I'm having the same problem with Lingering Souls, I can't see Staticaster leaving my SB anytime soon.
It's not in our colours, but a surgical on their first Sword trigger deals with the combo pretty well. I pulled it off yesterday and my opponent got angry and conceded. That said, I was on colourless Eldrazi and he'd also dealt with 3 relic of progenitus, so...
Okay so in regards to a geist list. I have something that seems to be working really well.
I am currently playing around with 3 geist and instead of supreme verdicts I have been using settle the wreckage and it has been working really well. My friend owns Tron/Eldrazi Tron so i've been playing some practice matches with him and I see a huge difference in games won than that I took to the Starcity Open.
I really am a huge fan of the 3/1 snapcaster torrential gearhulk style (because I really like torrential gearhulk... kind of a pet card) and I could see running that since settle the wreckage is an instant so it can be targeted for flashback. Overall the deck just seems to play faster and doesn't need to wait a long period of time to finally turn the corner and win
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UU"Brute force can sometimes kick down a locked door, but knowledge is a skeleton key"UU
Okay so in regards to a geist list. I have something that seems to be working really well.
I am currently playing around with 3 geist and instead of supreme verdicts I have been using settle the wreckage and it has been working really well. My friend owns Tron/Eldrazi Tron so i've been playing some practice matches with him and I see a huge difference in games won than that I took to the Starcity Open.
I really am a huge fan of the 3/1 snapcaster torrential gearhulk style (because I really like torrential gearhulk... kind of a pet card) and I could see running that since settle the wreckage is an instant so it can be targeted for flashback. Overall the deck just seems to play faster and doesn't need to wait a long period of time to finally turn the corner and win
So your list is 3x Geist, 3x Snap, 1x Gearhulk, and 2x Settle the Wreckage MD?
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Modern Decks
------------ URW Jeskai Control GUWRB Amulet Titan GR Ponza
Yeah I figured I had the right idea (Staticaster came in) but I dont know, GY strategies are coming in on MTGO it feels, and I may need to sleeve up Grixis instead to run with the Jund decks, and GY abusing decks.
if you have all the cards id go for it. black lets you freeroll Nihil Spellbomb
in all honesty though i suspect that its just a case of 'the grass is always greener'. grixis has its own share of problems. you will probably immediately notice the lack of path, the lifegain from helix, and possibly verdict (not many blue aggro decks running around atm).
tar pit is actually pretty sweet, and if legacy is any indicator it is good against opposing jaces.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Yeah I figured I had the right idea (Staticaster came in) but I dont know, GY strategies are coming in on MTGO it feels, and I may need to sleeve up Grixis instead to run with the Jund decks, and GY abusing decks.
if you have all the cards id go for it. black lets you freeroll Nihil Spellbomb
in all honesty though i suspect that its just a case of 'the grass is always greener'. grixis has its own share of problems. you will probably immediately notice the lack of path, the lifegain from helix, and possibly verdict (not many blue aggro decks running around atm).
tar pit is actually pretty sweet, and if legacy is any indicator it is good against opposing jaces.
Tar Pit is indeed a great card and great in Jace mirrors.
I'm a value player through and through, so I love the Grixis Snap-Cryptic-Kolaghan's-Snap chains. But personally, I just find that I don't have a strong reason to run it at the moment. If I want to beat aggro, I go Jeskai. If I want to sacrifice a few points vs. aggro for more points vs. greedy mana and go-large decks, I go UW. With Jace and Search in the cardpool now, both shells give me reasonable matchups vs. midrange. It doesn't feel like Grixis pulls far enough ahead of the other options in grindiness for it to be worth the concessions it makes (while still admitting that it has a stronger grindy game).
Although if BBE Jund ends up being everywhere, that might tip me back towards Grixis. I haven't tested the matchup post-unbannings, but I imagine Grixis has a very good matchup against Jund ATM.
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Playing UX Mana Denial until Modern gets the answers it needs.
WUBRG Humans BRW Mardu Pyromancer UW UW "Control" UR Blue Moon
There is the 'grass is greener' that I try hard to fight against all the time. I've put in a lot of reps with UWR since Azcanta and Jace, and I think I've just run into the potential weakness when we ourselves lean on the GY, we have no natural extraction (Surgical for 2 life excepted) and recursion, even with Path, simply kills me.
I've always had a love/hate with Path, and I just feel I need to do some testing with Grixis, because I feel the tension in our Mana vs what UW has, is not being rewarded as much as what Grixis could be doing.
Goyf laughing off Bolt is a huge pain, while Push nearly put Goyf into the dumpster for a good 6 Months.
Natural GY hate that doesnt burn us, and with upside.
Yeah I lose Path, Helix, Geist, and Verdict, but of those, there are other options out there.
Either way, I have all of it in Paper, just need to get a few things again on MTGO to do some reps.
true enough. the grindier the format gets the worse jeskai gets, as odd as that sounds. we have plenty of value or CA choices, but it isnt hard for decks to go over the top of what we usually bring to the table. we could change that if we wanted to, for instance jamming 4 AVs into the list would make the jund matchup substantially easier. though a drastic change like that isnt without other consequences.
grixis very well may be better positioned at the moment. it could also be that control just isnt where you want to be in general. the meta is all over the place as people brew, and wonky decks coming out of the woodwork trying to jockey for position in a jace/bbe world.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
I'm pretty certain Jeskai is still the best control deck after all this shakeup. It was the best control list before the unbans, followed by UW control, and Grixis barely made a splash in that time. The biggest change we have seen is the rise of Jund, for which I do not see a reason that Grixis would be significantly better than Jeskai. The other big rise I've been seeing is Tribal Zoo lists, against which I'd DEFINITELY prefer Jeskai over Grixis. Perhaps over time, the rise of Jund will shift the meta to make Grixis better but for now I see no reason to switch.
If you really want a good gravehate card, I splashed a single Watery Grave for 3 Nihil Spellbombs in the side for a bit, which worked very well.
In other news there's some larger local tournaments coming up, and I'd like some feedback on my list if possible:
Normally I greatly prefer Queller versions, but I know approximately what the meta will look like and wrath effects are just too good to play Queller. The meta will be something like this (based off FNMs):
2-3 merfolk
1 eldrazitaxes
1 DnT
1 Bogles
2-3 burn
1 mardu pyro
1-2 BGx
1 tron
1-2 affinity
1 lantern
1 spirits
1-2 blue control
1 green devotion
1 ad naus
2 death shadow
1 lifegain
I'm fairly satisfied with this list, my main doubts are in the sideboard counterspell suite: I chose 2 Negate 1 Counterflux as Negate lines up good vs Burn, but it might just be better to go for either 2 Negate or 2 Counterflux and make the last slot a Timely Reinforcements. Given the large amount of Vial decks, a second Abrade might also be pretty good in that slot.
I really recommend Geist in the 75, as probably a 2 of at least. I actually beat Dredge on his pressure yesterday, and its all that can keep you in the game against some decks, just by the pressure he applies.
Jund with BBE is still feeling super rough, but I'm not sure what we can do about that.
Just came to remember how Todd Stevens on Jeskai Jace crushed Brad Nelson on Bloodbraid Jund 4-1 in this matchup test from before the unbanning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqupx3QHNo
Most were convinced jeskai was the better place to be in that matchup at that time. But you find it to be super rough?
I like everything but the 4 Collonnade/2 Field of Ruin. I feel you could have some really rough hands with that setup. Also, to me 2 Spell Snare is a given in the main. It's huge in so many match ups.
I really recommend Geist in the 75, as probably a 2 of at least. I actually beat Dredge on his pressure yesterday, and its all that can keep you in the game against some decks, just by the pressure he applies.
Jund with BBE is still feeling super rough, but I'm not sure what we can do about that.
Just came to remember how Todd Stevens on Jeskai Jace crushed Brad Nelson on Bloodbraid Jund 4-1 in this matchup test from before the unbanning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqupx3QHNo
Most were convinced jeskai was the better place to be in that matchup at that time. But you find it to be super rough?
Yeah, of all the games I've had, Affinity, Eldrazi, Tron, Bogles (I just shake my head at this deck...) and Valakut, its Jund now that seems to apply the most pressure.
Do you snare their Goyf? If not, you better have a Path, too bad they Discard you turn 1.
Do you counter that lily? If not, your going to be in a top deck mode quickly, and we will lose that battle.
I find Search now has a target on its back, its being blown up, or discarded, right away, and without ways to fight recursion, any creature we snag coming in, just gets put back in their hand, while we discard a card.
I like everything but the 4 Collonnade/2 Field of Ruin. I feel you could have some really rough hands with that setup. Also, to me 2 Spell Snare is a given in the main. It's huge in so many match ups.
You're right about the manabase, I am a little short on red. I'm always dubious about cutting Colonnade though and FoR is just so excellent, I'll have to think about it. What would you cut for Snare?
Also, given the field, what do you think is the best side configuration between Counterflux, Negate and Timely? It's probably percentile level lol
Normally I greatly prefer Queller versions, but I know approximately what the meta will look like and wrath effects are just too good to play Queller. The meta will be something like this (based off FNMs):
2-3 merfolk
1 eldrazitaxes
1 DnT
1 Bogles
2-3 burn
1 mardu pyro
1-2 BGx
1 tron
1-2 affinity
1 lantern
1 spirits
1-2 blue control
1 green devotion
1 ad naus
2 death shadow
1 lifegain
I'm fairly satisfied with this list, my main doubts are in the sideboard counterspell suite: I chose 2 Negate 1 Counterflux as Negate lines up good vs Burn, but it might just be better to go for either 2 Negate or 2 Counterflux and make the last slot a Timely Reinforcements. Given the large amount of Vial decks, a second Abrade might also be pretty good in that slot.
I count 10 decks verdict is good against and 5 decks it is not good against. I reckon your 2nd and maybe 3rd verdict could be in your MD rather than stranded in your sideboard.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion is extremely well positioned right now, if you can make room for her.
My solution for the mana base was to run only 3 collonades, and 25 lands, with 2 FoR. I run 1x Sulfur Falls and 1x Glacial Fortress as well. I was considering adding a 3rd FoR, dropping the fortress and staying on 25 lands.
I think 3 collonades is fine.
I'll second that snare is great right now but can see either 1 or 2 being correct.
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Modern Decks
------------ URW Jeskai Control GUWRB Amulet Titan GR Ponza
I was thinking the same about Verdict, I just really dislike high average cmcs. But to be fair EE BASICALLY is a cmc4 spell as well and swapping them around is probably free.
Elspeth is great but I think my 75 are all better than her; I already have a LOT of cards vs grindy MUs as well in the side. I tend to prefer going under other control decks instead of joining them in the grind game as well.
For the landbase cutting a Colonnade and a FoR for 2 Sulfur Falls is probably just straight up correct but I'm still hesitant, I'll think about it some more.
I was thinking the same about Verdict, I just really dislike high average cmcs. But to be fair EE BASICALLY is a cmc4 spell as well and swapping them around is probably free.
Elspeth is great but I think my 75 are all better than her; I already have a LOT of cards vs grindy MUs as well in the side. I tend to prefer going under other control decks instead of joining them in the grind game as well.
For the landbase cutting a Colonnade and a FoR for 2 Sulfur Falls is probably just straight up correct but I'm still hesitant, I'll think about it some more.
id cut a colonnade for sure. 3 seems like the magic number where you will reliably see it in the mid to late game, but wont get copies clogging up your hand on the early turns.
i think 1 verdict/1 EE in the main is an acceptable hedge. though switching out the EE for a verdict from the side is the more conservative choice.
spreading seas sticks out in the sideboard. that card seems too low impact to just run 2, i think id rather see 4 or none at all. some alternatives that seem good are staticaster, grim lavamancer, elspeth, blessed alliance, runed halo, or stony silence. i can see each of those being brought in for multiple matchups for the decks you listed.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Okay so in regards to a geist list. I have something that seems to be working really well.
I am currently playing around with 3 geist and instead of supreme verdicts I have been using settle the wreckage and it has been working really well. My friend owns Tron/Eldrazi Tron so i've been playing some practice matches with him and I see a huge difference in games won than that I took to the Starcity Open.
I really am a huge fan of the 3/1 snapcaster torrential gearhulk style (because I really like torrential gearhulk... kind of a pet card) and I could see running that since settle the wreckage is an instant so it can be targeted for flashback. Overall the deck just seems to play faster and doesn't need to wait a long period of time to finally turn the corner and win
So your list is 3x Geist, 3x Snap, 1x Gearhulk, and 2x Settle the Wreckage MD?
Yeahh.. I also cut back to 1x search for azcanta so that the number of torrential gearhulk targets is more.. So far it feels pretty good.. I also really like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar in this sort of build as he has immediate use more so then in the more spell based versions..
Mind you, this probably isn't anything that I would take to a major tournament or something but at the moment it has been a lot of fun to play and I'll probably try it tomorrow at FNM
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UU"Brute force can sometimes kick down a locked door, but knowledge is a skeleton key"UU
Normally I greatly prefer Queller versions, but I know approximately what the meta will look like and wrath effects are just too good to play Queller. The meta will be something like this (based off FNMs):
I agree about the 4th Colonnade / 2nd Field / no Sulfur Falls issue.
I prefer 2nd Verdict instead of Explosives maindeck.
I really like 4 Snapcaster + 2 Azcanta + 2 Jace TMS as card-advantage engine, and Secure The Wastes maindeck.
I also think that 4 Snapcaster + 2 Clique + 2 Geist is a good setup post-board when you have to be the beatdown.
You could consider Elspeth, Gideon AoZ and Blessed Alliance in the sideboard.
It's not in our colours, but a surgical on their first Sword trigger deals with the combo pretty well. I pulled it off yesterday and my opponent got angry and conceded. That said, I was on colourless Eldrazi and he'd also dealt with 3 relic of progenitus, so...
I am currently playing around with 3 geist and instead of supreme verdicts I have been using settle the wreckage and it has been working really well. My friend owns Tron/Eldrazi Tron so i've been playing some practice matches with him and I see a huge difference in games won than that I took to the Starcity Open.
I really am a huge fan of the 3/1 snapcaster torrential gearhulk style (because I really like torrential gearhulk... kind of a pet card) and I could see running that since settle the wreckage is an instant so it can be targeted for flashback. Overall the deck just seems to play faster and doesn't need to wait a long period of time to finally turn the corner and win
So your list is 3x Geist, 3x Snap, 1x Gearhulk, and 2x Settle the Wreckage MD?
------------
URW Jeskai Control
GUWRB Amulet Titan
GR Ponza
if you have all the cards id go for it. black lets you freeroll Nihil Spellbomb
in all honesty though i suspect that its just a case of 'the grass is always greener'. grixis has its own share of problems. you will probably immediately notice the lack of path, the lifegain from helix, and possibly verdict (not many blue aggro decks running around atm).
tar pit is actually pretty sweet, and if legacy is any indicator it is good against opposing jaces.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)Tar Pit is indeed a great card and great in Jace mirrors.
I'm a value player through and through, so I love the Grixis Snap-Cryptic-Kolaghan's-Snap chains. But personally, I just find that I don't have a strong reason to run it at the moment. If I want to beat aggro, I go Jeskai. If I want to sacrifice a few points vs. aggro for more points vs. greedy mana and go-large decks, I go UW. With Jace and Search in the cardpool now, both shells give me reasonable matchups vs. midrange. It doesn't feel like Grixis pulls far enough ahead of the other options in grindiness for it to be worth the concessions it makes (while still admitting that it has a stronger grindy game).
Although if BBE Jund ends up being everywhere, that might tip me back towards Grixis. I haven't tested the matchup post-unbannings, but I imagine Grixis has a very good matchup against Jund ATM.
WUBRG Humans
BRW Mardu Pyromancer
UW UW "Control"
UR Blue Moon
I've always had a love/hate with Path, and I just feel I need to do some testing with Grixis, because I feel the tension in our Mana vs what UW has, is not being rewarded as much as what Grixis could be doing.
Goyf laughing off Bolt is a huge pain, while Push nearly put Goyf into the dumpster for a good 6 Months.
Natural GY hate that doesnt burn us, and with upside.
Yeah I lose Path, Helix, Geist, and Verdict, but of those, there are other options out there.
Either way, I have all of it in Paper, just need to get a few things again on MTGO to do some reps.
Spirits
grixis very well may be better positioned at the moment. it could also be that control just isnt where you want to be in general. the meta is all over the place as people brew, and wonky decks coming out of the woodwork trying to jockey for position in a jace/bbe world.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)If you really want a good gravehate card, I splashed a single Watery Grave for 3 Nihil Spellbombs in the side for a bit, which worked very well.
In other news there's some larger local tournaments coming up, and I'd like some feedback on my list if possible:
// 1 Artifact
1 Engineered Explosives
// 5 Creature
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
// 2 Enchantment
2 Search for Azcanta
// 21 Instant
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Logic Knot
2 Electrolyze
3 Cryptic Command
1 Spell Snare
1 Secure the Wastes
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Field of Ruin
// 2 Planeswalker
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
// 5 Sorcery
4 Serum Visions
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Spreading Seas
2 Dispel
1 Counterflux
2 Celestial Purge
2 Negate
1 Abrade
2 Supreme Verdict
Normally I greatly prefer Queller versions, but I know approximately what the meta will look like and wrath effects are just too good to play Queller. The meta will be something like this (based off FNMs):
1 eldrazitaxes
1 DnT
1 Bogles
2-3 burn
1 mardu pyro
1-2 BGx
1 tron
1-2 affinity
1 lantern
1 spirits
1-2 blue control
1 green devotion
1 ad naus
2 death shadow
1 lifegain
I'm fairly satisfied with this list, my main doubts are in the sideboard counterspell suite: I chose 2 Negate 1 Counterflux as Negate lines up good vs Burn, but it might just be better to go for either 2 Negate or 2 Counterflux and make the last slot a Timely Reinforcements. Given the large amount of Vial decks, a second Abrade might also be pretty good in that slot.
Just came to remember how Todd Stevens on Jeskai Jace crushed Brad Nelson on Bloodbraid Jund 4-1 in this matchup test from before the unbanning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqupx3QHNo
Most were convinced jeskai was the better place to be in that matchup at that time. But you find it to be super rough?
UWRUWR Delver/Lynx TempoUWR-------UWRUWR Midrange GeistUWR-------UWRUWR Nahiri ControlUWR-------UWRUWR SaheeliUWR
BGRJund / Jund ShadowBGR-------BGWAbzan / Abzan ShadowBGW
Commander (Leviathan/MTGO): UWGeist of Saint TraftUW
Spirits
Yeah, of all the games I've had, Affinity, Eldrazi, Tron, Bogles (I just shake my head at this deck...) and Valakut, its Jund now that seems to apply the most pressure.
Do you snare their Goyf? If not, you better have a Path, too bad they Discard you turn 1.
Do you counter that lily? If not, your going to be in a top deck mode quickly, and we will lose that battle.
I find Search now has a target on its back, its being blown up, or discarded, right away, and without ways to fight recursion, any creature we snag coming in, just gets put back in their hand, while we discard a card.
Its very tough I find.
Spirits
You're right about the manabase, I am a little short on red. I'm always dubious about cutting Colonnade though and FoR is just so excellent, I'll have to think about it. What would you cut for Snare?
Also, given the field, what do you think is the best side configuration between Counterflux, Negate and Timely? It's probably percentile level lol
I've just been SUPER impressed with Snare in the last few weeks.
Spirits
I count 10 decks verdict is good against and 5 decks it is not good against. I reckon your 2nd and maybe 3rd verdict could be in your MD rather than stranded in your sideboard.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion is extremely well positioned right now, if you can make room for her.
My solution for the mana base was to run only 3 collonades, and 25 lands, with 2 FoR. I run 1x Sulfur Falls and 1x Glacial Fortress as well. I was considering adding a 3rd FoR, dropping the fortress and staying on 25 lands.
I think 3 collonades is fine.
I'll second that snare is great right now but can see either 1 or 2 being correct.
------------
URW Jeskai Control
GUWRB Amulet Titan
GR Ponza
Elspeth is great but I think my 75 are all better than her; I already have a LOT of cards vs grindy MUs as well in the side. I tend to prefer going under other control decks instead of joining them in the grind game as well.
For the landbase cutting a Colonnade and a FoR for 2 Sulfur Falls is probably just straight up correct but I'm still hesitant, I'll think about it some more.
id cut a colonnade for sure. 3 seems like the magic number where you will reliably see it in the mid to late game, but wont get copies clogging up your hand on the early turns.
i think 1 verdict/1 EE in the main is an acceptable hedge. though switching out the EE for a verdict from the side is the more conservative choice.
spreading seas sticks out in the sideboard. that card seems too low impact to just run 2, i think id rather see 4 or none at all. some alternatives that seem good are staticaster, grim lavamancer, elspeth, blessed alliance, runed halo, or stony silence. i can see each of those being brought in for multiple matchups for the decks you listed.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)------------
URW Jeskai Control
GUWRB Amulet Titan
GR Ponza
Yeahh.. I also cut back to 1x search for azcanta so that the number of torrential gearhulk targets is more.. So far it feels pretty good.. I also really like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar in this sort of build as he has immediate use more so then in the more spell based versions..
Mind you, this probably isn't anything that I would take to a major tournament or something but at the moment it has been a lot of fun to play and I'll probably try it tomorrow at FNM
I agree about the 4th Colonnade / 2nd Field / no Sulfur Falls issue.
I prefer 2nd Verdict instead of Explosives maindeck.
I really like 4 Snapcaster + 2 Azcanta + 2 Jace TMS as card-advantage engine, and Secure The Wastes maindeck.
I also think that 4 Snapcaster + 2 Clique + 2 Geist is a good setup post-board when you have to be the beatdown.
You could consider Elspeth, Gideon AoZ and Blessed Alliance in the sideboard.
im a sucker for transformational sideboards, so i figured id ask if anyone has had any experience with it.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)