I'm also unsure if Delver is really consistent enough in this list and would consider Siren Stormtamer as an alternative 1-drop
(another option can be Martyr of Frost).
I love these mono blue lists popping up. They look like they have some serious promise. I haven't had much time to test lately so I don't have much to add, but it will be interesting to see where the wizard archetype goes in modern. Right now it looks like those who are playing it similar to humans with a bunch of enter the battlefield affects and such are the way to go. Keep up the awesome lists guys/gals!
So I went 3-2 this evening at FNM. My matches were 2-1 V Burn, 2-1 V Elves, 2-1 V UW Control, 0-2 Jeskai Control, 0-2 Jeskai Mantis.
I enjoyed the deck however it felt very threat light And Delver felt terrible the entire night. Gut Shot and Mutagenic were both amazing but I would probably go down to 2 Gut Shot next time I Play it. Im thinking of going up to 4 Soul-Scars and 2 Ghitu Lavarunners over the Delvers. My Sideboard was terrible to day but it was really just thrown together.
So I went 3-2 this evening at FNM. My matches were 2-1 V Burn, 2-1 V Elves, 2-1 V UW Control, 0-2 Jeskai Control, 0-2 Jeskai Mantis.
I enjoyed the deck however it felt very threat light And Delver felt terrible the entire night. Gut Shot and Mutagenic were both amazing but I would probably go down to 2 Gut Shot next time I Play it. Im thinking of going up to 4 Soul-Scars and 2 Ghitu Lavarunners over the Delvers. My Sideboard was terrible to day but it was really just thrown together.
I have found that Delver and Stormchaser Mage often don't fit in the same deck. Delver is a creature that wants you to play it on turn 1 and hold up mana for spells for the remainder of the game. This doesn't work well with a turn 2 threat that needs to be played early go do some damage. That's why I don't run any two drops (snapcaster mage is really a 3 drop) in my list with delver. Delver is more a tempo or aggro-control style card rather than a more aggressive/prowess style card.
I would highly suggest a couple of bedlam reveler at the top end. This card is just too good right now and fits really well into your build with 8 phyrexian mana spells. It will help with your threat light feeling of the deck. From the looks I would say just cut the delvers and go with 4 soul-scar mage and 2 bedlam revelers. That should help the deck run a bit more smoothly. If I were you I would also cut 2 gut shots and possibly the forked bolt and run 2-3 copies of serum visions. That really helps smooth your draws. With those small changes you should be good to go next week! Keep us posted on how it goes and what you chose to try.
I've tested it for some time on Xmage, and it seems decent. I wouldnt run delver in this deck, as other have pointed out, devler thrives best in decks that will have protection up T2. I'm impressed with soul-scar mage atm, its working nice as a 1 drop with pump. Ghitu also feels gas when he goblin guides.
He went with the more aggressive style which is the one I prefer. However, he eschewed counter spells all together which I am not a huge fan of, but I understand his game plan with counters in the sideboard. Just try to get game one a quick as possible and then side into aggro-control if necessary. Let me know what you think!
18x lands with 4x Snapcasters seems a bit iffy imho.
Also, this deck seems like a slower version of "UR K.Fiend/Thing" for the most part as it doesn't really have counter magic and relies on getting quick prowess-fueled wins.
I guess it has more reach with the extra burn spells but the creature threats are weaker and not as game ending.
18x lands with 4x Snapcasters seems a bit iffy imho.
Also, this deck seems like a slower version of "UR K.Fiend/Thing" for the most part as it doesn't really have counter magic and relies on getting quick prowess-fueled wins.
I guess it has more reach with the extra burn spells but the creature threats are weaker and not as game ending.
Those are great points D90Dennis. I found the same thing to be true for myself when making this deck. It just seemed to be either a slightly weaker version of the kiln fiend style decks or a slightly weaker version of my jeskai delver deck. I haven't found the perfect recipe for the URx wizards deck, but I know it's out there.
Having played both Fiend Thing and UR Wiz I can comment that there is a price to Kiln Thing's power. You will have hands that do absolutely nothing and find no creatures for 4 turns despite keeping 3 cantrips and an otherwise nice hand with some protection/bolts. There will also be the games where you simply can't stick a threat, and you only get so many chances with 10-12 threats.
UR Wiz is slower but imo, steadier. No, you don't get "one-punch-man" moments but therein lies the consistency - everything is spread out, and you have more reach (WAY more reach) to close games with. Abrupt decay isn't as bad, although wipes are worse.
