Maximize altitude doesn't seem very good. We don't really care about the toughness boost on a sorcery, and unblockable is much better than flying. Colonnade, lingering souls, clique, blink/inkmoths still block flying dudes. Distortion strike is much much better, and I'd play artful dodge before this one.
I guess for the most part, I have trouble figuring out what cards to take out when siding. Obviously sideboarding should be flexible and not a strict guide, but I think we find a good base to start for some matchups.
Against Jeskai, I want Spell Pierces, Dispels, Spellskite (you said kitchen finks is a no go), but what comes out? Dismember, Twisted Image...what else?
Against Jund, I want Dismembers and Kitchen Finks, but what about Dispel or Spell Pierce? Both seem fine to me. Don't think I like Spellskite in this matchup, Kolaghan's Command makes it feel pretty bad. Twisted Images come out, what else?
Against Tron, it's already a great matchup, what changes after g1? Nature's Claims/Unravel the Aether in, replacing what? Dismember + Spell Pierce?
Against Coco, I want Dismembers and Grafdigger's Cage, and probably Dispels for Chord/Coco? Spell Pierce seems not great in this matchup to me.
Those are the first matchups that come to mind that I'm not 100% sure on.
New infect player. Been playing Jeskai variants in modern for a long time, most recently on Jeskai Nahiri. I realized the other day that I had like 90% of the cards for Infect in my collection already, so I picked up the last few cards and put it together. Just had a few questions:
1. I haven't seen Wild Defiance in any recent lists. Coming from Jeskai, turning off bolts/helixes seems exactly like what this deck wants to do, plus it can make for really explosive plays. Am I wrong?
2. Same goes for Spellskite. I read Turtenwald's more recent article, I get that there is value in next-leveling and not playing Spellskite when your opponent sideboards for it, but is it not worth running at all?
3. In practicing, I'm finding sideboarding more difficult than expected, particularly against removal-heavy decks like Jeskai and Jund. I usually bring in more protection like Spell Pierce and Dispel and side out some pump spells, usually Might of Old Krosa since it really wants to be cast as a sorcery. Should that be coming out first, or am I underrating Might? I also usually bring in Kitchen Finks as well to tax their removal. I could be way off here, any recommendations?
4. I see some lists run Unravel the Aether over 3rd Nature's Claim, what is that for? Are we that worried about Keranos?
5. Could use some Sideboarding tips in general. I've played against the deck a ton, but sitting on the other side of the table is not as clear as I expected.
6. My LGS meta is pretty competitive, and really diverse:
2 Jund
2 Affinity
1 Tron
1 Burn
1 Infect
1 Abzan Coco
1 Jeskai Control
1 G/R Titanshift
1 Lantern Control
1 Death's Shadow Zoo
1 Grixis Delver
1 Bogles
3-5 other tier 2 decks
I feel like this is a fairly wide spread, but is there anything spicy in particular that would be good to tech in my meta?
If I could get some experienced Infect pilots to help me out here, that'd be great.
Hey guys, I'm testing out a harbinger build. i've always been a huge fan of extremely slow control builds, so UWR and Esper have always been my favorite archetypes.
The thing is, I've noticed online that most of the nahiri builds that are getting results don't run AV, and I feel like that's a real waste of potential since its such a good card. What are your guys' thoughts? Does the Harbinger deck just not need it? Is serum visions enough?
Then stick to esper uwr nahiri is no control deck.
If you want control in uwr go for zhe old collonade, sphinx's, snap build, playing nahiri won't give you what you're searching for, it's midrange not control.
Jeskai Nahiri most certainly is control. Running 4 copies of a planeswalker does not make it a midrange deck.
This deck is a pile. The reason miracles aren't good in modern is because there is no good way to stack the top of your deck to get the miracle trigger. None of the miracle cards are worth the cost when hardcast, they're only good when casting for the miracle cost. Miracles are great in legacy because you can use brainstorm, ponder, or top to stack the top of your deck and cast broken 1 mana board wipes or get super cheap angels.
You can't stack the top of the deck like that in modern. Not even close. Noxious Revival to put a Terminus on top is just bad, Telling Time is not great either. There's a reason no one plays Miracle cards in modern.
You're also running Jeskai in modern, with 0 copies of Lightning Bolt, and 0 copies of Snapcaster Mage. Not playing the best cards in the format in 2 of your colors is pretty much just straight up wrong. They're exactly what Jeskai Control wants: cheap removal, and card advantage.
Interesting thought experiment, but as politely as I can put it, this list is a far cry from competitive.
Is there a reason you run Fumarole over the 4th Colonnade?
It's kind of fringe, but it can attack a turn earlier than Colonnade, which is relevant against walkers, specifically Liliana.. I don't lose too much by running it, and it just offers another slightly diverse threat. Just a matter of personal preference.
Round 1: Mirror (2-0)
Was not expecting the mirror right out of the gate, but hey, it happens. Game 1 was a grind, but my 2 maindeck Ancestral Vision gave me a pretty good edge. I also hit Desolate Lighthouse fairly early, which is fantastic in the mirror. He landed a Nahiri that I couldn't answer, but when he used her -8 I tapped his Emrakul with a Cryptic and then bolted Nahiri off the table. I drew the game out until I could ultimate my own Nahiri, and countered his Cryptic when he tried to do the same. Logic Knot was fantastic.
Sideboarding
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Electrolyze
-2 Path to Exile
+2 Negate
+1 Crumble to Dust
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Path isn't the most useful card in this matchup, but it answers Colonnades nicely, so I like keeping a few in. Crumble fills a similar role, and is basically just upgrading a path since they really only hit manlands anyways in the mirror. I don't remember much of g2, but it was a similar grind that ended with me swinging in with Emrakul for the win in turn 3 of extra turns.
Round 2: Jund (2-0)
He was playing a version of Jund that was running a lot more kill spells than the average list (multiple copies of Murderous Cut in addition to the usual Terminates, Abrupt Decays, and Dreadbores. Fortunately for me, that means he got stuck with a hand full of blanks. He played a Goyf, Olivia, and a Scavenging Ooze, which all immediately ate a removal spell. Liliana of the Veil fell prey to Logic Knot, which impressed me once again. I landed a Nahiri eventually and hit him for 15 shortly after.
Sideboarding
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Lightning Helix
+1 Wrath of God
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
I didn't see any Dark Confidant's game 1, so Electrolyze didn't feel too great to me. Game 2 was a bit more interesting, after exchanging removal spells and creatures for a few turns, I eventually land a Nahiri. I immediately +2 her, discarding Emrakul, which my opponent then exiles with Surgical Extraction. I hit several redundant copies of Nahiri, which was interesting since I couldn't really use her ultimate for much value (I could have grabbed Snapcaster Mage if necessary). Luckily I landed an Elspeth which quickly ran away with the game.
Round 3: Grixis Control (1-0)
My opponent seemed to be on a generally stock Grixis control list, though he was running 2 Anger of the Gods Main. He hit both game 1 which meant 2 dead cards for him. He also didn't hit any hand disruption, so I felt firmly in the driver's seat the whole game. He also made a few misplays, like casting Mana Leak with no followup into 3 open mana. Logic Knot proved to be quite good in this matchup, allowed me to exile a bunch of dead fetches from my grave before looting Emrakul away with a Lighthouse. I cast Logic Knot twice that game and both times it was great, it really impressed me. After about a 35-40 minute grindy game 1, I Emrakul'ed him out of the game.
Game 2 was similarly grindy. He played Thing in the Ice, which I didn't see at all game 1, so his list was definitely not a stock list. Personally, I'm not a fan of that card, it sat around for a few turns and then ate a path. He had Dreadbore for my Nahiri, and then Snap + Dreadbore for the second. The game went to turns, and with no winner I got the match 1-0.
