It is also rather hard to cast with the UU cost for emerge and requires you to run targets like Kitchen Finks and Matter Reshaper/Eldrazi Skyspawner to get real value out of it and cast it reasonably quickly.
Your probably right about the UU casting cost being a problem, but I think Blade Splicer would be a great target, not to mention than I would never run a full playset. I could see a deck with 4 splicer, and like 2 finks running this card at about a 2 of The effect seems really power especially in DnT.
Your probably right about the UU casting cost being a problem, but I think Blade Splicer would be a great target, not to mention than I would never run a full playset. I could see a deck with 4 splicer, and like 2 finks running this card at about a 2 of The effect seems really power especially in DnT.
I tried it for a bit but did not like it particularly. As you mentioned it is good with these exact cards but unfortunately not so much with the rest. It's only good when you are ahead but not when you are behind if you can't profitably cast it. It does not work with flicker. It does not work with vial. It does not work on an empty board. You will never be able to play it without sacrificing a creature. If you don't have one of these exact value creatures, then you are forced to sacrifice a "real" creature. And by sacrificing Blade Splicer you give up the potential later flicker target. And you need enough blue sources (which is doable if you adapt your manabase enough).
But I didn't test it extensively as I abandoned it rather quickly - maybe it proves to do work for you.
Hi guys,
Just 5-0ed my first Modern League (Friendly) with this monowhite build. Thought I did great - beating Dredge, UrzaTron 2x, Burn, and Bloomless Titan. Really loved the build, but some questions for my other Monowhite D&T players out there:
1. Selfless Spirit - is it really that good? I eschewed my Judge's Familiar 1-drops for 2x Selfless Spirits. I noticed many of the BW builds don't even run it at all...is anyone having great success with Selfless Spirit and not wishing it was something else? Only running 3xThalia and wonder if that should be a 4th one instead.
2. Thalia, Heretic Cathar - Same question? Who is loving this card instead of a Brimaz or something else a bit more aggressive? And why?
Excited to be playing D&T again...a long-time favorite but been out of MTGO for a while.
I'll be advocating here some of the cards you mentioned, imo. Selfless Spirit:
Good body against Affinity, save from wraths, electrolyzes (at your flickerwips), save your taxes, makes most of the combats running in your favor and its worst case scenario, is a 2/1 flying. Thalia, Heretic Cathar:
Her status makes her all I wanted: Tax and good body. 3/2 with FS and taxing creature/lands. Great against many creature decks and taxes lands too. Good against any zoo, dredge and infect. She is good at defense and offense.
Now, comparing, Selfless Spirit X Judge's Familiar:
Judge's familiar is great in the earlier turns and is mediocre at late, having its best case a chump block. Body 1/1 isn't that great either. Spirit came down a turn late, but if you're using familiar to protect a creature, spirit does at the same way, but to all team.
I'm practicing with a lot of flavors to see what build I'll be testing to Last Chance PPTQ and Monowhite is my primer at the moment. I'll be in touch to say how I was.
Congratulations on the 5-0! I've been playing E&T on MTGO for the last 2 months and am regularly going 0-5 or 1-4 so I know it's difficult! Thanks for posting your list. Given my dismal performance I'm going to try and go back to mono-White with Eldrazi and see if I can puzzle some of the match-ups out a bit better.
How do three color versions look (Interested in W/b/r)?
The 3-color versions of this deck tend to be Bant and Abzan. Bant really leans on Noble Hierarch for mana acceleration and fixing, whereas Abzan tends to become midrange-y, pushing one of the best possible flicker targets available. Occasionally people run Esper, because it's particularlydisruptive.
To my knowledge, no one has successfully piloted a Mardu list. I've had reasonable ideas for designing one, but I've also played this deck for a very long time. I would highly recommend against going Mardu, because it's arguably one of the trickiest versions to build. Other than fetchlands, it has no mana fixing. It lacks the raw power that the WGx lists offer. It has problems with Thalia because the best spells in red are noncreature spells. I still think it's possible to build, but unless you've put in some serious practice with this deck, I would highly recommend against trying it.
1. Selfless Spirit - is it really that good? I eschewed my Judge's Familiar 1-drops for 2x Selfless Spirits. I noticed many of the BW builds don't even run it at all...is anyone having great success with Selfless Spirit and not wishing it was something else? Only running 3xThalia and wonder if that should be a 4th one instead.
