Hello, I'm kind of new with this deck, usually I play Jund and Affinity in Modern, but this deck remembers the day that I used to play Standard UW Delver (a few years ago), so, I decided to try it this FNM.
I know that it would be really hard for this deck if the meta is aggro. People at the local store I play usually plays Jund, Affinity, Merfolk, UWR Control, Tron, sometimes Aura Bant, sometimes Tarmo Twin, sometimes Infect, and don't remember the others.
I've never see anyone trying this deck at the local store I play. What do you think?
Hello, I'm kind of new with this deck, usually I play Jund and Affinity in Modern, but this deck remembers the day that I used to play Standard UW Delver (a few years ago), so, I decided to try it this FNM.
I know that it would be really hard for this deck if the meta is aggro. People at the local store I play usually plays Jund, Affinity, Merfolk, UWR Control, Tron, sometimes Aura Bant, sometimes Tarmo Twin, sometimes Infect, and don't remember the others.
I've never see anyone trying this deck at the local store I play. What do you think?
Got the Geist 2/2 blockers blues? Try Brimaz, you wont regret it. We dont have the burn UWR has, that's why Geist is an under-performer. I know what you guys will say about Brimaz,but seriously just give him a chance
4 Brimaz is absolutely terrible. No use against combo decks, no flash, legendary, isn't as quick as Geist to justify building around him. The best sorcery-speed 3-drop of choice in this metagame is Blade Splicer or Finks, with me leaning more towards Finks as a way to fight both Liliana and Burn and URx decks.
"Well that's just like ~your opinion man"
But seriously, I see what you're saying. He's been performing pretty well for me which is the reason why he's a 4 of. Sure, he's not as fast as Geist, but rarely do UW players tap out on turn three to play Geist.They'd rather hold up mana to counter the opponents creatures/combos, remove a few things, AND THEN play him when the coast is clear. I do exactly the same thing with Brimaz which seems to have been working fine. Maybe if I get my hands on some Geists down the road, I'll run a 2/2 split...
I00% agree on Kitchen finks, that guy is an all star vs burn, Liliana, and a lot if other things.
I used to play Blade splicers, but I found that if I did not draw a restoration angel, she and her golem were very vulnerable and lack luster.
Also, I found an interesting article by Jeff Hoogland that compares Geist and Brimaz. Granted, he's not running the same deck as me, but he makes a good point that Brimaz isn't a creature to be overlooked in modern: http://www.themeadery.org/articles/cats-dragons-a-modern-take-on-wru
Yea you make a lot of good points. I used to play the grindy UW control with the celestial colonnades and vendilions, but grew tired of it (plus sold them because university lol).
Brimaz just seems like a fun and relatively efficient beater for my deck's purposes. Maybe if I can afford it later down the line, I'll grab some fetches and do the UWR Geist thing, but for now I'll just keep experimenting.
Updated list. Brimaz is great vs creature decks, but I must admit he can't compete with Geist of Saint Traft's clock on Combo and Control decks (which are tough match ups)
I liked the delver list from before, its just I prefer blade splicer in the 3 drop slot because it is bananas with Restoration Angel, and the golem token is pretty sweet being 3/3 first strike. I think a delver list can work but def no probes. Serum visions/path/vapor snag/dismember/snare/leak/cryptic are fine for tempo plays with scmages. I'm not sure about spell pierce, that is meta dependent. I like spell pierce in delver decks though since they r cheap, disruptive and easily flashbacked with scmages. The early delver pressure we all know is good in this format if you can get it rolling and with the tempo plays it can be very powerful. The only thing I could ask for in addition is red for burn spells but for now i am fine with path/snag/1 of dismember with snaps. I do wanna fit in sword of feast and famine so ill prolly work it in somewhere.
Elminster, how have vapor snags been working for you?
As you can seen, I run 4 path, 2 dismember, and 2 detention sphere. I read your opinion on Geist, but surprisingly he's been working really well for me (I have been getting a bunch of "easy wins" with him alone).
Vapor snag could be another way to temporarily remove blockers, but I'd like to get your opinion on it. How many do you run main?
I love the stoneblade'esque concept, but going to a large tourney with this build is sketchy just because of the swords. G/B/x is everywhere and a top deck and runs 4 abrupt decay and POD runs abrupt decay plus chord. Not to mention random artifact hate from sideboards to beat Affinity. It just seems like a bad place for equipment in general. Instead I would suggest Elspeth Knight Errant, as she can accelerate your clock and give your attackers evasion. I would be tempted to remove serum visions as well. It is an ok card, but this style deck would rather have more removal or threats.
I love the stoneblade'esque concept, but going to a large tourney with this build is sketchy just because of the swords. G/B/x is everywhere and a top deck and runs 4 abrupt decay and POD runs abrupt decay plus chord. Not to mention random artifact hate from sideboards to beat Affinity. It just seems like a bad place for equipment in general. Instead I would suggest Elspeth Knight Errant, as she can accelerate your clock and give your attackers evasion. I would be tempted to remove serum visions as well. It is an ok card, but this style deck would rather have more removal or threats.
Indeed, Elspeth might prove to be a better choice than the sword package. As for Serum Visions, I'm somehow reluctant to give up my only cantrip, but removal could be a better option, especially since I expect to see some Infect.
I'll probable go:
-2 Swords
-1 Steelshaper's Gift
-4 Serum Visions
+2 Elspeth
+3 Vapor Snag
+2 Spell Pierce/Remand/Negate (any suggestion for which one to pick? S.Pierce seems like the best option, but I'd like a second opinion here)
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I do like Spell Pierce but it is narrow enough and just weak enough to make me shy away. I like Spell Snare much more as it remains strong at what it does for the entire match and can easily be snapcasted (plus I think spell snare has more relevant targets overall). Remand is a decent card as well, perhaps as like you said, a 2 of. Counterspells are weird in Modern and decks must be built in such a way to attack suspected metagames. In general I don't think heavy permission is generically good in Modern, but more of a good thing to have as a way to supress something nasty, but not as a general strategy (draw-go). So, the counterspell setup you use will be what you expect at a tourney. Generically I would use spell snares, leak or remand and 1-2 cryptic at maximum, not maxing out on any particular counterspell. Don't mainboard Negate though, it is way too narrow for that. Vapor Snag is ok for a tempo based build, but you may want dismember instead. Yes, I know paying 4 life sucks but at least you kill the problem creature (like Bob etc) because their will be creatures that you want to kill but NOT Path. I do not like Serum Visions honestly. I know the old school blue in you hurts, but the card isn't good and is even less powerful in this style deck. You want pressure or removal and an occasional counterspell. I found that in Modern the best way to generate card advantage is through value plays not through cardboard advantage, which I know is strange. You can jam all the serum visions, think twices you want but if a deck out values you, you will probably lose that game. So, all these little advantages that generate value are a real key in Modern and to be playing cards that generate immediate value and impact on the game.
I finally got a hold of some Cryptic Commands so I swapped out the 2 Detention Spheres for them. I also moved the 2 Supreme Verdicts to Sideboard for 2 Vapor Snags because I want more tempo removal for Geist of Saint Traft (plus i obviously don't want to reset the board when i have Geist/Blade Splicers on the field). What do you guys think?
I'm currently also running Azorius midrange, for a couple of reasons, primarily because it's one of my favourite decks in the format.
I've been testing using kind of a mash up between Shohei's UWR midrange list which featured 2x Elspeth and Hirosawa Yuta's list which was linked in the earlier last page.
I feel that because we are not UWr, we should be using wraths, ideally I want 2 in the maindeck, but I simply can't find room and don't really want to cut anything. Basically, because we don't have access to cheap and efficient removal like bolt or helix other than path, which can be awkward at times with mana leak. I feel that we should be running wraths as they help us the most in our aggro matchups. Losing wall of omens has also hurt our M/U with aggro, but splicer helps balance that out.
I am trying to run one Venser, simply because I think he's really quite worth it as 1) kind of a ghetto cryptic, and 2) a reusable trick with restoration angel, that is also protected by our Eiganjo Castle.
I also really want to fit another Elspeth in the maindeck, I understand that Shohei's UWr list is a very different beast than our UW midrange decks, but I think there are strong ideas inside of his shell, and that two elspeths is worth trying out. BUT I feel like the right cut at that point is cutting my verdict for a 2nd Elspeth. Elspeth is almost always useful for me, even better obviously when there's already a geist down for you to swing with, but she gets me there almost all the time against UWr and can enable me to race against Keranos.
My testing group primarily is UWr kiki and UR twin and i'm very confident in both matchups, I also played against ad nauseam and although game 1 was shaky, game 2 was a lot better after board.
Another idea I want to run is using Kor Firewalker in the board, obviously this is a meta call, but I feel that if you're walking into an unknown meta, there's going to be burn. I want to run at least 3, but this could be wrong.
I also feel like one sphinx's revelation is almost always the right call as well!
The main contains:
4x Geist of Saint Traft
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Restoration Angel
2x Mana Leak
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
2x Spell Snare
4x Vapor Snag
4x Serum Visions
2x Runechanter's Pike
2x Glacial Fortress
4x Hallowed Fountain
8x Island
2x Moorland Haunt
4x Seachrome Coast
The sideboard contains:
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Celestial Purge
1x Vendilion Clique
2x Mirran Crusader
2x Spell Pierce
2x Hurkyl's Recall
2x Spellskite
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Batterskull
I know that it would be really hard for this deck if the meta is aggro. People at the local store I play usually plays Jund, Affinity, Merfolk, UWR Control, Tron, sometimes Aura Bant, sometimes Tarmo Twin, sometimes Infect, and don't remember the others.
I've never see anyone trying this deck at the local store I play. What do you think?
Jund, Affinity & Grixis Delver
Legacy:
Jund & Affinity
I probably would either replace Geist of Saint Traft with Blade Splicer or keep Geist and replace Restoration Angel with Brimaz, King of Oreskos. I also don't think that Gitaxian Probe is worth it decks other than Storm and the Young Pyromancer Delver decks. I'd replace it with another Spell Snare, the 2 sideboard Spell Pierces, and another Mana Leak. Also, the Hurkyl's Recalls in the board should probably be more Stony Silences and Runechanter's Pike might be better off as some combination of Sword of Light and Shadow, Sword of Fire and Ice, or Sword of Feast and Famine.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
4 restoration angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Brimaz, king of Oreskos
2 detention sphere
2 dismember
4 path to exile
4 remand
2 spell pierce
2 spell snare
1 vapor snag
1 sphinx's revelation
1 Elspeth, knight-errant
4 seachrome coast
3 tectonic edge
1 ghost quarter
3 glacial fortress
4 plains
3 islands
2 mystic gate
1 eiganjo castle
1 Gideon Jura
2 celestial purge
2 stony silence
2 rest in peace
2 supreme verdict
2 negate
3 hushwing gryff
1 oust
"Well that's just like ~your opinion man"
But seriously, I see what you're saying. He's been performing pretty well for me which is the reason why he's a 4 of. Sure, he's not as fast as Geist, but rarely do UW players tap out on turn three to play Geist.They'd rather hold up mana to counter the opponents creatures/combos, remove a few things, AND THEN play him when the coast is clear. I do exactly the same thing with Brimaz which seems to have been working fine. Maybe if I get my hands on some Geists down the road, I'll run a 2/2 split...
I00% agree on Kitchen finks, that guy is an all star vs burn, Liliana, and a lot if other things.
I used to play Blade splicers, but I found that if I did not draw a restoration angel, she and her golem were very vulnerable and lack luster.
Also, I found an interesting article by Jeff Hoogland that compares Geist and Brimaz. Granted, he's not running the same deck as me, but he makes a good point that Brimaz isn't a creature to be overlooked in modern:
http://www.themeadery.org/articles/cats-dragons-a-modern-take-on-wru
Brimaz just seems like a fun and relatively efficient beater for my deck's purposes. Maybe if I can afford it later down the line, I'll grab some fetches and do the UWR Geist thing, but for now I'll just keep experimenting.
Thanks for your insight
2x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Glacial Fortress
4x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
2x Mystic Gate
4x Plains
4x Seachrome Coast
3x Tectonic Edge
2x Dismember
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
4x Spell Snare
4x Geist of Saint Traft
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2x Celestial Purge
1x Disenchant
1x Gideon Jura
3x Hushwing Gryff
2x Negate
3x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
1x Wrath of God
Let's keep straight Azorius alive!
As you can seen, I run 4 path, 2 dismember, and 2 detention sphere. I read your opinion on Geist, but surprisingly he's been working really well for me (I have been getting a bunch of "easy wins" with him alone).
Vapor snag could be another way to temporarily remove blockers, but I'd like to get your opinion on it. How many do you run main?
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Island
3 Hallowed Fountain
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Arid Mesa
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Blade Splicer
Other spells:
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
3 Cryptic Command
2 Dismember
1 Serum Visions
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
2 Spell Pierce
1 Annul
1 Disenchant
1 Celestial Purge
1 Batterskull
1 Wrath of God
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Hmmm that's not so different from my list...
Where did you find the decklist, Sasky? I can't seem to find GP Kobe's results
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Blade Splicer
3 Geist of Saint Thraft
4 Restoration Angel
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
Spells (20)
4 Serum Visions
3 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
1 Steelshaper's Gift
3 Mana Leak
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Cryptic Command
2 Wrath of God
24 placeholders
3 Pithing Needle
1 Path to Exile
2 Suppression Field
1 Mana Leak
2 Detention Sphere
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Wrath of God
2 Reveillark
I think that Venser is a powerful Resto target worth testing.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Indeed, Elspeth might prove to be a better choice than the sword package. As for Serum Visions, I'm somehow reluctant to give up my only cantrip, but removal could be a better option, especially since I expect to see some Infect.
I'll probable go:
-2 Swords
-1 Steelshaper's Gift
-4 Serum Visions
+2 Elspeth
+3 Vapor Snag
+2 Spell Pierce/Remand/Negate (any suggestion for which one to pick? S.Pierce seems like the best option, but I'd like a second opinion here)
2x Celestial Colonnade
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Glacial Fortress
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Island
2x Mystic Gate
3x Plains
4x Seachrome Coast
3x Tectonic Edge
Creature (16)
2x Blade Splicer
4x Geist of Saint Traft
2x Kitchen Finks
4x Restoration Angel
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Cryptic Command
2x Dismember
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
4x Spell Snare
2x Vapor Snag
Planeswalker (1)
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2x Celestial Purge
1x Disenchant
1x Gideon Jura
2x Hushwing Gryff
2x Negate
2x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Wrath of God
I'm currently also running Azorius midrange, for a couple of reasons, primarily because it's one of my favourite decks in the format.
I've been testing using kind of a mash up between Shohei's UWR midrange list which featured 2x Elspeth and Hirosawa Yuta's list which was linked in the earlier last page.
Here's my list:
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Island
3 Hallowed Fountain
2 Glacial Fortress
1 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Moorland Haunt
Creatures (16)
3 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
3 Blade Splicer
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
2 Cryptic Command
2 Dismember
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Rest in Peace
3 Aven Mindcensor
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
2 Negate
2 Celestial Purge
1 Batterskull
2 Stony Silence
Where I'm looking for input/discussion:
I feel that because we are not UWr, we should be using wraths, ideally I want 2 in the maindeck, but I simply can't find room and don't really want to cut anything. Basically, because we don't have access to cheap and efficient removal like bolt or helix other than path, which can be awkward at times with mana leak. I feel that we should be running wraths as they help us the most in our aggro matchups. Losing wall of omens has also hurt our M/U with aggro, but splicer helps balance that out.
I am trying to run one Venser, simply because I think he's really quite worth it as 1) kind of a ghetto cryptic, and 2) a reusable trick with restoration angel, that is also protected by our Eiganjo Castle.
I also really want to fit another Elspeth in the maindeck, I understand that Shohei's UWr list is a very different beast than our UW midrange decks, but I think there are strong ideas inside of his shell, and that two elspeths is worth trying out. BUT I feel like the right cut at that point is cutting my verdict for a 2nd Elspeth. Elspeth is almost always useful for me, even better obviously when there's already a geist down for you to swing with, but she gets me there almost all the time against UWr and can enable me to race against Keranos.
My testing group primarily is UWr kiki and UR twin and i'm very confident in both matchups, I also played against ad nauseam and although game 1 was shaky, game 2 was a lot better after board.
Another idea I want to run is using Kor Firewalker in the board, obviously this is a meta call, but I feel that if you're walking into an unknown meta, there's going to be burn. I want to run at least 3, but this could be wrong.
I also feel like one sphinx's revelation is almost always the right call as well!
Any thoughts?