Had some last minute shake-ups with my unified team for GP Detroit.
Mardu player bailed and we picked a Tron player, which forced my other teammate into Infect
No more Ballista
No more Cage
No more Spellskite
Can I cope? Is this gonna pooch the deck? If Prison is sub-optimal I might have to switch to Hollow One.
I’m not really sure what to expect out of this Unified meta.
You'll be fine, guy. Ballista is a 1 of, i dont think its that good. Cage and Skite are both usually 1 ofs in the board. Dont screw the pooch
Oh my.. that article is amazing. I can't believe the politics swirling around this, as Ray put it, intellectually stimulating game. These issues simply do not exist in any fashion. Bullocks.
Hey gang, I've been quiet for a while and haven't really been keeping up with what's been happening on the forum. So, What's been going on???
I keep fiddling with my deck to find a 75 I'm always happy to keep and it's pretty hard to narrow it down honestly. I have been toying with a bunch of cards namely Harsh Mentor, Karn Scion of Urza, Sarkhan Fireblood, Slagstorm and other stuff. My current list is here: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/19-05-18-mono-red-prison/?cb=1535614405
What's the new toys/tech everyone has been playing with? I'm always looking to spice up deck and sideboard
Agree on the worth of Sarkhan, Fireblood. I ran a Porno for Pyros variant to a 2-3 finish in a Comp Modo league (4 Eidolon and 1 scab Main deck) with no Sarkhan in the 75. And, I missed his rummaging ways....and his electric guitar solo. Lol.
I’ve put both Sarkhan and ramunap ruins into the ‘core cards’ list of the Official Primer.
They’ve frequency of usage are tracking at near universal play. Are people cool with this?
I still haven't tried out Sarkhan. Lil Bomat Courier gets me the cards i need. Well,, other than that one time it gave me 3 mountains. Cheeky bum. I'll test out Sarkhan regardless, so you can have another opinion on him.
I love Ramunap Ruins. I've had it in my list since i found out about it.
Question: do you guys ever have problems against first strike and/or lifelink in game 1? I lost a match (1-2) against mono-white vial knights because i didn't have my sideboard with me, which had my angers and slagstorms. So i was just curious about how you handle them. Fiendslayer Paladin Tore me up both games i played against it, but once again, no sweeper access screwed me on that front.
I'm catching up on the Discord chat, and seeing that there is some debate about Sarkhan/Ramunap. Huh. I'm totally sold on Sarkhan - as I've attested to several times. And, although he is almost universally detested in Aggro matchups, I have definitely had him win games there as well. Ramunap Ruins is an auto-include for me as well (despite talk of the Field of Ruin).
Sarkhan staying in versus Aggro after sideboarding seems like a whack-a-doodle play, but I'll keep one on occasions. Sometimes, I haven't had enough other answers to bring in OR it was just that kind of whack-a-doodle day.
If Trash Dragon(s) is facing aggro, and I can fire out a Turn 1 Sarkhan, I will do it. There are very specific cards needed to beat an opponent, and I need to get my hand low for a bridge. He does both. AND, he draws fire that would otherwise hit me. Aggro runs out of gas, and becomes feeble on the top deck plan.
QUESTION: The moment you are bridge locked and hellbent, what is the best single card you can possibly draw?
ANSWER: Either Sarkhan or Avaricious.
WHY: Because, they aren't a 'single' card. They are TWO cards. Every turn, they are TWO cards. We gotta dig and deploy a win-con ASAP since a Bridge Over Troubled Water don't last forever. Just ask Paul Simon.
UPDATE: I will pull down the Sarkhan/Ramunap out of the Core Cards. I agree with Fluffy that you need about 100 games before a judgement gets passed. Russ likes to blow in like a Mighty Wind on proclamations with less data. Both types of opinions serve an important purpose in debate.
After messing around with Dragons, I'm moving back to my favorite deck. I've been thinking about cutting Rabblemaster ( This might be the wrong choice in the end.) and running 10+ Planeswalkers total. I'm high on the new Sarkhan even without Dragons. I think cutting Rabblemaster makes our Angers better and it also blanks all creature removal in OP's deck. At times Rabblemaster is lights out, but other times it eats a Bolt or a Path and we are losing a lot of CA. (Sometimes you have to play Rabble and hope) Planeswalkers are generally harder to kill and equally as powerful. I'm going to test a deck at FNM, I'll let you know how it goes. Do you think I'm way off base? Thanks!