Personally? I went back to Kiln Thing. There's just something undeniably sexy about swinging with a 10/2 trampling double striker on turn 3.
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I'm curious as to how running something like 4 Delver of Secrets w/ 4 Burst Lightnings would be instead of the Sage of Epityr and Thunderous Wrath. Burst is cheaper and has a much more easily used front side, and isn't limited to miracle only. But in the videos he does hard cast many wraths so maybe it isn't that bad. Opinions?
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I still think Vapor Snag is too good of a tempo card atm. However, I am going to get 1 extra Grim Lavamancer instead of the 4th Adeliz, but other than that, i think my MB is prob where we wanna be with this deck.
So this is the list I've been running for a bit, and a few comments on some cards. Sideboard is still a WIP, but I'm pretty happy with the mainboard overall.
Ghitu Lavarunner - He's the real deal. Much better than Delver of Secrets IMO. Turned off he's a 1/2, and turned on he's a 2/2 with haste. A lot more consistent in this deck than trying to flip a delver. Also nice synergies with Thought Scour and my spicy inclusion Curious Obsession.
Grim Lavamancer - A nice 2-of. Does bad in multiples, but can really take over in longer games. Feed him with thought scour and fetches.
Electrolyze - This deck has a lot of burn going face, so we need a way to refill our hand and dump extra mana. Snap-Electrolyze costs 5 and it only comes up in the longest of games. I've been impressed with this card every time I've cast it in this deck.
Opt, Thought Scour, Serum Visions - Cantrips and prowess triggers. I included Thought Scour as a combat trick, and also something to help fuel Lavarunner, Lavamancer, and Snaps.
Curious Obsession - The spicy inclusion. This deck was really lacking ways to draw cards. Throw this on a Stormchaser, he escapes bolt range permanently (and swings as a 3/5 the turn it comes down). Even works well Lavarunner, giving you a hasty 3/3 on the ground that draws a card each hit. I really cannot stress how powerful this card is when left unchecked. Paired with your hasty threats almost guarantees that this will get at least ONE hit in. Also does well on a Soul-Scar giving the opponent a lose-lose situation when deciding how to block.
I've specifically chosen not to include Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. While I think she's a great card in some situations, I can't see the benefit of playing something like Kiln Fiend instead, and not limiting yourself to Wizards. 3 Mana is a lot in a deck which wants to chuck spells and bolts as fast as possible with a super low curve. I can agree that she is a powerhouse if you are allowed to untap with her, or situationally late game when you have a ton of extra mana to drop her and one to three extra spells. The way I see it, if you already have 2/3 other wizards and untap successfully on turn 4, you have probably already won, regardless of Adeliz.
Twisted Image is a great idea, however I worry about its usefulness on an empty board. You can cast opt/scour/visions whenever you want, but say you are on a board with just a Stormchaser Mage and a twisted image in hand. You likely don't want to cast it since you can get 2-for-1'ed by having it die to path/push while on the stack, and also turns on your opponents other burn based removal (but you'd still get to draw in this case).
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So this is the list I've been running for a bit, and a few comments on some cards. Sideboard is still a WIP, but I'm pretty happy with the mainboard overall.
Ghitu Lavarunner - He's the real deal. Much better than Delver of Secrets IMO. Turned off he's a 1/2, and turned on he's a 2/2 with haste. A lot more consistent in this deck than trying to flip a delver. Also nice synergies with Thought Scour and my spicy inclusion Curious Obsession.
Grim Lavamancer - A nice 2-of. Does bad in multiples, but can really take over in longer games. Feed him with thought scour and fetches.
Electrolyze - This deck has a lot of burn going face, so we need a way to refill our hand and dump extra mana. Snap-Electrolyze costs 5 and it only comes up in the longest of games. I've been impressed with this card every time I've cast it in this deck.
Opt, Thought Scour, Serum Visions - Cantrips and prowess triggers. I included Thought Scour as a combat trick, and also something to help fuel Lavarunner, Lavamancer, and Snaps.
Curious Obsession - The spicy inclusion. This deck was really lacking ways to draw cards. Throw this on a Stormchaser, he escapes bolt range permanently (and swings as a 3/5 the turn it comes down). Even works well Lavarunner, giving you a hasty 3/3 on the ground that draws a card each hit. I really cannot stress how powerful this card is when left unchecked. Paired with your hasty threats almost guarantees that this will get at least ONE hit in. Also does well on a Soul-Scar giving the opponent a lose-lose situation when deciding how to block.
