horizon canopy instead of mutavault: the main testing point, so far i'm impressed with the card-drawing land more than mutavault, but i'm ready to switch gears. another configuration i was thinking about is:
deputy of detention another testing slot, i chose her over thalia because i wanted a mainboard answer to all kind of permanents, and because thalia doesn't synergize with lingering souls. another option would be nebelgast herald
The problem with Deputy of Detention is that there is no way to protect it cause its not a spirit + it can be removed very easily. It has no evasion.. The only meta where I see him shie is Combo + aggro-creature decks. In all other matchups its a bad card.
I would never take out Thalia. She swtiches off so may modern decks. She is A MUST HAVE at least TWO in the deck
It is an interesting take because it cut the reactive spells and moved them to the sideboard. Specifically, it cut rattlechains, and moved two to the SB, and only had two Quellers MB, with two more in the SB. Conversely, it ran four Remorseful Cleric main, along with disruptive elements like Thalia and Deputy of Detention.
I personally don't love the SB, especially the two copies of Condemn. Feels like you could do something more powerful there. I also don't like running UW and not having RIP. That said, its an interesting approach, taking a more aggressive angle, using Deputy to clear the path for those final points of damage by a Geist.
Anyone have any thoughts on the list and approach?
The problem with Deputy of Detention is that there is no way to protect it cause its not a spirit + it can be removed very easily. It has no evasion.. The only meta where I see him shie is Combo + aggro-creature decks. In all other matchups its a bad card.
I would never take out Thalia. She swtiches off so may modern decks. She is A MUST HAVE at least TWO in the deck
Sometimes Deputy of Detention buys me precisely one turn, which is all I need. Other times it eats multiple copies of Amulet of Vigor or a swarm of tokens. Not instantly scooping to Ensnaring Bridge game 1 is a nice bonus, too.
Upon seeing your list, I think you need a mainboard Eidolon of Rhetoric if you have a lot of phoenix in your local meta. A protected eidolon will sometimes just stymie your opponent.
Its UW Control, you can see my current list on the photo attached
I play 20 lands where 3x of them are Mutavaults
Ok, just got back from FNM. I switched 2x phantasmal images to 2x Remorsefull Clerics. These spirits are INSANE against URphoenix and Dredge. Ended up beating Both of them and losing 1:2 only to 5c Humans
Not going back to images at the moment
Round 1 vs affinity 2-0
Game 1 he dropped his hand on turn 1 and I still was able to squeak out a win after he swings in with his only two flyers.
Game 2 he mulls to 5 and it wasn't much of a game.
Round 2 vs valakut 2-1
Game 1 i get down a turn 2 eidolon and he loses to the swings and damage it does.
Game 2 he gets there after a land heavy flood. I had a chance to tax his 2 summoners pacts but it would have left me with just a selfless spirit and I thought I could win the next turn if he didn't target one of my spirits with a trigger forcing me to sac a selfless. I still would have had game if I drew a spirit but it was another land.
Game 3 I stick a turn 1 vial, into turn 2 eidolon and wanderer on his turn, then double lord putting him too 2 and he scoops.
Round 3 vs amulet titan 2-0
Game 1 bolt the tribe scout and follow that up with an eidolon. The next turn is a lord and vial. This gets us to a turn where he plays pact I activate vial putting in a wanderer then spell quell his pact, he plays another with the wanderer trigger on the stack. I let it resolve doing the math and he gets titan and plays it. My turn I put him to 4. His turn he drops too 2 playing an amulet, attacks with titan goes up to 4 with the white land that gains 2 and gives it double strike while I'm at 10. I have the eidolon untapped and block taking 9 and he concedes cause I have 6 on the crack back.
Game 2 I drop a vial, then next turn is an eidolon followed by another the next turn, followed by lord and queller, followed by bolt for the win.
Round 4 vs abzan druid combo 2-1
Game 1 I just remember eidolon doing a lot of damage and a bolt on the druid and a queller on a coco.
Game 2 I spell pierced a coco which lets him stick a worship. I have an out if I draw a bolt but don't and scoop.
Game 3 I come out the gates hot with the eidolon on torn two followed by a lord and get him to where he has the vizier and druid in play but it has summoning sickness. I swing to put him to 2 and he is forced to block with the vizier and when he goes for the coco the following turn I have the disdainful stroke.
Round 5 vs a 4 color druid combo 2-0
Game 1 I bolt the bird and get a board presence that ends up with them eldrich evolutioning away a creature with me quellering it in response for the concession
Game 2 I hit a early eidolon with a vial back up and when he tries to path it I have the wanderer. I do end up bolting 2 of his 3 druids but the third is too late. I have leathal in the air.
Round 6 & 7 are both ID
Top 8 vs grixis shadow 2-1
Game 1 I mull to 6 on the play and get there. Don't remember much just that it was close.
