I think Damping Sphere is a trap without pressure to follow it up.
Just like any other strategy in any UWx Control deck. Does that stop Stony Silence or RiP being as powerful as they are?
The need for a clock is often forgotten but is the fundamental piece of beating any big mana deck. Agreed.
Rest in Peace and Stony Silence actually shut off parts the decks we play it against. The best Damping Sphere (aptly named) does is slow them down. They're still favored to win a long game.
I definitely think Damping Sphere has a spot in our sideboard, it's multifunctional which is always important for interactive decks in modern since sideboard space is so precious
You do need a clock to back it up with, but that is ALWAYS the case against the kinds of decks you want sphere against
Geists, Cliques, the general sideboard plan of control decks that try to beat tron or storm. If you don't have some kind of plan like that however, DSphere will not add much
i think sphere is 100% worth testing, but anything beyond that....well we will have to see. what im looking for is how good it is against matchups that arent tron and storm.
amulet titan, ironworks, cheerios, ad nauseaum, maybe living end and infect.
the taxing effect specifically you can only really judge after seeing it in action.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Should I bring in Stony Silence against Humans to stop Aether Vial , or is it a waste of space for that match up?
dont bring it in vs humans. the only time you wanna bring in narrow hate cards is when the matchup is pretty bad and you need anything and everything that could swing a game in your favor.
abrade is really good though if you run any of those.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Stony is very medium versus humans. I could see bringing in a single copy of Stony if you have other cards to cut (mostly counterspells). I kind of do like (singleton) Stony versus the Vial decks that also bring in Relic, like Merfolk and DnT however.
In other news, as for now I am actually off JtMS, not because I think he is too slow per se, but because I am back on Nahiri. I just always liked that version of the deck most, and it has been performing very well for me
Should I bring in Stony Silence against Humans to stop Aether Vial , or is it a waste of space for that match up?
I played Esper Gifts before. I HAVE brought in stony silence against Merfolk to stop Relic and aether vial (slow them + protect my combo). I personally would not recommend stony silence against humans (maybe you can make the case for one stony if relic becomes human's primary source of grave hate).
Should I bring in Stony Silence against Humans to stop Aether Vial , or is it a waste of space for that match up?
I played Esper Gifts before. I HAVE brought in stony silence against Merfolk to stop Relic and aether vial (slow them + protect my combo). I personally would not recommend stony silence against humans (maybe you can make the case for one stony if relic becomes human's primary source of grave hate).
Esper Gifts really wants (or needs?) to protect its graveyard. Can we say the same for Jeskai control?
Should I bring in Stony Silence against Humans to stop Aether Vial , or is it a waste of space for that match up?
I played Esper Gifts before. I HAVE brought in stony silence against Merfolk to stop Relic and aether vial (slow them + protect my combo). I personally would not recommend stony silence against humans (maybe you can make the case for one stony if relic becomes human's primary source of grave hate).
Esper Gifts really wants (or needs?) to protect its graveyard. Can we say the same for Jeskai control?
Esper Gifts is the Unburial Rites - Elesh Norn combo deck. It is a graveyard reanimator combo deck at heart. Jeskai absolutely does not need to protect its graveyard, but relic can become annoying for a deck with 2-3 logic knots and 3-4 snapcaster mages, it can make sense to board in 1, but I would not recommend boarding in stony to stop just aether vial.
4 Nahiri, 1 Emrakul, 2 Gideon of the Trials, 2 Search for Azcanta. Feels really good, both gids and nahiri are just super flexible. My only gripe atm is that my manabase is very greedy as I don't want to cut cryptic entirely, so I have turn 3 double white into turn 4 double blue which can be awkward
For me personally what will determine whether I play more than 1 copy of it or not is how good it will prove to be against Eldrazi decks. I already know it's going to be very good vs Tron and Storm. However, I consider Storm a decent MU already, and I think we already are in a position to beat MonoGreen Tron if we really want to (meaning, we have access to very powerful sideboard options like Ceremonious Rejection and Stony Silence). If the card will prove to be good enough to tip the Eldrazi MUs in my favor, then I'll play even 3 or 4 copies of it. If not, it will be a 1 of.
I don't think it (damping sphere) hurts Eldrazi decks at all. Against E-tron it MAY be worthwhile, but against r/g Eldrazi or Colorless Stompy I would evaluate it as useless.
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Modern Decks
------------ URW Jeskai Control GUWRB Amulet Titan GR Ponza
I haven't played against RG Eldrazi enough to make a decision, but I do think you'll have cards to take out for dampening sphere in the ETron matchup. In general, it's the early Thought Knot Seers that hit so hard, and t2 Dampening Sphere will always shut off an accelerated TKS, whether you are on the play or on the draw.
Against RG Eldrazi it does make Bloodbraid Elf a little more awkward, but sphere will become a dead draw real fast, so that should be worth something at least
In general, it's the early Thought Knot Seers that hit so hard, and t2 Dampening Sphere will always shut off an accelerated TKS, whether you are on the play or on the draw.
It doesn't work on the draw if they get double Eldrazi Temple, right?
In general, it's the early Thought Knot Seers that hit so hard, and t2 Dampening Sphere will always shut off an accelerated TKS, whether you are on the play or on the draw.
It doesn't work on the draw if they get double Eldrazi Temple, right?
Correct, damping sphere doesn't stop double temple if they are on the play. I believe only a ghost quarter will do that.
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Modern Decks
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Dampening sphere does a lot of splash damage though; next to the obvious big targets like storm and trondecks, you also hit an abundance of smaller decks like amulet and ad nauseam. The new fecundity deck also looks like it might be the real deal.
I agree with all of that. I'm currently trying out two. There are a lot of decks where I've heard people claim Dampening Sphere will be amazing but I am skeptical myself; the biggest being versus Hollow One. They do have to cast multiple spells a turn to function, but Im not sure Sphere coming down on turn 2 will have enough of an effect to still be worth a card; the most dangerous thing they do always tends to happen on turns 1 and 2 anyways, and I am fairly certain the cost reduction of Hollow One can pay for Dampening Sphere's extra cost.
I am also already annoyed that the abbreviation D-Sphere has already been reserved for Detention Sphere
Rest in Peace and Stony Silence actually shut off parts the decks we play it against. The best Damping Sphere (aptly named) does is slow them down. They're still favored to win a long game.
You do need a clock to back it up with, but that is ALWAYS the case against the kinds of decks you want sphere against
I think this card generally hurts control decks more than help it.
amulet titan, ironworks, cheerios, ad nauseaum, maybe living end and infect.
the taxing effect specifically you can only really judge after seeing it in action.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)dont bring it in vs humans. the only time you wanna bring in narrow hate cards is when the matchup is pretty bad and you need anything and everything that could swing a game in your favor.
abrade is really good though if you run any of those.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)In other news, as for now I am actually off JtMS, not because I think he is too slow per se, but because I am back on Nahiri. I just always liked that version of the deck most, and it has been performing very well for me
Spirits
I played Esper Gifts before. I HAVE brought in stony silence against Merfolk to stop Relic and aether vial (slow them + protect my combo). I personally would not recommend stony silence against humans (maybe you can make the case for one stony if relic becomes human's primary source of grave hate).
Esper Gifts really wants (or needs?) to protect its graveyard. Can we say the same for Jeskai control?
Esper Gifts is the Unburial Rites - Elesh Norn combo deck. It is a graveyard reanimator combo deck at heart. Jeskai absolutely does not need to protect its graveyard, but relic can become annoying for a deck with 2-3 logic knots and 3-4 snapcaster mages, it can make sense to board in 1, but I would not recommend boarding in stony to stop just aether vial.
4 Nahiri, 1 Emrakul, 2 Gideon of the Trials, 2 Search for Azcanta. Feels really good, both gids and nahiri are just super flexible. My only gripe atm is that my manabase is very greedy as I don't want to cut cryptic entirely, so I have turn 3 double white into turn 4 double blue which can be awkward
I don't think it (damping sphere) hurts Eldrazi decks at all. Against E-tron it MAY be worthwhile, but against r/g Eldrazi or Colorless Stompy I would evaluate it as useless.
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URW Jeskai Control
GUWRB Amulet Titan
GR Ponza
Against RG Eldrazi it does make Bloodbraid Elf a little more awkward, but sphere will become a dead draw real fast, so that should be worth something at least
It doesn't work on the draw if they get double Eldrazi Temple, right?
Correct, damping sphere doesn't stop double temple if they are on the play. I believe only a ghost quarter will do that.
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URW Jeskai Control
GUWRB Amulet Titan
GR Ponza
I am also already annoyed that the abbreviation D-Sphere has already been reserved for Detention Sphere
Also note that Stony Silence shuts off EE which is far more effective against Humans than just shutting off their Vial