Kess has been an absolute bomb with this kind of discard-heavy shell. I'm not sure about everything yet, but its been performing great overall. Pyromancer works incredibly well with Kess. One important thing I've found is that she is a quite aggressive card. You want to recast discard most of the time and keep opps game down while beating down with her. Let me know what you think
This is extremely close to what ive been running for some time. I wouldn't bother with bedevil or login knot though. Rather go with collective brutality and dreadbore
i've gone even more aggressive in the meantime and swapped Logic Knot for Tasigurs. Its working extremely well so far. until Kess was spoiled, i was running a pyromancer build with a lot of counterspells, a tempo list essentially. and i had a win % of 62% over 420 matches, which is quite satisfying.
BUT: this list feels much more powerful and consistent than the old one. we'll have to see how much modern's power level rises post horizon overall, but this is a better deck for sure. it feels very consistent, and disgustingly powerful at times.
I put this deck together last minute and did surprising well with it for an fnm. I was originally trying to make my nicol bolas planeswalkers playable in grixis control, But found out the combinations you get from finale of promise add up a lot.
In hind sight the serum visions probably need to be faithless looting to optimize the graveyard for finale. Liliana of the dark realms isn't the best, but when i was making the deck it made sense for getting lands out of the deck and getting to 7cc nicol bolas. plus another creature destruction effect. putting +5/+5 to kalitas, was relevant though in one match up. Basically I was thinking she'd be a chandra 4-5. seeing as I only have 3 chandra
I'm a grixis shadow player and I've been testing a Grixis Control list with Kess and decided. I couldn't help myself and added 2 copies of Death's Shadow as a potential finisher, since Control naturally can lose life through fetches but none of the wraiths or thoughtsiezes. No delve creatures means the graveyard acts as more of a toolbox for snaps and Kess. I also am testing unearth with young pyro. I've been enjoying it so far, between unearthing and K-Commanding pyros, snaps, and DS it has some potential. Its still vulnerable to grave hate but I like not always relying on delve fatties. I'll post a list after more testing.
@CreativeTheo I am interested in how your deck plays out. I am currently playing a variation of Gods_Shadow's deck and have enjoyed it, though I am unlikely to ever duplicate the success he has had. Young Pyromancer and Unearth in particular are very interesting to me... and if it is better than the Mardu Pyromancer build.
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He raged at the world, at his family, at his life. But mostly he just raged.
Modern: BG Rock, Grixis Control, UW Control
Commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
"Win or lose, naught to choose - all men are equal when their memory fades. No one knows, friends or foes, if Valhalla lies beyond the grave." - Motörhead “Deaf Forever”
I like Search for Azcanta in UW Control but I have never tried it in Grixis Control. I often take a Gods_Shadow list and make minor tweeks to it. I think it would be worth a try.
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He raged at the world, at his family, at his life. But mostly he just raged.
Modern: BG Rock, Grixis Control, UW Control
Commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
"Win or lose, naught to choose - all men are equal when their memory fades. No one knows, friends or foes, if Valhalla lies beyond the grave." - Motörhead “Deaf Forever”
So with my beloved Dredge deck being neutered and Stoneforge being unbanned, I decided to get back to my roots and play some Grixis control at FNM tonight, and by golly did I have the most fun I've had in a long time. I suck at sideboarding, so let's post on here to get some feedback and improve things for next week.
Now, Future Sight is a favourite card of mine that I've been trying to jam whenever I can because I love it so. However I can well see replacing it with something more competitive. In the grindy matchups it's so very good, and this deck does tend to make things go long. Suggestions on replacements would be great.
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Current favourite flavour text: "Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
The deck has worked wonderful in matches I wouldn't think I'd win in - Tron, for example - and lost in matches I thought I'd do great in, like against Zoo. My sideboard has evolved now I've gotten eight matches in - Ashiok, Dream Render is big game against Whirza, Valakut, Stoneforge, etc...overall it looks great in a lot of match ups. Shatterstorm is a maybe against Whirza - I'm not sold on this, but it being an extra, one-sided board wipe against Affinity sold me on trying it. Rise // Fall seems like a way better top-deck than Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize is, and so I want to try it out as well.
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Current favourite flavour text: "Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
Long time GDS player here. I recently built Grixis Control and I'm still learning the ropes of the deck. I decided to take the following list to a MCQ with 226 players to a decent but unimpressive 5-3 finish:
I had a blast playing the 8 rounds and I really loved the gameplay of the deck. Between Nimble, Field of Ruin, and a Burkhart-inspired package of spells, I feel that I generally have an out for whatever is happening on the other side of the table. Kalitas also fixes many problems of the deck and gives some outs to the ever increasing Burn presence in the metagame. I won against Valakut (2-1), MonoU Merfolk (2-0), GW Devoted Druid + Stoneblade (2-1), and UB Mill (2-1). My losses were to Valakut (1-2) and two players on Jund (0-2). I'd like some advice on the latter, as I feel that the matchup shouldn't be particularly problematic.
Wrenn & Six's addition brought a lot of early value to the deck in a seemingly bolt-proof card. The games my opponent resolved a turn 2 W&6 often led to multiple cycling land redraws and a threat towards a game-winning ultimate. After some consideration I realized that both Bolt and K Commands were lackluster in this position, as the 3 damage is hardly relevant and the discard mode is also neutered. While the general plan to side out discard and pack better topdecks makes sense, it clearly leaves more room for an early W&6 to take control of the game. In this sense, what cards do you generally side in and out? What is your gameplan against Jund? Does it make sense to up discard count and early interaction such as Spell Snare or Spell Pierce in order to avoid the scenario described above?
Thank you for your advice.
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Modern: BUR Grixis Death's Shadow/Control BUR & WBC Eldrazi & Taxes WBC
EDH: UG Edric, Spymaster of Goodstuff UG
Wrenn & Six's addition brought a lot of early value to the deck in a seemingly bolt-proof card. The games my opponent resolved a turn 2 W&6 often led to multiple cycling land redraws and a threat towards a game-winning ultimate. After some consideration I realized that both Bolt and K Commands were lackluster in this position, as the 3 damage is hardly relevant and the discard mode is also neutered. While the general plan to side out discard and pack better topdecks makes sense, it clearly leaves more room for an early W&6 to take control of the game. In this sense, what cards do you generally side in and out? What is your gameplan against Jund? Does it make sense to up discard count and early interaction such as Spell Snare or Spell Pierce in order to avoid the scenario described above?
Thank you for your advice.
Off the top of my head, Spell Snare is a very neat answer that also hits Tarmogoyf, Scavenging Ooze and etc in just that match up. It'd rarely be a dead card in a match up. For more niche answers, the other I think of is Chandra's Defeat, which answers it later as well as while it's on the stack. However, I can't really see where else the card would be used - there must be a better answer elsewhere. Perhaps Dreadbore or Hero's Downfall?
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Current favourite flavour text: "Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
You should play dreadbore over terminate IMO. Id play 1 Dreadbore 1 Magmatic since you have no delve over Terminate. Pwers are a big issue so you want a good 1-2 mana answer
the introduction and upcoming proliferation of planeswalkers thanks to hogaak's removal and GY deck nerfs means you will need to be better equipped to deal with PW threats such as small teferi, small chandra, w6 and the old but gold big tef and lily veil.
The best options in modern are:
Dreadbore
+ most efficient in our colors
+ gives nothing back unlike trophy
- may require more pain from lands to cast t2 due to color
- sorcery speed (doesn't matter with smol tef)
Magmatic Sinkhole
+ Singular color means easy castability
+ delve make for incredibly efficient casts in the midgame
+ instant speed
+ actually competent as a creature removal
- needs thought scour to go live early
- does little for walkers over 5 loyalty
Bedevil
+ hits 3 relevant types in the current meta, with artifacts being a very useful addition against urza, affinity, tron
+ instant speed
- technically highest cmc since sinkhole has delve
- also the most difficult to cast in terms of color
My take is: you probably can run 2 sinkholes if you run a full playset of thought scours. Without thought scours, even a single sinkhole will not be feasible since without the GY support it's basically dead until the midgame, which is too late against the problematic w6 and smol teferi. Dreadbore is probably a must, the question is, 1 or 2? Bedevil is not something to sleep on for the decks that only splash R. It's quite a real contender for the 3-slot if Kommand is being given up.
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BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Thank you for your feedback! I'll definitely test out Dreadbore over Terminate in the following weeks. I'm actually curious to try 2 Dreadbore, cutting Terminate entirely, and see how many times the instant speed matters. Between Bolt, Push, K Command, Cryptic, and flash blockers, I should be able to navigate these situations.
On another note, how does your sideboarding versus Jund look like?
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Modern: BUR Grixis Death's Shadow/Control BUR & WBC Eldrazi & Taxes WBC
EDH: UG Edric, Spymaster of Goodstuff UG
Another week, another modern FNM. 3-1 again, but this time the deck was much better. My Jund-esque Liliana list was fine, but we're blue, dammit. So I jammed the Cryptic Commands.
No data on Wrenn and Six unfortunately - but, I did play against UW control twice, and Esper control once, not dropping a single game against any of them. Having an early threat in Young Pyromancer, and hand attack were the big keys. In all the games, stalls happened where both players were waiting for the other to act. Having a 1 mana spell that lets you strip a spell and inform you whether you're clear to cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor was great. Ashiok, Dream Render proved great as well, turning off fetches and Stoneforge Mystic. Won one game by milling them out, and three games with Jace ults.
My loss was against Tron. It feels like we have the same issues that Jund has with it, with the 1 for 1s and card advantage being too slow. My meta is really inbred with control and having 9 cards to bring in is smart for my meta - but I wonder what else we can do about Tron. Crumble to Dust is a little slow, but it's one spell to turn off their deck. Damping Sphere is there, but they pack cards against that.
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Current favourite flavour text: "Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
So, Throne of Eldraine launches very soon. What do people think of Mystic Sanctuary? I'm gonna test one in my deck, it looks solid, especially when it's fetchable. I can see playing more of it too if it proves good.
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Current favourite flavour text: "Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
Do you think that Into the Story might be playable in the deck ?
It will require targetting the opponent with Scour but getting a 4-mana Opportunity seems worth it.
On a similar note Drown in the Loch might be playable as well.
Also, can Lochmere Serpent be considered as a flash finisher option or is 6-mana (like Gearhulk) just not a realistic mana cost ?
This is extremely close to what ive been running for some time. I wouldn't bother with bedevil or login knot though. Rather go with collective brutality and dreadbore
BUT: this list feels much more powerful and consistent than the old one. we'll have to see how much modern's power level rises post horizon overall, but this is a better deck for sure. it feels very consistent, and disgustingly powerful at times.
2 Kess, Dissident Mage
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Tasigur, the golden Fang
2 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
Sorceries (10)
4 Serum Visions
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
Instants (15)
3 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
2 Fatal Push
1 Bedevil
1 Countersquall
2 Thought Scour
4 Pollutede Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Blood Cypt
2 Watery Grave
1 Steam Vents
2 Island
3 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Drowned Catacomb
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Countersquall
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Dispel
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Collective Brutality
In hind sight the serum visions probably need to be faithless looting to optimize the graveyard for finale.
Liliana of the dark realms isn't the best, but when i was making the deck it made sense for getting lands out of the deck and getting to 7cc nicol bolas. plus another creature destruction effect. putting +5/+5 to kalitas, was relevant though in one match up. Basically I was thinking she'd be a chandra 4-5. seeing as I only have 3 chandra
1 nicol bolas, god-pharaoh
2 nicol bolas, dragon-god
2 liliana of the dark realms
3 chandra, torch of defiance
3 liliana of the veil
4 opt
3 lightning bolt
2 terminate
1 bedevil
2 thoughtsieze
3 collective brutality
3 blightning
21 lands
(not me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECJkM4dxgP0&t=1482s
Modern Only
Currently Running:
BG Midrange
Modern: BG Rock, Grixis Control, UW Control
Commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
"Win or lose, naught to choose - all men are equal when their memory fades. No one knows, friends or foes, if Valhalla lies beyond the grave." - Motörhead “Deaf Forever”
Modern: BG Rock, Grixis Control, UW Control
Commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
"Win or lose, naught to choose - all men are equal when their memory fades. No one knows, friends or foes, if Valhalla lies beyond the grave." - Motörhead “Deaf Forever”
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 The Scarab God
1 Vendilion Clique
Instants
2 Fatal Push
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Kolaghan's Command
1 Electrolyze
2 Remand
2 Mana Leak
1 Fact or Fiction
Sorceries
3 Thoughtseize
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Liliana of the Veil
Lands
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
2 Island
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Field of Ruin
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Future Sight
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Unmoored Ego
Now, Future Sight is a favourite card of mine that I've been trying to jam whenever I can because I love it so. However I can well see replacing it with something more competitive. In the grindy matchups it's so very good, and this deck does tend to make things go long. Suggestions on replacements would be great.
"Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
1 The Scarab God
Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Kolaghan's Command
1 Electrolyze
2 Remand
2 Mana Leak
1 Terminate
2 Fatal Push
Sorceries
2 Thoughtseize
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Rise // Fall
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Liliana of the Veil
Lands
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
2 Island
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Field of Ruin
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Leyline of the Void
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Unmoored Ego
1 Shatterstorm
2 Collective Brutality
The deck has worked wonderful in matches I wouldn't think I'd win in - Tron, for example - and lost in matches I thought I'd do great in, like against Zoo. My sideboard has evolved now I've gotten eight matches in - Ashiok, Dream Render is big game against Whirza, Valakut, Stoneforge, etc...overall it looks great in a lot of match ups. Shatterstorm is a maybe against Whirza - I'm not sold on this, but it being an extra, one-sided board wipe against Affinity sold me on trying it. Rise // Fall seems like a way better top-deck than Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize is, and so I want to try it out as well.
"Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
Long time GDS player here. I recently built Grixis Control and I'm still learning the ropes of the deck. I decided to take the following list to a MCQ with 226 players to a decent but unimpressive 5-3 finish:
2 Watery Grave
2 Steam Vents
1 Blood Crypt
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Field of Ruin
Creatures (9)
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Nimble Obstructionist
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Search for Azcanta
4 Opt
2 Logic Knot
1 Countersquall
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Fatal Push
2 Terminate
4 Kolaghan's Command
4 Cryptic Command
1 Countersquall
2 Collective Brutality
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Thoughtseize
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Damnation
1 Engineered Explosives
I had a blast playing the 8 rounds and I really loved the gameplay of the deck. Between Nimble, Field of Ruin, and a Burkhart-inspired package of spells, I feel that I generally have an out for whatever is happening on the other side of the table. Kalitas also fixes many problems of the deck and gives some outs to the ever increasing Burn presence in the metagame. I won against Valakut (2-1), MonoU Merfolk (2-0), GW Devoted Druid + Stoneblade (2-1), and UB Mill (2-1). My losses were to Valakut (1-2) and two players on Jund (0-2). I'd like some advice on the latter, as I feel that the matchup shouldn't be particularly problematic.
Wrenn & Six's addition brought a lot of early value to the deck in a seemingly bolt-proof card. The games my opponent resolved a turn 2 W&6 often led to multiple cycling land redraws and a threat towards a game-winning ultimate. After some consideration I realized that both Bolt and K Commands were lackluster in this position, as the 3 damage is hardly relevant and the discard mode is also neutered. While the general plan to side out discard and pack better topdecks makes sense, it clearly leaves more room for an early W&6 to take control of the game. In this sense, what cards do you generally side in and out? What is your gameplan against Jund? Does it make sense to up discard count and early interaction such as Spell Snare or Spell Pierce in order to avoid the scenario described above?
Thank you for your advice.
BUR Grixis Death's Shadow/Control BUR & WBC Eldrazi & Taxes WBC
EDH:
UG Edric, Spymaster of Goodstuff UG
Off the top of my head, Spell Snare is a very neat answer that also hits Tarmogoyf, Scavenging Ooze and etc in just that match up. It'd rarely be a dead card in a match up. For more niche answers, the other I think of is Chandra's Defeat, which answers it later as well as while it's on the stack. However, I can't really see where else the card would be used - there must be a better answer elsewhere. Perhaps Dreadbore or Hero's Downfall?
"Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
The best options in modern are:
Dreadbore
+ most efficient in our colors
+ gives nothing back unlike trophy
- may require more pain from lands to cast t2 due to color
- sorcery speed (doesn't matter with smol tef)
Magmatic Sinkhole
+ Singular color means easy castability
+ delve make for incredibly efficient casts in the midgame
+ instant speed
+ actually competent as a creature removal
- needs thought scour to go live early
- does little for walkers over 5 loyalty
Bedevil
+ hits 3 relevant types in the current meta, with artifacts being a very useful addition against urza, affinity, tron
+ instant speed
- technically highest cmc since sinkhole has delve
- also the most difficult to cast in terms of color
My take is: you probably can run 2 sinkholes if you run a full playset of thought scours. Without thought scours, even a single sinkhole will not be feasible since without the GY support it's basically dead until the midgame, which is too late against the problematic w6 and smol teferi. Dreadbore is probably a must, the question is, 1 or 2? Bedevil is not something to sleep on for the decks that only splash R. It's quite a real contender for the 3-slot if Kommand is being given up.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
On the draw it lets you counter the t2 goyf and I belive Wrenn & Sixx is also a thing now.
Let's not forget Mystic's unban!
Tbh with Force of Negation's printing I'm thinking of playing the full 4 and just pitching it when it's a dead card.
UB Yuriko, Ninja Tribal
UBR Nicol Bolas, Dragon Reanimator
-
Modern
UBR Grixis Draw-Go
On another note, how does your sideboarding versus Jund look like?
BUR Grixis Death's Shadow/Control BUR & WBC Eldrazi & Taxes WBC
EDH:
UG Edric, Spymaster of Goodstuff UG
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
1 The Scarab God
Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Kolaghan's Command
2 Mana Leak
2 Fatal Push
1 Spell Snare
4 Cryptic Command
3 Opt
1 Thought Scour
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Dreadbore
1 Thoughtseize
Planeswalkers
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Lands
4 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Field of Ruin
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Unmoored Ego
1 Shatterstorm
2 Collective Brutality
2 Thoughtseize
No data on Wrenn and Six unfortunately - but, I did play against UW control twice, and Esper control once, not dropping a single game against any of them. Having an early threat in Young Pyromancer, and hand attack were the big keys. In all the games, stalls happened where both players were waiting for the other to act. Having a 1 mana spell that lets you strip a spell and inform you whether you're clear to cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor was great. Ashiok, Dream Render proved great as well, turning off fetches and Stoneforge Mystic. Won one game by milling them out, and three games with Jace ults.
My loss was against Tron. It feels like we have the same issues that Jund has with it, with the 1 for 1s and card advantage being too slow. My meta is really inbred with control and having 9 cards to bring in is smart for my meta - but I wonder what else we can do about Tron. Crumble to Dust is a little slow, but it's one spell to turn off their deck. Damping Sphere is there, but they pack cards against that.
"Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
"Forgive me, Master Kami, but in the interest of my people I must halt your advance." - Hold the Line.
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Collective Brutality
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Dreadbore
2 Fatal Push
2 Field of Ruin
2 Force of Negation
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Island
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Kess, Dissident Mage
3 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Plague Engineer
4 Polluted Delta
1 Rise/Fall
2 Serum Visions
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Steam Vents
2 Swamp
4 Thought Scour
2 Thoughtseize
2 Watery Grave
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
3 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Countersquall
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Unmoored Ego
It will require targetting the opponent with Scour but getting a 4-mana Opportunity seems worth it.
On a similar note Drown in the Loch might be playable as well.
Also, can Lochmere Serpent be considered as a flash finisher option or is 6-mana (like Gearhulk) just not a realistic mana cost ?