Game 2 I mull, he then plays a thoughtsieze, followed by iok, and I scoop to a liliana, last hope
Game 3 I mull to a 1 lander + vial and he keeps a 1 lander with double hand disruption and triple push. I play vial he siezes and takes rattle chains. I miss land 2 and pass, he misses as well and tries an IOK and I vial in a wanderer and sac. Turn 3 I hit a fetch land and pass. He misses another land and passes. I hit a second fetch and pass. end of turn he tries to thought scour and I pop both fetches and queller it. his turn he somehow attempts to kill my queller and I vial in a captain. I then chip away at him and by the time he hits the next land my board is too much and he concedes.
Top 4 vs golgari 2-1 (we split and are playing for invites)
Game 1 I mull to 5 but the game is still close with me ultimately conceding.
Game 2 I get a turn 2 thalia that he wasn't expecting and it takes him enough I can slow him down to get to a board state with his life at 9 and me with the thalia, an eidolon, and a queller. He dropps a liliana, last hope and goes to 7. He kills the thalia and I swing for 4 to put him to 3 and then bolt him for the win.
Game 3 he mulls to 5 but I keep a land heavy hand. His only threat is a goyf and it ends up being a really close game with him getting some good top decks. However I end up swinging him to 2 life with a spirit lord back and an eidolon in play vs his goyf. He draws then concedes.
Finals we don't play since we split cash in top 4 and each now have an invite. He says he is just a few points short of 1300 and I offer him the win.
I know a lot of people don't like the main deck eidolon of the great revels but I have won so many games with my opponent at 2 and one of those out I am sold on them. They speed up the clock dramatically. There are very few decks in modern I don't want them in against. I want to drop one of the images for a second cleric and fit some leyline of sanctity in the board and an echoing truth or two. Other than that I thought the deck felt really strong.
I know a lot of people don't like the main deck eidolon of the great revels but I have won so many games with my opponent at 2 and one of those out I am sold on them. They speed up the clock dramatically. There are very few decks in modern I don't want them in against.
Half of the metagame right now is hostile to mainboard eidolon: humans, burn, dredge( and midrange to some extent ) are matchups where eidolon works against you. Bant Spirts is also one of those where the variability is too high to justify it in the 60s.
Eidolon is great and pushes the race by its own when you re against a slower deck, otherwise is a card that ends up hitting you more than the opponent. You really have to cross your fingest and hope to find control, combo or some deck working with lots of cheap spells like whirl or phoenix.
To be honest, of the matchups you have mentioned, I think golgari was the only dubious one , it can be either good or quite bad, it depends on the first 3 tuns of the game and the number of goyfs they play. Affinity is also a tricky one if they deploy their hand soon enough.
Same goes for bolt, it can be as efficient as push at removing creatures or just a card to throw at the opponent's face. It does steal games, but I ended up not finding it realiable on a long run because you have no way to take care of goyfs, kalitas, Things, Drakes, late game champions or pumped humans, it fails at killing a spell queller when they've got a phantom down, there're too many spots where it comes too late and shooting the face is the only appealing option.
It's also possible that one should go all in on the burn strategy, pretty much like you did with 4 Eid, 4 Bolts, but the liability is there and is quite big.
I like Eidolon. I tried it on a 4c Spirits, and gave a very good sensation. Even against burn can work like a charm. If you queller any burn spell, if they want to have it again with an eidolon in table, they are going to take lot of damage to do a few to us.
Hey guys, my name is Evan Berg I've been putting up results with Azorius spirits in both paper and mtgo leagues (EnigmaNJ).I most recently top 8d two IQs in the same weekend March 23/24 the deck feels amazing right now and actually well positioned going forward despite Bant still being the more popular variant. I started playing spirits about a month and a half before the KCI ban, I first picked azorius as the "budget version" more than anything but I quickly fell in love with the deck, I'd always wanted to play an aether vial deck so I was stoked I was planning on picking up nobles and cocos eventually to play bant, never happened because azorius was such a blast to play with rattlechains shenanigans and being almost like a tempo taxes that could hold its own in the format.
Enough about that though, I started with a mostly stock azorius list
4x mausoleum wanderer
3x paths
4x vial
4x chains
3x selfless
2x phantasmal
4x supreme
3x thalia, guardian
4x queller
4x captain
1x Kira (always loved her in the deck even pre deputy)
2x nebelgast herald (my tech against humans since it was top dog at the time, soo good)
Grinding leagues everyday that I could and hitting an SCG or some form of 1k on saturdays, I began testing other versions as the meta evolved, mtgo is always different than paper meta-wise, and I like being a little more creative on mtgo because of the ease of access to all cards. Here are a few different lists I posted 5-0 with and explanations to the card choices.
This was my first, and oddest of them all. Right after Guilds came out on mtgo I wanted to test some cards I'd been thinking about from guilds (tithe taker, forbidding spirit) as well as some sideboard options (Fragmentize, Eidolon of rhetoric, remand), Spirit of the labyrinth was also getting a test run as a 2-of in the mainboard. I think I benefited a lot from people not knowing about tithe taker, it has two very relevant abilities and is a pseudo two-for-one, figuratively good dead or alive lol. Forbidding Spirit was great against humans/spirits but the meta was beginning to shift, I keep him in the maybeboard binder, card is powerful, and in a version with phantasmals could be great in a creature intensive meta. Eidolon was great and stuck in the sideboard from then until now, almost a necessity against gds/phoenix and combo decks amongst others. Spirit of the labyrinth was a little too squishy at the time, however now that Phoenix is down to one gut shot main in izzet, I think it could be viable in the mainboard at this time.
I wanted another one drop creature, very badly lol, so after scouring gatherer for a few days I stumbled upon Siren Stormtsmer (I had not been playing magic at all during amonkhet, ixalan, and most of dominaria standards so I didn't know much about those sets. She was great in the briefly midrange/phoenix heavy meta that I was experiencing at this time,had flying evasion fittingly, and had a better turn aside stapled to her that didn't require tapping to activate. I still think shes a gem, and with dredge falling off a little in overall percentage I could see myself playing her in the 75 again sometime in the near future. Eidolon was also in the main as the influx phoenix continued.This was my first league with Deputy of Detention also, which has proven to become a staple in our deck as well as humans. I still think reflector is better for bant because of coco but DoD has been firmly slotted as a 2-3 of mainboard card for me ever since this league. Siren is also very playable. dovin ban was never seen and never really needed juries out there.
Curious obsession is great, I took this same list to t32 at the NJ regionals, when humans was still dominant this version felt ideal. With phoenix decks now all over, it isnt as good but if the meta shifts away I'll be playing this again. Hurkyl's was amazing out of the board, I was talking to an old friend who played fish in the past, I remembered the card during our chat he helped me identify the name. Its proven invaluable since and has become a staple in my board. Stony actually isnt that good right now so going forward I shifted my artifact to two hurkyl's or two and one kataki if I expect a lot of whir/affinity/tron. Alliance is also great if youre expecting a lot of burn/gds/amulet titan. Stroke has proven to be the best counterspell out of the board for Azorius in particular as in some matches we don't want to develop our board quickly which could be awkward with unified will. Stroke also covers/overlaps with queller almost ideally, just feels good overall, all-star against amulet titan/tron/combo can be used against gurmsg angler decks as well.
These are my most recent results, two IQs in one weeekend, topped both, went into the bernardsville IQ at top seed to boot. I also used this list at the philadelphia open and started 5-1 before variance took me out. Unfortunately I saw bad variance in both quarterfinal rounds of the Iqs as well and was unable to advance further.
remorseful cleric overperformed all weekend as I played against a lot of dredge, it allowed me to steal game ones on multiple occasions in what couldve easily been blowouts in those occasions had I not had it.
Declaration in stone is extremely good right now, I highly recommend it to combat humans/gds/phoenix/dredge/affinity/tron/amulet/mirrors sometimes giving the opponent a land with path feels really bad, dec in stone feels better and although sorcery speed it feels more like a two mana maelstrom pulse in white than anything most of the times you cast it, and being two mana it doesnt even feel bad as a 1-1, bonus synergy with kataki/hurkyls.
Chalice of the void is a very powerful addition I unfortunately did not play against many decks that it was good against that weekend so I felt like I had a 12 card sideboard for the majority of it, shoutout to therift on discord for being the mastermind behind it, I will be playing this version in larger events (with an additional cavern of souls) going forward. Chalice is incredibly well positioned in the current meta.
Going forward I've been experimenting with 3 captain and 2 kira in the mainboard and it has actually been performing very well as phoenix has taken over my local metagame pretty heavily. I am also exxperimenting with a full set of thalia in the mainboard as she is incredibly powerful right now and a key card in many matchups.
Thank you for skimming/reading I apologise for the length of this post, but I've been meaning to become more active on these forums for a while, and I wanted to share my experiences. You can look forward to normal sized posts in the future
Hey guys, my name is Evan Berg I've been putting up results with Azorius spirits in both paper and mtgo leagues (EnigmaNJ).I most recently top 8d two IQs in the same weekend March 23/24 the deck feels amazing right now and actually well positioned going forward despite Bant still being the more popular variant. I started playing spirits about a month and a half before the KCI ban, I first picked azorius as the "budget version" more than anything but I quickly fell in love with the deck, I'd always wanted to play an aether vial deck so I was stoked I was planning on picking up nobles and cocos eventually to play bant, never happened because azorius was such a blast to play with rattlechains shenanigans and being almost like a tempo taxes that could hold its own in the format.
Enough about that though, I started with a mostly stock azorius list
4x mausoleum wanderer
3x paths
4x vial
4x chains
3x selfless
2x phantasmal
4x supreme
3x thalia, guardian
4x queller
4x captain
1x Kira (always loved her in the deck even pre deputy)
2x nebelgast herald (my tech against humans since it was top dog at the time, soo good)
Grinding leagues everyday that I could and hitting an SCG or some form of 1k on saturdays, I began testing other versions as the meta evolved, mtgo is always different than paper meta-wise, and I like being a little more creative on mtgo because of the ease of access to all cards. Here are a few different lists I posted 5-0 with and explanations to the card choices.
This was my first, and oddest of them all. Right after Guilds came out on mtgo I wanted to test some cards I'd been thinking about from guilds (tithe taker, forbidding spirit) as well as some sideboard options (Fragmentize, Eidolon of rhetoric, remand), Spirit of the labyrinth was also getting a test run as a 2-of in the mainboard. I think I benefited a lot from people not knowing about tithe taker, it has two very relevant abilities and is a pseudo two-for-one, figuratively good dead or alive lol. Forbidding Spirit was great against humans/spirits but the meta was beginning to shift, I keep him in the maybeboard binder, card is powerful, and in a version with phantasmals could be great in a creature intensive meta. Eidolon was great and stuck in the sideboard from then until now, almost a necessity against gds/phoenix and combo decks amongst others. Spirit of the labyrinth was a little too squishy at the time, however now that Phoenix is down to one gut shot main in izzet, I think it could be viable in the mainboard at this time.
I wanted another one drop creature, very badly lol, so after scouring gatherer for a few days I stumbled upon Siren Stormtsmer (I had not been playing magic at all during amonkhet, ixalan, and most of dominaria standards so I didn't know much about those sets. She was great in the briefly midrange/phoenix heavy meta that I was experiencing at this time,had flying evasion fittingly, and had a better turn aside stapled to her that didn't require tapping to activate. I still think shes a gem, and with dredge falling off a little in overall percentage I could see myself playing her in the 75 again sometime in the near future. Eidolon was also in the main as the influx phoenix continued.This was my first league with Deputy of Detention also, which has proven to become a staple in our deck as well as humans. I still think reflector is better for bant because of coco but DoD has been firmly slotted as a 2-3 of mainboard card for me ever since this league. Siren is also very playable. dovin ban was never seen and never really needed juries out there.
Curious obsession is great, I took this same list to t32 at the NJ regionals, when humans was still dominant this version felt ideal. With phoenix decks now all over, it isnt as good but if the meta shifts away I'll be playing this again. Hurkyl's was amazing out of the board, I was talking to an old friend who played fish in the past, I remembered the card during our chat he helped me identify the name. Its proven invaluable since and has become a staple in my board. Stony actually isnt that good right now so going forward I shifted my artifact to two hurkyl's or two and one kataki if I expect a lot of whir/affinity/tron. Alliance is also great if youre expecting a lot of burn/gds/amulet titan. Stroke has proven to be the best counterspell out of the board for Azorius in particular as in some matches we don't want to develop our board quickly which could be awkward with unified will. Stroke also covers/overlaps with queller almost ideally, just feels good overall, all-star against amulet titan/tron/combo can be used against gurmsg angler decks as well.
These are my most recent results, two IQs in one weeekend, topped both, went into the bernardsville IQ at top seed to boot. I also used this list at the philadelphia open and started 5-1 before variance took me out. Unfortunately I saw bad variance in both quarterfinal rounds of the Iqs as well and was unable to advance further.
remorseful cleric overperformed all weekend as I played against a lot of dredge, it allowed me to steal game ones on multiple occasions in what couldve easily been blowouts in those occasions had I not had it.
Declaration in stone is extremely good right now, I highly recommend it to combat humans/gds/phoenix/dredge/affinity/tron/amulet/mirrors sometimes giving the opponent a land with path feels really bad, dec in stone feels better and although sorcery speed it feels more like a two mana maelstrom pulse in white than anything most of the times you cast it, and being two mana it doesnt even feel bad as a 1-1, bonus synergy with kataki/hurkyls.
Chalice of the void is a very powerful addition I unfortunately did not play against many decks that it was good against that weekend so I felt like I had a 12 card sideboard for the majority of it, shoutout to therift on discord for being the mastermind behind it, I will be playing this version in larger events (with an additional cavern of souls) going forward. Chalice is incredibly well positioned in the current meta.
Going forward I've been experimenting with 3 captain and 2 kira in the mainboard and it has actually been performing very well as phoenix has taken over my local metagame pretty heavily. I am also exxperimenting with a full set of thalia in the mainboard as she is incredibly powerful right now and a key card in many matchups.
Thank you for skimming/reading I apologise for the length of this post, but I've been meaning to become more active on these forums for a while, and I wanted to share my experiences. You can look forward to normal sized posts in the future
I am really glad to see you posting on here. I noticed that you placed in those last few IQs. I am very interested in your Azorius Spirits lists. The most difficult part for me has been side boarding with Azorius Spirits. Do you have a side board guide by chance? What match ups do you usually bring in Chalice of the Void and what do you usually take out?
post your current sideboard and I can make a little cheat sheet for you, i would be bringing in chalice vs phoenix variants, gds, storm (on 2), vs storm I cut kira path and a vial, vs gds I'll cut 2 paths 1 drogskol, and one vial, for 3 chalice and 1 dec in stone (dec in stone is almost needed if youre playing chalice). phoenix variants, 1 drogskol, 1 vial, 1 path, for chalices, then I'll also add eidolon of rhetoric(s), Dec in stone, and one damping sphere if on the play, ill cut a thalia, 1-2 deputy, and either a selfless or an additional vial for them. It also depends if I see pyromancer ascension or not.