Round 4: Jund (ID)
With only 18 people in the tournament and 5 rounds of swiss, 3-0 was enough to double-draw into top 8. My opponent was on Jund, and agreed to the ID.
Round 5: Tron (ID)
Same sort of deal, my opponent was on Tron, and agreed to the ID (thank God, this is my absolute worst matchup).
Top 8: Grixis Control (1-2)
I got matched up with the same opponent from Round 3. I was 3rd seed going into top 8, so I was on the play. Opponent missed a land drop on turn 4, so attempted to Snapcaster + flashback Serum Visions. I Mana Leak'ed the Snapcaster figuring he was trying to hit lands, then untapped and slammed Nahiri. He didn't have an answer, and was met with a turn 7 Emrakul.
Sideboard was pretty much the same as before. Game 2 was a much longer grind than the first. After fighting over an Ancestral Vision on my turn, he untapped and played Molten Rain into Snap + Molten Rain hitting my two red sources (I had missed some land drops). It was crippling at first, but he didn't follow up with any aggression. The game went long enough that I looted away Emrakul to shuffle my grave back in and hand enough time to naturally re-draw the lands he destroyed. He also hit a Colonnade with a Crumble to Dust. Apparently he had a decent number of dead cards, so decided to bring in a bunch of land hate, which was a smart move. Eventually he played a Tasigur that I couldn't answer and finished me off with a bolt.
Sideboarding
-1 Lightning Helix
+1 Supreme Verdict
Having lost the last game to Tasigur and knowing he was still playing Thing in the Ice, I figured having 1 Supreme Verdict was more valuable than the second Helix. Unfortunately he hit a critical mass of discard spells, and used Snap to replay a few of them. We hit a critical turn where he had a Tasigur, Snap, and Creeping Tar Pit in play with 1 card in hand. I had 7 mana available and Elspeth, Negate, and Snap in hand. I had to deicide if it was worth waiting a turn to draw the 8th land so I could cast Elspeth with Negate backup, or try to slam the Elspeth that turn. I was at something like 14 life and didn't want to take 9 the next turn, so I jammed Elspeth, and ran into a Mana Leak. I'm not sure if that play was necessarily wrong, since if I held the Elspeth I would have gone to 5 that turn, then Tar Pit + Bolt, Snap, or Kcommand is enough to end the game. Plus I wasn't even guaranteed to hit my 8th land the following turn. Sometimes you just have to make them have it, and he had it
It was a bit of a bummer to lose to a guy who I had beat earlier in the tournament, but he was nice enough, and I was happy enough with meeting my goal of Top8. Was it the most competitive field? Of course not. The meta was really weird. No one was on Affinity, Burn, or Infect. There were 4 Jund, 4 Grixis Control, 3 Jeskai Control, 2 Tron, 1 Hatebears, 2 Kiki-Chord, 2 Abzan Company, and 1 guy on a weird Delver/Blue Moon deck. Definitely not your expected meta, it was super heavy on the midrange and control side, but I was really happy with how my deck played out.
Takeaways
I was really happy with my deck overall, here are some of the things I took away from my experience.
1. Nahiri is awesome
We all know this by now, but Nahiri really is an awesome wincon for Jeskai Control. The ability to stabilize and then slam a card that says "answer me or game over" is exactly what this deck wants. Do you sometimes draw a blank in Emrakul? Occasionally. But Nahiri is quite versatile, and turns the corner faster than our opponents can recover.
2. Lighthouse is a House
I already knew this card was great, but since the meta was so control/midrange oriented, Lighthouse shone pretty much every time I drew it. The ability on a land to ditch bad cards and dig for good ones is phenomenal. You're missing out if you're still not running this card.
3. Logic Knot is better than it looks
In my playing at FNM, one of the most feelbad things you can do with this deck is draw Emrakul, loot and discard him, and then shuffle all of your dead fetches back into the deck. That scenario has come up a lot more than I would have expected, so I wanted to run 1 card that would let me at least get rid of dead lands in case of Emrakul shuffles. Logic Knot was fantastic every time I drew and played it. I cast it for X=7 and X=10 during the day, both times only tapping 2 lands. I think either 1 Logic Knot or 1 Harvest Pyre makes the deck feel so much better, and right now I'm on the Logic Knot train. Try it out.
4. Sideboard still needs work
This is always the case, as no sideboard is perfect and needs to be constantly updated and adapted. However, with all of the midrange and control I felt I didn't have enough cards I wanted to bring in. Elspeth was great for the grindy matchups, but I'm unsure of whether I want her in or not. I generally like to run multiple copies of cards I really really want to draw in specific matchups, which you can see in my 3 Crumble to Dust in the side. Personally, I feel like we can only beat Tron if the game goes something like t2 Mana Leak, t3 Remand, t4 Crumble to Dust. However, I've heard is said that with all of the card selection (Serum Visions, Nahiri, Lighthouse), we are able to run more one-of side because we'll have an easier time finding them. I'm going to reassess my sideboard strategy and see if I would be better off running fewer duplicate copies in favor of having a more diverse sideboard.
Well, that's about it, hope you can make use of some of that Great Wall of text.
If you're playing an aggressive deck, Karma becomes a 4 mana super Sulfuric Vortex with Urborg out. It seems silly, but its done work when you hit it t4 in UWR Geist. Not sure if it deserves sb slots though.
1. For double-faced cards, the "face-up" side is the side that you check in all zones. So if you wanted to search for Liliana, Heretical Healer, you would need to use at least 3 different colors of mana, even though the planeswalker side technically has a cmc of 0.
For split cards, I believe that either side that falls under the cmc requirement will make that card legal to search for, and then when you cast it, you can cast either side. For instance, you could use only 2 colors to search up the Boom half of Boom // Bust, and then cast Bust.
2. Fuse doesn't change anything. You can only fuse when cast from your hand, so you can't cast both halves off of Bring to Light.
3. Yes, you can pay kicker/multikicker on spells that you cast with this card.
As far as fun stuff to do with it, you're on your own.
I guess for the most part, I have trouble figuring out what cards to take out when siding. Obviously sideboarding should be flexible and not a strict guide, but I think we find a good base to start for some matchups.
Against Jeskai, I want Spell Pierces, Dispels, Spellskite (you said kitchen finks is a no go), but what comes out? Dismember, Twisted Image...what else?
Against Jund, I want Dismembers and Kitchen Finks, but what about Dispel or Spell Pierce? Both seem fine to me. Don't think I like Spellskite in this matchup, Kolaghan's Command makes it feel pretty bad. Twisted Images come out, what else?
Against Tron, it's already a great matchup, what changes after g1? Nature's Claims/Unravel the Aether in, replacing what? Dismember + Spell Pierce?
Against Coco, I want Dismembers and Grafdigger's Cage, and probably Dispels for Chord/Coco? Spell Pierce seems not great in this matchup to me.
Those are the first matchups that come to mind that I'm not 100% sure on.
New infect player. Been playing Jeskai variants in modern for a long time, most recently on Jeskai Nahiri. I realized the other day that I had like 90% of the cards for Infect in my collection already, so I picked up the last few cards and put it together. Just had a few questions:
1. I haven't seen Wild Defiance in any recent lists. Coming from Jeskai, turning off bolts/helixes seems exactly like what this deck wants to do, plus it can make for really explosive plays. Am I wrong?
2. Same goes for Spellskite. I read Turtenwald's more recent article, I get that there is value in next-leveling and not playing Spellskite when your opponent sideboards for it, but is it not worth running at all?
3. In practicing, I'm finding sideboarding more difficult than expected, particularly against removal-heavy decks like Jeskai and Jund. I usually bring in more protection like Spell Pierce and Dispel and side out some pump spells, usually Might of Old Krosa since it really wants to be cast as a sorcery. Should that be coming out first, or am I underrating Might? I also usually bring in Kitchen Finks as well to tax their removal. I could be way off here, any recommendations?
