If I want to play a singleton of planeswalker in the main deck, between two Elspeth, Adjani Vengeant and new Chandra what do you think is the best option?
I haven't seen a Valakut deck in a long time. I probably will replace it with an extra Negate, useble in more matchups.
How do you guys find the Burn matchup, lost today but othertimes it's always close.
I board out the 2 Spell Queller and bring in Dispel and Negate. Remand feels bad but maybe it's worse than Spell Queller? Some list play Kor Firewalker but they seem so narrow.
From my experience, hard counters like Dispel, Negate, Spell Snare, and Mana Leak are infinitely better against burn than Remand. I almost always side out Remand against Burn. How many Lightning Helix are you running? That card is pretty key into securing a victory, especially if you can Snapcaster Mage it back. I find that the burn matchup is not extremely lopsided in our favor, but it's pretty good where Burn is usually one of the matchups I hope to face.
I haven't tested Spell Queller, but it feels like it's better than Remand in most cases. If they have to point a burn spell at it to get their spell back, that's better than burn going to your face. I imagine they side out Searing Blaze against us anyways.
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I cut all of my Remands on the draw, no matter how many I'm playing, but I'll keep maybe 2 in on the play. Usually they're always out of the deck after game 1 though. I think that matchup is overall pretty favorable for us.
Personally, looking at your list, I'd cut the Electrolyzes, Mana Leaks and Remands and bring in the Dispel, Negate, EEs, Gideons and Wear//Tear. The Electrolyzes are slow as removal spells and 2 to the face for three mana is a pretty bad rate when trying to close out the game. Mana Leaks are ok but not necessarily great since they're spells are so cheap, though I could see them staying in. Remand is just not good because of how cheap their spells are. Dispel and Negate are obvious I think, EE kills everything of theirs for cheap, and you can use it proactively so they don't commit too much to the board. Gideons help you close fast, which is important against Burn, and W//T kills Eidolon.
Whats peoples opinion on Serum Visions? I played a lot online over the weekend and it feels like a lot of games when I don't wanna cast it on turn 1/2/3 instead preferring to sit on bolt/path/mana leak. Also it very average cantrips in the first place comparing to Preordain/Ponders and all the other good banned things.
I'm not a fan of Serum Visions (which sucks cuz I own a playset of the gorgeous DCI promo). You can't really play it on turn 1 in game one because you never really know what to look for with the scry since you probably wouldn't know the matchup. After that, you generally want to curve out as best you can. I think there was a time when it was fine to play, but I'd rather hold up mana on turn 1 for removal, turn 2 for a Remand/Helix, and then slam a Geist on turn 3.
Then you might as well just play the Nahiri deck because that's more of an AV deck then Geist is. Serum Visions and Ancestral also do very different things. One is card selection and the other is card advantage.
I like serum because i play UWR geist and one of the problems is not having the correct cards at a certain time, and serum digs great at the casting time. Ancestral visions is more of a get rewards later, which is good but it doesnt change the fact that you need some "glue" to the deck, to get answers now. Some people play more lands and more effects that draw cards (remand, electrolyze) to mitigate this, which is IMO also good. I just really like scrying.
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Modern: RBW Mardu Pyro X Eldrazi
Pauper: X Affinity G Stompy
The theory behind serum visions, as I understand it, is that if you expect matches all night where you need to hit your first four land drops on time, they'll be good.
On the other hand, if you suspect that you'll be trading one-for-one and are comfortable not hitting your fourth land drop on time, or mulling perfectly, then serum visions won't be necessary.
Personally, I like serum visions no matter what because I hate having to put all my faith into mulling and remand/electrolyze for finding lands and sideboard cards, like Stony Silence.
I went 4-0 and the deck did exceptionally great. All the matchup were 2-0. I Played against UWR control, then 5c Aggro Slivers, then against Valakut and finally against Abzan Midrange.
