I hope to remedy this situation, so this Christmas I am trying to assemble a deck closer to my original intent. Isochron Scepter's ability to repeatedly play low cost instants combined with powerful lockdown cards like Silence seemed to be a perfect fit. Before I order close to $100 worth of cards however I wanted to make sure I had a grasp of what I was doing. I guess that was more of a personal introduction than a deck one, moving along here is the decklist.
Note: All of my 'playtesting' is on mtgdeckbuilder.net where I use their playtest feature with my deck and one of the top rated decks at the same time. This of course is sub-optimal because I know the opponent's deck and more importantly I'm playing myself. Onto the cards.
Baneslayer Angel: This is supposed to be my finisher. Honestly I find its cost too high, usually to keep playing silence every turn I'll win with Lightning Helix on a stick instead
Silence: I love opening the game with this card. First card to go on a stick in most situations. Dawn Charm: This is a really versatile card, another high choice to go on a stick just because of its utility. Unless the playing field is covered in creatures though I'll choose silence first. Muddle the Mixture: This is one of my favorite counterspells, but in this deck I rarely use it as such. It can transmutate for a few important cards. Most importantly Isochron Scepters. Lightning Helix: This was originally a UW deck, and I even thought of removing this card to stabalize my mana base. Seeing as I almost never have trouble getting the right colors though I want to hang onto this because this card helps me fight off more aggressive teams early game and is usually my win condition. Usually my second spell to go on a stick assuming my first establishes a lot of control (like silence) Raise the Alarm: This is a card I haven't seen in any of the scepter decks I've looked at. My thought is that it will give me blockers early game (maybe even beaters) if I draw it so I don't have to be so reactionary, but also it could go on a stick in a pinch. Preferably in place of Lightning Helix or Lightning Bolt but I can see situations that'd warrant playing it first. Lightning Bolt: Same as Lightning Helix really. I love the lower cost, it really helps me protect myself before I get a scepter. That being said I'd rather have Lightning Helix on a stick because it'll cost the same for doing more but I could just as easily win the game with a Lightning Bolt. Mana Leak: This is my favorite counterspell to use by far. Its cost is great because I don't always have two blue mana. Fabricate: Helps me find a scepter, I used to have more but generally I get the two I need quickly enough. Maybe I could use it to find a different artifact if I find one to use besides Voltaic Key, I won't use fabricate to look for that. Angel's Grace: Great in a pinch, could go on a scepter but it's really my third choice to be my first scepter. Boomerang: Combined with Silence this could be a permenant removal spell. Early game it's nice to bounce things I don't want to see, but typically I don't use it much. Maybe I'm using it wrong, I know it's a good card. Isochron Scepter: This is the centerpiece of this deck, I explain scepter strategies in the other cards but generally white control spells get my first scepter and my burn spells get the second one. I haven't given a blue spell a scepter yet but hypothetically I could see Boomerang being a good one. Voltaic Key: When I have extra mana it's nice to play one of my scepters twice. I usually don't play silence on my turn though but make sure to play it the beginning of my opponent's team, so assuming I have a Key and two Scepters already on the field I would need 7 mana to make this happen and by that point I feel like I've already won or lost the game. I like this card but it might be a weak link.
Cards I cut Tezzeret the Seeker- His artifact effects were cool and helped my wins be a little flashier but honestly if the game got to a point where I could summon him then I already won, he was dead weight. Preordain: I didn't know this card was banned, good thing I caught that before I posted.
Sideboard
I'm not going to explain every card but I don't know what to do about my sideboard. I've never played real modern games so my knowledge of the metagame is limited. All of the cards are ones I wanted in my main deck but couldn't fit with the exception of Meddling Mage. My intent with them is to play it in my second or third games if I notice a particular card being vital to their strategy.
I have a deck similar to yours so I think I can be of some help.
One of the biggest problems of this deck is its vulnerability to artifact hate which is abundant in the currrent metagame (Qasali Pridemage, Ancient Grudge, Shattering Spree, just to name a few), so the first step to improving this deck is fighting the hate, and I think Meddling Mage can help there.
Here are some cards I use in the deck:
- Angelsong: It has almost the same use as Dawn Charm except it doesn't counter but can be cycled which is very helpfull in some games
- Remand: better in this deck than Mana Leak in my opinion
- Into The Roil: More flexible in cost than Boomerang, plus you can kick it to draw another card, even better with scepter for tons of card advantage, and with Cloudpost and Valakut being banned, I don't see the need to bounce a land.
- Telling Time: I use this to great effect to help me find the cards I need, but could be changed to Sleight of Hand or Serum Visions to have more options to play 1st turn
- Magma Jet: Less damage than a Lightning Helix or Bolt but helps improve card draws
But still my deck is far from optimal I think, since I haven't had the chance to test it properly, any help from others is welcome
Edit: for reference, here is my decklist
I don't like several of your choices. It is bad to run 2 cmc instants because they are two cmc instants. Also IMO this is better in a turbo fog shell. A fog spell on a scepter beats zoo not silence or a token generator on a scepter.
Voltaic Key
Boomerang
Boomerang
These need to go. you need card draw, path to exile and a bit of mass removal. you could even splash black with 1-2 shocklands and run a mystical teachings or two to search out the right card for scepter.
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In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Ronyx: I didn't add Telling Time except to my sideboard but I made all the replacements you suggested. Only one I'm not completely sure about is Remand over Mana Leak, I think it's an improvement but I'm going to buy the Mana Leaks just in case.
Slipknot and EpicBroccoli: I wasn't really sure about splashing black but you were right that those cards were dead weight to me. In addition I removed Baneslayer Angel. I was stubborn about making this more Turbo Fog at first even though you provided a good argument for it but I thought about it again after Broccoli suggested Luminarch Ascension and added 4 copies of Holy Day. I actually feel a lot more confident going against a more aggressive deck now.
EDIT: I counted wrong my number of instants wrong so I was actually two cards short, added two Meddling Mage to remedy this and give me something else against control. Also, I sided Grand Abolisher thinking it would help in Control vs Control matches after I saw it in a Type 2 human deck.
I was excited about building this deck at some point but got side tracked... I was thinking that Oriss, samite Guardian could be somehow abused... May be with souless revival or grim harvest on the scepter. I was easily side tracked because There wasn't enough good other black stuff to fill out the deck... Being able to retreive SCM (if using blue) with one of these recursion cards on a stick would be neat.
in the end it all seemed too cute and I ended up with not enough space for a good finisher and then I put this project down to work on another deck.
Orim's Chant > Silence. It let's you stops attacks as well. Hence the deck name "Scepter-Chant".
chant is not legal in modern.:-/
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In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
I was excited about building this deck at some point but got side tracked... I was thinking that Oriss, samite Guardian could be somehow abused... May be with souless revival or grim harvest on the scepter. I was easily side tracked because There wasn't enough good other black stuff to fill out the deck... Being able to retreive SCM (if using blue) with one of these recursion cards on a stick would be neat.
in the end it all seemed too cute and I ended up with not enough space for a good finisher and then I put this project down to work on another deck.
That took me a little bit to get, but that's a cool little combo. Sadly I doubt I'll use it, I didn't want to splash black on this for a while and now I think I'm going to leave this deck in its current state- an Erayo deck I saw somewhere has stolen my heart. Thanks for the idea though, I am buying those cards because there's a good chance I'll go back to that.
@Slipknot: :/ is my thought exactly
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Goblins in every format
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2 Baneslayer Angel
Instants(31)
4 Silence
4 Dawn Charm
4 Muddle the Mixture
4 Lightning Helix
3 Raise the Alarm
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Mana Leak
2 Fabricate
2 Angel's Grace
2 Boomerang
4 Isochron Scepter
2 Voltaic Key
Lands(21)
7 Island
5 Plains
3 Mountain
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Sulfur Falls
3 Condemn
2 Sculpting Steel
2 Day of Judgment
2 Call to Mind
2 Meddling Mage
2 Boomerang
2 Peer Through Depths
Note: All of my 'playtesting' is on mtgdeckbuilder.net where I use their playtest feature with my deck and one of the top rated decks at the same time. This of course is sub-optimal because I know the opponent's deck and more importantly I'm playing myself. Onto the cards.
Baneslayer Angel: This is supposed to be my finisher. Honestly I find its cost too high, usually to keep playing silence every turn I'll win with Lightning Helix on a stick instead
Silence: I love opening the game with this card. First card to go on a stick in most situations.
Dawn Charm: This is a really versatile card, another high choice to go on a stick just because of its utility. Unless the playing field is covered in creatures though I'll choose silence first.
Muddle the Mixture: This is one of my favorite counterspells, but in this deck I rarely use it as such. It can transmutate for a few important cards. Most importantly Isochron Scepters.
Lightning Helix: This was originally a UW deck, and I even thought of removing this card to stabalize my mana base. Seeing as I almost never have trouble getting the right colors though I want to hang onto this because this card helps me fight off more aggressive teams early game and is usually my win condition. Usually my second spell to go on a stick assuming my first establishes a lot of control (like silence)
Raise the Alarm: This is a card I haven't seen in any of the scepter decks I've looked at. My thought is that it will give me blockers early game (maybe even beaters) if I draw it so I don't have to be so reactionary, but also it could go on a stick in a pinch. Preferably in place of Lightning Helix or Lightning Bolt but I can see situations that'd warrant playing it first.
Lightning Bolt: Same as Lightning Helix really. I love the lower cost, it really helps me protect myself before I get a scepter. That being said I'd rather have Lightning Helix on a stick because it'll cost the same for doing more but I could just as easily win the game with a Lightning Bolt.
Mana Leak: This is my favorite counterspell to use by far. Its cost is great because I don't always have two blue mana.
Fabricate: Helps me find a scepter, I used to have more but generally I get the two I need quickly enough. Maybe I could use it to find a different artifact if I find one to use besides Voltaic Key, I won't use fabricate to look for that.
Angel's Grace: Great in a pinch, could go on a scepter but it's really my third choice to be my first scepter.
Boomerang: Combined with Silence this could be a permenant removal spell. Early game it's nice to bounce things I don't want to see, but typically I don't use it much. Maybe I'm using it wrong, I know it's a good card.
Isochron Scepter: This is the centerpiece of this deck, I explain scepter strategies in the other cards but generally white control spells get my first scepter and my burn spells get the second one. I haven't given a blue spell a scepter yet but hypothetically I could see Boomerang being a good one.
Voltaic Key: When I have extra mana it's nice to play one of my scepters twice. I usually don't play silence on my turn though but make sure to play it the beginning of my opponent's team, so assuming I have a Key and two Scepters already on the field I would need 7 mana to make this happen and by that point I feel like I've already won or lost the game. I like this card but it might be a weak link.
Cards I cut
Tezzeret the Seeker- His artifact effects were cool and helped my wins be a little flashier but honestly if the game got to a point where I could summon him then I already won, he was dead weight.
Preordain: I didn't know this card was banned, good thing I caught that before I posted.
Sideboard
I'm not going to explain every card but I don't know what to do about my sideboard. I've never played real modern games so my knowledge of the metagame is limited. All of the cards are ones I wanted in my main deck but couldn't fit with the exception of Meddling Mage. My intent with them is to play it in my second or third games if I notice a particular card being vital to their strategy.
So finally I ask, any thoughts for improvement?
One of the biggest problems of this deck is its vulnerability to artifact hate which is abundant in the currrent metagame (Qasali Pridemage, Ancient Grudge, Shattering Spree, just to name a few), so the first step to improving this deck is fighting the hate, and I think Meddling Mage can help there.
Here are some cards I use in the deck:
- Angelsong: It has almost the same use as Dawn Charm except it doesn't counter but can be cycled which is very helpfull in some games
- Remand: better in this deck than Mana Leak in my opinion
- Into The Roil: More flexible in cost than Boomerang, plus you can kick it to draw another card, even better with scepter for tons of card advantage, and with Cloudpost and Valakut being banned, I don't see the need to bounce a land.
- Telling Time: I use this to great effect to help me find the cards I need, but could be changed to Sleight of Hand or Serum Visions to have more options to play 1st turn
- Magma Jet: Less damage than a Lightning Helix or Bolt but helps improve card draws
But still my deck is far from optimal I think, since I haven't had the chance to test it properly, any help from others is welcome
Edit: for reference, here is my decklist
2 Lightning Angel
Instants:
4 Silence
4 Angelsong
4 Remand
4 Into the Roil
4 Telling Time
3 Muddle the Mixture
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Helix
4 Isochron Scepter
Enchantments:
3 Rule of Law
Lands:
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Evolving Wilds
3 Plains
6 Island
3 Mountain
4 Meddling Mage
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Wrath of God
Flipping Delvers since 2011
MY DECKS
Modern: UR Izzet Delver
Pauper: U Delver Faeries | R Red Burn | GInfect
Commander: WB Athreos, God of Passage | UR Keranos Spellslinger | GWU Derevi, Tempo Tactician | BGU Tasigur, the Golden Fang | RW Feather, the Redeemed
Voltaic Key
Boomerang
Boomerang
These need to go. you need card draw, path to exile and a bit of mass removal. you could even splash black with 1-2 shocklands and run a mystical teachings or two to search out the right card for scepter.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
2 Meddling Mage
Instants(30)
4 Silence
4 Angelsong
4 Holy Day
4 Muddle the Mixture
3 Lightning Helix
3 Magma Jet
3 Remand
3 Into the Roil
2 Fabricate
4 Isochron Scepter
Enchantments(3)
3 Luminarch Ascension
Lands(21)
7 Island
5 Plains
3 Mountain
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Sulfur Falls
4 Path to Exile
3 Telling Time
3 Day of Judgment
3 Grand Abolisher
2 Meddling Mage
Ronyx: I didn't add Telling Time except to my sideboard but I made all the replacements you suggested. Only one I'm not completely sure about is Remand over Mana Leak, I think it's an improvement but I'm going to buy the Mana Leaks just in case.
Slipknot and EpicBroccoli: I wasn't really sure about splashing black but you were right that those cards were dead weight to me. In addition I removed Baneslayer Angel. I was stubborn about making this more Turbo Fog at first even though you provided a good argument for it but I thought about it again after Broccoli suggested Luminarch Ascension and added 4 copies of Holy Day. I actually feel a lot more confident going against a more aggressive deck now.
EDIT: I counted wrong my number of instants wrong so I was actually two cards short, added two Meddling Mage to remedy this and give me something else against control. Also, I sided Grand Abolisher thinking it would help in Control vs Control matches after I saw it in a Type 2 human deck.
in the end it all seemed too cute and I ended up with not enough space for a good finisher and then I put this project down to work on another deck.
chant is not legal in modern.:-/
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
That took me a little bit to get, but that's a cool little combo. Sadly I doubt I'll use it, I didn't want to splash black on this for a while and now I think I'm going to leave this deck in its current state- an Erayo deck I saw somewhere has stolen my heart. Thanks for the idea though, I am buying those cards because there's a good chance I'll go back to that.
@Slipknot: :/ is my thought exactly