I think Polluted Delta is a fine substitute. If you're going to be fetching a basic, it's going to be Island 90% of the time. I think Delta is better than more Vents or Sulfur Falls since it can grab Hallowed Fountain as well. I've managed to do well for myself running Delta before, and it doesn't hurt your percentages that much.
Hey all, I figured I would give an update on how GP San Antonio went for our team. My recollection of some rounds may be a little spotty. I posted my list a little ways back, and I think what I ultimately ran was pretty similar.
Seat A - Eldrazi Tron
Seat B - Myself on UWR Midrange
Seat C - Infect
I'll give an overview of my matchups and whether I won or lost.
Day 1 (7-2 Team Record):
Rd 1 (W): First matchup is against Ad Nauseam. This is what playing Geist and Queller was for! I drop the first game (he Pacts my Cryptic), but win games 2 and 3. Stony Silence really hampers him G3.
Rd 2 (W): Abzan Shadow. I can't actually remember if we played this match out fully, but I know I won G1 after he left himself dead on board to a Colonnade hit. This was after I mulled to 6 and he took the only non-land card from it on T1. The first of many Shadow matchups.
Rd 3 (W): This round had us up against Jim Davis's team. I win a couple of games against traditional Abzan that weren't particularly close. He mulls to 6 in G1 and 5 in game 2. His inquisition reveals a hand full of removal spells that make short work of his Flayer and Scooze. Jim (on Dredge) beats our infect player while our Eldrazi Tron player defeats Amulet Titan (who mulled to 4 in G3) in turns. Close one!
Rd 4 (L): I lose to Grixis shadow by failing to identify what my opponent was on until it was too late. He left 3 fetchlands up in the first game, and I became worried about Blood Moon. Since I fetched a couple basics I was unable to double bolt at the end of a turn which could have won the game for me. My hand in G2 just didn't line up well.
Rd 5 (W): Achievements were unlocked by my opponent and myself in this match. We're matched up against a Pokemon themed team, and my opponent is Bulbasaur. I lead off with Island + Serum Visions to which my opponent responds with land+SSG -> Chalice on 1. Uh-oh. I feel like I'm safe from Blood Moon for a turn, so I elect to play Colonnade and set up for one of my 3-drops (Geist and Queller in hand). Opponent plays Land #2 and exiles ANOTHER SSG for Blood Moon. I'm in quite a bit of trouble now. I flash in a Snap sometime later to get something going, but soon I'm facing down a Nahiri. Nahiri oscillates between 4 and 6 loyalty due to Snapcaster beats, but he eventually Helixes the Snap and the countdown to Emrakul begins. I keep making non-basic land drops, and I am sitting at 7 lands with 1 basic island on the turn he cashes the ultimate. Nahiri's -8 brings her down to 2 loyalty, and I decide to Electrolyze in response to get it off the table. Emmy attacks, and I am left with a basic island and 5 life. Rather than concede, I decide to play out and begin drawing and passing. My opponent does nothing but hit land drops, fires off a lightning Helix, and exiles a 3rd SSG to play Chalice on 3 (RIP Geist and Queller). I find my basic plains and climb back up to 4 mana, so I can cast Resto. The first angel gets Journey'd to Nowhere after connecting once, but a second resto begins beating down every turn (opponent was at 24 before the first resto hit). The remaining turns of the game involve Resto attacking for 3 while opponent plays a land (I think I played one Helix in these turns as well). I finally bring my opponent down to 3 life. On his last turn he plays land #14, exiles the FOURTH SSG, and hard casts Emrakul! I Helix him while it's on the stack to win!
G2 is much quicker. I land a Geist on T3, and I proceed to Mana Leak and Negate a Nahiri and Gideon Jura. Blood comes down eventually, but not until after I've grabbed island and a plains by pathing my angel token post-combat. GG
Rd 6 (L): We're matched up against a team featuring Matthias Hunt and Corey Baumeister. I'm against Corey who's on Jund Shadow. The games are a bit of a slugfest, and I finally realize that my matchup against shadow isn't as good as I thought it was since I've been previously playing against less skilled opponents. I force a G3, but I eventually falter after I'm forced to Verdict a board full of lingering souls. His follow up is Double Shadow. UGH. My teammates pull it out though, so we get the team win.
Rd 7 (W-DNF): This match felt much easier than the previous round. I manage to snatch G1 against Bant Eldrazi, but falter in G2 to early Thought Knot-Seer off of Cavern. G3 features some sweet blowouts with Blessed Alliance and Izzet Staticaster wiping out Skyspawners. The team match ends before I've officially won my match though (Cheerio's player commits a games rules violation and gets an auto-loss for accumulated GRVs).
Rd 8 (L): I had a frustrating match against Eli Kassis here (whose team made T4). He was on Knightfall which should be a decent matchup, but I have to mull to 6 both games and keep hands with 4 lands and 2 spells. In both cases I was lacking interaction (couldn't draw bolt in G1, had one helix game 2). I could never draw a path or a snapcaster mage, and I just died to beatdowns. I finally draw a Verdict in G2, but it doesn't matter as he has Selfless Spirit on the field. Really nice guy though.
Rd 9 (DNF): Can't really remember what I was up against (probably some kind of shadow deck). My teammates defeat RG Ponza and Company fairly quickly, so I don't have to play my match out. I'm fine with that, because it's been a long day...
Our Eldrazi Tron player really carried us on Day 1 by not losing a single match!
Day 2 (9-5 Team Record):
Rd 10 (L): After defeating Bant Eldrazi 3 times this weekend (twice during the practice event on Friday), I drop a match to it. I'm simply unable to handle the threats in G1. I'm able to keep things under control in Game 2, and I have my opponent down to 4 life at one point with a colonnade and a Geist. I cannot find the last points of damage as I spend many turns slogging through Displacer + Drowner. I eventually kill the displacer with a bolt, but he has an answer for the Colonnade and Angel attack (tap down colonnade ghost quarter himself to grab a plains to path the angel token and Geist gets eaten). We draw go for a bit but he hits another displacer after ancient stirrings and I lose. Rough. Our infect teammate pulls through in a tough match against Death's Shadow, so we get the team victory.
