I'm considering the cantrip and charms/bounce package as a whole. I believe the Matt Costa package was:
4 Azorius Charm
2 Selesnya Charm
2 Think Twice
4 Thought Scour
3 Unsummon
I'm contemplating something either like:
4 Azorius Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
4 Thought Scour
4 Unsummon
which seems better against a lot of super agressive decks.
and also contemplating Farseek since getting to 4 ASAP is so important.
I'm also questioning Voice a little bit. It's obviously a powerful card, but I've felt that this deck is pretty strong against control regardless and I kind of wish I could devote those slots to something better against agressive decks.
Basically it's PSZ Bant but with the PSZ and AoS replaced with Advent of the Wurm and a land shaved off since my curve now tops out at 5. Seems like we would still want to bounce Swagtusks. We'll see how this deck does tonight.
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I don't fear the man who has played 10,000 decks once. I fear the man who played one deck 10,000 times.
After testing both the augur and VoR version, I like the VoR one better. Costa said the only reason VoR was in the sb was that it wasnt that great against the midrange green decks but augur is also bad against them and always gets sided out. Against control and aggro VoR is far superior in both matchups. The only thing I would maybe change is moving the second pike from sb to main. Its not like harvest pyre were you can just mill it then snap it back, you have to draw it and having only one just felt like a wasted slot as I never saw it.
Playing the decklist I updated earlier in the post (and in the original) last night, I ended up going 3-1, with a very close final match. Here's the match breakdown.
This was a complex matchup. He was running all the mono-green Flash cards and a lot of Fight effects, but in round one I managed to stabilize with 2 life with a solid Sphinx Rev into two Wurms. Azorius Charming his threasts and using Selesnya Charm to block his Skylasher bought me enough time to beat him down.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
Second round, he got stuck on three lands and I was able to drop two Wurm tokens in a row and that was it.
He was running the exact same deck that Chris VanMeter recent won the NJ Open with, except he ran every utility land in the colors. I was able to counter his serious threats and eventually trample over him with Wurm tokens. His Grisly Salvage attempts did not find an Unburial Rites, fortunately.
Second game he was able to hit some Unburial Rites off Grisly Salvage, and dumped Angel of Serenity into the graveyard, but a good Purify the Grave draw ended up making that a bad play for him. With countermagic in hand and graveyard, I was able to counter his threats while my Wurm token took him to 0.
The first game of this was pretty abysmal, since I had a fantastic hand, but couldn't draw into a white mana source. So pretty much the whole game I got beatdown by 2 Vampire Nighthawks with nothing to do about it, and no creatures to bring it. I did have an Augur on the field with a Runechanter's Pike, but without any spells to feed to the Pike, it was pretty useless.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Restoration Angel, +1 Dispel, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Feeling of Dread
The second game I got a pretty good grip of the game, though my opponent was stuck on only one black source. A turn two Voice of Resurgence caused her to have to Burn it on her turn, which gave me a token, which I then buffed with a Selesnya Charm token and then a Wurm. She played a Duskmantle Seer, but I was able to Unsummon it and throw lethal damage her way.
Side: -1 Selesnya Charm, +1 Dispel
This match was a close one. An early Voice of Resurgence caused her to have to Burn it again, which was followed by two Selesnya Charm tokens. I was able to hold off her team with counters and Feeling of Dread, but eventually she got a Nighthawk to resolve and killed off my team with Ultimate Price and aggressive blockers. At that point, she was at 4 life and played a Duskmantle Seer. I was hoping to get lucky and have her kill herself, but of course she revealed a land and I revealed a rewind, taking 4. She swung, putting herself back up to 6 with the Lifelink, and I drew into a Supreme Verdict. Next, she again revealed a land, and I got an Advent of the Wurm. Another 4 damage, followed by her swing, putting her at 8 and me at 1. She then used Slaughter Games naming Sphinx's Rev, but both were already in my graveyard, so dodged that bullet. I was able to play my Supreme Verdict followed by my Wurm, and she drew into nothing, so I was able to knock her to 0 in two swings. Very close game overall.
By far our most difficult matchup, game one was a battle of counterspells until he was able to kill my forces and drop a Jace, Memory Adept, countering my attempt to counter it. It was a slow death from there.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -2 Restoration Angel, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -1 Unsummon, -1 Supreme Verdict, -1 Azorius Charm, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Dispel, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Purify the Grave
Game two started strong with Voice of Resurgence, causing him to have to kill it on his turn, and in response I dropped two Selesnya Charm tokens. I brought some heavy beats the next few turns, and he dropped a Jace and killed a Knight so I could only hit Jace for 4 after he used the +1. However, a lucky Selesnya Charm let me kill Jace and keep swinging. However, with no counterspells in my hand and no Snapcasters, he was able to Sphinx's Rev for 5, and eventually gained back momentum, wiping the board and playing a Rest in Peace. From then on, I top drew lands and he was able to mill me out with Drownyard.
1. Esper is definitely our worst matchup. The fact that they run so much more permission than us makes it really tough to get through. Plus, they have a lot of effects that are especially good at token strategies. 2. Runechanter's Pike underperfromed, and I always sided it out because it was either too slow or not necessary. 3. The sideboard is pretty strong, though I think we need some extra fuel against Esper. A singleton Psychic Spiral may actually be correct, but that card is dead to every other matchup. I think we need to bring in something else against besides VoR, I just don't know what yet. Otherwise, our sideboard is very diverse and allows for some really huge blowouts against most types of decks. 4. I was reluctant to put in boardwipes, but Supreme Verdict was definitely a useful card to throw in. I saved me on a couple occasions. 5. Simic Charm was fantastic. I'm not sure if running 3 is necessary, but I definitely won't be running less than 2. It saved my tokens a lot of the time, and was just an unsummon when I needed it otherwise.
