A blue-white control deck based around the premise that Think Twice is garbage drawing two cards for two mana at instant speed is so good we'd gladly build a little differently to accommodate it. I am, or course, referring to the most underrated common in modern, Perilous Research. By playing permanents that replace themselves, the drawback of Perilous Research can even be used to our advantage, turning it into a unique card advantage engine that thrives in the midrange and the long game alike.
So, let's review: The cards we like to pitch to Research are Flagstones of Trokair, Kitchen Finks, Geist of Saint Traft's Angel tokens, sometimes Snapcaster Mage, and, last but not least, Hatching Plans. (Of course, anything with removal aimed at it or anything that won't live through combat also makes for a good choice.) Between the playset of Perilous and the full complement of Snapcaster Mages, we'll almost always have access to our draw/sac engine.
Flagstones doesn't come in tapped, so it's no problem to drop one on turn two and use our opponent's end step to start digging while fetching Hallowed Fountains to fix our mana. Even without a Researches to bin them to, Flagstones are still untapped white sources in a deck with Finks, Path to Exiles, and Supreme Verdicts.
Finks should be fairly self-explanatory. It gains life, it blocks, and it throws three power in front of things, all while coming back and gaining more life. It's a complete nuisance. Honestly, though, I don't find myself pitching him to Perilous very often at all. If the enemy deck plays Paths, however, Perilous saccing Finks is a great play.
Swinging for six and then drawing two makes you feel like a value god, and that's exactly what Geist of Saint Traft does for you. With the Angel token's exile trigger on the stack, simply sac it to Perilous Research.
(Speaking of our creatures: by now you might have realized that Lightning Bolt is terrible against this deck. One of the big advantages it has, honestly.)
While sacrificing Hatching Plans nets you five(!) cards and can make a mulliganed opener much more threatening, you don't want to see it very often - the trade-off for refilling your hand at a moment's notice is doing literally nothing without a Perilous or a Snapcaster Mage in your hand. Ichor Wellspring is a potential replacement for this slot since it does draw a card immediately, but this deck can crack the egg so consistently that the third/fifth card is almost always worth it. Against decks that trade resources on a 1-for-1 ratio like Grixis, Jund, and Abzan, a draw five into Supreme Verdict is almost always game.
Issues I want to address
The Twin matchup is a good place to start. While it's not bad and it stays decent post-board with Negate, Dispel, Ghostly Prison, and Revoke Existence (lololol Keranos), I would like to really give myself an edge here. This would probably entail replacing Logic Knot, seeing as it's terrible against Remand and those are flex slots anyway. I'm tempted to just go for two Remands of my own, and not for my own permission, but to Remand my own spells in blue mirrors.
There's also the new Bx Eldrazi decks that like to exile graveyards. Without having played the matchup yet there's only so much I can speculate on, but we don't appreciate having our graveyard tampered with. I might even consider going up to two Revoke Existence in the side because Rest in Peace is such a problem - Flagstones and Hatching Plans both need to hit the grave to activate. Anyway, the Eldrazi and other problematic lands are why the Ghost Quarters are in over extra basics. Hitting Eldrazi Temples before turn 4 seems important.
On Think Twice and Sun Titan
These would require greater land counts, to be sure. Think Twice is a draw-go card through and through, and we're more of a tap-out style control that can hold up counter magic when it needs to. We like Serum Visions because we can grab it off the top and cast it immediately while still making plays after, and the Perilous engine is just much more efficient for this style of deck, IMO.
Sun Titan is its own thing. I understand that there was a very successful Sun Titan control list recently, and I'm not opposed to including one or two Titans in the main and moving the Detention Spheres in. Having a card that wins me the game if it resolves would be very useful, but I don't know which matchups it would improve and it would require a lot of shifting around and a higher land count. This just doesn't feel like a 26 land strategy - I'm very happy with my 23.
That's all for now! Hope you enjoy the deck. Please leave some feedback.
it looks nice, however from experience familiar's ruse will probably disapoint when you try it.
a couple wall of omens would fit nicely if your meta calls for it.
I'd like to see more feedback and details about match-ups, and i'll try your list on cockatrice myself to see if something comes up
Wall of Omens has always underwhelmed me; Tarmogoyf eats it for breakfast and a bunch of stuff flies right over it or isn't too worried about a 0/4 do-nothing. Creature-based matchups in general are pretty positive for me, as once I drop a Verdict the only thing that especially worries me is Collected Company, which is why I might move the 2 Dispel to the main over either Familiar's Ruse or Logic Knot. A configuration of 2 Remand / 2 Dispel is possible, but that feels very soft to haymakers coming in on the stack.
And yes, Familiar's Ruse can lead to some awkward positions - like playing Geist and immediately bouncing it - but overall having a hard counter that can soft lock with a Snapcaster has been great. Modern doesn't have a lot of good permission, and the upside to my current configuration is that my spells WILL counter something.
As for specific matchups:
-Merfolk-
Our generous removal suite will be more than enough. If you're feeling especially cruel, you can start countering Silvergill Adepts off the top. If you can't because of an Aether Vial it's nothing to lose sleep over. Post-board we get Ghostly Prison and Detention Sphere to make their lives that much more miserable. Merfolk is very favorable.
-Jund-
They 1-for-1 and lean on Bolt like nobody's business, which is great for us. They're forced to respect a Hatching Plans when they see it in our hand since they can't win if it cracks, which means we get to keep more business spells - worth mentioning is that every Perilous Research you cash in puts you a bit further ahead. Dark Confidant is problematic if it can let them pull ahead on resources, but we should be able to Path / Verdict Bob. In fact, I'd hold up a Path just for him. Liliana of the Veil is good against us but she's also one of the only cards worth using our permission on. So, overall, I'd say Jund is favorable but not an auto-win.
-Zoo-
Their Bolts get aimed straight at our faces, which we have to remember when making combat decisions. Otherwise, Supreme Verdict will almost always nab at least a 2-for-1 because they need to keep pressure on us to have a chance of winning. Always Path Voice of Resurgence the turn after it comes down. The scariest card they have against us is the aforementioned Collected Company, so hold up some counter magic for that if you can. If you can't, though, it's not the end of the world. You can go down to 1 or 0 Hatching Plans after boarding, if you're so inclined. Zoo is favorable.
-UWx Control-
Esper draw-go can't beat a cracked Hatching Plans; neither can UWR, which also has to point Lighting Bolts and Helices at our faces. Same with Grixis, although discard is solid against us. Tap-out strategies are vulnerable to Supreme Verdict and Snapcaster / Familiar's Ruse lock outs. Special mention goes to the Kiki-Resto combo, which does make things trickier for us. It's a broad generalization to make, but I'll go out on a limb and say most if not any UWx control matchup is fairly favorable for us.
-Abzan-
They go big and wide with Seige Rhino, Lingering Souls, and Liliana. They can play around Verdicts with some smart Souls flashbacks once they realize what we're about, which is a complete headache. Scavenging Ooze is worth holding up a Path for, as is Tasigur. On the upside, they also have to respect Hatching Plans or risk losing to it, especially since they don't have Bob to keep above water on card draw. Thus, I think Abzan is either 55-45 in our favor or straight 50-50.
-BUG CoCo-
We can't beat infinite life, but we can exile Kitchen Finks like nobody's business. Gavony Township is a problem, especially with all the Birds of Paradise that can fly over and beat out faces in. Clocking them with Restoration Angel and Celestial Colonnade after clearing up the board is a usual way to win. Finks and Collected Company are the best targets for counter magic, though Spellskite is very awkward and problematic without a Verdict in hand. Having played this one a few times with a friend, I'd say BUG CoCo is either 45-55 in their favor or split 50-50. Though it's probably harder for us than it is for them.
