What this deck really would like is a beater that can bring 1 or 2 creatures with CMC 1 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield! I don't think anything like that exists as far as I know though.
@HonorBasquiat: Ranger doesn't attack much. Aside from the games where my opponent scoops in frustration, 65% of my wins are from serra, 10% are from guildmage (low due to its 1 of sideboard nature), 15% are to random beatdowns, 6% are to decking my opponent using mistveil plains, and 4% are to the clock. None of these percents are exact. Speaking of, I should probably start tracking that data.
Squadron hawk is primarily martyr fuel/chain chumps, however it does a servicable job finishing off people. A lot of decks in the format do EXTREME amounts of damage to themselves to gain tempo/good mana, so you don't need to do that much damage to kill someone. If someone surgically extracts(I've never faced an extripate out of over 300 matches) your serra ascendant you can: mistveil it to the bottom or charm it back. If neither of those are an option (extirpate), you still have 4 other routes to victory without adding slow and clunky cards that cost 5 mana. especially when they are added out of fear for a monster that in my experience doesn't exist.
@drmarkdb I like purge a lot in the mono white list.
Linvala does a great job of shutting down angel combo, twin combo, the mirror(!), and scooze.
@everyone: Happy New Year!
Baneslayer is really slow and the deck doesn't need more win conditions (also if you are in the business of 5 drops Divinity of Pride is better than BSA imo (bigger, doesnt die to shriekmaw, can block shriekmaw, more devotion if you are running athreos in a junk heavy metagame, and least importantly: its thematic)). I actually 3-0'd an 8 man cut down to 1 serra and going up to a full set of kami maindeck a month or so ago just to see if it was possible (it is but I don't recommend it). Control decks don't need that many win conditions, especially when they are recursive. That being said, elspeth has historically been good in the deck, so if you really want another 4 drop she fits the bill.
I guess to summarize: the deck is slow, but you still need to pay attention to the clunk factor. Control decks don't need that many win conditions. Extripate/surgical are not played much. If my opponent did manage to exile all my serras I would win another way as is.
Sun titan can advance your mana, go crazy with sliver, is great with oblivion rings. Makes it hard for people to kill ghostly prison for long. He also is an additional recursion engine for martyrs. If I ran him I would probably maindeck the sliver and up the oring count. Sun titan makes tectonic edge better than ghost quarter (I think). I would be worried about resolving him, so I think at least 1 cavern would be good. Even if you run sun titan in the mono white version you should play some number of fetch lands to get them back.
For the mono white version on paper I can imagine extirpate would cause issues if you lost game 1.
How good is Leyline in the matches? Mono w again.
I note some versions run four, others two.
Obv it is good v shift, storm, burn, 8 rack, ad nauseam and maybe Gifts, Jund and Junk and tokens.
V storm
If I were to run celestial purge and 3 wheel of s m, I reckon I could get away with two Leyline, and a a Runed Halo, and a skite to protect wheel.
Scapeshift I think is not that bad, I still get Mindcensor and can get over the magic numbers.
That applies to Ad Nauseam which is also slowed by Stony and is more limited in terms of max damage. Very rare match too.
8 rack has difficulty vs Emeria I know from the other side, providing I take the bridge
out should be easy even with just two Leylines and a Halo. It is a rare match anyway, and I am looking at running Aura of Silence which it hates.
Jund etc. are matches that I am never keen on bringing four Leylines in against..in multiples they suck and only hit small portions of the deck, albeit effectively.
Tokens hates lifegain, prisons and lots of removal.
Is there any pressing reason why Leylines need to be a four of? Have I missed something? It is not a boggles situation where there are only eight boggles.
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Thoughts on Godsend as a one of to be an alternate win condition in the mono white build? It gives Squadron Hawk a push, but it's still a white card for Martyr of Sands and has strong control elements.
Well, I've decided to put some money into mtgo to make a decent viable deck I can start running in dailies. Since I'm poor, I've decided to give the mono-white version of this deck a go.
The biggest issue at the moment is Leyline. I should be able to get everything else for the deck, but I don't think I'll be able to afford the 4 Leyline for the sideboard from Van Der Veen's version. Is there anything in particular I could replace it with that would help the matchups where it's useful? I'm assuming it's mostly for anti-discard (and storm) since targeted burn doesn't do all that much to us.
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Well, I can saw a woman in two, but you won't wanna look in the box when I'm through.
