Hey guys, I've always liked tron strategies and have decided this is the flavor for me in modern. I've read the (great) FAQ, and have been lurking around watching this thread for a little while now, and I think I'm ready to sleeve up. That said, can someone point me to some lists that have done well lately? I'd like to use a tried and tested list as a jumping off point. I have a pretty good idea of what the card pool is, but am struggling with the numbers on a lot of things.
Most of the lists I've been able to find are out of date.
I might try giving epiphany at the drownyard a go after my exams, but it seems pretty dicey to use if you're not casting it on a mindslaver'ed opponent's turn.
Any tips for using this card well?
It's not too difficult to use, especially if you have AR out. The less information your opponent the easier it is for you to make two seemingly equivalent but unbalanced piles. Making the pile is similar to gifting. Try to separate your win conditions, or give them 1-2 cards that your opponent fears in one pile, and a ton of cards in the other. Certainly don't put all your eggs in one basket.
You can make it very difficult for them to chose, and again, ruins makes it easier. If you're running EatD, I recommend running 2 AR.
That being said, any reasonable opponent will scoop and give you the win once they see the loop demonstrated, and it is the deck's most reliable win condition as it's the hardest to interact with.
Reasonable? Have you played at a GP before? In competitive events, it's not about being fair and reasonable, it's about winning.
You could always argue the LGS judge's points by looking into the rules and presenting them to the judges. Mindsslaver is too powerful to not play regardless of any local rules. Having to play it out is only a problem if you've lost the first game, or on G3.
My point is that a draw isn't that much better than a loss and gives you bad breakers later, so most people will simply concede. I've not had an opponent make me go to turns. SCG States is the largest tournament I've been to, but a lot of people just concede to Mindslaver, including Zac Elsik, whom I played in my Game 1 at Texas States.
Further, once you ask to see their sideboard (if it's G1 or down a game), and you can demonstrate the loop, the game should be over very quickly. You both agree on the shortcut of casting & activating mindslaver, and then using AR to put it on top, and you draw for them and discard for them until they're milled out. You can also skip the untap phase after you've tapped them down. If they try to hold priority during your turn while you loop mindslaver, call a judge.
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Modern: Esper Draw Go, U Tron
Legacy: TES (and sometimes ANT), Miracles
We've had three 5-0s in leagues over the past three days in the hands of three different players. The cool thing is that each deck isn't exactly the same. Things are looking up for us in this new meta!!!
Fast meta Anticipate is better than Epiphany. Meta with lots of creature decks that go wide Silent Arbiter is good (doesn't need to be fast, midrangey decks usually go wide)
welcome to the forum..
my take on it would be either to add maybe 2-3 removal spells in any combination of dismember and/or spatial contortion or maybe max up on your repeals..
sometimes i like to toy around and run a singleton squelch in the main in lieu of the 4th remand..its amazing how this card is almost never dead versus so many decks..
but that's just me, i'm sure others here might have something else in mind..
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"I am the purifier, the light that clears all shadows."
—Seal inscription
We've had three 5-0s in leagues over the past three days in the hands of three different players. The cool thing is that each deck isn't exactly the same. Things are looking up for us in this new meta!!!
I've seen Pierakor's 5-0 list. Does anybody have links to the other two? I need some inspiration for fnm this weekend!
Also, has anybody tested gifts ungiven lately? I know epiphany at the drownyard yields more card advantage but I wonder how powerful picking the exact cards you want could be in this meta. I will test at my fnm but do not have mtgo. If anyone has any insights please share.
Gifts Ungiven is one of my favorite magic cards of all time. If you want to run gifts you have to re work the frame of this deck a lot. A singleton gifts is neat, and i've ran as many as 3 main before but its just not as good as thirst for knowledge early game. The mind banging that occurs with gifts ungiven is the BEST part of the card. I often gifts for cards that i have in my hand (i.e urza tower if i'm gripping a tower). Its awesome w/ early tron but its a turn too slow v aggro.