That protection makes Selfless Spirit relevant in a lot of matchups, particularly because we're in the broad category of "creature decks", meaning that many decks bring in sweepers against us. Plus, like Judge's Familiar, Selfless Spirit does its job while swinging in the air.
The only downside is that Selfless Spirit curves worse than Judge's Familiar; a T1 Judge's Familiar (or Aether Vial into Judge's Familiar) will protect a T2 Thalia against a Lightning Bolt, but any time after around T3, you'd almost always rather have the Spirit. It's the faster clock and it tends to protect more things at once, especially on a cluttered boardstate.
2. Thalia, Heretic Cathar - Same question? Who is loving this card instead of a Brimaz or something else a bit more aggressive? And why?
You should test this one. Really.
New Thalia plays much better than you think it does in a vacuum, especially in Modern. It's a huge tempo play against decks that run creatures (i.e., most of them). Ironically enough, the "best" comparison we have to new Thalia is the old Thalia.
Old Thalia taxes noncreature spells one extra mana. This is essentially a one-turn tempo play (if you assume that your opponent has another land in hand), although for expensive spells it may actually generate multiple turns worth of tempo. New Thalia essentially also taxes for one-turn worth of tempo, except your opponent must be trying to play a nonbasic land. Contrasted with old Thalia, new Thalia is unlikely to generate multiple turns worth of tempo, although it does happen. Imagine the following situation:
You were on the play, and you cast new Thalia on T3 against Jund. Your opponent was going to cast LotV using a fetchland, but now your opponent has problems with his or her curve. He or she plays the fetchland, which enters the battlefield tapped (thanks to new Thalia). Thalia has just bought you one turn worth of tempo on the curve. If your opponent wants to grab a nonbasic land (for example, because he or she played a Wooded Foothills and needs to go grab an Overgrown Tomb to reach a second black mana source), then that nonbasic land will also enter the battlefield tapped (again, thanks to new Thalia). New Thalia has now just bought you two turns worth of tempo. And you can see why, if your opponent wanted to cast a Kalitas instead of that LotV, that new Thalia would buy you three turns worth of tempo (because Kalitas would also enter the battlefield tapped).
Of course, all of this assumes that your opponent has no removal, which is unlikely against Jund. But the point is that the new Thalia can actually generate a lot of tempo in ways that a more aggressive threat like Brimaz can't.
In my experience, Brimaz definitely makes the better clock, especially being Bolt-proof. But Thalia tends to do a much better job of messing with your opponents, because your opponents can't lay down a blocker or flash in a Snapcaster Mage without it entering the battlefield tapped.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
The Leonin Library has been updated and a couple of the GP videos have been added to the Primer. Just a friendly reminder, there is an archived primer section inside the Leonin Library as well. In there, you will find the first and second primer drafts which contain a decent amount of core material to learn from.
Rather than re-write someone else's work, I implore you to give it a visit for some of the beginner basics. After we get Aether Revolt, I will make a better (more efficient) quick link so newer players can find it easier. All of the feedback has been very useful in continuing to improve resources for new players.
Sidenote: The previews have begun for Aether Revolt! What type of card, if any, do you think we could end up getting?
Catch you all very soon!
-Catmix
Primer Changes:
Craig Wescoe videos added (GP footage from Twitch)
Craig Wescoe's Eldrazi And Taxes article
Spiderspace SB Guide
Back end update to help new players coded (not visible yet).
I know it's early, but I've been toying around with Trophy Mage with Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of Fire and Ice. And my conclusion is that it's no stoneforge, but it does allow for your bears to suddenly become clocks and finishes off games with little chance to recover, which is what I think was sorely missing. I think Light and Shadow might actually be better than Feast and Famine though.
The biggest problem is the sudden clogging of the 3 spot.
The 3 spot just gets in the way of each other. If needs to probably be more 2 drops. since both Reflector Mage, Eldrazi Displacer, and Spell Queller are all 3 and there's no room with the TM package. It's also very very slow, with the equip usually happening around turn 5. Furthermore, Trophy Mages are completely dead late game. There's also the issue with Kolagan's Command.
It does make the Thalias into trucks though. and Double Striking Mirrans are always fun with swords. Still a work in progress.
Just 5-0'd a Modern Competitive League beating Dredge (2-0), R/G Valakut/Breach (2-0), Jund (2-0), Dredge (2-1) and Kiki Chord (2-1) using the following list:
I know it's early, but I've been toying around with Trophy Mage....
