Playing various builds of UW / UWr control (not midrange) and I'm really pleased with most matchups except GBx / jund decks. Obviously the thoughtseizes and Inquisition of Kozilek make it really hard to interact early with counters, removal or anything relevant, and we wind up topdecking against a board of Lilianas and Goyfs and Manlands.
I know it can be a little clunky, but what is your experience / opinion of Leyline Of Sanctity? If you pull one in your opening hand, you have essentially mulliganed, but have probably also blanked 1 or 2 cards in their hand, which they cannot possibly cast at this point. Also protects you from Liliana of The Veil making you sacrifice creatures or going ultimate. Protects against slaughter games as well.
Of course we have to devote 3-4 sideboard slots for this to be consistent, but Leyline also beats or creates an inconvenient roadblock for
-Scapeshift / Valakut
- Storm
- Assault Loam
- Boarding in 1 or 2 against RDW / Burn is actually fine also.
- Ad Nauseum lightning Storm
- Turns off Gifts Ungiven for opponents
- Random Mill Decks
- UWR Control can't bolt/snap/bolt you out of the game
- The Rack (lol)
- Eggs (turns off pyrite spellbomb
Leyline is good against:
8Rack
Loam
BGx to an extent
Burn
Leyline is not particularly good against:
Storm
UWR
Scapeshift
because they either don't really care about it or can bounce it. I will NOT board it in against Storm - they'll draw the Echoing Truth. It's clunky against the other decks too, and really only an option if your deck can't win otherwise or has several dead cards.
Leyline of Sanctity is one of those cards that is underrated but overplayed (i know that makes no sense but i will explain).
Too many people try to shove Leyline into decks/sideboards when its just not the right card. UWx control decks, in my opinion/experience, is one of those decks. A control deck like UWx control should never be at the mercy of one or two discard spells; the point of the deck is card advantage and having your opponent trade 1 for 1 with you is actually in your favour (no, im not saying having they pick your hand apart is good for you, I AM JUST saying that you should be able to recover from the loss of a card or two).
Leyline belongs in the sideboard of combo decks; decks that need a specific number of cards in just the right combination to go off (often refered to as a "critical mass"). Most combo decks have non-redundant combo pieces; I play Amulet Bloom and my deck only has 4 amulets, 4 Primeval Titans and 4-6 Summerbloom effects. There are NO cards in the deck that function in the same way. Losing one of those cards out of my hand makes winning exponentially hard.
Other non-combo decks often run cards that are redundant or at least cards that share a function. To a UWR control deck, killing something with a Path, Bolt or Helix is often the same thing (not exactly but in general). Countering a spell with a Mana Leak, Spell Snare or Cryptic is similar; the spells get the job done (again, we are talking in generalities, not specifics, I do know that all those cards have restrictions/advantages).
Cards like Leyline should only be played in decks and against decks were landing them is so beneficial/detrimental that it is almost like an "I WIN" button.
I know it can be a little clunky, but what is your experience / opinion of Leyline Of Sanctity? If you pull one in your opening hand, you have essentially mulliganed, but have probably also blanked 1 or 2 cards in their hand, which they cannot possibly cast at this point. Also protects you from Liliana of The Veil making you sacrifice creatures or going ultimate. Protects against slaughter games as well.
Of course we have to devote 3-4 sideboard slots for this to be consistent, but Leyline also beats or creates an inconvenient roadblock for
-Scapeshift / Valakut
- Storm
- Assault Loam
- Boarding in 1 or 2 against RDW / Burn is actually fine also.
- Ad Nauseum lightning Storm
- Turns off Gifts Ungiven for opponents
- Random Mill Decks
- UWR Control can't bolt/snap/bolt you out of the game
- The Rack (lol)
- Eggs (turns off pyrite spellbomb
Thoughts?
That said, I've had 8rack and burn scoop to it repeatedly turn 0.
8Rack
Loam
BGx to an extent
Burn
Leyline is not particularly good against:
Storm
UWR
Scapeshift
because they either don't really care about it or can bounce it. I will NOT board it in against Storm - they'll draw the Echoing Truth. It's clunky against the other decks too, and really only an option if your deck can't win otherwise or has several dead cards.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
Too many people try to shove Leyline into decks/sideboards when its just not the right card. UWx control decks, in my opinion/experience, is one of those decks. A control deck like UWx control should never be at the mercy of one or two discard spells; the point of the deck is card advantage and having your opponent trade 1 for 1 with you is actually in your favour (no, im not saying having they pick your hand apart is good for you, I AM JUST saying that you should be able to recover from the loss of a card or two).
Leyline belongs in the sideboard of combo decks; decks that need a specific number of cards in just the right combination to go off (often refered to as a "critical mass"). Most combo decks have non-redundant combo pieces; I play Amulet Bloom and my deck only has 4 amulets, 4 Primeval Titans and 4-6 Summerbloom effects. There are NO cards in the deck that function in the same way. Losing one of those cards out of my hand makes winning exponentially hard.
Other non-combo decks often run cards that are redundant or at least cards that share a function. To a UWR control deck, killing something with a Path, Bolt or Helix is often the same thing (not exactly but in general). Countering a spell with a Mana Leak, Spell Snare or Cryptic is similar; the spells get the job done (again, we are talking in generalities, not specifics, I do know that all those cards have restrictions/advantages).
Cards like Leyline should only be played in decks and against decks were landing them is so beneficial/detrimental that it is almost like an "I WIN" button.