The deck looks great Prodigy. I can see remand being less than ideal in a more midrange/young pyromancer build. I also think Chart a Course fits extremely well in the Young Pyromancer builds. Less so in the swiftspear builds, but I think it's a game changer for young pyromancer builds. With chart and opt, Young P has gained a lot of value.
NMDPS- I hadn't thought about that aspect of chart a course. Nice assessment. That is another plus for chart a course. I wish it fit better in my build, but I am glad to see it helping so many players.
I've decided I like Knot more than Remand, and that 4 Chart may be too many, imma try three, but I'm not sure what the one-of should be. Any thoughts? Maybe an Azcanta?
I've decided I like Knot more than Remand, and that 4 Chart may be too many, imma try three, but I'm not sure what the one-of should be. Any thoughts? Maybe an Azcanta?
I think you might be right that 4 charts might be too many for a deck that only has delver as a turn 1 threat. Possibly 2-3 would be better. I think Azcanta would be great in your sideboard. You have enough flash oriented creatures to be able to play the long/mid game and search for azcanta would fit very well in your deck against grindy matchups.
I also think your choices on knot over remand are likely correct in this style of build. Without a ton of early pressure you really don't want to bounce things as much as you want to get rid of them. This looks like a list that a lot of time and practice went into. Well done.
I have been testing with similar builds for the past couple weeks and came to the following conclusions:
- The 4 Snap/4 Queller/4 Delver suite can support 4 Chart.
- A Leak/Knot split improves our odds vs big mana and enables RiP from the side.
- 20 lands a necessary evil. With all the Snap/Queller we can't afford to play non-Serum one-mana cantrips, so shaving some not in the stars.
- Shoal is amazing in this deck. It plugs our early-game holes against more proactive opponents while being ultra-reliable in this shell (all blue creatures). Easy to hardcast later bc 20 lands.
- Geist an option for the SB but I haven't wanted it yet.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
I will definitely test this list out- Shoal looks very very good. I've been thoroughly impressed with Azcanta in the board- I swapped the two copies of Stony from my list last page for Azcanta. I don't like the 2 Purge in the board, maybe cut one for another sweeper like a Verdict? And it looks like we've come to the same conclusion that 20 lands is optimal. Any other thoughts you've had?
Really great stuff here. I switched from 18 to 19 lands for more consistent early mana. My curve is a little lower so 19 lands has worked pretty well for my personal build. I do think the builds that run 4 Spell Queller, 4 Snapcaster Mage and some number of clique/geist do need the 20th land.
Chart a Course has really opened this deck up a bit and given the card advantage in a spell that delver players love. Again, my personal build is a little different so chart doesn't fit as seamlessly as it does in some other lists, but I seen a large amount of positive feedback for Chart a Course.
Has chart made disrupting shoal even better? It mitigates the card loss and gives another 2 CMC blue spell to pitch. After testing shoal a long time ago I haven't given it too much thought, but I think you may be right that shoal is excellent in this deck.
I'm glad to see your messing around with the jeskai shard! I love your content on Modern Nexus and have always liked your counter cat deck and analysis.
So I'll be honest after thinking about it for a little, Modern doesn't reward you for 2 for 1ing yourself. That's one of the reasons I don't really like shoal.
So I'll be honest after thinking about it for a little, Modern doesn't reward you for 2 for 1ing yourself. That's one of the reasons I don't really like shoal.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Okay, point taken. I should have phrased the question differently, and I think I was also trying to rationalize my lack of Shoals. It's not the best card for my playstyle, but I'll give it a shot.
Personally, I think if you're playing Geist you're better off playing the Tempo lists Harland Firer and Jonathan Rosum have been dominating the SCG circuit with. I like playing a more conservative version of Delver, with minimal creatures and a high spell density.
I decided to swap the two copies of Opt in the main to bring in two Azcanta, and free up board space. I'm still deciding about playing Azcanta in the main, because our creature count is a nonbo with the Sunken Ruin, but it's been working well. I'm piloting this list in a 5-round tournament tonight, and I'll give a tournament report either tonight or tomorrow depending on how tired I am.