I would post my 5-0 list but there are some angry / mean dudesweats in this forum that will obliterate me for not formatting a deck list "correctly". I let Pierakor do all the celebrating and hype for 5-0'ing a league. I kind of enjoy myself flying under the radar like i always do. =)
it did have 3x gemstone caverns in the 75. I"ll post it later tonight. I'm about to get crinkled and stream a few 8 mans if they fire... GREEN UP LETS DO THIS!
Fast meta Anticipate is better than Epiphany. Meta with lots of creature decks that go wide Silent Arbiter is good (doesn't need to be fast, midrangey decks usually go wide)
Interesting, that does make sense. So my local meta is more geared towards aggro: Burn, and Zoo specifically. Would you say that Anticipate and Silent Arbiter are likely worthwhile running in such a meta?
Also, has anybody tested gifts ungiven lately? I know epiphany at the drownyard yields more card advantage but I wonder how powerful picking the exact cards you want could be in this meta. I will test at my fnm but do not have mtgo. If anyone has any insights please share.
i still sometimes run a singleton and use it exclusively just for value because i don't really feel like running the various "gifts package" that some prefer to run with it like crucible of worlds, noxious revival, etc..
Went 3-1 last night and 3-0'd last week (Bigger turn out last night).
Match 1 - Grixis Delver
Chalice on 1 was the real all-star here. Game one he lands Tasigur but I follow up with Wurmcoil and Sundering Titan and close out the game.
Game 2, I stick another early chalice on 1 and condescend his first tasigur, he follows it up with Blood Moon but I have plenty of basic Islands, 3 towers, and a Palace in the Clouds. I TKS and see a mana leak and a remand, some bolts, and an electrolyze. I bait him into tapping his only blue source on his turn and play Wurmcoil followed by repealing his Blood Moon. This largely locks his next turn, where he feels compelled to play Blood Moon again as I now have Tron assembled. I follow up with Ugin + enough mana to condescend any of his counters and quickly close the game.
Match 2 - UW Control
Our former affinity player is on something more interactive. Unfortunately for him, this deck would rather see UW Control than affinity 10 times out of 10.
Early on, I map for a Academy Ruins and recur map turn after turn with a hand full of counterspells to build advantage. Lots of passing back and forth. I eventually cast Wurmcoil, which he supreme verdicts. I follow that up flashing in Ambush Viper to keep the pressure on. Next turn I Sundering Titan. I blow up some of his lands. The next turn he paths it but in response I ghost quarter his Collonade and get to blow up even more lands. Game doesn't last much longer after that.
Game 2, I am back on the mapping for advantage. He's mana screwed and has to discard to handsize a couple turns. I TKS him and see 2 runed halos, Glen Alandra, and some counters. I pull the GA. Next turn he resolves Stoney Silence and plays Runed Halo naming Mindslaver (I have 2 in my hand). I draw and pass. Following turn he slams Gideon and on his tapped out end step I overload Cyclonic Rift into Mindslaver lock.
Match 3 - Bogles
The slipperiest devils.
Game 1 I'm on the draw, turn 2 chalice on 1 but he had turn 1 Gladecover, turn 2 aura, turn 3 Daybreak, finally had a pro-creatures aura and I got wrecked.
Game 2, I mull to 4, and he drops turn 1 bogle. I somehow hang in there long enough to tutor up chalice and play it on 1 with tron. I have dimensional infiltrator block for me and I rip an Ugin off the top. He had me down to 1 life and I came back. On my last end step he fetches for Dryad Arbor, rips a 3 mana enchantment which I remand. He goes to attacks and I flash in snap to save the last point. I could have and should have ulted Ugin to get back up from 1.
Game 3, my opening hand is great, including the chalice. He gets an aura on his bogle and I drop chalice on 1. He does find daybreak, but I quickly get Platinum Angel out and go negative. He thinks his lifelink is just going to take us to a draw, but I have outs. I bounce his non-daybreak auras, land an Ugin and eventually a Sundering Titan and slowly but surely close out the game.
Match 4 - GR Titanshift
Game 1, he has a nuts draw and just ramps through my permission into prime time for the kill.
Game 2 is a bit more interactive. I have dimensional infiltrator control his draws while his top card is revealed with Courser. I exile some relevant spells but he naturally kills me with mountains and valakut triggers.
Overall, pretty satisfied. I'm not sure how well the GR Titanshift matchup can go, I've rarely played it. Thankfully, the guy who plays that likes to bring a new deck every week and his other gotos tend to be Jund and Loam decks, which I feel more comfortable with (though the Loam + GQ threat is always real).
I picked up some trickbinds for my sideboard but seeing new players I opted to not put them in. I might grab some Squelches this weekend and try one or two of those. There is an occasional Melira Company player that trickbind would be really nice for, and there's something satisfying about stifling fetchlands that never gets old.
Here's my current list (generally tweaking for fun, I have the same list on MTGO, but I usually run different stuff in sideboard)
Is the singleton Snapcaster Mage that important? Or is it just a "sweet one-of"? Same questions for Spellskite. I get that they each have situations where they are great and/or win the game, but I hesitate at having too many singletons, outside of things worth recurring with Academy Ruins.
I'd consider dropping Snap for another Dimensional Infiltrator. Snap is great, but without gifts, a playset, or burn spells he's less great. Having a turn 2 flyer with relevant upside is REALLY great. There are many times you want to pressure a resolved planeswalker or get in an early blocker (great against affinity). I was running 2 over the TKS but went with a 1/1 split. I'm never dissatisfied to see Snap but when I really need him I'm often limited on blue mana or mana in general. I may try to cut him on MTGO and see how that turns out.
Spellskite as a one-of may not be optimal but it's tutorable with Fabricate and it's a necessity against Infect and helps against path, burn, bogles, and affinity. All of which are present in my paper meta and online. He might be worthwhile to bump up to a 2-of, but my sideboard space feels tight as it is.
I may cut the extra Mindslaver in the side to make some room, I generally bring it in against Control decks and decks that play Scooze so I can be a bit more aggressive with my first one. The control matchup is generally already so lopsided in our favor that I'm not too worried, and I can probably afford to play more conservatively against scooze.
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Modern: Esper Draw Go, U Tron
Legacy: TES (and sometimes ANT), Miracles
Has anyone ever tried vedalken shackles? I'm looking for some other playable artifact mainboard, i do not have chalices and 11 artifacts (no talisman list) are not enought for thirst i think.. or maybe is too situational?
Vedalken shackles is a sweet card but it's hard to use in our deck because we typically do not have many islands on the field.
Gifts Ungiven is one of my favorite magic cards of all time. If you want to run gifts you have to re work the frame of this deck a lot. A singleton gifts is neat, and i've ran as many as 3 main before but its just not as good as thirst for knowledge early game. The mind banging that occurs with gifts ungiven is the BEST part of the card. I often gifts for cards that i have in my hand (i.e urza tower if i'm gripping a tower). Its awesome w/ early tron but its a turn too slow v aggro.
I would post my 5-0 list but there are some angry / mean dudesweats in this forum that will obliterate me for not formatting a deck list "correctly". I let Pierakor do all the celebrating and hype for 5-0'ing a league. I kind of enjoy myself flying under the radar like i always do. =)
it did have 3x gemstone caverns in the 75. I"ll post it later tonight. I'm about to get crinkled and stream a few 8 mans if they fire... GREEN UP LETS DO THIS!
Your a Legend Troopa
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Most of the lists I've been able to find are out of date.
It's not too difficult to use, especially if you have AR out. The less information your opponent the easier it is for you to make two seemingly equivalent but unbalanced piles. Making the pile is similar to gifting. Try to separate your win conditions, or give them 1-2 cards that your opponent fears in one pile, and a ton of cards in the other. Certainly don't put all your eggs in one basket.
You can make it very difficult for them to chose, and again, ruins makes it easier. If you're running EatD, I recommend running 2 AR.
Further, once you ask to see their sideboard (if it's G1 or down a game), and you can demonstrate the loop, the game should be over very quickly. You both agree on the shortcut of casting & activating mindslaver, and then using AR to put it on top, and you draw for them and discard for them until they're milled out. You can also skip the untap phase after you've tapped them down. If they try to hold priority during your turn while you loop mindslaver, call a judge.
Legacy: TES (and sometimes ANT), Miracles
Pauper: Kuldotha Jeskai, Murasa Tron
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-mono-blue-tron-25750#paper
Youtube Channel
My stream:
www.twitch.tv/pierakor
My Disco:
https://discord.gg/gTt6xHd
I notice that you're no longer running Anticipate, and Silent Arbiter: any thoughts on this? Sweet match by the way.
Youtube Channel
My stream:
www.twitch.tv/pierakor
My Disco:
https://discord.gg/gTt6xHd
Youtube Channel
My stream:
www.twitch.tv/pierakor
My Disco:
https://discord.gg/gTt6xHd
my take on it would be either to add maybe 2-3 removal spells in any combination of dismember and/or spatial contortion or maybe max up on your repeals..
sometimes i like to toy around and run a singleton squelch in the main in lieu of the 4th remand..its amazing how this card is almost never dead versus so many decks..
but that's just me, i'm sure others here might have something else in mind..
—Seal inscription
I've seen Pierakor's 5-0 list. Does anybody have links to the other two? I need some inspiration for fnm this weekend!
Also, has anybody tested gifts ungiven lately? I know epiphany at the drownyard yields more card advantage but I wonder how powerful picking the exact cards you want could be in this meta. I will test at my fnm but do not have mtgo. If anyone has any insights please share.
I would post my 5-0 list but there are some angry / mean dudesweats in this forum that will obliterate me for not formatting a deck list "correctly". I let Pierakor do all the celebrating and hype for 5-0'ing a league. I kind of enjoy myself flying under the radar like i always do. =)
it did have 3x gemstone caverns in the 75. I"ll post it later tonight. I'm about to get crinkled and stream a few 8 mans if they fire... GREEN UP LETS DO THIS!
i still sometimes run a singleton and use it exclusively just for value because i don't really feel like running the various "gifts package" that some prefer to run with it like crucible of worlds, noxious revival, etc..
i have yet to try epiphany at the drownyard..
—Seal inscription
Match 1 - Grixis Delver
Chalice on 1 was the real all-star here. Game one he lands Tasigur but I follow up with Wurmcoil and Sundering Titan and close out the game.
Game 2, I stick another early chalice on 1 and condescend his first tasigur, he follows it up with Blood Moon but I have plenty of basic Islands, 3 towers, and a Palace in the Clouds. I TKS and see a mana leak and a remand, some bolts, and an electrolyze. I bait him into tapping his only blue source on his turn and play Wurmcoil followed by repealing his Blood Moon. This largely locks his next turn, where he feels compelled to play Blood Moon again as I now have Tron assembled. I follow up with Ugin + enough mana to condescend any of his counters and quickly close the game.
Match 2 - UW Control
Our former affinity player is on something more interactive. Unfortunately for him, this deck would rather see UW Control than affinity 10 times out of 10.
Early on, I map for a Academy Ruins and recur map turn after turn with a hand full of counterspells to build advantage. Lots of passing back and forth. I eventually cast Wurmcoil, which he supreme verdicts. I follow that up flashing in Ambush Viper to keep the pressure on. Next turn I Sundering Titan. I blow up some of his lands. The next turn he paths it but in response I ghost quarter his Collonade and get to blow up even more lands. Game doesn't last much longer after that.
Game 2, I am back on the mapping for advantage. He's mana screwed and has to discard to handsize a couple turns. I TKS him and see 2 runed halos, Glen Alandra, and some counters. I pull the GA. Next turn he resolves Stoney Silence and plays Runed Halo naming Mindslaver (I have 2 in my hand). I draw and pass. Following turn he slams Gideon and on his tapped out end step I overload Cyclonic Rift into Mindslaver lock.
Match 3 - Bogles
The slipperiest devils.
Game 1 I'm on the draw, turn 2 chalice on 1 but he had turn 1 Gladecover, turn 2 aura, turn 3 Daybreak, finally had a pro-creatures aura and I got wrecked.
Game 2, I mull to 4, and he drops turn 1 bogle. I somehow hang in there long enough to tutor up chalice and play it on 1 with tron. I have dimensional infiltrator block for me and I rip an Ugin off the top. He had me down to 1 life and I came back. On my last end step he fetches for Dryad Arbor, rips a 3 mana enchantment which I remand. He goes to attacks and I flash in snap to save the last point. I could have and should have ulted Ugin to get back up from 1.
Game 3, my opening hand is great, including the chalice. He gets an aura on his bogle and I drop chalice on 1. He does find daybreak, but I quickly get Platinum Angel out and go negative. He thinks his lifelink is just going to take us to a draw, but I have outs. I bounce his non-daybreak auras, land an Ugin and eventually a Sundering Titan and slowly but surely close out the game.
Match 4 - GR Titanshift
Game 1, he has a nuts draw and just ramps through my permission into prime time for the kill.
Game 2 is a bit more interactive. I have dimensional infiltrator control his draws while his top card is revealed with Courser. I exile some relevant spells but he naturally kills me with mountains and valakut triggers.
Overall, pretty satisfied. I'm not sure how well the GR Titanshift matchup can go, I've rarely played it. Thankfully, the guy who plays that likes to bring a new deck every week and his other gotos tend to be Jund and Loam decks, which I feel more comfortable with (though the Loam + GQ threat is always real).
I picked up some trickbinds for my sideboard but seeing new players I opted to not put them in. I might grab some Squelches this weekend and try one or two of those. There is an occasional Melira Company player that trickbind would be really nice for, and there's something satisfying about stifling fetchlands that never gets old.
Here's my current list (generally tweaking for fun, I have the same list on MTGO, but I usually run different stuff in sideboard)
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Epiphany at the Drownyard
Removal
2 Repeal
1 Cyclonic Rift
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Oblivion Stone
Permission
4 Remand
4 Condescend
2 Chalice of the Void
Beats & Blocks
1 Batterskull
1 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Sundering Titan
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Dimensional Infiltrator
1 Platinum Angel
1 Fabricate
1 Treasure Mage
4 Expedition Map
Other
1 Mindslaver
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Land
2 Academy Ruins
1 Tolaria West
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Ghost Quarter
8 Island
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Spellskite
1 Negate
1 Jester's Cap
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Mindslaver
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Spell Burst
2 Aetherize
1 Silent Arbiter
1 Oblivion Stone
Legacy: TES (and sometimes ANT), Miracles
Pauper: Kuldotha Jeskai, Murasa Tron
Spellskite as a one-of may not be optimal but it's tutorable with Fabricate and it's a necessity against Infect and helps against path, burn, bogles, and affinity. All of which are present in my paper meta and online. He might be worthwhile to bump up to a 2-of, but my sideboard space feels tight as it is.
I may cut the extra Mindslaver in the side to make some room, I generally bring it in against Control decks and decks that play Scooze so I can be a bit more aggressive with my first one. The control matchup is generally already so lopsided in our favor that I'm not too worried, and I can probably afford to play more conservatively against scooze.
Legacy: TES (and sometimes ANT), Miracles
Pauper: Kuldotha Jeskai, Murasa Tron
If I get a ride ill be in Charlotte.
Vedalken shackles is a sweet card but it's hard to use in our deck because we typically do not have many islands on the field.
70.1% winrate
same decklist because honestly it's perfect (for me anyway)
1848 rating
Sorry for the bragging
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MgwjYr3pVqSgIFKhhXX0ifxp0HtM-aVyHaLxMWNwlF8/edit?usp=sharing
Youtube Channel
My stream:
www.twitch.tv/pierakor
My Disco:
https://discord.gg/gTt6xHd