Okay, thank you. I'm playing the deck at GP Detroit and a potential Bolt every turn against stuff like Infect and Affinity seems pretty good to me, but I can definitely understand why you wouldn't want to give up any tempo in those match-ups.
What do you guys think of running a copy of Chandra, Flamecaller at the top end? I'm waiting for the final pieces of Temur Moon to come in the mail (my god, do I love the cut of its jib) and I see some people running Batterskulls, somebody ran Surrak Dragonclaw--which is the hotness--, and some lists run a 5cmc dragon or two in the top spot. This deck wants to slow everybody down while it beats them to death later on, right? Would Chandra pull that off? Six damage a turn is not an insignificant clock (though the tokens can't play defense which makes her worse against aggro and burn) and in late game stalls she can break things open with a 0 loyalty draw 1, 2, or 3 cards ability. Her "ultimate" isn't particularly good since the decks that get hit by it are probably gonna be disinclined to allow you to drop a six mana planeswalker unless you've been hounding them with Bolts and Leaks and Electrolyzes left, right, and center.
Batterskull is backbreaking against non-Infect aggro decks if you get it on-board. It's also pretty good against grindy decks that lead to stalled boards because it's big on it's own and just enormous when you slap it on a Snapcaster Mage, Vendilion Clique, or Tarmogoyf.
Surrak Dragonclaw is a five mana 6/6 with pseudo-haste who makes Goyfs trample and Cliques uncounterable. If you see lots of Blue decks running around, he's gonna be a troublemaker. Flash also lets you hold up counter mana more easily, particularly Cryptic Command.
Chandra, Flamecaller is versatile. She gives you 6 hasty power over two bodies while going up in loyalty to a difficult to kill 5 right off the bat. Her zero is just straight up "Draw a card" if you're hellbent and can ship away excess lands, Blood Moons, Mana Leaks, and the like to turn bad late game top decks into another chance at gas. She can sweep the board against aggro decks to really stabilize with her minus. She also lets you go a bit wider if you're running her alongside Ma and Pa--though that might be getting greedy.
That she costs six is a pretty hefty downside, I'll admit. In a deck with 22-ish lands, the difference between 5 and 6 is considerable, but her power level seems high and her versatility seems pretty good in a deck that wants to slow the game down.
So, whadya think? Rose-colored glasses or cool new curve-topper?
Not a big fan of patting myself on the back, but I so rarely try to introduce new tech on the forums that I feel a little pleased with this. Chandra has been solid the few times I've drawn her, but I just haven't had enough time to play lately to come to any definite conclusions. Hopefully this finish will get a couple more people testing to see if Chandra is real or just a fluke.
And while I'm talking about testing cards, has anyone given Logic Knot a try? I'm thinking about picking up a couple copies from my LGS next time I'm there. Might be worth trying out over a Mana Leak or two. We have to be careful about eating too much of our yard and starving future Snapcaster Mages, but fetches, Batterskulls, creatures, Moons, planeswalkers, and the like can easily be fodder for a more or less hard counter. Double blue can be a pain from time-to-time, but we run a ton of basic Islands. It can't completely replace Leak, but the first Logic Knot seems like a good replacement for the third Leak, right? Seems terrible in Temur Moon, but I'm currently giving a U/R list a run and Knot seems pretty good.
Important cards to note in the 75:
1 of magma spray in conjunction with 1 burst lightning. I guess he felt like Abzan company would be more of a thing and expected more matter reshapers. Right now, I wouldn't run magma spray maindeck.
1 Chandra, Flamecaller. WHAAAAAAAAATTT???????? Seriously, the card seems interesting on its own. It produces 6 damage a turn if left alone, provides card advantage and helps discard additional moons in hand when they are being useless, and can be a pyroclasm/deal 3 to all/deal 4 to all when it comes out. I think this is something to look into now that it actually has some results with it. I am for certain testing it out and seeing its merit.
1 Additional land for desolate lighthouse. Useful in any matchup you want to remove blood moons (affinity, burn, infect, zoo). not sure if the slot is better used for a removal spell or this. Deserves testing.
2 Roast. Makes sense adding an additional copy to the MD since it kills smasher and TKS.
1 Jace, AOT. Another card i am interested in why the inclusion. If this was the meta before eldrazi was a thing, i understand. But with eldrazi everywhere, making up 44% of day 2, I don't like the jace inclusion, even if he is awesome.
Noteable exceptions
Vedalken Shackles. Has 2 copies of roast as his way of removing big creatures, and has 2 batter skull and 1 chandra for game ending tech. Probably replaced it with the chandra. I might try this to see how it works out.
Wurmcoil Engine. 6 mana is a lot, but this card ends games vs colorless eldrazi. HOWEVER, the deck of the tournament was by far UW eldrazi, with access to Drowner of Hope and Eldrazi Displacer that can remove its usefulness. makes sense to use keranos again if this is going to be the new deck to beat since it kills stuff each turn and provides card advantage.
EDIT: Important to note: chalice of the void was rarely seen in the top 32. Relegated to SB use rather than MD play in almost all versions of the deck besides colorless eldrazi, which did use the playset and SSG MD, and the UW versions ignored it all together in favor of actual counter magic like Stubborn Denial and access to cards like Worship. So keep this in mind when deck building
I actually beat this guy in Round 1. he was very good. his first pro tour was Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch.
I just 5-0 in the league with Chung's version of the pt. Replacing one burst lightning with roast, and keranos instead of the third batterskull in the sb.
Even though roast takes down the crusher I on't like it's mana cost combined with its speed. I was thinking about trying flameslash. One or two copies. The fact that is only one mana drives my attention. Not many times one ends up winning with burst lightning anyway.
Okay everyone. Here is my tournament report from SCG Open Louisville. I placed 115th out of over 700 people and fell short of making day 2.
Let's start with the decklist I played at the event.
I changed some things last minute from my previous list. -1 Burst Lightning, -1 Spell Snare, +1 Vedalken Shackles, +1 Roast because I wanted to see those 2 cards more often against Eldrazi. I also cut the 3rd Pia and Kiran Nalaar for two reasons. 1) Because I figured since there were now two copies of Vedalken Shackles we didn't need the 3rd one because now we have another reliable way to win the game. and 2) because with increasing the mana cost of cards in the maindeck and sideboard, I wanted the 23rd land so I would be able to hit my land drops and cast my higher casting cost spells more efficiently.
I didn't take any detailed notes so I will do my best to recall as much as I can. I didn't write down how I sideboarded or anything like that. Sorry.
Round 1: Blue Moon Win 2-1
This was a tough match against a really good opponent. My opponent was Benjamin Nikolich fresh off Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch and who ended up in 24th place when the event was over. Congratulations to him!
Game 1 went as well as anyone could expect. For the first 6 turns all we did was make land drops. He tried to Blood Moon me and that's when we both realized we were up against the mirror. So I turned on the burn plan throwing random Lightning Bolts and Electrolyzes at his face. We fought over some spells but I eventually came out on top and burned him out. Cool thing was, somewhere during out game I got to Roast a Snapcaster Mage =)
Game 2 the game went pretty long. He ended up crushing me with Chandra, Flamecaller. When he tapped 6 mana I thought to myself "well I guess he drew Wurmcoil Engine" boy was I surprised!
Game 3 he got stuck on 4 lands while I kept making land drops. If I recall correctly a Pia and Kiran Nalaar and a Batterskull ended the game.
1-0
Round 2: Infect Loss 1-2
My opponent was friends with Ben who had discussed our previous match in Round 1 so he already knew what I was playing when I sat down. While shuffling my opponent dropped cards from his deck onto the table where he revealed a Wild Defiance so we both started Game 1 knowing exactly what deck we were both playing. Lolz
Game 1 I opened a hand full of removal. I killed some creatures and got a Batterskull online. He killed me at 5 life with double Inkmoth Nexus
Game 2 He got stuck on land which was a Pendelhaven. Turn 3 Blood Moon hit the table. He scooped a few turns later.
Game 3 I do remember well. I was on the play but my only removal was Electroylze plus Snapcaster Mage which I thought might be good enough. He went turn 1 Pendelhaven Noble Hierach. Turn 2 Glistener Elf and Blighted Agent. I turn 2 I cast a Serum Visions where I found a Spreading Seas. My plan was to untap on turn 3 and Electrolyze his two infect creatures but with Pendelhaven in play, I had to use Spreading Seas first so I left it on top with Serum Visions. His turn 3 he attacked for 2 infect. My turn 3 I cast Spreading Seas on his Pendelhaven and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be dead. His turn 4 he cast Groundswell + Mutagenic Growth on Blighted Agent Exalted and attacked me for 8 poison.
1-1
Round 3: Kiki Chord Loss 1-2
The only significant thing I remember regarding this match is Game 3. No Blood Moons ever touched the table. Each game went incredible long and grindy. Game 2 I hit a turn 5 Keranos, God of Storms and it eventually won me the game while I did everything I could to keep his creatures in check. In game 3, I got a Vedalken Shackles to steal his Restoration Angel but my life total was super low. He kept recurring Eternal Witness, Reveillark, and Chord of Calling. I got a Batterskull onto the table. In his last turn he Chorded for Qasali Pridemage to kill the Vedalken Shackles, then he cast Restoration Angel from his hand to blink a Reclamation Sage he had in play to kill my Batterskull and attack for the win. '
After this match I was starting to become really upset after taking 2 losses in a row mostly due to the fact that they were long grindy games and I never saw a Blood Moon hit the table. I said to my friend "Not drawing Blood Moon in this deck is like playing Miracles and not ever drawing Sensei's Divining Top. It's like playing a Delver deck and never drawing a Delver of Secrets". At this point I felt like my deck was letting me down. But I took a breath, walked around to clear my head and I was determined to not lose another match the rest of the day.
1-2
Round 4: Elves Win 2-1
These games were easy. My opponent was new and told me it was his first SCG Open. He kept forgetting to name a creature type when Cavern of Souls came into play which I reminded him of as we played our match.
Game 1 my hand was full of removal. I killed every single creature he played ever until his board was empty. I intentionally did not play Blood Moon or Vedalken Shackles so he would not know to play around these cards in our sideboarded games.
Game 2 I mulliganed and my hand was kind of slow. He got double Elvish Archdruid into play and complimented them with an Ezuri, Renegade Leader.
Game 3 I opened removal and Blood Moon. Blood Moon hit the table on turn 3 and he never played another spell the rest of the game. He was pretty upset when our match was done because he felt like his deck was well positioned for a tournament that was supposed to be lacking in removal. Unfortunately for him, his previous rounds he had faced very removal heavy decks. I was just relieved to get a win after two previous losses. I was also super happy that I saw Blood Moon on time for a change.
2-2
The fire was starting to Burn again. Knowing I couldn't take another loss, I continued on hoping for good matchups the rest of the day. In Round 5, my luck was starting to turn for the better.
Round 5: Jeskai Kiki Control Win 2-0
Game 1 was a slaughter. I got a Blood Moon on the table followed some turns later by Vedalken Shackles. Blood Moon is insanely good against UWR Control decks. He tried to put a fight but it wasn't a very good one.
Game 2 He tried to Stony Silence me on turn 2 but I had the counterspell at the ready. I almost let it resolve thinking "oh well I wouldn't get to use Batterskull who cares?" But then I decided to counter it. Even though I forgot that card could shut down Vedalken Shackles too. Glad I countered it. I made a goof mistake of using Spreading Seas on his basic Island. Oops. However, it persuaded him not to use his Spell Snare he was holding and it drew me one card closer to Blood Moon. I landed a Blood Moon but he already had basic Island and basic Plains on the table. He got a Restoration Angel on the table which I had a pretty tough time dealing with. I found another Spreading Seas this time for his basic Plains. Eventually I was able to find Batterskull just in time to start gaining life. He had Restoration Angel on the table for so many turns looking desperately for a Kiki-Jiki. Unfortunately for him I found Vedalken Shackles first. And the game was over.
3-2
Round 6: Abzan Company Win 2-0
Game 1 a turn 3 Blood Moon hit the table. He put up a fight but it wasn't enough.
Game 2 I cast Spreading Seas on his Horizon Canopy. I don't remember if Blood Moon hit the table or not. I'm pretty sure it did, but regardless my life total in Game 2 was 38. I believe this was the game that ended when I put two Batterskull into play. I tested this matchup a bunch so I was pretty comfortable with it. He drew very few (if any) copies of Collected Company which certainly didn't help his chances of winning, but didn't hurt our chances of winning either. This was also the match where I my opponent had a Wall of Roots in play, activated Gavony Township and I thought the dice on the creature was for the -0/-1 (he was reaching for his dice for his other creatures in play.) While he was doing this, I tried to Burst Lightning with kicker his Wall of Roots. Turns out, the dice on Wall of Roots was for the Gavony Township, and he didn't have to use Wall of Roots for mana to use the ability of the land. So kids, make sure you actually know what is being represented in play before you make a dumb mistake like I did. I felt pretty silly afterwards and even though I felt like I could have called a judge for miscommunication, I let it go and was determined to just simply win the game instead.
4-2
I'm feeling really good now. I have two losses still, but I've managed to win 3 matches in a row and at this point I was starting wonder where the hell are all the Eldrazi decks? I can't believe I haven't faced it once yet. Based on the day 2 metagame and the final results, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I took 2 losses early.
Round 7: Grixis Moon Win 2-0
Game 1 I figured I was on the mirror match again. He was playing with Scalding Tarns and Islands and I had multiple Blood Moons so I just slammed an early Blood Moon. Then he dropped a swamp into play and when he continued to drop Islands, I realized he was on Grixis Moon. I thought to myself, "wow cool. this is gonna be interesting". My opponent and I had a discussion about the deck after the match was over. He played a lot more aggressive than I did and I just kept drawing counterspells. Eventually resolving a Pia and Kiran Nallar after it was Remanded two turns in a row.
Game 2 I was back on the Burn plan again. I won all the counter wars. Especially one in particular. I cast a Batterskull. He tried to Snapcaster Mage. I cast Spell Snare. He tried to Remand his Snapcaster Mage, I cast Dispel. All the while during the match I was throwing Burn spells at his face. A Batterskull attacked him to 1. He cast Wurmcoil Engine which I let resolve because I had Snapcaster Mage, burn spells in my graveyard, and counterspells to back it up.
5-2
3 Control mirrors all defeated. And I'm thinking "I really owe a lot of my success in control mirrors from playing Miracles in Legacy for so many years". I was feeling unstoppable.
Round 8: RG Eldrazi Loss 0-2
Game 1 was the biggest disappointment of the ENTIRE DAY. I won the die roll and chose to play. Turn 1, I played a Scalding Tarn. Turn 1 he played Eldrazi Temple. Turn 2, I played an Island. Turn 2 he played Grove of the Burnwillows and tried to cast Ancient Stirrings. I countered it with Mana Leak. I untapped and on an empty board I slam turn 3 Blood Moon against Eldrazi! I was ecstatic. My joy was shattered when he untapped and played Talisman of Impulse! I was literally dumbfounded. I had no idea they were playing that card. and afterwards came a flurry of Endless One, Thought-Knot Seer, and Reality Smasher.
Game 2 I stumbled on lands early and was promptly defeated.
5-3
One round left to play and I had finally faced off against the Eldrazi menace. I couldn't believe that turn 3 Blood Moon on the play on an empty board was not good enough. My absolute best hand against Eldrazi just wasn't good enough. It bothered me a lot, but I had one more round left to play and I didn't want to throw away any chance I had of making day 2. Since my match ended so quickly, I went outside and walked around to clear my head.
Round 9: Colorless Eldrazi Win 2-0
Game 1 I don't honestly remember what happened or why it went so well. But I had a firm control of the game the entire time. I do not remember if Blood Moon was a reason for that or not.
Game 2 I was ritualistically smashed to bits by a good draw by Eldrazi.
Game 3 my opponent's first play was Ghost Quarter, pitch Simian Spirit Guide cast Ratchet Bomb. I still cast Blood Moon on turn 3 even though Ratchet Bomb was on the table and the fact that I had a 2nd one in hand ready to go. He ended up removing my Blood Moon from play with Ratchet Bomb and then he Surgical Extracted my Blood Moons! I was not expecting that whatsoever! a few turns later he had to call a judge because he cast Oblivion Sower and he didn't understand Snapcaster + Mana Leak in response to the creature being cast, but after the cast trigger had already resolved. the judges straightened this out for him and the next turn I found my 6th land and put a Wurmcoil Engine into play. He couldn't recover, it was too much for him.
6-3
That was it. That was my day 1 tournament. All I could do now was wait for the final standings to go up and listen for the announcement of who was going to make day 2. Unfortunately for me, because there was over 700 people there, you had to be 7-2 or 21 points to make day 2. I was 1 win short of making Day 2. Overall, I was pretty happy with the deck and felt good about my results. I took 2 losses early in the day, but I kept fighting. I felt like the work I had put into play testing the last couple of weeks paid off as I was pretty comfortable in each matchup as well as with my sideboarding decisions. My final standing was 115th place. I had a few moments of disappointment and doubt, but I am proud of myself for finding a way to get through it, and keep fighting until the very end. I gave myself the best chance possible of making day 2. Even though I didn't make day 2, I wasn't all that upset. 115th place out of over 700 people and 1 win shy of day 2 is not bad at all.
Anyways, that's my tournament report. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
1) Do you have some notes about how to side against the most common MU (I'm new of this deck and it would be useful for me)?
2) Why would you manaleak Oblivion Sower after letting the trigger resolves? The opponent then could have more lands to pay for the leak...
1) When I faced Eldrazi, if I suspected Chalice of the Void, I usually boarded out -2 Serum Visions, -2 Lightning Bolt, -2 Spell Snare, -2 Burst Lightning, +2 Spreading Seas, +1 Keranos, God of Storms, +2 Anger of the Gods, +1 Wurmcoil Engine. If i'm on the play i'll keep +2 Serum Visions in. if i'm on the draw i'll keep in +2 Spell Snare.
2) Oops. Guess i missed that i could have done it before the cast trigger resolves. good to know for next time.
What do you guys say about harvest pyre?
I have a one off main board. And it's been great.
It can deal instantly with things , chopp off the yard and interact with jeskai manlans(I have three regular players in my meta and I am not sure how else to deal with them).
I will post my list later.
Harvest Pyre isn't necessarily a bad card. but I think a card like Roast is much stronger. Roast is strong turn 2 on the draw against a thought-knot seer or a 5/5 or less endless one. harvest pyre would not be able to kill these cards nearly as fast as Roast can. so the speed at which Roast can kill 5/5's is stronger than a card that makes you fill your graveyard up first.
So mates, i've been thinking about a split between Blood Moon and Spreading Seas, i'll test 3x Moons and 2x Seas, what you guys think?
Only if you're split does not require you to cut any number of Blood Moons. When you run less than 4 you don't see a Blood Moon fast enough in the games where it really matters. I tested 3 Blood Moons, 2 Spreading Seas maindeck with a 3rd Spreading Seas in the sideboard. and in my testing, I did not draw blood moon often enough. you need to play the full 4.
So mates, i've been thinking about a split between Blood Moon and Spreading Seas, i'll test 3x Moons and 2x Seas, what you guys think?
Only if you're split does not require you to cut any number of Blood Moons. When you run less than 4 you don't see a Blood Moon fast enough in the games where it really matters. I tested 3 Blood Moons, 2 Spreading Seas maindeck with a 3rd Spreading Seas in the sideboard. and in my testing, I did not draw blood moon often enough. you need to play the full 4.
Yeah, i thought so...running the full 4 is way better than 3 and it does make difference..i'll go with 4 moons main board and 2 seas sb.
Stretching the mana really hurts. You need triple blue (ideally through a moon) and doulbe red. Adding in black costs makes the mana hurt, a very underrated aspect of the deck is how relatively painless its mana is.
What do you guys say about harvest pyre?
I have a one off main board. And it's been great.
It can deal instantly with things , chopp off the yard and interact with jeskai manlans(I have three regular players in my meta and I am not sure how else to deal with them).
I will post my list later.
Harvest Pyre isn't necessarily a bad card. but I think a card like Roast is much stronger. Roast is strong turn 2 on the draw against a thought-knot seer or a 5/5 or less endless one. harvest pyre would not be able to kill these cards nearly as fast as Roast can. so the speed at which Roast can kill 5/5's is stronger than a card that makes you fill your graveyard up first.
Well, I keep forgetting about that because we only have 1 player running a Tron-Eldrazi list and its really one kind of a bew deck , so I am not really worried.
Against Grixis Control/Jace version, I try to side in +2 Dispel , +2 Negate, +1 Keranos, God Of Storms +1 Roast, +2 Spreading Seas. I know I have to side out my 2 Electrolyze but I don't know what else. I really need the bolts for Jace, right? You dont want that to let it flip. Maybe my 2 Burst Lightning but that's not enough.
We kill Colonnades by blood moon and spreading seas. Man lands are not a thing we worry about that much. As for side boarding, seeing your 75 would help in the matter, but i side out my 3 mana leak since it becomes a much more long game, and mana leak is not good those matchups. A copy or two of bolt can also be sided out, but i don't like siding out electrolyze since it does kill jace and draws us cards. maybe even works siding out 4 bolt, 3 mana leak, and 1 more. Also, not a fan of spreading seas this MU. They run blue, and we already have BM to shut down most of their mana.
EDIT: Just FYI, i find the jeskai control MU to be extremely favorable. If they cannot stop a blood moon, most of their win cons are just turned off. We also have a ton of cheap interaction, more lands entering untapped compared to theirs, and we also have access to a very hard to kill win con in Batterskull and keranos.
Relic of Progenitus is pretty sweet for interacting with the graveyard against through the breach/goryo, 'goyfs, Gx Eldrazi, and the control mirror. It doesn't necessarily cut off our own Snaps, and if someone makes a play in response to your activation, you can sac+cantrip in response to that and dead their play (it's a small interaction but it can save the game in certain situations). I sometimes slip it into the side if I know I'll run into a few graveyard strategies.
I have tried Engine sometimes against Eldrazi and it's truly a strong card against them. I would certainly consider it if you're running into a lot of Eldrazi
@Quip Wurmcoil is decent vs eldrazi variants, however, with recent showings that UW is the version to beat, Eldrazi Displacer and Drowner of Hope are the two cards that it is the worst against. First, it requires you to live long enough to cast it, then when you do resolve it, their blink/tap effects render it useless. Id stick to batter skull right now since its a mana cheaper and can still be attached to p&k to negate the blink effects they have.
@gkourou Most of your SB ins and outs so far are correct. there are just a few here and there that need to be a tad different. I learned most of the side boarding skills from Delver and Twin, and they translate here pretty well.
Against burn, cryptic command is still a decent effect, either countering a spell or stopping an attack for a turn. Id side out 2 moon here since its probably the most dead card of the matchup, and not what we want to do T3.
Against affinity, you are siding out 1 card too many that you are siding in. Keep in 2 moons since it does turn off man lands, but don't rely on it as much T3.
Infect, I personally don't like siding out batter skull, since it does end games fast. Also side out remand. Their plays consist of 1-2 mana most of the time, making remand a bad card this match. Consider siding in roast(s) since we want to kill their dudes on our turn, and dealing 5 helps prevent their pump spells from saving it. Negate is also a good card this matchup since it does shut off their spells more often than not.
Against jund and abzan, (aside, i don't like molten rain in the SB. we already run moon as our T3 land disruption, and spreading seas can come down a turn sooner and draw us a card) mana leak is a bad card to use. Like against jeskai control, jund/k is a "control" matchup, and all the grindy long game cards come in and short term cards come out. I side out 3 leak, 4 bolt since bolt only kills bob, a small scooze, and a man land that hasn't attacked. However, we have blood moon and spreading seas for man lands, burst lightning, roast, and electrolyze for small and large creatures. I personally bring in 1 batter skull, 2 seas, 1 keranos, 2 negate, and 1 roast. Against abzan, i side in staticaster and take an electrolyze out to deal with lingering souls. If they have voice, i side out electrolyze and bring in anger. I find the jund/junk matchup extremely favorable since we get to wreck their manabase so well, and we can grind much better than they can with batter skull and keranos.
Against merfolk, if you are concerned about siding out mana leaks, don't be. they are actually good if you can shut down aether vial. So consider siding out more moons in favor of vandalblast. Depending on the deck, some players want to avoid choke as much as possible, and run more cavern, mutavault, legendary lands, and sometimes they run white for path. IF they are more heavy on this, it could be a good idea to keep in moon, but i don't like the card this matchup since we need to control their aggression, and their manabase will be difficult to disrupt, so focus on creatures, not lands.
Against jeskai control/kikki combo control, i ALWAYS keep in burst lightning. Kills man lands if you can't land moon, kills resto angels by itself, and kills wall of omens. This is how i SB for the match. -2 bolt, -3 leak, -2 roast +1 batter skull, +! keranos, +2 dispel, +2 negate. This is a match i don't want to be giving islands to the opponent since they are primarily blue, so spreading seas is a no go here. We want to prevent them from casting blue spells since they can control just as well if not better than us with no moon in play. We even/favor the field with moon out and turning off as many blue sources they have as possible. I have a matchup vs them saved on cockatrice i did yesterday, will post a vid with commentary soon to help people understand the matchup.
Grixis Control (aka jace midrange) this one is a bit more tricky, but i still don't like siding in seas as much. Cards i like siding out are mana leak and either bolt or burst lightning. Since this is more based on the creature base of 4 jace, 2 tasigur, 3 p&k, 2 tar pit, we don't need 3 dmg as much, or 4 dmg. so, siding out either one is right. I side like this, +1 batter skull, +1 keranos, +2 negate, +2 dispel, +1 anger -3 leak, -2 burst, -2 bolt. The matchup is going to be long, and turning Kommand off is a must. So anger is good here, dispel and negate help protect yourself from counter magic and Kommand, batter skull and keranos are additional win cons.
RG Tron is a hard one for sure, since their late game is better than ours. But fortunately, they have been gone since eldrazi's rise. Against tron, consider siding out roast since it does nothing vs them, maybe add another keranos to help fight longer games or keep in burst lightning/bolt to help race them.
With what you have vs eldrazi, i find that what you should go with for now. IF you see the UW variant (which is widely accepted as the best right now) don't bring in vandalblast since they don't run chalice. However, additional batter skull or wumcoil helps the matchup more than molten rain.
Abzan company is another matchup i don't want to side out cryptic. Having answers to anything helps us keep control, and you can bounce a dude mid combo to turn it off. Also, i don't bring in keranos since this is a more aggro deck than control, and tapping out T5 that does nothing doesn't help our gameplan. This is my plan: +2 seas, +1 staticaster, +2 Dispel, +2 anger, -2 burst, -3 leak, -2 remand
Naya zoo is, in my opinion, our worst matchup. keep in mana leak since its early disruption. take out electrolyze since it doesn't kill their x/3s. Or consider taking out moon since T3 is very crucial and you would rather control the creature presence than their manabase by then. if you are going to bolt/burst a dude on their turn, do it at start of combat before attacks so you don't get blown out by ghor clan rampager.
Against kiki chord, don't side out your cryptics. They are 4 mana answer their best top deck. I also don't like explosives this match either since most/none of their 1-2 drops matter as much as the 3+ drops.
I assume we are talking about BW tokens? keep in cryptic command. tap a team draw a card is crucial in these matchups. also consider bringing in negate to deal with spectral processions and anthem effects. side out burst lightning and bolts since they don't trade evenly with tokens. Also, if you are playing deprive, keep it in as well.
Scapeshift is considered a more easier matchup since we have 4 MD ways of stopping their combo. Against them, keep either burst or roast in to deal with obstinate baloth. Bolt can come out instead since it doesn't kill anything. Against both, you should bring out haymakers as well to win the game. Both are control decks, treat them like control matchups.
Grishoalbrand. I see the reason why you are losing. You are focused on mana disruption when they win on T2. Take out moons, don't side in seas or rain. take out roast as well. Side in dispel, negate, and clique if you got em. This matchup is more of survive past T2, and you win. Don't side out batter skull or burst/bolt. Batter skull gives us life gain and ends the game. Burst and bolt can turn off 1-2 griselbrand draw 7s. this is a winnable matchup since we can control them quite well. Snare is your BFF this match as well.
Storm i wouldn't side in anger. Id side in staticaster instead. Doesn't kill your dudes, allows you to stay reactive on their turn, and stops future empty the warrens. Bring in all counter magic, side out roast and moon. You were pretty spot on with this match, just staticaster is a bit better than anger here.
Ad Nauseum is another matchup you treat like storm. Side out moon, roast, don't side out batterskull. Bring in spellskite, dispel and negate. Focus on the cards in their hand rather than their manabase. They will get the mana to combo off no matter what. I sideboard like this -4 moon, -1 roast, +1 spellskite, +2 dispel, +2 negate.
Those are the only changes id make to your SB guide. there were a few matchups you were side boarding wrong, and a few you got right on. A few tips: never side out batter skull. Its your best win con you got. against matchups where we can control better than the opponent, plan for a longer game, if we cannot control them well enough, plan for a quick way to win.
I guess it depends on how popular UW versions are where you live. Engine still working great for me on MODO and irl (but that's because most people play colorless eldrazi here)
What ddo you think about a sowing salt in the sb? or the new sowing salt?
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Not a big fan of patting myself on the back, but I so rarely try to introduce new tech on the forums that I feel a little pleased with this. Chandra has been solid the few times I've drawn her, but I just haven't had enough time to play lately to come to any definite conclusions. Hopefully this finish will get a couple more people testing to see if Chandra is real or just a fluke.
And while I'm talking about testing cards, has anyone given Logic Knot a try? I'm thinking about picking up a couple copies from my LGS next time I'm there. Might be worth trying out over a Mana Leak or two. We have to be careful about eating too much of our yard and starving future Snapcaster Mages, but fetches, Batterskulls, creatures, Moons, planeswalkers, and the like can easily be fodder for a more or less hard counter. Double blue can be a pain from time-to-time, but we run a ton of basic Islands. It can't completely replace Leak, but the first Logic Knot seems like a good replacement for the third Leak, right? Seems terrible in Temur Moon, but I'm currently giving a U/R list a run and Knot seems pretty good.
Whatever I build from my Box-o-EDH stuff
Legacy
Sneak and Show
UR Delver
Scapeshift Nic Fit
Modern
Merfolk
I actually beat this guy in Round 1. he was very good. his first pro tour was Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch.
Even though roast takes down the crusher I on't like it's mana cost combined with its speed. I was thinking about trying flameslash. One or two copies. The fact that is only one mana drives my attention. Not many times one ends up winning with burst lightning anyway.
Let's start with the decklist I played at the event.
8 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
Creatures 6
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
4 Snapcaster Mage
Spells 31
2 Batterskull
4 Blood Moon
2 Burst Lightning
2 Cryptic Command
3 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Roast
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
2 Vedalken Shackles
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Dispel
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Negate
2 Spellskite
2 Spreading Seas
2 Vandalblast
1 Wurmcoil Engine
I changed some things last minute from my previous list. -1 Burst Lightning, -1 Spell Snare, +1 Vedalken Shackles, +1 Roast because I wanted to see those 2 cards more often against Eldrazi. I also cut the 3rd Pia and Kiran Nalaar for two reasons. 1) Because I figured since there were now two copies of Vedalken Shackles we didn't need the 3rd one because now we have another reliable way to win the game. and 2) because with increasing the mana cost of cards in the maindeck and sideboard, I wanted the 23rd land so I would be able to hit my land drops and cast my higher casting cost spells more efficiently.
I didn't take any detailed notes so I will do my best to recall as much as I can. I didn't write down how I sideboarded or anything like that. Sorry.
Round 1: Blue Moon Win 2-1
This was a tough match against a really good opponent. My opponent was Benjamin Nikolich fresh off Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch and who ended up in 24th place when the event was over. Congratulations to him!
Game 1 went as well as anyone could expect. For the first 6 turns all we did was make land drops. He tried to Blood Moon me and that's when we both realized we were up against the mirror. So I turned on the burn plan throwing random Lightning Bolts and Electrolyzes at his face. We fought over some spells but I eventually came out on top and burned him out. Cool thing was, somewhere during out game I got to Roast a Snapcaster Mage =)
Game 2 the game went pretty long. He ended up crushing me with Chandra, Flamecaller. When he tapped 6 mana I thought to myself "well I guess he drew Wurmcoil Engine" boy was I surprised!
Game 3 he got stuck on 4 lands while I kept making land drops. If I recall correctly a Pia and Kiran Nalaar and a Batterskull ended the game.
1-0
Round 2: Infect Loss 1-2
My opponent was friends with Ben who had discussed our previous match in Round 1 so he already knew what I was playing when I sat down. While shuffling my opponent dropped cards from his deck onto the table where he revealed a Wild Defiance so we both started Game 1 knowing exactly what deck we were both playing. Lolz
Game 1 I opened a hand full of removal. I killed some creatures and got a Batterskull online. He killed me at 5 life with double Inkmoth Nexus
Game 2 He got stuck on land which was a Pendelhaven. Turn 3 Blood Moon hit the table. He scooped a few turns later.
Game 3 I do remember well. I was on the play but my only removal was Electroylze plus Snapcaster Mage which I thought might be good enough. He went turn 1 Pendelhaven Noble Hierach. Turn 2 Glistener Elf and Blighted Agent. I turn 2 I cast a Serum Visions where I found a Spreading Seas. My plan was to untap on turn 3 and Electrolyze his two infect creatures but with Pendelhaven in play, I had to use Spreading Seas first so I left it on top with Serum Visions. His turn 3 he attacked for 2 infect. My turn 3 I cast Spreading Seas on his Pendelhaven and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be dead. His turn 4 he cast Groundswell + Mutagenic Growth on Blighted Agent Exalted and attacked me for 8 poison.
1-1
Round 3: Kiki Chord Loss 1-2
The only significant thing I remember regarding this match is Game 3. No Blood Moons ever touched the table. Each game went incredible long and grindy. Game 2 I hit a turn 5 Keranos, God of Storms and it eventually won me the game while I did everything I could to keep his creatures in check. In game 3, I got a Vedalken Shackles to steal his Restoration Angel but my life total was super low. He kept recurring Eternal Witness, Reveillark, and Chord of Calling. I got a Batterskull onto the table. In his last turn he Chorded for Qasali Pridemage to kill the Vedalken Shackles, then he cast Restoration Angel from his hand to blink a Reclamation Sage he had in play to kill my Batterskull and attack for the win. '
After this match I was starting to become really upset after taking 2 losses in a row mostly due to the fact that they were long grindy games and I never saw a Blood Moon hit the table. I said to my friend "Not drawing Blood Moon in this deck is like playing Miracles and not ever drawing Sensei's Divining Top. It's like playing a Delver deck and never drawing a Delver of Secrets". At this point I felt like my deck was letting me down. But I took a breath, walked around to clear my head and I was determined to not lose another match the rest of the day.
1-2
Round 4: Elves Win 2-1
These games were easy. My opponent was new and told me it was his first SCG Open. He kept forgetting to name a creature type when Cavern of Souls came into play which I reminded him of as we played our match.
Game 1 my hand was full of removal. I killed every single creature he played ever until his board was empty. I intentionally did not play Blood Moon or Vedalken Shackles so he would not know to play around these cards in our sideboarded games.
Game 2 I mulliganed and my hand was kind of slow. He got double Elvish Archdruid into play and complimented them with an Ezuri, Renegade Leader.
Game 3 I opened removal and Blood Moon. Blood Moon hit the table on turn 3 and he never played another spell the rest of the game. He was pretty upset when our match was done because he felt like his deck was well positioned for a tournament that was supposed to be lacking in removal. Unfortunately for him, his previous rounds he had faced very removal heavy decks. I was just relieved to get a win after two previous losses. I was also super happy that I saw Blood Moon on time for a change.
2-2
The fire was starting to Burn again. Knowing I couldn't take another loss, I continued on hoping for good matchups the rest of the day. In Round 5, my luck was starting to turn for the better.
Round 5: Jeskai Kiki Control Win 2-0
Game 1 was a slaughter. I got a Blood Moon on the table followed some turns later by Vedalken Shackles. Blood Moon is insanely good against UWR Control decks. He tried to put a fight but it wasn't a very good one.
Game 2 He tried to Stony Silence me on turn 2 but I had the counterspell at the ready. I almost let it resolve thinking "oh well I wouldn't get to use Batterskull who cares?" But then I decided to counter it. Even though I forgot that card could shut down Vedalken Shackles too. Glad I countered it. I made a goof mistake of using Spreading Seas on his basic Island. Oops. However, it persuaded him not to use his Spell Snare he was holding and it drew me one card closer to Blood Moon. I landed a Blood Moon but he already had basic Island and basic Plains on the table. He got a Restoration Angel on the table which I had a pretty tough time dealing with. I found another Spreading Seas this time for his basic Plains. Eventually I was able to find Batterskull just in time to start gaining life. He had Restoration Angel on the table for so many turns looking desperately for a Kiki-Jiki. Unfortunately for him I found Vedalken Shackles first. And the game was over.
3-2
Round 6: Abzan Company Win 2-0
Game 1 a turn 3 Blood Moon hit the table. He put up a fight but it wasn't enough.
Game 2 I cast Spreading Seas on his Horizon Canopy. I don't remember if Blood Moon hit the table or not. I'm pretty sure it did, but regardless my life total in Game 2 was 38. I believe this was the game that ended when I put two Batterskull into play. I tested this matchup a bunch so I was pretty comfortable with it. He drew very few (if any) copies of Collected Company which certainly didn't help his chances of winning, but didn't hurt our chances of winning either. This was also the match where I my opponent had a Wall of Roots in play, activated Gavony Township and I thought the dice on the creature was for the -0/-1 (he was reaching for his dice for his other creatures in play.) While he was doing this, I tried to Burst Lightning with kicker his Wall of Roots. Turns out, the dice on Wall of Roots was for the Gavony Township, and he didn't have to use Wall of Roots for mana to use the ability of the land. So kids, make sure you actually know what is being represented in play before you make a dumb mistake like I did. I felt pretty silly afterwards and even though I felt like I could have called a judge for miscommunication, I let it go and was determined to just simply win the game instead.
4-2
I'm feeling really good now. I have two losses still, but I've managed to win 3 matches in a row and at this point I was starting wonder where the hell are all the Eldrazi decks? I can't believe I haven't faced it once yet. Based on the day 2 metagame and the final results, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I took 2 losses early.
Round 7: Grixis Moon Win 2-0
Game 1 I figured I was on the mirror match again. He was playing with Scalding Tarns and Islands and I had multiple Blood Moons so I just slammed an early Blood Moon. Then he dropped a swamp into play and when he continued to drop Islands, I realized he was on Grixis Moon. I thought to myself, "wow cool. this is gonna be interesting". My opponent and I had a discussion about the deck after the match was over. He played a lot more aggressive than I did and I just kept drawing counterspells. Eventually resolving a Pia and Kiran Nallar after it was Remanded two turns in a row.
Game 2 I was back on the Burn plan again. I won all the counter wars. Especially one in particular. I cast a Batterskull. He tried to Snapcaster Mage. I cast Spell Snare. He tried to Remand his Snapcaster Mage, I cast Dispel. All the while during the match I was throwing Burn spells at his face. A Batterskull attacked him to 1. He cast Wurmcoil Engine which I let resolve because I had Snapcaster Mage, burn spells in my graveyard, and counterspells to back it up.
5-2
3 Control mirrors all defeated. And I'm thinking "I really owe a lot of my success in control mirrors from playing Miracles in Legacy for so many years". I was feeling unstoppable.
Round 8: RG Eldrazi Loss 0-2
Game 1 was the biggest disappointment of the ENTIRE DAY. I won the die roll and chose to play. Turn 1, I played a Scalding Tarn. Turn 1 he played Eldrazi Temple. Turn 2, I played an Island. Turn 2 he played Grove of the Burnwillows and tried to cast Ancient Stirrings. I countered it with Mana Leak. I untapped and on an empty board I slam turn 3 Blood Moon against Eldrazi! I was ecstatic. My joy was shattered when he untapped and played Talisman of Impulse! I was literally dumbfounded. I had no idea they were playing that card. and afterwards came a flurry of Endless One, Thought-Knot Seer, and Reality Smasher.
Game 2 I stumbled on lands early and was promptly defeated.
5-3
One round left to play and I had finally faced off against the Eldrazi menace. I couldn't believe that turn 3 Blood Moon on the play on an empty board was not good enough. My absolute best hand against Eldrazi just wasn't good enough. It bothered me a lot, but I had one more round left to play and I didn't want to throw away any chance I had of making day 2. Since my match ended so quickly, I went outside and walked around to clear my head.
Round 9: Colorless Eldrazi Win 2-0
Game 1 I don't honestly remember what happened or why it went so well. But I had a firm control of the game the entire time. I do not remember if Blood Moon was a reason for that or not.
Game 2 I was ritualistically smashed to bits by a good draw by Eldrazi.
Game 3 my opponent's first play was Ghost Quarter, pitch Simian Spirit Guide cast Ratchet Bomb. I still cast Blood Moon on turn 3 even though Ratchet Bomb was on the table and the fact that I had a 2nd one in hand ready to go. He ended up removing my Blood Moon from play with Ratchet Bomb and then he Surgical Extracted my Blood Moons! I was not expecting that whatsoever! a few turns later he had to call a judge because he cast Oblivion Sower and he didn't understand Snapcaster + Mana Leak in response to the creature being cast, but after the cast trigger had already resolved. the judges straightened this out for him and the next turn I found my 6th land and put a Wurmcoil Engine into play. He couldn't recover, it was too much for him.
6-3
That was it. That was my day 1 tournament. All I could do now was wait for the final standings to go up and listen for the announcement of who was going to make day 2. Unfortunately for me, because there was over 700 people there, you had to be 7-2 or 21 points to make day 2. I was 1 win short of making Day 2. Overall, I was pretty happy with the deck and felt good about my results. I took 2 losses early in the day, but I kept fighting. I felt like the work I had put into play testing the last couple of weeks paid off as I was pretty comfortable in each matchup as well as with my sideboarding decisions. My final standing was 115th place. I had a few moments of disappointment and doubt, but I am proud of myself for finding a way to get through it, and keep fighting until the very end. I gave myself the best chance possible of making day 2. Even though I didn't make day 2, I wasn't all that upset. 115th place out of over 700 people and 1 win shy of day 2 is not bad at all.
Anyways, that's my tournament report. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
UR Twin - RIP
1) When I faced Eldrazi, if I suspected Chalice of the Void, I usually boarded out -2 Serum Visions, -2 Lightning Bolt, -2 Spell Snare, -2 Burst Lightning, +2 Spreading Seas, +1 Keranos, God of Storms, +2 Anger of the Gods, +1 Wurmcoil Engine. If i'm on the play i'll keep +2 Serum Visions in. if i'm on the draw i'll keep in +2 Spell Snare.
2) Oops. Guess i missed that i could have done it before the cast trigger resolves. good to know for next time.
Harvest Pyre isn't necessarily a bad card. but I think a card like Roast is much stronger. Roast is strong turn 2 on the draw against a thought-knot seer or a 5/5 or less endless one. harvest pyre would not be able to kill these cards nearly as fast as Roast can. so the speed at which Roast can kill 5/5's is stronger than a card that makes you fill your graveyard up first.
Only if you're split does not require you to cut any number of Blood Moons. When you run less than 4 you don't see a Blood Moon fast enough in the games where it really matters. I tested 3 Blood Moons, 2 Spreading Seas maindeck with a 3rd Spreading Seas in the sideboard. and in my testing, I did not draw blood moon often enough. you need to play the full 4.
Yeah, i thought so...running the full 4 is way better than 3 and it does make difference..i'll go with 4 moons main board and 2 seas sb.
UR Twin - RIP
We kill Colonnades by blood moon and spreading seas. Man lands are not a thing we worry about that much. As for side boarding, seeing your 75 would help in the matter, but i side out my 3 mana leak since it becomes a much more long game, and mana leak is not good those matchups. A copy or two of bolt can also be sided out, but i don't like siding out electrolyze since it does kill jace and draws us cards. maybe even works siding out 4 bolt, 3 mana leak, and 1 more. Also, not a fan of spreading seas this MU. They run blue, and we already have BM to shut down most of their mana.
EDIT: Just FYI, i find the jeskai control MU to be extremely favorable. If they cannot stop a blood moon, most of their win cons are just turned off. We also have a ton of cheap interaction, more lands entering untapped compared to theirs, and we also have access to a very hard to kill win con in Batterskull and keranos.
On my tombstone, please write "Now his body fuels the Treasure Cruise"
Or you could Kommand him back...
Check out my Youtube Page for online Magic Content!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcq-a5rTSNclFCS2o4_lVFw
Modern:
BURGrixis DelverRUB
URUR DelverRU
URBlue MoonRU
RIPURUR TwinRURIP
Legacy:
URBGrixis DelverBRU
RUBGrixis PyromancerRUB
Commander:
URMelek, Izzet ParagonRU
URBJeleva, Nephalia's ScourgeRUB
Is it truly effective vs Eldrazi? I'm wondering if I should purchase them or just more batterskulls
I have tried Engine sometimes against Eldrazi and it's truly a strong card against them. I would certainly consider it if you're running into a lot of Eldrazi
@gkourou Most of your SB ins and outs so far are correct. there are just a few here and there that need to be a tad different. I learned most of the side boarding skills from Delver and Twin, and they translate here pretty well.
this is my list right now as an example:
2 Batterskull
Creatures 8
3 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
Enchantment 4
4 Blood Moon
Instant 18
2 Burst Lightning
2 Cryptic Command
3 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Snare
4 Flooded Strand
8 Island
2 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
Sorcery 6
2 Roast
4 Serum Visions
1 Batterskull
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Spellskite
2 Spreading Seas
2 Dispel
2 Negate
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Roast
2 Vandalblast
Against burn, cryptic command is still a decent effect, either countering a spell or stopping an attack for a turn. Id side out 2 moon here since its probably the most dead card of the matchup, and not what we want to do T3.
Against affinity, you are siding out 1 card too many that you are siding in. Keep in 2 moons since it does turn off man lands, but don't rely on it as much T3.
Infect, I personally don't like siding out batter skull, since it does end games fast. Also side out remand. Their plays consist of 1-2 mana most of the time, making remand a bad card this match. Consider siding in roast(s) since we want to kill their dudes on our turn, and dealing 5 helps prevent their pump spells from saving it. Negate is also a good card this matchup since it does shut off their spells more often than not.
Against jund and abzan, (aside, i don't like molten rain in the SB. we already run moon as our T3 land disruption, and spreading seas can come down a turn sooner and draw us a card) mana leak is a bad card to use. Like against jeskai control, jund/k is a "control" matchup, and all the grindy long game cards come in and short term cards come out. I side out 3 leak, 4 bolt since bolt only kills bob, a small scooze, and a man land that hasn't attacked. However, we have blood moon and spreading seas for man lands, burst lightning, roast, and electrolyze for small and large creatures. I personally bring in 1 batter skull, 2 seas, 1 keranos, 2 negate, and 1 roast. Against abzan, i side in staticaster and take an electrolyze out to deal with lingering souls. If they have voice, i side out electrolyze and bring in anger. I find the jund/junk matchup extremely favorable since we get to wreck their manabase so well, and we can grind much better than they can with batter skull and keranos.
Against merfolk, if you are concerned about siding out mana leaks, don't be. they are actually good if you can shut down aether vial. So consider siding out more moons in favor of vandalblast. Depending on the deck, some players want to avoid choke as much as possible, and run more cavern, mutavault, legendary lands, and sometimes they run white for path. IF they are more heavy on this, it could be a good idea to keep in moon, but i don't like the card this matchup since we need to control their aggression, and their manabase will be difficult to disrupt, so focus on creatures, not lands.
Against jeskai control/kikki combo control, i ALWAYS keep in burst lightning. Kills man lands if you can't land moon, kills resto angels by itself, and kills wall of omens. This is how i SB for the match. -2 bolt, -3 leak, -2 roast +1 batter skull, +! keranos, +2 dispel, +2 negate. This is a match i don't want to be giving islands to the opponent since they are primarily blue, so spreading seas is a no go here. We want to prevent them from casting blue spells since they can control just as well if not better than us with no moon in play. We even/favor the field with moon out and turning off as many blue sources they have as possible. I have a matchup vs them saved on cockatrice i did yesterday, will post a vid with commentary soon to help people understand the matchup.
Grixis Control (aka jace midrange) this one is a bit more tricky, but i still don't like siding in seas as much. Cards i like siding out are mana leak and either bolt or burst lightning. Since this is more based on the creature base of 4 jace, 2 tasigur, 3 p&k, 2 tar pit, we don't need 3 dmg as much, or 4 dmg. so, siding out either one is right. I side like this, +1 batter skull, +1 keranos, +2 negate, +2 dispel, +1 anger -3 leak, -2 burst, -2 bolt. The matchup is going to be long, and turning Kommand off is a must. So anger is good here, dispel and negate help protect yourself from counter magic and Kommand, batter skull and keranos are additional win cons.
RG Tron is a hard one for sure, since their late game is better than ours. But fortunately, they have been gone since eldrazi's rise. Against tron, consider siding out roast since it does nothing vs them, maybe add another keranos to help fight longer games or keep in burst lightning/bolt to help race them.
With what you have vs eldrazi, i find that what you should go with for now. IF you see the UW variant (which is widely accepted as the best right now) don't bring in vandalblast since they don't run chalice. However, additional batter skull or wumcoil helps the matchup more than molten rain.
Abzan company is another matchup i don't want to side out cryptic. Having answers to anything helps us keep control, and you can bounce a dude mid combo to turn it off. Also, i don't bring in keranos since this is a more aggro deck than control, and tapping out T5 that does nothing doesn't help our gameplan. This is my plan: +2 seas, +1 staticaster, +2 Dispel, +2 anger, -2 burst, -3 leak, -2 remand
Naya zoo is, in my opinion, our worst matchup. keep in mana leak since its early disruption. take out electrolyze since it doesn't kill their x/3s. Or consider taking out moon since T3 is very crucial and you would rather control the creature presence than their manabase by then. if you are going to bolt/burst a dude on their turn, do it at start of combat before attacks so you don't get blown out by ghor clan rampager.
Against kiki chord, don't side out your cryptics. They are 4 mana answer their best top deck. I also don't like explosives this match either since most/none of their 1-2 drops matter as much as the 3+ drops.
I assume we are talking about BW tokens? keep in cryptic command. tap a team draw a card is crucial in these matchups. also consider bringing in negate to deal with spectral processions and anthem effects. side out burst lightning and bolts since they don't trade evenly with tokens. Also, if you are playing deprive, keep it in as well.
Scapeshift is considered a more easier matchup since we have 4 MD ways of stopping their combo. Against them, keep either burst or roast in to deal with obstinate baloth. Bolt can come out instead since it doesn't kill anything. Against both, you should bring out haymakers as well to win the game. Both are control decks, treat them like control matchups.
Grishoalbrand. I see the reason why you are losing. You are focused on mana disruption when they win on T2. Take out moons, don't side in seas or rain. take out roast as well. Side in dispel, negate, and clique if you got em. This matchup is more of survive past T2, and you win. Don't side out batter skull or burst/bolt. Batter skull gives us life gain and ends the game. Burst and bolt can turn off 1-2 griselbrand draw 7s. this is a winnable matchup since we can control them quite well. Snare is your BFF this match as well.
Storm i wouldn't side in anger. Id side in staticaster instead. Doesn't kill your dudes, allows you to stay reactive on their turn, and stops future empty the warrens. Bring in all counter magic, side out roast and moon. You were pretty spot on with this match, just staticaster is a bit better than anger here.
Ad Nauseum is another matchup you treat like storm. Side out moon, roast, don't side out batterskull. Bring in spellskite, dispel and negate. Focus on the cards in their hand rather than their manabase. They will get the mana to combo off no matter what. I sideboard like this -4 moon, -1 roast, +1 spellskite, +2 dispel, +2 negate.
Those are the only changes id make to your SB guide. there were a few matchups you were side boarding wrong, and a few you got right on. A few tips: never side out batter skull. Its your best win con you got. against matchups where we can control better than the opponent, plan for a longer game, if we cannot control them well enough, plan for a quick way to win.
On my tombstone, please write "Now his body fuels the Treasure Cruise"
Or you could Kommand him back...
Check out my Youtube Page for online Magic Content!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcq-a5rTSNclFCS2o4_lVFw
Modern:
BURGrixis DelverRUB
URUR DelverRU
URBlue MoonRU
RIPURUR TwinRURIP
Legacy:
URBGrixis DelverBRU
RUBGrixis PyromancerRUB
Commander:
URMelek, Izzet ParagonRU
URBJeleva, Nephalia's ScourgeRUB
What ddo you think about a sowing salt in the sb? or the new sowing salt?