So i havn't seen an updated Nin list in a while and I have been looking for a new control deck to play after giving up on Damia (RIP_BUG) so Zavros and I have been at it again brewing up an interesting list! I started with what i had seen asimov post a couple months back (so thanks for the awesome Core!) and updated it for what i expect to face in the current meta. So without further fanfare i present what i'll be playing in my next few tournaments!q
I would agree that Dragonmaster Outcast is pointless. It always looks good on paper, but it doesn't realistically do anything. Young Pyromancer doesn't seem to have much downside to me. It's maybe not the sexiest 2-drop, but in Nin's colours it's pretty good, and the worst it can do is soak up a kill spell.
I'm curious about Order of Succession. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding how it works in two-player games or how the trigger works, but can't your opponent just take back whatever you take? You can't interrupt it halfway through to kill whatever you take with Nin, right? I could be completely missing the point, but it feels too narrow to me for a 4-cc sorcery. EDIT: okay, so the choosing happens and then everyone gains control of what they chose at the same time. So if your board is empty your opponent gets nothing. I gotcha. Still, it seems like it could often backfire, or sit in your hand when you've got something on the board you don't want to lose. EDIT AGAIN: okay, nevermind, I finally figured it out. This can hit opposing True Name Nemesiss and hexproof stuff. Just ignore me, I'm slow on the uptake sometimes :p.
Your fine Merlot, order of succession its a bit unintuitive. And i havnt really liked Young Pyromancer since i've played with it, often were trying to slows down our opponent , and we want something which kills utility creatures. I just searched through every card in red and came to the conclusion that goblin sharpshooter is next level better in this deck. it kills enemy utility creatures most of the time (lotus cobra, Bob, snapcaster etc) and it gets us out of really tricky situations like bitterblossom, and to top it all off it hits our opponent for 1 every so often.
Other interesting finds are Mindsparker, It kills geist, and deals quite a bit of damage to opposing U/W control decks. And Thundermaw Hellkite which one shots a jace even after he fateseals you.
With all these Derevi running around I find Goblin Sharpshooter a good choice for the deck.
But in my opinion, it's a meta call.
I love theft effects, you can shoot their creatures with Nin and get the cards I think that is the strongest synergy with the commander.
I have a very similar list, but with Fabricate. Vedalken Shackles are soooo good if not answered in time.
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WUGeist of Saint TraftUW UTalrand PolymorphishU UAzami, Lady of CAU BRWZurgo, Worldslayer BearerWRB BWUMerieke Ri Berit UWB UVendilion CliqueU
Modern:U Mono-U TroN U
I never thought about fabricate....hmm I was thinking of running some kind of transmute effect to try and get shackles. My only worry with fabricate is for when I already have shackles. Dead cards can make us lose in a heartbeat. I'm gonna go check to see if there's any transmute stuff we can play.
Edit: Looks like the only option is drift of phantasms. But that just seems like an awful choice...
How many lands are you running? And are you running dust bowl. I've thought the deck might want it but we really really want our lands. So we probably don't. But I haven't playtested it yet.
If I find a spot for batter skull, then fabricate will definitely make its way in.
Well, you have Drift of Phantasms. I guess it can fetch Blood Moon or Sharpshooter if needed.
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~Commander~ BUDralnu/ReanimatorUB GRUMaelstroM WanderiNgURG GBMerengue Clan of SalsaBG
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW UTalrand PolymorphishU UAzami, Lady of CAU BRWZurgo, Worldslayer BearerWRB BWUMerieke Ri Berit UWB UVendilion CliqueU
Modern:U Mono-U TroN U
Yeah but it just seems laughable on it's own. I think I'd rather just have another potent spell, if I was able to find something to cut I think chain lightnings next to make it in, or a land. I'm not sure yet....
But then again....tutoring blood moon wins games....and it is a blocker. Hmmmm
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I was considering muddle, but as a counter spell it's out classed by so many others. It would let us fetch gilded drake, snapcaster and mortars but drift also let's us get true name nemesis and clique, which might make it a worthy conclusion, but it still feels slightly weak. But I'll test it soon.
Are there any cards suggestions anyone has, or suboptimal ideas you see in the list?
I'm curious what technology might be available to this deck.
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Muddle isn't too bad of a counter; I'd consider it above Mana Leak, at least it's better late game where Leak is terrible. It's kind of like a hard (albeit limited) Negate. I'm never sad to see it, anyway, and as you said it does tutour for Snappy and Drake.
Pitch Muddle, find Snappy, Snap back Muddle seems like a solid progression to me.
i find that often times mana leak is a counterspell that is easier to cast, the core things i want to be countering in this deck are creatures and other various threats which put to fast of a clock on me, and muddle doesnt stop these things. You are right in saying that later on i want hard answers which is why i am running any 3 mana counterspells at all, whereas normally i don't accept them in a list.
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i like swan song more because it counters enchantments which i have problems removing once they are in play, costs 1 mana cheaper than muddle, and still counters instants. that card is absolutely fantastic. i think that at the moment there isnt room for muddle, i think my counterspell suite is probably were it should be at the moment.
I've been playtesting the goblin sharpshooter today, and while it is quite powerful it's timing is odd it comes down on turn 3 and has to wait a turn to activate. most of the time our opponent has already generated plenty of advantage with their mana elves by this point and we have gotten behind. However, i still want a place for a creature which acts as a sweeper and i think izzet staticaster might be our answer, it comes down with haste on turn 3 and has flash so we can hold it, in order to counter a larger threat, and if they dont play something we drop it and kill whatever is causing us problems
Grim lavamancer has been a total powerhouse all day, just thought i'd add that!
thanks for the discussion 3drinks! it's really helpful.
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I love the Mindsparker idea. Anti-UW disruption is never going to be bad in this format.
Hell, depending on how the deck plays, I'd be tempted to put in something like Pyrostatic Pillar; if you're ahead in life it'll completely decimate tempo matchups like Derevi that rely on playing lots of cheap stuff. Obviously you have to watch out that it doesn't hurt you more than your opponent, but in R you should usually be able to make sure you're ahead in life.
pyrostatic pillar is a really interesting idea, ill have to playtest that to see if its viable. My first initial thought is that i would get hurt more than my opponent but it might be valued against opposing control decks. definitely something to test.
I think that standstill might be better against other control decks a little bit more, but again it comes down to finding something to cut
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I've been playtesting most of the day with zavros, and i was right when earlier i suspected that sharpshooter might be too slow. However, i have also noticed that often times staticaster wont do enough for when its played. So we are put in a position where we want removal, but its important it does at least more than 1 damage, and if it can do 4 thats preferable. At the moment i am going to try a chain lightning in its place, but if i find myself needing that extra damage more often then ill slot it out for a psionic blast. If i find myself dying with a lot of little creatures on board then ill probably fit in a slagstorm, but at the moment i want to be able to kill their creatures without killing our true-name nemesis.
Declaration of naught has been reasonably solid, but sometimes we just dont care if their general resolves (small generals we can sweeper away). but more often we have gotten their general to a point where they cannot cast it and then we draw declaration, in these instances we need knowledge of their hand in order to call the right cards. most of the time the worst thing they can do is play a creature we cant interact with (ie. 4 toughness most of the time) so i am slotting in a remove soul in its place.
We still might be a little threat light, now that i know how to properly use dragonmaster outcast i might playtest it a few games to see how potent it is.
I've been evaluating all of our creatures and i think that we are somewhat light on threats. I think that at the moment glen elandra is a very large mana sink, that tends to help us later in the game. however often times later in the game our main problem is large threat creatures such as primeval titan, or others. I think we want to try and lock the game with our spells and then pull up a threat we can protect, I'm gonna try dragonmaster in this place at the moment, if it still ends up being too weak i'll switch to thundermaw hellkite. Prior i had been dropping it on turn 1 or 2 and then watching it die or get sweepered on the early turns when i got overwhelmed. I was playing this wrong obviously. What we want to do with outcast is drop one we have 6 mana and keep up 5 mana and a grip to protect it. I'm not sure why that wasnt obvious earlier but i'm giving it a try now.
At times we flood out due to our large amount of mana. We often times want every single land we get, and more, and i am still not sure if the deck needs one more land. However in order to counteract flooding, i'm adding a lonely sandbar to the deck, in place of an island.
See, I love this so much. We all have our own takes on the deck. Have either of you tried Prognostic Sphinx yet? He protects himself well, we can power that protection easily, and Scry 3 on attack is a lot. Additionally, he enjoys wielding Runechanter's Pike. Oh, and Nin can blast him for X = 4 repeatedly.
edit: Speaking of "Old Man Sphinx" I just won a game off of him in conjunction with Future Sight. Speaking of, you should probably play that card. Yeah it's five mana, but holy smokes does it win the game for you. I'm gonna attach a screencap from a game I just played. Yes, it's on the client so Sol Ring is a factour. Oh well, still a cool pic.
What's dungeon Geist designed to attack asimov. It seemed really interesting but I could never figure it out.
And looking at my list my threats now are
Bribery, treachery, order of succession, vedalken shackles, gilded drake, true name nemesis, dragon master outcast, jace, ruination, blood moon, and occasionally clique.
So I've got 10 threats which is the same density as you now asimovs thanks for that, helps to get my numbers right. I tried talrand, and pyromancer at first but in the current aggro centric meta I often didn't want him when I got him in my opener, I couldn't grind enough advantage out of them before having to sweep the board so I didn't die.
I like spell heart chimaera, and rune chanters but I use grim lavamancer and in the current meta I want the multiple shocks over the damage. I think you have to pick one or the other.
I like future sight. But I dint think I can get to 5 without dying if I had that in hand instead of a sweeper or something else. It generates a ton of advantage, but I think nin fills this spot for us at the moment. However I'll add it to my test list 3drinks
Also thanks Asimov for joining the post!
Edit: sorry. 3drinks I totally missed your prognostic sphinx recommendation. Ok so I have a pretty right creature number that I dont think goes up. Right now which is better true name nemesis or prognostic sphinx. Sphinx is good but I have to discard a card to counter a spell whereas true name does it all on his own, costs 2 less and is unblockable, and can't be killed in combat. The scry 3 is decent but we lose cards protecting prognostic where true name protects himself for free and comes down earlier against aggro to kill their guys. Which is one of the main reasons he's here.
My thought is to use vedalken over derevi, marath, jenara, doran and the rest you listed. I like being able to take them permanently. As against a lot of Aggro matches shackles auto wins us the game. I have really liked dead//gone, however I think you are right to run burst lightning over it. The ability I hit for 4 damage is simply better than bouncing a creature. So I'll make that change. I also like that you are running a tectonic edge. I'll find room for it. It's definitely needed.
I'll look at the rest of your list today and make further comparisons. And adjustments. Thanks Asimov!
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I like future sight. But I dint think I can get to 5 without dying if I had that in hand instead of a sweeper or something else. It generates a ton of advantage, but I think nin fills this spot for us at the moment. However I'll add it to my test list 3drinks
Also thanks Asimov for joining the post!
Edit: sorry. 3drinks I totally missed your prognostic sphinx recommendation. Ok so I have a pretty right creature number that I dont think goes up. Right now which is better true name nemesis or prognostic sphinx. Sphinx is good but I have to discard a card to counter a spell whereas true name does it all on his own, costs 2 less and is unblockable, and can't be killed in combat. The scry 3 is decent but we lose cards protecting prognostic where true name protects himself for free and comes down earlier against aggro to kill their guys. Which is one of the main reasons he's here.
Yeah, definitely test Future Sight. When I have that on board, I sometimes don't even need Nin, it's crazy high value (almost like a UNecropotence).
Also, consider Kher Keep as it can make expendable bodies for Nin to blast on as well.
And for Prognostic, I actually like it more than True-Name. It can't be removed by opponent (how often do you expect to pitch a card to blank a removal?) and it's always "free" (no mana) to keep alive, easy to protect. It also doesn't really need anything else, Scry 3 is pretty incredible and the large toughness keeps it safe from your Pyroclasm effects and it makes a fine choice for Nin to blast for more cards as needed. Without swords or anything, I'd rather swing in the air for three and scry than just swing for three. If that makes sense.
@3drinks
It does make sense, the main reason for true name though is playing it on turn 3 against aggro is relatively assured, It starts trading at least 2 turns earlier and that only if i have lands 4 and 5, but my biggest reason i like true name is it comes down on a turn im often not doing a whole lot with. overall though i just like true names low mana cost, its protection without discarding cards early on.
as for kher keep, i think nin hitting herself is more than fine a vast majority of the time, if the mana base had any more room for flexibility i might say i'd go for it but at hte moment i already have 4 lands that are colorless and 2 lands that come into play tapped, and i dont think the mana can take any more.
