: â€å“play It Again

Last week, I got the happy news that I didn't shred my knee during years of martial arts. Although the doc suspected a torn medial meniscus, the MRI showed that wasn't the case – so no surgery for me.

If you're in the U.S. and you end up needing to have some portion of your genu replaced in a procedure called an arthroscopy, y'all accept about a 1 in a hundred chance of getting an infection in the joint. Although a lot of doctors will attempt to "salvage the joint" by pumping you full of antibiotics, this tends to neglect – 84% of the time in ane study. The trouble there is that the bacteria infecting your new knee tend to form a biofilm, a resilient customs that protects the bugs and means that fifty-fifty if you well-nigh wipe them out with drugs, they just keep coming back.

Mayhap this sounds familiar to you lot.

[this Image lost to Time]

Anybody'southward favorite recurring pile o' cash returns for some vengeance (illustration courtesy of Inkwell Looter)

Recurring, vegetative growth

From my past columns on Junk decks and my disinclination to include Baneslayer Angels in those decks, yous might imagine that I'k only a mythic-antisocial contrarian.

Not and so.

Vengevine is a corking bill of fare, and one that I'g happy to see in the format. A 4/3 haste solitary would be a fine aggro card, just as nosotros've seen from recent results, the other text on the carte du jour opens up a whole extra world of potential archetypes nosotros can plug it into.

I'm excited near Vengevine for its resilience – a trait I appreciate in a card. Of course, when I'm talking about resilience, my heed tends to turn back to Junk colors, and my particular have on the Junk classic.

Pairing vines to mystics

Here'due south my take on a Junk deck featuring Vengevine and a couple other cards straight out of Rise of the Eldrazi:

Vengevine Junk

There are a lot of changes in hither from the terminal time I checked in on Junk decks. We'll take the additions and subtractions in turn.

New cards

Vengevine – The new deck'southward eponymous menu, Vengevine, is just as much of a house here as it is in Vengevine Naya and Next-Level Bant. It's clearly a pretty busty attacker, but there's besides a lot of value in the ability to cake when the basis starts to lock up, and in the ability to pitch it to an opposing Blightning. I don't know that I have a whole lot to add to the narrative about the value of Vengevine, but information technology's a great creature that just keeps coming back.

Student of Warfare – After a burst of initial involvement surrounding the release of Rise, Educatee of Warfare hasn't seen a lot of play. By and large this is considering the Student isn't a great choice in the decks where it might find a place in the mana curve. RDW prefers Goblin Guides and Goblin Bushwhackers, and Koros decks would rather have the super-aggro Steppe Lynx.

That said, information technology's an crawly selection for a Junk deck like this one that's keyed to resiliency. Finer a iii/3 first striker for two mana (yes, three overall), information technology occupies the place on the curve formerly held by Qasali Pridemage while being searchable by Ranger of Eos. Information technology'due south a better choice than Steppe Lynx because the Junk deck is fairly unabashedly midrange. Where the Lynx is a great opener then kind of peters out as y'all run out of lands, the Student is a reasonably solid draw at about points in the game.

Also, about important of all, information technology has get-go strike. For a paltry two-mana investment higher up your down payment, you lot get a fauna that trumps opposing Vengevines, Bloodbraids, and Sprouting Thrinaxes. It can't fight its style through a Wall of Omens, true, but you accept other cards in the deck that tin assistance deal with that problem.

For the tape, I have yet to fully level one in testing, and don't recommend spending a lot of tempo trying to practise so. It's fine to level information technology if you literally accept no other plays, but that's primarily a way to get your opponent to use their Jace activation to bounce your Student off the board.

Ranger of Eos – The old Junk builds didn't have Rangers, but then, they didn't have a lot of use for them, either. In Vengevine Junk, Ranger bumps Emeria Angel from its identify in the mana curve. Although both cards are groovy at bottleneck the board, Ranger is clearly better in a deck that likes to recur its Vengevines from time to time. In addition, Ranger into double Pupil is actually a frighteningly powerful reload, giving the Junk deck admission to the same power Naya players have enjoyed for months with double Nacatl.

Momentous Fall – This is an experimental one-of, and I'g withal unsure nearly its worth. The utilize case is sacrificing one of your big dudes (possibly an aroused elemental) in response to your control opponent's devastating Day, Coup, or All is Grit, where Fall should immediately give you lot a devastating reload that promises a follow-up turn of creatures and recurring Vengevines. That said, the card is not especially proactive, which is why its limited to but the one re-create.

Bojuka Bog – Yes, Bojuka Bog. When Vengevine was first existence discussed over on twitter, Aaron Forsythe suggested Bojuka Bog as a solution (to some corporeality of consternation from folks who didn't agree). I decided to give Aaron'south suggestion and run Bog as Knight target in the sideboard. So far, it's actually proved to exist a decent sideboard card against Next-Level Bant, where information technology lets you nix their Vengevines at only a moderate tempo cost to yourself. I wouldn't devote more space to trying to take out an opponent's graveyard, merely the Bog is a nice tool to proceed you from motorcar-losing to one of those "Hierarch, Hierarch, my two Vengevines come back and impale you lot" turns from a Next-Level Bant opponent.

Doom Blade – Mythic was at the start of its ascent the last time I checked in on Junk builds, but it's a fair bet that you'll come across it more than than once if you're in whatever reasonably sized tournament these days. Every bit a consequence, I wanted to layer in some additional removal in the sideboard (more on this below).

The losers

Emeria Angel  – As I mentioned higher up, Emeria Angel has lost its identify of honour in this deck. It was keen at clogging upwardly the board, except that does nothing when your opponents are likely to be sweeping you with Days and Dusts or luring all your Birds into a bad assault on Gideon Jura. The Angel would probably still exist a decent menu against Jund, but it'southward absolutely not worth the space in the deck, especially not at the expense of Vengevines and Rangers.

Qasali Pridemage – Again, if I had infinite infinite, the Pridemage would withal take a identify in this deck. I'd love to be able to take access to the ability to articulate all those Bant and U/W Control Oblivion Rings off of my Knights and Vengevines, simply there only isn't anything that would be worth cutting for the cat wizards.

Primary of the Wild Hunt – I'm still keeping this carte du jour open up as an choice. It'southward possible that Master plus Collar would be a better choice against Mythic than the [bill of fare]Doom Blade[/carte]s in the sideboard. Although Master is no longer a particularly good main deck pick, its power to be an ersatz Sparkmage confronting a deck that tends non to have abundant removal may make it worth waiting a little fleck longer to go active, trading speed for immovability of solution.

Playing Vengevine Junk

Although information technology retains many of the familiar components the before Junk designs, this is a significantly more than aggressive take on the archetype. Whereas prior builds ran either Qasali Pridemage or Lotus Cobra at the 2-driblet position, offering a 2-ability attacker starting on turn three much of the time, Student of Warfare starts hitting for 3 on turn two – I wouldn't underestimate the impact of having this chunk of harm starting time and so soon.

The reload power of this deck is tremendous. In the past I've talked almost having a solid supply of North-for-1s. This build clocks in at a pocket-size thirteen N-for-1s (Mystics, Rangers, Pulses, Elspeths), only with iv of those existence Rangers, the deck is pretty ridiculous once it hits the iv-mana mark. This isn't news to anyone running Naya, of course, but it'south likely to be a novel experience for most Junk pilots.

In testing then far, the trickiest decision point is figuring out how y'all desire to reload with those Rangers. Information technology'south tempting to just bound in on double Student, simply there are times when it'southward best to go for double Hierarch to cleft a tough defensive board, or to practice the i-one dissever. I don't have a difficult-and-fast rule for you here, just mainly wanted to caution that this is an piece of cake betoken at which we can go on the wrong kind of autopilot, so it'south worth an extra moment to suspension and effigy out the best choice.

Sideboarding options

This is even so quite tentative, but will help explicate the reasoning behind some of the bill of fare choices in the sideboard.

Versus Next-Level Bant

+1 Bojuka Bog
-1 Forest

Bant may be weighing heavily on my heed, only the deck is definitely pre-tuned for Next-Level Bant. The Forest-for-Bog swap was discussed to a higher place, only it's pretty straightforward. I'd sandbag the Bog to take out a single Vengevine, but wouldn't bother screwing upward your tempo to try and wait for them to have ii.

Versus Jund

+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Grim Discovery
+2 Thornling
-iii Path to Exile
-1 Basilisk Collar
-1 Momentous Fall

The approach hither is my usual confronting Jund – scarier threats, less removal.

Versus U/Westward Control

+two Thornling
-2 Path to Exile

The deck'south profound reload ability already helps in this matchup, but it'due south helpful to take threats that are immune to existence swept by Day and Coup.

Versus RDW

+1 Path to Exile
+1 Celestial Purge
+4 Kor Firewalker
+1 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Student of Warfare
-4 Maelstrom Pulse
-one Momentous Autumn
-1 Thornling

Versus Mythic

+one Path to Exile
+iii Doom Bract
-2 Student of Warfare
-1 Momentous Fall
-i Thornling

If I were going to endeavour to use Master of the Wild Hunt instead of Doom Blade, I'd try this instead:

+1 Path to Exile
+i Stoneforge Mystic
+3 Master of the Wild Hunt
-3 Student of Warfare
-ane Momentous Fall
-1 Thornling

I'll refrain from offering commentary on other matchups, as I haven't had time to examination them thoroughly plenty to feel that the communication would be sound.

Other card options

At that place are several very reasonable alternative carte du jour choices for this deck:

Scute Mob

The Mob is a standard feature of pretty much any deck running Ranger of Eos and the color green. In the build I'k presenting today, Scute Mob didn't make the cut because it's "only some other large dude that attacks and blocks." The Mob already has a solid history equally a stalemate-breaker in long, creature-laden games, but I think Vengevine Junk has superior options for cracking the tardily game in the grade of Elspeth, Behemoth Sledge, and pure Vengevine attrition.

The Mob would necessarily bump one of the other cards, and there's null in there that I think is less valuable than the pile o' bugs. I certainly wouldn't want to go down a Soldier or Hierarch to fit in a Mob.

That said, I could only be manifestly wrong, and programme to do some more testing earlier deciding that Scute Mob doesn't make the cut.

Consuming Vapors

Although Vapors is drastically less constructive than Doom Blade against RDW, it continues to exist a powerful tool against Mythic decks, likewise as providing an out against pesky shrouded Sphinxes in U/W Command. I've opted for Doom Blades due to that increased effectiveness against RDW, since I hate randomly dying to a Brawl Lightning or Hell'south Thunder, but Vapors is a solid choice for a Mythic or U/W-laden metagame.

Gideon Jura

Gideon is likely to spend much of his time killing himself as a country-based effect right subsequently you cast him, which is what motivated me to leave him out of the deck. I have Maelstrom Pulses to kill planeswalkers, and prefer to have the other cards allow more proactive play.

That said, Gideon is a powerful, powerful carte and could certainly have a place in a Vengevine Junk. If I were going to bandy him in, I'd put Gideon into the primary deck, replacing the experimental Momentous Fall and the unmarried maindeck copy of Thornling.

Gideon has the significant upside in this deck of existence yet another attacker when he has zero ameliorate to do.

Baneslayer Angel?

I still don't desire to have Baneslayers in this deck. Baneslayer is a powerful carte du jour, but I'd rather have the higher terminate of my bend powering out Vengevines, tossing them over blockers with Elspeths, and then reloading and recurring them with Ranger of Eos. If i were inclined to include a five-mana carte du jour, I call back Gideon would exist a superior choice, since he's both harder to remove and more likely to let you end a game immediately via his "falter" issue.

Baneslayer is a powerful card, but I think it's used to best offensive consequence in Mythic rather than in Junk.

Coming back again and again

So far, I'm quite pleased with the porting of Vengevine and friends into the full general Junk frame. In a way that other bill of fare options haven't been able to, it levels Junk upwards from a deck that refuses to die and frequently grinds out long games into a deck that refuses to die and sometimes only automobile-wins via Ranger reload and Vengevine recursion.

Although I'thousand never a fan of creatures that just attack and cake, requite me a creature that attacks, blocks, and refuses to die and I'm happy to play it once again (and once again, and once more). I'm tinkering with other builds that incorporate everyone's favorite mythic elemental, only in the meantime I'thou excited to be swinging in with Vengevines, Students, Rangers, and more.

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Source: https://strategy.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/home/in-development-swinging-with-incurable-threats-vengevine-junk/