Thanks for the great info @Barrin. Love to see that winrate vs Mardu Pyro, it is probably the #1 most played deck at my shop outside of Burn.
I've been keeping a spreadsheet with all my matchup info as well (currently on Shok's last posted 5-0 list) and hope to get it out soon. At only 10 leagues I just don't feel like it's enough data and my winrate with it is only 54% atm so I'm kind of burned out.
Should definitely drop some more details about your stats, 77% is a very nice number but the sample size matters a lot. Me and shok have had similiar numbers, but you might have a better sample size than either of us. Although it might be difficult to compare the competition if you're not playing on MTGO.
I feel like I run into trouble mainly if I draw too many finishers when im tight on mana but also flooding out with no finisher. I get that thirst, remand, condescend and map-for-ruins or map-for-tolaria-for-balista help here but boy does it feel bad to get thoughtseized down and realize only a low percent of your possible draws are now live. Facing down lingering souls like "hope I draw a sweeper or a wurmcoil here!"
Definitely going to try without talismans though. Other than pitching them to thirst I cant say ive seen them help me accelerate my plan.
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Are we high on trinket mage? I've definitely run it in the past, but it's never done what I want it to do- much better to leave up counter/thirst on t3 than to slam a 2/2 that has no immediate impact (aside from chalice on 0, I guess). And for taking your turn 3 basically off, you get... Chalice on 2? EE+crack on 2? Ballista on 2? Cards that can be very good, sure, but spending 2 turns at sorcery speed to drop them doesn't seem ideal to me. Treasure mage and gifts ungiven to me are late-game cards to fetch the right wincon, and while trinket mage can fetch ballista, I'd rather have another ballista instead 90% of the time. Am I playing it wrong? Missing something?
Are we high on trinket mage? I've definitely run it in the past, but it's never done what I want it to do- much better to leave up counter/thirst on t3 than to slam a 2/2 that has no immediate impact (aside from chalice on 0, I guess). And for taking your turn 3 basically off, you get... Chalice on 2? EE+crack on 2? Ballista on 2? Cards that can be very good, sure, but spending 2 turns at sorcery speed to drop them doesn't seem ideal to me. Treasure mage and gifts ungiven to me are late-game cards to fetch the right wincon, and while trinket mage can fetch ballista, I'd rather have another ballista instead 90% of the time. Am I playing it wrong? Missing something?
This basically how I felt about it. I also was playing 2 chalice and an EE in the main when i played trinket. I think it has its place but not currently. Like you said I'd rather just play another ballista or the card it would Tutor for. Getting Expedition Map off it was fun but it has no place in the current meta with decks like humans and affinity trying to race us. The card felt lack luster and super clunky.
Question - when you have one tron piece and a map out do you fetch for another one at random or wait to draw the second before mapping for the third? I am assuming its always situational really but any thoughts here would be helpful. I have been burned both ways - fetch tower eot, untap draw tower. Dont fetch when I can and find myself squeezed on mana and miss land drops making me even more squeezed on mana.
I also wonder how often you pitch artifacts to tfk. When I look at my list im down to like 13 artifacts all of which are basically gas. Early on ill pitch slaver, wurmcoil or angel - late ill pitch a map or maybe a dead chalice but like even the maps I could have grabbed ruins or tolaria for balista to end game late rather than discard it.
I mostly find I pitch two cards - excess lands and dismember/repeals more often than not.
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Question - when you have one tron piece and a map out do you fetch for another one at random or wait to draw the second before mapping for the third? I am assuming its always situational really but any thoughts here would be helpful. I have been burned both ways - fetch tower eot, untap draw tower. Dont fetch when I can and find myself squeezed on mana and miss land drops making me even more squeezed on mana.
I also wonder how often you pitch artifacts to tfk. When I look at my list im down to like 13 artifacts all of which are basically gas. Early on ill pitch slaver, wurmcoil or angel - late ill pitch a map or maybe a dead chalice but like even the maps I could have grabbed ruins or tolaria for balista to end game late rather than discard it.
I mostly find I pitch two cards - excess lands and dismember/repeals more often than not.
It definitely is situalational, but assuming its opp turn 2 and you have blue source + tronland. depending on the hand i normally just get a second but different tronland at eot if i didn't have to counter anything. Drawing the same piece sucks but it does happen. This also depends on the number lands already in my hand. If my hand is only blue cards i will fetch an island to have a better time playing out the game.
Thirst For Knowledge I also often find myself discarding two cards but we also play snapcaster mage so its not as big as a deal. It acting like a cantrip and just replacing itself + putting a card or two in the yard is powerful. Card selection is great and key to us finishing the game in our favor.
Alright, I can't convince myself not to build the deck again... It's just a solid Tier 2 deck with game against most of the format and a high skill ceiling that rewards tight play. So, any suggestions on how to build into the traditional list over time? I think I'll be short about $100-$200 worth of cards going in. Maybe the second Snapcaster, for example? Any financial tips would be appreciated.
I am curioushowt came to be that treasure mage gets played while trinket mage does not. Trinket can find balista late game while also finding explosives, chalice, map and various possible sideboard cards like cage/needle/relic.
Treasure mage finds wurmcoil, slaver, or maybe angel/titan which seems like a lot less diversity for a tutor - and all are dead if I dont already have six mana.
Just seems like overall trinket mage would do more work more of the time as a body that tutors a card. T3 trinket t4 map and crack, chalice on 2, explosives, balista on two etc - vs t3 tutor a wurmcoil and hope to be alive with six mana at some point?
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
On the other hand, how many of you have already pimped the deck? I’m 58 out of 75 foil/foil+signed, and I’m going to have some other stuff in weeks!
I have mine pretty pimped out. Need foil tron lands and foil full art islands but other than that its solid, Got Promo thirsts, Promo remands, ALL MASTERPEICES 4 chalice, EE, 3 WUrms, Angel, Sundering, Ostone SOlemn, Grand prix Snap caster, all others are foiled, Current Value is 1950 on TCGplayer. I have spent no where near that as most have come from trades except the chalice i bought when they were $65 on coolstuff. But this is the only deck i play modern with.
I guess this can be useful. Tell me if you're thinking about a specific match-up.
Gx Tron // Difficulty: hard game one, favourable post side.
Good Cards: Land destruction of your choice (Field of Ruin, Ghost Quarter, Tectonic Edge), Mindslaver, Counterspells, Expedition Map, Chalice of the Void, Negate, Thirst for Knowledge, Gifts Ungiven
Good Cards post sideboard: Crucible of Worlds, more land destruction, Spreading Seas, Surgical Extraction, more counterspells, Though-Knot Seer.
Bad Cards: Repeal, Dismember (post side is a very decent card because of their Thought-Knot Seer from the board), Ugin, Condescend when not backed-up with some mana-denial strategy, Sundering Titan.
General Tips: In the first game, we are the underdog. We should focus on ramping into Mindlock or killing them quickly with threats + counterspells playing the Tempo role. They are much more consistent than us, so our Expedition Map should priorityze mana-disruption lands rather than our Tron lands. Beware of the fact Condescend can turn dead very quickly, so sometimes is right to hit their ramp spells. Chalice*1 is strong, because they have 4+4 spheres, 4 Stirrings and 4 Maps all the time, plus some Relic maindeck very often. Post-side they also deal with Nature’s Claim. Postsideboard we have several strategies available: hitting a Tron land to Surgical it (pay attention to their Surgicals, because they can counter ours for free!), slowing them even more between Seas and Crucible, or playing even more into the Tempo game thanks to the TKSeers.
Affinity // Difficulty: balanced game one, very favourable post side (my list) – slightly unfavourable game one, slightly favourable post side (standard list).
Good Cards: Walking Ballista, Dismember, Repeal, Cyclonic Rift, Snapcaster Mage, Chalice of the Void (on the play, bad on the draw), Oblivion Stone, non-Tectonic Edge land-disruption (because of their manlands), Wurmcoil Engine, Platinum Angel.
Good Cards post-sideboard: more Ballista, more Dismember, Spatial Contortion, Spell Snare, Spreading Seas, Engineered Explosives, Pithing Needle, Aetherspouts, Hurkyl’s Recall.
Bad Cards: Sundering Titan, Remand (on the draw), Mindslaver, Solemn Simulacrum, Ugin, everything that it isn’t supported by low cc spells in the early stages of the game.
General Tips: our gameplan generally focus around playing a bit of disruption in the early game, between counterspells, removals and bounce spells, then resolving/tutoring a Ballista and profit. They can’t beat that card, ever. Remember that it’s also an early removal on turn two if you need to kill an Overseer or something of the sort. Completing Tron fast and going for the O-Stone reset is also a plan. Remand is unexpectedly good on the play, better than Condescend, but it’s way worse on the draw. Every kind of mass removal is welcomed (not Ugin, obviously) so O-Stone, Explosives, Rift and such are all very good. Spreading Seas can help not dying by a manland left unchecked. Wurmcoil Engine deals with most of their threats, except infect ones and multiples Cranial Plating on the field. Chalice on one + Angel can also close the game, if they don’t draw Ancient Grudge.
