I've also tried Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (1/1 main and SB) in the deck and quite liked it so far as a non-GY finisher and card advantage engine.
I've seen some lists trying out Jace TMS in the deck but I consider Big Teferi a better fit for the deck.
Do you think that the deck works better with 25x lands over 24x ?
Also with 4x FoR do you think the 1x GQ is really necessary (as it could be Blast Zone/Celestial Colonnade instead) ?
I like Cerimonious Rejection just fine and have sideboarded it in the past. The problem is, that I need more to bring in against the burn matchup too. Which kinda makes me lean towards Dispel. Now I could always split the difference but I thought, Force of Negation would be a nice hedge against against both matchups plus combo. It's price is making me rethink that though.
I like Tormod's Crypt more than cleric aginst against unfair graveyard strategies, as sometimes you don't get a turn two to play the cleric. Plus it's nice being able to wrath the board and then crack your crypt. Cleric is better against decks that slowly utilize their graveyards for value i.e. delve threats or flashback. Think the decks like Mardu Pyromancer, UW(x) Control, or GDS. Those decks, the sacrifice ability is great but also having it stapled to a 2/1 flyer is better than a 0 cost artifact. I do like it a lot in the maindeck though, and may have to make cuts to place it there.
Now, the number of successes in the population is actually around 13 - 17, this is because you can crack fetch lands or FoR to grab those snow-basics too. If I'm on the draw and have need to use On Thin Ice on turn one to snag a threat, I have an 87% chance to having access to snow-basic for it. If I'm on the play and can afford to crack a FoR for a snow-basic, the odds go up to a 96% chance of having a snow basic. I'm factoring in the cards I'm drawing for those turns too.
On the draw
Population Size (cards in deck) = 60
Number of Successes in Population (number of copies in deck) = 13
Sample Size (total cards drawn) = 8
Number of Success in Sample (how many of this I need to draw) = 1
Cumulative Probability: P(X > x) = 87.7%
On the play
Population Size (cards in deck) = 60
Number of Successes in Population (number of copies in deck) = 17
Sample Size (total cards drawn) = 9
Number of Success in Sample (how many of this I need to draw) = 1
I've played versions of both 24 to 25 lands, I'm of the opinion that adding an extra utility land and going up to 25 just makes thing more consistent. You almost always want to be able to curve into a wrath effect or Sun Titan and having more lands allow you to do that more consistently. Plus I've lost way more games with Emeria Control, from getting mana screwed on crucial turns than I have by flooding out, especially with Emeria, the Sky Ruin active. Now what you play as your 25th utility land is completely up to you and your meta game. I prefer Ghost Quarter, because it compliments our secondary mana denial game plan but it's honestly up to you. Blast Zone is a really good card, I could see going either or! I'm liking 25 more with Champion of Wits being included in newer builds, to help filter through multiple lands.
So I played against dredge for the first time in a long time, I was surprised by how easily I handled them. Remorseful Cleric is no joke in that matchup, and Brought Back can bridge the gab between the first cleric and a Sun Titan / Emeria, the Sky Ruin activation. The only card I was somewhat concerned about was Conflagrate but Ranger-Captain of Eos sacrifice ability was able to stall until I could wipe their yard. Winds of Abandon also overpreformed in the matchup too. This is because dredge tends to revert to just casting their Prized Amalgam and Bloodghast when they can't utilize their graveyard effectively.
The idea behind this build is to provide value thanks to Restoration Angel with creatures such as:
- Blade Splicer (to put pressure)
- Kitchen Finks (pressure / life)
- Wall of Omens (to draw and prevent damages at the begining of the game. Also might force our opponent to over extend so we can use our swipers in the midgame)
Do you think that this version is a good base for a midrange approach or it's not competitive at all ?
Thanks to all the Azorius Titan/Emeria Control community and talk to you soon
So first off welcome to the community, I hope you enjoy your stay! Your build of emeria is an interesting take on our classic archetype, I hope that you're having fun with it!
