I have played against a version online, although that one seemed to still be three color- they went Naya. Pretty traditional RG Titanshift with the 4 nahiri and 1 Emrakul package, and I'm assuming the white SB hate cards. It did seem pretty good, although that is my only experience with nahiri in a shift deck so far. My first thought is that that would seem like the best home for her, as Im not sure what she would replace in a BTL or RUG version.
Very insightful input!
I wonder if it will be a better idea to just give up blue and play pure naya?
no counters, but more removals. And perhaps adding couple of Prismatic Omen
I brewed a Nahirilist (however its not tested very well yet and i dont think its worth running her). Here are my thoughts:
- Just adding her to the list will make BTL scapeshifts bad matchups even worse (mainly aggro decks) as they can ignore or kill her, depending on the situation.
- UWR Nahiri has more removal and control elements to help her surviving. Btl scapeshift has a very limited ammount of removal and wins by being fast and by delaying your opponent with Remands and Cryptic Commands and not by establishing board control. As a result im not even sure, if she improves any non control deck matchups at all.
- If you play her, you really want a payoff card that you can ultimate for. My experience from playing KikiChord with Nahiri Emrakul is, that it deffinetely comes up that you draw the big guy in situations where you dont want him. I would not play Emrakul here, especially if he is only involved in your plan B.
To get a list that can play Nahiri i needed a new approach. Similar to Kiki-Chord, BTL Scapeshift is capable to play Nahiri on T3 and ult her on T5 if she is not interacted with. I added 2 Primeval Titan to the list, which act as alternative wincondition and can be "breached" into play with Nahiri.
Playing Scapeshift and Primeval Titan in one deck brings some mana tensions with it, as Primeval Titan wants you to play as many mountains as possible before you cast him and Scapeshift wants you to keep as many Mountains as possible in your deck before you cast it. As a result, you need to run a lot of mountains (or to not run a lot of non mountains to be precise)
The obvious thing was to cut the 4 cryptics (i know they are one of the reasons to play scapeshift) which took A LOT of pressure from the manabase and made it possible to play Titan + Scapeshift in one deck. Bonus benefits are now easily castable (and also BTL tutorable) 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar and 2 Anger of the Gods, that generally help in all agressive and creature combat oriented matchups (and also can be cast on T3)
So for everyone who is interested how my list looks like:
For those interested, I attended two PPTQs with the RUG Titan build I've been playing and Top 8'd both of them. The report is a little lengthy so I put it in a blog post:
I also moved back to Lightning Bolt and Dispel (currently 2) to counteract all the aggro in the current meta. I am also experimenting with including some number of Angers mainboard in addition to the typical sweeper (Wrath/Damnation).
Nissa, Vital Force
New toy for us. She seems excellent in grindy matchups, with her ability to produce a 5/5 or buyback Mountains/Snapcaster/Obstinate Baloth, and she can act as an alternate wincon.
I have been playing this on Mtgo recently it's absolutely my favorite modern deck wish I picked it sooner. I enjoy it more than just about any other deck after about 50 games I am playing this and find it to be perfect. Notable Choices EE and back to nature in SB are excellent and should be played more. Worldly Councils in the main are also underplayed it's pretty much impulse here.
Only 25 lands seems weird. I have tried back to nature but is just way too narrow. I've played the deck at 2 GPs and through 30 rounds at gps I never boarded it in once even against the blood moon decks I faced because krosan grip is more versatile and I boarded that in and left the back to nature in the board. I play a split of 1 Natures Claim and 1 Krosan Grip for my artifact/enchantment removal. Cutting a scapeshift when you're adding in cards like bolt that don't help get you to be able combo needing 7-8 lands and a scapeshift doesn't seem the best. I have seen people play 2 bolts which seems fine but 4 is unnecessary when having 4 bolts doesn't even make your infect matchup that much better
Well i played like 20 more games with it today on mtgo 25 lands has never felt bad to me the mana base feels perfect and honestly the difference between 25 and 26 lands is marginal with 3 cantrips 9 ramps spells and 4 cards that can be a ramp spell I don't think the deck is light on mana by any stretch of the imagination. Back to nature is excellent vs leyline decks like ad nuaseam boggles and kills blood moon just fine. Against boggles I don't want spellskite as I can't use it via bring to light once they already have dumped their hand same with ripping it off the top. Whipes don't do anything against totem armor so letting my bring to light still be an answer is excellent. Against ad nuaseam and leyline decks having a card that can kill 2 leylines and a unlife at instant speed for 2 is just too good to pass up. I had not considered krosan grip I actually like the idea of diversifying and having a blood moon answer that cannot be countered for u/r decks but I cant see myself cutting both copies of back to nature its good against way to many random decks in addition to boggles AN and any deck I know will pack leylines. This format has so many deck in the "other" category and random mass enchantment decks with eidolon of blossoms and such are things I have seen quite a bit of on mtgo .
I honestly did not like running Scapeshift number 7 drawing multiple copies just felt horrible to me I would rather draw bring to light almost every time and with 3 copies of impulse the situation of losing due to not finding one is simply not happening. Bolt is a card that is great vs infect any aggro or even tempo deck it's even fine vs jund picking off DC's, it's a format staple for a good reason and honestly when I can send it to the face of anyone not shocking themselves down to 18 life and win a turn sooner I rarely find it to be a dead card against anything but pure control. Keep in mind I don't go to many paper events and im more concerned with the MTGOs metagame which im sure is different from the paper metagame. I do appreciate the feedback and I will try a single grip over 1 of my copies of back to nature. I dont like the idea of giving my opponents life with natures claim when the mana cost seems fairly irrelevant and it could mean needing 1 more land to combo. Grip however being uncouterable when I hard draw the card against the R/U decks and hitting artifacts as well does seem appealing. To be honest these seem like very small things that would affect the overall win %s by very small margins and whether it goes up or down is all about variance simply what you end up playing against. Your meta may indeed be different but having the card in my 75 has simply won me games where claim would have done nothing. I have not lost with this deck much period its a strong damn deck which is part of why I am loving it. When I have lost it's never had anything to do with one sb card being better than another In the case of back to nature its been the opposite the card can simply be a blowout. The losses i have had are games I drew nothing but lands for 5 turns or I mulled to 5 because I got a hand with 7 lands and then a hand with 3 cryptic commands a remand and 2 stomping grounds. I do like the idea of diversifying sb cards in a deck that 1 card can be 5 ill give grip a try as it can be a better hard draw vs counterspell decks hits artifacts and I can still have essentially 5 copies of back to nature in the MU's I want it for. Needless to say the decks the real deal and im loving it not only because it's very very good but because it's fun to play as well. My starting 60 feel pretty damn tight to me but if i did shave a bolt it would be for impulse number 4 not scapeshift 7 or land 26 or a random farseek that's for sure .
As far as swing slots go I feel like Bolt number 4 could be impulse number 4 I feel like baloth number 3 Back to nature number 2 and Anger number 2 are slots you could change to fit your meta and with how this decks built Relic and spellbomb are interchangeable and both have relevant upsides with 4 bolts an extra dispel in the SB seems reasonable with 4 Wordly counsel unneeded as you already have 4 good switch ins and 0 dead cards. This deck is pretty awesome in the that in most MU's you dont have to play a single bad card game 2 against almost anything no matter how you play your swing slots. I would not touch the other slots they feel extremely tight
I will never play back to nature in Scapeshift again it's just way too narrow and boggles and ad nauseum are not even popular decks and Chalice is also good against them and various other decks. I used to play 25 lands but when you need lands as your actual win con missing land drops is terrible. It seems youre new to the strategy and that's fine but in my experience February those are my thoughts
Well agree to disagree I only care about mtgos meta and boggles and especially ad nuaseam is fairly popular on mtgo as well as many random decks packing 4x leyline. I just played 2 competitive league games in between posts and back to nature won me a game vs mono white gain life where game 2 he dropped in 2 leylines of sanctity as soon as the game started and i predicted he would have them in the sideboard. I killed him at 37 life on turn 6 after blowing both of them off the board. If you think the difference between 25 and 26 lands is significant in making land drops when im running have 9 ramp spells 3 dig spells 4 tutors that can be cast as a ramps 2 it seems youre new to math i have been doing it since i was 3 years old. While your entitled to your opinion and i appreciate your input I will continue to use back to nature and not lose the games on mtgo I would have otherwise when there have been 0 games I have played where having natures claim instead would have won me the game. If you cannot understand my meta is not your meta I don't know what to tell you man. I don't doubt you did not need it but i have and it's been excellent :/. Also not that it matters but I have lost to land flood more than any other reason period.
I'm going to recommend some things.
1. If you want to discuss deck list differences thats fine but drop the condescending nonsense. It's immature.
2. If I were to recommend a deck list to somebody it'd be what jack Wang played to 20th at a recent modern classic.
3. Your sideboard doesnt really address any of the problematic matchups for the deck as you don't really have much for infect or deaths shadow or Affinity. Most people myself included cut Slaughter Games just because it's narrow and doesn't get boarded in often enough to warrant the sideboard slot and it isn't actually uncomfortable when people can just counter the btl instead or kill you in response to it. In competitive testing and preparation for competitive events i wouldn't qualify"mono white life gain" as something to really care about.
I understand you have your preferences and thats fine. Just be respectful when stating them
Well I cant tell if your trolling me or not you only have 3 posts so im not quite sure. To me this was condescending "It seems youre new to the strategy and that's fine but in my experience February those are my thoughts" so im glad you interpreted exactly how I meant it, jib for jib. I have told you I only meta I care about is MTGO im old i work 50 hours a week im a single father of 2 I don't get to go to events except once in a blue moon that meta is irrelevant to me. While your allowed to have your own opinion I have been playing the deck all day today and Back to nature just keeps winning me more games. I just killed 3 blood moons a leyline to win my last match vs a maindeck blood moon nahiri deck. The card is one of the best ones in my SB. If i wanted to know what most people were doing I more than capable of looking it up but that information is far less relevant to me than simply testing the deck in my own metagame. "in competitive testing and preparation for competitive events " if you think the only thing that matters is large paper events we simply have no reason to argue as we will never being playing in the same field. I play in the competitive mtgo league and mtgo daily's for packs and points to continue to play.
