I put together a mono blue deck that focuses on efficiency.
-Put out evasive blue creatures, and those that add minor card advantage like trinket mage.
-There's a toolbox of <=1 cmc artifacts for trinket mage which includes some equipment and some life gain like sylvok lifestaff.
-Use curiosity to try to get more card advantage.
-Defend with cheap counterspells like negate and turn aside.
-At the top of the mana curve are batterskull (the only 2 rares in the deck), mind control, and volition reins. The point of those is to generate some late game card advantage: take control of their best creature or permanent, and unless they can get enchantment removal through my minor counter shield, they'll likely have to use another card to stop the threat that I stole from them, so usually at worst it's a 1-for-1 while at best it's either a 2-for-1 or a win.
It's a pretty fun casual build. Trinket mage, curiosity, mind control, and volition reins try to build card advantage. Sylvok lifestaff, peace strider (which I'll probably replace with wing splicer), and batterskull are built-in lifegain against aggro, which gives me time for the card advantage to begin to matter.
I replaced honor of the pure with bonds of faith, and have been pleased with the switch. It's not always better, but I'm finding it to be better more often than it's worse.
It can lock down fat creatures, or it works especially well on Mirran Crusader and not bad on Geist, but it's not as durable as honor of the pure. It's often a better top-deck, however, as sometimes honor is a useless card to draw in a problematic situation, while bonds of faith is useful in more circumstances (unless one is playing against humans).
I don't have a particularly well-developed sideboard. Just a variation on kill spells and burn, at the moment. Things like slagstorm, geistflame, different numbers of go for the throat and doom blade, etc, to deal with different types of decks.
I'm finding that bloodgift demon is really good. I wanted to play him ever since I saw the Innistrad spoiler, just because I like him and I think he fits the black color perfectly. A 5/4 flying creature for 5 is an aggressively costed body, and his ability to take life and give you cards is great if they don't answer it (and I believe he's well suited in a burn deck, since he can give more fuel to increase the chances of ending the game on turn 6). I think the reason he's being ignored currently is that dismember is making it so that anything with less than 6 toughness is irrelevant, and for 1 more mana you can get consecrated sphinx if you're playing the right colors. Still, for red/black colors, I think he's solid. He adds midgame strength to the deck, and the opponent basically has to answer him.
So far, I'm having more success with this U/W control build than a U/W aggro build. I've got all the cards and keep dancing back and forth, trying out various options along the aggro/control spectrum to see which feels right, and which has the most success.
Elspeth in place of Gideon is an interesting idea. Doomblade vs. Gideon is highly annoying, but I feel U/B control is not such a bad matchup as is, and Gideon helps with stopping heavy hitters or dealing with aggro.
I'm going to graduate school in Bangkok now, and the 'big' tournament this month is going to be the GameDay. A Buddy of mine wants to play UB control, but Consecrated Sphinx is almost impossible to find. It seems that the ten-or-so card shops I frequent have completely sold out of them in the last week.
I've been playing UB control for the last few months. I only have one Snapcaster (though i plan to buy 3 this week), but Solemn Simulacrum has been working ok...
Anyways, my friend has been trying to figure out what to use in the event he can't find Sphinxes. I already have 2 in my deck, and usually I find I don't need them by the time I can cast them. More likely than not, I already have a Think Twice or two and a Forbidden Alchemyin the yard and 5 or six cards in hand.
After all, if Consecrated lives for more than a couple turns, you should have won already. Uthuun may have a much larger momentum swing in your favor.
He seems really good with Snapcaster...
I concede that the 7-cc can be a big problem in some games, but it seems mitigated by running 26 lands.
What do you guys think?
Sphinx of Uthuun and Rune-Scarred Demon make "ok" budget replacements, but they're not better than the typical finishers.
Uthuun costs too much and his effect isn't quite powerful enough. Secondly, I don't really see how he has much synergy with snapcaster. He does dump things into the graveyard, but by this late in the game, the graveyard is probably already full of snapcaster targets.
I'm finding that tapping out at eot for something like this isn't too useful against U/W mage-blade or UW Control, with their snapcaster mage or midnight haunting plays in response to tapping out to something like think twice or nephalia when it seems safe to do so. Not particularly devastating, but it generates tempo for them and gets through the counterwall.
Not bad, but having trouble against some top archetypes. U/B DrawGo has had a slight advantage so far, despite abolishers, mirrans, geists, and moorlands, but it's close. The deck performs well against straight aggro, especially games 2 and 3, but WWR gives it issues. Spellskite and rebuke help. Token decks can chump block the heavy hitters from this deck all day.
Hmm i feel a little out of place. I guess i might not be utilizing draw as much as i should. Last night i only used
4 Think Twice
3 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Jace (but i never drew with him only mill 10)
Im still not sold on FA but adding a USZ sounds pretty awesome.
I can't imagine running this deck without 2-3 FA.
In the early game, it gives consistency. It lets you dig four cards deep for an answer you need. If you find any think twices within those cards, you start to build card advantage. You can fix mana issues (too much, too little), and you can fill the graveyard for snapcaster. In late game, it can be a source of card advantage in the graveyard. It's an instant so it doesn't get in the way of casting anything else; like think twice, you only cast it eot if the mana was unused.
Sideboard notes:
-Drownyard, Quarter, and Jace come in against control, especially the mirror.
-A second batterskull, and some cheaper removal, comes in against aggro.
-Distress comes in against planeswalker or enchantment problems.
-Spellskite comes in against aggro and ramp.
-Tribute to Hunger comes in against hexproof.
I'm playing a vampire deck as my budget build on the side for fun.
The direction I've gone is to have multiple low-cost vampires, vampires with bloodthirst or flying, extra burn spells, some kill spells, vampiric fury, and finish off with bloodlord of vaasgoth and bloodgift demon. Personally, I've been viewing bloodgift demon underrated as a whole. He's in the build even though he's not a vampire because he works well with burn.
I don't have my decklist with me at the moment; I can probably post it tomorrow. The principle behind the deck is to hit fast, use burn to either disrupt opponent or assistant with bloodthirst, and bloodgift demon helps draw more cards, such as extra burn or a vampiric fury to go for the last few points of damage.
I've been struggling against DoJ everywhere in testing. Toying with the idea of an angelic overseer or two, since the amount of humans run should make her unkillable.
Although, I'll try the moorland haunt, and see if that resolves my problems.
Moorland haunt and doomed traveler work pretty well with a DoJ. So do angelic overseer or gideon, for five-drops. Plus, swords, angelic destiny, and honor of the pure survive DoJ and retain their value for the next set of creatures after a DoJ.
you are aware trinket is just to fetch spellbomb right?
Yes, but in order to make it worthwhile, I think some additional picks would be useful. If I was playing trinket mage in a deck like this, I'd have at least 1 silver-inlaid dagger in the deck, too.
also, i dont understand how everyone is disagreeing with 4x snapcaster mage, that is sacrilegious.
I don't think 4x snapcaster mage is bad by any stretch, but I'm finding 3 to be the optimal number in my build so far. He's certainly an outstanding card.
I'd put 4 snapcasters in a U/B draw go or a U/W straight control.
I think there are more overrated cards appearing the lists here:
invisible stalker - its just a bad card, doesnt create any kind of CA unlike hawk, its weak and it requires more cards to be good - decribtion of a bad card imho
Angelic destiny - enchatments really ? a two for one (if the enchanted creature gets removed) on turn four for 4 mana is just terrible
Gheist of Saint traft - this guy is decent dont get me wrong but id still rather play mirran crusaders instead just coz crusaders can block gheists all day long and they are much better with swords (i loled at the trinket mage + random crappy dagger package :D), especially with the SoWaP which will be really good in the new meta
Angelic Overseer - again cards that have a condition to be good are usually bad (excluding cards like wild nacatl and so on) this guy is the second Phylactery Lich - and these didnt see much play although destroying artifacts is less common than killing human creatures. Also why play this guy when you can just play Consecrated sphinx the next turn blocking this guy and drawing you cards...
Invisible stalker might not be optimal as a 4-of, but an unblockable hexproof base is a good foundation to build some tempo on.
Angelic Destiny is meant for hexproof or protected creatures in this deck, like geist or stalker, or mirran crusader when playing against black or green. So it doesn't get removed when its target gets spot removed. Plus if the creature is sweeped, Angelic Destiny goes back to the hand. It's a pretty bad card like most enchant creatures if played on an improper creature.
The geist vs. crusader choice depends largely on what deck one is facing. I'm currently running 3 of each in my build.
I'm not running overseer, but it looks decent in a human build.
acidic slime called, it wants its knowlage of the deck you are talking about and dont know even the basic card it plays back
this deck is medicore at its bests and no one plays DoJ...now...if gheists will start to run around with their hexproof everyone and their moms will be MD dojes.
steel is a deck that will kill you in turn 3 if you will not do anything and i dont think a 2/2 hexproof defender will stop it...
what will you do againt the venser deck posted before when venser will be poping stonehorn dignitary ?
heck even a red deck will never let you play a sword or angelic destiny coz of the constant pressure...
Steel is a deck that will kill you in turn 3 if it gets a decent hand and if you do nothing. The first game in a match is heavily in tempered steel's favor if it gets a good hand, but after siding in ratchet bomb and timely reinforcements, this deck starts to have a solid play.
A number of timely reinforcements alongside a playset of snapcaster mages significantly slows down steel or red aggro decks.
We shall see. btw.. Think Twice is crap in standard. Saying that it is a staple in standard is like saying Healing Salve is a staple in T1.. Sure it can be played, but that doesn't mean it's good.
Think twice is going to be a staple in control. Instant speed card draw is prime in such a deck.
But in aggro-control, it's not something I'd look to include.
imo, swords are better in this human-build. Angelic destiny really shines on a Geist, which isn't human, since it gives it much-needed evasion (although swords can do that too if they're the right color combination against the opponent). Without geist, I'd stick with swords.
-Put out evasive blue creatures, and those that add minor card advantage like trinket mage.
-There's a toolbox of <=1 cmc artifacts for trinket mage which includes some equipment and some life gain like sylvok lifestaff.
-Use curiosity to try to get more card advantage.
-Defend with cheap counterspells like negate and turn aside.
-At the top of the mana curve are batterskull (the only 2 rares in the deck), mind control, and volition reins. The point of those is to generate some late game card advantage: take control of their best creature or permanent, and unless they can get enchantment removal through my minor counter shield, they'll likely have to use another card to stop the threat that I stole from them, so usually at worst it's a 1-for-1 while at best it's either a 2-for-1 or a win.
It's a pretty fun casual build. Trinket mage, curiosity, mind control, and volition reins try to build card advantage. Sylvok lifestaff, peace strider (which I'll probably replace with wing splicer), and batterskull are built-in lifegain against aggro, which gives me time for the card advantage to begin to matter.
It can lock down fat creatures, or it works especially well on Mirran Crusader and not bad on Geist, but it's not as durable as honor of the pure. It's often a better top-deck, however, as sometimes honor is a useless card to draw in a problematic situation, while bonds of faith is useful in more circumstances (unless one is playing against humans).
3 Stromkirk Noble
3 Vampire Interloper
2 Child of Night
2 Adaptive Automaton
2 Bloodrage Vampire
4 Bloodgift Demon
2 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
3 Shock
3 Incinerate
3 Brimstone Volley
Killspells: 5
3 doom blade
2 go for the throat
Equipment: 2
2 Sword of War and Peace
2 Chandra, the Firebrand
Land: 24
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Stensia Bloodhall
7 Swamp
7 Mountain
I don't have a particularly well-developed sideboard. Just a variation on kill spells and burn, at the moment. Things like slagstorm, geistflame, different numbers of go for the throat and doom blade, etc, to deal with different types of decks.
I'm finding that bloodgift demon is really good. I wanted to play him ever since I saw the Innistrad spoiler, just because I like him and I think he fits the black color perfectly. A 5/4 flying creature for 5 is an aggressively costed body, and his ability to take life and give you cards is great if they don't answer it (and I believe he's well suited in a burn deck, since he can give more fuel to increase the chances of ending the game on turn 6). I think the reason he's being ignored currently is that dismember is making it so that anything with less than 6 toughness is irrelevant, and for 1 more mana you can get consecrated sphinx if you're playing the right colors. Still, for red/black colors, I think he's solid. He adds midgame strength to the deck, and the opponent basically has to answer him.
Fact or Fiction is great as a four-mana instant.
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Frost Titan
Counters: 9
4 Dissipate
4 Mana Leak
1 Negate
Removal: 6
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Day of Judgment
Draw: 4
4 Think Twice
4 Midnight Haunting
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 White Sun's Zenith
3 Gideon Jura
Land: 26
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Inkmoth Nexus
8 Island
7 Plains
4 Timely Reinforcements
2 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
3 Spellskite
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Sword of War and Peace
Elspeth in place of Gideon is an interesting idea. Doomblade vs. Gideon is highly annoying, but I feel U/B control is not such a bad matchup as is, and Gideon helps with stopping heavy hitters or dealing with aggro.
Sphinx of Uthuun and Rune-Scarred Demon make "ok" budget replacements, but they're not better than the typical finishers.
Uthuun costs too much and his effect isn't quite powerful enough. Secondly, I don't really see how he has much synergy with snapcaster. He does dump things into the graveyard, but by this late in the game, the graveyard is probably already full of snapcaster targets.
I'm finding that tapping out at eot for something like this isn't too useful against U/W mage-blade or UW Control, with their snapcaster mage or midnight haunting plays in response to tapping out to something like think twice or nephalia when it seems safe to do so. Not particularly devastating, but it generates tempo for them and gets through the counterwall.
4 Champion of the Perish
3 Doomed Traveler
2 Gideon's Lawkeeper
4 Grand Abolisher
4 Mirran Crusader
2 Geist of Saint Traft
Other Spells: 17
4 Honor of the Pure
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Midnight Haunting
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Angelic Destiny
3 Gideon Jura
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Moorland Haunt
2 Island
11 Plains
4 Timely Reinforcements
3 Spellskite
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Rebuke
3 Midnight Haunting
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Purify the Grave
Not bad, but having trouble against some top archetypes. U/B DrawGo has had a slight advantage so far, despite abolishers, mirrans, geists, and moorlands, but it's close. The deck performs well against straight aggro, especially games 2 and 3, but WWR gives it issues. Spellskite and rebuke help. Token decks can chump block the heavy hitters from this deck all day.
I can't imagine running this deck without 2-3 FA.
In the early game, it gives consistency. It lets you dig four cards deep for an answer you need. If you find any think twices within those cards, you start to build card advantage. You can fix mana issues (too much, too little), and you can fill the graveyard for snapcaster. In late game, it can be a source of card advantage in the graveyard. It's an instant so it doesn't get in the way of casting anything else; like think twice, you only cast it eot if the mana was unused.
I had a USZ in the build, but replaced it with a second Consecrated Sphinx.
I keep a Jace, Memory Adept in the sideboard for control matchups.
2 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Grave Titan
1 Batterskull
4 Snapcaster Mage
Counters: 9
4 Mana Leak
4 Dissipate
1 Negate
Removal: 9
2 Wring Flesh
1 Go for the Throat
2 Doom Blade
1 Tribute to Hunger
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Think Twice
3 Forbidden Alchemy
Land: 26
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Ghost Town
8 Island
6 Swamp
2 Distress
2 Spellskite
2 Nephalia Drownyard
2 Tribute to Hunger
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Wring Flesh
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Batterskull
1 Jace, Memory Adept
Sideboard notes:
-Drownyard, Quarter, and Jace come in against control, especially the mirror.
-A second batterskull, and some cheaper removal, comes in against aggro.
-Distress comes in against planeswalker or enchantment problems.
-Spellskite comes in against aggro and ramp.
-Tribute to Hunger comes in against hexproof.
The direction I've gone is to have multiple low-cost vampires, vampires with bloodthirst or flying, extra burn spells, some kill spells, vampiric fury, and finish off with bloodlord of vaasgoth and bloodgift demon. Personally, I've been viewing bloodgift demon underrated as a whole. He's in the build even though he's not a vampire because he works well with burn.
I don't have my decklist with me at the moment; I can probably post it tomorrow. The principle behind the deck is to hit fast, use burn to either disrupt opponent or assistant with bloodthirst, and bloodgift demon helps draw more cards, such as extra burn or a vampiric fury to go for the last few points of damage.
Moorland haunt and doomed traveler work pretty well with a DoJ. So do angelic overseer or gideon, for five-drops. Plus, swords, angelic destiny, and honor of the pure survive DoJ and retain their value for the next set of creatures after a DoJ.
Yes, but in order to make it worthwhile, I think some additional picks would be useful. If I was playing trinket mage in a deck like this, I'd have at least 1 silver-inlaid dagger in the deck, too.
I don't think 4x snapcaster mage is bad by any stretch, but I'm finding 3 to be the optimal number in my build so far. He's certainly an outstanding card.
I'd put 4 snapcasters in a U/B draw go or a U/W straight control.
Invisible stalker might not be optimal as a 4-of, but an unblockable hexproof base is a good foundation to build some tempo on.
Angelic Destiny is meant for hexproof or protected creatures in this deck, like geist or stalker, or mirran crusader when playing against black or green. So it doesn't get removed when its target gets spot removed. Plus if the creature is sweeped, Angelic Destiny goes back to the hand. It's a pretty bad card like most enchant creatures if played on an improper creature.
The geist vs. crusader choice depends largely on what deck one is facing. I'm currently running 3 of each in my build.
I'm not running overseer, but it looks decent in a human build.
Steel is a deck that will kill you in turn 3 if it gets a decent hand and if you do nothing. The first game in a match is heavily in tempered steel's favor if it gets a good hand, but after siding in ratchet bomb and timely reinforcements, this deck starts to have a solid play.
A number of timely reinforcements alongside a playset of snapcaster mages significantly slows down steel or red aggro decks.
Think twice is going to be a staple in control. Instant speed card draw is prime in such a deck.
But in aggro-control, it's not something I'd look to include.