Welcome to another attempt to reboot this deck. This is one of my favorite decks in modern and since the people at the Tezzerator thread have been pining for a separate thread for UB Tezzeret, let's see if we can get a discussion going to make the most competitive version of the deck.
Why play U/B Tezzeret?
U/B Tezzeret is a control deck at heart. With that said, it has a much lower curve than most control decks. Also, unlike traditional U/W/R, Grixis, or Esper control decks, it has specific answers in the form of low CC artifacts that can completely turn specific matchup around. And if you draw the wrong artifacts, there's always Tezzeret's -1 to turn them into 5/5 monstrosities.
You should play U/B Tezzeret if you like control decks and want a different experience from massremoval.dec and you like having a toolbox-like selection of answers at your disposal. With counterspells, cheap removal, and silver-bullet answers, every deck can be a decent matchup.
You shouldn't play this deck if...
You don't like to use your brains. Play G/W Bogles or R/G Tron instead then.
That is just my personal list which I have been refining over time. You should play the cards you are comfortable with, though you should never ever sacrifice comeptitiveness for cuteness or budget reasons.
Building the Deck
The Tezzeret Package
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas: Yeah... you're not playing this deck if you're not playing 4 of him. I've seen decklists with 3 copies and never understood why. He's only really bad when you are low on lands and draw multiples. If you have a healthy mana pool and you draw multiples you can chain his -1 ability to create a pretty scary army.
So how do you use him? Generally you would want to build up to his ultimate and use his +1 to dig for stuff to either protect him or mess with your opponent. Abuse his -1 if you are facing an opponent whom you need to clock (e.g. a control deck or slow combo deck) or if you really really need a blocker.
The Artifact Package:
Mana rocks
Dimir Signet Golgari Signet Talisman of Dominance
Just play a mix of these. They help you get to bigger spells, allow a lower land count, and can become 5/5 beaters later on. Try to avoid the 3 CMC rocks like Chromatic Lantern or Coalition Relic. You want to be holding mana up for counterspells or throwing down bigger threats asap, and they don't help you ramp into a turn 3 Tezzeret.
Tidehollow Strix
A necessary evil. Not having Baleful Strix is a bawww for this deck, but this guy is still decent. Serves as an early blocker, can be tutored with Tezzeret, can clock a combo/control opponent etc. Is also a decent topdeck.
Wurmcoil Engine
This guy is our alternate win-con, though he wins the game by himself possibly more often than Tezzeret's ultimate popping. Difficult to answer; what's more to say about him?
Inkmoth Nexus
Our singleton out against Tron, Sisters, etc. He turns into a 5/5 flying infect monster when you use Tezz's -1 on him. Other than that he's pretty much a generic mana producer.
Creeping Tar Pit
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes you just need a 3/2 unblockable. Good stuff to round off your deck's threat density.
The Control Package
Counterspells
Mana Leak Cryptic Command
These are generally the only counterspells you want to be playing. They are easily the best in modern, with Mana Leak being the lowest CMC counterspell that has a wide variety of application (as compared to, say, spell pierce), to Cryptic Command being the best high CMC counterspell due to its ability to bounce problem permanents, fog for a turn, or draw you a card. If you want to expand into more counterspells, I would suggest:
Inquisition of Kozilek
This is the premium discard of choice for this deck. It is better than Thoughtseize as you don't want to be taking too much damage. It hits a variety of problem permanents and slows combo decks down.
Thoughtseize Duress
These are ok too if you fancy more discard. I would prefer not to take damage from thoughtseize, though I wouldn't fault anyone for having a number of these in the sideboard to shore up fast combo matchups.
The Sideboard
There's not much to say about sideboarding which any experienced modern player would not already know.
Generally, you want to have a variety of answers for different decks. As the maindeck only runs 60 cards, some of the hateful artifacts can be moved to the side instead of being in the main. An example is Chalice of the Void, which can be brought in against stuff like bogles, burn, infect, or living end.
The same goes for the control package. Cards like Negate are obviously sideboard material, coming in against combo decks like Scapeshift and other control decks.
Just run what you are comfortable with and sideboard accordingly. You can use my sideboard as a good foundation, as I tend to build sideboards for wide-open metas.
One card to note, which I think is crucial in the sideboard is Fulminator Mage. My opinion is that any modern deck running red or black and expects to play any sort of control role at all needs 3-4 of these guys in the side. Aside from obviously helping against Tron, Jund, and UWR, these guys are your go-to sideboard cards against a variety of rogue decks when you have a number of dead cards in your main but nothing to replace them with. At worse, they are 2/2 beaters (still better than holding a damnation against an Ad Nauseum deck). At best, they color-screw your opponent. I play the full set as I feel that Tron is very, very difficult to beat with this deck.
Matchups
Like all decks, any matchup is a beatable matchup as long as you draw the right cards. With that said, Tron and Tempo decks like Travis Woo's NinjaBearDelver are pretty rough matchups. Affinity is a bad matchup if they get inkmoth nexus going. Fair decks like Tarmogoyf-based decks or control decks are pretty decent matchups.