I'm not sure that he is even better than Relic Seeker. Relic Seeker which fits the curve better as a 2-drop, doesn't require a Blue splash and can get any equipment (and can also become a 3/3).
And I don't think that Relic Seeker is any good either.
I'm making a UW version of the deck and I have a couple questions regarding what exactly blue brings to the table. I have Meddling Mage, Reflector Mage, and Spell Queller and was wondering if there were any other options that are worth considering. I have my eyes on Vendilion Clique but i'm not sure if the mana base can support it or if its even worth the inclusion. Moorland Haunt is potentially another option that i'm hesitant to include due to already running 4 GQ and the amount of double color costs that my creatures have. I'm pretty new to the deck as a whole and want to know other people's opinions on the cards or suggestions before I test possible inclusions.
I know it's early, but I've been toying around with Trophy Mage....
I'm not sure that he is even better than Relic Seeker. Relic Seeker which fits the curve better as a 2-drop, doesn't require a Blue splash and can get any equipment (and can also become a 3/3).
And I don't think that Relic Seeker is any good either.
well, Relic Seeker neeeds to be alive, attack and deals damage to opp...
agua_benta is right (again). Trophy Mage always replaces itself in your hand, whereas Relic Seeker only replaces itself conditionally.
But both cards are worse than Steelshaper's Gift, so I'm not sure why we're even talking about this. Steelshaper's gift can be played on T1, in mono-white, before Thalia or Arbiter come down, and it's still unplayable.
Trophy Mage seems worse in almost every regard. It costs more mana. It requires a blue splash. You'll find yourself wanting to curve into Arbiter before you play it. The only three advantages that Trophy Mage offers are that (1) it has legs, (2) you can play it off of an Aether Vial, and (3) you can flicker it for value. Except, in order: (1) it's just a vanilla 2/2, (2) Aether Vial only saves you one mana worth of tempo relative to Steelshaper's Gift, and (3) if you can't win using one sword, I have a hard time believing that your second sword will win you games that the first one didn't.
I'm making a UW version of the deck and I have a couple questions regarding what exactly blue brings to the table. I have Meddling Mage, Reflector Mage, and Spell Queller and was wondering if there were any other options that are worth considering. I have my eyes on Vendilion Clique but i'm not sure if the mana base can support it or if its even worth the inclusion. Moorland Haunt is potentially another option that i'm hesitant to include due to already running 4 GQ and the amount of double color costs that my creatures have. I'm pretty new to the deck as a whole and want to know other people's opinions on the cards or suggestions before I test possible inclusions.
Please read this post. Feel free to ask us any questions that you may have. WU is actually pretty popular, despite having no recent high-profile finishes. Anyway, we're here to help.
Vendilion Clique is awesome, and you can definitely find a way to build a manabase that consistently reaches UU.
Playing millions of cards every turn... Slowly and systematically obliterating any chance my opponent has of winning... Clicking the multitude of locking mechanisms into place... Not even trying to win myself until turn 10+ once I have nigh absolute control... Watching my opponent desperately trying to navigate the labyrinthine prison that I've constructed... Seeing the light of hope fade and ultimately extinguished in an excruciatingly slow manner... THAT'S fun Magic.
We have 2-3 users that are dramatically making this thread incomprehensible and non-productive for anyone else to possibly join in the discussion. This needs to change.
Every time I see [ktkenshinx] post in here, I get the impression of a stern dad walking in on a bunch of kids trying to do something dumb and just shaking his head in disappointment.
Near Mint: The same as Slightly Played, but we threw some Altoids in the box we stored it in to cover up the scent of dead mice. Slightly Played: The base condition for all MTG cards. This card looks OK, but there’s one minor annoying ding in it that will always irritate and distract you whenever you draw it. Moderately Played: This card looks like it survived the Tet Offensive tucked inside the waistband of GI underwear. It may smell like it, too. Heavily Played: This card looks like the remains of Mohammed Atta’s passport after 9/11. It may be playable if you double-sleeve it to stop the chunks from falling out. The condition formerly known as "Washing Machine Grade" Damaged: This card is the unfortunate victim of a Mirrorweave/March of the Machines/Chaos Confetti/Mindslaver combo.
[M]aking counterfeit cards is the absolute height of dishonesty. Ask yourself this question: Since most people...are totally cool with the use of proxies...what purpose do [high] quality counterfeit cards serve?