Abzan Vizier // Difficulty: favourable pre and post sideboard, expecially using my list (but it’s a good mu nonetheless for U Tron).
Good Cards post-sideboard: more removals, more Ugins, Aetherspouts, Thought-Knot Seer (because it’s a good blocker and can take care of sb Path).
Bad Cards: Chalice of the Void – and that’s it. Maybe counterspells when they already landed several threats or a Voice of Resurgence.
General Tips: it’s very difficult to lose more than one game in the entire match against them. Your priority should be focusing on combo pieces, even if infinite life doesn’t kill you because of Slaver (or Jace, if you’re running it). Their race can be a problem if they’re able to resolve multiple Companies, but most of the time you will have enough blockers in the early game. By the time you’re able to land a huge Ballista or a Wurmcoil Engine, the game is probably over. Same goes for Ugin (pay attention to istant speed card, though!). Oblivion Stone does a great job at checking their threats, but beware of their recursive creatures (Finks, Voice). Tidehollow Sculler can be annoying – some lists are running it, so keep it in mind.
GR Titanshift // Difficulty: slightly unfavourable preside, slightly favourable postside. My list performs worse preside, a little better post compared to your usual Shok’s.
Good Cards: Condescend, Remand, Negate, Supreme Will, Thirst for Knowledge, Gifts Ungiven, land-disruption, Mindslaver, Sundering Titan, Snapcaster Mage.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Thought-Knot Seer, more counterspells, Crucible of Words, Surgical Extraction, Disdainful Stroke.
Bad Cards: Solemn Simulacrum, Dismember, Repeal, Chalice of the Void, Ugin. Everything that taps you out during your turn.
General Tips: the first game is always not so bright. They already max out on threats, and we need to have the right counterspell at the right time. We can search throughout our deck casting Ballista for two and Repealing it at the end of turn – if they don’t Bolt it in response. Chalice is irrelevant, at most you can cast it for x=4 very late as an insurance vs Scapeshift, but they have lots of answers to that. Snare and Pierce are actually very useful in the early game, because they diminish their ramp spells number. A well-assested Mindslaver can close the game fast, ending it in one-go. Sundering and Wurmcoil are also good threats from our part, given that you still have to leave mana up when tapping for them. Try to kill them using their own spells, if possible (Titan or Scapeshift for Valakut and triggers), if you can’t, Scapeshift them for a huge one-sided Armaggeddon. TKSeer can also close the game quite fast postboard.
Humans // Difficulty: slightly unfavourable pre-side, balanced post. My version has the upper hand between the two, because of the obvious removal package already in the maindeck.
Good Cards: Dismember, Repeal, Walking Ballista, Wurmcoil Engine (even though it’s hindered by Reflector Mage), Platinum Angel (same issue), Oblivion Stone, Ugin, Cyclonic Rift, Snapcaster Mage. Diversity helps a lot because of Meddling Mage.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Engineered Explosives, Spatial Contortion, Through-Knot Seer (both as a blocker and to get rid of Reflector Mages), Aetherspouts, All is Dust (as usual, diversity helps). Sometimes Spreading Seas.
Bad Cards: Chalice of the Void, counterspells, Mindslaver.
General Tips: Aether Vial is enemy number one, so you should Repeal it away as fast as possible, even if that means letting their creatures ping you in the meanwhile. They have so many interactions against us, so our best bet is to slow them down with some bounce spell or removal, build up our Tron the fastest we can, then topdeck a bomb they didn’t already see in our hand (thanks to their Duress creatures) like Oblivion Stone, Ugin, Walking Ballista. Their Thalias are the most dangerous threat to us. Post side, remember that you can use Engineered Explosives for two with two mana even with a Thalia on the field (thanks to sunburst) and that allows us to fight them properly. Try to keep a Ballista on the field long enough, and you will be victorious.
Mardu Tokens // Difficulty: slightly favourable pre-side, balanced post.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Engineered Explosives, Spell Pierce, sometimes Spell Snare if they are high on cc2 (some versions play, other than Young Pyromancers, the full set of Collective Brutality in the sideboard, Stony Silence or Dark Confidant – so I would certainly bring them in).
Bad Cards: Chalice of the Void (they play several Kommands and other artifact hate, and we only care about their “cantrips”, because Bolt isn’t really a thing against us and discard spells do nothing vs our superior topdeck – some people are going to oppose this statement, but hey, at each its own), Platinum Angel.
