I agree about the Eldrazi matchup. It requires critical sideboard cards, but my opponent scooped to an on the play T2 Stony Silence into a T3 Molten Rain on an Eldrazi Temple. I honestly want to up the Molten Rain count to 3 in my sideboard but it is not the most applicable card in other matchups.
Stormchaser Mage is interesting but that is definitely more along the lines of URW aggro, most likely with Delver of Secrets, Monastery Swiftspear, Young Pyromancer if you're feeling frisky, and some amounts of Snapcaster Mage, Geist of Saint Traft, Mantis Rider, and an assortment of other spells to back them up. I do think that it is a different archetype entirely than the midrange plan, though. No 4-drops and no full playset of Geist of Saint Traft, along with the more aggressive creatures, makes the deck play very differently. What I like about UWR Midrange is that we tend to blank a lot of the removal spells our opponents have, especially the burn-based ones.
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A Jeskai Control list that recently got 1st at an SCG Invitational Qualifier. I think this decklist could be a nice discussion point because it doesn't really resemble a classic control list all that much (no Cryptic Command, Supreme Verdict, or Sphinx's Revelation). It actually just looks like a Geist-less midrange list.
2) Of course, I am still sticking to the Geist plan. With Geist of Saint Traft in mind, I think Ajani Vengeant could easily be replaced with something like Elspeth, Knight-Errant to provide an aggressive outlet Game 1 against decks that gum up the ground.
3) The manabase also shows a 3-1 split with Celestial Colonnade and Wandering Fumarole which seems really cool. Wandering Fumarole, as discussed above, puts a lot more pressure on cards like Liliana of the Veil and also costs 1 less to active which could be useful if you haven't hit your 6th mana yet.
4) Still, with Geist in mind, I think the counterspell suite and removal suite could also be played around with in the list above. Also, in an aggressive meta, I don't think we need more than 1 Vendilion Clique, just because it is really bad against Affinity, Merfolk, Burn, and Zoo all of which seem to be overrepresented in the current meta.
5) I think Remand, even in an aggressive meta, is an all-star, buying us time to actually play our 3-4 drop spells and helping us hit our threats or land drops. I also think Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, and Mana Leak are all great in the current meta too, as is Electrolyze.
Overall, I think the decklist above exemplifies what we need to be doing in our midrange lists. All of our cards need to provide immediate or near-immediate value when they hit the board (Pia and Kiran Nalaar, planeswalkers, Restoration Angel's utility in many situations, Geist of Saint Traft providing pressure and being hard to remove, Lightning Angel hitting for 3 the turn it comes down, etc etc etc).
In my list in my signature, I think I'll be testing the switches below in the current meta:
I think the sideboard in the list above way overcompensates for the Tron/Bx Eldrazi matchups with 3 Crumble to Dust and 2 Blood Moon. Considering the meta seems to be shifting to become more aggressive, I think this is our time to shine, where Tron doesn't make it far enough in the tournament and we can prey on the creature decks. I still think we need some sort of answers to Tron and them in the SB (Molten Rain being aggressive and a tempo play, Crumble to Dust shutting down Tron or Eye of Ugin in Bx Eldrazi, Aven Mindcensor potentially for some search hate).
Overall, we should be dedicating sideboard slots to handling aggressive decks in the form of cheap, interactive counterspells in the form of Dispel, Spell Pierce, and Spell Snare, board sweeps in the form of Engineered Explosives, Anger of the Gods, and even Supreme Verdict. Similarly, utility cards are still going to be great, such as Wear // Tear or Celestial Purge. Izzet Staticaster may be a ridiculous all-star in the current meta because it actually puts x/4's in bolt range while sweeping up the pesky x/1's. I wouldn't leave home without one in the sideboard.
I'll be doing some testing soon and see how it goes. Will definitely come back and let you all know how it goes and I would love feedback and thoughts on the stuff I mentioned above.
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Interesting list @JulsSkogs. My biggest question would be, why 3 Wandering Fumarole vs. 2 Celestial Colonnade? Any testing or rationale behind the decision?
Also, -1 Lightning Helix and +1 Electrolyze compared to most lists. And Spell Pierce in the 1-of slot over Spell Snare. If the lack of 4 drops is some sort of concession to a more aggressive meta, I can't imagine losing Lightning Helix in the process is good. Spell Pierce makes sense, especially because cards like Spell Snare can be dead against Bx Eldrazi and Tron, where Spell Pierce is very live.
I too agree that Eiganjo Castle is lacking in the list, but if he plans to cast Cryptic Command on T4, then 20/24 blue sources might be his cutoff point. 19/24 might be wrong, especially if he doesn't run any double-white spells like Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
I could see a Geist Hybrid Control list with a shell like this:
I imagine those are the absolute necessities when building the control version, but I personally think the tempo version might be better suited for the meta. It can be more aggressive against the decks that try to go big (Tron, Bx Eldrazi, other control decks) as well as the decks that get aggressive. The thing I find weird about a control version of Geist is that a big appeal of UWr is its access to cards like Supreme Verdict or Sphinx's Revelation. I do think Shaun McLaren knows what he's talking about most of the time so I imagine what he's saying has some merit to it. Currently, I'm less intrigued by the spell choice and more intrigued by the manabase.
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Now that Twin is out of the meta, I see myself more comfortably tapping out for a strong threat Game 1, like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Lightning Angel. Similarly, with the loss of Twin from the meta, I suspect a rise in Tron and Bx Eldrazi, which is the reason for the 1 maindeck Aven Mindcensor. Even if not against those two decks, Aven Mindcensor can just be a flash disrupter/beater and a higher density of creatures plays well with the planeswalker. The removal/burn suite is standard and something I don't think should change at all for nearly all builds.
A decision I have made is to cut the Serum Visions. Even though it was good casting the card at times, I find that in many cases I'd just rather have a higher density of actual spells. I imagine this will vary from list to list or playstyle to playstyle, but I don't personally like the card all that much. It was great in the slow matchups like vs. Twin or Grixis Control where you know they have a counterspell up and doing something is better than nothing, but I suspect a drop in blue in the meta.
