Came in 1st at a 32-man PPTQ with this list. I'm new to Traverse Shadow, although I have past experience with Abzan Traverse and GDS. This list was sent to me by a friend who cashed a number of competitive events with it. I changed 3 cards for the PPTQ meta, replacing Kommand in the side with Abrade, taking out a fetchland for Breeding Pool, and running Radiant Flames over a second EE because I only own one.
Round 1: Mono G Tron 2-1
Round 2: Bogles 2-1
Round 3: Hollow One 2-1
Round 4: ID
Round 5: ID
Quarterfinals (3rd seed): BW Eldrazi and Taxes 2-0
Semifinals: GDS 2-0
Finals: Split, invite plus some some credit
The list needs some refining but I really like having access to white. If I were to go down to 4 colors, I'd probably add in grindy cards like a single Snapcaster to the side. I'd probably also like an additional piece of removal in the main. Liliana the Last Hope has been decent but she might be relegated to the side soon. I like her -2 in this deck because it almost always reads "get yourself a threat, buff your dudes, and/or draw a card." Her floor is much higher here than Jund.
Having recently switched from Jund to this, my personal opinion is that it's better positioned than any other Thoughtseize deck.
It feels like a straight upgrade from Jund. Titanshift becomes a bye, I feel favored versus Tron, and Hardened Scales becomes winnable. Jeskai is awful but Jund never really beat Jeskai anyway. UW is slightly worse. My strategy versus UW is to slow-roll threats, waiting to play the next threat after they've dealt with the previous one while disrupting them along the way. Post-board I take out red for white. Slamming a turn 3 Lili also works very well.
Regarding Mardu, that deck has very few good matchups if any at the moment and gets murdered by all the graveyard hate running around.
Then there's Abzan Traverse, but that deck cannot beat control and has a very hard time versus big mana. Lingering Souls is merely okay at the moment and Abzan needs Lingering Souls to be perfect to win.
Now for the GDS comparison. The deck has way more air, half of its threats require significant setup, it has a hard time casting multiple threats, and it has a very hard time versus Leyline. It also feels super bad to get a hand with multiple snapcasters or gurmags. I think Traverse is the superior shadow deck at the moment.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern:
Amulet Titan
BGx
Dredge
GDS
Hollow One
Living End
Mardu
Traverse Death's Shadow
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
4 Mishra's Bauble
Creature (14)
4 Death's Shadow
2 Grim Flayer
4 Street Wraith
4 Tarmogoyf
Instant (11)
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
2 Fatal Push
1 Manamorphose
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Temur Battle Rage
Land (18)
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Watery Grave
1 Breeding Pool
1 Marsh Flats
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
Sorcery (10)
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
2 Damping Sphere
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Delay
1 Abrade
1 Godless Shrine
2 Collective Brutality
3 Lingering Souls
1 Radiant Flames
Round 1: Mono G Tron 2-1
Round 2: Bogles 2-1
Round 3: Hollow One 2-1
Round 4: ID
Round 5: ID
Quarterfinals (3rd seed): BW Eldrazi and Taxes 2-0
Semifinals: GDS 2-0
Finals: Split, invite plus some some credit
The list needs some refining but I really like having access to white. If I were to go down to 4 colors, I'd probably add in grindy cards like a single Snapcaster to the side. I'd probably also like an additional piece of removal in the main. Liliana the Last Hope has been decent but she might be relegated to the side soon. I like her -2 in this deck because it almost always reads "get yourself a threat, buff your dudes, and/or draw a card." Her floor is much higher here than Jund.
Having recently switched from Jund to this, my personal opinion is that it's better positioned than any other Thoughtseize deck.
It feels like a straight upgrade from Jund. Titanshift becomes a bye, I feel favored versus Tron, and Hardened Scales becomes winnable. Jeskai is awful but Jund never really beat Jeskai anyway. UW is slightly worse. My strategy versus UW is to slow-roll threats, waiting to play the next threat after they've dealt with the previous one while disrupting them along the way. Post-board I take out red for white. Slamming a turn 3 Lili also works very well.
Regarding Mardu, that deck has very few good matchups if any at the moment and gets murdered by all the graveyard hate running around.
Then there's Abzan Traverse, but that deck cannot beat control and has a very hard time versus big mana. Lingering Souls is merely okay at the moment and Abzan needs Lingering Souls to be perfect to win.
Now for the GDS comparison. The deck has way more air, half of its threats require significant setup, it has a hard time casting multiple threats, and it has a very hard time versus Leyline. It also feels super bad to get a hand with multiple snapcasters or gurmags. I think Traverse is the superior shadow deck at the moment.
Amulet Titan
BGx
Dredge
GDS
Hollow One
Living End
Mardu
Traverse Death's Shadow