i don't know why this deck is not widely played but the deck should be tier 1. every matchup is so winnable if you want it to. 4-0 on FNM this week and my matchups are Traditional Abzan, Jeskai, amulet titan, Affinity Scales. Affinity scales is a tough matchup. I only won because I race with lingering souls. they can even win with stony silence in play.
what do you guys think of vampire hexmage? I think we have all traversable answers except for planeswalker. we got lock pieces like gaddock teeg, and fulminator for them to prevent from getting to that point but it would be nice to have an answer if they are already in play.
yeah I've dropped kataki too. eidolon of rhetoric is actually good target against KCI. I do have stony silence tho. I figured you just need 1 target for traverse in a specific matchup and the rest can be something you can draw naturally that would be powerful.
Only creatures dodging Terminus are Gaddock Teeg and Meddling Mage I think, they stop it from getting cast or super sticky stuff like Thragtusk and just barely. Championed stuff also stay on the board.
You can alternatively surgical in response to miracle trigger if opponent has another copy in graveyard or stifle the miracle trigger with something like nimble obstructionist.
Field of Ruin can help play through it for GB since it's a forced shuffle and you can probably hit it if they decide to miracle it at instant speed on your combat step setting it up with Opt. Yet, it's a guessing game if they decide to cast it on their turn after Serum/Jace. Field of Ruin has really nice synergies with Tracker in GB shell since it acts as a pseudo-fetch, giving you 2 clues.
Newer cards like Field of Ruin, Search for Azcanta and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria are all really strong tbh and helped move UW to another level. Teferi and Jace are even seeing play in decks like Bant Company where they have the ramp to cast it even earlier. GBx decks do need better 4-drop planeswalkers. Nissa, Vital Force is nice for grinding but kinda costly for traverse shell. Should work for more midrange builds of GB, Abzan and Jund tho yet doesn't really work with Dark Confidant.
this is some great stuff. I do believe bitterblossom is the cards because it comes down early. wee can use phyrexian arena too as well. Gideon, ally of zendikar is good too but double white is tough.
I saw Bitterblossom in someone's sideboard, looked fun. I'm gonna try it out instead of Choke for a bit, looks more flexible.
Might be HoneyBear's (or KoDiamonds) list from the fb group. He was playing it lately. Is also the guy who advocated for Walking Ballista.
As for BB itself, I am not sure we want it, since it is in theory a tempo card.
I think ballista has a place on the deck but siege rhino still better for mana reasons. but ballista strength is its flexibility. I've played with both and sometimes I want a 2 rhino and sometimes I want a ballista.
I've replaced to Gavony to Bitterblossom. Its a better grind card right now. Gavony was my attempt to bring in stony silence but gavony gets splash hit by all the field of ruin running around. so from the original list, bitter blossom replaces thrun because thrun is not good right now because of the terminus.
That is 5 sideboard slots just for Stony Silence. Doesn't seem to worth it.
it seems that way but its not. for example gavony township is for grindy matchups but ill still board it in tron matchup so I can remove baubles. same for bojuka bog and ghost quarter. bojuka is really not for tron but i'll take it in to increase land count. I believe 22 land count is ok number, its the same number when we had noble heirarch in the main, most specially if we still have traverse to search for lands.
I found a way include stony silence in the deck. I have 3 utility lands that I board in to go 22 lands and board out Mishra's bauble and put 2 stony silence. replaced thrun with gavony township because of the presence of terminus. still kept bojuka bog and put ghost quarter in sb. stony silence is really important I believe and I see it more and more popping up even with Mishra's bauble so I thought I build a sideboard to do that.
Ballista would not be in place of the 4th bauble, but in place of the 1 of Grisly Salvage from the original list.
I think I'll give it a try, a lot of people swear by it, and I basically can get why.
yeah ballista is great! not just delirium enabler, not just early removal. it can pressure planeswalker, mana sink when flooding, and good reach/finisher. won games when I fetch for it to deal last 2 damage or ping phantasmal image and X/1 creatures to stabilize. I have it as a replacement for the 3rd path because don't like having 3 paths.
Spirit of Labyrinth is pretty flimsy tbh, I don't expect it to be good against Tron nevermind anything really. It only really shuts off eggs on their turn but they'll still be able to crack them on your turn and it won't shut off their cantrips like Ancient Stirrings and Sylvan Scrying. Only relevant thing that might shutt off, off the top of my head, probably are Jace, Teferi, Serum Visions and Faithless Looting but it's also a nonbo with Baubles. Like it won't even shut off bob even. I don't think modern really has good cantrips that card is worth playing. That card also won't make the Tron matchup any better and I feel the deck's already favoured against Mardu tbh.
fair point. just thought it might replace kataki because it doesn't hit alot of decks right now. spirit of labyrinth also hits kci decks too. and its flimziness only applies on lightning bolt decks. i mean it also as flimzy as kataki. i just find its a more proactive way to shut down a deck. hits hollow one hard and vengevine. won today with it blocking ancestral vision. and hits storm and dredge too but ofcouse they have removal for it.
played some tourney and spirit of the labyrinth is really good on living end and decks that cycles. seems good on few games I played.
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gaze of granite comes to mind. it would be same investment at 2cmc cost and more.
this is some great stuff. I do believe bitterblossom is the cards because it comes down early. wee can use phyrexian arena too as well. Gideon, ally of zendikar is good too but double white is tough.
question: do you sideout Rhino when you play KCI?
I think ballista has a place on the deck but siege rhino still better for mana reasons. but ballista strength is its flexibility. I've played with both and sometimes I want a 2 rhino and sometimes I want a ballista.
I've replaced to Gavony to Bitterblossom. Its a better grind card right now. Gavony was my attempt to bring in stony silence but gavony gets splash hit by all the field of ruin running around. so from the original list, bitter blossom replaces thrun because thrun is not good right now because of the terminus.
it seems that way but its not. for example gavony township is for grindy matchups but ill still board it in tron matchup so I can remove baubles. same for bojuka bog and ghost quarter. bojuka is really not for tron but i'll take it in to increase land count. I believe 22 land count is ok number, its the same number when we had noble heirarch in the main, most specially if we still have traverse to search for lands.
edit: also this seems like a good grind card.
Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
what are your thoughts
and regarding ballista, it almost feels like a flexible siege rhino. sometimes having 2 rhino is too much.
yeah ballista is great! not just delirium enabler, not just early removal. it can pressure planeswalker, mana sink when flooding, and good reach/finisher. won games when I fetch for it to deal last 2 damage or ping phantasmal image and X/1 creatures to stabilize. I have it as a replacement for the 3rd path because don't like having 3 paths.
played some tourney and spirit of the labyrinth is really good on living end and decks that cycles. seems good on few games I played.