on the play I would probably bring in chalice and damping sphere with disdainful stroke if you run that, dec in stone shines here especially with kataki, deals with wurmcoil and ulamog very well.
post your current sideboard and I can make a little cheat sheet for you, i would be bringing in chalice vs phoenix variants, gds, storm (on 2), vs storm I cut kira path and a vial, vs gds I'll cut 2 paths 1 drogskol, and one vial, for 3 chalice and 1 dec in stone (dec in stone is almost needed if youre playing chalice). phoenix variants, 1 drogskol, 1 vial, 1 path, for chalices, then I'll also add eidolon of rhetoric(s), Dec in stone, and one damping sphere if on the play, ill cut a thalia, 1-2 deputy, and either a selfless or an additional vial for them. It also depends if I see pyromancer ascension or not.
Here is the list that I have been playing. I was playing Azorius Spirits and I feel like they play similarly. I would like to go back to Azorius but I felt like Esper was more powerful. I like your list though and am thinking that it may be just as powerful.
Do you guys think its crucial to play Geist of Saint Trraft in the main?
I swapped two of them in my main to 2x Nebelgast Herald and put Geists in my sideboard vs control and Tron
thoughts?
Registered because this seems like THE post for UW spirits right now (is there another I’m missing?)
@Aramchik - I love me some Geist, and try to jam it everywhere, but for me, Remorseful Cleric and Eidolon of Rhetoric are performing much better in my meta. If you face a lot of tron and control, I could see Geist being in the main for sure.
For the Esper souls: I've been giving a chance to Kaya, orzhov usurper, and I'm pleased. A closer look reveals how many 1cmc permanents are actually present in the top 6-7 decks of the format and how many of them do take benefit out of their graveyard, making both the +1 and -1 potentially relevant. It's slow, as every PW, but it does work and gives you a chance to shot the opponent with her ultimate. Differently from Dovin, which I'm replacing with Kira, Kaya does stuff with her +1 instead of just setting up, and she does gain life going up, something sweet against burn. However she doesn't protect herself on an empty board as Dovin does, this is why I believe Dovin is a maindeckable PW, Kaya is a sideboard option. I love the extra interaction with the graveyard that my sideboard features now, I think 4x anti graveyard effects are important nowadays.
Today I attended a 40 people tourney facing Whirl L, Bant Spirits W, Shadow D, Nausea W, UR Kiki W and Amulet Titan W, and made it into the top8, losing to UW control. I actually didn't miss Worship, which I do a bit more at the FNM level where linear aggro decks show up more consistently.
Also, I'm bringing back Kira in my 75: I think it is really important to play Kira in Esper because of the Humans and Spirits mirror. Deputy of Detention is a nightmare when you re running lingering souls; since I moved to Esper two months ago, Kira has been the card I ve been missing the most. Kira's so good against humans and spirits because of Deputy and reflector, UR/Grixis/jund/jeskai/GB and burn too because she counters all of their searing effects.
When you re not playing curious obsession, I believe it's a mistake not to have Kira whetever the non-Bant splash you are playing is. Same goes for the split Deputy-Detention Shpere in whatever non-company version, because you want the exile effect against Torpor Orb and something extra agsint shadow that is not dying to removal spells.
here's the first draft of the deck
4 mausoleum wanderer
4 rattlechains
3 selfless spirit
3 phantasmal image
4 supreme phantom
4 drogskol captain
4 spell queller
2 deputy of detention
spells (11)
4 aether vial
4 path to exile
3 lingering souls
2 cavern of souls
3 seachrome coast
1 darkslick shores
4 flooded strand
3 polluted delta
1 hallowed fountain
1 godless shrine
2 island
1 plains
3 horizon canopy
3 rest in peace
2 stony silence
2 damping sphere
3 unified will
2 eidolon of rhetoric
3 leyline of sanctity
thoughts:
4 polluted delta
1 marsh flats
1 hallowed fountain
1 watery grave
1 godless shrine
2 island
1 plains
3 horizon canopy
3 mutavault
Elves || GSpirits G || Spirits || Fish
Pauper
GElvesG || CAffinityC
Commander
G Roon (and the Hidden Realms) G
I would never take out Thalia. She swtiches off so may modern decks. She is A MUST HAVE at least TWO in the deck
It is an interesting take because it cut the reactive spells and moved them to the sideboard. Specifically, it cut rattlechains, and moved two to the SB, and only had two Quellers MB, with two more in the SB. Conversely, it ran four Remorseful Cleric main, along with disruptive elements like Thalia and Deputy of Detention.
I personally don't love the SB, especially the two copies of Condemn. Feels like you could do something more powerful there. I also don't like running UW and not having RIP. That said, its an interesting approach, taking a more aggressive angle, using Deputy to clear the path for those final points of damage by a Geist.
Anyone have any thoughts on the list and approach?
Sometimes Deputy of Detention buys me precisely one turn, which is all I need. Other times it eats multiple copies of Amulet of Vigor or a swarm of tokens. Not instantly scooping to Ensnaring Bridge game 1 is a nice bonus, too.
Upon seeing your list, I think you need a mainboard Eidolon of Rhetoric if you have a lot of phoenix in your local meta. A protected eidolon will sometimes just stymie your opponent.
Ok, just got back from FNM. I switched 2x phantasmal images to 2x Remorsefull Clerics. These spirits are INSANE against URphoenix and Dredge. Ended up beating Both of them and losing 1:2 only to 5c Humans
Not going back to images at the moment
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
2 Remorseful Cleric
4 Supreme phantom
4 spell queller
4 drogskol captain
2 deputy of detention
Spells
4 path to exile
4 aether vial
3 lingering souls
2 cavern of souls
4 seachrome coast
4 flooded strand
3 polluted delta
1 hallowed fountain
1 godless shrine
2 island
1 plains
3 horizon canopy
3 rest in peace
2 stony silence
2 eidolon of rhetoric
2 damping sphere
3 unified will
3 leyline of sanctity
thoughts:
Elves || GSpirits G || Spirits || Fish
Pauper
GElvesG || CAffinityC
Commander
G Roon (and the Hidden Realms) G
4 Mausoleum wanderer
4 rattlechains
4 selfless spirit
4 eidolon of the great revel
4 supreme phantom
4 drogskol captain
4 spell queller
3 phantasmal image
1 remorseful cleric
Spells 8
4 Aether vial
4 Lightning bolt
4 flooded strand
1 island
1 plains
3 spirebluff canal
4 cavern of souls
2 unclaimed terroity
1 hallowed fountain
1 sacred foundry
2 steam vents
1 cascade bluffs
2 Thalia, guardian of thraben
2 kataki, wars wage
2 distainful stroke
3 spell pierce
1 kira, great glass-spinner
1 remorseful cleric
2 lavinia, azorius renegade
2 spirit of the labyrinth
Round 1 vs affinity 2-0
Game 1 he dropped his hand on turn 1 and I still was able to squeak out a win after he swings in with his only two flyers.
Game 2 he mulls to 5 and it wasn't much of a game.
Round 2 vs valakut 2-1
Game 1 i get down a turn 2 eidolon and he loses to the swings and damage it does.
Game 2 he gets there after a land heavy flood. I had a chance to tax his 2 summoners pacts but it would have left me with just a selfless spirit and I thought I could win the next turn if he didn't target one of my spirits with a trigger forcing me to sac a selfless. I still would have had game if I drew a spirit but it was another land.
Game 3 I stick a turn 1 vial, into turn 2 eidolon and wanderer on his turn, then double lord putting him too 2 and he scoops.
Round 3 vs amulet titan 2-0
Game 1 bolt the tribe scout and follow that up with an eidolon. The next turn is a lord and vial. This gets us to a turn where he plays pact I activate vial putting in a wanderer then spell quell his pact, he plays another with the wanderer trigger on the stack. I let it resolve doing the math and he gets titan and plays it. My turn I put him to 4. His turn he drops too 2 playing an amulet, attacks with titan goes up to 4 with the white land that gains 2 and gives it double strike while I'm at 10. I have the eidolon untapped and block taking 9 and he concedes cause I have 6 on the crack back.
Game 2 I drop a vial, then next turn is an eidolon followed by another the next turn, followed by lord and queller, followed by bolt for the win.
Round 4 vs abzan druid combo 2-1
Game 1 I just remember eidolon doing a lot of damage and a bolt on the druid and a queller on a coco.
Game 2 I spell pierced a coco which lets him stick a worship. I have an out if I draw a bolt but don't and scoop.
Game 3 I come out the gates hot with the eidolon on torn two followed by a lord and get him to where he has the vizier and druid in play but it has summoning sickness. I swing to put him to 2 and he is forced to block with the vizier and when he goes for the coco the following turn I have the disdainful stroke.
Round 5 vs a 4 color druid combo 2-0
Game 1 I bolt the bird and get a board presence that ends up with them eldrich evolutioning away a creature with me quellering it in response for the concession
Game 2 I hit a early eidolon with a vial back up and when he tries to path it I have the wanderer. I do end up bolting 2 of his 3 druids but the third is too late. I have leathal in the air.
Round 6 & 7 are both ID
Top 8 vs grixis shadow 2-1
Game 1 I mull to 6 on the play and get there. Don't remember much just that it was close.
Game 2 I mull, he then plays a thoughtsieze, followed by iok, and I scoop to a liliana, last hope
Game 3 I mull to a 1 lander + vial and he keeps a 1 lander with double hand disruption and triple push. I play vial he siezes and takes rattle chains. I miss land 2 and pass, he misses as well and tries an IOK and I vial in a wanderer and sac. Turn 3 I hit a fetch land and pass. He misses another land and passes. I hit a second fetch and pass. end of turn he tries to thought scour and I pop both fetches and queller it. his turn he somehow attempts to kill my queller and I vial in a captain. I then chip away at him and by the time he hits the next land my board is too much and he concedes.
Top 4 vs golgari 2-1 (we split and are playing for invites)
Game 1 I mull to 5 but the game is still close with me ultimately conceding.
