First, I believe there is such a thing as Cruel-less Grixis Control. If you forego the namesake card, the mana-base can be a lot better and you can afford utility lands. For instance, if Jace 1.0 ever became legal in Modern, I think it would be tough to argue for Cruel Ultimatum. Having said that, cruel is a very good card. The first is often good enough to bring us back into the game, and the second is back-breaking. It is, however a late-game trump.
In looking for other great cards, Batterskull and Wurmcoil Engine are obvious candidates. The life-gain is obviously huge. We've also seen Keranos, God of Storms, even in Legacy decks, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that it's another option for us. Of course, big daddy Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is another late-game option, and as a control vs. control trump, Aetherling has to be part of the discussion, and I also believe Rakdos's Return could be a handy 1-of for us.
Khans did unsurprisingly bring us close to nothing for us except Legacy fetch lands. My Reflecting Pool and off-colored fetch-lands will be replaced by Polluted Delta for sure. It will be interesting to see how aggro and aggro/control will be affected by the better mana-base. For instance, UB Delver, UB Fairies and even Grixis tempo-builds seems feasible now and is something I will try out.
Humm i would say it is borderline playable in modern : don't Target the player can counter thing and even if the spell is not countered , the damage will be dealt to the player or a planeswalker he or she controls...
Surprizes me people saying it is not good...
It is certainly not Modern playable. It stacks very poorly against Remand, Mana Leak, Izzet Charm, Counterflux and last but not least Cryptic Command. The first three are better because of early game disruption, and the last two are leaps and bounds better in terms of flexibility and power-level.
@esterk: I agree, Shock is better than both Magma Jet and Izzet Charm. Not in isolation, of course, but the 1-mana difference is crucial when you play against Rabble-decks and other hyper-aggro. Being able to turn-1 remove a mana-dork also sets you up for the later game. You really want to avoid a turn 2 Courser of Kruphix.
Patrick Chapin likes Pack Rat, and argues that it could also be good in Grixis colors. He also argues for playing more scry-land in modern to smooth out draws.
I can comment on the mana. You have 21 blue, 18 black and 13 red sources, which means that you are short on red. A turn 1 bolt or spray is going to be hard and a turn 3 Anger of the Gods is out of the question.
Other than that, I put question-marks on main-boarding Magma Spray and Pyroclasm. Unless your meta is filled with small creatures, they probably belong in the SB. We've had discussions regarding Think Twice before, so I am not going to say anything about that card. In the side-board, Illness in the Ranks seems a bit narrow. I personally lean towards Curse of Death's Hold, but there is also a 4 CMC symmetric enchantment that some prefer.
Finally, I previously played Mystical Teachings, but to me it seems a bit slow against faster decks - so I have avoided it.
You stay alive until you untap. Against combo, this means that you make sure that your opponent can not take off (counter magic), or have a stripped hand (hand disruption). Against aggro, it means that you have to have swept everything off the board prior to casting her.
The PW stays alive. Otherwise, you have a very expensive (5 mana) sorcery speed spell with little effect. How much would you pay for "Freeze tgt creature, gain 5 life"? Most of the time, this means playing into a board of no more than one strong creature.
Tamiyo was good for a while in Standard when mid-range was a thing. In those match-ups, she could hold down the fort against their one big creature. Modern is by far not a mid-range format, which explains why she is not good in Modern.
I think I'd rather play Dark Confidant or Young Pyromancer in lieu of expensive planes-walkers. As a control deck you either want to get in quickly for good effect (barring Spell Snare), or else be able to protect them turn 4-8. PWs in Modern are a little bit more resilient than creatures due to the deck lists out there, but there's still a decent amount of PW removal.
I browsed through the card-pool and I found Trade Routes. Has anyone tested this card? We are sometimes flooded, and especially late-game it will turn bad draws (lands) into good draws (spells). Additionally, land destruction becomes less intrusive.
I've noticed that many lists run X/4 creatures now, presumably to avoid being in bolt range. While Lightning Bolt is still awesome, has anyone considered reducing the count?
Interesting. I never considered Liliana Vess (and hence never tried her), but I'd imagine her to be quite powerful in control vs. control. Her tutor effect is quite relevant, and discard might matter at times too. Having said that, the deck I currently run is very draw-go, and she feels more like a tap-out control card. But then again, some people think that Grixis should be tap out due to the quality of sorcery spells, so what do I know..
First, I believe there is such a thing as Cruel-less Grixis Control. If you forego the namesake card, the mana-base can be a lot better and you can afford utility lands. For instance, if Jace 1.0 ever became legal in Modern, I think it would be tough to argue for Cruel Ultimatum. Having said that, cruel is a very good card. The first is often good enough to bring us back into the game, and the second is back-breaking. It is, however a late-game trump.
In looking for other great cards, Batterskull and Wurmcoil Engine are obvious candidates. The life-gain is obviously huge. We've also seen Keranos, God of Storms, even in Legacy decks, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that it's another option for us. Of course, big daddy Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is another late-game option, and as a control vs. control trump, Aetherling has to be part of the discussion, and I also believe Rakdos's Return could be a handy 1-of for us.
Khans did unsurprisingly bring us close to nothing for us except Legacy fetch lands. My Reflecting Pool and off-colored fetch-lands will be replaced by Polluted Delta for sure. It will be interesting to see how aggro and aggro/control will be affected by the better mana-base. For instance, UB Delver, UB Fairies and even Grixis tempo-builds seems feasible now and is something I will try out.
It is certainly not Modern playable. It stacks very poorly against Remand, Mana Leak, Izzet Charm, Counterflux and last but not least Cryptic Command. The first three are better because of early game disruption, and the last two are leaps and bounds better in terms of flexibility and power-level.
The "Reply" button should really reference what you're replying too. Anyway, it was the count of lands and spells for Patrick Chapin's deck.
2 Pack Rat
4 Snapcaster Mage
Spells (27)
1 Batterskull
2 Jace Beleren
4 Cryptic Command
1 Spell Snare
3 Electrolyze
2 Terminate
3 Mana Leak
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Cruel Ultimatum
2 Damnation
Lands (27)
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Blood Crypt
1 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Sunken Ruins
1 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Deceit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Watery Grave
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Counterflux
2 Rakdos Charm
1 Slaughter Games
1 Vandalblast
1 Countersquall
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Thoughtseize
2 Slaughter Pact
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Sowing Salt
Thoughts?
With regards to token, twin and aggro decks, there's nothing more satisfying than Rakdos Charm, Rakdos Charm, Snapcaster Mage, Rakdos Charm. Just saying..
Other than that, I put question-marks on main-boarding Magma Spray and Pyroclasm. Unless your meta is filled with small creatures, they probably belong in the SB. We've had discussions regarding Think Twice before, so I am not going to say anything about that card. In the side-board, Illness in the Ranks seems a bit narrow. I personally lean towards Curse of Death's Hold, but there is also a 4 CMC symmetric enchantment that some prefer.
Finally, I previously played Mystical Teachings, but to me it seems a bit slow against faster decks - so I have avoided it.
I browsed through the card-pool and I found Trade Routes. Has anyone tested this card? We are sometimes flooded, and especially late-game it will turn bad draws (lands) into good draws (spells). Additionally, land destruction becomes less intrusive.
I've noticed that many lists run X/4 creatures now, presumably to avoid being in bolt range. While Lightning Bolt is still awesome, has anyone considered reducing the count?