MTG Salvation

+1 BadMcFadden
I'm on 2 mainboard chalice of the void for about few years and It's one of the best card in the deck. Locking cmc1 is real in modern - and most decks can't beat chalice on 1 + wurmcoil turn three.
Ofc It's sometimes clunky (we can just dump it for thirst or play late game for some "weird" matchup dependant number) - but Imo chalice of the void is the reason to run this deck insted of classic G-tron.
Playing Chalice as a 1-of is also very good (like shoktroopa does) - mine second one is in the slot of 4rd expedition map (3 maps is enough for me and this tech just works)

Can You share your last list Darksteel? I'm gonna get the "chumpion of wits" and try them. But TBH I'm not sure if creature is better than instant in this slot - eternalize is sweet - but when we can active this we are already in the good spot I think.
I'm confused with remands these days... I'm still tryin "hard answers", Well it seems that negate has really good time atm.

Guys If You are alive, check this out : https://www.cardknocklife.com/uw-tron-primer-a-fresh-twist-on-an-old-favorite/

Imo it's bit heavy on finishers and too low on counterspells (and I don't trust crucible package anymore) but it's definitely an interesting take on Our deck - what do You think about deck choices?

Anyone tested champion of Wits in thirst slot? I'm not sure about creature>instant but it gots some advantages.

Yea I agree with all BloodyRabbit arguments and card choices.
Dismember is a real card, It always was but in recent metagame it's just a perfect removal card for Us - to overcome the life cost I highly recommend using 1 watery grave and talisman of dominance which also ramp us to 2-counter ballista or thought-knot seer!
Yes about TKS - it's very good maindeckable card, which along with walking ballistas and wurmcoils is very good at closing games. I'm runnin 3 maindeck for about 2 months and they are very good in combo/control matchups - vs aggro it's at last a decent blocker (which sometimes pick some card from their hand)
TKS also shines where they came from the SB in games 2/3 where opp usualy side out some of removal spells.
Being proactive is very important in modern (It always was but I think that nowdays it's about "being proactive or being dead"), We need to pack a lot of interaction to keep the deck alive.

My most recent list, it's very similar to bloodyrabbit one, but I didn't left maindeck chalice of the void and the tutor package for it (The last changes to the list were cuttin mindslaver [+1 wurmcoil engine] and treasure mage [+1 Thirst for knowledge])



I'm very happy with the list and I made a couple of 3-1 in my local meta

Thx for Your opinion Alex
Mostly I'm a mono-U tron player (but in some 2015/2016 I used to run UW gifts-tron deck). Nowdays my local meta goes into the direction where playin tron lands is really hard (GW companys / a lot of GR ponza decks / uw control / blue moon even grixis control maindeck fulminator mages :P) I always liked UW gifts for its resilience against blood moon and land destroy effects.
I did some testings to clarify some things on my own:
1. I suppose that You have right about cutting signets/talisman ramp package - it's simply not enough even against matchups where Iona shut down a color or Elesh norn cannot be answered. Cutting them for smth like additional removal/counter spells is a must. That's what I realized after playin with "gift-combo-depend" list (with 5 and later 4 signets for fast ramp - it didn't worked like it used to be :P).
2. About Thought-knot seers, I think that this is the card what we really needed in the deck. He's proactive play against combo where we always had really tough matchup. The question is how to include them in mainboard to not lose the edge against aggro? The mass removal suite is really good here...maybe goin for more timely reinforcements is a clue here? (in the past some lists played 2/3 timely in place of mass removal suite)
3. Yea, the colonnade price is a bit high but I don't play them beacuse of sooooo much hate nowdays. IMO it's not that much necessary land as Many UW-tron players think - I agree that sometimes it's a nice finisher - but in the world of field of ruin and fatal push (where our colonnade is the only one push target along with snapcaster) it's just a waste of land slot. On the other hand we have temple of enlightenment, which is natural replacement for colonnade - and the scry1 effect is really strong here in the deck (we just don't want to draw certain cards).
4. I tried to get back to 12 tron lands version and I don't think that it's really better than "classic" 10 land list. In the grindy matchups we are already digging for value (and often these kind of decks have a lot of ponza effects so these 2 lands don't really matter). For aggro/combo decks We don't need tron too - and these 2 more colored lands does wonders for Our manabase.

At the moment my list looks something like this (but I already change it few times and I still cannot find the optimal bulid):



The list is a bit high on counterspells (as for UW gifts tron) and I use split for gifts purpose. Adarkar wastes is my dualland of choice (for casting thought-knot seers from SB). The thought-knot seers are mine "leyline of sanctity" (TBH I used to run 4 of them before and I never liked them - or better: I never know how to play with them :D).
I'm not sure about lack of some utility land like academy ruins or even haven of the spirit dragon. Have to say that I don't really like these lands here beacuse we already use graveyard a lot - and we will get gravehate in games 2/3.
I'm totally not sold on this list and I will appreciate Your ideas and help


EDIT: already made some changes:
-1 negate + 1 blessed alliance in the mainboard
and in SB
-1 dispel + 1 negate
-1 ghostly prison + 1 spell snare
-1 rule of law + 1 celestial purge
I'm also thinkin about removing mana leak from main, it's too often dead card (maybe remand should come back?)

EDIT2:
-1 temple of enlightenment + 1 plains (too many field of ruins in my meta, I added 1 more plains to achive double white against aggro/midrange)
-1 mana leak +1 negate (I've got really nice removal package and I needed hard answer for cards like karn/all is dust/JTMS and other noncreature threats, we use to play long game if we can't combo and mana leak sux there)
IN SB:
-1 negate +1 spell snare (negate moves to main and I've got slot for another spell snare against fast decks/snapcasters/storm and many other jundish lists)
-1 pithing needle + 1 suppression field (I'm trying this card for the needle slot, I used to play it before and it was nice)

Hey Guys, I'm refreshing my UW gift tron deck and I've got few doubts.
Lets start with the signet/talisman suite. I used to play with 4/5 and now I see that most of You run just 3 . Ramping to 4-drops (gifts ungiven / mass removals/seers) wasn't the most important part of the deck vs many strategies? I wonder what happen, can someone clarify this topic? (TBH the "dead card" argument is simply not enough for me - we run 4x thirst for knowledge here with a low artifact count so if signets/talismans don't ramp us, they got the role to serve)
Second, I see that many Guys run thought-knot seers. I like the idea but I wonder why You try them along with mass removal package (where we don't exacly want to smash both IMO) not better to have some seers in the SB and take them for mass removal suite in game 2/3? I'm curious about Your reasoning here.
Last thing is celestial colonnade playability in the "post push-field-of-ruin" world. Finishing games with manlands seems to be a real trouble nowadays - what are Your exeperiences here? Personaly, I'm testing temple of enlightenment insted of colonnades (I sold my own and I'm w8ing for reprint :D)
Temple is really nice, scry 1 helps to draw "serious" cards - but I'm not sure if it's optimal (One/two years ago colonnade was a powerhouse but I'm also not sure if I can count on them - too many ponza/push decks in my local meta).
I would be happy to read Your answers thx for Your time Guys

Guys, I know that we already had some thoughts about this but - what do You think about new Karn, scion of urza? Do 3rd turn Karn (with talismans) is real deal? If we gonna get some real adventages from this planeswalker? Or it's just win more card?
He's got not bad price and I wonder If there is a good time to get few for the deck

Yep, Imo the newkarn is much better 4CMC planeswalker here (and the artifact matter is really nice). If he woudn't be too pricely I will test him in talisman (+steel wall) version of the deck

thnkr - nice to have use from statistics but the clue is successful reading them (pure % doesn't really give anything) I'm psychometrist and I know what I'm talkin about. The list looks somehow nice (I'm not sure about 7+ CA spells) 4 thirst + 3 will is way too high in 3CMC slot imo. I'm curious what the data will tell to You in future keep Your good work Man!

What do You think about newKarn? We got nice reason to run more talismans in the deck (and maybe steel walls MB?). Turn 1 - wall, turn 2 talisman + map, turn 3 Karn makin 4/4 guy
Your thoughts? I think that 2-3 newKarn can change the deck but If he gives Us anything important?
The level of brainstorming here is magnificent SOOO I'm w8ing for Your discussion Guys

Used to run epiphany when SOI was released and It wasn't bad card at all - nowdays for me, supreme will is just way better option to dig (with useful "mana leak" option). Ofc epiphany is way better with tron online but I think that we shouldn't evalute CA cards only for their big mana effectiveness.
@steel wall: Yea, like Pier, Bloody and others said - the whole thing is the CMC. 1 or 2 mana "not a big difference" You say? Unfortunately it is a big difference, If You didn't feel it - good for You but when You will face this kind of hyper aggro (turn 3/4 kill deck) You will miss that little 0/4 which is still a wall
And as Bloody wrote - we already got plenty of 2 cmc plays so TBH spellskite isn't way to go. And the new aggro wave is commin...bloodbraid elf leads them and they are much more scary than Mr. J aka 4-mana-StormMyBrain.

That's why I'm tinkering with steel wall - It's surprisingly good agaist aggro, and not bad first turn play at all (we can dump it to thirst where we don't need early blocker). I started with 3 mainboard - my local meta is full of aggro nowdays (PPL are afraid of jaces and they supposed to shift into hyper aggros). Ofc walls are bad against control/combo but we are already cool there (in midrange matchups I found them at last good - blocking creatures like bloodbraid elf is not that bad). It's an attempt to increase the turn 1 interaction - what makes me happy and It's somehow correct from what We all think about the future of the Mono-U tron.
I'm not satisfied about chalices atm - blocking 1 CMC spells often isn't enough and against the new zoo deck it's just too slow even on play (they play too much 2cmc "manabears") - I'm right now with 1 mainboard (along with 2 trinket mages to have some options on putting it in the mid/late game) and 2 in the SB.

Guys Your ideas about steel wall card?
I'm lookin for some hard survive tech against aggro (zoo/burn and other fast ones), It's worth to include them mainboard? (spellskite is a 1 turn too slow, and chalicies also can come too late especially against zoo matchup where we exacly need chalice on 2)

Anybody tests this weird steely wallyies (I remember that Pierakor ran some in the SB), do You?

Yea, 61 cards is reasonable with all of Our tutoring stuff. With 3 expedition map the second snappie can be the 3rd chalice of the void IMO (I don't really like 2nd snapcaster in the deck).
Do You mind swappin 2nd Eugene with all is dust in the sideboard? I still wonder about this card

Great result with a great list - I definitely would try it (with platinum angel and 1 watery grave in place of 1 river)
Bloody, Your decklist contain 62 cards, It's a mistake I think ye?



No repeals or too much lands?

GL Bloody, and I'm w8ing (I believe that not only me) for Your report

TBH Your list looks just briliant I don't know If double EE isn't greedy, and I would take the platinum angel in place of 3rd wurmy but the whole river of tears idea is just cool.
This kind of UB tron is definitely worth testing!