I'm planning on making it to the GP as well, see you there!
As to Unsabstantiate, it sure would be nice to have against Supreme Verdict. That being said, it doesn't cantrip like Remand does, and I already don't like Remand for Merfolk. The added option of bouncing a creature is nice, though. I dunno, I might test it in the place of Negate in my SB.
Long story short, I won against Temur midrange/control, U/W Control, Jeskai Kiki/Nahiri, Esper Gifts, Naya Burn, Bant Eldrazi and lost to Allies, Bogles, and Jund. More thorough breakdowns in the spoiler, but beware, it's long. I feel pretty good overall, as this was the first tournament bigger than a LGS I've ever been to.
Here's how the rounds went:
Round 1, Temur Midrange, 2-1
Wasn't really sure what he was playing, I assumed it was Temur Delver and I just didn't see a Delver. Afterwards he showed me a Blood Moon, apparently it was some weird Blue Moon list that splashed green for Goyf. He drew really well game 1 and I didn't. Turn 2 and 3 Goyfs followed by Bolt, Bolt, Snapcaster + Bolt sealed it for me. Got him game two and three pretty easily.
Out: 3x Master of Waves
2x Spreading Seas
In: 2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Swan Song
1x Tidebinder Mage
Round 2, U/W Control, 2-1
Game 1 he got me, he just managed to hit me with a ton of spot removal and two sweepers. Finished me off with Celestial Colonade and Clique in the air. Game 2 and 3 my Pithing Needles kept his Colonades off and he didn't get as lucky with his spot removal/sweepers. All-star of the game went to Phantasmal Image. Cloned his Resto Angel to bounce my own Silvergill and get a free draw.
Out: 3x Master of Waves
In: 3x Pithing Needle
Round 3, Allies, 1-2
Man, this deck is fast. This is the first time I have gone against it, and my inexperience cost me. He wins the roll and is on the play. Swings in for 16 on turn 3. I could have blocked two of his attackers, but it would have left me with an empty field and take nothing from him. I take the 16 and am able to stabilize with two lords on my turn. The board kind of stalls and we both just keep building our sides. I put down a Master of Waves for 6 tokens, but on the next turn still am 2 short of lethal after figuring in his blockers. we sat like that for a couple of turns, and I was absolutely terrified he was going to top deck a Path. I hadn't seen a Seas yet, but I finally top deck another Lord, giving me lethal, even if he flashed in a 5th blocker with his Vial (it was on 3). I didn't think he had one in hand, but I wanted to be sure. I swing the house, he declares blockers. He puts his first striker on my MoW, but that's cool because it was 1 power shy of killing him. He then sacced the land that bounces an Ally to hand, bounced his Rackless Bushwacker to hand in order to flash it in with Vial. It gives the first-striker the extra 1 power he needed, killing my Master and his 6 tokens before dmg. Kills me the next turn. It was my fault for not seeing that play, no excuses. Game 2 I got him, game 3 he landed an Ally that gave all his allies pro-color of his choice and swung for 18 on turn 4. I felt like I should have won this one, was mad at myself all day for losing it.
Out: 2x Harbinger of the Tides
2x Vapor Snag
In: 1x Master of Waves
1x Tidebinder Mage
2x Sea's Claim
Round 4, Bogles, 1-2
Bogles is normally a pretty good matchup for me, but when he gets turn 3 Daybreak Coronet both game 2 and 3, there's not a lot I can do. The only mistake I think I made here was not mulliganning a bit more aggressively to ensure I had a Sea's Claim or Spreading Seas to keep him off double white.
Round 5, Jeskai Control with Kiki/Resto and Nahiri, 2-0
Not much to either of these games. He held me off a while game 1, but he never saw a Resto Angel or Nahiri. Game 2 I just trounced him, he landed a Nahiri when he was on 4 life and I had lethal on my side.
Out: 4x Aether Vial (on the draw and only saw one counterspell game one)
In: 3x Pithing Needle
1x Tidebinder Mage
Round 6, Esper Gifts, 2-1
Game 1 he got me with a Gifts Ungiven grabbing Damnation, Wrath of God, Engineered Explosives, and Supreme Verdict. He follows that two turns later with a Gifts getting Iona, Elesh Norn, Grave Titan, and Unburial Rites with enough mana to hardcast any of them. Game 2 I killed him before he did much of anything, game 3 I kept him off his game with a Swan Song and holding up mana for Negate.
Out: 2x Spreading Seas
2x Vapor Snag
2x Dismember
In: 2x Swan Song
2x Negate
2x Relic of Progenitus
Round 7, Naya Burn, 2-0
Not much to report with this one. Burn is usually a good matchup, but this one was a complete blow-out both games.
Out: 4x Aether Vial
2x Dismember
In: 2x Sea's Claim
2x Swan Song
1x Tidebinder Mage
1x Master of Waves
Round 8, Bant Eldrazi, 2-0
I had never played this matchup, and I gotta say I was a little scared game 1. He's on the play, turn 1 Eldrazi Temple, t2 Eldrazi Temple into Thought Knot Seer, t3 Reality Smasher, t4 Thought Knot Seer, t5 Eldrazi Displacer. I end up beating him anyways thanks to a timely Master of Waves and just completely roll him game 2. Game 2 he didn't see a Temple till turn 5. He did land a Displacer on curve, but I named it with Pithing Needle immediately after he played it.
