I have played Modern for the longest time; probably starting around 2012. It is the main format that I play. But, I have had a problem as of lately. I just feel so lost in Modern. I don't know what deck I should be playing. This may just get bumped into the "What deck should I play" thread, which I hope doesn't happen. But we'll see. I have been trying to play a numerous number of decks and haven't stuck with 1 recently. I want a deck that can give me the certain win percentage that I'm accustomed to.
Grishoalbrand and Titanshift are 2 decks that I have a lot of experience with, but I'm not sure how good they are in the new metagame. I think it is possible to dodge poor matchups, like Humans for Grishoalbrand, but it just doesn't happen often with me. And I can't leverage play skill to win matchups that are just horrible. I can make them closer matchups, but just a few poor draws keep it from happening. Maybe I've been bouncing around too much? Maybe I haven't given many decks their due? I love playing Company decks and I do think they can be very powerful. The main problem here is that I run into poor matchups again. So, I tried Jeskai Control and although it's been 1 tournament at 2-1-1, I am already realizing that your answers have to line up with their threats or you don't win. It's that simple, even in the context of a long game that has had many, many decisions. I figured I could leverage my play skill with a deck with many decisions to win. Maybe I just need to give it more of a chance?
Part of the reason that I bring up this thread is that I feel that Bogles is well positioned right now, but friends of mine don't think I can leverage my play skill here. But when it comes down to it, I don't often care care as much about that as I do about winning 1st place in a 1K. I would rather win the $400 with any deck, even a broken deck, even a piece of crap deck, to get the win. I've been lacking on those wins as of lately, so it would get me back some of my gas money, lol. In the end, we all gotta do what we feel will be the best for us. I realize this. Sometimes I think about playing Bogles for over a year instead of Twin and how many more accolades I could have had with Twin...or even Bloom Titan for that matter. I had to also play a lot of other decks to try to get "back" those skills I had with other decks that playing Bogles kind of made me forget.
So, what do you think about the ramblings here? Do any of you feel lost in Modern? And by no means do I expect to win every time. I just want to do as well as I can, you know? I also realize that this is an effect of a very diverse metagame, so it's a good thing. I'm not stupid, so please don't put words in my mouth. I am going to the GP Las Vegas and I want to do better than I did in 2 other Modern GPs (6-3 and 11-4). How do I or how would you get there?
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I was, for a very long time. I'm not a pure spike. I know what I want to be playing, but the cards themselves matter, the colours, the way the deck comes together, even the land base.
I went from Budget Zoo, to Twin, to Mono U Turns, and now UWR. I think I've put in more reps on UWR than anything else but Twin and thats all just since Search for Azcanta.
If I was you, I'd be grinding Humans, and Humans only. It sounds like you want a skill leveraging deck (and I cannot accept Bogles or Hollow One is skill testing) that is as close to 'best deck' as possible, and honestly that has to be humans, assuming you dont mind a creature based strat.
What it took for me to not feel lost, was finding a deck that felt like it at least had a shot at answering 'everything', and if you did grind out the reps to get more comfortable with UWR, I do think it can be that deck, but Humans is very very powerful, and if you have it, you should be just grinding it out I think.
The secret for success in non-Open and non-GP Modern events:
Pick 2 decks that don't have the same weaknesses and then exclusively play those decks. Switch between them based on your local field or, for MTGO, based on whatever the pros/general community perceives to be widely played.
For GP and Open events, it's the same but it really helps to get Byes.
I'll also add that Magic is packed with players who think they are secretly GP champs and deserve to do better than their records at various events. You might be such a player! But we aren't ALL such players, so a huge majority of people who believe this are probably overestimating their skill at various aspects of this game.
I actually haven't tried Bloo. It's not a strategy that is easy for me to play (Aggro or Burn). I just haven't played those much. But I can play them at least proficiently, if I know for sure that it's going to do very well. I always feel like I run out of gas with these strategies. Got the opponent on the ropes, draw 4 lands, and they stabilize. I think it's karma for all the times I did that to Aggro players. There was a time where I literally hardly ever lost to Aggro, mostly by just playing the best deck or Combo decks that have good Aggro matchups. I also tend to over prepare for Aggro because I hate losing to it.
I may try it, but I feel like I won't be able to duplicate a certain percentage that I know I'm capable of. When I've been on top of my game and get a little bit of luck, I have been hard to stop (in PPTQs, Competitive FNMs, GPTs, GPs, PTQs, 1Ks, and the like). It just has been rough for me lately and I haven't found my niche.
*I also know that I have a lot of weaknesses too and I am trying to work on them. The number one weakness that I have had is that I usually don't play with players with the same play skill as myself, so I can't get better as a player. But, now that I've finally joined a team for the first time ever (for the past 3 weeks), it's not going to be an excuse anymore. There are 3-4 players that I think have close to equal play skill as myself or are better (right now). I can learn a lot from them, especially since they know Standard and I don't know it at all. Still, I am their "Modern expert" and it sucks being their Modern expert when I am SO lost in what to play. For what it's worth, I know what to play for fun. I play many decks. I need to know what to grind with.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
The single best place to grind and improve is MTGO. High reps, high average play skill (primarily comp leagues, sometimes friendly), easy to watch replays for errors. Basically all the best and aspiring pros are iterating on MTGO, and anyone serious about Modern, and Magic, needs to do the same.
As for decks, if you think you have higher play skill than opponents, play a deck with more decision trees. Don't play something like Bogles (I.e. most "got em" decks) that limits your decisions by inherent deckbuilding constraints. Instead, look for decks that expand options on every turn. Whir decks are spectacular in this regard, with tons of decisions every turn. So are sequencing decks like H1 and Storm. So are card velocity decks like GDS with multiple game plans to victory. Humans counts too because of decision-heavy cards like Mage, Freebooter, and Image. Mardu is another one because of Looting, Liliana, Reveler, Pyromancer, and a slew of interactive cards that require decisions about how/when to use them and what to target. Play these kinds of decks.
See I have a very different mentality to the OP on this matter.
I would rather loose knowing that I had played to the best of my ability than win having relied on my deck to play itself.
I know my place in modern. I play a fair deck that has game against pretty much anything (Mardu Pyromancer) and I grind out every game the best that I can.
Win or loose, it's the challenge that drives me to play better.
I actually haven't tried Bloo. It's not a strategy that is easy for me to play (Aggro or Burn). I just haven't played those much. But I can play them at least proficiently, if I know for sure that it's going to do very well. I always feel like I run out of gas with these strategies. Got the opponent on the ropes, draw 4 lands, and they stabilize. I think it's karma for all the times I did that to Aggro players. There was a time where I literally hardly ever lost to Aggro, mostly by just playing the best deck or Combo decks that have good Aggro matchups. I also tend to over prepare for Aggro because I hate losing to it.
I may try it, but I feel like I won't be able to duplicate a certain percentage that I know I'm capable of. When I've been on top of my game and get a little bit of luck, I have been hard to stop (in PPTQs, Competitive FNMs, GPTs, GPs, PTQs, 1Ks, and the like). It just has been rough for me lately and I haven't found my niche.
*I also know that I have a lot of weaknesses too and I am trying to work on them. The number one weakness that I have had is that I usually don't play with players with the same play skill as myself, so I can't get better as a player. But, now that I've finally joined a team for the first time ever (for the past 3 weeks), it's not going to be an excuse anymore. There are 3-4 players that I think have close to equal play skill as myself or are better (right now). I can learn a lot from them, especially since they know Standard and I don't know it at all. Still, I am their "Modern expert" and it sucks being their Modern expert when I am SO lost in what to play. For what it's worth, I know what to play for fun. I play many decks. I need to know what to grind with.
Don't think of Bloo as an aggro deck. It's more a creature combo deck with a lot of tools to win grindy games. There's a long old thread and primer in the deck creation section.
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Modern: UR Gifts Storm URB Grixis Death's Shadow R12 Bolt
Pauper: UR Puzzle Pieces
EDH: UB Phenax, God of Deception UR The Locust God UR Saheeli the Gifted WBG Anafenza, the Foremost
I've been in a very similar spot for the past year or so, and it is purely a result of my expanding collection. Once the mana base was more or less locked in I had access to a slew of decks from T1-3 and wanted to try everything. (I don't have burn, tron, infect, scapeshift variants, or breach variants) what happened is I slowly became unsatisfied with elves, which was my go to deck. I actually finished twin the week before the ban announcement and that took the wind out of my sails for awhile (which is what led to me aggressively expanding my collection.
I also love creature decks. I love to win, but I enjoy a deck with decision points. I like that elves can switch gears with beats, drains, alpha strikes (like combo finishes) or even westvale abbey beats. I was looking for decks that could switch gears (like affinity) and win from different angles.
I have to say the experience was all around not good. I felt like I had no identity and my deck change pace was crippling my win %. The only thing I had over my playgroup (Which is strong. Lots of day 2 GPs, judges, and pro tour experience in the shop) was that they couldn't peg me for a specific deck. I'd regularly go 4-0 for a few months playing different decks because I was constantly attacking the meta and leveraging the collection. Ponza, counters company, humans, turns...all easy 4-0 because I knew my field. Every larger tournament I've gone to I've not been able to replicate the success because I didn't learn how to play my deck during this, I learned to play against my opponents.
So back to the drawing board...
What I came out with was bant spirits. I've played the list a few times locally, and even when I'm losing I'm having fun, it's thought provoking, and I feel like I can turn the game around. Humans/affinity/burn aren't easy matches for the deck, but I can get there. The most satisfying aspect is playing at instant speed. I feel like I'm learning my deck again, not a prolonged foray into pegging people's habits and play patterns.
What I came out with was bant spirits. I've played the list a few times locally, and even when I'm losing I'm having fun, it's thought provoking, and I feel like I can turn the game around. Humans/affinity/burn aren't easy matches for the deck, but I can get there. The most satisfying aspect is playing at instant speed. I feel like I'm learning my deck again, not a prolonged foray into pegging people's habits and play patterns.
I actually put Spirits together (when I say that, I mean put the cards together, as I already have them, so no extra buying was necessary) a few months ago and was going to try it. But I decided to go another way (Abzan Counters), so I let a friend run it. He ended up getting mana screwed a bunch and played against 4 Aggro decks. He went 2-2. I already had decided to go with Abzan Counters and trying to master that deck, so I just let Spirits sit after that. This friend can't come all the time because of his work, and decided to play Standard instead when he did. So, the deck really didn't get a chance, outside of 2 tournaments that I played after Caleb Durward won an Open, going 3-1 once and either 2-2 or another 3-1 with it. I kind of am forgetting a bit. I really didn't give the deck a chance, but do I have TIME to give every deck a chance?
Chasing the tiger looking for that deck that has game always can also just be an issue of what match ups you draw. Case in point last night for me.
Titanshift, GTron, Colourless Eldrazi, and some weird ass RTron brew.
Lets just say it was not my favourite night of Magic in the last month. :]
I'm not going to give up on UWR just because I ran into that ***** show, but it happens.
This is the thing. It is rough for me because I haven't given every deck their due chance. I don't think I have TIME to give every deck their due chance. I understand that you want to give UWR a chance because it's a deck that you love to play and have the cards for. But for me, I don't have any preference to that deck. In fact, outside my insane streak with Grishoalbrand and not counting that 24-1-X with the deck, I probably am hovering around only a 60% win percentage, which is pretty low for me. But...I remember when it was unstoppable and that it could happen again.
Maybe part of the problem is that I don't know what I would love to play. It's probably some sort of Company deck right now, so I am experimenting with those. I actually enjoy Bogles, Titanshift, and Grishoalbrand much more than others do. But part of hearing people always say "how can you love that deck?" has made me lose some of the love for those decks. I am pretty unsure about Grishoalbrand in this meta, as Humans and Hollow One are tough, while Affinity is 50/50 at best. Maybe I should try that one again because it IS probably the deck in Modern that I love the most. My inspiration for the deck has stopped playing months ago, where he used to consistently 4-0, 3-0-1, or 3-1 FNMs and weekly tournaments. So, there's that too.
*Also, Knightfall was a deck that I looooved playing. But after 3 months of playing it, my win percentage was merely 58.73% and I can't justify playing a deck with less than a 60% win percentage. Maybe I get better at it? But maybe that is the ceiling because I felt like I was playing it pretty solidly.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Win percentages and similar aggregates are useful as a starting point, definitely. They can be a bit misleading in terms of singular events.
For instance, despite preparing for a specific predicted meta, you might run into three burn decks in a row. I know that this phenomenon has happened often enough during my decades as a player that I take wider metagame stats with a huge pinch of salt and more of a proposal of initial viability than an ultimate suitability.
With that in mind, the often-cited mantra of getting good with a specific "decent" deck does hold some weight. If you're like me and flip-flop around between decks, you often chain a bunch of bad matchups together by switching, whereas it would have balanced out rather neatly good/bad if I'd stuck with only one deck.