@asimov
asimov you switched to scrap over shattering pulse? how has it been treating you? do you miss shattering pulse being cheaper or is the cycling more than making up for it?
how are you liking my take on the mana base? i feel that it might have a little bit more utility than the base you are running currently, when the scry land comes out ill probably replace lonely sandbar with it, or maybe tolaria west if i find myself not using it enough.
Sure. Nin to me, is like a legendary Stroke of Genius sitting in the command zone, but if I can slot something into the manabase to make that sometimes better (the Kobolds pick up Pike well enough too) I figure why not. I'm also not playing the non-basic disruption suite so there are a few other lands I like to make use of. Perhaps this is a mistake on my part (as I said, my deck lacks focus, just aimlessly drawing cards until I can Stormtide or whatever people).
But this is why this thread is so awesome. All of us with our own takes and our own preferred cards to make the same kind of deck. =)
i currently like sudden demise in its place, sudden hits their creatures without necessarily hitting ours.
I'm also running anger of the gods over slagstorm becasue im guessing that the exile effect might be more relevant but after thinking about it for the last few days i cant really think of any creatures with persist, or that need to be exiled that we are scared of. so im switching that.
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So i havn't seen an updated Nin list in a while and I have been looking for a new control deck to play after giving up on Damia (RIP_BUG) so Zavros and I have been at it again brewing up an interesting list! I started with what i had seen asimov post a couple months back (so thanks for the awesome Core!) and updated it for what i expect to face in the current meta. So without further fanfare i present what i'll be playing in my next few tournaments!q
This is built under the duel commander ban list.
1 Nin, the Pain Artist
Counterspells
1 Force of Will
1 Force Spike
1 Annul
1 Spell Snare
1 Spell Pierce
1 Swan Song
1 Condescend
1 Izzet Charm
1 Counterspell
1 Negate
1 Remand
1 Mana Leak
1 Miscalculation
1 Memory Lapse
1 Counterflux
1 Forbid
1 Dissolve
1 Dismiss
1 Cryptic Command
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
Sweepers
1 Sudden Demise
1 Bonfire of the Damned
Spot Removal
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Flame Slash
1 Burst Lightning
1 Repeal
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Into the Roil
1 Electrolyze
1 Psionic Blast
1 Smash
1 Turn // Burn
1 Prophetic Bolt
Card Filter/Draw
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Peek
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Impulse
1 Fact or Fiction
Utility
1 Pithing Needle
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Snapcaster Mage
Disruption
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Blood Moon
1 Ruination
Theft
1 Gilded Drake
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Order of Succession
1 Treachery
1 Bribery
Finishers
1 Young Pyromancer
1 True-Name Nemesis
1 Future Sight
1 Tamiyo, The moon Sage
1 Ætherling
1 Frost titan
Lands - 41
1 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Maze of Ith
1 Wasteland
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Cephalid Coliseum
1 lonely sandbar
15 Island
7 Mountain
Overall I am really enjoying the deck and am loving the play style of counter-burn in DuelCommander!
I look forward to seeing lots of discussion on my list.
Change Log
12/25/13
- Steam Augery + Prophetic bolt
- young Pyromancer + Goblin Sharpshooter
- island + mountain
12/28/13
-goblin sharpshooter +chain lightning
- declaration of Naught + remove soul
- glen elandra archmage + dragonmaster outcast
- island + lonely sandbar
12/29/13
- dead//gone + Burst Lightning
- mountain +Tectonic Edge
- anger of the gods +slagstorm
- remove soul + condescend
- chain lightning + turn // burn
01/04/14
-dissolve +desertion
- turn//burn + complicate
01/27/14
- magus of the moon +isochron scepter
- complicate + turn//burn
- bribery +aetherling
- tolaria west + island
- lonely sandbar +island
- shivan reef +island
2/1/14
- Mizzium Mortars + Psionic Blast
- Peek +Brainstorm
- Slagstorm + Bonfire of the Damned
4/27/14
-Mental Misstep +Dissolve
-island +peek
-mountain +lonely sandbar
-dragonmaster outcast +young pyromancer
-Desertion +Bribery
-Starstorm +frost titan
-isochron Scepter +Tamiyo, the moon sage
-mountain +temple of Epihpany
Testing
In real life i'm currently running shivan reef over volcanic island till i can get my hands on my duel.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
I'm curious about Order of Succession. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding how it works in two-player games or how the trigger works, but can't your opponent just take back whatever you take? You can't interrupt it halfway through to kill whatever you take with Nin, right? I could be completely missing the point, but it feels too narrow to me for a 4-cc sorcery. EDIT: okay, so the choosing happens and then everyone gains control of what they chose at the same time. So if your board is empty your opponent gets nothing. I gotcha. Still, it seems like it could often backfire, or sit in your hand when you've got something on the board you don't want to lose. EDIT AGAIN: okay, nevermind, I finally figured it out. This can hit opposing True Name Nemesiss and hexproof stuff. Just ignore me, I'm slow on the uptake sometimes :p.
