Edit: may cut a thing ands something else for 2x Dynavolt tower. Makes harnessed lightning better, switches threats to non creature threat that's harder to deal with and great post board versus control and midrange when we bring additional counters in.
There are things I like and things I don't like here. What happend to firery temper?, its sort of the reason this deck exists. I don't like the 4 of spell shirvel that card is good against decks that just lose to fevered visions.
If you really want main deck counters ceremonius rejection or dispel are good, you really have to keep the mana curve low preboard also you can't take turns off to hold up counterspells.
The homunculus has been surprisingly good. I've had fevered visions in the SB since the rotation happened because I knew aggro was going to be the hotness. atleast for a while. Galvanic bombardment has been great, I also run 4 aether hub over the 2 highland lake and 2 mountain. In place of visions i've been running harnessed lightning. It kills copters well. The deck has felt very powerful and I ult chandra a lot more than i feel like i should.
Some games I don't but they devote a lot of resources to her and i keep a lot of life because of it.
I've been testing reveler and dark dweller. There have been games where the menace and recast has been phenominal. others where i would rather draw cards. on the flip side there have been games where bedlam is great and others where I feel like i would rather have had dwellers. I guess they are pretty even in testing.
DynaVolt tower seems like a trap card to me but I haven't tested it yet.
Anyways here is my list. My meta is pretty aggro and I find I do alright.
Love the post sideboard matchup with Weaver of lightning. Turns a Galvonic bombardment into a 3 damage spell for a single red. Looking for thoughts
Dynavolt converts spells into damage at about the pace of 1 thermo alchemist(1.2 damage per spell cast vs 1). In an aggro heavy meta it can't block though so it loses some points there as well as probably not being as good in multiples as alchemist. Still worth testing and I think if you have fevered visions in the side because of aggro 2 dynavolt should be in the main so you can at least hit one and generate advantage that way.
Match 1 RB vechicals
Game 1
Neverending stream of one drops just beats me to death, I ran out of steam trying to kill them all off. The classic tormenting voice dicarding land drawing two land.
Game 2
Got coptered, drew no instant speed removal
Match 2 GB delirium
Game 1
Multiple Fevered visions.
Game 2
Mull to 5
I sided out my bonbardments and things in the ice as I used to against BG delirium but I realised he had a lot more creatures now and sided them back in.
Game 3
Easily burn him out
Match 3 vs Mardu control
Game 1
Stuck on two lands from my starting hand almost the whole game. Opponent casting sorins whille I could only cast one spell a turn.
Game 2
Mull to 5. I still manage to win the game with stormcaser and thermo-alchemist apperently my opponent had no removal
Match 4 vs UB zombie/emerge
Game 1
It was basically a straight race between my stormchaser+ alchemist and his large emerge threats we both went to 4 but I had burn.
Game 2
(Sided out visions)
Mull to 4. I managed to get out a stormchaser but my opponent cast 3 consecutive Elder-deep fiend.
I think the only useful piece of information is getting my arse kicked by RB vechicals, copped the copters. After that I was getting redicilously unlucky 4 times I had to mull to 5 or less to find more than one land. I have the same number of lands as before! Tilt...
Stormchaser mage was actually pretty good perhaps I switch to 2 thing and 3 mage, not being able to kill things with 0 power was relevent agianst the RB vechicals deck. The black gearhulk on awoken horror or Castigator are terrible for me :/ so much life gain. (I really need a skullcrack). Perhaps I should cut the castigators from the side but the best replacement is Chandra :/. $$
Hijacking this thread to post some results in what I consider the same archetype (UR Spells Burn). I'm playing a lot of the same card as y'all, but I'm not playing the namesake Thermo-Alchemist or Thing in the Ice.
I'm playing Dynavolt Tower, and this deck is very good. I don't think it's a tier 1 / tier 0.5 juggernaut that has all even to favorable matchups, but it's very well-positioned right now, as it's favored against all flavors of RB/RW Aggro and the control decks best suited to prey on them -- decks like BR or BRx Control with a ton of kill spells and maybe a dozen meaningful proactive plays.
The matchups that give me some difficulty are green creature midrange decks -- anything playing Gideon and/or GGhulk is a problem -- and some combo decks, although access to blue helps with disrupting combo pieces.
couple of notes from brewing this list up. i'll add in more as i think of them.
Fevered Visions is bad in the maindeck right now. There are too many aggressive decks running around that make better use of the extra card each turn than you do. Fevered Visions is good against decks whose primary resource constraint is mana instead of cards; if your opponent is already 'card-flooded,' then drawing even more cards doesn't help him very much, and taking damage to do it is actively detrimental. Aggressive decks function on the opposite principle: they're very mana-efficient and would kill for extra cards, and their life total can afford a hit or two from your Fevered Visions until they can get completely under it. You obviously still want it as a playset in the 75, because reactive decks can't beat it and bank on not facing it in tournaments, so it's a very high-impact sideboard card. But it's not something you maindeck right now.
Dynavolt Tower is just a better variant of the Thermo-Alchemist effect. Thermo-Alchemist was an important aspect of the UR deck from last format, turning your spells into additional damage upstairs and providing a clock. Dynavolt Tower does the same thing, but is more efficient at it in a few distinct ways. Dynavolt Tower is more efficient in terms of damage generated per spell; making 40% of a Lightning Bolt is 1.2 damage per spell, which outpaces Thermo-Alchemist. (Dynavolt Tower also can exploit energy from other sources besides itself to deal extra damage.) Dynavolt Tower doesn't die to the 6-8 maindeck removal spells everybody has; it dies to the 1-2 sideboard removal spells for cards like it. When your deck depends on this damage engine to keep pace, resiliency to removal is crucial. Finally, while Dynavolt Tower doesn't block... Thermo-Alchemist has nothing to block anyway! The one-drops are 3/2s, the two-drops are 3/1s, it goes on. Thermo-Alchemist was much better when everybody's turn 2 play was Sylvan Advocate or Primal Druid, but Thermo doesn't block anything anymore.