We are also seeing certain decks, in the hands of experienced players who are having a good day, hitting the top tables repeatedly. Counters company is a deck still quietly managing to pull top 8 finishes, and other more niche decks like kci are making a name for themselves as well. If your experience in modern puts a deck about on par with either of those decks, then there's a strong chance you can leverage mastery of a deck to your advantage.
Yes, it's true that a deck needs to have the tools in the first place to give you a fair whack at a good finish. Once you've identified a decent enough deck however, the rest is up to you, and that includes just mercilessly grinding through those awkward periods where you don't manage to hit a strong finish for a while. It happens to everyone, even Finkel. Don't assume you're above just 'having a bad run' and get back to enjoying a couple of core decks and build up those reps.
for me personally, among the top decks in the format, i would be playing affinity. its one of the hardest decks to master, so it rewards tight play, but it also has a pretty high floor due to its power level so there are plenty of games where you just roll over people.
the only time i was lost in the format was when twin was banned. i played my other decks more during that time, but eventually i realized i just liked playing jeskai more. its a deck i do well enough with since i win more than i lose. add in playing elves occasionally which is a totally different experience, and i never get bored (which is what is important to me).
i gotta ask though. why arent you playing humans foodchain? ive seen you say it yourself that you think its close to a 50/50 deck, and if you want to win consistently that is probably where you wanna be. if you wanna win more, especially in larger tournaments, you gotta cast aside any notions that playing fair wins you extra points. especially so if you are now on a team, where everyone shoulders a larger burden of responsibility to do well.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Personally, I find that I have the most success in Modern by being a dedicated pilot to my Living End deck in major competitive events. However, I also play virtually every tier deck for an extended period of time in FNMs and online. I don't get to mastery level with the tier decks, but I do understand more than just the basics of what the deck is trying to do, which in turn gives me percentage points when those matchups come up in tournament play.
Think of it this way. As a Living End player, on paper I'm a dog to Burn. Call it a 60/40 matchup. But if I am a master Living End player facing a Burn player with 30-50 games played with their deck, I would bet that I am at least a 60/40 favorite because it's very unlikely they've played against Living End vs someone who has mastered the deck, if at all. To an extent, I'd say that Reid Duke does this. At PT Rivals, no one was on Abzan... except for him. He Top 8'd with cards people were basically calling unplayable in Modern.
I know a lot of people think that Modern is just about matchups, or at least very much about matchups. I think that it's certainly true, but prolonged success isn't just about hoping on the deck that has the best matchups in a snapshot in time. It's about depth of format knowledge and finding those tiny windows into which valuable percentage points can be grabbed by the savvy player.
Maybe part of the problem is that I don't know what I would love to play. It's probably some sort of Company deck right now, so I am experimenting with those. I actually enjoy Bogles, Titanshift, and Grishoalbrand much more than others do. But part of hearing people always say "how can you love that deck?" has made me lose some of the love for those decks. I am pretty unsure about Grishoalbrand in this meta, as Humans and Hollow One are tough, while Affinity is 50/50 at best. Maybe I should try that one again because it IS probably the deck in Modern that I love the most. My inspiration for the deck has stopped playing months ago, where he used to consistently 4-0, 3-0-1, or 3-1 FNMs and weekly tournaments. So, there's that too.
Playing what you love, cannot be understated. Like I said, I'm not a pure spike. I dont feel a need to win, if it means winning on other's terms.
I can say with confidence that right now, there is not a single card in my UWR 75 that I dont enjoy drawing, and casting, or playing as a land drop. The worst is Collonade, because it has the gall of coming in tapped.
When you are enjoying what you are playing, even the bad beats feel less bad. If you love a deck dont feel bad playing it.
If Grishaol daddy is your thing, slam that card and draw 7. You'll be happier for it.
If winning is the end all be all, you should be on Humans or Affinity.
Quote from "Love What You Play: Taking the Taste Test" »
This article explains my own strategic preferences and applies those to my deck choices in Modern. Hopefully, witnessing the process will help those lost in the format establish their own playstyle priorities, and serve as a friendly wake-up call to players stagnating on a deck they understand well enough to prize with, but don’t enjoy enough to learn more deliberately. I’ll close things out with some practical tips for identifying preferences.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
I'm looking for some inspiration myself and the last 5-6 posts have certainly given it to me.
Why did I not run Humans? I have been testing it at home, so I have many ideas on the deck. The first reason that I didn't run it was that there were 2 dedicated players running it at FNM. I didn't want to do mirrors. But...that excuse is gone. One of the guys rarely shows up anymore and the other (my teammate) is too busy with work right now to show up at all. So, I have no excuse other than I think of the variance that can hit. But, that variance can hit with any deck.
I have considered Affinity. I ran it this last time and started 11-0 in matches until Skred Red and Jund with Shatterstorm in its SB got me at the Side Events of Grand Prix Santa Clara. I gave up on it after that, but honestly I know the advantages of it since I see my friend do well with it all the time and have watched Zyrnak streams. I have been considering this, but the deck is also for sale currently, so if that page turns, then I will sell it probably.
Maybe I am trying to not play the Tier decks and am trying to get under them with Tier 2 decks too much? I had that problem in the past. My friend that was my inspiration and best test partner that I've ever had quit Magic some 5-6 years ago, so I don't have that Spike inspiration (he said always play the best deck and over prepare for the mirror). In the past, I always tried to play decks that "beat" the top decks and probably only did well because of my own play skill and luck possibly.
@Purkle - yes, I realize everyone goes through a tough streak. I had that a few months ago, then got a bunch of 3-1 or better tournaments. So, I thought I was "out of it" but I'm seeing the remnants of a bad streak. The tough part is that I misplayed in the first round of 3 tournaments within 2 weeks. That hurt because each of those tournaments came down to me losing a win and in (so that first round cost me because there was literally nothing I could do short of shuffling differently to win the win and in; at least not that I identified). Sometimes poor variance leads to bad play as well, especially with me. When I play to outs, but they never happen even if they're as simple as drawing a land in the next 2 draws, then I tend to stop playing to that out. I realize that I am not above a bad streak. I have been on all kinds of streaks since I started playing. I just honestly want to get back to winning consistently like I did before.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I felt lost also, but in a different way. Since I began playing Modern in 2013, I played Burn and Living End at first, but then found my go-to deck in Ad Nauseam. For 4 years, it's the only thing I played. I know it inside out, in every situation and with all the corner cases possible. I found great pleasure in it, but after a long stretch with, I wanted to play something different.
So last Summer, I gave in into all the control decks possible : Grixis, then Jeskai, and even other decks such as Tron and Burn again. I felt unsatisfied by my results with those decks, but I found that I didn't give enough practice time to be good with them. Then also last Summer, my wife became really interested in Magic as a hobby, so I decided to buy decks that could be more interactive. It's probably at that time that the game became more of a game to me than anything else : I understand your will to win and I respect it. But for me, the best feeling possible in Magic is to just have fun with my old time friend (which introduced me to the game) and my wife. I'm now very happy with Burn (3rd time's a charm), Ad Nauseam and UW Control / Esper Control. In fact, Esper (which might be the least competitive deck of the ones I listed) is the one I enjoy the most right now. I trive with it. So that's what I jam when I can and more than often, I win!
Il all, I think that if you find something you truly love, you'll get better at it (like you're real good with Griselbrand and Bogles) and even will win more. There's a possibility that some deck might be better, but to find sense in all of it, you need to love what you play. And if I could sum it, I would say : play what you love and to win, play what you know.
I also love creature decks. I love to win, but I enjoy a deck with decision points. I like that elves can switch gears with beats, drains, alpha strikes (like combo finishes) or even westvale abbey beats. I was looking for decks that could switch gears (like affinity) and win from different angles.
This. I love decks with the ability to maneuver around the opponent's trump cards, and not requiring cards to be drawn in a very strict order.
I also feel at a loss. Life from the Loam variants were my bread and butter, but the deck is way too low tier to compete (#FreePunishingFire). Although exploding with Elves and working through combat situations with mana and draw engines is fun, I've gotten sick of running into removal.decs where I start topdecking Llanowar Elves.
I'm working the last Scapeshift for Titanshift although the deck looks a little too straightforward for my tastes. Bogles also feels hella tempting to build since the peace of mind of not having to care about what the opponent might be holding in their hand is too atractive to let it pass. But I can already imagine the souless stare at deck doing all the work and me not having any part on the wins.
Having read so many of your posts over the past year FCG, along with being a poster I really respect my comments boils down to this
A: You seem torn as a player when it comes to your identity. You want to win but you want to do it with sneaky Tier 2 decks that can maximize you're experience and skill. Unfortunately, these seem to be at cross purposes. Tier 2 decks are that for a reason and sometimes, even with superior play you're going to lose to the "better" deck. You need to decide if you're ok with that.
Playing decks that prey on others is all well and good, but if ones prey isn't a high enough percentage of the meta, that won't help you much. You can hunt Delver in Legacy and whatever is the Deck of the day in Standard. In Modern, I don't think it's that easy since nothing will have the same sort of play percentages as those referenced above.
B: Sometimes mate, you just seem burnt out. I wonder if a format change for a couple of weeks or taking your mind off Modern for a bit by diving into something else expansive like Witcher 3 would recharge your batteries.
C: Stuff what other people think about your deck. If you want to play Bogles and enjoy playing Bogles, Giver.
D: Combo decks sometimes beat themselves. If that's not on your happy list, I'd keep Grishoalbrand/Knightfall as decks that you play for fun rather then when you want to win gas money.
Having read so many of your posts over the past year FCG, along with being a poster I really respect my comments boils down to this
A: You seem torn as a player when it comes to your identity. You want to win but you want to do it with sneaky Tier 2 decks that can maximize you're experience and skill. Unfortunately, these seem to be at cross purposes. Tier 2 decks are that for a reason and sometimes, even with superior play you're going to lose to the "better" deck. You need to decide if you're ok with that.
Playing decks that prey on others is all well and good, but if ones prey isn't a high enough percentage of the meta, that won't help you much. You can hunt Delver in Legacy and whatever is the Deck of the day in Standard. In Modern, I don't think it's that easy since nothing will have the same sort of play percentages as those referenced above.
B: Sometimes mate, you just seem burnt out. I wonder if a format change for a couple of weeks or taking your mind off Modern for a bit by diving into something else expansive like Witcher 3 would recharge your batteries.
C: Stuff what other people think about your deck. If you want to play Bogles and enjoy playing Bogles, Giver.
D: Combo decks sometimes beat themselves. If that's not on your happy list, I'd keep Grishoalbrand/Knightfall as decks that you play for fun rather then when you want to win gas money.
You know me a little too well! Are you someone I talk to in person, by chance?
Yes, I know that I probably should be playing something at a higher Tier to appease my Spike side. But I also have a Johnny (Combo player) side. I should play what I need to play to compete at the highest level and what I WANT to play for when it doesn't matter much. I have done that before, but when I am drawing poorly with a bad deck, I quickly revert to a consistently good deck in order to "know that I can still win at Magic." You know, I have gotten the "take a break" from Magic for a while before and I have never listened to it before. This is the first time it actually hit me hard, so thanks for that. I just came back from a 1K today where the toughest opponent for me was the guy I drove with, who is a lesser play skill level than myself, and LOST (again) in the top 4 after knocking him out of the top 8. I literally was 1 Bogle of a draw in 2 loooong games from winning. I was stuck with 7 Auras in hand both games, going to the discard several times. I drew 0 Slippery Bogle and 0 Gladecover Scout in the 2 games, but was 1 draw of either of those from winning either game. And yes, he mulliganed to 4 in game 1. But, he got the win.
The deck was really good for the meta. I got to play against Affinity, Soul Sisters, and Jeskai Control. I also dodged playing against at least 3 Humans and 3 Burn decks. I also sadly dodged playing against a Dredge deck that top 4ed also. So, often my poor choices of deck choice get rewarded and that enforces my belief to go under the meta with a worse deck that has a positive matchup vs. some of the top decks. I know what I'm doing, but I don't know how to stop it, lol.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
If you (royal "you") think you are a good player who wants to leverage play skill against worse players, play decks with lots of decision trees. Also, play decks with live draws. This means running cards that have more abilities, require more sequencing, and/or generate more velocity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Humans (Mage naming, Freebooter selection, Image selection, Vial use, tons of tribal synergy on every draw, etc.)
H1 (Lots of Looting/Lore/Inquiry/Wraith sequencing, maximizing probability every turn, swingy topdecks, etc.)
Traverse Jund/DS variants (Cantrips, discard spell targeting, tutoring, life management, card velocity through Bauble/Wraith, etc.)
Lantern (discard targeting, knowing when and when not to mill, Whir usage, cantrip selection)
All of these decks share tons of live topdecks and tons of ways to maximize decisions. That's why I wouldn't touch Bogles with a ten foot pole and your recent experience illustrates why. As you said, you had a hand full of auras and just needed to draw that 1 Bogle. But you're playing a deck with no other outs, no tutors, no cantrips, no velocity cards, and a ton of dead draws that don't do anything without that Bogle. The Bogles thread is littered with tournament reports about "If I just drew _____ I would have won!" That's not "bad luck." That's the lay of the land when you play a deck configured like Bogles. Personally, I do not want to put myself at variance/topdeck mercy like that. At least, I want to minimize it.
When I play linear decks, I play decks like Grishoalbrand. There we have 4 Looting (easily one of the most skill-testing Modern cards), 4 Whisper (more draw, more outs), 4 Temple (dig and sequencing decisions with draw spells), 2 Reunion (dig and proper discard selection), and all the splice/arcane shenanigans. This doesn't even count the mainline wins of Vengeance/Griselbrand, Breach/Griselbrand, Breach/Wurm, deciding how deep to draw on Griselbrand, deciding to Breach/Vengeance Borby instead, etc. You know it as well as I do: it's a really deep deck. There are so many tricks, lines, and outs, and the more decisions I give myself in a deck, the more likely I am to find the path that beats my opponent.
Decks like Bogles deny players such lines in favor of a brute force approach. When that approach works, sweet. It tends to work very well. But when it doesn't work due to an opponent's cards or variance, it leaves the pilot with very few options. Creative G1 lines in Bogles are extremely limited. For every "trick" we can think of (e.g. Fetch for an Arbor as beatdown or sacrificial lamb, hold back Spiritdancers to reload, etc.) we can probably think of at least 2 others for most competing linear decks. If nothing else, this is true just by virtue of the extremely limited thinning/cantrip selection: Bogles gets Spiritdancer draws, Canopy, and fetchland thinning. Ew. Storm gets 10 cantrips plus Gifts, not to mention Remand and Manamorphose. KCI gets Stirrings and about 20 cantrip artifacts. Grishoalbrand gets everything we mentioned before. By contrast, Bogles has dozens of draws that are almost, or entirely, dead without a creature on board. They then have 8 (or fewer) topdecks that get there. No thank you. These other decks have numerous uses for all cards, tons of valuable topdecks, and many ways to tinker together a winning line.
If you want to play combo, I'd play Grishoalbrand, KCI, or Storm. If you want to play aggro, it's Humans, Affinity, or H1. If control, UW or Blue Moon. If Big Mana, Amulet Bloom. If Midrange, Mardu and maybe Traverse Jund. These decks have much higher ceilings and will allow good players to leverage play skill into wins.
Maybe it's making excuses, but Grishoalbrand has similar problems. I've had numerous games where I draw some odd 1/3 to 2/3 of the deck and don't find a win-con. That is more harmful mentally than a deck where I didn't siphon through most of the deck to not find anything capable of winning. Maybe that's the problem? It's easier for me to accept that my deck (Bogles) won't draw well because technically I could draw every single Aura and have 13 creatures on the bottom of my deck. But with Grishoalbrand, there is some sort of BELIEF or faith that drawing a certain amount of cards will get you there. As someone who has played the deck for longer than 1 year (3-5 months continuously), that's just not the truth.
I may try Traverse Jund, but I am not hopeful that it is indeed the "best" deck like Reid says it is. I trust Reid quite a bit and I think he's one of the top Pros on top of their game currently, but I am very unsure of Traverse Jund being the top deck, yet people don't play it.
Lantern and UW Control have their own problems, most of which is opponents slow playing, especially at Casual REL, where you can't really enforce *****.
I have had some poor luck with Hollow One, but honestly haven't tried it at a tournament. I probably should, seeing as I lost to it for the first time in 7 tries last FNM. Humans is a deck that I should try, to be honest. Maybe I should even go back to Affinity. I started red hot with the deck, 11-0, before I ran into Skred and Jund with Shatterstorm in game 3 to "get me."
*Also right now in Modern and this is my true beliefs, trying to match answers with the correct problems is often much tougher than just presenting problem after problem, especially when the answers are not quite as strong. If I draw 3 Logic Knot vs. 3 straight Mantis Rider, I lose. If I draw 3 Bolt, but he has Vial on Thalia's Lieutenant in response, I just lose. That is how I feel about Control right now. I am not looking for a "moral" victory. I am looking for the deck that has the best chance to win or outplay my opponent and also WIN.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
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Grishoalbrand and Titanshift are 2 decks that I have a lot of experience with, but I'm not sure how good they are in the new metagame. I think it is possible to dodge poor matchups, like Humans for Grishoalbrand, but it just doesn't happen often with me. And I can't leverage play skill to win matchups that are just horrible. I can make them closer matchups, but just a few poor draws keep it from happening. Maybe I've been bouncing around too much? Maybe I haven't given many decks their due? I love playing Company decks and I do think they can be very powerful. The main problem here is that I run into poor matchups again. So, I tried Jeskai Control and although it's been 1 tournament at 2-1-1, I am already realizing that your answers have to line up with their threats or you don't win. It's that simple, even in the context of a long game that has had many, many decisions. I figured I could leverage my play skill with a deck with many decisions to win. Maybe I just need to give it more of a chance?
Part of the reason that I bring up this thread is that I feel that Bogles is well positioned right now, but friends of mine don't think I can leverage my play skill here. But when it comes down to it, I don't often care care as much about that as I do about winning 1st place in a 1K. I would rather win the $400 with any deck, even a broken deck, even a piece of crap deck, to get the win. I've been lacking on those wins as of lately, so it would get me back some of my gas money, lol. In the end, we all gotta do what we feel will be the best for us. I realize this. Sometimes I think about playing Bogles for over a year instead of Twin and how many more accolades I could have had with Twin...or even Bloom Titan for that matter. I had to also play a lot of other decks to try to get "back" those skills I had with other decks that playing Bogles kind of made me forget.
So, what do you think about the ramblings here? Do any of you feel lost in Modern? And by no means do I expect to win every time. I just want to do as well as I can, you know? I also realize that this is an effect of a very diverse metagame, so it's a good thing. I'm not stupid, so please don't put words in my mouth. I am going to the GP Las Vegas and I want to do better than I did in 2 other Modern GPs (6-3 and 11-4). How do I or how would you get there?
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I went from Budget Zoo, to Twin, to Mono U Turns, and now UWR. I think I've put in more reps on UWR than anything else but Twin and thats all just since Search for Azcanta.
If I was you, I'd be grinding Humans, and Humans only. It sounds like you want a skill leveraging deck (and I cannot accept Bogles or Hollow One is skill testing) that is as close to 'best deck' as possible, and honestly that has to be humans, assuming you dont mind a creature based strat.
What it took for me to not feel lost, was finding a deck that felt like it at least had a shot at answering 'everything', and if you did grind out the reps to get more comfortable with UWR, I do think it can be that deck, but Humans is very very powerful, and if you have it, you should be just grinding it out I think.