4. I see some lists run Unravel the Aether over 3rd Nature's Claim, what is that for? Are we that worried about Keranos?
5. Could use some Sideboarding tips in general. I've played against the deck a ton, but sitting on the other side of the table is not as clear as I expected.
6. My LGS meta is pretty competitive, and really diverse:
2 Jund
2 Affinity
1 Tron
1 Burn
1 Infect
1 Abzan Coco
1 Jeskai Control
1 G/R Titanshift
1 Lantern Control
1 Death's Shadow Zoo
1 Grixis Delver
1 Bogles
3-5 other tier 2 decks
I feel like this is a fairly wide spread, but is there anything spicy in particular that would be good to tech in my meta?
If I could get some experienced Infect pilots to help me out here, that'd be great.
Not good enough at 4 mana. The few cases where it shines don't make this better than Cryptic. I don't think we run this anywhere in the 75.
Jeskai Nahiri most certainly is control. Running 4 copies of a planeswalker does not make it a midrange deck.
This deck is a pile. The reason miracles aren't good in modern is because there is no good way to stack the top of your deck to get the miracle trigger. None of the miracle cards are worth the cost when hardcast, they're only good when casting for the miracle cost. Miracles are great in legacy because you can use brainstorm, ponder, or top to stack the top of your deck and cast broken 1 mana board wipes or get super cheap angels.
You can't stack the top of the deck like that in modern. Not even close. Noxious Revival to put a Terminus on top is just bad, Telling Time is not great either. There's a reason no one plays Miracle cards in modern.
You're also running Jeskai in modern, with 0 copies of Lightning Bolt, and 0 copies of Snapcaster Mage. Not playing the best cards in the format in 2 of your colors is pretty much just straight up wrong. They're exactly what Jeskai Control wants: cheap removal, and card advantage.
Interesting thought experiment, but as politely as I can put it, this list is a far cry from competitive.
It's kind of fringe, but it can attack a turn earlier than Colonnade, which is relevant against walkers, specifically Liliana.. I don't lose too much by running it, and it just offers another slightly diverse threat. Just a matter of personal preference.
Played Jeskai Narhiri, figured I could do a short tournament write-up.
Here's my decklist:
4x Snapcaster Mage
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Planeswalkers
4x Nahiri, the Harbinger
Instants
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
4x Path to Exile
3x Mana Leak
2x Remand
2x Cryptic Command
1x Logic Knot
1x Electrolyze
Sorceries
4x Serum Visions
2x Ancestral Vision
1x Supreme Verdict
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Flooded Strand
1x Arid Mesa
3x Celestial Colonnade
1x Wandering Fumarole
2x Steam Vents
2x Hallowed Fountain
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Desolate Lighthouse
2x Island
1x Plains
1x Mountain
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Wear/Tear
2x Negate
2x Stony Silence
2x Anger of the Gods
1x Izzet Staticaster
3x Crumble to Dust
1x Wrath of God
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Round 1: Mirror (2-0)
Was not expecting the mirror right out of the gate, but hey, it happens. Game 1 was a grind, but my 2 maindeck Ancestral Vision gave me a pretty good edge. I also hit Desolate Lighthouse fairly early, which is fantastic in the mirror. He landed a Nahiri that I couldn't answer, but when he used her -8 I tapped his Emrakul with a Cryptic and then bolted Nahiri off the table. I drew the game out until I could ultimate my own Nahiri, and countered his Cryptic when he tried to do the same. Logic Knot was fantastic.
Sideboarding
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Electrolyze
-2 Path to Exile
+2 Negate
+1 Crumble to Dust
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Path isn't the most useful card in this matchup, but it answers Colonnades nicely, so I like keeping a few in. Crumble fills a similar role, and is basically just upgrading a path since they really only hit manlands anyways in the mirror. I don't remember much of g2, but it was a similar grind that ended with me swinging in with Emrakul for the win in turn 3 of extra turns.
