Introduction
Scapeshift is a archetype that was made popular in Extended. The deck had gained it's popularity for being a one-card combo, backed by counter magic and ramp spells. It was quite simple. Get yourself to seven lands, and then cast Scapeshift. Search your library for any six Mountains and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle for a total of 18 points of damage. Alternatively, you may also sacrifice 8 lands instead to Scapeshift. This will allow you to grab two Valakuts resulting in 36 points of damage.
Since Valakut's unbanning on September 20, 2012, their have been several different brews of the Scapeshift archetype. While this primer will be mainly discussing the RUG version, I encourage others to keep thinking outside the box and creating new ideas for this wonderful combo. So without further ado, let's get into what makes this deck tick.
The Core ~Scapeshift. This is your one-card combo. It will be your main win condition. This should always be a 4-of.
~Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Although Valakut is a part of this combo, it is not needed in your hand. 2 is the optimal number for this guy.
~Sakura-Tribe Elder. One of the only creatures in Modern that deserves a 4-of spot in this deck. STE does it all. Stalling, Ramping, and in case of emergencies, he can swing in for a point of damage or two.
~Search for Tomorrow. While the snake gets credit for being able to multitask in the deck. SfT should get an award for ramping. This is your go-to ramp spell. Being able to effectively give us a turn-1 play while still being a handy spell later on. Definitely a 4-of.
~Snapcaster Mage. Hard to forget about this guy. I will admit that he's not as good in here as he is in other archetypes. Tiago still pulls his weight by flashing back counters and burn. 2-3 should suffice.
~Remand. Since stalling is our main goal for early game, we can't ask for more than this. Should always be considered a 4-of.
~Cryptic Command. Probably the most debatable card on the core list. IMHO, Command is one of the most powerful cards available to the deck. Scapeshift can supply open mana for it by turn three consistently, and seeing how Command can potentially give you 2 turns to work with. I feel that it deserves it's spot. I recommend 3-4 copies.
Supporting Cast
Digging Serum Visions. Great card, it's the best alternative we have now that we don't have Ponder and the gang.
Peer Through Depths. Peer has came to be favorite of mine. Digging 5 cards down and at instant speed? 3-4 are very recommended.
Sleight of Hand. Not so great in here since it doesn't dig as much as our other options. Up to you if prefer it over Visions.
Telling Time. TT can be a little wonky at times, since you cannot throw away or keep exactly what you'd like. It's decent at instant speed but I would only recommend it only if you have maxed out on Visions and Peer.
Augur of Bolas. A new defensive way to dig for spells. I highly recommend him if you play in a aggro heavy meta.
Ramp Explore. I'm going to group both Explore and Farseek here. Although they do very different things, they want to accomplish the same goal. If you run more lands than normal, I suggest Explore. Alternatively, if you want a card that will always gain you a land, choose Farseek.
Khalni Heart Expedition. While not a bad card, we have better options. It can also be a little slow, especially during bad topdecks or getting mana screwed.
Misc. Prismatic Omen. Omen used to be a central part of the combo in most extended decks. While it's still a nice card, the meta in Modern makes it somewhat of a dead card. Also, you'll noticed that you won't need it most of the time.
Pyroclasm. I really suggest all Scapeshift players have a least 2 of these in the MB. Pyro can do some hefty lifting when it comes to stalling Tokens, Robots, and other critters.
Izzet Charm. Charm has some competition with Bolt in lists. It really comes down to personal preference.
Lightning Bolt. Really can't go wrong here. As I've said, up to you on whether to run Bolt or Charm. One of the nicest parts about Bolt is the fact it can aim for the dome. Which can come into play quite a bit.
Firespout. If you need more power than Pyroclasm. This should do the trick.
Repeal. Sometimes you need an occasional bounce. Cantripping is always a plus.
Electrolyze. Used to a lesser extent than Pyro and Firespout, this guy can still take down some critters. And as always, cantripping is nice.
Avenger of Zendikar. A alternate Win-con. I've seen lists with a MB copy, some with a SB copy, and some without any. Meta call.
Misty Rainforest. This is debatable, it helps during early game. If you have them run them. Otherwise you can always tweak the mana base to accommodate their absence.
Flooded Grove. Truly depends on whether or not you're running Cryptic Command and how many. If so, 2-3 always helps.
Sideboard Options
Ancient Grudge. Most efficient answer against affinity. 2-3 always recommended.
