So I have wanted to build this deck for a long time and I have been looking at various decklists on the interwebs but I want a more modern version of the list. Ideally not netdeck but just card suggestions and why they would be better. Land base I can handle myself. Should I post a list (prolly one from Worlds) and we go from there? First time posting here so I just want my ducks in a row. Also this is a budget deck with no sideboard.
First off we can cut the Cunning Wishes. Should I still play Upheaval? I think Evacuation or Sunder might be a better choice. Nightscape Familair looks bad. Could be replaced with Shadowmage Infiltrator? I wanna add discard. Was thinking Despise.
You're magic number is 9. You need 6 to play Upheaval and 3 floating to cast Pyschatog immediately after, denying your opponent any meaningful way of interacting with it.
Nightscape Familiar isn't as bad as you think, I mean it is now, but back then it allowed you to go off one turn earlier and was an okay-ish wall.
Ok, so Force Spike, Repulse, and Deep Analysis just seem bad. Replace them with any of the following: Undermine, Countersquall, and seriously any draw spell (Deep Analysis is a good card, but without a price reduction it's just kind of meh.) Do not underestimate the loss of life on those counterspells as they reduce your critical mass number.
Thanks for the input! Should I splash green for ramp? Or use mana rocks to get to 9 quicker?
Control decks typically don't need any kind of ramp to get where they want. Just keep your opponent from gaining traction with your counters and removal, and you'll reach nine mana eventually. In theory, anyway.
Thanks for the input! Should I splash green for ramp? Or use mana rocks to get to 9 quicker?
For the love of god no. Green gets ramp because of it's insane mana costs, but more on that it's because it can't draw cards. You're playing U just put enough lands in your deck and you'll get there.
Control loses if it can't drop a land every turn. (generally a rule of thumb)
Just play it and you'll get there, not to mention you really don't want to be using your mana on your turn unless it's going to win you the game.
Is that a thing, playing 8 lands and casting Upheaval + Zombie Infestation? You have enough card draw to do that somewhat reliably without skipping a beat, but that's still going to take 8 turns. Magic isn't as glacially slow as it used to be. Consider some sort of Basalt Monolith if you really want to Upheaval people.
Yes, unfortunately, I am serious it definitely was a thing.
The problem with mana rocks are: the lower the density of the cards you scoop up off Upheaval.
While Upheaval screws your opponent it also serves as 1 piece of a two piece combo that should finish the game.
So say you play Basalt Monolith, accelerating your mana, now if you use the mana it creates to "go off" as soon as possible (8 - 3 = 5) you would scoop up a total of 6 permanents (assuming you were playing a land and passing the turn). Now if you pitch those 6 permanents to Zombie Infestation they would net you 3 2/2 Zombie tokens. That's a trap right there, its a 3 turn clock, and that's assuming they don't chump any of them in the next 3 turns. Sure you're going to swing in for damage, but now you have to rely on drawing into mana producers (lands) to be able to do anything else for the rest of the game. Not so good.
If you would get there organically, you would produce at least 4 but the magic number would be to be able to produce 5.
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1 Cephalid Coliseum
2 Darkwater Catacombs
10 Island
4 Salt Marsh
3 Swamp
4 Underground River
4 Nightscape Familiar
4 Psychatog
Spells, 28
4 Chainer's Edict
3 Circular Logic
4 Counterspell
3 Cunning Wish
2 Deep Analysis
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Force Spike
3 Repulse
2 Upheaval
First off we can cut the Cunning Wishes. Should I still play Upheaval? I think Evacuation or Sunder might be a better choice. Nightscape Familair looks bad. Could be replaced with Shadowmage Infiltrator? I wanna add discard. Was thinking Despise.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
You're magic number is 9. You need 6 to play Upheaval and 3 floating to cast Pyschatog immediately after, denying your opponent any meaningful way of interacting with it.
Nightscape Familiar isn't as bad as you think, I mean it is now, but back then it allowed you to go off one turn earlier and was an okay-ish wall.
Shadowmage Infiltrator is simply an amazing card in any capacity. RUN IT.
Ok, so Force Spike, Repulse, and Deep Analysis just seem bad. Replace them with any of the following: Undermine, Countersquall, and seriously any draw spell (Deep Analysis is a good card, but without a price reduction it's just kind of meh.) Do not underestimate the loss of life on those counterspells as they reduce your critical mass number.
Wonder is also astounding in this deck or Filth if you have a could Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth laying around.
Oh also take out a Psychatog or two for Zombie Infestation, just in case.
If your meta plays a lot of cheap low to the ground aggro, Drown in Sorrow is an all-star.
Finally: Relinquery Tower. Don't argue, don't think, just do.
Control decks typically don't need any kind of ramp to get where they want. Just keep your opponent from gaining traction with your counters and removal, and you'll reach nine mana eventually. In theory, anyway.
For the love of god no. Green gets ramp because of it's insane mana costs, but more on that it's because it can't draw cards. You're playing U just put enough lands in your deck and you'll get there.
Control loses if it can't drop a land every turn. (generally a rule of thumb)
Just play it and you'll get there, not to mention you really don't want to be using your mana on your turn unless it's going to win you the game.
1 Reliquery Tower
1 Urborg
Creatures, 8
4 Psychotog
4 Shadowmage Infilrator
2 Zombie Infestation
Spells, 26
4 Chainer's Edict
3 Circular Logic
4 Counterspell
2 Deep Analysis
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Upheaval
Yes, unfortunately, I am serious it definitely was a thing.
The problem with mana rocks are: the lower the density of the cards you scoop up off Upheaval.
While Upheaval screws your opponent it also serves as 1 piece of a two piece combo that should finish the game.
So say you play Basalt Monolith, accelerating your mana, now if you use the mana it creates to "go off" as soon as possible (8 - 3 = 5) you would scoop up a total of 6 permanents (assuming you were playing a land and passing the turn). Now if you pitch those 6 permanents to Zombie Infestation they would net you 3 2/2 Zombie tokens. That's a trap right there, its a 3 turn clock, and that's assuming they don't chump any of them in the next 3 turns. Sure you're going to swing in for damage, but now you have to rely on drawing into mana producers (lands) to be able to do anything else for the rest of the game. Not so good.
If you would get there organically, you would produce at least 4 but the magic number would be to be able to produce 5.