So in terms of changes, I think the deck I'm running is pretty solid. It's very versatile, which is important. Runechanter's Pike is definitely getting cut - maybe that card will be good in another build, but it was just too slow for me. Devoting 2 mana to equip is actually a huge tempo loss, and most of the time didn't give me as many options as I wanted. The Wurm tokens are already such hefty beaters that we don't need to devote more mana to them.
VoR was fantastic. I don't want to mainboard it, but I want 4 on the side now, just to increase the chance of playing one on turn 2 or just having multiples out, which is scary. Mainboarding it is not idea because although it is great against control, it falters against aggro, just being a glorified chump blocker. Also, siding them in gives us higher chances for blowouts. Both games I sided them in, my opponents were incredibly surprised to see them, and really didn't have much hate for them prepared. If we mainboard them, we give our opponents the ability to sideboard for them, which is not ideal.
The mainboard Ghost Quarter was actually incredibly helpful, and perhaps having another on the side is a reasonable answer to Esper. In all the rounds except the first, I used it. Against Rites, I blew up their Vault of the Archangel, against Grixis I had to blow up my own land for pseudo mana fixing, which let me win the game, and against Esper I blew up a Drownyard. I think it is a really underrated card right now, but has a lot of value, especially against tough boardstates.
So I think going forward I'm looking at -1 Runchanter's Pike, +1 Supreme Verdict/Unsummon mainboard, and maybe +1 Ghost Quarter and +1 VoR in the sideboard, though I'm not sure what to take out.
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Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Interesting, thanks for your feedback. I played a different deck at FNM but brought Bant Flash and played a few games and was very impressed. I feel like the play that was absolutely impossible to come back from for most decks is Rewind -> Advent, which is a total beating.
Are you going to cut Runechanter's Pike altogether or simply move it to the sideboard? Was it ever useful?
Edit:
Azorius Charm is a funny card. It feels kind of underwhelming against a deck playing a lot of bombs, like Jund, but against true agressive decks it can be a wrecking ball especially if you can string a couple together with a Snapcaster or just playing 2. Really acts like a time walk at times.
[QUOTE=giddygorgon;/comments/11682282]Interesting, thanks for your feedback. I played a different deck at FNM but brought Bant Flash and played a few games and was very impressed. I feel like the play that was absolutely impossible to come back from for most decks is Rewind -> Advent, which is a total beating.
Are you going to cut Runechanter's Pike altogether or simply move it to the sideboard? Was it ever useful?[QUOTE]
I'm cutting it. I don't think it's a useful card for us right now - at least not in my build. It's sluggish and awkward, and although it can allow us to swing in heavy damage, usually our Wurms are just enough to close out games.
So last night I took part in another 4 round FNM-esque event, though it was a lot more competitive. I ended up at 2-2 using the exact same list as before (I didn't have time to sub out Runechanter's Pike), though instead of Resto Angel I decided to test out 2 Deputy of Acquittals. Here's the breakdown.
This matchup was very easy, and I feel like in general, Jund is an easy deck for us. I countered all of his threats and eventually hammered enough damage with Wurm tokens to take the win. Pretty uneventful - the deck worked as it should and that was that.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Deputy of Acquittals, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Renounce the Guilds, +1 Feeling of Dread
This time, I hammered in some damage with a token but he was able to kill it. I countered most of his stuff, played another token, and he dropped a Sire of Insanity. With no answer, I dropped my hand and was suddenly in top draw mode. However, an Advent of the Wurm helped me start played a beatdown strategy, and he eventually had to block. Next turn he dropped a Master of Cruelties, but an Unsummon draw let me swing in for lethal.
I'm not 100% sure what to call this deck. It had control cards in it, but also cards like Geist and Boros Reckoner and Izzet Staticaster. Strange, but he was a good player. However, game one I used 3 Selesnya Charms in a row and devoted cards to protecting them from his cards. He played a Geist of Saint Traft but it wasn't enough and my 3 2/2s eventually hammered enough damage in to kill him.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -1 Azorius Charm, -1 Selesnya Charm, +2 Dispel, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +1 Renounce the Guilds
Game 2 was pretty slow. He Boros Charm'd me twice, and Dispel'd both my attempts to Sphinx Rev. He then played an Izzet Staticaster (to kill Snapcasters I guess?), and I played VoR. He attempted a Pillar of Flame but I boosted it with a Selesnya Charm. He played a Boros Reckoner, which I couldn't beat with my field, and had to Supreme Verdict. He dropped Ral Zarek, killing my token, and I played a Wurm to kill his Ral. He didn't have an out to the token and played another Ral, but I played another Wurm and it was game over.
I kept an iffy hand, and he led with two Lingering Souls, followed by a Gavony Township. I Dissipate'd an Unburial Rites and hit a Supreme Verdict, saving me. I played an Augur of Bolas into an empty field followed by Runechanter's Pike. He flashed in a Resto Angel and hit me. Next turn I peeled an Advent of the Wurm. However, instead of keeping mana up for my Selesnya Charm and Advent, I opted to attach the Runechanter's Pike, leaving only 5 mana open. Next turn he played a Craterhoof Behemoth and won.
Side: -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Deputy of Acquittals, -2 Azorius Charm, -1 Augur of Bolas, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Purify the Grave, +2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
Second game was really bad. I mulliganed to 6, keeping two tap lands. I drew into a third one with a Dissipate in hand. He accelerated into an Acidic Slime turn 3 (because of my lands being slow, I couldn't counter it), and blew up my land. I didn't draw any more and promptly lost.
Again with the Junk Rites. Our first game was fine, I was able to counter his threats until he slammed a Cavern of Souls and named 'Ooze'. Yup, another Acidic Slime was there to eat my lands. Next turn he played a Resto Angel, and the turn after that he had an Unburial Rites for when my Snapcaster killed his Slime. Unable to keep four lands up, I lost.
Next game was closer. An early Lingering Souls let him bring the beats, but I was able to Simic Charm one once he dropped Gavony. He put 'Spirit' on a Cavern and dropped an Obzedat, but a Selesnya Charm exiled him. A good Ghost Quarter draw let me blow up his Gavony. I countered his attempt at an Acidic Slime, and we raced for a few turns, my Deputy and Augur vs his spirits and mana dorks. He used Unburial Rites to get back his Slime, but I Snapcaster -> Simic Charm to make my permanents hexproof. He had to blow up his own land (we both thought that was a hilarious play), but eventually his spirits killed me off.
1. I still hate Runechanter's Pike here. 2. Deputy of Acquittals is pretty solid, but Resto Angel is better, aminly because she lets us bring the beats and gives us flying blocks. She isn't as good with Snapcaster, and post-rotation I think Deputy will be fine, but for now I like the flying body way better. 3. If these Acidic Slime Rites decks start becoming more rampant, my Unsummon may become a third Unsummon. It's very important that we protect our lands. 4. I definitely think a second Ghost Quarter in the main or the side is important now. Blowing up Gavony and Cavern is so important in a lot of these matchups.
The deck feels like its inching closer to where I want it. Deputy was a cool tryout, but I don't think he will make the cut. I don't know if we can support two Ghost Quarters mainboard, but we definitely want 2 against all the utility lands going around. I think the next time I play it, I'll throw in a Simic Charm instead of the third Unsummon to see if it makes any negative impact. If not, that may be very important since Rites seems to be king and between the main and side a lot of them run 4 Acidic Slimes. It also may be more relevant to run a second Dissipate instead of a second Rewind, but Rewind just gives us so many blowouts.
Also, I was thinking maybe a Pithing Needle on the sideboard could work instead of a Ghost Quarter. It can name any of the troubling utility lands, and can name Jace as a Planeswalker against Esper if we really need it. Just a thought - I like that it has implications in multiple matchups is all.
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Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
I've been wanting to test GoST to see if it improves the Reanimator or Esper MU, and MD voice should also help against esper and aggro. I wasn't sure how good it would be against aggro, but I watched a replay of a match where 2 Voices (from junk tokens) pretty much shut down a zombie player until the junk decks late game stuff could take over, which is essentially what we need against the aggressive decks.
I'm undecided on Simic Charm and Unsummon, and what the last slot in my SB should be. It's possible that I cut 1 Trostani and run 2 of the 3 cards. Also, I didn't even think about running Deathrite without black mana until I saw it in the SB of the 7th place list, but it makes perfect sense. If it comes down turn 1 or 2 I don't think they (reanimator) can beat it. If we had black mana it would be awesome against esper too, but I don't think its worth trying to run farseek for that. As a bonus it's at least graveyard hate that can advance us to a turn 3 Wurm or pickup Pike and swing, so on paper it seems like the answer I want.
I'm a little unsure about GoST. It seems good against control decks, but this is an area where we probably already have the biggest advantage, especially with Voice.
I'm contemplating a Moorland Haunt and a few more creatures in the SB for heavier control matchups but I don't think maindeck GoST helps with the matchups that seem to present the greatest problems.
This past weekend in my area there was a PTQ and GPT (Saturday, Sunday respectively).
My FNM is pretty competitive and after an abysmal performance with RWU flash, I decided to change up my deck to Bant Flash. Unfortunately, I did not get the changes in time for the PTQ (that and I did not have any testing under my belt), but I did participate in the GPT.
My Decklist was a culmination of LordGrimpow's list on page 3 of this forum, the top 8 list from SCG Charlotte, and a bit of my own muddling. Initially I had a bunch of unsummons, but at deck registration I changed all but 1 into more Simic charms. Also changed the SB glaring spotlight into skylasher:
The GPT was a smallish event with a four round cut to top 4. Please note: I did not take notes at the tournament, so please forgive the spotty recollection.
Game1: I start out in pretty good shape. Early pressure is met with consecutive Sphinx Revs for 3, 7, 9, though most are filling my hand with lands more than spells. I use charms, counters, and Wurm tokens to bounce and/or kill everything, and start chipping at his life with a Wurm token late game to finish him off with about 16 cards left in my library. A main deck T2 ground seal really threw me for a loop and at one point I did cast a snappy into a bonfire attempting to flashback a counter...
Game 2: I keep a greedy 3x Wurm, 3 core land, 1 Sphinx's Rev. T2 my opponent duresses me to see the above + a 2nd revelation. Unfortunately, I draw no land, while I see 2x Huntsmaster land and they finish me off in short order.
Game 3: I dont recall too much in this match, but I do recall some key points:
Similar to G1 I kill//bounce/counter most everything
T3 slaughter games takes my wurms
T5 Staff of nin slips through... and I'm at 7 life (seriously thought I was dead at this point). multiple Sphinx's revs keep me from dying (just barely though)
An early Curse of Echoes on my opponent caused all kinds of trouble for him.
A plasm capture of a miracled bonfire for 11 nets me 23 mana (according to the judge). I hit him with my copy (from the curse), killing his board and his Garruk. Of course, on my turn I count 14 cards left in my library so the Revelation is pretty dead. I was really wishing it was a blue sun's zenith...
Syncopate was not dead late game as he kept tapping down fully for bonfires and rakdos returns.
I protect my 2 late game Angels and beat down. Finish game T5 of turns with 4 cards left in my deck (3 land & Augur).
Overall: 1-0 (2/1 games)
Game 1: I start early beats with knight token. I run into early Ral Zarek and it kills token then ticks up to 6 while my threats keep getting bounced or killed (cyclonic rift!). I manage to land a wurm and protect it with simic charm, kill Zarek, snap -> wurm deals with Tamiyo. Beats commence.
Game 2: I had sided out my creature removal package for creature beatdown, and drew nothing while he drew peddler, huntsmaster x2, and beat me down in quick order.
Game 3: I keep a reasonable hand, and it is negated by counters & bounce. I never see a rev or card draw, and move to top deck "land/go" for about 7 turns in a row...
Overall 1/1 (3/3 games)
Not much to say about Game 1. I fall to low life early, but wurm tokens & snappy put up a wall, and sphinx's revs keep me alive (just barely).
Game 2: I face a slower start from my opponent, but that is because he has 2 reckoners & hellrider, and lightning mauler. A selesnya token trades the mauler, though the 2x reckoners land. T4 I 2x azorius charm the 2 reckoners and take a beating from the hellrider. T5 a wurm trades with the hellrider. From this point I attack with the wurm, he blocks with the reckoner in play and I azorius charm it, trampling through. I draw 2 snapcasters and an angel, so the 3 azorius charms
in my grave yard keep my opponent from blocking or drawing new cards. I win and really put this opponent on tilt (I feel bad, he is a friend).
Overall 2/1 (5/3 games)
Unfortunately, due to people dropping and previous pairs, I get stuck facing 2nd place...
Game 1: Again, another jund player with MD ground seal... I keep a hand with several azorious charms, land, sphinx rev. T3 lilly followed by T4 Hunstmaster & T5 Garruk relentless put me on my back foot. I dont draw a wurm and my selesnya knight is held off my the huntsmaster (I bounced the wolf token). Lilly ultimates in short order and I dont recover. (later find out that he MD's 1 lilly and 1 Garruk... lucky...)
Game 2: I flood out horribly and die quickly.
Overall 2/2 (5/5)
Due to people dropping, and the late loss I end up in 5th place. Thanks to the judge (an idiot/a**hole that I personally know), only people in the top four get prize support, so I miss out on everything... oh well.
Going forward. I feel that I need answers to plainswalkers other than just wurms. I also need some way to interact with non-creature permanents.
With this in mind, I will be testing out Cyclonic rift in the MD (I did not like the Supreme Verdict as my only non-flash spell (not including creatures)). I will also consider Ray of Revelation in the board (not mentioned above, but the jund players were running Deadbridge Chant and that gave me a wealth of issues). Pithing Needle (mentioned above) may also be a good non-creature permanent answer.
I need more draw to help with land floods. Knowing this, I'm swapping the thoughtscours (which I was unimpressed with all day; not running pike) with Think Twices.
Going forward. I feel that I need answers to plainswalkers other than just wurms. I also need some way to interact with non-creature permanents.
With this in mind, I will be testing out Cyclonic rift in the MD (I did not like the Supreme Verdict as my only non-flash spell (not including creatures)). I will also consider Ray of Revelation in the board (not mentioned above, but the jund players were running Deadbridge Chant and that gave me a wealth of issues). Pithing Needle (mentioned above) may also be a good non-creature permanent answer.
I need more draw to help with land floods. Knowing this, I'm swapping the thoughtscours (which I was unimpressed with all day; not running pike) with Think Twices.
Any thoughts/comments?
[/color]
Thanks for the tournament report - every little bit helps so we can figure out how to tweak the deck further!
I run one Ray of Revelation in my sideboard and it does work occasionally. It's a good out to Bant Hexproof, which is a pretty bad matchup for us if they go turn 2 Geist, so we have to kind of rely on enchantment destruction to help out. It's also good against Deadbridge Chant, and Assemble the Legion, though the nice thing is that Renounce the Guilds also helps against all three of those situations as well.
I agree on Thought Scour - I'll probably be turning mine into Think Twice to see how that does. Not only was I unimpressed with Pike, but Think Twice seems to just be a better card draw engine for our deck since we can flash it back when they don't do anything noteworthy. Originally I thought it may be too slow for us, but I think it may have a good place, especially in helping us dig post-sideboard.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Bant hexproof is a deck that I am concerned about. I was running a glaring spotlight along with aetherize and paraselene when I was play UWR flash, but trimmed these down to just the spotlight to include renounce the guilds.
I last minute cut spotlight for the skylasher as I did not want a SB card that would only be for 1 deck, and that would only impact geist and stalker (and would not allow me to block stalker). That being said, the small tournament did not give me a chance to play skylasher in any matchup, nor did i run into hexproof in any case.
That being said, I'm still concerned with this matchup...
Skylasher can block geists, cannot be unsummoned. In addition, it is a "surprise" blocker that can come down against any x/2 and trade with it. Overall, it felt like a more capable answer to bant hexproof, though it would not be great if the opposing creature was given trample (new armadillo cloak comes to mind).
Conversely, spotlight would let me bounce/block geist/stalkers, or even selesnya charm them if they had enough pants. BUT, spotlight is pretty narrow (bant hexproof and possibly RWU running geists).
Skylasher is an interesting card. I think it actually is incredibly good against not only Bant Hexproof but has merits against Esper, another bad matchup for us. The only out they have to the card is a boardwipe, Edict effect, or Ultimate Price, which sounds like a lot, but protecting it with countermagic and creating tokens to supplement to its threat factor can make it a pretty huge threat. Not being able to be Azorius Charm'd gives it a huge advantage in the meta.
I'm not saying we should all play it, but it's worth taking note of - it's a pretty solid and unexpected card.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
As a defensive measure, I have to imagine that Supreme Verdict is just better. It may have merit against Esper, but that would require extensive testing, and I don't know if Esper is a big enough deck to merit such testing.
idle thought: but if Voice of Resurgence is so good against aggro & control, would it be better in the Main? I'm contemplating cutting my augur of bolas as the 1/3 body is easily removed against aggro, and even with 26 instants in my current build, I have had him miss several times during play in the GPT.
Granted, frequently we will be left with a meager 1/1 (due to lack of creatures) if voice is killed, but that would still give us essentially 2 blockers (akin to Thraggy, though for a significantly reduced cmc).
idle thought: but if Voice of Resurgence is so good against aggro & control, would it be better in the Main? I'm contemplating cutting my augur of bolas as the 1/3 body is easily removed against aggro, and even with 26 instants in my current build, I have had him miss several times during play in the GPT.
Granted, frequently we will be left with a meager 1/1 (due to lack of creatures) if voice is killed, but that would still give us essentially 2 blockers (akin to Thraggy, though for a significantly reduced cmc).
I talked about this a bit earlier. Voice is a fantastic card, but I personally don't want to main deck it. I would rather have four on the sideboard. The reason being is that it is a great card to bring in versus decks, and its a card they will often not be prepared for. If we play voice and keep it in the main, then they will have a frame of reference on preparing to deal with the card. Most people don't make the correlation that we will bring it in because a lot of people still don't view it as a card that goes into control esque decks. I like the element of surprise, and it really helps our matches after game 1.
That's my two cents, though Matt Costa talked about main decking it as well. I personally haven't had great success against aggro with the card, and don't believe it's great in every match. Against aggro its a blocker that usually just trades or chumps, and then chumps again. Not too impressive, while Augur can realistically at least hold off some attackers for multiple turns.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Unless I get a wild hair and decide to play something else, I think I'm playing 4 MD voice tonight so I'll be able to see how they do. Anything Augur can hold off voice should be able to trade with, and it leaves behind a small body that can save a little life.
I'm going to run 1 MD Pike since that should make the token a little better. And it forces people to cast spells on our turn if they want to respond to the equip which makes the front half better.
It all could turn out to be a big mistake, but Augur isn't really that good or necessary, and it frees up SB slots.
That was along my thoughts as well. I only [currently] have access to 3 voice, but I will try them out as well tonight. I'll post results if I can later tomorrow.
Definitely let me know how they do- if you guys have successful reports and he rocks the house ill definitely throw them in the main and try them at FNM this week.
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Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
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C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
I'm already running four Thought Scour. I feel that Think twice is too slow.
I'm considering the cantrip and charms/bounce package as a whole. I believe the Matt Costa package was:
4 Azorius Charm
2 Selesnya Charm
2 Think Twice
4 Thought Scour
3 Unsummon
I'm contemplating something either like:
4 Azorius Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
4 Thought Scour
4 Unsummon
which seems better against a lot of super agressive decks.
and also contemplating Farseek since getting to 4 ASAP is so important.
I'm also questioning Voice a little bit. It's obviously a powerful card, but I've felt that this deck is pretty strong against control regardless and I kind of wish I could devote those slots to something better against agressive decks.
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Farseek
3 Azorius Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Detention Sphere
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Syncopate
3 Sphinx’s Revelation
1 Dissipate
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Breeding Pool
3 Hinterland Harbor
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Glacial Fortress
1 Forest
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Gavony Township
2 Dissipate
1 Negate
2 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Centaur Healer
1 Silklash Spider
3 Rest in Peace
Basically it's PSZ Bant but with the PSZ and AoS replaced with Advent of the Wurm and a land shaved off since my curve now tops out at 5. Seems like we would still want to bounce Swagtusks. We'll see how this deck does tonight.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
Second round, he got stuck on three lands and I was able to drop two Wurm tokens in a row and that was it.
Side: -1 Unsummon, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -1 Supreme Verdict, +2 Purify the Grave, +1 Progenitor Mimic
Second game he was able to hit some Unburial Rites off Grisly Salvage, and dumped Angel of Serenity into the graveyard, but a good Purify the Grave draw ended up making that a bad play for him. With countermagic in hand and graveyard, I was able to counter his threats while my Wurm token took him to 0.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Restoration Angel, +1 Dispel, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Feeling of Dread
The second game I got a pretty good grip of the game, though my opponent was stuck on only one black source. A turn two Voice of Resurgence caused her to have to Burn it on her turn, which gave me a token, which I then buffed with a Selesnya Charm token and then a Wurm. She played a Duskmantle Seer, but I was able to Unsummon it and throw lethal damage her way.
Side: -1 Selesnya Charm, +1 Dispel
This match was a close one. An early Voice of Resurgence caused her to have to Burn it again, which was followed by two Selesnya Charm tokens. I was able to hold off her team with counters and Feeling of Dread, but eventually she got a Nighthawk to resolve and killed off my team with Ultimate Price and aggressive blockers. At that point, she was at 4 life and played a Duskmantle Seer. I was hoping to get lucky and have her kill herself, but of course she revealed a land and I revealed a rewind, taking 4. She swung, putting herself back up to 6 with the Lifelink, and I drew into a Supreme Verdict. Next, she again revealed a land, and I got an Advent of the Wurm. Another 4 damage, followed by her swing, putting her at 8 and me at 1. She then used Slaughter Games naming Sphinx's Rev, but both were already in my graveyard, so dodged that bullet. I was able to play my Supreme Verdict followed by my Wurm, and she drew into nothing, so I was able to knock her to 0 in two swings. Very close game overall.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -2 Restoration Angel, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -1 Unsummon, -1 Supreme Verdict, -1 Azorius Charm, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Dispel, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Purify the Grave
Game two started strong with Voice of Resurgence, causing him to have to kill it on his turn, and in response I dropped two Selesnya Charm tokens. I brought some heavy beats the next few turns, and he dropped a Jace and killed a Knight so I could only hit Jace for 4 after he used the +1. However, a lucky Selesnya Charm let me kill Jace and keep swinging. However, with no counterspells in my hand and no Snapcasters, he was able to Sphinx's Rev for 5, and eventually gained back momentum, wiping the board and playing a Rest in Peace. From then on, I top drew lands and he was able to mill me out with Drownyard.
2. Runechanter's Pike underperfromed, and I always sided it out because it was either too slow or not necessary.
3. The sideboard is pretty strong, though I think we need some extra fuel against Esper. A singleton Psychic Spiral may actually be correct, but that card is dead to every other matchup. I think we need to bring in something else against besides VoR, I just don't know what yet. Otherwise, our sideboard is very diverse and allows for some really huge blowouts against most types of decks.
4. I was reluctant to put in boardwipes, but Supreme Verdict was definitely a useful card to throw in. I saved me on a couple occasions.
5. Simic Charm was fantastic. I'm not sure if running 3 is necessary, but I definitely won't be running less than 2. It saved my tokens a lot of the time, and was just an unsummon when I needed it otherwise.
So in terms of changes, I think the deck I'm running is pretty solid. It's very versatile, which is important. Runechanter's Pike is definitely getting cut - maybe that card will be good in another build, but it was just too slow for me. Devoting 2 mana to equip is actually a huge tempo loss, and most of the time didn't give me as many options as I wanted. The Wurm tokens are already such hefty beaters that we don't need to devote more mana to them.
VoR was fantastic. I don't want to mainboard it, but I want 4 on the side now, just to increase the chance of playing one on turn 2 or just having multiples out, which is scary. Mainboarding it is not idea because although it is great against control, it falters against aggro, just being a glorified chump blocker. Also, siding them in gives us higher chances for blowouts. Both games I sided them in, my opponents were incredibly surprised to see them, and really didn't have much hate for them prepared. If we mainboard them, we give our opponents the ability to sideboard for them, which is not ideal.
The mainboard Ghost Quarter was actually incredibly helpful, and perhaps having another on the side is a reasonable answer to Esper. In all the rounds except the first, I used it. Against Rites, I blew up their Vault of the Archangel, against Grixis I had to blow up my own land for pseudo mana fixing, which let me win the game, and against Esper I blew up a Drownyard. I think it is a really underrated card right now, but has a lot of value, especially against tough boardstates.
So I think going forward I'm looking at -1 Runchanter's Pike, +1 Supreme Verdict/Unsummon mainboard, and maybe +1 Ghost Quarter and +1 VoR in the sideboard, though I'm not sure what to take out.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Are you going to cut Runechanter's Pike altogether or simply move it to the sideboard? Was it ever useful?
Edit:
Azorius Charm is a funny card. It feels kind of underwhelming against a deck playing a lot of bombs, like Jund, but against true agressive decks it can be a wrecking ball especially if you can string a couple together with a Snapcaster or just playing 2. Really acts like a time walk at times.
Are you going to cut Runechanter's Pike altogether or simply move it to the sideboard? Was it ever useful?[QUOTE]
I'm cutting it. I don't think it's a useful card for us right now - at least not in my build. It's sluggish and awkward, and although it can allow us to swing in heavy damage, usually our Wurms are just enough to close out games.
So last night I took part in another 4 round FNM-esque event, though it was a lot more competitive. I ended up at 2-2 using the exact same list as before (I didn't have time to sub out Runechanter's Pike), though instead of Resto Angel I decided to test out 2 Deputy of Acquittals. Here's the breakdown.
This matchup was very easy, and I feel like in general, Jund is an easy deck for us. I countered all of his threats and eventually hammered enough damage with Wurm tokens to take the win. Pretty uneventful - the deck worked as it should and that was that.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Deputy of Acquittals, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +2 Renounce the Guilds, +1 Feeling of Dread
This time, I hammered in some damage with a token but he was able to kill it. I countered most of his stuff, played another token, and he dropped a Sire of Insanity. With no answer, I dropped my hand and was suddenly in top draw mode. However, an Advent of the Wurm helped me start played a beatdown strategy, and he eventually had to block. Next turn he dropped a Master of Cruelties, but an Unsummon draw let me swing in for lethal.
I'm not 100% sure what to call this deck. It had control cards in it, but also cards like Geist and Boros Reckoner and Izzet Staticaster. Strange, but he was a good player. However, game one I used 3 Selesnya Charms in a row and devoted cards to protecting them from his cards. He played a Geist of Saint Traft but it wasn't enough and my 3 2/2s eventually hammered enough damage in to kill him.
Side: -3 Augur of Bolas, -1 Runechanter's Pike, -1 Azorius Charm, -1 Selesnya Charm, +2 Dispel, +3 Voice of Resurgence, +1 Renounce the Guilds
Game 2 was pretty slow. He Boros Charm'd me twice, and Dispel'd both my attempts to Sphinx Rev. He then played an Izzet Staticaster (to kill Snapcasters I guess?), and I played VoR. He attempted a Pillar of Flame but I boosted it with a Selesnya Charm. He played a Boros Reckoner, which I couldn't beat with my field, and had to Supreme Verdict. He dropped Ral Zarek, killing my token, and I played a Wurm to kill his Ral. He didn't have an out to the token and played another Ral, but I played another Wurm and it was game over.
I kept an iffy hand, and he led with two Lingering Souls, followed by a Gavony Township. I Dissipate'd an Unburial Rites and hit a Supreme Verdict, saving me. I played an Augur of Bolas into an empty field followed by Runechanter's Pike. He flashed in a Resto Angel and hit me. Next turn I peeled an Advent of the Wurm. However, instead of keeping mana up for my Selesnya Charm and Advent, I opted to attach the Runechanter's Pike, leaving only 5 mana open. Next turn he played a Craterhoof Behemoth and won.
Side: -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Deputy of Acquittals, -2 Azorius Charm, -1 Augur of Bolas, +2 Feeling of Dread, +2 Purify the Grave, +2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
Second game was really bad. I mulliganed to 6, keeping two tap lands. I drew into a third one with a Dissipate in hand. He accelerated into an Acidic Slime turn 3 (because of my lands being slow, I couldn't counter it), and blew up my land. I didn't draw any more and promptly lost.