Spirits
Pick 2 decks that don't have the same weaknesses and then exclusively play those decks. Switch between them based on your local field or, for MTGO, based on whatever the pros/general community perceives to be widely played.
For GP and Open events, it's the same but it really helps to get Byes.
I'll also add that Magic is packed with players who think they are secretly GP champs and deserve to do better than their records at various events. You might be such a player! But we aren't ALL such players, so a huge majority of people who believe this are probably overestimating their skill at various aspects of this game.
Spirits
I may try it, but I feel like I won't be able to duplicate a certain percentage that I know I'm capable of. When I've been on top of my game and get a little bit of luck, I have been hard to stop (in PPTQs, Competitive FNMs, GPTs, GPs, PTQs, 1Ks, and the like). It just has been rough for me lately and I haven't found my niche.
*I also know that I have a lot of weaknesses too and I am trying to work on them. The number one weakness that I have had is that I usually don't play with players with the same play skill as myself, so I can't get better as a player. But, now that I've finally joined a team for the first time ever (for the past 3 weeks), it's not going to be an excuse anymore. There are 3-4 players that I think have close to equal play skill as myself or are better (right now). I can learn a lot from them, especially since they know Standard and I don't know it at all. Still, I am their "Modern expert" and it sucks being their Modern expert when I am SO lost in what to play. For what it's worth, I know what to play for fun. I play many decks. I need to know what to grind with.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)As for decks, if you think you have higher play skill than opponents, play a deck with more decision trees. Don't play something like Bogles (I.e. most "got em" decks) that limits your decisions by inherent deckbuilding constraints. Instead, look for decks that expand options on every turn. Whir decks are spectacular in this regard, with tons of decisions every turn. So are sequencing decks like H1 and Storm. So are card velocity decks like GDS with multiple game plans to victory. Humans counts too because of decision-heavy cards like Mage, Freebooter, and Image. Mardu is another one because of Looting, Liliana, Reveler, Pyromancer, and a slew of interactive cards that require decisions about how/when to use them and what to target. Play these kinds of decks.
I would rather loose knowing that I had played to the best of my ability than win having relied on my deck to play itself.
I know my place in modern. I play a fair deck that has game against pretty much anything (Mardu Pyromancer) and I grind out every game the best that I can.
Win or loose, it's the challenge that drives me to play better.
Don't think of Bloo as an aggro deck. It's more a creature combo deck with a lot of tools to win grindy games. There's a long old thread and primer in the deck creation section.
Pauper: UR Puzzle Pieces
EDH: UB Phenax, God of Deception UR The Locust God UR Saheeli the Gifted WBG Anafenza, the Foremost
I also love creature decks. I love to win, but I enjoy a deck with decision points. I like that elves can switch gears with beats, drains, alpha strikes (like combo finishes) or even westvale abbey beats. I was looking for decks that could switch gears (like affinity) and win from different angles.
I have to say the experience was all around not good. I felt like I had no identity and my deck change pace was crippling my win %. The only thing I had over my playgroup (Which is strong. Lots of day 2 GPs, judges, and pro tour experience in the shop) was that they couldn't peg me for a specific deck. I'd regularly go 4-0 for a few months playing different decks because I was constantly attacking the meta and leveraging the collection. Ponza, counters company, humans, turns...all easy 4-0 because I knew my field. Every larger tournament I've gone to I've not been able to replicate the success because I didn't learn how to play my deck during this, I learned to play against my opponents.
So back to the drawing board...
What I came out with was bant spirits. I've played the list a few times locally, and even when I'm losing I'm having fun, it's thought provoking, and I feel like I can turn the game around. Humans/affinity/burn aren't easy matches for the deck, but I can get there. The most satisfying aspect is playing at instant speed. I feel like I'm learning my deck again, not a prolonged foray into pegging people's habits and play patterns.
Titanshift, GTron, Colourless Eldrazi, and some weird ass RTron brew.
Lets just say it was not my favourite night of Magic in the last month. :]
I'm not going to give up on UWR just because I ran into that ***** show, but it happens.
Spirits
I actually put Spirits together (when I say that, I mean put the cards together, as I already have them, so no extra buying was necessary) a few months ago and was going to try it. But I decided to go another way (Abzan Counters), so I let a friend run it. He ended up getting mana screwed a bunch and played against 4 Aggro decks. He went 2-2. I already had decided to go with Abzan Counters and trying to master that deck, so I just let Spirits sit after that. This friend can't come all the time because of his work, and decided to play Standard instead when he did. So, the deck really didn't get a chance, outside of 2 tournaments that I played after Caleb Durward won an Open, going 3-1 once and either 2-2 or another 3-1 with it. I kind of am forgetting a bit. I really didn't give the deck a chance, but do I have TIME to give every deck a chance?
This is the thing. It is rough for me because I haven't given every deck their due chance. I don't think I have TIME to give every deck their due chance. I understand that you want to give UWR a chance because it's a deck that you love to play and have the cards for. But for me, I don't have any preference to that deck. In fact, outside my insane streak with Grishoalbrand and not counting that 24-1-X with the deck, I probably am hovering around only a 60% win percentage, which is pretty low for me. But...I remember when it was unstoppable and that it could happen again.
Maybe part of the problem is that I don't know what I would love to play. It's probably some sort of Company deck right now, so I am experimenting with those. I actually enjoy Bogles, Titanshift, and Grishoalbrand much more than others do. But part of hearing people always say "how can you love that deck?" has made me lose some of the love for those decks. I am pretty unsure about Grishoalbrand in this meta, as Humans and Hollow One are tough, while Affinity is 50/50 at best. Maybe I should try that one again because it IS probably the deck in Modern that I love the most. My inspiration for the deck has stopped playing months ago, where he used to consistently 4-0, 3-0-1, or 3-1 FNMs and weekly tournaments. So, there's that too.
*Also, Knightfall was a deck that I looooved playing. But after 3 months of playing it, my win percentage was merely 58.73% and I can't justify playing a deck with less than a 60% win percentage. Maybe I get better at it? But maybe that is the ceiling because I felt like I was playing it pretty solidly.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)For instance, despite preparing for a specific predicted meta, you might run into three burn decks in a row. I know that this phenomenon has happened often enough during my decades as a player that I take wider metagame stats with a huge pinch of salt and more of a proposal of initial viability than an ultimate suitability.
With that in mind, the often-cited mantra of getting good with a specific "decent" deck does hold some weight. If you're like me and flip-flop around between decks, you often chain a bunch of bad matchups together by switching, whereas it would have balanced out rather neatly good/bad if I'd stuck with only one deck.
