She bounces in and out of my list depending on how rude to my opponents I'm okay with being. She's kind of the best card we've got for the 1-of combat fast-kill option. Cliques are probably the second best fast-kill option, but you can't really just play 1 of those. Jace MA is likely the best non-combat fast-kill, but that partially misses the point of the slot as part of the role of the combat fast-kill slot is against decks with eldrazi like tron so we can win without manually drawing out their entire deck with JaceB and no mill.
Anything with eldrazi are problematic, and thassa solves that so long as she gets out early enough. I've been siding in lab maniac for the tron matches, if I can't deck them I can certainly deck myself. Right now the mtgo meta is heavily slanted to burn and ur delver with swiftspear and treasure cruise, the only tron I've seen in a few days was uw gifts. I think burn and delver must be 30% of the meta right now.
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3-0-1 splitting first, beating rdw and boggle. skyte was a house. drew my singleton on the play g1 vs boggles, 2-1. vs rdw skyte and 4x spellstutter g2 felt like a bye, 2-0. other deck was random 2-0
no big idea behind this list.. just throwing in some stuff ive been testing like jace and skite. Spellskite is really good at the store i was playing at; he kind of just won by himself. Got a second skite and 8 treasure cruise with prize. Im considering buying every copy of Cruise i see
on another note; i recently read about how pointless pile shuffling is, compared to riffle shuffling, when considering time. i used to pile and riffle but today i just riffled about 12 times per match and my first 10 cards were always balanced. obviously 3 matches isnt conclusive, but it was the first time ive never had to mull or get flooded/screwed once in a tournament. kept a one lander once but drew into 2 islands. even the mutavaults seemed to come out at perfect intervals
what is the standard answer to delver for time attack? chalice, redirect and shackles? im expecting a lot of delvers and twins at a super IQ coming up. I feel like with all the mines i run i could put in gigadrowse to finish delver/twin as long as i can weather their first 19 1/2 damage (and resolve an engine)
One of the things I love about this thread is the way everyone is always tweaking and fiddling to try and wrench that last bit of juice out of their decks. Speaking of:
Picking up the Digs tomorrow and third Shackles is in the mail. Not sure when I'll be able to get testing in. Sideboard is modular until I can properly refine it. Pretty convinced that whether it's Dig, TT, or even a return to Mine; this deck needs the extra two dedicated draw slots.
As always, testing will tell.
I have one more week to hit the goal of completing the primer by November. Trying to squeeze in time when I can. Hopefully some more sections completed by Monday.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
Yeah the mines are definitely doing work. I was going to reduce them to 2 as well, and ninja to 1 for +1 serum visions and +1 gigadrowse main for final list. perhaps a snag for a second visions.
Spellstutter is so love/hate. On the play she can just end the game with retarded tempo, and shes been a pet card since her printing. I think ill give her a chance at this event seeing as her replacement would need to be creatures or ill be forced to cut Deep Hours. Cursecatcher hasnt tested well; the evasion is too important in my current list. Getting some bull*****, barely lethal EOT snapcaster snag + muta swing after 6 turns of bird and fairy pings accounts for half of my wins. Cursecatcher / Eye of nowhere gives us 8 force spike guys and 8 boomerangs, which to me is exciting. Ive been testing a lot to see if theres a list somewhere in there. Its funny to watch people bolt your familiars, but in the end they get there because of it
I really want dig through time instead of visions but i run way too many permanents. Ive had 20 turn games where my yard is like 6 cards, and mostly cards id want to keep for snapcaster. Luckily visions is pretty good with jace
Chupa i like your edits a lot. Leaks found their spot as digs and a boomerang became a shackles. Mainboard shackles won me game after game when i was testing your list, and multiples were never dead. Now that i think about it, i might need to test Shackles in my main instead of visions. Even if they blow up shackles in their turn you still give their guy sickness. Im surprised you guys are still finding 2x conclave better than 1x, though. He never tested well for me in multiples. My only concern with shackles is cutting the kamigawa lands, but i pretty much scoop to Choke anyway without boomerangs. If Choke starts to see more play, my list is pretty much out the window D:
Another option for choke is something like echoing truth end of opp turn, prepare to counter it next turn. Echoing Truth lets you keep kamigawa lands since it's 1U to cast. Frankly choke seems like pretty narrow tech, the meta would really demand it to see much play.
