I gonna make an order to buy the new spirits. I don't know how many Marsh Flats are necessary to play a esper list. I suppose that buying 3 are the best option looking to the future. Should I buy some Darkslick Shores too?
Personnally I'm looking at getting 2. I wouldn't bother with Darkslick Shores because I think you'll probably have enough fetches to get a black source when you want it, and you shouldn't need many.
Alright, so with Supreme Phantom coming out I've started working on my list to buy in to Modern. This is a rough draft based on reading up on UW Spirits from multiple sources, and I'm particularly iffy about the land base (mostly # of fetches and shocks) and the sideboard because I'm not current with the Modern metagame. Any thoughts are welcome...
My thinking is to take full advantage of the potential for 10 lord effects in the deck by including the black splash for Lingering Souls and going for a go-wide strategy. I look to maximize damage from Mausoleum Wanderer and tap effects from Nebelgast Herald and build an aggressive board in the vein of Merfolk. 4 Caverns may be too many, but I'm not sure what to do instead. Maybe a couple more shocks? As for the sideboard... I'd again like to maximize Spirit synergy, but I'm not too familiar with the Modern meta currently so I may have some gaps. For example, I don't know how I plan to beat Ensnaring Bridge. Any advice would be welcome, as I hope to build this in the next month and start finally attending Modern events at my LGS.
In my extremely limited amount of time researching this deck, it seems like often it can end up in topdeck mode in the lategame. Artifice Master's effective Draw 2 ability might prove useful in that case?
Hello all, I'm shopping around to pick a deck for Modern and this one looked pretty interesting, not to mention I already own some of the pricey cards. The OP seems fairly out of date though compared to the decklists I'm seeing? Is there a more recent primer somewhere I could read that had explanations of card choices, matchups, sideboarding, etc.? Thanks!
Hello all, just wanted to jump in with a few questions as I'm researching decks to get into Modern. Tezzerator as a concept has fascinated me for a while, but my only Modern experience is U Tron a few years back--I especially loved the toolbox and control styles of the deck and this seems similar in that regard. I've read through the primer but haven't started the main thread yet, and just wanted to pose a couple of broad questions...
How does the deck fit within the meta? With various decks like Affinity, Humans, Tron, Jeskai, and Hollow One running around, how does the deck tend to fare against the linear aggro decks? The Control decks? The Combo decks? Basically, what are the good matchups and which ones are poor?
Mox Opal is expensive! How would you suggest building into this deck on a budget? What would you buy now and what would you save for later?
Thanks for any responses!
EDIT: I forgot my last question. Obviously the deck can be tuned to a high degree to local metagame, etc. Is there a decklist someone can recommend to start for a broad, unknown metagame? Basically just a starting list for someone new to the deck.
Hey, I'm currently looking for a deck to build to get into Modern and UW Sprits has come up as a deck of interest since I already own Vials and Caverns... I really like the looks of this list over the Taxes approach--I'd be interested in your thoughts on the card choices (especially sideboard as I haven't played Modern in years) and of course any results you have from testing... I could see myself just building your list if it's FNM-level competitive.
Alright, I can't convince myself not to build the deck again... It's just a solid Tier 2 deck with game against most of the format and a high skill ceiling that rewards tight play. So, any suggestions on how to build into the traditional list over time? I think I'll be short about $100-$200 worth of cards going in. Maybe the second Snapcaster, for example? Any financial tips would be appreciated.
If you look at most of my decklists, I still play with the ‘usual shell’ of Wurmcoils, Slaver, Condescend, Remand and such. Though, I upped the more straightforward cards that helps in the first turns (Dismember and Walking Ballista) also because they escalate well during the whole match (thanks to River of Tears and Walking Ballista). Multiple Wurmcoils also helps, because it’s very difficult for an opponent to answer it (and, with the resurgence in Jund and the Death’s Shadow exploit, they are basically a staple). Negate is another card I’m enjoying in the main, because some threats are just ‘must counter’ and we can discard it to Thirst if we don’t need them.
You won’t find any result online because, simply put, I only play in paper. In the last two months I put up several 3-1, 4-1 and 4-0 with that list variations, and only a 2-2. It has performed very well for me. Explosives are a must though.
Sooner or later I’ll try to create a sb guide.
Thanks, I'd definitely appreciate any insights, especially explanations as to the card choices that differ from the shoktroopa versions. Some of these cards I've never played before.
