I'm actually still on 2 Bolt going in to Vegas. I'm just more comfortable with them, I love the efficiency. And Wraith, I've been having success with Rise//Fall. Have you tried it?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Ya, I believe Fish to be a slightly unfavorable matchup. He drew poorly overall most games. I did outplay him, but not overly so. In that matchup, I ignore anything that's not a Lord. I'm also firmly on the Anger plan. I've found it to be the best wipe personally.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Hey y'all! I know this is my first post in a while, and I have a good one for you! This is my first tournament report, in which I played in a Team Unified Modern with 2 of my good friends(shoutout to Walking Ballistas for Harambe), where we took first. I sat in Seat 1, and my teammates played Fish and Counters Company. I took the deck to a flawless 6-0 record, never dropping a game, ending with a perfect 12-0 record with this beast of a deck:
So, now to the matchups throughout the day.
Round 1: Mirror
So, I sat down Round 1, and my opponent told me that he had only been playing the deck for a day, at which point I knew I had the experience factor. I outplayed him game one, after he kept a sketchy hand and I landed 2 Shadows and killed him quick. In this matchup, I believe the delve threats are the way to win, so I boarded grave ate to stop his, and the denials because we are a noncreature focused deck. Game 2, he kept another sketchy, and I quickly dispatched him.
Round 2: Ad Nauseam
Game 1 he mulled all the way to 4, aaaaaaand we can all assume how this went. I sideboarded discard and all 4 counters, he did Turn 0 Leyline, which shut off my 'Seize in hand, and the Bolt I had in the opener, and the one I drew immediately. In this instance, I Bolted myself on Turn 1 and 2, then landed a Shadow that had 10 power. I attacked him to 10, and on his turn, he tried to chump me out with the Lightning Storm he had, which I Denialed, which he had Pact for, which I Denialed again, and he conceded.
Round 3: Fish
Honestly I don't remember much about this match, except I targeted the lords with discard almost exclusively, specifically Master of Waves. I grinded him out both games, and that was that.
Round 4: Counters Company
Game 1, we both mulled to Six, and he had a dork, some lands, and a CoCo and Chord(i knew because 'Seize on the draw), and I took CoCo. He didn't draw much, I killed him a few turns later. I sideboarded in Anger, and Game 2 was similar to Game 1, except so much more brutal for him. I crushed him this game. Don't remember exact sequence, but it was kinda awesome.
Round 5: U/R Control (?)
Honestly don't know what this deck was. I saw Bolt, Electrolyze, Monastery Swiftspear, and Vendillion Clique, along with Izzet Charm. He told me after the game that he wasn't on Moon though, so maybe Prowess? Not trying to mean to this gentleman, but I honestly didn't see much of his deck because the games were so quick. The most interesting thing that happened was a counter war in Game 2 to try to Bolt me out that left him DOB.
Round 6: Draw into Top 4
Top 4 Semifinal: Rematch vs Fish from Round 3
This was more brutal and efficient than last time. He mulled both games, and just didn't have a chance Game 1. I boarded a slightly different way, as I boarded in the Brutality. I crushed him, in a nutshell.
We split the Finals, and we had higher standing, so we won!
Moving forward, I'm going to cut 2 of the Molten Rain, as I never boarded them, nor thought about it. In GP Las Vegas(anyone else going?), I'm expecting a lot of the mirror, so I'm going to be using 2 Rise//Fall, which I believe is great in the mirror. If you have any questions, you can always ask me! Thanks again y'all for being such a great forum. Really glad to see this deck take it's rightful place in the Tier of the format.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
With everyone suggestions(thank you to all who contributed), I'm now on this sideboard package:
2 ceremonious rejection
2 stubborn denial
3 spreading seas
2 liliana the last hope
2 nihil spellbomb
2 anger of the gods
1 rakdos charm
1 collective brutality
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
I'll make a generic sideboard guide, trying to cover the most popular archetypes in Modern. So, if you have some particular match-up you're unsure about, ask for it.
I highly suggest to implement also this in the primer, because it isn't the first time we argue about sideboard strategies.
Vs "the Mirror" (Jund/Abzan Shadow, Grixis/Orzhov/Sultai Shadow):
You want to have as little dead card as possible, because it will turn into a topdeck war. Inquisition are the first cut, because having six discard spells is a beating when preparing for a grindfest. I also dislike S.Denial, because "ferocious" isn't easy to obtain when playing against a deck full of removals/diruption, though some players prefer to keep them in. Liliana, the Last Hope, more Kolaghan's Command and Fulminator Mage are all good cards to bring in (F.Mage isn't the best, but sometimes the opponent keep a low-mana hand and it's forced to discard your F.Mage instead of, say, a Snapcaster. Then, it's also good to cut him off white splash, if he plays it).
Vs Big-Mana Strategies (Tron, RG Valakut, Eldrazi-Tron, Bring to Light):
Except for Eldrazi-Tron, you want to keep the removal suite at its lowest. Bolt and Push aren't the best, while keeping Terminate in is always a wise choice, granting that they will have some amount of targets (expecially Valakut-based, like Obstinate Baloth or Coursier of Kruphix). You want all the disruption you can get from the side, like additional Stubborn Denials, Fulminator Mages, Ceremonious Rejection (Tron & Eldrazi), Collective Brutality (BTLight, depending on what you have also against RG Valakut). Surgical Extraction is also fine, but it's the last choice, so if you don't have enough cards to cut from your maindeck keep them in the sideboard. Rise/Fall isn't a card I like, but in the combo match-up it's surely very good.
Vs Linear Combo decks (UR Storm, Ad Nauseam, Cheerios, Infect, Taking Turns):
Now, things become more interesting. They're, IMHO, our best match-up by far. But the gameplan vastly differ depending on whom we're paired against: Storm, Cheerios and Infect actually are what we WANT to face. Because they suffer both our disruption suite (discard + counters) and our removals ('cause they depends on threats or enablers to win the game). Shave as little as possible post-side, without diluiting our original gameplan (against Storm, grave hate + Denial is what you want, and C.Brutality is also good to replace Terminate because of the double purpose of killing a threat + discard a high-value spell). Against Cheerios you don't want Surgicals. Against Infect you can maximize on discards + extraction effects and removals (Collective Brutality is, again, very good here). Stubborn Denial isn't at it's best, because you'll probably shave on delve threats. Ad Nauseam & Turns, on the other side, don't have any relevant creature threats... preside. Post, they'll probably bring in some Grave Titan/Dromoka (AdNauseam) and Thing in the Ice (Turns). So, again, keep in Terminate against the first, and your Fatal Pushes against the second (because they hit both animated lands & TITI with less mana investment). Bring in counters, discard and Surgicals. Cut Bolts and Push/Terminate (depending on the mu).
Vs CoCo strategies (Abzan Vizier, Bant Knightfall, Kiki-Chord, Saheeli-Evolution):
They're a bunch of creatures + some high relevant spells (Company, Chord, sometimes Nahiri or Saheeli). Your plan is being the Tempo deck: deploy a threat and kill every threatening "must-answer" creature. If you're on the play, it's correct to Bolt/Push a dork. If you're on the draw, keep them for the two-three drops. Stubborn Denial, Thoughtseize & removals are all extremely good. What you want, post side, is Collective Brutality (best card ever against them: kill a threat + strip their Company), more impactful/grindy cards (Lily TLH, another beast against them, and more S.Denials) and sweepers (Anger of the Gods or Flaying Tendrils). Some players also bring in Surgical, while I do think they're not good enough (post sb it becomes a grindfest). I'd cut the Wraiths, because the game will go long, plus the Inquisitions (six discards are too many in a grindfest, again). Also, you can easily shave one Thought Scour for the same reasoning.
Vs Burn:
Cut as many self-damaging cards as you can. Seize & Wraith are very bad, here (expecially the second, keep a pair of Seize if you can't cut them all). Bring in Collective Brutality (nuff said), more counters & cheap removals. You'll always have to play wisely against Burn, trying to take little damage from your lands (Shadow will become active faster than you think, so don't worry). Remember that, if the opponent tries to Searing Blaze a Shadow while doing dmg to you, Shadow will actually survives.
Vs Affinity:
Similarly to Burn, you want as many removals as you can in spite of self-damaging cards. Counters are bad here, though, while sweepers, additional Kommand and Lily TLH shine. Ceremonious Rejection is an obvious inclusion, and Fulminator is actually not bad because of their manlands. Cut discards and Wraiths (you can keep Kozilek in, because Etched Champion is one of their best bet against us, so it is Blood Moon. Strip those cards from their hand and profit, nothing else.
Vs Graveyard Strategies (Dredge, Living End):
They're very different decks, but both requires a similar preparation. You live and die by Stubborn Denial, essentially, because hitting their enabler (Dredge) or their cascading LE (Living End) is crucial. Discards aren't the best, though against the second they can be very useful post-side, when you also bring in Surgicals and they have some amount of Ricochet Trap. Bolt & Push aren't really the best (while you can keep the Terminates to get rid of their most dangerous threat when you intend to race the opponent), and Surgical, grave hate, more counters are pretty much what you want. Sweepers are also very good against Dredge, and Staticaster is decent to ping their Narcoameba and Bloodghasts. Collective Brutality is fine to do some damage if you don't really have anything else to bring in. Remember that S.Wraith is actually a very good card against Living End, so try to hide them if possible, cycling the card only when a LE resolves.
