Yea, I figured 23 was too few. I actually played 25 at a time. I figured Opt would help smooth the mana issues out, but there's only so much it can do. I don't know what to cut for the extra land though. Spell Snare does just enough to be useful, though it's probably the only choice to cut.
Game 3, I mulligan to 6 again. He plays an Eldrazi Temple turn one, I play a tapped Creeping Tar Pit. Turn two, he plays a Plains and Aether Vial, and I tap out for Bitterblossom. He seizes the opening and drops down Mirran Crusader. I can't keep a blue blocker on the battlefield to defend, and the Crusader takes the game for him. This game made me really want access to Liliana of the Veil.
Round 2: Mono Red Goblins (He won the die roll and took the play)
Game 1, He plays Foundry Street Denizen, I play Island into Ancestral Vision (the rest of my hand was Secluded Glen, Bitterblossom, Spell Snare, Mutavault, Spellstutter Sprite). He untaps, plays double Legion Loyalist, and hits for 5. I draw Cryptic Command, play Secluded Glen untapped, and hold up Spellstutter. He untaps, casts a kicked Goblin Bushwhacker, and Lightning Bolts my Spellstutter Sprite when I go to counter it. He hits for 9 and I decide to scoop it up, since I couldn't come back from that board state.
Game 3 was much like game one. He gets on board with a slew of one drops and kills my turn 2 Aetherborn, then finishes the game with double Goblin Grenade.
All in all, a very frustrating couple of rounds. I think I only made one major error, keeping the one land hand in round 1, but I figured I had enough chances at the land that it'd be fine. My round 2 opponent told me he specifically brought Goblins since I kept beating his Death's Shadow deck, and I guess it payed off for him.
I don't think I will make any changes just yet, though I am thinking of playing a 24th land and possibly squeezing in a couple of Liliana of the Veil in the 75 (I at least want to try them, even though I'm not a fan). Hopefully I can make a better showing next week, I'll post the next results as well.
I've always liked having at least one Spell Snare in the deck. There's enough two drops in the format that you want to counter, and it's never truly dead. I don't think more than one is good, as it's never a blow out, and decks like Eldrazi Tron don't have any good targets, where as decks like Storm are full of targets. I sometimes even board it out against Affinity and Burn, as even though they have two drops to counter, I prefer something proactive against them.
Just realize it's a good card to have, but it's more of a base hit double than a home run.
I made changes from a previous list, where I had Liliana, the Last Hope in place of Jace, Cunning Castaway, 2 additional Secluded Glens, a Murderous Cut, and a flex slot instead of the 4 Opt. As I said in my previous post, this current version of the deck felt like it ran smoother than others, though there is a little bit of tension for turn one plays (Ancestral Vision should be suspended turn one, though if you're on the draw, holding Spell Snare up in some matches is nice, and sometimes you need to snap off a Fatal Push in the right matchup). I'll need to play with it more, but I currently am really enjoying it. Hopefully someone in the professional scene (I'm hoping PVDDR) decides to make a list and try it out in a video series.
Hey. I've never been one to play with Liliana of the Veil. I never felt that card fit in well with how I wanted to play Faeries (I always wanted to hold up countermagic, not grind out an attrition game). I was playing one Liliana, the Last Hope in the slot Jace is in now, but I feel Jace is better, at least for game 1. Liliana doesn't provide enough pressure in some matchups, where Jace at least puts a body on board. I don't know if there's room for a second one, but the first copy is doing fine.
Round 2- Burn. I did not have high hopes in this match, but managed to sneak it out. He won game 1 easily. Game 2, I managed to win without my life total dipping past 10, as he flooded out badly (we joked that he should've sideboarded in Inferno Titan). Game 3 was close until I dropped down a Gifted Aetherborn and was able to protect it for a few turns. As my life total rose, his started to fall, and I had Spell Snare for the Lightning Helix he aimed at it on the final turn.
Round 3- Mono Brown Eldrazi Tron. another terrible match that I hate playing, though again, I somehow walk away with the win. Game 1 he goes first and assembles Tron on turn 4, but I manage to counter his Ugin with Mana Leak and he bricks on payoff cards, so I race with Bitterblossom (and I counter a couple more payoffs, it's not often Spellstutter Sprite counter Tron spells).
Game 3, I get an early Bitterblossom out and start the beatdowns, until he plays out a pair of Matter Reshaper. I draw and cast Jace, Cunning Castaway (make an Illusion) as well as a Gifted Aetherborn turn 5, leaving a Bitterblossom, Flooded Strand, and Island in my hand. He plays a Thoughtknot Seer (exiles Bitterblossom) then attacks me with one Reshaper and Jace with the other. I chump the one at Jace with a Faerie token, take 3 down from 9 to 6, then he passes. I make a faerie, draw Snapcaster Mage (Opt and Cryptic are the only spells in the graveyard), plus Jace, and swing in with the Aetherborn. He takes it, going to 10 life (I go to 7,), I draw then discard another Bitterblossom, play out the Island and pass. He draws, casts a third Reshaper, and attacks Reshaper and Thoughtknot Seer into Jace. I don't block, letting Jace die, then EOT Snapcaster into Cryptic, bouncing Reshaper and drawing a card. I take my turn and then attack for the win with Snapcaster, 2 Faeries, Aetherborn, the Illusion token, and Creeping Tar Pit.
