Uncommon Death and Taxes Splashes
What are the uncommon Death And Taxes splashes?
The uncommon splashes are , , and tri-color (, , ) builds. They aren't listed in the primer post because they don't have consistent competitive results. However, these splashes can still be successful on a local level, and they are often-requested topics for discussion.
If you want to build one of these decks, don't worry, you're not alone! That's what this non-primer section is here for!
Why do we need this section?
Because people ask for it! Really!
Modern Death and Taxes is an aggro-control deck that can be custom built to suit any pilot's personal tastes and his or her metagame. Relative to most other decks, Modern Death and Taxes has a small core, which means that the decks have a lot of flexible slots for customization.
Many people enjoy piloting the uncommon splashes, but without consistent competitive results, these decks can't be included in the primer post. There has been much discussion about including them in the primer post, but the primer has been reserved to inform competitive players of recent competitive results.
As a result, this is the not-a-primer for uncommon splashes!
What if my favorite color combination isn't represented?
I'm hoping that this section will eventually include all of the color combinations listed above. Unfortunately, primers do take time to write, and I can be a pretty busy guy. If you have experience piloting an uncommon splash and would like to make a contribution to this post, please PM and I'll see what I can do. Much like Catmix in the primer above, my job is to try and present a lot of information in a clear and concise manner, and I have to make design decisions accordingly.
Please be patient. Please be helpful. And please play Death and Taxes!
WU Death and Taxes
What advantages does WU have?
WU gives Death and Taxes access to better card draw and stronger tempo elements.
Traditional Death and Taxes relies on Thalia and Leonin Arbiter to generate virtual card advantage over our opponents. If your opponent can't pay its mana cost, the card might as well not be there! But unlike other D&T variants, WU D&T also generates normal card advantage using blue card draw and several other options uniquely useful to D&T.
WU can also be built to incorporate some of the strongest tempo elements of any D&T build. WU "Death & Tempo" has access to both extremely fast clocks and strong board disruption.
What disadvantages does WU have?
WU D&T needs a win condition.
Although this deck has fast clocks, Geist of Saint Traft is vulnerable to almost any chump blocker, and Skaab Ruinator is usually a singleton because it's terrible in multiples. WU D&T can frequently lock down a board, but then find itself unable to push through for damage. You can hold a lot of decks at bay with strong disruption, but many of the disruptive creatures and taxers are 1/x and 2/x with no evasion.
This may change with some of the new cards in Eldritch Moon, because evasive threats are exactly what this deck needs. As the threat density of the deck goes up, so will the power of this deck.
What cards are good in WU D&T?
The card choice list is quite extensive, and necessitates the use of a spoiler tag. I’ve tried to list the card choices in rough order of their popularity in each function category. For example, in the “Additional Taxes and Control Elements” section, Judge's Familiar (listed as (1)), sees more play than Glen Elendra Archmage (listed as (5)). It’s only a rule of thumb, though, and doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be playing the Familiar instead of the Archmage.
Keep in mind that the card choice list is really just to show people that certain cards have been discussed and evaluated, and to illustrate some strengths and weaknesses of each. Several cards have also been omitted, because they aren’t frequently discussed and almost never see play.
Enjoy!
Additional Taxes and Control Elements
1) Judge's Familiar. Occasionally spotted in mono-white D&T, it's easy to forget that this is actually a blue card too. Judge's Familiar makes the Thalia tax that much worse. T1 Judge's Familiar, followed by T2 Thalia, is a really bad day for a lot of decks. There's nothing better than watching your opponent try to play around a potential counterspell, while it swings in the air for damage. Unless, of course, it’s also wearing some equipment.
2) Vendilion Clique. Anyone who has played with this card knows that it's brutal. It takes your opponent's best card during his or her draw step, combat step, or end step, and then swings in the air for 3. It's an excellent flicker target, and recently got a major boost with the addition of Eldrazi Displacer. JtMS and Lantern Control are proof that fatesealing is good, and Vendilion Clique with an Eldrazi Displacer allows you to do something very similar during your opponent's draw step.
3) Spell Queller. The new hotness. It's unclear if this is the missing piece WU D&T needs, but it's clear that this card is strong. There are a lot of reasons to use it, but the most important ones are that Spell Queller is disruption with both legs and evasion.
In many situations, the text on this card will read "Flash, Flying, Counter target spell with CMC 4 or less". It's pure value in a tempo deck, and it's almost a better Mana Leak.
Critics will be quick to point out that this only delays a problem, rather than stop it. That's true, but Spell Queller is never card disadvantage. It trades 1-for-1 with most relevant spells (like Inquisition of Kozilek does), and if your opponent wants that spell back, he or she has to spend another card to get back their original one.
But Spell Queller actually gets even better than that for two reasons: first, it's templated for abuse with Flickerwisp. In other words, it's templated like Fiend Hunter rather than Banisher Priest. If you flicker Spell Queller while its first ability is on the stack, your opponent will never get the chance to play the exiled spell. However, this usually only works with Flickerwisp. Because Spell Queller is required to target a spell (it's not a "may" ability), if it returns to the battlefield before the spell you originally targeted has resolved, then you will be required to target that spell again (unless there is more than one spell on the stack).
And second, Spell Queller is built for tempo gains. Imagine your opponent tries to cast a noncreature spell through the Thalia tax. For example, he or she tries to play Kozilek's Return to try and wipe the board. That spell would ordinarily cost 3 mana, but now it costs 4. You play Spell Queller and exile the spell. Now your opponent has to spend another card removing the Spell Queller (which also probably costs more thanks to Thalia), and even when he or she does, the "free" spell still costs 1 mana, because the Thalia tax applies again. If you've ever used Vryn Wingmare in addition to Thalia against Living End, you know how valuable tempo gains can be. With a Thalia and a Wingmare on the battlefield, it takes 7 mana for Living End to go off, rather than 3. With a Thalia and a Spell Queller, it also takes at least 7 extra mana to go off (with the caveat that the mana can be paid over 2 different turns); 4 to play a cascade spell, 1 to play Living End, 1 to Slaughter Pact the Spell Queller that exiled the Living End, and then 1 to play the Living End again.
Critics will be quick to point out that this only delays a problem, rather than stop it. That's true, but Spell Queller is never card disadvantage. It trades 1-for-1 with most relevant spells (like Inquisition of Kozilek does), and if your opponent wants that spell back, he or she has to spend another card to get back their original one.
But Spell Queller actually gets even better than that for two reasons: first, it's templated for abuse with Flickerwisp. In other words, it's templated like Fiend Hunter rather than Banisher Priest. If you flicker Spell Queller while its first ability is on the stack, your opponent will never get the chance to play the exiled spell. However, this usually only works with Flickerwisp. Because Spell Queller is required to target a spell (it's not a "may" ability), if it returns to the battlefield before the spell you originally targeted has resolved, then you will be required to target that spell again (unless there is more than one spell on the stack).
And second, Spell Queller is built for tempo gains. Imagine your opponent tries to cast a noncreature spell through the Thalia tax. For example, he or she tries to play Kozilek's Return to try and wipe the board. That spell would ordinarily cost 3 mana, but now it costs 4. You play Spell Queller and exile the spell. Now your opponent has to spend another card removing the Spell Queller (which also probably costs more thanks to Thalia), and even when he or she does, the "free" spell still costs 1 mana, because the Thalia tax applies again. If you've ever used Vryn Wingmare in addition to Thalia against Living End, you know how valuable tempo gains can be. With a Thalia and a Wingmare on the battlefield, it takes 7 mana for Living End to go off, rather than 3. With a Thalia and a Spell Queller, it also takes at least 7 extra mana to go off (with the caveat that the mana can be paid over 2 different turns); 4 to play a cascade spell, 1 to play Living End, 1 to Slaughter Pact the Spell Queller that exiled the Living End, and then 1 to play the Living End again.
4) Meddling Mage. This card is extremely meta-dependent, and playing it in a competitive scene will require extensive knowledge of Modern as a format. It plays very much like Cabal Therapy does in Legacy: you don’t usually want to name a card in the dark, and if it looks like your opponent is about to win, you always name his or her win condition.
Against combo decks like Ad Nauseam or Scapeshift, Meddling Mage can buy you a few extra turns. But against competitive homebrews, it becomes a bear because it's unlikely that you know what to name.
In order for Meddling Mage to be useful, it has to hit at least one card in your opponent’s hand. If you hit no cards, Meddling Mage is essentially card advantage for your opponent. If you hit one card, then Meddling Mage is 1-for-1 removal. If you hit more than one card, Meddling Mage becomes card advantage.
The trick to using Meddling Mage is knowing what is in your opponent’s hand. Luckily, WU has two good ways to do that. And if you want to go Esper (WUB), you get even more options to increase your hit percentage.
In general, I think Meddling Mage belongs in your sideboard, but if your deck is filled with Peek effects, then it’s got some potential for the maindeck. Also see the Voidmage Prodigy package section, listed below.In order for Meddling Mage to be useful, it has to hit at least one card in your opponent’s hand. If you hit no cards, Meddling Mage is essentially card advantage for your opponent. If you hit one card, then Meddling Mage is 1-for-1 removal. If you hit more than one card, Meddling Mage becomes card advantage.
The trick to using Meddling Mage is knowing what is in your opponent’s hand. Luckily, WU has two good ways to do that. And if you want to go Esper (WUB), you get even more options to increase your hit percentage.
5) Glen Elendra Archmage. 4 mana can be tough to reach with this deck, but Glen Elendra Archmage can do a lot of work once it hits the battlefield. It's a hard counter for all noncreature spells, and can easily be reset by Flickerwisp, Restoration Angel, and Eldrazi Displacer. It also has excellent synergy with Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, allowing you to reset the Archmage without paying any additional mana. Personally, I find Glen Elendra Archmage to be a little slow, but it does a good job of locking out decks that depend on noncreature spells. It's probably best in the board, but it does have matchups where it shines.
6) Voidmage Prodigy. See the Voidmage Prodigy package section, listed below.
7) Captain of the Mists. It may not be Rishadan Port, but if you land this on turn 3 or 4, Captain of the Mists can punish greedy manabases. Plus, there can be a bunch of humans in D&T builds, so if you vial them in, you might be able to get multiple activations out of Captain of the Mists in a single turn. It's slow at what it does though, and it fails the Bolt test pretty badly. I've never seen this card actually make a final cut, but it's worth mentioning because it provides a unique mana sink that taps down lands.
8) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. Generally, this card is one turn too slow to be useful; it would be much more playable at a 3 CMC. However, for the sake of completeness, I’m listing it here. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is a good card, especially in combination with Thalia and Vryn Wingmare. But typically you’ve either won or lost the game by the time his effect becomes relevant.
Tempo Elements
1) Reflector Mage. Not only does Reflector Mage return a creature to your opponent’s hand, but it also prevents your opponent from replaying that creature next turn. In other words, it not only creates a tempo advantage, but Reflector Mage also buys you time to use it. Compare this card to something like Æther Adept, and it’s easy to see why Reflector Mage is better at what it does. It also plays really nicely with flicker effects, including Eldrazi Displacer (the combination of which can usually hold several creatures at bay).
2) Vapor Snag. I know what you’re thinking: Vapor Snag isn’t a creature. You’re right, but a well-timed Vapor Snag can buy you a lot of tempo. It doesn’t play nicely with Thalia, but it can open some pretty big doors for an alpha strike, especially when paired with something like Geist of Saint Traft. If you’re building Death & Tempo, Vapor Snag card does a surprising amount of work, even if it costs you a card.
3) Lyev Skyknight. Depending on what you need, Lyev Skyknight is a slightly worse Flickerwisp. It’s worse because it can’t be used to save your own creatures from removal, it doesn’t generate extra value out of “enters the battlefield” effects, and it can’t hit your opponents’ lands. However, Flickerwisp is arguably the best card in our deck, so saying Lyev Skyknight is worse than that doesn’t say much. Historically, this card was more useful when Birthing Pod was the dominant deck in Modern, because it prevented your opponent from being able to activate Birthing Pod on their next turn. Lyev Skyknight does a similar thing against planeswalkers, and it can tie up a Liliana of the Veil really well, especially given that next turn, Lyev Skyknight will also swing in the air for 3 damage. Generally speaking, Lyev Skyknight allows you to run 1-2 extra copies of a Flickerwisp-like effect, which can be really useful.
4) Snapcaster Mage. Snapcaster Mage is an interesting option for our deck. It generates an enormous amount of value, but the Death & Tempo builds really need it to be paired with 1 CMC instants and sorceries like Vapor Snag and Path to Exile. The reason for that is pretty simple: we don’t run many lands, and we often sacrifice the ones that we play. The biggest two downsides to playing Snapcaster Mage are that we don’t typically run a high density of instants and sorceries, and that the Thalia tax is much harder to pay for when you also have to pay for a Snapcaster Mage. It may have one of the best “enters the battlefield” triggers in Modern, but Snapcaster Mage is essentially useless in our deck without a Path to Exile or Vapor Snag in the graveyard.
5) Venser, Shaper Savant. Venser, Shaper Savant is pure tempo, but it often feels like a win-more. Most of the time, you’ve either won or lost the game by the time its effect becomes relevant. However, I don’t know if any significant testing has been done with this card since Eldrazi Displacer became a card. It might be worth revisiting, but it’s probably going to be less consistent than some of the other options available in blue.
6) Remand. I’ve never seen Remand make the final cut of a Death and Taxes deck, but it’s still worth mentioning for all of the tempo that it generates. If it’s T4, you have a Geist of Saint Traft on board, and your opponent on Tron thinks that he or she will play Kozilek’s Return at the end of your first main phase, then things are about to get ugly. It’s not hard to see how Remand generates value, but it is hard to play through the Thalia tax, and it loses some of its potency without Snapcaster Mage. I’ve seen some lists cut Thalia altogether and just run a suite of instants and sorceries alongside Snapcaster Mage and flicker effects, but be prepared to rethink the core of the deck if you need to cut Thalia.
Aggressive Choices
1) Geist of Saint Traft. For a lot of players, Geist of Saint Traft is one of the best reasons to play the blue splash. It’s got evasion, can be played using a Vial on 3, and in most cases, it’s a 3 turn clock. The problem is that it can be easily chump blocked by almost anything, including many of the 1-drops in Modern. There are several interesting options for protecting GoST, but it definitely requires some support. If you want to run this, you’re almost certainly going to need cards that tie up opponents’ blockers.
2) Skaab Ruinator. Skaab Ruinator is a pretty good thing to vial in, and nobody ever expects it or wants to be sitting across from it. Plus, you can cast it from a graveyard, which does get nice. Don't expect to be able to recur this card more than twice in a single game though (and twice is probably a stretch). Skaab Ruinator can steal some games you have no business winning, but it can also sit as a dead card in your hand if you don’t have an active Æther Vial. If you want to run it, I’d recommend having 1-2 copies.
3) Thassa, God of the Sea. Admittedly, Thassa is a very atypical aggressive option, given that it’s almost always an enchantment. However, it does two things that D&T needs: it fixes draws, and it pushes in damage. You can still vial this in, because it’s always a creature in every zone except when it’s on the battlefield. The indestructability is a nice touch too, it can’t get Path to Exile’d unless it’s a creature. The problem is that it doesn’t usually win games on its own. This card is lackluster against aggressive decks, because it usually can’t attack or block. However, it can be a viable option against decks that like to clutter up the board. It works better when the metagame is slower.
4) Venser, the Sojourner. Much like Thassa, Venser is an atypical aggressive option. The downsides are obvious: it costs 5 mana (6 through the Thalia tax) and it can’t do anything on an empty board. However, the upsides are also obvious: it either flickers one permanent of yours per turn for free (giving you extra golem tokens, life gain, or powerful Flickerwisps), makes your creatures unblockable, or gives you an emblem that allows you to exile problematic permanents. Venser, the Sojourner is basically a skeleton key against most decks; it just costs a lot of mana and sits in your hand for a while. It’s worth noting that, although expensive, casting Venser, the Sojourner through the Thalia tax requires the same number of lands as activating and using a Celestial Colonnade (they both require 6 total mana). I’ve never seen Venser, the Sojourner make the final cut of a Death and Taxes build, but it’s definitely a card that the deck would like to have access to. If you play it, it should probably go in the sideboard, and only come out in really slow matchups.
Card Draw
1) Ephara, God of the Polis. Ephara, God of the Polis is another card where the downsides are obvious: it costs 4 mana and it doesn’t immediately impact the board state. However, the upsides are actually pretty extensive. Not only does Ephara trigger for all of the creatures that enter the battlefield during your turn, but it also triggers when you vial something in on your opponent's turn or you activate Moorland Haunt on your opponent’s turn. Ephara gives you access to a consistent source of card advantage, although you probably shouldn’t be running more than two copies of it because of the legend rule. Ephara works best in grindy matchups, because it inevitably gains you an incremental advantage over a long period of time. It’s not going to be useful against aggressive decks like Burn or Affinity, because you won’t have time that you need in order to set up the engine.
2) Ancestral Vision. Ancestral Vision has finally come off the ban list, and it’s officially done very little to the format. I’ve never seen it been run in a WU list, but I’m convinced that it has untapped potential for our deck. Yes, it’s a terrible late-game topdeck, but so is Æther Vial and we run it anyway. Ancestral Vision helps smooth out our curve by being a 1-drop, and if it resolves, it nets you 2 cards 4 turns later. That might sound anticlimactic, but our deck was built to slow our opponents down. If anyone can survive 4 turns, it’s us. Unlike Judge's Familiar, Ancestral Vision is pretty awkward with Æther Vial because you can’t use Æther Vial to sneak it into play. I think the best way to squeeze this card into a WU Death and Taxes decklist is to count the number of Æther Vials that you would like to be able to play, subtract the 4 that you will play, and make the rest of the slots Ancestral Visions. If someone tests this, please let me know how it works out.
3) Serum Visions. Serum Visions doesn't often make the final cut, but it's a reasonable 1-drop for the blue splash. It cantrips and allows you to scry 2, which isn't a bad way to fix the top of your deck. Without a Snapcaster Mage it won't be considered a source of card advantage, but the digging can be an effective way to find what you need.
4) Mulldrifter. I’m sure that some of you are laughing at the thought of playing Mulldrifter, but in the right list it can be quite powerful. The key is that you almost always play it using the evoke ability, and then with the sacrifice trigger on the stack, you flicker it. That sequence actually nets you 3 total cards in hand (2 if you have to cast a Flickerwisp or Restoration Angel) and a 2/2 flier. But Mulldrifter can be a risky thing to have in a list, because on its own, it’s just a Divination. Generally speaking, Mulldrifter can do a lot of work in flicker-heavy lists, but be prepared to pack support for it.
5) Gitaxian Probe. Although not commonly used in this deck, Gitaxian Probe can have a surprising amount of synergy with some of our cards. It not only replaces itself, but it also sets you up to use cards like Meddling Mage or Spell Queller. There's something to be said for operating with perfect information; it's why your opponents write down the contents of your hand when they Thoughtseize you. Gitaxian Probe is your chance to fight fire with fire.
6) Jace's Archivist. For those of you that don’t play Legacy, Windfall is banned. However, Windfall with legs is legal in almost every format, including Modern. Death and Taxes often struggles to refill its hand, and Jace's Archivist is pure card advantage as long as you have fewer cards than your opponent. Generally speaking, this card doesn’t see play for three reasons: first, if you’re playing against aggro, your opponent probably has just as few cards in his or her hand as you do. Second, if you’re playing against combo, activating Jace’s Archivist allows your opponent to dig for their win condition. And third, if you’re playing against control, Jace’s Archivist is just a lightning rod. However, this card is worth knowing about in case you play maindeck Spellskites and have a slow metagame, or you run Spirit of the Labyrinth (see the Spirit of the Labyrinth package section below).
Land Choices
1) Seachrome Coast. If it's not obvious, the Scars of Mirrodin fastlands are really good for this deck. It does depend on the build, but if you're heavy on Ghost Quarters, Tectonic Edges, and Horizon Canopies, then the drawback is almost never a problem. If you’re interested in playing WU Death and Taxes, then you’ll probably want a playset of these in your deck.
2) Flooded Strand. Although people occasionally complain about fetchlands being a nonbo with Leonin Arbiter, the upsides of playing fetchlands in this deck are worth the downside risk. Fetchlands fix your mana and allow you to play around Blood Moon. If you ever see a fetchland in your opening hand with a Leonin Arbiter, simply sequence your plays so that you’ve cracked the fetchland by the time the Arbiter enters the battlefield.
3) Hallowed Fountain. There isn’t much to say about the shocklands, other than they’re some of the most consistent fixing in Modern. You can find them off of a Flooded Strand, and you have the option of putting them on the battlefield without paying life (even though you’ll frequently choose to pay it).
4) Moorland Haunt. It was mentioned once already in the card draw section because of its interaction with Ephara, but Moorland Haunt is a pretty good way to get value out of the creatures in your graveyard. Generally speaking, this card turns creatures in the graveyard and bad topdecks into small creatures with evasion that can also chump block for days. It’s versatile and powerful, and that’s why Moorland Haunt is one of the best utility lands for WU Death and Taxes.
5 and 6) Adarkar Wastes and Mystic Gate. These cards are listed together because they’re probably fighting for the same slots in your deck. They both got a small boost after the printing of Eldrazi Displacer, because they provide a consistent source colorless mana while still fixing your colored mana. They’re both vulnerable to the same nonbasic land hate. The primary difference between these cards, is how they fix your mana. Adarkar Wastes provides access to colored mana on T1, which is important if you need to play 1-drops on the curve, but it will hurt your life total at various times throughout the game. By contrast, Mystic Gate can turn a basic Plains into . That doesn’t sound like much, but if your deck is running cards that are two deep in blue, then it will be important. At the risk of oversimplifying the analysis, Adarkar Wastes is better for fixing your mana early, but Mystic Gate is better for fixing your mana late. It’s also worth noting that if you only have one land in hand, Adarkar Wastes is bad, but Mystic Gate is a disaster.
7) Celestial Colonnade. Some players splash blue only to be able to play this card. In fact, that was the original microsplash Wu Death and Taxes; it was mono-white with a small blue splash to support Celestial Colonnades. That ends up being pretty consistent plan, because the deck is still mostly one color, and it gives you a nice evasive win condition at the end of the game. But it can be difficult to get to six total lands, especially when you're activating Ghost Quarters, Tectonic Edges, and Horizon Canopies all day long. I haven’t seen Celestial Colonnade make the final cut of a Death and Taxes deck since the card became a small fortune to buy, but I think that has more to do with the prevalence of fast metagames than the price of the card.
8) Minamo, School at Water's Edge. This card does two things: it gives one of your legendary creatures almost-vigilance, and it’s the Modern Karakas. The almost-vigilance is pretty self-explanatory, but the comparison to Karakas probably warrants some explanation. For those of you that don’t play Legacy, Death and Taxes was originally a Legacy deck. For a long time, one of its key interactions was Mangara of Corondor and Karakas. If you activate Karakas targeting Mangara while Mangara’s ability is on the stack, then Mangara is returned to your hand while the permanent you targeted with its ability is permanently exiled. It can be a brutal, recurrable form of land and board destruction. In Modern, Minamo actually does something similar. If you activate Minamo targeting Mangara while Mangara’s ability is on the stack, then Mangara can target something else before it gets exiled, hitting two permanents instead of one. Of course, the best thing that you can do is perform the same trick and follow it up by flickering Mangara before it resolves, but the point is that Minamo is just another way to help certain permanents abuse the stack.
9 and 10) Mikokoro, Center of the Sea and Geier Reach Sanitarium. Both of these cards are in here for the same reason: they are colorless, instant-speed card draw or filtering, and they can be exploited by having a Spirit of the Labyrinth on the battlefield. For a full description of their uses, see the Spirit of the Labyrinth package section below.
WU Specialty Packages
Named after an individual card, specialty packages are groups of cards that get better as you build your deck around them. They require more of your flex slots, and can sometimes start to take over the core of your deck. However, they have powerful internal synergies that make them worth considering as playable options.
1) The Spirit of the Labyrinth package. Spirit of the Labyrinth prevents any player from drawing more than one card per turn, which means that symmetric draw effects are no longer symmetric if they’re played or activated during your opponent’s turn. Although several components to this package can be played in mono-white Death and Taxes, WU gives you access to a few other notable symmetric draw options.
With a Spirit of the Labyrinth in play, the following interactions are possible:
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea: Activate this on your opponent’s turn after his or her draw for the turn. You will draw a card, but your opponent won’t.
Geier Reach Sanitarium: If your opponent has no cards in hand during his or her upkeep, you can activate Geier Reach Sanitarium forcing him or her to mill one card, and then he or she won’t draw a card for the turn. Alternatively, if your opponent has one card in his or her hand after his or her draw step, you can activate Geier Reach Sanitarium to force him or her to discard it.
Vendilion Clique: If you play or flicker this card during your opponent’s turn after his or her draw step, he or she will have to put a card of your choice from his or her hand on to the bottom of his or her library, without being able to draw a card as a replacement.
Dakra Mystic: If you activate this on your opponent’s turn, then you will have a choice to make. If your opponent reveals a threat, you can send it to the bottom of his or her library. If your opponent doesn’t reveal a threat, then only you will draw a card.
Jace's Archivist: If you activate this on your opponent’s turn after he or she draws a card, both you and your opponent will discard your hands, but only you will draw a card.
Temple Bell: The effect is the same as Mikokoro above. You should activate this on your opponent’s turn after his or her draw for the turn. If you do, then you will draw a card, but your opponent won’t.
Lore Broker: The effect is the same as Geier Reach Sanitarium above. If your opponent has no cards in hand during his or her upkeep, you can activate Lore Broker forcing him or her to mill one card, and then he or she won’t draw a card for the turn. Alternatively, if your opponent has one card in his or her hand after his or her draw step, you can activate Lore Broker to force him or her to discard it.
Notion Thief: If you’re in Esper rather than WU, this is the other half of the Spirit of the Labyrinth package. Not only does Notion Thief have flash, but with the aforementioned cards, you will draw instead of your opponent, every single time.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea: Activate this on your opponent’s turn after his or her draw for the turn. You will draw a card, but your opponent won’t.
Geier Reach Sanitarium: If your opponent has no cards in hand during his or her upkeep, you can activate Geier Reach Sanitarium forcing him or her to mill one card, and then he or she won’t draw a card for the turn. Alternatively, if your opponent has one card in his or her hand after his or her draw step, you can activate Geier Reach Sanitarium to force him or her to discard it.
Vendilion Clique: If you play or flicker this card during your opponent’s turn after his or her draw step, he or she will have to put a card of your choice from his or her hand on to the bottom of his or her library, without being able to draw a card as a replacement.
Dakra Mystic: If you activate this on your opponent’s turn, then you will have a choice to make. If your opponent reveals a threat, you can send it to the bottom of his or her library. If your opponent doesn’t reveal a threat, then only you will draw a card.
Jace's Archivist: If you activate this on your opponent’s turn after he or she draws a card, both you and your opponent will discard your hands, but only you will draw a card.
Temple Bell: The effect is the same as Mikokoro above. You should activate this on your opponent’s turn after his or her draw for the turn. If you do, then you will draw a card, but your opponent won’t.
Lore Broker: The effect is the same as Geier Reach Sanitarium above. If your opponent has no cards in hand during his or her upkeep, you can activate Lore Broker forcing him or her to mill one card, and then he or she won’t draw a card for the turn. Alternatively, if your opponent has one card in his or her hand after his or her draw step, you can activate Lore Broker to force him or her to discard it.
Notion Thief: If you’re in Esper rather than WU, this is the other half of the Spirit of the Labyrinth package. Not only does Notion Thief have flash, but with the aforementioned cards, you will draw instead of your opponent, every single time.
2) The Hero’s Blade package. Known as WU Blade and Taxes, this package runs a lot of legendary creatures in order to take full advantage of Hero’s Blade. If you though Thalia was good as a 2-1 first striker, then you’ll be amazed at how good she is as a 5/3 first striker that comes in on turn 3. Hero’s Blade is a really strong card to see in multiples, because multiple Blades can be attached to a single creature. Hero’s Blade also triggers when you flicker a legendary creature, giving you the opportunity to equip to creatures that are already on the battlefield without having to pay multiple equip costs. Here are some of the legendary creatures that WU D&T has access to: Thalia (old), Thalia (new), Brimaz, Geist of Saint Traft, Vendilion Clique, Anafenza, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Mangara, Kytheon, Linvala, Isamaru, Daxos, Venser, Oriss, and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV.
3) The Voidmage Prodigy package. Voidmage Prodigy requires a relatively heavy investment into blue mana sources, but WU Death and Taxes can potentially run a bunch of wizards. In no particular order, some of them are: Meddling Mage, Aven Mincensor, Dakra Mystic, Vendilion Clique, Venser, Shaper Savant, Jace's Archivist, Glen Elendra Archmage, Captain of the Mists, and Snapcaster Mage. The beauty of Voidmage Prodigy is that doesn’t need to tap in order to activate its ability. When paired with a Spellskite, Voidmage Prodigy can be almost impossible to remove, provided you have wizards to sacrifice. Voidmage Prodigy will happily swing for 2 damage every turn while also preventing your opponent from playing relevant spells. It can also be a really devastating surprise off of an Æther Vial , because it can also sacrifice itself to immediately counter a spell.
Cards with Maindeck Potential (But Didn’t Fit Any Other Category)
1) Spellskite. Although it's not technically blue, having access to blue mana makes this lightning rod that much better. Spellskite also stops Boggles and Infect cold. Plus, it protects whatever combo pieces or control elements you may have.
2) Phantasmal Image. It’s hard to talk about Phantasmal Image in a vacuum, because its usefulness depends heavily on the creatures on the battlefield. This card can cause serious blowouts if it copies something devastating, but it can also be stuck in your hand if your opponent wipes the board. If your opponent manages to remove the creature you intended to copy while Phantasmal Image is still on the stack, you may end up having wasted the Image. That’s why it’s often better to put this on the battlefield using an Æther Vial; your opponent won’t have a chance to respond until after the Image is already on the battlefield. It’s also worth mentioning that Spellskite can’t save Phantasmal Image and that Phantasmal Image can’t be flickered, because that sacrifice trigger will end up removing the Image anyway.
3) Phyrexian Metamorph. Although it has fallen out of favor a little bit, Phyrexian Metamorph will not only imitate the creatures on the battlefield, but it will also imitate swords and blades. It’s a little slow, but its versatility makes it worth considering.
4) Azorius Charm. Although it’s probably more relevant in Death & Tempo, it’s not hard to see why Azorius Charm can be useful. Giving the team lifelink may give you just enough reach to steal the game. Being able to cantrip at instant speed will ensure that the card is never dead in your hand. And Time Ebbing an attacker or blocker will likely set your opponent back a turn.
5) Clever Impersonator. Although I’ve never seen it make the final cut of a list, Clever Impersonator is the ultimate Clone. It can copy any nonland permanent on the battlefield, and it can be flickered to change what it’s copying. If you’ve ever dreamt of taking your opponent’s Liliana of the Veil or Karn Liberated, then this is the clone for you. The downsides are its expensive CMC, being two deep in blue, and its dependency on board states. It’s worth trying, but don’t be surprised if it spends a lot of time stuck in your hand.
The Sideboard
1) Hibernation. This is a complete metagame call, but if you find yourself losing to Tarmogoyf and Siege Rhino, then hibernation is one way to slow down the problem. Sure, your opponent will want to re-cast Siege Rhino next turn, but you may have a Meddling Mage naming the Rhino.
2) Echoing Truth. Echoing Truth is a catch-all for troublesome permanents, and it makes quick work of tokens. It can also slow down aggro, or pave the way for an alpha strike. Echoing Truth is versatile, unexpected, and effective at what it does. It’s definitely worth considering.
3) Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. Merfolk decks understand the power of this card, and it’s pretty good for us too. It essentially blanks our opponents’ targeted removal. Unfortunately, it also turns off flickering and equipping. If you run this, be prepared to enter beatdown mode.
4) Detention Sphere. In Modern D&T, this is probably a worse Oblivion Ring (it's worse because the mana cost is harder to reach), but it performs the same stack tricks as Oblivion Ring with a Flickerwisp, and it can hit multiple targets at once.
5) Hurkyl's Recall. I’d rather run something like Stony Silence or Kataki, but Hurkyl's Recall will slow down Affinity for a turn or two.
6) Supreme Verdict. For obvious reasons, this card is highly questionable for our deck. However, if you know you’re going to be the control deck in a certain matchup, then Supreme Verdict can actually win you the game outright. No one ever sees it coming because Death and Taxes is such a creature-heavy deck. And if they see it coming, they probably can't do much to stop it, because most aggro decks have worse control elements than we do. In order to use this card, you’ll have to pace yourself instead of dumping your hand, but the payoff can be worth it.
Could you narrow it down a little?
Sure, no problem.
Generally speaking, there are several types of WU Death and Taxes. The most common ones include:
WU D&T:
Normal WU D&T has a decent mixture of white cards and blue cards, and it doesn’t have any particular subtheme. It looks like a typical two-color deck, and it usually makes room for 5-11 blue mana sources. At least some of its spells will require blue mana in order to be cast.Wu D&T (Microsplash):
The blue microsplash only makes room for a handful of blue cards, and it doesn’t typically rely on needing much (if any) blue mana. You can identify this deck by having 2-8 sort-of-blue cards, and it probably has Engineered Explosives in the sideboard.WU Tempo & Taxes:
Tempo & Taxes is typically characterized by having an emphasis on tempo cards that require blue mana. Geist of Saint Traft is commonly played in this deck as a win condition, and it often runs a few copies of Vapor Snag. Less common options include Remand, Azorius Charm, and Snapcaster Mage, although they can also occasionally see play.WU Blade & Taxes:
Blade & Taxes is easily identifiable by the existence of Hero’s Blade in a Death and Taxes list. Not surprisingly, the deck intentionally runs a lot of legends to take full advantage of the blade.WU Death & Control:
Death & Control puts the “control” in “aggro-control deck”. Frequently identified by the presence of Ephara, Spellskite, Moorland Haunt, and a lot of flicker effects/enters the battlefield triggers. The deck is designed to out-value opponents in the long game, so you’re almost always the control deck in every matchup.WU Eldrazi & Taxes:
Although not nearly as popular as the WB variant that made D&T a Tier 2 deck, WU E&T does exist. Characterized by the presence of Eldrazi Temples and Thought-Knot Seers in a WU D&T shell, ideas for this deck are occasionally kicked around in the thread.What do the decklists look like?
Please note: Several of the decklists provided have not been tested. Listing untested decklists is blasphemy for a primer, and it’s very fortunate that this is not a primer. All of the untested lists have been marked as such, and you should do your own testing before deciding to purchase one of these lists.
WU D&T:
Wu D&T (Microsplash):
WU Tempo & Taxes:
WU Blade & Taxes:
WU Death & Control:
WU Eldrazi & Taxes:
| CharonsObol’s WU D&T (Untested)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Core (15) 4 Aether Vial 4 Path to Exile 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Leonin Arbiter Flicker (6) 4 Flickerwisp 2 Restoration Angel Support and Card Draw (3) 3 Selfless Spirit Additional Taxes and Disruption (13) 1 Phantasmal Image 2 Fiend Hunter 2 Reflector Mage 3 Spell Queller 3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar 2 Vryn Wingmare | Lands (23) 4 Ghost Quarter 3 Tectonic Edge 1 Moorland Haunt 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Flooded Strand 1 Eiganjo Castle 3 Plains 2 Island | Sideboard (15) 3 Rest in Peace 2 Stony Silence 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Spellskite 2 Mirran Crusader 1 Worship 2 Timely Reinforcements 1 Meddling Mage |
Wu D&T (Microsplash):
| SpiderSpace's Wu D&T (Microsplash), 4-1 in an MTGO Modern LeagueMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Core (15) 4 Aether Vial 4 Path to Exile 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Leonin Arbiter Flicker (8) 4 Flickerwisp 3 Restoration Angel 1 Eldrazi Displacer Extra Taxes and Aggro (8) 2 Aven Mindcensor 3 Blade Splicer 2 Mirran Crusader 1 Vryn Wingmare Blue Microsplash (6) 3 Judge’s Familiar 2 Spellskite 1 Ephara, God of the Polis | Lands (23) 4 Ghost Quarter 1 Tectonic Edge 2 Moorland Haunt 2 Mutavault 2 Horizon Canopy 1 Eiganjo Castle 3 Plains 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Flooded Strand 1 Mystic Gate 1 Island | Sideboard (15) 2 Stony Silence 2 Rest in Peace 2 Detention Sphere 1 Hibernation 2 Timely Reinforcements 3 Vryn Wingmare 1 Hallow 2 Sunlance |
WU Tempo & Taxes:
| Spiderspace's WU Tempo & Taxes, 4-1 in an MTGO Modern League (9/13/2016)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Core (18) 4 Aether Vial 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 3 Leonin Arbiter 4 Flickerwisp 4 Path to Exile Support (1) 1 Selfless Spirit Extra Taxes (11) 2 Aven Mindcensor 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar 3 Reflector Mage 4 Spell Queller Flex Slots (7) 1 Vapor Snag 3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy 2 Skaab Ruinator 1 Vendilion Clique | Land (23) 4 Ghost Quarter 2 Tectonic Edge 2 Moorland Haunt 2 Horizon Canopy 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Flooded Strand 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Eiganjo Castle 2 Snow-Covered Plains 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 1 Island | Sideboard 1 Echoing Truth 1 Hibernation 2 Surgical Extraction 3 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Engineered Explosives 2 Spellskite 1 Worship 2 Kor Firewalker 2 Phyrexian Revoker |
WU Blade & Taxes:
| CharonsObol’s WU Blade & Taxes (Untested)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Core (15) 4 Aether Vial 4 Path to Exile 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Leonin Arbiter Flicker (7) 4 Flickerwisp 3 Restoration Angel Support (2) 2 Selfless Spirit Blade and Legend Suite (13) 3 Hero’s Blade 3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar 2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos 2 Geist of Saint Traft 2 Vendilion Clique 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence | Lands (23) 4 Ghost Quarter 2 Tectonic Edge 2 Moorland Haunt 1 Eiganjo Castle 2 Plains 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Flooded Strand 2 Mystic Gate 2 Island | Sideboard (15) 3 Rest in Peace 2 Stony Silence 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Mirran Crusader 2 Spellskite 2 Vryn Wingmare 1 Celestial Purge 1 Timely Reinforcements |
WU Death & Control:
| SpiderSpace's WU Death & Control, 4-1 in an MTGO Modern LeagueMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Core (15) 4 Aether Vial 4 Path to Exile 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Leonin Arbiter Flicker (9) 4 Flickerwisp 3 Restoration Angel 2 Eldrazi Displacer Extra Taxes, Value, and Evasion (10) 2 Serra Avenger 2 Aven Mindcensor 3 Blade Splicer 1 Mangara of Corondor 2 Vryn Wingmare | Blue Splash (3) 2 Spellskite 1 Ephara, God of the Polis Lands (23) 4 Ghost Quarter 3 Tectonic Edge 2 Moorland Haunt 2 Horizon Canopy 1 Eiganjo Castle 3 Plains 4 Seachrome Coast 2 Flooded Strand 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 1 Island | Sideboard (15) 2 Echoing Truth 1 Hibernation 2 Leyline of Sanctity 2 Stony Silence 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Rest in Peace 1 Mark of Asylum 1 Celestial Purge 2 Mirran Crusader |
WU Eldrazi & Taxes:
*Coming Soon*
Acknowledgements
WU D&T
SpiderSpace: SpiderSpace did testing in several MTGO Modern leagues in order to make sure that we had current testing results for the sample decklists section. He also provided a lot of feedback about card choices and sideboard options, and his expertise on the blue splash is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Spider!
Update List
11/6/2016: Reworded the description of Spell Queller's trigger to reflect that it's not a "may" ability. (Thanks, Scytale!)
9/18/2016: New WU Tempo & Taxes list added. (Spiderspace's 4-1 in MTGO Modern League)
7/23/2016: WU D&T mini-primer posted for the first time.
9/18/2016: New WU Tempo & Taxes list added. (Spiderspace's 4-1 in MTGO Modern League)
7/23/2016: WU D&T mini-primer posted for the first time.
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1 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Blade Splicer
4 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Flickerwisp
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
10 Plains
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Shefet Dunes
1 Tectonic Edge
Spells (8)
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Stony Silence
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Dismember
A top 4 finish definitely says something.
With the rest of what he’s playing, I can certainly understand cutting Copter
That said, definitely going to mull over this a bit.
Mirran Crusader in, yes, but I honestly don’t know about Smuggler’s Copter or any of the suggestions made in the later quote.
At this point it’s all theorycrafting and I hate theorycrafting instead of testing and tuning. Past experience tells me I want the maindeck Crusaders and in my sideboard I want some or all of these:
- 3 Auriok Champion
- 3 Leyline of Sanctity
- 3 Lingering Souls
- 2 Runed Halo
I really don’t know beyond Champion. If new Jund plays like old Jund, or new WUx Control plays like old WUx Control; then Champion is backbreaking and it goes beautifully with a maindeck, and possibly also sideboard, Brimaz.I really can’t say until I know what bubbles to the surface.
In the meantime, the question remains: what lessons can we carry over from today’s event and Mr Dykman’s performance to further tune this deck?
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That’s a solid point on non-redundant singletons.Noted, will brainstorm on that matchup, then.
As always, your mileage may vary.
1
Still tinkering with microsplashes, etc. to try to find a balance I like. Still not sure what that is.
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1
I love that, despite swings for unbalanced metas, it ultimately comes back to the same thing when the meta is relatively healthy.Well, since you insist. ;P
I really, really like the Mery list. It's hard to argue with something so brilliantly tuned for the meta that requires significantly fewer play decisions than traditional lists; it's great for the long haul of Opens and GPs.
That said, while I am playing a list unquestionably close to it, I do make a few deviations.
3 Concealed Courtyard
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Godless Shrine
9 Plains
3 Mutavault
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Vault of the Archangel
Creatures (28):
4 Blade Splicer
4 Flickerwisp
3 Mirran Crusader
4 Restoration Angel
2 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Aether Vial
Instants (4):
4 Path to Exile
Sorceries (2):
2 Lingering Souls
3 Auriok Champion
2 Dusk // Dawn
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
- Cavern of Souls: I don't like it here. Willing to admit I may be wrong, though. Still, this slot can be so many other cards that I'm enjoying having here instead.
- Eiganjo Castle: This card is a relic from the days when this deck had a plethora of Legendary creatures and Bolt was the removal of choice. It serves almost no purpose in the current iteration of the deck and opens vulnerability to Blood Moon. I'd rather reserve non-basic slots for more useful cards.
- Horizon Canopy: I don't have them. If I did, I'd play them.
- Tectonic Edge: This isn't a bad card, but it's easily played around and not as game-changing as other available choices.
Creatures:- Phyrexian Revoker: This card has just never worked out for me. It's one of the few cards I keep as an "option", but I just don't feel it in the current meta.
- Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: I feel 4 is overkill and 3 is still plenty of redundancy without risking a handful of unplayable legends.
Artifacts:- Aether Vial: I did quite a write up on the merits of playing 3 instead of 4 in the previous thread. The short version is you're trading a 5% chance of having it in your opener for better later-game draws. With the tweaks I decided to make to the deck I was left with the choice of 4 of these, or 4 Restos, which I feel just plays better.
Sideboard:- Concealed Courtyard: Possibly the best card available to this deck for splashing B. Testing showed more than 4 B sources were necessary, so this was cut down to 3 due to later-game issues.
- Godless Shrine: The other WB land. No more than 2 are necessary. If I require another WB land, I'll add the 4th Courtyard.
- Mutavault: With 4 copies of Blade Splicer in the deck, it's hard not to include potentially First-Striking lands. These both speed up the deck and improve its late game. What's not to like?
- Vault of the Archangel: The first card in the deck to take advantage of the B splash. So many creatures in this deck have First Strike (or Double Strike) that this is virtually a land that taps for a one sided Wrath. Even if it can't be fully exploited in this capacity, it is potentially large-scale, repeatable lifegain.
Creatures:- Mirran Crusader: So yeah, I'm playing 3...in the main deck. My thought is, if I can get away with playing a card that hates on most of the beaters of choice in the meta, why not do it? If the meta swings back to Bolts, 2 Brimaz could work here instead.
- Serra Avenger: See previous. I know that Mery played 2, but Coval did not. I think it's fair to play 2 while still possible. If the meta has too many Bolts, play 2-3 Selfless Spirit instead.
Sorceries:- Lingering Souls: The other reason for the B splash. As Death&Catmix taught us, 2 of these is all it takes to push this deck in matches like old school Jund/Junk and against other would-be midrange/interactive decks. It also makes an easy side out for cards like Grafdigger's and RiP.
Sideboard:1
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Godless Shrine
2 Plains
1 Swamp
Creatures (27)
2 Aven Mindcensor
3 Dryad Militant
2 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Flickerwisp
3 Leonin Arbiter
2 Restoration Angel
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Aether Vial
2 Relic of Progenitus
Instants (4)
4 Path to Exile
Sorceries (2)
2 Lingering Souls
3 Auriok Champion
2 Blessed Alliance
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Stony Silence
2 Surgical Extraction
The truth is it benefits from combining aspects of multiple versions of the deck.
I have benefitted from multiple styles being in the thread and players of multiple styles can benefit from seeing lists like this. Start splitting hairs over differences and that cross-pollination ceases to occur.
Edit: Was too long, shortened to get to the point.
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It doesn't work that way.
Whether you call it D&T, E&T, W/X Flicker, or Bobo the Wonder Snake; all of the decks are built on the same core concepts and fundamental principles. This is why an E&T thread or Spirits&Taxes thread makes no sense to those who know the deck. It would be like calling every different options package of a car by a different model name. It didn't work for Alfa Romeo, and it won't work for us.
In fact, it's exactly this kind of splintering that hurts the deck. Constant renaming and reclassification of the deck has made information gathering and assessment of its meta position nearly impossible.
The best advice for people new to the archetype is to try a traditional white build for a few, then splash, trim, and substitute to your heart's content until you find a build that you feel addresses both the meta and your playstyle.
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I appreciate the potential value of manlands; Shambling Vent used to be one of my favorite cards in the deck, but lately my goal is just increasing pressure via Displacer. I also would rather have my hands tied by CiPT lands as little as possible.I think more credit is due than that. It was the right list for the meta, which is the key to the archetype. It's as much a builder's deck as it is a player's deck. There's a lot of smart things going on here and I agree that much of what we used to rely on Vial for we can now do off the back of other cards. That said, the versatility of mana uses Vial allows is huge in the late game. He's not wrong, but that doesn't make it the universal truth. D&T is possibly the most YMMV deck in Modern. I think the potential for explosive starts on the back of a T1 Heights is enormous and, as many Kytheon devotees can attest, It's not that difficult of an effect to trigger. That said, I hate CiPT lands in any deck, but especially here. The hardest part,from my perspective, is having the leftover W to activate while keeping a tight lock on the board...that and the aggravation of making every land drop but being one mana down every turn starting out.Once you splash B, you never go back?
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2
First, let's look at the text of the card:
On the surface this seems simple enough, but even the most straightforward execution of this is misunderstood, even by competitive players. To clarify, I'll explain this first.
To begin with, I'm going to bold the keywords and underline the action tied to each:
The DCI has ruled that this works in the following manner:
This means, if Strangler would kill the creature and your opponent sacs or bounces or otherwise removes it to prevent this from happening, the card does not go to the graveyard. This part isn't the weird bit, this is just how the card is meant to work.
Here's where it gets weird.
Due to the wording of both cards, Wasteland Strangler can kill Phantasmal Image even if your opponent has no cards in exile. As with all other targeting spells, this cannot be countered, even by Kira.
Here's how it works:
Why does this work? There is no stipulation on the when clause that requires a card to be in exile for it to go on the stack. This is only required to resolve the may and if clauses. Since the Phantasmal Image is no longer in play, these keywords are irrelevant.
I'm not the first person to find this interaction. Even other posters on MTGS have beaten me to this, but answers and discussions are frighteningly inconsistent. I've run this up the judge chain, though, and so far there's no rulings/precedent to refute this interaction.