So that is the list I'm running right now. I've got a few things I'd like advice on.
1. What do I side in against combo decks like Melira, Kiki pod, and Splinter Twin?
2. I'm thinking of dropping an Arid Mesa for a basic plains. I feel like Arid Mesa doesn't actually fetch much in the deck right now aside from shocks.
3. Spell Snare. I have no idea if I should still be running it, or if not what I should replace it with.
I'm sorry if I am too lazy: I've been away from the metagame for a while and, while I was last playing, the UWR control variation was the most popular deck.
It appears, from activity in the threads, that this midrange is gaining attention lately. Does that reflect what's happening in the metagame? Has this deck gotten "better" than the control version?
Would someone enlighten me as to what are some good and bad matchups for this in the current metagame?
Thanks a lot.
The deck never really went away, just that UWR control got more attention due to half the players playing it for the world championship.
I won't be able to comment on matchups as I don't have a lot of experience with this deck, only playing it in events here and there. Most matchups seemed decent to me.
So that is the list I'm running right now. I've got a few things I'd like advice on.
1. What do I side in against combo decks like Melira, Kiki pod, and Splinter Twin?
2. I'm thinking of dropping an Arid Mesa for a basic plains. I feel like Arid Mesa doesn't actually fetch much in the deck right now aside from shocks.
3. Spell Snare. I have no idea if I should still be running it, or if not what I should replace it with.
1. Against combo pod just use your normal removal to remove their key pieces. Keeping finks and redcap on -1/-1 mode is very important so they don't combo off for melira pod. Against kiki always keep mana up to remove kiki. Stony silence and baneslayer angel are stuff you could board in. Against splinter twin board in combust and counterspells. For your list, I would board in paths, celestial purge, and counterflux.
2. Try it out and see how it goes.
3. I wouldn't run it in this kind of deck, but that's just me.
The deck never really went away, just that UWR control got more attention due to half the players playing it for the world championship.
I won't be able to comment on matchups as I don't have a lot of experience with this deck, only playing it in events here and there. Most matchups seemed decent to me.
1. Against combo pod just use your normal removal to remove their key pieces. Keeping finks and redcap on -1/-1 mode is very important so they don't combo off for melira pod. Against kiki always keep mana up to remove kiki. Stony silence and baneslayer angel are stuff you could board in. Against splinter twin board in combust and counterspells. For your list, I would board in paths, celestial purge, and counterflux.
2. Try it out and see how it goes.
3. I wouldn't run it in this kind of deck, but that's just me.
Against Melira I side in Baneslayer Angel, 2x Counterflux, and 2x Surgical Extraction. I side out Batterskull, 2x Spell Snare, and 2x Remand. Remand just seems bad against a combo deck, and Spell Snare doesn't hit much. I'd like to keep in Batterskull, and sometimes I do, but once they see him they side in Slivers and fetch for Qasali more.
Against Kiki-pod I side in 2x Celestial Purge, 1x Path to Exile, and 2x Counterflux. Out: 3x Remand, 2x Spell Snare
Should I be siding out bad counter spells for good ones? Is Remand still good in those match ups?
I was thinking of dropping 2x Spell Snare for 1x Ajani Vengeant, and 1x Sphinx's Revelation?? I don't really like Spell Snare. When I think about it on paper it's the most amazing card, but in practice it's just lacking.
Still having an issue with Kiki/Melira Pod decks. No idea what sideboard cards are even capable of dealing with them? Anyone have any card suggestions that I don't have in my SB?
Playing a quite similar list to MeinKampfire. Against melira pod Anger of the Gods is indeed insane. They are are also great against merfolk and affinity. I play two for this reason, and they have been amazing.
I'm very much wondering about Geist in this deck... against decks like jund, contol, scapeshift etc. and to some extent tron, geist is an amazing card. In other matchups like pod, twin and living the geist either gets blocked easily or you just can't tap out for it on turn three.
Is it possible to make some kind of version without geist but with the same idea? For example running an extra aven mindcensor main, 4 resto and a thundermaw hellkite or something. Perhaps even blade splicer, although that doesn't help the tapping out on turn three. Other options are 1 or two grim lavamancers, similar to the twin deck. Or for a more controlling route, augur of bolas?
On the cryptic command thing. I think cryptic is too good not to play in this deck. The only problem is that most lists have too many sources that don't tap for blue. One of the reasons is Eiganjo Castle, if you drop geist somehow then eigenjo can be removed. The other reason is tec edge. I removed the common two tec edges for 2 blue sources, and am now running two cryptics. I think this is the rigth way to go, especially since you already have an insane amount of removal for manlands.
The player YYSapporo is placing well online with something akin to the ideas I put down above: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/213956... worth a thought it seems
That's where I'm at now. Still the 2 card flex spot in Aven Mindcensor that I'm unsure about.
I know that I dislike Cryptic Command. I don't think it has a place in what UWr Geist wants to do. You need to change so much of the decks core in order to reliably run Cryptic Command.
I'm pretty happy with where the deck is at now. Since I removed Spell Snare I was worried about my Jund match up, because Spell Snare is a complete all-star against Jund.
So this is where my sideboard is against Jund/The Rock is at now:
In: 1x Baneslayer Angel, 2x Celestial Purge, 3x Engineered Explosives, 2x Leyline of Sanctity, 1x Path to Exile
Out: 2x Aven Mindcensor. 4x Geist of Saint Traft, 1x Electrolyze, 1x Lightning Bolt, 1x Lightning Helix
I have no idea how to sideboard this match. Can I keep in Geist and just side out some burn, and rely on PtE and Engineered to deal with Goyf, and hope Geist beats get in?
Is Batterskull, Baneslayer Angel, Restoration Angel, Vendilion Clique, and Celestial Colonnade enough beats that I don't need Geist actually?
edit: Another option is to drop Leyline out of the board, put Aven Mindcensor in it's spot, and keep Spell Snare in the main. So many options
I think having Relic in the sideboard is amazing against jund. Far more so than Leyline of sanctity, which is quite narrow. Relic is also certainly a game-breaking card against decks like living-end.
Geist is also great agaist jund since they don't have that many creatures, and you do have a lot of removal to clear it's path. I usually just take out remands against Jund, since their mana curve is so low.
I don't know yet about Snell Snare. When I tried it, it was dead too often against a bunch of decks like Tron and pod. Although it is good against Jund, you have plenty of reactive cards against their 2 drop creatures in path, bolt, helix and electrolyze. Dunno if you actually need the spell snares that much.
I played this deck to a 3-0 finish yesterday, beating UR delver, Boros Twin, and grixis control (piloted by a PT top 8'er!). I think it's a really strong deck, but I have not gotten enough testing against Jund and Tron to really tell. I do not play Cryptics or any of the 5-drops.
I think that you can have any reasonable sideboard, as long as you have the right plan against each matchup.
But combust is good against merfolk and the increasingly popular mono-u delver deck. And it is uncounterable, which counts for a lot when playing against twin.
As after being frustrated with how useless delver has been I decided to shift the deck to a more control-midrange build. I don't own any Colonnades, which is why their aren't any there. The addition of Vial, although helpful, is questionable. I'm not really sure which direction to take the deck in. I've thought of adding more Elecrtolyze or maybe even restoration, but I have no clue what I would cut for it.
Yah, its to deal with drawing a late game vial that is basically a dead draw.
I did have scepter main board, but it is horrible against lists running abrupt decay, hence the sideboard.
Any thoughts on the vial?
Why would you play Vial with 8 creatures? I mean I'd understand in Eternal Command, but in this deck? It makes no sense whatsoever
Anyways, I'm a huge Delver fan but he's useless in Modern due to the terrible cantrips available. Just remove the Vials, Serum Visions, add some Cliques and Mindcensors and play the midrange WUR version which can actually be pretty good.
You could even try a Squadron Hawk + Swords package which i've found is quite amazing against removal heavy decks
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3x Arid Mesa
4x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Mountain
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
3x Tectonic Edge
3x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
3x Mana Leak
3x Path to Exile
3x Remand
2x Spell Snare
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
2x Celestial Purge
2x Counterflux
3x Engineered Explosives
2x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Path to Exile
2x Stony Silence
2x Surgical Extraction
So that is the list I'm running right now. I've got a few things I'd like advice on.
1. What do I side in against combo decks like Melira, Kiki pod, and Splinter Twin?
2. I'm thinking of dropping an Arid Mesa for a basic plains. I feel like Arid Mesa doesn't actually fetch much in the deck right now aside from shocks.
3. Spell Snare. I have no idea if I should still be running it, or if not what I should replace it with.
The deck never really went away, just that UWR control got more attention due to half the players playing it for the world championship.
I won't be able to comment on matchups as I don't have a lot of experience with this deck, only playing it in events here and there. Most matchups seemed decent to me.
1. Against combo pod just use your normal removal to remove their key pieces. Keeping finks and redcap on -1/-1 mode is very important so they don't combo off for melira pod. Against kiki always keep mana up to remove kiki. Stony silence and baneslayer angel are stuff you could board in. Against splinter twin board in combust and counterspells. For your list, I would board in paths, celestial purge, and counterflux.
2. Try it out and see how it goes.
3. I wouldn't run it in this kind of deck, but that's just me.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Against Melira I side in Baneslayer Angel, 2x Counterflux, and 2x Surgical Extraction. I side out Batterskull, 2x Spell Snare, and 2x Remand. Remand just seems bad against a combo deck, and Spell Snare doesn't hit much. I'd like to keep in Batterskull, and sometimes I do, but once they see him they side in Slivers and fetch for Qasali more.
Against Kiki-pod I side in 2x Celestial Purge, 1x Path to Exile, and 2x Counterflux. Out: 3x Remand, 2x Spell Snare
Twin, in: 2x Celestial Purge, 2x Counterflux, 1x Path to Exile. out: 3x Remand 2x Spell Snare.
Should I be siding out bad counter spells for good ones? Is Remand still good in those match ups?
I was thinking of dropping 2x Spell Snare for 1x Ajani Vengeant, and 1x Sphinx's Revelation?? I don't really like Spell Snare. When I think about it on paper it's the most amazing card, but in practice it's just lacking.
3x Arid Mesa
4x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Mountain
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
3x Tectonic Edge
2x Cryptic Command
3x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
3x Mana Leak
3x Path to Exile
3x Remand
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
2x Celestial Purge
2x Counterflux
3x Engineered Explosives
2x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Path to Exile
2x Stony Silence
2x Surgical Extraction
Changed 2x Spell Snare for 2x Cryptic Commands.
Still having an issue with Kiki/Melira Pod decks. No idea what sideboard cards are even capable of dealing with them? Anyone have any card suggestions that I don't have in my SB?
I'm still not too fond of Cryptic Command in this list, the 1UUU cost is pretty hard to get sometimes.
I'm very much wondering about Geist in this deck... against decks like jund, contol, scapeshift etc. and to some extent tron, geist is an amazing card. In other matchups like pod, twin and living the geist either gets blocked easily or you just can't tap out for it on turn three.
Is it possible to make some kind of version without geist but with the same idea? For example running an extra aven mindcensor main, 4 resto and a thundermaw hellkite or something. Perhaps even blade splicer, although that doesn't help the tapping out on turn three. Other options are 1 or two grim lavamancers, similar to the twin deck. Or for a more controlling route, augur of bolas?
On the cryptic command thing. I think cryptic is too good not to play in this deck. The only problem is that most lists have too many sources that don't tap for blue. One of the reasons is Eiganjo Castle, if you drop geist somehow then eigenjo can be removed. The other reason is tec edge. I removed the common two tec edges for 2 blue sources, and am now running two cryptics. I think this is the rigth way to go, especially since you already have an insane amount of removal for manlands.
