IF you play white, you should really try to build with Eldrazi Displacer Main and think about Stonly Silence as well as Rest in Piece in the Sideboard. Those are in my opinion most likey the biggest gains from playing white. If you opt not to play white, Dismember offers very good colorless removal.
The MU basically feels like a race except they can go wide and tall at the same time. If this deck picks up then running another Key to the City might be a good idea. Blinkmoth Nexus comes up huge in this match up as we can often get them down to 2-4 life before they have something big enough to block our creatures. Turn one Chalice is big as it shuts off their mana acceleration and Champion of the Parish. Chalice on two is not bad either as it shuts off a huge portion of their deck. Would love some help on this one as well so any suggestions welcome :).
please dont board out Dismember, at least not 4. Removal is key here.
Speaking of key, why do so many people play that key, its one of the worst cards i have seen lately. i dont see why smugglers copter is not just better in almost every way.
And playing chalice vs a deck that pretty much is only creatures + Cavern of Souls + Aether Vial seems pretty bad to me....
Im Using chalice and spirit, i think i should also post my list for better understanding.
Its pretty much what Jordan was playing, with some minor adjustments
TecEdge was a tryout to fight Scapeshift decks mostly, which i found to be rather mediocre. It will slow them down a turn at best, and if you dont aggro them out fast enough, wont make any difference. you can ofcourse destroy one of their mountains if an unexperienced player fetches 6 mountains and a single valakut, but that has yet to happen. On the other hand in some grindy matchups like Jund or UWx and sometimes even against Tron variants, i found TecEdge also to be ok-ish, since it will not give them a land like Quarter does. Still i guess 3 Tec-Edge is too much.
Regarding the rise of the SO many Ceremonious Rejection, im strongly considering adding Cavern of Souls in again, but im really unsure how many and what exactly to cut. I think 1-2 TecEdges for 1-2 Caverns should be right here, or whats your opinion?
Also, i have cut mutavaults, but am still unsure whether i'd rather have Mutavault or Blinkmoth. Mostly i think Blinkmoth's flying is way more relevant on the defense versus affinity and on the offense in long grindy games where the ground gets too crowded, but then again that single ping damage feels really weak.
regarding SeaGate im still thinking 3 is correct, the card is just out of control in this deck
@ashtonkutcher: May i ask what your most current list looks like?
Im playing this list, with some minor adjustements: http://modernnexus.com/contorting-competition-scg-invitational-report/
Im currently testing for 3 Reshaper (instead of 4) and abandoned the 1 off Bomb for 2 Endless ones, and in the side i cut surgical and gut shot for 2 Grafdigger's Cage to fight Company (and to some splashhated extend it also fights Dredge, and sometimes can combat those abomination-type Madcap Decks or Nahiri Stuff, as well as some over the top uw control decks with SunTitan and Snapcaster)
At the moment company decks are giving me the hardest time. If you handle their combo pieces, they will just gavony overrun you, if you try to race them, finks and alike will keep them going just long enough to combo off.... feels tough, which is why i added 2 Cage.
But i would be very interested in what you are playing at the moment. Would you recommend going to Copters again, or do you think they are still too unreliable since push still is a thing? I found often to beat with Blinkmoth as the only "out", and copter could fix that i'd assume or make that "plan" better
If Jund destroys the HangarbackWalker they face the same problem like vs LingeringSouls, which is the Edge Abzan had in the matchup over Jund.
In general, if your opponent cant exile HW and gives you too much time, he will end the game most likely, kinda like Ballista, but with the upside of having a trigger on dying.
So i'd assume he is for grindy matchups, and does not require a big mana investment on the spot - so he is more flexible than a late game finisher like Karn, while also beeing a bomb late game.....
*I have not tried him myself though yet, so take what i write as assumptions
Yes, there actually are a lot more Sorceries in Modern than one might think at first. I will spare the obvious to do one of this "but this card hits x,y,z"-lists - but actually there is a lot.
Anyhow, Warping Wail might not be the best at any given single mode, but the versatility of having the options is very good in my opinion. Mind Stone is somewhat clunky and does not interact, nor gives you any options. Sure, 1 shot ramp might not look that good like the mana stone, but then again Warping Wail can also assure u are getting your Seer into the the game when you really need it. Also you can get that mana-scion end of turn, instead of tapping out for the stone, and maybe decide its better to exile that DarkConfidant instead or counter that Smallpox or whatever; Wail provides a lot of small edges
Back to Quarter/TecEdge though => i think TecEdge has the "edge" over Quarter vs Valakut Decks. And i'd still have 3 Ghost Quarters, so i guess this is fine. (On a sidenote: Wail is also A LOT better vs Valakut Decks than mindstone is, since it can counter any ramp spell and Scapeshift )
Yes, i'm running currently 3 Surgical Extractions in the Sideboard, but planning on adding a 4th (not sure yet what to cut, most likely a needle will go for it)
Why do you prefer the 4th Quarter over the 2nd Edge ?
Since other Tron as well as Valakut-Type Decks are somewhat of a rather not favorable matchups, i have been thinking about going
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Tectonic Edge
Maindeck.
(so the manabase is 12 Tronlands, 4 Temple, 1 SeaGate, 2 Wastes and the above mentioned lands = 24 Lands).
This is also nice vs Manlands (like Jund/Abzan/UWx/GrixisControl are playing).
Any thoughts on this?
BTW: im still not convinced on Mind Stone. Warping Wail can also give you a one shot ramp, while also being way more versatile beeing a removal or a counter when needed.
Mind Stone actually sounds decent to me. It boosts you into TKS/Smasher while afterwards, when you will flood with mana (which the deck allways does lategame), you can turn the Stone into a new card.
No Ulamog is a decision i also can somewhat understand, i have also thought about replacing them with Karn, just because Karn is less costy cmc wise and often has a similar impact.
Its funny, i actually looked into more Equips that provide Deathtouch too, especially some that cost not-cmc1, to be able to have the collar-Endbringer/Ballista combo (which is VERY powerful imo) withouth having to cut on chalices. Im not sure if Gorgon Flail is a playable card though... and not having lifelink is a bummer too. the collar just is the straight up better card for this application i'd say (chalice not considered).... its an interesting approach nevertheless id say.
I'd say most of the time, just drop the Chalice on 1 - if you dont have another T2 play. It hinders a lot of decks.
If you can either play Chalice or TKS turn 2, just do the TKS first, so you exactly know what you are dealing with.
just my 2cents
please dont board out Dismember, at least not 4. Removal is key here.
Speaking of key, why do so many people play that key, its one of the worst cards i have seen lately. i dont see why smugglers copter is not just better in almost every way.
And playing chalice vs a deck that pretty much is only creatures + Cavern of Souls + Aether Vial seems pretty bad to me....
Anyway, on a more recent topic, how are you all dealing with 5color Humans?
Its pretty much what Jordan was playing, with some minor adjustments
2 Endless One
4 Eldrazi Mimic
3 Matter Reshaper
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Dismember
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Serum Powder
2 Wastes
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Tectonic Edge
3 Sea Gate Wreckage
3 Gemstone Caverns
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
So you'd say cut a SeaGate and a TecEdge to include 2 Cavern.
my latest tweak includes:
2 Waste
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Tectonic Edge
3 Sea Gate Wreckage
3 Gemstone Caverns
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
TecEdge was a tryout to fight Scapeshift decks mostly, which i found to be rather mediocre. It will slow them down a turn at best, and if you dont aggro them out fast enough, wont make any difference. you can ofcourse destroy one of their mountains if an unexperienced player fetches 6 mountains and a single valakut, but that has yet to happen. On the other hand in some grindy matchups like Jund or UWx and sometimes even against Tron variants, i found TecEdge also to be ok-ish, since it will not give them a land like Quarter does. Still i guess 3 Tec-Edge is too much.
Regarding the rise of the SO many Ceremonious Rejection, im strongly considering adding Cavern of Souls in again, but im really unsure how many and what exactly to cut. I think 1-2 TecEdges for 1-2 Caverns should be right here, or whats your opinion?
Also, i have cut mutavaults, but am still unsure whether i'd rather have Mutavault or Blinkmoth. Mostly i think Blinkmoth's flying is way more relevant on the defense versus affinity and on the offense in long grindy games where the ground gets too crowded, but then again that single ping damage feels really weak.
regarding SeaGate im still thinking 3 is correct, the card is just out of control in this deck
would be great to get some input
Im playing this list, with some minor adjustements:
http://modernnexus.com/contorting-competition-scg-invitational-report/
Im currently testing for 3 Reshaper (instead of 4) and abandoned the 1 off Bomb for 2 Endless ones, and in the side i cut surgical and gut shot for 2 Grafdigger's Cage to fight Company (and to some splashhated extend it also fights Dredge, and sometimes can combat those abomination-type Madcap Decks or Nahiri Stuff, as well as some over the top uw control decks with SunTitan and Snapcaster)
At the moment company decks are giving me the hardest time. If you handle their combo pieces, they will just gavony overrun you, if you try to race them, finks and alike will keep them going just long enough to combo off.... feels tough, which is why i added 2 Cage.
But i would be very interested in what you are playing at the moment. Would you recommend going to Copters again, or do you think they are still too unreliable since push still is a thing? I found often to beat with Blinkmoth as the only "out", and copter could fix that i'd assume or make that "plan" better
Did you find them superiour?
In general, if your opponent cant exile HW and gives you too much time, he will end the game most likely, kinda like Ballista, but with the upside of having a trigger on dying.
So i'd assume he is for grindy matchups, and does not require a big mana investment on the spot - so he is more flexible than a late game finisher like Karn, while also beeing a bomb late game.....
*I have not tried him myself though yet, so take what i write as assumptions
Im having a really hard time - that deck is way too fast. With Command it does not even die to Chalice
Is maindeck RatchetBomb maybe worth it there?
Anyhow, Warping Wail might not be the best at any given single mode, but the versatility of having the options is very good in my opinion. Mind Stone is somewhat clunky and does not interact, nor gives you any options. Sure, 1 shot ramp might not look that good like the mana stone, but then again Warping Wail can also assure u are getting your Seer into the the game when you really need it. Also you can get that mana-scion end of turn, instead of tapping out for the stone, and maybe decide its better to exile that DarkConfidant instead or counter that Smallpox or whatever; Wail provides a lot of small edges
Back to Quarter/TecEdge though => i think TecEdge has the "edge" over Quarter vs Valakut Decks. And i'd still have 3 Ghost Quarters, so i guess this is fine.
(On a sidenote: Wail is also A LOT better vs Valakut Decks than mindstone is, since it can counter any ramp spell and Scapeshift
Why do you prefer the 4th Quarter over the 2nd Edge ?
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Tectonic Edge
Maindeck.
(so the manabase is 12 Tronlands, 4 Temple, 1 SeaGate, 2 Wastes and the above mentioned lands = 24 Lands).
This is also nice vs Manlands (like Jund/Abzan/UWx/GrixisControl are playing).
Any thoughts on this?
BTW: im still not convinced on Mind Stone. Warping Wail can also give you a one shot ramp, while also being way more versatile beeing a removal or a counter when needed.
No Ulamog is a decision i also can somewhat understand, i have also thought about replacing them with Karn, just because Karn is less costy cmc wise and often has a similar impact.
If you can either play Chalice or TKS turn 2, just do the TKS first, so you exactly know what you are dealing with.
just my 2cents