Sarkhan has been solid for me almost every time I've played him. Ive had situations where hes ate damage for 2 turns while drawing me cards, and when an opponent wastes an Abrupt Decay or Bolt on him, that's basically a 2-for-1 if he's drawn you a card. As Sarkhan ticks up, opponents become compelled to try to kill our draw engine, unless they wanna meet his Dragon friends. Any time my opponent is trying to kill my draw engine instead of me, it's a good thing. I've loved 7 walkers vs control especially. In this matchup I think we all agree. We want a draw engine and more wincons? He's both. As I've stated before, we have the tools to destroy the Vengevines and Spirits of the world post-board, why not lean toward beating control in the main?
After messing around with Dragons, I'm moving back to my favorite deck. I've been thinking about cutting Rabblemaster ( This might be the wrong choice in the end.) and running 10+ Planeswalkers total. I'm high on the new Sarkhan even without Dragons. I think cutting Rabblemaster makes our Angers better and it also blanks all creature removal in OP's deck. At times Rabblemaster is lights out, but other times it eats a Bolt or a Path and we are losing a lot of CA. (Sometimes you have to play Rabble and hope) Planeswalkers are generally harder to kill and equally as powerful. I'm going to test a deck at FNM, I'll let you know how it goes. Do you think I'm way off base? Thanks!
If you cut Rabble you're basically scooping to Tron, KCI and Control, which are all tier 1.. It's not a good time for that. We get worse against plenty of other decks as well, Storm, Ad Naus, and even Titanshift to name a few. No walker will provide you a 4-turn clock.
I still haven't tried out Sarkhan. Lil Bomat Courier gets me the cards i need. Well,, other than that one time it gave me 3 mountains. Cheeky bum. I'll test out Sarkhan regardless, so you can have another opinion on him.
I love Ramunap Ruins. I've had it in my list since i found out about it.
Question: do you guys ever have problems against first strike and/or lifelink in game 1? I lost a match (1-2) against mono-white vial knights because i didn't have my sideboard with me, which had my angers and slagstorms. So i was just curious about how you handle them. Fiendslayer Paladin Tore me up both games i played against it, but once again, no sweeper access screwed me on that front.
I am extremely happy to see someone is testing the bomat courier. to many people write if off because it costs 1 mana, however when you look at legacy and other chalice decks they do not always skip 1 mana. bomat courier fills the same shoes as a planeswalker in this deck to me when i play it because it gives you a huge amount of versatility in the game. the last tested that played courier was this:
3 Ramunap Ruins
4 Darksteel Citadel
11 Mountain
1 Inventors' Fair
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Bomat Courier
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Abrade
4 Blood Moon
4 Mox Opal
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Slagstorm
SB: 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
SB: 1 Hazoret the Fervent
SB: 1 Spellskite
SB: 1 Uba Mask
SB: 1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
SB: 1 Sorcerous Spyglass
SB: 1 Torpor Orb
SB: 1 Shattering Spree
SB: 1 Anger of the Gods
SB: 1 Sweltering Suns
SB: 1 Kozilek's Return
SB: 1 Damping Matrix
As for match ups the first strike is relevant players like Ray will occasionally play a 1 of, of the land that lets you give a legendary creature first strike. as for lifelink I feel that we have lost enough games to wurmcoil that we can say but life gain itself doesn't seem to be the largest issue on earth. eventually you will land a bridge and that bridge will be able to provide you with a way to stop the LifeLink and stabilize you to the win. Also, if you want a creature with first strike i would suggest playing Goblin Chain Whirler, him + abrade kill almost all creatures in modern right now.
When it comes to the Sarkhan debate I am not 100% sold either way. I believe like chain whirler or koth, there is a meta call that's for this planeswalker and control is the meta.