The sideboard is fully equipped to handle a lot of different decks and have a lot of cards that work in many matchups. Keranos, God of Storms and Elspeth, Sun's Champion are the grind package against fair decks. The second Aven Mindcensor, Molten Rain, and Crumble to Dust is the anti-Tron/Bx Eldrazi package with incidental upside of having Molten Rain be a pro-active spell to use against other fair decks like Jund or Junk to gain some tempo. With Twin out of the meta, I feel comfortable siding down to 1 Dispel in the SB as it can still hit a fair amount of decks like Grixis Control, Jund (Kolaghan's Command), other control decks, Kiki-Chord (Chord of Calling), Naya Zoo/Burn (Collected Company or instant-speed burn spells), and many other potential decks. Negate, similar to Dispel, is just a very versatile counterspell to combat against combo decks, Tron, and Jund/Junk to combat a T3 Liliana of the Veil. Wear // Tear is still an incredibly versatile card, being able to destroy opposing Blood Moon, Choke, Lantern Control cards, Cranial Plating, Boggles Enchantments, and more. Celestial Purge is still a strong card these days, handling most of the delve creatures and burn creatures, as well as being an immediate answer for a Liliana of the Veil or even Blood Moon. Engineered Explosives helps against a lot of the aggressive decks in the format like Zoo or Affinity, as does Anger of the Gods. Last but not least, Timely Reinforcements is our single anti-burn card because we generally have a good matchup against them anyways. Being able to flash it back with Snapcaster Mage is the reason I play it over cards like Kor Firewalker, which are also bad when you're very far behind unlike Timely.
Some notes, questions, and concerns below.
1) I am not running Cryptic Command in the current list above. I would love peoples' thoughts on the card's viability at the moment. I think it can also be very strenuous on the manabase, forcing us to limit the amount of off-color utility lands such as Ghost Quarter, Eiganjo Castle, or Desolate Lighthouse. Unless the format proves to become a very grindy affair, I think I feel okay leaving home without Cryptic Command at the moment.
2) My counterspell suite seems a bit all over the place. Personally, I would feel more confident with a playset of Remand. I think 1 Spell Snare is a good number because there are a lot of decks that it just won't do well against. This leaves us with an odd 3-2 split between Remand and Mana Leak. I wonder if Mana Leak is even well-positioned in the format right now. It can hit Tron's tapout on T3, as well as hit the fair decks fairly well too, but I wonder if a more aggressive approach such as Spell Pierce might be stronger. The downside is that Mana Leak can hit opposing annoying creature spells, such as Tarmogoyf, Kitchen Finks, Scavenging Ooze and more. I'm not sure what I favor at the moment, but I do know that a playset of Remand is likely where I want to be so finding room for that would be helpful.
3) I would also love to find room for a second Ghost Quarter somewhere in the main because it can play very nicely with Aven Mindcensor in the main and can also be an aggressive and disruptive play against Tron and Bx Eldrazi as well as manlands from Affinity, Infect, and Jund/Junk. Also, I think a single Needle Spires could be great with maindeck Elspeth, Knight-Errant. While it is very prone to removal, it can be extremely explosive and close out games quickly in a race or top-deck mode.
4) I wouldn't mind having a Spellskite somewhere in the sideboard, but not sure what should be cut. My first thoughts on a cut are a Wear // Tear or a Celestial Purge.
5) Manabase. What is exactly is the optimal number of fetches and which ones should they be? I've seen a full playset of Flooded Strand and Scalding Tarn in a lot of lists, but if the list doesn't run Cryptic Command or other T1 blue spells, I imagine a split between Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn could be good. Thoughts?
Summary: I think what is great about UWr Midrange is that there are a lot of different ways to approach the deck and it has yet to be optimized. I think a big part of that is how it is a very meta-dependent deck and the card choices will vary widely. I think the deck could be very favored in the upcoming meta and I would love to see all of us collaborate and find a tuned list that we can take to upcoming tournaments in the new meta.
List looks pretty good! I am in favor of cutting a 4-drop to make room for another land, though. Cryptics or not, the deck's still very mana hungry: 6 4-drops, 4 Colonnades, Snapcasters. I'd jam a 2nd utility land (e.g. Ghost Quarter) and cut an Elspeth or something. (Also, see above for why I don't like Aven Mindcensor. I think I'm in the minority, though.)
1. I'm not running Cryptic either. Trying to stay low to the ground. If aggro dominates the new meta, it's better not to have it. Also it usually isn't that great vs blue decks that pack Dispels, but it is amazing if Jund/Abzan come back up in popularity. It seems like a nice card for some reach vs Tron/Eldrazi, but I'm not sure about this.
2. No one ever agrees on the counterspells... Seems fine, though.
3. I'd cut a 4-drop for a Ghost Quarter if you want it. I don't think Needle Spires activation cost is worth it. Celestial Colonnade just seems way better for one extra mana. (Well, it also has vigilance, so it's actually the same amount of mana when attacking.) With only 2 Elspeths, it seems like Magical Christmasland to have Elspeth and Needle Spires out with 4 mana to activate the Spires and to have time to cast it.
4. Spellskite seems great. Celestial Purge is imo too powerful vs BGx to cut. Wear//Tear is cuttable esp. since there'll be less Blood Moon. Boggles will be a thing, but Spellskite gets those, too. I'd rather cut Aven Mindcensor out of the board, though.
5. I think Flooded Strand/Scalding Tarn are still the fetchlands to pick. I only ran Cryptics briefly, but I've settled on 4 Flooded Strand/3 Tarns/1 Arid Mesa. Could see cutting a Flooded Strand or two for more red fetches if aggro picks up to the point that T1 Bolt is something you really need shock-free. Blue and white are still the main colors in the deck by a fair amount, and if Blood Moon sticks around somewhere, Flooded Strand gives more Blood Moon insurance than red fetches.
I appreciate the response! Personally, I really like all of the 4 drops...the main reason I want to up the Remand count is to reliably cast it on T2 so that I have more chances to hit my land drops. I think 25 lands is too much for this list, even though I'd love a second Ghost Quarter in there somewhere. It's possible that I cut Aven Mindcensor from the mainboard for a 4th Remand. Why do you dislike Aven Mindcensor so much? Has it not done much for you when you used it? Too vulnerable or low impact for the new meta?
