Went 4-3 today at states. I really like my list and got mana screwed or mana flooded in a couple of losses but felt nearly all of my matches were winnable and definitely never was outclassed.
Beat
Affinity
Jeskai Control
Merfolk
Abzan hstebears?? (he was running abzan colors with thalia, and leonin arbiter along with wilt-leaf liege and loxodon smiter, so it was odd)
Losses
Bogles
Grixis Twin
Burn
I'm probably going to take out a seachrome coast and replace it with another Colonnade and the Monastery Mentors for Spell Pierce. I felt like the mentors were win more and I'd rather be protecting my early threats with counter magic.
You could try swapping the Mentors for Geist, they are a threat resilient to removal for matchups like burn and Grixis delver and can't be removed by an active Karn against tron. Also you should try to add a couple of Engineered Explosives to the sideboard as they will help you with the boggles matchup among others, maybe by swapping the Stony Silences since the explosives also help you on the affinity matchup, that way you'll have a card that helps you in more matchups.
Went 4-3 today at states. I really like my list and got mana screwed or mana flooded in a couple of losses but felt nearly all of my matches were winnable and definitely never was outclassed.
Beat
Affinity
Jeskai Control
Merfolk
Abzan hstebears?? (he was running abzan colors with thalia, and leonin arbiter along with wilt-leaf liege and loxodon smiter, so it was odd)
Losses
Bogles
Grixis Twin
Burn
I'm probably going to take out a seachrome coast and replace it with another Colonnade and the Monastery Mentors for Spell Pierce. I felt like the mentors were win more and I'd rather be protecting my early threats with counter magic.
I agree with Ronyx. I'd cut a Snapcaster Mage and the Mentors for 3 Geists. It is an amazing card in this deck. I also would cut a land and the Mana Leak for 2 more Path to Exiles.
I would replace your rending volleys with something for Junk/Abzhan. its the most played deck and not a great matchup, I prefer kor firewalker over the timely reinforcements.
I would try sower of temptation or mirran crusaders.
Sowing Salt and Blood Moon are great cards for tron/scapeshift/bloom titan, I prefer them over molten rain.
WE also have access to fulminator mage, but I don't know if you wanna drop 40$ on him
Private Mod Note
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To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour. - William Blake
It was not delight, not wonder that arose among us, it was the peace of heaven. He who has thought most deeply loves what is most alive. - Friedrich Holderlin
I would replace your rending volleys with something for Junk/Abzhan. its the most played deck and not a great matchup, I prefer kor firewalker over the timely reinforcements.
I would try sower of temptation or mirran crusaders.
Sowing Salt and Blood Moon are great cards for tron/scapeshift/bloom titan, I prefer them over molten rain.
WE also have access to fulminator mage, but I don't know if you wanna drop 40$ on him
Sowing Salt is 4 mana while Molten Rain is 3, that makes a difference when facing Tron. And Tron players can Ghost Quarter one of their own Tron lands in response to a Sowing Salt.
Also, Blood Moon doesn't flip Delver unlike Molten Rain. And postboard, Tron will bring in Nature's Claim in anticipation of Blood Moon. Lastly, Blood Moon actually makes it easier for Tron to cast Firespout.
I would replace your rending volleys with something for Junk/Abzhan. its the most played deck and not a great matchup, I prefer kor firewalker over the timely reinforcements.
I would try sower of temptation or mirran crusaders.
Sowing Salt and Blood Moon are great cards for tron/scapeshift/bloom titan, I prefer them over molten rain.
WE also have access to fulminator mage, but I don't know if you wanna drop 40$ on him
Sowing Salt is 4 mana while Molten Rain is 3, that makes a difference when facing Tron. And Tron players can Ghost Quarter one of their own Tron lands in response to a Sowing Salt.
Also, Blood Moon doesn't flip Delver unlike Molten Rain. And postboard, Tron will bring in Nature's Claim in anticipation of Blood Moon. Lastly, Blood Moon actually makes it easier for Tron to cast Firespout.
Only two things to notice: 1) Path + Mana Leak don't go along that well, your deck seems fast enough that you may just need the time provided by a remand, but since you have played with your deck for a while, I guess Mana Leak works just fine for you... also you could try a Deprive or two, I know you are worried that it may set you back on being able to cast Geist, but normally Deprive is for when you need a hard counter on latter turns. 2)The mana base, seems really good in helping you get your colors and seem resilient to Choke, but how has it been for you against Blood Moon? Also you could try to exchange some Polluted Deltas for Bloodstained Mires so you can search for a basic Mountain in those cases when you are against burn and all you need is a red mana so you don't take that much damage from your lands.
Otherwise everything else seems good, I really like Timely Reinforcements in our sideboard more than Kor Firewalker since it both helps flip delver and is usefull in other matchups other than burn (namely affinity)
I prefer stance/Boros charm split for more range but all in on big dude removal is a solid plan !
Could you please explain your preference of seachrome coast over glacial fortress?
Good luck !!
Seachrome Coast (and other fast lands) enter the battlefield untapped by themselves on the first turn. If there was a UR fastland, we would definitely be running it in our deck as a 1/2-off rather than Sulfur Falls
Only two things to notice: 1) Path + Mana Leak don't go along that well, your deck seems fast enough that you may just need the time provided by a remand, but since you have played with your deck for a while, I guess Mana Leak works just fine for you... also you could try a Deprive or two, I know you are worried that it may set you back on being able to cast Geist, but normally Deprive is for when you need a hard counter on latter turns.
I honestly am unsure about the countermagic. I usually run Remand, but when I look at the overall meta, it seems like Junk is the only deck with a lot spells that cost more than 2 mana that aren't must-counters that we need to be dead permanently. If I was running Young Pyromancer I'd probably run Deprive, but with 8 of my 14 creatures wanting 3 mana (Snapcaster Mage, Geist, Mantis Rider), I can't risk it. Mana Leak should be live for most of when we want it to be live and it is a permanent answer. I just don't know.
2)The mana base, seems really good in helping you get your colors and seem resilient to Choke, but how has it been for you against Blood Moon?
Blood Moon is problematic. I am considering going up to 2 Wear // Tear in the sideboard for it. I just think that this deck has to risk dying to Blood Moon and try to search up its basics beforehand. If I was going to add a second Wear // Tear, what do you think I should cut?
Also you could try to exchange some Polluted Deltas for Bloodstained Mires so you can search for a basic Mountain in those cases when you are against burn and all you need is a red mana so you don't take that much damage from your lands.
I would, but then I would have even bigger problems with Blood Moon. I'll definitely run a basic mountain when Scalding Tarn and Arid Mesa are reprinted, but until then I need to make my deck as resistant to Blood Moon as possible.
Otherwise everything else seems good, I really like Timely Reinforcements in our sideboard more than Kor Firewalker since it both helps flip delver and is usefull in other matchups other than burn (namely affinity)
Kor Firewalker is good, but I don't think most versions of this deck run enough red spells to consistently turn it on.
There's always one or two random people playing Tron at our LGS.
Out of how many people?
For weekend Modern events, from 10 to upwards of 50. But the Molten Rains also serve the purpose of slowing down BGx Rock and Abzan Liege to kill them.
There's always one or two random people playing Tron at our LGS.
Out of how many people?
For weekend Modern events, from 10 to upwards of 50. But the Molten Rains also serve the purpose of slowing down BGx Rock and Abzan Liege to kill them.
I am not a big fan of Molten Rain against BGx and Little Kid. I just don't think it is worth the sideboard slots without a large amount of Tron decks.
Blood Moon is problematic. I am considering going up to 2 Wear // Tear in the sideboard for it. I just think that this deck has to risk dying to Blood Moon and try to search up its basics beforehand. If I was going to add a second Wear // Tear, what do you think I should cut?
