How do you guys feel about bringing in Rest in Peace against the stronger GY based decks? Does it take away too much of the power of Knight of the Reliquary?
From my experience, burn is not a good match up and we have to put specific tools in our sideboard to have greater than 50% chance to win. We can take games off them with just our starting 60, but those games are typically defined by the shortcoming of the burn player and not our ability to stop them (usually them flooding out) nor our ability to combo because it uses our life total. Generally, our sideboard cards are one for one trades against a deck with a very high density of those same style of cards. I've found our clock usually isn't fast enough as we make those trades and they draw the burn needed before I get them dead.
A few pages back, I had mentioned that I don't really like my position against burn and was looking for a card to swing the match up. We could try going back to Worship and put it on the burn player to side in Wear/Tear. Alternatively, the supplementary life gain of Courser, Ooze (we hope), Finks, Blessed Alliance and/or the card I was considering in my sideboard Kor Firewalker could be enough.
While we're on the subject of burn, are you guys siding out a couple Paths for Negates? Thanks to Reflector Mage in the main it would be simply to help with the balance of the way we interact with the stack vs. the board.
I guess my lists are different because against them MB I have 4 Courser of Kruphix and you pair that with Spell Queller and Voice of Resurgence. It's so hard to lose game 1 so long as I don't fall prey to the "draw the wrong half of your deck", but I guess that's against any deck. I guess for the lists you guys are playing, you side in ALL your counter spells and Blessed Alliance (if you play it) and pray you get a good had with Spell Quellers, Voices, and Qasali Pridemage.
Re: burn. I played another 4-round tourney last night and faced a burn. Currently I play 2 coursers, 1 ooze, 4 quellers in main deck. Against Burn, I side in 2 Negates, 1 qasali, 1 ooze (and also testing 1 Gideon of the Trials, which is in there for control and Valakut decks). I've found this is usually enough to invest into having a chance against Burn.
Record last night: Vizier Combo (1-2, very close games), Lantern Control (0-2), Storm (2-0), Burn (2-0). Spell Queller is MVP versus all combo decks.
Against Lantern Control, I felt very helpless. I think this is very luck dependent, as I never drew pridemages or noble hierarchs early enough. In both games, my opponent always set up before I had 3 mana for Spell Queller. Lantern is just typically good versus our creature deck, but I'm going to think about how to approach this matchup better. This is one of those MUs where 4 coursers probably really hurt, so it worked out that I only played 2 this time. (I sided in 1 Stony Silence, 3 counterspells, 1 qasali.) It's not worth investing space in sideboard for this matchup unless that card also helps other matchups. I'm considering Blood Moon (covers Tron matchups) or maybe Leylines. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Edit: Additional thoughts on how our deck usually beats Lantern. We have some great tools already in 0 power creatures and Exalted, but my opp was playing enough removal (Abrupt Decay, Collective Brutality; not sure if these are in typical Lantern lists) that I was never able to make any threats stick before I got into Lantern lock. The main target, imo, for artifact removal is the artifact that discards cards off the top of your deck. Without that, they can't control what cards we get. Ensnaring Bridge is tempting target, but I think we can play around it.
The other funny thing that occurred to me, since I was testing Gideon of the Trials, is that if Gideon ultimates, we can eventually win once the opponent decks out. We still need to protect Gideon from Abrupt Decays though.
@divbalari My god! That's a brilliant solution. Elegant. Efficient. Genius! Thanks, man. Just need to draw a counterspell to protect it from SurgiCal Extraction.
@TNDS Congrats! Looking forward to reading your report!
Yeah Deus, I just came in here to see if it was posted myself. I read about it in the highlights article put up on the mtg site. Ivan De Castro Sanchez says on there he's piloting bant knightfall humans, sounds cool. Can't wait to see a list.
It seems like a majority of the lists on top 8 are running Teeg in the SB. I've been considering him because there's a lot of ETron and UTron at my LGS. When you bring him in, do you board out all 4 CoCo? Or just cross your fingers and hope you don't screw yourself?
Pretty awesome. I built a similar list a while back, it seemed alright at the time but not better than the typical list. But with the way the meta has shifted, Reflector Mage is incredibly good at the moment and this is a heck of a way to take advantage of that. I think I would want some Meddling Mages in the board, though, and maybe one extra Thalia.
Yeah Deus, I hear you on that. I haven't played much with meddling mage though, it seems awesome in a vacuum but modern seems full of spot removal and I get scared to run it, but this would be the shell for it!
Interesting enough there is no reflector mage in the 75, 3 mirran crusader and 2 phyrexian revoker in the sideboard. Also 3 thalia, heretic cathar and 2 kitchen finks in the main.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
--> Modern <-- RBUSplinter Twin (RIP)/DelverRBU UUUMono U TronUUU GRGGR TronGRG GWURKnight FallGWUR
I love the use of Tireless Tracker, although I have found it to be a bit of a win-more card so far. I really adore the card, so I can identify with the winner very well in that respect. That being said, it's odd to see no Courser of Kruphix. Although I think the card is overplayed in Titanshift, I do think it's very good in Knightfall. Perhaps he didn't want his opponent to know what's coming, which in my opinion is really the only downside of Courser.
Very interesting list with 3 Flashfreeze for good old Titanshift. Counters Titan or Scapeshift, whereas Negate and Spell Queller only get the Scapeshift. (Counters Anger of the Gods/Sweltering Suns too...)
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
We did it! Interesting and very unconventional list. Flashfreeze is cool but keep in mind it's likely a meta call: there were 6 Titanshift decks in the Top 32 at that GP. I also have to wonder if it really has much of an effect on the matchup, especially over Unified Will. Still this list really showcases some of the more unconventional options this deck has.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
A few pages back, I had mentioned that I don't really like my position against burn and was looking for a card to swing the match up. We could try going back to Worship and put it on the burn player to side in Wear/Tear. Alternatively, the supplementary life gain of Courser, Ooze (we hope), Finks, Blessed Alliance and/or the card I was considering in my sideboard Kor Firewalker could be enough.
While we're on the subject of burn, are you guys siding out a couple Paths for Negates? Thanks to Reflector Mage in the main it would be simply to help with the balance of the way we interact with the stack vs. the board.
Record last night: Vizier Combo (1-2, very close games), Lantern Control (0-2), Storm (2-0), Burn (2-0). Spell Queller is MVP versus all combo decks.
Against Lantern Control, I felt very helpless. I think this is very luck dependent, as I never drew pridemages or noble hierarchs early enough. In both games, my opponent always set up before I had 3 mana for Spell Queller. Lantern is just typically good versus our creature deck, but I'm going to think about how to approach this matchup better. This is one of those MUs where 4 coursers probably really hurt, so it worked out that I only played 2 this time. (I sided in 1 Stony Silence, 3 counterspells, 1 qasali.) It's not worth investing space in sideboard for this matchup unless that card also helps other matchups. I'm considering Blood Moon (covers Tron matchups) or maybe Leylines. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Edit: Additional thoughts on how our deck usually beats Lantern. We have some great tools already in 0 power creatures and Exalted, but my opp was playing enough removal (Abrupt Decay, Collective Brutality; not sure if these are in typical Lantern lists) that I was never able to make any threats stick before I got into Lantern lock. The main target, imo, for artifact removal is the artifact that discards cards off the top of your deck. Without that, they can't control what cards we get. Ensnaring Bridge is tempting target, but I think we can play around it.
The other funny thing that occurred to me, since I was testing Gideon of the Trials, is that if Gideon ultimates, we can eventually win once the opponent decks out. We still need to protect Gideon from Abrupt Decays though.
@TNDS Congrats! Looking forward to reading your report!
Congrats! That's awesome.
There's also a Bant Humans list with Knight of the Reliquary that made day 2. Does anyone have the list?
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
EDIT, list in here: http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpbir17/first-days-9-0-decks-grand-prix-birmingham-2017-08-13
He made top 8 but lost to burn the first round. Still awesome!!!!!!
GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB
I'm amazed at the GW value town lists and his list where there are almost no 2 drops at all, but I guess they work since they are winning!!
His use of 3 flash freeze and 3 ceremonious rejection is fascinating.
http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpsao17/top-8-decklists-2017-08-13
Interesting enough there is no reflector mage in the 75, 3 mirran crusader and 2 phyrexian revoker in the sideboard. Also 3 thalia, heretic cathar and 2 kitchen finks in the main.
RBU
Splinter Twin (RIP)/DelverRBUUUUMono U TronUUU
GRGGR TronGRG
GWURKnight FallGWUR
Legacy
GWBDark MaverickGWB
--> EDH <--
BWUErtai, the CorruptedBWU
Very interesting list with 3 Flashfreeze for good old Titanshift. Counters Titan or Scapeshift, whereas Negate and Spell Queller only get the Scapeshift. (Counters Anger of the Gods/Sweltering Suns too...)
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)GWU Knightfall Spirit Company GWU
GWB Abzan Evolution GWB