Derevi, Empyrial TacticianWUGMultiplayer
Other interesting finds are Mindsparker, It kills geist, and deals quite a bit of damage to opposing U/W control decks. And Thundermaw Hellkite which one shots a jace even after he fateseals you.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
But in my opinion, it's a meta call.
I love theft effects, you can shoot their creatures with Nin and get the cards I think that is the strongest synergy with the commander.
I have a very similar list, but with Fabricate. Vedalken Shackles are soooo good if not answered in time.
URGBOops all my spellsBGRU
URBYoung GrixisBRU
~Commander~
BUDralnu/ReanimatorUB
GRUMaelstroM WanderiNgURG
GBMerengue Clan of SalsaBG
UTalrand PolymorphishU
UAzami, Lady of CAU
BRWZurgo, Worldslayer BearerWRB
BWUMerieke Ri Berit UWB
UVendilion CliqueU
Modern:U Mono-U TroN U
Edit: Looks like the only option is drift of phantasms. But that just seems like an awful choice...
How many lands are you running? And are you running dust bowl. I've thought the deck might want it but we really really want our lands. So we probably don't. But I haven't playtested it yet.
If I find a spot for batter skull, then fabricate will definitely make its way in.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
URGBOops all my spellsBGRU
URBYoung GrixisBRU
~Commander~
BUDralnu/ReanimatorUB
GRUMaelstroM WanderiNgURG
GBMerengue Clan of SalsaBG
UTalrand PolymorphishU
UAzami, Lady of CAU
BRWZurgo, Worldslayer BearerWRB
BWUMerieke Ri Berit UWB
UVendilion CliqueU
Modern:U Mono-U TroN U
But then again....tutoring blood moon wins games....and it is a blocker. Hmmmm
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Are there any cards suggestions anyone has, or suboptimal ideas you see in the list?
I'm curious what technology might be available to this deck.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Pitch Muddle, find Snappy, Snap back Muddle seems like a solid progression to me.
Dead/Gone could (and should) likely be Turn/Burn. And Jace, Architect of Thought should likely be somewhere in the ninety-nine too.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Still, Muddle could do some work in the deck nonetheless. Maybe over Swan Song?
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I've been playtesting the goblin sharpshooter today, and while it is quite powerful it's timing is odd it comes down on turn 3 and has to wait a turn to activate. most of the time our opponent has already generated plenty of advantage with their mana elves by this point and we have gotten behind. However, i still want a place for a creature which acts as a sweeper and i think izzet staticaster might be our answer, it comes down with haste on turn 3 and has flash so we can hold it, in order to counter a larger threat, and if they dont play something we drop it and kill whatever is causing us problems
Grim lavamancer has been a total powerhouse all day, just thought i'd add that!
thanks for the discussion 3drinks! it's really helpful.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Hell, depending on how the deck plays, I'd be tempted to put in something like Pyrostatic Pillar; if you're ahead in life it'll completely decimate tempo matchups like Derevi that rely on playing lots of cheap stuff. Obviously you have to watch out that it doesn't hurt you more than your opponent, but in R you should usually be able to make sure you're ahead in life.
Derevi, Empyrial TacticianWUGMultiplayer
I think that standstill might be better against other control decks a little bit more, but again it comes down to finding something to cut
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Declaration of naught has been reasonably solid, but sometimes we just dont care if their general resolves (small generals we can sweeper away). but more often we have gotten their general to a point where they cannot cast it and then we draw declaration, in these instances we need knowledge of their hand in order to call the right cards. most of the time the worst thing they can do is play a creature we cant interact with (ie. 4 toughness most of the time) so i am slotting in a remove soul in its place.