Game 2 I get a turn 2 thalia that he wasn't expecting and it takes him enough I can slow him down to get to a board state with his life at 9 and me with the thalia, an eidolon, and a queller. He dropps a liliana, last hope and goes to 7. He kills the thalia and I swing for 4 to put him to 3 and then bolt him for the win.
Game 3 he mulls to 5 but I keep a land heavy hand. His only threat is a goyf and it ends up being a really close game with him getting some good top decks. However I end up swinging him to 2 life with a spirit lord back and an eidolon in play vs his goyf. He draws then concedes.
Finals we don't play since we split cash in top 4 and each now have an invite. He says he is just a few points short of 1300 and I offer him the win.
I know a lot of people don't like the main deck eidolon of the great revels but I have won so many games with my opponent at 2 and one of those out I am sold on them. They speed up the clock dramatically. There are very few decks in modern I don't want them in against. I want to drop one of the images for a second cleric and fit some leyline of sanctity in the board and an echoing truth or two. Other than that I thought the deck felt really strong.
Half of the metagame right now is hostile to mainboard eidolon: humans, burn, dredge( and midrange to some extent ) are matchups where eidolon works against you. Bant Spirts is also one of those where the variability is too high to justify it in the 60s.
Eidolon is great and pushes the race by its own when you re against a slower deck, otherwise is a card that ends up hitting you more than the opponent. You really have to cross your fingest and hope to find control, combo or some deck working with lots of cheap spells like whirl or phoenix.
To be honest, of the matchups you have mentioned, I think golgari was the only dubious one , it can be either good or quite bad, it depends on the first 3 tuns of the game and the number of goyfs they play. Affinity is also a tricky one if they deploy their hand soon enough.
Same goes for bolt, it can be as efficient as push at removing creatures or just a card to throw at the opponent's face. It does steal games, but I ended up not finding it realiable on a long run because you have no way to take care of goyfs, kalitas, Things, Drakes, late game champions or pumped humans, it fails at killing a spell queller when they've got a phantom down, there're too many spots where it comes too late and shooting the face is the only appealing option.
It's also possible that one should go all in on the burn strategy, pretty much like you did with 4 Eid, 4 Bolts, but the liability is there and is quite big.
I'm going to look at the jeskai version.
Enough about that though, I started with a mostly stock azorius list
4x mausoleum wanderer
3x paths
4x vial
4x chains
3x selfless
2x phantasmal
4x supreme
3x thalia, guardian
4x queller
4x captain
1x Kira (always loved her in the deck even pre deputy)
2x nebelgast herald (my tech against humans since it was top dog at the time, soo good)
Grinding leagues everyday that I could and hitting an SCG or some form of 1k on saturdays, I began testing other versions as the meta evolved, mtgo is always different than paper meta-wise, and I like being a little more creative on mtgo because of the ease of access to all cards. Here are a few different lists I posted 5-0 with and explanations to the card choices.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1597839#paper
This was my first, and oddest of them all. Right after Guilds came out on mtgo I wanted to test some cards I'd been thinking about from guilds (tithe taker, forbidding spirit) as well as some sideboard options (Fragmentize, Eidolon of rhetoric, remand), Spirit of the labyrinth was also getting a test run as a 2-of in the mainboard. I think I benefited a lot from people not knowing about tithe taker, it has two very relevant abilities and is a pseudo two-for-one, figuratively good dead or alive lol. Forbidding Spirit was great against humans/spirits but the meta was beginning to shift, I keep him in the maybeboard binder, card is powerful, and in a version with phantasmals could be great in a creature intensive meta. Eidolon was great and stuck in the sideboard from then until now, almost a necessity against gds/phoenix and combo decks amongst others. Spirit of the labyrinth was a little too squishy at the time, however now that Phoenix is down to one gut shot main in izzet, I think it could be viable in the mainboard at this time.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1635688#paper
I wanted another one drop creature, very badly lol, so after scouring gatherer for a few days I stumbled upon Siren Stormtsmer (I had not been playing magic at all during amonkhet, ixalan, and most of dominaria standards so I didn't know much about those sets. She was great in the briefly midrange/phoenix heavy meta that I was experiencing at this time,had flying evasion fittingly, and had a better turn aside stapled to her that didn't require tapping to activate. I still think shes a gem, and with dredge falling off a little in overall percentage I could see myself playing her in the 75 again sometime in the near future. Eidolon was also in the main as the influx phoenix continued.This was my first league with Deputy of Detention also, which has proven to become a staple in our deck as well as humans. I still think reflector is better for bant because of coco but DoD has been firmly slotted as a 2-3 of mainboard card for me ever since this league. Siren is also very playable. dovin ban was never seen and never really needed juries out there.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1673915#paper
Curious obsession is great, I took this same list to t32 at the NJ regionals, when humans was still dominant this version felt ideal. With phoenix decks now all over, it isnt as good but if the meta shifts away I'll be playing this again. Hurkyl's was amazing out of the board, I was talking to an old friend who played fish in the past, I remembered the card during our chat he helped me identify the name. Its proven invaluable since and has become a staple in my board. Stony actually isnt that good right now so going forward I shifted my artifact to two hurkyl's or two and one kataki if I expect a lot of whir/affinity/tron. Alliance is also great if youre expecting a lot of burn/gds/amulet titan. Stroke has proven to be the best counterspell out of the board for Azorius in particular as in some matches we don't want to develop our board quickly which could be awkward with unified will. Stroke also covers/overlaps with queller almost ideally, just feels good overall, all-star against amulet titan/tron/combo can be used against gurmsg angler decks as well.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1744059#paper
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1742479#paper
These are my most recent results, two IQs in one weeekend, topped both, went into the bernardsville IQ at top seed to boot. I also used this list at the philadelphia open and started 5-1 before variance took me out. Unfortunately I saw bad variance in both quarterfinal rounds of the Iqs as well and was unable to advance further.
remorseful cleric overperformed all weekend as I played against a lot of dredge, it allowed me to steal game ones on multiple occasions in what couldve easily been blowouts in those occasions had I not had it.
Declaration in stone is extremely good right now, I highly recommend it to combat humans/gds/phoenix/dredge/affinity/tron/amulet/mirrors sometimes giving the opponent a land with path feels really bad, dec in stone feels better and although sorcery speed it feels more like a two mana maelstrom pulse in white than anything most of the times you cast it, and being two mana it doesnt even feel bad as a 1-1, bonus synergy with kataki/hurkyls.
Chalice of the void is a very powerful addition I unfortunately did not play against many decks that it was good against that weekend so I felt like I had a 12 card sideboard for the majority of it, shoutout to therift on discord for being the mastermind behind it, I will be playing this version in larger events (with an additional cavern of souls) going forward. Chalice is incredibly well positioned in the current meta.
Going forward I've been experimenting with 3 captain and 2 kira in the mainboard and it has actually been performing very well as phoenix has taken over my local metagame pretty heavily. I am also exxperimenting with a full set of thalia in the mainboard as she is incredibly powerful right now and a key card in many matchups.
Thank you for skimming/reading I apologise for the length of this post, but I've been meaning to become more active on these forums for a while, and I wanted to share my experiences. You can look forward to normal sized posts in the future
I am really glad to see you posting on here. I noticed that you placed in those last few IQs. I am very interested in your Azorius Spirits lists. The most difficult part for me has been side boarding with Azorius Spirits. Do you have a side board guide by chance? What match ups do you usually bring in Chalice of the Void and what do you usually take out?
Here is the list that I have been playing. I was playing Azorius Spirits and I feel like they play similarly. I would like to go back to Azorius but I felt like Esper was more powerful. I like your list though and am thinking that it may be just as powerful.
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Spell Queller
4 Supreme Phantom
Land: 21
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
2 Seachrome Coast
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
3 Fatal Push
3 Path to Exile
Sorcery: 5
2 Collective Brutality
3 Lingering Souls
Enchantment: 1
1 Curious Obsession
Artifact: 4
4 Aether Vial
1 Damping Sphere
1 Path to Exile
1 Collective Brutality
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Countersquall
2 Rest in Peace
2 Deputy of Detention
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
I swapped two of them in my main to 2x Nebelgast Herald and put Geists in my sideboard vs control and Tron
thoughts?
@Aramchik - I love me some Geist, and try to jam it everywhere, but for me, Remorseful Cleric and Eidolon of Rhetoric are performing much better in my meta. If you face a lot of tron and control, I could see Geist being in the main for sure.
Evan, how’d the weekend go?
Today I attended a 40 people tourney facing Whirl L, Bant Spirits W, Shadow D, Nausea W, UR Kiki W and Amulet Titan W, and made it into the top8, losing to UW control. I actually didn't miss Worship, which I do a bit more at the FNM level where linear aggro decks show up more consistently.
Also, I'm bringing back Kira in my 75: I think it is really important to play Kira in Esper because of the Humans and Spirits mirror. Deputy of Detention is a nightmare when you re running lingering souls; since I moved to Esper two months ago, Kira has been the card I ve been missing the most. Kira's so good against humans and spirits because of Deputy and reflector, UR/Grixis/jund/jeskai/GB and burn too because she counters all of their searing effects.
When you re not playing curious obsession, I believe it's a mistake not to have Kira whetever the non-Bant splash you are playing is. Same goes for the split Deputy-Detention Shpere in whatever non-company version, because you want the exile effect against Torpor Orb and something extra agsint shadow that is not dying to removal spells.
This is my list with the latest adjustments:
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Rattlechains
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Spell Queller
4 Drogskol Captain
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Spells: 14
4 Aether Vial
3 Fatal Push
2 Path to Exile
2 Collective Brutality
3 Lingering Souls
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Darkslick Shore
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest In Peace
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Damping Sphere
2 Countersquall
1 Favorable winds
1 Deputy of Detention
1 Detention Sphere
1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Eidolon of Rhetoric and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner together are as good as or better than 2x Drogskol, anybody try this angle out at all?