MTG Salvation

Hey all.

I've recently built titanshift, however I've noticed that most of the lists showing results recently are the ones that use cryptic command and snapcaster mage (at least on MTGO).

Could anyone tell me what are the main differences between the two versions? A quick look tells me that titanshift is more resilient, since the cryptic version pretty much loses on the spot when it faces a slaughter games naming scapeshift. Or am I wrong?

My card pool allows me to build both versions, so I'd like to hear which one is the best option nowadays.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Spirit of the labyrinth is a card that simply puts ancestral vision in check.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I have hope that it's a sign lol.

Quote from Valanarch

How is WUR Control not a control deck? It controls the game, gains a massive amount of card advantage, and then wins the game with hard to answer threats. The fact that it uses removal is irrelevant.

It's just that I believe most control players like me tend to enjoy playing in a way that the deck interacts on the stack, not on combat phase or simply burning creatures in response to equipping, declaring attackers etc.

Jund also has a lot of removal, but it isn't considered control. It feels like UWR is said to be a control deck only because it uses blue and some counterspells.

I believe ancestral vision's powerlevel is ok to be modern legal.

As other people have stated, many shy away from playing modern because control simply isn't viable.

The actual UWR-control shouldn't even be considered a control deck imo, as it "controls" the game mostly through removal, instead of counterspells and lock effects. As control is the archetype I like the most, I invested in building the deck (on paper and MTGO), but now it has been put aside as I simply couldn't enjoy the play style. I know it's personal opinion, but many people share the same opinion, so maybe it's time WoTC makes other form of "control" viable.

I firmly believe that AV's and even Jace (!!!) wouldn't be opressive. Seriously, in a format in which affinity, merfolk and other creature based decks present very good results in high-end tournaments, how could a clunky card like JTMS be too strong? A turn 4 PW that can protect itself from a single creature doesn't stand a chance when your opponent is going to hit you for 15+ next turn.

Looks like I'll go with the flow and wait until the format is truly balanced to give it another shot. Won't be selling my UWR for now, as I still have hopes.

Ps.: It always amazes me how bitterblossom and JTMS ALWAYS go up in price right before they announce the bans/unbans.

Quote from Dancing_bananas

Can you post your list?

My list as of today is:



My SB is totally focused on jund/UWR mirror/affinity/storm, as those are the games I usually play against on my local meta. I like to use the same list on magic online for training purposes, but I don't think this is the best sideboard for MTGO's field. Oh, and I'm missing the single threads of disloyalty on MTGO because they're too expensive. >_>

So, I've already tested a good amount of games using negate instead of mana leak, and so far it's been as good as it could be. I'm almost 100% sure about dropping mana leak and never looking back.

Although negate is a narrower card, mana leak always felt like I didn't belong in this kind of deck to me. First of all, it doesn't work well with path to exile; secondly, it's horrible in the late game (while our game plan is exactly to bring the game to that point). Negate is also better against planeswalkers, which I feel as the worst cards to get rid of using chepa's list.

I know that buying more time is pretty important with this deck and an early mana leak could very well help on this aspect, but I simply can't stand having a "dead" card later on. It's not like a removal (like path) against a deck with a low creature count, it's just a card that is ALWAYS going to be bad if the game goes long enough.

Also, one could argue that negate is worse cause it doesn't hit creatures, which are very overpowered in this particular format, but this deck has plenty of removal - enough removal to make the switch irrelevant , in my opinion.

For those reasons, I'll keep testing negate and maybe (probably) make the switch.

Ps.: I've been testing using 3 path to exile MD, dropping the 1-of shadow of doubt. This card can surely steal some wins, but I haven't been able to use it on it's "optimal" window very often (second turn fetch), and sometimes it just feels "cute" to use it. =P

Well, my take on shahar's list was a complete failure. Went 0-5 (I "won" the last match, though I had to concede because I had to leave in a rush. Was 1-0 against soul's sisters with 2 min left on the clock and we were still shuffling).

It felt like the list was a mix of chepa's control and the midrange version, but worse than both.

I'll keep using chepa's list for now, though I've just started using 3 negate instead of mana leak, and I dropped shadow of doubt for an extra path to exile. Will keep you updated about results.

Quote from ctaylor33

Have you tried Shenhar's Worlds list?

I'll be doing that on saturday! =)

This weekend I have a medium sized tournament to attend, and I plan to use Shahar's list with minor changes.

The meta at my LGS is quite different from MTGO, so that explains the sideboard.

I played some matches against a friend playing jund and early results were quite positive. At least 1 angel/vendilion got to see play during all games played, and they were never bad (and 90% of the time excelent). Worst case scenario, I drop one of them to block a threat or play an ambush viper role . The deck still feels like a draw-go control, and doesn't leave a midrange taste on the mouth. So far, so good.

If you guys have any opinions on the list, please feel free to share your thoughts.

I'm very disappointed by the deck's performance these days, so I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.

Idk, but maybe it's time to make some changes to the core of the deck, since it doesn't seem to hold well against most strategies nowadays. Many players are dropping the deck, and pro players who write modern articles simply ignore it's existance cause of it's irrelevance lately... As a control player at heart, I don't wanna lose my most beloved archetype on modern. =(

My main concern is to get rid of some anti-sinergistic interactions, like playing path to exile and mana leak in the same deck, and trying to add more value to some extents of it's strategy. For instance: revelation is good cause we tend to stabilize on low life, however blue sun's zenith would be much better if life wasn't a problem, since the recurrence it gives to the deck is awesome.

So far I haven't developed a list yet, but as finish my tinkering I'll try to provide something.

Btw, since I was missing a more proactive approch, on my current list I've been using 2 resto angel main. It's not always excelent, however it's never bad. Dropped shadow of doubt and 1 electrolyze to find room for it.

Ok, you guys convinced me to keep playing think twice, lol. My only concern is dropping 01 electrolyze for an extra think twice. Idk, maybe there´s some "pet card" issue involved, but electrolyze seems to good to use only 03...

I´ll be testing a 03 think twice/electrolyze split and see how it goes.

Quote from lucashungaro

When reading your list the first advice that came to mind was using 4 Think Twice... but then I read you don't like it.

04 think twice kinda blows my mind, rofl. How about a 2-2 think twice/shadow of doubt split?
It´s not that I dislike think twice, it´s just that I like to get maximum value from cards, and this is the card that feels "meh" in the deck.

Hey guys.

So... I´ve just recently started playing modern, and UWR is my deck of choice, since it matches my preference for control strategies.

I´ve been to three tournaments on my local gamestore, placing #2 one time and failing badly other two (1-X records). I used the following list for the main deck:



I don´t think wrath of god is necessary, since I´ve never seen thrun around here. GW auras is non existant, so hallowed burial goes the same way.

I like the #4 snapcaster, since it gives a lot of recurrence, which I think is awesome in a deck that tries to answer everything and dies to situations like not having proper answers.

What bugs me are the 2 think twice main deck. Yes, I know it´s a solid player on the stock list and gives us more gas, but I agree when some ppl say that it´s a "bad" card in contrast to the rest of the deck. My idea is to make the following changes:

-1 supreme verdict
-2 think twice
+1 lightning bolt
+1 pyroclasm (affinity shows up a lot around here)
+1 shadow of doubt

This would reduce draw-engines from 13 to 12, not counting the flashback on think twice. Do you guys think this would hurt the deck in the late game? Shadow of doubt has proved to be a nice trick, although it forces you to go for UU on the very beginning if you´re going for the tempo advantage early on the game.

So... thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

I believe blade of the bloodchief is a fine replacement to umezawa's jitte in order to make the deck even more budget.

Blood artist may replace kalastria highborn also, even though it will be tough to keep them alive.

What do you think?