When this deck was more Grixis Delver, the thought was to include Jace as a 5th Snapcaster mage. They called it Blue Jund because you were attempting to grind out your opponent and more efficiently use your resources.
I'm talking about a yesterday's tweet, in which he has two Liliana of the veil and a jace in the board.
So, for grindy matchups you say, but he has it in the board over the forth snapcaster...
Grixis Shadow is probably the deck running Snapcaster Mage that less profit can get from them, basically because you play so tight on mana you rarely can give flashback to anything that costs more than one mana. Being able to split the payment of replaying expensive spells with Jace is certainly useful, and the looting is also welcome.
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At the same time, the grindy matchups are full of removal which makes JtVP way less attractive than Snapcaster Mage. The ceiling for Jace is way higher than Snapcaster Mage, but the floor is also way lower...
To be fair, this is the overall the problem of JtVP in modern... He's really good if you get to flip him, but he'll just eat a removal without providing that much value. If you're looking for a Spellskite with upside he's fine!
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Currently Playing: WUMiracles ControlUW RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
Whether Jace, Vryn's Prodigy or Snapcaster Mage #4 are the best card for grindy match-ups is debatable. I think that for that purpose alone, Jace is slightly better, although Snapcaster Mage is a more versatile card (hence you play 3 maindeck and 0 Jaces). However, some people in the past experimented with 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor in that slot, and that card doesn't belong in this deck.
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Overall I'm happy with it, but I'm not sure in the Serum Visions/Faithless Looting 1/1 split. Usually, we lose the scry as a consequence of the high number of fetchlands. Surprisingly, I get flooded a lot of games even the fact that I'm playing only 17 lands, so looting is nice in that situation. On the other hand, looting is a terrible topdeck because it does nothing (I've to wait until my next turn to play it).
What are your feelings about Serum/Looting?
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UBR Grixis Shadow GWU Bant Valuetown UW UW Control
Overall I'm happy with it, but I'm not sure in the Serum Visions/Faithless Looting 1/1 split. Usually, we lose the scry as a consequence of the high number of fetchlands. Surprisingly, I get flooded a lot of games even the fact that I'm playing only 17 lands, so looting is nice in that situation. On the other hand, looting is a terrible topdeck because it does nothing (I've to wait until my next turn to play it).
What are your feelings about Serum/Looting?
This is a question i belive will not be answered until they print/unban something really good like Preordain (which will not happen anytime soon with GDS, Phoenix and UWx all being good decks). We've been discussing this multiple times now and there seems to be no correct answer.
Most play about 10 Cantrips distuingished between Visions, Looting, Bauble and Scour, whereas the exact composition is completely up to personal experience/style.
I'm on 3/3/3 and 1 Looting atm but may go back to 2 Visions and 4 Scours/Baubles.
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Modern // Legacy // Pauper WUBRG
"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."
Since I took Shadow few months ago, I've tried several cantrip configurations. So far I'm pretty happy with 4 Scour, 4 Bauble and 2 Visions (and 4 Street Wraith, don't forget them). I've prioritized their utility early game over their quality; I find it odd playing with just 3 Thought Scour, though late game Bauble is a disgrace and I could understand not playing 4. This deck can't take advantage of Faithless Looting as Phoenix and other degenerate decks that play with their graveyard, and for every game that goes long and you get flooded, there'll be plenty in which you'll find Looting in your hand early and it will simply be card disadvantage. If I was playing Looting and got flooded late game, I would hold my lands instead of playing them just in case I drew it (you can also draw Street Wraith and wish you had the mana to play it). I saw in the past the reasoning that you could use Looting to discard Leyline of the Void and that kind of sideboard cards, which was very poor to begin with, and is obsolete now that Surgical Extraction is the graveyard hate card we use. Serum Visions is also slightly worse than it reads early game, as we'll likely shuffle very soon after playing it, but if you're looking for any specific play for the next turn (e.g., the second land after taking some mulligans) it digs deeper than Looting and replaces itself, and is the best cantrip you can draw late game. To me, Looting is a clear 0 of, while Serum Visions might be a 2.5.
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Serum is a problem card in a deck with 10 fetchlands indeed, but you need to take into account that tools such as mishra's bauble and street wraith allow it to be a very potent option that other decks cant have. It is usually said that you should fetch first then serum, but I do recognise that there are a lot of situations in which it is not really the correct thing to do, as for example against burn you have to fetch very carefully. If you are not sold on the power of serum, you can try opt, but i would advise against making them into mishra's and thought scours. Scours are cool, but in such a threat light deck, it can be crucial to avoid milling a shadow or a fish. Ben Jhones is currently at 3 baubles, 3 scours and 3 serums and i find that combination very smooth and convenient.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll try a 3 bauble/3 serum/0 looting configuration this FNM. This weekend I lost the last game of a tournament against a player that did not play a land until his third turn (he was on Hardened). I did not find any threat after seeing 37 cards! Felt really bad...
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UBR Grixis Shadow GWU Bant Valuetown UW UW Control
Looks like this thread is back. Had a sweet line of play last FNM: Game 2, my Storm opponent was at 12, I was at 5, and I had a Shadow on board (nothing else). In hand, I had Stubborn and two Anglers and the ability to cast one of them. 3 lands in play and some amount in the bin that wouldn't let me cast both. Storm player had 4 lands and no cost reducer. I tagged their first ritual with a Stubs, he tried to go off anyway. I sweated out a storm count of 6 before a long sigh, then passing of the turn (was 1 shy of casting the Gifts in hand, used last blue mana on cantrip). On my draw, I pick up a Dismember and tank for a bit. I decide that I can perfectly kill him if I play an Angler, Dismember the Angler, and paying 4 life, which would put me to 1 and make my Shadow a 12/12 and swing for exacies. I ended up doing that, and it felt like the most Death's Shadow way to win a match possible.