Round 9, Jund, 0-2
My only 0-2 of the day. Game 1 I played fish, he removed fish. We end up straight bricking lands off the top till he finally gets a Kalitas. I can't do anything about it. Game 2 I get him down to 4, but he is able to stabilize with Grim Lavamancer, Lili, and Scooze. He gets a Bob out, draws a Bolt with Bob and has fuel for Grim. He gets a couple of Goyfs on the board while I am desperately praying for a MoW which never comes. My biggest mistake this round was not boarding in Relics. Lili locked me down pretty well game 1 so I brought in Pithing Needles instead. Which would have been great in game 2 for Lili, Scooze and/or Grim Lavamancer, but I never saw them. I should have boarded heavier I think, but trying to board out was really tough. Aether Vial was helping keep up with Lili game 1, forcing him to use the discard ability if/when he drew removal and dodge them both by Vialing in a creature.
Been testing Hurkyll's in the SB instead of the Sea's Claims, but I decided to go back to 8 Seas. The Seas just come in handy in way too many matchups and the Hurkyll's don't do enough for me in the Affinity mu. The Pithing Needles do help a bit there, but they also put in work against R/G Tron and a couple other matchups. I know most people have dropped down to only 3 Reejereys, but I really feel like he is the best card in the deck.
If that's the case ..what would you do against Lantern Control, when they can just T3 Bridge you and dump their hand.
Also, Hurkyl's is FAR too good of a card on the SB, against Affinity. It singlehandedly wins you games.
On a side note, Merrow Reejerey is a little bit clunky, so that's why theres only really 3 in the 75. I find myself usually boarding out one Reejerey, if i need to find one last card to board out.
See, that's the problem, in my experience, Hurkyl's doesn't single handedly win the game against Affinity. If you draw it at the right time and can finish them on the spot, it helps you win. I've had a few games that I cast it in that I still lost because I wasn't able to kill them. I had to cast it to stave off lethal, couldn't kill them on my turn, and they just proceed to dump their hand again and kill me. I hadn't really given Lantern Control much thought, haven't seen anyone around here running it at all. It might be worth dropping 2 Echoing Truths in the SB as a catch all to the fringe decks I might see.
As far as Reejerey, I have never found him clunky, and he is almost always my preferred turn three play. He allows for some very explosive plays, especially when there are two on board. His usefulness is amazing; untapping lands or Aether Vial to dump your hand, untapping Cavern to cast multiple uncounterable merfolk on the same turn, tapping down blockers when you don't have islandwalk active, bouncing Emrakul to hand with a Harbinger before they can attack; I just can't see myself not running 4 copies.
Been testing Hurkyll's in the SB instead of the Sea's Claims, but I decided to go back to 8 Seas. The Seas just come in handy in way too many matchups and the Hurkyll's don't do enough for me in the Affinity mu. The Pithing Needles do help a bit there, but they also put in work against R/G Tron and a couple other matchups. I know most people have dropped down to only 3 Reejereys, but I really feel like he is the best card in the deck.
This was his first night piloting this deck. He normally runs R/G Tron, so I was happy to see this instead. He kept what he thought would be good hands, but they ended up being too slow. I got him pretty easily both games.
Round 2, Possibility Storm Combo, 2-0
Game 1 I just beat him to death before he even tried for his combo, nothing fancy. Game 2, I draw 1 Mutavault and 6 blue cards. Mulligan to 6, draw 1 Mutavault and 5 blue cards. I go to 5, draw 5 lands and a Swan Song. I keep. End up drawing a few creatures and a Sea's Claim and Spreading Seas. I keep him off red for a while, beat him down to 7 with lethal on board for the next turn and one island untapped. His turn he finally gets his red and casts Possibility Storm, I Swan Song it.
Round 3, Infect (BUG varient), 2-1
Game 1 I manage to keep dropping chump blockers and finally get him. Game two, he gets out a turn two Blighted Agent. I try to Snag it after he pumps, but he casts Simic Charm to give it hexproof. He kills me next turn. Game three goes a little more like game one. I manage to keep blocking his stuff and have a Spell Pierce in hand for when he tries to pump for lethal. I get him.
Round 4, Scapeshift (4-color RGUW Bring to Light)
Game 1 I manage to out race his combo. Game two is super grindy. He wipes my board, I start recovering with Silvergill Adepts, but he lands a Huntmaster of the Fells. I had a Spreading Seas on him, but no lords. He has Huntmaster, the Wolf token, and a Snapcaster. I tap down his Huntmaster with a Tidebinder, but if I swing in we trade evenly. Next turn, same state, 2 Silvergills and one Tidebinder. We draw-go for a few turns. I should have swung in earlier, but I was hoping to draw a lord for the islandwalk. I never did and by the time I started swinging it was too late. Game three I just had a blazing fast hand, killed him on turn five. I believe it was T1 Aether Vial into T2 Cursecatcher/Silvergill into T3 Reejerey/Master of the Pearl Trident into T4 Reejerey.He landed a Obstinate Baloth, which bought him a turn, but I was just too fast for him.
Correction, 8 lands. I typed up the report at the end of a long day, lol.
And about the Tidebinders mainboard, they won my game 1 in the goblin matchup. They really didn't come in handy anywhere else, but they didn't hurt either. Plus there were a few Jund decks there (2 in the top 8), I just got lucky and dodged them. I also saw Scapeshift, so they could have been useful there for Primetime.
Forgot to put this in the original post, the top 8 was 2 Merfolk, 2 Jund, R/G Tron, Bogles, Goblins, and Jeskai Control.
Great work!
