I'd use slagstorm over firespouts (RR is usually easier than RG, not to mention the god-awful art of firespout). And timely reinforcements over slagstorm, as the life-gain is actually pretty awesome against burn too.
Also magma jet has been working pretty well. Smacks a boat-load of creatures barring like goyf, and pretty much only goyf. Everything else can be taken down with some help from timely tokens. I'd run it over sleight of hand.
Aggro has become my best matchup, but I still carry some slagstorms in the sideboard.
Control is annoying but still fairly handle able due to their low pressure.
We can easily stay on par with other combo speed wise, and since we only need one card our consistency is through the roof.
Tempo is our boogeyman IMO. Especially delver. Remand is just a kick to the balls when all our ramp is one-time-use. And they apply too much pressure for us to reliably bust through their control.
Edit:
Anyone tried devestating tide yet? Looks awesome for this deck as (barring timely tokens who aren't built to last anyway) it is completely one-sided
Sounds like good news, always been in favor of more "mellow" games. Stop and take a breath right? And I honestly don't think storm will ever take any format by... Storm <pity laugh> there's too many ways to hate it.
The demand for shocks, if they ended up in standard, would definitely go up, so you could say the price would go up. But the supply would probably also go up. So it's hard to say just how the prices would change. It would also depend on the metagame for standard as well. I still think the price would go down for most of the shocks, but I guess its possible the price goes up.
However, IMO, I dont think they'll reprint the shocks. Without decent fetchland in the standard format, there isn't a real practical use for them over the current standard land bases. It would help for sure, but it seems a bit unecessary.
I don't really care either way, though. I already have the shocks I need.
There weren't fetches the first time they were printed...
And price long-term could be predicted to drop, but I'd agree short-term is unknowable. I would love to see em reprinted, because I don't want to see these things going for like $50 a pop 10 years from now.
But back on topic as per OP:
"modern is a noob format of rock paper scissors"
"modern is still a wild west of combos"
"modern is just too expensive" < LOL
"there's only 3 good decks in modern" < do people even watch any games of a format before condemning it?
And something we saw all the time on this forum for a while:
"modern needs control, without it it's a cheaper vintage"
And along the same strain:
"modern NEEDS <FoW/Jace/anything outrageous for blue to get> to Survive"
"modern is just a worse, less expensive <other format>"
Melira pod can fetch pridemage, harmonic sliver, or acidic slim. As well as some others that are/act like archon.
And I rarely am short mana-wise. Turn 5 ideal is extremely consistent. On rare occasions, I'll have to got to turn 6 or 7. But more often (although still fairly rare) ill get turn 3-4 ideal. Most delays are due to playing it safe, like if I need to spend a turn to drop a clique and tweak their hand or something.
nevermore as a one-of sideboard with 1-2 copy enchantments also in sideboard to back it have proven nice insurance against tron. also, you can drop nevermore b4 casting ideal if u draw it. although blood moon usually does the trick.
most of the time tron is too slow, and when they do manage to get out an emrakuel mid-kill, that's fine, just sac some lands and a spent pentad prism and o-ring it next turn. im assuming most decks only carry one emrakuel thanks to eye of ugin.
and there's nothing wrong with dropping ideal turn 5-7. so long as you make sure your opponent can't kill you/combo out(kill you)/ramp(and then kill you).
and chosen1, you really do come off as offensive. and no you have not contributed anything thus far here. unless you expect us to trawl through the archives and study all your posts.
why not post your list and provide some explanations along with it, some of your match-ups, etc. and we can all forget that we got off on the wrong foot?
well i beat combo no problem, its much easier to "combo" out when you only need one spell.
and i've already agreed with you on IoK many times, it's certainly better than counters, but stretching to a 4th color is a pain. thats why i opt for clique. if there's any other in-color hand disruption i'd love to know. as of now im actually running spot removal intead of counters... =/
I think I've had someone shoot my prism like one time. Whatever MB arty hate people have, they won't waste it, or the time required, on a prism or even a bloom. Not to say green ramp is bad though ( it is a tad slower ), they each have their pros and cons, go with what you prefer.
glad i could help =)
not a fan of remand tbh, but thats just me. and counters aren't really a problem, they have to tap-out sometime. that or i just remove their counter w/ clique, or protect w/ boseiju. then there's the fact that many use mana leak as a hard counter, which isnt that hard to play around.
I agree with you on all points
And 2 Dovescape is fine, it's just that 1 is fine as well, and in a deck with so few "open" card slots I'd suggest just one. And yes it is more of a hard(er) lock than a safety net, but there are still plenty of times when you won't need it. Just my 2 cents
And as much as I'd love to use crystal ball over clique ( aaaarg my wallet ), I like having the option to remove their counters just before I untap and drop ideal, it's also nice to have as a flying blocker if you're in a pinch.
I've been tinkering with the counters for a while but cant really settle on anything. I love barley's use of IoK and have been considering using those as replacements
Any sizeable flyer will kill you through that setup. FotD + unlife means even emrakuel can't kill you, except for annihilator of course but just sac lands and... I'm digressing. Burn is also severely nerfed here, to the point where I wouldn't call it a threat, leaving Dovescape as more of a final safety net. As well as hate protection. It isn't necessarily needed but you certainly want it in play. But it's still only worth one slot. And in any case, I've had all of one game where I got Dovescape stuck in-hand. See beyond really does work.
2 creatures played entirely for their hand cycling effects will
A:never be missed when removed
B:never be an alternate win con
And also:
If anyone can give me a legitimate situation where meishin/souls betrayal + FotD is better than unlife + FotD I'll give you twice as many far more common scenarios where unlife is superior in every way.
And don't say infect... That's honestly not about to happen in modern. And it can still be pretty easily handled.
Also magma jet has been working pretty well. Smacks a boat-load of creatures barring like goyf, and pretty much only goyf. Everything else can be taken down with some help from timely tokens. I'd run it over sleight of hand.
Aggro has become my best matchup, but I still carry some slagstorms in the sideboard.
Control is annoying but still fairly handle able due to their low pressure.
We can easily stay on par with other combo speed wise, and since we only need one card our consistency is through the roof.
Tempo is our boogeyman IMO. Especially delver. Remand is just a kick to the balls when all our ramp is one-time-use. And they apply too much pressure for us to reliably bust through their control.
Edit:
Anyone tried devestating tide yet? Looks awesome for this deck as (barring timely tokens who aren't built to last anyway) it is completely one-sided
Or D&T... Cheaper and far more controlling. "but it's sooo mainstream ugh"
There weren't fetches the first time they were printed...
And price long-term could be predicted to drop, but I'd agree short-term is unknowable. I would love to see em reprinted, because I don't want to see these things going for like $50 a pop 10 years from now.
But back on topic as per OP:
"modern is a noob format of rock paper scissors"
"modern is still a wild west of combos"
"modern is just too expensive" < LOL
"there's only 3 good decks in modern" < do people even watch any games of a format before condemning it?
And something we saw all the time on this forum for a while:
"modern needs control, without it it's a cheaper vintage"
And along the same strain:
"modern NEEDS <FoW/Jace/anything outrageous for blue to get> to Survive"
"modern is just a worse, less expensive <other format>"
And I rarely am short mana-wise. Turn 5 ideal is extremely consistent. On rare occasions, I'll have to got to turn 6 or 7. But more often (although still fairly rare) ill get turn 3-4 ideal. Most delays are due to playing it safe, like if I need to spend a turn to drop a clique and tweak their hand or something.
most of the time tron is too slow, and when they do manage to get out an emrakuel mid-kill, that's fine, just sac some lands and a spent pentad prism and o-ring it next turn. im assuming most decks only carry one emrakuel thanks to eye of ugin.
and there's nothing wrong with dropping ideal turn 5-7. so long as you make sure your opponent can't kill you/combo out(kill you)/ramp(and then kill you).
and chosen1, you really do come off as offensive. and no you have not contributed anything thus far here. unless you expect us to trawl through the archives and study all your posts.
why not post your list and provide some explanations along with it, some of your match-ups, etc. and we can all forget that we got off on the wrong foot?
i know i could probably fit it in with the proper lands, but i just dislike those two lands so much. its nothing rational, i just dont like them.
yeah its a useless topdeck past turn one.
and my mana has been fine so far *knock on wood
and i've already agreed with you on IoK many times, it's certainly better than counters, but stretching to a 4th color is a pain. thats why i opt for clique. if there's any other in-color hand disruption i'd love to know. as of now im actually running spot removal intead of counters... =/
not a fan of remand tbh, but thats just me. and counters aren't really a problem, they have to tap-out sometime. that or i just remove their counter w/ clique, or protect w/ boseiju. then there's the fact that many use mana leak as a hard counter, which isnt that hard to play around.
And 2 Dovescape is fine, it's just that 1 is fine as well, and in a deck with so few "open" card slots I'd suggest just one. And yes it is more of a hard(er) lock than a safety net, but there are still plenty of times when you won't need it. Just my 2 cents
And as much as I'd love to use crystal ball over clique ( aaaarg my wallet ), I like having the option to remove their counters just before I untap and drop ideal, it's also nice to have as a flying blocker if you're in a pinch.
I'm glad your enjoying the deck so far and I'd be happy to share my list
3 arid Mesa
3 scalding tarn
1 sacred foundry
1 steam vents
2 rugged prairie
2 cascade bluffs
1 mystic gate
1 mistveil plains
1 plains
2 island
2 mountain
2 horizon canopy
1 boseiju, who shelters all
Other
4 enduring ideal
2 Form of the dragon
2 Phyrexian unlife
1 Dovescape
1 oblivion ring
4 Pentad prism
1 lotus bloom
4 seething song
4 see beyond
4 peer through depths
4 timely reinforcements
2 vendilion clique
1 silence
1 condescend
3 delay
1 nevermore
2 blood moon
4 leyline of sanctity
2 greater auramancy
2 copy enchantment
3 slagstorm
1 pyroclasm
I've been tinkering with the counters for a while but cant really settle on anything. I love barley's use of IoK and have been considering using those as replacements
2 creatures played entirely for their hand cycling effects will
A:never be missed when removed
B:never be an alternate win con
And also:
If anyone can give me a legitimate situation where meishin/souls betrayal + FotD is better than unlife + FotD I'll give you twice as many far more common scenarios where unlife is superior in every way.
And don't say infect... That's honestly not about to happen in modern. And it can still be pretty easily handled.