Monowhite Control Decks have been around since the beginning of Magic. Early versions utilized Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God to keep the board clear. Land Tax and Armageddon to put the opponent in a bad place. Serra Angel was the finisher of choice. Fast Forward a few years, White Stax was developed. Utilizing Smokestack, Tanglewire, and Tabernacle of Pendell Vale to keep opponent on the hurt. Parfait made it's debut utilizing Land Tax with Scroll Rack to drown their opponents with card advantage. Fast Forward a few years and possibly one the most hated decks was developed for T2. Turbofog. The deck used Martyr of Sands, Ghostly Prison, Kami of False Hope, various sweepers, and Proclamation of Rebirth for continued recursion. As you can see MWC does two things to an opponent. First it taxes them to attack and to keep their creatures. Second, it drowns them in card advantage (whether it be recursion or card draw).
CARD CHOICES:
TAXING:
Ghostly Prison. This card will stall long enough for you to win a majority of your games. If hit in multiples, it is downright backbreaking for an aggro opponent.
Magus of the Tabernacle. He will make your opponent keep mana tapped (during upkeep) if they want to keep their army. Plays very well with Ghostly Prison.
Norn's Annex. This is Ghostly Prison v2. Except they are not utizing mana (unless they want to tap for W). I don't use it, at best it's a sb card. However, the aggro matchup is so strong, you do not need any sb slots for those matchups.
CARD ADVANTAGE:
Staff of Domination. This is our swiss army knife. We can draw, tap down, gain life in a pinch. All strong aspects that make this a 2-3 of any MWC.
Scrying Sheets. Strong Engine, if you have a way to manipulate the top few cards of a libary. Since Sensei's Divining Top got the hammer, it's best to leave this on the side.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin. The backbone of recursion. With the right builds, and proper playing, you will get to the required 7 plains by T6-7 w/ an Emeria in play.
Solemn Simulacrum. Personally, I think he's a 4 of in any deck that plans on Emeria recursion. He is a 2-3 for 1 card. That is the same card advantage of Thirst for Knowledge (just 1 land and a random card plus any creature he may take out or any removal spell he gets hit with).
Wall of Omens. With the environment so heavy on aggro, he's a 4 of immediately. He sets up the defense for a T3 Ghostly Prison or helps defend until you can get to Wrath of God mana.
Sun Titan. If Emeria is the backbone, this is the spinal cord inside the backbone that makes this deck run. His ability to drop him T5-6 w/ an Emeria in play just to grab a fetchland is a backbreaking play (in case you don't see it, that will get you to 6 plains, only 1 away from an active Emeria).
Venser, the Sojourner. This is my 2nd favorite PW to use in the deck. I like the ability with all the ETB effects.
BOARD CONTROL:
Wrath of God. The sweeper of choice. The original daddy of them all.
Day of Judgment. The little brother of ***. He doesn't prevent regeneration, so meta call on this one.
Oblivion Ring. Good to use until you get permanent control of the board. Main targets for O'Rings is creatures you can't let sit on the board longer than a turn (Knight of the Reliquary), Planeswalkers, etc.
Journey to Nowhere. Another great removal spell for white. The main two targetted removals are enchantments, but the only enchantment hate MD is Zoo and that's Qasali Pridemage. Krosan Grip might come in off the side.
Path to Exile. I do not use this card and feel this card is against any plan we have to tax/control the board. Now you can probably sb in 4 against decks that you know aren't using basic lands, but why? Again aggro is so strong for us.
Ajani Vengaent. Using Ajani's ultimate and having Ghostly Prison in play will win the game for you 99/100 times. However, getting him there is tough.
LIFE-GAINING:
Martyr of Sands. An absolute back breaking card against Zoo. (BTW, never drop her unless you have mana open to sac it). I've gained 18 life and by the time I stabalized, I was at 10. Without her, I would have lost that game. Her ability is so strong.
Kitchen Finks. This is a strong candidate for those that wish not to run MoS. The 4 life can help, I think it's strong aspect is it can take down all the cats in Zoo.
WIN CONDITIONS:
Sacred Mesa. For 1W you get a 1/1 flying Pegasus. At cost, you have to sac one during your upkeep. Great for building blockers until you ***, or once you are stabalized, you go for the win with the tokens.
Mobilization. For 2W you get a 1/1 Vigilant creature. Not that impressive as compared to Mesa, but you do not have to sacrifice.
Luminarch Ascension. Creating 4/4 Angles for 1W is pretty strong. This will need protected though. Little harder to get online vice Mesa/Mobilization, but the end result is a faster kill.
Gideon Jura. This is my favorite. He is BACKBREAKING against aggro/control matchups alike.
Leyline of Sanctity - This is an auto 4 of in your sb. You cannot leave home without this. This will shut down discard theme decks, combo decks, burn decks. Dragonstorm has to wait until they get a bounce spell before they can go off. If you get 2, it will probably break their back long enough to finish the job. Deck Hate: Dark Zoo (w/ discard), Dragonstorm, Deadguy Ale, Burn, Mono-R Storm, Gifts Ungiven strategies)
Rule of Law/Ethersworn Canonist - This choice is all about playstyle. If you prefer a recurrable 2/2, then go for Canonist. If you would rather have a harder to kill hate card, go with RoL. Deck Hate: Storm based decks. Cascade based decks. Can be used as another defense against Zoo.
Runed Halo - This used to be a 4 of in my sb as it shuts off Jace, but I removed it when Jace got banned. However, this easily can be used in the sb for various matchups. Deck Hate: Dragonstorm, Burn, Combo decks that have 1 kill card (i.e. Goblin Charbelcher, Grapeshot, Pyro Spellbomb).
Aven Mindcensor - Strong effect for decks that like going through their libraries a lot. Deck Hate: Gifts Ungiven and 12 post are your main threats.
Tormod's Crypt/Jotun Grunt - Do not use Relice, because our g/y is also part of our strategy. Deck Hate: Living End and Aggro Loam
Trinisphere - With Ghostly Prison/Tabernacle it can be hard for them to cast cards with restrictions on them. Deck Hate: Cascade decks, Zoo, Dragonstorm, Burn.
Ghost Quarter - If you play the miser Crucible of Worlds like I do, this can quickly create a soft lock w/ Ghostly Prison.
Kor Firewalker - obvious. Deck Hate: Dragonstorm, RDW, Burn, AiR
Ensnaring Bridge - you play fatties? well they can't attack. Deck Hate: 12 post/Dragonstorm.
RED SPLASH HATE:
Boom//Bust - I hear Ghostly Prison + no lands is a solid defense. Be careful with this (I would only play it with Crucible in the deck. Deck Hate: 12 post is the main reason to bring this in.
Blood Moon - The better of the 12 post hate cards. Deck Hate: 12 post.
Lightning Helix - Emergency life gain and creature removal. Deck Hate: Zoo, Affinity
BLUE SPLASH HATE:
Reality Acid - I bet you had to click on the link to see what card that was. It's only for decks running Venser. It can create a free Vindicate every turn (2 if they destroy it) Deck Hate: PW Based decks. 12 post.
Phrexian Metamorph - They cast a P Titan? You get one too. Deck Hate: 12 post, Big Green.
Tumble Magnet - Great card to keep those fatties tapped down. Rechargeable w/ Venser. Deck Hate: 12post
Hide//Seek. If you decide to run this sb, I would run a Sacred Foundry or two md, so you can use both sides. Deck Hate: 12post, Dragonstorm.
As you can see, alot of our sb plans are against 12 post. This is our only we can't win G1 matchup.
MATCHUPS:
Zoo/Predator Zoo/Jund/Elves/Goblins/RDW
These matchups are so in our favor Game 1, that it takes you just getting unlucky and not draw Ghostly Prison, Martyr, Wrath/DoJ, Tabernacle. Post board expect Pridemages, Krosan Grips. SB in Leyline against Jund/RDW.
Percentage: 78%/22%
AiR
This matchup is tougher than the basic aggro as most their creatures have haste and die on their turn. Kor Firewalkers and Martyrs will win this for you though. Ghostly Prison will make them have to wait until they get the mana. Leyline will lock the burn out.
Percentages: 75%/25%
12 Post
Almost totally Unwinnable. You need them to get unlucky G1 and you have to have (IMO) 8-12 cards to bring in against them.
Percentages: 15%/85%
Merfolk
This doesn't get bunched with the other aggro, cause so far this is the only deck I see utilizing Aether Vial. They have counter magic, so don't waste a *** on T4 if they have a Vial with 1 counter on it. Still falls under the aggro besides that. The Ghostly Prisons and Martyrs should help till you get stable.
Percentages: 70%/30%
Affinity/Tempered Steel
Probably the hardest aggro deck for us. They can just get a nut start and swing T2 with a 8/2 Thopter. Our only real defense is Disenchant and Condemn.
Percentages: 50%/50%
Living End/Restore Balance
The thing you want to get down as fast as possible is a Ghostly Prison. If they go off when you have a Prison in play, it's hard for them to win. Rule of Law/Canonist/Silence should end the matchups for G2/3.
Percentages: 60%/40%
Gifts Control / 5CC / 4CC
The thing you want to do in this matchup (here's usually a hint, they play a Vivid land T1/2). You want to drop Sacred Mesa asap and start working on tokens. Keep everything else in your hand. Just let the tokens overrun them. Reason for this is they have powerful spells and you can save up your resources and hit them at once w/ Emeria and Titans. Leyline will keep Gifts, Thoughtseize, and Esper Charm under wraps.
Percentages: 50%/50%
Dragonstorm
For those that don't think this game 1 is winnable, you are seriously underestimating this deck. I played 4 matchups with DS last night. I won all 4, only needing a G3 once. T2 Martyr will get you out of Quad Hellkite damage. A T3 Ghostly Prison will hinder them when they go off. Then start building Pegasus tokens. SB in Leyline and Rule of Law/Canonist and they can't win.
Percentages: 60%/40%
TOURNAMENT REPORTS:
The only tournament results we have is from 2 Overextended where NavyJoe went 4-1 and got 2nd place. The other he went 3-1. Starting Aug 24th, MTGO will have dailies, expect those kind of tournament reports each day.
WHY SHOULD I PLAY MWC?:
If you hate turning creatures sideways.
If you like a deck that makes you have to think.
If you don't want to rely on outracing Zoo with your combo.
If you like shutting down combo decks.
The deck is super strong against 70% of any given meta. Zoo and RDW/AiR/Goblins will be so popular. This deck wrecks them.
RDW/Burn
70/30 me. Unless I get extremely unlucky and don't hit my G1 outs of Martyr or Ghostly Prisons, then I lose.
Sideboard: -2 ***/-3 Disenchant/-3 JtN/-1 O Ring for +3 Firewalker/4 Leyline/3 Relic (that is if they use the Unearth duo of Hell's Thunder and Hellspark.
Zoo
60/40 me. This is rougher, as they can just swing with a 5/6 Goyf and pay the 2-4 to attack. If they get a Sword on it, it's really rough.
SB: -3 PW for which ever you need. So many variants from Dark to Domain.
Darkblade
30/70 them. The discard and disruption they pack is rough. Gain early life, hit the removal. SB in Lightcaster and Leyline and Needle.
Living End
80/20 me. First game they will not be able to get past your Prisons. And you will gain alot of life off their Living Ends. SB in Relic and call it a day.
Hypergesies would be tough. My friend and I where debating this deck with a splash using all gold cards.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Don't think I have to worry about Hypergenesis. It'll get the hammer before the format starts. If not, then 2x Rule of Law in sb and 2 MD will help that match up. The only gold cards I even consider are Lightning Helix and Ajani Vengaent to make the Ghostly Prisons that much better.
Don't think I have to worry about Hypergenesis. It'll get the hammer before the format starts. If not, then 2x Rule of Law in sb and 2 MD will help that match up. The only gold cards I even consider are Lightning Helix and Ajani Vengaent to make the Ghostly Prisons that much better.
congregation at dawn, glimmering wish for sideboard tech, Kitchen finks, loxodon hierarch, Tidehollow sculler, castigate, fog cards, ect
remember that rav, shadomoor/eventide, and shards of alara where all mostly gold sets. You have a ton of cool options in more than one color. Also you could look at proclamation of rebirth. also sideboarded circle of protection: red would help your Red game. you could also throw terfer's moat in your board and run like a little enchantment type engine.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Mono Red Aggro/Burn/Goblins/whatever you want to call the deck folds over and dies to this deck. A T2 Sands followed by a T3-5 Ghostly Prison usually locks the game away. Game 2 you bring in Leyline and Firewalker and it's all over buy the crying...lol.
