I think Ashiok deserves to be a 2 of. Faeries is a deck full of removal spells, small creatures and other disruption. Normally your plan in a game is to either slowly ping them to death and then finish them with lands, resolve bitterblossom , or outgrind them with visions. With my original list there was also the chance to have the kalitas game plan of resolving him and killing everything. Ashiok is yet another gameplan that synergy's well with all the blockers and disruption we have, but is great versus decks that are better in combat than us.
Honestly I have no idea how to beat Eldrazi. Damnation seems like it would have been great at any point. I feel like there has to be A card that wrecks them, I just have to find it. More removal that is good versus them might also be an answer, stuff like doom blade. I intend to work on it and at least attempt to figure it out.
Great write up and list! I'm considering changing up my list to be a bit less controlly and up the faerie count from 12 to 14 ish with the same creatures as you. I actually feel like ashiok can beat eldrazi at least in my experience as long as you don't let them resolve displacer or kill it before it can blink itself. I feel game 1 is a bit helpless considering nearly all our counters are dead cards but removal is better and damnation definitely crushes their deck. Eldrazi feels like an aggro midrange deck in that the threats that it plays are big enough for us not to ignore but can also be played quickly and efficiently which is frustrating.
Edit: By the way, how did ancestral vision hold up for you? I'm still torn whether I want to run 3 main, side or any at all?
I bring Ashiok in against them, it just sucks that counters and spellstutter sprite are kinda dead. I have a new list I am trying with a hopefully better SB plan versus them.
Visions was pretty decent for me throughout the day. I had some really bad ones (Clique Clique land) (Mist Mist Land) but overall we want every land drop so drawing 2 lands and a removal spell is right where we want to be.
Our deck gets a little clunkier but we have alot better cards versus them. They are pretty Squishy versus Damnation and if we keep them off displacer Ashiok can take over the game. We leave in the disfigure to tag a Noble but I dont wanna cut a Spellstutter for a second one. Maybe it is correct though. Spellstutter can protect Bitterblossom from removal and mistbind from blowouts.
I'm not sure that I'm being negative - just realistic. In tempo wars the slightly more agile tempo deck wins.. and merfolk is much more agile.
As for my plan against fish - counters come out - 3x Damnation and 2x EE come in. It's still a difficult matchup even with that much stuff though. With that said, Sudden Spoiling does seem sweet and is probably worth trying.
Venarian Glimmer is hilarious up until you realize that instant speed isn't worth the amount of mana you have to dump into ganking a card, unless you're playing kitchentable Magic or you really want to handicap yourself against less capable opponents.
If it came with another effect attached, or hell if it made the opponent discard all nonland cards of cmc <= x, then maybe it'd be more than a novelty card.
But as is it's just a novelty card.
I'd sooner try and make Pongify work, and Pongify is one of the jankiest novelty spells that Timespiral block ever gave to Blue.
For merfolk:
Copied and pasted from the primer in progress' comment section:
This is almost exactly 50/50, mostly coming down to who goes first and if they get a turn one vial.
Our counterspells suck against caven/vial but if we very carefully avoid playing islands, they can't easily islandwalk for the win.
Personal favourite plays are:
1. Bouncing my only island with a cryptic command then blocking and killing all his suddenly no longer islandwaslking creatures.
2. Smashing in with two 4/4 islandwalking mutavaults for the win. Yes, lord of atlantis buffs YOUR mutavaults too
I believe it was MTGPrice who said that, and I agree. Not necessarily for the reasons he stated. At least, I feel that many current Faerie decks are too island dense. That said, being tricky with islands is important, when it's possible. Niche use for Ghost Quarter.
And an addendum from this forum:
>Mefolk - I've heard Merfolk was a counter pick to Faeries. I've personally found this match up really rough due to them blanking our counters through Cavern of Souls and Aether Vial on top of all the unblockable fish. I think our postboard matchup is a bit better if we trim the counters for more sweeper effects, but I had the match up mostly in their favour.
The trick with Merfolk is to never play an island unless you absolutely have to - fetch swamps if you need to fetch and prioritize any other land over an island. I sometimes skip land drops entirely if it means skipping an island. Counter their spreading seas too. You need to put a clock on them or they will draw out.
Remember to Vendilion Clique in response to Vial activation - you can sometimes take their only card with that casting cost. Also, very important: Lord of Atlantis makes your Mutavault's 3/3 islandwalkers!
Once you do that, assuming you run 6-7 removal, you can do okay.
Post-board, I size out most but not all my of counterspells for 3xDamnation, 2xEngineered Explosives and a Dismember. I also run three maindeck Kalitas. Mistbind Clique is pretty weak as well because of Vial.
Yes, it's crazy tight. But every time I've played against them, I feel like I could've won. I just don't know the matchup well enough to put out results.
Also, I think that Faeries is easily the most agile tempo deck. It's just that deck+(resolved)Aether Vail is often more agile than anything else.
--
Bant Eldrazi...
Dunno, never had trouble with them. That said, I've only had occasion to face them 3-4 times. I did once say, that Tron was a good matchup. And that's true, but only when they get mana screwed.
--
As to the Primer. I've been working on it, but not as much as I like. I've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for school. I think that's it's mostly done, it just needs a few cards added, Bant Eldrazi and Nahiri Jeskia added. And then it needs to be reorganized. Hopefully, I'll have a chance once things settle down at school.
For merfolk:
Copied and pasted from the primer in progress' comment section:
This is almost exactly 50/50, mostly coming down to who goes first and if they get a turn one vial.
Our counterspells suck against caven/vial but if we very carefully avoid playing islands, they can't easily islandwalk for the win.
Personal favourite plays are:
1. Bouncing my only island with a cryptic command then blocking and killing all his suddenly no longer islandwaslking creatures.
2. Smashing in with two 4/4 islandwalking mutavaults for the win. Yes, lord of atlantis buffs YOUR mutavaults too
I believe it was MTGPrice who said that, and I agree. Not necessarily for the reasons he stated. At least, I feel that many current Faerie decks are too island dense. That said, being tricky with islands is important, when it's possible. Niche use for Ghost Quarter.
And an addendum from this forum:
>Mefolk - I've heard Merfolk was a counter pick to Faeries. I've personally found this match up really rough due to them blanking our counters through Cavern of Souls and Aether Vial on top of all the unblockable fish. I think our postboard matchup is a bit better if we trim the counters for more sweeper effects, but I had the match up mostly in their favour.
The trick with Merfolk is to never play an island unless you absolutely have to - fetch swamps if you need to fetch and prioritize any other land over an island. I sometimes skip land drops entirely if it means skipping an island. Counter their spreading seas too. You need to put a clock on them or they will draw out.
Remember to Vendilion Clique in response to Vial activation - you can sometimes take their only card with that casting cost. Also, very important: Lord of Atlantis makes your Mutavault's 3/3 islandwalkers!
Once you do that, assuming you run 6-7 removal, you can do okay.
Post-board, I size out most but not all my of counterspells for 3xDamnation, 2xEngineered Explosives and a Dismember. I also run three maindeck Kalitas. Mistbind Clique is pretty weak as well because of Vial.
Yes, it's crazy tight. But every time I've played against them, I feel like I could've won. I just don't know the matchup well enough to put out results.
Also, I think that Faeries is easily the most agile tempo deck. It's just that deck+(resolved)Aether Vail is often more agile than anything else.
--
Bant Eldrazi...
Dunno, never had trouble with them. That said, I've only had occasion to face them 3-4 times. I did once say, that Tron was a good matchup. And that's true, but only when they get mana screwed.
--
As to the Primer. I've been working on it, but not as much as I like. I've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for school. I think that's it's mostly done, it just needs a few cards added, Bant Eldrazi and Nahiri Jeskia added. And then it needs to be reorganized. Hopefully, I'll have a chance once things settle down at school.
This is great merfolk advice - I think I was up against a pretty nuts draw from my opponent and I need some more practice with the matchup. Thanks everyone for the tips. Also - pretty pumped to see the finished primer!
Here's my current list that I'm planning on bringing to a PPTQ this weekend - if anyone wants to weigh in I'd appreciate it:
For merfolk:
Copied and pasted from the primer in progress' comment section:
This is almost exactly 50/50, mostly coming down to who goes first and if they get a turn one vial.
Our counterspells suck against caven/vial but if we very carefully avoid playing islands, they can't easily islandwalk for the win.
Personal favourite plays are:
1. Bouncing my only island with a cryptic command then blocking and killing all his suddenly no longer islandwaslking creatures.
2. Smashing in with two 4/4 islandwalking mutavaults for the win. Yes, lord of atlantis buffs YOUR mutavaults too
I believe it was MTGPrice who said that, and I agree. Not necessarily for the reasons he stated. At least, I feel that many current Faerie decks are too island dense. That said, being tricky with islands is important, when it's possible. Niche use for Ghost Quarter.
And an addendum from this forum:
>Mefolk - I've heard Merfolk was a counter pick to Faeries. I've personally found this match up really rough due to them blanking our counters through Cavern of Souls and Aether Vial on top of all the unblockable fish. I think our postboard matchup is a bit better if we trim the counters for more sweeper effects, but I had the match up mostly in their favour.
The trick with Merfolk is to never play an island unless you absolutely have to - fetch swamps if you need to fetch and prioritize any other land over an island. I sometimes skip land drops entirely if it means skipping an island. Counter their spreading seas too. You need to put a clock on them or they will draw out.
Remember to Vendilion Clique in response to Vial activation - you can sometimes take their only card with that casting cost. Also, very important: Lord of Atlantis makes your Mutavault's 3/3 islandwalkers!
Once you do that, assuming you run 6-7 removal, you can do okay.
Post-board, I size out most but not all my of counterspells for 3xDamnation, 2xEngineered Explosives and a Dismember. I also run three maindeck Kalitas. Mistbind Clique is pretty weak as well because of Vial.
Yes, it's crazy tight. But every time I've played against them, I feel like I could've won. I just don't know the matchup well enough to put out results.
Also, I think that Faeries is easily the most agile tempo deck. It's just that deck+(resolved)Aether Vail is often more agile than anything else.
--
Bant Eldrazi...
Dunno, never had trouble with them. That said, I've only had occasion to face them 3-4 times. I did once say, that Tron was a good matchup. And that's true, but only when they get mana screwed.
--
As to the Primer. I've been working on it, but not as much as I like. I've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for school. I think that's it's mostly done, it just needs a few cards added, Bant Eldrazi and Nahiri Jeskia added. And then it needs to be reorganized. Hopefully, I'll have a chance once things settle down at school.
This is great merfolk advice - I think I was up against a pretty nuts draw from my opponent and I need some more practice with the matchup. Thanks everyone for the tips. Also - pretty pumped to see the finished primer!
Here's my current list that I'm planning on bringing to a PPTQ this weekend - if anyone wants to weigh in I'd appreciate it:
Have you ever felt like you have to many 4 drops? How are you liking 25 lands? I never got slaughter pact in a deck that wants to be purely instant speed almost. I guess it is decent with double Kalitas but it still seems a little awkward. Have you been able to delve enough with 2 delve spells and only 4 fetches?
@Niallplaysmagic neat list and I like your testing with unsubstantiate. I see you aren't running any discard spells. I've found that having a few IOK or Thoughtseize is good against midrange decks and combo. It helps get rid of their most annoying threat so you don't have to deal with it on the field. My only suggestions would be cut a couple counters for discard and try ashiok in the side. He's super good in a lot of matchups and for reasons previously stated by everyone on this thread.
Anthony won a modern PPTQ with his most recent list. He mentioned that so many people were asking him for deck advice that he's been working on a primer!
Venarian Glimmer is hilarious up until you realize that instant speed isn't worth the amount of mana you have to dump into ganking a card, unless you're playing kitchentable Magic or you really want to handicap yourself against less capable opponents.
If it came with another effect attached, or hell if it made the opponent discard all nonland cards of cmc <= x, then maybe it'd be more than a novelty card.
But as is it's just a novelty card.
I'd sooner try and make Pongify work, and Pongify is one of the jankiest novelty spells that Timespiral block ever gave to Blue.
Just saying.
On the topic of Pongify, I wonder if there will ever be a day we hop on Reality Shift. It might be soon, having a way to deal with dredge creatures would be nice. We never get exile effects... On the topic of dredge, Spontaneous Mutation is interesting tech against them. I could honestly see it as a replacement for disfigure. I plan on playtesting it next tournament. It feels like a blue Vendetta, except instead of nonblack it's non(activated/triggered abilities), and instead of paying life in toughness it's you lose life depending on how long it takes to fill your graveyard.
Anthony won a modern PPTQ with his most recent list. He mentioned that so many people were asking him for deck advice that he's been working on a primer!
And suddenly my motivation is lost. I'm actually looking forward to reading it once he finishes it. And no, I'm not going to stop working on mine, I was joking ;). Anyway, I'm fairly certain that Anthony is going to be focusing on his playstyle (which was more control focused, or so it seemed to me). My primer is meant to be more general and meant to give useful information to any approach.
Edit:
Also, I was trying out an Esper Zombie list recently. It was Tempo/Control oriented with Cryptbreaker, Tidehollow Sculler, and Fleshbag Marauder. Real spicy. It's pretty solid, but it lacks the agility that faeries has. Not being able to play around your opponent and exploit instant speed interaction sucked. Having to decide between playing a zombie or leaving mana open for interaction wasn't the greatest. It has potential, but it's not there yet. Anyway I'm done now, so I should be able around more.
For merfolk:
Copied and pasted from the primer in progress' comment section:
This is almost exactly 50/50, mostly coming down to who goes first and if they get a turn one vial.
Our counterspells suck against caven/vial but if we very carefully avoid playing islands, they can't easily islandwalk for the win.
Personal favourite plays are:
1. Bouncing my only island with a cryptic command then blocking and killing all his suddenly no longer islandwaslking creatures.
2. Smashing in with two 4/4 islandwalking mutavaults for the win. Yes, lord of atlantis buffs YOUR mutavaults too
I believe it was MTGPrice who said that, and I agree. Not necessarily for the reasons he stated. At least, I feel that many current Faerie decks are too island dense. That said, being tricky with islands is important, when it's possible. Niche use for Ghost Quarter.
And an addendum from this forum:
>Mefolk - I've heard Merfolk was a counter pick to Faeries. I've personally found this match up really rough due to them blanking our counters through Cavern of Souls and Aether Vial on top of all the unblockable fish. I think our postboard matchup is a bit better if we trim the counters for more sweeper effects, but I had the match up mostly in their favour.
The trick with Merfolk is to never play an island unless you absolutely have to - fetch swamps if you need to fetch and prioritize any other land over an island. I sometimes skip land drops entirely if it means skipping an island. Counter their spreading seas too. You need to put a clock on them or they will draw out.
Remember to Vendilion Clique in response to Vial activation - you can sometimes take their only card with that casting cost. Also, very important: Lord of Atlantis makes your Mutavault's 3/3 islandwalkers!
Once you do that, assuming you run 6-7 removal, you can do okay.
Post-board, I size out most but not all my of counterspells for 3xDamnation, 2xEngineered Explosives and a Dismember. I also run three maindeck Kalitas. Mistbind Clique is pretty weak as well because of Vial.
Yes, it's crazy tight. But every time I've played against them, I feel like I could've won. I just don't know the matchup well enough to put out results.
Also, I think that Faeries is easily the most agile tempo deck. It's just that deck+(resolved)Aether Vail is often more agile than anything else.
--
Bant Eldrazi...
Dunno, never had trouble with them. That said, I've only had occasion to face them 3-4 times. I did once say, that Tron was a good matchup. And that's true, but only when they get mana screwed.
--
As to the Primer. I've been working on it, but not as much as I like. I've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for school. I think that's it's mostly done, it just needs a few cards added, Bant Eldrazi and Nahiri Jeskia added. And then it needs to be reorganized. Hopefully, I'll have a chance once things settle down at school.
This is great merfolk advice - I think I was up against a pretty nuts draw from my opponent and I need some more practice with the matchup. Thanks everyone for the tips. Also - pretty pumped to see the finished primer!
Here's my current list that I'm planning on bringing to a PPTQ this weekend - if anyone wants to weigh in I'd appreciate it:
Have you ever felt like you have to many 4 drops? How are you liking 25 lands? I never got slaughter pact in a deck that wants to be purely instant speed almost. I guess it is decent with double Kalitas but it still seems a little awkward. Have you been able to delve enough with 2 delve spells and only 4 fetches?
On 4 drops - I've never felt overloaded by 4s. Sometimes you end up in awkward draws, but I feel we can weed through draws better than other decks. Aren't you running 7 4 drops as well (2 Kalitas, 3 Mistbind, 2 Cryptic)?
I like 25 lands way more than 26. I felt like I was flooding constantly at 26. I'm fine with being over flooded rather than under (a consequence of running 7-8 creature lands) but I don't want to go overboard.
Slaughter pact pairs incredibly well with Kalitas and other threats that you might be forced to play on your turn. I've killed many a Kiki-Jiki against opponents who let their guard down.
I've never really had a problem with the 2 delve spells, but I'm not looking (or able) to turbo them out either. I had snapcaster in the Tasigur spot but I've found Tas to be a bigger problem for decks to deal with and as such is generally more valuable. Having to split an opponent's removal types between that which kills 1/1 fliers and that which kills x/4/5s has been a huge strength as we're presenting a much larger diversity of threats than people typically are able to deal with.
G1: I keep him off threats till he is at 2 life staring down a mutavault. He Draws Ulamog exiling Vault and another land, I cryptic counter Bounce Vault. Replay vault and he plays wurmcoil. I draw bad removal spells and Die.
G2: Same thing, I keep him off threats and have perfect knowledge of his hand. He slips in a Thrag to threaten my Ashiok and make it hard to race. This is where I think I messed up, I have a clique/ashiok on the field and 4 mana, he has a Tusk with a land and a mystery card in hand. I attack with Clique, play bitterblossom and pass. He tries to kill Ashiok and I tapout to kill tusk. He slams the ugin he drew and I die. I should have traded Clique for thrag holding up Negate but I go greedy and punished. This deck is very hard to play, it takes some getting used to.
0-1
Round 2 Jund:
G1: We trade resources and he resolves lily. Thoughtseize for visions decay for blossom and GG.
G2: We trade resouces but at the end we are left with Liliana versus 2 tar pits and a vault. He draws and slams Blood Moon. I die.
0-2
Round 3:Abzan Delirium
G1: He draws 3 lingering souls versus my BitterBlossom that eventually gets decayed. I get overwhelmed and die.
G2: He draws 2 lingering souls, A liliana the last hope and a Distended Mindbender alongside 2 fulminator mages for my tar pits. Liliana is hard to beat let alone souls and fulminator. This game is closer than the last because I get aggressive with Mistbind and Creeping but Siege Rhino pulls him out of range of the Clique. I was actually impressed how long I was able to hang in versus multiple souls and fulminators.
0-3
Round 4: Andrew Cuneo on elves
G1: Cavern of souls + 2 lead the stampede and being on the play is to much.
G2: Flaying Tendrils
G3: 2 Damnations and a Bitterblossom take over the game. I concede with a lethal swing because he can cash and I can't.
1-3
Round 5: Majors Abzan list
G1: Multiple lingering souls into Lili seal the dead
G2: Super close game and I think another punt. We trade cards and life till we are both at 4. I cliqued him last turn so I know his hand it Tasigur/***/***. He has a goyf and 2 souls in play. I have a Clique, a tar pit on the field, a tar pit in hand and a damnation. I attack with tar pit and pass. He draws and slams Rhino and kills me. It might have been better to Damnation there. Neither line beats the 2nd Rhino of the game but I think Damnation and then double tar pit next turn is a safer line.
1-4
I ended 1-4 but I feel like I learned alot. Lingering Souls is an issue for this deck. Thats why I really want to try Scion of Oona. I know the buddy who lent me the deck told me it was bad but I feel like I want to figure that out on my own. It saves Bitterblossm from Decay/World Breaker, Mutavault and Clique from Ulamog, creatures from trading with souls and increases the clock. I also want to try collective Brutality, with Visions we have extra cards and Brutality has been impressive in every deck I have played it. I also flooded a fair amount so down to 25 lands I go. This is the list I want to try tonight:
G1: I keep him off threats till he is at 2 life staring down a mutavault. He Draws Ulamog exiling Vault and another land, I cryptic counter Bounce Vault. Replay vault and he plays wurmcoil. I draw bad removal spells and Die.
G2: Same thing, I keep him off threats and have perfect knowledge of his hand. He slips in a Thrag to threaten my Ashiok and make it hard to race. This is where I think I messed up, I have a clique/ashiok on the field and 4 mana, he has a Tusk with a land and a mystery card in hand. I attack with Clique, play bitterblossom and pass. He tries to kill Ashiok and I tapout to kill tusk. He slams the ugin he drew and I die. I should have traded Clique for thrag holding up Negate but I go greedy and punished. This deck is very hard to play, it takes some getting used to.
0-1
Round 2 Jund:
G1: We trade resources and he resolves lily. Thoughtseize for visions decay for blossom and GG.
G2: We trade resouces but at the end we are left with Liliana versus 2 tar pits and a vault. He draws and slams Blood Moon. I die.
0-2
Round 3:Abzan Delirium
G1: He draws 3 lingering souls versus my BitterBlossom that eventually gets decayed. I get overwhelmed and die.
G2: He draws 2 lingering souls, A liliana the last hope and a Distended Mindbender alongside 2 fulminator mages for my tar pits. Liliana is hard to beat let alone souls and fulminator. This game is closer than the last because I get aggressive with Mistbind and Creeping but Siege Rhino pulls him out of range of the Clique. I was actually impressed how long I was able to hang in versus multiple souls and fulminators.
0-3
Round 4: Andrew Cuneo on elves
G1: Cavern of souls + 2 lead the stampede and being on the play is to much.
G2: Flaying Tendrils
G3: 2 Damnations and a Bitterblossom take over the game. I concede with a lethal swing because he can cash and I can't.
1-3
Round 5: Majors Abzan list
G1: Multiple lingering souls into Lili seal the dead
G2: Super close game and I think another punt. We trade cards and life till we are both at 4. I cliqued him last turn so I know his hand it Tasigur/***/***. He has a goyf and 2 souls in play. I have a Clique, a tar pit on the field, a tar pit in hand and a damnation. I attack with tar pit and pass. He draws and slams Rhino and kills me. It might have been better to Damnation there. Neither line beats the 2nd Rhino of the game but I think Damnation and then double tar pit next turn is a safer line.
1-4
I ended 1-4 but I feel like I learned alot. Lingering Souls is an issue for this deck. Thats why I really want to try Scion of Oona. I know the buddy who lent me the deck told me it was bad but I feel like I want to figure that out on my own. It saves Bitterblossm from Decay/World Breaker, Mutavault and Clique from Ulamog, creatures from trading with souls and increases the clock. I also want to try collective Brutality, with Visions we have extra cards and Brutality has been impressive in every deck I have played it. I also flooded a fair amount so down to 25 lands I go. This is the list I want to try tonight:
Ooh rough beats - sounds like you got a lot out of it though.
The anti Jundy Abzan card I'm going to try and run is Sword of Light and Shadow. Most lists aren't going to run more than 3 Abrupt Decays and can really only expect to see 2, and we overload Abrupt Decay pretty hard. Playing a late game SOLAS makes Lingering Souls tokens look terrible, and recurs your threats. Also helps a ton against Rhino, opposing Kalitas, Olivia, Terminate, Path, etc. Paired with Mistbind it's not too hard to have at least one turn where your opponent will be completely tapped out so you can cast + equip.
On your manabase - are you purposefully not playing the fourth Polluted Delta? I can't help but think I'd rather have that over the fourth Secluded Glen.
On lingering souls - I've also found Engineered Explosives to do some work against ANY tokens - it also hits the multitude of 2 drops in the format (killing 2 goyfs for 2 mana is great).
How was Hero's Downfall?
Let us know how your testing with Scion goes! I still have my doubts, but it could work out.
I can definitely get behind Scion of Oona. It's by no means a bad card, it all depends on how you want your deck to play. Scion is a more aggressive card, and by adding it to your deck the switch from control to beatdown will be much more visible. It's very solid against Tron or against decks where you to have a clock. Decide how you want your deck to play, and go from there.
G1: I keep him off threats till he is at 2 life staring down a mutavault. He Draws Ulamog exiling Vault and another land, I cryptic counter Bounce Vault. Replay vault and he plays wurmcoil. I draw bad removal spells and Die.
G2: Same thing, I keep him off threats and have perfect knowledge of his hand. He slips in a Thrag to threaten my Ashiok and make it hard to race. This is where I think I messed up, I have a clique/ashiok on the field and 4 mana, he has a Tusk with a land and a mystery card in hand. I attack with Clique, play bitterblossom and pass. He tries to kill Ashiok and I tapout to kill tusk. He slams the ugin he drew and I die. I should have traded Clique for thrag holding up Negate but I go greedy and punished. This deck is very hard to play, it takes some getting used to.
0-1
Round 2 Jund:
G1: We trade resources and he resolves lily. Thoughtseize for visions decay for blossom and GG.
G2: We trade resouces but at the end we are left with Liliana versus 2 tar pits and a vault. He draws and slams Blood Moon. I die.
0-2
Round 3:Abzan Delirium
G1: He draws 3 lingering souls versus my BitterBlossom that eventually gets decayed. I get overwhelmed and die.
G2: He draws 2 lingering souls, A liliana the last hope and a Distended Mindbender alongside 2 fulminator mages for my tar pits. Liliana is hard to beat let alone souls and fulminator. This game is closer than the last because I get aggressive with Mistbind and Creeping but Siege Rhino pulls him out of range of the Clique. I was actually impressed how long I was able to hang in versus multiple souls and fulminators.
0-3
Round 4: Andrew Cuneo on elves
G1: Cavern of souls + 2 lead the stampede and being on the play is to much.
G2: Flaying Tendrils
G3: 2 Damnations and a Bitterblossom take over the game. I concede with a lethal swing because he can cash and I can't.
1-3
Round 5: Majors Abzan list
G1: Multiple lingering souls into Lili seal the dead
G2: Super close game and I think another punt. We trade cards and life till we are both at 4. I cliqued him last turn so I know his hand it Tasigur/***/***. He has a goyf and 2 souls in play. I have a Clique, a tar pit on the field, a tar pit in hand and a damnation. I attack with tar pit and pass. He draws and slams Rhino and kills me. It might have been better to Damnation there. Neither line beats the 2nd Rhino of the game but I think Damnation and then double tar pit next turn is a safer line.
1-4
I ended 1-4 but I feel like I learned alot. Lingering Souls is an issue for this deck. Thats why I really want to try Scion of Oona. I know the buddy who lent me the deck told me it was bad but I feel like I want to figure that out on my own. It saves Bitterblossm from Decay/World Breaker, Mutavault and Clique from Ulamog, creatures from trading with souls and increases the clock. I also want to try collective Brutality, with Visions we have extra cards and Brutality has been impressive in every deck I have played it. I also flooded a fair amount so down to 25 lands I go. This is the list I want to try tonight:
Ooh rough beats - sounds like you got a lot out of it though.
The anti Jundy Abzan card I'm going to try and run is Sword of Light and Shadow. Most lists aren't going to run more than 3 Abrupt Decays and can really only expect to see 2, and we overload Abrupt Decay pretty hard. Playing a late game SOLAS makes Lingering Souls tokens look terrible, and recurs your threats. Also helps a ton against Rhino, opposing Kalitas, Olivia, Terminate, Path, etc. Paired with Mistbind it's not too hard to have at least one turn where your opponent will be completely tapped out so you can cast + equip.
On your manabase - are you purposefully not playing the fourth Polluted Delta? I can't help but think I'd rather have that over the fourth Secluded Glen.
On lingering souls - I've also found Engineered Explosives to do some work against ANY tokens - it also hits the multitude of 2 drops in the format (killing 2 goyfs for 2 mana is great).
How was Hero's Downfall?
Let us know how your testing with Scion goes! I still have my doubts, but it could work out.
