The deck is built around Aether Vial with ETB creatures such as Kitchen Finks and Eternal Witness. The incredibly powerful soft lock of Eternal Witness + Familiars Ruse or Cryptic Command gives the deck staying power and resiliency in the late game, in addition to massive card advantage. It's roughly the same premise as Eternal Command, but with the key counterspell costing 1U less.
I came up with the idea for the deck while just playing my casual UGGhostly Flicker deck. I rediscovered, and subsequently added, Familiar's Ruse. I jumped in to a casual modern room and inadvertently locked my opponent out of the game by turn 5. After the game I immediately made edits to try to make this a semi-competitive decklist. I realize that turn 5 seems slow, but with early disruption like Abrupt Decay, Lighting Bolt, or Path to Exile, (not to mention many creatures CMC 2 and 3) Getting to turn 5 happens nearly every game.
Creatures:
4 Eternal Witness: Half of the deck's namesake. The Green Snapcaster (better yet, Snapcaster should be called the blue Eternal Witness). Regrowth stapled to a 2/1. This card is sick. Retrieve dead creatures, disruption, fetchlands, and even lock your opponent out with Commands or Ruse's.
4 Coiling Oracle: The only good two mana, immediate card advantage in the format. I'd wager a guess that upwards of 40% of the time, or more, it ramps you. I want to say this Snake Elf is uncut-able. What I will say is, test this out, and you will not be disappointed, and most likely come to the same conclusion as the rest of us. Currently testing Snapcaster in Oracle's place.
4 Kitchen Finks: Gains life vs aggro, two bodies vs control, Efficient and hard to deal with threat against combo. All three vs Midrange. Must I explain any more?
2+ Vendilion Clique: End-of-Turn disruption and efficient body vs Combo and Control, Not too terrible game 1 vs Aggro, though usually sided out for more removal as it is a tad slow in that particular matchup. Regardless, solid card. There's a reason its pushing 50 bucks.
2+ Scavenging Ooze: Gains life against aggro, Big threat against control, Grave hate vs graveyard based decks. Can randomly hose Snapcasters and Goyfs. All around solid card.
Noncreatures: 4 Æther Vial: This card is ridiculous. It makes the deck tick. Don't question it, just play 4.
3+ Familiar's Ruse: The other half of the namesake lock. Sometimes its just a 2 mana hard counter with added value. Other times it locks your opponent out of the game.
3+ Cryptic Command: An addional option for the lock. Slower than Ruse, but can be somewhat more versatile. I prefer Ruse personally, but Command has its extra uses that can randomly be good sometimes.
Mana:
2+ Flooded Grove: Usually I wouldn't include lands in "core cards" but this one is an exception. It makes the mana work, with GG from Finks and Witness, UU from Clique and Ruse, and UUU from Cryptic.
Why play Black?
Dark Confidant is a MACHINE. Play him turn two, or better yet, Vial him in end of turn three, that my friends is a game winning play. Many decks cannot deal with the card advantage granted by Mr. Maher Jr. Even drawing one card off of him can be nearly backbreaking for some decks. Of course, he is easy to deal with, but when you untap with him, especially after playing him turn two, you just know you have the game solidly in your control.
Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse are two of the strongest removal spells in this format. Abrupt Decay kills anything CMC 3 or less for a mere two mana, instant speed. Be wary of the Mizzium skin or Apostles Blessing, but aside from those cards, your target will be DEAD. Pulse is just very versatile. It kills pretty much anything in the format, and can often two- or [rarely] three-for-one your opponent. Also kills hordes of tokens, sometimes it comes up.
Sideboard gives access to Devour Flesh to answer Bogles, Duress for combo and control decks, and Darkblast for fast aggro decks like affinity.
Why play red?
Bolt and Izzet Charm are their to give the deck early game, charm being absolutely incredible in this kind of deck. It acts as a counterspell before Ruse or Cryptic, removal spell against aggressive decks, and late game filtering, though I've never needed to use the final mode.
Electrolyze is a solid 2-for-1, sometimes even a 3-for-1. It deals with many key creatures in Modern; Deathrite, Snapcaster, Bob, Thalia, Leonin Arbiter, Kiki-Jiki, Pestermite, Goblin Electromancer; etc. The list goes on. Its a good card. Haha.
