I actually tested last night with a list very similar to yours. In the goyf slot I was running 2 angers, 1 electrolyze, and the 4th scapeshift. It was my first time playing with 4 valakuts and prismatic omens and it definitley gives the deck alot more oomph. I was curious as well if fitting in 2 primetimes might work out; I may try it out tonight. Testing last night without goyfs or primetimes I beat GB elves handily, as well as jund, and lost a close 3 against gw hatebears. I always seem to win game 1 vs the hatebears and then cant squeak a win out of the next 2.
I actually tested last night with a list very similar to yours. In the goyf slot I was running 2 angers, 1 electrolyze, and the 4th scapeshift. It was my first time playing with 4 valakuts and prismatic omens and it definitley gives the deck alot more oomph. I was curious as well if fitting in 2 primetimes might work out; I may try it out tonight. Testing last night without goyfs or primetimes I beat GB elves handily, as well as jund, and lost a close 3 against gw hatebears. I always seem to win game 1 vs the hatebears and then cant squeak a win out of the next 2.
so i've had a go at tweaking my list a bit (taking out the goyfs for the moment) to see if i can get some more deck-velocity and a faster goldfish, while still retaining the powerful core of cryptic and remand.
i think this may look a little better than before.
notable changes - the usual 2x snapcaster mage that's common for the deck has morphed into 2x primeval titan, seeing as prismatic omen (which provides some real punch) makes for less snappy targets. Explore is something i'm willing to explore (haha) as an option because the potential ceiling for this card is astronomical. just now, in a goldfish, I got to turn 3 with a valakut on the field, plus forest, breeding pool, island. I have valakut in hand. I proceeded to cast Explore, draw into second valakut in hand (very lucky) and with my remaining two mana cast prismatic omen. I play my two land drops for the turn, valakut/valakut and with the 6th land drop dome my opponent for 9. next turn with any single land drop they are uncounterably dead (most likely) or: a variety of spells also do the job.
that was pretty insane, but I have had similarly great experiences with omen overall. in some ways it replaces the need for lightning bolt because it enables easy interaction with the board.
Whats the reasoning for creeping corrosion over shatterstorm? Also concerning explore, its something I have thought about, but my local meta is full of so much blazing fast aggro I cant justify dropping the bolts for it. It also seems like it would be better in a 26 land list (im assuming you meant 4 steam vents not 3 because your earlier lists had 25 lands).
Whats the reasoning for creeping corrosion over shatterstorm? Also concerning explore, its something I have thought about, but my local meta is full of so much blazing fast aggro I cant justify dropping the bolts for it. It also seems like it would be better in a 26 land list (im assuming you meant 4 steam vents not 3 because your earlier lists had 25 lands).
more importantly, the deck runs misty rainforest as its only fetch, and flooded grove as its filter land. this makes searching that double red up a big problem early in the game because you either take lots of damage from your red shocklands, or you potentially get stuck, unable to search up a red source with your tribe elders or search for tomorrows because you've already drawn your only mountain.
that's pretty much all the reasoning you need to go for the green spell, despite it not having the "no regen" clause. boosted by anger of the gods and engineered explosives, it makes for a pretty potent sideboard strategy, at the cost of only 2x "affinity" sideboard cards.
and yes, I realise anger of the gods has the same problem, but from a deckbuilding perspective it's best to minimise the number of times you'll get mana stuck, by playing more effectively to your main colours. having a sideboard full of heavily red cards isn't the way forwards, small exceptions being a card like anger which is pretty much an auto-include.
So since after my last modern deck (BW Eldrazi) kind of bit the dust with the banhammer on Eye of Ugin I bought into the BTL Scapeshift deck for MTGO. I've played lots of combo decks, being a blue player, and have had a bit of success with the deck in tournament practice matches. Can anyone give me a run-down on the matchups i will constantly see? I like to think of modern much more in the establishing roles of the match type thinking.
