Hey everbody, so I played a few matches with the updated list today and I thought I would post the results. I ended up 4 - 1, playing against Lantern Control, Storm, Mono Green Devotion, Jund, and Tron. I'll dive right in and give my report.
Tron 2 - 1
Game one
I'm on the draw and keep a hand in the dark with a Field of Ruin, and Spreading Sea's drawing into Glittering Wish for my turn. I curve turn two Spreading Seas, into Field of Ruin, into glittering wish for Gaddok Teeg. They hardcast a Oblivion Stone and I use [c]Knight of Autumn to blow it up. They then conceed.
Game two
I mull to five looking for a Stony or Spreading Seas but don't find one. Keeping a hand with negate three lands, and Path to Exile. My opponent goes natural Tron into Wurmcoil Engine, which I path on drawstep, into Ulimog, the Ceasless Hunger hitting the only two lands that I have in play, I conceed.
Lantern Control 1 - 0
So my opponent is thinking thing through and taking their time, they play around artifact removal by attacking my hand with discard and being patient with their mill stones. I still win even through them having three Codex Shredder, two Pixis of Pandemonium a Lantern of Insight and two Ensnaring Bridge. This matchup is extreemly favored for us, they have to give us lands or give us spells and the amount of good interaction we have against Lantern Control is staggering. I won with an active emeria recuring Sun Titans and Flickerwisp utilizing multiple etb trigger with those dead wrath effects they fed me. They conceded in one because they were down ten minutes on clock. I can't stress enough that all the lines my opponent took were the optimal ones needed but the matchup seems to favor us increadibly.
Mono Green Devotion 1 - 1 - 0
Game one
I'm on the draw and my opponent has the nutter butter and goes off on turn two, spilling their hand with and pacting for a Carnage Tyrant. I flounder around a bit blocking with Wall of Omens, Court Hussar and gaining life with Lone Missionary. I'm looking for a wrath effect a wish, or a titan to turn things around. Even a Gideon Jura would have helped but I don't find any of that in the top twenty and die to an angry dinosour.
Game two
I keep a mulligan but keep a hand with Glittering Wish and Wrath of God, they regurgitate their hand, going off on turn three instead of turn two this time. I draw into a Supreme Verdict and cast it while their tapped out. They give a second hurrah and put lethal into play again, I wrath a second time then blow up their Kessig Wolf Run with my Field of Ruin and they conceed the match.
This match really comes down to asking if you have the wrath effect, if you do you win, if you don't your behind.
Storm 0 - 2
So I put my opponent on blue moon because for the first three turns they go Island, Steam Vents tapped, and triple cantrip. Then I tap out, they find a another Island, play a Baral and kill me.
Game two
So I mull for a RiP, wish, or countermagic and keep a one land hand with a Path to Exile, Dispel, Glittering Wish, and Detention Sphere.Unfortunetly I don't draw a second land, my opponent goes on the empty plan and I die. This match was frustrating because I felt like I had the tools to win but I stumbled and was very punished for it.
Jund 2 - 1
Game one
So this match was dangerously close, I drew a lot of top end without removal or card draw to back it up and the only thing that stabilized me at six life was using Glittering Wish for a Sigarda, Host of Herons. This card single handedly pulled me back from the brink of losing and won me the game.
Game three
Sun Titan and Emeria were the mvp in this matchup, grinding them out of the game. Though Glittering Wish sealed the deal with timely removal when my opponent overextended thier boardstate.
Thoughts on the matches, they were a lot of fun but I felt like I was got a little unlucky with mulligans. However I did get to showcase the power of the deck and was impressed overall. Glittering Wish really showed it's power and was a massive boon in a lot of matches. Some of my post thoughts are I'm wondering if a third Rest in Peace needs to be in the sideboard, along with a copy of Engineered Explosives somewhere in the 75. You definitely have some trade off by playing Glittering Wish. From experience, your game win percentage skyrockets against specific arctypes but against others that require a critical mass of varied sideboard slots, like combo, you may not be able to consistently pull off a win. However, I have played the Storm and Ad Nauseum match before and won with this deck, so I'm not sure.
The Storm matchup went sideways because of my draws. I had the tools to deal with what they were doing but just couldn't draw the lands cast them. In that matchup Gaddock Teeg is comparable to Meddling Mage because it essentially names three relevant cards (i.e. Past in Flames, Gifts Ungiven, Empty the Warrens. That said, unless you optimize your deck to beat Storm then it's going to be rough for most control archetypes.
On a side note Rest in Peace goes a very long way in that matchup.
I mentioned that Meddling Mage and Gaddock Teeg feel comparable. I think that they take the same slot in your wishboard and are interchangeable depending on your meta. I wouldn't play both for the same reason I wouldn't play a Dragonlord Ojutai with Sigarda, Host of Herons, they're redundant and any future Glittering Wish will not be likely to grab it.
I mentioned before how I feel about Wheel of Sun and Moon. Turn three is too slow to start interacting with dedicated graveyard decks. It's a trap and doesn't actually help in the matchups we want it too. If I was to devote a slot to it, I'd rather play a third Rest in Peace.
Dragonlord Dromoka, so I have mixed feelings on this card. I initially played it in leu of Sigarda, and can see a world where you play both. However, I found that against control, I would stick it, and then it would just eat removal. Whereas Sigarda will strait up win the game once resolved. That said, against most aggro to midrange this card is insurmountable once cast. So I can see playing it again.
Update!
This build is confirmed good, I'm up 19 wins in a row now. I'm kinda actually scared to play another match because I'm afraid of breaking the chain by losing. I have made changes, I swapped out Breeding Pool for a second Temple Garden. I'm still thinking of switching a Stony Silence for a third Rest in Peace too. Anyway, for the mana, the instances where you need UG in a single land are few and far between and I think it's better to have the plains for the emeria count. Also, if anyone has experience playing Engineered Explosives in this archetype I'd love to hear your thoughts before I splurge.
Yeah, I have unfortunately broken my streak and have lost to a variety of different decks since. Most notably I lost to RUG scapeshift on mtgo, which is to be expected for the most part. As you have little meaningful interaction in that match, and I didn't draw an early Glittering Wish to apply pressure. I also played in a semi local tournament over the weekend. My only changes were that I wasn't running Gaddock Teeg, instead Meddling Mage as Gaddock Teeg is expensive and I didn't have him on hand. I ended up going 3 - 3 and playing against Titan Breach, Ad Nauseam, Hollow One, Ad Nauseam, Blue Moon, and Amulet Titan. I was rushing to write the decklist, buy the cards for the green splash, and re-sleeve my entire deck. So because of this I don't think I got to shuffle enough, which lead to a bunch of awkward hands and plenty of mulligans. I did lean a few things though.
These were my results
2 - 0 Titan Breach
1 - 2 Ad Nauseam
0 - 2 Hollow One
2 - 0 Ad Nauseam
0 - 2 Blue Moon
2 - 0 Amulet Titan
In my match against Titan Breach I was able to press a quick clock with Geist of Saint Traft. Which was backed up by countermagic post board was enough to win it.
In my match against Blue Moon I searched for a basic plains off of a Path to Exile, the turn before a Blood Moon hit the field. In hindsight, only 4 other cards in my deck required a single white mana. Whereas there was 12 cards (post board) that could be cast of a single blue mana. Compounding that I am more likely to draw into one of five plains as opposed to a single island. Something to think about, but to be honest in most matchups you can usually deal with a Blood Moon through either Glittering Wish, Flickerwisp, Knight of Autumn, or Detention Sphere.
In my match against Ad Nauseam I was mana screwed and had only a Emeria, the Sky Ruin and a Flooded Strand. I wanted to cast Glittering Wish for a Meddling Mage and possibly be able to hold any countermagic I drew into but couldn't because I kept drawing basic plains. This could be a reason to include either Breading Pool or more fetch lands.
Also something to think about with this deck is that while uw is your primary color combination and the colors you're most likely to need early. You also need to prioritize double green. Think being able to cast Glittering Wish and Gaddock Teeg in the same turn, on turn four. This will require specifically WWGG, which is pretty mana intensive.
Anyway, this deck isn't perfect, you'll lose some percentage points against aggro and Blood Moon decks because of your manabase. However, it still plays very similarly to UW Emeria and I still think that Glittering Wish solves a lot of the issues that UW traditionly has. It has better card quality, can play with and through good graveyard hate, and is slightly more consistent in my experience.
The changes to the manabase were made because drawing non-plains with Emeria, the Sky Ruin always felt terrible. This deck is still base UW splashing G Glittering Wish. I don't think it's worth it to lower consistency trying playing around Blood Moon with basic forest. To note my sequencing with this deck is usually Hallowed Fountain, two basics, Canopy Vista, it's nice having an untapped green source that doesn't hurt you when you decide to cast a Glittering Wish in the mid to late game.
The changes to the maindeck were made because I realized that I was almost never upset to have multiple Glittering Wish in hand because they were so impactful and versatile. I also think that maximizing the chances of drawing the card I am quite literally splashing an additional color for is probably wise.
