Also, I'm all the sudden hyped for Hour of Devastation. Supreme Will has been fantastic, and RUG looks like it's getting a huge boost with Hour of Devastation as an actual boardwipe. Hour of Promise is also quite solid for Omenshift and even just 5-0'd an MTGO league as a 4 of in Titanshift.
Once I get in some more testing I may swap back to RUG instead of Bring to Light.
Also, I'm all the sudden hyped for Hour of Devastation. Supreme Will has been fantastic, and RUG looks like it's getting a huge boost with Hour of Devastation as an actual boardwipe. Hour of Promise is also quite solid for Omenshift and even just 5-0'd an MTGO league as a 4 of in Titanshift.
Once I get in some more testing I may swap back to RUG instead of Bring to Light.
1: It's certainly ok for you to run suboptimal fetches and it doesn't hurt you that much. I top 32'd scg charlotte with my fetches being 2 Strand 1 Foothills.
2: Scapeshift lists with only 2 tend to run more searching capabilities like Izzet Charm and Worldly Counsel. It's probably a lot more feasable with Supreme Will in the deck now.
3 is an awkward spot on the curve. I'd say it's more like this or Izzet Charm. I'm still leaning towards Charm, since turn 3 is so much later than turn 2 in Modern (looks at UR Storm)
From my decklist earlier, I'm trying to figure out how to shore up the Death's Shadow MU for the Roanoke Open. Talking to a few GDS players, they're suggesting Blessed Alliance for the sideboard (what a surprise). I'm not a huge fan of Crumble (as in I've yet to play a match where it mattered) and I'm considering dropping it and the 4th Baloth for 2 Alliance. It's still good for the Burn Matchup and Crumble just doesn't seem good. How much more does it do in the Valakut and Tron matchups? I would have thought they were already favorable.
Also, what about adding in a sideboard Madcap/Emperion package? They're pulling out removal post board and I've got a heavy enough of a counterspell base to protect it. I've not gotten to play it. Thoughts?
Hi all and specially to micah1!. I saw your list as soon as they were posted in SCG. I am playing a list exactly like yours, with 4 minor changes (-1x Scapeshift, -1x Verdict, -1x Command, -1x Izzet Charm, +1x Path, +1x Worldly Counsel, +2x Lightning Helix) and with almost the same side. Maybe you could answer me some question in your pairings. After all, I´m playing this because we have good pairings vs Tiers1.
1- UR Storm is a very bad matchup according to my experience with this deck. Your gameplan versus this deck is playing a RIP in turn 2, or there is another gameplay?. They usually play remand in mainboard, so I think that we cannot race so much to combo them off.
2- I saw that you remove 1x Verdict and Paths siding against Living End. Nevertheless, I kept my Verdict and 2 Paths, bringing in my Baloths because they usually exile my Scapeshifts with Lost Legacy and I play RIP at some point in the games. In this way, I only have to counter Living End until I play RIP. I saw that Castro-Rappl didn´t play Lost Legacy or Slaughter Games. Did you change something in your way of sideboarding against Living End?
3- Burn is a very close matchup. Did you try 2 Baloth and 2 Huntmaster in your sideboard, or it is better playing 4 Baloths?
4- Is there any reason to play Nature's Claim and not to play Wear//Tear?. I saw Claim in every Scapeshift but nobody plays Wear//Tear.
Thank you and congrats!!. I am convinced that this deck is the best answer to the actual tiers.
1. Storm is a weird matchup in my experience. You have to play it just right. Find an experienced Storm player and play the match a bunch while discussing everything.
2. Castro-Rappl said he would have kept in the Paths over Baloths. I brought in Baloths because if they die their second Living End tends to bring them back. Path generally felt like too little. I don't like Verdict too as it tends to act like a fog. It's definitely debatable.
3. Burn is a win by a hair lose by a hair matchup. With my sideboard I think it's favorable. I've never tried Huntmaster and kind of want to now, but I think that Baloth is better in the matchups where I want it.
4. Wear//Tear is a solid option, and potentially better than Nature's Claim, but it's worse against Blood Moon since it forces you to get White mana instead of blue to hardcast it.
Heya and congratulations on the finish! I wonder is there a reason why you roll with 2x heath and 1x foothills as your fetches over mistys? And why only 3?
I don't own Misty's and don't want to buy them. I was running only 3 fetches because I had to adjust the manabase for the second Verdict and the Hunting Wilds. It would definitely be better, but not 100$ better.
My opponent was using more or less cards he had that were previously a competitive deck, according to him. It was essentially old Grixis Delver but without the Probes.
Game 1 7-6 on the Draw. Win
I don’t particularly recall my sideboarding plans, but right now I’d probably go -4 Remand
-1 Hunting Wilds -1 Farseek -1 Snap -1 Anger of the Gods +2 Negate +2 Dispel +2 RIP
+2 Obstinate Baloth.
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. Lose
Game 3 7-5 on the Plat. Win
The only reasons the games were close or I lost were the whole bolt bolt snap bolt shenanigans. I would have sideboarded like I did partially in fear of Fulminator Mage + Surgical Extraction, making the Obstinate Baloth alt win a potential option. I would need more information beyond that. I didn’t want Remand since most of their deck was really low cost anyways.
1-0
Round 2 vs Living End 2-1 (This was against Castro-Rappl, the guy who got 2nd)
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. I punted. After delaying his LEs enough to make it through all 3. He had 17 power on board after a Path to Exile from me while I”m at 18 life. He casts a Violent Outburst (no LE in deck) to pump his team and I Remand it, draw an Izzet Charm, and he recasts the Outburst but I tapped wrong so I can’t cast the Charm to counter it.
I sided -1 Snapcaster -1 Anger of the Gods -1 Supreme Verdict -3 Path to Exile +2 RIP
+2 Negate +2 Baloth. After talking to the guy at the end I think I’d leave in two Paths over
Baloth
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win
Game 3 7-7 on the Draw. Win
I was more or less just trying to stall out a bit for a Scapeshift. It worked out and I still won the match.
2-0
Round 3 vs Affinity 2-1
Game 1 6-6 on the Draw. Win. He kept a slow hand and I just end up getting there
Sideboard -4 Remand -2 Cryptic -1 Hunting Wilds +4 Baloth +2 Nature’s Claim
+1 Creeping Corrosion
Game 2 5-7 on the Draw. Lose.
Game 3 6-7 on the Play. Win. Creeping Corrosion and a Verdict is hard to beat.
3-0
Round 4 vs U/R Storm 1-2
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. I had a turn 4 kill with a Path I could cast on turn 3. However, on the draw I got turn 3’d with no interaction and no way to bluff a counterspell.