Tefari's Moat is nice. I would have to say good bye to the Sheets engine if I were to add in blue. Unless I want to play Coldsteel Heart and the uw snow land.
Mono Red Aggro/Burn/Goblins/whatever you want to call the deck folds over and dies to this deck. A T2 Sands followed by a T3-5 Ghostly Prison usually locks the game away. Game 2 you bring in Leyline and Firewalker and it's all over buy the crying...lol.
Tefari's Moat is nice. I would have to say good bye to the Sheets engine if I were to add in blue. Unless I want to play Coldsteel Heart and the uw snow land.
sheets engine is too slow to be effective IMO. You need something a bit faster/better.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
You can always run silence as a sort of counter for hypergenesis. Cast it in response to their cascade trigger and they won't be able to cast the free spell.
This is sort of martyr-blade type deck my friend has been looking at--not his exact list though, more of what I remember of it.
The great thing about this deck though, you aren't usually doing anything but building up lands from T4-8. If you have Ghostly Prison in play you are usually passing turn until you need to ***/DoJ or until you have a Sacred Mesa in play. I see no way for a Mono-White deck to gain card advantage in modern. I tried Howling Mines but I don't like my opponents gaining cards. The only two times I lost to zoo was cuz of that card. If I splashed Blue for 4 Ancestral Visions, then am I really gaining anything? Not really. How do you see a MWC gaining card advantage? Guess I'll have to dig through MTGO tonight when I get home. I'll probably play in Overdrive tonight and see how it does.
@Aesnath, that is not MWC. That is MWA and Wall of Omens looks extremely out of place. That kind of deck can't use the Sheets engine as you are casting stuff almost every turn.
The great thing about this deck though, you aren't usually doing anything but building up lands from T4-8. If you have Ghostly Prison in play you are usually passing turn until you need to ***/DoJ or until you have a Sacred Mesa in play. I see no way for a Mono-White deck to gain card advantage in modern. I tried Howling Mines but I don't like my opponents gaining cards. The only two times I lost to zoo was cuz of that card. If I splashed Blue for 4 Ancestral Visions, then am I really gaining anything? Not really. How do you see a MWC gaining card advantage? Guess I'll have to dig through MTGO tonight when I get home. I'll probably play in Overdrive tonight and see how it does.
@Aesnath, that is not MWC. That is MWA and Wall of Omens looks extremely out of place. That kind of deck can't use the Sheets engine as you are casting stuff almost every turn.
let me do some digging i have some ideas. I really want to get this going because my friend and I have been talking a lot about a similar deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Mono Red Aggro/Burn/Goblins/whatever you want to call the deck folds over and dies to this deck. A T2 Sands followed by a T3-5 Ghostly Prison usually locks the game away. Game 2 you bring in Leyline and Firewalker and it's all over buy the crying...lol.
Tefari's Moat is nice. I would have to say good bye to the Sheets engine if I were to add in blue. Unless I want to play Coldsteel Heart and the uw snow land.
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Why would Pulse be in a deck with Martyr of Sands? Wayfarer is too fragile.
Martyr doesn't work on it's own. Pulse does, and it has a reusable 'buyback' that can help stabilize without being on a fragile creature. Burn decks are going to kill martyr when it hits the table, but can't do anything about Pulse generally.
Wayfarer is fragile, but is powerful enough IMO to try and use him.
White doesn't have much in terms of card advantage engines that aren't removal, but these are two of them.
It is really hard to kill martyr without the player getting the life. And I'd agree that with more lifegain than martyr may not be helpful to such a deck. However, wayfarer may be OK, but it, to me, depends on what you will be able to search up. I don't think it helps if you have the snow engine online.
As for the wraths and walls, I wasn't suggesting they were bad in your build at all, just that the other deck I posted, admittedly somewhat MWA, may not have run them in the main.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sig by Dark Night Cavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios!
Here is a comprehensive list of cards that are at least semi decent options. Several of these are sideboard cards, and several others could have neat interactions with other cards.
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
Academy Ruins
Mouth of Ronom
Tectonic Edge
Emeria
Groves of Burnwillows
Ghost Quarter
worth dedicating 3-4 slots for then dedicating x amount of slots for lands
And yes Martyr works on it's own. You don't play it without a mana open to sac it. Unless burn decks start packing the split second burn spell (doubt it), then Martyr will always be better than Pulse. I will gain 12-18 life at one time. Often more life than a Pulse can gain me over a game. Plus I don't have to effect my turn choices about leaving 3 mana open.
Academy Ruins
Mouth of Ronom
Tectonic Edge
Emeria
Groves of Burnwillows
Ghost Quarter
worth dedicating 3-4 slots for then dedicating x amount of slots for lands
And yes Martyr works on it's own. You don't play it without a mana open to sac it. Unless burn decks start packing the split second burn spell (doubt it), then Martyr will always be better than Pulse. I will gain 12-18 life at one time. Often more life than a Pulse can gain me over a game. Plus I don't have to effect my turn choices about leaving 3 mana open.
Time to get on MTGO and see what i can dig up.
actually the arguement for more life gain is that you won't always have martyr. Games can end so fast that you might not even see one before you lose the game.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
you haven't played against hypergen or elves then.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In life all we can do is try to make things better. Sitting lost in old ways and fearing change only makes us outdated and ignorant.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.
I've been mainly playing OE matches where HG is banned. So no. But I don't see where in G1 They HG and they drop their monsters and i drop martyr or prison just to wrath next turn if i have it. Obv doesn't work against Emrakul. Elves I've played a few games against and have been lucky enough to sweep by T4-5 both times. I won both matches on the back of Rule of Law and Wraths.
AKA GRINDHOUSE
Monowhite Control Decks have been around since the beginning of Magic. Early versions utilized Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God to keep the board clear. Land Tax and Armageddon to put the opponent in a bad place. Serra Angel was the finisher of choice. Fast Forward a few years, White Stax was developed. Utilizing Smokestack, Tanglewire, and Tabernacle of Pendell Vale to keep opponent on the hurt. Parfait made it's debut utilizing Land Tax with Scroll Rack to drown their opponents with card advantage. Fast Forward a few years and possibly one the most hated decks was developed for T2. Turbofog. The deck used Martyr of Sands, Ghostly Prison, Kami of False Hope, various sweepers, and Proclamation of Rebirth for continued recursion. As you can see MWC does two things to an opponent. First it taxes them to attack and to keep their creatures. Second, it drowns them in card advantage (whether it be recursion or card draw).
TAXING:
Ghostly Prison. This card will stall long enough for you to win a majority of your games. If hit in multiples, it is downright backbreaking for an aggro opponent.
Magus of the Tabernacle. He will make your opponent keep mana tapped (during upkeep) if they want to keep their army. Plays very well with Ghostly Prison.
Norn's Annex. This is Ghostly Prison v2. Except they are not utizing mana (unless they want to tap for W). I don't use it, at best it's a sb card. However, the aggro matchup is so strong, you do not need any sb slots for those matchups.
CARD ADVANTAGE:
Staff of Domination. This is our swiss army knife. We can draw, tap down, gain life in a pinch. All strong aspects that make this a 2-3 of any MWC.
Scrying Sheets. Strong Engine, if you have a way to manipulate the top few cards of a libary. Since Sensei's Divining Top got the hammer, it's best to leave this on the side.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin. The backbone of recursion. With the right builds, and proper playing, you will get to the required 7 plains by T6-7 w/ an Emeria in play.
Proclamation of Rebirth. This is a strong card to use if you plan on going the Turbofog route with Martyr of Sands and Kami of the False Hope.
Solemn Simulacrum. Personally, I think he's a 4 of in any deck that plans on Emeria recursion. He is a 2-3 for 1 card. That is the same card advantage of Thirst for Knowledge (just 1 land and a random card plus any creature he may take out or any removal spell he gets hit with).
Wall of Omens. With the environment so heavy on aggro, he's a 4 of immediately. He sets up the defense for a T3 Ghostly Prison or helps defend until you can get to Wrath of God mana.
Sun Titan. If Emeria is the backbone, this is the spinal cord inside the backbone that makes this deck run. His ability to drop him T5-6 w/ an Emeria in play just to grab a fetchland is a backbreaking play (in case you don't see it, that will get you to 6 plains, only 1 away from an active Emeria).
Venser, the Sojourner. This is my 2nd favorite PW to use in the deck. I like the ability with all the ETB effects.
BOARD CONTROL:
Wrath of God. The sweeper of choice. The original daddy of them all.
Day of Judgment. The little brother of ***. He doesn't prevent regeneration, so meta call on this one.
Oblivion Ring. Good to use until you get permanent control of the board. Main targets for O'Rings is creatures you can't let sit on the board longer than a turn (Knight of the Reliquary), Planeswalkers, etc.
Journey to Nowhere. Another great removal spell for white. The main two targetted removals are enchantments, but the only enchantment hate MD is Zoo and that's Qasali Pridemage. Krosan Grip might come in off the side.
Condemn. Instant removal if you feel you need it cause of Haste/sac'd creatures like Spark Elemental/Hell's Thunder.
Path to Exile. I do not use this card and feel this card is against any plan we have to tax/control the board. Now you can probably sb in 4 against decks that you know aren't using basic lands, but why? Again aggro is so strong for us.
Ajani Vengaent. Using Ajani's ultimate and having Ghostly Prison in play will win the game for you 99/100 times. However, getting him there is tough.
LIFE-GAINING:
Martyr of Sands. An absolute back breaking card against Zoo. (BTW, never drop her unless you have mana open to sac it). I've gained 18 life and by the time I stabalized, I was at 10. Without her, I would have lost that game. Her ability is so strong.
Kitchen Finks. This is a strong candidate for those that wish not to run MoS. The 4 life can help, I think it's strong aspect is it can take down all the cats in Zoo.
WIN CONDITIONS:
Sacred Mesa. For 1W you get a 1/1 flying Pegasus. At cost, you have to sac one during your upkeep. Great for building blockers until you ***, or once you are stabalized, you go for the win with the tokens.
Mobilization. For 2W you get a 1/1 Vigilant creature. Not that impressive as compared to Mesa, but you do not have to sacrifice.
Luminarch Ascension. Creating 4/4 Angles for 1W is pretty strong. This will need protected though. Little harder to get online vice Mesa/Mobilization, but the end result is a faster kill.
Gideon Jura. This is my favorite. He is BACKBREAKING against aggro/control matchups alike.
Elspeth, Knight Errant/Elspeth Tirell. This is another great PW to use. They can defend themselves.
EXAMPLE DECKLISTS:
One of the great things about MWC, is there is no definitive deck list. However, I will give you the Big 3. One of each splash as I would build it.
4 Wall of Omen
3 Sun Titan
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Martyr of Sands
2 Magus of the Tabernacle
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Sacred Mesa
4 Ghostly Prison
3 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgement
2 Venser, the Sojouner
1 Gideon Jura
10 Plains
3 Marsh Flats
2 Arid Mesa
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
3 Wall of Omen
3 Sun Titan
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Martyr of Sands
2 Magus of the Tabernacle
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Sacred Mesa
4 Ghostly Prison
3 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgement
1 Boom//Bust
3 Ajani Vengeant
10 Plains
3 Marsh Flats
2 Arid Mesa
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Wall of Omen
3 Sun Titan
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Martyr of Sands
2 Magus of the Tabernacle
2 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Sacred Mesa
4 Ghostly Prison
2 Staff of Domination
3 Wrath of God
3 Unmake
3 Marsh Flats
2 Arid Mesa
4 Godless Shrine
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
SIDEBOARD OPTIONS:
White has so many great sb cards. As the deck has such a great game against Aggro, I'm going to forego the obvious (i.e. Condemn, Path to Exile, Celestial Purge, Journey to Nowhere).
Leyline of Sanctity - This is an auto 4 of in your sb. You cannot leave home without this. This will shut down discard theme decks, combo decks, burn decks. Dragonstorm has to wait until they get a bounce spell before they can go off. If you get 2, it will probably break their back long enough to finish the job.
Deck Hate: Dark Zoo (w/ discard), Dragonstorm, Deadguy Ale, Burn, Mono-R Storm, Gifts Ungiven strategies)
Rule of Law/Ethersworn Canonist - This choice is all about playstyle. If you prefer a recurrable 2/2, then go for Canonist. If you would rather have a harder to kill hate card, go with RoL.
Deck Hate: Storm based decks. Cascade based decks. Can be used as another defense against Zoo.
Runed Halo - This used to be a 4 of in my sb as it shuts off Jace, but I removed it when Jace got banned. However, this easily can be used in the sb for various matchups.
Deck Hate: Dragonstorm, Burn, Combo decks that have 1 kill card (i.e. Goblin Charbelcher, Grapeshot, Pyro Spellbomb).
Disenchant - General Artifact/Enchantment hate.
Deck Hate: Mirror, Affinity, Tempered Steel, Equipment based.
Aven Mindcensor - Strong effect for decks that like going through their libraries a lot.
Deck Hate: Gifts Ungiven and 12 post are your main threats.
Tormod's Crypt/Jotun Grunt - Do not use Relice, because our g/y is also part of our strategy.
Deck Hate: Living End and Aggro Loam
Trinisphere - With Ghostly Prison/Tabernacle it can be hard for them to cast cards with restrictions on them.
Deck Hate: Cascade decks, Zoo, Dragonstorm, Burn.
Ghost Quarter - If you play the miser Crucible of Worlds like I do, this can quickly create a soft lock w/ Ghostly Prison.
Kor Firewalker - obvious.
Deck Hate: Dragonstorm, RDW, Burn, AiR
Ensnaring Bridge - you play fatties? well they can't attack.
Deck Hate: 12 post/Dragonstorm.
RED SPLASH HATE:
Boom//Bust - I hear Ghostly Prison + no lands is a solid defense. Be careful with this (I would only play it with Crucible in the deck.
Deck Hate: 12 post is the main reason to bring this in.
Blood Moon - The better of the 12 post hate cards.
Deck Hate: 12 post.
Lightning Helix - Emergency life gain and creature removal.
Deck Hate: Zoo, Affinity
BLUE SPLASH HATE:
Reality Acid - I bet you had to click on the link to see what card that was. It's only for decks running Venser. It can create a free Vindicate every turn (2 if they destroy it)
Deck Hate: PW Based decks. 12 post.
Phrexian Metamorph - They cast a P Titan? You get one too.
Deck Hate: 12 post, Big Green.
Tumble Magnet - Great card to keep those fatties tapped down. Rechargeable w/ Venser.
Deck Hate: 12post
BLACK SPLASH HATE:
Engineered Plague obvious.
Deck Hate: Elves/Goblins/Merfolk
Hide//Seek. If you decide to run this sb, I would run a Sacred Foundry or two md, so you can use both sides.
Deck Hate: 12post, Dragonstorm.
As you can see, alot of our sb plans are against 12 post. This is our only we can't win G1 matchup.
Zoo/Predator Zoo/Jund/Elves/Goblins/RDW
These matchups are so in our favor Game 1, that it takes you just getting unlucky and not draw Ghostly Prison, Martyr, Wrath/DoJ, Tabernacle. Post board expect Pridemages, Krosan Grips. SB in Leyline against Jund/RDW.
Percentage: 78%/22%
AiR
This matchup is tougher than the basic aggro as most their creatures have haste and die on their turn. Kor Firewalkers and Martyrs will win this for you though. Ghostly Prison will make them have to wait until they get the mana. Leyline will lock the burn out.
Percentages: 75%/25%
12 Post
Almost totally Unwinnable. You need them to get unlucky G1 and you have to have (IMO) 8-12 cards to bring in against them.
Percentages: 15%/85%
Merfolk
This doesn't get bunched with the other aggro, cause so far this is the only deck I see utilizing Aether Vial. They have counter magic, so don't waste a *** on T4 if they have a Vial with 1 counter on it. Still falls under the aggro besides that. The Ghostly Prisons and Martyrs should help till you get stable.
Percentages: 70%/30%
Affinity/Tempered Steel
Probably the hardest aggro deck for us. They can just get a nut start and swing T2 with a 8/2 Thopter. Our only real defense is Disenchant and Condemn.
Percentages: 50%/50%
Living End/Restore Balance
The thing you want to get down as fast as possible is a Ghostly Prison. If they go off when you have a Prison in play, it's hard for them to win. Rule of Law/Canonist/Silence should end the matchups for G2/3.
Percentages: 60%/40%
Gifts Control / 5CC / 4CC
The thing you want to do in this matchup (here's usually a hint, they play a Vivid land T1/2). You want to drop Sacred Mesa asap and start working on tokens. Keep everything else in your hand. Just let the tokens overrun them. Reason for this is they have powerful spells and you can save up your resources and hit them at once w/ Emeria and Titans. Leyline will keep Gifts, Thoughtseize, and Esper Charm under wraps.
Percentages: 50%/50%
Dragonstorm
For those that don't think this game 1 is winnable, you are seriously underestimating this deck. I played 4 matchups with DS last night. I won all 4, only needing a G3 once. T2 Martyr will get you out of Quad Hellkite damage. A T3 Ghostly Prison will hinder them when they go off. Then start building Pegasus tokens. SB in Leyline and Rule of Law/Canonist and they can't win.
Percentages: 60%/40%
The only tournament results we have is from 2 Overextended where NavyJoe went 4-1 and got 2nd place. The other he went 3-1. Starting Aug 24th, MTGO will have dailies, expect those kind of tournament reports each day.
If you hate turning creatures sideways.
If you like a deck that makes you have to think.
If you don't want to rely on outracing Zoo with your combo.
If you like shutting down combo decks.
The deck is super strong against 70% of any given meta. Zoo and RDW/AiR/Goblins will be so popular. This deck wrecks them.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
Hypergesies would be tough. My friend and I where debating this deck with a splash using all gold cards.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
congregation at dawn, glimmering wish for sideboard tech, Kitchen finks, loxodon hierarch, Tidehollow sculler, castigate, fog cards, ect
remember that rav, shadomoor/eventide, and shards of alara where all mostly gold sets. You have a ton of cool options in more than one color. Also you could look at proclamation of rebirth. also sideboarded circle of protection: red would help your Red game. you could also throw terfer's moat in your board and run like a little enchantment type engine.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
Tefari's Moat is nice. I would have to say good bye to the Sheets engine if I were to add in blue. Unless I want to play Coldsteel Heart and the uw snow land.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
sheets engine is too slow to be effective IMO. You need something a bit faster/better.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
This is sort of martyr-blade type deck my friend has been looking at--not his exact list though, more of what I remember of it.
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Batterskull
3 Path to Exile
3 Wall of Omens
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Wrath of God
2 Elspeth Knight-Errant
1 Gideon Jura
20 Snow Covered Plains
It seemed OK as it could stall out against aggro or play beatdown against control. I'm not sure of the S/B though, but silence was in it.
@Aesnath, that is not MWC. That is MWA and Wall of Omens looks extremely out of place. That kind of deck can't use the Sheets engine as you are casting stuff almost every turn.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
let me do some digging i have some ideas. I really want to get this going because my friend and I have been talking a lot about a similar deck.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
also you get emeria, the sky ruin if you don't run scrying sheets.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
Emeria would be nice addition.
MWC always plays 4 Wrath effects and early defense. Better than 70% of Modern is aggro. Why wouldn't I play wraths and wall MD?
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
Martyr doesn't work on it's own. Pulse does, and it has a reusable 'buyback' that can help stabilize without being on a fragile creature. Burn decks are going to kill martyr when it hits the table, but can't do anything about Pulse generally.
Wayfarer is fragile, but is powerful enough IMO to try and use him.
White doesn't have much in terms of card advantage engines that aren't removal, but these are two of them.
As for the wraths and walls, I wasn't suggesting they were bad in your build at all, just that the other deck I posted, admittedly somewhat MWA, may not have run them in the main.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
Academy Ruins
Mouth of Ronom
Tectonic Edge
Emeria
Groves of Burnwillows
Ghost Quarter
worth dedicating 3-4 slots for then dedicating x amount of slots for lands
And yes Martyr works on it's own. You don't play it without a mana open to sac it. Unless burn decks start packing the split second burn spell (doubt it), then Martyr will always be better than Pulse. I will gain 12-18 life at one time. Often more life than a Pulse can gain me over a game. Plus I don't have to effect my turn choices about leaving 3 mana open.
Time to get on MTGO and see what i can dig up.
The only two things I see for a draw engine is
Staff of Domination - good cuz Sun Titan can bring it back
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
actually the arguement for more life gain is that you won't always have martyr. Games can end so fast that you might not even see one before you lose the game.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290