Vs Hard Control (Esper, Jeskai, UW. Grixis and Mardu in a less prominent way):
They're your worst mu. A pletora of removals, mass removals, discards, counters, card advantage. You have to race them, if possible, while trying to not overestending into a sweeper. Planeswalkers are really hard to deal with. More counters, disruption, F.Mage (to fight C.Colonnade) and Surgical effect are all good against them. Shave on removals and situational cards, and don't forget to bring in Lily TLH (which is, by far, your best bet to actually win the long game against their CA).
Phew. I've certainly missed something, so I'll repeat: feel free to ask.
This was truly a good read. Awesome work. I'll make sure it gets added to the primer. Currently, my board looks something like:
2 ceremonious rejection
2 stubborn denial
3 spreading seas
2 liliana the last hope
2 nihil spellbomb
2 anger of the gods
1 kommand
1 painful truths
Any thoughts everyone? SS is my "tech" if you will, I'm trying it out. I could always cut them in favor of 2 Collective Brutality, and a flex slot, but I still feel like we need land hate, and Seas is much easier to cast than Molten Rain, and draws a card, which is nice.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
This has been a great weekend for the deck. I'm liking all the chatter, it makes me happy lol. This deck is great, and I'm glad to see it get the recognition it deserves. I'm going to cut my 4th push for the 2nd terminate, and do some work to my sideboard. Awesome weekend.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
I'm really enjoying all the analysis recently guys, it's really productive. If I get to play at my LGS this weekend, I'm going to try cutting bolt for 2 mana leak. Has anyone else tried this to any success?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Sorry that I haven't been posting recently y'all , life has been getting in the way for me real bad lately. I went to SCG ATL, and got some games in. I will post some results at some point when I get the chance. Just figured I'd let you know guys now I'm not dead and planning to post more in the very near future.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
I only recently upgraded to my first non-budget magic deck (after having played tokens and neutered merfolk for a while) and decided on Grixis Delver. After completing it, I fell in love with Grixis Death Shadow and decided to take the plunge. Alas, because I had already splurged so much I had to settle for a relatively budget sideboard. Could you please critique my deck choice?
Hello friend, glad to see you have joined the movement! Personally, I don't like the full 8 discard spells. Currently I play 4 'seize and 2 inquisition and love how it plays. Good solid list though for sure!
About Mana Leak, I will attempt it this weekend possibly, but I'm just loving my current list so much I'm not sure what to take out for them.
On EE, that seems like a fantastic card choice. I may have to attempt to pick a few up myself.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
*Ashiok - I'm unclear on why this is good against Esper Draw-Go. Is the plan to mill them out or ult them into a helpless boardstate? They barely play creatures as far as I can tell
*Graveyard Hate - Good call on Rakdos Charm - I'll have to try it. I do like that spellbomb only requires an upfront mana investment, and I really value mana efficiency in this deck, but it is snapcaster-able and doubles as artifact and kiki/copycast hate.
*Graveyard Hate - Would move Surgical Extraction here
*Extra Interaction - Would at least put Disdainful Stroke here in case titanshift rises in popularity. Does also hit some other spells that Rejection does not hit (Scapeshift, Primeval Titan, Ad Nauseum, Worship? actually the list is not that long..). Downside of course is that you'll miss on everything from Affinity/Lantern/KCI, for example
*Removal - May want to mention Flaying Tendrils, as I think that is better if you are splashing white and care about the exile effect (double red is likely to be very hard for Anger). Would also mention Big Game Hunter as it has positive synergies with Last Hope and KCommand
We will include these other options, good call on them. Ashiok is good against Esper on the mill plan, like you were thinking. Commonly they can't remove it, so if you can sneak it under counters, it seems invincible.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Okie dokie. I'll review again with DaveJacinto when I hopefully get a chance tonight. So, we think Grixis Shadow is a tempo deck that can shift and become a grindy midrange deck. I'll test Valakut and Abzan more extensively.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
I very much disagree with the Abzan & Valakut match-up percentages. Abzan feels like one of our worst match-up, and multiple Lingering Souls from their side are extremely annoying. Against Valakut I have yet to concede a single game.
Gifts Storm is almost like a bye, I don't really see how it can be considered unfavorable. Same about Grishoalbrand and every other similar combo deck. On the other side, we're a dog against Jeskai, as much as against any other UWx Control.
With one exception: While Abzan feels bad, it doesn't feel as bad to me as BloodyRabbit suggests, but still bad. But otherwise, +1.
OK guys, we will look into. Sorry to let y'all down
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I like to win games:
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
4 Death's Shadow
4 Street Wraith
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Gurmag Angler
Spells:
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
3 Fatal Push
2 Stubborn Denial
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Serum Visions
4 Thought Scour
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Watery Grave
2 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Molten Rain
2 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Stubborn Denial
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Collective Brutality
1 Rakdos Charm
So, now to the matchups throughout the day.
Round 1: Mirror
So, I sat down Round 1, and my opponent told me that he had only been playing the deck for a day, at which point I knew I had the experience factor. I outplayed him game one, after he kept a sketchy hand and I landed 2 Shadows and killed him quick. In this matchup, I believe the delve threats are the way to win, so I boarded grave ate to stop his, and the denials because we are a noncreature focused deck. Game 2, he kept another sketchy, and I quickly dispatched him.
Round 2: Ad Nauseam
Game 1 he mulled all the way to 4, aaaaaaand we can all assume how this went. I sideboarded discard and all 4 counters, he did Turn 0 Leyline, which shut off my 'Seize in hand, and the Bolt I had in the opener, and the one I drew immediately. In this instance, I Bolted myself on Turn 1 and 2, then landed a Shadow that had 10 power. I attacked him to 10, and on his turn, he tried to chump me out with the Lightning Storm he had, which I Denialed, which he had Pact for, which I Denialed again, and he conceded.
Round 3: Fish
Honestly I don't remember much about this match, except I targeted the lords with discard almost exclusively, specifically Master of Waves. I grinded him out both games, and that was that.
Round 4: Counters Company
Game 1, we both mulled to Six, and he had a dork, some lands, and a CoCo and Chord(i knew because 'Seize on the draw), and I took CoCo. He didn't draw much, I killed him a few turns later. I sideboarded in Anger, and Game 2 was similar to Game 1, except so much more brutal for him. I crushed him this game. Don't remember exact sequence, but it was kinda awesome.
Round 5: U/R Control (?)
Honestly don't know what this deck was. I saw Bolt, Electrolyze, Monastery Swiftspear, and Vendillion Clique, along with Izzet Charm. He told me after the game that he wasn't on Moon though, so maybe Prowess? Not trying to mean to this gentleman, but I honestly didn't see much of his deck because the games were so quick. The most interesting thing that happened was a counter war in Game 2 to try to Bolt me out that left him DOB.
Round 6: Draw into Top 4
Top 4 Semifinal: Rematch vs Fish from Round 3
This was more brutal and efficient than last time. He mulled both games, and just didn't have a chance Game 1. I boarded a slightly different way, as I boarded in the Brutality. I crushed him, in a nutshell.
We split the Finals, and we had higher standing, so we won!
Moving forward, I'm going to cut 2 of the Molten Rain, as I never boarded them, nor thought about it. In GP Las Vegas(anyone else going?), I'm expecting a lot of the mirror, so I'm going to be using 2 Rise//Fall, which I believe is great in the mirror. If you have any questions, you can always ask me! Thanks again y'all for being such a great forum. Really glad to see this deck take it's rightful place in the Tier of the format.
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
2 ceremonious rejection
2 stubborn denial
3 spreading seas
2 liliana the last hope
2 nihil spellbomb
2 anger of the gods
1 rakdos charm
1 collective brutality
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
This was truly a good read. Awesome work. I'll make sure it gets added to the primer. Currently, my board looks something like:
2 ceremonious rejection
2 stubborn denial
3 spreading seas
2 liliana the last hope
2 nihil spellbomb
2 anger of the gods
1 kommand
1 painful truths
Any thoughts everyone? SS is my "tech" if you will, I'm trying it out. I could always cut them in favor of 2 Collective Brutality, and a flex slot, but I still feel like we need land hate, and Seas is much easier to cast than Molten Rain, and draws a card, which is nice.
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Hello friend, glad to see you have joined the movement! Personally, I don't like the full 8 discard spells. Currently I play 4 'seize and 2 inquisition and love how it plays. Good solid list though for sure!
About Mana Leak, I will attempt it this weekend possibly, but I'm just loving my current list so much I'm not sure what to take out for them.
On EE, that seems like a fantastic card choice. I may have to attempt to pick a few up myself.
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
We will include these other options, good call on them. Ashiok is good against Esper on the mill plan, like you were thinking. Commonly they can't remove it, so if you can sneak it under counters, it seems invincible.
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
OK guys, we will look into. Sorry to let y'all down
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation