Round 1 vs Mono White DnT 2-0
I had vial for both games and I was able to draw answers to whatever he had. Cunning sparkmage came in handy too keeping his board on check.
Round 2 vs Bant Spirits 2-0
Game 1 He kept a greedy hand and got punished for it with arbiter and ghost quarters. I had creatures on board and I was able to out aggro him
Game 2 I managed to keep him off his colors with arbiter and I use Looter scooter as a blocker to keep his creatures at bay. Eventually i was able to land a magus of the moon and it was GG from there even with his aether vial on three.
Round 3 vs Sword of the meek combo 2-1
Game 1 I out aggroed him before he was able to set anything up.
Game 2 He was able to swing at me with a bunch of thopters in the air and i wasn't able to keep up. I also side boarded wrong since this was only the second time i go against that deck. So I sided in graveyard hate for game 3
Game 3 We were pretty much at a stalemate. i had a bunch of attackers and stony silence while he had 3 ensnaring bridges on the field. I draw a Dire fleet and notice there's a maelstrom pulse in his graveyard. I cast dire fleet and target his pulse then i use it to destroy the bridges and swing for game.
Round 4 vs UG infect 2-1
Game 1 I misplayed really bad and he was able to get me to 10 infect with a blighted agent and a bunch of pumps.
Game 2 I kept a sketchy hand of vial, thalia, red removal, copter and one colorless land. I figured if i got one RW land i would have been good. I draw a ghost quarter :/ but vial and thalia kept me in the game long enough to get my red source and get away with the game. Flickerwisp also helped me take away his blighted agent for the turn.
Game 3 I kept a hand with two paths Thalia. Thalia slowed him down and my paths got rid of his creatures. I also had splicers to keep the pressure going. He had blighted agent out and he was swinging in for almost lethal. Once I saw that he used all his pumps I casted settle the wreckage to blown him out. A turn later i casted magus of the moon and it was GGs after that.
Overall I really like the deck. I like having the extra removal as it did come in clutch when I needed it. There's a couple changes i want to make to the mana base as I still feel it needs work but overall the build feels solid.
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Modern
Death & Taxes
Fish
EDH
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Xenagos, God of Revels
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Could I get some opinions/advice for my revamped mono-white build and a BW Eldrazi build I have planned? Thanks tax fam~
I don't have a lot of experience with BW EnT but it looks like a pretty standard list and should do just fine.
For the Mono White list I believe that most people started running phyrexian revoker again, especially in bugler lists. Not knowing your meta I would suggest coming down 1 each of resto and selfless spirit to make room for a revoker and 3rd bugler. I also personally never found eiganjo castle worth it and would always rather have a different utility land like shefet dunes, another canopy or field of ruin.
Could I get some opinions/advice for my revamped mono-white build and a BW Eldrazi build I have planned? Thanks tax fam~
I don't have a lot of experience with BW EnT but it looks like a pretty standard list and should do just fine.
For the Mono White list I believe that most people started running phyrexian revoker again, especially in bugler lists. Not knowing your meta I would suggest coming down 1 each of resto and selfless spirit to make room for a revoker and 3rd bugler. I also personally never found eiganjo castle worth it and would always rather have a different utility land like shefet dunes, another canopy or field of ruin.
Yeah Revoker was in my last list. As for Horizon Canopy, the only reason it's a one of is because I only have one. Unfortunately being a college student means I can't justify spending upwards of $50-60 on a single card.
I'll definitely look into the other lands. Thanks so much for the advice!
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
I have just joined the magic format and this community. I chose Death and Taxes for many reasons: white is my favorite color in magic, I love blink and stack interacions, the deck is not expensive and can be upgraded for legacy in the future. I have the base for monoW and BW versions, but no copies of Horizon Canopy. I've played only two small events with it, and obviously got poor results as I'm struggling to understand modern itself.
My current goal is to understand what version I should play in my field, and build a good sideboard.
These are the main decks in the field:
Burn
Bant Spirits
Jeskai Control
Mardu Pyromancer
Some variations of BGx (Abzan and Jund)
As I have no canopies, I believe my monoW list is not good yet, so this is the BW list I'm sitting right now:
How good is this? I really like Kitchen Finks as it's not a dead card if I'm against non-burn decks. I lost a lot of games to Ensnaring Bridge so Disenchant is a must. Is it correct to not run 4 Thought-Knot Seer as most decks I play against have no hand by turn 4?
I have just joined the magic format and this community. I chose Death and Taxes for many reasons: white is my favorite color in magic, I love blink and stack interacions, the deck is not expensive and can be upgraded for legacy in the future. I have the base for monoW and BW versions, but no copies of Horizon Canopy. I've played only two small events with it, and obviously got poor results as I'm struggling to understand modern itself.
My current goal is to understand what version I should play in my field, and build a good sideboard.
These are the main decks in the field:
Burn
Bant Spirits
Jeskai Control
Mardu Pyromancer
Some variations of BGx (Abzan and Jund)
As I have no canopies, I believe my monoW list is not good yet, so this is the BW list I'm sitting right now:
How good is this? I really like Kitchen Finks as it's not a dead card if I'm against non-burn decks. I lost a lot of games to Ensnaring Bridge so Disenchant is a must. Is it correct to not run 4 Thought-Knot Seer as most decks I play against have no hand by turn 4?
I admittedly don't have that much experience with BW Eldrazi Taxes as opposed to monowhite D&T, since I just built my Eldrazi upgrade. That being said, there are some sideboard changes I would suggest. Since you have Blade Splicer in your main deck as a 2 of, I would replace Disenchant with Sundering Growth. While you go from needing one white mana to two, you also get to clone any of your golem tokens in play while fulfilling the exact same artifact/enchantment hate. I personally find Declaration in Stone to be questionable because it gives your opponent clues, as opposed to something like Surgical Extraction, although budget is a very real and annoying thing. Unless you absolutely need it, I would cut the Auriok Champion and replace it with Burrenton Forge-Tender or Kor Firewalker. You don't have many answers for burn or red board wipes besides your Kitchen Finks. The last thing I would suggest is to add more graveyard hate, judging from the meta you've posted above.
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Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Random question since I'm having trouble finding an up to date one, is there a match-up list anywhere for Death & Taxes? I know a few obvious ones such as versus multi-color control decks like Grixis or Jeskai, but I'm having trouble finding tips/match-up guides against decks like RG Ponza, Ad Nauseam, and others.
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Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
That depends somewhat on your build, but in general the inspector is one of the best 1-drops available to us.
He generates a sort-of card advantage and can crew the copter and chump ... I like him a lot and he can make the difference.
Thanks fam~
Also out of curiosity, I found an interesting monowhite build that splashes for Eldrazi Displacer & Thought-Knot Seer. Is it worth keeping my build monowhite but adding Eldrazi in? My meta is extremely control & combo heavy with the exception of a Bridgevine and RG Ponza player; the Ponza player mainboards Blood Moon which is why I'm still debating whether or not to try BW Eldrazi Taxes. Torn because I've now become obsessed with taxing people to oblivion and there are so many different venues I'd like to try for my FNM tomorrow.
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Also out of curiosity, I found an interesting monowhite build that splashes for Eldrazi Displacer & Thought-Knot Seer. Is it worth keeping my build monowhite but adding Eldrazi in? My meta is extremely control & combo heavy with the exception of a Bridgevine and RG Ponza player; the Ponza player mainboards Blood Moon which is why I'm still debating whether or not to try BW Eldrazi Taxes.
I was on BW E&T before, and started testing these builds recently.
What I like:
* Manabase is so much better than the BW builds. Obviously not as good as pure Mono-W but surprisingly smooth.
* With Displacers, Flickerwisps and Restoration this build is more focused than BW E&T on abusing ETB effects, which I personally enjoy.
* I'm running a couple Mutavaults that have been very solid as backup beaters. I miss the lifelink from Shambling Vents occasionally, but being ETB untapped and very cheap to activate makes them more than worth it.
* I'm liking Shefet Dunes more than I expected. Flooding doesn't feel as bad when I got at least one of them.
What I not like:
* The worst part is the SB cards. Push, Pontiff, Lingering Souls, Kambal...
* I miss Tidehollow. This build could really use one more CMC2 disruptive creature.
* It feels "heavy" compared to BW E&T. On those lists the only CMC4 is usually TKS, which is most of the time a CMC3 card thanks to Eldrazi Temple.
* Blood Moon still hurts, though it's not nearly as backbreaking as it was for BW E&T.
Also out of curiosity, I found an interesting monowhite build that splashes for Eldrazi Displacer & Thought-Knot Seer. Is it worth keeping my build monowhite but adding Eldrazi in? My meta is extremely control & combo heavy with the exception of a Bridgevine and RG Ponza player; the Ponza player mainboards Blood Moon which is why I'm still debating whether or not to try BW Eldrazi Taxes.
I was on BW E&T before, and started testing these builds recently.
What I like:
* Manabase is so much better than the BW builds. Obviously not as good as pure Mono-W but surprisingly smooth.
* With Displacers, Flickerwisps and Restoration this build is more focused than BW E&T on abusing ETB effects, which I personally enjoy.
* I'm running a couple Mutavaults that have been very solid as backup beaters. I miss the lifelink from Shambling Vents occasionally, but being ETB untapped and very cheap to activate makes them more than worth it.
* I'm liking Shefet Dunes more than I expected. Flooding doesn't feel as bad when I got at least one of them.
What I not like:
* The worst part is the SB cards. Push, Pontiff, Lingering Souls, Kambal...
* I miss Tidehollow. This build could really use one more CMC2 disruptive creature.
* It feels "heavy" compared to BW E&T. On those lists the only CMC4 is usually TKS, which is most of the time a CMC3 card thanks to Eldrazi Temple.
* Blood Moon still hurts, though it's not nearly as backbreaking as it was for BW E&T.
Ooooooooooo that's nice. I've modded my deck right now to be a BW Eldrazi Taxes but I'm debating about going back to a monowhite version because of the RG Ponza player at my FNM. There are just so many venues to go with this deck and I want more time to try them all
Also thanks to everyone in the thread for humoring my constant posting, I've just been super hyped to get back into MTG haha
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Also out of curiosity, I found an interesting monowhite build that splashes for Eldrazi Displacer & Thought-Knot Seer. Is it worth keeping my build monowhite but adding Eldrazi in? My meta is extremely control & combo heavy with the exception of a Bridgevine and RG Ponza player; the Ponza player mainboards Blood Moon which is why I'm still debating whether or not to try BW Eldrazi Taxes.
I was on BW E&T before, and started testing these builds recently.
What I like:
* Manabase is so much better than the BW builds. Obviously not as good as pure Mono-W but surprisingly smooth.
* With Displacers, Flickerwisps and Restoration this build is more focused than BW E&T on abusing ETB effects, which I personally enjoy.
* I'm running a couple Mutavaults that have been very solid as backup beaters. I miss the lifelink from Shambling Vents occasionally, but being ETB untapped and very cheap to activate makes them more than worth it.
* I'm liking Shefet Dunes more than I expected. Flooding doesn't feel as bad when I got at least one of them.
What I not like:
* The worst part is the SB cards. Push, Pontiff, Lingering Souls, Kambal...
* I miss Tidehollow. This build could really use one more CMC2 disruptive creature.
* It feels "heavy" compared to BW E&T. On those lists the only CMC4 is usually TKS, which is most of the time a CMC3 card thanks to Eldrazi Temple.
* Blood Moon still hurts, though it's not nearly as backbreaking as it was for BW E&T.
Those lists don't play Vial and seven 4-drops is waaaay too many. Mono White Eldrazi & Taxes usually plays the white shell and doubles down on Eldrazi Displacer with a playset (instead of 0 - 2 copies) and replaces Resto Angel with TKS. With Eldrazi Temple you can displace a lot of your creatures to generate value (Thraben Inspector), create threats (Blade Splicer), rip hands apart (TKS) and messes with the opponent's field (Flickerwisp and Displacer himself). The list you linked to is a brew and while getting some results, is not a list I would recommend to players. Especially not in a blind meta.
I've thought about adding Thraben Inspector for being a 1 drop with added value. I've also told that adding Smuggler's Copter to the deck will be helpful but I'm unsure. What about Dryad Militant, Judge's Familiar as well? Sideboard so far is the most difficult for constructing. Any recommendations will be much appreciated!
I've thought about adding Thraben Inspector for being a 1 drop with added value. I've also told that adding Smuggler's Copter to the deck will be helpful but I'm unsure. What about Dryad Militant, Judge's Familiar as well? Sideboard so far is the most difficult for constructing. Any recommendations will be much appreciated!
Smuggler's copter and thraben inspectorare just amazing, especially together since inspector can crew copter. You definitely need a T1 creature to go with vial and typically inspector is the choice, plus the clue is so worth while. DnT has so little card draw and inspector can be both your T1 and T2 play with the clue. Even better you can vial it in on T2 and immediately crack the clue taking full advantage of your mana. Dryad Militant's ability isn't relevant or effective enough in a lot of match ups. Judge's Familiar can be good but DnT has trouble capitalizing on the tempo advantage making it less worth while. Copter also lets you smooth out draws and is a great clock.
For the side board I believe most people are on 3 rest in peace, 3 stony silence and then usually some stuff to help against burn, tron and storm. Then usually extra single target removal and or a couple of board wipes. Planeswalkers are good in grindy or control match ups but not good against most of the fast unfair decks.
I've thought about adding Thraben Inspector for being a 1 drop with added value. I've also told that adding Smuggler's Copter to the deck will be helpful but I'm unsure. What about Dryad Militant, Judge's Familiar as well? Sideboard so far is the most difficult for constructing. Any recommendations will be much appreciated!
I second the Coptor & Thraben Inspector recommendations. I don't know much about your LGS meta, but a number of people usually recommend replacing Resto Angel with Displacer if you're going to run the Eldrazi. I haven't seen many lists run more than a single copy of Heretic Cathar and I feel like that's an outlier too. I'd recommend Militia Bugler instead as an alternate 3-drop. Some people also run multiple mainboard Selfless Spirit but that's meta-dependent. Looking at your lands, I feel like having 10 land destruction cards is too many, as the odds of drawing a Plains is barely 1/3 of your lands. While you have white sources in Canopy and Dunes, they both deal 1 damage for white. Plus if you go up against a Blood Moon, you'll be completely hosed.
