I have been looking pretty hard to find a decent deal on the OG foil Sacred Foundries. They are becoming pretty difficult to find for a good price. Tried FB groups and Ebay. Anyway I can get this card for at lest 55-60 dollars? Or all OG shocklands going to keep rising for the next couple of months?
Just curious, but when developing Burn's mana base, some advice I got when going to a big tournament is diversifying your fetches. What are people's thought about this? I was thinking about doing a 3 Mesa, 3 Tarn, 2 Bloodstained, and 2 Foothills. Is it a marginal thing to worry about or is this something I want to be aware of?
I know we have been off of Atarka's Command ever since Fatal Push has been printed, but is it still viable to play it? I love the card, and I would hope that the card is just a preference choice rather than it being worse for the deck.
Any thoughts on the price trajectory of Vendillion Clique? I am looking to get a Morningtide foil, but with the reprint in 25, I wasn't too sure if now would be a good time. I am hoping to pick up the card for around 75 rather than the 90/100 dollar price tag currently.
Hey everyone, I have three decks currently. Burn, Affinity, and UW Control (*small note - I add Stoneforge when I play with my group of friends). Generally, I like aggro/tempo decks, but what I found recently is that I really like decks with interaction and really difficult skill trees. I really do like Jund, Mono White Death & Taxes, and Humans, or that is how I felt when I tested them.
I honestly don't know where to go for my next deck. I THINK I might want to try a wizard tribal deck when Dominaria hits, but I do question if it will play anything like Humans. A part of me hopes it can be as strong as Humans, or play like Delver.
Is there anything that is full of flavor (Most of my UW Control deck are cards from Zendikar)? Something with exploding plays? Nice comeback potential that can flip the game around with one good draw after trying to establish a good board? I love burn and affinity for how explosive a good hand can be. And I like pseudo combo potential decks that don't force you to go all in. I am more of a toolbox type of player. Generally I want to play with 3-6 types of creatures in the deck.
Anyways. I think I want to make ONE more deck to focus on. And that might be my last deck to focus on for the next two years or so. I have been playing since 2012, and it has taken me this long to finish the decks that I have.
So in summary: strong, explosive, flavorful, and intense interaction. I like the idea of being on 1 life and pulling through to the end and finishing the last 5 or so life that my opponent has left. And one last tid bit, I generally play with my friends, one of my friends play Grixis Death Shadow and about 2-3 janky brews.
Can I ask you a non related question? How has Stoneforge Mystic been for you in your testing? I personally think the card will be off the ban list within a year, but I'm curious how you feel since you play the card and are not just basing it off emotions.
I am no expert with the deck by no means but I can go ahead and share my thoughts and experiences with the card.
The card completely changes the gameplan for UW Control. And to be honest, I would hardly call the deck a UW Control deck anymore once Stoneforge Mystic is added. From my testing with a normal UW Control deck and what I call my Jaceblade deck, their gameplans are similar, but one prefers to attack more often than the other. I would consider a Geist Midrange deck to be more in line with my Jaceblade deck moreso than a UW Control deck.
A couple of fundamental things start happening when you add Stoneforge Mystic, the most important however is your turn 1-3 plays. These become more important as throwing the Stoneforge out within those few turns as soon as possible is usually the right play, UNLESS you are playing against burn. I tend to grab the Batterskull first, because to be honest, I don’t mind if it is taken out of my hand, or if the germ token is killed, or Stoneforge is killed. If you can’t play the Batterskull, you play the swords, if you can’t play the swords your backup plan is playing all the other threats within the deck. With my deck, there are about 6 win conditions; Stoneforge shenanigans, Celestial Colonnade, Angel tokens, Sun Titan, Gideon, and Jace ult. You will find that your plays are usually turn 1 Celestial Colonnade, turn 2 Stoneforge, turn 3 Batterskull, turn 4 use Stoneforge to use Sword of Feast and Famine which untaps all your land if it goes through and if not, that is 6 life gain (the untap helps you hold your Cryptic Commands so you can either counter or tap all your opponents creatures so you can attack with Batterskull again, OR you can bounce a target permanent and FORCE your opponent to discard the card if that is the only card in their hand when you hit with Feast and Famine). Well, you get the point, you can start doing a lot of proactive plans against your opponent.
While playing UW Control, you really are just trying to make sure you have more advantage than your opponent, clearing the board as much as possible, stalling the game until you can go for the kill. Although I don’t think that is a bad strategy, I prefer to hurt my opponents, or overwhelm them with a difficult board. Kind of like how when an opponent has two Reality Smashers and a Drowner of Hope in play. Yeah, f*ck them.
From my experience, the combination of Stoneforge and Jace really makes the deck as scary as they remembered when the two were together. I honestly feel as though Stoneforge gives UW Control a nice set of tools to mess with. I will go ahead and give my thoughts about some of the matchups that I have experienced while playing my deck. And a quick summary about how I feel about playing different decks: Aggro can be tough to deal with, especially if they start removing your board left and right or kill you before you can even establish your own board. Control mirrors are really fun because it always feels like a gamble of do they have the counter to stop my counter? I hope not. Admittedly, I have not played against much combo, so I can’t give you too much insight on that. Sorry. And for Tron like strategies… Yeah, turn 3 Karn is just really difficult to beat. Same can be said for a turn 3 Etched Champion with a Cranial Plating equipped.
Burn:
I like this match up, because it really does make you more cautious about your plays. With Stoneforge added, there is actually a good amount of room for error in your plays. But generally speaking, one error could have meant one more turn that your opponent is alive. And for burn, that is a no go. The plan here is to get Batterskull or Swords of War and Peace on the field. That life gain is devastating for them. And with Swords of War and Peace, it is like playing a life gaining Etched Champion. The life gain either comes from an equipped Batterskull, or by nature of the deck the 3-6 cards you will have in your hand when you hit with War and Peace.
Affinity:
Yeah, Affinity is fast, but I do feel like you can’t be afraid of their threats and kind have to go all out on them and answer everything! Stoneforge is not exactly great in this match up but if you can somehow get it to stay and play Batterskull, you MIGHT be able to stay long enough to remove their threats and take back the game. I find my land destruction and Detention Spheres more important in this matchup.
Jund:
One of my favorite matches. Stoneforge is great here. I THINK. Turn 3 Liliana is devastating but if Stoneforge somehow stays on the field long enough then that gives enough time for a Celestial Colonnade to hit, or a Batterskull, or an equipped creature to help out. If not, the combination of Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, and Bloodbraid into Liliana ARE pretty difficult things to beat. Not only that but Kolagans Command, Abrupt Decay, Fatal Push, Lightning Bolt, and Maelstrom Pulse are really threatening. But it is kind of a if they got the answers, they got the answers. If not, then it is possible to stall them until you can put something equally as threatening on board. Kolagans Command can really make the day terrible but it is not too bad. If Sun Titan is on the field, then it can make sure your swords come back, and you can just walk through your opponents defenses. You have to watch out for Scooze though as that card can make your plans a little more difficult.
Tron:
Not much I can do against a turn 3 Tron. BUT, with Batterskull and the swords, you have an opportunity to hit hard and out pace them. Also, if all your colored permanents get destroyed, the Batterskull and Swords stay and you can continue the pressure.
Control:
I will admit that Jeskai can threaten you pretty quickly. But this match up is all about being patient and doing your best from allowing your opponent from countering EVERYTHING. Play smart and look for the right time to play what you need to.
There are a lot more matchups I can talk about but that is a briefish idea of the deck. It is pretty powerful and really fun if you like decks that can get really swingy or cause your opponent to say yeah, I HAVE to answer this. I can get into depth more about my plays, and my card choices if you want. I think there is room for another color splash but I honestly wanted to stick with UW since I thought it would be a little different from what I usually play.
In summary: mana base can be lessened since two land plays are important and you can tutor in what you need. It is okay to lose a lot of life then stabilize with Batterskull to gain your life back (some of my favorite plays is Batterskull, then Gideon which forces your opponent to attack Batterskull).
And based off me talking about my UW Control deck, hopefully someone will get how I like to play and can point me in the right direction toward something different but allows me to play the way I like to play.
Hey everyone, I have three decks currently. Burn, Affinity, and UW Control (*small note - I add Stoneforge when I play with my group of friends). Generally, I like aggro/tempo decks, but what I found recently is that I really like decks with interaction and really difficult skill trees. I really do like Jund, Mono White Death & Taxes, and Humans, or that is how I felt when I tested them.
I honestly don't know where to go for my next deck. I THINK I might want to try a wizard tribal deck when Dominaria hits, but I do question if it will play anything like Humans. A part of me hopes it can be as strong as Humans, or play like Delver.
Is there anything that is full of flavor (Most of my UW Control deck are cards from Zendikar)? Something with exploding plays? Nice comeback potential that can flip the game around with one good draw after trying to establish a good board? I love burn and affinity for how explosive a good hand can be. And I like pseudo combo potential decks that don't force you to go all in. I am more of a toolbox type of player. Generally I want to play with 3-6 types of creatures in the deck.
Anyways. I think I want to make ONE more deck to focus on. And that might be my last deck to focus on for the next two years or so. I have been playing since 2012, and it has taken me this long to finish the decks that I have.
So in summary: strong, explosive, flavorful, and intense interaction. I like the idea of being on 1 life and pulling through to the end and finishing the last 5 or so life that my opponent has left. And one last tid bit, I generally play with my friends, one of my friends play Grixis Death Shadow and about 2-3 janky brews.
I officially finished foiling out my Affinity deck today
Congratulations! I am so close to foiling out my Affinity deck too! It has been a really long process so far, but all I need are foil Mirrodin Mox Opals and the Cranial Platings NOT in MM15. Hahaha. For the MAXIMUM amount of pimp for me. Honestly, Affinity looks just beautiful as foils.
Looking at TCGPlayer, I noticed that foil A25 Jaces are more expensive than Eternal Masters. I would think that the prices would be lowered on reprints. Is there a reason for this?
Also, I was thinking about picking up a playset of foil Bloodbraids. Do you think they will keep a stable price or will they end up like Snapcasters in the future?
Hey everyone, I am pretty new to UW Control and I have been curious about some card choices since I haven't been able to test them myself. Personally, I love Gideon Jura, but I never tested the other Gideon's. I never really know its uses so maybe someone can clarify what the others are helpful with. Also I am curious about Spell Queller's utility. When do you hold? And when do play? Is it better than detention sphere?
Hi, new to this deck and definitely am trying to find my own style with this deck. I personally love sword cards and saw in the primer that there were a swords variant before. Any thoughts or directions that I may be able to check for the use of a utility sword in the main deck?
Quick question. I am making investments into a UW Control deck right now. HOWEVER, I want to go for a more Zendikar themed deck, so I am getting cards from that plane. I like foils and I only need to invest into lands right now. Should I move forward with getting foil Celestial Colonnades or expedition Hallowed Fountains. Currently I have one of each. I need 2 more Colonnades and one more Hallowed Fountain. Which one should I obtain/complete first? I don't NEED to buy them right now or any time soon, but I would like some thoughts as to what would be the more wise option.
I am looking into buying into a foil playset of Ghost Quarters. Any possibility that it might be in Amonkhet? If not, could anyone kind of give me some insight as to why it is rising? Just about a week ago, it was about 16 dollars for a foil, now it is getting close to 20.
On a note that isn't too Modern Masters related, any thoughts on getting a batterskull and some of the swords? I plan on getting foils on them, and I am looking at Feast and Famine plus fire and war.
thomaster87, I would go after it to be honest. 20 dollars sounds about right. Nobody knows the print run for sure, and if anything, you are not losing out on much. You seem like you need it or would like them as soon as possible, if not, just be patient and wait a month to see how the prices settle.
The card completely changes the gameplan for UW Control. And to be honest, I would hardly call the deck a UW Control deck anymore once Stoneforge Mystic is added. From my testing with a normal UW Control deck and what I call my Jaceblade deck, their gameplans are similar, but one prefers to attack more often than the other. I would consider a Geist Midrange deck to be more in line with my Jaceblade deck moreso than a UW Control deck.
Here is my decklist BTW:
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sun Titan
Instants 17:
1 Deprive
1 Disallow
3 Cryptic Command
3 Opt
2 Logic Knot
1 Negate
4 Path to Exile
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Entreat the Angels
2 Supreme Verdict
Enchantments 4:
2 Detention Sphere
2 Search for Azcanta
Equipments 3:
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of War and Peace
Planeswalkers 3:
1 Gideon Jura
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Lands 23:
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Irrigated Farmland
1 Mystic Gate
4 Island
2 Plains
A couple of fundamental things start happening when you add Stoneforge Mystic, the most important however is your turn 1-3 plays. These become more important as throwing the Stoneforge out within those few turns as soon as possible is usually the right play, UNLESS you are playing against burn. I tend to grab the Batterskull first, because to be honest, I don’t mind if it is taken out of my hand, or if the germ token is killed, or Stoneforge is killed. If you can’t play the Batterskull, you play the swords, if you can’t play the swords your backup plan is playing all the other threats within the deck. With my deck, there are about 6 win conditions; Stoneforge shenanigans, Celestial Colonnade, Angel tokens, Sun Titan, Gideon, and Jace ult. You will find that your plays are usually turn 1 Celestial Colonnade, turn 2 Stoneforge, turn 3 Batterskull, turn 4 use Stoneforge to use Sword of Feast and Famine which untaps all your land if it goes through and if not, that is 6 life gain (the untap helps you hold your Cryptic Commands so you can either counter or tap all your opponents creatures so you can attack with Batterskull again, OR you can bounce a target permanent and FORCE your opponent to discard the card if that is the only card in their hand when you hit with Feast and Famine). Well, you get the point, you can start doing a lot of proactive plans against your opponent.
While playing UW Control, you really are just trying to make sure you have more advantage than your opponent, clearing the board as much as possible, stalling the game until you can go for the kill. Although I don’t think that is a bad strategy, I prefer to hurt my opponents, or overwhelm them with a difficult board. Kind of like how when an opponent has two Reality Smashers and a Drowner of Hope in play. Yeah, f*ck them.
From my experience, the combination of Stoneforge and Jace really makes the deck as scary as they remembered when the two were together. I honestly feel as though Stoneforge gives UW Control a nice set of tools to mess with. I will go ahead and give my thoughts about some of the matchups that I have experienced while playing my deck. And a quick summary about how I feel about playing different decks: Aggro can be tough to deal with, especially if they start removing your board left and right or kill you before you can even establish your own board. Control mirrors are really fun because it always feels like a gamble of do they have the counter to stop my counter? I hope not. Admittedly, I have not played against much combo, so I can’t give you too much insight on that. Sorry. And for Tron like strategies… Yeah, turn 3 Karn is just really difficult to beat. Same can be said for a turn 3 Etched Champion with a Cranial Plating equipped.
Burn:
I like this match up, because it really does make you more cautious about your plays. With Stoneforge added, there is actually a good amount of room for error in your plays. But generally speaking, one error could have meant one more turn that your opponent is alive. And for burn, that is a no go. The plan here is to get Batterskull or Swords of War and Peace on the field. That life gain is devastating for them. And with Swords of War and Peace, it is like playing a life gaining Etched Champion. The life gain either comes from an equipped Batterskull, or by nature of the deck the 3-6 cards you will have in your hand when you hit with War and Peace.
