Wow Catmix, spellskite x4 AND selfless spirit x3 maindeck. That is some serious protection. I am not sure that is ideal. I think 4 spellskites is too much maindeck. I hate drawing more than 1 most games, unless I am also running something that can pump them like rancor, equipment, or planeswalker.
That being said. Since you are running so much creature protection, have you thought about trying out Hokori Dustdrinker, maybe just as a singleton. Such great synergy with Thalia 1.0 and Thalia 2.0. Its main issue is the low toughness, but the spellskites and spirits take care of that. I personally have never tested Hokori, but I have also never tried running that much protection. Just a thought.
Root maze and ghostly prison are not creatures, therefore suboptimal. Archangel of Tithes and ghostly prison only tax creatures and not lands directly. Also, I don't see how recommending testing a single Hokori is "going this far".
By taxing the manabase, you prevent their ability to block/attack. This is the basis for how Winter Orb is effectively used. Hokori is simply a (fragile) Winter Orb with legs. The reason cards like Archangel of Tithes and Ghostly Prison work with it is that you are effectively locking out your opponent's ability to attack/block. This goes hand-in-hand with the mana denial plan built into the deck.
As for Root Maze, if you have room, you could do worse if you're going this route anyway.
The reason that this is relevant with "only one Hokori" is that there is currently an abundance of great choices available for this deck. If you're going to play an easily-removed 4-drop over cards like Thought-Knot Seer, Restoration Angel, old-school Linvala, and Reality Smasher, you may as well get your money's worth.
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“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))
I played BW Taxes (No eldrazi) again in a PPTQ on saturday. 33 people, 6 rounds, Went 5-0-1 into 1st seed, lost in the finals against Jeskai Control (No Nahiri).
R1: 2-1 vs Dredge.
R2: 2-1 vs Jeskai Nahiri Control.
R3: 2-0 vs Jund.
R4: 2-1 vs Nahiri Control.
R5: 2-1 vs Living End.
R6: ID vs Jeskai Nahiri Control.
T8: 2-0 vs BTL Scapeshift.
T4: 2-0 vs Dredge
T2: 0-2 vs Jeskai Control.
The games on the finals were very tight, but the fact that they were not playing Nahiri hurts a lot in the MU, as they don't expose to have to tap for 4/6 to cast a Nahiri giving the window to blow them up, and also they have more Snapcasters, more Helix/Electrolyze and more lands. I got pretty unlucky in how I drew my deck I guess, as both games could have been easily won if I drew a little better, but that's how the game works and can't complain. The deck keeps performing well and putting up good results for me, so I am very happy.
I played a very similar list to the last one I played (6-0-1 into loss at T8 at WMCQ), opted not to play Selfless Spirit (BFT is such a good card) and 2 THCs.
I shaved a Dark Confidant and a Serra Avenger for the 2 New Thalia slots and cut the Disenchant off the board in favor of a 3rd Rest in Peace for graveyard decks (like dredge) where the game is reduced to 'draw your hate or die' which is the weakest link in my chain.
Edit: New Thalia is a great magic card, but I wouldn't ever dare to play 3/4 of her.
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In Lorwyn's brief evenings, the sun pauses at the horizon long enough for a certain species of violet to bloom with the fragrance of mischief.
What is this post about?
Despite the recent meta-wide popularity of Death&Taxes (and the BW-Eldrazi variant in particular) the posted results still seem to be sorted under a number of crazy titles. Searching through Hatebear, Flicker, Eldrazi, etc. results to find actual Death&Taxes listings can often be a pain, especially when you just want to compare the top few recent decks in your splash color.
This list uses google-fu and short-links to type the "Decks must contain following cards"-entries into mtgTop8 so you don't have to.
Search Posted Wins
The links below are sorted from top-to-bottom following wide-to-narrow applicability. You can hover-over the links here and bookmark them to your browser. Favorite and forget it.
Finds heavily-splashed Eldrazi D&T lists by searching for maindeck Eldrazi Temple; this will often miss Eldrazi micro-splashes.
