“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
Hour of Revelation is right out, since it will destroy your vials and probably will miss some elves due to Ezuri. It will also probably cost 6 mana when you need it, and 3 white mana is not always assured due to all the utility lands we have.
Dusk is out as well, since most elves have 1-2 power.
If you want a sweeper, use Wrath of God. Or, use Grafdigger's Cage as Chalupacabra recommended. Sunlance is also useful. Vials are too slow for that matchup in my experience,
I'm assuming you're on mono white, right? WB Eldrazi have a better matchup here, though still unfavored, since it runs more removal and hand disruption, as well as Zealous Persecution and/or Orzhov Pontiff.
Decided to pick up the BW Eldrazi & Taxes deck for a PPTQ at my LGS. There were 80+ players and 7 rounds of Swiss. I finished 4-3, just one victory short of top 16 (for prize purposes).
This has long been a pet deck of mine, and I'd like to know how to tweak it for the current meta. In a nutshell, I won against Ad Nauseam, Abzan Delirium, GW CoCo Knight, and Boros Burn. My 3 losses were Skred Red (Blood Moons lol), Grixis Shadow, and Affinity.
Curiously enough, I was anticipating the Grixis Shadow and Affinity matchups, setting up my sideboard accordingly (pro black creatures and RiP for Shadow, Zealous Persecutions and Stony Silences for Affinity). I feel happy with the sideboard as it is, save for the 3rd Reality Smasher. The Shadow matchup seems particularly problematic as the sideboard cards are silver bullets that can be truly game changing. Otherwise it is hard to compete with shadows + removals. I'm also conflicted about Smashers in the main deck. They saved me a turn on the Ad Nauseam matchup and almost gave me a win against Affinity, but in other matchups they often stay stuck in my hand due to mana cost. Floods are also particularly miserable for my shell, as I have no card advantage whatsoever.
I see current lists shaving a land down to 22, playing a full playset of Concealed Courtyard and playing Bobs instead of Smashers. Are there any other interesting options for an Eldrazi & Taxes shell? As usual, 1 drops seem to be particularly lacking in the deck. Could Thraben Inspectors be helpful?
-Vault of the Archangel provides a great lategame, turning our arbiters, tidehollows and, specially thalia, into deathtouch-lifelink machines.
-5 main 1cc removal is a really nice number against aggro decks, the 5th spot removal card shines.
-Although 4 TDK + 1 Resto seems to be too many 4cc creatures, Im even thinking about changing the single splicer for 1 more Angel. Everytime I had draw an angel it had been a powerful draw that could change the game. But we cannot change the 4 TKS pack: they are better than angels on this deck because we run 4 eldrazi temples and the thoughtseize on a 4/4 creature is too good (and we can flick them for extra hand disruption).
Im starting to think that the "4 TKS + 1~2 Resto. Angel" pack is a must for E&T builds, those 2 creatures are just so great together, TKS covers hand disruption and blocks on ground, while the angel can save him from a removal and provide air covering/damage.
After playing last week, have been wondering if the B microsplash was necessary. Also toying around with something a player at the shop suggested regarding the new lands.
Basically same deck, minus Souls, more consistent manabase, Game 1 answers to graveyard strategies, and a team pump to come over the top. It also has a curve closer to traditional D&T curves and addresses a wide field, while taking advantage of the strengths of the Mery list and most of the strengths of deathandcatmix's old Lingering Taxes list.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
After playing last week, have been wondering if the B microsplash was necessary. Also toying around with something a player at the shop suggested regarding the new lands.
Basically same deck, minus Souls, more consistent manabase, Game 1 answers to graveyard strategies, and a team pump to come over the top. It also has a curve closer to traditional D&T curves and addresses a wide field, while taking advantage of the strengths of the Mery list and most of the strengths of deathandcatmix's old Lingering Taxes list.
Cool list. What don't you like about lingering souls that made you want to take it out? Seems awesome in this meta.
Has anyone else been having success with a BW or Eldrazi Lingering and Taxes list? Catmix and Jeina were both doing very well with D&T lingering souls lists in the past. Would love to see what a successful updated list looks like.
Cool list. What don't you like about lingering souls that made you want to take it out? Seems awesome in this meta.
The card is great, but it means having a much more fickle manabase. With so many token producers already there to address Lili, I'm not sure that destabilizing the mana is worth it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
On the topic of BW E&T, I played in a Modern 2K this past weekend with a friend of mine (he played Eldrazi Tron). We ended up splitting in the finals (yay).
I'll admit that I still have not quite figured out the best way to sideboard against Grixis Death's Shadow, but I've definitely learned some things from the tournament.
