Streaming about Lingering Taxes if y'all are free.
Missed it, how'd it go?
he ran wb lingering taxes I missed the match he lost to death's shadow, beat affinity, ur delver and the 2nd death's shadow deck. Then lost a close super grindy match to mono white d&t
@chalupacabra yea went 3-2... Mostly because we experimented live on the stream with sb options and did not run cards we should have in the known meta. But even what that, I am fairly impressed with this rendition of the list.
R1 vs Death Shadow 1-2
G1 he literally had the nuts.
G2 lingering souls ran away with the game.
G3 I didn't draw very well through hand disruption early on.
R2 vs Affinity 2-0
G1 Was flickerwisp and path protecting lingering souls.
G2 Pontiff wreaked havoc.
R3 vs Death Shadow 2-1
Pretty much a reverse of the round 1 scenario.
R4 vs UR Delver 2-1
G1 I thought he was storm and played accordingly. Then thought he was Blood moon and played around it. Didn't see it so went back to original game plan. Then opps played blood moon.
G2-G3 Aether Vial just moonwalked through games.
R5 vs Mono-White DNT 1-2
G1 & G2 were grind fest and really boiled down to best draws win.
G3 was similar but the opps has a miser blinmoth (literally lol'ing as i type this) then plays "WRATH OF GOD", swings with single blink moth and attacks me to death. Semi-hilarious at the time it happened, fully hilarious now...
Ultimately, I think I did not give black enough credit as a support recently. I think with tweaking the deck could have got 4-1 (and maybe) a 5-0 from this league. I will continue to improve.
If you wanna watch the video check the stream out!
Sounds good, will have to check it out!
On review, Flagstones bringing land in tapped is a deal breaker...a basic Plains is working better for me here.
I took your advice and am experimenting with maindeck lifegain. I've also flipped back from Scavenger Grounds to Tectonic Edge in the 2-slot.
The sideboard is a bit of a mess, but if I feel the main is consistent enough, I'll sort it out then.
I do prefer Serra Avenger as a singleton. It reduces the awkward turn 2 plays that comes with 2-3 copies.
I still have mixed feelings on Dusk // Dawn. I've never particularly felt the need to side it in and I'm not even sure what the lines for doing so would be, as it interacts poorly with Golems, Resto, and Brimaz; and I find it almost impossibly difficult to cast when I need it.
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“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))
I may make room in side for burrenton or mark of asylum just got top keep tweaking the board.
Thank you for mentioning Mark of Asylum. I was about to place my order for the rest of what I need for monowhite D&T, and figured it'd be a good idea to check the thread for last-minute inspiration. Mark may not be warranted in the wider meta, but I sure won't mind having a couple around...been facing a lot of red lately.
Speaking of which, is Skred just a matchup monowhite hopes to dodge (assuming no Mark in the mix)? Maindeck sweepers, planeswalkers that we'll struggle to kill through removal, and their Stormbreath Dragons laugh at everything we can do besides maybe a Dusk out of the side. On top of all that, our usual land denial package is nearly useless, while Blood Moon is more effective than you'd expect over the course of a long game, shutting off Canopies and other forms of advantage.
Re: Serra Avenger, as my playtesting has progressed I've come to see the light. CMC 2 is more relevant that it seems at first glance, allowing for another play alongside her on T3/4, holding up mana to crack a Clue, etc. Again, I think all the red I've seen in testing had me underrating her strength. One-of seems ideal at the moment.
Not enough people out there playing skred to be worried about it. If you do end up playing vs. it your best bet is to hope your opponent gets sick and has to leave mid match.
Skred Red player here (well, now my pet deck is BW E&T).
The best you can do against Skred with mono-W list is holding up your Restoration Angels to save your best creatures, like Thalia, Flickerwisp, even reset a Blade Splicer (Blade Splicer hurts Skred, they have to spent an Anger or 1x2 her). Never have more than 2 creatures on the field unless you have Selfless Spirit. 2nd round dismember against stombreath dragon, and if they had Mind Stone and you dont mind losing your vials, you can use Stony Silence: Skred usually runs 4x Relic of Progenitus and 4x Mind Stone, so thats 8 dead cards if you play Stony. And if you are facing Skred in your local meta, Mark of Asylum is an auto-win against Skred. Leonin Arbiters are trash against Skred. If you use GQ, use it against Scrying Sheets before they got too much card advantage (Skred wins against other control decks because of Scrying Sheets). Burrenton is not that good against them, neither is pro. red creatures, they run non-coloured sources of damage.
And with BW E&T, save up your vial and creatures for card advantage tricks: example, if you have a Sculler and a Flickerwisp with vial on board, wait one more turn so you can vial in flicker and save sculler. Same goes for TKS, Displacer, etc... Those 2x1 things are Skred's worst nightmare. Also, save your Flickerwisps to reset Koth if you cant do these tricks,Flickerwisp is only good for flickering here since they play Pia and Kiran (thopters are like lingering souls against flickerwisp), Stormbreath Dragon, Volcanic Fallout... also, they do not have any way to recycle cards from the graveyard, so take in mind the cards they have spent: if they had spent 1-2 Skred, they probably only have 3-2 cards in the deck that can deal effectively with TKS.
Also, Lingering Souls do not hurt Skred. They run 4x Relic of Progenitus mainboard and 3-4 Sweepers.
@Chalupacabra: the idea behind Flagstones wasn't that it was better than Plains, just that in 98% of situations, a singleton Flagstones is identical to Plains, but gives you an upside when you have to GQ yourself in order to find a second white source. This comes up reasonably often for me as I play 3 Crusader and 2 Serra Avenger. The Plains from Flagstones CIPT is irrelevant at that point: you already tapped your Flagstones for W, and the Plains you get from GQ is untapped, so with a third random land, you would at least have 1WW from 3 lands. Plus you now have double W for the rest of the game. I'm only playing the singleton Flagstones now because the double-Flagstones > Arbiter play will come up and you will cry, but otherwise I can't think of a realistic downside other than Blood Moon.
@ Shefet Dunes: Been playing w/ 2 Copies in in the Plains slots since deathandcatmix posted, and I think its a great find. Might swap Eiganjo Castle for the the second copy and bring back a Plains because I can't remember the last time I've profitably activated Castle. Being a utility land that is only painful if its your only W source is very nice. The ability doesn't come up very often, but when it's relevant, its relevant. Can really open up the board and make plays when things are stalemated. Unless you're playing it as a substitute for Canopy (can't blame you as Canopy is ridiculous $), I can't see going above three, as you'll never activate 2 in one turn, at 5 mana you probably won't activate more than one a game, and it doesn't benefit you to have multiples in play. Two seems like a fine number when played with 4 Canopies and the usual 4 GQ/4 Tec Edge package. Three would make it much more likely to see one in a protracted, grindy game.
Unrelated, but Shefet Dunes is probably the truth in B/W Tokens. Anthem on a land to push for almost no cost is amazing in a tokens deck.
Long legacy D&T player here, but since moving to Shanghai, China (4 years ago) nobody plays Legacy here. Modern is the main eternal format it seems! So I put together Modern D&T to see how it plays. A couple of things I had to readjust to after getting blown out multiple games. The play style is actually quite different.
In Legacy D&T you often had your opponent completely land locked and mana screwed out of the game, in the Modern version, the Land D really only serves to slow an opponent down (thus the importance of having a creature like Serra Avenger to basically get in "Free" attacks with its vigilance and flying.
No Mother of Runes in Modern means that the ground game comes down to first strike. I have found that I normally keep my ground team back until the coast is clear or I'm alpha striking. the vast majority of damage is done by my flyers taking 3-6 life chunks off the opponent a turn. Most games I've found to be me getting a few chips in with the flyers. its been effective so far.
I also miss Rishadan Port a lot! Loving the Arbiter - GQ - Path interaction too though. Tectonic Edge is good, but if they ever print a better land Destroy land, I'm switching over. Shefet Dunes I tried but never drew it! Jury is still out for me.
Lastly, I also tried 2 Smuggler's Copter but again didnt draw them or came across awkward situations where I was already winning and didnt need it. I'd like to to see how it plays out when drawn earlier. I'm also in agreement with a poster above about playing it post Thalia (kind of awk?)
@yoshencranz: Legacy DnT is an entirely different animal with much more powerful tools in comparison to its Modern counterpart, although that legitimately extends to every Legacy vs Modern deck. The biggest difference is that Legacy DnT has more powerful proactive options that aren't just tempo related such as Stoneforge and that there aren't nearly as many big-mana decks in Legacy as there are in Modern. Modern DnT is basically a meta deck; it simply doesn't have the raw power to compete in a completely open field, but when certain strategies show up, such as big mana Tron decks, this deck gains significant power to counter those strats. We also have tools to beat other decks, but on the whole, DnT is a meta deck. If lots of people around you are playing Affinity and U/R Storm or Valakut decks, you will not see much success playing a stock DnT list there, because the deck just doesn't have raw power in mind. It pretty popular right now because we have a lot of answers to the omnipresent Death Shadow decks and are a natural predator of Tron decks, both of which are pretty popular right now. That said, counters to our deck are also abundant, such as Affinity.
This decks ground game really comes down to flyers breaking stalemates. Opponents will drop a big dude that you don't have a Path for and will stall the board. Flickerwisp, Resto, and optional cards like Serra Avenger and Smuggler's Copter help break those stalemates and apply pressure. As you stated, some games just come down to whether you draw a flyer or not and can chip them down until an alpha strike.
Tournament report 5-0 with list I posted prior and will post again below (this will be brief).
R1 Jund - Slow grinding round with copter being a draw engine that got me threats faster than he for answers. Closed it out without the aid of crusaders.
R2 RUW control - The deck was a home brew and wasn't optimized so I was able to take advantage of the awkward mana base.
R3 Tron - Another matchup where I won a game *solely* because of weathered wayfarer. G1 I'm on the draw and his plays are t1 tron piece into chromatic star, then tron piece 2 cast sylvan and grab piece #3. It was a very slow game since I was basically forced to grab LD turns 2-6, but it worked out and I got there. I think passing on wayfarer gives up so much against tron. I won't do it.
R4 Azban - Grindy matchups, but copter went the distance. He did eventually shoot it down, but even 2 card filters can be enough of an advantage.
R5 faeries - Suddenly the fragmentize were more relavent that usual. I only boarded in 3, but they knocked out an early bitterblossom. I also want to highlight why the singleton flagstones can make a difference. After I destroyed the first BB he played a second and I was able to cast crusader without falling behind in mana because I was able to ghost quarter the flagstones. It's a play that is almost never going to matter, but on the few times it does it's very helpful.
Anyway, was a long day all around so I will cut it short. If any specific questions let me know, but so fat this list has been very kind to me.
@dopespot
While we are a meta deck, I think you have the wrong idea of what that might mean. The idea of a meta deck means that our deck can be tuned to beat most decks. While the stock list might be a little poor VS something like affinity doesn't mean that every iteration of the deck would be. But yes, the stock list is well tuned in the current metagame. We have an enormous presence online right now, such to the extent that I'd call us a tier 1 deck right now.
Thanks for the rundown on Skred! The only objection I might raise is over siding in Stony Silence, simply because I'd expect the Skred player to side out their Relics against us. While the deck is not common overall, I do see it often enough locally to be concerned (same with red decks in general). Mark, Forge-Tender, and Kor Firewalker will all see heavy testing.
Merfolk seems like another rough matchup that I'd love to hear discussion on. Hopefully I'm missing something; right now, it seems rather hopeless. Our usual ability to gum up ground combat with First Strike and instant-speed combat tricks is almost totally obviated by Islandwalk. Ghost Quartering our own enchanted land seems like the best way out, which is how you know things are grim. An instant speed Disenchant on Spreading Seas after they've attacked with a Islandwalk into a full board can be a blowout, but that's pretty rare, especially since most people play Stony or Fragmentize over Disenchant.
Besides that, Kira is a nightmare, Thalia is mediocre, Arbiter does almost nothing, Golems die easily to Harbinger or Vapor Snag, and even a Hurkyl's Recall out of their side can win the game on the spot, killing Clues and Golems while sending Vials back to the hand. Wat do?
