So, I noticed this SPICY list at the GP that placed 31st. I really want to contact the guy to find out what was the 60th mainboard card, but there are 2 Thomas Riedos on Facebook.
MNM - 19 players
Round 1 vs. Bogles. I loan out some cards for the deck and of course run into it in Round 1. First guy from Team topdeckkeep that I play. I get quick Elesh Norns both games, but at least 1 Bogle is large enough, he Path to Exiles both times and loads him up for lethal not long afterward. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Humans. She got me to 1 life in the first game, but a Thragtusk stabilized me. I got some Lingering Souls tokens to keep me safe too and then played Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite hardcast. In the next game, I get Shriekmaw, Thragtusk, and Siege Rhino and it's just too much. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Merfolk. Second guy from Team topdeckkeep that I play. I curve out perfectly and land an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite off Gifts to Unburial Rites. He scoops once I do Path to Exile on a Lord to kill everything from -2/-2. He gets 5 Lords and crushes me, not close, in the next game. Thragtusk, shmagtusk. In the final game, I curve out perfectly again to get Elesh Norn out and I had some tokens to crunch in and Path to Exile to clear the board. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Bant Eldrazi. In the first game, I keep a 4 land hand. I draw all lands until a Faithless Looting on turn 5 or 6 that nets me 2 Sakura-Tribe Elder. His hand is slow, but Reality Smasher and Drowner of Hope get me pretty easily. I literally only played Thragtusk from hand, which got tapped. I was a turn away from Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. In the next game, I kept a 2 land hand with STE and Search for Tomorrow. Problem - Swamp and Seachrome Coast. I drew a single Hallowed Fountain and got manhandled. 0-2.
TNM - 10 players
Round 1 vs. Bant Spirits. He played 3 Mausoleum Wanderer and 2 Noble Hierarchs this game. It was very good vs. my Bring to Light into drawing Faithless Looting, Bring to Light, and Gifts Ungiven. I was close to getting there, but Geist of Saint Traft picked up a Steel of the Godhead and demolished me, despite Souls tokens. In the next game, I have Path to Exile, but turn 3 Collected Company gets him double []Drogskol Captain[/c], so Hexproof, and I draw another Path to Exile and Collective Brutality while Steel of the Godhead finishes me again. Damn 2 ofs. Considered siding Fracturing Gust JUST for that 2 of, but I decided if he draws it, he wins. I had gotten a turn 3 Sigarda, Host of Herons, which would have been SUUUPER strong. Oh well. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. GW Emeria. Both of us had value. I just got Gifts Ungiven into Iona, Shield of Emeria on White to stuff him. He scoops. In the next game, double Unburial Rites gets me too much value and it's easy from here. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Jacekai. Too much happened in the first game to say. I was smashing with a Thragtusk and Souls tokens, but he stabilizes and gets JAce, the Mind Sculptor. I got Supreme Verdicted and Settle the Wreckage. But I literally had no win-cons left. In the next game, I turn 3 Slaughter Games, naming Cryptic Command. He has 2, Izzet Staticaster, and lands. He floods out, but it's tough for me to get a win-con. Finally, Thragtusk does it and he scoops. I used Dispel this game on Lightning Helix too. Still had Disdainful Stroke in hand. We battle it out in the last game, but he scoops since we can't get prizes (only 2-0-1s today). It was close and he may have stabilized, but I had Disdainful Stroke and Dispel in hand, so I had probably around a 60% chance of getting it. 2-1.
So, I'm 4-3 so far. Pretty terrible since my Modern win percentage is around 65% overall. It is pretty fun though!
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Played in a 24 person WNM - had some bad feels today.