In a separate match, I used a K Command to tag an Engineered Explosives, then hit myself for 2 damage and play 2 Shadows.
Definitely enjoying some of the wacky and fun play lines.
Against Hollow One take out Snapcaster Mage and bring it whatever you find more useful in the sideboard (Abrade being choice number 1). I don't know how necessary is graveyard hate against them (Leyline of the Void definitely seems worth bringing in if you still play it, Surgical Extraction looks less exciting). The plan against Phoenix is catching it with Surgical Extraction, have removal for Thing in the Ice and stay out of Bolt range. Against both decks, prioritize stopping their loot effects, using Stubborn Denial aggressively (hitting Manamorphose is also nice).
If you want to make room to any specific card for your metagame, just see which cards are only useful against decks you aren't used to face and cut those. If you're planning to attend larger events, I'd personally try to make some room to more artifact destruction effects in the sideboard.
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I've been treating Hollow One much like any other creature deck - they're heavily geared toward dealing damage to us, so you can cut down on the things on that we use to damage ourselves (Street Wraith and Thoughtseize) and just stuff the deck full of removal (Abrade and Kommand in particular, as they can take down a Hollow One). Toss in some Surgicals to keep the Bloodghasts and Phoenixes off your back, and you're good to go. It's been pretty successful for me so far, but I will grant that my reps with the deck are still somewhat limited.
Almost all lists I see are cutting down to 17 lands by running a single Blood Crypt. I am currently on 2x Blood Crypt (18 lands) for 2x Anger of the Gods in the side. Is Anger not worth it? I see almost no sweepers out of any sideboards. Am I missing something here?
The 17-land lists I saw when I was building up the list weren't cutting the 2nd Crypt. Instead, they lowered the fetch count from 12 to 10. I feel like 10 fetches is the way to go - I don't really want more.
Almost all lists I see are cutting down to 17 lands by running a single Blood Crypt. I am currently on 2x Blood Crypt (18 lands) for 2x Anger of the Gods in the side. Is Anger not worth it? I see almost no sweepers out of any sideboards. Am I missing something here?
One for one often feels nice. People like Reid Duke always felt spot removal was better than board wipes. If dredge isnt dominating anger doesn't seem that amazing
Also, lists have been running 17 lands for quite a bit now with bauble builds.
Grim Lavamancer is better than Anger of the Gods against tribal decks. Much better. If there is no Dredge in your metagame, playing Anger instead of Lavamancer is suboptimal. However, those pesky creatures that always come back from the graveyard (some of them with toughness 3) still exist, and this leaves you the door open for a choice.
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So, for grindy matchups you say, but he has it in the board over the forth snapcaster...
UBRGrixis ShadowUBR
UBRGrixis DelverUBR
RGDredgeRG
Modern:
Mardu Pyromancer
Grixis Shadow
Traverse Shadow
Jund
Abzan
The Rock
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
To be fair, this is the overall the problem of JtVP in modern... He's really good if you get to flip him, but he'll just eat a removal without providing that much value. If you're looking for a Spellskite with upside he's fine!
WUMiracles ControlUW
RUBGrixis Death's ShadowBUR
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
I'm currently on this list:
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
//Artifacts (4)
4 Mishra's Bauble
//Instants (16)
2 Dismember
3 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Temur Battle Rage
4 Thought Scour
1 Faithless Looting
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Serum Visions
4 Thoughtseize
//Creatures (15)
4 Death's Shadow
4 Gurmag Angler
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Street Wraith
Overall I'm happy with it, but I'm not sure in the Serum Visions/Faithless Looting 1/1 split. Usually, we lose the scry as a consequence of the high number of fetchlands. Surprisingly, I get flooded a lot of games even the fact that I'm playing only 17 lands, so looting is nice in that situation. On the other hand, looting is a terrible topdeck because it does nothing (I've to wait until my next turn to play it).
What are your feelings about Serum/Looting?
GWU Bant Valuetown
UW UW Control
This is a question i belive will not be answered until they print/unban something really good like Preordain (which will not happen anytime soon with GDS, Phoenix and UWx all being good decks). We've been discussing this multiple times now and there seems to be no correct answer.
Most play about 10 Cantrips distuingished between Visions, Looting, Bauble and Scour, whereas the exact composition is completely up to personal experience/style.
I'm on 3/3/3 and 1 Looting atm but may go back to 2 Visions and 4 Scours/Baubles.
Modern // Legacy // Pauper
WUBRG
"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
UBRGrixis ShadowUBR
UBRGrixis DelverUBR
RGDredgeRG
GWU Bant Valuetown
UW UW Control
In a separate match, I used a K Command to tag an Engineered Explosives, then hit myself for 2 damage and play 2 Shadows.
Definitely enjoying some of the wacky and fun play lines.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
Against Hollow One take out Snapcaster Mage and bring it whatever you find more useful in the sideboard (Abrade being choice number 1). I don't know how necessary is graveyard hate against them (Leyline of the Void definitely seems worth bringing in if you still play it, Surgical Extraction looks less exciting). The plan against Phoenix is catching it with Surgical Extraction, have removal for Thing in the Ice and stay out of Bolt range. Against both decks, prioritize stopping their loot effects, using Stubborn Denial aggressively (hitting Manamorphose is also nice).
If you want to make room to any specific card for your metagame, just see which cards are only useful against decks you aren't used to face and cut those. If you're planning to attend larger events, I'd personally try to make some room to more artifact destruction effects in the sideboard.
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
One for one often feels nice. People like Reid Duke always felt spot removal was better than board wipes. If dredge isnt dominating anger doesn't seem that amazing
Also, lists have been running 17 lands for quite a bit now with bauble builds.
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic