Thanks so much for all that, humouring all my questions haha. That is true, I forgot you put a bit in about some of those cards earlier (apologies).
No problem at all, and no need for apology. I find I talk too much, a little too formally on the Internet, so I just didn't want to bore you with repeating myself. I'm a mediocre Magic player at best, so just having my opinion held in high regard is flattering.
Went to FNM tonight and went 2-1, coming in third out of 12 people and just missing the promo Opt. I played against WBR Vehicles, Mono-Red, and Mono-Green. I made the most grievous play error I have made in a while, and I feel pretty dumb. My changes include taking out 2x Authority of the Consuls for 2x Knight of Malice in the sideboard, and switching a Settle the Wreckage with another copy of Vraska's Contempt.
Game 1 sees my getting beat down by the above three cards plus Scrapheap Scrounger, until I Fatal Push the Heart and exile his Scrounger with a Cast Out. I take a turn off to draw some cards and stabilize with a Torrential Gearhulk and The Scarab God which his smaller creatures can't swing past.
I wanted to see which would be better between Forsake the Worldly and Knight of Malice. I didn't end up drawing either, unfortunately. I didn't put in Negate because I saw small creatures, and wondered if he'd be on the aggro plan.
Game 2 I mulligan to find a better hand since I'm on the draw. He leads on Bomat Courier into a couple of Toolcrafts. My hand is still a bit slow with many lands and I cannot remove the second Toolcraft, dying to it buffed by Crook of Condemnation.
Game 3 we both keep 7 and I Push and Scatter his first threats, landing Lyra Dawnbringer on T5. He has no answer until I untap, so I Disallow his follow up plays and win the game from there with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria back up. 1-0.
I wasn't sure what my opponent was on, since I've seen him play URG Energy and UBG Midrange before. Turns out he was on a Red-Deck with Sunscorched Desert and no Goblin Chainwhirler. Ouch.
Game 1 is close, with me almost stabilizing against his double Earthshaker Khenra draw. Had I known his deck, I might've mulligan'd for a faster hand but I kept a decent 7 with low spot removal count. I Negate a Chandra, Torch of Defiance which gives me a bit of hope. After drawing some cards and discovering Blink of an Eye actually feels pretty good against Red I die to his creatures.
I was kind of sad I didn't have my Authorities, but figured Knight could block well. Lyra and Gideon seem to be the aggro/my life total matters cards.
Game 2 was strange from my opponent's end. He leads on no creatures and all burn spells up to my T4. I go to 8 just from burn like Shock and Lightning Strike. He attempts to resolve Hazoret the Fervent twice, but I Essence Scatter one and Vraska's Contempt the other. I land Lyra, tapping out and he has a Soul-Scar Mage on board. I hope he has no burn, and he doesn't. I win the game with her. My opponent informs me that if he had a 5th land, he could have made my Lyra really small.
Game 3 I mulligan down to 5. My 7 wasn't that bad with a couple lands but with many expensive spells. I mulligan to 6 to find a better hand, since I'm on the draw but my 6 has no lands. I go to 5, keeping 1 land and some other spells. The game itself was actually quite close, but his rush of unanswered creatures put me too low to catch up. I played a Knight of Malice to block his creatures when I had 4 lands, having a Settle the Wreckage in hand, after having seen no burn spell and a Hazoret in my opponent's hand with a Sorcerous Spyglass, and died to a top-deck burn spell. 1-1.
The store had no A/C in our play area and I think I was a little addled by the heat.
Game 1 had my big mistake. my T2 is Search for Azcanta I get beat down by a Merfolk Branchwalker, dealing with the follow up Rhonas the Indomitable with a Scatter. He plays a Steel-Leaf Champion and I Settle both his creatures. He plays another Rhonas and a second Branchwalker and a Heart. I get greedy and Disallow his crew trigger, but he plays a Ripjaw Raptor to follow up. I take 9 from Rhonas and Heart and my Azcanta trigger reveals a Gearhulk. In my mind I am looking for Settle, so I bin the card and transform Azcanta. I realize my mistake after I do this, and keep a straight face while I activate Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin to try to find Settle, getting Contempt instead which isn't enough. Man, I'm bad.
Game 2 goes more smoothly, but my hand was terrible on 7. I was greedy and kept 6 lands, Lyra. I draw into removal, resolve Lyra and take the game rather decisively.
Game 3 he leads on Memorial to Unity into Heart. I counter his T3 Rhonas play, and tap out for Gideon of the Trials. I plus on Heart for a few turns, draw some cards and then play Teferi. I plus leaving up Fatal Push, and he plays Ripjaw Raptor to crew. My Push is countered by a Blossoming Defense and Teferi goes down. Gideon ticks up on the dinosaur, Heart is crewed and sent at my face since Gideon is at something silly like 10. Another Push off of a Gearhulk meets another Defense and I take 6. The Scarab God comes down and Gideon ticks on Heart. His raptor attacks and I reanimate his Rhonas with The Scarab God to block. I just wanted an indestructible blocker, but that creature has deathtouch! Jesus. He then resolves two Carnage Tyrant but is much too far behind on board. My opponent reveals three copies of Crushing Canopy in hand, which had no targets. 2-1.
I gave Forsake the Worldly another try, because I knew one of my friends was going to play WB tokens. Still didn't seem to find room for it in the matches I had. I think I will trade it for my copies of Authority of the Consuls. I also think I need to re-jig the mana base to account for more copies of Vraska's Contempt over Settle the Wreckage.
I would probably try and find room in my build for blink, commit and maybe spygladd main. Also debating illumination over glimmer (currently using glimmer). And my threat base is currently 3:2:2 hulk:teferi:Scarab. Looking to go 3:3:2 or 3:3:1.
Do you think a 2nd God is warranted?
How was Seal Away? Blink? Commit?
You've already heard my thoughts on Hieroglyphic Illumination, so there's that. I think if you feel your early game doesn't need help to cantrip into what you need, and flipping Search for Azcanta quickly isn't a priority Glimmer of Genius is the more powerful card. I just dislike holding onto things I can't cast. I was also happy with Spyglass as noted above.
Seal Away was okay when I drew it, but notably did not do anything against Heart of Kiran and was not able to be cast by Torrential Gearhulk. I feel like I wanted another Cast Down, because at least I get to choose at what phase of turn the creature I want removed dies and can be recycled even if it still misses Heart of Kiran. I was also kind of sad that it denies fuel for The Scarab God.
I chose not to play a second Scarab God because I wanted a wider field of answers since I was going into an unknown meta. If you know the decks around you are short on Vraska's Contempt and play high impact ETB or haste creatures like Goblin Chainwhirler, or Champion of Wits, or Glorybringer then a 2nd God seems good. If your meta is full of exiling removal backed with fast non-creature threats, like WB Vehicles, or is simply too fast for a 5/5 to stabilize the board, like Mono-Green, then maybe only play one copy. The more creature dense mid-range decks around you, the better your God becomes. Notably good in a control match-up if you can resolve it so you may use your Gearhulks again.
Commit // Memory was passable as a generic answer to cards on the board or stack. I suppose its flexibility is its strength, but I never felt happy casting it. Notably deals with Carnage Tyrant and Nezahal, Primal Tide on the stack for a turn or two, but I didn't see either of those cards against me. Spicy target for Gearhulk to cast the Aftermath side, but I never resolved that either.
Blink of an Eye felt really good, buying time against problem permanents so that you may counter them later and allowing me to recycle some ETBeffects. Kicking to draw a card was great. Being able to deal with almost anything at instant speed for potentially 2 mana, but usually 4, was nice. I almost felt like I was casting Remand some turns. I feel like I want another, but the card seems more suitable as a 1-of. You can only bounce stuff so many times, but maybe I am wrong since it draws you a card. Notable that you may pay the kicker cost if Gearhulk is casting it.
@Simto: going 0-3 might actually have lots to consider and report! It's the best time to see what went wrong, if certain cards were bad against particular match ups, or to see if things could be improved with different lines of play. What I usually ask myself is "what card would have won me the game/pulled me ahead/kept me from losing" and then I think about why those cards weren't there. Always play to your outs. Even if you're at 1 life the game is still on if you're intent on fighting. That being said, not every game of magic is winnable even if you play perfect. Sometimes your opponent just crushes you, like in my Round 4 of the PPTQ (and my play was far from perfect).
So what went wrong? Mana troubles/flooding? Answers didn't line up well? Opponent's threats/disruption too strong? All this stuff helps for improving the deck. The only thing that should burn is your opponent's face after you embarrass them with 7 cards in hand to their none next time.
I've been running a couple versions of UB through MTGO leagues with reasonable success (mostly 3-2s, a couple 4-1s, and a couple 2-3s). I'm a recovering UW Approach player and I'm really enjoying how the deck is doing in the current meta.
I'm curious what folks' SB strategies are against UW Control...have found myself getting wrecked by Knight of Grace (occasionally with HoB)...I've considered Contraband Kingpin (particularly in the UB puppet version) and Knight of Malice as possible options, but interested to hear what others have found success with.
Thanks for sharing. Always good to hear about people getting sober.
Congratulations on your win. I agree on the mana base being the worst part of Esper. Right now, I'm on 27 lands, and it seems to be working well. I am on Pull From Tomorrow, but I think I'm going back to Illumination for the cycling. I may try to keep one, as Pull for 5+ ends most games. Also, it may sound odd, but I never side out my Searches, as it is a manaless way to filter and find lands early. I'm contemplating going to 3. I had once before, and it helped with the mana issues. the Moment Of Cravings help me stay alive while taking a turn off for Search and/or digging.
Thank you, and I am also wondering about having 27 lands. It would be nice to keep all 8 cycling lands in that build, as it helps mitigate mana flooding. There were some builds I saw playing only 6 cycling lands, but still 27 so that could also be correct.
To comment on boarding out Search for Azcanta I just felt that, while card filtering would be valuable, it would be punishing on the draw against particularly Mono-Red. The tempo loss from a resolved Pia Nalaar, or worse a double spell, is what I was worried about so I kept my mana open on those turns. Our threats are greater than theirs so it's just about surviving, because once their hand is empty or full of lands we can win any way we want. That was my plan in the Red matches, but more valuable is just having a plan. If a strategy works for you, like Moment of Craving to catch up, just go with it.
