@orkswubwub - Do you find yourself unable to clear lands in most of your games? Only having 4 garg and no other way to remove lands you list looks susceptible to decks like Scapeshift and Tron. Maybe it's not an issue but I'm just curious. Maybe your card draw is enough to find GG when it really matters.
I think you should test out Mystic Sanctuary. With As Foretold it would be pure value. Personally I would only run 1 copy, as the effect is only active if you have 3 or more other Islands in play. Otherwise it's just a bad Island. In your list being able to recall a Footfalls/Vision/Balance seems quite nice.
I am curious if you find the Ancestral Vision and Crashing Footfalls to be good when you play them. I've been on the fence about trying them for quite some time. My issue with both is, I don't really want to burn an Electro on either. As Foretold is perfectly fine but I wouldn't want to have a play where I Electro on turn 2-3 with Vision and then draw into a Balance and be unable to cast it. Maybe having those 4 Finale makes a big difference too because you can play them from the 'yard, once you've already got value from them. Finale must do some serious work for you to want to have the full 4 in there.
I think your deck has a lot more going on than meets the eye. Running more of the cheap spells is really nice with As Foretold. Your sideboard options include board wipes, land hate (which might make the inability to sac lands a null point), and countermagic for the control matchups. I also like Pithing Needle against Oko and other pesky 'walkers.
The only bad thing I see is Lightning Bolt is your only option to hurt Teferi, Time Raveler outside of Rhino tokens/Garg. You don't have to worry about Karn, the Great Creator though and that's got to be nice.
The one thing I think people forget, is that even with a new deck with electrodomiance, or even the existing shell we are still a bit of a fringe deck. Our combo, while strong, is very easy to distrupt either we focus on Electro and build around to protect the combo, but doing that makes our combo weaker and harder to get since we aren't running posts, we can't instantly go off unless we have both cards in our hands , and even then a simple remand sets us back many turns. Sure we can suspend, but that is a long 6 turns. Even with the post version, with cascade at instant speed we aren't too reliant on our hand so discard is less effective than it would be in the electro version. but that means we can't pack the response cards we see in the Electro lists. We also fold a lot more since we're reliant on cascade and the more balances we have in hand, the worse off we are.
That isn't to say both lists don't have work arounds, packing As Foretolds helps get them out our hands, but that's a very hot target the opponent will focus down.
I don't think there isn't any "bad" cards for this deck. Because we don't have an official list, nor do both versions have any greater edge than the other, I think if some people have found success with certain cards, they should show us their match ups, their experience, and their opinion why it is in over other cards with the same effect/similar effect. Are there bad cards? Absolutely. But it depends on the level of competivness you're playing at. I'm sure there are changes I can make to my deck, but I only play my friends or my LGS once a year. So it doesn't need an overhaul unless I take to a tournament.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
I haven't had much problem clearing the lands - even being able to balance the board with lands retained isn't always game losing if I can finale it back. I really like finale because it is a cheeky way to get 2 for 1 value from cards which adds some gas back to the deck and also protects against a deck very susceptible to discard / disruption. Finaleing an Opt while popping balance or ancestral vision adds a surprising amount of gas to the deck and helps with the consistency even later in the game when top decking.
Honestly, I've found rhinos to be my primary wincon as garg is too clunky to resolve easily against most modern decks that need 1 to 2 lands to go off (mox opal etc.). Being able to balance, -> rhinos -> finale rhinos usually adds enough to get by most threats that plink a token or two (reflector mage etc.) - or push those matchups that are going for a grindy/parity win as reference by loki previously.
I prefer the ED version because it can allow some interaction turns 1 to 2. The cascade version for me personally feels a bit like hoping they don't have a counter for the balance as my only out on turn 2/3 and no other outs. It is also worth noting that later in the game if lands weren't cleared ED for 1 or 2 damage can plink annoying critters (like Dark confidant) instead of being cast for 0. I've found if people don't know you are on balance game 1 you can cast ED turn 2 to put the rhinos down at instant speed and trade favorably for many two drops (a baby goyf, DC, etc.).
It still doesn't feel completely optimized but maybe with mystic and finale protecting against disruption will help against one of our worse matchups... Cracking a tarn at their endstep to put an untapped mystic sanctuary in play to silver bullet a balance or rhinos the following turn sounds good. Agree with mystic as a max 1 of - Going to try it out with 1 mystic and rework the manabase.
As you noted - suffers heavily against walkers in my experience - not sure how to handle that other than needle at the moment. Agree is an area to be analyzed.
Side question - can someone explain the stack interaction between garg and balance? Balance goes off - in response you sacrifice your lands - can't they counter the balance at this point effectively leaving you with no mana and they keep all their lands?
first you declare if it resolves, if it does, then you sac your lands in response and pass priority. Remember, they've already chose that Balanced resolved. They cannot interact with it. They can respond the sacing of lands, or the casting of Gargadon. But they can't back up and say "No wait a minute, I don't want balance to resolve" because if they did you would be allowed to take back the saccing of your lands.
If I recall correctly, and this is the first time I've thought about it it goes like this
P1: I cast Restore Balance, does it resolve (passing priority to 2nd player)
P2: I will let is resolve
P1: Okay, in response to resolving, I sac X lands to GG, any response
P2: (Either fetch to keep 1 land post resolution, dig spell, etc)
Restore Balance finishes resolving, checks all the lands, hands, and creatures, GG comes off the stack afterwards, anything the opponent does resolve.
The one problem I've had with ED, and maybe you can tell me how your find it. is that you need both spells in your hand. Whereas cascade version you just need a cascade spell. I've felt that ED is searching hard to assembling and hoping you can before turn 5.
So I was just looking at the top metagame decks of Modern as of right now (1/1/20) and I wanted to point out some of the advantages that some of the other top decks have over us right now that need to be acknowledged. No matter which version you play, I think we need to discuss answers to some of these cards/decks.
First we have Eldrazi Tron showing up 8.29% of the time. They're packing 4x Chalice of the Void, 4x Karn, the Great Creator, 4x Thought-knot Seer, and 2x Warping Wail. Ouch; before sideboard even. Imprisoned in the Moon is a decent answer to this deck but honestly I'm not sure if it's enough. I'm thinking countermagic might be a good option here. If we can't Balance away their lands we need a good backup plan imo.