If I were to run sun titan I would cut the ghost quarters and replace them with tectonic edges to lock the grindier matchups at 4 mana. Without GQ flagstones is worse than a basic. In this deck I would probably try out 2 fetches.
I like that aura of silence + Sun Titan synergy too!
@drmark/Spawn Ad nauseam sides into lab maniac win (and also a 1 of scorn) so I wouldn't bring leyline in vs that. How does runed halo protect the wheel? When I ran leyline it was for scapeshift, storm, burn and 8rack. Scapeshift & burn are favorable and the rest of the matchups are not common at all so I cut them. If storm makes a comeback I'll reevaluate them. I don't bring them in vs BGx decks because the first one puts you at -1 card in hand (basically discarding a card) and then all future copies are dead.
Specifically spawn: On mtgo right now Pod is huge (top 5 decks I've faced this month are: Delver 20.1%, Pod 16.2%, midrange* 7.8%, burn and BGx 6.7%) a 3rd aven could be good, Aven isn't that much cheaper though lol. I'd also cut the relics, it isn't good in the mtgo meta. So that leaves you with 6 slots. I could see going up to 4 purge and having more o rings based on the meta I described above.
Thoughts on godsend: Interesting but probably unnecessary. Someone should test it out to be sure. I like the idea of having a white equipment. I would test it out, but I think the next thing I'm going to test is a sweet orzhov sun titan list that I just though of. I'll let you guys know if that ends up being viable.
*I have a few categories that are combinations of smaller% decks to keep my total number of decks in my spreadsheet at 20 for logistical reasons. The "midrange" category includes the following decks (most I have faced 1-3 times over 180 matches): hatebears, Death and Taxes, faeries, generic Bant decks, skred red, 5 color midrange/aggro, the UWR firewalker main deck + red sweepers deck, and allies. Side-note: the allies deck was really awesome.
Just booted the deck up for the first time in an 8 man a while ago. Won the first round (which was Zoo) without any stress, but alas, the second round set me against RG Breach. A possible sideboard tech against them might be Blind Obedience- which will also help against Twin- but I don't think they're a big enough part of the meta to really be concerned with.
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Well, I can saw a woman in two, but you won't wanna look in the box when I'm through.
If I were to run sun titan I would cut the ghost quarters and replace them with tectonic edges to lock the grindier matchups at 4 mana. Without GQ flagstones is worse than a basic. In this deck I would probably try out 2 fetches.
I like that aura of silence + Sun Titan synergy too!
@drmark/Spawn Ad nauseam sides into lab maniac win (and also a 1 of scorn) so I wouldn't bring leyline in vs that. How does runed halo protect the wheel? When I ran leyline it was for scapeshift, storm, burn and 8rack. Scapeshift & burn are favorable and the rest of the matchups are not common at all so I cut them. If storm makes a comeback I'll reevaluate them. I don't bring them in vs BGx decks because the first one puts you at -1 card in hand (basically discarding a card) and then all future copies are dead.
Specifically spawn: On mtgo right now Pod is huge (top 5 decks I've faced this month are: Delver 20.1%, Pod 16.2%, midrange* 7.8%, burn and BGx 6.7%) a 3rd aven could be good, Aven isn't that much cheaper though lol. I'd also cut the relics, it isn't good in the mtgo meta. So that leaves you with 6 slots. I could see going up to 4 purge and having more o rings based on the meta I described above.
Thoughts on godsend: Interesting but probably unnecessary. Someone should test it out to be sure. I like the idea of having a white equipment. I would test it out, but I think the next thing I'm going to test is a sweet orzhov sun titan list that I just though of. I'll let you guys know if that ends up being viable.
*I have a few categories that are combinations of smaller% decks to keep my total number of decks in my spreadsheet at 20 for logistical reasons. The "midrange" category includes the following decks (most I have faced 1-3 times over 180 matches): hatebears, Death and Taxes, faeries, generic Bant decks, skred red, 5 color midrange/aggro, the UWR firewalker main deck + red sweepers deck, and allies. Side-note: the allies deck was really awesome.
Many thanks. I completely forgot about Maniac in some Ad Nauseam boards. I know Ad Nauseam runs Patrician's scorn often, so I am never that keen on hiding behind a Leyline anyway. Stony silence is really good at slowing them to a craw, as are Rule of law Effects. Rather than letting them get there and going off, slowing them is better.
I run a solitary Spellskite for boggles/infect (and twin etc.) and to protect key permanents v Scapeshift/Storm type decks that need to bounce a permanent (eg Leylines) before going off. The Halo does not protect the Wheel, the Skite does. The Halo I use instead of a Leyline, taking my Leyline count to 2.
My board for mono w:
1 Aven Mindcensor (all Pods, S shift, fetch greedy decks, Trons, Gifts)
3 Wheel of Sun and Moon (Junk+ Kiki Pod, Storm, Reanimator, Loams, Gifts 4col.....perhaps Junk/Jund but not as a 3 of, randomly stupid Mill decks (on me))
3 Stony Silence (Affinity, all 3 Trons RG/UW/U, Ad Nauseam, Grisselbrand Reanimator. I don't bring it in for pod.)
1 Celestial Purge (Storm, Ascendancy, Junk and Kiki Pods, Twin, Grisselbrand Reaniator, Burn (anti Rain of Gore/Leyline))
1 Spellskite (Storm, Ascendancy, Pod, Shift- to protect permanents, Infect, Boggles, Twin, Some hatebears to protect Ghostly- eg vs D and T)
2 Aura of Silence (Boggles, Twin, Tokens, Ascendancy, RG tron, U tron, 8 rack, perhaps UW Gifts or some burn decks)
1 Runed Halo (Affinity, Boggles, Infect, Shift, Ascendancy, Soul Sistas, Twin, 8 rack, any deck where I have a dead card)
2 Leyline of Sanctity (SShift, stupid Mill decks, Burn, 4 col Gifts, 8 rack)
1 ?? (Looking at Blind Obedience, Purge no 2, Mindcensor no 2, Linvala 2 (running one main) the latter two being most likely.)
I am toying with a maindeck Mindcensor instead of proc 3.
The remaining board slot could then be one of the other candidates.
I tried the Flagstones in a 24 land build but found it got in the way of Emeria too often, probably because I was using GQ aggressively in matches where it was a strip mine.
I want to add in a Blind Obedience main, but think the meta has shifted a bit from it. Good vs tron/ TTB though. I don't fancy cutting Ghostly to 3.
So I am trying to finalize my list for Omaha before I send in my desklist and wanted to get one last second opinion. This is what I have sleeved up right now (assuming I can locate a non foil copy of the necrotic sliver)
any suggestions would be appreciated, I will have 2 byes so my expected meta should be mostly good matchups
Seems good to me. One suggestion I have is to move 1 path to the sideboard and put the guildmage main. All the lists of mine you have seen are for magic online where players have individual clocks. On paper we don't have that luxury and need to close out game 1 eventually. You can side it out after that vs decks that can't beat you and then go 2-0 or 1-0-1 for the win.
When using guildmage Sac the martyr announce you are holding priority, use guildmage's ability in response. Then they can't kill the martyr in response to the ability.
Can you talk more about decision making (particularly for the mono white version). Do you ever play turn 1 Serra Ascendant, turn 2 Martyr of Sands sacrifice, swing for 6 flying lifelink? If so when and against which decks? When do you cast Weathered Wayfarer? Do you always use his ability if able? What percent of the time are you hardcasting Proclamation of Rebirth versus for its Forecast cost.
Against aggro decks, is it important to get out Ghostly Prison as earlier as possible? Should we board wipe before casting Serra Ascendant post 30+ life? I really want to get a better understanding of how to make these decisions.
In order to swing on turn 2 with a 6/6 you need 6 white cards (the serra and martyr are in play, 4 in hand to get you to 32) and 2 lands,and your opponent can't have removal or burn. This is much easier to do on the draw because you have 1 more card of wiggle room to get those numbers. I only go for the turn 2 against pod or decks that I think I'm going to lose against if they are allowed to do what they want to do. This line of play requires so many things to go right that it almost never comes up anyway. And if it does it usually means you are mana screwed. Casting your serra on turn 3 is so much easier and in most match-ups exactly the same result. Remember,this is a control deck, not an aggro deck. You don't need to try to kill your opponent asap.
I only hardcast proc if Ihave another, or if I have to. The only other time I will hard cast it is if I am over 30 life with 2 or more serra ascendants in my graveyard and an opponent who I want to pressure. If I did a % breakdown its 95% forecast 5% cast.
I cast wayfarer if I have less lands than my opponent. I usually will use it ability every turn I can unless I have something pressing to do and can't spare 1 mana. Sometimes I will use its ability and not make land drops to continue to use its ability. Those instances are ones where you have at least 6 lands in play, but not not an active emeria, and you want to get one active, but your opponent has stopped playing lands to turn off your wayfarer.
Against aggro decks I will cast ghostly prison as soon as I think it will resolve, or on turn 3 if I want my ranger or eos to resolve.
The board wipe question really depends on the board state and matchup, but generally I do not do that. I only cast spells if I need to, if they will slow my opponent down a lot, or if they swing the board position drastically in my favor. I don't care about my creatures dying to wrath because of the nature of the deck.
Very good analysis. The one thing I kind of like about Kabira Crossroads and Radiant Fountain is they make turn 2 Serra a lot more viable, and even just staying ahead. They also make the aggro control matches better for us (Merfolk) but I've done a lot less testing than you have.
I recently purchased the deck on paper, it should arrive in a week or so, and I'm looking forward to playing it and reporting back.
I have only faced storm 2 times since cruise got printed. Its not a good matchup, but rule of law is a good card to sideboard if you are concerned with it. I may add them since it seems to be coming back.
On a related note: I just got knocked out of the last daily of the season (1) by storm.
That leaves me with 70 QPs for the season (all qps were earned with this deck), a personal record. I'm hoping it puts me in first place for the MTGO PotY race, but who knows. I doubt I'll be able to sustain that for a whole year anyway.
Rule of Law seems like it would be fine against storm but is there any consideration for some sort of GY hate, especially one that minimizes the effect on our GY? Something like Relic of Progenitus, wheel of sun and moon, surgical extraction... could be a supplement to the disenchant type cards we already have Rule of Law type cards are strong but narrow and a few of the other decks that it may also come in against are not terribly bad MU already
Demannic is your matchup spreadsheet updated with the current 70QPs and if so would it be possible to take a look at it. You have some of the most extensive data on this deck and how it is positioned in modern (online at least) and your previous data was very useful
I'm working on figuring out a better way to share it. I do the whole thing in excel (excel is the mvp), then every once in a while upload it to google drive and publish it (and it becomes read only). I have a tab that I added which allows you to put in an expected meta game and it spits out the probability of you doing well. You need to be able to edit that for it to mean anything. Here is the read only link and a download link if you want to use the calculator, I'll put it in the primer as well.
What this deck really would like is a beater that can bring 1 or 2 creatures with CMC 1 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield! I don't think anything like that exists as far as I know though.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Squadron hawk is primarily martyr fuel/chain chumps, however it does a servicable job finishing off people. A lot of decks in the format do EXTREME amounts of damage to themselves to gain tempo/good mana, so you don't need to do that much damage to kill someone. If someone surgically extracts(I've never faced an extripate out of over 300 matches) your serra ascendant you can: mistveil it to the bottom or charm it back. If neither of those are an option (extirpate), you still have 4 other routes to victory without adding slow and clunky cards that cost 5 mana. especially when they are added out of fear for a monster that in my experience doesn't exist.
@drmarkdb I like purge a lot in the mono white list.
Linvala does a great job of shutting down angel combo, twin combo, the mirror(!), and scooze.
@everyone: Happy New Year!
Baneslayer is really slow and the deck doesn't need more win conditions (also if you are in the business of 5 drops Divinity of Pride is better than BSA imo (bigger, doesnt die to shriekmaw, can block shriekmaw, more devotion if you are running athreos in a junk heavy metagame, and least importantly: its thematic)). I actually 3-0'd an 8 man cut down to 1 serra and going up to a full set of kami maindeck a month or so ago just to see if it was possible (it is but I don't recommend it). Control decks don't need that many win conditions, especially when they are recursive. That being said, elspeth has historically been good in the deck, so if you really want another 4 drop she fits the bill.
I guess to summarize: the deck is slow, but you still need to pay attention to the clunk factor. Control decks don't need that many win conditions. Extripate/surgical are not played much. If my opponent did manage to exile all my serras I would win another way as is.
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Can you talk more about Sun Titan? He seems like a really good choice if you HAD to run a bomb/alternate win ondition.
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GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
For the mono white version on paper I can imagine extirpate would cause issues if you lost game 1.
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I note some versions run four, others two.
Obv it is good v shift, storm, burn, 8 rack, ad nauseam and maybe Gifts, Jund and Junk and tokens.
V storm
If I were to run celestial purge and 3 wheel of s m, I reckon I could get away with two Leyline, and a a Runed Halo, and a skite to protect wheel.