From experience, I could probably recommend a few things.
First up is card advantage, builds lean playing around 8 - 12 cards that cantrip in addition to flicker effects. Without this, it's somewhat difficult to churn through our deck to find the tools we need. Hitting those early land drops is also very important.
Secondly you haven't listed your manabase but UW emeria can struggle to hit double blue in the early to mid game. Absorb or Narset, Parter of Veils may be somewhat difficult for you to cast because of this.
Third, you may want to pull down your curve, Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Restoration Angel are sweet and can generate a ton of value but they're also expensive to cast. Most games of modern can be brutal and turns usually average at about 2.5 - 3 before games are decided. I would recommend that you play four Flickerwisp before you play the first Restoration Angel. If you want to keep in the other sweet awesome stuff, maybe play Champion of Wits to filter through it when it's bad?
Flickerwisp though, is secretly one of the best cards in our deck and it's not just because of awesome synergy with Sun Titan and the other etb permanents we play. It can also get you out of awkward situational jams like an Ensnaring Bridge, or Blood Moon locking down your fetchlands.
Lastly, Emeria Control is usually centered around Sun Titan. By playing only the one copy, it's more likely to eat removal once you do find it. Most stock lists play around three copies because of this. However you have more threats in your list, and emeria control is about having fun, so play whatever you enjoy the most!
Thanks @Marinojuk for your feedbacks and for sharing your experience
Regarding the card advantage:
Yes you are right. I am going to try finding 1 CMC or 2CMC creatures in Blue/white that have a nice draw ETB. Also, if I don't find any, I may try 4x Opt to see if it works with the build.
Regarding the curve:
I agree, I was thinking to replace Cataclysmic Gearhulk with Venser, Shaper Savant in order reduce the curve a bit and to help the late game (kind of a budget Snapcaster Mage).
Regarding Flickerwisp versus Restoration Angel I understand your point of view but I wanted to try a mode midrange approach (with stronger creatures that can also put a quicker clock). But again, I'm new to this deck so I might be wrong
Regarding the spells:
I included various counterspells/reaction spells (4 Dovin Veto, 2 absorb, 2 Detention sphere, 3 Settle the Wreckage) with the idea to disrupt the opponent gameplan as the creatures in this build have an higer mana cost on average compared to other versions. The goal is to disrupt his strategy and stabilize the early/mid turns, just before we start dropping value creatures.
Also, thanks for the feedback on Remorseful Cleric as the meta is kinda full of decks playing wih graveyard in Barcelona (at least from what I saw).
For info, I am going to do a relatively big tournament next weekend so I will create a brief report afterwards to let you know if it went well or if it was a disaster
A key card for an Emeria deck is Court Hussar which offers a blocker and card selection and later in the game becomes a card advantage engine with Titan/Emeria. Champion of Wits isn't too bad either.
Some cheap cantrip creatures can be: Thraben Inspector, Fblthp, the Lost and you can also use Spreading Seas though it is not a creature but it can mess up opponents' colors and shut down utility/creature-lands while replacing itself.
I'm not really a fan of Narset for this deck and would prefer Teferi, Time Raveler but it might be outside your budget so adding more creatures can be the way to go.
Another good (budget) option for the 3-drop slot can be Monastery Siege as a looting engine.
Instead of using counterspells in the maindeck I'd suggest the more proactive Spell Queller if it fits under your budget.
I took a bit of time to reflect on the deck strategy/ various feedbacks (thanks again @Marinojuk & @D90Dennis14) and came up with this modified build (still with the idea of having a "midrangy" approach) :
I added various draw cards that, I think, bring value compared to my previous build : 4 Opt & 2 Court Hussar. I believe that a 3rd Court Hussar might help us to filter the deck but not sure which card to remove to make a slot available .
Overall, I feel that this version might be more competitive and reliable than my previous version thanks to more draw cards that might help us to filter the deck and a slightly lower mana curve.
I will test this build this weekend ( I might get wrecked but that's how you learn^^) and will make a brief report here
Feel free to share your feedbacks on this new version.
What is everyone's thoughts on some of the new creatures that have been added to the card pool? Specifically, Soul Hearder and vesperlark. These cards seem like a lot of value, being able to buy back walls and court hussars. Not to mention being able to evoke vesperlark and then blink it to have it stick around and have the trigger.
Soulherder has been great. I've never been able to grow it beyond 4/4, but it's a very good creature. If put beside a wall of omens or other creature with good etb ability, it immediately asks the opponent "do you have removal?".
Actually removed wisps from my list, and replaced them all with herders. The blink every turn ability of herder is just too strong to pass up. Anyway, for defense from flying creatures.. I still have remorseful cleric and the one baneslayer that I keep in the main.
a powerful magical christmas land scenario is an overlaoded winds of abandon + a herder. Although, I'm not able to do that yet.
Soulherder just seems like a win-more card to me as it doesn't really interact with the opponent, doesn't have an EtB ability/has no immediate impact and isn't a good blocker.
Soulherder just seems like a win-more card to me as it doesn't really interact with the opponent, doesn't have an EtB ability/has no immediate impact and isn't a good blocker.
It's a win more card as much as flickerwisp. Yes, the value is not on an EtB trigger, the creature does way more if it sticks on the battlefield. It's one of the cards that has to be answered by the opponent (or it probably wins) which eats one removal spell that could target a sun titan. This on turn 3 increases the performance of the deck.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern UWTitan ControlWU UWPolymorph TokensWU CUWUW TronWUC
Soulherder just seems like a win-more card to me as it doesn't really interact with the opponent, doesn't have an EtB ability/has no immediate impact and isn't a good blocker.
It's a win more card as much as flickerwisp. Yes, the value is not on an EtB trigger, the creature does way more if it sticks on the battlefield. It's one of the cards that has to be answered by the opponent (or it probably wins) which eats one removal spell that could target a sun titan. This on turn 3 increases the performance of the deck.
I was skeptical at first, and also worried about decreasing flickerwisps. However, after seeing the value of blinking every turn I was convinced. The floor is lower than the floor of flickerwisp... as in both are terrible topdecks on an empty board, wisp at least is a 3 power attacker in the air. However, the ceiling of herder is much higher if it is put together with another creature with a useful etb. The opponent needs to kill it or kill me before the value piles up on them.
Would just like to add that eventhough herder is better at blinking, there are still plenty of things that wisp can do that herder cannot. So it's still personal choice on what to use in the deck.
wisp can..
1. blink detention sphere
2. blink aria of flame used by phoenix players
3. blink an ensnaring bridge so that our titan can attack
4. 3 power and flying, so it is a decent blocker for flying threats
Dusted off the deck and here's the UW list I ran with yesterday in a casual 3 round modern tournament yesterday. Won't go into the details of all the matches but I went 1-0-1 against two traditional UW control lists and lost against a Narset Wheels brew in a back and forth match that I think I could've taken with some tighter play. Ended 1-1-1 overall.
PROPS:
+++Ranger Captain of Eos - First time playing with this card, after looking back at my games I missed some good opportunities to pop his sacrifice effect to advance my board and held onto it for too long. With Emeria online and Ranger, you can establish a lock on them by saccing Ranger on your opponents upkeep which balanced the matchups against UW. I should've used it more aggressively on my own turn to resolve Sun Titan / Teferi, as by resolving Sun Titan you can immediately get Ranger back. Fetching up a Thraben Inspector is extra value
++Teferi - Extremely strong against blue decks and is a must remove target. Returnable via Sun Titan, and can bounce opposing enhancements/artifacts for tempo. I dropped Gideon of the Trials out of my 75 completely as a lot of the aggro decks go wide now so I didn't think he's very good. The 'cant lose game' emblem isn't as good as it was before.
