I'm a little torn at this point. Inaction Injunction and Fleeting Distraction fuel all 3 of our win conditions, I'm just a little worried about not having targets for them. I'm not even sure what I would cut for them.
Just went through an exhausting FNM and here is my observation of the deck:
Artful Dodge and Cyclops are really bonkers. Managed to win 3 games with these cards. However, my low creature count(4 delvers, 4 cyclops, 3 snaps) means I often have dead cards (i.e. Artful Dodge and Spell Rupture). I'd rather have Artful Dodge in the graveyard, and sometimes had to cast snap before my opponent passes the third turn to me just so I can counter stuff with Spell Rupture.
Mizzium Skin is boss. Often felt safe when I had this on hand. Saved my creatures once from a miracled Bonfire, and blue laughs at Abrupt Decay with this card. I currently have two in my 75. Wouldnt want 4 ofs, we already have a lot of creature dependent cards as it is.
Has anyone here tried Catch from the SB? It pumps the cyclops and makes you go alpha strike sometimes with an opponents beast.
Fleeting Distraction was underwhelming, even against creature decks. Think Twice or Desperate Ravings will be tested in their place.
Just to test other colors, I see myself going RUG with this build instead of URW. I mean, if I go URW, might as well play URW Midrange. That's just me.
We can increase the creature count with a few more green creatures. Mayor of Avebruck comes to mind as it pumps delver too.
However, I feel that for us to mitigate the dead cards that rely on creatures, we'd have to ditch delver to really increase our creature count. Probably Nivmagus Elemental and/or Quirion Dryad.
I went 2-2. Lost to Wolf Run Bant and Jund mainly because I suck at sideboarding and I had a lot of misplays. But the dead cards are glaring in most of my match ups. I folded to Angel of Serenity in most games, amidst Turn//Burn.
I beat Jund Aggro (who had like three flipped Huntmasters and two Deathrite Shamans when I won) but lost to American Midrange and Bant Control. The thing is, I don't think it was that this deck is particularly weak against any of them--it really doesn't care what it's playing against, it's either going to win on its own, or lose on its own.
The reason I went 1-2 instead of 3-0, though, is because of just bad hands. You get a hand that contains 3 land, Nivix Cyclops, Artful Dodge, Think Twice, and Pillar of Flame. Seems like a snap-keep. You throw out that Nivix Cyclops, it gets immediately removed... then what? You have a hand full of nothing.
There are way too many ways to draw a "hand full of nothing", because we very specifically want 2-3 cards in our hand at the same time to win the game. What this deck honestly needs, if you ask me, is to become less focused around "building around Nivix Cyclops" and more finding a deck that Nivix Cyclops grooves well with all around. I think Nivix Cyclops would fit quite well in a UR control shell, I just need to think a bit more on the finer points.
The tricks are nice, but in order for this to be viable, it needs to have more tricks than just "lol pump for a million". Ral Zarek might be good in this deck. I definitely think Clone should go in the sideboard against the Thragtusks and big fatty decks for us to have some way to stabilize. Another option is Turn // Burn, which effectively deals with most problem creatures (Thragtusk doesn't create a beast, Boros Reckoner just gets insta-gibbed, Olivia Voldaren can't ping, etc).
Actually, I just checked the Izzet thread... it appears they're also discussing the value of Nivix Cyclops.
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currently playing UWGbant flashGWU UBdimir mill-controlBU
There are way too many ways to draw a "hand full of nothing", because we very specifically want 2-3 cards in our hand at the same time to win the game. What this deck honestly needs, if you ask me, is to become less focused around "building around Nivix Cyclops" and more finding a deck that Nivix Cyclops grooves well with all around. I think Nivix Cyclops would fit quite well in a UR control shell, I just need to think a bit more on the finer points.
Also reporting back from FNM, and this is exactly how it is.
Swinging for 22 in a few games are nice, but it is generally not consistent enough to win matches, especially when you face against Control decks that know what you are doing and focus on removing your Cyclops.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Guttersnipe
Spells
4 Unsummon
4 Artful Dodge
4 Armed/Dangerous
4 Thought Scour
4 Searing Spear
2 Mizzium Skin
2 Turn/Burn
2 Runechanter's Pike
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
7 Island
7 Mountain
I'm a little torn at this point. Inaction Injunction and Fleeting Distraction fuel all 3 of our win conditions, I'm just a little worried about not having targets for them. I'm not even sure what I would cut for them.
Any suggestions or changes for the list?
Just went through an exhausting FNM and here is my observation of the deck:
I went 2-2. Lost to Wolf Run Bant and Jund mainly because I suck at sideboarding and I had a lot of misplays. But the dead cards are glaring in most of my match ups. I folded to Angel of Serenity in most games, amidst Turn//Burn.
BThe Epic WinB
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I beat Jund Aggro (who had like three flipped Huntmasters and two Deathrite Shamans when I won) but lost to American Midrange and Bant Control. The thing is, I don't think it was that this deck is particularly weak against any of them--it really doesn't care what it's playing against, it's either going to win on its own, or lose on its own.
The reason I went 1-2 instead of 3-0, though, is because of just bad hands. You get a hand that contains 3 land, Nivix Cyclops, Artful Dodge, Think Twice, and Pillar of Flame. Seems like a snap-keep. You throw out that Nivix Cyclops, it gets immediately removed... then what? You have a hand full of nothing.
There are way too many ways to draw a "hand full of nothing", because we very specifically want 2-3 cards in our hand at the same time to win the game. What this deck honestly needs, if you ask me, is to become less focused around "building around Nivix Cyclops" and more finding a deck that Nivix Cyclops grooves well with all around. I think Nivix Cyclops would fit quite well in a UR control shell, I just need to think a bit more on the finer points.
The tricks are nice, but in order for this to be viable, it needs to have more tricks than just "lol pump for a million". Ral Zarek might be good in this deck. I definitely think Clone should go in the sideboard against the Thragtusks and big fatty decks for us to have some way to stabilize. Another option is Turn // Burn, which effectively deals with most problem creatures (Thragtusk doesn't create a beast, Boros Reckoner just gets insta-gibbed, Olivia Voldaren can't ping, etc).
Actually, I just checked the Izzet thread... it appears they're also discussing the value of Nivix Cyclops.
UWGbant flashGWU
UBdimir mill-controlBU
Also reporting back from FNM, and this is exactly how it is.
Swinging for 22 in a few games are nice, but it is generally not consistent enough to win matches, especially when you face against Control decks that know what you are doing and focus on removing your Cyclops.
3 Guttersnipe
3 Nivix Cyclops
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Artful Dodge
3 Faithless Looting
3 Fleeting Distraction
3 Mizzium Skin
4 Searing Spear
2 Spell Rupture
2 Syncopate
4 Thought Scour
6 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Armed // Dangerous
2 Counterflux
2 Dispel
2 Electrickery
2 Rapid Hybridization
3 Skullcrack
1 Tormod's Crypt
This is what I have as an alternative right now, with delver being a removal fodder and Guttersnipe as an alternative wincon.
I'm thinking of replacing delver with Nivmagus Elemental though.
Edit - So I took the initiative and made a delver-less version.
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Guttersnipe
4 Nivix Cyclops
3 Armed // Dangerous
4 Artful Dodge
4 Faithless Looting
4 Thought Scour
4 Mizzium Skin
8 Island
6 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Searing Spear
2 Counterflux
2 Negate
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Rapid Hybridization
3 Syncopate
1 Tormod's Crypt
I think I like this one better.
UWGbant flashGWU
UBdimir mill-controlBU