So i just played against Delver, my opponent was definitely the aggressor and I was happy to stall out until i could scape with hard counter magic up. So I kept hand heavy with Izzet Charm, Snapcaster Mage, and Lightning Bolt.
I am very familliar with a vas majority of the decks in modern so I have a general idea of how I think the matchups are but would love to hear from players that have played with the deck.
Only loss all night was round 1 to Jund. I dont normally expect to lose that matchup and the games were the type where the deck just never drew a payoff card. Starting off with an 0-2 loss vs a good matchup wasnt a promising start.
Round 2 vs more Jund. Redemption? yes. Things went as expected game 1. Play lands, scapeshift, win. Game 2 is where the power of the titan/omen combo came into play. My opponent Slaughter Games my Scapeshifts away on his turn 4. However I have Omen in play, 5 lands (one being Valakut), and Titan in hand. Untap, play sixth land, cast Titan, search up 2 Valakuts, win. Just an example of a game that I would have been in some trouble even with the omen and a Valakut because he was representing a 2 turn clock with a couple goyfs. I win 2-0
Round 3 vs Abzan. It was a midrangy sort of night. Similar to Jund, a good matchup, nothing particularly special happened. I win 2-0
Round 4 vs Jeskai Control with Nahiri, the Harbinger and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. My first time playing this deck, although I was familiar with the list. Also this particular player is one I have never beaten. Game 1 he gets Nahiri to 8 loyalty and counters my bolt. I drew the land I needed to Scapeshift with omen in play on 6 lands and dome him for 72. Felt good. Game 2 he goes to the burn plan and I end up shifting at 1 life for the win. Beating a very high quality player was pretty encouraging.
Round 5 vs RB burn. Just a race in game 1. I win the roll and end up ramping to the win. Game 2 he burns me then drops a turn 3 Gurmag Angler which I cannot answer at that point. Game 3 I play turn 3 Baloth, he wastes spells to kill it, I Pulse of Murasa it back to my hand at endstep. I draw another Baloth and show 2 and he concedes.
All in all I was very happy with the deck after the rough start. It just seems to have another gear that other RUG varients cannot match. Over the last 3 modern events I have attended I am now 11-2-1. Although this was the first week with the titan/omen version, It definitely felt stronger than the BTLwhite I was running previously.
Modern nexus currently has scapeshift at tier 1! (mtgs lags behind a bit)
The next couple of weeks will either cement this or bring metagame status back to where we are on mtgs in tier 2.
Titanshift by contrast isn't doing as well and is durdling around tier 2 (despite being a very talked-about deck) but could pick up over the next couple of weeks.
I'll continue to rock my most recent list. Tonight is "modern Thursday" where we test decks in a top tier gauntlet. Wish me luck.
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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
So since after my last modern deck (BW Eldrazi) kind of bit the dust with the banhammer on Eye of Ugin I bought into the BTL Scapeshift deck for MTGO. I've played lots of combo decks, being a blue player, and have had a bit of success with the deck in tournament practice matches. Can anyone give me a run-down on the matchups i will constantly see? I like to think of modern much more in the establishing roles of the match type thinking.
So i just played against Delver, my opponent was definitely the aggressor and I was happy to stall out until i could scape with hard counter magic up. So I kept hand heavy with Izzet Charm, Snapcaster Mage, and Lightning Bolt.
I am very familliar with a vas majority of the decks in modern so I have a general idea of how I think the matchups are but would love to hear from players that have played with the deck.
I an aggro meta I really like lists like this. I really do feel 2 snaps is correct (3 felt flooded, 1 left me wanting more). Farseek I'm a bit torn on. I really like Worldly Council in this spot (as a 2 of) as it's basically always an Impulse in BTL and can find you what you need in a pinch. At worst it's usually anticipate on T2.
A card to consider for the side board is sudden shock. The split second has been invaluable against infect as the deck is as soft as can be against inkmoth nexus. Meliera is good but isn't an I win button as they can still do 12+ damage in the air in a single turn by the time you get her out.
Also spellskite in the SB. You can BTL it and it stops a ton of nonsense. Not a huge fan of swan song as BTL isn't an all in scapeshift variant, often we're looking to drag the game out while finding an opening for BTL or scapeshift. The 2/2 is very detrimental to that.
Personal opinion but I like to go 3 Baloth, 1 huntmaster of the fells in the SB. Huntmaster is slightly better in some matchups and I like to have the choice of BTLing or Baloth or Huntmaster in games where they come in (and generally when they come in it's all 4).
A ton of this is personal opinion and your deck looks like a great starting point.
EDIT: consider Jund charm in the SB if graveyard decks like Storm and whatnot are holding you back. Its 2 damage mode is serviceable and lets it do double duty in your sideboard.
I've had a bunch of games now to test out how I like the deck. I am really liking the Swan Song. Its been neglagable with the swan on damage, since i bring it in alot for the blue decks. I dont know if i agree about the grind it out because of how vulnerable I've been to drawing 5 of my Mounains and not being able to scape into a natural kill. I like the farseek currently because of the Sunken Hollow. I really havent had a chance to Glen Elendra yet and played never felt it super necessary. I would like to work in a sudden shock or 2. From the matches I've played with Baloth I haven't seen a situation where I wanted a huntmaster over it. The Liliana plus into a tapped board and then kill Liliana on the swing back has been sweet. It also got me board presence in the mirror and baloth into baloth made me decimate red deck wins. I really haven't liked hunting wilds almost ever. It needs you to have it plus an ability to scapeshift or double BTL in hand to be relevant.
So, I'm not a super dedicated Scapeshift player (RUG ftw tho, not a BTL fan) but I was wondering... When you have STE and Remand in hand on T2, which is usually the better play? I understand that it's prolly matchup dependent, but I'm still interested in some insight on this.
Also, would it be worth slotting in 2-3 Omens into a traditional RUG Scapeshift list? It would fix mana for Cryptic and Anger of the Gods early, speed up the combo, and make the land-go matches against control much more favorable. Also, do you need Titans to go with Omen?
So, I'm not a super dedicated Scapeshift player (RUG ftw tho, not a BTL fan) but I was wondering... When you have STE and Remand in hand on T2, which is usually the better play? I understand that it's prolly matchup dependent, but I'm still interested in some insight on this.
Also, would it be worth slotting in 2-3 Omens into a traditional RUG Scapeshift list? It would fix mana for Cryptic and Anger of the Gods early, speed up the combo, and make the land-go matches against control much more favorable. Also, do you need Titans to go with Omen?
T2 STE vs Remand is completely dependent on matchups and being on the draw or the play. T2 on the draw vs Tron? definitely remand. on the play then STE. totally situational.
Concerning the Omen I initially tried 3, then moved to 4 in my RUG build. I am also testing out 2 Titans. The deck works fine without the Titans, but so far in testing they have provided some resiliency vs Slaughter Games effects, as well as just being bigger than 90% of modern creatures.
I've had a bunch of games now to test out how I like the deck. I am really liking the Swan Song. Its been neglagable with the swan on damage, since i bring it in alot for the blue decks. I dont know if i agree about the grind it out because of how vulnerable I've been to drawing 5 of my Mounains and not being able to scape into a natural kill. I like the farseek currently because of the Sunken Hollow. I really havent had a chance to Glen Elendra yet and played never felt it super necessary. I would like to work in a sudden shock or 2. From the matches I've played with Baloth I haven't seen a situation where I wanted a huntmaster over it. The Liliana plus into a tapped board and then kill Liliana on the swing back has been sweet. It also got me board presence in the mirror and baloth into baloth made me decimate red deck wins. I really haven't liked hunting wilds almost ever. It needs you to have it plus an ability to scapeshift or double BTL in hand to be relevant.
I played scapeshift at many PTQs and GPs, plus a slew of FNMs for aaaages. I tested Swan song thoroughly and found that the number of games I lost due to the 2/2 flyer were very significant and resulted in me eventually dropping the card permanently.
The problem is that most blue decks have ways of applying pressure or stalling out a game profitably. The number of times a blue opponent shifted gears and just protected the 2/2 or countered my important spells to stall things out, and crunch in for lethal with the bird token are many. I just don't see the card as being worth it against decks that can nullify your wincon so easily.
Dispel, however, and negate, have both been all-stars every time they are boarded in. Simple unconditional "nope" effects for when you need them.
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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
On Dispel and Negate, I've recently replaced the 2 Dispels in my sideboard with Negates. Normally we should have a mana advantage over our opponents, so I prefer the more expensive but more versatile Negate. As for Swan Song, countering a spell early on is common enough that I really don't want a 2/2 Flyer needlessly pressuring me.
One question on Artifact/Enchantment removal. After recently losing horribly to Blue Moon, I wanted to replace the Ancient Grudges in my side with something that also kills enchantments. I went for Nature's Claim, but after testing tonight the 4 life does matter when you're trying to race and go off on 7 lands (surprising, I know). Got me thinking about Destructive Revelry, anyone have any clear preference/experiences with the cards? Krosan Grip is also an option but a CMC of 3 seems like a liability against Affinity, where I also need some artifact hate.
And yes, I believe Scapeshift has what it takes to be Tier one right now. If you're playing an event anytime soon, better prepare for nonbasic land hate (with Tron doing as well as it is). Luckily we play an impressive number of counterspells, so I'm not too worried
agreed, i'm not worried about Tron.
Tron was historically a bye for scapeshift, but the deck has actually improved since then, with Ulamog being the best thing they can leverage. (before they ran sundering titan in the side, and slaughter games, specifically for scapeshift)
I'm a little worried about enchantments though - i've caught the sticky end of a Leyline of Sanctity a couple of times recently (normally not a huge issue, but 2 of them, or backed up with counterspells, or with early pressure can be a game-loss). blood moon used to be tricky but as i'm running 4x prismatic omen i have a natural maindeck answer to it, and am able to win just through attacking with threats (2x primeval titan maindeck, and 3x baloth, 1x keranos & 1x inferno titan in the side)
i've also noticed some people trying out Nahiri, the harbinger as an option here, as it removes all the problematic enchantments which shut us down, randomly hoses certain decks and also allows you to fetch one of your primeval titans for the win fairly frequently (I've seen quite a few RUG lists mocing to include a couple of titans in the main, and I'm totally behind this move. it's a brilliant way to diversify your wincons to break through different forms of hate)
i'm totally fine with including a small white splash in the maindeck. we have the removal and counters to protect a card such as Nahiri, and she can provide a valuable roadblock or versatile removal piece as well as backing up your wincon, or even just looting every turn to find what you need. Far be it for me to hyperbolise about this sort of stuff, but she seems like a perfect fit (from a "what she does" perspective). the onlie constraint is the mana, and i'm not opposed to including a shockland or whatever to support her (probably hallowed fountain?)
it's an exciting time to get back into scapeshift (as a long-time scapeshift competitive player from a few years back, I took a break and built nearly every other modern deck. now i'm back!)
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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
On Dispel and Negate, I've recently replaced the 2 Dispels in my sideboard with Negates. Normally we should have a mana advantage over our opponents, so I prefer the more expensive but more versatile Negate. As for Swan Song, countering a spell early on is common enough that I really don't want a 2/2 Flyer needlessly pressuring me.
One question on Artifact/Enchantment removal. After recently losing horribly to Blue Moon, I wanted to replace the Ancient Grudges in my side with something that also kills enchantments. I went for Nature's Claim, but after testing tonight the 4 life does matter when you're trying to race and go off on 7 lands (surprising, I know). Got me thinking about Destructive Revelry, anyone have any clear preference/experiences with the cards? Krosan Grip is also an option but a CMC of 3 seems like a liability against Affinity, where I also need some artifact hate.
