I'm currently running 2 Ancient Grudges in my sideboard. Against Eldrazi Tron, how many should I sideboard in? They're pretty good against Walking Ballista that can make some trouble, and they hit Expedition Map, Mind Stone, Ratchet Bomb, Pithing Needle, Chalice of the Void and Hangarback Walker. However, Grudge doesn't align very well with our gameplan, as we are losing the long game against Eldrazi Tron. So, how many should I side in post game one, 0, 1 or 2?
Has anyone tried Nihil Spellbomb as a sideboard option against Grixis Death's Shadow? It's really good because you can cycle it if you see with your Thoughtseize/IoK that they don't have relevant graveyard utility cards (Delve or Snapcaster). However, if you see a Snapcaster you can just leave it there threatening to cracking it and even tap out! I think it's a super useful graveyard hate card against GDS because unlike Grafdigger's Cage, it's never a dead card. Also, Cage is bad against Delve creatures and only good against Snapcaster. One of the most backbreaking plays GDS has against us is Ceremonious Rejection/Stubborn Denial into Snapcaster but with Nihil Spellbomb you break the Snapcaster part. And if you're unsure if they have Snapcaster you can just crack it and get some tempo by making their Delve threats come a turn or two later. Also, it's good against Dredge (but not useful against Company decks like Cage is).
At what point can Lantern move into the Tier-2 area of the forums? Ever since Kaladesh, the deck has been performing incredibly well in competitive online leagues. Take the MTG Goldfish metagame analysis, lantern has been in the top 4-8 decks for almost a full month now.
If I'm not mistaken Tier lists are updated when modernnexus.com updates their spreadsheet. I don't know how often they do it, but it's been a while since the last update.
Hey, is anyone playing Wayfarer's Bauble? I know it isn't that flashy but I think it's a much, much better Talisman. I've been doing some testing and thinking and, although I'm not convinced about running Talisman, I think Bauble is so much better than it's worth having as a 1 or 2-off, replacing that many Islands.
Pros of Bauble:
(Very valuable) On turn 2 you can crack it at instant speed: you're free to play a counterspell (or Repeal/Spatial Contortion) on your opponent's turn if you need to.
We only have 1 play on turn 1 which is Expedition Map (or maybe Dismember, but it's a very narrow case), so there's no real competition in the 1-drop department. What this means is that, if you play it on turn 1, the 3 cost to ramp becomes 2, pairing Talisman's.
You ramp in a painless way, instead of having an Underground River-type mana source.
(Very narrow) It doesn't get blown up by Oblivion Stone.
(Almost irrelevant) You also filter your deck of lands (not sure if this is good or meh).
Cons of Bauble:
(Biggest issue) It's a worse topdeck because it costs 3 mana to activate and the land comes into play tapped. So if you topdeck it, you could have 2 more mana available if you had played Talisman instead.
(Narrow) You don't get the second color that Talismans provide.
I think the instant speed crack is super powerful. How many times have you Condescended or Remanded in turn 2? With Bauble it's a no brainer, you drop it turn 1 and turn 2 you say go. You'll crack it when the time is right.
Ok, so maybe you're sold on Bauble being better than Talisman, but should you even run any of those? I think the biggest drawback of these ramp artifacts is that a hand of 1 of these and 1 land is a no-keep, which is really, really bad. But on the other hand, ramping is really good. Maybe the deciding factor is that tapping out with Talisman is a very big drawback that makes the card an awkward choice (although some very respectable lists run it). Bauble sacrifices a little bit of lategame efficiency for more flexibility: you decide when to crack it. I'm not 100% sold on this card but if you're looking for something new to test or, with more reason, if you're playing Talismans, I'll say that it's definitely worth a try, at least as a 1-off (+24 lands).
Affinity: I don't really know how to play it right here. Let's say you are on the play and you have it on your starting hand. You play it blindly naming Arcbound Ravager/Cranial Plating/Steel Overseer? However I guess you're better waiting for them to play the threat and then playing the Needle right?
Infect: Do you side it in for Inkmoth Nexus or just leave it out?
RG Tron: You play it as soon as you can naming Karn Liberated?
I have a question about o-stone. I know how crucial it is and have been playing one in my main for as long as everyone, but i dont find myself using it that much. Repeals, rifts and ugin have similar effects that i just use more often. I often side them out too.
Am I using it wrong/not as much as i should? Or can this be a SB card. What would you really bring it in against that you can just repeal, ugin or even spatial/dismember away? If you're waiting until they have an army out to destroy everything it is either too late or we have other answers.
Can someone just explain to me its uses and scenarios of when it is vital, i'm probably just missing something.
O-stone is unique because you can clear the board without having Tron: you drop it on turn 3 and you blow it on turn 5. Any other board clear is much more expensive (Cyclonic Rift is 7 mana and Ugin is 8). You can also recur it with Academy Ruins and soft lock creature based decks, like Suicide Zoo.
I could see it played as a 1-off in the sideboard to side in against decks that run Path to Exile (Jeskai Nahiri, Bant Eldrazi, Death & Taxes, ...), instead of Batterskull/the second Wurmcoil Engine. For example, against Bant Eldrazi it seems reasonable, it kills an attacking Reality Smasher/Drowner of Hope an survives. Against Bant Eldrazi it looks particularly useful because our other threats are garbage (Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and Sundering Titan don't do anything and Platinum Angel and Wurmcoil Engine die easily to Path to Exile). At least with Torrential Gearhulk you can surprise them and get some sweet value out of the ETB trigger.