We are also seeing certain decks, in the hands of experienced players who are having a good day, hitting the top tables repeatedly. Counters company is a deck still quietly managing to pull top 8 finishes, and other more niche decks like kci are making a name for themselves as well. If your experience in modern puts a deck about on par with either of those decks, then there's a strong chance you can leverage mastery of a deck to your advantage.
Yes, it's true that a deck needs to have the tools in the first place to give you a fair whack at a good finish. Once you've identified a decent enough deck however, the rest is up to you, and that includes just mercilessly grinding through those awkward periods where you don't manage to hit a strong finish for a while. It happens to everyone, even Finkel. Don't assume you're above just 'having a bad run' and get back to enjoying a couple of core decks and build up those reps.
the only time i was lost in the format was when twin was banned. i played my other decks more during that time, but eventually i realized i just liked playing jeskai more. its a deck i do well enough with since i win more than i lose. add in playing elves occasionally which is a totally different experience, and i never get bored (which is what is important to me).
i gotta ask though. why arent you playing humans foodchain? ive seen you say it yourself that you think its close to a 50/50 deck, and if you want to win consistently that is probably where you wanna be. if you wanna win more, especially in larger tournaments, you gotta cast aside any notions that playing fair wins you extra points. especially so if you are now on a team, where everyone shoulders a larger burden of responsibility to do well.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)Think of it this way. As a Living End player, on paper I'm a dog to Burn. Call it a 60/40 matchup. But if I am a master Living End player facing a Burn player with 30-50 games played with their deck, I would bet that I am at least a 60/40 favorite because it's very unlikely they've played against Living End vs someone who has mastered the deck, if at all. To an extent, I'd say that Reid Duke does this. At PT Rivals, no one was on Abzan... except for him. He Top 8'd with cards people were basically calling unplayable in Modern.
I know a lot of people think that Modern is just about matchups, or at least very much about matchups. I think that it's certainly true, but prolonged success isn't just about hoping on the deck that has the best matchups in a snapshot in time. It's about depth of format knowledge and finding those tiny windows into which valuable percentage points can be grabbed by the savvy player.
RBGLiving EndRBG
EDH
UFblthpU
BRXantchaRB
BGVarolzGB
URWZedruuWRU
Playing what you love, cannot be understated. Like I said, I'm not a pure spike. I dont feel a need to win, if it means winning on other's terms.
I can say with confidence that right now, there is not a single card in my UWR 75 that I dont enjoy drawing, and casting, or playing as a land drop. The worst is Collonade, because it has the gall of coming in tapped.
When you are enjoying what you are playing, even the bad beats feel less bad. If you love a deck dont feel bad playing it.
If Grishaol daddy is your thing, slam that card and draw 7. You'll be happier for it.
If winning is the end all be all, you should be on Humans or Affinity.
Spirits
http://modernnexus.com/love-what-you-play-taking-the-taste-test/ Hope it helps
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
Spirits
https://www.channelfireball.com/home/my-recommendation-for-every-format-in-team-trios-at-every-skill-level-modern/
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Why did I not run Humans? I have been testing it at home, so I have many ideas on the deck. The first reason that I didn't run it was that there were 2 dedicated players running it at FNM. I didn't want to do mirrors. But...that excuse is gone. One of the guys rarely shows up anymore and the other (my teammate) is too busy with work right now to show up at all. So, I have no excuse other than I think of the variance that can hit. But, that variance can hit with any deck.
I have considered Affinity. I ran it this last time and started 11-0 in matches until Skred Red and Jund with Shatterstorm in its SB got me at the Side Events of Grand Prix Santa Clara. I gave up on it after that, but honestly I know the advantages of it since I see my friend do well with it all the time and have watched Zyrnak streams. I have been considering this, but the deck is also for sale currently, so if that page turns, then I will sell it probably.
Maybe I am trying to not play the Tier decks and am trying to get under them with Tier 2 decks too much? I had that problem in the past. My friend that was my inspiration and best test partner that I've ever had quit Magic some 5-6 years ago, so I don't have that Spike inspiration (he said always play the best deck and over prepare for the mirror). In the past, I always tried to play decks that "beat" the top decks and probably only did well because of my own play skill and luck possibly.
@Purkle - yes, I realize everyone goes through a tough streak. I had that a few months ago, then got a bunch of 3-1 or better tournaments. So, I thought I was "out of it" but I'm seeing the remnants of a bad streak. The tough part is that I misplayed in the first round of 3 tournaments within 2 weeks. That hurt because each of those tournaments came down to me losing a win and in (so that first round cost me because there was literally nothing I could do short of shuffling differently to win the win and in; at least not that I identified). Sometimes poor variance leads to bad play as well, especially with me. When I play to outs, but they never happen even if they're as simple as drawing a land in the next 2 draws, then I tend to stop playing to that out. I realize that I am not above a bad streak. I have been on all kinds of streaks since I started playing. I just honestly want to get back to winning consistently like I did before.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)So last Summer, I gave in into all the control decks possible : Grixis, then Jeskai, and even other decks such as Tron and Burn again. I felt unsatisfied by my results with those decks, but I found that I didn't give enough practice time to be good with them. Then also last Summer, my wife became really interested in Magic as a hobby, so I decided to buy decks that could be more interactive. It's probably at that time that the game became more of a game to me than anything else : I understand your will to win and I respect it. But for me, the best feeling possible in Magic is to just have fun with my old time friend (which introduced me to the game) and my wife. I'm now very happy with Burn (3rd time's a charm), Ad Nauseam and UW Control / Esper Control. In fact, Esper (which might be the least competitive deck of the ones I listed) is the one I enjoy the most right now. I trive with it. So that's what I jam when I can and more than often, I win!
Il all, I think that if you find something you truly love, you'll get better at it (like you're real good with Griselbrand and Bogles) and even will win more. There's a possibility that some deck might be better, but to find sense in all of it, you need to love what you play. And if I could sum it, I would say : play what you love and to win, play what you know.
Cheers!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
This. I love decks with the ability to maneuver around the opponent's trump cards, and not requiring cards to be drawn in a very strict order.
I also feel at a loss. Life from the Loam variants were my bread and butter, but the deck is way too low tier to compete (#FreePunishingFire). Although exploding with Elves and working through combat situations with mana and draw engines is fun, I've gotten sick of running into removal.decs where I start topdecking Llanowar Elves.
I'm working the last Scapeshift for Titanshift although the deck looks a little too straightforward for my tastes. Bogles also feels hella tempting to build since the peace of mind of not having to care about what the opponent might be holding in their hand is too atractive to let it pass. But I can already imagine the souless stare at deck doing all the work and me not having any part on the wins.
A: You seem torn as a player when it comes to your identity. You want to win but you want to do it with sneaky Tier 2 decks that can maximize you're experience and skill. Unfortunately, these seem to be at cross purposes. Tier 2 decks are that for a reason and sometimes, even with superior play you're going to lose to the "better" deck. You need to decide if you're ok with that.
Playing decks that prey on others is all well and good, but if ones prey isn't a high enough percentage of the meta, that won't help you much. You can hunt Delver in Legacy and whatever is the Deck of the day in Standard. In Modern, I don't think it's that easy since nothing will have the same sort of play percentages as those referenced above.
B: Sometimes mate, you just seem burnt out. I wonder if a format change for a couple of weeks or taking your mind off Modern for a bit by diving into something else expansive like Witcher 3 would recharge your batteries.
C: Stuff what other people think about your deck. If you want to play Bogles and enjoy playing Bogles, Giver.
D: Combo decks sometimes beat themselves. If that's not on your happy list, I'd keep Grishoalbrand/Knightfall as decks that you play for fun rather then when you want to win gas money.
Modern: Storm
Legacy: ANT
You know me a little too well! Are you someone I talk to in person, by chance?
Yes, I know that I probably should be playing something at a higher Tier to appease my Spike side. But I also have a Johnny (Combo player) side. I should play what I need to play to compete at the highest level and what I WANT to play for when it doesn't matter much. I have done that before, but when I am drawing poorly with a bad deck, I quickly revert to a consistently good deck in order to "know that I can still win at Magic." You know, I have gotten the "take a break" from Magic for a while before and I have never listened to it before. This is the first time it actually hit me hard, so thanks for that. I just came back from a 1K today where the toughest opponent for me was the guy I drove with, who is a lesser play skill level than myself, and LOST (again) in the top 4 after knocking him out of the top 8. I literally was 1 Bogle of a draw in 2 loooong games from winning. I was stuck with 7 Auras in hand both games, going to the discard several times. I drew 0 Slippery Bogle and 0 Gladecover Scout in the 2 games, but was 1 draw of either of those from winning either game. And yes, he mulliganed to 4 in game 1. But, he got the win.
The deck was really good for the meta. I got to play against Affinity, Soul Sisters, and Jeskai Control. I also dodged playing against at least 3 Humans and 3 Burn decks. I also sadly dodged playing against a Dredge deck that top 4ed also. So, often my poor choices of deck choice get rewarded and that enforces my belief to go under the meta with a worse deck that has a positive matchup vs. some of the top decks. I know what I'm doing, but I don't know how to stop it, lol.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)All of these decks share tons of live topdecks and tons of ways to maximize decisions. That's why I wouldn't touch Bogles with a ten foot pole and your recent experience illustrates why. As you said, you had a hand full of auras and just needed to draw that 1 Bogle. But you're playing a deck with no other outs, no tutors, no cantrips, no velocity cards, and a ton of dead draws that don't do anything without that Bogle. The Bogles thread is littered with tournament reports about "If I just drew _____ I would have won!" That's not "bad luck." That's the lay of the land when you play a deck configured like Bogles. Personally, I do not want to put myself at variance/topdeck mercy like that. At least, I want to minimize it.
When I play linear decks, I play decks like Grishoalbrand. There we have 4 Looting (easily one of the most skill-testing Modern cards), 4 Whisper (more draw, more outs), 4 Temple (dig and sequencing decisions with draw spells), 2 Reunion (dig and proper discard selection), and all the splice/arcane shenanigans. This doesn't even count the mainline wins of Vengeance/Griselbrand, Breach/Griselbrand, Breach/Wurm, deciding how deep to draw on Griselbrand, deciding to Breach/Vengeance Borby instead, etc. You know it as well as I do: it's a really deep deck. There are so many tricks, lines, and outs, and the more decisions I give myself in a deck, the more likely I am to find the path that beats my opponent.
Decks like Bogles deny players such lines in favor of a brute force approach. When that approach works, sweet. It tends to work very well. But when it doesn't work due to an opponent's cards or variance, it leaves the pilot with very few options. Creative G1 lines in Bogles are extremely limited. For every "trick" we can think of (e.g. Fetch for an Arbor as beatdown or sacrificial lamb, hold back Spiritdancers to reload, etc.) we can probably think of at least 2 others for most competing linear decks. If nothing else, this is true just by virtue of the extremely limited thinning/cantrip selection: Bogles gets Spiritdancer draws, Canopy, and fetchland thinning. Ew. Storm gets 10 cantrips plus Gifts, not to mention Remand and Manamorphose. KCI gets Stirrings and about 20 cantrip artifacts. Grishoalbrand gets everything we mentioned before. By contrast, Bogles has dozens of draws that are almost, or entirely, dead without a creature on board. They then have 8 (or fewer) topdecks that get there. No thank you. These other decks have numerous uses for all cards, tons of valuable topdecks, and many ways to tinker together a winning line.
If you want to play combo, I'd play Grishoalbrand, KCI, or Storm. If you want to play aggro, it's Humans, Affinity, or H1. If control, UW or Blue Moon. If Big Mana, Amulet Bloom. If Midrange, Mardu and maybe Traverse Jund. These decks have much higher ceilings and will allow good players to leverage play skill into wins.
I may try Traverse Jund, but I am not hopeful that it is indeed the "best" deck like Reid says it is. I trust Reid quite a bit and I think he's one of the top Pros on top of their game currently, but I am very unsure of Traverse Jund being the top deck, yet people don't play it.
Lantern and UW Control have their own problems, most of which is opponents slow playing, especially at Casual REL, where you can't really enforce *****.
I have had some poor luck with Hollow One, but honestly haven't tried it at a tournament. I probably should, seeing as I lost to it for the first time in 7 tries last FNM. Humans is a deck that I should try, to be honest. Maybe I should even go back to Affinity. I started red hot with the deck, 11-0, before I ran into Skred and Jund with Shatterstorm in game 3 to "get me."
*Also right now in Modern and this is my true beliefs, trying to match answers with the correct problems is often much tougher than just presenting problem after problem, especially when the answers are not quite as strong. If I draw 3 Logic Knot vs. 3 straight Mantis Rider, I lose. If I draw 3 Bolt, but he has Vial on Thalia's Lieutenant in response, I just lose. That is how I feel about Control right now. I am not looking for a "moral" victory. I am looking for the deck that has the best chance to win or outplay my opponent and also WIN.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)