Since the Modern version runs at least 2 Windbrisk Heights, a land that ETB tapped, I'm actually fairly willing to stick Evolving Wilds in the deck to fix mana. We often don't have a 1-drop, anyway.
UR Tempo, on the other hand, cannot afford tempo loss to fix mana, as it runs 20-22 lands. We run 23-25 lands; we should be okay.
I'm iffy on the removal- I feel like I have the right amount, I'm just not sure which spell is the best. Or what the best split is. So all the options are currently one ofs.
I would like a 3rd Oblivion Ring maindeck based on my matches so far. Not sure what to take out.
Unsure on whether or not Ghost Quarter should be in the deck. Currently have the miser's copy, but it seems like the current decks are defined by their lands, so 2-3 might be the right number. It makes the mana worse, but considering how light the black is, it's definitely doable. It'd probably influence the removal choices a bit.
Beyond that, though, it depends on the meta- do some match-ups need more removal? do I fear Thrun and Geist and want Phyrexian Metamorph? do I need the fourth Shrine of Loyal Legions for wraths? Does Grafdigger's Cage actually hose anything? 1x Elspeth Tirel? These are all cards I've considered adding to the board. None of them seem as close to the core of the list as the ones listed above, however, but they might be.
Generally, I want all my removal spells to kill Elesh Norn, so I'm running 2 Doom Blade/1 Tragic Slip/2 Oblivion Ring. They also solve Sun Titan and Glissa recurring Ratchet Bomb. Heck, if recurring Ratchet Bombs are so problematic, try Stony Silence in the sideboard (also hoses SoWaP, the bugger).
You shouldn't fear Geist unless he suddenly picks up a SoWaP or maybe a Runechanter's Pike. Midnight Haunting makes him cry if he's swinging alone, and he doesn't like fighting through Gather the Townsfolk. Thrun is more problematic, but try racing him with Intangible Virtue'd flying Spirit tokens.
It used to be in Deck Creation, where it was stickied because Bant has to be able to be built to tear up a Modern meta, right? Eventually, Bant 3-Drop Aggro (which actually looks pretty close to the Legacy version, just with mana dorks instead of Green Sun's Zenith) got results in Modern Dailies (and maybe Modern PTQs), so it got moved to Developing Competitive.
I personally believe Bant deserves to be stickied, as people will independently come up with Bant decks a lot, but I'm starting to suspect UW Tron should get stickied, too.
See the Modern PTQ GW Tokens 2nd Place list I posted in Page 17. Similar lists have gotten Top 16s at Modern PTQs. GW Token Spam is obviously competitive in Modern, and it barely uses green. I am convinced BW Token Spam (swap their green cards for our black ones) is competitive in Standard.
Modern has to similarly deal with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite as a continuous board wipe on legs. Even worse, it has to deal with Sulfur Elemental as a continuous board wipe on legs that comes down on Turn 3. Yet the deck fights through it, mainly with Intangible Virtue and spot removal.
This deck can fight through one board wipe pretty well, with Lingering Souls, Shrine of Loyal Legions, and Doomed Traveler. It has a tougher time fighting through multiple board wipes, but you need continuous board wipes or Oblivion Ring or you're not solving Sorin 2.0. Even then, control has to play around Sorin's ultimate--getting your Consecrated Sphinx or Sun Titan stolen is not pretty.
Get enough lands and Vault of the Archangel turns into Ghostly Prison on a land. No one wants to attack into you, and if you have enough mana open, you can slowly pick off their men with Mortarpod (activate Vault at end of turn; everything gains deathtouch and lifelink until the cleanup phase, so without passing priority, throw whatever's in the Mortarpod at a creature to kill it) or slam down Intangible Virtue and not miss a beat. You can even punish your opponent with end of turn tokens with Midnight Haunting.
We've got to be able to fight through Kessig Wolf Run, though. Instant speed removal should be key in that match-up. Boot whatever gains trample and you could save your butt.
One more thing--from testing a Modern version of BW Tokens against Affinity (the Modern equivalent of Tempered Steel), that match-up is a joke and quite a way in our favour as long as they don't get out Tempered Steel. (Even then, we can sometimes match it with Intangible Virtue.) Board in artifact/enchantment removal and you should be good. Etched Champion is a pain, though, but sometimes, you get lucky with Shrine of Loyal Legions.
I think there's some discussion of Caw-Go in the UW/x Control thread in Developing Competitive.
I'm personally fond of Vedalken Shackles. It kicks just about every aggro deck's butt, taunts Teachings, and maddens Exarch Twin a lot. Kessig Wolf Run can be a problem for it, but I don't see that card an awful lot. Cranial Plating hurts it, though, but try gaining control of their Etched Champion in response.
It does require a good amount of Islands in the deck, though. Maybe Mystic Gate might have to go.
Puresteel Paladin loves equipment that actually does something on its own. Flayer Husk and Mortarpod are staples in the Standard version, and Mortarpod plus Basilisk Collar is just dirty (even dirtier with Puresteel Paladin's Metalcraft on).
Mystic Speculation is probably better in control decks that want to fix their next few draws--but wait, control doesn't like losing cards. (At least they'll eventually be able to Buyback it.)
UR Storm also hates losing cards--I loathe mulling to 5--and needs all its cantrips to draw cards or it gets no card advantage from Past in Flames or Pyromancer Ascension.
Ponder and Preordain were banned because they basically said, "Search the top three cards of your library for a card. If you like any of them, put one of those cards into your hand and the rest on top of your library in any order. If you like none of them, shuffle your library, then draw a card." and "Search the top three cards of your library for a card, put it into your hand, and put the rest on either the top or bottom of your library in any order.", respectively, for a mere 1 mana.
UR Storm is so fast, it highly prefers 1-mana cantrips. Control is slower, so it's more likely to use straight-up draw.
Dark Thresh is actually more UB splashing G for Goyf. (UB Tempo has probably seen more success because of its more consistent mana base, but I am convinced that Dark Thresh is just as powerful.)
Most of the time, you're spamming Bob, Tiago, targeted discard, counterspells, targeted removal, and perhaps Delver and V. Clique. Green is only really used for Goyf (and artifact/enchantment hate in the board).
Sorin 2.0 combos immensely with Bitterblossom and decently with Mirran Crusader. His ultimate is game over against aggro, as you can take their best guys (but people are as likely to overextend into this as they will overextend into Deed), and makes control a bit scared of you stealing their Jace TMS.
Must admit, though, that Elspeth helped win me a game against Reanimator by lifting a Bob equipped with a Batterskull into a reanimated Empyrial Archangel. (That sort of stuff also probably wins against Sphinx of the Steel Wind.) This is probably the sort of stuff Sorin won't help you in.
My belief is that Sorin is better against aggro while Elspeth is better against combo, but Elspeth's interaction with Batterskull is making me reconsider this position...
Synod Sanctum is mainly used for a combo with Vedalken Shackles. Keep stealing creatures one at a time and save the best one for last.
Synod Sanctum can be found by Trinket Mage, but Miren, the Moaning Well fills about the same role (whack stolen creatures one at a time), is a land that taps for mana at worst (as opposed to a nearly useless 1-cmc rock that stores Trinket Mages at best), and can be indirectly found by Trinket Mage through Expedition Map.
...Yeah, Traft is a pain in the neck. Steal their Goyf with Shackles, get an Engineered Explosives loop going, slam down a Batterskull, make him trade with a Trinket Mage or Vendilion Clique, or get out Ensnaring Bridge and drain your hand or you're going to be sorry.
Huntmaster of the Fells would be a cruel link in the Finks-"Baloth" life gain chain, but Melira Pod doesn't want to splash red. It might fit in Twin Pod, though.
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Everything released--let's go!
Gavony Ironwright: If you're really having trouble against aggro, if you hit Fateful Hour, this guy can make everyone else on your team really bulky! And it's pretty bulky itself! Too bad you're in Tribal Flames range at this point...
Midnight Guard: We might be able to play RW Splinter Twin with this guy out! He and Village Bell-Ringer are nice redundancy. Too bad you don't really get enough new options with white instead of blue, and this guy combos only with Splinter Twin and not Kiki-Jiki.
Thraben Heretic: Catch Melira Pod early enough and you might be able to stop them from comboing off. Too bad it can't attack if you want it to retain the ability to disrupt that deck. It also hoses Esper Reanimator Gifts and has a decent 2/2 body for 2 mana. (Withered Wretch is arguably more flexible, but hey, this is white...)
Stormbound Geist: Thanks to its Undying, it juuuust might see play. But since it can't block most creatures, it might not.
Black Cat: Nice chump blocker--random discard is never fun. Of course, it's no disruption at all late, and against control, it doesn't put enough pressure on.
Increasing Vengeance: Mono-Red Past in Flames Storm will appreciate this card and may have it replace Reverberate, as giving this card flashback is really sick. (Unfortunately for Increasing Vengeance, Reverberate can copy opponents' counterspells and IV can't.)
Tracker's Instincts: Might find a home in Twin Pod to find those combo pieces and/or protection twice. Then again, it might not.
So basically tutoring creatures into play, flashback, and reanimation. With the addition of Dark Ascension we'll have more flashback cards and Undying as well that get hated by the Cage.
One more you forgot is Sorin, Lord of Innistrad's ultimate (which I found covered in another thread). Of course, boarding the Cage in to stop his -6 is a bit silly, as it's already 4/5 of a Day of Judgment, and it won't stop him from whacking Garruk Relentless until he bleeds.
I believe Warden of the Wall will become a sleeper in the same level as Pristine Talisman--like the Scars card, it's a 3-cmc mana rock that nullifies Moorland Haunt tokens. (Of course, it's then more likely to get Mana Leaked, as it also trades with Delver.)
UR Tempo, on the other hand, cannot afford tempo loss to fix mana, as it runs 20-22 lands. We run 23-25 lands; we should be okay.
Generally, I want all my removal spells to kill Elesh Norn, so I'm running 2 Doom Blade/1 Tragic Slip/2 Oblivion Ring. They also solve Sun Titan and Glissa recurring Ratchet Bomb. Heck, if recurring Ratchet Bombs are so problematic, try Stony Silence in the sideboard (also hoses SoWaP, the bugger).
You shouldn't fear Geist unless he suddenly picks up a SoWaP or maybe a Runechanter's Pike. Midnight Haunting makes him cry if he's swinging alone, and he doesn't like fighting through Gather the Townsfolk. Thrun is more problematic, but try racing him with Intangible Virtue'd flying Spirit tokens.
I personally believe Bant deserves to be stickied, as people will independently come up with Bant decks a lot, but I'm starting to suspect UW Tron should get stickied, too.
Modern has to similarly deal with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite as a continuous board wipe on legs. Even worse, it has to deal with Sulfur Elemental as a continuous board wipe on legs that comes down on Turn 3. Yet the deck fights through it, mainly with Intangible Virtue and spot removal.
This deck can fight through one board wipe pretty well, with Lingering Souls, Shrine of Loyal Legions, and Doomed Traveler. It has a tougher time fighting through multiple board wipes, but you need continuous board wipes or Oblivion Ring or you're not solving Sorin 2.0. Even then, control has to play around Sorin's ultimate--getting your Consecrated Sphinx or Sun Titan stolen is not pretty.
Modern has harsher tempo decks than Standard--Standard UW Illusions becomes Modern Merfolk, and Standard UW Delver-Pike becomes Modern UB Tempo or Modern RUG Tempo Thresh. Let's just say Midnight Haunting trades with Insectile Aberration and
Raise the AlarmGather the Townsfolk trades with Geist of Saint Traft. (Sword of War and Peace hates us, though, but that's why we run black removal and producers of non-white tokens, don't we?)Get enough lands and Vault of the Archangel turns into Ghostly Prison on a land. No one wants to attack into you, and if you have enough mana open, you can slowly pick off their men with Mortarpod (activate Vault at end of turn; everything gains deathtouch and lifelink until the cleanup phase, so without passing priority, throw whatever's in the Mortarpod at a creature to kill it) or slam down Intangible Virtue and not miss a beat. You can even punish your opponent with end of turn tokens with Midnight Haunting.
We've got to be able to fight through Kessig Wolf Run, though. Instant speed removal should be key in that match-up. Boot whatever gains trample and you could save your butt.
One more thing--from testing a Modern version of BW Tokens against Affinity (the Modern equivalent of Tempered Steel), that match-up is a joke and quite a way in our favour as long as they don't get out Tempered Steel. (Even then, we can sometimes match it with Intangible Virtue.) Board in artifact/enchantment removal and you should be good. Etched Champion is a pain, though, but sometimes, you get lucky with Shrine of Loyal Legions.
I'm personally fond of Vedalken Shackles. It kicks just about every aggro deck's butt, taunts Teachings, and maddens Exarch Twin a lot. Kessig Wolf Run can be a problem for it, but I don't see that card an awful lot. Cranial Plating hurts it, though, but try gaining control of their Etched Champion in response.
It does require a good amount of Islands in the deck, though. Maybe Mystic Gate might have to go.
A Darksteel Citadel is nice if you need mana from your Trinket Mage and can't get Metalcraft active.
With all the tiny equipment men, Sylvok Lifestaff can save your butt against aggro and Trinket Mage can go find it.
You run enough men to make Moorland Haunt good. Haunt goes better with Mortarpod, anyway.
UR Storm also hates losing cards--I loathe mulling to 5--and needs all its cantrips to draw cards or it gets no card advantage from Past in Flames or Pyromancer Ascension.
Ponder and Preordain were banned because they basically said, "Search the top three cards of your library for a card. If you like any of them, put one of those cards into your hand and the rest on top of your library in any order. If you like none of them, shuffle your library, then draw a card." and "Search the top three cards of your library for a card, put it into your hand, and put the rest on either the top or bottom of your library in any order.", respectively, for a mere 1 mana.
UR Storm is so fast, it highly prefers 1-mana cantrips. Control is slower, so it's more likely to use straight-up draw.
Most of the time, you're spamming Bob, Tiago, targeted discard, counterspells, targeted removal, and perhaps Delver and V. Clique. Green is only really used for Goyf (and artifact/enchantment hate in the board).
Sorin 2.0 combos immensely with Bitterblossom and decently with Mirran Crusader. His ultimate is game over against aggro, as you can take their best guys (but people are as likely to overextend into this as they will overextend into Deed), and makes control a bit scared of you stealing their Jace TMS.
Must admit, though, that Elspeth helped win me a game against Reanimator by lifting a Bob equipped with a Batterskull into a reanimated Empyrial Archangel. (That sort of stuff also probably wins against Sphinx of the Steel Wind.) This is probably the sort of stuff Sorin won't help you in.
My belief is that Sorin is better against aggro while Elspeth is better against combo, but Elspeth's interaction with Batterskull is making me reconsider this position...
Synod Sanctum can be found by Trinket Mage, but Miren, the Moaning Well fills about the same role (whack stolen creatures one at a time), is a land that taps for mana at worst (as opposed to a nearly useless 1-cmc rock that stores Trinket Mages at best), and can be indirectly found by Trinket Mage through Expedition Map.
...Yeah, Traft is a pain in the neck. Steal their Goyf with Shackles, get an Engineered Explosives loop going, slam down a Batterskull, make him trade with a Trinket Mage or Vendilion Clique, or get out Ensnaring Bridge and drain your hand or you're going to be sorry.
Huntmaster of the Fells would be a cruel link in the Finks-"Baloth" life gain chain, but Melira Pod doesn't want to splash red. It might fit in Twin Pod, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything released--let's go!
Gavony Ironwright: If you're really having trouble against aggro, if you hit Fateful Hour, this guy can make everyone else on your team really bulky! And it's pretty bulky itself! Too bad you're in Tribal Flames range at this point...
Midnight Guard: We might be able to play RW Splinter Twin with this guy out! He and Village Bell-Ringer are nice redundancy. Too bad you don't really get enough new options with white instead of blue, and this guy combos only with Splinter Twin and not Kiki-Jiki.
Thraben Heretic: Catch Melira Pod early enough and you might be able to stop them from comboing off. Too bad it can't attack if you want it to retain the ability to disrupt that deck. It also hoses Esper Reanimator Gifts and has a decent 2/2 body for 2 mana. (Withered Wretch is arguably more flexible, but hey, this is white...)
Stormbound Geist: Thanks to its Undying, it juuuust might see play. But since it can't block most creatures, it might not.
Black Cat: Nice chump blocker--random discard is never fun. Of course, it's no disruption at all late, and against control, it doesn't put enough pressure on.
Increasing Vengeance: Mono-Red Past in Flames Storm will appreciate this card and may have it replace Reverberate, as giving this card flashback is really sick. (Unfortunately for Increasing Vengeance, Reverberate can copy opponents' counterspells and IV can't.)
Tracker's Instincts: Might find a home in Twin Pod to find those combo pieces and/or protection twice. Then again, it might not.
Drogskol Captain: I love this guy! I am so building Modern UW Spirits now with him, Geist of Saint Traft, Tallowisp, Spectral Procession, and Moorland Haunt. The trouble is, there are just so many good three-drops and not enough two-drops...
One more you forgot is Sorin, Lord of Innistrad's ultimate (which I found covered in another thread). Of course, boarding the Cage in to stop his -6 is a bit silly, as it's already 4/5 of a Day of Judgment, and it won't stop him from whacking Garruk Relentless until he bleeds.