This is my latest version of the deck minus the sideboard. So far it has been incredibly consistent as it's based around simple concepts and maximising them.
As I said above, it's incredibly consistent, the mana is smooth, it has redundancies worth of disruption and a strong endgame. It's not particularly fast but I find it doesn't have to be with Familiar/Thalia plus land destruction. Just denying them is generally enough to bleed them out with evasion. The one weakness of the deck really is that it's full of bolt/pyroclasm targets. Bolt isn't that bad as you simply can't bolt everything, especially not with the mana slowdown effecting Snapcaster Mage, boardwipes can be a hassle so I'll likely swap out the Serra Avengers for Selfless Spirit post-board. Maindeck Serra Avenger helps a lot vs. more swarming creature style aggro decks, it fills a very similar role to Blade Splicer or even Finks but it works better with Magus.
I know it's early, but I've been toying around with Trophy Mage....
I'm not sure that he is even better than Relic Seeker. Relic Seeker which fits the curve better as a 2-drop, doesn't require a Blue splash and can get any equipment (and can also become a 3/3).
And I don't think that Relic Seeker is any good either.
well, Relic Seeker neeeds to be alive, attack and deals damage to opp...
agua_benta is right (again). Trophy Mage always replaces itself in your hand, whereas Relic Seeker only replaces itself conditionally.
But both cards are worse than Steelshaper's Gift, so I'm not sure why we're even talking about this. Steelshaper's gift can be played on T1, in mono-white, before Thalia or Arbiter come down, and it's still unplayable.
Trophy Mage seems worse in almost every regard. It costs more mana. It requires a blue splash. You'll find yourself wanting to curve into Arbiter before you play it. The only three advantages that Trophy Mage offers are that (1) it has legs, (2) you can play it off of an Aether Vial, and (3) you can flicker it for value. Except, in order: (1) it's just a vanilla 2/2, (2) Aether Vial only saves you one mana worth of tempo relative to Steelshaper's Gift, and (3) if you can't win using one sword, I have a hard time believing that your second sword will win you games that the first one didn't.
I'm making a UW version of the deck and I have a couple questions regarding what exactly blue brings to the table. I have Meddling Mage, Reflector Mage, and Spell Queller and was wondering if there were any other options that are worth considering. I have my eyes on Vendilion Clique but i'm not sure if the mana base can support it or if its even worth the inclusion. Moorland Haunt is potentially another option that i'm hesitant to include due to already running 4 GQ and the amount of double color costs that my creatures have. I'm pretty new to the deck as a whole and want to know other people's opinions on the cards or suggestions before I test possible inclusions.
Please read this post. Feel free to ask us any questions that you may have. WU is actually pretty popular, despite having no recent high-profile finishes. Anyway, we're here to help.
Vendilion Clique is awesome, and you can definitely find a way to build a manabase that consistently reaches UU.
CharonsObol hit the high notes but U/W is an option. I'm currently tinkering with it now necause while I love Eldrazi DnT its not always the best choice. Moorland Haunt is solid. Extra blockers and attackers generated from a lot of sac effects is a great way to generate even more value. Judge's Familar, Selfless Spirit and Spell Queller all shut down different spells while providing a flying body, which is great against midrange when you need to shut the game out before they jund you out. Vendilion is very doable especially if your meta doesnt have Merfolk to punish you. Celestial Colonnade is an option, but its not a great one. Six mana is rough, even in topdeck mode. Faerie Conclave actually is a fine option as long as you arent expecting alot of -1/-1 effects. Moorland Haunt might secertly be the best manland in modern other than Mutavault, but there just isn't a great tier one shell for it. Our high creature counts makes it likely we'll have bodies to fuel it. Reflector Mage is okay in my experience, but not back breaking. It does pair nicely with Thalia, HC. Even still you'll be hard pressed to find room for it. Similar to how Eldrazi can cheat in a few maindeck Relics of Progenitus and pick up surprise wins U/W can cheat in Spellskite, but space is rough. If you expect Infect and Boggles though its a legitmate main deck choice. Restoration Angel can round out the top in and in some match ups is actually stronger than Thought-Knot Seer. Gideon, AoZ is the best planeswalker here if you choose to run one as his Anthem effect pairs nicely with the fliers. Swords can be more viable when theyre backed up with Skites, Familars and Quellers. Your SB now has cheap reactive spell options like Dispel, Spell Pierce and Mana Leak. Detention Sphere is a great catchall with synergy as well.
I thought about it but figured the familiar is a lot more convenient to play T1 which is when I want to be playing it. The Wanderer does have some upside but I want the deck to be as streamlined as possible and playing a 2-color deck without fetches is sometimes awkward enough that I don't want to make it more so
I play 3 fetches in my u/w and never have issues with it, its a bit of blood moon insurance and helps mana fix. I also play mausoleum wanderer because its just straight up way better then judges familiar. I have been on a u/w build that is focusing on 3 of cards instead of 4 it seems a bit odd but in play testing it has been really great so far. My 3 ofs in the deck are Mauso wanderer, Thalia guardian of thraben, Leonin arbiter, reflector mage, flickerwisp, selfless spirits. Then I main deck 2 spellskites, 2 new thalia, 2 serra avengers, 1 geist of saint taft(which I am going to up to 2). 4 spell quellers. Geist is such a huge tempo swing whenever he comes down he has really impressed me.
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If you want to play Elder Deep-Fiend in modern I would suggest something like this - http://www.channelfireball.com/videos/channel-pmayne-modern-ug-eldrazi/
I tried it for a bit but did not like it particularly. As you mentioned it is good with these exact cards but unfortunately not so much with the rest. It's only good when you are ahead but not when you are behind if you can't profitably cast it. It does not work with flicker. It does not work with vial. It does not work on an empty board. You will never be able to play it without sacrificing a creature. If you don't have one of these exact value creatures, then you are forced to sacrifice a "real" creature. And by sacrificing Blade Splicer you give up the potential later flicker target. And you need enough blue sources (which is doable if you adapt your manabase enough).
But I didn't test it extensively as I abandoned it rather quickly - maybe it proves to do work for you.
Just 5-0ed my first Modern League (Friendly) with this monowhite build. Thought I did great - beating Dredge, UrzaTron 2x, Burn, and Bloomless Titan. Really loved the build, but some questions for my other Monowhite D&T players out there:
1. Selfless Spirit - is it really that good? I eschewed my Judge's Familiar 1-drops for 2x Selfless Spirits. I noticed many of the BW builds don't even run it at all...is anyone having great success with Selfless Spirit and not wishing it was something else? Only running 3xThalia and wonder if that should be a 4th one instead.
2. Thalia, Heretic Cathar - Same question? Who is loving this card instead of a Brimaz or something else a bit more aggressive? And why?
Excited to be playing D&T again...a long-time favorite but been out of MTGO for a while.
Creatures
2 Selfless Spirit
4 Leonin Arbiter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
3 Eldrazi Displacer
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Fiend Hunter
3 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
Artifacts
4 Aether Vial
1 Sword of War and Peace
Instants
4 Path to Exile
Enchantments
1 Worship
Lands
11 Plains
1 Eiganjo Castle
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Mutavault
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Tectonic Edge
Sideboard
1 Pithing Needle
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Blessed Alliance
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Spellskite
2 Mirran Crusader
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Ethersworn Canonist
Selfless Spirit:
Good body against Affinity, save from wraths, electrolyzes (at your flickerwips), save your taxes, makes most of the combats running in your favor and its worst case scenario, is a 2/1 flying.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar:
Her status makes her all I wanted: Tax and good body. 3/2 with FS and taxing creature/lands. Great against many creature decks and taxes lands too. Good against any zoo, dredge and infect. She is good at defense and offense.
Now, comparing, Selfless Spirit X Judge's Familiar:
Judge's familiar is great in the earlier turns and is mediocre at late, having its best case a chump block. Body 1/1 isn't that great either. Spirit came down a turn late, but if you're using familiar to protect a creature, spirit does at the same way, but to all team.
I'm practicing with a lot of flavors to see what build I'll be testing to Last Chance PPTQ and Monowhite is my primer at the moment. I'll be in touch to say how I was.
To my knowledge, no one has successfully piloted a Mardu list. I've had reasonable ideas for designing one, but I've also played this deck for a very long time. I would highly recommend against going Mardu, because it's arguably one of the trickiest versions to build. Other than fetchlands, it has no mana fixing. It lacks the raw power that the WGx lists offer. It has problems with Thalia because the best spells in red are noncreature spells. I still think it's possible to build, but unless you've put in some serious practice with this deck, I would highly recommend against trying it.
Seconded. I'm around, but mostly by PM. Happy holidays everyone!
It is that good.
