MTG Salvation

This sideboarding guide came out today.

Damn, I've been testing the Dredge matchup and it seems nearly unwinnable in game 1

It's Magic ! Creeping Chill is the most annoying card to me, because it helps them recover even if I got a fast flipped Titi. The randomness of Dredge is frustrating at times, for both sides of the table. Don't bother about G1.

Quick question, why opt over sleight of hand?

Is it because Instant > sorcery?

Opt, instant speed, scry 1 and maybe blind draw
Sleight of hand, sorcery, draw the best of two, the other one ends up at the bottom of your library.

I tend to lean toward Sleight of hand but recent winning decklists run 4 Opt and 0 Sleight of hand.

What am I missing here?

Quote from ichi the killer »

Quick question, why opt over sleight of hand?

Is it because Instant > sorcery?

Opt, instant speed, scry 1 and maybe blind draw
Sleight of hand, sorcery, draw the best of two, the other one ends up at the bottom of your library.

I tend to lean toward Sleight of hand but recent winning decklists run 4 Opt and 0 Sleight of hand.

What am I missing here?

I thought the same as you but what if they are there for the TiTis transformation at instant speed?

Question: Looking ahead, should Faithless Looting get banned, can this deck still exist? Has anyone considered or tested alternatives?

Note: I do not believe a ban is necessary, but a lot of talking heads seem to be pushing this. Notably, ones who have some other pet deck...

Opt > Sleight of hand
Its often necessary not to tap out, so you actually try to play responsive at some point. I could think of various scenarios. First one coming in mind: turn 1 you actually decide to cast opt eot or bolt a goblin guide responding to the trigger (damn I hate the burn matchup). With opt, you're also not forced to put a good card on the bottom (sleight of hand->drawing for example 2 phoenixes).
The deck in general is full of cards you actually want to draw or you have already a good hand and every card is a good addition to your hand, I actually love the topdecks this deck has.

Faithless Looting:
If a ban happens, what would be the best replacement in this deck? Cathartic reunion, izzet charm or (not) desperate ravings? None of them seem to be a fair replacement looking on the value looting is giving this deck...

And then, the most fair thing would be printing a new card with a 2 cmc looting with flashback...

Hi all,

I'm trying to decide how is the best way to tune the deck, and I'm stuck doubts on the last cards:

1) Izzet charm: Is it worth 1x if you already have 2x Lightning Axe?

2) Crackling Drake: Shall we agree that 2x main os OK? I think this is the main tendency right now. I have doubts that it may be slow and high cost (we have 18 lands)

3) Pteramander: Why playing 2x of those over 2x Young Pyromancer or 2x Pyromancer Ascension? In my meta, the decks are playing the Ascension, but I'm not sure why it's used over the Pteramander or the Young Pyromancer. Also, regarding Games 2 and 3, Pteramander is a way worse card than Young Pyromancer (GY hate). Could you tell me why chose one over the other? Also, if I should face Mirror, Amulet Titan, Burn and Horde decks (spirits, goblins, merfolks...) what's best?

Thanks for your help,


Jrdi

2 weeks ago I went 4-1 and last friday 3-0-1 on fnm with this cards besides the main list:
3 crackling drake
2 pteramander
2 fiery temper instead of gut shots
1 surgical extraction
2 thought scour

I can say that crackling drake always approves itself just by looking at my opponent's face when I cast it, same goes for looting/axe into madness fiery temper.

Playing that way makes me feel I play an midrangy deck with some twist in it. The huge amount of responses (izzet charm, axe, bolt, fiery temper) makes this deck really versatile and having the few more creatures always paid off.

I tried pyromancers ascension but it felt like i was just passing a turn doing nothing. Once it goes off it's bonkers, for me more like a "win more" card in this deck. It's especially good against mirror, but not that great since everybody has graveyard hate prepared more often even in pre board games.

Izzet charm: Is it worth 1x if you already have 2x Lightning Axe?

