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  • posted a message on UW Control
    Quote from lctham »
    Awesome to see your getting such consistent results. I recently changed to uw miracles from traditional uw control and have loved casting 1 mana wraths.

    My build though has 2 additional wraths (1 verdict, 1 wrath), and 2 think twice over the 4 serum visions.

    How have you found sv? The think twice hv been nice to sometimes get a miracle in opp turn, but still unsure about it. Keen to hear your thoughts. Cheers


    Serums are part of what makes the deck tick, without them I don't think Terminus is reliable enough, I'd highly encourage you to play a full set of them and Opt before any other card draw spells.

    I like the idea of more wraths, since the format is so heavy on Humans, Affinity, Hollow One etc, but right now I've felt like the deck has enough. Could definitely change though, I think I'd move another Oust into the main before a wrath though. The starts from Humans and Hollow One especially can be so fast, you need cheap interaction.
    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Quote from tronix »
    yeah my worry with playing so many cantrips is that you just end up spinning your wheels sometimes and get tempo'd out of the game because you are dropping mana to dig too frequently going up the curve.

    i see some play condemn as their 5th piece of 1 mana removal, but every time ive played with the card it has sucked. oust being able to hit utility creatures right away is nice, and i hadnt considered using it on your own creatures for lifegain.

    i like the two cliques MD. if nothing else than to cycle a terminus caught in your hand. i think ill try something really similar to your list now that ive picked up 2 teferi for jeskai. it would be a bit sad if i had to sideline my jaces for good, and miracles is a nice change of pace.


    I don't think the 'air' thing is a problem really. The format is so skewed into us wanting the right interaction, any opportunity for more filtering is going to help us. I'd honestly play more cantrips if the others were any good. And Terminus is the payoff for this spinning of wheels, since the ones we'd lose on Tempo are the creature decks usually, where it's such an insane catch up tool. The mana we save on not paying 4 mana for a wrath makes up for the cantrips.

    Likewise! First time I played the deck was an irl event a couple of weeks ago now, I couldn't get an Oust when there so used a Condemn instead. It was terrible. I think I've mostly be Ousting stuff like mana dorks, D Druid/Vizier, random dudes from Affinity. It's quite nice actually in conjunction with Jaces fateseal to Oust something then +2 knowing the card underneath too.

    And yeah, Cliques have been really impressive in the deck, I'm pretty sure I've targeted myself more than opponents.
    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    I'd play the 8 cantrips anyway I think, consistency and flexibility of them is what makes most control decks tick imo, but I also think Terminus isn't reliable without Serum Visions, and Opt is a great enabler so it comes as a bundle. Gotta admit I had my doubts on Terminus, but it's been incredible. So many times it's swept a board before T4 where it's critical, or you're able to follow it up easily with a Jace/Teferi or more interaction.

    Oust has been pretty impressive so far, often you just need some cheap interaction, not more wraths. So I'll use these aggressively on mana dorks, or whatever, just to keep the board clear leading up to playing a planeswalker. It's also quite nice Ousting your own Snapcasters! Has come up a bunch vs aggro and burn.
    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Rattled off another 5-0 and two 4-1s this morning, with a few more changes. I added a bunch more basics, up to 6 Islands and 3 Plains cutting Glacial Fortresses, since the deck was struggling vs Blood Moon in the Mardu Pyro matchup which has worked a treat. The other losses were to Tron, so I'm trying the Damping Spheres again, which got me a win vs U Tron in the 5-0 league nicely. I also played vs Jund and am not convinced you bring in Rest in Peaces actually. I think we should approach it from the 'not dying is winning' angle, we have a far superior late game, so simply pack in all your removal and don't rely on situational cards like Rest in Peace lining up vs the right draws, with BBE they can be a lot more aggressive now. Snapcaster Mage and Search for Azcanta are also two of our best cards in the matchup. With the list below I sided +2 Oust +2 Celestial Purge -2 Vendilion Clique -2 Logic Knot.