The way I see it, you only have 3 options: 1) remove a counter and maybe adjust your counters accordingly. 2) go down to 2 Mirran Crusaders. 3) Go down to 2 Timely Reinforcements. At the end, it depends on which matchup you feel you are already in a better position, but I think is really between the Mirran and the Reinforcement
The meta has shifted in the last months to focus on creatures with high toughness (Abzan is full of them, Twin has Exarch, Bloom has titan, even Grixis Delver has Tasigur and the Angler) and most of the time is better to remove said creatures in order to clear the way for your creatures, or just plain necessary in order to stop a kill from them (the case for Twin and Bloom)
Boros Charm has always been underwhelming for me and we need as much removal as possible to have a chance in the Junk matchup. Boros Charm is only good when we are on the offensive. Valorous Stance is good all of the time.
Blood Moon is problematic. I am considering going up to 2 Wear // Tear in the sideboard for it. I just think that this deck has to risk dying to Blood Moon and try to search up its basics beforehand. If I was going to add a second Wear // Tear, what do you think I should cut?
The way I see it, you only have 3 options: 1) remove a counter and maybe adjust your counters accordingly. 2) go down to 2 Mirran Crusaders. 3) Go down to 2 Timely Reinforcements. At the end, it depends on which matchup you feel you are already in a better position, but I think is really between the Mirran and the Reinforcement
The meta has shifted in the last months to focus on creatures with high toughness (Abzan is full of them, Twin has Exarch, Bloom has titan, even Grixis Delver has Tasigur and the Angler) and most of the time is better to remove said creatures in order to clear the way for your creatures, or just plain necessary in order to stop a kill from them (the case for Twin and Bloom)
I think I am going to cut a Negate for the second Wear // Tear, since many of the matchups we'd bring Negate in for we also would bring in Wear // Tear for. I also think I am going to cut the other Negate for the third Counterflux. Most decks that we'd bring in Negate against are running counterspells, so Counterflux seems like it would usually be better there.
I like electrolyze a lot but if heard you say you don't like it a lot but is amazing for burn and good for junk kills ooze and souls.
Also good for bolt + shocking a goyf.
I really recommend getting sower of temptation you can bring it in against tron also.
As a long time burn player the walker is much scarier than the reinforcements.
It's really easy to skullcrCk it.
But double White can be painful.
I'm personally not a fan of lavamancer but I get why people like him.
I think remand is very bad outside of combo, I run 3 snare 1 leak 2deprive
I would try and sideboards flash freeze its really good against almost all modern deck.
Good luck at the pptq.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour. - William Blake
It was not delight, not wonder that arose among us, it was the peace of heaven. He who has thought most deeply loves what is most alive. - Friedrich Holderlin
They play different roles, while rider is super aggro clique is more control, normally to stop combo or delay abzan. It depends on the meta, but I've found that if we play to much on the control side we get overwhelmed mid to late game
I like electrolyze a lot but if heard you say you don't like it a lot but is amazing for burn and good for junk kills ooze and souls.
Also good for bolt + shocking a goyf.
This is true, electrolyze has never been bad for me against abzan, when is not killing spirit tokens or mana dorks its helping a bolt or helix dealing the last points of damage to kill a rhino, goyf, lili, wilt-leaf or loxodon, an even 2-for-1ing a mana dork and a Voice of Resurgence token (after the dork dies the token becomes 1/1 and dies as well)
I really recommend getting sower of temptation you can bring it in against tron also.
This play is both expensive in mana and dangerous. If they get rid of the sower they get back their creature, so its not a permanent removal, which is prefered most of the time.
As a long time burn player the walker is much scarier than the reinforcements.
It's really easy to skullcrCk it.
But double White can be painful.
It's really easy to play around skullcrack, you can wait for them to tap out or have counter backup, and more so if you play with probe, also the reinforments help help flip delver, can be snapcastered and is helpful in other matchups, this last point is the most important I believe, since we really need sideboard cards that help in more games
I'm personally not a fan of lavamancer but I get why people like him.
It's a matter of taste, but the lavamancer is really good, is both aggresion and control helping remove creatures
I think remand is very bad outside of combo, I run 3 snare 1 leak 2deprive
Don't be mistaken, we are a tempo deck and remand is the ultimate tempo card, we normally just need the time provided by remand to deal the last points of damage. Played right, its a pseudo time walk
I would try and sideboards flash freeze its really good against almost all modern deck.
True, but if you expect to find a lot of twin, bloom and/or ad nauseam, you will be facing dispels and pact of negation, then a counterspell that can't be countered starts to look better
Good luck at the pptq.
RT here... good luck val, show grixis is not the only viable delver list, go jeskai!
I am not running Vendilion Clique partially because of budget reasons and partially because Mantis Rider is almost a 2-drop because of the haste.
I like electrolyze a lot but if heard you say you don't like it a lot but is amazing for burn and good for junk kills ooze and souls.
It doesn't seem great against Junk. It only kills half of a Lingering Souls, only kills Ooze if there isn't a creature in the graveyard, and is useless against most of the rest of their threats.
Also good for bolt + shocking a goyf.
I am running 4 Path to Exile, 4 Valorous Stance, and 4 Snapcaster Mages for a reason. We shouldn't ever need to use 2 burn spells to take out a single threat.
I really recommend getting sower of temptation you can bring it in against tron also.
I really want to run Sower, but I am not getting it until after Modern Masters 2 is spoiled since it would crash in price if it was in it.
As a long time burn player the walker is much scarier than the reinforcements.
It's really easy to skullcrCk it.
But double White can be painful.
Isn't Kor Firewalker also easy to kill with Skullcrack after it blocks? Also, without me running a lot of red cards, Timely Reinforcements is much more powerful if it works.
I'm personally not a fan of lavamancer but I get why people like him.
Lavamancer really is great. Since we don't have any Delve cards anymore, it is basically repeatable removal for every turn. There is a reason why Punishing Fire is so good it got banned.
I think remand is very bad outside of combo, I run 3 snare 1 leak 2deprive
Can you explain why Deprive over Leak?
I would try and sideboards flash freeze its really good against almost all modern deck.
I don't like Flashfreeze as much nowadays with Junk running Tasigur and Lingering Souls. It still hits a lot, but not nearly as much as it did when Birthing Pod was still legal.
4 Delver of secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Monastery Mentor
Spells - 25
3 Remand
1 Mana Leak
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
2 Spell Snare
4 Serum Visions
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Valorous Stance
2 Path to Exile
1 Celestial Colonnade
2 Seachrome Coast
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Flooded Strand
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Wear // Tear
2 Flashfreexe
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Spellskite
2 Rending Volley
1 Negate
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Stony Silence
Beat
Affinity
Jeskai Control
Merfolk
Abzan hstebears?? (he was running abzan colors with thalia, and leonin arbiter along with wilt-leaf liege and loxodon smiter, so it was odd)
Losses
Bogles
Grixis Twin
Burn
I'm probably going to take out a seachrome coast and replace it with another Colonnade and the Monastery Mentors for Spell Pierce. I felt like the mentors were win more and I'd rather be protecting my early threats with counter magic.
Flipping Delvers since 2011
MY DECKS
Modern: UR Izzet Delver
Pauper: U Delver Faeries | R Red Burn | GInfect
Commander: WB Athreos, God of Passage | UR Keranos Spellslinger | GWU Derevi, Tempo Tactician | BGU Tasigur, the Golden Fang | RW Feather, the Redeemed
I agree with Ronyx. I'd cut a Snapcaster Mage and the Mentors for 3 Geists. It is an amazing card in this deck. I also would cut a land and the Mana Leak for 2 more Path to Exiles.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
I would try sower of temptation or mirran crusaders.
Sowing Salt and Blood Moon are great cards for tron/scapeshift/bloom titan, I prefer them over molten rain.
WE also have access to fulminator mage, but I don't know if you wanna drop 40$ on him
It was not delight, not wonder that arose among us, it was the peace of heaven. He who has thought most deeply loves what is most alive. - Friedrich Holderlin
1907 Constructed Rating on Magic Online.
Also, Blood Moon doesn't flip Delver unlike Molten Rain. And postboard, Tron will bring in Nature's Claim in anticipation of Blood Moon. Lastly, Blood Moon actually makes it easier for Tron to cast Firespout.
How much Tron is in your meta?
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Mantis Rider
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
3 Spell Snare
4 Valorous Stance
4 Serum Visions
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Spellskite
3 Mirran Crusader
2 Counterflux
2 Negate
1 Wear // Tear
3 Timely Reinforcements
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
I like your list a lot !
I prefer stance/Boros charm split for more range but all in on big dude removal is a solid plan !
Could you please explain your preference of seachrome coast over glacial fortress?
Good luck !!
What Class Are You?
Only two things to notice: 1) Path + Mana Leak don't go along that well, your deck seems fast enough that you may just need the time provided by a remand, but since you have played with your deck for a while, I guess Mana Leak works just fine for you... also you could try a Deprive or two, I know you are worried that it may set you back on being able to cast Geist, but normally Deprive is for when you need a hard counter on latter turns. 2)The mana base, seems really good in helping you get your colors and seem resilient to Choke, but how has it been for you against Blood Moon? Also you could try to exchange some Polluted Deltas for Bloodstained Mires so you can search for a basic Mountain in those cases when you are against burn and all you need is a red mana so you don't take that much damage from your lands.
Otherwise everything else seems good, I really like Timely Reinforcements in our sideboard more than Kor Firewalker since it both helps flip delver and is usefull in other matchups other than burn (namely affinity)
Seachrome Coast (and other fast lands) enter the battlefield untapped by themselves on the first turn. If there was a UR fastland, we would definitely be running it in our deck as a 1/2-off rather than Sulfur Falls
Flipping Delvers since 2011
MY DECKS
Modern: UR Izzet Delver
Pauper: U Delver Faeries | R Red Burn | GInfect
Commander: WB Athreos, God of Passage | UR Keranos Spellslinger | GWU Derevi, Tempo Tactician | BGU Tasigur, the Golden Fang | RW Feather, the Redeemed
I honestly am unsure about the countermagic. I usually run Remand, but when I look at the overall meta, it seems like Junk is the only deck with a lot spells that cost more than 2 mana that aren't must-counters that we need to be dead permanently. If I was running Young Pyromancer I'd probably run Deprive, but with 8 of my 14 creatures wanting 3 mana (Snapcaster Mage, Geist, Mantis Rider), I can't risk it. Mana Leak should be live for most of when we want it to be live and it is a permanent answer. I just don't know.
Blood Moon is problematic. I am considering going up to 2 Wear // Tear in the sideboard for it. I just think that this deck has to risk dying to Blood Moon and try to search up its basics beforehand. If I was going to add a second Wear // Tear, what do you think I should cut?
I would, but then I would have even bigger problems with Blood Moon. I'll definitely run a basic mountain when Scalding Tarn and Arid Mesa are reprinted, but until then I need to make my deck as resistant to Blood Moon as possible.
Kor Firewalker is good, but I don't think most versions of this deck run enough red spells to consistently turn it on.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Out of how many people?
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
I am not a big fan of Molten Rain against BGx and Little Kid. I just don't think it is worth the sideboard slots without a large amount of Tron decks.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
The meta has shifted in the last months to focus on creatures with high toughness (Abzan is full of them, Twin has Exarch, Bloom has titan, even Grixis Delver has Tasigur and the Angler) and most of the time is better to remove said creatures in order to clear the way for your creatures, or just plain necessary in order to stop a kill from them (the case for Twin and Bloom)
Flipping Delvers since 2011
MY DECKS
Modern: UR Izzet Delver
Pauper: U Delver Faeries | R Red Burn | GInfect
Commander: WB Athreos, God of Passage | UR Keranos Spellslinger | GWU Derevi, Tempo Tactician | BGU Tasigur, the Golden Fang | RW Feather, the Redeemed
Boros Charm has always been underwhelming for me and we need as much removal as possible to have a chance in the Junk matchup. Boros Charm is only good when we are on the offensive. Valorous Stance is good all of the time.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
I think I am going to cut a Negate for the second Wear // Tear, since many of the matchups we'd bring Negate in for we also would bring in Wear // Tear for. I also think I am going to cut the other Negate for the third Counterflux. Most decks that we'd bring in Negate against are running counterspells, so Counterflux seems like it would usually be better there.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
I like electrolyze a lot but if heard you say you don't like it a lot but is amazing for burn and good for junk kills ooze and souls.
Also good for bolt + shocking a goyf.
I really recommend getting sower of temptation you can bring it in against tron also.
As a long time burn player the walker is much scarier than the reinforcements.
It's really easy to skullcrCk it.
But double White can be painful.
I'm personally not a fan of lavamancer but I get why people like him.
I think remand is very bad outside of combo, I run 3 snare 1 leak 2deprive
I would try and sideboards flash freeze its really good against almost all modern deck.
Good luck at the pptq.
It was not delight, not wonder that arose among us, it was the peace of heaven. He who has thought most deeply loves what is most alive. - Friedrich Holderlin
1907 Constructed Rating on Magic Online.
This is true, electrolyze has never been bad for me against abzan, when is not killing spirit tokens or mana dorks its helping a bolt or helix dealing the last points of damage to kill a rhino, goyf, lili, wilt-leaf or loxodon, an even 2-for-1ing a mana dork and a Voice of Resurgence token (after the dork dies the token becomes 1/1 and dies as well)
This play is both expensive in mana and dangerous. If they get rid of the sower they get back their creature, so its not a permanent removal, which is prefered most of the time.
It's really easy to play around skullcrack, you can wait for them to tap out or have counter backup, and more so if you play with probe, also the reinforments help help flip delver, can be snapcastered and is helpful in other matchups, this last point is the most important I believe, since we really need sideboard cards that help in more games
It's a matter of taste, but the lavamancer is really good, is both aggresion and control helping remove creatures
Don't be mistaken, we are a tempo deck and remand is the ultimate tempo card, we normally just need the time provided by remand to deal the last points of damage. Played right, its a pseudo time walk
True, but if you expect to find a lot of twin, bloom and/or ad nauseam, you will be facing dispels and pact of negation, then a counterspell that can't be countered starts to look better
RT here... good luck val, show grixis is not the only viable delver list, go jeskai!
Flipping Delvers since 2011
MY DECKS
Modern: UR Izzet Delver
Pauper: U Delver Faeries | R Red Burn | GInfect
Commander: WB Athreos, God of Passage | UR Keranos Spellslinger | GWU Derevi, Tempo Tactician | BGU Tasigur, the Golden Fang | RW Feather, the Redeemed
I am not running Vendilion Clique partially because of budget reasons and partially because Mantis Rider is almost a 2-drop because of the haste.
It doesn't seem great against Junk. It only kills half of a Lingering Souls, only kills Ooze if there isn't a creature in the graveyard, and is useless against most of the rest of their threats.
I am running 4 Path to Exile, 4 Valorous Stance, and 4 Snapcaster Mages for a reason. We shouldn't ever need to use 2 burn spells to take out a single threat.
I really want to run Sower, but I am not getting it until after Modern Masters 2 is spoiled since it would crash in price if it was in it.
Isn't Kor Firewalker also easy to kill with Skullcrack after it blocks? Also, without me running a lot of red cards, Timely Reinforcements is much more powerful if it works.
Lavamancer really is great. Since we don't have any Delve cards anymore, it is basically repeatable removal for every turn. There is a reason why Punishing Fire is so good it got banned.
Can you explain why Deprive over Leak?
I don't like Flashfreeze as much nowadays with Junk running Tasigur and Lingering Souls. It still hits a lot, but not nearly as much as it did when Birthing Pod was still legal.
Thanks!
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.