And yes, I believe Scapeshift has what it takes to be Tier one right now. If you're playing an event anytime soon, better prepare for nonbasic land hate (with Tron doing as well as it is). Luckily we play an impressive number of counterspells, so I'm not too worried
I went 3-1 at FNM last night (beating Griselshoalbrand, Jeskai, Grixis ... losing to Kiki-Chord). I am on Bring to Light Scapeshift with a black splash. So I have a 1x Maestrom Pulse in my main deck. It has been a real life saver against pesky enchantments. I too have 2x Dispel in SB, but after having Crumble to Dust cast on me twice last night, I definitely am thinking about switching to Negates.
What are your thoughts on fighting against Slaughter Games? That is how Kiki-Chord beat me G2.
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Now Playing Modern RUBW Affinity BGR Midrange UWR Control RG Titan Shift RW Burn GW Bogles G Tron
On Dispel and Negate, I've recently replaced the 2 Dispels in my sideboard with Negates. Normally we should have a mana advantage over our opponents, so I prefer the more expensive but more versatile Negate. As for Swan Song, countering a spell early on is common enough that I really don't want a 2/2 Flyer needlessly pressuring me.
One question on Artifact/Enchantment removal. After recently losing horribly to Blue Moon, I wanted to replace the Ancient Grudges in my side with something that also kills enchantments. I went for Nature's Claim, but after testing tonight the 4 life does matter when you're trying to race and go off on 7 lands (surprising, I know). Got me thinking about Destructive Revelry, anyone have any clear preference/experiences with the cards? Krosan Grip is also an option but a CMC of 3 seems like a liability against Affinity, where I also need some artifact hate.
And yes, I believe Scapeshift has what it takes to be Tier one right now. If you're playing an event anytime soon, better prepare for nonbasic land hate (with Tron doing as well as it is). Luckily we play an impressive number of counterspells, so I'm not too worried
I went 3-1 at FNM last night (beating Griselshoalbrand, Jeskai, Grixis ... losing to Kiki-Chord). I am on Bring to Light Scapeshift with a black splash. So I have a 1x Maestrom Pulse in my main deck. It has been a real life saver against pesky enchantments. I too have 2x Dispel in SB, but after having Crumble to Dust cast on me twice last night, I definitely am thinking about switching to Negates.
What are your thoughts on fighting against Slaughter Games? That is how Kiki-Chord beat me G2.
If you suspect a slaughter games then side in your baloths. They match up really well against that deck especially since most of their creatures are 4 toughness, and less than 4 power. Or just dont worry about slaughter games and run a titan/omen varient.
This is actually a common strategy. It's normal to side in several Baloths in fact. I usually substitute my Cryptics for Baloths, because Cryptics are very awkward in counter wars, and replacing them with Baloths keeps your curve in tact (4cc for 4cc).
Help! I got an important tournament in a few weeks at my LGS that I really want to take down. I am currently on the RUG Scapeshift plan with fatties out of the board similar to the Dutch open list. I cannot for the life of me beat Tron. He just ramps faster than me and remanding a worldbreaker or Ulamog just feels poopy. I don't see how to play or side against that crap. Is the Bring to Light version better since we can bring a crumble to dust? What should I sideboard? Any advice appreciated.
Here is some of the known decks I know will be there. Is RUG scapeshift a good choice for this? Or Bring to Light? What sideboard cards are good?
Expected meta:
Infect
burn
Jund (good player)
Jeskai control (good player)
Tron (good player)
fish
company
Kiki chord (good player)
Grixis control
Current sideboard:
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Inferno Titan
Wurmcoil engine
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Pithing needle
1 Shatterstorm
2 Ancient gridge
2 Vendilion Clique
Spellskite
Keranos
Primal Command
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so i've had a go at tweaking my list a bit (taking out the goyfs for the moment) to see if i can get some more deck-velocity and a faster goldfish, while still retaining the powerful core of cryptic and remand.
here's what I came up with.
2x primeval titan
4x search for tomorrow
4x explore
4x prismatic omen
3x scapeshift (arguably, the 2 titans make up for the 4th shift)
4x serum visions
2x electrolyze (could arguably be anger of the gods but I like anger in the side)
4x remand
4x cryptic command
4x misty rainforest
1x flooded grove
1x cinder glade
1x breeding pool
1x mountain
2x forest
3x island
4x steam vents
4x stomping ground
3x obstinate baloth
2x anger of the gods
1x engineered explosives
2x dispel
1x keranos, god of storms
1x inferno titan
1x izzet staticaster (new addition)
2x creeping corrosion
2x flex slots
i think this may look a little better than before.
notable changes - the usual 2x snapcaster mage that's common for the deck has morphed into 2x primeval titan, seeing as prismatic omen (which provides some real punch) makes for less snappy targets.
Explore is something i'm willing to explore (haha) as an option because the potential ceiling for this card is astronomical. just now, in a goldfish, I got to turn 3 with a valakut on the field, plus forest, breeding pool, island. I have valakut in hand. I proceeded to cast Explore, draw into second valakut in hand (very lucky) and with my remaining two mana cast prismatic omen. I play my two land drops for the turn, valakut/valakut and with the 6th land drop dome my opponent for 9. next turn with any single land drop they are uncounterably dead (most likely) or: a variety of spells also do the job.
that was pretty insane, but I have had similarly great experiences with omen overall. in some ways it replaces the need for lightning bolt because it enables easy interaction with the board.
shatterstorm is arguably better, but the double R
can beIS an issue - and although welding jar exists, creeping corrosion will generally get the job donemore importantly, the deck runs misty rainforest as its only fetch, and flooded grove as its filter land. this makes searching that double red up a big problem early in the game because you either take lots of damage from your red shocklands, or you potentially get stuck, unable to search up a red source with your tribe elders or search for tomorrows because you've already drawn your only mountain.
that's pretty much all the reasoning you need to go for the green spell, despite it not having the "no regen" clause. boosted by anger of the gods and engineered explosives, it makes for a pretty potent sideboard strategy, at the cost of only 2x "affinity" sideboard cards.
and yes, I realise anger of the gods has the same problem, but from a deckbuilding perspective it's best to minimise the number of times you'll get mana stuck, by playing more effectively to your main colours. having a sideboard full of heavily red cards isn't the way forwards, small exceptions being a card like anger which is pretty much an auto-include.
So i just played against Delver, my opponent was definitely the aggressor and I was happy to stall out until i could scape with hard counter magic up. So I kept hand heavy with Izzet Charm, Snapcaster Mage, and Lightning Bolt.
I am very familliar with a vas majority of the decks in modern so I have a general idea of how I think the matchups are but would love to hear from players that have played with the deck.
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cinder Glade
1 Flooded Grove
1 Mountain
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Swamp
2 Forest
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
Instants and Sorceries
3 Izzet Charm
4 Cryptic Command
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
1 Damnation
1 Hunting Wilds
2 Farseek
2 Scapeshift
4 Bring to Light
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Obstinate Baloth
2 Dispel
2 Swan Song
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Slaughter Games
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Back to Nature
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Standard- Esper Control
Commander- Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Intet, the Dreamer
Jhoira of the Ghitu
2 Primeval Titan
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
4 Prismatic Omen
3 Scapeshift
2 Anger of the Gods
4 Serum Visions
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
1 Flooded Grove
3 Island
2 Forest
2 Mountain
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4 Obstinate Baloth
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Pithing Needle
2 Negate
1 Dispel
1 Spellskite
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Shatterstorm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Pulse of Murasa
Only loss all night was round 1 to Jund. I dont normally expect to lose that matchup and the games were the type where the deck just never drew a payoff card. Starting off with an 0-2 loss vs a good matchup wasnt a promising start.
Round 2 vs more Jund. Redemption? yes. Things went as expected game 1. Play lands, scapeshift, win. Game 2 is where the power of the titan/omen combo came into play. My opponent Slaughter Games my Scapeshifts away on his turn 4. However I have Omen in play, 5 lands (one being Valakut), and Titan in hand. Untap, play sixth land, cast Titan, search up 2 Valakuts, win. Just an example of a game that I would have been in some trouble even with the omen and a Valakut because he was representing a 2 turn clock with a couple goyfs. I win 2-0
Round 3 vs Abzan. It was a midrangy sort of night. Similar to Jund, a good matchup, nothing particularly special happened. I win 2-0
Round 4 vs Jeskai Control with Nahiri, the Harbinger and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. My first time playing this deck, although I was familiar with the list. Also this particular player is one I have never beaten. Game 1 he gets Nahiri to 8 loyalty and counters my bolt. I drew the land I needed to Scapeshift with omen in play on 6 lands and dome him for 72. Felt good. Game 2 he goes to the burn plan and I end up shifting at 1 life for the win. Beating a very high quality player was pretty encouraging.
Round 5 vs RB burn. Just a race in game 1. I win the roll and end up ramping to the win. Game 2 he burns me then drops a turn 3 Gurmag Angler which I cannot answer at that point. Game 3 I play turn 3 Baloth, he wastes spells to kill it, I Pulse of Murasa it back to my hand at endstep. I draw another Baloth and show 2 and he concedes.
All in all I was very happy with the deck after the rough start. It just seems to have another gear that other RUG varients cannot match. Over the last 3 modern events I have attended I am now 11-2-1. Although this was the first week with the titan/omen version, It definitely felt stronger than the BTLwhite I was running previously.
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=102900
Seems like jeskai control with BtL/scape shift ftw. No ramp at all.
The next couple of weeks will either cement this or bring metagame status back to where we are on mtgs in tier 2.
Titanshift by contrast isn't doing as well and is durdling around tier 2 (despite being a very talked-about deck) but could pick up over the next couple of weeks.
I'll continue to rock my most recent list. Tonight is "modern Thursday" where we test decks in a top tier gauntlet. Wish me luck.
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Curse PremiumI an aggro meta I really like lists like this. I really do feel 2 snaps is correct (3 felt flooded, 1 left me wanting more). Farseek I'm a bit torn on. I really like Worldly Council in this spot (as a 2 of) as it's basically always an Impulse in BTL and can find you what you need in a pinch. At worst it's usually anticipate on T2.
A card to consider for the side board is sudden shock. The split second has been invaluable against infect as the deck is as soft as can be against inkmoth nexus. Meliera is good but isn't an I win button as they can still do 12+ damage in the air in a single turn by the time you get her out.
Also spellskite in the SB. You can BTL it and it stops a ton of nonsense. Not a huge fan of swan song as BTL isn't an all in scapeshift variant, often we're looking to drag the game out while finding an opening for BTL or scapeshift. The 2/2 is very detrimental to that.
Personal opinion but I like to go 3 Baloth, 1 huntmaster of the fells in the SB. Huntmaster is slightly better in some matchups and I like to have the choice of BTLing or Baloth or Huntmaster in games where they come in (and generally when they come in it's all 4).
A ton of this is personal opinion and your deck looks like a great starting point.
EDIT: consider Jund charm in the SB if graveyard decks like Storm and whatnot are holding you back. Its 2 damage mode is serviceable and lets it do double duty in your sideboard.
Standard- Esper Control
Commander- Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Intet, the Dreamer
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Also, would it be worth slotting in 2-3 Omens into a traditional RUG Scapeshift list? It would fix mana for Cryptic and Anger of the Gods early, speed up the combo, and make the land-go matches against control much more favorable. Also, do you need Titans to go with Omen?
UWB Esper Draw-Go Control (clicky)
UW Azorius Control (clicky)
Currently pursuing a degree in Biochemistry.
EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
T2 STE vs Remand is completely dependent on matchups and being on the draw or the play. T2 on the draw vs Tron? definitely remand. on the play then STE. totally situational.
Concerning the Omen I initially tried 3, then moved to 4 in my RUG build. I am also testing out 2 Titans. The deck works fine without the Titans, but so far in testing they have provided some resiliency vs Slaughter Games effects, as well as just being bigger than 90% of modern creatures.