The changes to the sideboard were made because I found Dispel to be a little narrow. I also wanted lean into Rest in Peace as graveyard hate because Glittering Wish gives us a good alternate win condition. I also found myself wanting more cards to combat Tron and resolved planewalkers. The Gaddock Teeg was swapped for Meddling Mage because it's what I own irl and WWUG is much more atainable than WWGG, especially against Tron where you need to prioritize blue mana for Spreading Seas and countermagic.
Advantages
- able to play with and through powerful graveyard hate with ease
- draws are on average more impactful
- able to tailor a wishbaord plan and adjust it to meta
- redundancy
- a quicker clock
Disadvantages
- takes more damage on average through lands
- Blood Moon?
- less non wish sideboard slots available
- less utility lands i.e. Field of Ruin
Basically this deck plays very similarly to uw emeria but with a twist. I think this kind of build would preform best in a local metagame where you know which decks you will be playing against, as this will also impact how you construct your wish package. However one of the really big draws of the deck for me personally is that on average you draws are more redundant, much more powerful, and less reliant upon the graveyard to the point where you can afford to play Rest in Peace.
Anyone have one or two words on the Saheeli-Felidar version?
I have done a few matches with a 3 - 2 split, and it have impressed me by far, but probably needs more testing.
Having an "ops, I win" button that doesn't rely on graveyard feels cool (thus, Saheeli does really crazy things when paired with Titan).
I've never personally tried the Saheeli-Emeria version but would be interested to know as well. I like the idea of an having a secondary win condition that doesn't require the graveyard. That said, I've always steered away from it because I've imagined it being somewhat clunky, similar to the Emeria Thopter Foundry build. In your opinion, would gain more or less from going full on 4 color Sahieeli? Obviously there are deck building restrictions from both sides, as well as unique advantages and disadvantages. That said, regular 4 color Sahileei can still grind almost as hard as we can from the get go. The matches I've played have certainly been down to the wire.
I've never personally tried the Saheeli-Emeria version but would be interested to know as well. I like the idea of an having a secondary win condition that doesn't require the graveyard. That said, I've always steered away from it because I've imagined it being somewhat clunky, similar to the Emeria Thopter Foundry build. In your opinion, would gain more or less from going full on 4 color Sahieeli? Obviously there are deck building restrictions from both sides, as well as unique advantages and disadvantages. That said, regular 4 color Sahileei can still grind almost as hard as we can from the get go. The matches I've played have certainly been down to the wire.
Well, I have not played with nor against 4 color Saheeli too much, so I really can't say anything besides speculation.
After numerous matchs I have found that, as you say, Felidar is clunky. Paying 4 for a creature with bad stats and a flicker effect is not gonna break nothing, and thats why I use only 2 on main. However, I have found it very useful in some situations (paired whit a flickerwisp to blink a permantent during all the opponent's turn).
And, well, there is Saheeli.
This card is sort of crazy in this deck.
Is not by its own raw power, but because how easy it creates degenerate plays in combination with other cards.
The scry+damage ability is terrific at grinding: I have killed more than one opponent through an ensnaring bridge. The scry helps a lot in beating flood.
The copy ability is just nuts. From an empty field, I have cast a Titan, return Saheeli, copy Titan, return something, attack with Titan copy, return another permantet...
And note that 2 Saheelis + Titan also goes infinite.
I think its not comparable to the Sword Thopter combo. That was, apart of graveyard dependant, not a insta-win button. Saheeli attacks in a different angle than the rest of the deck, but both cards of the combo work well separatedly (something that doesn't happen with Sword + Foundry).
Saheeli has solved some issues I have with classic emeria: flood, stagnated battlefields, losing gas against decks with better grinding (like Tron), running out of time...
The manabase is... clunky, but not as much I thought it would be. I run 2 Sacred Foundry, six fetchalnds and one mountain that I can search with Field of Ruin. I have cut one emeria, since I am not as dependant on it as I was.
Hey, I'm back again with the deck, after a few months trying out some alternatives that didnt work out as well as Azorius Emeria. I picked it up again and I am amazed again at how consistent it is (and fun to play, honestly, so many interactions and sinergies!).
Thank you for trying out a different version for us, I am a fan of tutor decks, but in practice I am a bit skeptical, honestly, about splashing a color and watering down the main strategy. In my opinion, if you want tutoring, I think there is enough draw and selection in simple Azorius to allow you to play singletons, as long as the key pieces remain intact (among these I include Flickerwisp, btw). The biggest challenge for me is to improve the control/combo matchups. There are a few options that are general enough, in my opinion, to see maindeck play and not hurt our aggro matchup too much, those being:
- Meddling Mage
- Sword of Light and Shadow
- Venser, the Sojourner (I am testing this mostly for fun, honestly; in this case I was looking for a card that would change the balance of a game against control, but was also useful in general; not really sure it's the right one, the sinergy is lovely but usually overkill)
- I mention Runed Halo, which is already present here and there
- Geist of Saint Traft seems like an obvious choice, but I dont think we have enough spot removal to cover him against aggro, but I am trying it in my SB
I'm not an expert on Saheeli Emeria, but it seems really good with the titan. I've seen it go off a few times before, played by the guy who taught me how to Emeria, but it had its flaws. Just like you said, manabase is clunky, but I think that a list would be nice in order to actually look at it really well I think, from what I've seen, that you actually might lose faster to more aggressive decks, where regular Emeria has better ways to stop that (but that's my own opinion ofc, I can't say anything all that well).
But really curious to your list. Mind sharing it with us?
Sure.
Mind that this is still an early test list, but It has performed so well for me that I am not sure about what to change:
Thinking about dropping the basic island. Normally, I use the fetchlands for blue, since I require it very early. I reserve the basic slot to fetch a mountain with Field of Ruin, in case that I have not gained access to red in the course of the game.
Fair enough, I can agree with what your saying. I will note that I feel my matches against the Control & Combo archetypes have improved. Rest in Peace can go a long way against KCI & Storm, as does Gaddock Teeg / Meddling Mage. Against control, having a Glittering Wish improves your average card quality and gives you a nice toolbox axis. This is good, because while it can be a game ending Geist of Saint Traft if they stumble, it can just as easily be a Detention Sphere to take out a problematic permanent. I find that in a lot of my matches it's better to have the right card than to have more cards. A great analogy would be that the UWish archetype is similar to charms, more versatility but also more mana intensive.
@Carcasanchez
I understand, comparing it to a thopter sword version was probably incorrect. I like some aspects, especially having a secondary win condition that isn't graveyard dependent. I hope it continues to work out well for you!
Also, MTG Tavern recently ran a few matches with a Jeskia Emeria list, definitely check it out if your interested!
Well, also Damping Sphere is good against Combo, and also against Tron, which sounds slightly worse right now, except for the tutorable Gaddock Teeg. Still very difficult, I think, in game 1, even with Gaddock. The more consistent manabase attack the traditional UW Emeria has is at least as well effective. Sorry, I know I sound destructive, just trying to understand what could be good in this alternative decklist. I'll try building it myself and see how it works. Also, I'm not a big fan of Gideon Jura, honestly. What has he been doing for you so far?
Don't worry, being destructive and offering criticism are two very different things. Anyway, the wish package is a double edged sword. Not having access to as many sideboard slots for Damping Sphere is a big downside.
I've listed advantages and disadvantages before so I won't go into it. Put simply, the good is lumped in with the bad but I play it because it's fun and interesting. I would definitely encourage you to try the updated list if you're interested.
Gideon Jura is a holdover from GP Toronto where I lost my first round of day 2, to Ben Stark who was playing Burn. Originally, I wanted a Planeswalker to play through graveyard hate more easily and had decided to play Elspeth, Sun's Champion in that flex slot. Game one, I had a GotT emblem and had managed to tick Elspeth, Sun's Champion up to ult. I lost before I could, but would have won if she had been a Gideon Jura. That stuck with me, and Gideon Jura has been good to me since.
Well, UR Phionex has a lot of things going for it. It's explosive, consistant, and resilient. The amount of cantrips they play means they have a ridiculous amount of redundancy and can churn through almost their entire deck with ease. The good news is that in my experience, we are still favoured. Their creatures Arclight Phionex, Thing in the Ice, Bedlam Reveller, and Crackling Drake do not match up well against our exile / mass removal, or graveyard hate. You have to pace yourself, the odds are that they will see more threats than you do removal, especially if the game goes on long enough. Also be mindful of their reach, as they play both Lightning Bolt and Fiery Temper.
Obviously it'll see play, the question is, as a 1 - 3 of and are we mainboarding it or sideboarding it? It's good vs Tron to an extent, it still gets hosed by Oblivion Stone and Walking Balista.
I feel like she'll see play in most versions of Emeria. I think that first I'll test her in regular UW Emeria as a three of in the main. If I play her with the wish package though, it'll be as a 1 of in the main. I feel like Gaddock Teeg, from the sideboard, is probably better in most of the matches were Lavinia shines.
Hey there! I hope you enjoy your stay, if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!
To answer your questions, yes and no, Lavinia will counter the spell an opponent attempts to cast through cascade. Lavinia will not counter the multiple copies of Grapeshot or Empty the Warrens. This is because those copies placed on the stack through the storm mechanic are not actually cast, so Lavinia has nothing to counter.
That said, Lavinia still makes Storm play a much more fair gameplan, they'll have to wait until four lands to cast a Gifts Ungiven and five lands to cast Past in Flames. Seventeen lands is not a lot, so even with cantrips trying to reach that will take time. This should allow us to get under them or at least establish a board presence. It is much more likely that the opponent will just Lightning Bolt or Grapeshot to deal with our hatebear. Lavinia in essence, will hopefully buy you at least one extra turn against storm.
Thanks for the response! I've been playing UW Emeria for a bit. Been around since the Alara block but I've been mostly a on-and-off standard player so I don't actually have that much time playing modern. Been keeping an eye on this thread for a bit and now that I have the chance I'll be trying to play more modern, so I hope I can post my own list and results for feedback and such. I'l try to respond in what I can as well.
Of course, go ahead and share your list whenever you feel comfortable. I'm sure that everyone here would love to see your list and hear your experiences piloting it. If you run into unfamiliar territory and need advice, ask away and we'll try to help.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
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
Tron 2 - 1
Game one
I'm on the draw and keep a hand in the dark with a Field of Ruin, and Spreading Sea's drawing into Glittering Wish for my turn. I curve turn two Spreading Seas, into Field of Ruin, into glittering wish for Gaddok Teeg. They hardcast a Oblivion Stone and I use [c]Knight of Autumn to blow it up. They then conceed.
Sideboard
In
2 Stony Silence
2 Negate
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Sigarda, Host of Heron's
Out
2 Wall of Omens
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wrath of God
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Gideon Jura
Game two
I mull to five looking for a Stony or Spreading Seas but don't find one. Keeping a hand with negate three lands, and Path to Exile. My opponent goes natural Tron into Wurmcoil Engine, which I path on drawstep, into Ulimog, the Ceasless Hunger hitting the only two lands that I have in play, I conceed.
Game three
I have a hand with two fetches, a Stony Silence, Path to Exile, Field of Ruin, Negate and Glittering Wish. My opponent stumbles on lands for a couple turns and I am able to pressure them with Geist of Saint Traft backed up by countermagic and removal.
Lantern Control 1 - 0
So my opponent is thinking thing through and taking their time, they play around artifact removal by attacking my hand with discard and being patient with their mill stones. I still win even through them having three Codex Shredder, two Pixis of Pandemonium a Lantern of Insight and two Ensnaring Bridge. This matchup is extreemly favored for us, they have to give us lands or give us spells and the amount of good interaction we have against Lantern Control is staggering. I won with an active emeria recuring Sun Titans and Flickerwisp utilizing multiple etb trigger with those dead wrath effects they fed me. They conceded in one because they were down ten minutes on clock. I can't stress enough that all the lines my opponent took were the optimal ones needed but the matchup seems to favor us increadibly.
Mono Green Devotion 1 - 1 - 0
Game one
I'm on the draw and my opponent has the nutter butter and goes off on turn two, spilling their hand with and pacting for a Carnage Tyrant. I flounder around a bit blocking with Wall of Omens, Court Hussar and gaining life with Lone Missionary. I'm looking for a wrath effect a wish, or a titan to turn things around. Even a Gideon Jura would have helped but I don't find any of that in the top twenty and die to an angry dinosour.
Sideboard
In
2 Negate
Out
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Kitchen Finks
Game two
I keep a mulligan but keep a hand with Glittering Wish and Wrath of God, they regurgitate their hand, going off on turn three instead of turn two this time. I draw into a Supreme Verdict and cast it while their tapped out. They give a second hurrah and put lethal into play again, I wrath a second time then blow up their Kessig Wolf Run with my Field of Ruin and they conceed the match.
This match really comes down to asking if you have the wrath effect, if you do you win, if you don't your behind.
Storm 0 - 2
So I put my opponent on blue moon because for the first three turns they go Island, Steam Vents tapped, and triple cantrip. Then I tap out, they find a another Island, play a Baral and kill me.
Sideboard
In
2 Dispel
2 Rest in Peace
2 Negate
1 Knight of Autumn
Out
4 Spreading Seas
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wrath of God
Game two
So I mull for a RiP, wish, or countermagic and keep a one land hand with a Path to Exile, Dispel, Glittering Wish, and Detention Sphere.Unfortunetly I don't draw a second land, my opponent goes on the empty plan and I die. This match was frustrating because I felt like I had the tools to win but I stumbled and was very punished for it.
