I don't know if anyone follows Tolarian Community College on Youtube, but he just released a video on 8-Rack. It's pretty close to what we're doing in this thread. None of the jank builds, just a mention of cards like Waste Not, SmallPox, Bitterblossom, and Pack Rat.
Just got the most ridiculous win vs Auras: won by mill through a Leyline and Pithing Needle (I believe he had one more Nature's Claim in his deck, but I had two Bridges out, so he just conceded).
A Quick question; I really want a main deck Surgical Extraction, but I am stumped as to what I should take out. My list is the same as MemoryLapse latest with Pack Rats.
Why do you want it? I only recommend it if your meta is full of combo (Tron, Twin, Scapeshift, etc). Though I suppose if you're ballsy you could take out removal for it.
I don't know if anyone follows Tolarian Community College on Youtube, but he just released a video on 8-Rack. It's pretty close to what we're doing in this thread. None of the jank builds, just a mention of cards like Waste Not, SmallPox, Bitterblossom, and Pack Rat.
Nice to see coverage with solid lists for once. No Waste Not in the budget version is a big mistake, though. His lists make me wonder if Memory's list with 2x Waste Not instead of removal would be good? I've been really liking it as a 2 of in my list.
3-1 today with 2x Waste Not 4x removal spells. REALLY like this configuration; Waste Not has never been dead with it and it's won me a lot of games, and I draw removal seemingly every game now instead of often wishing for it like before. The removal is basically always very welcome.
Tron was the usual game 1; game 2 I kept a one land hand with Raven's Crime and 2x Extraction with no regrets. I almost had him after Extracting his O Stones and Karns but he topdecked a Wurmcoil and I saw no Bridge, so that was that.
Jund mulled somewhat hard game 1 but he still had 2x Goyf and Bob in hand; I killed the one Goyf and discarded the Goyf and Bob in his hand with Wrench Mind (only cards he had). Game 2 he had mostly black cards and no black sources (until it was too late), plus Waste Not just annihilated him.
Against Storm, game 1 I had a poor hand (but not poor enough to mull) and he beat me to death with 3x Electromancer (hah); game 2 I hated him out with Extraction and Cage, which made him side in Empty the Warrens for game 3; game 3 I drew the nuts (Inquisition into double Wrench Mind into Lily and Racks) and raced his tokens.
Nice job with the 3-1!
Today i had my first shot with the deck at my local fnm. Went 2-1 in top 4. My list is somewhat different from all the others as i splash red for blightning and blood moon, and is really a budget list as no lilys and only 2 bridges.
Match 1 vs scapeshift: Game 1 discarded right away one scapeshift and the next turn another one, beat with pack rat. Game 2 blood moon gg.
Match 2 vs another scapeshift: game 1 destroyed his hand and a couple of racks, game 2 slaughter games for scapeshift gg.
Match 3 vs ur fairies/blue moon: game 1 really close with me with bridge down and at 6, him topdecking for bolt-snap-bolt; game 2 close again but basically same game1 scenario
In top 4 i go against twin: game 1 really close but again bolt-snap bolted to death with him at 2, game 2 slaughter games for splinter twin and won with racks, game 3 no bridges no removal no nothing....
IDed the last one for the prize.
Really happy with the result with an unoptimized and budget list at my first go, the deck is awesome; i really like blood moon, excellent vs tron and scapeshift, which are quite common in my meta
Also on turn 1 with both inquisition and thoughtseize available. Which ones is the best choice?
You win 6 packs of the most current set if you 3-1, and 11 packs if you 4-0. This translates to about 18 tickets / $18 and 33 tickets / $33 (note it costs 6 tickets to enter a daily). You also get Qualifier Points, which, if you get enough of them in a given month, gets you an expensive (~$50+) promo.
