went 3-1 with Owen's list that splashes w for the graveyard heavy meta of dredge and phoenix. Going to try and run the same list next Thursday. Timely and Thrag shores up the weakness to Burn game 1 but I haven't come across that deck in months.
My line of reasoning behind why I suggested it was that a lot of the time a control deck will get rid of our creatures at our end step. Removing our creatures on their turn or having some affect of them returning a permanent on there turn would cost them the tempo. Sure, the creature dies to lightning bolt but it’s a big difference if they do it on our turn or on their turn.
I always figured we would go the haste route as anything without that is not conducive to our game plan.
When looking at it originally I also figured that it would be too expensive and not fast enough but those of you here I’m much more knowledgable on the deck which is why I presented it to you all.
I know we sometimes play ensnaring bridge so three CMC isn’t off the table as far as what we can cast and a 3/3 trample haste that gives me hexproof on my turn and for the creature for 3 seems good in my books. Thoughts?
Went 1-2 in my local LGS modern tourny last night but had a great time seeing the looks on peoples faces as I locked them out. I have a very old list and fell away from magic while I got married and bought a place with my wife but grabbed 4 Legion Warboss and foiled out the basics with some Sunday showdown Rebbecca Guay.
G1 Infect - wasn't even close but my hands were godlike. T1 Blood mooned them both games, chalice on 1 and 2 the first game, 1 rabble t2, another t3, dead to a million damage t4 the second game. 1-0
G2 Infect (again but different guy), he got the OTK turn 5 when i was digging for a lock. I got greedy on the t1 rabble and it cost me but its worked before so i still think it was the right play at the time. G2 i had t1 blood moon and chalice on 1 t3 but topdecked EIGHT lands in a row and they drew their basics before I found a bridge or a kill condition. This one felt bad because variance is what got me. Oh well, good with the bad right? 1 - 1
G3 - UR Phoenix - Let me be clear, I hate this deck in that it is as consistent as Tron with a much quicker clock. This deck feels like what burn used to feel like 3 years ago. It is SO DAMN FAST and it counters, and it storms off, and it plays everything too fast and you have to pick which lock you're going with and hopefully it works out. blood moon t2 is what i went with (which is the wrong move as this deck functions perfectly fine without Blue mana) off a mulligan and it slows them down but thing in the ice into manamorphose into manamorphose into remand into another manamorphose into , dumping 2 phoenix and a fiery temper for like 16 damage t4 is just awful lol. I don't remember the specifics of what happened game 2 other than variance really got me (first hand, 6 lands and a Chandra. Second hand, no lands. Third hand, 2 lands, a chalice 2 rabble. I took that because going to 4 might as well be a forfeit but I was dead on t4 with -6 life so at least the beating was swift. 1 - 2
Any ideas on what to sideboard in against this? I brought in 2 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 spellskite, and 2 abrade but didn't hit a single one so they might have helped if I drew any of them.
these are decent in the scenario you described (and if you're not bringing in nature's claim, you're doing it wrong). I assume you're running 5 basics? that seems to be the way we're headed these days and personally i've not found any reason to drop down from the 5 i'm running right now (ask me again in six months but for now 5 is the way to go). with that number of basics you're relatively likely to see one over your first couple of draws or maybe in your opener.
stony is a pain, that's for sure. I've never felt that it's lights out though - and we topdeck better than midrange decks so having an empty hand isn't necessarily lights out either.
Dat Lily ultimate tho. lol. if you struggle to find a way to deal with her, that'll be a pain for sure.
i've played a few games which followed the scenario you've described. I threw out an o-stone on my third turn (which i couldn't activate) and then on my fourth or fifth turns, used a nature's claim to enable a couple of chromatics, draw a couple of cards, drop a tron-piece and activate the stone. It worked out fairly well at the time although I recognise you'd have to draw the claim in order to have access to this sort of corner-turning moment.
oh and of course, this was before the printing of assassin's trophy.... but then if they are using trophy on your o-stone, i guess you're up on the exchange? you definitely should have boarded in thragtusks and attempted to lower your curve post-board so them giving you an extra land in exchange for stone would be actually brilliant.
It was definitely a moment of them drawing all the right cards at the right time and I mulled to 4 never seeing the 4 natures claim or 2 thragtusks. It is what it is unfortunately. Other than that Abzan beatdown, I ended up 4-2 and bowing out for packs.
