@starchild194 cool list! How are the mangaras? Love the flying presence in this format but the creature matches may be difficult with this build. Test wilt-lief liege in the slot maybe?
I've loved the Mangaras so far. It took several of my opponents calling a judge before they'd believe that I could vial in Flickerwisp and bounce him after activating him. Overall I did alright (went 4-1 against Infect, Burn, Infect, Storm, and budget Junk. My loss was to Storm). My local meta doesn't have much in the way of Chord or Coco decks yet so I've not had to deal with that (yet).
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks WUBEsper ControlBUW URStormRU RGForest BelcherGR
To-Do List WModern Death and TaxesW WLegacy Death and TaxesW
EDIT: It could be worse. Treasure Cruise or Mental Misstep could still exist in this format. Although if they did, I would definitely still be casting the latter.
At it's peak Delver had a smaller meta share. Same with Pyro-Storm back when Seething Song was legal, same with Pod and same with Jund when it had Deathrite Shaman. There is actually no example in the formats history where one deck has had such a large share of the meta.
I'm not sure how we got here. Catmix made a joke. I made a joke. I also made a claim about cards that I think are more format warping than Eldrazi. You responded with a comment about metagame shares, illustrating the relative dominance of different decks before they each had a key piece banned.
Here's the good news: you're not wrong. The claim you're making is factually correct.
Here's the bad news: Mental Misstep has been banned since September 2011, and it never really saw play in Modern. It saw significant play in Legacy, where it absolutely overtook the format. It was meant to be an effect that was played by non-blue decks, and it ended up creating more blue decks. There were two reasons for that: (1) you can pitch it to FoW, and (2) the best answer to your opponent's Mental Misstep, was a Mental Misstep of your own. For you to imply that Mental Misstep couldn't be worse, means one of two things: either (1) you didn't play with it or against it, or (2) you can't differentiate between deck diversity and card diversity. Mental Misstep went into any deck that wanted it, and the only decks that it pushed out of Legacy were ones that had one-drops which were essential to the success of the deck.
As for Treasure Cruise, it went into any deck that played blue and had a full graveyard. Delver was just one of the viable strategies. Casting Treasure Cruise as clearly the best thing that you could be doing at the time, and that's what led to an eventual ban.
Eldrazi decks are different, because they need to be their own archetype. You can change the colors around; you can keep the processor theme or not; but your whole deck needs to be dedicated to Eldrazi. I know we tinker with Eldrazi splashes in D&T, but we're the exception, not the rule. I agree with you about the deck diversity in the format having been temporarily warped, but the card diversity isn't bad. The raw power level of the Eldrazi cards isn't anything like Mental Misstep or Treasure Cruise, because they can't just go into any deck that wants them. If WotC took away Eye of Ugin, the deck would immediately drop off the radar, and it took low CMC Eldrazi break it in the first place. Eye of Ugin spent 6 years being completely useless.
Again, I'm not sure how we got here. This isn't the banlist thread. I didn't mean to make a discussion out of this. But I stand by my claim: Modern could be much worse off.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Beat eldrazi round one through the power of Serra avenger + blood moon + godsend.
Lost to eldrazi round to after Mulligan to 5 both games. The first game I almost won but he had seen my deck during the previous match and ghost quartered his own Eye of Ugin on his turn 3 to fetch a wastes, then played a second one on his turn 4 after I played the moon. If he didn't have the basic land in play Magus would have had him locked out even on the draw to 5.
Round 3 beat UWR control in 3. Game one lost to a billion removal spells. Game 2 I had a decent clock with Brimaz and kept him alive with a vialed flickerwisp when myo pponent cast a verdict. I believe I got another equipment on Brimaz and the game ended pretty quickly. Game 3 he missed land drop 2 and I was able to get a Brimaz + equipment out and won the game pretty quickly.
Round 4 played vs tron. Lost in game one after a lot of turns. Game two had a timely Blood moon to stop him from casting anything over 6 mana with his tron lands, got an elspeth out turn 4 and swung in for the win very quickly after that. Game 3 it was very close but a turn 2 thalia, turn 3 stony silence, turn 5 Aven mindcensor + ghost quarter was enough to keep him low on mana & lands and win me the game.
See... I don't know if Modern could be worse. Stuff like Wasteland and Force of Will are arbiters in Legacy that stop the completely broken stuff that goes on. Like Storm can easily kill you in Legacy. MUD aggros you down with absolutely massive, ridiculous creatures due to all the artifact ramp and tutoring but you have Wasteland to kill the Ancient Tomb and Mishras, you have Force of Will to block the Tendrils of Agony. I play Legacy. I play an Esper Deathblade deck which for all intents and purposes is a relatively fair midrange deck. Eldrazi is just ridiculous, t1 you can dump 2/1s and 2/2s everywhere with an Eye and easily lead to a t3 or reliable t4 kill but it does all that with handhate and stuff like Reality Smasher which is hard to remove.
Anyway, you're right, this isn't the ban thread, as someone that plays Modern and Legacy though playing against Eldrazi feels like playing against a Legacy deck without all the same tools that are available in Legacy.
Currently running a W/b list, but came across this card Mwonvuli Beast Tracker. Do you think there could be a use for it in a W/g Build to find silver bullets?
Hello all - I tuned this WB list for Eldrazi, hoping to not weaken it to much to other decks. I included many of your ideas I've read in the last 15 pages. Wednesday night I went 2-2 at a moderately competitive event, playing against UWR Control (2-1), Burn (1-2), Affinity (2-0) and finally Colorless Eldrazi (1-2). Wasn't the best result but I haven't played D&T in a while and need get used to all the decisions again. Results aside, I think I got some good insights. Here's the list I played:
Insight #1 - I need to practice. I forgot how many small decisions add up and how quickly I need to make them. Might have to dust off the MTGO account....
Insight #2 - Wall of Resurgence is great. I don't have Inkmoth Nexus or Blinkmoth Nexus, so my favorite targets are Shambling Vent and Darksteel Citadel The only downside is it makes lands vulnerable to Searing Blaze. The upsides are numerous, even against Burn. Searing Blaze is always good against us, so I don't believe that it's right to take the Wall out for that reason. What do you folks think? Do you ever board it out, perhaps to become more aggressive against control/combo/slow decks?
Insight #3 - Eldrazi Displacer seemed slow and clunky to me too. I'll keep one for now because I want to keep open mind for now.
Insight #4 - Six maindeck removal spells is great! Also, Fiend Hunter was like the seventh - I'd like to find room for one more.
Insight #5 - I'm sold on Wasteland Strangler! I don't always have exiled cards to target, but usually do. It feels so good to target the card exiled under the Fiend Hunter that I really want another one.
Insight #6 - Fulminator Mages out of the sideboard are possibly-maybe too slow against Eldrazi. I used them as chump blockers and to destroy Mutavaults, so they're not useless, but every time I saw one it was too late to stop the fast mana.
Insight #7 - We can slow down Eldrazi pretty good, with removal, blockers, and tricks like flickering Endless Ones, etc. However, we have to seal the deal! They will eventually topdeck a Reality Smasher and if you're in topdeck mode, you might not have both a removal spell AND another card to discard to its ability. That said, it doesn't feel impossible. My game 1 I smashed him so bad and so fast he was shaking his head wondering what happened. But in games 2 and 3 (mulled to 5) it got grindy and I had to chump block a lot, while he got value off of Matter Reshapers and finally got a trampler. It's still a small sample, but I do think this is a good weapon to fight the menace.
Insight #8 - Affinity wasn't that bad, but again, the small sample size. Have you also had that experience?
Insight #9 - This manabase was pretty good - needs more testing but I like it so far. The Dismembers are not hard to cast, and they got even easier when the Eldrazi deck played Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. I try to keep the creature count high, but 27 was fine all night. I think some of you play 25 - Does that ever cause trouble with Thalia?
Speaking of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, she is very good in a few matchups, and gets killed pretty quick, so I don't mind having 4 in normal case. For this meta however, I might try 2. I know that's sacrilege, please disagree with me if you have a valid reason! I also am ready to try a version without Leonin Arbiters, but I also want some search hate, so I think I'll do two Aven Mindcensors like some of you do. Thalia and Aven are high on the list to board out because their usefulness varies. Another card like that is Lingering Souls - it feel weird for me to have it in the board but will stick with that for now. When it's good, it's so good!
I just ordered some Orzhov Pontiffs for my sideboard. What matchups do you guys bring those in for? The obvious ones are Affinity, Infect, Junk and Tokens...
One card I would still like to try is Big Game Hunter. Does anyone have results with that one?
One strategy that I like when playing other decks against burn is to sideboard out all my artifacts/enchantments, and bring in utility creatures instead. They invariably bring in Destructive Revelry against white decks and Aether Vial decks, and I like the idea of giving them 4 dead cards post-board. It is crushing. However, I don't know if it's worth it in this case, because Aether Vial is so important to our strategy. What are your opinions and experience? Is the artifact that important against burn? In this case, I'm thinking the sideboard would be:
METAGAME: The decks I want to beat are (in order by % of metagame): Eldrazi 41%, Affinity 15%, Junk/Jund 5.5%, Infect 3.6%, Zoo/Burn 3.6% and Abzan Coco/Melira 2.9%. Of these, let's start talking about sideboards and best/worst matchups.
Its a neat card but I don't think any cards with those keywords have been "played" in this deck ever.
Ya, thought so... just wants to make you break/ abuse it lol. They are dirt cheap... got a playset of the promos in case one day a good fit for us is printed lol
Currently running a W/b list, but came across this card Mwonvuli Beast Tracker. Do you think there could be a use for it in a W/g Build to find silver bullets?
Cheers!
Given nothing in WG has deathtouch, hexproof, reach, or trample, probably not. It's a shame it doesn't tutor up fliers.
One strategy that I like when playing other decks against burn is to sideboard out all my artifacts/enchantments, and bring in utility creatures instead. They invariably bring in Destructive Revelry against white decks and Aether Vial decks, and I like the idea of giving them 4 dead cards post-board. It is crushing. However, I don't know if it's worth it in this case, because Aether Vial is so important to our strategy. What are your opinions and experience? Is the artifact that important against burn? In this case, I'm thinking the sideboard would be:
I never understand the opponents that use that sideboard strategy. If I were playing burn, I wouldn't water down my density of burn spells by adding in 4 cards that only target 4 cards in my opponent's deck. 24% of the time, that just creates a dead card in my opening hand, simply by virtue of the fact that I've drawn my hate for a card that my opponent hasn't drawn.
If you know your opponent isn't good enough at math to make proper sideboarding decisions, I guess you can try to next-level them by removing your Æther Vials. But in most matchups (and especially in game 2), I would just leave the Vials in, and force your opponent to play their artifact removal. If you see that they've switched to artifact removal in game 2, you might consider pulling your Vials in game 3 for maximum value, but again, any burn player that sideboards in Destructive Revelry against Death and Taxes, without having seen a Spellskite, is a pretty bad burn player.
EDIT: Percentage corrected, because math is hard. The irony is painful.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
I never understand the opponents that use that sideboard strategy. If I were playing burn, I wouldn't water down my density of burn spells by adding in 4 cards that only target 4 cards in my opponent's deck. 16% of the time, that just creates a dead card in my opening hand, simply by virtue of the fact that I've drawn my hate for a card that my opponent hasn't drawn.
Sorry you can't understand that. Have you played Naya burn? I did for a while, and I still follow the forum. That card is the main reason they play green. The second reason is Atarka's Command, which is a better Skullcrack, but they wouldn't add a color just for that. Then, once green is in the deck, then some players add Wild Nacatl. DRev hits artifacts and enchantments, and many of those players are terrified of Leyline of Sanctity so they want DRev in their opening hand against any deck with W. They also worry now that people are going to have Worship and Ensnaring Bridge because of Eldrazi, and like you said they care about Spellskite.
Insight 2: glad you joined the wall club! Preach so people can no longer look at me like I was crazy last month! I spent some time trying to research some budget versions of land targets. Forbidding tower and gods eye of rekai seem like fine targets. And mutavault which is in your collection is also a great target!
Insight 3: agreed
Insight 4: you'll find less desire for removal spells once you hit walls 3-4. But glad you are having success so far.
Insight 5: this is another card people judged me on! I'm thinking shriekmaw might be playable right now too. Evoke does cool stuff with wisp and resto!
Insight 6: I'm almost certain that double black is impossible with the lands currently available. I've always wants fulm and Liliana for the board but it ain't happening.
Insight 7: wall clogs the ground so well against these guys and flickerwisp is instant kill on endless one.
Insight 8: black white is better suited than other dnt against affinity. The biggest issue is how explosive they can be. In long grindy games, we usually are favored.
Insight 9: the closer you are to micro splash be easier the mana base can work. As far as creature count, I always try to have a total of 30 creatures in the deck. Whether between lands spells and actual creature cards.
Love the updated version of your deck although 0 tec edge just hurts my feelings. Tec edge is a monster in the format right now. It also supplements the removal of Leonin arbiter.
Answering the questions you posed.
Orzhov pontiff: bring him in against any matchup that has x/1 or bears. Flickerwisp him in a same turn and you can wipe out Merfolk dudes or elves etc. Pia and Kiran can get in the damn nerves too!
Big game hunter: just way to specific and narrow for my taste. I'd rather have a pair of intrepid hero.
Sb plan: I've gone back and forth and found with improved meta insight, it's almost never correct to cut vial.
Metagame: build and test assuming you have to beat infect, affinity, eldrazi and tron. All other decks are literally worst or tier 2 strategies of these decks. If you ca. Be wide enough and efficient enough against them the format is playable*.
Good luck!
Playable: meaning what wizards forces us fair mages to deal with currently.
I never understand the opponents that use that sideboard strategy. If I were playing burn, I wouldn't water down my density of burn spells by adding in 4 cards that only target 4 cards in my opponent's deck. 16% of the time, that just creates a dead card in my opening hand, simply by virtue of the fact that I've drawn my hate for a card that my opponent hasn't drawn.
Sorry you can't understand that. Have you played Naya burn? I did for a while, and I still follow the forum. That card is the main reason they play green. The second reason is Atarka's Command, which is a better Skullcrack, but they wouldn't add a color just for that. Then, once green is in the deck, then some players add Wild Nacatl. DRev hits artifacts and enchantments, and many of those players are terrified of Leyline of Sanctity so they want DRev in their opening hand against any deck with W. They also worry now that people are going to have Worship and Ensnaring Bridge because of Eldrazi, and like you said they care about Spellskite.
No, I've never played Naya Burn.
I'm not suggesting that Destructive Revelry isn't a versatile card; I'm saying that it doesn't make statistical sense to water down the threat density in a burn deck, simply to combat a piece of an opponent's deck that doesn't outright win the game. Cards like Leyline, Worship, and Ensnaring Bridge will cause burn to automatically lose, if they're left unchecked. Spellskite may not result in an auto-loss for burn, but it will make the fight a much more uphill battle.
Your example was about bringing in Destructive Revelry in response to Æther Vial. Æther Vial is powerful, no doubt. But a burn player can easily win through an Æther Vial. No burn player should board in Destructive Revelry on the off chance that it might take out an Æther Vial.
In my haste, I managed to get my probabilities wrong earlier, and I want to make sure that I correct that now:
If you're running 4x Æther Vial, and your opponent is running 4x Destructive Revelry, an opening hand will have the following probabilities:
16% chance that you draw a Vial, and your opponent draws a Revelry (good for your opponent)
24% chance that you draw a Vial, and your opponent doesn't find a Revelry (good for you)
24% chance that you don't find a Vial, and your opponent draws a Revelry (good for you)
36% chance that you don't find a Vial, and your opponent doesn't find a Revelry (net neutral)
It's pretty easy to see that your opponent is making a mistake. There is a 24% chance of having a dead Revelry in hand (assuming we don't run any other artifacts or enchantments), and a 16% chance of this situation working out favorably for your opponent.
Yes, I know that as the game drags on, the odds that the Revelry becomes useful go up. But late game Æther Vials aren't nearly as relevant as early ones, and if you suspect your opponent is holding a Revelry, you shouldn't play the Vial in the first place.
The above is just a clear mathematical reason why your opponent is making a mistake by sideboarding in Revelry against Æther Vial alone. A smart Naya Burn pilot isn't going to make mistakes like that.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
Well this aether vial deck plays white and bringing revelry against a such a deck makes sense because in the dark you don't know what the opponent will have game 2-3. It doesn't make any difference that the opponent is siding it vs vial or vs potential artifacts/enchantments, you still side in revelry and if the opponent has nothing you can target vial at least (or tidehollow sculler for black versions) and still deal damage off of your revelry.
Every Drazi Wants To Rule The World!
So it seems pretty clear that the Eldrazi are here to stay. The question becomes, "What do we do in the meantime?" and "How do we prepare for the meta shift?". As most of this forum knows, I've fallen in love with WALL OF RESURGENCE". This card has shown me a lot about what I want to do with Death and Taxes moving forward. There is always discussion on what our decks role is and how do we maximize the efficiency of that strategy. In my opinion, we are an Aggro Control deck with subliminal prison technology built in. The reason to bring this up is due to the fact that we have to maximize the efficiency of our core deck. Our traditional "hate" creatures have to evolve. The world of 2/1s and 2/2s is NOT going to cut it. Besides those stats being horrible against the Drazi, the other creature decks are quicker, more synergetic, and powerful than over 60% of the creatures we run. Green has traditionally splashed to play cards that match the size of tarmogoyfs, tasigur, and so on. I think somewhere along the lines of mono-white and micro-splashes, we fell behind on researching beaters and defensive measures.
What Does Nyx-Fleece, Frontline Medic, And Swords Have To Do With That Information?
My basis always starts at mono-white and then hopes that with additional information from the forum we can compound back to micro-splashes. After enough games of magic, I realized that the toughness in our deck has become the issue for most of our matches. It requires us to make trades or double block at pivotal moments in tempo'ing a game that eventually lands us behind. Too many of our cards are trying to accomplish too many goals simultaneously while also hoping to avoid removal spells. After Success with wall of resurgence, I started questioning why the card worked so well? The answer was the virtual card advantage it provides inside. Once the wall is deployed it creates multiple cards that the opponent has to deal with that lands their card value behind too far behind. Let's dig deeper into some card choices and examples...
Nyx-Fleece Ram: This guy is potentially a really good sideboard card against burn and flexible enough resource against the other aggressive decks and even Eldrazi. The 0/5 body is very much wall-esque but doesn't actually have defender. It can clog a ground up, gain critical life points, and eventually suite up and attack (we'll get to that point shortly). The resources most decks will have to use to kill him is much like using hymn to tourach against the opponent. Attack and bolt probably the best for the opponent while something like using terminate or abrupt decay is way harder to justify. I'm also excited to see this guy with HONOR OF THE PURE. Making 1/6 doesn't seem like a big deal but it actually is in the establishing meta.
Frontline Medic: Now this one is a bit more goofy and will take some digesting to accept what I'm offering. I don't think he is ready for play in the meta "As Is". I'm more interested in owning him for evolving metas that could form. Again, the idea of X/1s that can't attack makes me want an effect that turns that fragility off. His anti-Sphinx Rev text seems more viable as time rolls on too! It can counter Chord of Calling, Engineered Explosives, Endless One/HangarBack Walker, Chalice of the Void, Condescend, Nurturing Shoal, Disrupting Shoal, Genesis Wave, Rally the Ancestors/Return to Ranks, and whatever comes next. I was testing him in legacy against Miracles as an answer to Entreat the Angels (and Green Sun's Zenith in other deck) to great success which lead me to thinking about his future application here in Modern. Even if its not worth much in the current 75, It'll cost you less than a $1 for a playset.
Swords Of "X" And "Y": As I recommend all these x/5s and what not, I am aware that we need to actually when the game besides our 4 to 6 copies of beaters. I think backing the deck with spellskite aka "robot mom" and adding 2-3 swords will give us incremental/virtual card advantage that will drag opponents' decks behind. The two best candidates seem to be "Fire and Ice" and "Light and Shadow". They let us keep looping card advantage against the opponents and kill off annoying aggressive creatures. It also bumps creature stats out of reach against most removal. Having the skites also gives us buffer against abrupt decay and kolaghan's command. Both cards are already going to sliver down in numbers due to the format warping, most removal spells have to get straight to the point against aggro and need to also kill any level of edrazi threat. This also gives the opponent quite a run when the board is a serra avenger, skite, and you just cast a sword of [insert favorite flavor here]. They need to have very specific cards to dig out of this. Having main deck swords will also allow Steelshaper's Gift a chance to shine in the board. Putting a Mortarpod, Basilisk Collar, and Batterskull in the board offers great flexibility against the expected meta with 2 shapers to help dig for them.
I also think Honor Of The Pure is worth looking at as well in the 75*
THE PROOF PLEASE!: I know, I know... I haven't proven these cards to be successful. After another two months with two more IQs with my current list, I'm going to build a version of the deck that I'm currently meta'ing towards. I do have a reference point though! When I was lied to in believing Stoneforge Mystic might be a thing, I started testing swords and equipment. Some match ups became ridiculously easy when swords were in the deck. Grixis and Merfolk can't handle Batterskull and Basilisk Collar. Infect and Affinity cry to mortarpod! And I even tested a Bonehoarder against midrange decks to decent success! Ironically, Stoneforge almost never cheated these cards into play. She usually died immediately to some removal or the cheating in wasn't timely enough (In example, Affinity doesn't care about turn three Batterskull.
WRAP IT UP ALREADY!: To close, I'm going to post a theoretical list and would love to get some feedback. I'm hoping that you will at least have a reference for what I am aiming for! Thanks for letting me slam a wall of text on you guys!
Surprisingly, out of all of this, I really only have two comments:
1) I think Mortarpod can be viable in the right metagame, but I'm surprised that you don't have any token generators in your list. I would think they would be cheap fuel for that card, not to mention that they often carry swords in the air like a boss. Do you think Mortarpod will still be as effective, without a stream of cheap, sacrificial creatures?
2) I think you're short on white mana. You have 3x Serra Avenger and 4x Flickerwisp, and only 11 white mana sources. I know you have 4x Æther Vial, but I think you're going to find yourself in trouble if you ever have to consistently hardcast anything.
According to my calculations, the probability of you finding 2 white sources by the time you see:
(1) 8 cards (T2 on the play) is 45.44%.
(2) 9 cards (T3 on the play) is 52.54%.
(3) 10 cards (T4 on the play) is 59.12%.
Of course, you have a 39.95% chance of seeing Æther Vial in your opening hand.
If you consider those two things independent events (which they're not, but it's probably close, and it keeps the math simple), then the odds of you being unable to play something with 2 white mana in its cost by:
(1) T2 (using mana) or T3 (using Vial) is 32.76%.
(2) T3 (using mana) or T4 (using Vial) is 28.50%.
(3) T4 (using mana) or T5 (using Vial) is 24.55%.
That seems pretty high to me. It probably gets a little better after mulligan rules, but you're still going to have a bunch of marginal hands. I'd just add more white sources to your list.
(I know I spit out numbers a lot, but someone please double check my math. I'm human, and I make mistakes!)
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
I've loved the Mangaras so far. It took several of my opponents calling a judge before they'd believe that I could vial in Flickerwisp and bounce him after activating him. Overall I did alright (went 4-1 against Infect, Burn, Infect, Storm, and budget Junk. My loss was to Storm). My local meta doesn't have much in the way of Chord or Coco decks yet so I've not had to deal with that (yet).
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Here's the good news: you're not wrong. The claim you're making is factually correct.
Here's the bad news: Mental Misstep has been banned since September 2011, and it never really saw play in Modern. It saw significant play in Legacy, where it absolutely overtook the format. It was meant to be an effect that was played by non-blue decks, and it ended up creating more blue decks. There were two reasons for that: (1) you can pitch it to FoW, and (2) the best answer to your opponent's Mental Misstep, was a Mental Misstep of your own. For you to imply that Mental Misstep couldn't be worse, means one of two things: either (1) you didn't play with it or against it, or (2) you can't differentiate between deck diversity and card diversity. Mental Misstep went into any deck that wanted it, and the only decks that it pushed out of Legacy were ones that had one-drops which were essential to the success of the deck.
As for Treasure Cruise, it went into any deck that played blue and had a full graveyard. Delver was just one of the viable strategies. Casting Treasure Cruise as clearly the best thing that you could be doing at the time, and that's what led to an eventual ban.
Eldrazi decks are different, because they need to be their own archetype. You can change the colors around; you can keep the processor theme or not; but your whole deck needs to be dedicated to Eldrazi. I know we tinker with Eldrazi splashes in D&T, but we're the exception, not the rule. I agree with you about the deck diversity in the format having been temporarily warped, but the card diversity isn't bad. The raw power level of the Eldrazi cards isn't anything like Mental Misstep or Treasure Cruise, because they can't just go into any deck that wants them. If WotC took away Eye of Ugin, the deck would immediately drop off the radar, and it took low CMC Eldrazi break it in the first place. Eye of Ugin spent 6 years being completely useless.
Again, I'm not sure how we got here. This isn't the banlist thread. I didn't mean to make a discussion out of this. But I stand by my claim: Modern could be much worse off.
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*It costs 10 less and still has Annihilator*
WHYYYYY
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Beat eldrazi round one through the power of Serra avenger + blood moon + godsend.
Lost to eldrazi round to after Mulligan to 5 both games. The first game I almost won but he had seen my deck during the previous match and ghost quartered his own Eye of Ugin on his turn 3 to fetch a wastes, then played a second one on his turn 4 after I played the moon. If he didn't have the basic land in play Magus would have had him locked out even on the draw to 5.
Round 3 beat UWR control in 3. Game one lost to a billion removal spells. Game 2 I had a decent clock with Brimaz and kept him alive with a vialed flickerwisp when myo pponent cast a verdict. I believe I got another equipment on Brimaz and the game ended pretty quickly. Game 3 he missed land drop 2 and I was able to get a Brimaz + equipment out and won the game pretty quickly.
Round 4 played vs tron. Lost in game one after a lot of turns. Game two had a timely Blood moon to stop him from casting anything over 6 mana with his tron lands, got an elspeth out turn 4 and swung in for the win very quickly after that. Game 3 it was very close but a turn 2 thalia, turn 3 stony silence, turn 5 Aven mindcensor + ghost quarter was enough to keep him low on mana & lands and win me the game.
Share your RW D&T list por favor. Would love to see it.
Anyway, you're right, this isn't the ban thread, as someone that plays Modern and Legacy though playing against Eldrazi feels like playing against a Legacy deck without all the same tools that are available in Legacy.
Almost the same as the last one I posted:
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Flickerwisp
3 Magus of the Moon
3 Serra Avenger
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
4 AEther Vial
4 Path to Exile
1 Godsend
1 Sword of War and Peace
4 Arid Mesa
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Tectonic Edge
3 Sacred Foundry
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Horizon Canopy
3 Stony Silence
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Flame Slash
2 Rest in Peace
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Magmaquake
1 Elspeth, Kinght-Errant
1 Celestial Purge
1 Pithing Needle
Currently running a W/b list, but came across this card Mwonvuli Beast Tracker. Do you think there could be a use for it in a W/g Build to find silver bullets?
Cheers!
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Godless Shrine
2 Fetid Heath
2 Shambling Vent
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Darksteel Citadel
3 Plains
2 Swamp
10 Spells
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Leonin Arbiter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Flickerwisp
2 Eldrazi Displacer
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Wall of Resurgence
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Fiend Hunter
3 Restoration Angel
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Lingering Souls
2 Spellskite
2 Stony Silence
2 Thoughtseize
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Wrath of God
Insight #1 - I need to practice. I forgot how many small decisions add up and how quickly I need to make them. Might have to dust off the MTGO account....
Insight #2 - Wall of Resurgence is great. I don't have Inkmoth Nexus or Blinkmoth Nexus, so my favorite targets are Shambling Vent and Darksteel Citadel The only downside is it makes lands vulnerable to Searing Blaze. The upsides are numerous, even against Burn. Searing Blaze is always good against us, so I don't believe that it's right to take the Wall out for that reason. What do you folks think? Do you ever board it out, perhaps to become more aggressive against control/combo/slow decks?
Insight #3 - Eldrazi Displacer seemed slow and clunky to me too. I'll keep one for now because I want to keep open mind for now.
Insight #4 - Six maindeck removal spells is great! Also, Fiend Hunter was like the seventh - I'd like to find room for one more.
Insight #5 - I'm sold on Wasteland Strangler! I don't always have exiled cards to target, but usually do. It feels so good to target the card exiled under the Fiend Hunter that I really want another one.
Insight #6 - Fulminator Mages out of the sideboard are possibly-maybe too slow against Eldrazi. I used them as chump blockers and to destroy Mutavaults, so they're not useless, but every time I saw one it was too late to stop the fast mana.
Insight #7 - We can slow down Eldrazi pretty good, with removal, blockers, and tricks like flickering Endless Ones, etc. However, we have to seal the deal! They will eventually topdeck a Reality Smasher and if you're in topdeck mode, you might not have both a removal spell AND another card to discard to its ability. That said, it doesn't feel impossible. My game 1 I smashed him so bad and so fast he was shaking his head wondering what happened. But in games 2 and 3 (mulled to 5) it got grindy and I had to chump block a lot, while he got value off of Matter Reshapers and finally got a trampler. It's still a small sample, but I do think this is a good weapon to fight the menace.
Insight #8 - Affinity wasn't that bad, but again, the small sample size. Have you also had that experience?
Insight #9 - This manabase was pretty good - needs more testing but I like it so far. The Dismembers are not hard to cast, and they got even easier when the Eldrazi deck played Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. I try to keep the creature count high, but 27 was fine all night. I think some of you play 25 - Does that ever cause trouble with Thalia?
Speaking of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, she is very good in a few matchups, and gets killed pretty quick, so I don't mind having 4 in normal case. For this meta however, I might try 2. I know that's sacrilege, please disagree with me if you have a valid reason!
Here are my changes and new decklist for tonight:
Main:
-3 Leonin Arbiter
-1 Eldrazi Displacer
+2 Aven Mindcensor
+2 Wall of Resurgence
Sideboard:
+2 Kitchen Finks
+1 Orzhov Pontiff
-1 Spellskite
-2 Engineered Explosives
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Godless Shrine
2 Fetid Heath
2 Shambling Vent
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Darksteel Citadel
3 Plains
2 Swamp
10 Spells
4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Aven Mindcensor
4 Flickerwisp
1 Eldrazi Displacer
2 Kitchen Finks
4 Wall of Resurgence
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 Fiend Hunter
3 Restoration Angel
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Orzhoff Pontiff
2 Lingering Souls
1 Spellskite
2 Stony Silence
2 Thoughtseize
1 Wrath of God
Couple questions:
I just ordered some Orzhov Pontiffs for my sideboard. What matchups do you guys bring those in for? The obvious ones are Affinity, Infect, Junk and Tokens...
- One card I would still like to try is Big Game Hunter. Does anyone have results with that one?
- One strategy that I like when playing other decks against burn is to sideboard out all my artifacts/enchantments, and bring in utility creatures instead. They invariably bring in Destructive Revelry against white decks and Aether Vial decks, and I like the idea of giving them 4 dead cards post-board. It is crushing. However, I don't know if it's worth it in this case, because Aether Vial is so important to our strategy. What are your opinions and experience? Is the artifact that important against burn? In this case, I'm thinking the sideboard would be:
-4 Aether Vial
- METAGAME: The decks I want to beat are (in order by % of metagame): Eldrazi 41%, Affinity 15%, Junk/Jund 5.5%, Infect 3.6%, Zoo/Burn 3.6% and Abzan Coco/Melira 2.9%. Of these, let's start talking about sideboards and best/worst matchups.
+2 Kor Firewalker
+2 Fulminator Mage (or Lingering Souls? or more Kitchen Finks?)
Ya, thought so... just wants to make you break/ abuse it lol. They are dirt cheap... got a playset of the promos in case one day a good fit for us is printed lol
I would much rather run Glittering Wish with a silver-bullet wishboard: Qasali Pridemage, Sigarda, Wilt=Leaf Liege, Loxodon Smiter, Dryad Militant...
And if you want to get cute and run a 3-color build, there are other options, like Siege Rhino, Detention Sphere, and Reflector Mage.
I never understand the opponents that use that sideboard strategy. If I were playing burn, I wouldn't water down my density of burn spells by adding in 4 cards that only target 4 cards in my opponent's deck. 24% of the time, that just creates a dead card in my opening hand, simply by virtue of the fact that I've drawn my hate for a card that my opponent hasn't drawn.
If you know your opponent isn't good enough at math to make proper sideboarding decisions, I guess you can try to next-level them by removing your Æther Vials. But in most matchups (and especially in game 2), I would just leave the Vials in, and force your opponent to play their artifact removal. If you see that they've switched to artifact removal in game 2, you might consider pulling your Vials in game 3 for maximum value, but again, any burn player that sideboards in Destructive Revelry against Death and Taxes, without having seen a Spellskite, is a pretty bad burn player.
EDIT: Percentage corrected, because math is hard. The irony is painful.
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Sorry you can't understand that. Have you played Naya burn? I did for a while, and I still follow the forum. That card is the main reason they play green. The second reason is Atarka's Command, which is a better Skullcrack, but they wouldn't add a color just for that. Then, once green is in the deck, then some players add Wild Nacatl. DRev hits artifacts and enchantments, and many of those players are terrified of Leyline of Sanctity so they want DRev in their opening hand against any deck with W. They also worry now that people are going to have Worship and Ensnaring Bridge because of Eldrazi, and like you said they care about Spellskite.
That's a good point. I should watch what they do in game 2, and try to get a feel how they sideboarded.
Insight 1: play more!
Insight 2: glad you joined the wall club! Preach so people can no longer look at me like I was crazy last month! I spent some time trying to research some budget versions of land targets. Forbidding tower and gods eye of rekai seem like fine targets. And mutavault which is in your collection is also a great target!
Insight 3: agreed
Insight 4: you'll find less desire for removal spells once you hit walls 3-4. But glad you are having success so far.
Insight 5: this is another card people judged me on! I'm thinking shriekmaw might be playable right now too. Evoke does cool stuff with wisp and resto!
Insight 6: I'm almost certain that double black is impossible with the lands currently available. I've always wants fulm and Liliana for the board but it ain't happening.
Insight 7: wall clogs the ground so well against these guys and flickerwisp is instant kill on endless one.
Insight 8: black white is better suited than other dnt against affinity. The biggest issue is how explosive they can be. In long grindy games, we usually are favored.
Insight 9: the closer you are to micro splash be easier the mana base can work. As far as creature count, I always try to have a total of 30 creatures in the deck. Whether between lands spells and actual creature cards.
Love the updated version of your deck although 0 tec edge just hurts my feelings. Tec edge is a monster in the format right now. It also supplements the removal of Leonin arbiter.
Answering the questions you posed.
Orzhov pontiff: bring him in against any matchup that has x/1 or bears. Flickerwisp him in a same turn and you can wipe out Merfolk dudes or elves etc. Pia and Kiran can get in the damn nerves too!
Big game hunter: just way to specific and narrow for my taste. I'd rather have a pair of intrepid hero.
Sb plan: I've gone back and forth and found with improved meta insight, it's almost never correct to cut vial.
Metagame: build and test assuming you have to beat infect, affinity, eldrazi and tron. All other decks are literally worst or tier 2 strategies of these decks. If you ca. Be wide enough and efficient enough against them the format is playable*.
Good luck!
Playable: meaning what wizards forces us fair mages to deal with currently.
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I'm not suggesting that Destructive Revelry isn't a versatile card; I'm saying that it doesn't make statistical sense to water down the threat density in a burn deck, simply to combat a piece of an opponent's deck that doesn't outright win the game. Cards like Leyline, Worship, and Ensnaring Bridge will cause burn to automatically lose, if they're left unchecked. Spellskite may not result in an auto-loss for burn, but it will make the fight a much more uphill battle.
Your example was about bringing in Destructive Revelry in response to Æther Vial. Æther Vial is powerful, no doubt. But a burn player can easily win through an Æther Vial. No burn player should board in Destructive Revelry on the off chance that it might take out an Æther Vial.
In my haste, I managed to get my probabilities wrong earlier, and I want to make sure that I correct that now:
If you're running 4x Æther Vial, and your opponent is running 4x Destructive Revelry, an opening hand will have the following probabilities:
16% chance that you draw a Vial, and your opponent draws a Revelry (good for your opponent)
24% chance that you draw a Vial, and your opponent doesn't find a Revelry (good for you)
24% chance that you don't find a Vial, and your opponent draws a Revelry (good for you)
36% chance that you don't find a Vial, and your opponent doesn't find a Revelry (net neutral)
It's pretty easy to see that your opponent is making a mistake. There is a 24% chance of having a dead Revelry in hand (assuming we don't run any other artifacts or enchantments), and a 16% chance of this situation working out favorably for your opponent.
Yes, I know that as the game drags on, the odds that the Revelry becomes useful go up. But late game Æther Vials aren't nearly as relevant as early ones, and if you suspect your opponent is holding a Revelry, you shouldn't play the Vial in the first place.
The above is just a clear mathematical reason why your opponent is making a mistake by sideboarding in Revelry against Æther Vial alone. A smart Naya Burn pilot isn't going to make mistakes like that.
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Every Drazi Wants To Rule The World!
So it seems pretty clear that the Eldrazi are here to stay. The question becomes, "What do we do in the meantime?" and "How do we prepare for the meta shift?". As most of this forum knows, I've fallen in love with WALL OF RESURGENCE". This card has shown me a lot about what I want to do with Death and Taxes moving forward. There is always discussion on what our decks role is and how do we maximize the efficiency of that strategy. In my opinion, we are an Aggro Control deck with subliminal prison technology built in. The reason to bring this up is due to the fact that we have to maximize the efficiency of our core deck. Our traditional "hate" creatures have to evolve. The world of 2/1s and 2/2s is NOT going to cut it. Besides those stats being horrible against the Drazi, the other creature decks are quicker, more synergetic, and powerful than over 60% of the creatures we run. Green has traditionally splashed to play cards that match the size of tarmogoyfs, tasigur, and so on. I think somewhere along the lines of mono-white and micro-splashes, we fell behind on researching beaters and defensive measures.
What Does Nyx-Fleece, Frontline Medic, And Swords Have To Do With That Information?
My basis always starts at mono-white and then hopes that with additional information from the forum we can compound back to micro-splashes. After enough games of magic, I realized that the toughness in our deck has become the issue for most of our matches. It requires us to make trades or double block at pivotal moments in tempo'ing a game that eventually lands us behind. Too many of our cards are trying to accomplish too many goals simultaneously while also hoping to avoid removal spells. After Success with wall of resurgence, I started questioning why the card worked so well? The answer was the virtual card advantage it provides inside. Once the wall is deployed it creates multiple cards that the opponent has to deal with that lands their card value behind too far behind. Let's dig deeper into some card choices and examples...
Nyx-Fleece Ram: This guy is potentially a really good sideboard card against burn and flexible enough resource against the other aggressive decks and even Eldrazi. The 0/5 body is very much wall-esque but doesn't actually have defender. It can clog a ground up, gain critical life points, and eventually suite up and attack (we'll get to that point shortly). The resources most decks will have to use to kill him is much like using hymn to tourach against the opponent. Attack and bolt probably the best for the opponent while something like using terminate or abrupt decay is way harder to justify. I'm also excited to see this guy with HONOR OF THE PURE. Making 1/6 doesn't seem like a big deal but it actually is in the establishing meta.
Frontline Medic: Now this one is a bit more goofy and will take some digesting to accept what I'm offering. I don't think he is ready for play in the meta "As Is". I'm more interested in owning him for evolving metas that could form. Again, the idea of X/1s that can't attack makes me want an effect that turns that fragility off. His anti-Sphinx Rev text seems more viable as time rolls on too! It can counter Chord of Calling, Engineered Explosives, Endless One/HangarBack Walker, Chalice of the Void, Condescend, Nurturing Shoal, Disrupting Shoal, Genesis Wave, Rally the Ancestors/Return to Ranks, and whatever comes next. I was testing him in legacy against Miracles as an answer to Entreat the Angels (and Green Sun's Zenith in other deck) to great success which lead me to thinking about his future application here in Modern. Even if its not worth much in the current 75, It'll cost you less than a $1 for a playset.
Swords Of "X" And "Y": As I recommend all these x/5s and what not, I am aware that we need to actually when the game besides our 4 to 6 copies of beaters. I think backing the deck with spellskite aka "robot mom" and adding 2-3 swords will give us incremental/virtual card advantage that will drag opponents' decks behind. The two best candidates seem to be "Fire and Ice" and "Light and Shadow". They let us keep looping card advantage against the opponents and kill off annoying aggressive creatures. It also bumps creature stats out of reach against most removal. Having the skites also gives us buffer against abrupt decay and kolaghan's command. Both cards are already going to sliver down in numbers due to the format warping, most removal spells have to get straight to the point against aggro and need to also kill any level of edrazi threat. This also gives the opponent quite a run when the board is a serra avenger, skite, and you just cast a sword of [insert favorite flavor here]. They need to have very specific cards to dig out of this. Having main deck swords will also allow Steelshaper's Gift a chance to shine in the board. Putting a Mortarpod, Basilisk Collar, and Batterskull in the board offers great flexibility against the expected meta with 2 shapers to help dig for them.
I also think Honor Of The Pure is worth looking at as well in the 75*
THE PROOF PLEASE!: I know, I know... I haven't proven these cards to be successful. After another two months with two more IQs with my current list, I'm going to build a version of the deck that I'm currently meta'ing towards. I do have a reference point though! When I was lied to in believing Stoneforge Mystic might be a thing, I started testing swords and equipment. Some match ups became ridiculously easy when swords were in the deck. Grixis and Merfolk can't handle Batterskull and Basilisk Collar. Infect and Affinity cry to mortarpod! And I even tested a Bonehoarder against midrange decks to decent success! Ironically, Stoneforge almost never cheated these cards into play. She usually died immediately to some removal or the cheating in wasn't timely enough (In example, Affinity doesn't care about turn three Batterskull.
WRAP IT UP ALREADY!: To close, I'm going to post a theoretical list and would love to get some feedback. I'm hoping that you will at least have a reference for what I am aiming for! Thanks for letting me slam a wall of text on you guys!
FUTURE DEATH AND TAXES
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
1 Mortarpod
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Spellskite
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Serra Avenger
3 Wall of Resurgence
4 Flickerwisp
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Restoration Angel
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
7 Plains
2 Worship
1 Batterskull
2 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Mortarpod
1 Journey To Nowhere
2 Sunlance
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Ratchet Bomb
Thanks in advance!
-Catmix
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1) I think Mortarpod can be viable in the right metagame, but I'm surprised that you don't have any token generators in your list. I would think they would be cheap fuel for that card, not to mention that they often carry swords in the air like a boss. Do you think Mortarpod will still be as effective, without a stream of cheap, sacrificial creatures?
2) I think you're short on white mana. You have 3x Serra Avenger and 4x Flickerwisp, and only 11 white mana sources. I know you have 4x Æther Vial, but I think you're going to find yourself in trouble if you ever have to consistently hardcast anything.
According to my calculations, the probability of you finding 2 white sources by the time you see:
(1) 8 cards (T2 on the play) is 45.44%.
(2) 9 cards (T3 on the play) is 52.54%.
(3) 10 cards (T4 on the play) is 59.12%.
Of course, you have a 39.95% chance of seeing Æther Vial in your opening hand.
If you consider those two things independent events (which they're not, but it's probably close, and it keeps the math simple), then the odds of you being unable to play something with 2 white mana in its cost by:
(1) T2 (using mana) or T3 (using Vial) is 32.76%.
(2) T3 (using mana) or T4 (using Vial) is 28.50%.
(3) T4 (using mana) or T5 (using Vial) is 24.55%.
That seems pretty high to me. It probably gets a little better after mulligan rules, but you're still going to have a bunch of marginal hands. I'd just add more white sources to your list.
(I know I spit out numbers a lot, but someone please double check my math. I'm human, and I make mistakes!)
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I'm not sold on the other cards though.
The Ram seems rather questionable.
If you want lifegain I would go with Lone Missionary and for a blocker with an upside I prefer Wall of Omens (or Perimeter Captain).