As you can see it is much more artifact centric than other versions. I'm missing interesting non artifact control pieces but the deck is more of a prison deck, preventing the opponent from doing what their deck does. More permanents also mean better bridges as i can spam the board with my cheap artifact and control the game with few/no cards in hand. This means better tezzeret ult and +1 as well, it is nearly impossible for me to miss on +1 and i can do lethal ults fast.
I like playing 2 colors only, it allows me to play many colorless utility lands. Scrolls are here to interact with our mutavault, improving aggro/midrange matchups a lot. Burn is hard to control for this deck so gaining 5 without losing cards is awesome.
Liliana is a must for versions more focused on locking the board with bridge. The discard improves the bridge and the ult can destroy the opponent's hopes. You can also destroy hate with multiple ults (i've done that a few times).
I really like trinket mage toolbox, you have access to very powerful targets. Also a 2/2 is sometimes relevent but i still don't care if it gets removed.
@serenechaos: I've been thinking about artificer's intuition, how good is it? I think 4x is overkill, you don't want to draw multiple.
I think Trinket Mage would be good, with Pithing Needle and Relic of Progenitus/Nihil Spellbomb in the main. Those two cards are good in a lot of match-ups. Pithing Needle can even shut down Inkmoth Nexus, Plating, or Overseer against Affinity. GY hate is decent vs. Jund, good vs. Pod, and good vs. random fringe combo decks like Reanimator or Eggs. Neither are usually bad draws.
Trinket Mage can also find a number of other key artifacts in your main; Executioner's Capsule, Darksteel Citadel/Mox Opal, and Engineered Explosives.
Finally, it blocks and gains life or provides a meager clock.
I think Trinket Mage could replace Tidehollow Strix and provide some of the same function while also helping to find the silver bullets. It also works well with signets, because you can go t2 signet into t3 Trinket Mage + Bullet.
While I agree with Big Jim and thought exactly the same way when i first started out with this deck, I have to say now that Trinket mage sounds fantastic until you get around to playing him in a serious tournament. He has always been clunky for me. I think there is some preconceived idea being carried over from the tezzerator thread, that if I am not playing trinket mage then I am doing it wrong. But i have been playing this deck for a long time against the tier one decks of the format, and in no situation have I missed the trinket mages I cut from the deck. Think about it carefully - do you really want to play a 3cmc 2/2 to tutor for a hate card that does not auto win you the game? Or would you rather leave mana open for a leak?
I don't disagree that tidehollow is not the best card. However, in comparison to mage, it can become a 5/5 flyer, which can make all the difference when faced with tarmogoyfs or tribe elders blocking on the ground.
I think dissing mana leak shows inexperience with the format. Sure it's pretty pathetic against fast aggro decks, but how many of those remain in modern? Aside from affinity and gruul? Counterspells are back-breaking against all the other major players, and mana leak is at the forefront as it lets you counter their 2cmc or 3cmc play, which is usually their big game like tarmogoyf, liliana, sylvan scrying, exarch/mite, goryo's vengeance etc. it helps protect your cryptics in a counter war against decks like scapeshift and delver too. It's never magical christmasland where your mana leaks are dead as muten yoshi decribed them to be. Most of the time you will have mana left over, which will be used to counter their next play. Or, you would be predicting their line of play and leaving countermagic up appropriately.
I think the comment that tells me to play 4 thoughtseizes and cut mana leaks is extremely ironic. Leaks are good against combo too, if not better than thoughtseizes. I wouldn't discount thoughtseizes though, and welcome anyone to play more discards in their suite.
We are not a combo deck, nor an aggro deck. We are an extremely effective control deck, and reactive is generally the right word to describe control decks.
However, i do not want to dictate to anyone what play style should be adopted, even thought i feel that i have played this deck against enough matchups to defend my choices. The purpose of this primer is to help people build a competitive u/b tezzeret deck of their own. If anyone has a trinket mage build that they have brought to tournaments and playtested extensively against the established decks like what i have done to arrive at my current decklist then i'm more than happy to update the primer with your build.
- I think the key artifact card is chalice of the void, is stop a lot of play. At 1 or 2 some deck can't do nothing.
- Darksteel citadel is fetchable with the trinket, and can become a unstable 5/5 indestructible creature.
- Chimeric mass and shackle are 2 very efficient cards after a damnation or explosives.
- The sideboard help you again combo, tron, affinity...
Just my 2 cents, if youd like to hear something about cardchoices just ask but this whole " shows inexpierence with the format" attitude is just a bad argument not only because its wrong if you get my point. A card that is good in deck xy isnt an autoinclude in other decks. Thats how innovation begins.
Precisely I am supporting innovation, which is why I had to answer strongly against the bashing of mana leak. It seems that if you just outright dismiss a card it kills innovation. The card works in my shell, so I have to defend it because it works really well in that shell in this format. But yes, "shows inexperience with the format" is too strong a choice of words, so I apologize.
