Introduction
This deck is an almost exact copy of this list which took down the 500 player 2014 Bazaar of Moxen tournament in the hands of Niklas Kronberger. While previous 4C Loam decks focused on playing Burning Wish and Devastating Dreams, Kronberger utilized a more aggressive Black component and Liliana of the Veil, which is an excellent card in a Loam shell. Since bringing this strategy to the forefront with his big win, Kronberger's version has now become the standard for the archetype.
This iteration of 4C Loam is a midrange deck that could be described as a mash-up of Jund, Maverick, and Lands. Generally, it plays out like a Rock deck with removal backed up by large threats. However, it sacrifices some interaction to play Chalice of the Void, which can be cast on the first turn with a Mox Diamond and is very powerful against certain strategies. The combination of Punishing Grove and a strong Wasteland plan against fair decks and Chalice and hatebears against combo decks gives the deck impressive breadth. The deck is tied together by a number of card advantage and selection engines. Its weaknesses are heavy reliance on the graveyard and variance.
The List
Lands (26)
4x Verdant Catacombs
1x Windswept Heath
2x Bayou
2x Scrubland
2x Taiga
1x Savannah
1x Forest
4x Wasteland
1x Karakas
1x Dryad Arbor
2x Grove of the Burnwillows
1x Maze of Ith
2x Barren Moor
2x Tranquil Thicket
Noncreature Spells (23)
4x Mox Diamond
3x Abrupt Decay
Creature Spells (11)
4x Dark Confidant
1x Tarmogoyf
1x Gaddock Teeg
1x Scavenging Ooze
4x Knight of the Reliquary
Sideboard (15)
SB 4x Leyline of the Void
SB 3x Ethersworn Canonist
SB 1x Gaddock Teeg
SB 1x Relclamation Sage
SB 1x Phyrexian Revoker
SB 1x Thrun, the Last Troll
SB 1x Krosan Grip
SB 2x Golgari Charm
SB 1x Toxic Deluge
Maindeck Card Breakdown
Mox Diamond - A crucial component of the deck providing acceleration and putting lands in the graveyard for Knights. Lands pitched can also be bought back later with Loam.
Chalice of the Void - Most commonly played on 1, could be played on 0 against Storm and Belcher decks. Effective against a variety of fair and unfair decks.
Green Sun's Zenith - Relevant at all stages of the game, can be another turn 1 play tutoring a Dryad Arbor and provides more copies of threats later.
Life from the Loam - The namesake card, can buy back lands like Wastelands and cycle lands, and feed your Knights or clear the top of your library through dredging. Not as integral to this deck as it is in Lands, and more often than not taking a regular draw step rather than dredging is correct. Can be boarded out in many combo matchups.
Sylvan Library - Powerful card advantage engine that can be a little difficult for some decks to answer. One of the best cards to have in any grindy matchup.
Abrupt Decay - Unmatched in efficiency and versatility.
Punishing Fire - While very powerful against creature decks in conjunction with Grove of the Burnwillows, can be boarded out against many decks.
Liliana of the Veil - The biggest payoff of this version of the Loam deck, Liliana is a good fit for the archetype since you don't mind putting many of your cards in the graveyard, such as Punishing Fire, Loam, lands, or extra Chalices and Moxes.
Dark Confidant - Card advantage that is often "free" due to the quantity of zeros in the deck, and is necessary to increase velocity in a deck that can be prone to variance.
Tarmogoyf - Efficient large creature, functions as the 5th copy of Knight in a sense. Can be a 7/8 based on card types in this deck alone.
Gaddock Teeg - Weak body but effective against a variety of decks including Miracles, Elves, Storm, and Sneak & Show. Having access to GSZ means there are effectively three copies against such decks but only one against others where he is ineffective like Delver and Death & Taxes.
Scavenging Ooze - Provides both graveyard hate and lifegain.
Knight of the Reliquary - A huge threat with many powerful synergies in the deck, and the main win condition. Can be enlarged by Moxes, cycle lands, Wastelands, discarding lands to Liliana, and Loam dredges. Tutor ability can be used for Karakas against Reanimator/Show & Tell decks or Grove of the Burnwillows to assemble Punishing Grove against creature decks.
Lands - 4 Cycle Lands, 4 Wastelands, 1 Karakas, 1 Dryad Arbor, 1 Maze of Ith, and 2 Groves is the core utility land package supplemented by fetches and dual lands.
Sideboard Card Breakdown
Leyline of the Void - Arguably the most powerful graveyard hate card available, this card is played primarily due to the difficulty of supporting either 1CC or symmetrical hate cards such as Grafdigger's Cage or Rest in Peace.
Ethersworn Canonist - Useful tool against critical mass combo decks such as Storm, Elves, and Burn, with peripheral applications against other decks such as Omnitell and Manaless Dredge.
Gaddock Teeg - Discussed above, you often want the second copy in matchups where he is powerful.
Reclamation Sage - The choice of this card over Qasali Pridemage is primarily due to having a different interaction with Show & Tell due to being a triggered ability.
Phyrexian Revoker - Pithing Needle's 2CC big brother, a versatile hate card against a number of strategies including 12-Post, Death & Taxes, Miracles, MUD, Painter, Sneak & Show, and Miracles. Remember that this card can name LED against Storm decks as well.
Thrun, the Last Troll - Resilient threat primarily for Miracles but can come in against Delver or Blue midrange decks as well if desired.
Krosan Grip - Can handle different threats and some more effectively than Abrupt Decay, including Aether Vial, Sensei's Divining Top, Batterskull, and Sneak Attack. Remember that Counterbalance can counter this card since Split Second allows triggered abilities to happen.
Golgari Charm - Versatile answer to both small creature decks like Elves and Death & Taxes, Empty the Warrens swarms out of Storm decks, and things like Sneak Attack and Rest in Peace. The regeneration mode can sometimes be a blowout as well.
Toxic Deluge - Arguably the best "big" sweeper in Legacy, can clean up any board providing you can afford pay the life.
Conclusion
While much of the Loam shell is difficult to modify due to its interlocking and synergistic nature, there is some room to customize the deck with utility lands, Green Sun's Zenith targets, and tweaking numbers on support cards. This is an interesting and different deck that can be very unfair, but like many decks without Brainstorm is prone to "losing to itself". If you wish to learn more about the deck, check out the discussion in the Aggro Loam thread on The Source. If you think you're ready to take the plunge, remember to always proxy and play games with the deck against varied and popular matchups before buying the cards you need!
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