    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Combo and blue mirrors in theory.
    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Looks like I got into the dump today: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/competitive-modern-constructed-league-2018-06-01

    Few little changes to the maindeck since I last posted. +1 Jace as discussed for Terminus consistency, and shaved a Cryptic for that. Also added another basic Island for a Fortress, mostly for Field of Ruin/Path mirrors, but also helps vs Blood Moon a little.

    Still trying to work out the sideboard, which is maybe down to me needing to pinpoint the worst matchups. The maindeck feels really strong and well positioned that we want more narrow but hard hitting cards. I'm not sure, but from that angle it involves less one ofs too. I'm not really into more win conditions in the side, Teferi ult and Colonnades is plenty imo. Not losing = winning.

    The Quellers in this sideboard posted didn't come up a whole lot, I'm just trying them out, but they're just good when we're taking out Terminus really.
    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Quote from iostreamer »
    I do like entreat actually as it is nice to be able to setup a kill on their endstep vs decks where you don't want to be attacking with colonnade but it's probably not necessary. I think it's more of a pet card for me and I like having access to the 1. Rest in peace has been fine but probably not required since we have terminus for dredge/hollow one type decks anyways it's possible that it's not worth hurting Azcanta/snapcaster/knot but then again it can be pretty backbreaking vs a lot of decks like storm/KCI etc so it's nice to have. I was off damping sphere but after playing tron again last night I'm gonna try and fit it back in, Stony silence has probably been the least impactful sideboard card for me actually so I am going to trim on 1.

    Love the 3rd Jace because you will often just jam one on turn 4 to gain some life and put some terminus back on top of your deck. It makes me feel fine keeping hands with miracles in hand to set up solid turn 5/6 with back to back miracles.


    Makes sense about Entreat, I think I'll carry on without it, but I can see its merit. It's nice to have a button like that.

    I feel similarly about Stony Silence not being very impactful. It's just splash damage for Affinity, the real reason I've wanted them is for KCI, Lantern and Tron. Though RiP then crosses over to KCI, it's a nice effect to have, I might try 1/1. Honestly all these options don't seem that amazing despite being strong sb cards. I've added a Crucible to the SB and 1 GQ MD like you to try out as well. Despite the Termini I've still been run over by aggro decks if I draw them too early/can't find them, so I've been wanting more wraths in the board. Currently trying a Wrath of God too, mostly because Meddling Mage is likely to name Verdict if it's not on PtE or Terminus.

    Please let me know how Sphere is. I don't think the card is that great, but could be convinced!

    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on UW Control
    Nice list, it's super close to what I've been playing. Fairly decent results too, the deck feels powerful. I also agree that the high ceiling on Terminus is worth it for how awkward it can be, I've hardcast it a fair few times, it's fine. Search has been really nice to ramp into that.

    I'll post my list below, on some of our differences. I'm not playing an Entreat, another win con doesn't feel necessary honestly, do you think it's needed? Also Cliques have overperformed, 2 main is a good number imo.

    I've just been on 2 Jace, sometimes I think a 3rd would be good, but I've found them when I need them enough. I'm also on 3 Snapcasters, but could see trimming one. The sideboard I'm still not sure on some things, the 3rd Negate is a recent addition over an Elspeth/Gideon AoZ as a card for other control matchups. How have the RiPs been?

    Posted in: Control
  • posted a message on Knightfall/Bant Company
    After playing the deck through a bunch more leagues, I started replacing Jaces with Cocos until I got back to 4 copies. I'm pretty convinced it's just better in the deck, but we could still play a couple of Jaces on the side.

    I do think it's worth trying dorks + jaces in a Bant shell though, currently trying a Lotus Cobra build with a higher end of stuff like Thragtusks, Sigarda, Baneslayer etc alongside 3 Jaces and a couple of Gideons.
    Posted in: Midrange
  • posted a message on Knightfall/Bant Company
    I've been trying the deck without Cocos and going heavier on PWers with some alright success online, but still need to play it a bunch more and for the format to settle down to see how it really is. On that same note, it's hard to build a sideboard tailored for the wild west that is modern right now! I originally started with the full playset of Jaces, but Jace flood is a real thing. These's a few cards like the Tamiyo and Avacyn that are more to see how they perform than anything, not got enough reps in with them. I tried with a couple of Retreats too the first league, but I'm not sure they're necessary with something like Jace.

    I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has tried this? Coco could just be better than Jace in the deck too, honestly.



    Posted in: Midrange
  • posted a message on Ancestral Balance (As Foretold)
    I've been building an As Foretold stompy deck in Legacy with a friend and we decided to try and port it into Modern. It's been performing fairly well so far, I played it at the MKM event in Prague recently and started off well not dropping a game in the first four rounds, but then faced Faeries twice and Burn twice, two really horrible matchups. I'm going to play it at GP Birmingham this weekend. The maindeck I'm pretty happy with, it's got a lot of cards many decks have trouble answering in game one, but I'm struggling with a sideboard. I've been considering just reactive cards like Abrade, By Force, Negate, Pyroclasm, Pithing Needle etc, leylines, Jace VP, Gifts Package, Saheeli + Guardian combo, Chalices, Wurmcoils...there's a lot of options. I think the harder matchups post board will be affinity, shadow with a lot of permission and Ux control with a lot of permission.

    Wondering if anyone else is toying with this kind of shell?



    The sideboard I'm leaning to at the moment is



    Since Chandra is the only win con in the md, it's important to have something else in the sb in case of Surgical, Needle etc. Jace fills that role quite nicely in theory as they'll side out removal.
    Posted in: Deck Creation (Modern)
  • posted a message on [[Official]] Modern Prices Discussion
    I play Grixis too and agree, he doesn't fit the deck at all.

    Also, re Obliterator spiking because of Fatal Push. You know it kills to it too, right?
    Posted in: Modern
  • posted a message on Grixis Delver
    Thanks guys.

    I watched the vlog after the games with him. A couple of mistakes from my side, but the matchup is so good I wasn't punished luckily. I did feel a bit sorry for him, this deck is so brutal against Affinity!

    rothgar13, I'll try a split of Rakdos Charm and Surgical soon and report back how they are. I did put two charms along with three Surgicals in my SB a few weeks ago for my LGS, but nobody plays dredge there so I couldn't tell if they were good or not.

    My reasoning for Cage over Surgical/Charm at the moment is you need a SB card in your opening hand anyway to beat them, or at least that's from my games so far. Surgical is only good enough if you have it on time to snipe some Amalgams, Ghasts or Narcos and in that case Cage is just a better card as it stops all of the threats from coming out of the yard. I'm going to be proxying up dredge to play vs some friends this weekend, hopefully we can come up with a good plan. I realise that Cage stops Surgical/Snap, but I side out the playset of Snapcasters when bringing in the cages.

    Another option is Leylines. I'm just put off by the need to mull to them as playing it T4 is obviously much too slow.

    I do like the idea of Rakdos Charm to their dome though, it's not an approach I'd considered. Go full on burn and try to race them with it as a 'finisher'. I'll try this too Smile

    Played a few more leagues yesterday, 4-1, 4-1 and a 3-2. But I was a bit tired a played poorly in some matches.

    I feel like this deck is in a great position if the dredge matchup can be worked out. Cages are extreme, but the matchup is that bad we need a real haymaker.
    Posted in: Modern Archives - Established
  • posted a message on Grixis Delver
    Since I've been enjoying playing this deck IRL so much I've bought into it online to test more. I much prefer the more midrange build over aggressive ones with Young Pyromancer as it has so much more game against midrange decks and control so have been going with that, it's performing well so far.

    The last two weeks at my LGS were 3-1 (losing to Boggles) and 4-0.

    I ran through three leagues yesterday, going 4-1, 4-1 and 5-0 in the last one. These were the matchups

    Merfolk 2-0
    Jund 2-0
    Nahiri Valakut 2-0
    Mardu Nahiri 2-0
    Burn 0-2

    Storm 2-0
    Dredge 2-0
    Merfolk 2-1
    Dredge 0-2
    Burn 2-1

    Bant Spirits 2-0
    RG Valakut 2-0
    RW Control w/Chalice and E Bridge 2-0 (Ancestral target you ftw Smile )
    Elves 2-0
    Bant Company 2-1

    The maindeck feels nice, Snares have been overperforming, otherwise it's fairly similar to a lot of others. The SB I'm still working things out. Blood Moons have been exceptional. They used to be Molten Rains, but in this build Moon has been performing a lot better. Cages aren't normal, but the dredge matchup has been so bad I'm trying the set of them and take out Snapcasters. Still experimenting with it. Visions have been amazing!

