Hey all, looking for some match up advice - specifically against U/W control. My meta has a ton of U/W control players in it now; what's the best way to approach this match up/sideboard? I'm having quite a difficult time against the stock U/W control list - link for reference https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/705176#paper
I'm running this version of titanshift: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/710218#paper - of note, I've cut 1 bolt + 1 explore for 2 hour of promise, and am running 1 thrun in the side instead of 1 shatterstorm.
Hey guys, looking for some specific match-up advice here. How have you guys been dealing with UW control? I'm not sure if I'm just playing the match-up incorrectly, or if its just a generally bad match up. My list is pretty much this
I'm trying to figure out the best boarding here too - I think we cut some number of chalice and all the dismembers. Probably bring in relics, wurmcoil (to fight against supreme verdict), and pithing needle to name colonnade? Or perhaps I just jam an (new) Emrakul in the SB? I don't have a reliable way to search for her though, I'm not too keen on drawing her too early and essentially having a dead card in hand though.
Any tips & suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I've found that Extraplanar lens can be a bit clunky, but the payoff could be huge. I've been thinking of dropping it in place of either chrome mox or mox diamond. I find that most games, I want to ramp as fast as possible into omniscience for the win, or I need to hold up a ridiculous amount of mana to drop an Eldrazi titan + extra turn taking + counterspell backup before I'm able to "go off".
I think if I'm going this route, I probably want to jam as many mana rocks as possible, perhaps ditch extraplanar lens for hightide?
Also, our curve is pretty high, but does anyone else feel like the land count is quite high sometimes? Thoughts on cutting lands for the moxes?
Glad I could help. Let us know how you do, and good luck!
Hey Spike! Just following up here from my event last week. I went 3 rounds w/ the same list I posted prior. Final results were 1-1-1, still learning the deck and how to play my match-ups I suppose! Still haven't figured out what hands are keeps and mulls.
Also, this is what my SB looked like for the event:
Match 1: Lantern (draw)
Game 1: He gets the lock - I think I make the mistake here of not scooping (I had 4 valakuts and eventually was able to cast an omen though, so any land drops were 4 bolts, so I figured I had a chance still).
Game 2: I get there with enough ramp and scapeshift - I board out Courser of 2x Kruphix, 2x Explores, 1x farseek, bringing in 3x Relics, 1x Rec Sage, and 1x Natures Claim.
Game 3: We get to time and have to draw Feels like I would have gotten there though.
Match 2: Bant Knightfall (2-1, W)
G1 - he just overwhelms me with a fast start (hierarchs into constant streams of threats, quellers, and coco's)
G2 - In: 3 angers, 3 relics. Out: 2 courser, 2 Explore, 1 Omen, 1 Farseek (maybe should have been 2x farseek?. I hold up relic, constantly using it EoT, remove his dudes, and I eventually get there with Scapeshift.
G3 - he keeps a really sketchy hand - 3 dorks, 1 land. He opens with land, bird, go. I push the bird, he misses his 2nd land drop but eventually starts drawing them, but its too late at that point. I ramp into Titan and use valakut triggers to wipe his board for the win.
Match 3: Cheerios (0-2, L)
This match up seems terrible! Opinions here welcome!
G1 - he fizzles, I push his Paladin, doesn't matter since he drew 10+ cards, he plays another paladin, goes off for the win.
G2 - In: 3x Collective Brutality, Out: 2x Explore, 1x Farseek. I mulligan (1 lander) and am afraid to go down to 5, but feel like I should have mulled the hand away. Hand consisted of 2 Titans, 3 lands, 1 Collective Brutality. Game starts, I T2 Brutality and whiff on it. His hand had 3 Paladins, lands, and equipment. I draw Titan #3. He goes off on T3 or 4 for the win.
Looking back, I could have won the lantern match up if I just scooped the first game once the lock came on, giving me more time ultimately in game 3. Not sure about my SB decisions against the Bant Knightfall deck - relics and anger seems good, but maybe I should have cut the 3 omens and thrown in the 3 brutalities as well? The final match of the day just seemed super unfavorable, not sure what I could have done there other than perhaps try 2x Slaughter Games in the board for future combo matches.
Deciding if I want to play this or Eldrazi Tron in the upcoming GP at Vegas. I've got many more games under my belt with E.T, but the consistency of the deck just feels way off sometimes. Consistency in this deck's game play is what drew me to it, as this deck seems pretty resilient to mulls. Thoughts on deck choice?
Sweet - thanks for the review! How has your testing with As Foretold been so far? It's seemed a bit too slow in the games I've tested it in thus far, but the potential for free counterspells after 3-4 turns seems quite strong, but maybe the impact isn't immediate enough for it to be worth the slot? I've also cut surveyor's scope for pull from tomorrow - seems good so far!
Wanted to ask about the new WOTC supported banlist and how it affects our deck building decisions here - does the elimination of fast mana + mana drain call for us to dramatically shift the build since all of our end game wincons are pretty mana intensive? Do we simply change to the budget versions of fast mana rocks?
I'm looking to tune to a pretty wide meta - lots of burn and death's shadow (both jund and grixis), eldrazi tron, u/w control, lantern control, infect, junk, bant eldrazi.
Sorry if the list is long! I think I'm just having trouble understanding match ups in general, since I always feel like I should be rushing to 6 or 7 lands + scapeshift asap. Any help is appreciated, and thanks for taking a look!
So, you mentioned that your list is pretty close to Lejoon's, but I don't know if your board is different or your maindeck or both. So, I will give some general pointers.
Burn, if it is creature heavy burn, bring in sweepers and or Baloths in favor of some amount of ramp and the decays. If it is a less creature heavy, maybe only guides and swiftspears, maybe consider not bringing in a bunch of sweepers. I will occasionally take out one or two titans in this matchup as scapeshift kills immediately, but titan often takes 1 or more turns after casting to actually kill. In those turns, you can eat a couple of bolts and die. (Be careful with baloths as they might skullcrack or atarka's command you to stop the lifegain.)
Death's shadow, I take out explore because the liliana will rip your hand apart and you won't have lands to double drop. Bring in relic, it doesn't just neuter goyf and traverse/snappy depending on color, it also protects you from discard a bit. It's draw represents a card in hand that they can't make you discard. That part alone is really really strong. If you have fogs, consider them here to stop an all in attack with the double strike spell.
Eldrazi Tron, I have little experience here, I happened to avoid this matchup while people played it at my shop and they have all moved on (largely to death's shadow). I expect that Fatal push will perform well and any artifact removal could come in in favor of some amount of ramp.
U/W control, depends on the variant a little for play, but the sideboarding is similar. Either way, you take out fatal push and abrupt decay unless you are super afraid of Celestial Collonade. If it's the old Sun Titan control list, bring in as many extra threats as you can. If it's the newer snapcaster heavy one, consider some number of Relics too.
Lantern Control, bring in more artifact removal over fatal push. Bring in extra threats over ramp. They don't care if you draw ramp if you never draw a wincon or a Valakut. Be threat dense and try to natural valakut so that literally every card is a threat they have to mill.
Infect is not popular anymore, but bring in fogs if you have them. People used to board Sudden Shock for this matchup but it's not near as common now. Push and Decay are great.
Junk, bring in baloths over explore. Again, lilliana rips apart your hand so explore is bad and Baloth can just kill her. If you have the mana to pay summoner's pact, don't be afraid to use it to get Baloth in response to lilis +1
Bant Eldrazi, Fatal push can still kill a lot of their stuff. Abrupt decay is less good. Consider bringing in artifact/enchantment removal in case they have Worship or Leylines or something. Or, just bring in more threats.
This is not comprehensive, but I tried to touch the matchups you listed. Overall, don't think you have to rush into Scapeshift immediately, that will lose you games. You can play a more midrange game where you just win off the topdeck when you are facing control or other midrange, and you can play a more controlling game with sweepers and removal spells against the creature based decks. In game one, rushing to a lethal scapeshift or Primetime is generally the plan as many decks aren't prepared for it. In games two and three however, you need to assess your role in the matchup, and what exactly your winning line can be.
Hey Spike -
Thanks for the detailed response! Really appreciate it. I can definitely see where I've been going wrong with my SB decisions - I'll be using your advice during my upcoming weekly modern event
Thanks for the input - yeah I really need to learn how to pilot the deck better!
Regarding Enter the Infinite - it was a suggestion in your OP under the Sorceries section. It was noted that it's good if I don't have a timetwister, but I think I'd like to try an As Foretold + Windfall as well. Given that my deck doesn't have the same punch as a version with timetwister, do you think it's correct to play Enter The Infinite? It does feel kind of dead in the hand a lot, and it makes me always want to play/search for Extraplanar lens. I also found that the lens is quite vulnerable to bounce/removal, often getting 2-1'd on my end
I'm not too sure on commit//memory either for the same reason as you listed.
I'm looking to tune to a pretty wide meta - lots of burn and death's shadow (both jund and grixis), eldrazi tron, u/w control, lantern control, infect, junk, bant eldrazi.
Sorry if the list is long! I think I'm just having trouble understanding match ups in general, since I always feel like I should be rushing to 6 or 7 lands + scapeshift asap. Any help is appreciated, and thanks for taking a look!
Hey guys - I'm completely new to Titanshift, but just built the Jund version. I'm having trouble with my post-SB games and was hoping someone could give me some guidelines on how to SB properly. My list is pretty much this SCG list (minus misty's for 3x verdants)
Would commit//memory be better than diminishing returns (haven't figured out what to cut for another diminishing returns type effect yet)? I'm specifically looking to tune my deck a bit for my meta, but I'm not sure how to go about it. My meta is mostly infect, arcanis, 5c super friends, scion of the ur-dragon, baral, purphoros.
Also, what should I normally be copying with Phyrexian Metamorph & Clever Impersonater? Feels like I'm running out of gas a lot by mid-game, am I missing card draw? Or perhaps I'm not playing my cards right!
Hey guys - recently built Barrin myself, basically made the "stock" list posted in the primer, though I play extra planar lens in place of timetwister (too $$ for me :)) I'm not sure if this is the correct cut though, as the primer says I should play enter the infinite as a closer. Thoughts on the cut?
Does anyone have an updated list? Anything exciting from the new set worth considering? I'm still learning how to pilot this deck, all tips and tricks are welcome!
How have you guys been faring against Bant Eldrazi? I'm having a really difficult time against that deck - losing most of my matches (think I'm 0-4 at this point in matches). I'm following the SB guide on manadeprived, also running the stock list on that site. I also tried removing 2 skites for 2 ballista's, but they seemed underwhelming - anyone else have a similar experience?
I'm running this version of titanshift: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/710218#paper - of note, I've cut 1 bolt + 1 explore for 2 hour of promise, and am running 1 thrun in the side instead of 1 shatterstorm.
Any help is appreciated - thanks!
I'm trying to figure out the best boarding here too - I think we cut some number of chalice and all the dismembers. Probably bring in relics, wurmcoil (to fight against supreme verdict), and pithing needle to name colonnade? Or perhaps I just jam an (new) Emrakul in the SB? I don't have a reliable way to search for her though, I'm not too keen on drawing her too early and essentially having a dead card in hand though.
Any tips & suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I've been continually tuning my list, and was wondering if anyone has found room for ponder, preordain, chrome mox, and mox diamond.
I've found that Extraplanar lens can be a bit clunky, but the payoff could be huge. I've been thinking of dropping it in place of either chrome mox or mox diamond. I find that most games, I want to ramp as fast as possible into omniscience for the win, or I need to hold up a ridiculous amount of mana to drop an Eldrazi titan + extra turn taking + counterspell backup before I'm able to "go off".
I think if I'm going this route, I probably want to jam as many mana rocks as possible, perhaps ditch extraplanar lens for hightide?
Also, our curve is pretty high, but does anyone else feel like the land count is quite high sometimes? Thoughts on cutting lands for the moxes?
Hey Spike! Just following up here from my event last week. I went 3 rounds w/ the same list I posted prior. Final results were 1-1-1, still learning the deck and how to play my match-ups I suppose! Still haven't figured out what hands are keeps and mulls.
Also, this is what my SB looked like for the event:
3x Collective Brutality
3x Relic of Progenitus
3x Obstinate Baloth
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Nature's Claim
1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Quick match recap:
Match 1: Lantern (draw)
Game 1: He gets the lock - I think I make the mistake here of not scooping (I had 4 valakuts and eventually was able to cast an omen though, so any land drops were 4 bolts, so I figured I had a chance still).
Game 2: I get there with enough ramp and scapeshift - I board out Courser of 2x Kruphix, 2x Explores, 1x farseek, bringing in 3x Relics, 1x Rec Sage, and 1x Natures Claim.
Game 3: We get to time and have to draw
Match 2: Bant Knightfall (2-1, W)
G1 - he just overwhelms me with a fast start (hierarchs into constant streams of threats, quellers, and coco's)
G2 - In: 3 angers, 3 relics. Out: 2 courser, 2 Explore, 1 Omen, 1 Farseek (maybe should have been 2x farseek?. I hold up relic, constantly using it EoT, remove his dudes, and I eventually get there with Scapeshift.
G3 - he keeps a really sketchy hand - 3 dorks, 1 land. He opens with land, bird, go. I push the bird, he misses his 2nd land drop but eventually starts drawing them, but its too late at that point. I ramp into Titan and use valakut triggers to wipe his board for the win.
Match 3: Cheerios (0-2, L)
This match up seems terrible! Opinions here welcome!
G1 - he fizzles, I push his Paladin, doesn't matter since he drew 10+ cards, he plays another paladin, goes off for the win.
G2 - In: 3x Collective Brutality, Out: 2x Explore, 1x Farseek. I mulligan (1 lander) and am afraid to go down to 5, but feel like I should have mulled the hand away. Hand consisted of 2 Titans, 3 lands, 1 Collective Brutality. Game starts, I T2 Brutality and whiff on it. His hand had 3 Paladins, lands, and equipment. I draw Titan #3. He goes off on T3 or 4 for the win.
Looking back, I could have won the lantern match up if I just scooped the first game once the lock came on, giving me more time ultimately in game 3. Not sure about my SB decisions against the Bant Knightfall deck - relics and anger seems good, but maybe I should have cut the 3 omens and thrown in the 3 brutalities as well? The final match of the day just seemed super unfavorable, not sure what I could have done there other than perhaps try 2x Slaughter Games in the board for future combo matches.
Deciding if I want to play this or Eldrazi Tron in the upcoming GP at Vegas. I've got many more games under my belt with E.T, but the consistency of the deck just feels way off sometimes. Consistency in this deck's game play is what drew me to it, as this deck seems pretty resilient to mulls. Thoughts on deck choice?
Thanks!
Thoughts going forward?
Thanks!
Hey Spike -
Thanks for the detailed response! Really appreciate it. I can definitely see where I've been going wrong with my SB decisions - I'll be using your advice during my upcoming weekly modern event
Thanks for the input - yeah I really need to learn how to pilot the deck better!
Regarding Enter the Infinite - it was a suggestion in your OP under the Sorceries section. It was noted that it's good if I don't have a timetwister, but I think I'd like to try an As Foretold + Windfall as well. Given that my deck doesn't have the same punch as a version with timetwister, do you think it's correct to play Enter The Infinite? It does feel kind of dead in the hand a lot, and it makes me always want to play/search for Extraplanar lens. I also found that the lens is quite vulnerable to bounce/removal, often getting 2-1'd on my end
I'm not too sure on commit//memory either for the same reason as you listed.
I look forward to your update!
I'm looking to tune to a pretty wide meta - lots of burn and death's shadow (both jund and grixis), eldrazi tron, u/w control, lantern control, infect, junk, bant eldrazi.
Sorry if the list is long! I think I'm just having trouble understanding match ups in general, since I always feel like I should be rushing to 6 or 7 lands + scapeshift asap. Any help is appreciated, and thanks for taking a look!
http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=112754
Any pointers and tips are welcome! Thanks!
Would commit//memory be better than diminishing returns (haven't figured out what to cut for another diminishing returns type effect yet)? I'm specifically looking to tune my deck a bit for my meta, but I'm not sure how to go about it. My meta is mostly infect, arcanis, 5c super friends, scion of the ur-dragon, baral, purphoros.
Also, what should I normally be copying with Phyrexian Metamorph & Clever Impersonater? Feels like I'm running out of gas a lot by mid-game, am I missing card draw? Or perhaps I'm not playing my cards right!
Here's my decklist
1 Barrin, Master Wizard
CREATURES
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Gilded Drake
1 Trinket Mage
1 Archaeomancer
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Ixidron
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Conduit of Ruin
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
PLANESWALKERS
1 Jace Beleren
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
INSTANTS
1 Pact of Negation
1 Brainstorm
1 Pongify
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Remand
1 Unsubstantiate
1 Arcane Denial
1 Mana Drain
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Intuition
1 Disallow
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Cryptic Command
1 Force of Will
1 Mystic Confluence
1 Rhystic Study
1 Omniscience
SORCERIES
1 Rite of Replication
1 Bribery
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Time Warp
1 Time Reversal
1 Time Spiral
1 Spelltwine
1 Blatant Thievery
1 All Is Dust
1 Enter the Infinite
1 Walk the Aeons
ARTIFACTS
1 Mox Opal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Sol Ring
1 Chromatic Star
1 Mana Vault
1 Surveyor's Scope
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Grim Monolith
1 Ichor Wellspring
1 Mycosynth Wellspring
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Flooded Strand
1 Eldrazi Temple
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
21 Snow-Covered Island
1 Strip Mine
1 Terrain Generator
1 Blighted Cataract
1 Crystal Vein
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Academy Ruins
Thanks again for the help - looking forward to your set review!
Does anyone have an updated list? Anything exciting from the new set worth considering? I'm still learning how to pilot this deck, all tips and tricks are welcome!
Thanks!
List for reference (-1 caverns, +1 waste) https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/570274#online
Thanks!