Pull from Tomorrow is a shadow of one of my favourite cards Sphinx's Revelation. I like the idea of casting a huge Pull/Rev and demonstrate to my opponent that I have it all. My issue is it feels as if the spell goes against my deck's overall strategy. It doesn't fix my weaknesses early game and lends strength to a late game I already have. It's like having a redundant threat in my hand; if I could cast Pull x=4-7 then I could likely win the game with my other threats. If I am forced to cast Pull x=1-2 and can't stabilize, then I have likely lost. Where I did like Pull was in a cycling based Drake Haven deck I played where it added to the threat count. UW plays the spell because their answers are highly efficient, and threat count is light, but mana base is solid so their early game has fewer weaknesses. I want to love Pull from Tomorrow to death, but every time I draw the spell it feels counter-intuitive or not strong enough in my preference for this control build.
Your list has given me some idea on changes for mine too. Seriously, sweet work!
Thanks! Happy that my list is helping. I think there are many weak spots to build off of, even though I managed to win. I am thinking of changing the mana base a bit to include more basics and tilt the colour balance toward black, but still enough that I can cast Settle the Wreckage and Lyra Dawnbringer by Turn 5 or 6. The issue may be that I could lose pressure by not being able to represent Settle, which seemed to have my opponents on guard or attack conservatively every time I had WW. What changes are you thinking?
I like the Grixis list above with the concern for Hour of Devastation not being able to clear out Karn, Scion of Urza after a plus on curve. Sorcery speed wraths also miss on haste creatures, vehicles, and incremental cards like History of Benalia. I also wonder if some copies of Abrade are worth it to help with artifacts, and if main deck Negate could be good since the deck has many answers for creatures.
Great job man, and thanks for the details. I think Esper is very powerful right now against aggro decks.
I'm running Esper at my next fnm and will most definitely be looking at your tips and thoughts before that.
Thank you! Against aggro it seemed I just had the right amount of interaction to get to my big spells later in the game. With the winnings I got I purchased another copy of Teferi, Hero of Dominaria which I would recommend putting into the deck. Card is gas, if you have them. I was working off budget concerns for this tournament.
With the way your list is setup, I actually think you don't need that many wrath effects. Also, 2 Field of Ruin in that mana base seems really greedy. I'm actually surprised by Hieroglyphic Illumination being your only draw spell. I get it with the way your mana base is constructed though.
Thanks! You're right, I was mostly siding Fumigate out for other cards. A sorcery speed wrath isn't great against haste threats or vehicles. I have now replaced it with a second Teferi. I also wonder if 1 copy of Settle the Wreckage could be another Vraska's Contempt. 2 Field of Ruin felt okay, since my main concern with the mana base was lands coming in tapped. I didn't often have mana troubles getting colours, but in my semi-finals match against Mono-Red my lands were glacial coming in. If he kept a better hand I might've lost quickly.
I also was happy with the amount of draw power in the deck, more so leaning on Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin or Teferi for more cards. Illuminations turn on Azcanta quickly, and I do prefer the flexibility of cycling over the power of Glimmer of Genius. Smoothing my early draws is more important to me than getting ahead, since my big spells can do that for me. A common line of play I had was to cycle my draw spell on 3 or 5 lands, find my next land, interact with a 2 or 4 mana spell, then say go on 6 lands having the choice of interaction or drawing with Gearhulk. With how much pressure my opponents had, excluding UW control, I didn't really have time to cast an Inspiration on turn 4.
That being said, I'm sure the draw suite comes down to play/deck style and preference. I knew my mana base was weak and finding lands was key so I liked the cycling. Gearhulk targets were important in my list, so obviously Pull from Tomorrow was out of the running.
Hey all, I participated in a 21 person PPTQ with Esper Control and came in first! It's not my first Top 8, but it was my first time winning an event of this caliber.
The meta seemed heavily skewed to either UW control or RB vehicles, with some Mono-Red. My matches were 3 against RB vehicles, 2 Mono-Red, 1 GB constrictor, and 1 UW control.
My overall record was 6-1-1, with one ID into Top 8.
My opponent was very friendly, but played tight on a more mid-range version of vehicles.
Game 1 was a careful exchange of resources, with my opponent playing around Settle the Wreckage as soon as I presented 4 mana with double white. The problem with this was I was able to pick off his creatures and other threats one by one slowly. Interesting was his maindeck copy of The Scorpion God, which received a Vraska's Contempt. Fatal Push was very good against Heart of Kiran, and I was able to take the game with The Scarab God getting Goblin Chainwhirler to clear out a Thopter token from Pia Nalaar that was pressuring my life total and responding to a Scrapheap Scrounger activation with one from the Scarab God.
I like to cut 1 Syncopate on the draw, and take out some inefficient spells for strong threats and cheap answers. I also don't like Fumigate against vehicles.
Game 2 was very good to my opponent on the play, he curved out Scrounger into Chainwhirler and had a Glorybringer to seal the deal. I struggled on lands and did not have enough interaction at the correct times.
I was a little confused with my seating, as my brother was also playing the event and I went to the wrong opponent. After getting seated I won the die roll.
Game 1 I played tapped land, and he led with a Bomat Courier. I really thought I was in the weeds after he got a few cards under it, with a few other haste threats like Ahn-Crop Crasher and Earthshaker Khenra, but he overextended into a Settle the Wreckage and didn't draw well after his Bomat activation. Gearhulk casting the Settle again finishes the game in short order.
The thought here is that he'll board into planeswalkers, but I don't want to over board with all my Negates. Lyra is a good threat if unanswered, and Authority is to slow them down and reduce haste pressure. Blink is bad since their creatures have haste without Authority on the field.
Game 2 he has a little bit of a slow start after his turn one Bomat Courier, missing his 2 drop. I land a turn two Authority of the Consuls, which slows him further. Fatal push got rid of Courier, but I still had to contend with two creatures in Soul-Scar Mage and Kari Zev, Skyship Raider. I play Lyra Dawnbringer and halt his aggression entirely while my life total is 7. He plays another creature and we take turns passing until I draw a Contempt, so I attack and pick off a creature on his attack. He casts Abade targeting Lyra, and I let it resolve not remembering Soul-Scar Mage gives her 3 -1/-1 counters. It is a slow grind now until I eventually win. Even a 2/2 flying lifelink creature is crazy against aggro strategies. 2-0
Interesting match, just stock RB vehicles. In Game 2 there's a weird rules thing that cost my opponent the game.
Game 1 felt similar to the first round, opponent playing around Settle the Wreckage but leaning on Heart of Kiran for a clock. Fatal Push feels good. I let Goblin Chainwhirlers resolve and handle them with removal, allowing my counter-magic to get the Chandras and Pias. I recall Sorcerous Spyglass resolving, revealing a hand with Abrade in it. I call Bomat Courier, since he had one on the field, he Abrades it and cracks the Courier. He gets lands, I get Scarab God, the game ends.
Same as above. I wondered if Duress would be good, but I didn't want dead draws later on and it might miss too often.
Game 2 was actually going to be my loss provided my opponent played correctly. Early game has an Arguel's Blood Fast for my opponent, but no real black lands so he has to take 3 off a Spire of Industry to draw any cards. He draws multiple copies of threats I answered after taking some damage and two Rekindling Phoenix and I stabilize, sort of, with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria tucking one. I then Doomfall the remaining copy in his hand and give myself some time. I get to plus once with him, counter his Phoenix on the way down but he sneaks in a Soul-Scar Mage. I'm currently at 2. Opponent casts Chandra, Torch of Defiance, which I counter with a Negate. He doesn't say anything about the prowess trigger, and he's not obligated to as it doesn't affect the board state, so I prepare to scoop it up since I have no answer. He attacks Teferi (????) and when I ask how much damage he says 1. I wasn't sure if I should have called a judge but the game proceeds as he passes priority. I Push the Mage after my draw step. Teferi remains and I am able to draw into Gideon of the Trials on the same turn and emblem so I am not dead to Chandra or any random burn. A Chainwhirler resolves putting me to 1 life now, and I Blink of an Eye it allowing me to attack for lethal with Gideon since he is low from Blood Fast. 3-0
This was a weird one, since we were both 3-0 we could have drawn our next two rounds and then got into Top 8. He insisted on playing because it was "too risky", even though the point math worked out.
Game 1 I have a slow hand and I am worried about Blossoming Defense so I take damage and then remove the creatures at end of turn. Turns out he wasn't playing any, that I saw at least, but two well timed Vraska's Contempt take down my defending Scarab God and Gearhulk find me dead to a large Jadelight Ranger pumped by Winding Constrictor.
Wasn't sure what to board in, so I went bare minimum on the midrange package. I felt favoured in the match up even though I lost, so I didn't want to change too much.
Game 2 I don't keep my seven, even though it had a bunch of lands with an Illumination and a Contempt. I figure I can do better with Fatal Pushes in my opener, but my six is bad. I keep scrying a land to the top, since I have an out with Settle in hand. Unfortunately it's a little too late as I miss a land drop and my fourth land comes in tapped, allowing him to draw the Duress necessary to clear the way for lethal. 3-1
My next opponent agrees to draw, since we are guaranteed a spot in the Top 8. I am seeded 3rd and get to choose order of play in most of my games.
Thank god these rounds were not timed, as my opponent and I played a long Game 1. Apparently the judge already knew the type of deck my opponent was playing and just sort of rolled his eyes when we got matched up.
Game 1 was very long, as I said, with a lot of interesting interactions. Most of the main fights were picked over my Search for Azcanta instead of his, since I had a Field of Ruin and he did not, and my Sorcerous Spyglass which called Teferi. My opponent was unhappy about not playing his Teferi's since he was on the "No-Win-Con" version of the deck. There was a lot of bouncing of permanents, fights over my creatures, and a Commit//Memory resolved aftermath. I took too long to be the aggressor, trying to figure out a way to fight through his counter magic so I could get him to counter my Gearhulks and then resolve Scarab God to reanimate them. However, I got my own Memory countered and milled out first as I had less mainboard counters than he did. My mistake here was milling myself with my second copy of Search for Azcanta when I saw dead removal spells, so I decked first.
Took out most of my spot removal and all my wraths. The no-win-con versions don't play that many creatures post-board, so I was not concerned. I wanted to have discard, obviously, and I have found success with Nezahal, Primal Tide. Gideon was to make sure I didn't die to mill out.
Game 2 I kept a decent hand with a turn 2 Blood Fast. He plays Knight of Grace. I was now concerned since my removal in hand is only Vraska's Contempt. He attacks me a couple times and ends up targeting my Blood Fast with Invoke the Divine, and I respond by drawing a card. I feel like he should have left the enchantment there for the extra damage. I draw Nezahal and play it on turn 7, with him stuck on 4 lands, checking his knight. He attempts to remove it and I pitch three cards to make sure it's safe. Game was elementary from there.
I actually side back in Seal Away and present 61 cards.
Game 3 finishes rather quickly as I get to 6 lands, cast a Gearhulk end step as bait for counter magic, then resolve Teferi afterwards on my turn. I tick to 8 to threaten ultimate and he scoops after I counter his Cast Out. Advance to Semi-Finals.
My opponent went from friendly to salty as I won in short order. He got to play Game 1.
Game 1 wasn't really close as I just plodded through my game plan of countering or removing his creatures. I punished his turn 3 Goblin Chainwhirler with Syncopate. Hazoret the Fervent went on the stack 2 times, 1 being countered with Syncopate and the second resolving but eating a Contempt. Most of his damage was from a Soul-Scar Mage that attacked for 1 for 6 turns. I land a Scarab God and start taking over his graveyard until he concedes.
Game 2 was also not close and one-sided in my favour. I keep a slow hand land wise, having many check-lands but no actual land types in hand. I can, however, produce black by turn 2 and had 2 Fatal Push in hand. Opponent leads on Soul-Scar Mage, which gets Pushed. He plays another, but no second land. I draw a 3rd Push, and lay into the creatures he plays. After he gets 2 lands for a Kari Zev, I Gearhulk for a Push and Disallow a follow-up threat in which he concedes. Advance to Finals.
The final match was against the same opponent as Round 3. I declared I was not interested in the RPTQ invite, since I am busy with work. He offered to split the credit in my favour and take the invite, but the judge was eyeing us so we just decided to play it out. Since I took the match anyway, we decided on the same outcome.
Game 1 was a scary one, since he played a turn 1 Bomat Courier and shoved about 6 cards under it until I responded with a Fumigate to clear his board. Apparently he put 5 lands into his hand. With him out of gas I took over the game with Teferi.
I was considering siding in Forsake the Worldly since Blood Fast was quite good, but I was having trouble cutting cards and the sideboard plan worked out last time so I stuck with it.
Game 2 was a tense match, with my life total dropping to 1 (again) by the end of the game. I don't remember the specifics but I was getting hit by Scrapheap Scrounger for a while until I dealt with it casting Settle, having named it earlier with a Spyglass. In hindsight I could have just named Chandra, Torch of Defiance and saved myself some trouble. Somewhere in here I have a Teferi to tuck a creature and Negate a The Eldest Reborn and Push something and Teferi gets dead by a creature. A Chandra resolved afterwards, adding mana to double-spell into a Pia Nalaar. I pushed the token end of turn. I had a Scarab God on board, and he had Pia and a Phoenix to block. I attack Chandra, forcing him to choose between giving me creatures to make copies of with Scarab God or losing Chandra. He chooses to lose Chandra and cracks back while I'm out of blockers and casts a second Phoenix. I Field of Ruin one of his lands so I can revolt Push one Phoenix and reanimate it. He attacks in the air, and I block immediately. Eventually The Scarab God overwhelms him and I win the match at 1 life. 1st Place finish!
Overall the deck performed really well and I felt comfortable with the match ups. I was happy to not see WB Vehicles, as I was dreading the match up. Red based decks seem fine as long as the play is tight, and black cards such as Fatal Push, The Scarab God, and Vraska's Contempt really carried their weight. Cast Down was a good one-of, and I think I'd like the Seal Away be another copy. I also wasn't terribly impressed with Commit // Memory and I wonder if I want a fourth Disallow or a second Blink of an Eye. Forsake the Worldly seemed a little redundant, but maybe I should have brought it in more often. Sorcerous Spyglass was quite good in almost every situation, locking down hard to deal with permanents and getting hand information in game 1. I also wonder if Gideon of the Trials should go to the main, since he came in almost every game.
My only loss felt as though the deck was too slow, but it could be due to bad draws and poor mana base. The mana base seems kinda bad to be honest, with many tapped lands and too many check lands. I saw some lists online that essentially just splashed Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in their UB plan for more solid mana. I just like wraths, as they add a 2-or-more-for-1 dimension I like in my control decks. Maybe there's a way to make it really work, but I doubt it.
Glad to have performed for you guys! It's nice to report a resounding win with our deck.
EDIT: Game 2 of the Finals went a bit differently than I remember, according to my brother. I had Search for Azcanta early, getting pressured by the Scrounger which I had called with Spyglass. I had a Contempt in hand, but no double black, an example of my poor mana base. I actually milled another copy of Contempt to find my colours, which I did and after Contempting the Scrounger I had a Gearhulk to flash the spell back on another card. My Spyglass had seen an Hour of Glory in my opponent's hand, which he used on Gearhulk allowing me to resolve my The Scarab God to take over the game as described. I did NegateThe Eldest Reborn to protect my God as well, having Fatal Push up as well in order to clear the way for the Chandra play.
Glad to know the deck has game against multiple decks in the format.
When you brought in Karn did you have trouble protecting him? Or was the high loyalty enough? Also why Moment of Craving instead of Seal Away? Seems decent against the likes of Steel Leaf Champion and other creatures above 2 toughness. Against Mono-Green was Llanowar Elves a concern without Fatal Push?
How do you end up with a 5-round tournament for less than 16 people? Am I missing something?
I am unsure myself, but when the presiding judge explained it the structure made sense. Something to do with brackets being different between 9-12 players and 13-16 players.
Hey guys I participated in a PPTQ on Saturday and went 3-2. It was small with only 13 people with 5 rounds and a cut to top 4. I thought the deck had the tools to win, but ultimately I didn't practice enough and performed poorly. Here is what I registered.
My local store had sold out of all the control staples a week previous, so I meta-gamed a little to include more disruption mainboard and less Fatal Push. Additionally I was not able to assemble all of my cards in time for the event so some of the 75 was incomplete, including fewer Lyra Dawnbringer, and substitutions for the forth Disallow and Settle the Wreckage.
I was familiar with this player having tested with him, but he brought control instead of aggro like he tested with before. Control mirrors are my favourite games and I'm pretty experienced with them, so I often feel favoured. Game 1 was pretty back and forth casting draw spells that neither player countered, discarding Settle the Wreckage and Fumigate to hand size and keeping Teferi, Hero of Dominaria off the board. Eventually he casts Approach of the Second Sun and tapped out, allowing me to resolve Teferi and take over the game with card and mana advantage and, in time, his ultimate. After cutting his blue sources off we went to game 2.
Game 2 I keep two lands with some cycling cards, but stumble on mana while he plays land each turn and resolves Teferi. Card is fairly hard to beat if it sticks since post-board Negate is there to protect it at their end step. He then plays Nezahal, Primal Tide on T7 and after dealing with my slower T9 blue dinosaur I concede.
Game 3 I disrupt him early with discard and force through a Teferi. I wait until there is no threat of Commit // Memory, which I'm not even sure he registered, and play Nezahal. He fights it with removal backed with counters, causing me to counter back and discard 6 cards. However Teferi activations and Nezahal triggers drew enough for me to win that fight and end the game in swift order. I was expecting Arguel's Bloodfast to score me a huge advantage but it never showed up. 1-0.
I also knew this player as he was a spike that played in my home town, and he had traveled to play at my new locale. I knew I had to play tight to win. Game 1 was a drawn out match in which I almost stabilized, however Heart of Kiran and History of Benalia were difficult for me to deal with even as I got rid of most of the other threats. I was going to lean on Settle the Wreckage as an out while I spent my removal 1-for-1 but it never came.
In retrospect, I feel as if I should have sided in Duress and boarded out some number of Seal Away. I was not ready for the match though, as he transformed into a much more midrange/control deck than I expected with many planeswalkers.
Game 2 I feel like I keep a reasonable hand with some creature removal and counters. T2 I Syncopate a Scrapheap Scrounger and follow T3 Negate for History of Benalia. T4 however Karn, Scion of Urza lands with no response from my side. He takes over the game slowly and I lose to an incredible amount of card Karn advantage. After Liliana, Death's Majesty flips a Lyra into the graveyard and he plays two vehicles in one turn I'm toast. My mistake here is that I should have saved my Syncopate as I had other ways to deal with the threat in my hand and the rest of the game my life total was quite high until I definitively lost. 1-1.
Another local player I knew, and we had sat beside each other in the last round so we knew what we were in store for. Game 1 lasts far too long and was in his favour for a while, with active Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, until I forced his counterspells with Torrential Gearhulk, slip in a Search for Azcanta and transform after clearing a Field of Ruin he had tapped for mana and have a Teferi of my own. He runs of out permission and I get to do what I want with The Scarab God accessing both graveyards for Gearhulks. Strangely enough I had seen a Glimmer of Genius in his hand early in the game with a Doomfall which he stubbornly held on to when I had mana up. I never usually counter my opponent's draw spells in a control mirror unless it draws 4 cards or more, but I suppose it was to my benefit.
I experiment here by going down all my spot removal and bringing an extra threat in Lyra.
Game 2 is a pretty brutal spanking, as I struggle to find my third and forth land after cycling 4 cards and getting my Azcanta exiled. I Duress him a couple times a bit jokingly, but he runs well even after discard. He resolves Teferi and a Gearhulk and I concede as we have 15 minutes left in the round.
Game 3 we try to play as quick as possible, but he stumbles on one land drop behind remaining at 5 lands while on my 7 lands I play Nezahal. He plays Gideon of the Trials and Sorcerous Spyglass to check it for multiple turns until I play Teferi. My mistake here was leaving Gideon on the battlefield and instead drawing cards. Time is called and I Gearhulk on his end step to draw more cards, thinking I could get an answer for Gideon. I do in Vraska's Contempt, but at Turn 5 I can only get him down to 1 life. He graciously concedes, as I have board advantage. 2-1.
Finally a player I don't know personally, but I had seen him dismantle people's slower draws as he always had time to get up and go for a smoke. He leads with Siren Stormtamer after winning the die roll, and then proceeds to chuck a few burn spells and small creatures at me while I stare at my removal spells wondering what went wrong. I do remove some of his creatures, but the Siren keeps the important ones alive and I receive one too many Wizard's Lightning to the dome with no permission or sweepers.
My thoughts here are to take out the slower cards and put in life gain with faster interaction. Lyra is also a house against red decks in theory. Unfortunately I never saw her. I should have also considered Duress as an option, since his list seemed burn heavy and I could grab his post-board permission.
Game 2 I mulligan so that I can find Authority of the Consuls, which I do get in my hand of 6. I play a tapped land T1 hoping he has no play, which is the case. An ideal start and I feel as though I can win. It gains me at least 8 life while protecting me from haste creatures. I test if he has counterspells on T4 with a draw spell to which he responds with Opt. I put him on not having it, but still play around Spell Pierce and cast Teferi T5 to bait. It actually resolves and I bounce a Ghitu Lavarunner who had a counter on it from Metallic Mimic, fearing the extra damage and assuming he'd ignore my planeswalker. He targets it with Shock end of turn and attacks me down. Settle the Wreckage on T6 gets 3 creatures. He responds with 9 points of burn while his wizards are still on the field. We both don't have much after that, with me going down to 1 life after removing his follow up creature.
This is the point where I mess up. He plays Riddleform with a card in hand, passes. I also draw, land, pass. I have a Vraska's Contempt in hand, so I feel comfortable. He draws and slams Siren Stormtamer and I respond with cycling Hieroglyphic Illumination to find an answer, as I am very dead to that creature. I find Seal Away, let the creature resolve since it comes in tapped, and snap it off. I then allow him to cast Warlord's Fury so he can trigger the Riddleform, stop him after the trigger resolves but before his spell and go to tap mana for Contempt. I look down, realizing I have only 1 black source, having tapped my other one in for Seal Away. I feel terrible, but try not to look concerned as I allow him to proceed with his turn. He attacks me and I die. Very disappointed with myself, as I might have stabilized from there with Contempt putting me at 4 life to still fade at least one more burn spell. I also missed an Authority trigger earlier in the game to gain 1 life, but it was irrelevant at the end. Salt. 2-2.
My opponent is another local who knew he couldn't make Top 4 so he conceded right away. Unfortunately with my losses and small player attendance I had no chance of making Top 4 even though my opponent conceded. We played for fun and he drops T2 maindeck Arguel's Bloodfast and out cards me with a couple Karn, Scion of Urza while clocking me with Gideon of the Trials. Deck was sweet and I lost badly. Post board I think it would have gone better, but the Bloodfast drew him about a million cards off the bat so I lost handily. If I were to board it might look like this.
Essentially the control board, complete with Nezahal since I will still draw cards from his non-creature spells and blank removal. More Seal Away stay in because it gets Gideon, but Scarab God comes out because he was essentially creatureless.
Overall I feel the deck had legs and was fun to play with many options to answer most opponent's game plans, but my poor play and inexperience with the newer format led to losses that could have been prevented, such as mis-tapping my mana in Round 4.
The 75 was not optimal, and I think knowing where the deck's weaknesses lie I would change the sideboard to accommodate. I did not board in Profane Procession in a single game and will likely find room for another Forsake the Worldly to combat WB Vehicles. Fatal Push will go back in the mainboard and perhaps I will have a Negate instead of an Essence Scatter.
More answers to things such as Karn, Scion of Urza, are likely necessary since I kept losing to it. I am unsure if putting Karn in the deck is the way forward, as T4 is this deck's catch up turn with Settle the Wreckage, Vraska's Contempt, and Hieroglyphic Illumination. A midrange or superfriends build that can protect the walkers more reliably would probably fit better.
Interesting list, and I'm happy that it's working out so far. Is the 3 maindeck Negate working well? There are at least a couple targets in most decks, but I wonder if you've had some stranded in your hand while dealing with creature based aggressive decks. I have the same question about Profane Procession, as it can seem a bit do-nothing on T3 against a solid creature curve.
That being said I have been thinking about a tap-out style control deck that includes enchantment removal such as Seal Away, Ixalan's Binding, and an ascend payoff in Secrets of the Golden City. Obviously your planeswalkers are your card advantage, but Teferi, Hero of Dominaria untapping two lands in the later game does a good impression of Ancestral Recall when you could cast your draw spell.
There was a single list back in January that focused on tap-out Esper control with very little permission and I wonder if there are aspects that could be drawn upon here. It obviously lacks in power, but we could make up for that with Dominaria.
I realize this isn't the place for UW control discussion, but after watching TCG Player's Corey Baumeister play this Esper list where cards like The Scarab God and Vraska's Contempt were sometimes cards he cut and added in more Lyra Dawnbringer, wishing there were more Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Maybe pure UW is the way to go?
That being said the list performed very well as Esper, though the mana woes were real. 26 lands is likely where we want to be, and perhaps some attention paid to the colour fixing as well if this list is a real shell going forward.
Just to note, Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage gives all the legendaries and sagas flash. That gives this "midrange" deck a whole new axis to mess with opponents. So History of Benalia isn't necessarily a tap out option, like all the other historic stuffs.
Definitely something I didn't touch on. I was more assuming a turn progression like T3 > T4 > T5 when curving out since that is a more natural way to look at the deck and its mana usage. It becomes pretty interesting what kind of plays you can make in the mid to late game with Raff, and it could lead to some crushing lines.
I like playing at instant speed, but I'm concerned with how fragile the card is. Trading 4 mana at instant speed for 2 mana in Abrade, Lightning Strike, or worse like revolt Fatal Push discourages me from playing it. That being said I am biased to playing as few creatures as possible when deck-building. The midrange style deck likely can overload its opponents removal beforehand and remain tempo positive for the rest of the game.
Red decks play Puncturing Blow to deal with creatures like Lyra Dawnbringer.
That's a piece of technology if I've seen one. Looks like it's a 1-of in the sideboard to deal with The Scarab God, so I'd be pleased to overload their answers with another threat. That being said it's worth noting, but I'd much rather the red deck taps out for this than Chandra, Torch of Defiance. I guess we should look for a window where we can keep up permission if we suspect it. The decks that seem to run it are the Big Red decks rather than the lower to the ground ones. The most popular difference between them seems to be the lack of Bomat Courier, Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, and Ahn-Crop Crasher replaced with Captain Lannery Storm, Pia Nalaar and maindeck Glorybringer.
As is, my only sorcery is Doomfall. Would you guys consider switching those out for Commit // Memory to maximize on the Gearhulk and instant plan?
One thing I'm concerned about is not maxing out on Fatal Push leaves you vulnerable to cards like Bomat Courier and Llanowar Elves on the draw, since they snowball your opponent's advantage before you can react. Doomfall seems reasonable instead of Commit // Memory, but in the occasions that you face the control mirror you may miss the back half of the card as you lose the deck-out war. Ipnu Rivulet can help advance the deck count against your opponent and find creatures for Liliana, Death's Majesty in other situations. I'm also not a huge fan of Supreme Will, since card selection and early counters are great for decks such as the UB Midrange lists and UW Approach, but not as great for late game control decks that win on T15 or later. I'd at least make one copy into Fatal Push and then the other into your fourth Hieroglyphic Illumination.
This is what I was thinking of trying out. Changed the sideboard a little to include more hay-makers instead of Fungal Infection and no more maindeck Seal Away to add another Torrential Gearhulk and a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. There is plenty of spot removal and the deck's plan to leverage Gearhulk as much as possible with instants like Vraska's Contempt allow us to catch up if something slips through. I'm wondering if the white splash is warranted, because UB has a nice tidy game plan with smooth mana. The problem is white can clean up troublesome permanents and has powerful sideboard options. Authority of the Consuls is one of the most popular sideboard cards in most decks that contain white, but I don't really like playing with it.
I was also thinking of Into the Roil when considering Blink of an Eye, but looking over the list there doesn't seem to be much space. My Commit // Memory slots are Settle the Wreckage. It really does look sweet though, and I might find room in the future for it when stuff rotates.
I'm actually wondering about a list that is primarily black and white with blue as the splash colour. Disallow is quite strong, but if it were replaced with single U mana permission spells like Countervailing Winds or more copies of Syncopate maybe we could better accommodate the powerful WW and BB spells available to us.
Respectfully, I don't think it's realistic to expect [Fungal Infection] to work very often. You may get a guy or two in the red matchup, but, again, you're turning on their removal (Abrade at least stays in for Gearhulk, Maybe Magma Spray for Scarab God), and there is a significant number of things this does not kill. It also kills very little in the other aggro matches, and is completely trumped by any Anthem effect. If you need red hate that bad, I'd still go for Contraband Kingpin over this, 10/10 times.
I understand what you're saying and agree that Fungal Infection isn't for every situation. Most of my stats are from MTG Goldfish. If you see somerecentleagues the card covers 30-50% of the ten most popular creatures across a few decks in some manner. It likely needs testing, but is probably worth consideration. I think also that taxing an opponent's removal is good if this card catches it; we may be removing a creature outright with one spell, and if they spend a second spell against the token then it becomes a clean 2-for-1. If a combined -1/-1 effect and blocker also draws removal with the creature surviving after the fact then it is still a 1-for-1. In a deck that aims to pull ahead on resources this may be enough. Again, it needs testing.
Seeing how people regard Censor feels correct. I wasn't sure how to evaluate it. If the opponent keeps their mana accelerator on board we are likely behind.
One sideboard card I forgot about potentially is Lyra Dawnbringer. If the red and other aggro match-ups are worrisome, then they will have a hard time dealing with this. The only line I could think of is a double damage based removal spell or nightmare scenario Glorybringer exert into Chandra, Torch of Defiance tick down. Ixalan's Binding also seems strong against it, but it is a spell that doesn't develop the aggro player's board. Seems worth considering, especially if we can keep permission to protect it.
How do people feel about Blink of an Eye? Feels weak to me, and many creatures have great ETB effects, but it answers most permanents for a turn and often draws us a card so that we may deal with the threat later. Also rare lines where you can save The Scarab God from exile and re-buying Torrential Gearhulk similar to Cryptic Command + Snapcaster Mage. With Consign // Oblivion seeing some play as a one-of, perhaps there is room?
I feel like the deck has some tension between tapping out and leaving up permission. Champion of Wits and Doomfall are fine cards, but it makes it much harder to represent Disallow, Syncopate, and Supreme Will. If you would like to field more creatures I think a tap-out midrange style such as the UB Midrange lists seeing tournament success would be better. The deck is very trim on permission with most of their reactive spells on CMC 4 to defend the threats they tapped out for, or get ahead on board with removal. Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is also a great card, sometimes winning the game on its own if an opponent stumbles or is removal light. There would be plenty of room in the mana base for 4 Aether Hub.
I like the reanimation theme and Memorial to Folly in a creature heavy build. I would prefer more Field of Ruin since the colour base is consistent to combat enemy utility lands. Ipnu Rivulet could be good to fill up your graveyard with threats or act as an out to a control stalemate. I also like Doomfall in a tap out build since it is so flexible.
Since it has been debated I will reiterate on Fungal Infection; I think it will be a great sideboard card against all the x/1s mentioned by Torrysan. Others could include:
It's just so tempo positive on many of our opponent's plays while also creating difficult combat situations and saving us some life. In game 2 one would expect most removal to come out against a control player, making the token the spell creates a nice speed bump without contest in most occasions. If the opponent would like to leave in Fatal Push against us to dump on the incidental creature, they are welcome.
What are people's thoughts on Censor in the coming format? Feels great that it can get anything early, especially when others are trying to advance their mana with Llanowar Elves. But would we just rather more removal instead of the cycling late?
No problem at all, and no need for apology. I find I talk too much, a little too formally on the Internet, so I just didn't want to bore you with repeating myself. I'm a mediocre Magic player at best, so just having my opinion held in high regard is flattering.
Went to FNM tonight and went 2-1, coming in third out of 12 people and just missing the promo Opt. I played against WBR Vehicles, Mono-Red, and Mono-Green. I made the most grievous play error I have made in a while, and I feel pretty dumb. My changes include taking out 2x Authority of the Consuls for 2x Knight of Malice in the sideboard, and switching a Settle the Wreckage with another copy of Vraska's Contempt.
My opponent was on a more aggressive take on Vehicles, with Toolcraft Exemplar and Veteran Motorist supplementing Heart of Kiran.
Game 1 sees my getting beat down by the above three cards plus Scrapheap Scrounger, until I Fatal Push the Heart and exile his Scrounger with a Cast Out. I take a turn off to draw some cards and stabilize with a Torrential Gearhulk and The Scarab God which his smaller creatures can't swing past.
Out
In
I wanted to see which would be better between Forsake the Worldly and Knight of Malice. I didn't end up drawing either, unfortunately. I didn't put in Negate because I saw small creatures, and wondered if he'd be on the aggro plan.
Game 2 I mulligan to find a better hand since I'm on the draw. He leads on Bomat Courier into a couple of Toolcrafts. My hand is still a bit slow with many lands and I cannot remove the second Toolcraft, dying to it buffed by Crook of Condemnation.
Game 3 we both keep 7 and I Push and Scatter his first threats, landing Lyra Dawnbringer on T5. He has no answer until I untap, so I Disallow his follow up plays and win the game from there with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria back up. 1-0.
I wasn't sure what my opponent was on, since I've seen him play URG Energy and UBG Midrange before. Turns out he was on a Red-Deck with Sunscorched Desert and no Goblin Chainwhirler. Ouch.
Game 1 is close, with me almost stabilizing against his double Earthshaker Khenra draw. Had I known his deck, I might've mulligan'd for a faster hand but I kept a decent 7 with low spot removal count. I Negate a Chandra, Torch of Defiance which gives me a bit of hope. After drawing some cards and discovering Blink of an Eye actually feels pretty good against Red I die to his creatures.
Out
In
I was kind of sad I didn't have my Authorities, but figured Knight could block well. Lyra and Gideon seem to be the aggro/my life total matters cards.
Game 2 was strange from my opponent's end. He leads on no creatures and all burn spells up to my T4. I go to 8 just from burn like Shock and Lightning Strike. He attempts to resolve Hazoret the Fervent twice, but I Essence Scatter one and Vraska's Contempt the other. I land Lyra, tapping out and he has a Soul-Scar Mage on board. I hope he has no burn, and he doesn't. I win the game with her. My opponent informs me that if he had a 5th land, he could have made my Lyra really small.
Game 3 I mulligan down to 5. My 7 wasn't that bad with a couple lands but with many expensive spells. I mulligan to 6 to find a better hand, since I'm on the draw but my 6 has no lands. I go to 5, keeping 1 land and some other spells. The game itself was actually quite close, but his rush of unanswered creatures put me too low to catch up. I played a Knight of Malice to block his creatures when I had 4 lands, having a Settle the Wreckage in hand, after having seen no burn spell and a Hazoret in my opponent's hand with a Sorcerous Spyglass, and died to a top-deck burn spell. 1-1.
The store had no A/C in our play area and I think I was a little addled by the heat.
Game 1 had my big mistake. my T2 is Search for Azcanta I get beat down by a Merfolk Branchwalker, dealing with the follow up Rhonas the Indomitable with a Scatter. He plays a Steel-Leaf Champion and I Settle both his creatures. He plays another Rhonas and a second Branchwalker and a Heart. I get greedy and Disallow his crew trigger, but he plays a Ripjaw Raptor to follow up. I take 9 from Rhonas and Heart and my Azcanta trigger reveals a Gearhulk. In my mind I am looking for Settle, so I bin the card and transform Azcanta. I realize my mistake after I do this, and keep a straight face while I activate Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin to try to find Settle, getting Contempt instead which isn't enough. Man, I'm bad.
Out
In
Game 2 goes more smoothly, but my hand was terrible on 7. I was greedy and kept 6 lands, Lyra. I draw into removal, resolve Lyra and take the game rather decisively.
Game 3 he leads on Memorial to Unity into Heart. I counter his T3 Rhonas play, and tap out for Gideon of the Trials. I plus on Heart for a few turns, draw some cards and then play Teferi. I plus leaving up Fatal Push, and he plays Ripjaw Raptor to crew. My Push is countered by a Blossoming Defense and Teferi goes down. Gideon ticks up on the dinosaur, Heart is crewed and sent at my face since Gideon is at something silly like 10. Another Push off of a Gearhulk meets another Defense and I take 6. The Scarab God comes down and Gideon ticks on Heart. His raptor attacks and I reanimate his Rhonas with The Scarab God to block. I just wanted an indestructible blocker, but that creature has deathtouch! Jesus. He then resolves two Carnage Tyrant but is much too far behind on board. My opponent reveals three copies of Crushing Canopy in hand, which had no targets. 2-1.
I gave Forsake the Worldly another try, because I knew one of my friends was going to play WB tokens. Still didn't seem to find room for it in the matches I had. I think I will trade it for my copies of Authority of the Consuls. I also think I need to re-jig the mana base to account for more copies of Vraska's Contempt over Settle the Wreckage.
You've already heard my thoughts on Hieroglyphic Illumination, so there's that. I think if you feel your early game doesn't need help to cantrip into what you need, and flipping Search for Azcanta quickly isn't a priority Glimmer of Genius is the more powerful card. I just dislike holding onto things I can't cast. I was also happy with Spyglass as noted above.
Seal Away was okay when I drew it, but notably did not do anything against Heart of Kiran and was not able to be cast by Torrential Gearhulk. I feel like I wanted another Cast Down, because at least I get to choose at what phase of turn the creature I want removed dies and can be recycled even if it still misses Heart of Kiran. I was also kind of sad that it denies fuel for The Scarab God.
I chose not to play a second Scarab God because I wanted a wider field of answers since I was going into an unknown meta. If you know the decks around you are short on Vraska's Contempt and play high impact ETB or haste creatures like Goblin Chainwhirler, or Champion of Wits, or Glorybringer then a 2nd God seems good. If your meta is full of exiling removal backed with fast non-creature threats, like WB Vehicles, or is simply too fast for a 5/5 to stabilize the board, like Mono-Green, then maybe only play one copy. The more creature dense mid-range decks around you, the better your God becomes. Notably good in a control match-up if you can resolve it so you may use your Gearhulks again.
Commit // Memory was passable as a generic answer to cards on the board or stack. I suppose its flexibility is its strength, but I never felt happy casting it. Notably deals with Carnage Tyrant and Nezahal, Primal Tide on the stack for a turn or two, but I didn't see either of those cards against me. Spicy target for Gearhulk to cast the Aftermath side, but I never resolved that either.
Blink of an Eye felt really good, buying time against problem permanents so that you may counter them later and allowing me to recycle some ETB effects. Kicking to draw a card was great. Being able to deal with almost anything at instant speed for potentially 2 mana, but usually 4, was nice. I almost felt like I was casting Remand some turns. I feel like I want another, but the card seems more suitable as a 1-of. You can only bounce stuff so many times, but maybe I am wrong since it draws you a card. Notable that you may pay the kicker cost if Gearhulk is casting it.
@Simto: going 0-3 might actually have lots to consider and report! It's the best time to see what went wrong, if certain cards were bad against particular match ups, or to see if things could be improved with different lines of play. What I usually ask myself is "what card would have won me the game/pulled me ahead/kept me from losing" and then I think about why those cards weren't there. Always play to your outs. Even if you're at 1 life the game is still on if you're intent on fighting. That being said, not every game of magic is winnable even if you play perfect. Sometimes your opponent just crushes you, like in my Round 4 of the PPTQ (and my play was far from perfect).
So what went wrong? Mana troubles/flooding? Answers didn't line up well? Opponent's threats/disruption too strong? All this stuff helps for improving the deck. The only thing that should burn is your opponent's face after you embarrass them with 7 cards in hand to their none next time.
EDIT: I like to talk too much.
Thanks for sharing. Always good to hear about people getting sober.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury and Doomfall are nice options. The way that I handled Knight of Grace at the PPTQ was by playing larger creatures than it in Nezahal, Primal Tide and Torrential Gearhulk. If they bring in more threats, then you could also. Spell Pierce or Censor could also be efficient if they switch to tapping out early. Also consider Arguel's Blood Fast to out-card them.
Thank you, and I am also wondering about having 27 lands. It would be nice to keep all 8 cycling lands in that build, as it helps mitigate mana flooding. There were some builds I saw playing only 6 cycling lands, but still 27 so that could also be correct.
To comment on boarding out Search for Azcanta I just felt that, while card filtering would be valuable, it would be punishing on the draw against particularly Mono-Red. The tempo loss from a resolved Pia Nalaar, or worse a double spell, is what I was worried about so I kept my mana open on those turns. Our threats are greater than theirs so it's just about surviving, because once their hand is empty or full of lands we can win any way we want. That was my plan in the Red matches, but more valuable is just having a plan. If a strategy works for you, like Moment of Craving to catch up, just go with it.
Pull from Tomorrow is a shadow of one of my favourite cards Sphinx's Revelation. I like the idea of casting a huge Pull/Rev and demonstrate to my opponent that I have it all. My issue is it feels as if the spell goes against my deck's overall strategy. It doesn't fix my weaknesses early game and lends strength to a late game I already have. It's like having a redundant threat in my hand; if I could cast Pull x=4-7 then I could likely win the game with my other threats. If I am forced to cast Pull x=1-2 and can't stabilize, then I have likely lost. Where I did like Pull was in a cycling based Drake Haven deck I played where it added to the threat count. UW plays the spell because their answers are highly efficient, and threat count is light, but mana base is solid so their early game has fewer weaknesses. I want to love Pull from Tomorrow to death, but every time I draw the spell it feels counter-intuitive or not strong enough in my preference for this control build.
Thanks! Happy that my list is helping. I think there are many weak spots to build off of, even though I managed to win. I am thinking of changing the mana base a bit to include more basics and tilt the colour balance toward black, but still enough that I can cast Settle the Wreckage and Lyra Dawnbringer by Turn 5 or 6. The issue may be that I could lose pressure by not being able to represent Settle, which seemed to have my opponents on guard or attack conservatively every time I had WW. What changes are you thinking?
I like the Grixis list above with the concern for Hour of Devastation not being able to clear out Karn, Scion of Urza after a plus on curve. Sorcery speed wraths also miss on haste creatures, vehicles, and incremental cards like History of Benalia. I also wonder if some copies of Abrade are worth it to help with artifacts, and if main deck Negate could be good since the deck has many answers for creatures.
I am mistaken, there is 1 Cast Down and 2 Cast Out. I will fix it in the list.
Thank you! Against aggro it seemed I just had the right amount of interaction to get to my big spells later in the game. With the winnings I got I purchased another copy of Teferi, Hero of Dominaria which I would recommend putting into the deck. Card is gas, if you have them. I was working off budget concerns for this tournament.
Thanks! You're right, I was mostly siding Fumigate out for other cards. A sorcery speed wrath isn't great against haste threats or vehicles. I have now replaced it with a second Teferi. I also wonder if 1 copy of Settle the Wreckage could be another Vraska's Contempt. 2 Field of Ruin felt okay, since my main concern with the mana base was lands coming in tapped. I didn't often have mana troubles getting colours, but in my semi-finals match against Mono-Red my lands were glacial coming in. If he kept a better hand I might've lost quickly.
I also was happy with the amount of draw power in the deck, more so leaning on Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin or Teferi for more cards. Illuminations turn on Azcanta quickly, and I do prefer the flexibility of cycling over the power of Glimmer of Genius. Smoothing my early draws is more important to me than getting ahead, since my big spells can do that for me. A common line of play I had was to cycle my draw spell on 3 or 5 lands, find my next land, interact with a 2 or 4 mana spell, then say go on 6 lands having the choice of interaction or drawing with Gearhulk. With how much pressure my opponents had, excluding UW control, I didn't really have time to cast an Inspiration on turn 4.
That being said, I'm sure the draw suite comes down to play/deck style and preference. I knew my mana base was weak and finding lands was key so I liked the cycling. Gearhulk targets were important in my list, so obviously Pull from Tomorrow was out of the running.
This was the list I worked with:
4 Irrigated Farmland
4 Fetid Pools
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Drowned Catacomb
2 Field of Ruin
2 Plains
2 Island
1 Swamp
Non-Land Permanents (8)
2 Search for Azcanta
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1 The Scarab God
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Fatal Push
2 Syncopate
1 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
1 Seal Away
1 Cast Down
1 Blink of an Eye
3 Disallow
2 Vraska's Contempt
2 Cast Out
1 Commit // Memory
3 Settle the Wreckage
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Fumigate
2 Authority of the Consuls
3 Duress
2 Negate
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
1 Doomfall
2 Forsake the Worldly
1 Gideon of the Trials
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
The meta seemed heavily skewed to either UW control or RB vehicles, with some Mono-Red. My matches were 3 against RB vehicles, 2 Mono-Red, 1 GB constrictor, and 1 UW control.
My overall record was 6-1-1, with one ID into Top 8.
My opponent was very friendly, but played tight on a more mid-range version of vehicles.
Game 1 was a careful exchange of resources, with my opponent playing around Settle the Wreckage as soon as I presented 4 mana with double white. The problem with this was I was able to pick off his creatures and other threats one by one slowly. Interesting was his maindeck copy of The Scorpion God, which received a Vraska's Contempt. Fatal Push was very good against Heart of Kiran, and I was able to take the game with The Scarab God getting Goblin Chainwhirler to clear out a Thopter token from Pia Nalaar that was pressuring my life total and responding to a Scrapheap Scrounger activation with one from the Scarab God.
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I like to cut 1 Syncopate on the draw, and take out some inefficient spells for strong threats and cheap answers. I also don't like Fumigate against vehicles.
Game 2 was very good to my opponent on the play, he curved out Scrounger into Chainwhirler and had a Glorybringer to seal the deal. I struggled on lands and did not have enough interaction at the correct times.
Game 3 Sorcerous Spyglass on Heart of Kiran is insane, allowing me perfect information early and blanking his T2 threat. I felt in control after Syncopate catches a Chandra on curve. Torrential Gearhulk and Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin keep me ahead and I win hitting for 5 every turn after spending all three Negate to protect my threat. 1-0
I was a little confused with my seating, as my brother was also playing the event and I went to the wrong opponent. After getting seated I won the die roll.
Game 1 I played tapped land, and he led with a Bomat Courier. I really thought I was in the weeds after he got a few cards under it, with a few other haste threats like Ahn-Crop Crasher and Earthshaker Khenra, but he overextended into a Settle the Wreckage and didn't draw well after his Bomat activation. Gearhulk casting the Settle again finishes the game in short order.
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The thought here is that he'll board into planeswalkers, but I don't want to over board with all my Negates. Lyra is a good threat if unanswered, and Authority is to slow them down and reduce haste pressure. Blink is bad since their creatures have haste without Authority on the field.
Game 2 he has a little bit of a slow start after his turn one Bomat Courier, missing his 2 drop. I land a turn two Authority of the Consuls, which slows him further. Fatal push got rid of Courier, but I still had to contend with two creatures in Soul-Scar Mage and Kari Zev, Skyship Raider. I play Lyra Dawnbringer and halt his aggression entirely while my life total is 7. He plays another creature and we take turns passing until I draw a Contempt, so I attack and pick off a creature on his attack. He casts Abade targeting Lyra, and I let it resolve not remembering Soul-Scar Mage gives her 3 -1/-1 counters. It is a slow grind now until I eventually win. Even a 2/2 flying lifelink creature is crazy against aggro strategies. 2-0
Interesting match, just stock RB vehicles. In Game 2 there's a weird rules thing that cost my opponent the game.
Game 1 felt similar to the first round, opponent playing around Settle the Wreckage but leaning on Heart of Kiran for a clock. Fatal Push feels good. I let Goblin Chainwhirlers resolve and handle them with removal, allowing my counter-magic to get the Chandras and Pias. I recall Sorcerous Spyglass resolving, revealing a hand with Abrade in it. I call Bomat Courier, since he had one on the field, he Abrades it and cracks the Courier. He gets lands, I get Scarab God, the game ends.
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Same as above. I wondered if Duress would be good, but I didn't want dead draws later on and it might miss too often.
Game 2 was actually going to be my loss provided my opponent played correctly. Early game has an Arguel's Blood Fast for my opponent, but no real black lands so he has to take 3 off a Spire of Industry to draw any cards. He draws multiple copies of threats I answered after taking some damage and two Rekindling Phoenix and I stabilize, sort of, with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria tucking one. I then Doomfall the remaining copy in his hand and give myself some time. I get to plus once with him, counter his Phoenix on the way down but he sneaks in a Soul-Scar Mage. I'm currently at 2. Opponent casts Chandra, Torch of Defiance, which I counter with a Negate. He doesn't say anything about the prowess trigger, and he's not obligated to as it doesn't affect the board state, so I prepare to scoop it up since I have no answer. He attacks Teferi (????) and when I ask how much damage he says 1. I wasn't sure if I should have called a judge but the game proceeds as he passes priority. I Push the Mage after my draw step. Teferi remains and I am able to draw into Gideon of the Trials on the same turn and emblem so I am not dead to Chandra or any random burn. A Chainwhirler resolves putting me to 1 life now, and I Blink of an Eye it allowing me to attack for lethal with Gideon since he is low from Blood Fast. 3-0
This was a weird one, since we were both 3-0 we could have drawn our next two rounds and then got into Top 8. He insisted on playing because it was "too risky", even though the point math worked out.
Game 1 I have a slow hand and I am worried about Blossoming Defense so I take damage and then remove the creatures at end of turn. Turns out he wasn't playing any, that I saw at least, but two well timed Vraska's Contempt take down my defending Scarab God and Gearhulk find me dead to a large Jadelight Ranger pumped by Winding Constrictor.
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Wasn't sure what to board in, so I went bare minimum on the midrange package. I felt favoured in the match up even though I lost, so I didn't want to change too much.
Game 2 I don't keep my seven, even though it had a bunch of lands with an Illumination and a Contempt. I figure I can do better with Fatal Pushes in my opener, but my six is bad. I keep scrying a land to the top, since I have an out with Settle in hand. Unfortunately it's a little too late as I miss a land drop and my fourth land comes in tapped, allowing him to draw the Duress necessary to clear the way for lethal. 3-1
Thank god these rounds were not timed, as my opponent and I played a long Game 1. Apparently the judge already knew the type of deck my opponent was playing and just sort of rolled his eyes when we got matched up.
Game 1 was very long, as I said, with a lot of interesting interactions. Most of the main fights were picked over my Search for Azcanta instead of his, since I had a Field of Ruin and he did not, and my Sorcerous Spyglass which called Teferi. My opponent was unhappy about not playing his Teferi's since he was on the "No-Win-Con" version of the deck. There was a lot of bouncing of permanents, fights over my creatures, and a Commit//Memory resolved aftermath. I took too long to be the aggressor, trying to figure out a way to fight through his counter magic so I could get him to counter my Gearhulks and then resolve Scarab God to reanimate them. However, I got my own Memory countered and milled out first as I had less mainboard counters than he did. My mistake here was milling myself with my second copy of Search for Azcanta when I saw dead removal spells, so I decked first.
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Took out most of my spot removal and all my wraths. The no-win-con versions don't play that many creatures post-board, so I was not concerned. I wanted to have discard, obviously, and I have found success with Nezahal, Primal Tide. Gideon was to make sure I didn't die to mill out.
Game 2 I kept a decent hand with a turn 2 Blood Fast. He plays Knight of Grace. I was now concerned since my removal in hand is only Vraska's Contempt. He attacks me a couple times and ends up targeting my Blood Fast with Invoke the Divine, and I respond by drawing a card. I feel like he should have left the enchantment there for the extra damage. I draw Nezahal and play it on turn 7, with him stuck on 4 lands, checking his knight. He attempts to remove it and I pitch three cards to make sure it's safe. Game was elementary from there.
I actually side back in Seal Away and present 61 cards.
Game 3 finishes rather quickly as I get to 6 lands, cast a Gearhulk end step as bait for counter magic, then resolve Teferi afterwards on my turn. I tick to 8 to threaten ultimate and he scoops after I counter his Cast Out. Advance to Semi-Finals.
My opponent went from friendly to salty as I won in short order. He got to play Game 1.
Game 1 wasn't really close as I just plodded through my game plan of countering or removing his creatures. I punished his turn 3 Goblin Chainwhirler with Syncopate. Hazoret the Fervent went on the stack 2 times, 1 being countered with Syncopate and the second resolving but eating a Contempt. Most of his damage was from a Soul-Scar Mage that attacked for 1 for 6 turns. I land a Scarab God and start taking over his graveyard until he concedes.
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Game 2 was also not close and one-sided in my favour. I keep a slow hand land wise, having many check-lands but no actual land types in hand. I can, however, produce black by turn 2 and had 2 Fatal Push in hand. Opponent leads on Soul-Scar Mage, which gets Pushed. He plays another, but no second land. I draw a 3rd Push, and lay into the creatures he plays. After he gets 2 lands for a Kari Zev, I Gearhulk for a Push and Disallow a follow-up threat in which he concedes. Advance to Finals.
The final match was against the same opponent as Round 3. I declared I was not interested in the RPTQ invite, since I am busy with work. He offered to split the credit in my favour and take the invite, but the judge was eyeing us so we just decided to play it out. Since I took the match anyway, we decided on the same outcome.
Game 1 was a scary one, since he played a turn 1 Bomat Courier and shoved about 6 cards under it until I responded with a Fumigate to clear his board. Apparently he put 5 lands into his hand. With him out of gas I took over the game with Teferi.
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I was considering siding in Forsake the Worldly since Blood Fast was quite good, but I was having trouble cutting cards and the sideboard plan worked out last time so I stuck with it.
Game 2 was a tense match, with my life total dropping to 1 (again) by the end of the game. I don't remember the specifics but I was getting hit by Scrapheap Scrounger for a while until I dealt with it casting Settle, having named it earlier with a Spyglass. In hindsight I could have just named Chandra, Torch of Defiance and saved myself some trouble. Somewhere in here I have a Teferi to tuck a creature and Negate a The Eldest Reborn and Push something and Teferi gets dead by a creature. A Chandra resolved afterwards, adding mana to double-spell into a Pia Nalaar. I pushed the token end of turn. I had a Scarab God on board, and he had Pia and a Phoenix to block. I attack Chandra, forcing him to choose between giving me creatures to make copies of with Scarab God or losing Chandra. He chooses to lose Chandra and cracks back while I'm out of blockers and casts a second Phoenix. I Field of Ruin one of his lands so I can revolt Push one Phoenix and reanimate it. He attacks in the air, and I block immediately. Eventually The Scarab God overwhelms him and I win the match at 1 life. 1st Place finish!
Overall the deck performed really well and I felt comfortable with the match ups. I was happy to not see WB Vehicles, as I was dreading the match up. Red based decks seem fine as long as the play is tight, and black cards such as Fatal Push, The Scarab God, and Vraska's Contempt really carried their weight. Cast Down was a good one-of, and I think I'd like the Seal Away be another copy. I also wasn't terribly impressed with Commit // Memory and I wonder if I want a fourth Disallow or a second Blink of an Eye. Forsake the Worldly seemed a little redundant, but maybe I should have brought it in more often. Sorcerous Spyglass was quite good in almost every situation, locking down hard to deal with permanents and getting hand information in game 1. I also wonder if Gideon of the Trials should go to the main, since he came in almost every game.
My only loss felt as though the deck was too slow, but it could be due to bad draws and poor mana base. The mana base seems kinda bad to be honest, with many tapped lands and too many check lands. I saw some lists online that essentially just splashed Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in their UB plan for more solid mana. I just like wraths, as they add a 2-or-more-for-1 dimension I like in my control decks. Maybe there's a way to make it really work, but I doubt it.
Glad to have performed for you guys! It's nice to report a resounding win with our deck.
EDIT: Game 2 of the Finals went a bit differently than I remember, according to my brother. I had Search for Azcanta early, getting pressured by the Scrounger which I had called with Spyglass. I had a Contempt in hand, but no double black, an example of my poor mana base. I actually milled another copy of Contempt to find my colours, which I did and after Contempting the Scrounger I had a Gearhulk to flash the spell back on another card. My Spyglass had seen an Hour of Glory in my opponent's hand, which he used on Gearhulk allowing me to resolve my The Scarab God to take over the game as described. I did Negate The Eldest Reborn to protect my God as well, having Fatal Push up as well in order to clear the way for the Chandra play.
When you brought in Karn did you have trouble protecting him? Or was the high loyalty enough? Also why Moment of Craving instead of Seal Away? Seems decent against the likes of Steel Leaf Champion and other creatures above 2 toughness. Against Mono-Green was Llanowar Elves a concern without Fatal Push?
I am unsure myself, but when the presiding judge explained it the structure made sense. Something to do with brackets being different between 9-12 players and 13-16 players.
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
4 Irrigated Farmland
2 Plains
2 Island
1 Swamp
2 Field of Ruin
Non-land Permanents (10)
2 Search for Azcanta
2 Cast Out
1 The Scarab God
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
3 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Fatal Push
1 Essence Scatter
4 Seal Away
1 Syncopate
3 Disallow
1 Cancel
1 Doomfall
1 Commit // Memory
2 Vraska's Contempt
3 Settle the Wreckage
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Fumigate
3 Duress
1 Profane Procession
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
2 Negate
1 Contraband Kingpin
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Arguel's Bloodfast
1 Forsake the Worldly
2 Fatal Push
2 Authority of the Consuls
My local store had sold out of all the control staples a week previous, so I meta-gamed a little to include more disruption mainboard and less Fatal Push. Additionally I was not able to assemble all of my cards in time for the event so some of the 75 was incomplete, including fewer Lyra Dawnbringer, and substitutions for the forth Disallow and Settle the Wreckage.
I was familiar with this player having tested with him, but he brought control instead of aggro like he tested with before. Control mirrors are my favourite games and I'm pretty experienced with them, so I often feel favoured. Game 1 was pretty back and forth casting draw spells that neither player countered, discarding Settle the Wreckage and Fumigate to hand size and keeping Teferi, Hero of Dominaria off the board. Eventually he casts Approach of the Second Sun and tapped out, allowing me to resolve Teferi and take over the game with card and mana advantage and, in time, his ultimate. After cutting his blue sources off we went to game 2.
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Game 2 I keep two lands with some cycling cards, but stumble on mana while he plays land each turn and resolves Teferi. Card is fairly hard to beat if it sticks since post-board Negate is there to protect it at their end step. He then plays Nezahal, Primal Tide on T7 and after dealing with my slower T9 blue dinosaur I concede.
Game 3 I disrupt him early with discard and force through a Teferi. I wait until there is no threat of Commit // Memory, which I'm not even sure he registered, and play Nezahal. He fights it with removal backed with counters, causing me to counter back and discard 6 cards. However Teferi activations and Nezahal triggers drew enough for me to win that fight and end the game in swift order. I was expecting Arguel's Bloodfast to score me a huge advantage but it never showed up. 1-0.
I also knew this player as he was a spike that played in my home town, and he had traveled to play at my new locale. I knew I had to play tight to win. Game 1 was a drawn out match in which I almost stabilized, however Heart of Kiran and History of Benalia were difficult for me to deal with even as I got rid of most of the other threats. I was going to lean on Settle the Wreckage as an out while I spent my removal 1-for-1 but it never came.
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In retrospect, I feel as if I should have sided in Duress and boarded out some number of Seal Away. I was not ready for the match though, as he transformed into a much more midrange/control deck than I expected with many planeswalkers.
Game 2 I feel like I keep a reasonable hand with some creature removal and counters. T2 I Syncopate a Scrapheap Scrounger and follow T3 Negate for History of Benalia. T4 however Karn, Scion of Urza lands with no response from my side. He takes over the game slowly and I lose to an incredible amount of
cardKarn advantage. After Liliana, Death's Majesty flips a Lyra into the graveyard and he plays two vehicles in one turn I'm toast. My mistake here is that I should have saved my Syncopate as I had other ways to deal with the threat in my hand and the rest of the game my life total was quite high until I definitively lost. 1-1.Another local player I knew, and we had sat beside each other in the last round so we knew what we were in store for. Game 1 lasts far too long and was in his favour for a while, with active Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, until I forced his counterspells with Torrential Gearhulk, slip in a Search for Azcanta and transform after clearing a Field of Ruin he had tapped for mana and have a Teferi of my own. He runs of out permission and I get to do what I want with The Scarab God accessing both graveyards for Gearhulks. Strangely enough I had seen a Glimmer of Genius in his hand early in the game with a Doomfall which he stubbornly held on to when I had mana up. I never usually counter my opponent's draw spells in a control mirror unless it draws 4 cards or more, but I suppose it was to my benefit.
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I experiment here by going down all my spot removal and bringing an extra threat in Lyra.
Game 2 is a pretty brutal spanking, as I struggle to find my third and forth land after cycling 4 cards and getting my Azcanta exiled. I Duress him a couple times a bit jokingly, but he runs well even after discard. He resolves Teferi and a Gearhulk and I concede as we have 15 minutes left in the round.
Game 3 we try to play as quick as possible, but he stumbles on one land drop behind remaining at 5 lands while on my 7 lands I play Nezahal. He plays Gideon of the Trials and Sorcerous Spyglass to check it for multiple turns until I play Teferi. My mistake here was leaving Gideon on the battlefield and instead drawing cards. Time is called and I Gearhulk on his end step to draw more cards, thinking I could get an answer for Gideon. I do in Vraska's Contempt, but at Turn 5 I can only get him down to 1 life. He graciously concedes, as I have board advantage. 2-1.
Finally a player I don't know personally, but I had seen him dismantle people's slower draws as he always had time to get up and go for a smoke. He leads with Siren Stormtamer after winning the die roll, and then proceeds to chuck a few burn spells and small creatures at me while I stare at my removal spells wondering what went wrong. I do remove some of his creatures, but the Siren keeps the important ones alive and I receive one too many Wizard's Lightning to the dome with no permission or sweepers.
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My thoughts here are to take out the slower cards and put in life gain with faster interaction. Lyra is also a house against red decks in theory. Unfortunately I never saw her. I should have also considered Duress as an option, since his list seemed burn heavy and I could grab his post-board permission.
Game 2 I mulligan so that I can find Authority of the Consuls, which I do get in my hand of 6. I play a tapped land T1 hoping he has no play, which is the case. An ideal start and I feel as though I can win. It gains me at least 8 life while protecting me from haste creatures. I test if he has counterspells on T4 with a draw spell to which he responds with Opt. I put him on not having it, but still play around Spell Pierce and cast Teferi T5 to bait. It actually resolves and I bounce a Ghitu Lavarunner who had a counter on it from Metallic Mimic, fearing the extra damage and assuming he'd ignore my planeswalker. He targets it with Shock end of turn and attacks me down. Settle the Wreckage on T6 gets 3 creatures. He responds with 9 points of burn while his wizards are still on the field. We both don't have much after that, with me going down to 1 life after removing his follow up creature.
This is the point where I mess up. He plays Riddleform with a card in hand, passes. I also draw, land, pass. I have a Vraska's Contempt in hand, so I feel comfortable. He draws and slams Siren Stormtamer and I respond with cycling Hieroglyphic Illumination to find an answer, as I am very dead to that creature. I find Seal Away, let the creature resolve since it comes in tapped, and snap it off. I then allow him to cast Warlord's Fury so he can trigger the Riddleform, stop him after the trigger resolves but before his spell and go to tap mana for Contempt. I look down, realizing I have only 1 black source, having tapped my other one in for Seal Away. I feel terrible, but try not to look concerned as I allow him to proceed with his turn. He attacks me and I die. Very disappointed with myself, as I might have stabilized from there with Contempt putting me at 4 life to still fade at least one more burn spell. I also missed an Authority trigger earlier in the game to gain 1 life, but it was irrelevant at the end. Salt. 2-2.
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Essentially the control board, complete with Nezahal since I will still draw cards from his non-creature spells and blank removal. More Seal Away stay in because it gets Gideon, but Scarab God comes out because he was essentially creatureless.
Overall I feel the deck had legs and was fun to play with many options to answer most opponent's game plans, but my poor play and inexperience with the newer format led to losses that could have been prevented, such as mis-tapping my mana in Round 4.
The 75 was not optimal, and I think knowing where the deck's weaknesses lie I would change the sideboard to accommodate. I did not board in Profane Procession in a single game and will likely find room for another Forsake the Worldly to combat WB Vehicles. Fatal Push will go back in the mainboard and perhaps I will have a Negate instead of an Essence Scatter.
More answers to things such as Karn, Scion of Urza, are likely necessary since I kept losing to it. I am unsure if putting Karn in the deck is the way forward, as T4 is this deck's catch up turn with Settle the Wreckage, Vraska's Contempt, and Hieroglyphic Illumination. A midrange or superfriends build that can protect the walkers more reliably would probably fit better.
That being said I have been thinking about a tap-out style control deck that includes enchantment removal such as Seal Away, Ixalan's Binding, and an ascend payoff in Secrets of the Golden City. Obviously your planeswalkers are your card advantage, but Teferi, Hero of Dominaria untapping two lands in the later game does a good impression of Ancestral Recall when you could cast your draw spell.
There was a single list back in January that focused on tap-out Esper control with very little permission and I wonder if there are aspects that could be drawn upon here. It obviously lacks in power, but we could make up for that with Dominaria.
That being said the list performed very well as Esper, though the mana woes were real. 26 lands is likely where we want to be, and perhaps some attention paid to the colour fixing as well if this list is a real shell going forward.
Definitely something I didn't touch on. I was more assuming a turn progression like T3 > T4 > T5 when curving out since that is a more natural way to look at the deck and its mana usage. It becomes pretty interesting what kind of plays you can make in the mid to late game with Raff, and it could lead to some crushing lines.
I like playing at instant speed, but I'm concerned with how fragile the card is. Trading 4 mana at instant speed for 2 mana in Abrade, Lightning Strike, or worse like revolt Fatal Push discourages me from playing it. That being said I am biased to playing as few creatures as possible when deck-building. The midrange style deck likely can overload its opponents removal beforehand and remain tempo positive for the rest of the game.
I would be interested in playing the control shell presented earlier but without Ixalan's Binding in the main and instead more Hieroglyphic Illumination or perhaps some copies of Syncopate. I'm not high on Lyra Dawnbringer mainboard, since a lot of decks will actually have removal to point at her such as Struggle // Survive out of RG Monsters or Vraska's Contempt out of the mirror. Sideboard use will likely prove effective and she can be replaced with more Torrential Gearhulk or Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. I've already talked about how I feel about Supreme Will, but maybe a singleton is justified.
Control list can be found here.
Midrange list can be found here.
The control and midrange lists include copies of Lyra Dawnbringer in the main, notably along side The Scarab God. For the control version it tends to lean toward white, having more copies of Settle the Wreckage as opposed to Vraska's Contempt while maxing out at 4 Seal Away.
The midrange version includes Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage as a proactive play while they leave 4 mana up, and another tap-out option in History of Benalia.
After looking at the mana bases they seem terribly inconsistent, but they seem to have performed well in the first leagues.
That's a piece of technology if I've seen one. Looks like it's a 1-of in the sideboard to deal with The Scarab God, so I'd be pleased to overload their answers with another threat. That being said it's worth noting, but I'd much rather the red deck taps out for this than Chandra, Torch of Defiance. I guess we should look for a window where we can keep up permission if we suspect it. The decks that seem to run it are the Big Red decks rather than the lower to the ground ones. The most popular difference between them seems to be the lack of Bomat Courier, Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, and Ahn-Crop Crasher replaced with Captain Lannery Storm, Pia Nalaar and maindeck Glorybringer.
One thing I'm concerned about is not maxing out on Fatal Push leaves you vulnerable to cards like Bomat Courier and Llanowar Elves on the draw, since they snowball your opponent's advantage before you can react. Doomfall seems reasonable instead of Commit // Memory, but in the occasions that you face the control mirror you may miss the back half of the card as you lose the deck-out war. Ipnu Rivulet can help advance the deck count against your opponent and find creatures for Liliana, Death's Majesty in other situations. I'm also not a huge fan of Supreme Will, since card selection and early counters are great for decks such as the UB Midrange lists and UW Approach, but not as great for late game control decks that win on T15 or later. I'd at least make one copy into Fatal Push and then the other into your fourth Hieroglyphic Illumination.
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
4 Irrigated Farmland
4 Concealed Courtyard
2 Island
Non-land Permanents (10)
2 Search for Azcanta
2 The Scarab God
2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
4 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Fatal Push
3 Essence Scatter
2 Cast Down
3 Disallow
2 Syncopate
4 Vraska's Contempt
2 Settle the Wreckage
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
2 Duress
2 Fumigate
1 Profane Procession
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
2 Negate
2 Contraband Kingpin
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2 Ixalan's Binding
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
This is what I was thinking of trying out. Changed the sideboard a little to include more hay-makers instead of Fungal Infection and no more maindeck Seal Away to add another Torrential Gearhulk and a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. There is plenty of spot removal and the deck's plan to leverage Gearhulk as much as possible with instants like Vraska's Contempt allow us to catch up if something slips through. I'm wondering if the white splash is warranted, because UB has a nice tidy game plan with smooth mana. The problem is white can clean up troublesome permanents and has powerful sideboard options. Authority of the Consuls is one of the most popular sideboard cards in most decks that contain white, but I don't really like playing with it.
I was also thinking of Into the Roil when considering Blink of an Eye, but looking over the list there doesn't seem to be much space. My Commit // Memory slots are Settle the Wreckage. It really does look sweet though, and I might find room in the future for it when stuff rotates.
I'm actually wondering about a list that is primarily black and white with blue as the splash colour. Disallow is quite strong, but if it were replaced with single U mana permission spells like Countervailing Winds or more copies of Syncopate maybe we could better accommodate the powerful WW and BB spells available to us.
I understand what you're saying and agree that Fungal Infection isn't for every situation. Most of my stats are from MTG Goldfish. If you see some recent leagues the card covers 30-50% of the ten most popular creatures across a few decks in some manner. It likely needs testing, but is probably worth consideration. I think also that taxing an opponent's removal is good if this card catches it; we may be removing a creature outright with one spell, and if they spend a second spell against the token then it becomes a clean 2-for-1. If a combined -1/-1 effect and blocker also draws removal with the creature surviving after the fact then it is still a 1-for-1. In a deck that aims to pull ahead on resources this may be enough. Again, it needs testing.
Seeing how people regard Censor feels correct. I wasn't sure how to evaluate it. If the opponent keeps their mana accelerator on board we are likely behind.
One sideboard card I forgot about potentially is Lyra Dawnbringer. If the red and other aggro match-ups are worrisome, then they will have a hard time dealing with this. The only line I could think of is a double damage based removal spell or nightmare scenario Glorybringer exert into Chandra, Torch of Defiance tick down. Ixalan's Binding also seems strong against it, but it is a spell that doesn't develop the aggro player's board. Seems worth considering, especially if we can keep permission to protect it.
How do people feel about Blink of an Eye? Feels weak to me, and many creatures have great ETB effects, but it answers most permanents for a turn and often draws us a card so that we may deal with the threat later. Also rare lines where you can save The Scarab God from exile and re-buying Torrential Gearhulk similar to Cryptic Command + Snapcaster Mage. With Consign // Oblivion seeing some play as a one-of, perhaps there is room?
I feel like the deck has some tension between tapping out and leaving up permission. Champion of Wits and Doomfall are fine cards, but it makes it much harder to represent Disallow, Syncopate, and Supreme Will. If you would like to field more creatures I think a tap-out midrange style such as the UB Midrange lists seeing tournament success would be better. The deck is very trim on permission with most of their reactive spells on CMC 4 to defend the threats they tapped out for, or get ahead on board with removal. Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is also a great card, sometimes winning the game on its own if an opponent stumbles or is removal light. There would be plenty of room in the mana base for 4 Aether Hub.
I like the reanimation theme and Memorial to Folly in a creature heavy build. I would prefer more Field of Ruin since the colour base is consistent to combat enemy utility lands. Ipnu Rivulet could be good to fill up your graveyard with threats or act as an out to a control stalemate. I also like Doomfall in a tap out build since it is so flexible.
Since it has been debated I will reiterate on Fungal Infection; I think it will be a great sideboard card against all the x/1s mentioned by Torrysan. Others could include:
It's just so tempo positive on many of our opponent's plays while also creating difficult combat situations and saving us some life. In game 2 one would expect most removal to come out against a control player, making the token the spell creates a nice speed bump without contest in most occasions. If the opponent would like to leave in Fatal Push against us to dump on the incidental creature, they are welcome.
What are people's thoughts on Censor in the coming format? Feels great that it can get anything early, especially when others are trying to advance their mana with Llanowar Elves. But would we just rather more removal instead of the cycling late?