Bridge is so strong against us that I can't see how we could make it work on our side. Another very important issue is Ziggurat VS noncreature spells. It's already somewhat awkward to play 2 cmc artifacts, so 3 cmc seems absolutely out of question.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
So this is kind of out there but has anyone ever tried a sideboarded 2x trophy mage 1x ensnaring bridge as a way to beat aggro decks? Feels like we could beat most opposing aggro decks (such as elves, Merfolk) by flying over with exalted kitesail freebooters (or chilling at 2 cards, going up to 3 to crack with a mantis rider, etc.). You could also play a Sword of Fire and Ice or similar for grindy matchups. Slowforge Mystic, as it were.
Feels like probably too much has to go right there, but if anyone's tried it it'd save me some trouble
You seem to forget that Bridge affects all players. Even our Humans won’t be able to attack. Bridge is a big NO for us.
I beat Lantern with Vithian Renegades and Hostage Taker (kidnapping Bridge, but not casting it), if I didn’t managed to disrupt it in the first place, or by attacking with Hierarch. It’s not easy, but it can be done. You need to side out Lieutenant in that matchup. It’s ETB ability is mandatory, and you certainly don’t want to put counters on your Hierarch.
As a side note, I realized today that, when you cast Lieutenant and opponent has only one mana, and you hold priority while its ability is on the stack to activate Vial, if opponent lets Vial’s activation resolve and you drop a Thalia, there’s nothing opponent can do to cast cast a 1-drop. Both Thalia and Lieutenant will receive a counter that way.
Similar trick can be used if opponent has 2 mana and playing Control. Activate Vial to play Thalia, then cast any creature with your lands. Even without Cavern, your spell won’t be countered because of Thalia’s tax.
BTW, I won a game today vs Izzet Delver, with 4 Vials on the battlefield (at 1, 2, 3 and 3 counters). A Dire Fleet Daredevil casted a Manaleak to counter a Bolt targeting Rider. Later, I used Vial/Reflector Mage to bounce Bedlam Reveler with its ability on the stack, forcing opponent to discard it. In the mean time, I dropped him at 2, but I was stalled after Baby Jace flashbacked a Bolt to kill Rider. Kambal on the top decked assured me opponent was locked until I could draw a win condition, which was next turn with another Daredevil (Bolt to the dome).
I never thought it was possible to win with 4 Vials in play...
As a side note, I realized today that, when you cast Lieutenant and opponent has only one mana, and you hold priority while its ability is on the stack to activate Vial, if opponent lets Vial’s activation resolve and you drop a Thalia, there’s nothing opponent can do.
Note you are not holding priority when you activate Vial after casting a Lieutenant. Instead, you respond to the Lieutenant's ETB trigger after it resolves.
As a side note, I realized today that, when you cast Lieutenant and opponent has only one mana, and you hold priority while its ability is on the stack to activate Vial, if opponent lets Vial’s activation resolve and you drop a Thalia, there’s nothing opponent can do.
Note you are not holding priority when you activate Vial after casting a Lieutenant. Instead, you respond to the Lieutenant's ETB trigger after it resolves.
Right, that’s what I meant. But to make it clear, you don’t respond to the ETB ability, because that’s opponent’s privilege when you forfeit priority. Rather, you effectively have to say that you’re holding priority right after the ETB ability goes on the stack, and use that opportunity to activate Vial. If you ever ask opponent if they do something in response to the ETB ability of Lieutenant, it means you will have no choice but to let the ability resolves if opponent declares they do nothing (you don’t get priority back). Under tournament rules, it is assumed that you never hold priority unless you specifically say otherwise.
Ex: You have a 2/2 Lieutenant, then cast another Lieutenant. Opponent has one Steam Vent untapped, and somehow decides he won’t Bolt 2/2 Lieutenant right now, but will let the spell resolves and do so while the ETB ability is on the stack. That’s when you keep priority to activate Vial and play Thalia, making it impossible for opponent to cast Bolt now. Based on a true story.