I played scapeshift at many PTQs and GPs, plus a slew of FNMs for aaaages. I tested Swan song thoroughly and found that the number of games I lost due to the 2/2 flyer were very significant and resulted in me eventually dropping the card permanently.
The problem is that most blue decks have ways of applying pressure or stalling out a game profitably. The number of times a blue opponent shifted gears and just protected the 2/2 or countered my important spells to stall things out, and crunch in for lethal with the bird token are many. I just don't see the card as being worth it against decks that can nullify your wincon so easily.
Dispel, however, and negate, have both been all-stars every time they are boarded in. Simple unconditional "nope" effects for when you need them.
agreed, i'm not worried about Tron.
Tron was historically a bye for scapeshift, but the deck has actually improved since then, with Ulamog being the best thing they can leverage. (before they ran sundering titan in the side, and slaughter games, specifically for scapeshift)
I'm a little worried about enchantments though - i've caught the sticky end of a Leyline of Sanctity a couple of times recently (normally not a huge issue, but 2 of them, or backed up with counterspells, or with early pressure can be a game-loss). blood moon used to be tricky but as i'm running 4x prismatic omen i have a natural maindeck answer to it, and am able to win just through attacking with threats (2x primeval titan maindeck, and 3x baloth, 1x keranos & 1x inferno titan in the side)
i've also noticed some people trying out Nahiri, the harbinger as an option here, as it removes all the problematic enchantments which shut us down, randomly hoses certain decks and also allows you to fetch one of your primeval titans for the win fairly frequently (I've seen quite a few RUG lists mocing to include a couple of titans in the main, and I'm totally behind this move. it's a brilliant way to diversify your wincons to break through different forms of hate)
i'm totally fine with including a small white splash in the maindeck. we have the removal and counters to protect a card such as Nahiri, and she can provide a valuable roadblock or versatile removal piece as well as backing up your wincon, or even just looting every turn to find what you need. Far be it for me to hyperbolise about this sort of stuff, but she seems like a perfect fit (from a "what she does" perspective). the onlie constraint is the mana, and i'm not opposed to including a shockland or whatever to support her (probably hallowed fountain?)
it's an exciting time to get back into scapeshift (as a long-time scapeshift competitive player from a few years back, I took a break and built nearly every other modern deck. now i'm back!)
I went 3-1 at FNM last night (beating Griselshoalbrand, Jeskai, Grixis ... losing to Kiki-Chord). I am on Bring to Light Scapeshift with a black splash. So I have a 1x Maestrom Pulse in my main deck. It has been a real life saver against pesky enchantments. I too have 2x Dispel in SB, but after having Crumble to Dust cast on me twice last night, I definitely am thinking about switching to Negates.
What are your thoughts on fighting against Slaughter Games? That is how Kiki-Chord beat me G2.
Modern
RUBW Affinity
BGR Midrange
UWR Control
RG Titan Shift
RW Burn
GW Bogles
G Tron
If you suspect a slaughter games then side in your baloths. They match up really well against that deck especially since most of their creatures are 4 toughness, and less than 4 power. Or just dont worry about slaughter games and run a titan/omen varient.
Standard- Esper Control
Commander- Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Intet, the Dreamer
Jhoira of the Ghitu
This is actually a common strategy. It's normal to side in several Baloths in fact. I usually substitute my Cryptics for Baloths, because Cryptics are very awkward in counter wars, and replacing them with Baloths keeps your curve in tact (4cc for 4cc).
Here is some of the known decks I know will be there. Is RUG scapeshift a good choice for this? Or Bring to Light? What sideboard cards are good?
Expected meta:
Infect
burn
Jund (good player)
Jeskai control (good player)
Tron (good player)
fish
company
Kiki chord (good player)
Grixis control
Current sideboard:
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Inferno Titan
Wurmcoil engine
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Pithing needle
1 Shatterstorm
2 Ancient gridge
2 Vendilion Clique
Spellskite
Keranos
Primal Command