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I think my list for the event tomorrow is going to be 3x shackles if i can find somewhere to buy them. They fix so many holes. Are they good against pod? That's the only (non creatureless combo) matchup where they seem slow, but i imagine you could disrupt them a decent amount if youre on the play, taking glen elandra if she shows up. Affinity is a joke g2/3 so im not worried about them. Im probably going to pack 4 recalls anyway due to time and card limitations
The best answer I've seen for Choke is not overextending. Leaving two mana open is all it usually takes to answer it with a Boomerang, Remand, or Mana Leak. If four mana is possible, cast Cryptic instead. By that point, it's probably too late for them to stop you if you're aware enough of what's going on.
Pod, especially Melira Pod is a gray area for Thenarus and I as neither of us play it and we just don't have a whole lot of opportunity to test against it. Kiki Pod has never been an issue for either of us, but I'd hardly call the number of matches we've played against it a reasonable sample size.
Thanks for the props, gooseymog, but at least as much goes to Thenarus. I'd say more of late. Not only is he constantly brainstorming, but almost all the practical info for this version of the deck comes from his competitive playing. The only playtime I get of late comes in the form of playtesting with Thenarus or the occasional game thrown in on board game nights. Most of my input on revisions is based on what is reported back to me and the fact that I've been playing this deck so thoroughly and intently for so long now that I can just tell right away when and why the deck is "off". To this day, I still haven't felt there's been any version that operates quite as tightly as the one I took to states, but that one had huge, easily-exploitable flaws that the current list does not. Every tweak and revision is an ongoing effort to get back to that smoothly-playing engine with optimum resilience.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
Other options to shackles are things like sower of temptation and threads of disloyalty. Each has up and downside. Sower takes anything, but gets removed the easiest. Threads takes any 2 drop regardless power. Shackles can be outgrown by tarmogoyf, for example, and is limited by your non-islands.
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Other options to shackles are things like sower of temptation and threads of disloyalty. Each has up and downside. Sower takes anything, but gets removed the easiest. Threads takes any 2 drop regardless power. Shackles can be outgrown by tarmogoyf, for example, and is limited by your non-islands.
Having played all three in Modern, Shackles is the one I like best, though you do have to build heavily around it. I don't really like Sower without Scoona to back it up and I personally think the versatility of Shackles gives it a leg up on Threads, but either are solid choices.
On a related note, I need to add Shackles, Threads, and Sower to either the sideboard or additional cards section of the primer.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
2-3 at super iq. the shackles and skite were gold as half my matches were delver, as expected. problem was i only drew like 3 copies of them in 5 games.