I'm a Twin player trying to find a new home and I'm going to be giving this list a try. I feel it has good game against aggressive decks and fingers-crossed combo for Tron. Haven't been able to test much against Eldrazi, but I feel like the long list of must-kill threats helps. It has a lot of elements of the Twin deck, in the sense that I can attack from several angles depending on board state and game state. No idea if it will ACTUALLY be good, but if the meta gets flooded with non-interactive linear decks, it should be good. I don't know how I feel about Blood Moon in the side. I have two and ran two in Twin, but I don't know how effective it would be in hurting the other deck without also hurting myself. There are definitely slots to move things around.
Nice to see a new take on the deck that I have personally wanted to try but haven't gotten around to testing. Let me know how it turns out for you in testing/tournaments/etc.
With that said, I do have a couple of recommendations. I think a single Cascade Bluffs will go a long way in your decklist, allowing you to reliably cast Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker without having to hurt yourself so much from fetch into shock. I would cut a Hallowed Fountain or Sacred Foundry for it. Also, it seems like a good idea for you to run at least 1 or 2 Celestial Colonnade in the decklist, too. While it doesn't play nicely with T1 Serum Visions, it allows you to play the role of the UWR Control deck when you can't seem to be comboing off or have nothing better to do with your mana in a grindy game.
Other non-manabase recommendations would be cutting a Jace, Vryn's Prodigy for something like a Pia and Kiran Nalaar, which plays very nicely your 4 copies of Restoration Angel. The reason I don't think you need 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is because aside from Serum Visions and your removal suite, you don't have that much to flashback proactively like an Inquisition of Kozilek and whatnot. It does help you dig, but it trades poorly with other removal spells and we tend to want to if not win on card advantage, at least win on tempo, something that a T2 Jace doesn't do well with. It's still a solid card which is why I think 3 should be enough. Other than that, I think you could do well with a third Lightning Helix in there to combat burn, but it isn't necessary as long as you at least add some sideboard tech to handle aggressive decks (Kor Firewalker, Timely Reinforcements, something).
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Now that Twin is out of the meta, I see myself more comfortably tapping out for a strong threat Game 1, like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Lightning Angel. Similarly, with the loss of Twin from the meta, I suspect a rise in Tron and Bx Eldrazi, which is the reason for the 1 maindeck Aven Mindcensor. Even if not against those two decks, Aven Mindcensor can just be a flash disrupter/beater and a higher density of creatures plays well with the planeswalker. The removal/burn suite is standard and something I don't think should change at all for nearly all builds.
A decision I have made is to cut the Serum Visions. Even though it was good casting the card at times, I find that in many cases I'd just rather have a higher density of actual spells. I imagine this will vary from list to list or playstyle to playstyle, but I don't personally like the card all that much. It was great in the slow matchups like vs. Twin or Grixis Control where you know they have a counterspell up and doing something is better than nothing, but I suspect a drop in blue in the meta.
The sideboard is fully equipped to handle a lot of different decks and have a lot of cards that work in many matchups. Keranos, God of Storms and Elspeth, Sun's Champion are the grind package against fair decks. The second Aven Mindcensor, Molten Rain, and Crumble to Dust is the anti-Tron/Bx Eldrazi package with incidental upside of having Molten Rain be a pro-active spell to use against other fair decks like Jund or Junk to gain some tempo. With Twin out of the meta, I feel comfortable siding down to 1 Dispel in the SB as it can still hit a fair amount of decks like Grixis Control, Jund (Kolaghan's Command), other control decks, Kiki-Chord (Chord of Calling), Naya Zoo/Burn (Collected Company or instant-speed burn spells), and many other potential decks. Negate, similar to Dispel, is just a very versatile counterspell to combat against combo decks, Tron, and Jund/Junk to combat a T3 Liliana of the Veil. Wear // Tear is still an incredibly versatile card, being able to destroy opposing Blood Moon, Choke, Lantern Control cards, Cranial Plating, Boggles Enchantments, and more. Celestial Purge is still a strong card these days, handling most of the delve creatures and burn creatures, as well as being an immediate answer for a Liliana of the Veil or even Blood Moon. Engineered Explosives helps against a lot of the aggressive decks in the format like Zoo or Affinity, as does Anger of the Gods. Last but not least, Timely Reinforcements is our single anti-burn card because we generally have a good matchup against them anyways. Being able to flash it back with Snapcaster Mage is the reason I play it over cards like Kor Firewalker, which are also bad when you're very far behind unlike Timely.
Some notes, questions, and concerns below.
1) I am not running Cryptic Command in the current list above. I would love peoples' thoughts on the card's viability at the moment. I think it can also be very strenuous on the manabase, forcing us to limit the amount of off-color utility lands such as Ghost Quarter, Eiganjo Castle, or Desolate Lighthouse. Unless the format proves to become a very grindy affair, I think I feel okay leaving home without Cryptic Command at the moment.
2) My counterspell suite seems a bit all over the place. Personally, I would feel more confident with a playset of Remand. I think 1 Spell Snare is a good number because there are a lot of decks that it just won't do well against. This leaves us with an odd 3-2 split between Remand and Mana Leak. I wonder if Mana Leak is even well-positioned in the format right now. It can hit Tron's tapout on T3, as well as hit the fair decks fairly well too, but I wonder if a more aggressive approach such as Spell Pierce might be stronger. The downside is that Mana Leak can hit opposing annoying creature spells, such as Tarmogoyf, Kitchen Finks, Scavenging Ooze and more. I'm not sure what I favor at the moment, but I do know that a playset of Remand is likely where I want to be so finding room for that would be helpful.
3) I would also love to find room for a second Ghost Quarter somewhere in the main because it can play very nicely with Aven Mindcensor in the main and can also be an aggressive and disruptive play against Tron and Bx Eldrazi as well as manlands from Affinity, Infect, and Jund/Junk. Also, I think a single Needle Spires could be great with maindeck Elspeth, Knight-Errant. While it is very prone to removal, it can be extremely explosive and close out games quickly in a race or top-deck mode.
4) I wouldn't mind having a Spellskite somewhere in the sideboard, but not sure what should be cut. My first thoughts on a cut are a Wear // Tear or a Celestial Purge.
5) Manabase. What is exactly is the optimal number of fetches and which ones should they be? I've seen a full playset of Flooded Strand and Scalding Tarn in a lot of lists, but if the list doesn't run Cryptic Command or other T1 blue spells, I imagine a split between Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn could be good. Thoughts?
Summary: I think what is great about UWr Midrange is that there are a lot of different ways to approach the deck and it has yet to be optimized. I think a big part of that is how it is a very meta-dependent deck and the card choices will vary widely. I think the deck could be very favored in the upcoming meta and I would love to see all of us collaborate and find a tuned list that we can take to upcoming tournaments in the new meta.
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Now that Twin is more or less non-existent, could we be running more non-game winning 4 or 5 drop spells? Cards that come to mind that could do serious work in an environment where Remand or other counterspells are less common are Elspeth, Knight-Errant which curves positively with Geist/Clique, or Ajani Vengeant which is a Lightning Helix on a stick, or Lightning Angel which is a Mantis Rider that doesn't die to 3-damage spells or Abrupt Decay and plays nicer with our curve. Cards like Thundermaw Hellkite and maindeck Keranos, God of Storms also come to mind (as does Dragonlord Ojutai). Also, with Twin gone, the return of maindeck Aven Mindcensor might be very important to handle decks like Tron during Game 1 or disrupt other combos or just be random value. I also think Vendilion Clique might now be a 1-of rather than a 2-of for the deck because while it is a nice flash beater/disrupter, it lines up very poorly against aggro decks like Burn, Infect, or Affinity. I'm definitely going to be brewing up some lists soon.
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I suspect Tron will see an increase in play, which might spawn the increase of hyper-aggressive strategies such as Burn, Infect, Affinity, or Delver-style decks. We still have strong game against them and it would just be a matter of proper sideboarding or maindeck hate to deal with the rest of the format. I do think the gravitation towards hyper aggressive strategies will happen regardless of Tron because less Twin means less Lightning Bolt in the format, something those decks love to see.
Regardless, I don't think our deck is too lost or scarred due to the loss of Twin. If classic control decks come back in the format, Geist still does great work and we have lots of flash threats. Sweepers is the only thing we'd need to be careful for. But this is all speculation. I know for certain that after the prerelease tomorrow, I'm going back to the drawing board.
As always, keep us informed with your playtesting GreatNate.
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Twin is basically gone and Amulet Bloom has been neutered. How do we adapt?
We've always talked about Restoration Angel as being a great flash-beater that lines up well against Twin. Is it still necessary in large numbers? Is the flash part necessary anymore? It's hard to say what we should do as a whole because we don't know where the meta will shift. Still, let's open the gate for discussion and see what we should be doing with our deck.
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Hey GreatNate, awesome report. Nice to see you were able to beat down Tron, one of the matchups I'm more worried about. My questions are:
1) I see that maindeck Dispel was more of a meta call. Do you think in a more unknown meta that Spell Snare would be a fair switch for that? In general, what would you say are the flex spots for the deck?
2) How do you feel about Aven Mindcensor in the sideboard? Did you feel it made any impact on your results that day? In theory it seems good, but recently I've cut them from my maindeck and I'm not sure they even deserve another spot in my sideboard. Replacing them with more land-hate might be better, such as a second Crumble to Dust or some Molten Rain or the like. They would come in handy vs. Tron or Chord decks, although both run interaction such as Pyroclasm or Bolt/Path.
Great report as usual, thanks for your insight GreatNate and congratulations on your win!
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Jeskai Geist just made it in the Top 32 of SCG Cincinnati Open! Kind of a different, more tempo oriented list than what most of us have been brewing here. Thoughts?
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Seems great value with Restoration Angel. Definitely grind-oriented and competes with Thundermaw Hellkite or Keranos, God of Storms in the 5cmc slot, but it provides better stabilization than Keranos when we're behind (immediate body + spell) and gets value immediately whereas Thundermaw isn't even guaranteed to. I think it definitely warrants testing...thoughts?
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It has been a long time since I last posted, and I wrote a very long response that got deleted when my computer crashed. Well, here's a recap... Paradox Omega, our lists are pretty similar, and I've had success with mine also (~70% win rate). Vs Grixis, I strongly prefer Vendilion Clique to Mindcensor. I have 2 Clique main, and I have the same thoughts about Mindcensor as you wrote. That's why I only run 1 main. (I wouldn't even run Mindcensor if I didn't have much Amulet or Tron in my meta.) Clique helps either plan you want to pursue (aggro or control), which is the type of flexibility you need in this matchup. The roles are very draw-dependent. If they have an early threat, you're either forced to answer it or race it with a threat of your own plus all of the burn that we run. If not, try to stick a threat of your own and play a control game until you win. I also strongly prefer non-Mana Leak counterspells in this matchup since winning counter wars requires efficiency (Spell Snare) and value (Remanding your countered spells to recast them). I run a 2 Mana Leak/2 Remand/2 Spell Snare split, but that's in a meta with more BGx and combo. If your meta is tons of Grixis control, then something like 1 Leak/3 Remand/2 Snare seems better. I like T-Maw a lot as a game 1 threat that I board out vs Grixis in favor of something better. In my list, that's Keranos, but you have him main board. I also run Elspeth, Sun's Champion, which is amazing at stabilizing basically any board state. She either wipes the board or makes tons of chump blockers that will eventually win the game on their own. She's incredible, and there's almost always time to land her in this matchup.
If I ran your list, I'd board in +1 Clique, +2 Dispel, +1 Negate, +1 Purge and take out -2 Mindcensor, -1 Thundermaw, -2 Mana Leak. I don't like Supreme Verdict because Grixis usually only runs 5 Tasigur/Gurmag Angler, which can be answered with Paths, Purge, Remand (huge tempo gain), Mana Leak, or Snap-Path/Purge. This lets you keep your own threats on board also. (Supreme Verdict can be a dead draw late if you're trying to race with an on-board threat.) I am not sold on Rest in Peace, but I haven't tried it. I don't think Spellskite is necessary. You can keep all the burn in the deck to race if it comes down to it. I actually like Helix better in this matchup than Bolt since many games end up being races.
Stoneforge Mystic would be sweet!
What does your SB look like at the moment, out of curiosity?
