I'm interested in what people cut in the energy matchup. I've typically been taking out 1 Approach and then some combination of Censors and Supreme Wills and bringing in Caracals, Gearhulks, and Negates.
I've been thinking of boarding out Settle the Wreckage vs energy, though, since they seem to have a lot of mana sinks and it always feels bad to ramp them.
Does anyone else think Deflecting Palm could be run maindeck in this deck? It seems great in a ton of matchups: Scapeshift, Tron, Storm, Infect, Bogles, Ad Nauseam, Grishoalbrand. And even in a matchup like Burn or Jund it's still good for a 3 or 4 point life swing, which seems fine.
Sideboarding: Affinity
+4 Stony Silence, +2 Izzet Staticaster, +2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Cryptic Command, -1 Vendillion Clique, -2 Snapcaster Mage, -3 Mana Leak
Mana Leak can be pretty bad since the games go long, and I'd rather just draw actual removal instead of Snapcaster or Cryptic Command.
Tron
+4 Crumble to Dust, +2 Stony Silence, +1 Shadow of Doubt, -4 Wall of Omens, -3 Electrolyze
Wall is pretty irrelevant, and bolt effects don't do much to help you win. Not sure if I should just bring in all the Stony Silences.
Zoo
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Cryptic Command
Cryptic is kind of slow, would rather just wrath.
Eldrazi
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Bolt effects are pretty bad here, I think Electrolyze is the worst one
Burn
+2 Dispel, -2 Cryptic Command
Cryptic is just too expensive for this matchup.
Infect
+ 2 Dispel, +2 Izzet Staticaster, -4 Wall of Omens
Wall only blocks 4 out of 12 infect creatures.
Abzan Company
+2 Supreme Verdict, +2 Izzet Staticaster, -2 Spell Snare, -2 Mana Leak
Snare doesn't have many targets, Leak is bad against all their ramp
Merfolk
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Not a lot of x/1s for Electrolyze to hit
Jund
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Again, not many x/1s around to get value out of
Living End
+2 Supreme Verdict, +2 Dispel, -3 Electrolyze, -1 Lightning Helix
Not much to point bolts at, Dispel at least stops half their cascade cards
Abzan
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Lightning Helix
Helix is worse without Dark Confidant around to kill.
Isn't a more likely explanation "some dude on reddit wants to flip his Arcbound Ravagers/Karns at a nice profit this weekend"? I mean, since when does MTGO implement anything ahead of time? The B&R updates usually take more than a week to take effect, and it's literally updating a text file.
Hey y'all, I've been looking at alternative giant creatures to reanimate in matchups where Iona and Elesh Norn don't work very well. I was thinking of maybe running an Inkwell Leviathan as an almost-unstoppable threat vs control and/or Tron. Anyone else got some suggestions for more "outside the box" big creatures?
Yeah. Dismember is by far the best removal known to man for this deck. I have no problem riding 4 at all times. It kills every 1 and 2 drop in the format. As far as the latest list. I'm gonna fire up a quick stream and try to play a few 8 mans. 34-14 or something w/ the current list. That is no by no means acceptable for me. The deck still does it what it does and I feel like we are well positioned in this format. But if infect and other mindless aggro decks are presenting problems for everyone, do not be afraid to bring in h8. You can never have too much if the same deck keeps shipping you losses.
So why not main-deck it? It feels like an automatic board-in for pretty much every matchup on the planet but Tron.
Hey, are folks bringing in Chalice vs. Twin? I've noticed the shoktroopa does it, but I have trouble understanding why it would be good. I guess you can just drop it on 1 to get their bolts/serum visions?
What kind of hands do people keep without blue sources? Personally, I'll mulligan basically any 6 or 7 card hand without a blue source unless it has a really clear path to turn 3 tron + a major threat.
Does it feel to anyone else that this deck goes pretty crazily low on blue sources? The lists without Talismans go as low as 10. Following the Frank Karsten formulas, you need at least 13 to hit blue on turn 2. I have trouble seeing how this reconciles with the "incredibly consistent" reputation of the deck.
Do people usually board out maindeck Chalice vs Abzan? I think in one of cbgirardo's posts he mentioned not cutting it. If not, what's the theory? Just play it on 1 to stop path to exile and hand disruption they haven't played yet?
I've been thinking of boarding out Settle the Wreckage vs energy, though, since they seem to have a lot of mana sinks and it always feels bad to ramp them.
My local meta is mostly Tron, Affinity, and Zoo, so I'm on the Kiki-Jiki version to have a way to immediately win.
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Wall of Omens
Instants (20)
2 Cryptic Command
3 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Arid Mesa
2 Cascade Bluffs
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
4 Crumble to Dust
2 Dispel
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Shadow of Doubt
4 Stony Silence
2 Supreme Verdict
Sideboarding:
Affinity
+4 Stony Silence, +2 Izzet Staticaster, +2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Cryptic Command, -1 Vendillion Clique, -2 Snapcaster Mage, -3 Mana Leak
Mana Leak can be pretty bad since the games go long, and I'd rather just draw actual removal instead of Snapcaster or Cryptic Command.
Tron
+4 Crumble to Dust, +2 Stony Silence, +1 Shadow of Doubt, -4 Wall of Omens, -3 Electrolyze
Wall is pretty irrelevant, and bolt effects don't do much to help you win. Not sure if I should just bring in all the Stony Silences.
Zoo
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Cryptic Command
Cryptic is kind of slow, would rather just wrath.
Eldrazi
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Bolt effects are pretty bad here, I think Electrolyze is the worst one
Burn
+2 Dispel, -2 Cryptic Command
Cryptic is just too expensive for this matchup.
Infect
+ 2 Dispel, +2 Izzet Staticaster, -4 Wall of Omens
Wall only blocks 4 out of 12 infect creatures.
Abzan Company
+2 Supreme Verdict, +2 Izzet Staticaster, -2 Spell Snare, -2 Mana Leak
Snare doesn't have many targets, Leak is bad against all their ramp
Merfolk
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Not a lot of x/1s for Electrolyze to hit
Jund
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Electrolyze
Again, not many x/1s around to get value out of
Living End
+2 Supreme Verdict, +2 Dispel, -3 Electrolyze, -1 Lightning Helix
Not much to point bolts at, Dispel at least stops half their cascade cards
Abzan
+2 Supreme Verdict, -2 Lightning Helix
Helix is worse without Dark Confidant around to kill.
So why not main-deck it? It feels like an automatic board-in for pretty much every matchup on the planet but Tron.