Round 1 vs. Dredge. For some reason, I thought he was on Bring to Light Scapeshift, so I thought it would be fun. He turn 1 Faithless Looting into Cathartic Reunion into me scooping on my turn 4 after his turn 3 because I have no outs to win. I just drew 4 lands and scooped! In the next game, I scoop on turn 5. Same kind of thing. Faithless Looting into Cathartic Reunion into a bunch of dudes. GGs. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. RG Werewolves. Game 1, I Path to Exile an Immerwolf to make them smaller and Gifts Ungiven for Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. I play too many Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Lingering Souls, and Shriekmaw for him to win the next one. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Mono Blue Unblockable deck. I lose game 1, probably due to a mistake of not flashing back Faithless Looting to discard Iona, then using both sides of Unburial Rites from my hand to lock him out. I eventually hardcast it, it was countered, and I scooped. In the next game, I get value with Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, and Lingering Souls. I use removal on his guys and get out Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. In the final game, I am getting swung by 2 creatures, but Gifts into Unburial Rites on Elesh Norn and he has no answer. I make sure not to attack with Elesh Norn because of Aetherize, which does in fact happen twice to kill some souls tokens and a Siege Rhino, which gets replayed. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Miracles. Very strong player. Gets Jace, the Mind Sculptor right away and Brainstorms too much Terminuses and Entreat kill me. My first 2 draw steps were Bring to Lights after keeping with 1 in hand. I side out all 4 in the next game and get a Sigarda and an Ashen Rider after Slaughter Games on Terminus. On the final turn, I make a HUGE punt. He has one card. I swing with the Sigarda and Ashen Rider to put him to 4 life. I also had previously used a Disdainful Stroke on a 3rd Jace, which I should have just saved it for Entreat the Angels like I wanted to. Then I could have killed the Jace with Sigarda. But I don't and his last card is Think Twice into miracle Entreat on my EoT to put 4 Angels vs. a Souls token with me at 10 life. I had Lingering Souls, Unburial Rites, and a just drawn Iona, Shield of Emeria. I could have played literally ANY of those and the board would have been somewhat equal. Oh well. Punts R Us! It would have been interesting because we probably would have gone to time in game 3, so I'm guessing one of us scoops to split the prize. 0-2.
I finish 2-2 or overall 6-5 with the deck. I probably won't play it much more since I don't want to bring my win percentage down in Modern. I have a goal to get to 66.66% some day and I'm pretty close. This is probably not the deck for me after terrible play.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
So, I noticed this SPICY list at the GP that placed 31st. I really want to contact the guy to find out what was the 60th mainboard card, but there are 2 Thomas Riedos on Facebook.
Deck is straight gas. Running the list down to the 59 cards, lol. Not sure what the 60th card was, so just put nothing in. Waiting to hear back from the guy who 12-3ed the GP Lyon with this wonky list.
Went 2-0 today with the list, but scooped to friends in the last 2 rounds. Beat Grixis Shadow and Enchantress.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
I sleeved up the pt list and its weird. BTL is a toolbox card except the options are really limited here, if you ramp into say t3 BTL you can get:
1) Sigarda
2) Thragtusk
3) Gifts ungiven?
There are a LOT of matchups where none of these are very powerful plays for having ramped into them. You could BTL-Gifts but this is now a telegraphed two turn setup which feels really slow and not like a great use of BTL (tutor for a lower cmc tutor). I don't know if that is still supposed to be the plan - BTL as Gifts copies 5-8 by default? And then you audible into thrag/sigarda if those are powerful enough for a given match?
I honestly never even got to the gifts plan in the few games I played with it, I just ramped out sigarda/thrag, reanimated a dead thrag and that was that. But it felt awkward for a toolbox deck that the only interaction is basically norn/rider/iona which are pretty slow and can often be dealt with.
Round 1 vs. RW Hate Bears. This is a very good player; an aspiring Pro Player. He will be a very good player, but often tries to get too spicy. Nearly went for Iona on Gifts because he had 6 cards in hand and I thought he had Path to Exile, but he scoops to Elesh Norn. In the next game, I have Collective Brutality to clear the way for my cards, then too much value on Shriekmaw and friends. 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Affinity. He's fresh off a top 4 in the recent 1K where I 2-2 scooped to Lantern in Round 5 with Bogles. In the first game, I stabilize with Elesh Norn on turn 3. I am at 3, so I lose to Galvanic Blast and can only Thragtusk next turn, but he doesn't have it. He crushes me early in the next game, although I was a turn off Bring to Light for Fracturing Gust. In the next game, turn 3 Bring to Light Fracturing Gust off Pentad Prism. Mean guy sacs everything to Ravager and then Ravager, so I only gain 2 life from my Pentad Prism. Still get there easily. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. BR Hollow One. He basically got screwed. He got 2 Hollow One, but I Elesh Norn on turn 3 and stabilize. In the next one, he did Burning Inquiry and never drew a 2nd land. The odd part? He discarded 3 land! 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Affinity. Seasoned player. We agree to ID, but play for fun. I Elesh Norn him in game 1, but it still was close. He gets the nuts in game 2 and kills me. In the next game, he puts 9 poison on me so if I Bring to Light for Fracturing Gust, I lose to Inkmoth Nexus. I have Path to Exile in hand, but never find the opening to do both and lose eventually to too many creatures. They tell us it's 5 rounds, not 4 and I lost to him in 3, so he's on to the 4-0. 1-2.
