I imagine that result is because they aren't Sam Blacks or Justin Cohens playing Amulet Bloom. That sounds like a case of actual 0-3 at a GP consistently player vs. always top 8 a PPTQ. My problem with Modern is that no matter how much I practice a deck I cannot beat everything like I did with Birthing Pod. I feel my win percentage has dropped dramatically after Birthing Pod got banned mostly due to bad pairings or my deck just wasn't able to beat everything. Maybe my approach to the format is wrong or I shouldn't be expecting 80+% win ratio in this format locally.
Aaaand that is why birthing pod was banned. A deck having good match-ups across the board with that level of consistency is not reasonable. It eclipses other options.
So unless you are far more skilled than your local opponents, or they are all playing similar decks that you can easily counter; then yes expecting a 80% win ratio over a long enough period of time is pretty absurd.
Modern is in a good place right now. There are plenty of options, and the difference between t1 and t2 decks is pretty small. My only criticism is the power of sideboard hate, and how it can make games or matches very swingy. There are fewer tools to ensure consistency, so drawing sideboard cards is mostly luck.
Whereas legacy decks are ubiquitously powerful, modern decks have to be constantly re-evaluated and modified because of how situational options are.
I don't think Burn will go anywhere in the future. It's prominent modern deck that will be always good deck to play. I don't think format is moving towards Zoo that much and I believe Burn is still better deck to play than Zoo.
Well I think the printing of Atarka's Command has pushed burn decks toward playing more creatures (Wild Nacatl) which blurs the line between burn and zoo.
Lantern is NOT a control deck. Lantern is a Prison/Combo deck that uses permanents to create a loop. Do not believe the idiotic Wizards commentating team that also thinks Abzan is a control deck (because Jund Midrange was also called Jund control right LOL?). How can you trust a group of people to tell you a deck name when they can barely commentate on the game correctly?
It wouldnt surprise me that they started calling attrition decks or prison decks control decks so they can tell people that control still exists in standard or modern.
Semantics. Who cares what they call it.
Just say what you mean. That you want a blue based draw-go deck with permission, powerful "answer" spells, and card draw. Which is nigh impossible to do without making it completely busted, not to mention horrible to play against unless it is the mirror.
That's one way of looking at it. I look at it like they're neutering basic fundamental magic strategies and fundamental aspects of colors, like 1 mana dorks for green, or decent burn for red. Volcanic Hammer is not even a good card, and they have still deemed it too powerful for standard. Why? When was this decided? Back when Counterspell was printed every set, it was hardly even played in standard, even in draw-go based control decks, and even then it was deemed too powerful for standard. Why did they decide to completely warp the color wheel and eliminate fundamental aspects of colors? All this will lead to is all colors becoming too similar.
That has nothing to do with the color pie. Colors dictate function, not efficiency or power level.
Red still has burn spells, blue has permission, green has ramp, black has discard/kill spells, and white has...well white has everything in small amounts.
I don't think Nettle Drone and Heartless Summoning play very well together... may wanna check the toughness on the drone and the -1/-1 clause for summoning
Just gotta add Tide Drifter...easy fix. Tier Z deck incoming.
Is there actually someone saying that Abzan isn't going to be the best deck in the new standard? They didn't lose much and gained Gideon, Shambling Vent, Blighted Fen, Ob Nixilis, possibly Woodland Wanderer (4 drop might be a little crowded here), the black land that returns a dude to the top, potentially wasteland strangler / Transgress the mind (stories out on this...but Abzan Charm helps here too), perhaps that 3 mana draw 3 Painful Truths card, etc.
I'm hesitant to include Stasis Snare only because there's going to be a lot of enchantment removal floating around. They really don't lose much and gain some powerful cards to work with. I do think Mardu and Abzan got a huge boost with the new set because you can now play 26 lands and have flood insurance with Vent and use your lands as removal as well with Blighted Fen. Even Mortuary Mire seems strong as a 1 of to rebuy a Rhino or Abbot, etc.
I'm curious to see if Transgress the Mind is actually MB material...
Also, we have crap all options to deal with Hangarback Walker. That card is going to be very annoying.
Abzan is gonnabe worse than the various 4-5 color decks with the fetch/tango manabases. Abzan splashing blue for Dig Through Time and Ojutai looks sweet though.
I agree. Abzan aggro will still be good, but the midrange and control versions of the deck will be outdone by bigger and better things. Thoughtseize and downfall are no longer ubiquitous safety nets.