General Tips: this match-up is very close, even though I have a good win ratio against them. You should always remember that Blood Moon on their part is the weakest threat they can play against you, but be prepared to fetch for an Island if you need to. We can totally survive without Tron, even if they start cycling Fulminators. As soon as we are alive, we can always dig throughout our library looking for a sweeper. Ugin is tremendous versus them, but they can present several Dreadbores to fight planeswalkers. On the other hand, they are usually soft to Wurmcoil, because they rarely play the full set of Path to Exile. Ballista is the usual semi-god here, fighting Lingering Souls tokens and Young Pyro. Surgical Extraction from their board can be an annoyance. Slaughter Games is the worse card we can face – expecially when it’s going for our Wurmcoils – and Stony Silence should always be a concern for us.
Jund // Difficulty: balanced pre and post sideboard.
Good Cards: Dismember, Repeal, Remand&Condescend (on the play), Ugin, Oblivion Stone, Walking Ballista, Wurmcoil Engine, Sundering Titan, Thirst for Knowledge, Snapcaster Mage, Karn, Solemn Simulacrum.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Spatial Contortion, Spreading Seas.
Bad Cards: Chalice of the Void, Platinum Angel, Remand on the draw.
General Tips: resolving a Wurmcoil Engine should be prioritized over anything else, here. They are generally able to anwer him with double or triple removal (Liliana + 2 Push/Bolt, or Terminate + Pulse) but they also spend a lot of resources in doing so. Ballista escalate quite well in the entire game, from killing Dark Confidant on turn two to kill the opponent with a Confidant on the field when in Tron-mode. Ugin is your best overcoasted spell, and recurring O-Stone can also be a route for the final victory. Beware of their animate lands, as even if we can keep the board clear they hit very hard. The ******* big elf changed this matchup, as now it’s way harder for us. Spatial Contortion, which I wouldn’t even bring post board in the past, is now a must have. Elf into Fulminator or Liliana is extremely dangerous. Kill Confidant on the spot – unless the opponent is already low on life – and don’t let your Mindslaver be removed by Ooze, as it’s one of your best win-con when you’re in Tron-mode.
Jeskai Control / Slightly favourable preside, balanced post.
Good Cards: Remand, Negate, Condescend (not always), Mindslaver, Ugin, Karn, Thist for Knowledge, Sundering Titan, Gifts Ungiven, Chalice of the Void, Snapcaster Mage.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Crucible of Worlds, Thought-Knot Seer, Chalice of the Void. Maybe Spreading Seas and Surgical Extraction.
Bad Cards: Cyclonic Rift, Platinum Angel, Condescend (out of Tron, during the late game), Repeal.
General Tips: again, the match-up is worse than we were used to. Field of Ruin, Search for Azcanta and Jace, the Mind Sculptor really improved their game against us. That said, we still have an edge in game one, before they start boarding out useless stuff for hate like Sphere, Stony Silence and Surgical. Mindslavering them it’s the safest route in game one, while it’s very difficult to do so in game two/three because of their hate. Karn is actually pretty good here, so are TKSeers from the board. We should focus our gameplan less on Tron lands after the first game, and TKSeers are able to transform our library into a Tempo deck. Landing Wurmcoil protected by TKSeer or Chalice is another way to gain an edge. Mindslavering them even once it’s often good enough because of the way their deck is configured. Their plan of burning you out is still valid, so beware of the usual Bolt-Snap-Bolt. Walking Ballista does a great job at dealing with bodies (Snap and Ballista) but they are also an answer to pesky planeswalkers. Remanding your own spells is the usual way you geta head vs them. Dismember is a good way to deal with their Colonnades in game one, even though they are painful.
Burn / Difficulty: unfavourable preside, slightly favourable post. Pierakor’s version is usually better suited to fight Burn compared to the others, and it can turn out as a slightly favourable match-up.
Good Cards: Condescend (to a certain extent), Negate, Wurmcoil Engine, Repeal, Chalice of the Void, Snapcaster Mage, Platinum Angel.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Spatial Contortion, Chalice of the Void, Engineered Explosives, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, Spellskite. Depending on how many slots you have TKSeer and Spreading Seas.
Bad Cards: Sundering Titan (good, but soo slow), Solemn Simulacrum, Remand, Ugin, Oblivion Stone, Karn, everything too slow.
General Tips: Wurmcoil Engine and Chalice of the Void is how you generally win this match. Platinum Angel is very strong in game one, while in game two and three it’s very vulnerable to Path and shatter effects (still strong, though). Chalice is good both on one and two. You shouldn’t board out Maps because it’s important to land a Wurmcoil on turn three or to cast a Ballista killing their creatures (expecially Eidolon). We can’t deal with their best starts, so it’s really up to them more than to us. Postboard cheap disruption helps a lot, because Contortion, Snare and such are game changing, when in the few turns we generally spend our mana in do-nothing cards. Snapcaster as an Ambush Viper is very strong to stay alive. That’s what we have to do, after all: staying alive.
Grixis Death Shadow / Difficulty: from unfavourable to favourable, totally dependant by your configuration and theirs.
Good Cards: Wurmcoil Engine, Dismember, Repeal, Cyclonic Rift, Chalice of the Void, Sundering Titan, Oblivion Stone, Ugin, Solemn Simulacrum, Walking Ballista when they are low on life.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Engineered Explosives, more Chalice of the Void.
Bad Cards: counterspells, because they pack cheaper permission.
General Tips: it’s really up to what the opponent is playing. If he run several Ceremonious Rejection and the full Stubborn Denial package, it’s not easy to end up victorious (also because they can recycle these spells with Snapcaster for a cheap price). They present a rapid clock, and have a lot of disruption in both counterspell and discards. On the other hand, resolving a Chalice#1 it’s often game winning, unless they have exactly that Kolaghan’s Command in their hands. Wurmcoil Engine is something that they simply cannot beat, on the field. Ballistas are good because in the early can deal with their Snapcasters (bodies, they matter) and when they’re low enough we can kill the opponent on the spot. Engineered Explosives from the sb are a good answer to Shadow. Beware of Disdainful Stroke.
UR Storm / Difficulty: favourable pre-side, favourable post.
Good Cards: Remand, Condescend, Negate, Dismember, Snapcaster Mage, Mindslaver, Chalice of the Void, Thirst for Knowledge, Gifts Ungiven.
Good Cards post-sideboard: Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, more Chalice of the Void, Thought-Knot Seer, Surgical Extraction, Relic of Progenitus.
Bad Cards: Ugin, Wurmcoil Engine, Sundering Titan, Solemn Simulacrum, everything that taps you out during your turn. Ballista can deal with tokens, so it’s good enough. Repeal is decent pre-side, not so good post (even if they sometimes run Moon).
General Tips: Chalice of the Void on two is most often then not a game winner. Same goes for Mindslaver (it’s very pleasant being able to combo off using their own resources). Dismember deals with their engines, and Remand with flashbacked Past in Flames. If you have Surgical in your hand, sometimes it’s better to let their Gifts resolving. Beware of the “alternative plan” consisting of Empty the Warrens and Blood Moon. You should always keep some answers in the deck, even though most of the time they will try to go for the Storm plan.
oh and one more thing, you definitly want spatial contortions and dismembers in the side. these cards let you survive just long enough against humans/elves to put urzatron together.
Round 1: 8-Rack won 2-1
Game 1: He tore my hand apart the first couple turns but I kept making land drops while keeping his damage dealers off the battlefield. He took 2 wurmcoils and an ballista. I drew an expedition map with 6 lands no tron on the battle field and got Academy Ruins played it and put map back on top. Finished up tron the next turn and played wurmcoil every turn till he died.
Side in: 1 EE, 2 Negate, 1 Spell Snare. Side Out: 3 Dismember, 1 Remand. I expected Death Shadows, Asylum Vistor and Delerium Skeins and had seen multiple collective brutality. Didn't see any wrench mind but I expected him to have it.
Game 2: He pregamed a leyline of the void. He basically tore my hand to shreds again, taking all of my counter magic and landed multiple smallpox in a row. I got to tron mana but he had a rack and shrieking affliction out and my life quickly fell to zero. I did manage to hardcast a wurm coil but he lotv -2 and then bontu's last reckoning me.. Did not expect that at all as we play 8 creatures but I guess that is all he saw game one.
Boarded out the last dismember and put in remand again. I did not need the creature removal as I didn't see any death shadows and can deal with asylum visitor easier. Also keep in mind against 8-rack you are always on the play as they want to go second.
Game 3: Looked a lot like game one, I did manage to mindslaver him once and legend ruled a lotv -2 on him sacking nothing. but I left him with nothing in hand and a lily on 1. I hit it with my wurmcoil. Then played another and the game was quickly over after that.
Round 2: Counters Company Won 2-1.
Game 1: Turn 1 I dismember the bird and we played some decent magic. I tapped out to turn 4 like a dummy to kill his two nobles and he coco'd into the combo. I didn't have counter magic but should have bluffed it. Always punished.
Side in: 1 surgical, 4 Spatial, 1 Negate. Side Out: 2 Dismember, 2 Remand, 2 Map. I didn't think I would need 8 creature removal spells. In hindsight I probably should have kept all the dismembers in but what can you do. The past is the past.
Game 2: I Managed to have natural tron, expedition map and a slaver in my hand. So I kinda just hoped that on turn 4 i could mind slaver him and still live. He scooped in response to the cast. I did dismember on turn 3 as well kill the duskwatch recruiter.
Game 3: This game was great. It was super back and forth with lots of counter spells and removal. I managed to a key mindslaver activation off and wreck his board with an Ewit, a Rhonas, 2 nobles, a duskwatch and 2 devoted druid. I pulsed the druids... this was dumb I could have just used their untap ability. but i attacked with the ewit into my wurmcoil to stablize. my wurmcoil died the next turn after chumping a double pumped duskwatch. His next turn he attacked with another kitchen finks, another Duskwatch (backside) and rhonas. a chumped with the lifelink token as the deathtouch one had gotten killed. This put me to 1 life. I had played the academy ruins the turn previous. Put it on top and then infite mindslavered him. He didn't scoop right away but I explained that I could either just mill him out or eventually combo off with his own cards and make an infinite size walking ballista and shoot himself.
Round 3: Storm Lost 1-2
Game 1: I had a super strong start on the play with turn 3 tron and a ballista. his turn 2 he played a gobbo and I killed it on my turn. the next turn i drew another ballista and had the 2nd tower, played it as a 4/4. drew a blue source kept up condescend and beat face with the ballistas.
Game 2: On turn his turn 3 I have mine + island. He goes ritual I let it resolve then he casts pyromancers ascension. He was trying to play around condescend and I called it, I spell snared it. Feelsgoodman. I control the board dismembering dudes and not letting him casts gifts. He mananged to do a mini empty the warrens and I draw EE off the top. I don't draw a threat 5 turns in a row after having a clear control of the game, he storms off then killing me.
Game 3: I keep something a little risky but it looked fine. Figured I'd draw more counterspells, never did. I hold up negate when he is storming off till he casts past in flames. Doesn't matter he manages to keep going and grape shots me for 20 something.
Round 4: Mardu Pyromancer Won 2-1? It was my roommate and he was 1-2 while i was 2-1 he conceded game 3.
Game 1: he managed to draw a hand disruption spell every turn I was about to play something game ending. It was a tight game and managed to get there. Really fun magic.
Side In: 3 Thought-Knot Seer, 1 EE, 1 Spell Snare. Side Out: 1 Dismember, 2 Map, 1 Remand, 1 Thirst. I was just trying new stuff with siding out a thirst. probably was wrong but it worked out.?
Game 2: i keep a kind of greedy hand with mine, island, condescend, 3 thirst and a repeal. Opp goes turn 1 thoughtseize take thirst.. okay? i go island pass. He extirpates my thirst... /cry. I managed to rip the third land and bounce a pyromancer. draw into tron. counter a bedlam revelar. Draw walking ballista. he kills it and then extirpates that.. Definitely a waste but he was getting tired and loopy. I draw mono counter spells and he draws mono hand distruption for a couple turns. He manages to squeek in a molten rain on my academy ruins. I have to basically draw wurmcoil or ugin as my wincon. I rip ugin and he scooped.
Game 3: As we finish game two he just says you got it and puts his hand out. I'll take it.
notes from the day.. spell snare felt great. I never got to cast thought-knot but I've played it before like a year ago and always liked it when I did cast it. The extra wurmcoils and ballistas felt awesome.
EDIT: I should have swapped out the wurmcoils for TKS vs storm as it costs less and has a bigger effect on the game and comes down earlier.
Yeah I realize that now haha. Made some mistakes for sure. I was trying stuff and I didn't get punished for it. Could of definitely done it better for sure. I do need to learn to side board better and I'm working on it. I don't get to play as much as I want to.i appreciate the feedback
Okay well I wrote myself a sideboard guide based on one of your previous post so I screw up sideboarding less, but @bloody do you have any hints for hollow one, Bogles (hexproof), Dredge and KCI(Ironworks Combo). I'm going to scg Indy at the end of July and want to be prepared.
I've been keeping a spreadsheet with all my matchup info as well (currently on Shok's last posted 5-0 list) and hope to get it out soon. At only 10 leagues I just don't feel like it's enough data and my winrate with it is only 54% atm so I'm kind of burned out.
Youtube Channel
My stream:
www.twitch.tv/pierakor
My Disco:
https://discord.gg/gTt6xHd
Definitely going to try without talismans though. Other than pitching them to thirst I cant say ive seen them help me accelerate my plan.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
This basically how I felt about it. I also was playing 2 chalice and an EE in the main when i played trinket. I think it has its place but not currently. Like you said I'd rather just play another ballista or the card it would Tutor for. Getting Expedition Map off it was fun but it has no place in the current meta with decks like humans and affinity trying to race us. The card felt lack luster and super clunky.
I also wonder how often you pitch artifacts to tfk. When I look at my list im down to like 13 artifacts all of which are basically gas. Early on ill pitch slaver, wurmcoil or angel - late ill pitch a map or maybe a dead chalice but like even the maps I could have grabbed ruins or tolaria for balista to end game late rather than discard it.
I mostly find I pitch two cards - excess lands and dismember/repeals more often than not.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
It definitely is situalational, but assuming its opp turn 2 and you have blue source + tronland. depending on the hand i normally just get a second but different tronland at eot if i didn't have to counter anything. Drawing the same piece sucks but it does happen. This also depends on the number lands already in my hand. If my hand is only blue cards i will fetch an island to have a better time playing out the game.
Thirst For Knowledge I also often find myself discarding two cards but we also play snapcaster mage so its not as big as a deal. It acting like a cantrip and just replacing itself + putting a card or two in the yard is powerful. Card selection is great and key to us finishing the game in our favor.
Treasure mage finds wurmcoil, slaver, or maybe angel/titan which seems like a lot less diversity for a tutor - and all are dead if I dont already have six mana.
Just seems like overall trinket mage would do more work more of the time as a body that tutors a card. T3 trinket t4 map and crack, chalice on 2, explosives, balista on two etc - vs t3 tutor a wurmcoil and hope to be alive with six mana at some point?
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
I have mine pretty pimped out. Need foil tron lands and foil full art islands but other than that its solid, Got Promo thirsts, Promo remands, ALL MASTERPEICES 4 chalice, EE, 3 WUrms, Angel, Sundering, Ostone SOlemn, Grand prix Snap caster, all others are foiled, Current Value is 1950 on TCGplayer. I have spent no where near that as most have come from trades except the chalice i bought when they were $65 on coolstuff. But this is the only deck i play modern with.
Thoughts on the Hollow One matchup? It's pretty unique as far as modern decks go, so I'd be interested in hearing your take on it.
Greets
Max
UTron
i am running 2 ugin the spirit dragon and the card is great too. only card that has been meh for me is sundering titan.
Went 3-1 last night and the changes I made to my list to basically look like bloody's felt really good.
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
6 Island
1 Tolaria West
2 Field of Ruin
1 Academy Ruins
3 River Of Tears
Creatures (8)
3 Walking Ballista
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Treasure Mage
3 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Spells (21)
4 Condescend
3 Repeal
2 Remand
4 Dismember
1 Negate
1 Cyclonic Rift
2 Supreme Will
4 Thirst For Knowledge
Artifacts(5)
3 Expedition Map
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Mindslaver
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Spell Snare
2 Negate
4 Spatial Contortion
3 Thought-Knot Seer
Round 1: 8-Rack won 2-1
Game 1: He tore my hand apart the first couple turns but I kept making land drops while keeping his damage dealers off the battlefield. He took 2 wurmcoils and an ballista. I drew an expedition map with 6 lands no tron on the battle field and got Academy Ruins played it and put map back on top. Finished up tron the next turn and played wurmcoil every turn till he died.
Side in: 1 EE, 2 Negate, 1 Spell Snare. Side Out: 3 Dismember, 1 Remand. I expected Death Shadows, Asylum Vistor and Delerium Skeins and had seen multiple collective brutality. Didn't see any wrench mind but I expected him to have it.
Game 2: He pregamed a leyline of the void. He basically tore my hand to shreds again, taking all of my counter magic and landed multiple smallpox in a row. I got to tron mana but he had a rack and shrieking affliction out and my life quickly fell to zero. I did manage to hardcast a wurm coil but he lotv -2 and then bontu's last reckoning me.. Did not expect that at all as we play 8 creatures but I guess that is all he saw game one.
Boarded out the last dismember and put in remand again. I did not need the creature removal as I didn't see any death shadows and can deal with asylum visitor easier. Also keep in mind against 8-rack you are always on the play as they want to go second.