Third, Bant Snow Control showing up 4.08%. This one isn't quite as bad with 3x Spell Queller, 3x Oko, Thief of Crowns, 3x Teferi, Time Raveler, 2x Force of Negation, and 2x Mystical Dispute. They also have 3x Damping Sphere in the side. The big one here is Teferi. With him on the field we won't ever get to Balance. They can also protect it with Dispute.
These 3 top decks represent about 20% of the competitive meta. Some of the other decks showing up are 4 color Death's Shadow, Amulet Titan, Infect, Burn, Dredge, Humans, and Jund. Each of them has little advantages against us except for Amulet Titan.
My thoughts are having a basic Balance shell while being able to include really good cards, which will make us a bit more competitive if the Balance plan gets hated on. I think planeswalkers are a solid option as they provide a lot of value post-Balance and most of them are decent wincons on their own. A careful selection of the right colors and abilities should be discussed. We want walkers that provide extreme value in keeping our board state in control, and also act as wincons.
For countermagic, I think around 7-8 spots sounds ideal. We want to be able to keep key threats off the board. We are able to run the same package of either Mystical Dispute or Metallic Rebuke. I also like Remand as it replaces itself. Cryptic Command seems legit but at 4 CMC and UUU to boot I think it should be left out myself.
The more I look at what's going on in the meta, I think a borderpost version that runs As Foretold and Electrodominance is going to be the best option. It gives it upsides of being able to play posts (keep land count low without garg) and also contributes to Mox Opal. In addition, that would give us more opportunity to experiment with cheap spells that do a lot of work like Lightning Bolt, Thoughtseize, Path to Exile, countermagic, etc.
What do you guys think? How do we handle some of the nasty cards in the meta like Chalice, Karn, Teferi, Spell Queller etc?
Myself I want a good amount of interaction, the balance shell, and a fair amount of threats to keep up. The problem is our deck only has so much room to work with!
My only issue is it seems you're trying too much to cover all your bases. A lot of this can be put into the SB, or choose which decks in your local game store are the most popular and plan for this. The more you try to fit in the more muddle and all over the place the deck will be. Focus on the core of the deck and plan outward from there.
To answer your question on how to deal with Chalice, Karn, Teferi, Queller. You've already answered those questions. Counter spells, Imprision, Rift Bolt, etc. But again, focus on what cards crop up the most. I wouldn't focus on beating POD if Eldrazi Tron was the most popular deck in my area. I would beat themn by doubling down on Restore Balance to keep them off tron, pack counter spells for their few counters, and play aggresive. If POD was most popular, I would work a more slow controlled game focused more on Imprisons and working to get 1 balance off more than 4 as opposed to Tron.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
P1: I cast Restore Balance, does it resolve (passing priority to 2nd player)
P2: I will let is resolve
P1: Okay, in response to resolving, I sac X lands to GG, any response
This is incorrect. Once you give up priority they have a chance to respond. If they don't, the spell immediately resolves. You can't go back and say 'in response to resolving' because you already gave up priority. The way it works is you cast Balance, then you hold priority and stack the gargadon triggers. Once you're done, you pass priority to the opponent, if they do nothing all the triggers resolve and counters are removed, then Balance resolves. Once you pass priority to your opponent with Balance as the newest spell on the stack, that's it. You don't get another chance to do anything if they don't do anything. Let's say you put Balance on the stack, hold priority, and then use gargadon to sac everything. They can allow all the triggers to go through, and then they have the chance to counter Balance a last time before it resolves. If they do this and we aren't prepared we will definitely die a little inside.
As far as trying to cover all my bases yes you are right. In my area it's quite competitive even though I live in a small town. I'm just trying to see what the best options are for being competitive. Being a fringe deck it's actually a very good fringe deck. Many decks fold to a well timed Balance. The trick is figuring out what the other cards need to be for the best results. Need to have enough threats so they can't hate on us easily. Need to have enough draw and filter to be consistent. Need to have enough interaction where we can still play a game through hate. The quantities and qualities of those cards needs to be carefully selected. The core of the deck is around 16 cards, not including posts. I want to make sure the cards other than the lands are the absolute best in terms of giving the deck a solid chance at being competitive. It has finished 5-0 in MTGO several times in several different metas so it is entirely possible.
@orkswubwub - Your side question can definitely be a scenario. It really sucks when it happens. I think that's why cards like Defense Grid are good for the control matchups. Counterspells are a definite bane of the deck and they always will be. I think that's why I like the idea of running Remand, Dispel, Mystical Dispute, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, etc. Not only do they slow the opponent down in general, but they also protect what we're trying to do. As some added bonus, being able to abuse As Foretold's counters on the opponent's turn is just awesome. Against control, realize too that most of their threats aside from Snapcaster Mage/Geist of Saint Traft are going to be coming down turn 5-6 at the soonest, maybe later if they know you have countermagic. Against control we don't want to race to Balance, we want to insure that we can actually cast it and it will resolve.
The only concern with your deck that I have right at the moment is just like SunTzu's deck, you really only have 2 wincons (Garg and Rhinos). They're both fairly easy for the meta to adapt to. Garg is a bit more resilient because even though it doesn't have evasion, it normally only comes down on an empty board. Engineered Explosives from BUG artifacts on 0 is a real situation for the tokens.
Good catch, I thought my ordering was a little off, looks like just one step was reversed!
So it depends on what you want to do. With the cascade version you don't need as my search/draw cards since your combo is effective either in your hand or deck, whereas ED is more reliant on hand.
If you're looking to cram in as many bases as possible, I'd say you should try the ED version. Its far more flexible, but requires a bit more expertise to use since the core of the deck shifts slightly more towards a control-ly combo deck more than a combo deck.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
So I'm toying with the idea of the new card Ashiok's Erasure. I use to toy around with Nevermore in my older lists, but ulitmately dropped it because a T3 negate card is/was slightly slow. But for 1 more U you gain Flash and an exile ability to boot. Sure I couldn't stop the person fromn resolving their counter spell, but I can guareent you won't get another one off, and its a surprise factor off of As Foretold.
