I havent got any experience from Phoenix decks while i´ve been playing UW control. I just sleeved the deck and been playing couple of leagues in MTGO with results 3-2 and 4-1. If someone has good experience from Phoenix MU (both, izzet and monored) could you give some advices?
Im taking my UW deck to LGS bigger event (100+ players) and im expecting lots of phoenixes in general. Last tournament there was like 15%+ of the decks were Phoenixes and i played Jund back then.
Yeah the 1-ofs are pretty easy to cut, I may have been overboarding vs burn, but I took out a teferi and cryptic to bring in 6 cards. I'll probably end up getting surgicals with my bountiful winnings! Depose/Deploy is interesting, I don't know many of the cards from the past few sets. Going to be playing a lot this weekend. Is there still an active discord chat going on like there was a year ago? This forum and tappedout are just super quiet now.
@slowgod - I never used discord, I don't like it's unstructured nature.
I almost always cut the cryptics and a couple of jaces against red. Even though Jace is less Mana than teferi, being vulnerable to the 12+ lightning bolts if you brainstorm, it's easier to justify keeping teferi imo.
Yea, pretty much all of the 1-ofs are flexible. The only one that is close to being a locked up slot is Timely. Other than that you usually want 1 more removal (oust condemn), 1 more counter (snare, leak) and 1 more win condition (Azcanta,Gand somewhat clique/trials).
@Matson - maybe someone else with more experience against Pheonix can help you out more because my experience is limited. My only advice is don't over rely on Surgical extraction (ie tap out on a critical turn at 11 or less life) because sometimes they can blow you out with a surgical of their own in response, bring back two birds and I think if you have surgical in your board you definitely bring it in, but I prefer RIP in the match.
I havent got any experience from Phoenix decks while i´ve been playing UW control. I just sleeved the deck and been playing couple of leagues in MTGO with results 3-2 and 4-1. If someone has good experience from Phoenix MU (both, izzet and monored) could you give some advices?
Im taking my UW deck to LGS bigger event (100+ players) and im expecting lots of phoenixes in general. Last tournament there was like 15%+ of the decks were Phoenixes and i played Jund back then.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: Intrested of RG valakut tactics as well
The Phoenix matchup is a bit tricky to manage. My plan is to bring in RiP, Surgical Extraction, Angels, Settle the Wreckage and Celestial Purges. Purge is losing value in the matchup since some of them are gravitating towards Ptearomander instead of Crackling Drake.
You want to delay them as much as possible. Try to set up Terminus in such a way that you get at least a 2 for 1. Save as many Paths as you can because you actually need to Path all their creatures. Extraction is really awesome but since they are starting to play some copies of Extractions themselves, they can blow you out. Counter magic usually isn't all that great because they are an extremely redundant deck that will still do its thing while you don't have enough counters for all the relevant stuff. If you have to counter anything, my suggestion is either Mana Morphose to timewalk them (only do this if you have a way to deal with the following turn), Faithless Looting to avoid getting 6'd in the air for free, TiTi itself to save a Path for a Phoenix.
My feeling is that the matchup is somewhat even but individual deck choices matter a lot. You should playtest this matchup as much as you can since the deck is so popular and it's here to stay.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing: WUMiracles ControlUW RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
I didn't know they were starting to play Pteramander over Drake. Despite making purge worse, that's got to be a net plus for us right? Doesn't draw a card on ETB and is pretty anemic in the face of RIP which is part of our game plan against them. Sure it comes down earlier but it's not like we don't give them time to cast Drake anyways. Also feels like we will more often get additional value from our top-decked terminus; Drake always came down after terminus and unless they open with TITI there isn't usually anything to hit with a lucky terminus until like turn 3-4 anyways.
Not feeling too great with my Phoenix matchup so far, I think I won like 2/5 against it maybe. The one-ofs that I'm getting the least value out of are Oust and Mana Leak. Oust has been pretty darn useless especially being a sorcery and I've used it on my own creature to gain life most of the time. I might just try a 2nd negate or an Absorb instead of Leak and Condemn or another cantrip instead of Oust. Looking at some of the most recent lists I'm not sure why people are cutting a copy of Terminus and even using Gideon of the Trials again, I do kind of miss Gideon though.
You might consider Spell Pierce over mana leak instead of negate. Not only do you get a lot of value from people not expecting it but it's just very good (imo) against the hyper efficient meta. In the matchups where it shouldnt be so good, like vs teferi decks, you get even more surprise value than normal. A common line for me is casting Jace on 5 with pierce backup, they usually counter here and then attempt to slam their own walker. If you have a backup walker you can let their counter resolve and hit their teferi or jace with the pierce and then lock up the W with a walker with mana open to protect from a colonnade or walker of their own next turn. Even when that scenario doesn't come along, you'll always find a spot where it will help you win a counter war.
I could go either way on Oust vs Condemn though. Condemn always feels great against shadow and pheonix but when condemn is bad it can just actually be dead. When Oust is bad, it's just subpar rather than dead. Think condemn vs Teeg, problematic spirits (queller holding a key spell or mausoleam wanderer) and it's pretty bad against a lot of value creatures as well like Bob, Pyro, or mana dorks . I'm never stoked to register Oust or Condemn but there just aren't enough good cards to fill up the flex slots without including something like these.
Not feeling too great with my Phoenix matchup so far, I think I won like 2/5 against it maybe. The one-ofs that I'm getting the least value out of are Oust and Mana Leak. Oust has been pretty darn useless especially being a sorcery and I've used it on my own creature to gain life most of the time. I might just try a 2nd negate or an Absorb instead of Leak and Condemn or another cantrip instead of Oust. Looking at some of the most recent lists I'm not sure why people are cutting a copy of Terminus and even using Gideon of the Trials again, I do kind of miss Gideon though.
I'm not playing Oust for a long while know. People don't respect Condemn all that much so you're kinda safe playing it. jayjay is right though, when Condemn it's bad it's dead... Oust has a higher floor and a lower ceiling while Condemn is either super good or really unplayable. Anyway Phoenix and GDS are kinda the decks to beat in my LGS and on the winners meta, so I think Condemn it right.
Spell Pierce is good when they don't see it coming but I'd rather play second Negate or Leak. I'm currently playing Absorb since Burn is on the rise and you can always find a use for it. Spell Snare is something that at the moment it's almost always good and you can certainly play a couple to help on the Phoenix and Burn mathcups. It hasn't been seen often but I'm super scared of the Cindervines Burn tech against us. Aside from Teferi tucking away and the occasional Detention Sphere we're not all that well equipped to beat it.
I didn't know they were starting to play Pteramander over Drake. Despite making purge worse, that's got to be a net plus for us right? Doesn't draw a card on ETB and is pretty anemic in the face of RIP which is part of our game plan against them. Sure it comes down earlier but it's not like we don't give them time to cast Drake anyways. Also feels like we will more often get additional value from our top-decked terminus; Drake always came down after terminus and unless they open with TITI there isn't usually anything to hit with a lucky terminus until like turn 3-4 anyways.
I agree that it's actually better for us they are playing the Pteramander. The point I was trying to make is that upping the Purge count could be a good decision a few weeks ago now it's more of a balancing act since some of the targets will dodge it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing: WUMiracles ControlUW RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
I actually just took the condemn/oust slot out for a serum visions, but maybe I just have too many cantrips now. I do like spell snare and usually play one copy. I've been siding Teferi out vs burn, but Cindervines has got me a couple times so maybe I should keep him in?
Been a follower on here for awhile but don’t post much. Thought I’d share a list for feedback and discussion. I’ve been on this deck forever and have played so many iterations and tried just about everything in flex slots. This is currently what I have settled on.
I don’t play oust (or condemn) and haven’t for awhile. Path plus an extra cheap counter has always felt “good enough” so I don’t need the extra cheap removal.
On that note, I have been playing BA lately over maindeck Timely and it has been great. While it isn’t “spot” removal it has so many applications right now I don’t know if I wouldn’t play it. I’ve noticed it’s power just with simple things like having GDS player gain the life, killing shadow and then having them Sac an angler. Or against affinity having a way to deal with champion that isn’t a board wipe.
