Hey all. Working on getting better with the deck, curious about various control MU's. UW Control specifically, what does the MU look like and what SB considerations are we looking at? I seem to be struggling with control MUs. I try to focus on Empty the Warrens and cut down the Gifts, but looking for general advice in that MU.
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GBR Elves UBR ANT R Burn
UR Gift Storm GB/GR/GW/G Karn Tron GW Aura RW Burn
GBWUR Child of Alara BWR Kaalia of the Vast UWR Narset, Enlightened Master GWR Uril, the Miststalker
"Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford
It's not a good card. Engine cards that reward you for casting spells after them (cost reducers, PA) have to be cheap, otherwise you exhaust all your resources to generate the mana necessary to cast them and end up with nothing left to benefit from the engine. Past in Flames is different because you cast it at the end of a combo, not before it (that, and it costs less mana than Thousand-Year Storm, and can have its cost reduced).
One thing it could do is replace Grapeshot as the wincon, so instead of Grapeshot > Past/Remand > Grapeshot, you go Thousand-Year Storm > Bolt or something. But looking at the mana and storm counts required to kill a 20 life opponent...
2 Grapeshots: 4 mana (2 with reducer), 9 storm
Grapeshot > Remand > Grapeshot: 6 mana (3 with reducer), 9 storm
Grapeshot > Past in Flames > Grapeshot: 8 mana (4 with reducer), 8 storm Pyromancer's Swath > Grapeshot: 5 mana, 5 storm
I would probably play the old Swath + Grapeshot combo before it. Also, if you fail to draw Swath but draw two Grapeshots, they can kill your opponent, whereas if you fail to draw TYS but draw two Bolts, they won't.
That CMC just ruins everything so hard, I don't even want to talk about the good things it could do. Just a trio of rituals/morphoses into Empty into Stoke the Flames would kill. 6 cmc to begin with though, am I going to spend rituals casting that? Yeesh.
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BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Not something to write home about, but with Humans running amok, something that can actually save you a few points of combat damage and dodge meddling mage seems nice.
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BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Hate to say it but as a storm player, the deck is absolutely unplayable at the moment. With humans and UW being atrocious matchups and extremely prevelent online and in paper (not to mention a resurgence in burn) and the unrelenting printing of hate cards for an already marginal deck your chances of a game one win and or a game two win are low. Even if you play all the lines to maximum efficiency it takes a ton of luck to succeed. I have played 20 leagues in the past few weeks and despite being skilled with the deck, there is just no respite from the constant bs hurled at you. There is no margin for error and absolutely no way you will make it through a tournament of more than 3 rounds without a loss. I really hope things will change but with wizards printing to hate the mechanic out of the format, there is just no way i will be sleeving the deck up for any upcoming events. Its the honest truth but I want you to know you are not alone in being a fan of a deck that just cant quite get there anymore
Hate to say it but as a storm player, the deck is absolutely unplayable at the moment. With humans and UW being atrocious matchups and extremely prevelent online and in paper (not to mention a resurgence in burn) and the unrelenting printing of hate cards for an already marginal deck your chances of a game one win and or a game two win are low. Even if you play all the lines to maximum efficiency it takes a ton of luck to succeed. I have played 20 leagues in the past few weeks and despite being skilled with the deck, there is just no respite from the constant bs hurled at you. There is no margin for error and absolutely no way you will make it through a tournament of more than 3 rounds without a loss. I really hope things will change but with wizards printing to hate the mechanic out of the format, there is just no way i will be sleeving the deck up for any upcoming events. Its the honest truth but I want you to know you are not alone in being a fan of a deck that just cant quite get there anymore
This is nonsense, we are UWs worst matchup of the "tiered" decks, you just have to be patient and hit land drops. G1 basically the only way you lose is if they eot a Clique, see your hand is not ready to combo off, and then land a PW to accrue value over the next few turns. Game 2 gets trickier as always but they usually cannot handle everything and either lose to an Empty, a Wipe Away on their hate piece or a late game Grapeshot or 2 from the hand since they have no life gain.
Humans is clearly unfavourable but winnable, in GP Stockholm I faced it twice and won both, while also managing to beat burn once which is definitely our worst MU. If you can dodge both of those MUs or just face them once or twice you can make good results with Storm, it just takes a lot of practice, especially figuring out how to SB properly and what hate to expect.
@Laskend
Don't board out all Gifts v UW, you need the value and if they do not have the graveyard hate which is a nonzero amount of the time then it is still your best card. Don't bring in TiTi v UW, they have way too many ways to handle it, I prefer to keep dorks in to either make them ramp us or tax their counters. congrats on the finish
The issue I have with TiTi for these interactive MUs is that it requires some set up and can just be bounced eot with a cryptic once it is close to flipping or later on Jaced back to the hand. It was the same with Pyromancer Ascension vs Cryptic decks, once it gets going its good but the required set up and predictability make you spin your wheels while both using spells/storm and giving your opponent time and a possible window to resolve problematic permanents.
Titi also doesn't have to be removed straight away unlike our dorks, which is what makes them so good in the MU since they end up ramping us extremely early by pathing them, so I'd always prefer the 6th dork than the first Titi.
One note on the side plan : following Caleb's advices I decided to replace all 4 Gifts with Pieces, and now I do not think this is correct. I missed some card advantage pieces, some payoffs and I should have kept my plan of 4 Pieces 2 Gifts in the matchup. I did not see any Titi or Empty in G2 and G3 which was sad too.
I've searched this thread and haven't found any reference to it yet, so i'll add this: theepicstorm.com has now a modern-storm section, and while i don't like the list in particular (I do think that chosing perilous voyage for the sole reason of playing a less common card for meddling mage to name is more than fringe, since you can't use it to bounce your own bears as protection and it doesn't actually draw a card compared to repeal), but i like some of the different approaches at sideboarding vs particular matchups - especially the control ones.
While playing with Scherer's Sideboard guide i've had a similar Issue against Control and BGx, and yes, while they can still disable Gifts with hate, they still need to have it - and gift's makes going off so much easier that i do think it's worth keeping at least some. Worst case Scenario you can still gift for 4 Lands to increase velocity while building your mana, and that has been okay enough for me.
Manabase Rambling
As far as Fetch-Manabase goes: I really like it and i can recommend reading the Card explanation of Scalding Tarn - or the Paragraph's Following "Why do you play fetchlands?" - while he does partially use examples to prove his point, equal scenarios to counteract this one do exist and how to wheigh them seems to be up to opinion and personal draws.
We are not Ad Nauseam, who don't shuffle their library at all.
The Landpocket-Problem and the increase of velocity is mathematically sound. The fetchless unfortunately has too much if's and when's to be consolidated into a working model, but that doesn't mean it's worse, just that mathematically determining the better version is hard to impossible.
So in the end either way is more feelcraft than anything.
That said, i wonder if anyone of you often encouters the Problem of Spirebluff Canal slowing you down for a turn since it enters the battlefield tapped. I've found myself often enough being one turn to slow or losing a crucial turn because of that as i feel that hitting the 4th Land is quite important. I've found spirebluff canal often actively loosing me games - and that quite a lot of times (though i might be on a bad pocket of variance).
I know that a checkland manabase was played before spirebluff canal was printed (often 4 Basic Lands, 3 Steam Vents, 1 Sulfur Falls, rest fetchlands), but i haven't found any information as of why spirebluff manabase should be better: There's basically 1 sentence without further reasoning of Jon finkel that got accepted without any examination at all. There's no comparison of average damage taken or how often a Turn 1 tapped Checkland loses the game compared to a Turn4 tapped fastland. Personally i feel that getting away with a turn 1 tapped land is easier compared to a turn 4 or later tapped land.
I'd like to hear some feedback regarding the land configuration and how often you do stumble on landdrops with spirebluff canals.
This burn player didnt play before against storm, in the first game he give me a couple of rituals on the standard gifts, and he didnt play eidolon o t2 (he had it in his hand). secon game was easy, t1 lightning to his eidolon, t2 ritual manamorphosis baral ritual goblins and gg.
About the deck. First i love the pieces of the puzzle in the maindeck, with 8 bears, 4 gifts and 2 pieces is so easy to win in early turns without opt, and this change do the deck better against grinder decks. I like empty the warrrens on the main deck, i think it is better than a bouncer, rarely humans players choose empty with the meddlings and its the card you want against mardu, hollow one or BGx.
I choose to play fetchands, because i dont want to have so many lands in the late game, and i think that with fetches im cleaning the deck of lands, the second reason is Blood moon, i like this card, its so stupid against a lot of decks in modern.
The only reason to play flame slash in the sideboard is to be able to kill the white eidolon, without loosing lives (dismember).
The last thing i choose swan song over dispel, because i think the 2/2 duck isnt a problem, and you are able to counter RIP, eidolons, scapeshift, etc.
As a Modern storm player you often cast Gifts Ungiven on an end-step and undo all of the scry-work that you've previously done.
If you are casting Gifts, then you should be in a winning spot. Against grindy matchups you don't nessiscarily win with a resolved Gifts on your next untap step, but it is +1 card advantage, which usually matters a lot in those MUs.
What MUs are you brining in Blood Moon and what are you replacing in your SB with them? Imo the cards you replace with Blood Moon are much better against a wider array of decks in the meta. A lot of the time, decks that lose to Blood Moon are usually fetching for basic lands on the first 2 or 3 turns anyways.
There's also the fact that your opponents often shuffle your deck using Path to Exile, Ghost Quarter, Field of Ruin, and Assassin's Trophy.
If Baral/ Goblin are getting pathed, then usually you are in a good spot. Jamming a bear on turn 2 is usually against a deck like UW where lands matter a lot. As for Field of Ruin and Ghost Quarter, what decks are actually playing those lands against you and actually activating them? Besides D&T or Eldrazi and Taxes, no one is going to attempt to go down a land vs Storm. Against Field of Ruin decks, most likely UW, they are most likely never using that extra two mana to activate Field of Ruin against us unless we are already in a bad position. And even if they are, that activation is, what, affecting 1 of our turn 1 or turn 2 scrys and thats it? Hardly effects anything.
Fetchless makes the deck severely more consistent. Playing to your outs is very important. Your first 3 turns are severely important as well, and having better scrys early vs better draws (due to less lands in the deck) late game is way better. It also makes your bad starting hands better (like 1 land hands)
Anyone tried Crackling Drake in the sideboard as an alternative to Thing in the Ice / Pyromancer's Ascension? It seems much worst due to the mana cost, reliance on the graveyard and needing to attack for a few turns, but, it draws a card. Might be good for grindy matchups where they don't have much removal.
Edit: Actually, it works against graveyard hate, unlike Enigma Drake.
I'm about to sleeve them up, too. I'm playing the Izzet Combo Drakes in Standard and from the Amount of Cantrips the Decks are quite similar. CMC4 would have been an advantage to dodge decay (which might be in for postboard Ascension) - but since Trophy that really doesn't count - but it's a fast enough clock i am willing to try out - and contrary to standard this can hit the field early through manamorphose.
The only problem i do see for the Midrange matchup is that we don't have or want any means to give haste - which is one of the best things you can do when the opponent taps out to immediatly end the game by dropping drake, haste it and swing.
However, and that is what Crackling Drake lacks - it can't be used as an early blocker and won't remove problematic creatures form the battlefield - thing in the ice is extremely potent against decks like Dredge and Hollow One that go big and wide fast through enablers and Humans which have the very disruptive creatures that otherwise lock up the board (Thalia, Gaddock Teeg).
So my expectations for it to survive testing aren't really high.
Hi everyone,
I didn't play a lot since my top8 finish at MKM Paris but I started again lately.
After a reading of the blog theepicstorm I wanted to give a try to one copy of Empty maindeck. I tried it for 5 leagues (4-1 on each league, I won't get any 5-0 aha) and liked it so far ! There is a lot a grindy decks lurking around, and it gives us a good angle of attack against them, control and burn.
I tried it in Repeal's slot (with 3 GS 1 Empty) and now in one GS's slot (2 GS 1 Empty) but I have been happy with 3 GS so far as sometimes you are really digging through your deck to find a lethal copy (when going for non deterministic kills) and finding a Empty instead could be disapointing (facing an opposing wrath of any kind potentially...)
So how do the Main-deck-Empty-Team has been liking it ? I'd be interrested to know !
I have never liked Empty in the main ever. In what matchups would the Empty plan be better than the Gifts 1HKO plan be in game 1? Cards like Repeal and Grapeshot are super important against creature decks, especially Humans which is one of the most popular decks in the meta game. If anything, I'd maindeck Thing in the Ice over Empty. I've been insanely impressed with that card.