Alright, if we're playing Harnessed Lightning x4, Dynavolt Tower x4, and Aether Hub x4, then we're well on our way to playing an energy deck. The more energy producing/using cards you play, the better the others get, and I think with all of those in the deck we should reconsider a lot of the other U/R energy options. What else is out there?
I'll answer my own question, here are other interesting U/R/Colorless options for energy in this deck. Only the ones that seem good at all...
Aether Meltdown: Not instant or sorcery so it doesn't boost Thing in the Ice, Thermo-Alchemist, or Bedlam Reveler, nor does it trigger Dynavolt Tower. But it is an excellent way to nerf aggro. I also think it's fairly solid against the upcoming RG Pummeler deck that I expect to be a major player this weekend.
Confiscation Coup: Lets you steal opposing Copter or Skysovereign. It's not terrible, but I don't think it's going to make the cut, and probably a 1-of at the most in the sideboard.
Glimmer of Genius: Seems pretty good in this deck, maybe. Two more damage for Harnessed Lightning or an additional boost to Dynavolt Tower. Maybe straight-up replace the Fevered Visions with this.
Electrostatic Pummeler: It's almost broken in a different deck, but since this deck doesn't have a way to give it hexproof, I don't think it's a good strategy for U/R.
Glimmer of Genius is fantastic in this deck, the only catch is that it's pretty expensive at four mana. I only play two copies and think that's good enough.
Confiscation Coup seems like good tech against the green midrange decks that I find myself struggling to beat, so that's probably getting tested tonight.
Don't like the others. I think I want to try Deadlock Trap too.
Dynavolt Tower is more efficient in terms of damage generated per spell; making 40% of a Lightning Bolt is 1.2 damage per spell, which outpaces Thermo-Alchemist.
That's not technically true. Dynavolt Tower gives you damage for energy, so you have to be playing spells and energy-generating cards to deal damage with it. Thermo-Alchemist gives you damage for untaps, so it deals damage all on its own the longer it sits in play. Play 3 spells now, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage and Thermo-Alchemist gives you 4. Play 5 spells now, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage this turn and 3 next turn while Thermo-Alchemist gives you 6 damage this turn and 1 next turn. Play 1 spell a turn, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage every three turns and Thermo-Alchemist gives you 6 damage over the same time period. Hit a land pocket, Dynavolt Tower sits looking pretty while Thermo-Alchemist goes to work. If you have 3 energy lying around from other sources then yes, that first Dynavolt Tower will be more efficient than a Thermo-Alchemist in its first two turns, but Thermo-Alchemist will surpass it over time. Now, you're right about Dynavolt Tower being more resistant to removal. You're right that it can use energy from other sources, so you may have a little starting gas lying around from Harnessed Lightnings or Aether Hubs (energy generated by previous Dynavolt Towers really doesn't count, since Thermo-Alchemist would've dealt damage at the time rather than creating a resource to deal damage later). You can also use Dynavolt Tower to kill creatures if necessary. For those reasons you could argue that Dynavolt Tower is better, but Thermo-Alchemist is the more efficient damage dealer.
I'd forgotten about Thermo-Alchemist automatically dealing one per turn... oops. Alchemist is indeed more efficient in terms of raw damage output, my mistake.
I maintain that Dynavolt is better than Alchemist for the other reasons I mentioned (and as you point out, something important that I totally forgot -- targeting creatures is a big deal with Dynavolt), but I'm wrong about the raw damage output numbers.
Did you guys see the list of the MOL tournament that ended 5-0, its a combo-version of the termo thing deck, and seems very cool, but i think it works in a very aggro meta.
It's This One
In regards to scassedens list I think unless the deck really needs the filtering you could sub in thermo alchemist for the tormenting voice as lightning axe and bedlam reveler mainboard as madness enablers. Would probably hurt consistency some in favor of raw power as you can't filter through lands though.
Take inventory is another choice off the same list. I think in the matchups where fevered visions can come in it won't be missed and in the matchups where you don't want visions you probably don't want to be playing sorcery speed draw(particularly draw spells that only scale the longer the game goes)
Definitely need to pick up more Spirebluff Canal and a fourth Aether hub. Not sure if having both Tower and Thermo is a bad idea or not. Have yet to be able to play test it anywhere, it's currently 70% assembled. Would love feedback on weaknesses or cards that can/should be upgraded.
edit: playtesting this list on tappedout, it seems that I don't have nearly enough instants or sorceries for the pieces of the puzzle to truly be effective. I've drawn three cards from five castings. Quirk of probability or am I right to switch it out for glimmer of genius?
Did you guys see the list of the MOL tournament that ended 5-0, its a combo-version of the termo thing deck, and seems very cool, but i think it works in a very aggro meta.
*snip*
Seems like we're fighting aggro with aggro. I'm not sure how I would feel about running this one, but it definitely looks like it has potential.
I think the best thing about the 5-0 list is the large number of 1 drops allowing you to machine gun with alchemists, rapidly flip thing in the ice and not getting cards clogged your hand. I think you definately need a lot of one drops in your deck.
I think I will keep that list in mind if i can't get my visions version to work.
Part of the problem with running a lot of bonbardment and harness lightning is what happens if your opponent doens't have creatures, you can't put your foot down fast enough before they start casting Sorins.
Did you guys see the list of the MOL tournament that ended 5-0, its a combo-version of the termo thing deck, and seems very cool, but i think it works in a very aggro meta.
*snip*
Ran this one at FNM tonight, went 1-3. First match was against Gruul energy. While there was some variation, both games basically went T2 Thing, T4 Awoken Horror, T5 win. Second match was against Orzhov Planeswalkers. Both games he killed every creature I played before they could do anything. Third match was against Rakdos aggro. First game I couldn't draw creatures after he hit Thing in the Ice with Unlicensed Disintegration, second game I drew all three Bedlam Revelers in quick succession and drew neither the spells nor lands to play them. Fourth match was also against Rakdos aggro. Won the first game off a pair of Awoken Horrors, the second I couldn't draw instants/sorceries and he kept drawing removal, the third I got stuck on two land. The three games it worked it was a ton of fun to play, but it felt inconsistent and didn't do much if the opponent drew any removal. I hated Bedlam Reveler, although to be fair that's probably because I only drew it in games where I couldn't play it and always drew it in multiples. I also found myself underwhelmed by Stormchaser Mage.
EDIT: Thinking about it, the biggest difficulty I had tonight (other than just bad luck) was removal. My creatures just kept getting killed before I could do anything really big with them. Does anyone else think this list might benefit from running something like Turn Aside in the sideboard?
I am thinking about similar things.
I am not sure I can let go of thermo-alchemist I understand why they cut it, there is now a lot of removal so it can be killed very easily, i don't really want to go all the way to 6 for gearhulk (Also its going to be unaffordable in the near future), i think Shouta's deck make good use of Thing in the ice so it is still good. i.e I will stay with thermo-thing. Main deck radiant flames actually seems like a good option even when playing creatures, but the jeskai and grixis control decks were much more reliably getting three colours.
I think the plan of replacing Fevered visions with Dynovault tower has been shown to be a way forward, as it can be used as removal. Although due to the wierd pro tour metagame, Fevered visions is actually really effective against a lot of the best performing standard decks sideboard it perhaps.
Yeah i am sad about losing collective defiance but it seems glimmer of genius is the replacement there to fuel energy.
Pierre has soo much card draw in his deck, overwhelming amounts Take Inventory and Tormenting voice in large amounts, I want to try out take inventory, having cheap spells are really important even if the deck goes further up the curve.
Main deck counterspells seem good, I might actually play Ceremonius rejection main in conjuction with lots of self discard.
Was a hard decision to cut Chandra, Torch of Defiance, but she doesn't do too much the turn she enters the board and this allows me to lower the curve a bit (and cut two lands in the process). Lots of draws allow me to get this burn exactly when I need it, and having cheap spells makes Thing in the Ice flip consistently & allowing to cast Bedlam Reveler for 2-3 for hand refill when needed.
With a lot of burn it performs quite well against Vehicles, and Unsubstantiate[/cars] and subsequent Collective Defiance was one of my favourite ways to deal with unburnable threats...
I have mixed feelings about Dynavolt Tower. I kinda do not want to cut Fevered Visions because it gives me soooo much... I need to test more, but as always I'd like to hear feedback.
I ended up 2-2, It felt a bit awkward, the mana base needs to be re balanced. Although I think the problem was mostly actually I am not sure just when I am the beat down anymore, with much less burn and more board control.
Also I couldn't get my hands on harnessed lightning or the 4th dynavolt tower. all harnessed lighnings I own are from "rare drafting" in limited
Match 1, vs Grixis control. Pretty easy win in both games Dynavolt tower then fever visions out of the board did a number on him.
Match 2, vs Abzan midrange. game one he kept one land hand, I flipped thing and killed him. Games 2 and 3 I got him under visions but he Emrakuled me.. game 2 I was 2 damage short game 3 I had it. my opponent did mess up his control over me.
Match 3, Vs GB delirium. Game one I got heavily flooded. Game 2 he played two Green Gearhulks that I used alot of resources to kill then emrakuled me. I should of just gone for the face and I'd of won.
Match 4, Vs UB zombie/emerge. game one he mulled to 5 fliped thing and killed him. Game 2 He just overwhelmed me with creatures but it was close, I perhaps didn't press my damage enough. Game 3 I flooded out and he got mana screwed but Emerge allowed him to cast huge monsters despite that.
I think i can improve with some more practice with working out just how much damage this new version does, also I have to learn sideboarding, mostly the challange is working what to cut.
I hope to obtain. +2 harnessed lightning - 2 unsubtaniate and +1 thing in the ice, move 1 lightning axe to the side and 3 fevered visions.
So I have just been goldfishing the deck over and over trying to get a feel for it.
And I have worked out why it felt a bit off. I thought it was the lands, but i have a lot more red than blue in the deck so the ratios still seem appropiate. It was the deck I have presented it too in between basically I was playing mid range
Pierre Dagens deck is very much a control deck but this is still the aggro version of that deck. Switching in dynavolt towers and trying to use things like harnessed lightning doesn't work as well as I'd like because I am lacking just that last bit of burn, i am not quite fast enough to put the nail on a game before my opponents start casting eldrazi.
Pierre straight replaced incendary flow with harnessed lightning, but if I am still trying to win the game through direct damage I can't really afford to do that. Harnessed lightning is more like lightning axe, especially with the energy generation from dynavolt tower, I was able to kill a green gearhulk. I tried to play board control but I used up too many resources to do so.