Buuut the double U makes it really awkward. If you want to cast it you have to get Tron (or 4 lands) AND 2 more blue sources. So it's at least 5 lands. Batterskull at worst costs 5 lands. Batterskull and Wurmcoil Engine cost at least 3 lands. Picture it like this: a hand with natural Tron + Wurmcoil Engine is an instant keep (or having 2 Tron lands + map + Wurmcoil Engine is good). But with Torrential Gearhulk you aren't even close to casting it with those hands.
Yeah, the more I think about this new card the less I like it. If Bant Eldrazi becomes really prevalent, I would gladly side it in for Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Sundering Titan in game 2. We have to remember that Modern is most of the time a game of speed and not of value. At least Torrential Gearhulk doesn't get hit by Ceremonious Rejection
Yesterday definitly reignited my UTron Spark for a bit. Expect more content from me in the next few weeks. Starting with tonight at our MondayModernMagic 19°° CEST in about 6-7 Hours
**edit**
Yesterdays tournament great 12 people in the room 4 rounds lost one to grixis delver since I am a stupid **** and can't evaluate hands propperly.
Off cam I defeted a 4c value deck on cam GB Infect and Hatebears which are both very entertaining games. Round 2 vs RG Infect Round 3 vs Hatebears Round 4 vs Grixis Delver
Thanks for all the content, it is really appreciated
if you really want to play ratchet bomb Iwould recommend playing explosives, and river of tears
What's the general consensus on River of Tears? It has good syngergy with Dismember and Engineered Explosives and it is a non-basic Island (in the same style as Oboro, Minamo). The only case when it might be detrimental is when you topdeck it and you want to play a Treasure Mage. But isn't it worth it as a 2 or 3 off and being able to be more aggresive with the Dismembers, instead of Spatial Contortion, and Engineered Explosives? It's also weaker against Blood Moon though...
Has anyone tried Simian Spirit Guide in the sideboard? Maybe as a 2-3 off? Wouldn't it be great against the aggro matchups? We really don't care too much about card advantage because we have a really good lategame. Also, it works wonders with Chalice: you can make a turn 1 Chalice on 1. And we're also running Gemstone Caverns which is the same concept, mana acceleration for card advantage.
If I'm not mistaken, the effects of the cards happen all at once and you can't respond inbetween effects. So you have to draw and discard, without having the possibility of doing something between the two actions. So, if you want to discard Oboro you have to bounce it and then play TFK. The Remand issue is different because you can play spells between spells that resolve.
I really hope we get cycling lands back. I'd say it's likely.
If I'm not mistaken Tier lists are updated when modernnexus.com updates their spreadsheet. I don't know how often they do it, but it's been a while since the last update.
Pros of Bauble:
Cons of Bauble:
I think the instant speed crack is super powerful. How many times have you Condescended or Remanded in turn 2? With Bauble it's a no brainer, you drop it turn 1 and turn 2 you say go. You'll crack it when the time is right.
Ok, so maybe you're sold on Bauble being better than Talisman, but should you even run any of those? I think the biggest drawback of these ramp artifacts is that a hand of 1 of these and 1 land is a no-keep, which is really, really bad. But on the other hand, ramping is really good. Maybe the deciding factor is that tapping out with Talisman is a very big drawback that makes the card an awkward choice (although some very respectable lists run it). Bauble sacrifices a little bit of lategame efficiency for more flexibility: you decide when to crack it. I'm not 100% sold on this card but if you're looking for something new to test or, with more reason, if you're playing Talismans, I'll say that it's definitely worth a try, at least as a 1-off (+24 lands).
O-stone is unique because you can clear the board without having Tron: you drop it on turn 3 and you blow it on turn 5. Any other board clear is much more expensive (Cyclonic Rift is 7 mana and Ugin is 8). You can also recur it with Academy Ruins and soft lock creature based decks, like Suicide Zoo.
Buuut the double U makes it really awkward. If you want to cast it you have to get Tron (or 4 lands) AND 2 more blue sources. So it's at least 5 lands. Batterskull at worst costs 5 lands. Batterskull and Wurmcoil Engine cost at least 3 lands. Picture it like this: a hand with natural Tron + Wurmcoil Engine is an instant keep (or having 2 Tron lands + map + Wurmcoil Engine is good). But with Torrential Gearhulk you aren't even close to casting it with those hands.
Yeah, the more I think about this new card the less I like it. If Bant Eldrazi becomes really prevalent, I would gladly side it in for Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Sundering Titan in game 2. We have to remember that Modern is most of the time a game of speed and not of value. At least Torrential Gearhulk doesn't get hit by Ceremonious Rejection
Thanks for all the content, it is really appreciated
What's the general consensus on River of Tears? It has good syngergy with Dismember and Engineered Explosives and it is a non-basic Island (in the same style as Oboro, Minamo). The only case when it might be detrimental is when you topdeck it and you want to play a Treasure Mage. But isn't it worth it as a 2 or 3 off and being able to be more aggresive with the Dismembers, instead of Spatial Contortion, and Engineered Explosives? It's also weaker against Blood Moon though...