I'd point out that Wandering Fumarole may be a lot more important going forward than it has been prior to Hour of Devastation, because of Abrade. Gearhulks gonna be getting blown up everywhere now.
Other than that, there is still a huge danger in having 4 win conditions in the deck and all being the same card, and that is the existence of cards with Lobotomy-type effects. Anyone playing black would be wise to bait off whatever counter magic you have and then drop a Dispossess with one mana up to spare in case of Censor, and you're done.
Do you think it would be better to side in Kefnet the mindful against mirror match (which I guess will become quite frequent)? I would predict that Hour of Devastation would be sided out game 2. I think we really need an alternative wincon that resists to Hour of Devastation and abrade. Maybe fevered visions is fine against control or one of the 3 gods. Unfortunately the UR one is not very big enough. The UB one would rarely end up producing zombies in the mirror. The BR one is also not very efficient against control (it can kill non Lumbering Falls manlands though).
Absolutely. Kefnet and Fevered Visions are amazing in the mirror.
If you can land them on t3, it's game. Only a commit/memory or Hour of Devastation (against Kefnet) can deal with those, and good luck landing them against a load of counterspells.
I'd point out that Wandering Fumarole may be a lot more important going forward than it has been prior to Hour of Devastation, because of Abrade. Gearhulks gonna be getting blown up everywhere now.
Other than that, there is still a huge danger in having 4 win conditions in the deck and all being the same card, and that is the existence of cards with Lobotomy-type effects. Anyone playing black would be wise to bait off whatever counter magic you have and then drop a Dispossess with one mana up to spare in case of Censor, and you're done.
I have several creatures in my SB for the various MU's that serve as alternate wincons after game 1. I've been running 3 Thing in the Ice, 2 Dragonmaster Outcast, and another 2 Sphinx of the Final Word. while Kefnet is good in the control mirror, I still prefer Sphinx, which is basically an auto win if you can land it first. I suppose now with Hour of Devastation Sphinx isn't quite as good, but I doubt Hour is staying in after game 1, and even if it does you can always use your now uncounterable Negate to stop it.
Thing in the Ice goes in against any aggro and especially against any black deck because of Dispossess. With Marvel gone Dispossess won't be showing up as much, but it still is definitely out there so TiTi is very important as the alt win con. Main matches it comes in are G/B, Mardu, and Zombies.
Dragonmaster I like in MU's where the opponent plays limited removal and is most likely siding a lot of it out. Spending a single mana on turn 6 to slip him on the battlefield is usually GG if you get to untap with him. I like to bring him in against the various Temur strategies, so emerge and energy and all those strategies, as well as decks like colossus or some of the jankier brews.
Maybe my style with U/R is different than other players, but I don't rely on Fumarole all that much outside of corner scenarios. The main advantage of U/R is being able to play at flash speed and just always represent countermagic and / or removal. if the opponent is top decking, or upticking a walker feely I'll fire up the Fumarole to pressure them, but outside of that I'd rather keep my mana free and cast my spells.
Just as much of an issue as getting mana screwed, even with 27 lands and 10 non land cards with cycling in UW, I was having trouble hitting lands in many games. The key is having lands that do things other than just tap for mana. Manlands are usually good, but I've found Wandering Fumarole to often just turn on otherwise dead removal like Magma Spray and Fatal Push. I loved Westvale Abbey and Blighted Cataract as well as the cycling lands in UW. With Abrade becoming more popular, Endless Sands could be a cheap way to rebuy gearhulks and gain additional value from them against decks with a lot of removal for them. When I was playing BW control back before Kaladesh, between Shambling Vents, Westvale Abbeys, and Blighted Fens, I'd keep 7 land hands without worrying too much and it'd almost always work out. Lumbering Falls is a lot better than Wandering Fumarole so maybe going to a manabase like this is something worth consideration.
Yeah, I've been playing the 25 land version of U/R for a while, and even though there is a difference of 1 land, I noticed a significant increase in the number of times I would be mana screwed with 25 lands as opposed to 26 lands. After testing the deck multiple times it really is noticeable going from 25 lands, to 26, and even though I don't have a lot of practice with it, I'd suspect going from 26 lands to 27 is the same thing.
Another utility land I'm really interested in Scavenger Grounds as this land can wreck delirium strategies, wreck the emerge decks that use Prized Amalgam and the new Champion of Wits and even have game in the Gearhulk mirrors, being able to clear out the GY while the opponent's Gearhulk is on the stack. Where was this land when Emrakul was legal.
Personally, I'm happy with the land count at 26, with the 4 dual black cyclers for when you flood out, and some combination of Censor and Hieroglyphic Illumination for when you get screwed.
This brings up an interesting new point I noticed, which is Censor vs Supreme Will. I've found you definitely don't want to go overboard with these 2 and entirely skip Disallow. While both censor and supreme will have utility in the late game, the fact is, in the late game, I'd rather have a hard 3 mana counter then either supreme will or censor, and I've found myself in the late game with multiple censors and wills in hand, no hard counter, and simply unable to stop opponents spells from coming down. I'm not really sure what the numbers should be, but i think 4-5 Cancel is still absolutely necessary.
I got back into Magic a few months ago and I think now might be a good time to enter into Standard. This is the list I'm thinking about running. One thing I'm trying to figure out is the appropriate amount of threats to play. Several U/R Control decks just run 4x Torrential Gearhulk and 4x Fumarole as finishers. How (if at all) should these numbers change by adding in Bolas? Also, I think the sideboard could be developed more. One interesting option could be the Scarab God. I'm also considering Baral, Chief of Compliance as a replacement to Thing in the Ice, at least after rotation. What do you think about him? I'm sure everyone will have differing views on the appropriate amount of removal, draw, and counters to play :)Thanks for any feedback!
2x Nicol Bolas, the God-Pharaoh
4x Torrential Gearhulk
2x Hour of Devastation
3x Abrade
1x Sweltering Suns
2x Glimmer of Genius
2x Hieroglyphic Illumination
1x Pull from Tomorrow
3x Essence Scatter
1x Negate
3x Censor
3x Supreme Will
3x Magma Spray
2x Disallow
2x Harnessed Lightning
7x Island
5x Mountain
4x Aether Hub
2x Fetid Pools
4x Spirebluff Canal
4x Wandering Fumarole
SB
1x Hour of Devastation
3x Thing in the Ice
2x Fevered Visions
2x Dragonmaster Outcast
1x Negate
2x Glorybringer
2x Sphinx of the Final Word
2x Crook of Condemnation
I've come to hate it, a lot. I side it out almost immediately in almost every match.
I've been playing straight UR and URb (for just Bolas) and more recently have been playing closer to a full Grixis build. Some of the stock lists run 4x Censor and I've played with 2-4 maindeck and it is a consistent disappointment. Even when I cycle it, I'm just upset that it was even in my hand as it feels like such a waste.
I won't dispute results, but are folks really just cycling it? Could that slot be used to a better advantage? What are others finding?
Revolutionary Rebuff anybody? I mean if people are waiting a turn to cast something to avoid Censor... it is just something else they have to consider. Maybe at 2x along with Censor
What are people's 'real' opinions on Censor?
I won't dispute results, but are folks really just cycling it? Could that slot be used to a better advantage? What are others finding?
I was running 2 copies of it MD previously and I went ahead and cut it when I added Supreme Will to the deck. I've not tested my current deck configuration due to real life kicking my butt currently; but per my notes I was just about always siding out both copies for games 2 and/or 3 in most of my matches. So for me; I found that I was using it as cycler 90% of the time; due to other players either a) playing around it or b) I just drew it too late in the game to be used as a counter.
As others have stated; Censor just being in the format; does make other players play differently then they normally would their first few turns. Which does end up helping us by slowing down there game plan.
Psy
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Jeskai Control:42-23-5 Elves: 44-31-3 Red-Aggro: 18-9-0 B/G Energy 21-6-0
Sure, late game, even with cycling, it is pretty poor.
I don't disagree. I like early turn counters as much as the next control player. Censor has just performed badly in my experience. As others have stated, people are playing around it somewhat and it winds up being more of an auto-cycler. It's a terrible topdeck later in the game and I've never kept it if I have the opportunity to Scry it with Glimmer of Genius.
Censor is absolutely incredible it's mere presence in the format is slowing opponents facing us down. I rarely side more than one of them out and only when siding in more counter magic. In fast matchups I generally first look at the draw spells or 3 mana counters to cut.
Interesting. I almost automatically cut the 4 Censor to add in more sweepers and spot removal in aggro matches. The draw, I feel, is too important to the overall strategy of the deck.
What are people's 'real' opinions on Censor?
I won't dispute results, but are folks really just cycling it? Could that slot be used to a better advantage? What are others finding?
I was running 2 copies of it MD previously and I went ahead and cut it when I added Supreme Will to the deck. I've not tested my current deck configuration due to real life kicking my butt currently; but per my notes I was just about always siding out both copies for games 2 and/or 3 in most of my matches. So for me; I found that I was using it as cycler 90% of the time; due to other players either a) playing around it or b) I just drew it too late in the game to be used as a counter.
As others have stated; Censor just being in the format; does make other players play differently then they normally would their first few turns. Which does end up helping us by slowing down there game plan.
Psy
This is in line with what I've found. Did you do anything else with the 2CC slot or just add Supreme Will? I've been hesitant to go overboard on the Supreme Will and Disallow slot, though Hour of Devastation really allows for clean up if you can handle the first couple of threats with spot removal.
Revolutionary Rebuff anybody? I mean if people are waiting a turn to cast something to avoid Censor... it is just something else they have to consider. Maybe at 2x along with Censor
The difference between Censor and Supreme Will is that they're not completely dead late game.
OK, I tried Endless Sands in UR and that card is nuts with Torrential Gearhulk. That let me cut Bolas from the main and I replaced it with Commit//Memory which was essential is beating a Fevered Visions that slipped through. I also moved Magma Spray to the board, maxed out on Abrade, added another Disallow, and a 2nd Pull From Tomorrow. The deck played very smoothly and I went undefeated.
Don't have time right now to post my full list, but I went 3-1 at FNM with U/R and a splash of black for 1 Bolas. Ended up losing to a temur energy deck, because I couldn't keep up with their card draw to keep countering all their threats, and eventually some stuff stuck that I couldn't handle.
Top performers:
Essence Scatter - Was good in every matchup, including control. I would play 4 copies of this going forward, and maybe board out 1 or 2 against control.
Disallow - I was never disappointed when I drew this, and it saved my ass against a westvale abbey.
Bolas - Singlehandedly won me a game against g/r energy and another against control. The +1 was amazing, while the +2 was almost always disappointing.
Dragonmaster Outcast - Boarded it in in almost every matchup, and was dominant whenever it hit the battlefield.
Top disappointments:
Censor - I only ever countered 1 card with this all night. It was usually something I just cycled away. I suppose opponents had to play more cautiously, but I would much rather have more essence scatters or card draw.
Torrential Gearhulk - While still amazing, abrade and essence scatter weaken this card significantly.
Magma Spray - Would have been better if I played against a zombie deck, but abrade and harnessed lightning were always better.
The biggest weakness of the deck was the inability to handle big threats if they hit the board. Might consider 1 or 2 copies of unsummon to handle bigger threats going forward, but I don't know if it is worth giving up any removal or counter magic for it.
Commit was an all star, saving me from enchantments, making Sphinx of the Final Word look really bad, and just acting as a very versatile removal/counterspell. Memory never came up, but I know there will be some corner cases where it's useful. It's a safety net if you are losing to one of the random mill decks that are popping up, if your opponent has a better hand, but you manage to force through a Gearhulk Ect. I'd consider a 2nd in the board. Abrade and Supreme Will likewise over preformed. Endless Sands was at least a 2 for 1 every time and I got a 5 for 1 and a 4 for 1 from 1 copy saving multiple gearhulks and getting their triggers again. I was very careful to only cast Gearhulk if I was 1: Reasonably sure they couldn't kill it before I untapped, 2: I had a way to protect it, 3: I had a backup Gearhulk, or 4: I absolutely had to use it to stop something. I think I only activated Wandering Fumarole 4 times over the 6 rounds of play.
Commit was an all star, saving me from enchantments, making Sphinx of the Final Word look really bad, and just acting as a very versatile removal/counterspell. Memory never came up, but I know there will be some corner cases where it's useful. It's a safety net if you are losing to one of the random mill decks that are popping up, if your opponent has a better hand, but you manage to force through a Gearhulk Ect. I'd consider a 2nd in the board.
My experience with with Commit has always left me disappointed. I found the card to be clunky and awkward, and occasionally game winning in corner situations where annoying enchantments like Hidden Stockpile or Fevered Visions would resolve, and the new mill Fraying Sanity absolutely fits into this category, and of course it helps with planeswalkers threatening to go ultimate. By my complains were A) the 4 mana was expensive and the card was more often than not clunky in my hand and B) It never dealt with a threat permanently, as you'd see it again in 2 turns.
A card I think would be better is the new Consign // Oblivion which lets you bounce a very annoying threat, but later in the game lets you gain some card advantage and when the opponent gets low on cards it lets you permanently deal with the threat. You can do some cool things with this card if you opponent dumps their hand, like bounce something you don't like, then during opponents next draw step flash in a Gearhulk, cast Oblivion, and get a nice 2 for 1 including the threat you bounced. There's also opportunity for Gearhulk bouncing shenanigans when Gearhulk gets targeted with removal. The best part is the 2CMC casting cost of Consign gives you a lot more freedom to play around with.
Interesting that these guys are using cycle lands on colors they aren't using.
Interesting, yes, but not strange. The original cycling lands from Urza's Saga only had 1 colour and they were played. Enemy-colour decks basically treat these just like the Urza's Saga lands because they give them the benefit of cycling. Also - keeps the opponent guessing early on what colours you are actually playing (or leaves them wondering what your splash is for)
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Question: If you are playing straight UR, no black for Bolas, how do you deal with a resolved Bolas?
This is my biggest concern. Ideally you counter it, which shouldn't be terribly difficult because they would need probably 9 mana at a minimum to cast it with back up counter magic, and at that point you just keep 2 counters available. But rare circumstances are going to happen and it will sometimes get in. So is it worth adjusting the deck in some way to be able to beat it (like Imprisoned on the Moon) which will weaken the deck otherwise, or better to assume you can keep counter magic for it up and the rare time it does land you just accept as a loss?
Question: If you are playing straight UR, no black for Bolas, how do you deal with a resolved Bolas?
This is my biggest concern. Ideally you counter it, which shouldn't be terribly difficult because they would need probably 9 mana at a minimum to cast it with back up counter magic, and at that point you just keep 2 counters available. But rare circumstances are going to happen and it will sometimes get in. So is it worth adjusting the deck in some way to be able to beat it (like Imprisoned on the Moon) which will weaken the deck otherwise, or better to assume you can keep counter magic for it up and the rare time it does land you just accept as a loss?
Run 1 copy of Commit/Memory. It won't hurt your consistency overall, as it's a decent answer to everything (actually the only good answer UR has to Sphinx as well). It's far from ideal, of course, but it's your only way of removing it from the game.
Personally, I think this is a % play. You're looking at a 1-of or 2-of from a popular deck. How many answers do you need? If it's not a universal answer, it's tough to justify maindeck inclusion.
Honestly, I usually write it off as a variance-type of issue. He's not going to come down too often as a 1- or 2-of. If you want to have 'something', bounce is as good as it gets. It's more than likely going to cost you 2-3 cards anyway and he's coming back, so you have to ask again, is it worth the maindeck slot? I personally think Commit//Memory is too situational to rely on and it leads to higher variance. You need a pretty solid draw 7 from Memory to go into the turn tapped out...
In my experiences, the control mirror comes down to 1) mana advantage (who gets to 7-9 mana first), 2) winning a counter war (usually over a Gearhulk into Glimmer), or 3) desperate luck (tapping out for a turn 7 Bolas or turn 6 EOT Gearhulk against a bad hand).
Question: If you are playing straight UR, no black for Bolas, how do you deal with a resolved Bolas?
This is my biggest concern. Ideally you counter it, which shouldn't be terribly difficult because they would need probably 9 mana at a minimum to cast it with back up counter magic, and at that point you just keep 2 counters available. But rare circumstances are going to happen and it will sometimes get in. So is it worth adjusting the deck in some way to be able to beat it (like Imprisoned on the Moon) which will weaken the deck otherwise, or better to assume you can keep counter magic for it up and the rare time it does land you just accept as a loss?
Run 1 copy of Commit/Memory. It won't hurt your consistency overall, as it's a decent answer to everything (actually the only good answer UR has to Sphinx as well). It's far from ideal, of course, but it's your only way of removing it from the game.
Wait, how does Commit answer Sphinx exactly?
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Winner of the MTGSalvation Standard Championships III & IV.
Yeah Bolas is a 7 mana sorcery speed threat. If you don't have countermagic to deal with it then you should be prepared to loose. Maybe you get lucky and can land a Gearhulk and have a Fumarole in play and can just smash him next turn and kill him, but that's the best you could probably hope for.
Resolved walkers are a nuisance for U/R to deal with. Even Grixis, because you're probably not running Hero's Downfall variant in a 3 color deck that also runs Cancel. Another options that a lot of people were playing in U/R control for a while was Brutal Expulsion which was a nice combo that bounced Gideon and exiled a scrounger, but its only a temporary solution, and Bolas is just going to smile at the 2 damage.
I feel like the mirror match with this deck must be awful. I would imagine it often devolves to both players sitting on a gearhulk in hand waiting for the other player to do something so they can flash in the gearhulk and cast a disallow from the graveyard.
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Other than that, there is still a huge danger in having 4 win conditions in the deck and all being the same card, and that is the existence of cards with Lobotomy-type effects. Anyone playing black would be wise to bait off whatever counter magic you have and then drop a Dispossess with one mana up to spare in case of Censor, and you're done.
Absolutely. Kefnet and Fevered Visions are amazing in the mirror.
If you can land them on t3, it's game. Only a commit/memory or Hour of Devastation (against Kefnet) can deal with those, and good luck landing them against a load of counterspells.
I have several creatures in my SB for the various MU's that serve as alternate wincons after game 1. I've been running 3 Thing in the Ice, 2 Dragonmaster Outcast, and another 2 Sphinx of the Final Word. while Kefnet is good in the control mirror, I still prefer Sphinx, which is basically an auto win if you can land it first. I suppose now with Hour of Devastation Sphinx isn't quite as good, but I doubt Hour is staying in after game 1, and even if it does you can always use your now uncounterable Negate to stop it.
Thing in the Ice goes in against any aggro and especially against any black deck because of Dispossess. With Marvel gone Dispossess won't be showing up as much, but it still is definitely out there so TiTi is very important as the alt win con. Main matches it comes in are G/B, Mardu, and Zombies.
Dragonmaster I like in MU's where the opponent plays limited removal and is most likely siding a lot of it out. Spending a single mana on turn 6 to slip him on the battlefield is usually GG if you get to untap with him. I like to bring him in against the various Temur strategies, so emerge and energy and all those strategies, as well as decks like colossus or some of the jankier brews.
Maybe my style with U/R is different than other players, but I don't rely on Fumarole all that much outside of corner scenarios. The main advantage of U/R is being able to play at flash speed and just always represent countermagic and / or removal. if the opponent is top decking, or upticking a walker feely I'll fire up the Fumarole to pressure them, but outside of that I'd rather keep my mana free and cast my spells.
Modern: UW Spirits
Another utility land I'm really interested in Scavenger Grounds as this land can wreck delirium strategies, wreck the emerge decks that use Prized Amalgam and the new Champion of Wits and even have game in the Gearhulk mirrors, being able to clear out the GY while the opponent's Gearhulk is on the stack. Where was this land when Emrakul was legal.
Personally, I'm happy with the land count at 26, with the 4 dual black cyclers for when you flood out, and some combination of Censor and Hieroglyphic Illumination for when you get screwed.
This brings up an interesting new point I noticed, which is Censor vs Supreme Will. I've found you definitely don't want to go overboard with these 2 and entirely skip Disallow. While both censor and supreme will have utility in the late game, the fact is, in the late game, I'd rather have a hard 3 mana counter then either supreme will or censor, and I've found myself in the late game with multiple censors and wills in hand, no hard counter, and simply unable to stop opponents spells from coming down. I'm not really sure what the numbers should be, but i think 4-5 Cancel is still absolutely necessary.
I got back into Magic a few months ago and I think now might be a good time to enter into Standard. This is the list I'm thinking about running. One thing I'm trying to figure out is the appropriate amount of threats to play. Several U/R Control decks just run 4x Torrential Gearhulk and 4x Fumarole as finishers. How (if at all) should these numbers change by adding in Bolas? Also, I think the sideboard could be developed more. One interesting option could be the Scarab God. I'm also considering Baral, Chief of Compliance as a replacement to Thing in the Ice, at least after rotation. What do you think about him? I'm sure everyone will have differing views on the appropriate amount of removal, draw, and counters to play :)Thanks for any feedback!
2x Nicol Bolas, the God-Pharaoh
4x Torrential Gearhulk
2x Hour of Devastation
3x Abrade
1x Sweltering Suns
2x Glimmer of Genius
2x Hieroglyphic Illumination
1x Pull from Tomorrow
3x Essence Scatter
1x Negate
3x Censor
3x Supreme Will
3x Magma Spray
2x Disallow
2x Harnessed Lightning
7x Island
5x Mountain
4x Aether Hub
2x Fetid Pools
4x Spirebluff Canal
4x Wandering Fumarole
SB
1x Hour of Devastation
3x Thing in the Ice
2x Fevered Visions
2x Dragonmaster Outcast
1x Negate
2x Glorybringer
2x Sphinx of the Final Word
2x Crook of Condemnation
whoa
I can't think of a reason why the deck shouldn't play one, probably replacing a non-land slot rather than a land. Thanks for the idea.
I've come to hate it, a lot. I side it out almost immediately in almost every match.
I've been playing straight UR and URb (for just Bolas) and more recently have been playing closer to a full Grixis build. Some of the stock lists run 4x Censor and I've played with 2-4 maindeck and it is a consistent disappointment. Even when I cycle it, I'm just upset that it was even in my hand as it feels like such a waste.
I won't dispute results, but are folks really just cycling it? Could that slot be used to a better advantage? What are others finding?
Sure, late game, even with cycling, it is pretty poor.
C Long Live Eldrazi C
I was running 2 copies of it MD previously and I went ahead and cut it when I added Supreme Will to the deck. I've not tested my current deck configuration due to real life kicking my butt currently; but per my notes I was just about always siding out both copies for games 2 and/or 3 in most of my matches. So for me; I found that I was using it as cycler 90% of the time; due to other players either a) playing around it or b) I just drew it too late in the game to be used as a counter.
As others have stated; Censor just being in the format; does make other players play differently then they normally would their first few turns. Which does end up helping us by slowing down there game plan.
Psy
Jeskai Control:42-23-5
Elves: 44-31-3
Red-Aggro: 18-9-0
B/G Energy 21-6-0
Previous Played:
G/r Ramp:125-72-3 - Bant CoCo:64-24-2 - Jeskai Saheeli: 62-25-4 - Mono Green Eldrazi: 22-11-2
Bant Aggro: 51-27-6 - U/W/g Midrange: 47-24-1 - Bant: 4-3-0
I don't disagree. I like early turn counters as much as the next control player. Censor has just performed badly in my experience. As others have stated, people are playing around it somewhat and it winds up being more of an auto-cycler. It's a terrible topdeck later in the game and I've never kept it if I have the opportunity to Scry it with Glimmer of Genius.
Interesting. I almost automatically cut the 4 Censor to add in more sweepers and spot removal in aggro matches. The draw, I feel, is too important to the overall strategy of the deck.
This is in line with what I've found. Did you do anything else with the 2CC slot or just add Supreme Will? I've been hesitant to go overboard on the Supreme Will and Disallow slot, though Hour of Devastation really allows for clean up if you can handle the first couple of threats with spot removal.
Modern: UW Spirits
Top performers:
Essence Scatter - Was good in every matchup, including control. I would play 4 copies of this going forward, and maybe board out 1 or 2 against control.
Disallow - I was never disappointed when I drew this, and it saved my ass against a westvale abbey.
Bolas - Singlehandedly won me a game against g/r energy and another against control. The +1 was amazing, while the +2 was almost always disappointing.
Dragonmaster Outcast - Boarded it in in almost every matchup, and was dominant whenever it hit the battlefield.
Top disappointments:
Censor - I only ever countered 1 card with this all night. It was usually something I just cycled away. I suppose opponents had to play more cautiously, but I would much rather have more essence scatters or card draw.
Torrential Gearhulk - While still amazing, abrade and essence scatter weaken this card significantly.
Magma Spray - Would have been better if I played against a zombie deck, but abrade and harnessed lightning were always better.
The biggest weakness of the deck was the inability to handle big threats if they hit the board. Might consider 1 or 2 copies of unsummon to handle bigger threats going forward, but I don't know if it is worth giving up any removal or counter magic for it.
4 Abrade
3 Censor
1 Essence Scatter
1 Negate
3 Supreme Will
3 Disallow
1 Sweltering Suns
1 Commit
3 Glimmer of Genius
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Hour of Devastation
2 Pull from Tomorrow
4 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Canyon Slough
1 Fetid Pools
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Aether Hub
2 Endless Sands
6 Island
4 Mountain
3 Magma Spray
1 Chandra's Defeat
2 Dispel
2 Negate
2 Jace's Defeat
2 Crook of Condemnation
1 Hour of Devastation
1 Glyph Keeper
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
Modern: UW Spirits
My experience with with Commit has always left me disappointed. I found the card to be clunky and awkward, and occasionally game winning in corner situations where annoying enchantments like Hidden Stockpile or Fevered Visions would resolve, and the new mill Fraying Sanity absolutely fits into this category, and of course it helps with planeswalkers threatening to go ultimate. By my complains were A) the 4 mana was expensive and the card was more often than not clunky in my hand and B) It never dealt with a threat permanently, as you'd see it again in 2 turns.
A card I think would be better is the new Consign // Oblivion which lets you bounce a very annoying threat, but later in the game lets you gain some card advantage and when the opponent gets low on cards it lets you permanently deal with the threat. You can do some cool things with this card if you opponent dumps their hand, like bounce something you don't like, then during opponents next draw step flash in a Gearhulk, cast Oblivion, and get a nice 2 for 1 including the threat you bounced. There's also opportunity for Gearhulk bouncing shenanigans when Gearhulk gets targeted with removal. The best part is the 2CMC casting cost of Consign gives you a lot more freedom to play around with.
Interesting, yes, but not strange. The original cycling lands from Urza's Saga only had 1 colour and they were played. Enemy-colour decks basically treat these just like the Urza's Saga lands because they give them the benefit of cycling. Also - keeps the opponent guessing early on what colours you are actually playing (or leaves them wondering what your splash is for)
This is my biggest concern. Ideally you counter it, which shouldn't be terribly difficult because they would need probably 9 mana at a minimum to cast it with back up counter magic, and at that point you just keep 2 counters available. But rare circumstances are going to happen and it will sometimes get in. So is it worth adjusting the deck in some way to be able to beat it (like Imprisoned on the Moon) which will weaken the deck otherwise, or better to assume you can keep counter magic for it up and the rare time it does land you just accept as a loss?
Run 1 copy of Commit/Memory. It won't hurt your consistency overall, as it's a decent answer to everything (actually the only good answer UR has to Sphinx as well). It's far from ideal, of course, but it's your only way of removing it from the game.
Honestly, I usually write it off as a variance-type of issue. He's not going to come down too often as a 1- or 2-of. If you want to have 'something', bounce is as good as it gets. It's more than likely going to cost you 2-3 cards anyway and he's coming back, so you have to ask again, is it worth the maindeck slot? I personally think Commit//Memory is too situational to rely on and it leads to higher variance. You need a pretty solid draw 7 from Memory to go into the turn tapped out...
In my experiences, the control mirror comes down to 1) mana advantage (who gets to 7-9 mana first), 2) winning a counter war (usually over a Gearhulk into Glimmer), or 3) desperate luck (tapping out for a turn 7 Bolas or turn 6 EOT Gearhulk against a bad hand).
Wait, how does Commit answer Sphinx exactly?
My DCI ELO Ratings - May they rest in peace :'(
Resolved walkers are a nuisance for U/R to deal with. Even Grixis, because you're probably not running Hero's Downfall variant in a 3 color deck that also runs Cancel. Another options that a lot of people were playing in U/R control for a while was Brutal Expulsion which was a nice combo that bounced Gideon and exiled a scrounger, but its only a temporary solution, and Bolas is just going to smile at the 2 damage.