We still might be a little threat light, now that i know how to properly use dragonmaster outcast i might playtest it a few games to see how potent it is.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
At times we flood out due to our large amount of mana. We often times want every single land we get, and more, and i am still not sure if the deck needs one more land. However in order to counteract flooding, i'm adding a lonely sandbar to the deck, in place of an island.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
See, I love this so much. We all have our own takes on the deck. Have either of you tried Prognostic Sphinx yet? He protects himself well, we can power that protection easily, and Scry 3 on attack is a lot. Additionally, he enjoys wielding Runechanter's Pike. Oh, and Nin can blast him for X = 4 repeatedly.
edit: Speaking of "Old Man Sphinx" I just won a game off of him in conjunction with Future Sight. Speaking of, you should probably play that card. Yeah it's five mana, but holy smokes does it win the game for you. I'm gonna attach a screencap from a game I just played. Yes, it's on the client so Sol Ring is a factour. Oh well, still a cool pic.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
And looking at my list my threats now are
Bribery, treachery, order of succession, vedalken shackles, gilded drake, true name nemesis, dragon master outcast, jace, ruination, blood moon, and occasionally clique.
So I've got 10 threats which is the same density as you now asimovs thanks for that, helps to get my numbers right. I tried talrand, and pyromancer at first but in the current aggro centric meta I often didn't want him when I got him in my opener, I couldn't grind enough advantage out of them before having to sweep the board so I didn't die.
I like spell heart chimaera, and rune chanters but I use grim lavamancer and in the current meta I want the multiple shocks over the damage. I think you have to pick one or the other.
I like future sight. But I dint think I can get to 5 without dying if I had that in hand instead of a sweeper or something else. It generates a ton of advantage, but I think nin fills this spot for us at the moment. However I'll add it to my test list 3drinks
Also thanks Asimov for joining the post!
Edit: sorry. 3drinks I totally missed your prognostic sphinx recommendation. Ok so I have a pretty right creature number that I dont think goes up. Right now which is better true name nemesis or prognostic sphinx. Sphinx is good but I have to discard a card to counter a spell whereas true name does it all on his own, costs 2 less and is unblockable, and can't be killed in combat. The scry 3 is decent but we lose cards protecting prognostic where true name protects himself for free and comes down earlier against aggro to kill their guys. Which is one of the main reasons he's here.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
I'll look at the rest of your list today and make further comparisons. And adjustments. Thanks Asimov!
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
Yeah, definitely test Future Sight. When I have that on board, I sometimes don't even need Nin, it's crazy high value (almost like a U Necropotence).
Also, consider Kher Keep as it can make expendable bodies for Nin to blast on as well.
And for Prognostic, I actually like it more than True-Name. It can't be removed by opponent (how often do you expect to pitch a card to blank a removal?) and it's always "free" (no mana) to keep alive, easy to protect. It also doesn't really need anything else, Scry 3 is pretty incredible and the large toughness keeps it safe from your Pyroclasm effects and it makes a fine choice for Nin to blast for more cards as needed. Without swords or anything, I'd rather swing in the air for three and scry than just swing for three. If that makes sense.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
It does make sense, the main reason for true name though is playing it on turn 3 against aggro is relatively assured, It starts trading at least 2 turns earlier and that only if i have lands 4 and 5, but my biggest reason i like true name is it comes down on a turn im often not doing a whole lot with. overall though i just like true names low mana cost, its protection without discarding cards early on.
as for kher keep, i think nin hitting herself is more than fine a vast majority of the time, if the mana base had any more room for flexibility i might say i'd go for it but at hte moment i already have 4 lands that are colorless and 2 lands that come into play tapped, and i dont think the mana can take any more.
@asimov
asimov you switched to scrap over shattering pulse? how has it been treating you? do you miss shattering pulse being cheaper or is the cycling more than making up for it?
how are you liking my take on the mana base? i feel that it might have a little bit more utility than the base you are running currently, when the scry land comes out ill probably replace lonely sandbar with it, or maybe tolaria west if i find myself not using it enough.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)
But this is why this thread is so awesome. All of us with our own takes and our own preferred cards to make the same kind of deck. =)
edit: Also, Rolling Earthquake is a helluva sweeper to consider.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I'm also running anger of the gods over slagstorm becasue im guessing that the exile effect might be more relevant but after thinking about it for the last few days i cant really think of any creatures with persist, or that need to be exiled that we are scared of. so im switching that.
Modern
No clue
RIP Twin
MTGS Olde Name:
Hruen (apparently it was taken, probably by me about 10 years ago.........)