Any ideas? This would be problably only be a good fit for the cascade version since ED would/will have counter spells or other viable responses.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
A potentially unpopular opinion but one I buy into and will be basing further analysis:
I think that the emphasis for the cascade version needs to be more on how to counter artifact hate / interact prior to turn 3. SSG opens this avenue but is not consistent (only 4 in the deck) and requires the 'nuts' draw. The inability to interact prior to turn 3 (on average) plus relying heavily on artifacts the borderpost/cascade version is absolutely hamstringing. While still a valid discussion - we have to be careful regarding 'win' vs 'win more' scenarios - for example in the case of 3-4 cmc cards - if we are still losing the same percentage of games we haven't made progress. Similarly it is important to acknowledge that we won't be 'favored' vs every deck but if we look to what has plagued the borderpost/cascade version for the prior years it is that it loses to 'fast' decks and disruption/control (basically most of the modern meta). I strongly feel like if we are to look deeper into the cascade version we have to consider are there ways of playing 'faster' (for example if it were legal in modern [which its not] - maybe add elvish spirit guide to SSG or something, I haven't really thought of it but I feel this is where the thought process needs to go). Otherwise the version will continue to fail against artifact hate and fast decks (which are extremely common). So, not to attack Loki but as an example, we can debate ashiok's erasure etc. but the focus needs to be on the prior 3 turns, while ensuring after balance we are favored (which is the history of this deck). Let us try to avoid the already 'won' but lets 'win more' scenario and try to focus on moving the needle on matchups we must win in the current meta (Urza/oko, control, jund, etc.). Think cards similar to the illegal Elvish spirit guide, mechanics like delve, force of negation, mox opal, or similar etc. History has shown that sideboarding in a 2 cmc answer and cascading into it (such as kor firewalker) is just not sufficient, we have to have SOME interaction in the modern meta as it has evolved to be faster. I would propose the most valuable discussion (if the deck can still be run consistently) for the borderpost/cascade version would be on targeting these initial 3 turns - this is likely the reason if you go to mtg goldfish or mtgtop8 that for the prior year almost none of the 'balance' decks run borderpost/cascade.
On the flip side, I am not sure the inclusion of as foretold/ED/Finale (or some combination) has been fully explored and maybe it is for once (?) finally able to run a more advanced removal package of 1-2 cmc to get to the golden turn 3-4 where we have positioned ourselves to be ahead post-balance. These enablers are not necessarily keyed only to 0 cmc cards (although these are the low hanging fruit). We now have enablers which no longer restrict us to cascading on turn 2/3 and being required to only analyze 3+ CMC cards. My current 'tournament deck' is what I posted before but I am seriously considering disrupting the shell significantly and looking to a package which runs a more standard ramp of 1-2 cmc spells but has the ability to drop wincons following 'As Foretold' or similar being played with balance embedded in the deck. A simple example to start would be path to exile which removes a potentially game ending threat (angler, delver, infect threat, Thalia Guardian of Thraben, etc.) on the sensitive turns - gives an opponent a land - and we don't care as we can balance away the extra mana later. Also for consideration is remand which just buys tempo - and we don't care about the extra cards in hand etc... I haven't built out the deck list yet but I'm pruning some cards which may land in this shell - likely with a planeswalker wincon or similar... Food for thought maybe... I'll post back in a few days after I've worked through it and maybe run some MTGO testing...
@orkswubwub - I have primarily played the cascade version of the deck, so I speak from experience when talking about it.
Some of those fast decks are better matchups because once you Balance they're basically screwed. The exception is when said decks are also able to play hate cards without diluting their deck. A current deck that does this well is Humans with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Meddling Mage. They can put real pressure on us every game as well as be prepared for our game plan. When I played the cascade version I had to include Kitchen Finks and Rift Bolt to help stabilize me until the Balance was able to be hit. There are options against fast decks but generally speaking, those weren't my issue.
The real challenge for cascade-Balance is control matchups. Counterspells and discard really ruin the day. Against counterspells, you have Ricochet Trap, Metallic Rebuke or Mystical Dispute. Against discard, you have Leyline of Sanctity and Monastery Siege. The problem with all of these cards is that certain conditions must be met for them all to work correctly.
As far as Ancient Grudge and Force of Vigor goes for the cascade version, there's really nothing you can do about them. Like Loki has mentioned though, in games where you know they are packing artifact hate post-sideboard you just keep hands that don't have many posts and rely more on Garg. Force of Negation is a good option for either version but honestly I don't want to pay for 4 of them to test with.
For the electro version, I completely agree that 1-2 CMC spells is a HUGE advantage that hasn't been explored fully. The issue is, there aren't many spells that we can run that are going to be game ending with As Foretold. We have to be able to also play enough threats to win in the control matches. Imagine you're the control player and at the end of your turn I try to instant speed Balance you, forcing a counter. Only to clear the way for a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Karn, the Great Creator, or Teferi, Time Raveler. Let's say though that you have a lot of 1-2 CMC spells for countering/card draw/critter control. Against a control player you won't be playing anything that's truly game-winning if all you have is the balance shell and a bunch of spells.
That's where I have the hardest time right now deciding on what to run. Personally, I think the electro-Balance shell with a borderpost/Mox Opal package along with 6-ish counterspells and rounding out the deck with different 'walkers is the best way to go. It would give the benefit of having low land count and speed with artifacts as well as being able to protect itself against a good variety of decks. As far as a list goes, when I decide on one to test I'll post it here.
No attack taken my friend, this is what this forum is here for. Polite converstation.
That said, I agree with your analysis of win vs win-more for card situations. Like Vikingtrader, I've played a majority of this deck as my post/cascade version with limited/no play time to the ED varients.
I've found, that Jund, Tron, and Control ( I haven't faced Oko yet) that it requires just proper planning. There are windows of opportunity to go off on them, but the big issue is not that they're quicker, its that they can rebuild in an instant. Doesn't matter how much we balance, they can always rebuild. I do think that our biggest issue isn't that we can't race them, its possible with or without the nut hand. But our biggest issue is the midrange/value decks. Control doesn't care if we wipe their hand, board, or lands. But if they can land Oko, Jace, someone then their plan is secured. I've lost many a game to decks simple because I can't outvalue them. Restore Balance isn't the powerhouse it use to be. Wizards as made new card types, stronger abilites, an stickier cards. Back when Balance first came out, there wasn't anything known as planeswalkers.
If we keep trying to evolve Restore Balance, I feel that is our hinderance. We can't out control a pure control deck, we can't really outpace aggro, and we really can't out value our opponent. Not saying we haven't done work on finding a new shell for the deck to take on, but we turn into a control shell trying to peek Restore Balance out there when we may be better off with a new route. I've noticed a lot of lists are adding the rest of the suspend cards, even the new ones. Anstral Visions, Footfalls, sometimes even Wheel.
I'm not sure what direction we could take the deck, that's one of the beauties of it, that that there isn't some sort of end all be all list like other decks. We're close to one though. Just a matter of time.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
Humans in my play group was always the bane. Meddling mage T2 calling Balance usually locked me out depending if I had Detention Sphere out.
I think the big problem keep having, is that they want Balance to have good-great matchups against any deck. You can do that, but at the cost of a coherent goal. I've tuned my deck to fight Aggro primarily, with some minor resistance against control. My best matchups were Boggles, Tron, Affinity, and the occasional humans barring I could draw well.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
I definitely agree on value decks. Enemy walkers provide a lot of value, especially ones that help dig like JTMS.
Speaking of Wheel of Fate, there’s a cool synergy with Narset, Parter of Veils. Narset could be good against value decks with card draw, and draw 7s are always powerful. Obviously it would only be something you’d want to play in ED since a cascade into a Wheel instead of Balance could be game ending.
I’m not sure it provides enough value but it’s food for thought.
With Narset out they're only able to draw 1 card each turn. With Wheel it's essentially "discard your hand and draw 1 card" while you refill your entire hand.
The only issue is being able to play them both at once. Otherwise there's a good chance they'll just destroy Narset somehow.
The deck I saw it played in also played Fires of Invention, which I thought was cool but I'm not sure is good enough to be competitive.
I think it depends on what the overall stragy is. I've never had an issue where I ran out of cards. Unless your opponent forces you to discard, I can't see it.
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It's easy to believe you're a god when you're twice as powerful as everyone else.
I'm not sure 12 posts is the right number. Honestly I feel like 8-9 is best so artifact hate isn't a complete blowout. Also, 12 posts and 19 lands seems a bit much. Been so long though I forgot how many lands I need. I wanted to keep the artifact count somewhat high since they remove our lands, work with Tezz, and generally play well for the deck.
I have Remand in there for card draw and stall. The planeswalker package I carefully considered for a few reasons.
Karn - he's good against BUG artifacts/affinity/etc, also if you are able to tutor a Liquimetal Coating after a Balance it will ensure the opponent will never get to have more than 1 land, being able to tutor for a Pithing Needle, Bridge, or Cage helps specific matchups
Oko - the creature interactions, and Food tokens can be lifegain for matchups where a few life points is the difference between a win and a loss.
Tezzeret - ultimate is lifegain, also turns posts into blockers or potential beaters, typically it's a 'must counter' kind of card too
Ajani - lifegain, locks down permanents, removes Elk creatures from Oko if they're both out and ultimate helps make sure they don't rebuild after a Balance
I considered a great deal more walkers but had to keep the objective in mind. Balance away the board, then dominate with walkers. I feel like many opponents are going to concede if you Balance the board clean and then play a walker the next turn. If you have 2 walkers out after a Balance I feel like 90% of opponents are going to concede once the second one drops. Part of my thought process was thinking about how difficult it would be for an opponent after having any 2 of them on the board at once.
I'm not sure 12 posts is the right number. Honestly I feel like 8-9 is best so artifact hate isn't a complete blowout. Also, 12 posts and 19 lands seems a bit much. Been so long though I forgot how many lands I need. I wanted to keep the artifact count somewhat high since they remove our lands, work with Tezz, and generally play well for the deck.
I have Remand in there for card draw and stall. The planeswalker package I carefully considered for a few reasons.
Karn - he's good against BUG artifacts/affinity/etc, also if you are able to tutor a Liquimetal Coating after a Balance it will ensure the opponent will never get to have more than 1 land, being able to tutor for a Pithing Needle, Bridge, or Cage helps specific matchups
Oko - the creature interactions, and Food tokens can be lifegain for matchups where a few life points is the difference between a win and a loss.
Tezzeret - ultimate is lifegain, also turns posts into blockers or potential beaters, typically it's a 'must counter' kind of card too
Ajani - lifegain, locks down permanents, removes Elk creatures from Oko if they're both out and ultimate helps make sure they don't rebuild after a Balance
I considered a great deal more walkers but had to keep the objective in mind. Balance away the board, then dominate with walkers. I feel like many opponents are going to concede if you Balance the board clean and then play a walker the next turn. If you have 2 walkers out after a Balance I feel like 90% of opponents are going to concede once the second one drops. Part of my thought process was thinking about how difficult it would be for an opponent after having any 2 of them on the board at once.
So I'm a bit confused, are you going for a ED deck or a cascade deck. Because the posts aren't needed in the ED version and will slow you down immensely. I would say ditch the posts and add more dig/scry/reaction cards tbh. With only 4 remand, your ability to really interact with the opponent is awful, sure you can restore balance up to 6 times, but I don't think its needed that much. Walkers seem fine, again without the posts Tezzert becomes absolutely useless imo and along the same vein with Karn as well. You could run those two if you focused more on the post strat, but my issue is posts are so fragile anyways, and being 5/5s or 4/4s without any inherent protection, trample, or combat ability you're one board wipe away from losing. Even if they have Stoney silence, their own Karn out you're doomed to play them.
That said, I would replace Alpine Moon with Blood Moon for a straight upgrade
remove liquid metal coating, and remove ensaring bridge.
I would focus on one version or the other, I can help you once you figure out what exactly you want from this deck.
Hey Loki, no worries about being too harsh. I can take it
The inclusion of posts is primarily there to keep the land count down and give me more resources post-Balance. I would rather not rely on Garg to be able to Balance all my opponents lands away. Post-balance if I have 2-3 posts and a land I'm in business to play any card in the deck.
As far as Tezz goes, I won a lot of games at my LGS having him on board after a Balance. Not only do you give yourself a 5/5 beater on a clean board, but Tezz also threatens to win the game. Admittedly when I was playing Tezz I was also played a single copy of each sword (before the new ones). Being able to equip a 5/5 post with any sword provides huge value. This list doesn't have the swords however. My cascade version included Thassa and Kitchen Finks and a sword equipped to either was always nice.
I'm not worried about my creatures being removed once I've Balanced. It's near impossible for an opponent to deal with a 5/5 beater the turn after a Balance, if you've removed all of their lands. The posts make this more probable. The Electro list is so focused on Balancing with Garg that after a Balance it doesn't have mana to rebuild.
Imagine this scenario. Turn 1-3 my opponent dumps hand full of creatures, leaving 1 card in hand. On my turn 1-3 I'm going to take some damage from the creatures but let's say I'm able to throw out 2 posts and suspend a Garg. On my turn 3 I play a third post, and Electro-Balance leaving just 1 card in each of our hands and my last card is an Oko. On my turn 4 Oko comes down and turns a post into a 3/3 Elk. Turn 5 comes and I can turn another post into an Elk and swing for 6. My next turn I can turn the third post into an Elk and if they try to remove any of them I'll just pitch to Garg. It just seems really good to me. A similar scenario can be played out with Tezz except he creates 5/5s.
As far as Karn is concerned, he's just really good against the BUG artifact deck on his own. He also provides some sideboard options like Pithing Needle or Bridge for matches where it's close. Liquimetal Coating is kind of a win-more card but I think it could be quite useful post-Balance. Being able to Strip Mine every turn seems like it's going to be impossible for any deck to come back.
I included Alpine Moon for tron mostly. Blood Moon without SSG is too slow. If you're on the draw against tron and they have natural turn 3 tron they're going to play a Karn/Ugin/Wurmcoil and by that time Blood Moon is too late. Alpine Moon would disrupt that even on the draw. Even with Eldrazi Temple you can disrupt them from playing a turn 3 Reality Smasher on the draw.
So you would like to see me remove the posts, SB-artifact package and the Karn/Tezz. What would you recommend going in their place?
Do you ever find yourself overburden with too many lands/posts when you draw/mulligan? That is one thing I've been mulling over after reading your opinion and looking over your list.
That said, I tried the old March of the Machines combo, but found it too fragile. So a +2/+2 buff may help them survive longer and for later. But the problem I ran into, was they're still artifacts and being hit with grudge, decay, or reverly really hurts.
If you keep the posts, then like I said your chosen planeswalkers feel like a good fit.
I feel like adding a Blood Moon in replace of your Alpine just strenghten your overall matches against every deck out there. remember, ED only needs 2 RR to go off, so you can easily beat a T3 Tron on T2. And then T3 play moon and lock them out after that, instead of gambling you can get around it with a slower balance and a quicker moon.
And if you remove your custom setup package, I would just fit more dig/counter spells in the main board. You don't have a very strong way of getting/finding a Balance to your hand and it looks like you just pray you hit them asap. Something like Opt is really good, your remand is solid, maybe Izzet Charm and/or Serum Visions to help accerlate this game plan. You can even run the tried and true card of Simian Spirit Guide which makes these nut hands way more pheasible and more common.
Sideboard, sadly is all you, based on your meta. I run
This is to battle the aggro decks that swarm my meta, Tron, Boggles, Humans, Harden Scales Affinity and Dredge. I don't look to win against any control deck and their varients because they can just win by holding all their counterspells every turn. But I would reccommend a few cards off this list. Mainly Anger of the Gods still a very strong and cheap card against almost any aggro deck making you less reliant on popping off a Balance T1-T3. Wear // Tear, to help get rid of early Stony Silence, Aether Vial, or Ethereal Armor that hit early. Based on your current list, if the opponent hits you with an early anti-artifact spell you rely on your mana base making for future balances very very tricky. And then maybe someway to get rid of a graveyard, Ravenous Trap really helps because Dredge just pours it on and its super easy to cast for 0.
That said, this is all for my cascade version. There are better cards than what I run simple because of mana cost.
I like your current cascade package, that seems solid.
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I think you should test out Mystic Sanctuary. With As Foretold it would be pure value. Personally I would only run 1 copy, as the effect is only active if you have 3 or more other Islands in play. Otherwise it's just a bad Island. In your list being able to recall a Footfalls/Vision/Balance seems quite nice.
I am curious if you find the Ancestral Vision and Crashing Footfalls to be good when you play them. I've been on the fence about trying them for quite some time. My issue with both is, I don't really want to burn an Electro on either. As Foretold is perfectly fine but I wouldn't want to have a play where I Electro on turn 2-3 with Vision and then draw into a Balance and be unable to cast it. Maybe having those 4 Finale makes a big difference too because you can play them from the 'yard, once you've already got value from them. Finale must do some serious work for you to want to have the full 4 in there.
I think your deck has a lot more going on than meets the eye. Running more of the cheap spells is really nice with As Foretold. Your sideboard options include board wipes, land hate (which might make the inability to sac lands a null point), and countermagic for the control matchups. I also like Pithing Needle against Oko and other pesky 'walkers.
The only bad thing I see is Lightning Bolt is your only option to hurt Teferi, Time Raveler outside of Rhino tokens/Garg. You don't have to worry about Karn, the Great Creator though and that's got to be nice.
Pretty cool list. Hope it works well for you!
That isn't to say both lists don't have work arounds, packing As Foretolds helps get them out our hands, but that's a very hot target the opponent will focus down.
I don't think there isn't any "bad" cards for this deck. Because we don't have an official list, nor do both versions have any greater edge than the other, I think if some people have found success with certain cards, they should show us their match ups, their experience, and their opinion why it is in over other cards with the same effect/similar effect. Are there bad cards? Absolutely. But it depends on the level of competivness you're playing at. I'm sure there are changes I can make to my deck, but I only play my friends or my LGS once a year. So it doesn't need an overhaul unless I take to a tournament.
Honestly, I've found rhinos to be my primary wincon as garg is too clunky to resolve easily against most modern decks that need 1 to 2 lands to go off (mox opal etc.). Being able to balance, -> rhinos -> finale rhinos usually adds enough to get by most threats that plink a token or two (reflector mage etc.) - or push those matchups that are going for a grindy/parity win as reference by loki previously.
I prefer the ED version because it can allow some interaction turns 1 to 2. The cascade version for me personally feels a bit like hoping they don't have a counter for the balance as my only out on turn 2/3 and no other outs. It is also worth noting that later in the game if lands weren't cleared ED for 1 or 2 damage can plink annoying critters (like Dark confidant) instead of being cast for 0. I've found if people don't know you are on balance game 1 you can cast ED turn 2 to put the rhinos down at instant speed and trade favorably for many two drops (a baby goyf, DC, etc.).
It still doesn't feel completely optimized but maybe with mystic and finale protecting against disruption will help against one of our worse matchups... Cracking a tarn at their endstep to put an untapped mystic sanctuary in play to silver bullet a balance or rhinos the following turn sounds good. Agree with mystic as a max 1 of - Going to try it out with 1 mystic and rework the manabase.
As you noted - suffers heavily against walkers in my experience - not sure how to handle that other than needle at the moment. Agree is an area to be analyzed.
Side question - can someone explain the stack interaction between garg and balance? Balance goes off - in response you sacrifice your lands - can't they counter the balance at this point effectively leaving you with no mana and they keep all their lands?
first you declare if it resolves, if it does, then you sac your lands in response and pass priority. Remember, they've already chose that Balanced resolved. They cannot interact with it. They can respond the sacing of lands, or the casting of Gargadon. But they can't back up and say "No wait a minute, I don't want balance to resolve" because if they did you would be allowed to take back the saccing of your lands.
If I recall correctly, and this is the first time I've thought about it it goes like this
P1: I cast Restore Balance, does it resolve (passing priority to 2nd player)
P2: I will let is resolve
P1: Okay, in response to resolving, I sac X lands to GG, any response
P2: (Either fetch to keep 1 land post resolution, dig spell, etc)
Restore Balance finishes resolving, checks all the lands, hands, and creatures, GG comes off the stack afterwards, anything the opponent does resolve.
The one problem I've had with ED, and maybe you can tell me how your find it. is that you need both spells in your hand. Whereas cascade version you just need a cascade spell. I've felt that ED is searching hard to assembling and hoping you can before turn 5.
My only issue is it seems you're trying too much to cover all your bases. A lot of this can be put into the SB, or choose which decks in your local game store are the most popular and plan for this. The more you try to fit in the more muddle and all over the place the deck will be. Focus on the core of the deck and plan outward from there.
To answer your question on how to deal with Chalice, Karn, Teferi, Queller. You've already answered those questions. Counter spells, Imprision, Rift Bolt, etc. But again, focus on what cards crop up the most. I wouldn't focus on beating POD if Eldrazi Tron was the most popular deck in my area. I would beat themn by doubling down on Restore Balance to keep them off tron, pack counter spells for their few counters, and play aggresive. If POD was most popular, I would work a more slow controlled game focused more on Imprisons and working to get 1 balance off more than 4 as opposed to Tron.
This is incorrect. Once you give up priority they have a chance to respond. If they don't, the spell immediately resolves. You can't go back and say 'in response to resolving' because you already gave up priority. The way it works is you cast Balance, then you hold priority and stack the gargadon triggers. Once you're done, you pass priority to the opponent, if they do nothing all the triggers resolve and counters are removed, then Balance resolves. Once you pass priority to your opponent with Balance as the newest spell on the stack, that's it. You don't get another chance to do anything if they don't do anything. Let's say you put Balance on the stack, hold priority, and then use gargadon to sac everything. They can allow all the triggers to go through, and then they have the chance to counter Balance a last time before it resolves. If they do this and we aren't prepared we will definitely die a little inside.
As far as trying to cover all my bases yes you are right. In my area it's quite competitive even though I live in a small town. I'm just trying to see what the best options are for being competitive. Being a fringe deck it's actually a very good fringe deck. Many decks fold to a well timed Balance. The trick is figuring out what the other cards need to be for the best results. Need to have enough threats so they can't hate on us easily. Need to have enough draw and filter to be consistent. Need to have enough interaction where we can still play a game through hate. The quantities and qualities of those cards needs to be carefully selected. The core of the deck is around 16 cards, not including posts. I want to make sure the cards other than the lands are the absolute best in terms of giving the deck a solid chance at being competitive. It has finished 5-0 in MTGO several times in several different metas so it is entirely possible.
@orkswubwub - Your side question can definitely be a scenario. It really sucks when it happens. I think that's why cards like Defense Grid are good for the control matchups. Counterspells are a definite bane of the deck and they always will be. I think that's why I like the idea of running Remand, Dispel, Mystical Dispute, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, etc. Not only do they slow the opponent down in general, but they also protect what we're trying to do. As some added bonus, being able to abuse As Foretold's counters on the opponent's turn is just awesome. Against control, realize too that most of their threats aside from Snapcaster Mage/Geist of Saint Traft are going to be coming down turn 5-6 at the soonest, maybe later if they know you have countermagic. Against control we don't want to race to Balance, we want to insure that we can actually cast it and it will resolve.
The only concern with your deck that I have right at the moment is just like SunTzu's deck, you really only have 2 wincons (Garg and Rhinos). They're both fairly easy for the meta to adapt to. Garg is a bit more resilient because even though it doesn't have evasion, it normally only comes down on an empty board. Engineered Explosives from BUG artifacts on 0 is a real situation for the tokens.
So it depends on what you want to do. With the cascade version you don't need as my search/draw cards since your combo is effective either in your hand or deck, whereas ED is more reliant on hand.
If you're looking to cram in as many bases as possible, I'd say you should try the ED version. Its far more flexible, but requires a bit more expertise to use since the core of the deck shifts slightly more towards a control-ly combo deck more than a combo deck.
Any ideas? This would be problably only be a good fit for the cascade version since ED would/will have counter spells or other viable responses.
I think that the emphasis for the cascade version needs to be more on how to counter artifact hate / interact prior to turn 3. SSG opens this avenue but is not consistent (only 4 in the deck) and requires the 'nuts' draw. The inability to interact prior to turn 3 (on average) plus relying heavily on artifacts the borderpost/cascade version is absolutely hamstringing. While still a valid discussion - we have to be careful regarding 'win' vs 'win more' scenarios - for example in the case of 3-4 cmc cards - if we are still losing the same percentage of games we haven't made progress. Similarly it is important to acknowledge that we won't be 'favored' vs every deck but if we look to what has plagued the borderpost/cascade version for the prior years it is that it loses to 'fast' decks and disruption/control (basically most of the modern meta). I strongly feel like if we are to look deeper into the cascade version we have to consider are there ways of playing 'faster' (for example if it were legal in modern [which its not] - maybe add elvish spirit guide to SSG or something, I haven't really thought of it but I feel this is where the thought process needs to go). Otherwise the version will continue to fail against artifact hate and fast decks (which are extremely common). So, not to attack Loki but as an example, we can debate ashiok's erasure etc. but the focus needs to be on the prior 3 turns, while ensuring after balance we are favored (which is the history of this deck). Let us try to avoid the already 'won' but lets 'win more' scenario and try to focus on moving the needle on matchups we must win in the current meta (Urza/oko, control, jund, etc.). Think cards similar to the illegal Elvish spirit guide, mechanics like delve, force of negation, mox opal, or similar etc. History has shown that sideboarding in a 2 cmc answer and cascading into it (such as kor firewalker) is just not sufficient, we have to have SOME interaction in the modern meta as it has evolved to be faster. I would propose the most valuable discussion (if the deck can still be run consistently) for the borderpost/cascade version would be on targeting these initial 3 turns - this is likely the reason if you go to mtg goldfish or mtgtop8 that for the prior year almost none of the 'balance' decks run borderpost/cascade.
On the flip side, I am not sure the inclusion of as foretold/ED/Finale (or some combination) has been fully explored and maybe it is for once (?) finally able to run a more advanced removal package of 1-2 cmc to get to the golden turn 3-4 where we have positioned ourselves to be ahead post-balance. These enablers are not necessarily keyed only to 0 cmc cards (although these are the low hanging fruit). We now have enablers which no longer restrict us to cascading on turn 2/3 and being required to only analyze 3+ CMC cards. My current 'tournament deck' is what I posted before but I am seriously considering disrupting the shell significantly and looking to a package which runs a more standard ramp of 1-2 cmc spells but has the ability to drop wincons following 'As Foretold' or similar being played with balance embedded in the deck. A simple example to start would be path to exile which removes a potentially game ending threat (angler, delver, infect threat, Thalia Guardian of Thraben, etc.) on the sensitive turns - gives an opponent a land - and we don't care as we can balance away the extra mana later. Also for consideration is remand which just buys tempo - and we don't care about the extra cards in hand etc... I haven't built out the deck list yet but I'm pruning some cards which may land in this shell - likely with a planeswalker wincon or similar... Food for thought maybe... I'll post back in a few days after I've worked through it and maybe run some MTGO testing...
Some of those fast decks are better matchups because once you Balance they're basically screwed. The exception is when said decks are also able to play hate cards without diluting their deck. A current deck that does this well is Humans with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Meddling Mage. They can put real pressure on us every game as well as be prepared for our game plan. When I played the cascade version I had to include Kitchen Finks and Rift Bolt to help stabilize me until the Balance was able to be hit. There are options against fast decks but generally speaking, those weren't my issue.
The real challenge for cascade-Balance is control matchups. Counterspells and discard really ruin the day. Against counterspells, you have Ricochet Trap, Metallic Rebuke or Mystical Dispute. Against discard, you have Leyline of Sanctity and Monastery Siege. The problem with all of these cards is that certain conditions must be met for them all to work correctly.
As far as Ancient Grudge and Force of Vigor goes for the cascade version, there's really nothing you can do about them. Like Loki has mentioned though, in games where you know they are packing artifact hate post-sideboard you just keep hands that don't have many posts and rely more on Garg. Force of Negation is a good option for either version but honestly I don't want to pay for 4 of them to test with.
For the electro version, I completely agree that 1-2 CMC spells is a HUGE advantage that hasn't been explored fully. The issue is, there aren't many spells that we can run that are going to be game ending with As Foretold. We have to be able to also play enough threats to win in the control matches. Imagine you're the control player and at the end of your turn I try to instant speed Balance you, forcing a counter. Only to clear the way for a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Karn, the Great Creator, or Teferi, Time Raveler. Let's say though that you have a lot of 1-2 CMC spells for countering/card draw/critter control. Against a control player you won't be playing anything that's truly game-winning if all you have is the balance shell and a bunch of spells.
That's where I have the hardest time right now deciding on what to run. Personally, I think the electro-Balance shell with a borderpost/Mox Opal package along with 6-ish counterspells and rounding out the deck with different 'walkers is the best way to go. It would give the benefit of having low land count and speed with artifacts as well as being able to protect itself against a good variety of decks. As far as a list goes, when I decide on one to test I'll post it here.
That said, I agree with your analysis of win vs win-more for card situations. Like Vikingtrader, I've played a majority of this deck as my post/cascade version with limited/no play time to the ED varients.
I've found, that Jund, Tron, and Control ( I haven't faced Oko yet) that it requires just proper planning. There are windows of opportunity to go off on them, but the big issue is not that they're quicker, its that they can rebuild in an instant. Doesn't matter how much we balance, they can always rebuild. I do think that our biggest issue isn't that we can't race them, its possible with or without the nut hand. But our biggest issue is the midrange/value decks. Control doesn't care if we wipe their hand, board, or lands. But if they can land Oko, Jace, someone then their plan is secured. I've lost many a game to decks simple because I can't outvalue them. Restore Balance isn't the powerhouse it use to be. Wizards as made new card types, stronger abilites, an stickier cards. Back when Balance first came out, there wasn't anything known as planeswalkers.
If we keep trying to evolve Restore Balance, I feel that is our hinderance. We can't out control a pure control deck, we can't really outpace aggro, and we really can't out value our opponent. Not saying we haven't done work on finding a new shell for the deck to take on, but we turn into a control shell trying to peek Restore Balance out there when we may be better off with a new route. I've noticed a lot of lists are adding the rest of the suspend cards, even the new ones. Anstral Visions, Footfalls, sometimes even Wheel.
I'm not sure what direction we could take the deck, that's one of the beauties of it, that that there isn't some sort of end all be all list like other decks. We're close to one though. Just a matter of time.
I think the big problem keep having, is that they want Balance to have good-great matchups against any deck. You can do that, but at the cost of a coherent goal. I've tuned my deck to fight Aggro primarily, with some minor resistance against control. My best matchups were Boggles, Tron, Affinity, and the occasional humans barring I could draw well.
Speaking of Wheel of Fate, there’s a cool synergy with Narset, Parter of Veils. Narset could be good against value decks with card draw, and draw 7s are always powerful. Obviously it would only be something you’d want to play in ED since a cascade into a Wheel instead of Balance could be game ending.
I’m not sure it provides enough value but it’s food for thought.
The only issue is being able to play them both at once. Otherwise there's a good chance they'll just destroy Narset somehow.
The deck I saw it played in also played Fires of Invention, which I thought was cool but I'm not sure is good enough to be competitive.
4x As Foretold
4x Electrodominance
3x Greater Gargadon
2x Finale of Promise
3x Fieldmist Borderpost
3x Mistvein Borderpost
3x Firewild Borderpost
3x Veinfire Borderpost
4x Remand
2x Oko, Thief of Crowns
1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1x Ajani Vengeant
5x Snow-covered Mountain
5x Snow-covered Island
4x Prismatic Vista
2x Snow-covered Plains
1x Tolaria West
1x Snow-covered Forest
1x Snow-covered Swamp
4x Alpine Moon
4x Leyline of Sanctity
3x Anger of the Gods
1x Pithing Needle
1x Ensnaring Bridge
1x Liquimetal Coating
1x Grafdigger's Cage
I'm not sure 12 posts is the right number. Honestly I feel like 8-9 is best so artifact hate isn't a complete blowout. Also, 12 posts and 19 lands seems a bit much. Been so long though I forgot how many lands I need. I wanted to keep the artifact count somewhat high since they remove our lands, work with Tezz, and generally play well for the deck.
I have Remand in there for card draw and stall. The planeswalker package I carefully considered for a few reasons.
Karn - he's good against BUG artifacts/affinity/etc, also if you are able to tutor a Liquimetal Coating after a Balance it will ensure the opponent will never get to have more than 1 land, being able to tutor for a Pithing Needle, Bridge, or Cage helps specific matchups
Oko - the creature interactions, and Food tokens can be lifegain for matchups where a few life points is the difference between a win and a loss.
Tezzeret - ultimate is lifegain, also turns posts into blockers or potential beaters, typically it's a 'must counter' kind of card too
Ajani - lifegain, locks down permanents, removes Elk creatures from Oko if they're both out and ultimate helps make sure they don't rebuild after a Balance
I considered a great deal more walkers but had to keep the objective in mind. Balance away the board, then dominate with walkers. I feel like many opponents are going to concede if you Balance the board clean and then play a walker the next turn. If you have 2 walkers out after a Balance I feel like 90% of opponents are going to concede once the second one drops. Part of my thought process was thinking about how difficult it would be for an opponent after having any 2 of them on the board at once.
So I'm a bit confused, are you going for a ED deck or a cascade deck. Because the posts aren't needed in the ED version and will slow you down immensely. I would say ditch the posts and add more dig/scry/reaction cards tbh. With only 4 remand, your ability to really interact with the opponent is awful, sure you can restore balance up to 6 times, but I don't think its needed that much. Walkers seem fine, again without the posts Tezzert becomes absolutely useless imo and along the same vein with Karn as well. You could run those two if you focused more on the post strat, but my issue is posts are so fragile anyways, and being 5/5s or 4/4s without any inherent protection, trample, or combat ability you're one board wipe away from losing. Even if they have Stoney silence, their own Karn out you're doomed to play them.
That said, I would replace Alpine Moon with Blood Moon for a straight upgrade
remove liquid metal coating, and remove ensaring bridge.
I would focus on one version or the other, I can help you once you figure out what exactly you want from this deck.
PS, sorry for being so harsh
The inclusion of posts is primarily there to keep the land count down and give me more resources post-Balance. I would rather not rely on Garg to be able to Balance all my opponents lands away. Post-balance if I have 2-3 posts and a land I'm in business to play any card in the deck.
As far as Tezz goes, I won a lot of games at my LGS having him on board after a Balance. Not only do you give yourself a 5/5 beater on a clean board, but Tezz also threatens to win the game. Admittedly when I was playing Tezz I was also played a single copy of each sword (before the new ones). Being able to equip a 5/5 post with any sword provides huge value. This list doesn't have the swords however. My cascade version included Thassa and Kitchen Finks and a sword equipped to either was always nice.
I'm not worried about my creatures being removed once I've Balanced. It's near impossible for an opponent to deal with a 5/5 beater the turn after a Balance, if you've removed all of their lands. The posts make this more probable. The Electro list is so focused on Balancing with Garg that after a Balance it doesn't have mana to rebuild.
Imagine this scenario. Turn 1-3 my opponent dumps hand full of creatures, leaving 1 card in hand. On my turn 1-3 I'm going to take some damage from the creatures but let's say I'm able to throw out 2 posts and suspend a Garg. On my turn 3 I play a third post, and Electro-Balance leaving just 1 card in each of our hands and my last card is an Oko. On my turn 4 Oko comes down and turns a post into a 3/3 Elk. Turn 5 comes and I can turn another post into an Elk and swing for 6. My next turn I can turn the third post into an Elk and if they try to remove any of them I'll just pitch to Garg. It just seems really good to me. A similar scenario can be played out with Tezz except he creates 5/5s.
As far as Karn is concerned, he's just really good against the BUG artifact deck on his own. He also provides some sideboard options like Pithing Needle or Bridge for matches where it's close. Liquimetal Coating is kind of a win-more card but I think it could be quite useful post-Balance. Being able to Strip Mine every turn seems like it's going to be impossible for any deck to come back.
I included Alpine Moon for tron mostly. Blood Moon without SSG is too slow. If you're on the draw against tron and they have natural turn 3 tron they're going to play a Karn/Ugin/Wurmcoil and by that time Blood Moon is too late. Alpine Moon would disrupt that even on the draw. Even with Eldrazi Temple you can disrupt them from playing a turn 3 Reality Smasher on the draw.
So you would like to see me remove the posts, SB-artifact package and the Karn/Tezz. What would you recommend going in their place?
That said, I tried the old March of the Machines combo, but found it too fragile. So a +2/+2 buff may help them survive longer and for later. But the problem I ran into, was they're still artifacts and being hit with grudge, decay, or reverly really hurts.
If you keep the posts, then like I said your chosen planeswalkers feel like a good fit.
I feel like adding a Blood Moon in replace of your Alpine just strenghten your overall matches against every deck out there. remember, ED only needs 2 RR to go off, so you can easily beat a T3 Tron on T2. And then T3 play moon and lock them out after that, instead of gambling you can get around it with a slower balance and a quicker moon.
And if you remove your custom setup package, I would just fit more dig/counter spells in the main board. You don't have a very strong way of getting/finding a Balance to your hand and it looks like you just pray you hit them asap. Something like Opt is really good, your remand is solid, maybe Izzet Charm and/or Serum Visions to help accerlate this game plan. You can even run the tried and true card of Simian Spirit Guide which makes these nut hands way more pheasible and more common.
Sideboard, sadly is all you, based on your meta. I run
This is to battle the aggro decks that swarm my meta, Tron, Boggles, Humans, Harden Scales Affinity and Dredge. I don't look to win against any control deck and their varients because they can just win by holding all their counterspells every turn. But I would reccommend a few cards off this list. Mainly Anger of the Gods still a very strong and cheap card against almost any aggro deck making you less reliant on popping off a Balance T1-T3. Wear // Tear, to help get rid of early Stony Silence, Aether Vial, or Ethereal Armor that hit early. Based on your current list, if the opponent hits you with an early anti-artifact spell you rely on your mana base making for future balances very very tricky. And then maybe someway to get rid of a graveyard, Ravenous Trap really helps because Dredge just pours it on and its super easy to cast for 0.
That said, this is all for my cascade version. There are better cards than what I run simple because of mana cost.
I like your current cascade package, that seems solid.