first it has to resolve before it can die so as I understand an instant can be cast in between its arrival and death,even if it still dies would I not be able to have them mill cards?
When Consuming Aberration resolves and you gain priority, state-based actions are checked and the Aberration dies. You cannot cast an instant at that time to trigger it.
Quote from Comprehensive Rules »
704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 116, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event.
Note that Rooftop Storm + a single Gravecrawler is not an infinite combo since you can only cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard for 0 when you control a Zombie.
Check out Cabal Therapy which costs B the first time and a sacrifice the second, where Mind Slash costs 1BBB and a sacrifice the first time and B and a sacrifice the second. Mind Slash is extensible beyond 2 activations but you shouldn't need much more than that to win a game.
So the combination you are abusing is 2 cards costing that generate . After investing the base we can then pay additional s into the combo for a piece up to three times.
The fastest route I see towards payoff involves turn 1 land, Dark Ritual, morph; turn 2 land, unmorph, Energy Tap, spend 8 mana. At this point we've spoken for 5 of our 8 cards if we were on the play, 5 of 9 if we were on the draw. This means that we can't perform a Metalworker combo yet and that the other three-card combos are rather unlikely to be in our hand.
The combo route it seems you are talking about would be something like turn 1 land, cantrip/discard spell; turn 2 land, manaaccelerant, morph; turn 3 land, unmorph, Energy Tap, Energy Tap, spend 16 mana. On the play, cantripping turn 1, we now have 2 cards in hand to spend 16 mana on. Casting a discard spell turn 1 leaves us at 1 card to spend our mana on. Both these numbers go up one on the draw.
It seems that building the deck that way will cause it to be extremely reliant on its draws with almost no room for error. The best payoffs are probably single spells like Ugin and Sundering Titan which can be cast for full value as the last card in hand.
---
One other build I can envision would include cards like Birds of Paradise to enable turn 2 morphs and other morph synergies like Secret Plans. This deck may win by casting Concordant Crossroads and attacking with a lot of morphs casted from Energy Tap mana.
I played the same list (less SB) as Slayer89 above with the now-banned Dig Through Time replaced by the fourth Force of Will and the Grand Abolisher replaced by a third Daze as I couldn't find a copy of Abolisher prior to the event. The sideboard would probably be fairly ineffective in a different metagame. I wanted to generally cover Deathrite Shaman with Swords to Plowshares, Lands with the graveyard hate, Delver/counterspell decks with Misdirection and Spell Pierce, hateful permanents with my disenchants, and creature-based aggro with True-Name Nemesis.
Round 1 vs. Michelle on modern Soul Sisters
Game 1: I kept something like Æther Vial plus combo. I put Nomads en-Kor in play at the end of turn two and Cephalid Illusionist in play on turn three. My opponent was tapped out for a Spectral Procession so I used my Narcomoebas immediately to win.
Game 2: I got even luckier to open with 2 Vials, combo, and Laboratory Maniac. Rest in Peace hit the field on turn 2 so I Vialed in combo pieces as applicable and then Lab Man on turn 4 upkeep to win on my draw step.
Round 2 vs. Zach on Infect
Game 1: Sweet opener again. Led with basic Island Æther Vial so I could pretend to be Merfolk. Won quickly, flashing back Cabal Therapies to clear Force of Will.
Game 2: Kept Vial + half of combo. I Swordsed an Inkmoth Nexus and Pondered a bunch, putting Illusionist into play at the end of his turn 4. I cast Nomads and comboed with 4 lands total (1 tapped). I flashed back a Therapy sacrificing Nomads which was Dazed. I did not pay and flashed back another Therapy sacrificing Illusionist. In response, one of my Narcomoebas was Submerged as I controlled Tropical Island. Luckily, I had another Ponder in hand to draw the Narcomoeba, tap out to cast it, and win through a non-Force of Will hand.
Round 3 vs. Alejandro on budget Deathblade (Stifle over FoW, shocks)
Game 1: Kept half of combo, 2 lands, 2 FoW, Ponder, Daze. I Forced pitching Force his turn 1 Deathrite Shaman on my turn 0. Cantripped back into the game and won around turn 3 or turn 4.
Game 2: Kept basic Swamp, Æther Vial, Eladamri's Call since my luck had been unreal all night. Didn't draw blue mana for a while (I think I cast a Therapy at some point). He had a few Swords to Plowshares for the pieces I put into play one at a time off Vial and a stream of Deathrite Shamans which occupied my own Swords to Plowshares. Game over when he got to four mana and connected with Umezawa's Jitte on my empty board.
Game 3: Kept Æther Vial + combo with an extra Illusionist. Turn 1 land Vial, turn 2 land pass. Responded to his Inquisition of Kozilek by Vialing in Nomads and presenting a hand that couldn't be disrupted by a single discard spell. Got my fetchland Stifle and started to win on my turn 3, Therapying away a Spell Pierce
Props: I got insane hands all night
Slops: Really can't complain
Congratulations on the win Reppin' U Tron, keepin' the dream alive.
In the Blue Moon matchup, did your opponent cast Blood Moon? From your description, I'm guessing no.
All the same, decks like U Moon and UWx control present, I believe, some of our toughest matchups.
Thanks
No Blood Moons were cast, but a few Spreading Seas did hit the table. I'm in complete agreement that U(x) control* is our toughest matchup.
* Note that I define this category of decks as playing 4 Lightning Bolt and 4 Snapcaster Mage and thus decks like Twin may fall into this category at times.
We do have late game superiority but it's quite difficult to slog through their counters and disruption to make it there. Basically, Tron is forced to hold a counter for game breaking threats AND deploy game breaking threats AND develop its mana. Usually I can accomplish two of these goals but not three simultaneously.
Weird. I have a 100 percent win rate against Blue Moon and always consider it our absolute best matchup, and a 75+% win rate against Twin. I wonder if there's a major difference in our decision making that accounts for these widely varied results. Both decks feel like close to a bye.
As soon as you play an Island your Blue moon opponent should start sending burn upstairs and casting Snapcaster Mages as Lightning Bolts 5-8 and attacking. We do not play nearly enough interaction to stop the hemorrhaging while simultaneously building towards Tron. Perhaps you have faced opponents who play reactively in the matchup - in that case I do think it would be closer to even. (For example, in the games I lost in the PPTQ, my Blue Moon opponent was casting mainphase Electrolyze against me after he made it to 5 mana.)
That is a lot of torpor orbs... that fell out of favour with the demise of pod is it worth playing again?. what were you bringing it against?. is it just Twin.
Yep, the main target was Twin. I feel that that is a matchup we can win but only when we are prepared for it. Incidentally, it gives sideboard options against random decks that want to use their creatures as spells.
I always was happy to see Ux Control (either Blue Moon or UWx) across the table. Of course, a good match-up might only be 60-40 or 70-30, so you can expect to lose some games. We have a number of advantages though, and the longer the game goes, the more powerful we get, while they sort of asymptote out. We draw more cards and have better late game.
Twin is harder. They can definitely overload us in a critical turn, and sometimes can tempo us out. I think this match-up is closer to 50-50.
Agreed, if the game goes long, we certainly have the advantage. However I believe that the strategy of a competent control player should not be to draw out the game against us. They know as well as we do what happens when we have 13 mana in play and should do whatever is in their power to win before that.
Awesome work, magicthevlog. Always good to see this deck having success at events of consequence.
How was Remand for you all day? Would you say the cantrip nature of Remand was invaluable to you the entire day or would Mana Leak have been a viable stand-in in its place in those same situations?
Thank you. I would much rather cast Remand than Mana Leak. Specific examples that it shone over the tournament were against Living End, and casting it targeting a Loxodon Smiter to cantrip when I just needed to dig. I also used it periodically against 3 cmc spells as a Time Walk
In my experience, Snapcaster Mage just increases your virtual spell category count - I mean that it gives you an extra copy of whichever spell you've already cast. So it just adds a bit of flexibility to the deck. It can be an extra counterspell or another Thirst for Knowledge + block.
Gifts Ungiven is great as a 5th "I held mana up to counter your spell but you didn't cast anything" card. There aren't any abuse piles like in 4 Color Gifts so I normally cast it for pure value. Also of note, if you can activate a Mindslaver but can't finish the lock, you can cast Gifts Ungiven when you are controlling your opponent to find the best 2 cards in your deck.
Dude, BIG congrats to you Magicthevlog on the first place win man!
...
I'm also throwing my batterskull back into my deck and going down to just 1 solemn simulacrum.
Thanks! I can see playing Batterskull over a Solemn Simulacrum to become a little more threat dense. This seems especially good in a Burn-heavy metagame. Of note, Solemn Simulacrum can block an Etched Champion where a Germ token falls short.
Congrats on winning a PPTQ with U-Tron! Love your list and sideboard.
I like seeing some some love for Squelch.
Thank you. Squelch has been awesome for me, whether it counters a fetchland, a Mindslaver in the mirror, or a planeswalker ultimate like in the finals. I'd strongly advocate at least a 2-of in the sideboard.
Hey! Thanks for the report! Congratulations on your winning.
Could you tell us what would you change from your MD if you had to play tomorrow?
I love playing Gifts Ungiven but I'm not sure about Spell Burst and Cyclonic Rift.
Were you happy when you drew Solemn Simulacrum? Would you play a Batterskull over 1 copy of Wurmcoil?
Thanks in advance
Thanks! If I played the list tomorrow I would cut 1 Treasure Mage for a Snapcaster Mage (and fit a second in the board over Ratchet Bomb). I think having access to the huge one-ofs in Spell Burst and Cyclonic Rift is really great for the deck. I used Spell Burst to great effect against the Death Cloud deck and against cascaded Living Ends. I also cast Cyclonic Rift normally to disrupt Twin combo and overloaded to time walk the Tezzeret aggro deck. I like Solemn Simulacrum as a great way to stall the game and increase my access to blue mana. I never had it in my hand and wished it was something else. I personally wouldn't play Batterskull over Wurmcoil Engine. I used to board one, but found I wasn't bringing it in very often with 2 Wurmcoil Engines already in the main deck. I do think Batterskull is better against Path to Exile, however.
Sorry guys, haven't read through the most recent updates in this thread so forgive me if my list is a little outdated. Anyways, I wanted to post this tournament report from the PPTQ I attended today. I'd love some feedback on my list. Notable exclusions: Snapcaster Mage: instead I play the third Treasure Mage; Spellskite: would help against Twin, I should grab a couple; and Chalice of the Void: would help against Burn but instead I hedged towards trumping slower creature decks.
Exactly 32 players showed up for this PPTQ so we played 5 rounds of Swiss with a cut to top 8. I didn't take any notes besides life totals, so my memory may not be exact in some cases.
Round 1: vs. Chris piloting Naya Zoo
My opponent started things off with a mulligan to 6. He chunked me to 16, then 12 with some big green creatures. I put together a Mindslaver lock and he conceded game 1. I sided in Dismembers. My opponent again mulliganed to 6. I slowed things down with a Wurmcoil Engine, at one point cracking an Oblivion Stone when he targeted it with Path to Exile. He allowed me to recur Mindslaver through an active Scavenging Ooze and I locked him again for the win.
I wasn't thrilled to face this matchup as I feel it is one of Blue Tron's weak points. In game 1, I kept up with his Deceiver Exarchs and Pestermites using counterspells and Repeals. Eventually I stuck a Mindslaver but did not have the Academy Ruins. I looked at his sideboard (after he called a judge to make sure I was allowed to do so) and did as much damage as I could. I had another Mindslaver in hand to control his next turn and was able to dig for an Academy Ruins with Thirst for Knowledge. He conceded to the lock. I sided in Torpor Orbs and Dismembers. In game 2 he attacked me for infinite on turn 4. I didn't have any interaction. I believe I kept a Tron piece Expedition Map hand. Game 3 was a strange one. He landed an early Blood Moon with one Island in play. We proceeded to play draw go for the next 12-ish turns. During this time he was only able to come up with one more Island. I won a few counter wars with my higher blue mana reserve and eventually Repealed Blood Moon to initiate a Mindslaver lock.
At this point, Michael and I were 4th and 3rd in the standings respectively. I offered him a draw at the beginning of the match, knowing the cut would come down to tie breakers and we had the best breakers at the moment. He decided not to chance it and we played our match. I suffered some Tarmogoyf beats in game 1, but was able to pay for a couple Mana Leaks once I finished Tron and won with a Mindslaver lock. He did not immediately concede, so again I asked to look at his sideboard. The judge came to my aid once again and dispensed the ruling that I was indeed allowed to perform such an action. I sided in Dismembers for Tarmogoyf. Game 2 went similarly. At one point he cast Inquisition of Kozilek and I revealed 4 lands. I brilliantly discarded a Solemn Simulacrum to a Thirst for Knowledge, growing his Tarmogoyf out of range of the Dismember in my hand. Luckily I found a Repeal right on time to bounce lethal combat damage and give myself a couple more turns. I countered a Snapcaster Mage on his next turn which would have otherwise flashed back Inquisition of Kozilek to strip an Expedition Map from my hand. He replayed Tarmogoyf and on my next turn I cast and activated Expedition Map to find an Academy Ruins to complement the Mindslaver in my hand.
Games: 8-3
Rounds: 4-1
A win in round 5 maintained my 3rd place standing going into the top 8, so I had some great opportunities to choose to play first in the playoffs.
Quarterfinals: vs. Nathan piloting Living End
My opponent pulled the wool over my eyes early in game 1 when I had an Expedition Map in play and he stated, "Move to discard" instead of, "End my turn". I switched into rules lawyer mode and made sure to communicate exceedingly clearly for the remainder of the match. Game 1 was quite easy since I had counterspells in my deck. No Living Ends resolved, but a few Violent Outbursts did. I eventually won with Mindslaver. In game two he had a great mana denial draw and I struggled to get above 2 lands. I let him resolve the land death cards so I could hold Remand for Living End (plus Remanding a Beast Within feels pretty bad to me). He won with a Ricochet Trap for my Remand on his Living End. Game 3 went a little slower. He again had an early Beast Within but not one every turn. I attacked with the Beast token for a while and developed my board. I had a Oblivion Stone in play when he cascaded into a Living End. I Remanded, tapping my only Island. He again had the Ricochet Trap but I was in the clear to sacrifice Oblivion Stone on my turn to wipe the board. I won some time after this with another Beast token and a Solemn Simulacrum.
Throughout the day I joked with Cory that I hoped not to face him as this is a tough matchup for Mono Blue Tron. Rather than mulligan, he kept a slow 7 game 1 and I was able to counter a few key cards like Etched Champion and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas to give myself enough time to find Tron and eventually a Mindslaver lock. In game 2, he cast Pithing Needle naming Mindslaver on turn 1 and Torpor Orb on turn 2. This turned out to be quite good against my hand of Mindslaver, Treasure Mage, and Solemn Simulacrum. I cast the bears as able while holding up counterspells and the game came down to one critical turn. He resolved Cranial Plating and equipped it to his Inkmoth Nexus for lethal poison damage, forcing me to pull the trigger on my Tectonic Edge. Instead he equipped to a Signal Pest and attacked me for 9. A Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas then ultimated for 18... which I Squelched. The next turn I could attack with my team to win the game.
Games: 14-4
Rounds: 7-1
My finish was good for an invite to the Regional Pro Tour Qualifier and a booster box. Luckily, Game Cafe allowed me to cash out my box as store credit so I picked up some great singles.
Props:
* shoktroopa for turning me on to the single Gifts Ungiven in the main deck
* The deck for being a great choice in the metagame I faced (I almost decided to play Storm)
* Mindslaver for enabling 8 of my 14 game wins
* Repeal for trumping permanent-based hate
* Game Cafe for selling me some Revised duals
Hi everyone, I'll be playing in a local tournament tomorrow. I don't know much about the meta as I haven't played Modern at this store before. My best guess based on talking with the TO would be 8-29 players and a higher than normal representation of tier 2 decks. I do know there will be one player on Tezzeret Affinity and one on Melira combo.
I can play Mono U Tron or Pyromancer Ascension Storm. Does anyone have experience with those decks in a lower tier meta?
I'm leaning towards Tron as both my options have high payoffs but I can cast counterspells in the Tron deck.
Personally, I own a quite a few Legacy staples (but need to finish blue decks with shock lands, for example).
I choose to participate in a free weekly event in my area. It's sanctioned and if you go 3-0 you can pick a promo card from the shop's cutstack- clearly the monetary value of this prize is significantly lower than the gas and time I spend driving to the event.
I much prefer such an event to one with a $10 or $15 entry (although that would be more manageable once a month as opposed to weekly), not due to the fact that I don't have the disposable income to pay to play in the event, but because I'd rather spend my disposable income on cards to try new decks. This probably isn't a majority opinion but maybe a few people would feel the same way.
Motivating me to play at a store that doesn't sell singles would essentially require a cash prize.
Also, when I was in college I ran one or two Legacy events at a local card shop. As far as I can remember, the store had me run them as $5 entry and paid out ( ( (# players) / 2) * (# rounds) ) packs. Gross!
So for example with 8 players (3 rounds) the store made $40 and paid out 12 packs (and gave me a dollar per player in store credit for running the event.)
Wow, can't believe someone was dedicated enough to start a hate thread just for us! I feel like I should point out the fact that not everyone on the old internet machine is using it for the same purpose. In fact, Jake and I (Max here) are just kicking it for personal amusement. I completely understand that some people are interested in hardcore discussion about high tier strategy, and unfortunately you aren't going to find much of that in Magic: The Vlog.
I also understand the fact that I can't do anything to change the actions of anyone else. By all means, please continue to use forums such as this one for anything you desire (including discussing our shortcomings!). I simply hope that you might take away a small comprehension that we are just enjoying ourselves, much in the same manner that you are enjoying yourselves here.
Argivian Find provides some resilience to disenchants
When Consuming Aberration resolves and you gain priority, state-based actions are checked and the Aberration dies. You cannot cast an instant at that time to trigger it.
Note that Rooftop Storm + a single Gravecrawler is not an infinite combo since you can only cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard for 0 when you control a Zombie.
Check out Cabal Therapy which costs B the first time and a sacrifice the second, where Mind Slash costs 1BBB and a sacrifice the first time and B and a sacrifice the second. Mind Slash is extensible beyond 2 activations but you shouldn't need much more than that to win a game.
So the combination you are abusing is 2 cards costing
Here's a list of things I want to do in Legacy that cost
* Cast Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
* Cast Metalworker, Lightning Greaves, and Staff of Domination; then have 3 or more artifacts in my hand
* Cast Composite Golem and Nim Deathmantle, then have an action spell
* Cast Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth, then have Sensei's Divining Top in my hand
* Cast Mycosynth Lattice and Null Rod vs. my opponent's empty board, then attack 20 times with a 1/1
* Cast Su-Chi, Nim Deathmantle, and Altar of Dementia
* Cast Sundering Titan
The fastest route I see towards payoff involves turn 1 land, Dark Ritual, morph; turn 2 land, unmorph, Energy Tap, spend 8 mana. At this point we've spoken for 5 of our 8 cards if we were on the play, 5 of 9 if we were on the draw. This means that we can't perform a Metalworker combo yet and that the other three-card combos are rather unlikely to be in our hand.
The combo route it seems you are talking about would be something like turn 1 land, cantrip/discard spell; turn 2 land, mana accelerant, morph; turn 3 land, unmorph, Energy Tap, Energy Tap, spend 16 mana. On the play, cantripping turn 1, we now have 2 cards in hand to spend 16 mana on. Casting a discard spell turn 1 leaves us at 1 card to spend our mana on. Both these numbers go up one on the draw.
It seems that building the deck that way will cause it to be extremely reliant on its draws with almost no room for error. The best payoffs are probably single spells like Ugin and Sundering Titan which can be cast for full value as the last card in hand.
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One other build I can envision would include cards like Birds of Paradise to enable turn 2 morphs and other morph synergies like Secret Plans. This deck may win by casting Concordant Crossroads and attacking with a lot of morphs casted from Energy Tap mana.
4 Nomads en-Kor
1 Shaman en-Kor
4 Cephalid Illusionist
3 Narcomoeba
1 Angel of Glory's Rise
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Hapless Researcher
Spells (27)
4 Æther Vial
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Eladamri's Call
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
1 Dread Return
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
2 Tundra
2 Watery Grave
1 Scrubland
1 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Misdirection
2 Spell Pierce
1 Echoing Truth
1 Disenchant
1 Krosan Grip
3 True-Name Nemesis
I played the same list (less SB) as Slayer89 above with the now-banned Dig Through Time replaced by the fourth Force of Will and the Grand Abolisher replaced by a third Daze as I couldn't find a copy of Abolisher prior to the event. The sideboard would probably be fairly ineffective in a different metagame. I wanted to generally cover Deathrite Shaman with Swords to Plowshares, Lands with the graveyard hate, Delver/counterspell decks with Misdirection and Spell Pierce, hateful permanents with my disenchants, and creature-based aggro with True-Name Nemesis.
Round 1 vs. Michelle on modern Soul Sisters
Game 1: I kept something like Æther Vial plus combo. I put Nomads en-Kor in play at the end of turn two and Cephalid Illusionist in play on turn three. My opponent was tapped out for a Spectral Procession so I used my Narcomoebas immediately to win.
Game 2: I got even luckier to open with 2 Vials, combo, and Laboratory Maniac. Rest in Peace hit the field on turn 2 so I Vialed in combo pieces as applicable and then Lab Man on turn 4 upkeep to win on my draw step.
Round 2 vs. Zach on Infect
Game 1: Sweet opener again. Led with basic Island Æther Vial so I could pretend to be Merfolk. Won quickly, flashing back Cabal Therapies to clear Force of Will.
Game 2: Kept Vial + half of combo. I Swordsed an Inkmoth Nexus and Pondered a bunch, putting Illusionist into play at the end of his turn 4. I cast Nomads and comboed with 4 lands total (1 tapped). I flashed back a Therapy sacrificing Nomads which was Dazed. I did not pay and flashed back another Therapy sacrificing Illusionist. In response, one of my Narcomoebas was Submerged as I controlled Tropical Island. Luckily, I had another Ponder in hand to draw the Narcomoeba, tap out to cast it, and win through a non-Force of Will hand.
Round 3 vs. Alejandro on budget Deathblade (Stifle over FoW, shocks)
Game 1: Kept half of combo, 2 lands, 2 FoW, Ponder, Daze. I Forced pitching Force his turn 1 Deathrite Shaman on my turn 0. Cantripped back into the game and won around turn 3 or turn 4.
Game 2: Kept basic Swamp, Æther Vial, Eladamri's Call since my luck had been unreal all night. Didn't draw blue mana for a while (I think I cast a Therapy at some point). He had a few Swords to Plowshares for the pieces I put into play one at a time off Vial and a stream of Deathrite Shamans which occupied my own Swords to Plowshares. Game over when he got to four mana and connected with Umezawa's Jitte on my empty board.
Game 3: Kept Æther Vial + combo with an extra Illusionist. Turn 1 land Vial, turn 2 land pass. Responded to his Inquisition of Kozilek by Vialing in Nomads and presenting a hand that couldn't be disrupted by a single discard spell. Got my fetchland Stifle and started to win on my turn 3, Therapying away a Spell Pierce
Props: I got insane hands all night
Slops: Really can't complain
I'd play a Grand Abolisher if I could find one and probably a Stern Proctor as well to increase the utility of Eladamri's Call and give the deck a bit of long game.
Thanks
No Blood Moons were cast, but a few Spreading Seas did hit the table. I'm in complete agreement that U(x) control* is our toughest matchup.
* Note that I define this category of decks as playing 4 Lightning Bolt and 4 Snapcaster Mage and thus decks like Twin may fall into this category at times.
We do have late game superiority but it's quite difficult to slog through their counters and disruption to make it there. Basically, Tron is forced to hold a counter for game breaking threats AND deploy game breaking threats AND develop its mana. Usually I can accomplish two of these goals but not three simultaneously.
As soon as you play an Island your Blue moon opponent should start sending burn upstairs and casting Snapcaster Mages as Lightning Bolts 5-8 and attacking. We do not play nearly enough interaction to stop the hemorrhaging while simultaneously building towards Tron. Perhaps you have faced opponents who play reactively in the matchup - in that case I do think it would be closer to even. (For example, in the games I lost in the PPTQ, my Blue Moon opponent was casting mainphase Electrolyze against me after he made it to 5 mana.)
Yep, the main target was Twin. I feel that that is a matchup we can win but only when we are prepared for it. Incidentally, it gives sideboard options against random decks that want to use their creatures as spells.
Agreed, if the game goes long, we certainly have the advantage. However I believe that the strategy of a competent control player should not be to draw out the game against us. They know as well as we do what happens when we have 13 mana in play and should do whatever is in their power to win before that.
Thank you. I would much rather cast Remand than Mana Leak. Specific examples that it shone over the tournament were against Living End, and casting it targeting a Loxodon Smiter to cantrip when I just needed to dig. I also used it periodically against 3 cmc spells as a Time Walk
Gifts Ungiven is great as a 5th "I held mana up to counter your spell but you didn't cast anything" card. There aren't any abuse piles like in 4 Color Gifts so I normally cast it for pure value. Also of note, if you can activate a Mindslaver but can't finish the lock, you can cast Gifts Ungiven when you are controlling your opponent to find the best 2 cards in your deck.
So to actually answer your question, I'd play Snapcaster Mage against aggro and Gifts Ungiven vs. control.
Thanks! I can see playing Batterskull over a Solemn Simulacrum to become a little more threat dense. This seems especially good in a Burn-heavy metagame. Of note, Solemn Simulacrum can block an Etched Champion where a Germ token falls short.
Thank you. Squelch has been awesome for me, whether it counters a fetchland, a Mindslaver in the mirror, or a planeswalker ultimate like in the finals. I'd strongly advocate at least a 2-of in the sideboard.
Thanks! If I played the list tomorrow I would cut 1 Treasure Mage for a Snapcaster Mage (and fit a second in the board over Ratchet Bomb). I think having access to the huge one-ofs in Spell Burst and Cyclonic Rift is really great for the deck. I used Spell Burst to great effect against the Death Cloud deck and against cascaded Living Ends. I also cast Cyclonic Rift normally to disrupt Twin combo and overloaded to time walk the Tezzeret aggro deck. I like Solemn Simulacrum as a great way to stall the game and increase my access to blue mana. I never had it in my hand and wished it was something else. I personally wouldn't play Batterskull over Wurmcoil Engine. I used to board one, but found I wasn't bringing it in very often with 2 Wurmcoil Engines already in the main deck. I do think Batterskull is better against Path to Exile, however.
First Place with Mono Blue Tron
Event: Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier 3/28
Venue: Game Cafe (Independence MO)
Deck:
4 Urza's Tower
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
1 Academy Ruins
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Tectonic Edge
6 Island
2 Snow Covered Island
Creatures (9)
3 Treasure Mage
2 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Platinum Angel
1 Sundering Titan
4 Expedition Map
4 Remand
3 Talisman of Dominance
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Cyclonic Rift
4 Thirst For Knowledge
1 Gifts Ungiven
2 Mindslaver
4 Condescend
3 Repeal
1 Spell Burst
2 Dispel
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Torpor Orb
2 Squelch
4 Dismember
2 Ætherize
Record: 4-1 Swiss, 3-0 Top 8
Exactly 32 players showed up for this PPTQ so we played 5 rounds of Swiss with a cut to top 8. I didn't take any notes besides life totals, so my memory may not be exact in some cases.
Round 1: vs. Chris piloting Naya Zoo
My opponent started things off with a mulligan to 6. He chunked me to 16, then 12 with some big green creatures. I put together a Mindslaver lock and he conceded game 1. I sided in Dismembers. My opponent again mulliganed to 6. I slowed things down with a Wurmcoil Engine, at one point cracking an Oblivion Stone when he targeted it with Path to Exile. He allowed me to recur Mindslaver through an active Scavenging Ooze and I locked him again for the win.
Games: 2-0
Rounds: 1-0
Round 2: vs. Jacob piloting Death Cloud
I won a grindy game 1 deploying Sundering Titan and Wurmcoil Engine. He had Sakura-Tribe Elder and a couple Courser of Kruphix on defense. Game 2 was also a grind. I got Tron online and we traded resources until he resolved Haunting Echoes (nabbing my Wurmcoil Engines in the process). I found Gifts Ungiven and cast it for Sundering Titan, Platinum Angel, Solemn Simulacrum, and I believe Repeal. I won a few turns later with the 2/2, bouncing a blocker he came up with.
Games: 4-0
Rounds: 2-0
Round 3: vs. Matt piloting Twin
I wasn't thrilled to face this matchup as I feel it is one of Blue Tron's weak points. In game 1, I kept up with his Deceiver Exarchs and Pestermites using counterspells and Repeals. Eventually I stuck a Mindslaver but did not have the Academy Ruins. I looked at his sideboard (after he called a judge to make sure I was allowed to do so) and did as much damage as I could. I had another Mindslaver in hand to control his next turn and was able to dig for an Academy Ruins with Thirst for Knowledge. He conceded to the lock. I sided in Torpor Orbs and Dismembers. In game 2 he attacked me for infinite on turn 4. I didn't have any interaction. I believe I kept a Tron piece Expedition Map hand. Game 3 was a strange one. He landed an early Blood Moon with one Island in play. We proceeded to play draw go for the next 12-ish turns. During this time he was only able to come up with one more Island. I won a few counter wars with my higher blue mana reserve and eventually Repealed Blood Moon to initiate a Mindslaver lock.
Games: 6-1
Rounds: 3-0
Round 4: vs. Patrick piloting Blue Moon
This matchup is abyssmal. I lost games 1 and 2 in rapid succession to Lightning Bolt, Snapcaster Mage, and Electrolyze. I put him on Twin game one and unfortunately sided in Torpor Orbs and Dismembers. The minimal resistance I put forth was quickly squashed by Remands and Cryptic Commands.
Games: 6-3
Rounds: 3-1
Round 5: vs. Michael piloting BUG Control
At this point, Michael and I were 4th and 3rd in the standings respectively. I offered him a draw at the beginning of the match, knowing the cut would come down to tie breakers and we had the best breakers at the moment. He decided not to chance it and we played our match. I suffered some Tarmogoyf beats in game 1, but was able to pay for a couple Mana Leaks once I finished Tron and won with a Mindslaver lock. He did not immediately concede, so again I asked to look at his sideboard. The judge came to my aid once again and dispensed the ruling that I was indeed allowed to perform such an action. I sided in Dismembers for Tarmogoyf. Game 2 went similarly. At one point he cast Inquisition of Kozilek and I revealed 4 lands. I brilliantly discarded a Solemn Simulacrum to a Thirst for Knowledge, growing his Tarmogoyf out of range of the Dismember in my hand. Luckily I found a Repeal right on time to bounce lethal combat damage and give myself a couple more turns. I countered a Snapcaster Mage on his next turn which would have otherwise flashed back Inquisition of Kozilek to strip an Expedition Map from my hand. He replayed Tarmogoyf and on my next turn I cast and activated Expedition Map to find an Academy Ruins to complement the Mindslaver in my hand.
Games: 8-3
Rounds: 4-1
A win in round 5 maintained my 3rd place standing going into the top 8, so I had some great opportunities to choose to play first in the playoffs.
Quarterfinals: vs. Nathan piloting Living End
My opponent pulled the wool over my eyes early in game 1 when I had an Expedition Map in play and he stated, "Move to discard" instead of, "End my turn". I switched into rules lawyer mode and made sure to communicate exceedingly clearly for the remainder of the match. Game 1 was quite easy since I had counterspells in my deck. No Living Ends resolved, but a few Violent Outbursts did. I eventually won with Mindslaver. In game two he had a great mana denial draw and I struggled to get above 2 lands. I let him resolve the land death cards so I could hold Remand for Living End (plus Remanding a Beast Within feels pretty bad to me). He won with a Ricochet Trap for my Remand on his Living End. Game 3 went a little slower. He again had an early Beast Within but not one every turn. I attacked with the Beast token for a while and developed my board. I had a Oblivion Stone in play when he cascaded into a Living End. I Remanded, tapping my only Island. He again had the Ricochet Trap but I was in the clear to sacrifice Oblivion Stone on my turn to wipe the board. I won some time after this with another Beast token and a Solemn Simulacrum.
Games: 10-4
Rounds: 5-1
Semifinals: vs. CJ piloting Abzan
CJ was seeded in second place so he was able to play first. My turn 5 was Treasure Mage, find Sundering Titan, cast Sundering Titan destroying 2 of his lands and none of mine (I used Oboro, Palace in the Clouds as a blue source). He conceeded. I brought in Ætherizes and Dismembers. In game 2, I traded an Ætherize for all 4 Spirits from a Lingering Souls and did some beating with a Wurmcoil Engine. He dealt with my threats and I only had one left in play. I swung, he flashed in an Aven Mindcensor to block, and I bounced it with Repeal before declare blockers.
Games: 12-4
Rounds: 6-1
Finals: vs. Cory piloting Tezzeret Aggro
Throughout the day I joked with Cory that I hoped not to face him as this is a tough matchup for Mono Blue Tron. Rather than mulligan, he kept a slow 7 game 1 and I was able to counter a few key cards like Etched Champion and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas to give myself enough time to find Tron and eventually a Mindslaver lock. In game 2, he cast Pithing Needle naming Mindslaver on turn 1 and Torpor Orb on turn 2. This turned out to be quite good against my hand of Mindslaver, Treasure Mage, and Solemn Simulacrum. I cast the bears as able while holding up counterspells and the game came down to one critical turn. He resolved Cranial Plating and equipped it to his Inkmoth Nexus for lethal poison damage, forcing me to pull the trigger on my Tectonic Edge. Instead he equipped to a Signal Pest and attacked me for 9. A Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas then ultimated for 18... which I Squelched. The next turn I could attack with my team to win the game.
Games: 14-4
Rounds: 7-1
My finish was good for an invite to the Regional Pro Tour Qualifier and a booster box. Luckily, Game Cafe allowed me to cash out my box as store credit so I picked up some great singles.
Props:
* shoktroopa for turning me on to the single Gifts Ungiven in the main deck
* The deck for being a great choice in the metagame I faced (I almost decided to play Storm)
* Mindslaver for enabling 8 of my 14 game wins
* Repeal for trumping permanent-based hate
* Game Cafe for selling me some Revised duals
Slops:
* Facing Blue Moon
* 5/6 Tarmogoyfs
To generalize: Blue Tron is a great deck in a slow-ish metagame.
I can play Mono U Tron or Pyromancer Ascension Storm. Does anyone have experience with those decks in a lower tier meta?
I'm leaning towards Tron as both my options have high payoffs but I can cast counterspells in the Tron deck.
I choose to participate in a free weekly event in my area. It's sanctioned and if you go 3-0 you can pick a promo card from the shop's cutstack- clearly the monetary value of this prize is significantly lower than the gas and time I spend driving to the event.
I much prefer such an event to one with a $10 or $15 entry (although that would be more manageable once a month as opposed to weekly), not due to the fact that I don't have the disposable income to pay to play in the event, but because I'd rather spend my disposable income on cards to try new decks. This probably isn't a majority opinion but maybe a few people would feel the same way.
Motivating me to play at a store that doesn't sell singles would essentially require a cash prize.
Also, when I was in college I ran one or two Legacy events at a local card shop. As far as I can remember, the store had me run them as $5 entry and paid out ( ( (# players) / 2) * (# rounds) ) packs. Gross!
So for example with 8 players (3 rounds) the store made $40 and paid out 12 packs (and gave me a dollar per player in store credit for running the event.)
Wow, can't believe someone was dedicated enough to start a hate thread just for us! I feel like I should point out the fact that not everyone on the old internet machine is using it for the same purpose. In fact, Jake and I (Max here) are just kicking it for personal amusement. I completely understand that some people are interested in hardcore discussion about high tier strategy, and unfortunately you aren't going to find much of that in Magic: The Vlog.
I also understand the fact that I can't do anything to change the actions of anyone else. By all means, please continue to use forums such as this one for anything you desire (including discussing our shortcomings!). I simply hope that you might take away a small comprehension that we are just enjoying ourselves, much in the same manner that you are enjoying yourselves here.