Sideboard cards like Ancient Grudge and Sowing Salt are incredibly powerful against the correct strategies. Sometimes Grudge even comes in just to fight Pithing Needle, or other random artifacts that are fairly good against us (Ensaring Bridge, Defense Grid, Torpor Orb).
Straight Eternal Command takes longer to get the lock on, and is far too slow without Aether Vial. This deck can function reasonably well without Aether Vial, playing a simple tempo/control game. With Vial, however, the deck feels like it's cheating.
Another problem I've found with Eternal Command is that one of its main beaters is Tarmogoyf. Both of these decks stumble to graveyard hate regardless, and now many decks are mainboarding Deathrite Shaman's and Scavenging Ooze's, two of the best cards against the lock. I'd rather my beaters not take a hit due to my opponents mainboard cards as well. Another reason, under budget considerations, is this deck is roughly $500 cheaper due to that fact. So there's that too.
With that said, you can find better creatures to vial than the ones you already have. In addition, ghostly flicker would better server as another creature or removal.
I would drop sea-gate oracle and elvish visionary and ghostly flicker.
I would add goyf, spellstutter sprite, and one or two snapcasters.
DRS and Ooze wreck you, I would have a plan to handle them.
UWR Control and Midrange
Definitely in our favor. Against the Control version, Vial is just back breaking against them, plus all of our dudes give us value. The midrange matchup is slightly tougher but still vastly in our favor. Both versions have to save path for Finks and if we can ruse back an oracle to counter the path, we are so far ahead. Backbreaking play right there. While they have many cards in their deck to break the lock, once its actually going, they really can't topdeck out of it, especially when we are pressuring them with Finks and Oozes. Also, Ooze shuts down Snapcaster mage, and Think Twice in the control version.
Jund/k
This matchup is even to favorable. Our redundancy means their discard is very weak against us, and as long as we kill Deathrite, we can just outvalue them over and over. Scavenging Ooze and Kitchen Finks again are all stars. Ooze Shrinks goyfs and essentially turns off Deathrites, while Kitchen Finks provides insane value against both Liliana and all their removal (except BGW's Paths). Vendillion Clique and Oracle are also very good vs liliana, and our removal kills all of their guys except for Goyf.
Melira Pod
Only played this match once so far, but I won, and the matchup seems about even. Yet again, Ooze proves himself why he is main deck, as he shuts off all their combos except Angel+Spike. Kitchen Finks also is good when they are going for the beatdown mode. Beware of pod, however, as an unchecked pod will outvalue even our deck, providing dude after dude thanks to persist guys and voice of resurgence. Also, Gavony township is solid, so try to save Tec Edge or Needles for it.
You should check out the Eternal Gifts thread, some people talked about using Familiar's Ruse. I think it makes a good 1/2-off depending on how many creatures you will have on the board. More than that and it starts becoming a burden when you don't want to bounce a creature.
Thoughts on the deck to me are:
Your win-con of Omen/Valakut is too slow imo. Scapeshift works because it does all the damage it needs in one turn. With your version you need to be dropping lands to kill them, which gives them time either to finish killing you or deal with the Omen. It works against slower decks if you get the locks but this win-con is very slow against midrange and aggro. You also can't tutor/dig very well for either piece.
Your deck doesn't seem to be able to handle pod decks. You can't stop the turn 2 pod drop and even many times the turn 3 drop, and from there your counterspells get a lot less useful.
Be aware the Familiar's Ruse is not castable if you don't have any creatures out, which happens and will cause you to lose games.
How do you deal with aggro? You cant use Ruse against them on turn 2 because you won't have a creature out, and if you Ruse on turn three you are losing a blocker. Your deck can't remove creatures at all really it depends on dropping 2 drops to chump block, but what if they put cranial plating on vault skirge?
I'm not trying to say the deck doesn't have potential I'm just saying what I see.
I don't understand what advantage this has over Eternal Command?
Familiar's ruse only costs UU. In testing, there have been times I've been able to ruse twice in a turn, easily. With Cryptic, that would be bare minimum 8 mana.
I am up to 3 Cryptic Commands, along with the 4 ruses. I'll post an updated list after a few more tweaks and matches.
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Change Æther Adept for Faerie Impostor, it only costs U and has evasion.
Maybe even change Sea Gate Oracle for Fathom Seer to combo it with Prismatic Omen and Valakut.