Spell Pierce/Negate/Dispel. Your preference, these are always great against combo and other Blue based decks.
Wipe Away and Echoing Truth. Wipe Away is a personal favorite, some others always prefer Truth. It's another meta call.
Cyclonic Rift. Separating this one from the other bounce since the applications are different. The Overload makes it a very defensive spell and is still always nice to have the cheap bounce as well.
Pyroclasm and Firespout. And again, a meta call. Clears up tokens and other aggro goodies.
Vendilion Clique. Great at protecting your combo and can be an alternate win condition.
Leyline of Sanctity. Word of caution when using Leyline in your board. Only use if your meta is packed with Jund and/or other disruptive decks. Since we have no way to hard cast it, it can be somewhat of a gamble.
Q & A Q: What are the general strengths and weaknesses of Scapeshift? A: It's biggest strength is being able to ignore most flexible hate in the current meta. Even hosers such as Leyline of Sanctity and Blood Moon can be played around pretty easily. As for it's weaknesses, Scapeshift can often at times be skill intensive. You must always be conscious of how the next few turns will play out. Sometimes this is more difficult than what it seems.
Q: Is Scapeshift too slow for Modern? A: It depends on how you think of it. The deck certainly doesn't follow the norm when it comes to combo in Modern. Scapeshift tends to play more like a control deck with a consistent combo as it's win condition. If you accept that knowledge, then the deck isn't slow at all.
Q: Why doesn't Scapeshift use manadorks? Or even Primeval Titan? A: Simply because we don't need them. One of the deck's strengths is ignoring all creature removal, adding creatures would only clog up our open mana.
Q: Why should I play Scapeshift? A: Because it's quite fun. Scapeshift always has a high ceiling for skill improvement and is always interactive with it's opponent. So give it a try, you just might enjoy it.
I think Repeal and Electrolyze are both valid maindeck options, as they both cantrip and remove stuff (Repeal only does it for a turn, Electrolyze only hits players or kills X/2's or X/1's), and I've occasionally seen them in Scapeshift lists.
I've also seen Augur of Bolas in Scapeshift maindecks as a dig spell on pretty good legs.
I think the following are valid sideboard options (in fact, I run quite a few of them):
Obstinate Baloth/Kitchen Finks: They're probably less necessary in my build because it's built to combo off fast (and consistently) and wage agile counter wars, but I've found that they're necessary in the slow version with Cryptic Command because RDW consistently beats it otherwise. They're also alt win cons again against Slaughter Games.
Krosan Grip/Nature's Claim/Deglamer: All of them are even more options against Blood Moon and Leyline of Sanctity. K. Grip is the most expensive but is a workhorse against Exarch Twin and Delver, Nature's Claim is the cheapest but forces you to do the 8-land kill, and Deglamer is the middle ground that can boot Wurmcoil Engine but is easily countered.
Cyclonic Rift: Scapeshift is one of the only decks in Modern that can take advantage of its Overload. It's the better meta choice if you face multiple different hate pieces.
Leyline of Sanctity: Hugely debatable and hugely debated. I still occasionally see it, and it's good against Slaughter Games, targeted discard, and UR Storm. It's just impossible to hardcast.
Dispel: It's decent at hosing combo and it's very agile against decks with counterspells.
I've played against variants of RUG Scapeshift that used Prismatic Omen to win just by playing Fetchlands and controlling the board. It seemed a solid enough play style. Sit back on cryptics, counter magic and snapcasters to seal the deal. Go for EoT plays and then win with Scapeshift if an opponent ever tapped out during their turn.
I played my buddy's affinity deck a few times and tried Creeping Corrosion out in the SB. The inability to hit manlands, or Cranial Plating at instant speed was terrible, and for taking out creatures, Pyroclasm does it 1-2 turns sooner. Stick to Ancient Grudge.
Scapeshift has consistency, for winning consistencely turn 7-8, how come you can't cast scapeshift and win after 8 turns full of cantrip and ramp?
Resiliency, you know land can't get easily destroyed, and fortunately wasteland is out of modern
And fun also
It's not like other boring combo deck
Because scapeshift interacts with opponent's deck
But the deck needs a skilled player to pilot it
Mostly to manage the land's color because it needs 3 blue mana and 1 others by turn 4 (cryptic command)
To spend your mana on cantrip, or save it for counterspell
I prefer Naturalize of the two, we can cast it on our combo turn and still have Scapeshift mana up, and it doesn't push us into 8 land territory. I prefer all purpose bounce to Enchantment hate though, as it can save us against a creature if need be, and gets rid of any hate they can throw.
Sowing Salt is good, but I'm a big fan of Bribery against them. With a nut draw it's a turn 3 Emrakul, more often it's turn 4, but it wins the game, whereas Sowing Salt just slows them down.
I prefer Naturalize of the two, we can cast it on our combo turn and still have Scapeshift mana up, and it doesn't push us into 8 land territory. I prefer all purpose bounce to Enchantment hate though, as it can save us against a creature if need be, and gets rid of any hate they can throw.
Sowing Salt is good, but I'm a big fan of Bribery against them. With a nut draw it's a turn 3 Emrakul, more often it's turn 4, but it wins the game, whereas Sowing Salt just slows them down.
Sowing Salt completely takes tron out of the game. It doesnt matter if they hardcast Karn on turn 7 because the games already over then. Using Bribery is a good option but the can just eat the Emrakul with a Karn (provided they play him turn 3). Of the two I'd take the Sowing Salt but you have to be careful because tron now runs Ghost Quarter.
In this deck I like Sleight of Hand over Serum Visions. It's because of suspended Search for Tomorrows and Sakura's waiting to be cracked. If a land search is pending, you can't really cast Serum Visions for other than just drawing a card. Sleight of Hand doesn't care about those cards and always gives access to one of two cards. I compliment my Sleights with Peer through Depths.
Just a few questions about the list, how is Prismatic Omen, and do you find 4 to many? What turn are you generally able to go off? Haven't seen many people trying Omen, so I'm curious to see how it does.
To be completely honest, I have not played this list yet. It was based on a list I had played against on Cockatrice a while back. That list was primarily a control list, often keeping mana open for counters and such, while building up the mana base. My opponent wouldn't normally go for Scapeshift unless I was tapped out.
I feel that Prismatic Omen is a necesity for this deck, specifically because there are only 8 actual mountains in the build. When it got going, it got crazy though. With an active Valakut, fetch lands ping opponents for 6. Valakut pings for 3. Any land I have can tap for any color, including fetches if I don't want to thin down my deck or pay life to activate them.
Vendilion Clique is a personal choice. It seems a good way to put pressure on an opponent, while giving myself the option to dig. You can target your opponent at their EoT to check/remove answers prior to casting Scapeshift on your turn. Snapcasters and Bolts are also there for extra pressure. I've played decks with Snappy and Bolt before, and found they can seal a game up out of nowhere.
It definitely needs some testing and a bit of refining. There are other card choices I wouldn't mind giving a try as well.
What are everybody's thoughts about running a more "Control" version with, like 2 Wurmcoils maindeck as additional trumps against Aggro or Jund?
I'm considering playing Scapeshift this PTQ season and the possibility of playing a "Control" deck with a combo finish excites me.
I've tested Wurmcoils from the sb and it's decent, only deck it isn't good against is infect but that's what the bounce, Pyroclasms, and Izzet Charms are for.
I've tested Wurmcoils from the sb and it's decent, only deck it isn't good against is infect but that's what the bounce, Pyroclasms, and Izzet Charms are for.
What did you board out for the Wurmcoils?
Maybe my idea is a bit too cute, but you know, we can't learn if we don't make any mistakes.
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Introduction
Scapeshift is a archetype that was made popular in Extended. The deck had gained it's popularity for being a one-card combo, backed by counter magic and ramp spells. It was quite simple. Get yourself to seven lands, and then cast Scapeshift. Search your library for any six Mountains and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle for a total of 18 points of damage. Alternatively, you may also sacrifice 8 lands instead to Scapeshift. This will allow you to grab two Valakuts resulting in 36 points of damage.
Since Valakut's unbanning on September 20, 2012, their have been several different brews of the Scapeshift archetype. While this primer will be mainly discussing the RUG version, I encourage others to keep thinking outside the box and creating new ideas for this wonderful combo. So without further ado, let's get into what makes this deck tick.
The Core
~Scapeshift. This is your one-card combo. It will be your main win condition. This should always be a 4-of.
~Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Although Valakut is a part of this combo, it is not needed in your hand. 2 is the optimal number for this guy.
~Sakura-Tribe Elder. One of the only creatures in Modern that deserves a 4-of spot in this deck. STE does it all. Stalling, Ramping, and in case of emergencies, he can swing in for a point of damage or two.
~Search for Tomorrow. While the snake gets credit for being able to multitask in the deck. SfT should get an award for ramping. This is your go-to ramp spell. Being able to effectively give us a turn-1 play while still being a handy spell later on. Definitely a 4-of.
~Snapcaster Mage. Hard to forget about this guy. I will admit that he's not as good in here as he is in other archetypes. Tiago still pulls his weight by flashing back counters and burn. 2-3 should suffice.
~Remand. Since stalling is our main goal for early game, we can't ask for more than this. Should always be considered a 4-of.
~Cryptic Command. Probably the most debatable card on the core list. IMHO, Command is one of the most powerful cards available to the deck. Scapeshift can supply open mana for it by turn three consistently, and seeing how Command can potentially give you 2 turns to work with. I feel that it deserves it's spot. I recommend 3-4 copies.
Supporting Cast
Digging
Serum Visions. Great card, it's the best alternative we have now that we don't have Ponder and the gang.
Peer Through Depths. Peer has came to be favorite of mine. Digging 5 cards down and at instant speed? 3-4 are very recommended.
Sleight of Hand. Not so great in here since it doesn't dig as much as our other options. Up to you if prefer it over Visions.
Telling Time. TT can be a little wonky at times, since you cannot throw away or keep exactly what you'd like. It's decent at instant speed but I would only recommend it only if you have maxed out on Visions and Peer.
Augur of Bolas. A new defensive way to dig for spells. I highly recommend him if you play in a aggro heavy meta.
Ramp
Explore. I'm going to group both Explore and Farseek here. Although they do very different things, they want to accomplish the same goal. If you run more lands than normal, I suggest Explore. Alternatively, if you want a card that will always gain you a land, choose Farseek.
Farseek. See above.
Khalni Heart Expedition. While not a bad card, we have better options. It can also be a little slow, especially during bad topdecks or getting mana screwed.
Misc.
Prismatic Omen. Omen used to be a central part of the combo in most extended decks. While it's still a nice card, the meta in Modern makes it somewhat of a dead card. Also, you'll noticed that you won't need it most of the time.
Pyroclasm. I really suggest all Scapeshift players have a least 2 of these in the MB. Pyro can do some hefty lifting when it comes to stalling Tokens, Robots, and other critters.
Izzet Charm. Charm has some competition with Bolt in lists. It really comes down to personal preference.
Lightning Bolt. Really can't go wrong here. As I've said, up to you on whether to run Bolt or Charm. One of the nicest parts about Bolt is the fact it can aim for the dome. Which can come into play quite a bit.
Firespout. If you need more power than Pyroclasm. This should do the trick.
Repeal. Sometimes you need an occasional bounce. Cantripping is always a plus.
Electrolyze. Used to a lesser extent than Pyro and Firespout, this guy can still take down some critters. And as always, cantripping is nice.
Avenger of Zendikar. A alternate Win-con. I've seen lists with a MB copy, some with a SB copy, and some without any. Meta call.
Rude Awakening. Same as above.
Land Base
Steam Vents & Stomping Ground. These are a essential 4-of. Valakut likes Mountains, so we should too.
Breeding Pool. A good 1-of should do.
Misty Rainforest. This is debatable, it helps during early game. If you have them run them. Otherwise you can always tweak the mana base to accommodate their absence.
Flooded Grove. Truly depends on whether or not you're running Cryptic Command and how many. If so, 2-3 always helps.
Ancient Grudge. Most efficient answer against affinity. 2-3 always recommended.
Shadow of Doubt. A tech card against Slaughter Games. Can also deny fetching and is also hate against mirror matches.
Spell Pierce/Negate/Dispel. Your preference, these are always great against combo and other Blue based decks.
Wipe Away and Echoing Truth. Wipe Away is a personal favorite, some others always prefer Truth. It's another meta call.
Cyclonic Rift. Separating this one from the other bounce since the applications are different. The Overload makes it a very defensive spell and is still always nice to have the cheap bounce as well.
Pyroclasm and Firespout. And again, a meta call. Clears up tokens and other aggro goodies.
Vendilion Clique. Great at protecting your combo and can be an alternate win condition.
Krosan Grip/Nature's Claim/Deglamer. Needing more answers to Leyline and Blood Moon? Look no further.
Leyline of Sanctity. Word of caution when using Leyline in your board. Only use if your meta is packed with Jund and/or other disruptive decks. Since we have no way to hard cast it, it can be somewhat of a gamble.
Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Only for the heaviest of Blue metas. Otherwise, rarely ever needed.
Q & A
Q: What are the general strengths and weaknesses of Scapeshift?
A: It's biggest strength is being able to ignore most flexible hate in the current meta. Even hosers such as Leyline of Sanctity and Blood Moon can be played around pretty easily. As for it's weaknesses, Scapeshift can often at times be skill intensive. You must always be conscious of how the next few turns will play out. Sometimes this is more difficult than what it seems.
Q: Is Scapeshift too slow for Modern?
A: It depends on how you think of it. The deck certainly doesn't follow the norm when it comes to combo in Modern. Scapeshift tends to play more like a control deck with a consistent combo as it's win condition. If you accept that knowledge, then the deck isn't slow at all.
Q: Why doesn't Scapeshift use manadorks? Or even Primeval Titan?
A: Simply because we don't need them. One of the deck's strengths is ignoring all creature removal, adding creatures would only clog up our open mana.
Q: Why should I play Scapeshift?
A: Because it's quite fun. Scapeshift always has a high ceiling for skill improvement and is always interactive with it's opponent. So give it a try, you just might enjoy it.
Deck Listings
Alon Chitiz (3/4 Grand Prix Toronto 09/12/12)
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Stomping Ground
4 Steam Vents
3 Island
3 Forest
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
2 Mountain
1 Breeding Pool
1 Flooded Grove
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
4 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Serum Visions
3 Peer Through Depths
3 Pyroclasm
2 Farseek
2 Telling Time
4 Ancient Grudge
3 Guttural Response
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Negate
James Vance (5/8 Grand Prix Toronto 09/12/12)
4 Stomping Ground
4 Steam Vents
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Grove
3 Island
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
2 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Augur of Bolas
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Peer Through Depths
3 Unsummon
3 Scapeshift
2 Farseek
2 Into the Roil
1 Cultivate
1 Firespout
1 Spell Pierce
2 Firespout
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
3 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2 Threads of Disloyalty
3 Spellskite
1 Rude Awakening
3 Negate
Shi Tian Lee (3/4 Pro Tour Return to Ravnica 21/10/12)
4 Stomping Ground
4 Steam Vents
3 Forest
3 Island
2 Flooded Grove
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Mountain
1 Halimar Depths
1 Breeding Pool
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Remand
4 Scapeshift
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Serum Visions
4 Telling Time
3 Izzet Charm
3 Cryptic Command
2 Repeal
1 Electrolyze
1 Electrolyze
2 Volcanic Fallout
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Nature's Claim
1 Beast Within
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Wurmcoil Engine
Primer Log
12/22/2012 - Lectrys's card analysis additions added. Thank you.
12/21/2012 - Primer Posted.
I've also seen Augur of Bolas in Scapeshift maindecks as a dig spell on pretty good legs.
I think the following are valid sideboard options (in fact, I run quite a few of them):
Vendilion Clique: It's pretty good against combo as a near-Thoughtseize, it even hits Slaughter Games, and it's an alt win con if Slaughter Games still resolves.
Obstinate Baloth/Kitchen Finks: They're probably less necessary in my build because it's built to combo off fast (and consistently) and wage agile counter wars, but I've found that they're necessary in the slow version with Cryptic Command because RDW consistently beats it otherwise. They're also alt win cons again against Slaughter Games.
Krosan Grip/Nature's Claim/Deglamer: All of them are even more options against Blood Moon and Leyline of Sanctity. K. Grip is the most expensive but is a workhorse against Exarch Twin and Delver, Nature's Claim is the cheapest but forces you to do the 8-land kill, and Deglamer is the middle ground that can boot Wurmcoil Engine but is easily countered.
Cyclonic Rift: Scapeshift is one of the only decks in Modern that can take advantage of its Overload. It's the better meta choice if you face multiple different hate pieces.
Leyline of Sanctity: Hugely debatable and hugely debated. I still occasionally see it, and it's good against Slaughter Games, targeted discard, and UR Storm. It's just impossible to hardcast.
Dispel: It's decent at hosing combo and it's very agile against decks with counterspells.
FREE BLOODBRAID ELF
I played my buddy's affinity deck a few times and tried Creeping Corrosion out in the SB. The inability to hit manlands, or Cranial Plating at instant speed was terrible, and for taking out creatures, Pyroclasm does it 1-2 turns sooner. Stick to Ancient Grudge.
GWBJunk TokensBWG
Modern
GURScapeshiftRUG
BGRDredgevineRGB
URSTORM!RU
UWTezzeret ControlWU
Legacy
BWStonebladeWB
BUGBUG ControlGUB
Anyone care to discuss Nature's Claim vs. Naturalize? Does costing 1 less make up for the 4 life the opponent gains?
Is Sowing Salt our best option against tron?
Scapeshift has consistency, for winning consistencely turn 7-8, how come you can't cast scapeshift and win after 8 turns full of cantrip and ramp?
Resiliency, you know land can't get easily destroyed, and fortunately wasteland is out of modern
And fun also
It's not like other boring combo deck
Because scapeshift interacts with opponent's deck
But the deck needs a skilled player to pilot it
Mostly to manage the land's color because it needs 3 blue mana and 1 others by turn 4 (cryptic command)
To spend your mana on cantrip, or save it for counterspell
I prefer Naturalize of the two, we can cast it on our combo turn and still have Scapeshift mana up, and it doesn't push us into 8 land territory. I prefer all purpose bounce to Enchantment hate though, as it can save us against a creature if need be, and gets rid of any hate they can throw.
Sowing Salt is good, but I'm a big fan of Bribery against them. With a nut draw it's a turn 3 Emrakul, more often it's turn 4, but it wins the game, whereas Sowing Salt just slows them down.
GWBJunk TokensBWG
Modern
GURScapeshiftRUG
BGRDredgevineRGB
URSTORM!RU
UWTezzeret ControlWU
Legacy
BWStonebladeWB
BUGBUG ControlGUB
Sowing Salt completely takes tron out of the game. It doesnt matter if they hardcast Karn on turn 7 because the games already over then. Using Bribery is a good option but the can just eat the Emrakul with a Karn (provided they play him turn 3). Of the two I'd take the Sowing Salt but you have to be careful because tron now runs Ghost Quarter.
XXXX
Modern
URTwinRU R.I.P.
EDH
WUGRoon of the Hidden RealmWUG
GWBJunk TokensBWG
Modern
GURScapeshiftRUG
BGRDredgevineRGB
URSTORM!RU
UWTezzeret ControlWU
Legacy
BWStonebladeWB
BUGBUG ControlGUB
Shadow of Doubt in the board is awesome tech.
I'd consider Flooded Strand a poor choice in, you know, Modern
I'm assuming you meant Flooded Grove?
Want to be a better Magic player? Read the rulings forum and check out the comprehensive rules!
4x Prismatic Omen
Sorcery: 10
4x Scapeshift
4x Serum Visions
2x Explore
Instant: 13
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Remand
3x Cryptic Command
2x Izzet Charm
Critters: 8
3x Sakura-Tribe Elder
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
3x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Steam Vents
3x Stomping Ground
2x Breeding Pool
3x Island
1x Mountain
1x Forest
Coiling Oracle seems fun too. Not sure if better or worse than Explore/STE
FREE BLOODBRAID ELF
GWBJunk TokensBWG
Modern
GURScapeshiftRUG
BGRDredgevineRGB
URSTORM!RU
UWTezzeret ControlWU
Legacy
BWStonebladeWB
BUGBUG ControlGUB
I feel that Prismatic Omen is a necesity for this deck, specifically because there are only 8 actual mountains in the build. When it got going, it got crazy though. With an active Valakut, fetch lands ping opponents for 6. Valakut pings for 3. Any land I have can tap for any color, including fetches if I don't want to thin down my deck or pay life to activate them.
Vendilion Clique is a personal choice. It seems a good way to put pressure on an opponent, while giving myself the option to dig. You can target your opponent at their EoT to check/remove answers prior to casting Scapeshift on your turn. Snapcasters and Bolts are also there for extra pressure. I've played decks with Snappy and Bolt before, and found they can seal a game up out of nowhere.
It definitely needs some testing and a bit of refining. There are other card choices I wouldn't mind giving a try as well.
FREE BLOODBRAID ELF
I'm considering playing Scapeshift this PTQ season and the possibility of playing a "Control" deck with a combo finish excites me.
What did you board out for the Wurmcoils?
Maybe my idea is a bit too cute, but you know, we can't learn if we don't make any mistakes.