-Splinter Twin-
This can be awful for either player depending on the draws, but overall Splinter Twin doesn't care as much about Hatching Plans getting popped since it has an "Oops, I win" button. They can also grind pretty hard in games 2 and 3. I feel like this is roughly 40-60 in their favor but I've only gone up against UR Twin. Temur Twin seems a bit more manageable for us.
-Bx Eldrazi-
This just feels terrible for us. They go so big so fast and everything we're scared of happens upon casting. Did I mention Newlamog is indestructable? Very unfavorable for us.
-Ad Nauseam, other fringe combos- Stupidly draw-dependent. Pact of Negation makes our lives a lot harder, so getting them to burn Pacts outside of their combo turn puts us significantly closer to winning. Otherwise, I feel like our stack control and the ability to bounce problematic permanents put us in a reasonably favored position over a lot of these decks and at an incredibly swingy 50-50 against Pact decks and otherwise blue decks like Takin' Turns.
Clearly, this deck likes to play fair and win the old-fashioned way, which it's more than capable of doing. What it's missing is better ways to compete with unfair strategies.
I want to test against Tron, Scapeshift, Burn and Affinity, then post more later. I want to say Affinity should be very favorable for us, but it's generally unwise to bet against Affinity.
Some slight but important updates to the list. Most notably, I've moved a Verdict to the flex spot in the side, bumping out Revoke Existence, as Celestial Purge does a lot of what it does already and my Affinity matchup did end up being positive. (More on that in a bit.)
After several games against Affinity and Twin, I've come to some conclusions:
The Affinity matchup is favorable. Hold up Paths for Nexi if you can, as those are the best cards against us by a long shot. Otherwise, Verdict-Snap-Verdict is brutal and easily breaks through a horde of Etched Champions. Ghost Quarter shines here, and now I'm convinced of its inclusion. Do, however, keep Cranial Plating from resolving, or at least try to Detention Sphere it, and things will get much simpler for youl
The Twin matchup is unfavorable game 1 but becomes immensely more even games 2 and 3. They're going to go long, so get comfortable. For the post-board games, the combo is much less likely to win it for them than Snap-Bolt-Snaps and blue creature pressure backed up by Keranos, God of Storms on the top end. Blood Moon can still be a blowout - fetch a basic Plains early to deal with resolved permanents, including the Moon. Keranos is game-winning on its own. Bring in both Celestial Purges and be prepared to Snap them back, because you're gonna have a fight over this one. If Keranos doesn't stick, though, you've got a great chance of winning. Keep in the 2 Hatching Plans, as an explosive amount of draw can be pivotal. We do bring in two-thirds of the sideboard against them (at least, I do), so the more you can draw the better. Before cutting down to one Ruse, I boarded like this:
-2 Familiar's Ruse
-2 Logic Knot
-3 Supreme Verdict
-2 Kitchen Finks
-1 Geist of St. Traft
Some slight but important updates to the Perilous list. Most notably, I've moved a Verdict to the flex spot in the side, bumping out Revoke Existence, as Celestial Purge does a lot of what it does already and my Affinity matchup did end up being positive. (More on that in a bit.)
As many Dispels as possible are great to have against Twin, and it can catch the odd CoCo. Spell Snare comes in over Familiar's Ruse because Ruse made a lot of hands less keepable, and you certainly don't want to open with two of them.
After several games against Affinity and Twin, I've come to some conclusions:
The Affinity matchup is favorable. Hold up Paths for Nexi if you can, as those are the best cards against us by a long shot. Otherwise, Verdict-Snap-Verdict is brutal and easily breaks through a horde of Etched Champions. Ghost Quarter shines here, and now I'm convinced of its inclusion. Do, however, keep Cranial Plating from resolving, or at least try to Detention Sphere it, and things will get much simpler for you.
The Twin matchup is unfavorable game 1 but becomes immensely more even games 2 and 3. They're going to go long, so get comfortable. For the post-board games, the combo is much less likely to win it for them than Snap-Bolt-Snaps and blue creature pressure backed up by Keranos, God of Storms on the top end. Blood Moon can still be a blowout - fetch a basic Plains early to deal with resolved permanents, including the Moon. Keranos is game-winning on its own. Bring in both Celestial Purges and be prepared to Snap them back, because you're gonna have a fight over this one. If Keranos doesn't stick, though, you've got a great chance of winning. Keep in the 2 Hatching Plans, as an explosive amount of draw can be pivotal. We do bring in two-thirds of the sideboard against them (at least, I do), so the more you can draw the better. Before cutting down to one Ruse, I boarded like this:
-2 Familiar's Ruse
-2 Logic Knot
-3 Supreme Verdict
-2 Kitchen Finks
-1 Geist of St. Traft
Most of the game will go by with no creatures on the board, so Ruse is bad. They run 4 Remand, so Logic Knot is bad, as losing your graveyard puts you pretty significantly behind. Supreme Verdict doesn't do much here and a few creatures can come out for more interaction. The new version has Spell Snare over a Ruse, though, and it exactly tags Remand as well as Negate.
Anyway, that's the latest.
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Think Twice is garbagedrawing two cards for two mana at instant speed is so good we'd gladly build a little differently to accommodate it. I am, or course, referring to the most underrated common in modern, Perilous Research. By playing permanents that replace themselves, the drawback of Perilous Research can even be used to our advantage, turning it into a unique card advantage engine that thrives in the midrange and the long game alike.4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
2 Celestial Colonnade
5 Island
2 Plains
2 Ghost Quarter
-Draw-
4 Perilous Research
2 Hatching Plans
4 Serum Visions
2 Familiar's Ruse
2 Logic Knot
2 Cryptic Command
-Removal-
4 Path to Exile
4 Supreme Verdict
-Creatures-
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Revoke Existence
2 Stony Silence
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Negate
2 Dispel
2 Wipe Away
2 Detention Sphere
2 Celestial Purge
The Perilous Engine:
So, let's review: The cards we like to pitch to Research are Flagstones of Trokair, Kitchen Finks, Geist of Saint Traft's Angel tokens, sometimes Snapcaster Mage, and, last but not least, Hatching Plans. (Of course, anything with removal aimed at it or anything that won't live through combat also makes for a good choice.) Between the playset of Perilous and the full complement of Snapcaster Mages, we'll almost always have access to our draw/sac engine.
Flagstones doesn't come in tapped, so it's no problem to drop one on turn two and use our opponent's end step to start digging while fetching Hallowed Fountains to fix our mana. Even without a Researches to bin them to, Flagstones are still untapped white sources in a deck with Finks, Path to Exiles, and Supreme Verdicts.
Finks should be fairly self-explanatory. It gains life, it blocks, and it throws three power in front of things, all while coming back and gaining more life. It's a complete nuisance. Honestly, though, I don't find myself pitching him to Perilous very often at all. If the enemy deck plays Paths, however, Perilous saccing Finks is a great play.
Swinging for six and then drawing two makes you feel like a value god, and that's exactly what Geist of Saint Traft does for you. With the Angel token's exile trigger on the stack, simply sac it to Perilous Research.
(Speaking of our creatures: by now you might have realized that Lightning Bolt is terrible against this deck. One of the big advantages it has, honestly.)
While sacrificing Hatching Plans nets you five(!) cards and can make a mulliganed opener much more threatening, you don't want to see it very often - the trade-off for refilling your hand at a moment's notice is doing literally nothing without a Perilous or a Snapcaster Mage in your hand. Ichor Wellspring is a potential replacement for this slot since it does draw a card immediately, but this deck can crack the egg so consistently that the third/fifth card is almost always worth it. Against decks that trade resources on a 1-for-1 ratio like Grixis, Jund, and Abzan, a draw five into Supreme Verdict is almost always game.
Issues I want to address
The Twin matchup is a good place to start. While it's not bad and it stays decent post-board with Negate, Dispel, Ghostly Prison, and Revoke Existence (lololol Keranos), I would like to really give myself an edge here. This would probably entail replacing Logic Knot, seeing as it's terrible against Remand and those are flex slots anyway. I'm tempted to just go for two Remands of my own, and not for my own permission, but to Remand my own spells in blue mirrors.
There's also the new Bx Eldrazi decks that like to exile graveyards. Without having played the matchup yet there's only so much I can speculate on, but we don't appreciate having our graveyard tampered with. I might even consider going up to two Revoke Existence in the side because Rest in Peace is such a problem - Flagstones and Hatching Plans both need to hit the grave to activate. Anyway, the Eldrazi and other problematic lands are why the Ghost Quarters are in over extra basics. Hitting Eldrazi Temples before turn 4 seems important.
On Think Twice and Sun Titan
These would require greater land counts, to be sure. Think Twice is a draw-go card through and through, and we're more of a tap-out style control that can hold up counter magic when it needs to. We like Serum Visions because we can grab it off the top and cast it immediately while still making plays after, and the Perilous engine is just much more efficient for this style of deck, IMO.
Sun Titan is its own thing. I understand that there was a very successful Sun Titan control list recently, and I'm not opposed to including one or two Titans in the main and moving the Detention Spheres in. Having a card that wins me the game if it resolves would be very useful, but I don't know which matchups it would improve and it would require a lot of shifting around and a higher land count. This just doesn't feel like a 26 land strategy - I'm very happy with my 23.
That's all for now! Hope you enjoy the deck. Please leave some feedback.
Wall of Omens has always underwhelmed me; Tarmogoyf eats it for breakfast and a bunch of stuff flies right over it or isn't too worried about a 0/4 do-nothing. Creature-based matchups in general are pretty positive for me, as once I drop a Verdict the only thing that especially worries me is Collected Company, which is why I might move the 2 Dispel to the main over either Familiar's Ruse or Logic Knot. A configuration of 2 Remand / 2 Dispel is possible, but that feels very soft to haymakers coming in on the stack.
And yes, Familiar's Ruse can lead to some awkward positions - like playing Geist and immediately bouncing it - but overall having a hard counter that can soft lock with a Snapcaster has been great. Modern doesn't have a lot of good permission, and the upside to my current configuration is that my spells WILL counter something.
As for specific matchups:
-Merfolk-
Our generous removal suite will be more than enough. If you're feeling especially cruel, you can start countering Silvergill Adepts off the top. If you can't because of an Aether Vial it's nothing to lose sleep over. Post-board we get Ghostly Prison and Detention Sphere to make their lives that much more miserable. Merfolk is very favorable.
-Jund-
They 1-for-1 and lean on Bolt like nobody's business, which is great for us. They're forced to respect a Hatching Plans when they see it in our hand since they can't win if it cracks, which means we get to keep more business spells - worth mentioning is that every Perilous Research you cash in puts you a bit further ahead. Dark Confidant is problematic if it can let them pull ahead on resources, but we should be able to Path / Verdict Bob. In fact, I'd hold up a Path just for him. Liliana of the Veil is good against us but she's also one of the only cards worth using our permission on. So, overall, I'd say Jund is favorable but not an auto-win.
-Zoo-
Their Bolts get aimed straight at our faces, which we have to remember when making combat decisions. Otherwise, Supreme Verdict will almost always nab at least a 2-for-1 because they need to keep pressure on us to have a chance of winning. Always Path Voice of Resurgence the turn after it comes down. The scariest card they have against us is the aforementioned Collected Company, so hold up some counter magic for that if you can. If you can't, though, it's not the end of the world. You can go down to 1 or 0 Hatching Plans after boarding, if you're so inclined. Zoo is favorable.
-UWx Control-
Esper draw-go can't beat a cracked Hatching Plans; neither can UWR, which also has to point Lighting Bolts and Helices at our faces. Same with Grixis, although discard is solid against us. Tap-out strategies are vulnerable to Supreme Verdict and Snapcaster / Familiar's Ruse lock outs. Special mention goes to the Kiki-Resto combo, which does make things trickier for us. It's a broad generalization to make, but I'll go out on a limb and say most if not any UWx control matchup is fairly favorable for us.
-Abzan-
They go big and wide with Seige Rhino, Lingering Souls, and Liliana. They can play around Verdicts with some smart Souls flashbacks once they realize what we're about, which is a complete headache. Scavenging Ooze is worth holding up a Path for, as is Tasigur. On the upside, they also have to respect Hatching Plans or risk losing to it, especially since they don't have Bob to keep above water on card draw. Thus, I think Abzan is either 55-45 in our favor or straight 50-50.
-BUG CoCo-
We can't beat infinite life, but we can exile Kitchen Finks like nobody's business. Gavony Township is a problem, especially with all the Birds of Paradise that can fly over and beat out faces in. Clocking them with Restoration Angel and Celestial Colonnade after clearing up the board is a usual way to win. Finks and Collected Company are the best targets for counter magic, though Spellskite is very awkward and problematic without a Verdict in hand. Having played this one a few times with a friend, I'd say BUG CoCo is either 45-55 in their favor or split 50-50. Though it's probably harder for us than it is for them.
-Splinter Twin-
This can be awful for either player depending on the draws, but overall Splinter Twin doesn't care as much about Hatching Plans getting popped since it has an "Oops, I win" button. They can also grind pretty hard in games 2 and 3. I feel like this is roughly 40-60 in their favor but I've only gone up against UR Twin. Temur Twin seems a bit more manageable for us.
-Bx Eldrazi-
This just feels terrible for us. They go so big so fast and everything we're scared of happens upon casting. Did I mention Newlamog is indestructable? Very unfavorable for us.
-Ad Nauseam, other fringe combos-
Stupidly draw-dependent. Pact of Negation makes our lives a lot harder, so getting them to burn Pacts outside of their combo turn puts us significantly closer to winning. Otherwise, I feel like our stack control and the ability to bounce problematic permanents put us in a reasonably favored position over a lot of these decks and at an incredibly swingy 50-50 against Pact decks and otherwise blue decks like Takin' Turns.
Clearly, this deck likes to play fair and win the old-fashioned way, which it's more than capable of doing. What it's missing is better ways to compete with unfair strategies.
I want to test against Tron, Scapeshift, Burn and Affinity, then post more later. I want to say Affinity should be very favorable for us, but it's generally unwise to bet against Affinity.
The changes are:
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Familiar's Ruse
+1 Dispel
+1 Spell Snare
Side:
-1 Revoke Existence
+1 Supreme Verdict
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
2 Celestial Colonnade
5 Island
2 Plains
2 Ghost Quarter
-Draw-
4 Perilous Research
2 Hatching Plans
4 Serum Visions
1 Familiar's Ruse
2 Logic Knot
2 Cryptic Command
1 Dispel
1 Spell Snare
-Removal-
4 Path to Exile
3 Supreme Verdict
-Creatures-
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Negate
2 Dispel
2 Wipe Away
2 Detention Sphere
2 Celestial Purge
After several games against Affinity and Twin, I've come to some conclusions:
The Affinity matchup is favorable. Hold up Paths for Nexi if you can, as those are the best cards against us by a long shot. Otherwise, Verdict-Snap-Verdict is brutal and easily breaks through a horde of Etched Champions. Ghost Quarter shines here, and now I'm convinced of its inclusion. Do, however, keep Cranial Plating from resolving, or at least try to Detention Sphere it, and things will get much simpler for youl
The Twin matchup is unfavorable game 1 but becomes immensely more even games 2 and 3. They're going to go long, so get comfortable. For the post-board games, the combo is much less likely to win it for them than Snap-Bolt-Snaps and blue creature pressure backed up by Keranos, God of Storms on the top end. Blood Moon can still be a blowout - fetch a basic Plains early to deal with resolved permanents, including the Moon. Keranos is game-winning on its own. Bring in both Celestial Purges and be prepared to Snap them back, because you're gonna have a fight over this one. If Keranos doesn't stick, though, you've got a great chance of winning. Keep in the 2 Hatching Plans, as an explosive amount of draw can be pivotal. We do bring in two-thirds of the sideboard against them (at least, I do), so the more you can draw the better. Before cutting down to one Ruse, I boarded like this:
-2 Familiar's Ruse
-2 Logic Knot
-3 Supreme Verdict
-2 Kitchen Finks
-1 Geist of St. Traft
+2 Wipe Away
+2 Ghostly Prison
+2 Dispel
+2 Negate
+2 Celestial Purge
Anyway, that's the latest.
The changes are:
-1 Supreme Verdict
-1 Familiar's Ruse
+1 Dispel
+1 Spell Snare
As many Dispels as possible are great to have against Twin, and it can catch the odd CoCo. Spell Snare comes in over Familiar's Ruse because Ruse made a lot of hands less keepable, and you certainly don't want to open with two of them.
Side:
-1 Revoke Existence
+1 Supreme Verdict
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
2 Celestial Colonnade
5 Island
2 Plains
2 Ghost Quarter
-Draw-
4 Perilous Research
2 Hatching Plans
4 Serum Visions
1 Familiar's Ruse
2 Logic Knot
2 Cryptic Command
1 Dispel
1 Spell Snare
-Removal-
4 Path to Exile
3 Supreme Verdict
-Creatures-
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Negate
2 Dispel
2 Wipe Away
2 Detention Sphere
2 Celestial Purge
After several games against Affinity and Twin, I've come to some conclusions:
The Affinity matchup is favorable. Hold up Paths for Nexi if you can, as those are the best cards against us by a long shot. Otherwise, Verdict-Snap-Verdict is brutal and easily breaks through a horde of Etched Champions. Ghost Quarter shines here, and now I'm convinced of its inclusion. Do, however, keep Cranial Plating from resolving, or at least try to Detention Sphere it, and things will get much simpler for you.
The Twin matchup is unfavorable game 1 but becomes immensely more even games 2 and 3. They're going to go long, so get comfortable. For the post-board games, the combo is much less likely to win it for them than Snap-Bolt-Snaps and blue creature pressure backed up by Keranos, God of Storms on the top end. Blood Moon can still be a blowout - fetch a basic Plains early to deal with resolved permanents, including the Moon. Keranos is game-winning on its own. Bring in both Celestial Purges and be prepared to Snap them back, because you're gonna have a fight over this one. If Keranos doesn't stick, though, you've got a great chance of winning. Keep in the 2 Hatching Plans, as an explosive amount of draw can be pivotal. We do bring in two-thirds of the sideboard against them (at least, I do), so the more you can draw the better. Before cutting down to one Ruse, I boarded like this:
-2 Familiar's Ruse
-2 Logic Knot
-3 Supreme Verdict
-2 Kitchen Finks
-1 Geist of St. Traft
+2 Wipe Away
+2 Ghostly Prison
+2 Dispel
+2 Negate
+2 Celestial Purge
Most of the game will go by with no creatures on the board, so Ruse is bad. They run 4 Remand, so Logic Knot is bad, as losing your graveyard puts you pretty significantly behind. Supreme Verdict doesn't do much here and a few creatures can come out for more interaction. The new version has Spell Snare over a Ruse, though, and it exactly tags Remand as well as Negate.
Anyway, that's the latest.