I mean, it's better than nothing I suppose, but I'm pretty sure Xmage is for people who can't get their need for magic covered by paper magic, and who can't/wont buy into MTGO
yup. i play paper once a week and get the rest of my fix there. u can look for me there Dark_Sam.
and i'm already spending too much by foiling the bantdrazi deck. i personally don't think mtgo is a gd investment.
I'm really liking 1x batterskull and 2 ratchet bomb in SB: ratchet gives extra power against elves and linear aggro strategies and can destroy blood moon easier than EE, or destroy a pithing needle naming EE.
That's fair enough about the mana base, was considering 3 Cavern 1 Township. Along with the usual 6 pain, 3 shock, 2 basic, 4 fetch, 4 temple manabase gives you;
I like your manabase but would make 1 change: -1 Yavimaya Coast +1 Misty Rainforest. this gives you:
13 green
13 colorless
11 white
9 blue
with 3 Cavern as usual.
and a slight improvement versus blood moon, as misty Rainforest can get a forest. I guess it could easily be a flooded strand too.
I think having 11 white is important: path, displacer, rest in peace, blessed alliance, to name a few.
Played a rare paper event today and busted out the Bant Drazi deck. Wen 3-1, beating Affinity 2-0, Dredge 2-1 and some random brew 2-0. The loss was to Ad Naus, a match up I tend to never ever draw TKS or my SB cards against.
Without getting off topic, MTGO is fine for testing, but I prefer the face to face contact with people. As a professional musician, it doesn't matter how many hours I put into a piece is I can't execute and perform at the highest levels (International Competitions). You have to refine the nerves and learn to focus the mind for long hours of play. Both have their merits.
Back on topic, can we provide some links for SB plans? Updated SB plans for newer players? Some of the old articles are out dated, it may be best to link pages within this thread to keep things fresh.
Cheers.
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Standard Arena: Eh? Gruul or Die
Modern: Decks I'm playing right now: G Mono Green Tron (34-10-3 paper record, only SCG/Regionals/PPTQ record) C Eldrazi Tron (9-5) UG Infect RW Burn
Currently testing Reclamation sage. I like it a lot. It's not as good against affinity as natural state because it's so slow(though the recsage/displacer lock feels GREAT)
However, it has wider applicability. The fact that it's an extra body and provides some form of card advantage means that it can come in a lot more matchups. For example, you can bring it in against U/W control to get rid of detention spheres and spreading seas, or the mirror to hedge against worship, or G/W company to kill coursers.
I think this card could be THE missing card in the bant eldrazi shell that helps us deal with go-wide decks. There are two key points about this card that I think makes it a viable multiple-of in my 75:
It acts as repeatable removal against small creatures (by forcing them to block unprofitably).
It acts as a source of team-wide evasion.
It is never truly a dead card in the right matchups. Even if you draw it late, you can use its discard effect to essentially play it as a spell for an alpha strike.
We are in a very unique place of being able to abuse this card. For one, it can attack as more than a 1/2 with hierarch. With Rhonas and Gavony, it can attack for even more. That means we can force our opponent to chump it with anything from Steel Overseer to Master of Waves. Secondly, we have displacer, which allows it to survive multiple combat turns (since we can displace it after blocks are declared). We can also cherry-pick how we want our opponent to chump block it by displacing everything but the thing we want it to kill.
I haven't done thorough 50+ game tests with it, but in my preliminary games it has been just amazing. At worst, it's a 1/2 that forces a 1-for-1 trade with removal or a small creature, but at best (especially on the play) it singlehandedly win games.
I'd consider bringing it in against any small creature deck: Affinity, Merfolk, Elves, Company, etc.
Hey everyone, apparently we are back to Tier 2 now? /cheer.
Joking aside, I've noticed that the meta at my local PPTQs have been GDS, E-Tron, Affinity, Valakut, and an assortment of tons of random decks. The way modern tournaments usually are. So with that meta in mind, I thought bant eldrazi would be good to start playing again. It's good against the "random" modern decks, and is positive against GDS and ETron, even against affinity, and probably 70/30 against Valakut decks.
But I just can't decide whether or not to play Matter Reshaper or Skyspawner. Skyspawner is great against affinity, but it doesn't really shine in any other matchup. With that in mind, I'm looking toward Matter Reshaper, but I think the eldrazi scion that Skyspawner provides really helps those land-light draws, and really helps us accelerate to Reality Smashers and Drowners in the matchups where you want them on board asap.
I am also running either 3 RiPs in the board or a 2/1 split of RiP/Grafdigger's Cage. But in the matchups where I want RiP, I also kinda want Matter reshaper. Like Abzan, GDS, KotR decks, maybe Jeskai. Obviously Reshaper and Rip is a nonbo, so that's another reason why I'm leaning towards Skyspawner.
I'm thinking I'll just go 3/2 split, probably 3 Skyspawner/2 Matter Reshaper. I wonder if there's any other bant eldrazi aficionados here that might have a say in the Skyspawner/Matter Reshaper dilemma that we all face.
Hey everyone, apparently we are back to Tier 2 now? /cheer.
Joking aside, I've noticed that the meta at my local PPTQs have been GDS, E-Tron, Affinity, Valakut, and an assortment of tons of random decks. The way modern tournaments usually are. So with that meta in mind, I thought bant eldrazi would be good to start playing again. It's good against the "random" modern decks, and is positive against GDS and ETron, even against affinity, and probably 70/30 against Valakut decks.
But I just can't decide whether or not to play Matter Reshaper or Skyspawner. Skyspawner is great against affinity, but it doesn't really shine in any other matchup. With that in mind, I'm looking toward Matter Reshaper, but I think the eldrazi scion that Skyspawner provides really helps those land-light draws, and really helps us accelerate to Reality Smashers and Drowners in the matchups where you want them on board asap.
I am also running either 3 RiPs in the board or a 2/1 split of RiP/Grafdigger's Cage. But in the matchups where I want RiP, I also kinda want Matter reshaper. Like Abzan, GDS, KotR decks, maybe Jeskai. Obviously Reshaper and Rip is a nonbo, so that's another reason why I'm leaning towards Skyspawner.
I'm thinking I'll just go 3/2 split, probably 3 Skyspawner/2 Matter Reshaper. I wonder if there's any other bant eldrazi aficionados here that might have a say in the Skyspawner/Matter Reshaper dilemma that we all face.
I'm not an aficionado, but my belief is that 4 skyspawners is the way to go. You're correct about matter reshaper being a nonbo with rest in peace, and it gives you that extra mana to get out a faster threat. Here are my additional points in favor of skyspawner:
1. Skyspawner is better against blood moon.
2. skyspwaner synergizes better with gavony township, and has synergy with Displacer. Yeah folks, displacer targeting skyspawner can be good at times. Infinietly block a death's shadow and get a token out of it every activation.
If you are not playing gavony township, you should over ghost quarter, you lose too many games from running out of action.
Reshaper is really good against burn and shadow. Skyspawner is really good against affinity. Skyspawner has a higher floor because it more consistently ramps while reshaper sometimes just sits there and is irrelevant.
I run 4 skyspawner and I don't think I will go to fewer than that. I may add 1 or 2 reshapers if the meta is heavily skewed towards burn but that's the only reason I would.
In terms of grave hate I am just on 1 cage 1 rip. I don't even bring in rip vs shadow because too often it doesn't do anything to affect the board and I would rather just have the creature I sided out for it instead.
Hey everyone, apparently we are back to Tier 2 now? /cheer.
Joking aside, I've noticed that the meta at my local PPTQs have been GDS, E-Tron, Affinity, Valakut, and an assortment of tons of random decks. The way modern tournaments usually are. So with that meta in mind, I thought bant eldrazi would be good to start playing again. It's good against the "random" modern decks, and is positive against GDS and ETron, even against affinity, and probably 70/30 against Valakut decks.
But I just can't decide whether or not to play Matter Reshaper or Skyspawner. Skyspawner is great against affinity, but it doesn't really shine in any other matchup. With that in mind, I'm looking toward Matter Reshaper, but I think the eldrazi scion that Skyspawner provides really helps those land-light draws, and really helps us accelerate to Reality Smashers and Drowners in the matchups where you want them on board asap.
I am also running either 3 RiPs in the board or a 2/1 split of RiP/Grafdigger's Cage. But in the matchups where I want RiP, I also kinda want Matter reshaper. Like Abzan, GDS, KotR decks, maybe Jeskai. Obviously Reshaper and Rip is a nonbo, so that's another reason why I'm leaning towards Skyspawner.
I'm thinking I'll just go 3/2 split, probably 3 Skyspawner/2 Matter Reshaper. I wonder if there's any other bant eldrazi aficionados here that might have a say in the Skyspawner/Matter Reshaper dilemma that we all face.
I'm not an aficionado, but my belief is that 4 skyspawners is the way to go. You're correct about matter reshaper being a nonbo with rest in peace, and it gives you that extra mana to get out a faster threat. Here are my additional points in favor of skyspawner:
1. Skyspawner is better against blood moon.
2. skyspwaner synergizes better with gavony township, and has synergy with Displacer. Yeah folks, displacer targeting skyspawner can be good at times. Infinietly block a death's shadow and get a token out of it every activation.
If you are not playing gavony township, you should over ghost quarter, you lose too many games from running out of action.
I like your points for skyspawner. I think I'll be on 4x Skyspawner for the weekend.
Gavony is interesting, but I'm thinking my single utility land will be 1x Tectonic Edge. I think tectonic edge is much better right now than ghost quarter. Against UW control, Grixis, Scapeshift, and Etron, I would much rather have Tectonic Edge. Against affinity, I would rather have GQ. So i think that weighs in the favor of Tec Edge, but gavony sounds quite good too.
Hello everyone, i have been running Nissa Steward of elements lately 2x in the main and i was impressed how well it served me.
This card filter the deck, soak damage, let you play 2 treath a turn if the setup is good and give a kill pretty much all the time if you reach 8 mana out of nowhere. On paper, this card seems itchy, but after playing it i'm sold.
Did 4-0 at my LGS yesterday and Nissa gave me at least 2 of those win on her own. She is a beast against control deck and casting her for 1 is still a pretty solid treath early on.
Tested NSoE when she came out. It's too hard to keep alive in certain scenarios, and there are other good alternatives against control/midrange like eternal witness / batterskull / rhonas. The nonbo with EE (since its cmc is 2) and stirrings is also significant.
The list that top 32'ed birmingham ran a gavony
Also, Rec sage is the real deal. Highly suggest and will probably be running 2-3 of it in the sideboard from now on and think it's better than Stony Silence for us. It's nice to have a card that effectively singlehandedly provides a proactive gameplan against any artifact/enchantment based strategies, vs natural state, ratchet bomb, and EE which are only reactive.
I played Bant Eldrazi at a PPTQ yesterday. I was running pretty hot and the deck felt great. But unfortunately I lost in the top 8 to a Worship in g2, and then in g3 I kept a 2-lander with Eldrazi Temple/Cavern, and never drew another land. The deck felt really good though. I will be playing it in the future for sure.
Is our TitanShift matchup as good as most are saying? The few times I've been pitted against the deck, I was crushed without much opposition. I suppose I need to fix my sideboard up a bit. Along with TitanShift, I've been struggling with the mirror recently as around 5 players come with the deck each Tuesday...any advice on sideboarding lines?
I think Titanshift is one of our worst matchups. It's probably 70/30 or maybe 65/45. If you don't draw TKS, then you can basically never outrace a scapeshift without a nut draw. Primeval Titan is also almost unbeatable. Drowner can keep it in check for a turn or two, but that's about it. You can't Drowner/Displacer lock it because a valakut will eventually just bolt your displacer. It's beatable, but rough. Disdainful stroke and flashfreeze are probably your best bet from the board. I run 3x Disdainful and 2x Stubborn denial in the board. It's a bit overkill, but valakut decks are everywhere right now.
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yup. i play paper once a week and get the rest of my fix there. u can look for me there Dark_Sam.
and i'm already spending too much by foiling the bantdrazi deck. i personally don't think mtgo is a gd investment.
I like your manabase but would make 1 change: -1 Yavimaya Coast +1 Misty Rainforest. this gives you:
13 green
13 colorless
11 white
9 blue
with 3 Cavern as usual.
and a slight improvement versus blood moon, as misty Rainforest can get a forest. I guess it could easily be a flooded strand too.
I think having 11 white is important: path, displacer, rest in peace, blessed alliance, to name a few.
Without getting off topic, MTGO is fine for testing, but I prefer the face to face contact with people. As a professional musician, it doesn't matter how many hours I put into a piece is I can't execute and perform at the highest levels (International Competitions). You have to refine the nerves and learn to focus the mind for long hours of play. Both have their merits.
Back on topic, can we provide some links for SB plans? Updated SB plans for newer players? Some of the old articles are out dated, it may be best to link pages within this thread to keep things fresh.
Cheers.
Modern: Decks I'm playing right now:
G Mono Green Tron (34-10-3 paper record, only SCG/Regionals/PPTQ record)
C Eldrazi Tron (9-5)
UG Infect
RW Burn
However, it has wider applicability. The fact that it's an extra body and provides some form of card advantage means that it can come in a lot more matchups. For example, you can bring it in against U/W control to get rid of detention spheres and spreading seas, or the mirror to hedge against worship, or G/W company to kill coursers.
I think this card could be THE missing card in the bant eldrazi shell that helps us deal with go-wide decks. There are two key points about this card that I think makes it a viable multiple-of in my 75:
We are in a very unique place of being able to abuse this card. For one, it can attack as more than a 1/2 with hierarch. With Rhonas and Gavony, it can attack for even more. That means we can force our opponent to chump it with anything from Steel Overseer to Master of Waves. Secondly, we have displacer, which allows it to survive multiple combat turns (since we can displace it after blocks are declared). We can also cherry-pick how we want our opponent to chump block it by displacing everything but the thing we want it to kill.
I haven't done thorough 50+ game tests with it, but in my preliminary games it has been just amazing. At worst, it's a 1/2 that forces a 1-for-1 trade with removal or a small creature, but at best (especially on the play) it singlehandedly win games.
I'd consider bringing it in against any small creature deck: Affinity, Merfolk, Elves, Company, etc.
Joking aside, I've noticed that the meta at my local PPTQs have been GDS, E-Tron, Affinity, Valakut, and an assortment of tons of random decks. The way modern tournaments usually are. So with that meta in mind, I thought bant eldrazi would be good to start playing again. It's good against the "random" modern decks, and is positive against GDS and ETron, even against affinity, and probably 70/30 against Valakut decks.
But I just can't decide whether or not to play Matter Reshaper or Skyspawner. Skyspawner is great against affinity, but it doesn't really shine in any other matchup. With that in mind, I'm looking toward Matter Reshaper, but I think the eldrazi scion that Skyspawner provides really helps those land-light draws, and really helps us accelerate to Reality Smashers and Drowners in the matchups where you want them on board asap.
I am also running either 3 RiPs in the board or a 2/1 split of RiP/Grafdigger's Cage. But in the matchups where I want RiP, I also kinda want Matter reshaper. Like Abzan, GDS, KotR decks, maybe Jeskai. Obviously Reshaper and Rip is a nonbo, so that's another reason why I'm leaning towards Skyspawner.
I'm thinking I'll just go 3/2 split, probably 3 Skyspawner/2 Matter Reshaper. I wonder if there's any other bant eldrazi aficionados here that might have a say in the Skyspawner/Matter Reshaper dilemma that we all face.
I'm not an aficionado, but my belief is that 4 skyspawners is the way to go. You're correct about matter reshaper being a nonbo with rest in peace, and it gives you that extra mana to get out a faster threat. Here are my additional points in favor of skyspawner:
1. Skyspawner is better against blood moon.
2. skyspwaner synergizes better with gavony township, and has synergy with Displacer. Yeah folks, displacer targeting skyspawner can be good at times. Infinietly block a death's shadow and get a token out of it every activation.
If you are not playing gavony township, you should over ghost quarter, you lose too many games from running out of action.
I run 4 skyspawner and I don't think I will go to fewer than that. I may add 1 or 2 reshapers if the meta is heavily skewed towards burn but that's the only reason I would.
In terms of grave hate I am just on 1 cage 1 rip. I don't even bring in rip vs shadow because too often it doesn't do anything to affect the board and I would rather just have the creature I sided out for it instead.
I like your points for skyspawner. I think I'll be on 4x Skyspawner for the weekend.
Gavony is interesting, but I'm thinking my single utility land will be 1x Tectonic Edge. I think tectonic edge is much better right now than ghost quarter. Against UW control, Grixis, Scapeshift, and Etron, I would much rather have Tectonic Edge. Against affinity, I would rather have GQ. So i think that weighs in the favor of Tec Edge, but gavony sounds quite good too.
This card filter the deck, soak damage, let you play 2 treath a turn if the setup is good and give a kill pretty much all the time if you reach 8 mana out of nowhere. On paper, this card seems itchy, but after playing it i'm sold.
Did 4-0 at my LGS yesterday and Nissa gave me at least 2 of those win on her own. She is a beast against control deck and casting her for 1 is still a pretty solid treath early on.
What do you think about this ?
The list that top 32'ed birmingham ran a gavony
Also, Rec sage is the real deal. Highly suggest and will probably be running 2-3 of it in the sideboard from now on and think it's better than Stony Silence for us. It's nice to have a card that effectively singlehandedly provides a proactive gameplan against any artifact/enchantment based strategies, vs natural state, ratchet bomb, and EE which are only reactive.
I think Titanshift is one of our worst matchups. It's probably 70/30 or maybe 65/45. If you don't draw TKS, then you can basically never outrace a scapeshift without a nut draw. Primeval Titan is also almost unbeatable. Drowner can keep it in check for a turn or two, but that's about it. You can't Drowner/Displacer lock it because a valakut will eventually just bolt your displacer. It's beatable, but rough. Disdainful stroke and flashfreeze are probably your best bet from the board. I run 3x Disdainful and 2x Stubborn denial in the board. It's a bit overkill, but valakut decks are everywhere right now.