r1 whiffed hard on my draws against GR tron which should be a buy for this deck. Got Grid/Boiled game 2 which i could have prevented, but wouldnt have mattered as i was going to whiff on topdecks anyway (i checked after i conceded)
r2 vs delver. skite stomped g1, then i never see multiples of skite/shackles/sprite/snag g2-3. He probed my hand g2 t1 and saw my 2x snare 2x redirect, so he just played his 2 fking delvers, flipped them, and beat face for 6 turns. Ive lost in this manner to probe so many times that im considering cutting redirect, even though it just seems like bad variance that i never pull snag/snap/stutter with those amazing side cards while my oppo gets 2+ delvers and swings for 6 turns without casting a spell. I realize on paper that redirect is like the best possible card to bring against delver(besides chalice) but man its been testing like garbage
r3 vs a friends UB brew. shackles won single handedly, forcing him to use mana so i could go off in my turn. 2-0
r4 U tron. g1 his hand was slow, and g2 he tron'd up fast but drew lands as i beat with muta and birds. vapor snag handled wurmcoil and flashing in guys EOT killed karn. 2-0
r5 another delver. Never saw any tech; g2 i opened with 8 lands/shackles/dictate and got shackles leaked. Managed to survive a while but got lethal'd before i stabilized. Ancestral recall in modern seems pretty good
in conclusion, skite and shackles are amazing. the deck felt really good but against flipped delvers with slow hands its impossible to win. Treasure cruise is way too strong. Ive never been so sure of an impending ban in my life. The only reason this card isnt a legit recall is because of remands popularity in modern. At least i can spellstutter a recall
Probably dropping spellstutter for pierce/visions and mine for dig. T3 dictate T4 shackles+pierce destroys delver, uw midrange and fish
Have you guys considered 4x shackles? Pithing needle isnt a common choice in modern from what ive seen, and shackles in multiples can just completely shut down decks like fish/affinity/delver if you start out with vapor snag/boomerang on their guys (on the draw affinity would obviously have to wake up with a slow hand). Stealing 2 lords with mutavaults would be lolstupid
Try before you cry 8) been crushing with this all night.
UWx midrange feels like a complete bye. I call it angry birds; a while ago i realized familiar is like a crappy boomerang, but hes also a win condition and hes only 1 mana. I win every game by beating face with a few birds and conclave. Sometimes i have to bounce mines at the end, but thats a good problem to have. You squeeze the crap out of their mana in the first 4 turns and then resolve a warp turn 5 with birds/shoal backup or turn 6 with a pierce if u need to draw more cards. a lot of times youre digging hard for a shoal against counterspells. Vision skeins/boomerang is really strong turn 4. if youve got a birds on board and draw into shoal youre going to win
pierce could become +1 eye of nowhere +1 cryptic, but there is some blowout stuff that pierce loves to hit early game. he also protects your mines from counter magic
ps went 3-1 tonight. beat burn and pod, lost to burn (my own cards lent) and beat some rogue. shackles/skite did all the work
Anything with eldrazi are problematic, and thassa solves that so long as she gets out early enough. I've been siding in lab maniac for the tron matches, if I can't deck them I can certainly deck myself. Right now the mtgo meta is heavily slanted to burn and ur delver with swiftspear and treasure cruise, the only tron I've seen in a few days was uw gifts. I think burn and delver must be 30% of the meta right now.
Sure, but elixir is better against burn and delver, a majority of the meta right now.
this is a really good point.. ive been using 4 familiars as a win condition in my combo version, but i might add an elixir or cut 1 bird for it. Now that i think about it; one of the reasons i never liked elixir was you lose if they seize it, and it was usually a dead card. Now it might be reasonable to run 2 elixirs mainboard with the current meta. It felt like half the field at the super IQ here was delver. The burn decks at my local stores are becoming more consistent as well. They were running lots of jank like browbeat etc for months, but now im barely scraping by with my wins
Either way; elixir seems a lot better than it did a few months ago. Maybe with mines/bells/elixir multiples you could run thirst for knowledge, which feeds Dig through time
bell and mine would be 4x but they dont pitch to shoal. they give you the most draw by turn 5, along with jace. Skeins is a great pitch and feels really powerful in this build. Keeps my curve nice, replacing boomerang as a blue 2cmc and makes sure i never miss an engine, even against jund. Id have cryptic at a lower count, but its my only pitch to shoal other cryptics
This build makes milling them VERY easy. Many games i win i have them at 2-3 turns from lethal and from jace mill. Im buying some foil birds, i know this card will be worth money some day
FNM is standard tonight at my LGS, but a lot of us play modern between rounds. Here is something a little different I am going to try tonight for funsies just to see what works and what doesn't. I'll try to refine the list for Modern FNM later on.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
Relic of Progenitus, Elixir of Immortality, Chalice of the Void, and plenty of Swan Songs and Spell Pierces. I would abandon any thoughts of bouncing your way to victory unless you're running combo. My combo version HATES on lands and generally Delver wont see 4 mana ever against me. Most of my games against it have been won on the backs of lucky Walk draws. Temp Mastery in particular helps even the odds against Cruise.
