As far as Shining Shoal goes: I also thought this card was complete jank when I first read it. But then a list of D&T with no vials and 4 Shining Shoal in the 75 top 8'd Vancouver and I figured I should try it.
Honestly, my favorite card in Death and Taxes lately. If your deck is mostly white, it's great.
I know, I know, card disadvantage... blah blah, but seriously. Try it out. I thought it was jank, too. But Force of Will with more modes is great. Late game... you can even cast it without pitching! Still great!
Reach in Death and Taxes??? Sign me up!
As far as pitching higher cost white cards: Usually not necessary. You almost always have a 3 drop in hand and 3 is the magic number. Resto is great to pitch vs an Anger, or for the extra reach, but I pitch a 3 or 2 drop most of the time and it's more than fine.
Also, how many games have you lost with a bunch of cards in hand you didn't have time/resources to cast? Shining Shoal makes use of those.
I know I'm rambling now, but one last thing: No vials is OKAY. K-command is no longer back-breaking. You can keep openers with no Vial and FEEL NO REMORSE! You will never top deck a Vial on turn 8! It's rad! Your deck can have more threats!
All of this is fine, but it only works in aggro/combo matchups.
You cite instances of this working against decks that run Snapcaster Mage or Delver of Secrets, but the only way that can happen is if your opponent lets you get away with it. Remand is absolutely brutal against Shining Shoal, and running Shoal will cost you more games than it wins you against any permission strategy.
Shoal is also terrible against GBx. If it's relevant, they're going to make you discard it, and if it's not relevant, you're going to wish it was a threat.
I think Shoal is in a great position in the metagame right now, given how fast the decks in Modern are. But I'm long-term bearish on its performance across a more diverse metagame.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
I agree. The only thing causing resistance from me is the ability has a similar cost (3 mana) as Eldrazi Displacer. I question whether this is a more narrow effect or not. When it performs well, I'm sure it feels great. When it has less going on, I imagine I'll wish it was displacer.
Yeah, I'm sure that it feels bad to have an Order of Whiteclay in hand when you're sitting across from a GBx player with a Scavenging Ooze on the battlefield.
The thing that makes me hesitate is the Mangara problem. Because the untap ability is also affected by summoning sickness, you have to wait a whole turn to get value out of Order of Whiteclay. Surviving Bolt is a big deal, but giving my opponent a full turn to deal with Order of Whiteclay just strikes me as a reason to be wary of it. Then again, it usually takes my opponents a little while to deal with Brimaz, so maybe there's actually something there.
Sakashima highlights include copying my opponents' Eidolon so that Bolts hurt them more than me, and Thassa so I could let a sword-bearer swing through for 1U; also copying my own Thalia/Augustin for uber-tax mode.
I never realized that Sakashima worked like that, effectively allowing you to copy legendary permanents. That's pretty awesome. Even though it's probably pure jank, copying a Mangara would be really funny; you can just bounce Sakashima in response to the copied Mangara's tap ability.
I've always wanted to play Clever Impersonator just so I could Karn my opponent's Karn, but it's just a little too cute for me to actually try it. Although Clever Impersonator may not allow you to copy legendary permanents, it does become another sword or looter scooter if you need one.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Any thoughts on order of whiteclay as a copter crew? Seems like it'd be a great value engine. Crew->loot->reanimate-> profit!
Eta: Here's a very preliminary deck list. It in the best catmix fashion uses colorless as the second color and has a black microsplash. Splicer pilots copter and blocks off the ground with golems. Order is your value engine and a heck of a blocker. Should be super resilient to removal.
Eta 2: formatting doesn't like me tonight. Bonus GW list.
The problem used to be that Order of Whiteclay was too low-impact. You needed to attack with the card in order to be able to consistently tap it, which is probably still true. In terms of targets, the best (of course) was Flickerwisp, but honorable mentions go out to things like Blade Splicer, Brimaz, and Serra Avenger, all of which are high-impact cards that rapidly change the tempo of a game.