EDIT: Some specific questions to help explain what I'm trying to learn. What is the role of TKS in the deck? When do you play a Ballista? Does Japanese U Tron try to get Tron quickly or does it just play control like the other version? I got out of playing it around Khan's block, so how does Ugin work in the deck? And what are the matchup differences, which I think has already been addressed a little bit.
You can do fairly well yes. I regularly go x-1 at my Modern night. As far as sundering Titan, I cut it a bit ago and haven't missed it too much. Ponza is rough. Affinity is actually favored for us, I haven't played too much humans but I would think it's in their favor but it's far from unwinnable. I'm playing a list more like bloody rabbit, who has been posting in here, it's full of removal just to play against the current metagame. There are a lot of great minds in the forum too, that should also try to get you convinced to play it again haha. The other big decks in the meta like mardu and jeskai are favorable as well. I haven't played against hollow one but it doesn't seem terrible for us. Burn is rough if you aren't playing chalices and is still uphill if you are. So you should totally buy in... But it's your money so I can't force you to do anything haha.
Yeah, what's with this new-age looking list that you guys have been discussing? It looks a lot different than the U Tron I was used to, and it doesn't look like anything that I find on MTGGoldfish for recent MTGO 5-0 lists. Is there a comparison of the Japanese style vs the classic list? Pros/cons?
It looks like the OP is fairly out of date. For someone who's just now getting back into Modern, is there any matchup/sideboard guide around to help me orient myself on where the deck currently stands?
Finally, how crucial are the pricey sideboard artifacts like EE, Crucible, and Chalice? Are there alternatives?
I've been out of Modern for a couple of years now but I'm considering getting back in and trying to find a deck. Last time I played, I was on U Tron and enjoyed it immensely... I enjoyed watching shoktroopa stream and do crazy plays with the deck that I'd never see. I'm trying to talk myself out of buying into U Tron again, but casting Sundering Titan (do we still play it?) and Mindslaver is just so much fun. Ponza, Affinity, and Humans all seem like pretty rough matchups. I guess I'm wondering if you guys could talk me out of it? I don't have time at the moment to read the past few pages, but I'm just wondering where the deck is positioned right now with such an aggressive looking metagame. Can I win my fairly competitive FNM with U Tron?
I'm looking to get back into Modern after several years of not playing, but following it somewhat through Reddit, etc. I'm on a limited budget at the moment but I'm able to build some now and some later. I already own Aether Vial and Cavern of Souls, so Humans seems like a natural fit. I play Goblins in Legacy, and I enjoy the grindy, heavily creature-based approach using Vial, etc. My only two issues with Humans is that everyone keeps talking about it getting the banhammer and I hate to shell out for Noble Hierarchs because they just don't seem to be worth the money. That being said, I haven't played Modern in years so I may be wrong about Hierarch and as far as bannings go, I don't know how serious this concern actually is, so it would be good to get some informed opinions there.
Other decks that I've seen that interest me are RG Eldrazi and BW Eldrazi/Taxes, so I'd be interested in hearing opinions on these vs Humans. I'd like to have a deck to mostly take to FNM and at least be in the running to win some of the time, as well as the occasional regional event (GP/SCG, etc.). I'd also like the ability to learn the format through playing a deck with a lot of interaction, so combo decks are mostly in the past for me at this point. As evidenced by my deck choice in Legacy, I don't necessarily feel the draw to play a Tier 1 deck, but I do want to have a chance in most matches.
In my previous experience with Modern, I played U Tron and enjoyed it rather well, but I know it has a rough matchup against the faster, linear decks which makes me feel that it isn't a great choice. Right now I'm looking at probably around $250 store credit and about $250 cash available to use for a Modern deck. I own Foothills, Mires, and Deltas, but no other fetches yet, and no shocks currently. I also own 3 Blood Moon and 3 Thoughtseize, so Mardu Pyromancer also seems like an interesting and viable choice that I know little about. Bonus points if the deck shares staple cards with Legacy decks, as I could more easily justify getting them because I could reuse them in other decks later.
Also, adding certain uncommons, while fun, is going to leave you rather isolated from resl help here.
