I have been going over Grixis style lists that could be very good. I like the idea of more burn with lightning bolt, electrolyze, etc. to deal with opponents quickly. Plus, boarding with red allows for Rakdos Charm versus Twin decks, Slaughter Games for Twin, Pod, etc. and other cards. Not quite sure what the list would look like. I think the biggest problem would be the mana base. Adding a third color would offer more utility, but would make the deck overall more shaky.
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
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Decks I have in my bag of tricks- Needless to say, someone who wants to play will probably have a deck UB/x Faeries UR Storm XURWB Affinity G Elves UW control
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
Considering that deck really couldn't run Mistbind or SSS effectively, at that point you are UB Tempo and no longer a Faeries deck.
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
Considering that deck really couldn't run Mistbind or SSS effectively, at that point you are UB Tempo and no longer a Faeries deck.
That is indeed correct. Still, it seems to me that you guys are just playing Bitterblossom for the sake of it. Why are you so hellbent on playing Faeries when it clearly seems not powerful enough in comparison to other decks? I don't like admitting it, but at that point, UWR is a better control deck than we are, and Delver a better tempo deck.
We already have a fairly beneficial game plan against twin actually and I don't think you can sell the idea of red to people with matchups that are already okay...especially when the red manabase burns you to death in conjunction with bitterblossom. Most don't find it to be an option
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
I believe this is the slippery slope you have to deal with and it is hard to come up with different lines of reasoning.
That's just backing up my thesis that you are not playing Faeries because it is a good deck, but just because you want to play Faeries. As of now, I'm still running BB, however, I've cut all my Mistbinds and replaced them with Swords and an additional Cryptic. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to work either. I can tell you what this deck's problem is: It is Bitterblossom. And Spellstutter Sprite not working without BB is a completely untrue statement -> UR Fae anyone??
Just peaking in to let you guys know that a couple of us have been testing bitterblossom in an UB Tezz control build and this is exactly the conclusion we've come to: can be amazing, but too often seems too slow / painful for current modern. So we've moved in to the sideboard against slow midrange or control. Not the same deck and all, but it still is the same card with the same ups and downs. Cheers. Long live faeries.
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MODERN Blue Lantern, UBx Tezzerator. OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
I was also trying Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas in Faeries, and the card can be amazing if you manage to find a Spellskite or Grafdigger's Cage with its +1, but usually you will be just tapping out for nothing, so I'll move them to the sideboard against Twin and Living End. Not the same deck and all, but it's still the same card with the same ups and downs.
I also believe Bitterblossom isn't the best card for this deck. We should be playing more counterspells and answers in general, and leave threats for true aggressive and tempo decks (including Creeping Tar Pit in here, I love getting flooded with lands that do nothing besides tapping for mana); Faeries is a pure control deck and we should be playing Cruel Ultimatums instead, or Swords you can't equip to anything if you don't want to splash a third color, although I'd recommend switching to UWR Control and move this thread to Deck creation.
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Who is truer: you who are, or you who are to be?
Currently sleeved: WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
Yep. General consensus on Tezz AoB is you need 18-20 artifacts in your deck to make the card the superengine it can be. In my opinion, Faeries is more of a reaction (draw-go) control deck, with all the flashing and stuff. Where Tezz is more tap-out control.
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MODERN Blue Lantern, UBx Tezzerator. OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
I'm sorry my internet sarcasm senses are failing me right now, so work with me here. faeries is a meta game choice deck meaning you actually have to do your research and see if you personally would be comfortable playing the deck. How you play the deck itself is your choice; but please leave the comparison to other archetypes out of the discussion. If you would rather be playing another UB deck that's fine, but to answer Anthreion you play the deck because you believe that you, as a player can pilot the deck through enough situations to find the surplus of virtual card advantage value hidden in your cards. So yes I play faeries because i want to play faeries...but the deck does something for me personally when I play which is allow me to geterate some pressure/defense without too many defined resources. So I can allocate them offensively or defensively as I see fit. The deck can play most angles well with knowledge of how to overcome thongs, but I admit playing another deck until you feel you as a player can capitalize on the meta is a plan
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Decks I have in my bag of tricks- Needless to say, someone who wants to play will probably have a deck UB/x Faeries UR Storm XURWB Affinity G Elves UW control
That is indeed correct. Still, it seems to me that you guys are just playing Bitterblossom for the sake of it. Why are you so hellbent on playing Faeries when it clearly seems not powerful enough in comparison to other decks? I don't like admitting it, but at that point, UWR is a better control deck than we are, and Delver a better tempo deck.