Sideboard +2 Negate +2 Dispel +2 RIP -1 Snapcaster -1 Supreme Verdict -1 Hunting
Wilds -3 Cryptic Command
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win. He was playing around counterspells too hard till I killed him
Game 3 ?-? on the Draw. Lose. I went for a turn 3 Anger while he’s on 2 lands, tapped out, with Baral and Electromancer out. He casts two apostle’s blessings (both from his sideboard) and combos off with protection (Swan Song) the next turn.
3-1
Round 5 vs Burn 2-1
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Lose.
Sideboard +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Negate +2 Dispel -1 Cryptic -1 Verdict -4 Remand -1
Farseek -1 Hunting Wilds. Generally I take control of the game with counters and Baloths
But Baloth keeps me off cryptics and Verdicts, which are slower.
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win.
Game 3 6-6 on the Draw. Win.
4-1
Round 6 vs U/R Storm 2-1
He didn’t draw particularly well combo-wise for any of our games.
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He kept a 1 lander with 3 cantrips but never found the second land until too late
Same sideboard as earlier
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. He went turn 1 cantrip into turn 2 dork, I go turn 2 RIP, he goes turn 3 blood moon. We’re both completely shut out of our game plan and he gets there when I don’t draw either removal or basics except for a Plains and he draws 3 more dorks to beat face.
Brought in a Nature’s Claim for this game over another Cryptic.
Game 3 7-7 on the Play. Win. He drops a moon after I get WUG basics out and stall him long enough to get to 9 lands for Cryptic + Scapeshift.
5-1
Round 7 vs Traditional Jund (no Shadow) 2-0
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He dropped a turn 3 Liliana after a turn 2 Scooze, but I stalled his clock long enough to drop the lands I needed for eventually, a lethal Scapeshift.
Sideboard +4 Baloth +2 Negate +2 RIP -1 Snapcaster -1 Farseek -1 Verdict -1 Anger
-1 Izzet Charm -1 Cryptic -1 Path to Exile -1 Hunting Wilds
Game 2 7-5 on the Draw. Win. Mulliganing while I’m on the draw is really punishing for him. Easy cruise to a second win.
6-1
Round 8 vs Burn 1-2
Game 1 7-6 on the Draw. Win. He had a moderately slow hand like I did. I end up winning at 1 life.
Same sideboard as above
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He had a godly hand for my good hand. Got turn 4’d.
Game 3 on the Play 7-7. Lose. I kept a racing hand with a turn 4 kill with essentially no interaction, figuring it would work on the play. He had 3 painless lands in hand so I didn’t get to do it and I died
6-2
Round 9 vs Bant Eldrazi 2-0
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. He had a slower hand and I get there.
Sideboard -1 Anger -4 Remand -1 Cryptic +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Dispel. I don’t like
Crumble vs non-tron decks so I didn’t bring it in.
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. He had a more interactive hand with Stubborn Denial and TKS. Still hand enough gas to go around and won easily anyways
7-2
Day 2
Round 10 vs Skred 2-1
Game 1 6-7 on the Play. Lose. He resolves a turn 4 Moon and a second one before I can deal with the first. Can’t beat 2 Moons game 1.
Sideboard -1 Anger -2 Verdicts -3 Paths -1 Snapcaster +3 Obstinate Baloth +2 Negate
+2 Nature’s Claim. Alternate win cons are necessary vs moon so in go Baloths. I don’t
like removal in the matchup and Snapcaster vs maindeck Relic of Prog seems bad.
Game 2 6-7 on the Play. Win. He never got a moon, but did have a turn 3 Rabblemaster that would have killed me, but I had the one removal spell left in my deck, Izzet Charm, to kill it.
Game 3 7-6 on the Draw. Win. He went for a turn 5 moon after casting a bunch of stuff to try and get counters from my hand. I still had a Negate, and won shortly afterwards.
In one of the games he got a judge call for activating Scrying Sheets with Blood Moon out.
8-2
Round 11 vs R/W Prison
Game 1 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He lands a Moon on turn 3, and I had the basics to get around it. However, he cast a Gideon illegally (no second Plains) which I ended up Pathing when I noticed he’d cast it. We called a judge over and we both got a warning. That extra land won him the game, but so would have Gideon of the Trials if it had stuck around. He starts slamming walkers and whatnot and I hit my 8 lands with Cryptic but no Scapeshift. I draw Hunting Wilds and cast it Kicked. However, the head judge was just casually watching the games around us when I did so and my opponent wanted to know if I could still get dual lands since they weren’t going to be forests. She said yes, I could get the lands, but they wouldn’t untap since they were no longer forests while they were on the battlefield because of the Blood Moon, so we both got a second warning. Then they went and had a small conclave of judges (6 of them, I think) about whether or not the lands would become creatures. Before they came back to let us know (or even let us know that it might be an issue) I untapped and went to kill one of his planeswalkers when they came back and said that they wouldn’t be creatures, since the Kicked ability of untapping and making them creatures is a separate ability, so “they” means the forests the second paragraph untapped, not just the cards. And so, we got a third warning, for, once again, failure to maintain game state.
After the game ended and he won, I asked the head judge (who had stayed for the rest of the game) who had gotten the second two warnings, or if it was both of us. She looked at what was written on the back of the sheet, and said that the poorly communicated second judge call resulted in the third, and that they canceled out, so, she crossed out the second two.
Sideboard: +2 Negate +4 Baloth +1 Nissa +2 Nature’s Claim -3 Path -2 Verdict -1 Anger
-1 Snapcaster -1 Hunting Wilds -1 Farseek
Game 2 ?-? on the Play. Tie. He starts with a Leyline of Sanctity in play and I can’t get to 9 lands for Bring to Light and Scapeshift before he has a Nahiri and Chandra threatening to ultimate and a Gideon of the Trials to boot, so I BtL to bounce Chandra and beat Nahiri with a Sakura-Tribe Elder. Eventually, he ultimates Nahiri for Emrakul anyways and attacks, and I sac 6 lands, going down to 3. I draw a Valakut and play that while he putters around while I’m on two and he can’t kill me. He casts a second Nahiri but incorrectly refuses to discard Valakut because he has a bunch of cards he doesn’t want in his graveyard. We go to turns and we’re both still puttering around, although I hit 7 lands, but not the 8 I needed to Cryptic + Scapeshift at that point.
8-3
Round 12 vs Vizier Abzan Company
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Lose. I get to 7 landsby stalling but he gets there with normal beats while at 21 life. I had the game more or less locked up when he topdecks Walking Ballista which he casts for the win.
Sideboard +4 Baloths +2 Dispel +2 RIP -1 Verdict -4 Remand -1 Farseek -1 Hunting
Wilds -1 Snapcaster Mage
Game 2 7-7 on the play. Win. and stall him out with Baloths and get there eventually.
Game 3 6-7 on the Draw. Tie. I stall out to infinity with a bunch of removal and a RIP, which he Quasali Pridemages, and he combos to 999,999,999 life the following turn. We go into turns and go on to a draw.
8-3-1
Round 13 vs Grixis Shadow 2-0
My opponent knew what I was playing since I was the last match playing for the last two rounds. He asks for me to play quickly before we start since he doesn’t want a draw. As a result, I had my shortest match with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Win.
Sideboard +3 Baloth +2 RIP +2 Negate +2 Dispel -1 Snapcaster -1 Hunting Wilds
-1 Farseek -1 Anger -4 Remand -1 Izzet Charm -1 Cryptic Command
Game 2 on 6-7 on the Draw. Win. It’s a kinda dumb game as I can’t find enough lands for Scapeshift, so I end up casting my Bring to Light for a Baloth to race his Snapcasters (I had RIP so he was just dropping them). He topdecks a Terminate and keeps swinging. I topdeck another Baloth. He topdecks another Terminate and attacks for more. I draw two more lands followed by Scapeshift to win before he kills me.
9-3-1
Round 14 vs GW Elves 2-0
I’d like to say I really appreciated his deck, even if I didn’t this part of it. He had 4 Devoted Druid and 1 Vizier of Remedies to go infinite. This gave him an out to Ensnaring Bridge as well as beating Vizier Company’s infinite life by pumping to infinity with Ezuri. Ezuri also goes infinite with two Druids.
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Win. He has a very slow hand and I walked over him.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth -4 Remand. I didn’t bring in Dispel because I couldn’t remember if
Elves ran Chord of Calling.
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Win. He had a fairly fast hand but I had boardwipes and counterspells. He was playing Chord of Calling.
10-3-1
Round 15 vs Grixis Delver Shadow (guy who got 12th place) 2-1
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He had a very slow hand and I eventually cast a Scapeshift.
Sideboard same as above vs Grixis Shadow
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He apparently kept a terrible hand (5 Lands Terminate Serum Visions) but drew straight gas for the entire game and killed me.
Game 3 6-7 on the Play. Win. I kept a terrible hand in 5 lands and a RIP. I for some reason had it in the “auto win” category in my head like it would be vs Living End or something. I drew an Elder which he thoughtseized. He took a few turns to present a clock while I drew more lands. I topdeck and cast a Scapeshift while on 6 lands and he concedes the game.
Official end record at SCG Charlotte: 10-4-1. 26th place. Could/should have been 11-3-1, 12th place. I conceded the last match because I cast a Scapeshift on 6 lands and he said "that's game" started scooping his cards and was shaking my hand when he said "wait, how many lands did you have? Can I see Valakut?" We called a judge who got the head judge who said that since he conceded I got the game win. It didn't feel right, since I didn't go there to make money or anything, so I conceded the game/match. If I had taken the win, I would have made 125$ more (pre tax) and gotten 12th while he would have just barely gotten 32nd. Instead he got 12th and I got 26th.
After the judges walked away, he asked for my phone number and address and said he'd split the difference in prize money via mail. I feel much better, although saying I got 12th would have felt fantastic, as well as getting the deck more into the mainstream, but I would have felt terrible saying why I won the last match. I didn't go there to make money. I would have taken the match win if it would have gotten me into top 8, but I knew it wouldn't.
10-4-1 and 26th place, or 11-3-1 and 12th place. I feel that my deck got the first record and I personally got the second.
I felt very good about my decklist, with the only things that I wasn’t a fan of were the sideboard Crumble to Dust as GW Tron (the only MU where I really want it) isn’t that popular, and the other one I’d bring it in against (Valakut decks) s and my 3 fetches (which ought to be Misty Rainforest). I’d probably play another bit of hate for either Affinity, Death’s Shadow, Dredge, or UR Storm. Essentially, whatever the meta calls for. I think the deck is very well positioned and really ought to be played more.
He had at least two Caverns and had fetched it with an expedition map. I didn't feel like running into that. Negates would't have been I bad idea, I suppose.
EDIT: I'm also a really big fan of baloth vs Bant Eldrazi and I figured I wanted the playset. Having a 4/4 trade with TKS or eat a smaller creature is great.
2-2 at FNM. Lost two extremely close matches vs E-Tron and Burn, and beat B/W Tokens as well as the buy.
Vs Burn, I kept a very slow hand g1 (4 lands, Worldly Counsel, double BtL) and died before I had cast anything other than Counsel
G2 I stopmed with some lifegain into turn 6 Scapeshift
G3 came down to turn 6 me being a land short of lethal Shift, and my opponent needed to topdeck a spell (non-creature, non-land) spell to kill me. He got a skullcrack
Vs E-Tron, I won game 1 in a regular fashion, g2 I lost to fast beats, g3 I punted haaaaard. I had the game more or less locked up (I've got a powerful board state, 6 life, and my opponent is topdecking while I need lands for the shift vs GQs) when his only real out was walking ballistas and he then drew two. I dealt with 1, and scapeshifted after the second one, after having cast BtL for a *Sakura Tribe Elder* to sac to 10 lands like I needed, since I had already used Hunting Wilds. I untapped it with my Nissa, Vital Force. I (stupidly) grabbed a second Valakut instead of another non-basic mountain, so post 3 GQs I had 5 mountains. If I had gotten a Search instead of Steve, I would have had the 5/5 untapped to not die to ballista. If I had grabbed the right lands, he would have been dead. If I hadn't attacked with my Obstinate Baloth, I would have been able to win during the next combat. If I had fetched another Baloth with BtL, I would have been well out of range of Ballista and had extra lethal for the next turn, as well as a blocker. If I had done *literally anything* other than grabbed Steve, I would have won.
As far as sideboarding goes, I pulled a Cryptic, a Remand, Anger, Izzet Charm, 2 Repeal and brought in 4 Baloth, 1 Nissa, and 1 Blessed Alliance. What would you have done? https://deckbox.org/sets/1647570
Vs BW Tokens, they're a slow midrange deck without that much disruption. It wasn't that eventful and I only noticed one real misplay. They were on the play g2, going turn 3 Mirran Crusader when I had an Izzet Charm in hand. I could have just killed it, but instead I saved it for the next turn, got hit for 4 and countered a Spectral Procession. I suppose I was worried about him dropping a Walker, so it's somewhat justified, but I had a fast enough of a hand that killing the Crusader was still probably the correct line. I still won 2-0.
Basically the matchup revolves around Countermagic and Tasigur. Most of us don't have many answers to a turn 2 tasigur, outside of bouncing it or remanding it on the draw. Death's Shadow is easier to beat as it comes down T3 on average and gets Explosived/pushed/Repealed.
As far as sideboarding goes, Platinum/Madcap has been decent for me here if it's unexpected as they usually only have a couple K-Command to answer it post side and EE only kills DS, so you can cut it. Otherwise Dispel is great. I'm playing 2 Dispels and 2 Negates in my SB and I'm not sure +4 counterspells is the right way to go given that don't want to cut too many ramp spells. But if you only run Negates, a couple of these is probably decent in the matchup.
I'm not a big fan of Baloth as it's bad versus Tasigur and only good to discard on K-Command (Unless you keep the old 6 lands and Baloth and they Thoughtseize you, but I don't think you often win this kind of games anyway). It's fine as a 1-of alternate win con against Surgical I think.
I brought in Baloth, Countermagic, and RIP vs them, as Baloth is great at buying time, and I like stopping their graveyard shennanigans (especially going Fulminator Mage + Surgical or TS + Surgical) with RIP and I felt I needed the countermagic to stop stuff like Surgicals. I won handily, 2-0
I more or less found that Sakura Tribe Elder is great vs Tasigur, and that Countermagic is pretty much just worth it. You need your Scapeshift to resolve on time.
I've been testing a bunch though, and Repeal is... weird. I really really like running Path to Exile in the White BtL deck, as an unconditional removal spell is fantastic (even hits Tasigur, although I was using Repeal for that match). In a majority of cases, I'd say Path to Exile is a good bit better, as cantripping is fine, but a lot of the deck is air. However, in a few cases, Repeal wins games that you would have no real way to win without, such as bouncing a g1 Blood Moon (which did happen). So, I'd say that Repeal has a lower floor and slightly higher ceiling, and that Path has a much higher floor and slightly lower ceiling. I think a 2-1 split favoring Path to Exile may be correct.
I'd also like to mention my double Supreme Verdict. They've been absolutely fantastic. Amazing. Good enough that I want 3 but I don't want to stretch my mana that far (or know what to drop). It's the sort of catchup card that you want since so many of our cards don't really interact with our opponent. It was uncounterable removal vs Grixis Death's Shadow as well. It buys you about a million turns and as I've mentioned before, it's absolute gold on turn 3.
I've been doing really well with the deck (like 14 wins 1 loss in matches against competitive decks) to the point where it's kinda ridiculous. Storm is a really hard matchup to learn. It was my only loss, 2-3, and I learned a whole ton about the MU. Remand is only for countering Past in Flames, how you stack gifts piles really really really matters, don't give them two chances to go off (if they fetch for a wincon with gifts, no matter what put both the wincon and the Past in Flames in the yard), if they fetch an Empty the Warrens they likely have something like a Whacker in hand, and that killing a mana dork is a top priority since they essentially can't combo without one. Dispel is exclusively for countering either Gifts or counterspells, etc etc etc. I spent maybe a good 4 hours discussing, going over, and playing the matchup where I ended with that 2-3.
I'd still like to ask for advice on the E-Tron, Dredge, RG TItanshift, and Knightfall matchups as I've not gotten to play them yet, although I imagine Bant Eldrazi is close enough to E-Tron for it to overlap.
So I've been jamming a bunch of games with my list and have been really enjoying it so far and it feels really good in the meta. After talking to a friend who plays/played BtL Shift, I swapped over to https://deckbox.org/sets/1712264 from https://deckbox.org/sets/1647570 at his insistence. The big change is the mana (which would happen in both versions) and -3 Path +2 Repeal +1 Worldly Counsel. Counsel is a good card, but Repeal as non-permanent removal seems kinda sketchy, although it has won me a game. What are your opinions on it?
Also, what do you guys suggest doing against Grixis Death's Shadow? I'm not experienced in the MU and haven't found anyone who plays it.
Game 1 wasn’t too memorable. He didn’t put up that fast of a clock and my disruption held him off until I Scapeshifted for game.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +2 Negate -2 Supreme Verdict -4 Search for Tomorrow. I figured I’d side kinda like I was against a grindy midrange deck and drop the Searches.
Game 2 was really dumb. He miskept, his only lands being Vault of the Archangel and Twilight Mire, thinking he could make double black. I had a fairly fast hand with some disruption that I didn’t really need, so I just ramped up while he missed his land drops. Then I mess up. I have a lethal Scapeshift in hand, but I instead pass the turn, missing my land drop, as I wasn’t paying enough attention. He then drew a swamp, made double black, cast Thoughtseize grabbing Scapeshift followed with Surgical on it (grabbing another copy out of my hand). At this point, however, I had a Baloth in play and a BtL in hand, so I untapped and dropped another Baloth and won with beats.
1-0
Round 2 Naya Burn
Game 1 I mulled to 5 knowing he’s on burn till I got a half decent hand. If I had draw a Scapeshift or BtL during that game I would have won, as I died with 8 lands out to a goblin guide while at 2 life (he didn’t even have the burn spell).
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +2 Dispel +2 Negate +1 Blessed Alliance -2 Path -1 Verdict -2 Cryptic Command -4 Remand. I totally got a sideboard for this matchup. I’m still unsure of what numbers of Paths/Verdicts/Cryptics I want out, so advice would be nice.
Game 2 and 3 both turned out similarly, with me trying to stay alive. He was also new to the deck and tried to keep an all spells hand for g2.
Game 3 I felt good about. I was doing my basic “staying alive” part. Near the end I’m at 5 life with a Baloth in play. My opponent has 2 lands (both tapped), a suspended Rift Bolt, and 1 card in hand while at 12. My hand is Land, Land, BtL, and Blessed Alliance. I’ve got 5 lands, 6 mana up if I shock. Option one (in my head) was to mainphase the Blessed Alliance (plays around Skullcrack/Atarka’s Command), Option 2 do it during their turn, which would be while I’m at two, which gives them a number of ways to kill me. Both of those end up with me saving the BtL to cast Scapeshift the following turn. In the end, I chose option 3, which was to attack with Baloth (down to 8) and BtL into a second Baloth, gaining 4 life and presenting lethal while still being able to untap and gain 4 the next turn, which would practically be a time walk at worst. The one card in hand ended up being Skullcrack and the card he drew for turn was a land. What would you guys have done?
2-0
Round 3 Bant Eldrazi
Game 1 was fairly straightforward, and after basic controlly stuff I had 8 lands out while facing lethal. I needed to draw either Cryptic Command (tap draw to time walk), Supreme Verdict, Scapeshift, or BtL. I flip the top, and it’s Verdict. I cast it, clearing away two TKS, a Smasher, and a Hierarch, draw 2 (including a Scapeshift that I needed another turn to cast), and pass. He draws, passes back, and I untap and win.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +1 Nissa +1 Alliance. -4 Remand -1 Anger -1 Cryptic. This is also debateable, but I felt like Nissa and Baloth were correct. Nissa spouts out 5/5s which can eat TKS and trade with Smasher (assume no Hierarchs), and Baloth buys time and can trade with TKS. Alliance was simply so I could have another removal spell, and notably one that doesn’t target if a Smasher is involved.
Game 2 he has quite the start but draws only lands, going turn 2 Skyspawner turn 3 TKS turn 4 TKS. He’s threatening lethal and I Verdict, I pass back, he draws another land, and I untap and win.
3-0
In the end, I essentially decided that with how I have the manabase set up, I can't support Ranger's Path (Hunting Wilds is in the mail) and really do need to either add a Temple Garden and a second Breeding Pool (preferable, but I don't know what to drop), or play Cultivate/Kodama's Reach instead. I also decided that Supreme Verdict is awesome and wish I could play more (but the manabase wouldn't hold it). I can reasonable support two as is, but it could be better. Also, Izzet Charm feels fine, but I think it's not at it's best atm and could probably be something better. Anticipate will be replaced with Worldly Counsel (also in the mail).
As a last semi-unrelated note, I do want another RIP or two sideboard (and perhaps another Affinity hose (Ancient Grudge)) but I don't really know where to start shaving.
One of the big things I've learned from playing RUG/BtL Shift (as well as the Bant deck I put in earlier) is that just about the best part of the deck is going turn 3 Sweeper or Cryptic, which is what Bant is trying to maximize. Two verdicts has been very handy, although it's definitely a bit of a stretch on the mana. I'm debating going 1 Verdict and 1 Wrath as an afterthought, since No Regen is very nice vs a number of random threats. I figure I'll poke around with it a bit more, and I may drop it.
Ranger's Path is something I'm playing b/c my LGS didn't have Hunting Wilds (how often do you cast that with Kicker anyways lol). Cultivate/Reach seems fine, and I imagine it will help with the mana more than Path/Wilds (especially with Verdict/Cryptic) since it only gets forests (only 1 UG dual and 1 GW dual). I will definitely try it.
I do kinda want to try a second Farseek to assist in manafixing.
Also, your manabase looks solid and I like it a lot. I'm using battlelands as budget shocks atm and it's not been troublesome, though if I can get the cash I'll purchase shocks. I'm also on 4 white sources to try and support the Verdicts.
Lastly, this decklist just 5-0'd. Interesting Omenshift list imo. https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/645034#paper Very low quantities of control cards, looks like it's putting a lot of faith into Omen as board control. The sideboard Boseiju is also interesting, and Pyroclasm/Hornet Queen suspect...
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/699120#paper
Once I get in some more testing I may swap back to RUG instead of Bring to Light.
2: Scapeshift lists with only 2 tend to run more searching capabilities like Izzet Charm and Worldly Counsel. It's probably a lot more feasable with Supreme Will in the deck now.
As far as spoilers go, I'm rethinking my opinion on Supreme Will. I think it'g going to replace Worldly Counsel.
Then we have the newest spoiler, Hour of Promise. This seems like it slots immediately into the RUG Omenshift versions, right?
Also, what about adding in a sideboard Madcap/Emperion package? They're pulling out removal post board and I've got a heavy enough of a counterspell base to protect it. I've not gotten to play it. Thoughts?
1. Storm is a weird matchup in my experience. You have to play it just right. Find an experienced Storm player and play the match a bunch while discussing everything.
2. Castro-Rappl said he would have kept in the Paths over Baloths. I brought in Baloths because if they die their second Living End tends to bring them back. Path generally felt like too little. I don't like Verdict too as it tends to act like a fog. It's definitely debatable.
3. Burn is a win by a hair lose by a hair matchup. With my sideboard I think it's favorable. I've never tried Huntmaster and kind of want to now, but I think that Baloth is better in the matchups where I want it.
4. Wear//Tear is a solid option, and potentially better than Nature's Claim, but it's worse against Blood Moon since it forces you to get White mana instead of blue to hardcast it.
I don't own Misty's and don't want to buy them. I was running only 3 fetches because I had to adjust the manabase for the second Verdict and the Hunting Wilds. It would definitely be better, but not 100$ better.
My Deck: BtL Scapeshift http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=114150
Round 1 vs Grixis Delver 2-1
My opponent was using more or less cards he had that were previously a competitive deck, according to him. It was essentially old Grixis Delver but without the Probes.
Game 1 7-6 on the Draw. Win
I don’t particularly recall my sideboarding plans, but right now I’d probably go -4 Remand
-1 Hunting Wilds -1 Farseek -1 Snap -1 Anger of the Gods +2 Negate +2 Dispel +2 RIP
+2 Obstinate Baloth.
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. Lose
Game 3 7-5 on the Plat. Win
The only reasons the games were close or I lost were the whole bolt bolt snap bolt shenanigans. I would have sideboarded like I did partially in fear of Fulminator Mage + Surgical Extraction, making the Obstinate Baloth alt win a potential option. I would need more information beyond that. I didn’t want Remand since most of their deck was really low cost anyways.
1-0
Round 2 vs Living End 2-1 (This was against Castro-Rappl, the guy who got 2nd)
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. I punted. After delaying his LEs enough to make it through all 3. He had 17 power on board after a Path to Exile from me while I”m at 18 life. He casts a Violent Outburst (no LE in deck) to pump his team and I Remand it, draw an Izzet Charm, and he recasts the Outburst but I tapped wrong so I can’t cast the Charm to counter it.
I sided -1 Snapcaster -1 Anger of the Gods -1 Supreme Verdict -3 Path to Exile +2 RIP
+2 Negate +2 Baloth. After talking to the guy at the end I think I’d leave in two Paths over
Baloth
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win
Game 3 7-7 on the Draw. Win
I was more or less just trying to stall out a bit for a Scapeshift. It worked out and I still won the match.
2-0
Round 3 vs Affinity 2-1
Game 1 6-6 on the Draw. Win. He kept a slow hand and I just end up getting there
Sideboard -4 Remand -2 Cryptic -1 Hunting Wilds +4 Baloth +2 Nature’s Claim
+1 Creeping Corrosion
Game 2 5-7 on the Draw. Lose.
Game 3 6-7 on the Play. Win. Creeping Corrosion and a Verdict is hard to beat.
3-0
Round 4 vs U/R Storm 1-2
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. I had a turn 4 kill with a Path I could cast on turn 3. However, on the draw I got turn 3’d with no interaction and no way to bluff a counterspell.
Sideboard +2 Negate +2 Dispel +2 RIP -1 Snapcaster -1 Supreme Verdict -1 Hunting
Wilds -3 Cryptic Command
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win. He was playing around counterspells too hard till I killed him
Game 3 ?-? on the Draw. Lose. I went for a turn 3 Anger while he’s on 2 lands, tapped out, with Baral and Electromancer out. He casts two apostle’s blessings (both from his sideboard) and combos off with protection (Swan Song) the next turn.
3-1
Round 5 vs Burn 2-1
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Lose.
Sideboard +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Negate +2 Dispel -1 Cryptic -1 Verdict -4 Remand -1
Farseek -1 Hunting Wilds. Generally I take control of the game with counters and Baloths
But Baloth keeps me off cryptics and Verdicts, which are slower.
Game 2 7-7 on the Play. Win.
Game 3 6-6 on the Draw. Win.
4-1
Round 6 vs U/R Storm 2-1
He didn’t draw particularly well combo-wise for any of our games.
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He kept a 1 lander with 3 cantrips but never found the second land until too late
Same sideboard as earlier
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. Lose. He went turn 1 cantrip into turn 2 dork, I go turn 2 RIP, he goes turn 3 blood moon. We’re both completely shut out of our game plan and he gets there when I don’t draw either removal or basics except for a Plains and he draws 3 more dorks to beat face.
Brought in a Nature’s Claim for this game over another Cryptic.
Game 3 7-7 on the Play. Win. He drops a moon after I get WUG basics out and stall him long enough to get to 9 lands for Cryptic + Scapeshift.
5-1
Round 7 vs Traditional Jund (no Shadow) 2-0
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He dropped a turn 3 Liliana after a turn 2 Scooze, but I stalled his clock long enough to drop the lands I needed for eventually, a lethal Scapeshift.
Sideboard +4 Baloth +2 Negate +2 RIP -1 Snapcaster -1 Farseek -1 Verdict -1 Anger
-1 Izzet Charm -1 Cryptic -1 Path to Exile -1 Hunting Wilds
Game 2 7-5 on the Draw. Win. Mulliganing while I’m on the draw is really punishing for him. Easy cruise to a second win.
6-1
Round 8 vs Burn 1-2
Game 1 7-6 on the Draw. Win. He had a moderately slow hand like I did. I end up winning at 1 life.
Same sideboard as above
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He had a godly hand for my good hand. Got turn 4’d.
Game 3 on the Play 7-7. Lose. I kept a racing hand with a turn 4 kill with essentially no interaction, figuring it would work on the play. He had 3 painless lands in hand so I didn’t get to do it and I died
6-2
Round 9 vs Bant Eldrazi 2-0
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. He had a slower hand and I get there.
Sideboard -1 Anger -4 Remand -1 Cryptic +4 Obstinate Baloth +2 Dispel. I don’t like
Crumble vs non-tron decks so I didn’t bring it in.
Game 2 7-7 on the Draw. He had a more interactive hand with Stubborn Denial and TKS. Still hand enough gas to go around and won easily anyways
7-2
Day 2
Round 10 vs Skred 2-1
Game 1 6-7 on the Play. Lose. He resolves a turn 4 Moon and a second one before I can deal with the first. Can’t beat 2 Moons game 1.
Sideboard -1 Anger -2 Verdicts -3 Paths -1 Snapcaster +3 Obstinate Baloth +2 Negate
+2 Nature’s Claim. Alternate win cons are necessary vs moon so in go Baloths. I don’t
like removal in the matchup and Snapcaster vs maindeck Relic of Prog seems bad.
Game 2 6-7 on the Play. Win. He never got a moon, but did have a turn 3 Rabblemaster that would have killed me, but I had the one removal spell left in my deck, Izzet Charm, to kill it.
Game 3 7-6 on the Draw. Win. He went for a turn 5 moon after casting a bunch of stuff to try and get counters from my hand. I still had a Negate, and won shortly afterwards.
In one of the games he got a judge call for activating Scrying Sheets with Blood Moon out.
8-2
Round 11 vs R/W Prison
Game 1 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He lands a Moon on turn 3, and I had the basics to get around it. However, he cast a Gideon illegally (no second Plains) which I ended up Pathing when I noticed he’d cast it. We called a judge over and we both got a warning. That extra land won him the game, but so would have Gideon of the Trials if it had stuck around. He starts slamming walkers and whatnot and I hit my 8 lands with Cryptic but no Scapeshift. I draw Hunting Wilds and cast it Kicked. However, the head judge was just casually watching the games around us when I did so and my opponent wanted to know if I could still get dual lands since they weren’t going to be forests. She said yes, I could get the lands, but they wouldn’t untap since they were no longer forests while they were on the battlefield because of the Blood Moon, so we both got a second warning. Then they went and had a small conclave of judges (6 of them, I think) about whether or not the lands would become creatures. Before they came back to let us know (or even let us know that it might be an issue) I untapped and went to kill one of his planeswalkers when they came back and said that they wouldn’t be creatures, since the Kicked ability of untapping and making them creatures is a separate ability, so “they” means the forests the second paragraph untapped, not just the cards. And so, we got a third warning, for, once again, failure to maintain game state.
After the game ended and he won, I asked the head judge (who had stayed for the rest of the game) who had gotten the second two warnings, or if it was both of us. She looked at what was written on the back of the sheet, and said that the poorly communicated second judge call resulted in the third, and that they canceled out, so, she crossed out the second two.
Sideboard: +2 Negate +4 Baloth +1 Nissa +2 Nature’s Claim -3 Path -2 Verdict -1 Anger
-1 Snapcaster -1 Hunting Wilds -1 Farseek
Game 2 ?-? on the Play. Tie. He starts with a Leyline of Sanctity in play and I can’t get to 9 lands for Bring to Light and Scapeshift before he has a Nahiri and Chandra threatening to ultimate and a Gideon of the Trials to boot, so I BtL to bounce Chandra and beat Nahiri with a Sakura-Tribe Elder. Eventually, he ultimates Nahiri for Emrakul anyways and attacks, and I sac 6 lands, going down to 3. I draw a Valakut and play that while he putters around while I’m on two and he can’t kill me. He casts a second Nahiri but incorrectly refuses to discard Valakut because he has a bunch of cards he doesn’t want in his graveyard. We go to turns and we’re both still puttering around, although I hit 7 lands, but not the 8 I needed to Cryptic + Scapeshift at that point.
8-3
Round 12 vs Vizier Abzan Company
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Lose. I get to 7 landsby stalling but he gets there with normal beats while at 21 life. I had the game more or less locked up when he topdecks Walking Ballista which he casts for the win.
Sideboard +4 Baloths +2 Dispel +2 RIP -1 Verdict -4 Remand -1 Farseek -1 Hunting
Wilds -1 Snapcaster Mage
Game 2 7-7 on the play. Win. and stall him out with Baloths and get there eventually.
Game 3 6-7 on the Draw. Tie. I stall out to infinity with a bunch of removal and a RIP, which he Quasali Pridemages, and he combos to 999,999,999 life the following turn. We go into turns and go on to a draw.
8-3-1
Round 13 vs Grixis Shadow 2-0
My opponent knew what I was playing since I was the last match playing for the last two rounds. He asks for me to play quickly before we start since he doesn’t want a draw. As a result, I had my shortest match with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Game 1 7-7 on the Draw. Win.
Sideboard +3 Baloth +2 RIP +2 Negate +2 Dispel -1 Snapcaster -1 Hunting Wilds
-1 Farseek -1 Anger -4 Remand -1 Izzet Charm -1 Cryptic Command
Game 2 on 6-7 on the Draw. Win. It’s a kinda dumb game as I can’t find enough lands for Scapeshift, so I end up casting my Bring to Light for a Baloth to race his Snapcasters (I had RIP so he was just dropping them). He topdecks a Terminate and keeps swinging. I topdeck another Baloth. He topdecks another Terminate and attacks for more. I draw two more lands followed by Scapeshift to win before he kills me.
9-3-1
Round 14 vs GW Elves 2-0
I’d like to say I really appreciated his deck, even if I didn’t this part of it. He had 4 Devoted Druid and 1 Vizier of Remedies to go infinite. This gave him an out to Ensnaring Bridge as well as beating Vizier Company’s infinite life by pumping to infinity with Ezuri. Ezuri also goes infinite with two Druids.
Game 1 7-6 on the Play. Win. He has a very slow hand and I walked over him.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth -4 Remand. I didn’t bring in Dispel because I couldn’t remember if
Elves ran Chord of Calling.
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Win. He had a fairly fast hand but I had boardwipes and counterspells. He was playing Chord of Calling.
10-3-1
Round 15 vs Grixis Delver Shadow (guy who got 12th place) 2-1
Game 1 7-7 on the Play. Win. He had a very slow hand and I eventually cast a Scapeshift.
Sideboard same as above vs Grixis Shadow
Game 2 6-7 on the Draw. Lose. He apparently kept a terrible hand (5 Lands Terminate Serum Visions) but drew straight gas for the entire game and killed me.
Game 3 6-7 on the Play. Win. I kept a terrible hand in 5 lands and a RIP. I for some reason had it in the “auto win” category in my head like it would be vs Living End or something. I drew an Elder which he thoughtseized. He took a few turns to present a clock while I drew more lands. I topdeck and cast a Scapeshift while on 6 lands and he concedes the game.
Official end record at SCG Charlotte: 10-4-1. 26th place. Could/should have been 11-3-1, 12th place. I conceded the last match because I cast a Scapeshift on 6 lands and he said "that's game" started scooping his cards and was shaking my hand when he said "wait, how many lands did you have? Can I see Valakut?" We called a judge who got the head judge who said that since he conceded I got the game win. It didn't feel right, since I didn't go there to make money or anything, so I conceded the game/match. If I had taken the win, I would have made 125$ more (pre tax) and gotten 12th while he would have just barely gotten 32nd. Instead he got 12th and I got 26th.
After the judges walked away, he asked for my phone number and address and said he'd split the difference in prize money via mail. I feel much better, although saying I got 12th would have felt fantastic, as well as getting the deck more into the mainstream, but I would have felt terrible saying why I won the last match. I didn't go there to make money. I would have taken the match win if it would have gotten me into top 8, but I knew it wouldn't.
10-4-1 and 26th place, or 11-3-1 and 12th place. I feel that my deck got the first record and I personally got the second.
I felt very good about my decklist, with the only things that I wasn’t a fan of were the sideboard Crumble to Dust as GW Tron (the only MU where I really want it) isn’t that popular, and the other one I’d bring it in against (Valakut decks) s and my 3 fetches (which ought to be Misty Rainforest). I’d probably play another bit of hate for either Affinity, Death’s Shadow, Dredge, or UR Storm. Essentially, whatever the meta calls for. I think the deck is very well positioned and really ought to be played more.
EDIT: I'm also a really big fan of baloth vs Bant Eldrazi and I figured I wanted the playset. Having a 4/4 trade with TKS or eat a smaller creature is great.
Vs Burn, I kept a very slow hand g1 (4 lands, Worldly Counsel, double BtL) and died before I had cast anything other than Counsel
G2 I stopmed with some lifegain into turn 6 Scapeshift
G3 came down to turn 6 me being a land short of lethal Shift, and my opponent needed to topdeck a spell (non-creature, non-land) spell to kill me. He got a skullcrack
Vs E-Tron, I won game 1 in a regular fashion, g2 I lost to fast beats, g3 I punted haaaaard. I had the game more or less locked up (I've got a powerful board state, 6 life, and my opponent is topdecking while I need lands for the shift vs GQs) when his only real out was walking ballistas and he then drew two. I dealt with 1, and scapeshifted after the second one, after having cast BtL for a *Sakura Tribe Elder* to sac to 10 lands like I needed, since I had already used Hunting Wilds. I untapped it with my Nissa, Vital Force. I (stupidly) grabbed a second Valakut instead of another non-basic mountain, so post 3 GQs I had 5 mountains. If I had gotten a Search instead of Steve, I would have had the 5/5 untapped to not die to ballista. If I had grabbed the right lands, he would have been dead. If I hadn't attacked with my Obstinate Baloth, I would have been able to win during the next combat. If I had fetched another Baloth with BtL, I would have been well out of range of Ballista and had extra lethal for the next turn, as well as a blocker. If I had done *literally anything* other than grabbed Steve, I would have won.
As far as sideboarding goes, I pulled a Cryptic, a Remand, Anger, Izzet Charm, 2 Repeal and brought in 4 Baloth, 1 Nissa, and 1 Blessed Alliance. What would you have done? https://deckbox.org/sets/1647570
Vs BW Tokens, they're a slow midrange deck without that much disruption. It wasn't that eventful and I only noticed one real misplay. They were on the play g2, going turn 3 Mirran Crusader when I had an Izzet Charm in hand. I could have just killed it, but instead I saved it for the next turn, got hit for 4 and countered a Spectral Procession. I suppose I was worried about him dropping a Walker, so it's somewhat justified, but I had a fast enough of a hand that killing the Crusader was still probably the correct line. I still won 2-0.
I brought in Baloth, Countermagic, and RIP vs them, as Baloth is great at buying time, and I like stopping their graveyard shennanigans (especially going Fulminator Mage + Surgical or TS + Surgical) with RIP and I felt I needed the countermagic to stop stuff like Surgicals. I won handily, 2-0
I more or less found that Sakura Tribe Elder is great vs Tasigur, and that Countermagic is pretty much just worth it. You need your Scapeshift to resolve on time.
I've been testing a bunch though, and Repeal is... weird. I really really like running Path to Exile in the White BtL deck, as an unconditional removal spell is fantastic (even hits Tasigur, although I was using Repeal for that match). In a majority of cases, I'd say Path to Exile is a good bit better, as cantripping is fine, but a lot of the deck is air. However, in a few cases, Repeal wins games that you would have no real way to win without, such as bouncing a g1 Blood Moon (which did happen). So, I'd say that Repeal has a lower floor and slightly higher ceiling, and that Path has a much higher floor and slightly lower ceiling. I think a 2-1 split favoring Path to Exile may be correct.
I'd also like to mention my double Supreme Verdict. They've been absolutely fantastic. Amazing. Good enough that I want 3 but I don't want to stretch my mana that far (or know what to drop). It's the sort of catchup card that you want since so many of our cards don't really interact with our opponent. It was uncounterable removal vs Grixis Death's Shadow as well. It buys you about a million turns and as I've mentioned before, it's absolute gold on turn 3.
I've been doing really well with the deck (like 14 wins 1 loss in matches against competitive decks) to the point where it's kinda ridiculous. Storm is a really hard matchup to learn. It was my only loss, 2-3, and I learned a whole ton about the MU. Remand is only for countering Past in Flames, how you stack gifts piles really really really matters, don't give them two chances to go off (if they fetch for a wincon with gifts, no matter what put both the wincon and the Past in Flames in the yard), if they fetch an Empty the Warrens they likely have something like a Whacker in hand, and that killing a mana dork is a top priority since they essentially can't combo without one. Dispel is exclusively for countering either Gifts or counterspells, etc etc etc. I spent maybe a good 4 hours discussing, going over, and playing the matchup where I ended with that 2-3.
I'd still like to ask for advice on the E-Tron, Dredge, RG TItanshift, and Knightfall matchups as I've not gotten to play them yet, although I imagine Bant Eldrazi is close enough to E-Tron for it to overlap.
Also, what do you guys suggest doing against Grixis Death's Shadow? I'm not experienced in the MU and haven't found anyone who plays it.
https://deckbox.org/sets/1647570
Round 1 BW Pox
Game 1 wasn’t too memorable. He didn’t put up that fast of a clock and my disruption held him off until I Scapeshifted for game.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +2 Negate -2 Supreme Verdict -4 Search for Tomorrow. I figured I’d side kinda like I was against a grindy midrange deck and drop the Searches.
Game 2 was really dumb. He miskept, his only lands being Vault of the Archangel and Twilight Mire, thinking he could make double black. I had a fairly fast hand with some disruption that I didn’t really need, so I just ramped up while he missed his land drops. Then I mess up. I have a lethal Scapeshift in hand, but I instead pass the turn, missing my land drop, as I wasn’t paying enough attention. He then drew a swamp, made double black, cast Thoughtseize grabbing Scapeshift followed with Surgical on it (grabbing another copy out of my hand). At this point, however, I had a Baloth in play and a BtL in hand, so I untapped and dropped another Baloth and won with beats.
1-0
Round 2 Naya Burn
Game 1 I mulled to 5 knowing he’s on burn till I got a half decent hand. If I had draw a Scapeshift or BtL during that game I would have won, as I died with 8 lands out to a goblin guide while at 2 life (he didn’t even have the burn spell).
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +2 Dispel +2 Negate +1 Blessed Alliance -2 Path -1 Verdict -2 Cryptic Command -4 Remand. I totally got a sideboard for this matchup. I’m still unsure of what numbers of Paths/Verdicts/Cryptics I want out, so advice would be nice.
Game 2 and 3 both turned out similarly, with me trying to stay alive. He was also new to the deck and tried to keep an all spells hand for g2.
Game 3 I felt good about. I was doing my basic “staying alive” part. Near the end I’m at 5 life with a Baloth in play. My opponent has 2 lands (both tapped), a suspended Rift Bolt, and 1 card in hand while at 12. My hand is Land, Land, BtL, and Blessed Alliance. I’ve got 5 lands, 6 mana up if I shock. Option one (in my head) was to mainphase the Blessed Alliance (plays around Skullcrack/Atarka’s Command), Option 2 do it during their turn, which would be while I’m at two, which gives them a number of ways to kill me. Both of those end up with me saving the BtL to cast Scapeshift the following turn. In the end, I chose option 3, which was to attack with Baloth (down to 8) and BtL into a second Baloth, gaining 4 life and presenting lethal while still being able to untap and gain 4 the next turn, which would practically be a time walk at worst. The one card in hand ended up being Skullcrack and the card he drew for turn was a land. What would you guys have done?
2-0
Round 3 Bant Eldrazi
Game 1 was fairly straightforward, and after basic controlly stuff I had 8 lands out while facing lethal. I needed to draw either Cryptic Command (tap draw to time walk), Supreme Verdict, Scapeshift, or BtL. I flip the top, and it’s Verdict. I cast it, clearing away two TKS, a Smasher, and a Hierarch, draw 2 (including a Scapeshift that I needed another turn to cast), and pass. He draws, passes back, and I untap and win.
Sideboard: +4 Baloth +1 Nissa +1 Alliance. -4 Remand -1 Anger -1 Cryptic. This is also debateable, but I felt like Nissa and Baloth were correct. Nissa spouts out 5/5s which can eat TKS and trade with Smasher (assume no Hierarchs), and Baloth buys time and can trade with TKS. Alliance was simply so I could have another removal spell, and notably one that doesn’t target if a Smasher is involved.
Game 2 he has quite the start but draws only lands, going turn 2 Skyspawner turn 3 TKS turn 4 TKS. He’s threatening lethal and I Verdict, I pass back, he draws another land, and I untap and win.
3-0
In the end, I essentially decided that with how I have the manabase set up, I can't support Ranger's Path (Hunting Wilds is in the mail) and really do need to either add a Temple Garden and a second Breeding Pool (preferable, but I don't know what to drop), or play Cultivate/Kodama's Reach instead. I also decided that Supreme Verdict is awesome and wish I could play more (but the manabase wouldn't hold it). I can reasonable support two as is, but it could be better. Also, Izzet Charm feels fine, but I think it's not at it's best atm and could probably be something better. Anticipate will be replaced with Worldly Counsel (also in the mail).
As a last semi-unrelated note, I do want another RIP or two sideboard (and perhaps another Affinity hose (Ancient Grudge)) but I don't really know where to start shaving.
Ranger's Path is something I'm playing b/c my LGS didn't have Hunting Wilds (how often do you cast that with Kicker anyways lol). Cultivate/Reach seems fine, and I imagine it will help with the mana more than Path/Wilds (especially with Verdict/Cryptic) since it only gets forests (only 1 UG dual and 1 GW dual). I will definitely try it.
I do kinda want to try a second Farseek to assist in manafixing.
Also, your manabase looks solid and I like it a lot. I'm using battlelands as budget shocks atm and it's not been troublesome, though if I can get the cash I'll purchase shocks. I'm also on 4 white sources to try and support the Verdicts.
Lastly, this decklist just 5-0'd. Interesting Omenshift list imo. https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/645034#paper Very low quantities of control cards, looks like it's putting a lot of faith into Omen as board control. The sideboard Boseiju is also interesting, and Pyroclasm/Hornet Queen suspect...