I am a huge Sea's Claim lover, great to *sea* others running them to success! Can you give me details about it from game to game? Like, was it clunky with chalice? I'd want to play both cards vs bogles, bushwhacker zoo, and tron, for example, but I'm not sure if I'd run them simultaneously.
I've been running 7 Seas with Claim in the MB and liking it a lot in most matchups, but I find them lackluster vs Infect, Affinity, Mirror,and Elves so I've moved them to SB.
I run 4 Claims in the sideboard. I generally don't bring them in if I'm bringing in Chalices also. I did, however, bring in 2 againse Bogles with Chalices. You're right about them being too clunky against a good part of the meta. I was running 8 seas MB a while back, but I've gone to a more creature heavy MB with the 4 Claims and other answers SB.
As far as Bogles specifically, I brought in 2 Swan Songs, 2 Sea's Claims, and 3 Chalices. The Chalice does negate the Swan Songs, Spell Pierces, and Sea's Claims, but I have found that if you land a Chalice, you don't really need much else. I want as much quick disruption as I can get in that matchup though. Countering key auras and keeping them off their colors is crucial until you land a Chalice. Alot of people would probably disagree with me here, but I feel like having more ammo to keep them supressed is worth the trade off of possibly having some dead cards in hand with a Chalice on the field.
Correction, 8 lands. I typed up the report at the end of a long day, lol.
And about the Tidebinders mainboard, they won my game 1 in the goblin matchup. They really didn't come in handy anywhere else, but they didn't hurt either. Plus there were a few Jund decks there (2 in the top 8), I just got lucky and dodged them. I also saw Scapeshift, so they could have been useful there for Primetime.
Forgot to put this in the original post, the top 8 was 2 Merfolk, 2 Jund, R/G Tron, Bogles, Goblins, and Jeskai Control.
Round 1, U/W Control, 2-0
This one felt like an auto-win. He just couldn't keep up with my clock, nothing fancy, place fish, turned them sideways.
Round 2, Goblins, 2-1
I won game one, just out paced him. Game two, I thought I was safe at 8 life, but he dropped in a bushwacker and was able to swing his Piledriver in for 9. Game three he kept a one land hand and paid for it.
Round 3, G/R Tron, 0-2
Game one he flounces me. Turn three tron and Wurmcoil, turn 4 Ugin. Game 2 I manage to keep him off tron the entire time, but it costs me tempo. He ends up hard casting Ugin with 8 lands.
Round 4, Mirror match, 2-0
I end up on the draw, so I figure he's gonna get it. I win game one by out pacing him and staying off islands. Game 2, also on the draw I hold an Island and a Lord of Atlantis. He Ensnare Souls his Aether Vial, hits me for 5+ a couple of fish. Next turn I Vapor Snag his Aether Vial. I end up dropping my Lord of Atlantis and swinging for lethal.
Round 5, Bogles, Intentional Draw
I'm 4th and he'3 3rd so we draw in order to go get food.
Cut to top 8, 4th Seed
Round 1, Mirror, 2-1
Game 1 I'm on the play, but he just gets there quicker. Game 2 I mulligan to 6 but accidentally draw 7. After he cherry picks my hand, I mulligan down to 5. End up with an Island and two Lords of Atlantis. I figure I'm boned, but I'm able to keep off Islands with just two Darkslick Shores. Aether Vial on 4 counters, he swings in with his entire board. I Vial in Master, netting me 6 tokens. I block his 4 attackers, swing for lethal on my turn. Game two, he plays Kira. I have a Reejerey on board, cast a Cursecatcher to tap down his Master of the Pearl Trident (terrible misplay). I swing in with 2 Cursecatchers and two non-lords. He blocks the Cursecatchers with Kira and a Harbinger of the Tides, completely forgetting about my Reejerey. He is salty when I won't let him take back his block declarations. It leaves him with one creature on board, I finish him off next turn.
Round 2, G/R Tron (same player I lost to before cut), 2-1
Game 1 is just like pre-cut, he rolls me with a turn 3 tron. Game two I manage to keep him off tron long enough to get there. Game 3 same thing, Sea's Claim, Spreading Seas, Sea's Claim, swinging the whole time. I get there while holding him off Tron.
Round 3, Bogles (Same player I ID'd with in round 5), 2-0
Game one I keep him off double white, get him down to 3 life. He manages to get his second white source, plays a Daybreak Coronet on his Spiritwalker, swings in for 8. It isn't enough, I swing in for 12 on my turn. Game two he plays a turn 1 Bogle, turn 2 Hyena Umbra, and that's it thanks to my turn two Chalice of the Void.
All in all, I was thoroughly satisfied with the way the deck performed, won the whole thing with it. I wish I had gone with Pithing Needles instead of Relics in the SB, but I was expecting to see a few CoCo's there. Not sure if there was or not, but I didn't see any.
Sorry if there is some confusion, the list at the top of my post is what I have in my SB right now, the second list is a list of cards I have available to add to my SB/ switch out with cards that are already there.
Hey all, going to a modern event tomorrow and was hoping for some input on my SB. I am very comfortable with the MD as-is, but I am open to any suggestions on the SB, even taking out some of the stuff I have there. I currently have 3 open slots in the SB, not sure what to fill them with. Here's my list:
I am expecting R/G Tron, U Tron, Scapeshift (R/G and 5-Color Control), Burn, and Land D primarily, also possibly the mirror, Delver, and Jund. Being able to take it up to 8 seas with the 2 Claims in the SB has helped a good bit against R/G Tron and Jund, I added in the Pithing Needles to help with the Tron matchup as well as the mirror, Affinity, whatever else. The guy that was running the 5-color Scapeshift deck last week mentioned possibly adding Worship to his SB, so I thought about putting Vapor Snags in the SB to combat that (he runs the white wall that draws a card on entering). If I were to add Vapor Snags, I could see cutting the Echoing Truths, as every time I have boarded them in, it has either been as extra quasi-spot removal or in fear of Worship. I also considered dropping in Tidebinders to help combat Primetime from Scapeshift.
Here's what I have available as SB options without having to pick anything up, although I am not totally against buying a few cards if need be/ if the shop has them.
I went into the FNM meta-blind, first time I have been to this shop in about a year. Ended up being a pretty odd meta. A couple of Eldrazi, couple of Burn, and only 1 Abzan that I saw. Alot of fringe and home-brew stuff.
Match 1, Naya Burn, 2-0
Both games I denied his mana, he couldn't close me out with 0 access to red.
Match 2, Second Sunrise Combo, 2-0
Both games he mulliganed to 5, didn't get his combo before I beat him to death.
Match 3, Mono Red Sligh/RDW, 2-0
Game 1 I put him on burn, possibly mono-red. Deny his access to red, beat him to death with fish. I boarded out Dismembers and Phantasmal Images, brought in Chalices and additional Sea's Claims. Realize he is actually Sligh when he drops a turn two Goblin Piledriver. Really wish I had a Dismember, but I land a Chalice on 1 that saves me. I beat him with 3 life.
Match 4, Hatebears, 0-2
Game 1 I lose due to a misplay. I never saw a Seas effect, but I dumped my hand thanks to Reejerey. The next turn I play a lord and forget the Reejerey trigger to tap down one of his blockers. I would have swung for lethal the next turn, but due to my error I can't kill him. He gets me with multiple Voice tokens. I don't really have much to board in, but I bring in the Echoing Truths for a little more interaction. In hindsight, I think I should have brought in the Sea's Claims instead. Game 2, we trade dudes for a bit. Still haven't seen a Seas effect. He plays Qasali Pridemage, but I'm okay, holding a Dismemebr. If I topdeck a Seas, I can swing for lethal. I don't get a Seas, he plays Riders of Gavony. I did not see that coming. With the exalted he has on board, it's going to be swinging for 6. And it has vigilance. Fantastic. I Dismember it, he follows it up with another. I am able to chump the second one for a couple of turns with elemental tokens, but three dead draws in a row do me in.
All in all, I was really happy with the way the deck ran. The hatebears game was partly my fault with the missed trigger game one, partly just bad luck with not seeing a single seas effect either game. There were a few turns in each game that if I had gotten a sea out I could've swung through for lethal, so I don't think it's a bad matchup at all. I do think I am going to revamp the SB a little though. There is no infect and no boggles at the shop, so Chalice is really only good against burn, but I've found bumping up to 8 Seas does them in pretty easily too, so Chalice isn't really needed. Maybe something for Hatebears? I didn't have much to bring in, but then again, I didn't really feel like I needed it. I didn't go up against either of the Eldrazi decks, but apparently they are both running U/W. I might just replace the Chalices with counterspells.
So I am going in completely blind this Friday. There is a Modern FNM at a local shop. I know absolutely nothing about the meta, but knowing the shop, I expect there to be mostly budget-ish decks with a few top tier decks. I figure there is going to be at least some Eldrazi, so I am going with a 6-seas version. Here's my list:
I know there is a good bit of dislike for Darkslick Shores, but it has never been an issue for me, and there have been a couple of games where the little bit of life saved off a Dismember won me the game. I'm packing the full 4 Hurkyl's because I expect at least some number of Affinity to be present, since the last time I played Modern at this shop (over a year ago), there was a pretty strong Affinity presence. Other than that, how does the SB look? Pretty good for an unknown meta?
For board Control, Horobi, Death's Wail is pretty awesome. He turns your Rogue's Passage, Urborg, etc into lands that kill. He also turns off equipments. Geth, Lord of the Vault is another really good mono black general, giving you a wincon in himself and, when combined with some graveyard hate, provides serious resource denial to your opponents.
Been watching alot of your videos lately. Do you have a link somewhere to your current decklist? I was under the impression Kira and Relic had fallen out of favor for MB, just curious to see what you're not running to fit them in.
Just getting back into Modern, and I really like the look of Merfolk. Was hoping I could get some help from the folks here on a solid sideboard and possibly any changes to the decklist. Here's what I'm looking at maindeck:
Not really sure what to put in the sideboard. The local meta is alot of R/U and Grixis Twin, various Trons, Merfolk, and Burn with a scattering of G/W Hatebears, Jund, CoCo Elves, and just a couple of Scapeshift. Should I have copies 3 and 4 of Vapor Snag, Dismember, and/or Spell Pierce there? I was leaning pretty heavily towards at least a few if not a full 4 Tidebinder Mage and/or Hibernation for CoCo Elves/Hatebears/Jund, maybe an extra Master of Waves, Mizzium Skin, and/or Dispel for Burn. Tidebinder also seem good against Burn. So if I go with something like
That would leave 5 slots open and should already have me shored up against Jund, Burn, CoCo, and Hatebears, right? What about Twin, Tron, and the mirror? Just the extra Dismembers, Vapor Snags, and/or Spell Pierce? Not sure about Scapeshift either, but it seems to be a bad MU anyway and there aren't many of them floating around here. Any help would be appreciated!
As to Unsabstantiate, it sure would be nice to have against Supreme Verdict. That being said, it doesn't cantrip like Remand does, and I already don't like Remand for Merfolk. The added option of bouncing a creature is nice, though. I dunno, I might test it in the place of Negate in my SB.
Anywho, I was at the SCG Open in Fort Worth this weekend. I ended up finishing 6-3, losing to Jund in the 9th round. Here's my list:
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merfolk of the Pearl Trident
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Tidebinder Mage
2 Harbinger of the Tides
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Merrow Reejerey
3 Master of Waves
4 Aether Vial
2 Vapor Snag
4 Spreading Seas
2 Dismember
Lands (19)
4 Mutavault
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Darkslick Shores
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
9 Island
2 Sea's Claim
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Pithing Needle
2 Swan's Song
2 Negate
1 Tidebinder Mage
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Master of Waves
Long story short, I won against Temur midrange/control, U/W Control, Jeskai Kiki/Nahiri, Esper Gifts, Naya Burn, Bant Eldrazi and lost to Allies, Bogles, and Jund. More thorough breakdowns in the spoiler, but beware, it's long. I feel pretty good overall, as this was the first tournament bigger than a LGS I've ever been to.
Here's how the rounds went:
Round 1, Temur Midrange, 2-1
Wasn't really sure what he was playing, I assumed it was Temur Delver and I just didn't see a Delver. Afterwards he showed me a Blood Moon, apparently it was some weird Blue Moon list that splashed green for Goyf. He drew really well game 1 and I didn't. Turn 2 and 3 Goyfs followed by Bolt, Bolt, Snapcaster + Bolt sealed it for me. Got him game two and three pretty easily.
Out: 3x Master of Waves
2x Spreading Seas
In: 2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Swan Song
1x Tidebinder Mage
Round 2, U/W Control, 2-1
Game 1 he got me, he just managed to hit me with a ton of spot removal and two sweepers. Finished me off with Celestial Colonade and Clique in the air. Game 2 and 3 my Pithing Needles kept his Colonades off and he didn't get as lucky with his spot removal/sweepers. All-star of the game went to Phantasmal Image. Cloned his Resto Angel to bounce my own Silvergill and get a free draw.
Out: 3x Master of Waves
In: 3x Pithing Needle
Round 3, Allies, 1-2
Man, this deck is fast. This is the first time I have gone against it, and my inexperience cost me. He wins the roll and is on the play. Swings in for 16 on turn 3. I could have blocked two of his attackers, but it would have left me with an empty field and take nothing from him. I take the 16 and am able to stabilize with two lords on my turn. The board kind of stalls and we both just keep building our sides. I put down a Master of Waves for 6 tokens, but on the next turn still am 2 short of lethal after figuring in his blockers. we sat like that for a couple of turns, and I was absolutely terrified he was going to top deck a Path. I hadn't seen a Seas yet, but I finally top deck another Lord, giving me lethal, even if he flashed in a 5th blocker with his Vial (it was on 3). I didn't think he had one in hand, but I wanted to be sure. I swing the house, he declares blockers. He puts his first striker on my MoW, but that's cool because it was 1 power shy of killing him. He then sacced the land that bounces an Ally to hand, bounced his Rackless Bushwacker to hand in order to flash it in with Vial. It gives the first-striker the extra 1 power he needed, killing my Master and his 6 tokens before dmg. Kills me the next turn. It was my fault for not seeing that play, no excuses. Game 2 I got him, game 3 he landed an Ally that gave all his allies pro-color of his choice and swung for 18 on turn 4. I felt like I should have won this one, was mad at myself all day for losing it.
Out: 2x Harbinger of the Tides
2x Vapor Snag
In: 1x Master of Waves
1x Tidebinder Mage
2x Sea's Claim
Round 4, Bogles, 1-2
Bogles is normally a pretty good matchup for me, but when he gets turn 3 Daybreak Coronet both game 2 and 3, there's not a lot I can do. The only mistake I think I made here was not mulliganning a bit more aggressively to ensure I had a Sea's Claim or Spreading Seas to keep him off double white.
Out: 2x Dismember
2x Vapor Snag
4x Aether Vial
In: 2x Sea's Claim
2x Swan Song
2x Negate
1x Master of Waves
1x Tidebinder Mage
Round 5, Jeskai Control with Kiki/Resto and Nahiri, 2-0
Not much to either of these games. He held me off a while game 1, but he never saw a Resto Angel or Nahiri. Game 2 I just trounced him, he landed a Nahiri when he was on 4 life and I had lethal on my side.
Out: 4x Aether Vial (on the draw and only saw one counterspell game one)
In: 3x Pithing Needle
1x Tidebinder Mage
Round 6, Esper Gifts, 2-1
Game 1 he got me with a Gifts Ungiven grabbing Damnation, Wrath of God, Engineered Explosives, and Supreme Verdict. He follows that two turns later with a Gifts getting Iona, Elesh Norn, Grave Titan, and Unburial Rites with enough mana to hardcast any of them. Game 2 I killed him before he did much of anything, game 3 I kept him off his game with a Swan Song and holding up mana for Negate.
Out: 2x Spreading Seas
2x Vapor Snag
2x Dismember
In: 2x Swan Song
2x Negate
2x Relic of Progenitus
Round 7, Naya Burn, 2-0
Not much to report with this one. Burn is usually a good matchup, but this one was a complete blow-out both games.
Out: 4x Aether Vial
2x Dismember
In: 2x Sea's Claim
2x Swan Song
1x Tidebinder Mage
1x Master of Waves
Round 8, Bant Eldrazi, 2-0
I had never played this matchup, and I gotta say I was a little scared game 1. He's on the play, turn 1 Eldrazi Temple, t2 Eldrazi Temple into Thought Knot Seer, t3 Reality Smasher, t4 Thought Knot Seer, t5 Eldrazi Displacer. I end up beating him anyways thanks to a timely Master of Waves and just completely roll him game 2. Game 2 he didn't see a Temple till turn 5. He did land a Displacer on curve, but I named it with Pithing Needle immediately after he played it.
Out: 1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4x Aether Vial
In: 2x Sea's Claim
3x Pithing Needle
Round 9, Jund, 0-2
My only 0-2 of the day. Game 1 I played fish, he removed fish. We end up straight bricking lands off the top till he finally gets a Kalitas. I can't do anything about it. Game 2 I get him down to 4, but he is able to stabilize with Grim Lavamancer, Lili, and Scooze. He gets a Bob out, draws a Bolt with Bob and has fuel for Grim. He gets a couple of Goyfs on the board while I am desperately praying for a MoW which never comes. My biggest mistake this round was not boarding in Relics. Lili locked me down pretty well game 1 so I brought in Pithing Needles instead. Which would have been great in game 2 for Lili, Scooze and/or Grim Lavamancer, but I never saw them. I should have boarded heavier I think, but trying to board out was really tough. Aether Vial was helping keep up with Lili game 1, forcing him to use the discard ability if/when he drew removal and dodge them both by Vialing in a creature.
Out: 4x Curscatcher
In: 1x Tidebinder Mage
1x Master of Waves
2x Pithing Needle
See, that's the problem, in my experience, Hurkyl's doesn't single handedly win the game against Affinity. If you draw it at the right time and can finish them on the spot, it helps you win. I've had a few games that I cast it in that I still lost because I wasn't able to kill them. I had to cast it to stave off lethal, couldn't kill them on my turn, and they just proceed to dump their hand again and kill me. I hadn't really given Lantern Control much thought, haven't seen anyone around here running it at all. It might be worth dropping 2 Echoing Truths in the SB as a catch all to the fringe decks I might see.
As far as Reejerey, I have never found him clunky, and he is almost always my preferred turn three play. He allows for some very explosive plays, especially when there are two on board. His usefulness is amazing; untapping lands or Aether Vial to dump your hand, untapping Cavern to cast multiple uncounterable merfolk on the same turn, tapping down blockers when you don't have islandwalk active, bouncing Emrakul to hand with a Harbinger before they can attack; I just can't see myself not running 4 copies.
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Tidebinder Mage
4 Merrow Reejerey
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Master of Waves
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Vapor Snag
2 Dismember
Lands (19)
9 Island
4 Mutavault
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
4 Sea's Claim
3 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Swan Song
2 Negate
1 Tidebinder Mage
1 Master of Waves
Been testing Hurkyll's in the SB instead of the Sea's Claims, but I decided to go back to 8 Seas. The Seas just come in handy in way too many matchups and the Hurkyll's don't do enough for me in the Affinity mu. The Pithing Needles do help a bit there, but they also put in work against R/G Tron and a couple other matchups. I know most people have dropped down to only 3 Reejereys, but I really feel like he is the best card in the deck.
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Mutavault
1 Wanderwine Hub
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
8 Island
Creatures 29
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
3 Tidebinder Mage
2 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Merrow Reejerey
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Master of Waves
4 Spreading Seas
4 Aether Vial
2 Dismember
2 Spell Pierce
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Vapor Snag
4 Sea's Claim
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
2 Swan Song
Round 1, Green Moon (Land Destruction), 2-0
This was his first night piloting this deck. He normally runs R/G Tron, so I was happy to see this instead. He kept what he thought would be good hands, but they ended up being too slow. I got him pretty easily both games.
Round 2, Possibility Storm Combo, 2-0
Game 1 I just beat him to death before he even tried for his combo, nothing fancy. Game 2, I draw 1 Mutavault and 6 blue cards. Mulligan to 6, draw 1 Mutavault and 5 blue cards. I go to 5, draw 5 lands and a Swan Song. I keep. End up drawing a few creatures and a Sea's Claim and Spreading Seas. I keep him off red for a while, beat him down to 7 with lethal on board for the next turn and one island untapped. His turn he finally gets his red and casts Possibility Storm, I Swan Song it.
Round 3, Infect (BUG varient), 2-1
Game 1 I manage to keep dropping chump blockers and finally get him. Game two, he gets out a turn two Blighted Agent. I try to Snag it after he pumps, but he casts Simic Charm to give it hexproof. He kills me next turn. Game three goes a little more like game one. I manage to keep blocking his stuff and have a Spell Pierce in hand for when he tries to pump for lethal. I get him.
Round 4, Scapeshift (4-color RGUW Bring to Light)
Game 1 I manage to out race his combo. Game two is super grindy. He wipes my board, I start recovering with Silvergill Adepts, but he lands a Huntmaster of the Fells. I had a Spreading Seas on him, but no lords. He has Huntmaster, the Wolf token, and a Snapcaster. I tap down his Huntmaster with a Tidebinder, but if I swing in we trade evenly. Next turn, same state, 2 Silvergills and one Tidebinder. We draw-go for a few turns. I should have swung in earlier, but I was hoping to draw a lord for the islandwalk. I never did and by the time I started swinging it was too late. Game three I just had a blazing fast hand, killed him on turn five. I believe it was T1 Aether Vial into T2 Cursecatcher/Silvergill into T3 Reejerey/Master of the Pearl Trident into T4 Reejerey.He landed a Obstinate Baloth, which bought him a turn, but I was just too fast for him.
I run 4 Claims in the sideboard. I generally don't bring them in if I'm bringing in Chalices also. I did, however, bring in 2 againse Bogles with Chalices. You're right about them being too clunky against a good part of the meta. I was running 8 seas MB a while back, but I've gone to a more creature heavy MB with the 4 Claims and other answers SB.
As far as Bogles specifically, I brought in 2 Swan Songs, 2 Sea's Claims, and 3 Chalices. The Chalice does negate the Swan Songs, Spell Pierces, and Sea's Claims, but I have found that if you land a Chalice, you don't really need much else. I want as much quick disruption as I can get in that matchup though. Countering key auras and keeping them off their colors is crucial until you land a Chalice. Alot of people would probably disagree with me here, but I feel like having more ammo to keep them supressed is worth the trade off of possibly having some dead cards in hand with a Chalice on the field.
And about the Tidebinders mainboard, they won my game 1 in the goblin matchup. They really didn't come in handy anywhere else, but they didn't hurt either. Plus there were a few Jund decks there (2 in the top 8), I just got lucky and dodged them. I also saw Scapeshift, so they could have been useful there for Primetime.
Forgot to put this in the original post, the top 8 was 2 Merfolk, 2 Jund, R/G Tron, Bogles, Goblins, and Jeskai Control.
8 Island
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Wanderwine Hub
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
4 Mutavault
Creatures (29)
4 Cursecatcher
2 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Tidebinder Mage
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Merrow Reejerey
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Master of Waves
2 Spell Pierce
2 Dismember
4 Spreading Seas
4 Aether Vial
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Sea's Claim
2 Swan Song
2 Vapor Snag
3 Relic of Progenitus
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Game report:
Round 1, U/W Control, 2-0
This one felt like an auto-win. He just couldn't keep up with my clock, nothing fancy, place fish, turned them sideways.
Round 2, Goblins, 2-1
I won game one, just out paced him. Game two, I thought I was safe at 8 life, but he dropped in a bushwacker and was able to swing his Piledriver in for 9. Game three he kept a one land hand and paid for it.
Round 3, G/R Tron, 0-2
Game one he flounces me. Turn three tron and Wurmcoil, turn 4 Ugin. Game 2 I manage to keep him off tron the entire time, but it costs me tempo. He ends up hard casting Ugin with 8 lands.
Round 4, Mirror match, 2-0
I end up on the draw, so I figure he's gonna get it. I win game one by out pacing him and staying off islands. Game 2, also on the draw I hold an Island and a Lord of Atlantis. He Ensnare Souls his Aether Vial, hits me for 5+ a couple of fish. Next turn I Vapor Snag his Aether Vial. I end up dropping my Lord of Atlantis and swinging for lethal.
Round 5, Bogles, Intentional Draw
I'm 4th and he'3 3rd so we draw in order to go get food.
Cut to top 8, 4th Seed
Round 1, Mirror, 2-1
Game 1 I'm on the play, but he just gets there quicker. Game 2 I mulligan to 6 but accidentally draw 7. After he cherry picks my hand, I mulligan down to 5. End up with an Island and two Lords of Atlantis. I figure I'm boned, but I'm able to keep off Islands with just two Darkslick Shores. Aether Vial on 4 counters, he swings in with his entire board. I Vial in Master, netting me 6 tokens. I block his 4 attackers, swing for lethal on my turn. Game two, he plays Kira. I have a Reejerey on board, cast a Cursecatcher to tap down his Master of the Pearl Trident (terrible misplay). I swing in with 2 Cursecatchers and two non-lords. He blocks the Cursecatchers with Kira and a Harbinger of the Tides, completely forgetting about my Reejerey. He is salty when I won't let him take back his block declarations. It leaves him with one creature on board, I finish him off next turn.
Round 2, G/R Tron (same player I lost to before cut), 2-1
Game 1 is just like pre-cut, he rolls me with a turn 3 tron. Game two I manage to keep him off tron long enough to get there. Game 3 same thing, Sea's Claim, Spreading Seas, Sea's Claim, swinging the whole time. I get there while holding him off Tron.
Round 3, Bogles (Same player I ID'd with in round 5), 2-0
Game one I keep him off double white, get him down to 3 life. He manages to get his second white source, plays a Daybreak Coronet on his Spiritwalker, swings in for 8. It isn't enough, I swing in for 12 on my turn. Game two he plays a turn 1 Bogle, turn 2 Hyena Umbra, and that's it thanks to my turn two Chalice of the Void.
All in all, I was thoroughly satisfied with the way the deck performed, won the whole thing with it. I wish I had gone with Pithing Needles instead of Relics in the SB, but I was expecting to see a few CoCo's there. Not sure if there was or not, but I didn't see any.
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Phantasmal Image
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Harbinger of the Tides
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Master of Waves
Spells (13)
3 Dismember
2 Sea's Claim
4 Spreading Seas
4 Aether Vial
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Mutavault
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
2 Wanderwine Hub
8 Island
2 Sea's Claim
3 Pithing Needle
2 Echoing Truth
2 Negate
2 Unified Will
1 Dismember
I am expecting R/G Tron, U Tron, Scapeshift (R/G and 5-Color Control), Burn, and Land D primarily, also possibly the mirror, Delver, and Jund. Being able to take it up to 8 seas with the 2 Claims in the SB has helped a good bit against R/G Tron and Jund, I added in the Pithing Needles to help with the Tron matchup as well as the mirror, Affinity, whatever else. The guy that was running the 5-color Scapeshift deck last week mentioned possibly adding Worship to his SB, so I thought about putting Vapor Snags in the SB to combat that (he runs the white wall that draws a card on entering). If I were to add Vapor Snags, I could see cutting the Echoing Truths, as every time I have boarded them in, it has either been as extra quasi-spot removal or in fear of Worship. I also considered dropping in Tidebinders to help combat Primetime from Scapeshift.
Here's what I have available as SB options without having to pick anything up, although I am not totally against buying a few cards if need be/ if the shop has them.
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Kira, Great Glass Spinner
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Spell Pierce
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Hibernation
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Spellskite
4 Hurkyl's Recall
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Master of Waves
Spells (13)
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Sea's Claim
3 Dismember
4 Mutavault
2 Wanderwine Hub
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
8 Island
4 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Echoing Truth
2 Sea's Claim
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Negate
I went into the FNM meta-blind, first time I have been to this shop in about a year. Ended up being a pretty odd meta. A couple of Eldrazi, couple of Burn, and only 1 Abzan that I saw. Alot of fringe and home-brew stuff.
Match 1, Naya Burn, 2-0
Both games I denied his mana, he couldn't close me out with 0 access to red.
Match 2, Second Sunrise Combo, 2-0
Both games he mulliganed to 5, didn't get his combo before I beat him to death.
Match 3, Mono Red Sligh/RDW, 2-0
Game 1 I put him on burn, possibly mono-red. Deny his access to red, beat him to death with fish. I boarded out Dismembers and Phantasmal Images, brought in Chalices and additional Sea's Claims. Realize he is actually Sligh when he drops a turn two Goblin Piledriver. Really wish I had a Dismember, but I land a Chalice on 1 that saves me. I beat him with 3 life.
Match 4, Hatebears, 0-2
Game 1 I lose due to a misplay. I never saw a Seas effect, but I dumped my hand thanks to Reejerey. The next turn I play a lord and forget the Reejerey trigger to tap down one of his blockers. I would have swung for lethal the next turn, but due to my error I can't kill him. He gets me with multiple Voice tokens. I don't really have much to board in, but I bring in the Echoing Truths for a little more interaction. In hindsight, I think I should have brought in the Sea's Claims instead. Game 2, we trade dudes for a bit. Still haven't seen a Seas effect. He plays Qasali Pridemage, but I'm okay, holding a Dismemebr. If I topdeck a Seas, I can swing for lethal. I don't get a Seas, he plays Riders of Gavony. I did not see that coming. With the exalted he has on board, it's going to be swinging for 6. And it has vigilance. Fantastic. I Dismember it, he follows it up with another. I am able to chump the second one for a couple of turns with elemental tokens, but three dead draws in a row do me in.
All in all, I was really happy with the way the deck ran. The hatebears game was partly my fault with the missed trigger game one, partly just bad luck with not seeing a single seas effect either game. There were a few turns in each game that if I had gotten a sea out I could've swung through for lethal, so I don't think it's a bad matchup at all. I do think I am going to revamp the SB a little though. There is no infect and no boggles at the shop, so Chalice is really only good against burn, but I've found bumping up to 8 Seas does them in pretty easily too, so Chalice isn't really needed. Maybe something for Hatebears? I didn't have much to bring in, but then again, I didn't really feel like I needed it. I didn't go up against either of the Eldrazi decks, but apparently they are both running U/W. I might just replace the Chalices with counterspells.
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Master of Waves
Spells (13)
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Sea's Claim
3 Dismember
4 Mutavault
2 Wanderwine Hub
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
8 Island
4 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Echoing Truth
2 Sea's Claim
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Negate
I know there is a good bit of dislike for Darkslick Shores, but it has never been an issue for me, and there have been a couple of games where the little bit of life saved off a Dismember won me the game. I'm packing the full 4 Hurkyl's because I expect at least some number of Affinity to be present, since the last time I played Modern at this shop (over a year ago), there was a pretty strong Affinity presence. Other than that, how does the SB look? Pretty good for an unknown meta?
Been watching alot of your videos lately. Do you have a link somewhere to your current decklist? I was under the impression Kira and Relic had fallen out of favor for MB, just curious to see what you're not running to fit them in.
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Master of Waves
2 Spell Pierce
2 Vapor Snag
2 Dismember
4 Spreading Seas
4 Aether Vial
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Mutavault
13 Island
Not really sure what to put in the sideboard. The local meta is alot of R/U and Grixis Twin, various Trons, Merfolk, and Burn with a scattering of G/W Hatebears, Jund, CoCo Elves, and just a couple of Scapeshift. Should I have copies 3 and 4 of Vapor Snag, Dismember, and/or Spell Pierce there? I was leaning pretty heavily towards at least a few if not a full 4 Tidebinder Mage and/or Hibernation for CoCo Elves/Hatebears/Jund, maybe an extra Master of Waves, Mizzium Skin, and/or Dispel for Burn. Tidebinder also seem good against Burn. So if I go with something like
2 Hibernation
1 Master of Waves
2 Mizzium Skin
2 Dispel
That would leave 5 slots open and should already have me shored up against Jund, Burn, CoCo, and Hatebears, right? What about Twin, Tron, and the mirror? Just the extra Dismembers, Vapor Snags, and/or Spell Pierce? Not sure about Scapeshift either, but it seems to be a bad MU anyway and there aren't many of them floating around here. Any help would be appreciated!