Opponent has an Ancestral Visions which just triggered. In response to the last counter coming off, I Brainstorm revealing two irrelevant cards and a land. I put another irrelevant card from my hand on the bottom, and the land on top of that. I flip to counter the Visions.
Is the Visions countered when I flip? When is he actually allowed to play Clique (before I flip, right?)
Bonus question:
I control a Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir. My opponent's Ancestral Visions triggers with the last counter about to come off. Where does Visions go when it does? Does it stay RFG until Teferi is dealt with? What happens when Teferi is removed from the board and the opponent enters his next upkeep?
ok so...i love the idea of countertop and i have a good idea of the gist of the decks but theres one nagging question about how counterbalance works. I decided to plop my question in here. If you reveal a land off of counterbalance when your opponent played some 0 cmc card like Lions Eye Diamond...does counterbalance counter the spell? Lands afterall have no cmc so i assume its zero. I looked on the gatherer and there was no ruling on it. So how does it work?
99% sure that this is correct...(it will be countered)
One of my very first orders, I placed an order for a set of Underground Rivers (among other things). I received 3 Underground Rivers and 1 Underworld Dreams. Guess they sort alphabetically. So I e-mailed them, told them the situation, and they had a replacement out to me within 48 hours and told me to keep the Underworld Dreams. This was pretty good; this was also about 3-4 years ago.
Another time, I ordered some stuff along with a singleton Steam Vents. When I received the order, it was not in the order when I received it. Again I emailed them, and they had a replacement out within 48 hours. Pretty good!
My last transaction, however, was pretty bad. I haven't been back since. I ordered a set of Engineered Explosives and a pair of Flooded Strands. Waited two weeks, didn't receive anything. Called the store, spoke to a nice lady who said they'd be out within the week. Waited another week for some kind of shipping confirmation to come in the e-mail, and got nothing. Then they e-mailed me and said they were out of stock on the Flooded Strands. At this point, I was pretty peeved as it had been 3 weeks more or less, and they finally decided to start putting my order together. So I called them and told them of the situation, letting them know I didn't appreciate having my order put on hold for 3 weeks before anyone even looked at it...but I asked them to just go ahead and ship it anyway. The lady I spoke to said they would upgrade shipping to FedEx 2 Day Air for my troubles, and I was reasonably satisfied. Until I waited 3 days without the cards coming in...they showed up a week later in a plain white envelope, shipped regular USPS First Class Mail.
Ebay is a good place to get pricing on this kind of stuff.
If you have old favorites (ie. Final Fantasy for NES and SNES, Chrono Trigger for SNES, etc). you will probably get more for selling those individually, assuming they are in working condition. I read somewhere that these cartridge based games utilize a small calculator-sized battery which runs itself out after X number of years.
I feel that some of my card choices may beg an explanation...
Jace: I don't currently own any of the good Jace, that the sole reason for not running any yet.
Iona: I ran Mono White Control pre WWK, and she was good to me then, so I wanted to give her a shot. I will probably take her out now.
Sphinx of Lost Truths: I like him alot! Not having shroud makes things awkward, but I have him for now. He so easily is a 4 fer 1. I can see a day when I cut him entirely though.
Martial Coup: previous to the FNM, I had 4 Everflowing Chalice, which made reaching that 7 mana milestone far easier. Even without those, its still a really good card and can do so much more than a DOJ some times...
The mana base may look awkward, I dunno. I didn't put a great deal of thought into it. I imagine many aspects of my list will be changing, including the SB. This is what I ran though.
@Max42:
The edge seems iffy in a 3 color deck. You think it could work?
Check my list - I am running Tectonic Edges in the side. I don't board out land. I use them in spell slots. Not a big fan of Wall of Denial. Calcite Snapper is superior IMO because it can turn sideways. I've won several games in testing now off turns where I play a land and turn Snapper sideways. Snapper will probably help your Control matchup as well, as it is a pain to deal with. Esper Charms in the control matchup are generally used on their discard mode, unless you are about to miss a land drop. Thankfully, you don't have to play around 4 mana anymore, where they could Cryptic, modes being counter-bounce a land. As others have said, you probably want more targeted discard (Duress); but I also noticed you are only running 2 Luminarch Ascension in the board. Probably want to up that to 3 or 4, you could probably stand cutting the Agony Warps.
