Before we get too much into the sideboard discussion, can we all agree at least to what we expect the meta is? What are the main decks you expect to play against? It's easier for me to go to the board when I know what our main is trying to best beat.
Before we get too much into the sideboard discussion, can we all agree at least to what we expect the meta is? What are the main decks you expect to play against? It's easier for me to go to the board when I know what our main is trying to best beat.
Probably not a lot of changes. Zombies and Mardu are still a thing, RGx/Temur energy and BG Counters as well... Maybe a little bit more of Control (both Jeskai and Grixis), but nothing Tier 1.
As for new decks to watch, I'd say mono white Monument and some Metalwork Colossus variants.
HOU isn't going to change much when it comes to the meta.
Zombies, Mardu, and Temur Energy will be decks still. Jund will probably become more popular, as will BG constrictor due to claim / Fame. Aside from that there will be some new rogue decks based off God pharaohs gift and probably more control.
What that means for us is first off you absolutely should run 4x magma spray and 4x abrade. It also means it's probably correct to run some number of incendiary flow in the sb.
As gy recursion is quite good and there are far fewer times i think I'll use disallow as anything more than cancel, I'm wondering about Void Shatter either replacing it entirely or skimming a disallow or two so as to have that option. Right now I almost exclusively cast Dissallow as a cancel, although it is nice being able to counter PW abilities.
On the other hand, it feels quite bad to use disallow on any card with embalm or eternalize, and void shatter solves that issue.
Zombies, Mardu, and Temur Energy will be decks still. Jund will probably become more popular, as will BG constrictor due to claim / Fame. Aside from that there will be some new rogue decks based off God pharaohs gift and probably more control.
What that means for us is first off you absolutely should run 4x magma spray and 4x abrade. It also means it's probably correct to run some number of incendiary flow in the sb.
As gy recursion is quite good and there are far fewer times i think I'll use disallow as anything more than cancel, I'm wondering about Void Shatter either replacing it entirely or skimming a disallow or two so as to have that option. Right now I almost exclusively cast Dissallow as a cancel, although it is nice being able to counter PW abilities.
On the other hand, it feels quite bad to use disallow on any card with embalm or eternalize, and void shatter solves that issue.
I was actually considering swapping my mainboard disallow for 4x void shatter instead, but horribly awry might have a place in the SB.
But I meant just in general to spark a discussion on the topic: is disallow still the best 3cmc counter to be running? Void Shatter misses activated and triggered abilities which doesn't seem like as big a deal in a post-marvel meta, and sending cards straight to exile when you counter them seems solid in a meta so full of recursion.
I think Disallow is strong for its stifle ability. Sometimes you get to counter a PW emblem/ultimate activation and it'll win you the game. You can also counter Relentless Dead's recursion trigger in a pinch. Those 1-2% upsides will win you games.
With Abrade in all of our control decks, is there anything we can do to the maindecks to shore up the mirror? Seems like game 1s will be monstrously bad if we're just basically playing 'whoever gets more Wandering Fumaroles wins'
Has anyone tried running some number of Elder Deep-Fiend in this deck alongside 4x gearhulks? I mean it's like having a card that says "UU, Instant, counter target spell that targets Torrential Gearhulk, tap 4 permanents" Obviously you would expect it's never getting cast normally.
Ok, so in the Mirror, a resolved Bolas is nearly impossible to beat unless you just have nothing else.
this has been the case for any resolved planeswalker really. You're just way ahead at this point. I had a chandra flamecaller maindeck for that reason, always came out post board though.
Yes, UR is terrible at dealing with any resolved PWs. Either you counter them or they'll just win.
It's one of the things that made me stop playing this deck, actually. But maybe Hour of Devastation will help with this, we'll see.
I am going to call it right now: Standard will be busted again. Thus time not by one super OP card but by one card giving U/R Control a push too much over the top as a tier 1 deck: Hour of Devastation
Outside of the existence of super OP combos, Standard is typically very bad when the top tier deck is either a very aggro deck or a super control deckfor user aggro decks requires you to have your shield up by Turn 1, while extremely control-y de KS requires you to have just the right hand to start aggressive on Turn 1.
U/R Control is already very good as it is. People complain that it lacks answers for certain cards like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar but that is why it play so many counterspells. U/R Control as we see it today is the most controlling deck in recent Standard, playing an average of about 12 counterspells and 7-10 draw spells, and this already makes it very frustrating to play against; just like how Marvel made Standard terrible, hardcore control decks like U/R do the same by not allowing interactions, which is how the game of Magic is supposed to be played. You can interact if you can't even get a goddamn spell to resolve. People playing against U/R Control know that the the way to beat it is to keep dropping threats knowing that at some point you'll resolve something they can't answer to; but by giving U/R a card like Hour of Devastation, it's hopeless to even play.
Sure maybe U/R needs some better answers to what they don't counter. But something like Hour of Devastation is too much.
If you don't believe me then enjoy your FNMs full of super grindy matches that consistently go overtime.
I am going to call it right now: Standard will be busted again. Thus time not by one super OP card but by one card giving U/R Control a push too much over the top as a tier 1 deck: Hour of Devastation
Sure maybe U/R needs some better answers to what they don't counter. But something like Hour of Devastation is too much.
If you don't believe me then enjoy your FNMs full of super grindy matches that consistently go overtime.
Ok I'll bite. I don't believe that U/R Control will be busted because of Hour of Devastation. It is a 5 mana; deal 5 damage sweeper that a flashed in Avacyn can't stop; since it removes indestructible from creatures. It also can hit non-Bolas planeswalkers. Which is the only difference between it and someone exiling Kozilek's Return from their graveyard to deal 5 damage or someone playing 5 mana to play Fumigate. It will just mean that the Control player will have an answer (if they draw it) to a planeswalker they didn't have an answer to the 1st time.
Someone playing U/R Control is still going to have to have their answers line up or they will end up struggling.
Psy
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Currently Playing:
Jeskai Control:42-23-5 Elves: 44-31-3 Red-Aggro: 18-9-0 B/G Energy 21-6-0
The differences as you described are HUGE. Kozilek's Return can trigger only when you cast a large creature. Fumigate can be stopped by Avacyn, Selfless Spirit, or Heroic Intervention.
As it stands, Hour of Devastation is a one-sided sweeper in U/R Control. One-sided sweeper effects are already pretty broken. But a One-sided sweeper effect that can also hit Planeswalkers and Indestructible? Tell me how that's not broken.
It's not broken because of its cost. If it were less than 5 mana I'd agree with you but at 5 mana it's just right. If your opponent is smart, then they are holding some bombs in their hand because they know UR control runs sweepers and want to have something to toss down when we seem to be out of answers/are tapped out. If they are dumb, then they overextend and you 5-for-1 them with Hour of Devastation.
More likely what happens is you get a 2-for-1 or maybe a 3-for-1, a very solid tempo swing, and then they untap and throw down another gideon, or a glorybringer, or whatever. Bottom line, it's am amazing card and a welcome addition, but not game-breaking. Any match in which you win with Hour of Devastation alone is probably a match you could have also won with Fumigate alone, although I will admit Hour is much better vs avacyns, vs selfless spirits, and vs gods.
I do entirely agree that between Abrade and Hour of Devastation, UR control has lots of fairly efficient answers to all sorts of threats, and is generally in a great position right now. Glad I bought my deck before hour spoilers were fully released, because you better believe gearhulks and all the rest are about to spike.
Abrade alone did it really. It's an instant speed 1R answer to:
Every creature and vehicle in Mardu Vehicles except Avacyn
Every creature and artifact in Golgari except for Rampager
Every creature in Zombies
Every creature in Azorious Aggro / Mono White Monument
Pretty much every creature that costs 3 or less in the format which is like 90% of creatures.
All artifacts.
Abrade x 4 is an absolute must for mainboard.
What are people thinking of for numbers of Hour to run in main/side? I've honestly been considering a 3/1 split rather than 2/2, since it is quite a good card.
I am going to call it right now: Standard will be busted again. Thus time not by one super OP card but by one card giving U/R Control a push too much over the top as a tier 1 deck: Hour of Devastation
Outside of the existence of super OP combos, Standard is typically very bad when the top tier deck is either a very aggro deck or a super control deckfor user aggro decks requires you to have your shield up by Turn 1, while extremely control-y de KS requires you to have just the right hand to start aggressive on Turn 1.
U/R Control is already very good as it is. People complain that it lacks answers for certain cards like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar but that is why it play so many counterspells. U/R Control as we see it today is the most controlling deck in recent Standard, playing an average of about 12 counterspells and 7-10 draw spells, and this already makes it very frustrating to play against; just like how Marvel made Standard terrible, hardcore control decks like U/R do the same by not allowing interactions, which is how the game of Magic is supposed to be played. You can interact if you can't even get a goddamn spell to resolve. People playing against U/R Control know that the the way to beat it is to keep dropping threats knowing that at some point you'll resolve something they can't answer to; but by giving U/R a card like Hour of Devastation, it's hopeless to even play.
Sure maybe U/R needs some better answers to what they don't counter. But something like Hour of Devastation is too much.
If you don't believe me then enjoy your FNMs full of super grindy matches that consistently go overtime.
UR Control is indeed a good deck, but in the current format, the other tier 1 decks are simply stronger (both in terms of synergy and in individual card quality). This is a big deal, since you can't really grind out these decks as efficiently as a control would like, and if at any moment you don't have an answer to a green gearhulk or a cub t2, that's it. Also, UR is awful against PWs, and I mean REALLY awful.
Has the deck gained some new tools? Absolutely.
Will they be enough for it to become a "busted" deck? Obviously not.
But, just in case it becomes a tier 1 deck, all you need to do is run Kefnet/Fevered Visions in the sideboard. If you land it on t3 on the play, it's game over.
Looking at the instant speed draw spells, how would you rank them in order of preference? I'm having a pretty hard time with this.
- Glimmer of Genius
- Pull from Tomorrow
- Hieroglyphic Illumination
- Supreme Will
- Anticipate
I'm feeling like Hieroglyphic Illumination is the only one I'm almost sure is 4-of, and that Pull from Tomorrow is a 1-of, at best. And I feel like you're either playing Glimmer of Genius or Supreme Will, but probably not both.
So I watched BBD play with his Grixis Control list, and I was blown away by both Bolas and Hour. Both of these cards are the real deal and are enough to push U/R (light black splash) into T1. Abrade seemed decent, but only really shines in certain MU's, and of course you need to draw it for those MU's. Supreme Will seems really solid as well, I like it better than Illumination, as early game I'd rather a 3CMC mana leak over a 1CMC cycler, and late game I'd honestly rather Impulse for 3 over Weave Fate. I suppose cycling is important to hit land drops, so I don't know what ratio to play Illumination to Will, maybe a 3 and 3. Either way, after watching Bolas wreak some havoc I was really impressed. He can ETB with 8-9 loyalty which makes him just a monster to have to deal with. And once you get to untap with him, the game is pretty much over. After struggling with U/R for many weeks in the previous standard, I'm really excited to see this deck being to shine.
Also, a card I'm real excited about but haven't seen to much talk over is Consign. This seems like a perfect fit for U/R, especially if there is now a light splash of black. This can answer planeswalkers, as well as other annoying enchantments and artifacts, it can do some fun shenanigans with bouncing Gearhulk, and can offer some serious late game card advantage that something like Disperse never could. Curious to hear any thoughts on this card.
Does not seem like there is a whole lot of hype about The Locust God for UR focused Control decks, and I am honestly not entirely sure why. The deck has access to Fevered Visions out of the board and cards like Glimmer of Genius and Hieroglyphic Illumination. The card can really start closing out a stable board and sometimes more efficiently than Torrential Gearhulk.
I am curious why people seem to be so hard on for Censor. I get that it can cycle mid to late game, but splashing for something like Failure // Comply seems like it is just better at buying time throughout the course of an entire game. Splashing W or B can really give the deck some legs when it comes to flexing. I am not entirely sold on the idea of Grixis and Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh though, and suspect Jeskai is just a better way to go. Bolas is nutty strong, but I question the overall value of B over W when you can have extra tempo swinging cards like Spell Queller and Gideon of the Trials. I also think Cast Out is another strong talking point here.
Something I have also been working with was Reduce // Rubble. This card has continued to buy me a pretty incredible amount of time, especially when paired with Failure // Comply. Against most midrange and control decks, these two can make for really strong Fevered Visions plays to help you set up for The Locust God. The card has been shockingly powerful as a midgame play when you are looking to get out that 1 extra land or get into your next turn to untap a land that may have entered tapped. My list has been running both Reduce // Rubble and Supreme Will and I have found the aftermath option to be preferred over the digging option, the majority of the time. I do however, think a split is probably correct to a degree.
So far, I have been running a Grixis list and a Jeskai list and I tend to favor the Jeskai list over the Grixis list, despite really trying to force Nicol Bolas... because I am a sucker for him.
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STANDARD|UW Control MODERN| UBG Midrange PAUPER| UG Fog COMMANDER| UBG The Mimeoplasm
I see many people not playing Pull from Tomorrow at all even though Control Master Shaheen Soorani recently called it "The future of Control in Standard". I personally won't go below 1 and think that 2 would be correct if not playing Bolas. That said, we do have a plethora of great draw spells right now. I do see many playing 4 Hieroglyphic Illumination and I think that has to be wrong. It is more flexible, but I don't think you want to be cycling that aggressively in the early turns and it's power level when cast for 4 is far below that of Glimmer and Pull which is why I'm happy with 2.
Does not seem like there is a whole lot of hype about The Locust God for UR focused Control decks, and I am honestly not entirely sure why. The deck has access to Fevered Visions out of the board and cards like Glimmer of Genius and Hieroglyphic Illumination. The card can really start closing out a stable board and sometimes more efficiently than Torrential Gearhulk.
I am curious why people seem to be so hard on for Censor. I get that it can cycle mid to late game, but splashing for something like Failure // Comply seems like it is just better at buying time throughout the course of an entire game. Splashing W or B can really give the deck some legs when it comes to flexing. I am not entirely sold on the idea of Grixis and Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh though, and suspect Jeskai is just a better way to go. Bolas is nutty strong, but I question the overall value of B over W when you can have extra tempo swinging cards like Spell Queller and Gideon of the Trials. I also think Cast Out is another strong talking point here.
Something I have also been working with was Reduce // Rubble. This card has continued to buy me a pretty incredible amount of time, especially when paired with Failure // Comply. Against most midrange and control decks, these two can make for really strong Fevered Visions plays to help you set up for The Locust God. The card has been shockingly powerful as a midgame play when you are looking to get out that 1 extra land or get into your next turn to untap a land that may have entered tapped. My list has been running both Reduce // Rubble and Supreme Will and I have found the aftermath option to be preferred over the digging option, the majority of the time. I do however, think a split is probably correct to a degree.
So far, I have been running a Grixis list and a Jeskai list and I tend to favor the Jeskai list over the Grixis list, despite really trying to force Nicol Bolas... because I am a sucker for him.
I think the problem with Locust God, Spell Queller and Gideon of the Trials is that none of them really play nice with Hour of Devastation which is just so good. Plus, unlike the minor black splash for Bolas (it's not really a Grixis deck at this point), having lots of taplands to play Jeskai really can make some games awkward, especially if Temur decks and their zillion cantrips are still popular. I am probably gonna try out 1x Locust God in URb though cuz he really does look nice in theory.
Also regarding Reduce // Rubble (and more specifically Rubble) it's nice midgame but it's only truly potent if it's backed up with either a drawspell or threat. Otherwise it just seems like a tempo play in a deck that's fine going to the late game, and is a terrible draw at that point too compared to Supreme Will. I think it might be better in Jeskai variants that run more tempo cards than UR or URb ones. I like it a lot as a sideboard card against ramp decks though, since generally speaking control decks actually try to become more aggressive against them.
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My Decks Modern: UU Merfolk UU RW RW Prison RW
Legacy: WW Death and Taxes WW
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Modern - Living End
Main EDH Generals
- Mayael the Anima Fatty Fun - Zedruu Political Multiplayer
- Jeleva Oops All Spells - Roon the Bouncing Rhino
C Long Live Eldrazi C
Probably not a lot of changes. Zombies and Mardu are still a thing, RGx/Temur energy and BG Counters as well... Maybe a little bit more of Control (both Jeskai and Grixis), but nothing Tier 1.
As for new decks to watch, I'd say mono white Monument and some Metalwork Colossus variants.
HOU isn't going to change much when it comes to the meta.
What that means for us is first off you absolutely should run 4x magma spray and 4x abrade. It also means it's probably correct to run some number of incendiary flow in the sb.
As gy recursion is quite good and there are far fewer times i think I'll use disallow as anything more than cancel, I'm wondering about Void Shatter either replacing it entirely or skimming a disallow or two so as to have that option. Right now I almost exclusively cast Dissallow as a cancel, although it is nice being able to counter PW abilities.
On the other hand, it feels quite bad to use disallow on any card with embalm or eternalize, and void shatter solves that issue.
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
C Long Live Eldrazi C
But I meant just in general to spark a discussion on the topic: is disallow still the best 3cmc counter to be running? Void Shatter misses activated and triggered abilities which doesn't seem like as big a deal in a post-marvel meta, and sending cards straight to exile when you counter them seems solid in a meta so full of recursion.
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
Modern - Living End
Main EDH Generals
- Mayael the Anima Fatty Fun - Zedruu Political Multiplayer
- Jeleva Oops All Spells - Roon the Bouncing Rhino
C Long Live Eldrazi C
Modern - Living End
Main EDH Generals
- Mayael the Anima Fatty Fun - Zedruu Political Multiplayer
- Jeleva Oops All Spells - Roon the Bouncing Rhino
I still want access to a couple Disallow, but will probably be running 3-4 Supreme Will.
Modern: UW Spirits
Modern: UW Spirits
Yes, UR is terrible at dealing with any resolved PWs. Either you counter them or they'll just win.
It's one of the things that made me stop playing this deck, actually. But maybe Hour of Devastation will help with this, we'll see.
Outside of the existence of super OP combos, Standard is typically very bad when the top tier deck is either a very aggro deck or a super control deckfor user aggro decks requires you to have your shield up by Turn 1, while extremely control-y de KS requires you to have just the right hand to start aggressive on Turn 1.
U/R Control is already very good as it is. People complain that it lacks answers for certain cards like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar but that is why it play so many counterspells. U/R Control as we see it today is the most controlling deck in recent Standard, playing an average of about 12 counterspells and 7-10 draw spells, and this already makes it very frustrating to play against; just like how Marvel made Standard terrible, hardcore control decks like U/R do the same by not allowing interactions, which is how the game of Magic is supposed to be played. You can interact if you can't even get a goddamn spell to resolve. People playing against U/R Control know that the the way to beat it is to keep dropping threats knowing that at some point you'll resolve something they can't answer to; but by giving U/R a card like Hour of Devastation, it's hopeless to even play.
Sure maybe U/R needs some better answers to what they don't counter. But something like Hour of Devastation is too much.
If you don't believe me then enjoy your FNMs full of super grindy matches that consistently go overtime.
Ok I'll bite. I don't believe that U/R Control will be busted because of Hour of Devastation. It is a 5 mana; deal 5 damage sweeper that a flashed in Avacyn can't stop; since it removes indestructible from creatures. It also can hit non-Bolas planeswalkers. Which is the only difference between it and someone exiling Kozilek's Return from their graveyard to deal 5 damage or someone playing 5 mana to play Fumigate. It will just mean that the Control player will have an answer (if they draw it) to a planeswalker they didn't have an answer to the 1st time.
Someone playing U/R Control is still going to have to have their answers line up or they will end up struggling.
Psy
Jeskai Control:42-23-5
Elves: 44-31-3
Red-Aggro: 18-9-0
B/G Energy 21-6-0
Previous Played:
G/r Ramp:125-72-3 - Bant CoCo:64-24-2 - Jeskai Saheeli: 62-25-4 - Mono Green Eldrazi: 22-11-2
Bant Aggro: 51-27-6 - U/W/g Midrange: 47-24-1 - Bant: 4-3-0
As it stands, Hour of Devastation is a one-sided sweeper in U/R Control. One-sided sweeper effects are already pretty broken. But a One-sided sweeper effect that can also hit Planeswalkers and Indestructible? Tell me how that's not broken.
More likely what happens is you get a 2-for-1 or maybe a 3-for-1, a very solid tempo swing, and then they untap and throw down another gideon, or a glorybringer, or whatever. Bottom line, it's am amazing card and a welcome addition, but not game-breaking. Any match in which you win with Hour of Devastation alone is probably a match you could have also won with Fumigate alone, although I will admit Hour is much better vs avacyns, vs selfless spirits, and vs gods.
I do entirely agree that between Abrade and Hour of Devastation, UR control has lots of fairly efficient answers to all sorts of threats, and is generally in a great position right now. Glad I bought my deck before hour spoilers were fully released, because you better believe gearhulks and all the rest are about to spike.
Abrade alone did it really. It's an instant speed 1R answer to:
Every creature and vehicle in Mardu Vehicles except Avacyn
Every creature and artifact in Golgari except for Rampager
Every creature in Zombies
Every creature in Azorious Aggro / Mono White Monument
Pretty much every creature that costs 3 or less in the format which is like 90% of creatures.
All artifacts.
Abrade x 4 is an absolute must for mainboard.
What are people thinking of for numbers of Hour to run in main/side? I've honestly been considering a 3/1 split rather than 2/2, since it is quite a good card.
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
UR Control is indeed a good deck, but in the current format, the other tier 1 decks are simply stronger (both in terms of synergy and in individual card quality). This is a big deal, since you can't really grind out these decks as efficiently as a control would like, and if at any moment you don't have an answer to a green gearhulk or a cub t2, that's it. Also, UR is awful against PWs, and I mean REALLY awful.
Has the deck gained some new tools? Absolutely.
Will they be enough for it to become a "busted" deck? Obviously not.
But, just in case it becomes a tier 1 deck, all you need to do is run Kefnet/Fevered Visions in the sideboard. If you land it on t3 on the play, it's game over.
- Glimmer of Genius
- Pull from Tomorrow
- Hieroglyphic Illumination
- Supreme Will
- Anticipate
I'm feeling like Hieroglyphic Illumination is the only one I'm almost sure is 4-of, and that Pull from Tomorrow is a 1-of, at best. And I feel like you're either playing Glimmer of Genius or Supreme Will, but probably not both.
2 Chandra, Flamecaller
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Supreme Will
1 Pull from Tomorrow
2 Dynavolt Tower
1 ..or..
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Disallow
2 Void Shatter
1 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
3 Censor
3 Harnessed Lightning
2 Abrade
2 Sweltering Suns
1 Hour of Devastation
Lands
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Wandering Fumarole
4 Aether Hub
10 Island
4 Mountain
2 Sphinx of the Final Word
2 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
2 Thing in the Ice
1 Summary Dismissal
2 Dispel
2 Hour of Devastation
2 Crook of Comdemnation
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
Also, a card I'm real excited about but haven't seen to much talk over is Consign. This seems like a perfect fit for U/R, especially if there is now a light splash of black. This can answer planeswalkers, as well as other annoying enchantments and artifacts, it can do some fun shenanigans with bouncing Gearhulk, and can offer some serious late game card advantage that something like Disperse never could. Curious to hear any thoughts on this card.
I am curious why people seem to be so hard on for Censor. I get that it can cycle mid to late game, but splashing for something like Failure // Comply seems like it is just better at buying time throughout the course of an entire game. Splashing W or B can really give the deck some legs when it comes to flexing. I am not entirely sold on the idea of Grixis and Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh though, and suspect Jeskai is just a better way to go. Bolas is nutty strong, but I question the overall value of B over W when you can have extra tempo swinging cards like Spell Queller and Gideon of the Trials. I also think Cast Out is another strong talking point here.
Something I have also been working with was Reduce // Rubble. This card has continued to buy me a pretty incredible amount of time, especially when paired with Failure // Comply. Against most midrange and control decks, these two can make for really strong Fevered Visions plays to help you set up for The Locust God. The card has been shockingly powerful as a midgame play when you are looking to get out that 1 extra land or get into your next turn to untap a land that may have entered tapped. My list has been running both Reduce // Rubble and Supreme Will and I have found the aftermath option to be preferred over the digging option, the majority of the time. I do however, think a split is probably correct to a degree.
So far, I have been running a Grixis list and a Jeskai list and I tend to favor the Jeskai list over the Grixis list, despite really trying to force Nicol Bolas... because I am a sucker for him.
STANDARD|UW Control MODERN| UBG Midrange PAUPER| UG Fog COMMANDER| UBG The Mimeoplasm
Modern: UW Spirits
I think the problem with Locust God, Spell Queller and Gideon of the Trials is that none of them really play nice with Hour of Devastation which is just so good. Plus, unlike the minor black splash for Bolas (it's not really a Grixis deck at this point), having lots of taplands to play Jeskai really can make some games awkward, especially if Temur decks and their zillion cantrips are still popular. I am probably gonna try out 1x Locust God in URb though cuz he really does look nice in theory.
Also regarding Reduce // Rubble (and more specifically Rubble) it's nice midgame but it's only truly potent if it's backed up with either a drawspell or threat. Otherwise it just seems like a tempo play in a deck that's fine going to the late game, and is a terrible draw at that point too compared to Supreme Will. I think it might be better in Jeskai variants that run more tempo cards than UR or URb ones. I like it a lot as a sideboard card against ramp decks though, since generally speaking control decks actually try to become more aggressive against them.
Modern:
UU Merfolk UU
RW RW Prison RW
Legacy:
WW Death and Taxes WW