The problem is currently my list only runs a couple black sources. We could shift land counts around and fit in some Creeping Tar Pits. Maybe with more black we could do those sideboard cards, but i dunno... 4 Colors heavily in use seems very tough on our mana bace. Blood baron is not good because Tarmogoyf is in abzan as well, I don't believe we need dark blast, as we have tons of 1 and 2 mana removal already. Hide//Seek looks quite interesting, maybe 2 Wears 1 Hide? Wear is good because you can play Geist and hold up 1 white for Splinter Twin on T4. Also, I'm not sure how good Tasigur is. We don't have T1 cantrips and such. No Turn 2 Tasigurs.
Tar Pits seems too hard to activate , I don't think that's the direction we want to go , I was just naming some cards that might be useful off the top of my head. Tasigur is pretty good I feel even if later than turn 2 , specially if you have mana to activate. It dodges a lot of the common removal and I don't think it makes a big impact at our mana base if we are already running black for lingering souls.
Also I wouldn't expect a twin player to go for the combo without protection if you have one white mana open either way (or to let geist resolve uncontested in the first place) , plus I can't think of a lot of places where a fused wear/tear matters , mainly killing an artifact + ensoul artifact vs. affinity , and a batterskull + blood moon vs. twin or skull + outpost siege vs. jund. I'm not sure if we actually need all the hate against tron though , so the wear/tears might be the best option , just another idea I brought up anyway.
Going into a 4th color also makes us more vulnerable to Blood Moon.
This is true, but who is playing Blood Moon right now? Just Twin I believe. We are already bringing in enchantment hate against them, and our matchup is pretty good vs Twin, AND they only have 2-3 Blood Moons.
I registered just to post my two cents on the black splash.
I've been playing the UWRb control list that did well at SCG Baltimore for a little. But recently I switched to midrange because Geist seems amazing against the most popular decks in my meta which are Twin, Grixis delver, and Burn. GBx is also quite popular and I think the black splash helps there. My build has 2x Tasigur and 4x lingering souls. Tasigur is an insane magic card, and lingering souls is great as a threat and as a defensive card. The meta may be shifting, and the souls might be getting worse as GBx players switch back to jund for the collected company matchup #angerofthegods. As far as other black cards go, creeping tarpit is a good option.
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
There is the Team Geist sideboard guide which is not yet complete but has a description of the cuts for almost every matchup , so I think we can start from there and make small adjustments for the black splash.
I haven't tested the CoCo matchup (though probably going to face it tommorrow) but I don't think it's bad , we have a lot of cheap removal and counters. Anger is pretty good against the elves and the anafenza version but not very useful vs. zoo and merfolk , I think Verdict might be a consideration if you are worried about the bigger decks.
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
There is the Team Geist sideboard guide which is not yet complete but has a description of the cuts for almost every matchup , so I think we can start from there and make small adjustments for the black splash.
I haven't tested the CoCo matchup (though probably going to face it tommorrow) but I don't think it's bad , we have a lot of cheap removal and counters. Anger is pretty good against the elves and the anafenza version but not very useful vs. zoo and merfolk , I think Verdict might be a consideration if you are worried about the bigger decks.
In my experience with elves, taking out geist, bringing in Engineered Explosives and some Supreme Verdicts is a good strategy. The game plan is to kill everything they play and clean up with Angels Cliques and Colonnades. With the black splash we get Tasigur who can actually block the big dumb green guys. Lingering Souls is good at blocking. If we play a tight game, saving our counters for their Chords and Co-Cos, have enough removal, and just don't do anything too stupid, the matchup seems favorable to me.
I registered just to post my two cents on the black splash.
I've been playing the UWRb control list that did well at SCG Baltimore for a little. But recently I switched to midrange because Geist seems amazing against the most popular decks in my meta which are Twin, Grixis delver, and Burn. GBx is also quite popular and I think the black splash helps there. My build has 2x Tasigur and 4x lingering souls. Tasigur is an insane magic card, and lingering souls is great as a threat and as a defensive card. The meta may be shifting, and the souls might be getting worse as GBx players switch back to jund for the collected company matchup #angerofthegods. As far as other black cards go, creeping tarpit is a good option.
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
Right now I have a 3/2 split on Remand/Mana Leak. Mana Leak is a card I like more right now because of must counters like Co-Co, Twin, etc. Mana Leak is still even good where Remand was best - GB decks. Remand was one of our best cards in Abzan and Jund matchups, but Mana Leak still does a good job, so we aren't hurting too bad. Remand is poor against decks like: Affinity, Burn, Infect, and it even isn't too great vs. Zoo. I think Mana Leak is currently the counter spell we want to play the most. At least for now. That being said, a couple Remands are still good to have, we just don't really want 4 because they come out in so many matchups, and aren't very good at playing from behind.
I registered just to post my two cents on the black splash.
I've been playing the UWRb control list that did well at SCG Baltimore for a little. But recently I switched to midrange because Geist seems amazing against the most popular decks in my meta which are Twin, Grixis delver, and Burn. GBx is also quite popular and I think the black splash helps there. My build has 2x Tasigur and 4x lingering souls. Tasigur is an insane magic card, and lingering souls is great as a threat and as a defensive card. The meta may be shifting, and the souls might be getting worse as GBx players switch back to jund for the collected company matchup #angerofthegods. As far as other black cards go, creeping tarpit is a good option.
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
Right now I have a 3/2 split on Mana Leak/Remand respectivly. Mana Leak is a card I like more right now because of must counters like Co-Co, Twin, etc. Mana Leak is still even good where Remand was best - GB decks. Remand was one of our best cards in Abzan and Jund matchups, but Mana Leak still does a good job, so we aren't hurting too bad. Remand is poor against decks like: Affinity, Burn, Infect, and it even isn't too great vs. Zoo. I think Mana Leak is currently the counter spell we want to play the most. At least for now. That being said, a couple Remands are still good to have, we just don't really want 4 because they come out in so many matchups, and aren't very good at playing from behind.
What is the appropriate number of Vendilion Clique, 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4?
Depends on the meta you're bringing UWr to. Based on the New Top Ten Decks in Modern I'd say 0 is the right number for a large tournament. Based on those decks, here's my take on UWr's best 75:
Explanations for choices:
Two damage goes far in the current meta. Grim Lavamancer has 5+ creature targets in every deck and can always go to the face.
Restoration Angel has no creatures that can block it profitably and is only removed by Maelstrom Pulse, Terminate, Path to Exile, and Galvanic Blast. It also blocks very well against most of the decks, and for these reasons, I'm running a full playset.
There are only three copies of Path to Exile in the top 10 decks, all in Abzan. Kolaghan's Command is very popular so I think the best choice for 5 drops is Thundermaw over Stormbreath Dragon or Batterskull.
Some spells, such as Collected Company, are better off being answered permanently, so I'm running a 3:2 split of Remand and Mana Leak. Spell Snare has plenty of targets in every deck so I think it's time to get back on a couple copies of it. Forked Bolt is huge right now, so huge that I'd almost consider a second copy. Turn 1 kill Noble Hierarch, Birds of Paradise, Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Glistener Elf, Delver of Secrets, Affinity creatures, and anything Elves, is just amazing. It's relevant later in the game and goes to the face when you can't find a target. Also works great with Snapcaster, something that Electrolyze has more trouble with.
Many decks have under 20 lands, making Tectonic Edge useless. There are enough manlands that I think Ghost Quarter is still necessary, so I'm sticking with 2.
Every sideboard choice is useful against more than one of these top 10 decks, but I'm sure more testing is needed to get a perfect 15.
Those things help, but it's going to be a rough match-up. Really just have to hope you can keep them off of Tron, and ride Geist/Burn/Angel to victory as fast as possible. Running some mana leaks may also help, it isn't great in the matchup, but leaking a T3 Karn is good. Thankfully he cannot Exile Geist, but unfortunately Ugin can. As far as Amulet, Spell Snare can catch an early Summer Bloom, so does mana leak. Really have to try and slow them down and get aggressive, same basic strategy vs Bloom/Tron. You need to be the beat down deck because both decks have a top end we cannot compete with.
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Also I wouldn't expect a twin player to go for the combo without protection if you have one white mana open either way (or to let geist resolve uncontested in the first place) , plus I can't think of a lot of places where a fused wear/tear matters , mainly killing an artifact + ensoul artifact vs. affinity , and a batterskull + blood moon vs. twin or skull + outpost siege vs. jund. I'm not sure if we actually need all the hate against tron though , so the wear/tears might be the best option , just another idea I brought up anyway.
This is true, but who is playing Blood Moon right now? Just Twin I believe. We are already bringing in enchantment hate against them, and our matchup is pretty good vs Twin, AND they only have 2-3 Blood Moons.
I've been playing the UWRb control list that did well at SCG Baltimore for a little. But recently I switched to midrange because Geist seems amazing against the most popular decks in my meta which are Twin, Grixis delver, and Burn. GBx is also quite popular and I think the black splash helps there. My build has 2x Tasigur and 4x lingering souls. Tasigur is an insane magic card, and lingering souls is great as a threat and as a defensive card. The meta may be shifting, and the souls might be getting worse as GBx players switch back to jund for the collected company matchup #angerofthegods. As far as other black cards go, creeping tarpit is a good option.
I'm having trouble sideboarding with this strategy. Tonight, I found myself boarding out remands on the draw, but struggling to make further cuts. Obviously there are some matchups where electrolize or other burn spells aren't as good, but what are the other cards are you cutting for silver bullets? In the few matches I played the remands tended to come out even if i was on the play in game three?? (3 out of 5 rounds). Also, when are you guys (if ever) siding out Geist? I've taken him out against GBx. He seems like he gets blocked by goyfs all day. Has anyone tested the Collected company matchup (elves? Zoo? Merflok?). Any idea how that we can board for that?