Hey, I want to try out ignite memories, anyone can explain me where does it come in...?
Ignite Memories comes in vs B decks. It is used against decks that play Surgical Extraction for a 3rd win con. Imo its not needed since Surgical Extraction on our win cons is usually a bad strategy unless they have both in hand and we have both in the graveyard. Most good players will Surgical Gifts or Past in Flames before going to Grapeshot and Empty if they have the choice. The reason why this situation doesn't often come up is because B decks usually operate on low amount of resources, and don't have a plethroa of cards in their hand to be able to do this. Thoughtseize is a 1 for 1 card, and Liliana of the Veil hits both players. They don't have the time or resources to sit and wait around for our win cons to enter the graveyard to exile them.
It can also be good vs Prison Style decks that play things like Runed Halo and Nevermore, but Echoing Truth should usually just do the trick.
Hi everyone! Could anyone give me a few hints about the matchup vs spirits and KCI and how to SB vs them. Thank you
KCI: You are bringing in Abrades. You usually want to use them on KCI or Scrap Trawler. Use it on Scrap Trawler if there isnt much for them to return from the trigger. They might run a Tormod's Crypt in the side board, so you can use Abade on that before you use your Gifts if you are comobing off. You are the faster combo deck, so you should have the slight advantage here.
Spirits: Bring in Echoing Truth, Wipe Way, Thing in the Ices, and a few Pieces of the Puzzle. I bring in Lightning Bolts but Caleb Scherer's sb guide says not to.
Most will have something like Rest in Peace and some run Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the sideboard. This is a harder matchup, because they can put a clock on you while holding up Spell Queller or other counter spells at the same time. They do struggle some draws to put a fast clock on you so you will get some time to forge your hand. Always be aware of Mausoleum Wanderer's ability before you calculate if you can storm off or not. Thing in the Ice is our best card against them
I'm the merfolk player you beat for 5-0,
Congrats for the Top8!
UBR ANT
R Burn
GB/GR/GW/G Karn Tron
GW Aura
RW Burn
BWR Kaalia of the Vast
UWR Narset, Enlightened Master
GWR Uril, the Miststalker
One thing it could do is replace Grapeshot as the wincon, so instead of Grapeshot > Past/Remand > Grapeshot, you go Thousand-Year Storm > Bolt or something. But looking at the mana and storm counts required to kill a 20 life opponent...
2 Grapeshots: 4 mana (2 with reducer), 9 storm
Grapeshot > Remand > Grapeshot: 6 mana (3 with reducer), 9 storm
Grapeshot > Past in Flames > Grapeshot: 8 mana (4 with reducer), 8 storm
Pyromancer's Swath > Grapeshot: 5 mana, 5 storm
Thousand-Year Storm > Lightning Bolt: 7 mana, 6 storm
I would probably play the old Swath + Grapeshot combo before it. Also, if you fail to draw Swath but draw two Grapeshots, they can kill your opponent, whereas if you fail to draw TYS but draw two Bolts, they won't.
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Big Johnny.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Bolt 3 damage (no copies)
Bolt 3 damage (1 copy, 3 more damage)
Bolt 3 damage( 2 copies, 6 more damage)
Not something to write home about, but with Humans running amok, something that can actually save you a few points of combat damage and dodge meddling mage seems nice.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
This is nonsense, we are UWs worst matchup of the "tiered" decks, you just have to be patient and hit land drops. G1 basically the only way you lose is if they eot a Clique, see your hand is not ready to combo off, and then land a PW to accrue value over the next few turns. Game 2 gets trickier as always but they usually cannot handle everything and either lose to an Empty, a Wipe Away on their hate piece or a late game Grapeshot or 2 from the hand since they have no life gain.
Humans is clearly unfavourable but winnable, in GP Stockholm I faced it twice and won both, while also managing to beat burn once which is definitely our worst MU. If you can dodge both of those MUs or just face them once or twice you can make good results with Storm, it just takes a lot of practice, especially figuring out how to SB properly and what hate to expect.
@Laskend
Don't board out all Gifts v UW, you need the value and if they do not have the graveyard hate which is a nonzero amount of the time then it is still your best card. Don't bring in TiTi v UW, they have way too many ways to handle it, I prefer to keep dorks in to either make them ramp us or tax their counters. congrats on the finish
Titi also doesn't have to be removed straight away unlike our dorks, which is what makes them so good in the MU since they end up ramping us extremely early by pathing them, so I'd always prefer the 6th dork than the first Titi.
I've searched this thread and haven't found any reference to it yet, so i'll add this: theepicstorm.com has now a modern-storm section, and while i don't like the list in particular (I do think that chosing perilous voyage for the sole reason of playing a less common card for meddling mage to name is more than fringe, since you can't use it to bounce your own bears as protection and it doesn't actually draw a card compared to repeal), but i like some of the different approaches at sideboarding vs particular matchups - especially the control ones.
While playing with Scherer's Sideboard guide i've had a similar Issue against Control and BGx, and yes, while they can still disable Gifts with hate, they still need to have it - and gift's makes going off so much easier that i do think it's worth keeping at least some. Worst case Scenario you can still gift for 4 Lands to increase velocity while building your mana, and that has been okay enough for me.
Manabase Rambling
As far as Fetch-Manabase goes: I really like it and i can recommend reading the Card explanation of Scalding Tarn - or the Paragraph's Following "Why do you play fetchlands?" - while he does partially use examples to prove his point, equal scenarios to counteract this one do exist and how to wheigh them seems to be up to opinion and personal draws.
We are not Ad Nauseam, who don't shuffle their library at all.
The Landpocket-Problem and the increase of velocity is mathematically sound. The fetchless unfortunately has too much if's and when's to be consolidated into a working model, but that doesn't mean it's worse, just that mathematically determining the better version is hard to impossible.
So in the end either way is more feelcraft than anything.
That said, i wonder if anyone of you often encouters the Problem of Spirebluff Canal slowing you down for a turn since it enters the battlefield tapped. I've found myself often enough being one turn to slow or losing a crucial turn because of that as i feel that hitting the 4th Land is quite important. I've found spirebluff canal often actively loosing me games - and that quite a lot of times (though i might be on a bad pocket of variance).
I know that a checkland manabase was played before spirebluff canal was printed (often 4 Basic Lands, 3 Steam Vents, 1 Sulfur Falls, rest fetchlands), but i haven't found any information as of why spirebluff manabase should be better: There's basically 1 sentence without further reasoning of Jon finkel that got accepted without any examination at all. There's no comparison of average damage taken or how often a Turn 1 tapped Checkland loses the game compared to a Turn4 tapped fastland. Personally i feel that getting away with a turn 1 tapped land is easier compared to a turn 4 or later tapped land.
I'd like to hear some feedback regarding the land configuration and how often you do stumble on landdrops with spirebluff canals.
Win a 52 person pptq:
4x baral
4x goblin electromancer
4x serum visions
4x sleight of hand
1x noxious revival
4x pyretic ritual
4x desperate ritual
4x manamorphose
2x grapeshot
3x remand
2x pieces of the puzzle
4x gifts ungiven
2x past in flames
1x empty the warrens
4x scalding tarn
3x polluted delta
2x steam vents
4x spirebluff canal
2x island
1x snow covered island
1x mountain
Sideboard:
3x blood moon
1x echoing truth
1x wipe away
1x anger of the gods
2x swan song
2x lightning bolt
1x flame slash
2x empty the warrens
2x shattering spree
Pairings:
UW control 2-0
RB hollow one 2-0
WB taxes 2-0
RG ponza 2-1
ID (abzan devoted)
Titanshift 2-0
Top:
quarter: Burn 2-0
semifinal: Hardened sacles 2-0
final: Titanshift 2-0
About the deck. First i love the pieces of the puzzle in the maindeck, with 8 bears, 4 gifts and 2 pieces is so easy to win in early turns without opt, and this change do the deck better against grinder decks. I like empty the warrrens on the main deck, i think it is better than a bouncer, rarely humans players choose empty with the meddlings and its the card you want against mardu, hollow one or BGx.
I choose to play fetchands, because i dont want to have so many lands in the late game, and i think that with fetches im cleaning the deck of lands, the second reason is Blood moon, i like this card, its so stupid against a lot of decks in modern.
The only reason to play flame slash in the sideboard is to be able to kill the white eidolon, without loosing lives (dismember).
The last thing i choose swan song over dispel, because i think the 2/2 duck isnt a problem, and you are able to counter RIP, eidolons, scapeshift, etc.
If you are casting Gifts, then you should be in a winning spot. Against grindy matchups you don't nessiscarily win with a resolved Gifts on your next untap step, but it is +1 card advantage, which usually matters a lot in those MUs.
What MUs are you brining in Blood Moon and what are you replacing in your SB with them? Imo the cards you replace with Blood Moon are much better against a wider array of decks in the meta. A lot of the time, decks that lose to Blood Moon are usually fetching for basic lands on the first 2 or 3 turns anyways.
If Baral/ Goblin are getting pathed, then usually you are in a good spot. Jamming a bear on turn 2 is usually against a deck like UW where lands matter a lot. As for Field of Ruin and Ghost Quarter, what decks are actually playing those lands against you and actually activating them? Besides D&T or Eldrazi and Taxes, no one is going to attempt to go down a land vs Storm. Against Field of Ruin decks, most likely UW, they are most likely never using that extra two mana to activate Field of Ruin against us unless we are already in a bad position. And even if they are, that activation is, what, affecting 1 of our turn 1 or turn 2 scrys and thats it? Hardly effects anything.
Fetchless makes the deck severely more consistent. Playing to your outs is very important. Your first 3 turns are severely important as well, and having better scrys early vs better draws (due to less lands in the deck) late game is way better. It also makes your bad starting hands better (like 1 land hands)
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
reliance on the graveyardand needing to attack for a few turns, but, it draws a card. Might be good for grindy matchups where they don't have much removal.Edit: Actually, it works against graveyard hate, unlike Enigma Drake.
The only problem i do see for the Midrange matchup is that we don't have or want any means to give haste - which is one of the best things you can do when the opponent taps out to immediatly end the game by dropping drake, haste it and swing.
However, and that is what Crackling Drake lacks - it can't be used as an early blocker and won't remove problematic creatures form the battlefield - thing in the ice is extremely potent against decks like Dredge and Hollow One that go big and wide fast through enablers and Humans which have the very disruptive creatures that otherwise lock up the board (Thalia, Gaddock Teeg).
So my expectations for it to survive testing aren't really high.
I have never liked Empty in the main ever. In what matchups would the Empty plan be better than the Gifts 1HKO plan be in game 1? Cards like Repeal and Grapeshot are super important against creature decks, especially Humans which is one of the most popular decks in the meta game. If anything, I'd maindeck Thing in the Ice over Empty. I've been insanely impressed with that card.
Ignite Memories comes in vs B decks. It is used against decks that play Surgical Extraction for a 3rd win con. Imo its not needed since Surgical Extraction on our win cons is usually a bad strategy unless they have both in hand and we have both in the graveyard. Most good players will Surgical Gifts or Past in Flames before going to Grapeshot and Empty if they have the choice. The reason why this situation doesn't often come up is because B decks usually operate on low amount of resources, and don't have a plethroa of cards in their hand to be able to do this. Thoughtseize is a 1 for 1 card, and Liliana of the Veil hits both players. They don't have the time or resources to sit and wait around for our win cons to enter the graveyard to exile them.
It can also be good vs Prison Style decks that play things like Runed Halo and Nevermore, but Echoing Truth should usually just do the trick.
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
KCI: You are bringing in Abrades. You usually want to use them on KCI or Scrap Trawler. Use it on Scrap Trawler if there isnt much for them to return from the trigger. They might run a Tormod's Crypt in the side board, so you can use Abade on that before you use your Gifts if you are comobing off. You are the faster combo deck, so you should have the slight advantage here.
Spirits: Bring in Echoing Truth, Wipe Way, Thing in the Ices, and a few Pieces of the Puzzle. I bring in Lightning Bolts but Caleb Scherer's sb guide says not to.
Most will have something like Rest in Peace and some run Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the sideboard. This is a harder matchup, because they can put a clock on you while holding up Spell Queller or other counter spells at the same time. They do struggle some draws to put a fast clock on you so you will get some time to forge your hand. Always be aware of Mausoleum Wanderer's ability before you calculate if you can storm off or not. Thing in the Ice is our best card against them
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]