3 colors is no problem in Modern. But it does prevent you from running Blood Moon/Magus of the Moon like Legacy Werewolves. Flash Werewolves... You could use things like Yeva or that new Theros Prophet...? But that just sounds janky.
Actually with all that ramp, it is possible to have the triple blue on turn 4 for Cryptic and also the double green for Primeval Titan. After all, Scapeshift is a double-green card anyway.
One big issue is space - there just isn't enough space to fit both. TitanShift works really well with Prismatic Omen and if you put Cryptic in there, what are you cutting? Cryptic Command and Snapcaster also work well together so it does seem to be pulling the deck in too many directions.
One card we should all consider again is Clutch of the Undercity. I saw it being played in one of the Scapeshift decks featured at GP Antwerp on camera. I guess it's basically CrypticShift but playing Clutch instead of Peer Through Depths. Old tech becomes new tech again!
Can all of you please stop arguing about semantics and whether or not RG Tron is a combo deck? It's off-topic and goes nowhere. Just. Drop. It.
Scapeshift isn't dead, 7 players made day 2. But it is being hated out now due to the rise of RG Tron. The same land destruction cards that are effective against Tron are also effective against Scapeshift. There's no data regarding the day 1 meta, but Scapeshift isn't that popular of a deck so I think it's doing well to have 7 make day 2.
I'm not sure you can use the term "Stompy" for this kind of deck. This is a ramp deck. Stompy, IMHO, needs some kind of lock element, like for example, Legacy Stompy has Chalice of the Void, Trinisphere, Blood Moon.
It's a Dutch site, the bolded part at the top of the second page says "Beware, make sure to register online or the day before @ the venue, the morning itself this is not possible anymore."
It would be nice if this thread didn't devolve into griping about what should or should not be banned and stuck to the actual decks and meta.
Seconded. There are plenty of other threads on this forum for ban discussions. I would love to see this thread stay on topic as the GP starts in a few hours.
So I recently picked up the rest of the cards for this deck (http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/titanshift-1/) that I needed and have been doing some basic playtesting on tappedout. I have a few questions:
1) How do you crack your fetches early in the game? Only grab a mountain if you need the color fixing, otherwise get a breeding pool or basic?
There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this IMHO. It depends on what is in my hand, the deck i'm up against and whether it's game 2/3 and if so, what I sideboarded. The best advice I can give is to play test a lot to gain experience.
For example: against burn/affinity and without a clear turn 4 Scapeshift combo in hand, I will get a basic. Against opponents where life totals don't matter, I will grab a shockland. If I have a Primeval Titan in hand, I will go for a mountain of some sort. If the opponent plays Tec Edges, I will make sure I have enough green sources. If it's sideboarded and I have Obstinate Baloths.... you see where i'm going. There's too many variables to give a generic answer.
2) Game 1 I'm assuming it's safe to have valakut out early, since the deck runs 4 copies and the most hate lands get G1 is ghost quarter/tec edge. G2/3 seems better to not reveal it until you're ready to combo kill in case of sowing salt, right?
Yup, that's generally correct. But still, try as much as possible to avoid landing that Valakut early unless you have no other better way to play your lands. Having that Valakut out gives the opponent the confirmation that you are playing Scapeshift and that can change the way the opponent plays.
3) Are there any matchups you find yourself wanting to have valakut and the damage come out quickly? (IE get valakut out early and start finding mountains to kill off creatures or deal slow dmg) Or is it always better to try to deal it all at once?
There's many games where I won like that, getting mountains/valakut out early and start burning, but bear in mind, this mostly only works when you have the Primeval Titan. Otherwise, it's far too slow to kill using just Farseek/Tribe-Elder/etc. If my colors are completely fixed based on what I have in my hand, I will generally start searching for mountains in TitanShift, but...
Always keep a mental count of how many mountains you have left in the deck and how many you have in hand and how many you could possibly top-deck in the next few turns. I've lost games when I was just 1 mountain short of a lethal Scapeshift because I drew too many mountains (although that happened mostly when I play CrypticShift, but it's still a good habit for all Scapeshift players to adopt).
One big issue is space - there just isn't enough space to fit both. TitanShift works really well with Prismatic Omen and if you put Cryptic in there, what are you cutting? Cryptic Command and Snapcaster also work well together so it does seem to be pulling the deck in too many directions.
One card we should all consider again is Clutch of the Undercity. I saw it being played in one of the Scapeshift decks featured at GP Antwerp on camera. I guess it's basically CrypticShift but playing Clutch instead of Peer Through Depths. Old tech becomes new tech again!
Scapeshift isn't dead, 7 players made day 2. But it is being hated out now due to the rise of RG Tron. The same land destruction cards that are effective against Tron are also effective against Scapeshift. There's no data regarding the day 1 meta, but Scapeshift isn't that popular of a deck so I think it's doing well to have 7 make day 2.
You can use James Chong's list as a base for building TitanShift. It's on the mothership.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/gpant13/welcome#2
I guess that means you can still register online?
Already 1,300 signed up for GP Antwerp, which means the top 8 makes it to the Pro Tour along with all others with 39 points not in the top 8.
Where did you read this?
Seconded. There are plenty of other threads on this forum for ban discussions. I would love to see this thread stay on topic as the GP starts in a few hours.
Maybe a mod can merge these 2 threads?
Thoughtseize all the things!
Is it the one with Silence and Aurelia's Fury? http://www.mtgdecks.net/decks/view/49166/iframe
Welcome!
There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this IMHO. It depends on what is in my hand, the deck i'm up against and whether it's game 2/3 and if so, what I sideboarded. The best advice I can give is to play test a lot to gain experience.
For example: against burn/affinity and without a clear turn 4 Scapeshift combo in hand, I will get a basic. Against opponents where life totals don't matter, I will grab a shockland. If I have a Primeval Titan in hand, I will go for a mountain of some sort. If the opponent plays Tec Edges, I will make sure I have enough green sources. If it's sideboarded and I have Obstinate Baloths.... you see where i'm going. There's too many variables to give a generic answer.
Yup, that's generally correct. But still, try as much as possible to avoid landing that Valakut early unless you have no other better way to play your lands. Having that Valakut out gives the opponent the confirmation that you are playing Scapeshift and that can change the way the opponent plays.
There's many games where I won like that, getting mountains/valakut out early and start burning, but bear in mind, this mostly only works when you have the Primeval Titan. Otherwise, it's far too slow to kill using just Farseek/Tribe-Elder/etc. If my colors are completely fixed based on what I have in my hand, I will generally start searching for mountains in TitanShift, but...
Always keep a mental count of how many mountains you have left in the deck and how many you have in hand and how many you could possibly top-deck in the next few turns. I've lost games when I was just 1 mountain short of a lethal Scapeshift because I drew too many mountains (although that happened mostly when I play CrypticShift, but it's still a good habit for all Scapeshift players to adopt).