@ashtonkutcher- The reason I don't like Shoal is because although it's the MDN Force, it 2-for-1s you in inconvenient ways. All the cards you mentioned as examples are indeed card disadvantage, but you can formulate them in a way that is still effective.
Look at our options for piching things to shoal-
On one, we have Delver, Serum and any other one-mana cards you decide to include. The issue with this is that Delver is the main threat card in the deck, and Serum helps us set up our draws. There aren't a lot of one-mana cards in Modern we'll be countering with Shoal though, so that's a perk.
One two, we have Chart, Snap, and Azcanta. That's where the problems start. These cards (at least in my build) are integral to the success of the deck. I won't really be able to pitch any of these comfortably. You can pitch another Shoal to it, but it's still a very bad spot to be in.
On three, we don't have many cards in our deck we can pitch, with only the Quellers, Electrolyze, and a Clique as options. With only five cards of 3 CMC to pitch, it's not as effective when you cast Shoal on three. Furthermore, all these cards have a pretty big impact on the game. Electrolyze is a great value engine, and the creatures are our only way of closing the game as we don't include Colonnades.
I think you're comparing apples to oranges (your list vs a list with shoals). In Ashton's list there are 8 pitch-able one-drops, 15 pitch-able two-drops (if you don't count the first shoal), and 6 pitch-able three drops. If I am tapped out I would be happy to lose a shoal and delver in hand to protect my already-flipped insect from a path or a bolt. Further you also neglect to mention the fact that shoal is easily hardcast-able especially with 20 lands. Mid-game it's a hard cancel against shadow
Hello, guys! I've recently brewed a jeskai delver list and comparing it with the most recent ones here in the forum i've been pretty impressed by the differences, realizing mine is more "low on curve" and burn-focused than your ones. I'll post here my list for anyone interessed in giving it a chance or, even better, giving me suggestions to improve it.
I'll comment some of my choices that may seem wierd:
Dispel maindeck: our best "counter" is a creature that gives the spell back to the opponent if removed and our second best threat (the first one of course is delvy) is a very fragile creature that snowballs if protected. All theese elements put me in a spot where I prefer dispel to other more versatile counterspells.
Remand instead of mana leak: three words -> Path. To. Exile.
Boros charm: my favourite tech in the deck. Even though the double strike mode will almost never be used, the burn and indestructible ones are awsome, giving the chance to "dreadbore" a +1ed liliana of the veil or counter a supreme virdict/abrupt decay.
Opt: I love the instant speed of this "new" cantrip and value that and the 1 cmc more than the card draw offered by chart a course, but i'm not sure yet about this personal choice.
The sideboard is sat up for my meta and the only thing to note is that, when boarding in new creatures or enchantments, you almost always want to cut some quellers or, less often, pyro's. Even when I board in the rips I hate the idea of cutting snapcasters but i'm not sure if it's the correct choice.
I don't feel sure about the matchups so i'll post them only when I feel more confortable about them, so that's all. I hope you'll enjoy this version and give me advices to improve it!
Thanks for posting and welcome! I actually have a more aggressive version as well so I like to see aggro-control version of the decks. I think your points at the end are very important. I do think that Boros Charm is much more relevant in a deck with higher CMC threats that are somewhat fragile(young p and spell queller). You have done some great thinking about your specific build. Dispel and and Boros Charm both mitigate the inherent "weakness" of the powerful creatures that a fragile. This is a great lesson for a lot of deck builders who utilize theory and "card power" as their only criteria when selecting cards. We already have a deck with access to bolt, helix, path, and vapor snag so we really don't have a large amount of pressure to counter creatures spells. This makes negate, dispel, and spell pierce much better in our build. This also makes Remand extremely good as you noted.
I can't tell you how many liliana's I have killed with boros charm. In addition, I think Opt is actually one of the single best cards for the deck. A lot of people still argue that serum visions is better because it digs deeper and help flip delvers. However, I still think opt is better. Serum visions is undoubtedly a more powerful card on it's face. However,the instant speed changes everything. Opt makes snapcaster better, makes spell pierce very playable, makes young pyromancer much better, and gives a huge boast to all of our counter magic. We are lucky enough to be able to play both in our deck which is the best of both worlds, but I really think that opt should be the go to cantrip specifically in snap caster based builds. That's just one man's opinion though.