Why?
I mostly made this post because I got annoyed manually typing entries into mtgTop8 and figured others might be in the same boat. Some of you may already have your own work-arounds but for everyone else, here it is. The formatting is a little over the top but I wanted to grab everyone's attention to gauge interest. (And maybe selfishly snag some likes in the process; Muwahahaha! <--evil laugh)
Suggestions
If there are some important searches that you feel I missed (or better search cards for a given splash/variant) feel free to PM me a suggestion.
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?
Thanks for the suggestion of Minamo, School at Water's Edge, it also fits nicely with a splash of Ancestral Visions which I have been testing against more grindy match-ups which Death and taxes seems to have a lot of. Visions has worked decently well but may end up being only a 2-3 of with the rest in the side. But I can tell it will be great against any aggro match-up.
“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))
Lots of great posting lately. I'd like to thank everyone for making this an innovative and informative thread. There are now three proven variations that have put up solid results at high levels of play and more in development. The terrific thing about it is that many of those results have been put up by posters in this very thread rather than the big name pros.
Thanks again everybody.
I'm working on an exercise that should really help delineate the variants and explain the pros and cons of each given deck from the perspective of experienced pilots for prospective pilots. Should have it posted up later in the week.
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Your success in playing dnt/hatebears is determined largely by your ability to read and prepare for the meta that you will be playing in. Furthermore, it has an absolutely brutal learning curve. Expect to lose; a lot.
Wow Catmix, spellskite x4 AND selfless spirit x3 maindeck. That is some serious protection. I am not sure that is ideal. I think 4 spellskites is too much maindeck. I hate drawing more than 1 most games, unless I am also running something that can pump them like rancor, equipment, or planeswalker.
That being said. Since you are running so much creature protection, have you thought about trying out Hokori Dustdrinker, maybe just as a singleton. Such great synergy with Thalia 1.0 and Thalia 2.0. Its main issue is the low toughness, but the spellskites and spirits take care of that. I personally have never tested Hokori, but I have also never tried running that much protection. Just a thought.
Root maze and ghostly prison are not creatures, therefore suboptimal. Archangel of Tithes and ghostly prison only tax creatures and not lands directly. Also, I don't see how recommending testing a single Hokori is "going this far".
By taxing the manabase, you prevent their ability to block/attack. This is the basis for how Winter Orb is effectively used. Hokori is simply a (fragile) Winter Orb with legs. The reason cards like Archangel of Tithes and Ghostly Prison work with it is that you are effectively locking out your opponent's ability to attack/block. This goes hand-in-hand with the mana denial plan built into the deck.
As for Root Maze, if you have room, you could do worse if you're going this route anyway.
The reason that this is relevant with "only one Hokori" is that there is currently an abundance of great choices available for this deck. If you're going to play an easily-removed 4-drop over cards like Thought-Knot Seer, Restoration Angel, old-school Linvala, and Reality Smasher, you may as well get your money's worth.
If you start removing creatures for cards like root maze and ghostly prison, then the deck becomes less D&T and more of an enchantment prison type deck, which is fine, but not really D&T. The only point of mentioning Hokori, is because the main issue with Hokori is the weakness to bolt, but if you are running 4 skites and 3 selfless spirits (like the example list posted by catmix) then that weakness is much less of an issue. That is all. I fail to see how suggesting a 3/1 Resto/Hokori split or 3/1 TKS/Hokori split means that I need to start considering cards like root maze and ghostly prison.
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My Modern decks: Death and Taxes, Hatebears, Well Oiled Machine, Merfolk, Nyx Wave, Soul Sisters, Stompy, Matyr Proc, Naya Zoo, Robots (I refuse to call it affinity!), Bogles, Kiki Chord
Wow Catmix, spellskite x4 AND selfless spirit x3 maindeck. That is some serious protection. I am not sure that is ideal. I think 4 spellskites is too much maindeck. I hate drawing more than 1 most games, unless I am also running something that can pump them like rancor, equipment, or planeswalker.