Hello Deezeh. I find 2 black sources to be fine i could run grave over hollow but I have never felt like I needed overgrown tomb. I prefer flooded grove with cinder-glade it is a bit better I cant remember it being an issue though I do remember mulling a hand with mountain flooded grove 1 time when it was otherwise keepable but many more times its allowed me to split to cryptic in hands with no other blue lands and a elder or a search. cinder-glade tapping for green makes it much more valuable to me as the 10th mountain than a 2nd copy of basic mountain. I have had slaughter games cast on me from a jund player once and i lost that game but I won the match so it did not seem so bad I don't know that its worth having a backup but you could always slaughter games there slaughter games if its that much of an issue in your meta XD! Back to nature has been pretty amazing for me. I did look up the deck list the other guy referenced and its clear to me he didn't use bolt because he was planning on using chalice at one out of his board as a 3 of probably because infect is a hard MU though when your not using chalice bolt is a great way to buy enough time to go off. Back to nature is in fact pretty awesome I would ditch the grudge as if you do ever see affinity having access to 5 copies of a card that just completely blows them back is really good for only a single slot investment despite the fact grudge is usable in more match ups. Im not sold on Kgrip yet but ill let you know how the testing goes i just have really liked back to nature quite often i find decks that board in tons of hate enchantments you can just try and play around blood moons for example and let them card disadvantage themselves saving your commands and izzet charms / snaps for their threats then go late and kill them with scape + back to nature later in the game.
Hi guys, I'll be play Scapeshift BTL in a WMCQ this weekend . That is the first time I'll play the deck in a great tournament , I was testing only in FNM 's. I would like to hear opinions about my list.
I expect a metagame: Burn, Affity, Infect, Jeskai Nahiri, Jund.
Playing a RUG omens list (had some success a while ago, a some online interest and a couple of star city vs/deck techs).
I've found it to be consistently the fastest version of the deck, and with the added interaction from cryptic and remand, it's very powerful and often just runs people over on turn 4.
Quick word on the list:
I'm thinking I'd like to include some number of anger of the gods maindeck. I like having 3 electrolyze, so making room for a 4th "sweeper" in anger, could be a strong move.
On the sideboard;
gaea's revenge is intended as a "crush anything blue" card but could maybe be switched for inferno titan. Tried both and they both have merit. Metagame decision.
Chalice of the Void; best card in the sideboard alongside anger, won games purely on hitting an early chalice, on many occasions. It's a permanent addition and is incredibly high impact. I could go up to 3 quite easily.
Anger of the gods; barely needs to be said but this card wins games and should maybe be a 3x in the 75 (thus my interest in running 1 in the main)
Engineered explosives; good and may go up to 2. Obviously great in the current meta
Baloth; been running 4 which I recognise is probably 1 more than average. I've liked having the 4th and they win games, but for the sake of including some more sweepers in the board I could maybe drop to 3.
Surrak; been brilliant against Jund, control, zoo, anything that gets blown out by an uncounterable flash 6/6 basically. Could be an inferno titan but I've been happy with surrak so far.
I feel like the maindeck and sideboard include all the tools to deal with the big bads I.e. Infect, affinity, suicide zoo, burn, Jund. Beyond that I've tried to make my answers as versatile and general as possible.
So far it's worked and I have an impressive 15-1 record in matches at various large competitive FNMs, and a very high percentage in testing.
My 1 loss has been to dredge, thus my interest in including a single anger in the main. For everything else, a combination of electrolyze, remand and chained cryptics is usually enough, as I nearly always win on 6 mana after dropping an omen (so very quickly)
FNM match Record so far (full matches):
Burn decks 3-0
Infect 2-0
Jund 2-0
Merfolk 1-0
Thing ascension 1-0
Affinity 1-0
Tron 1-0
Death and taxes 1-0
Abzan 2-0
RG breach titan 1-0
Dredge 0-1
Very, very positive results, and I contribute it mostly to the speed and consistency of the deck. I'm not left durdling to 7 lands, and anything after 6 normally yields some natural valakut triggers before I even cast anything. Also, 6 lands scapeshift yields 72 damage, which gets around a lot of random lifegain and shenanigans you might see in modern. It also lets you differentiate your damage between creatures/player as well as scapeshift more than once if the first happens to fail, because even a basic island is a mountain when omen is in play.
I run 4 omens and won't be dropping any because you always want to see one (it's better than a farseek) and it enables not just fixing but fast kills and grinding potential. Also, occasionally one bites an abrupt decay so multiples can be helpful.
I'd recommend this version over the bring to light version, from my own testing and the fairly recent success of a similar version at some large tourneys. It's not the "popular" version but it's faster, more grindy when it needs to be, and has some strong versatility in the 3:3 split of titan/scapeshift in the wincon spot. Also, in true RUG form, nearly every card in the deck cantrips.
Last night's fnm, I had TWO occasions when I was on the play and drew 2 cryptics, so I was able to end-step bounce opponent's second land/draw a card, and then mainphase bounce their only remaining land and draw again. Having 5 lands when opponent has 0 is a pretty big swing. Both times, my opponents were like "wow, I've never seen anyone use a cryptic that way, that's really aggressive". And then both games when I hit my 6th land I dropped omen and cast scapeshift for 72 damage. Ouch!
These are ideal scenarios but I reckon they happen at least once every fnm on average. I run 4-ofs of all the relevant cards for that scenario.
Anyway just feeding back my success so far. I can't imagine slowing the deck down again (tried the bring to light version and found it to be clunky in comparison) so I'm going to be testing and taking my list (with tweaks) to some big tourneys and a GP next year.
Cheers peeps.
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
Can you post your BTL version of the deck please ? also with sideboard ?
The BTL list that I tried and found clunky was a very stock list from a couple of months ago, splashing white and using hunting wilds as the singleton ramp spell. I can't remember the 75 off-hand but if you look back at competitive BTL lists from July, you'll see what I'm talking about. They were all basically the same anyway. The sideboard was decent, and one of the parts of the deck that I actually liked.
I included all the important cards, wasn't trying anything silly. Just running the "most competitive" version at the time. Still, it felt slower and less consistent than the rug version I'm playing now.
I may try it again but after having played various "stock" versions of rug scapeshift back in the day (before dig through time), and BTL scapeshift more recently, I got frustrated by having to get to 8 lands to deal anybody 20+ damage, because getting those two extra lands can mean the difference between winning and losing.
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
Has anybody been thinking of adding Madcap Experiment and a couple of Platinum Emperion to the BtL version?
I've seen this idea in most versions of the deck. Its too susceptible to path and other forms of creature hate game one (also artifact hate). boarding the combo in is interesting against decks that aren't blue. it also gives us a leg up against goryos or adnauseum. Ultimately I don't think its good enough. it dilutes our game too much and I would much rather interact more than run another sort of janky combo. don't forget, it also prevents us from running any other artifact in our deck. Theres defenitely a lot of hype around it right now, but I'll stand by my opinion that its not good enough for modern.
Chandra, Flamecaller acts like a win condition on its own, it helps against aggro by sweeping the board and it wheels into an eventual win. Very strong card.
Into the Roil and Repeal are in there to give tempo, deal with random hate permanents and you can also always cycle them and get some level of value if not needed.
One hard part of the deck to me is the sideboarding. I pretty much know what to bring in in different matchups but in out boarding I really could use advice.
Playing a RUG omens list (had some success a while ago, a some online interest and a couple of star city vs/deck techs).
I've found it to be consistently the fastest version of the deck, and with the added interaction from cryptic and remand, it's very powerful and often just runs people over on turn 4.
Hey, loving this list. Decided that I'll be taking this to a PPTQ this sunday. Was hoping I could get your input on a few questions.
1: Do you side out the omens against BGX?
2: How good is titan really? I've done some testing and found that I would rather have interaction and would eventually draw scapeshift anyway.
3: How good is explore? I felt that I wanted a card that would be more consistently impactful.
4: how are the matchups against linear decks such as burn zoo etc? I ended up putting bolts in the list to make these matchups better but we may not need them.
5: How is gaea's revenge doing? I really like it but perhaps another surak could just be better. (surak -> titan is gross)
6: How do you deal with affinity without grudge/other hate?
Would really love your input! I think you're at the forefront of the archetype. A possible sideboard guide would be awesome too!
Playing a RUG omens list (had some success a while ago, a some online interest and a couple of star city vs/deck techs).
I've found it to be consistently the fastest version of the deck, and with the added interaction from cryptic and remand, it's very powerful and often just runs people over on turn 4.
Hey, loving this list. Decided that I'll be taking this to a PPTQ this sunday. Was hoping I could get your input on a few questions.
1: Do you side out the omens against BGX?
2: How good is titan really? I've done some testing and found that I would rather have interaction and would eventually draw scapeshift anyway.
3: How good is explore? I felt that I wanted a card that would be more consistently impactful.
4: how are the matchups against linear decks such as burn zoo etc? I ended up putting bolts in the list to make these matchups better but we may not need them.
5: How is gaea's revenge doing? I really like it but perhaps another surak could just be better. (surak -> titan is gross)
6: How do you deal with affinity without grudge/other hate?
Would really love your input! I think you're at the forefront of the archetype. A possible sideboard guide would be awesome too!
Thanks again, Donk.
No problem, I'll have a go
I've just woken up, so when I get back from work later I'll give a more complete response.
I believe I answered one of your questions already. I'm keen to test running some number (probably 1) anger of the gods maindeck. That would bring the removal count to 4. I'd suggest that in the current meta it's probably reasonable, but not drawing a card sucks. An alternative would be izzet charm.
Re; Jund matchup. I've played it both ways, but recently I've been keeping most of the omens in. They tend to board out removal so it works in our favour. I mostly swap remands for baloths (although use your judgement because on the play, remand is still good), and drop the explores whatever happens. Surrak comes in as well.
I dropped gaea's revenge :(. It's won me games but slow blue decks currently aren't a problem. I replaced it with a 3rd chalice of the Void, because that card has been absolutely nuts for me against fast decks. A 2nd engineered explosives could also be a decent choice but i went with Chalice for the bonus to burn/infect matchup.
Beating suicide zoo is tough. So far the electrolyze package + just general disruption from blue spells and direct damage from omen/valakut has been enough to win games, but i could see switching out 1x electrolyze for something more substantial. Hard to say what though. I don't like running more than 1 maindeck anger because they are so bad against quite a few decks, and drawing dead cards in this deck isn't what you want to be doing.
(also we don't run snapcaster so bolt isn't as amazing as usual).
Titan is great. I initially went from 4 shift, 0 titan to considering including some number of titan, simply because it was another great wincon alongside omen, and it gets around spell pierce/negate and those kinds of things. It also presents a credible threat through certain types of hate, or just by itself, plus it gets around crumble to dust if you are able to drop the titan early enough (means you can get valaluts safely on the board). Also means you have 6 maindeck topdecks to just windmill slam and win the game, which I recognise (as a longtime player) was an issue in the past, before treasure cruise. Sometimes you just didn't draw the win. Now you tend to, so it's better. Finally, it's relevant that titan can block and also "shoot" down creatures as well as your opponent. It just provides another angle (although of course with omen, it's insta-win just like scapeshift).
Erm. Watch out for dredge. Beaten it in testing quite a few times but that said, it's very fast, and I haven't put any real grave hate in the board. This could change of course.
The sideboard is obviously flexible, but certain things are a lock:
2 dispel
3 baloth (I'm still loving 4 tbh but three is the absolute minimum)
1 big dude (surrak/inferno, your preference. I like surrak because uncounterable flash is pretty mega)
1 izzet staticaster just the best at what it does)
1 engineered explosives (basically necessary right now)
2 anger of the gods (again, necessary)
Beyond that, I reckon you could get some mileage out of different things. I like chalice. Depends on your expected meta. Some graveyard hate could be decent too. Negate is always a strong option.
Any more questions just ask.
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
2 dispel
3 baloth (I'm still loving 4 tbh but three is the absolute minimum)
1 big dude (surrak/inferno, your preference. I like surrak because uncounterable flash is pretty mega)
1 izzet staticaster just the best at what it does)
1 engineered explosives (basically necessary right now)
2 anger of the gods (again, necessary)
Beyond that, I reckon you could get some mileage out of different things. I like chalice. Depends on your expected meta. Some graveyard hate could be decent too. Negate is always a strong option.
Any more questions just ask.
hey Purkle, this is a sideboard plan I came up with.
What I like about this board is that its solid against a meta full of linear aggro. I expect chalice on 1 to do most of the heavy lifting in my matchups. I agree that 4 baloth is good as well, shoring up a lot of my midrange matchups. I moved up to 2 surrak because I felt that I needed an edge against control.
My biggest issues with the list are: No mass artifact hate and low diversity in answers.
My question to you is: Do I have too much hate for the linear matchup? I was looking at my deck and saw that for the burn matchup I side in 9 cards, but only have 8 cards that I can side out easily.
I wonder if it will be a better idea to just give up blue and play pure naya?
no counters, but more removals. And perhaps adding couple of Prismatic Omen
https://fetchshockblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/back-to-back-pptq-top-8s-with-rug-titanshift/
I'll probably take some form of this to GP Indy, whether it be RUG or just GR.
Fetch-Shock-Blog
Moderator of /r/Scapeshift
Nissa, Vital Force
New toy for us. She seems excellent in grindy matchups, with her ability to produce a 5/5 or buyback Mountains/Snapcaster/Obstinate Baloth, and she can act as an alternate wincon.
3 Island
2 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Stomping ground
4 Steam Vents
1 Cinder Glade
1 Breeding Pool
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Flooded Grove
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Sakura Tribe-Elder
4 Remand
3 Worldly Counsel
2 Izzet Charm
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Cryptic Command
1 Hunting Wilds
1 Damnation
2 Scapeshift
4 Bring to Light
3 Obstinate Baloth
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Back to Nature
2 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Shatterstorm
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Slaughter Games
1 Engineered Explosives
I have been playing this on Mtgo recently it's absolutely my favorite modern deck wish I picked it sooner. I enjoy it more than just about any other deck after about 50 games I am playing this and find it to be perfect. Notable Choices EE and back to nature in SB are excellent and should be played more. Worldly Councils in the main are also underplayed it's pretty much impulse here.
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
I honestly did not like running Scapeshift number 7 drawing multiple copies just felt horrible to me I would rather draw bring to light almost every time and with 3 copies of impulse the situation of losing due to not finding one is simply not happening. Bolt is a card that is great vs infect any aggro or even tempo deck it's even fine vs jund picking off DC's, it's a format staple for a good reason and honestly when I can send it to the face of anyone not shocking themselves down to 18 life and win a turn sooner I rarely find it to be a dead card against anything but pure control. Keep in mind I don't go to many paper events and im more concerned with the MTGOs metagame which im sure is different from the paper metagame. I do appreciate the feedback and I will try a single grip over 1 of my copies of back to nature. I dont like the idea of giving my opponents life with natures claim when the mana cost seems fairly irrelevant and it could mean needing 1 more land to combo. Grip however being uncouterable when I hard draw the card against the R/U decks and hitting artifacts as well does seem appealing. To be honest these seem like very small things that would affect the overall win %s by very small margins and whether it goes up or down is all about variance simply what you end up playing against. Your meta may indeed be different but having the card in my 75 has simply won me games where claim would have done nothing. I have not lost with this deck much period its a strong damn deck which is part of why I am loving it. When I have lost it's never had anything to do with one sb card being better than another In the case of back to nature its been the opposite the card can simply be a blowout. The losses i have had are games I drew nothing but lands for 5 turns or I mulled to 5 because I got a hand with 7 lands and then a hand with 3 cryptic commands a remand and 2 stomping grounds. I do like the idea of diversifying sb cards in a deck that 1 card can be 5 ill give grip a try as it can be a better hard draw vs counterspell decks hits artifacts and I can still have essentially 5 copies of back to nature in the MU's I want it for. Needless to say the decks the real deal and im loving it not only because it's very very good but because it's fun to play as well. My starting 60 feel pretty damn tight to me but if i did shave a bolt it would be for impulse number 4 not scapeshift 7 or land 26 or a random farseek that's for sure .
As far as swing slots go I feel like Bolt number 4 could be impulse number 4 I feel like baloth number 3 Back to nature number 2 and Anger number 2 are slots you could change to fit your meta and with how this decks built Relic and spellbomb are interchangeable and both have relevant upsides with 4 bolts an extra dispel in the SB seems reasonable with 4 Wordly counsel unneeded as you already have 4 good switch ins and 0 dead cards. This deck is pretty awesome in the that in most MU's you dont have to play a single bad card game 2 against almost anything no matter how you play your swing slots. I would not touch the other slots they feel extremely tight
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
1. If you want to discuss deck list differences thats fine but drop the condescending nonsense. It's immature.
2. If I were to recommend a deck list to somebody it'd be what jack Wang played to 20th at a recent modern classic.
3. Your sideboard doesnt really address any of the problematic matchups for the deck as you don't really have much for infect or deaths shadow or Affinity. Most people myself included cut Slaughter Games just because it's narrow and doesn't get boarded in often enough to warrant the sideboard slot and it isn't actually uncomfortable when people can just counter the btl instead or kill you in response to it. In competitive testing and preparation for competitive events i wouldn't qualify"mono white life gain" as something to really care about.
I understand you have your preferences and thats fine. Just be respectful when stating them
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
I expect a metagame: Burn, Affity, Infect, Jeskai Nahiri, Jund.
4 Stomping Ground
1 Cinder Glade
4 Steam Vents
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Watery Grave
1 Breeding Pool
1 Flooded Grove
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Island
2 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
1 Worldly Counsel
1 Izzet Charm
1 Electrolyze
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Maelstrom Pulse / Sultai Charm
1 Hunting Wilds
4 Cryptic Command
2 Scapeshift
4 Bring to Light
4 Obstinate Baloth
1 Slaughter Games
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Damnation
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Shatterstorm
1 Back to Nature
1 Spellskite
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Flashfreeze
1 Negate
https://deckstats.net/decks/18948/294098-scapeshift-bring-to-light/en
Thanks!
Playing a RUG omens list (had some success a while ago, a some online interest and a couple of star city vs/deck techs).
I've found it to be consistently the fastest version of the deck, and with the added interaction from cryptic and remand, it's very powerful and often just runs people over on turn 4.
List first:
4x sakura-tribe elder
2x explore
4x sleight of hand
3x electrolyze
4x remand
4x cryptic command
4x prismatic omen
3x scapeshift
3x primeval titan
4x misty rainforest
4x steam vents
4x stomping ground
1x cinder glade
1x mountain
1x flooded grove
1x breeding pool
3x island
2x forest
1x engineered explosives
1x izzet staticaster
4x obstinate baloth
2x anger of the gods
2x dispel
1x negate
1x surrak dragonclaw
1x gaea's revenge
2x chalice of the Void
Quick word on the list:
I'm thinking I'd like to include some number of anger of the gods maindeck. I like having 3 electrolyze, so making room for a 4th "sweeper" in anger, could be a strong move.
On the sideboard;
gaea's revenge is intended as a "crush anything blue" card but could maybe be switched for inferno titan. Tried both and they both have merit. Metagame decision.