Do you have a sideboard for your deck? I would like to include it in the primer and the card choices, but I don't want to post a list without a sideboard.
Ultimately we are going in different directions for the deck, so it would be great for the primer to include both kinds of builds.
Also, for everyone posting their lists, I don't mean to ignore your posts but I can't analyze every list that comes here. Keep posting and even better, post some tournament results! (Even if you went 0-3 or something)
Well i've played my version against a lot of established decks in the format in small weekly tournaments and i've had only good results, always winning more than losing. The only thing i don't like about the deck is the high amount of draws i get. To solve this issue i've made a few changes today. Here is my updated list:
I'm now playing a full set of inkmoth nexus instead of the cute scroll + mutavault interaction. Inkmoth should allow me to win games faster.
Like i said before my list is more prison than control, the goal being to have a board and a deck full of artifacts to fully abuse Tezz AoB. I can see the value of adopting a more reactive approach with counterspells and fancy cryptic commands but in doing so you sacrifice raw power from tezzeret for more control power. I'm not saying it's bad, i guess it comes down to play style and personal preferences.
In my build trinket mage as proven itself to be awesome, because you can get so much value from the 0cc/1cc you get. All the targets are truly powerful and have high impact on the board. Since you choose the piece you get it'll likely be one that is very relevant. I agree that if you are playing reactive spells, tapping out for a 2/2 seems pretty bad, but in my version i WANT to tap out every turn and develop my board.
I play Trinket Mage in my U Tron list. I have 9 main deck counters, and sometimes I don't have one in hand on t3 or t4. With only 3 Leak and 5 Signets, I imagine that there might be times when tapping out for Trinket Mage is fine. Even if you have it, Jund can very often strip and early counter or signet with discard.
If not Trinket Mage, then I would go with Solemn Simulacrum. I just think Strix seems pretty poor. It dies to everything, lets Liliana get value against you, and is a blank against Tron or combo. I think Trinket Mage is just better against the field.
I don't know what qualifies as a serious tournament, but I do fairly well in local modern events with Trinket Mage.
That is a persuasive argument. I will give trinket mage a try again, thought I would have to mess around with the numbers again as I currently only have 3 targets for the mage.
Edit: Actually, I can't play them in my deck. Torpor Orb is too good against so many decks, and I don't want to switch off my own mages. The tutorable targets are also not game-breaking for me. Solemns are a very good idea though! Or I might just play more toolbox artifacts. The strixes do have the immense benefit of trading with goyfs and colonnades though. And they are good liliana fodder instead of having to sac a 5/5.
I've seen a few people play the cryptic command version at my local stores and i agree that in those versions tezz's -1 is a lot better and more commonly used. In the lily/bridge version the +1 is better because it helps dig for an answer/add artifact to the board.
Tezz's ult is a lot more spectacular in the lily/bridge version. You may use the ult in the blue version just to finish off the opponent's last few life points or gain life against aggro, where in the black version you just one-shot the opponent.
I guess it shows that tezz AoB is such a cool card that it can be used very differently and thus spawn different decks that abuse him.
I agree with the above definitions of tezzeret. Hence, the reason why there seems to be a disagreement over what to play. Though I would loosen the definition to divide the two decks into decks that play a control shell with counterspells and decks that play a more tezzeret and artifact-centered approach. I generally prefer the control shell because it has better game against the modern meta which consists of wildly diverse decks from midrange decks to fast aggressive decks to combo decks and a smattering of control.
Just came back from a small modern tournament with the decklist posted in the OP.
Round one win 2-1 vs. Merfolk.
I won the first game off an ensnaring bridge lock and damnation. Game two I lost to a cursecatcher and a fully-leveled coralhelm commander when I couldn't draw early answers. Game three I managed to establish board control through the use of point removal, ratchet bomb, pithing needle naming mutavault, and took the game with Tezzeret.
Round two win 2-0 vs. Melira Pod.
First game I won by mana leaking his two consecutive kitchen finks and board-wiping with ratchet bomb. Game two he kinda got unlucky and drew a lot of lands after I answer his early threats, allowing me to build up mana for batterskull and wurmcoil successively.
Round three win 2-1 vs. Black Devotion.
Game one he missed his third land drop for geralf's messenger and I used Tezzeret and 5/5s to beat him. Game two he killed me with his obliterator and it was my turn to be stuck on two lands, drawing 3 consecutive cryptic commands. Game three was a stalemate between wurmcoil staring down an obliterator, but academy ruins bringing back wurmcoil and creeping tar pit attacks with mana leak protection won me the game.
Is the Glissa / Executioner Capsule combo or just Glissa for value worth it in the green splash version?
In straight UB version is Disrupting Shoal worth running? Being able to counter for no mana is nice in a control deck that likes to tap out? I guess it depends how many blue cards you run, but both were directions I was considering.
Is the Glissa / Executioner Capsule combo or just Glissa for value worth it in the green splash version?
In straight UB version is Disrupting Shoal worth running? Being able to counter for no mana is nice in a control deck that likes to tap out? I guess it depends how many blue cards you run, but both were directions I was considering.
I think Damnation is a must of four of.
Glissa is an interesting idea. I might play her over my strixes, though it kinda sucks that she's not an artifact herself. She does demand GG though, which is tough.
Shoal is a no no for me. 2-for-1 is pretty bad for most control decks in modern, where people are not playing turn one combo decks where the free counter is backbreaking.
If you are playing in a midrange and aggro heavy meta, go ahead and play four Damnations. I don't play four as it is next to useless against Tron, Twin, Storm, U/W/x control, Scapeshift, and Burn, just to name a few of the top decks. It has reduced value against Pod, which has persist creatures and voice of resurgence; against tokens, who can recreate an army in no time; against infect and affinity, which has inkmoth nexus; and against auras, which has totem armor. Delver tends to be able to counter it too. It is basically good against Jund variants, merfolk, sisters, and hatebears.
Hey, everyone. Has anyone considered a more red-based build with things like Shrapnel Blast, Galvanic Blast, and Pyroclasm? I feel like they may not even need to play Ensnaring Bridge because of a developed removal suite, better making use of Tezz's -1. The mana rocks would help us play Tezz - 4 Dimir Signets would be a must, methinks. I've also considered playing a very mana rock-heavy version that ramps to a sweeper like Wildfire, but that may be too cute. No list yet, but I'll submit something soon.
Hey, everyone. Has anyone considered a more red-based build with things like Shrapnel Blast, Galvanic Blast, and Pyroclasm? I feel like they may not even need to play Ensnaring Bridge because of a developed removal suite, better making use of Tezz's -1. The mana rocks would help us play Tezz - 4 Dimir Signets would be a must, methinks. I've also considered playing a very mana rock-heavy version that ramps to a sweeper like Wildfire, but that may be too cute. No list yet, but I'll submit something soon.
I think Ive seen some Grixis lists maindecking Blood moon in some thread, some times ago. Can't find it but if anyone has a clue...
Totally agreeing with my friend ACE on the upsides of going just UB, Im still wondering what new lines of play (within or around the aforementionned mostly U or mostly B/ Artifact gameplans) splashing a 3rd colour could bring us. Like I said, I know some play it with a red splash and a mana-screw package, capitalizing on the fact that they're loaded on mana-rocks so no big deal if there's a moon in play. I also have seen (here) some green splash that I like, though I don't feel like a couple of Maelstrom pulse and Abrupt decay is all that green has for us. Sadly, Glissa, the traitor costs GG so it doesn't fit really well, mana-wise. Finally (and maybe Im overextending here), but white probably could bring something to Tezz brews. If we wanna make this the primer of all primers, we could try finding information about different angles and splashing strategies. Love the convey, so far.
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MODERN Blue Lantern, UBx Tezzerator. OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
Ok i'm just coming back from a small tournament and i'm pretty satisfied with my list.
Round 1: affinity, 2-0
My opponent was playing a budget version with prophetic prism and other odd card choices but the deck was mostly regular robots. I've got a lot of tools to work with against robots, from explosive to pithing needle. Newly added inkmoth nexuses did a good job trading with opposing blinkmoths. I basically birdge locked my opponent both games and eventually won.
Round 2: 8rack discard, 2-0
game one my opponent rips my hand apart but i draw a tezz and cast it. Drawing 2 cards a turn nullifies opposing shrieking affliction and racks until i get an explosive and get rid of them. i eventually ult tezz for the win. I noticed he was playing bridge as well so i side mine out for chalices. Game 2 he starts with leyline of sanctity and pithing needle on explosives. Later i draw chalice and set it on one. All of my opponent's win cons cost one so he considers scooping but doesn't... I eventually draw tezz and start using his -1, beat my opponent to death. Nothing to fear since i guessed my opponent would have boarded his bridges (which he did).
Round 3: infect, 2-0
Game one i survive the first few turn until i bridge lock my opponent, and he eventually scoops. Game 2 was tight but i stabilize at 9 poison, I played an early chalice on one. After the first wave of creatures dies to explosive and ghost quarter, my opponent doesn't do anything. We the game ends, he reveals his hand containing 7 one mana spells, lol.
I'm pretty happy with my list and i think i'll leave it as it is for a while.
Like radouf said i'd love to see splash ideas and results from other iterations on the deck.
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modern:UW spirits, BR goblins
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Welcome to another attempt to reboot this deck. This is one of my favorite decks in modern and since the people at the Tezzerator thread have been pining for a separate thread for UB Tezzeret, let's see if we can get a discussion going to make the most competitive version of the deck.
Why play U/B Tezzeret?
U/B Tezzeret is a control deck at heart. With that said, it has a much lower curve than most control decks. Also, unlike traditional U/W/R, Grixis, or Esper control decks, it has specific answers in the form of low CC artifacts that can completely turn specific matchup around. And if you draw the wrong artifacts, there's always Tezzeret's -1 to turn them into 5/5 monstrosities.
You should play U/B Tezzeret if you like control decks and want a different experience from massremoval.dec and you like having a toolbox-like selection of answers at your disposal. With counterspells, cheap removal, and silver-bullet answers, every deck can be a decent matchup.
You shouldn't play this deck if...
You don't like to use your brains. Play G/W Bogles or R/G Tron instead then.
2 Spellskite
2 Wurmcoil Engine
Artifacts:12
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Dimir Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Talisman of Dominance
1 Torpor Orb
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Batterskull
Instants/Sorceries: 15
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Mana Leak
2 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Cryptic Command
2 Damnation
4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Lands:25
1 Academy Ruins
1 Breeding Pool
4 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Forest
1 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Dispel
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
2 Steel Sabotage
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Negate
4 Fulminator Mage
That is just my personal list which I have been refining over time. You should play the cards you are comfortable with, though you should never ever sacrifice comeptitiveness for cuteness or budget reasons.
Building the Deck
The Tezzeret Package
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas: Yeah... you're not playing this deck if you're not playing 4 of him. I've seen decklists with 3 copies and never understood why. He's only really bad when you are low on lands and draw multiples. If you have a healthy mana pool and you draw multiples you can chain his -1 ability to create a pretty scary army.
So how do you use him? Generally you would want to build up to his ultimate and use his +1 to dig for stuff to either protect him or mess with your opponent. Abuse his -1 if you are facing an opponent whom you need to clock (e.g. a control deck or slow combo deck) or if you really really need a blocker.
The Artifact Package:
Mana rocks
Dimir Signet
Golgari Signet
Talisman of Dominance
Just play a mix of these. They help you get to bigger spells, allow a lower land count, and can become 5/5 beaters later on. Try to avoid the 3 CMC rocks like Chromatic Lantern or Coalition Relic. You want to be holding mana up for counterspells or throwing down bigger threats asap, and they don't help you ramp into a turn 3 Tezzeret.
Hate cards
Nihil Spellbomb
Relic of Progenitus
Tormod's Crypt
Torpor Orb
Ensnaring Bridge
Grafdigger's Cage
Engineered Explosive
Ratchet Bomb
Executioner's Capsule
Chalice of the Void
Pithing Needle
Spellskite
Most of these are all-stars in people's sideboards. The cool thing about this deck is that we can actually maindeck most of them, since we are able to turn them into 5/5s. Moreover, they are generally useful even outside the matchups they were made for, such as Ratchet Bomb being able to answer problem permanents, Grafdigger's Cage stopping random persist creatures, flashback spells, snapcasters, Spellskite being a 0/4 blocker etc.
Creatures and Finishers
Tidehollow Strix
A necessary evil. Not having Baleful Strix is a bawww for this deck, but this guy is still decent. Serves as an early blocker, can be tutored with Tezzeret, can clock a combo/control opponent etc. Is also a decent topdeck.
Wurmcoil Engine
This guy is our alternate win-con, though he wins the game by himself possibly more often than Tezzeret's ultimate popping. Difficult to answer; what's more to say about him?
Batterskull
Equip him onto Tidehollow Strix or one of your 5/5s when the germ token is dead.
Inkmoth Nexus
Our singleton out against Tron, Sisters, etc. He turns into a 5/5 flying infect monster when you use Tezz's -1 on him. Other than that he's pretty much a generic mana producer.
Creeping Tar Pit
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes you just need a 3/2 unblockable. Good stuff to round off your deck's threat density.
The Control Package
Counterspells
Mana Leak
Cryptic Command
These are generally the only counterspells you want to be playing. They are easily the best in modern, with Mana Leak being the lowest CMC counterspell that has a wide variety of application (as compared to, say, spell pierce), to Cryptic Command being the best high CMC counterspell due to its ability to bounce problem permanents, fog for a turn, or draw you a card. If you want to expand into more counterspells, I would suggest:
Spell Snare
Spell Pierce
The rest of the counterspells like Negate, Steel Sabotage, Dispel etc. are sideboard material.
Removal
Maelstrom Pulse
Abrupt Decay
These cards are the reason why we are going into green. They answer problem permanents which U/B is unable to handle, such as Stony Silence, Blood Moon, Leyline of Sanctity etc.
Damnation
What is a control deck without a sweeper? No regen means Thrun the Last Troll is not getting back on his feet again.
Executioner's Capsule
It's a delayed Doom Blade! Playing against creatureless control? Turn it into a 5/5!
Doom Blade
Go for the Throat
Smother
Hero's Downfall
Dismember
These are all pretty decent. Run some number either in the main or side to round off your removal package.
Discard
Inquisition of Kozilek
This is the premium discard of choice for this deck. It is better than Thoughtseize as you don't want to be taking too much damage. It hits a variety of problem permanents and slows combo decks down.
