MTG Salvation

This deck won the MTGO PTQ and has been going 5-0 in MTGO competitive leagues ever since:



I'm seriously considering taking this list to a PPTQ this weekend. Is there anyone experienced with this list who can offer a general sideboard guide? I'm struggling with the sideboard strategy vs control, especially U/R control. What exactly is the plan? What is suppose to come out of the deck when most of the cards are live? Remember that UR brings in Thing in the Ice and Dragonmaster Outcast. Thanks in advance for any input.

How do you SB vs aggro decks that have access to Stony Silence, i.e. Bant Eldrazi, Eldrazi Taxes, Hatebears, ect...? One of the advantages of this deck over traditional tron is reduced vulnerability to artifact hate. I'm finding that I'm often playing into their artifact hate post-board because I'm siding in Ratchet Bombs and maybe a collar. Is it correct not to side in Bombs and other good artifacts that are otherwise very good vs aggro if you think they will bring in Stony Silence?

Update:

I continue to crush people on Xmage with this deck (ya I know its just Xmage, but it still counts for something). So far this deck is proving to be a huge favorite over all the other control decks: Grixis Control, W/B Control, R/B Control, ect... I haven't had any major issues vs Collected Company decks or mono-white humans.

I'm a little confused why no one has commented yet... The deck seems strong, well positioned, and budget-ish. I think it has a lot of potential and could really use some feedback.

Deck Changes:

- 1 Hedron Archive, -1 Drowner of Hope,+2 Catalog.

I don't know how I feel about Archive... Some games I couldn't resolve Ulagmog without it, other games it just sits in my hand because I want mana open for counter magic.

+3 Rise from the Tides in SB vs control - this is probably the best improvement I've made so far. Your opponent should side out their sweepers G2. Its also a nice back-up plan if Ulamog gets hit with Infinite Obliteration.

Load this baby into whatever free testing client you use and give it a whirl! I'm seriously considering taking this deck to GP Montreal and would really appreciate any feedback.

A couple weeks ago I noticed this Bu/R Eldrazi deck went 5-0 in an MTGO Standard Competitive League. Since then, I've been testing it with surprising success on Xmage. Bu/R is probably the last color combo I would expect for an Eldrazi deck. Dissecting and understanding someone else's mad creation is a nightmare for me, which is why I'm posting it here for some commentary from the Salvation community. Without further ado:



Here is what my own limited testing has shown so far:
1. It kicks the piss out of other decks that rely on a limited number of late-game win conditions thanks to the suite of counter magic. This includes G/x Eldrazi / ramp / seasons past brews / various Brain + Tides brews. I've always felt like huge favorite in all these matches because I can either resolve Ulamog before they 'get there' or I just hold a couple counter spells to prevent them from going off.
2. Bu/x Control - is a fine match-up. Their removal and sweepers are dead cards, and you have more than enough counter magic for their win conditions. G2 can be tricky depending how much counter magic they have. But this deck has a wicked tech: Warping Wail! It exiles Jace and counters scary sorcs like Infinite Obliteration, hand destruction, ect...
3. W/x Humans - seems like a really bad match up, but its really not. Kozilek's Return and Spatial Contortion buy time to resolve Drowner of Hope. Even a T2 clash of wills for one can take care of one threat. G2 you can bring in 3 even more spot removal and a full set of Kozelik's Return.
4. G/W Tokens - I only tested vs this deck once but I won. I kept counter magic for their plansewalkers and Contortion for Sylvan Advocate. However, I got the overall impression that match-up is unfavorable for this deck. You need specific answers to their threats: Contortion vs Sylvan Advocate, Kozilek's Return vs tokens 2/2 or less. Ulamog into Kozilek Return is also awkward if they flash Avacyn IRSP. If something gets past your counter magic, you could simply never draw an answer to it.
5. Various Collected Company - I haven't tested vs these decks to form any opinion. My humble observations: Most of their 2cc creatures die to Kozilek's Return. Contortion can kill almost everything. Collected Company should never resolve.

Let me know what you think and how to improve this build.

I too was intrigued with Reid Duke's SCG article. Though there no question the deck has a great deal of win inevitability, however, my biggest concern as a competitive player is time. You could have the best control build in the format, but you can't win tournaments if your record is full of draws.

Yes I did mean Augur of Bolas, my bad. Thanks a lot for the ruling mate!