Jace2.0 is nutty. Against aggro decks, you force them to overextend around your Snapper, Wrath the board, and build up your defense with Snapper protecting a Jace going +2.
This may have been addressed earlier in the thread, I don't remember, but I'm going to bring it up again if we have...
I played my Esper Control deck for this last FNM (I'll skip a decklist and report since I don't actually think anyone cares) and my two loses were both to Grixis, therefore...
How do we best combat Grixis? Luminarch Ascension was amazing, but the games were still rough, and I don't want to rely on just the ascension to get me there. Due to the vast amount of control that seems to be in my meta, I'm going to adjust to it anyway (ie :Mind Shatter / Countersquall), but I want to hear others opinions before I start adjusting my 75 as if I'm smart...
The mana base is the thing that I have been changing the most. Celestial Colonnade doesn't seem to be making the cut. I rarely activate it so it usually ends up just being a cipt dual land, in which case I would rather them be Arcane Sanctum anyway. For Halimar Depths 3 seems to be the right number but I still feel like I should add 1-2 more lands. Maybe remove a Sphinx for a basic since it isn't something I want in my opening hand and with all the card draw it's pretty likely I'll find one early enough anyway.
Colonnade has been bonkers for me. A land that swings for 4, then stays untapped so you can keep a Blue up for countermagic or Path the next turn? Sign me up...I think 2 is probably the max though.
I whipped this deck up about 30 mins before last night's FNM. Took a break from Standard since Zendikar came out, so last night was my first FNM in a long time. Went 4-2 with it, losing to red burn and simply not having an out vs Elfdrazi. I'll follow up the decklist with a short write-up and then give a new one...
Match 1: R/B Planeswalkers
G1: I'm hit by Blightning T3, but eventually with Jace using his Brianstorm ability. Basically punt this game after peeking with Jace, giving them a Smother, and activating my Celestial Colonnade to swing (ouch). Guy was playing Persecutors along with Lilliana, Sorin, and Chandra. Scoop after he resolves a Sorin, which I can't deal with (no bounce). Vow to play better.
G2: Board in Wrexials, Flashfreeze. Board out Abyssal Persecutors, Smother. Game goes a lot smoother. Wrexial smashes face. Bait removal with Baneslayer, drop Wrexial, win.
G3: Same deal. He goes T3 Blighting, T4 Blightning, T5 Blightning, two of which I counter. Recover with an Esper Charm off the last one, drop Wrexial, and use his own Blightnings on him, nuking his Walkers in the process. Drop a Jace and put him in crappy topdeck mode the rest of the game. Would have liked to Jace away his Lilliana tutors, but it wasn't meant to be this time around...
1-0.
Match 2: Vampires
G1. He gets land flooded, I draw my Wraths. Opponent scoops before Jace goes ultimate.
G2. In: Mind Control, Wrexial, Smother, Essence Scatter. Out: Abyssal Persecutor. He mulls to 5 (ouch). Jace fixes some draws and gets some attention from his creatures. Wrexial goes all the way, Duressing him once revealing 2x Sign in Blood, Bloodghast, Nocturnus; took Sign in Blood, which I played off the second time Wrexial connected.
2-0.
Match 3: Janky Naya Burn
G1. I punt by not playing an Essence Scatter on his Plated Geopede, which eventually does enough to put me within lethal to burn. I drop a Baneslayer, which gets double Lightning Bolted endstep, then he untaps and Bolts me when I'm at 2 (must be nice).
G2. In come Kor Firewalkers, Flashfreeze, Essence Scatter, and Smother. Out go 1 Jace, all Persecutors, and Mysteries of the Deep. This one drags long, as I don't hit any draw spells and get land flooded. I don't see Firewalker until turn 7. He triple Bolts me for the win (wtf?)
2-1.
Match 4: Vampires
G1. Opponent made some pretty awkward plays, including electing not to put a land into play off two of my Paths. Jace goes ultimate.
G2. In come Mind Controls, Smother, Essence Scatter. Board out Persecutors (save for 2), and 2 Mysteries of the Deep. He keeps a slow hand (no clue why, don't think he played Mind Sludge). Persecutor and manlands go all the way, until I awkwardly said, "That's game right?" and he pointed at my Persecutor. Then I Pathed it and he nodded. Persecutor sucks.
3-1.
Match 5: Mono White Allies
G1. I draw 3 Wraths, and Calcite Snapper goes the distance (land, swing gogogo). Never been so happy to draw land in my life.
G2. In come Smother and Essence Scatter. Out go Persecutors. Almost get blown out by Lapse of Certainty out of the board, but stabilize at 1 with a Baneslayer and Jace fixing his draws.
4-1.
Match 6: Elfdrazi
G1. He gets a good starting hand, but I foolishly Negate a Nissa instead of the Eldrazi Monument which comes out next turn.
G2. In: Flashfreeze, Essence Scatter, Smother. Out: Persecutors and a Snapper. He plays out his Elves and I Wrath him out of the game with Baneslayer beats following.
G3. Draws long, my countermagic gets exhausted and he gets the full 'combo' going - Nissa, Eldrazi Monument, Master of the Wild Hunt.
4-2.
All in all, I'm pretty sure I could have gone 6-0 with the right card choices, although I did play pretty questionable players (most of the top tier players are probably at GP Oakland right now). Here is my new list:
Basically, Persecutors come out (they didn't do ANYTHING except eat removal, and I never cared to save it) and I boarded them out every game; they are getting replaced by an additional Baneslayer and Sphinx of the Steel Wind, since most of my games went long, although I would like to try Lilliana Vess in the Sphinx spot. Treasure Hunt replaces the lackluster Mysteries of the Deep, and I add in two Into the Roils so I don't lose to random resolved threats + draw. Agony Warp instead of Smother seems good as well, as it may help the burn matchup (nuke one guy, neuter another). All in all, the deck performed well; the matches I lost I basically punted away. Would also like to fit in more Fetchlands or other shuffle effects, as only running 4 doesn't allow Jaces' Brainstorm ability to run optimally.
This deck seems strong, and I may give it a shot for this Extended season. However, I'm really curious to see how it matches up against the 'best deck in the format' (which, as I post this, is probably GerryT's take on Dark Depths). I mean, no maindeck Path to Exile seems bad. With Cryptic as the only bounce, how does this deck recover after getting their hand wrecked by Duress and Thoughtseize?
Theoretically, this deck is stronger against both Aggro and Control; the Grove/Fire burnout plan is tough for control to beat G1, especially if you get 2 Punishing fires (once you get the mana, it's a more expensive but FREE Lightning Bolt each turn); it owns the Faerie matchup, as it just nukes their x/1s without losing card advantage, and against aggro is a great out to Gaddock Teeg/Meddling Mage postboard strategies (as well as being able to shoot-buyback-shoot against later drops).
I know Burst is insane against Hypergenesis, but that deck is never around these days (at least in my local meta)...
Was playing a few casual games at the store when this situation came up.
I have a Counterbalance in play with a Windswept Heath and along with some other lands.
Opponent has an Ancestral Visions which just triggered. In response to the last counter coming off, I Brainstorm revealing two irrelevant cards and a land. I put another irrelevant card from my hand on the bottom, and the land on top of that. I flip to counter the Visions.
At this point, my opponent flashes in Vendilion Clique.
My question is:
Is the Visions countered when I flip? When is he actually allowed to play Clique (before I flip, right?)
Bonus question:
I control a Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir. My opponent's Ancestral Visions triggers with the last counter about to come off. Where does Visions go when it does? Does it stay RFG until Teferi is dealt with? What happens when Teferi is removed from the board and the opponent enters his next upkeep?
Thanks!
99% sure that this is correct...(it will be countered)
One of my very first orders, I placed an order for a set of Underground Rivers (among other things). I received 3 Underground Rivers and 1 Underworld Dreams. Guess they sort alphabetically. So I e-mailed them, told them the situation, and they had a replacement out to me within 48 hours and told me to keep the Underworld Dreams. This was pretty good; this was also about 3-4 years ago.
Another time, I ordered some stuff along with a singleton Steam Vents. When I received the order, it was not in the order when I received it. Again I emailed them, and they had a replacement out within 48 hours. Pretty good!
My last transaction, however, was pretty bad. I haven't been back since. I ordered a set of Engineered Explosives and a pair of Flooded Strands. Waited two weeks, didn't receive anything. Called the store, spoke to a nice lady who said they'd be out within the week. Waited another week for some kind of shipping confirmation to come in the e-mail, and got nothing. Then they e-mailed me and said they were out of stock on the Flooded Strands. At this point, I was pretty peeved as it had been 3 weeks more or less, and they finally decided to start putting my order together. So I called them and told them of the situation, letting them know I didn't appreciate having my order put on hold for 3 weeks before anyone even looked at it...but I asked them to just go ahead and ship it anyway. The lady I spoke to said they would upgrade shipping to FedEx 2 Day Air for my troubles, and I was reasonably satisfied. Until I waited 3 days without the cards coming in...they showed up a week later in a plain white envelope, shipped regular USPS First Class Mail.
If you have old favorites (ie. Final Fantasy for NES and SNES, Chrono Trigger for SNES, etc). you will probably get more for selling those individually, assuming they are in working condition. I read somewhere that these cartridge based games utilize a small calculator-sized battery which runs itself out after X number of years.
You forgot Knight of the Reliquary with lands in the bin.
Check my list - I am running Tectonic Edges in the side. I don't board out land. I use them in spell slots. Not a big fan of Wall of Denial. Calcite Snapper is superior IMO because it can turn sideways. I've won several games in testing now off turns where I play a land and turn Snapper sideways. Snapper will probably help your Control matchup as well, as it is a pain to deal with. Esper Charms in the control matchup are generally used on their discard mode, unless you are about to miss a land drop. Thankfully, you don't have to play around 4 mana anymore, where they could Cryptic, modes being counter-bounce a land. As others have said, you probably want more targeted discard (Duress); but I also noticed you are only running 2 Luminarch Ascension in the board. Probably want to up that to 3 or 4, you could probably stand cutting the Agony Warps.
Jace2.0 is nutty. Against aggro decks, you force them to overextend around your Snapper, Wrath the board, and build up your defense with Snapper protecting a Jace going +2.
Tectonic Edge seems solid. Mind posting a list?
Colonnade has been bonkers for me. A land that swings for 4, then stays untapped so you can keep a Blue up for countermagic or Path the next turn? Sign me up...I think 2 is probably the max though.
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arcane Sanctum
3 Glacial Fortress
2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Creeping Tar Pits
4 Island
3 Plains
2 Swamp
Creatures (10)
2 Baneslayer Angel
4 Calcite Snapper
4 Abyssal Persecutor
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instant (18)
4 Esper Charm
2 Smother
4 Path to Exile
3 Mysteries of the Deep
3 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
Sorcery (3)
3 Day of Judgment
3 Tectonic Edge
3 Kor Firewalker
3 Flashfreeze
1 Essence Scatter
1 Smother
2 Wrexial, the Risen Deep
2 Mind Control
G1: I'm hit by Blightning T3, but eventually with Jace using his Brianstorm ability. Basically punt this game after peeking with Jace, giving them a Smother, and activating my Celestial Colonnade to swing (ouch). Guy was playing Persecutors along with Lilliana, Sorin, and Chandra. Scoop after he resolves a Sorin, which I can't deal with (no bounce). Vow to play better.
G2: Board in Wrexials, Flashfreeze. Board out Abyssal Persecutors, Smother. Game goes a lot smoother. Wrexial smashes face. Bait removal with Baneslayer, drop Wrexial, win.
G3: Same deal. He goes T3 Blighting, T4 Blightning, T5 Blightning, two of which I counter. Recover with an Esper Charm off the last one, drop Wrexial, and use his own Blightnings on him, nuking his Walkers in the process. Drop a Jace and put him in crappy topdeck mode the rest of the game. Would have liked to Jace away his Lilliana tutors, but it wasn't meant to be this time around...
1-0.
Match 2: Vampires
G1. He gets land flooded, I draw my Wraths. Opponent scoops before Jace goes ultimate.
G2. In: Mind Control, Wrexial, Smother, Essence Scatter. Out: Abyssal Persecutor. He mulls to 5 (ouch). Jace fixes some draws and gets some attention from his creatures. Wrexial goes all the way, Duressing him once revealing 2x Sign in Blood, Bloodghast, Nocturnus; took Sign in Blood, which I played off the second time Wrexial connected.
2-0.
Match 3: Janky Naya Burn
G1. I punt by not playing an Essence Scatter on his Plated Geopede, which eventually does enough to put me within lethal to burn. I drop a Baneslayer, which gets double Lightning Bolted endstep, then he untaps and Bolts me when I'm at 2 (must be nice).
G2. In come Kor Firewalkers, Flashfreeze, Essence Scatter, and Smother. Out go 1 Jace, all Persecutors, and Mysteries of the Deep. This one drags long, as I don't hit any draw spells and get land flooded. I don't see Firewalker until turn 7. He triple Bolts me for the win (wtf?)
2-1.
Match 4: Vampires
G1. Opponent made some pretty awkward plays, including electing not to put a land into play off two of my Paths. Jace goes ultimate.
G2. In come Mind Controls, Smother, Essence Scatter. Board out Persecutors (save for 2), and 2 Mysteries of the Deep. He keeps a slow hand (no clue why, don't think he played Mind Sludge). Persecutor and manlands go all the way, until I awkwardly said, "That's game right?" and he pointed at my Persecutor. Then I Pathed it and he nodded. Persecutor sucks.
3-1.
Match 5: Mono White Allies
G1. I draw 3 Wraths, and Calcite Snapper goes the distance (land, swing gogogo). Never been so happy to draw land in my life.
G2. In come Smother and Essence Scatter. Out go Persecutors. Almost get blown out by Lapse of Certainty out of the board, but stabilize at 1 with a Baneslayer and Jace fixing his draws.
4-1.
Match 6: Elfdrazi
G1. He gets a good starting hand, but I foolishly Negate a Nissa instead of the Eldrazi Monument which comes out next turn.
G2. In: Flashfreeze, Essence Scatter, Smother. Out: Persecutors and a Snapper. He plays out his Elves and I Wrath him out of the game with Baneslayer beats following.
G3. Draws long, my countermagic gets exhausted and he gets the full 'combo' going - Nissa, Eldrazi Monument, Master of the Wild Hunt.
4-2.
All in all, I'm pretty sure I could have gone 6-0 with the right card choices, although I did play pretty questionable players (most of the top tier players are probably at GP Oakland right now). Here is my new list:
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arcane Sanctum
3 Glacial Fortress
2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Creeping Tar Pits
4 Island
3 Plains
2 Swamp
Creatures (8)
3 Baneslayer Angel
4 Calcite Snapper
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instant (18)
4 Esper Charm
2 Smother
4 Path to Exile
2 Into the Roil
3 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
Sorcery (3)
3 Day of Judgment
3 Treasure Hunt
3 Tectonic Edge
3 Kor Firewalker
3 Flashfreeze
1 Essence Scatter
1 Smother
2 Wrexial, the Risen Deep
2 Mind Control
Hope this helps...
I know Burst is insane against Hypergenesis, but that deck is never around these days (at least in my local meta)...