MTG Salvation

Hey everyone, this guy(http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=118389) top 8ed the modern classic with 4 spell queller in the sideboard and an Avacyn in the main. It seems really spicy and puts your opponent in an awkward sideboarding spot game 3. It also helps with your clock too. Do you all think this is the way to go moving forward or is the more traditional sideboard better overall?

I saw a video where a guy was playing The Locust God as his win condition...he was also using fevered visions. While I'm not convinced that those cards are exactly what we want I think the notion of moving away from combo finishes (madcap or breach) is interesting. It effectively gives you 2-3 more slots in the deck and doesn't require you to find 2 cards to win the game. Anyone have any thoughts about going in this direction?

Hey folks, I've been getting into the deck recently and I have a few observations. First, I know that most people are playing the madcap combo in the sideboard, but I have found it to be lackluster - at least in respect to my own meta - and have opted to go heavier with Young Pyromancer instead. I think that the pyromancer plan makes many of our bad matchups better except burn. I still think that matchup is hard regardless and imagine they would side in destructive revelry g3 anyway....making our madcap plan very difficult. Shadow variants will most likely take out a lot of their spot removal in favor of things like stubborn denial, liliana etc. which Pyromancer seems better positioned to beat. G/B/x also will side out paths and other removal, but still have access to liliana. Elemental tokens can also help keep humans, elves and other go wide strategies at bay until you stabilize. What do you all think? Am I just underselling the combo?

Also, I am interested in hearing about a couple or more things. First is the flame slash versus Roast debate...I like the latter because it can hit most every relevant creature...but 2 mana sorceries are a tough sell...on a side note how do people feel about 1 roast in the maindeck? What is everyone's take on the number of blood moons and spreading seas. I personally like going hard on that plan and run 3 moon and 2 seas...I get that they can be weak in certain matchups but it is the namesake of the deck and can really just end the game on the spot.

Here is my decklist btw:

Has anyone tried smugglers copter in selfeisek's version? Seems like it's a good way to filter your draws and make better use of some elemental tokens. It's cheap and also works well with the bedlam strategy.

I think you made the right play against Merfolk. The likelihood that he was sandbagging a lord would seem highly unlikely...you probably win the game with the line you took more times than not. I do, however, disagree with your line against infect. You always want to remove their threat early and when the have no mana up. This is especially true against this new iteration that runs blossoming defense, apostles blessing and vines. Infect only has 12 creatures you have to care about and the odds are in your favor that he doesn't have another threat.

Hey folks! Since we are on the topic of specific matches...I have been having issues with a dude that plays WB Tokens. It's hard to manage all of his tokens and sorin/bitterblossom/anthems. In addition hand disruption tears away my sweepers and counter magic. Is this just a poor matchup? Do I just play more sweepers...go back to the old thundermaw hellkite plan? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yeah, that's the route I was going to go...though I think there is some merit to Gideon AoZ.

I personally like 3 Geists in the main deck...if you draw more than 1 then often times you can just turn it sideways...sometimes your opponent makes a "bad block" to get it off the table...feels really good to MP2 your second copy after your opponent offers a trade.

Currently I am on 3/3 opt/vision and want to shave my land count down to 23 lands. This opens up a spot and I'm at a loss as to what I want to add. Here are my options

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Jace, Architect of Thought
Ajani Vengeant
Spell Snare (currently play 0)
Either Elspeth
Gearhulk
Secure the Wastes
4th Helix
Clique

What would you all do? My list is very standard (essentially Harlans list but + 3 Opt -2 Spell Snare -1 Serum Vision)

I know this has been discussed before, but I've been messing around with opt in the deck and have found it super powerful. I initially had a 4/4 split and have since gone down to a 4/2 split of opt and visions respectively. I feel that this deck loves playing with open mana and opt allows you to be flexible. Here is a great example of this:

Your hand is Collonade Fetch Opt Bolt Logic Knot and Like a Island and a queller.

With opt you could play a T1 colonnade and the play a fetch on T2 holding up man to either logic Knot something, fetch bolt and opt or just opt. If the opt was a serum visions then the hand becomes much clunkier.

It also makes your snapcaster a better...I'm just kind of shocked that the pros haven't taken a liking to opt yet...just seems like it a card that rewards good play and opens up multiple lines (something that pros often say they look for in a card).

I too have had success with a 3/3 split of opt and serum. While I'm not sure that that confit is 100% correct I think that 6 1 mana cantrips is the sweet spot, though I'm sure some pro like Harlan is going to prove most of us wrong lol. I just feel cutting things like electrolyze and cryptics is not where you want to be since the cantrips will just spin out tires without finding relevant interaction.


On another note I've been seeing a lot of people switching to 2 sulfur falls over the 2 spirebluff canals. Where is everyone on that?

Cool thanks! I haven't really thought about 8rack as the weaker lantern deck. I'm going to play lantern at my LGS and I'll let you all know how I do against the 8rack decks floating around my meta.

What is everyone's take on the 8-Rack matchup? Recently there has been a swarm of them (thanks Tom Ross!) at my LGS. It seems like game 1 might be difficult to win if your not packing leylines in the MD. As for sideboarded games I guess the plan would be to drop a leyline T0 and needle their Liliana. I haven't had a chance to play the matchup (was messing around with Jeskai w/ opt last week) and am curious if everyone views the matchup as favorable or unfavorable. For what it is worth I am playing the BG version...not 100% sold on the Whir version.

I think a budge list is possible, but there are a few cards the are not negotiable...for example this deck would not function if you didn't have ensnaring bridge, because it shuts off large portions of decks and allows you to focus on milling only the cards that would get them out of the lock...without bridge you would need to mill almost every card they show except noncreature lands, which is very difficult to do on a consistent basis. You could get away without playing things like Mox Opal and Academy Ruins and thoughtseize...not sure what you would play instead of opal and ruins, but you could run more IoK's and maybe duress instead of thoughtseize...you could also play a full set of spire of industry and cut the glimmervoids....you could also run Llanowar Wastes over blooming marsh...all of these cuts could save you some serious cash.

That makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks!

@thnkr Hmm that is interesting! I've always heard that brutality is the 60th card, but your valuing it pretty highly. I'm going to check out some of your videos to help me better understand the play patterns. I just have one question, why the Magus of the Moon over just straight blood moon? I understand Magus of the Moat since it is bolt/helix/K-Command/Decay/Etc. proof and most people will be siding out things like path, terminates and push in favor of rejections and K-Commands, but Magus of the moon seems to die to many of the things that will likely stay in or sided in like k-Command and burn spells and the 1-2 push/path/terminates that couldn't side out...I guess it can side step a stubborn denial, but is that better then dodging all removal?