+Thraben Inspector - I know this forum has mixed opinions on it but I really think this card is the truth and allows you to churn through your deck as a pseudo cantrip. I find that I often have mana available to pop the clue anyway between turns so haven't found that to be a crutch. You can throw it in front of something for a chump block and have some board presence to pressure the 2,3 CMC walkers. Having it also gives me comfort to go down to 24 lands.
SLOPS:
--Ghost Quarter - after moving Crucible to the SB, Sun Titan-GQ lock is way too slow. It was good against Tron but this slot should really be a Blast Zone.
-Irrigated Farmland - Coming in tapped actually matters and the cycling effect isn't as relevant as I thought anymore. Likely swapping this out for Prismatic Vista going forward or Emeria #4.
-Tormod's Crypt - I never had to bring it in yesterday but thinking whether this should just be Leyline of the Void at this point for Hogaak.
Sideboard could be better tuned against creature decks with an additional wrath or cheap removal like Condemn/Winds of Abandon. Also still want to include a threat that doesn't rely on the graveyard and can end games quickly - perhaps Cavalier of Dawn in the slot. My 3 drop slot is already overburdened but would like to test a single Soulherder somewhere - thinking it's really taking the place of the Phantasmal flex slot.
Mainboard I'm relatively happy with, but intend on testing 1 x Hex Parasite (-1 Flickerwisp) as a target for Ranger and can answer walkers, with a side bonus of removing the counter off Blast Zone to blow up tokens.
My general rules in tuning the deck is to largely avoid the following:
1. Permanents with UU in the casting cost - mana base is already somewhat stretched so UU is not always reliable. Jace would be one of the few interesting cards I'd like to test but at 4 CMC and not returnable by Sun Titan, I'm not super high on it.
2. Too many instants/sorceries/counterspells - Emeria is a creature control deck that relies on synergies and value to grind out your opponent. I want to maximize the number of permanents that I can recur from Emeria / Sun Titan, with ETB effects that I can also recur from Flickerwisp. Hence my focus is always on permanents 3 CMC or less. Don't build the deck in a way so that it's just a worse version of traditional UW control.
I just came back from MagicFest Barcelona, it was a really cool vibe and I learned a lot I encountered Dredge, Humans and Phenix.
- The good news: the deck does not feel "cheap". Indeed, I was able to win a game against Dredge (but lost the 3rd one as I lacked interaction cards). I also got a draw against Humans but it's because I missplayed, as I could have won this one. That's how your learn (We didn't had the time for a 3rd game). Phenix was a tough matchup and lost all games.
-The bad (but good) news: I realized that my build lacks of interaction cards.
- Key learnings: I should not try to reinvent the wheel ^^. Thus, I am going to upgrade the deck months by months in order to end up with a more competitive UW Midrange one (with a proven decklist).
I bought some cards in order to upgrade the deck:
- 2 Spell quellers that replace 2 Kitchen Finks,
- 2 Dragonlord Ojutai for the lategame that replace Gideon Jura and 1 Finks
Do you feel that it's a good step forward?
For info I also have in my collection various counterspells (Dovins veto, negate, dissolve, absorb, mana leak) but I feel that my deck would be weaker if I remove Blade Splicer as for now I am missing the key cards of the established playlists (but maybe I am wrong ^^ ).
Please find attached the picture.
Also, why no Remorseful Cleric over Tormod's Crypt ?
I consider getting rid of Spreading Seas and run both Lone Missionary and Remorseful Cleric together.
I'm not sure if On Thin Ice is even worth it with only 7x basics, might as well play Journey to Nowhere/Seal Away.
I've also tried Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (1/1 main and SB) in the deck and quite liked it so far as a non-GY finisher and card advantage engine.
I've seen some lists trying out Jace TMS in the deck but I consider Big Teferi a better fit for the deck.
Do you think that the deck works better with 25x lands over 24x ?
Also with 4x FoR do you think the 1x GQ is really necessary (as it could be Blast Zone/Celestial Colonnade instead) ?
I like Tormod's Crypt more than cleric aginst against unfair graveyard strategies, as sometimes you don't get a turn two to play the cleric. Plus it's nice being able to wrath the board and then crack your crypt. Cleric is better against decks that slowly utilize their graveyards for value i.e. delve threats or flashback. Think the decks like Mardu Pyromancer, UW(x) Control, or GDS. Those decks, the sacrifice ability is great but also having it stapled to a 2/1 flyer is better than a 0 cost artifact. I do like it a lot in the maindeck though, and may have to make cuts to place it there.
I had to crack open the hypergeometric calculator for On Thin Ice, ideally I'm looking to use On Thin Ice to remove a troublesome one or two drop without ramping my opponent. Think Goblin Guide, Dark Confidant, or Goblin Electromancer.
Now, the number of successes in the population is actually around 13 - 17, this is because you can crack fetch lands or FoR to grab those snow-basics too. If I'm on the draw and have need to use On Thin Ice on turn one to snag a threat, I have an 87% chance to having access to snow-basic for it. If I'm on the play and can afford to crack a FoR for a snow-basic, the odds go up to a 96% chance of having a snow basic. I'm factoring in the cards I'm drawing for those turns too.
On the draw
Population Size (cards in deck) = 60
Number of Successes in Population (number of copies in deck) = 13
Sample Size (total cards drawn) = 8
Number of Success in Sample (how many of this I need to draw) = 1
Cumulative Probability: P(X > x) = 87.7%
On the play
Population Size (cards in deck) = 60
Number of Successes in Population (number of copies in deck) = 17
Sample Size (total cards drawn) = 9
Number of Success in Sample (how many of this I need to draw) = 1
Cumulative Probability: P(X > x) = 96.2%
Either way, I think I'd rather play the second and possibly third Winds of Abandon before I played the first Journey to Nowhere or Seal Away.
I'm glad to hear that Teferi, Hero of Dominarea is working out well for you! I may try testing him in the UWish version, I'd have to take out Sigarda, Host of Heron's but it may be worth it.
I've played versions of both 24 to 25 lands, I'm of the opinion that adding an extra utility land and going up to 25 just makes thing more consistent. You almost always want to be able to curve into a wrath effect or Sun Titan and having more lands allow you to do that more consistently. Plus I've lost way more games with Emeria Control, from getting mana screwed on crucial turns than I have by flooding out, especially with Emeria, the Sky Ruin active. Now what you play as your 25th utility land is completely up to you and your meta game. I prefer Ghost Quarter, because it compliments our secondary mana denial game plan but it's honestly up to you. Blast Zone is a really good card, I could see going either or! I'm liking 25 more with Champion of Wits being included in newer builds, to help filter through multiple lands.
Hope this helps!
with the recent positive feedback from the thread on Blast Zone. Description changed, and rating raised from 3 to 4.5
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
Hope you are doing well.
New emeria player here
I am restarting playing Modern and Emeria Control caught my attention. I am on a budget but was thinking about a midrangy build
As you have more experience than I do with this deck, what do you think of a more midrange version such as this one:
2 Absorb
4 Blade Splicer
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2 Detention Sphere
4 Dovin's Veto
1 Gideon Jura
1 Gideon of the Trials
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
4 Path to Exile
4 Restoration Angel
3 Settle the Wreckage
1 Sun Titan
4 Wall of Omens
The idea behind this build is to provide value thanks to Restoration Angel with creatures such as:
- Blade Splicer (to put pressure)
- Kitchen Finks (pressure / life)
- Wall of Omens (to draw and prevent damages at the begining of the game. Also might force our opponent to over extend so we can use our swipers in the midgame)
Do you think that this version is a good base for a midrange approach or it's not competitive at all ?
Thanks to all the Azorius Titan/Emeria Control community and talk to you soon
From experience, I could probably recommend a few things.
First up is card advantage, builds lean playing around 8 - 12 cards that cantrip in addition to flicker effects. Without this, it's somewhat difficult to churn through our deck to find the tools we need. Hitting those early land drops is also very important.
Secondly you haven't listed your manabase but UW emeria can struggle to hit double blue in the early to mid game. Absorb or Narset, Parter of Veils may be somewhat difficult for you to cast because of this.
Third, you may want to pull down your curve, Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Restoration Angel are sweet and can generate a ton of value but they're also expensive to cast. Most games of modern can be brutal and turns usually average at about 2.5 - 3 before games are decided. I would recommend that you play four Flickerwisp before you play the first Restoration Angel. If you want to keep in the other sweet awesome stuff, maybe play Champion of Wits to filter through it when it's bad?
Flickerwisp though, is secretly one of the best cards in our deck and it's not just because of awesome synergy with Sun Titan and the other etb permanents we play. It can also get you out of awkward situational jams like an Ensnaring Bridge, or Blood Moon locking down your fetchlands.
I'm not a big fan of Settle the Wreckage myself, I prefer a split between Supreme Verdict and Wrath of God. That said as long as settle is working for you, then go for it, it should be better with Gideon Jura. If you just need graveyard hate Remorseful Cleric is one of the best we can play.
Lastly, Emeria Control is usually centered around Sun Titan. By playing only the one copy, it's more likely to eat removal once you do find it. Most stock lists play around three copies because of this. However you have more threats in your list, and emeria control is about having fun, so play whatever you enjoy the most!
Hope this helps!
Thanks @Marinojuk for your feedbacks and for sharing your experience
Regarding the card advantage:
Yes you are right. I am going to try finding 1 CMC or 2CMC creatures in Blue/white that have a nice draw ETB. Also, if I don't find any, I may try 4x Opt to see if it works with the build.
Regarding the curve:
I agree, I was thinking to replace Cataclysmic Gearhulk with Venser, Shaper Savant in order reduce the curve a bit and to help the late game (kind of a budget Snapcaster Mage).
Regarding Flickerwisp versus Restoration Angel I understand your point of view but I wanted to try a mode midrange approach (with stronger creatures that can also put a quicker clock). But again, I'm new to this deck so I might be wrong
Regarding the spells:
I included various counterspells/reaction spells (4 Dovin Veto, 2 absorb, 2 Detention sphere, 3 Settle the Wreckage) with the idea to disrupt the opponent gameplan as the creatures in this build have an higer mana cost on average compared to other versions. The goal is to disrupt his strategy and stabilize the early/mid turns, just before we start dropping value creatures.
Also, thanks for the feedback on Remorseful Cleric as the meta is kinda full of decks playing wih graveyard in Barcelona (at least from what I saw).
For info, I am going to do a relatively big tournament next weekend so I will create a brief report afterwards to let you know if it went well or if it was a disaster
Talk to you soon.
Champion of Wits isn't too bad either.
Some cheap cantrip creatures can be: Thraben Inspector, Fblthp, the Lost and you can also use Spreading Seas though it is not a creature but it can mess up opponents' colors and shut down utility/creature-lands while replacing itself.
I'm not really a fan of Narset for this deck and would prefer Teferi, Time Raveler but it might be outside your budget so adding more creatures can be the way to go.
Another good (budget) option for the 3-drop slot can be Monastery Siege as a looting engine.
Instead of using counterspells in the maindeck I'd suggest the more proactive Spell Queller if it fits under your budget.
Thanks @D90Dennis14 for your feedbacks
I took a bit of time to reflect on the deck strategy/ various feedbacks (thanks again @Marinojuk & @D90Dennis14) and came up with this modified build (still with the idea of having a "midrangy" approach) :
4 Path to Exile
4 Opt
4 Wall of Omens
4 Blade Splicer
2 Court Hussar
3 Detention Sphere
1 Gideon of the Trials
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Restoration Angel
3 Settle the Wreckage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Gideon Jura
1 Sun Titan
I added various draw cards that, I think, bring value compared to my previous build : 4 Opt & 2 Court Hussar. I believe that a 3rd Court Hussar might help us to filter the deck but not sure which card to remove to make a slot available .
