What do you all think about the new Sorin? The + looks pretty sweet to me with Souls.
I think he'd be much stronger if the Vampires had Lifelink, or he could make three of them. I think they were far too safe with this guy, he's not powerful enough.
That makes sense. I think you can tweak your manabase to support it (a couple more fetches, probably have to cut a tec edge) but I think the visions is really good. I think I would much rather have a few visions over stuff like the second Garruk, 7th hand disruption, etc. Especially when you have snapcaster to act as the extra copies of hand disruption and such. I agree with your assessment on rain of tears with snapcaster, it has been pretty good so far. Even if the BUG is slightly worse than BGw Souls/Jund (I'm not sure if it even is), snapcaster mage+ abrupt decay/thoughtseize/slaughterpact is way too fun to go back.
I agree that the 2nd Garruk and 7th hand disruption are easily cuttable. I was noticing though when I was down to 1 Garruk that I frequently wanted to see him more often - Perhaps that is because I play against Pod more than any other deck and I find him to be invaluable in that matchup. I still don't think I would be playing Serum Visions without 13-14 turn 1 untapped blue sources. Perhaps a card like Spell Pierce, Spell Snare or Mana Leak is the option. A small reactive strategy to supplement BGs powerful proactive strategy could be quite helpful and difficult to play against. Those card slots will greatly depend on meta, and all have their pros and cons. More options at 1 mana allow safer deploys of our 2 mana threats (When played turn 3), but Spell Snare is narrow, and Spell Pierce loses a lot of effectiveness late game.
I agree that cryptic is greedy. Bit I thought it would be worth it to try it, and if I felt like I was having consistency issues, or if I missed(or get blown out by) tec edge, I could cut it. But at the very least I think you should give serum visions a try. It has felt both really good as another turn 1 play, as a way to avoid flood or dig for more lands in the mid game, and it feels really nice with bob too. I think cutting a tec edge or two to play the visions is worth it. Also creeping tarpit has been really good when you get to those goyf stand offs/crowded board states.
I plan on cutting 1-2 Treetops for Tar Pits, but my reason behind not running Visions is I don't feel like I'll have enough untapped turn 1 blue sources to support it.
I have been thinking about this a while, and Gerry T. just posted a decklist on SCG with some similar thoughts, but what about BUG? Snapcaster mage, abrupt decay has got to be insane! Serum visions also seems really powerful, especially when the BGx shell wants both players to get to topdecking, the visions lets you help make sure you're next few draws will be good. Gerry T's deck went mostly UG with a splash of black (and only 22 lands which I'm wary of), while my decklist kept most of the BG shell intact, but with another on color fetch and creeping tarpit (which I'm also excited to try out) I think even cryptic command is playable. This is what I'm currently looking at for my 75, although I'm pretty sure the mana isn't perfect:
Sultai Charm spoiled for Khans! it looks pretty sweet..
BGU
Instant
Choose one --
* Destroy target monocolored creature
* Destroy target artifact or enchantment
* Draw two cards, then discard a card
I posted my BUG list earlier (GB splash blue for Snapcaster) with notes detailing what I would do if I were to add a third Snap. I would definitely play 1-2 of the new BUG charm, shaving a Maelstrom Pulse and something else. I don't think it's correct to strain the mana for Serum Visions or Cryptic Command. In my opinion, it will work best as a Rock deck splashing for debatably the best creature in Modern.
X-Od my last modern event (16-20 players, I forget) and I figure I'd post and show you guys what different cards I've been trying out since my last PTQ Top 4:
1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Swamp
2 Marsh Flats
3 Overgrown Tomb
3 Tectonic Edge
4 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Dark Confidant
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
1 Twilight Mire
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Darkblast
1 Dismember
1 Watery Grave
1 Breeding Pool
2 Snapcaster Mage
SB: 1 Batterskull
SB: 1 Creeping Corrosion
SB: 3 Fulminator Mage
SB: 1 Golgari Charm
SB: 1 Phyrexian Arena
SB: 1 Thrun, the Last Troll
SB: 1 Chalice of the Void
SB: 1 Damnation
SB: 1 Engineered Explosives
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 1 Bow of Nylea
SB: 2 Drown in Sorrow
I still run the Darkblasts because I find that card quite excellent. I cut a Garruk to make room for a pair of Snapcasters, while shaving a Tectonic Edge and my 4th Tomb for Watery Grave and Breeding Pool. This gives me 9 blue sources in a deck that doesn't need to even cast Snapcaster Mage until very late in the game.
Reason for playing Snap? I think he's the best creature in Modern and he is very effective in a deck that always wants more removal/disruption.
For my next event I think I will be going up to three just so I can see him more and get a better idea, even though 2 is most likely correct. Due to this change I will most likely need to play a 10th blue source, potentially cutting a Treetop for a Creeping Tar Pit or running a 1 of Darkslick Shores. I will be cutting the 4th Abrupt Decay to do this. I miss the second Garruk, and I think he works well with Snap so I might try to make room. My sideboard is pretty much the same, I was running mainboard Fulminator Mage for awhile so I had to make room for them.
Any questions, hit me. My list appears to have a better Pod matchup than most GB players are reporting, and I think that was due to the 4th Ooze, the 2 Darkblasts, and 2 Garruks. I board in 6-7 cards against Pod as well that tends to solve the problem of being overwhelmed by the 2x Dork+Gavony nut draw.
EDIT: I thought I would mention that I am considering Rain of Tears over Fulminator Mage in the presence of Snapcaster, and honestly it has the potential to be much stronger.
Choke seems way better in legacy with Enlightened Tutor and all the duals...
I was running a 1 of Choke in the SB that did serious work for me - This is when I had 2x Fulminator Mage mainboard. Card is great vs UR Delver, Twin, America and Scapeshift.
Went to GP Portland, played a couple days of side events with pretty much the same list I posted earlier. Came back with 81 packs. Probably should have had another box but I got a little greedy vs a friend in round 4 when I was 3-0 and got punished with a yolo Sigarda. Oh well Hope people are still on the GB train. I'm going to be looking into a small blue splash for Snapcaster Mage soon, which may not work out but it's something I've wanted to try for awhile.
MD fulminator mage would be good in that meta. I'd say just put the bulk of your lilies in the side except you have a good deal of bogles in the meta.
Fulminator Mage main-deck isn't amazing right now, but it's certainly not awful. I'd still keep Lily in the main in that meta. She's got more to offer in terms of versatility and you'd rather have 3-4 of her than 3-4 Fulmys in the main. Fulmy is strong but not versatile at all.
You cut Courser MD for Fulminator, not Liliana. He's good in most matchups and is a much safer t3 play than Courser is. You don't have to take my word for it, Japan has been doing it recently as well.
Darkblast kills a lot of creatures, not only in Pod, but also 1)all the Twin guys except Exarch;2)Artifact weenies in affinity;3)all UR delvers x/1s;4)some burn deck guys. The best thing is that it only cost 1 and gets back, so countering it is bad for tempo and useless most of time. Darkblast can help really. The only problem is whether it is worth a slot in the deck. I would say, right now, it deserves a slot.
Why is darkblast so good against pod? Is it mostly for the birds? And then it gets the second half of finks/redcap? I haven't played with either, but what about curse of deaths hold over night of souls betrayal? I would think the extra mana is probably worth it to not shrink your own creatures?
You can't really afford the cmc of 5 in the matchups you need -1/-1, it also only really impacts Treetop Village.
Dark Blast is excellent for the reasons you stated. A lot of their deck is 1 Toughness.
Dark Blast and Garruk help a lot in the pod matchup. I also bring in
1x Night of Souls' Betrayal
1x Damnation
1x Drown in Sorrow
1x Golgari Charm
1x Bow of Nylea
1x Grafdigger's Cage
and usually
1x Batterskull
I board out
2x Fulminator Mage
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Abrupt Decay
Perhaps my sideboard as well as some of my maindeck choices are why I feel comfortable in the pod matchup (Maybe 55-60% in my favour post board, 50%ish pre board?).
Thank you for the math behind it - Something I had yet to do. I had noticed it come up a couple times in testing today where I ran out of lands to fetch - Variance.
I only have UW tron in my meta and I am favoured against it. Running Fulminator mainboard really upped my percentage points in a few matchup. My current issue is making more black sources, and I think I need to cut my second Forest for a third Marsh Flats, but I don't know how comfortable I am with having 8 fetches and 6 cards to search up. We'll see - Other alternative is running a third Swamp over the Forest.
Played 2 Chalice cause I was worried about random burn crap and Living End. Also played a Drown in Sorrow. Bow was good, brought it in a lot. Would cut second Chalice for Baloth I guess - I don't love the card personally but I don't really want a second Night of Souls' Betrayal either. By the way, that card is insane.
I cut Courser for 2 Fulminators in the main and I'm running a third Fulminator in the board. I might try the Mutavault version soon, but I'm not overly excited to lose Tec Edge - We'll see! Have to keep brewing and pushing the confines of the archetype. Mainboard Darkblasts and Garruks have continued to be MVPs in my meta, hope everyone is giving those two cards a shot!
I think he'd be much stronger if the Vampires had Lifelink, or he could make three of them. I think they were far too safe with this guy, he's not powerful enough.
I agree that the 2nd Garruk and 7th hand disruption are easily cuttable. I was noticing though when I was down to 1 Garruk that I frequently wanted to see him more often - Perhaps that is because I play against Pod more than any other deck and I find him to be invaluable in that matchup. I still don't think I would be playing Serum Visions without 13-14 turn 1 untapped blue sources. Perhaps a card like Spell Pierce, Spell Snare or Mana Leak is the option. A small reactive strategy to supplement BGs powerful proactive strategy could be quite helpful and difficult to play against. Those card slots will greatly depend on meta, and all have their pros and cons. More options at 1 mana allow safer deploys of our 2 mana threats (When played turn 3), but Spell Snare is narrow, and Spell Pierce loses a lot of effectiveness late game.
I plan on cutting 1-2 Treetops for Tar Pits, but my reason behind not running Visions is I don't feel like I'll have enough untapped turn 1 blue sources to support it.
I posted my BUG list earlier (GB splash blue for Snapcaster) with notes detailing what I would do if I were to add a third Snap. I would definitely play 1-2 of the new BUG charm, shaving a Maelstrom Pulse and something else. I don't think it's correct to strain the mana for Serum Visions or Cryptic Command. In my opinion, it will work best as a Rock deck splashing for debatably the best creature in Modern.
1 Forest
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Swamp
2 Marsh Flats
3 Overgrown Tomb
3 Tectonic Edge
4 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Dark Confidant
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
1 Twilight Mire
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Darkblast
1 Dismember
1 Watery Grave
1 Breeding Pool
2 Snapcaster Mage
SB: 1 Batterskull
SB: 1 Creeping Corrosion
SB: 3 Fulminator Mage
SB: 1 Golgari Charm
SB: 1 Phyrexian Arena
SB: 1 Thrun, the Last Troll
SB: 1 Chalice of the Void
SB: 1 Damnation
SB: 1 Engineered Explosives
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 1 Bow of Nylea
SB: 2 Drown in Sorrow
I still run the Darkblasts because I find that card quite excellent. I cut a Garruk to make room for a pair of Snapcasters, while shaving a Tectonic Edge and my 4th Tomb for Watery Grave and Breeding Pool. This gives me 9 blue sources in a deck that doesn't need to even cast Snapcaster Mage until very late in the game.
Reason for playing Snap? I think he's the best creature in Modern and he is very effective in a deck that always wants more removal/disruption.
For my next event I think I will be going up to three just so I can see him more and get a better idea, even though 2 is most likely correct. Due to this change I will most likely need to play a 10th blue source, potentially cutting a Treetop for a Creeping Tar Pit or running a 1 of Darkslick Shores. I will be cutting the 4th Abrupt Decay to do this. I miss the second Garruk, and I think he works well with Snap so I might try to make room. My sideboard is pretty much the same, I was running mainboard Fulminator Mage for awhile so I had to make room for them.
Any questions, hit me. My list appears to have a better Pod matchup than most GB players are reporting, and I think that was due to the 4th Ooze, the 2 Darkblasts, and 2 Garruks. I board in 6-7 cards against Pod as well that tends to solve the problem of being overwhelmed by the 2x Dork+Gavony nut draw.
EDIT: I thought I would mention that I am considering Rain of Tears over Fulminator Mage in the presence of Snapcaster, and honestly it has the potential to be much stronger.
I was running a 1 of Choke in the SB that did serious work for me - This is when I had 2x Fulminator Mage mainboard. Card is great vs UR Delver, Twin, America and Scapeshift.
You cut Courser MD for Fulminator, not Liliana. He's good in most matchups and is a much safer t3 play than Courser is. You don't have to take my word for it, Japan has been doing it recently as well.
Thank you for sharing the same opinion.
I sure do.
You can't really afford the cmc of 5 in the matchups you need -1/-1, it also only really impacts Treetop Village.
Dark Blast is excellent for the reasons you stated. A lot of their deck is 1 Toughness.
1x Night of Souls' Betrayal
1x Damnation
1x Drown in Sorrow
1x Golgari Charm
1x Bow of Nylea
1x Grafdigger's Cage
and usually
1x Batterskull
I board out
2x Fulminator Mage
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Abrupt Decay
Perhaps my sideboard as well as some of my maindeck choices are why I feel comfortable in the pod matchup (Maybe 55-60% in my favour post board, 50%ish pre board?).
Played 2 Chalice cause I was worried about random burn crap and Living End. Also played a Drown in Sorrow. Bow was good, brought it in a lot. Would cut second Chalice for Baloth I guess - I don't love the card personally but I don't really want a second Night of Souls' Betrayal either. By the way, that card is insane.
I cut Courser for 2 Fulminators in the main and I'm running a third Fulminator in the board. I might try the Mutavault version soon, but I'm not overly excited to lose Tec Edge - We'll see! Have to keep brewing and pushing the confines of the archetype. Mainboard Darkblasts and Garruks have continued to be MVPs in my meta, hope everyone is giving those two cards a shot!