Chalice of the Void; best card in the sideboard alongside anger, won games purely on hitting an early chalice, on many occasions. It's a permanent addition and is incredibly high impact. I could go up to 3 quite easily.
Anger of the gods; barely needs to be said but this card wins games and should maybe be a 3x in the 75 (thus my interest in running 1 in the main)
Engineered explosives; good and may go up to 2. Obviously great in the current meta
Baloth; been running 4 which I recognise is probably 1 more than average. I've liked having the 4th and they win games, but for the sake of including some more sweepers in the board I could maybe drop to 3.
Surrak; been brilliant against Jund, control, zoo, anything that gets blown out by an uncounterable flash 6/6 basically. Could be an inferno titan but I've been happy with surrak so far.
I feel like the maindeck and sideboard include all the tools to deal with the big bads I.e. Infect, affinity, suicide zoo, burn, Jund. Beyond that I've tried to make my answers as versatile and general as possible.
So far it's worked and I have an impressive 15-1 record in matches at various large competitive FNMs, and a very high percentage in testing.
My 1 loss has been to dredge, thus my interest in including a single anger in the main. For everything else, a combination of electrolyze, remand and chained cryptics is usually enough, as I nearly always win on 6 mana after dropping an omen (so very quickly)
FNM match Record so far (full matches):
Burn decks 3-0
Infect 2-0
Jund 2-0
Merfolk 1-0
Thing ascension 1-0
Affinity 1-0
Tron 1-0
Death and taxes 1-0
Abzan 2-0
RG breach titan 1-0
Dredge 0-1
Very, very positive results, and I contribute it mostly to the speed and consistency of the deck. I'm not left durdling to 7 lands, and anything after 6 normally yields some natural valakut triggers before I even cast anything. Also, 6 lands scapeshift yields 72 damage, which gets around a lot of random lifegain and shenanigans you might see in modern. It also lets you differentiate your damage between creatures/player as well as scapeshift more than once if the first happens to fail, because even a basic island is a mountain when omen is in play.
I run 4 omens and won't be dropping any because you always want to see one (it's better than a farseek) and it enables not just fixing but fast kills and grinding potential. Also, occasionally one bites an abrupt decay so multiples can be helpful.
I'd recommend this version over the bring to light version, from my own testing and the fairly recent success of a similar version at some large tourneys. It's not the "popular" version but it's faster, more grindy when it needs to be, and has some strong versatility in the 3:3 split of titan/scapeshift in the wincon spot. Also, in true RUG form, nearly every card in the deck cantrips.
Last night's fnm, I had TWO occasions when I was on the play and drew 2 cryptics, so I was able to end-step bounce opponent's second land/draw a card, and then mainphase bounce their only remaining land and draw again. Having 5 lands when opponent has 0 is a pretty big swing. Both times, my opponents were like "wow, I've never seen anyone use a cryptic that way, that's really aggressive". And then both games when I hit my 6th land I dropped omen and cast scapeshift for 72 damage. Ouch!
These are ideal scenarios but I reckon they happen at least once every fnm on average. I run 4-ofs of all the relevant cards for that scenario.
Anyway just feeding back my success so far. I can't imagine slowing the deck down again (tried the bring to light version and found it to be clunky in comparison) so I'm going to be testing and taking my list (with tweaks) to some big tourneys and a GP next year.
Cheers peeps.
The BTL list that I tried and found clunky was a very stock list from a couple of months ago, splashing white and using hunting wilds as the singleton ramp spell. I can't remember the 75 off-hand but if you look back at competitive BTL lists from July, you'll see what I'm talking about. They were all basically the same anyway. The sideboard was decent, and one of the parts of the deck that I actually liked.
I included all the important cards, wasn't trying anything silly. Just running the "most competitive" version at the time. Still, it felt slower and less consistent than the rug version I'm playing now.
I may try it again but after having played various "stock" versions of rug scapeshift back in the day (before dig through time), and BTL scapeshift more recently, I got frustrated by having to get to 8 lands to deal anybody 20+ damage, because getting those two extra lands can mean the difference between winning and losing.
I've seen this idea in most versions of the deck. Its too susceptible to path and other forms of creature hate game one (also artifact hate). boarding the combo in is interesting against decks that aren't blue. it also gives us a leg up against goryos or adnauseum. Ultimately I don't think its good enough. it dilutes our game too much and I would much rather interact more than run another sort of janky combo. don't forget, it also prevents us from running any other artifact in our deck. Theres defenitely a lot of hype around it right now, but I'll stand by my opinion that its not good enough for modern.
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Scapeshift
4 Remand
4 Cryptic Command
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Izzet Charm
2 Peer Through Depths
2 Anticipate
2 Electrolyze
1 Repeal
1 Into the Roil
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
2 Breeding Pool
1 Cinder Glade
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Island
2 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Flooded Grove
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Obstinate Baloth
2 Thragtusk
2 Dispel
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Roast
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Negate
Chandra, Flamecaller acts like a win condition on its own, it helps against aggro by sweeping the board and it wheels into an eventual win. Very strong card.
Into the Roil and Repeal are in there to give tempo, deal with random hate permanents and you can also always cycle them and get some level of value if not needed.
One hard part of the deck to me is the sideboarding. I pretty much know what to bring in in different matchups but in out boarding I really could use advice.
Modern
WUBRG
Hey, loving this list. Decided that I'll be taking this to a PPTQ this sunday. Was hoping I could get your input on a few questions.
1: Do you side out the omens against BGX?
2: How good is titan really? I've done some testing and found that I would rather have interaction and would eventually draw scapeshift anyway.
3: How good is explore? I felt that I wanted a card that would be more consistently impactful.
4: how are the matchups against linear decks such as burn zoo etc? I ended up putting bolts in the list to make these matchups better but we may not need them.
5: How is gaea's revenge doing? I really like it but perhaps another surak could just be better. (surak -> titan is gross)
6: How do you deal with affinity without grudge/other hate?
Would really love your input! I think you're at the forefront of the archetype. A possible sideboard guide would be awesome too!
Thanks again, Donk.
No problem, I'll have a go
I've just woken up, so when I get back from work later I'll give a more complete response.
I believe I answered one of your questions already. I'm keen to test running some number (probably 1) anger of the gods maindeck. That would bring the removal count to 4. I'd suggest that in the current meta it's probably reasonable, but not drawing a card sucks. An alternative would be izzet charm.
Re; Jund matchup. I've played it both ways, but recently I've been keeping most of the omens in. They tend to board out removal so it works in our favour. I mostly swap remands for baloths (although use your judgement because on the play, remand is still good), and drop the explores whatever happens. Surrak comes in as well.
I dropped gaea's revenge :(. It's won me games but slow blue decks currently aren't a problem. I replaced it with a 3rd chalice of the Void, because that card has been absolutely nuts for me against fast decks. A 2nd engineered explosives could also be a decent choice but i went with Chalice for the bonus to burn/infect matchup.
Beating suicide zoo is tough. So far the electrolyze package + just general disruption from blue spells and direct damage from omen/valakut has been enough to win games, but i could see switching out 1x electrolyze for something more substantial. Hard to say what though. I don't like running more than 1 maindeck anger because they are so bad against quite a few decks, and drawing dead cards in this deck isn't what you want to be doing.
(also we don't run snapcaster so bolt isn't as amazing as usual).
Titan is great. I initially went from 4 shift, 0 titan to considering including some number of titan, simply because it was another great wincon alongside omen, and it gets around spell pierce/negate and those kinds of things. It also presents a credible threat through certain types of hate, or just by itself, plus it gets around crumble to dust if you are able to drop the titan early enough (means you can get valaluts safely on the board). Also means you have 6 maindeck topdecks to just windmill slam and win the game, which I recognise (as a longtime player) was an issue in the past, before treasure cruise. Sometimes you just didn't draw the win. Now you tend to, so it's better. Finally, it's relevant that titan can block and also "shoot" down creatures as well as your opponent. It just provides another angle (although of course with omen, it's insta-win just like scapeshift).
Erm. Watch out for dredge. Beaten it in testing quite a few times but that said, it's very fast, and I haven't put any real grave hate in the board. This could change of course.
The sideboard is obviously flexible, but certain things are a lock:
2 dispel
3 baloth (I'm still loving 4 tbh but three is the absolute minimum)
1 big dude (surrak/inferno, your preference. I like surrak because uncounterable flash is pretty mega)
1 izzet staticaster just the best at what it does)
1 engineered explosives (basically necessary right now)
2 anger of the gods (again, necessary)
Beyond that, I reckon you could get some mileage out of different things. I like chalice. Depends on your expected meta. Some graveyard hate could be decent too. Negate is always a strong option.
Any more questions just ask.
hey Purkle, this is a sideboard plan I came up with.
What I like about this board is that its solid against a meta full of linear aggro. I expect chalice on 1 to do most of the heavy lifting in my matchups. I agree that 4 baloth is good as well, shoring up a lot of my midrange matchups. I moved up to 2 surrak because I felt that I needed an edge against control.
My biggest issues with the list are: No mass artifact hate and low diversity in answers.
My question to you is: Do I have too much hate for the linear matchup? I was looking at my deck and saw that for the burn matchup I side in 9 cards, but only have 8 cards that I can side out easily.
Heres my list for referance
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
2 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
1 Scalding Tarn
3 Island
3 Forest
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Breeding Pool
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Prismatic Omen
3 Scapeshift
3 Primeval Titan
2 Izzet Charm
1 Anger of the Gods
Side
4 Obstinate Baloth
2 Surrak Dragonclaw
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Dispel
2 Engineered Explosives
- 2 electro, -2 Charm, -4 remand seems simple, but I feel like I want to put in +4 baloth, +3 chalice, +2 dispell
What do? Diversify my sideboard? anything in the main look blatantly wrong? is this ok? am I being to critical? set me straight.
IF you made it this far, thanks again.
Donk.