I have to say, I honestly believe Growth Spiral is good enough, regardless of the shell. I already have everything in paper (once the new cards get here, I pre-ordered) and I really think this deck is insane. You could probably do without the last 2 Misties tho. I've played 6 fetches in tricolor control for a year or so now and it's been fine.
Edit: I should clarify that I mean I played 6 fetches on purpose, not for budgetary concerns. I have the other fetches, but I honestly feel that numbers 7/8 aren't necessary.
I agree, annihilator, about it being good enough. I had just commented about not facing pheonix, and I beat it since. It was a close 3 games though, with me stabilizing at 4 in two of the games.
I'm not sure on the green counts though, I feel like if we can't reliably cast growth on 2, then there isn't a whole lot of reason to wreck the manabase. And I feel this might mean giving up access to field of ruins and some number of colonnade because you're giving up the ability to cast Spiral on turn 2 into a 1cmc spell which is such a huge tempo boost for control decks. You haven't lived the dream yet if you haven't spiraled into path/snare/Pierce/terminus turn 2 and then casting a Jace onto an empty board, it's just absurd. Including colorless sources, minimizing on tri lands (fetches) and including ETB lands dampens the ability to do this greatly. And even just to reliably cast Spiral on 2 in the first place.
This is what I'm thinking right now, but I'm open to considering another colonnade, perhaps by cutting an island down to 6 basics and 9 total fetchable lands, or by increasing land count to 24 over a cantrip, likely the 4th serum Visions.
**Edit, ive also been considering Sphinx's Revelation for the first time in a long time. I've hated that card since before Azcanta was printed, and o swore off it once Azcanta was printed. But in this deck I flood a lot, even with 23 lands, and I stabilize at absurdly low life total. Having a high impact x-spell in a deck that ramps and plays Snapcaster that is also desperate for life gain sounds appealing. Factor in that I'm also running Shoal and dont have any blue 3 drops and there's another reason for it's inclusion. I dunno,maybe it's crazy.
How important has Shoal been? I've played it on and off in various shells, but it never stuck as good enough.
Well I've only played against a dozen or so "good" decks, so I don't want to speculate on how good it is overall, sample size too small.
I will say that it was absolutely clutch against KCI and Storm since I play 7 blue 4 drops to counter their key threats on the turns that I want to play a planeswalker, but that is lessened with KCI gone now and I'll probably cut down to 1 hieroglyphics to reflect that.
Outside of combo it's been surprisingly good against aggro decks because you can easily make up the card disadvantage if you survive to the late game. In combination with Spiral, that late game comes sooner than ever before, and you can have some pretty busted lines where you spiral into interaction on turn 2, cast Jace onto an empty board, and still be able to counter a spell on their turn 3 even while tapped out. When this happens you get to untap with a Jace the vast majority of the time and it's game over.
Obviously that involved a lot going right, having the spiral, having 4 lands, having the Jace, having interaction and a shoal and a blue spell that lines up with their cmc on their turn 3 but it happens some amount of the time. And when it doesn't, you're still always looking to untap with a walker, and shoal is good way to try that. Spiral facilitates shoal by being a blue 2 drop as well.
I think Reclamation could serve a similar roles to shoal in this regard, except in reverse order and a turn slower but more consistently. Eventually I'll get around to testing it but right now I'm having success, and more importantly, tons of fun,to without it.
Could it be a good card in this deck, right? By ramping and being in control you can put a finisher on a table, in mirror control matchup it looks good.
Wilderness reclamation is a pretty darn good reason to run green. Try casting it holding up a cryptic command. Followed up by Tef/Nex. It also makes azcanta stupid good for string extra turns. You can easily get two interactions out of it, with the end result being azcanta tapped with or without teferi. It's also good to attack with a collonade and then untap all your lands.
Wilderness reclamation is a pretty darn good reason to run green. Try casting it holding up a cryptic command. Followed up by Tef/Nex. It also makes azcanta stupid good for string extra turns. You can easily get two interactions out of it, with the end result being azcanta tapped with or without teferi.