Round 3- Grixis Death's Shadow. Despite Death's Shadow being among my favorite matches, this one was uninteresting and was plagued with mana issues from my opponent. The most notable moments were the same Death's Shadow being killed 4 times, and getting Kolaghan's Command-ed or Liliana'd back repeatedly. I won this round in 2 short games, mostly off the back of Bitterblossom, though Jace did appear game two, to +1 and eat a Lightning Bolt plus K-Command.
All in all, I found the deck to run smoothly and roughly how I hope it plays all the time. Opt was as good as one would expect (this is the sort of deck Opt is really for), and gave me something to do and to filter through extra Bitterblossoms or such. I was pleasantly surprised by Jace, Cunning Castaway. He provided pressure in ways Liliana, the Last Hope doesn't, and can help keep the momentum going. I'm going to keep testing with him (though I don't think the deck wants to play 2 copies). I don't think there's any changes I want to make to anything quite yet, as the deck seems fairly tuned and correct at the moment.
If anyone has any comments or questions, feel free to ask, and I will try and reply back.
has there been any thoughts of playing Jace, Cunning Castaway in Faeries at all? The loot ability seems like it would be helpful, a 2/2 illusion in a pinch doesn't hurt, and his quick ultimate puts a fair amount of pressure on board with not a whole lot of investment. I've found there isn't a lot of Abrupt Decay or Lightning Bolt flying around to punish for tapping out for Jace, but maybe he still doesn't do enough to warrant a slot in the main deck. What do you guys think?
I don't think Scions need to go as far as running miscreants. With the discard, removal, and counters in a UB faerie deck, you do have some time to find a threat, and with a deck with a few swords, a few mistbinds, and a clutch of Scions, even a resolved Spellstutter can turn into a lot of pressure very quickly.
EDIT: For example, here's my current list, which mainly oriented towards an aggro/combo/midrange-heavy meta:
The problem with running Swords and Scions is if the sword becomes unequipped, it can't be attached to another faerie (due to Shroud). That's probably a corner case, cause how are your Shrouded flying, Pro W+B beaters dying, but it's something to watch for. I've been burned by it, since most similar lords in modern magic give Hexproof now, it's easy to overlook.
As for your list, the Discard suite looks odd. I would prefer a second Thoughtseize before the second Brutality myself, as there's many decks where the discard on Brutality might miss. I'd also be inclined to play another Remand, and dip a little further into the Tempo side of things. Maybe play 4 Remand, 2 Thoughtseize, 0 Mana Leak.
My current thinking is that lists that want to run Scion probably don't want to run Cryptic, Snapcaster, or Tar Pit, and vice versa. Scions are best for creature-heavy midrange and aggro/tempo lists that favor a fast clock over inevitability. Cryptic, Snapcaster, and Pit seem better in grindier, more spell-heavy builds that people generally run Liliana in. This is in many ways an implicit criticism of Scion - running Scion means choosing it and other cards (e.g. swords and more cliques) that are, in general terms, worse cards than Cryptics and Snapcasters.
That said, it can still be the right call depending on the meta. I've had good luck with a Scion/Sword/Clique list so far in a relatively aggro/combo-heavy meta because of the combination of pressure it creates and it's ability to stall other decks temporarily. As a tradeoff, it's match up against midrange decks and control decks is worse.
Yea, I think that's the proper way of thinking. Maybe in a deck that's running a full set of Faerie Miscreant and just going full aggressive. I have been underwhelmed by Scion in my current builds, with the times it's good coming few and far between. Probably better served taking it right out for some other stuff.
Hey, thanks for the input. I'll try and clarify my thoughts a bit more.
Since you're running mistbind you really can't afford to cut mutavaults. I know the colorless mana can be a burden sometimes, but the cheap activation lets you sneak through important damage in almost every race. Since racing with a tempo plan is what the deck tends to do you really need the quick blocker or occasional attacker. I'd never consider cutting vaults unless I was without mistbinds and even then the assist with sprites is such a big deal that comes up often enough (either through a bonus +1 faerie or an opponent spewing off a removal spell IR to the trigger) that I'd likely never cut them regardless of my list.
I've yet to have an issue with just the 3 Mutavaults (though I've only played ~25 games with this build). I kinda look at it like the 'play 3 Geist of Saint Traft' way of thinking, where drawing one is great, but multiple have diminishing returns. I hate the idea of relying on Mutavault for a Mistbind Clique or Spellstutter, as an opponent who is savvy enough can blow you out. I'll admit, some games it's wonderful, but the risk is too high in my mind. I think three at least garners a fair amount of testing. Even if it turns out it's incorrect, at least we've experimented.
I've tried really hard to get this card to work and I really want to like it, but it's just too slow. 3 mana for only 1 power is an awful rate which means the scion is only really good with a blossom in play which the deck doesn't want. Our whole deck goes from 0 to 9,001 with a blossom so there's no reason to make us more reliant on it than we already are. It might be worth it in the side for games when you're on the play and plan to get aggro from the start, but that's a lot of space for a very narrow application. In the end I agree that it's the weakest creature and would likely be better served as something else.
I'm inclined to agree with you on this point, Scion has been mediocre or worse each time.
Get your extra tar pits, no discussion. That card belongs in the "Core" of the faeries skeleton IMO because, once again, it is invaluable in a race and it is how you end up killing death's shadow players a large percentage of the time. It snipes down walkers, sneaks past spirit tokens, and forces in damage while BB spends its time blocking. If cost is an issue, you need to at least run faerie conclave. Personally I like 3 tar pit 1 conclave for my extra manlands, but a pendelhaven can also work as creature land number 8.5 which still comes in handy. If you like 25 lands then run a pendelhaven, but if you're going lighter on lands then just stick with the old 4 and 4 manlands. Trust me, the work that they do is so very subtle that even after hundreds of matches you might not fully appreciate just how critical they are to your success.
Sure hard tapped lands are super messy in the early turns and do have a real cost to playing them, it is well worth it. When we flood out we're attacking for 6 unblockable damage while the opponent is simply flooding out and taking 6 damage. Not to mention that most players are paranoid about manlands and will hold up removal and stagger their curve just so they can tag one of them when you attack. That lets you simply say Go and waste their mana while you hold up meaningful interaction.
I think this could fall under the Mutavault argument I provided above. There haven't been many games where the Tar Pit won and no other card would, and other times it's been a liability. There's a lot of Ghost Quarters and Tectonic Edges floating around to prey on the land based strategies, and I don't think I really need to make the mana base worse. 2 Tar Pits has been my normal number for years now, and I haven't felt the need for the third just yet. I may try one in the future, but I think the amount of time the deck wants an open mana source on turn one may mean I stick to 2. I do not like the idea of Faerie Conclave, to me it is just a worse Mutavault. Sure, it adds U, but it can't activate by itself like Mutavault, dies to more things (that 1 toughness opens it up to being shot by Staticaster or any -1/-1 effect) and it comes in tapped (I actually like being able to suspend Ancestral Vision turn one, and don't really want a hand with my 3 lands being Conclave, Tar Pit, and Mutavault or similar for example).
Cut the murklurker, it's cute but there are better uses for that SB slot. If you're desperate for a lifelink creature then run gifted aetherborn or vampire nighthawk, but another copy of brutality is just a better use of an extra card for burn with more use outside of that match.
There aren't enough fair judh-esque decks running around for ashiok to be worthwhile. Back in the days of birthing pod and just they were amazing, but right now lili of the veil is far better against far more decks, including the ones where you'd want ashiok.
I've yet to try out sower myself, but the mana cost really does scare me. 4 mana is a lot to simply see it die to a push or, even worse, a K. Command. But if it sticks it's almost as swingy of a play as a mistbind so it just might be worth it. Personally I would never run such a card without some discard or dispels to protect it. Since you'll want it against eldrazi and you'll want thoughtseize there as well it just might be good enough. I'd love to hear about how it has performed for you so far, I've always been too gun shy to actually jam it myself.
For the graveyard hate, I'd likely want either cages or surgicals instead of the bombs. Anytime you'll want them they can typically rebuild the very next turn making it completely ineffective. Meanwhile cage also has uses against CoCo and keeps a past in flames shut off for good. Yes it clashes with snapcaster, but when you want a cage it tends to be worth either 5 turns of them fumbling around trying to remove it (and by then you likely won't care anymore) or it is simply a check mark on the game.
Faeries is like many decks in modern, we have our nut draws that win 90% of the time, we have decks that we're 3% to beat no matter what. However the main issue is that, once again like most modern decks, we are obscenely better on the play than on the draw. A mana leak on the play is awesome, on the draw, kinda meh. A turn 2 blossom on the play is like steriods for the deck, but on the draw it can literally lose you the game. Deck is solid, but immensely difficult to play, but we have enough play against the entire field that I believe it's worth it.
Problem Decks
The best card in the deck against our worst matches is actually mistbind clique. Burn is certainly not a bye for them, if we win the die roll it's slightly favorable even with 0 brutality in the list simply due to the fact that we have a strong clock and a ridiculous amount of permission. Dredge needs to actually cast a stinkweed imp to defend against a mistbind and when they get tapped out that's enough momentum to put us into the lead. Play to landing one in your worst matches and sculpt your plan around getting into a race and sticking in with a huge attack with tar pits and flyers and you'll do fine.
First, I think I will swap Murk Lurker for Aetherborn, though the mana cost has me a little worried about trying to line it up on the curve without having to take too much damage.
Ashiok is just something to test, I've only had a couple of games with it so far. I'm not a huge fan of Liliana of the Veil in Faeries, as we want cards in our hand (we're a permission deck, not a Jund Atrrtion deck). I'll keep testing with it, but I don't expect to keep it in for any high level tournaments, I think FNM modern is as far as it goes.
The Nihil Spellbombs have been excellent for me each time I've played the matches they come in against. They've provided me with the space to breathe against Dredge and the like, as sure they can rebuild but I've already gotten them on the back foot and am pressing the advantage. The issue with cage is it mucks up our Snapcaster, and if they sneak a spell that gets rid of it through counters or something, they have a full graveyard to play with. Also, some decks are too redundant to crumble to Surgical Extraction, so I prefer just blasting the whole graveyard over single cards (I've seen Dredge and Storm go off through Surgical a few times)
I've tried the god and can confirm it is super bad. I briefly tried the hulk, but after a couple matches of it rotting in my hand with nothing worthwhile to flash back I was off it pretty quick. If you want a generic giant monster I like gurmag angler because it blocks reality smasher and other zombie fish. But if you're looking for a battle of wits type of threat (i.e. untap with this in play and you win the game) the best one I've found has been grave titan. Still 6 mana sorcery speed threats are not exactly what the deck is all about, but if you want some hardcore, nuclear level closing power then hop on the gravy train.
Yea, I don't have the highest of hopes for the Scarab God, the activated ability is a little slow, and I know what you mean about Gearhulk rotting in the hand. Grave Titan might be interesting to try, I never thought of that.
One issue I've kinda seen is the willingness to lock onto the 'Core' of the faeries deck and shy away from and variation on that core 12-16 cards. There may be merit to locking in 4 Mutavault, 4 Spellstutter, 3-4 Tar Pits, etc. but times are changing. That core of cards may have been good when Faeries was in Standard or when it was starting to pop up in Modern, but maybe its worth looking at it again and maybe thinking about changing some numbers around. I'll admit, I'm never going to cut down to less than 4 Spellstutter Sprites, or overhaul the mana base too much, but maybe playing 4 Mutavault isn't correct anymore? I think changing things once thought 'untouchable' is something worth attempting.
Hello,
This is my first time posting here for advice and stuff, and I would love to know what you guys think of my list. I've been playing Faeries on and off ever since Bitterblossom was let off the B+R list, and many people at my LGS have subtly meta-gamed their decks to have an edge vs me (so I switch to Storm on occasion just to troll them).
This list borrows much from PVDDR's article from ChannelFireball, but with my own adjustments and personal takes.
3 Mutavaults??
Talk about killing a sacred cow. This is a recent change I made, and I still don't know if it's correct. I've always been of the opinion that 4 colorless lands is the max that this deck should play, regardless of the number of lists I've seen that have 1-2 Tectonic Edge/Ghost Quarter. I'm of the mind that this deck is very particular on what colors it needs and when, and far too often I've been trapped with a Mutavault that shuts off my Cryptic Command or prevents me from casting multiple spells (not as often as the Cryptic Command issue). I think that any stumble is potentially disastrous, though I do admit that Mutavault does come in hand often, be it with Spellstutter Sprite, Mistbind Clique, or even just attacking. I'm willing to sacrifice that slight edge for a little more consistency and the power offered by Pendelhaven, though I may be wrong. I'll keep testing it.
Another recent change. Originally, the Scions were a Shadow of Doubt and the third Vendilion Clique, but I wanted to test them. They have done just enough work, that I will keep them in for now, though they are the weakest creatures currently. They have mostly been just for speeding up my clock, though I have saved a creature or two with them. With less Lightning Bolts blasting around, they are poised to be better than expected, though they are the least impactfull creature of you're behind.
The Spell Suite
This is all fairly self explanatory, nothing too out of the ordinary here. I have tried to build the deck with a leaning towards playing almost solely at instant speed, which is why you don't see any Serum Visions or Collective Brutality.
Lands
Again, nothing too strange, besides the Mutavault numbers. I've got a couple of extra basics to insulate from Blood Moon/Path to Exile, a couple of extra fetchlands to help power Fatal Push. I've only got two Creeping Tar Pit, as I wanted to slim down the ETB tapped lands, but that's not too odd.
I think everything else about the deck itself is fairly obvious, but feel free to ask any questions.
Ashiok is a card I wanted to try for the long, grindy games, as it is a tough to deal with threat. It could even do work against Control, and I did bring it in against Living End the last time I played against them.
I have wanted a couple of Gifted Aetherborn in the sideboard to mitigate Burn (and possibly Eldrazi decks, I guess Reality Smashers don't like Aetherborn), but the Murk Lurker may just be better due to the bigger butt and less painful mana cost.
The Sower of Temptation is in for the Eldrazi/Tron/Big Creature decks, though I'm iffy on it's effectiveness. I have had Ceremonious Rejection in the sideboard for Eldrazi and Tron decks, but the players in my LGS who play those decks have added additional Cavern of Souls to their lists to avoid the blue players, so I wanted to find someway to fight through that.
I've been taking this deck to the weekly Modern event at my LGS (10-16 players, 4 rounds, fairly wide variety of decks and play skill), and have consistently been going 3-1 or 2-2. Much of the loses could be attributed to misplays or bad mulligan/sideboard decisions, but sometimes it feels like the deck is underpowered and lacking the proper tools to fight with.
Problem Decks
I have found Eldrazi Tron (all flavors) to be difficult if your hand doesn't match up just right. If you fail to counter an early Thought-Knot Seer or Reality Smasher, times get very tough. An early Karn or Ugin are pretty much game over (obviously), and sometimes you just draw nothing and die.
Dredge is almost an auto lose game one, but post-sideboard there are enough cards that even things out.
Burn is basically a bye for them, though sometimes you get lucky and win. The trick is pulling out a couple of the Bitterblossoms (I never take all of them out, sometimes they do good work holding off Swiftspears and Goblin Guides) and most of the Cryptic Commands for the sideboard cards.
I've yet to lose many matches to Death's Shadow. It's not an easy match, but you just need to know when to attack, when to block, and when to play around Stubborn Denial. Just watch out for Izzet Staticaster and you should be fine.
Most other matchups are pretty good. I haven't found any really easy matchups, but there are easy games, and in those games you just roll over them. It's those games where I see a glimpse of the boogeyman that plagued Standard in years past.
The Future of My List
I want to try Opt in this archetype once it becomes legal (I think I'll cut the Scion of Oonas and two Secluded Glens, though cutting land is probably really wrong). I also want to give The Scarab God a shot, as it can just take over a game in the right matchups. Torrential Gearhulk is another fun singleton I've tried, and I feel like giving it a shot again.
So, now that I'm done rambling on about my version of the deck, what do you guys think? I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have.
Figured I'd post in here, since I can't find a support thread for the deck builder, but Jace, the Mind Sculptor is not showing up as Modern Legal (Bloodbraid Elf shows up though)
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
2 Go for the Throat
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
1 Jace, Cunning Castaway
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Mistbind Clique
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Polluted Delta
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Island
3 Mutavault
2 Flooded Strand
2 Watery Grave
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Pendelhaven
1 Secluded Glen
2 Collective Brutality
1 Countersquall
1 Damnation
2 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Thoughtseize
Round 1: Mono White Eldrazi/Hate Bears (opponent won the die roll and choose the play)
Game 1, I kept the following hand; 2 Opt, 1 Bitterblossom, 1 Ancestral Vision, 1 Spellstutter Sprite,
1 Polluted Delta. I scy Mistbind Clique to the bottom, and my opponent plays Eldrazi Temple then passes. I draw Cryptic Command, fetch and shock for Watery Grave into Ancestral Vision, then pass. Opponent Ghost Quarters his own land and plays Leonin Arbiter, then passes back. I draw another Spellstutter Sprite, cast Opt to hit my land, scy another Opt to the bottom, draw Jace, Cunning Castaway, then pass back. He plays another Ghost Quarter, blows up my land, then casts Thraben Inspector. I miss the land in my draw step and scoop things up.
Game 2, things go much better. I get out ahead with Bitterblossom while my opponent stumbles on mana. He plays a Vryn's Wingmare and Thraben Inspector turn 5, and traps the Path to Exile for my EOT Mistbind Clique in his hand. I untap and have Spellstutter Sprite in hand to protect the Mistbind, and pull out the victory.
Game 3, I mulligan to 6 again. He plays an Eldrazi Temple turn one, I play a tapped Creeping Tar Pit. Turn two, he plays a Plains and Aether Vial, and I tap out for Bitterblossom. He seizes the opening and drops down Mirran Crusader. I can't keep a blue blocker on the battlefield to defend, and the Crusader takes the game for him. This game made me really want access to Liliana of the Veil.
Sideboard Plan;
-1 Cryptic Command, -2 Mana Leak, +1 Damnation, +1 Liliana, the Last Hope, +1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Round 2: Mono Red Goblins (He won the die roll and took the play)
Game 1, He plays Foundry Street Denizen, I play Island into Ancestral Vision (the rest of my hand was Secluded Glen, Bitterblossom, Spell Snare, Mutavault, Spellstutter Sprite). He untaps, plays double Legion Loyalist, and hits for 5. I draw Cryptic Command, play Secluded Glen untapped, and hold up Spellstutter. He untaps, casts a kicked Goblin Bushwhacker, and Lightning Bolts my Spellstutter Sprite when I go to counter it. He hits for 9 and I decide to scoop it up, since I couldn't come back from that board state.
Game 2, I play a Tar Pit tapped, and he plays Foundry Street Denizen. I Fatal Push it, and play a tapped Watery Grave, then pass. He plays a Goblin Piledriver and passes, so I untap and Snapcaster back the Fatal Push for the Piledriver. He untaps and casts a Goblin Cheiftan, then I play Gifted Aetherborn with Spellstutter Sprite to protect it. I get a few attacks in to bring my life total up, and then a few turn later, he concedes.
Game 3 was much like game one. He gets on board with a slew of one drops and kills my turn 2 Aetherborn, then finishes the game with double Goblin Grenade.
Sideboard Plan
-3 Bitterblossom, -2 Mana Leak, -1 Cryptic Command, +2 Gifted Aetherborn, +2 Collective Brutality, +1 Liliana, the Last Hope, +1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
All in all, a very frustrating couple of rounds. I think I only made one major error, keeping the one land hand in round 1, but I figured I had enough chances at the land that it'd be fine. My round 2 opponent told me he specifically brought Goblins since I kept beating his Death's Shadow deck, and I guess it payed off for him.
I don't think I will make any changes just yet, though I am thinking of playing a 24th land and possibly squeezing in a couple of Liliana of the Veil in the 75 (I at least want to try them, even though I'm not a fan). Hopefully I can make a better showing next week, I'll post the next results as well.
Just realize it's a good card to have, but it's more of a base hit double than a home run.
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
2 Go for the Throat
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
1 Jace, Cunning Castaway
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Mistbind Clique
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Polluted Delta
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Island
3 Mutavault
2 Flooded Strand
2 Watery Grave
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Pendelhaven
1 Secluded Glen
2 Collective Brutality
1 Countersquall
1 Damnation
2 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Thoughtseize
I made changes from a previous list, where I had Liliana, the Last Hope in place of Jace, Cunning Castaway, 2 additional Secluded Glens, a Murderous Cut, and a flex slot instead of the 4 Opt. As I said in my previous post, this current version of the deck felt like it ran smoother than others, though there is a little bit of tension for turn one plays (Ancestral Vision should be suspended turn one, though if you're on the draw, holding Spell Snare up in some matches is nice, and sometimes you need to snap off a Fatal Push in the right matchup). I'll need to play with it more, but I currently am really enjoying it. Hopefully someone in the professional scene (I'm hoping PVDDR) decides to make a list and try it out in a video series.
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
2 Go for the Throat
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
1 Jace, Cunning Castaway
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Mistbind Clique
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Polluted Delta
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Island
3 Mutavault
2 Flooded Strand
2 Watery Grave
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Pendelhaven
1 Secluded Glen
2 Collective Brutality
1 Countersquall
1 Damnation
2 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Thoughtseize
Round Recap:
Round 1- I played against Storm this round. Game one was very close. I had kept my life total high to avoid being Stormed out from a low count, managed to kill a couple of Electromancers and countered some rituals and cantrips with Spellstutter Sprites. I drew Jace, Cunning Castaway in this game, and made an Illusion with him, so I could increase my clock (my hand was Fatal Push x2 and Mana Leak, with 5 lands, 3 Spellstutter Sprites on board so I felt safe). I pass and my opponent casts a Serum Visions, tries to resolve a Manamorphose, I Mana Leak, then he Grapeshots my board away (he is now empty handed and at 4 life), leaving Jace (I had Tar Pit and Mutavault on board as well. I draw Ancestral Vision, plus up Jace, swing with Mutavault, then draw Bitterblossom off the trigger, discarding the Ancestral and passing. (my hand is 2 Fatal Push still, now with Bitterblossom. He top decks Past In Flames and goes off, stealing game 1
Game 2- Anticlamactic, I get turn 3 Blood Mooned after fetching Swamp Watery Grave to suspend Ancestral Vision turn one and Collective Brutality turn 2.
Sideboard plan; -1 Cryptic Command, -1 Mana Leak, -1 Mistbind Clique, -2 Ancestral Vision, -2 Opt +3 Thoughtseize, +2 Collective Brutality, +2 Nihil Spellbomb
Round 2- Burn. I did not have high hopes in this match, but managed to sneak it out. He won game 1 easily.
Game 2, I managed to win without my life total dipping past 10, as he flooded out badly (we joked that he should've sideboarded in Inferno Titan).
Game 3 was close until I dropped down a Gifted Aetherborn and was able to protect it for a few turns. As my life total rose, his started to fall, and I had Spell Snare for the Lightning Helix he aimed at it on the final turn.
Sideboard plan; -4 Bitterblossom, -1 Mistbind Clique, +2 Gifted Aetherborn, +2 Collective Brutality, +1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Round 3- Mono Brown Eldrazi Tron. another terrible match that I hate playing, though again, I somehow walk away with the win.
Game 1 he goes first and assembles Tron on turn 4, but I manage to counter his Ugin with Mana Leak and he bricks on payoff cards, so I race with Bitterblossom (and I counter a couple more payoffs, it's not often Spellstutter Sprite counter Tron spells).
Game 2, I attempt to aggro him out with Gifted Aetherborn and Mutavault, but he casts Reality Smashers turns 6, 7, and 8 and 'smashes' me.
Game 3, I get an early Bitterblossom out and start the beatdowns, until he plays out a pair of Matter Reshaper. I draw and cast Jace, Cunning Castaway (make an Illusion) as well as a Gifted Aetherborn turn 5, leaving a Bitterblossom, Flooded Strand, and Island in my hand. He plays a Thoughtknot Seer (exiles Bitterblossom) then attacks me with one Reshaper and Jace with the other. I chump the one at Jace with a Faerie token, take 3 down from 9 to 6, then he passes. I make a faerie, draw Snapcaster Mage (Opt and Cryptic are the only spells in the graveyard), plus Jace, and swing in with the Aetherborn. He takes it, going to 10 life (I go to 7,), I draw then discard another Bitterblossom, play out the Island and pass. He draws, casts a third Reshaper, and attacks Reshaper and Thoughtknot Seer into Jace. I don't block, letting Jace die, then EOT Snapcaster into Cryptic, bouncing Reshaper and drawing a card. I take my turn and then attack for the win with Snapcaster, 2 Faeries, Aetherborn, the Illusion token, and Creeping Tar Pit.
Sideboard plan; -2 Mana Leak,-2 Ancestral Vision, -2 Opt, -1 Cryptic Command, -1 Spell Snare, +2 Gifted Aetherborn, +2 Ceremonious Rejection, +1 Damnation, +3 Thoughtseize
Round 3- Grixis Death's Shadow. Despite Death's Shadow being among my favorite matches, this one was uninteresting and was plagued with mana issues from my opponent. The most notable moments were the same Death's Shadow being killed 4 times, and getting Kolaghan's Command-ed or Liliana'd back repeatedly. I won this round in 2 short games, mostly off the back of Bitterblossom, though Jace did appear game two, to +1 and eat a Lightning Bolt plus K-Command.
All in all, I found the deck to run smoothly and roughly how I hope it plays all the time. Opt was as good as one would expect (this is the sort of deck Opt is really for), and gave me something to do and to filter through extra Bitterblossoms or such. I was pleasantly surprised by Jace, Cunning Castaway. He provided pressure in ways Liliana, the Last Hope doesn't, and can help keep the momentum going. I'm going to keep testing with him (though I don't think the deck wants to play 2 copies). I don't think there's any changes I want to make to anything quite yet, as the deck seems fairly tuned and correct at the moment.
If anyone has any comments or questions, feel free to ask, and I will try and reply back.
The problem with running Swords and Scions is if the sword becomes unequipped, it can't be attached to another faerie (due to Shroud). That's probably a corner case, cause how are your Shrouded flying, Pro W+B beaters dying, but it's something to watch for. I've been burned by it, since most similar lords in modern magic give Hexproof now, it's easy to overlook.
As for your list, the Discard suite looks odd. I would prefer a second Thoughtseize before the second Brutality myself, as there's many decks where the discard on Brutality might miss. I'd also be inclined to play another Remand, and dip a little further into the Tempo side of things. Maybe play 4 Remand, 2 Thoughtseize, 0 Mana Leak.
Yea, I think that's the proper way of thinking. Maybe in a deck that's running a full set of Faerie Miscreant and just going full aggressive. I have been underwhelmed by Scion in my current builds, with the times it's good coming few and far between. Probably better served taking it right out for some other stuff.
I've yet to have an issue with just the 3 Mutavaults (though I've only played ~25 games with this build). I kinda look at it like the 'play 3 Geist of Saint Traft' way of thinking, where drawing one is great, but multiple have diminishing returns. I hate the idea of relying on Mutavault for a Mistbind Clique or Spellstutter, as an opponent who is savvy enough can blow you out. I'll admit, some games it's wonderful, but the risk is too high in my mind. I think three at least garners a fair amount of testing. Even if it turns out it's incorrect, at least we've experimented.
I'm inclined to agree with you on this point, Scion has been mediocre or worse each time.
I think this could fall under the Mutavault argument I provided above. There haven't been many games where the Tar Pit won and no other card would, and other times it's been a liability. There's a lot of Ghost Quarters and Tectonic Edges floating around to prey on the land based strategies, and I don't think I really need to make the mana base worse. 2 Tar Pits has been my normal number for years now, and I haven't felt the need for the third just yet. I may try one in the future, but I think the amount of time the deck wants an open mana source on turn one may mean I stick to 2. I do not like the idea of Faerie Conclave, to me it is just a worse Mutavault. Sure, it adds U, but it can't activate by itself like Mutavault, dies to more things (that 1 toughness opens it up to being shot by Staticaster or any -1/-1 effect) and it comes in tapped (I actually like being able to suspend Ancestral Vision turn one, and don't really want a hand with my 3 lands being Conclave, Tar Pit, and Mutavault or similar for example).
First, I think I will swap Murk Lurker for Aetherborn, though the mana cost has me a little worried about trying to line it up on the curve without having to take too much damage.
Ashiok is just something to test, I've only had a couple of games with it so far. I'm not a huge fan of Liliana of the Veil in Faeries, as we want cards in our hand (we're a permission deck, not a Jund Atrrtion deck). I'll keep testing with it, but I don't expect to keep it in for any high level tournaments, I think FNM modern is as far as it goes.
The Nihil Spellbombs have been excellent for me each time I've played the matches they come in against. They've provided me with the space to breathe against Dredge and the like, as sure they can rebuild but I've already gotten them on the back foot and am pressing the advantage. The issue with cage is it mucks up our Snapcaster, and if they sneak a spell that gets rid of it through counters or something, they have a full graveyard to play with. Also, some decks are too redundant to crumble to Surgical Extraction, so I prefer just blasting the whole graveyard over single cards (I've seen Dredge and Storm go off through Surgical a few times)
Yea, I don't have the highest of hopes for the Scarab God, the activated ability is a little slow, and I know what you mean about Gearhulk rotting in the hand. Grave Titan might be interesting to try, I never thought of that.
One issue I've kinda seen is the willingness to lock onto the 'Core' of the faeries deck and shy away from and variation on that core 12-16 cards. There may be merit to locking in 4 Mutavault, 4 Spellstutter, 3-4 Tar Pits, etc. but times are changing. That core of cards may have been good when Faeries was in Standard or when it was starting to pop up in Modern, but maybe its worth looking at it again and maybe thinking about changing some numbers around. I'll admit, I'm never going to cut down to less than 4 Spellstutter Sprites, or overhaul the mana base too much, but maybe playing 4 Mutavault isn't correct anymore? I think changing things once thought 'untouchable' is something worth attempting.
This is my first time posting here for advice and stuff, and I would love to know what you guys think of my list. I've been playing Faeries on and off ever since Bitterblossom was let off the B+R list, and many people at my LGS have subtly meta-gamed their decks to have an edge vs me (so I switch to Storm on occasion just to troll them).
This list borrows much from PVDDR's article from ChannelFireball, but with my own adjustments and personal takes.
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Mistbind Clique
2 Scion of Oona
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fatal Push
2 Mana Leak
2 Go for the Throat
1 Murderous Cut
1 Spell Snare
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Polluted Delta
3 Secluded Glen
3 Island
3 Mutavault
2 Watery Grave
2 Flooded Strand
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Pendelhaven
So let's talk about the list:
3 Mutavaults??
Talk about killing a sacred cow. This is a recent change I made, and I still don't know if it's correct. I've always been of the opinion that 4 colorless lands is the max that this deck should play, regardless of the number of lists I've seen that have 1-2 Tectonic Edge/Ghost Quarter. I'm of the mind that this deck is very particular on what colors it needs and when, and far too often I've been trapped with a Mutavault that shuts off my Cryptic Command or prevents me from casting multiple spells (not as often as the Cryptic Command issue). I think that any stumble is potentially disastrous, though I do admit that Mutavault does come in hand often, be it with Spellstutter Sprite, Mistbind Clique, or even just attacking. I'm willing to sacrifice that slight edge for a little more consistency and the power offered by Pendelhaven, though I may be wrong. I'll keep testing it.
Scion of Oona
Another recent change. Originally, the Scions were a Shadow of Doubt and the third Vendilion Clique, but I wanted to test them. They have done just enough work, that I will keep them in for now, though they are the weakest creatures currently. They have mostly been just for speeding up my clock, though I have saved a creature or two with them. With less Lightning Bolts blasting around, they are poised to be better than expected, though they are the least impactfull creature of you're behind.
The Spell Suite
This is all fairly self explanatory, nothing too out of the ordinary here. I have tried to build the deck with a leaning towards playing almost solely at instant speed, which is why you don't see any Serum Visions or Collective Brutality.
Lands
Again, nothing too strange, besides the Mutavault numbers. I've got a couple of extra basics to insulate from Blood Moon/Path to Exile, a couple of extra fetchlands to help power Fatal Push. I've only got two Creeping Tar Pit, as I wanted to slim down the ETB tapped lands, but that's not too odd.
I think everything else about the deck itself is fairly obvious, but feel free to ask any questions.
2 Collective Brutality
2 Damnation
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Jorubai Murk Lurker
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Countersquall
Sideboard Notes
Pretty obvious choices here, Spellbomb's for Dredge and graveyard shenanigans, Jorubai Murk Lurker and Collective Brutality for Burn (with Collective Brutality helping out in combo matches alongside Thoughtseize).
Ashiok is a card I wanted to try for the long, grindy games, as it is a tough to deal with threat. It could even do work against Control, and I did bring it in against Living End the last time I played against them.
I have wanted a couple of Gifted Aetherborn in the sideboard to mitigate Burn (and possibly Eldrazi decks, I guess Reality Smashers don't like Aetherborn), but the Murk Lurker may just be better due to the bigger butt and less painful mana cost.
The Sower of Temptation is in for the Eldrazi/Tron/Big Creature decks, though I'm iffy on it's effectiveness. I have had Ceremonious Rejection in the sideboard for Eldrazi and Tron decks, but the players in my LGS who play those decks have added additional Cavern of Souls to their lists to avoid the blue players, so I wanted to find someway to fight through that.
I've been taking this deck to the weekly Modern event at my LGS (10-16 players, 4 rounds, fairly wide variety of decks and play skill), and have consistently been going 3-1 or 2-2. Much of the loses could be attributed to misplays or bad mulligan/sideboard decisions, but sometimes it feels like the deck is underpowered and lacking the proper tools to fight with.
Problem Decks
I have found Eldrazi Tron (all flavors) to be difficult if your hand doesn't match up just right. If you fail to counter an early Thought-Knot Seer or Reality Smasher, times get very tough. An early Karn or Ugin are pretty much game over (obviously), and sometimes you just draw nothing and die.
Dredge is almost an auto lose game one, but post-sideboard there are enough cards that even things out.
Burn is basically a bye for them, though sometimes you get lucky and win. The trick is pulling out a couple of the Bitterblossoms (I never take all of them out, sometimes they do good work holding off Swiftspears and Goblin Guides) and most of the Cryptic Commands for the sideboard cards.
I've yet to lose many matches to Death's Shadow. It's not an easy match, but you just need to know when to attack, when to block, and when to play around Stubborn Denial. Just watch out for Izzet Staticaster and you should be fine.
Most other matchups are pretty good. I haven't found any really easy matchups, but there are easy games, and in those games you just roll over them. It's those games where I see a glimpse of the boogeyman that plagued Standard in years past.
The Future of My List
I want to try Opt in this archetype once it becomes legal (I think I'll cut the Scion of Oonas and two Secluded Glens, though cutting land is probably really wrong). I also want to give The Scarab God a shot, as it can just take over a game in the right matchups. Torrential Gearhulk is another fun singleton I've tried, and I feel like giving it a shot again.
So, now that I'm done rambling on about my version of the deck, what do you guys think? I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have.