Unless I get a wild hair and decide to play something else, I think I'm playing 4 MD voice tonight so I'll be able to see how they do. Anything Augur can hold off voice should be able to trade with, and it leaves behind a small body that can save a little life.
Why waste a card though? Basically you just said "I want to play a really good card in the wrong match, so that I can chump it for no use." Augur allows us to sort deck, and pull our spells. At worst with a wiff we send some land or a creature to the bottom. Again against aggro lists augur is just a good body to constantly block until we get some sort of board removal.
I'm not trying to be a jerk here, i'm just making a point. Sorry if I've come across as offensive. Please note that I do understand Voice is a good card. It just doesn't belong in an aggro matchup.
Why waste a card though? Basically you just said "I want to play a really good card in the wrong match, so that I can chump it for no use." Augur allows us to sort deck, and pull our spells. At worst with a wiff we send some land or a creature to the bottom. Again against aggro lists augur is just a good body to constantly block until we get some sort of board removal.
I'm not trying to be a jerk here, i'm just making a point. Sorry if I've come across as offensive. Please note that I do understand Voice is a good card. It just doesn't belong in an aggro matchup.
I disagree with that. Augur is actively bad against almost everything. It is at its best when we are blinking it with Resto Angel, but since we are down to 1 Resto, that's not a very valid reason to play him. Against aggro, we need the best way to make it too the mid-late game where our card advantage and better threats can pull us ahead, and Voice should do that at least as well as Augur, while being a better card against Esper and the Mirror. And, as I said earlier, the front half will trade with anything Augur would hold off and its possible that the back half will trade as well.
It's not like Augur wins the aggro MU's in game 1 anyways, and putting Voice MD frees up 3-4 slots in the SB that can be devoted to the aggressive decks; which makes our overall percentage against them a little bit better. While not making us actively worse against any other MU.
Hello! I am planning to play something between Bant Flash and Bant Control on my WMCQ. It is build basicly to easily get the aggro matchups, since our meta is around 80% aggro. (I play in a small country, so I know almost every player, who will play on the WMCQ) I am posting the list for any tips, because I will not have enough time for a build testing. I post it here, because I think it is far more similar to Bant Flash, than Bant Control
If you are going to play farseek, I think you want all 4. It is at its best on turn 2, and pretty underwhelming any time after that. If you aren't going to maximize the potential for its best usage, then you should probably cut it. Also, I'm not sure how good Pike will be without Thought Scour. Honestly, if your local meta is mostly aggro you are probably better off just playing Bant Control. You're current list doesn't really utilize either strategy to its full potential so you're probably handicapping yourself from the get-go.
Why waste a card though? Basically you just said "I want to play a really good card in the wrong match, so that I can chump it for no use." Augur allows us to sort deck, and pull our spells. At worst with a wiff we send some land or a creature to the bottom. Again against aggro lists augur is just a good body to constantly block until we get some sort of board removal.
This is what I've come to find as well,hence my hesitation at main boarding voice. Augur is an efficient blocker and against a lot of aggro decks that run BTE can at least block damage without dying - they will usually need a pump like Mayor, a Bloodrush, or a kill spell to get around him. That sounds like a lot, but we have Selesnya and Azorius charm at our disposal to deal with Bloodrush (Ghor Clan Rampager), and if they really want to waste a kill spell on Augur, i have no qualms with getting it out of their hand now instead of when we play a Wurm.
The thing I like about augur is that he is generally good in all matchups, because he has a high chance to replace himself. I'm not saying he should never be sided out, but he's basically just a good card when you don't know what you'll be facing against. Putting down a body that nets us a spell ~60% of the time is still good even if he just chumps, in comparison to Voice, which leaves behind another chump but not much in the way of helping us dig or find spells. That's why I don't believe Voice should be in the main - it isn't a card that is good in every matchup, and in a lot of matches simply is a 2/2 that leaves behind a 1/1.
But i have not tested it out to see if maybe it is a really good fit outside of the sideboard, so those that are going to try it out can let us know.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Interesting discussion here. I think the list is well on its way to being sorted out, with only one really big question remaining - augur vs voice in the two drop slot (and I do think it's an either/or). I feel like the answer that question is inherently linked to your restoration angel count. augur far better if you run 3-4 angels (in fact he might not even be good at all without them), I think angel is far worse if you don't run them. Outside of very rare/exensive snapcaster mage corner cases, angel is "just" a 3/4 flying flash in this deck if you don't run augurs. The fact that the deck's biggest threat is a token is really awkward with angel imo and seriously reduces the value of that card without the possibility of augur blinking.
BUT is there actually better flash threat than resto angel? Does removing it from the deck take away your ability to close out games? If angel is mostly attacking when the board is empty, can wolfir avenger fill that slot? If angel is necessary, then I think you stick with augurs maindeck, if not then my feeling is you swap to voice.
My second thing that I've been contemplating... What about index? Personally I'm not a big fan of milling away possibly 2 cards that are extremely relevant, to draw in to land after land. Index basically allows you to know what your drawing and allows you to react better to the board.
I get it's a sorcery, and we're "flash". But do we really need to fake out a T1 Thought scour or (in my list) the one off unsummon?
Index is card disadvantage and nothing more than a bad card. It doesn't replace itself, doesn't get you out of land pockets, doesn't actually help you react to the board as the board will have changed by the time you get to what you wanted, and it will cause severe depression in the event you find five cards that don't do anything.
Thought Scour on the other hand does replace itself, puts more spell in the graveyard for Snapcaster, and is an instant speed cantrip with Snapcaster when you have nothing better to do. Additionally knowing that certain cards are in your graveyard and whether they can or cannot be reused is just as, if not more, valuable than knowing the top five cards of you library.
As I said earlier throwing things in the bin raises the total CMC. And again knowing what you are going to draw allows you to react to the board more precisely.
Interesting discussion here. I think the list is well on its way to being sorted out, with only one really big question remaining - augur vs voice in the two drop slot (and I do think it's an either/or). I feel like the answer that question is inherently linked to your restoration angel count. augur far better if you run 3-4 angels (in fact he might not even be good at all without them), I think angel is far worse if you don't run them. Outside of very rare/exensive snapcaster mage corner cases, angel is "just" a 3/4 flying flash in this deck if you don't run augurs. The fact that the deck's biggest threat is a token is really awkward with angel imo and seriously reduces the value of that card without the possibility of augur blinking.
BUT is there actually better flash threat than resto angel? Does removing it from the deck take away your ability to close out games? If angel is mostly attacking when the board is empty, can wolfir avenger fill that slot? If angel is necessary, then I think you stick with augurs maindeck, if not then my feeling is you swap to voice.
I disagree with the point on Resto. Recently, I tried out the card Deputy of Acquittals because I was seeing if the better synergy with Snapcaster would be relevant. I thought Deputy would be a way to get more value from our creatures, as well as allowing us to boardwipe without losing as many resources. However, I ended up losing a lot of games because the 2/2 body was terrible at closing the life point gap, and having no evasion really hurt our game plan.
Resto Angel, even if its just a 3/4 flyer, helps us brings the beats because its a flyer, and therefore can help us race the opponent. Couple that with our Wurm tokens having Trample, and it suddenly becomes very easy for our deck to push damage through. I don't like Avenger as much as Resto because barring his Regen effect, he is just a ground pounder with no way to push his damage through. He becomes very easy to chump or simply race for a lot of decks.
On the point of Index, I'm not a fan. We may get to better prepare for the upcoming cards, but we don't get card draw, which is important. As Bthepanda said, though you may see what is coming up, by the time you draw the cards you look at, the boardstate could be completely different, and those cards may be in an awkward order. It's trying to do too much when what we really want is just more stuff in our hands to play. Plus, the Thought Scour + Azorius Charm plan, while cute, is actually a pretty realistic way to get rid of threats sometimes.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
So i just played some matches online and i still prefer index, although I will probably run Scour. Knowing what will draw is still a great advantage no matter what.
I cut scour a while back for think twice... I never was a delver player, and I'm not running runechanter's pike. I really dont like the "added" benefit of potentially milling instants into the yard for snappy, and I dont really want to "waste" a snappy by flashing back a thought scour.
That being said, this is my personal outlook, so take it for what you will.
I played last night, but no tourney report to display. My deck folded in on itself and I had serious card issues.
R1 Grixis Control - Win G1, mull to 5 G2 & see a lilly @ 7 before my 4th land, G3 time is called and I over-extend to try for the win, only to have a snap flash in and attack back, then searing seared (last card in opps hand) to lose.
R2 Tokens - G1 try to race. Counter a few things, but cant react to a Collective Blessing and die. G2 mull to 5, and squeak out a win thanks in big part to a single Voice dropping 3 elementals thanks to opps instants. G3, see 0/4 wraths, 1/8 bounce effects, 1 think twice (of 3), 1 sphinx rev (of 4). Opp curves out perfect..
R3 R/G Aggro - G1 draw (T1/T2) both of my 4cmc counters... G2 stall for as long as I can, @3life I'm slow-rolled with a skullcrack (in response to me casting a wurm, with mana still available...?).
I had a lot of problems last night too. I think it's the MD voice. He is okay, but I think the incremental card advantage from Augur is more important than the board advantage provided by Voice. I played against bant control and UWR flash, and I actually lost a game against Bant where I resolved turn 2 and 3 Voice. I beat UWR in 2 games, but didn't get a single elemental token from Voice (and cast him both games), so that really wasn't the reason I won.
I also tested Geist of Saint Traft, and while sometimes good, he kept me from boarding out things I wanted to board out in some MU's because I needed them to protect him (unsummon, az charm, etc.). So he is getting the axe as well.
Runechanters pike was awesome for me all night, so I'll continue testing it. I had 2 seperate games where it allowed me to swing for 10 damage (with a knight token) and another where I swung for 17 (with a SnapMage); both times for the kill. I don't think I would want more than 1, but I am happy with the 1. Although, Moorland Haunt sucked. It's getting cut.
I ran 2 Sigarda out of the SB, I thought they might be good against Esper, but I didn't see esper. I brought them in against Bant and UWR though, and they were fine so I'll continue testing them.
There was probably other things I needed to mention, but that is all I remember at the moment. Just thought I'd get it out for people to read.
Thanks for giving us info on how it went! I was actually also thinking Sigarda would be a really good SB option vs Esper, since it forces boardwipes out of them as the only means to kill it. Resolving one would be the hard part, since we don't run Cavern - though if we did, naming Angel wouldn't be bad since it hits Resto as well.
Did you run Thought Scour in your build to help fuel Pike?
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
I think the biggest problem is beating and opposing VoR rather than deciding an optimal build, because the deck is very strong already it just needs to fill that huge void.
VoR seems like an annoyance for me more than a major problem. I feel like the hardest thing for me is closing games right now. Sometimes i just draw lands and non relevant spells while my opponent draws gas. Ive been seriously considering runechanters pike myself and a moorland haunt over the ghost quarter
This is my current list
@ Go and Esterk....I considered Aetherling, but the main reason(s) I went with Sigarda is that I wanted the card to be a 5 drop, and I wanted protection from edict effects more than from wraths. I wanted a 5 drop because esper should counter our turn 4 Advent on their endstep (or at least do something to get rid of it) which allows us to untap and (hopefully) have 5 mana to resolve the Sigarda. I considered Curse of Echoes and Garuuk, Primal Hunter as well but both of those seem easier for them to deal with.
I did run Thought Scour to help feed Pike, which I think you have to do if you want to run pike, but I'm thinking of cutting the 4th Scour for a second Think Twice. Having to cast turn 2 scour into turn 3 SnapScour looking for lands seems like a big waste, so having the think twice's will hopefully help with that.
I also did play against Voice in 1 round last night, and it didn't turn out to be that big of a deal. I was so unimpressed with it overall last night that I'm considering cutting it from the 75 all together, but I'm not 100% on that yet.
I have been considering a pike or two and moorland haunt as well. Even with so few creatures it seems like being able to make one or two flyers plus pike will often be enough to close a game.
Im with swiftyman when discussing Voice. I think that his place is more in a deck loaded with creatures (in which case his counterpart will be huge). Against my opponents yesterday, I'd land one and they would do nothing. I start attacking with the "squire" and they were like, "ok, ill take 2...".
Eventually they trade/kill it and I would literally be left with a 1/1. There was at no point where I felt that voice was doing what I want it to (except for one game where Voice netted me 3 elementals, but even then as 3/3's they died in short fashion without causing too much damage).
Voice might be getting the axe from my 75.
I have been considering a pike or two and moorland haunt as well. Even with so few creatures it seems like being able to make one or two flyers plus pike will often be enough to close a game.
Out of 10 total games I made exactly 3 creatures with Moorland Haunt and 1 of them was used just to chump for a turn to hopefully find a verdict. I had haunt in at least half of my games and no creatures to exile with it. I would much rather just have a forest.
I think the biggest problem is beating and opposing VoR rather than deciding an optimal build, because the deck is very strong already it just needs to fill that huge void.
I think our matchup against voice is hit or miss. I don't feel like its particularly threatening, since we can just take 2 every turn and play out our spells on our turn instead and just race them. What I'm more worried about is the support that a voice will have - the cards they play after it are the real problems, because then we have to start being more proactive, which can mean playing spells on their turn. We lack traditional kill spells, so when it comes to Voice, if we don't counter it all we can do is bounce it or block with one of our bodies. I haven't had to face down a voice yet, but it definitely will make us alter our play style to deal with it.
On the moorland haunt debate - I don't think we run enough creatures to make the card as efficient as it needs to be. We run around 9 creatures in most of the builds (pre-sideboard), and that's simply not enough to make it a useful utility land. Plus, its terrible in the control matchup, since they can just Bounce the token, and any decks running searing spear or even Boros reckoner can easily kill the spirit. At that point, we start having to devote counter magic to protecting the little guy, and I don't particularly like that.
On Sigarda - yeah, I agree that playing an Advent and curving into Sigarda is sweet, and usually let's us catch our opponent off guard. I think that may be a pretty solid plan, and Sigarda has multiple implications in matchups aside from Esper. In fact, having Sigarda and Voice on the sideboard makes it a nightmare for control to face us post-board, because we suddenly bring in a much larger creature base than they anticipate. I may have to try and find room for her to test it out.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
If you're trying Sigarda, why not Aetherling? Wrath proof and a faster clock.
I don't think Aetherling fits very well here, as much as I like the card. He's too mana intensive for us, and his attacks can be easily stalled in our worst matchups. Perhaps after rotation we will be looking at him as a sideboard option, but right now, I like Sigarda more if we are going to be running a finisher at all.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Im with swiftyman when discussing Voice. I think that his place is more in a deck loaded with creatures (in which case his counterpart will be huge). Against my opponents yesterday, I'd land one and they would do nothing. I start attacking with the "squire" and they were like, "ok, ill take 2...".
Eventually they trade/kill it and I would literally be left with a 1/1. There was at no point where I felt that voice was doing what I want it to (except for one game where Voice netted me 3 elementals, but even then as 3/3's they died in short fashion without causing too much damage).
Voice might be getting the axe from my 75.
Fair enough and point taken on Haunt. My thinking is that perhaps the maindeck should be tuned to give aggro our best shot and leave Voice in the SB. He will be most powerful in a game two where a control opponent sides out a lot of his targeted removal.
I'm thinking of making my second rewind a faster counterspell like another syncopate or an essence scatter. What do you guys think? I think Rewind is really fantastic in our deck but it can be a bit slow and get stuck in our hand at times.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Well, I know for 2 weeks in a row I haven't cast syncopate on turn 2. And there have been multiple times later in the game where dissipate would have allowed me to counter something when Syncopate didn't. So I'm thinking of cutting syncopate for dissipate, or maybe cut 1 of each for 2 dissipate? I'm not really sure.
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Why waste a card though? Basically you just said "I want to play a really good card in the wrong match, so that I can chump it for no use." Augur allows us to sort deck, and pull our spells. At worst with a wiff we send some land or a creature to the bottom. Again against aggro lists augur is just a good body to constantly block until we get some sort of board removal.
I'm not trying to be a jerk here, i'm just making a point. Sorry if I've come across as offensive. Please note that I do understand Voice is a good card. It just doesn't belong in an aggro matchup.
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
I disagree with that. Augur is actively bad against almost everything. It is at its best when we are blinking it with Resto Angel, but since we are down to 1 Resto, that's not a very valid reason to play him. Against aggro, we need the best way to make it too the mid-late game where our card advantage and better threats can pull us ahead, and Voice should do that at least as well as Augur, while being a better card against Esper and the Mirror. And, as I said earlier, the front half will trade with anything Augur would hold off and its possible that the back half will trade as well.
It's not like Augur wins the aggro MU's in game 1 anyways, and putting Voice MD frees up 3-4 slots in the SB that can be devoted to the aggressive decks; which makes our overall percentage against them a little bit better. While not making us actively worse against any other MU.
If you are going to play farseek, I think you want all 4. It is at its best on turn 2, and pretty underwhelming any time after that. If you aren't going to maximize the potential for its best usage, then you should probably cut it. Also, I'm not sure how good Pike will be without Thought Scour. Honestly, if your local meta is mostly aggro you are probably better off just playing Bant Control. You're current list doesn't really utilize either strategy to its full potential so you're probably handicapping yourself from the get-go.
This is what I've come to find as well,hence my hesitation at main boarding voice. Augur is an efficient blocker and against a lot of aggro decks that run BTE can at least block damage without dying - they will usually need a pump like Mayor, a Bloodrush, or a kill spell to get around him. That sounds like a lot, but we have Selesnya and Azorius charm at our disposal to deal with Bloodrush (Ghor Clan Rampager), and if they really want to waste a kill spell on Augur, i have no qualms with getting it out of their hand now instead of when we play a Wurm.
The thing I like about augur is that he is generally good in all matchups, because he has a high chance to replace himself. I'm not saying he should never be sided out, but he's basically just a good card when you don't know what you'll be facing against. Putting down a body that nets us a spell ~60% of the time is still good even if he just chumps, in comparison to Voice, which leaves behind another chump but not much in the way of helping us dig or find spells. That's why I don't believe Voice should be in the main - it isn't a card that is good in every matchup, and in a lot of matches simply is a 2/2 that leaves behind a 1/1.
But i have not tested it out to see if maybe it is a really good fit outside of the sideboard, so those that are going to try it out can let us know.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
BUT is there actually better flash threat than resto angel? Does removing it from the deck take away your ability to close out games? If angel is mostly attacking when the board is empty, can wolfir avenger fill that slot? If angel is necessary, then I think you stick with augurs maindeck, if not then my feeling is you swap to voice.
I get it's a sorcery, and we're "flash". But do we really need to fake out a T1 Thought scour or (in my list) the one off unsummon?
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
Thought Scour on the other hand does replace itself, puts more spell in the graveyard for Snapcaster, and is an instant speed cantrip with Snapcaster when you have nothing better to do. Additionally knowing that certain cards are in your graveyard and whether they can or cannot be reused is just as, if not more, valuable than knowing the top five cards of you library.
Thought Scour is the better card
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
I disagree with the point on Resto. Recently, I tried out the card Deputy of Acquittals because I was seeing if the better synergy with Snapcaster would be relevant. I thought Deputy would be a way to get more value from our creatures, as well as allowing us to boardwipe without losing as many resources. However, I ended up losing a lot of games because the 2/2 body was terrible at closing the life point gap, and having no evasion really hurt our game plan.
Resto Angel, even if its just a 3/4 flyer, helps us brings the beats because its a flyer, and therefore can help us race the opponent. Couple that with our Wurm tokens having Trample, and it suddenly becomes very easy for our deck to push damage through. I don't like Avenger as much as Resto because barring his Regen effect, he is just a ground pounder with no way to push his damage through. He becomes very easy to chump or simply race for a lot of decks.
On the point of Index, I'm not a fan. We may get to better prepare for the upcoming cards, but we don't get card draw, which is important. As Bthepanda said, though you may see what is coming up, by the time you draw the cards you look at, the boardstate could be completely different, and those cards may be in an awkward order. It's trying to do too much when what we really want is just more stuff in our hands to play. Plus, the Thought Scour + Azorius Charm plan, while cute, is actually a pretty realistic way to get rid of threats sometimes.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Decks:
Standard:
Nope
Modern:
Mono-Green Nykthos
Gifts Tron
Melira Pod
Legacy:
Maverick (retired)
That being said, this is my personal outlook, so take it for what you will.
I played last night, but no tourney report to display. My deck folded in on itself and I had serious card issues.
R1 Grixis Control - Win G1, mull to 5 G2 & see a lilly @ 7 before my 4th land, G3 time is called and I over-extend to try for the win, only to have a snap flash in and attack back, then searing seared (last card in opps hand) to lose.
R2 Tokens - G1 try to race. Counter a few things, but cant react to a Collective Blessing and die. G2 mull to 5, and squeak out a win thanks in big part to a single Voice dropping 3 elementals thanks to opps instants. G3, see 0/4 wraths, 1/8 bounce effects, 1 think twice (of 3), 1 sphinx rev (of 4). Opp curves out perfect..
R3 R/G Aggro - G1 draw (T1/T2) both of my 4cmc counters... G2 stall for as long as I can, @3life I'm slow-rolled with a skullcrack (in response to me casting a wurm, with mana still available...?).
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
I also tested Geist of Saint Traft, and while sometimes good, he kept me from boarding out things I wanted to board out in some MU's because I needed them to protect him (unsummon, az charm, etc.). So he is getting the axe as well.
Runechanters pike was awesome for me all night, so I'll continue testing it. I had 2 seperate games where it allowed me to swing for 10 damage (with a knight token) and another where I swung for 17 (with a SnapMage); both times for the kill. I don't think I would want more than 1, but I am happy with the 1. Although, Moorland Haunt sucked. It's getting cut.
I ran 2 Sigarda out of the SB, I thought they might be good against Esper, but I didn't see esper. I brought them in against Bant and UWR though, and they were fine so I'll continue testing them.
There was probably other things I needed to mention, but that is all I remember at the moment. Just thought I'd get it out for people to read.
Did you run Thought Scour in your build to help fuel Pike?
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
This is my current list
4 Breeding Pool
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Island
3 Sunpetal Grove
3 Temple Garden
// Creatures
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Azorius Charm
1 Dissipate
2 Rewind
2 Selesnya Charm
1 Simic Charm
3 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Syncopate
4 Thought Scour
3 Unsummon
I did run Thought Scour to help feed Pike, which I think you have to do if you want to run pike, but I'm thinking of cutting the 4th Scour for a second Think Twice. Having to cast turn 2 scour into turn 3 SnapScour looking for lands seems like a big waste, so having the think twice's will hopefully help with that.
I also did play against Voice in 1 round last night, and it didn't turn out to be that big of a deal. I was so unimpressed with it overall last night that I'm considering cutting it from the 75 all together, but I'm not 100% on that yet.
Eventually they trade/kill it and I would literally be left with a 1/1. There was at no point where I felt that voice was doing what I want it to (except for one game where Voice netted me 3 elementals, but even then as 3/3's they died in short fashion without causing too much damage).
Voice might be getting the axe from my 75.
EDH:▼
(links to 3D generals)
Playing: Designing:
Retired:
Out of 10 total games I made exactly 3 creatures with Moorland Haunt and 1 of them was used just to chump for a turn to hopefully find a verdict. I had haunt in at least half of my games and no creatures to exile with it. I would much rather just have a forest.
I think our matchup against voice is hit or miss. I don't feel like its particularly threatening, since we can just take 2 every turn and play out our spells on our turn instead and just race them. What I'm more worried about is the support that a voice will have - the cards they play after it are the real problems, because then we have to start being more proactive, which can mean playing spells on their turn. We lack traditional kill spells, so when it comes to Voice, if we don't counter it all we can do is bounce it or block with one of our bodies. I haven't had to face down a voice yet, but it definitely will make us alter our play style to deal with it.
On the moorland haunt debate - I don't think we run enough creatures to make the card as efficient as it needs to be. We run around 9 creatures in most of the builds (pre-sideboard), and that's simply not enough to make it a useful utility land. Plus, its terrible in the control matchup, since they can just Bounce the token, and any decks running searing spear or even Boros reckoner can easily kill the spirit. At that point, we start having to devote counter magic to protecting the little guy, and I don't particularly like that.
On Sigarda - yeah, I agree that playing an Advent and curving into Sigarda is sweet, and usually let's us catch our opponent off guard. I think that may be a pretty solid plan, and Sigarda has multiple implications in matchups aside from Esper. In fact, having Sigarda and Voice on the sideboard makes it a nightmare for control to face us post-board, because we suddenly bring in a much larger creature base than they anticipate. I may have to try and find room for her to test it out.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
I don't think Aetherling fits very well here, as much as I like the card. He's too mana intensive for us, and his attacks can be easily stalled in our worst matchups. Perhaps after rotation we will be looking at him as a sideboard option, but right now, I like Sigarda more if we are going to be running a finisher at all.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
Fair enough and point taken on Haunt. My thinking is that perhaps the maindeck should be tuned to give aggro our best shot and leave Voice in the SB. He will be most powerful in a game two where a control opponent sides out a lot of his targeted removal.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)