Lantern: Ah, I was looking at slightly tweaking this specific list which currently doesn't run command.
I'm not so possitive about treasured find now though as if you really need an answer urgently said answer is likely to be damnation at CMC 4, and it's likely to be earlier than turn 6. So I think this is perhaps a bad idea, maybe a side board card for combo MUs?
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I'm a control player, because I like to reserve the right to say no.
Lantern: Ah, I was looking at slightly tweaking this specific list which currently doesn't run command.
I'm not so possitive about treasured find now though as if you really need an answer urgently said answer is likely to be damnation at CMC 4, and it's likely to be earlier than turn 6. So I think this is perhaps a bad idea, maybe a side board card for combo MUs?
From my experance (which is limited) it just seems like the body provides enough I suppose. But then again, gifts is flexable, you can put as much as you like. I personally think if you needed a flexable early card, run noxious revival. Puts it on the top, but does it for free.
If you want to play something along the lines of Treasured Find, Noxious Revival performed decently well for me at Lincoln. If you make the Academy Ruins Swap, then I would add in Explosives over Crime/Punishment, and probably try to find some cut for wurmcoil as well-most likely damnation.
I have found Explosive looped with Ruins to be simply one of the best tools for controlling the game in this format. If you get to that point against most decks, even Jund there isn't much they can do. The fact that you play gifts + loam makes it even more solid. I like Tolaria as well, ripping it and getting Explosives has won me games.
How often do you play crime//punishement to get a creature from the grave instead of the removal spell?
Pod decks are usually the only matchups where I cast Crime, and that's generally to get back eternal witness. Most of the creatures in the format are synergistic with the rest of their deck, and don't have enough of an impact to warrant being returned to my side when I could just kill future copies with Punishment.
Explosives Loop always feels like a trap to me because so many of the creatures create card advantage, and you aren't actually improving your board state, while your opponent is usually pulling ahead just from their creatures entering play. That having been said, it's a very nice option to have. I don't think I would want to play Tolaria West (If I were to include it, it would be over a Tar Pit) because hitting your land drops is critical in this deck, as is spending your mana efficiently. I'll probably give it a try, though.
Haakon+Inversion seems pretty good, but it's actually slower than Elesh Norn to get going, to kill a dude with Haakon + inversion you need 5 mana as opposed to 4 to use rites I think infect is already a good MU.
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I'm a control player, because I like to reserve the right to say no.
So I just built this deck on mtgo, and re-read your report to figure out how to play it.
It looks like you side out Iona against most 3-4 color decks? What color do you name against storm? Red?
Any tips for the mirror? I've only been playing in the practice room so far and one of my first games was against it. I take it you side out iona there and go for the grindy gifts package?
I doubt the mirror happens that often, that must have been a bit of a coincidence...
I'd think the best plan is to play for the grind, loam and raven's crime, the deck has little defence against it, also Deathrite Shamans and Lingering souls for damage, Or you could do Iona naming black leaving just 2 cards in the deck that answer it (the two copies of path) obviously different lists may have better answers.
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I'm a control player, because I like to reserve the right to say no.
If you already have one or two of your value gifts cards in hand or in the yard (darkblast, loam, souls, crime) what card(s) do you get instead?
The more I play with mana leak the more I hate the card. Shane opted to play mana leaks over discard. Would runesnag be better than mana leak if you played all 4? And you could side them out games 2-3 when they bring in gy hate.
I have yet to play the mirror, but the ghost quarter loam plan sounds like the place to be. Resolving and protecting Deathrite Shaman is huge, too. If you have naturally drawn enough of your value gifts targets, I usually just grab a land, unburial rites, or, if i've got the mana available (or soon to be available), Elesh Norn/Iona to hard cast. I've tried Rune Snag and it always felt worse than mana leak. Part of your game plan is to deny their mana, so the increased cost from multiple rune snags isn't worth the one extra mana of leeway you are giving your opponent. the first time around. Before Jund became so prevalent I was playing both discard and countermagic, but you can't afford to do that when the best deck has so much card advantage in it. Most of the other utility lands sound pretty gimicky, considering you probably won't deck them, vitu-ghazi is really, really slow, and alchemist's refuge is pretty worthless. Urza's Factory is interesting, but playing a colorless source that does nothing until turn eight at the earliest sounds like a losing proposition.
Against storm you name red, unless you 100% know they have a bounce spell in hand.
Has anyone played UW tron? How do these decks compare? I'm guessing playing 2 more colors lets you play more powerful/synergistic cards (loam vs thirst, deathrite vs signets, discard vs counters, liliana vs karn etc)
Has anyone played UW tron? How do these decks compare? I'm guessing playing 2 more colors lets you play more powerful/synergistic cards (loam vs thirst, deathrite vs signets, discard vs counters, liliana vs karn etc)
I have been playing UW Tron and have also been following and building this deck to try it out, but I haven't played with it yet.
It's hard to say how they are different for sure without having played this deck yet, but Gifts is just such an awesome card advantage engine in any deck. Obviously the Unburial Rites combo is the same in both decks, but in Tron there are a lot of piles that you can Gifts for to help slow down the game or complete Tron so you can land an Emrakul as your end game. This deck has the Loam engine which is a great secondary (or sometimes primary) Gifts target, but in general doesn't have a bigger end game than Elesh/Iona and just grinding it out with Shamans and Lili.
Where Tron is a pretty reactive deck, this deck feels a lot more proactive with Lingering Souls and disruption.
I wouldn't say that Loam vs Thirst, Shaman vs Signets, etc. is necessarily more synergistic, as those cards are very synergistic with the Tron decks plan. Tron just has a very focused plan where this deck can grind it out in a couple different ways.
Delver has been pushed out by Jund, so "can't be countered" is pretty much irrelevant, and damnation is infinitely easier to cast than supreme verdict.
And what do you think of Sphinx of the Steel Wind as a Sideboard creature vs Jund?
As lifelink like wurmcoil but can't be removed except by Lilana's sacrifice ability since she has protection to red and green which nullifies both Terminate and Maelstrom Pulse or 2 Bolts, Also Rakdos's Charm is a pain in the ass against Wurmcoil Engine like we saw at your top8 match
Although wurmcoil is easly hard-castable unlike the Sphinx, which one would you pick to the sideboard?
For a while the u/w/r delver decks had sphinx/iona/norn as their reanimator package. But sphinx got cut since it's not good enough and not worth the slot. You would just name Iona on black vs jund and they're probably not winning. Shane had wurmcoil in his sideboard.
Yeah, I was considering Sphinx for a while, but Wurmcoil is just better.
Also, I'm going to try streaming now. Have to use my laptop mouse pad, though, so some mislicks are sure to be made.
I'm not so possitive about treasured find now though as if you really need an answer urgently said answer is likely to be damnation at CMC 4, and it's likely to be earlier than turn 6. So I think this is perhaps a bad idea, maybe a side board card for combo MUs?
From my experance (which is limited) it just seems like the body provides enough I suppose. But then again, gifts is flexable, you can put as much as you like. I personally think if you needed a flexable early card, run noxious revival. Puts it on the top, but does it for free.
UWBG Gifts in Modern
UWBG Control in Standard
UBG Control in Legacy
Pod decks are usually the only matchups where I cast Crime, and that's generally to get back eternal witness. Most of the creatures in the format are synergistic with the rest of their deck, and don't have enough of an impact to warrant being returned to my side when I could just kill future copies with Punishment.
Explosives Loop always feels like a trap to me because so many of the creatures create card advantage, and you aren't actually improving your board state, while your opponent is usually pulling ahead just from their creatures entering play. That having been said, it's a very nice option to have. I don't think I would want to play Tolaria West (If I were to include it, it would be over a Tar Pit) because hitting your land drops is critical in this deck, as is spending your mana efficiently. I'll probably give it a try, though.
UWBG Gifts in Modern
UWBG Control in Standard
UBG Control in Legacy
Have you had much success with your grixis build?
It looks like you side out Iona against most 3-4 color decks? What color do you name against storm? Red?
Any tips for the mirror? I've only been playing in the practice room so far and one of my first games was against it. I take it you side out iona there and go for the grindy gifts package?
I'd think the best plan is to play for the grind, loam and raven's crime, the deck has little defence against it, also Deathrite Shamans and Lingering souls for damage, Or you could do Iona naming black leaving just 2 cards in the deck that answer it (the two copies of path) obviously different lists may have better answers.
It actually cracked the top 9 in terms of decks winning dailies/premier events
http://www.mtgo-stats.com/stats/Modern
If you already have one or two of your value gifts cards in hand or in the yard (darkblast, loam, souls, crime) what card(s) do you get instead?
The more I play with mana leak the more I hate the card. Shane opted to play mana leaks over discard. Would runesnag be better than mana leak if you played all 4? And you could side them out games 2-3 when they bring in gy hate.
What about other utility lands in the vault/ruins slot? Nephalia Drownyard, Urza's Factory, Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree, Alchemist's Refuge?
Against storm you name red, unless you 100% know they have a bounce spell in hand.
UWBG Gifts in Modern
UWBG Control in Standard
UBG Control in Legacy
I have been playing UW Tron and have also been following and building this deck to try it out, but I haven't played with it yet.
It's hard to say how they are different for sure without having played this deck yet, but Gifts is just such an awesome card advantage engine in any deck. Obviously the Unburial Rites combo is the same in both decks, but in Tron there are a lot of piles that you can Gifts for to help slow down the game or complete Tron so you can land an Emrakul as your end game. This deck has the Loam engine which is a great secondary (or sometimes primary) Gifts target, but in general doesn't have a bigger end game than Elesh/Iona and just grinding it out with Shamans and Lili.
Where Tron is a pretty reactive deck, this deck feels a lot more proactive with Lingering Souls and disruption.
I wouldn't say that Loam vs Thirst, Shaman vs Signets, etc. is necessarily more synergistic, as those cards are very synergistic with the Tron decks plan. Tron just has a very focused plan where this deck can grind it out in a couple different ways.
UWBG Gifts in Modern
UWBG Control in Standard
UBG Control in Legacy
For a while the u/w/r delver decks had sphinx/iona/norn as their reanimator package. But sphinx got cut since it's not good enough and not worth the slot. You would just name Iona on black vs jund and they're probably not winning. Shane had wurmcoil in his sideboard.
Also, I'm going to try streaming now. Have to use my laptop mouse pad, though, so some mislicks are sure to be made.
UWBG Gifts in Modern
UWBG Control in Standard
UBG Control in Legacy