After playing many games, I think if you are not running dragons, Sarkhan is not good enough. When you are behind a bridge, he's great. Probably the 2nd best thing you want outside of chandra, but you only have bridge in your opening hand 44% of the time. That means roughly half the games, you'll be battling without a bridge in play. In those games, Chainwhirler is better. It kills stuff, helps stabilize the board, blocks like a champ, and it something else the control deck needs to deal with. Also, vs control, I can't tell you how many times I land a sarkhan, only to watch my opponent flash in a snapcaster mage, attack and bolt it down. True, you get one cycle out of it, but is that worth three mana and your turn. Same argument can also be said for chainwhirler, but sometimes it also takes out their existing snapcaster mage, v clique, or soldier tokens. If they don't have an answer for it, you have a clock at three damage a turn. Sarkhan is also a clock, but a much sloer one and if they find an answer several turns later, at least chainwhirler did some damage.
I have been loving sarkhan and even tore through an IQ a few weeks ago with it. Remeber, I wnet undefeated and had 1st seed going into the Top 8, so it's not that I don't like the card. Its just modern has gotten so incredible fast, that I need something that impacts the game state NOW. Even control is fast now a days. With all control decks packing 3-4 logic knots and 1-2 negates (which I want to punch the computer screen every time a control player casts negate game one vs me), you really need to be fast to get under those spells and have an impact before they get to cryptic mana. Once they got three blue and anything else, if you aren't in a commanding position, you're dead. every time. spending a turn to cast sarkhaan may feel great, and he may even stick around for a few turns, but make no doubt about it, they don't have to counter it and you've just given blue another chance to play another land without adding any pressure to the board.
Now, this whole equation changes if you are running dragons. Dragons change this equation because now you can use sarkhaan to start pumping out haymakers. Also, in a list Like Ray's Trash Dragons, I like sarkhaan over chainwhirler by a lot. Sarkhaan help power out big stupid ***** way ahead of curve and he's running 11-12 rituals whereas the stock list only runs 8-9 rituals. Trash Dragons is a similar but different approach to Pyro Prison and equally as effective. Stock lists, like the one I usually run, try to use targeted spells to pick the opponent apart and make them feels helpless. Trash Dragons tries to pound you into the ground with Haymaker after haymaker and presents questions that are so large and heavy hitting, the moment the opponent doesn't have an answer, they are dead. A True call back to the Hammer's Slammer deck of old.
So, I think both are good in the right builds and if the meta changes to a more midrange format, I can totally see Sarkhaan being better than chainwhirler across the board, but for now, midrange decks have gone into hiding. Either you're facing an incredibly fast deck (humans, affinity, hollow-one, bridge vine, burn), a big mana control type deck (Tron, UW Control, Scapeshift) or combo that wins on turn 3-4 (Storm, KCI, Ad Nausem, Devoted Druid). Jund, death and taxes, and even mardu pyromancer have all gone been almost non-existent lately and in those attrition based matches, Sarkhaan is better, no doubt. But in all those decks where the game is virtually or actually decided by turn three, unless you are running dragons, I think sarkhaan is too slow in the stock list, or at least too slow to run two. Maybe a 1/1 split of a chainwhirler and a sarkhan could be good. I haven't tried that yet.
Russ (and Raystack)--the Trash Dragons list I see only has 1 dragon, Avaricious. Is there another list with Sarkhans and several more dragons that I'm missing?
Round 1: Infect
G1: Mull to 4 on the play did not see a single land in my 7,6,5 or 4, said eff it Ill keep it and hope they are a slow deck, pass my turn, Opponent plays t1 Glistener Elf. I play a t2 rabble from scryed land and die a few turns later before i can find a third mana to sweep the board.
Pull in Angers, Torpor, Chainwhirler, Spellskite and Jaya. Pull out Rabbles, and Sarkhans
G2 and game 3: both games I chalice on 1 turn 1, then a bridge helps seal the deal opp scoops to hellbent both times.
Round 2: Mardu
G1: Keep a decent hand, not familiar with this player and he turn 1 blackcleaves into faithless looting, I am putting him on Hollow one for now. I slide in a chalice on1, his turn 2 he plays land and passes, i land pass, t3 he plays Marshflats and I realize he is on Mardu, plays LotV upticks and I discard an irrevelant card, draw for turn nets me a hazoret which i deploy the next turn and kill his LotV, Much thanks for her helping me activate him, Grind him down with Dog Mom with a timely chandra to take care of a bedlam.
Pull in Eidolon, Stormbreath, Spyglass, Torpor, Chainwhirler, Spellskite and angers, pull out moons, Bridges, Pyretic and a desperate.
G2: Get another early chalice off on him followed by a sarkhan uptick slowly and Opp deploys a Bridge of his own, drop in Avaricious and start digging for an answer, Opp plays a few lingering souls and wittles away at a looming sarkhan ult, Eventually land a chandra and throw excess cards away with haz until I find an Abrade for the bridge and swing in with the team forcing my opp to have to deal with a chandra and a sarkhan ready to ult, they choose to focus on the chandra, sarkhan ults and they scoop to the power of the dragon man.
Round 3: Jund
G1: t1 thoughtseized lose my chalice he follows it up with more jund threats, Am able to sweep his board a few turns later but he recovers with a newly grown Goyf, I am at a position of do i play a moon to stop his lands or a bridge to stop his attacks, I opt for moon so he cant liliana or handhate me, he casts a BBE and gets lily from it I die a few turns later
In, angers, Spyglass, Eidolon, Stormbreath Spellskite. Out, Bridges, balista 2 ramp spells 1 sarkhan. (I am not sure my sideboard is correct for jund but I am trying to just jam threats and force my way through)
G2: turn 1 moon YAY they have a basic forest and play goyf followed by Scooze, take some slow beats as I try to get to 3 mana to wipe the board, they deploy another bigger goyf, I find a bridge then a 2nd moon think I have stablized. BBE flips over a Pulse gets my bridge and the tide comes crashing in to spell my demise. Jund does Jund things and shows why it is still one of our worse matchups unless we can just draw answer after answer.
Round 4: UW
G1: he plays island passes I t1 chalice with an Opt from Opp in response, plays a field of ruins but misses his 3rd and 4th land drop, I resolve a second rabblemaster and he scoops a turn later
In Jaya, Boil, Chainwhirler, Spyglass, Eidolon, Stormbreath Spellskite. Out, Bridges, Abrade, Ballista 1 slag ( i kept one in just in case he played secure the wastes plus it can atleast get in 3 damage) and pyretic
G2: I get a quick eidolon followed by a spellskite. After a few eidolon beats he gets a path for both of them and is able to counter my moon the following turn, In goes normal of deploy threat, threat is removed, Fought through 3 terminusus 1 jace and a Teferi but his card advantage gets me in the end with a 2nd Jace and a Dsphere on my KotH.
G3: i go first and play eidolon on t1 followed by a t2 SPyglass naming the jace in his hand. pass my turn turn 3 he plays Field of ruins passes, I dont get a land and just pass t4, EOT he fields my Ramunap ruins I tap it for mana fetch my mountain opp fetches basic island, then during eot i use my new land to tap for 4 total and boil away his island and Fountain leaving him with his plains. He plays a Glacial fortres and I reslove a moon, After a few fancy mountains of my opponents and a few threats he scoops.
This round Opp Wins Player of the night for me, He was real interactive and fun to talk to, He learned that Boil is a card and after the match he remarked that he had no chance in game 3 and that I played masterfully, (mainly due to the "3 land" boil play I think but still) Also he discussed Task mage and said he had fatesealed her to the bottom knowing if i resolved her my next turn he wouldnt of had an answer.
Round 5: Humans
G1: is a close one t2 thalia followed by a free booter for my slagstorm and a illusion on freebooter that wiffs, I barely able to justthrow blockers down to stem some damage before i double block with mana monkey/rabble to kill her and topdeck an abrade for my sweeper back, get knocked real low next turn from a thalia's lieutenant but sweep the board and Am Able to find a moon followed by bridge and opp scoops.
In Angers, Dampening, Chainwhirler, Jaya. Out: Rabbles and 1 Sarkhan
G2: I get greedy, could of t2 angered a champion and Noble but i hold off wanting a little more value and Sin collector comes down and takes it. I cut opp off 1 drops with chalice but a steadly growing Champion gets me in the end with no bridge in sight
G3: Chalice on 1 them and remove the 2drop then sarkhan, they drop a Mantis rider and go for sarkhan but not tell he is able to find me a moon. Moon them off then deploy Jaya take a hit from the rider then just use jaya's firsta bility to desroy him. Opp scoops to having fancy mountains with a creatrue that kills any threat they could play live on the board.
Round 6: bye but Opp is on UW Spirits. We play some friendly Pauper of him on Axebane gaurdian combo, me on BW Pestilence lifegain a list i've had for about 7 years with no changes or updates. fun times.
Quarterfinals of top 8, I am in 8th seed going up agiasnt the only undefeated of the night a good friend on Tron.
G1: He plays tron piece I deploy Hazoret on our respective turn 1s, cant swing but its okay. He plays 2nd tron piece and a map I play land and abrade the map and swing in for 5, He scowls and plays forest and fetches up his last piece with Sylvan scrying, I swllow hard and then top deck a mountain slam it and swing in again, next turn swing and throw the card in hand after he plays out an Ostone, Realizes even if he pops ostone on his turn he will die to haz not being removed and scoops
In Stormbreath, Eidolon spyglass, Shattering spree. Out Bridges, ballista and 1 slagstorm
g2 he plays tron map, Spree map and pass for me, plays 2nd tron piece and I play a rabble, he nat trons and has a wurmcoil which spells my doom quickly.
g3 On the paly t1 Rabble hit for 1, Opp plays tron piece. I play t2 rabble swing for 8 have him at 11. T3 he nat trons and has a wurmcoil floating a green mana from a sphere flounders a moment then decides to pass, I swing with the whole team for 21 total, blocks 1 rabble with a wurmcoil which I proceed to abrade in response and we shake hands after smashing in for 13 after blocks. Reveals he was deciding wether or not to Claim his own wurmcoil for 2 blockers when i reveal I had a shattering spree to take care of both of them had he done that line of play as well.
Top 4 Splits a box and its 2am so I drive home and pass out.
Interesting he doesn't provide the clock that rabbles does but does allow us to go wide and is another threat. I saw daretti got reprinted makes me wonder if a black splash is worth it now.
The daretti is a masterpiece series so wont br modern legal, and as Russ point out in the discord it is still a 4 turn clock and just 1 damage left over. Also he dosent force attacks. He looks very promising. Also Russ I told you not to be so hating on Ravnica having nothing for us just cause it is dual colored in nature.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
You'll be fine, guy. Ballista is a 1 of, i dont think its that good. Cage and Skite are both usually 1 ofs in the board. Dont screw the pooch
RG BBE Ponza
UX Eldrazi Tron
UR Jace Breach
... I'll leave this U/W Highlight game here:
U/W vs Uba Mask (Yes they get a bit manna screwed)...
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/303571768
U/W vs Uba Mask, Hazoret, Oh a Terminus?
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/303572550
Leagues went 4-1 4-1
First League: (I don't have game records for this, its in the video somewhere)
Second League:
Yes... 1st league contained x2 Charbelcher Main (they did nothing, this was all off the back of the core)
2nd league repalced Charbelcher for Hazoret. Uba mask... hmmmm
This was sooo great
I keep fiddling with my deck to find a 75 I'm always happy to keep and it's pretty hard to narrow it down honestly. I have been toying with a bunch of cards namely Harsh Mentor, Karn Scion of Urza, Sarkhan Fireblood, Slagstorm and other stuff. My current list is here:
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/19-05-18-mono-red-prison/?cb=1535614405
What's the new toys/tech everyone has been playing with? I'm always looking to spice up deck and sideboard
In fact, I’m beginning to think I could run Pokémon cards in those slots and the deck would still run.
Also, I’ve been practicing this deck for like 8 months now, so learning Hollow One in a week sounds like a bad call.
Fluffy, how have you liked Faerie Macabre so far?
Should I forget about graveyards altogether?
Agree on the worth of Sarkhan, Fireblood. I ran a Porno for Pyros variant to a 2-3 finish in a Comp Modo league (4 Eidolon and 1 scab Main deck) with no Sarkhan in the 75. And, I missed his rummaging ways....and his electric guitar solo. Lol.
I’ve put both Sarkhan and ramunap ruins into the ‘core cards’ list of the Official Primer.
They’ve frequency of usage are tracking at near universal play. Are people cool with this?
And I tore through that IQ a few weeks ago with Sarkhan, so he's good, no doubt. Just not sure if the govlin is better. Maybe a 1/1 split?
I love Ramunap Ruins. I've had it in my list since i found out about it.