Again, I haven't tested it. I suspect that Order of Whiteclay is better than it used to be, but it still suffers from the Mangara problem, namely that it costs 3 CMC and doesn't immediately change the boardstate. Still, it survives a Bolt, which gives Order of Whiteclay a fighting chance that Mangara typically doesn't have. One build that I wanted to see Order of Whiteclay tested in was in WR with Alesha, but it just never happened.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
It's been a while since I posted here but I've been playing death and taxes for the past few years. I'm kind of sad how fast most people have turned the vialess deck away. If people haven't I would highly recommend reading the report he posted about the deck on reddit. I've been playing the deck for the past few weeks and don't think I'll be putting it down any time soon.
I don't think anyone is pooh-poohing the GP Vancouver Top4 pilot or their list so much as saying it is a very uncommon/weird choice to go 0xVial. As such, new players jumping into D&T on the (Budget?) No-Vial-Bandwagon are going to get a lot of blank stares or eye-rolls when they ask things like "So what are the best No-Vial D&T sideboard choices?" or "What should my No-Vial D&T flex-slots be in this meta?" and especially "I think No-Vial is the way to go and will stand the test of time."
Another thing to remember is that the D&T archetype is notorious for flash-in-the-pan decklists. One good result doesn't shift everyone's card choices and/or playstyles overnight; for example this list didn't convince everyone here to buy up Mulldrifter and Drowner of Hope. That's why one Top4 (even at an event as large as GP Vancouver) isn't going to convince everyone here to sell of their Aether Vials and buy up Shining Shoals.
Regarding Vial in particualar, most of the folks in this forum like it because of the shenanigans it enables: Leonin fetch-killing, Wisp land-grabbing, targeted-removal-fizzling, and attacker-blanking, not to mention the fact that cheating on mana allows more aggressive land-destruction. To many players, those lines are a major draw of the deck, since the deck just edges closer and closer to a Monowhite-Humans Stompy deck without those sorts of plays. Granted, the No-Vial build makes up for some of this flickerbusiness with a full 4xResto and 4xHeights but there's still a much larger emphasis on brick-walling with Omens and hoping you can stomp through using combat tricks almost exclusively on your own turn. But don't assume the lack of fanboying means those lists are being completely dismissed/ignored; if it becomes clear the meta is super-soft to a more linear D&T style then even us Vial-lovers will start swapping out Vials for Anthems or Omens, albeit in a grumbling feet-dragging fashion. One Top4 is not enough to start the Vial-Exodus, however.
The "We're not a Stompy/Zoo deck" sentiment is essentially the main reason No-Vial and Wescoe lists get relatively little love here.
This is the best post I've seen in a while. I wish we had a "Vial-less D&T" section in the primer just so we could put this block of text at the top of it.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
It's been a while since I posted here but I've been playing death and taxes for the past few years. I'm kind of sad how fast most people have turned the vialess deck away. If people haven't I would highly recommend reading the report he posted about the deck on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/5w2nhs/quarterfinalist_gp_vancouver_vialess_taxes/
I've been playing the deck for the past few weeks and don't think I'll be putting it down any time soon.
Most of the regulars in the thread have read this already. It was posted a few weeks ago, after it first showed up on Reddit.
I think the list is innovative and a good metagame call. Those are compliments, not criticisms. But I don't think the list has has good matchups across a more diverse (e.g., non-aggro) metagame. Heights is a dangerous card to rely on, because control decks (especially Grixis and GB) are going to keep you off of three creatures. Again, I praise the deckbuilder for knowing his stuff and for spiking the tournament, but I'm not going to pilot this anytime soon.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
What is the best matchup for this deck and the worst matchup? I've been considering building this deck from time to time because of my access of Aether Vial from playing Merfolk. The more I know about matchups ahead of time, the better I know how to combat it.
This is a metagame deck. It doesn't really have good or bad matchups, because your matchups are going to be dictated by your flex slots and sideboard.
Knowing nothing about your list, "good" matchups are typically things like Tron (especially U-Tron) and Ad Nauseam. The reason is because both the Thalia and searchtaxes are live, and those decks aren't heavy on removal.
By contrast, "bad" matchups are things like Merfolk and Elves. That's because both of those decks don't care about Thalia or search taxes.
But as example, if you play WG D&T with Choke in the sideboard and Mirrodin Crusader in the maindeck, your "bad" matchups will be much better.
This is Modern. You can't fight everything, so you just have to decide what you're willing to lose to, and then build your deck accordingly.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Anymore, the only non-land 4-of I play in the deck is Path to Exile. Everything else caps at 3, and numbers vary depending on the meta.
The only other option for a non-land 4-of in the maindeck is Aether Vial... shouldn't you have just said that you're currently running 3 Vials? Besides Path and Vial, what else are you considering as a 4-of in the maindeck?
I'm pretty sure the only other possible option for a 4-of is Chalice, but that's not exactly a conventional choice as a 4-of in the maindeck either...
I haven't liked Tidehollow Sculler in this variant of D&T for a long time due to the temperamental mana base. I think the most the deck can support is 2, and Selfless Spirit killed off any interest I had in the card.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
What came to my mind as a new player though is the typical question: Are there good video primers for the deck?
What to look for in the starting hand, when to play which two drop, how to maneuver the deck against the different deck archetypes (aggro, midrange, control, combo) etc.
While you will find good videos for playing this deck, you won't find a video primer like you're looking for. This is a deck that's meant to be tailored to your specific metagame, so there are no one-size-fits-all lists or lines of play. The best things that you can do are to familiarize yourself with common lines of play and to try to learn from players with more experience than you have. To that end, Deathandcatmix, Spiderspace, and Jendo87 all have recorded streams worth watching.
Essential 4-ofs are only: Vial, Path, Arbiter, Flickerwisp, TKS
I bought into the mono white Vialess Version from GP Vancouver and beg to differ
You're not going to find much specific advice for the Vial-less list. Vial-less taxes is extremely unconventional and it's likely a worse version of the deck that we all play. There are some advantages to it - none of us like topdecking a Vial in the late game - but that list was built for an aggro metagame and your mileage is going to vary as the metagame shifts.
When you have a chance, I'd recommend picking up a playset of Vials, if only so that you have the flexibility to pilot whichever version you want.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
I hopefully will get around to streaming again this week (There's a chance it might not be D&T *gasp*!).
Et tu, SheepzJendoCatmix Spider?
Not to worry! D&T is still my main deck. I've just found a means of doing LD that feels pretty unfair and I think it's something that needs exploring. To be honest, every time I play another big deck of the format, I gain a deeper understanding of how to beat them with out deck. In this case, this is just me exploring my brew roots. This has also helped me to see a potential route for GW (and maybe bant!) that I hadn't valued before.
I'm just messing with you. Time to break out Modern Charbelcher!
Actually, because Modern is the flagship format for interactive decks, maybe I should build Modern High Tide and watch my opponents cry.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
@CharonsObol
LOL, thank you, though I can't imagine you getting a warning for trolling after several years of seeing you post on every flavor of DnT, so you must have some juicy word for that one!
I just meant that the deck seems like a cross between E&T and Eldrazi Stompy, both of which have their own dedicated threads in the Modern subforum. In my humble opinion, that particular archetype didn't need a thread of its own and it should probably have gone into one of the two aforementioned threads (but probably this one).
The person who made the primer for that deck felt strongly like it needed its own thread, so now when anyone (like yourself) asks about it, we end up having to point him or her to a different thread. The upside is that you'll get more specialized advice over there, but the downside is that you'll lose a lot of diverse discussion over here.
It seems like a net negative to me, but MTGS (rightfully) won't let me police the forums.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Hope someone replies, and could someone freaking make a thread for specifically Eldrazi Taxes?? I'm not that experienced to make one myself but I really think a thread of its own would be nice.
One of the keys to doing well with this deck is understanding that, unlike most decks in the format, there is not now, nor will ever be, an optimized list.
It doesn't work that way.
Whether you call it D&T, E&T, W/X Flicker, or Bobo the Wonder Snake; all of the decks are built on the same core concepts and fundamental principles. This is why an E&T thread or Spirits&Taxes thread makes no sense to those who know the deck. It would be like calling every different options package of a car by a different model name. It didn't work for Alfa Romeo, and it won't work for us.
In fact, it's exactly this kind of splintering that hurts the deck. Constant renaming and reclassification of the deck has made information gathering and assessment of its meta position nearly impossible.
The best advice for people new to the archetype is to try a traditional white build for a few, then splash, trim, and substitute to your heart's content until you find a build that you feel addresses both the meta and your playstyle.
I couldn't agree more with chalupacabra. Making a separate thread merely fractures the deck and the community. I don't play any splash exclusively (altho I probably play GW the most). Which thread would you have me in? All of them? I understand why you might feel frustrated about E&T posts getting lost in the other decks that are pulled up, but your questions weren't specific to E&T. Yes, your deck changes how you interact a bit, but my strategy against a deck like merfolk doesn't change from splash to splash. In fact, if you had a separate thread, even if I wanted to be a part of all of them, it would be difficult for me to do so and might mean that your question wouldn't be answered. That hardly seems preferable. Most of your SB will be similar even and even then, there are a ton of options. I know for instance that if you gave deathandcatmix and I the very same deck in the same meta, we'd make a different SB and we're two of the players who've been here a long time and have a stupid amount of hours under our respective belts with a huge variety of splashes. Furthermore, E&T made a big splash in the pond when it first came about, but has since dwindled in popularity. I wouldn't consider it to be different enough in card pool, player base, or power level to have its own thread.
I'm just going to go on record agreeing with Chalupacabra and Spider.
While I understand your (@Mr_Bote) frustrations, there is so much variation in the builds and playstyles that it's very difficult to create different threads for each and every one. Ultimately, all of the decks that operate on the same strategic principles should exist in once place, even if there are ~15 flex slots in the maindeck.
You're going to want this thread, which was created for reasons that I can't explain without receiving a warning for trolling. But you'll get more advice for that specific build there.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Not sure if it's been discussed elsewhere in the thread (not really keen to read back 50 pages to see), but what are everyone's thoughts on Thraben Inspector vs Wall of Omens for the low drop draw, in Mono-White? Most of the builds I've seen topping have been running inspectors, then the Vial-less build ran Omens instead, as some similar flicker builds do.
Thoughts?
You're not going to find much discussion about this, because neither of those cards are particularly aggressive.
By contrast, Wall of Omens is almost never used, although it did just see play in the list that T8'd GP Vancouver. Typically, if it doesn't swing, we don't usually want it.
Most of the conventional wisdom is going to suggest that you probably shouldn't run either, but if you have to play one, it should be Thraben Inspector, unless you have a very specific reason for wanting to run Wall of Omens instead.
Why does the conventional wisdom disagree with Craig Wescoe, a prominent professional famous for playing in this archetype? What does the conventional wisdom know that he doesn't? Or perhaps on the flip side, what does he know that we don't?
When I say "conventional wisdom", I mean the more-or-less consensus among the old-timers in this thread. Thraben Inspector has been tested pretty extensively and the results were certainly more mixed than Wescoe's recent opinion (emphasis mine):
The biggest innovation made recently was Thraben Inspector. The green-white version has Noble Hierarch as a one-drop to put onto the battlefield from Aether Vial on the second turn, but the best the mono-white version could do was play Judge's Familiar. Thraben Inspector wildly overperformed for me in testing and in the tournament. If you don't have a two-drop creature after your first turn Vial, you can tap the Vial to put Thraben Inspector onto the battlefield and then immediately sacrifice the clue with your two mana. Or when you play out your Flickerwisp or Restoration Angel just to get a flier onto the board to pressure the opponent, you can incidentally blink the Thraben Inspector to make a clue. Then, if you keep drawing gas you'll win the game, but if you start flooding out, the clues essentially act as extra Horizon Canopies to keep the engine rolling. Ideally you want to be blinking Blade Splicer to make Golem Tokens (aka the best Etched Champion blockers in the format), but getting a clue is highly underrated. It's actually quite good in this deck. I'm confident enough to call it the best white one-drop in Modern (outside of Soul Sisters).
Wescoe is a white weenie player. He's only a D&T player when it's positioned well in the metagame (e.g., never), otherwise he plays various kinds of hatebears and mono-white aggro.
We don't know anything that Wescoe doesn't.
There are a spectrum of Modern D&T decks, all ranging from aggro to control. Wescoe is almost always on aggro, and he's rarely on control. His deck choices are presumably based on the metagame, but they're also based on his ability to pilot them against a wide variety of different decks in tournaments that go 15 rounds. As Chalupacabra recently pointed out, complex decision trees aren't always your friend.
The people in this thread have a lot of experience metagaming their way through small and mid-size tournaments. We all pilot versions of this deck that we're beyond comfortable with; all of our playtesting allows us to punish less-experienced opponents with our knowledge of the format. Sometimes, we even have players in this thread that spike major tournaments, the last one probably being Elliot Smith with this list in January.
Again, we don't know anything that Wescoe doesn't. And Wescoe doesn't know anything that we don't. But Wescoe has his playstyles and we have ours.
Is there anyone who you would consider to be an "authority" on Death and Taxes? I don't get the chance to play nearly enough games to playtest many many variations, so it's important to me to have a source I can rely on to provide an experienced, skilled take on the deck at any given time.
There isn't one D&T deck, so there isn't one single authority on it. You'll get good advice in here, but you want to be getting advice from people who regularly pilot your version of the deck.
EDIT: Brutal Sarnath by HugeElfBoy. Well played, sir.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Not sure if it's been discussed elsewhere in the thread (not really keen to read back 50 pages to see), but what are everyone's thoughts on Thraben Inspector vs Wall of Omens for the low drop draw, in Mono-White? Most of the builds I've seen topping have been running inspectors, then the Vial-less build ran Omens instead, as some similar flicker builds do.
Thoughts?
You're not going to find much discussion about this, because neither of those cards are particularly aggressive.
By contrast, Wall of Omens is almost never used, although it did just see play in the list that T8'd GP Vancouver. Typically, if it doesn't swing, we don't usually want it.
Most of the conventional wisdom is going to suggest that you probably shouldn't run either, but if you have to play one, it should be Thraben Inspector, unless you have a very specific reason for wanting to run Wall of Omens instead.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
The problem with Vial is that it gets less valuable as the game goes on. Sure, you can keep a Vial on 3 for when you topdeck a Flickerwisp, but you'll probably have a lot of unused mana late in a game. Typically, this is where manlands prove to be useful; they're our mana sinks in the late game.
My mana sink of choice is still Eldrazi Displacer, but I really love that card.
I appreciate the potential value of manlands; Shambling Vent used to be one of my favorite cards in the deck, but lately my goal is just increasing pressure via Displacer. I also would rather have my hands tied by CiPT lands as little as possible.
I want to like Displacer, but I don't run Eldrazi Temple, and all of my games fall into one of two categories:
1) they're over before Displacer is relevant
2) they're against control decks that run very few creatures and a lot of removal
The end result is that Displacer just isn't nearly as effective for me as the manlands typically are.
As for his other comments, I agree with his assessment on maximizing land usage. Windbrisk Heights is intriguing and I certainly miss Mutavault, but I'm not quite ready to give up Lingering Souls and Wasteland Strangler just yet. I think the B splash deprives the luxury of crazy land choices.
I think Windbrisk Heights is okay, but I don't know how he can depend on having 3 creatures to attack with, in order to activate it. The removal in Modern is everywhere, and I regularly have opponents that prevent me from having a surplus of creatures to stop them from being overwhelmed.
Heights is probably better with Lingering Souls, because Souls creates a lot of creatures. But it's clear that for mono-white like this list, he was forced to play Blade Splicer instead, just to be able to go wide enough that Heights has value. It seems fragile to me, especially when your opponents are going to instant-speed remove your Splicer to be able to block your Golem and Mutavault.
I applaud the deck creator for his metagame choices and I congratulate him on his T8. But I think he got lucky with his matchups and his presumably-confused opponents, because I don't even think I could take his list to my LGS and win with it.
I think more credit is due than that. It was the right list for the meta, which is the key to the archetype. It's as much a builder's deck as it is a player's deck. There's a lot of smart things going on here and I agree that much of what we used to rely on Vial for we can now do off the back of other cards. That said, the versatility of mana uses Vial allows is huge in the late game. He's not wrong, but that doesn't make it the universal truth. D&T is possibly the most YMMV deck in Modern. I think the potential for explosive starts on the back of a T1 Heights is enormous and, as many Kytheon devotees can attest, It's not that difficult of an effect to trigger. That said, I hate CiPT lands in any deck, but especially here. The hardest part,from my perspective, is having the leftover W to activate while keeping a tight lock on the board...that and the aggravation of making every land drop but being one mana down every turn starting out.
I agree with you that this is the YMMY deck in Modern.
Heights is a very questionable call to me. The upside is that it's a Vial-substitute on a land, but the downside is that your opponent controls whether or not you can activate it. Sure, we run a lot of creatures, but many reactive decks won't let you keep three creatures on the board.
Ultimately, I think this actually leads to a change in D&T strategy. With Heights (or to a lesser extent Kytheon), a player may intentionally make a "bad" attack for value later. For example, I may opt to swing my Arbiter into a Tarmogoyf, because I know that I have a Thought-Knot Seer under my Heights. I'm basically trading the Arbiter for the TKS at that point, but it feels like a decent upgrade in most matchups where I'm staring down a Tarmogoyf. This line of play simply doesn't exist for a traditional D&T deck. To the deckbuilder's credit, there are a lot of useful interactions here, for example:
1) Attack with three creatures, activate Heights revealing Path to Exile before blockers are declared
2) Attack with three creatures, activate Heights during your end step revealing Flickerwisp
I think that Heights is a creative reimagining of Vial.
However, I stand by my statement that I probably couldn't take this build into my LGS and win with it. I don't know what that says about the competition at my LGS, but it's a pretty competitive place. Most pilots that can keep me off my creatures are going to do it, control decks and attrition decks especially. Some pilots with linear, noninteractive strategies are going to ignore what I do and try to win by T4. But it's hard to envision matchups where I can consistently enable Heights in such a way that my variance is reduced.
I'm actually surprised that pilot didn't have any copies of Sun Titan. As hard as it is to get to 6 mana, being able to reveal it off of Heights or pitch it to Shining Shoal gives it a little more mileage.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
You cite instances of this working against decks that run Snapcaster Mage or Delver of Secrets, but the only way that can happen is if your opponent lets you get away with it. Remand is absolutely brutal against Shining Shoal, and running Shoal will cost you more games than it wins you against any permission strategy.
Shoal is also terrible against GBx. If it's relevant, they're going to make you discard it, and if it's not relevant, you're going to wish it was a threat.
I think Shoal is in a great position in the metagame right now, given how fast the decks in Modern are. But I'm long-term bearish on its performance across a more diverse metagame.
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The thing that makes me hesitate is the Mangara problem. Because the untap ability is also affected by summoning sickness, you have to wait a whole turn to get value out of Order of Whiteclay. Surviving Bolt is a big deal, but giving my opponent a full turn to deal with Order of Whiteclay just strikes me as a reason to be wary of it. Then again, it usually takes my opponents a little while to deal with Brimaz, so maybe there's actually something there.
It's a flavor win for white weenie... you can't kill a whole group of Kithkin with only one Lightning Bolt!
I never realized that Sakashima worked like that, effectively allowing you to copy legendary permanents. That's pretty awesome. Even though it's probably pure jank, copying a Mangara would be really funny; you can just bounce Sakashima in response to the copied Mangara's tap ability.
I've always wanted to play Clever Impersonator just so I could Karn my opponent's Karn, but it's just a little too cute for me to actually try it. Although Clever Impersonator may not allow you to copy legendary permanents, it does become another sword or looter scooter if you need one.
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The problem used to be that Order of Whiteclay was too low-impact. You needed to attack with the card in order to be able to consistently tap it, which is probably still true. In terms of targets, the best (of course) was Flickerwisp, but honorable mentions go out to things like Blade Splicer, Brimaz, and Serra Avenger, all of which are high-impact cards that rapidly change the tempo of a game.
Again, I haven't tested it. I suspect that Order of Whiteclay is better than it used to be, but it still suffers from the Mangara problem, namely that it costs 3 CMC and doesn't immediately change the boardstate. Still, it survives a Bolt, which gives Order of Whiteclay a fighting chance that Mangara typically doesn't have. One build that I wanted to see Order of Whiteclay tested in was in WR with Alesha, but it just never happened.
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I think the list is innovative and a good metagame call. Those are compliments, not criticisms. But I don't think the list has has good matchups across a more diverse (e.g., non-aggro) metagame. Heights is a dangerous card to rely on, because control decks (especially Grixis and GB) are going to keep you off of three creatures. Again, I praise the deckbuilder for knowing his stuff and for spiking the tournament, but I'm not going to pilot this anytime soon.
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Knowing nothing about your list, "good" matchups are typically things like Tron (especially U-Tron) and Ad Nauseam. The reason is because both the Thalia and search taxes are live, and those decks aren't heavy on removal.
By contrast, "bad" matchups are things like Merfolk and Elves. That's because both of those decks don't care about Thalia or search taxes.
But as example, if you play WG D&T with Choke in the sideboard and Mirrodin Crusader in the maindeck, your "bad" matchups will be much better.
This is Modern. You can't fight everything, so you just have to decide what you're willing to lose to, and then build your deck accordingly.
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I'm pretty sure the only other possible option for a 4-of is Chalice, but that's not exactly a conventional choice as a 4-of in the maindeck either...
Lapahn was asking about mono-white Vial-less D&T; I'm not sure how we suddenly got to WB 3-Vial D&T...?
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You're not going to find much specific advice for the Vial-less list. Vial-less taxes is extremely unconventional and it's likely a worse version of the deck that we all play. There are some advantages to it - none of us like topdecking a Vial in the late game - but that list was built for an aggro metagame and your mileage is going to vary as the metagame shifts.
When you have a chance, I'd recommend picking up a playset of Vials, if only so that you have the flexibility to pilot whichever version you want.
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Actually, because Modern is the flagship format for interactive decks, maybe I should build Modern High Tide and watch my opponents cry.
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The person who made the primer for that deck felt strongly like it needed its own thread, so now when anyone (like yourself) asks about it, we end up having to point him or her to a different thread. The upside is that you'll get more specialized advice over there, but the downside is that you'll lose a lot of diverse discussion over here.
It seems like a net negative to me, but MTGS (rightfully) won't let me police the forums.
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While I understand your (@Mr_Bote) frustrations, there is so much variation in the builds and playstyles that it's very difficult to create different threads for each and every one. Ultimately, all of the decks that operate on the same strategic principles should exist in once place, even if there are ~15 flex slots in the maindeck.
And in that spirit...You're going to want this thread, which was created for reasons that I can't explain without receiving a warning for trolling. But you'll get more advice for that specific build there.
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Wescoe is a white weenie player. He's only a D&T player when it's positioned well in the metagame (e.g., never), otherwise he plays various kinds of hatebears and mono-white aggro.
We don't know anything that Wescoe doesn't.
There are a spectrum of Modern D&T decks, all ranging from aggro to control. Wescoe is almost always on aggro, and he's rarely on control. His deck choices are presumably based on the metagame, but they're also based on his ability to pilot them against a wide variety of different decks in tournaments that go 15 rounds. As Chalupacabra recently pointed out, complex decision trees aren't always your friend.
The people in this thread have a lot of experience metagaming their way through small and mid-size tournaments. We all pilot versions of this deck that we're beyond comfortable with; all of our playtesting allows us to punish less-experienced opponents with our knowledge of the format. Sometimes, we even have players in this thread that spike major tournaments, the last one probably being Elliot Smith with this list in January.
Again, we don't know anything that Wescoe doesn't. And Wescoe doesn't know anything that we don't. But Wescoe has his playstyles and we have ours.
There isn't one D&T deck, so there isn't one single authority on it. You'll get good advice in here, but you want to be getting advice from people who regularly pilot your version of the deck.
EDIT: Brutal Sarnath by HugeElfBoy. Well played, sir.
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You'll find that Craig Wescoe is a fan of Thraben Inspector, and it plays nicely in builds running Smuggler's Copter.
By contrast, Wall of Omens is almost never used, although it did just see play in the list that T8'd GP Vancouver. Typically, if it doesn't swing, we don't usually want it.
Most of the conventional wisdom is going to suggest that you probably shouldn't run either, but if you have to play one, it should be Thraben Inspector, unless you have a very specific reason for wanting to run Wall of Omens instead.
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1) they're over before Displacer is relevant
2) they're against control decks that run very few creatures and a lot of removal
The end result is that Displacer just isn't nearly as effective for me as the manlands typically are.
I agree with you that this is the YMMY deck in Modern.
Heights is a very questionable call to me. The upside is that it's a Vial-substitute on a land, but the downside is that your opponent controls whether or not you can activate it. Sure, we run a lot of creatures, but many reactive decks won't let you keep three creatures on the board.
Ultimately, I think this actually leads to a change in D&T strategy. With Heights (or to a lesser extent Kytheon), a player may intentionally make a "bad" attack for value later. For example, I may opt to swing my Arbiter into a Tarmogoyf, because I know that I have a Thought-Knot Seer under my Heights. I'm basically trading the Arbiter for the TKS at that point, but it feels like a decent upgrade in most matchups where I'm staring down a Tarmogoyf. This line of play simply doesn't exist for a traditional D&T deck. To the deckbuilder's credit, there are a lot of useful interactions here, for example:
1) Attack with three creatures, activate Heights revealing Path to Exile before blockers are declared
2) Attack with three creatures, activate Heights during your end step revealing Flickerwisp
I think that Heights is a creative reimagining of Vial.
However, I stand by my statement that I probably couldn't take this build into my LGS and win with it. I don't know what that says about the competition at my LGS, but it's a pretty competitive place. Most pilots that can keep me off my creatures are going to do it, control decks and attrition decks especially. Some pilots with linear, noninteractive strategies are going to ignore what I do and try to win by T4. But it's hard to envision matchups where I can consistently enable Heights in such a way that my variance is reduced.
I'm actually surprised that pilot didn't have any copies of Sun Titan. As hard as it is to get to 6 mana, being able to reveal it off of Heights or pitch it to Shining Shoal gives it a little more mileage.
This is the best thing I've read in a while.
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