Does anyone have any sideboard insight into Esper Control? I beat them using the Jeskai sideboard guide but it was very close and I was kind of just winging it and holding back until they tapped out. Esper charm discard 2 is really punishing for us when trying to sandbag through a Stony Silence when you can't find any Nature's Claim.
Let me know what you think and if there's anything else you'd like me to touch on.
Happy Troning!
DAMN DUDE!!! This is insane. Thank you so much. I am counting the hours till work is done so I can go home and grind this list and sideboard online. My night is a write-off because of this post
Sucks to hear man. I went out on Tuesday, did a casual 3-1, and even pub stomped burn which almost never happens. My one loss was on me for being greedy but i had two tron pieces with no stirrings, maps, or scrying but had 2 wurms, an o stone and a karn. Never saw the third land and they landed their combo on my upkeep to prove a point that they had it.
A couple weeks before I went 0-5 and had the same feelings as you. We all go through it but its the price to pay for doing busted stuff like we do
Had to pivot from playing my fav deck this past weekend. Walked around the room and saw a ton of Storm (5), infect, UW control and Burn. It was a small PPTQ so I didn't like my chances and ran burn. Meh I went 3-2 but I chickened out. My teammate ran Tron to a Top 8 finish before getting nuked by Eldrazi and Taxes.
So, with the landscape of modern shifting, I'm wondering how we will be positioned. It seems like Big mana decks taking a hit while Control/Midrange are getting a boost. My gut feeling is that we will have to adjust and it may take some time before we arrive at a build that's optimal against the new hotness in modern. I may still take tron to SCG Dallas but I will start thinking seriously about that the 1st week of Oct.
At least we got a win in the books at GP Hong Kong. We'll have work to do for sure.
I will admit that I've been feeling the same way. It's hard to avoid the truth that wizards doesn't like what we are doing and are specifically going for our throats with the last few sets starting from Dominaria. Damping sphere is the biggest hit currently with alpine moon being a flop and assassin's trophy poised to be the next one that I foresee getting a lot of play. Playing AT is a lot more restrictive than DS which is why I personally feel it's the biggest oppressor. It can be arbitrairily thrown into any deck due to it's colourless cmc. Field of Ruin (arguably) singlehandedly caused us to switch from GB to mono G. Unmoored Ego is another one of those cards that feels aimed at us but it's shell is fortunately in a state of unplayability outside of Grixis Death Shadow.
Will we start playing Warping Wail in the MB?
Will we go back to RG to be better prepared against Humans and Jund?
Move back to GW so that we can slow the game down and attack graveyards with Rest in Peace and Rule of Law?
Hey everyone. It's been a while since i've been here but getting married and buying a house took priority for the last year or so. I'm back now and looking to upgrade my pyro prison deck from a year ago.
I was going through youtube today and TCGPlayer featured a version of our deck with Squee. Here's the link to the video.
Cheers!
Edit: Just watched the whole thing. For people like us that play this often, it's hard to watch. SO MANY PUNTS but I guess that's what happens when you just sit down and try to pick it up without understanding when you should play your lock/prison effects.
Hey everyone, went to a bar last night hosting a small modern night and ended up going 5 - 1 and won some packs. Not bad for a little $5 tourney but my one loss was the most brutal beating I have received in some time playing GB Tron.
How on God's green Earth do we beat Grishoalbrand combo?
I felt like a six-year-old kid trying to wrestle his dad. I brought in 2 rest in peace and two thoughtseize. I keep 2 rest in peace in the sideboard even though I don't have any Plains in my deck. I use the stars and spheres to mana fix should it come up and hope for the best.
I hit none of my sideboard hate in my opening hand but I had a turn 3 karn and had a wurmcoil engine so I kept. Never saw turn 3 as he comboed off on my second end step.
The way that deck keeps drawing and refilling its life at instant speed is unreal.
https://preview.redd.it/jyz6g3rmlqz21.png?auto=webp&s=950c862b7fa399c6e3497ea5f9fd855ff9d84b7c
New Goblin card that can help us grab any of our prison artifacts.
Thoughts?
2 Walking Ballista
4 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
4 Karn Liberated
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Lands (19)
3 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Sanctum of Ugin
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Expedition Map
4 Oblivion Stone
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Sylvan Scrying
2 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Thragtusk
3 Rest in Peace
3 Nature's Claim
2 Spatial Contortion
3 Timely Reinforcements
I always figured we would go the haste route as anything without that is not conducive to our game plan.
When looking at it originally I also figured that it would be too expensive and not fast enough but those of you here I’m much more knowledgable on the deck which is why I presented it to you all.
https://external-preview.redd.it/6QCXtsCD6zh-B1bQcsCx51vrtG0L1LvUFrx7hRQF45A.png?auto=webp&s=85cab06118dfa59cc5f8245369b250c9edc3bbb3
I know we sometimes play ensnaring bridge so three CMC isn’t off the table as far as what we can cast and a 3/3 trample haste that gives me hexproof on my turn and for the creature for 3 seems good in my books. Thoughts?
G1 Infect - wasn't even close but my hands were godlike. T1 Blood mooned them both games, chalice on 1 and 2 the first game, 1 rabble t2, another t3, dead to a million damage t4 the second game. 1-0
G2 Infect (again but different guy), he got the OTK turn 5 when i was digging for a lock. I got greedy on the t1 rabble and it cost me but its worked before so i still think it was the right play at the time. G2 i had t1 blood moon and chalice on 1 t3 but topdecked EIGHT lands in a row and they drew their basics before I found a bridge or a kill condition. This one felt bad because variance is what got me. Oh well, good with the bad right? 1 - 1
G3 - UR Phoenix - Let me be clear, I hate this deck in that it is as consistent as Tron with a much quicker clock. This deck feels like what burn used to feel like 3 years ago. It is SO DAMN FAST and it counters, and it storms off, and it plays everything too fast and you have to pick which lock you're going with and hopefully it works out. blood moon t2 is what i went with (which is the wrong move as this deck functions perfectly fine without Blue mana) off a mulligan and it slows them down but thing in the ice into manamorphose into manamorphose into remand into another manamorphose into , dumping 2 phoenix and a fiery temper for like 16 damage t4 is just awful lol. I don't remember the specifics of what happened game 2 other than variance really got me (first hand, 6 lands and a Chandra. Second hand, no lands. Third hand, 2 lands, a chalice 2 rabble. I took that because going to 4 might as well be a forfeit but I was dead on t4 with -6 life so at least the beating was swift. 1 - 2
Any ideas on what to sideboard in against this? I brought in 2 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 spellskite, and 2 abrade but didn't hit a single one so they might have helped if I drew any of them.
Feels great to be back
It was definitely a moment of them drawing all the right cards at the right time and I mulled to 4 never seeing the 4 natures claim or 2 thragtusks. It is what it is unfortunately. Other than that Abzan beatdown, I ended up 4-2 and bowing out for packs.
DAMN DUDE!!! This is insane. Thank you so much. I am counting the hours till work is done so I can go home and grind this list and sideboard online. My night is a write-off because of this post
A couple weeks before I went 0-5 and had the same feelings as you. We all go through it but its the price to pay for doing busted stuff like we do
I will admit that I've been feeling the same way. It's hard to avoid the truth that wizards doesn't like what we are doing and are specifically going for our throats with the last few sets starting from Dominaria. Damping sphere is the biggest hit currently with alpine moon being a flop and assassin's trophy poised to be the next one that I foresee getting a lot of play. Playing AT is a lot more restrictive than DS which is why I personally feel it's the biggest oppressor. It can be arbitrairily thrown into any deck due to it's colourless cmc. Field of Ruin (arguably) singlehandedly caused us to switch from GB to mono G. Unmoored Ego is another one of those cards that feels aimed at us but it's shell is fortunately in a state of unplayability outside of Grixis Death Shadow.
Will we start playing Warping Wail in the MB?
Will we go back to RG to be better prepared against Humans and Jund?
Move back to GW so that we can slow the game down and attack graveyards with Rest in Peace and Rule of Law?
The next few months will be very interesting.
I was going through youtube today and TCGPlayer featured a version of our deck with Squee. Here's the link to the video.
Cheers!
Edit: Just watched the whole thing. For people like us that play this often, it's hard to watch. SO MANY PUNTS but I guess that's what happens when you just sit down and try to pick it up without understanding when you should play your lock/prison effects.
How on God's green Earth do we beat Grishoalbrand combo?
I felt like a six-year-old kid trying to wrestle his dad. I brought in 2 rest in peace and two thoughtseize. I keep 2 rest in peace in the sideboard even though I don't have any Plains in my deck. I use the stars and spheres to mana fix should it come up and hope for the best.
I hit none of my sideboard hate in my opening hand but I had a turn 3 karn and had a wurmcoil engine so I kept. Never saw turn 3 as he comboed off on my second end step.
The way that deck keeps drawing and refilling its life at instant speed is unreal.
Off the top my head, red green might be the build because that will give us access to Boil.