That being said. Since you are running so much creature protection, have you thought about trying out Hokori Dustdrinker, maybe just as a singleton. Such great synergy with Thalia 1.0 and Thalia 2.0. Its main issue is the low toughness, but the spellskites and spirits take care of that. I personally have never tested Hokori, but I have also never tried running that much protection. Just a thought.
Root maze and ghostly prison are not creatures, therefore suboptimal. Archangel of Tithes and ghostly prison only tax creatures and not lands directly. Also, I don't see how recommending testing a single Hokori is "going this far".
By taxing the manabase, you prevent their ability to block/attack. This is the basis for how Winter Orb is effectively used. Hokori is simply a (fragile) Winter Orb with legs. The reason cards like Archangel of Tithes and Ghostly Prison work with it is that you are effectively locking out your opponent's ability to attack/block. This goes hand-in-hand with the mana denial plan built into the deck.
As for Root Maze, if you have room, you could do worse if you're going this route anyway.
The reason that this is relevant with "only one Hokori" is that there is currently an abundance of great choices available for this deck. If you're going to play an easily-removed 4-drop over cards like Thought-Knot Seer, Restoration Angel, old-school Linvala, and Reality Smasher, you may as well get your money's worth.
If you start removing creatures for cards like root maze and ghostly prison, then the deck becomes less D&T and more of an enchantment prison type deck, which is fine, but not really D&T. The only point of mentioning Hokori, is because the main issue with Hokori is the weakness to bolt, but if you are running 4 skites and 3 selfless spirits (like the example list posted by catmix) then that weakness is much less of an issue. That is all. I fail to see how suggesting a 3/1 Resto/Hokori split or 3/1 TKS/Hokori split means that I need to start considering cards like root maze and ghostly prison.
The point is that it's not worth considering.
You're trading proven, strong choices that have value on their own for a card that only has impact if played alongside other cards...and at the 4-mana slot.
It's a build-around card, not a one-off.
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“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))
This is my latest idea of a list splashing blue for Visions in the late game, and using mangara as a form of removal/ land denial.
Any opinions? I could splash for Clique with filter lands but I tried earlier and seemed to need more that the 4 filter lands, and spell queller only seems helpful with meddling mage.
I defeated a Dredge (with the new guy UB that comes into play when another of his creatures comes into play from GY), UG Infect (amazing player, gotta say), a matchup that I can't remember right now haha a 4C Nonblue delve deck that with a greedy mana base, ID with another infect and lost to a UWr Geist. Top 8, another Infect against an arrogant player and lost to GR Tron (I know, I know...) due to Cavern of Souls with Tec Edge to Soldier. That was so ordinary that I gotta say the Cavern is risky, but It could be mulligan. My initial hand: Cavern, Tec Edge, ThaliaGT, ThaliaHC, Arbiter, Selfless Spirit and a Path. Against a tron, I'd rather use double thalia than an Arbiter and a SS. So I named Soldier, but never drawn a third land. It was round 3, but I felt lucky, but I was not. He beated an Infect, 1 Dredge and two Eldrazi and Taxes. C'MON! He deserved, right? He played very well against horrible matchups and won the PPTQ.
Amazing, close to perfect! I was so happy with it all the time, even against infect and dredge. He works likely a Spellskite, but has evasion and hits for 2. I dropped Spellskite in the main and didn't regret this decision. I think that 4x is mandatory due to its efficiency.
It's very nice, despite the GR Tron third match. It could be a Horizon Canopy, but I felt that 4 TKS and 3 Reality Smashers comes in time eventually and I don't think I needed the gas. Worked very well having 3 creature types: Soldier (both Thalias), Clerics (Arbiter and Selfless) and Eldrazis (displacer, tks and smasher). Nephalia Academy is something I'm thinking. I was punished from discard spells that hurts a lot.
Yes, he is a Dumb beater, but an excellent one. I thought about Resto Angel, because it's my waifu too, but this guy is really hard to your opponents to deal. He deserves some respect accordingly haha
Well, I didn't test the deck properly, so I don't know how is a matchup against aggro decks (except for those I've faced). So I don't know its efficiency.