The Sword seems GREAT. It helps versus lingering souls too which is super sweet, I am totally into it. I am purposely playing the 4th Glen over Delta, given my list has 16 Faeries playing a painless duel seems great. Every point matters when you are playing Bitterblossom. Its possible the 2nd Grave should be the 4th Delta for Blood moon but we also like hitting land drops so thinning our deck of lands is medium. Not a super important choice I think its more of a preference.
Hero's downfall seemed fine, I had a turn where I could kill a Liliana but it seemed like I wanted cheaper interaction so I could cast 2 spells a turn or animate vault/tar pit and also kill something. It requires more testing but I want to try the Scions and the Brutality's and see how they are 1st.
Hi all! I'm back from the Grand Prix so here's how my matches went down. I didn't take thorough notes so the report won't be as in depth as I would like it to but nonetheless here it is!
G1: It was my opponents first GP and I could tell he was a bit nervous making some play errors here and there. He also tells me mid way through the game that his wife is on faeries who I talk to later and compare lists. He starts off with Avacyn's Pilgrim which I disfigure end of turn. The rest of the game is me either killing his guys or countering his threats. I swing for lethal with tar pit.
G2: Similar to game 1 except he follows with noble heirarch which I disfigure on my turn. I take control of the game and kill him with lands and faeries.
1-0
Round 2 vs RG Breach (2-0)
Die Roll: Won
G1: I inquisition him turn 1 and see he's on breachscape. I see an anger of the gods mainboard. I hadn't really played against the newest version of the deck but figured it would be similar to a combo deck with nahiri. I counter his stuff and spot removal his primetime before I get into trouble while bitterblossom closes out the game.
G2: He has a hand with 2 primeval and a summoner's pact with a baloth and anger. Not too much he could do without finding his mana accelerators. I think I countered one of the titans with a sprite which he was forced to hard cast and kill the other one.
2-0
Round 3 vs Bant Eldrazi (2-1)
Die Roll: Won
G1: I figure this will be a tough matchup. I play an early bitterblossom and I have removal for most of his guys. Game ends quickly
G2: I think I v cliqued him and see he brought in Engineered Explosives and also see 2 drowners plus a smasher in hand. RIP me
G3: Land bitterblossom early again and he misplays when he could have landed a reality smasher early on. I'm pretty sure I landed a kalitas this game with a slaughter pact in hand which I play after he tries to path my kalitas (Feels good :)). I actually end up countering a reality smasher with exactly 5 faeries (had to animate muta and count for bitterblossom). Barely scrape through at 5 life.
3-0
Round 4 vs Infect (2-0)
Die Roll: Won
G1: This a great matchup and I had a nut draw with Inquisition, blossom, sprite, disfigure, v clique, and something else as well. I take his glistner elf and the rest is history. Also my opponent thinks I'm good enough to make day 2 or even top 8!
G2: Another pretty decent hand and I'm pretty sure I thoughtseized him to take an infect guy. Once again a pretty easy matchup except he lands blighted agent and brings me to 8 infect. Engineered explosives deals with his noble heirarch and I slaughter pact the agent before I die to infect damage.
4-0
Round 5 vs Burn (1-2)
Die Roll: Won (Wow 5 die roll wins in a row sweet!)
At this point I'm getting a bit nervous but when I sit down to play I overhear at the table next to me a player saying "secluded glen reveal bitterblossom". Hell yea it's the faerie bracket :P. I compare lists with him at the end of our rounds. Are lists are very very similar. We even both have a foil vendilion clique from modern masters 2015 in our lists :O.
G1: I inquisition turn 1 and take his exquisite firecraft. Wait, what? Exquisite firecraft main? Well, s**t. I manage to land vendilion clique on his end step and in response he plays 3 burn spells targeting me and reveals 3 lands. That was a mistake by him I guess. I attack for 3 and mistbind clique him on his upkeep and proceed to close out the game the following turn.
G2: He plays something like this: Spike you, bolt you, bolt you, shard volley you, etc. etc. and exquisite firecraft you uncounterable. Crap.
G3: Similar to game 2. I never hit a blue colored land and can't play half my hand. Exquisite firecraft kills me again.
4-1
Round 6 vs Ad Nauseam (0-2)
Die Roll: Lost (I think)
G1: I know this is supposed to be a good matchup but I always get scared of them comboing out early. Plus the guy seemed to know what he was doing. I inquisition him turn 1 and take his angel's grace. I get caught without a counter spell and he combos off.
G2: I side in extirpate hoping to exile his combo pieces and win the game. He doesn't bring in leyline of sanctity for some reason not realizing it shuts down half of our deck. He reveals a hand of pact pact, Ad Nauseam, Ad Nauseam. I desperatly try to hold up negate and spellstutter but he plays boseju and goes for an eot ad nauseam drawing a card being angel's grace he takes 1 life and goes to 5. He take another 2 damage from a shock I believe and proceeds to combo out. He still has a pact of negation back up and he play's angel's grace split second. Nothing I can do. Ad nauseam with boseju. Nothing I can do. He casts ad nauseam and draws his deck. Plays thoughtseize. I can't counter it or I lose. I reveal my hand of snare, sprite, and negate. He takes negate. GG (He also had like 3 pact of negation for back up but I wanted to play it out.
4-2
Round 7 vs DREDGE (0-2)
Die Roll: Lost
G1: Let's go to Game 2
G2: I pray to draw nihil spellbombs or flaying tendrils. I extirpate his grave troll but it's no use. I watch in horror as he hits land drop after land drop getting 2 ghast triggers and 2 amalgum triggers. Nothing I can do
4-3
Round 8 vs Jund (0-2)!
Die Roll: Lost
G1: He inquisitions me and takes my bitterblossom. We continue going back and forth spot removaling each other's creatures. Eventually he lands a goyf I can't deal with.
G2: He has a hand of 2 finks, decay, bolt, and kalitas. I ask him if I can respond to him floating mana and he says I think so. I try to v clique him in response to him floating mana for liliana (which I know you can't do but I wasn't exactly sure at the time. I wasn't really thinking straight) . He calls a judge "to make sure" after I play it and I get a warning for an illegal action. (Whatever, I guess?) V clique goes back to my hand and I get to untap my lands. He plays liliana and we each discard. I eot v clique him instead. He grinds out the rest of the match and kills me with raging ravine if I remember. I even boarded in Ancestrals but never drew them.
Final record: 4-4
For my 2nd ever GP, it was pretty exciting being 4-0. My opponents kept saying that they hoped I made day 2 or top 8. I met some cool people and watched a different faeries player who made day 2 with pack rats in the list. He lost his next 2 matches but they were pretty close. I felt my list was pretty tight and if I were to make one change it would be to exchange mainboard damnation for a sword of light and shadow like @Niallplaysmagic is using. There was a lot of jeskai nahiri which I never got to play against and a ton of eldrazi. Only 1 dredge list made day 2 surprisingly so it looks like they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for all the help on the forum and I will continue to play the deck to its fullest potential in the future.
Hey Guys, just left indy gp and on bus way back home. So I made Day 2 (6-3) then lost first two games of day 2 and dropped. Nothing special, but maybe you will find my thoughts on it valuable.
Ill try to post my list later, but I will say I played 3 pack rats main and I loved it. I find it gives power and a good plan b to bitterblossom. I will say, my style is more aggressive and midrange. I don't think I have the strategic depth required for late game.
Neways, I think this deck can go all the way. Here is a summary of my results, feel free to ask about specific matchups and I can get in more detail based on demand.
R1:W 2-0 Jund
2: L 2-1 Jund
3: L 2-0 Green Tron
4: W 2-0 some weird home brew
5: W 2-0 Collected Coco
6: W 2-0 Jeskai Nahiri
7: L 2-0 Abzan + Red coco/chord kikki deck
8: W 2-0 Infect
9: W 2-1 Dredge
Day 2
10: Lost 2-1 Bant Eldrazi
11: Lost 2-1 Jund
Neways, I think this can do it. I feel modern can no longer be predicted, and as long as you have some luck avoiding our tough MUs (ie tron) then there is no limit how far u can go. I will post a list when I'm off my phone on a computer. Feel free to ask about any of the match ups above and I can tell how I felt and how it went
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I bring Ashiok in against them, it just sucks that counters and spellstutter sprite are kinda dead. I have a new list I am trying with a hopefully better SB plan versus them.
Visions was pretty decent for me throughout the day. I had some really bad ones (Clique Clique land) (Mist Mist Land) but overall we want every land drop so drawing 2 lands and a removal spell is right where we want to be.
Heres my new list:
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Mistbind Clique
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Bitterblossom
1 Nameless Inversion
3 Ancestral Vision
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Disfigure
2 Dismember
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Go for the Throat
2 Cryptic Command
1 Hero's Downfall
4 Secluded Glen
3 Darkslick Shores
1 River of Tears
3 Polluted Delta
2 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
4 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Damnation
1 Duress
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Darkblast
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Negate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Sudden Spoiling
Currently the idea versus bant Eldrazi is:
-1 SpellStutter
-1 Mistbind
-2 IOK
-1 Spell Snare
-2 Mana Leak
+1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
+2 Damnation
+2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
+1 Thoughtseize
+1 Sudden Spoiling
Our deck gets a little clunkier but we have alot better cards versus them. They are pretty Squishy versus Damnation and if we keep them off displacer Ashiok can take over the game. We leave in the disfigure to tag a Noble but I dont wanna cut a Spellstutter for a second one. Maybe it is correct though. Spellstutter can protect Bitterblossom from removal and mistbind from blowouts.
As for my plan against fish - counters come out - 3x Damnation and 2x EE come in. It's still a difficult matchup even with that much stuff though. With that said, Sudden Spoiling does seem sweet and is probably worth trying.
Tapping down Emrakul seems pretty good haha.
and Venarian Glimmer is crazy
Legacy: U Merfolk U
If it came with another effect attached, or hell if it made the opponent discard all nonland cards of cmc <= x, then maybe it'd be more than a novelty card.
But as is it's just a novelty card.
I'd sooner try and make Pongify work, and Pongify is one of the jankiest novelty spells that Timespiral block ever gave to Blue.
Just saying.
Copied and pasted from the primer in progress' comment section:
I believe it was MTGPrice who said that, and I agree. Not necessarily for the reasons he stated. At least, I feel that many current Faerie decks are too island dense. That said, being tricky with islands is important, when it's possible. Niche use for Ghost Quarter.
And an addendum from this forum:
Yes, it's crazy tight. But every time I've played against them, I feel like I could've won. I just don't know the matchup well enough to put out results.
Also, I think that Faeries is easily the most agile tempo deck. It's just that deck+(resolved)Aether Vail is often more agile than anything else.
--
Bant Eldrazi...
Dunno, never had trouble with them. That said, I've only had occasion to face them 3-4 times. I did once say, that Tron was a good matchup. And that's true, but only when they get mana screwed.
--
As to the Primer. I've been working on it, but not as much as I like. I've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for school. I think that's it's mostly done, it just needs a few cards added, Bant Eldrazi and Nahiri Jeskia added. And then it needs to be reorganized. Hopefully, I'll have a chance once things settle down at school.
This is great merfolk advice - I think I was up against a pretty nuts draw from my opponent and I need some more practice with the matchup. Thanks everyone for the tips. Also - pretty pumped to see the finished primer!
Here's my current list that I'm planning on bringing to a PPTQ this weekend - if anyone wants to weigh in I'd appreciate it:
3x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Darkslick Shores
1x Ghost Quarter
3x Island
4x Mutavault
4x Polluted Delta
3x Secluded Glen
1x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
Creatures
2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
3x Mistbind Clique
4x Spellstutter Sprite
1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2x Vendilion Clique
4x Bitterblossom
Instants and Sorceries
2x Cryptic Command
2x Disfigure
1x Dismember
1x Doom Blade
1x Go for the Throat
3x Mana Leak
1x Murderous Cut
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Spell Snare
1x Unsubstantiate
3x Ancestral Vision
1x Countersquall
2x Damnation
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Negate
2x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Sudden Spoiling
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
Have you ever felt like you have to many 4 drops? How are you liking 25 lands? I never got slaughter pact in a deck that wants to be purely instant speed almost. I guess it is decent with double Kalitas but it still seems a little awkward. Have you been able to delve enough with 2 delve spells and only 4 fetches?
UB Faeries
U Taking Turns
BGW Abzan Midrange
EDH Decks
MonoU Sakashima the Impostor and the Clone Army
UG Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Dralnu, Lich LordUBR Kess, Dissident MageOn the topic of Pongify, I wonder if there will ever be a day we hop on Reality Shift. It might be soon, having a way to deal with dredge creatures would be nice. We never get exile effects... On the topic of dredge, Spontaneous Mutation is interesting tech against them. I could honestly see it as a replacement for disfigure. I plan on playtesting it next tournament. It feels like a blue Vendetta, except instead of nonblack it's non(activated/triggered abilities), and instead of paying life in toughness it's you lose life depending on how long it takes to fill your graveyard.
And suddenly my motivation is lost.
Edit:
Also, I was trying out an Esper Zombie list recently. It was Tempo/Control oriented with Cryptbreaker, Tidehollow Sculler, and Fleshbag Marauder. Real spicy. It's pretty solid, but it lacks the agility that faeries has. Not being able to play around your opponent and exploit instant speed interaction sucked. Having to decide between playing a zombie or leaving mana open for interaction wasn't the greatest. It has potential, but it's not there yet. Anyway I'm done now, so I should be able around more.
On 4 drops - I've never felt overloaded by 4s. Sometimes you end up in awkward draws, but I feel we can weed through draws better than other decks. Aren't you running 7 4 drops as well (2 Kalitas, 3 Mistbind, 2 Cryptic)?
I like 25 lands way more than 26. I felt like I was flooding constantly at 26. I'm fine with being over flooded rather than under (a consequence of running 7-8 creature lands) but I don't want to go overboard.
Slaughter pact pairs incredibly well with Kalitas and other threats that you might be forced to play on your turn. I've killed many a Kiki-Jiki against opponents who let their guard down.
I've never really had a problem with the 2 delve spells, but I'm not looking (or able) to turbo them out either. I had snapcaster in the Tasigur spot but I've found Tas to be a bigger problem for decks to deal with and as such is generally more valuable. Having to split an opponent's removal types between that which kills 1/1 fliers and that which kills x/4/5s has been a huge strength as we're presenting a much larger diversity of threats than people typically are able to deal with.
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Mistbind Clique
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Bitterblossom
1 Nameless Inversion
3 Ancestral Vision
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Disfigure
2 Dismember
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Go for the Throat
2 Cryptic Command
1 Hero's Downfall
4 Secluded Glen
3 Darkslick Shores
1 River of Tears
3 Polluted Delta
2 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
4 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Damnation
1 Duress
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Negate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Sudden Spoiling
Round 1: Tron
G1: I keep him off threats till he is at 2 life staring down a mutavault. He Draws Ulamog exiling Vault and another land, I cryptic counter Bounce Vault. Replay vault and he plays wurmcoil. I draw bad removal spells and Die.
G2: Same thing, I keep him off threats and have perfect knowledge of his hand. He slips in a Thrag to threaten my Ashiok and make it hard to race. This is where I think I messed up, I have a clique/ashiok on the field and 4 mana, he has a Tusk with a land and a mystery card in hand. I attack with Clique, play bitterblossom and pass. He tries to kill Ashiok and I tapout to kill tusk. He slams the ugin he drew and I die. I should have traded Clique for thrag holding up Negate but I go greedy and punished. This deck is very hard to play, it takes some getting used to.
0-1
Round 2 Jund:
G1: We trade resources and he resolves lily. Thoughtseize for visions decay for blossom and GG.
G2: We trade resouces but at the end we are left with Liliana versus 2 tar pits and a vault. He draws and slams Blood Moon. I die.
0-2
Round 3:Abzan Delirium
G1: He draws 3 lingering souls versus my BitterBlossom that eventually gets decayed. I get overwhelmed and die.
G2: He draws 2 lingering souls, A liliana the last hope and a Distended Mindbender alongside 2 fulminator mages for my tar pits. Liliana is hard to beat let alone souls and fulminator. This game is closer than the last because I get aggressive with Mistbind and Creeping but Siege Rhino pulls him out of range of the Clique. I was actually impressed how long I was able to hang in versus multiple souls and fulminators.
0-3
Round 4: Andrew Cuneo on elves
G1: Cavern of souls + 2 lead the stampede and being on the play is to much.
G2: Flaying Tendrils
G3: 2 Damnations and a Bitterblossom take over the game. I concede with a lethal swing because he can cash and I can't.
1-3
Round 5: Majors Abzan list
G1: Multiple lingering souls into Lili seal the dead
G2: Super close game and I think another punt. We trade cards and life till we are both at 4. I cliqued him last turn so I know his hand it Tasigur/***/***. He has a goyf and 2 souls in play. I have a Clique, a tar pit on the field, a tar pit in hand and a damnation. I attack with tar pit and pass. He draws and slams Rhino and kills me. It might have been better to Damnation there. Neither line beats the 2nd Rhino of the game but I think Damnation and then double tar pit next turn is a safer line.
1-4
I ended 1-4 but I feel like I learned alot. Lingering Souls is an issue for this deck. Thats why I really want to try Scion of Oona. I know the buddy who lent me the deck told me it was bad but I feel like I want to figure that out on my own. It saves Bitterblossm from Decay/World Breaker, Mutavault and Clique from Ulamog, creatures from trading with souls and increases the clock. I also want to try collective Brutality, with Visions we have extra cards and Brutality has been impressive in every deck I have played it. I also flooded a fair amount so down to 25 lands I go. This is the list I want to try tonight:
4 Spellstutter Sprite
2 Mistbind Clique
2 Scion of Oona
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Bitterblossom
1 Nameless Inversion
3 Ancestral Vision
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
2 Dismember
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Go for the Throat
2 Cryptic Command
1 Collective Brutality
4 Secluded Glen
3 Darkslick Shores
1 River of Tears
3 Polluted Delta
2 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
4 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Disfigure
1 Collective Brutality
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Damnation
1 Duress
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Negate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Sudden Spoiling
Ooh rough beats - sounds like you got a lot out of it though.
The anti Jundy Abzan card I'm going to try and run is Sword of Light and Shadow. Most lists aren't going to run more than 3 Abrupt Decays and can really only expect to see 2, and we overload Abrupt Decay pretty hard. Playing a late game SOLAS makes Lingering Souls tokens look terrible, and recurs your threats. Also helps a ton against Rhino, opposing Kalitas, Olivia, Terminate, Path, etc. Paired with Mistbind it's not too hard to have at least one turn where your opponent will be completely tapped out so you can cast + equip.
On your manabase - are you purposefully not playing the fourth Polluted Delta? I can't help but think I'd rather have that over the fourth Secluded Glen.
On lingering souls - I've also found Engineered Explosives to do some work against ANY tokens - it also hits the multitude of 2 drops in the format (killing 2 goyfs for 2 mana is great).
How was Hero's Downfall?
Let us know how your testing with Scion goes! I still have my doubts, but it could work out.
The Sword seems GREAT. It helps versus lingering souls too which is super sweet, I am totally into it. I am purposely playing the 4th Glen over Delta, given my list has 16 Faeries playing a painless duel seems great. Every point matters when you are playing Bitterblossom. Its possible the 2nd Grave should be the 4th Delta for Blood moon but we also like hitting land drops so thinning our deck of lands is medium. Not a super important choice I think its more of a preference.
Hero's downfall seemed fine, I had a turn where I could kill a Liliana but it seemed like I wanted cheaper interaction so I could cast 2 spells a turn or animate vault/tar pit and also kill something. It requires more testing but I want to try the Scions and the Brutality's and see how they are 1st.
UB Faeries
U Taking Turns
BGW Abzan Midrange
EDH Decks
MonoU Sakashima the Impostor and the Clone Army
UG Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Dralnu, Lich LordUBR Kess, Dissident MageUB Faeries (15-6-0)
UWR Control (10-5-1)/Kiki Control/Midrange/Harbinger
UBR Cruel Control (6-4-0)/Grixis Control/Delver/Blue Jund
UWB Control/Mentor
UW Miracles/Control (currently active, 14-2-0)
BW Eldrazi & Taxes
RW Burn (9-1-0)
I do (academic) research on video games and archaeology! You can check out my open access book here: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-interactive-past
The list:
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Mistbind Clique
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Disfigure
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Spell Snare
2 Thoughtseize
4 Bitterblossom
2 Go for the Throat
3 Mana Leak
1 Dismember
2 Cryptic Command
1 Damnation
1 Murderous Cut
4 Darkslick Shores
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Polluted Delta
3 Secluded Glen
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
3 Ancestral Vision
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Extirpate
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Negate
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Flaying Tendrils
2 Damnation
Round 1 vs Humans Tribal (2-0)
Die Roll: Won
G1: It was my opponents first GP and I could tell he was a bit nervous making some play errors here and there. He also tells me mid way through the game that his wife is on faeries who I talk to later and compare lists. He starts off with Avacyn's Pilgrim which I disfigure end of turn. The rest of the game is me either killing his guys or countering his threats. I swing for lethal with tar pit.
G2: Similar to game 1 except he follows with noble heirarch which I disfigure on my turn. I take control of the game and kill him with lands and faeries.
1-0
Round 2 vs RG Breach (2-0)
Die Roll: Won
G1: I inquisition him turn 1 and see he's on breachscape. I see an anger of the gods mainboard. I hadn't really played against the newest version of the deck but figured it would be similar to a combo deck with nahiri. I counter his stuff and spot removal his primetime before I get into trouble while bitterblossom closes out the game.
G2: He has a hand with 2 primeval and a summoner's pact with a baloth and anger. Not too much he could do without finding his mana accelerators. I think I countered one of the titans with a sprite which he was forced to hard cast and kill the other one.
2-0
Round 3 vs Bant Eldrazi (2-1)
Die Roll: Won
G1: I figure this will be a tough matchup. I play an early bitterblossom and I have removal for most of his guys. Game ends quickly
G2: I think I v cliqued him and see he brought in Engineered Explosives and also see 2 drowners plus a smasher in hand. RIP me
G3: Land bitterblossom early again and he misplays when he could have landed a reality smasher early on. I'm pretty sure I landed a kalitas this game with a slaughter pact in hand which I play after he tries to path my kalitas (Feels good :)). I actually end up countering a reality smasher with exactly 5 faeries (had to animate muta and count for bitterblossom). Barely scrape through at 5 life.
3-0
Round 4 vs Infect (2-0)
Die Roll: Won
G1: This a great matchup and I had a nut draw with Inquisition, blossom, sprite, disfigure, v clique, and something else as well. I take his glistner elf and the rest is history. Also my opponent thinks I'm good enough to make day 2 or even top 8!
G2: Another pretty decent hand and I'm pretty sure I thoughtseized him to take an infect guy. Once again a pretty easy matchup except he lands blighted agent and brings me to 8 infect. Engineered explosives deals with his noble heirarch and I slaughter pact the agent before I die to infect damage.
4-0
Round 5 vs Burn (1-2)
Die Roll: Won (Wow 5 die roll wins in a row sweet!)
At this point I'm getting a bit nervous but when I sit down to play I overhear at the table next to me a player saying "secluded glen reveal bitterblossom". Hell yea it's the faerie bracket :P. I compare lists with him at the end of our rounds. Are lists are very very similar. We even both have a foil vendilion clique from modern masters 2015 in our lists :O.
G1: I inquisition turn 1 and take his exquisite firecraft. Wait, what? Exquisite firecraft main? Well, s**t. I manage to land vendilion clique on his end step and in response he plays 3 burn spells targeting me and reveals 3 lands. That was a mistake by him I guess. I attack for 3 and mistbind clique him on his upkeep and proceed to close out the game the following turn.
G2: He plays something like this: Spike you, bolt you, bolt you, shard volley you, etc. etc. and exquisite firecraft you uncounterable. Crap.
G3: Similar to game 2. I never hit a blue colored land and can't play half my hand. Exquisite firecraft kills me again.
4-1
Round 6 vs Ad Nauseam (0-2)
Die Roll: Lost (I think)
G1: I know this is supposed to be a good matchup but I always get scared of them comboing out early. Plus the guy seemed to know what he was doing. I inquisition him turn 1 and take his angel's grace. I get caught without a counter spell and he combos off.
G2: I side in extirpate hoping to exile his combo pieces and win the game. He doesn't bring in leyline of sanctity for some reason not realizing it shuts down half of our deck. He reveals a hand of pact pact, Ad Nauseam, Ad Nauseam. I desperatly try to hold up negate and spellstutter but he plays boseju and goes for an eot ad nauseam drawing a card being angel's grace he takes 1 life and goes to 5. He take another 2 damage from a shock I believe and proceeds to combo out. He still has a pact of negation back up and he play's angel's grace split second. Nothing I can do. Ad nauseam with boseju. Nothing I can do. He casts ad nauseam and draws his deck. Plays thoughtseize. I can't counter it or I lose. I reveal my hand of snare, sprite, and negate. He takes negate. GG (He also had like 3 pact of negation for back up but I wanted to play it out.
4-2
Round 7 vs DREDGE (0-2)
Die Roll: Lost
G1: Let's go to Game 2
G2: I pray to draw nihil spellbombs or flaying tendrils. I extirpate his grave troll but it's no use. I watch in horror as he hits land drop after land drop getting 2 ghast triggers and 2 amalgum triggers. Nothing I can do
4-3
Round 8 vs Jund (0-2)!
Die Roll: Lost
G1: He inquisitions me and takes my bitterblossom. We continue going back and forth spot removaling each other's creatures. Eventually he lands a goyf I can't deal with.
G2: He has a hand of 2 finks, decay, bolt, and kalitas. I ask him if I can respond to him floating mana and he says I think so. I try to v clique him in response to him floating mana for liliana (which I know you can't do but I wasn't exactly sure at the time. I wasn't really thinking straight) . He calls a judge "to make sure" after I play it and I get a warning for an illegal action. (Whatever, I guess?) V clique goes back to my hand and I get to untap my lands. He plays liliana and we each discard. I eot v clique him instead. He grinds out the rest of the match and kills me with raging ravine if I remember. I even boarded in Ancestrals but never drew them.
Final record: 4-4
For my 2nd ever GP, it was pretty exciting being 4-0. My opponents kept saying that they hoped I made day 2 or top 8. I met some cool people and watched a different faeries player who made day 2 with pack rats in the list. He lost his next 2 matches but they were pretty close. I felt my list was pretty tight and if I were to make one change it would be to exchange mainboard damnation for a sword of light and shadow like @Niallplaysmagic is using. There was a lot of jeskai nahiri which I never got to play against and a ton of eldrazi. Only 1 dredge list made day 2 surprisingly so it looks like they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for all the help on the forum and I will continue to play the deck to its fullest potential in the future.
UB Faeries
U Taking Turns
BGW Abzan Midrange
EDH Decks
MonoU Sakashima the Impostor and the Clone Army
UG Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Dralnu, Lich LordUBR Kess, Dissident MageIll try to post my list later, but I will say I played 3 pack rats main and I loved it. I find it gives power and a good plan b to bitterblossom. I will say, my style is more aggressive and midrange. I don't think I have the strategic depth required for late game.
Neways, I think this deck can go all the way. Here is a summary of my results, feel free to ask about specific matchups and I can get in more detail based on demand.
R1:W 2-0 Jund
2: L 2-1 Jund
3: L 2-0 Green Tron
4: W 2-0 some weird home brew
5: W 2-0 Collected Coco
6: W 2-0 Jeskai Nahiri
7: L 2-0 Abzan + Red coco/chord kikki deck
8: W 2-0 Infect
9: W 2-1 Dredge
Day 2
10: Lost 2-1 Bant Eldrazi
11: Lost 2-1 Jund
Neways, I think this can do it. I feel modern can no longer be predicted, and as long as you have some luck avoiding our tough MUs (ie tron) then there is no limit how far u can go. I will post a list when I'm off my phone on a computer. Feel free to ask about any of the match ups above and I can tell how I felt and how it went