While I still prefer swiftspear to young pyromancer in a more aggressive build, I really love your list and the thought process that went into it. Well done.
He got game one through doing Scapeshift things, and I was unable to race.
+2 Surgical, +1 Clique, +1 Negate
-2 Azcanta, -2 Path
He punted Game Two by not using his Relic, and I was able to Knot for exactly enough to counter a Scapeshift, and went on to win that game. Game three, he has 2 Valakuts in play, I was at 13, and he was sitting at 6. He was hellbent. I played a Delver, passed. He draws Wood Elves, plays it, shoots me and my Delver, passes. I draw another Delver, play it, pass. He draws a Cinder Glade, hits my Delver and my face, passes. I endstep a bolt, draw a land, and pray. He draws, passes. I draw a Queller, pass. He draws, passes. I play Queller EOT, he bolts it. I rip a Snap for the win.
This match was extremely grindy, but he was a good friend so we were able to have a laugh about it later.
Round Two-Abzan
I got 2-0ed pretty solidly. He beat me to death with Souls both games. Not much to write about here.
+2 Verdict, +1 Staticaster
-1 Chart, -1 Helix, -1 Clique
Round Three-Eldrazi Tron
My opener was 3 Delvers, 2 lands, a Serum, and something else. I play T1 Delver, pass. He goes land, Map, pass. I play 2 Delver T2 and pass, flip them all T3, and run away with the game.
+2 Verdict, +2 Rejection, +1 W/T
-2 Snare, -3 Helix
Game Two was a grind, and he won through 2 topdecked Smashers in a row. He also cast a Thought-Knot, saw Path, Queller, 2 lands, said "I hate Queller!" and took it. I was trying REALLY hard not to laugh XD.
Game Three, my opener is 3 lands, Serum, 3 Delvers. Same thing happens as Game One, but they all flip a turn later.
Round Four-Jeskai Tempo
Game One, he stuck a Geist, and I couldn't remove it. Most of the Magic we played was land, cantrip, go. Or land, burn, go.
+2 Verdict, +2 Surgical, +2 Dispel, +1 Clique
-3 Helix, -2 Path, -2 Snare
*Not sure if cutting Snare was correct, still on the fence about that
Game Two went the same way. We played Draw-Go for a few turns, he landed a Geist, I died.
Closing Statements
The deck felt very good. It was my first DCI tourney with it, and it performed well. I'm still not sure if I like 2 Azcanta in the main, may end up putting them in the side. Still undecided. I also feel like I need a 21st land, so the Azcanta may come out for a land and a fourth Chart. I may have also just had a bad night, but almost every match I found myself having to dig for lands, or keeping a one land Serum hand, and not finding any in the top 3 cards.
Please tell me if you think I should have sideboarded differently, taken different lines, or any other comments you'd like to make.
Thanks for posting and welcome! I actually have a more aggressive version as well so I like to see aggro-control version of the decks. I think your points at the end are very important. I do think that Boros Charm is much more relevant in a deck with higher CMC threats that are somewhat fragile(young p and spell queller). You have done some great thinking about your specific build. Dispel and and Boros Charm both mitigate the inherent "weakness" of the powerful creatures that a fragile. This is a great lesson for a lot of deck builders who utilize theory and "card power" as their only criteria when selecting cards. We already have a deck with access to bolt, helix, path, and vapor snag so we really don't have a large amount of pressure to counter creatures spells. This makes negate, dispel, and spell pierce much better in our build. This also makes Remand extremely good as you noted.
I can't tell you how many liliana's I have killed with boros charm. In addition, I think Opt is actually one of the single best cards for the deck. A lot of people still argue that serum visions is better because it digs deeper and help flip delvers. However, I still think opt is better. Serum visions is undoubtedly a more powerful card on it's face. However,the instant speed changes everything. Opt makes snapcaster better, makes spell pierce very playable, makes young pyromancer much better, and gives a huge boast to all of our counter magic. We are lucky enough to be able to play both in our deck which is the best of both worlds, but I really think that opt should be the go to cantrip specifically in snap caster based builds. That's just one man's opinion though.
While I still prefer swiftspear to young pyromancer in a more aggressive build, I really love your list and the thought process that went into it. Well done.
I love swiftspear in aggressive spell based decks, but i'm not sure this is the spot i want to be in. I played it for a while in Grixis Aggro instead of the blue insect and then again in temur prowess, an awsome deck that died with the probe ban. In those decks the right play was often to play sorcery speed or midcombat, here I want to tap on my turn only to develop my board state, otherwise I want to stay open to counter or burn in the opponent's end. Opt is perfect for this strategy, as you aforementioned, and i'm really enjoying playing with it. What I noticed we are short on is 2x1s. I often had the temptation to jam in a couple of electrolyzes or even a sphinx's revelation in the sideboard, but the first one sucks in a meta populated by eldrazis and shadows and the latter is definitely too mana intensive for a 19-21 lands deck, so i'm still trying to find out a spell that helps me recover from a top deck situation as kommand does for our grixis cousin. Any suggestion on this side will be appreciated a lot. Another doubt is: which categories of cards are bad against valakut and uwr tempo? I have always troubles finding this out, since removals don't shine but are our only out to their highmakers, like primetime and collonnade. Last but not least, my meta is, for the majority, eldrazi tron, uw(x) control, affinity and coco decks, with just a few dredge, burn and shadows. Which do you think would be the best sideboard?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since FRF
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Jeskai Delver
Standard:
Temur Energy
EDH:
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Thanks for posting and welcome! I actually have a more aggressive version as well so I like to see aggro-control version of the decks. I think your points at the end are very important. I do think that Boros Charm is much more relevant in a deck with higher CMC threats that are somewhat fragile(young p and spell queller). You have done some great thinking about your specific build. Dispel and and Boros Charm both mitigate the inherent "weakness" of the powerful creatures that a fragile. This is a great lesson for a lot of deck builders who utilize theory and "card power" as their only criteria when selecting cards. We already have a deck with access to bolt, helix, path, and vapor snag so we really don't have a large amount of pressure to counter creatures spells. This makes negate, dispel, and spell pierce much better in our build. This also makes Remand extremely good as you noted.
I can't tell you how many liliana's I have killed with boros charm. In addition, I think Opt is actually one of the single best cards for the deck. A lot of people still argue that serum visions is better because it digs deeper and help flip delvers. However, I still think opt is better. Serum visions is undoubtedly a more powerful card on it's face. However,the instant speed changes everything. Opt makes snapcaster better, makes spell pierce very playable, makes young pyromancer much better, and gives a huge boast to all of our counter magic. We are lucky enough to be able to play both in our deck which is the best of both worlds, but I really think that opt should be the go to cantrip specifically in snap caster based builds. That's just one man's opinion though.
While I still prefer swiftspear to young pyromancer in a more aggressive build, I really love your list and the thought process that went into it. Well done.
I love swiftspear in aggressive spell based decks, but i'm not sure this is the spot i want to be in. I played it for a while in Grixis Aggro instead of the blue insect and then again in temur prowess, an awsome deck that died with the probe ban. In those decks the right play was often to play sorcery speed or midcombat, here I want to tap on my turn only to develop my board state, otherwise I want to stay open to counter or burn in the opponent's end. Opt is perfect for this strategy, as you aforementioned, and i'm really enjoying playing with it. What I noticed we are short on is 2x1s. I often had the temptation to jam in a couple of electrolyzes or even a sphinx's revelation in the sideboard, but the first one sucks in a meta populated by eldrazis and shadows and the latter is definitely too mana intensive for a 19-21 lands deck, so i'm still trying to find out a spell that helps me recover from a top deck situation as kommand does for our grixis cousin. Any suggestion on this side will be appreciated a lot. Another doubt is: which categories of cards are bad against valakut and uwr tempo? I have always troubles finding this out, since removals don't shine but are our only out to their highmakers, like primetime and collonnade. Last but not least, my meta is, for the majority, eldrazi tron, uw(x) control, affinity and coco decks, with just a few dredge, burn and shadows. Which do you think would be the best sideboard?
.
I definitely agree that the probe ban hurt us and ended a lot of our prowess deck hopes. I prefer swift spear basically because she offers another one drop threat that can account for a large chunk of life over several turns. She also wreaks havoc during combat because the opponent never knows what kind of instant we might have. Having a one drop threat makes remand, spell pierce and our burn that much better. Young P is great in terms of power level but is a turn and a half slower (2 drop, no haste) in terms of damage output. Great Nate’s games on YouTube showed how valuable swiftspear can be. With that said, I am in the minority. Most players like young p and a slightly higher curve. I think the young p versions are also great, just different as you noted. These jeskai decks can have 50 of the same cards, but the other ten make them a completely different deck 😃.
As for the 2-1 thing, that is tough. That’s part of the reason I like to be aggressive as possible. Our best option is to “out efficient” them by playing more spells and less lands. That’s much easier said than done. Snapcaster helps, but they often have snaps too. I actually play a bedlam reveler in my main and one sideboard copy to help draw additional gas once I have expended my hand. However, he really only fits in the more aggressive, low cmc decks and can be tough to navigate. Some people are liking chart a course, but I have not fallen in love yet. Again this is likely that it doesn’t fit in my personal build.
Finally for valakut and UWR control. First, your meta sounds prettt great. A lot of fun but tough matchups. Cards I have found useful against valakut recently are shadow of doubt and deflecting palm. The shadows help us keep them off of lands and the palms can finish them off once they get to enough lands. Palms also help mitigate the problem of aiding out some removal. Even with these spells the matchup is still a tough one. As for control it’s really about being more efficient and landing Geist of saint Traft if you have him. My go to cards are negateand dispel. I also like to side in a few more too end options in chandra, pyromaster and search for azcanta because the game is going to go longer. I have had pretty good results against them as long as they don’t land their Geist 😃. It’s another matchup where the goal is to put efficient them because, as you mentioned, they have way more 2 for 1 opportunities.
Valakut and UWR are matchups where it pays to get out early on them. Again, easier said than done. I will do a little more grinding against the valakut matchup to see what I can come up with.
NMDPS- I hadn't thought about that aspect of chart a course. Nice assessment. That is another plus for chart a course. I wish it fit better in my build, but I am glad to see it helping so many players.
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spell Queller
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Serum Visions
4 Chart a Course
2 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
3 Logic Knot
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
1 Celestial Purge
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Dispel
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Negate
2 Stony Silence
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Wear / Tear
I've decided I like Knot more than Remand, and that 4 Chart may be too many, imma try three, but I'm not sure what the one-of should be. Any thoughts? Maybe an Azcanta?
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
I think you might be right that 4 charts might be too many for a deck that only has delver as a turn 1 threat. Possibly 2-3 would be better. I think Azcanta would be great in your sideboard. You have enough flash oriented creatures to be able to play the long/mid game and search for azcanta would fit very well in your deck against grindy matchups.
I also think your choices on knot over remand are likely correct in this style of build. Without a ton of early pressure you really don't want to bounce things as much as you want to get rid of them. This looks like a list that a lot of time and practice went into. Well done.
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
- The 4 Snap/4 Queller/4 Delver suite can support 4 Chart.
- A Leak/Knot split improves our odds vs big mana and enables RiP from the side.
- 20 lands a necessary evil. With all the Snap/Queller we can't afford to play non-Serum one-mana cantrips, so shaving some not in the stars.
- Shoal is amazing in this deck. It plugs our early-game holes against more proactive opponents while being ultra-reliable in this shell (all blue creatures). Easy to hardcast later bc 20 lands.
- Geist an option for the SB but I haven't wanted it yet.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spell Queller
1 Vendilion Clique
Instant (19)
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
1 Electrolyze
4 Disrupting Shoal
2 Logic Knot
2 Mana Leak
4 Serum Visions
4 Chart a Course
Land (20)
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Stony Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Celestial Purge
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
Chart a Course has really opened this deck up a bit and given the card advantage in a spell that delver players love. Again, my personal build is a little different so chart doesn't fit as seamlessly as it does in some other lists, but I seen a large amount of positive feedback for Chart a Course.
Has chart made disrupting shoal even better? It mitigates the card loss and gives another 2 CMC blue spell to pitch. After testing shoal a long time ago I haven't given it too much thought, but I think you may be right that shoal is excellent in this deck.
I'm glad to see your messing around with the jeskai shard! I love your content on Modern Nexus and have always liked your counter cat deck and analysis.
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
Or do you have another explanation as to why Simian Spirit Guide, Goblin Guide, Faithless Looting, Surgical Extraction, Hollow One, Vapor Snag, Collective Brutality, Ghost Quarter, etc. etc. etc. are Modern staples? "Thinking about it for a little" is great, but I don't see how it compares to a) my hard experience or b) the hard fact that Modern decks frequently two-for-one themselves to great success.
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
Jeskai Geist. Builder: Adrian Straub. — MTG
Top8 in Magic Event Ravensburg 2017 #1 modern [22 Players] — 04-Nov-2017 SUGGEST ARCHETYPE
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Mantis Rider
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spell Queller
2 Cryptic Command
1 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
1 Logic Knot
3 Path to Exile
2 Remand
2 Spell Snare
4 Serum Visions
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Inspiring Vantage
2 Island
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
2 Dispel
1 Dusk/Dawn
1 Flashfreeze
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Grim Lavamancer
3 Meddling Mage
1 Negate
2 Smash to Smithereens
1 Vendilion Clique
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Spell Queller
1x Vendilion Clique
3 Chart a Course
4 Serum Visions
2 Search for Azcanta
2x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
3x Logic Knot
4x Path to Exile
2x Spell Snare
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
1x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Sulfur Falls
1x Celestial Purge
2x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Dispel
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Izzet Staticaster
1x Negate
2x Stony Silence
1x Supreme Verdict
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Wear / Tear
I decided to swap the two copies of Opt in the main to bring in two Azcanta, and free up board space. I'm still deciding about playing Azcanta in the main, because our creature count is a nonbo with the Sunken Ruin, but it's been working well. I'm piloting this list in a 5-round tournament tonight, and I'll give a tournament report either tonight or tomorrow depending on how tired I am.
@ashtonkutcher- The reason I don't like Shoal is because although it's the MDN Force, it 2-for-1s you in inconvenient ways. All the cards you mentioned as examples are indeed card disadvantage, but you can formulate them in a way that is still effective.
Look at our options for piching things to shoal-
On one, we have Delver, Serum and any other one-mana cards you decide to include. The issue with this is that Delver is the main threat card in the deck, and Serum helps us set up our draws. There aren't a lot of one-mana cards in Modern we'll be countering with Shoal though, so that's a perk.
One two, we have Chart, Snap, and Azcanta. That's where the problems start. These cards (at least in my build) are integral to the success of the deck. I won't really be able to pitch any of these comfortably. You can pitch another Shoal to it, but it's still a very bad spot to be in.
On three, we don't have many cards in our deck we can pitch, with only the Quellers, Electrolyze, and a Clique as options. With only five cards of 3 CMC to pitch, it's not as effective when you cast Shoal on three. Furthermore, all these cards have a pretty big impact on the game. Electrolyze is a great value engine, and the creatures are our only way of closing the game as we don't include Colonnades.
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
4 delver of secrets
4 snapcaster mage
3 young pyromancer
3 spell queller
4 opt
2 dispel
2 spell snare
4 lightning bolt
4 path to exile
2 remand
3 lightning helix
2 boros charm
4 flooded strand
4 scalding tarn
1 steam vents
2 hallowed fountain
1 sacred foundry
2 spirebluff canal
1 seachrome coast
2 island
1 mountain
1 plains
2 geist of saint traft
2 ceremonious rejection
1 disdainful stroke
2 disenchant
2 rest in peace
2 stony silence
1 by force
2 anger of the gods
I'll comment some of my choices that may seem wierd:
Dispel maindeck: our best "counter" is a creature that gives the spell back to the opponent if removed and our second best threat (the first one of course is delvy) is a very fragile creature that snowballs if protected. All theese elements put me in a spot where I prefer dispel to other more versatile counterspells.
Remand instead of mana leak: three words -> Path. To. Exile.
Boros charm: my favourite tech in the deck. Even though the double strike mode will almost never be used, the burn and indestructible ones are awsome, giving the chance to "dreadbore" a +1ed liliana of the veil or counter a supreme virdict/abrupt decay.
Opt: I love the instant speed of this "new" cantrip and value that and the 1 cmc more than the card draw offered by chart a course, but i'm not sure yet about this personal choice.
The sideboard is sat up for my meta and the only thing to note is that, when boarding in new creatures or enchantments, you almost always want to cut some quellers or, less often, pyro's. Even when I board in the rips I hate the idea of cutting snapcasters but i'm not sure if it's the correct choice.
I don't feel sure about the matchups so i'll post them only when I feel more confortable about them, so that's all. I hope you'll enjoy this version and give me advices to improve it!
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Jeskai Delver
Standard:
Temur Energy
EDH:
Roon of the Hidden Realm
I can't tell you how many liliana's I have killed with boros charm. In addition, I think Opt is actually one of the single best cards for the deck. A lot of people still argue that serum visions is better because it digs deeper and help flip delvers. However, I still think opt is better. Serum visions is undoubtedly a more powerful card on it's face. However,the instant speed changes everything. Opt makes snapcaster better, makes spell pierce very playable, makes young pyromancer much better, and gives a huge boast to all of our counter magic. We are lucky enough to be able to play both in our deck which is the best of both worlds, but I really think that opt should be the go to cantrip specifically in snap caster based builds. That's just one man's opinion though.
While I still prefer swiftspear to young pyromancer in a more aggressive build, I really love your list and the thought process that went into it. Well done.
Round One-Titanshift
He got game one through doing Scapeshift things, and I was unable to race.
+2 Surgical, +1 Clique, +1 Negate
-2 Azcanta, -2 Path
He punted Game Two by not using his Relic, and I was able to Knot for exactly enough to counter a Scapeshift, and went on to win that game. Game three, he has 2 Valakuts in play, I was at 13, and he was sitting at 6. He was hellbent. I played a Delver, passed. He draws Wood Elves, plays it, shoots me and my Delver, passes. I draw another Delver, play it, pass. He draws a Cinder Glade, hits my Delver and my face, passes. I endstep a bolt, draw a land, and pray. He draws, passes. I draw a Queller, pass. He draws, passes. I play Queller EOT, he bolts it. I rip a Snap for the win.
This match was extremely grindy, but he was a good friend so we were able to have a laugh about it later.
Round Two-Abzan
I got 2-0ed pretty solidly. He beat me to death with Souls both games. Not much to write about here.
+2 Verdict, +1 Staticaster
-1 Chart, -1 Helix, -1 Clique
Round Three-Eldrazi Tron
My opener was 3 Delvers, 2 lands, a Serum, and something else. I play T1 Delver, pass. He goes land, Map, pass. I play 2 Delver T2 and pass, flip them all T3, and run away with the game.
+2 Verdict, +2 Rejection, +1 W/T
-2 Snare, -3 Helix
Game Two was a grind, and he won through 2 topdecked Smashers in a row. He also cast a Thought-Knot, saw Path, Queller, 2 lands, said "I hate Queller!" and took it. I was trying REALLY hard not to laugh XD.
Game Three, my opener is 3 lands, Serum, 3 Delvers. Same thing happens as Game One, but they all flip a turn later.
Round Four-Jeskai Tempo
Game One, he stuck a Geist, and I couldn't remove it. Most of the Magic we played was land, cantrip, go. Or land, burn, go.
+2 Verdict, +2 Surgical, +2 Dispel, +1 Clique
-3 Helix, -2 Path, -2 Snare
*Not sure if cutting Snare was correct, still on the fence about that
Game Two went the same way. We played Draw-Go for a few turns, he landed a Geist, I died.
Closing Statements
The deck felt very good. It was my first DCI tourney with it, and it performed well. I'm still not sure if I like 2 Azcanta in the main, may end up putting them in the side. Still undecided. I also feel like I need a 21st land, so the Azcanta may come out for a land and a fourth Chart. I may have also just had a bad night, but almost every match I found myself having to dig for lands, or keeping a one land Serum hand, and not finding any in the top 3 cards.
Please tell me if you think I should have sideboarded differently, taken different lines, or any other comments you'd like to make.
Hope this helped!
UWR Control
BR Hollow One
It's definitely inconvenient, but you are only using it to stop key plays or protect your flier. Also Chart helps offset the disadvantage.
Also nice report!
I love swiftspear in aggressive spell based decks, but i'm not sure this is the spot i want to be in. I played it for a while in Grixis Aggro instead of the blue insect and then again in temur prowess, an awsome deck that died with the probe ban. In those decks the right play was often to play sorcery speed or midcombat, here I want to tap on my turn only to develop my board state, otherwise I want to stay open to counter or burn in the opponent's end. Opt is perfect for this strategy, as you aforementioned, and i'm really enjoying playing with it. What I noticed we are short on is 2x1s. I often had the temptation to jam in a couple of electrolyzes or even a sphinx's revelation in the sideboard, but the first one sucks in a meta populated by eldrazis and shadows and the latter is definitely too mana intensive for a 19-21 lands deck, so i'm still trying to find out a spell that helps me recover from a top deck situation as kommand does for our grixis cousin. Any suggestion on this side will be appreciated a lot. Another doubt is: which categories of cards are bad against valakut and uwr tempo? I have always troubles finding this out, since removals don't shine but are our only out to their highmakers, like primetime and collonnade. Last but not least, my meta is, for the majority, eldrazi tron, uw(x) control, affinity and coco decks, with just a few dredge, burn and shadows. Which do you think would be the best sideboard?
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Jeskai Delver
Standard:
Temur Energy
EDH:
Roon of the Hidden Realm
I definitely agree that the probe ban hurt us and ended a lot of our prowess deck hopes. I prefer swift spear basically because she offers another one drop threat that can account for a large chunk of life over several turns. She also wreaks havoc during combat because the opponent never knows what kind of instant we might have. Having a one drop threat makes remand, spell pierce and our burn that much better. Young P is great in terms of power level but is a turn and a half slower (2 drop, no haste) in terms of damage output. Great Nate’s games on YouTube showed how valuable swiftspear can be. With that said, I am in the minority. Most players like young p and a slightly higher curve. I think the young p versions are also great, just different as you noted. These jeskai decks can have 50 of the same cards, but the other ten make them a completely different deck 😃.
As for the 2-1 thing, that is tough. That’s part of the reason I like to be aggressive as possible. Our best option is to “out efficient” them by playing more spells and less lands. That’s much easier said than done. Snapcaster helps, but they often have snaps too. I actually play a bedlam reveler in my main and one sideboard copy to help draw additional gas once I have expended my hand. However, he really only fits in the more aggressive, low cmc decks and can be tough to navigate. Some people are liking chart a course, but I have not fallen in love yet. Again this is likely that it doesn’t fit in my personal build.
Finally for valakut and UWR control. First, your meta sounds prettt great. A lot of fun but tough matchups. Cards I have found useful against valakut recently are shadow of doubt and deflecting palm. The shadows help us keep them off of lands and the palms can finish them off once they get to enough lands. Palms also help mitigate the problem of aiding out some removal. Even with these spells the matchup is still a tough one. As for control it’s really about being more efficient and landing Geist of saint Traft if you have him. My go to cards are negateand dispel. I also like to side in a few more too end options in chandra, pyromaster and search for azcanta because the game is going to go longer. I have had pretty good results against them as long as they don’t land their Geist 😃. It’s another matchup where the goal is to put efficient them because, as you mentioned, they have way more 2 for 1 opportunities.
Valakut and UWR are matchups where it pays to get out early on them. Again, easier said than done. I will do a little more grinding against the valakut matchup to see what I can come up with.