Question: do you guys ever have problems against first strike and/or lifelink in game 1? I lost a match (1-2) against mono-white vial knights because i didn't have my sideboard with me, which had my angers and slagstorms. So i was just curious about how you handle them. Fiendslayer Paladin Tore me up both games i played against it, but once again, no sweeper access screwed me on that front.
Sarkhan staying in versus Aggro after sideboarding seems like a whack-a-doodle play, but I'll keep one on occasions. Sometimes, I haven't had enough other answers to bring in OR it was just that kind of whack-a-doodle day.
If Trash Dragon(s) is facing aggro, and I can fire out a Turn 1 Sarkhan, I will do it. There are very specific cards needed to beat an opponent, and I need to get my hand low for a bridge. He does both. AND, he draws fire that would otherwise hit me. Aggro runs out of gas, and becomes feeble on the top deck plan.
Consider him a fog or a healing salve or a faithless looting. However you position his worth in your head, he IS adding value. Same thing with Avaricious Dragon.
QUESTION: The moment you are bridge locked and hellbent, what is the best single card you can possibly draw?
ANSWER: Either Sarkhan or Avaricious.
WHY: Because, they aren't a 'single' card. They are TWO cards. Every turn, they are TWO cards. We gotta dig and deploy a win-con ASAP since a Bridge Over Troubled Water don't last forever. Just ask Paul Simon.
UPDATE: I will pull down the Sarkhan/Ramunap out of the Core Cards. I agree with Fluffy that you need about 100 games before a judgement gets passed. Russ likes to blow in like a Mighty Wind on proclamations with less data. Both types of opinions serve an important purpose in debate.
If you cut Rabble you're basically scooping to Tron, KCI and Control, which are all tier 1.. It's not a good time for that. We get worse against plenty of other decks as well, Storm, Ad Naus, and even Titanshift to name a few. No walker will provide you a 4-turn clock.
I am extremely happy to see someone is testing the bomat courier. to many people write if off because it costs 1 mana, however when you look at legacy and other chalice decks they do not always skip 1 mana. bomat courier fills the same shoes as a planeswalker in this deck to me when i play it because it gives you a huge amount of versatility in the game. the last tested that played courier was this:
3 Ramunap Ruins
4 Darksteel Citadel
11 Mountain
1 Inventors' Fair
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Bomat Courier
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Abrade
4 Blood Moon
4 Mox Opal
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Slagstorm
SB: 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
SB: 1 Hazoret the Fervent
SB: 1 Spellskite
SB: 1 Uba Mask
SB: 1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
SB: 1 Sorcerous Spyglass
SB: 1 Torpor Orb
SB: 1 Shattering Spree
SB: 1 Anger of the Gods
SB: 1 Sweltering Suns
SB: 1 Kozilek's Return
SB: 1 Damping Matrix
As for match ups the first strike is relevant players like Ray will occasionally play a 1 of, of the land that lets you give a legendary creature first strike. as for lifelink I feel that we have lost enough games to wurmcoil that we can say but life gain itself doesn't seem to be the largest issue on earth. eventually you will land a bridge and that bridge will be able to provide you with a way to stop the LifeLink and stabilize you to the win. Also, if you want a creature with first strike i would suggest playing Goblin Chain Whirler, him + abrade kill almost all creatures in modern right now.
When it comes to the Sarkhan debate I am not 100% sold either way. I believe like chain whirler or koth, there is a meta call that's for this planeswalker and control is the meta.
I have been loving sarkhan and even tore through an IQ a few weeks ago with it. Remeber, I wnet undefeated and had 1st seed going into the Top 8, so it's not that I don't like the card. Its just modern has gotten so incredible fast, that I need something that impacts the game state NOW. Even control is fast now a days. With all control decks packing 3-4 logic knots and 1-2 negates (which I want to punch the computer screen every time a control player casts negate game one vs me), you really need to be fast to get under those spells and have an impact before they get to cryptic mana. Once they got three blue and anything else, if you aren't in a commanding position, you're dead. every time. spending a turn to cast sarkhaan may feel great, and he may even stick around for a few turns, but make no doubt about it, they don't have to counter it and you've just given blue another chance to play another land without adding any pressure to the board.
Now, this whole equation changes if you are running dragons. Dragons change this equation because now you can use sarkhaan to start pumping out haymakers. Also, in a list Like Ray's Trash Dragons, I like sarkhaan over chainwhirler by a lot. Sarkhaan help power out big stupid ***** way ahead of curve and he's running 11-12 rituals whereas the stock list only runs 8-9 rituals. Trash Dragons is a similar but different approach to Pyro Prison and equally as effective. Stock lists, like the one I usually run, try to use targeted spells to pick the opponent apart and make them feels helpless. Trash Dragons tries to pound you into the ground with Haymaker after haymaker and presents questions that are so large and heavy hitting, the moment the opponent doesn't have an answer, they are dead. A True call back to the Hammer's Slammer deck of old.
So, I think both are good in the right builds and if the meta changes to a more midrange format, I can totally see Sarkhaan being better than chainwhirler across the board, but for now, midrange decks have gone into hiding. Either you're facing an incredibly fast deck (humans, affinity, hollow-one, bridge vine, burn), a big mana control type deck (Tron, UW Control, Scapeshift) or combo that wins on turn 3-4 (Storm, KCI, Ad Nausem, Devoted Druid). Jund, death and taxes, and even mardu pyromancer have all gone been almost non-existent lately and in those attrition based matches, Sarkhaan is better, no doubt. But in all those decks where the game is virtually or actually decided by turn three, unless you are running dragons, I think sarkhaan is too slow in the stock list, or at least too slow to run two. Maybe a 1/1 split of a chainwhirler and a sarkhan could be good. I haven't tried that yet.
G1: Mull to 4 on the play did not see a single land in my 7,6,5 or 4, said eff it Ill keep it and hope they are a slow deck, pass my turn, Opponent plays t1 Glistener Elf. I play a t2 rabble from scryed land and die a few turns later before i can find a third mana to sweep the board.
Pull in Angers, Torpor, Chainwhirler, Spellskite and Jaya. Pull out Rabbles, and Sarkhans
G2 and game 3: both games I chalice on 1 turn 1, then a bridge helps seal the deal opp scoops to hellbent both times.
Round 2: Mardu
G1: Keep a decent hand, not familiar with this player and he turn 1 blackcleaves into faithless looting, I am putting him on Hollow one for now. I slide in a chalice on1, his turn 2 he plays land and passes, i land pass, t3 he plays Marshflats and I realize he is on Mardu, plays LotV upticks and I discard an irrevelant card, draw for turn nets me a hazoret which i deploy the next turn and kill his LotV, Much thanks for her helping me activate him, Grind him down with Dog Mom with a timely chandra to take care of a bedlam.
Pull in Eidolon, Stormbreath, Spyglass, Torpor, Chainwhirler, Spellskite and angers, pull out moons, Bridges, Pyretic and a desperate.
G2: Get another early chalice off on him followed by a sarkhan uptick slowly and Opp deploys a Bridge of his own, drop in Avaricious and start digging for an answer, Opp plays a few lingering souls and wittles away at a looming sarkhan ult, Eventually land a chandra and throw excess cards away with haz until I find an Abrade for the bridge and swing in with the team forcing my opp to have to deal with a chandra and a sarkhan ready to ult, they choose to focus on the chandra, sarkhan ults and they scoop to the power of the dragon man.
Round 3: Jund
G1: t1 thoughtseized lose my chalice he follows it up with more jund threats, Am able to sweep his board a few turns later but he recovers with a newly grown Goyf, I am at a position of do i play a moon to stop his lands or a bridge to stop his attacks, I opt for moon so he cant liliana or handhate me, he casts a BBE and gets lily from it I die a few turns later
In, angers, Spyglass, Eidolon, Stormbreath Spellskite. Out, Bridges, balista 2 ramp spells 1 sarkhan. (I am not sure my sideboard is correct for jund but I am trying to just jam threats and force my way through)
G2: turn 1 moon YAY they have a basic forest and play goyf followed by Scooze, take some slow beats as I try to get to 3 mana to wipe the board, they deploy another bigger goyf, I find a bridge then a 2nd moon think I have stablized. BBE flips over a Pulse gets my bridge and the tide comes crashing in to spell my demise. Jund does Jund things and shows why it is still one of our worse matchups unless we can just draw answer after answer.
Round 4: UW
G1: he plays island passes I t1 chalice with an Opt from Opp in response, plays a field of ruins but misses his 3rd and 4th land drop, I resolve a second rabblemaster and he scoops a turn later
In Jaya, Boil, Chainwhirler, Spyglass, Eidolon, Stormbreath Spellskite. Out, Bridges, Abrade, Ballista 1 slag ( i kept one in just in case he played secure the wastes plus it can atleast get in 3 damage) and pyretic
G2: I get a quick eidolon followed by a spellskite. After a few eidolon beats he gets a path for both of them and is able to counter my moon the following turn, In goes normal of deploy threat, threat is removed, Fought through 3 terminusus 1 jace and a Teferi but his card advantage gets me in the end with a 2nd Jace and a Dsphere on my KotH.
G3: i go first and play eidolon on t1 followed by a t2 SPyglass naming the jace in his hand. pass my turn turn 3 he plays Field of ruins passes, I dont get a land and just pass t4, EOT he fields my Ramunap ruins I tap it for mana fetch my mountain opp fetches basic island, then during eot i use my new land to tap for 4 total and boil away his island and Fountain leaving him with his plains. He plays a Glacial fortres and I reslove a moon, After a few fancy mountains of my opponents and a few threats he scoops.
This round Opp Wins Player of the night for me, He was real interactive and fun to talk to, He learned that Boil is a card and after the match he remarked that he had no chance in game 3 and that I played masterfully, (mainly due to the "3 land" boil play I think but still) Also he discussed Task mage and said he had fatesealed her to the bottom knowing if i resolved her my next turn he wouldnt of had an answer.
Round 5: Humans
G1: is a close one t2 thalia followed by a free booter for my slagstorm and a illusion on freebooter that wiffs, I barely able to justthrow blockers down to stem some damage before i double block with mana monkey/rabble to kill her and topdeck an abrade for my sweeper back, get knocked real low next turn from a thalia's lieutenant but sweep the board and Am Able to find a moon followed by bridge and opp scoops.
In Angers, Dampening, Chainwhirler, Jaya. Out: Rabbles and 1 Sarkhan
G2: I get greedy, could of t2 angered a champion and Noble but i hold off wanting a little more value and Sin collector comes down and takes it. I cut opp off 1 drops with chalice but a steadly growing Champion gets me in the end with no bridge in sight
G3: Chalice on 1 them and remove the 2drop then sarkhan, they drop a Mantis rider and go for sarkhan but not tell he is able to find me a moon. Moon them off then deploy Jaya take a hit from the rider then just use jaya's firsta bility to desroy him. Opp scoops to having fancy mountains with a creatrue that kills any threat they could play live on the board.
Round 6: bye but Opp is on UW Spirits. We play some friendly Pauper of him on Axebane gaurdian combo, me on BW Pestilence lifegain a list i've had for about 7 years with no changes or updates. fun times.
Quarterfinals of top 8, I am in 8th seed going up agiasnt the only undefeated of the night a good friend on Tron.
G1: He plays tron piece I deploy Hazoret on our respective turn 1s, cant swing but its okay. He plays 2nd tron piece and a map I play land and abrade the map and swing in for 5, He scowls and plays forest and fetches up his last piece with Sylvan scrying, I swllow hard and then top deck a mountain slam it and swing in again, next turn swing and throw the card in hand after he plays out an Ostone, Realizes even if he pops ostone on his turn he will die to haz not being removed and scoops
In Stormbreath, Eidolon spyglass, Shattering spree. Out Bridges, ballista and 1 slagstorm
g2 he plays tron map, Spree map and pass for me, plays 2nd tron piece and I play a rabble, he nat trons and has a wurmcoil which spells my doom quickly.
g3 On the paly t1 Rabble hit for 1, Opp plays tron piece. I play t2 rabble swing for 8 have him at 11. T3 he nat trons and has a wurmcoil floating a green mana from a sphere flounders a moment then decides to pass, I swing with the whole team for 21 total, blocks 1 rabble with a wurmcoil which I proceed to abrade in response and we shake hands after smashing in for 13 after blocks. Reveals he was deciding wether or not to Claim his own wurmcoil for 2 blockers when i reveal I had a shattering spree to take care of both of them had he done that line of play as well.
Top 4 Splits a box and its 2am so I drive home and pass out.
Legion Warboss seems built for us.