As agua_benta suggested, Selfless Spirit is basically protection against getting X-for-1'd. It effectively controls the bleeding from wrath effects, pyroclasm effects, and Electrolyze.
That protection makes Selfless Spirit relevant in a lot of matchups, particularly because we're in the broad category of "creature decks", meaning that many decks bring in sweepers against us. Plus, like Judge's Familiar, Selfless Spirit does its job while swinging in the air.
The only downside is that Selfless Spirit curves worse than Judge's Familiar; a T1 Judge's Familiar (or Aether Vial into Judge's Familiar) will protect a T2 Thalia against a Lightning Bolt, but any time after around T3, you'd almost always rather have the Spirit. It's the faster clock and it tends to protect more things at once, especially on a cluttered boardstate.
You should test this one. Really.
New Thalia plays much better than you think it does in a vacuum, especially in Modern. It's a huge tempo play against decks that run creatures (i.e., most of them). Ironically enough, the "best" comparison we have to new Thalia is the old Thalia.
Old Thalia taxes noncreature spells one extra mana. This is essentially a one-turn tempo play (if you assume that your opponent has another land in hand), although for expensive spells it may actually generate multiple turns worth of tempo. New Thalia essentially also taxes for one-turn worth of tempo, except your opponent must be trying to play a nonbasic land. Contrasted with old Thalia, new Thalia is unlikely to generate multiple turns worth of tempo, although it does happen. Imagine the following situation:
You were on the play, and you cast new Thalia on T3 against Jund. Your opponent was going to cast LotV using a fetchland, but now your opponent has problems with his or her curve. He or she plays the fetchland, which enters the battlefield tapped (thanks to new Thalia). Thalia has just bought you one turn worth of tempo on the curve. If your opponent wants to grab a nonbasic land (for example, because he or she played a Wooded Foothills and needs to go grab an Overgrown Tomb to reach a second black mana source), then that nonbasic land will also enter the battlefield tapped (again, thanks to new Thalia). New Thalia has now just bought you two turns worth of tempo. And you can see why, if your opponent wanted to cast a Kalitas instead of that LotV, that new Thalia would buy you three turns worth of tempo (because Kalitas would also enter the battlefield tapped).
Of course, all of this assumes that your opponent has no removal, which is unlikely against Jund. But the point is that the new Thalia can actually generate a lot of tempo in ways that a more aggressive threat like Brimaz can't.
In my experience, Brimaz definitely makes the better clock, especially being Bolt-proof. But Thalia tends to do a much better job of messing with your opponents, because your opponents can't lay down a blocker or flash in a Snapcaster Mage without it entering the battlefield tapped.
WUDeath&TaxesWG
Legacy
UBRGDredgeUBRG
UHigh TideU
URGLandsURG
WR Card Choice List
WUR American D&T
WUB Esper D&T
The Reserved List
Heat Maps
The Leonin Library has been updated and a couple of the GP videos have been added to the Primer. Just a friendly reminder, there is an archived primer section inside the Leonin Library as well. In there, you will find the first and second primer drafts which contain a decent amount of core material to learn from.
Rather than re-write someone else's work, I implore you to give it a visit for some of the beginner basics. After we get Aether Revolt, I will make a better (more efficient) quick link so newer players can find it easier. All of the feedback has been very useful in continuing to improve resources for new players.
Sidenote: The previews have begun for Aether Revolt! What type of card, if any, do you think we could end up getting?
Catch you all very soon!
-Catmix
Primer Changes:
WWModern Death And Taxes (w/ Militia Bugler) (JUL '19)
GWModern Maverick (JUL '19)
WBCatmix on Twitch!
WWCatmix on Youtube
The biggest problem is the sudden clogging of the 3 spot.
Here was my list
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Adarkar Wastes
2 Island
3 Plains
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Fortress
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Flickerwisp
4 Judge's Familiar
3 Mirran Crusader
4 Trophy Mage
3 Restoration Angel
4 Aether Vial
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
The 3 spot just gets in the way of each other. If needs to probably be more 2 drops. since both Reflector Mage, Eldrazi Displacer, and Spell Queller are all 3 and there's no room with the TM package. It's also very very slow, with the equip usually happening around turn 5. Furthermore, Trophy Mages are completely dead late game. There's also the issue with Kolagan's Command.
It does make the Thalias into trucks though. and Double Striking Mirrans are always fun with swords. Still a work in progress.
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Kor Skyfisher
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Flickerwisp
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Path to Exile
Artifact (4)
4 AEther Vial
Enchantment (4)
4 Oath of Nissa
Land (21)
4 Temple Garden
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Plains
2 Forest
4 Rest in Peace
4 Stony Silence
4 Spellskite
2 Dismember
1 Selfless Spirit
I'm not sure that he is even better than Relic Seeker.
Relic Seeker which fits the curve better as a 2-drop, doesn't require a Blue splash and can get any equipment (and can also become a 3/3).
And I don't think that Relic Seeker is any good either.
But both cards are worse than Steelshaper's Gift, so I'm not sure why we're even talking about this. Steelshaper's gift can be played on T1, in mono-white, before Thalia or Arbiter come down, and it's still unplayable.
Trophy Mage seems worse in almost every regard. It costs more mana. It requires a blue splash. You'll find yourself wanting to curve into Arbiter before you play it. The only three advantages that Trophy Mage offers are that (1) it has legs, (2) you can play it off of an Aether Vial, and (3) you can flicker it for value. Except, in order: (1) it's just a vanilla 2/2, (2) Aether Vial only saves you one mana worth of tempo relative to Steelshaper's Gift, and (3) if you can't win using one sword, I have a hard time believing that your second sword will win you games that the first one didn't.
Please read this post. Feel free to ask us any questions that you may have. WU is actually pretty popular, despite having no recent high-profile finishes. Anyway, we're here to help.
Vendilion Clique is awesome, and you can definitely find a way to build a manabase that consistently reaches UU.
WUDeath&TaxesWG
Legacy
UBRGDredgeUBRG
UHigh TideU
URGLandsURG
WR Card Choice List
WUR American D&T
WUB Esper D&T
The Reserved List
Heat Maps
4x Judge's Familiar
4x Leonin Arbiter
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Serra Avenger
4x Flickerwisp
4x Aven Mindcensor
4x Magus of the Moat
4x Path to Exile
Artifact (4)
4x AEther Vial
Land (24)
4x Ghost Quarter
4x Tectonic Edge
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Flagstones of Trokair
14x Plains
As I said above, it's incredibly consistent, the mana is smooth, it has redundancies worth of disruption and a strong endgame. It's not particularly fast but I find it doesn't have to be with Familiar/Thalia plus land destruction. Just denying them is generally enough to bleed them out with evasion. The one weakness of the deck really is that it's full of bolt/pyroclasm targets. Bolt isn't that bad as you simply can't bolt everything, especially not with the mana slowdown effecting Snapcaster Mage, boardwipes can be a hassle so I'll likely swap out the Serra Avengers for Selfless Spirit post-board. Maindeck Serra Avenger helps a lot vs. more swarming creature style aggro decks, it fills a very similar role to Blade Splicer or even Finks but it works better with Magus.
CharonsObol hit the high notes but U/W is an option. I'm currently tinkering with it now necause while I love Eldrazi DnT its not always the best choice. Moorland Haunt is solid. Extra blockers and attackers generated from a lot of sac effects is a great way to generate even more value. Judge's Familar, Selfless Spirit and Spell Queller all shut down different spells while providing a flying body, which is great against midrange when you need to shut the game out before they jund you out. Vendilion is very doable especially if your meta doesnt have Merfolk to punish you. Celestial Colonnade is an option, but its not a great one. Six mana is rough, even in topdeck mode. Faerie Conclave actually is a fine option as long as you arent expecting alot of -1/-1 effects. Moorland Haunt might secertly be the best manland in modern other than Mutavault, but there just isn't a great tier one shell for it. Our high creature counts makes it likely we'll have bodies to fuel it. Reflector Mage is okay in my experience, but not back breaking. It does pair nicely with Thalia, HC. Even still you'll be hard pressed to find room for it. Similar to how Eldrazi can cheat in a few maindeck Relics of Progenitus and pick up surprise wins U/W can cheat in Spellskite, but space is rough. If you expect Infect and Boggles though its a legitmate main deck choice. Restoration Angel can round out the top in and in some match ups is actually stronger than Thought-Knot Seer. Gideon, AoZ is the best planeswalker here if you choose to run one as his Anthem effect pairs nicely with the fliers. Swords can be more viable when theyre backed up with Skites, Familars and Quellers. Your SB now has cheap reactive spell options like Dispel, Spell Pierce and Mana Leak. Detention Sphere is a great catchall with synergy as well.