing Light, or whatever else it can possibly hit. The problem is that it's so similar to [card]Wear // Tear[/card], and that card was already proven to kind of be a dud for burn. Sometimes it ends up in your hand, and you just can't find a target to point it at. I just need to compile a list of Enchantments I hate, and then decide how common they will be I guess.

Satyr Firedancer, everything just kind of seems too big now. I will admit to not having tested him, but I just don't see him putting in the same amount of work as before.

Narset, Enlightened Master, the effect is pretty sweet for a deck like this, but the mana cost is so goddamn expensive. We are talking about having a card only do something for us on turn 7, granted that we were able to play a land every single
turn.

Ashcloud Phoenix, the bird is actually pretty sweet, but

Profane Memento, another option in the realm of life gain. I just don't find gaining life to be super important, and when it is, there is always Jeskai Charm's lifelink ability, which by the way, has been fucking sweet.

[card]Dragon's Eye Savants[/card], I actually just thought about this. I'm super tired, so I'll have to think more when my brain is properly functioning. Seems kind of nifty though, to take a peek at their hand for a removal spell before you run a 3-drop out on turn 4.

Soul of Shandalar, I expect the big guy to see play eventually. I mean, come on, it's a fucking 6/6 with First Strike. Blocks for days, and still has some value in your graveyard. 6 mana is not where I want to be placing my faith though.

Fated Conflagration, would probably be playable if it
didn't have 3 red symbols in it's casting cost. Not to mention it's just narrow since it doesn't go to the dome.

Gods Willing, I know I'm not playing many creatures, but removal is still super annoying. Would feel really good to blank a removal spell every now and then, or just kind of get my Rabblemaster to not be able to be blocked for lethal. Maybe I should just run more Negate, idk.


I'm super tired, that's it for tonight. I look forward to checking this thread in the morning. I feel like we are on to something with this Jeskai deck.

[BlakLanner]

Chandra is there for a few reasons. It takes down x/1s (so does Circle of Flame if they attack), her ability to remove blockers can also be crucial to finish off opponents, and it is a threat that they are forced to deal with before we ultimate her and win the game right there. She also dodges a lot of the removal people have been using. I can see your point about Anger. It can be too slow or unwieldly at times. I use it out of habit against both aggro and green midrange. I have won quite a few games on the back of dropping it on 3 and taking out all the mana dorks. Circle of Flame does stop all the x/1 tokens that we are likely to face from the Rabble/Mardu decks. Combine that with the fact that you take more splash damage than I from the spell and I can understand that choice.

[Valdarith]

I like that a lot, Val.

I think Firedrinker Satyr would still be good to maindeck over the dancer though. And it could maybe use another White source or 2.

The problem with maindeck Firedrinker Satyr is running 8 painlands. I'm afraid it will be a bit too much in aggro mirrors.

The deck has as many blue spells as white ones maindeck so running more white is moot, though my sideboard will likely have more white spells. The problem with the manabase currently is that I want 13-14 untapped red sources for a turn one Swiftspear. If I want more white or blue sources, I either need to up the land count or cut Swiftspear altogether. Of course I could be wrong and playing Swiftspear late may actually be okay, but without knowledge of the meta
I can't say.

[Valdarith]

I should note that I really don't want to play Mana Confluence alongside 8 painlands if I can help it.

[Khaospawn]

Live dangerously

[Khaospawn]

Charm has a lifelink mode

[TheCleaner]

DTR, the place where triple posting is the norm

[TheCleaner]

i mean double posting srry

[Khaospawn]

There no rules

Down here, we all float

[Valdarith]

Charm has a lifelink mode

I've actually been eager to use that mode with Rabblemaster + tokens.

[Khaospawn]

My dick got hard at the thought of that

[Valdarith]

Oh, and Mantis Rider + Stoke the Flames is sex.

[Jasper]

Charm has a lifelink mode

I've actually been eager to use that mode with Rabblemaster + tokens.

Oh, and Mantis Rider + Stoke the Flames is sex.

You'd be surprised how often both of these things are very relevant. I've used the Lifelink mode with a Rabble out, 2 tokens, and a
Swiftspear before. The guy was trying to race me, and just didn't expect me to be gaining 12 life after an alpha strike.

[amcfvieira]

I had done it many times with Azorius Charm in my Geist/tempo deck, 2 years ago, and fell so good!

I really like the designs that you guys are creating for this deck. I hope if work well because it looks very nice

[Khaospawn]

I may convert to this deck soon if/when my Mono Red Scrumper deck scrumps out.

[LP, of the Fires]

How has ya'lls testing gone against Junk Siege Rhino Decks. I basically stopped when I found the Rhino matches to be too lopsided as I expect it to be fairly popular at my store.

[Jasper]

It's possible that the Junk deck I played against was bad, but I didn't have any issue with it a few days ago.

The main deck that seems to be a problem is this B/W Control deck with the mainboard Sheep. I also had trouble today against Mono Black Aggro, strangely enough, I think due to my land base mostly. I also learned that Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker can be Downfall'ed in response to the +1, which makes him feel super shitty.


I'm being pulled in 2 different directions now.

1. Drop the Monastery Swiftspear, which allows me to actually run Temples/Taplands, and lets me play some bigger threats.

2. Drop the Dragon's and Walkers, subtract 1 land, and add in 4 more aggressive creatures. The creature would preferably be a 1-drop, or perhaps a 2-drop. Firedrinker Satyr, or [card]Seeker of the Way[/card:
3kmpt9qb] both seem like decent choices. The other option would be Raise the Alarm.


Also, I think I may have asked this before, but how has Goblin Rabblemaster been doing for everyone else? Sometimes he's exactly what I need, and I get to go on the beatdown path, but sometimes I really just want to stabilize. Mantis Rider has been perfect in this regard, since I get to attack and then he chills and blocks if I need it.

Maybe this is where my sideboard is supposed to really step up, idk.


I'd like to hear some thoughts on the deck in general, and what you guys have been learning from your testing.

[amcfvieira]

Jeskai Burn by Tomoharu Saito:



What do you think about it? 4 Stormbreath Dragons? I don't like it very much.

[Valdarith]

4 Dragons on 24 land is a little greedy, but Magma Jet eases tat a little. Overall I like it, though I think Ashcloud might want to be Rabblemaster.

[Valdarith]

I played my deck a bit yesterday. I liked it a lot. I saw some issues against five toughness dudes like Master of the Feast, Siege Rhino, and Nyx-Fleece Ram, but sideboard cards like Glare of Heresy, Erase, and Fated Conflagration help a lot. In fact I'm considering moving a Fated Conflagration to the main deck.

I think it's best to approach a lot of matches not as a burn deck but as tempo control. This isn't Boros Burn of last season. We don't have Skullcrack, Helix, Pyromancer, or Phoenix anymore. Instead we are going to need to lean on Chandra, Sarkhan, Rabblemaster, and Mantis Rider. We're going to be fighting a lot on the ground which is why I like Satyr Firedancer maindeck.

Chandra was awesome as always. Swiftspear allowed me to turn five kill someone. Swiftspear into Swiftspear into Rabblemaster into Jeskai Charm your Master of the Feast was brutal.

Satyr Firedancer was a damn house. I see no decks without
creatures and being able to fling damage to the head while still killing creatures is insane. Get two on the field and it's over.

Mantis Rider is a boss. Can't say enough good things about this guy.

Rabblemaster is Rabblemaster. Run him.

[Jasper]

I played my deck a bit yesterday. I liked it a lot. I saw some issues against five toughness dudes like Master of the Feast, Siege Rhino, and Nyx-Fleece Ram, but sideboard cards like Glare of Heresy, Erase, and Fated Conflagration help a lot. In fact I'm considering moving a Fated Conflagration to the main deck.

I think it's best to approach a lot of matches not as a burn deck but as tempo control. This isn't Boros Burn of last season. We don't have Skullcrack, Helix, Pyromancer, or Phoenix anymore. Instead we are going to need to lean on Chandra, Sarkhan, Rabblemaster, and Mantis Rider. We're going to be fighting a lot on the ground which is why I like Satyr Firedancer maindeck.

Chandra was awesome as always. Swiftspear allowed me to turn five
kill someone. Swiftspear into Swiftspear into Rabblemaster into Jeskai Charm your Master of the Feast was brutal.

Satyr Firedancer was a damn house. I see no decks without creatures and being able to fling damage to the head while still killing creatures is insane. Get two on the field and it's over.

Mantis Rider is a boss. Can't say enough good things about this guy.

Rabblemaster is Rabblemaster. Run him.

You make a solid case for Satyr Firedancer. I'm going to test 4 out in the main today, and if I like it, that's what I'll be running at the $5k tomorrow morning.

Also going to test out 2-4 Temples. When I don't have a Swifty in my hand turn 1, I wouldn't mind playing a Temple.

[Valdarith]

As long as you have 14 untapped red sources, Swiftspear is fine. That said, and though I liked the pressure she offered, it may be better to drop her to fix the mana a little better and play more impactful blue and white spells.

One other thing: Ashcloud Phoenix is underrated. I think it should be in the deck. Once you get to six mana with this deck (and you will) it's basically impossible to deal with outside of exile effects.

[BlakLanner]

3-1 tonight at FNM. I lost due to mulligans and mana screw. The formula seems simple for this deck: Mana + Threat + any interaction = Win. Deflecting Palm was nuts all day. Won several games on the back of Mantis Rider. Sarkhan disappointed. I saw him twice and never got him out (2 lands one game and the other it was just the wrong card. Stormbreath would not have worked in that spot either). I Nullified a few things but nothing particularly great. Negate was well worth it.

The format is still in its infancy but it seems our deck has a sound foundation upon which to work.

Edit - Thinking -2 Nullify, -1 Sarkhan, +1 Mindswipe, +2 Ashcloud Phoenix.

[Purp]

Started with Saitos list, and am currently settled on -1 searing blood, -1 arc lightning, -1 pheonix, +1 sarkhan +2 ride down

Deck is def good, VERY intricate lines of play. AshCloud was meh for me, when it was good it was good, however in race scenarios the 2 dmg youd get dealt def is a factor.
Mantis rider is such a strong card.

Similarly, Master of Feast is hard to deal with.

[Khaospawn]

http://www.starcitygames.com/events/cov ... th_ja.html

Great decktech from Jadine Klomparens for Jeskai Tempo.

I like that she says Deflecting Palm is a "niche sideboard card."

[Kaitscralt]

The Jeskai decks at the SCG are much more resilient than the burn decks here. That little lifelinker is nice.

[Kaitscralt]

I do think Phoenix over Sarkhan might be right

[Khaospawn]

The Jeskai decks at the SCG are much more resilient than the burn decks here. That little lifelinker is nice.

Agreed. Seeker's just been chewing through things with the help of Burn spells.

[Khaospawn]

I can't wait to see the top 8 lists. There are 2 different Jeskai builds AFAIK - Jadine's and some other list with Narset.

[jsilv]

Seeker is the fucking nut, I can't believe we were missing that card in this deck. Great two-drop that also buys 2-3 turns vs. most decks if it connects and isn't a dead draw later since you can pump it by not flushing your cards down the shitter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk7GA4EZZrw

Otherwise really like how this lines up vs. most midrange in the format.

EDIT: Testing this sometime next week for sure.

[deck]Creatures (12)
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Mantis Rider
4 Seeker of the Way

Planeswalkers (4)
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

Spells (20)
2 Dig Through Time
2 Magma Spray
4 Lightning Strike
4 Arc Lightning
4 Jeskai Charm
4 Stoke the Flames

Lands (24)
3 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Island
3 Flooded Strand
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Mystic Monastery
3 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard
4 Ashcloud Phoenix
3
Narset, Enlightened Master
2 Harness by Force
2 Deflecting Palm
1 Dig Through Time
3 Disdainful Stroke[/deck]

Ashcloud may even belong MD over Rabblemaster tbh considering how much Abzan was floating around at the Open despite it not doing amazingly well. People are just also much better prepared for the card than I anticipated, since usually it doesn't matter how much red gets talked up, people die to it a lot. This year too many people were prepared or just played the natural midrange counter to the red decks. Just switching to evasive threats or a big trump like Narset is a big game. The best way to trump dumb things like Siege Rhino is going through them or playing threats that ignore them effectively. Keranos is another option that's on the table for this deck.

[Jasper]

5-3 at the $5k today. I did get paired against my teammate in a later round, and I gave him the win since I personally thought his deck was better suited for the meta.

I ended up not running any Sarkhan's or Dragons, and I didn't really miss him at all. Had 3 Firedancer main, 4 Temples. I'll post the actual list after I sleep for a while. So tired.


Also, apparently I'm a fucking legend now, due to Deflecting Palm. Here's the story, and I heard everyone talking about this shit for the rest of the event. The guy I played against was laughing so hard afterwards, and he took pictures of the board state and shook my hand. He said he couldn't even be mad about it.

Game 3.

Him: Green devotion, at 20 life. Has 2 Courser's, an Arbor Colossus, an elf, and a Caryatid or two. There is an Arbor Colossus on top of his deck. Earlier this turn he played a [card]Genesis Hydra[/
card] for 10, and put a Polukranos into play.

Me: Burning Freedom, at 8 life. Have a Goblin Rabblemaster untapped, and 2 tapped Goblin tokens, 5 lands. My hand has a Jeskai Charm, a Searing Blood, and 2 Deflecting Palm.

He attacks with the 2 Coursers, the Arbor, and the elf. I Jeskai Charm the Arbor on to the top of his deck, and block one of the Courser's, then follow with a Searing Blood to finish it. This puts me down to 5, and he goes to 17.

I untap, draw a land, let out a sigh, and pass, hoping that he does the one thing that will win me the game. I have 2 untapped Goblin tokens, so he monstrosities Poly-K for 7 mana, killing my 2 Tokens, and making his Poly-K an 8/8...

He swings for the fences, and I cast Deflecting Palm on his 10/10 Gen Hydra, and the other on his 8/8 Poly K. After damage, I drop
to 3, and he drops dead.


The card is real.

[amcfvieira]

I do think Phoenix over Sarkhan might be right

In this spot Stormbreath Dragon will way better against Abzan, because have protection from the Charm.

[Kaitscralt]

I'm less worried about protection and more worried about these 5 drops not getting cast until turns 7-8 just to immediately die because there are so few other targets for the opponents removal

[Tyrael]

[deck] Jeskai Tempo by Kevin Jones[/deck]

That 'other' jeskai deck that made the top 8 this weekend...

[BlakLanner]

I'm less worried about protection and more worried about these 5 drops not getting cast until turns 7-8 just to immediately die because there are so few other targets for the opponents removal

My issue with him is that I will cast him and swing only to have him die on the swing back. It does save me a few life but I am not in the market for a 5 mana spell that deals 4. I am going to keep testing with him but I just don't know if he is where I want to be.

[Kaitscralt]

I am saying not to play 5 mana spells

Or at least test without them