I am a new player to D&T, I purchased the cards after the deck put up results in a couple of big tournaments recently. Also, I already had Merfolk so I was able to get the deck at a reasonable cost. That being said, when playing Merfolk, I always side out Aether Vial in attrition based matchups. Since D&T seems to rely more heavily on Vial, I was wondering if and when I should ever side out Vial with this deck. Thanks!
@dlodolce7 I don't think Monowhite DnT should be siding out more than 1 Vial (maybe 2) in any matchup, except for Dredge and Affinity. Here's a quick and dirty sideboard guide for matchups where Vial is sided out or seems like it might be worth siding out, assuming Coval's list:
VS Abzan: +2 Dusk // Dawn, +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Aether Vial
Mirran Crusader is a house in this matchup; their only way to remove it is Path to Exile. Dusk // Dawn kills all of their threats and restocks our hand lategame. Wayfarer / Revoker just don't do enough here and we'd rather be drawing threats lategame rather than extra Vials, so 1 gets boarded out. Don't fall into the trap of boarding in grave hate; Flayer / Goyf are usually manageable, Lingering Souls should be taxed hard enough by Thalia, and we want our graveyard intact to get maximum value from Dusk // Dawn.
VS Dredge: -4 Aether Vial, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, +4 Relic of Progenitus, +1 Grafdigger's Cage, +1 Mirran Crusader
Post-board you should be looking to land a T1 piece of hate followed by threats to close out the game as quickly as possible. Vial clashes with the T1 hate play and isn't a threat, so it comes out.
VS Storm: -1 Aether Vial, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -2 Mirran Crusader, +1 Grafdigger's Cage, +4 Relic of Progenitus
Storm is very graveyard reliant so we want grave hate here. Vial stays in because it's better than Crusader / Revoker / Wayfarer and can be used for instant speed Arbiter in response to Gifts / Thalia on their combo turn / Wisp on their engines / etc and helps us cheat out threats when we want to be stifling their manabase as much as possible.
VS Affinity: -4 Aether Vial, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, +3 Stony Silence, +2 Sunlance
We should always be aggressively mulliganing for Stony Silence vs Affinity since it's a tough matchup without it. Stony bricks our Vials so there's no point keeping them in.
VS Burn: -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -2 Mirran Crusader +2 Burrenton-Forge Tender, +2 Sunlance
There are only 4 cards worth bringing in against Burn, so we don't have to side out much; I believe Vials are more worthwhile than 2 dead cards and 2 overcosted beaters in this matchup, despite turning on Destructive Revelry.
VS Grixis Death's Shadow: +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Weathered Wayfarer
Generally, we want to be denying them mana by trading 1-for-1 with GQs and winning with our fliers / Crusaders in combat; Vial enables this gameplan because it consistently lets us land threats without much available mana. Graveyard hate is wasted here because taxes + less available mana makes their Snapcasters much worse and slows down their Delve threats anyway.
VS Jund Death's Shadow: +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Weathered Wayfarer
Our gameplan is the same against this as it is against Grixis; slow them down and win with beaters they can't block. Always sideboard to be the aggressor in DS matchups (instead of outgrinding with Crusaders + Dusk) because potential Temur Battle Rages can turn games around very quickly.
Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion based on relatively stock vs stock lists. Feel free to disagree with some of the choices. Sometimes sideboard plans change when opponents reveal unexpected techs ie Anger of the Gods out of a Grixis Shadow sideboard would warrant bringing in Forge Tenders if it goes to game 3.
blanked against Merfolk and then Living End... Not sure what I could have done better. I never drew Relics vs Living End and I just sort of died to Merfolk. Never getting out the gate...
Merfolk is bad pairing and I'm not sure about Living End. Against the first one, vial in T1 helps a lot because you can do tricks like flicking the land with the seas or a lord before blocking. A massive removal from the side could help a lot.
Against living end, Eidolon of Rhetoric is a brutal hoser. With it, on the board he can combo.
I hope this help.
Why is relic of progenitus generally played over rest in peace?
If Relic's 1-per-turn ability can mostly keep up with the delve /Snap shenanigans of the meta then going for full RiP can be a bit overkill. Plus, you can always hold up one mana to sac' Relic for the panic flush when Storm/Dredge happen to get too much stuff in the yard, so you're not really screwed using it versus RiP.
Additionally, Relic being a colorless 1-drop makes it super easy to cast, and at worst it is a build-your-own-clue-token if you draw additional copies. I think that second point is the reason you're seeing so many monowhite sideboards on the 3x-4x Relic plan now; everyone finally figured out that drawing multiple Relics isn't the worst thing in the world.
(Sidenote: BW Eldrazi versions still like going full RiP since "feed the Stranglers"-synergy gives RiP's static effect repetitive value.)
I think that the innovation to play Relic over Rest in Peace is one of the greatest things to happen to mono-W in a while. It's served me very well as Merfolk, and I'm glad my Taxes brethren have seen how convenient it can be.
Is Sunlance seriously the best available card for that role? Or has it just been popping up in every deck because of net-decking? I personally like Leonin Relic-Warder or even Condemn better. What are all your thoughts?
Yes, Sunlace is the best card because it's role is being a white "lightning" in order to get rid off of pesky little creatures like hierarchs, signal pest, devoted druids, not overcharged Merfolks.
Right now the warder has no real situation that couldn't be solved by a well timed flicker (unlife, bridge, prison, chalice, ballista)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
Hour of Revelation is right out, since it will destroy your vials and probably will miss some elves due to Ezuri. It will also probably cost 6 mana when you need it, and 3 white mana is not always assured due to all the utility lands we have.
Dusk is out as well, since most elves have 1-2 power.
If you want a sweeper, use Wrath of God. Or, use Grafdigger's Cage as Chalupacabra recommended. Sunlance is also useful. Vials are too slow for that matchup in my experience,
I'm assuming you're on mono white, right? WB Eldrazi have a better matchup here, though still unfavored, since it runs more removal and hand disruption, as well as Zealous Persecution and/or Orzhov Pontiff.
WBC Eldrazi & Taxes CBW
UR Keep on Cantripin' (UR Phoenix) RU
WU Surprise! It's not UW Control! (UW Midrange) UW
BG The Rock, Straight BG
U Mono-Blue Fish U
RBW Mardu Pyromancer BWR
RG Rabble! Rabble! (GR Blood Moon Aggro) GR
Legacy
W Death & Taxes W
Decided to pick up the BW Eldrazi & Taxes deck for a PPTQ at my LGS. There were 80+ players and 7 rounds of Swiss. I finished 4-3, just one victory short of top 16 (for prize purposes).
This has long been a pet deck of mine, and I'd like to know how to tweak it for the current meta. In a nutshell, I won against Ad Nauseam, Abzan Delirium, GW CoCo Knight, and Boros Burn. My 3 losses were Skred Red (Blood Moons lol), Grixis Shadow, and Affinity.
Curiously enough, I was anticipating the Grixis Shadow and Affinity matchups, setting up my sideboard accordingly (pro black creatures and RiP for Shadow, Zealous Persecutions and Stony Silences for Affinity). I feel happy with the sideboard as it is, save for the 3rd Reality Smasher. The Shadow matchup seems particularly problematic as the sideboard cards are silver bullets that can be truly game changing. Otherwise it is hard to compete with shadows + removals. I'm also conflicted about Smashers in the main deck. They saved me a turn on the Ad Nauseam matchup and almost gave me a win against Affinity, but in other matchups they often stay stuck in my hand due to mana cost. Floods are also particularly miserable for my shell, as I have no card advantage whatsoever.
I see current lists shaving a land down to 22, playing a full playset of Concealed Courtyard and playing Bobs instead of Smashers. Are there any other interesting options for an Eldrazi & Taxes shell? As usual, 1 drops seem to be particularly lacking in the deck. Could Thraben Inspectors be helpful?
This is the list I ran:
3 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Concealed Courtyard
2 Godless Shrine
2 Shambling Vent
Creatures (29)
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Orzhov Pontiff
4 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Reality Smasher
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 Reality Smasher
3 Thoughtseize
2 Auriok Champion
2 Mirran Crusader
2 Rest in Peace
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Stony Silence
Comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!
All the best,
BUR Grixis Death's Shadow/Control BUR & WBC Eldrazi & Taxes WBC
EDH:
UG Edric, Spymaster of Goodstuff UG
2 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Concealed Courtyard
2 Godless Shrine
2 Shambling Vent
1 Vault of the Archangel
Creatures
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Blade Splicer
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Restoration Angel
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 Fatal Push
1 Dismember
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Rest in Peace
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Orzhov Pontiff
2 Stony Silence
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
-Vault of the Archangel provides a great lategame, turning our arbiters, tidehollows and, specially thalia, into deathtouch-lifelink machines.
-5 main 1cc removal is a really nice number against aggro decks, the 5th spot removal card shines.
-Although 4 TDK + 1 Resto seems to be too many 4cc creatures, Im even thinking about changing the single splicer for 1 more Angel. Everytime I had draw an angel it had been a powerful draw that could change the game. But we cannot change the 4 TKS pack: they are better than angels on this deck because we run 4 eldrazi temples and the thoughtseize on a 4/4 creature is too good (and we can flick them for extra hand disruption).
Im starting to think that the "4 TKS + 1~2 Resto. Angel" pack is a must for E&T builds, those 2 creatures are just so great together, TKS covers hand disruption and blocks on ground, while the angel can save him from a removal and provide air covering/damage.
Edit: Also, Gonti crushes midrange decks.
