My friend has been nagging me to set aside my love for 5-color Xerox Control and get back to my roots with a monoblue list. So here's my first crack at it.
So, here's what you do. Play the control game, mostly mana denial and countermagic. Straight draw-go.
The Shimmer Myr package gives you flashy Batterskulls against aggro, surprise Revoker (more out of the sideboard) vs. Pod, Kiki, and Tron.
More Revokers maindeck would be cool. Tec Edge might be nice in a spell slot.
Worried about the 16 lands? Worried about all the 1-ofs and 2-ofs? Don't be! Xerox Theory states that for every 4 1-2cmc cantrips you run, you can remove 2 lands and still have the same or better odds of hitting all of your land drops than running a full land count and no cantrips. What advantages does this give you? Well, you are not only more likely to draw your lands, you are also more likely to draw your business. You have amazing threat density and much better odds of drawing relevant cards instead of flooding.
Specific card choices right now are preliminary and subject to change.
Shadow of Doubt: Fetchlands!!, Pod, and corner cases
I am all about working on a MUC for Modern. You have a few ideas here that are interesting. The shimmer myr package for your finisher is pretty unique for example.
That said you have a few problems here. First and foremost is that you are trying to do too many things at once. You won't consistently do any of them. You need to narrow your focus. Isolate an angle of attack and try to maximize your ability to be able to strike along that angle.
I've never heard of this Xerox theory before, but I like it. I actually built a deck that I guess falls into the category, but have since sold my collection and am only just now getting back into the game. I'm on a budget, though, so my card choices are much more constricted. Cards that I used that are currently Modern legal are:
Snapcasters are out of my range, pricewise, and Remands would be tough to do as well. I could see Squelch doing decent in the place of Remands, as a budget option. I searched for all cards that cost U and draw, and found Whispers of the Muse, Twisted Image, and Thought Scour. I also looked up similar cards, like Serum Visions and Sleight of Hand.
I don't know, I can see maybe a decent non-budget version working out decently. Either way, I'll be around to see how development is going, and maybe contribute if I can!
Worried about the 16 lands? Worried about all the 1-ofs and 2-ofs? Don't be! Xerox Theory states that for every 4 1-2cmc cantrips you run, you can remove 2 lands and still have the same or better odds of hitting all of your land drops than running a full land count and no cantrips.
I think you ought to run the math on that one, I don't buy it at all. I have run UR Exarc Twin more times than I can count, and it runs 6 Cantrips (in addition to 4 Remand), and it still needs to run 24 land in order to hit 4 lands by turn 4.
Odds of drawing X lands in the first three turns in a 24-land deck (assuming you kept a 2-lander on the draw):
0=19.2%
1=43.7%
2=30.6%
3=6.6%
Odds of opening with X lands in a 16-land deck:
0=9.9%
1=29.2%
2=33.7%
3+=27.1%
Odds of drawing X lands in the first three turns (assuming a 2 landeron the play and cantrips=mana each turn):
0=6.94%
1=24.3%
2=33.5%
3+=35.3%
This is a very simplistic model, not taking into account fetches, overall odds of having N number of cantrips in hand, or the turn-by-turn odds of hitting individual land drops. You'll notice, however, that the odds of drawing exactly 1 land in the first three turns are lower, but the overall odds of drawing lands are higher. About 12.3% higher, in fact (19.2% odds of drawing 0 lands vs. 6.94%). And that's putting the 24-land deck on the draw, and my deck on the play.
If we wanted to do a turn-by-turn analysis it would look something like this:
[2 lander on the play, no fetches]
Turn 1: Land drop, cantrip
Turn 2: Draw for turn, land drop, double cantrip
Turn 3: Draw for turn [odds of finding 3rd land drop by now=79.9%] one 1cmc cantrip, 1 2cmc cantrip
Turn 4: Draw for turn [odds of finding 4th land drop by now=68.8%]
Or
[2 lander on the play, with fetches]
Turn 1: Fetch, cantrip
Turn 2: Draw for turn [odds of drawing 3rd land drop in these first two cards=44%] fetch, double cantrip
Turn 3: Draw for turn [odds of drawing 3rd land drop between Turn 2 land drop and now=56%]
The fact that fetches interrupt the hypergeometric function makes it tricky, but if I go back to the more fluid base function of (1-((39/52)*(38/51)*(37/49)*(36/48)*(35/47)*(34/46))), we get approximately 82.5% to draw at least one land by turn 3. That sounds like a lot, but it's a combination of fetches thinning the deck, and drawing around 5 cards (which we already saw gave us a 79.9%, so it's only a small increase). It can also be adjusted down slightly to take into account the myriad other factors that a single HGM function can't handle: variable number of opening lands, being on the draw, actual odds of having N cantrips, being forced to use a non-cantrip answer, etc.
On a note closer to the list itself, I find that 3-4 Revokers is going to be necessary. Aether Vial wrecks this particular build pretty hard. Lodestone Golem is not a good as I expected he would be.
I also completely forgot that Serum Visions existed due to my mourning over Ponder and Preordain. I'll slide in 4 of those.
WTF? Why is there a greater chance of opening each value of X lands in your opening hands when you have 16 in the deck than if you are running 24 lands?
I am not a math major, so all the advanced stuff you are using to show off means nothing to me (makes you seem like you are obfuscating the reality), but as I said before my years of practical application run counter to your hypothesis.
WTF? Why is there a greater chance of opening each value of X lands in your opening hands when you have 16 in the deck than if you are running 24 lands?
I am not a math major, so all the advanced stuff you are using to show off means nothing to me (makes you seem like you are obfuscating the reality), but as I said before my years of practical application run counter to your hypothesis.
There's not a higher chance of opening with lands in the 16-land deck. Here's what the numbers mean individually:
0 lands=[2.2%] in a 24 land deck vs. [9.9%] in a 16-land deck: You are more likely to open with a no-lander in a 16 land deck. Pretty straightforward.
1 land=[12.1%] in a 24-land deck vs. [29.1%] in a 16 land deck. This one looks a lot weirder. Why are your odds of opening with exactly one land, higher in the 16 land deck? Well, because you're LESS likely to open with a bunch of lands. A 24 land deck might open with 3, 4, 5, or even 6/7 lands. The possibility that you might have so many lands, lowers the probability that only one of your cards is a land. Think about it; the more lands you run, the less likely you are to have only 1 land in your opening hand.
2 lands=[26.9%] vs. [29.2%]: Now it starts to even out. Your odds of opening with exactly two lands are still slightly higher in the 16 land deck because....
3+ lands=[58%] vs. [27%] Your odds of opening with 3 lands or more in a 16-land deck are much, much lower. Remember, we were talking about the odds of having EXACTLY that many lands. 24 land decks are less likely to have EXACTLY that many lands, because there are other numbers of lands they can reasonably have. A 16-land deck will almost always open with 0-2 lands in comparison.
Accusing me of showing off and trying to obfuscate facts is not very kind or productive. You asked for math, I gave you math. I was not trying to show off. If you had questions about how the math worked, you could've just asked politely. For your reference, you can read about the particular function I'm using here:
Probably because the missing % are in the 4+ section.
@serenechaos: I like the deck idea, but I don't think the Xerox strategy is worth it. I you are cutting 2 lands for 4 draw spells you % of drawing a good spells decreases. In addition you face another problem: Because most of your drawspells are expensive(Into the Roil) or conditional (Squelch) you chance of drawing lands decreases, because you can't play them. Many of them also don't really affect the boardstate.
I am also not sure if you can hit 5 mana for Batterskull, due to already mentioned reasons and your fetchlands.
I also think that the Mindbreak Trap has no place in this list.
To my mind the Xerox theory doesn't apply to any amount of lands. You need even more drawspells for cutting lands, the less lands you have.
Unrealistic example: You have 2 Lands and cut them together with 2 good spells for 4 draw spells. I don't know how much this affects this, but you should consider this, if you use only 16 lands.
Casting Batterskull isn't a problem.
No, by cutting lands and adding draw spells, your odds of drawing good cards INCREASES. You have fewer dead land draws AND you're drawing more cards.
Xerox Theory works out perfectly at 16 lands. I've played 16-17 land builds before with no problems. The important thing is to have a critical mass of cantrips along with the ability to use all of your mana each turn.
Squelch isn't all that conditional. It has plenty of targets.
Into the Roil isn't an expensive draw spell, it's a cheap bounce spell that can be a cantrip in the mid and lategames.
Mindbreak Trap is in every Modern Xerox list I make. Ever. It's unbelievable here as a 1-2 of maindeck with the rest SB. It's just sick alongside Remand, and it's free often enough to make up for the times that it's a 4-mana counterspell (that hits uncounterables and hurts yard shenanigans).
For this list, I'm starting to think that Monoblue just can't do it. It's just too hard to deal with the cheap creature threats in Modern in Blue. I'm probably gonna have to go back to 4-5 color and just update those old lists =/
I was not actually trying to accuse you of anything, I was simply stating that it is how it comes off. I am sorry that I was not more clear.
I was misreading your percentages. I still don't buy it, but I see where I was making my mistake in interpretation.
If you're having trouble believing, check the link I posted and do the math yourself. I've been playing various 16-18 land Xerox decks in most formats for a couple years now and it works as advertised.
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Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I goldfished it, and I rarely had land problems...so the math and the theory are probably right!
That said, despite being only goldfishing draws, I was not that fond into the artifact package. What about Psychic Spiral? I know it folds you into RiP, but the way you fill up so quickly the grave, it could be a solution. Also, if you mill it, you have still Snaps.
I'd also increase the Shadow of Doubts/Squelch, turning this more robust against any deck with fetchs and also Pod, Tron, and such. Repeal is also so good, buying so much time.
Do you think Phantom Seer has a spot here? Or Mini Jace? And why not Serum Visions (just asking)?
About the sweeper, only testing can prove its need...I imagine you gain so much tempo with this build, but I also imagine you needing some Verdicts (Evacuation/Aetherize/Sleep for monoU comes to my mind).
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Thought of the Month: I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
So I took this Xerox idea and applied it to the 8rack deck, and it seems to be working. I think some of what I found to work can carry over to here, too. I also have some other ideas to throw out that might help.
First, Mishra's Bauble works for me. This, combined with Gitaxian Probe and one other draw spell, has been great. In my 8rack build I use Sign in Blood, but we don't have that available in blue.
Something that is available that could help is Halimar Depths. It doesn't serve the cantrip purpose, but it does help set up draws.
So, a rough draft (if budget was not an issue) could be:
The Spell Snare and Boomerang would be a meta call. Outwit would be great against RDW and black discard. There is also Annul (Affinity, Bogle), Steel Sabotage (Affinity), and Dispel (RDW, control matchups). Boomerang could also be a Repeal, Squelch, Turn Aside, Shadow of Doubt, etc. I like that it can bounce lands, though, which means a lot in a meta full of shocklands and tap-lands. Altogether, though, it does what we are looking for it to do. You could essentially load up the sideboard with conditional counters for your particular matchup. Jace's Phantasm could be something else, too, but for now I stuck it in for brainstorming purposes because it feels like a blue Goyf, fits the curve, and has evasion.
May I make a suggestion? I mean this as a constructive suggestion, so I hope you will take it that way. Why don't you look at the original Turbo Xerox list (by this I mean list it here), and any deck that has had success with the same theory, and really look at what each card is actually bringing to the deck. Then look at the Modern cardpool and try and find quality analogs that function in the same way in the deck. Also look at the most successful distillation of this concept, Miracle-Grow.
May I make a suggestion? I mean this as a constructive suggestion, so I hope you will take it that way. Why don't you look at the original Turbo Xerox list (by this I mean list it here), and any deck that has had success with the same theory, and really look at what each card is actually bringing to the deck. Then look at the Modern cardpool and try and find quality analogs that function in the same way in the deck.
That is what I've attempted to do here. The problem is that Modern has lots of scarier creature-based threats than the original Turbo Xerox decks had to deal with. Dealing with creatures is difficult in monoblue, at best. The best that could be hoped for is to combine all the instant-speed draw with Devastation Tide =/
Aether Vial is especially a beating, and the main reason I'm currently maindecking 4 Revokers.
Currently my list does not have as much digging power as it should (still haven't slipped in those Serum Visions), and I need to tighten my answers up.
If Halimar Depths goes in, it should be a 1-2 of as a spell slot.
Boomerang actually seems interesting. Playing the mana-denial game seems pretty solid.
No, you did it in your head (or with your friend) you did not do it here in the thread. I have my own criticisms about applying these ideas so directly in Modern, but I don't want to go negative in a thread where you are trying to build something. I just think you need to do a more thurough analysis of the decks not just the theory. The theory, as you present it, is misleading.
For example: Where are your free hard counters? Where are your free soft counters? These are some of the aspects that made the deck so successful because it could still "play" while it was diggin for land.
I actually have tried to give breakdowns of the cards I'm using...so I'm really not sure what you're getting at. I didn't include the original Turbo-Xerox deck card by card, because that isn't standard practice for posting a theory-based deck. I can do it now, though, if it makes you feel better. It's not highly relevant.
More importantly, though, I'd like you to clarify what you mean by misleading. The theory I posted and explained is perfectly straightforward. The two posters who have been goldfishing agree that it works. The numbers are concrete. How am I misleading anyone?
Anyways, this is the original Turbo Xerox by Alan Comer:
Like I said, it's not all that relevant to us because it's so old that the cardpool and the meta it was built for aren't even comparable to ours.
It does run 4 free counterspells, but those cost CA and there aren't any other free counterspells in the list. It also wasn't so much included to be free as it was because Force was one of the few playable counterspells in the cardpool at the time.
I don't think my list is that sad to be missing Force. A deck that's going to 1-for-1 nickel and dime you until it can assert it's card quality and pull ahead, doesn't want to force itself into situations where it has fewer cards to fight with. Especially in Modern, where the ability to combat degenerate decks while tapped out is not needed.
Functionally speaking, what are the pros cons of Squelch vs. Shadow of Doubt?
Really, only a few things. They both hose fetches and Pod, and Expedition Map, Squelch has a few random other targets, but most of the targets Squelch hits that Shadow doesn't only get delayed (which is still better than Shadow doing nothing at all), for instance Aether Vial, Kiki.
I actually have tried to give breakdowns of the cards I'm using...so I'm really not sure what you're getting at. I didn't include the original Turbo-Xerox deck card by card, because that isn't standard practice for posting a theory-based deck. I can do it now, though, if it makes you feel better. It's not highly relevant.
More importantly, though, I'd like you to clarify what you mean by misleading. The theory I posted and explained is perfectly straightforward. The two posters who have been goldfishing agree that it works. The numbers are concrete. How am I misleading anyone?
Anyways, this is the original Turbo Xerox by Alan Comer:
Like I said, it's not all that relevant to us because it's so old that the cardpool and the meta it was built for aren't even comparable to ours.
It does run 4 free counterspells, but those cost CA and there aren't any other free counterspells in the list. It also wasn't so much included to be free as it was because Force was one of the few playable counterspells in the cardpool at the time.
I don't think my list is that sad to be missing Force. A deck that's going to 1-for-1 nickel and dime you until it can assert it's card quality and pull ahead, doesn't want to force itself into situations where it has fewer cards to fight with. Especially in Modern, where the ability to combat degenerate decks while tapped out is not needed.
Really, only a few things. They both hose fetches and Pod, and Expedition Map, Squelch has a few random other targets, but most of the targets Squelch hits that Shadow doesn't only get delayed (which is still better than Shadow doing nothing at all), for instance Aether Vial, Kiki.
I'd like to point out that Shadow also counters Scapeshift.
But that's about the only thing. I'm not sure which I like better now.
I'd like to point out that Shadow also counters Scapeshift.
But that's about the only thing. I'm not sure which I like better now.
Shadow counters Scapeshift and Gifts Ungiven, among a few other corner cases that I can't think of off the top of my head. I would probably run more Squelches maindeck, and more Shadows in the board.
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3 Condescend
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Cryptic Command
4 Spreading Seas
2 Into the Roil
2 Repeal
2 Shadow of Doubt
1 Squelch
1 Dismember
4 Thought Scour
3 Gitaxian Probe
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Shimmer Myr
2 Batterskull
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Lodestone Golem
4 Misty Rainforest
8 Island
So, here's what you do. Play the control game, mostly mana denial and countermagic. Straight draw-go.