Played a PTQ last weekend and went 5-2-1. Only draw was to RWU, but I have to say that I dont "run BB just to run it", I lost a total of 1 games where I resolved (and kept around) a BB. Its exactly what a fae deck wants to do. After you land a BB you can literally sit back on it to win the game. At that point all the remands, cryptics, leaks, SSS, etc all become FAR better. You are not worrying about putting on pressure AND leaving up counter-magic, you always get to apply 'free' pressure with a BB on board.
I lost to R/G tron, and boggles.
Tron : never saw a mistbind or cryptic vs turn 3 tron both games and turn 4 eye of ugin. (I dont own V Clique... which sucks)
Boggles : Lost game 1 race, game 2 mull to 4 with an IoK in opener vs turn 0 Leyline... 2 thoughtseize draws later I just didnt have the gas to fight.
I beat : Affinity, RWUx2, 4-Color gifts, Storm.
If you really want to apply to more-total pressure to an opponent youre probably better off running black that does that :
Smallpox
Bump in the Night (1 steam vents or something to flashback)
Geth's Verdict
These things all match up really well with the U/B fae plan IMO, and dont require you to take extra damage from lands or lose consistency from another color addition.
ell what kind of trouble is your friend having? Resolving bitterblossom? Acquiring a clock that does not die to electrolyze? It is a very wide open question but usually guaranteeing a bitter blossom resolves is a huge help and your discard or spell snares and mana leaks can be useful in resolving it. Without one in play you can get buried in value
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Decks I have in my bag of tricks- Needless to say, someone who wants to play will probably have a deck UB/x Faeries UR Storm XURWB Affinity G Elves UW control
I have thought about BB again. The real problem with it is that it costs 2 mana. It would be so much stronget as a 1-drop, so we could cast a reliable turn 2 SSS. I found an old extended Fae list that ran 4 Chrome mox to resolve a turn 1 BB. What if we just played Simian Spirit Guide or Chancellor of The tangle to do so? I for one am going to try it!
In the RWU matchup the real key is to leverage the fact that most of their spells are SO much more expensive than ours.
Kiki
Resto Angel
Activation Cost on Collonade vs our mutavault / Tar Pit
U/B Fae discard goes VERY far in this matchup. Game 1 can go either way really, its pretty draw dependent. Landing BB is pretty key, I prefer to keep the backup of mana leak + spell snare (so turn 5), because right now UWR is light on counters due to trying to run the auto-kill combo ok resto + kiki. RWU control game 1 will a lot of times just tap out on 2 for a wall of omens to get a free draw (since usually by turn 2 they dont know youre fae), this is another opening for BB to resolve.
A few key things that I think helped me were :
- Dont fight over bolts / electrolyze / etc against BB tokens unless its vital to get a counter with SSS
- Remember, U/B fae is built for tempo, not control. On the draw I board out mana leaks and bring in the 4th spell snare (3 main 1 side in my list). On the play I keep the mana leaks and go down to 2 Spell Snares, Dispel comes in because its great against them. SSS is amazing because its cheap and spell pierce is ineffective against it (If I were RWU I wouldnt keep in pierces against U/B but all 3 opponents did keep them).
- The fact I ran 4 thoughtseize and 1 IoK (in part I couldnt find another 1-2 IoK, and in part I expected lots of RWU) helped a ton. An early IoK can be blank against RWU if you see cryptic + resto angel + kiki on top of lands.
- Mistbind clique (even if it doesnt resolve/champion) is still good game 1 to fight on their upkeep. It either taps their lands, or taps their lands. I dont keep more than 2 in post-board, but forcing moves in game 1 is exactly what you need.
That's just backing up my thesis that you are not playing Faeries because it is a good deck, but just because you want to play Faeries. As of now, I'm still running BB, however, I've cut all my Mistbinds and replaced them with Swords and an additional Cryptic. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to work either. I can tell you what this deck's problem is: It is Bitterblossom. And Spellstutter Sprite not working without BB is a completely untrue statement -> UR Fae anyone??
I seldom lose games in which I resolve Bitterblossom. Therefore I think it is an effective card. IMO Faeries struggles because the designers wanted to move the game away from things that stop people playing their cards, e.g. control, hand stripping and land destruction. They also design away from locks these days. But for reasons best known to themselves, they don't seem to mind infinite loops or one-card wins. Probably because players find them exciting rather than frustrating. At the same time, creatures have ramped hugely in power and they have continued to feed Timmy. They're so-so on Storm.
