Just curious as i have some odd numbers of cards that not many people are using and some visions which i dont see anywhere else. Just trying to gather what people think about it
and why is playing 2 snapcasters the norm. Its a really good spell in the deck. And should I consider going to 4 twins?
I started to get into modern with this deck. I keep going 3-2 at FNM with this deck. Please help with any suggestions for this deck. I am having problems with Merfolk and Pod variants. My list for reference. I am working on getting Celestial Colonnades.
Side Board:
3 Counterflux
3 Negate (has been awesome)
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Wear//Tear
2 Ajani Vengant (I do not know how I feel about him)
2 Supreme Verdict (board wipes for all the random creature decks)
I don't see what the problem is. Maybe it is the Colonnades, as I have won several games off of them.
Your list is fine and I would suggest just play more games with the deck. The only change I would make would be to reduce the numbers on Counterflux, Anger, Ajani Vengeant, Supreme Verdict, and run some number of RIPs and Stony Silence.
If you arent relying on the combo as much why not run a similar list to McLaren or if not that have 1 more Kiki and 1-2 fewer splinter twins since it doesnt do anything on its own?
If you're addressing the OP list, the splinter twins are essential as extra copies can be used on wall of omens, which is a game-winning move on it's own. And also snapcaster mage.
I really dislike McLaren's list. It's like trying to do two things at once without being excellent at either.
Agreed. The main thing that it was good at was surprising people who expected him to be playing the same deck that he was before.
Because we only run 4 remands as our counterspell suite, you'd need around 5-6 hard counters in the sb to deal with combo decks. Our game one plan is to race them (mostly unsuccessfully unless they stumble), and the game two plan is to counter the heck out of them.
So, I'm planning on getting behind this list. It seems genuinely fun, but I am curious as to why you all dislike the variants with less Twin pieces? Given how deep it the deck seems to dig, I thought that would be preferable.
There is considerable leeway for customization based on the local meta that you're playing in.
Remand is generally better in this type of deck because it cantrips, and using too many counters will slow your deck down. I like Leak over Spell Snare in my local meta, but that's going to vary a lot based on how much Jund you have. I personally don't like more than a smattering of 4-6 counters at most and prefer Remand as the default 4-of. More can come in out of the side, but I generally prefer burn or straight removal to counters as there aren't too too many things that you can't take care of on-board. The main question is whether you want a more directly controlling version of the deck ala McLaren or the more creature/question-based type build that has seemed to define the UWR list so far. If you start going into more counters, or want to take that path, then I'd consider looking at his list; he eschews the redundant combo pieces this list has, but can play a much more controlling game.
Electrolyze can be very good, also because it cantrips, and certainly can take the place of Helix depending on what you need. Helix is better at finishing people off or keeping ahead of the more aggressive decks. Electrolyze shines in a heavy Pod meta though as you can zap all of the mana critter drops, it's also useful against Bob and other random stuff. I'd go so far as to additionally note that it's reasonable in some metas to use Flame Slash in some number over either Helix or Path as it conveniently kills off creatures like Restoration Angel and Spellskite that are good in no small part because of their resistance to bolt. In general I like having both Helix and Path over other options for removal spells 5-10 for a general meta though, instant speed is obviously very relevant, and having Helix gives you another way to finish the game when you're not winning via combo.
One thing that I do like, and been experimenting with myself, is using at least 1, possibly 2 filter lands in place of other duals. Too many of them can make for terrible opening grips, but single card access to RR is very relevant in a three colour deck that is casting Kiki Jiki! I've been using 1 each of Cascade Bluffs and Rugged Prairie and have liked having them.
I would be inclined to agree with everything CortexBomb48 said.
My LGS has probably over a hundred players who come there with some regularity, so I don't really have a specific local meta other than the MODO and GP metas. Spell Snare is quite good right now and that's why I'm playing it.
I just began playing modern myself. Started with the U/W/R and don't really have the funds to branch out. I've just recently converted into a Geist-Twin deck and have been having great success in practice matches with other players. There is a GPT and other event this weekend, looking forward to see how I can do!
The deck is a house though, I'll provide a list later. I don't really like the wall of omens in my testing. I much prefer a full set of Snapcasters and running 2 of electrolyze. Path seems to be better in the sideboard or a 2 of as this deck has plenty of meat to defend itself and lots of burn.
My build is similar to your and unfortunately Bogles is an all or nothing build to face.
i MB one copy of spellskite at all times, it's useful especially against Bogles and then some of the jank brews you sometimes catch at tournaments.
post SB, another Spellskite and 3 Anger of the Gods is the only real respons3.
if they go off first game, it is what it is. Anything afterwards we should be able to beat them with attrition. Take out the first pump guy by stealing some auras, chump block to buy time, combo off.
This thread is awfully quiet. I was playing RUG Twin and decided to basically swap out the Tarmogoyfs for Gesist so I ended up with a WUR Twin deck. I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about this deck.
On a theoretical level I really like having a white splash instead of a green splash. White gives me access to significantly better side board options and Geist works extremely well with this deck and finishes off games much faster than Tarmogofys. Playing Exarch tapping a blocker to attack with Geist, next turn Restoration Angel blinking the Exarch and attacking with Geist again is often game winning. Resto+Kiki is also much better against Rock decks than Exarch+Twin since they are immune to Abrupt Decay; and even if someone kills Kiki to stop the combo, it's just a 1-for-1 trade, whereas someone killing the Exarch in response to Twin is a 2-for-1 in their advantage.
The best way to defend against Twin is with removal or counters, but Geists attacks at a completely different angle. Cards that are good against your combo is not good against Geists, making it difficult for your opponents to have the right type of answers at the right time.
If anyone has any insights on how this deck does against the various tier 1 decks, I'd love to hear them.
I love this deck. It was my first Twin deck build. It suprised many players since they thought I was UWR Control/ UWR Flash. I didn't play cryptic command at that time. Everybody thought I was and played around it.
Last couple of months I play UR Twin. Bit faster, bit stronger against certain matchup. However I'm thinking about sleeving up the UWR version again. I just like the options white gives us, especially in the SB and also looking at the (local) meta.
Luckally I have all the cards for all different Twin decks so I can play around a bit. (All-in, UWR, UR Tempo and other UR builds) It also keeps the people at my local game store guessing
So maybe I can spark some discussion in this thread by asking what you guys think of Stonehorn Dignitary as extra sb tech against aggro or midrange decks? If you land a splinter twin or Kiki it stalls the game indefinitely.
So maybe I can spark some discussion in this thread by asking what you guys think of Stonehorn Dignitary as extra sb tech against aggro or midrange decks? If you land a splinter twin or Kiki it stalls the game indefinitely.
I personally don't like it. This deck should be strong against Aggro already and against Midrange it will just be removed if you try to Splinter Twin it.
Check the primer. UWR Twin plays more like a control version of Splinter Twin (or Twin version of UWR control). It tries to delay the opponent (Wall of Omens), while searching for the combo. It sacrifices consistency for utility.
In my experience (as opponenent), it never has enough answers or combo pieces. Its combo is almost always Abrupt Decay proof though. It is better versus midrange/aggro, while weaker versus other combo and control.
So I've been out of competitive magic for a fair while now. I played Standard during Innistrad, but since then it's mostly been semi-casual with friends. I've followed modern a bit and played various RWU archetypes with aforementioned friends. I've always been fond of the color trio, starting way back in Ravnica when Lightning Helix paired so well with Izzet. In modern my RWU started with Scepter of Secrets and ended up here, in Splinter Twin. It seems like a really cool archetype, combining elements of combo, control, and midrange beats. I'm thinking of making a return to FNMs soon, and this along with Boggle are the decks I'm thinking of using.
I'm distressed how little attention the deck seems to be getting, though! I first picked it up several months ago, and it seemed kind of popular at the time. But I haven't seen any RWU kikis in the top 8s for a couple months and the poor primer here isn't exactly brimming with life. I may end up going a kiki-midrange build, dropping the Splinter Twins and Exarchs in favor of more beats and just leaving the combo to angel/kiki as a secondary wincon. But I figured I'd take a peek here first, and see if there's any hope for this archetype.
I know my magic basics but I've never played modern in a tournament setting, just with friends, so I'm not very familiar with the meta. My sideboard especially is sort of just best-guess. Any critiques on the deck are welcome and appreciated. So is wisdom on the format in general. I'm probably going to start with my Boggle deck because it's much easier to pilot, but I'd like to get some RWU action in there eventually. Is this even a good deck for that anymore? Should I move it towards Midrange instead? Thanks!
and why is playing 2 snapcasters the norm. Its a really good spell in the deck. And should I consider going to 4 twins?
Modern:
RUGScapeshift[RUG...Occasionally with goyfs
RUGTarmotwinRUG(RIP)
Legacy:
UWxuwr miracles and stonebladeUWx
Commander:
UWRShu Yun/Ruhan SmashUWR
Main:
4x Arid Mesa
2x Tectonic Edge
1x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
3x Mountain
2x Plains
2x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Sulfur Falls
4x Deceiver Exarch
2x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4x Restoration Angel
2x Snapcaster Mage
4x Wall of Omens
4x Splinter Twin
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lightning Helix
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
Side Board:
3 Counterflux
3 Negate (has been awesome)
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Wear//Tear
2 Ajani Vengant (I do not know how I feel about him)
2 Supreme Verdict (board wipes for all the random creature decks)
Your list is fine and I would suggest just play more games with the deck. The only change I would make would be to reduce the numbers on Counterflux, Anger, Ajani Vengeant, Supreme Verdict, and run some number of RIPs and Stony Silence.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Agreed. The main thing that it was good at was surprising people who expected him to be playing the same deck that he was before.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Try 2 negates, 2 counterfluxes, and 1 dispel.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
3 scalding tarn
3 arid mesa
4 celestial colonnade
1 hallowed fountain
2 steam vents
2 sulfur falls
2 sacred foundry
2 plains
2 island
1 mountain
1 eiganjo castle
1 clifftop retreat
3 snapcaster mage
4 geist of saint traft
4 deceiver exarch
4 restoration angel
2 kiki jiki
4 lightning bolt
4 lightning helix
4 remand
4 path to exile
3 splinter twin
sb
2 anger of the gods
2 stony silence
2 batterskull
2 relic of progenitus
2 wear/tear
3 dispel
2 spellskite
4 Arid Mesa
1 Cascade Bluffs
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
4 Deceiver Exarch
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
3 Restoration Angel
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Wall of Omens
Spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
4 Remand
2 Spell Snare
4 Splinter Twin
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Dispel
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Lightning Helix
1 Path to Exile
2 Sowing Salt
2 Spellskite
2 Stony Silence
1 Wear // Tear
So, what do you think? Anything that needs to be changed? I threw the deck together in around 10 minutes, so it's a little rough.
Remand is generally better in this type of deck because it cantrips, and using too many counters will slow your deck down. I like Leak over Spell Snare in my local meta, but that's going to vary a lot based on how much Jund you have. I personally don't like more than a smattering of 4-6 counters at most and prefer Remand as the default 4-of. More can come in out of the side, but I generally prefer burn or straight removal to counters as there aren't too too many things that you can't take care of on-board. The main question is whether you want a more directly controlling version of the deck ala McLaren or the more creature/question-based type build that has seemed to define the UWR list so far. If you start going into more counters, or want to take that path, then I'd consider looking at his list; he eschews the redundant combo pieces this list has, but can play a much more controlling game.
Electrolyze can be very good, also because it cantrips, and certainly can take the place of Helix depending on what you need. Helix is better at finishing people off or keeping ahead of the more aggressive decks. Electrolyze shines in a heavy Pod meta though as you can zap all of the mana critter drops, it's also useful against Bob and other random stuff. I'd go so far as to additionally note that it's reasonable in some metas to use Flame Slash in some number over either Helix or Path as it conveniently kills off creatures like Restoration Angel and Spellskite that are good in no small part because of their resistance to bolt. In general I like having both Helix and Path over other options for removal spells 5-10 for a general meta though, instant speed is obviously very relevant, and having Helix gives you another way to finish the game when you're not winning via combo.
One thing that I do like, and been experimenting with myself, is using at least 1, possibly 2 filter lands in place of other duals. Too many of them can make for terrible opening grips, but single card access to RR is very relevant in a three colour deck that is casting Kiki Jiki! I've been using 1 each of Cascade Bluffs and Rugged Prairie and have liked having them.
My LGS has probably over a hundred players who come there with some regularity, so I don't really have a specific local meta other than the MODO and GP metas. Spell Snare is quite good right now and that's why I'm playing it.
The deck is a house though, I'll provide a list later. I don't really like the wall of omens in my testing. I much prefer a full set of Snapcasters and running 2 of electrolyze. Path seems to be better in the sideboard or a 2 of as this deck has plenty of meat to defend itself and lots of burn.
http://www.mtgdeckbuilder.net/Decks/ViewDeck/937651
i MB one copy of spellskite at all times, it's useful especially against Bogles and then some of the jank brews you sometimes catch at tournaments.
post SB, another Spellskite and 3 Anger of the Gods is the only real respons3.
if they go off first game, it is what it is. Anything afterwards we should be able to beat them with attrition. Take out the first pump guy by stealing some auras, chump block to buy time, combo off.
On a theoretical level I really like having a white splash instead of a green splash. White gives me access to significantly better side board options and Geist works extremely well with this deck and finishes off games much faster than Tarmogofys. Playing Exarch tapping a blocker to attack with Geist, next turn Restoration Angel blinking the Exarch and attacking with Geist again is often game winning. Resto+Kiki is also much better against Rock decks than Exarch+Twin since they are immune to Abrupt Decay; and even if someone kills Kiki to stop the combo, it's just a 1-for-1 trade, whereas someone killing the Exarch in response to Twin is a 2-for-1 in their advantage.
The best way to defend against Twin is with removal or counters, but Geists attacks at a completely different angle. Cards that are good against your combo is not good against Geists, making it difficult for your opponents to have the right type of answers at the right time.
If anyone has any insights on how this deck does against the various tier 1 decks, I'd love to hear them.
Last couple of months I play UR Twin. Bit faster, bit stronger against certain matchup. However I'm thinking about sleeving up the UWR version again. I just like the options white gives us, especially in the SB and also looking at the (local) meta.
Luckally I have all the cards for all different Twin decks so I can play around a bit. (All-in, UWR, UR Tempo and other UR builds) It also keeps the people at my local game store guessing
I personally don't like it. This deck should be strong against Aggro already and against Midrange it will just be removed if you try to Splinter Twin it.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
In my experience (as opponenent), it never has enough answers or combo pieces. Its combo is almost always Abrupt Decay proof though. It is better versus midrange/aggro, while weaker versus other combo and control.
DECKS:
UB Faeries [Midrange/Tempo]
RWUGB Affinity[Aggro]
FAERIES TOO STRONK!!!1111
- Fae Prophecy, 201
5678I'm distressed how little attention the deck seems to be getting, though! I first picked it up several months ago, and it seemed kind of popular at the time. But I haven't seen any RWU kikis in the top 8s for a couple months and the poor primer here isn't exactly brimming with life. I may end up going a kiki-midrange build, dropping the Splinter Twins and Exarchs in favor of more beats and just leaving the combo to angel/kiki as a secondary wincon. But I figured I'd take a peek here first, and see if there's any hope for this archetype.
The list I'm thinking of bringing is:
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Arid Mesa
3 Flooded Strand
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Mountain
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Cascade Bluffs
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Tectonic Edge
3 Celestial Colonnade
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Restoration Angel
4 Deceiver Exarch
3 Wall of Omens
3 Snapcaster Mage
Spells
3 Splinter Twin
3 Electrolyze
2 Lightning Helix
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
4 Path to Exile
3 Swan Song
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Wear // Tear
1 Spellskite
1 Celestial Purge
I know my magic basics but I've never played modern in a tournament setting, just with friends, so I'm not very familiar with the meta. My sideboard especially is sort of just best-guess. Any critiques on the deck are welcome and appreciated. So is wisdom on the format in general. I'm probably going to start with my Boggle deck because it's much easier to pilot, but I'd like to get some RWU action in there eventually. Is this even a good deck for that anymore? Should I move it towards Midrange instead? Thanks!
Modern ||| WUR Jeskai | WGB Junk | WG Bogles | U Turns
Pauper ||| WR Kuldotha | UG Tron | WG Bogles
Decklists: http://deckstats.net/decks/58050