It's definitely busted if you manage to flip an azcanta and you're not under pressure, and they can't answer azcanta. Or when you have the perfect draw of reclamation, planeswalker, cryptic command, azcanta and you're opponent durdles until turn 5. But what about the times when your draw is like, cantrip, spiral growth, reclamation, terminus, and some lands and your opponent is playing literally anything other than control, meaning they are actively trying to get you dead? Now you gotta find threats and interaction ASAP.
Look, I think it's a very powerful card, it's just not a control card. Control needs cards that are powerful without needing very specific support cards - if you don't have a massive supporting cast on deck exactly on turn 5 plus the exact right amount of interaction to stave off death before turn 5, Reclamation is going to get you killed.
Wilderness reclamation is a pretty darn good reason to run green. Try casting it holding up a cryptic command. Followed up by Tef/Nex. It also makes azcanta stupid good for string extra turns. You can easily get two interactions out of it, with the end result being azcanta tapped with or without teferi.
It's definitely busted if you manage to flip an azcanta and you're not under pressure, and they can't answer azcanta. Or when you have the perfect draw of reclamation, planeswalker, cryptic command, azcanta and you're opponent durdles until turn 5. But what about the times when your draw is like, cantrip, spiral growth, reclamation, terminus, and some lands and your opponent is playing literally anything other than control, meaning they are actively trying to get you dead? Now you gotta find threats and interaction ASAP.
Look, I think it's a very powerful card, it's just not a control card. Control needs cards that are powerful without needing very specific support cards - if you don't have a massive supporting cast on deck exactly on turn 5 plus the exact right amount of interaction to stave off death before turn 5, Reclamation is going to get you killed.
Like cryptic command, gigadrowse, remand, etc.? Being able to do anything u want and still have Mana untapped IS a control card. It's a support card to instant based decks, uhhh control deck?. You don't have to have a bomb play like Tef/nexus because you don't want to tap out in a control deck, unless your just gonna take an extra turn. How many times are you waiting for 10 Mana to safely attack with collonade? I'm not saying 4 of, but what I am saying is I've never lost with an active wilderness that wasn't blanked immediately. I was running 2 and constantly wishing I had it. Now I'm at at 3. God forbid you do run x spells like Sphinx revelation and just have the painful decision of a countersquall or Sphinx with all Mana untapped, regardless of whether you just tapped out for Jace and spiral or whatever
Gigadrowse, remand and Nexus are very good cards. Just like Reclamation. If you want to build a deck around cards like that, have at it, maybe it can work, maybe it can't. In any case, you'll be the only one calling it control, because all of the above listed cards are combo cards.
Let me know the last time you were empty handed with that much draw
I don't understand, are you saying that card advantage is the defining feature of a control deck?
Or are you saying some theoretical list that you haven't produced isn't capable of running out of gas? Because if you try to shoehorn remands and gigadrowses and reclamations in your terminus, path to exile and cryptic command deck you're going to be surprised how often you end up with a bunch of blanks in hand. Those sets don't mix, the former set is trying to set up for a big turn and the latter is trying to trade X for 1s until you can get a card advantage engine online. Totally opposing game plans.
Then, I tried the list against Jund a bunch of times. Too often, Jund ignored Wilderness Reclamation and killed me anyway. That's when Wilderness Reclamation feels like a card disadvantage-generating card. Tapping out for walkers and then untapping to hold up answers feels great when that happens, though.
At least Growth Spiral pulled its weight. I still have my doubts that splashing green for it is worth the life loss, though.
Thanks for your posts Jayjayhooks, I'm living vicariously through you as this deck seems super fun (and I've let my manatraders account go for the time being). Once I start my sub back up this is one of the first decks I'll be trying.
Thanks for your posts Jayjayhooks, I'm living vicariously through you as this deck seems super fun (and I've let my manatraders account go for the time being). Once I start my sub back up this is one of the first decks I'll be trying.