It's gonna be super situational. Charm shines only when its three modes are useful in a MU. If you have nothing worth countering and your cantrip count is already maxed out, no need to play Charm. It's a meta call.

2) Crackling Drake: Shall we agree that 2x main os OK? I think this is the main tendency right now. I have doubts that it may be slow and high cost (we have 18 lands)

Don't worry, trust the history of the deck. It's similar to Titi, it's somewhat hard to get it to work sometimes, but the pay-off is worth it.

Also, regarding Games 2 and 3, Pteramander is a way worse card than Young Pyromancer (GY hate). Could you tell me why chose one over the other? Also, if I should face Mirror, Amulet Titan, Burn and Horde decks (spirits, goblins, merfolks...) what's best?

Ptera over YP. You can't buy time with YP VS Titan, Spirits and the mirror. It seems better to race those decks with as many flyers as possible. Post-SB Ptera is a card you may wanna cut, especially if it's just 2 slots.

What do you think is the best strategy for beating the mirror? I've read Guillaume Matignon's article and he is a strong believer in Pyromancer Ascension. I've also read elsewhere that it doesn't help with potential grave hate. In Brian Demars' article, he said that he sides out 4 Lightning Bolt vs. the mirror, which obviously wouldn't be the case if he played Pyromancer Ascension. I don't think that is right in any case.

1. Do you like Pyromancer Ascension or not and why?

2. What finishers do you like, outside of the two 4 ofs?

3. Do you like Threads of Disloyalty or Beacon Bolt? Why?

4.

This instead of snappy..?



Dreadhorde Arcanist
1R
Creature - Zombie Wizard
Trample
Whenever Dreadhorde Arcanist attacks, you may cast target instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost less than or equal to Dreadhorde Arcanist's power from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.

Quote from iSergiant »

This instead of snappy..?



Dreadhorde Arcanist
1R
Creature - Zombie Wizard
Trample
Whenever Dreadhorde Arcanist attacks, you may cast target instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost less than or equal to Dreadhorde Arcanist's power from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.

Not without any way to pump its power. It might be playable in Modern, but it needs suspend cards.

Really needed Prowess rather than Trample.

Is there any new Sideboard Guide ?

Does anyone think this deck will be banned on 20th May ?

Any and all discussion of potential banning of cards should be discussed on the main thread here. Future discussion in the wrong forum will issue a warning. — Xaricore

How good do you think Lava Dart is in this deck? It's 2 spells at instant speed for only R and a Mountain! And those spells deal 1 damage each (so they're better than do-nothings)! Shame graveyard hate reduces it to just an inefficient Gut Shot....

Overall, we don't run that many mountains. I realized it as I tried the card already. It probably makes it a playable 1-of, but certainly not a 2-of in my taste. We play like 4-5 mountains and 7 fetchlands, and even though we fetch for Vents most of the time, there are plenty of games where we don't see a fetch or a Vents at all.

Another interesting card to me is the Horizon land : Fiery Islet. I don't know how many the deck can support though. We can probably cut a Spirebluff Canal and a Sulfur Falls.

Quote from headminerve »

Overall, we don't run that many mountains. I realized it as I tried the card already. It probably makes it a playable 1-of, but certainly not a 2-of in my taste. We play like 4-5 mountains and 7 fetchlands, and even though we fetch for Vents most of the time, there are plenty of games where we don't see a fetch or a Vents at all.

Another interesting card to me is the Horizon land : Fiery Islet. I don't know how many the deck can support though. We can probably cut a Spirebluff Canal and a Sulfur Falls.

Tried Fiery Islet tonight on Cockatrice and it was great! The additional gas is awesome (even if the additional pain sometimes isn't). Ditched 2 Spirebluff Canal, a Steam Vents (so I went down to 1 of that), and a Mountain fetch for 4 Islets.

What about seasoned pyromancer; is he worth a spot?

And fists of flame or lava dart? 1 of?

How are you folks going to min/max your mana? Is this too greedy?