Of course, that was probably the wrong way to play, both from my part and opponent’s. He could have cast Bolt while Lieutenant was on the stack, or while Vial’s activation was on the stack. And I should have either cast Thalia to force Bolt and « counter » it with Vial and Lieutenant #2, or activate Vial first and hope opponent won’t cast Bolt in the blind, then play Thalia from Vial and follow up by casting Lieutenant #2.
So this is kind of out there but has anyone ever tried a sideboarded 2x trophy mage 1x ensnaring bridge as a way to beat aggro decks? Feels like we could beat most opposing aggro decks (such as elves, Merfolk) by flying over with exalted kitesail freebooters (or chilling at 2 cards, going up to 3 to crack with a mantis rider, etc.). You could also play a Sword of Fire and Ice or similar for grindy matchups. Slowforge Mystic, as it were.
Feels like probably too much has to go right there, but if anyone's tried it it'd save me some trouble
You seem to forget that Bridge affects all players. Even our Humans won’t be able to attack. Bridge is a big NO for us.
You seem to forget how bridge works. So the thing about bridge is that it's connected to cards in hand, something we can maintain pretty good control over.
I've played it a lot in EDH decks over the years and it's pretty easy to keep your hand size at 1, 2, or 3, preventing larger creatures such as 4/4 merfolk or 5/6 tarmogoyfs from attacking while you swing in with 1/2 exalted fliers or similar.
The especially asymmetrical thing about bridge is that you draw up a card then can choose to play cards or not to control its size. So say we have a board of Kitesail freebooter, noble hierarch, vs. 6 x 5/5 merfolk.
I had a buddy who had a Hangerback walker deck with bridge, and he'd kill with thopters by drawing up to 1 card, cracking with all the thopters, playing his card then passing turn.
Edit: Bridge can also let you stall to set up a kessig malcontents kill vs. a deck that outclasses you in combat (e.g. merfolk, elves, etc.).
As a side note, I realized today that, when you cast Lieutenant and opponent has only one mana, and you hold priority while its ability is on the stack to activate Vial, if opponent lets Vial’s activation resolve and you drop a Thalia, there’s nothing opponent can do.
Note you are not holding priority when you activate Vial after casting a Lieutenant. Instead, you respond to the Lieutenant's ETB trigger after it resolves.
Right, that’s what I meant. But to make it clear, you don’t respond to the ETB ability, because that’s opponent’s privilege when you forfeit priority. Rather, you effectively have to say that you’re holding priority right after the ETB ability goes on the stack, and use that opportunity to activate Vial. If you ever ask opponent if they do something in response to the ETB ability of Lieutenant, it means you will have no choice but to let the ability resolves if opponent declares they do nothing (you don’t get priority back). Under tournament rules, it is assumed that you never hold priority unless you specifically say otherwise.
Ex: You have a 2/2 Lieutenant, then cast another Lieutenant. Opponent has one Steam Vent untapped, and somehow decides he won’t Bolt 2/2 Lieutenant right now, but will let the spell resolves and do so while the ETB ability is on the stack. That’s when you keep priority to activate Vial and play Thalia, making it impossible for opponent to cast Bolt now. Based on a true story.
Of course, that was probably the wrong way to play, both from my part and opponent’s. He could have cast Bolt while Lieutenant was on the stack, or while Vial’s activation was on the stack. And I should have either cast Thalia to force Bolt and « counter » it with Vial and Lieutenant #2, or activate Vial first and hope opponent won’t cast Bolt in the blind, then play Thalia from Vial and follow up by casting Lieutenant #2.
Good clarification, thanks!
For my part, Bridge doesn't seem like a great fit.
2-0 vs Monogreen Tron
G1 had a fast land that killed on turn 4 with Reflector bouncing his Wurmcoil
G2 kept a hand with a lot of disruption (2 MM and Image) and got to lock a lot of his board wipes/removals and went chipping his life. He landed a Karn that I kept in control while applying pressure to his life. When he played Wurmcoil, Reflector Mage sealed the deal bouncing it and attacking for lethal.
2-1 vs Ponza
G1 kept him off from Moon with Freebooter after a slow start on his side. Reflector kept Courser of the board when he had 3 mana and my Champion got huge.