Sideboard-wise, I'll echo the above poster in that Stony Silence and Rest in Peace are both 3 copies in the majority of sideboards. I would caution against too many slow non-creature spells like Planeswalkers not only because they don't really have a chance to shine against fast decks, but also because you'll tax yourself because of Thalia. I don't know how I feel about Wrath of God since D&T requires creatures on the field in order for the various taxes to work, such as Thalia and Arbiter. Nuking your own creatures too works against the deck. Kataki's not that great against KCI in my own experience, not sure about Affinity.
Below's my own deck & sideboard; my meta's very control and combo heavy with a number of decks that rely on the graveyard.
Current Modern Decks W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish." WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!" U Merfolk // "Sushi." B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros." BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?" WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
The deck has legs IMO. It plays more tempo-oriented than other versions. Blink sheaningans with Displacer and Spell Queller or Reflector Mage work amazing and, if unchecked, win the game. Thalia and TKS have a lot of synergy with Queller. I don't think this is better than regular UW Spirits, but it's a fun brew and has better game against Midrange.
I wanted to try some more blue cards that I don't own atm: Kira, Vendilion Clique, Meddling Mage and Geist of Saint Traft. I think all of them are nice additions to the sideboard (even mainboard, meta dependant). I'm currently thinking about Venser, Shaper Savant as a 1-of in the place of the 4th Reflector Mage. It seems nice to have another way to get around Ensnaring Bridge or Worship and it's a good answer to combo, Tron and UW Control. Thoughts on it?
My biggest complain was not having a good 1 drop. I've test Mausoleum Wanderer but it was dissapointing: not always castable on turn 1, it doesn't get as big nor as fast as in Spirits and it's an awful topdeck. Thraben Inspector could be added in the flext spots, but I haven't found problems with the mana curve and Reflector Mage and Eldrazi package helps a lot to catch up aggro decks, so I'm sticking this way.
Also, in my testing I've found Phantasmal Image is garbage in the deck. Sounds great to copy TKS, Reflector Mage, Flickerwisp or Spell Queller. But this deck is not Humans: Vial is not sticking at 2 charge counters and Image loses a lot of value without instant speed. Also, we want creatures that we can blink with Displacer for protection and value.
As I said, sideboard can be improved, so I wanted to hear your thoughts guys. Tomorrow I'll bring this again to FNM (maybe adding Venser if I find it) and post results.
EDIT: I went 2-2. Not the best result, but not worse than my often results with Mono White. I've added a Venser to the main (moving the 4th Reflector to side) and a Ephara and a 3rd Mirran to the side, since I was expecting a lot of GBx at my LGS. I've cut Echoing Truth, a Blessed Alliance and Big Thalia.
0-2 vs Titanshift (actually 0-3 since we played another one for fun)
I don't understand how could this happen. I didn't see a Thalia in any of the three games and Leonin was Bolted twice a game. In game 1 I couldn't put pressure because I kept a hand not good against this kind of deck and in game two he forced me to hardcast Spell Queller to have a clock. I'm pretty sure I took bad lines of play and if I were more patient or read the game better it would have been so much better for me. Not everything was bad: Reflector Mage works amazing against a non-lethal Primeval Titan if you have enough threats to kill him before he can cast it again, and Spell Queller (not even his presence, only the open mana/vial to bring him to the battlefield) buys a lot of time. Next time I'll play against this deck it will be different for sure, since I've played really bad.
2-1 vs MonoG Tron.
I've lost the first game thanks to the die roll. Leonin would have insta-win the game on the play, but on the draw I was forced to GQ turn 2 his Urza land to not see a Wurmcoil on turn 3. I managed to stop Tron and stablish a board, but Oblivion Stone broke me. Game 2 was turn 2 Thalia into turn 3 Leonin + GQ into turn 4 TKS and won since he had a hand full of threats that he couldn't cast. Game 3 was long and he had an Ulamog in hand but only 9 mana to cast it. When he could cast it he was already dead: he killed my threats, but I've pathed Ulamog, draw-go, he casted Wurmcoil and EOT I've casted Queller with him at 1 life.
1-2 vs Bridgevine.
This is awful. Game 1, 5 zombies + Gargadon + Vengevine + 2 Bloodghast attacking by turn 3, gg easy. Game 2: Vial into RiP into TKS and gg easy. Game 3 I've mulliganed to find a RiP and wasn't lucky, he overwhelmed me again, not as hard as game 1 but enough to kill me fast. If this, along with the usual suspects of Hollow One and Dredge, grow in my local meta I'll probably bring 1 or 2 Remorseful Clerics in the main, since it's unwinnable any other way.
2-1 vs GB Rock
Now that was the match I've wanted to test. In game 1 I won by pure tempo thanks to Quellering a Liliana and TKSeing another one. That and 2 Paths to his threats was enough to finish the game on turn 5. In game 2 he discarded me three times and put a fast clock with Tarmogoyf and Tracker very fast. Game 3 was a really fun game with good plays from both of us, Reflector + TKS synergies and topdeck war which I won by drawing a Mirran Crusader. Really fun and interactive match and I'm sure that it was really improved thanks to the blue splash.
In a nutshell, I love this UW Taxes. Maybe loses a couple of % points against Combo and Big Mana, but has a better scenario against linear Aggro (go wide like Elves is and forever will be the worst matchup for this archetype) and Midrange, so I'm happy with that.
Hi, I'm currently building a budget mono White eldrazi and taxes list so that I can start playing with the archetype, and considering I'm not using vials and that I'm running 24 lands, the current land base has 10 basics, 9 plains and 1 wastes, should I be worrying about having that wastes in case of field of ruin/blood moon or I'm better off running another tectonic edge?
The only eldrazis I'm currently using are 4 thought-knot seer and 4 eldrazi displacer.
Blood Moon is not really a card that's often boarded in against us, as we're still mostly mono color. And your opponent doesn't know you don't have vials. So I wouldn't run a Wastes, unless your meta is full of Blood Moon. Also, I would advise going to 23 lands and run an extra threat.
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2 Thraben Inspector
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Blade Splicer
4 Flickerwisp
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
4 Restoration Angel
Noncreature spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Path to Exile
Artifacts:
4 Aether Vial
2 Smuggler's Copter
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Field of Ruin
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
4 Inspiring Vantage
1 Mountain
3 Needle Spires
4 Plains
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Path to Exile
1 Abrade
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Mirran Crusader
so onto to the report...
Round 1 vs Mono White DnT 2-0
I had vial for both games and I was able to draw answers to whatever he had. Cunning sparkmage came in handy too keeping his board on check.
Round 2 vs Bant Spirits 2-0
Game 1 He kept a greedy hand and got punished for it with arbiter and ghost quarters. I had creatures on board and I was able to out aggro him
Game 2 I managed to keep him off his colors with arbiter and I use Looter scooter as a blocker to keep his creatures at bay. Eventually i was able to land a magus of the moon and it was GG from there even with his aether vial on three.
Round 3 vs Sword of the meek combo 2-1
Game 1 I out aggroed him before he was able to set anything up.
Game 2 He was able to swing at me with a bunch of thopters in the air and i wasn't able to keep up. I also side boarded wrong since this was only the second time i go against that deck. So I sided in graveyard hate for game 3
Game 3 We were pretty much at a stalemate. i had a bunch of attackers and stony silence while he had 3 ensnaring bridges on the field. I draw a Dire fleet and notice there's a maelstrom pulse in his graveyard. I cast dire fleet and target his pulse then i use it to destroy the bridges and swing for game.
Round 4 vs UG infect 2-1
Game 1 I misplayed really bad and he was able to get me to 10 infect with a blighted agent and a bunch of pumps.
Game 2 I kept a sketchy hand of vial, thalia, red removal, copter and one colorless land. I figured if i got one RW land i would have been good. I draw a ghost quarter :/ but vial and thalia kept me in the game long enough to get my red source and get away with the game. Flickerwisp also helped me take away his blighted agent for the turn.
Game 3 I kept a hand with two paths Thalia. Thalia slowed him down and my paths got rid of his creatures. I also had splicers to keep the pressure going. He had blighted agent out and he was swinging in for almost lethal. Once I saw that he used all his pumps I casted settle the wreckage to blown him out. A turn later i casted magus of the moon and it was GGs after that.
Overall I really like the deck. I like having the extra removal as it did come in clutch when I needed it. There's a couple changes i want to make to the mana base as I still feel it needs work but overall the build feels solid.
Death & Taxes
Fish
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Xenagos, God of Revels
3 Blade Splicer
4 Flickerwisp
4 Leonin Arbiter
2 Militia Bugler
3 Restoration Angel
3 Selfless Spirit
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thraben Inspector
1 Eiganjo Castle
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
13 Plains
4 Tectonic Edge
Other
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Smuggler's Copter
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Dismember
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Mirran Crusader
3 Rest in Peace
1 Settle the Wreckage
3 Stony Silence
1 Blade Splicer
4 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Flickerwisp
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Thraben Inspector
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Concealed Courtyard
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Godless Shrine
2 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
1 Swamp
Other
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Fatal Push
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Kor Firewalker
3 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
2 Sundering Growth
2 Zealous Persecution
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
I don't have a lot of experience with BW EnT but it looks like a pretty standard list and should do just fine.
For the Mono White list I believe that most people started running phyrexian revoker again, especially in bugler lists. Not knowing your meta I would suggest coming down 1 each of resto and selfless spirit to make room for a revoker and 3rd bugler. I also personally never found eiganjo castle worth it and would always rather have a different utility land like shefet dunes, another canopy or field of ruin.