    I'd be interested if anybody else has thought about this approach to Dredge? I've also tried Anger of the Gods but wasn't very impressed as it only buys time. Surgical is OK, but you need to have them early along with some Snapcasters. I think since you're needing to find multiples to even keep the deck at bay I like the Cage plan. I'll keep trying other things out though, this matchup is horrible Frown (I board in Dispels with Cages to counter Natures Claim btw)

    Posted in: Modern Archives - Established
  • posted a message on Grixis Delver
    Quote from KingBrago »
    it feels like you're in between the Overturf build and the more recent Pyro+probe build. I don't thin 1 pyro 2 probe is a good compromise. Either go all-in on pyro (which I would recommand in a faster meta like MTGO) or Overturf if you prefer a more controlling deck. I don't like dispel main. It is not very flexible, a 3rd spell snare is way better. Spell pierce if you really like to counter removal. Dreadbore should be a terminate or murderous cut, unless you face lots of Nahiri in your meta. It's good against Jund (doesn't kill ravine though) and you lose a lot of % points against Infect or in general creature decks by chosing sorcery speed.

    About boggles you should most likely ignore the MU unless a regular at your lgs plays it. It's fairly narrow. 2 EE is a must I'd say (great against boggles, but a lot of decks to), more flexible than wraths or edicts. You don't really want languish in a delver+YP deck...and even if you go the overturf plan of grixis control post side, I think Anger of the gods is a better choice.Lost legacy is 3 mana sorcery and really narrow (you don't need that to beat Ad nauseam or Grishoalbrand. If you're siding it in against other decks, you're most likely doing it wrong and oversiding). Also don't run BB cards if you have blood moon in the side

    Grixis delver is a very flexible deck and list you play and your SB should really depend on what you expect (but don't stay in between builds). I would cut at least a flooded strand or for an additional spirebluff canal, especially as you don't run tarns. Strand is not amazing in the deck and doesn't get blood crypt (fetching basic island is awkward with lots of RB cards). Don't really like blood moons+molten rain, that's a lot of non basic hate. I would also add a vandalblast, especially as you don't have a 2nd EE. Never underestimate affinity, even if you run K-command


    Thanks for the reply.

    The maindeck is based on and still almost identical to Caleb Durwards with just a few changes, one being a Dreadbore because of the printing of Nahiri. The sorcery speed isn't ideal, but the pros have outweighed the cons so far. Usually it just shoots down a Goyf or something, but I've killed plenty of Nahiri, Liliana, Gideon and Elspeth, Suns Champion so far too. It is worse against Infect for sure, but I feel like that matchup is in our favour enough to do this switch as PWers can be problematic. I think it's warranted with three Terminates in the deck already.

    That's fair on the Young Pyromancer, I cut it originally for a third Angler but tried it out again last night. I think I'll go back to another fish, but I like the probes to power out the five delve threats on time.

    Agree on the Dispel becoming a Spell Snare, I'll make that swap. I'm not too big on Spell Pierce in this build as it's more controlling than a tempo build with Young Pyromancer.

    Yeah, I'll get at least one more EE and just ignore boggles. Agree on Lost Legacy too, does seem pretty bad as the matchups we want it for are fine already (I'd never side extraction effects vs fair decks).

    The Blood Moons and Molten Rains don't always come as a set. Moon is mostly for Tron and Eldrazi, but Molten Rain comes in vs control and other midrange decks too. The Molten Rains have really overperformed for me and I was running three before I added Moons to the SB. If either goes it's the Moons I think.

    Fair point on Strand, I just don't have Tarns, it's not ideal I know. I'll add another Canal like you suggest until I get them.

    Onto another point, what are peoples plans for Dredge? This matchup feels terrible.
    Posted in: Modern Archives - Established
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