I think the flaw in their thinking is that it is the presence of control that makes fair decks competitive and stops formats from breaking. Possibly we just have to embrace hard counters at UU1, but nowadays we have all these 'cannot be countered' effects - and plain bad card designs like Voice of Resurgence. Voice says 'Dude, don't play a control deck'. Bitterblossom is a strong virtual card-advantage/tempo engine with an incredible synergy with Spellstutter. We just need WotC to realise that control is the glue that keeps formats together.
Also, we will soon get fetchlands in our colours and that might help, too. (Although I did recently realise that you can't turn River of Tears black with a fetch.)
This is what I'm currently running: At this point, it's not really a Faerie deck anymore, as it includes only 11 Faeries (3 of them being blue staples). For this reason, I have also stopped using Secluded Glens and replaced them with Watery Graves. I call it: Bitterblade
4 SSSS
4 BB
3 Vendilion
2 Snapcaster
3 Mana Leak
4 CC
2 Spell Snare
3 IOK
2 Thoughtseize
2 Disfigure
2 Smother
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Batterskull
4 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Island
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Underground River
4 Darkslick Shores
I seldom lose games in which I resolve Bitterblossom. Therefore I think it is an effective card. IMO Faeries struggles because the designers wanted to move the game away from things that stop people playing their cards, e.g. control, hand stripping and land destruction. They also design away from locks these days. But for reasons best known to themselves, they don't seem to mind infinite loops or one-card wins. Probably because players find them exciting rather than frustrating. At the same time, creatures have ramped hugely in power and they have continued to feed Timmy. They're so-so on Storm.
I think the flaw in their thinking is that it is the presence of control that makes fair decks competitive and stops formats from breaking. Possibly we just have to embrace hard counters at UU1, but nowadays we have all these 'cannot be countered' effects - and plain bad card designs like Voice of Resurgence. Voice says 'Dude, don't play a control deck'. Bitterblossom is a strong virtual card-advantage/tempo engine with an incredible synergy with Spellstutter. We just need WotC to realise that control is the glue that keeps formats together.
Also, we will soon get fetchlands in our colours and that might help, too. (Although I did recently realise that you can't turn River of Tears black with a fetch.)
So you play faeries because it should be good, and the only reason it isn't is that wizards doesn't want control to be good? UWR control manages to put up consistent results despite also being a control deck. You might not have meant it this way, but your post reads to me "My deck isn't the best and wizards has printed cards that are good against it, therefore it's a good deck and wizards clearly hates it for no god reason."
Bitterblossom might win you the game when it sticks, but most Faeries decks are built around dissolving it. Spellstutter sprite, mistbind clique, and scion of oona are all worse without bitterblossom. I think either we need cards like Serum Visions in order to consistently find BB, or be less dependent on it.
I'm sorry my internet sarcasm senses are failing me right now, so work with me here.
Thought I'd get a warning for summarizing Antherion's opinions in one sarcastic post, but guess nobody noticed, so either he's right after all, or he's the greatest troll around
Bitterblossom might win you the game when it sticks, but most Faeries decks are built around dissolving it. Spellstutter sprite, mistbind clique, and scion of oona are all worse without bitterblossom. I think either we need cards like Serum Visions in order to consistently find BB, or be less dependent on it.
If Ponder wasn't played in Lorwyn-Alara Standard, a format where there wasn't Spell Snare, Inquisition of Kozilek, Dismember nor Creeping Tar Pit turn 1, playing Serum Visions in Modern doesn't make sense at all. There are plenty of things you can do while you don't play Bitterblossom early game, and you can't even win without it just attacking with manlands. It's not like Tempo Twin or Melira winning 90% of their games without comboing, but you can win a fair amount of games without getting a single token from Bitterblossom and still playing Spellstutter Sprite and Mistbind Clique.
I think the main problem with Faeries is that is an unforgiving deck and you have to take many decisions at moments that you're not used to, so if you're not experienced with the deck you'll lose more than you should. Hand selection, land sequencing, disruption management, combat math, triggered abilities, instant speed playing, role switching... not an easy deck, but I honestly believe playing this deck I'm playing the best deck of the format.
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Who is truer: you who are, or you who are to be?
Currently sleeved: WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
I think the main problem with Faeries is that is an unforgiving deck and you have to take many decisions at moments that you're not used to, so if you're not experienced with the deck you'll lose more than you should. Hand selection, land sequencing, disruption management, combat math, triggered abilities, instant speed playing, role switching... not an easy deck, but I honestly believe playing this deck I'm playing the best deck of the format.
I agree with most of what is said here. Faeries will destroy you for making a misstep, as it is far more tempo than any other deck in the format in my opinion. Though I don't think I would go as far as to say it is the best deck in the format, I believe it to be a higher competitive contender than most people give it credit for.
UB/x Faeries
UR Storm
XURWB Affinity
G Elves
UW control
That is probably very true. On the other hand, I have been wondering to what extent Bitterblossom is actually necessary and, moreover, how good of a card it actually is.
Faerie decks back in Lorwyn Standard were able to outrace most of their opponents using BB, Scion and their disruption spells. However, Modern is a format that is much, much faster than any Standard environment ever was, and in this very format BB seems too slow to me. It will give us our first creature in turn 3, and the first attack will be due in turn 4 accordingly.
A much better alternative would be Bob. I'm currently tending towards a kind of Bitterblossom-less UB aggro-control deck including 4 Bobs, 2 Snappies and 2 Swords of FaF.
Considering that deck really couldn't run Mistbind or SSS effectively, at that point you are UB Tempo and no longer a Faeries deck.
UB Faeries GP Record - 22/9/2, 1 Top 64
A deck without Bitterblossoms and Confidants has gained two reasons not to run Mistbind Clique. Mistbind Clique and Spellstutter Sprite Are then replaced by Delver of Secrets. You can try UB Delver, but UR Delver is just so much better.
I believe this is the slippery slope you have to deal with and it is hard to come up with different lines of reasoning.
DECKS:
UB Faeries [Midrange/Tempo]
RWUGB Affinity[Aggro]
FAERIES TOO STRONK!!!1111
- Fae Prophecy, 201
5678That is indeed correct. Still, it seems to me that you guys are just playing Bitterblossom for the sake of it. Why are you so hellbent on playing Faeries when it clearly seems not powerful enough in comparison to other decks? I don't like admitting it, but at that point, UWR is a better control deck than we are, and Delver a better tempo deck.
That's just backing up my thesis that you are not playing Faeries because it is a good deck, but just because you want to play Faeries. As of now, I'm still running BB, however, I've cut all my Mistbinds and replaced them with Swords and an additional Cryptic. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to work either. I can tell you what this deck's problem is: It is Bitterblossom. And Spellstutter Sprite not working without BB is a completely untrue statement -> UR Fae anyone??
OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
I also believe Bitterblossom isn't the best card for this deck. We should be playing more counterspells and answers in general, and leave threats for true aggressive and tempo decks (including Creeping Tar Pit in here, I love getting flooded with lands that do nothing besides tapping for mana); Faeries is a pure control deck and we should be playing Cruel Ultimatums instead, or Swords you can't equip to anything if you don't want to splash a third color, although I'd recommend switching to UWR Control and move this thread to Deck creation.
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
UB/x Faeries
UR Storm
XURWB Affinity
G Elves
UW control
Played a PTQ last weekend and went 5-2-1. Only draw was to RWU, but I have to say that I dont "run BB just to run it", I lost a total of 1 games where I resolved (and kept around) a BB. Its exactly what a fae deck wants to do. After you land a BB you can literally sit back on it to win the game. At that point all the remands, cryptics, leaks, SSS, etc all become FAR better. You are not worrying about putting on pressure AND leaving up counter-magic, you always get to apply 'free' pressure with a BB on board.
I lost to R/G tron, and boggles.
Tron : never saw a mistbind or cryptic vs turn 3 tron both games and turn 4 eye of ugin. (I dont own V Clique... which sucks)
Boggles : Lost game 1 race, game 2 mull to 4 with an IoK in opener vs turn 0 Leyline... 2 thoughtseize draws later I just didnt have the gas to fight.
I beat : Affinity, RWUx2, 4-Color gifts, Storm.
If you really want to apply to more-total pressure to an opponent youre probably better off running black that does that :
Smallpox
Bump in the Night (1 steam vents or something to flashback)
Geth's Verdict
These things all match up really well with the U/B fae plan IMO, and dont require you to take extra damage from lands or lose consistency from another color addition.
Thirst for Knowledge % to hit artifact
UB/x Faeries
UR Storm
XURWB Affinity
G Elves
UW control
Kiki
Resto Angel
Activation Cost on Collonade vs our mutavault / Tar Pit
U/B Fae discard goes VERY far in this matchup. Game 1 can go either way really, its pretty draw dependent. Landing BB is pretty key, I prefer to keep the backup of mana leak + spell snare (so turn 5), because right now UWR is light on counters due to trying to run the auto-kill combo ok resto + kiki. RWU control game 1 will a lot of times just tap out on 2 for a wall of omens to get a free draw (since usually by turn 2 they dont know youre fae), this is another opening for BB to resolve.
A few key things that I think helped me were :
- Dont fight over bolts / electrolyze / etc against BB tokens unless its vital to get a counter with SSS
- Remember, U/B fae is built for tempo, not control. On the draw I board out mana leaks and bring in the 4th spell snare (3 main 1 side in my list). On the play I keep the mana leaks and go down to 2 Spell Snares, Dispel comes in because its great against them. SSS is amazing because its cheap and spell pierce is ineffective against it (If I were RWU I wouldnt keep in pierces against U/B but all 3 opponents did keep them).
- The fact I ran 4 thoughtseize and 1 IoK (in part I couldnt find another 1-2 IoK, and in part I expected lots of RWU) helped a ton. An early IoK can be blank against RWU if you see cryptic + resto angel + kiki on top of lands.
- Mistbind clique (even if it doesnt resolve/champion) is still good game 1 to fight on their upkeep. It either taps their lands, or taps their lands. I dont keep more than 2 in post-board, but forcing moves in game 1 is exactly what you need.
Thirst for Knowledge % to hit artifact
I seldom lose games in which I resolve Bitterblossom. Therefore I think it is an effective card. IMO Faeries struggles because the designers wanted to move the game away from things that stop people playing their cards, e.g. control, hand stripping and land destruction. They also design away from locks these days. But for reasons best known to themselves, they don't seem to mind infinite loops or one-card wins. Probably because players find them exciting rather than frustrating. At the same time, creatures have ramped hugely in power and they have continued to feed Timmy. They're so-so on Storm.
I think the flaw in their thinking is that it is the presence of control that makes fair decks competitive and stops formats from breaking. Possibly we just have to embrace hard counters at UU1, but nowadays we have all these 'cannot be countered' effects - and plain bad card designs like Voice of Resurgence. Voice says 'Dude, don't play a control deck'. Bitterblossom is a strong virtual card-advantage/tempo engine with an incredible synergy with Spellstutter. We just need WotC to realise that control is the glue that keeps formats together.
Also, we will soon get fetchlands in our colours and that might help, too. (Although I did recently realise that you can't turn River of Tears black with a fetch.)
4 SSSS
4 BB
3 Vendilion
2 Snapcaster
3 Mana Leak
4 CC
2 Spell Snare
3 IOK
2 Thoughtseize
2 Disfigure
2 Smother
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Batterskull
4 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Island
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Underground River
4 Darkslick Shores
So you play faeries because it should be good, and the only reason it isn't is that wizards doesn't want control to be good? UWR control manages to put up consistent results despite also being a control deck. You might not have meant it this way, but your post reads to me "My deck isn't the best and wizards has printed cards that are good against it, therefore it's a good deck and wizards clearly hates it for no god reason."
Bitterblossom might win you the game when it sticks, but most Faeries decks are built around dissolving it. Spellstutter sprite, mistbind clique, and scion of oona are all worse without bitterblossom. I think either we need cards like Serum Visions in order to consistently find BB, or be less dependent on it.
Thought I'd get a warning for summarizing Antherion's opinions in one sarcastic post, but guess nobody noticed, so either he's right after all, or he's the greatest troll around
If Ponder wasn't played in Lorwyn-Alara Standard, a format where there wasn't Spell Snare, Inquisition of Kozilek, Dismember nor Creeping Tar Pit turn 1, playing Serum Visions in Modern doesn't make sense at all. There are plenty of things you can do while you don't play Bitterblossom early game, and you can't even win without it just attacking with manlands. It's not like Tempo Twin or Melira winning 90% of their games without comboing, but you can win a fair amount of games without getting a single token from Bitterblossom and still playing Spellstutter Sprite and Mistbind Clique.
I think the main problem with Faeries is that is an unforgiving deck and you have to take many decisions at moments that you're not used to, so if you're not experienced with the deck you'll lose more than you should. Hand selection, land sequencing, disruption management, combat math, triggered abilities, instant speed playing, role switching... not an easy deck, but I honestly believe playing this deck I'm playing the best deck of the format.
Currently sleeved:
WUR Copycat ft. Stoneforge Mystic
I agree with most of what is said here. Faeries will destroy you for making a misstep, as it is far more tempo than any other deck in the format in my opinion. Though I don't think I would go as far as to say it is the best deck in the format, I believe it to be a higher competitive contender than most people give it credit for.
Thirst for Knowledge % to hit artifact