Scapeshift I think is not that bad, I still get Mindcensor and can get over the magic numbers.
That applies to Ad Nauseam which is also slowed by Stony and is more limited in terms of max damage. Very rare match too.
8 rack has difficulty vs Emeria I know from the other side, providing I take the bridge
out should be easy even with just two Leylines and a Halo. It is a rare match anyway, and I am looking at running Aura of Silence which it hates.
Jund etc. are matches that I am never keen on bringing four Leylines in against..in multiples they suck and only hit small portions of the deck, albeit effectively.
Tokens hates lifegain, prisons and lots of removal.
Is there any pressing reason why Leylines need to be a four of? Have I missed something? It is not a boggles situation where there are only eight boggles.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
The biggest issue at the moment is Leyline. I should be able to get everything else for the deck, but I don't think I'll be able to afford the 4 Leyline for the sideboard from Van Der Veen's version. Is there anything in particular I could replace it with that would help the matchups where it's useful? I'm assuming it's mostly for anti-discard (and storm) since targeted burn doesn't do all that much to us.
If I were to run sun titan I would cut the ghost quarters and replace them with tectonic edges to lock the grindier matchups at 4 mana. Without GQ flagstones is worse than a basic. In this deck I would probably try out 2 fetches.
I like that aura of silence + Sun Titan synergy too!
@drmark/Spawn Ad nauseam sides into lab maniac win (and also a 1 of scorn) so I wouldn't bring leyline in vs that. How does runed halo protect the wheel? When I ran leyline it was for scapeshift, storm, burn and 8rack. Scapeshift & burn are favorable and the rest of the matchups are not common at all so I cut them. If storm makes a comeback I'll reevaluate them. I don't bring them in vs BGx decks because the first one puts you at -1 card in hand (basically discarding a card) and then all future copies are dead.
Specifically spawn: On mtgo right now Pod is huge (top 5 decks I've faced this month are: Delver 20.1%, Pod 16.2%, midrange* 7.8%, burn and BGx 6.7%) a 3rd aven could be good, Aven isn't that much cheaper though lol. I'd also cut the relics, it isn't good in the mtgo meta. So that leaves you with 6 slots. I could see going up to 4 purge and having more o rings based on the meta I described above.
Thoughts on godsend: Interesting but probably unnecessary. Someone should test it out to be sure. I like the idea of having a white equipment. I would test it out, but I think the next thing I'm going to test is a sweet orzhov sun titan list that I just though of. I'll let you guys know if that ends up being viable.
*I have a few categories that are combinations of smaller% decks to keep my total number of decks in my spreadsheet at 20 for logistical reasons. The "midrange" category includes the following decks (most I have faced 1-3 times over 180 matches): hatebears, Death and Taxes, faeries, generic Bant decks, skred red, 5 color midrange/aggro, the UWR firewalker main deck + red sweepers deck, and allies. Side-note: the allies deck was really awesome.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
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Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
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Many thanks. I completely forgot about Maniac in some Ad Nauseam boards. I know Ad Nauseam runs Patrician's scorn often, so I am never that keen on hiding behind a Leyline anyway. Stony silence is really good at slowing them to a craw, as are Rule of law Effects. Rather than letting them get there and going off, slowing them is better.
I run a solitary Spellskite for boggles/infect (and twin etc.) and to protect key permanents v Scapeshift/Storm type decks that need to bounce a permanent (eg Leylines) before going off. The Halo does not protect the Wheel, the Skite does. The Halo I use instead of a Leyline, taking my Leyline count to 2.
My board for mono w:
1 Aven Mindcensor (all Pods, S shift, fetch greedy decks, Trons, Gifts)
3 Wheel of Sun and Moon (Junk+ Kiki Pod, Storm, Reanimator, Loams, Gifts 4col.....perhaps Junk/Jund but not as a 3 of, randomly stupid Mill decks (on me))
3 Stony Silence (Affinity, all 3 Trons RG/UW/U, Ad Nauseam, Grisselbrand Reanimator. I don't bring it in for pod.)
1 Celestial Purge (Storm, Ascendancy, Junk and Kiki Pods, Twin, Grisselbrand Reaniator, Burn (anti Rain of Gore/Leyline))
1 Spellskite (Storm, Ascendancy, Pod, Shift- to protect permanents, Infect, Boggles, Twin, Some hatebears to protect Ghostly- eg vs D and T)
2 Aura of Silence (Boggles, Twin, Tokens, Ascendancy, RG tron, U tron, 8 rack, perhaps UW Gifts or some burn decks)
1 Runed Halo (Affinity, Boggles, Infect, Shift, Ascendancy, Soul Sistas, Twin, 8 rack, any deck where I have a dead card)
2 Leyline of Sanctity (SShift, stupid Mill decks, Burn, 4 col Gifts, 8 rack)
1 ?? (Looking at Blind Obedience, Purge no 2, Mindcensor no 2, Linvala 2 (running one main) the latter two being most likely.)
My main deck is pretty standard:
2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2 Mistveil Plains
15 Plains
4 Martyr of Sands
1 Kami of False Hope
4 Serra Ascendant
2 Weathered Wayfarer
4 Ranger of Eos
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Elspeth, Knight Errant
4 Path to Exile
3 Proclamation Of Rebirth
4 Ghostly Prison
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Wrath of God
I am toying with a maindeck Mindcensor instead of proc 3.
The remaining board slot could then be one of the other candidates.
I tried the Flagstones in a 24 land build but found it got in the way of Emeria too often, probably because I was using GQ aggressively in matches where it was a strip mine.
I want to add in a Blind Obedience main, but think the meta has shifted a bit from it. Good vs tron/ TTB though. I don't fancy cutting Ghostly to 3.
any suggestions would be appreciated, I will have 2 byes so my expected meta should be mostly good matchups
1 Weathered Wayfarer
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Path to Exile
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Orzhov Charm
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
4 Ghostly Prison
3 Wrath of God
24land
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Mistveil Plains
2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
9 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Celestial Purge
2 Stony Silence
1 Viskopa Guildmage
4 Castigate
2 Disenchant
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Necrotic Sliver
1 Wrath of God
1 Austere Command
When using guildmage Sac the martyr announce you are holding priority, use guildmage's ability in response. Then they can't kill the martyr in response to the ability.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
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Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
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Against aggro decks, is it important to get out Ghostly Prison as earlier as possible? Should we board wipe before casting Serra Ascendant post 30+ life? I really want to get a better understanding of how to make these decisions.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
I only hardcast proc if Ihave another, or if I have to. The only other time I will hard cast it is if I am over 30 life with 2 or more serra ascendants in my graveyard and an opponent who I want to pressure. If I did a % breakdown its 95% forecast 5% cast.
I cast wayfarer if I have less lands than my opponent. I usually will use it ability every turn I can unless I have something pressing to do and can't spare 1 mana. Sometimes I will use its ability and not make land drops to continue to use its ability. Those instances are ones where you have at least 6 lands in play, but not not an active emeria, and you want to get one active, but your opponent has stopped playing lands to turn off your wayfarer.
Against aggro decks I will cast ghostly prison as soon as I think it will resolve, or on turn 3 if I want my ranger or eos to resolve.
The board wipe question really depends on the board state and matchup, but generally I do not do that. I only cast spells if I need to, if they will slow my opponent down a lot, or if they swing the board position drastically in my favor. I don't care about my creatures dying to wrath because of the nature of the deck.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
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tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid
Very good analysis. The one thing I kind of like about Kabira Crossroads and Radiant Fountain is they make turn 2 Serra a lot more viable, and even just staying ahead. They also make the aggro control matches better for us (Merfolk) but I've done a lot less testing than you have.
I recently purchased the deck on paper, it should arrive in a week or so, and I'm looking forward to playing it and reporting back.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
I just lost 2-0 to Storm in a 2 man queue, but both times he got 4 Pyromancer Ascension's active, so that's probably why I lost.
On a related note: I just got knocked out of the last daily of the season (1) by storm.
That leaves me with 70 QPs for the season (all qps were earned with this deck), a personal record. I'm hoping it puts me in first place for the MTGO PotY race, but who knows. I doubt I'll be able to sustain that for a whole year anyway.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
MartyrProc
Daily Digest
MartyrProc. List citation is incorrect.
tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid
Read Only:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l6f-JPcuu0bJZhMuQvz5Sc_WSw4d91CAjLdQh-aXP6I/pubhtml
Download:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-1lrXJkrLUZ1RNSE45NnF2NXM/view?usp=sharing
This week I'm going to try to finish off those last few bits of the primer, last week got really busy for me.
Also: I've found a friend with the current storm list online, we'll do a testing session in the next week or 2 and I'll report back.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
MartyrProc
Daily Digest
MartyrProc. List citation is incorrect.
tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid