You could try the list that Paul Cheon and LSV 4-0'd with for starters. I made some changes to it like cutting Cryptics completely in favor of cheaper countermagic. In my testing, having something like Izzet Charm is better in the mirror and most matchups. The only time I wanted Cryptics is when I faced Tron decks.
Having 3 cliques makes 2 copies of Restoration Angel worth it. It's alright to have Resto in the main if you meta has a lot of combo decks. I usually side her out when I play against midrange decks for bombs like Baneslayer / Batterskull / Thundermaw. Having these big guys made it easier for me when facing opposing Baloths and Thruns.
i'm not a fan of izzet. if it could 2 to the dome i'd be sold.
on the fence about resto. new legendary rules make clique so good. i wish i had a third, so i'll just stick to my two. without a third i don't know if i can justify a rest. maybe one.
I took out 1 arid mesa from my MB to put the second tectonic edge into, without changin the number of playable lands and without taking out colored mana sources... let's see what happens!
can make room from spell suite easy enough. i'd probably cut 1 path, my isochron, maybe a helix, maybe a snap. it'd have to be thought out quite a bit.
i guess it's not even close to as good as cursecatcher, which gets lord pumps.
i find melira pod to be a pretty easy matchup. graffdigger's cage and stony silence to shut down pod. wrath of god for thrun and creature sweep. our one for one removal and counters naturally take care of their creatures.
That's prrtty rough man. Did you mulligan any? If not what kinda hands did you keep. I honestly have been having a good time with the deck at my lgs. Places everytime. Maybe due to a lot of us are new to the format, and just experience wins the game.
What I have actually enjoyed is Tamiyo seeing that aggro s a lil more prevalent in meta. She is a one of, and she is usuallly boarded. Ill post a list later tonight because I am at work.
yeah, i went to 6 or 5 quite a bit. the cards just weren't there. one thing that i constantly notice is how threat light we are. if we don't land geist on three it becomes a colonnade game, no matter how we spin it.
obviously elspeth activates your snapcasters, but that's a pretty narrow application. the consistency just isn't there. i wish there was a way to guarantee geist on three, or at least have a different type of threat build during those early turns.
maybe i just need to accept that the deck is control--not midrange.
what a brutal showing. i played terribly AND my deck **** on me. i either got flooded or screwed all day. nothing like drawing lands and PoE all day against affinity. anyways:
Round 1: 2-0 vs. Melira Pod--this matchup is almost laughably easy. T1 grafdigger's cage in game 2 was backbreaking for his Pod Pod Chord Chord opening hand.
Round 2: 0-2 vs. Affinity--he hit a nut draw in game 1 and i was mana screwed at 3 lands. not a chance. game 2 i drew land and paths almost exclusively. zero gas. etched champion is a serious problem.
Round 3: 0-2 vs. Affinity--almost an identical game 1. mana screw and etched champion. game 2 was much better, but i forgot to board out my isochron after siding in stony silence, which killed me late game. i wrath of god twice, plus a snap wrath, and resolved an ajani, but it still wasn't enough for etched champion. that card just wins. chalice of the void at 2 with all my bolts extracted is also a problem.
Round 4: 0-2 vs. Scapeshift--at this point i'm tired, hungry, and annoyed. the game was just bad; e.g., i knew he had a dispel open but still tried cryptic instead of counterflux.
i dropped after going a pathetic 1-3. pretty upset.
i think the difference is disruption vs. aggression. both will win you the game unchecked. elspeth forces the play, assuming you can protect your geist to keep swining out. i use ajani more as a latent threat, keeping a necessity tapped while crawling to land destruction. i think the difference is that ajani is spot removal that gains you life when you need it.
i'm playing in a tournament today at a competitive level. obviously nowhere near GP KC, but i will report back. list:
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Vendillion Clique
Its interesting to note that LSV´s list seems a lot more tempo than what we have discussed here.
No ajani, no batterskull or thundermaw means he curves at 4 with resto angel, also no sphinxs means hes not aiming for a long game at all.
Even if he runs 3 command, which i find kind of odd with his creature line up, its pretty obvious hes going to try to out-tempo every other deck out there backed with clique ripping hands appart, remand delaying thins, and resto for added value.
yep, looks that way. not sure why he's playing a 3/2 split of leak to remand if that's the case, though.
you know, LSV's list is not that different from what we're discussing here. i think the base is 95% the same between everyone, and we're only talking a 4 or 5 card difference.
i'm not a fan of izzet. if it could 2 to the dome i'd be sold.
on the fence about resto. new legendary rules make clique so good. i wish i had a third, so i'll just stick to my two. without a third i don't know if i can justify a rest. maybe one.
i would pull the sulfur falls over the mesa. fetches are too important, especially with only 1 gate and so many doubles.
can make room from spell suite easy enough. i'd probably cut 1 path, my isochron, maybe a helix, maybe a snap. it'd have to be thought out quite a bit.
i guess it's not even close to as good as cursecatcher, which gets lord pumps.
yeah, i went to 6 or 5 quite a bit. the cards just weren't there. one thing that i constantly notice is how threat light we are. if we don't land geist on three it becomes a colonnade game, no matter how we spin it.
obviously elspeth activates your snapcasters, but that's a pretty narrow application. the consistency just isn't there. i wish there was a way to guarantee geist on three, or at least have a different type of threat build during those early turns.
maybe i just need to accept that the deck is control--not midrange.
Round 1: 2-0 vs. Melira Pod--this matchup is almost laughably easy. T1 grafdigger's cage in game 2 was backbreaking for his Pod Pod Chord Chord opening hand.
Round 2: 0-2 vs. Affinity--he hit a nut draw in game 1 and i was mana screwed at 3 lands. not a chance. game 2 i drew land and paths almost exclusively. zero gas. etched champion is a serious problem.
Round 3: 0-2 vs. Affinity--almost an identical game 1. mana screw and etched champion. game 2 was much better, but i forgot to board out my isochron after siding in stony silence, which killed me late game. i wrath of god twice, plus a snap wrath, and resolved an ajani, but it still wasn't enough for etched champion. that card just wins. chalice of the void at 2 with all my bolts extracted is also a problem.
Round 4: 0-2 vs. Scapeshift--at this point i'm tired, hungry, and annoyed. the game was just bad; e.g., i knew he had a dispel open but still tried cryptic instead of counterflux.
i dropped after going a pathetic 1-3. pretty upset.
i'm playing in a tournament today at a competitive level. obviously nowhere near GP KC, but i will report back. list:
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Vendillion Clique
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
2 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Electrolyze
2 Cryptic Command
2 Ajani Vengeant
1 Isochron Scepter
25 Land
Side:
2 Wrath of God
2 Stony Silence
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Wear / Tear
1 Batterskull
1 Echoing Truth
1 Spell Pierce
1 Counterflux
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Spreading Seas
1 Surgical Extraction
looking to swap in a second counterflux once acquired.
yep, looks that way. not sure why he's playing a 3/2 split of leak to remand if that's the case, though.
for instance, mine:
-2 Angel
-1 Leak
-1 Clique
-1 Command
+2 Ajani
+1 Path
+1 Snare
+1 Scepter