Sacred Ground does nothing when the damage is already done by GQs
Crucible just poses as extra target for artifact removal and it doesn't save your lands from Fulmi/GQ + Surigcal
Personally i prefer Life from the Loam. While it does not stop Surgicals you can get your stuff back at a decent rate. If it gets countered or discarded you can just dredge it back. Now dredge may seem like a bad thing for tron but we play so many huge hitters that dredging around 6-9 cards per game is not really a big deal.
GW is the build that likes the land recursion cards since it can run Horizon Canopy. Sacred Ground is bad for all of the reasons everyone else mentioned, plus it can't recur GQ/HC/Sanctum. Since I prefer not to dedicate multiple slots to cards dedicated to this end, a singleton Crucible is what I prefer personally. If I wanted two, though, I would run Life from the Loam for its tenacity.
If you're expecting a lot of Shadow and E-Tron then Pyroclasm/Firespout/K-Return is not good, and it makes sense to move them to the SB. The extra Wurmcoil MB is great in the same two matchups.
What is really weird for me is the 4x Ugin + 3x Ulamog in the 75, with the current (fast) meta I'd rather go with extra Wurmcoils and O-Stones.
2 pithing needles is great when you know that they will rely on Ghost Quarters or Fulminators against you. The EE is flexible since even on a chalice on 0 and 1, you can cast EE with 2 colorless mana and still blow up their chalices and walking ballistas.
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plays Ad Nauseam and Amulet Bloom in Modern
"He traded sand for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand."
—Afari, Tales
I went to my local modern event for the first time in over four months last night. I played a fairly standard build of GW Tron. I noticed that there were a lot more blood moons around than in previous metas at my store. I'm already playing 4 O Stone in the main and 3 Nature's claim in the board which I think is enough to deal with them but I was wondering if this increase in Blood Moons is prevalent across the wider meta, and if so, is anyone playing anything different to combat it?
aparthia's avatar
Join Date: 1/11/2011
Posts: 397
I've seen some of the Gx lists play a basic of their splash color instead of a Llanowar Waste / Brushland.
Otherwise playing threats you don't need tron for? Things like ballista, thragtusk and wurmcoil.
Yeah, I'm already doing those except for Ballista. Should I be playing that card anyway? I know it's played in Eldratron but how about Gx?
Has anyone tried Heroic Intervention in the SB to shut down spreading seas/ghost quarter/tec edge?
The problem with Heroic Intervention is that you have to keep 2 mana open perpetually to get any use out of it, which slows you down a lot. You might not even be able to cast it against a Spreading Seas if they're on the play.
Sure, Oblivion Stone requires you keep 5 mana open, but by the time you have 5 mana to spare you're all set up. Holding open mana for Heroic Intervention is mana that's not being used for Sylvan Scrying or Expedition Map or any of those things.
I went 3-1 at last night's tournament with G/W Tron, but I ran into a matchup that seems really bad. How do we beat Titan Breach?
I just found that I was 1 turn behind each game, and I really dident have a lot of interatction against them.
My game plan was pretty much stick Karn - Stone Rain, world breaker - Stone Rain and Ulamog - Stone Rain x2, but I could not keep him of killing me with Valakut triggers.
My sideboard:
2 x Thragtusk
3 x Blessed Alliance
3 x Rest in Peace
3 x Nature's Claim
2 x Relic of Progenitus
2 x Leyline of Sanctity (these came in but saw none in game 2)
It definitely doesn't feel favored but if their gameplan ends up being a single titan and then top decking lands path to exile can buy you time to play ulamog/karn/worldbreaker to put it away. Wurmcoil engine isn't the worst either if you get it early and start gaining life. Warping wail counters scapeshift if they're playing it. Leyline is fine, though you really should be running 4 or just running Orbs of Warding for that effect. If you don't draw it in your opening hand WW is highly unlikely early enough for it to matter. Orbs at least can be found with an ancient stirrings and helps against swarm decks as well as giving you hexproof.
Silly sidenote, I brought in a singleton Boil against my Round 1 Titan Shift opponent who was playing Prismatic Omen and one-sided Armageddon'd him in response to a valakhut trigger game 3 last week.
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Modern: -UBG Lantern Control-GW or RG or R Tron - G Stompy - C KCI Combo-
EDH: -UG Ezuri-UGZegana-BRMogis-WUBRGRamos-WBREdgar-URLocust God-WUBRBreya-BMacar-WUBrago-WEvra-
This is a brew I've been working on to try and have some early plays and can still function under heavy land destruction.
I feel it needs more card draw, I don't think more harmonize is better than chromatic star, I might have to squeeze some in, the color fix isn't really an issue but more consistent could be nice.
MB relic is also nice though.
Horizon canopy is great for draw, especially with crucible of worlds.
The main wincon is ballista,both it and hangarback are good mana sinks too.
I like primeval titan and ulamog but they get sided out regularly for bridges or revivals.
Anyways, deck is fun, provides early interaction and meant for the midgame, fairly resistant to hand disruption(draw) and spot removal(limited targets).
So this may not be appropriate for this forum, but I was wondering if you guys would be willing to help me understand your decks worst nightmare scenarios.
I have a UB Tezzeret deck and Big tron is by far the worst matchup. My sideboard has 3 ceremonious rejection, 2 disdainful stroke and 2 negates and I still got manhandled by a GB tron build today. I don't know if that hate path is correct. I do know the recipie is pressure plus disruption, but what cards have made you feel the saddest?
So this may not be appropriate for this forum, but I was wondering if you guys would be willing to help me understand your decks worst nightmare scenarios.
I have a UB Tezzeret deck and Big tron is by far the worst matchup. My sideboard has 3 ceremonious rejection, 2 disdainful stroke and 2 negates and I still got manhandled by a GB tron build today. I don't know if that hate path is correct. I do know the recipie is pressure plus disruption, but what cards have made you feel the saddest?
Tell me all your secrets.
No worries Boomforest. We all want to get better and we all love this game so I don't have an issue disclosing the weaknesses of our deck. I find that Land destruction, Stoney Silence, and steady discard are what get me. I can take a couple IoK or Thoughtseize like the best of them but if you're constantly stripping my hand, I'm going to have a bad time.
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Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Yeah, hand attack combined with early pressure puts my GW build on topdecks pretty quick. Tron topdecks really well compared to a lot of the rest of modern, but relying on it feels bad. Just apply a decent clock to limit the amount of topdecking we can do.
The counterspells are nice, but enough of our Eldrazi have cast triggers that things will slip through. Hand attack is a bit cleaner and safer all around
Why aren't more lists playing mainboard thought knot seer? I have been testing it for a bit now and it seems really strong against a wide variety of decks. Its utility is obvious against combo decks and control decks, but it has also been strong against creature aggro decks and death shadow variants as it has been useful in removing game ending threats or some of death shadow's disruption while also providing a body to protect against combat. It has been a strong turn 4 play when we don't have tron assembled (usually hands that involve using brutality and other removal the turns before) and even when tron is assembled turn 3. The only matchup where I found it lacking was affinity, and that is because they both dump their hand too quickly and have evasive attackers.
I actually play TKS as a 4-of maindeck, because I am on a list like that T16 from GP Kobe posted a few pages back. And it is great for sure! I also played like 2 or 3 main in classic GR Tron a year ago, and felt satisfied. It won the mirror, for example.
Why aren't more lists playing mainboard thought knot seer? I have been testing it for a bit now and it seems really strong against a wide variety of decks. Its utility is obvious against combo decks and control decks, but it has also been strong against creature aggro decks and death shadow variants as it has been useful in removing game ending threats or some of death shadow's disruption while also providing a body to protect against combat. It has been a strong turn 4 play when we don't have tron assembled (usually hands that involve using brutality and other removal the turns before) and even when tron is assembled turn 3. The only matchup where I found it lacking was affinity, and that is because they both dump their hand too quickly and have evasive attackers.
Primarily because (as I understand it) our early turns without Tron are best spent trying to acquire Tron. That's not to say it's not still a good card, I'm considering it and also walking ballista in my main, but only as one or two-ofs. Can't afford to cut much of the rest of the shell
SWISS
Round 1 vs Abzan 2:1
Not much to say. I won first and third game, but lost game 2 because I drew poorly.
Round 2 vs RG Ponza 2:1
First game, my opponent has 2 LD spells and a Blood Moon to cripple my mana. But then he doesn't find anything to win the game, and I can slowly make a comeback.
SB:
+3 Nature's Claim
+1 Pithing Needle
+1 Ratchet Bomb
+1 Wurmcoil Engine
-3 Pyroclasm
-1 Emrakul
-1 Karn
-1 Sylvan Scrying
Game 2, I loose to early LD followed by Dragons and Giants.
Game 3, he looses gas after first LD, I can drop a Karn and that slowly wins the game.
Round 3 vs GB Tron 0:2
My opponent is on the play first match and wins via World Breaker, game 2 via Karn and Ulamog.
Round 4 vs RG Scapeshift 2:0
First game, I land a T3 Karn on the play, followed by a World Breaker and Ugin.
Second game, my opponent scoops to a T3 World Breaker.
Round 5 vs Bant Eldrazi Intentional Draw
One of my friends with whom I went to the tournament. We can both draw into the Top8.
TOP 8
Quarterfinals vs GB Tron 2:1
First game, I loose to a T3 Karn.
Second game, I win with a T4 World Breaker.
Third game goes long. In the last turns, my opponent finds a Slyvan Scrying to find his last Urza's Tower. I have a Warping Wail to counter it, and I then draw an Expedition Map to find my last Urza's Tower to cast the Ulamog in my hand - GG!
Semifinals vs Esper Death Shadow 1:2
First game, I cast a T5 Ulamog, followed by Ugin, and my opponent scoops.
Second and third game, my opponent has a T2 Stony Silence, surrounded by Discard and Counterspells. I draw poorly both games, so there was not much I could to.
I am satisfied with the results, and I think I could have won against Esper with a better draw from my side.
Great. Emrakul won first games vs Abzan and Ponza. Also against combo decks, the ability to ruin the opponent's preparations to go off is hilarious. And the reduction of the manacost made me pay no more than 10 in any match I can remember.
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Sacred Ground does nothing when the damage is already done by GQs
Crucible just poses as extra target for artifact removal and it doesn't save your lands from Fulmi/GQ + Surigcal
Personally i prefer Life from the Loam. While it does not stop Surgicals you can get your stuff back at a decent rate. If it gets countered or discarded you can just dredge it back. Now dredge may seem like a bad thing for tron but we play so many huge hitters that dredging around 6-9 cards per game is not really a big deal.
BRGJundGRB
GCTronCG
WBRMardu PyromancerRBW
Legacy:
GElvesG
What is really weird for me is the 4x Ugin + 3x Ulamog in the 75, with the current (fast) meta I'd rather go with extra Wurmcoils and O-Stones.
"He traded sand for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand."
—Afari, Tales
GW Tron list - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/06-09-17-gw-tron/
Mono U Tron - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-u-tron-4/
Yeah, I'm already doing those except for Ballista. Should I be playing that card anyway? I know it's played in Eldratron but how about Gx?
GW Tron list - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/06-09-17-gw-tron/
Mono U Tron - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-u-tron-4/
Sure, Oblivion Stone requires you keep 5 mana open, but by the time you have 5 mana to spare you're all set up. Holding open mana for Heroic Intervention is mana that's not being used for Sylvan Scrying or Expedition Map or any of those things.
I just found that I was 1 turn behind each game, and I really dident have a lot of interatction against them.
My game plan was pretty much stick Karn - Stone Rain, world breaker - Stone Rain and Ulamog - Stone Rain x2, but I could not keep him of killing me with Valakut triggers.
My sideboard:
2 x Thragtusk
3 x Blessed Alliance
3 x Rest in Peace
3 x Nature's Claim
2 x Relic of Progenitus
2 x Leyline of Sanctity (these came in but saw none in game 2)
Silly sidenote, I brought in a singleton Boil against my Round 1 Titan Shift opponent who was playing Prismatic Omen and one-sided Armageddon'd him in response to a valakhut trigger game 3 last week.
EDH: -UG Ezuri-UGZegana-BRMogis-WUBRGRamos-WBREdgar-URLocust God-WUBRBreya-BMacar-WUBrago-WEvra-
1 hangarback walker
1 thragtusk
1 primeval titan
1 ulamog, the ceaseless hunger
4 ugin, the spirit dragon
4 sylvan scrying
4 expedition map
2 beast within
3 lightning bolt
3 path to exile
1 oblivion stone
1 pyroclasm
2 ghostly prison
1 crucible of worlds
2 harmonize
1 doubling season
2 grove of the burnwillows
1 stomping ground
1 temple garden
4 urza's mine
4 urza's power plant
4 urza's tower
2 forest
1 mountain
1 plains
2 warping wail
2 ensnaring bridge
2 ancient grudge
2 rest in peace
2 apostles blessing
2 noxious revival
2 leyline of sanctity
1 hangarback walker
This is a brew I've been working on to try and have some early plays and can still function under heavy land destruction.
I feel it needs more card draw, I don't think more harmonize is better than chromatic star, I might have to squeeze some in, the color fix isn't really an issue but more consistent could be nice.
MB relic is also nice though.
Horizon canopy is great for draw, especially with crucible of worlds.
The main wincon is ballista,both it and hangarback are good mana sinks too.
I like primeval titan and ulamog but they get sided out regularly for bridges or revivals.
Anyways, deck is fun, provides early interaction and meant for the midgame, fairly resistant to hand disruption(draw) and spot removal(limited targets).
I have a UB Tezzeret deck and Big tron is by far the worst matchup. My sideboard has 3 ceremonious rejection, 2 disdainful stroke and 2 negates and I still got manhandled by a GB tron build today. I don't know if that hate path is correct. I do know the recipie is pressure plus disruption, but what cards have made you feel the saddest?
Tell me all your secrets.
No worries Boomforest. We all want to get better and we all love this game so I don't have an issue disclosing the weaknesses of our deck. I find that Land destruction, Stoney Silence, and steady discard are what get me. I can take a couple IoK or Thoughtseize like the best of them but if you're constantly stripping my hand, I'm going to have a bad time.
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
The counterspells are nice, but enough of our Eldrazi have cast triggers that things will slip through. Hand attack is a bit cleaner and safer all around
Primarily because (as I understand it) our early turns without Tron are best spent trying to acquire Tron. That's not to say it's not still a good card, I'm considering it and also walking ballista in my main, but only as one or two-ofs. Can't afford to cut much of the rest of the shell
I played a 26-Player PPTQ on Sunday. Here is my List:
12 Urza Lands
4 Grove of the Burnwillow
1 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Forest
[ENGINE]
8 Chromatic Eggs
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Expedition Map
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Pyroclasm
3 Oblivion Stone
[CREATURES]
3 Wurmcoil Engine
2 World Breaker
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
[PLANESWALKER]
4 Karn Liberated
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
3 Nature's Claim
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Spellskite
1 Warping Wail
1 Life from the Loam
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Boil
1 Wurmcoil Engine
SWISS
Round 1 vs Abzan 2:1
Not much to say. I won first and third game, but lost game 2 because I drew poorly.
Round 2 vs RG Ponza 2:1
First game, my opponent has 2 LD spells and a Blood Moon to cripple my mana. But then he doesn't find anything to win the game, and I can slowly make a comeback.
SB:
+3 Nature's Claim
+1 Pithing Needle
+1 Ratchet Bomb
+1 Wurmcoil Engine
-3 Pyroclasm
-1 Emrakul
-1 Karn
-1 Sylvan Scrying
Game 2, I loose to early LD followed by Dragons and Giants.
Game 3, he looses gas after first LD, I can drop a Karn and that slowly wins the game.
Round 3 vs GB Tron 0:2
My opponent is on the play first match and wins via World Breaker, game 2 via Karn and Ulamog.
Round 4 vs RG Scapeshift 2:0
First game, I land a T3 Karn on the play, followed by a World Breaker and Ugin.
Second game, my opponent scoops to a T3 World Breaker.
Round 5 vs Bant Eldrazi Intentional Draw
One of my friends with whom I went to the tournament. We can both draw into the Top8.
TOP 8
Quarterfinals vs GB Tron 2:1
First game, I loose to a T3 Karn.
Second game, I win with a T4 World Breaker.
Third game goes long. In the last turns, my opponent finds a Slyvan Scrying to find his last Urza's Tower. I have a Warping Wail to counter it, and I then draw an Expedition Map to find my last Urza's Tower to cast the Ulamog in my hand - GG!
Semifinals vs Esper Death Shadow 1:2
First game, I cast a T5 Ulamog, followed by Ugin, and my opponent scoops.
Second and third game, my opponent has a T2 Stony Silence, surrounded by Discard and Counterspells. I draw poorly both games, so there was not much I could to.
I am satisfied with the results, and I think I could have won against Esper with a better draw from my side.
Greetings!
RGTron
UGInfect
URStorm
WUBRAd Nauseam
BRGrishoalbrand
URGScapeshift
WBGAbzan Company
WUBRGAmulet Titan
BRGLiving End
WGBogles