Chandra is possibly the most overrated card of the year. Like you said, she cannot recover a bad board state or even stall for you. Nahiri can at least take care of threats and her + ability makes her difficult to kill.
Btw why the leyline of sanctity? For burn? Valakut?
Any time you see 4 abilities on a planeswalker, they have to be evaluated carefully. She is no Jace, but has all the makings of a huge threat. I don't think she has found a home yet. But for some reason I don't want to take her out of the deck yet. If the game stalls out, she will win it for you. She is also an out against ensnaring bridge, or any time when you need to burn out an opponent. The biggest issue I find is that she is very slow. She also seems like she wants to make you jump to 5 and 6 drops. I have debated having inferno titan to pair with her, but I don't think it is needed in this deck at all.
As far as leyline goes, I have it for Valakut decks, Ad Nausem, Lantern, burn, +/- Storm. It also came in handy against 8-rack online, but that is a fringe case.
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
One thing to consider in your sideboard is Ghostly Prison does not prevent creatures from attack planeswalkers, only players. I started out with Ghostly Prison but took it out after I realized this.
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I find leyline of sanctity is great against BRx decks. Stopping opposing hand disruption but also giving our planeswalkers Hexproof from damage spells. Along with the other reasons mentioned above.
Still really liking Blessed Alliance. Card does great against Bant Eldrazi. Highly recommend other players run 1-2 copies in main for a test. I think its a great Control/Tempo card.
I find leyline of sanctity is great against BRx decks. Stopping opposing hand disruption but also giving our planeswalkers Hexproof from damage spells. Along with the other reasons mentioned above.
Still really liking Blessed Alliance. Card does great against Bant Eldrazi. Highly recommend other players run 1-2 copies in main for a test. I think its a great Control/Tempo card.
Leyline is a card I never tested but here is my paper analysis: okay against burn but they have plenty of ways to remove it, decent against lantern control, can be good against non-cryptic based valakut decks, etc. Not good against ad nauseam. Once they cast it, they have access to patrician's scorn and echoing truth out of the side, or better, they use laboratory maniac instead. Pretty sure I mispelled lab******
Not powerful enough anywhere else. Running 3-4 of these is not a good idea to combat discard. Many of our own spells are redundant and ultimately, you win with better top decks rather than what you start out with. Running 4 to counter 6 hand disruption (btw a good BGx player will side these out against mardu variant of Nahiri) seems like one bad idea, just my two cents. Blessed alliance is better than I thought, combining well with the rest of our removals. But I think I prefer having a helix or trrminate still unless I see eldrazi, infect, and burn all day.
One thing to consider in your sideboard is Ghostly Prison does not prevent creatures from attack planeswalkers, only players. I started out with Ghostly Prison but took it out after I realized this.
Don't worry I'm aware of this
This card is for Infect, Tokens and Dredge. They just can't afford to attack with one up - with a second prison up it's game over. Yeah it does limit me with using Lingering Souls to win though which is tough. In my mind it buys me time to find Wrath or Wall of Omens. Also I'm siding out my planeswalkers in those match ups:
Infect I take out Nahiri Combo, use lili as a removal spell.
Dredge I can take out both as they are too slow. (Not 100% sure about this one yet)
Tokens I take out lili, and uh I guess bank on things going my way? No one plays tokens at my lgs so I haven gotten to test it yet.
"Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 2 for each creature he or she controls that's attacking you."
Unless I'm grossly misreading this, having this on the field does nothing to stop YOUR spirits from swinging in. Am I mistaken?
Nope, you are right. It only affects your opponent's creatures.
Valakut decks, according to MTG Goldfish, are quite prominent now, and we are not fast enough to win through them. It does help with Lantern (less popular now), 8 rack, and is a good catch all against random decks. Not an absolute game winner, but it has its place.
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No idea because my favorite decks keep getting banned or having the rules changed against them
"Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 2 for each creature he or she controls that's attacking you."
Unless I'm grossly misreading this, having this on the field does nothing to stop YOUR spirits from swinging in. Am I mistaken?
No you are right, it only effects your opponent. I didn't mean it limits the use of spirits, I meant it limits the win condition to spirits.
A more powerful solution is to run Ensnaring Bridge, at least from my paper analysis. I'll be testing it online with my Mardu Tokens build. It protects your planeswalkers and you can dump your hand fairly easily to make ensnaring bridge a one-sided favor for you (after all, your threats are typically 2/2 at best). Ghostly Prison is good against some aggro decks but against things like Eldrazi and Dredge, it's not good enough.
As I've gotten to know the deck better I've found it's rewarded me more and more, especially in grindy matchups like BGx. Considering adding a Damnation to the board on top of my two Angers - Elves are pesky and difficult to beat.
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Modern: GRB Jund BRG RBU Grixis Delver UBR Legacy: W Death & Taxes W GRB Punishing Jund BRG GUR Canadian Threshold RUG Commander: RUG Maelstrom Wanderer GUR
As I've gotten to know the deck better I've found it's rewarded me more and more, especially in grindy matchups like BGx. Considering adding a Damnation to the board on top of my two Angers - Elves are pesky and difficult to beat.
Your curve is way too high for 24 lands. Even control decks don't risk thisbhigh of a curve and they run serum visions o filter through their deck. Against BGx you will do well considering you have better top decks. Against the faster decks that are doing multiple things per turn, this deck will fold fairly easily without more control elements to get to the late game.
Does it ever feel a bit like russian roulette running Bob with Emrakul?
Nope! I tend to be much more concerned about flipping Nahiris than Emmy. People have left Bob alive thinking I'd flip emrakul, and I can begin to tell you how great that is.
As you see I'm currently playing 8 fetches and 6 shocklands, so I'm of course worried about the lifeloss. The thing is I'm running off-color fetches because I don't own any of the Zendikar ones: that's why I run two instead of one of each shockland, just to be sure I can fetch the color I need no matter what fetch I draw. This also leaves me without available slots to include fastlands or whatever.
I mean, there's an obvious solution which is "get the right fetches", but I wonder if you can come up with something else.
PS: By the way, I intend to switch to a Nahiri build in the future.
As you see I'm currently playing 8 fetches and 6 shocklands, so I'm of course worried about the lifeloss. The thing is I'm running off-color fetches because I don't own any of the Zendikar ones: that's why I run two instead of one of each shockland, just to be sure I can fetch the color I need no matter what fetch I draw. This also leaves me without available slots to include fastlands or whatever.
I mean, there's an obvious solution which is "get the right fetches", but I wonder if you can come up with something else.
PS: By the way, I intend to switch to a Nahiri build in the future.
Off-color fetches aren't a big issue but the extra shocklands are. I definitely think any Mardu build needs 4 Blackcleave Cliffs or some Inspiring Vantage/ Concealed Courtyards if you cannot afford the Cliffs.
My UW Spirits opponent sided in Bribery to counter Emrakul, but it didn't work out for them. Repeatedly.
Game 2, he tapped out for bribery turn 5, I responded with Wrath of God the next turn.
Game 3, he tapped out again for bribery, I bolted his Mausoleum Wanderer, cast Liliana and -2'd. Later that same game he cast another bribery with a better board state. I cast Path on Kira, Great-Glass Spinner, then hit it with Nahiri's -2, bolted his Rattlechains and then dropped a new Lili to force him to sacrifice Emrakul. I'm pretty proud of this.
So I don't think Bribery works as well on us as it does on Jeskai Nahiri.
Off-color fetches aren't a big issue but the extra shocklands are. I definitely think any Mardu build needs 4 Blackcleave Cliffs or some Inspiring Vantage/ Concealed Courtyards if you cannot afford the Cliffs.
Thanks for your comment. So you say the manabase could work with those fetches and fewer shocklands? Wouldn't it be a problem getting my colors in time? Should I also trim a couple of fetches to make room for fastlands or what?
Why would it be a problem getting your colours on time with those 8 fetches and 4 shocks?
I mean, let's say I have Windswept Heath and need to get red but Sacred Foundry is already in play. Not sure if those are corner cases that don't worth the risks, but they look common to me.
Any time you see 4 abilities on a planeswalker, they have to be evaluated carefully. She is no Jace, but has all the makings of a huge threat. I don't think she has found a home yet. But for some reason I don't want to take her out of the deck yet. If the game stalls out, she will win it for you. She is also an out against ensnaring bridge, or any time when you need to burn out an opponent. The biggest issue I find is that she is very slow. She also seems like she wants to make you jump to 5 and 6 drops. I have debated having inferno titan to pair with her, but I don't think it is needed in this deck at all.
As far as leyline goes, I have it for Valakut decks, Ad Nausem, Lantern, burn, +/- Storm. It also came in handy against 8-rack online, but that is a fringe case.
2x Thoughtseize
4x Path to Exile
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Slaughter Pact
4x Wall of Omens
3x Dark Confidant
2x Lightning Helix
4x Lingering Souls
3x Liliana of the Veil
4x Nahiri, the Harbinger
4x Bloodstained Mire
3x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
2x Blood Crypt
1x Godless Shrine
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Shambling Vent
1x Inspiring Vantage
2x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Mountain
1x Wrath of God
1x Lost Legacy
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Ghostly Prison
3x Rest in Peace
2x Timely Reinforcements
2x Crackling Doom
2x Stony Silence
Still really liking Blessed Alliance. Card does great against Bant Eldrazi. Highly recommend other players run 1-2 copies in main for a test. I think its a great Control/Tempo card.
Leyline is a card I never tested but here is my paper analysis: okay against burn but they have plenty of ways to remove it, decent against lantern control, can be good against non-cryptic based valakut decks, etc. Not good against ad nauseam. Once they cast it, they have access to patrician's scorn and echoing truth out of the side, or better, they use laboratory maniac instead. Pretty sure I mispelled lab******
Not powerful enough anywhere else. Running 3-4 of these is not a good idea to combat discard. Many of our own spells are redundant and ultimately, you win with better top decks rather than what you start out with. Running 4 to counter 6 hand disruption (btw a good BGx player will side these out against mardu variant of Nahiri) seems like one bad idea, just my two cents. Blessed alliance is better than I thought, combining well with the rest of our removals. But I think I prefer having a helix or trrminate still unless I see eldrazi, infect, and burn all day.
Don't worry I'm aware of this
This card is for Infect, Tokens and Dredge. They just can't afford to attack with one up - with a second prison up it's game over. Yeah it does limit me with using Lingering Souls to win though which is tough. In my mind it buys me time to find Wrath or Wall of Omens. Also I'm siding out my planeswalkers in those match ups:
Infect I take out Nahiri Combo, use lili as a removal spell.
Dredge I can take out both as they are too slow. (Not 100% sure about this one yet)
Tokens I take out lili, and uh I guess bank on things going my way? No one plays tokens at my lgs so I haven gotten to test it yet.
"Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 2 for each creature he or she controls that's attacking you."
Unless I'm grossly misreading this, having this on the field does nothing to stop YOUR spirits from swinging in. Am I mistaken?
Nope, you are right. It only affects your opponent's creatures.
Valakut decks, according to MTG Goldfish, are quite prominent now, and we are not fast enough to win through them. It does help with Lantern (less popular now), 8 rack, and is a good catch all against random decks. Not an absolute game winner, but it has its place.
No you are right, it only effects your opponent. I didn't mean it limits the use of spirits, I meant it limits the win condition to spirits.
A more powerful solution is to run Ensnaring Bridge, at least from my paper analysis. I'll be testing it online with my Mardu Tokens build. It protects your planeswalkers and you can dump your hand fairly easily to make ensnaring bridge a one-sided favor for you (after all, your threats are typically 2/2 at best). Ghostly Prison is good against some aggro decks but against things like Eldrazi and Dredge, it's not good enough.
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Wooded Foothill
1 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Blood Crypt
3 Godless Shrine
3 Shambling Vent
1 Swamp
2 Plains
2 Mountain
Creature: 9
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
Sorcery: 10
2 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Painful Truths
3 Lingering Souls
Instant: 14
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
4 Lightning Helix
1 Stony Silence
2 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Rest in Peace
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Ghostly Prison
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Crackling Doom
1 Slaughter Games
As I've gotten to know the deck better I've found it's rewarded me more and more, especially in grindy matchups like BGx. Considering adding a Damnation to the board on top of my two Angers - Elves are pesky and difficult to beat.
Modern:
GRB Jund BRG
RBU Grixis Delver UBR
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes W
GRB Punishing Jund BRG
GUR Canadian Threshold RUG
Commander:
RUG Maelstrom Wanderer GUR
Your curve is way too high for 24 lands. Even control decks don't risk thisbhigh of a curve and they run serum visions o filter through their deck. Against BGx you will do well considering you have better top decks. Against the faster decks that are doing multiple things per turn, this deck will fold fairly easily without more control elements to get to the late game.
Does it ever feel a bit like russian roulette running Bob with Emrakul?
Nope! I tend to be much more concerned about flipping Nahiris than Emmy. People have left Bob alive thinking I'd flip emrakul, and I can begin to tell you how great that is.
4 Dark Confidant
3 Young Pyromancer
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Path to Exile
1 Terminate
1 Dreadbore
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
4 Lingering Souls
1 Ajani Vengeant
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Godless Shrine
2 Blood Crypt
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Shambling Vent
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Swamp
As you see I'm currently playing 8 fetches and 6 shocklands, so I'm of course worried about the lifeloss. The thing is I'm running off-color fetches because I don't own any of the Zendikar ones: that's why I run two instead of one of each shockland, just to be sure I can fetch the color I need no matter what fetch I draw. This also leaves me without available slots to include fastlands or whatever.
I mean, there's an obvious solution which is "get the right fetches", but I wonder if you can come up with something else.
PS: By the way, I intend to switch to a Nahiri build in the future.
Off-color fetches aren't a big issue but the extra shocklands are. I definitely think any Mardu build needs 4 Blackcleave Cliffs or some Inspiring Vantage/ Concealed Courtyards if you cannot afford the Cliffs.
My UW Spirits opponent sided in Bribery to counter Emrakul, but it didn't work out for them. Repeatedly.
Game 2, he tapped out for bribery turn 5, I responded with Wrath of God the next turn.
Game 3, he tapped out again for bribery, I bolted his Mausoleum Wanderer, cast Liliana and -2'd. Later that same game he cast another bribery with a better board state. I cast Path on Kira, Great-Glass Spinner, then hit it with Nahiri's -2, bolted his Rattlechains and then dropped a new Lili to force him to sacrifice Emrakul. I'm pretty proud of this.
So I don't think Bribery works as well on us as it does on Jeskai Nahiri.
Thanks for your comment. So you say the manabase could work with those fetches and fewer shocklands? Wouldn't it be a problem getting my colors in time? Should I also trim a couple of fetches to make room for fastlands or what?
I mean, let's say I have Windswept Heath and need to get red but Sacred Foundry is already in play. Not sure if those are corner cases that don't worth the risks, but they look common to me.
The only reason I play it over Needle Spires is because it taps for black, but yeah, it isn't amazing...