I just cooked this up for FNM this week. I talked about my philosophy a bit in the Clues thread a few days ago -- my LGS hosts free Standard and it feels bad to play tier-1 decks in what's supposed to be a casual event. So I try to build decks that I wouldn't really take to a GP, but would be happy to play at FNM. They're doing something powerful and not playing (too many) bad cards.
This time I decided to build around Thopter Spy Network, after enjoying playing it in the Clues deck. However, once it dawned on me that Goggles is an artifact to work with Thopter Spy Network, the deck moved toward the core of cards that work with Goggles best. I kept the artifact-synergy payoffs in the deck as well and ended up with the following:
Very rough draft, sideboard is half filler, but you get the core idea. I'd like to fit Exquisite Firecraft in somewhere but I'm not sure if I have the space.
I like Anticipate because selection is more important than card draw here. You're trying to assemble some key pieces quickly: Goggles or Network typically, and Anticipate lets you hold up interaction and then go digging EOT. Tormenting Voice is still very powerful with Goggles so I didn't cut them. I cut Magmatic Insight because pitching lands is usually pretty bad and only a measure to be taken when you're significantly flooded -- each land is a Shock with the Goggles + Fall combo, and you generally want a significant number of lands anyway to make use of your cards.
The Thopter package with Network is pretty good in early testing. It's hard for control decks to handle. In fact, generally speaking, I expect this deck to have good control matchups. Targeted discard is the only way these decks can interact with our gameplan efficiently, and they have a small window for that to work at all. I cut it against aggressive decks where I think I don't have time to use it, or against ramp decks where the card is too passive.
All in all I enjoy how the list plays, I think it'll work reasonably well at FNM and I hope anybody else who tries it enjoys it too!
Hey guys just some general questions. Whats the best way to deal with g/w tokens? It seems a very hard matchup. Also are there any 2 mana creatures that you can replace jace with? Jace for me just isn't an option given his price.
welcome to the forums! I haven't checked this thread in awhile, but I haven't been able to play standard in awhile either. I plan on playing Wednesday and I see no reason to not continue with this deck going forward.
I haven't actually played against the PT tokens deck, but I agree it does seem like a bad matchup if we don't have our deck configured correctly. I think the go-to sweeper of choice is kozilek's return just because you can do it instant speed in response to nissa's -2. however this card is devoid and cannot be copied with goggles which is sometimes relevant. it is super lame but I could see playing seismic rupture possibly in the sideboard just because it can be copied with goggles to kill tokens that have gotten too big. that said, I am not sure the copy-ability of rupture outweighs the feel bads of someone casting secure the wastes at the end of the turn..
as for jace, I don't think he is really needed in this deck. I have mentioned him in a number of other posts in this thread but everyone is packing removal in their decks these days and jace dies to literally all of it. I think in standard it is better to play lots of creatures or basically none. he is great when he does what he is supposed to and flips but it feels really bad to spend your turn playing jace just to have him die. I played jace and thing in the deck in a few tournaments and they both got killed more often than they ever did something good for me. Wednesday I plan to try a creatureless deck with 4 fevered visions in the main. visions wrecks the removal heavy decks I have alluded to.
Went 5-0 at FNM with the deck, dropped only a single game in the final round to Bant CoCo for a 92% game/win percentage. This deck was very good, and I beat W/r humans twice.
what made you decide to move away from creatureless?
I realized thing in the ice is too good in this deck. Shores up the humans/aggr0 matchup and is simply a good win con. Plenty of post board games you take out the 5 creatures for fevered visions+stuff still so it's an option.
Played a 3-round FNM. Went 2-1, losing to a BR Impact Tremors/Zulaport Cutthroat homebrew. The match against this opponent was a close one, granted; each game came down to a turn where if I didn't kill him, he would kill me the next turn, and I was one-card short each time. I think this was more my fault losing, or the fact that every-now-and-then the odd rogue brew can take a match.
Still happy with the list, had I played better I feel confident I could have come out 3-0.
Past two events:
5-0 FNM
2-1 Wednesday Night
Still feel good about the deck. I beat W/u Humans, and an American Control deck.
This time I decided to build around Thopter Spy Network, after enjoying playing it in the Clues deck. However, once it dawned on me that Goggles is an artifact to work with Thopter Spy Network, the deck moved toward the core of cards that work with Goggles best. I kept the artifact-synergy payoffs in the deck as well and ended up with the following:
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Thopter Engineer
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Artifacts & Enchantments (8)
4 Thopter Spy Network
2 Magnifying Glass
2 Pyromancer's Goggles
Instants & Sorceries (17)
4 Anticipate
4 Fiery Temper
4 Lightning Axe
3 Tormenting Voice
2 Fall of the Titans
4 Wandering Fumarole
4 Shivan Reef
3 Highland Lake
8 Mountain
6 Island
4 Eldrazi Obligator
2 Dispel
3 Kozilek's Return
2 Negate
2 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
Very rough draft, sideboard is half filler, but you get the core idea. I'd like to fit Exquisite Firecraft in somewhere but I'm not sure if I have the space.
I like Anticipate because selection is more important than card draw here. You're trying to assemble some key pieces quickly: Goggles or Network typically, and Anticipate lets you hold up interaction and then go digging EOT. Tormenting Voice is still very powerful with Goggles so I didn't cut them. I cut Magmatic Insight because pitching lands is usually pretty bad and only a measure to be taken when you're significantly flooded -- each land is a Shock with the Goggles + Fall combo, and you generally want a significant number of lands anyway to make use of your cards.
The Thopter package with Network is pretty good in early testing. It's hard for control decks to handle. In fact, generally speaking, I expect this deck to have good control matchups. Targeted discard is the only way these decks can interact with our gameplan efficiently, and they have a small window for that to work at all. I cut it against aggressive decks where I think I don't have time to use it, or against ramp decks where the card is too passive.
All in all I enjoy how the list plays, I think it'll work reasonably well at FNM and I hope anybody else who tries it enjoys it too!
GW ~ Angels ~ WG
Modern:
RBW ~ Shadowmancer ~ WBR
Legacy:
BUG ~ Shadow Delver ~ GUB
I haven't actually played against the PT tokens deck, but I agree it does seem like a bad matchup if we don't have our deck configured correctly. I think the go-to sweeper of choice is kozilek's return just because you can do it instant speed in response to nissa's -2. however this card is devoid and cannot be copied with goggles which is sometimes relevant. it is super lame but I could see playing seismic rupture possibly in the sideboard just because it can be copied with goggles to kill tokens that have gotten too big. that said, I am not sure the copy-ability of rupture outweighs the feel bads of someone casting secure the wastes at the end of the turn..
as for jace, I don't think he is really needed in this deck. I have mentioned him in a number of other posts in this thread but everyone is packing removal in their decks these days and jace dies to literally all of it. I think in standard it is better to play lots of creatures or basically none. he is great when he does what he is supposed to and flips but it feels really bad to spend your turn playing jace just to have him die. I played jace and thing in the deck in a few tournaments and they both got killed more often than they ever did something good for me. Wednesday I plan to try a creatureless deck with 4 fevered visions in the main. visions wrecks the removal heavy decks I have alluded to.
2 Fall of the Titans
2 Fiery Impulse
3 Magmatic Insight
4 Lightning Axe
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Anticipate
4 Thing in the Ice
4 Fiery Temper
1 Jori En, Ruin Diver
3 Pyromancer's Goggles
2 Chandra, Flamecaller
4 Wandering Fumarole
4 Shivan Reef
4 Drownyard Temple
4 Island
7 Mountain
1 Dispel
2 Fiery Impulse
1 Rending Volley
2 Negate
4 Fevered Visions
4 Eldrazi Obligator
Went 5-0 at FNM with the deck, dropped only a single game in the final round to Bant CoCo for a 92% game/win percentage. This deck was very good, and I beat W/r humans twice.
Round 2 BW Eldrazi 2-0
Round 3 BR Vampires 2-0
Round 4 W/r Humans 2-0
Round 5 Bant Humans 2-1
Only thing I would adjust after my experience is to the board, I would run in a future event:
2 Rending Volley
2 Fiery Impulse
2 Negate
3 Spell Shrivel
4 Fevered Visions
2 Eldrazi Obligator
Still happy with the list, had I played better I feel confident I could have come out 3-0.
Past two events:
5-0 FNM
2-1 Wednesday Night
Still feel good about the deck. I beat W/u Humans, and an American Control deck.
1 Burn from Within
2 Fall of the Titans
3 Pyromancer's Goggles
2 Chandra, Flamecaller
Creatures
1 Jori En, Ruin Diver
4 Thing in the Ice
Spells
4 Fiery Temper
2 Nagging Thoughts
3 Anticipate
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Lightning Axe
3 Magmatic Insight
2 Geistblast
4 Drownyard Temple
3 Highland Lake
4 Shivan Reef
4 Wandering Fumarole
3 Island
7 Mountain
4 Clash of Wills
2 Spell Shrivel
4 Fevered Visions
3 Rending Volley
2 Fiery Impulse