Round 2: Jund (2-0)
He was playing a version of Jund that was running a lot more kill spells than the average list (multiple copies of Murderous Cut in addition to the usual Terminates, Abrupt Decays, and Dreadbores. Fortunately for me, that means he got stuck with a hand full of blanks. He played a Goyf, Olivia, and a Scavenging Ooze, which all immediately ate a removal spell. Liliana of the Veil fell prey to Logic Knot, which impressed me once again. I landed a Nahiri eventually and hit him for 15 shortly after.
Sideboarding
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Lightning Helix
+1 Wrath of God
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
I didn't see any Dark Confidant's game 1, so Electrolyze didn't feel too great to me. Game 2 was a bit more interesting, after exchanging removal spells and creatures for a few turns, I eventually land a Nahiri. I immediately +2 her, discarding Emrakul, which my opponent then exiles with Surgical Extraction. I hit several redundant copies of Nahiri, which was interesting since I couldn't really use her ultimate for much value (I could have grabbed Snapcaster Mage if necessary). Luckily I landed an Elspeth which quickly ran away with the game.
Round 3: Grixis Control (1-0)
My opponent seemed to be on a generally stock Grixis control list, though he was running 2 Anger of the Gods Main. He hit both game 1 which meant 2 dead cards for him. He also didn't hit any hand disruption, so I felt firmly in the driver's seat the whole game. He also made a few misplays, like casting Mana Leak with no followup into 3 open mana. Logic Knot proved to be quite good in this matchup, allowed me to exile a bunch of dead fetches from my grave before looting Emrakul away with a Lighthouse. I cast Logic Knot twice that game and both times it was great, it really impressed me. After about a 35-40 minute grindy game 1, I Emrakul'ed him out of the game.
Sideboarding
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Lightning Helix
-1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Negate
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Game 2 was similarly grindy. He played Thing in the Ice, which I didn't see at all game 1, so his list was definitely not a stock list. Personally, I'm not a fan of that card, it sat around for a few turns and then ate a path. He had Dreadbore for my Nahiri, and then Snap + Dreadbore for the second. The game went to turns, and with no winner I got the match 1-0.
Round 4: Jund (ID)
With only 18 people in the tournament and 5 rounds of swiss, 3-0 was enough to double-draw into top 8. My opponent was on Jund, and agreed to the ID.
Round 5: Tron (ID)
Same sort of deal, my opponent was on Tron, and agreed to the ID (thank God, this is my absolute worst matchup).
Top 8: Grixis Control (1-2)
I got matched up with the same opponent from Round 3. I was 3rd seed going into top 8, so I was on the play. Opponent missed a land drop on turn 4, so attempted to Snapcaster + flashback Serum Visions. I Mana Leak'ed the Snapcaster figuring he was trying to hit lands, then untapped and slammed Nahiri. He didn't have an answer, and was met with a turn 7 Emrakul.
Sideboarding
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Lightning Helix
-1 Supreme Verdict
+2 Negate
+1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Sideboard was pretty much the same as before. Game 2 was a much longer grind than the first. After fighting over an Ancestral Vision on my turn, he untapped and played Molten Rain into Snap + Molten Rain hitting my two red sources (I had missed some land drops). It was crippling at first, but he didn't follow up with any aggression. The game went long enough that I looted away Emrakul to shuffle my grave back in and hand enough time to naturally re-draw the lands he destroyed. He also hit a Colonnade with a Crumble to Dust. Apparently he had a decent number of dead cards, so decided to bring in a bunch of land hate, which was a smart move. Eventually he played a Tasigur that I couldn't answer and finished me off with a bolt.
Sideboarding
-1 Lightning Helix
+1 Supreme Verdict
Having lost the last game to Tasigur and knowing he was still playing Thing in the Ice, I figured having 1 Supreme Verdict was more valuable than the second Helix. Unfortunately he hit a critical mass of discard spells, and used Snap to replay a few of them. We hit a critical turn where he had a Tasigur, Snap, and Creeping Tar Pit in play with 1 card in hand. I had 7 mana available and Elspeth, Negate, and Snap in hand. I had to deicide if it was worth waiting a turn to draw the 8th land so I could cast Elspeth with Negate backup, or try to slam the Elspeth that turn. I was at something like 14 life and didn't want to take 9 the next turn, so I jammed Elspeth, and ran into a Mana Leak. I'm not sure if that play was necessarily wrong, since if I held the Elspeth I would have gone to 5 that turn, then Tar Pit + Bolt, Snap, or Kcommand is enough to end the game. Plus I wasn't even guaranteed to hit my 8th land the following turn. Sometimes you just have to make them have it, and he had it
It was a bit of a bummer to lose to a guy who I had beat earlier in the tournament, but he was nice enough, and I was happy enough with meeting my goal of Top8. Was it the most competitive field? Of course not. The meta was really weird. No one was on Affinity, Burn, or Infect. There were 4 Jund, 4 Grixis Control, 3 Jeskai Control, 2 Tron, 1 Hatebears, 2 Kiki-Chord, 2 Abzan Company, and 1 guy on a weird Delver/Blue Moon deck. Definitely not your expected meta, it was super heavy on the midrange and control side, but I was really happy with how my deck played out.
Takeaways
I was really happy with my deck overall, here are some of the things I took away from my experience.
1. Nahiri is awesome
We all know this by now, but Nahiri really is an awesome wincon for Jeskai Control. The ability to stabilize and then slam a card that says "answer me or game over" is exactly what this deck wants. Do you sometimes draw a blank in Emrakul? Occasionally. But Nahiri is quite versatile, and turns the corner faster than our opponents can recover.
2. Lighthouse is a House
I already knew this card was great, but since the meta was so control/midrange oriented, Lighthouse shone pretty much every time I drew it. The ability on a land to ditch bad cards and dig for good ones is phenomenal. You're missing out if you're still not running this card.
3. Logic Knot is better than it looks
In my playing at FNM, one of the most feelbad things you can do with this deck is draw Emrakul, loot and discard him, and then shuffle all of your dead fetches back into the deck. That scenario has come up a lot more than I would have expected, so I wanted to run 1 card that would let me at least get rid of dead lands in case of Emrakul shuffles. Logic Knot was fantastic every time I drew and played it. I cast it for X=7 and X=10 during the day, both times only tapping 2 lands. I think either 1 Logic Knot or 1 Harvest Pyre makes the deck feel so much better, and right now I'm on the Logic Knot train. Try it out.
4. Sideboard still needs work
This is always the case, as no sideboard is perfect and needs to be constantly updated and adapted. However, with all of the midrange and control I felt I didn't have enough cards I wanted to bring in. Elspeth was great for the grindy matchups, but I'm unsure of whether I want her in or not. I generally like to run multiple copies of cards I really really want to draw in specific matchups, which you can see in my 3 Crumble to Dust in the side. Personally, I feel like we can only beat Tron if the game goes something like t2 Mana Leak, t3 Remand, t4 Crumble to Dust. However, I've heard is said that with all of the card selection (Serum Visions, Nahiri, Lighthouse), we are able to run more one-of side because we'll have an easier time finding them. I'm going to reassess my sideboard strategy and see if I would be better off running fewer duplicate copies in favor of having a more diverse sideboard.
Well, that's about it, hope you can make use of some of that Great Wall of text.
For split cards, I believe that either side that falls under the cmc requirement will make that card legal to search for, and then when you cast it, you can cast either side. For instance, you could use only 2 colors to search up the Boom half of Boom // Bust, and then cast Bust.
2. Fuse doesn't change anything. You can only fuse when cast from your hand, so you can't cast both halves off of Bring to Light.
3. Yes, you can pay kicker/multikicker on spells that you cast with this card.
As far as fun stuff to do with it, you're on your own.