In my goldfishing, I had a horrible flooding problem, but I think the problem is that flood is horrible because i don't actually ahve that much burn in my deck anymore....so in the end... I needed to return collective defiance to the deck, atm I ahve just the 2 with the other two slots taken up by bedlam revealer which performs well.
Nimblis of Frost is ideal for the side. I've been considering a deck using Nimblis and Reveler as the main win cons. I need to toss a list together and see how it performs.
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In case I didn't tell you, I don't care about your opinion I just want your facts. And not the facts that make you seem smart. I want the ones that are actual facts.
Match 1 vs Aetherflux resevoir.
The natural enemy of the burn deck the life gain deck.
Game 1 Resivoir gg
- 3 galvanic bonbardment - 2 harness lightning - 2 lighning axe
+ 2 nibilis of the frost + 2 negate + 2 ceremonious rejection + 1 summary dismissal
Game 2, I had the chance to leave up negate but he hadn't played it when he had the mana the turn before. He played two due to cost reduction effects in play :/.
0-2
0-1
Match 2 vs Werewolves. This players first magic tournament
Game 1, I removed everything he had he flooded out dynavolt overtook the game.
- 4 take inventory.
+ 2 radiant flames +2 lightning weaver.
Game 2, was better for him he managed to resolve the werewolf walker and a silverfur partisan making tokens I was about to radiant flames but he played the werewolf anthem and I was force to kill them off one by one. Bedlam reveler refilled my hand with removal and burn but duskwatch recuriter refilled his with creatures. In the end he made the mistake of taking a turn off to flip his lambholt pacifist and neglected hierloom after attacking with them and I killed him with wandering fumerole and reveler.
2-0
1-1
Match 3 vs RB vampires
Game 1
I drew a lot of removal for his creatures allowing me to repeatly get in hits with Fumerole and Reveler
- 4 take inventory
+ 2 nibils of frost, + 2 lighting weaver
Game 2
I kept a hand of 4 lands, alchemist, lightning axe and collective defiance.
he hit me with collective brutality taking defiance alchemist kept ticking away (getting him to 5) but I drew lands when all I needed was spells. He played multiple Lupine prototype emptied his hand.. 20 17 6 4 1 dead.
1-2
1-2
Match 5 vs GB midrange
Game 1
I spend my time trying to kill off sylvan advocate and grim flayer, then he just returns them again. all my creatures were killed and none of my burn hit his face.
- 4 take inventory - 3 thing in the ice
+ 4 fevered visions + 2 Nibils of the frost + summary dismissal
Game 2
Mull to five... get dynavolt tower. I use it to kill my opponents creatures. Summary dissmisal hits critical Kalitas, he doesn't have removal for wandering fumroles takes two hits from them plus burn to the face is enough to finish him off.
Game 3
I hate sylvan advocate, I am so annoied it's not rotating as soon as it was going to. He was able to get his advoates to 4/5s then I cannot kill them then combines with a now 6/6 hissing quagmire to kill me.
1-2
2-3 :'(
Only wins were against Newbies.
I don't realy know what went wrong... other than not playing against the vechicals or control decks I had prepared for. Might just quit standard, but I don't actually have anywhere to play modern.
If you play Visions you have to be low to the ground and capable of dealing with early pressure.
Nahiri's Wrath or even some solid bounce works well to that end. Wrath can also handle Gideon and the creature. Which can be an issue. Defiance is no longer a go to card. Just stop playing it. Weaver may be the better choice over Thermo in this meta.
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In case I didn't tell you, I don't care about your opinion I just want your facts. And not the facts that make you seem smart. I want the ones that are actual facts.
Weaver is better against vechicals and the Zombie deck but at game day I actually just died to 4/4, 4/5 and 5/5s that were too big for my removal, well too big for all but 4 of my removal spells.
Defiance kills those things and gives me enough face burn to kill people, I typically don't have enough cards in hand to wheel anymore unless I am horribly flooded and the high mana cost is bad when facing control decks. So I know why it isn't good in this meta but I also know why I put it in there.
It might of been a case of losing to the life gain deck first up and then ending up against the non meta decks.
How do I win the game without alchemist and defiance? do I even have enough damage in my deck any more? if i take too long to win Emrakal comes down or the control decks get thier wall of counterspells up.
There are things I like and things I don't like here. What happend to firery temper?, its sort of the reason this deck exists. I don't like the 4 of spell shirvel that card is good against decks that just lose to fevered visions.
my version
4 Thermo-alchemist
3 Thing in the ice
2 Stormchaser mage
Spells 28
2 Lightning axe
4 Firery temper
4 Galvanic bombardment
4 Harnessed lightning
4 Incendiary flow
2 Tormenting voice
4 Collective defiance
4 Fevered visions
4 wandering fumarole
4 spirebluff canal
4 aether hub
1 geier-reach sanitarium
7 mountain
3 island
2 Negate
3 Weaver of lightning
2 Goldnight castigator
1 Lightning axe
2 Chandra, torch of defiance
2 Kozilek's return
2 Ceremonious rejection
1 Summary dismissal
I am torn between 2 stormchaser mage, 2 main deck weaver of lightning and 2 main deck Bedlam reveler.
I am also considering Dynavolt Tower, i think perhaps if the format remains very aggro The tower replaces Fevered visions.
4 galvanic bonbardment, hmm I am having trouble deciding between it and Select for inspection, i think this is perhaps a choice between aggro and mid range.
If you really want main deck counters ceremonius rejection or dispel are good, you really have to keep the mana curve low preboard also you can't take turns off to hold up counterspells.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
The homunculus has been surprisingly good. I've had fevered visions in the SB since the rotation happened because I knew aggro was going to be the hotness. atleast for a while. Galvanic bombardment has been great, I also run 4 aether hub over the 2 highland lake and 2 mountain. In place of visions i've been running harnessed lightning. It kills copters well. The deck has felt very powerful and I ult chandra a lot more than i feel like i should.
Some games I don't but they devote a lot of resources to her and i keep a lot of life because of it.
I've been testing reveler and dark dweller. There have been games where the menace and recast has been phenominal. others where i would rather draw cards. on the flip side there have been games where bedlam is great and others where I feel like i would rather have had dwellers. I guess they are pretty even in testing.
Dynavolt tower is highly intrigueing.
Anyways here is my list. My meta is pretty aggro and I find I do alright.
Love the post sideboard matchup with Weaver of lightning. Turns a Galvonic bombardment into a 3 damage spell for a single red. Looking for thoughts
Creatures (12):
3 Bedlam Reveler
4 Thermo-Alchemist
4 Thing in the Ice
Instants (15):
4 Fiery Temper
4 Galvanic Bombardment
4 Harnessed Lightning
3 Lightning Axe
1 Select for inspection
Sorceries (11):
3 Incendiary Flow
4 Take Inventory
4 Tormenting Voice
Lands (22):
1 Highland Lake
4 Island
9 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Wandering Fumarole
SB:
4 Weaver of Lightning
4 Fevered Visions
1 Lightning Axe
2 Goldnight Castigator
4 Negate
4 Thermo-alchemist
3 Thing in the ice
2 Stormchaser mage
Enchantments
4 Fevered visions
Sorceries
4 Incendiary flow
2 Tormenting voice
4 Collective defiance
Instants
4 Galvanic bonbardment
2 Select for inspection
2 Lightning axe
1 Unsubstantiate
1 Harness lightning
4 Firery temper
4 wandering fumerole
3 spirebluff canal
3 highland lake
1 aether hub
1 geier reach sanitarium
8 mountain
3 island
1 Lightning axe
2 Cerimonious rejection
2 Negate
2 Weaver of lightning
2 Radiant flames
1 Narhiri's wrath
2 Goldnight castigator
1 Summary dismissal
2 Bedlam reveler
Game 1
Neverending stream of one drops just beats me to death, I ran out of steam trying to kill them all off. The classic tormenting voice dicarding land drawing two land.
Game 2
Got coptered, drew no instant speed removal
Match 2 GB delirium
Game 1
Multiple Fevered visions.
Game 2
Mull to 5
I sided out my bonbardments and things in the ice as I used to against BG delirium but I realised he had a lot more creatures now and sided them back in.
Game 3
Easily burn him out
Match 3 vs Mardu control
Game 1
Stuck on two lands from my starting hand almost the whole game. Opponent casting sorins whille I could only cast one spell a turn.
Game 2
Mull to 5. I still manage to win the game with stormcaser and thermo-alchemist apperently my opponent had no removal
Game 3
Mull to 5. Get my opponent to 6, Noxious gearhulk on Goldnight castigator... GG
Match 4 vs UB zombie/emerge
Game 1
It was basically a straight race between my stormchaser+ alchemist and his large emerge threats we both went to 4 but I had burn.
Game 2
(Sided out visions)
Mull to 4. I managed to get out a stormchaser but my opponent cast 3 consecutive Elder-deep fiend.
Game 3
I used incendary flows on back to back prized amalgam only for him to play a third. But alchemist is ticking away. I tag his Elder-deep fiend with a summary dismisal in a blow out he couldn't recover from.
I think the only useful piece of information is getting my arse kicked by RB vechicals, copped the copters. After that I was getting redicilously unlucky 4 times I had to mull to 5 or less to find more than one land. I have the same number of lands as before! Tilt...
Stormchaser mage was actually pretty good perhaps I switch to 2 thing and 3 mage, not being able to kill things with 0 power was relevent agianst the RB vechicals deck. The black gearhulk on awoken horror or Castigator are terrible for me :/ so much life gain. (I really need a skullcrack). Perhaps I should cut the castigators from the side but the best replacement is Chandra :/. $$
I still can't find any harness lightning or aether hub.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I'm playing Dynavolt Tower, and this deck is very good. I don't think it's a tier 1 / tier 0.5 juggernaut that has all even to favorable matchups, but it's very well-positioned right now, as it's favored against all flavors of RB/RW Aggro and the control decks best suited to prey on them -- decks like BR or BRx Control with a ton of kill spells and maybe a dozen meaningful proactive plays.
The matchups that give me some difficulty are green creature midrange decks -- anything playing Gideon and/or GGhulk is a problem -- and some combo decks, although access to blue helps with disrupting combo pieces.
Here's the list.
4 Dynavolt Tower
Creatures (4)
4 Bedlam Reveler
Spells (28)
4 Harnessed Lightning
4 Fiery Temper
2 Lightning Axe
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Collective Defiance
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Take Inventory
2 Glimmer of Genius
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Wandering Fumarole
4 Aether Hub
2 Island
10 Mountain
3 Weaver of Lightning
1 Kozilek's Return
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
4 Fevered Visions
2 Negate
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Summary Dismissal
1 Void Shatter
couple of notes from brewing this list up. i'll add in more as i think of them.
GW ~ Angels ~ WG
Modern:
RBW ~ Shadowmancer ~ WBR
Legacy:
BUG ~ Shadow Delver ~ GUB
Aether Meltdown: Not instant or sorcery so it doesn't boost Thing in the Ice, Thermo-Alchemist, or Bedlam Reveler, nor does it trigger Dynavolt Tower. But it is an excellent way to nerf aggro. I also think it's fairly solid against the upcoming RG Pummeler deck that I expect to be a major player this weekend.
Confiscation Coup: Lets you steal opposing Copter or Skysovereign. It's not terrible, but I don't think it's going to make the cut, and probably a 1-of at the most in the sideboard.
Glimmer of Genius: Seems pretty good in this deck, maybe. Two more damage for Harnessed Lightning or an additional boost to Dynavolt Tower. Maybe straight-up replace the Fevered Visions with this.
Electrostatic Pummeler: It's almost broken in a different deck, but since this deck doesn't have a way to give it hexproof, I don't think it's a good strategy for U/R.
Confiscation Coup seems like good tech against the green midrange decks that I find myself struggling to beat, so that's probably getting tested tonight.
Don't like the others. I think I want to try Deadlock Trap too.
GW ~ Angels ~ WG
Modern:
RBW ~ Shadowmancer ~ WBR
Legacy:
BUG ~ Shadow Delver ~ GUB
That's not technically true. Dynavolt Tower gives you damage for energy, so you have to be playing spells and energy-generating cards to deal damage with it. Thermo-Alchemist gives you damage for untaps, so it deals damage all on its own the longer it sits in play. Play 3 spells now, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage and Thermo-Alchemist gives you 4. Play 5 spells now, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage this turn and 3 next turn while Thermo-Alchemist gives you 6 damage this turn and 1 next turn. Play 1 spell a turn, Dynavolt Tower gives you 3 damage every three turns and Thermo-Alchemist gives you 6 damage over the same time period. Hit a land pocket, Dynavolt Tower sits looking pretty while Thermo-Alchemist goes to work. If you have 3 energy lying around from other sources then yes, that first Dynavolt Tower will be more efficient than a Thermo-Alchemist in its first two turns, but Thermo-Alchemist will surpass it over time. Now, you're right about Dynavolt Tower being more resistant to removal. You're right that it can use energy from other sources, so you may have a little starting gas lying around from Harnessed Lightnings or Aether Hubs (energy generated by previous Dynavolt Towers really doesn't count, since Thermo-Alchemist would've dealt damage at the time rather than creating a resource to deal damage later). You can also use Dynavolt Tower to kill creatures if necessary. For those reasons you could argue that Dynavolt Tower is better, but Thermo-Alchemist is the more efficient damage dealer.
I maintain that Dynavolt is better than Alchemist for the other reasons I mentioned (and as you point out, something important that I totally forgot -- targeting creatures is a big deal with Dynavolt), but I'm wrong about the raw damage output numbers.
GW ~ Angels ~ WG
Modern:
RBW ~ Shadowmancer ~ WBR
Legacy:
BUG ~ Shadow Delver ~ GUB
It's This One
3 Bedlam Reveler
4 Stormchaser Mage
4 Thermo-Alchemist
4 Thing in the Ice
Sorcery (16)
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Renegade Tactics
4 Slip Through Space
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Expedite
4 Fiery Temper
2 Lightning Axe
Land (19)
2 Aether Hub
3 Island
6 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Wandering Fumarole
4 Fevered Visions
4 Galvanic Bombardment
4 Incendiary Flow
3 Weaver of Lightning
U R B Control
Frontier its coming to town
Best Card Ever
Searing Blood
Take inventory is another choice off the same list. I think in the matchups where fevered visions can come in it won't be missed and in the matchups where you don't want visions you probably don't want to be playing sorcery speed draw(particularly draw spells that only scale the longer the game goes)
4 Thermo-Alchemist
4 Weaver of Lightning
2 Curious Homunculus
1 Torrential Gearhulk
Sorcery (6)
2 Cathartic Reunion
2 Incendiary Flow
2 Pieces of the Puzzle
Instant (13)
2 Negate
3 Harnessed Lightning
4 Lightning Axe
4 Fiery Temper
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Artifact (4)
4 Dynavolt Tower
Land (24)
1 Spirebluff Canal
3 Aether Hub
3 Geier Reach Sanitarium
10 Mountain
7 Island
1 Confiscation Coup
1 Fateful Showdown
2 Stormchaser Mage
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Fevered Visions
1 Bedlam Reveler
2 Insidious Will
2 Ceremonious Rejection
Definitely need to pick up more Spirebluff Canal and a fourth Aether hub. Not sure if having both Tower and Thermo is a bad idea or not. Have yet to be able to play test it anywhere, it's currently 70% assembled. Would love feedback on weaknesses or cards that can/should be upgraded.
edit: playtesting this list on tappedout, it seems that I don't have nearly enough instants or sorceries for the pieces of the puzzle to truly be effective. I've drawn three cards from five castings. Quirk of probability or am I right to switch it out for glimmer of genius?
Seems like we're fighting aggro with aggro. I'm not sure how I would feel about running this one, but it definitely looks like it has potential.
I think I will keep that list in mind if i can't get my visions version to work.
Part of the problem with running a lot of bonbardment and harness lightning is what happens if your opponent doens't have creatures, you can't put your foot down fast enough before they start casting Sorins.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
U R B Control
Frontier its coming to town
Best Card Ever
Searing Blood
Ran this one at FNM tonight, went 1-3. First match was against Gruul energy. While there was some variation, both games basically went T2 Thing, T4 Awoken Horror, T5 win. Second match was against Orzhov Planeswalkers. Both games he killed every creature I played before they could do anything. Third match was against Rakdos aggro. First game I couldn't draw creatures after he hit Thing in the Ice with Unlicensed Disintegration, second game I drew all three Bedlam Revelers in quick succession and drew neither the spells nor lands to play them. Fourth match was also against Rakdos aggro. Won the first game off a pair of Awoken Horrors, the second I couldn't draw instants/sorceries and he kept drawing removal, the third I got stuck on two land. The three games it worked it was a ton of fun to play, but it felt inconsistent and didn't do much if the opponent drew any removal. I hated Bedlam Reveler, although to be fair that's probably because I only drew it in games where I couldn't play it and always drew it in multiples. I also found myself underwhelmed by Stormchaser Mage.
EDIT: Thinking about it, the biggest difficulty I had tonight (other than just bad luck) was removal. My creatures just kept getting killed before I could do anything really big with them. Does anyone else think this list might benefit from running something like Turn Aside in the sideboard?
I am not sure I can let go of thermo-alchemist I understand why they cut it, there is now a lot of removal so it can be killed very easily, i don't really want to go all the way to 6 for gearhulk (Also its going to be unaffordable in the near future), i think Shouta's deck make good use of Thing in the ice so it is still good. i.e I will stay with thermo-thing. Main deck radiant flames actually seems like a good option even when playing creatures, but the jeskai and grixis control decks were much more reliably getting three colours.
I think the plan of replacing Fevered visions with Dynovault tower has been shown to be a way forward, as it can be used as removal. Although due to the wierd pro tour metagame, Fevered visions is actually really effective against a lot of the best performing standard decks sideboard it perhaps.
Yeah i am sad about losing collective defiance but it seems glimmer of genius is the replacement there to fuel energy.
Pierre has soo much card draw in his deck, overwhelming amounts Take Inventory and Tormenting voice in large amounts, I want to try out take inventory, having cheap spells are really important even if the deck goes further up the curve.
Main deck counterspells seem good, I might actually play Ceremonius rejection main in conjuction with lots of self discard.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
4 Aether Hub
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
4 Wandering Fumarole
2 Island
7 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
// creatures
2 Bedlam Reveler
4 Thermo-Alchemist
2 Thing in the Ice
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Take Inventory
2 Collective Defiance
//Instants
4 Fiery Temper
4 Galvanic Bombardment
4 Harnessed Lightning
2 Lightning Axe
2 Unsubstantiate
//Enchantments
4 Fevered Visions
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Collective Defiance
3 Revolutionary Rebuff
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Unsubstantiate
2 Weaver of Lightning
Was a hard decision to cut Chandra, Torch of Defiance, but she doesn't do too much the turn she enters the board and this allows me to lower the curve a bit (and cut two lands in the process). Lots of draws allow me to get this burn exactly when I need it, and having cheap spells makes Thing in the Ice flip consistently & allowing to cast Bedlam Reveler for 2-3 for hand refill when needed.
With a lot of burn it performs quite well against Vehicles, and Unsubstantiate[/cars] and subsequent Collective Defiance was one of my favourite ways to deal with unburnable threats...
I have mixed feelings about Dynavolt Tower. I kinda do not want to cut Fevered Visions because it gives me soooo much... I need to test more, but as always I'd like to hear feedback.
4 Aether Hub
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
4 Wandering Fumarole
3 Island
8 Mountain
3 Spirebluff Canal
creatures
2 Bedlam Reveler
4 Thermo-Alchemist
3 Thing in the Ice
2 Tormenting voice
4 Take Inventory
Instants
4 Fiery Temper
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Harnessed Lightning
3 Lightning Axe
2 Unsubstantiate
Artifacts
3 Dynavolt tower
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Negate
4 Fevered visions
2 Weaver of Lightning
2 Radiant flames
2 Niblis of frost
1 Summary dissmisal
I ended up 2-2, It felt a bit awkward, the mana base needs to be re balanced. Although I think the problem was mostly actually I am not sure just when I am the beat down anymore, with much less burn and more board control.
Also I couldn't get my hands on harnessed lightning or the 4th dynavolt tower. all harnessed lighnings I own are from "rare drafting" in limited
Match 1, vs Grixis control. Pretty easy win in both games Dynavolt tower then fever visions out of the board did a number on him.
Match 2, vs Abzan midrange. game one he kept one land hand, I flipped thing and killed him. Games 2 and 3 I got him under visions but he Emrakuled me.. game 2 I was 2 damage short game 3 I had it. my opponent did mess up his control over me.
Match 3, Vs GB delirium. Game one I got heavily flooded. Game 2 he played two Green Gearhulks that I used alot of resources to kill then emrakuled me. I should of just gone for the face and I'd of won.
Match 4, Vs UB zombie/emerge. game one he mulled to 5 fliped thing and killed him. Game 2 He just overwhelmed me with creatures but it was close, I perhaps didn't press my damage enough. Game 3 I flooded out and he got mana screwed but Emerge allowed him to cast huge monsters despite that.
I think i can improve with some more practice with working out just how much damage this new version does, also I have to learn sideboarding, mostly the challange is working what to cut.
I hope to obtain. +2 harnessed lightning - 2 unsubtaniate and +1 thing in the ice, move 1 lightning axe to the side and 3 fevered visions.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
And I have worked out why it felt a bit off. I thought it was the lands, but i have a lot more red than blue in the deck so the ratios still seem appropiate. It was the deck I have presented it too in between basically I was playing mid range
Pierre Dagens deck is very much a control deck but this is still the aggro version of that deck. Switching in dynavolt towers and trying to use things like harnessed lightning doesn't work as well as I'd like because I am lacking just that last bit of burn, i am not quite fast enough to put the nail on a game before my opponents start casting eldrazi.
Pierre straight replaced incendary flow with harnessed lightning, but if I am still trying to win the game through direct damage I can't really afford to do that. Harnessed lightning is more like lightning axe, especially with the energy generation from dynavolt tower, I was able to kill a green gearhulk. I tried to play board control but I used up too many resources to do so.
In my goldfishing, I had a horrible flooding problem, but I think the problem is that flood is horrible because i don't actually ahve that much burn in my deck anymore....so in the end... I needed to return collective defiance to the deck, atm I ahve just the 2 with the other two slots taken up by bedlam revealer which performs well.
4 Aether Hub
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
1 Highland lake
4 Wandering Fumarole
3 Island
7 Mountain
3 Spirebluff Canal
creatures
2 Bedlam Reveler
4 Thermo-Alchemist
3 Thing in the Ice
2 Tormenting voice
4 Take Inventory
2 Collective defiance
Instants
4 Fiery Temper
3 Galvanic Bombardment
3 Harnessed Lightning
2 Lightning Axe
Artifacts
4 Dynavolt tower
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Negate
4 Fevered visions
2 Weaver of Lightning
2 Radiant flames
2 Niblis of frost
1 Summary dissmisal
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Cockatrice username: Blackcat77
4 Aether Hub
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
4 Wandering Fumarole
3 Island
7 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
creatures
2 Bedlam Reveler
4 Thermo-Alchemist
3 Thing in the Ice
2 Tormenting voice
4 Take Inventory
2 Collective defiance
Instants
4 Fiery Temper
3 Galvanic Bombardment
3 Harnessed Lightning
2 Lightning Axe
Artifacts
4 Dynavolt tower
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Negate
4 Fevered visions
2 Weaver of Lightning
2 Radiant flames
2 Niblis of frost
1 Summary dissmisal
The natural enemy of the burn deck the life gain deck.
Game 1 Resivoir gg
- 3 galvanic bonbardment - 2 harness lightning - 2 lighning axe
+ 2 nibilis of the frost + 2 negate + 2 ceremonious rejection + 1 summary dismissal
Game 2, I had the chance to leave up negate but he hadn't played it when he had the mana the turn before. He played two due to cost reduction effects in play :/.
0-2
0-1
Match 2 vs Werewolves. This players first magic tournament
Game 1, I removed everything he had he flooded out dynavolt overtook the game.
- 4 take inventory.
+ 2 radiant flames +2 lightning weaver.
Game 2, was better for him he managed to resolve the werewolf walker and a silverfur partisan making tokens I was about to radiant flames but he played the werewolf anthem and I was force to kill them off one by one. Bedlam reveler refilled my hand with removal and burn but duskwatch recuriter refilled his with creatures. In the end he made the mistake of taking a turn off to flip his lambholt pacifist and neglected hierloom after attacking with them and I killed him with wandering fumerole and reveler.
2-0
1-1
Match 3 vs RB vampires
Game 1
I drew a lot of removal for his creatures allowing me to repeatly get in hits with Fumerole and Reveler
- 4 take inventory
+ 2 nibils of frost, + 2 lighting weaver
Game 2
I kept a hand of 4 lands, alchemist, lightning axe and collective defiance.
he hit me with collective brutality taking defiance alchemist kept ticking away (getting him to 5) but I drew lands when all I needed was spells. He played multiple Lupine prototype emptied his hand.. 20 17 6 4 1 dead.
1-2
1-2
Match 4 vs mono blue energy. Also in his first magic tournament friend of the other player.
Game 1
Dynavolt tower carries the game I don't really know what his deck is doing.
- 3 galvanic bonbardment - 2 harness lightning - 2 lightning axe
+ 2 nibilis of the frost + 2 negate + 2 ceremonious rejection + 1 summary dismissal
Game 2
He gets mana screwed, I flip thing in the ice and that kills him.
2-0
2-2
Match 5 vs GB midrange
Game 1
I spend my time trying to kill off sylvan advocate and grim flayer, then he just returns them again. all my creatures were killed and none of my burn hit his face.
- 4 take inventory - 3 thing in the ice
+ 4 fevered visions + 2 Nibils of the frost + summary dismissal
Game 2
Mull to five... get dynavolt tower. I use it to kill my opponents creatures. Summary dissmisal hits critical Kalitas, he doesn't have removal for wandering fumroles takes two hits from them plus burn to the face is enough to finish him off.
Game 3
I hate sylvan advocate, I am so annoied it's not rotating as soon as it was going to. He was able to get his advoates to 4/5s then I cannot kill them then combines with a now 6/6 hissing quagmire to kill me.
1-2
2-3 :'(
Only wins were against Newbies.
I don't realy know what went wrong... other than not playing against the vechicals or control decks I had prepared for. Might just quit standard, but I don't actually have anywhere to play modern.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Nahiri's Wrath or even some solid bounce works well to that end. Wrath can also handle Gideon and the creature. Which can be an issue. Defiance is no longer a go to card. Just stop playing it. Weaver may be the better choice over Thermo in this meta.
Cockatrice username: Blackcat77
Defiance kills those things and gives me enough face burn to kill people, I typically don't have enough cards in hand to wheel anymore unless I am horribly flooded and the high mana cost is bad when facing control decks. So I know why it isn't good in this meta but I also know why I put it in there.
It might of been a case of losing to the life gain deck first up and then ending up against the non meta decks.
How do I win the game without alchemist and defiance? do I even have enough damage in my deck any more? if i take too long to win Emrakal comes down or the control decks get thier wall of counterspells up.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own