So this is a good point, but I'd like to rephrase my original question and get your thoughts again. What I'm wondering is the following: is the "Eldrazi Token" mechanic good enough in Pauper Cube to serve as a driving mechanic for UG Ramp? The reason I bring this up is that I, like apparently many others, really struggle with identifying what UG should do in draft and how to design for it. UG Ramp seems like a safe and logical choice, but I want to include a theme or cards that encourage the deck better than just including big blue and green creatures. So, I tried taking some inspiration from Eldritch Moon with the Emerge mechanic, but obviously you can't just make an "Emerge Archetype" in Pauper with only two targets. So I guess really what I'm trying to figure it is can you support UG Ramp through Eldrazi Token generators (along with other ramp cards like usual) and Eldrazi creatures as ramp targets (as well as other possible inclusions)? I wouldn't say to make this a "tribal" theme exactly, because Eldrazi tokens don't care what you sac them for and all but one Eldrazi ramp targets don't care how you cast them. So I'm more thinking about the Eldrazi as the core of the UG Ramp archetype with additional support from non-Eldrazi ramp cards/creatures as necessary. This might be kinda ramble-y but I hope I got that across well.
Also, point taken on the uncommon inclusion, although with my specific idea I feel that Peasant players would send me to Pauper threads and vice versa, so I figured it couldn't hurt to include it. I'm just considering making my small multicolor section Peasant to better provide "signpost" cards for archetypes (like Wizards is doing with multicolor uncommons currently in Limited design).
the tokens are often more valuable if you keep them for masspump or overwhelming the blockers, than ramping into a single threat, that gets handled quickly. So UW or GW are the better color combination most of the time.
^ This is my concern. I don't get to do a lot of testing, so I'm really not sure how well the tokens work as a ramp mechanism.
Another question, still on the UG archetype train of thought: has anyone tried UG(x) Eldrazi? I searched and didn't seem to find anything. Most of the green token producers are labeled "Bad" in the Evaluate Everything, although the blue ones seem to be better. At least these:
Personnally I'm looking at getting 2. I wouldn't bother with Darkslick Shores because I think you'll probably have enough fetches to get a black source when you want it, and you shouldn't need many.
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
2x Phantasmal Image
4x Rattlechains
3x Selfless Spirit
4x Drogskol Captain
3x Nebelgast Herald
4x Spell Queller
4x Supreme Phantom
Spells
4x Aether Vial
3x Path to Exile
3x Lingering Souls
4x Cavern of Souls
4x Flooded Strand
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
1x Moorland Haunt
2x Plains
2x Polluted Delta
3x Seachrome Coast
1x Watery Grave
1x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Selfless Spirit
2x Azorius Herald
2x Eidolon of Rhetoric
2x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Negate
1x Settle the Wreckage
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
My thinking is to take full advantage of the potential for 10 lord effects in the deck by including the black splash for Lingering Souls and going for a go-wide strategy. I look to maximize damage from Mausoleum Wanderer and tap effects from Nebelgast Herald and build an aggressive board in the vein of Merfolk. 4 Caverns may be too many, but I'm not sure what to do instead. Maybe a couple more shocks? As for the sideboard... I'd again like to maximize Spirit synergy, but I'm not too familiar with the Modern meta currently so I may have some gaps. For example, I don't know how I plan to beat Ensnaring Bridge. Any advice would be welcome, as I hope to build this in the next month and start finally attending Modern events at my LGS.
In my extremely limited amount of time researching this deck, it seems like often it can end up in topdeck mode in the lategame. Artifice Master's effective Draw 2 ability might prove useful in that case?
How does the deck fit within the meta? With various decks like Affinity, Humans, Tron, Jeskai, and Hollow One running around, how does the deck tend to fare against the linear aggro decks? The Control decks? The Combo decks? Basically, what are the good matchups and which ones are poor?
Mox Opal is expensive! How would you suggest building into this deck on a budget? What would you buy now and what would you save for later?
Thanks for any responses!
EDIT: I forgot my last question. Obviously the deck can be tuned to a high degree to local metagame, etc. Is there a decklist someone can recommend to start for a broad, unknown metagame? Basically just a starting list for someone new to the deck.
Hey, I'm currently looking for a deck to build to get into Modern and UW Sprits has come up as a deck of interest since I already own Vials and Caverns... I really like the looks of this list over the Taxes approach--I'd be interested in your thoughts on the card choices (especially sideboard as I haven't played Modern in years) and of course any results you have from testing... I could see myself just building your list if it's FNM-level competitive.
Thanks, I'd definitely appreciate any insights, especially explanations as to the card choices that differ from the shoktroopa versions. Some of these cards I've never played before.
EDIT: Some specific questions to help explain what I'm trying to learn. What is the role of TKS in the deck? When do you play a Ballista? Does Japanese U Tron try to get Tron quickly or does it just play control like the other version? I got out of playing it around Khan's block, so how does Ugin work in the deck? And what are the matchup differences, which I think has already been addressed a little bit.
Yeah, what's with this new-age looking list that you guys have been discussing? It looks a lot different than the U Tron I was used to, and it doesn't look like anything that I find on MTGGoldfish for recent MTGO 5-0 lists. Is there a comparison of the Japanese style vs the classic list? Pros/cons?
It looks like the OP is fairly out of date. For someone who's just now getting back into Modern, is there any matchup/sideboard guide around to help me orient myself on where the deck currently stands?
Finally, how crucial are the pricey sideboard artifacts like EE, Crucible, and Chalice? Are there alternatives?
Other decks that I've seen that interest me are RG Eldrazi and BW Eldrazi/Taxes, so I'd be interested in hearing opinions on these vs Humans. I'd like to have a deck to mostly take to FNM and at least be in the running to win some of the time, as well as the occasional regional event (GP/SCG, etc.). I'd also like the ability to learn the format through playing a deck with a lot of interaction, so combo decks are mostly in the past for me at this point. As evidenced by my deck choice in Legacy, I don't necessarily feel the draw to play a Tier 1 deck, but I do want to have a chance in most matches.
In my previous experience with Modern, I played U Tron and enjoyed it rather well, but I know it has a rough matchup against the faster, linear decks which makes me feel that it isn't a great choice. Right now I'm looking at probably around $250 store credit and about $250 cash available to use for a Modern deck. I own Foothills, Mires, and Deltas, but no other fetches yet, and no shocks currently. I also own 3 Blood Moon and 3 Thoughtseize, so Mardu Pyromancer also seems like an interesting and viable choice that I know little about. Bonus points if the deck shares staple cards with Legacy decks, as I could more easily justify getting them because I could reuse them in other decks later.
So this is a good point, but I'd like to rephrase my original question and get your thoughts again. What I'm wondering is the following: is the "Eldrazi Token" mechanic good enough in Pauper Cube to serve as a driving mechanic for UG Ramp? The reason I bring this up is that I, like apparently many others, really struggle with identifying what UG should do in draft and how to design for it. UG Ramp seems like a safe and logical choice, but I want to include a theme or cards that encourage the deck better than just including big blue and green creatures. So, I tried taking some inspiration from Eldritch Moon with the Emerge mechanic, but obviously you can't just make an "Emerge Archetype" in Pauper with only two targets. So I guess really what I'm trying to figure it is can you support UG Ramp through Eldrazi Token generators (along with other ramp cards like usual) and Eldrazi creatures as ramp targets (as well as other possible inclusions)? I wouldn't say to make this a "tribal" theme exactly, because Eldrazi tokens don't care what you sac them for and all but one Eldrazi ramp targets don't care how you cast them. So I'm more thinking about the Eldrazi as the core of the UG Ramp archetype with additional support from non-Eldrazi ramp cards/creatures as necessary. This might be kinda ramble-y but I hope I got that across well.
Also, point taken on the uncommon inclusion, although with my specific idea I feel that Peasant players would send me to Pauper threads and vice versa, so I figured it couldn't hurt to include it. I'm just considering making my small multicolor section Peasant to better provide "signpost" cards for archetypes (like Wizards is doing with multicolor uncommons currently in Limited design).
^ This is my concern. I don't get to do a lot of testing, so I'm really not sure how well the tokens work as a ramp mechanism.
Ramp Creatures:
Eldrazi Skyspawner
Eyeless Watcher
Incubator Drone
Kozilek's Predator
Nest Invader
Kozilek's Channeler
Scion Summoner
Warden of Geometries
Possible Eldrazi Targets (in addition to normal ramp targets):
Ulamog's Crusher
Eldrazi Devastator
It of the Horrid Swarm
Wretched Gryff
Hand of Emrakul
And following my previous post, Lashweed Lurker in my specific situation. You could also possibly recycle your Wood Elves ramp creatures to Emerge.