Dunno about Time Attack since you're banking on keeping the field open. I'm willing to bet those Delvers on T1 just KILL you guys. Dunno how to side against that for TA.
For the Turtles in Time decks, this seems to be the case. Time Attack is a different animal altogether. The former is creature-driven tempo/toolbox deck. The latter is a control deck.
Time Warp is always four copies in every version of Taking Turns. This doesn't vary. Walk the Aeons is two or three, as needed.
So, this was my 5th FNM, fourth time on the timewarp. I still make major mistakes and stuff. My thoughts on the faerie take:
I never drew the Cavern of Souls, but if you do run a list like this, they should definately be inside.
Uncounterable counterspells that hit every turn are brutal.
I really think that Scion of Oona and Mistbind Clique could have been something else.
For Mistbind Clique, I never did anything usefull with her. (It would be usefull versus Delver and Twin, but remands too strong) - She was mostly just a chump blocker or a late-finisher, the few times I managed to land her.
It's a finisher. A 4/4 flyer with flash that taps lands down, locking your opponent out of counters/disruption when you go off, then hits for damage in the air. You only really need two of them.
Scion of Oona was 'meh'. Mostly she just came in at endstep, if I didnt have anything else usefull. Which also worked out, a bit. But I do definately think that we can find cards which has more to offer.
Scoona enables Mistbind Clique, counters spells that target your creatures, makes your Sprites more useful, and serves as an anthem effect for your creatures. It's a card with a massive learning curve, but a huge payoff when played effectively.
This deck demands three to four Mutavaults. Conclave is a land that taps for blue and can become a creature with flying. The card is fantastic in the right deck, but it's a finisher and occasional attacker, not a card you're going to activate every turn. Both gain Shroud and +1/+1 if Scoona is in play when they're activated and can be activated to improve Spellstutter Sprite.
So, anyone has any tips how to beat delver? It seems impossible to me, right now. (Stong sideboard, is that the answer?)
Counters, Redirect, Relic, Shackles, Ætherize...there are a number of great options. Check the primer. I'm hoping to get the new one up in the next few days.
“Modern has provided us a non-rotating format that is far more accessible than Legacy or Vintage, but still retains many of the qualities that people enjoy in those formats—such as a more stable metagame, the ability to play and tweak the same deck week after week, and simply a much more powerful card pool than Standard.”
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
An option might be a splash. Delver really hates sweepers, something like drown in sorrow pummels them. A different option, more narrow, is illness in the ranks which neuters young pyromancer. If you're running monoblue you could also consider disrupting shoal as a hard counter.
On a side note splashing black gives you bitterblossom, which sucks up delver's resources, chumps their dudes, and fuels spellstutter counters.
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3 Mutavault
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Spellskite
4 Cryptic Command
4 Dictate of Kruphix
4 Time Warp
3 Howling Mine
3 Jace Beleren
4 Vapor Snag
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Howling Mine
2 Redirect
2 Higure, the Still Wind
3 spell snare
no big idea behind this list.. just throwing in some stuff ive been testing like jace and skite. Spellskite is really good at the store i was playing at; he kind of just won by himself. Got a second skite and 8 treasure cruise with prize. Im considering buying every copy of Cruise i see
on another note; i recently read about how pointless pile shuffling is, compared to riffle shuffling, when considering time. i used to pile and riffle but today i just riffled about 12 times per match and my first 10 cards were always balanced. obviously 3 matches isnt conclusive, but it was the first time ive never had to mull or get flooded/screwed once in a tournament. kept a one lander once but drew into 2 islands. even the mutavaults seemed to come out at perfect intervals
what is the standard answer to delver for time attack? chalice, redirect and shackles? im expecting a lot of delvers and twins at a super IQ coming up. I feel like with all the mines i run i could put in gigadrowse to finish delver/twin as long as i can weather their first 19 1/2 damage (and resolve an engine)
2 Faerie Conclave
18 Island
3 Mutavault
Creatures (6):
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
Artifacts (5):
3 Vedalken Shackles
2 Batterskull
4 Dictate of Kruphix
Instants (15):
3 Spell Snare
3 Boomerang
3 Remand
4 Cryptic Command
2 Dig Through Time
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4 Time Warp
3 Walk the Aeons
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Relic of Progenitus
3 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Redirect
3 Spellskite
As always, testing will tell.
I have one more week to hit the goal of completing the primer by November. Trying to squeeze in time when I can. Hopefully some more sections completed by Monday.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
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3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
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3 Polluted Delta
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4 Delver of Secrets
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2 Spellskite
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3 Searing Blaze
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4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
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2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
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4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
Spellstutter is so love/hate. On the play she can just end the game with retarded tempo, and shes been a pet card since her printing. I think ill give her a chance at this event seeing as her replacement would need to be creatures or ill be forced to cut Deep Hours. Cursecatcher hasnt tested well; the evasion is too important in my current list. Getting some bull*****, barely lethal EOT snapcaster snag + muta swing after 6 turns of bird and fairy pings accounts for half of my wins. Cursecatcher / Eye of nowhere gives us 8 force spike guys and 8 boomerangs, which to me is exciting. Ive been testing a lot to see if theres a list somewhere in there. Its funny to watch people bolt your familiars, but in the end they get there because of it
I really want dig through time instead of visions but i run way too many permanents. Ive had 20 turn games where my yard is like 6 cards, and mostly cards id want to keep for snapcaster. Luckily visions is pretty good with jace
Chupa i like your edits a lot. Leaks found their spot as digs and a boomerang became a shackles. Mainboard shackles won me game after game when i was testing your list, and multiples were never dead. Now that i think about it, i might need to test Shackles in my main instead of visions. Even if they blow up shackles in their turn you still give their guy sickness. Im surprised you guys are still finding 2x conclave better than 1x, though. He never tested well for me in multiples. My only concern with shackles is cutting the kamigawa lands, but i pretty much scoop to Choke anyway without boomerangs. If Choke starts to see more play, my list is pretty much out the window D:
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*btw chupa your list is missing its dictates :^)
Pod, especially Melira Pod is a gray area for Thenarus and I as neither of us play it and we just don't have a whole lot of opportunity to test against it. Kiki Pod has never been an issue for either of us, but I'd hardly call the number of matches we've played against it a reasonable sample size.
Thanks for the props, gooseymog, but at least as much goes to Thenarus. I'd say more of late. Not only is he constantly brainstorming, but almost all the practical info for this version of the deck comes from his competitive playing. The only playtime I get of late comes in the form of playtesting with Thenarus or the occasional game thrown in on board game nights. Most of my input on revisions is based on what is reported back to me and the fact that I've been playing this deck so thoroughly and intently for so long now that I can just tell right away when and why the deck is "off". To this day, I still haven't felt there's been any version that operates quite as tightly as the one I took to states, but that one had huge, easily-exploitable flaws that the current list does not. Every tweak and revision is an ongoing effort to get back to that smoothly-playing engine with optimum resilience.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
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On a related note, I need to add Shackles, Threads, and Sower to either the sideboard or additional cards section of the primer. Oops! Fixed.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
r1 whiffed hard on my draws against GR tron which should be a buy for this deck. Got Grid/Boiled game 2 which i could have prevented, but wouldnt have mattered as i was going to whiff on topdecks anyway (i checked after i conceded)
r2 vs delver. skite stomped g1, then i never see multiples of skite/shackles/sprite/snag g2-3. He probed my hand g2 t1 and saw my 2x snare 2x redirect, so he just played his 2 fking delvers, flipped them, and beat face for 6 turns. Ive lost in this manner to probe so many times that im considering cutting redirect, even though it just seems like bad variance that i never pull snag/snap/stutter with those amazing side cards while my oppo gets 2+ delvers and swings for 6 turns without casting a spell. I realize on paper that redirect is like the best possible card to bring against delver(besides chalice) but man its been testing like garbage
r3 vs a friends UB brew. shackles won single handedly, forcing him to use mana so i could go off in my turn. 2-0
r4 U tron. g1 his hand was slow, and g2 he tron'd up fast but drew lands as i beat with muta and birds. vapor snag handled wurmcoil and flashing in guys EOT killed karn. 2-0
r5 another delver. Never saw any tech; g2 i opened with 8 lands/shackles/dictate and got shackles leaked. Managed to survive a while but got lethal'd before i stabilized. Ancestral recall in modern seems pretty good
in conclusion, skite and shackles are amazing. the deck felt really good but against flipped delvers with slow hands its impossible to win. Treasure cruise is way too strong. Ive never been so sure of an impending ban in my life. The only reason this card isnt a legit recall is because of remands popularity in modern. At least i can spellstutter a recall
Probably dropping spellstutter for pierce/visions and mine for dig. T3 dictate T4 shackles+pierce destroys delver, uw midrange and fish
3 Mutavault
4 Judge's Familiar
2 Spellskite
4 Spellstutter Sprite
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Cryptic Command
4 Time Warp
1 Howling Mine
4 Vapor Snag
3 Vedalken Shackles
4 Dictate of Kruphix
2 Walk the Aeons
2 Jace Beleren
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
2 Spell Snare
2 Negate
2 Redirect
2 Howling Mine
1 Higure, the Still Wind
3 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Font of Mythos
Have you guys considered 4x shackles? Pithing needle isnt a common choice in modern from what ive seen, and shackles in multiples can just completely shut down decks like fish/affinity/delver if you start out with vapor snag/boomerang on their guys (on the draw affinity would obviously have to wake up with a slow hand). Stealing 2 lords with mutavaults would be lolstupid
UWx midrange feels like a complete bye. I call it angry birds; a while ago i realized familiar is like a crappy boomerang, but hes also a win condition and hes only 1 mana. I win every game by beating face with a few birds and conclave. Sometimes i have to bounce mines at the end, but thats a good problem to have. You squeeze the crap out of their mana in the first 4 turns and then resolve a warp turn 5 with birds/shoal backup or turn 6 with a pierce if u need to draw more cards. a lot of times youre digging hard for a shoal against counterspells. Vision skeins/boomerang is really strong turn 4. if youve got a birds on board and draw into shoal youre going to win
1 Faerie Conclave
4 Judge's Familiar
2 Snapcaster Mage
3 Howling Mine
3 Jace Beleren
1 Vision Skeins
4 Disrupting Shoal
2 Spell Pierce
3 Cryptic Command
4 Time Warp
3 Walk the Aeons
pierce could become +1 eye of nowhere +1 cryptic, but there is some blowout stuff that pierce loves to hit early game. he also protects your mines from counter magic
ps went 3-1 tonight. beat burn and pod, lost to burn (my own cards lent) and beat some rogue. shackles/skite did all the work
Sure, but elixir is better against burn and delver, a majority of the meta right now.
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Either way; elixir seems a lot better than it did a few months ago. Maybe with mines/bells/elixir multiples you could run thirst for knowledge, which feeds Dig through time
check out my current combo version
4 Judge's Familiar
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Howling Mine
1 Temple Bell
3 Jace Beleren
4 Dictate of Kruphix
3 Vision Skeins
4 Disrupting Shoal
3 Walk the Aeons
4 Time Warp
1 Gigadrowse
1 Dig through time
bell and mine would be 4x but they dont pitch to shoal. they give you the most draw by turn 5, along with jace. Skeins is a great pitch and feels really powerful in this build. Keeps my curve nice, replacing boomerang as a blue 2cmc and makes sure i never miss an engine, even against jund. Id have cryptic at a lower count, but its my only pitch to shoal other cryptics
This build makes milling them VERY easy. Many games i win i have them at 2-3 turns from lethal and from jace mill. Im buying some foil birds, i know this card will be worth money some day
4 Dakra Mystic
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Cold-Eyed Selkie
Spells:20
1 Swan Song
1 Boomerang
1 Remand
4 Spreading Seas
2 Cryptic Command
4 Time Warp
4 Walk the Aeons
3 Temporal Mastery
18 Island
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
3 Mutavault
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Sideboard will be the missing pieces from the combo version, gigadrowse, exhaustion, more counters.
Master of Waves could be a powerhouse here.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
Dunno about Time Attack since you're banking on keeping the field open. I'm willing to bet those Delvers on T1 just KILL you guys. Dunno how to side against that for TA.
Time Warp is always four copies in every version of Taking Turns. This doesn't vary. Walk the Aeons is two or three, as needed. Uncounterable counterspells that hit every turn are brutal. It's a finisher. A 4/4 flyer with flash that taps lands down, locking your opponent out of counters/disruption when you go off, then hits for damage in the air. You only really need two of them.Scoona enables Mistbind Clique, counters spells that target your creatures, makes your Sprites more useful, and serves as an anthem effect for your creatures. It's a card with a massive learning curve, but a huge payoff when played effectively. There's a reason the card is so expensive. Two would be better. This deck demands three to four Mutavaults. Conclave is a land that taps for blue and can become a creature with flying. The card is fantastic in the right deck, but it's a finisher and occasional attacker, not a card you're going to activate every turn. Both gain Shroud and +1/+1 if Scoona is in play when they're activated and can be activated to improve Spellstutter Sprite. Counters, Redirect, Relic, Shackles, Ætherize...there are a number of great options. Check the primer. I'm hoping to get the new one up in the next few days.
- Sam Stoddard, “Developing Modern” (June 21, 2013) (by means of Sheridan Lardner, "Fixing Modern: Defining Format Mission (March 16, 2016))
How to Use Spoiler Tags
Starting Over: The Origins of the Mulligan Rule
Practical Approach to Slow Play
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 2: SWARM and TOOLBOX
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 3
THE Guide to Aggro, Part 4
These videos are by MTG Salvation Moderator Lantern!
Introduction to Tempo
Controlling Tempo
Elements of Tempo
Roadblocks to Tempo
How Not To Build A Deck - Tempo
Learn How To Sideboard, Dammit!
Mulligan's Island
The Art of the Mulligan
The Art of the Mulligan: Eight Case Studies
Fundamentals: The Mulligan
Some Mulligan Exercises
A Mulligan Is Worth Three Cards
The Mulligan Debate
Common Sense: The Art of the Mulligan
Who's The Beatdown?
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Fetid Heath
3 Godless Shrine
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
3 Shambling Vent
2 Tectonic Edge
Artifacts (4):
4 Æther Vial
4 Path to Exile
Creatures (29):
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Serra Avenger
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Flooded Strand
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
Creatures (16):
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Stormchaser Mage
2 Gut Shot
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Spell Pierce
3 Twisted Image
3 Vapor Snag
Sorceries (8):
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Dispel
1 Forked Bolt
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Repeal
2 Roast
1 Spell Snare
2 Spellskite
1 Vapor Snag
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
5 Mountain
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures (14):
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Atarka's Command
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Searing Blaze
Sorceries (8):
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
2 Deflecting Palm
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Path to Exile
2 Rending Volley
3 Skullcrack
19 Forest
3 Treetop Village
Creatures (24):
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Dryad Militant
2 Dungrove Elder
4 Experiment One
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Rancor
Instants (10):
3 Aspect of Hydra
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Dismember
2 Choke
2 Gut Shot
2 Deglamer
2 Feed the Clan
2 Oxidize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Skylasher
1 Unravel the Æther
On a side note splashing black gives you bitterblossom, which sucks up delver's resources, chumps their dudes, and fuels spellstutter counters.
UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins