What's the consensus on Opt versus Sleight of Hand?
Opt seems to achieve the same result as Sleight of Hand IF you don't like the first card since you're forced to scry it down and will still see 2 cards. But if you do want to keep the first card, it gets tricky since you're setting yourself back with seeing 1 more card in your library which might be crucial when you're looking for another piece of the combo or interaction. The instant speed doesn't seem that impactful since we usually do something with our mana on our turn. either digging or playing a prism or unlife and just leaving an open white mana for grace. The only time it's great is if you're forced to do a Lab Maniac kill and baiting Serum Visions and suprising them with an instant Speed Opt in response to Abrupt Decay.
Anyone else agree that the 2 Grafdigger's Cage in their sideboard is really a must against Devoted Company, Dredge (which is already a good matchup) and Gifts Storm? Care to share your stories?
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plays Ad Nauseam and Amulet Bloom in Modern
"He traded sand for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand."
—Afari, Tales
Opt is not better than Sleight. It's worse : you scry 1, and then you draw. So, the rational :
- You scry, you like it, you draw it (1 card seen).
- You scry, you don't like it, you draw something random (2 cards seen).
Sleight:
- You have 2 cards in hand and select one that is useful for sculpting the hand (2 cards seen).
You have better choices with Sleight (2 cards at the same time in hands and selecting 1) and it digs fundamentaly deeper (you always see 2, Opt sees 1 sometimes as stated before). The purpose of playing Sleight is to also make useful selections early or late game. For example : turn 1 Lotus Bloom is not as easy with Opt than with Sleight (if you scryed to the bottom and going random by drawing a card, you might regret the decision).
I understand the reason of the instant speed cantrip, I run 2 Peer and 1 Teachings, so instant speed is important to me. But with Opt, we're falling into suboptimality : there's a better card out there at sorcery speed and it's Sleight. We're not Solidarity in Legacy, instant speed is important but Opt is not where we want to go I think.
Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to give a small report on a top 4 finish using Ad Nauseam with MD leylines. My list is as follows:
4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Temple of Deceit, 4 Gemstone Mine, 2 Plains, 1 Boseiju, who shelter’s All, 1 Temple of Enlightenment plus the usual Mainboard but I play Leylines in place of 2 Pacts and 1 Phyrexian Unlife and also 1 Mystical Teachings for BGx and Grixis Death shadow. SB: 3 Pacts, 1 Leyline, 2 Thoughtseize (For Tron and BGx walkers) ,2 Wear/Tear (for chalice, eidolons, and other annoying hate), 1 echoing truth, 1 slaughter pact, 2 path to exile (for GDS and abzan coco), 1 Boseiju, who shelter’s All (for UWx control which is also popular in spurts where I play) and 2 Grafdigger’s Cage (for Abzan Coco, UR storm, etc.) Leylines where in there to hedge against the large numbers of Grixis Death Shadow, RG Titanshift, and Burn where I play, It was MVP against the match-ups they were supposed to be good at. There were some number of 8 rack and Eldrazi Tron, so I figured MD leylines would be great against these decks. I’ve been running UR storm to very poor results in the advent of the popularity of GDS and Counters Company. UR storm was better positioned but I decided to sleeve-up my most successful Ad Naus deck to see if I can find success with it. I was planning on running wall of Shards as a card against GDS but I decided to run PTE and Cages instead for the Company match-up.
The tournament went well, I ended up 3rd after Swiss and 3rd Over-All. My Tournament wents as follows:
R1 2-0 W against Abzan Midrange
G1: Mull to 6 due to slow hand into Turn 0 Leyline with him having only creatures to clock Me. Won on Turn 6 or something when he tapped-out to put counters on his attackers.
SB: +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Truth, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Sanctity, for 1 Boseiju, 3 Prism, 1 Mystical Teachings
G2: Mull to 6 because of a hand with just lands into Turn 0 Leyline with 2 Blooms suspended on 1. He had a good hand with 2 Fulminators and a clock. I thoughtseize away the clock, he got to play stony silence to lock my Blooms while he proceeded to Fulminator me away. I top deck echoing truth like a Champ before he gets to Fulminator me a second time to bounce this Stony Silence. I won from there.
R2 2-0 W against RG Titanshift
G1; Mull to 6 a landless hand into Turn 0 Leyline we just proceeded to ramp/dig into each of our combos. Before I killed him on Turn 4.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 echoing Truth for 1 Bloom and 1 Prism.
G2: I turn 4 him off double bloom while he just played an Obstinate Baloth.
R3 0-2 L against Affinity
I was beside him in the last round. I knew what he was on and I played as necessary against him.
G1: He has a blistering start and was already clocking me for 7 damage by turn 2, threatening lethal next turn with a second plating. I play Phyrexian Unlife on turn 3 with Grace up to Grace his turn 3 kill. I was able to serum an Ad Naus on top to win next turn. He blasts me with Galvanice Blast to turn on Unlife and then proceeded to kill me.
SB: +2 Wear/Tear, +2 PTE, +1 Echoing Truth for 1 Mystical Teaching, 1 Boseiju, 3 Leylines
G2: I forgot the details but I mulled to 6 into an average hand. He had the nuts and killed me turn 3 again. I haven’t had problems with Affinity before so I chuck this up to variance where he just had the nuts.
R4 2-0 Win against Burn
G1: No leylines and I get clocked early. Was able to win on Turn 4 from Unlife on Turn 3 with Ad Nau of 2 SSGs on Turn 4.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 Truth, +2 Wear/Tear for -1 Boseiju, -1 Prism,-1 Bloom, -1 Teachings.
G2: I turn 4 him off bloom. I forgot if I had leyline or not.
R5 ID against Burn
He was the top seed and I was 3rd. We just drew since we are both in top 8.
Quarters 2-0 Win against Eldrazi Tron
G1: Turn 0 Leyline into Turn 4 kil.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Thoughtseize for 1 Boseiju, 1 Teachings, 1 Bloom, 1 Prism
G2: Turn 0 Leyline. I kill him on Turn 4 again because his turn 2 TKS couldn’t touch me.
Semis 0-2 Lose against Affinity (same guy as the one in Swiss)
G1: Another blistering start, he clocks me with 10 damage on turn 2 again. At 10 life, I spoils for Phyrexian Unlife and I get after 9 cards putting me down to 1 with a turn 4 win next turn. He topdecks Galvanice Blast again like a Champ and kills me on Turn 3.
SB: SB: +2 Wear/Tear, +2 PTE, +1 Echoing Truth, 2 Thoughtseize, 1 Slaughter Pact for 1 Mystical Teaching, 1 Boseiju, 1 Bloom, 1 Prism, 1 Sleight, and 3 Leylines
G2: I mull to a turn 4 6 card hand while he kills me on turn 4 again after topdecking a cranial plating on turn 3 forcing me to burn my Grace. I play Unlife but he still had me lethal because of his Inkmoth Nexus.
It was a good run, definitely better than expected with notable absence of Abzan Coco and GDS in the field that day. I’m dissappointed in losing to Affinity to 4 virtual turn 3 kills. Not sure if that’s variance or just relatively closely unfavorable match-up, I played close to even against Affinity previously so I wasn’t too worried about it.
Going forward, I’ll probably side in 2 Bontu’s for 1 Pact or the 1 Boseiju or 1 of the wear/tear. Grixis Shadow is slowly trending down, hopefully this continues further so we can get back to tier status. Though I don’t mind not being tiered, being absurdly powerful while still being low key is one of the main things I like about this deck. Comments and thoughts are welcome! Thanks for continued innovation of this archetype everyone!
This is a local meta question, but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are about Solemnity in the sideboard?
My meta has Affinity, Infect (!!!) and Eldrazi Tron as fairly consistent threats at my LGS and I'm wondering if it could help out as it:
- Shuts down infect
- Prevents Chalice, Ballista and Ratchet Bomb from doing things in ETron
- Obviously hoses Affinity's greediest strategies
I've been 4-2 at the local 3k and felt good with the deck. It's been the first time in like 2 months I played the deck. I've came prepared with my old school list, leaving Spoils and fastlands in my binders. Here's what I'm up to right now :
First game (1-2) against a brew, Affinity meeting Skred Red. I lost to Blood Moon lock during game 1 while under pressure with some beatsticks on the other side of the table. Won game 2 on turn 4 with Lotus Bloom. Game 3, I fetched for other lands than basics because of double Lotus Bloom. I used Slaugther Pact on a Nexus with Cranial Plating, avoiding 11 poison counters. I lost later on because I had to fog during a turn and wasted Angel's Grace.
Match 3 (2-1) against Storm. This one is a pure race. I had lots of mana (1 Lotus Bloom, Dreadship Reef and Pentad Prism). The guy played Remand on my upkeep for turn 4, but I had enough mana to use Mystical Teachings and find dearly beloved for the turn after (I had 2 Angel's Grace). I lost with turn 3 storm later on while winning the last game without much memories of it. This version had Remand and Merchant Scroll. Funky stuff.
Match 4 (2-0) against Tron. Slow matchup, made it through cruisin'. I navigated my way easily, we are faster.
Match 5 (2-0) against Affinity. I don't have notes other than I played a Simian Spirit Guide to chump block some of the attackers.
Match 6 (0-2) against Storm. Don't have notes.
I didn't miss Urborg, Reef was good. Sideboard is stock also!
Against Jund Death's Shadow
This matchup is pretty rough, especially in game one. They are presenting a very fast clock paired with potent discard spells. Since it is arguably the best deck at the moment, you have to play all four Phyrexian Unlife main. You can steal a couple of games by just casting Lightning Storm though. Post board games always feel a lot easier at least. If you have a turn zero Leyline, you are favored to win the game. In addition, the inclusion of Path to Exile in the sideboard buys a lot of time.
Out: 3 Pact of Negation, 1 Serum Visions, 2 Pentad Prism In: 4 Leyline of Sanctity, 2 Path to Exile
Against Affinity
Affinity has an advantage if they manage to go all-in on an Inkmoth Nexus. Especially if they are not familiar with the matchup and start playing around cards that are not there, your chances for game one are okay. I feel more comfortable in post board games though. The only problem is that it is oftentimes not easy to know which cards you have to play around as Affinity has some amount of discard as well as countermagic in the sideboard. Some opponents may decide not to cut their Galvanic Blasts although I do believe that is a mistake you should watch out not to die to unexpected burn.
Against Bant Eldrazi
The recent resurgence of Bant Eldrazi alongside Eldrazi Tron is the main reason why Ad Nauseam is viable at the moment. Thought-Knot Seer is their only way to interact with your hand and their clock is not that fast. Some people like bringing in Leyline of Sanctity, but I don‘t feel that this is necessary. The most common way to lose in this matchup is by relying on your artifacts too much only to have them shut down by Stony Silence. This is why my boarding plan is as follows:
I would like some information about this deck. Which is the state of this deck in the actual metagame?
I think it's good again titanshift, which is a deck I see everywhere, but I don't know about the others tier pairings.
Thank you!
Actually, the deck is not as in a bad shape as it could seem. Four of the strongest decks in Modern (Death’s Shadow, Eldrazi Tron, Burn and Affinity) win the game by having the best, most aggressive creatures. As a result, we expect to have to kill creatures and fill their decks with removal. Thankfully, since we essentially have no creatures, we blank up to a fifth of their deck. Because our game is played out primarily in sculpting our hand and developing our mana, the number of ways our opponents can interact with us are limited.
Some thoughts about some matchups and sideboarding :
Death’s Shadow – Unfavourable – +3 Ethereal Haze, +4 Leyline of Sanctity, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Sleight of Hand, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Mystical Teachings
Death’s Shadow is a very fast deck with a lot of hand disruption. Typically packing 10-13 discard spells (including Liliana of the Veil), this can be a very difficult match. After sideboard it improves a bit, with Leyline of Sanctity and Ethereal Haze, but they also have access to Fulminator Mage and Collective Brutality, which are problematic for our game plan.
Burn – Favourable – +3 Ethereal Haze, +3 Leyline of Sanctity, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Mystical Teachings, -1 Pentad Prism, -1 Phyrexian Unlife
Burn is a fairly easy match. Their outs usually involve multiple Eidolon of the Great Revels, or hands that play three Goblin Guides in the first 2 turns. Bring in some, but not all of your Leylines, as they can remove them with Destructive Revelry. Don’t forget that Ethereal Haze also prevents the damage from Eidolon triggers (except the trigger which is in response to your Ethereal Haze!)
Eldrazi Tron – Slightly favourable – +2 Disenchant, +1 Spell Pierce, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Thoughtseize, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Sleight of Hand, -2 Pact of Negation
This match is good, unless they Thought-Knot Seer your combo away, or they have enough Chalice of the Voids to shut you out of the game. Bring in your Disenchants and Spell Pierce, and do your best to be faster than them.
Affinity – Even – +2 Disenchant, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Ethereal Haze, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -1 Lotus Bloom, -2 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Sleight of Hand
Like Burn, this is another fast deck with little interaction. Hope to not get Thoughtseized, and Haze your way to victory. Inkmoth Nexus can be problematic, as can Stubborn Denial and Ethersworn Canonist. Slaughter Pact and Disenchant answer all these cards fairly effectively.
Bant Eldrazi – Unfavourable – +1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, +2 Leyline of Sanctity, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Echoing Truth, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Sleight of Hand, -2 Phyrexian Unlife
The problem with Bant Eldrazi, as opposed to Tron, is the speed and interaction Bant has available. Between blinking Thought-Knot Seers with Eldrazi Displacers, and countering our combo with their cheap countermagic, Bant Eldrazi has many more tools to combat us than their colourless cousin. Some number of Leylines are recommended to help protect your hand.
Abzan/Jund – Even or slightly unfavorable – +4 Leyline of Sanctity, +1 Spell Pierce, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Simian Spirit Guide
GB/x decks are a bit of a coin flip. They are slow but very consistent and resilient. If they see their hand disruption, you will be hard pressed to combo before you are taken out. Conversely, if they exclusively see their fair creatures and removal suite, they will likely lose on turn four without ever having made a meaningful play. Post-Sideboard games exacerbate this, as we gain access to Leyline of Sanctity, and they gain even more hand disruption.
These decks combine cheap, efficient threats with a strong suite of countermagic and removal. As mentioned before though, we don’t care about their removal, and their countermagic is easily overcome by Pact of Negation, Boseiju, and Teferi.
Scapeshift – Very favoured +2 Disenchant, +1 Echoing Truth, -2 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Scapeshift is a lot like Ad Nauseam. It’s a non-interactive combo deck that relies on big mana and a bunch of sub-par cards working together. That said, it’s slower than Ad Nauseam, and less effective at finding its pieces. Try not to drop to 18, don’t get hit by a Primeval Titan, and try to play around Chalice of the Void, and there should be minimal trouble.
@TomCourtenay: All 4 Lotus Bloom get sideboarded out vs Eldrazi Tron, If you have it on suspend they can just play Chalice on zero to counter it.
@Pidduuu: I play your same 60, except 4 Sleight. I don't think you cut Sleight as it finds Bloom on T1: Why would you sideboard Leyline vs Eldrazi Tron? Also like I said above, I believe it's correct to sideboard out all 4 Bloom vs Eldrazi Tron. Also, is Godhead great vs Lili? I only run 1 so if they have Lili I don't bring it in, but since you have 3 I guess it's not as bad.
I run 2 Lightning Storm mainboard so Opt really isn't necessary for me, but that makes sense.
Eldrazi Tron is usually a good matchup, so sideboarding 4 Leyline might be correct. I would SB out 4 Bloom and 3 Pact for 4 Leyline, Slaughter Pact, Echoing Truth, and 1 Thoughtseize.
Search for azcanta seems very good in the deck (i havent liked a new card for this deck in a long time this should say something
You get to cantrip every upkeep making things easier to find, and flips easily to be a land, 1 extra blue mana and the ability to see the top4 every turn.
Its surely not good agains aggro, but maybe in sb against control?