Yeah Revoker was in my last list. As for Horizon Canopy, the only reason it's a one of is because I only have one. Unfortunately being a college student means I can't justify spending upwards of $50-60 on a single card.
I'll definitely look into the other lands. Thanks so much for the advice!
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
I have just joined the magic format and this community. I chose Death and Taxes for many reasons: white is my favorite color in magic, I love blink and stack interacions, the deck is not expensive and can be upgraded for legacy in the future. I have the base for monoW and BW versions, but no copies of Horizon Canopy. I've played only two small events with it, and obviously got poor results as I'm struggling to understand modern itself.
My current goal is to understand what version I should play in my field, and build a good sideboard.
These are the main decks in the field:
Burn
Bant Spirits
Jeskai Control
Mardu Pyromancer
Some variations of BGx (Abzan and Jund)
As I have no canopies, I believe my monoW list is not good yet, so this is the BW list I'm sitting right now:
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Leonin Arbiter
2 Blade Splicer
4 Flickerwisp
3 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Kitchen Finks
4 Path to Exile
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Shambling Vent
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Auriok Champion
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
1 Worship
2 Disenchant
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Declaration in Stone
How good is this? I really like Kitchen Finks as it's not a dead card if I'm against non-burn decks. I lost a lot of games to Ensnaring Bridge so Disenchant is a must. Is it correct to not run 4 Thought-Knot Seer as most decks I play against have no hand by turn 4?
I admittedly don't have that much experience with BW Eldrazi Taxes as opposed to monowhite D&T, since I just built my Eldrazi upgrade. That being said, there are some sideboard changes I would suggest. Since you have Blade Splicer in your main deck as a 2 of, I would replace Disenchant with Sundering Growth. While you go from needing one white mana to two, you also get to clone any of your golem tokens in play while fulfilling the exact same artifact/enchantment hate. I personally find Declaration in Stone to be questionable because it gives your opponent clues, as opposed to something like Surgical Extraction, although budget is a very real and annoying thing. Unless you absolutely need it, I would cut the Auriok Champion and replace it with Burrenton Forge-Tender or Kor Firewalker. You don't have many answers for burn or red board wipes besides your Kitchen Finks. The last thing I would suggest is to add more graveyard hate, judging from the meta you've posted above.
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Also, is Thraben Inspector worth having mainboard? He hasn't done that much in my own testing. :/
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
He generates a sort-of card advantage and can crew the copter and chump ... I like him a lot and he can make the difference.
Thanks fam~
Also out of curiosity, I found an interesting monowhite build that splashes for Eldrazi Displacer & Thought-Knot Seer. Is it worth keeping my build monowhite but adding Eldrazi in? My meta is extremely control & combo heavy with the exception of a Bridgevine and RG Ponza player; the Ponza player mainboards Blood Moon which is why I'm still debating whether or not to try BW Eldrazi Taxes. Torn because I've now become obsessed with taxing people to oblivion and there are so many different venues I'd like to try for my FNM tomorrow.
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
There's a few lists like that on mtggoldfish:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-mono-white-hatebear#paper
I was on BW E&T before, and started testing these builds recently.
What I like:
* Manabase is so much better than the BW builds. Obviously not as good as pure Mono-W but surprisingly smooth.
* With Displacers, Flickerwisps and Restoration this build is more focused than BW E&T on abusing ETB effects, which I personally enjoy.
* I'm running a couple Mutavaults that have been very solid as backup beaters. I miss the lifelink from Shambling Vents occasionally, but being ETB untapped and very cheap to activate makes them more than worth it.
* I'm liking Shefet Dunes more than I expected. Flooding doesn't feel as bad when I got at least one of them.
What I not like:
* The worst part is the SB cards. Push, Pontiff, Lingering Souls, Kambal...
* I miss Tidehollow. This build could really use one more CMC2 disruptive creature.
* It feels "heavy" compared to BW E&T. On those lists the only CMC4 is usually TKS, which is most of the time a CMC3 card thanks to Eldrazi Temple.
* Blood Moon still hurts, though it's not nearly as backbreaking as it was for BW E&T.
Ooooooooooo that's nice. I've modded my deck right now to be a BW Eldrazi Taxes but I'm debating about going back to a monowhite version because of the RG Ponza player at my FNM. There are just so many venues to go with this deck and I want more time to try them all
Also thanks to everyone in the thread for humoring my constant posting, I've just been super hyped to get back into MTG haha
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
Those lists don't play Vial and seven 4-drops is waaaay too many. Mono White Eldrazi & Taxes usually plays the white shell and doubles down on Eldrazi Displacer with a playset (instead of 0 - 2 copies) and replaces Resto Angel with TKS. With Eldrazi Temple you can displace a lot of your creatures to generate value (Thraben Inspector), create threats (Blade Splicer), rip hands apart (TKS) and messes with the opponent's field (Flickerwisp and Displacer himself). The list you linked to is a brew and while getting some results, is not a list I would recommend to players. Especially not in a blind meta.
4x Aether Vial
Creatures (30):
4x Blade Splicer
2x Eldrazi Displacer
4x Flickerwisp
4x Leonin Arbiter
3x Mirran Crusader
2x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Restoration Angel
1x Selfless Spirit
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4x Path to Exile
Lands (22):
2x Field of Ruin
4x Ghost Quarter
2x Horizon Canopy
8x Plains
2x Shefet Dunes
4x Tectonic Edge
1x Damping Sphere
2x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Kor Firewalker
2x Rest in Peace
1x Settle the Wreckage
2x Stony Silence
2x Wrath of God
I've thought about adding Thraben Inspector for being a 1 drop with added value. I've also told that adding Smuggler's Copter to the deck will be helpful but I'm unsure. What about Dryad Militant, Judge's Familiar as well? Sideboard so far is the most difficult for constructing. Any recommendations will be much appreciated!
Smuggler's copter and thraben inspectorare just amazing, especially together since inspector can crew copter. You definitely need a T1 creature to go with vial and typically inspector is the choice, plus the clue is so worth while. DnT has so little card draw and inspector can be both your T1 and T2 play with the clue. Even better you can vial it in on T2 and immediately crack the clue taking full advantage of your mana. Dryad Militant's ability isn't relevant or effective enough in a lot of match ups. Judge's Familiar can be good but DnT has trouble capitalizing on the tempo advantage making it less worth while. Copter also lets you smooth out draws and is a great clock.
For the side board I believe most people are on 3 rest in peace, 3 stony silence and then usually some stuff to help against burn, tron and storm. Then usually extra single target removal and or a couple of board wipes. Planeswalkers are good in grindy or control match ups but not good against most of the fast unfair decks.
I second the Coptor & Thraben Inspector recommendations. I don't know much about your LGS meta, but a number of people usually recommend replacing Resto Angel with Displacer if you're going to run the Eldrazi. I haven't seen many lists run more than a single copy of Heretic Cathar and I feel like that's an outlier too. I'd recommend Militia Bugler instead as an alternate 3-drop. Some people also run multiple mainboard Selfless Spirit but that's meta-dependent. Looking at your lands, I feel like having 10 land destruction cards is too many, as the odds of drawing a Plains is barely 1/3 of your lands. While you have white sources in Canopy and Dunes, they both deal 1 damage for white. Plus if you go up against a Blood Moon, you'll be completely hosed.
Sideboard-wise, I'll echo the above poster in that Stony Silence and Rest in Peace are both 3 copies in the majority of sideboards. I would caution against too many slow non-creature spells like Planeswalkers not only because they don't really have a chance to shine against fast decks, but also because you'll tax yourself because of Thalia. I don't know how I feel about Wrath of God since D&T requires creatures on the field in order for the various taxes to work, such as Thalia and Arbiter. Nuking your own creatures too works against the deck. Kataki's not that great against KCI in my own experience, not sure about Affinity.
Below's my own deck & sideboard; my meta's very control and combo heavy with a number of decks that rely on the graveyard.
3 Blade Splicer
4 Flickerwisp
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Militia Bugler
3 Restoration Angel
2 Selfless Spirit
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thraben Inspector
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Horizon Canopy
13 Plains
4 Tectonic Edge
Other
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Smuggler's Copter
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Dismember
2 Mirran Crusader
3 Rest in Peace
1 Settle the Wreckage
3 Stony Silence
W Death & Taxes // "Tax evasion? You wish."
WB Eldrazi & Taxes // "This is the Eldrazi Revenue Service, we have you surrounded!"
U Merfolk // "Sushi."
B Obliterator Devotion "You're one ugly mofo!"
Former Modern Decks
WB BW Tokens // "Bros and bros and ghost bros."
BUR Elemental Combo // "What just happened?"
WBURG CoCo Slivers // "I'm in love with the CoCo."
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Moorland Haunt
2 Plains
1 Island
D&T Core
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Flickerwisp
4 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Thought-Knot Seer
UW Splash
4 Spell Queller
4 Reflector Mage
Flex spots
2 Selfless Spirit
1 Blade Splicer
2 Stony Silence
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Worship
1 Echoing Truth
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Mirran Crusader
1 Selfless Spirit
2 Blessed Alliance
The deck has legs IMO. It plays more tempo-oriented than other versions. Blink sheaningans with Displacer and Spell Queller or Reflector Mage work amazing and, if unchecked, win the game. Thalia and TKS have a lot of synergy with Queller. I don't think this is better than regular UW Spirits, but it's a fun brew and has better game against Midrange.
I wanted to try some more blue cards that I don't own atm: Kira, Vendilion Clique, Meddling Mage and Geist of Saint Traft. I think all of them are nice additions to the sideboard (even mainboard, meta dependant). I'm currently thinking about Venser, Shaper Savant as a 1-of in the place of the 4th Reflector Mage. It seems nice to have another way to get around Ensnaring Bridge or Worship and it's a good answer to combo, Tron and UW Control. Thoughts on it?
My biggest complain was not having a good 1 drop. I've test Mausoleum Wanderer but it was dissapointing: not always castable on turn 1, it doesn't get as big nor as fast as in Spirits and it's an awful topdeck. Thraben Inspector could be added in the flext spots, but I haven't found problems with the mana curve and Reflector Mage and Eldrazi package helps a lot to catch up aggro decks, so I'm sticking this way.
Also, in my testing I've found Phantasmal Image is garbage in the deck. Sounds great to copy TKS, Reflector Mage, Flickerwisp or Spell Queller. But this deck is not Humans: Vial is not sticking at 2 charge counters and Image loses a lot of value without instant speed. Also, we want creatures that we can blink with Displacer for protection and value.
As I said, sideboard can be improved, so I wanted to hear your thoughts guys. Tomorrow I'll bring this again to FNM (maybe adding Venser if I find it) and post results.
EDIT: I went 2-2. Not the best result, but not worse than my often results with Mono White. I've added a Venser to the main (moving the 4th Reflector to side) and a Ephara and a 3rd Mirran to the side, since I was expecting a lot of GBx at my LGS. I've cut Echoing Truth, a Blessed Alliance and Big Thalia.
0-2 vs Titanshift (actually 0-3 since we played another one for fun)
I don't understand how could this happen. I didn't see a Thalia in any of the three games and Leonin was Bolted twice a game. In game 1 I couldn't put pressure because I kept a hand not good against this kind of deck and in game two he forced me to hardcast Spell Queller to have a clock. I'm pretty sure I took bad lines of play and if I were more patient or read the game better it would have been so much better for me. Not everything was bad: Reflector Mage works amazing against a non-lethal Primeval Titan if you have enough threats to kill him before he can cast it again, and Spell Queller (not even his presence, only the open mana/vial to bring him to the battlefield) buys a lot of time. Next time I'll play against this deck it will be different for sure, since I've played really bad.
2-1 vs MonoG Tron.
I've lost the first game thanks to the die roll. Leonin would have insta-win the game on the play, but on the draw I was forced to GQ turn 2 his Urza land to not see a Wurmcoil on turn 3. I managed to stop Tron and stablish a board, but Oblivion Stone broke me. Game 2 was turn 2 Thalia into turn 3 Leonin + GQ into turn 4 TKS and won since he had a hand full of threats that he couldn't cast. Game 3 was long and he had an Ulamog in hand but only 9 mana to cast it. When he could cast it he was already dead: he killed my threats, but I've pathed Ulamog, draw-go, he casted Wurmcoil and EOT I've casted Queller with him at 1 life.
1-2 vs Bridgevine.
This is awful. Game 1, 5 zombies + Gargadon + Vengevine + 2 Bloodghast attacking by turn 3, gg easy. Game 2: Vial into RiP into TKS and gg easy. Game 3 I've mulliganed to find a RiP and wasn't lucky, he overwhelmed me again, not as hard as game 1 but enough to kill me fast. If this, along with the usual suspects of Hollow One and Dredge, grow in my local meta I'll probably bring 1 or 2 Remorseful Clerics in the main, since it's unwinnable any other way.
2-1 vs GB Rock
Now that was the match I've wanted to test. In game 1 I won by pure tempo thanks to Quellering a Liliana and TKSeing another one. That and 2 Paths to his threats was enough to finish the game on turn 5. In game 2 he discarded me three times and put a fast clock with Tarmogoyf and Tracker very fast. Game 3 was a really fun game with good plays from both of us, Reflector + TKS synergies and topdeck war which I won by drawing a Mirran Crusader. Really fun and interactive match and I'm sure that it was really improved thanks to the blue splash.
In a nutshell, I love this UW Taxes. Maybe loses a couple of % points against Combo and Big Mana, but has a better scenario against linear Aggro (go wide like Elves is and forever will be the worst matchup for this archetype) and Midrange, so I'm happy with that.
The only eldrazis I'm currently using are 4 thought-knot seer and 4 eldrazi displacer.
4x Eldrazi Temple
4x Ghost Quarter
2x Tectonic Edge
4x Shefet Dunes
1x Scavenger Grounds
9x Plains
Blood Moon is not really a card that's often boarded in against us, as we're still mostly mono color. And your opponent doesn't know you don't have vials. So I wouldn't run a Wastes, unless your meta is full of Blood Moon. Also, I would advise going to 23 lands and run an extra threat.