I think RUG and BUG are going to be very difficult to get away from because they are simple and explanatory. Junk could go either way, but the other two will likely pick up the new names in the long run.
RUG and BUG are only self explanatory in text form online. That is why we write them with all caps, for clarity. In real life we get no such clues. If you tell someone at a local store that you play bug, its not at all clear what the hell you are talking about.
I for one will be using all of the new names.
Every one knows what those are by now. The new names are just awful and I will not be using them. RUG, BUG, Junk, American/French, and Dega are just fine.
So, it's less than a week before the next announcement. It seems to be the general consensus that there will be no changes this time, especially since the fetches should shake up the meta a decent amount. I'm expecting no changes as well but will still be disappointed if I am right.
If it was up to me I would unban GGT and Sword of the Meek. GGT because it will do nothing and Sword because it might give us another control deck. I really don't see the combo being much more threatening to aggro than Snapcasting back several lightning Helix's each game. It's also a much weaker combo than we already have in Splinter Twin, Kiki, or Melira combo.
Burn should never be over 8% of any metagame. I'm starting to hate the fact that Burn is the best combo deck in the format. It wins t4 just about as consistently as Storm, but is much more difficult to hate out than storm is, and requires more conditional answers as well (leyline).
If wizards wanted aggro to be more potent, then sure, but they could at least make it so that it wasn't completely non-interactive aggro such as burn.
First, that is just the online meta, not the paper meta. Second, Burn dies both to lifegain and counterspells. Third, when BGx, Twin, WUR, Affinity, or Pod got to 8% almost no one complained. 8% isn't that much. Fourth, out of the available aggro choices that could be reasonably helped (Tribal decks, Burn, and Bogles), Burn was the second-best option for the format and the easiest for Wizards to print cards for. I am just glad that the aggro deficiency of the format is going down.
Burn has never died to counterspells. Where did you ever get that notion? Also burn doesn't die to life gain - life gain stops it for a turn before you die to inevitability. You need a LOT of life gain to beat burn, and you also need for them to not draw skullcracks and flames of the blood hand.
As for other decks getting to 8%, those decks are much more interactive than burn. Burn also isn't at 8%, it's at over 12% of the online meta (there are a lot of burn variants that dont get accounted for in the mono red burn category on mtg goldfish).
I'm not suggesting anything from burn should be banned, but if we're asking what's wrong with the metagame, then burn being over 12% of the online meta IS a problem, especially given how boring and annoying of a deck it is to play with or against.
Burn is weak to counterspell-based Control. For example, in Blue Moon I can just counter and remove until I land a Keranos or Batterskull. It is almost goldfishing.
That's only the case if the burn player is a terrible player. Any good player knows to save up multiple spells at a time. You can't just counter every thing.
I feel like there will be no changes to the ban list this time. With the introduction of the fetchlands, I think that will shake up the metagame plenty. Still though, I would like to see GGT, sword or AV unbanned as well.
This leaves me with 8 flex spots in the maindeck. The sideboard is working absolutely perfectly.
Cards i consider for the 8 flex spots:
2xPeek
Information and cheap cantrip for hitting lands and great snapcaster target.
2xVendilion Clique
Great beater but has lost some of its value due to the rise if Lingering Souls. Still very good against combo decks and blue based control decks.
4xSpreading Seas
To me it seems only useful when played as a 4-of because 1-2 are too random. Pretty good card against BGx especially in combination with Blood Moon from the board. If i choose to play them i have to swap the Explosives from the sideboard for Anger of the Gods
2xSpell Snare
I Love this card in the combo (storm, scapeshift, mono-g) and control matchups as well as against Affinity. It also has some use against BGx in hitting goyf, bob, ooze etc. But its a very bad topdeck when both players are in topdeck mode.
2xFlame Slash
Pretty useful against Zoo, Pod etc. And oftentimes my only out against Tarmogoyf
2xVedalken Shackles
Seems awesome against Pod and BGx (which seem to be my worst matchups) but really mana intensive and im afraid of Abrupt Decay
2 more Grim Lavamancer
Awesome in many, many matchups (esp. Pod and BGx) but im afraid with 4 of them i will be too graveyard reliant especially with the 2 relics in the board, so i think 2 is the right number.
I have a GPT on saturday, so please help me perfecting my deck
I would also reaaally appreciate some tips on how to board and play against BGw. I seem to never win against this deck.
I actually play the exact same 52 card skeleton. This is the rest of my deck
2x Peek
2x Dispel
1x Island
1x Kiki-Kiki
1x Electrolyze
1x Flame Slash
We're drifting into the wrong topic here. If you all want to talk about Counterspell in Modern there is a separate topic for that. I'd rather have an unban of Sword or AV to help out control. I think Sword would be better since it wouldn't just slot right into UWR like AV would. And can we please have an unban on GGT for god sakes? It has absolutely no business being on the banned list. It would not make a single difference in the metagame.
For me it works like this:
In the collection tab I right click in the white space between the cards and the scroll bar on the right and choose "Select All", then I click right on the selected cards and choose "Add selected to active trade binder".
Otherwise you can hold Ctrl and left click on the cards you want to add to the trade binder and then right click on one of the selected cards and choose "Add selected to active trade binder".
I'm trying to learn this new awful client and the simplest things have become ridiculously hard to figure out. In the last client it took like 2 clicks to make every card in my collection tradeable. Now, the only way I'm seeing is to double click on every single individual card to make it tradeable. I can't even select all and drag them down. For some reason strange reason, the programmers decided not to make it easy like that? So, any one found out how to make multiple cards tradeable at once?
I'm still thinking that GGT and Sword are the safest to unban right now. I think Storm is at a fine place right now and there's no need to mess with it until it either gets out of hand or is a dead deck. It would be nice to have Seething Song back but I think it would need a swap ban like PiF, PA, or the goblin.
So I plan on buying Goyfs soon so that I can switch to RUG twin. I've been using Pat Dickmann's latest list as a template. What changes does every one here agree on for the maindeck? It seems like every one agrees that Scuze should be replaced. Is this just because he was expecting a high amount of Pod at the PT? What should Scuze be replaced with? I was thinking 1 Thrun and 1 Clique. Does Scuze still belong in the SB? And I've also notice a lot of people playing Keronos? Is this just brought in against control?
Hey there, i need your help with boarding against my brothers decks, which are mono-red-burn and living end. He plays a list of 4x Goblin Guide and 4x Eidolon of the Great Revel and 4xshrine of burning ragealongside the usual burn including 4x Skullcrack and 4x Flames of the blood Hand
The Living End deck is a standard list but with 4x Llanowar Wastes instead of the fetchlands. (So maybe a little bit more suspectible to Blood Moon?)
I usually take out 4 Remand, 2 Vendilion Clique and bring in 2 Dispel, 2 Negate, 2 Batterskull
He brings in 2 Combust and a playset of Molten Rain against me.
I usually take out 2 Spell Snare, 4 Lightning Bolt and bring in 2 Negate, 2 Dispel, 2 Relic of Progenitus.
He brings in 2 Ricochet Trap, 2 Sudden Death, 2 Krosan Grip against me.
I hope you can help me perfect my sideboarding plan.
For burn i'd do
-4 remand
-2 cryptic
-2 Twin
+2 Dispel
+2 Negate
+2 Batterskull
+2 Ancient Grudge
Obviously Remand is terrible against burn because of his low curve, Cryptic is just too slow and will generally lose you tempo since you will probably be countering a 2 mana spell. You side out twin because you really don't want multiple Twins in your hand but if it gets to the late game, you should easily be able to draw into one. He will also be siding in better removal for your combo so it will be difficult to go for it quickly. Your plan is just to stablize until he is out gas or until you draw into batterskull because that should pretty much end it if you're at a high enough life total when you play it.
Living end should be a cakewalk, in all honesty. Your combo is faster, more resiliant, and you have game against his combo with remands and Cryptic. He also doesn't have a good plan B against you. I'd SB like this.
-2 Grim Lavamancer
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Flame Slash
+1 Dispel (just for Beast Within, he has no other instants for you to worry about)
+2 Negate
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Blood Moon really does nothing against Living end if they are smart. Batterskull might be okay to side in but I just don't like tapping out against Living End. Just be patient with the matchup because it will be long and grindy most likely. Don't tap out if he has 3 mana available and make sure you don't keep low land hands since playing against living end is like playing against a land destruction deck some times.
Just unbanning GGT would do nothing. According to dredgevine players here they wouldn't even play it. I think GGT and Sword are by far the safest cards to come off.
Add Ancestral Vision to the list too. Blue is supposed the be the card drawing color the last time I checked so I dont get why the card is still there. It is not like it would help combo that much. Waiting four turns is not what they want to do. Ponder and Preordain are the actual cards that would help U/x combo decks.
While I agree that Av would be safe and would love to have it in the format, it is stronger than GGT and Sword of the Meek. Also, it would merely boost existing control decks, not create new ones.
Edit: Except for maybe UB Control. An AV unban would help make that a deck.
Agreed. AV would be safe too but I don't see wotc unbanning more than two cards at once. I also think it would be nice if we got allied fetches along with AV so that other forms of U/x control can work. Right now UWr would just get better but if we had allied fetches than Esper and Grixis could also work.
Just unbanning GGT would do nothing. According to dredgevine players here they wouldn't even play it. I think GGT and Sword are by far the safest cards to come off.
Every one knows what those are by now. The new names are just awful and I will not be using them. RUG, BUG, Junk, American/French, and Dega are just fine.
If it was up to me I would unban GGT and Sword of the Meek. GGT because it will do nothing and Sword because it might give us another control deck. I really don't see the combo being much more threatening to aggro than Snapcasting back several lightning Helix's each game. It's also a much weaker combo than we already have in Splinter Twin, Kiki, or Melira combo.
That's only the case if the burn player is a terrible player. Any good player knows to save up multiple spells at a time. You can't just counter every thing.
I actually play the exact same 52 card skeleton. This is the rest of my deck
2x Peek
2x Dispel
1x Island
1x Kiki-Kiki
1x Electrolyze
1x Flame Slash
Yeah I tried that. It's not working
Edit: Nvm, just looked it up, the deck I found was around $240. I guess it went up quite a bit from when I bought it.
Thanks for the help
For burn i'd do
-4 remand
-2 cryptic
-2 Twin
+2 Dispel
+2 Negate
+2 Batterskull
+2 Ancient Grudge
Obviously Remand is terrible against burn because of his low curve, Cryptic is just too slow and will generally lose you tempo since you will probably be countering a 2 mana spell. You side out twin because you really don't want multiple Twins in your hand but if it gets to the late game, you should easily be able to draw into one. He will also be siding in better removal for your combo so it will be difficult to go for it quickly. Your plan is just to stablize until he is out gas or until you draw into batterskull because that should pretty much end it if you're at a high enough life total when you play it.
Living end should be a cakewalk, in all honesty. Your combo is faster, more resiliant, and you have game against his combo with remands and Cryptic. He also doesn't have a good plan B against you. I'd SB like this.
-2 Grim Lavamancer
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Flame Slash
+1 Dispel (just for Beast Within, he has no other instants for you to worry about)
+2 Negate
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Blood Moon really does nothing against Living end if they are smart. Batterskull might be okay to side in but I just don't like tapping out against Living End. Just be patient with the matchup because it will be long and grindy most likely. Don't tap out if he has 3 mana available and make sure you don't keep low land hands since playing against living end is like playing against a land destruction deck some times.
Agreed. AV would be safe too but I don't see wotc unbanning more than two cards at once. I also think it would be nice if we got allied fetches along with AV so that other forms of U/x control can work. Right now UWr would just get better but if we had allied fetches than Esper and Grixis could also work.