I played last week and started off 2 and 0, but then lost the next 2
What are we siding out and in against Lantern Control? This matchup didn't feel great, I beat a lantern control player game 1 and then that night ran into another lantern player and lost. Jund feels good, but Junk, not so much. Looking at a very cookie-cutter 75, whats the sideboard plan?
Also, game 4, ran into a Blue Moon deck. He played 4x Visions, 4x Dark Dwellers, 3x Angers----what in the hell does a sideboard match look like? He kept snowballing AV's and it felt impossible to stop it outside of dropping like 2 Goyfs in a row. Whats being sideboarded out and in?
Against Lantern, you bring in Stony Silence, Fulminators, card draw, explosives, and surgicals. Surgicals can get a cute win if you can strip it/decay a bridge and then extract it. Fulminatots can take them off colored sources and inportantly, Academy Ruins. Explosives and anything else that can blow up a bridge. The matchup feels rough when you lose but great when you wun. Just one of those awkward matchups.
Against Blue Moon, you want all value cards like planeswalkers. Keep discard. Its pretty much the same way you board vs control but you just have to make sure you fetch basics. Thats the key to the matchup.
So I know the following decks will be there:
Affinity
Merfolk
Burn
Mono Red Prison
Bant Eldrazi
Grixis Delver
Infect
Maybe Tron/Griselbrand Reanimator
Any help with the mainboard or sideboard would be nice.
Anyone?
Also how does one approach the Merfolk MU? I played against them yesterday the final match and the MU did not look good for me. A few things I noticed...
1. Discard felt terrible, every time I IoK'd I saw two lords and some bad things so even when taking one of them was the best option it still felt bad.
2. How conservative do we be with our removal? I could not have enough answers for the life of me.
3. What sideboard cards would you suggest for them? I was thinking of adding a 2nd damnation into the side.
I like discard vs merfolk. You need to answer their threats efficiently and taking out a lord for 1 mana before they cast it is great. You just need removal heavy hands and its fine. Leave up fetclands so they dont get Spreading Sead. Always fetch shocks, even though itll be painful, just so you dont get colored screwed. Explosives is a house cause it can blow up Seas on top of lords. This matchup is also why I board 1 copy of Flaying Tendrils since Damnatiom can get expensive with Cursecatcher in play. I just do a simple swap of -3 lilly of the veil for 3 wraths (damnation, ee, and tendrils)
Discard us fantastic against merfolk prioritize spreading seas and silver gill adept. Then lords then anything else.
I don't save my removal unless I saw something with a discard spell like master of waves. Since most of their deck is redundant. The biggest thing is don't fall behind in spells. Sb cards. I bring in all the removal and sweepers. I like to trim cards like lotv and 4 drops. I don't like Finks as he rarely trades since they can have island walk and they do damage in large chunks when they are winning. The matchup is really close.
Keeping them off island walk will usually let us out size them.
I searched the thread and couldn't find a mention of it, but many have tried 4 x Simian Spirit Guide in the deck?
Allows for some turn 4 wins like the good old days. I also think card advantage just isn't that important in the format right now. Even exiling an SSG for a bolt while tapped out, or a Cryptic Command a turn earlier can make all the difference. Or play main deck Blood Moon and land a turn 2 BM etc.
Then you can side them all out as you turn into a more controlling deck.
I tried them at first. And just found I wanted real cards more often
Glad to see you did well. I'm not a fan of reality hemorage. I would play kozileks return if I really wanted that devoid damage. I cant agree more that people have forgotten how to play against deceiver and blood moon.
I am excited to test goblin dark-dwellers just because copying him with kiki seems like insane value. My meta is super grindy and aggro it may be worth trying batterskull.
8 cantrips and 4 kiki seems like to many. I think cutting 2 anticipate for 2 lightning helix and 1 kiki for the 4th resto will give you some more game against jund. And still leave in plenty of combo.
I personally would find replacements for anticipate but if they work for you. Keep them.
I like the 4th mandrills. In the non interactive games I don't need to cast the second one. And in the games that my opponent is interacting I don't have a problem with casting the second.
I also hate snapcaster in this deck. But I don't know what to change my one of main for. I usually just pitch it to shoal.
I have not had any problem with the 1 stomping ground and have considered dropping it. But that has way more to do with my meta having no affinity players.
I have found the blue control mirror to be favourable. They are always afraid to tap out. I will try goblin dark dwellers in the sb for jund.
My thought on the blue control mirror I find that there are alot of tap out control decks, And we are abe to force action on there EoT. I like to stay pretty combo focused only trimming 1 or 2 pieces.
You have some interesting points. I agree with you on many of them. And disagree on some. I have found nahiri to go a good match up. I wouldn't bring keranos in that match up anyway. I don't like any 5 mana bomb against other control decks.
As for affinity. Try putting in a single stomping ground (if you can replace your deltas with mistys) and using ancient grudge in the sideboard.I've also used it to bluff being a 3 colour deck and getting them hard with blood moon. Keranos for me is only a concession to jund. You'll see my list back a few posts. I'm playing a few more counters. I'll try a list with a bit more removal.
Izzet charm has not been great for me. I'll be looking to cut that first.
As for 4 mana planeswalkers i really like jace AoT. It doesn't get hit by celestial purge. And can immediately get you 2 cards or atleast 1. It's just insane card advantage if left unchecked.
I wrote this at work sorry for any spelling errors or if I'm not being clear. Will clarify if needed
Against affinity with your sb. I'd bring in the wrath, 2 Stoney, anger, explosives, wear/tear. And start cuts with remand then cryptics. Then v clique. Remand just isn't where you want to be against affinity. Cryptic is too slow and unlikely to get alot of value. And v clique is the same.
Negate and dispel don't do enough in the match up. If your under the kind of pressure that forces a turn 5 combo you can't hold up dispel anyway. And negate only really hits plating. Where mana leak isn't great it can get a plating on the play and their 3 drops.
When I played uwr twin in the past. Affinity always felt fairly easy. Stoney silence and so much removal with snapcaster.
How did you sideboard?
I think you just have to accept uwr is weak to blood moon. No matter how much I tuned my mana base blood moon always got me.
Oh I love Jace AOT. I just can never find room for him lol I have 2 in my optional sideboard cards. He's slowly starting to creep back around in scg deck lists as well as Gideon Ally.
I think it has alot going for it. Good in the grindy match ups. Dodges celestial purge which keranos doesnt. Doesn't die to decay.
I like av main and I wouldn't play more then 3. I would consider moving them to the side if there was alot of aggro. My meta is very grindy.
I also prefer desolate lighthouse over tec edge. Being able to filter our draws. It helps us use our mana every turn. makes serum visions better late game.
How are you finding elspeth? I've been thinking of including a planeswalkers or 2 in my sb
I had deaolate lighthouse, and honestly I never once used the filter. So I decided I would try Ghost Quarter or Tec Edge to be able to remove a raging ravine or gavony township.
I'll start with AV in my side and over the next few weeks I'll see how it handles, because there are a lot of aggro decks as well. And Serun Visions has been doing very well for me in filtering in that aspect.
In regards to Elseph, she is awesome. I honestly love her. She stabilized me against jund last week, and I have used her countless times before. She is probably one of the only cards I'm not hesitant on keeping in my post 15 cards. My sideboard constantly changes but that always comes back lol
Yeah could be play style differences. I'm thinking of trying jace architect of thought. In the sb
Discard us fantastic against merfolk prioritize spreading seas and silver gill adept. Then lords then anything else.
I don't save my removal unless I saw something with a discard spell like master of waves. Since most of their deck is redundant. The biggest thing is don't fall behind in spells. Sb cards. I bring in all the removal and sweepers. I like to trim cards like lotv and 4 drops. I don't like Finks as he rarely trades since they can have island walk and they do damage in large chunks when they are winning. The matchup is really close.
Keeping them off island walk will usually let us out size them.
I tried them at first. And just found I wanted real cards more often
I am excited to test goblin dark-dwellers just because copying him with kiki seems like insane value. My meta is super grindy and aggro it may be worth trying batterskull.
I personally would find replacements for anticipate but if they work for you. Keep them.
I also hate snapcaster in this deck. But I don't know what to change my one of main for. I usually just pitch it to shoal.
I have found the blue control mirror to be favourable. They are always afraid to tap out. I will try goblin dark dwellers in the sb for jund.
My thought on the blue control mirror I find that there are alot of tap out control decks, And we are abe to force action on there EoT. I like to stay pretty combo focused only trimming 1 or 2 pieces.
As for affinity. Try putting in a single stomping ground (if you can replace your deltas with mistys) and using ancient grudge in the sideboard.I've also used it to bluff being a 3 colour deck and getting them hard with blood moon. Keranos for me is only a concession to jund. You'll see my list back a few posts. I'm playing a few more counters. I'll try a list with a bit more removal.
Izzet charm has not been great for me. I'll be looking to cut that first.
As for 4 mana planeswalkers i really like jace AoT. It doesn't get hit by celestial purge. And can immediately get you 2 cards or atleast 1. It's just insane card advantage if left unchecked.
I wrote this at work sorry for any spelling errors or if I'm not being clear. Will clarify if needed
Negate and dispel don't do enough in the match up. If your under the kind of pressure that forces a turn 5 combo you can't hold up dispel anyway. And negate only really hits plating. Where mana leak isn't great it can get a plating on the play and their 3 drops.
How did you sideboard?
I think you just have to accept uwr is weak to blood moon. No matter how much I tuned my mana base blood moon always got me.