IMO Jeskai, Sultai, and Esper seem better bases for midrange strategies moving forward.
Looking at the set more and more I am beginning to think that this set is largely setup for the new Standard structure.
BFZ is the first block with the 2 set structure, and having a lower powered Fall set keeps the limelight on KTK for as long as possible since it rotates early.
Rhino is stupid, it'll continue to warp the format, at least with Stormbreath you hand a chance.
Hopefully there's a deck that beats Abzan down to the point that it's merely a meta choice at best. If not, many and I mean many players will decide to go out and live more than sit down and get stomped by Abzan for another year. If it comes down to that some time away from sitting on my ass will be great
To the OP:
WOTC has deemed certain "classic" effects to powerful. T1 man dork into T2 thing is too powerful. Give me Wrath of God and Counterspell and I'l show you how to keep that in check. However, sweepers only get the job done at 5, and counters are pathetic in general. New standard is going to be a green mages heaven and blue mages exit from the game for a bit.
Oh and red getting the nerf stick was expected, apparently a 2cmc bolt is still too good. WTF wizards.
I think wotc is doing the right thing and constantly shifting what people should expect. Constantly reprinting, or creating the same card effects just generates stagnation.
The larger emphasis on power level being relative to your opponents deck keeps the metagame flowing.
Complaining about a powerful deck with few synergies (Abzan), and then immediately asking for "classic" powerful effects is contradictory. Having the dorks, bolts, wraths, and counterspells just makes everyone play them.
Oh and I predict Abzan to be alright but not oppressive post rotation. Seige Rhino doesn't make up for the loss of power at all points of the curve.
I think players just feel cheated when they have played with powerful effects in the past, or had positive experiences with past standard archetype/deck and wish to do it again. However Standard isn't about that.
IMO focus more on the U/W aspect with a midrange slant. Ojutai's Command, Ojutai, and Dig Through time is still a very powerful base to build from. Red can be splashed for fliers, maybe a mini-thopter/artifact theme, Draconic Roar.
Mantis Rider will still be a bomb of a three-drop with less instant speed removal for it.
Jeskai will do just fine without lightning strike. However mono-red really got hit in the teeth, and will have to jump through some hoops.
Okay just pre-ordered 24 of each of my favorite full art basics, a playset of hedron archives, blighted lands and the new common spell lands.
I will pick up the new duals once they've rotated out of standard.
When do I get to start looking forward to the next set? I'm done with this one.
Sooner than you think. I think people forget that the set release/rotation format has changed. I think this clearly dictated some design/development choices; which might explain why the set seems "off" to some people.
That or it just a very UP set with pre-determined chase rares/mythics + expeditions to artificially drive booster sales.
I don't buy into the playstyle concept in the sense that people type cast themselves into an archetype because they think it suites their personality.
It comes down to experience. You win with a deck when you understand the full spectrum of interactions and situations that can arise from game to game, which lets you focus on overall strategy (level-k thinking) rather than turn to turn interactions.
To me it seems like those who can pick up new decks are either extensive testers/grinders (and thus have more experience to draw from), or are looking to play the metagame (Brad Nelson in Standard).
IMO Trickbind is a card for local shops, when you have such a good grasp on a known metagame that you can play cute tricks to get your friends. However sideboard slots are normally so tight that you can't afford to play something that doesn't significantly raise your percentage points in a matchup.
If you are maindecking it, then you are probably better off with Shadow of Doubt to "get em".
I don't understand how people are taking umbrage with a deck that has existed in its current form for multiple years. It is not even as if it is newly discovered.
Does it have nut draws that gets it free wins? yes.
Does it often fold to its own inconsistency? yes.
All in all the decks win percentage evens out, however I think wins with the deck stick out in peoples mind because of how explosive it is. While the garbage draws that it gets that go nowhere are forgotten.
Would you have been happier if they waited another 3 months before banning DTT in all the formats?
Personally, yes. More time to gauge its actual effect on the format, rather than giving some obscure reasoning about delver playing it instead of TC. No where did they mention anything about consistency. That is a theory, with sound reasoning to be sure, but a theory nonetheless. I think it was a risk worth taking, the same way that they took a risk with the bans and are getting punished with a lackluster viewing experience in the modern showcasing before a release of a new product (MM2). Burn mirrors? Really?
UR Delver is a tier 2 deck now. Swiftspear is marginal without the raw velocity that TC provided, and is better suited to straight burn decks. The deck is still powerful, and could be a player in certain landscapes where particular combo decks are ruling; however it will never be a contender in a broad sense.
Also Telling Time is card neutral so I don't know how you are filling your hand back up with it.
Aaaand that is why birthing pod was banned. A deck having good match-ups across the board with that level of consistency is not reasonable. It eclipses other options.
So unless you are far more skilled than your local opponents, or they are all playing similar decks that you can easily counter; then yes expecting a 80% win ratio over a long enough period of time is pretty absurd.
Modern is in a good place right now. There are plenty of options, and the difference between t1 and t2 decks is pretty small. My only criticism is the power of sideboard hate, and how it can make games or matches very swingy. There are fewer tools to ensure consistency, so drawing sideboard cards is mostly luck.
Whereas legacy decks are ubiquitously powerful, modern decks have to be constantly re-evaluated and modified because of how situational options are.
Well I think the printing of Atarka's Command has pushed burn decks toward playing more creatures (Wild Nacatl) which blurs the line between burn and zoo.
Some people just want Caw-Blade mirrors.
Semantics. Who cares what they call it.
Just say what you mean. That you want a blue based draw-go deck with permission, powerful "answer" spells, and card draw. Which is nigh impossible to do without making it completely busted, not to mention horrible to play against unless it is the mirror.
That has nothing to do with the color pie. Colors dictate function, not efficiency or power level.
Red still has burn spells, blue has permission, green has ramp, black has discard/kill spells, and white has...well white has everything in small amounts.
Just gotta add Tide Drifter...easy fix. Tier Z deck incoming.
I agree. Abzan aggro will still be good, but the midrange and control versions of the deck will be outdone by bigger and better things. Thoughtseize and downfall are no longer ubiquitous safety nets.
IMO Jeskai, Sultai, and Esper seem better bases for midrange strategies moving forward.
Looking at the set more and more I am beginning to think that this set is largely setup for the new Standard structure.
BFZ is the first block with the 2 set structure, and having a lower powered Fall set keeps the limelight on KTK for as long as possible since it rotates early.
I think wotc is doing the right thing and constantly shifting what people should expect. Constantly reprinting, or creating the same card effects just generates stagnation.
The larger emphasis on power level being relative to your opponents deck keeps the metagame flowing.
Complaining about a powerful deck with few synergies (Abzan), and then immediately asking for "classic" powerful effects is contradictory. Having the dorks, bolts, wraths, and counterspells just makes everyone play them.
Oh and I predict Abzan to be alright but not oppressive post rotation. Seige Rhino doesn't make up for the loss of power at all points of the curve.
I think players just feel cheated when they have played with powerful effects in the past, or had positive experiences with past standard archetype/deck and wish to do it again. However Standard isn't about that.
Mantis Rider will still be a bomb of a three-drop with less instant speed removal for it.
Jeskai will do just fine without lightning strike. However mono-red really got hit in the teeth, and will have to jump through some hoops.
Sooner than you think. I think people forget that the set release/rotation format has changed. I think this clearly dictated some design/development choices; which might explain why the set seems "off" to some people.
That or it just a very UP set with pre-determined chase rares/mythics + expeditions to artificially drive booster sales.
It comes down to experience. You win with a deck when you understand the full spectrum of interactions and situations that can arise from game to game, which lets you focus on overall strategy (level-k thinking) rather than turn to turn interactions.
To me it seems like those who can pick up new decks are either extensive testers/grinders (and thus have more experience to draw from), or are looking to play the metagame (Brad Nelson in Standard).
If you are maindecking it, then you are probably better off with Shadow of Doubt to "get em".
Does it have nut draws that gets it free wins? yes.
Does it often fold to its own inconsistency? yes.
All in all the decks win percentage evens out, however I think wins with the deck stick out in peoples mind because of how explosive it is. While the garbage draws that it gets that go nowhere are forgotten.
Personally, yes. More time to gauge its actual effect on the format, rather than giving some obscure reasoning about delver playing it instead of TC. No where did they mention anything about consistency. That is a theory, with sound reasoning to be sure, but a theory nonetheless. I think it was a risk worth taking, the same way that they took a risk with the bans and are getting punished with a lackluster viewing experience in the modern showcasing before a release of a new product (MM2). Burn mirrors? Really?
UR Delver is a tier 2 deck now. Swiftspear is marginal without the raw velocity that TC provided, and is better suited to straight burn decks. The deck is still powerful, and could be a player in certain landscapes where particular combo decks are ruling; however it will never be a contender in a broad sense.
Also Telling Time is card neutral so I don't know how you are filling your hand back up with it.