Maybe not always, but I do like your build for this deck. The control aspects have their merits as well. We got down from 4 player to just me heads-up against Sharuum with me at 3 life and him at 85, but I was able to answer every single thing that he did while building up my mana until Thada Adel was able to steal his Memnarch from his deck and allowed me to take all of his permanents and win.
My list is still posted all the cards I don't run that have not been good for you cut. Also I've been testing luminarch ascension so far it hit it miss but when it hits it's stupid good.
Making lots of changes. My list is definitely starting to look a lot like Moxnix's list. Not sure that I like being down at only 20 creatures though. I feel like 23 or 24 would be a better number to make sure I am consistently getting draws with Ephara.
I left the Miracles package in for now, but I'm thinking about cutting it so that I could leave in a few of the more consistently powerful effects like Austere Command, as well as possibly a couple more creatures. What do you guys think?
Alright, Miracles package has been cut. I'm shifting this deck towards more of an aggro / tempo plan rather than the Flash control that it was before. Here are the changes:
;). Don't feel bad I probly got to grind more games on mtgo in a few days than you did in a month. That being said I like how your list is shaping up no suprize there lol.
Has anyone tried out Swan Song? I'm looking for more options for cheap counters, and my attempts to obtain a Force of Will have failed so far, so I thought I could consider giving it a try. It's a CMC 1 hard counter that hits everything besides creatures and artifacts (I guess Planeswalkers as well but those are rarely seen), and the 2/2 bird will rarely be of consequence. I guess it can potentially be used to hit my own spell and give me the 2/2 if I ever really needed it, or to trigger a draw off of Ephara, but that seems like it would be so unlikely to matter that it's not really a consideration when evaluating the card.
Am I better off just paying 1 more mana for Negate?
I would make that slot mana leak that card was always good fir me I cut it for space but I could easily be running it you want to keep mana in check so 9/10 times it beats Counterspell swan song I see as more if a combo players counter spell.
I have been following this deck for some time now. I would like to thank all of you for all the input on this deck. I have built this with just a couple of mods only due to lack of cards. I really enjoy playing it and my opponents are usually pretty impressed by its late game power. My only current concern is about scalding tarn and arid mesa because it is part red.....
I have been following this deck for some time now. I would like to thank all of you for all the input on this deck. I have built this with just a couple of mods only due to lack of cards. I really enjoy playing it and my opponents are usually pretty impressed by its late game power. My only current concern is about scalding tarn and arid mesa because it is part red.....
They are totally legal if thats your question. They just add more thinning and shuffleing.
Yep, this is correct. There is nothing on the card that gives it a red color identity, even though it refers to Mountains. You probably wouldn't think of Farseek as a 5-color card even though it refers to Plains, Islands, Swamps, and Mountains, and this essentially functions the same way. They are really good for shuffling my library when I've used something like Sensei's Divining Top or Scroll Rack and I don't like what's at the top right now, and they can also grab my Hallowed Fountain to fix mana.
Got my first Armageddon win with this deck a couple days ago. Surprisingly, my opponents were mature enough to accept it as a win condition and conceded, rather than complaining or getting angry.
power sink is a pretty good counter spell... Would you run the Jace, the Mind Sculpter if you had one? If so where would you make the cut?
Yeah I would probably play Jace if I had one. He's not a make or break card, but he just generates too much advantage to justify not playing him if you have him. I'm not a fan of Power Sink since you generally need to leave up quite a bit of mana to make sure it will actually counter the spell successfully.
Mystic Remora definitely has the potential to be awesome. I don't like that you have to pay the cumulative upkeep, but I doubt most opponents will be able to pay the extra 4, so it could potentially give a ton of draw for not too much mana if I play it at the right time. Definitely a card I will keep in mind.
How good (or bad) are the calciform pools and moorland haunt? IMO storage lands are quite bad and not sure if the latter is good enough either.
Calciform Pools probably isn't that good most of the time. I like it with cards like Sacred Mesa or Entreat the Angels where you can save up mana for a few turns and then use it all at once to put a bunch of tokens into play. I also happen to have a foil version so I figured why not play it. My manabase isn't perfect yet (I don't have a Tundra), but it's good enough that I haven't had any problems. Moorland Haunt actually is very good in this deck because you can turn your dead creatures into 1/1 flying spirits which will also cause Ephara to trigger and draw you more cards. We don't play a lot of recursion, so we're usually not too worried about exiling stuff, but obviously you don't have to use it if you don't want to.
Thinking about trying to fit a Mother of Runes in here somewhere, along with a few other more expensive cards that I'm still trying to obtain. I feel like Crystal Shard has been a lot less effective lately, as I've been using more attacking based creatures like Geist of Saint Traft, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Hero of Bladehold, which I don't want to bounce, as well as the fact that it's really bad for bouncing opposing creatures. Another card that hasn't really impressed me is Commandeer. It seems potentially awesome to steal someone's huge bomb spell, but I rarely find myself wanting to pitch two blue cards to do so, and seven mana is too much to keep up reliably, so this should probably just be a cheaper counter or even something like Desertion. One other decision that I've been running into is Austere Command vs Terminus. On the one hand, Command can sometimes be a huge blowout, and it's also the most flexible wrath effect ever. On the other hand, Terminus tucks all opposing creatures and has the possibility of being cast for a single white mana with cards like Mystical Tutor, Brainstorm, and Sensei's Divining Top. It can also be Miracled at instant speed if I have a way to draw a card, which makes it absolutely amazing when combined with Sensei's Top. Thoughts on these cards or other cards that are or are not in my list?
I have run into mana issues a couple times with this deck lately, so I'm thinking about taking out a colorless producing land or two. I think the worst ones right now are Calciform Pools and Reliquary Tower. I'm leaning towards cutting the Tower since it only ever gives colorless and the effect isn't super necessary since I can usually pick 7 cards that I want and then get rid of the rest. The Pools can store up mana to make colors, and they actually work ok for fixing as I experienced last night where I pumped white mana into it over a few turns and then used it to cast a Counterspell when I otherwise didn't have double blue. Also I have a foil version so that always helps. I also really need a Tundra and Flooded Strand for this deck, but those are a bit too expensive for me to afford right now, so I have to settle for what I have. On the bright side, I did manage to pick up a copy of Reflecting Pool for this deck, so I think that will probably replace Reliquary Tower.
Also, despite the aforementioned occasional mana problems, this deck just keeps winning. Last night I had a game where I managed to get 4 Swords onto a Mirran Crusader and just went to town crushing people's faces in with the insane value.
I had a great experience last night with this deck. Serra ascendant then metamorphed then phantasmal imaged. managed to sensei for 2 different swords. Proceeded to bash 2 oppnents in the face. My third opponent played mono white with commander that gives you 2/2 cats for each equipment on it. I can't remember it's name however, I saved my Thada adel and my sword of light and shadow after I felt with the other 2 opponents. Dumped Thad's and the sword out he scooped after I searched his deck the first time. He had no answers for that combo!!
I also have a full art commission out right now for my ephara. I should have it back in a couple of weeks I will post the results when I get it back!!
I had a great experience last night with this deck. Serra ascendant then metamorphed then phantasmal imaged. managed to sensei for 2 different swords. Proceeded to bash 2 oppnents in the face. My third opponent played mono white with commander that gives you 2/2 cats for each equipment on it. I can't remember it's name however, I saved my Thada adel and my sword of light and shadow after I felt with the other 2 opponents. Dumped Thad's and the sword out he scooped after I searched his deck the first time. He had no answers for that combo!!
I also have a full art commission out right now for my ephara. I should have it back in a couple of weeks I will post the results when I get it back!!
Awesome! Those early Serra Ascendant draws can be really powerful, even more so when you have multiples thanks to clone effects. The Commander that you are thinking of is Kemba, Kha Regent, and I can confirm that getting to use Thada Adel against that deck is amazing. Definitely be sure to post the altered Ephara when you get it back. I'm sure it will be sweet!
Crystal Shard was the worst but I cut it for Mother of Runes. I haven't done enough testing yet to figure out if Mom is good enough for this deck though, so if she's not, it could go in there. Otherwise, a card that hasn't really been that useful for me is Commandeer, so that could be a potential card to consider. Sacred Mesa is incredible in this deck since you can amass a small army while drawing a metric ton of cards with Ephara on the field. Skullclamp doesn't have anything particularly special about it in this deck, but the card is so good that I run it in most decks that play creatures. It goes pretty nuts with Mesa, Brimaz, or Hero of Bladehold, and it's tutorable with Stoneforge Mystic or Trinket Mage.
Had a great out come with batterskull and mirran crusader played against Kaalia she couldn't keep up with the life link and double strike! I have noticed that the deck is lacking in the defense of flying critters.
Batterskull is one of the top cards I'm looking to get for this deck right now, and Mirran Crusader has been awesome every time I've used it. I've haven't had much of an issue with flying creatures so far, but if you are having an issue with it I would just add a bit more removal like Pongify or Condemn, or you could also try adding in another sweeper like Supreme Verdict or Terminus. The other option would be to play something like Wall of Denial, which will stop basically any creature from getting through, but I'm not a big fan of cards like that, especially in a deck that often likes to go on the attack.
A lot of the cards I'm looking to get for this deck are now trending towards the really expensive side, like Force of Will to replace one of the other counters (probably Commandeer), and Tundra to improve the mana base and give me more options for my fetches, Tithe, etc.
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Maybe not always, but I do like your build for this deck. The control aspects have their merits as well. We got down from 4 player to just me heads-up against Sharuum with me at 3 life and him at 85, but I was able to answer every single thing that he did while building up my mana until Thada Adel was able to steal his Memnarch from his deck and allowed me to take all of his permanents and win.
Anyways, which cards do you think I should cut?
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Plains -> Arid Mesa
Island -> Scalding Tarn
Plains -> Skycloud Expanse
Desertion -> Memory Lapse
Rout -> Armageddon
Glen Elendra Pranksters -> Tithe
Archaeomancer -> Sword of Light and Shadow
Austere Command -> Detention Sphere
Mulldrifter -> Merchant Scroll
Thistledown Liege -> Fellwar Stone
Draining Whelk -> Geist of Saint Traft
Angel of Serenity -> Stoneforge Mystic
Baneslayer Angel -> Brimaz, King of Oreskos
I left the Miracles package in for now, but I'm thinking about cutting it so that I could leave in a few of the more consistently powerful effects like Austere Command, as well as possibly a couple more creatures. What do you guys think?
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Terminus -> Austere Command
Scroll Rack -> Mulldrifter
Entreat the Angels -> Mirran Crusader
Temporal Mastery -> Sunder
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Am I better off just paying 1 more mana for Negate?
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Yep, this is correct. There is nothing on the card that gives it a red color identity, even though it refers to Mountains. You probably wouldn't think of Farseek as a 5-color card even though it refers to Plains, Islands, Swamps, and Mountains, and this essentially functions the same way. They are really good for shuffling my library when I've used something like Sensei's Divining Top or Scroll Rack and I don't like what's at the top right now, and they can also grab my Hallowed Fountain to fix mana.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Yeah I would probably play Jace if I had one. He's not a make or break card, but he just generates too much advantage to justify not playing him if you have him. I'm not a fan of Power Sink since you generally need to leave up quite a bit of mana to make sure it will actually counter the spell successfully.
Mystic Remora definitely has the potential to be awesome. I don't like that you have to pay the cumulative upkeep, but I doubt most opponents will be able to pay the extra 4, so it could potentially give a ton of draw for not too much mana if I play it at the right time. Definitely a card I will keep in mind.
Calciform Pools probably isn't that good most of the time. I like it with cards like Sacred Mesa or Entreat the Angels where you can save up mana for a few turns and then use it all at once to put a bunch of tokens into play. I also happen to have a foil version so I figured why not play it. My manabase isn't perfect yet (I don't have a Tundra), but it's good enough that I haven't had any problems. Moorland Haunt actually is very good in this deck because you can turn your dead creatures into 1/1 flying spirits which will also cause Ephara to trigger and draw you more cards. We don't play a lot of recursion, so we're usually not too worried about exiling stuff, but obviously you don't have to use it if you don't want to.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Also, despite the aforementioned occasional mana problems, this deck just keeps winning. Last night I had a game where I managed to get 4 Swords onto a Mirran Crusader and just went to town crushing people's faces in with the insane value.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
I also have a full art commission out right now for my ephara. I should have it back in a couple of weeks I will post the results when I get it back!!
Awesome! Those early Serra Ascendant draws can be really powerful, even more so when you have multiples thanks to clone effects. The Commander that you are thinking of is Kemba, Kha Regent, and I can confirm that getting to use Thada Adel against that deck is amazing. Definitely be sure to post the altered Ephara when you get it back. I'm sure it will be sweet!
EDIT:
Reliquary Tower -> Reflecting Pool
Crystal Shard -> Mother of Runes
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
I'm sure it will be good, but I don't own one right now. It's on my wishlist.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Crystal Shard was the worst but I cut it for Mother of Runes. I haven't done enough testing yet to figure out if Mom is good enough for this deck though, so if she's not, it could go in there. Otherwise, a card that hasn't really been that useful for me is Commandeer, so that could be a potential card to consider. Sacred Mesa is incredible in this deck since you can amass a small army while drawing a metric ton of cards with Ephara on the field. Skullclamp doesn't have anything particularly special about it in this deck, but the card is so good that I run it in most decks that play creatures. It goes pretty nuts with Mesa, Brimaz, or Hero of Bladehold, and it's tutorable with Stoneforge Mystic or Trinket Mage.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
A lot of the cards I'm looking to get for this deck are now trending towards the really expensive side, like Force of Will to replace one of the other counters (probably Commandeer), and Tundra to improve the mana base and give me more options for my fetches, Tithe, etc.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios