Regardless of how the numbers look, format perception is sinking.
Alright, I have to ask, how exactly are we defining this? Whose perception is sinking? Yours, some Pros, Ced & Sully, the posters that don't seem to like Modern, but avidly follow and post about it? There are clearly some content providers that are extremely negative on the format right now, but on the same sites, you have others that are very positive about it. A lot of sites don't feel the need to pass judgement either way, they just discuss the format as is. Also, what numbers are we using that point to "ok", but are misleading us? Sorry, but that comment came across as the kind of thing you used to actively discourage.
As for ban talk, I'm still interested to see what Stoneforge Mystic would actually do in the format. It certainly doesn't break any T4 rule, but if it leads to a severe reduction in the variety of W/x builds, then it's not adding much to the format. We won't really know unless Wizards gives us a few months to give it a try though; I think Sword of the Meek has shown that rampant speculation proves nothing.
I'm extremely interested in seeing the UB mill deck's list. UB mill was my first modern deck, I know it typically isn't thought of as a competitive deck, but I've always had a soft spot for mill ever since I started playing Magic.
They showed the list during Round 9 of coverage yesterday. For the most part it was the list that has been winning Leagues on MTGO, maybe different by a card or two.
That RUG Pili-pala list is kind of odd? The best it can do with the infinite mana is, if it has a Whispers, draw the whole deck, then hope that 4x Bolt/Snap/Bolt kills the opponent? If it has some creatures out to swing, it can Cryptic down the blockers, but is that enough? Very strange. Maybe it's something you have to play to really see it "do its thing", but sadly the Pili-Pala combo is a huge pain to execute on MTGO. ;(
In my experience, GPT winning lists are always interesting but not always representative of the format.
I like to think of them as lists that are a proven consideration for FNM or League play if they are a deck list that you are interested in. They might not be enough to consistently win a two day event, but seem fine for 4-5 rounds. I also check through them for up-and-coming archetypes, interesting new tech, or to see if there are any trends that might not be reflected in the immediate GP, but could impact the meta afterwards.
There are no "new" decks in this batch, but several neat ones (JA!!). I'm also loving the variety; hard to plan for, but easily one of my favorite aspects of the format.
I've played several games with it now and I'm really enjoying the explosiveness. I think the mana could use some tweaking to free up some sideboard slots for certain.
Drekavac, You said you got the list from the GP Coverage, do you know whose it was, or maybe have a link to source? I might write about the deck one week and want to be sure I give the proper credit to the creator.
Grixis and Jeskai Control in the Top 16. A little underrepresented but not horrible. Blue Mooon misses at 19th too. Also, interesting to see both Abzan and Jund in equal Top 32 representation.
True, but there is also Taking Turns at 31st, how much more Blue could you get?! Oh, and Goblins in the top 32, which outside of Guides is certainly a powerful budget build for newer players to work with.
The Modern Perspective: Focus on the Problems
The excitement of seeing a break out deck at the Pro Tour quickly turned into a nightmare. I discuss what I felt the most pressing problems were (still are). You know, the required Eldrazi piece.
Something different for you all to read about during these Eldrazi-doldrums. (Well, okay, not that last one...)
The Zoo numbers should be Hits 5/6 and Misses 1/6: Worship costs 4. It doesn't throw your over all percentage off by much, but it is something to consider for people if "Worship + creature = GG" for their particular deck.
Still, thanks for the breakdown. It shows how useful that card can be if you want to take the chance on those misses.
Hey, I'm glad you're still around and playing Magic! I hope the advice I gave way back when was useful?
Which lands did you wind up getting? (The answer is still probably "Yes, put them in.")
Yosei is actually a great choice. Chaining together a Yosei sacrifice into another Yosei, possibly even a third, is a great way to close out games. The deck would need a very particular set up to work towards such a goal.
As for your current build, I'd drop the Hondens since they don't do much by themselves for and you don't have any way to search them out. I'd boot out Etheral Haze too. If you don't care about cards in the graveyard, then I'd replace Scout the Borders with Gift of the Gargantuan. It digs one card less, but you get to keep a creature and a land to help you climb up your curve. I'm not wild about either card, but for now, it will give you more consistency.
Spirits in just G or W don't have a great deal of support in Modern. There's very little focus to what they can accomplish. Dipping into Blue or Black could help a little, between adding more Legendary Spirits to the mix, some strong stand alone spirits, or interesting sacrifice/graveyard shenanigans. Going into a third color might seem tricky, but if you aren't running a lot of the expensive dual lands, 3 colors is honestly as fast as 2.
Geist was getting walled by a lot of different creatures, but was still awesome at times, so I left in a few. 3 Company was either clogging up my hand, or not hitting enough creatures. (I did put the other in the side to bring in against some matchups.) The Quarter is useful against Amulet Bloom and Tron that are all over the MTGO League as well as random man lands I've run into.
The Zoo build has been very effective at just winning games on a beatdown plan without relying on the combo. Games that the combo does show, hey, sweet deal. Almost every match was close and the deck always feels like it has a chance of winning if you play well. Even against the fast combo decks, it has a chance of comboing just as fast.
I'm not sure if Voice is the best 2 drop to replace that spot; often I really, really want to see Scavening Ooze in tons of matchups. A fourth Pridemage is a possibility too. I'm always looking at a different 3 drop other than Geist, like Finks or Brimaz?
Match ups for the 5-0 Run:
2-0 Anthony Lowry's Grixis List (could have been him, not sure what his MTGO name is?)
2-1 UWR/b Midrange
2-1 P Sullivan's Naya Zoo
2-1 Esper Control
2-1 WB Tokens (with new Gideon and Shambling Vent)
That Naya List had a lot of press recently, so it's been showing up more and more in the Practice room and in the Leagues. I'd suggest planning for it.
Losses in other leagues include Grixis Twin, Tron, Scapeshift, UW Emeria and a Naya Aggro deck running Atarka and Dromoka Command's in the main. Wins include everything from Grixis, Jund, Ad Naus, Bloom, Scapeshift, Burn, etc.
Anybody else having success with the Zoo build? Any other tweaks to the mana base or surprising sideboard choices?
I'm back for a third tour! There's a lot more great Modern content out these days compared to 2013, but if you enjoy a general view of the format from a casual-competitive point of view, be sure to stop by!
The Modern Perspective: Rebooting with R-Ally Reanimator Zendikar is just around the corner, so what better time to revisit my Ally Reanimator deck? Plus, find out one of the things I was up to during my hiatus and how it ties into the Modern site you should absolutely be reading!
Actually, if I'm reading that correctly, that was just a collection of 30 players in the room with the most distinguished careers? It's not even clear if they all made Day 2, or if they just wanted to show a sampling of decks?
I think I'd wait to see the actual Day 2 break down they mentioned before we jump the gun on this.
Jund. Goryo’s Vengeance. Abzan Midrange. Elves. Abzan Company. Ad Naeuseam. Naya Burn. Red-Green Tron. These Modern decks are the Day 1 undefeated taste of the variety on display this weekend at Grand Prix Charlotte.
Interested undefeateds.
Seriously, if there are undefeated Elf, AN and GV decks, maybe we could show/talk about something other than Bloom or Jund?
I control an Exalted Angel enchanted with an Armadillo Cloak and an Unflinching Courage. I attack and my opponent blocks with a (Pristine Angel:DRK).
I should gain 12 life because:
Does that look correct?
Thanks for help!
Alright, I have to ask, how exactly are we defining this? Whose perception is sinking? Yours, some Pros, Ced & Sully, the posters that don't seem to like Modern, but avidly follow and post about it? There are clearly some content providers that are extremely negative on the format right now, but on the same sites, you have others that are very positive about it. A lot of sites don't feel the need to pass judgement either way, they just discuss the format as is. Also, what numbers are we using that point to "ok", but are misleading us? Sorry, but that comment came across as the kind of thing you used to actively discourage.
As for ban talk, I'm still interested to see what Stoneforge Mystic would actually do in the format. It certainly doesn't break any T4 rule, but if it leads to a severe reduction in the variety of W/x builds, then it's not adding much to the format. We won't really know unless Wizards gives us a few months to give it a try though; I think Sword of the Meek has shown that rampant speculation proves nothing.
They showed the list during Round 9 of coverage yesterday. For the most part it was the list that has been winning Leagues on MTGO, maybe different by a card or two.
That RUG Pili-pala list is kind of odd? The best it can do with the infinite mana is, if it has a Whispers, draw the whole deck, then hope that 4x Bolt/Snap/Bolt kills the opponent? If it has some creatures out to swing, it can Cryptic down the blockers, but is that enough? Very strange. Maybe it's something you have to play to really see it "do its thing", but sadly the Pili-Pala combo is a huge pain to execute on MTGO. ;(
I like to think of them as lists that are a proven consideration for FNM or League play if they are a deck list that you are interested in. They might not be enough to consistently win a two day event, but seem fine for 4-5 rounds. I also check through them for up-and-coming archetypes, interesting new tech, or to see if there are any trends that might not be reflected in the immediate GP, but could impact the meta afterwards.
There are no "new" decks in this batch, but several neat ones (JA!!). I'm also loving the variety; hard to plan for, but easily one of my favorite aspects of the format.
Drekavac, You said you got the list from the GP Coverage, do you know whose it was, or maybe have a link to source? I might write about the deck one week and want to be sure I give the proper credit to the creator.
True, but there is also Taking Turns at 31st, how much more Blue could you get?!
2nd Storm - w/ 4x Gifts Ungiven and 1x Increasing Vengeance
3rd U/W Eldrazi
4th Abzan Company
5th Infect - w/ MD 2x Viridian Corrupter and SB Painter's Servant
6th Abzan Company
7th Jeskai Eldrazi
8th Affinity
9th Infect
10th Temur Moon
11th Infect
12th Abazn w MD 1x Painful Truths
13th Esper Eldrazi w/1x Vesuva
14th B/G Elves
15th Affinity
16th Esper Gifts
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/190316_indianapolis.html - then click on Modern!
Some neat stuff in there. I'm really hoping some of these other decks stick around after April.
The Modern Perspective: Return of the Jeskai
I discuss several different builds of Jeskai Ascendancy decks (including some from players on these very boards) and helpful play tips on how to play the deck and conserve you play clock on MTGO.
Also from the last few weeks:
The Modern Perspective: Tainted Immortality
A peek into the brewing process as I developed lists using Tainted Remedy/Beacon of Immortality and other life gain cards to secure victory.
The Modern Perspective: Focus on the Problems
The excitement of seeing a break out deck at the Pro Tour quickly turned into a nightmare. I discuss what I felt the most pressing problems were (still are). You know, the required Eldrazi piece.
Something different for you all to read about during these Eldrazi-doldrums. (Well, okay, not that last one...)
Still, thanks for the breakdown. It shows how useful that card can be if you want to take the chance on those misses.
Which lands did you wind up getting? (The answer is still probably "Yes, put them in.")
Yosei is actually a great choice. Chaining together a Yosei sacrifice into another Yosei, possibly even a third, is a great way to close out games. The deck would need a very particular set up to work towards such a goal.
As for your current build, I'd drop the Hondens since they don't do much by themselves for and you don't have any way to search them out. I'd boot out Etheral Haze too. If you don't care about cards in the graveyard, then I'd replace Scout the Borders with Gift of the Gargantuan. It digs one card less, but you get to keep a creature and a land to help you climb up your curve. I'm not wild about either card, but for now, it will give you more consistency.
Spirits in just G or W don't have a great deal of support in Modern. There's very little focus to what they can accomplish. Dipping into Blue or Black could help a little, between adding more Legendary Spirits to the mix, some strong stand alone spirits, or interesting sacrifice/graveyard shenanigans. Going into a third color might seem tricky, but if you aren't running a lot of the expensive dual lands, 3 colors is honestly as fast as 2.
- Gio
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Voice of Resurgence
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Loxodon Smiter
4 Knight of the Reliquary
Instants
2 Collected Company
3 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
Enchantments
3 Retreat to Coralhelm
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Arid Mesa
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Stony Silence
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Negate
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Dromoka's Command
1 Collected Company
The maindeck changes from Latern's older list are:
-1 Geist,
-1 Collected Company
-1 Arid Mesa
+2 Voice
+1 Ghost Quarter
Geist was getting walled by a lot of different creatures, but was still awesome at times, so I left in a few. 3 Company was either clogging up my hand, or not hitting enough creatures. (I did put the other in the side to bring in against some matchups.) The Quarter is useful against Amulet Bloom and Tron that are all over the MTGO League as well as random man lands I've run into.
The Zoo build has been very effective at just winning games on a beatdown plan without relying on the combo. Games that the combo does show, hey, sweet deal. Almost every match was close and the deck always feels like it has a chance of winning if you play well. Even against the fast combo decks, it has a chance of comboing just as fast.
I'm not sure if Voice is the best 2 drop to replace that spot; often I really, really want to see Scavening Ooze in tons of matchups. A fourth Pridemage is a possibility too. I'm always looking at a different 3 drop other than Geist, like Finks or Brimaz?
Match ups for the 5-0 Run:
2-0 Anthony Lowry's Grixis List (could have been him, not sure what his MTGO name is?)
2-1 UWR/b Midrange
2-1 P Sullivan's Naya Zoo
2-1 Esper Control
2-1 WB Tokens (with new Gideon and Shambling Vent)
That Naya List had a lot of press recently, so it's been showing up more and more in the Practice room and in the Leagues. I'd suggest planning for it.
Losses in other leagues include Grixis Twin, Tron, Scapeshift, UW Emeria and a Naya Aggro deck running Atarka and Dromoka Command's in the main. Wins include everything from Grixis, Jund, Ad Naus, Bloom, Scapeshift, Burn, etc.
Anybody else having success with the Zoo build? Any other tweaks to the mana base or surprising sideboard choices?
The Modern Perspective: Rebooting with R-Ally Reanimator
Zendikar is just around the corner, so what better time to revisit my Ally Reanimator deck? Plus, find out one of the things I was up to during my hiatus and how it ties into the Modern site you should absolutely be reading!
I think I'd wait to see the actual Day 2 break down they mentioned before we jump the gun on this.
Edit: Do we know what the three 9-0 decks were?
Seriously, if there are undefeated Elf, AN and GV decks, maybe we could show/talk about something other than Bloom or Jund?