Coming back with a quick update. I tried switching out some cards to have more counters and better removal. I put the As Foretold and Hieroglyphics in the S/B, upgraded to 3 Disallow & 1 Void Shatter, and am running more negates and essence scatters. Unfortunately my games were skewed today as I only got to play 6 total games (had a bye in round 2) and 3 of the 6 I ran into serious mana issues (no land hands, or drawing 2 mountains and a full hand of blue spells, etc) which I haven't had as a problem yet. I still want to do more testing and playing but I think the deck will work out better.
I'm still at the moment running Incendiary Flows over Magma Sprays but it has worked out fine - I havent run into a game yet where I wished I had one mana and a Spray. I've usually always had the mana to use Incendiary Flow and have been able to exile out Constrictors and such with it. I think I still prefer that spell as it sort of works like having additional Harnessed Lightnings, even though its not nearly as good.
One thing to note is the zombies decks haven't shown up for the last few weeks. Today the popular deck was G/B Delirium, other decks were: 2 tix Red, U/W Aggro, New Perspectives Combo. I lost a close set to G/B delirium, where game three I experienced bad mana issues and couldnt get going. Bye round 2. Got stomped 0-2 round 3 against U/W Aggro due to mana issues both games. I'm considering adding an additional land or two to the deck, probably just islands. Not sure what I would drop for them yet.
Just my personal opinion, I havent played the deck, but I think curator is a strong card. 2UU for a flying 4/4 with upside that cycles is really nice. I think that is a easy 4 of for the deck, cycle it on turn one if you want, etc. Censor is a really nice tempo-counter spell for turns 2-4, and otherwise cycles away for U. You can even use it to mess up some plays.
As it stands right now you only have 13 cycling cards out of your entire 60. Maybe there are some other good cyclers that make sense for the build? I think Wander in Death could be really sweet as you can cycle away your Archfiends and Curators early and cast it to get them back, or just cycle it as well.
Some things I might try to change:
-4 Forgotten Creation
-3 Unburden
-3 Call the Bloodline
-1 Faith of the Devoted
+1 Drake Haven
+2 Curator of Mysteries
+4 Censor
+2 Wander in Death
+2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
This would add 10 more cycling cards, and go up on the ones I think are strong. Drake Haven is a bit better than Faith of the Devoted since bodies are better than life. If you dont like Heiroglyphic or Wander in death, I also would suggest Never // Return, since you have little ways to deal with Planeswalkers here, this would give you an edge.
Thanks for the feedback! I think you're probably right about a few things for sure - Adding Commit//Memory to my next purchase for sure, I just bought my 3rd Torrential as well as my Disallows this week so I'm almost there with those. I will probably drop down the # of As Foretold, will run either 2 or 3 total. Also will probably need to increase the number of hard counters in the deck. Thinking to my local meta I'm seeing: Zombies, G/B, Jeskai Control, some homebrews.
I think magma spray is good, but it tends to be a very dead card against many matchups, and a very bad topdeck which is why I'm avoiding it and resorting to sideboarding Incendiary Flow when I need to exile, which although is a sorcery, I think does well enough for those matchups. I do need to sleeve up my Dispels for control mirror and bring in artifact hate for the SB. I will probably go with Release the Gremlins over By Force since I think the body is relevant.
Overall I think you have a good take and I definitely appreciate the insight. Thanks! I especially like that I can use Commit to fight Planeswalkers as Gideon is still pretty tough to deal with.
I'm currently in the middle of switching deck roles - I was playing R/G Pummeler as my intro to standard, switched it up to Jund Pummeler for awhile, and a few weeks before Marvel was banned I began switching roles to U/R control as my main deck. I held off on it for awhile as I was missing Torrential Gearhulk and the prices spiked on the card, but since they've lowered back down to sub-$20 each I've been picking them up one per week until I have my 4.
I originally migrated to "U/R Spells" when Enigma Drake was spoiled since I think the card is very powerful. With tons of good spells to choose from, I originally tried a GY centric spells deck that wanted cyclers and to dump spells for draws with Tormenting Voice, Cathartic Reunion, etc. It didn't pan out well. I switched to a U/R energy control style build to make use of cards like Glimmer and Harnessed lightning instead and the deck is just so much better. Currently I'm at 2 Torrentials (working towards 4) but I feel like my deck has enough win-cons built in that it is still relatively competitive.
