I think tracker is a meta call. Fathom fleet captain is a much more solid contender and I'll try a two two split on siphoner + raid guy for draws once I get home. I like raider for his draw power, but don't like the lack of evasion to swing in for damage on its own. Siphoner in the energy build I'm doing gives fuel for aether hub, let's me draw when I need to, and works with the harvester. I still like favorable winds more than the pirate ship because of abrade. Artifacts are about as vulnerable as creatures in the current format. If I anthem for a close win it could hurt to have them blow it up when you least expect it.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Might be a good card. The problem I have with this is you can hardly attack with it, a 3/3 on the ground is tiny in this format. And it's not easy to crew it. I can see it be good in control MUs where there's nothing in front of it, but still you need 2 creatures or a 2/x on the board to crew it, which leads to over-commitment. Could it be better than Aethersphere Harvester ?
I feel like it would play optimally in an aggro shell with slightly bigger pirates overall (Skyship Plunderer, Storm fleet Aerialist, etc...). What do you think ?
Might be a good card. The problem I have with this is you can hardly attack with it, a 3/3 on the ground is tiny in this format. And it's not easy to crew it. I can see it be good in control MUs where there's nothing in front of it, but still you need 2 creatures or a 2/x on the board to crew it, which leads to over-commitment. Could it be better than Aethersphere Harvester ?
I feel like it would play optimally in an aggro shell with slightly bigger pirates overall (Skyship Plunderer, Stormfleet Aerialist, etc...). What do you think ?
Fell Flagship is fine as a 3/3 Vehicle. In the match-ups where crewing it is good, it is really good. But it being a Vehicle is only one of the things it does.
That very first line of text is monumentally important. Here I'll type it out as a reminder:
Pirates you control get +1/+0
Now this seems like a very innocent, unmattering ability. However consider the creatures the deck is running. Siren Stormtamer, Kitesail Freebooter, Fathom Fleet Captain. These creatures hit for very little, but are evasive threats. Making them hit harder helps end games faster, and enables you to actually trade up on some of the creatures. That it is also a Vehicle with a relevant combat damage effect is gravy.
If the card was just 3 for +1/+0 to all Pirates, it wouldn't be good enough. If it was just the Vehicle half, it wouldn't be good enough. But both parts of the card together make something that is quite strong for the deck.
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Modern Decks: UBG Lantern Control GBU BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I like flagship, but at the moment I'm torn between that and dowsing dagger. when flipped (which isn't hard thanks to our evasive creatures) we can "tap out" every turn, and still have mana up for counters.
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
I think people are underestimating Fell Flagship. That card has been a house for me in a lot of match-ups.
Didn't comment on your deck list, but basically welcome to the magical world of having anthems! My own build went the flying men route, which is why I got the Favorable Winds in the deck instead of Fell Flagship. Technically, if I wanted to be more aggressive I could throw both in the mix, but really the Aethersphere Harvester does more work than it lets on against Glorybringer and even Ripjaw Raptor. I may drop Ruin Raider all together for more Fathom Fleet Captain and drop my curve a bit more to keep mana open.
Overall though, my flying creature count needs to be a bit higher to use Favorable Winds effectively. Honestly, it's more about picking a direction with the deck and not just focusing on being pirates. I think a Flying men tempo build that is mostly pirates to get some synergy benefits can work as Skyship Plunderer also nets energy for hubs and the harvester as well and is a pirate that flies. Ruin Raider is fine as a three drop card draw engine, and Dreamcaller Siren is just good.
Edit: Flying men works! Just I don't think it is as interesting as trying to get some of the oddball pirates working cohesively. That and it relies on having some non-pirates in the mix to make things work and I think the red / blue version works best.
So yeah, after messing around with the list, even if Fell Flagship is more vulnerable to being removed than Favorable Winds in the current format, it's the best anthem available for the pirates build. The best pirates are more ground based anyway. The nice part about the energy build is that I can splash for Admiral Beckett Brass to act as anthem 5-6 for some matchups.
Honestly, I just have a huge tendency to dismiss menace as good evasion due to multiple blockers, but it does work. The only thing I don't like with flagship is it doesn't boost toughness, so I could see people run dual shot out of the sideboard. Then you have to choose what to blink in those cases where our one drop siren isn't fielded. In some cases they may use it early just to hit the siren and force our hand.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Didn't comment on your deck list, but basically welcome to the magical world of having anthems! My own build went the flying men route, which is why I got the Favorable Winds in the deck instead of Fell Flagship. Technically, if I wanted to be more aggressive I could throw both in the mix, but really the Aethersphere Harvester does more work than it lets on against Glorybringer and even Ripjaw Raptor. I may drop Ruin Raider all together for more Fathom Fleet Captain and drop my curve a bit more to keep mana open.
Overall though, my flying creature count needs to be a bit higher to use Favorable Winds effectively. Honestly, it's more about picking a direction with the deck and not just focusing on being pirates. I think a Flying men tempo build that is mostly pirates to get some synergy benefits can work as Skyship Plunderer also nets energy for hubs and the harvester as well and is a pirate that flies. Ruin Raider is fine as a three drop card draw engine, and Dreamcaller Siren is just good.
Edit: Flying men works! Just I don't think it is as interesting as trying to get some of the oddball pirates working cohesively. That and it relies on having some non-pirates in the mix to make things work and I think the red / blue version works best.
So yeah, after messing around with the list, even if Fell Flagship is more vulnerable to being removed than Favorable Winds in the current format, it's the best anthem available for the pirates build. The best pirates are more ground based anyway. The nice part about the energy build is that I can splash for Admiral Beckett Brass to act as anthem 5-6 for some matchups.
Honestly, I just have a huge tendency to dismiss menace as good evasion due to multiple blockers, but it does work. The only thing I don't like with flagship is it doesn't boost toughness, so I could see people run dual shot out of the sideboard. Then you have to choose what to blink in those cases where our one drop siren isn't fielded. In some cases they may use it early just to hit the siren and force our hand.
Yes anthem effects are wonderful. And when those Anthems can turn themselves into Hypnotic Specter, they are even better
I do generally like the idea of the flying men deck. Siren Stormtamer, Storm Fleet Aerialist, Kitesail Freebooter, and Skyship Plunderer give you a bunch of creatures to use as a starting point. However I don't think I'd want to run any U/B list without Hostage Taker, who is, in my opinion, the reason to try to play a tempo deck. Let's do some brewing ladies and gentlemen
This deck doesn't look great, I'll be honest, but I do like the direction it's going. I feel a tempo flier deck is doing itself a disservice if it isn't running Bone Picker as that is one of the biggest flying tempo cards you can possibly play. Notably one problem with this deck is it's lack of card draw and ways to get gas. Perhaps Arguel's Blood Fast would work in this deck, with us being able to sacrifice large fliers to keep us alive in the late game.
I also tried to go all in on the anthems by adding both Favorable Winds and Fell Flagship. I definitely agree with one of Flagships problems being that it doesn't boost toughness, but I think a critical mass of anthems is how to make this deck work properly.
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Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
scrounger, raider and jace can all crew hearth of kiran.
sky ship plunderer on t2 means jace is on 5 t3 and can ultimate t4
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
I don't feel like Jace is a very good card. There are some interactions that make him a bit more bearable such as skyship plunderer pumping his loyalty for illusion activation or an ultimate. He's a far cry from being Vryn's prodigy.
Basically, what is the payoff if we ultimate Jace? We get 8 power divided on four bodies. His ability to grant looting is okay, but we can also just strait up run chart a course.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I agree. Heart of kiran would be a nice inclusion, but raider is our only 3 power pirate.
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Well, after thinking on it Jace, Cunning Castaway is probably better than he looks, but that is because he is an aggro card that can act as a finisher. Basically, if someone were to run a deck that has Skyship Plunderer, Walking Ballista, a few mimics, and then Jace, Cunning Castaway, there are a lot of ways to get value out of that little flying pirate. The main issue is his own ability to uptick is lackluster, so he really needs support from the Skyship Plunderer to get to his ult or to get more uses out of the -2.
Basically, think of the new Jace as a 2/2 illusion servo exhibition that you might be able to use late game with some shinanigans. Oddly enough I'm starting to think The Scarab God may not be the best choice in the deck unless we are grinding out, and if we do plan to grind out we need a draw plan that isn't Ruin Raider.
Also, made a mistake when I posted earlier. I thought he made two token illusions with the -2. That would have been enough to make him an absolute include, but given how they nerfed him he really isn't top tier or a must.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Yeah, I'm trying flyers versions as well, and Jace looks underwhelming. Chart a Course looks good enough though. In a mono blue version, there's a chance a filler card like Siren Lookout is better than Jace.
Here's a simple take on the archetype :
Yeah, I'm trying flyers versions as well, and Jace looks underwhelming. Chart a Course looks good enough though. In a mono blue version, there's a chance a filler card like Siren Lookout is better than Jace.
Here's a simple take on the archetype :
Nimble Obstructionist didn't make the cut in my pirate build due to needing more one drops to turn on Storm fleet Aerialist. Also, no matter what build I'm running I've basically concluded that 4x Fatal Push is absolutely needed to survive against Red rush decks, and we need Kitesail Freebooter.
Well, best mix I've found is 22-23 creatures main deck at once, 14 - 13 spells, and 24 lands. Deadeye Tracker is a house and I ended up trying him out in both the flying men build as an "honorable, but not flying" man that digs for stuff. I've also completely sideboarded Ruin Raider. He's just causing too many issues vs aggressive decks that he had to go.
Also, SBMTG Dev did a list that looks suspiciously close to the one I was piecing together last night in my late night delirium.
I'm having that feeling right now that I just ran into the woods, got lost, and ended up circling right back to where I started with this deck. He chose Doomfall and Gifted Aetherborn as ways to answer Carnage Tyrant. I think ultimately it's probably a more competitive answer than Vizier of Many Faces, albeit the latter is flexible in that it can also mimic a pirate to keep the synergy going. What I'm surprised by is only one The Scarab God. I'm fairly sure 2 is about right, but given the answers he is packing that might have been hard to pull off. Also, I kind of like Trial of Ambition more than Doomfall, but Doomfall exiles creatures instead, which is relevant against HOU Gods and embalm / eternalize.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think Doomfall is strictly better than Trial, but I'm curious to know why you considered the enchantment over the sorcery there. Gifted Aetherborn is also my take on the anti-Tyrant plan, and it's still the best card I can think of against aggro, and interestingly a good replacement for worse slots in control MUs, where I need more threats than Siren's Ruses.
I disagree with Ruin Raider going to the SB, I believe the meta mustn't be narrowed to mono red, and the orc can trade on defense anyway. This is the one card that gives Stormtamer and Freebooter a reason to attack, since they're not born to block anyway !
I dislike Tracker and Saboteur because they die to Walking Ballista, which is a card we can't ignore. I can see Censor being arguably better in the 1-drop slots, instead of Tracker. I need to hit my land drops and I saw myself lose games because of that.
Dowsing Dagger is cute, but I have to admit the upside is soo satisfying. The downside of losing the equipment when it flips is a bummer though, and the main reason I won't run it. Harvester is still the best until proven wrong.
My list is there right now :
Can you tell me more about deadeye tracker and why you like it so much?
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Can you tell me more about deadeye tracker and why you like it so much?
The big thing with pirates right now is raid, and to dependably hit raid turn 2 pirates need one drops that can swing in on that turn. Additionally, Deadeye Tracker fixes our draws, can grow into a bigger threat as the game progresses, and gives me an option to spend resources at the end step of the opponents turn that could potentially go to waste. Also, Daring Saboteur is a card I've ended up under-rating when I was originally building the deck. He's actually quite good both late and early game and his looting works well in tandem with Deadeye Tracker. This set has a lot of mana sinks in it compared to older sets as well, which favors playing a few more lands. I'm actually cheating a bit with having the tracker in the deck.
Also, the primary reason I had originally considered Trial of Ambition is due to mana cost. I like to try and skirt by with as low a mana cost as I can get away with on removal, which is why I don't like to main deck Vraska's Contempt. If we were building control, I'd probably main deck the card.
Finally, even though I have Ruin Raider in the sideboard, it is still always going to be a meta call what is in the main. Tempo is the most "think heavy" type of deck to play and the main board needs to be constantly adjusted to account for what the opponent is playing. Our decks will vary all over the place until we have a firm grasp on the meta, but what our discussion is telling us is that we have tools for just about every meta conceivable, which is a far cry better than dinosaurs at the moment. Also, I'm more worried about Sweltering Suns than Walking Ballista. The decks that play ballista traditionally got weaker with rotation (namely GB snake decks) due to the mana-base.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Stryker, there is this thing called "Constructive Conversation". You just failed at all the prerequisites to what that is supposed to be. First, how does it lose? Second, what would you do to modify the deck to make it "better" against the match up? Third, what mono-blue control deck? There's a white-blue one that is forming up, but you are the first to mention strait mono-blue.
Considering the versions I run that are geared more evenly towards possible control decks, I don't think the match up vs a "mono blue control" deck given the tools they have is poor. In fact, it usually ends up being favorable to the tempo deck.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Well I mean...this deck can be bad against Mono U Control, that's fine. There is no way for Mono U Control to beat any other deck in the format, so I don't see that as being an overall large issue....
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Modern Decks: UBG Lantern Control GBU BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm thinking about making room in the 75 to fit the Aethersphere Harvester. Just not sure what to cut to make it in there.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I had a thought yesterday about the whole Winds idea. I think it doesn't have the right support. In Modern, Intangible Virtue is worth it because :
- creatures get vigilance, which makes creature MUs easier;
- every creature comes off an X-for-1 : Lingering Souls, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, etc..., which lets the enchantment add more than 1 extra power to the board (e.g. for 2 souls, you have 2 extra power).
Here, Winds is played along with blue spells that put single flying creatures on the board. Plus it doesn't provide any other upside. So you must play subpar creatures, pump them by 1, and hope they go over the top of the rest of the format. It doesn't work.
When you cast a T2 Winds, you already lose tempo against other aggro decks that play a creature instead (possibly with haste, which doubles the tempo loss). One enchantment doesn't put your creatures out of reach of red removal spells either.
On top of that, the lack of vigilance or lifelink doesn't help gaining back some tempo.
The Winds deck can only be worth it with VERY good flyers, which Pirates don't provide in enough numbers. Skyship Plunderer needs a ton of support to be worth it, because gaining energy counters or pumping a vanilla 2/3 is a very poor deal. Same with Ruse that wants to do more than flickering to protect from a removal spell, no you want the card to be pro-actively strong. Ruse is at its best with Hostage Taker, so if you don't run one, there's a chance you don't wanna run the other.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
So a buddy of mine went and streamed himself playing the Pirate list in a Standard League last night. He just uploaded the video to Youtube, so feel free to have a look
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Modern Decks: UBG Lantern Control GBU BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I had a thought yesterday about the whole Winds idea. I think it doesn't have the right support. In Modern, Intangible Virtue is worth it because :
- creatures get vigilance, which makes creature MUs easier;
- every creature comes off an X-for-1 : Lingering Souls, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, etc..., which lets the enchantment add more than 1 extra power to the board (e.g. for 2 souls, you have 2 extra power).
Here, Winds is played along with blue spells that put single flying creatures on the board. Plus it doesn't provide any other upside. So you must play subpar creatures, pump them by 1, and hope they go over the top of the rest of the format. It doesn't work.
When you cast a T2 Winds, you already lose tempo against other aggro decks that play a creature instead (possibly with haste, which doubles the tempo loss). One enchantment doesn't put your creatures out of reach of red removal spells either.
On top of that, the lack of vigilance or lifelink doesn't help gaining back some tempo.
The Winds deck can only be worth it with VERY good flyers, which Pirates don't provide in enough numbers. Skyship Plunderer needs a ton of support to be worth it, because gaining energy counters or pumping a vanilla 2/3 is a very poor deal. Same with Ruse that wants to do more than flickering to protect from a removal spell, no you want the card to be pro-actively strong. Ruse is at its best with Hostage Taker, so if you don't run one, there's a chance you don't wanna run the other.
Ruse works well with dreamcaller siren, but it's more of a sideboard card. I wouldn't under estimate winds, either. I played spirits lists with always watching and it wins games in these lists.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Fetid Pools
3x Evolving Wilds
1x Field of Ruin
1x Ifnir Deadlands
1x Scavenger Grounds
5x Island
5x Swamp
Creatures - 20
4x Siren Stormtamer
2x Daring Saboteur
4x Fathom Fleet Captain
4x Kitesail Freebooter
2x Ruin Raider
4x Hostage Taker
2x Fell Flagship
Other - 14
3x Fatal Push
2x Harsh Scrutiny
3x Siren's Ruse
2x Walk the Plank
4x Lookout's Dispersal
2x Spell Pierce
2x Deadeye Tracker
2x Duress
2x Walk the Plank
2x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Vraska's Contempt
2x The Scarab God
I think people are underestimating Fell Flagship. That card has been a house for me in a lot of match-ups.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
I think tracker is a meta call. Fathom fleet captain is a much more solid contender and I'll try a two two split on siphoner + raid guy for draws once I get home. I like raider for his draw power, but don't like the lack of evasion to swing in for damage on its own. Siphoner in the energy build I'm doing gives fuel for aether hub, let's me draw when I need to, and works with the harvester. I still like favorable winds more than the pirate ship because of abrade. Artifacts are about as vulnerable as creatures in the current format. If I anthem for a close win it could hurt to have them blow it up when you least expect it.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I feel like it would play optimally in an aggro shell with slightly bigger pirates overall (Skyship Plunderer, Storm fleet Aerialist, etc...). What do you think ?
Fell Flagship is fine as a 3/3 Vehicle. In the match-ups where crewing it is good, it is really good. But it being a Vehicle is only one of the things it does.
That very first line of text is monumentally important. Here I'll type it out as a reminder:
Pirates you control get +1/+0
Now this seems like a very innocent, unmattering ability. However consider the creatures the deck is running. Siren Stormtamer, Kitesail Freebooter, Fathom Fleet Captain. These creatures hit for very little, but are evasive threats. Making them hit harder helps end games faster, and enables you to actually trade up on some of the creatures. That it is also a Vehicle with a relevant combat damage effect is gravy.
If the card was just 3 for +1/+0 to all Pirates, it wouldn't be good enough. If it was just the Vehicle half, it wouldn't be good enough. But both parts of the card together make something that is quite strong for the deck.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Didn't comment on your deck list, but basically welcome to the magical world of having anthems! My own build went the flying men route, which is why I got the Favorable Winds in the deck instead of Fell Flagship. Technically, if I wanted to be more aggressive I could throw both in the mix, but really the Aethersphere Harvester does more work than it lets on against Glorybringer and even Ripjaw Raptor. I may drop Ruin Raider all together for more Fathom Fleet Captain and drop my curve a bit more to keep mana open.
Overall though, my flying creature count needs to be a bit higher to use Favorable Winds effectively. Honestly, it's more about picking a direction with the deck and not just focusing on being pirates. I think a Flying men tempo build that is mostly pirates to get some synergy benefits can work as Skyship Plunderer also nets energy for hubs and the harvester as well and is a pirate that flies. Ruin Raider is fine as a three drop card draw engine, and Dreamcaller Siren is just good.