Haha, glad to be of service! I take it you liked the Spiral into Miracle Terminus highlight. Well, I'm happy to inform you I had another incredibly satisfying spiral moment against dredge where I spiraled in response to a cathartic reunion and found the spell pierce on turn 2! 2 Mana for an extra land drop and a card sure sounds like time walk to me, and a 1 blue Mana instant that traded 3 for 1 with my opponent that game! Needless to say I won that game, sure felt like I was playing with power lol
Thanks for your posts Jayjayhooks, I'm living vicariously through you as this deck seems super fun (and I've let my manatraders account go for the time being). Once I start my sub back up this is one of the first decks I'll be trying.
Haha, glad to be of service! I take it you liked the Spiral into Miracle Terminus highlight. Well, I'm happy to inform you I had another incredibly satisfying spiral moment against dredge where I spiraled in response to a cathartic reunion and found the spell pierce on turn 2! 2 Mana for an extra land drop and a card sure sounds like time walk to me, and a 1 blue Mana instant that traded 3 for 1 with my opponent that game! Needless to say I won that game, sure felt like I was playing with power lol
Here's what I ran today, and I think it's the best iteration so far, and it answers one of @idSurge 's questions about Shoal, and I've been trying out Annhilator's suggestions for 6 max fetches with 4 Shocks which has been fine so far.
I cut the 2nd Shoal for 3rd cryptic because I found myself wanting for more powerful topdecks against midrangey decks with planeswalkers, my worst matchup so far seems to be against anything with walkers that produce tokens, and GBx strategies have felt closer than I would like as well. Eventually I will cut the Shoal and test Reclamation because they fill a similar role, though as I've stated many times I think Reclamation won't work, but it is worth testing. If it doesn't work, Shoal is good.
The other big change here is extra lifegain cards in the "Flex" slots (i know the deck isn't anywhere near hashed out yet, but those are the slots i've been toying with most, so that's what I'll refer to them as). Pulse of Murasa doesn't have a lot of good targets, but it's surprisingly good against a range of decks - It's a snapcaster against midrange if you get to the late game, it's always a snapcaster against control and especially good against jeskai, the lifegain is a 2 for 1 by itself against burn and sometimes a 3 for 1 if you can rebuy a land or snap, and finally as was pointed out to me by Annhilator, it has some utility against creature based graveyard decks (give them back a pheonix in response to the trigger, give them Amalgam, or Bloodghast, give them Goryo's Targets etc). And finally, Depose//Deploy is kind of just a pet card of mine right now that I'm testing. I've been jamming it in all my other UWx decks as a 1-of and it's been performing extremely medium lol. Sometimes it's a 2 mana cryptic command other times it's just Deploy, which is surprisingly fine. Mostly I just like having it for added flexibility of Snapcaster.
The other change which some seasoned UWx players might find blasphemous is the 4th Terminus for the 1st detention sphere. I don't find it too difficult to set up or hardcast Terminus in this deck, so with less reliance on needing to Miracle it during a random draw it just feels redundant and opening with 2 of them in hand always feelsbadman. Detention Sphere helps with the walker problem I was talking about earlier, and is just never a dead card.
The land count/cantrip ratio finally feels right, I'm not flooding anymore. Concerns now are regarding Tron and Pheonix, more so tron due to the lack of Field of Ruin. Pheonix is a little more addressed in the board now and that's reflected by the switch from 2x RIP to 1 Rip and 2X Surgical.
2-0 Against UW Control but the opponent played badly, not sure if it was a result of not really understanding what I was doing or not.
0-2 vs. ElectroDominance with Restore Balance. This was an anomaly, I didn't know what he was doing game 1 ( I should have when I saw R+W mana and Greater Gargadon) and I used a Spiral Growth when I should have held it in had for Shoal vs Restore Balance, he would have ended up just sacing all his lands in response to the balance lol Then in Game 2 I mulled to 5 and didn't expect Defence Grid out of the board, got Magus of the Mooned out the following Turn. But I don't think I'll ever lose a game to this again, and I've beaten it a few times in the past.
2-1 vs Jund, The game they won was them on the play and Thoughtseizing cards that I thought didn't matter, they beat me to death with a 3/3 Scavenging Ooze that I couldn't find an answer to. The other games were pretty much how you would expect them to go, we both got in top deck mode but we have better topdecks and better walkers.
2-1 Vs Dredge Some pretty sick games, the game they won (postboard) I stabilized at 1 life with them on zero cardsand had an active Jace for 3 turns but I got brainstorm locked because I couldnt fetch and didnt have field of ruins. On turn 3 they found a land to get a hasty bloodghast to kill me. Game 1 they didnt find any dredgers and I was able to counter Cathartic union and game 3 I just RIP'd them.
0-2 vs BW Planeswalkers which crushed me horribly, I actually decked myself game 1. I might have been able to win if I realized that I was going to need to start looping Teferi a few turns earlier because I had an active Jace, and Active Teferi for like 10 turns vs an empty board and nearly empty hand. Felt horrible to lose that one lol.
1-2 vs Sultai Delerium Control deck with Ishkanah after I sided out my sweeper. This felt like a pretty close match, he wasnt playing Spiral, or at least I didn't see any.
So yea, some weird decks today that beat the snot out of me and some normal decks that I won against.
Edit** I really want to test against Pheonix and Tron, so if anyone has those decks on MODO send me a message.
Well, I tired reclamation today, and I'm trying not be too results oriented since I haven't played a ton with it yet, but it's been pretty bad. It killed me immediately the first time I ever cast it - I thought I was playing against Titanshift so I tapped out for reclamation with cryptic in hand, they cracked a fetch for a steam cents, Izzet charmed me and I got scape shifted the next turn. Literally the first time I ever cast it lol I should have taken that as a sign right there.
It also got me killed in two separate burn matchups(preboard because it immediatly came out post board) becauss it didn't do anything, and more over should have bee Shoal, which is actually really good against Eidolon.
It was very fun to play with when it worked, but I don't feel like it contributed to the game plan at all - most of the time when I was able to get it online I would have been fine just waiting a turn or two more to cast my walkers.
I'll probably play another 5 matches or so with it but I'm not holding out hope. Control decks just don't utilize instant speed proactive spells enough to make good use of this card. I think if this card is good enough it belongs in a combo based deck, turbo fog or turns or something like that.
Hydroid Krasis? Seems like an overcosted sorcery speed Sphinx's Revelation that can't be flashbacked by snapcaster.
The fact that it's a cast trigger is nice, but it doesn't do anything in the early game and in the late game you ideally want your win condition not to be vulnerable to removal since all of your opponent removal will have been stock piling in hand.
Maybe post board? Maybe in control mirrors? I think I'm stretching it, I don't think it's modern playable.
Hydroid Krasis could be playable with Wilderness Reclamation, but reclamation makes a lot of clunky garbage seem playable, and it's not clear if reclamation is playable. If krasis had flash instead of trample, it would be worth testing.
Went 3-1, deck felt ok. Growth spiral has felt ok, but I don't really feel like this deck can properly take advantage of it.
There are a couple walkers, a couple x spells, and the azcantas (as well as manlands) to take advantage of the ramp, which felt like a decent amount, but the growth spirals didn't feel better than just playing hieroglyphics or similar.
I don't know, I feel like I want a better reason to be in green.
I wanted to test a single copy of the UG nissa, but I couldn't get my hands on a copy in time.
I might try a glittering wish build at some point, and I'll probably put rug scapeshift together and try that with spiral too.
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Edit: I should clarify that I mean I played 6 fetches on purpose, not for budgetary concerns. I have the other fetches, but I honestly feel that numbers 7/8 aren't necessary.
UWB Esper Draw-Go Control (clicky)
UW Azorius Control (clicky)
Currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry.
EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
I'm not sure on the green counts though, I feel like if we can't reliably cast growth on 2, then there isn't a whole lot of reason to wreck the manabase. And I feel this might mean giving up access to field of ruins and some number of colonnade because you're giving up the ability to cast Spiral on turn 2 into a 1cmc spell which is such a huge tempo boost for control decks. You haven't lived the dream yet if you haven't spiraled into path/snare/Pierce/terminus turn 2 and then casting a Jace onto an empty board, it's just absurd. Including colorless sources, minimizing on tri lands (fetches) and including ETB lands dampens the ability to do this greatly. And even just to reliably cast Spiral on 2 in the first place.
