All-In Red looks about as vulnerable to counterspells as your typical plan does, especially since they banned Rite of Flame. About the only guy in the above plan that looks cast-able in time is Kargan Dragonlord. With a 16- to 18-land deck, I can't see how you'd cast the other guys without casting rituals, and those rituals are easily hosed by counterspells. The plan looks much more feasible with Simian Spirit Guide, but I think it was the critical mass of uber-cheap rituals that made All-In Red a deck--the Rite banning basically made it unplayable.
Heck, without Past in Flames, targeted discard shoots your plans down even harder.
A better transformational sideboard is probably the "man plan", with Delver of Secrets, Kiln Fiend, Vendilion Clique, Goblin Guide, and/or Dark Confidant. At least two of the above can be cast on Turn 1 while you opponent hasn't played disruption yet, and since your opponent likely boarded out removal, you have free rein.
You need black mana for Dark Ritual anyway, that shouldn't turn out to be a problem.
I don't think I've seen a single 1-Land Belcher list that placed in a tournament with Dark Ritual. Belcher uses red rituals, Spirit Guides, Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, LED, and Land Grant for Taiga for all its mana needs.
I guess it'd be silly of me to ask which of these two builds you'd find optimum for the current format, as that'd be obvious. But I'm just wondering if, with the banning of Punishing Fire, the Soul Sisters might have a better chance at competitive. What do you guys think?
Soul Sisters probably got a shot in the arm with the PK Fire ban, but so did Martyr Proc. I personally believe Martyr Proc is the much more competitive deck, as it often has as many threats as Soul Sisters, but it has a recursion engine while Soul Sisters has none, its Serra Ascendants will be 6/6's by late game guaranteed, and it is much better built to grind games out to a point where its threats matter.
When I tried Soul Sisters, it lost to practically any aggro deck with bigger creatures and removal. Even Doran Rock was a challenge, as it eventually kept swinging with 5/5's or worse and no amount of life gain could stem the bleeding.
You either maindeck Remand or you don't use it at all. If you're fending off control, board in cheap counterspells like Spell Pierce, Dispel, or Pact of Negation instead.
What are some of the harder matchups for Storm in Modern?
I have this deck basically complete, but I don't have much opportunity to play with it really. Mostly I've just goldfished games to get a feel for how the deck plays out at this point.
I've found one guy at my LGS that wants to play against me and the deck, as he's getting ready for a PTQ later this month with his Jund deck
I was thinking of also proxying up another deck for a buddy of mine to play when we get together. I figured one that is a pretty tough matchup would be a good place to start
I haven't tested against Jund or Affinity at all, but the Zoo match-up did get significantly better when they banned Nacatl. RDW should be about even--maybe you have the edge.
I've only tested Game 1s against Teachings, but even then, the match-up is about even. Maybe Teachings has the slight edge. If you don't run Pyromancer Ascension or Empty the Warrens and they use targeted discard and Extirpate/Surgical Extraction, you can kiss Game 1 goodbye. If they can't find those in time, you can sometimes fight through their counterwall, but sometimes they can whack you with a finisher before you can recover.
The worst decks to play against, IMO, are blue-based aggro-control decks. Merfolk is bad. RUG Tempo Thresh is worse. Bant smacks you even harder. You're forced to go off the turn before you die, and they'll still often force you to fizzle that one attempt with a counterspell. Games 2 and 3 are going to be hard.
UW Tron, Jund, and Tezz Affinity win, while Tribal Blue Zoo, another four(!) Jund, Death and Taxes, UW Polymorph Tokens (moving it out of Rogue), Bant Aggro (8 Exalted dudes is funny), Tezz Affinity, and Exarch Twin get close.
Boros Deck Wins, UR Storm, and Martyr Proc win, while an unusual RG Ramp deck (doesn't use the full Urzatron, but reminds me of RG 12-Post), two RDW (one has Magma Spray maindeck--must really be sick of recursion, eh?), Enduring Ideal (Leyline of Sanctity main--ouch), three Mono-Blue Merfolk, Mono-White Tokens, UW Control (Telemin Performance in the sideboard--must be expecting a lot of Storm--I suppose it's decent against UW Tron, too, but what if you hit a Tiago?), UW Tron, Melira Pod, Boros Deck Wins, Tribal Blue Zoo, and another UR Storm get close.
Mono-White Tokens (slight green splash for sideboard hate and Gavony Township) and Red UR Affinity win, while Tezz Affinity (couldn't get enough Memnites?), RDW, BUG Dark Thresh, and Mono-Blue Merfolk get close.
Eight filterlands seem like too much. If you get a hand with two filterlands as your only lands but some pretty cheap stuff otherwise, you'll know what I mean.
I don't like fatty finishers like Grave Titan without Teferi to give them Flash (and thus search them out with Mystical Teachings and stuff them in at EOT if your opponent doesn't do anything).
Knight of the Reliquary may have a cmc of 3, but she's the most unexpected hate bear ever. Bojuka Bog wipes graveyard-abusing decks' butts, Sejiri Steppe protects other hate bears, Tectonic Edge and Ghost Quarter mess with the Urzatron, and Gavony Township eventually forces aggro to treat your other hate bears seriously. Oh, and she's a really fat hate bear to boot (especially after you search for all those hate lands)!
What actually looks more solid about the deck is the UB Tempo core. Bob, Spellstutter Sprite, Tiago, V. Clique, and more are all-around good guys, discard, removal, and even Lili are pretty good, and the Sword is pretty funny. I can definitely see how your deck is good against control and especially combo.
so what are you saying. Should I run something else over the birds
Shoot, you actually currently run 9 mana dorks, counting Arbor and GSZ. However, GSZ is also a finisher (just search for KotR instead). Thus, you're actually more threat-heavy than you may think.
I personally believe Birds is the most useless mana dork for Bant, as it can't pump dudes and it's the same price as Hierarch (thus even more expensive through GSZ than Arbor). It flies, but you don't run SFM, so its evasion is not much of an edge. Dropping it for Goyf or a green dude is an option. However, as long as you use GSZ wisely, you'll probably find that you actually have more threats than it may initially seem.
Dah, right. Forgot that "copies aren't cast" go both ways.
I guess the Firewalker plan is better than I thought as long as they only have 1 Grapeshot or they didn't side in Lightning Bolt (you're an aggro deck that often runs Ethersworn Canonist--they probably should).
Serum Visions: Hands suddenly look more keepable with Preordain's shade in them. You can get closer to critters, disruption, or lands with this card. It also flips Delver a lot easier than Sleight of Hand does.
Cryptic Command: If the game is really dragging on, the Command is an all-star that turns later Tiagos into absolute badasses. Don't play more than 2 of them, though, as Grixis Tempo should really keep the pressure on early.
Molten Rain: If you want a mana denial plan, this is the card for you, as it also Shocks your opponent in the process.
Trickbind: It's not bad for mana denial (the classic is casting this on fetchland triggers), but it also hoses Storm, turns Engineered Explosives into a dud, embarrasses enemy Tiagos, turns LD lands into no lands at all, and more.
Spell Pierce: It's cheap. Practically every deck has at least one target for this card. It's awesome.
Countersquall: See Spell Pierce, but more expensive, a hard counter instead of a soft one, and it also Shocks your opponent. If you run Delver/Bob/Tiago only like the ones in the Modern Dailies, this supports a "You will bleed to death" plan.
Suffer the Past: Only use against metas that love using their graveyard, like UR Storm and Gifts. It's a pretty funny disruptive black semi-Fireball, though.
Creeping Tar Pit: May as well up our threat density with a manland or two, of which this one is the best. It fixes two crucial colours for us and it's efficient enough. Too bad it ETB tapped.
Tectonic Edge: The more pronounced your mana denial strategy, the better this card looks. It doesn't produce coloured mana, but it's pretty close to Wasteland, and Wasteland feels so awesome in Legacy.
Liliana 2.0 is pretty good if you run fewer counterspells, as you'll dump your hand, then cast her and keep control from keeping anything good and aggro from sticking guys for as long as she can take it.
Heck, without Past in Flames, targeted discard shoots your plans down even harder.
A better transformational sideboard is probably the "man plan", with Delver of Secrets, Kiln Fiend, Vendilion Clique, Goblin Guide, and/or Dark Confidant. At least two of the above can be cast on Turn 1 while you opponent hasn't played disruption yet, and since your opponent likely boarded out removal, you have free rein.
I suspect your maindeck rolls over to UR Storm. Stick Ethersworn Canonists and/or Rule of Laws in your sideboard to fix your Game 2s and 3s.
I don't think I've seen a single 1-Land Belcher list that placed in a tournament with Dark Ritual. Belcher uses red rituals, Spirit Guides, Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, LED, and Land Grant for Taiga for all its mana needs.
Soul Sisters probably got a shot in the arm with the PK Fire ban, but so did Martyr Proc. I personally believe Martyr Proc is the much more competitive deck, as it often has as many threats as Soul Sisters, but it has a recursion engine while Soul Sisters has none, its Serra Ascendants will be 6/6's by late game guaranteed, and it is much better built to grind games out to a point where its threats matter.
When I tried Soul Sisters, it lost to practically any aggro deck with bigger creatures and removal. Even Doran Rock was a challenge, as it eventually kept swinging with 5/5's or worse and no amount of life gain could stem the bleeding.
You either maindeck Remand or you don't use it at all. If you're fending off control, board in cheap counterspells like Spell Pierce, Dispel, or Pact of Negation instead.
If you maindeck Remand, 2-3 is probably best.
I haven't tested against Jund or Affinity at all, but the Zoo match-up did get significantly better when they banned Nacatl. RDW should be about even--maybe you have the edge.
I've only tested Game 1s against Teachings, but even then, the match-up is about even. Maybe Teachings has the slight edge. If you don't run Pyromancer Ascension or Empty the Warrens and they use targeted discard and Extirpate/Surgical Extraction, you can kiss Game 1 goodbye. If they can't find those in time, you can sometimes fight through their counterwall, but sometimes they can whack you with a finisher before you can recover.
The worst decks to play against, IMO, are blue-based aggro-control decks. Merfolk is bad. RUG Tempo Thresh is worse. Bant smacks you even harder. You're forced to go off the turn before you die, and they'll still often force you to fizzle that one attempt with a counterspell. Games 2 and 3 are going to be hard.
UW Tron, Jund, and Tezz Affinity win, while Tribal Blue Zoo, another four(!) Jund, Death and Taxes, UW Polymorph Tokens (moving it out of Rogue), Bant Aggro (8 Exalted dudes is funny), Tezz Affinity, and Exarch Twin get close.
5th Modern Daily of 1/3/2012: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3193507
Boros Deck Wins, UR Storm, and Martyr Proc win, while an unusual RG Ramp deck (doesn't use the full Urzatron, but reminds me of RG 12-Post), two RDW (one has Magma Spray maindeck--must really be sick of recursion, eh?), Enduring Ideal (Leyline of Sanctity main--ouch), three Mono-Blue Merfolk, Mono-White Tokens, UW Control (Telemin Performance in the sideboard--must be expecting a lot of Storm--I suppose it's decent against UW Tron, too, but what if you hit a Tiago?), UW Tron, Melira Pod, Boros Deck Wins, Tribal Blue Zoo, and another UR Storm get close.
1st Modern Daily of 1/4/2012: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/3193524
Mono-White Tokens (slight green splash for sideboard hate and Gavony Township) and
RedUR Affinity win, while Tezz Affinity (couldn't get enough Memnites?), RDW, BUG Dark Thresh, and Mono-Blue Merfolk get close.I don't like fatty finishers like Grave Titan without Teferi to give them Flash (and thus search them out with Mystical Teachings and stuff them in at EOT if your opponent doesn't do anything).
Shoot, you actually currently run 9 mana dorks, counting Arbor and GSZ. However, GSZ is also a finisher (just search for KotR instead). Thus, you're actually more threat-heavy than you may think.
I personally believe Birds is the most useless mana dork for Bant, as it can't pump dudes and it's the same price as Hierarch (thus even more expensive through GSZ than Arbor). It flies, but you don't run SFM, so its evasion is not much of an edge. Dropping it for Goyf or a green dude is an option. However, as long as you use GSZ wisely, you'll probably find that you actually have more threats than it may initially seem.
I guess the Firewalker plan is better than I thought as long as they only have 1 Grapeshot or they didn't side in Lightning Bolt (you're an aggro deck that often runs Ethersworn Canonist--they probably should).
Other cards you could possibly consider are:
Serum Visions: Hands suddenly look more keepable with Preordain's shade in them. You can get closer to critters, disruption, or lands with this card. It also flips Delver a lot easier than Sleight of Hand does.
Cryptic Command: If the game is really dragging on, the Command is an all-star that turns later Tiagos into absolute badasses. Don't play more than 2 of them, though, as Grixis Tempo should really keep the pressure on early.
Molten Rain: If you want a mana denial plan, this is the card for you, as it also Shocks your opponent in the process.
Trickbind: It's not bad for mana denial (the classic is casting this on fetchland triggers), but it also hoses Storm, turns Engineered Explosives into a dud, embarrasses enemy Tiagos, turns LD lands into no lands at all, and more.
Spell Pierce: It's cheap. Practically every deck has at least one target for this card. It's awesome.
Countersquall: See Spell Pierce, but more expensive, a hard counter instead of a soft one, and it also Shocks your opponent. If you run Delver/Bob/Tiago only like the ones in the Modern Dailies, this supports a "You will bleed to death" plan.
Suffer the Past: Only use against metas that love using their graveyard, like UR Storm and Gifts. It's a pretty funny disruptive black semi-Fireball, though.
Creeping Tar Pit: May as well up our threat density with a manland or two, of which this one is the best. It fixes two crucial colours for us and it's efficient enough. Too bad it ETB tapped.
Tectonic Edge: The more pronounced your mana denial strategy, the better this card looks. It doesn't produce coloured mana, but it's pretty close to Wasteland, and Wasteland feels so awesome in Legacy.
Liliana 2.0 is pretty good if you run fewer counterspells, as you'll dump your hand, then cast her and keep control from keeping anything good and aggro from sticking guys for as long as she can take it.
At least Firewalker also hates on RDW, though, so it's flexible.