The biggest weakness so far has been burn, of course. Tron is also a bastard game 1. Most things have answers for them in the board. I haven't taken it to any tournaments yet so my experience is unfortunately based off of Cockatrice games but I already know this is going to be my maindeck for quite some time in modern.
If I remember layering correctly, this interaction actually does not work since switching power/toughness and changing the power/toughness are in different layers. The creature will live with its power/toughness switched and maintain its -2/-0.
Lands: I'm running more fast lands and basics than most people. I feel like our burn matchup was pretty bad with the number of shocks and fetches we had. I understand we wanted to fuel delve, which is why I moved Tasigur to the board.
Creatures: Biggest change is moving Tasigur to the board for Bob. I was playing with this deck the other day and realized two things. One: we trade one for one so often that we can run out of cards really quickly, and two: our average CMC is really low. So, I decided to cut Tasigur in the main for Bob, and it's helping out a LOT in pretty much all of my matchups. Bob comes out vs Burn, but that's about it. I also run Young Peezy over Liliana. Lili is pretty meh in this shell, I feel like. A lot of the time, I really don't want to discard the Terminate or Bolt I've been holding up. Yes, she's a great removal spell, but I don't really think she synergizes as well as she does in Jund or Junk. I also run 4 Snaps over the 3/3/3 split that people like. I feel like he's too good to give up, but I would understand if people felt differently.
Spells: I took out a Thought Scour since I cut the delve creatures, and replaced it with a Blightning. It's definitely a flex spot, but it feels really nice. It can kill Planeswalkers, finish a game, or really destroy a tapped out control player. It also helps a lot vs burn.
Sideboard: Nothing really unique here. I'd probably swap out the 2x Languish now if I had any damnations.
If I remember layering correctly, this interaction actually does not work since switching power/toughness and changing the power/toughness are in different layers. The creature will live with its power/toughness switched and maintain its -2/-0.
from the gatherer page:
4/15/2013 Effects that switch power and toughness apply after all other effects that change power and/or toughness, regardless of which effect was created first.
Look at the card. Now back to Jace. Now back to that card, now back to Jace! Sadly, it isn't Jace, but if it stopped being a junk rare and became relevant, it could act like it's Jace. Crack some Worldwake. What do you have? You have a Jace, the card you wish this card could be like. Look again. THE CARD IS NOW A $75 BILL. Anything possible when you play Magic with Jace and not junk rares. This is probably spam.
This deck seems like a 'lock' deck. With the amount of creature recursion/hand distruction you can lock an opp out of spells. (Snap, KKomand, Jace etc)
I think Glen Elandra is basically a must for this deck. With her you can 'lock' opp out of non creature spells. That is the weakness of this deck, no counters means we can lose to decks like Scapeshift/Tron etc that just play bigger spells than us.
I don't like Cryptic because of Mana, but I very highly reccomend Glen Elandra in every build. In the sideboard at the very least. Also, loving Surgical Extraction for similar reason. It hits Tron very hard (after Molten Rain/Mage) and it's a death sentence to other counter heavy Grixis Decks (on KKomand, Snaps etc).
Glen Elendra could easily see a mainboard slot, but I wouldn't want to do more than a one of. She's not coming down until turn 4, and then not activating her effect until the next.
Despite this, shes a counter on a body, which fits thematically with the deck
I love Glen in this deck same with extraction effects as a lot of the decks extraction effects can be good in are matchups where we sometimes struggle. Other than the wide aggro matchups I too find we can sometimes struggle when our opponents are just playing bigger cards than us I have tried a transformational sideboard but Glen performed much better in the matchups it mattered. I kept the dispels but glen is right back where she belongs in the board might try one copy main at some point when I am done goofing around at my LGS with my modern grixis pyromancer deck. As for extractions ame deal cuts off a lot of decks and cards that seem to be even or close to even matchups but I feel they are a lot more of a stylistic choice.
As for the user playing bob and moving tasigur to the side I strongly disagree with the way your choosing to play this deck along with your original assertion that we 1 for 1 so much that we need draw power. We have an amazing card advantage engine in the 2 for 1s provided by rise // fall or K-command along with all the advantage Jace grinds out or snap creates instantly and also abbot effectively drawing a card on a prowess body late game. I feel like adding more card advantage on top of all that and doing so at the cost of cantrips that also fuel snap and jace and Tasigur our only big beater is a little absurd. What matchup were you hoping to improve you have become weaker to burn without doing anything really relevant youve just added another 2/1 for 2 mana that makes card advantage of which this deck has plenty. You dont have the requisite lilianas or the critical mass of 1 mana discard spells that get you to a gamestate where bob just crushes opponents under waves of card advantage.. Blightning is just not as good as the tools we have id rather play a third command or a third rise // fall. You have less fuel to power Pyromancers but are playing more copies of him. The deck list you have feels disjointed playing bob in any deck that can't ever really gain consistent life is risky and you are not making the deck better in any significant way by adding another card advantage engine to the list over our big threats. Tasigur is one of our best cards and while bob is strong he just does more of what the deck already did naturally while Tasigur provides an angle of attack this color scheme never really had who can plug up the ground and provide a fast clock. If it works I will tip my cap to you sir cause from where I am sitting it just seems likes worse way to play the deck.
Has anyone tried Sedraxis Specter? It seems like it could fit the deck as 1-off with its unearth ability and our general creature recursion plan.
That guy looks super slow and fragile. I loved him in standard, but I would hate having my 3 drop get 2 for 1'd by my opponent's K-command/Electrolyze that easily.
Look at the card. Now back to Jace. Now back to that card, now back to Jace! Sadly, it isn't Jace, but if it stopped being a junk rare and became relevant, it could act like it's Jace. Crack some Worldwake. What do you have? You have a Jace, the card you wish this card could be like. Look again. THE CARD IS NOW A $75 BILL. Anything possible when you play Magic with Jace and not junk rares. This is probably spam.
I asked this over at the other grixis thread but it might fit better here (especially because we're at sorcery speed most of the time)-
How do we feel about this card - Painful Truths? 3 mana draw 3 is INCREDIBLY strong and for only three life, it seems like it would be decent as a 1/2 of. So far I've seen no one mention it in any of the major circles, but there are literally no cards that have 3 mana : 3 card ratio, which is an INSANE ratio. Ambition's Cost is the same effect at 4 mana and no flexibility and basically nothing else is close (except for unplayables like Counsel of the Soratami). Thoughts?
You are forgetting about Night's Whisper, which has the same ratio but at a lower mana cost. The deck is getting card advantage with Snappy, Abbot, and Jace or with versatile spells like K-Command and Rise/Fall. Dedicated card draw spells don't seem worth it over the more efficient cantrips.
I didn't forget about Night's Whisper at all - being up 2 cards using only one card is insane and is what makes draw threes so broken/rare. I won't lie, this card has been exceptionally hard to evaluate without any testing, but in a late game scenario it will pretty much win it for you. I think the Mardu thread certainly should be interested in this as well.
I said 'except for unplayables like counsel of the soratami'. It's an unplayable, like counsel of the soratami, so it didn't feel it was specifically worth mentioning.
It's a draw three spell off of one card. That wins you the game in most late game situations. It's not a cantrip.
I think the card is definitely worth a test, but if burn is already a weak matchup (to my knowledge), do we really want to tap out and bolt ourselves in essence?
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Gurmag Angler
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Terminate
1 Electrolyze
3 Thought Scour
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Rise//Fall
4 Serum Visions
21 Lands
The biggest weakness so far has been burn, of course. Tron is also a bastard game 1. Most things have answers for them in the board. I haven't taken it to any tournaments yet so my experience is unfortunately based off of Cockatrice games but I already know this is going to be my maindeck for quite some time in modern.
2x Blackcleave Cliffs
1x Blood Crypt
2x Bloodstained Mire
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Island
1x Mountain
3x Polluted Delta
2x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
3x Abbot of Keral Keep
3x Dark Confidant
3x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4x Snapcaster Mage
3x Young Pyromancer
Instant (12)
2x Kolaghan's Command
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Terminate
2x Thought Scour
Sorcery (11)
1x Blightning
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Rise/Fall
4x Serum Visions
2x Bitterblossom
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Fulminator Mage
2x Languish
1x Rending Volley
2x Spellskite
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2x Vampiric Link
Lands: I'm running more fast lands and basics than most people. I feel like our burn matchup was pretty bad with the number of shocks and fetches we had. I understand we wanted to fuel delve, which is why I moved Tasigur to the board.
Creatures: Biggest change is moving Tasigur to the board for Bob. I was playing with this deck the other day and realized two things. One: we trade one for one so often that we can run out of cards really quickly, and two: our average CMC is really low. So, I decided to cut Tasigur in the main for Bob, and it's helping out a LOT in pretty much all of my matchups. Bob comes out vs Burn, but that's about it. I also run Young Peezy over Liliana. Lili is pretty meh in this shell, I feel like. A lot of the time, I really don't want to discard the Terminate or Bolt I've been holding up. Yes, she's a great removal spell, but I don't really think she synergizes as well as she does in Jund or Junk. I also run 4 Snaps over the 3/3/3 split that people like. I feel like he's too good to give up, but I would understand if people felt differently.
Spells: I took out a Thought Scour since I cut the delve creatures, and replaced it with a Blightning. It's definitely a flex spot, but it feels really nice. It can kill Planeswalkers, finish a game, or really destroy a tapped out control player. It also helps a lot vs burn.
Sideboard: Nothing really unique here. I'd probably swap out the 2x Languish now if I had any damnations.
URStorm
URBDelver
RWNorin Sisters
BWTokens
from the gatherer page:
4/15/2013 Effects that switch power and toughness apply after all other effects that change power and/or toughness, regardless of which effect was created first.
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UWUWxUW
I think Glen Elandra is basically a must for this deck. With her you can 'lock' opp out of non creature spells. That is the weakness of this deck, no counters means we can lose to decks like Scapeshift/Tron etc that just play bigger spells than us.
I don't like Cryptic because of Mana, but I very highly reccomend Glen Elandra in every build. In the sideboard at the very least. Also, loving Surgical Extraction for similar reason. It hits Tron very hard (after Molten Rain/Mage) and it's a death sentence to other counter heavy Grixis Decks (on KKomand, Snaps etc).
Very fun deck to play and very few bad matchups.
Despite this, shes a counter on a body, which fits thematically with the deck
As for the user playing bob and moving tasigur to the side I strongly disagree with the way your choosing to play this deck along with your original assertion that we 1 for 1 so much that we need draw power. We have an amazing card advantage engine in the 2 for 1s provided by rise // fall or K-command along with all the advantage Jace grinds out or snap creates instantly and also abbot effectively drawing a card on a prowess body late game. I feel like adding more card advantage on top of all that and doing so at the cost of cantrips that also fuel snap and jace and Tasigur our only big beater is a little absurd. What matchup were you hoping to improve you have become weaker to burn without doing anything really relevant youve just added another 2/1 for 2 mana that makes card advantage of which this deck has plenty. You dont have the requisite lilianas or the critical mass of 1 mana discard spells that get you to a gamestate where bob just crushes opponents under waves of card advantage.. Blightning is just not as good as the tools we have id rather play a third command or a third rise // fall. You have less fuel to power Pyromancers but are playing more copies of him. The deck list you have feels disjointed playing bob in any deck that can't ever really gain consistent life is risky and you are not making the deck better in any significant way by adding another card advantage engine to the list over our big threats. Tasigur is one of our best cards and while bob is strong he just does more of what the deck already did naturally while Tasigur provides an angle of attack this color scheme never really had who can plug up the ground and provide a fast clock. If it works I will tip my cap to you sir cause from where I am sitting it just seems likes worse way to play the deck.
UB Faeries (15-6-0)
UWR Control (10-5-1)/Kiki Control/Midrange/Harbinger
UBR Cruel Control (6-4-0)/Grixis Control/Delver/Blue Jund
UWB Control/Mentor
UW Miracles/Control (currently active, 14-2-0)
BW Eldrazi & Taxes
RW Burn (9-1-0)
I do (academic) research on video games and archaeology! You can check out my open access book here: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-interactive-past
That guy looks super slow and fragile. I loved him in standard, but I would hate having my 3 drop get 2 for 1'd by my opponent's K-command/Electrolyze that easily.
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UWUWxUW
How do we feel about this card - Painful Truths? 3 mana draw 3 is INCREDIBLY strong and for only three life, it seems like it would be decent as a 1/2 of. So far I've seen no one mention it in any of the major circles, but there are literally no cards that have 3 mana : 3 card ratio, which is an INSANE ratio. Ambition's Cost is the same effect at 4 mana and no flexibility and basically nothing else is close (except for unplayables like Counsel of the Soratami). Thoughts?
It's a draw three spell off of one card. That wins you the game in most late game situations. It's not a cantrip.
Modern = RBW Aristocrats (Here's the primer thread I made!)
BGW Endless Renewal ( The primer right here! )
Legacy = UB Stiflenought