AEther Adept is to bounce opposing creatures, with the minor upside of being able to bounce my own. I've also cut the Omen-Kut in favor of better mana and less dead cards.
Another awesome advantage of Ruse over Cryptic is that the return is part of the cost. The problem with Command is that your opponent could always respond by killing the E-Wit. Not so much with Ruse. I've had a number of opponents attempt to respond to Ruse with Path or Bolt on the Witness, an I've had to explain that they cant.
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This deck is solid! If you haven't given it a try yet, and you enjoy a thought provoking deck with reasonably complex decision trees, and the ability to completely shut out opponents by turn 4, you absolutely must give this deck a spin. And its FUN to pilot too!
Only truly troublesome matchup seems to be tron, so perhaps Ghost Quarter is necessary over tec edge.
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I run Familar Witness in my Bant Gifts build, it works, it's actually insane and I don't know why more people aren't doing it. I think white brings more to the table than red by the way (Supreme Verdict, Path To Exile, Wall of Omens, etc.)
Seriously, it really is insane. It usually takes me casting Ruse twice, bouncing witness, to get the concession, because it just takes people completely by surprise.
I've been toying with the idea of trying a different color, but I would prefer black over white in my case. Supreme will often hurt me, or at least slow down my assault. Also, Deathrite is a great card vs. the lock, and I prefer having Lightning bolt and Izzet charm as fast, efficient answers to it. Black would give access to Go for the Throat, Smother, and Disfigure, two of which also fight the Ooze.
I've actually been liking Path less and less as a whole in this format. The games go longer, so the extra land seems to be more relevant than earlier in the format's history. But that is just a personal preference and observation.
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mmmm.....Sun Titan and Colonnade, tempting. It requires testing. Bant Charm is sweet too.
My main reason for staying red is I'm hesitant on losing Izzet Charm. It counter's relevant cards early game before ruse is online, and deals with early dorks and Deathrites. Though white also gives Azorius Charm, which I'm sure is amazing once you have the game locked.
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Alright bud, I gave it a try and have to say I was thoroughly impressed.
However, I realized that stuff like goyf / smiter / colonnade could be a problem if they landed. After weighing things I realized red wasn't super necessary and that I'd rather some path. My current list is this:
White not only allows Path, but Resto, Colonnade, and Bant Charm. Finks is also easier to cast. I don't feel like I'm losing much by losing red. The possible burn endgame is replaced by a Resto endgame, and grudge in the sideboard is replaced by Bant Charm (better). Sowing Salt is lost but I think I have enough counters post board to deal with tron.
As a side note, tormod's crypt is pretty boss when we also run 4 witness to bring it back.
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It's testing pretty well. I haven't lost a match on cockatrice yet. I may end up meeting you in the finals of IQ#1 for the mirror match.
Alright bud, I gave it a try and have to say I was thoroughly impressed.
However, I realized that stuff like goyf / smiter / colonnade could be a problem if they landed. After weighing things I realized red wasn't super necessary and that I'd rather some path. My current list is this:
White not only allows Path, but Resto, Colonnade, and Bant Charm. Finks is also easier to cast. I don't feel like I'm losing much by losing red. The possible burn endgame is replaced by a Resto endgame, and grudge in the sideboard is replaced by Bant Charm (better). Sowing Salt is lost but I think I have enough counters post board to deal with tron.
As a side note, tormod's crypt is pretty boss when we also run 4 witness to bring it back.
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It's testing pretty well. I haven't lost a match on cockatrice yet. I may end up meeting you in the finals of IQ#1 for the mirror match.
Harm's way seems super sick. And I do love a bant charm. How does your list deal with an early deathrite though? That was my main reasoning for going Red.
Resto in white is awesome I think. Love the crypt interaction too, deal with opposing Graveyards. Scrabbling Claws is also an option in that vein, but crypt just crushes dredge.
I gotta test out your list, looks solid
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-2 Harm's Way
+1 Wrath of God
+1 Creeping Corrosion
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I still like Harm's Way in a deck that has more creatures (preferable weaker ones) but I found it to be lackluster here.
I was actually considering going back to red because I found myself really missing Electrolyze, but then I realized Verdict is also really good for that slot (maybe even better). Even if we kill some of our guys in the process we do run a lot of Witness.
Anyway it's testing even better now. Today I was starting up with my list above and was struggling against heavy creature decks, midrange or aggro. Now I feel quite a bit better.
I'd like to get back that 26th land but I don't feel like cutting anything right now. Voidslime is still in the testing but so far there hasn't been a situation where I was very disappointed to see it. I even wanted to squeeze in a 2nd one... 60 cards is so small
I'm glad you like the white in the deck, I keep going back to the red version personally, too many games won to a topdeck bolt that was necessary, plus I much prefer ancient grudge over bant charm. I guess when we get to the Finals of that IQ we'll see whose really is better
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I didn't even think of Augur! I'll have to test it, see how often I hit. I'd want to hit at least roughly 70% of the time for it to be worth it though.
I still need to try electrolyze. I love the card, I just don't know what to cut
Perhaps Simic charm. Its a tad weak. Very versatile, but oftentimes its just a worse unsummon.
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So why would I choose this over Scepter based counter decks? Just a question. I like the idea, though I would throw a couple Ninja's in for card draw.
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In case I didn't tell you, I don't care about your opinion I just want your facts. And not the facts that make you seem smart. I want the ones that are actual facts.
@Poop: Scepter is dangerous. Abrupt decay / flickerwisp / etc and you get 2 for 1'd. Also scepter is a bad draw late game. This deck is more versatile, consistent, and less prone to blow outs. Scepter is a big hit or miss whereas with this deck even if I dont get the combo going (which probably happens most of the time) I've still got plenty of strong cards and can usually win.
@GFSnl: Flickerwisp is a no-go because it returns your blinked creature at end of turn. That means you aren't able to blink a witness to get back your counter spell, all in responce to what they are trying to cast. Also I prefer flash and a toughness that is out of electro/bolt range even if it's for a mana more.
@Tinfoil Hat: Woah, you aren't playing electro? That card is like the main reason I'd play red. I'd cut simic charm for sure and probably an izzet charm or two.
Yeah, I do need to add in some Ooze. The problem is, he makes me want to run green, and that conflicts with my best sideboard card in the form of shackles. I suppose just exiling 1-3 a turn is still fairly powerful, and the Flooded Groves help with more.
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See, black is my preference for non-red splash. IoK, Thoughtseize, Deathrite, Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, Smother, GftT....all solid cards that are perfectly fine to splash for. I do have to try a UGb take on the deck, tar pit is also a solid card in that strategy.
I've found Coiling oracle to be one of the best cards in the deck. There have been the sweet turn threes of, respond to spell, vial in Oracle, hit land Cryptic your spell. Blowout city.
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I've found Coiling oracle to be one of the best cards in the deck. There have been the sweet turn threes of, respond to spell, vial in Oracle, hit land Cryptic your spell. Blowout city.
Yes, oracle is definitely one of the best cards in the deck. I wish we could run 8. Visionary is close but the land coming to the field is huge.
However whenever I have a vial on 2 and an oracle hand I'm dropping it on my turn, I'd never really do it on the opponent's turn.
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Black is interesting but the discard spells are pretty lackluster late game. Not a huge fan of bob. However spellstutter is a great idea I need to try out.
I'm still working with bant. The list is being messed around with constantly. Currently trying out sphinx's revelation.
Sphinx could be actively amazing in the deck. Its very grindy, and there are plenty of games where late you just find yourself with a pile of mana, but nothing to do with it. My only real mana sink is Ravine. I had tried out Kessig Wolf Run, but found it to be lackluster, and the colorless-ness often screwed me early game. I've been fairly satisfied with ravine, and i actually prefer it as a manland over colonnade. The fact that it can grow, combined with the fact that the opponent rarely has blockers by the time that I'm animating it, makes it my manland of choice for the deck.
Tom, what's your reasoning for playing the oracle sorcery speed when you have vial on 2 rather than just waiting until EOT? The only thing i can think of is if you flip another vial, and even then (at least in the UGr version) I'd rather hold up countermagic or removal anyways.
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The deck is built around Aether Vial with ETB creatures such as Kitchen Finks and Eternal Witness. The incredibly powerful soft lock of Eternal Witness + Familiars Ruse or Cryptic Command gives the deck staying power and resiliency in the late game, in addition to massive card advantage. It's roughly the same premise as Eternal Command, but with the key counterspell costing 1U less.
I came up with the idea for the deck while just playing my casual UG Ghostly Flicker deck. I rediscovered, and subsequently added, Familiar's Ruse. I jumped in to a casual modern room and inadvertently locked my opponent out of the game by turn 5. After the game I immediately made edits to try to make this a semi-competitive decklist. I realize that turn 5 seems slow, but with early disruption like Abrupt Decay, Lighting Bolt, or Path to Exile, (not to mention many creatures CMC 2 and 3) Getting to turn 5 happens nearly every game.
4 Eternal Witness: Half of the deck's namesake. The Green Snapcaster (better yet, Snapcaster should be called the blue Eternal Witness). Regrowth stapled to a 2/1. This card is sick. Retrieve dead creatures, disruption, fetchlands, and even lock your opponent out with Commands or Ruse's.
4 Coiling Oracle: The only good two mana, immediate card advantage in the format. I'd wager a guess that upwards of 40% of the time, or more, it ramps you. I want to say this Snake Elf is uncut-able. What I will say is, test this out, and you will not be disappointed, and most likely come to the same conclusion as the rest of us. Currently testing Snapcaster in Oracle's place.
4 Kitchen Finks: Gains life vs aggro, two bodies vs control, Efficient and hard to deal with threat against combo. All three vs Midrange. Must I explain any more?
2+ Vendilion Clique: End-of-Turn disruption and efficient body vs Combo and Control, Not too terrible game 1 vs Aggro, though usually sided out for more removal as it is a tad slow in that particular matchup. Regardless, solid card. There's a reason its pushing 50 bucks.
2+ Scavenging Ooze: Gains life against aggro, Big threat against control, Grave hate vs graveyard based decks. Can randomly hose Snapcasters and Goyfs. All around solid card.
Noncreatures:
4 Æther Vial: This card is ridiculous. It makes the deck tick. Don't question it, just play 4.
3+ Familiar's Ruse: The other half of the namesake lock. Sometimes its just a 2 mana hard counter with added value. Other times it locks your opponent out of the game.
3+ Cryptic Command: An addional option for the lock. Slower than Ruse, but can be somewhat more versatile. I prefer Ruse personally, but Command has its extra uses that can randomly be good sometimes.
Mana:
2+ Flooded Grove: Usually I wouldn't include lands in "core cards" but this one is an exception. It makes the mana work, with GG from Finks and Witness, UU from Clique and Ruse, and UUU from Cryptic.
Why play Black?
Dark Confidant is a MACHINE. Play him turn two, or better yet, Vial him in end of turn three, that my friends is a game winning play. Many decks cannot deal with the card advantage granted by Mr. Maher Jr. Even drawing one card off of him can be nearly backbreaking for some decks. Of course, he is easy to deal with, but when you untap with him, especially after playing him turn two, you just know you have the game solidly in your control.
Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse are two of the strongest removal spells in this format. Abrupt Decay kills anything CMC 3 or less for a mere two mana, instant speed. Be wary of the Mizzium skin or Apostles Blessing, but aside from those cards, your target will be DEAD. Pulse is just very versatile. It kills pretty much anything in the format, and can often two- or [rarely] three-for-one your opponent. Also kills hordes of tokens, sometimes it comes up.
Sideboard gives access to Devour Flesh to answer Bogles, Duress for combo and control decks, and Darkblast for fast aggro decks like affinity.
4 Eternal Witness
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Dark Confidant
Spells:
4 AEther Vial
3 Familiar's Ruse
3 Cryptic Command
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Island
3 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
2 Scalding Tarn
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
1 Overgrown Tomb
3 Spell Snare
3 Pithing Needle
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Vedalken Shackles
2 Duress
2 Darkblast
2 Devour Flesh
Why play red?
Bolt and Izzet Charm are their to give the deck early game, charm being absolutely incredible in this kind of deck. It acts as a counterspell before Ruse or Cryptic, removal spell against aggressive decks, and late game filtering, though I've never needed to use the final mode.
Electrolyze is a solid 2-for-1, sometimes even a 3-for-1. It deals with many key creatures in Modern; Deathrite, Snapcaster, Bob, Thalia, Leonin Arbiter, Kiki-Jiki, Pestermite, Goblin Electromancer; etc. The list goes on. Its a good card. Haha.
Sideboard cards like Ancient Grudge and Sowing Salt are incredibly powerful against the correct strategies. Sometimes Grudge even comes in just to fight Pithing Needle, or other random artifacts that are fairly good against us (Ensaring Bridge, Defense Grid, Torpor Orb).
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Eternal Witness
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Scavenging Ooze
Artifacts:
4 AEther Vial
Instants:
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Familiar's Ruse
3 Cryptic Command
2 Electrolyze
2 Izzet Charm
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Island
3 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
2 Steam Vents
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Raging Ravine
3 Spell Snare
2 Pithing Needle
3 Vedalken Shackles
1 Combust
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Sowing Salt
1 Vandalblast
2 Firespout
4 Eternal Witness
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Snapcaster Mage
NonDudes:
4 AEther Vial
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Cryptic Command
3 Familiar's Ruse
2 Electrolyze
2 Izzet Charm
1 Forked Bolt
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Island
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
1 Stomping Ground
2 Steam Vents
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Raging Ravine
1 Mountain
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Forked Bolt
1 Pithing Needle
3 Vedalken Shackles
2 Combust
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Sowing Salt
1 Vandalblast
2 Firespout
1 Back to Nature
Another problem I've found with Eternal Command is that one of its main beaters is Tarmogoyf. Both of these decks stumble to graveyard hate regardless, and now many decks are mainboarding Deathrite Shaman's and Scavenging Ooze's, two of the best cards against the lock. I'd rather my beaters not take a hit due to my opponents mainboard cards as well. Another reason, under budget considerations, is this deck is roughly $500 cheaper due to that fact. So there's that too.
Tinfoil Hat playing RUG Ruse:
IQ Semifinals vs Bant Midrange commentary courtesy of DOLZero
Eternal Ruse vs BG Rock
Eternal Ruse vs Jund, video courtesy of DOLZero
IQ Finals vs Jund
MemoryLapse playing RUG Ruse:
1-19-14 Eternal Ruse vs Random BUG Timmy Deck
1-19-14 Eternal Ruse vs Splinter Twin
4 Eternal Witness
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Scavenging Ooze
Spells:
4 AEther Vial
3 Familiar's Ruse
3 Cryptic Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Electrolyze
2 Izzet Charm
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Island
3 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
2 Steam Vents
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Raging Ravine
3 Spell Snare
3 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Combust
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Sowing Salt
4 Eternal Witness
4 Coiling Oracle
3 Elvish Visionary
4 Sea Gate Oracle
3 AEther Adept
4 Kitchen Finks
Non Dudes:
4 Familiar's Ruse
4 AEther Vial
3 Prismatic Omen
3 Ghostly Flicker
1 Cryptic Command
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Island
3 Forest
2 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
3 Spell Snare
2 Viridian Shaman
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Primeval Titan
2 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Wipe Away
1 Mizzium Skin
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Quotes:
With that said, you can find better creatures to vial than the ones you already have. In addition, ghostly flicker would better server as another creature or removal.
I would drop sea-gate oracle and elvish visionary and ghostly flicker.
I would add goyf, spellstutter sprite, and one or two snapcasters.
DRS and Ooze wreck you, I would have a plan to handle them.
UWR Control and Midrange
Definitely in our favor. Against the Control version, Vial is just back breaking against them, plus all of our dudes give us value. The midrange matchup is slightly tougher but still vastly in our favor. Both versions have to save path for Finks and if we can ruse back an oracle to counter the path, we are so far ahead. Backbreaking play right there. While they have many cards in their deck to break the lock, once its actually going, they really can't topdeck out of it, especially when we are pressuring them with Finks and Oozes. Also, Ooze shuts down Snapcaster mage, and Think Twice in the control version.
Jund/k
This matchup is even to favorable. Our redundancy means their discard is very weak against us, and as long as we kill Deathrite, we can just outvalue them over and over. Scavenging Ooze and Kitchen Finks again are all stars. Ooze Shrinks goyfs and essentially turns off Deathrites, while Kitchen Finks provides insane value against both Liliana and all their removal (except BGW's Paths). Vendillion Clique and Oracle are also very good vs liliana, and our removal kills all of their guys except for Goyf.
Melira Pod
Only played this match once so far, but I won, and the matchup seems about even. Yet again, Ooze proves himself why he is main deck, as he shuts off all their combos except Angel+Spike. Kitchen Finks also is good when they are going for the beatdown mode. Beware of pod, however, as an unchecked pod will outvalue even our deck, providing dude after dude thanks to persist guys and voice of resurgence. Also, Gavony township is solid, so try to save Tec Edge or Needles for it.
to be continued
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
Thoughts on the deck to me are:
Your win-con of Omen/Valakut is too slow imo. Scapeshift works because it does all the damage it needs in one turn. With your version you need to be dropping lands to kill them, which gives them time either to finish killing you or deal with the Omen. It works against slower decks if you get the locks but this win-con is very slow against midrange and aggro. You also can't tutor/dig very well for either piece.
Your deck doesn't seem to be able to handle pod decks. You can't stop the turn 2 pod drop and even many times the turn 3 drop, and from there your counterspells get a lot less useful.
Be aware the Familiar's Ruse is not castable if you don't have any creatures out, which happens and will cause you to lose games.
How do you deal with aggro? You cant use Ruse against them on turn 2 because you won't have a creature out, and if you Ruse on turn three you are losing a blocker. Your deck can't remove creatures at all really it depends on dropping 2 drops to chump block, but what if they put cranial plating on vault skirge?
I'm not trying to say the deck doesn't have potential I'm just saying what I see.
WUBRGReaper KingGRBUW 5c Blink [Less Competitive]
WBEvershrikeBW Orzhov Enchantments [Less Competitive]
GIwamori of the Open FistG Green Smash [Less Competitive]
RGWUInk-Treader NephilimUWGR Draw Too Many Cards [More Competitive]
URJhoira of the GhituRU Izzet Stax [More Competitive]
URGRiku of Two ReflectionsGRU Ceta Dredge [More Competitive]
Modern
RUGBNightshiftBGUR Like Scapeshift but bad
Familiar's ruse only costs UU. In testing, there have been times I've been able to ruse twice in a turn, easily. With Cryptic, that would be bare minimum 8 mana.
I am up to 3 Cryptic Commands, along with the 4 ruses. I'll post an updated list after a few more tweaks and matches.
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Quotes:
-ktkenshinx-
Maybe even change Sea Gate Oracle for Fathom Seer to combo it with Prismatic Omen and Valakut.
AEther Adept is to bounce opposing creatures, with the minor upside of being able to bounce my own. I've also cut the Omen-Kut in favor of better mana and less dead cards.
Here's my most current decklist:
4 Eternal Witness
4 Coiling Oracle
3 AEther Adept
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Kitchen Finks
Spells:
4 AEther Vial
3 Familiar's Ruse
3 Cryptic Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Izzet Charm
1 Simic Charm
1 Remand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Island
3 Breeding Pool
2 Flooded Grove
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
2 Steam Vents
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Verdant Catacombs
3 Spell Snare
2 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Vithian Renegades
1 Combust
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Sowing Salt
Another awesome advantage of Ruse over Cryptic is that the return is part of the cost. The problem with Command is that your opponent could always respond by killing the E-Wit. Not so much with Ruse. I've had a number of opponents attempt to respond to Ruse with Path or Bolt on the Witness, an I've had to explain that they cant.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
Only truly troublesome matchup seems to be tron, so perhaps Ghost Quarter is necessary over tec edge.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
I've been toying with the idea of trying a different color, but I would prefer black over white in my case. Supreme will often hurt me, or at least slow down my assault. Also, Deathrite is a great card vs. the lock, and I prefer having Lightning bolt and Izzet charm as fast, efficient answers to it. Black would give access to Go for the Throat, Smother, and Disfigure, two of which also fight the Ooze.
I've actually been liking Path less and less as a whole in this format. The games go longer, so the extra land seems to be more relevant than earlier in the format's history. But that is just a personal preference and observation.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
mmmm.....Sun Titan and Colonnade, tempting. It requires testing. Bant Charm is sweet too.
My main reason for staying red is I'm hesitant on losing Izzet Charm. It counter's relevant cards early game before ruse is online, and deals with early dorks and Deathrites. Though white also gives Azorius Charm, which I'm sure is amazing once you have the game locked.
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Quotes:
However, I realized that stuff like goyf / smiter / colonnade could be a problem if they landed. After weighing things I realized red wasn't super necessary and that I'd rather some path. My current list is this:
4x Aether Vial
4x Coiling Oracle
Stall Aggro:
4x Path to Exile
4x Kitchen Finks
2x Harm's Way
Control:
3x Cryptic Command
3x Familiar's Ruse
2x Vendilion Clique
1x Voidslime
4x Eternal Witness
3x Restoration Angel
Land (26):
4x Misty Rainforest
3x Scalding Tarn
2x Verdant Catacombs
4x Breeding Pool
3x Hallowed Fountain
1x Temple Garden
3x Celestial Colonnade
3x Flooded Grove
1x Forest
1x Island
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Harm's Way
Control:
4x Mana Leak
2x Voidslime
1x Negate
1x Vendilion Clique
3x Tormod's Crypt
2x Bant Charm
White not only allows Path, but Resto, Colonnade, and Bant Charm. Finks is also easier to cast. I don't feel like I'm losing much by losing red. The possible burn endgame is replaced by a Resto endgame, and grudge in the sideboard is replaced by Bant Charm (better). Sowing Salt is lost but I think I have enough counters post board to deal with tron.
As a side note, tormod's crypt is pretty boss when we also run 4 witness to bring it back.
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It's testing pretty well. I haven't lost a match on cockatrice yet. I may end up meeting you in the finals of IQ#1 for the mirror match.
Harm's way seems super sick. And I do love a bant charm. How does your list deal with an early deathrite though? That was my main reasoning for going Red.
Resto in white is awesome I think. Love the crypt interaction too, deal with opposing Graveyards. Scrabbling Claws is also an option in that vein, but crypt just crushes dredge.
I gotta test out your list, looks solid
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
-1 Ghost Quarter
-2 Harm's Way
+1 Cryptic Command
+2 Supreme Verdict
and, in the sideboard:
-2 Harm's Way
+1 Wrath of God
+1 Creeping Corrosion
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I still like Harm's Way in a deck that has more creatures (preferable weaker ones) but I found it to be lackluster here.
I was actually considering going back to red because I found myself really missing Electrolyze, but then I realized Verdict is also really good for that slot (maybe even better). Even if we kill some of our guys in the process we do run a lot of Witness.
Anyway it's testing even better now. Today I was starting up with my list above and was struggling against heavy creature decks, midrange or aggro. Now I feel quite a bit better.
I'd like to get back that 26th land but I don't feel like cutting anything right now. Voidslime is still in the testing but so far there hasn't been a situation where I was very disappointed to see it. I even wanted to squeeze in a 2nd one... 60 cards is so small
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
I didn't even think of Augur! I'll have to test it, see how often I hit. I'd want to hit at least roughly 70% of the time for it to be worth it though.
I still need to try electrolyze. I love the card, I just don't know what to cut
Perhaps Simic charm. Its a tad weak. Very versatile, but oftentimes its just a worse unsummon.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
Cockatrice username: Blackcat77
@GFSnl: Flickerwisp is a no-go because it returns your blinked creature at end of turn. That means you aren't able to blink a witness to get back your counter spell, all in responce to what they are trying to cast. Also I prefer flash and a toughness that is out of electro/bolt range even if it's for a mana more.
@Tinfoil Hat: Woah, you aren't playing electro? That card is like the main reason I'd play red. I'd cut simic charm for sure and probably an izzet charm or two.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
Quotes:
I've found Coiling oracle to be one of the best cards in the deck. There have been the sweet turn threes of, respond to spell, vial in Oracle, hit land Cryptic your spell. Blowout city.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
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Yes, oracle is definitely one of the best cards in the deck. I wish we could run 8. Visionary is close but the land coming to the field is huge.
However whenever I have a vial on 2 and an oracle hand I'm dropping it on my turn, I'd never really do it on the opponent's turn.
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Black is interesting but the discard spells are pretty lackluster late game. Not a huge fan of bob. However spellstutter is a great idea I need to try out.
I'm still working with bant. The list is being messed around with constantly. Currently trying out sphinx's revelation.
Tom, what's your reasoning for playing the oracle sorcery speed when you have vial on 2 rather than just waiting until EOT? The only thing i can think of is if you flip another vial, and even then (at least in the UGr version) I'd rather hold up countermagic or removal anyways.
Thanks to Rivenor for the signature and XenoNinja for the Avi!
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