I've specifically chosen not to include Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. While I think she's a great card in some situations, I can't see the benefit of playing something like Kiln Fiend instead, and not limiting yourself to Wizards. 3 Mana is a lot in a deck which wants to chuck spells and bolts as fast as possible with a super low curve. I can agree that she is a powerhouse if you are allowed to untap with her, or situationally late game when you have a ton of extra mana to drop her and one to three extra spells. The way I see it, if you already have 2/3 other wizards and untap successfully on turn 4, you have probably already won, regardless of Adeliz.
ok if you arent playing anything more than wizards lightning for the tribal aspect you should drop ghitu lava runner and soul scar mage for goblin guide and monastarey swiftspear, and if lightning is good enough like that then play lava spike or lightning strike.
So this is the list I've been running for a bit, and a few comments on some cards. Sideboard is still a WIP, but I'm pretty happy with the mainboard overall.
Ghitu Lavarunner - He's the real deal. Much better than Delver of Secrets IMO. Turned off he's a 1/2, and turned on he's a 2/2 with haste. A lot more consistent in this deck than trying to flip a delver. Also nice synergies with Thought Scour and my spicy inclusion Curious Obsession.
Grim Lavamancer - A nice 2-of. Does bad in multiples, but can really take over in longer games. Feed him with thought scour and fetches.
Electrolyze - This deck has a lot of burn going face, so we need a way to refill our hand and dump extra mana. Snap-Electrolyze costs 5 and it only comes up in the longest of games. I've been impressed with this card every time I've cast it in this deck.
Opt, Thought Scour, Serum Visions - Cantrips and prowess triggers. I included Thought Scour as a combat trick, and also something to help fuel Lavarunner, Lavamancer, and Snaps.
Curious Obsession - The spicy inclusion. This deck was really lacking ways to draw cards. Throw this on a Stormchaser, he escapes bolt range permanently (and swings as a 3/5 the turn it comes down). Even works well Lavarunner, giving you a hasty 3/3 on the ground that draws a card each hit. I really cannot stress how powerful this card is when left unchecked. Paired with your hasty threats almost guarantees that this will get at least ONE hit in. Also does well on a Soul-Scar giving the opponent a lose-lose situation when deciding how to block.
I've specifically chosen not to include Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. While I think she's a great card in some situations, I can't see the benefit of playing something like Kiln Fiend instead, and not limiting yourself to Wizards. 3 Mana is a lot in a deck which wants to chuck spells and bolts as fast as possible with a super low curve. I can agree that she is a powerhouse if you are allowed to untap with her, or situationally late game when you have a ton of extra mana to drop her and one to three extra spells. The way I see it, if you already have 2/3 other wizards and untap successfully on turn 4, you have probably already won, regardless of Adeliz.
ok if you arent playing anything more than wizards lightning for the tribal aspect you should drop ghitu lava runner and soul scar mage for goblin guide and monastarey swiftspear, and if lightning is good enough like that then play lava spike or lightning strike.
I think Wizards Lightning being a 1cmc instant vs a 2cmc instant or a 1cmc sorcery that can only hit players is different enough.
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Threw together something similar to saffronolive. Opponent eot opt into wrath and then noxious revival it back on top for your turn is pretty brutal regardless of what's going on the board.
Snapcaster into revival sets it up all over again. 8 effective copies of bolt keep the hurt coming. Maybe temur is the color combo the deck would rather have. Heck, even bloodbraid elf hits wizard lightning for the full cost. That's a pretty sweet deal for early beats and dig (which the deck needs/wants). Just started messing with it honestly. I will post if I have anything worthwhile.
However, I'm still a firm believer that if you want to do the one punch man kind of deck, you'd be better off playing Kiln Fiend. If you want to run Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, you probably need to splash green to have access to Mutagenic Growth, but you are already putting yourself through too many hoops for the deck to be competitive. Dropping Adeliz with a couple prowess creatures and 1-2 mutagenic growths should close out the game instantly.
With straight UR Wizards, I think the deck still does have potential, and I think we should think about this deck as tempo deck and not aggro/combo one like Kiln Fiend. We have a ton of reach through 8 bolts, but we still have to play on the board. On the contrary, Kiln Fiend decks are fairly linear other than a key turn or two (holding up a dispel then one-punching them). Decisions have to be made regarding where and when to send the bolts. Bolting their face while attacking obviously deals the most damage, but sometimes it's better to hold a bolt to kill their creature on end step. It's definitely leaning on the aggressive side of tempo (like Fish), playing an honest, fair game. This is exactly why a lot of players have been suggesting Vapor Snag somewhere in the board: it just enough disruption to sneak in some extra points of damage to close out the game.
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Though Grim Lavamancer can be difficult to use without more cards to fill the GY like Fetchlands.
I'd also prefer something like Exquisite Firecraft over Lava Spike as it has more utility.
First Match: Affinity - This was rough. Had the nuts game 1 and beat me down with a huge etched champion. Game 2 I had a Kozi's Return, but missplayed against Master of Etherium thinking it would wipe the board. Cleared his Vault Skirges but was already too low to turn it around. 0 - 2 Loss.
Second Match: Jeskai Breach Moon - My opening hand was full of fetches, a Lavarunner, and two Lavamancers. Kept it and basically played the tempo game hitting for 2 or 4 damage each turn. He dropped a blood moon turn 3, but I had a fetch ready to find an island. Game 2 was similar, except I kept a Spell Pierce in my opening hand and 2 Spirebluffs. I drew the 3rd one and kept pierce up every turn, only playing out a lavarunner and soulscar as my creatures. At one point, plays a snap and clique to block, killing both of my threats and the pierce away. Unfortunately, the clique drew me another spell pierce. The next turn he tried to Breach me, but pierced it and attacked for the win. 2 - 0 Win.
Third Match: UW Control - Had good opening hand heavy on lava runners. Opened with a serum visions, then t2 thought scoured into a lava runner. Around mid-game, she had 3 Wall of Omens against my 3 lava runners & single soul scar. A lot of turns were just attacking against the walls for 1 or 2 damage, and clearing them out with bolts. She played an Elspeth, Sun's Champion and almost stabilized. I had dealt enough incremental damage that I could finish the first game with bolt snap bolt for exactsies. Game 2 was similar, but she had a Leyline of Sanctity. My opening hand was filled with creatures and cantrips, with very little burn. I drew a single burn spell, and scoured 2 of the others into the yard, and saw 3 snapcasters. One bolt was aimed at a wall of omens to push through my lava runner and soul scar mage. Other turns I snap bolted the walls with a stormchaser mage to chip in for 2/3 more damage. The 2nd to last turn was interesting when she went to path my stormchaser. I cast a dispel (1st prowess trigger), she responds with a Spell Queller. I let it hit the board and exile the dispel, and then snap bolted the queller, adding a 2nd prowess trigger and killing the queller, which then unlocked my dispel to be cast for a 3rd prowess trigger and counter the path. In desperation she played a Jace on her turn and brainstormed for an answer, it was another path. I still had the 3rd snap for a dispel to close out the game on the swing back.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the performance of the deck. I think a 1 mana counter might be necessary in the main board, so I'm thinking about going for +2 Pierces and -2 Curios Obsessions from the SB. I don't think Blood Moon is a good sideboard card for this deck, because we rarely get to 3 mana. Right now I feel like I have a few too many cantrips, and would really like a few more cards to help out in flooding. Perhaps going up to an 18th land and maybe running 1-2 faithless lootings.
Some other ideas I've been toying with was something like "12-Bolts." Fiery Temper along with wiz light and bolt. We can have decent discard outlets in faithless looting and even Chart a Course. This also opens up Lightning Axe to deal with those creatures too big for bolts to handle.
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First Match: Affinity - This was rough. Had the nuts game 1 and beat me down with a huge etched champion. Game 2 I had a Kozi's Return, but missplayed against Master of Etherium thinking it would wipe the board. Cleared his Vault Skirges but was already too low to turn it around. 0 - 2 Loss.
Second Match: Jeskai Breach Moon - My opening hand was full of fetches, a Lavarunner, and two Lavamancers. Kept it and basically played the tempo game hitting for 2 or 4 damage each turn. He dropped a blood moon turn 3, but I had a fetch ready to find an island. Game 2 was similar, except I kept a Spell Pierce in my opening hand and 2 Spirebluffs. I drew the 3rd one and kept pierce up every turn, only playing out a lavarunner and soulscar as my creatures. At one point, plays a snap and clique to block, killing both of my threats and the pierce away. Unfortunately, the clique drew me another spell pierce. The next turn he tried to Breach me, but pierced it and attacked for the win. 2 - 0 Win.
Third Match: UW Control - Had good opening hand heavy on lava runners. Opened with a serum visions, then t2 thought scoured into a lava runner. Around mid-game, she had 3 Wall of Omens against my 3 lava runners & single soul scar. A lot of turns were just attacking against the walls for 1 or 2 damage, and clearing them out with bolts. She played an Elspeth, Sun's Champion and almost stabilized. I had dealt enough incremental damage that I could finish the first game with bolt snap bolt for exactsies. Game 2 was similar, but she had a Leyline of Sanctity. My opening hand was filled with creatures and cantrips, with very little burn. I drew a single burn spell, and scoured 2 of the others into the yard, and saw 3 snapcasters. One bolt was aimed at a wall of omens to push through my lava runner and soul scar mage. Other turns I snap bolted the walls with a stormchaser mage to chip in for 2/3 more damage. The 2nd to last turn was interesting when she went to path my stormchaser. I cast a dispel (1st prowess trigger), she responds with a Spell Queller. I let it hit the board and exile the dispel, and then snap bolted the queller, adding a 2nd prowess trigger and killing the queller, which then unlocked my dispel to be cast for a 3rd prowess trigger and counter the path. In desperation she played a Jace on her turn and brainstormed for an answer, it was another path. I still had the 3rd snap for a dispel to close out the game on the swing back.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the performance of the deck. I think a 1 mana counter might be necessary in the main board, so I'm thinking about going for +2 Pierces and -2 Curios Obsessions from the SB. I don't think Blood Moon is a good sideboard card for this deck, because we rarely get to 3 mana. Right now I feel like I have a few too many cantrips, and would really like a few more cards to help out in flooding. Perhaps going up to an 18th land and maybe running 1-2 faithless lootings.
Some other ideas I've been toying with was something like "12-Bolts." Fiery Temper along with wiz light and bolt. We can have decent discard outlets in faithless looting and even Chart a Course. This also opens up Lightning Axe to deal with those creatures too big for bolts to handle.
Zerve, Congrats on the 2-1, sometimes affinity just does it's thing. I have been playing around with a slightly tweaked version of your list from around a week ago and some changes I would make from your most recent build would be -3 Thought Scour, -2 Snapcaster Mage (This is most commonly a three mana burn spell so I don't think running four is correct with the land count), -1 Opt, -2 Electrolize, then add +1 Forked Bolt, +2 Slip Through Space, +1 Faithless Looting, +2 Burst Lightning, +2 Spell Pierce (if your local meta is more Jund and/or Storm then Spell Snare will probably be better). I also think the Redirect could be a second Molten Rain. I'm also always on the fence between Smash to Smithereens and Abrade. So in a sense this tweak would allow you to still run a lower 17 lands due to the utility cantrips like Slip Through Space, while adding more burn and a bit of counter spell backup. The Faithless Looting is a great 1-of in my opinion as you can cast it mid game to discard unneeded cantrips/creatures/land for extra burn or whatever else you need.
Not sure if I like the Sleight of Hand's in that deck, I'd probably want more burn or threats. I do love the Unified Will in the sideboard. Super spicy.
Not sure if I like the Sleight of Hand's in that deck, I'd probably want more burn or threats. I do love the Unified Will in the sideboard. Super spicy.
I thought at first I wouldn't like Sleight of Hand either, but I like having 2 in the deck....cause sometimes you really just need to find that bolt or that land on THAT turn.
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These seem like some of the better wizards for a tempo deck.
Voidmage seems like a better wizards' payoff than Naban imho and Spellstutter is a better 2-drop than Augur (Snapcaster would be even better).
I'm also unsure if Delver is really consistent enough in this list and would consider Siren Stormtamer as an alternative 1-drop
(another option can be Martyr of Frost).
I enjoyed the deck however it felt very threat light And Delver felt terrible the entire night. Gut Shot and Mutagenic were both amazing but I would probably go down to 2 Gut Shot next time I Play it. Im thinking of going up to 4 Soul-Scars and 2 Ghitu Lavarunners over the Delvers. My Sideboard was terrible to day but it was really just thrown together.
4 Stormchaser Mage
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Soul-Scar Mage
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Vapor Snag
4 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Wizard's Lightning
4 Opt
1 Forked bolt
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Island
1 Mountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Spell Pierce
1 Electrolyze
1 Izzet staticaster
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Smash the Smithereens
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Echoing truth
1 Hibermation
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Shattering Spree
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Relic of Progenitus
I have found that Delver and Stormchaser Mage often don't fit in the same deck. Delver is a creature that wants you to play it on turn 1 and hold up mana for spells for the remainder of the game. This doesn't work well with a turn 2 threat that needs to be played early go do some damage. That's why I don't run any two drops (snapcaster mage is really a 3 drop) in my list with delver. Delver is more a tempo or aggro-control style card rather than a more aggressive/prowess style card.
I would highly suggest a couple of bedlam reveler at the top end. This card is just too good right now and fits really well into your build with 8 phyrexian mana spells. It will help with your threat light feeling of the deck. From the looks I would say just cut the delvers and go with 4 soul-scar mage and 2 bedlam revelers. That should help the deck run a bit more smoothly. If I were you I would also cut 2 gut shots and possibly the forked bolt and run 2-3 copies of serum visions. That really helps smooth your draws. With those small changes you should be good to go next week! Keep us posted on how it goes and what you chose to try.
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ur-wizard-tempo-3/
I've tested it for some time on Xmage, and it seems decent. I wouldnt run delver in this deck, as other have pointed out, devler thrives best in decks that will have protection up T2. I'm impressed with soul-scar mage atm, its working nice as a 1 drop with pump. Ghitu also feels gas when he goblin guides.
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/ur_wizards_with_ryan_overturf.html
He went with the more aggressive style which is the one I prefer. However, he eschewed counter spells all together which I am not a huge fan of, but I understand his game plan with counters in the sideboard. Just try to get game one a quick as possible and then side into aggro-control if necessary. Let me know what you think!
Also, this deck seems like a slower version of "UR K.Fiend/Thing" for the most part as it doesn't really have counter magic and relies on getting quick prowess-fueled wins.
I guess it has more reach with the extra burn spells but the creature threats are weaker and not as game ending.
Those are great points D90Dennis. I found the same thing to be true for myself when making this deck. It just seemed to be either a slightly weaker version of the kiln fiend style decks or a slightly weaker version of my jeskai delver deck. I haven't found the perfect recipe for the URx wizards deck, but I know it's out there.
UR Wiz is slower but imo, steadier. No, you don't get "one-punch-man" moments but therein lies the consistency - everything is spread out, and you have more reach (WAY more reach) to close games with. Abrupt decay isn't as bad, although wipes are worse.
Personally? I went back to Kiln Thing. There's just something undeniably sexy about swinging with a 10/2 trampling double striker on turn 3.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-98-57-tix-thunderous-wizards-modern
His budget list:
4 Serum Visions
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Soul-Scar Mage
2 Chart a Course
3 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
4 Stormchaser Mage
4 Wizard's Lightning
4 Thunderous Wrath
4 Shivan Reef
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Spirebluff Canal
4 Island
4 Mountain
1 Negate
3 Tormod's Crypt
4 Spell Pierce
3 Searing Blood
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Roast
And non-budget list:
4 Serum Visions
4 Ghitu Lavarunner
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Soul-Scar Mage
2 Chart a Course
3 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
4 Stormchaser Mage
4 Wizard's Lightning
1 Thunderous Wrath
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
4 Island
1 Mountain
1 Negate
3 Blood Moon
3 Spell Pierce
3 Searing Blaze
2 Smash to Smithereens
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Echoing Truth
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
I'm curious as to how running something like 4 Delver of Secrets w/ 4 Burst Lightnings would be instead of the Sage of Epityr and Thunderous Wrath. Burst is cheaper and has a much more easily used front side, and isn't limited to miracle only. But in the videos he does hard cast many wraths so maybe it isn't that bad. Opinions?
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http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/65652
Playing: Modern UB Fae
4x Ghitu Lavarunner
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Soul-Scar Mage
4x Stormchaser Mage
Instants
3x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Opt
4x Thought Scour
4x Wizard's Lightning
4x Serum Visions
Enchants
2x Curious Obsession
Lands
2x Island
2x Mountain
3x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Spirebluff Canal
3x Steam Vents
2x Abrade
2x Blood Moon
1x Dismember
2x Dispel
2x Electrickery
1x Magma Spray
2x Negate
1x Smash to Smithereens
2x Spell Pierce
Ghitu Lavarunner - He's the real deal. Much better than Delver of Secrets IMO. Turned off he's a 1/2, and turned on he's a 2/2 with haste. A lot more consistent in this deck than trying to flip a delver. Also nice synergies with Thought Scour and my spicy inclusion Curious Obsession.
Grim Lavamancer - A nice 2-of. Does bad in multiples, but can really take over in longer games. Feed him with thought scour and fetches.