Round 5 vs. Burn. Thragtusk and Collective Brutality are enough to win game 1. He didn't Skullcrack me. I scryed Unburial Rites to the bottom after tanking and he eventually had to kill my Thragtusk. It feels bad not to have that Unburial Rites when I drew lands AND luckily Collective Brutality this game. Got him in the next game with Siege Rhino and Dispel on Skullcrack. Then Thragtusk. He goes double Deflecting Palm on the final turn, but doesn't find 2 damage on top. 2-0.
Wednesday.
Round 1 vs. Mono Green Tron. One of 2 guys I drove with. Win game 1 when he can't find Tron or even a 3rd land after a mull to 4. He started with 2 different Tron lands, so I was scared. Finally Faithless Looting to discard Ashen Rider, then Unburial Rites to exile a Tron land. Next game, he Karns me after Warping Wail on Bring to Light twice. In the next game, I Slaughter Games his double Karn, but he has Ulamog and I Path to Exile a creature to know it resolves next turn with Sanctum of Ugin. I scoop. Technically I could have drawn Crumble to Dust or Bring to Light, but I was certain it wasn't there. It wasn't - just a 7th land. I had kept with 1 land and Faithless Looting. Several fetches later, I had only drawn lands this game. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Jund. Value him out in games 1 and 3. Lost game 2 because of Liliana of the Veil and not drawing a 4th mana source with Unburial Rites and Thragtusk in the graveyard and Siege Rhino in hand. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Jeskai. I get him to 1 life with 2 Sakura Tribe-Elder before he Helices into Sphinx's Revelations back to win. I possibly win this one if the game ends, but I didn't scoop game 1 because I didn't know if he drew his Sphinx's Revelation or not and my slow hand didn't see me resolving any Collective Brutality to see what's up. 0-1.
Round 4 vs. E Tron. I get Ashen Rider a bunch of times and finally get there. In the next game, I'm sorry, but I scry Path to Exile to the top and draw 3 more. I Path to Exile 2 Thought-Knot Seer and 2 Endbringer. He gets a Reality Smasher after Bring to Light/Fracturing Gust gets Relic of Progenitus, Basilisk Collar, and Grafdigger's Cage. But I already had Sigarda and Lingering Souls and flashback to race and win. He had nothing else. 2-0.
I am now 15-9 with the deck, prizing only once. I am probably going to put it on the back burner for now since I usually prize much more often, the win percentage is rough, I certainly don't play it perfectly, and I'm not used to losing to Tier 1 decks from the players that I come with - been playing them much more than in the past. Lost 4 die rolls today to go with the last 3 rounds on Monday. Lost one roll 3-2 and another 10-9. Rough to lose one of the most important parts of Magic.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Still unsure the sideboard (currently sitting at 20 cards). I'm expecting Jeskai Control, UW contro, Traverse Death Shadow, Affinity, UR Storm, Burn, Grishoalbrand, Tron, Eldrazi, at least.
Any suggestions?
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Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
Round 1: He was a returning player just like myself on Mardu Pyromancer. We both made mistakes during this match.
First game he blanks most of his discard while I land mine. Thragtusk, Finks, and Liliana closes the deal pretty quick.
Second game I made a mistake by plusing my Liliana when his only creature was a Reveler and I was threatening a two turn clock. At some point he plays Pyromancer, Lingering Souls, and another Reveler while I'm hellbent. I got lucky and topdecked a Damnation. Kitchen Finks and Shambling Vent got me there.
The star of the match: Kitchen Finks.
1-0 // 2-0
Round 3: UW Control. First game I manage to grind him out with Liliana until I slam a Sun Titan, which brought back a Phantasmal Image, which brought back a combination of useful cards with each attack.
Game two he manage to control the board and counter every threat. I fail to draw enough discard and threats, he closes the game with Colonnades.
We draw as we ran out of time.
1-1 // 5-0-1
Round 4: Eldrazi Tron. I never was in this match. Game one he starts out with turn 2 Thought-Knot Seer, on turn 3 Thought-Knot Seer, on turn 4 Reality Smasher. Game two was pretty similar, although a bit slower. I got stuck on three lands with a Gifts in hand, when I finally got 4 mana I'm forced to cast a sweeper, he takes the Giftswith Collective Brutally, and closes the game.
0-2 // 5-2-1
Round 5: Eldrazi Tron. I was fortunate enough to be have all the answers in game one (removal, discard, Liliana) in time while applying some pressure. Game two I grind him out with Lilianaand discard until I get to cast Gifts. Stony Silence helped a bit with his Ballistas and other artifacts.
2-0 // 7-2-1
The top 8 was a Modern Masters 15 draft.
Overall the deck was good, I more or less expected to lose against Tron and I did, no surprise here. What was great about playing this deck, is that many people were interested on the list, since is a rare sight around here.
Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
I was wondering what's the general consensus about the Esper Gifts deck that includes the Goryo's Vengeance package (Vengeance, JVP, Obzedat) ? I know it's not 4c but I hope you won't find this too out of topic ^^
Also what's the viability of Gifts decks in general in the meta ? I don't see any result since September in mtgtop8 :x
I'm asking this cause I'm considering dropping my Green Devotion Gifts (namely because of Damping Sphere), and I'm looking for a new house for Elesh Norn, one of my favorite creature in Magic <3
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French Commander : Yisan Liliana Kytheon Kari Zev Grenzo Karlov Tajic Gitrog Prossh Turboramp Najeela Modern : Solemnity Prison Martyr Proc Devotion to Green 8 Whacks Eldrazi Processor Bogles Landfall Aggro Legacy : Goblins
There are some interesting list along with really good information/discussion about Esper Gifts a few pages back. Look for tek_03's list, he won a PTQ a while ago.
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Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
Thanks for the advice !
However using the search function it appears tek_03's last post was in December 2016, I was hoping for some more recent opinions ^^
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French Commander : Yisan Liliana Kytheon Kari Zev Grenzo Karlov Tajic Gitrog Prossh Turboramp Najeela Modern : Solemnity Prison Martyr Proc Devotion to Green 8 Whacks Eldrazi Processor Bogles Landfall Aggro Legacy : Goblins
It could be, don't recall exactly. Gifts is not really well positioned right now.
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Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have. - René Descartes
Thanks for the advice !
However using the search function it appears tek_03's last post was in December 2016, I was hoping for some more recent opinions ^^
I played the Gifts and the non-Gifts version of Esper Goryo's and I feel that the non-Gifts version is better. It's not as clunky and is more to the point. I used to think of it as a watered down version of Jund, but it has a little more to offer in some respects than Jund (obviously not being the better deck overall). I know it's probably not what you want to hear in a "4 color Gifts" thread, but it's how I feel.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Thanks for the advice !
However using the search function it appears tek_03's last post was in December 2016, I was hoping for some more recent opinions ^^
As FoodChainGoblins stated, non-gifts version running strategic planning, pieces to the puzzle, and more collective brutalities seems to be better in the esper goryo's shell since it operates with ~3 lands.
Any good rites target (sideboard?) to deal with GW Hexproof?
Decent rites target would be Elesh Norn if the boggles didn't get too big yet but there isn't a great answer unless you go something narrow like Blazing Archon. Best card against them would be Liliana of the Veil as it cleanly removes the boggle and all enchantments on it.
With the rise of BBE Jund and Jace Control decks, what are everyone's thoughts on how to combat the new meta?