Edit: Flying men works! Just I don't think it is as interesting as trying to get some of the oddball pirates working cohesively. That and it relies on having some non-pirates in the mix to make things work and I think the red / blue version works best.
So yeah, after messing around with the list, even if Fell Flagship is more vulnerable to being removed than Favorable Winds in the current format, it's the best anthem available for the pirates build. The best pirates are more ground based anyway. The nice part about the energy build is that I can splash for Admiral Beckett Brass to act as anthem 5-6 for some matchups.
Honestly, I just have a huge tendency to dismiss menace as good evasion due to multiple blockers, but it does work. The only thing I don't like with flagship is it doesn't boost toughness, so I could see people run dual shot out of the sideboard. Then you have to choose what to blink in those cases where our one drop siren isn't fielded. In some cases they may use it early just to hit the siren and force our hand.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Yes anthem effects are wonderful. And when those Anthems can turn themselves into Hypnotic Specter, they are even better
I do generally like the idea of the flying men deck. Siren Stormtamer, Storm Fleet Aerialist, Kitesail Freebooter, and Skyship Plunderer give you a bunch of creatures to use as a starting point. However I don't think I'd want to run any U/B list without Hostage Taker, who is, in my opinion, the reason to try to play a tempo deck. Let's do some brewing ladies and gentlemen
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Fetid Pools
3x Evolving Wilds
1x Field of Ruin
1x Ifnir Deadlands
1x Scavenger Ground
5x Island
5x Swamp
4x Siren Stormtamer
4x Storm Fleet Aerialist
4x Kitesail Freebooter
3x Hostage Taker
2x Bone Picker
Other - 19
3x Fatal Push
4x Censor
4x Favorable Winds
2x Walk the Plank
4x Lookout's Dispersal
2x Fell Flagship
This deck doesn't look great, I'll be honest, but I do like the direction it's going. I feel a tempo flier deck is doing itself a disservice if it isn't running Bone Picker as that is one of the biggest flying tempo cards you can possibly play. Notably one problem with this deck is it's lack of card draw and ways to get gas. Perhaps Arguel's Blood Fast would work in this deck, with us being able to sacrifice large fliers to keep us alive in the late game.
I also tried to go all in on the anthems by adding both Favorable Winds and Fell Flagship. I definitely agree with one of Flagships problems being that it doesn't boost toughness, but I think a critical mass of anthems is how to make this deck work properly.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
8 Island
4 Fetid Pools
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Heart of Kiran
4 Hostage Taker
2 Siren Stormtamer
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Skyship Plunderer
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Lookout's Dispersal
3 Fatal Push
4 Jace, Cunning Castaway
scrounger, raider and jace can all crew hearth of kiran.
sky ship plunderer on t2 means jace is on 5 t3 and can ultimate t4
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Basically, what is the payoff if we ultimate Jace? We get 8 power divided on four bodies. His ability to grant looting is okay, but we can also just strait up run chart a course.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Basically, think of the new Jace as a 2/2 illusion servo exhibition that you might be able to use late game with some shinanigans. Oddly enough I'm starting to think The Scarab God may not be the best choice in the deck unless we are grinding out, and if we do plan to grind out we need a draw plan that isn't Ruin Raider.
Also, made a mistake when I posted earlier. I thought he made two token illusions with the -2. That would have been enough to make him an absolute include, but given how they nerfed him he really isn't top tier or a must.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Here's a simple take on the archetype :
4 Storm Fleet Aerialist
4 Skyship Plunderer
4 Siren Lookout
4 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Dreamcaller Siren
4 Favorable Winds
4 Lookout's Dispersal
2 Aethersphere Harvester
2 Heart of Kiran
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Sunscorched Desert
8 Island
Not sure the SB can handle the format though...
Nimble Obstructionist didn't make the cut in my pirate build due to needing more one drops to turn on Storm fleet Aerialist. Also, no matter what build I'm running I've basically concluded that 4x Fatal Push is absolutely needed to survive against Red rush decks, and we need Kitesail Freebooter.
Well, best mix I've found is 22-23 creatures main deck at once, 14 - 13 spells, and 24 lands. Deadeye Tracker is a house and I ended up trying him out in both the flying men build as an "honorable, but not flying" man that digs for stuff. I've also completely sideboarded Ruin Raider. He's just causing too many issues vs aggressive decks that he had to go.
Also, SBMTG Dev did a list that looks suspiciously close to the one I was piecing together last night in my late night delirium.
2 Daring Saboteur
3 Deadeye Tracker
3 Fathom Fleet Captain
4 Hostage Taker
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Siren Stormtamer
4 Storm Fleet Aerialist
Spell 13
4 Fatal Push
4 Lookout's Dispersal
2 Unsummon
3 Walk the Plank
3 Drowned Catacomb
3 Fetid Pools
4 Ifnir Deadlands
8 Island
4 Swamp
2 Unclaimed Territory
2 Chart a Course
3 Doomfall
4 Gifted Aetherborn
3 Ruin Raider
1 The Scarab God
2 Vraska's Contempt
I'm having that feeling right now that I just ran into the woods, got lost, and ended up circling right back to where I started with this deck. He chose Doomfall and Gifted Aetherborn as ways to answer Carnage Tyrant. I think ultimately it's probably a more competitive answer than Vizier of Many Faces, albeit the latter is flexible in that it can also mimic a pirate to keep the synergy going. What I'm surprised by is only one The Scarab God. I'm fairly sure 2 is about right, but given the answers he is packing that might have been hard to pull off. Also, I kind of like Trial of Ambition more than Doomfall, but Doomfall exiles creatures instead, which is relevant against HOU Gods and embalm / eternalize.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think Doomfall is strictly better than Trial, but I'm curious to know why you considered the enchantment over the sorcery there.
Gifted Aetherborn is also my take on the anti-Tyrant plan, and it's still the best card I can think of against aggro, and interestingly a good replacement for worse slots in control MUs, where I need more threats than Siren's Ruses.
I disagree with Ruin Raider going to the SB, I believe the meta mustn't be narrowed to mono red, and the orc can trade on defense anyway. This is the one card that gives Stormtamer and Freebooter a reason to attack, since they're not born to block anyway !
I dislike Tracker and Saboteur because they die to Walking Ballista, which is a card we can't ignore. I can see Censor being arguably better in the 1-drop slots, instead of Tracker. I need to hit my land drops and I saw myself lose games because of that.
Dowsing Dagger is cute, but I have to admit the upside is soo satisfying. The downside of losing the equipment when it flips is a bummer though, and the main reason I won't run it. Harvester is still the best until proven wrong.
My list is there right now :
4 Ruin Raider
4 Fathom Fleet Captain
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Siren Stormtamer
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Lookout's Dispersal
4 Siren's Ruse
4 Fatal Push
3 Censor
4 Fetid Pools
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Island
3 Swamp
2 Ifnir Deadlands
1 Liliana, Death's Majesty
2 Doomfall
2 Walk the Plank
3 Negate
2 Duress
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
The big thing with pirates right now is raid, and to dependably hit raid turn 2 pirates need one drops that can swing in on that turn. Additionally, Deadeye Tracker fixes our draws, can grow into a bigger threat as the game progresses, and gives me an option to spend resources at the end step of the opponents turn that could potentially go to waste. Also, Daring Saboteur is a card I've ended up under-rating when I was originally building the deck. He's actually quite good both late and early game and his looting works well in tandem with Deadeye Tracker. This set has a lot of mana sinks in it compared to older sets as well, which favors playing a few more lands. I'm actually cheating a bit with having the tracker in the deck.
Also, the primary reason I had originally considered Trial of Ambition is due to mana cost. I like to try and skirt by with as low a mana cost as I can get away with on removal, which is why I don't like to main deck Vraska's Contempt. If we were building control, I'd probably main deck the card.
Finally, even though I have Ruin Raider in the sideboard, it is still always going to be a meta call what is in the main. Tempo is the most "think heavy" type of deck to play and the main board needs to be constantly adjusted to account for what the opponent is playing. Our decks will vary all over the place until we have a firm grasp on the meta, but what our discussion is telling us is that we have tools for just about every meta conceivable, which is a far cry better than dinosaurs at the moment. Also, I'm more worried about Sweltering Suns than Walking Ballista. The decks that play ballista traditionally got weaker with rotation (namely GB snake decks) due to the mana-base.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Stryker, there is this thing called "Constructive Conversation". You just failed at all the prerequisites to what that is supposed to be. First, how does it lose? Second, what would you do to modify the deck to make it "better" against the match up? Third, what mono-blue control deck? There's a white-blue one that is forming up, but you are the first to mention strait mono-blue.
Considering the versions I run that are geared more evenly towards possible control decks, I don't think the match up vs a "mono blue control" deck given the tools they have is poor. In fact, it usually ends up being favorable to the tempo deck.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Also, I'll try to post my work in progress for flying men. The favorable winds is making space a bit tight.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
3 Drowned Catacomb
3 Fetid Pools
4 Ifnir Deadlands
8 Island
4 Swamp
2 Unclaimed Territory
Spells
3 Chart a Course
2 Fatal Push
4 Favorable Winds
4 Lookout's Dispersal
2 Siren's Ruse
3 Deadeye Tracker
3 Dreamcaller Siren
3 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Siren Stormtamer
4 Skyship Plunderer
4 Storm Fleet Aerialist
2 Doomfall
1 Fatal Push
3 Gifted Aetherborn
2 The Scarab God
2 Unsummon
2 Vraska's Contempt
3 Walk the Plank
I'm thinking about making room in the 75 to fit the Aethersphere Harvester. Just not sure what to cut to make it in there.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
- creatures get vigilance, which makes creature MUs easier;
- every creature comes off an X-for-1 : Lingering Souls, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, etc..., which lets the enchantment add more than 1 extra power to the board (e.g. for 2 souls, you have 2 extra power).
Here, Winds is played along with blue spells that put single flying creatures on the board. Plus it doesn't provide any other upside. So you must play subpar creatures, pump them by 1, and hope they go over the top of the rest of the format. It doesn't work.
When you cast a T2 Winds, you already lose tempo against other aggro decks that play a creature instead (possibly with haste, which doubles the tempo loss). One enchantment doesn't put your creatures out of reach of red removal spells either.
On top of that, the lack of vigilance or lifelink doesn't help gaining back some tempo.
I tried to splash red for Harnessed Lightning, Whirler Virtuoso and Pia Nalaar, and white for Gideon of the Trials (along with Heart of Kiran), Aerial Responder and Kinjalli's Sunwing, but it's not enough.
Another detail, Unclaimed Territory is unnecessary in a Pirate shell because there's no mana tension even in 2 colours; actually there's abo****ely no reason to be Pirate-centric when you run sorecery-speed spells like Chart and Winds, because you can't reliably keep mana open for Ruse and Dispersal.
The Winds deck can only be worth it with VERY good flyers, which Pirates don't provide in enough numbers. Skyship Plunderer needs a ton of support to be worth it, because gaining energy counters or pumping a vanilla 2/3 is a very poor deal. Same with Ruse that wants to do more than flickering to protect from a removal spell, no you want the card to be pro-actively strong. Ruse is at its best with Hostage Taker, so if you don't run one, there's a chance you don't wanna run the other.
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros
Ruse works well with dreamcaller siren, but it's more of a sideboard card. I wouldn't under estimate winds, either. I played spirits lists with always watching and it wins games in these lists.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Modern Decks:
UBG Lantern Control GBU
BRG Bridge-Vine GRB
Commander Decks
UBG Muldrotha, Value Elemental GBU
BRG Windgrace Real-Estate Ltd. GRB
#PayThePros