MTG Salvation

What time does the B&R Update happen on 1/19/2015?

I would really like to see your RUG version that you're working on!

@NickD2: That's awesome that you had some success at your LGS! I am very interested to hear other peoples testing experience! Would be nice to hear what your matchups and records were, also what kind of metagame you were expecting.

My match ups were:

R1: BR Midrange (basically Jund without green): I thought that it would be a difficult match up and it was. His deck was a plethora of hand disruption spells, Pack Rat (surprisingly hard to beat), Fuliminator Mage and Liliana of the Veil.
G1: I landed a T3 Blood Moon on the play against his 3 nonbasics and won after he played multiple Fulminator Mages and blew up a few of my lands.
G2: The game was not too eventful other than he played a bunch of Thoughtseize and IoK's while beating down with an army of Pack Rats. He played a T4 Slaughter Games naming Emrakul. Thankfully, I boarded in 2 Batterskulls but couldn't get them down in time to matter.
G3: A quick game where I TtB'd him to 1 life and finished him off with an Electrolyze.

1-0

R2: Merfolk: Also thought this would be a difficult match up because of Cursecatcher and Lords putting creatures outside of Pyroclasm range. Turns out I was right.
G1: T1 Vial + played a bunch of fish and I couldn't keep up. Lost quickly.
G2: Cursecatcher was a real problem this game. I decided to kill his Lord with a removal spell instead of a Cursecatcher which almost lost me the game. I ended up at 1 life and somehow TtB'd + Bolt and Electrolyze for the win.
G3: Opponent stumbled with mana and no Vial. TtB + couple burn spells finished the game.

2-0

R3: Jeskai Ascendancy: Even though the pilot was competent, I felt like I had an advantage. Neither one of us could tap out on our own turn in fear of each other comboing - hence why I felt I was favored.
G1: Played lands back and forth for a while, EoT TtB - gets Remanded. My turn main phase TtB, kills opponent.
G2: Gigadrowse was insane here. Again, played lands back and forth for a while until I eot Gigadrowsed all of his blue mana. TtB'd on my turn for the win.

3-0

R4: Slivers: A very rogue deck but had a lot of fight to it.
G1: Blood Moon put the game out of reach for my opponent while having 3 nonbasics and no board presence and no vial.
G2: T1 Vial + creatures and was quickly overwhelmed. Timely helped to stall but still got ran over.
G3: I casted Timely 3 times this game (gaining 18 life and 9 tokens) and just managed to pull it out.

4-0

These matchups show why I wanted a real sweeper but probably not necessary against the meta decks.


1) I've been going back and forth with the 23rd land. My experience is that a majority of my game losses occur due to not finding enough land, or not finding the combo in time for it to matter. Because of this, I play the 23rd land. My experience with Lighthouse has been that more often than not, its a colorless non-basic that has been worse than an Island in most situations. I can see the appeal of it though. Your mileage may vary.

You were right -- there were a few times where I had to mulligan because of the non blue land. My current build cut the Desolate Lighthouse in favor of the Island. I'm still at 22 lands though.

3) I disagree, and that's why this deck is dedicated to Breach + Emrakul. It started out as a Possibility Storm deck that I jammed a couple TtBs into. I quickly realized that playing 2 different 2 card combos was just not worth it. I'd rather support the strongest combo with consistency and survivability.

Today I will be testing a couple Polymorphs with various enablers in the deck. I will let you know how it goes.

5) My problem with Leyline here is that you have to mulligan into it, or its dead. This really doesn't sit well with me, and if I was going to take that gamble, I would certainly play the full set of 4.

I've taken out the Leylines... In its spot I am considering Keranos and/or Inferno Titan as additional win conditions. I realize Leyline and these cards do completely different things but want to clear up sideboard spots.

6) Gigadrowse is so versatile that I don't mind playing it the MD and using it as a Fog against aggro. It is helpful against every deck that isn't Burn or Delver. I do understand the swap between Gigadrowse and Bolt though. Keep testing.

I will try 1 Gigadrowse in the main over the 4th bolt and see how it goes.

8) Think hard about what decks you actually want a wrath effect against. Are they green decks like Pod, BGx, GW hatebears, etc? If so, Hibernation is a mana cheaper, instant speed, and on color. It also has the bonus effect of dealing with Choke, which is usually the only hate green decks have for us. Splashing another color will only add to the control side of the deck and will decrease consistency. Blood Moon has granted me too many free wins for me to cut entirely. Splashing a single Hallowed Fountain for a few SB cards is one thing. Trying to contort the manabase to play a WW spell is another entirely, and I feel you're creating more problems than your solving here. In short, I don't think a heavier splash is what we need. Timely and Wear/Tear are plenty.

I think you're right about this. The extra color splash is not needed and my experience with it in paper has skewed my view (playing against Merfolk and Slivers). Against the more meta defined decks, something like Verdict is not needed.

Would you mind posting your newest revision of the decklist? It keeps evolving and hopefully we can come up with something solid! I plan to bring this to a Modern tournament this weekend.

Thanks!

@dopespot,

I played the following list last night at my LGS to a 4-0 record:



A couple thoughts:

1. With all of the library manipulation and card draw, I felt that the 23rd land was unneeded and often I was flooding. I cut two Islands and added a Lighthouse as a way to prevent flooding and a way to get out of it in long games.

2. 4 Dig Through Time with 7+ 1 mana cantrips is absolutely needed for consistency - 4 Serum Visions definitely, 3+ Sleight of Hand.

3. The deck needs another enabler (Polymorph, Goryo's Vengeance, etc.) Unfortunately, these options mean adding additional colors and/or adding completely unnecessary cards to the mainboard (ex. adding Dryad Arbor with off color fetches for Polymorph). One idea that I'm considering is adding Timely Reinforcements to the main with a few copies of Polymorph to enable the combo but you won't always get tokens.

4. 4 Lightning Bolts seem necessary as often you will Through the Breach your opponent and NOT end the game. And obviously, it helps with opposing pressure.

5. Leyline of Sanctity answers the Slaughter Games problem while also blanking your opponents hand disruption, burn, etc. I'm not completely sold on having 3 SB slots dedicated to this but it's a consideration.

6. Gigadrowse is VERY good in the control/blue/combo mirrors. I do not think it should be used as a defensive mechanic (reason why its in the SB and why I added bolts to the MB).

7. I like Inferno Titan as a secondary win condition alongside Batterskull in the sideboard.

8. I really would like to have an actual board wipe. Pyroclasm usually isn't good enough in my experience. What are your thoughts on a UWR shell with Supreme Verdict instead of the UR shell with Blood Moon?

For reference, my differences vs. your MB original list:

-2 Island
-3 Electrolyze
-2 Gigadrowse
-1 Pyroclasm

+3 Izzet Charm
+4 Lightning Bolt
+1 Desolate Lighthouse

I hope to hear from you.

Thanks!

I've been playing a pretty stock Angel Pod for the entire PTQ season. I have decided to drop the 3rd Voice of Resurgence for a single Courser of Kruphix. I have won countless games off the back of this single card. The pros:

Survives Anger
Bring it back with Revillark
A HUGE roadblock for most decks
Playing Gavony off the top (won a win and in off this interaction in the mirror)
Incidental life gain and card advantage
Pairs well with Archangel (A single fetchland is double gavony)
+MORE

I haven't seen anyone trying this card out but after playing with it the entire season, I don't think I will be cutting it anytime soon.

Now that everyone has had some time to test Gerry Thompson's Resto Angel UW Delver list, what is the "correct" way to sideboard for the most popular decks? For reference, here is the deck that he used at Nashville:



I would like this to be a community exercise; therefore, I will keep this post updated with your sideboard recommendations so that we can draw some conclusions as to what's appropriate for each match up.


WRR Ramp:

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:



Mirror:

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:



UW Delver (Stalkers / Pikes):

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:



Esper Delver:

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:



R/G Aggro:

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:



Solar Flare:

[On Play]

[On Draw]

*Extra Comments:





Please be thorough with your sideboarding and have some type of reasoning. I hope that this will help everyone in our community!

Thanks

Please give your thoughts on this deck in the new post-AVR meta. The curve is slightly higher but another land was added.

Major changes:

4 Geist of Saint Traft --> 3 Geist of Saint Traft: Most of the time this guy just gets eaten by opposing creatures when you have no means of protecting it. I think he is still good but not as good when he can get chumped by almost anything.

2 Dungeon Geists --> 3 Dungeon Geists: This creature has proven to be very helpful in locking down the board and getting more damage through. This is even more true now that Wolf Run, Human Variants and R/G Aggro is running rampant.

0 Batterskull --> 1 Batterskull: Again, in a hyper aggressive meta, this card is absolutely nuts.

2 Invisible Stalker --> 0 Invisible Stalker: This card is very underwhelming now. Even with equipment, he seems too slow to make any effect on the board.

0 Timely Reinforcments --> 1 Timely Reinforcments: Again, this card is incredible for the hyper aggressive meta that is evolving.

0 Tamiyo --> 1 Tamiyo: I have not tested her but I feel that she can be very helpful in certain match ups. She can lock down Titans, Creatures, Wolf Run, Gavony Township, etc. She can also draw cards when you actually need something.

Probes / Thought Scour : I feel with 2 Pikes, 3 Thought Scour is the right number. The one-of probe is to occasionally see your opponents hand while helping to smooth draws. I dont think you are wanting to pay 2 life anymore to draw a card.

In order for this post to be educational at any level, you need to post your mainboard so we know what to take out in each match up.

I think that I would rather use Griptide than this card... And that says alot.

Quote from LakseKondi

As they do share colour and type, ofc. they can run in the same deck. However i havn't seen that many spirit decks with the reaver in them. Sure, he's a great card, but it rarely hits the table.

4 reavers in the same deck, nonono, as far as i can tell- only possible in a 'reanimator deck'

I'm pretty sure he's talking about Drogskul Captain not Drogskul Reaver. I've seen a few decks with both but it really clogs up your 3 drop spot trying to run Captaind, Geists and Lingering Souls. (assuming you aren't running swords).

I actually used two mainvoard a few weeks back. It really helped against the artifactvhsye everyone was running then. It may be more viable now as less artifact hate is being seen but in that case porcelain legionnaire may be just better (especially with the decline of gut shot).

Okay. How long do you typically let it dry for before putting to use?

Hello,

I've made a few acrylic altered cards and was wondering what's the best sealer/varnish/shellac/polyurathane to finish the cards so they won't chip or wear during use.

I see alot of people recommending Krylon Kamar Varnish but it's not sold in my area. Also is spray on better than paint on? I picked up a bottle of the Bulls Eye Shellac "Traditional Finish and Sealer". It seals nicely but up close it leaves alot of blotches. Also, the cards are not smooth like I would want them to be (making it hard to shuffle).

Thanks

Quote from NidStyles

You could break it up into sections by card type, would make it easier to read.

I like Gerry T., but his Meta call's so far in this format have been just plain wrong.

Sorry abou the formatting. I'm posting from my phone so it's nearly impossible to organize the list right now.

What do you guys think about this list? How does it compare to traditional UB? And how do you feel about zero card draw ( no think twice or alchemy ).

U/B Blade, by Gerry Thompson