G2 I bricked on draws after we traded some stuff and I overcommited on the board, which made possible for an Anger to turn the board to his favor after he played Stormbreath to completely block my huge Champion.
G2 kept a greedy hand with 1 land, 2 dorks, Champion and Reflector Mage. But I was on a mull to 5, so that was acceptable. Scryed Vial on top and he missed his 3rd land drop. He kills my Parish, and some turns later I had 3 Reflector Mages on the board (one being Phantasmal). The tempo loss was too great for him to come back and Lieutenant ended the game.
2-1 vs RG Eldrazi
Won G1 quickly on the play. Meddling Mage got to name Smasher, since I had seen it on a trigger from Reshaper and 2 Mantis Riders raced him.
G2 he won on a land light hand of my part that didn't get there.
G3 Kept a lousy hand with 2 Images, Champion and Reflector. He killed my turn 2 Lieutenant and I had to double Image on his Reshaper. We both drew a lot of lands and, after some turns, he played Smasher. I Hostage Took it and played the next turn. Feels good to win against Eldrazi using Eldrazi.
0-2 vs BR Pack Rat Rabble Moon
G1 Mull to 5, kept 1 land, got Moon'd and never drew the 3rd land.
G2 Mull to 6, kept 1 land, got Moon'd AND KCommanded destroying Vial and killing my Noble. Never drew the 2nd land.
@Pokken, maybe you missed my reply, but my points still stand. A 3-cmc artifact is unplayable along with Ziggurats, and it's still shooting an arrow in your own knee to get a Bridge online.
Playing Bridge in Humans doesn't work, the same way Blood Moon is a bad idea in some red decks. I can add that reactive cards are bad in Humans because they help you not lose, which is a bad plan to begin with. If there was a Human that had a Bridge in the textbox, that might make the cut, but I'm not sold.
@Pokken, maybe you missed my reply, but my points still stand. A 3-cmc artifact is unplayable along with Ziggurats, and it's still shooting an arrow in your own knee to get a Bridge online.
Playing Bridge in Humans doesn't work, the same way Blood Moon is a bad idea in some red decks. I can add that reactive cards are bad in Humans because they help you not lose, which is a bad plan to begin with. If there was a Human that had a Bridge in the textbox, that might make the cut, but I'm not sold.
Magus of the Moat is already a thing (and doesn't see play here, for good reason)
Well it's also because it's a bad body (0/3) and costs 4 mana. A 1WW 1/4 Vigi with Bridge effect would be a plausible print, and yet wouldn't see play imho.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
2-0 vs Monogreen Tron
G1 had a fast land that killed on turn 4 with Reflector bouncing his Wurmcoil
G2 kept a hand with a lot of disruption (2 MM and Image) and got to lock a lot of his board wipes/removals and went chipping his life. He landed a Karn that I kept in control while applying pressure to his life. When he played Wurmcoil, Reflector Mage sealed the deal bouncing it and attacking for lethal.
2-1 vs Ponza
G1 kept him off from Moon with Freebooter after a slow start on his side. Reflector kept Courser of the board when he had 3 mana and my Champion got huge.
G2 I bricked on draws after we traded some stuff and I overcommited on the board, which made possible for an Anger to turn the board to his favor after he played Stormbreath to completely block my huge Champion.
G2 kept a greedy hand with 1 land, 2 dorks, Champion and Reflector Mage. But I was on a mull to 5, so that was acceptable. Scryed Vial on top and he missed his 3rd land drop. He kills my Parish, and some turns later I had 3 Reflector Mages on the board (one being Phantasmal). The tempo loss was too great for him to come back and Lieutenant ended the game.
2-1 vs RG Eldrazi
Won G1 quickly on the play. Meddling Mage got to name Smasher, since I had seen it on a trigger from Reshaper and 2 Mantis Riders raced him.
G2 he won on a land light hand of my part that didn't get there.
G3 Kept a lousy hand with 2 Images, Champion and Reflector. He killed my turn 2 Lieutenant and I had to double Image on his Reshaper. We both drew a lot of lands and, after some turns, he played Smasher. I Hostage Took it and played the next turn. Feels good to win against Eldrazi using Eldrazi.
0-2 vs BR Pack Rat Rabble Moon
G1 Mull to 5, kept 1 land, got Moon'd and never drew the 3rd land.
G2 Mull to 6, kept 1 land, got Moon'd AND KCommanded destroying Vial and killing my Noble. Never drew the 2nd land.
2-0 vs Monogreen Tron
G1 had a fast land that killed on turn 4 with Reflector bouncing his Wurmcoil
G2 kept a hand with a lot of disruption (2 MM and Image) and got to lock a lot of his board wipes/removals and went chipping his life. He landed a Karn that I kept in control while applying pressure to his life. When he played Wurmcoil, Reflector Mage sealed the deal bouncing it and attacking for lethal.
2-1 vs Ponza
G1 kept him off from Moon with Freebooter after a slow start on his side. Reflector kept Courser of the board when he had 3 mana and my Champion got huge.
G2 I bricked on draws after we traded some stuff and I overcommited on the board, which made possible for an Anger to turn the board to his favor after he played Stormbreath to completely block my huge Champion.
G2 kept a greedy hand with 1 land, 2 dorks, Champion and Reflector Mage. But I was on a mull to 5, so that was acceptable. Scryed Vial on top and he missed his 3rd land drop. He kills my Parish, and some turns later I had 3 Reflector Mages on the board (one being Phantasmal). The tempo loss was too great for him to come back and Lieutenant ended the game.
2-1 vs RG Eldrazi
Won G1 quickly on the play. Meddling Mage got to name Smasher, since I had seen it on a trigger from Reshaper and 2 Mantis Riders raced him.
G2 he won on a land light hand of my part that didn't get there.
G3 Kept a lousy hand with 2 Images, Champion and Reflector. He killed my turn 2 Lieutenant and I had to double Image on his Reshaper. We both drew a lot of lands and, after some turns, he played Smasher. I Hostage Took it and played the next turn. Feels good to win against Eldrazi using Eldrazi.
0-2 vs BR Pack Rat Rabble Moon
G1 Mull to 5, kept 1 land, got Moon'd and never drew the 3rd land.
G2 Mull to 6, kept 1 land, got Moon'd AND KCommanded destroying Vial and killing my Noble. Never drew the 2nd land.
The winning deck had -1 Thalia, -1 Image to get +1 Kessig Malcontents and +1 Xathrid Necromancer in the main deck. I don't know what kind of metagame he was expecting to have Necromancer in the main deck. Guess?
Top4 deck traded an Image for Mirran Crusader in the main deck. This one I understand better, given a field of Jund, Ponza, Elves, etc. What I don't get is why he favored an Island over Seachrome Coast #2, while main decking a Human that costs 1WW.
Kytheon and Big Thalia don't appear on the winning lists these days. Perhaps I should move away from these cards... what do you think?
BTW, I'm still on Reflecting Pool instead of Seachrome Coast #2 in my manabase. I know people don't like Pool very much, but it has done the job very well so far, even tapping for B post-SB to cast Dismember (only paying 2 life for the other phyrexian mana).
I don't know what kind of metagame he was expecting to have Necromancer in the main deck. Guess?
It's annoying to lose to Tron wraths and controlish decks. If the game goes long, it's a little edge. It's kind of the opposite of a one-of Thalia, Heretic Cathar meant to give an edge in the early game.
Kytheon and Big Thalia don't appear on the winning lists these days. Perhaps I should move away from these cards... what do you think?
Imho, you should stick to what you expect. All those one-of's mean nothing in the long run. As long as you know what kind of game you want to steal with those pet cards, you should trust yourself. For now, Humans put up good results thanks to the core of the deck for the most part. It looks like Death & Taxes in Legacy (that I play a lot !), where you always have a few flex slots, and lists are all ok even though they differ by 2-3 cards (splashing for a specific event can be a smart approach too).
For example, I'm currently running 2 Mirran Crusaders in my main deck, because I expect Coco decks (Elves, Knightfall and Vizier), Gx aggro decks (Bogles and Humans are the big ones) and Jund variants, all that online. Is it right ? Well it is and it's not because I purposely ignore some other tough MUs and a few cards that had some success recently. But it opens slots in my SB (for Burn and Ponza for example). If I go to a GP, I'll gather data and tendencies IRL, instead of trusting my online experience.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Imho, you should stick to what you expect. All those one-of's mean nothing in the long run. As long as you know what kind of game you want to steal with those pet cards, you should trust yourself. For now, Humans put up good results thanks to the core of the deck for the most part. It looks like Death & Taxes in Legacy (that I play a lot !), where you always have a few flex slots, and lists are all ok even though they differ by 2-3 cards (splashing for a specific event can be a smart approach too).
For example, I'm currently running 2 Mirran Crusaders in my main deck, because I expect Coco decks (Elves, Knightfall and Vizier), Gx aggro decks (Bogles and Humans are the big ones) and Jund variants, all that online. Is it right ? Well it is and it's not because I purposely ignore some other tough MUs and a few cards that had some success recently. But it opens slots in my SB (for Burn and Ponza for example). If I go to a GP, I'll gather data and tendencies IRL, instead of trusting my online experience.
I like the concept of main decking Mirran Crusader to free up some SB slots. I'm still not sure about Auriok Champion vs Kambal, and Kataki vs Renegades. Both Top8 lists prefer Auriok and Kataki. It still seems wrong to me, but I'm ready to give it a shot. I won't have time to play Modern this week, however. Perhaps next week?
The only 8-0 list is Humans, with Dark Confidant and Kessig Malcontents (only 3 Thalia).
#3 at 7-1 also plays Dark Confidant and Kessig Malcontents, but also Whirler Rogue (only 3 Thalia and 3 Image).
#4 at 7-1 also plays Dark Confidant, but also Spell Queller (only 3 Image).
Dark Confidant is a recurring theme among the Humans deck that performed really well. Consensus seems to cut 0-1 Thalia and 0-1 Image to make room for something spicy. I'm not sure Spell Queller was the right call, and Whirler Rogue at 2UU is far stretched imho. But it worked well for them it seems, looking at their results.
I see the flex spots as a recurring topic in this thread lately. Most pro's are cutting maindeck Thalia, Guardian of Thraben where they used to cut Reflector Mage. With spell based combo being less prevalent, I can fully understand this choice.
To me, this deck has three flex spots, which leads to meta choises. Mine are filled with two Dark Confidant and one Mirran Crusader with the second one in the side. I'm still on four thalia and have always been on three Images. This is because I face a lot of URx control and mardu/jund recently. If Tron would be more dominant, big thalia would get the edge, malcontents for the mirror/aggro and so on.
The best thing to do is try as many (new) cards in these spots as possible and come up with the best card(s) for every scenario.
Regarding sideboard staples. I believe the white creatures are no harder to cast (easier even) than phantasmal image in our deck. So selfless spirit, kataki and maybe even spell queller would be fine. They are, intentionally? All spirits.
One card i'll try as a one-of is Damping Sphere when it's released. Combo decks aren't the worst MUs but one copy for such wide applications shouldn't be too bad.
So selfless spirit, kataki and maybe even spell queller would be fine. They are, intentionally? All spirits.
It probably has something to do with flat-earthers, my friend. Beware !
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I beat Lantern with Vithian Renegades and Hostage Taker (kidnapping Bridge, but not casting it), if I didn’t managed to disrupt it in the first place, or by attacking with Hierarch. It’s not easy, but it can be done. You need to side out Lieutenant in that matchup. It’s ETB ability is mandatory, and you certainly don’t want to put counters on your Hierarch.
As a side note, I realized today that, when you cast Lieutenant and opponent has only one mana, and you hold priority while its ability is on the stack to activate Vial, if opponent lets Vial’s activation resolve and you drop a Thalia, there’s nothing opponent can do to cast cast a 1-drop. Both Thalia and Lieutenant will receive a counter that way.
Similar trick can be used if opponent has 2 mana and playing Control. Activate Vial to play Thalia, then cast any creature with your lands. Even without Cavern, your spell won’t be countered because of Thalia’s tax.
BTW, I won a game today vs Izzet Delver, with 4 Vials on the battlefield (at 1, 2, 3 and 3 counters). A Dire Fleet Daredevil casted a Manaleak to counter a Bolt targeting Rider. Later, I used Vial/Reflector Mage to bounce Bedlam Reveler with its ability on the stack, forcing opponent to discard it. In the mean time, I dropped him at 2, but I was stalled after Baby Jace flashbacked a Bolt to kill Rider. Kambal on the top decked assured me opponent was locked until I could draw a win condition, which was next turn with another Daredevil (Bolt to the dome).
I never thought it was possible to win with 4 Vials in play...
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Right, that’s what I meant. But to make it clear, you don’t respond to the ETB ability, because that’s opponent’s privilege when you forfeit priority. Rather, you effectively have to say that you’re holding priority right after the ETB ability goes on the stack, and use that opportunity to activate Vial. If you ever ask opponent if they do something in response to the ETB ability of Lieutenant, it means you will have no choice but to let the ability resolves if opponent declares they do nothing (you don’t get priority back). Under tournament rules, it is assumed that you never hold priority unless you specifically say otherwise.
Ex: You have a 2/2 Lieutenant, then cast another Lieutenant. Opponent has one Steam Vent untapped, and somehow decides he won’t Bolt 2/2 Lieutenant right now, but will let the spell resolves and do so while the ETB ability is on the stack. That’s when you keep priority to activate Vial and play Thalia, making it impossible for opponent to cast Bolt now. Based on a true story.
Of course, that was probably the wrong way to play, both from my part and opponent’s. He could have cast Bolt while Lieutenant was on the stack, or while Vial’s activation was on the stack. And I should have either cast Thalia to force Bolt and « counter » it with Vial and Lieutenant #2, or activate Vial first and hope opponent won’t cast Bolt in the blind, then play Thalia from Vial and follow up by casting Lieutenant #2.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
You seem to forget how bridge works. So the thing about bridge is that it's connected to cards in hand, something we can maintain pretty good control over.
I've played it a lot in EDH decks over the years and it's pretty easy to keep your hand size at 1, 2, or 3, preventing larger creatures such as 4/4 merfolk or 5/6 tarmogoyfs from attacking while you swing in with 1/2 exalted fliers or similar.
The especially asymmetrical thing about bridge is that you draw up a card then can choose to play cards or not to control its size. So say we have a board of Kitesail freebooter, noble hierarch, vs. 6 x 5/5 merfolk.
I had a buddy who had a Hangerback walker deck with bridge, and he'd kill with thopters by drawing up to 1 card, cracking with all the thopters, playing his card then passing turn.
Edit: Bridge can also let you stall to set up a kessig malcontents kill vs. a deck that outclasses you in combat (e.g. merfolk, elves, etc.).
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
For my part, Bridge doesn't seem like a great fit.
1 Plains
1 Island
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Unclaimed Territory
3 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Seachrome Coast
1 City of Brass
Creatures (37)
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Champion of the Parish
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Meddling Mage
4 Kitesail Freebooter
3 Phantasmal Image
4 Reflector Mage
4 Mantis Rider
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Xathrid Necromancer
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Sin Collector
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Hostage Taker
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2-0 vs Monogreen Tron
G1 had a fast land that killed on turn 4 with Reflector bouncing his Wurmcoil
G2 kept a hand with a lot of disruption (2 MM and Image) and got to lock a lot of his board wipes/removals and went chipping his life. He landed a Karn that I kept in control while applying pressure to his life. When he played Wurmcoil, Reflector Mage sealed the deal bouncing it and attacking for lethal.
2-1 vs Ponza
G1 kept him off from Moon with Freebooter after a slow start on his side. Reflector kept Courser of the board when he had 3 mana and my Champion got huge.
G2 I bricked on draws after we traded some stuff and I overcommited on the board, which made possible for an Anger to turn the board to his favor after he played Stormbreath to completely block my huge Champion.
G2 kept a greedy hand with 1 land, 2 dorks, Champion and Reflector Mage. But I was on a mull to 5, so that was acceptable. Scryed Vial on top and he missed his 3rd land drop. He kills my Parish, and some turns later I had 3 Reflector Mages on the board (one being Phantasmal). The tempo loss was too great for him to come back and Lieutenant ended the game.
2-1 vs RG Eldrazi
Won G1 quickly on the play. Meddling Mage got to name Smasher, since I had seen it on a trigger from Reshaper and 2 Mantis Riders raced him.
G2 he won on a land light hand of my part that didn't get there.
G3 Kept a lousy hand with 2 Images, Champion and Reflector. He killed my turn 2 Lieutenant and I had to double Image on his Reshaper. We both drew a lot of lands and, after some turns, he played Smasher. I Hostage Took it and played the next turn. Feels good to win against Eldrazi using Eldrazi.
0-2 vs BR Pack Rat Rabble Moon
G1 Mull to 5, kept 1 land, got Moon'd and never drew the 3rd land.
G2 Mull to 6, kept 1 land, got Moon'd AND KCommanded destroying Vial and killing my Noble. Never drew the 2nd land.
WGUBR 5c Humans
GWR Naya Zoo
Legacy:
GW GW Maverick
R Goblins
Playing Bridge in Humans doesn't work, the same way Blood Moon is a bad idea in some red decks. I can add that reactive cards are bad in Humans because they help you not lose, which is a bad plan to begin with. If there was a Human that had a Bridge in the textbox, that might make the cut, but I'm not sold.
Magus of the Moat is already a thing (and doesn't see play here, for good reason)
I count 18 lands...
Sorry, missed 1 City of Brass. I'll edit
WGUBR 5c Humans
GWR Naya Zoo
Legacy:
GW GW Maverick
R Goblins
The winning deck had -1 Thalia, -1 Image to get +1 Kessig Malcontents and +1 Xathrid Necromancer in the main deck. I don't know what kind of metagame he was expecting to have Necromancer in the main deck. Guess?
Top4 deck traded an Image for Mirran Crusader in the main deck. This one I understand better, given a field of Jund, Ponza, Elves, etc. What I don't get is why he favored an Island over Seachrome Coast #2, while main decking a Human that costs 1WW.
Kytheon and Big Thalia don't appear on the winning lists these days. Perhaps I should move away from these cards... what do you think?
BTW, I'm still on Reflecting Pool instead of Seachrome Coast #2 in my manabase. I know people don't like Pool very much, but it has done the job very well so far, even tapping for B post-SB to cast Dismember (only paying 2 life for the other phyrexian mana).
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
It's annoying to lose to Tron wraths and controlish decks. If the game goes long, it's a little edge. It's kind of the opposite of a one-of Thalia, Heretic Cathar meant to give an edge in the early game.
Imho, you should stick to what you expect. All those one-of's mean nothing in the long run. As long as you know what kind of game you want to steal with those pet cards, you should trust yourself. For now, Humans put up good results thanks to the core of the deck for the most part. It looks like Death & Taxes in Legacy (that I play a lot !), where you always have a few flex slots, and lists are all ok even though they differ by 2-3 cards (splashing for a specific event can be a smart approach too).
For example, I'm currently running 2 Mirran Crusaders in my main deck, because I expect Coco decks (Elves, Knightfall and Vizier), Gx aggro decks (Bogles and Humans are the big ones) and Jund variants, all that online. Is it right ? Well it is and it's not because I purposely ignore some other tough MUs and a few cards that had some success recently. But it opens slots in my SB (for Burn and Ponza for example). If I go to a GP, I'll gather data and tendencies IRL, instead of trusting my online experience.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
*Now putting Dark Confidant on my wish list.*
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
To me, this deck has three flex spots, which leads to meta choises. Mine are filled with two Dark Confidant and one Mirran Crusader with the second one in the side. I'm still on four thalia and have always been on three Images. This is because I face a lot of URx control and mardu/jund recently. If Tron would be more dominant, big thalia would get the edge, malcontents for the mirror/aggro and so on.
The best thing to do is try as many (new) cards in these spots as possible and come up with the best card(s) for every scenario.
Regarding sideboard staples. I believe the white creatures are no harder to cast (easier even) than phantasmal image in our deck. So selfless spirit, kataki and maybe even spell queller would be fine. They are, intentionally? All spirits.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
It probably has something to do with flat-earthers, my friend. Beware !