Control without white is gonna be hard especially if you don't want to lose your deck post rotation (side note they just redid rotation so whatever deck you play won't routate out until the fall set of next year). I would say your best bet would be friend control. I know a list just topped the pro tour in Hawaii.
Since they just redid rotations again, it's going to be almost impossible to build a control deck that you won't lose next rotation, since we'll be losing Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon come next fall.
Your best bet if you wanna build control without white would probably be Grixis Control.
Shota won the pro tour with the above build, and its sub 200 including the side deck.
The only real problem with Grixis is that it hasn't topped outside of Shota, as you kind of need to be Shota in order to use it that effectively. Not an easy deck to play.
or you could go izzet for a fevered visions counterburn kinda deck, not gonna take down a gp but definetly fun to play, in any case consider white, it gives you queller, selfless spirit and dec in stone
has anyone been playing the Grixis Control list that won the Pro Tour?
I wanna build the deck I'm just unsure on it and can't find the thread of it, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong forum. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate that
has anyone been playing the Grixis Control list that won the Pro Tour?
I wanna build the deck I'm just unsure on it and can't find the thread of it, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong forum. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate that
I've tried to get someone on board to write it. If you want to make one, it would be in Est.!
has anyone been playing the Grixis Control list that won the Pro Tour?
I wanna build the deck I'm just unsure on it and can't find the thread of it, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong forum. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate that
I've tried to get someone on board to write it. If you want to make one, it would be in Est.!
I've never written a primer before but if someone can PM me a rundown on writing primers and the deck that was used at the PT, I can try it on the weekend
GB Delirium is powerful and controlling. Most of the deck is surprisingly affordable outside of Liliana, the Last Hope, which can run you $35 each on the cheaper end of the spectrum and up to $45 in some LGS. I bought into foil copies for under $50 because I believe they will retain most of their value going into rotation off of cross format play and casual appeal (it is a Liliana). Compare this to Gideon who, at $25/copy in non-foil today, will likely be $6-$7 after rotation (it sees some fringe Modern play but the quantity of BFZ opened was enormous).
Prioritize Ishkanah, Grafwidow, Emrakul, the Promised End and Traverse the Ulvenwald. Emrakul and Traverse will have good long term value off of EDH, kitchen table and potential in Modern. Ishkanah will probably be like $2 post rotation with foils doing a bit better because people will want to play Spider tribal in EDH.
Grim Flayer is expensive and seen as 4 copies. They're amazing and will hold probably $10 after rotation off of Modern play and are a candidate to rise slowly as the Modern landscape changes. You could substitute Sylvan Advocate if you're just playing in FNM until you can get them. If you do this, play 1-2 extra Grapple or Vessel to make up for the lack of milling. Also, play like 3x Mindwrack Demon, which are pretty cheap from that duel deck printing.
The Vehicles decks are likely the most rotation-proof but they also, IMO, have the most potential to lose a significant amount of value when they rotate. There's also a chance WotC prints some main deckable artifact destruction card in an upcoming set and the Vehicles deck loses meta-game shares and value.
There is a strong Jeskai Control deck in the format that uses a lot of Kaladesh cards. The expensive parts are Torrential Gearhulk, Archangel Avacyn and the lands. The gearhulk and the Glimmer of Genius/Harnessed Lightning engine are what I consider the core of the deck so it should last a while and grow as new sets come out. It is a meta deck though so I could see it just being terrible in some metas while awesome in others.
Hey there o/
I'm really new to magic and don't know what to play (or even how to play). I know from previous cards games that i enjoy fast paced and/or strategic decks, themed or not themed. So i want some suggestions on what decks to play and if there a place where i can test it. Thanks!!
Welcome!
Are you playing with friends at home? Planning to go to a local store? Wanting to play online?
I´ll start playing with some friends at home firts, but at some point i want to go and play on a local store
...
I´ll start playing with some friends at home firts, but at some point i want to go and play on a local store
For starting out at home with friends, I see four ways to start:
There are products called Duel Decks. I believe the current one is "Nissa vs Ob Nixilis." These cost $17.50 on amazon. These are paired decks with a few cards that are good enough to be played competitively (only some, the whole deck is not good enough to win a tournament) and are tuned to be balanced. These will give you the most out-of-the-box competitive experience with a coherent deck (be aware that all the cards in these decks are not in standard at the time the decks are released).