4 Ghost Quarter
10 Plains
2 Scavenger Grounds
4 Shefet Dunes
3 Mutavault
Creatures (29):
4 Blade Splicer
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Flickerwisp
3 Mirran Crusader
4 Restoration Angel
1 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Aether Vial
Instants (4):
4 Path to Exile
3 Auriok Champion
2 Dusk // Dawn
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Stony Silence
Needs Canopies, but that'll have to wait.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
Cool list. What don't you like about lingering souls that made you want to take it out? Seems awesome in this meta.
Has anyone else been having success with a BW or Eldrazi Lingering and Taxes list? Catmix and Jeina were both doing very well with D&T lingering souls lists in the past. Would love to see what a successful updated list looks like.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
I wrote a tournament report here.
I'll admit that I still have not quite figured out the best way to sideboard against Grixis Death's Shadow, but I've definitely learned some things from the tournament.
Yea that was not a great experience on either side. Glad to finally play against you though!
WWModern Death And Taxes (w/ Militia Bugler) (JUL '19)
GWModern Maverick (JUL '19)
WBCatmix on Twitch!
WWCatmix on Youtube
VS Abzan: +2 Dusk // Dawn, +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Aether Vial
Mirran Crusader is a house in this matchup; their only way to remove it is Path to Exile. Dusk // Dawn kills all of their threats and restocks our hand lategame. Wayfarer / Revoker just don't do enough here and we'd rather be drawing threats lategame rather than extra Vials, so 1 gets boarded out. Don't fall into the trap of boarding in grave hate; Flayer / Goyf are usually manageable, Lingering Souls should be taxed hard enough by Thalia, and we want our graveyard intact to get maximum value from Dusk // Dawn.
VS Dredge: -4 Aether Vial, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, +4 Relic of Progenitus, +1 Grafdigger's Cage, +1 Mirran Crusader
Post-board you should be looking to land a T1 piece of hate followed by threats to close out the game as quickly as possible. Vial clashes with the T1 hate play and isn't a threat, so it comes out.
VS Storm: -1 Aether Vial, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -2 Mirran Crusader, +1 Grafdigger's Cage, +4 Relic of Progenitus
Storm is very graveyard reliant so we want grave hate here. Vial stays in because it's better than Crusader / Revoker / Wayfarer and can be used for instant speed Arbiter in response to Gifts / Thalia on their combo turn / Wisp on their engines / etc and helps us cheat out threats when we want to be stifling their manabase as much as possible.
VS Affinity: -4 Aether Vial, -1 Weathered Wayfarer, +3 Stony Silence, +2 Sunlance
We should always be aggressively mulliganing for Stony Silence vs Affinity since it's a tough matchup without it. Stony bricks our Vials so there's no point keeping them in.
VS Burn: -1 Weathered Wayfarer, -1 Phyrexian Revoker, -2 Mirran Crusader +2 Burrenton-Forge Tender, +2 Sunlance
There are only 4 cards worth bringing in against Burn, so we don't have to side out much; I believe Vials are more worthwhile than 2 dead cards and 2 overcosted beaters in this matchup, despite turning on Destructive Revelry.
VS Grixis Death's Shadow: +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Weathered Wayfarer
Generally, we want to be denying them mana by trading 1-for-1 with GQs and winning with our fliers / Crusaders in combat; Vial enables this gameplan because it consistently lets us land threats without much available mana. Graveyard hate is wasted here because taxes + less available mana makes their Snapcasters much worse and slows down their Delve threats anyway.
VS Jund Death's Shadow: +1 Mirran Crusader, -1 Weathered Wayfarer
Our gameplan is the same against this as it is against Grixis; slow them down and win with beaters they can't block. Always sideboard to be the aggressor in DS matchups (instead of outgrinding with Crusaders + Dusk) because potential Temur Battle Rages can turn games around very quickly.
Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion based on relatively stock vs stock lists. Feel free to disagree with some of the choices. Sometimes sideboard plans change when opponents reveal unexpected techs ie Anger of the Gods out of a Grixis Shadow sideboard would warrant bringing in Forge Tenders if it goes to game 3.
Against living end, Eidolon of Rhetoric is a brutal hoser. With it, on the board he can combo.
I hope this help.
Additionally, Relic being a colorless 1-drop makes it super easy to cast, and at worst it is a build-your-own-clue-token if you draw additional copies. I think that second point is the reason you're seeing so many monowhite sideboards on the 3x-4x Relic plan now; everyone finally figured out that drawing multiple Relics isn't the worst thing in the world.
(Sidenote: BW Eldrazi versions still like going full RiP since "feed the Stranglers"-synergy gives RiP's static effect repetitive value.)
Another turn one play out of the board doesn't hurt either.
The fact that Relic cantrips helps mono-white's new game plan of replacing cards that you play.
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Right now the warder has no real situation that couldn't be solved by a well timed flicker (unlife, bridge, prison, chalice, ballista)