I've been playing my other pet deck Death and Taxes these days after getting destroyed by blood moons and field of ruins but I'm thinking of picking up gifts again.
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MNM - 19 players
Round 1 vs. Bogles. I loan out some cards for the deck and of course run into it in Round 1. First guy from Team topdeckkeep that I play. I get quick Elesh Norns both games, but at least 1 Bogle is large enough, he Path to Exiles both times and loads him up for lethal not long afterward. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Humans. She got me to 1 life in the first game, but a Thragtusk stabilized me. I got some Lingering Souls tokens to keep me safe too and then played Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite hardcast. In the next game, I get Shriekmaw, Thragtusk, and Siege Rhino and it's just too much. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Merfolk. Second guy from Team topdeckkeep that I play. I curve out perfectly and land an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite off Gifts to Unburial Rites. He scoops once I do Path to Exile on a Lord to kill everything from -2/-2. He gets 5 Lords and crushes me, not close, in the next game. Thragtusk, shmagtusk. In the final game, I curve out perfectly again to get Elesh Norn out and I had some tokens to crunch in and Path to Exile to clear the board. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Bant Eldrazi. In the first game, I keep a 4 land hand. I draw all lands until a Faithless Looting on turn 5 or 6 that nets me 2 Sakura-Tribe Elder. His hand is slow, but Reality Smasher and Drowner of Hope get me pretty easily. I literally only played Thragtusk from hand, which got tapped. I was a turn away from Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. In the next game, I kept a 2 land hand with STE and Search for Tomorrow. Problem - Swamp and Seachrome Coast. I drew a single Hallowed Fountain and got manhandled.
TNM - 10 players
Round 1 vs. Bant Spirits. He played 3 Mausoleum Wanderer and 2 Noble Hierarchs this game. It was very good vs. my Bring to Light into drawing Faithless Looting, Bring to Light, and Gifts Ungiven. I was close to getting there, but Geist of Saint Traft picked up a Steel of the Godhead and demolished me, despite Souls tokens. In the next game, I have Path to Exile, but turn 3 Collected Company gets him double []Drogskol Captain[/c], so Hexproof, and I draw another Path to Exile and Collective Brutality while Steel of the Godhead finishes me again. Damn 2 ofs. Considered siding Fracturing Gust JUST for that 2 of, but I decided if he draws it, he wins. I had gotten a turn 3 Sigarda, Host of Herons, which would have been SUUUPER strong. Oh well. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. GW Emeria. Both of us had value. I just got Gifts Ungiven into Iona, Shield of Emeria on White to stuff him. He scoops. In the next game, double Unburial Rites gets me too much value and it's easy from here. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Jacekai. Too much happened in the first game to say. I was smashing with a Thragtusk and Souls tokens, but he stabilizes and gets JAce, the Mind Sculptor. I got Supreme Verdicted and Settle the Wreckage. But I literally had no win-cons left. In the next game, I turn 3 Slaughter Games, naming Cryptic Command. He has 2, Izzet Staticaster, and lands. He floods out, but it's tough for me to get a win-con. Finally, Thragtusk does it and he scoops. I used Dispel this game on Lightning Helix too. Still had Disdainful Stroke in hand. We battle it out in the last game, but he scoops since we can't get prizes (only 2-0-1s today). It was close and he may have stabilized, but I had Disdainful Stroke and Dispel in hand, so I had probably around a 60% chance of getting it. 2-1.
So, I'm 4-3 so far. Pretty terrible since my Modern win percentage is around 65% overall. It is pretty fun though!
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Dredge. For some reason, I thought he was on Bring to Light Scapeshift, so I thought it would be fun. He turn 1 Faithless Looting into Cathartic Reunion into me scooping on my turn 4 after his turn 3 because I have no outs to win. I just drew 4 lands and scooped! In the next game, I scoop on turn 5. Same kind of thing. Faithless Looting into Cathartic Reunion into a bunch of dudes. GGs. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. RG Werewolves. Game 1, I Path to Exile an Immerwolf to make them smaller and Gifts Ungiven for Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. I play too many Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, Lingering Souls, and Shriekmaw for him to win the next one. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Mono Blue Unblockable deck. I lose game 1, probably due to a mistake of not flashing back Faithless Looting to discard Iona, then using both sides of Unburial Rites from my hand to lock him out. I eventually hardcast it, it was countered, and I scooped. In the next game, I get value with Siege Rhino, Thragtusk, and Lingering Souls. I use removal on his guys and get out Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. In the final game, I am getting swung by 2 creatures, but Gifts into Unburial Rites on Elesh Norn and he has no answer. I make sure not to attack with Elesh Norn because of Aetherize, which does in fact happen twice to kill some souls tokens and a Siege Rhino, which gets replayed.
Round 4 vs. Miracles. Very strong player. Gets Jace, the Mind Sculptor right away and Brainstorms too much Terminuses and Entreat kill me. My first 2 draw steps were Bring to Lights after keeping with 1 in hand. I side out all 4 in the next game and get a Sigarda and an Ashen Rider after Slaughter Games on Terminus. On the final turn, I make a HUGE punt. He has one card. I swing with the Sigarda and Ashen Rider to put him to 4 life. I also had previously used a Disdainful Stroke on a 3rd Jace, which I should have just saved it for Entreat the Angels like I wanted to. Then I could have killed the Jace with Sigarda. But I don't and his last card is Think Twice into miracle Entreat on my EoT to put 4 Angels vs. a Souls token with me at 10 life. I had Lingering Souls, Unburial Rites, and a just drawn Iona, Shield of Emeria. I could have played literally ANY of those and the board would have been somewhat equal. Oh well. Punts R Us! It would have been interesting because we probably would have gone to time in game 3, so I'm guessing one of us scoops to split the prize. 0-2.
I finish 2-2 or overall 6-5 with the deck. I probably won't play it much more since I don't want to bring my win percentage down in Modern. I have a goal to get to 66.66% some day and I'm pretty close. This is probably not the deck for me after terrible play.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)That one.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/948719#paper
Deck is straight gas. Running the list down to the 59 cards, lol. Not sure what the 60th card was, so just put nothing in. Waiting to hear back from the guy who 12-3ed the GP Lyon with this wonky list.
Went 2-0 today with the list, but scooped to friends in the last 2 rounds. Beat Grixis Shadow and Enchantress.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)How does it play? Ramps until Gift Ungiven or Bring to Light? Then what? Honestly curious.
1) Sigarda
2) Thragtusk
3) Gifts ungiven?
There are a LOT of matchups where none of these are very powerful plays for having ramped into them. You could BTL-Gifts but this is now a telegraphed two turn setup which feels really slow and not like a great use of BTL (tutor for a lower cmc tutor). I don't know if that is still supposed to be the plan - BTL as Gifts copies 5-8 by default? And then you audible into thrag/sigarda if those are powerful enough for a given match?
I honestly never even got to the gifts plan in the few games I played with it, I just ramped out sigarda/thrag, reanimated a dead thrag and that was that. But it felt awkward for a toolbox deck that the only interaction is basically norn/rider/iona which are pretty slow and can often be dealt with.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Monday.
Round 1 vs. RW Hate Bears. This is a very good player; an aspiring Pro Player. He will be a very good player, but often tries to get too spicy. Nearly went for Iona on Gifts because he had 6 cards in hand and I thought he had Path to Exile, but he scoops to Elesh Norn. In the next game, I have Collective Brutality to clear the way for my cards, then too much value on Shriekmaw and friends. 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Affinity. He's fresh off a top 4 in the recent 1K where I 2-2 scooped to Lantern in Round 5 with Bogles. In the first game, I stabilize with Elesh Norn on turn 3. I am at 3, so I lose to Galvanic Blast and can only Thragtusk next turn, but he doesn't have it. He crushes me early in the next game, although I was a turn off Bring to Light for Fracturing Gust. In the next game, turn 3 Bring to Light Fracturing Gust off Pentad Prism. Mean guy sacs everything to Ravager and then Ravager, so I only gain 2 life from my Pentad Prism. Still get there easily. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. BR Hollow One. He basically got screwed. He got 2 Hollow One, but I Elesh Norn on turn 3 and stabilize. In the next one, he did Burning Inquiry and never drew a 2nd land. The odd part? He discarded 3 land!
Round 4 vs. Affinity. Seasoned player. We agree to ID, but play for fun. I Elesh Norn him in game 1, but it still was close. He gets the nuts in game 2 and kills me. In the next game, he puts 9 poison on me so if I Bring to Light for Fracturing Gust, I lose to Inkmoth Nexus. I have Path to Exile in hand, but never find the opening to do both and lose eventually to too many creatures. They tell us it's 5 rounds, not 4 and I lost to him in 3, so he's on to the 4-0. 1-2.
Round 5 vs. Burn. Thragtusk and Collective Brutality are enough to win game 1. He didn't Skullcrack me. I scryed Unburial Rites to the bottom after tanking and he eventually had to kill my Thragtusk. It feels bad not to have that Unburial Rites when I drew lands AND luckily Collective Brutality this game. Got him in the next game with Siege Rhino and Dispel on Skullcrack. Then Thragtusk. He goes double Deflecting Palm on the final turn, but doesn't find 2 damage on top. 2-0.
Wednesday.
Round 1 vs. Mono Green Tron. One of 2 guys I drove with. Win game 1 when he can't find Tron or even a 3rd land after a mull to 4. He started with 2 different Tron lands, so I was scared. Finally Faithless Looting to discard Ashen Rider, then Unburial Rites to exile a Tron land. Next game, he Karns me after Warping Wail on Bring to Light twice. In the next game, I Slaughter Games his double Karn, but he has Ulamog and I Path to Exile a creature to know it resolves next turn with Sanctum of Ugin. I scoop. Technically I could have drawn Crumble to Dust or Bring to Light, but I was certain it wasn't there. It wasn't - just a 7th land. I had kept with 1 land and Faithless Looting. Several fetches later, I had only drawn lands this game. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Jund. Value him out in games 1 and 3. Lost game 2 because of Liliana of the Veil and not drawing a 4th mana source with Unburial Rites and Thragtusk in the graveyard and Siege Rhino in hand.
Round 3 vs. Jeskai. I get him to 1 life with 2 Sakura Tribe-Elder before he Helices into Sphinx's Revelations back to win. I possibly win this one if the game ends, but I didn't scoop game 1 because I didn't know if he drew his Sphinx's Revelation or not and my slow hand didn't see me resolving any Collective Brutality to see what's up. 0-1.
Round 4 vs. E Tron. I get Ashen Rider a bunch of times and finally get there. In the next game, I'm sorry, but I scry Path to Exile to the top and draw 3 more. I Path to Exile 2 Thought-Knot Seer and 2 Endbringer. He gets a Reality Smasher after Bring to Light/Fracturing Gust gets Relic of Progenitus, Basilisk Collar, and Grafdigger's Cage. But I already had Sigarda and Lingering Souls and flashback to race and win. He had nothing else. 2-0.
I am now 15-9 with the deck, prizing only once. I am probably going to put it on the back burner for now since I usually prize much more often, the win percentage is rough, I certainly don't play it perfectly, and I'm not used to losing to Tier 1 decks from the players that I come with - been playing them much more than in the past. Lost 4 die rolls today to go with the last 3 rounds on Monday. Lost one roll 3-2 and another 10-9. Rough to lose one of the most important parts of Magic.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)4 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Shambling Vent
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Fatal Push
3 Path to Exile
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damnation
1 Wrath of God
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Sun Titan
1 Thragtusk
1 Eternal Witness
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Lingering Souls
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Unburial Rites
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Life from the Loam
1 Raven's Crime
1 Celestial Purge
1 Detention Sphere
1 Duress
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Lingering Souls
2 Nature's Claim
2 Negate
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Stony Silence
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Terastodon
1 Thragtusk
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
Any suggestions?
Round 1: He was a returning player just like myself on Mardu Pyromancer. We both made mistakes during this match.
First game he blanks most of his discard while I land mine. Thragtusk, Finks, and Liliana closes the deal pretty quick.
Second game I made a mistake by plusing my Liliana when his only creature was a Reveler and I was threatening a two turn clock. At some point he plays Pyromancer, Lingering Souls, and another Reveler while I'm hellbent. I got lucky and topdecked a Damnation. Kitchen Finks and Shambling Vent got me there.
The star of the match: Kitchen Finks.
1-0 // 2-0
Round 2: Burn! He is on the play and opens with Goblin Guide. I play Kitchen Finks but he Skullcracks me in response. I manage to survive on the back of Inquisition of Kozilek and Snapcaster Mage on the Inquisition. He got me to three points of life and fails to top deck the last bolt effect.
Game two was pretty similar, I barely survived on three life points on the back of Kitchen Finks and Inquisition of Kozilek until I gift for Iona.
2-0 // 4-0
Round 3: UW Control. First game I manage to grind him out with Liliana until I slam a Sun Titan, which brought back a Phantasmal Image, which brought back a combination of useful cards with each attack.
Game two he manage to control the board and counter every threat. I fail to draw enough discard and threats, he closes the game with Colonnades.
We draw as we ran out of time.
1-1 // 5-0-1
Round 4: Eldrazi Tron. I never was in this match. Game one he starts out with turn 2 Thought-Knot Seer, on turn 3 Thought-Knot Seer, on turn 4 Reality Smasher. Game two was pretty similar, although a bit slower. I got stuck on three lands with a Gifts in hand, when I finally got 4 mana I'm forced to cast a sweeper, he takes the Giftswith Collective Brutally, and closes the game.
0-2 // 5-2-1
Round 5: Eldrazi Tron. I was fortunate enough to be have all the answers in game one (removal, discard, Liliana) in time while applying some pressure. Game two I grind him out with Lilianaand discard until I get to cast Gifts. Stony Silence helped a bit with his Ballistas and other artifacts.
2-0 // 7-2-1
The top 8 was a Modern Masters 15 draft.
Overall the deck was good, I more or less expected to lose against Tron and I did, no surprise here. What was great about playing this deck, is that many people were interested on the list, since is a rare sight around here.
I was wondering what's the general consensus about the Esper Gifts deck that includes the Goryo's Vengeance package (Vengeance, JVP, Obzedat) ? I know it's not 4c but I hope you won't find this too out of topic ^^
Also what's the viability of Gifts decks in general in the meta ? I don't see any result since September in mtgtop8 :x
I'm asking this cause I'm considering dropping my Green Devotion Gifts (namely because of Damping Sphere), and I'm looking for a new house for Elesh Norn, one of my favorite creature in Magic <3
Modern :
Legacy :
However using the search function it appears tek_03's last post was in December 2016, I was hoping for some more recent opinions ^^
Modern :
Legacy :
UWRUWR Delver/Lynx TempoUWR-------UWRUWR Midrange GeistUWR-------UWRUWR Nahiri ControlUWR-------UWRUWR SaheeliUWR
BGRJund / Jund ShadowBGR-------BGWAbzan / Abzan ShadowBGW
Commander (Leviathan/MTGO): UWGeist of Saint TraftUW
I played the Gifts and the non-Gifts version of Esper Goryo's and I feel that the non-Gifts version is better. It's not as clunky and is more to the point. I used to think of it as a watered down version of Jund, but it has a little more to offer in some respects than Jund (obviously not being the better deck overall). I know it's probably not what you want to hear in a "4 color Gifts" thread, but it's how I feel.
The 2 best seem to be Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Iona, Shield of Emeria. They are certainly not that strong though. If you want a card to hedge against Bogles, then Engineered Explosives is flexible in a deck like this. If you want to take them out completely, Ray of Revelation or Fracturing Gust could be what you're looking for.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)As FoodChainGoblins stated, non-gifts version running strategic planning, pieces to the puzzle, and more collective brutalities seems to be better in the esper goryo's shell since it operates with ~3 lands.
Decent rites target would be Elesh Norn if the boggles didn't get too big yet but there isn't a great answer unless you go something narrow like Blazing Archon. Best card against them would be Liliana of the Veil as it cleanly removes the boggle and all enchantments on it.
I've been playing my other pet deck Death and Taxes these days after getting destroyed by blood moons and field of ruins but I'm thinking of picking up gifts again.