Merfolks is undoubtedly a rough match but it's not unwinnable. Having an active vial gives us a lot of options to cheat in the combats.
Apart from GQ our enchanted land, instant Flickerwisp against the land enchanted or against a Lord if there's no transformed land could give you the vital combat.
About sideboarding, always take out the arbiter and in the massive removal like Wrath of God or even Dusk/Down (because just one lord make almost all his fishes go 3 force) and the spot removal like sunlace and dismember. Also Disenchant is great as SavageGaul says just above.
Yes, Thalia is mediocre but the first strike is always useful and I haven't see anyone who sides in hurkyl against us.
Seems like we have a lot of people testing a lot of a new options right now. Is there a list we can agree on to bring at a PPTQ? I was thinking about some kind of tweaked list from the GP Las Vegas looking like this :
Merfolk I have found (at least for mono-white) to be about as 50/50 as we can get. we can deal with the lands that they spreading seas on through ghost quarter and flickerwisp, first strike make the combat math for them extremely difficult, since we can first strike a lord and the rest of their creatures may at that point line up poorly. they have few fliers so if we can stall the ground that plan is very much alive. As far as advantages go vial wise it seems, if only one player has a vial that player has the advantage, if both players have a vial the death and taxes player is usually favored since we have much more ways to take advantage of instant speed tricks, if neither player has a vial merfolk player is favored due to the amount of raw power they can get (this being said I would not aggressively mulligan for a vial.) I have played the match a ton of times and again it falls right about at 50/50 with the majority of games being very close, which is why at small events like FNM I look forward to playing against this deck since it makes you look at many more lines than most matches and usually win or lose will be a great game of magic. If you have a meta that has a lot of merfolk players i would suggest sideboard cards like dismember and ghostly prison that can buy you a bit of extra time and let your fliers get in there for the win; as well as dusk // dawn since their creatures get to 3 power pretty quick.
Let me approach this from the perspective of a Merfolk pilot. Let's start with that I do believe the matchup is in Merfolk's favor, but it's usually a pretty competitive match. The way D&T can usually make my life difficult is fliers and combat tricks - stringing together a few Flickerwisps to hide Lords for a turn, Restoration Angels for big bodies, or even Serra Avengers as a clock that can block while holding the fort on the ground with a couple of random bodies is probably the best way to way to get the win here. The Blade Splicer token approach is usually a lot less effective than it is against other aggro decks, because Merfolk can either outmuscle the Golems, go wide with Master of Waves, or islandwalk past them, and it's pretty unlikely that you'll be able to defend against all of those angles at once. In short: try to be as aggressive as possible, prioritize fliers, and avoid durdly hands like ones where you're relying on blinking Thraben Inspector and cracking Clues, as they won't be fast enough.
so after tuning and tweaking for a week or so the following list is what i came up with for how I want to attack the expected meta. The list may change slightly if when I get to the tournament and see people testing or practicing with other decks but for the most part it will probably be my 75. first decision I had to make was whether or not I wanted to run death and taxes or go to my other go-to competitive deck which is the WB (nob-tax) eldrazi list which has also been good for me recently, but remembering last time i was in the area where the PPTQ is going to be held there were a good number of tron decks which is a strong match for us and very weak for the eldrazi build. following the decklist I will discuss some of my decisions.
Dryad Militant: I am not against Thraben inspector, but with expected meta I like militant a hair more,. Being able to pressure opponent better, trading with aggro creatures like goblin guide and being able to get some "free wins" against decks like storm, while shrinking goyfs and nerfing snapcaster. The downside is if games go long the dryad militant is the worse card off the top many times.
Gideon of the trials: over restoration angel 3 and 4; with taking out the thraben inspector as an additional blink target I am liking Gideon as a hard to deal with threat a bit more than extra angels as a "4 drop" slot(with thalia.) Resto is still good to blank removal and be a great flying threat but again Gideon gives us a "non-zero free win percentage" (as Hoogland would say lol} against decks like ad nauseum (which I know there will be a few at the PPTQ.) He also plays offence and defense very well.
Sideboard
Grafdiggers cage: additional grave hate but also Chord and Company hate
Rest i peace: Best grave hoser in white
dismember: in the sunlance slot since it deals with much more (at cost of life...) like angler, tasigur, courser of krufix, etc...
Ghostly prison: Against low mana creature aggro decks like revolt zoo affinity infect etc.. and go wide decks. I also bring in against storm since almost every storm player I know goes higher on empty the warrens post board knowing we have grave hate.
Mark of Asylum: the card is worse than burrenton against burn but helps a lot versus decks like jeskai control, skred, izzet staticaster, grim lavamancer etc... but the cost of being a 2-3 cmc drop that doesn't add to clock can be a nuisance.
2nd Mindcensor: Mostly versus the various Prime time decks, but also useful in a lot of fringe matches like gifts.
Dusk // dawn: Good versus various threats like goyf, deaths shadow angler etc.. and the backside can really help if the game goes long. Its usually not a 1 sided sweeper but versus the right decks or when you play around it can be good card advantage.
I have recently taken a liking to this deck; specifically the BW Eldrazi version of it. However, seeing as MonoW is performing as well as it is, I am hesitant to pull the trigger on my purchase. So this leads to my deciding question; what are the upsides and downsides to each two of these versions? Which would you recommend?
I have recently taken a liking to this deck; specifically the BW Eldrazi version of it. However, seeing as MonoW is performing as well as it is, I am hesitant to pull the trigger on my purchase. So this leads to my deciding question; what are the upsides and downsides to each two of these versions? Which would you recommend?
@ethon: consistency of the mana base is the biggest difference. The BW eldrazi version outs extremely powerful and can lock opponent out of the game when things go right, however I found myself losing more Games to and mulligan much more due to the mana base. Since you run usually 15 colored sources at max plying a"3 color" deck with no fetches etc... can be awkward and play off curve. I found white mana base to be better but Game is grinder
On review, Flagstones bringing land in tapped is a deal breaker...a basic Plains is working better for me here.
I took your advice and am experimenting with maindeck lifegain. I've also flipped back from Scavenger Grounds to Tectonic Edge in the 2-slot.
Death & TaxesMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Horizon Canopy
7 Plains
3 Mutavault
4 Shefet Dunes
2 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (29):
2 Auriok Champion
4 Blade Splicer
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Flickerwisp
2 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
1 Auriok Champion
2 Dusk // Dawn
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Relic of Progenitus
3 Stony Silence
I do prefer Serra Avenger as a singleton. It reduces the awkward turn 2 plays that comes with 2-3 copies.
I still have mixed feelings on Dusk // Dawn. I've never particularly felt the need to side it in and I'm not even sure what the lines for doing so would be, as it interacts poorly with Golems, Resto, and Brimaz; and I find it almost impossibly difficult to cast when I need it.
- 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
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THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
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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
WWModern Death And Taxes (w/ Militia Bugler) (JUL '19)
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Thank you for mentioning Mark of Asylum. I was about to place my order for the rest of what I need for monowhite D&T, and figured it'd be a good idea to check the thread for last-minute inspiration. Mark may not be warranted in the wider meta, but I sure won't mind having a couple around...been facing a lot of red lately.
Speaking of which, is Skred just a matchup monowhite hopes to dodge (assuming no Mark in the mix)? Maindeck sweepers, planeswalkers that we'll struggle to kill through removal, and their Stormbreath Dragons laugh at everything we can do besides maybe a Dusk out of the side. On top of all that, our usual land denial package is nearly useless, while Blood Moon is more effective than you'd expect over the course of a long game, shutting off Canopies and other forms of advantage.
Re: Serra Avenger, as my playtesting has progressed I've come to see the light. CMC 2 is more relevant that it seems at first glance, allowing for another play alongside her on T3/4, holding up mana to crack a Clue, etc. Again, I think all the red I've seen in testing had me underrating her strength. One-of seems ideal at the moment.
The best you can do against Skred with mono-W list is holding up your Restoration Angels to save your best creatures, like Thalia, Flickerwisp, even reset a Blade Splicer (Blade Splicer hurts Skred, they have to spent an Anger or 1x2 her). Never have more than 2 creatures on the field unless you have Selfless Spirit. 2nd round dismember against stombreath dragon, and if they had Mind Stone and you dont mind losing your vials, you can use Stony Silence: Skred usually runs 4x Relic of Progenitus and 4x Mind Stone, so thats 8 dead cards if you play Stony. And if you are facing Skred in your local meta, Mark of Asylum is an auto-win against Skred. Leonin Arbiters are trash against Skred. If you use GQ, use it against Scrying Sheets before they got too much card advantage (Skred wins against other control decks because of Scrying Sheets). Burrenton is not that good against them, neither is pro. red creatures, they run non-coloured sources of damage.
And with BW E&T, save up your vial and creatures for card advantage tricks: example, if you have a Sculler and a Flickerwisp with vial on board, wait one more turn so you can vial in flicker and save sculler. Same goes for TKS, Displacer, etc... Those 2x1 things are Skred's worst nightmare. Also, save your Flickerwisps to reset Koth if you cant do these tricks,Flickerwisp is only good for flickering here since they play Pia and Kiran (thopters are like lingering souls against flickerwisp), Stormbreath Dragon, Volcanic Fallout... also, they do not have any way to recycle cards from the graveyard, so take in mind the cards they have spent: if they had spent 1-2 Skred, they probably only have 3-2 cards in the deck that can deal effectively with TKS.
Also, Lingering Souls do not hurt Skred. They run 4x Relic of Progenitus mainboard and 3-4 Sweepers.
WDeath and TaxesW
RWGBurnGWR
@ Shefet Dunes: Been playing w/ 2 Copies in in the Plains slots since deathandcatmix posted, and I think its a great find. Might swap Eiganjo Castle for the the second copy and bring back a Plains because I can't remember the last time I've profitably activated Castle. Being a utility land that is only painful if its your only W source is very nice. The ability doesn't come up very often, but when it's relevant, its relevant. Can really open up the board and make plays when things are stalemated. Unless you're playing it as a substitute for Canopy (can't blame you as Canopy is ridiculous $), I can't see going above three, as you'll never activate 2 in one turn, at 5 mana you probably won't activate more than one a game, and it doesn't benefit you to have multiples in play. Two seems like a fine number when played with 4 Canopies and the usual 4 GQ/4 Tec Edge package. Three would make it much more likely to see one in a protracted, grindy game.
Unrelated, but Shefet Dunes is probably the truth in B/W Tokens. Anthem on a land to push for almost no cost is amazing in a tokens deck.
In Legacy D&T you often had your opponent completely land locked and mana screwed out of the game, in the Modern version, the Land D really only serves to slow an opponent down (thus the importance of having a creature like Serra Avenger to basically get in "Free" attacks with its vigilance and flying.
No Mother of Runes in Modern means that the ground game comes down to first strike. I have found that I normally keep my ground team back until the coast is clear or I'm alpha striking. the vast majority of damage is done by my flyers taking 3-6 life chunks off the opponent a turn. Most games I've found to be me getting a few chips in with the flyers. its been effective so far.
I also miss Rishadan Port a lot! Loving the Arbiter - GQ - Path interaction too though. Tectonic Edge is good, but if they ever print a better land Destroy land, I'm switching over. Shefet Dunes I tried but never drew it! Jury is still out for me.
Lastly, I also tried 2 Smuggler's Copter but again didnt draw them or came across awkward situations where I was already winning and didnt need it. I'd like to to see how it plays out when drawn earlier. I'm also in agreement with a poster above about playing it post Thalia (kind of awk?)
This decks ground game really comes down to flyers breaking stalemates. Opponents will drop a big dude that you don't have a Path for and will stall the board. Flickerwisp, Resto, and optional cards like Serra Avenger and Smuggler's Copter help break those stalemates and apply pressure. As you stated, some games just come down to whether you draw a flyer or not and can chip them down until an alpha strike.
R1 Jund - Slow grinding round with copter being a draw engine that got me threats faster than he for answers. Closed it out without the aid of crusaders.
R2 RUW control - The deck was a home brew and wasn't optimized so I was able to take advantage of the awkward mana base.
R3 Tron - Another matchup where I won a game *solely* because of weathered wayfarer. G1 I'm on the draw and his plays are t1 tron piece into chromatic star, then tron piece 2 cast sylvan and grab piece #3. It was a very slow game since I was basically forced to grab LD turns 2-6, but it worked out and I got there. I think passing on wayfarer gives up so much against tron. I won't do it.
R4 Azban - Grindy matchups, but copter went the distance. He did eventually shoot it down, but even 2 card filters can be enough of an advantage.
R5 faeries - Suddenly the fragmentize were more relavent that usual. I only boarded in 3, but they knocked out an early bitterblossom. I also want to highlight why the singleton flagstones can make a difference. After I destroyed the first BB he played a second and I was able to cast crusader without falling behind in mana because I was able to ghost quarter the flagstones. It's a play that is almost never going to matter, but on the few times it does it's very helpful.
Anyway, was a long day all around so I will cut it short. If any specific questions let me know, but so fat this list has been very kind to me.
4 tectonic edge
4 ghost quarter
1 eiganjo castle
8 plains
4 horizon canopy
1 flagstones of trokair
1 radiant fountain
4 path to exile
4 aether vial
4 Thraben inspector
1 phyrexian revoker
1 weathered wayfarer
4 flickerwisp
4 leonin arbiter
4 thalia, guardian of thraben
4 restoration angel
1 mirran crusader
4 blade splicer
2 smuggler’s copter
SB
4 fragmentize
4 relic of progenitus
2 forgetender
2 mirran crusader
1 graftdiggers cage
2 dusk//dawn
While we are a meta deck, I think you have the wrong idea of what that might mean. The idea of a meta deck means that our deck can be tuned to beat most decks. While the stock list might be a little poor VS something like affinity doesn't mean that every iteration of the deck would be. But yes, the stock list is well tuned in the current metagame. We have an enormous presence online right now, such to the extent that I'd call us a tier 1 deck right now.
4 tectonic edge
4 ghost quarter
2 sea gate wreckage
2 horizon canopy
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Eiganjo Castle
9 Plains
8 non creature spells
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Selfless Spirit
2 Spellskite
1 Phyrexian Revoker
3 blade splicer
3 Eldrazi Displacer
2 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
3 Restoration Angel
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Ghostly Prison
1 Worship
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Sundering Growth
2 Plains
1 Forest
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Temple Garden
2 Brushland
3 Horizon Canopy
4 Ghost Quarter
2 stirring wildwood
2 Gavony Township
1 tectonic edge
1 gemstone caverns
10 noncreature spells
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
2 Collected Company
28 creatures
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Spellskite
1 Selfless Spirit
4 Flickerwisp
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Eternal Witness
1 Eldrazi Displacer
2 Restoration Angel
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Ghostly Prison
1 Worship
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Concealed Courtyard
2 Godless Shrine
1 Shambling Vent
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Plains
1 Gemstone Caverns
8 Noncreature Spells
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Flickerwisp
4 Eldrazi Displacer
2 Spellskite
2 Selfless Spirit
3 Wasteland Strangler
4 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Rest in Peace
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Sin Collector
2 Orzhov Pontiff
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Worship
3 Brushland
3 Eldrazi Temple
1 Forest
2 Gavony Township
1 Gemstone Caverns
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Plains
3 Razorverge Thicket
2 Stirring Wildwood
1 Temple Garden
10 noncreature spells
4 Aether Vial
2 Ancient Stirrings
4 Path to exile
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Leonin Arbiter
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Spellskite
1 Scavenging Ooze
3 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Flickerwisp
1 Eternal Witness
4 Thought-knot seer
2 Reality Smasher
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Blessed Alliance
1 Worship
1 Spellskite
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Seachrome Coast
1 Eiganjo Castle
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Moorland Haunt
2 Mutavault
1 Island
2 Plains
2 Horizon Canopy
1 adarkar wastes
1 flooded strand
9 noncreature spells
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 detention sphere
28 creatures
3 Spell Queller
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 eldrazi displacer
3 Reflector Mage
4 Flickerwisp
2 Phyrexian Revoker
3 leonin arbiter
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
2 spellskite
2 Rest in Peace
2 stony silence
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 ghostly prison
2 burrenton forge-tender
2 Surgical Extraction
1 kira, great glass-spinner
1 blessed alliance
Merfolk seems like another rough matchup that I'd love to hear discussion on. Hopefully I'm missing something; right now, it seems rather hopeless. Our usual ability to gum up ground combat with First Strike and instant-speed combat tricks is almost totally obviated by Islandwalk. Ghost Quartering our own enchanted land seems like the best way out, which is how you know things are grim. An instant speed Disenchant on Spreading Seas after they've attacked with a Islandwalk into a full board can be a blowout, but that's pretty rare, especially since most people play Stony or Fragmentize over Disenchant.
Besides that, Kira is a nightmare, Thalia is mediocre, Arbiter does almost nothing, Golems die easily to Harbinger or Vapor Snag, and even a Hurkyl's Recall out of their side can win the game on the spot, killing Clues and Golems while sending Vials back to the hand. Wat do?
Apart from GQ our enchanted land, instant Flickerwisp against the land enchanted or against a Lord if there's no transformed land could give you the vital combat.
About sideboarding, always take out the arbiter and in the massive removal like Wrath of God or even Dusk/Down (because just one lord make almost all his fishes go 3 force) and the spot removal like sunlace and dismember. Also Disenchant is great as SavageGaul says just above.
Yes, Thalia is mediocre but the first strike is always useful and I haven't see anyone who sides in hurkyl against us.
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Leonin Arbiter
2 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
4 Blade Splicer
2 Mirran Crusader
4 Restoration Angel
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Tectonic Edge
2 Sheffet Dunes
1 Cavern of Souls
12 Plains
1 Flagstones of Trokair
With something like this for the sideboard :
Would that cover most of the current metagame?
WDeath and TaxesW
RWGBurnGWR
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
4 dryad militant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Leonin Arbiter
2 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
4 Blade Splicer
2 Mirran Crusader
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Restoration Angel
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Gideon of the Trials
Lands 23
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Tectonic Edge
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Shefet Dunes
12 Plains
2 Ghostly Prison
1 Dusk // Dawn
2 Rest in Peace
2 Dismember
1 Grafdigger's cage
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Mark of Asylum
2 Stony Silence
1 Aven Mindcensor
Dryad Militant: I am not against Thraben inspector, but with expected meta I like militant a hair more,. Being able to pressure opponent better, trading with aggro creatures like goblin guide and being able to get some "free wins" against decks like storm, while shrinking goyfs and nerfing snapcaster. The downside is if games go long the dryad militant is the worse card off the top many times.
Gideon of the trials: over restoration angel 3 and 4; with taking out the thraben inspector as an additional blink target I am liking Gideon as a hard to deal with threat a bit more than extra angels as a "4 drop" slot(with thalia.) Resto is still good to blank removal and be a great flying threat but again Gideon gives us a "non-zero free win percentage" (as Hoogland would say lol} against decks like ad nauseum (which I know there will be a few at the PPTQ.) He also plays offence and defense very well.
Sideboard
Grafdiggers cage: additional grave hate but also Chord and Company hate
Rest i peace: Best grave hoser in white
dismember: in the sunlance slot since it deals with much more (at cost of life...) like angler, tasigur, courser of krufix, etc...
Ghostly prison: Against low mana creature aggro decks like revolt zoo affinity infect etc.. and go wide decks. I also bring in against storm since almost every storm player I know goes higher on empty the warrens post board knowing we have grave hate.
Mark of Asylum: the card is worse than burrenton against burn but helps a lot versus decks like jeskai control, skred, izzet staticaster, grim lavamancer etc... but the cost of being a 2-3 cmc drop that doesn't add to clock can be a nuisance.
2nd Mindcensor: Mostly versus the various Prime time decks, but also useful in a lot of fringe matches like gifts.
Dusk // dawn: Good versus various threats like goyf, deaths shadow angler etc.. and the backside can really help if the game goes long. Its usually not a 1 sided sweeper but versus the right decks or when you play around it can be good card advantage.
WDeath and TaxesW
RWGBurnGWR
WDeath and TaxesW
RWGBurnGWR