How did the deck do?
Was your mana base consistent or non consistent. When you restore balanced could you do it consistently and was it favorable for you. How were the rest of the games?
Few card questions
Claws of Gix?
How was Chandra. Did you ever find her first ability to mess you up? Being getting a suspend card.
Why Wheel of Fate?
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
That’s actually a similar list to my early tests. I eventually cut the baubles, gix, and wheels in favor of more bolts and dig spells. Baubles just don’t feel that great for us, gix is clunky with the mana spent to sacrifice permanents, and the wheels would help my opponent more often than myself.
Anyone have any idea if Leyline of Anticipation is worth running? I'm debating putting 2 into my sideboard for better match ups against combo, midrange, and control since on the ends of their turns I can flash stuff in like a Foretold and start ticking it faster, or a Nahiri. Or flash a post in at eot to save tempo
I've been told it's more of a win more card and not a win card. Wondered if anyone had any opinions
I personally see Leyline of Anticipation as a win-more card. It can do some really cool flashy things but if you don't start the game with it out then it seems like you're adding dead cards to the deck. I think that the idea is solid and the card could be powerful so it's worth testing probably.
That's the problem i had with running the Leyline of Sanctity. Great against 2 deck types but unless had them in opening super dead. I think with any Leyline you need 4x to make it work and i only have 2 SB slots open. I want to use it but I hate dead cards and this Leyline is the least dead.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
I started a new ElectroBalance list that I've been enjoying so far. I think that it gives a bit more finishing speed and potential than a lot of the other ones so far.
I tried to put in more ways to actually capitalize on the balance effects, such as Izzet Boilerworks, Mana Seism, and Devastating Summons. I'm currently testing and so far I'm really liking it but will definitely need some more time before doing a full write up.
It did very well. Never had mana problems, and i consistently balanced the board. Sometimes just to swipe creatures, because i was missing a finisher. Having as foretold on the battlefield and gargadon to sac lands is gg. Chandra is a blast as finisher and with as foretold on the battlefield is awesome. Without as foretold you risk to pick up a suspendable card but that's not a real problem. Surely is faster than jace. Claws of gix is like an additional gargadon, it helps to sac lands before going off. Someone is playing devastating summons, i have to try it, seems better for sure. And wheel of fate is a boost. Usually the turn that you cast/resolve it you go off easily
I'm running Devastating Summons. It's super sweet to do summons, hold priority, elctrobalance. You can in theory do this on turn 3 to leave 2 3/3's on a totally wiped board.
I also think that Chandra is great because you can play her turn 4, +1 for mana, then balance off of that to leave her on an empty board. If they don't have answers it's basically game over from there.
So i guess what I'm not understanding is i feel most of these tricks work once.
Devastating Summons I feel only works once since you have to make creatures and sacrifice lands and then you're left with no lands and a board of vanilla dudes that in today's modern meta have a host of ways to remove. (Supreme Verdict, Detention Sphere, Cryptic Command, etc)
Claws of Gix, or any variant feels like a slower version to wipe the board in your favor.
And then I'm still not sold on Chandra as a win con planeswalker. No one has given me a case on why she's so great for the deck.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
Think of devastating summons like restarting the game, but with at least 6 power on the board. Your opponent can’t build up any of the removal you said in time, especially since our curve is probably lower than theirs and once we have threats on the board we use counters to protect them.
Hypothetically you can do this turn 4, and leave no lands on the board, but 8 power worth of creatures. In modern against most decks, that’s a 2 turn clock that they are fighting without lands and probably 3 or less cards in hand.
You can tap out to play Chandra on turn 4, but with her +1 you can wipe the board that same turn. Planeswalker and a board wipe on turn 4 is a good modern play against most decks. Plus her ult is definitely game winning so she needs to be answered.
Exiling the top card isn’t bad either, especially with as foretold out. It’s just more card advantage that lets you grind out the win.
So why is everyone running Chandra? When did she become the go to in this version?
On average in your playtesting and actual games what turn can you RB + Summons? I feel if it's too late they'll counter the spell.