This is what I'm thinking right now, but I'm open to considering another colonnade, perhaps by cutting an island down to 6 basics and 9 total fetchable lands, or by increasing land count to 24 over a cantrip, likely the 4th serum Visions.
4 Flooded Strand
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Breeding Pool
3 Hinterland harbour
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Celestial Colonnade
4 Island
2 Plains
1 Forest
**Edit, ive also been considering Sphinx's Revelation for the first time in a long time. I've hated that card since before Azcanta was printed, and o swore off it once Azcanta was printed. But in this deck I flood a lot, even with 23 lands, and I stabilize at absurdly low life total. Having a high impact x-spell in a deck that ramps and plays Snapcaster that is also desperate for life gain sounds appealing. Factor in that I'm also running Shoal and dont have any blue 3 drops and there's another reason for it's inclusion. I dunno,maybe it's crazy.
Spirits
Well I've only played against a dozen or so "good" decks, so I don't want to speculate on how good it is overall, sample size too small.
I will say that it was absolutely clutch against KCI and Storm since I play 7 blue 4 drops to counter their key threats on the turns that I want to play a planeswalker, but that is lessened with KCI gone now and I'll probably cut down to 1 hieroglyphics to reflect that.
Outside of combo it's been surprisingly good against aggro decks because you can easily make up the card disadvantage if you survive to the late game. In combination with Spiral, that late game comes sooner than ever before, and you can have some pretty busted lines where you spiral into interaction on turn 2, cast Jace onto an empty board, and still be able to counter a spell on their turn 3 even while tapped out. When this happens you get to untap with a Jace the vast majority of the time and it's game over.
Obviously that involved a lot going right, having the spiral, having 4 lands, having the Jace, having interaction and a shoal and a blue spell that lines up with their cmc on their turn 3 but it happens some amount of the time. And when it doesn't, you're still always looking to untap with a walker, and shoal is good way to try that. Spiral facilitates shoal by being a blue 2 drop as well.
I think Reclamation could serve a similar roles to shoal in this regard, except in reverse order and a turn slower but more consistently. Eventually I'll get around to testing it but right now I'm having success, and more importantly, tons of fun,to without it.
What do you think about Hidroyd krasis?
Could it be a good card in this deck, right? By ramping and being in control you can put a finisher on a table, in mirror control matchup it looks good.
It's definitely busted if you manage to flip an azcanta and you're not under pressure, and they can't answer azcanta. Or when you have the perfect draw of reclamation, planeswalker, cryptic command, azcanta and you're opponent durdles until turn 5. But what about the times when your draw is like, cantrip, spiral growth, reclamation, terminus, and some lands and your opponent is playing literally anything other than control, meaning they are actively trying to get you dead? Now you gotta find threats and interaction ASAP.
Look, I think it's a very powerful card, it's just not a control card. Control needs cards that are powerful without needing very specific support cards - if you don't have a massive supporting cast on deck exactly on turn 5 plus the exact right amount of interaction to stave off death before turn 5, Reclamation is going to get you killed.
Like cryptic command, gigadrowse, remand, etc.? Being able to do anything u want and still have Mana untapped IS a control card. It's a support card to instant based decks, uhhh control deck?. You don't have to have a bomb play like Tef/nexus because you don't want to tap out in a control deck, unless your just gonna take an extra turn. How many times are you waiting for 10 Mana to safely attack with collonade? I'm not saying 4 of, but what I am saying is I've never lost with an active wilderness that wasn't blanked immediately. I was running 2 and constantly wishing I had it. Now I'm at at 3. God forbid you do run x spells like Sphinx revelation and just have the painful decision of a countersquall or Sphinx with all Mana untapped, regardless of whether you just tapped out for Jace and spiral or whatever
I don't understand, are you saying that card advantage is the defining feature of a control deck?
Or are you saying some theoretical list that you haven't produced isn't capable of running out of gas? Because if you try to shoehorn remands and gigadrowses and reclamations in your terminus, path to exile and cryptic command deck you're going to be surprised how often you end up with a bunch of blanks in hand. Those sets don't mix, the former set is trying to set up for a big turn and the latter is trying to trade X for 1s until you can get a card advantage engine online. Totally opposing game plans.
There isnt enough slots to put those in without diluting the rest of what is (with jayjayhooks list) an evolution of UW Terminus, in my opinion.
This isnt like Standard where you can fill your list with a ton of cantrips because you probably dont die in 3 turns.
Spirits
Then, I tried the list against Jund a bunch of times. Too often, Jund ignored Wilderness Reclamation and killed me anyway. That's when Wilderness Reclamation feels like a card disadvantage-generating card. Tapping out for walkers and then untapping to hold up answers feels great when that happens, though.
At least Growth Spiral pulled its weight. I still have my doubts that splashing green for it is worth the life loss, though.
Haha, glad to be of service! I take it you liked the Spiral into Miracle Terminus highlight. Well, I'm happy to inform you I had another incredibly satisfying spiral moment against dredge where I spiraled in response to a cathartic reunion and found the spell pierce on turn 2! 2 Mana for an extra land drop and a card sure sounds like time walk to me, and a 1 blue Mana instant that traded 3 for 1 with my opponent that game! Needless to say I won that game, sure felt like I was playing with power lol
Yea, that's definitely an erection there....
4 Serum Visions
2 Opt
4 growth spiral
2 snapcaster mage
Flex (3)
1 Depose//Deploy
1 timely reinforcements
1 Pulse of Murasa
Removal (8)
4 Path to Exile
1 Detention Sphere
3 Terminus
Countermagic (9)
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
2 Logic Knot
3 cryptic command
1 Disrupting Shoal
3 jace the mindsculptor
2 teferi, hero of dominaria
Land (23)
3 colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Breeding Pool
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 forest
2 Plains
4 island
3 Hinterland Harbour
1 RIP
2 Surgical Extraction
2 dispel
1 negate
2 Celestial Purge
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Ceremonious Rejection
I cut the 2nd Shoal for 3rd cryptic because I found myself wanting for more powerful topdecks against midrangey decks with planeswalkers, my worst matchup so far seems to be against anything with walkers that produce tokens, and GBx strategies have felt closer than I would like as well. Eventually I will cut the Shoal and test Reclamation because they fill a similar role, though as I've stated many times I think Reclamation won't work, but it is worth testing. If it doesn't work, Shoal is good.
The other big change here is extra lifegain cards in the "Flex" slots (i know the deck isn't anywhere near hashed out yet, but those are the slots i've been toying with most, so that's what I'll refer to them as). Pulse of Murasa doesn't have a lot of good targets, but it's surprisingly good against a range of decks - It's a snapcaster against midrange if you get to the late game, it's always a snapcaster against control and especially good against jeskai, the lifegain is a 2 for 1 by itself against burn and sometimes a 3 for 1 if you can rebuy a land or snap, and finally as was pointed out to me by Annhilator, it has some utility against creature based graveyard decks (give them back a pheonix in response to the trigger, give them Amalgam, or Bloodghast, give them Goryo's Targets etc). And finally, Depose//Deploy is kind of just a pet card of mine right now that I'm testing. I've been jamming it in all my other UWx decks as a 1-of and it's been performing extremely medium lol. Sometimes it's a 2 mana cryptic command other times it's just Deploy, which is surprisingly fine. Mostly I just like having it for added flexibility of Snapcaster.
The other change which some seasoned UWx players might find blasphemous is the 4th Terminus for the 1st detention sphere. I don't find it too difficult to set up or hardcast Terminus in this deck, so with less reliance on needing to Miracle it during a random draw it just feels redundant and opening with 2 of them in hand always feelsbadman. Detention Sphere helps with the walker problem I was talking about earlier, and is just never a dead card.
The land count/cantrip ratio finally feels right, I'm not flooding anymore. Concerns now are regarding Tron and Pheonix, more so tron due to the lack of Field of Ruin. Pheonix is a little more addressed in the board now and that's reflected by the switch from 2x RIP to 1 Rip and 2X Surgical.
Spirits
0-2 vs. ElectroDominance with Restore Balance. This was an anomaly, I didn't know what he was doing game 1 ( I should have when I saw R+W mana and Greater Gargadon) and I used a Spiral Growth when I should have held it in had for Shoal vs Restore Balance, he would have ended up just sacing all his lands in response to the balance lol Then in Game 2 I mulled to 5 and didn't expect Defence Grid out of the board, got Magus of the Mooned out the following Turn. But I don't think I'll ever lose a game to this again, and I've beaten it a few times in the past.
2-1 vs Jund, The game they won was them on the play and Thoughtseizing cards that I thought didn't matter, they beat me to death with a 3/3 Scavenging Ooze that I couldn't find an answer to. The other games were pretty much how you would expect them to go, we both got in top deck mode but we have better topdecks and better walkers.
2-1 Vs Dredge Some pretty sick games, the game they won (postboard) I stabilized at 1 life with them on zero cardsand had an active Jace for 3 turns but I got brainstorm locked because I couldnt fetch and didnt have field of ruins. On turn 3 they found a land to get a hasty bloodghast to kill me. Game 1 they didnt find any dredgers and I was able to counter Cathartic union and game 3 I just RIP'd them.
0-2 vs BW Planeswalkers which crushed me horribly, I actually decked myself game 1. I might have been able to win if I realized that I was going to need to start looping Teferi a few turns earlier because I had an active Jace, and Active Teferi for like 10 turns vs an empty board and nearly empty hand. Felt horrible to lose that one lol.
1-2 vs Sultai Delerium Control deck with Ishkanah after I sided out my sweeper. This felt like a pretty close match, he wasnt playing Spiral, or at least I didn't see any.
So yea, some weird decks today that beat the snot out of me and some normal decks that I won against.
Edit** I really want to test against Pheonix and Tron, so if anyone has those decks on MODO send me a message.
It also got me killed in two separate burn matchups(preboard because it immediatly came out post board) becauss it didn't do anything, and more over should have bee Shoal, which is actually really good against Eidolon.
It was very fun to play with when it worked, but I don't feel like it contributed to the game plan at all - most of the time when I was able to get it online I would have been fine just waiting a turn or two more to cast my walkers.
I'll probably play another 5 matches or so with it but I'm not holding out hope. Control decks just don't utilize instant speed proactive spells enough to make good use of this card. I think if this card is good enough it belongs in a combo based deck, turbo fog or turns or something like that.
The fact that it's a cast trigger is nice, but it doesn't do anything in the early game and in the late game you ideally want your win condition not to be vulnerable to removal since all of your opponent removal will have been stock piling in hand.
Maybe post board? Maybe in control mirrors? I think I'm stretching it, I don't think it's modern playable.
3 celestial colonnade
1 hinterland harbor
3 island
2 plains
1 forest
4 misty rainforest
4 flooded strand
2 hallowed fountain
2 breeding pool
4 opt
4 growth spiral
2 snapcaster mage
1 sphinx's revelation
1 entreat the angels
2 jace, the mind sculptor
2 teferi, hero of dominaria
2 search for azcanta
4 path to exile
1 detention sphere
4 terminus
1 spell snare
1 absorb
3 logic knot
3 cryptic command
2 damping sphere
1 engineered explosives
2 tireless tracker
2 negate
1 disdainful stroke
1 baneslayer angel
1 lyra dawnbringer
1 blessed alliance
1 celestial purge
1 dispel
1 settle the wreckage
Went 3-1, deck felt ok. Growth spiral has felt ok, but I don't really feel like this deck can properly take advantage of it.
There are a couple walkers, a couple x spells, and the azcantas (as well as manlands) to take advantage of the ramp, which felt like a decent amount, but the growth spirals didn't feel better than just playing hieroglyphics or similar.
I don't know, I feel like I want a better reason to be in green.
I wanted to test a single copy of the UG nissa, but I couldn't get my hands on a copy in time.
I might try a glittering wish build at some point, and I'll probably put rug scapeshift together and try that with spiral too.