And yeah, Aven Mindcensor feels like a necessary evil at the moment. It can be a nice flash beater, get people's fetches, and pair nicely with our own Path to Exiles but it can be very lackluster sometimes. But without it, we are just so weak to Tron and Bloom Game 1 and those are some of our worst match-ups. I'm not particularly sold on Rest in Peace in my sideboard at all, and I may very well swap it for another grindy finisher like Elspeth, Sun's Champion. I just feel like some sort of graveyard hate might go a long way in the fringe dredge match-ups or against Grishoalbrand. Regardless, Elspeth, Sun's Champion does seem really nice in the current meta vs. all different kinds of decks.
I'll definitely try out that configuration and test out Elspeth as well and see how it gets me. I tend to have a good matchup against Grixis but they sometimes outgrind me and I still haven't learned when to pick fights and when not to. I guess that will just come with practice, though. Thanks a lot for the advice, demidev13!
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I've really enjoyed the maindeck package of Keranos, God of Storms and Thundermaw Hellkite, even though they are liabilities in the aggressive matchups and they are expensive threats that are difficult to resolve against more controlling decks. They just add so much reach that the deck didn't have before in my opinion. I have been wanting to find room for the second Vendilion Clique in the maindeck, possibly swapping it with one of the top ends previously mentioned.
The point I am getting to is: I have a lot of Grixis Control (not Blue Jund) in my meta. Each game I find myself siding differently and I have no idea what the optimal changes are. Using my sideboard package, I usually find myself wanting to side in:
The problem is I have no idea if those are correct cards to side-in, and on top of that, I have no idea what the optimal cards to take out of my mainboard for them would be. Cards that I think are a little lackluster in the matchup:
1-2 Aven Mindcensor, I might keep in 1 if the opponent didn't see it Game 1 as a "gotcha" sort of card, but usually they will already play around it Game 2. It also just eats removal.
0-1 Thundermaw Hellkite, same reasoning as above. It's an expensive threat that's hard to resolve and is extremely easy to remove, although I could see bringing it back Game 3 if your opponent runs Pia and Kiran Nalaar and/or Vendilion Clique.
1-3 Mana Leak, They are usually just rotting in your hand waiting for the impending counter wars and they don't really help push out a Geist of Saint Traft. I could see myself keeping one in to help against an early Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Zombie Fish but I find them to be pretty lackluster.
Some amount of burn spells, I am pretty torn on what to do here. In many games, I find myself to be just a few points off of lethal and I feel like being more aggressive with burn spells and such might be the right move against Grixis Control. But they can be very dead cards against a lot of their big threats (Tasigur, Zombie Fish) which is why I tend to side them out a lot. However, suggestions are highly appreciated on this.
If anyone has any good ideas/opinions on how I should sideboard against Grixis Control using my exact list, I would greatly appreciate it!
EDIT: Also, as a side-note, is anybody else excited about the potential Stoneforge Mystic unban? Seems like an east fit into our deck.
Check out some Magic Gameplay and Commentary videos here, including Modern Grixis, Jeskai, and Esper videos as well as some Standard and Drafts too: My YouTube Channel!
Seems like a great addition as a 1-of in our list. Seems great to cast with a Geist on the board, slightly worse without a Geist. But bouncing a big blocker and killing a smaller critter seems like a really awesome tempo play for just 4 mana, something that a card like Resto can't do outside of combat (with only 4 mana).
Works really favorably against Kitchen Finks and Etched Champion, two very popular cards at the moment. Also stalls uncounterable spells like Thrun, Verdict, or Decay for a turn (translation: tempo!)
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My meta consists of a lot of Affinity, Grixis Control/Delver/Twin, Infect, Elves, Tron (both U and RG), UW Midrange and Control variants, some Abzan, some Jund, I think a bit of combo like Grishoalbrand but that's about it.
I think finding room for 2 Stony Silence will definitely help but I do not want to cut Izzet Staticaster as that card has been nuts for me both in my local meta and testing online on trice. I could honestly see myself cutting a Valorous Stance as I don't find myself siding it in very often, and maybe an Engineered Explosives. I would cut Elspeth, Sun's Champion but she just does so much work in the grindy matchups like Jund and Abzan, and even the Grixis variants because those games tend to go long although I could justify cutting it. However, Engineered Explosives is some of our only answers against Boggles, a deck that is not in my meta but is one of my worst matchups. Explosives also avoids targetting which is relevant for Affinity (Etched Champion) and Infect (protection/pump spells). It's also just such a flexible card, although it can be a little slow sometimes. I'm very hesitant to drop it but I think I need 2 Stony Silence in my sideboard these days.
I'm doing a lot of sideboard thinking myself right now.
Let me know what you end up with, I value your opinion greatly.
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Stormchaser Mage is interesting but that is definitely more along the lines of URW aggro, most likely with Delver of Secrets, Monastery Swiftspear, Young Pyromancer if you're feeling frisky, and some amounts of Snapcaster Mage, Geist of Saint Traft, Mantis Rider, and an assortment of other spells to back them up. I do think that it is a different archetype entirely than the midrange plan, though. No 4-drops and no full playset of Geist of Saint Traft, along with the more aggressive creatures, makes the deck play very differently. What I like about UWR Midrange is that we tend to blank a lot of the removal spells our opponents have, especially the burn-based ones.
3 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Vendilion Clique
Planeswalkers (1):
1 Ajani Vengeant
Lands (25):
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Wandering Fumarole
1 Anticipate
1 Dispel
1 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
2 Remand
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Blood Moon
2 Stony Silence
1 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Wear
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Crumble to Dust
A Jeskai Control list that recently got 1st at an SCG Invitational Qualifier. I think this decklist could be a nice discussion point because it doesn't really resemble a classic control list all that much (no Cryptic Command, Supreme Verdict, or Sphinx's Revelation). It actually just looks like a Geist-less midrange list.
Some thoughts below:
1) I love the maindeck Pia and Kiran Nalaar in the current meta. According to the most recent SCG Open Modern event, it was filled with Delver, Zoo, Affinity, Merfolk, and Jund. This is not indicative of the entire metagame, but I imagine Pia and Kiran Nalaar can be really useful in the current meta over other 4-drops I've played lately, such as Lightning Angel. Also, with an increase in Pia and Kiran Nalaar, at least 3 Restoration Angel makes a lot of sense, giving Restoration Angel a lot of late-game value with both Snapcaster Mage and Pia and Kiran Nalaar.
2) Of course, I am still sticking to the Geist plan. With Geist of Saint Traft in mind, I think Ajani Vengeant could easily be replaced with something like Elspeth, Knight-Errant to provide an aggressive outlet Game 1 against decks that gum up the ground.
3) The manabase also shows a 3-1 split with Celestial Colonnade and Wandering Fumarole which seems really cool. Wandering Fumarole, as discussed above, puts a lot more pressure on cards like Liliana of the Veil and also costs 1 less to active which could be useful if you haven't hit your 6th mana yet.
4) Still, with Geist in mind, I think the counterspell suite and removal suite could also be played around with in the list above. Also, in an aggressive meta, I don't think we need more than 1 Vendilion Clique, just because it is really bad against Affinity, Merfolk, Burn, and Zoo all of which seem to be overrepresented in the current meta.
5) I think Remand, even in an aggressive meta, is an all-star, buying us time to actually play our 3-4 drop spells and helping us hit our threats or land drops. I also think Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, and Mana Leak are all great in the current meta too, as is Electrolyze.
Overall, I think the decklist above exemplifies what we need to be doing in our midrange lists. All of our cards need to provide immediate or near-immediate value when they hit the board (Pia and Kiran Nalaar, planeswalkers, Restoration Angel's utility in many situations, Geist of Saint Traft providing pressure and being hard to remove, Lightning Angel hitting for 3 the turn it comes down, etc etc etc).
In my list in my signature, I think I'll be testing the switches below in the current meta:
Out:
-2 Lightning Angel
-1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
In:
+2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
+1 Restoration Angel
Similarly, some lands should probably be switched around. I'll be playing around with:
Out:
-2 Celestial Colonnade
In:
+1 Wandering Fumarole
+1 Needle Spires
And it is very possible that I will find Needle Spires to be absolute junk and it will be accordingly replaced with a Celestial Colonnade again or another Wandering Fumarole.
I think the sideboard in the list above way overcompensates for the Tron/Bx Eldrazi matchups with 3 Crumble to Dust and 2 Blood Moon. Considering the meta seems to be shifting to become more aggressive, I think this is our time to shine, where Tron doesn't make it far enough in the tournament and we can prey on the creature decks. I still think we need some sort of answers to Tron and them in the SB (Molten Rain being aggressive and a tempo play, Crumble to Dust shutting down Tron or Eye of Ugin in Bx Eldrazi, Aven Mindcensor potentially for some search hate).
Overall, we should be dedicating sideboard slots to handling aggressive decks in the form of cheap, interactive counterspells in the form of Dispel, Spell Pierce, and Spell Snare, board sweeps in the form of Engineered Explosives, Anger of the Gods, and even Supreme Verdict. Similarly, utility cards are still going to be great, such as Wear // Tear or Celestial Purge. Izzet Staticaster may be a ridiculous all-star in the current meta because it actually puts x/4's in bolt range while sweeping up the pesky x/1's. I wouldn't leave home without one in the sideboard.
I'll be doing some testing soon and see how it goes. Will definitely come back and let you all know how it goes and I would love feedback and thoughts on the stuff I mentioned above.
The lack of Restoration Angel or any 4-drop other than Ajani Vengeant is also also interesting. I guess Cryptic Command is his 4-drop of choice. Not to say Ajani Vengeant is bad or anything, but is Restoration Angel really not good in the current meta without Twin?
Also, -1 Lightning Helix and +1 Electrolyze compared to most lists. And Spell Pierce in the 1-of slot over Spell Snare. If the lack of 4 drops is some sort of concession to a more aggressive meta, I can't imagine losing Lightning Helix in the process is good. Spell Pierce makes sense, especially because cards like Spell Snare can be dead against Bx Eldrazi and Tron, where Spell Pierce is very live.
I too agree that Eiganjo Castle is lacking in the list, but if he plans to cast Cryptic Command on T4, then 20/24 blue sources might be his cutoff point. 19/24 might be wrong, especially if he doesn't run any double-white spells like Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
I could see a Geist Hybrid Control list with a shell like this:
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Cryptic Command
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
I imagine those are the absolute necessities when building the control version, but I personally think the tempo version might be better suited for the meta. It can be more aggressive against the decks that try to go big (Tron, Bx Eldrazi, other control decks) as well as the decks that get aggressive. The thing I find weird about a control version of Geist is that a big appeal of UWr is its access to cards like Supreme Verdict or Sphinx's Revelation. I do think Shaun McLaren knows what he's talking about most of the time so I imagine what he's saying has some merit to it. Currently, I'm less intrigued by the spell choice and more intrigued by the manabase.
I appreciate the response! Personally, I really like all of the 4 drops...the main reason I want to up the Remand count is to reliably cast it on T2 so that I have more chances to hit my land drops. I think 25 lands is too much for this list, even though I'd love a second Ghost Quarter in there somewhere. It's possible that I cut Aven Mindcensor from the mainboard for a 4th Remand. Why do you dislike Aven Mindcensor so much? Has it not done much for you when you used it? Too vulnerable or low impact for the new meta?
Nice to see a new take on the deck that I have personally wanted to try but haven't gotten around to testing. Let me know how it turns out for you in testing/tournaments/etc.
With that said, I do have a couple of recommendations. I think a single Cascade Bluffs will go a long way in your decklist, allowing you to reliably cast Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker without having to hurt yourself so much from fetch into shock. I would cut a Hallowed Fountain or Sacred Foundry for it. Also, it seems like a good idea for you to run at least 1 or 2 Celestial Colonnade in the decklist, too. While it doesn't play nicely with T1 Serum Visions, it allows you to play the role of the UWR Control deck when you can't seem to be comboing off or have nothing better to do with your mana in a grindy game.
Other non-manabase recommendations would be cutting a Jace, Vryn's Prodigy for something like a Pia and Kiran Nalaar, which plays very nicely your 4 copies of Restoration Angel. The reason I don't think you need 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is because aside from Serum Visions and your removal suite, you don't have that much to flashback proactively like an Inquisition of Kozilek and whatnot. It does help you dig, but it trades poorly with other removal spells and we tend to want to if not win on card advantage, at least win on tempo, something that a T2 Jace doesn't do well with. It's still a solid card which is why I think 3 should be enough. Other than that, I think you could do well with a third Lightning Helix in there to combat burn, but it isn't necessary as long as you at least add some sideboard tech to handle aggressive decks (Kor Firewalker, Timely Reinforcements, something).
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Restoration Angel
2 Lightning Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Aven Mindcensor
Removal/Burn (14):
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Electrolyze
Counterspells (6):
3 Remand
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
Planeswalkers (2):
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Aven Mindcensor
2 Molten Rain
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Dispel
1 Negate
2 Wear // Tear
1 Celestial Purge
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Timely Reinforcements
Now that Twin is out of the meta, I see myself more comfortably tapping out for a strong threat Game 1, like Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Lightning Angel. Similarly, with the loss of Twin from the meta, I suspect a rise in Tron and Bx Eldrazi, which is the reason for the 1 maindeck Aven Mindcensor. Even if not against those two decks, Aven Mindcensor can just be a flash disrupter/beater and a higher density of creatures plays well with the planeswalker. The removal/burn suite is standard and something I don't think should change at all for nearly all builds.
A decision I have made is to cut the Serum Visions. Even though it was good casting the card at times, I find that in many cases I'd just rather have a higher density of actual spells. I imagine this will vary from list to list or playstyle to playstyle, but I don't personally like the card all that much. It was great in the slow matchups like vs. Twin or Grixis Control where you know they have a counterspell up and doing something is better than nothing, but I suspect a drop in blue in the meta.
The sideboard is fully equipped to handle a lot of different decks and have a lot of cards that work in many matchups. Keranos, God of Storms and Elspeth, Sun's Champion are the grind package against fair decks. The second Aven Mindcensor, Molten Rain, and Crumble to Dust is the anti-Tron/Bx Eldrazi package with incidental upside of having Molten Rain be a pro-active spell to use against other fair decks like Jund or Junk to gain some tempo. With Twin out of the meta, I feel comfortable siding down to 1 Dispel in the SB as it can still hit a fair amount of decks like Grixis Control, Jund (Kolaghan's Command), other control decks, Kiki-Chord (Chord of Calling), Naya Zoo/Burn (Collected Company or instant-speed burn spells), and many other potential decks. Negate, similar to Dispel, is just a very versatile counterspell to combat against combo decks, Tron, and Jund/Junk to combat a T3 Liliana of the Veil. Wear // Tear is still an incredibly versatile card, being able to destroy opposing Blood Moon, Choke, Lantern Control cards, Cranial Plating, Boggles Enchantments, and more. Celestial Purge is still a strong card these days, handling most of the delve creatures and burn creatures, as well as being an immediate answer for a Liliana of the Veil or even Blood Moon. Engineered Explosives helps against a lot of the aggressive decks in the format like Zoo or Affinity, as does Anger of the Gods. Last but not least, Timely Reinforcements is our single anti-burn card because we generally have a good matchup against them anyways. Being able to flash it back with Snapcaster Mage is the reason I play it over cards like Kor Firewalker, which are also bad when you're very far behind unlike Timely.
Some notes, questions, and concerns below.
1) I am not running Cryptic Command in the current list above. I would love peoples' thoughts on the card's viability at the moment. I think it can also be very strenuous on the manabase, forcing us to limit the amount of off-color utility lands such as Ghost Quarter, Eiganjo Castle, or Desolate Lighthouse. Unless the format proves to become a very grindy affair, I think I feel okay leaving home without Cryptic Command at the moment.
2) My counterspell suite seems a bit all over the place. Personally, I would feel more confident with a playset of Remand. I think 1 Spell Snare is a good number because there are a lot of decks that it just won't do well against. This leaves us with an odd 3-2 split between Remand and Mana Leak. I wonder if Mana Leak is even well-positioned in the format right now. It can hit Tron's tapout on T3, as well as hit the fair decks fairly well too, but I wonder if a more aggressive approach such as Spell Pierce might be stronger. The downside is that Mana Leak can hit opposing annoying creature spells, such as Tarmogoyf, Kitchen Finks, Scavenging Ooze and more. I'm not sure what I favor at the moment, but I do know that a playset of Remand is likely where I want to be so finding room for that would be helpful.
3) I would also love to find room for a second Ghost Quarter somewhere in the main because it can play very nicely with Aven Mindcensor in the main and can also be an aggressive and disruptive play against Tron and Bx Eldrazi as well as manlands from Affinity, Infect, and Jund/Junk. Also, I think a single Needle Spires could be great with maindeck Elspeth, Knight-Errant. While it is very prone to removal, it can be extremely explosive and close out games quickly in a race or top-deck mode.
4) I wouldn't mind having a Spellskite somewhere in the sideboard, but not sure what should be cut. My first thoughts on a cut are a Wear // Tear or a Celestial Purge.
5) Manabase. What is exactly is the optimal number of fetches and which ones should they be? I've seen a full playset of Flooded Strand and Scalding Tarn in a lot of lists, but if the list doesn't run Cryptic Command or other T1 blue spells, I imagine a split between Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn could be good. Thoughts?
Summary: I think what is great about UWr Midrange is that there are a lot of different ways to approach the deck and it has yet to be optimized. I think a big part of that is how it is a very meta-dependent deck and the card choices will vary widely. I think the deck could be very favored in the upcoming meta and I would love to see all of us collaborate and find a tuned list that we can take to upcoming tournaments in the new meta.
Regardless, I don't think our deck is too lost or scarred due to the loss of Twin. If classic control decks come back in the format, Geist still does great work and we have lots of flash threats. Sweepers is the only thing we'd need to be careful for. But this is all speculation. I know for certain that after the prerelease tomorrow, I'm going back to the drawing board.
As always, keep us informed with your playtesting GreatNate.
We've always talked about Restoration Angel as being a great flash-beater that lines up well against Twin. Is it still necessary in large numbers? Is the flash part necessary anymore? It's hard to say what we should do as a whole because we don't know where the meta will shift. Still, let's open the gate for discussion and see what we should be doing with our deck.
1) I see that maindeck Dispel was more of a meta call. Do you think in a more unknown meta that Spell Snare would be a fair switch for that? In general, what would you say are the flex spots for the deck?
2) How do you feel about Aven Mindcensor in the sideboard? Did you feel it made any impact on your results that day? In theory it seems good, but recently I've cut them from my maindeck and I'm not sure they even deserve another spot in my sideboard. Replacing them with more land-hate might be better, such as a second Crumble to Dust or some Molten Rain or the like. They would come in handy vs. Tron or Chord decks, although both run interaction such as Pyroclasm or Bolt/Path.
3) Would you play a 4th Serum Visions? Is running 3 only because it can be a clunker with our 4 copies of Celestial Colonnade?
Great report as usual, thanks for your insight GreatNate and congratulations on your win!
2 Lightning Angel
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Vendilion Clique
Planeswalkers (2)
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands (24)
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Celestial Colonnade
1 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mystic Gate
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Eiganjo Castle
2 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Wear // Tear
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Molten Rain
1 Timely Reinforcements
Lightning Angel is definitely a cool card, as is Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Thoughts and opinions?
Seems great value with Restoration Angel. Definitely grind-oriented and competes with Thundermaw Hellkite or Keranos, God of Storms in the 5cmc slot, but it provides better stabilization than Keranos when we're behind (immediate body + spell) and gets value immediately whereas Thundermaw isn't even guaranteed to. I think it definitely warrants testing...thoughts?
What does your SB look like at the moment, out of curiosity?
And yeah, Aven Mindcensor feels like a necessary evil at the moment. It can be a nice flash beater, get people's fetches, and pair nicely with our own Path to Exiles but it can be very lackluster sometimes. But without it, we are just so weak to Tron and Bloom Game 1 and those are some of our worst match-ups. I'm not particularly sold on Rest in Peace in my sideboard at all, and I may very well swap it for another grindy finisher like Elspeth, Sun's Champion. I just feel like some sort of graveyard hate might go a long way in the fringe dredge match-ups or against Grishoalbrand. Regardless, Elspeth, Sun's Champion does seem really nice in the current meta vs. all different kinds of decks.
I'll definitely try out that configuration and test out Elspeth as well and see how it gets me. I tend to have a good matchup against Grixis but they sometimes outgrind me and I still haven't learned when to pick fights and when not to. I guess that will just come with practice, though. Thanks a lot for the advice, demidev13!
2 Aven Mindcensor
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Restoration Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Keranos, God of Storms
Instants (19):
2 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
3 Mana Leak
1 Remand
1 Spell Snare
2 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Flooded Strand
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Eiganjo Castle
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Celestial Purge
2 Dispel
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Negate
1 Rest in Peace
1 Spellskite
1 Stony Silence
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Wear // Tear
I've really enjoyed the maindeck package of Keranos, God of Storms and Thundermaw Hellkite, even though they are liabilities in the aggressive matchups and they are expensive threats that are difficult to resolve against more controlling decks. They just add so much reach that the deck didn't have before in my opinion. I have been wanting to find room for the second Vendilion Clique in the maindeck, possibly swapping it with one of the top ends previously mentioned.
The point I am getting to is: I have a lot of Grixis Control (not Blue Jund) in my meta. Each game I find myself siding differently and I have no idea what the optimal changes are. Using my sideboard package, I usually find myself wanting to side in:
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Dispel
1 Celestial Purge
1 Negate
And, depending on how reliant the deck is on their graveyard and delve creatures, I side in:
1 Rest in Peace
1 Supreme Verdict
Also, I sometimes side in:
1 Spellskite
The problem is I have no idea if those are correct cards to side-in, and on top of that, I have no idea what the optimal cards to take out of my mainboard for them would be. Cards that I think are a little lackluster in the matchup:
1-2 Aven Mindcensor, I might keep in 1 if the opponent didn't see it Game 1 as a "gotcha" sort of card, but usually they will already play around it Game 2. It also just eats removal.
0-1 Thundermaw Hellkite, same reasoning as above. It's an expensive threat that's hard to resolve and is extremely easy to remove, although I could see bringing it back Game 3 if your opponent runs Pia and Kiran Nalaar and/or Vendilion Clique.
1-3 Mana Leak, They are usually just rotting in your hand waiting for the impending counter wars and they don't really help push out a Geist of Saint Traft. I could see myself keeping one in to help against an early Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Zombie Fish but I find them to be pretty lackluster.
Some amount of burn spells, I am pretty torn on what to do here. In many games, I find myself to be just a few points off of lethal and I feel like being more aggressive with burn spells and such might be the right move against Grixis Control. But they can be very dead cards against a lot of their big threats (Tasigur, Zombie Fish) which is why I tend to side them out a lot. However, suggestions are highly appreciated on this.
If anyone has any good ideas/opinions on how I should sideboard against Grixis Control using my exact list, I would greatly appreciate it!
EDIT: Also, as a side-note, is anybody else excited about the potential Stoneforge Mystic unban? Seems like an east fit into our deck.
Seems like a great addition as a 1-of in our list. Seems great to cast with a Geist on the board, slightly worse without a Geist. But bouncing a big blocker and killing a smaller critter seems like a really awesome tempo play for just 4 mana, something that a card like Resto can't do outside of combat (with only 4 mana).
Works really favorably against Kitchen Finks and Etched Champion, two very popular cards at the moment. Also stalls uncounterable spells like Thrun, Verdict, or Decay for a turn (translation: tempo!)
My meta consists of a lot of Affinity, Grixis Control/Delver/Twin, Infect, Elves, Tron (both U and RG), UW Midrange and Control variants, some Abzan, some Jund, I think a bit of combo like Grishoalbrand but that's about it.
I think finding room for 2 Stony Silence will definitely help but I do not want to cut Izzet Staticaster as that card has been nuts for me both in my local meta and testing online on trice. I could honestly see myself cutting a Valorous Stance as I don't find myself siding it in very often, and maybe an Engineered Explosives. I would cut Elspeth, Sun's Champion but she just does so much work in the grindy matchups like Jund and Abzan, and even the Grixis variants because those games tend to go long although I could justify cutting it. However, Engineered Explosives is some of our only answers against Boggles, a deck that is not in my meta but is one of my worst matchups. Explosives also avoids targetting which is relevant for Affinity (Etched Champion) and Infect (protection/pump spells). It's also just such a flexible card, although it can be a little slow sometimes. I'm very hesitant to drop it but I think I need 2 Stony Silence in my sideboard these days.
Let me know what you end up with, I value your opinion greatly.