The only problem i see is that cards do not go to bottom, but to the grave wich can be a little dangerous. (i mean the first seven, when it flips its ok)
Round 1 vs Bant Spirits
Game 1: I kept SSGx2, Ad Naus, Unlife, seachrome, sleight, spoils on the draw. I feel like I should of mull'd this away. He starts off with a mausoleum wanderer, I land cantrip finding bloom and suspend. He drops the flash spirit and starts the beats. I temple of deceit. He continues the beats. I drop my 3rd land and go to cast unlife which gets spell queller and that is basically the end of g1, I try to spoils later on for angel's grace I find it before I die but exile both lab maniac and lightning storm.
+Echoing Truth, + Phyrexian Unlife, + Slaughter Pact
-Reef -2x Pentad
Game 2: I mull to 6 and keep unlife, temple d, darkslick, serum, gemstone, spoils
I lead with temple d and spot an ad naus I keep on top. He leads with wanderer again. I serum drawing bloom to suspend and keeping pact of neg on top. He rattlechains t2, I land unlife. He starts beats and passes. Everything going well he flashes in geist end of my turn and basically beats me until I win once bloom comes off suspend on t5 and kill with lightning storm.
-Echoing Truth because I didnt see any targets that werent creatures
+ pentad
Game 3: He keeps a hand of 7 dropping leyline of sanc down. I keep t4 kill. He drops gavony township and does nothing the rest of the game. When I combo he seems to think I have no way to beat the leyline, but lab man wins it for me.
1-0
Round 2 vs Wall Tribal Bant Mill (Running the defender ramp strategy)
Game 1: Nothing happens for 3 turns basically. on his t4 he plays the mill god that gives creatures tap mill x cards where x=toughness. I combo on my t4 and he mills me for 8 taking lab maniac from me, but lightning storm wins it.
+Echoing Truth + 4 Leylines
-2 Pact -3 Unlife wasn't sure what to do here
Game 2: I have t4 kill with bloom if I find ad naus. Nothing happens for several turns he plays walls and I sculpt my hand. I go to combo and he attempts to chord (I find out after that he was looking for spellskite) I pact it and continue on to win.
2-0
Round 3 vs E-Tron
Game 1: I keep temple d, bloomx2, ad naus, unlife, sleight, spoils. He opens with e temple collar. I draw serum, temple d and keep temple e on top. He goes matter reshaper. He beats me for 2 turns and I go off and kill on t4.
+4 Leyline +2 Godhead +1Slaughter Pact +1 ETruth
-4 Bloom -3 Pact of Neg -Labman
Game 2: I keep temple d, darkslick, adnaus, unlife, pentad, serum, sleight. He opens with e temple again. I draw bloom and suspend dropping temple d and keeping angel's grace on top. He wails my sleight. He drops matter reshaper. I drop unlife, he drops endbringer, I combo and win.
3-0
Round 4 vs Burn
Game 1: Friend of my and we have been running the gauntlet together online for a month. We think about an ID, but there is another 3-0 so we play it out. I didn't take hand notes on this game, but I open up temple suspend bloom. He opens up goblin guide revealing ad naus on top. I play serum setting up gemstone on top to which I get from goblin guide. I drop turn 3 unlife and turn 4 combo.
+4Leyline +1 Unlife
-2 Pact -1 Reef -Lab -Pentad
Game 2: I drop leyline, He keeps 1 lander with drev and dpalm goblin guide and go. I temple pass keeping land on top. T4 I draw pentad after having no white mana to play unlife so I pentad for 2 taking 1 counter to play unlife. I combo on turn 5.
This was my first paper tourney with the deck and it played out very well for me. My only game loss was to bant spirits. I am still unsure about sideboard.
I played this build back when epdt first posted about it here. As a whole I found it satisfactory. The Wish build plays more at sorcery speed compared to Spoils or even Teachings, but your reward for doing that is access to all those SB bullets. The mana base remains its biggest failing, but it's a 5 color deck after all.
Does anyone find the Mono-Blue Tron match very unfavourable? Field of Ruin/GQs against Boseiju plus a ton of counterspells as well as Mindslaver, which once they have Tron plus a couple more lands makes Hurkyl's and Echoing Truth pointless...I side in the usual stuff against Blue but I detest this matchup and beat it very rarely, unless there's some tech you guys know about.
U-Tron is very, very hard. I play against it often and if you don't have 2 Pacts to run them over, it's almost impossible to apply pressure. They always have Condescend or any big mana spell that abuses the Tron lands, so we can't handle that much. They also have very big threats, so if we let them build their hand, I think we are not favoured. We need to pull the trigger as fast as possible when they commit to something.
Opt seems to achieve the same result as Sleight of Hand IF you don't like the first card since you're forced to scry it down and will still see 2 cards. But if you do want to keep the first card, it gets tricky since you're setting yourself back with seeing 1 more card in your library which might be crucial when you're looking for another piece of the combo or interaction. The instant speed doesn't seem that impactful since we usually do something with our mana on our turn. either digging or playing a prism or unlife and just leaving an open white mana for grace. The only time it's great is if you're forced to do a Lab Maniac kill and baiting Serum Visions and suprising them with an instant Speed Opt in response to Abrupt Decay.
Anyone else agree that the 2 Grafdigger's Cage in their sideboard is really a must against Devoted Company, Dredge (which is already a good matchup) and Gifts Storm? Care to share your stories?
"He traded sand for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand."