Rd 11 (DNF): I'm fairly confident this was another Shadow matchup (likely Jund, but I can't remember). I'm going into G3, but both of my teammates have lost already, so the match ends. Infect player lost to Jeskai playing FOUR Cryptic and a Torrential Gearhulk. Mercy.
Rd 12 (L): I'm facing off against a Grixis deck, and I am somewhat relieved that it's Grixis Control. Not that the deck is an easier matchup, but I'm just happy to play a different kind of game. Unfortunately, I get way outvalued in G1 and fail to see a Geist. I'm able to beat down with Snaps and get my opponent down to 2 life. He double Kommands my two Snaps to get back 2 Fulminators which handle my Colonnade threat. I need to find something before his Ancestral Vision comes off suspend, so I mainphase my Vendilion Clique while he only has Swamp and Island up with 1 card in hand. It's a Fatal Push with revolt enabled thanks to his upkeep Fulminator. Time and again he topdecks answers to whatever I do (countersquall, dispel). I eventually die unceremoniously to Creeping Tar Pit. I generally like blue matchups in Modern, and I was disappointed to lose this one.
Rd 13 (W): Matched up against a Jund shadow deck once again. He takes his time setting up Shadow, but it eats a path I left on the top of my deck with Serum Visions. A creature attack and a bolt finish things quickly. Game 2 is a pretty quick victory on my end. His threats are handled pretty easily once again, and I'm able to hit a 4th land drop and slam Gideon on an empty board. The next turn, a Gideon and Knight Ally attack plus a bolt finishes it. Eldrazi Tron teammate wins against Affinity (which he has played every round so far) to get the team win.
Rd 14 (L): Fairly confident that we cash if we win this round. Unfortunately all of us got trucked. I lost G1 versus Dredge in typical fashion. I mull to five and keep a 1 lander with RiP in hand. Of course it is taken via Thoughtseize (I did draw the 2nd land that would have enabled me to play it!). E-Tron loses in 3 to Ad Nauseam while our infect player can't get through Melira Company.
We end up as the highest ranked 27 point team (9-5), coming in at 46th place. It was a bit of a disappointing way to end, but overall I thought we did fairly well for ourselves (especially given no one was on Shadow). Team events are fun btw!
Apologies for long write-up! I think this deck is still decent, but I'll probably be exploring non-green Shadow variants and UW control in the near future. Whenever the meta favors Spell Queller, I think this deck can be quite good.
I'll be headed to GP San Antonio team event soon with this deck, and I figured I'd post a list to see if anyone had some suggestions. After toying around with Grixis Shadow, I reverted back to a UWR list primarily due to sheer amount of experience I have playing these decks. Here's what I am considering:
I think the core is about how I want it, but there are some cards that could come in or out. I'm not sure if it would be correct to move back to playing Remand as I expect things to be fairly aggressive at San Antonio. The verdicts in the side are a nod to Eldrazi decks, but that may not be good enough. Additional Blessed Alliance could be added instead as it has uses against Burn, Bogles, and Shadow decks in addition to being good against Reality Smasher.
As far as the mainboard goes, the one of Electrolyze is obviously a flex spot. The number of Quellers or Geists could be adjusted as well. I'm quite fond of the 2 Cryptics, but perhaps they are not the best choice. It's such a flexible card that can get you out of bad situations though, so I am hesitant to take it out. Lastly, I think that perhaps the 4th Lightning Helix could come in. There are some matchups where you have to position yourself as a glorified burn deck, and having access to 8 bolt effects can be quite useful.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to snap-bolting things!
I agree with you that Avacyn is probably a little too clunky at 5 mana and double white. Queller and Geist really shine against Ad Nauseam. Although Spell Queller fails to hit Ad Nauseam, it does hit all the setup cards and cantrips which slows them down considerably.
U/B Faeries is a fairly even matchup, and you're right about Bitterblossom being the key card in the matchup. If it does resolve against you, then you have to find spots where you can pick off a lone faerie blocker or Cryptic their team so you can get a hit in with Geist or Colonnade. Your best path to victory will often be chaining a few burn spells.
During the previous weeks I made lots of misplays that cost me games and matches but I'm getting the hang of it now and I love it.
Decks like these require a few reps and knowledge of your opponents decks before you start seeing consistent success. It's a fun way to play for sure though!
I went 4-1-1 in the swiss rounds losing to Jund in Rd 2. The draw was intentional as it allowed for a clean cut into the Top 8 for the two 13 pointers and six 12 pointers. There was only one round in the Top 8 as the last 4 remaining would all receive an invitation. I got matched up against Infect (which I was excited about), but found myself feeling pretty bad as he had it all in G1. I was able to scratch out G2 after mulling to a suspect 6 card hand (2 Steam Vents, Ghost Quarter, Negate, Runed Halo, Mana Leak). At one point I had to float blue off of Steam Vents, then Ghost Quarter to find a Plains to Path a lethal Blighted Agent with Negate backup! In G3 he was a bit light on land with Inkmoth as his only threat. He never had enough mana to activate Inkmoth and chip in for significant damage while protecting it (I had Spell Queller and Snap chipping in for damage all the while). By the end I have a horde of Quellers and a Resto swinging in to prompt the concession, granting me the invite!
Overall, I thought the deck played really well, but I barely event noticed Geist of Saint Traft. It did win a race against Affinity, but I can't honestly recall if I ever attacked with a Geist in the rest of the tournament. Spell Queller was excellent....except against Jund. The list needs some adjustments to perform better against BGx I think. My matchups in the Swiss were:
Rd. 1 - GR Through the Breach Scapeshift (W) - I was not looking forward to this matchup, and I thought I was doomed after I lost the first game in which my opponent mulled to five. However, I was able to get the beat downs going in G2 with a Runed Halo on Valakut just in case. G3 was a longer affair, but I eventually got it after chipping in with fliers and keeping Cryptic up.
Rd. 2 - Jund (L) - Not much to say here as I was simply Junded out in both games. I recall a game in which I had an opener with Spell Snare, but my lands were basically guildgates (Colonnade, 2x Sulfur Falls) and I was unable to leave it up for the inevitable 2-drop.
Rd. 3 - Affinity (W) - I get absolutely steamrolled in the first game. For some reason, Geist of Saint Traft prompts my opponent to hold back a turn when he as Ravager and Master of Etherium out. I suicide the Geist while Resto is able to contribute to the beatdown which lets me steal it. G3 he's too slow and I have too much removal.
Rd. 4 - GR Tron (W) - Seeing Tron lands prompts the T2 Snapcaster beats and bolts to face. Spell Queller nabs some of setup cards and I'm able to win before he sets up completely. I try the same strategy in G2 and get him down to 2 life, but Ulamog and World Breaker cast triggers leave me with a sole Sacred Foundry while Ugin wipes my board. I sit there waiting to draw Lightning Bolt only to draw Lightning Helix. I finally draw a second land, but it's Polluted Delta which can't grab Mountain or Plains for the helix! I cast Serum Visions instead which yields another Helix and the Scry 2 shows a Bolt! Didn't matter in the end though because the Tron player had Nature's Claim the whole time. Stony Silence peels off the top in G3 to stop his turn 1 Chromatic Sphere. Opponent then proceeds to play 2 more spheres, a Spellskite, and multiple Expedition Map. Queller on a Sylvan Scrying stalls enough for my creatures to cross the finish line.
Rd. 5 - Esper Gifts (W) - This was a really neat deck! Our G1 lasts about 30 minutes, and I'm still not sure how I was able to weasel out a win. After he re-animates a Terastodon, the board state is 2 Beasts and 3 Souls tokens to my one Beast token (he destroyed my Colonnade). After scratching along by Helixing a beast and trading the other, I'm down to 2 life to his two Souls Tokens. Any missed draw step on my part would have ended it, but a chain of Cryptic Command and Snapcaster let me claw back and win (CC was cast 4 times). I'm able to land an early Rest in Peace in G2, and he never puts up much of an offense (a sole Monastery Mentor eats a bolt). Multiple Quellers and a bolt finish it off.
Rd. 6 - ID
This deck has been a little bit on the fringe, but it might pick up once people see that Spell Queller is great when you're opponents aren't interacting. Thanks for reading!
The Lantern player told me that Geist is probably Jeskai's best chance and I tend to agree here. Geist is also good against the new flavor of Tron (GW).
This is what has me leaning towards bringing 2 Geist back in and also finding room for a Stony Silence in the SB. I have no idea what to expect at the RPTQ, but I'd like to not get blown out by Tron if I can help it. I feel like I'm sometimes overloaded on Spell Queller at the full set of 4, but when it's good, it's REAL good.
Mana Leak functions as a catch-all, so I'm a bit reluctant to get rid of them. How effective did you find Blade Splicer? Was it able to turn games around, or was it more or less just fine?
I agree with your assessment of Ghost Quarter over Lighthouse, but I'd feel better about the 3rd island if I didn't have the 3 Lightning Helix. It's a card I could see cutting to two.
I will be playing in an RPTQ on 12/4, and I'll most likely be piloting a UWR Flash deck (something similar to what I won a PPTQ with). I feel pretty comfortable with the bulk of the list, but there are a few flex cards and sideboard options I'm unsure about. Here's the list as it's currently configured:
I feel pretty comfortable with the spell configuration though Secure the Wastes occupies a flex spot. One possibility is returning to some number of Geist of Saint Traft (-Secure, -Queller) as this card is very good against Grixis and could help against Tron (which I normally just hope to fade). I've also seen Blade Splicer as a possibility, and that would shore up against the attrition decks. Some other possibilities instead of Secure include Archangel Avacyn, Sphinx's Revelation, or a third Cryptic. Of the decks I've personally played against locally, I've found the Bant Eldrazi Matchup to be particularly difficult.
I've been playing with Spell Queller for a while now. First as a sideboard card, then two main, now the full set. I do like the fact that I'm now able to play entirely at instant speed (with the exception of Serum Visions). One matchup I seem to have a lot of trouble with is Bant Eldrazi though. What kind of sideboard or mainboard choices do you guys make with respect to this matchup? Normally, I would want to leave Queller in, but it interacts quite badly with Eldrazi Displacer and any sweepers you might board in.
I want to put a resilient threat in the sideboard for the GBx MU, but haven't settled on one yet. What are people's preferences these days on Keranos, Sphinxs Rev, or Elsepth?
Out of those 3, I would definitely recommend Elspeth, Sun's Champion. The card is generally excellent against GBx. The worst case scenario is they untap and dreadbore or maelstrom pulse after you've genereated 3 soldiers. You can make an argument for Keranos now that Nahiri, the Harbinger is seeing less play, but Elspeth still has an more immediate impact.
Yea Queller is not good in our deck. Geist has hexproof, Resto is resilient do Bolt and Decay, opposing removal spells often stay in our opponent's hand and Queller turns them on.
Also, not that great vs Ad Nauseam: can't counter any of the two combo pieces.
I found it to be QUITE good against Ad Nauseam (which I played against in the finals). It counters Phyrexian Unlife and any of the setup cards (cantrips and mana rocks). That matchup isn't about sitting back and waiting to counter Ad Nauseam as you will lose. I'm not saying Spell Queller is a shoe-in for the deck, but I think it's very good in certain matchups. I used to play it in the sideboard, but I brought it in enough that I figured I would try it in the main. Honestly, that aren't that many matchups where I feel the card is bad. Jund is probably the worst. It's not at it's best vs. UWR Nahiri either, but Geist is great there so I'm not too worried about it.
I think Spirebluff canal could see some use. Particularly in builds that use Serum Visions. My main concern with the card is when you need that 6th land off the top to activate Celestial Colonnade. Ripping one then would feel pretty bad.
Regardless, I came back to a Geist of Saint Traft build after fooling around with Kiki-Angel for a while. I won a PPTQ yesterday with the following list:
I think Spell Queller is very strong in this deck as it can sometimes grant very large tempo swings. It especially shines in non-interactive matchups where it's unlikely they'll ever get the Quelled card back (e.g., Ad Nauseum). Also, don't forget about the "hidden mode" of a simple 2/3 flash flyer. There are some spells that are better left resolved now than later on your opponents terms!
I played a list very similar to Nate's at the WMCQ in Lincoln, NE on 7/10. I had been messing around with a Geist-less Jeskai flash list, but I decided to return to Saint Traft as I thought the card would be good against any Jeskai Nahiri decks. The differences from Nate's list were:
-1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Mana Leak, -1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Spell Snare, +1 Celestial Colonnade, +1 Electrolyze
I felt fairly nervous about 23 lands, and it's hard for me not to sleeve up at least 3 of Colonnade!
After a horrendous 0-2 start, I was able to rebound and finish at 6-2 for 26th place which snuck in for prizes. The losses were both close matches of 3 games to Jund and Infect. I'm still not sure how I lost the first game against the infect player (my opening hand was bolt, bolt, helix, snapcaster, 3 lands)! I'll likely take some version of this deck to the upcoming PPTQs, but I was wondering if you all are intrigued by any of the new cards. I was looking at Spell Queller in particular. I'm even considering dropping Geist and going back to a full flash list, but perhaps that's not the best idea. It's possible that Spell Queller is more of a sideboard card. I think it is very strong against any matchups that are light on removal spells (Tron, Infect, Ad Nauseam, Storm, etc.). It will likely function similarly to Vendilion Clique, but they won't receive a card off the top. What do you all think?
I originally had Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep in this list, but that was before I started running Cryptic Command. It's ability didn't come up too often so I thought that having Mystic gate to cast Cryptic might be more useful. I could be convinced to switch it back though. You're right about the fetches being a budgetary issue. Hopefully, I can find someone who's willing to lend me some Tarns for the event, but I think it will be fine either way as I actually won a PPTQ a few months using almost the exact same mana base.
I think Elspeth, Knight-Errant might be a little clunky.
I think you're right, so I might use that slot to add the 2nd Spell Snare so that I might more consistently see it early.
I definitely recommend Anger of the Gods
I think I might go with that then, especially if I switch out Mystic Gate with Shinka.
I am planning on attending a PPTQ tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a Geist deck. After toying around a bit with an Esper Delve list (featuring Geist), I've decided on sticking with UWR because I have much more experience with it (it also has a better burn matchup). Here's the list I'm thinking about:
I thought I might try to incorporate Serum Visions (if only slightly) as I think it can be very useful early in the game to set up land drops. It also helps later on when it can eliminate bad draws while in topdeck mode. The other option would be to drop the visions for another Lightning Helix and Spell Snare. Right now I have an Elspeth, Knight-Errant in the 'flex' spot. She's a great card for attrition matchups like Jund, and she often allows Geist to get in for obscene amounts of damage. I do worry about it being a tap-out threat though (unlike most every other card in the deck), and in many matchups she's the first thing I want to side out. This slot could easily be another counterspell (Snare or CC), 4th Lightning Helix, or maybe another walker / Keranos, God of Storms.
The sideboard could probably stand some tuning. I think Celestial Purge, 2 Dispel, 1 Stony Silence, 2 Kor Firewalker, 1 EE, and at least one Wear // Tear are all locks. I know I want at least one board wipe effect, but I'm not sure if I want Verdict, Pyroclasm, Wrath or Anger of the Gods. I chose Wrath due to the fact that Ezuri regenerating everybody is quite annoying. It seems pyroclasm would be pretty useful in the elves matchup as well, and it could also be brought in against some other decks where 4 mana wraths or too clunky (Delver, possibly Burn, Affinity). What have you all found to be most reliable?
I'm open to any and all suggestions, and thanks for reading!
In the 4 rounds of the tournament I played UWR Control, Grixis Delver, UWR Control, and RG aggro. The deck played very well for me and I went 4-0 without dropping a game. My opponent and I decided to split the store credit prior to playing the last round, but we played the match anyway for the planeswalker points and for a store T-shirt. I think this list is very close to what I'll play at Charlotte with some minor modifications (I have a friend who's lending me 4 Tarn to replace the Deltas and Mire). I believe the mainboard Keranos is where I want to be and I think the Cryptic Command is excellent (two might be better, but I have only 1 on hand for now). Unfortunately I've been waiting on my 4th Snapcaster to arrive in the mail from Pucatrade, but if it isn't in by tomorrow afternoon I'll have to settle with 3.
I was mainly hoping to get some input about the top end of the deck and the sideboard. I previously had T-Maw in the MB, but I found myself siding it out a lot. Now I'm not even sure if I want in the board either. I think I would only bring it in against Abzan, so I think it might be in my interest to play a card that is good in that mathcup as well as others. Some things I've considered are Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Sphinx's Revelation, Gideon Jura, Aven Mindcensor, or a 2nd Relic of Progenitus. I haven't seen lil' Elspeth played too often, but it seems like a good card in attrition matchups. For those of you who have experience with some of these cards, what's your preference?
Seat A - Eldrazi Tron
Seat B - Myself on UWR Midrange
Seat C - Infect
I'll give an overview of my matchups and whether I won or lost.
Day 1 (7-2 Team Record):
Rd 1 (W): First matchup is against Ad Nauseam. This is what playing Geist and Queller was for! I drop the first game (he Pacts my Cryptic), but win games 2 and 3. Stony Silence really hampers him G3.
Rd 2 (W): Abzan Shadow. I can't actually remember if we played this match out fully, but I know I won G1 after he left himself dead on board to a Colonnade hit. This was after I mulled to 6 and he took the only non-land card from it on T1. The first of many Shadow matchups.
Rd 3 (W): This round had us up against Jim Davis's team. I win a couple of games against traditional Abzan that weren't particularly close. He mulls to 6 in G1 and 5 in game 2. His inquisition reveals a hand full of removal spells that make short work of his Flayer and Scooze. Jim (on Dredge) beats our infect player while our Eldrazi Tron player defeats Amulet Titan (who mulled to 4 in G3) in turns. Close one!
Rd 4 (L): I lose to Grixis shadow by failing to identify what my opponent was on until it was too late. He left 3 fetchlands up in the first game, and I became worried about Blood Moon. Since I fetched a couple basics I was unable to double bolt at the end of a turn which could have won the game for me. My hand in G2 just didn't line up well.
Rd 5 (W): Achievements were unlocked by my opponent and myself in this match. We're matched up against a Pokemon themed team, and my opponent is Bulbasaur. I lead off with Island + Serum Visions to which my opponent responds with land+SSG -> Chalice on 1. Uh-oh. I feel like I'm safe from Blood Moon for a turn, so I elect to play Colonnade and set up for one of my 3-drops (Geist and Queller in hand). Opponent plays Land #2 and exiles ANOTHER SSG for Blood Moon. I'm in quite a bit of trouble now. I flash in a Snap sometime later to get something going, but soon I'm facing down a Nahiri. Nahiri oscillates between 4 and 6 loyalty due to Snapcaster beats, but he eventually Helixes the Snap and the countdown to Emrakul begins. I keep making non-basic land drops, and I am sitting at 7 lands with 1 basic island on the turn he cashes the ultimate. Nahiri's -8 brings her down to 2 loyalty, and I decide to Electrolyze in response to get it off the table. Emmy attacks, and I am left with a basic island and 5 life. Rather than concede, I decide to play out and begin drawing and passing. My opponent does nothing but hit land drops, fires off a lightning Helix, and exiles a 3rd SSG to play Chalice on 3 (RIP Geist and Queller). I find my basic plains and climb back up to 4 mana, so I can cast Resto. The first angel gets Journey'd to Nowhere after connecting once, but a second resto begins beating down every turn (opponent was at 24 before the first resto hit). The remaining turns of the game involve Resto attacking for 3 while opponent plays a land (I think I played one Helix in these turns as well). I finally bring my opponent down to 3 life. On his last turn he plays land #14, exiles the FOURTH SSG, and hard casts Emrakul! I Helix him while it's on the stack to win!
G2 is much quicker. I land a Geist on T3, and I proceed to Mana Leak and Negate a Nahiri and Gideon Jura. Blood comes down eventually, but not until after I've grabbed island and a plains by pathing my angel token post-combat. GG
Rd 6 (L): We're matched up against a team featuring Matthias Hunt and Corey Baumeister. I'm against Corey who's on Jund Shadow. The games are a bit of a slugfest, and I finally realize that my matchup against shadow isn't as good as I thought it was since I've been previously playing against less skilled opponents. I force a G3, but I eventually falter after I'm forced to Verdict a board full of lingering souls. His follow up is Double Shadow. UGH. My teammates pull it out though, so we get the team win.
Rd 7 (W-DNF): This match felt much easier than the previous round. I manage to snatch G1 against Bant Eldrazi, but falter in G2 to early Thought Knot-Seer off of Cavern. G3 features some sweet blowouts with Blessed Alliance and Izzet Staticaster wiping out Skyspawners. The team match ends before I've officially won my match though (Cheerio's player commits a games rules violation and gets an auto-loss for accumulated GRVs).
Rd 8 (L): I had a frustrating match against Eli Kassis here (whose team made T4). He was on Knightfall which should be a decent matchup, but I have to mull to 6 both games and keep hands with 4 lands and 2 spells. In both cases I was lacking interaction (couldn't draw bolt in G1, had one helix game 2). I could never draw a path or a snapcaster mage, and I just died to beatdowns. I finally draw a Verdict in G2, but it doesn't matter as he has Selfless Spirit on the field. Really nice guy though.
Rd 9 (DNF): Can't really remember what I was up against (probably some kind of shadow deck). My teammates defeat RG Ponza and Company fairly quickly, so I don't have to play my match out. I'm fine with that, because it's been a long day...
Our Eldrazi Tron player really carried us on Day 1 by not losing a single match!
Day 2 (9-5 Team Record):
Rd 10 (L): After defeating Bant Eldrazi 3 times this weekend (twice during the practice event on Friday), I drop a match to it. I'm simply unable to handle the threats in G1. I'm able to keep things under control in Game 2, and I have my opponent down to 4 life at one point with a colonnade and a Geist. I cannot find the last points of damage as I spend many turns slogging through Displacer + Drowner. I eventually kill the displacer with a bolt, but he has an answer for the Colonnade and Angel attack (tap down colonnade ghost quarter himself to grab a plains to path the angel token and Geist gets eaten). We draw go for a bit but he hits another displacer after ancient stirrings and I lose. Rough. Our infect teammate pulls through in a tough match against Death's Shadow, so we get the team victory.
Rd 11 (DNF): I'm fairly confident this was another Shadow matchup (likely Jund, but I can't remember). I'm going into G3, but both of my teammates have lost already, so the match ends. Infect player lost to Jeskai playing FOUR Cryptic and a Torrential Gearhulk. Mercy.
Rd 12 (L): I'm facing off against a Grixis deck, and I am somewhat relieved that it's Grixis Control. Not that the deck is an easier matchup, but I'm just happy to play a different kind of game. Unfortunately, I get way outvalued in G1 and fail to see a Geist. I'm able to beat down with Snaps and get my opponent down to 2 life. He double Kommands my two Snaps to get back 2 Fulminators which handle my Colonnade threat. I need to find something before his Ancestral Vision comes off suspend, so I mainphase my Vendilion Clique while he only has Swamp and Island up with 1 card in hand. It's a Fatal Push with revolt enabled thanks to his upkeep Fulminator. Time and again he topdecks answers to whatever I do (countersquall, dispel). I eventually die unceremoniously to Creeping Tar Pit. I generally like blue matchups in Modern, and I was disappointed to lose this one.
Rd 13 (W): Matched up against a Jund shadow deck once again. He takes his time setting up Shadow, but it eats a path I left on the top of my deck with Serum Visions. A creature attack and a bolt finish things quickly. Game 2 is a pretty quick victory on my end. His threats are handled pretty easily once again, and I'm able to hit a 4th land drop and slam Gideon on an empty board. The next turn, a Gideon and Knight Ally attack plus a bolt finishes it. Eldrazi Tron teammate wins against Affinity (which he has played every round so far) to get the team win.
Rd 14 (L): Fairly confident that we cash if we win this round. Unfortunately all of us got trucked. I lost G1 versus Dredge in typical fashion. I mull to five and keep a 1 lander with RiP in hand. Of course it is taken via Thoughtseize (I did draw the 2nd land that would have enabled me to play it!). E-Tron loses in 3 to Ad Nauseam while our infect player can't get through Melira Company.
We end up as the highest ranked 27 point team (9-5), coming in at 46th place. It was a bit of a disappointing way to end, but overall I thought we did fairly well for ourselves (especially given no one was on Shadow). Team events are fun btw!
Apologies for long write-up! I think this deck is still decent, but I'll probably be exploring non-green Shadow variants and UW control in the near future. Whenever the meta favors Spell Queller, I think this deck can be quite good.
I'll be headed to GP San Antonio team event soon with this deck, and I figured I'd post a list to see if anyone had some suggestions. After toying around with Grixis Shadow, I reverted back to a UWR list primarily due to sheer amount of experience I have playing these decks. Here's what I am considering:
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Spell Queller
2 Restoration Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
Sorceries
4 Serum Visions
Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Lightning Helix
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
2 Cryptic Command
1 Electrolyze
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Dispel
2 Negate
1 Runed Halo
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Celstial Purge
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Stony Silence
1 Wear // Tear
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Crumble to Dust
2 Rest in Peace
I think the core is about how I want it, but there are some cards that could come in or out. I'm not sure if it would be correct to move back to playing Remand as I expect things to be fairly aggressive at San Antonio. The verdicts in the side are a nod to Eldrazi decks, but that may not be good enough. Additional Blessed Alliance could be added instead as it has uses against Burn, Bogles, and Shadow decks in addition to being good against Reality Smasher.
As far as the mainboard goes, the one of Electrolyze is obviously a flex spot. The number of Quellers or Geists could be adjusted as well. I'm quite fond of the 2 Cryptics, but perhaps they are not the best choice. It's such a flexible card that can get you out of bad situations though, so I am hesitant to take it out. Lastly, I think that perhaps the 4th Lightning Helix could come in. There are some matchups where you have to position yourself as a glorified burn deck, and having access to 8 bolt effects can be quite useful.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to snap-bolting things!
I agree with you that Avacyn is probably a little too clunky at 5 mana and double white. Queller and Geist really shine against Ad Nauseam. Although Spell Queller fails to hit Ad Nauseam, it does hit all the setup cards and cantrips which slows them down considerably.
U/B Faeries is a fairly even matchup, and you're right about Bitterblossom being the key card in the matchup. If it does resolve against you, then you have to find spots where you can pick off a lone faerie blocker or Cryptic their team so you can get a hit in with Geist or Colonnade. Your best path to victory will often be chaining a few burn spells.
Decks like these require a few reps and knowledge of your opponents decks before you start seeing consistent success. It's a fun way to play for sure though!
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Steam Vents
2 Islands
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Ghost Quarter
Creatures 11
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spell Queller
2 Restoration Angel
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Serum Visions
3 Lightning Helix
2 Cryptic Command
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
1 Electrolyze
2 Runed Halo
2 Negate
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Celestial Purge
1 Stony Silence
1 Dispel
1 Rest in Peace
1 Elsepth, Sun's Champion
1 Wear // Tear
1 Izzet Staticaster
I went 4-1-1 in the swiss rounds losing to Jund in Rd 2. The draw was intentional as it allowed for a clean cut into the Top 8 for the two 13 pointers and six 12 pointers. There was only one round in the Top 8 as the last 4 remaining would all receive an invitation. I got matched up against Infect (which I was excited about), but found myself feeling pretty bad as he had it all in G1. I was able to scratch out G2 after mulling to a suspect 6 card hand (2 Steam Vents, Ghost Quarter, Negate, Runed Halo, Mana Leak). At one point I had to float blue off of Steam Vents, then Ghost Quarter to find a Plains to Path a lethal Blighted Agent with Negate backup! In G3 he was a bit light on land with Inkmoth as his only threat. He never had enough mana to activate Inkmoth and chip in for significant damage while protecting it (I had Spell Queller and Snap chipping in for damage all the while). By the end I have a horde of Quellers and a Resto swinging in to prompt the concession, granting me the invite!
Overall, I thought the deck played really well, but I barely event noticed Geist of Saint Traft. It did win a race against Affinity, but I can't honestly recall if I ever attacked with a Geist in the rest of the tournament. Spell Queller was excellent....except against Jund. The list needs some adjustments to perform better against BGx I think. My matchups in the Swiss were:
Rd. 1 - GR Through the Breach Scapeshift (W) - I was not looking forward to this matchup, and I thought I was doomed after I lost the first game in which my opponent mulled to five. However, I was able to get the beat downs going in G2 with a Runed Halo on Valakut just in case. G3 was a longer affair, but I eventually got it after chipping in with fliers and keeping Cryptic up.
Rd. 2 - Jund (L) - Not much to say here as I was simply Junded out in both games. I recall a game in which I had an opener with Spell Snare, but my lands were basically guildgates (Colonnade, 2x Sulfur Falls) and I was unable to leave it up for the inevitable 2-drop.
Rd. 3 - Affinity (W) - I get absolutely steamrolled in the first game. For some reason, Geist of Saint Traft prompts my opponent to hold back a turn when he as Ravager and Master of Etherium out. I suicide the Geist while Resto is able to contribute to the beatdown which lets me steal it. G3 he's too slow and I have too much removal.
Rd. 4 - GR Tron (W) - Seeing Tron lands prompts the T2 Snapcaster beats and bolts to face. Spell Queller nabs some of setup cards and I'm able to win before he sets up completely. I try the same strategy in G2 and get him down to 2 life, but Ulamog and World Breaker cast triggers leave me with a sole Sacred Foundry while Ugin wipes my board. I sit there waiting to draw Lightning Bolt only to draw Lightning Helix. I finally draw a second land, but it's Polluted Delta which can't grab Mountain or Plains for the helix! I cast Serum Visions instead which yields another Helix and the Scry 2 shows a Bolt! Didn't matter in the end though because the Tron player had Nature's Claim the whole time. Stony Silence peels off the top in G3 to stop his turn 1 Chromatic Sphere. Opponent then proceeds to play 2 more spheres, a Spellskite, and multiple Expedition Map. Queller on a Sylvan Scrying stalls enough for my creatures to cross the finish line.
Rd. 5 - Esper Gifts (W) - This was a really neat deck! Our G1 lasts about 30 minutes, and I'm still not sure how I was able to weasel out a win. After he re-animates a Terastodon, the board state is 2 Beasts and 3 Souls tokens to my one Beast token (he destroyed my Colonnade). After scratching along by Helixing a beast and trading the other, I'm down to 2 life to his two Souls Tokens. Any missed draw step on my part would have ended it, but a chain of Cryptic Command and Snapcaster let me claw back and win (CC was cast 4 times). I'm able to land an early Rest in Peace in G2, and he never puts up much of an offense (a sole Monastery Mentor eats a bolt). Multiple Quellers and a bolt finish it off.
Rd. 6 - ID
This deck has been a little bit on the fringe, but it might pick up once people see that Spell Queller is great when you're opponents aren't interacting. Thanks for reading!
This is what has me leaning towards bringing 2 Geist back in and also finding room for a Stony Silence in the SB. I have no idea what to expect at the RPTQ, but I'd like to not get blown out by Tron if I can help it. I feel like I'm sometimes overloaded on Spell Queller at the full set of 4, but when it's good, it's REAL good.
Mana Leak functions as a catch-all, so I'm a bit reluctant to get rid of them. How effective did you find Blade Splicer? Was it able to turn games around, or was it more or less just fine?
I agree with your assessment of Ghost Quarter over Lighthouse, but I'd feel better about the 3rd island if I didn't have the 3 Lightning Helix. It's a card I could see cutting to two.
I will be playing in an RPTQ on 12/4, and I'll most likely be piloting a UWR Flash deck (something similar to what I won a PPTQ with). I feel pretty comfortable with the bulk of the list, but there are a few flex cards and sideboard options I'm unsure about. Here's the list as it's currently configured:
3 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Steam Vents
2 Islands
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Ghost Quarter
Creatures 11
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spell Queller
2 Restoration Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Serum Visions
3 Lightning Helix
2 Cryptic Command
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
2 Electrolyze
1 Secure the Wastes
2 Runed Halo
2 Negate
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Celestial Purge
1 Dispel
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Elsepth, Sun's Champion
1 Wear // Tear
1 Izzet Staticaster
I feel pretty comfortable with the spell configuration though Secure the Wastes occupies a flex spot. One possibility is returning to some number of Geist of Saint Traft (-Secure, -Queller) as this card is very good against Grixis and could help against Tron (which I normally just hope to fade). I've also seen Blade Splicer as a possibility, and that would shore up against the attrition decks. Some other possibilities instead of Secure include Archangel Avacyn, Sphinx's Revelation, or a third Cryptic. Of the decks I've personally played against locally, I've found the Bant Eldrazi Matchup to be particularly difficult.
Do you all think this list is leaving itself to weak to Tron and Lantern (I could throw a Stony Silence back in the SB)? I'm also wondering if I'd rather have Desolate Lighthouse instead of Ghost Quarter or the 4th Celestial Colonnade.
Out of those 3, I would definitely recommend Elspeth, Sun's Champion. The card is generally excellent against GBx. The worst case scenario is they untap and dreadbore or maelstrom pulse after you've genereated 3 soldiers. You can make an argument for Keranos now that Nahiri, the Harbinger is seeing less play, but Elspeth still has an more immediate impact.
I found it to be QUITE good against Ad Nauseam (which I played against in the finals). It counters Phyrexian Unlife and any of the setup cards (cantrips and mana rocks). That matchup isn't about sitting back and waiting to counter Ad Nauseam as you will lose. I'm not saying Spell Queller is a shoe-in for the deck, but I think it's very good in certain matchups. I used to play it in the sideboard, but I brought it in enough that I figured I would try it in the main. Honestly, that aren't that many matchups where I feel the card is bad. Jund is probably the worst. It's not at it's best vs. UWR Nahiri either, but Geist is great there so I'm not too worried about it.
Regardless, I came back to a Geist of Saint Traft build after fooling around with Kiki-Angel for a while. I won a PPTQ yesterday with the following list:
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Eiganjo Castle
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Spell Queller
2 Restoration Angel
1 Vendillion Clique
4 Lighting Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Lightning Helix
2 Electrolyze
3 Serum Visions
2 Remand
3 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
2 Cryptic Command
1 Wear // Tear
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Elspeth,Sun's Champion
2 Negate
1 Dispel
1 Stony Silence
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Celestial Purge
1 Blessed Alliance
I think Spell Queller is very strong in this deck as it can sometimes grant very large tempo swings. It especially shines in non-interactive matchups where it's unlikely they'll ever get the Quelled card back (e.g., Ad Nauseum). Also, don't forget about the "hidden mode" of a simple 2/3 flash flyer. There are some spells that are better left resolved now than later on your opponents terms!
I played a list very similar to Nate's at the WMCQ in Lincoln, NE on 7/10. I had been messing around with a Geist-less Jeskai flash list, but I decided to return to Saint Traft as I thought the card would be good against any Jeskai Nahiri decks. The differences from Nate's list were:
-1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Mana Leak, -1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Spell Snare, +1 Celestial Colonnade, +1 Electrolyze
I felt fairly nervous about 23 lands, and it's hard for me not to sleeve up at least 3 of Colonnade!
After a horrendous 0-2 start, I was able to rebound and finish at 6-2 for 26th place which snuck in for prizes. The losses were both close matches of 3 games to Jund and Infect. I'm still not sure how I lost the first game against the infect player (my opening hand was bolt, bolt, helix, snapcaster, 3 lands)! I'll likely take some version of this deck to the upcoming PPTQs, but I was wondering if you all are intrigued by any of the new cards. I was looking at Spell Queller in particular. I'm even considering dropping Geist and going back to a full flash list, but perhaps that's not the best idea. It's possible that Spell Queller is more of a sideboard card. I think it is very strong against any matchups that are light on removal spells (Tron, Infect, Ad Nauseam, Storm, etc.). It will likely function similarly to Vendilion Clique, but they won't receive a card off the top. What do you all think?
Why are you running Mystic Gate?
I originally had Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep in this list, but that was before I started running Cryptic Command. It's ability didn't come up too often so I thought that having Mystic gate to cast Cryptic might be more useful. I could be convinced to switch it back though. You're right about the fetches being a budgetary issue. Hopefully, I can find someone who's willing to lend me some Tarns for the event, but I think it will be fine either way as I actually won a PPTQ a few months using almost the exact same mana base.
I think Elspeth, Knight-Errant might be a little clunky.
I think you're right, so I might use that slot to add the 2nd Spell Snare so that I might more consistently see it early.
I definitely recommend Anger of the Gods
I think I might go with that then, especially if I switch out Mystic Gate with Shinka.
I am planning on attending a PPTQ tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a Geist deck. After toying around a bit with an Esper Delve list (featuring Geist), I've decided on sticking with UWR because I have much more experience with it (it also has a better burn matchup). Here's the list I'm thinking about:
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Restoration Angel
1 Vendilion Clique
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
2 Electrolyze
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Cryptic Command
2 Serum Visions
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Lands
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steam Vents
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Mystic Gate
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Stony Silence
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Dispel
1 Celestial Prurge
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Wrath of God
1 Flashfreeze
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Wear // Tear
I thought I might try to incorporate Serum Visions (if only slightly) as I think it can be very useful early in the game to set up land drops. It also helps later on when it can eliminate bad draws while in topdeck mode. The other option would be to drop the visions for another Lightning Helix and Spell Snare. Right now I have an Elspeth, Knight-Errant in the 'flex' spot. She's a great card for attrition matchups like Jund, and she often allows Geist to get in for obscene amounts of damage. I do worry about it being a tap-out threat though (unlike most every other card in the deck), and in many matchups she's the first thing I want to side out. This slot could easily be another counterspell (Snare or CC), 4th Lightning Helix, or maybe another walker / Keranos, God of Storms.
The sideboard could probably stand some tuning. I think Celestial Purge, 2 Dispel, 1 Stony Silence, 2 Kor Firewalker, 1 EE, and at least one Wear // Tear are all locks. I know I want at least one board wipe effect, but I'm not sure if I want Verdict, Pyroclasm, Wrath or Anger of the Gods. I chose Wrath due to the fact that Ezuri regenerating everybody is quite annoying. It seems pyroclasm would be pretty useful in the elves matchup as well, and it could also be brought in against some other decks where 4 mana wraths or too clunky (Delver, possibly Burn, Affinity). What have you all found to be most reliable?
I'm open to any and all suggestions, and thanks for reading!
I plan on taking UWR Geist to GP Charlotte this weekend so I decided to go to my LGS's Modern night for some practice. Here's the list I played:
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Restoration Angel
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Vendilion Clique
Land
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
1 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
4 Lightning Helix
2 Electrolyze
1 Cryptic Command
Attrition
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Counterflux
1 Negate
1 Flashfreeze
1 Dispel
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Stony Silence
1 Celestial Purge
2 Wear // Tear
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Rending Volley
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Relic of Progenitus
In the 4 rounds of the tournament I played UWR Control, Grixis Delver, UWR Control, and RG aggro. The deck played very well for me and I went 4-0 without dropping a game. My opponent and I decided to split the store credit prior to playing the last round, but we played the match anyway for the planeswalker points and for a store T-shirt. I think this list is very close to what I'll play at Charlotte with some minor modifications (I have a friend who's lending me 4 Tarn to replace the Deltas and Mire). I believe the mainboard Keranos is where I want to be and I think the Cryptic Command is excellent (two might be better, but I have only 1 on hand for now). Unfortunately I've been waiting on my 4th Snapcaster to arrive in the mail from Pucatrade, but if it isn't in by tomorrow afternoon I'll have to settle with 3.
I was mainly hoping to get some input about the top end of the deck and the sideboard. I previously had T-Maw in the MB, but I found myself siding it out a lot. Now I'm not even sure if I want in the board either. I think I would only bring it in against Abzan, so I think it might be in my interest to play a card that is good in that mathcup as well as others. Some things I've considered are Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Sphinx's Revelation, Gideon Jura, Aven Mindcensor, or a 2nd Relic of Progenitus. I haven't seen lil' Elspeth played too often, but it seems like a good card in attrition matchups. For those of you who have experience with some of these cards, what's your preference?