Jund 2 - 1
Game one
So this match was dangerously close, I drew a lot of top end without removal or card draw to back it up and the only thing that stabilized me at six life was using Glittering Wish for a Sigarda, Host of Herons. This card single handedly pulled me back from the brink of losing and won me the game.
Sideboard
In
2 Negate
Out
2 Flickerwisp
Game two
I mulliganed to five with an awkward hand with only white mana and mutli colored spells. They ran me out of the game with a solid curve, Thoughtseize into Tarmogoyf, into Fulminator Mage into Bloodbraid Elf for Maelstrom Pulse.
Game three
Sun Titan and Emeria were the mvp in this matchup, grinding them out of the game. Though Glittering Wish sealed the deal with timely removal when my opponent overextended thier boardstate.
Thoughts on the matches, they were a lot of fun but I felt like I was got a little unlucky with mulligans. However I did get to showcase the power of the deck and was impressed overall. Glittering Wish really showed it's power and was a massive boon in a lot of matches. Some of my post thoughts are I'm wondering if a third Rest in Peace needs to be in the sideboard, along with a copy of Engineered Explosives somewhere in the 75. You definitely have some trade off by playing Glittering Wish. From experience, your game win percentage skyrockets against specific arctypes but against others that require a critical mass of varied sideboard slots, like combo, you may not be able to consistently pull off a win. However, I have played the Storm and Ad Nauseum match before and won with this deck, so I'm not sure.
On a side note Rest in Peace goes a very long way in that matchup.
I mentioned that Meddling Mage and Gaddock Teeg feel comparable. I think that they take the same slot in your wishboard and are interchangeable depending on your meta. I wouldn't play both for the same reason I wouldn't play a Dragonlord Ojutai with Sigarda, Host of Herons, they're redundant and any future Glittering Wish will not be likely to grab it.
I mentioned before how I feel about Wheel of Sun and Moon. Turn three is too slow to start interacting with dedicated graveyard decks. It's a trap and doesn't actually help in the matchups we want it too. If I was to devote a slot to it, I'd rather play a third Rest in Peace.
Dragonlord Dromoka, so I have mixed feelings on this card. I initially played it in leu of Sigarda, and can see a world where you play both. However, I found that against control, I would stick it, and then it would just eat removal. Whereas Sigarda will strait up win the game once resolved. That said, against most aggro to midrange this card is insurmountable once cast. So I can see playing it again.
Update!
This build is confirmed good, I'm up 19 wins in a row now. I'm kinda actually scared to play another match because I'm afraid of breaking the chain by losing. I have made changes, I swapped out Breeding Pool for a second Temple Garden. I'm still thinking of switching a Stony Silence for a third Rest in Peace too. Anyway, for the mana, the instances where you need UG in a single land are few and far between and I think it's better to have the plains for the emeria count. Also, if anyone has experience playing Engineered Explosives in this archetype I'd love to hear your thoughts before I splurge.
These were my results
2 - 0 Titan Breach
1 - 2 Ad Nauseam
0 - 2 Hollow One
2 - 0 Ad Nauseam
0 - 2 Blue Moon
2 - 0 Amulet Titan
In my match against Titan Breach I was able to press a quick clock with Geist of Saint Traft. Which was backed up by countermagic post board was enough to win it.
In my match against Blue Moon I searched for a basic plains off of a Path to Exile, the turn before a Blood Moon hit the field. In hindsight, only 4 other cards in my deck required a single white mana. Whereas there was 12 cards (post board) that could be cast of a single blue mana. Compounding that I am more likely to draw into one of five plains as opposed to a single island. Something to think about, but to be honest in most matchups you can usually deal with a Blood Moon through either Glittering Wish, Flickerwisp, Knight of Autumn, or Detention Sphere.
In my match against Ad Nauseam I was mana screwed and had only a Emeria, the Sky Ruin and a Flooded Strand. I wanted to cast Glittering Wish for a Meddling Mage and possibly be able to hold any countermagic I drew into but couldn't because I kept drawing basic plains. This could be a reason to include either Breading Pool or more fetch lands.
Also something to think about with this deck is that while uw is your primary color combination and the colors you're most likely to need early. You also need to prioritize double green. Think being able to cast Glittering Wish and Gaddock Teeg in the same turn, on turn four. This will require specifically WWGG, which is pretty mana intensive.
Anyway, this deck isn't perfect, you'll lose some percentage points against aggro and Blood Moon decks because of your manabase. However, it still plays very similarly to UW Emeria and I still think that Glittering Wish solves a lot of the issues that UW traditionly has. It has better card quality, can play with and through good graveyard hate, and is slightly more consistent in my experience.
Maindeck 60
Creature:
1 Lone Missionary
4 Wall of Omens
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Flickerwisp
3 Court Hussar
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Sun Titan
Instant // Sorcery: 11
4 Path to Exile
4 Glittering Wish
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wrath of God
1 Supreme Verdict
Enchantment: 5
4 Spreading Seas
1 Detention Sphere
Artifact: 1
1 Crucible of Worlds
Planeswalker: 3
2 Gideon of the Trials
1 Gideon Jura
Manabase: 24
1 Canopy Vista
3 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
6 Plains
1 Temple Garden
3 Windswept Heath
Sideboard 15
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
2 Negate
1 Meddling Mage
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Detention Sphere
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Sigarda, Host of Heron's
A more comprehensive list of the changes I made;
Manabase
- 1 Forest
- 1 Field of Ruin
- 1 Temple Garden
- 1 Breading Pool
+ 2 Windswept Heath
+ 1 Plains
+ 1 Canopy Vista
Maindeck
- 1 Knight of Autumn
+ 1 Glittering Wish
Sideboard
- 2 Dispel
- 1 Gaddock Teeg
+ 1 Meddling Mage
+ 1 Socerious Spyglass
+ 1 Rest in Peace
The changes to the manabase were made because drawing non-plains with Emeria, the Sky Ruin always felt terrible. This deck is still base UW splashing G Glittering Wish. I don't think it's worth it to lower consistency trying playing around Blood Moon with basic forest. To note my sequencing with this deck is usually Hallowed Fountain, two basics, Canopy Vista, it's nice having an untapped green source that doesn't hurt you when you decide to cast a Glittering Wish in the mid to late game.
The changes to the maindeck were made because I realized that I was almost never upset to have multiple Glittering Wish in hand because they were so impactful and versatile. I also think that maximizing the chances of drawing the card I am quite literally splashing an additional color for is probably wise.
The changes to the sideboard were made because I found Dispel to be a little narrow. I also wanted lean into Rest in Peace as graveyard hate because Glittering Wish gives us a good alternate win condition. I also found myself wanting more cards to combat Tron and resolved planewalkers. The Gaddock Teeg was swapped for Meddling Mage because it's what I own irl and WWUG is much more atainable than WWGG, especially against Tron where you need to prioritize blue mana for Spreading Seas and countermagic.
Advantages
- able to play with and through powerful graveyard hate with ease
- draws are on average more impactful
- able to tailor a wishbaord plan and adjust it to meta
- redundancy
- a quicker clock
Disadvantages
- takes more damage on average through lands
- Blood Moon?
- less non wish sideboard slots available
- less utility lands i.e. Field of Ruin
Basically this deck plays very similarly to uw emeria but with a twist. I think this kind of build would preform best in a local metagame where you know which decks you will be playing against, as this will also impact how you construct your wish package. However one of the really big draws of the deck for me personally is that on average you draws are more redundant, much more powerful, and less reliant upon the graveyard to the point where you can afford to play Rest in Peace.
I have done a few matches with a 3 - 2 split, and it have impressed me by far, but probably needs more testing.
Having an "ops, I win" button that doesn't rely on graveyard feels cool (thus, Saheeli does really crazy things when paired with Titan).
Well, I have not played with nor against 4 color Saheeli too much, so I really can't say anything besides speculation.
After numerous matchs I have found that, as you say, Felidar is clunky. Paying 4 for a creature with bad stats and a flicker effect is not gonna break nothing, and thats why I use only 2 on main. However, I have found it very useful in some situations (paired whit a flickerwisp to blink a permantent during all the opponent's turn).
And, well, there is Saheeli.
This card is sort of crazy in this deck.
Is not by its own raw power, but because how easy it creates degenerate plays in combination with other cards.
The scry+damage ability is terrific at grinding: I have killed more than one opponent through an ensnaring bridge. The scry helps a lot in beating flood.
The copy ability is just nuts. From an empty field, I have cast a Titan, return Saheeli, copy Titan, return something, attack with Titan copy, return another permantet...
And note that 2 Saheelis + Titan also goes infinite.
I think its not comparable to the Sword Thopter combo. That was, apart of graveyard dependant, not a insta-win button. Saheeli attacks in a different angle than the rest of the deck, but both cards of the combo work well separatedly (something that doesn't happen with Sword + Foundry).
Saheeli has solved some issues I have with classic emeria: flood, stagnated battlefields, losing gas against decks with better grinding (like Tron), running out of time...
The manabase is... clunky, but not as much I thought it would be. I run 2 Sacred Foundry, six fetchalnds and one mountain that I can search with Field of Ruin. I have cut one emeria, since I am not as dependant on it as I was.
Hey, I'm back again with the deck, after a few months trying out some alternatives that didnt work out as well as Azorius Emeria. I picked it up again and I am amazed again at how consistent it is (and fun to play, honestly, so many interactions and sinergies!).
Thank you for trying out a different version for us, I am a fan of tutor decks, but in practice I am a bit skeptical, honestly, about splashing a color and watering down the main strategy. In my opinion, if you want tutoring, I think there is enough draw and selection in simple Azorius to allow you to play singletons, as long as the key pieces remain intact (among these I include Flickerwisp, btw). The biggest challenge for me is to improve the control/combo matchups. There are a few options that are general enough, in my opinion, to see maindeck play and not hurt our aggro matchup too much, those being:
- Meddling Mage
- Sword of Light and Shadow
- Venser, the Sojourner (I am testing this mostly for fun, honestly; in this case I was looking for a card that would change the balance of a game against control, but was also useful in general; not really sure it's the right one, the sinergy is lovely but usually overkill)
- I mention Runed Halo, which is already present here and there
- Geist of Saint Traft seems like an obvious choice, but I dont think we have enough spot removal to cover him against aggro, but I am trying it in my SB
Any other ideas? Thanks.
Sure.
Mind that this is still an early test list, but It has performed so well for me that I am not sure about what to change:
3x Sun Titan
2x Felidar Guardian
3x Court Hussar
3x Lone Missionary
3x Flickerwisp
4x Wall of Omens
Planeswalkers
3x Saheeli Rai
1x Gideon of the Trials
4x Spreading seas
3x Detention sphere
Sorcerys
2x Supreme verdict
1x Day of judgement
Instants
4x Path to exiles
Lands
2x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Mountain
3x Field of Ruin
2x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2x Sacred Foundry
4x Windswept Heath
6x Plains
2x Flooded Strand
Thinking about dropping the basic island. Normally, I use the fetchlands for blue, since I require it very early. I reserve the basic slot to fetch a mountain with Field of Ruin, in case that I have not gained access to red in the course of the game.
@Carcasanchez
I understand, comparing it to a thopter sword version was probably incorrect. I like some aspects, especially having a secondary win condition that isn't graveyard dependent. I hope it continues to work out well for you!
Also, MTG Tavern recently ran a few matches with a Jeskia Emeria list, definitely check it out if your interested!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLkB95g4isA&t=1236s
This makes it a lot worse against Tron on the draw. You essentially lose - 2 Field of Ruin, - 2 Damping Sphere and Ceremonious Resection, Sorcerous Spyglass if you're playing it. On the play can you can still tutor for Gaddock Teeg and/or Geist of Saint Traft which are good against Tron.
I've listed advantages and disadvantages before so I won't go into it. Put simply, the good is lumped in with the bad but I play it because it's fun and interesting. I would definitely encourage you to try the updated list if you're interested.
Gideon Jura is a holdover from GP Toronto where I lost my first round of day 2, to Ben Stark who was playing Burn. Originally, I wanted a Planeswalker to play through graveyard hate more easily and had decided to play Elspeth, Sun's Champion in that flex slot. Game one, I had a GotT emblem and had managed to tick Elspeth, Sun's Champion up to ult. I lost before I could, but would have won if she had been a Gideon Jura. That stuck with me, and Gideon Jura has been good to me since.
Update!
The new spoiler Lavinia, Azorious Renigade
Obviously it'll see play, the question is, as a 1 - 3 of and are we mainboarding it or sideboarding it? It's good vs Tron to an extent, it still gets hosed by Oblivion Stone and Walking Balista.
First time posting btw
To answer your questions, yes and no, Lavinia will counter the spell an opponent attempts to cast through cascade. Lavinia will not counter the multiple copies of Grapeshot or Empty the Warrens. This is because those copies placed on the stack through the storm mechanic are not actually cast, so Lavinia has nothing to counter.
That said, Lavinia still makes Storm play a much more fair gameplan, they'll have to wait until four lands to cast a Gifts Ungiven and five lands to cast Past in Flames. Seventeen lands is not a lot, so even with cantrips trying to reach that will take time. This should allow us to get under them or at least establish a board presence. It is much more likely that the opponent will just Lightning Bolt or Grapeshot to deal with our hatebear. Lavinia in essence, will hopefully buy you at least one extra turn against storm.