I still think Temur Energy is the best overall deck, but fixing the tokens match isn't a problem for UB control anyway. The problem stems from trying to finish the game off in a reasonable fashion. I actually wonder if we're supposed to be more aggressive in that match. We have several tools to fix that if it becomes a main stay in Standard.
I still think Temur Energy is the best overall deck, but fixing the tokens match isn't a problem for UB control anyway. The problem stems from trying to finish the game off in a reasonable fashion. I actually wonder if we're supposed to be more aggressive in that match. We have several tools to fix that if it becomes a main stay in Standard.
Try using Gifted Aetherborn in the board against tokens, it keeps your life up and they board out push so it stays around and will eventually eat a cast out. A basic u/b list should beat temur, or, at least, that's what I've experienced online. The guy who won the nationals today has the best list I've seen for this meta game. The Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is great against control mirrors.
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
@zhafzhaf - Nice looking list, only concern is your need double red for Sweltering, double blue for Disallow, both on turn 3, then double black on 4 for contempt. Just doesn't sound like it will be very consistent. I tried to go Esper, felt it is was crazy strong but there were just too many games where I folded to not having the right mana at the right time, so I went back to straight U/B. But if the mana base is working for you then it looks like a good list.
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Modern
Currently Playing UW UW Control/Miracles R Skred Red
I still think Temur Energy is the best overall deck, but fixing the tokens match isn't a problem for UB control anyway. The problem stems from trying to finish the game off in a reasonable fashion. I actually wonder if we're supposed to be more aggressive in that match. We have several tools to fix that if it becomes a main stay in Standard.
Try using Gifted Aetherborn in the board against tokens, it keeps your life up and they board out push so it stays around and will eventually eat a cast out. A basic u/b list should beat temur, or, at least, that's what I've experienced online. The guy who won the nationals today has the best list I've seen for this meta game. The Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is great against control mirrors.
I haven't had a problem beating tokens. I'm just musing on whether we should be concerned with it (i.e., devote sideboard slots to that match).
I still think Temur Energy is the best overall deck, but fixing the tokens match isn't a problem for UB control anyway. The problem stems from trying to finish the game off in a reasonable fashion. I actually wonder if we're supposed to be more aggressive in that match. We have several tools to fix that if it becomes a main stay in Standard.
Try using Gifted Aetherborn in the board against tokens, it keeps your life up and they board out push so it stays around and will eventually eat a cast out. A basic u/b list should beat temur, or, at least, that's what I've experienced online. The guy who won the nationals today has the best list I've seen for this meta game. The Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is great against control mirrors.
I haven't had a problem beating tokens. I'm just musing on whether we should be concerned with it (i.e., devote sideboard slots to that match).
Honestly Tokens doesn't bother me that much. My SB is fairly dedicated to creatureless strategies, being able to go up to a full set of negates and 3 duress, all of which I like in the mirror, tokens, and approach MU's (and any other jank I run into). Not to beat a dead horse, but another reason why I prefer glimmer to illumination is because it really shines in g1 against tokens, as that first game is just going to be a grind fest. Typically though, I can out grind the tokens player, even if they manage to resolve their engine cards, so Hidden Stockpile and Anointed Procession. I've had some pretty awesome comebacks against tokens where they get up to 40 life and I just grind away against them, getting to the point where I'm flashing back vraska's contempt with a 4/4 zombie gearhulk on their last servo, during my main phase. Stuff like that. SB games I just treat it like a control mirror, and if I get tempo'd out by some cats and priests, so be it, but I never let their engines come into play, with the hope being I can land a gearhulk or Scarab God and stabilize only after they have no more engine cards left.
As far as various SB creature slots go I'm real interested in testing Deadeye Tracker, as it seems to fit the role of real cheap creature good in the late game, similar to what Dragonmaster Outcast did for the U/R control lists, and also being a hedge against gifts. Gifted Aetherborn has been real good though, being a complete game changer against red, a cheap road block against temur, and a serviceable threat against control, basically coming in for almost every MU.
As far as various SB creature slots go I'm real interested in testing Deadeye Tracker, as it seems to fit the role of real cheap creature good in the late game, similar to what Dragonmaster Outcast did for the U/R control lists, and also being a hedge against gifts. Gifted Aetherborn has been real good though, being a complete game changer against red, a cheap road block against temur, and a serviceable threat against control, basically coming in for almost every MU.
Agree on the Aetherborn, not so much on the Tracker. Aetherborn, as you said, buys you enough life to survive or gets rid of one of their burn spells (which could save your life later on), and is an absolute MONSTER with Eternalize... Tracker, however, is not. I think most of the stuff you want to Eternalize with The Scarab God is stuff with good affixes or ETB triggers: I'm rolling 2 Gifted Aetherborn, 3 Champion of Wits, and 3 Torrential Gearhulk, all of them excellent Eternalize targets. In my deck, with Liliana, Death's Majesty, the difference is even bigger. No way am I going to revive a 1/1 with explore late game. I'd rather use my turn 1 on a tapland or cycling something, but that's just me.
I also decided to ditch Esper. I actually did pretty good on a Standard Showdown tournament at my LGS (most of my losses were tragic misplays on my part) running 2 colors. Settle the Wreckage is really not mandatory, mana base is hella tight in 2 colors, and you can deploy enough threats on UB. Me personally, I'm running a single copy of Vraska, Relic Seeker, but that's because I'm stubborn as hell and I really like the card. Missing some cards, but this is what I'm aiming for more or less:
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
I was watching the video posted a while ago by Corey Burkhart on CFB, and in one match, he bemoans the lack of early aggression in control matches. The mirror comes down to who resolves Azcanta first, and who can keep them on the battlefield. He suggests running Gonti or Ruin Raider, much the same way that Oliver T's US Nationals list had Glint-Sleeve Siphoners in the side. Could Ruin Raider be an option over (for example) the Blood Fast and/or Treasure Map in the Worlds lists, given that chances are most people will be boarding out most removal (plus would only eat Fatal Push with revolt triggered)?
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
I'm on UB with a white splash with 2 Field running 26. It's not bad at all.
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
I tested my Godless decklist last night and anything more than 24 lands would have cost me games. I found myself in excess of 8 lands every game because they went on so long, and picking up land drops was killing me.
I played a mirror matchup that played more midrange and decided to mainboard Yahenni's Expertise. Hostage Taker was surprisingly bad against my deck list, as was Kitesail Freebooter. Every time I was robbed of cards I almost immediately got them back to my hand, costing him a creature. In the end I lost the games against him because he ran Skysovereign, Consul Flagship and I ran out of steam. Definitely need to up my Torrential Gearhulk number to 3.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury was great. Weirdly I found myself cycling Censor every time I found it in my hand. Not once did I use it to counter a spell of any kind. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about its presence in the deck.
I was watching Gab Nassif's stream yesterday, and while it was predominantly drafts, we spoke a bit about the UB control lists. His current list is below (SB clearly geared more to tokens matches with two River's Rebuke and two Archfiend of Ifnir, and only one Gifted Aetherborn), but he says that he's toying with the idea of replacing the Illuminations with Opt, as he very rarely uses it as a draw 2. It also leaves the chance to look at two cards for only 1 mana, instead of 4, which could be far better in a pinch. However, with the desire to flash something back for value with Gearhulk, I'm thinking of trying 3 Opt/1 Illumination over the typical 4 Illumination/1 Glimmer.
I am also running 3 color (Esper Approach) with 2 x field of ruin . Working well so far: made top 8 in last weekend's PPTQ.
You mind posting your list? I have been trying to get Esper Approach to work but can't seem to find the right balance of the 3 colors and still have a smooth mana base.
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Modern
Currently Playing UW UW Control/Miracles R Skred Red
I am also running 3 color (Esper Approach) with 2 x field of ruin . Working well so far: made top 8 in last weekend's PPTQ.
You mind posting your list? I have been trying to get Esper Approach to work but can't seem to find the right balance of the 3 colors and still have a smooth mana base.
Me too. Tried it for a while, but mana base kept being a huge issue. And I didn't even run any Field of Ruin.
I don't know if it can be consistent, but it'd be great if you could prove otherwise. I really like the deck.
Surprisingly, the mana base is quite smooth. I wasn’t expecting that actually.
I’m able to counter and remove threats effectively in the early game. And thanks to Search of Azcanta, it helps me stabilized my mana.
But after playing a few matches, I really feel that a pure UB control deck will feel smoother. although I hate to lose Harnessed Lightning/Abrade and replacing it with Essence Extraction.
This week i managed to go 2-1 in my local FNM, beating a RG Dinosaurs and Sultai Energy, just losing to Esper Tokens.
I would really love Grixis Control to work but i’ve decided to try a UB control this week
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
Surprisingly, the mana base is quite smooth. I wasn’t expecting that actually.
I’m able to counter and remove threats effectively in the early game. And thanks to Search of Azcanta, it helps me stabilized my mana.
But after playing a few matches, I really feel that a pure UB control deck will feel smoother. although I hate to lose Harnessed Lightning/Abrade and replacing it with Essence Extraction.
This week i managed to go 2-1 in my local FNM, beating a RG Dinosaurs and Sultai Energy, just losing to Esper Tokens.
I would really love Grixis Control to work but i’ve decided to try a UB control this week
Hi guys. Sorry for the late response. My current list is below. So far the mana base has worked very well. I made top 8 this weekend again (also made a couple of 4-1's in competitive mtgo leagues)..but then lost to UW approach (that won the tournament) on the quarter final =( It came down to game 3, I needed one mana to counter twice and play the second sun... (had duressed him the previous turn) but.. the land I drew came in tapped =(
After this weekend have been thinking of shuffling some numbers in the MD. Basically -2 doomfall + 1 settle the wreckage from the sb + 1 gideon, and then add another Gideon in the sb.
On the matchups:
vs sultai/temur energy decks..we are heavily favored. vary your threats g2/g3 if they are into the lost legacy plan.
vs UB (the MD doomfalls actually do a lot of work there) is good game 1, but game 2 one has to sb carefully depending on whether they are running the creature package or not.
ss Ramunap.. game 1 is in their favor. G2 and G3 are very draw dependent but if the sb comes out we are good. Sadly I think the matchup is overall in their favor (say 60-40).
vs UW approach: game 1 is in their favor as they run (more) Gideons typically. Should be in our favor because of the discard. Obviously (as this weekend) it does not always work..but on average it does
Anyway, hope this helps..any critique/comment is more than welcome!
Cheers
Hi Zhaf. Glad you're having some success (although I lost to tokens this weekend as well). I'd suggest that you look here and learn to put your deck in tags. It makes it look a lot nicer!
As for the deck, I don't think you need two Bontu's in the main, but if it's working for you, great. The main looks good, but I think that River's Rebuke is good against tokens. I do also like the idea of Archfiend though. However, that's only dependent on you discarding or cycling...
Hi Zhaf. Glad you're having some success (although I lost to tokens this weekend as well). I'd suggest that you look here and learn to put your deck in tags. It makes it look a lot nicer!
As for the deck, I don't think you need two Bontu's in the main, but if it's working for you, great. The main looks good, but I think that River's Rebuke is good against tokens. I do also like the idea of Archfiend though. However, that's only dependent on you discarding or cycling...
Hi guys. Sorry for the late response. My current list is below. So far the mana base has worked very well. I made top 8 this weekend again (also made a couple of 4-1's in competitive mtgo leagues)..but then lost to UW approach (that won the tournament) on the quarter final =( It came down to game 3, I needed one mana to counter twice and play the second sun... (had duressed him the previous turn) but.. the land I drew came in tapped =(
After this weekend have been thinking of shuffling some numbers in the MD. Basically -2 doomfall + 1 settle the wreckage from the sb + 1 gideon, and then add another Gideon in the sb.
On the matchups:
vs sultai/temur energy decks..we are heavily favored. vary your threats g2/g3 if they are into the lost legacy plan.
vs UB (the MD doomfalls actually do a lot of work there) is good game 1, but game 2 one has to sb carefully depending on whether they are running the creature package or not.
ss Ramunap.. game 1 is in their favor. G2 and G3 are very draw dependent but if the sb comes out we are good. Sadly I think the matchup is overall in their favor (say 60-40).
vs UW approach: game 1 is in their favor as they run (more) Gideons typically. Should be in our favor because of the discard. Obviously (as this weekend) it does not always work..but on average it does
Anyway, hope this helps..any critique/comment is more than welcome!
Cheers
Thanks for your post, airgaps, I have been trying out Esper Approach for a few weeks and like the feel of it. My list is very similar to your revised list (I run 26 lands and 3 Opts -- I tried out an extra land and no Opts, but I found that I was running into more land problems that the extra 2 cards didn't offset).
I see you have switched to Angel of Sanctions instead of Torrential Gearhulk; how is that coming? Also, I am trying out Sunscourge Champion instead of Authority of the Consuls, and I have liked it so far because of the immediate lifegain, the fact that it is a better draw late, and that I can actually side it in in more matchups than monored. I also have been playing a River's Rebuke in the SB because of the tokens decks online, and I may try to fit in a second one.
As an aside, I've been testing a different mix of draw spells. 3 Opt, 2 Illumination and 3 Censor fill the 1 mana "cycling" option, so still at 8 cyclers, but I'm up to 2 Glimmer as well, plus swapped a Disallow out for one Supreme Will. This gives a lot more options for finding answers while still having the flexibility of the original deck. I'm liking how it is so far...
Figured I'd put an out-there suggestion on the table for discussion. Some lists have Glint-Sleeve Siphoner as a card for mirrors. It gives early damage, and more importantly, repeatable card draw in exchange for life points. The thought here comes from a card I randomly stumbled across while reading an article talking about the Ixalan leaks.
In order to get some humour/flavour in to the text, the author has card images for things like Way of the Thief, and Stealer of Secrets. Now, mousing over that link here will show the original card from RTR. The card art in the article wasn't RTR. It was W17, the Welcome decks that became standard legal with Amonkhet. So, that means that blue has access to a cheap creature for early threats, but crucially Stealer gets under any Fatal Pushes left in by opponents (it's 3 CMC). We are more than likely to hit several times, so that's several draws, and we get to draw the card for no draw back. No life loss, nothing. The only down side is that, at 3cmc, Stealer can be hit by an Essence Scatter on the play, while Siphoner gets under it. However, one could argue that it may be a good plan to have them burn the Essence Scatter early in order to increase the chance of us sticking a God or a Hulk.
Thoughts?
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Try using Gifted Aetherborn in the board against tokens, it keeps your life up and they board out push so it stays around and will eventually eat a cast out. A basic u/b list should beat temur, or, at least, that's what I've experienced online. The guy who won the nationals today has the best list I've seen for this meta game. The Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is great against control mirrors.
I’ve been running a URb before rotation, mainly splashing black for Scarab God.
But with the reprints of the check lands, i went full grixis.
Still working on my list especially the sideboard. Deck has been smooth lately. I’m just wondering if I should just go straight UB control instead of playing a 3rd colour? Because i think red has better removals? (Harnessed Lightning, Abrade, Hour Of Devastation)
Feel free to comment on my list!
Creatures (5)
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Scarab God
Planeswalker (1)
1 Nicol Bolas
Enchantment(2)
2 Search for Azcanta
Instants (25)
3 Censor
4 Glimmer of Genius
3 Fatal Push
3 Harnessed Lightning
2 Vraska’s Contempt
2 Essence Scatter
3 Disallow
3 Supreme Will
2 Abrade
Sorcery (2)
2 Sweltering Suns
Lands (25)
2 Evolving Wilds
3 Dragonskull Summit
3 Drowned Catacomb
4 spirebluff Canal
4 aether hub
2 Swamp
2 Island
1 Mountain
2 Field of ruins
2 Fetid Pools
SIDEBOARD
2 Gifted Aetherborn
1 hour of devastation
2 bontu last reckoning
1 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
3 Magma Spray
1 Search For Azcanta
2 Duress
1 Lost Legacy
sideboard notes
Ramunap Red
IN
3 Magma Spray
1 Essence Scatter
1 Hour of Devastation
2 gifted aetherborn
Out
2 Search for Azcanta
3 Censor
1 Nicol Bolas
1 Abrade
UW Approach/Control Mirror
IN
2 Negate
2 Duress
1 Search For Azcanta/ Lost Legacy ( for approach)
2 Gifted Aetherborn
Out
3 Fatal Push
2 Sweltering Suns
1 Abrade
1 Harness Lightning
Modern
Currently Playing
UW UW Control/Miracles
R Skred Red
Retired
BU Faeries
RGW Naya Burn
BW B/W Tokens
I haven't had a problem beating tokens. I'm just musing on whether we should be concerned with it (i.e., devote sideboard slots to that match).
Honestly Tokens doesn't bother me that much. My SB is fairly dedicated to creatureless strategies, being able to go up to a full set of negates and 3 duress, all of which I like in the mirror, tokens, and approach MU's (and any other jank I run into). Not to beat a dead horse, but another reason why I prefer glimmer to illumination is because it really shines in g1 against tokens, as that first game is just going to be a grind fest. Typically though, I can out grind the tokens player, even if they manage to resolve their engine cards, so Hidden Stockpile and Anointed Procession. I've had some pretty awesome comebacks against tokens where they get up to 40 life and I just grind away against them, getting to the point where I'm flashing back vraska's contempt with a 4/4 zombie gearhulk on their last servo, during my main phase. Stuff like that. SB games I just treat it like a control mirror, and if I get tempo'd out by some cats and priests, so be it, but I never let their engines come into play, with the hope being I can land a gearhulk or Scarab God and stabilize only after they have no more engine cards left.
As far as various SB creature slots go I'm real interested in testing Deadeye Tracker, as it seems to fit the role of real cheap creature good in the late game, similar to what Dragonmaster Outcast did for the U/R control lists, and also being a hedge against gifts. Gifted Aetherborn has been real good though, being a complete game changer against red, a cheap road block against temur, and a serviceable threat against control, basically coming in for almost every MU.
Agree on the Aetherborn, not so much on the Tracker. Aetherborn, as you said, buys you enough life to survive or gets rid of one of their burn spells (which could save your life later on), and is an absolute MONSTER with Eternalize... Tracker, however, is not. I think most of the stuff you want to Eternalize with The Scarab God is stuff with good affixes or ETB triggers: I'm rolling 2 Gifted Aetherborn, 3 Champion of Wits, and 3 Torrential Gearhulk, all of them excellent Eternalize targets. In my deck, with Liliana, Death's Majesty, the difference is even bigger. No way am I going to revive a 1/1 with explore late game. I'd rather use my turn 1 on a tapland or cycling something, but that's just me.
I also decided to ditch Esper. I actually did pretty good on a Standard Showdown tournament at my LGS (most of my losses were tragic misplays on my part) running 2 colors. Settle the Wreckage is really not mandatory, mana base is hella tight in 2 colors, and you can deploy enough threats on UB. Me personally, I'm running a single copy of Vraska, Relic Seeker, but that's because I'm stubborn as hell and I really like the card. Missing some cards, but this is what I'm aiming for more or less:
4x Blooming Marsh
2x Botanical Sanctum
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Evolving Wilds
4x Fetid Pools
2x Field of Ruin
1x Forest
2x Island
3x Swamp
Planeswalker (3)
2x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
2x Censor
2x Disallow
3x Essence Scatter
4x Fatal Push
3x Hieroglyphic Illumination
2x Supreme Will
3x Vraska's Contempt
Creature (10)
3x Champion of Wits
2x Gifted Aetherborn
2x The Scarab God
3x Torrential Gearhulk
2x Search for Azcanta
2x Arguel's Blood Fast
2x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Doomfall
2x Duress
1x Essence Scatter
2x Lost Legacy
2x Negate
1x Vizier of Many Faces
1x Walk the Plank
4x Censor
4x Essence Scatter
4x Fatal Push
4x Glimmer of Genius
2x Negate
4x Supreme Will
Creature (4)
2x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2x Torrential Gearhulk
4x Aether Hub
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Fetid Pools
6x Island
6x Swamp
Sorcery (8)
2x Doomfall
4x Walk the Plank
Enchantment (2)
2x Aether Meltdown
2x Metallurgic Summonings
2x Aether Meltdown
2x Doomfall
3x Duress
4x Gifted Aetherborn
2x Negate
2x Yahenni's Expertise
Modern:R 8Whack R|W White Knights W
How has 25 lands fared for you? Seems too low with Gearhulks and Bolas on top end - considering you don't have Opt for mana fixing? Also, running 3 colors and having 2 Field of Ruin - did you ever find yourself mana screwed due to colors not available? I wanna try this list but adding one more land and probably dropping the suns for a singleton Hour of Devastation.
Maybe something like
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
3 Contraband Kingpin
3 Duress
1 Essence Extraction (or Vraska's Contempt)
2 Negate
2 Vizier of Many Faces
I'm on UB with a white splash with 2 Field running 26. It's not bad at all.
I tested my Godless decklist last night and anything more than 24 lands would have cost me games. I found myself in excess of 8 lands every game because they went on so long, and picking up land drops was killing me.
I played a mirror matchup that played more midrange and decided to mainboard Yahenni's Expertise. Hostage Taker was surprisingly bad against my deck list, as was Kitesail Freebooter. Every time I was robbed of cards I almost immediately got them back to my hand, costing him a creature. In the end I lost the games against him because he ran Skysovereign, Consul Flagship and I ran out of steam. Definitely need to up my Torrential Gearhulk number to 3.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury was great. Weirdly I found myself cycling Censor every time I found it in my hand. Not once did I use it to counter a spell of any kind. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about its presence in the deck.
Modern:R 8Whack R|W White Knights W
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
6 Island
6 Swamp
Spells (27)
4 Fatal Push
4 Censor
3 Essence Scatter
1 Negate
2 Supreme Will
3 Disallow
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
1 Essence Extraction
1 Glimmer of Genius
3 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Vraska's Contempt
1 Consign // Oblivion
2 Search for Azcanta
Creatures (5)
2 The Scarab God
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Negate
2 River's Rebuke
3 Duress
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
1 Gifted Aetherborn
2 Essence Extraction
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Vraska's Contempt
2 Archfiend of Ifnir
You mind posting your list? I have been trying to get Esper Approach to work but can't seem to find the right balance of the 3 colors and still have a smooth mana base.
Modern
Currently Playing
UW UW Control/Miracles
R Skred Red
Retired
BU Faeries
RGW Naya Burn
BW B/W Tokens
Me too. Tried it for a while, but mana base kept being a huge issue. And I didn't even run any Field of Ruin.
I don't know if it can be consistent, but it'd be great if you could prove otherwise. I really like the deck.
I’m able to counter and remove threats effectively in the early game. And thanks to Search of Azcanta, it helps me stabilized my mana.
But after playing a few matches, I really feel that a pure UB control deck will feel smoother. although I hate to lose Harnessed Lightning/Abrade and replacing it with Essence Extraction.
This week i managed to go 2-1 in my local FNM, beating a RG Dinosaurs and Sultai Energy, just losing to Esper Tokens.
I would really love Grixis Control to work but i’ve decided to try a UB control this week
Surprisingly, the mana base is quite smooth. I wasn’t expecting that actually.
I’m able to counter and remove threats effectively in the early game. And thanks to Search of Azcanta, it helps me stabilized my mana.
But after playing a few matches, I really feel that a pure UB control deck will feel smoother. although I hate to lose Harnessed Lightning/Abrade and replacing it with Essence Extraction.
This week i managed to go 2-1 in my local FNM, beating a RG Dinosaurs and Sultai Energy, just losing to Esper Tokens.
I would really love Grixis Control to work but i’ve decided to try a UB control this week
1 Swamp
1 Evolving Wilds
3 Island
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Concealed Courtyard
2 Field of Ruin
3 Fetid Pools
3 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Essence Scatter
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Disallow
4 Supreme Will
2 Search for Azcanta
3 Censor
4 Fatal Push
2 Settle the Wreckage
2 Fumigate
3 Approach of the Second Sun
4 Cast Out
2 Doomfall
2 Negate
3 Authority of the Consuls
1 Jace's Defeat
2 Regal Caracal
1 Settle the Wreckage
2 Torrential Gearhulk
1 The Scarab God
After this weekend have been thinking of shuffling some numbers in the MD. Basically -2 doomfall + 1 settle the wreckage from the sb + 1 gideon, and then add another Gideon in the sb.
On the matchups:
vs sultai/temur energy decks..we are heavily favored. vary your threats g2/g3 if they are into the lost legacy plan.
vs UB (the MD doomfalls actually do a lot of work there) is good game 1, but game 2 one has to sb carefully depending on whether they are running the creature package or not.
ss Ramunap.. game 1 is in their favor. G2 and G3 are very draw dependent but if the sb comes out we are good. Sadly I think the matchup is overall in their favor (say 60-40).
vs UW approach: game 1 is in their favor as they run (more) Gideons typically. Should be in our favor because of the discard. Obviously (as this weekend) it does not always work..but on average it does
Anyway, hope this helps..any critique/comment is more than welcome!
Cheers
EDIT: Updated lsit
1 Swamp
1 Evolving Wilds
3 Island
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Concealed Courtyard
2 Field of Ruin
3 Fetid Pools
3 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Essence Scatter
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Disallow
3 Supreme Will
2 Search for Azcanta
3 Censor
4 Fatal Push
3 Settle the Wreckage
2 Fumigate
3 Approach of the Second Sun
4 Cast Out
2 Gideon of the Trials
3 Duress
2 Negate
3 Authority of the Consuls
1 Jace's Defeat
3 Regal Caracal
2 Angel of Sanctions
1 The Scarab God
Finally tried out the ub control after switching out from grixis. i’m loving the deck. Managed to go 4-1 yesterday during a standard event.
Won against 2 temur energy, 1 UW Approach, and l Ramunap Red. But i died to tokens in game 2 and 3.
Is archfiend of Ifnir worth running in the sideboard?
My list
Creatures (5)
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Scarab God
Enchantment(3)
3 Search for Azcanta
Instants (25)
3 Censor
4 Glimmer of Genius
4 Fatal Push
3 Essence Extraction
2 Vraska’s Contempt
3 Essence Scatter
3 Disallow
3 Supreme Will
Sorcery (2)
2 Bontu’s Last Reckoning
Lands (25)
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Drowned Catacomb
6 Swamp
7 Island
2 Field of ruins
4 Fetid Pools
SIDEBOARD (15)
2 Negate
2 Lost Legacy
3 Gifted Aetherborn
2 Yaheeni’s Expertise
2 Duress
2 Primal Amulet
1 Vraska’s contempt
1 Glyph Keeper
As for the deck, I don't think you need two Bontu's in the main, but if it's working for you, great. The main looks good, but I think that River's Rebuke is good against tokens. I do also like the idea of Archfiend though. However, that's only dependent on you discarding or cycling...
As well as staying alive...
Thanks for your post, airgaps, I have been trying out Esper Approach for a few weeks and like the feel of it. My list is very similar to your revised list (I run 26 lands and 3 Opts -- I tried out an extra land and no Opts, but I found that I was running into more land problems that the extra 2 cards didn't offset).
I see you have switched to Angel of Sanctions instead of Torrential Gearhulk; how is that coming? Also, I am trying out Sunscourge Champion instead of Authority of the Consuls, and I have liked it so far because of the immediate lifegain, the fact that it is a better draw late, and that I can actually side it in in more matchups than monored. I also have been playing a River's Rebuke in the SB because of the tokens decks online, and I may try to fit in a second one.
3 The Scarab God
2 Torrential Gearhulk
Spells (26)
4 Fatal Push
4 Censor
4 Essence Scatter
4 Disallow
2 Essence Extraction
1 Glimmer of Genius
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Vraska's Contempt
3 Search for Azcanta
Lands (26)
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
8 Island
2 Submerged Boneyard
6 Swamp
4 Duress
2 Gifted Aetherborn
2 Jace's Defeat
1 Negate
2 Essence Extraction
2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2 Vizier of Many Faces
As an aside, I've been testing a different mix of draw spells. 3 Opt, 2 Illumination and 3 Censor fill the 1 mana "cycling" option, so still at 8 cyclers, but I'm up to 2 Glimmer as well, plus swapped a Disallow out for one Supreme Will. This gives a lot more options for finding answers while still having the flexibility of the original deck. I'm liking how it is so far...
In order to get some humour/flavour in to the text, the author has card images for things like Way of the Thief, and Stealer of Secrets. Now, mousing over that link here will show the original card from RTR. The card art in the article wasn't RTR. It was W17, the Welcome decks that became standard legal with Amonkhet. So, that means that blue has access to a cheap creature for early threats, but crucially Stealer gets under any Fatal Pushes left in by opponents (it's 3 CMC). We are more than likely to hit several times, so that's several draws, and we get to draw the card for no draw back. No life loss, nothing. The only down side is that, at 3cmc, Stealer can be hit by an Essence Scatter on the play, while Siphoner gets under it. However, one could argue that it may be a good plan to have them burn the Essence Scatter early in order to increase the chance of us sticking a God or a Hulk.
Thoughts?