Has anyone though of splashing green for Lead the Stampede and Fauna Shaman? I suppose that this deck wants to focus more on disruption similar to fish over CA, and that is the reason Lead the Stampede is not in the discussion.
I run a deck very similar to this in my Planeswalker deck on MTGO. Whoever said that aggro-control was the way to go is entirely correct. 16 creatures is what i would consider the "sweet-spot". You play aggressively when you have a fast hand, defensive if not.
I would play 16 creatures (Bear, Lord, Image + 4 others), 6 draw, 8 counters, 4 bounce, 24 lands and 2 slots for tech.
I personally play 12 counters and 4 draw but I am a control freak.
I run a deck very similar to this in my Planeswalker deck on MTGO. Whoever said that aggro-control was the way to go is entirely correct. 16 creatures is what i would consider the "sweet-spot". You play aggressively when you have a fast hand, defensive if not.
I would play 16 creatures (Bear, Lord, Image + 4 others), 6 draw, 8 counters, 4 bounce, 24 lands and 2 slots for tech.
I personally play 12 counters and 4 draw but I am a control freak.
Sounds like we are playing very similar lists. May I see?
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I usually win with only two to four creatures resolved the entire game. This works because of all the counters and holding on to creatures rather than casting them. My clock is about seven turns, which is completely reasonable.
This is the list i've been building, I've been running into problems with 4x tectonic edge on occasion but the rest of the deck is solid and at the proper numbers i believe.
I usually win with only two to four creatures resolved the entire game. This works because of all the counters and holding on to creatures rather than casting them. My clock is about seven turns, which is completely reasonable.
This list was mashed together and could probably be better. I like Dragons because they are impossible for some decks to deal with once you get a lord down (especially if you copy him)
I have tried the grand architect build and I was honestly underwhelmed. It takes away from the simplicity of simply dropping illusions and destroying.
Well done zelderex I have been following this since you made it and am glad to see how well it has caught on.
That being said I have given the illuisions a shot at a FNM and while I went 1-3 I had a great time withis deck, my biggest drawback was favoring cancel over mana leak (big mistake)
I found the transforming sideboard idea threw a lot of people off their initial assesment of the deck causing me to win every game 2 I had played
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Maybe I'm just having bad luck, but this deck is very inconsistent. I either get mana screwed or too much, or I get a hand full of the control spells and then keep drawing them and no creatures. I started off in a tournament 2 - 0 last time and finished 2-3. In 3 seperate games of the last 2 rounds, I only drew 3 creatures. In others, I'd draw nothing but the Images. I rarely ever saw a Lord and without getting him out, this deck is really, really vulnerable.
I'm definitely thinking about switching out the Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces for hard counters. It seems early game, I'm tapping out to try to play the creatures I get and mid/late game, they're nearly useless as my opponent can pay the 2 or 3 to avoid the counter. I've also thought about going mono blue, but I really like having the Oblivion Rings and the sideboard options white provides seem really strong.
To me it looks like your trying to include the illusion aggro and GA wurmcoil strategy into a big ball but your missing treasure mage to fish up the Wurmcoil engine
I find illusions to be fast and ideally your lord should be dropped on turn 2 or 3 but I don't think the deck is as fragile as you make it out to be
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I say cut the Planeswalkers. This isn't U/W control, atleast not the traditional standard builds. I'd up my 1cc Draw spells, for instance Ponder. And tapping out is only appropriate some of the time. Other times I've held back to have counters ready for things like Grim Lavamancer. And without Deprive, Halimar Depths in a 2 color deck seems really rough considering you may have your white lands come into play tapped
I say cut the Planeswalkers. This isn't U/W control, atleast not the traditional standard builds. I'd up my 1cc Draw spells, for instance Ponder. And tapping out is only appropriate some of the time. Other times I've held back to have counters ready for things like Grim Lavamancer. And without Deprive, Halimar Depths in a 2 color deck seems really rough considering you may have your white lands come into play tapped
The reason I'm running the new Jace is because he's a card draw engine for later game when you're trying to draw a win con . . . . like Venser who makes all your illusions unblockable to swing for the win. I'm not arguing, just explaing my reasoning.
Halimar Depths is nice because it helps you dig. Yeah, it comes in tapped but that could be the difference between drawing your win con next or being stuck drawing 2 more lands that you don't need. I'm also thinking about adding Deprives by replacing a mix of Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces. I'm still trying to determine the best counter magic situation. I don't want to wait until turn 3 - 4 to start playing my creatures but playing them earlier may not leave me counter mana. I'm thinking this deck is mainly aggro so I might just go full bore that route. Still toying with ideas.
Maybe I'm just having bad luck, but this deck is very inconsistent. I either get mana screwed or too much, or I get a hand full of the control spells and then keep drawing them and no creatures. I started off in a tournament 2 - 0 last time and finished 2-3. In 3 seperate games of the last 2 rounds, I only drew 3 creatures. In others, I'd draw nothing but the Images. I rarely ever saw a Lord and without getting him out, this deck is really, really vulnerable.
I'm definitely thinking about switching out the Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces for hard counters. It seems early game, I'm tapping out to try to play the creatures I get and mid/late game, they're nearly useless as my opponent can pay the 2 or 3 to avoid the counter. I've also thought about going mono blue, but I really like having the Oblivion Rings and the sideboard options white provides seem really strong.
If you're playing white, there's really no excuse for not playing Sun Titan - I can't tell you how many times on MODO I've gotten the Titan > Image > Image > Lord move off - it seriously happens in like 30% of games, and it usually gets a concession. With that in mind, I'd cut the Memory Adept for a Jace Beleren or 2. Not only do you get card draw, you get recurrable card draw via Sun Titan at the low price of 3 mana. Also, I've found that when choosing to go the U/W route, it's kind of impossible to include the GA/Wurmcoil/Treasure Mage package. No reason you can't run the transformational sideboard if you want, but it doesn't belong in the main deck.
Maybe I'm just having bad luck, but this deck is very inconsistent. I either get mana screwed or too much, or I get a hand full of the control spells and then keep drawing them and no creatures. I started off in a tournament 2 - 0 last time and finished 2-3. In 3 seperate games of the last 2 rounds, I only drew 3 creatures. In others, I'd draw nothing but the Images. I rarely ever saw a Lord and without getting him out, this deck is really, really vulnerable.
I'm definitely thinking about switching out the Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces for hard counters. It seems early game, I'm tapping out to try to play the creatures I get and mid/late game, they're nearly useless as my opponent can pay the 2 or 3 to avoid the counter. I've also thought about going mono blue, but I really like having the Oblivion Rings and the sideboard options white provides seem really strong.
The issue? Your list is rather inconsistent!
Grand Architect/Straight Aggro-Control/U/w doesn't work that well. I would either cut the GA stuff in favor of a better "control" package (including the Game-winning Sun Titan), or cut the W in favor of stuff like Treasure Mage.
Cut the PWers, they're useless to you. If you want one, use Baby Jace.
Grand Architect/Straight Aggro-Control/U/w doesn't work that well. I would either cut the GA stuff in favor of a better "control" package (including the Game-winning Sun Titan), or cut the W in favor of stuff like Treasure Mage.
Last night FNM, I won a game by Metamorph-ing my opp's Sun Titan, then using the trigger to get back two Phantasmal Images (each copying Sun Titan) and a Lord. Granted this is "living the dream", but the synergy betweeen the Images and Titan is now hard for me to ignore...
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I'm going to have to change my deck a bit. I'm trying to decide what to take out for 2x Phantasmal Dragon :-/. I still hate the card, but I've lost 75% of my games to not having a way of stopping Consecrated Sphinx, Celestial Colonnade, or Inkmoth Nexus (specifically the last two). Here's the list that I'm running; I've been running it for a while with great success. The swords have been awesome; they completely catch people with their pants down and turn the game in my favor. However, I'd be willing to cut a single of one of the swords for a dragon if people feel its a good idea. Multiples of the swords are never a bad thing, but they might not put me as far ahead as I would like to be.
I'm going to have to change my deck a bit. I'm trying to decide what to take out for 2x Phantasmal Dragon :-/. I still hate the card, but I've lost 75% of my games to not having a way of stopping Consecrated Sphinx, Celestial Colonnade, or Inkmoth Nexus (specifically the last two). Here's the list that I'm running; I've been running it for a while with great success. The swords have been awesome; they completely catch people with their pants down and turn the game in my favor. However, I'd be willing to cut a single of one of the swords for a dragon if people feel its a good idea. Multiples of the swords are never a bad thing, but they might not put me as far ahead as I would like to be.
after some more testing last night i will be posting my list later on tonight. It now features treasure mages in the MD. It IMO is incredibly 10X better than my last decklist posted if not just for the mages. They work so awesome and bring me back to my hay-days of casting stoneforge mystic. The only problem i have now if an opponent controls any clone effects it makes the matche VERY VERY complicated but still winnable.
Last night FNM, I won a game by Metamorph-ing my opp's Sun Titan, then using the trigger to get back two Phantasmal Images (each copying Sun Titan) and a Lord. Granted this is "living the dream", but the synergy betweeen the Images and Titan is now hard for me to ignore...
It's not uncommon at all to put a Titan->Image on Titan-> Lord actually. My U/w list can do something similar almost every game.
Hello, I'm new here in the forums. I've been looking here for more ideas on a U/B Illusions deck but I'm having difficulty finding u/b lists that also include Grand Architect instead of Adaptive Automaton. Please point out any issues you find with my list
*I only have a 2-of Darkslick because I'm having a hard time acquiring a set that isn't overpriced, so I'm just borrowing from a friend.
So thats the deck in a nutshell. It seems a lot better than it did and my friends all agreed. If you guys have any questions i can answer them. This is the build i will be using probably until rotation. It works too good not to use this IMO..
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I would play 16 creatures (Bear, Lord, Image + 4 others), 6 draw, 8 counters, 4 bounce, 24 lands and 2 slots for tech.
I personally play 12 counters and 4 draw but I am a control freak.
Sounds like we are playing very similar lists. May I see?
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
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I usually win with only two to four creatures resolved the entire game. This works because of all the counters and holding on to creatures rather than casting them. My clock is about seven turns, which is completely reasonable.
EDIT: Good news! Another top sixteen!
http://www.wizards.com/magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/deck/778
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4x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
7x Island
4x Tectonic Edge
3x Dismember
4x Mana Leak
3x Spell Pierce
3x Vendetta
4x Lord of the Unreal
4x Phantasmal Bear
4x Phantasmal Dragon
4x Phantasmal Image
I feel proud of having been a part of something beautiful. Something cheap, rogue, fun, and Johnny as **** that can top 16.
Lot of interesting choices there. I dislike all the 4 ofs, though other than that;
He went heavier on the Tec Edges. Guess he expected a lot of important lands to hate.
Neurok Commando? Huh?
EDIT: Also, 8 clones kills me.
DOUBLE EDIT: Can I get a link to the other top sixteen(s)? I'm gonna work on a quick primer update.
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http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=40340
That's it for now. There have been a few articles as well.
EDIT: First article I found: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/22406_Building_Standard_On_A_Budget.html
Second article: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ftl/152
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4x Lord of the Unreal
4x Phantasmal Bear
4x Phantasmal Image
3x Phantasmal Dragon
3x Adaptive Automaton
4x Mana Leak
4x Ponder
3x Spell Pierce
4x Into the Roil
3x Dismember
3x Techtonic Edge
4x Misty Rainforest
17x Island
This list was mashed together and could probably be better. I like Dragons because they are impossible for some decks to deal with once you get a lord down (especially if you copy him)
I have tried the grand architect build and I was honestly underwhelmed. It takes away from the simplicity of simply dropping illusions and destroying.
having said that, I wish I could run stifle
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That being said I have given the illuisions a shot at a FNM and while I went 1-3 I had a great time withis deck, my biggest drawback was favoring cancel over mana leak (big mistake)
I found the transforming sideboard idea threw a lot of people off their initial assesment of the deck causing me to win every game 2 I had played
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4x Seachrome Coast
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Tectonic Edge
3x Halimar Depths
2x Plains
7x Islands
Creatures
4x Phantasmal Bear
4x Lord of the Unreal
4x Phantasmal Image
2x Phantasmal Dragon
3x Grand Architect
3x Adaptive Automaton
2x Wurmcoil Engine
2x Oblivion Ring
2x Spell Pierce
4x Mana Leak
4x Preordain
2x Into the Roil
1x Venser, the Sojourner
1x Jace, Memory Adept
3x Flashfreeze
3x Mental Misstep
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Timely Reinforcements
3x Revoke Existance
Maybe I'm just having bad luck, but this deck is very inconsistent. I either get mana screwed or too much, or I get a hand full of the control spells and then keep drawing them and no creatures. I started off in a tournament 2 - 0 last time and finished 2-3. In 3 seperate games of the last 2 rounds, I only drew 3 creatures. In others, I'd draw nothing but the Images. I rarely ever saw a Lord and without getting him out, this deck is really, really vulnerable.
I'm definitely thinking about switching out the Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces for hard counters. It seems early game, I'm tapping out to try to play the creatures I get and mid/late game, they're nearly useless as my opponent can pay the 2 or 3 to avoid the counter. I've also thought about going mono blue, but I really like having the Oblivion Rings and the sideboard options white provides seem really strong.
I find illusions to be fast and ideally your lord should be dropped on turn 2 or 3 but I don't think the deck is as fragile as you make it out to be
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The reason I'm running the new Jace is because he's a card draw engine for later game when you're trying to draw a win con . . . . like Venser who makes all your illusions unblockable to swing for the win. I'm not arguing, just explaing my reasoning.
Halimar Depths is nice because it helps you dig. Yeah, it comes in tapped but that could be the difference between drawing your win con next or being stuck drawing 2 more lands that you don't need. I'm also thinking about adding Deprives by replacing a mix of Mana Leaks and Spell Pierces. I'm still trying to determine the best counter magic situation. I don't want to wait until turn 3 - 4 to start playing my creatures but playing them earlier may not leave me counter mana. I'm thinking this deck is mainly aggro so I might just go full bore that route. Still toying with ideas.
If you're playing white, there's really no excuse for not playing Sun Titan - I can't tell you how many times on MODO I've gotten the Titan > Image > Image > Lord move off - it seriously happens in like 30% of games, and it usually gets a concession. With that in mind, I'd cut the Memory Adept for a Jace Beleren or 2. Not only do you get card draw, you get recurrable card draw via Sun Titan at the low price of 3 mana. Also, I've found that when choosing to go the U/W route, it's kind of impossible to include the GA/Wurmcoil/Treasure Mage package. No reason you can't run the transformational sideboard if you want, but it doesn't belong in the main deck.
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13-0-4
The issue? Your list is rather inconsistent!
Grand Architect/Straight Aggro-Control/U/w doesn't work that well. I would either cut the GA stuff in favor of a better "control" package (including the Game-winning Sun Titan), or cut the W in favor of stuff like Treasure Mage.
Cut the PWers, they're useless to you. If you want one, use Baby Jace.
Ponder over Preordain. Do it.
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Last night FNM, I won a game by Metamorph-ing my opp's Sun Titan, then using the trigger to get back two Phantasmal Images (each copying Sun Titan) and a Lord. Granted this is "living the dream", but the synergy betweeen the Images and Titan is now hard for me to ignore...
Former US Southwest Regional Coordinator
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Flavor text - Blazing Archon
4x Phantasmal Bear
4x Lord of the Unreal
4x Grand Architect
3x Aether Figment
3x Phantasmal Image
3x Adaptive Automaton
Artifacts/ Enchantments (7)
2x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Sword of War and Peace
3x Dark Tutelage
4x Ponder
3x Mana Leak
2x Deprive
2x Into the Roil
Lands (21)
4x Darkslick Shores
3x Drowned Catacombs
3x Halimar Depths
3x Misty Rainforest
8x Island
3x Mental Misstep
2x Flashfreeze
2x Treasure Mage
2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Mindslaver
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Torpor Orb
I'd take out a tutelage and push an architect to the board.
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It's not uncommon at all to put a Titan->Image on Titan-> Lord actually. My U/w list can do something similar almost every game.
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4 Lord of the Unreal
4 Phantasmal Bear
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Grand Architect
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Steel Hellkite
Lands (21):
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Darkslick Shores
7 Island
3 Swamp
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Halimar Depths
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Into the Roil
4 Ponder
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Deprive
1 Doom Blade
1 Disfigure
2 Dismember
1 Gitaxian Probe
3 Mana Leak
4 Flashfreeze
1 Mindslaver
2 Spreading Seas
3 Mental Misstep
2 Spellskite
2 Go for the Throat
1 Doom Blade
Hello, I'm new here in the forums. I've been looking here for more ideas on a U/B Illusions deck but I'm having difficulty finding u/b lists that also include Grand Architect instead of Adaptive Automaton. Please point out any issues you find with my list
*I only have a 2-of Darkslick because I'm having a hard time acquiring a set that isn't overpriced, so I'm just borrowing from a friend.
2 Halimar Depths
2 Tectonic Edge
18 Island
Creatures (23)
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Grand Architect
3 Treasure Mage
3 Lord of the Unreal
4 Phantasmal Bear
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Steel Hellkite
2 Gitaxian Probe
4 Mana Leak
4 Vapor Snag
3 Deprive
4 Negate
3 Flashfreeze
4 Mental Misstep
2 Spell Pierce
2 Ratchet Bomb
So thats the deck in a nutshell. It seems a lot better than it did and my friends all agreed. If you guys have any questions i can answer them. This is the build i will be using probably until rotation. It works too good not to use this IMO..