Affinity:
Yeah, Affinity is fast, but I do feel like you can’t be afraid of their threats and kind have to go all out on them and answer everything! Stoneforge is not exactly great in this match up but if you can somehow get it to stay and play Batterskull, you MIGHT be able to stay long enough to remove their threats and take back the game. I find my land destruction and Detention Spheres more important in this matchup.
Jund:
One of my favorite matches. Stoneforge is great here. I THINK. Turn 3 Liliana is devastating but if Stoneforge somehow stays on the field long enough then that gives enough time for a Celestial Colonnade to hit, or a Batterskull, or an equipped creature to help out. If not, the combination of Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, and Bloodbraid into Liliana ARE pretty difficult things to beat. Not only that but Kolagans Command, Abrupt Decay, Fatal Push, Lightning Bolt, and Maelstrom Pulse are really threatening. But it is kind of a if they got the answers, they got the answers. If not, then it is possible to stall them until you can put something equally as threatening on board. Kolagans Command can really make the day terrible but it is not too bad. If Sun Titan is on the field, then it can make sure your swords come back, and you can just walk through your opponents defenses. You have to watch out for Scooze though as that card can make your plans a little more difficult.
Tron:
Not much I can do against a turn 3 Tron. BUT, with Batterskull and the swords, you have an opportunity to hit hard and out pace them. Also, if all your colored permanents get destroyed, the Batterskull and Swords stay and you can continue the pressure.
Control:
I will admit that Jeskai can threaten you pretty quickly. But this match up is all about being patient and doing your best from allowing your opponent from countering EVERYTHING. Play smart and look for the right time to play what you need to.
There are a lot more matchups I can talk about but that is a briefish idea of the deck. It is pretty powerful and really fun if you like decks that can get really swingy or cause your opponent to say yeah, I HAVE to answer this. I can get into depth more about my plays, and my card choices if you want. I think there is room for another color splash but I honestly wanted to stick with UW since I thought it would be a little different from what I usually play.
In summary: mana base can be lessened since two land plays are important and you can tutor in what you need. It is okay to lose a lot of life then stabilize with Batterskull to gain your life back (some of my favorite plays is Batterskull, then Gideon which forces your opponent to attack Batterskull).
And based off me talking about my UW Control deck, hopefully someone will get how I like to play and can point me in the right direction toward something different but allows me to play the way I like to play.
I honestly don't know where to go for my next deck. I THINK I might want to try a wizard tribal deck when Dominaria hits, but I do question if it will play anything like Humans. A part of me hopes it can be as strong as Humans, or play like Delver.
Is there anything that is full of flavor (Most of my UW Control deck are cards from Zendikar)? Something with exploding plays? Nice comeback potential that can flip the game around with one good draw after trying to establish a good board? I love burn and affinity for how explosive a good hand can be. And I like pseudo combo potential decks that don't force you to go all in. I am more of a toolbox type of player. Generally I want to play with 3-6 types of creatures in the deck.
Anyways. I think I want to make ONE more deck to focus on. And that might be my last deck to focus on for the next two years or so. I have been playing since 2012, and it has taken me this long to finish the decks that I have.
So in summary: strong, explosive, flavorful, and intense interaction. I like the idea of being on 1 life and pulling through to the end and finishing the last 5 or so life that my opponent has left. And one last tid bit, I generally play with my friends, one of my friends play Grixis Death Shadow and about 2-3 janky brews.
Also, I was thinking about picking up a playset of foil Bloodbraids. Do you think they will keep a stable price or will they end up like Snapcasters in the future?
Batterskull is conflicting also as I like both arts but am not too sure which to pick up. What do you think is a better investment?