I guess my problem with this deck is the too many moving parts to accomplish what the old version can do with less. Probably me being old and set in my ways.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
SaffronOlive did a restore balance deck with Chandra fairly recently that spiked the interest but personally my decision was based on:
1. With the no cascade version, I’m going to be UR. I know that I’m going to want a Planeswalker threat so I really am only left with Jace or Chandra as options. (JTMS is sweet but costs way more money than I want to spend)
2. Electrodominance costs XRR, Chandra’s +1 gives you RR. Plus when you’re trying to sac your lands before the balance, having a Planeswalker that gives you mana let’s you break the symmetry.
3. All of Chandra’s other abilities are relevant enough. Her ult will win the game, +1 to exile a card is usually just card advantage when you use it and the chances of it burning something crucial are pretty low. Even if it does, she still does damage to help ping down the opponent. Her -2 is basically a free bolt, useful for spot removal or if you need to race.
I know that I’ll want a Planeswalker threat to break the symmetry of balance. I personally can’t think of another one that works better than her right now. The deck is still new though so if you have a suggestion I will definitely test it and let you know.
I would also say that this deck isn’t totally reliant on the summons + balance combo. I’m currently testing with 2 summons, 2 mana seism, and 4 Gargadon so there are 8 ways to sac your lands when you balance. That tends to be how I brew decks though, my goal is usually 8 ways to cast an important effect. For example, 4 Tolaria west + 4 restore balance, 4 electro dominance + 4 As Foretold. With Ancestral Vision, and serum visions you usually have enough draw and control over your draws to find the combination of effects that you need.
I would say that on average you can cast restore balance on turn 3/4. You can in theory do it turn 2 if you need it though. Currently, the deck feels very resilient to me. I’ll do a full write up soon but one of the nice things I found was playing against a thoughtseize deck and being able to hold onto a Tolaria west until you can transmute it and cast restore balance in the same turn because they can’t take it from you.
I’ve been doing my testing on XMage so far so if you have concepts you like, I’ll plug them in and give it a shot.
went 2-2 last saturday on my first paper run after a couple online matches to get a feel. immediately liked the non-cascade version as i mentioned. being able to run relic of progenitus and have an answer for surgical extraction beyond things like faerie macabre, bow of nylea, or mistviel plains...
gabe's video showcased most of the things i'd brag about from the first night of gameplay. vs spirits g3, i open with land, suspend visions, pass. on his draw, SSGx2, dominance > balance, he discards from 8 to 1 and i lose my land. i draw a blue source t2 and suspend my other visions. it wasn't immediately gg because he was tenacious, but he ultimately got plowed.
tonight i went 4-0
2-1 amulet titan
2-0 blue moon
2-1 grix shadow
2-0 RW prison
stalled titan g1 bad, he thought he was posturing for win and i dug hard with two wheels on two as foretolds, then dominanced RB with a summoner's pact to be paid by 0 lands. t2 negate on my foretold g2 was horrible blowout. g3 i jammed moon t2 and he was done
blue moon stumbled g1. g2 he remanded me twice and i didn't draw anything but gargs and ssg. g3 was pretty sweet... i fetched into two shock lands, and pretended to not have a land t3. he jammed moon t3, i responded with island bauble foretold balance with a garg on suspend, gg
grix shadow was too much game 1. moon put him in the pinch g2. g3 took some careful digging and some sub-par balances to keep him off of gurmags and shadows, but careful play and seeing both jaces one after another helped set the tone for finishing
rw prison managed to path away my titans consistently but eventually lost to chandra g1, due to mana issues from multiple balances. he didn't run chalices so the grudges were boarded for no reason, but the path game didn't hold up against dispel and spell pierce after balances restricted his manas
bauble is really nice for information and minimizing hand for a balance, but i could also see it being situationally better as another cantrip. same for wheel of fate, although when you manage to ult chandra and have foretold out, wheel of fate often finishes them on the spot with the other cheap/free spells like SSG > dominance > visions for 15 damage.
i went with 2 tolaria west in gabe's version, but i can see the logic for more. the tapped entrance is kinda *****, but the transmog is sex.
claws of gix is tutorable in this manner, same as tormod's and the suspend cards. being able to tutor up the gargadon effect is really nice, even thou the mana required to activate is clunky.
i'm not going to bother trying to convince haters that chandra's great, but she certainly can be. whether making mana, revealing free spells through as foretold, or just bleeding the opponent down as they struggle to interact with her like they do with jace... plus her spell exposure per turn, while restricted to the turn, doesn't require us to burn a card from hand... she can be as viable as nahiri for the strictly UR versions, easily
i liked the gentleman's inclusion of dragon's claw. skullmead cauldron might be just too slow, i have yet to encounter burn to find out how bad that matchup works out to. i do miss running leylines main, as turning off burn and discard g1 out of nowhere can be really great. learning how to mull and board this particular flavor of RB is still a fluid process, but i was pretty stoked about managing to handle up tonight. going from 0 cards in hand, to drawing from a bauble, an upkeep visions, a jace brainstorm, an asforetold vision, all in one turn... the deck can do some things to surprise you with solutions. i'll try more cantrips later, likely for baubles or wheels. the only thing i didn't like about the 5-0 list was the lack of ssg. i don't think he's mandatory, but those are some wild t1s you can indulge in. i'd also like to try out at least 1 mission briefing
So why is everyone running Chandra? When did she become the go to in this version?
On average in your playtesting and actual games what turn can you RB + Summons? I feel if it's too late they'll counter the spell.
I guess my problem with this deck is the too many moving parts to accomplish what the old version can do with less. Probably me being old and set in my ways.
I’ll probably be cutting one of her so I only run one.
So, my main reasons are her strong removal and her ramp potential. Several times now, I’ll cast her turn three, then immediately electro into RB. She’s extremely powerful against an empty board because she easily kills anything that comes down or threatens opponent’s life totals if they don’t deal with her. Her ramp is great at all stages of the game. The only issue is her potential to exile something we need, which drastically decreases with As Foretold on the field. Serum Visions can also influence her lines of play.
Ultimately, I think she’s a perfectly reasonable 1-of that offers a lot to our game. Unfortunately, unlike Nahiri (who can cycle), a second copy in hand is usually more of a problem than anything.
It's been a while since I've played magic, but I can't help thinking about this deck. I've been fooling around with different versions and I think I settled on a list for now. Here's the tapped out link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/lets-work-on-your-balance/
The build isn't as individualized as I would like it to be, but I plan on playing with other ideas. I have yet to test it in a competitive setting, so I plan on taking it to my LGS next month and will share results when I get them.
It's been a while since I've played magic, but I can't help thinking about this deck. I've been fooling around with different versions and I think I settled on a list for now. Here's the tapped out link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/lets-work-on-your-balance/
The build isn't as individualized as I would like it to be, but I plan on playing with other ideas. I have yet to test it in a competitive setting, so I plan on taking it to my LGS next month and will share results when I get them.
Hope everyone is well!
Huntmaster? And no As Foretold, but you’s running an expertise that is much more restrictive? The rest seems solid.
The new mulligan rule should help us finding the pieces to go off early and is a motivation to run Leylines in our sideboard, maybe adding Izzet Charm to cycle extra copies if needed. What do you think?
First, I dont think the London mulligan is a good idea, but I'm waiting for the the actual test results; when you mention you need to review the ban list for cards that could break the mulligan rule it's a bad sign in my opinion. But regarding Izzet Charm, I think Faithless Looting works better as you likely dont need the other two modes too often and the flashback on Looting is relevant. All assuming you're playing the Electro Balance version as both are bad in Cascade Balance builds.
Was your mana base consistent or non consistent. When you restore balanced could you do it consistently and was it favorable for you. How were the rest of the games?
Few card questions
Claws of Gix?
How was Chandra. Did you ever find her first ability to mess you up? Being getting a suspend card.
Why Wheel of Fate?
I've been told it's more of a win more card and not a win card. Wondered if anyone had any opinions
4 As Foretold
4 Restore Balance
4 Greater Gargadon
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Tolaria West
2 Ral Zarek
4 Ancestral Vision
2 Mana Seism
2 Devastating Summons
4 Serum Visions
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Remand
2 Mountain
2 Island
2 Steam Vents
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Shivan Reef
4 Izzet Boilerworks
I tried to put in more ways to actually capitalize on the balance effects, such as Izzet Boilerworks, Mana Seism, and Devastating Summons. I'm currently testing and so far I'm really liking it but will definitely need some more time before doing a full write up.
I also think that Chandra is great because you can play her turn 4, +1 for mana, then balance off of that to leave her on an empty board. If they don't have answers it's basically game over from there.
Devastating Summons I feel only works once since you have to make creatures and sacrifice lands and then you're left with no lands and a board of vanilla dudes that in today's modern meta have a host of ways to remove. (Supreme Verdict, Detention Sphere, Cryptic Command, etc)
Claws of Gix, or any variant feels like a slower version to wipe the board in your favor.
And then I'm still not sold on Chandra as a win con planeswalker. No one has given me a case on why she's so great for the deck.
Hypothetically you can do this turn 4, and leave no lands on the board, but 8 power worth of creatures. In modern against most decks, that’s a 2 turn clock that they are fighting without lands and probably 3 or less cards in hand.
You can tap out to play Chandra on turn 4, but with her +1 you can wipe the board that same turn. Planeswalker and a board wipe on turn 4 is a good modern play against most decks. Plus her ult is definitely game winning so she needs to be answered.
Exiling the top card isn’t bad either, especially with as foretold out. It’s just more card advantage that lets you grind out the win.
On average in your playtesting and actual games what turn can you RB + Summons? I feel if it's too late they'll counter the spell.
I guess my problem with this deck is the too many moving parts to accomplish what the old version can do with less. Probably me being old and set in my ways.
1. With the no cascade version, I’m going to be UR. I know that I’m going to want a Planeswalker threat so I really am only left with Jace or Chandra as options. (JTMS is sweet but costs way more money than I want to spend)
2. Electrodominance costs XRR, Chandra’s +1 gives you RR. Plus when you’re trying to sac your lands before the balance, having a Planeswalker that gives you mana let’s you break the symmetry.
3. All of Chandra’s other abilities are relevant enough. Her ult will win the game, +1 to exile a card is usually just card advantage when you use it and the chances of it burning something crucial are pretty low. Even if it does, she still does damage to help ping down the opponent. Her -2 is basically a free bolt, useful for spot removal or if you need to race.
I know that I’ll want a Planeswalker threat to break the symmetry of balance. I personally can’t think of another one that works better than her right now. The deck is still new though so if you have a suggestion I will definitely test it and let you know.
I would also say that this deck isn’t totally reliant on the summons + balance combo. I’m currently testing with 2 summons, 2 mana seism, and 4 Gargadon so there are 8 ways to sac your lands when you balance. That tends to be how I brew decks though, my goal is usually 8 ways to cast an important effect. For example, 4 Tolaria west + 4 restore balance, 4 electro dominance + 4 As Foretold. With Ancestral Vision, and serum visions you usually have enough draw and control over your draws to find the combination of effects that you need.
I would say that on average you can cast restore balance on turn 3/4. You can in theory do it turn 2 if you need it though. Currently, the deck feels very resilient to me. I’ll do a full write up soon but one of the nice things I found was playing against a thoughtseize deck and being able to hold onto a Tolaria west until you can transmute it and cast restore balance in the same turn because they can’t take it from you.
I’ve been doing my testing on XMage so far so if you have concepts you like, I’ll plug them in and give it a shot.
gabe's video showcased most of the things i'd brag about from the first night of gameplay. vs spirits g3, i open with land, suspend visions, pass. on his draw, SSGx2, dominance > balance, he discards from 8 to 1 and i lose my land. i draw a blue source t2 and suspend my other visions. it wasn't immediately gg because he was tenacious, but he ultimately got plowed.
tonight i went 4-0
2-1 amulet titan
2-0 blue moon
2-1 grix shadow
2-0 RW prison
stalled titan g1 bad, he thought he was posturing for win and i dug hard with two wheels on two as foretolds, then dominanced RB with a summoner's pact to be paid by 0 lands. t2 negate on my foretold g2 was horrible blowout. g3 i jammed moon t2 and he was done
blue moon stumbled g1. g2 he remanded me twice and i didn't draw anything but gargs and ssg. g3 was pretty sweet... i fetched into two shock lands, and pretended to not have a land t3. he jammed moon t3, i responded with island bauble foretold balance with a garg on suspend, gg
grix shadow was too much game 1. moon put him in the pinch g2. g3 took some careful digging and some sub-par balances to keep him off of gurmags and shadows, but careful play and seeing both jaces one after another helped set the tone for finishing
rw prison managed to path away my titans consistently but eventually lost to chandra g1, due to mana issues from multiple balances. he didn't run chalices so the grudges were boarded for no reason, but the path game didn't hold up against dispel and spell pierce after balances restricted his manas
bauble is really nice for information and minimizing hand for a balance, but i could also see it being situationally better as another cantrip. same for wheel of fate, although when you manage to ult chandra and have foretold out, wheel of fate often finishes them on the spot with the other cheap/free spells like SSG > dominance > visions for 15 damage.
i went with 2 tolaria west in gabe's version, but i can see the logic for more. the tapped entrance is kinda *****, but the transmog is sex.
claws of gix is tutorable in this manner, same as tormod's and the suspend cards. being able to tutor up the gargadon effect is really nice, even thou the mana required to activate is clunky.
i'm not going to bother trying to convince haters that chandra's great, but she certainly can be. whether making mana, revealing free spells through as foretold, or just bleeding the opponent down as they struggle to interact with her like they do with jace... plus her spell exposure per turn, while restricted to the turn, doesn't require us to burn a card from hand... she can be as viable as nahiri for the strictly UR versions, easily
i liked the gentleman's inclusion of dragon's claw. skullmead cauldron might be just too slow, i have yet to encounter burn to find out how bad that matchup works out to. i do miss running leylines main, as turning off burn and discard g1 out of nowhere can be really great. learning how to mull and board this particular flavor of RB is still a fluid process, but i was pretty stoked about managing to handle up tonight. going from 0 cards in hand, to drawing from a bauble, an upkeep visions, a jace brainstorm, an asforetold vision, all in one turn... the deck can do some things to surprise you with solutions. i'll try more cantrips later, likely for baubles or wheels. the only thing i didn't like about the 5-0 list was the lack of ssg. i don't think he's mandatory, but those are some wild t1s you can indulge in. i'd also like to try out at least 1 mission briefing
I’ll probably be cutting one of her so I only run one.
So, my main reasons are her strong removal and her ramp potential. Several times now, I’ll cast her turn three, then immediately electro into RB. She’s extremely powerful against an empty board because she easily kills anything that comes down or threatens opponent’s life totals if they don’t deal with her. Her ramp is great at all stages of the game. The only issue is her potential to exile something we need, which drastically decreases with As Foretold on the field. Serum Visions can also influence her lines of play.
Ultimately, I think she’s a perfectly reasonable 1-of that offers a lot to our game. Unfortunately, unlike Nahiri (who can cycle), a second copy in hand is usually more of a problem than anything.
Going for old school borderpost list:
4x Restore Balance
4x Violent Outburst
4x Ardent Plea
2x Demonic Dread
4x Greater Garagadon
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Metalwork Colossus
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4x Nahiri, the Harbinger
2x Beast Within
4x Firewild Borderpost
4x Fieldmist Borderpost
3x Wildfield Borderpost
3x Veinfire Borderpost
3x Terramorphic Expanse
3x Evolving Wilds
2x Mountain
2x Plains
1x Island
1x Forest
1x Swamp
SB is a mish mash of Wear/Tear, Faerie Macabre, Anger of the Gods, Imprisoned in the Moon/whatever I dig out of my binder beforehand
My Twitch handle is Vindicare982
It's been a while since I've played magic, but I can't help thinking about this deck. I've been fooling around with different versions and I think I settled on a list for now. Here's the tapped out link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/lets-work-on-your-balance/
The build isn't as individualized as I would like it to be, but I plan on playing with other ideas. I have yet to test it in a competitive setting, so I plan on taking it to my LGS next month and will share results when I get them.
Hope everyone is well!
Huntmaster? And no As Foretold, but you’s running an expertise that is much more restrictive? The rest seems solid.
Modern Dredge
Budget Dredge
Mardu Pyromancer
Belcher