Again with the Junk Rites. Our first game was fine, I was able to counter his threats until he slammed a Cavern of Souls and named 'Ooze'. Yup, another Acidic Slime was there to eat my lands. Next turn he played a Resto Angel, and the turn after that he had an Unburial Rites for when my Snapcaster killed his Slime. Unable to keep four lands up, I lost.
Side: -1 Runechanter's Pike, -2 Azorius Charm, +2 Purify the Grave, +1 Progenitor Mimic
Next game was closer. An early Lingering Souls let him bring the beats, but I was able to Simic Charm one once he dropped Gavony. He put 'Spirit' on a Cavern and dropped an Obzedat, but a Selesnya Charm exiled him. A good Ghost Quarter draw let me blow up his Gavony. I countered his attempt at an Acidic Slime, and we raced for a few turns, my Deputy and Augur vs his spirits and mana dorks. He used Unburial Rites to get back his Slime, but I Snapcaster -> Simic Charm to make my permanents hexproof. He had to blow up his own land (we both thought that was a hilarious play), but eventually his spirits killed me off.
1. I still hate Runechanter's Pike here.
2. Deputy of Acquittals is pretty solid, but Resto Angel is better, aminly because she lets us bring the beats and gives us flying blocks. She isn't as good with Snapcaster, and post-rotation I think Deputy will be fine, but for now I like the flying body way better.
3. If these Acidic Slime Rites decks start becoming more rampant, my Unsummon may become a third Unsummon. It's very important that we protect our lands.
4. I definitely think a second Ghost Quarter in the main or the side is important now. Blowing up Gavony and Cavern is so important in a lot of these matchups.
The deck feels like its inching closer to where I want it. Deputy was a cool tryout, but I don't think he will make the cut. I don't know if we can support two Ghost Quarters mainboard, but we definitely want 2 against all the utility lands going around. I think the next time I play it, I'll throw in a Simic Charm instead of the third Unsummon to see if it makes any negative impact. If not, that may be very important since Rites seems to be king and between the main and side a lot of them run 4 Acidic Slimes. It also may be more relevant to run a second Dissipate instead of a second Rewind, but Rewind just gives us so many blowouts.
Also, I was thinking maybe a Pithing Needle on the sideboard could work instead of a Ghost Quarter. It can name any of the troubling utility lands, and can name Jace as a Planeswalker against Esper if we really need it. Just a thought - I like that it has implications in multiple matchups is all.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
I think after looking at some of the lists from SCG, I've compiled a list I will try out this week.
1 Runechanter's Pike
Creatures
1 Restoration Angel
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Geist of Saint Traft
Instants
4 Advent of the Wurm
3 Azorius Charm
2 Rewind
2 Selesnya Charm
3 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Syncopate
4 Thought Scour
2 Unsummon/Simic Charm
4 Breeding Pool
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Moorland Haunt
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
1 Progenitor Mimic
2 Renounce the Guilds
2 Unflinching Courage
2 Dispel
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Deathrite Shaman
1 Negate/Pithing Needle/Psychic Spiral
I've been wanting to test GoST to see if it improves the Reanimator or Esper MU, and MD voice should also help against esper and aggro. I wasn't sure how good it would be against aggro, but I watched a replay of a match where 2 Voices (from junk tokens) pretty much shut down a zombie player until the junk decks late game stuff could take over, which is essentially what we need against the aggressive decks.
I'm undecided on Simic Charm and Unsummon, and what the last slot in my SB should be. It's possible that I cut 1 Trostani and run 2 of the 3 cards. Also, I didn't even think about running Deathrite without black mana until I saw it in the SB of the 7th place list, but it makes perfect sense. If it comes down turn 1 or 2 I don't think they (reanimator) can beat it. If we had black mana it would be awesome against esper too, but I don't think its worth trying to run farseek for that. As a bonus it's at least graveyard hate that can advance us to a turn 3 Wurm or pickup Pike and swing, so on paper it seems like the answer I want.
I'm contemplating a Moorland Haunt and a few more creatures in the SB for heavier control matchups but I don't think maindeck GoST helps with the matchups that seem to present the greatest problems.
This past weekend in my area there was a PTQ and GPT (Saturday, Sunday respectively).
My FNM is pretty competitive and after an abysmal performance with RWU flash, I decided to change up my deck to Bant Flash. Unfortunately, I did not get the changes in time for the PTQ (that and I did not have any testing under my belt), but I did participate in the GPT.
My Decklist was a culmination of LordGrimpow's list on page 3 of this forum, the top 8 list from SCG Charlotte, and a bit of my own muddling. Initially I had a bunch of unsummons, but at deck registration I changed all but 1 into more Simic charms. Also changed the SB glaring spotlight into skylasher:
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Restoration Angel
Instants
4 Avadent of the Wurm
4 Azorius Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
3 Simic Charm
4 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Syncopate
2 plasm capture
3 Thought Scour
1 Unsummon
1 Supreme Verdict
Lands
4 Hollowed Fountain
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
3 Temple Garden
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
2 Renounce the Guilds
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Voice of Resurgance
2 Negate
2 Purify the Grave
1 Progenitor Mimic
1 Curse of Echoes
1 Skylasher
The GPT was a smallish event with a four round cut to top 4. Please note: I did not take notes at the tournament, so please forgive the spotty recollection.
Game1: I start out in pretty good shape. Early pressure is met with consecutive Sphinx Revs for 3, 7, 9, though most are filling my hand with lands more than spells. I use charms, counters, and Wurm tokens to bounce and/or kill everything, and start chipping at his life with a Wurm token late game to finish him off with about 16 cards left in my library. A main deck T2 ground seal really threw me for a loop and at one point I did cast a snappy into a bonfire attempting to flashback a counter...
Game 2: I keep a greedy 3x Wurm, 3 core land, 1 Sphinx's Rev. T2 my opponent duresses me to see the above + a 2nd revelation. Unfortunately, I draw no land, while I see 2x Huntsmaster land and they finish me off in short order.
Game 3: I dont recall too much in this match, but I do recall some key points:
Overall: 1-0 (2/1 games)
Game 1: I start early beats with knight token. I run into early Ral Zarek and it kills token then ticks up to 6 while my threats keep getting bounced or killed (cyclonic rift!). I manage to land a wurm and protect it with simic charm, kill Zarek, snap -> wurm deals with Tamiyo. Beats commence.
Game 2: I had sided out my creature removal package for creature beatdown, and drew nothing while he drew peddler, huntsmaster x2, and beat me down in quick order.
Game 3: I keep a reasonable hand, and it is negated by counters & bounce. I never see a rev or card draw, and move to top deck "land/go" for about 7 turns in a row...
Overall 1/1 (3/3 games)
Not much to say about Game 1. I fall to low life early, but wurm tokens & snappy put up a wall, and sphinx's revs keep me alive (just barely).
Game 2: I face a slower start from my opponent, but that is because he has 2 reckoners & hellrider, and lightning mauler. A selesnya token trades the mauler, though the 2x reckoners land. T4 I 2x azorius charm the 2 reckoners and take a beating from the hellrider. T5 a wurm trades with the hellrider. From this point I attack with the wurm, he blocks with the reckoner in play and I azorius charm it, trampling through. I draw 2 snapcasters and an angel, so the 3 azorius charms
in my grave yard keep my opponent from blocking or drawing new cards. I win and really put this opponent on tilt (I feel bad, he is a friend).
Overall 2/1 (5/3 games)
Unfortunately, due to people dropping and previous pairs, I get stuck facing 2nd place...
Game 1: Again, another jund player with MD ground seal... I keep a hand with several azorious charms, land, sphinx rev. T3 lilly followed by T4 Hunstmaster & T5 Garruk relentless put me on my back foot. I dont draw a wurm and my selesnya knight is held off my the huntsmaster (I bounced the wolf token). Lilly ultimates in short order and I dont recover. (later find out that he MD's 1 lilly and 1 Garruk... lucky...)
Game 2: I flood out horribly and die quickly.
Overall 2/2 (5/5)
Due to people dropping, and the late loss I end up in 5th place. Thanks to the judge (an idiot/a**hole that I personally know), only people in the top four get prize support, so I miss out on everything... oh well.
Going forward. I feel that I need answers to plainswalkers other than just wurms. I also need some way to interact with non-creature permanents.
With this in mind, I will be testing out Cyclonic rift in the MD (I did not like the Supreme Verdict as my only non-flash spell (not including creatures)). I will also consider Ray of Revelation in the board (not mentioned above, but the jund players were running Deadbridge Chant and that gave me a wealth of issues). Pithing Needle (mentioned above) may also be a good non-creature permanent answer.
I need more draw to help with land floods. Knowing this, I'm swapping the thoughtscours (which I was unimpressed with all day; not running pike) with Think Twices.
Any thoughts/comments?
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
Thanks for the tournament report - every little bit helps so we can figure out how to tweak the deck further!
I run one Ray of Revelation in my sideboard and it does work occasionally. It's a good out to Bant Hexproof, which is a pretty bad matchup for us if they go turn 2 Geist, so we have to kind of rely on enchantment destruction to help out. It's also good against Deadbridge Chant, and Assemble the Legion, though the nice thing is that Renounce the Guilds also helps against all three of those situations as well.
I agree on Thought Scour - I'll probably be turning mine into Think Twice to see how that does. Not only was I unimpressed with Pike, but Think Twice seems to just be a better card draw engine for our deck since we can flash it back when they don't do anything noteworthy. Originally I thought it may be too slow for us, but I think it may have a good place, especially in helping us dig post-sideboard.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Bant hexproof is a deck that I am concerned about. I was running a glaring spotlight along with aetherize and paraselene when I was play UWR flash, but trimmed these down to just the spotlight to include renounce the guilds.
I last minute cut spotlight for the skylasher as I did not want a SB card that would only be for 1 deck, and that would only impact geist and stalker (and would not allow me to block stalker). That being said, the small tournament did not give me a chance to play skylasher in any matchup, nor did i run into hexproof in any case.
That being said, I'm still concerned with this matchup...
Ill be on this deck for the foreseeable future
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
Conversely, spotlight would let me bounce/block geist/stalkers, or even selesnya charm them if they had enough pants. BUT, spotlight is pretty narrow (bant hexproof and possibly RWU running geists).
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
I'm not saying we should all play it, but it's worth taking note of - it's a pretty solid and unexpected card.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
Delver is just bad, any spell with a reliable ability is better IMO.
Granted, frequently we will be left with a meager 1/1 (due to lack of creatures) if voice is killed, but that would still give us essentially 2 blockers (akin to Thraggy, though for a significantly reduced cmc).
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
I talked about this a bit earlier. Voice is a fantastic card, but I personally don't want to main deck it. I would rather have four on the sideboard. The reason being is that it is a great card to bring in versus decks, and its a card they will often not be prepared for. If we play voice and keep it in the main, then they will have a frame of reference on preparing to deal with the card. Most people don't make the correlation that we will bring it in because a lot of people still don't view it as a card that goes into control esque decks. I like the element of surprise, and it really helps our matches after game 1.
That's my two cents, though Matt Costa talked about main decking it as well. I personally haven't had great success against aggro with the card, and don't believe it's great in every match. Against aggro its a blocker that usually just trades or chumps, and then chumps again. Not too impressive, while Augur can realistically at least hold off some attackers for multiple turns.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
I'm going to run 1 MD Pike since that should make the token a little better. And it forces people to cast spells on our turn if they want to respond to the equip which makes the front half better.
It all could turn out to be a big mistake, but Augur isn't really that good or necessary, and it frees up SB slots.
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)