The player YYSapporo is placing well online with something akin to the ideas I put down above: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/213956... worth a thought it seems
3x Arid Mesa
4x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Mountain
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
3x Tectonic Edge
3x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
3x Mana Leak
3x Path to Exile
3x Remand
2x Aven Mindcensor
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
2x Celestial Purge
2x Counterflux
3x Engineered Explosives
2x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Path to Exile
2x Stony Silence
2x Surgical Extraction
That's where I'm at now. Still the 2 card flex spot in Aven Mindcensor that I'm unsure about.
I know that I dislike Cryptic Command. I don't think it has a place in what UWr Geist wants to do. You need to change so much of the decks core in order to reliably run Cryptic Command.
I'm pretty happy with where the deck is at now. Since I removed Spell Snare I was worried about my Jund match up, because Spell Snare is a complete all-star against Jund.
So this is where my sideboard is against Jund/The Rock is at now:
In: 1x Baneslayer Angel, 2x Celestial Purge, 3x Engineered Explosives, 2x Leyline of Sanctity, 1x Path to Exile
Out: 2x Aven Mindcensor. 4x Geist of Saint Traft, 1x Electrolyze, 1x Lightning Bolt, 1x Lightning Helix
I have no idea how to sideboard this match. Can I keep in Geist and just side out some burn, and rely on PtE and Engineered to deal with Goyf, and hope Geist beats get in?
Is Batterskull, Baneslayer Angel, Restoration Angel, Vendilion Clique, and Celestial Colonnade enough beats that I don't need Geist actually?
edit: Another option is to drop Leyline out of the board, put Aven Mindcensor in it's spot, and keep Spell Snare in the main. So many options
Geist is also great agaist jund since they don't have that many creatures, and you do have a lot of removal to clear it's path. I usually just take out remands against Jund, since their mana curve is so low.
I don't know yet about Snell Snare. When I tried it, it was dead too often against a bunch of decks like Tron and pod. Although it is good against Jund, you have plenty of reactive cards against their 2 drop creatures in path, bolt, helix and electrolyze. Dunno if you actually need the spell snares that much.
3x Arid Mesa
4x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
3x Tectonic Edge
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
3x Mana Leak
3x Path to Exile
3x Remand
4x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
1x Batterskull
2x Aven Mindcensor
1x Baneslayer Angel
2x Celestial Purge
1x Combust
2x Counterflux
2x Engineered Explosives
1x Path to Exile
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Stony Silence
So this is where I'm at with the advice of you guys. My 2 card flex spot got filled with a basic Plains, and 1x Ajani Vengeant.
I'm excited to see if Ajani is any good.
edit: Combust could, and probably should, be a Wear//Tear
I think that you can have any reasonable sideboard, as long as you have the right plan against each matchup.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
I'm taking Wear//Tear as a meta choice over Combust for now.
Thoughts?
UWRMiraclesRWU
Modern
UWRControlRWU
Standard
Ummm no...
Trade Thread
Any reason you have Thirst For Knowledge over Think Twice?
Yah, its to deal with drawing a late game vial that is basically a dead draw.
I did have scepter main board, but it is horrible against lists running abrupt decay, hence the sideboard.
Any thoughts on the vial?
UWRMiraclesRWU
Modern
UWRControlRWU
Standard
Ummm no...
Trade Thread
8 creatures you can vial. 14 other one drops, all of which could be a decent turn one play. Vial isnt really needed IMO. Not enough dudes.
Why would you play Vial with 8 creatures? I mean I'd understand in Eternal Command, but in this deck? It makes no sense whatsoever
Anyways, I'm a huge Delver fan but he's useless in Modern due to the terrible cantrips available. Just remove the Vials, Serum Visions, add some Cliques and Mindcensors and play the midrange WUR version which can actually be pretty good.
You could even try a Squadron Hawk + Swords package which i've found is quite amazing against removal heavy decks