Any new tournament's reports about this deck?
I went to another and I arrived in top8 on 12/14 people. I lost 2-1 and 2-0 vs UWR. I won 2-1 vs merfolk and 2-1 vs bg rock. UWR it's becoming my worst enemy. The one which beated me 2-1 was playing 4x medding mage post side. A tragedy. I won the first match and lose the last two after side.
My list was:
Lands
4x Glimmervoid
4x Tendo Ice Bridge
2x Llanowar wastes
Academy Ruins
Mikokoro center of the sea
2x City of Brass
1x Gemstone mine
Artifacts
3x Mox Opal
4x Lantern of Insight
4x Codex Shredder
3x Ghoulcaller's bell
2x Pyxis of Pandemonium
2x Pithing Needle
4x Ensnaring Bridge
Side
3x Pyroclasm
2x Nature's Claim
Pithing Needle
3x Leyline of Sanctity
2x grafdigger's cage
3x Welding Jar
Post side welding jar are useless. Pyroclasm is coming in every single time. Layline of sanctity never came out in 6 matches in my first hand.
I realized the only things I want are discards spells. Duress, inquisition. 3x surgical was amazing. People hated me, specialy when I started with thoughtseize/duress + surgical.
Ok, but about tezzeret how do you think it can help you in g2 when you are vs pod or splintertwin which run creatures? And don't forget the lightning bolts/helix, artifact hate and counterspells. You need of course bridge in play and pray they are not going to draw a piece of their combo, ancient grudge or cryptic command. Good luck with it! :'(
Hi there! Today a played a 8 people tournament with my topcontrol...a total flop. In part the fault was mine, in part of bad luck. I did many, many mistakes and some stupid choices. I had 3 match:
First vs UWR. 1 game: I won. On 2 I lost under his geist of s. and many lighting bolt+helix after thoughtseize and surgical his stonysilence. Game 3: he started and played a turn two stony silence. I never draw nature claim or abrupt and at the end of the match I realized I sided out my 2x abrupt...my gosh. I don't understand why. We draw because of the end of the turns. 1-1
Second vs splinter twin. I was winning, he had just 9 cards in his deck and on the top of it there was 1 snapcastermage with 1 cryptic command in his graveyard. I had 1 bridge in play and he had like 8 creatures on his battlefield. I don't know why I used all my 5 codex/goulcaller to mill him at the end of my turn when he revealed another snapcaster: he cast it, flashbacked cryptic and bounce my bridge. Then on his next turn he just attacked and killed me. I sucked so bad.
Game 2: he used his scavenging ooze and one pestermite to kill me. I drew just lands and mox opals, of course no bridge after 3 ancient stirrings. 0-2
Third and last: POD. First game I locked him in 2 turns. Mox, land, crypt, lantern: i saw POD and I just played pithing needle, so he conceded. Game two I milled one shatterstorm, but he had one in his drawn hand and in the 3 turn he destroyed all my lock pieces. He won with kikijiki+Exarch and I had bridge with one card in my hand. Game 3 I started the lock, he drew thalia and after revealed shatterstorn, so I milled but there was another one under, obviously without any codex untapped to mill it. Very nice. 1-2
I get very sad... I realized that tezzeret agent of bolas was super useless: he's just a win more condition. The only think I wanted many times was just a way to tutor ensnaring bridge sooner as possible. Even with 4x faithless looting and 4x ancient stirrings there was no way to find it. I think I'll start to test with 3x faithless looting and 1x fabricate.
I removed tezzeret too, I'm starting to test trading post. It will be my new planeswalker for a while. Gain 4 lifes, return artifact from graveyard and put stupid goat tokens sometimes can save your day.
If someone is interested I can post the list I used.
I learn when to mill. Losing just 5€ luckily. Rule the all for me please!!!!
Mmmm I don't agrre with you. I think the biggest hate is first vs creatures and after, specially after side, vs artifacts. IMO all the decks run cards as path to exile, lightining bolt, supreme virdict, ecc. to destroy creatures. Few decks run mass removal as oblivion stone, pyroclasm.
About ensnaring bridge: it's crazy don't run it maindeck! They give you gg vs so many aggro-deck!
In your list I saw some cards missing: faithless looting and ancient stirrings. They are great and they help you to dig your library looking for answers.
All these things are of course IMO, so don't hate me for this!
Please continue to post your experiences with this amazing-super-top-control-deck!
I haven't posted here before, but I've been following this thread basically since the beginning, being a fan of deck locks. Here's the Grixis version I've been toying around with.
Basically we can mill our deck. So brainstorm+mill is equal to fetch if we have codex/ghoulcaller/pyxis. But if you want you can test it with fetches and let us know about
About the lanter ecc. maybe you're right. 4x lanter and 1x field. But what are you goin to put in 1x empty slot? Tormord's crypt/relic of progenitus?
We need glimmervoid for colored mana.
Same for artifact lands to use mox opal fisrt turn.
You should try to start with thoughtseize+surgical. Awesome.
@DaR: emrakul is not a problem with pyxis. Just exile if from the top as in modern or surgical it or use tormord's crypt ability in response of trigger. That's all
IMO:
-4 extirpate, -4psychic s., -4 extract, -1 surgical, +4 lotus p, +2-3 sensei top, + 3/2 enlighted tutor, +4 transmute artifact.
If you wanna use ghostquarter just replace it with wasteland.
-4 ghostquarter, +2/3ancient tomb +4 glimmervoid. +1 seat synod, -1/2 vault of w. At the least we need 15/16 lands +4 lotus p, + mox opal and ancient tomb.
-2 mox diamond (not synergic), -2/1 mox opal +4 brainstorm.
-2 arteficier int. +4 thoughtseize
-2 ghoulcall., +2 pyxis.
-1 field dreams
IMO you shoul play cards like enlightened tutor, lotus petal, sensei top. Some artifact lands, glimmervoids, ancient tombs and city of traitors to speed up. The faster you get the lock the better it is.
Don't forget that in legacy there are cards like brainstorm, ponder, preordain, semsei top. They can change the order of the top cards. There are wastelands too. I had the same idea some months ago, I would like to work on it!
Hi guys! It's long time I'm following this tread, I'd like to share the list I am running and my experinces.
So this is the maindeck:
Lands: 16
Forest
Swamp
4x Glimmervoid
4x Tendo Ice Bridge
Ghost quarter
2x Llanowar wastes
Sulfur Springs
Grove of Burnwillows
Academy Ruins
Artifacts: 23
3x Mox Opal
4x lantern of Insight
4x Codex Shredder
2x Ghoulcaller's bell
2x Pyxis of Pandemonium
2x pithing Needle
Nihil Spellbomb
4x Ensnaring Bridge
Trading Post
First of all I've played with tezzeret the seeker for long time, 5 months, and I never had any kind of problem. It's the biggest tutor for pithing needles, bridge and other top lock pieces. Right now it's a week that i'm testing tezzeret agent of bolas and the results of my games did't change so much: it just come in play earlier, but he doesn't put artifacts in play directly.
In my city the dominant deck is GW Hatebear. The biggest problem against it in the first match is the quasali pride mage, so, the better thing to do is name it with pithing needle or just thoughtsize it and extract. Another way is just topcontrol the opponent. About leonine arbiter+ghost quarter...gostquarter becomes stripmine. Mind about scavenging ooze too, it can exiles our graveyard's discarded pieces. After the first game the great problems are coming...leyline of s., naturalize, stony silence. So here it depends by luck and sideboard choises.
I think that this is the great enemy of the top control.
Another match I played many many times was vs Aggroloam. Generally I use to surgical their abrupt decay to save bridge and after pithing needle on seismic assault. They can kill you by flame jab + life from the loam. Another stupid card is raven's crime + life from the loam or again ghost quarter + LFL. Remeber to use the nihil spellbomb to exile the Graveyard with LFL. It's not so hard control them and win this game, specially if they have dark conf. on the field! Post side be carefull to other discards, ancient grudge and nature's claim.
VS GR Karn/Eldrazy Tron. Here come other problems ahahah! The better pithing needle's targets are, in order: Karn, Oblivion Stone, Eye of Ugin. Oblivion stone is the second just because if they don't get the tron it can't be activated the same turn and we are able to destroy it with abrupt. The beautifulest thing is to thoughtseize karn or o.stone and extract it on the first turn! Be careful with Ulamog, it can destroy the bridge. Remember to destroy their tron pieces with ghostquarter or best within. While using surgical just be sure they don't have relic of progenitus on the field, we can't surgical karn or o.stone if they remove it from Graveyard!
After siding there is vandalblast, ancient grudge, nature claim. Always the same story, super hate vs artifact caused by affinity. But it is not so difficoult to come out of these troubles. I won like 15 times on 20 matches.
Vs Faeries...I use to surgical extract cryptic command. Is the only card which can bounce our loved bridge. The other problems are mana leak, vendilion, some discards on the first turn. If you have bridge and the top lock on the fiel and your opponent has bitterblossom we just have to wait till he lose all life point. (Harakiri?)
Sometimes sword of feast and famine can gives problems. The answer is always just one: SUPER-PITHING NEEDLE. I'm kidding, there are abrupt and beast within or just galvanic blast on the equipped small faerie.
Post side be careful to engineered explosives casted with 1 counter, nominate it with pithing needle, and more discards will come to destroy your hand.
I played 7 games in total. I won 4 times.
Vs UWR. Mmmmm not a difficoult match. Be careful to their counters (if they aren't playing the aggro version) and discard/mill-surgical their snapcaster mage and cryptic command. Mill and mill again all their lightning bolt and helix, sphinx revelation. With pithing nominate celestial colonnade or ajani.
Post side they have disenchant, wear/tear, engineered explosives. So, IMO, it's not so hard learn how to win after playing a certain number of games. I lost veryvery few times.
Vs Martyr/Soulsisters: preside not so difficoult if you cast bridge. Just mill their deck. After side...bigbigbig problems: stony silence, disenchant, oblivion ring, suppression field. Nature claim, best within, abrupt decay, thoughtseize, inquisition of k. and surgical are our hopes.
I still didn't have time for tournaments because of work, but I hope I will start sooner as possible. I love the deck and how opponents feel after realize the soft lock. I like when they don't want to surrend to it and continue till have 3 cards in their deck.
Thoughtseize+surgical on all the key pieces are lethal. Remeber to take back surgical (or galvanic blast if you don't want to mill till death) with codex and recast it again, again and again. But even reput codex on the top with academy ruins!
I went to another and I arrived in top8 on 12/14 people. I lost 2-1 and 2-0 vs UWR. I won 2-1 vs merfolk and 2-1 vs bg rock. UWR it's becoming my worst enemy. The one which beated me 2-1 was playing 4x medding mage post side. A tragedy. I won the first match and lose the last two after side.
My list was:
Lands
4x Glimmervoid
4x Tendo Ice Bridge
2x Llanowar wastes
Academy Ruins
Mikokoro center of the sea
2x City of Brass
1x Gemstone mine
Artifacts
3x Mox Opal
4x Lantern of Insight
4x Codex Shredder
3x Ghoulcaller's bell
2x Pyxis of Pandemonium
2x Pithing Needle
4x Ensnaring Bridge
Istant/Sorceries Spells
2x Galvanic Blast
2x Abrupt decay
4x Ancient Stirrings
4x Faithless Looting
4x Thoughtseize
2x Duress
3x Surgical Extraction
Infernal tutor
Side
3x Pyroclasm
2x Nature's Claim
Pithing Needle
3x Leyline of Sanctity
2x grafdigger's cage
3x Welding Jar
Post side welding jar are useless. Pyroclasm is coming in every single time. Layline of sanctity never came out in 6 matches in my first hand.
I realized the only things I want are discards spells. Duress, inquisition. 3x surgical was amazing. People hated me, specialy when I started with thoughtseize/duress + surgical.
Please write here your tournament reports!
Maybe you should start to read the tread from the beginning...
So sorry! I deleted it
Lands: 16
Forest
Swamp
4x Glimmervoid
4x Tendo Ice Bridge
Ghost quarter
2x Llanowar wastes
Sulfur Springs
Grove of Burnwillows
Academy Ruins
Artifacts: 23
3x Mox Opal
4x Lantern of Insight
4x Codex Shredder
2x Ghoulcaller's bell
2x Pyxis of Pandemonium
2x Pithing Needle
Tormord's crypt
4x Ensnaring Bridge
Trading Post
Istant/Sorceries Spells: 20
3x Galvanic Blast
2x Abrupt decay
1x Beast Within
4x Ancient Stirrings
3x Faithless Looting
4x thoughtseize
2x Surgical Extraction
Infernal tutor
Planeswalkers: 1
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sideboard:
3x Pyroclasm
Surgical Extraction
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Duress
2x Nature's Claim
Pithing Needle
3x Leyline of Sanctity
Totmord's Crypt
2x grafdigger's cage
I don't remember my opening hands, but I never had great ones.
So tell me what you would side in/out during these 3 matches?
First vs UWR. 1 game: I won. On 2 I lost under his geist of s. and many lighting bolt+helix after thoughtseize and surgical his stonysilence. Game 3: he started and played a turn two stony silence. I never draw nature claim or abrupt and at the end of the match I realized I sided out my 2x abrupt...my gosh. I don't understand why. We draw because of the end of the turns. 1-1
Second vs splinter twin. I was winning, he had just 9 cards in his deck and on the top of it there was 1 snapcastermage with 1 cryptic command in his graveyard. I had 1 bridge in play and he had like 8 creatures on his battlefield. I don't know why I used all my 5 codex/goulcaller to mill him at the end of my turn when he revealed another snapcaster: he cast it, flashbacked cryptic and bounce my bridge. Then on his next turn he just attacked and killed me. I sucked so bad.
Game 2: he used his scavenging ooze and one pestermite to kill me. I drew just lands and mox opals, of course no bridge after 3 ancient stirrings. 0-2
Third and last: POD. First game I locked him in 2 turns. Mox, land, crypt, lantern: i saw POD and I just played pithing needle, so he conceded. Game two I milled one shatterstorm, but he had one in his drawn hand and in the 3 turn he destroyed all my lock pieces. He won with kikijiki+Exarch and I had bridge with one card in my hand. Game 3 I started the lock, he drew thalia and after revealed shatterstorn, so I milled but there was another one under, obviously without any codex untapped to mill it. Very nice. 1-2
I get very sad... I realized that tezzeret agent of bolas was super useless: he's just a win more condition. The only think I wanted many times was just a way to tutor ensnaring bridge sooner as possible. Even with 4x faithless looting and 4x ancient stirrings there was no way to find it. I think I'll start to test with 3x faithless looting and 1x fabricate.
I removed tezzeret too, I'm starting to test trading post. It will be my new planeswalker for a while. Gain 4 lifes, return artifact from graveyard and put stupid goat tokens sometimes can save your day.
If someone is interested I can post the list I used.
I learn when to mill. Losing just 5€ luckily. Rule the all for me please!!!!
About ensnaring bridge: it's crazy don't run it maindeck! They give you gg vs so many aggro-deck!
In your list I saw some cards missing: faithless looting and ancient stirrings. They are great and they help you to dig your library looking for answers.
All these things are of course IMO, so don't hate me for this!
Please continue to post your experiences with this amazing-super-top-control-deck!
Hi! Can you explain the choises of your list? For exemple, why 24 lands? Or why thunderous w. instead of galvanic? Thank you
Maybe with the new planeswalker Dack Fayden (not legal in modern) it would be a great idea. But in this deck....waste 4 slots...
About the lanter ecc. maybe you're right. 4x lanter and 1x field. But what are you goin to put in 1x empty slot? Tormord's crypt/relic of progenitus?
We need glimmervoid for colored mana.
Same for artifact lands to use mox opal fisrt turn.
You should try to start with thoughtseize+surgical. Awesome.
@DaR: emrakul is not a problem with pyxis. Just exile if from the top as in modern or surgical it or use tormord's crypt ability in response of trigger. That's all
Who started to test the deck anyway?
4 Lantern of Insight
2 Field of Dreams
Mill and Combo (10)
4 Codex Shredder
2 Ghoulcaller's Bell
2 Pyxis of Pandemonium
1 Grindstone
1 Painter's Servant
Extraction "Engine" (6)
4 Thoughtseize
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Pithing Needle
2 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Enlightened Tutor
4 Transmute Artifact
4 Brainstorm
Fast Mana (6)
4 Lotus Petal
2 Mox Opal
4 Glimmervoid
2 Ancient Tomb
1 Academy Ruins
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Underground sea
1 Island
1 Swamp
-4 extirpate, -4psychic s., -4 extract, -1 surgical, +4 lotus p, +2-3 sensei top, + 3/2 enlighted tutor, +4 transmute artifact.
If you wanna use ghostquarter just replace it with wasteland.
-4 ghostquarter, +2/3ancient tomb +4 glimmervoid. +1 seat synod, -1/2 vault of w. At the least we need 15/16 lands +4 lotus p, + mox opal and ancient tomb.
-2 mox diamond (not synergic), -2/1 mox opal +4 brainstorm.
-2 arteficier int. +4 thoughtseize
-2 ghoulcall., +2 pyxis.
-1 field dreams
Don't forget that in legacy there are cards like brainstorm, ponder, preordain, semsei top. They can change the order of the top cards. There are wastelands too. I had the same idea some months ago, I would like to work on it!
So this is the maindeck:
Lands: 16
Forest
Swamp
4x Glimmervoid
4x Tendo Ice Bridge
Ghost quarter
2x Llanowar wastes
Sulfur Springs
Grove of Burnwillows
Academy Ruins
Artifacts: 23
3x Mox Opal
4x lantern of Insight
4x Codex Shredder
2x Ghoulcaller's bell
2x Pyxis of Pandemonium
2x pithing Needle
Nihil Spellbomb
4x Ensnaring Bridge
Trading Post
Istant/Sorceries Spells: 20
3x Galvanic Blast
2x Abrupt decay
1x Beast Within
4x Ancient Stirrings
3x Faithless Looting
4x thoughtseize
2x Surgical Extraction
Infernal tutor
Planeswalkers: 1
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sideboard:
3x Pyroclasm
Surgical Extraction
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Nature's Claim
Pithing Needle
3x Leyline of Sanctity
Totmord's Crypt
2x Grafdigger's Cage
First of all I've played with tezzeret the seeker for long time, 5 months, and I never had any kind of problem. It's the biggest tutor for pithing needles, bridge and other top lock pieces. Right now it's a week that i'm testing tezzeret agent of bolas and the results of my games did't change so much: it just come in play earlier, but he doesn't put artifacts in play directly.
In my city the dominant deck is GW Hatebear. The biggest problem against it in the first match is the quasali pride mage, so, the better thing to do is name it with pithing needle or just thoughtsize it and extract. Another way is just topcontrol the opponent. About leonine arbiter+ghost quarter...gostquarter becomes stripmine. Mind about scavenging ooze too, it can exiles our graveyard's discarded pieces. After the first game the great problems are coming...leyline of s., naturalize, stony silence. So here it depends by luck and sideboard choises.
I think that this is the great enemy of the top control.
Another match I played many many times was vs Aggroloam. Generally I use to surgical their abrupt decay to save bridge and after pithing needle on seismic assault. They can kill you by flame jab + life from the loam. Another stupid card is raven's crime + life from the loam or again ghost quarter + LFL. Remeber to use the nihil spellbomb to exile the Graveyard with LFL. It's not so hard control them and win this game, specially if they have dark conf. on the field! Post side be carefull to other discards, ancient grudge and nature's claim.
VS GR Karn/Eldrazy Tron. Here come other problems ahahah! The better pithing needle's targets are, in order: Karn, Oblivion Stone, Eye of Ugin. Oblivion stone is the second just because if they don't get the tron it can't be activated the same turn and we are able to destroy it with abrupt. The beautifulest thing is to thoughtseize karn or o.stone and extract it on the first turn! Be careful with Ulamog, it can destroy the bridge. Remember to destroy their tron pieces with ghostquarter or best within. While using surgical just be sure they don't have relic of progenitus on the field, we can't surgical karn or o.stone if they remove it from Graveyard!
After siding there is vandalblast, ancient grudge, nature claim. Always the same story, super hate vs artifact caused by affinity. But it is not so difficoult to come out of these troubles. I won like 15 times on 20 matches.
Vs Faeries...I use to surgical extract cryptic command. Is the only card which can bounce our loved bridge. The other problems are mana leak, vendilion, some discards on the first turn. If you have bridge and the top lock on the fiel and your opponent has bitterblossom we just have to wait till he lose all life point. (Harakiri?)
Sometimes sword of feast and famine can gives problems. The answer is always just one: SUPER-PITHING NEEDLE. I'm kidding, there are abrupt and beast within or just galvanic blast on the equipped small faerie.
Post side be careful to engineered explosives casted with 1 counter, nominate it with pithing needle, and more discards will come to destroy your hand.
I played 7 games in total. I won 4 times.
Vs UWR. Mmmmm not a difficoult match. Be careful to their counters (if they aren't playing the aggro version) and discard/mill-surgical their snapcaster mage and cryptic command. Mill and mill again all their lightning bolt and helix, sphinx revelation. With pithing nominate celestial colonnade or ajani.
Post side they have disenchant, wear/tear, engineered explosives. So, IMO, it's not so hard learn how to win after playing a certain number of games. I lost veryvery few times.
Vs Martyr/Soulsisters: preside not so difficoult if you cast bridge. Just mill their deck. After side...bigbigbig problems: stony silence, disenchant, oblivion ring, suppression field. Nature claim, best within, abrupt decay, thoughtseize, inquisition of k. and surgical are our hopes.
I still didn't have time for tournaments because of work, but I hope I will start sooner as possible. I love the deck and how opponents feel after realize the soft lock. I like when they don't want to surrend to it and continue till have 3 cards in their deck.
Thoughtseize+surgical on all the key pieces are lethal. Remeber to take back surgical (or galvanic blast if you don't want to mill till death) with codex and recast it again, again and again. But even reput codex on the top with academy ruins!
"ONE TOP TO RULE THEM ALL"!!!!!!!!!