Game 3: Looked a lot like game one, I did manage to mindslaver him once and legend ruled a lotv -2 on him sacking nothing. but I left him with nothing in hand and a lily on 1. I hit it with my wurmcoil. Then played another and the game was quickly over after that.
Round 2: Counters Company Won 2-1.
Game 1: Turn 1 I dismember the bird and we played some decent magic. I tapped out to turn 4 like a dummy to kill his two nobles and he coco'd into the combo. I didn't have counter magic but should have bluffed it. Always punished.
Side in: 1 surgical, 4 Spatial, 1 Negate. Side Out: 2 Dismember, 2 Remand, 2 Map. I didn't think I would need 8 creature removal spells. In hindsight I probably should have kept all the dismembers in but what can you do. The past is the past.
Game 2: I Managed to have natural tron, expedition map and a slaver in my hand. So I kinda just hoped that on turn 4 i could mind slaver him and still live. He scooped in response to the cast. I did dismember on turn 3 as well kill the duskwatch recruiter.
Game 3: This game was great. It was super back and forth with lots of counter spells and removal. I managed to a key mindslaver activation off and wreck his board with an Ewit, a Rhonas, 2 nobles, a duskwatch and 2 devoted druid. I pulsed the druids... this was dumb I could have just used their untap ability. but i attacked with the ewit into my wurmcoil to stablize. my wurmcoil died the next turn after chumping a double pumped duskwatch. His next turn he attacked with another kitchen finks, another Duskwatch (backside) and rhonas. a chumped with the lifelink token as the deathtouch one had gotten killed. This put me to 1 life. I had played the academy ruins the turn previous. Put it on top and then infite mindslavered him. He didn't scoop right away but I explained that I could either just mill him out or eventually combo off with his own cards and make an infinite size walking ballista and shoot himself.
Round 3: Storm Lost 1-2
Game 1: I had a super strong start on the play with turn 3 tron and a ballista. his turn 2 he played a gobbo and I killed it on my turn. the next turn i drew another ballista and had the 2nd tower, played it as a 4/4. drew a blue source kept up condescend and beat face with the ballistas.
Side in: 3 Spell Snare, 2 Negate, 2 Surgical, 1 EE. Side Out: 2 Remand, 3 Map, 1 Dismember, 1 Ugin, 1 Thirst.
Game 2: On turn his turn 3 I have mine + island. He goes ritual I let it resolve then he casts pyromancers ascension. He was trying to play around condescend and I called it, I spell snared it. Feelsgoodman. I control the board dismembering dudes and not letting him casts gifts. He mananged to do a mini empty the warrens and I draw EE off the top. I don't draw a threat 5 turns in a row after having a clear control of the game, he storms off then killing me.
Game 3: I keep something a little risky but it looked fine. Figured I'd draw more counterspells, never did. I hold up negate when he is storming off till he casts past in flames. Doesn't matter he manages to keep going and grape shots me for 20 something.
Round 4: Mardu Pyromancer Won 2-1? It was my roommate and he was 1-2 while i was 2-1 he conceded game 3.
Game 1: he managed to draw a hand disruption spell every turn I was about to play something game ending. It was a tight game and managed to get there. Really fun magic.
Side In: 3 Thought-Knot Seer, 1 EE, 1 Spell Snare. Side Out: 1 Dismember, 2 Map, 1 Remand, 1 Thirst. I was just trying new stuff with siding out a thirst. probably was wrong but it worked out.?
Game 2: i keep a kind of greedy hand with mine, island, condescend, 3 thirst and a repeal. Opp goes turn 1 thoughtseize take thirst.. okay? i go island pass. He extirpates my thirst... /cry. I managed to rip the third land and bounce a pyromancer. draw into tron. counter a bedlam revelar. Draw walking ballista. he kills it and then extirpates that.. Definitely a waste but he was getting tired and loopy. I draw mono counter spells and he draws mono hand distruption for a couple turns. He manages to squeek in a molten rain on my academy ruins. I have to basically draw wurmcoil or ugin as my wincon. I rip ugin and he scooped.
Game 3: As we finish game two he just says you got it and puts his hand out. I'll take it.
notes from the day.. spell snare felt great. I never got to cast thought-knot but I've played it before like a year ago and always liked it when I did cast it. The extra wurmcoils and ballistas felt awesome.
EDIT: I should have swapped out the wurmcoils for TKS vs storm as it costs less and has a bigger effect on the game and comes down earlier.