Uuntara the Mysterious One :3mana::symu::symb::symb:
Legendary Creature - Shade Wizard [M]
Flash, Hexproof
When ~ enters the battlefield, choose up to 2 - Return all other creatures to their owner's hands; or counter target noncreature spell; or each opponent discards a card; or destroy target nonblack creature.
:2mana::symu::symb:, pay 2 life: Return ~ to its owner's hand.
:symb:: ~ gets +1/+1 and loses Hexproof until end of turn.
4/4
IIW: The signature spell of the most cunning mage.
7H0R, I love the build it looks very nice, how does Reshape play? and how many games have u played against tron? becasue i can't beat it
I don't know anyone that plays tron, so I haven't testing against it yet. I assume you are referring to the RG Tron lists that people have been playing recently?
Also, Reshape is quite nice. It's like running more Trinket mages, but more diverse. Later on, I can tutor up Ensnaring Bridge or Thopter Foundry, or I can use it early to grab a combo piece. I was running 3, but I think 2 is the right number. It's a little mana intensive.
Tested against a Burn deck and 1 Shot Elementals today.
Ensnaring Bridge is so good. Definitely needs at least 2 in the main. I'll probably Sideboard a third.
Thopter Foundry is also way better than expected. It's so good to just sac extra opals and excess combo pieces to gain life and blockers.
Dark Confidant actually performed underwhelmingly compared to the just straight card draw of Thoughtcast.
Mishra's Bauble is unnecessary, but it does mean that we need to run more lands. Also in my build with Reshape, Thopter Foundry and Ensnaring bridge, mana became an issue a lot. I bumped up to 19 lands and 3 opals.
Also, I actually sacrificed a Codex Shredder today for it's return ability to get back a Tezzeret, then cast it and won. Good stuff.
Here's the list I ended up with after tweaking throughout the day.
If I have EotS in play and cast bolt, with no other external influence, EotS exiles Bolt, then I can cast it without paying its mana cost. I do so and before passing priority cast Spellshift targetting Bolt. EotS exiles SpellShift and I then cast it again, as well as Bolt.
I have a couple of questions based on the above.
If I were to cast Bolt, and then in response to the EotS trigger, cast Spellshift, would the bolt be exiled or just go to the yard? EotS triggers again for Spellshift exiling it, then letting me cast it again. With only one target, I would assume I have to target Bolt. When the EotS trigger for Bolt executes, it would "fizzle" since that spell is no longer on the stack?
Back to the original scenario. If I cast Bolt, it gets exiled, I recast from EotS, then cast Spellshift, it also gets exiled, I recast from EotS both Spellshift and Bolt, I net 1 Bolt and 1 Spellshift (which countered one of the bolts I cast)?
Once Spellshift starts to resolve, do I go into an infinite combo with EotS?
Thank you for your time and help!
From what I can tell, this works.
It would go something like this...
Cast Lightning Bolt, it gets exiled, then casts again.
Stack-
Lightning Bolt (Copy1)
Then cast Spellshift targetting Lightning Bolt, let it get exiled, and then copy it and Lightning Bolt.
Spellshift's copy will resolve, countering Lightning Bolt 1 and then finding you another instant or sorcery. We'll say, Rift Bolt. Eye of the Storm triggers.
Stack-
Eye of the Storm Trigger (For Rift Bolt)
Rift Bolt
Lightning Bolt (Copy2)
Eye of the Storm trigger resolves, exiling Rift Bolt and copying Rift Bolt, Spellshift and Lightning Bolt. Spellshift can then target the Lightning Bolt Copy 2.
I'm also contemplating replacing white with Black as that provides access to targeted discard which I think this deck would really benefit from, because really, some things do get through sometimes. That or even removal, Bob? Would Bob work?
Oh yeah. Bob seems really good in this deck. Everything costs so little. If only he was an artifact so you could get rid of him with Thopter Foundry. Thopter Foundry does do pretty well to offset the life loss though.
Only problem that I see is that he doesn't play well with Ensnaring Bridge, but then again, you will be mostly casting everything you draw.
Overall I think he's definitely one of the things this deck needs to be competitive.
I'm going to be testing out this list today against Robots, Storm and 1 shot Elementals and see how things go. I'll report back later.
I think Reshape is probably a better tutor than Tezzeret. That way, we can use the 4 Mana Tezzeret instead as a better win con. This also allows us to find pieces of our combo and get rid of unneeded artifacts. I propose something like this.
The land base probably needs work. I upped to 18 land to accommodate the high overall casting cost with Reshape and Thopter Foundry.
Thopter Foundry and Epochrasite seem like they play well together for a nice win con. Instead, I may just cut the Epochrasites for some nice Equipment, like Sword of Light and Shadow.
Tidehollow Sculler is pretty good by himself just as a guy to attack with and disruption, but he's also good with Thopter Foundry to exile things in hands forever.
What are your opinions on Stoic Rebuttal? Also maybe Chalice of the void in the sideboard, but it's expensive to put it at 2 counters...
I thought about Stoic Rebuttal, but I don't think this deck really needs counterspells. I'm usually tapping out each turn in the early game to cast all of my combo pieces and disruption, then later on they don't have anything in their hand to counter because I made them draw only useless cards.
However, I could see it working well with a Thopter Foundry build. You can just sit back on your counterspells, and spend what you don't use on countering spells and removing creatures with the foundry to gain a bunch of life and blockers. It seems like a good way to get rid of redundant Lanterns, opals and any extra Mishra's Baubles that you don't need later on. Maybe a list looking something like this...
I feel like with this build you have to use Tezzeret the Seeker to tutor up a bunch of artifacts to sacrifice to the foundry. Tezzeret's Ultimate is also very good with the flying thopters. I upped the land to account for the increased cost. This deck is pretty good at controlling it's own topdeck with Ghoulcaller's Bell, so you can find the lands that you need that way.
This deck is very intriguing. I'm a pretty big fan of weird interactions and synergy. I like having black in the deck for the targeted discard. Thoughtseize hurts, but there are other options that are nice, mainly Duress, because we don't care all that much about creatures once Porphyry Nodes gets online. Here's what I'm currently running.
Thopter Foundry - Life gain and blockers. Then you can Academy Ruins the stuff back to your hand. Seems really powerful. Maybe in place of Tezzeret and some other things.
Thought Scour - More ways of getting cards off their topdeck, built into your card draw
Tezzeret the Seeker - Tutors Mox Opals and Darksteel Citadel for free, tutors combo pieces for cheap. Also lets you mill more by untapping things, ramps if you have opal or Citadel, then wins the game with all of your 1 mana 5/5s.
I'm working on a UWb Flash list. It plays just like UW Flash, and I am liking the black splash for a few of the more powerful spells in standard, like Lingering Souls. This is my current list after a bit of tweaking
The deck feels so jam-packed that I'm switching numbers around constantly I was running like 5-6 one-ofs of some Instants and Sorceries that I tride to cut down to a minimum for the sake of consistency. When Watery Grave comes out, I'll probably feel better about running Tragic Slip in the main in some number, and running Duress/Apetite in the side. It's just bothersome that I can't possibly cast them on turn 1 without drawing my 1 or 2 Swamps, and I don't want to run too many swamps because of the amount that the deck really needs blue and white mana.
This deck is built to control the board using combinations of creatures that have good ETB effects, with stuff that allows you to keep gaining value from them by blinking them and returning them to your hand. These abilities also have the cool side effect of being able to basically get your creatures out of the way of any harmful effect and back to your hand, just for you to replay them next turn.
It's just starting out. I used to play a similar UB Commander back in the day, and I still have some of the remnants of that deck in this one, but none of the really good cards. There are some obvious stuff that I am missing that I am aware of, such as the good Tutors, Cryptic Command, Damnation, Vendillion Clique, Venser Shaper Savant, Draining Whelk and Damnation, as well as an actually good land base with duals and Boseiju. I'd say this is a pretty good start though. I managed to get pretty good board control against my buddy's Gisela deck earlier.
Things I am trying to get my hands on:
Venser, Shaper Savant
Draining Whelk
Leyline of Anticipation
Vedalken Orrery
Aether Vial
Hinder
Spell Crumple
Vendillion Clique
Tunnel Vision
Ghostly Flicker (I don't know why I can't find one of these)
Man-O-War
Aether Adept
Grave Titan
Faceless Butcher
Mesmeric Fiend
Jace the Mindsculptor
Jace, Architect of Thought
Jace Beleren
Tamiyo the Moon Sage
Sensei's Divining Top
Damnation
Evacuation(!!!)
Sol Ring
Solemn Simulacrum
Nevermaker
Drift of Phantasms
Perplex
Dimir Machinations
Spin into Myth
Vela the Night-Clad
Baleful Strix
Dream Stalker
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Snapcaster Mage
Spellstutter Sprite
Cryptic Command
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Boseiju, who Shelters All
Miren, the Moaning Well
High Market
I don't know how many of those cards I will actually use; I would have to do a lot of messing around to figure out the best things to do.
Running a nearly identical build as you.. Loving how its' been playing though I've still got much to learn about the deck. What are you using the orb in the SB against? Jund? Particularly Slaughter Games and Rakdos Return, Bonfire?
Mainly it's against Jund, turning off Rakdos's Return, Bonfire, Huntsmaster Flip, Liliana Sacrifice, Duress/Apetite for Brains any other burn spell that could finish off the game, but I also bring it in against BR Zombies. Countless times I have won because I blocked with souls tokens and centaur healer early to land turn 4 Witchbane and turn off their Geralfs, Bood Artists and burn spells. From there you can take a little bit of creature damage, only to gain it back with Thragtusk. It also shuts off Tormod's Crypt and Rakdos Charm from exiling your graveyard.
Going to Grand Prix Charleston this weekend. This is probably the list I will be registering.
Ended up going 5-0-2, drawing the last 2 rounds to get into the top 8. After the cut to top 8, we played the first round, which I won (against the mirror), then split top 4 $100 each.
For those who are interested, my matchups were these:
Since then I made a few adjustments. I don't like Golgari Charm in the main as much as I thought I would. I'm going to be bumping it down to 1. Also, the land base is getting a minor change, dropping 1 Isolated Chapel and adding 1 Sunpetal Grove.
Some notes:
Vault of the Archangel is too good not to run. There were games where my opponent would have me dead on board, but instead I had a Thragtusk and some Lingering Souls tokens in play with Vault of the Archangel open. They can't swing in, because I'll just kill their team and gain a bunch of life. It's great for stalling until you build up your graveyard.
Slaughter Games is completely necessary in the board. I would have lost against Bant if it weren't for the fact that I cast Slaughter Games naming Thragtusk game 1 and 2.
Golgari Charm is great against GW aggro, but that matchup is easy anyways.
Sever the Bloodline is way too good not to be running. It completely dominates every deck in the format right now.
23 Lands is fine. I'm not going any higher, because I have so many other things I want to fit into the deck.
Deathrite Shaman is incredibly good, and may even be worth it to run mainboard.
Witchbane orb is probably the best card in my sideboard.
-
I have heard people getting success with Restoration angel, and I definitely think it's a great addition, so I will be adding one into the main, maybe two.
Concerning Abrupt Decay, I would keep at least 1 or 2 in the main just to make sure I'm getting rid of Sphere / O-Ring. Golgari charm is nice in the side though.
For the moment my list did not change much but I want to try Tamiyo as 1 or 2-of.
Appetite for brain seems really techy, I need to try this card for sure.
He seems really effective given the current meta we have.
He can surprise block, protect Jace like a champ and block Thragtusk all day long.
Looks like a great critter overall.
Wolfir Avenger is nice, but do we really want to run BB, UU and GG all in the 3-4 CMC area? I would prefer nighthawk over it just because the deck is primarily black to begin with and it's easier on the mana base.
All the list from SCG Cinci are up, I guess it's time to start metagaming against the top dogs.
I'll try to tweak my list a bit and see where it goes.
This is probably really close to the list I will be running at states. I have been testing it with pretty good results. It's basically the same as the list I posted last, but I switched the numbers on Augur of Bolas and Nighthawk. I run too many non-spells to make Augur REALLY effective, but he is still good, so I kept him in as a 2-of.
With Bant and USA control being so popular, I expect Golgari Charm to be an allstar, getting rid of Detention Spheres in game 1. I may want to fit 3 or even 4 Apatite for Brains in the side. Seems like a LOT of people are running 4+ drops. Exiles Griselbrand, Angel of Serenity, Armada Wurm, Thragtusk. Definite think it could be worth it.
Also, Abrupt Decay is overrated, and the Cinci results proves it. That card is not good in Standard. Out of all of the decks that could run it, main or side, only very few are. I'll probably keep it in the side just for the zombies matchup to have extra early kill spells.
I also think it's worth noting that all of the Unburial Rites decks' creatures are monocolored, and Sigarda is barely seeing any play.
All of the UWx control decks use Entreat the Angels as their main finisher. Sever the Bloodline will be great here. I want to go up to 2 in the main, but I can't find room to cut. It's also great for getting rid of Gravecrawler spam.
Most of the zombies decks are returning to the BR Falkenrath Aristocrat + Blood artist plan (which I think to be the strongest plan anyways).
There seem to be more decks revolving around getting out big creatures than decks spamming small ones. That being said, Curse of Death's Hold is a bit weaker because of it. We may not want to run more than 2 in the main.
Just did a bunch of testing today against some fast aggro decks. Found that Augur of Bolas is a godsend against anything fast. He mitigates damage for a turn or two, and finds us something we need. Nighthawk is pretty nice too, but I still don't like her in a too large a quantity.
I also found that Vraska is much more underwhelming than I was expecting she'd be. I dropped her to 1, but I still think that she should be ran. She can just surprise end games out of nowhere, and gets rid of anything pesky, but she was cluttering my 5 costs.
Like I said, I won't go lower than 3 Curses. That card is too good to drop lower than that I feel, but like pointed out, my list was very top heavy, and I needed to cut somewhere.
I went back up to 3 Jace, because he's good enough to warrant the spots, and snuck in Tragic Slips over Murders, because Lotleth Troll is a *****.
This is what I'm currently running, and will probably use for FNM tonight if I can get the last couple cards I need =)
Legendary Creature - Shade Wizard [M]
Flash, Hexproof
When ~ enters the battlefield, choose up to 2 - Return all other creatures to their owner's hands; or counter target noncreature spell; or each opponent discards a card; or destroy target nonblack creature.
:2mana::symu::symb:, pay 2 life: Return ~ to its owner's hand.
:symb:: ~ gets +1/+1 and loses Hexproof until end of turn.
4/4
IIW: The signature spell of the most cunning mage.
I don't know anyone that plays tron, so I haven't testing against it yet. I assume you are referring to the RG Tron lists that people have been playing recently?
Also, Reshape is quite nice. It's like running more Trinket mages, but more diverse. Later on, I can tutor up Ensnaring Bridge or Thopter Foundry, or I can use it early to grab a combo piece. I was running 3, but I think 2 is the right number. It's a little mana intensive.
Ensnaring Bridge is so good. Definitely needs at least 2 in the main. I'll probably Sideboard a third.
Thopter Foundry is also way better than expected. It's so good to just sac extra opals and excess combo pieces to gain life and blockers.
Dark Confidant actually performed underwhelmingly compared to the just straight card draw of Thoughtcast.
Mishra's Bauble is unnecessary, but it does mean that we need to run more lands. Also in my build with Reshape, Thopter Foundry and Ensnaring bridge, mana became an issue a lot. I bumped up to 19 lands and 3 opals.
Also, I actually sacrificed a Codex Shredder today for it's return ability to get back a Tezzeret, then cast it and won. Good stuff.
Here's the list I ended up with after tweaking throughout the day.
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Codex Shredder
3 Ghoulcaller's Bell
3 Mox Opal
//Tutors
4 Trinket Mage
2 Reshape
//Disruption
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Duress
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Dispatch
1 Path to Exile
//Other
3 Thopter Foundry
3 Thoughtcast
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Seachrome Coast
4 Glimmervoid
2 Reflecting Pool
2 Darksteel Citadel
2 Academy Ruins
1 Plains
1 Arcane Sanctum
4 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Disenchant
2 Porphyry Nodes
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Ensnaring Bridge
From what I can tell, this works.
It would go something like this...
Cast Lightning Bolt, it gets exiled, then casts again.
Stack-
Lightning Bolt (Copy1)
Then cast Spellshift targetting Lightning Bolt, let it get exiled, and then copy it and Lightning Bolt.
Stack-
Spellshift (Copy, targetting Lightning Bolt Copy 1)
Lightning Bolt (Copy2)
Lightning Bolt (Copy1)
Spellshift's copy will resolve, countering Lightning Bolt 1 and then finding you another instant or sorcery. We'll say, Rift Bolt. Eye of the Storm triggers.
Stack-
Eye of the Storm Trigger (For Rift Bolt)
Rift Bolt
Lightning Bolt (Copy2)
Eye of the Storm trigger resolves, exiling Rift Bolt and copying Rift Bolt, Spellshift and Lightning Bolt. Spellshift can then target the Lightning Bolt Copy 2.
Stack-
Spellshift (Copy)
Rift Bolt (Copy)
Lightning Bolt (Copy3)
Lightning Bolt (Copy2)
Lightning Bolt Copy 2 would be countered, and you would do it again.
This would effectively cast every Instant and Sorcery in your library.
Oh yeah. Bob seems really good in this deck. Everything costs so little. If only he was an artifact so you could get rid of him with Thopter Foundry. Thopter Foundry does do pretty well to offset the life loss though.
Only problem that I see is that he doesn't play well with Ensnaring Bridge, but then again, you will be mostly casting everything you draw.
Overall I think he's definitely one of the things this deck needs to be competitive.
I'm going to be testing out this list today against Robots, Storm and 1 shot Elementals and see how things go. I'll report back later.
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Ghoulcaller's Bell
4 Codex Shredder
3 Mox Opal
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
//Tutors
4 Trinket Mage
3 Reshape
//The Rest
2 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Dark Confidant
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Duress
3 Dispatch
//Land
4 Glimmervoid
3 Marsh Flats
2 Reflecting Pool
3 Darksteel Citadel
2 Academy Ruins
1 Mystic Gate
2 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Ghoulcaller's Bell
4 Codex Shredder
3 Mox Opal
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
//Tutors
4 Trinket Mage
3 Reshape
//Artifacts
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Epochrasite
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Duress
3 Dispatch
//Land
4 Glimmervoid
3 Marsh Flats
2 Reflecting Pool
3 Darksteel Citadel
2 Academy Ruins
1 Mystic Gate
2 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
The land base probably needs work. I upped to 18 land to accommodate the high overall casting cost with Reshape and Thopter Foundry.
Thopter Foundry and Epochrasite seem like they play well together for a nice win con. Instead, I may just cut the Epochrasites for some nice Equipment, like Sword of Light and Shadow.
Tidehollow Sculler is pretty good by himself just as a guy to attack with and disruption, but he's also good with Thopter Foundry to exile things in hands forever.
I thought about Stoic Rebuttal, but I don't think this deck really needs counterspells. I'm usually tapping out each turn in the early game to cast all of my combo pieces and disruption, then later on they don't have anything in their hand to counter because I made them draw only useless cards.
However, I could see it working well with a Thopter Foundry build. You can just sit back on your counterspells, and spend what you don't use on countering spells and removing creatures with the foundry to gain a bunch of life and blockers. It seems like a good way to get rid of redundant Lanterns, opals and any extra Mishra's Baubles that you don't need later on. Maybe a list looking something like this...
4 Trinket Mage
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Ghoulcaller's Bell
4 Codex Shredder
4 Mishra's Bauble
3 Mox Opal
//Removal and Disruption
3 Duress
3 Stoic Rebuttal
2 Porphyry Nodes
4 Thoughtcast
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nihil Spellbomb
//Land
3 Glimmervoid
2 Forbidden Orchard
3 Marsh Flats
2 Academy Ruins
1 Tolaria West
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
I feel like with this build you have to use Tezzeret the Seeker to tutor up a bunch of artifacts to sacrifice to the foundry. Tezzeret's Ultimate is also very good with the flying thopters. I upped the land to account for the increased cost. This deck is pretty good at controlling it's own topdeck with Ghoulcaller's Bell, so you can find the lands that you need that way.
4 Trinket Mage
4 Lantern of Insight
4 Ghoulcaller's Bell
4 Codex Shredder
4 Mishra's Bauble
3 Mox Opal
//Removal and Disruption
4 Duress
3 Porphyry Nodes
3 Dispatch
//Other Things
3 Serum Visions
3 Thoughtcast
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Glimmervoid
3 Forbidden Orchard
3 Marsh Flats
2 Academy Ruins
1 Tolaria West
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Disenchant
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Sunbeam Spellbomb
1 Grafdigger's Cage
Things I think would be good:
Thopter Foundry - Life gain and blockers. Then you can Academy Ruins the stuff back to your hand. Seems really powerful. Maybe in place of Tezzeret and some other things.
Thought Scour - More ways of getting cards off their topdeck, built into your card draw
Tezzeret the Seeker - Tutors Mox Opals and Darksteel Citadel for free, tutors combo pieces for cheap. Also lets you mill more by untapping things, ramps if you have opal or Citadel, then wins the game with all of your 1 mana 5/5s.
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Moorland Haunt
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Evolving Wilds
3 Island
3 Plains
1 Swamp
//Creature (11)
4 Restoration Angel
4 Augur of Bolas
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Dissipate
3 Thought Scour
3 Forbidden Alchemy
3 Unsummon
3 Lingering Souls
2 Azorius Charm
2 Syncopate
1 Rewind
1 Ultimate Price
1 Sphinx's Revelation
//Other
2 Runechanter's Pike
1 Oblivion Ring
3 Supreme Verdict
3 Purify the Grave
2 Evil Twin
2 Talrand, Sky Summoner
2 Negate
2 Detention Sphere
1 Ultimate Price
The deck feels so jam-packed that I'm switching numbers around constantly I was running like 5-6 one-ofs of some Instants and Sorceries that I tride to cut down to a minimum for the sake of consistency. When Watery Grave comes out, I'll probably feel better about running Tragic Slip in the main in some number, and running Duress/Apetite in the side. It's just bothersome that I can't possibly cast them on turn 1 without drawing my 1 or 2 Swamps, and I don't want to run too many swamps because of the amount that the deck really needs blue and white mana.
Lingering Souls is a house with Vault of the Archangel though, and it gives extra win cons and Pike holders. You can power up the Pike with Forbidden Alchemy much like Thought Scour, but Forbidden Alchemy also allows for very good card selection and flashes back by itself later in the game. You can also pitch Lingering Souls to the yard and flash them back. In fact, you can flash almost everything in the deck back with Snapcaster. I really like the way Forbidden Alchemy synergizes with the deck.
It's just starting out. I used to play a similar UB Commander back in the day, and I still have some of the remnants of that deck in this one, but none of the really good cards. There are some obvious stuff that I am missing that I am aware of, such as the good Tutors, Cryptic Command, Damnation, Vendillion Clique, Venser Shaper Savant, Draining Whelk and Damnation, as well as an actually good land base with duals and Boseiju. I'd say this is a pretty good start though. I managed to get pretty good board control against my buddy's Gisela deck earlier.
1 Wydwen, the Biting Gale
//Countermagic
1 Cancel
1 Dissipate
1 Forbid
1 Stoic Rebuttal
1 Bone to Ash
1 Counterlash
1 Rewind
1 Muddle the Mixture
//Control Magic
1 Spirit Away
1 Volition Reigns
1 Soul Seizer
//Bounce Enablers
1 Faerie Imposter
1 Cavern Harpy
1 Crystal Shard
//ETB Triggers
1 Slum Reaper
1 Entomber Exarch
1 Soulsworn Spirit
1 Farbog Boneflinger
1 Gravedigger
1 Augur of Bolas
1 Slithermuse
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Benthicore
1 Voidwalker
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Skinrender
1 Peace Strider
1 Mind Unbound
1 Sign in Blood
1 Staff of Nin
1 Underworld Connections
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Amass the Components
1 Syphon Mind
1 Ponder
//Mana Rocks
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Vessel of Endless Rest
//Removal
1 Carnifex Demon
1 Tribute to Hunger
1 Geth's Verdict
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Barter in Blood
//The Tutor (Sad face)
1 Diabloic Tutor
//Other support
1 Ring of Evos Isle
1 Seer's Vision
1 Mask of Avacyn
1 Magus of the Future
1 Cackling Counterpart
1 Omniscience
1 Evil Twin
1 Pithing Needle
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 No Rest for the Wicked
13 Swamp
14 Island
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Temple of the False God
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Nephlia Drownyard
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Halimar Depths
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Dreadship Reef
Some neat things include:
Having only Crystal Shard in play. Play Slum Reaper, Return him to your hand in response to his trigger.
Casting Slum Reaper, sacrifice himself, play Gravedigger, get slum reaper back, return Gravedigger with Crystal Shard or Cavern Harpy
Skinrender, return him, Skinrender, return him, Skinrender....
Things I am trying to get my hands on:
Venser, Shaper Savant
Draining Whelk
Leyline of Anticipation
Vedalken Orrery
Aether Vial
Hinder
Spell Crumple
Vendillion Clique
Tunnel Vision
Ghostly Flicker (I don't know why I can't find one of these)
Man-O-War
Aether Adept
Grave Titan
Faceless Butcher
Mesmeric Fiend
Jace the Mindsculptor
Jace, Architect of Thought
Jace Beleren
Tamiyo the Moon Sage
Sensei's Divining Top
Damnation
Evacuation(!!!)
Sol Ring
Solemn Simulacrum
Nevermaker
Drift of Phantasms
Perplex
Dimir Machinations
Spin into Myth
Vela the Night-Clad
Baleful Strix
Dream Stalker
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Snapcaster Mage
Spellstutter Sprite
Cryptic Command
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Boseiju, who Shelters All
Miren, the Moaning Well
High Market
I don't know how many of those cards I will actually use; I would have to do a lot of messing around to figure out the best things to do.
Mainly it's against Jund, turning off Rakdos's Return, Bonfire, Huntsmaster Flip, Liliana Sacrifice, Duress/Apetite for Brains any other burn spell that could finish off the game, but I also bring it in against BR Zombies. Countless times I have won because I blocked with souls tokens and centaur healer early to land turn 4 Witchbane and turn off their Geralfs, Bood Artists and burn spells. From there you can take a little bit of creature damage, only to gain it back with Thragtusk. It also shuts off Tormod's Crypt and Rakdos Charm from exiling your graveyard.
Going to Grand Prix Charleston this weekend. This is probably the list I will be registering.
4 Angel of Serenity
4 Thragtusk
3 Centaur Healer
1 Restoration Angel
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 Griselbrand
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
//Spells
4 Grisly Salvage
4 Mulch
4 Faithless Looting
4 Unburial Rites
2 Lingering Souls
2 Dreadbore
1 Golgari Charm
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
4 Temple Garden
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Sunpetal Grove
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Woodland Cemetery
1 Plains
1 Slayers' Stronghold
3 Duress
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Slaughter Games
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Lingering Souls
1 Abrupt Decay
4 Angel of Serenity
4 Thragtusk
3 Centaur Healer
1 Griselbrand
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
//Spells
4 Grisly Salvage
4 Mulch
4 Faithless Looting
4 Unburial Rites
3 Lingering Souls
2 Dreadbore
2 Golgari Charm
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
3 Temple Garden
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Sunpetal Grove
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Woodland Cemetery
2 Isolated Chapel
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Duress
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Slaughter Games
2 Rolling Temblor
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Ancient Grudge
Ended up going 5-0-2, drawing the last 2 rounds to get into the top 8. After the cut to top 8, we played the first round, which I won (against the mirror), then split top 4 $100 each.
For those who are interested, my matchups were these:
Round 1, UR Tempo (bad deck) 2-0
Round 2, GW Aggro 2-1
Round 3, BR Zombies 2-1
Round 4, Bant Midrange 2-1
Round 5, Rakdos Aggro 2-0
Round 6, Draw
Round 7, Draw
Top 8 Round 1, Frites 2-0
Since then I made a few adjustments. I don't like Golgari Charm in the main as much as I thought I would. I'm going to be bumping it down to 1. Also, the land base is getting a minor change, dropping 1 Isolated Chapel and adding 1 Sunpetal Grove.
Some notes:
Vault of the Archangel is too good not to run. There were games where my opponent would have me dead on board, but instead I had a Thragtusk and some Lingering Souls tokens in play with Vault of the Archangel open. They can't swing in, because I'll just kill their team and gain a bunch of life. It's great for stalling until you build up your graveyard.
Slaughter Games is completely necessary in the board. I would have lost against Bant if it weren't for the fact that I cast Slaughter Games naming Thragtusk game 1 and 2.
Golgari Charm is great against GW aggro, but that matchup is easy anyways.
Sever the Bloodline is way too good not to be running. It completely dominates every deck in the format right now.
23 Lands is fine. I'm not going any higher, because I have so many other things I want to fit into the deck.
Deathrite Shaman is incredibly good, and may even be worth it to run mainboard.
Witchbane orb is probably the best card in my sideboard.
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I have heard people getting success with Restoration angel, and I definitely think it's a great addition, so I will be adding one into the main, maybe two.
After that event, this is my list.
4 Angel of Serenity
4 Thragtusk
2 Centaur Healer
2 Restoration Angel
1 Griselbrand
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
//Spells
4 Grisly Salvage
4 Mulch
4 Faithless Looting
4 Unburial Rites
3 Lingering Souls
2 Dreadbore
1 Golgari Charm
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
3 Temple Garden
3 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Woodland Cemetery
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Duress
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Slaughter Games
1 Centaur Healer
1 Golgari Charm
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Ancient Grudge
Wolfir Avenger is nice, but do we really want to run BB, UU and GG all in the 3-4 CMC area? I would prefer nighthawk over it just because the deck is primarily black to begin with and it's easier on the mana base.
This is probably really close to the list I will be running at states. I have been testing it with pretty good results. It's basically the same as the list I posted last, but I switched the numbers on Augur of Bolas and Nighthawk. I run too many non-spells to make Augur REALLY effective, but he is still good, so I kept him in as a 2-of.
With Bant and USA control being so popular, I expect Golgari Charm to be an allstar, getting rid of Detention Spheres in game 1. I may want to fit 3 or even 4 Apatite for Brains in the side. Seems like a LOT of people are running 4+ drops. Exiles Griselbrand, Angel of Serenity, Armada Wurm, Thragtusk. Definite think it could be worth it.
Also, Abrupt Decay is overrated, and the Cinci results proves it. That card is not good in Standard. Out of all of the decks that could run it, main or side, only very few are. I'll probably keep it in the side just for the zombies matchup to have extra early kill spells.
I also think it's worth noting that all of the Unburial Rites decks' creatures are monocolored, and Sigarda is barely seeing any play.
All of the UWx control decks use Entreat the Angels as their main finisher. Sever the Bloodline will be great here. I want to go up to 2 in the main, but I can't find room to cut. It's also great for getting rid of Gravecrawler spam.
Most of the zombies decks are returning to the BR Falkenrath Aristocrat + Blood artist plan (which I think to be the strongest plan anyways).
There seem to be more decks revolving around getting out big creatures than decks spamming small ones. That being said, Curse of Death's Hold is a bit weaker because of it. We may not want to run more than 2 in the main.
And that's basically what I see in a nutshell.
3 Thragtusk
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Augur of Bolas
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Griselbrand
//Instants & Sorceries
3 Think Twice
2 Farseek
2 Syncopate
2 Sign in Blood
2 Tragic Slip
2 Golgari Charm
1 Cyclonic Rift
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Curse of Death's Hold
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Vraska the Unseen
1 Garruk Relentless
//Land
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Hinterland Harbor
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Swamp
3 Forest
3 Island
1 Rogue's Passage
3 Cremate
3 Ultimate Price
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Cyclonic Rift
1 Curse of Death's Hold
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Syncopate
I also found that Vraska is much more underwhelming than I was expecting she'd be. I dropped her to 1, but I still think that she should be ran. She can just surprise end games out of nowhere, and gets rid of anything pesky, but she was cluttering my 5 costs.
Like I said, I won't go lower than 3 Curses. That card is too good to drop lower than that I feel, but like pointed out, my list was very top heavy, and I needed to cut somewhere.
I went back up to 3 Jace, because he's good enough to warrant the spots, and snuck in Tragic Slips over Murders, because Lotleth Troll is a *****.
This is what I'm currently running, and will probably use for FNM tonight if I can get the last couple cards I need =)
3 Thragtusk
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Griselbrand
//Instants & Sorceries
3 Farseek
3 Think Twice
2 Syncopate
2 Sign in Blood
2 Tragic Slip
2 Golgari Charm
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Sever the Bloodline
3 Curse of Death's Hold
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Vraska the Unseen
1 Garruk Relentless
//Land
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Drowned Catacombs
3 Hinterland Harbor
2 Woodland Cemetery
5 Swamp
3 Forest
2 Island
1 Rogue's Passage
3 Cremate
3 Ultimate Price
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Evil Twin
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Syncopate