The Shimmer Myr package gives you flashy Batterskulls against aggro, surprise Revoker (more out of the sideboard) vs. Pod, Kiki, and Tron.
More Revokers maindeck would be cool. Tec Edge might be nice in a spell slot.
Worried about the 16 lands? Worried about all the 1-ofs and 2-ofs? Don't be! Xerox Theory states that for every 4 1-2cmc cantrips you run, you can remove 2 lands and still have the same or better odds of hitting all of your land drops than running a full land count and no cantrips. What advantages does this give you? Well, you are not only more likely to draw your lands, you are also more likely to draw your business. You have amazing threat density and much better odds of drawing relevant cards instead of flooding.
Specific card choices right now are preliminary and subject to change.
Shadow of Doubt: Fetchlands!!, Pod, and corner cases
Squelch: Fetchlands!!, Pod, Kiki, corner cases (DRS, Tron)
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
That said you have a few problems here. First and foremost is that you are trying to do too many things at once. You won't consistently do any of them. You need to narrow your focus. Isolate an angle of attack and try to maximize your ability to be able to strike along that angle.
Snapcasters are out of my range, pricewise, and Remands would be tough to do as well. I could see Squelch doing decent in the place of Remands, as a budget option. I searched for all cards that cost U and draw, and found Whispers of the Muse, Twisted Image, and Thought Scour. I also looked up similar cards, like Serum Visions and Sleight of Hand.
I don't know, I can see maybe a decent non-budget version working out decently. Either way, I'll be around to see how development is going, and maybe contribute if I can!
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Odds of opening with X lands in a 24-land deck:
0=2.2%
1=12.1%
2=26.9%
3=30.9%
4+=27.9%
Odds of drawing X lands in the first three turns in a 24-land deck (assuming you kept a 2-lander on the draw):
0=19.2%
1=43.7%
2=30.6%
3=6.6%
Odds of opening with X lands in a 16-land deck:
0=9.9%
1=29.2%
2=33.7%
3+=27.1%
Odds of drawing X lands in the first three turns (assuming a 2 lander on the play and cantrips=mana each turn):
0=6.94%
1=24.3%
2=33.5%
3+=35.3%
This is a very simplistic model, not taking into account fetches, overall odds of having N number of cantrips in hand, or the turn-by-turn odds of hitting individual land drops. You'll notice, however, that the odds of drawing exactly 1 land in the first three turns are lower, but the overall odds of drawing lands are higher. About 12.3% higher, in fact (19.2% odds of drawing 0 lands vs. 6.94%). And that's putting the 24-land deck on the draw, and my deck on the play.
If we wanted to do a turn-by-turn analysis it would look something like this:
[2 lander on the play, no fetches]
Turn 1: Land drop, cantrip
Turn 2: Draw for turn, land drop, double cantrip
Turn 3: Draw for turn [odds of finding 3rd land drop by now=79.9%] one 1cmc cantrip, 1 2cmc cantrip
Turn 4: Draw for turn [odds of finding 4th land drop by now=68.8%]
Or
[2 lander on the play, with fetches]
Turn 1: Fetch, cantrip
Turn 2: Draw for turn [odds of drawing 3rd land drop in these first two cards=44%] fetch, double cantrip
Turn 3: Draw for turn [odds of drawing 3rd land drop between Turn 2 land drop and now=56%]
The fact that fetches interrupt the hypergeometric function makes it tricky, but if I go back to the more fluid base function of (1-((39/52)*(38/51)*(37/49)*(36/48)*(35/47)*(34/46))), we get approximately 82.5% to draw at least one land by turn 3. That sounds like a lot, but it's a combination of fetches thinning the deck, and drawing around 5 cards (which we already saw gave us a 79.9%, so it's only a small increase). It can also be adjusted down slightly to take into account the myriad other factors that a single HGM function can't handle: variable number of opening lands, being on the draw, actual odds of having N cantrips, being forced to use a non-cantrip answer, etc.
On a note closer to the list itself, I find that 3-4 Revokers is going to be necessary. Aether Vial wrecks this particular build pretty hard. Lodestone Golem is not a good as I expected he would be.
I also completely forgot that Serum Visions existed due to my mourning over Ponder and Preordain. I'll slide in 4 of those.
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
I am not a math major, so all the advanced stuff you are using to show off means nothing to me (makes you seem like you are obfuscating the reality), but as I said before my years of practical application run counter to your hypothesis.
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There's not a higher chance of opening with lands in the 16-land deck. Here's what the numbers mean individually:
0 lands=[2.2%] in a 24 land deck vs. [9.9%] in a 16-land deck: You are more likely to open with a no-lander in a 16 land deck. Pretty straightforward.
1 land=[12.1%] in a 24-land deck vs. [29.1%] in a 16 land deck. This one looks a lot weirder. Why are your odds of opening with exactly one land, higher in the 16 land deck? Well, because you're LESS likely to open with a bunch of lands. A 24 land deck might open with 3, 4, 5, or even 6/7 lands. The possibility that you might have so many lands, lowers the probability that only one of your cards is a land. Think about it; the more lands you run, the less likely you are to have only 1 land in your opening hand.
2 lands=[26.9%] vs. [29.2%]: Now it starts to even out. Your odds of opening with exactly two lands are still slightly higher in the 16 land deck because....
3+ lands=[58%] vs. [27%] Your odds of opening with 3 lands or more in a 16-land deck are much, much lower. Remember, we were talking about the odds of having EXACTLY that many lands. 24 land decks are less likely to have EXACTLY that many lands, because there are other numbers of lands they can reasonably have. A 16-land deck will almost always open with 0-2 lands in comparison.
Accusing me of showing off and trying to obfuscate facts is not very kind or productive. You asked for math, I gave you math. I was not trying to show off. If you had questions about how the math worked, you could've just asked politely. For your reference, you can read about the particular function I'm using here:
http://stattrek.com/probability-distributions/hypergeometric.aspx
http://www.kibble.net/magic/magic10.php
Casting Batterskull isn't a problem.
No, by cutting lands and adding draw spells, your odds of drawing good cards INCREASES. You have fewer dead land draws AND you're drawing more cards.
Xerox Theory works out perfectly at 16 lands. I've played 16-17 land builds before with no problems. The important thing is to have a critical mass of cantrips along with the ability to use all of your mana each turn.
Squelch isn't all that conditional. It has plenty of targets.
Into the Roil isn't an expensive draw spell, it's a cheap bounce spell that can be a cantrip in the mid and lategames.
Mindbreak Trap is in every Modern Xerox list I make. Ever. It's unbelievable here as a 1-2 of maindeck with the rest SB. It's just sick alongside Remand, and it's free often enough to make up for the times that it's a 4-mana counterspell (that hits uncounterables and hurts yard shenanigans).
For this list, I'm starting to think that Monoblue just can't do it. It's just too hard to deal with the cheap creature threats in Modern in Blue. I'm probably gonna have to go back to 4-5 color and just update those old lists =/
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
I was misreading your percentages. I still don't buy it, but I see where I was making my mistake in interpretation.
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If you're having trouble believing, check the link I posted and do the math yourself. I've been playing various 16-18 land Xerox decks in most formats for a couple years now and it works as advertised.
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
That said, despite being only goldfishing draws, I was not that fond into the artifact package. What about Psychic Spiral? I know it folds you into RiP, but the way you fill up so quickly the grave, it could be a solution. Also, if you mill it, you have still Snaps.
I'd also increase the Shadow of Doubts/Squelch, turning this more robust against any deck with fetchs and also Pod, Tron, and such. Repeal is also so good, buying so much time.
Do you think Phantom Seer has a spot here? Or Mini Jace? And why not Serum Visions (just asking)?
About the sweeper, only testing can prove its need...I imagine you gain so much tempo with this build, but I also imagine you needing some Verdicts (Evacuation/Aetherize/Sleep for monoU comes to my mind).
Thought of the Month:
I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
Thought of the Month:
I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
First, Mishra's Bauble works for me. This, combined with Gitaxian Probe and one other draw spell, has been great. In my 8rack build I use Sign in Blood, but we don't have that available in blue.
Something that is available that could help is Halimar Depths. It doesn't serve the cantrip purpose, but it does help set up draws.
So, a rough draft (if budget was not an issue) could be:
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Spell Pierce
4 Spell Snare
4 Remand
4 Vapor Snag
4 Boomerang
3 Psychic Barrier
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Jace's Phantasm
4 Halimar Depths
13 Island
The Spell Snare and Boomerang would be a meta call. Outwit would be great against RDW and black discard. There is also Annul (Affinity, Bogle), Steel Sabotage (Affinity), and Dispel (RDW, control matchups). Boomerang could also be a Repeal, Squelch, Turn Aside, Shadow of Doubt, etc. I like that it can bounce lands, though, which means a lot in a meta full of shocklands and tap-lands. Altogether, though, it does what we are looking for it to do. You could essentially load up the sideboard with conditional counters for your particular matchup. Jace's Phantasm could be something else, too, but for now I stuck it in for brainstorming purposes because it feels like a blue Goyf, fits the curve, and has evasion.
Lantern Control
(with videos)
Uc Tron
Netdecking explained
Netdecking explained, Part 2
On speculators and counterfeits
On Interaction
Every single competitive deck in existence is designed to limit the opponent's ability to interact in a meaningful way.
Record number of exclamation points on SCG homepage: 71 (6 January, 2018)
"I don't want to believe, I want to know."
-Carl Sagan
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
That is what I've attempted to do here. The problem is that Modern has lots of scarier creature-based threats than the original Turbo Xerox decks had to deal with. Dealing with creatures is difficult in monoblue, at best. The best that could be hoped for is to combine all the instant-speed draw with Devastation Tide =/
Aether Vial is especially a beating, and the main reason I'm currently maindecking 4 Revokers.
Currently my list does not have as much digging power as it should (still haven't slipped in those Serum Visions), and I need to tighten my answers up.
If Halimar Depths goes in, it should be a 1-2 of as a spell slot.
Boomerang actually seems interesting. Playing the mana-denial game seems pretty solid.
Off the top of my head:
4 Thought Scour
4 Visions of Beyond
3 Think Twice
4 Boomerang
3 Squelch
1 Shadow of Doubt
3 Remand
2 Condescend
1 Mindbreak Trap
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Shimmer Myr
1 Batterskull
4 Misty Rainforest
8 Island
This actually feels much tighter and more focused.
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
For example: Where are your free hard counters? Where are your free soft counters? These are some of the aspects that made the deck so successful because it could still "play" while it was diggin for land.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
More importantly, though, I'd like you to clarify what you mean by misleading. The theory I posted and explained is perfectly straightforward. The two posters who have been goldfishing agree that it works. The numbers are concrete. How am I misleading anyone?
Anyways, this is the original Turbo Xerox by Alan Comer:
3 Dissipate
4 Counterspell
4 Powersink
4 Memory Lapse
4 Foreshadow
4 Portent
4 Impulse
4 Suq-ata Firewalker
4 Waterspout Djinn
4 Man-o-War
1 Dream Tides
17 Islands
Like I said, it's not all that relevant to us because it's so old that the cardpool and the meta it was built for aren't even comparable to ours.
It does run 4 free counterspells, but those cost CA and there aren't any other free counterspells in the list. It also wasn't so much included to be free as it was because Force was one of the few playable counterspells in the cardpool at the time.
I don't think my list is that sad to be missing Force. A deck that's going to 1-for-1 nickel and dime you until it can assert it's card quality and pull ahead, doesn't want to force itself into situations where it has fewer cards to fight with. Especially in Modern, where the ability to combat degenerate decks while tapped out is not needed.
Really, only a few things. They both hose fetches and Pod, and Expedition Map, Squelch has a few random other targets, but most of the targets Squelch hits that Shadow doesn't only get delayed (which is still better than Shadow doing nothing at all), for instance Aether Vial, Kiki.
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.
I'd like to point out that Shadow also counters Scapeshift.
But that's about the only thing. I'm not sure which I like better now.
Shadow counters Scapeshift and Gifts Ungiven, among a few other corner cases that I can't think of off the top of my head. I would probably run more Squelches maindeck, and more Shadows in the board.
Any more of this, and Team Troll will be more than just a name.
I know where you post.