Thoughtseize
Duress
These are ok too if you fancy more discard. I would prefer not to take damage from thoughtseize, though I wouldn't fault anyone for having a number of these in the sideboard to shore up fast combo matchups.
The Sideboard
There's not much to say about sideboarding which any experienced modern player would not already know.
Generally, you want to have a variety of answers for different decks. As the maindeck only runs 60 cards, some of the hateful artifacts can be moved to the side instead of being in the main. An example is Chalice of the Void, which can be brought in against stuff like bogles, burn, infect, or living end.
The same goes for the control package. Cards like Negate are obviously sideboard material, coming in against combo decks like Scapeshift and other control decks.
Just run what you are comfortable with and sideboard accordingly. You can use my sideboard as a good foundation, as I tend to build sideboards for wide-open metas.
One card to note, which I think is crucial in the sideboard is Fulminator Mage. My opinion is that any modern deck running red or black and expects to play any sort of control role at all needs 3-4 of these guys in the side. Aside from obviously helping against Tron, Jund, and UWR, these guys are your go-to sideboard cards against a variety of rogue decks when you have a number of dead cards in your main but nothing to replace them with. At worse, they are 2/2 beaters (still better than holding a damnation against an Ad Nauseum deck). At best, they color-screw your opponent. I play the full set as I feel that Tron is very, very difficult to beat with this deck.
Matchups
Like all decks, any matchup is a beatable matchup as long as you draw the right cards. With that said, Tron and Tempo decks like Travis Woo's NinjaBearDelver are pretty rough matchups. Affinity is a bad matchup if they get inkmoth nexus going. Fair decks like Tarmogoyf-based decks or control decks are pretty decent matchups.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Batterskull
1 Mindslaver
3 Proteus Staff
1 Blightsteel Colossus
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Expedition Map
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Chimeric Mass
4 Thoughtcast
4 Mox Opal
3 Everflowing Chalice
3 Watery Grave
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Academy Ruins
3 Tolaria West
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Island
2 Swamp
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
1 expedition map
3 thopter foundry
3 tezzeret, agent of bolas
control: 13
1 executioner's capsule
3 engineered explosives
3 pithing needle
3 ensnaring bridge
3 liliana of the veil
cantrips: 7
3 terrarion
3 scroll of avacyn
1 nihil spellbomb
Creatures: 7
3 spellskite
4 trinket mage
2 mox opal
1 talisman of dominance
lands: 23
4 darkslick shores
4 river of tears
2 glimmervoid
1 island
1 swamp
1 bojuka bog
1 tolaria west
4 mutavault
2 darksteel citadel
2 ghost quarter
1 academy ruins
4 shadow of doubt
4 chalice of the void
4 defense grid
1 pithing needle
1 grafdigger's cage
1 welding jar
As you can see it is much more artifact centric than other versions. I'm missing interesting non artifact control pieces but the deck is more of a prison deck, preventing the opponent from doing what their deck does. More permanents also mean better bridges as i can spam the board with my cheap artifact and control the game with few/no cards in hand. This means better tezzeret ult and +1 as well, it is nearly impossible for me to miss on +1 and i can do lethal ults fast.
I like playing 2 colors only, it allows me to play many colorless utility lands. Scrolls are here to interact with our mutavault, improving aggro/midrange matchups a lot. Burn is hard to control for this deck so gaining 5 without losing cards is awesome.
Liliana is a must for versions more focused on locking the board with bridge. The discard improves the bridge and the ult can destroy the opponent's hopes. You can also destroy hate with multiple ults (i've done that a few times).
I really like trinket mage toolbox, you have access to very powerful targets. Also a 2/2 is sometimes relevent but i still don't care if it gets removed.
@serenechaos: I've been thinking about artificer's intuition, how good is it? I think 4x is overkill, you don't want to draw multiple.
Trinket Mage can also find a number of other key artifacts in your main; Executioner's Capsule, Darksteel Citadel/Mox Opal, and Engineered Explosives.
Finally, it blocks and gains life or provides a meager clock.
I think Trinket Mage could replace Tidehollow Strix and provide some of the same function while also helping to find the silver bullets. It also works well with signets, because you can go t2 signet into t3 Trinket Mage + Bullet.
I don't disagree that tidehollow is not the best card. However, in comparison to mage, it can become a 5/5 flyer, which can make all the difference when faced with tarmogoyfs or tribe elders blocking on the ground.
I think dissing mana leak shows inexperience with the format. Sure it's pretty pathetic against fast aggro decks, but how many of those remain in modern? Aside from affinity and gruul? Counterspells are back-breaking against all the other major players, and mana leak is at the forefront as it lets you counter their 2cmc or 3cmc play, which is usually their big game like tarmogoyf, liliana, sylvan scrying, exarch/mite, goryo's vengeance etc. it helps protect your cryptics in a counter war against decks like scapeshift and delver too. It's never magical christmasland where your mana leaks are dead as muten yoshi decribed them to be. Most of the time you will have mana left over, which will be used to counter their next play. Or, you would be predicting their line of play and leaving countermagic up appropriately.
I think the comment that tells me to play 4 thoughtseizes and cut mana leaks is extremely ironic. Leaks are good against combo too, if not better than thoughtseizes. I wouldn't discount thoughtseizes though, and welcome anyone to play more discards in their suite.
We are not a combo deck, nor an aggro deck. We are an extremely effective control deck, and reactive is generally the right word to describe control decks.
However, i do not want to dictate to anyone what play style should be adopted, even thought i feel that i have played this deck against enough matchups to defend my choices. The purpose of this primer is to help people build a competitive u/b tezzeret deck of their own. If anyone has a trinket mage build that they have brought to tournaments and playtested extensively against the established decks like what i have done to arrive at my current decklist then i'm more than happy to update the primer with your build.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
I also started to built around UB Tezzeret Control shell a few week ago and him happy to see a thread for it.
Here is the way i see the deck :
2 chalice of the void
2 Engineered explosives" target="blank">Engineered explosives
1 chimeric mass
2 executionner's capsule
1 aether spellbomb
2 Pithing needle
1 relic of progenitus
1 Elixir of immortality
4 talisman of dominance
2 vedalken shackle
1 batterskull
6 Creature
4 trinket mage
2 spellskite
4 Planeswalker
4 Tezzeret, agent of bolas
2 Damnation
5 Instant
1 Remand
4 thirst for knowledge
23 Land
4 glimmervoid
2 creeping tar pit
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Misty rainforest
1 marsh flat
3 watery grave
4 island
2 swamp
1 academy ruins
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Thoughseize
3 Hurkyll's recall
2 torpor orb
1 nihil spellbomb
1 grafdigger's cage
2 spell snare
- I think the key artifact card is chalice of the void, is stop a lot of play. At 1 or 2 some deck can't do nothing.
- Darksteel citadel is fetchable with the trinket, and can become a unstable 5/5 indestructible creature.
- Chimeric mass and shackle are 2 very efficient cards after a damnation or explosives.
- The sideboard help you again combo, tron, affinity...
Precisely I am supporting innovation, which is why I had to answer strongly against the bashing of mana leak. It seems that if you just outright dismiss a card it kills innovation. The card works in my shell, so I have to defend it because it works really well in that shell in this format. But yes, "shows inexperience with the format" is too strong a choice of words, so I apologize.
Do you have a sideboard for your deck? I would like to include it in the primer and the card choices, but I don't want to post a list without a sideboard.
Ultimately we are going in different directions for the deck, so it would be great for the primer to include both kinds of builds.
Also, for everyone posting their lists, I don't mean to ignore your posts but I can't analyze every list that comes here. Keep posting and even better, post some tournament results! (Even if you went 0-3 or something)
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
1 expedition map
1 elixir of immortality
1 artificer's intuition
1 thopter foundry
1 trading post
3 tezzeret, agent of bolas
control: 13
1 executioner's capsule
3 engineered explosives
3 pithing needle
3 ensnaring bridge
3 liliana of the veil
cantrips: 5
4 terrarion
1 nihil spellbomb
Creatures: 7
3 spellskite
4 trinket mage
2 mox opal
2 talisman of dominance
lands: 23
4 darkslick shores
4 river of tears
2 glimmervoid
1 island
1 swamp
1 bojuka bog
1 tolaria west
4 inkmoth nexus
2 darksteel citadel
2 ghost quarter
1 academy ruins
4 slaughter games
4 chalice of the void
4 defense grid
1 pithing needle
1 grafdigger's cage
1 welding jar
I'm now playing a full set of inkmoth nexus instead of the cute scroll + mutavault interaction. Inkmoth should allow me to win games faster.
Like i said before my list is more prison than control, the goal being to have a board and a deck full of artifacts to fully abuse Tezz AoB. I can see the value of adopting a more reactive approach with counterspells and fancy cryptic commands but in doing so you sacrifice raw power from tezzeret for more control power. I'm not saying it's bad, i guess it comes down to play style and personal preferences.
In my build trinket mage as proven itself to be awesome, because you can get so much value from the 0cc/1cc you get. All the targets are truly powerful and have high impact on the board. Since you choose the piece you get it'll likely be one that is very relevant. I agree that if you are playing reactive spells, tapping out for a 2/2 seems pretty bad, but in my version i WANT to tap out every turn and develop my board.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
If not Trinket Mage, then I would go with Solemn Simulacrum. I just think Strix seems pretty poor. It dies to everything, lets Liliana get value against you, and is a blank against Tron or combo. I think Trinket Mage is just better against the field.
I don't know what qualifies as a serious tournament, but I do fairly well in local modern events with Trinket Mage.
Edit: Actually, I can't play them in my deck. Torpor Orb is too good against so many decks, and I don't want to switch off my own mages. The tutorable targets are also not game-breaking for me. Solemns are a very good idea though! Or I might just play more toolbox artifacts. The strixes do have the immense benefit of trading with goyfs and colonnades though. And they are good liliana fodder instead of having to sac a 5/5.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Tezz's ult is a lot more spectacular in the lily/bridge version. You may use the ult in the blue version just to finish off the opponent's last few life points or gain life against aggro, where in the black version you just one-shot the opponent.
I guess it shows that tezz AoB is such a cool card that it can be used very differently and thus spawn different decks that abuse him.
Just came back from a small modern tournament with the decklist posted in the OP.
Round one win 2-1 vs. Merfolk.
I won the first game off an ensnaring bridge lock and damnation. Game two I lost to a cursecatcher and a fully-leveled coralhelm commander when I couldn't draw early answers. Game three I managed to establish board control through the use of point removal, ratchet bomb, pithing needle naming mutavault, and took the game with Tezzeret.
Round two win 2-0 vs. Melira Pod.
First game I won by mana leaking his two consecutive kitchen finks and board-wiping with ratchet bomb. Game two he kinda got unlucky and drew a lot of lands after I answer his early threats, allowing me to build up mana for batterskull and wurmcoil successively.
Round three win 2-1 vs. Black Devotion.
Game one he missed his third land drop for geralf's messenger and I used Tezzeret and 5/5s to beat him. Game two he killed me with his obliterator and it was my turn to be stuck on two lands, drawing 3 consecutive cryptic commands. Game three was a stalemate between wurmcoil staring down an obliterator, but academy ruins bringing back wurmcoil and creeping tar pit attacks with mana leak protection won me the game.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
In straight UB version is Disrupting Shoal worth running? Being able to counter for no mana is nice in a control deck that likes to tap out? I guess it depends how many blue cards you run, but both were directions I was considering.
I think Damnation is a must of four of.
Glissa is an interesting idea. I might play her over my strixes, though it kinda sucks that she's not an artifact herself. She does demand GG though, which is tough.
Shoal is a no no for me. 2-for-1 is pretty bad for most control decks in modern, where people are not playing turn one combo decks where the free counter is backbreaking.
If you are playing in a midrange and aggro heavy meta, go ahead and play four Damnations. I don't play four as it is next to useless against Tron, Twin, Storm, U/W/x control, Scapeshift, and Burn, just to name a few of the top decks. It has reduced value against Pod, which has persist creatures and voice of resurgence; against tokens, who can recreate an army in no time; against infect and affinity, which has inkmoth nexus; and against auras, which has totem armor. Delver tends to be able to counter it too. It is basically good against Jund variants, merfolk, sisters, and hatebears.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
What do y'all think? Anyone playing Grixis Tezz?
Thanks!
This deck?
http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=36664
(Of course without the Jaces)
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
That's not bad for a standard port. Just want people to realize it wouldn't be optimized for Modern even though Chapin built it.
Totally agreeing with my friend ACE on the upsides of going just UB, Im still wondering what new lines of play (within or around the aforementionned mostly U or mostly B/ Artifact gameplans) splashing a 3rd colour could bring us. Like I said, I know some play it with a red splash and a mana-screw package, capitalizing on the fact that they're loaded on mana-rocks so no big deal if there's a moon in play. I also have seen (here) some green splash that I like, though I don't feel like a couple of Maelstrom pulse and Abrupt decay is all that green has for us. Sadly, Glissa, the traitor costs GG so it doesn't fit really well, mana-wise. Finally (and maybe Im overextending here), but white probably could bring something to Tezz brews. If we wanna make this the primer of all primers, we could try finding information about different angles and splashing strategies. Love the convey, so far.
OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
Round 1: affinity, 2-0
My opponent was playing a budget version with prophetic prism and other odd card choices but the deck was mostly regular robots. I've got a lot of tools to work with against robots, from explosive to pithing needle. Newly added inkmoth nexuses did a good job trading with opposing blinkmoths. I basically birdge locked my opponent both games and eventually won.
Round 2: 8rack discard, 2-0
game one my opponent rips my hand apart but i draw a tezz and cast it. Drawing 2 cards a turn nullifies opposing shrieking affliction and racks until i get an explosive and get rid of them. i eventually ult tezz for the win. I noticed he was playing bridge as well so i side mine out for chalices. Game 2 he starts with leyline of sanctity and pithing needle on explosives. Later i draw chalice and set it on one. All of my opponent's win cons cost one so he considers scooping but doesn't... I eventually draw tezz and start using his -1, beat my opponent to death. Nothing to fear since i guessed my opponent would have boarded his bridges (which he did).
Round 3: infect, 2-0
Game one i survive the first few turn until i bridge lock my opponent, and he eventually scoops. Game 2 was tight but i stabilize at 9 poison, I played an early chalice on one. After the first wave of creatures dies to explosive and ghost quarter, my opponent doesn't do anything. We the game ends, he reveals his hand containing 7 one mana spells, lol.
I'm pretty happy with my list and i think i'll leave it as it is for a while.
Like radouf said i'd love to see splash ideas and results from other iterations on the deck.