There is the Team Geist sideboard guide which is not yet complete but has a description of the cuts for almost every matchup , so I think we can start from there and make small adjustments for the black splash.
I haven't tested the CoCo matchup (though probably going to face it tommorrow) but I don't think it's bad , we have a lot of cheap removal and counters. Anger is pretty good against the elves and the anafenza version but not very useful vs. zoo and merfolk , I think Verdict might be a consideration if you are worried about the bigger decks.
In my experience with elves, taking out geist, bringing in Engineered Explosives and some Supreme Verdicts is a good strategy. The game plan is to kill everything they play and clean up with Angels Cliques and Colonnades. With the black splash we get Tasigur who can actually block the big dumb green guys. Lingering Souls is good at blocking. If we play a tight game, saving our counters for their Chords and Co-Cos, have enough removal, and just don't do anything too stupid, the matchup seems favorable to me.
Right now I have a 3/2 split on Remand/Mana Leak. Mana Leak is a card I like more right now because of must counters like Co-Co, Twin, etc. Mana Leak is still even good where Remand was best - GB decks. Remand was one of our best cards in Abzan and Jund matchups, but Mana Leak still does a good job, so we aren't hurting too bad. Remand is poor against decks like: Affinity, Burn, Infect, and it even isn't too great vs. Zoo. I think Mana Leak is currently the counter spell we want to play the most. At least for now. That being said, a couple Remands are still good to have, we just don't really want 4 because they come out in so many matchups, and aren't very good at playing from behind.
Right now I have a 3/2 split on Mana Leak/Remand respectivly. Mana Leak is a card I like more right now because of must counters like Co-Co, Twin, etc. Mana Leak is still even good where Remand was best - GB decks. Remand was one of our best cards in Abzan and Jund matchups, but Mana Leak still does a good job, so we aren't hurting too bad. Remand is poor against decks like: Affinity, Burn, Infect, and it even isn't too great vs. Zoo. I think Mana Leak is currently the counter spell we want to play the most. At least for now. That being said, a couple Remands are still good to have, we just don't really want 4 because they come out in so many matchups, and aren't very good at playing from behind.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe 3 Remands 2 Mana Leaks? I don't know.
This has always been the case. Both cards are necessary. Generally you are not going to want to Path early regardless of having Leak on the deck.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Depends on the meta you're bringing UWr to. Based on the New Top Ten Decks in Modern I'd say 0 is the right number for a large tournament. Based on those decks, here's my take on UWr's best 75:
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Restoration Angel
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
Removal:
1 Forked Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
Counters:
2 Spell Snare
3 Remand
2 Mana Leak
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plains
2 Island
2 Mountain
3 Arid Mesa
2 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Wrath of God
1 Celestial Purge
1 Negate
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Dispel
2 Flashfreeze
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Kitchen Finks
Explanations for choices:
Two damage goes far in the current meta. Grim Lavamancer has 5+ creature targets in every deck and can always go to the face.
Restoration Angel has no creatures that can block it profitably and is only removed by Maelstrom Pulse, Terminate, Path to Exile, and Galvanic Blast. It also blocks very well against most of the decks, and for these reasons, I'm running a full playset.
There are only three copies of Path to Exile in the top 10 decks, all in Abzan. Kolaghan's Command is very popular so I think the best choice for 5 drops is Thundermaw over Stormbreath Dragon or Batterskull.
Some spells, such as Collected Company, are better off being answered permanently, so I'm running a 3:2 split of Remand and Mana Leak.
Spell Snare has plenty of targets in every deck so I think it's time to get back on a couple copies of it.
Forked Bolt is huge right now, so huge that I'd almost consider a second copy. Turn 1 kill Noble Hierarch, Birds of Paradise, Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Glistener Elf, Delver of Secrets, Affinity creatures, and anything Elves, is just amazing. It's relevant later in the game and goes to the face when you can't find a target. Also works great with Snapcaster, something that Electrolyze has more trouble with.
Many decks have under 20 lands, making Tectonic Edge useless. There are enough manlands that I think Ghost Quarter is still necessary, so I'm sticking with 2.
Every sideboard choice is useful against more than one of these top 10 decks, but I'm sure more testing is needed to get a perfect 15.
Ghost Quarter, Aven Mindcensor, Stony Silence, Molten Rain, Wear // Tear, and be aggressive with your creatures and burn.
Those things help, but it's going to be a rough match-up. Really just have to hope you can keep them off of Tron, and ride Geist/Burn/Angel to victory as fast as possible. Running some mana leaks may also help, it isn't great in the matchup, but leaking a T3 Karn is good. Thankfully he cannot Exile Geist, but unfortunately Ugin can. As far as Amulet, Spell Snare can catch an early Summer Bloom, so does mana leak. Really have to try and slow them down and get aggressive, same basic strategy vs Bloom/Tron. You need to be the beat down deck because both decks have a top end we cannot compete with.