I'm currently calling the build Control but Tempo might be the correct term for the deck. It uses a variety of answers and really just wants to prevent the opponent from getting any kind of advantage until it can stick a wincon and ride it to victory. Because I'm playing Drakes, I can also get early blockers on the field with 4 toughness, which quickly become massive threats as I protect them with counters or burn out opposing creatures. I diversify my threat level by running Chandra, Torch of Defiance. She provides everything my deck wants - Card advantage, removal, a clock, and a game-winning ultimate.
One thing I think I'm running into however is sometimes a hard lack of answers. I had a few games today where I drew a good amount of starting mana, but low interaction. Those were the games I lost quickly (for a control deck.) Wondering how other U/R spells players would look at my list.
Manabase: Mostly standard list of duals with 4x Spirebluff Canal, 4x Highland Lake (can be Fumarole, but not sure if necessary as manlands will rotate soon). 4x Aether Hub to help mana fix and provide energy. 8x Islands and 4x Mountains. 24 lands total.
Interaction:
11 Counters with 4x Censor, 4x Cancel (will be upgraded to Disallow soon), 2x Negate and 1x Essence Scatter
4x Harnessed Lightning as kill spells
Gas: 4x Glimmer, 2x Hieroglyphic and 2x Pull from tomorrow provide a range of draw effects to keep me ahead. Often resolving a large Pull will win the game. 3x As foretold lets me cheat in wincons while holding up mana for answers, or play draw spells for free, etc. Only need to have one on the field.
Wincons: 4x Enigma Drake, 4x Chandra, Torch of Defiance and 2x Torrential Gearhulk. Will be buffing Gearhulk up to 4 through the next couple weeks, probably dropping one Chandra and one Drake to do so.
Game Strategy: Counter or use Harnessed Lightning to remove any threats while stocking my GY with spells for Drake. Use a variety of draw spells to stay ahead of the opponent card for card until I establish a dominant position. Smooth early gameplay with cycling cards - aim to not miss land drops. When the coast is clear, land a wincon and protect it until victory.
Sideboard is currently set up for the control mirror. I can add Sphinx, Jace, Kefnet, and an extra negate. There are 4 sweltering suns so I can have a sweeper against go wide decks. Extra essence scatters if my opponent is based around creatures. Incendiary flow to exile recurring threats like Scrounger, Zombies, etc. Baral if I want more tempo and filtering.
Aside from the obvious upgrade path I'm still taking - (Disallows, Torrential Gearhulks) I'm open to feedback and criticism. Last two standard events I attended were three rounds each and I went 2-1, and 1-2 respectively. There are almost no blowout losses, most losses were close games or due to me making an error. Overall it has been a very fun deck to use and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a highly interactive deck.
I'm still at the moment running Incendiary Flows over Magma Sprays but it has worked out fine - I havent run into a game yet where I wished I had one mana and a Spray. I've usually always had the mana to use Incendiary Flow and have been able to exile out Constrictors and such with it. I think I still prefer that spell as it sort of works like having additional Harnessed Lightnings, even though its not nearly as good.
One thing to note is the zombies decks haven't shown up for the last few weeks. Today the popular deck was G/B Delirium, other decks were: 2 tix Red, U/W Aggro, New Perspectives Combo. I lost a close set to G/B delirium, where game three I experienced bad mana issues and couldnt get going. Bye round 2. Got stomped 0-2 round 3 against U/W Aggro due to mana issues both games. I'm considering adding an additional land or two to the deck, probably just islands. Not sure what I would drop for them yet.
As it stands right now you only have 13 cycling cards out of your entire 60. Maybe there are some other good cyclers that make sense for the build? I think Wander in Death could be really sweet as you can cycle away your Archfiends and Curators early and cast it to get them back, or just cycle it as well.
Some things I might try to change:
-4 Forgotten Creation
-3 Unburden
-3 Call the Bloodline
-1 Faith of the Devoted
+1 Drake Haven
+2 Curator of Mysteries
+4 Censor
+2 Wander in Death
+2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
This would add 10 more cycling cards, and go up on the ones I think are strong. Drake Haven is a bit better than Faith of the Devoted since bodies are better than life. If you dont like Heiroglyphic or Wander in death, I also would suggest Never // Return, since you have little ways to deal with Planeswalkers here, this would give you an edge.
I think magma spray is good, but it tends to be a very dead card against many matchups, and a very bad topdeck which is why I'm avoiding it and resorting to sideboarding Incendiary Flow when I need to exile, which although is a sorcery, I think does well enough for those matchups. I do need to sleeve up my Dispels for control mirror and bring in artifact hate for the SB. I will probably go with Release the Gremlins over By Force since I think the body is relevant.
Overall I think you have a good take and I definitely appreciate the insight. Thanks! I especially like that I can use Commit to fight Planeswalkers as Gideon is still pretty tough to deal with.
I originally migrated to "U/R Spells" when Enigma Drake was spoiled since I think the card is very powerful. With tons of good spells to choose from, I originally tried a GY centric spells deck that wanted cyclers and to dump spells for draws with Tormenting Voice, Cathartic Reunion, etc. It didn't pan out well. I switched to a U/R energy control style build to make use of cards like Glimmer and Harnessed lightning instead and the deck is just so much better. Currently I'm at 2 Torrentials (working towards 4) but I feel like my deck has enough win-cons built in that it is still relatively competitive.
I'm currently calling the build Control but Tempo might be the correct term for the deck. It uses a variety of answers and really just wants to prevent the opponent from getting any kind of advantage until it can stick a wincon and ride it to victory. Because I'm playing Drakes, I can also get early blockers on the field with 4 toughness, which quickly become massive threats as I protect them with counters or burn out opposing creatures. I diversify my threat level by running Chandra, Torch of Defiance. She provides everything my deck wants - Card advantage, removal, a clock, and a game-winning ultimate.
One thing I think I'm running into however is sometimes a hard lack of answers. I had a few games today where I drew a good amount of starting mana, but low interaction. Those were the games I lost quickly (for a control deck.) Wondering how other U/R spells players would look at my list.
Link: (http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ur-as-foretold-1/)
Manabase: Mostly standard list of duals with 4x Spirebluff Canal, 4x Highland Lake (can be Fumarole, but not sure if necessary as manlands will rotate soon). 4x Aether Hub to help mana fix and provide energy. 8x Islands and 4x Mountains. 24 lands total.
Interaction:
11 Counters with 4x Censor, 4x Cancel (will be upgraded to Disallow soon), 2x Negate and 1x Essence Scatter
4x Harnessed Lightning as kill spells
Gas: 4x Glimmer, 2x Hieroglyphic and 2x Pull from tomorrow provide a range of draw effects to keep me ahead. Often resolving a large Pull will win the game. 3x As foretold lets me cheat in wincons while holding up mana for answers, or play draw spells for free, etc. Only need to have one on the field.
Wincons: 4x Enigma Drake, 4x Chandra, Torch of Defiance and 2x Torrential Gearhulk. Will be buffing Gearhulk up to 4 through the next couple weeks, probably dropping one Chandra and one Drake to do so.
Game Strategy: Counter or use Harnessed Lightning to remove any threats while stocking my GY with spells for Drake. Use a variety of draw spells to stay ahead of the opponent card for card until I establish a dominant position. Smooth early gameplay with cycling cards - aim to not miss land drops. When the coast is clear, land a wincon and protect it until victory.
Sideboard is currently set up for the control mirror. I can add Sphinx, Jace, Kefnet, and an extra negate. There are 4 sweltering suns so I can have a sweeper against go wide decks. Extra essence scatters if my opponent is based around creatures. Incendiary flow to exile recurring threats like Scrounger, Zombies, etc. Baral if I want more tempo and filtering.
Aside from the obvious upgrade path I'm still taking - (Disallows, Torrential Gearhulks) I'm open to feedback and criticism. Last two standard events I attended were three rounds each and I went 2-1, and 1-2 respectively. There are almost no blowout losses, most losses were close games or due to me making an error. Overall it has been a very fun deck to use and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a highly interactive deck.