—Afari, Tales
- You scry, you like it, you draw it (1 card seen).
- You scry, you don't like it, you draw something random (2 cards seen).
Sleight:
- You have 2 cards in hand and select one that is useful for sculpting the hand (2 cards seen).
You have better choices with Sleight (2 cards at the same time in hands and selecting 1) and it digs fundamentaly deeper (you always see 2, Opt sees 1 sometimes as stated before). The purpose of playing Sleight is to also make useful selections early or late game. For example : turn 1 Lotus Bloom is not as easy with Opt than with Sleight (if you scryed to the bottom and going random by drawing a card, you might regret the decision).
I understand the reason of the instant speed cantrip, I run 2 Peer and 1 Teachings, so instant speed is important to me. But with Opt, we're falling into suboptimality : there's a better card out there at sorcery speed and it's Sleight. We're not Solidarity in Legacy, instant speed is important but Opt is not where we want to go I think.
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
Just wanted to give a small report on a top 4 finish using Ad Nauseam with MD leylines. My list is as follows:
4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Temple of Deceit, 4 Gemstone Mine, 2 Plains, 1 Boseiju, who shelter’s All, 1 Temple of Enlightenment plus the usual Mainboard but I play Leylines in place of 2 Pacts and 1 Phyrexian Unlife and also 1 Mystical Teachings for BGx and Grixis Death shadow. SB: 3 Pacts, 1 Leyline, 2 Thoughtseize (For Tron and BGx walkers) ,2 Wear/Tear (for chalice, eidolons, and other annoying hate), 1 echoing truth, 1 slaughter pact, 2 path to exile (for GDS and abzan coco), 1 Boseiju, who shelter’s All (for UWx control which is also popular in spurts where I play) and 2 Grafdigger’s Cage (for Abzan Coco, UR storm, etc.) Leylines where in there to hedge against the large numbers of Grixis Death Shadow, RG Titanshift, and Burn where I play, It was MVP against the match-ups they were supposed to be good at. There were some number of 8 rack and Eldrazi Tron, so I figured MD leylines would be great against these decks. I’ve been running UR storm to very poor results in the advent of the popularity of GDS and Counters Company. UR storm was better positioned but I decided to sleeve-up my most successful Ad Naus deck to see if I can find success with it. I was planning on running wall of Shards as a card against GDS but I decided to run PTE and Cages instead for the Company match-up.
The tournament went well, I ended up 3rd after Swiss and 3rd Over-All. My Tournament wents as follows:
R1 2-0 W against Abzan Midrange
G1: Mull to 6 due to slow hand into Turn 0 Leyline with him having only creatures to clock Me. Won on Turn 6 or something when he tapped-out to put counters on his attackers.
SB: +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Truth, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Sanctity, for 1 Boseiju, 3 Prism, 1 Mystical Teachings
G2: Mull to 6 because of a hand with just lands into Turn 0 Leyline with 2 Blooms suspended on 1. He had a good hand with 2 Fulminators and a clock. I thoughtseize away the clock, he got to play stony silence to lock my Blooms while he proceeded to Fulminator me away. I top deck echoing truth like a Champ before he gets to Fulminator me a second time to bounce this Stony Silence. I won from there.
R2 2-0 W against RG Titanshift
G1; Mull to 6 a landless hand into Turn 0 Leyline we just proceeded to ramp/dig into each of our combos. Before I killed him on Turn 4.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 echoing Truth for 1 Bloom and 1 Prism.
G2: I turn 4 him off double bloom while he just played an Obstinate Baloth.
R3 0-2 L against Affinity
I was beside him in the last round. I knew what he was on and I played as necessary against him.
G1: He has a blistering start and was already clocking me for 7 damage by turn 2, threatening lethal next turn with a second plating. I play Phyrexian Unlife on turn 3 with Grace up to Grace his turn 3 kill. I was able to serum an Ad Naus on top to win next turn. He blasts me with Galvanice Blast to turn on Unlife and then proceeded to kill me.
SB: +2 Wear/Tear, +2 PTE, +1 Echoing Truth for 1 Mystical Teaching, 1 Boseiju, 3 Leylines
G2: I forgot the details but I mulled to 6 into an average hand. He had the nuts and killed me turn 3 again. I haven’t had problems with Affinity before so I chuck this up to variance where he just had the nuts.
R4 2-0 Win against Burn
G1: No leylines and I get clocked early. Was able to win on Turn 4 from Unlife on Turn 3 with Ad Nau of 2 SSGs on Turn 4.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 Truth, +2 Wear/Tear for -1 Boseiju, -1 Prism,-1 Bloom, -1 Teachings.
G2: I turn 4 him off bloom. I forgot if I had leyline or not.
R5 ID against Burn
He was the top seed and I was 3rd. We just drew since we are both in top 8.
Quarters 2-0 Win against Eldrazi Tron
G1: Turn 0 Leyline into Turn 4 kil.
SB: +1 Leyline, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Thoughtseize for 1 Boseiju, 1 Teachings, 1 Bloom, 1 Prism
G2: Turn 0 Leyline. I kill him on Turn 4 again because his turn 2 TKS couldn’t touch me.
Semis 0-2 Lose against Affinity (same guy as the one in Swiss)
G1: Another blistering start, he clocks me with 10 damage on turn 2 again. At 10 life, I spoils for Phyrexian Unlife and I get after 9 cards putting me down to 1 with a turn 4 win next turn. He topdecks Galvanice Blast again like a Champ and kills me on Turn 3.
SB: SB: +2 Wear/Tear, +2 PTE, +1 Echoing Truth, 2 Thoughtseize, 1 Slaughter Pact for 1 Mystical Teaching, 1 Boseiju, 1 Bloom, 1 Prism, 1 Sleight, and 3 Leylines
G2: I mull to a turn 4 6 card hand while he kills me on turn 4 again after topdecking a cranial plating on turn 3 forcing me to burn my Grace. I play Unlife but he still had me lethal because of his Inkmoth Nexus.
It was a good run, definitely better than expected with notable absence of Abzan Coco and GDS in the field that day. I’m dissappointed in losing to Affinity to 4 virtual turn 3 kills. Not sure if that’s variance or just relatively closely unfavorable match-up, I played close to even against Affinity previously so I wasn’t too worried about it.
Going forward, I’ll probably side in 2 Bontu’s for 1 Pact or the 1 Boseiju or 1 of the wear/tear. Grixis Shadow is slowly trending down, hopefully this continues further so we can get back to tier status. Though I don’t mind not being tiered, being absurdly powerful while still being low key is one of the main things I like about this deck. Comments and thoughts are welcome! Thanks for continued innovation of this archetype everyone!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
Besides, you have ******* lab man.
My meta has Affinity, Infect (!!!) and Eldrazi Tron as fairly consistent threats at my LGS and I'm wondering if it could help out as it:
- Shuts down infect
- Prevents Chalice, Ballista and Ratchet Bomb from doing things in ETron
- Obviously hoses Affinity's greediest strategies
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4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Laboratory Maniac
Lands (20)
2 City of Brass
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
2 Polluted Delta
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
1 Tolaria West
1 Dreadship Reef
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Angel's Grace
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pentad Prism
4 Serum Visions
4 Sleight of Hand
3 Pact of Negation
3 Phyrexian Unlife
2 Peer Through Depths
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Lightning Storm
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Ethereal Haze
2 Path to Exile
1 Celestial Purge
1 Duress
1 Echoing Truth
1 Silence
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Wear // Tear
First game (1-2) against a brew, Affinity meeting Skred Red. I lost to Blood Moon lock during game 1 while under pressure with some beatsticks on the other side of the table. Won game 2 on turn 4 with Lotus Bloom. Game 3, I fetched for other lands than basics because of double Lotus Bloom. I used Slaugther Pact on a Nexus with Cranial Plating, avoiding 11 poison counters. I lost later on because I had to fog during a turn and wasted Angel's Grace.
Match 2, won (2-0) against Affinity. Same old : turn 3 Phyrexian Unlife, turn 4 Ad Nauseam. Then, post-board, I brought in some hate (Wear//Tear, 2 Path to Exile, 2 Ethereal Haze and 1 Timely Reinforcements) to fight my way to victory.
Match 3 (2-1) against Storm. This one is a pure race. I had lots of mana (1 Lotus Bloom, Dreadship Reef and Pentad Prism). The guy played Remand on my upkeep for turn 4, but I had enough mana to use Mystical Teachings and find dearly beloved for the turn after (I had 2 Angel's Grace). I lost with turn 3 storm later on while winning the last game without much memories of it. This version had Remand and Merchant Scroll. Funky stuff.
Match 4 (2-0) against Tron. Slow matchup, made it through cruisin'. I navigated my way easily, we are faster.
Match 5 (2-0) against Affinity. I don't have notes other than I played a Simian Spirit Guide to chump block some of the attackers.
Match 6 (0-2) against Storm. Don't have notes.
I didn't miss Urborg, Reef was good. Sideboard is stock also!
Cheers!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
Against Jund Death's Shadow
This matchup is pretty rough, especially in game one. They are presenting a very fast clock paired with potent discard spells. Since it is arguably the best deck at the moment, you have to play all four Phyrexian Unlife main. You can steal a couple of games by just casting Lightning Storm though. Post board games always feel a lot easier at least. If you have a turn zero Leyline, you are favored to win the game. In addition, the inclusion of Path to Exile in the sideboard buys a lot of time.
Out: 3 Pact of Negation, 1 Serum Visions, 2 Pentad Prism
In: 4 Leyline of Sanctity, 2 Path to Exile
Against Affinity
Affinity has an advantage if they manage to go all-in on an Inkmoth Nexus. Especially if they are not familiar with the matchup and start playing around cards that are not there, your chances for game one are okay. I feel more comfortable in post board games though. The only problem is that it is oftentimes not easy to know which cards you have to play around as Affinity has some amount of discard as well as countermagic in the sideboard. Some opponents may decide not to cut their Galvanic Blasts although I do believe that is a mistake you should watch out not to die to unexpected burn.
Out: 3 Pact of Negation, 1 Serum Visions, 1 Pentad Prism
In: 3 Fogs, 1 Path to Exile, 1 Slaughter Pact
Against Bant Eldrazi
The recent resurgence of Bant Eldrazi alongside Eldrazi Tron is the main reason why Ad Nauseam is viable at the moment. Thought-Knot Seer is their only way to interact with your hand and their clock is not that fast. Some people like bringing in Leyline of Sanctity, but I don‘t feel that this is necessary. The most common way to lose in this matchup is by relying on your artifacts too much only to have them shut down by Stony Silence. This is why my boarding plan is as follows:
Out: 3 Pentad Prism
In: 2 Path to Exile, 1 Slaughter Pact
Cheers!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
Actually, the deck is not as in a bad shape as it could seem. Four of the strongest decks in Modern (Death’s Shadow, Eldrazi Tron, Burn and Affinity) win the game by having the best, most aggressive creatures. As a result, we expect to have to kill creatures and fill their decks with removal. Thankfully, since we essentially have no creatures, we blank up to a fifth of their deck. Because our game is played out primarily in sculpting our hand and developing our mana, the number of ways our opponents can interact with us are limited.
Some thoughts about some matchups and sideboarding :
Death’s Shadow – Unfavourable – +3 Ethereal Haze, +4 Leyline of Sanctity, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Sleight of Hand, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Mystical Teachings
Death’s Shadow is a very fast deck with a lot of hand disruption. Typically packing 10-13 discard spells (including Liliana of the Veil), this can be a very difficult match. After sideboard it improves a bit, with Leyline of Sanctity and Ethereal Haze, but they also have access to Fulminator Mage and Collective Brutality, which are problematic for our game plan.
Burn – Favourable – +3 Ethereal Haze, +3 Leyline of Sanctity, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Mystical Teachings, -1 Pentad Prism, -1 Phyrexian Unlife
Burn is a fairly easy match. Their outs usually involve multiple Eidolon of the Great Revels, or hands that play three Goblin Guides in the first 2 turns. Bring in some, but not all of your Leylines, as they can remove them with Destructive Revelry. Don’t forget that Ethereal Haze also prevents the damage from Eidolon triggers (except the trigger which is in response to your Ethereal Haze!)
Eldrazi Tron – Slightly favourable – +2 Disenchant, +1 Spell Pierce, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Thoughtseize, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Sleight of Hand, -2 Pact of Negation
This match is good, unless they Thought-Knot Seer your combo away, or they have enough Chalice of the Voids to shut you out of the game. Bring in your Disenchants and Spell Pierce, and do your best to be faster than them.
Affinity – Even – +2 Disenchant, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Echoing Truth, +2 Ethereal Haze, -1 Boseiju, who shelters all, -1 Lotus Bloom, -2 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Sleight of Hand
Like Burn, this is another fast deck with little interaction. Hope to not get Thoughtseized, and Haze your way to victory. Inkmoth Nexus can be problematic, as can Stubborn Denial and Ethersworn Canonist. Slaughter Pact and Disenchant answer all these cards fairly effectively.
Bant Eldrazi – Unfavourable – +1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, +2 Leyline of Sanctity, +1 Slaughter Pact, +1 Echoing Truth, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Lotus Bloom, -1 Sleight of Hand, -2 Phyrexian Unlife
The problem with Bant Eldrazi, as opposed to Tron, is the speed and interaction Bant has available. Between blinking Thought-Knot Seers with Eldrazi Displacers, and countering our combo with their cheap countermagic, Bant Eldrazi has many more tools to combat us than their colourless cousin. Some number of Leylines are recommended to help protect your hand.
Abzan/Jund – Even or slightly unfavorable – +4 Leyline of Sanctity, +1 Spell Pierce, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All, -1 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Simian Spirit Guide
GB/x decks are a bit of a coin flip. They are slow but very consistent and resilient. If they see their hand disruption, you will be hard pressed to combo before you are taken out. Conversely, if they exclusively see their fair creatures and removal suite, they will likely lose on turn four without ever having made a meaningful play. Post-Sideboard games exacerbate this, as we gain access to Leyline of Sanctity, and they gain even more hand disruption.
Grixis Delver/Control – Favoured +1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, -1 Phyrexian Unlife
These decks combine cheap, efficient threats with a strong suite of countermagic and removal. As mentioned before though, we don’t care about their removal, and their countermagic is easily overcome by Pact of Negation, Boseiju, and Teferi.
Scapeshift – Very favoured +2 Disenchant, +1 Echoing Truth, -2 Phyrexian Unlife, -1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Scapeshift is a lot like Ad Nauseam. It’s a non-interactive combo deck that relies on big mana and a bunch of sub-par cards working together. That said, it’s slower than Ad Nauseam, and less effective at finding its pieces. Try not to drop to 18, don’t get hit by a Primeval Titan, and try to play around Chalice of the Void, and there should be minimal trouble.
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
@Pidduuu: I play your same 60, except 4 Sleight. I don't think you cut Sleight as it finds Bloom on T1: Why would you sideboard Leyline vs Eldrazi Tron? Also like I said above, I believe it's correct to sideboard out all 4 Bloom vs Eldrazi Tron. Also, is Godhead great vs Lili? I only run 1 so if they have Lili I don't bring it in, but since you have 3 I guess it's not as bad.
Eldrazi Tron is usually a good matchup, so sideboarding 4 Leyline might be correct. I would SB out 4 Bloom and 3 Pact for 4 Leyline, Slaughter Pact, Echoing Truth, and 1 Thoughtseize.
You get to cantrip every upkeep making things easier to find, and flips easily to be a land, 1 extra blue mana and the ability to see the top4 every turn.
Its surely not good agains aggro, but maybe in sb against control?
The only problem i see is that cards do not go to bottom, but to the grave wich can be a little dangerous. (i mean the first seven, when it flips its ok)
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Angel's Grace
3 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Lightning Storm
1 Laboratory Maniac
4 Serum Visions
3 Peer Through Depths
2 Sleight of Hand
2 Opt
1 Mystical Teachings
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pentad Prism
2 Pact of Negation
1 Conjurer's Bauble
4 Temple of Deciet
4 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Island
1 Dreadship Reef
1 Steam Vents
-- SIDEBOARD --
1 Pact of Negation
2 Ethereal Haze
2 Path to Exile
1 Echoing Truth
1 Phyrexian Unlife
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Patrician's Scorn
Any notes are hugely appreciated!!
Just bought Ad Naus in Paper after a month of playing it online.
My list is
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Lightning Storm
4 Pentad Prism
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Serum visions
3 Spoils of the Vault
3 Pact of Negation
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Angel's Grace
3 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Dreadship Reef
2 Godhead of Awe
4 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Ethereal Haze
1 Darkness
2 Thoughtseize
1 Pact of Negation
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Echoing Truth
1 Phyrexian Unlife
Round 1 vs Bant Spirits
Game 1: I kept SSGx2, Ad Naus, Unlife, seachrome, sleight, spoils on the draw. I feel like I should of mull'd this away. He starts off with a mausoleum wanderer, I land cantrip finding bloom and suspend. He drops the flash spirit and starts the beats. I temple of deceit. He continues the beats. I drop my 3rd land and go to cast unlife which gets spell queller and that is basically the end of g1, I try to spoils later on for angel's grace I find it before I die but exile both lab maniac and lightning storm.
+Echoing Truth, + Phyrexian Unlife, + Slaughter Pact
-Reef -2x Pentad
Game 2: I mull to 6 and keep unlife, temple d, darkslick, serum, gemstone, spoils
I lead with temple d and spot an ad naus I keep on top. He leads with wanderer again. I serum drawing bloom to suspend and keeping pact of neg on top. He rattlechains t2, I land unlife. He starts beats and passes. Everything going well he flashes in geist end of my turn and basically beats me until I win once bloom comes off suspend on t5 and kill with lightning storm.
-Echoing Truth because I didnt see any targets that werent creatures
+ pentad
Game 3: He keeps a hand of 7 dropping leyline of sanc down. I keep t4 kill. He drops gavony township and does nothing the rest of the game. When I combo he seems to think I have no way to beat the leyline, but lab man wins it for me.
1-0
Round 2 vs Wall Tribal Bant Mill (Running the defender ramp strategy)
Game 1: Nothing happens for 3 turns basically. on his t4 he plays the mill god that gives creatures tap mill x cards where x=toughness. I combo on my t4 and he mills me for 8 taking lab maniac from me, but lightning storm wins it.
+Echoing Truth + 4 Leylines
-2 Pact -3 Unlife wasn't sure what to do here
Game 2: I have t4 kill with bloom if I find ad naus. Nothing happens for several turns he plays walls and I sculpt my hand. I go to combo and he attempts to chord (I find out after that he was looking for spellskite) I pact it and continue on to win.
2-0
Round 3 vs E-Tron
Game 1: I keep temple d, bloomx2, ad naus, unlife, sleight, spoils. He opens with e temple collar. I draw serum, temple d and keep temple e on top. He goes matter reshaper. He beats me for 2 turns and I go off and kill on t4.
+4 Leyline +2 Godhead +1Slaughter Pact +1 ETruth
-4 Bloom -3 Pact of Neg -Labman
Game 2: I keep temple d, darkslick, adnaus, unlife, pentad, serum, sleight. He opens with e temple again. I draw bloom and suspend dropping temple d and keeping angel's grace on top. He wails my sleight. He drops matter reshaper. I drop unlife, he drops endbringer, I combo and win.
3-0
Round 4 vs Burn
Game 1: Friend of my and we have been running the gauntlet together online for a month. We think about an ID, but there is another 3-0 so we play it out. I didn't take hand notes on this game, but I open up temple suspend bloom. He opens up goblin guide revealing ad naus on top. I play serum setting up gemstone on top to which I get from goblin guide. I drop turn 3 unlife and turn 4 combo.
+4Leyline +1 Unlife
-2 Pact -1 Reef -Lab -Pentad
Game 2: I drop leyline, He keeps 1 lander with drev and dpalm goblin guide and go. I temple pass keeping land on top. T4 I draw pentad after having no white mana to play unlife so I pentad for 2 taking 1 counter to play unlife. I combo on turn 5.
This was my first paper tourney with the deck and it played out very well for me. My only game loss was to bant spirits. I am still unsure about sideboard.
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Darkness
1 Duress
1 Fatal Push
1 Echoing Truth
1 Rest in Peace
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Search for Tomorrow
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
1 Wear // Tear
Cheers!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/77vnmr/glittering_wish_ad_nauseam_the_definitive_primer/
I played this build back when epdt first posted about it here. As a whole I found it satisfactory. The Wish build plays more at sorcery speed compared to Spoils or even Teachings, but your reward for doing that is access to all those SB bullets. The mana base remains its biggest failing, but it's a 5 color deck after all.
Guttural Response seems like it would be better instead of Vexing Shusher as an anti-counter bullet.
edit: Search for Tomorrow is probably Search for Azcanta. SCG decklists have been prone to errors in the past, like Polluted Deltas becoming Polluted Deads.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
U-Tron is very, very hard. I play against it often and if you don't have 2 Pacts to run them over, it's almost impossible to apply pressure. They always have Condescend or any big mana spell that abuses the Tron lands, so we can't handle that much. They also have very big threats, so if we let them build their hand, I think we are not favoured. We need to pull the trigger as fast as possible when they commit to something.
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R