I use Inquisition on the offchance I won't end up using the Thoughtseize, to avoid life loss, and also so if they have only 3cmc stuff or less then draw something 4cmc or greater, I can discard it later. You could make a case for using Seize first, though: sometimes they have something 4cmc or greater you need to get rid of (let's say, Ajani Vengeant), then when you try to Seize it later, they counter it and are able to play it. Or maybe it's a Chandra Pyromaster or Thrun the Last Troll and they Inquisition your Thoughtseize, allowing them to play it. I'd be interested in a consensus on the approach here, for sure.
Against an unknown deck, IoK for sure. 99.9% of the time if you see something in their hand worth Thoughtseize you can do it next turn.
I'm having a hard time putting together a reasonable example of when you'd choose Thoughtseize over IoK in game two. There must be a time, but it's narrow.
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My MTG Site: Graceful Stats (deckbuilding website that actually works on mobile)
Went 2-1 at the shop tonight (unfortunately we rarely have enough people for four rounds), with the same list as above. Beat the "Taking Turns" deck or whatever you call it and Affinity, then lost to Storm. Taking Turns was weird; I don't even know how to report it, honestly. The Affinity player had clearly never played against 8Rack before, which made game 1 much easier than it should've been; game 2 I kept him completely locked down with Darkblast and Lily. Things went smooth game 1 against Storm; I beat down his hand too hard too quick for him to have a chance. Game 2 was similar except he managed to Grapeshot me down to 9, then topdecked a Lightning Bolt the turn before I would win, and with two active Ascensions out, it was exactly enough for lethal. Game 3 I mulled to 5; it looked dire but I managed to get back into the game and had him almost locked down, but then he cast Echoing Truth with an active Ascension out, bouncing The Rack and Cage, and proceeded to go off.
Played perfectly all night except for once against Taking Turns, cause who ******* plays Elixir of Immortality? (I tried to Extract Howling Mine; he cracked Elixir in response)
The highlight for me was talking to the Storm player, who is very skilled (I can tell anyway, but also he top 8'd some SCG Legacy tourney recently). We discussed sideboarding with 8Rack vs Storm extensively. He was saying Cage is good against him and worth siding in, but not brutal like some think (I knew this, but it's nice to hear from the other end). We agreed it's difficult to know what to side in/out with my deck vs Storm; using Bridge and Cage leaves the downside of being susceptible to Echoing Truth. Partly for that, I'd rather leave in Raven's Crime and say to hell with Cage, though I'm unsure it's correct. At the moment, on MTGO, I think I'm going to side out 3x Bridge for 3x Extraction and leave it at that (open to arguments against that, though). In my local meta, there doesn't seem to be any Burn, though, so I may pick up some Leyline of the Void and use those instead of Leyline of Sanctity.
Leyline of the Void is totally worth picking up for future paper play with the deck. The effect of exiling anything discarded is a ridiculously good effect and isn't symmetrical. They're worth next to nothing right now anyway to boot.
Went 2-1 at the shop tonight (unfortunately we rarely have enough people for four rounds), with the same list as above. Beat the "Taking Turns" deck or whatever you call it and Affinity, then lost to Storm. Taking Turns was weird; I don't even know how to report it, honestly. The Affinity player had clearly never played against 8Rack before, which made game 1 much easier than it should've been; game 2 I kept him completely locked down with Darkblast and Lily. Things went smooth game 1 against Storm; I beat down his hand too hard too quick for him to have a chance. Game 2 was similar except he managed to Grapeshot me down to 9, then topdecked a Lightning Bolt the turn before I would win, and with two active Ascensions out, it was exactly enough for lethal. Game 3 I mulled to 5; it looked dire but I managed to get back into the game and had him almost locked down, but then he cast Echoing Truth with an active Ascension out, bouncing The Rack and Cage, and proceeded to go off.
Played perfectly all night except for once against Taking Turns, cause who ******* plays Elixir of Immortality? (I tried to Extract Howling Mine; he cracked Elixir in response)
The highlight for me was talking to the Storm player, who is very skilled (I can tell anyway, but also he top 8'd some SCG Legacy tourney recently). We discussed sideboarding with 8Rack vs Storm extensively. He was saying Cage is good against him and worth siding in, but not brutal like some think (I knew this, but it's nice to hear from the other end). We agreed it's difficult to know what to side in/out with my deck vs Storm; using Bridge and Cage leaves the downside of being susceptible to Echoing Truth. Partly for that, I'd rather leave in Raven's Crime and say to hell with Cage, though I'm unsure it's correct. At the moment, on MTGO, I think I'm going to side out 3x Bridge for 3x Extraction and leave it at that (open to arguments against that, though). In my local meta, there doesn't seem to be any Burn, though, so I may pick up some Leyline of the Void and use those instead of Leyline of Sanctity.
Grafdigger is the type of card that they have to bounce or they cant win. I rarely find I need much beyond that. Surgically extracting an echoing truth seals it.
Taking Turns is a Time Walk deck. They basically fog and draw until they can start chaining Time Walks, never giving you another turn, and eventually milling you with Jace, killing you with Thassa, or doing the Laboratory Maniac draw the deck thing. Frank Lepore ran a series on it, interesting, boring if you're the opponent. Often goes off turn 4. I would think it would be a tough matchup because they run cards like Jace, Howling Mine, Dictate of Kruphix, a lot of card draw.
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Modern UB Tezzerator UBW Gifts B 8Rack
Legacy RB Goblins
I've seen Storm win through Cage (without bouncing it) fairly often; Empty the Warrens gets around it fine, and sometimes they can just go off with Grapeshot, Ascension, and/or Electromancer (or even Grapeshot, Ascension, Electromancer, and/or Bolt). Cage denies them one engine, but they have many. Not saying it isn't good cause it's definitely won me games, but it's not a silver bullet. Extracting Truth (flavour!) is rarely viable since they only have one.
I found Taking Turns fairly easy, although I could've just gotten lucky. I should note it was his own personalized version, somewhat different from the typical lists. Also he didn't have Remands yet.
The Cage makes your discard spells meaningful. Good luck trying to create a meaningful storm while I tear your hand apart. Surgical picking Grapeshot or Empty the warrens makes them pretty sad too.
So, does having all 10 fetchlands make UB or BR more viable now or is GB still the best splash?
Do we expect 4/5-Color Control to be favorable for us?
Modern is gonna have an earthquake next month and I hope we find a way to come on top.
It's a great way to eat a playset while looking at a hand and library so you know exactly what you're up against.
EDIT: Like that Ancient Grudge they sided in for G2.
That was awesome!
Why do you want it? I only recommend it if your meta is full of combo (Tron, Twin, Scapeshift, etc). Though I suppose if you're ballsy you could take out removal for it.
Nice to see coverage with solid lists for once. No Waste Not in the budget version is a big mistake, though. His lists make me wonder if Memory's list with 2x Waste Not instead of removal would be good? I've been really liking it as a 2 of in my list.
Eager to watch these video replays, when are you going to upload them?
Thanks, and GO 8rack!
Modern
B 8rack B
G Aggro Elves G
U W Ad Nauseam BR
G Gr Tron R
U U Tron U
B Monoblack Vampires B
BGR Jund BGR
Standings screenshot; in-game screenshot.
1x Dakmor Salvage
4x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Liliana of the Veil
4x Raven's Crime
4x Shrieking Affliction
1x Slaughter Pact
14x Swamp
4x The Rack
4x Thoughtseize
4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3x Victim of Night
2x Waste Not
4x Wrench Mind
4x Darkblast
4x Grafdigger's Cage
4x Leyline of Sanctity
3x Surgical Extraction
Beat Auras, lost to Tron, beat Jund, beat Storm.
Game 1 of the Auras match he mulled hard and drew no creatures ever so that was easy; game 2 he beat me with Leyline; game 3 I beat him with mill through Leyline and Pithing Needle.
Tron was the usual game 1; game 2 I kept a one land hand with Raven's Crime and 2x Extraction with no regrets. I almost had him after Extracting his O Stones and Karns but he topdecked a Wurmcoil and I saw no Bridge, so that was that.
Jund mulled somewhat hard game 1 but he still had 2x Goyf and Bob in hand; I killed the one Goyf and discarded the Goyf and Bob in his hand with Wrench Mind (only cards he had). Game 2 he had mostly black cards and no black sources (until it was too late), plus Waste Not just annihilated him.
Against Storm, game 1 I had a poor hand (but not poor enough to mull) and he beat me to death with 3x Electromancer (hah); game 2 I hated him out with Extraction and Cage, which made him side in Empty the Warrens for game 3; game 3 I drew the nuts (Inquisition into double Wrench Mind into Lily and Racks) and raced his tokens.
Today i had my first shot with the deck at my local fnm. Went 2-1 in top 4. My list is somewhat different from all the others as i splash red for blightning and blood moon, and is really a budget list as no lilys and only 2 bridges.
Match 1 vs scapeshift: Game 1 discarded right away one scapeshift and the next turn another one, beat with pack rat. Game 2 blood moon gg.
Match 2 vs another scapeshift: game 1 destroyed his hand and a couple of racks, game 2 slaughter games for scapeshift gg.
Match 3 vs ur fairies/blue moon: game 1 really close with me with bridge down and at 6, him topdecking for bolt-snap-bolt; game 2 close again but basically same game1 scenario
In top 4 i go against twin: game 1 really close but again bolt-snap bolted to death with him at 2, game 2 slaughter games for splinter twin and won with racks, game 3 no bridges no removal no nothing....
IDed the last one for the prize.
Really happy with the result with an unoptimized and budget list at my first go, the deck is awesome; i really like blood moon, excellent vs tron and scapeshift, which are quite common in my meta
You win 6 packs of the most current set if you 3-1, and 11 packs if you 4-0. This translates to about 18 tickets / $18 and 33 tickets / $33 (note it costs 6 tickets to enter a daily). You also get Qualifier Points, which, if you get enough of them in a given month, gets you an expensive (~$50+) promo.
I use Inquisition on the offchance I won't end up using the Thoughtseize, to avoid life loss, and also so if they have only 3cmc stuff or less then draw something 4cmc or greater, I can discard it later. You could make a case for using Seize first, though: sometimes they have something 4cmc or greater you need to get rid of (let's say, Ajani Vengeant), then when you try to Seize it later, they counter it and are able to play it. Or maybe it's a Chandra Pyromaster or Thrun the Last Troll and they Inquisition your Thoughtseize, allowing them to play it. I'd be interested in a consensus on the approach here, for sure.
I'm having a hard time putting together a reasonable example of when you'd choose Thoughtseize over IoK in game two. There must be a time, but it's narrow.
Played perfectly all night except for once against Taking Turns, cause who ******* plays Elixir of Immortality? (I tried to Extract Howling Mine; he cracked Elixir in response)
The highlight for me was talking to the Storm player, who is very skilled (I can tell anyway, but also he top 8'd some SCG Legacy tourney recently). We discussed sideboarding with 8Rack vs Storm extensively. He was saying Cage is good against him and worth siding in, but not brutal like some think (I knew this, but it's nice to hear from the other end). We agreed it's difficult to know what to side in/out with my deck vs Storm; using Bridge and Cage leaves the downside of being susceptible to Echoing Truth. Partly for that, I'd rather leave in Raven's Crime and say to hell with Cage, though I'm unsure it's correct. At the moment, on MTGO, I think I'm going to side out 3x Bridge for 3x Extraction and leave it at that (open to arguments against that, though). In my local meta, there doesn't seem to be any Burn, though, so I may pick up some Leyline of the Void and use those instead of Leyline of Sanctity.
He posts high quality content like this very frequently.
UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins
I found Taking Turns fairly easy, although I could've just gotten lucky. I should note it was his own personalized version, somewhat different from the typical lists. Also he didn't have Remands yet.
Do we expect 4/5-Color Control to be favorable for us?
Modern is gonna have an earthquake next month and I hope we find a way to come on top.