Electrolyze - This deck has a lot of burn going face, so we need a way to refill our hand and dump extra mana. Snap-Electrolyze costs 5 and it only comes up in the longest of games. I've been impressed with this card every time I've cast it in this deck.
Opt, Thought Scour, Serum Visions - Cantrips and prowess triggers. I included Thought Scour as a combat trick, and also something to help fuel Lavarunner, Lavamancer, and Snaps.
Curious Obsession - The spicy inclusion. This deck was really lacking ways to draw cards. Throw this on a Stormchaser, he escapes bolt range permanently (and swings as a 3/5 the turn it comes down). Even works well Lavarunner, giving you a hasty 3/3 on the ground that draws a card each hit. I really cannot stress how powerful this card is when left unchecked. Paired with your hasty threats almost guarantees that this will get at least ONE hit in. Also does well on a Soul-Scar giving the opponent a lose-lose situation when deciding how to block.
I've specifically chosen not to include Adeliz, the Cinder Wind. While I think she's a great card in some situations, I can't see the benefit of playing something like Kiln Fiend instead, and not limiting yourself to Wizards. 3 Mana is a lot in a deck which wants to chuck spells and bolts as fast as possible with a super low curve. I can agree that she is a powerhouse if you are allowed to untap with her, or situationally late game when you have a ton of extra mana to drop her and one to three extra spells. The way I see it, if you already have 2/3 other wizards and untap successfully on turn 4, you have probably already won, regardless of Adeliz.
Requesting drafts and feedback, both good and bad.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/65652
Playing: Modern UB Fae
Requesting drafts and feedback, both good and bad.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/65652
Playing: Modern UB Fae
Here is another take on wizards with a green splah which again seems like a slower version of a Kiln Fiend deck.
ok if you arent playing anything more than wizards lightning for the tribal aspect you should drop ghitu lava runner and soul scar mage for goblin guide and monastarey swiftspear, and if lightning is good enough like that then play lava spike or lightning strike.
I think Wizards Lightning being a 1cmc instant vs a 2cmc instant or a 1cmc sorcery that can only hit players is different enough.
Have a helicopter drop you off out front. Light your cigar with a small Indonesian boy holding a black lotus. Then bust out a craw wurm deck with no sleeves. Raw dog shuffle, loose terribly, flip the table, leave in a hovercraft.
Snapcaster into revival sets it up all over again. 8 effective copies of bolt keep the hurt coming. Maybe temur is the color combo the deck would rather have. Heck, even bloodbraid elf hits wizard lightning for the full cost. That's a pretty sweet deal for early beats and dig (which the deck needs/wants). Just started messing with it honestly. I will post if I have anything worthwhile.
However, I'm still a firm believer that if you want to do the one punch man kind of deck, you'd be better off playing Kiln Fiend. If you want to run Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, you probably need to splash green to have access to Mutagenic Growth, but you are already putting yourself through too many hoops for the deck to be competitive. Dropping Adeliz with a couple prowess creatures and 1-2 mutagenic growths should close out the game instantly.
With straight UR Wizards, I think the deck still does have potential, and I think we should think about this deck as tempo deck and not aggro/combo one like Kiln Fiend. We have a ton of reach through 8 bolts, but we still have to play on the board. On the contrary, Kiln Fiend decks are fairly linear other than a key turn or two (holding up a dispel then one-punching them). Decisions have to be made regarding where and when to send the bolts. Bolting their face while attacking obviously deals the most damage, but sometimes it's better to hold a bolt to kill their creature on end step. It's definitely leaning on the aggressive side of tempo (like Fish), playing an honest, fair game. This is exactly why a lot of players have been suggesting Vapor Snag somewhere in the board: it just enough disruption to sneak in some extra points of damage to close out the game.
Requesting drafts and feedback, both good and bad.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/65652
Playing: Modern UB Fae
+2x Grim Lavamancer, +4x Lava Spike, +2x Mutagenic Growth/Vapor Snag
Though Grim Lavamancer can be difficult to use without more cards to fill the GY like Fetchlands.
I'd also prefer something like Exquisite Firecraft over Lava Spike as it has more utility.
3x Electrolyze
4x Ghitu Lavarunner
2x Grim Lavamancer
2x Island
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Mountain
3x Opt
3x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Serum Visions
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Soul-Scar Mage
3x Spirebluff Canal
3x Steam Vents
4x Stormchaser Mage
3x Thought Scour
2x Vapor Snag
4x Wizard's Lightning
1x Redirect
2x Dispel
2x Kozilek's Return
1x Magma Spray
1x Molten Rain
2x Negate
2x Smash to Smithereens
3x Spell Pierce
1x Vapor Snag
First Match: Affinity - This was rough. Had the nuts game 1 and beat me down with a huge etched champion. Game 2 I had a Kozi's Return, but missplayed against Master of Etherium thinking it would wipe the board. Cleared his Vault Skirges but was already too low to turn it around. 0 - 2 Loss.
Second Match: Jeskai Breach Moon - My opening hand was full of fetches, a Lavarunner, and two Lavamancers. Kept it and basically played the tempo game hitting for 2 or 4 damage each turn. He dropped a blood moon turn 3, but I had a fetch ready to find an island. Game 2 was similar, except I kept a Spell Pierce in my opening hand and 2 Spirebluffs. I drew the 3rd one and kept pierce up every turn, only playing out a lavarunner and soulscar as my creatures. At one point, plays a snap and clique to block, killing both of my threats and the pierce away. Unfortunately, the clique drew me another spell pierce. The next turn he tried to Breach me, but pierced it and attacked for the win. 2 - 0 Win.
Third Match: UW Control - Had good opening hand heavy on lava runners. Opened with a serum visions, then t2 thought scoured into a lava runner. Around mid-game, she had 3 Wall of Omens against my 3 lava runners & single soul scar. A lot of turns were just attacking against the walls for 1 or 2 damage, and clearing them out with bolts. She played an Elspeth, Sun's Champion and almost stabilized. I had dealt enough incremental damage that I could finish the first game with bolt snap bolt for exactsies. Game 2 was similar, but she had a Leyline of Sanctity. My opening hand was filled with creatures and cantrips, with very little burn. I drew a single burn spell, and scoured 2 of the others into the yard, and saw 3 snapcasters. One bolt was aimed at a wall of omens to push through my lava runner and soul scar mage. Other turns I snap bolted the walls with a stormchaser mage to chip in for 2/3 more damage. The 2nd to last turn was interesting when she went to path my stormchaser. I cast a dispel (1st prowess trigger), she responds with a Spell Queller. I let it hit the board and exile the dispel, and then snap bolted the queller, adding a 2nd prowess trigger and killing the queller, which then unlocked my dispel to be cast for a 3rd prowess trigger and counter the path. In desperation she played a Jace on her turn and brainstormed for an answer, it was another path. I still had the 3rd snap for a dispel to close out the game on the swing back.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the performance of the deck. I think a 1 mana counter might be necessary in the main board, so I'm thinking about going for +2 Pierces and -2 Curios Obsessions from the SB. I don't think Blood Moon is a good sideboard card for this deck, because we rarely get to 3 mana. Right now I feel like I have a few too many cantrips, and would really like a few more cards to help out in flooding. Perhaps going up to an 18th land and maybe running 1-2 faithless lootings.
Some other ideas I've been toying with was something like "12-Bolts." Fiery Temper along with wiz light and bolt. We can have decent discard outlets in faithless looting and even Chart a Course. This also opens up Lightning Axe to deal with those creatures too big for bolts to handle.
Requesting drafts and feedback, both good and bad.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/65652
Playing: Modern UB Fae
Zerve, Congrats on the 2-1, sometimes affinity just does it's thing. I have been playing around with a slightly tweaked version of your list from around a week ago and some changes I would make from your most recent build would be -3 Thought Scour, -2 Snapcaster Mage (This is most commonly a three mana burn spell so I don't think running four is correct with the land count), -1 Opt, -2 Electrolize, then add +1 Forked Bolt, +2 Slip Through Space, +1 Faithless Looting, +2 Burst Lightning, +2 Spell Pierce (if your local meta is more Jund and/or Storm then Spell Snare will probably be better). I also think the Redirect could be a second Molten Rain. I'm also always on the fence between Smash to Smithereens and Abrade. So in a sense this tweak would allow you to still run a lower 17 lands due to the utility cantrips like Slip Through Space, while adding more burn and a bit of counter spell backup. The Faithless Looting is a great 1-of in my opinion as you can cast it mid game to discard unneeded cantrips/creatures/land for extra burn or whatever else you need.
I thought at first I wouldn't like Sleight of Hand either, but I like having 2 in the deck....cause sometimes you really just need to find that bolt or that land on THAT turn.
Have a helicopter drop you off out front. Light your cigar with a small Indonesian boy holding a black lotus. Then bust out a craw wurm deck with no sleeves. Raw dog shuffle, loose terribly, flip the table, leave in a hovercraft.