We have quite a few tools to handle it. Also, I think we are in a good place if someone is tapping out to play a 4 cmc artifact that does nothing on the turn it comes down.
Unfortunately it's also a third of the lock suite for the deck (Moon, Bridge, and Chalice). So that's ultimately what you've got to aim for if you want to pilot Pyro Prison to it's fullest right now. But that's not to say it's not a functioning deck without them. Until then though, you could opt to bring in some aggression from your sb to mb such as Eidolon of the Great Revel. As far as mana curve, chalice is typically played on 0, 2, and 4 cmc for 0-2 charges. So I'd look at 2 and 4 drops for replacements while you save up for 4x Chalice. Against something like Tron, which is the most popular control deck right now, you'll actually be more favored to win game 1 than the core pyro build would be as chalice is pretty weak there and you want to win asap before they just go over the top and not care what you have in play.
If you'd like to retain some of your control for the lack of chalice, instead you could run things like Sorcerous Spyglass, Spellskite, or maybe Molten Rain. Despite being an exlusive sb card, it's pretty tough for spyglass to actually be a dead card in mb. Naming a fetch is pretty underrated but amazing.
I would imagine they would take out a lot of removal thinking you're skred red. In which case you would do well to bring in a lot of aggression for game two. BUT, I think the decision of bringing in aggression over control from sb should be based on the match up. Not quite so much based on the land info you've given your opponent from game one (Not to say that's not very relevant either). Because even if they ditch a lot of removal and your aggression would stick around easier, they could very well just be a deck with a stronger board presence (aggro/midrange). So even if a Rabblemaster gets to remain alive due to fewer answers on opponent's end for game two, if there are things like goyfs around, you're not swinging anyway.
Snow covered puts you on skred, setting up opponents to think to sb a specific way. The question is, how beneficial is that? It does bring some form of consistency as far the way opponents sb for game 2, but idk if we can really take advantage of the idea that we are more control centered.
Mountain is pretty wide open as far as what you could be. We are more likely to be put under the category of some kind of aggressive deck.
One question we can maybe ask is, should I play a snow mountain turn 1 which tells opponent I'm a control deck (Good! We might have a better game 2 because they are misinformed), but also show that we have a blood moon coming (Bad! Not gonna fetch non-basics now). This might equate to a weaker game 1 and a possible stronger game two if putting us on skred is beneficial that match. Mountain doesn't say anything regarding blood moon which is good game 1.
Hey all, been reading and studying for a while now, first time posting though. I found this deck through SaffronOlives free win red, and after doing a TON of research and play testing I’ve found that for me, this is the optimum build of the red prison deck. I plan on taking Pyro Prison to my first GP in September, and am slowly buying into it as the cards are really cheap now. I plan on building something similar to Rays newest take with the magus’ and revoker and hazoret in the main, I just want to know your thoughts on if this is the most competitive version. I’m 19 and in my short magic career this has been the most fun I’ve had with any deck in any format, thanks all!
We are always swapping things in and out, and also trying new ideas to try to improve the deck further. The stock lists at the beginning of the primer are mostly what you should aim for to get your core built. Then it's up to what feels right to you and fits your meta. Which shell is the most competitive version is kind of a loaded question as it really depends on the meta that you expect. One of our strengths is that our core kind of handles everything since we are a sb deck but to really up your win %, it's a meta call. Safe bet in a big event like a GP would be to skim over the most recent deck posts, as they are tuned to handle the current meta specifically. (And yes, you won't go wrong with Ray's current variation either)
So focus on the core build, win/lose some games, begin tuning. Knowing how to properly pilot this monster is actually a lot more important than specific builds, so don't focus too much on which might be best. The more advanced pilots here will tell you the same, as their tweaks are attempts at min/maxing win %s, but they never really heavily change the deck.
Glad you're enjoying the deck! It has a very high learning curve so if you stick with it, this thing can really push your skills higher as a magic player.
That new 2cc artifact is really good. Second glance.....stops the obvious, Tron and storm. Also hinders snapcaster mage and blood braid elf. Just saying.
Aside from shutting down our rituals (which is manageable by playing them before the artifact), this thing does seem quite strong. Aside from the rituals, we aren't actually known for casting several spells a turn. So it's fairly tuned for us already. Getting this down t1 against affinity could be pretty strong as well to slow the board swarm a bit.
You can type out the name of the card (it's not case sensitive). Then highlight it and click the card icon. That will surround it in tags and display the image. HTML! And if clicking the card icon isn't an option for you on a phone, you can just surround the name with tags yourself.
Example:
<card>Name of Card</card>
Instead of <>, you must use []. I had to use those to show as an example.
And speaking of 5 cmc cards. I wish we could use Demigod of Revenge. Have always loved that win con and even makes loot spells a little more appealing. But alas, that would be a whole 4 spots devoted to the 5 slot which we never really do.
@Stickballruss Confusion in the Ranks. It's a cool card, but it could prove problematic if bridge starts getting moved around. Also, I think I'd only run that if I could also run Norin the Wary to really break the symmetry on it. Most definitely meant for sb if it is tested by anyone because it's pretty dead againt non creature decks. Pia would be AMAZING with it given the right circumstances. Steal 3, (1 creature and 2 artifacts or creatures). Could even sac both tokens before they get traded to make more one sided. And like you said, rabblemaster is great with it too. But that's pretty Christmas landish I think.
The deck is dead :-(,Jund destroy our defense,abrupt decay, kologhan's command,maelstrom pulse,B.elf and destroy artifacts post sideboarding.
Sorry boys, wizards kill the deck.
Keep in mind, if the meta shifts towards this, we can still change things up. As Caligula mentioned, Blood moon is pretty big here and we can still add two more moons through Magus. (Not that that's what we want to be doing)
I think there will be an influx of lantern decks for awhile but the hype will die down. I say we just enjoy it while it lasts. I'm also enjoying the surge of humans decks as they are just ruined by so much of what we bring to the table.
Typically lantern should be hosed by the time they can cast an orb or Whir. Chalice 0-1 and Eidolon really go to town on lantern. First few turns are particularly important against lantern control. Kind of like big Tron in that regard.
I got the answer to mardu pyromancer ...burning earth. They can't get rid if it because it's an enchantment. That's out answer. They play entirely non basics. Take control role abd side that in alongside angers and torpor orb and spellskite.
Burning Earth.. It seems strong here but do keep in mind, at least for the top 8 Mardu list, that the deck did run 5 basics according to mtgtop8 (http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=18360&d=313974&f=MO). I was curious if Burning Earth was negatively effected by Blood Moon, (in regards to non-basics turning into mountains). So I did a little rule check and they do appear to work with each other just fine if anyone found it questionable.
"305.7. If an effect changes a land’s subtype to one or more of the basic land types, the land no longer has its old land type. It loses all abilities generated from its rules text and its old land types, and it gains the appropriate mana ability for each new basic land type. Note that this doesn’t remove any abilities that were granted to the land by other effects. Changing a land’s subtype doesn’t add or remove any card types (such as creature) or supertypes (such as basic, legendary, and snow) the land may have. If a land gains one or more land types in addition to its own, it keeps its land types and rules text, and it gains the new land types and mana abilities."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
We have quite a few tools to handle it. Also, I think we are in a good place if someone is tapping out to play a 4 cmc artifact that does nothing on the turn it comes down.
If you'd like to retain some of your control for the lack of chalice, instead you could run things like Sorcerous Spyglass, Spellskite, or maybe Molten Rain. Despite being an exlusive sb card, it's pretty tough for spyglass to actually be a dead card in mb. Naming a fetch is pretty underrated but amazing.
Snow covered puts you on skred, setting up opponents to think to sb a specific way. The question is, how beneficial is that? It does bring some form of consistency as far the way opponents sb for game 2, but idk if we can really take advantage of the idea that we are more control centered.
Mountain is pretty wide open as far as what you could be. We are more likely to be put under the category of some kind of aggressive deck.
One question we can maybe ask is, should I play a snow mountain turn 1 which tells opponent I'm a control deck (Good! We might have a better game 2 because they are misinformed), but also show that we have a blood moon coming (Bad! Not gonna fetch non-basics now). This might equate to a weaker game 1 and a possible stronger game two if putting us on skred is beneficial that match. Mountain doesn't say anything regarding blood moon which is good game 1.
So focus on the core build, win/lose some games, begin tuning. Knowing how to properly pilot this monster is actually a lot more important than specific builds, so don't focus too much on which might be best. The more advanced pilots here will tell you the same, as their tweaks are attempts at min/maxing win %s, but they never really heavily change the deck.
Glad you're enjoying the deck! It has a very high learning curve so if you stick with it, this thing can really push your skills higher as a magic player.
Damping Sphere
Example:
<card>Name of Card</card>
Instead of <>, you must use []. I had to use those to show as an example.
https://pucatrade.com/articles/2018/modern/dennis_gabriels/im_going_to_jail
"305.7. If an effect changes a land’s subtype to one or more of the basic land types, the land no longer has its old land type. It loses all abilities generated from its rules text and its old land types, and it gains the appropriate mana ability for each new basic land type. Note that this doesn’t remove any abilities that were granted to the land by other effects. Changing a land’s subtype doesn’t add or remove any card types (such as creature) or supertypes (such as basic, legendary, and snow) the land may have. If a land gains one or more land types in addition to its own, it keeps its land types and rules text, and it gains the new land types and mana abilities."