Anyway the list,
Creatures:3
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
Spells:32
4 Opt
4 Path to Exile
1 Serum Visions
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
2 Negate
1 Search for Azcanta
2 Detention Sphere
4 Cryptic Command
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Terminus
Lands:25
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
6 Island
2 Plains
Been a follower on here for awhile but don’t post much. Thought I’d share a list for feedback and discussion. I’ve been on this deck forever and have played so many iterations and tried just about everything in flex slots. This is currently what I have settled on.
I don’t play oust (or condemn) and haven’t for awhile. Path plus an extra cheap counter has always felt “good enough” so I don’t need the extra cheap removal.
On that note, I have been playing BA lately over maindeck Timely and it has been great. While it isn’t “spot” removal it has so many applications right now I don’t know if I wouldn’t play it. I’ve noticed it’s power just with simple things like having GDS player gain the life, killing shadow and then having them Sac an angler. Or against affinity having a way to deal with champion that isn’t a board wipe.
I think your list looks fine, but it leads me to a few questions for everyone.
Firstly, how many of you are on only 1 Azcanta? I've found it to be essential in finding Terminus on time, and great in mirrors. I play 2.
How do you feel about 1 Absorb? I've been loving it so far, played in a few events and did well (in both UW and UWx).
Why are people still on a mainboard Verdict? I used to play it, but I realised that I'm playing Terminus because Verdict is pretty bad right now. Any thoughts on cutting it or maybe playing a Settle if you want?
How many of you are on mainboard DSpheres, and how many do you play? I like to play 1, but it's been a very long time since I played 2 main.
I've been playing a 1/1 split of Oust/Condemn and it's been fine. I'm thinking about Alliance main as well, since I haven't seen Humans in weeks at my LGS, and we regularly get 20+ people per FNM.
I actually just took the condemn/oust slot out for a serum visions, but maybe I just have too many cantrips now. I do like spell snare and usually play one copy. I've been siding Teferi out vs burn, but Cindervines has got me a couple times so maybe I should keep him in?
Teferi isn't great... But Cindervines is such a beating that I'm not really sure what the best strategy should be. I usually bring the Angels in and sideout some of the high CMC cards. Between Jaces, Teferi and CC we should have some cuts. I also cut the Azcanta.
Having too much cantrips is something I really dislike. I often see myself drawing into air and with the format as it is it's something we can't afford to do.
Been a follower on here for awhile but don’t post much. Thought I’d share a list for feedback and discussion. I’ve been on this deck forever and have played so many iterations and tried just about everything in flex slots. This is currently what I have settled on.
I don’t play oust (or condemn) and haven’t for awhile. Path plus an extra cheap counter has always felt “good enough” so I don’t need the extra cheap removal.
On that note, I have been playing BA lately over maindeck Timely and it has been great. While it isn’t “spot” removal it has so many applications right now I don’t know if I wouldn’t play it. I’ve noticed it’s power just with simple things like having GDS player gain the life, killing shadow and then having them Sac an angler. Or against affinity having a way to deal with champion that isn’t a board wipe.
Your list is quite stock. Like you mentioned you are cutting the 5th removal for the 6th Cantrip which is something that I'm not that into. The 4th CC seems too much. The spell is great but we can get our hands clogged with expensive cards. I'm currently playing 5 non-CC counters and 3 MD lifegain spells (1 Timely, 1 Absorb and 1 BA). That's kinda of a meta call since I have too many Burn-like decks around.
Been a follower on here for awhile but don’t post much. Thought I’d share a list for feedback and discussion. I’ve been on this deck forever and have played so many iterations and tried just about everything in flex slots. This is currently what I have settled on.
I don’t play oust (or condemn) and haven’t for awhile. Path plus an extra cheap counter has always felt “good enough” so I don’t need the extra cheap removal.
On that note, I have been playing BA lately over maindeck Timely and it has been great. While it isn’t “spot” removal it has so many applications right now I don’t know if I wouldn’t play it. I’ve noticed it’s power just with simple things like having GDS player gain the life, killing shadow and then having them Sac an angler. Or against affinity having a way to deal with champion that isn’t a board wipe.
I think your list looks fine, but it leads me to a few questions for everyone.
Firstly, how many of you are on only 1 Azcanta? I've found it to be essential in finding Terminus on time, and great in mirrors. I play 2.
How do you feel about 1 Absorb? I've been loving it so far, played in a few events and did well (in both UW and UWx).
Why are people still on a mainboard Verdict? I used to play it, but I realised that I'm playing Terminus because Verdict is pretty bad right now. Any thoughts on cutting it or maybe playing a Settle if you want?
How many of you are on mainboard DSpheres, and how many do you play? I like to play 1, but it's been a very long time since I played 2 main.
I've been playing a 1/1 split of Oust/Condemn and it's been fine. I'm thinking about Alliance main as well, since I haven't seen Humans in weeks at my LGS, and we regularly get 20+ people per FNM.
Absorb has been great for me. I always enjoyed playing 5 wipes... Been changing from Verdict to Settle depending whether Dredge is around or if GDS is around. DSphere is an obligatory 1of, probably a 2of. This would depend if your meta has too many Tron, BGx, UWx .
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing: WUMiracles ControlUW RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
Absorb has been great for me. I always enjoyed playing 5 wipes... Been changing from Verdict to Settle depending whether Dredge is around or if GDS is around. DSphere is an obligatory 1of, probably a 2of. This would depend if your meta has too many Tron, BGx, UWx.
More recently I've been tempted to cut the mainboard DSphere and a flex slot for 2 mainboard Cliques. Free up some sb space and have a mirror breaker in for g1. I've personally been feeling lackluster in control matchups lately, maybe I just need more experience tho.
Clique is good against Tron and BGx (to pressure Lili) as well, and chumps/trades with other creatures.
I’m partial to being in the “three mana counters seem bad” group in modern. Absorb also seems awkward with FoR but maybe I’m wrong?
@DaveJacinto
I can agree that 4 cryptics can create some clunky hands, I might try cutting one and going back to a snare with Phoenix being so popular. Also, care to share your list?
Having 2 Dspheres has been nice. Most people expect one. Sometimes the second catches people by surprise. I also personally don’t just like relying on Teferi tuck. Cutting one and playing another clique main isn’t a horrible idea though.
On Absorb - Absorb has been awful in my experience. In the matchups where the life gain is important it's not mana efficient enough, especially in a deck with Field of Ruin. It was pretty good against Tron and Valakut, which is nice since those tend to be difficult matchups, but it's too narrow vs the rest of the field. If you want more counters the "unless they pay X" counters are probably the best of the bunch right now because most every deck in modern is playing hyper efficient cards or casting multiple spells per turn. That said, I don't think counters are in a particularly good spot at all right now because of the same reasoning; counters trade down on mana very often in a format that favors efficiency.
@Slowgod - I don't think you should be cutting teferi against red decks, it's massive card advantage even if they double bolt it and you need a way to win. Teferi is the most mana efficient win condition we have. About Azcanta, the card is very good at finding specific answers and sideboard cards but we just cant afford to have too many dead cards in the deck because we run so many 4+cmc cards; any opener with double Azcanta is atrocious and a lot of 3 and 4 land hands with Azcanta and a 4 drop are going to pretty suspect even if you only run 1 Azcanta. I think the effect is too powerful not to run at least 1, and if the meta slows down at all then I think you can support 2.
I’m partial to being in the “three mana counters seem bad” group in modern. Absorb also seems awkward with FoR but maybe I’m wrong?
@DaveJacinto
I can agree that 4 cryptics can create some clunky hands, I might try cutting one and going back to a snare with Phoenix being so popular. Also, care to share your list?
Having 2 Dspheres has been nice. Most people expect one. Sometimes the second catches people by surprise. I also personally don’t just like relying on Teferi tuck. Cutting one and playing another clique main isn’t a horrible idea though.
This is the list I'm currently thinking about taking to GP Bilbao.
Feel free to dissect it or ask for any specific plan. I used to be on 2 Cliques main and I loved it... The reason I changed it was because locally Tron, BGx and UWx went down significantly while Phoenix, Burn and GDS went up.
So I ended up cutting my Crucible of Worlds from the SB for a second Purge, switch Clique for the Blessed Alliance and cutting one Hieroglyphic for an Absorb.
I’m partial to being in the “three mana counters seem bad” group in modern. Absorb also seems awkward with FoR but maybe I’m wrong?
@DaveJacinto
I can agree that 4 cryptics can create some clunky hands, I might try cutting one and going back to a snare with Phoenix being so popular. Also, care to share your list?
Having 2 Dspheres has been nice. Most people expect one. Sometimes the second catches people by surprise. I also personally don’t just like relying on Teferi tuck. Cutting one and playing another clique main isn’t a horrible idea though.
This is the list I'm currently thinking about taking to GP Bilbao.
Feel free to dissect it or ask for any specific plan. I used to be on 2 Cliques main and I loved it... The reason I changed it was because locally Tron, BGx and UWx went down significantly while Phoenix, Burn and GDS went up.
So I ended up cutting my Crucible of Worlds from the SB for a second Purge, switch Clique for the Blessed Alliance and cutting one Hieroglyphic for an Absorb.
Again, I would give you constructive criticism, but I don't really have any -- this list seems perfectly reasonable. I guess my only complaint would be that maybe you should cut the GQ since you're playing an Absorb?
Maybe play a 2nd Sphere instead of the 2nd Purge, since BGx brings in Nissa?
Again, I would give you constructive criticism, but I don't really have any -- this list seems perfectly reasonable. I guess my only complaint would be that maybe you should cut the GQ since you're playing an Absorb?
Maybe play a 2nd Sphere instead of the 2nd Purge, since BGx brings in Nissa?
The GQ has the potential to cause awkward hands. I had to GQ a non-zero amount of times, specially because of the double W spells, absorb being the most demanding one. The thing is that FR isn't fast enough against Tron.
The 2nd Sphere could really be a smart inclusion. I have a problem with it being 3cmc and sorcery speed but hitting Nissa on the GBx matchups instead of just LoTV is a big deal. Sphere is something that I tend to cut often when sideboard so it's a tricky decision. I'll give it a try on my testing on MTGO.
FoR is fast enough when on the play or if they stumble even for a turn and GQing a Tron land before turn 3 is a disaster, you're not winning that game regardless. GQ in the early turns is going to lose you the game against Tron far more of the time than it saves you.
The 5th colorless land is extremely greedy in the current meta.
Haven't been doing so great lately, thinking about switching decks for the time being Just noticed a couple interesting lists online though. Looks like some people are having luck with little Gideon again. 14th place list from SCG classic looks good, this other new one on MTGtop8 is really out there. Don't know why Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is in the sideboard.
I havent got any experience from Phoenix decks while i´ve been playing UW control. I just sleeved the deck and been playing couple of leagues in MTGO with results 3-2 and 4-1. If someone has good experience from Phoenix MU (both, izzet and monored) could you give some advices?
Im taking my UW deck to LGS bigger event (100+ players) and im expecting lots of phoenixes in general. Last tournament there was like 15%+ of the decks were Phoenixes and i played Jund back then.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: Intrested of RG valakut tactics as well
I almost always cut the cryptics and a couple of jaces against red. Even though Jace is less Mana than teferi, being vulnerable to the 12+ lightning bolts if you brainstorm, it's easier to justify keeping teferi imo.
Yea, pretty much all of the 1-ofs are flexible. The only one that is close to being a locked up slot is Timely. Other than that you usually want 1 more removal (oust condemn), 1 more counter (snare, leak) and 1 more win condition (Azcanta,Gand somewhat clique/trials).
@Matson - maybe someone else with more experience against Pheonix can help you out more because my experience is limited. My only advice is don't over rely on Surgical extraction (ie tap out on a critical turn at 11 or less life) because sometimes they can blow you out with a surgical of their own in response, bring back two birds and I think if you have surgical in your board you definitely bring it in, but I prefer RIP in the match.
You want to delay them as much as possible. Try to set up Terminus in such a way that you get at least a 2 for 1. Save as many Paths as you can because you actually need to Path all their creatures. Extraction is really awesome but since they are starting to play some copies of Extractions themselves, they can blow you out. Counter magic usually isn't all that great because they are an extremely redundant deck that will still do its thing while you don't have enough counters for all the relevant stuff. If you have to counter anything, my suggestion is either Mana Morphose to timewalk them (only do this if you have a way to deal with the following turn), Faithless Looting to avoid getting 6'd in the air for free, TiTi itself to save a Path for a Phoenix.
My feeling is that the matchup is somewhat even but individual deck choices matter a lot. You should playtest this matchup as much as you can since the deck is so popular and it's here to stay.
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
I could go either way on Oust vs Condemn though. Condemn always feels great against shadow and pheonix but when condemn is bad it can just actually be dead. When Oust is bad, it's just subpar rather than dead. Think condemn vs Teeg, problematic spirits (queller holding a key spell or mausoleam wanderer) and it's pretty bad against a lot of value creatures as well like Bob, Pyro, or mana dorks . I'm never stoked to register Oust or Condemn but there just aren't enough good cards to fill up the flex slots without including something like these.
Spell Pierce is good when they don't see it coming but I'd rather play second Negate or Leak. I'm currently playing Absorb since Burn is on the rise and you can always find a use for it. Spell Snare is something that at the moment it's almost always good and you can certainly play a couple to help on the Phoenix and Burn mathcups. It hasn't been seen often but I'm super scared of the Cindervines Burn tech against us. Aside from Teferi tucking away and the occasional Detention Sphere we're not all that well equipped to beat it.
I agree that it's actually better for us they are playing the Pteramander. The point I was trying to make is that upping the Purge count could be a good decision a few weeks ago now it's more of a balancing act since some of the targets will dodge it.
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
Been a follower on here for awhile but don’t post much. Thought I’d share a list for feedback and discussion. I’ve been on this deck forever and have played so many iterations and tried just about everything in flex slots. This is currently what I have settled on.
I don’t play oust (or condemn) and haven’t for awhile. Path plus an extra cheap counter has always felt “good enough” so I don’t need the extra cheap removal.
On that note, I have been playing BA lately over maindeck Timely and it has been great. While it isn’t “spot” removal it has so many applications right now I don’t know if I wouldn’t play it. I’ve noticed it’s power just with simple things like having GDS player gain the life, killing shadow and then having them Sac an angler. Or against affinity having a way to deal with champion that isn’t a board wipe.
Anyway the list,
Creatures:3
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
Spells:32
4 Opt
4 Path to Exile
1 Serum Visions
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
2 Negate
1 Search for Azcanta
2 Detention Sphere
4 Cryptic Command
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Terminus
Lands:25
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
6 Island
2 Plains
Sideboard:15
1 Spell Queller
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
2 Dispel
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Celestial Purge
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Timely Reinforcements
I think your list looks fine, but it leads me to a few questions for everyone.
Firstly, how many of you are on only 1 Azcanta? I've found it to be essential in finding Terminus on time, and great in mirrors. I play 2.
How do you feel about 1 Absorb? I've been loving it so far, played in a few events and did well (in both UW and UWx).
Why are people still on a mainboard Verdict? I used to play it, but I realised that I'm playing Terminus because Verdict is pretty bad right now. Any thoughts on cutting it or maybe playing a Settle if you want?
How many of you are on mainboard DSpheres, and how many do you play? I like to play 1, but it's been a very long time since I played 2 main.
I've been playing a 1/1 split of Oust/Condemn and it's been fine. I'm thinking about Alliance main as well, since I haven't seen Humans in weeks at my LGS, and we regularly get 20+ people per FNM.
UWB Esper Draw-Go Control (clicky)
UW Azorius Control (clicky)
Currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry.
EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
Having too much cantrips is something I really dislike. I often see myself drawing into air and with the format as it is it's something we can't afford to do. Your list is quite stock. Like you mentioned you are cutting the 5th removal for the 6th Cantrip which is something that I'm not that into. The 4th CC seems too much. The spell is great but we can get our hands clogged with expensive cards. I'm currently playing 5 non-CC counters and 3 MD lifegain spells (1 Timely, 1 Absorb and 1 BA). That's kinda of a meta call since I have too many Burn-like decks around.
Absorb has been great for me. I always enjoyed playing 5 wipes... Been changing from Verdict to Settle depending whether Dredge is around or if GDS is around. DSphere is an obligatory 1of, probably a 2of. This would depend if your meta has too many Tron, BGx, UWx .
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
More recently I've been tempted to cut the mainboard DSphere and a flex slot for 2 mainboard Cliques. Free up some sb space and have a mirror breaker in for g1. I've personally been feeling lackluster in control matchups lately, maybe I just need more experience tho.
Clique is good against Tron and BGx (to pressure Lili) as well, and chumps/trades with other creatures.
UWB Esper Draw-Go Control (clicky)
UW Azorius Control (clicky)
Currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry.
EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
@DaveJacinto
I can agree that 4 cryptics can create some clunky hands, I might try cutting one and going back to a snare with Phoenix being so popular. Also, care to share your list?
Having 2 Dspheres has been nice. Most people expect one. Sometimes the second catches people by surprise. I also personally don’t just like relying on Teferi tuck. Cutting one and playing another clique main isn’t a horrible idea though.
@Slowgod - I don't think you should be cutting teferi against red decks, it's massive card advantage even if they double bolt it and you need a way to win. Teferi is the most mana efficient win condition we have. About Azcanta, the card is very good at finding specific answers and sideboard cards but we just cant afford to have too many dead cards in the deck because we run so many 4+cmc cards; any opener with double Azcanta is atrocious and a lot of 3 and 4 land hands with Azcanta and a 4 drop are going to pretty suspect even if you only run 1 Azcanta. I think the effect is too powerful not to run at least 1, and if the meta slows down at all then I think you can support 2.
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
6 Island
2 Plains
Planeswalkers (5):
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Creatures (3):
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
Removal (7):
4 Path to Exile
1 Condemn
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Detention Sphere
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
4 Opt
Counterspells (8):
1 Absorb
1 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
1 Negate
1 Spell Snare
3 Cryptic Command
Board wipes (5):
1 Supreme Verdict
4 Terminus
Other spells (2):
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Vendillion Clique
2 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Negate
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Surgical Extraction
So I ended up cutting my Crucible of Worlds from the SB for a second Purge, switch Clique for the Blessed Alliance and cutting one Hieroglyphic for an Absorb.
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
Again, I would give you constructive criticism, but I don't really have any -- this list seems perfectly reasonable. I guess my only complaint would be that maybe you should cut the GQ since you're playing an Absorb?
Maybe play a 2nd Sphere instead of the 2nd Purge, since BGx brings in Nissa?
UWB Esper Draw-Go Control (clicky)
UW Azorius Control (clicky)
Currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry.
EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
The 2nd Sphere could really be a smart inclusion. I have a problem with it being 3cmc and sorcery speed but hitting Nissa on the GBx matchups instead of just LoTV is a big deal. Sphere is something that I tend to cut often when sideboard so it's a tricky decision. I'll give it a try on my testing on MTGO.
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
The 5th colorless land is extremely greedy in the current meta.
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Gideon of the Trials
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
6 Island
3 Plains
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Absorb
1 Condemn
3 Cryptic Command
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Opt
4 Path to Exile
1 Search for Azcanta
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Terminus
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Damping Sphere
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Rest in Peace
1 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Timely Reinforcements
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
2 Glacial Fortress
3 Hallowed Fountain
6 Island
1 Plains
27 INSTANTS and SORC.
2 Blessed Alliance
4 Cryptic Command
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Mission Briefing
4 Path to Exile
4 Remand
1 Temporal Mastery
4 Terminus
1 Timely Reinforcements
9 OTHER SPELLS
1 Detention Sphere
1 Gideon of the Trials
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Search for Azcanta
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Cleansing Nova
1 Dispel
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Negate
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Timely Reinforcements
Honestly I'm about to switch to Tron or Dredge though.