I also added 1 Detention Sphere to help removal on the board (planeswalker, etc).
Moreover, I replaced Cataclysmic Gearhulk by Venser, Shaper Savant.
Overall, I feel that this version might be more competitive and reliable than my previous version thanks to more draw cards that might help us to filter the deck and a slightly lower mana curve.
I will test this build this weekend ( I might get wrecked but that's how you learn^^) and will make a brief report here
Feel free to share your feedbacks on this new version.
Thanks again to everyone for the warm welcoming !
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Vesperlark is strong as you can return a wall after a wrath, it trades with Arclight Phoenix (2 for 1).. Good utility, but no must-play card
UWTitan ControlWU
UWPolymorph TokensWU
CUWUW TronWUC
a powerful magical christmas land scenario is an overlaoded winds of abandon + a herder. Although, I'm not able to do that yet.
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Vesperlark seemed promising but its best targets (besides Wall of Omens and Phantasmal Image) are also 3-drops (Court Hussar, Blade Splicer and Deputy of Detention) so it's difficult to find room for it and I'd never cut Flickerwisp.
It's a win more card as much as flickerwisp. Yes, the value is not on an EtB trigger, the creature does way more if it sticks on the battlefield. It's one of the cards that has to be answered by the opponent (or it probably wins) which eats one removal spell that could target a sun titan. This on turn 3 increases the performance of the deck.
UWTitan ControlWU
UWPolymorph TokensWU
CUWUW TronWUC
I was skeptical at first, and also worried about decreasing flickerwisps. However, after seeing the value of blinking every turn I was convinced. The floor is lower than the floor of flickerwisp... as in both are terrible topdecks on an empty board, wisp at least is a 3 power attacker in the air. However, the ceiling of herder is much higher if it is put together with another creature with a useful etb. The opponent needs to kill it or kill me before the value piles up on them.
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wisp can..
1. blink detention sphere
2. blink aria of flame used by phoenix players
3. blink an ensnaring bridge so that our titan can attack
4. 3 power and flying, so it is a decent blocker for flying threats
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3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
6 Plains
1 Island
1 Prairie Stream
1 Irrigated Farmland
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Field of Ruin
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Wall of Omens
3 Lone Missionary
3 Ranger-Captain of Eos
4 Flickerwisp
2 Court Hussar
3 Sun Titan
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Teferi, Time Raveler
3 Detention Sphere
4 Path to Exile
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Wrath of God
3 Dovin's Veto
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Remorseful Cleric
2 Damping Sphere
1 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
Dusted off the deck and here's the UW list I ran with yesterday in a casual 3 round modern tournament yesterday. Won't go into the details of all the matches but I went 1-0-1 against two traditional UW control lists and lost against a Narset Wheels brew in a back and forth match that I think I could've taken with some tighter play. Ended 1-1-1 overall.
PROPS:
+++Ranger Captain of Eos - First time playing with this card, after looking back at my games I missed some good opportunities to pop his sacrifice effect to advance my board and held onto it for too long. With Emeria online and Ranger, you can establish a lock on them by saccing Ranger on your opponents upkeep which balanced the matchups against UW. I should've used it more aggressively on my own turn to resolve Sun Titan / Teferi, as by resolving Sun Titan you can immediately get Ranger back. Fetching up a Thraben Inspector is extra value
++Teferi - Extremely strong against blue decks and is a must remove target. Returnable via Sun Titan, and can bounce opposing enhancements/artifacts for tempo. I dropped Gideon of the Trials out of my 75 completely as a lot of the aggro decks go wide now so I didn't think he's very good. The 'cant lose game' emblem isn't as good as it was before.
+Thraben Inspector - I know this forum has mixed opinions on it but I really think this card is the truth and allows you to churn through your deck as a pseudo cantrip. I find that I often have mana available to pop the clue anyway between turns so haven't found that to be a crutch. You can throw it in front of something for a chump block and have some board presence to pressure the 2,3 CMC walkers. Having it also gives me comfort to go down to 24 lands.
SLOPS:
--Ghost Quarter - after moving Crucible to the SB, Sun Titan-GQ lock is way too slow. It was good against Tron but this slot should really be a Blast Zone.
-Irrigated Farmland - Coming in tapped actually matters and the cycling effect isn't as relevant as I thought anymore. Likely swapping this out for Prismatic Vista going forward or Emeria #4.
-Tormod's Crypt - I never had to bring it in yesterday but thinking whether this should just be Leyline of the Void at this point for Hogaak.
Sideboard could be better tuned against creature decks with an additional wrath or cheap removal like Condemn/Winds of Abandon. Also still want to include a threat that doesn't rely on the graveyard and can end games quickly - perhaps Cavalier of Dawn in the slot. My 3 drop slot is already overburdened but would like to test a single Soulherder somewhere - thinking it's really taking the place of the Phantasmal flex slot.
Mainboard I'm relatively happy with, but intend on testing 1 x Hex Parasite (-1 Flickerwisp) as a target for Ranger and can answer walkers, with a side bonus of removing the counter off Blast Zone to blow up tokens.
My general rules in tuning the deck is to largely avoid the following:
1. Permanents with UU in the casting cost - mana base is already somewhat stretched so UU is not always reliable. Jace would be one of the few interesting cards I'd like to test but at 4 CMC and not returnable by Sun Titan, I'm not super high on it.
2. Too many instants/sorceries/counterspells - Emeria is a creature control deck that relies on synergies and value to grind out your opponent. I want to maximize the number of permanents that I can recur from Emeria / Sun Titan, with ETB effects that I can also recur from Flickerwisp. Hence my focus is always on permanents 3 CMC or less. Don't build the deck in a way so that it's just a worse version of traditional UW control.
I just came back from MagicFest Barcelona, it was a really cool vibe and I learned a lot I encountered Dredge, Humans and Phenix.
- The good news: the deck does not feel "cheap". Indeed, I was able to win a game against Dredge (but lost the 3rd one as I lacked interaction cards). I also got a draw against Humans but it's because I missplayed, as I could have won this one. That's how your learn (We didn't had the time for a 3rd game). Phenix was a tough matchup and lost all games.
-The bad (but good) news: I realized that my build lacks of interaction cards.
- Key learnings: I should not try to reinvent the wheel ^^. Thus, I am going to upgrade the deck months by months in order to end up with a more competitive UW Midrange one (with a proven decklist).
I bought some cards in order to upgrade the deck:
- 2 Spell quellers that replace 2 Kitchen Finks,
- 2 Dragonlord Ojutai for the lategame that replace Gideon Jura and 1 Finks
Do you feel that it's a good step forward?
For info I also have in my collection various counterspells (Dovins veto, negate, dissolve, absorb, mana leak) but I feel that my deck would be weaker if I remove Blade Splicer as for now I am missing the key cards of the established playlists (but maybe I am wrong ^^ ).
Please find attached the picture.
2 Court Hussar
3 Detention Sphere
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Field of Ruin
1 Gideon of the Trials
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Irrigated Farmland
7 Island
2 Nimbus Maze
4 Path to Exile
7 Plains
4 Restoration Angel
3 Settle the Wreckage
2 Spell Queller
4 Spreading Seas
1 Sun Titan
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Wall of Omens
I will upgrade the deck each month: T3feri, etc ..
Last but not least, I would like to thanks @Marionuk & @D90Dennis14 for sharing their feedbacks and experiences.
Let's see how tomorrow goes and feel free to share your feedback.
Ps; Court hussar is a really nice card.