I also played decent amount online over last two weeks. The lesson I learned might seems obvious to some of you but I still feel like sharing for anyone who is new to the deck.
1. You play 4 geist or 0, not 3 not 2. If you're on the play, you want it in the starting hand, because the meta does not have good answer how to kill it and you can always clear the way with paths/bolts/castle etc.
2. So far I've developed only two efficient sideboarding packages. You either play against aggro deck or everything else. Against aggro I found that siding 2 extra planeswolkers and Verdict/Angers + an ability to snapcaster them, basically kills any kind of board they can develop. Against Valakut/Thron/Eldrazi you try to early that Geist/Snap/Clique and kill opponent before he develops the boards.
3. Bolts/Helix's and Snapcasters are real win condition. If you know that you're playing against control/combo its perfectly fine to cast empty snapcaster end of turn 2 and attack->attack->attack.
4. Izzet charm is surprisingly good card, basically its a 2 mana bad cryptic command. Its very good in this aggressive build.
5. Both Elspeths do a lot, the 4 mana one has amazing synergy with geist and 6 mana one can solo win games.
6. I am down to 2 serum visions and I might end with 0, I have a strong feeling that its not that good of a card and people are playing it just because there is nothing better.
I am still working on the sideboard, just picked up surgical extractions and other nice things yesterday.
The singletons of spell pierce and snare are interesting. I understand that charm overlaps with pierce a bit, but the single snare is not appealing to me. With so many recent decks to beat from GPs and SCG Regionals showcasing the power of 1cc discard and goyfs, plus tron, I think there could be some argument for running 2 Spell Pierce 2 Spell Snare in a 60.
What I've tried and always disliked is the two Serum Visions thing. Multiple rounds of Affinity, Jund Shadow, Abzan, all the Tron flavours, infect and/or misc. combo will eventually punish only having two cards that can look three deep for land. Besides hitting four lands by the fourth turn to keep up with well-sequenced aggro plays(e.g: helix+bolt+path, etc), getting to 6 or 7 lands in a reasonable amount of time is also key for stuff like Abzan, Jund(activating colonnade and playing spell) and even Blue Tron(counter-wars over burn).
2 Serum Visions is from old Team Geist builds that had serious issues with variance--this is from watching some very sad streams and personal experiences with the deck at multiple events. When everything happens according to plan, you're invincible, then lose the same match a few rounds later from not drawing enough of a particular card(be it land, threat, burn, removal or counter).
My point is that if your own results(practice matches and meaningful ones) tell you that two visions is sufficient, go with that, but if you start wondering where your seemingly unluckily close losses are coming, I'd start looking at massaging another copy of serum visions and maybe a few other cantrips into your build.
Whats peoples opinion on Serum Visions? I played a lot online over the weekend and it feels like a lot of games when I don't wanna cast it on turn 1/2/3 instead preferring to sit on bolt/path/mana leak. Also it very average cantrips in the first place comparing to Preordain/Ponders and all the other good banned things.
I've played without for years, and now with it for years. I can't see myself going back, the spell is too good to cut it. One mana look at three cards? Yes please.
The singletons of spell pierce and snare are interesting. I understand that charm overlaps with pierce a bit, but the single snare is not appealing to me. With so many recent decks to beat from GPs and SCG Regionals showcasing the power of 1cc discard and goyfs, plus tron, I think there could be some argument for running 2 Spell Pierce 2 Spell Snare in a 60.
What I've tried and always disliked is the two Serum Visions thing. Multiple rounds of Affinity, Jund Shadow, Abzan, all the Tron flavours, infect and/or misc. combo will eventually punish only having two cards that can look three deep for land. Besides hitting four lands by the fourth turn to keep up with well-sequenced aggro plays(e.g: helix+bolt+path, etc), getting to 6 or 7 lands in a reasonable amount of time is also key for stuff like Abzan, Jund(activating colonnade and playing spell) and even Blue Tron(counter-wars over burn).
2 Serum Visions is from old Team Geist builds that had serious issues with variance--this is from watching some very sad streams and personal experiences with the deck at multiple events. When everything happens according to plan, you're invincible, then lose the same match a few rounds later from not drawing enough of a particular card(be it land, threat, burn, removal or counter).
My point is that if your own results(practice matches and meaningful ones) tell you that two visions is sufficient, go with that, but if you start wondering where your seemingly unluckily close losses are coming, I'd start looking at massaging another copy of serum visions and maybe a few other cantrips into your build.
I worked very closely with the old TeamGeist guys, I guess you could say I was part of the team in that we had a chat to exchange all of our ideas etc. Anyway, I was the first person in that group to start playing Serum Visions. I liked it but I could never get those guys to agree with me and I wasn't sure enough in my decision to just do it anyway. Once Scotty stopped streaming and the TeamGeist buzz simmered down I ended up mostly tweaking the deck on my own. I was still on 4 Remands back in those days, and I think they helped the deck in the fact that I wasn't running the full four Serum Visions yet. I then saw a list in which someone made 29th at a tournament playing Geist with 4 Serum Visions. That bolstered my own opinions to up the count to three, and then finally four and I haven't looked back. The old deck used to loose itself for the exact reason you mentioned. The deck is just flat out more consistent and for that reason, better, with Serum Visions in it.
My main problem with Serum Visions is that you never wanna cast it except for turn 1. On turn two, you want to have a counter/bolt. Turn 3 either Geist or Snapcaster/bolt or Spell Queller. I feel like Mana Curve of this deck is extremely nice and you always want to have something to do on opponents turn. I would be open to suggestion about the alternatives though, I used to play couple of think twices but its very slow.
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RBW Mardu Pyro
X Eldrazi
Pauper:
X Affinity
G Stompy
RBW Mardu Pyro
X Eldrazi
Pauper:
X Affinity
G Stompy
UW Control
UWR Geist
UWR Control
From my experience, hard counters like Dispel, Negate, Spell Snare, and Mana Leak are infinitely better against burn than Remand. I almost always side out Remand against Burn. How many Lightning Helix are you running? That card is pretty key into securing a victory, especially if you can Snapcaster Mage it back. I find that the burn matchup is not extremely lopsided in our favor, but it's pretty good where Burn is usually one of the matchups I hope to face.
I haven't tested Spell Queller, but it feels like it's better than Remand in most cases. If they have to point a burn spell at it to get their spell back, that's better than burn going to your face. I imagine they side out Searing Blaze against us anyways.
Personally, looking at your list, I'd cut the Electrolyzes, Mana Leaks and Remands and bring in the Dispel, Negate, EEs, Gideons and Wear//Tear. The Electrolyzes are slow as removal spells and 2 to the face for three mana is a pretty bad rate when trying to close out the game. Mana Leaks are ok but not necessarily great since they're spells are so cheap, though I could see them staying in. Remand is just not good because of how cheap their spells are. Dispel and Negate are obvious I think, EE kills everything of theirs for cheap, and you can use it proactively so they don't commit too much to the board. Gideons help you close fast, which is important against Burn, and W//T kills Eidolon.
UW Control
UWR Geist
UWR Control
UW Control
UWR Geist
UWR Control
UW Control
UWR Geist
UWR Control
RBW Mardu Pyro
X Eldrazi
Pauper:
X Affinity
G Stompy
On the other hand, if you suspect that you'll be trading one-for-one and are comfortable not hitting your fourth land drop on time, or mulling perfectly, then serum visions won't be necessary.
Personally, I like serum visions no matter what because I hate having to put all my faith into mulling and remand/electrolyze for finding lands and sideboard cards, like Stony Silence.
It has been played, but our deck is already very good against creature decks which grimlavamancer hits!
RBW Mardu Pyro
X Eldrazi
Pauper:
X Affinity
G Stompy
3 Celestial Colonnade
2 Flooded Strand
3 Arid Mesa
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Eiganjo Castle
Creature
4 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Spell Queller
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Elspeth, Knight-Erant
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Path to Exile
2 Serum Visions
4 Lightning Helix
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
1 Spell Snare
1 Spell Pierce
1 Electrolyze
1 Cryptic Command
1 Izzet Charm
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Celestial Purge
1 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Ceremonial Rejection
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Rest in Peace
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Crumble to dust
1 Anger of the Gods
I went 4-0 and the deck did exceptionally great. All the matchup were 2-0. I Played against UWR control, then 5c Aggro Slivers, then against Valakut and finally against Abzan Midrange.
I also played decent amount online over last two weeks. The lesson I learned might seems obvious to some of you but I still feel like sharing for anyone who is new to the deck.
1. You play 4 geist or 0, not 3 not 2. If you're on the play, you want it in the starting hand, because the meta does not have good answer how to kill it and you can always clear the way with paths/bolts/castle etc.
2. So far I've developed only two efficient sideboarding packages. You either play against aggro deck or everything else. Against aggro I found that siding 2 extra planeswolkers and Verdict/Angers + an ability to snapcaster them, basically kills any kind of board they can develop. Against Valakut/Thron/Eldrazi you try to early that Geist/Snap/Clique and kill opponent before he develops the boards.
3. Bolts/Helix's and Snapcasters are real win condition. If you know that you're playing against control/combo its perfectly fine to cast empty snapcaster end of turn 2 and attack->attack->attack.
4. Izzet charm is surprisingly good card, basically its a 2 mana bad cryptic command. Its very good in this aggressive build.
5. Both Elspeths do a lot, the 4 mana one has amazing synergy with geist and 6 mana one can solo win games.
6. I am down to 2 serum visions and I might end with 0, I have a strong feeling that its not that good of a card and people are playing it just because there is nothing better.
I am still working on the sideboard, just picked up surgical extractions and other nice things yesterday.
What I've tried and always disliked is the two Serum Visions thing. Multiple rounds of Affinity, Jund Shadow, Abzan, all the Tron flavours, infect and/or misc. combo will eventually punish only having two cards that can look three deep for land. Besides hitting four lands by the fourth turn to keep up with well-sequenced aggro plays(e.g: helix+bolt+path, etc), getting to 6 or 7 lands in a reasonable amount of time is also key for stuff like Abzan, Jund(activating colonnade and playing spell) and even Blue Tron(counter-wars over burn).
2 Serum Visions is from old Team Geist builds that had serious issues with variance--this is from watching some very sad streams and personal experiences with the deck at multiple events. When everything happens according to plan, you're invincible, then lose the same match a few rounds later from not drawing enough of a particular card(be it land, threat, burn, removal or counter).
My point is that if your own results(practice matches and meaningful ones) tell you that two visions is sufficient, go with that, but if you start wondering where your seemingly unluckily close losses are coming, I'd start looking at massaging another copy of serum visions and maybe a few other cantrips into your build.
I worked very closely with the old TeamGeist guys, I guess you could say I was part of the team in that we had a chat to exchange all of our ideas etc. Anyway, I was the first person in that group to start playing Serum Visions. I liked it but I could never get those guys to agree with me and I wasn't sure enough in my decision to just do it anyway. Once Scotty stopped streaming and the TeamGeist buzz simmered down I ended up mostly tweaking the deck on my own. I was still on 4 Remands back in those days, and I think they helped the deck in the fact that I wasn't running the full four Serum Visions yet. I then saw a list in which someone made 29th at a tournament playing Geist with 4 Serum Visions. That bolstered my own opinions to up the count to three, and then finally four and I haven't looked back. The old deck used to loose itself for the exact reason you mentioned. The deck is just flat out more consistent and for that reason, better, with Serum Visions in it.