There are planeswalker decks. The current ones are Chandra and Nissa. These decks are ready to play, tuned and balanced, but not as competitive as the Duel Decks. All the cards in these are currently legal in standard
There is a product called the deckbuilder's toolkit which starts you out with a wider selection of cards, but you have to put the decks together yourself and the decks you make may not be as competitively balanced
You can buy packs, groups of about 10 packs (called bundles) or booster boxes (36 packs). Opening these can be fun, but it can be the most expensive way to get a reasonable quality constructed deck
There is a free online product called duels of the planeswalkers that will teach you the game pretty well.
There may also be free introductory decks that you can get at your local store. These don't have the best cards, but teach you the game and can be fun as long as you don't play against much better decks.
...
I´ll start playing with some friends at home firts, but at some point i want to go and play on a local store
For starting out at home with friends, I see four ways to start:
There are products called Duel Decks. I believe the current one is "Nissa vs Ob Nixilis." These cost $17.50 on amazon. These are paired decks with a few cards that are good enough to be played competitively (only some, the whole deck is not good enough to win a tournament) and are tuned to be balanced. These will give you the most out-of-the-box competitive experience with a coherent deck (be aware that all the cards in these decks are not in standard at the time the decks are released).
There are planeswalker decks. The current ones are Chandra and Nissa. These decks are ready to play, tuned and balanced, but not as competitive as the Duel Decks. All the cards in these are currently legal in standard
There is a product called the deckbuilder's toolkit which starts you out with a wider selection of cards, but you have to put the decks together yourself and the decks you make may not be as competitively balanced
You can buy packs, groups of about 10 packs (called bundles) or booster boxes (36 packs). Opening these can be fun, but it can be the most expensive way to get a reasonable quality constructed deck
There is a free online product called duels of the planeswalkers that will teach you the game pretty well.
There may also be free introductory decks that you can get at your local store. These don't have the best cards, but teach you the game and can be fun as long as you don't play against much better decks.
Thanks man,I think i'll start playing with a duel deck first to get some experience first and then buy some used cards at a local store and start building decks from there.
How do yall feel about Bant Flash/Mid Range whatever you want to call it. Selfless Spirit, Reflector Mage, Spell Queller, Sylvan Advocate, Tireless Tracker, Servant of the Conduit, Green Gearhulk, Archangel, Tamiyo ect. how is that in this meta?
has anyone had success with the UR spells/dynavolt deck?
the deck seems sweet. I dunno if its really well positioned. I'm on Shouta's Grixis list but had a few bad PPTQs. Dunno if I should just stay on Grixis, play UR spells or just borrow delirium
I haven't played Magic for a couple of years outside of the occasional draft or casual game. The last set I played seriously was the first Innistrad block. I'm looking into getting back into the game, but I'm having kind of a hard time navigating standard at the moment! I'm not really familiar with any of the new sets (though I did follow them to an extent as they were coming out) and the top 8 decks that I've found are really confusing... like the u/w aggro deck that only runs 4x one drop creatures and 4x two drop creatures, and only 20 creatures total... what??
I'd like to start attending FNM at my local game store, which I believe rotates between doing standard and draft every other week. For drafting I'll be fine of course, but I'm kind of lost with what I should work toward with standard. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good deck for someone coming back into the standard scene after a long absence? At the moment I'm looking for a budget deck if possible, since I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it, but I do have a good amount of old money cards that I could trade for newer stuff.
In addition to deck recommendations, any general advice or observations about the standard climate would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!
Good question. Well written. Good discussion. There's a thread for that. Thanks! - hoser2
UW Flash is technically not an aggro deck and is more of a tempo-midrange. There's also technically 28 creatures if you count Smuggler's Copter and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
Being back into the game I would go with GR Energy. It consist of mostly bulk rares and common/uncommons and should cost you a bit over $100. It's proactive and one of the easier decks to handle, since in my opinion most standard decks right now are NOT newbie friendly.
Hey all, I've been playing Modern and Commander/Duel commander for a few years now. I'm looking to start playing standard over the next couple months. In modern I play Bant Eldrazi primarily, but also RB Control (Blitzkrieg - it plays like Jund with Blood Moon and no tarmogoyfs), Grixis Delver, Latern Control, and Bogles. At least those are the decks I own/have played that I like the most.
I know Standard is just another investment, and I'll be moving into that format over the next couple of months because I'm moving and that's what most people play where I'll be going. I'm hoping to just not embarrass myself at an FNM, and be able to go 3-1 or so with clever play.
Is there currently a cruel control type deck that exists in standard? You know the type were two people sit down to play magic, but only one of you actually gets to play?
Or is there a viable tempo interactive deck that I should start looking at that plays more like grixis delver?
Not looking to break the bank here. I don't feel the need to invest in T1 stuff. Just something budget-ish that will keep me from losing every Friday night and fits that type of play style.
UW Flash is technically not an aggro deck and is more of a tempo-midrange. There's also technically 28 creatures if you count Smuggler's Copter and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
Being back into the game I would go with GR Energy. It consist of mostly bulk rares and common/uncommons and should cost you a bit over $100. It's proactive and one of the easier decks to handle, since in my opinion most standard decks right now are NOT newbie friendly.
I'd try the G/R energy (pummeler version) deck. Is easy to use, cheap and can make u win in turn 4 with a few cards. If you get tired of the deck u can upgrade it into G/R Aggro or Temur energy so is a great choice imho.
Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll give G/R Energy a look. I've traditionally been a control player, played some aggro back when delver was at its prime in standard, but it seems like control in particular is in kind of a weird spot right now. I wouldn't say I'm a newbie per say, I played for years, but for some reason the current meta just feels really different to me.
UW Flash is technically not an aggro deck and is more of a tempo-midrange. There's also technically 28 creatures if you count Smuggler's Copter and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
Being back into the game I would go with GR Energy. It consist of mostly bulk rares and common/uncommons and should cost you a bit over $100. It's proactive and one of the easier decks to handle, since in my opinion most standard decks right now are NOT newbie friendly.
I'd try the G/R energy (pummeler version) deck. Is easy to use, cheap and can make u win in turn 4 with a few cards. If you get tired of the deck u can upgrade it into G/R Aggro or Temur energy so is a great choice imho.
Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll give G/R Energy a look. I've traditionally been a control player, played some aggro back when delver was at its prime in standard, but it seems like control in particular is in kind of a weird spot right now. I wouldn't say I'm a newbie per say, I played for years, but for some reason the current meta just feels really different to me.
If you know that you like control, that's fine. If you want to win a Grand Prix maybe you need to worry about your deck choice. For FNM, play what you want. With decent draws, a skilled player can take down an FNM with a number of decks. Last Saturday, I did a 16 person Showdown with GB Delirium. The event was taken down by RG Pummeler and Jeskai Control came in second, but with different pairings, that outcome could have been reversed. Here is Seth Mansfield piloting Jeskai Control in a video. Yeah sure, having your best control card be a midrangy creature is weird, but Standard is supposed to constantly change.
UW Flash is technically not an aggro deck and is more of a tempo-midrange. There's also technically 28 creatures if you count Smuggler's Copter and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
Being back into the game I would go with GR Energy. It consist of mostly bulk rares and common/uncommons and should cost you a bit over $100. It's proactive and one of the easier decks to handle, since in my opinion most standard decks right now are NOT newbie friendly.
I'd try the G/R energy (pummeler version) deck. Is easy to use, cheap and can make u win in turn 4 with a few cards. If you get tired of the deck u can upgrade it into G/R Aggro or Temur energy so is a great choice imho.
Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll give G/R Energy a look. I've traditionally been a control player, played some aggro back when delver was at its prime in standard, but it seems like control in particular is in kind of a weird spot right now. I wouldn't say I'm a newbie per say, I played for years, but for some reason the current meta just feels really different to me.
If you know that you like control, that's fine. If you want to win a Grand Prix maybe you need to worry about your deck choice. For FNM, play what you want. With decent draws, a skilled player can take down an FNM with a number of decks. Last Saturday, I did a 16 person Showdown with GB Delirium. The event was taken down by RG Pummeler and Jeskai Control came in second, but with different pairings, that outcome could have been reversed. Here is Seth Mansfield piloting Jeskai Control in a video. Yeah sure, having your best control card be a midrangy creature is weird, but Standard is supposed to constantly change.
Totally! I agree with pretty much everything you said. I definitely plan on switching over to control at some point, but for now I'm just looking to find my feet and see if this environment is enjoyable for me. That's why I'm looking for a deck on the cheaper side, so if I end up not enjoying myself, I won't have spent much money. Would you recommend Jeskai control as the best control deck at the moment?
Totally! I agree with pretty much everything you said. I definitely plan on switching over to control at some point, but for now I'm just looking to find my feet and see if this environment is enjoyable for me. That's why I'm looking for a deck on the cheaper side, so if I end up not enjoying myself, I won't have spent much money. Would you recommend Jeskai control as the best control deck at the moment?
Fact: the last standard showdown I took part in was fairly competitive, Jeskai control came in second and could have easily won.
Fact: I have a friend who took Grixis Control to win 3 of 4 Game Days.
Fact: I have never played control well and am currently too enamored of "landfall: draw a card" to seriously try.
Conclusion: You can win locally with either, In 6 weeks it will change. The pilot and the specific deck configuration are more important than the manabase.
Fact: the last standard showdown I took part in was fairly competitive, Jeskai control came in second and could have easily won.
Fact: I have a friend who took Grixis Control to win 3 of 4 Game Days.
Fact: I have never played control well and am currently too enamored of "landfall: draw a card" to seriously try.
Conclusion: You can win locally with either, In 6 weeks it will change. The pilot and the specific deck configuration are more important than the manabase.
That's a good insight. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'll make sure to do some experimenting with control as I can. I guess I should stop stressing so much about FNM level events
Hey guys, just got back into modern and thinking about Standard again. I was hoping there was a half budget viable deck around that you guys could suggest? I'm open to pretty much all play style of decks, as long as it's budget friendly. Greatly appreciate it my friends.
What more affordable decks are viable? That is a great question that hasn't really been answered at this point in time because we don't really even know what decks are viable in general. The previous answer, RG Pummeler, may no longer be viable due to the new presence of Walking Ballista. There are better tools around to answer than in the past. I am familiar with the tools that I will point you to, but I am sure there are others. Here is a spicy number that just 5-0ed a league online. This is probably the best bang/buck deck at the recent pro tour. But feel free to decide for yourself:
Here is a page of the standard metagame with recent tournaments on the right.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
Your best bet if you wanna build control without white would probably be Grixis Control.
http://decks.tcgplayer.com/magic/standard/shota-yasooka/grixis-control/1270891
Shota won the pro tour with the above build, and its sub 200 including the side deck.
The only real problem with Grixis is that it hasn't topped outside of Shota, as you kind of need to be Shota in order to use it that effectively. Not an easy deck to play.
I wanna build the deck I'm just unsure on it and can't find the thread of it, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong forum. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate that
I've tried to get someone on board to write it. If you want to make one, it would be in Est.!
I've never written a primer before but if someone can PM me a rundown on writing primers and the deck that was used at the PT, I can try it on the weekend
Shota's list should still be up on the mothership on their coverage page.
Thanks!
Prioritize Ishkanah, Grafwidow, Emrakul, the Promised End and Traverse the Ulvenwald. Emrakul and Traverse will have good long term value off of EDH, kitchen table and potential in Modern. Ishkanah will probably be like $2 post rotation with foils doing a bit better because people will want to play Spider tribal in EDH.
Grim Flayer is expensive and seen as 4 copies. They're amazing and will hold probably $10 after rotation off of Modern play and are a candidate to rise slowly as the Modern landscape changes. You could substitute Sylvan Advocate if you're just playing in FNM until you can get them. If you do this, play 1-2 extra Grapple or Vessel to make up for the lack of milling. Also, play like 3x Mindwrack Demon, which are pretty cheap from that duel deck printing.
The Vehicles decks are likely the most rotation-proof but they also, IMO, have the most potential to lose a significant amount of value when they rotate. There's also a chance WotC prints some main deckable artifact destruction card in an upcoming set and the Vehicles deck loses meta-game shares and value.
There is a strong Jeskai Control deck in the format that uses a lot of Kaladesh cards. The expensive parts are Torrential Gearhulk, Archangel Avacyn and the lands. The gearhulk and the Glimmer of Genius/Harnessed Lightning engine are what I consider the core of the deck so it should last a while and grow as new sets come out. It is a meta deck though so I could see it just being terrible in some metas while awesome in others.
UBRGrixis Kiki Control
BGUSultai Shadow
GWRBushwhacker Zoo
EDH:
BGU Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
GWU Roon of the Hidden Realm
I´ll start playing with some friends at home firts, but at some point i want to go and play on a local store
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
Thanks man,I think i'll start playing with a duel deck first to get some experience first and then buy some used cards at a local store and start building decks from there.
the deck seems sweet. I dunno if its really well positioned. I'm on Shouta's Grixis list but had a few bad PPTQs. Dunno if I should just stay on Grixis, play UR spells or just borrow delirium
I haven't played Magic for a couple of years outside of the occasional draft or casual game. The last set I played seriously was the first Innistrad block. I'm looking into getting back into the game, but I'm having kind of a hard time navigating standard at the moment! I'm not really familiar with any of the new sets (though I did follow them to an extent as they were coming out) and the top 8 decks that I've found are really confusing... like the u/w aggro deck that only runs 4x one drop creatures and 4x two drop creatures, and only 20 creatures total... what??
I'd like to start attending FNM at my local game store, which I believe rotates between doing standard and draft every other week. For drafting I'll be fine of course, but I'm kind of lost with what I should work toward with standard. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good deck for someone coming back into the standard scene after a long absence? At the moment I'm looking for a budget deck if possible, since I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it, but I do have a good amount of old money cards that I could trade for newer stuff.
In addition to deck recommendations, any general advice or observations about the standard climate would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!
Good question. Well written. Good discussion. There's a thread for that. Thanks! - hoser2
Being back into the game I would go with GR Energy. It consist of mostly bulk rares and common/uncommons and should cost you a bit over $100. It's proactive and one of the easier decks to handle, since in my opinion most standard decks right now are NOT newbie friendly.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
I know Standard is just another investment, and I'll be moving into that format over the next couple of months because I'm moving and that's what most people play where I'll be going. I'm hoping to just not embarrass myself at an FNM, and be able to go 3-1 or so with clever play.
Is there currently a cruel control type deck that exists in standard? You know the type were two people sit down to play magic, but only one of you actually gets to play?
Or is there a viable tempo interactive deck that I should start looking at that plays more like grixis delver?
Not looking to break the bank here. I don't feel the need to invest in T1 stuff. Just something budget-ish that will keep me from losing every Friday night and fits that type of play style.
Thanks all.
Modern: Bogles // 8-Whack/Goblins // UW Titan // Hollow One // Affinity // Dredge
EDH: Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Atraxa, Praetor's Voice // Meren of Clan Nel Toth
The best tempo deck is UW flash, but that's tier 1 expensive.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll give G/R Energy a look. I've traditionally been a control player, played some aggro back when delver was at its prime in standard, but it seems like control in particular is in kind of a weird spot right now. I wouldn't say I'm a newbie per say, I played for years, but for some reason the current meta just feels really different to me.
If you know that you like control, that's fine. If you want to win a Grand Prix maybe you need to worry about your deck choice. For FNM, play what you want. With decent draws, a skilled player can take down an FNM with a number of decks. Last Saturday, I did a 16 person Showdown with GB Delirium. The event was taken down by RG Pummeler and Jeskai Control came in second, but with different pairings, that outcome could have been reversed. Here is Seth Mansfield piloting Jeskai Control in a video. Yeah sure, having your best control card be a midrangy creature is weird, but Standard is supposed to constantly change.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
Totally! I agree with pretty much everything you said. I definitely plan on switching over to control at some point, but for now I'm just looking to find my feet and see if this environment is enjoyable for me. That's why I'm looking for a deck on the cheaper side, so if I end up not enjoying myself, I won't have spent much money. Would you recommend Jeskai control as the best control deck at the moment?
Fact: the last standard showdown I took part in was fairly competitive, Jeskai control came in second and could have easily won.
Fact: I have a friend who took Grixis Control to win 3 of 4 Game Days.
Fact: I have never played control well and am currently too enamored of "landfall: draw a card" to seriously try.
Conclusion: You can win locally with either, In 6 weeks it will change. The pilot and the specific deck configuration are more important than the manabase.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
That's a good insight. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'll make sure to do some experimenting with control as I can. I guess I should stop stressing so much about FNM level events
What more affordable decks are viable? That is a great question that hasn't really been answered at this point in time because we don't really even know what decks are viable in general. The previous answer, RG Pummeler, may no longer be viable due to the new presence of Walking Ballista. There are better tools around to answer than in the past. I am familiar with the tools that I will point you to, but I am sure there are others. Here is a spicy number that just 5-0ed a league online. This is probably the best bang/buck deck at the recent pro tour. But feel free to decide for yourself:
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.