If not very good, it is at least very decent. Worked splendidly against UWr (Poor I lost to goddamn GoST). It IS NOT good against infect because Path and Vial is REALLY necessary to deal with them. Phyrexian Revoker to 4 copies IS a MUST, I guess (Not against them, of course).
Now that we have Selfless Spirit, it works only against affinity, AdBoring Nauseam and random Lantern decks. IT IS TERRIBLE against Tron, because our Vial and Spellskite have a lot of good work against them. Chalice of the Void stop their Eggs and their best draw engine. So, I'd rather have Declaration in stone if I want to shut their draws. For O. stone, I have Selfless Spirit now.
Very decent, if not good. I liked it a lot. I guess I will try them more.
Well, that was my point of view. I had a lot of close matchups. Very close to win the matchups I lost and won others with some really difficulties, except for dredge and the 4C delve deck. The new dudes, Selfless Spirit and Thalia, Heretic Cathar were the real deal. I'm really surprised that they perfomed above my expectancy. They deserve their places. If I'd change a thing in the deck, it could be down Cavern to 1 (hurt just once, but losing to Tron made me very sad with them. Fantastic against UWr Geist, but I lost...), perhaps Elspeth to Gideon, change Stony Silence to 2 (more) Phyrexian Revokers (I need their body against the decks that Stony Silence should work) and I'd try to fit some Worship, replacing Phyrexian Unlife, perhaps? I don't know, it costs 1 less, but we may lose yet.
And finally, I gotta say that I was thinking of you guys that we are evoluting the ideia toghether. I felt like the team taxes were carrying me to victories, even if sounds weird hahaha
Edit: Remembered the deck I've faced haha. Formatting with spoilers tags and 1 missing Ghostly Prison in sideboard and 1 Important Eiganjo Castle.
Nice! I like the fact that your list has plenty of disruption, along with powerful finishers.
As far as possible shifts in the sideboard I would keep Elspeth over Gideon because Elspeth can more reliably finish the game, sometimes that turn she comes down by making your most powerful creatures able to fly over chump blockers. Also Gideon is vulnerable to path (in %24 of decks), and Dismember(in %15 of decks) the first turn he attacks.
Instead of Declaration in Stone wouldn't Journey to Nowhere be a better card for potentially grindy match-ups that would take advantage of the clue.
Well, it seems like the mono-white list is very viable, especially with a little help from Eldrazi.
Nice! I like the fact that your list has plenty of disruption, along with powerful finishers.
As far as possible shifts in the sideboard I would keep Elspeth over Gideon because Elspeth can more reliably finish the game, sometimes that turn she comes down by making your most powerful creatures able to fly over chump blockers. Also Gideon is vulnerable to path (in %24 of decks), and Dismember(in %15 of decks) the first turn he attacks.
Instead of Declaration in Stone wouldn't Journey to Nowhere be a better card for potentially grindy match-ups that would take advantage of the clue.
Well, it seems like the mono-white list is very viable, especially with a little help from Eldrazi.
Hmmm Really nice ideas. I was afraid of Paths and forgot about Elspeth. I won't change anymore. The fact of using declaration it's the narrow matchups that you face lingering souls. They shut our flyers down, so that's what made me choose it over Journey. But it's a possibility to consider though. AND I loved the idea of Odric! I'd try him someday!
SHE IS A GODDAMN BADDESS. It's a Booggey (Wo)Man against a lot of decks and her body with first strike was determinant against a lot of decks. With Eiganjo Castle, she shines more than never! 3 is a nice number, I guess.
As for Root Maze, if you have room, you could do worse if you're going this route anyway.
The reason that this is relevant with "only one Hokori" is that there is currently an abundance of great choices available for this deck. If you're going to play an easily-removed 4-drop over cards like Thought-Knot Seer, Restoration Angel, old-school Linvala, and Reality Smasher, you may as well get your money's worth.
- 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: 2-1 vs Dredge.
R2: 2-1 vs Jeskai Nahiri Control.
R3: 2-0 vs Jund.
R4: 2-1 vs Nahiri Control.
R5: 2-1 vs Living End.
R6: ID vs Jeskai Nahiri Control.
T8: 2-0 vs BTL Scapeshift.
T4: 2-0 vs Dredge
T2: 0-2 vs Jeskai Control.
The games on the finals were very tight, but the fact that they were not playing Nahiri hurts a lot in the MU, as they don't expose to have to tap for 4/6 to cast a Nahiri giving the window to blow them up, and also they have more Snapcasters, more Helix/Electrolyze and more lands. I got pretty unlucky in how I drew my deck I guess, as both games could have been easily won if I drew a little better, but that's how the game works and can't complain. The deck keeps performing well and putting up good results for me, so I am very happy.
I played a very similar list to the last one I played (6-0-1 into loss at T8 at WMCQ), opted not to play Selfless Spirit (BFT is such a good card) and 2 THCs.
4x Æther Vial
4x Path to Exile
4x Leonin Arbiter
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Tidehollow Sculler
3x Dark Confidant
1x Serra Avenger
4x Flickerwisp
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Aven Mindcensor
2x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1x Mirran Crusader
1x Vryn Wingmare
1x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
2x Sea Gate Wreckage
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Vault of the Archangel
4x Caves of Koilos
3x Godless Shrine
2x Shambling Vent
1x Eiganjo Castle
3x Plains
1x Swamp
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Sunlance
2x Burrenton Forge-Tender
3x Rest in Peace
2x Stony Silence
2x Zealous Persecution
2x Mirran Crusader
I shaved a Dark Confidant and a Serra Avenger for the 2 New Thalia slots and cut the Disenchant off the board in favor of a 3rd Rest in Peace for graveyard decks (like dredge) where the game is reduced to 'draw your hate or die' which is the weakest link in my chain.
Edit: New Thalia is a great magic card, but I wouldn't ever dare to play 3/4 of her.
What is this post about?
Despite the recent meta-wide popularity of Death&Taxes (and the BW-Eldrazi variant in particular) the posted results still seem to be sorted under a number of crazy titles. Searching through Hatebear, Flicker, Eldrazi, etc. results to find actual Death&Taxes listings can often be a pain, especially when you just want to compare the top few recent decks in your splash color.
This list uses google-fu and short-links to type the "Decks must contain following cards"-entries into mtgTop8 so you don't have to.
Search Posted Wins
The links below are sorted from top-to-bottom following wide-to-narrow applicability. You can hover-over the links here and bookmark them to your browser. Favorite and forget it.
Why?
I mostly made this post because I got annoyed manually typing entries into mtgTop8 and figured others might be in the same boat. Some of you may already have your own work-arounds but for everyone else, here it is. The formatting is a little over the top but I wanted to grab everyone's attention to gauge interest. (And maybe selfishly snag some likes in the process; Muwahahaha! <--evil laugh)
Suggestions
If there are some important searches that you feel I missed (or better search cards for a given splash/variant) feel free to PM me a suggestion.
WUDeath&TaxesWG
Legacy
UBRGDredgeUBRG
UHigh TideU
URGLandsURG
WR Card Choice List
WUR American D&T
WUB Esper D&T
The Reserved List
Heat Maps
WWModern Death And Taxes (w/ Militia Bugler) (JUL '19)
GWModern Maverick (JUL '19)
WBCatmix on Twitch!
WWCatmix on Youtube
- 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
Thanks again everybody.
I'm working on an exercise that should really help delineate the variants and explain the pros and cons of each given deck from the perspective of experienced pilots for prospective pilots. Should have it posted up later in the week.
If you start removing creatures for cards like root maze and ghostly prison, then the deck becomes less D&T and more of an enchantment prison type deck, which is fine, but not really D&T. The only point of mentioning Hokori, is because the main issue with Hokori is the weakness to bolt, but if you are running 4 skites and 3 selfless spirits (like the example list posted by catmix) then that weakness is much less of an issue. That is all. I fail to see how suggesting a 3/1 Resto/Hokori split or 3/1 TKS/Hokori split means that I need to start considering cards like root maze and ghostly prison.
You're trading proven, strong choices that have value on their own for a card that only has impact if played alongside other cards...and at the 4-mana slot.
It's a build-around card, not a one-off.
- 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
Some people that would be best to help you with green variants are @jendo87 @spiderspace and @hugelfboy!
WWModern Death And Taxes (w/ Militia Bugler) (JUL '19)
GWModern Maverick (JUL '19)
WBCatmix on Twitch!
WWCatmix on Youtube
2x Blade Splicer
4x Flickerwisp
4x Leonin Arbiter
2x Mangara of Corondor
2x Restoration Angel
3x Spellskite
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4x Thought-Knot Seer
4x Adarkar Wastes
2x Eiganjo Castle
3x Ghost Quarter
4x Hallowed Fountain
5x Plains
3x Tectonic Edge
4x Path to Exile
Artifact (4)
4x AEther Vial
Sorcery (3)
3x Ancestral Vision
This is my latest idea of a list splashing blue for Visions in the late game, and using mangara as a form of removal/ land denial.
Any opinions? I could splash for Clique with filter lands but I tried earlier and seemed to need more that the 4 filter lands, and spell queller only seems helpful with meddling mage.
4 Path to Exile
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Flickerwisp
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Reality Smasher
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Tectonic Edge
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Eiganjo Castle
9 Plains
2 Chalice of the void
1 Grafdigfer's Cage
1 Rest in Peace
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Spellskite
2 Phyrexian revoker
1 Declaration in Stone
1 Elspeth Knight-Errant
2 Stony Silence
1 Phyrexian Unlife
a matchup that I can't remember right now hahaa 4C Nonblue delve deck that with a greedy mana base, ID with another infect and lost to a UWr Geist. Top 8, another Infect against an arrogant player and lost to GR Tron (I know, I know...) due to Cavern of Souls with Tec Edge to Soldier. That was so ordinary that I gotta say the Cavern is risky, but It could be mulligan. My initial hand: Cavern, Tec Edge, ThaliaGT, ThaliaHC, Arbiter, Selfless Spirit and a Path. Against a tron, I'd rather use double thalia than an Arbiter and a SS. So I named Soldier, but never drawn a third land. It was round 3, but I felt lucky, but I was not. He beated an Infect, 1 Dredge and two Eldrazi and Taxes. C'MON! He deserved, right? He played very well against horrible matchups and won the PPTQ.Some points about the deck and my choices:
Selfless Spirit:
BoringNauseam and random Lantern decks. IT IS TERRIBLE against Tron, because our Vial and Spellskite have a lot of good work against them. Chalice of the Void stop their Eggs and their best draw engine. So, I'd rather have Declaration in stone if I want to shut their draws. For O. stone, I have Selfless Spirit now.And finally, I gotta say that I was thinking of you guys that we are evoluting the ideia toghether. I felt like the team taxes were carrying me to victories, even if sounds weird hahaha
Edit: Remembered the deck I've faced haha. Formatting with spoilers tags and 1 missing Ghostly Prison in sideboard and 1 Important Eiganjo Castle.
As far as possible shifts in the sideboard I would keep Elspeth over Gideon because Elspeth can more reliably finish the game, sometimes that turn she comes down by making your most powerful creatures able to fly over chump blockers. Also Gideon is vulnerable to path (in %24 of decks), and Dismember(in %15 of decks) the first turn he attacks.
Instead of Declaration in Stone wouldn't Journey to Nowhere be a better card for potentially grindy match-ups that would take advantage of the clue.
Well, it seems like the mono-white list is very viable, especially with a little help from Eldrazi.
What are your feelings about Thalia 2.0?
Another victory for DaT team: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/449280#online
Death and taxes / UW control